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EXCLUSIVE: Speaker Robin Vos Tells Wisconsinites To Stay Home “If They Can;” Guess Where He Was This Week?

By Mark Belling, WISN-AM

In the latest case of a politician ignoring their own Covid instructions, Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has recorded a “bipartisan” Covid radio and TV ad with Democrat Congressman Mark Pocan in which Vos urges Wisconsinites to “stay home if they can.”

The ad is running the very same week Vos went to Washington for the annual White House Christmas Party, hosted by President Trump, an event Vos crowed about on his Facebook page:

We’re Number One And Nobody Is Close! Radio Trade Publication Raves About WISN’s Dominance Of Milwaukee Radio

The following is from Talkers.com, a trade publication that covers the radio industry.

MILWAUKEE

• This is the third straight month at #1 for iHeartMedia Milwaukee’s WISN “News/Talk 1130,” which is an eyepopping +5.9 in four consecutive spikes (6.8 – 8.6 – 10.2 – 11.2 – 12.7, 6+), with 12.7 its highest 6+-stat in the PPM-era.
• In three gains in a row (5.5 – 6.7 – 7.2 – 8.0, 6+), Good Karma Brands’ crosstown WTMJ (Brewers, Bucks, Green Bay Packers) was a cumulative +2.5, but “Wisconsin’s Radio Station” erodes by -.9 to 7.1 (second to third, 6+).

• In Milwaukee, Good Karma Brands’ WKTI “94.5 ESPN” picks up three-tenths via four successive up or flat moves (.4 – .6 – .6 – .6 – .7, #18 to #16, 6+).
• After posting five straight reports without a loss for a net gain of two-tenths (.6 – .6 -.6 – .6 – .7 – .8, 6+), iHeartMedia-owned WRNW “97.3 The Game – Milwaukee’s Sports Talk That Rocks” forfeits one-tenth to .7 (unchanged at #16, 6+).
• Cluster-mate WOKY “The Big 920” triples (+.4) its 6+ AQH share in four consecutive sweeps without a loss (.2 – .4 – .4 – .4 – .6, #19 to #18, 6+).
• Also in Milwaukee’s top twenty is Entercom’s WSSP “Sports Radio 105.7 The Fan,” which is down a total of one-tenth in three straight negative or neutral trends (.5 – .4 – .4 – .4, #19 to #20, 6+).

• Unchanged at #8 in Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-owned WUWM improves by four-tenths in October/November (4 – 3.7 – 3.8, 6+).
• Elsewhere in Milwaukee, the (repetitive) August 2020 through November 2020 topline for Wisconsin Public Radio’s WHAD is: 1.3 – 1.4 – 1.3 – 1.4 (#13 to #11, 6+).

By Mark Belling, WISN-AM

Aaron Perry, who last Tuesday lost a bid for the state assembly in a district centered in the City of Waukesha, has been charged with felony domestic violence in connection with an incident that occurred this past Monday involving his ex-wife.

Perry is a former Republican who ran as a Democrat this year against incumbent Assemblyman Scott Allen.  Perry is a member of the Waukesha Common Council.  He faced misdemeanor chasrges several years ago after an incident, also with his now ex-wife.

The circumstances of Perry’s felony arrest this week are reported extensively in the Waukesha Freeman today.  Here’s a link.

EXCLUSIVE: Milwaukee County Bans Trump Rally: Cancels Event At Mitchell—That’s Why It’s Being Held In Waukesha
By Mark Belling, WISN-AM

The rally featuring President Trump Saturday evening near the Waukesha Airport was actually scheduled for a site at Mitchell International in Milwaukee but was cancelled on orders of the Milwaukee airport director. The airport director answers to Milwaukee County officials, led by County Executive David Crowley, a Democrat.

I have obtained a copy of a letter sent Tuesday to Chip Zens, the CEO of Freight Runner Express, a private air service with its own large hangar and grounds on the airport grounds. Airport Director Matthew Hofman stated in his letter that the likely attendance of protesters was unacceptable and ordered Zens to notify the Trump team to cancel the event. Hoffman’s letter states that neither the Trump team nor Zens obtained prior approval.

So, President Trump now can’t even hold a rally in Milwaukee. This is the same Milwaukee County that planned to openly welcome the Democratic National Convention this summer, despite the certainty of protests at it. The rescheduled event is being held at 7 pm tomorrow night at a facility on the grounds of the Waukesha airport. That airport and the adjacent county fairgrounds and expo center have been the sites of numerous Republican rallies over the years. This time around, the Republicans wanted to come to Milwaukee but the Democrats are banning them.

Mark Belling
October 23

By Mark Belling, WISN-AM

The Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court barred Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel from conducting in-person court proceedings for week and the order was not rescinded until last week. The order was a result of a complaint that Schimel was not following a Supreme Court order that all individuals in Wisconsin courts wear masks.

Chief Justice Pat Roggensack directed the chief judge for Waukesha County, Jennifer Dorow, to order Schimel to hold all of his court sessions via remote video. Schimel filed a formal appeal of the ruling, citing a medical condition that makes it difficult for him to wear a mask and pointing out that he had rigged his courtroom with plexiglass and enforced social distancing. Roggensack didn’t budge. Schimel agreed to wear a mask and the order was lifted last week.

The behind the scenes machinations here are fascinating. Roggensack is the leader of the Supreme Court’s conservative wing. Schimel was for eight years the Republican Attorney General of Wisconsin. Dorow, the chief judge caught in the middle of Roggensack’s snit over Schimel’s non-mask wearing, is a possible candidate for the Supreme Court in a future election.

Schimel has attempted to find out who complained to Roggensack but has not been given an answer. However, numerous court sources tell me this all occurred after the head of the State Office of Public Defender, Kelli Thompson, complained to Roggensack that Schimel wasn’t wearing a mask. These sources tell me Thompson was responding to complaints by public defenders in Waukesha County that Schimel was not wearing a mask.

Kelli Thompson is the daughter of UW System President and former Governor Tommy Thompson. In other words, this giant commotion over Schimel and his mask wearing has involved some of the biggest names in Wisconsin Republican and conservative politics.

The Supreme Court issued an order in March that everybody in Wisconsin courtrooms has to wear a mask. The order is unrelated to the separate state mask mandate issued by Governor Tony Evers. That mandate is being challenged in court and is headed to the Supreme Court but given Roggensack’s apparent obsession with mask wearing, one wonders if the challenge has a chance.

As for Schimel, he indicated his willingness to wear a face shield and put up plexiglass barriers throughout his court. None of that was good enough for Roggensack. Schimel has agreed to wear a mask and on October 5 Roggensack directed Judge Dorow to allow Schimel to resume in-person court sessions.

No word on whether Roggensack will be changing her name to Karen.

Mark Belling
October 9

By Carl Holborn

Dear Friends and Family,

I am writing this email to you to tell you that I am voting for Donald Trump in his reelection for President. Many of you will be shocked by this decision. I have been a proud Democrat my entire life. I have never been so proud of our democracy and inspired as when I voted for President Obama twice. However, the recent events in my hometown of Kenosha have caused me to make this decision to vote for President Trump. These last few nights hundreds of outsiders have descended on my hometown. These outsiders have come here under the veil of seeking justice. But, these outsiders are really just violent anarchists. They have firebombed dozens of buildings, looted businesses, assaulted residents, destroyed historic cultural sites and have committed general mayhem. Last year I travelled to Iraq and visited the city of Mosul after it had been liberated from ISIS. The destruction there was unbelievable. Now, parts of my hometown look like Mosul at the hands of these outsiders.

It has been very troubling the way the national media has covered this story. I have never been one to believe that the mainstream media had a bias that caused it to report the news in a dishonest way. As I read the coverage on CNN and the New York Times about the situation in Kenosha, the two news media outlets that I typically turn to for my news, I am shocked by the biased reporting. I know the facts and what they are covering is just not an accurate portrayal of what is happening. The lack of coverage about the devastating destruction in my hometown and the hinging on every word of Attorney Ben Crump is outrageous. I have never been a fan of Fox News, but I will tell you for this story it’s coverage has been spot on.

The mainstream media portrays police in riot gear who look like stormtroopers as some sort of occupying force. I know these police officers in front of the courthouse in Kenosha. I was involved in the process of hiring some of these officers when I served on the Kenosha County Civil Service Commission. These police officers are good people who are trying to protect their community. They are not racists. I believe they have shown unbelievable restraint. Then the media shows these outsiders who have been tear gassed in a way to elicit sympathy. These media outlets portray these poor defenseless peaceful protestors who hang around after dark, after curfew, and firebomb, loot, and cause criminal mayhem as some righteous citizens seeking justice.

I used to think ANTIFA was some boogeyman dreamed up by right wingers to scare people. But, I have seen people, outsiders, prowling the streets of Kenosha, most who are white, selecting soft targets and using complex incendiary devices and firebombing our city. I am not sure if they claim to be ANTIFA, but you know what – they look like it to me.

I would have never believed this mayhem could have happened in my hometown. It has a vibrant economy, good schools, and much opportunity for all. But this violent destruction has happened here. And if this violence can happen here, it can happen anywhere.

I have also decided to vote for President Trump after listening to Senator Tim Scott’s speech at the Republican National Convention. I am troubled by racial injustice. I grew up three blocks away from where Jacob Blake was shot, on the same street -28th Avenue. I attended an integrated Junior High and High School. I was the only white student on the bus when I went to Junior High. I grew up around and with Black people my whole life. Based upon my experience, the message I heard from Senator Tim Scott is a message that rings true as a way to bring about greater racial equality in our country. I strongly advise that you watch his speech. Here is a link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-XsIepfK7Q His argument for why he is voting for President Trump is persuasive

In so many ways I dislike President Trump and find him extraordinarily offensive. However, there are two old political sayings that ring true to me now. Every Democrat is a mugging away from becoming a Republican and all politics is local. I have not been mugged, but my hometown is being destroyed and you cannot get more local than that.

Governor Evers recently turned down President Trump’s offer to send federal assistance to help end this destruction. I think federal assistance would have ended this mayhem. Thank you President Trump for offering to help. Vice-President Biden has not said a word.

I am voting for President Trump.

Sincerely,

Carl

THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN BY TIM DAMICO, A FORMER GERMANTOWN HIGH SCHOOL ASSISTANT COACH.

I wanted to reach out to you since I believe that your organizations are the only ones that would care about my story and thank you for taking the time to read this.

I have been an assistant coach with the Germantown Girls swim and dive team for the last 3 years. This upcoming season was going to be my 4th. I grew up in Germantown and graduated from there myself in 2011. For the last 5 years I had been coaching club for 2 different private club organizations. In my time as a coach I have worked with kids and never once had a personal or professional complaint against me. On Thursday July 9th I shared a post to my Facebook page comparing the KKK to the BLM organization, not the statement “Black Lives Matter” because of course I agree with the statement, but the political organization is not something that I as a conservative can or will ever support.

Around 11:30 that day I got a voicemail from the athletic director (Sara Unurtl), at Germantown High School. I was at my full-time day job and unable to call her until later in the afternoon. When I did connect with her, she told me there was a post from me on social media going around that concerned them. She explained the post to me and I explained my stance on the post. She made it sound like there was some sort of outrage in the community about me and the post that I shared. Little did I know, this post was sent to each School board member and Principal Joel Farren from a single person that doesn’t even live in Germantown, they live in West Bend.

While I was talking with Sara, she mentioned other posts they saw on Facebook that I had shared or posted myself that concerned the district. Some of the posts were about the recent rioting and looting, most having firearm references as I am an avid and open second amendment supporter and concealed carrier. I always will advocate for responsible and legal ownership of firearms. I of course explained to her that I have NEVER had my firearm with me while on school property or at school related events. Regardless, she nor the HR representative that was also on the call seemed to really care. She told me that she did want to let me know they will need to look into this further and will be getting back to me as soon as they can.

A week later on July 16th Sara called me back. She did inform me that they will not be renewing my contract and I will no longer be a coach at Germantown High School. If I’m going top be honest, I was crushed, but not surprised given the world we live in today. I asked her to answer a question for me. I asked her if she had ever had any complaints from Athletes, Parents or the head coach, Lori, about my coaching. Sara told me that “You have always had great reviews and positive feedback, but we as a district need to be sure we are on the right side of history”. I came to the conclusion that I am being fired, not for my inability to be a great coach, but because my political stance doesn’t fit with the prevailing narrative. I’m a conservative gun owner who supports President Trump and I will never stop supporting what I believe just to save my job.

Sara asked me “What story would you like told when people ask why you wont be coaching anymore” I was a bit confused and asked her to clarify what she meant. She said that sometimes coaches would like to tell people they are leaving to focus more on their full time work or to be with their families. I said “No, if anyone asks you about why I am not coaching anymore, I expect you as an educator and school district employee to tell them the truth. You tell them that you fired me because of my political views, that is why I’m no longer coaching. You decided this, not me “. She seemed a little surprised by that and the conversation was basically over at that point.

I emailed Sara about 3 times before she finally sent me copies of the emails that I requested. From looking at the emails, I found that the district had decided they weren’t going to hire me back before I had even had a conversation with Sara about this. I will attach the PDF of those emails to this email for you to look at if you are interested.

It sickens me that these are the people in charge of our kids’ education. From all different angles they are telling kids that “you must believe this way, or you will lose your job”. “If you don’t believe in what we believe, then you are a racist.”

Given the world we live in today, I am not at all surprised that I lost a job with a school district considering that I am such a strong conservative and open about that publicly, but I did feel like I needed to make this known that the cancel culture is attacking more than just conservative TV or Talk show hosts. This culture is coming after anyone with an opposing view and we need to stop this.

I am more that willing to answer any questions that you might have for me about this and you are welcome to contact me however it is easiest for you.

Thank you for your time.

Tim Damico

Talkers.com, the self-described “Bible of Talk Radio” and the most influential website covering radio talk, has again named WISN-AM’s Mark Belling among the most important talk hosts in the country.   No host in a radio market in America smaller than Milwaukee was higher on the list than Mark.   At #55, he was one of the highest rated local talk hosts, in terms of importance, in America.  Most hosts ranked higher had national programs.

                Belling is one of only two hosts from Wisconsin to make the list.   He was rated higher than any talk host in Chicago, even though that market dwarfs Milwaukee’s size.   Talkers has been doing the list for over two decades and Mark has been on the list all but one year.  The only other Wisconsin host on Talkers’ list, #93 ranked Jeff Wagner of WTMJ-AM, got his start as a fill-in host on the Belling show.

                The Mark Belling Late Afternoon Show has dominated Milwaukee afternoon radio ratings for most of Belling’s 31-year career on the air in Milwaukee.   The show airs from 3-6 pm on WISN-AM 1130 and numerous online platforms including iHeartRadio.    The show can also be heard in podcast for form.  Mark was a frequent guest host on the Rush Limbaugh Show for 18 years and hosted one of Milwaukee TV’s longest running local shows, Belling and Company for 18 years.

                The Talkers “Heavy Hundred List,” ranked Sean Hannity as the #1 talk show host in the United States and Limbaugh’s show is second.  Mark Levin is fourth.  Overnight national host George Noory appears farther down on the list.  Counting Belling, that means five daily WISN shows are on the Talkers Heavy Hundred list.