December 15, 2017

State Representative Janel Brandtjen

John Doe Investigation went far beyond American values

The Wisconsin Department of Justice released its findings in the matter of the infamous John Doe investigation leveled against Governor Walker and others. The results are chilling to say the least. I don't frequently use words like Gestapo and I don't believe I have ever compared anyone or anyone thing to Hitler or Nazi Germany and I won't make that comparison here. I'll let that facts speak for themselves and my readers can make that call for themselves.

There are four things regarding this case that really stand out.

1. The victims of early morning raids by a large groups of law enforcement designed to intimidate them by the overwhelming display of government power were coerced into silence with threats of prison time for those who dared defend themselves, which allowed the Milwaukee district attorneys to trash the reputations of many innocent people with impunity.

2. In 2014 the Federal Court ordered a complete and immediate halt to the John Doe investigation. The investigators were ordered to immediately without hesitation return all confiscated materials and destroy all files regarding the case. They DID NOT. It has since been discovered that not only did the John Doe investigators keep going through the files, the non-partisan government accountability board was going through private emails of conservatives. The emails the were of a private nature were placed into a folder named "opposition research." Let me be clear. Ordering a raid is a judgment call. A prosecutor filing charges (or not filing charges) is a judgment call. People who have been entrusted by the citizens of Wisconsin to conduct a fair and unbiased investigation into the activities of our elected officials who compile emails for "opposition research" are in violation of their duties.  They are dishonest partisans whose opinions and conclusions cannot be trusted. Their entire body of work lacks the confidence needed to be of any value at all. They should be prosecuted, stripped of their licenses and held financially responsible to pay damages to the Wisconsin taxpayer including back pay.

3. Information gathered from the illegal and unconstitutional John Doe investigation was leaked to the Guardian, a British newspaper. The Guardian is self described as the "World's Leading Liberal Voice." I wonder what they pay for "opposition research?" 

4. The hard drive containing the leaked information is missing. How does that happen?

Now for the most disturbing conclusion to this affront to our civil liberties comes the legal opinions of some of our leaders who say nothing can be done to those who have trampled our on our rights and freedoms. I disagree, they need to be held responsible for these blatant acts of tyranny. Read the DOJ report here.     

Time to consider alternative career paths

Parents across America have been pre-programmed to dream that their children will graduate from a prestigious college at the head of the class. We all have hopes that our child will be a doctor, lawyer or perhaps the next self-made billionaire business tycoon. Generally, unless you attend college for a specific degree such as education, law, medical school or accounting, you will most likely end up with a bunch of unnecessary classes under belt and a ton of debt over your head. Meanwhile the market is screaming for tradesman, IT workers and other skilled craftsman.

Imagine instead of worrying about how to pay for college tuition and four years of living expenses while you go off to college, you enter an apprenticeship program and make money while you learn a skill that not only pays well but will be in high demand throughout your career. Put those numbers to the test. Make $120,000 instead of paying $120,000. That's a swing of $240,000. A pretty darn nice starter home.

The opportunities to develop skills as a tradesman start in high school. Many high schools offer work-study as well as youth apprenticeship programs. I recently spent time with some great kids at Menomonee Falls High School learning about their Youth Apprenticeship (YA) program.

 Two year community colleges as well as Tech schools and IT programs also offer alternative options to the conventional four year college program. Don't be afraid to think outside the box. 

God Bless Wisconsin!

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Students in Menomonee Falls learn skills that are in demand