The fact that people disagree with me is not breaking news. I take strong stands and always try to back them up with rational thought and facts.

What I have no patience for is being misquoted. I get misinterpreted frequently, and that’s bad enough. But there is no excuse for being misquoted.

I’ve been doing radio and TV in this market for over 30 years. I’m not alone in being victimized by being misquoted. It happens often. When I worked at WTMJ, I can’t begin to tell you how many telephone calls I received from listeners who swore that I or another newsperson said or reported something when we never did.

On Friday while filling in for Mark Belling on Newstalk 1130 WISN, I opened with what I consider an extraordinary topic that to my knowledge has never been addressed on local talk radio: rape/incest victims and why they make the, as I said numerous times on the program, incredible, inspirational decision to go through with their pregnancies.

My entire focus was to present the issue from the perspective of the assault victims and explain why they refuse to abort. My phone lines were flooded, and everyone who called in got on the air. I didn’t hang up on anyone. I did get agitated with some pro-lifers who misunderstood my position. Apparently, I was too honest in saying that I do have the utmost respect and admiration for the women who keep their babies, but I could understand the decision of those who choose to abort and would not criticize them for it. Never did I say the abortion was the right choice. Some pro-lifers wanted to turn this very specific discussion into a general debate on abortion whereas I wanted to keep the focus narrow.

A respected friend, fellow conservative blogger Dad29 wrote a follow up blog after my show. He makes two brief references to yours truly:


“(It can also be inferred that Kevin Fischer has a distaste for Pro-Life Wisconsin types; on yesterday's show he referred to people who objected to abortion-for-rape-and-incest-victims as "zealots," a term which has ALWAYS been a slur.)”


And later in his blog:


“And if being pro-life means that Kevin calls me a "zealot", so be it.”


There’s a major problem here. I never said the word, “zealot.” Not once. I did express great respect for the pro-life movement, so why would I use that term?

I listened to the podcast and there’s nothing wrong with my hearing. Never is the word, “zealot” that so angered Dad29 mentioned. I confirmed with WISN that my entire show was put up on the WISN website in a podcast for listeners to hear again and this entire segment was posted without edits. Dad29 swears I said the word, but as far as I’m concerned, he can stand on the highest mountain top and scream that to his heart’s content. The tapes don’t lie.

Dad29 says I have distaste for pro-life types. That is a blatantly false statement. He knows me personally and reads my blog. Anyone who thinks I’m not pro-life hasn’t been paying attention and has rocks in their head. Maybe Dad29 would like to talk to the people who run Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Right To Life and get their opinion of me.

Dad29’s blog is not only false and misleading, it besmirches my reputation. It also attacks part of my livelihood, albeit part-time, that of being a radio talk show host, and I take that very seriously.

I expect this kind of garbage, and that’s exactly what it is, garbage, from the hateful left, but not from a friend. That’s why this makes me angry and very disappointed and I felt required a response. 

Here are more details on this issue.

Wisconsin has a Safe Haven Law designed to prevent the abandonment of infants.

From a column written by state Senator Sheila Harsdorf:

“On April 3, 2001, Wisconsin became one of 14 states to adopt a safe haven law.  Under the legislation signed by Governor Scott McCallum, newborn children believed to be under the age of 72 hours may be surrendered into the custody of a law enforcement officer, emergency medical technician (EMT), or hospital staff member.  If a parent is unable to travel to such a location, the parent may utilize the “911” emergency telephone number wherein a law enforcement officer or EMT would be dispatched to take the surrendered child into custody.  The parent who surrenders the child is given complete anonymity and confidentiality, provided that the child is unharmed in any way.  The newborn is then placed for adoption.

According to a study by the National Institute of Health and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, between 1983 and 1991, approximately 1350 infants were killed before reaching 4 months of age.  140 Infants were killed in their first day of life, with 130 of those not being born in hospitals.”

The Safe Haven Law is no longer unique. All 50 states have one, with Nebraska becoming the 50^th state to put one on the books last month. However, Nebraska’s law is far different from the other 49. I talked about it on WISN Friday.

Read how Nebraska’s Safe Haven Law goes much too far.

That's the absurd asssessment of Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn.

Ok, Phelps isn't brash, bold, cocky, and doesn't change the color of his hair as oftenas Dennis Rodman. To that I say, so what!

Here is Zorn's column I read on the air Friday on WISN that drew a ton of reaction.

He lied repeatedly as he ran for President about sleeping with a woman he met in a bar while his unsuspecting wife was back home battling cancer.

He says he didn't love the woman he had an affair with.

His wife?

Oh, her cancer was in remission at the time.

His mistress' baby?

Oh, it's not his, but he hasn't had a paternity test.

John Edwards.

Warm.

Compassionate.

Liar.

Cheat.

Pervert.

Liberal.

I belong to opentable.com. Sign up for free, make restaurant reservations online, and get points for each visit, good towards restaurant gift certificates.

Now there’s a new online service available for New York and Chicago restaurants where you can buy and even sell reservations to high end restaurants that are next to impossible to get into.

It’s a trend that could grow in popularity. Yes, people are willing to pay $10-$50 just to get inside the restaurant door.

Here’s the story I discussed on WISN today.

• Wisconsin would adopt emission standards for passenger vehicles currently in place in California.
• Wisconsin would adopt voluntary and mandatory emission reduction measures to reduce emissions from off-road sources related to construction, agricultural, lawn/garden care, recreational and industrial/commercial sectors.
• Truck idling would be limited at depots, over night rest areas and other long-term parking circumstances to a maximum five minutes.
• The state would set aside funding to regulate the reduction of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by individuals.
• The existing 65 mph highway speed limit would be strictly enforced and a study would be conducted of potential future speed limit reductions.
• Legislation would develop a low carbon fuel standard for fuel providers. The Task Force says, “Providers could meet the standard by blending ethanol (corn/cellulosic) with gasoline, blending biodiesel with diesel,” in other words, an ethanol mandate.
• The Task Force believes emissions would be reduced by the creation of three programs for public and private transit alternatives: Intercity Rail, Transit Trust Fund and a Regional Transit Authority.
• Rental properties would be required to install energy efficient lighting.

So, let's add it all up.

Policies endorsed by the Task Force would regulate your car, lawnmower, boat, tractor, and 4-wheeler, dictate how many miles you can drive, lower speed limits, encourage you to walk, regulate the trucking industry, and impose an ethanol mandate. Making matters worse, and fueling my skepticism is the fact the report fails to specify the cost of these initiatives to Wisconsin residents and their effect on our fragile state economy that grew by a paltry one percent last year. If Wisconsin were to implement the Task Force recommendations, it is a safe bet heating bills, electric bills and gas prices would all increase and our economy would continue to suffer.

The most efficient method to reduce emissions would be to increase our use of nuclear energy. However, after 16 months of study, the Task Force fails to recommend the construction of a new nuclear power plant or expanding a plant in operation.

If Governor Doyle intends to push these far-reaching ideas in the Legislature, Wisconsin residents need to be aware that the recommendations are highly intrusive, expensive, and would do little to provide any benefit to the earth’s climate.

Last Monday night, when the Milwaukee Brewers opened a 4-game series against the Cardinals in St. Louis, Busch Stadium offered what could be a baseball promotion first……designating an entire section a peanut-free zone. Only fans with peanut allergies and their families were allowed in Section 328 in the outfiled down the first base line, just behind the foul pole.

Peanut-free zones at the ballpark was a topic on my program Friday as I filled in for Mark Belling on Newstalk 1130 WISN. Comments ran the gamut.

Some viewed the promotion as a wonderful, thoughtful idea. Others wondered where you draw the line on special accommodations for fans.

Several callers made the valid argument that parents are taking a serious risk bringing their peanut allergy suffering kids to the stadium because in order to get to their seats, they have to pass many areas where peanuts are still being sold, consumed, and dropped on the ground.

Here are more details.from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Just ask Anne Hartridge and Matt George of Sacramento, California.

They are environmentalists to the nth degree. In the past, I’ve called their kind hyper-enviro’s. Believe it or not, I feel very sorry for them. Yes, you read that right.

As you know, the western part of the country is experiencing just the opposite of what we’ve had in the Midwest. Dry conditions led California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a statewide drought.

Hartridge and George, who just about rub sticks to start a fire to cook their meals, made the decision to be civic-minded and adhere to the Governor’s call. They stopped watering their lawn and let it die.

That’s when trouble erupted.

What do you think happened next?

If you thought that someone from the local government noticed and intervened…..

You would be ………………….

>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
WRONG!

No, something occurred before that.

Think suburbs.

Think busybody neighbors with nothing better to do.

Think elitist snob neighbors without a life.

Think neighbors who need a sense of humor transplant.

Now you got it!


SOME NEIGHBORS COMPLAINED!

And then the city of Sacramento pencil-pushing, rules are rules, let’s not use common sense geeky bureaucrats stepped in.

I guess none of them have ever met Arnold, the state’s #1 official I might add, in a dark alley, but they threatened the couple with a $746 fine if they didn’t take proper measures to restore their landscaping.

The couple asked, what can/should we do?

Being a government employee who hates big government, I love this. The response the couple got was they’d get their answer………………………………….in an e-mail.

Guess what?

The e-mail never came.

Nor did responses from their city council representative.

Some yahoo in the city of Sacramento bureaucracy actually admitted not communicating with other agencies to resolve this matter. You see, that would be extra work, plus a deviation from the constituent response playbook.

Seems to me Arnold needs to head to City Hall and kick some butt.

I talked about this on WISN this past week…….here’s yet another perfect example of why people hate government.

Today the Supreme Court has ruled that lethal injections, if properly carried out, are a "humane" means of ending a condemned individual's life.

It is the correct and appropriate ruling.

Two convicted murderers, Ralph Baze and Thomas C. Bowling, were able to get their case heard by the high court, claiming death by lethal injection constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Since the case went to the Supreme Court last September, no executions have been carried out in the U.S.

Dennis Briscoe said it best. He was just 14 when Baze used an assault weapon to kill Briscoe’s father an uncle who were law enforcement officers in Kentucky.

Briscoe said, “What they should really consider is the pain my father and uncle went through when that happened. We should all be so lucky as to just fall asleep when we die."

Here are details from ABC and the Los Angeles Times.

In January, I discussed on WISN and also blogged about the absurdity of brutal, cold-blooded murderers claming a lethal injection was cruel and inhumane punishment

She said the problem easily could be many times larger than the scandals involving Catholic Church priests molesting children, and the hundreds of millions of dollars in civil liabilities already determined in those cases.”

Here’s more.

All practicing Catholics decry the sins of priests who’ve assaulted, However, the overwhelming majority of Catholic priests are good, decent men who should not be unfairly judged or painted  with a wide brush just because the Pope has landed.

It works like this.

A pregnant woman and her husband find out the unborn bay is going to be a girl.

They don't want a girl. They want a boy.

To an abortionist they go.

It's called a selective sex abortion, quite common in India and China, but now growing in frequency in America,

Most Americans think it should be illegal, but the practice is not.

How any feminist can remain silent about this is unconscionable. Same for pro-choicers

Jeff Jacoby wrote a great column on this outrage in the Boston Globe that I read on the air today on WISN:

Choosing to eliminate unwanted daughters
By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist
April 6, 2008

THE UNFETTERED "right to choose" is a progressive value, we are instructed by the abortion lobby - one indispensable to the empowerment of women. But a new study in PNAS (the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) prompts an awkward question: How exactly are American women empowered when abortion is deployed to prevent the existence of American girls?

Population experts have documented for years the use of abortion for sex selection in regions of the world where sons are more highly prized than daughters.

The problem is particularly acute in Asia, and especially in China and India, the world's two largest countries.

The natural sex ratio at birth is slightly male-biased at roughly 1.05-to-1, meaning that about 105 boys are born for every 100 girls. But in China the current ratio at birth is about 120 boys per 100 girls - and in more prosperous parts of the country, such as Guangdong and Hainan, the imbalance has reached an even more lopsided 135-to-100.

In India, census data from 2001 show that among children younger than 6, there are just 927 girls per 1,000 boys. There too, the greater the prosperity, the greater the discrepancy: In the high-income state of Punjab, notes Joseph D'Agostino of the Population Research Institute, there are only 793 girls for every 1,000 boys. He cites a report by UNICEF, which calculates that "7,000 fewer girls are now born in India each day than nature would dictate, and 10 million have been killed during pregnancy or just after in the past 20 years."

There is nothing new about the high cultural premium placed on sons in developing countries. What is relatively new is easy access to cheap ultrasound scans for determining the sex of an unborn child, and the availability of inexpensive abortions for parents who don't want a baby of the "wrong" sex.

Consider Vietnam, where a decade ago the sex ratio of newborns was a normal 1.04-to-1. Today, with the rise of ultrasound and abortion clinics, the number of newborn males has surged ahead of females.

"Vietnamese women who find they are carrying an unwanted female baby often head immediately to an abortion clinic," the Straits Times of Singapore reported last fall. "A walk-in abortion at a state hospital can be performed for $10, and at private clinics for about $20."

Most Americans rightly regard sex-selective abortions as odious; in a 2006 Zogby poll, an overwhelming 86 percent of Americans agreed that such abortions should be illegal. But they're not illegal - and as economists Douglas Almond and Lena Edlund indicate in the latest issue of PNAS, they are now occurring in the United States, too.

Almond and Edlund examined the ratio of boys to girls among US children born to Chinese, Korean, and Indian parents. For the first children of these Asian-American families, the sex ratio was the normal 1.05-to-1. But when the first baby is a girl, the odds of the second being a boy rose to 1.17-to-1. After two sisters, the likelihood of the third being a son leaped to 1.51-to-1. This is clear "evidence of sex selection, most likely at the prenatal stage," the authors write. Prenatal sex tests for pregnant women are now available earlier, more cheaply, and more conveniently than ever, "raising the prospect of sex selection becoming more widely practiced in the near future."

The destruction of unwanted daughters is appalling everywhere, but at least in places like India and China parents may have rational reasons for preferring a son. In China, for example, daughters routinely join their husbands' families and parents rely on sons to take care of them as they age. Facing intense government pressure to have no more than one or two children, many parents resort to sex-selective abortion.

But nothing can excuse such abortions in the United States - nothing except the theology of "choice," which elevates the right to an abortion above all other considerations. You don't have to be a feminist to know that being a girl is not a birth defect, or to be horrified by a practice that lethally reinforces the most benighted forms of sexual discrimination. For what kind of feminist would it be who could contemplate the use of abortion to eliminate ever-greater numbers of girls, and not cry out in horror?

Jeff Jacoby can be reached at jacoby@globe.com. 

I’ve said on WISN and on my blogs that the anti-smoking zealots won’t rest until you can’t smoke in the confines of your own private residence.

I was right.

A story I discussed on WISN today filling in for Mark Belling is getting national attention.

Public school officials in Reedsburg thought it was a wonderful idea to let elementary school students to come to school dressed as the opposite sex as part of Wacky Week.

I am not a fuddy-duddy.

I am not a prude.

This doesn’t belong in taxpayer-funded schools, and supposedly educated leaders with degrees coming out of their armpits should, when students suggest this nonsense, put their foot down and say it’s not acceptable. Sorry, kids. Inmates are not running the asylum.

Of course, I was hit with callers from today’s parents who aren’t parents at all. They want to be their child’s pal or best friend, and God forbid they should ever disappoint their child by saying no.

Loosen up, they told.

Relax.

Kids need to have fun.

They need to let off steam.

They’re too stressed.


HEY JIMMY, YOU’VE BEEN HAVING TROUBLE IN SPELLING FOR WEEKS. TOMORROW YOU’RE PUTTING ON SOME MASCARA AND LIPSTICK, A LITTLE COCKTAIL DRESS, SOME STOCKINGS AND HIGH HEELS.

Instead of Wacky Week, how about American history week, math week, geography week.

As for fun in school, I’m all for it.

That’s why God invented recess.

Here’s the story.

The teacher scolded the young girl, telling her to get down off a chair.

The girl didn’t like being told to take a “time out,” and neither did some of her friends.

They went home and concocted a plot to kill the teacher. They are third graders.

As part of their scheme, they collected a crystal paperweight, duct tape and handcuffs, and a broken steak knife.

The plan was to hit the teacher over the head with the paperweight, secure her with the tape and handcuffs, then stab her with the knife. Some kids were instructed to cover school windows so no one could see inside. Others would clean up afterwards.

On WISN today, I asked the audience what I termed to be one of the toughest questions I’ve ever posed on talk radio: What do you do with kids ages 8 and 9 in a case like this. They’re too young to be tried as adults and to be placed in a juvenile detention center.

The solution isn’t simple, though most callers said the parents need to be punished. I submit and some callers agreed that these kids need to be removed from school, away from the majority of youngsters who are good and want to learn.

Unfortunately, the hand wringers are out in full force, suggesting the kids didn’t mean it, probably were incapable of going through with their devious plot, and it’s probably the fault of TV, movies and video games.

Here are more details.

In 1984, a federal was enacted that required states to set the drinking age at 18 or face losing millions of federal highway dollars.

Over twenty years later, there’s a movement in some states to shun the highway aid and lower their drinking age.

The topic generated a heavy volume of calls during my WISN program yesterday and reaction was mixed, as you might expect.

Lowering the drinking age in Wisconsin would be a horrible mistake.

I have seen the figures from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. By far, the worst drivers are the 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20-year olds.

Lower the drinking age to 18 and you would unleash thousands of potential killers on our roads. The combination of alcohol and car keys for this age group would be deadly.

Giving an 18-year old the opportunity to have a beer is simply not worth it. I’d rather have them legally wait until they’re 21 than see them at their funerals.


NOTE: In the 2005 Wisconsin legislative session, a bill was proposed to allow Wisconsin members in the military as young as 19 to drink. The bill did not get through the Legislature.

This is an awful bill that could become law in Georgia.

The Georgia Legislature wants to mandate thats chools weigh and measure elementary school kids twice a year. Data would be kept on a website comparing the figures from all schools.

This is none of the schools' business. It is a parental responsibility.

As I mentioned on WISN yesterday, lawmakers watch and review legislation in other states for ideas, meaning some Wisconsin legislator could pick up on this one. I hope not.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:


Senate wants kids on scales
State lawmakers vote to combat childhood obesity by making schools track students' body mass index.

By Andrea Jones
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/01/08

Georgia's public elementary school students would hop on the scales twice a year for weigh-ins as part of an effort to curb childhood obesity, under a bill that passed the Senate on Friday.

The legislation requires schools to track kids' body mass index, a combination of height and weight used to determine whether the child is at a healthy weight. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Carter (R-Tifton), would mandate that schools post the aggregate BMI information on their school system Web sites and follow state regulations on offering physical education classes.

Carter said more than one in three kids in Georgia is overweight and the majority of schools are not complying with statewide physical education guidelines. "The presence of childhood obesity is staggering," he said.

Carter said the fitness information would be made available just as academic test scores are, so parents could check out how they measure up to other area schools. Children would be weighed in a confidential office setting by their physical education teacher, and their personal information would not become public, he said. The bill stops short of requiring schools to automatically provide their child's data to parents. Instead the information would be available upon request.

"Sally, step into the office, step up on the scale —- that's about as invasive as it gets," Carter said.

In Arkansas, the first state to begin measuring kids' BMIs at school, skyrocketing childhood obesity rates have leveled off since 2003. The measure was part of a statewide plan, including removing soda machines and changing school lunch menus, put together by Gov. Mike Huckabee, who fought his own very public battle with the bulge.

Senators passed the bill 37 to 13 after a first genial —- and then heated —- debate.

One senator jokingly placed a glazed doughnut on the podium as Carter spoke. Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) strolled up to take a bite, as his fellow lawmakers guffawed from their seats.

A few moments later, a more serious Sen. Preston Smith (R-Rome) said "the long arm of the government" should stop reaching into people's private lives. He called the measure another "nanny bill" that goes too far.

Smith said that schools will pressure children to lose weight and stigmatize them, mimicking what he worried school officials would say: "Come on, pick it up, fat kid, we're not going to get money if you don't!"

As he left the podium, refusing to engage in a debate, Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford), who supports the bill, shouted "chicken!" at him.

The bill is another attempt to address childhood obesity with legislation.

Carter made a proposal during the 2006 session, calling for 150 minutes per week of "moderate to vigorous" physical activity for kindergarten through fifth grade, and 225 minutes per week for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. That bill failed.

And in 2005, a bipartisan bill in the House tried unsuccessfully to place a student's body mass index, an indication of obesity, on report cards.

Under the new bill, if school districts don't comply with the new rules, they'd be labeled as "unhealthy school zones" on a state Web site that measures school performance.

The plan has earned mixed reviews from moms and dads.

Todd Slutzky, an associate creative director and father of a 3-year-old, said he sees no problem with schools tracking weight.

"It's not like listing children's IQs or parents' incomes," he said. He said a little accountability wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

"Sometimes," he said, "parents need to be shamed."

Kristen Speckhals, a mother of two from Atlanta, called the bill "totally ridiculous."

"I wish they would stick to teaching history and science and math," she said. "I'm all for health and fitness, but that's a parent's job."

In Arkansas, children are turned around backward before stepping onto the scale so they can't see their own weight, said Debra Pate, a communications specialist for the that state's program.

"By far, it's been accepted by parents and has had no ill effect on children," she said.

Georgia's elementary school children currently take 90 hours of physical education each year, which rounds out to roughly 30 minutes a day, said Dana Tofig, the spokesman for the Georgia Department of Education.

Tofig said DOE has been working with Carter on the bill and supports its intent.

The logistics of collecting and cataloging the data, however, could prove tricky.

"While the intent is good, we do not want to saddle our schools and teachers with more mandates," he said.

The bill now goes to the House.

Staff writer Ken Sugiura contributed to this article.

A LOOK AT THE PROBLEM

> 34 percent of U.S. children ages 6-19 are overweight.

> 17 percent are considered obese.

> For black teenagers, 24 percent of girls and almost 19 percent of boys are obese.

> Almost 20 percent of Mexican-American teenage girls and 15 percent of boys are obese.

> Poverty is a key factor: About 20 percent of impoverished kids are obese.

> Possible consequences: hypertension, breathing disorders, sleep problems, bone and joint complications; greater risk of later developing heart disease and some forms of cancer.

> Up to 45 percent of new diabetes diagnoses in children and adolescents are weight-related Type 2 diabetes.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

She’s the Oregon mayor who posed for a calendar in her underwear.

Remember in my blog I wrote that constituents weren’t happy?

So what happened?