Funny—when I’d file open records requests with Milwaukee County to look into the communications of the Walker administration, the county always provided them for no cost. In fact, just a few weeks ago, the county mailed me a disc with more than 2,000 pages of documents sent to and from Walker’s campaign and county emails. Not a penny was charged. Not even for postage. But suddenly the pr...

 I sometimes surprise people by telling them right-wing radio talk show host Charlie Sykes is a friend of mine, because he is. We’ve known each other for

 For years, fair-minded radio listeners have complained about right-wing talkers’ near monopoly on Milwaukee’s airwaves. Listeners were frustrated that their calls weren’t taken; that candidates

Businesses create jobs, not the government, right? That’s why Gov. Scott Walker wants to turn the state Commerce Department into a public-private corporation with private-sector leadership and “private-sector jobs” paid with $82 million from the public. Doesn’t that concept sound familiar? It should. In fact, Wisconsin had tried to create this sort of public...

The Shepherd honored Mark Belling as our hero of the week for his brave show of bipartisan support of Gov. Jim Doyle. Here�s how the Expresso pundit put it: Talk about a long shot: WISN-AM radio host and former conservative Mark Belling cast aside his right-wing ideology and announced his intentions to help Gov. Jim Doyle reach the winner�s circle in the race for W...

Celebrate World Fair Trade Day and support more than 30 socially conscious retailers by participating in the second annual Milwaukee Fair Trade Crawl on Saturday, May 9. The Milwaukee Fair Trade Coalition-sponsored event kicks off at 10:30 a.m. at the Outpost in Bay View, where Mayor Tom Barrett and the...

“To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” —President Barack Obama, during his Inaugural Address