This is an opinion column. Is anyone else sick and tired of this? I lost faith...

(The Center Square) – The University of Wisconsin is telling school leaders not to pick sides in political debates after adopting a new viewpoint-neutral policy at all of its campuses.

“The Board acknowledges that “different ideas in the university community will often and quite naturally conflict,” and stipulates that, in instances of such conflict, “It is for the members of the university community, not for the institution itself, to make those judgments for themselves,” the policy states. “In accordance with RPD 4-21, and in order to uphold and protect academic freedom, freedom of expression, and an environment in which competing ideas can be freely discussed and debated by all members of the university community, it is necessary that all official statements issued in the name of and on behalf of the institution are limited to matters that directly affect the operations and mission of the university, and that maintain viewpoint neutrality in any reference to a matter of political or social controversy.”

The new policy comes after last spring’s campus protests over the war in Gaza and accusations the chancellor at UW-Milwaukee sided with protesters against Jewish students.

“This policy applies to UW System Administration and all UW universities, including all units. It also applies to any person seeking to issue public statements in the name of and on behalf of any university or unit in their official capacity as an employee, or who could be reasonably perceived as issuing a public statement in the name of and on behalf of any university or unit under their purview,” the policy adds.

A UW spokesperson says the new policy is intended to create an opportunity for more people to speak their minds and is not aimed at limiting the political speech of UW faculty, staff members or students.

UW-Madison’s chancellor said when school leaders pick a side, no matter how well intended, they can crowd out other points of view.

“When an institutional leader — whether a chancellor, a dean, or a department chair — speaks in an apparently “official” way on an issue of controversy or concern, it may, however inadvertently, discourage free expression among the plurality of voices within our university. Such position statements may chill the broad exchange of ideas that is foundational to our enterprise,” Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin wrote in a statement.

Mnookin said she has written statements that take political sides, both at UW-Madison and at past universities.

But she now says that strategy is harmful.

“For our campus to best thrive as a center of curiosity, debate, and knowledge-creation, our institutional leadership should show restraint and limit, as much as possible, taking sides in these discussions. If UW–Madison is to be a place of ‘fearless sifting and winnowing’ by its faculty, students, and staff, then the leaders of the university, as a whole and of its units, must not favor the sifters over the winnowers and vice-versa,” Mnookin added.

The new policy went into effect immediately. UW leaders say it does not need to be approved by regents first.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday declared the Venezuelan gang, Tren De Aragua (TDA) as a foreign terrorist organization. Texas Department of Public Safety is aggressively targeting gang members who were released into country by Biden administration, he said.

“I will not allow them to use Texas as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens,” Abbott said at a news conference in Houston. “Texas is a law and order state and I will ensure that law enforcement has every tool they need to keep our community safe.”

Tren De Aragua is characterized as “MS13 on steroids,” Abbott said, referring to a violent El Salvadoran gang. It’s “the largest criminal organization in Venezuela … that has now expanded to a transnational criminal organization … dominating the international flow of migrants from South America through Mexico into the United States.”

They are known for brutal violence, murder, kidnapping, extortion, bribery and human and drug trafficking, Abbott said, linked to more than 100 law enforcement investigations nationwide. TDA gang members were “involved in the brutal attack and assault” of New York Police Department officers, the murder of Georgia medical student Laken Riley, and many others, he said.

“In other countries infiltrated by TDA, history has shown they first flood the countries with military age Venezuelan men. Next, they begin to establish a base of operations. Finally, TDA begins a spree of violent and bloody criminal activity. We've now seen the beginnings of these operations in the state of Texas.”

Abbott said wouldn't allow that to happen under his watch and officially declared TDA a foreign terrorist organization.

“We will bring the full weight of the government against the TDA,” he said. "The designation will enable Texas courts to halt their operations using civil asset forfeiture, take their property, and use enhanced criminal penalties to keep them in jail behind bars for longer periods of time.”

Texas DPS has launched a statewide operation to target TDA gang members, elevated it to a Tier 1 gang, the most violent, and is developing a database to track gang members, characterizations, and arrests. No such database currently exists at the local, state or federal level.

“TDA gangsters are like cockroaches,” Texas DPS Commander Steve McCraw said. “They multiply quickly, small intrusions into communities become infestations if not aggressively pursued. These Venezuelan thugs … are highly combative. They're violent, they’re certainly adaptable and they always are involved in criminal activities that first start with human smuggling … of migrants.” They’re involved in extortion, kidnappings, rape, assaults, and sex trafficking, he said. “Once they’re in place, they expand their criminal operations … pushing out other criminal gangs operating in that area.”

McCraw said Texas anti-gang centers already have ongoing criminal enterprise investigations against TDA. They are also asking federal partners to share information on the whereabouts of Venezuelan migrants. “That's very important, because unfortunately, you're either a TDA member or a victim of TDA. This information would be extremely helpful in identifying additional TDA members and their victims.”

He also said that some may “find it harsh using the terms ‘infestation’ and ‘cockroaches.’ But all you have to do is interview or spend some time with some victims … and you'll understand” how dangerous they are.

Abbott made the announcement after a judge ordered that a hotel in El Paso be shut down after it allegedly harbored violent illegal border crossers, including TDA gang members. Texas DPS special agents were involved with arrests as well as arresting 100 suspected TDA gang members involved in El Paso riots, Abbott said.

The U.S. Department of State has designated the gang, which began in the Tocorón Prison in Aragua, Venezuela, as a transnational criminal organization. It’s offering up to $12 million in rewards for information leading to the arrests and/or convictions of its leaders who are believed to be in Columbia and Venezuela.

TDA gang members have recently become entrenched in major cities nationwide, Abbott and other law enforcement officials argue, because after illegally entering the country, they were released into the U.S. because of Biden administration policies. Since fiscal 2021 through July, they total nearly 856,000, the greatest number in U.S. history.

Another 115,000 Venezuelans were granted parole through a program created by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The overwhelming majority are single military age adults, according to CBP data. The parole program has been directly linked to perpetrators committing violent crimes against Americans, including TDA gang members, who are being arrested nationwide, The Center Square reported.

In Texas, law enforcement officials have arrested more than 3,000 Venezuelan illegal border crossers; more than 200 are wanted, Abbott said.

Federal authorities in Florida on Monday filed two gun charges against the suspect in what...

The perimeter around the Florida golf course where a gunman with an AK-47 style rifle was perched while former President Donald Trump played nearby was not secure because Trump isn't the sitting president, authorities said.

The FBI is investigating the incident as the second assassination attempt on Trump's life since July. The suspect is in custody.

During a news conference after the gunman was spotted pointing the nuzzle of the rifle through a chain-link fence toward the course, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the suspect was able to get within 300 to 500 yards of Trump because the former president and 2024 Republican presidential nominee doesn't get the same level of security as a sitting president.

"Well, you got to understand, the golf course is surrounded by shrubbery, so when somebody gets into the shrubbery, they're pretty much out of sight, all right," Bradshaw said after a question about how the gunman could get so close. "And at this level that he is at right now, he's not the sitting president. If he was, we would have [the area around the] golf course surrounded. But because he's not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible. So I would imagine that the next time he comes at a golf course, there'll probably be a little bit more people around the perimeter. But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done. They provided exactly what the protection should have been, and their agent did a fantastic job."

Sunday's incident occurred two months after Trump was the target of an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. Trump was grazed by a bullet in his ear in the Pennsylvania shooting just two days before the start of the Republican National Convention. The suspect in the earlier assassination attempt was shot ad killed at the scene.

The Secret Service was widely criticized for its lax security efforts after the Pennsylvania attempt. Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the U.S. Secret Service, resigned under heavy pressure.

(The Center Square) – There is more criticism from the Wisconsin capitol after Milwaukee Public Schools missed another deadline on another state-required report.

Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, said MPS missed last month’s deadline to turn its District Aid Certification into the state’s Department of Public Instruction.

“This was the very first step under the agreed-to Corrective Action Plan and they missed it,” Wanggaard said in a statement. “MPS and State Superintendent Jill Underly agreed that submitting this report on time and accurate was ‘high-priority and high-urgency.’”

MPS agreed to that Corrective Action Plan after the city’s schools failed to turn in two other required financial reports last year.

So far, the failure to file those reports, as well as other reporting failures with MPS’ federal Head Start program, have cost Milwaukee Schools $17 million. MPS has said it could lose as much as $50 million because of its financial reporting problems and their fallout.

Wanggaard said this is not just a Milwaukee problem.

“MPS is so big, and so heavily state-aided, its financial decisions have a huge impact on schools statewide,” Wanggaard added. “This literally impacts every single district in Wisconsin. Superintendent Underly must impose consequences on MPS. She can’t just ignore the problem like she did before Milwaukee’s $256 million referendum that hurt most every district in the state.”

Records show the state superintendent knew about Milwaukee’s late reports, and the looming financial penalties the district faced, before voters cast their ballots on that referendum.

Wanggaard said Underly now needs to do something about MPS’ problems.

“I don’t care if MPS is one of 100 schools that haven’t filed their Aid Certification yet. MPS is the one under the Corrective Action Plan,” Wanggaard said. “Deadlines are deadlines. Without consequences, there’s no reason to meet a deadline. Everyone knows that.”

MPS has said it is working to properly complete and submit its late reports.

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(The Center Square) – A state lawmaker wants a full accounting of how the University of Wisconsin System has thousands of more administrators now than it did 30 years ago, despite having fewer teachers.

State Rep. David Steffen told The Center Square on Wednesday the UW system has hired 6,000 administrators over the past 30 years.

“What are the students and the taxpayers getting as a result of that investment?” Steffen asked. “That becomes very difficult, especially when you dig deeper to realize that it really isn't an increase in the faculty, the in-classroom personnel. These are all ancillary, secondary, non-essential type of additions to the head count.”

Steffen pointed to a memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau that showed in the 1992-93 school year, the UW had 26,360 full time employees. In the 2022-23 school year, the UW’s headcount grew to 33,538.

The additions are all out of the classroom. The LFB’s memo shows the faculty headcount in 1992-93 was 7,181. That number fell to 5,729 in 2022-23.

“How are all of these ancillary and secondary staff positions providing a better product?” Steffen asked.

Staffen said he is pressing ahead with his questions because the University of Wisconsin is asking for nearly $1 billion more in the next state budget.

Steffen said lawmakers and taxpayers need to know how the university is spending the $7.5 billion it currently has before lawmakers can give the school more money.

“So, we have an entity that obviously has not applied the same amount of effort to providing better services at a lower cost with less people. They are the only entity in the world that appears to have taken that approach,” Steffen said. “And that's unfortunate for the taxpayers, especially when you are looking to make an ask at the same time for $855 million dollars more in your upcoming budget.”

University leaders say they need the $855 million more to avoid a tax increase, and to keep the university competitive with other colleges and universities.

Gov. Tony Evers is expected to include the university’s request in his proposed budget.

Steffen said he’s shared the LFB information on the rise in administrative staffers with other lawmakers, including the legislature’s committees on higher education, and the Legislative Study Committee that is looking into the UW’s future.

“This is the sort of issue that needs to receive a tremendous amount of attention. I'm glad that we have this now in September, so that for the next four or five months before the governor's budget is presented, we can begin that communication with the university to make sure that it's clear to them we need better justification for your existing funding in any new funding increases,” Steffen added. “No longer can the response be ‘Give us the money because we're the UW system. Period.’.”

(The Center Square) – Following nearly a year of investigations into political donation platform ActBlue, Republican Rep. Bryan Steil has introduced legislation he says will increase transparency and prevent illegal straw donations in online political donations.

The Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations Act, or SHIELD Act, would prohibit political campaigns from accepting contributions from gift cards or other prepaid credit cards, and require them to obtain and verify the CVV of all online credit and debit donations. It would also require political campaigns to get the affirmative consent of donors before they make a recurring contribution.

“American elections should always be free from foreign interference,” Steil said Monday. “The SHIELD Act will take a crucial next step in blocking foreign funding in our elections and certifying that every political contribution received is actually coming from the individual whose name is on the contribution. By passing the SHIELD Act, we will increase integrity and American trust in our elections.”

Steil launched a probe into ActBlue’s donor verification policies last year amid his concerns the organization was allowing foreign and fraudulent contributions.

Accusations of ActBlue violating or skirting federal campaign finance laws included laundering foreign contributions through prepaid gift cards, and accepting hundreds of donations for $2.50 from the same individual. Unlike many other online fundraising platforms, ActBlue does not require a CVV number for all donor transactions.

In its response to a November letter from Steil, ActBlue revealed it manually reviews contributions that indicate a foreign country in the address information, uses an external fraud prevention tool on its website, and requires CVVs for some transactions.

“Traditionally, CVV numbers have addressed fraud in transactions where material goods or services are provided in order to prevent chargebacks for stolen goods, which is not the case with political contributions,” the organization said. “Still, we currently require and use CVV on many transactions across the site, and have been in the process of increasing coverage of CVV to improve the donor experience.”

During the presidential debate on Tuesday night, Vice President Kamala Harris deflected when answering questions on the ongoing border crisis.

When asked “why did the administration wait until six months before the election to act” on the border crisis, and if she would have done anything differently from President Joe Biden, Harris didn’t answer the question. She deflected by repeating the claim she’s previously made that she prosecuted transnational criminal organizations when she was the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017.

“I'm the only person on this stage who has prosecuted transnational criminal organizations for the trafficking of guns drugs and human beings,” she said.

She also repeated a claim that she would sign a U.S. Senate border bill that went nowhere in the Democratic controlled Senate.

“Some of the most conservative members of the United States Senate came up with the border security bill which I supported,” she said. “That bill would have put 1,500 more border agents on the border to help those folks who are working there right now overtime trying to do their job.”

While a U.S. senator, Harris opposed increasing funding to hire thousands of new Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and advocated for eliminating ICE detention facilities, which house the most violent criminals, The Center Square reported. She has also more than once called for abolishing ICE altogether.

The Senate border bill would have expanded current failed policies, critics claim, codify mass migration and nullify state sovereignty.

Harris also repeated a claim that former President Donald Trump “got on the phone, called up some folks in Congress, and said, ‘kill the bill.’ And you know why? Because he'd prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.”

The bill failed because many Senate Democrats didn’t support it and their campaigns began distancing themselves from Biden-Harris border policies, which the majority of Americans oppose, according to numerous polls.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, also said it was dead on arrival. He called on the Senate to pass what he, and others say, is the strongest border security bill, HR 2, which the Senate refused to consider.

When asked about being appointed “to address the root causes of migration,” she did not cite one example of a root cause or what she did to address it, fix it or remedy it.

Nor did she address the record more than 12.5 million foreign nationals who illegally entered the country under her watch, including two million who evaded capture. They total more than the individual populations of 45 states. If illegal border crossers were a state, they’d be the sixth most populous state ahead of Illinois, The Center Square reported.

Nor did she address the record number of known or suspected terrorists who’ve been apprehended attempting to enter the U.S., more than 1,700 since fiscal 2021, the greatest number in U.S. history.

When asked about her flip-flopping on issues like building a border wall, she repeated the claim that “her values haven’t changed.” This is after The Center Square and other news outlets fact checked her opposition to border wall construction and funding for years.

At no point during the debate did she outline her plan for border security, deportation of violent criminals, or express condolences to Americans whose families have been murdered and raped by criminal foreign nationals who were released into the country under her watch. Biden-Harris parole programs have been directly linked to violent criminals who illegally entered and remained in the country who then went on to commit violent crimes against Americans, The Center Square has reported.

Earlier this year when endorsing Trump for president, the brother of Maryland resident Rachel Morin, who was raped and murdered by a Venezuelan illegally in the country, said, “My sister's death was preventable. The monster arrested for killing Rachel entered the US unlawfully after killing a woman in El Salvador. Joe Biden and his designated ‘border czar’ Kamala Harris opened our borders to him and others like him, empowering them to victimize the innocent. Yet to this day, we have not heard from Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. They never apologized.

“When Rachel was killed, President Trump called my family to offer his condolences. He wanted to meet with us. He cared. That is leadership. And we need real leadership back in the White House.”

Houston angel mom mother Alexis Nungaray, who also endorsed Trump, said she never heard from Harris even after she came to a Houston fundraiser after her daughter was strangled to death by two Venezuelan men illegally in the country. They were released into the country because of Biden-Harris policies, she said, which had to change.

“We're losing very innocent people to heinous crimes that shouldn't be happening in the first place."

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