Tornado Warning Wisconsin

I didn't get the cell phone message that there's a tornado warning for my area in Wisconsin, but I did get an email alert at 10:32 AM from Storm Team 4, WTMJ-TV.

These bulletins are currently in effect for your area:
Wisconsin counties
COLUMBIA
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WARNING
DANE
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WARNING
DODGE
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WARNING
FOND DU LAC
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WATCH
GREEN LAKE
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WARNING
JEFFERSON
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WARNING
KENOSHA
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WARNING
MILWAUKEE
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WARNING
OZAUKEE
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WARNING
RACINE
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WARNING
ROCK
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WARNING
SHEBOYGAN
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WATCH
WALWORTH
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WARNING
WASHINGTON
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WARNING
WAUKESHA
TORNADO WARNING until 10:45 AM CST
WINTER STORM WARNING

Oh, my God, this is not a good Monday. A tornado warning AND a winter storm warning!

The tornado warning, of course, was a mistake.

A tornado warning caused confusion in southeast Wisconsin when the National Weather Service mistakenly sent it out as an "emergency alert" Monday morning.

The agency was conducting a planned emergency test and accidentally sent out text messages to cellphone subscribers with the wording, "Tornado Warning in this area til 10:45 AM CST. Take shelter now. Check local media. - NWS. Type: "Imminent extreme alert."

"The message went out as a test, but it went out in the wrong mode. That puts automatic wording in it," said Rudy Schaar, a data acquisition program manager with the National Weather Service. "It went out not in a test mode, so we had to cancel it."

The test messages did not say it was a test. All emergency managers were informed before time, Schaar said.

The agency is still trying to figure out what happened.

"That's why we test it," Schaar said.

Don't worry. There's no tornado. But, A WINTER STORM IS COMING!!!

"Get hot water! Get some disinfectant! Get some iodine!"

Shooting, 1st and Howard

This sort of thing does not happen on 1st and Howard.

Gunfire is not heard in this neighborhood.

Armed robbery suspects and police don't fire weapons there.

But, it did happen on Saturday AFTERNOON, shortly after 4:00 PM.

Unreal.

Shortly after 4:00, I was in a car going east on Howard, after exiting the freeway. Squad cars were arriving on the scene. Other than the activity of the cars rushing there and the sirens wailing, it looked to be pretty much business as usual. Traffic was moving along. There were more people than normal walking on Howard and standing on the street, but there was no crowd. There didn't seem to be any panic, just more and more police.

Two squads were blocking 1st Street, closing it to traffic. Clearly, something serious was happening.

As we passed, I looked down the little hill of the sloping street. About halfway down the block between Howard and Tripoli, I saw a man lying in the street. Another man was kneeling over him, doing chest compressions.

I freaked out. It was seconds but the sight was awful. I thought maybe the man on the ground had a heart attack. But that wouldn't elicit that sort of police response.

What was going on?

Squads kept coming. Had there been a robbery at the gas station on the corner of Howell and Howard?

I had a sick feeling. Something terrible had happened.

Later, I learned a 28-year-old Germantown man, an armed robbery suspect, was killed by police.

The media are offering dramatically conflicting information on the fatal shooting that occurred near 1st and Howard on Saturday afternoon.

TMJ4 aired a report at 10:00PM that strongly suggested the suspect was unnecessarily gunned down. It included an interview from a male witness whose identity was concealed. An earlier report on TMJ4 stated witnesses said the Citgo station was robbed, and the suspect fired at the police officer prior to the officer firing the shots that killed the suspect.

FOX6 News gave a different account on its 9:00PM newscast, featuring a witness saying he thought the suspect fired first and the officer returned fire.

Here's video, from FOX6 News:



From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee cop fatally shoots armed robbery suspect

From WISN: Police shoot, kill man suspected in armed robbery

It's terribly irresponsible and unprofessional for the media to put witnesses on the air, making judgments about what happened, giving the story as they perceive it to be, and report that as news.

I don't want to hear what witnesses have to say. Who cares? I want to hear facts.

The media should report information from officials. They should talk to Mayor Tom Barrett and what he's going to do to address crime.

There's nothing wrong with the media getting reaction from bystanders or people living in the neighborhood, but what they have to say should not be reported as factual accounts. The media should wait and get it right.

I feel so bad for the people in the neighborhood. So much can change so fast. One afternoon and everything changes.

Abusive New Berlin School Bus Driver Portrayed as Victim

Milwaukee media decided it was finally time to cover the story of the New Berlin bus driver who said to a child on her bus, "Maybe your mom should have chosen abortion for you."

That bus driver was fired by Durham School Services for her outburst.

Here's a report from FOX6 News:



This report says the bus driver is 81 years old. If that's accurate, the woman has aged three years in about three days. The mother of the harassed child It appears the bus company didn't know her actual age, originally saying she was 78.

I'm surprised that an 81-year-old woman is driving a school bus full of kids, especially someone as clearly unstable as this woman. I don't think it's safe.

In its report, FOX6 names the mother and the boy, Debbie Ann Hartlaub and Joey Hartlaub, and interviews them.

The reporter, Ashley Sears, also spoke to the bus driver by phone. Sears stated the bus driver "said there is a lot of confusion and said everyone is trusting the words of a little boy." Sears said the bus driver "didn't really understand what the uproar was."

TMJ4 also got around to covering the story, from a decidedly sympathetic angle on behalf of the bus driver.

TMJ4 interviewed the driver, noting the police are investigating death threats made to the bus company.

Carol, an 81-year-old bus driver, says the kids she was driving were bullying her about politics. But what she said to one of them was so shocking, the school bus company decided to fire her.

The kids on the bus were Romney supporters, the bus driver supports President Obama. But the fallout from this disturbance has been so heated, police are now investigating death threats.

Police officers are keeping a close eye on the Durham School Service Bus Company. The company started receiving death threats when the story of a blow up between one of their bus drivers and a student hit local talk radio.

The elderly bus driver was too afraid to appear on camera, but she's devastated.

The bus disturbance was between Carol, and Debbie Hartlaub's 12-year-old son. She's been driving him home from Holy Apostle School for the last four years. Hartlaub claims problems started two weeks ago when she put a Romney/Ryan sign on her front lawn.

"It started with him and another student chanting at the back of the bus. They were chanting Romney, Romney -- which is goofy and inappropriate -- but he's 12," says Debbie Hartlaub.

But Carol says the chanting was to taunt her, since the kids know she supports President Obama.

"And they kept it up, and kept it up. And they had other kids doing it too. And it got louder and louder and it just got to the point where I couldn't take this anymore, you know," says Carol.

"They were chanting Romney/Ryan. And as they did, the bus driver had other opinions about it and she decided to talk back," explains the kid's brother Michael Hartlaub.

And then, things got out of hand.

"My son said Obama is pro-abortion. And the bus driver said to him, well too bad your mom didn't choose abortion for you," claims Debbie Hartlaub.

TODAY'S TMJ4's Shelley Walcott: "Are you sorry Carol, that you said what you said to this boy?"

Carol: "Of course I am Shelley. I would have never said that. It's like I didn't have control over it. It was when they got me so upset already."

The bus driver is made out to be the victim in the TMJ4 report.

The poor old lady. She was being taunted by mean kids. She claims she would never say something like that to a child, EXCEPT SHE DID. Her excuse? She "didn't have control over it."

Debbie Hartlaub is made out to be rather cold and uncaring.

Hartlaub alerted the bus company. They fired Carol on Tuesday, after 23 years of service with no previous problems.

Carol is devastated.

TODAY'S TMJ4's Shelley Walcott: "What does this job mean to you?"

Carol: "Everything. It's my livelihood. It's my livelihood, Shelley."

"You know what? My son is my son. I could care less about her bus job being her livelihood," says Debbie Hartlaub.

Police are investigating the death threats made to the bus company. Debbie Hartlaub says she's reported Carol to the Waukesha County Health and Social Services for verbal abuse of a child.

It goes without saying, but I have to say it: Death threats are no way to respond to a situation like this.

I don't really know what TMJ4 means by "death threats made to the bus company." There were no specifics. Were certain employees of the company personally threatened?

Any and all threats should be investigated.

That said, it certainly sounds like TMJ4 is on the bus driver's side.

She was fired for defending herself. Poor Carol. She's devastated. She was harassed. She couldn't take the abuse.

Why did the kids on the bus even know that Carol was an Obama supporter? The bus driver should not be voicing her political opinions to the children. That in itself is inappropriate. I never knew the politics of any of my bus drivers.

I think she deserved to lose her job. A school bus driver should not be engaging in political discussion with the kids on the bus, let alone telling a child his mother should have aborted him.

It's inexcusable to lash out like that to a child in her care. She's the adult. She has to be able to deal with kids chanting "Romney, Romney" without flipping out. If she can't handle it, she's not fit to drive a school bus. She should have been concentrating on her driving and the safety of the children, not getting upset about a Romney yard sign.

If Carol is to be seen as a victim, then she must be considered a victim of her own lack of control and bad behavior.

Here's video of TMJ4's report:

Big Bird Obama Ad STILL Running

At a couple minutes before midnight, on TMJ4, I just saw Obama's Big Bird ad.

The Sesame Workshop must be really ticked off at Obama and his campaign, after ignoring the request to pull the ad.

Or maybe not.

Ed Flynn Interview (Video)

TMJ4's Carole Meekins interviewed Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn.

They discussed the strip search scandal and the Derek Williams case. They discuss the demand for Flynn's resignation by some in Milwaukee's African American community.

Here's raw video:

Flynn relays compassion and understanding. He does not come off as an arrogant, uncaring man. He explains his actions and he takes responsibility for them.

I don't get why Flynn is being targeted by some in the community and by outlets like the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It's such a weird campaign of personal destruction. It's misdirected. It's unfair.

It ticks me off that Tom Barrett, cowering mayor of Milwaukee, is letting Flynn take so much heat without offering more support.

Barrett is taking cover rather than being a leader.

It would be a great loss for the steadily decaying city of Milwaukee if Flynn were to leave.

I hate to think of how bad things would be without his leadership.

Certainly, there are cases of misconduct and abuse by police officers. Some are horrific. Some are criminal. Justice must be done in those cases. But, it's wrong to condemn the entire department and the Chief because of the actions of a few.

What really poses a threat to people living in Milwaukee?

It's not the police department. Flynn doesn't pose a danger to any community in the city. The economic conditions in Milwaukee, unemployment through the roof and the ensuing poverty, are much more threatening to the overall quality of life for all.

Failing schools are a far greater menace than anything done or not done by the MPD.

It makes more sense to me to demand jobs rather than Flynn's resignation.

Options other than a life of dependency on government or a life of crime are needed. All the energy being put into this witch hunt could be channeled into constructive efforts to better the community.

Maybe that's why the media are obsessing on Flynn now. It deflects attention away from the economic misery in Obama's America, specifically Milwaukee.

The Leftists don't want to talk about the real problems before the election.

Ed Flynn is the local version of Big Bird.

Obama's Big Bird Ad Still Running

On Tuesday, Sesame Workshop called for Obama to pull his campaign ad featuring Big Bird.

Statement from Sesame Workshop:

Sesame Workshop is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and we do not endorse candidates or participate in political campaigns. We have approved no campaign ads, and, as is our general practice, have requested that both campaigns remove Sesame Street characters and trademarks from their campaign materials.

Obama is ignoring that request.

On Wednesday at roughly 11:45 PM on TMJ4, the ad ran.

Was the statement a ruse?

Is Sesame Workshop actually OK with the ad but put out the statement purely as a CYA move, to make it appear like it is a nonpartisan organization when in reality it fully supports the use of Big Bird in the ad?

If there isn't a deal between Obama and Big Bird, and Obama is just dismissing a sincere request, then I guess it's fair to say Obama has declared war on Sesame Street.

It really is a joke for Obama to be running a Sesame Street campaign, given the serious issues facing the country.

It's not presidential at all, and he's the sitting president!

Of course, Obama wants to talk about Big Bird, no matter how small and inconsequential it makes him look. It's better than talking about Benghazi or the economy or ObamaCare or the debt.

New Berlin School Bus Driver Tells Child He Should Have Been Aborted

Mark Belling discussed this story on his radio program yesterday. It's another tale of a Leftist behaving badly.

The Leftist, a 78-year-old woman, a New Berlin school bus driver, has been harassing a student on her bus route because there's a Mitt Romney yard sign at his home.

The child attends a Catholic school in New Berlin. He rides a Durham school bus. The company also provides service to the New Berlin public school district.

Belling read a letter from the 12-year-old boy's mother, detailing the alleged abusive behavior by the bus driver.

Apparently, the Romney-Ryan yard sign bugs the bus driver and she's been harassing the boy, making rude comments to him related to politics.

When the driver engaged the 12-year-old boy in a political conservation, he responded by saying that Obama is pro-abortion.

The bus driver allegedly said to the child, "Maybe your mom should have chosen abortion for you."

Understandably, this really upset the boy. Other kids on the bus verified the boy's account and are providing written statements.

The mom made her son's school aware of the situation. She also went to Durham School Service in New Berlin and spoke to Michael Bennett, the manager.

She learned the driver has been with the company for 20 years.

The mom told the people at Durham she was filing a complaint with the state for verbal abuse to a child.

They agreed that what the bus driver did was wrong but they first needed to talk with corporate resources in Chicago before proceeding.

Bennett called the boy's mom later and informed her the driver was suspended for the rest of the day and will no longer drive the bus for kids from the boy's school.

So, this offensive woman can be around public school kids but not Catholic school kids.

When Mark Belling contacted Bennett and asked him about the matter, Bennett would only say "no comment," being very dismissive.

A bus driver tells a boy his mother should have aborted him and the manager of the company makes no effort to apologize. That's terrible public relations.

I wonder why a 78-year-old is allowed to drive a bus full of kids, especially one that lashes out about politics to a child on her bus.

This sort of harassment is completely unacceptable. Telling a child his mother should have aborted him is way out of line.

This kind of abuse should not be tolerated. I'm glad the boy's mother brought this story to the public's attention via talk radio.

Taxpayers in New Berlin should know the sort of company Durham is and the sort of people employed by them. Parents should be concerned that their children are being exposed to someone like this abusive bus driver.

Can you imagine what the response would be if a school bus driver with conservative views harassed a child with an Obama sign in his yard?

At the very least, the company should issue an apology to the abused boy and his parents, as well as all the children served by Durham.


"Everything has changed, everything has changed in the last few years. Conservatives used to take it and we're not taking it anymore."

--ANDREW BREITBART

__________________

UPDATE: The bus driver is no longer employed by Durham.

Justin Earl, WISN, writes:

The boy's mother spoke to Vicki [McKenna] this morning and said she is continuing her quest, while someone from the Durham bus company called and said that the driver in question is no longer employed by their company. Whether she was fired or she quit is unknown, but this individual did a disservice to their profession by her behavior (which was corroborated by several students) and this is justice.

On his Wednesday program, Mark Belling gave his audience the update that the bus driver was fired. He spoke with Blaine Krage, Communications and PR Manager for Durham School Services.

The company issued a statement about the incident involving the bus driver.

Belling links to it.

Durham School Services statement on bus driver issue in New Berlin, Wisconsin:

“Durham School Services was notified by a parent on Tuesday, Oct. 9, that a bus driver in New Berlin, Wisconsin, engaged in a political debate with students the previous day and made an inappropriate remark to a child. Durham immediately removed the driver from service pending an investigation, which resulted in the termination of the driver. Prior to this incident, the driver had an incident free record while serving the community as a Durham school bus driver for more than 20 years. Notwithstanding, the driver’s remark was insensitive and inappropriate. Durham has apologized to the family. We remain strongly committed to the safe transportation of students in the community.”

This was the right move by Durham.

However, the company really had no other option.

Protecting the bus driver would have been bad for business.

Listen to Vicki McKenna's discussion with the mom of the harassed boy:



I am certain if a conservative bus driver harassed a child from a politically liberal home that story would be all over the local media. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wouldn't ignore it.

But a school bus driver, a Leftist, telling a child on her bus that he should have been aborted gets no attention from local mainstream news outlets.

That's inexcusable as well. It's an embarrassment.
__________________

UPDATE, October 11, 2012:

Milwaukee media decided it was finally time to cover the story.

Here's a report from FOX6 News:



This report says the bus driver is 81 years old. If that's accurate, the woman has aged three years in about three days. The mother of the harassed child It appears the bus company didn't know her actual age, originally saying she was 78.

I'm surprised that an 81-year-old woman is driving a school bus full of kids, especially someone as clearly unstable as this woman. I don't think it's safe.

In its report, FOX6 names the mother and the boy, Debbie Ann Hartlaub and Joey Hartlaub, and interviews them.

The reporter, Ashley Sears, also spoke to the bus driver by phone. Sears stated the bus driver "said there is a lot of confusion and said everyone is trusting the words of a little boy." Sears said the bus driver "didn't really understand what the uproar was."

TMJ4 also got around to covering the story, from a decidedly sympathetic angle on behalf of the bus driver.

TMJ4 interviewed the driver, noting the police are investigating death threats made to the bus company.

Carol, an 81-year-old bus driver, says the kids she was driving were bullying her about politics. But what she said to one of them was so shocking, the school bus company decided to fire her.

The kids on the bus were Romney supporters, the bus driver supports President Obama. But the fallout from this disturbance has been so heated, police are now investigating death threats.

Police officers are keeping a close eye on the Durham School Service Bus Company. The company started receiving death threats when the story of a blow up between one of their bus drivers and a student hit local talk radio.

The elderly bus driver was too afraid to appear on camera, but she's devastated.

The bus disturbance was between Carol, and Debbie Hartlaub's 12-year-old son. She's been driving him home from Holy Apostle School for the last four years. Hartlaub claims problems started two weeks ago when she put a Romney/Ryan sign on her front lawn.

"It started with him and another student chanting at the back of the bus. They were chanting Romney, Romney -- which is goofy and inappropriate -- but he's 12," says Debbie Hartlaub.

But Carol says the chanting was to taunt her, since the kids know she supports President Obama.

"And they kept it up, and kept it up. And they had other kids doing it too. And it got louder and louder and it just got to the point where I couldn't take this anymore, you know," says Carol.

"They were chanting Romney/Ryan. And as they did, the bus driver had other opinions about it and she decided to talk back," explains the kid's brother Michael Hartlaub.

And then, things got out of hand.

"My son said Obama is pro-abortion. And the bus driver said to him, well too bad your mom didn't choose abortion for you," claims Debbie Hartlaub.

TODAY'S TMJ4's Shelley Walcott: "Are you sorry Carol, that you said what you said to this boy?"

Carol: "Of course I am Shelley. I would have never said that. It's like I didn't have control over it. It was when they got me so upset already."

The bus driver is made out to be the victim in the TMJ4 report.

The poor old lady. She was being taunted by mean kids. She claims she would never say something like that to a child, EXCEPT SHE DID. Her excuse? She "didn't have control over it."

Debbie Hartlaub is made out to be rather cold and uncaring.

Hartlaub alerted the bus company. They fired Carol on Tuesday, after 23 years of service with no previous problems.

Carol is devastated.

TODAY'S TMJ4's Shelley Walcott: "What does this job mean to you?"

Carol: "Everything. It's my livelihood. It's my livelihood, Shelley."

"You know what? My son is my son. I could care less about her bus job being her livelihood," says Debbie Hartlaub.

Police are investigating the death threats made to the bus company. Debbie Hartlaub says she's reported Carol to the Waukesha County Health and Social Services for verbal abuse of a child.

It goes without saying, but I have to say it: Death threats are no way to respond to a situation like this.

I don't really know what TMJ4 means by "death threats made to the bus company." There were no specifics. Were certain employees of the company personally threatened?

Any and all threats should be investigated.

That said, it certainly sounds like TMJ4 is on the bus driver's side.

She was fired for defending herself. Poor Carol. She's devastated. She was harassed. She couldn't take the abuse.

Why did the kids on the bus even know that Carol was an Obama supporter? The bus driver should not be voicing her political opinions to the children. That in itself is inappropriate. I never knew the politics of any of my bus drivers.

I think she deserved to lose her job. A school bus driver should not be engaging in political discussion with the kids on the bus, let alone telling a child his mother should have aborted him.

It's inexcusable to lash out like that to a child in her care. She's the adult. She has to be able to deal with kids chanting "Romney, Romney" without flipping out. If she can't handle it, she's not fit to drive a school bus. She should have been concentrating on her driving and the safety of the children, not getting upset about a Romney yard sign.

If Carol is to be seen as a victim, then she must be considered a victim of her own lack of control and bad behavior.

Here's video of TMJ4's report: