Monthly Archives: April, 2022

(The Center Square) – A federal judge on Monday struck down the Biden administration's controversial mask mandate for planes, airports and trains.

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle called the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) mandate “unlawful” for overstepping its authority and not following normal rulemaking procedures.

"But the mandate exceeded the CDC's statutory authority, improperly invoked the good cause exception to notice and comment rulemaking, and failed to adequately explain its decisions," she wrote in the ruling.

Critics of the mandate praised the judge’s ruling. They had argued it was not necessary and conflicted with the Biden administration’s decision to lift Title 42, a Trump-era immigration rule that allowed border agents to immediately expel illegal immigrants to slow the spread of COVID into the U.S.

“The federal district judge correctly held that that CDC transportation mask mandate was unlawful and violated the Administrative Procedure Act," Texas Public Policy Foundation Executive Director and General Counsel Rob Henneke said. "The Court’s order vacates the CDC Mask Mandate, which will be effective for all persons nationwide as soon as final judgment is entered by the Clerk of the Court. While the Court’s order stops the mask mandate for now, TPPF’s lawsuit representing Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne continues to litigate the underlying constitutional issues.”

(The Center Square) – Next week’s hearing on a medical marijuana program for the state has already upset many of the Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol who’ve pushed for legal marijuana in the state for years.

The Senate Committee on Insurance, Licensing and Forestry on Monday scheduled a hearing for SB 1034, which would open a path for Wisconsin to treat marijuana as medicine. That hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday, April 20th.

“In one of the more bold acts of cynicism I've seen in awhile, WI Republicans have scheduled a hearing for their terrible, discriminatory medical cannabis bill – for 4/20 of all days,” Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said on Twitter on Monday.

420 has been part of marijuana lore for years.

Larson is not alone in failing to find any humor in the scheduled hearing.

“Republicans are all talk and no action when it comes to legalization efforts in Wisconsin,” Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison, said Monday.

Agard is perhaps one of the biggest supporters of legal marijuana in the state legislature. She’s been pushing for full legalization for years.

“For the second straight session, legislative Republicans have introduced a late session, politically motivated bill to try and fool the people of Wisconsin into thinking they are genuine about legalization,” Agard said. “Having a public hearing after session has already been gaveled-out is a cynical political ploy that gives people false hope about the prospects of this legislation.”

Wisconsin lawmakers largely wrapped-up their spring session at the end of February. They are not expected to take any substantial action until after November’s election.

Republican Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk, who will lead the hearing said what matters is that Wisconsin is taking its first step toward joining 37 other states in allowing sick people to use marijuana as medicine.

“Whether you think the bill goes too far, or not far enough, what’s important is that we all come together to have an open, honest and respectful discussion about moving this idea forward,” Felzkowski said Monday.

There are 18 states, plus Guam and the District of Columbia that have legalized recreational marijuana. Wisconsin’s neighbors Illinois and Michigan are on that list.

(The Center Square) – President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that his administration will allow a new kind of gasoline to be used nationwide this summer in response to elevated gas prices.

The White House said that the Environmental Protection Agency administrator will allow the use of E15 gasoline, “gasoline that uses a 15 percent ethanol blend,” as a cheaper alternative. The EPA will issue an emergency waiver to allow E15 that will take effect June 1 and end Sept. 15, though the fuel will only be available at a small fraction of gas stations.

"We're not just leaning on our reserves or our allies and partners to help bring down gas prices," Biden said in his remarks in Menlo, Iowa. “We are leaning on you, our farmers, our biofuel refiners.”

The news comes as Americans around the country continue to struggle with higher gas prices. According to AAA, the average national gas price is $4.10, up from $2.86 the same time last year.

Meanwhile, rising inflation has made all kinds of goods and services markedly more expensive since Biden took office.

Federal pricing data released Tuesday showed inflation has risen at the fastest rate in 40 years with energy costs leading the way. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Price Index, a leading marker of inflation, showing prices increased an additional 1.2% in March, contributing to an 8.5%t rise in the past 12 months.

“Increases in the indexes for gasoline, shelter, and food were the largest contributors to the seasonally adjusted all items increase,” BLS said. “The gasoline index rose 18.3 percent in March and accounted for over half of the all items monthly increase; other energy component indexes also increased. The food index rose 1.0 percent and the food at home index rose 1.5 percent.”

Biden acknowledged those increases and said his plan would help by increasing the fuel supply.

“E15 is about ten cents a gallon cheaper than E10, and some gas stations offer an even [bigger] discount than that,” Biden said. “But many of the gas stations that sell it … are required to stop selling in the summer.”

Critics, though, say Biden’s announcement will lead to an increase in food prices, which have soared and are expected to continue to rise this year. Corn, used to make ethanol, is used in a range of processed foods.

“The Biden administration seems to have forgotten that there is a real threat of a global food shortage due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” said Katie Tubb, an economic expert at the Heritage Foundation. “Countries all over the world, including the U.S., need to identify ways to increase food production. The RFS already leads to crops, such as corn and soy, being planted with an eye toward being used for fuel instead of meeting food (or feed) demand. Now the administration would be making this problem even worse.”

Critics also argue the plan does not address the problem long-term and point out the EPA has stated in the past that fuel waivers “cannot be issued to address concerns regarding the price of fuel.”

“Recent increases in gasoline pump prices are linked to increased crude oil prices and rising geopolitical volatility,” said Ron Chittim, vice president of Downstream Policy at the American Petroleum Institute. “Americans are looking for long-term solutions, not short-term political steps that fail to acknowledge the logistical, legal and compatibility constraints that limit the ability of E15 to influence prices at the pump today. We recognize that E15 will become a bigger piece of the market in the future, but the fact is this fuel is only available at two percent of retail stations.

“The best way to ensure Americans have access to the affordable and reliable energy they need is to promote policies that incentivize U.S. production and send a clear message that America is open for energy investment,” he added.

(The Center Square) – A working paper that examined how U.S. states responded to the COVID-19 pandemic found that states with strict lockdowns and other COVID-19 policies did little to prevent COVID-19 deaths, but those economic restrictions and school closures proved costly in other ways.

"School closures may ultimately prove to be the most costly policy decision of the pandemic era in both economic and mortality terms," University of Chicago economist Casey Mulligan and fellow authors Stephen Moore and Phil Kerpen of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity wrote in the paper.

"One study found that school closures at the end of the previous 2019-2020 school year are associated with 13.8 million years of life lost. An [National Institutes of Health] analysis found that life expectancy for high school graduates is 4 to 6 years longer than high school dropouts," the authors wrote. "The [Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development] estimates that learning losses from pandemic era school closures could cause a 3% decline in lifetime earnings, and that a loss of just one third of a year of learning has a long-term economic impact of $14 trillion."

The report noted that "Unlike mortality or economic outcomes, closing public schools was entirely under the control of policymakers. Almost all private schools were open."

The National Bureau of Economic Research working paper looked at how states fared on health outcomes, economic performance and impact on education. It then ranked the combined performance of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Utah, Nebraska, Vermont, Montana, South Dakota, Florida, New Hampshire, Maine, Arkansas and Idaho ranked in the top 10. At the bottom were Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Nevada, Maryland, Illinois, California, New Mexico, New York, the District of Columbia and New Jersey.

The authors used unemployment data and gross domestic product to measure economic performance. For education, they used the Burbio cumulative in-person instruction percentage for the complete 2020-2021 school year, with hybrid instruction weighted half. To measure mortality, the authors used two measures: COVID-19-associated deaths reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and all-cause excess mortality.

"The correlation between health and economy scores is essentially zero, which suggests that states that withdrew the most from economic activity did not significantly improve health by doing so," the authors wrote.

One notable exception was Hawaii.

"It ranks last on the economic index and sixth from last on schooling. As of March 2022, it ranks first on health. Understood in the context of island nations such as Australia and New Zealand, the experience of [Hawaii] suggests that island locations can, by sustaining significant economic losses, reduce mortality for a year or more. (Australia and New Zealand saw higher outbreaks in later stages of the virus spread.) Interestingly, Maine opened its schools at almost triple the rate as Hawaii did and was able to achieve a health score almost as high," the authors wrote.

Mulligan, with the University of Chicago Department of Economics, said states that didn't follow CDC guidelines performed better than those that did. More broadly, he said the research shows that federalism worked by allowing states to respond to the pandemic individually.

"It would have been a shame if [former President Donald] Trump had said 'no lockdowns,' " he said.

Federal agencies such as the CDC and U.S. Department of Education should have played more informational roles during the pandemic. In particular, Mulligan said the Department of Education should have gathered data from private schools to share with public schools about best practices for operating safely. The CDC could have done the same.

"Pandemic mortality was greater in states where obesity, diabetes, and old age were more prevalent before the pandemic. Economic activity was less in states that had been intensive in, especially, accommodations and food," the authors concluded. "Still, much residual variation in both mortality and economic activity remains even after controlling for these factors because the 50 states and DC took very different approaches to confronting the COVID-19 pandemic."

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin should soon have an answer about ballot drop boxes and just who can return absentee ballots.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday morning in the case Richard Teigen v. Wisconsin Elections Commission.

It is the challenge to the Elections Commission’s guidance to local election managers that voters can drop off their ballots, or ballots from other voters at drop boxes.

“[State law] says there are only two ways to return an absentee ballot, you mail it or you deliver it in-person to the clerk. And a drop box is neither of those, which is why they’re not allowed, ” Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty senior counsel Luke Berg told The Center Square. “But the other side says ‘Well, ya know it doesn’t say clearly that you can’t have a drop box.’”

WILL is arguing the case.

Wisconsin has been waiting for a final decision on drop boxes and absentee ballots for months.

A Waukesha County judge back in January ruled drop boxes are not allowed under state law, but the case was appealed and in February the Appeals Court allowed counties and cities to use them during the February primary. The Wisconsin Supreme Court then banned them for the April election, pending their decision in the case.

Though a handful of cities, including Milwaukee, continued to use drop boxes during the April election as well.

Berg said Wednesday’s argument should settle the question once and for all.

“This should be the final decision from the court on both ballot drop boxes and ballot harvesting. We should get an answer on both of those questions,” Berg explained. “Now, the other side has some arguments as to why the court shouldn’t answer those questions now. They say [WILL doesn't] have standing, and we should have gone a different procedural route. But I highly doubt the court will go that route.”

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court has a conservative majority on paper, but swing Justice Brian Hagedorn has often ruled with the court’s liberals. Hagedorn sided with the conservatives on the most recent ballot drop box ruling.

The hearing comes as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Tuesday that communities handled ballot drop boxes and absentee ballots differently during last week’s election.

The Court’s Ruling could also impact an Election Day challenge from Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, tclaiming Racine’s decision to allow voters to return other people’s ballots essentially disenfranchised some voters in the county.

The high court will hear arguments in the case Wednesday morning.

(The Center Square) – It looks like University of Wisconsin schools won’t be asking students about free speech after all.

On Wednesday, the professor who organized the survey told the UW System he wants to wait a while.

Timothy Shiell with the Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovation at UW-Stout sent an email to the UW’s new president, explaining that he is going to wait until the fall to send the survey to all 13 UW campuses.

“Given current circumstances, I must delay the launch of the ‘Student Perceptions of Campus Free Speech, Viewpoint Diversity, and Self-Censorship’ survey launch until Fall 2022,” Shiell wrote. “The extra time will enable us to answer fully and accurately the avalanche of questions arising and lay the groundwork for a successful survey.”

The survey was supposed to ask students about speech on campus, and whether students felt there were any problems.

“It is essential that the survey provide the quantity and quality of data that helps inform the public discussion of an issue of state and national significance,” Shiell added.

UW-Whitewater Chancellor Jim Henderson resigned earlier this week because of the survey.

Henderson said he not only questioned the political motivations of the survey, but also questioned the decision from UW leaders to double down on the survey.

“As stated in my resignation letter, it was not an issue of the environment at UW-Whitewater that led to my resignation, but rather one of understanding that the integrity of the agreement about decision-making and the role of the chancellors in that process had been broken,” Henderson said in a statement earlier this week.

The UW System said when it announced the survey earlier this week that the survey would attempt to answer the following questions:

What do students know about First Amendment free speech rights?How much do they value these rights?How much do students value viewpoint diversity?Do they perceive problems in viewpoint diversity at their campus?Do students self-censor? If so, why do they self-censor?Have students witnessed or experienced formal sanctions or punishment for constitutionally protected expression?To what extent do student perceptions vary with demographic factors such as their political party affiliation, gender, and race/ethnicity?

There is no word when the survey will be sent to UW’s campuses.

(The Center Square) – Kenosha County’s newly elected county executive says connecting with people – and connecting with their biggest worry – helped sweep her into office.

Samantha Kerkman spoke with News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber Friday morning. She credited her victory, the first for a Republican in Kenosha County, to a grassroots campaign and listening to voters who said they want to feel safe.

“It’s been two years, and it’s been really difficult dealing with COVID and then we had the riots and civil unrest down here. People have been through so much,” Kerkman explained. “The issue of public safety resonated with everybody. It didn’t matter if you were on the east side of the county or the west side of the county, public safety hands down was that key issue.”

Parts of the city of Kenosha burned during the riots that followed Jacob Blake’s shooting in August of 2020. The violence didn’t end until after Kyle Rittenhouse killed two people and wounded a third.

Kerkman said people wanted to feel safe again.

“If you don’t feel safe in your home, you don’t want to stay here, and you’re not going to want to raise your family here, and work here, and retire here,” Kerkman added.

It wasn’t all the Kenosha riots from two years ago. Kerkman said there’s been an uptick in violence over the past two years, including home invasions and shootings.

Kenosha County is seen as a bellwether for the state. Voters there went for every Democratic presidential candidate from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump. But the county swung for Trump in both 2016 and 2020.

Kerkman said her victory was not part of a sudden "red-flip," but was a result of years of voters shifting their party loyalties.

“Back in the day, Paul Ryan got elected in 1998 and I got elected in 2000,” Kerkman told Weber. “We had a Republican sheriff, Dave Best, and everybody else had been a Democrat. But it was slowly moving that direction.”

Kerkman is currently a state representative from Salem Lakes. She said she will take some time to transition from the State Assembly to the county. By law, she has 60 days to leave her Assembly seat.

(The Center Square) – It appears that a lot of Wisconsin parents are not happy with their local school boards.

Conservative and Republicans candidates for school boards did well in their races Tuesday, many of them new challengers who unseated longtime incumbents.

“Last night was a great night for parents looking to take back control of their children’s education and for liberty-oriented candidates generally,” Eric Bott with Americans for Prosperity in Wisconsin told the Center Square.

The Wisconsin Republican Party said party-backed and conservative candidates won two-thirds of the races where they were active.

“Conservatives fought and won across the state, including in swing and deep blue areas,” Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Paul Farrow said on Wednesday. “We are proud of the slate of conservative candidates who stepped up to the plate across Wisconsin, as they’ve proven that when we stand up and fight back against the far-left takeover of our local governments, we win.”

In southeast Wisconsin, conservative candidates won all of their school board races in Waukesha, New Berlin, and Cedarburg. Conservatives also did well in the Fox Valley and in northeast Wisconsin.

But it was not a total victory.

Three conservative candidates for school board in Eau Claire failed to win.

Challengers Nicole Everson, Melissa Winter, and Corey Cronrath lost by at least 1,000 votes each. The three gained national attention from bringing attention to Eau Claire School’s policy that states parents have to “earn” the right to know their child’s gender at school.

Progressive and liberal candidates also did very well in Dane County, while Milwaukee remained a deep-blue city.

Still, conservatives are optimistic heading into the November election.

“Last night proved that our grassroots operation is battle-tested and well-positioned to carry this momentum into November,” Farrow said.

“Conservatives have momentum heading into November but it’s premature to call it a red-wave,” Bott added. “Hard work and grassroots activism catapulted many candidates to victory last night. Conservatives will need to up their ground game to repeat these victories in the fall.”

(The Center Square) – It’s being seen as one of the biggest upsets in Wisconsin, and possibly a bellwether for the rest of the state.

Voters in Kenosha County on Tuesday elected their first ever Republican County chairman in the first local election since the 2020 riots that burned parts of the city of Kenosha to the ground.

Samantha Kerkman beat Clerk of Courts Rebecca Matoska-Mentink by nearly 800 votes.

“Liberals and Tony Evers let Kenosha burn,” Republican candidate for governor Rebecca Kleefisch said on Twitter Tuesday night. “Now voters are taking back control and putting the county in a capable set of hands.”

Wisconsin’s Republican Party said Republicans flipped the county board in Kenosha as well.

“Like all Wisconsinites, residents of Kenosha are fed up with the failed policies of Tony Evers, Leftists and the political class in general,” Republican candidate for governor Kevin Nicholson told The Center Square Wednesday. “I applaud every single parent and citizen who stepped up to run for local office. It’s time to get our society back on track – and last night showed that we will be successful in November as we charge forward to win the hearts and minds of Wisconsinites."

Kenosha is a swing county in Wisconsin. It went for every Democratic presidential candidate from Jimmy Carter through Barack Obama, but the county broke for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. Trump won Kenosha County by just 255 votes in 2016, and he won by nearly 3,000 votes in 2020.

Kenosha, of course, jumped on to the national radar in August of 2020 when crowds of rioters burned parts of the city down following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. The violence in Kenosha only stopped after Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed two men and wounded a third.

Prosecutors cleared the officer involved in Blake’s shooting. A jury last year found Rittenhouse not guilty on all charges for the shootings during the city’s last night of violence.