Hello,
Below is a letter to the editor regarding a pair of stories in this week's SE.

Regards,
Nicholas Katers

Prison, Rape Victim Mistreatment Telling of Problems in Wisconsin
Two stories in last week's addition show the disturbing inhumanity within our local and state government. The discussion of the Republican blockage of the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Act earlier this month shows the GOP's concern with specious moral arguments. I find it reprehensible that the head of our State Assembly would have vulnerable rape victims forego treatment due to the possibility that a pregnancy may occur. It is time for Republican Party rank-and-file members to vote out reactionaries like Mike Huebsch and lackies like Jim Ott and Jeff Stone. There have to be a few politicians (Republican, Democrat, or otherwise) out there who don't have their noses in the Bible.

I was equally disturbed by Joel McNally's article on the condition of medium-security prisons in Milwaukee County. It is barbaric to use dogs to deal with any prisoner whether are waiting to be tried or are currently serving their sentence. The fact that a fire could engulf an entire facility without attracting notice shows that our local and state government lack oversight for its most basic functions. I will head off some criticism by people without sympathy for prisoners or victims of rape by saying that these critics would flip to the other side of the issue in an instant if they spent one moment in the other person's shoes.

Nicholas Katers
Franklin