WPR Rebuttal: Recent Episodes
WPR Rebuttal
WPR Rebuttal provides alternative viewpoints to stories covered by Wisconsin Public Radio. WPR Rebuttal is not owned or endorsed by Wisconsin Public Radio.
After a summer "drought" of podcast content, WPR Rebuttal gives a long-awaited update.
Just before Labor Day weekend brings summer to a close, WPR Rebuttal releases its "end-of-summer special," a short episode to announce its upcoming autumn schedule and to re-orient new and returning audiences alike.
Because today is also host SenatorJPO's birthday, he briefly reflects on what this milestone signifies to him, versus what ego-ethicists might say.
Enjoy this episode -- and tune-in for the "fall season" of WPR Rebuttal!
This late-night WPR Rebuttal broadcast continues the July-4th tradition started by WPR Rebuttal in 2016: Every American Independence Day, SenatorJPO sings the American National Anthem!
Why? Because cross-over appeal is the bread-and-butter for getting new faces, eyes, and ears onto the central thesis of WPR Rebuttal: Just how sorely college is a school-to-work scam!
SenatorJPO sings the Star-Spangled Banner momentarily -- before getting a few hours' rest and then cleaning restrooms in one of Wisconsin's busiest parks for 8 hours. (He's a patriotic parks cleaner.)
Mop Man with a Master's Degree? Present! (And no-longer unsung.)
As announced in our May 30th podcast, SenatorJPO's work schedule means he won't be able to host or produce WPR Rebuttal podcasts on a consistent schedule. (Monthly seems to be the new podcast frequency, rather-than the previously adhered-to weekly format.)
Thankfully for fans, SenatorJPO stops-by to let us know how he's been. In a sober, not-too-intimate interview, SenatorJPO assures us he's in this WPR Rebuttal project for the long haul -- if only to reform the Higher Education Hucksters, while holding-down dead-end jobs that make him a Mop Man with a Master's Degree!
Such occupational disappointment fuels continued involvement in this podcast, despite such logistical obstacles as working 7 days-a-week.
[NOTE: This early-early-morning episode arose because this summer, SenatorJPO won't be able to podcast during normal hours; hence, the "night owl" hours.]
After a more-than-6-month jobless stint, SenatorJPO finally gets his "consolation prize" of a job!
And he's working for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WI DNR), no-less.
Unfortunately, that job is cleaning toilets in a State Park; it's full-time during the summer; and the commute is about 90 minutes round-trip.
This seriously cuts-into times when SenatorJPO can host the WPR Rebuttal podcast.
Furthermore, BlogTalkRadio (BTR) forbids freemium users from starting an episode during "prime time," which BTR considers to be 5:00 p.m. through 10:00 p.m. Central Standard Time.
This ultimately means the old schedule of "Thursdays at 12:30 p.m. CST" will no-longer be possible.
However, the WPR Rebuttal podcast -will- continue -- just not with as-many opportunities to call-in live (at-least not for daytime folks), due to the irregularity and unpredictability of my work schedule;* and not necessarily weekly, due to fatigue from cleaning bathrooms 40 hours per week.
(*Even when there's a consistent schedule printed-out, it is subject-to-change; so it's best-not-to promise any particular broadcast time.)
On the bright side, listeners will continue to download and/or stream episodes after they air...
...And most Rebuttal listeners already do this instead-of live-streaming; which means this change is more impactful to our host than it is for most of our listeners.
Writing from Manhattan on May 23, 2018, U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald determined U.S. President Donald Trump must keep his Tweets viewable to all Twitter users around the world, by virtue of the world's right-to-read* what the President announces on Twitter.
(*As-opposed-to, "The world's right-to-know the gist of his Tweets from secondhand sources," such as the mass media.)
Although the judge did not outright say, "The world must be able to see your Tweets," she implied it by saying, "You cannot block anyone on Twitter," instead-of more-narrowly writing, "The U.S. President cannot block any American citizens on Twitter."
This begs the question: How does the world have a right-to-directly-see presidential Tweets, despite the plaintiffs' argument resting-upon the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, to-which the non-American parts of the world are not presumably bound?
Judge Buchwald presumes that what the U.S. President announces publicly is of such paramount importance, his Tweets can possibly impact everyone around the world; and therefore, those affected, i.e., the entire world, should be-able to read his Tweets, even if they are not U.S. citizens.
The "silver lining" in the court decision is that President Trump can still "mute" users while respecting their constitutional right-to-know.
This distinction is the important because it maintains the right to a clutter-free "Notifications" feed: Tweets by a user who is muted, but not blocked, can still be read by the person who muted him-or-her; however, those Tweets will not appear in one's own "Notifications" feed.
Finally, it is foreseeable that the right-to-know an elected official's Tweets will extend to lower-level jurisdictions. (WPR Rebuttal will follow-up on this.)
Well-known for hosting the "WPR Rebuttal" podcast, SenatorJPO winds-himself-up with socially-scathing social-media comments in the public sphere and winds-himself-down with iconoclastic imagery that he assembles in Photoshop.
Of course, such a workflow can become a chore unto itself -- and SenatorJPO shares what his "typical" Photoshop session is like!
Callers may contribute their wisdom as-well by calling (929) 477-3965.
A "choice" curation of SenatorJPO's photoplastic handiwork follows:
Animated, square advertisement for the "No Future" cohort of college graduates: https://i.imgur.com/KWmghNs.gifv
-If you're highly educated but have no future, then this is the definitive meme.-
Photoshopping words into the mouth of an elected representative: https://i.imgur.com/vV7J42k.png
-Another day, another Higher Education Huckster meets her match.-
Infographic comparing bathing frequency and influenza incidence between the United States and France: https://i.imgur.com/OFLm6hF.png
-Counter-intuitively, bathing less-often is correlated with fewer flu outbreaks! (Score one for the French.)-
SenatorJPO's IMGUR gallery: https://senatorjpo.imgur.com/all/
Now, we can truly say you've gone Photoshopping!
Although alliteration makes it tempting to type "loud-mouthed Lena Taylor gets unchained," the Wisconsin Senator actually makes valid points about Wells Fargo bank tellers and about absentee legislative aides. Succintly, Senator Taylor's objections are:
1) The Wells Fargo employee should-have allowed Lena's check to be cashed; and https://www.wpr.org/police-reports-say-state-sen-lena-taylor-used-racial-slur
2) Lena's legislative aid shouldn't have been so-damned absent all the time! https://www.wpr.org/democrat-lena-taylor-removed-state-budget-committee
WPR Rebuttal looks further into why State Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling would make such a big issue over these two confrontations within one week, one-of-which is being investigated as a possible charge of "disorderly conduct" and another-of-which is purely an administrative issue.
Another of SenatorJPO's job interviews lands on a Thursday -- and having just finished an interview in the same city on Monday, there's no sense in trying to fit-in a rushed episode of "WPR Rebuttal" this week. SenatorJPO explains our situation, in the first-person:
If anyone is disappointed by unpredictable preemptions, then remember:
1) I'm not on a contract. (Although I would -like- to be, so that -this- could be my full-time job -- but it's only an unpaid hobby.)
2) While the outcomes of my job interviews prove them to be a waste-of-time, I don't know how to stop going-on job interviews. It would seem that I'm "addicted" to job interviews. (Probably for the social interaction, which I usually don't get much-of. This live, call-in podcast usually ends-up monologue-style because folks are afraid to call-in.)
It's unfortunate that in those situations wherein the interview coordinator conceded that I was among the best-qualified candidates, they nonetheless left the position vacant and/or "extended recruitment" to find someone else, who had missed the original deadline that -I- had made.
Before you say, "You're wasting everyone's time," I'm only wasting my -own- time, because the interview panelists and the schedulers all get paid by the hour. The rejected job interviewees don't get paid-at-all, not even mileage reimbursement. (N-minus-one interviewees are getting ripped-off.)
It's a glorified gamble; and there must be a better way to getting a job than trying to convey, to strangers, why you meet their needs better than other candidates you never met. (And can therefore neither de-construct nor concretely portray as less-capable than you.)
Until then, know that I continue my higher-education reform efforts, because I imagine a future in-which no one ends-up in my situation on-purpose.
WPR Rebuttal browsed Quora and found prominent opinions about which college degrees graduates regret getting.
57 upvotes over 2 days, for this third-most popular answer from Joe Ohler, Jr: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-most-useless-college-degree/answer/Joseph-Ohler-Jr https://i.imgur.com/sCxVb5m.png
Of course, the most-popular answer, from Ben Peters, has a total of 4,400 votes! https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-most-useless-college-degree/answer/Ben-Peters-13
Because our original episode on Wrestlemania 34 ended-up exclusively about the match-ups among talent, this episode fills-you-in on the financials.
WWE's financial performance typically peaks within a few days after Wrestlemania, and then settles-down somewhat before jumping-up again the next Wrestlemania more than it had sank, for an overall gradual climb. (Just like the overall stock market.)
SenatorJPO analyizes WWE's financials and how they've changed with WWE Network subscriptions and television views.
Stock price is from a Bing search for: "WWE stock"
-A chart of the share price is embedded within the search-results page: https://www.bing.com/search?q=%2BWWE+%2Bstock&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&pq=%2Bwwe+%2Bstock≻=8-11&sk=&cvid=7C12D52DA65B4B82A50D7E0152366BB1
Special thanks goes to The People's Wrestling Website (TPWW) for news about WWE's business numbers.
WWE Network subscribers: http://www.tpww.net/2018/04/wwe-announces-wwe-network-subscriber-numbers/
WWE Raw (TV show) viewers: http://www.tpww.net/2018/04/wwe-raw-ratings-apr-9-2018-night-after-wrestlemania/
WWE Smackdown Live (TV show) viewers: http://www.tpww.net/2018/04/wwe-smackdown-live-ratings-apr-10-2018-up/
Call us at (929) 477-3965, during show-time, for a chance to be live.
WWE has been in the news again, due to Daniel Bryan being medically cleared in-time to compete at Wrestlemania 34, financially its biggest Pay-Per-View (PPV) event of the year. WWE has even placed Mr. Bryan as the frontispiece of its WWE Network advertising during Wrestlemania week: https://s0.2mdn.net/5281222/WM34_DanielBryanFree_US_All_D_DT_Static_300x250.jpg
WPR Rebuttal host, SenatorJPO, examines the line-up of matches (or the "card"); considers why media interest peaks in the month surrounding Wrestlemania but subsides by the next big Pay-Per-View (PPV) event; and compares Wrestlemanias with Daniel Bryan to recent ones without.
If we receive calls, then we might air them! Call us at (929) 477-3965, during show-time, for a chance to be live.
Thanks to The People's Wrestling Website (TPWW) for compiling a comprehensive card: http://www.tpww.net/2018/03/updated-wrestlemania-34-card-two-more-matches-official-more-changes-2/
Today's guest satisfies our curiosity about the following subjects:
1) What inspired Ohler to start a highly-successful write-in campaign months after the ballot-nomination period had already passed?
2) How does Ohler's vision for Sauk County better-resonate with voters than does Rego's?
3) What can we expect from the Sauk County Board, with Ohler aboard?
4) Why does Ohler proclaim, "Voters are the best hiring managers?"
All this and more are covered in this -live- episode of WPR Rebuttal!
Callers are invited to call-in at (929) 477-3965 on first-call, first-served basis.
-Even more information for interested voters-
The encounter that inspired Ohler's write-in campaign: http://youtube.com/watch?v=YkbgPvJeZJk
A side-by-side comparison of Ohler and Rego's platforms: https://joeohlerjr.wordpress.com/stop-pat-rego/
Local news coverage of Ohler's campaign: http://www.wiscnews.com/baraboonewsrepublic/news/local/sauk-county-board-write-in-candidate-assumes-opponent-is-witch/article_a8f10742-a381-5927-a7f3-cdf2196efebb.html
Last, but not least: Write-in "Joe Ohler" for Sauk County Board of Supervisors this April 3rd, 2018!
Due an important job interview -- as if there's such a thing as an "unimportant job interview" -- SenatorJPO is calling-off tomorrow's episode.
It's a bona fide podcast preemption, because WPR Rebuttal is citizen-run, un-beholden to anyone's organizational interests.
Don't worry, because the whole thing will happen live next Thursday circa 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time!
Even-more thrilling, the mystery topic -- although already determined -- will be kept secret until show-time.
How will SenatorJPO follow-up his massively successful podcast episode about the Paula Veltum Fansite?
Tune-in next Thursday at 12:30 p.m. to find-out!
In this WPR Rebuttal Exclusive, site curator Joseph Ohler, Jr. explains the purpose and origins of his Paula Veltum Fansite: http://paulaveltum.com
This bombshell interview includes some of the most-pressing questions and sought-after answers one could possibly have about the Paula Veltum Fansite:
How Mr. Ohler restored the site following a hack by Anonymous; why the site survived legal challenges; how Mr. Ohler met Ms. Veltum; and questions from our callers!
Give a warm welcome to Mr. Ohler -- as well as your calls, which we will accept towards the end of this half-hour show, at (929) 477-3965. (We want to guarantee that the pre-arranged questions will be answered, before we address questions from our audience.)
In a WPR Rebuttal exclusive, SenatorJPO has arranged to interview Joseph Ohler, Jr. -- also known as Curator of the Paula Veltum Fansite -- this Thursday, March 8 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) CST!
Provocative questions include Mr. Ohler's professional interest in Ms. Veltum; what inspired him to create an unauthorized "fansite;" and other brain-picking live-on-air!!
The March 8th episode is one for the record books -- don't miss this must-hear podcast!!!
In an unprecedented WPR Rebuttal poetry recital, SenatorJPO reads the college-degree criticism poem he wrote. First posted here:
http://disq.us/p/1qabj9h
"#CollegeDegree = #Worthless"
LookAtMe, #MisterCollegeDegree / #MostEducated #InMyFamily /
HaveAMasters, #AnMBA / #ButRejected, #AgainToday /
ForAnotherDozenJobs, #EntryLevelWork / #WhySimplyBecause, #HiringManagerIsJerk /
RecurringPain, #CannotRegain / #TimeAndMoney, #DownTheDrain /
GraduationFee, #GotMyDegree / #YetNothingInReturn, #DegreeIShouldBurn /
InvestmentSour, #GraduateDour / #FarTooMuchSchool, #MadeToFeelAFool /
YouWillEarnMore, #IfOnlyYouIgnore / #CallsToMatriculate, #EdvestWeBerate
-Copyright 2018 by SenatorJPO-
Just like re-opening Camp Crystal Lake, the long-anticipated re-opening of the Paula Veltum Fansite has been plagued with problems from the get-go: web-hosting outages; legal disputes over intellectual property rights versus fair-usage rights; and so forth.
However, the latest setback in the fansite's existence is perhaps the news-worthiest: It's been hacked by "Yhuricka," hailing from the globally-renowned cyber-security-cracking group "Anonymous X!" Screen-grabs document this grievous breach.
Paula Veltum Fansite Requests Security Certificate, Even Though Admin. Had Never Set One
https://i.imgur.com/EFc7NXl.png
Paula Veltum Fansite, Hacked By Anonymous (Specifially, By Yhuricka)
https://i.imgur.com/fM0088t.png
Thankfully, nothing of value was removed from the Paula Veltum Fansite...
...And that's not a "diss" against Paula, but a fact arising from the paucity of content on the site.
Every file that had been removed was already stored offline; and the small quantity of information is readily restored.
(Accordingly, the re-opening of the Paula Veltum Fansite has been merely delayed -not- jeopardized.)
Nonetheless, this brush with Anonymous makes for a most-exquisite WPR Rebuttal Exclusive!
Only at WPR Rebuttal, listen to the letter exonerating Ashland Deputy Brock Mrdjenovich from wrongdoing in the death of Jason Pero.
WPR Rebuttal scoops Wisconsin Public Radio by acquiring the January 19, 2018 letter, sent by the St. Croix County District Attorney's Office, declaring Ashland Deputy Brock Mrjdenovich free from wrongdoing in the November 8, 2017 incident involving Jason Pero: https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mnku7gFIDhM/WnY63HO8dxI/AAAAAAAAAYE/CNQr2ywdi18xjiWbIpW0aEPjq2futdt9wCLcBGAs/s1600/St_Croix_County_District_Attorney_Letter_Declaring_Ashland_County_Deputy_Innocent.png
This has been -the- document missing from most news coverage of the Pero-Mrdjenovich controversy. However, the entire document can be read at the hyperlink above, as well as listened-to within the podcast proper.
Further analysis of the investigative-case file is available, courtesy of WPR Rebuttal: http://wpr-rebuttal.blogspot.com/2018/01/exegesis-of-investigative-file-public.html
A new proposal from Wisconsin, Senate Bill 700, would established Wisconsin Merit Scholarships: http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/related/proposals/sb700
These stipends will be defined as:
"...Merit-based annual $5,000 scholarships to students enrolled in two-year or four-year UW schools who have graduated from an in-state high school..."
The means of determining "merit" will be [with parenthetical clarification by SenatorJPO]:
"The bill requires the Board of Regents to determine student merit [or narrowly defined: academic ability] based on performance on standardized college entrance examinations [e.g., ACT and/or SAT] and, if applicable, cumulative high school grade point averages."
WPR Rebuttal examines the implications of underwriting more students to enroll in the UW System.
The extent to which these scholarships improve a student's marketability in their post-graduation work search remains to be seen:
While the prestige of a local scholarship might help you get hired as Walmart stocker, it won't necessarily give you the job offer over a more-experienced worker when contending for a professional role, such as program-and-policy analyst.
The overall effect of these scholarships should therefore be less noticeable than the bill sponsors intend. The "field-leveling" desired will all-but-disappear when the scholar-grads and non-scholar-grads compete for actual work after degree conferral.
With further public comments by T.J. Cool, Ben Giles, and Frank Rojas.
WPR Rebuttal takes a one-week hiatus so that host, fact-finder, and producer SenatorJPO can keep his personal affairs in-order.
Tune-in to learn what's kept him busy!
P.S.
WPR Rebuttal returns next Friday, with a target start time of noon. (Might be as early as 11:30 a.m., depending on circumstances.)
As the host of this podcast, I aspire to weekly production. However, "real life" requires prioritizing and preparing for a better future.
To that end, I interviewed at an organization which well-aligns with my personal interests and professional goals.
Every time I've a job interview, I focus upon that first-and-foremost.
And while this sometimes leaves finite preparation time for this hobby-of-a-podcast, I'm decent at improvization.
After all, most job interviews are heavily improvised, especially when the candidate is not allowed a sneak-peek at the questions, but has to answer extemporaneously.
Furthermore, I used my drive-back from the interview to hide some business cards around a local Walmart -- by which some of you have indubitably arrived at this podcast page.
In utmost cosmic irony, there was insufficient time to really develop a particular, prominent topic.
With that in mind, enjoy this first-of-2018 broadcast!
This is WPR Rebuttal's year-end special -- but things are not what they seem: Is that a highlight reel or a test signal?
Enjoy this brief episode, which parodies the "year-in-review" specials so common to mass media.
Plus, get a sneak-peek at WPR's editorial calendar for 2018!
You've been lied-to about Santa Claus!
WPR Rebuttal delves into the deception surrounding the ongoing portrayal of the Santa myth as fact, and the sociological reasons for this continued trickery. The young-at-heart might become the feint-at-heart after listening to this delusion-disspelling episode!
-A special "thank you" to Joe Ohler, Jr. for lending us material from his blog:- https://joeohlerjr.wordpress.com/2015/12/24/ho-ho-hoax-the-santa-claus-lie-exposed/
In exchange, WPR Rebuttal has agreed to "plug" his petition: http://goo.gl/lcCmdw
Some news outlets erroneously reported the City Council of Eau Claire "banned children" (i.e., those younger than age 13 years) from being on the meeting platform or "dais." WPR Rebuttal disabuses the notion, instead finding the City Council banned "disruptive infant(s) / [and] toddler(s)."
The resolution itself -- which passed 7-1-4 on Tuesday, October 24 -- merely states, "...A limited exception to Council meeting protocol and standing rules of decorum is hereby
granted[,] permitting Council Members to have their infant(s)/toddler(s) with them on the dais during Council proceedings, on the condition the child does not distract from the decorum and
conduct of the business of the City Council..."
In other words: Young children -are- allowed, providing they do not disrupt the meeting. (Which might mean "interrupting the speaker by crying," etc.)
Our host, SenatorJPO, reads aloud the resolution (from page 92 of the 121-page agenda packet); weighs the pros and cons of the restriction, vis-a-vis the Wisconsin state statute that normally allows breastfeeding, 253.165 (except where the mother's child is not allowed); and airs viewpoints from the comment section!
WPR Rebuttal runs-down the most intense and incisive insights from the comment thread for the October 25, 2017 Wisconsin Public Radio article, "Eau Claire City Council bans children from Council dais following breastfeeding debate."
-From the desk of SenatorJPO-
I almost entitled this episode, "The show need not go on, but it will!" (A parody of the old saying, "The show must go on.")
However, such sentiment would diminish the importance of WPR Rebuttal in #Winning the #MindWar against the #HigherEducationHucksters and their #WillingAccomplices.
Yes, I've been granted a full-time work schedule, with broader responsibilities, at the dairy plant where I had been relegated to part-time box folder with very few responsibilities.
Yes, sometimes I've only enough time to sleep, shave, and shower after work before it's time to prepare for the next shift.
No, this isn't the end of this podcast -- not by a Wisconsin-Wasteland mile!
Updates will be sporadic; and I won't be able to podcast on the same day every week, due an ever-shifting work schedule.
But now and then, I -will- create a new episode and continue delivering my message to the masses.
-Q.E.D.-
WPR Rebuttal is pleased to promote an initiative of Joe Ohler: Require every institution of higher education to collect and disclose data on how a representative sample of its recent graduates is faring in the labor market.
After launching a predecessor petition in late 2015, Mr. Ohler found readers (generally) did not want to scroll past more than 3 desktop screens' worth of content prior to the signature box: http://www.change.org/p/barack-obama-arne-duncan-occupational-outcomes-for-college-graduates
(The Change.org "tips" on promoting petitions are often irrelevant. For instance, I've doubled my petition signatures by -removing- all photos -- despite Change.org's exhortation, "Petitions with a photo get 6 times more signatures.")
Unlike the first occupational-outcomes petition, the present initiative targets the UW System directly (instead of petitioning the federal Department of Education).
Another improvement is motivation for the "target" of the petition has changed from, "Withhold Title IV funds / financial aid from schools that don't comply," to, "As a matter of marketing the school's usefulness, your institution should release data on how well / poorly your graduates are doing in the professional-job market."
Consequently, Ohler streamlined this prototypical petition into the one you see today (as of summer 2017): https://www.change.org/p/raymond-cross-uw-system-president-how-are-my-school-s-college-graduates-faring
Thank you for signing!
Hiring managers sometimes abuse their powers. Who can rein them in?
I, SenatorJPO, accrued 3 years of dairy experience by "permatemping" in the packaging department at a dairy plant in Sauk County.
But when vacancies arose in that department, the hiring manager (Sue) -withheld- my job application from the packaging supervisors!
And I couldn't just hand them my app because, "It's not our call...Everything has to be through Sue."
Instead, Sue hired a bunch of foundry workers with -zero- dairy experience whatsoever.
It's -outrageous- that any organization would utilize someone for years at a time as an auxiliary, but then pass-him-up to hire people with less-relevant and inferior experience.
"Thanks a lot," Susan Felton!
Despite the search-traffic-generating title, Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey will only be mentioned in-passing during this podcast. That's because the big "twist" in this podcast pertains to neither man, but to an innovative theory as to how photographer Teresa Halbach was murdered in accordance to biblical sin-offering rituals.
Irrespective of the -who- killed Halbach, the similarities between her demise and an Old Testament ritual are uncanny and supported by forensic evidence.
A clue can be found in the Book of Leviticus, which details the sacrificial rite in which bulls (or "bullocks") are slain and burnt as "sin offerings:" They are drained of blood, and then burnt "outside the camp" (in a remote area, such as a salvage yard) and in a "clean place" (such as a burn barrel, which has been purged of bacteria by fire, like an autoclave).
Forensic evidence supports this: Halbach was apparently drained of blood, because blood does -not- burn easily or combust completely, meaning that some of Halbach's blood -should- have been available for analysis -- if she had been burnt without first being (mostly) drained of blood.
Instead, there were no traces of Teresa's blood, only a dash of Avery's blood (on his dashboard) and none of Dassey's DNA.
Furthermore, -someone- had cut her throat (in the manner in which Old Testament bulls were drained of their blood), as revealed by the coroner's report and by investigators continually pressing Brendan Dassey into answering the questions, "Did you cut her?" and, "How about on the throat? Did you cut here there?"
Finally, Halbach's charred remains were found in a burn pit that was (more-or-less) shaped like an Old Testament Jewish altar, complete with comparable dimensions.
"Real life" interferes yet again with WPR Rebuttal, as a managerial edict at his "day job" changed this cheese packer's schedule.
Our host, SenatorJPO, will therefore be unavailable to coordinate the normally-scheduled episode. Instead, he produced this brief announcement of this week's preemption before heading to work.
WPR Rebuttal will post a follow-up notice, when it is determined how long SenatorJPO's new work schedule will be in effect.
Here's what happened at the first day of the July meeting of the Board of Regents. From the UW System Administration website: https://www.wisconsin.edu/news/archive/regents-approve-uw-systems-annual-operating-budget-day-1-news-summary/ "Regents approve UW System's annual operating budget"*
(*While there's no attribution as to who wrote the press release, it was -probably- overseen by former Walker spokeswoman and current Interim Communications Director of the UW System, Stephanie Marquis.)
"MADISON – The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents voted to approve a $6.2 billion annual operating budget for 2017-18 at its meeting Thursday in Madison. In introducing the budget, UW System President Ray Cross...identified four key takeaways of the budget:
• State funding increased by 3.7%;
• Resident undergraduate tuition is frozen for fifth consecutive year;
• Limited segregated fee increases; and
• Program revenue balances are projected to further decline." These four requests are -unlikely- to be approved! SenatorJPO explains -- and while BlogTalkRadio does not permit enough characters for a complete write-up here, the hyperlink to the podcast-recap blog article will be posted whenthe write-up is completed.
The second day was less impactful, consisting of a rubber-stamping of Rep. Jesse Kramer's campus speech-restriction bill, in addition to giving a gaggle of awards to special snowflakes throughout the UW System: https://www.wisconsin.edu/news/archive/news-from-around-the-uw-system-35/
Consult the WPR Rebuttal blog post for assorted observations about both days.
SenatorJPO performs the Star-Spangled Banner, which is the National Anthem of the United States of America. Why?
Because it's an American tradition! (And cost-effective exposure for WPR Rebuttal.)
As a bonus, check-out this online advertisement in which WPR Rebuttal programming coincides with the line-up for Wisconsin Public Radio's Independence Day programming: http://senatorjpo.000webhostapp.com/w/WPR_Independence_Day_Programming_SenatorJPO_Sings_National_Anthem_(Parody_Ad).png
As reported by Wisconsin Public Radio, Kristin Settle of Visit Milwaukee claims Summerfest brings a "$200 million economic impact" to Milwaukee: http://www.wpr.org/summerfest-expected-generate-200m-milwaukee
But how accurate is that figure? She doesn't even cite a study!
SenatorJPO, and possibly callers, will be discussing how Visit Milwaukee might have arrived at its $200 million estimation of Summerfest's value to Milwaukee.
Call-in to voice your opinion by dialing our conference line, (929) 477-3965, or simply listen-in as the discussion unfolds -live- at WPR Rebuttal!
Fans of the "WPR Rebuttal" podcast have wondered:
1) Why the sudden departures from topics that had been planned, sometimes publicly announced, weeks in advance?
2) Why do some weeks go silent altogether, without an episode??
3) Why is it nearly impossible to maintain an established schedule???
It's because our host and content producer, SenatorJPO, has been perpetually side-tracked with such minor issues as:
Finding-out the dairy plant -- where he's "permatemped" as box folder, cheese packer, and palletizer for the last 3 years (of his finite, dwindling life) -- will -never- offer him a job!
Unfailingly, SenatorJPO has worked Tuesdays as packer on the auxiliary line, and every weekend as box folder, palletizer, and overall assistant to the packaging team, at a local dairy plant. He's had perfect attendance and reprimand-free performance the entire time.
Yet, after following-up on an employment application for third-shift packaging, SenatorJPO was informed,* "The supervisors admire the fact that you're extremely hard-working, but they believe you wouldn't be a good fit for the packaging job."
This begs a fourth question: How can a hiring manager assume you would be unable to "web" film onto rollers; scan pallet tickets; operate brine gates; etc. if you've never been allowed to -try?-
After all, -every- regular / full-time employee who operates the film roller messes-up -every- week... Without fail!
Why would the supervisor believe SenatorJPO might fare any worse? For all he knows, SenatorJPO could be better!
What's next for SenatorJPO? And why they didn't tell him sooner? Download this episode to find out!
Here is the text of SenatorJPO's Patreon press release:
Dear fans,
As you might know, I portray a character online known as "SenatorJPO."
It's my outlet for disseminating public-policy perspectives that might be too tendentious for some status-quo keepers, but ultimately further my goal of influencing public opinion!
Online speculation about me being "funded by the Koch Brothers, Scott Walker, etc." inspired me to create a Patreon page so that I can finally get paid to do, what I already am doing online: https://www.patreon.com/senatorjpo
(Whether the Kochs or the Walker Administration or some interest group donates, is immaterial to what I actually write.)
Anyway, I've notified you so that you (and your SenatorJPO-reading friends) can be among the first to donate!
I offer a few unique "perks" on my rewards page, to which all donors are entitled when contributing at respective tiers.
I look forward to hearing from you on Patreon!
Sincerely,
SenatorJPO and WPR Rebuttal
[EDITOR'S NOTE: The originally scheduled podcast, "Sad Commencement Speech Exposes Wisconsin Promise as Wisconsin Lie," will air at 1:30 p.m. It was preempted by the impromptu Patreon announcement, and the media inquiries that followed.]
SenatorJPO has been very busy at the dairy plant. Did you know he can hand-pack, and palletize, 20 tons of cheese in one day? 20 tons of -anything- is...quite heavy!
Palletizing all that cheese has left precious-little time to create content.
In fact, tonight's episode is not only brief, but also airing -live- at the only time SenatorJPO can set-aside: Late night! (Or very early in the morning, for all the chrono-specificists in our audience.)
How will WPR Rebuttal survive on such a tight schedule?
Thankfully, SenatorJPO has a plan, and has scheduled the following episodes:
Friday, June 9: "Sad Commencement Speech Exposes Wisconsin Promise as Wisconsin Lie" at 11:30 a.m.
Friday, June 16: "Wisconsin Technical Colleges Outperform UW System Schools for Job Placement"at 11:30 a.m.
Mark your calendars; block-off some time to call-in with your views at (929) 477-3965; and join the dialectic!
[05-22-2017 Update: The Capital Times has published Mr. Ohler's letter. Read it here: http://host.madison.com/ct/opinion/mailbag/joseph-ohler-jr-prescription-opioid-epidemic-is-fake/article_ed21bba9-fee3-5986-a8d1-35c109ae3d76.html]
The Joseph Ohler letter to the editor, "A Tale of Two Epidemics: False-Alarm Over Opioids vs. Downplayed College-Grad Employment Realities," has been sent to regional newspapers throughout Wisconsin. Due to the tendentious views taken, those mainstream news outlets have been reluctant to publish this hard-hitting op-ed.
Thankfully, WPR Rebuttal fans are in luck: SenatorJPO reads Ohler's op-ed aloud, for the very first time!
Oh, but this isn't just a monologue: Listeners are welcome to call-in at (929) 477-3965.
Whether you suffer from an unwanted degree holder's dilemma; or are in chronic pain and want a restoration of prescription pain pills; or are unfortunate enough to fall into both categories: We want to hear from you.
The title of this episode is (hopefully) a self-fulfilling prophecy: The tide is turning towards greater facilitation of work-ready graduates with actual experience -before- they graduate, rather than insulating them from the unforgiving world of full-time work while they're in college.
How can this be anything -except- good? A wise development, for all the fiscally-sound reasons!
(Remembering, of course, the mandate to have the UW System create more linkages with employers is a non-fiscal policy directive -- it won't cost the taxpayers a dime. It can even -save- the public money, by reducing welfare rolls and student-loan defaults among college graduates.)
Because the end of the spring segment of the 2017-2018 legislative session is approaching, we've limited time to persuade legislators to re-introduce the so-called "non-fiscal policy directive" that would make the UW System accountable for guiding students into internships and career-relevant work experiences before they graduate.
The accumulating "body count" of UW graduates' careers has been a greater "epidemic" than has abuse of legitimate, prescription painkillers. (This inspires a new hashtag: #InternshipsNotDrugs)
This exposes a new-found vulnerability to the once-sancrosanct reputation of the University of Wisconsin System.
Now, with phones ringing off-the-hook and fax machines blazing, we've the momentum to finish this issue once-and-for all:
Be sure to tell your Wisconsin Assembly member and Wisconsin senator that you want Governor Walker's non-fiscal policy directive reinstated, for ensuring UW System students are assisted in finding and securing internships before they graduate.
Join me in sending our elected officials a copy of our lobbying letter, "Wisconsin Supports Student Assistance in Acquiring Internships."
Released in late April 2017, the GHSA report "Drug-Impaired Driving: A Guide for the States" is 56 pages of anxiety over American drivers using drugs: http://www.ghsa.org/sites/default/files/2017-04/GHSA_DruggedDriving2017_FINAL.pdf
Unfortunately for the opioid-epidemic-mongers, only 4.6 percent of all court-convicted DUI cases involved prescription drugs -- a mere third of marijuana impairment and one-twelfth of alcohol impairment, by frequency.
Of note to the critical observer, is that GHSA does -not- state the absolute number of DUI cases in the United States.
It only breaks-down those cases by percentages, not absolute case numbers; so they cannot be summed into a total of cases, that could have been compared to case totals of other crimes. (Because DUIs are intrastate crimes, the FBI does not report statistics on these types of cases, as it does for interstate crimes.)
If nothing else, the the GHSA's findings underscore why there -isn't- an alleged "opioid epidemic" after all. Doctors should continue prescribing painkillers to those who need it, knowing fully well it is unlikely their patients will drive except at least halfway before their next dose. (And therefore, impaired -below- DUI levels.)
Also, can anyone get the "click or tap to reveal" features to work on page 13 of the PDF? It really seems like the GHSA botched that functionality, thereby depriving readers of the hidden information that -cannot- be accessed by the broken "click or tap to reveal" feature.
Ontario's provincial government conferred with Canadian dairy-farmer trade organizations, and together they made two changes to local-dairy production:
1) All domestic Canadian milk can now be sold at world-market prices, instead of at the fair-trade-style prices that had characterized Canadian dairy in recent decades.
2) Tariffs have been re-imposed upon Class 6 milk, which includes imported ultra-filtered milk (UFM). Such foodstuffs had been exempt from Canadian tariffs for several decades.
Hopefully, this helps readers -- and even WPR itself -- make sense of all the regulatory mumbo-jumbo being bandied-about!
However, the relative silence of Wisconsin trade groups on this issue raises a few questions:
What's the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) been doing during this fiasco?
Why haven't WMMB officials spoken to WPR about this??
Why isn't the UW-Extension doing anything to help???
Because if either organization wanted to prove its worth, -now- would be the time!
As for the market niche Wisconsin milk producers can leverage?
Tune-in, or download, to find out about mastitic milk and why it matters!
[03-31-2017 Update: WPR Rebuttal will remain at BlogTalkRadio, for lack of a better alternative.]
Today's episode is brief, but purposeful: WPR Rebuttal will relocate to a new podcasting platform.
However, choosing wisely will take time, because just because a particular platform has a good reputation doesn't mean it's the best!
(As my initial decision to air on BlogTalkRadio conclusively shows.)
WPR Rebuttal will announce its new home in the coming weeks! (Both here, and on the destination platform.)
After serving Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Secretary since Governor Scott Walker's 2011 inauguration, Mark Gottlieb resigned in late December 2016.
Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) Secretary David B. "Dave" Ross has been appointed to Gottlieb's successor, making him the new WisDOT Secretary effective immediately. But, who will replace Ross?
A potential answer is Paula Rae Veltum, former DSPS Technical Services Bureau Director and present Assistant Bureau Director of the Department of Administration (WisDOA). WPR Rebuttal examines why she might be the in-DSPS-ible (in-dss-pss-ible) successor Walker could live with.
My original plan was to finish re-enacting excerpts of the most memorable and insightful comments from the Disqus threads beneath online Wisconsin Public Radio articles. However, the need to produce this podcast without distraction or external influence meant that an early return of a relative ended that episode.
(WPR Rebuttal will not change its content based on who's in the immediate vicinity of the "recording studio" and its host. But it will cut-out early, to maintain harmony in a nominally "podcast-free" household.)
Anyway, I'm glad to have this brief window to wind-down the list of "best WPR Rebuttals" to grace the comment threads that have followed articles of audience interest!
Fun factoid: This is the first WPR Rebuttal episode to air before noon (Central Standard Time). If listener-count ticks up in response to the time shift, then more episodes will be in the morning.
Throughout 2016, SenatorJPO has participated in some of the best "WPR Rebuttals" to appear in the Disqus comment threads relating to Wisconsin Public Radio articles.
Callers can modify the reputation of a discussion thread, so let your opinion be known! Live call-in number:
(929) 477-3965
(NOTE: Due to the diversity of comment threads, the "countdown" list is in chronological order, for both Parts 1 and 2. Also, today we're airing at 12:05 p.m. on Thursday (bringing back "Turner Time" for a show), instead of 1:30 p.m., because our host won't be available tomorrow.)
SenatorJPO uncovers the best "WPR Rebuttals" to appear in the Disqus comment threads below Wisconsin Public Radio articles in the Year 2016.
Call-ins can modify the standing of a discussion thread, so let your stance be known! Live call-in number: (929) 477-3965
(NOTE: Due to the spontaneous nature of the show, which allows for updates and additions, the "countdown" list will be finalized the week after "Part 2" has aired. Also, today we're airing at 2:00 p.m. instead of 1:30 p.m. because our host "needs to poo!")
WPR Rebuttal celebrates taking back the White House and building a growing "populist" majority in the U.S. Congress, as well as in Wisconsin State government.
But we're no mean braggarts! In an act of "compassionate conservativism," host SenatorJPO is permitting -you-, dear Democrat losers, to phone in your progressive complaints. Access our show via (929) 477-3965.
If there are no call-ins by 1:40 p.m. CST, then SenatorJPO will end the show early to celebrate via Disqus remarks. Follow him on Disqus: https://disqus.com/by/SenatorJPO/
WPR Rebuttal is pleased to announce our producer, Joe Ohler, is returning to the question-and-answer website "Quora" as of Monday, November 7, 2016.
When asked why he left and returned, Mr. Ohler revealed, "I had to reallocate my time towards other projects. These experiences, in turn, revealed new areas of inquiry for which Quora was well-suited."
An additional twist on this development was when Mr. Ohler revealed he would "set a new record" for how many Quora questions are posted in a single day!
"Once I had accrued enough questions, I decided to spring them all-at-once during my November 7 return. With over a hundred questions posted in one day, it is now verifiable that I hold the present record for the most questions created on Quora, by a single user, within a 24-hour period."
WPR Rebuttal host, SenatorJPO, will read excerpts of Mr. Ohler's Quora questions! Tune in, and call in with your own questions!
Whether or not you support U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, his hunch, "Higher education is sinister," is well-supported: Evidence is mounting that liberal-arts higher education is altogether a baleful proposition with sinister implications.
Accumulating research suggests a liberal-arts education impairs one's religious fidelity. Those lacking a strong ideological anchor to their faith, tend to lose it -- partially, if not entirely -- during their collegiate matriculation.
To the extent a loss of faith is harmful to social cohesion (if not to one's moral compass and afterlife), the means of this religious reduction -- higher education -- truly -is- sinister!
This dimension of spiritual harm is in addition to the established opportunity for financial disaster and economic misfortune, stemming from increasingly common situations in which neither bachelor's nor advanced degrees help: They never confer a wage premium unto that graduate.
Again in demand as a Top Temp, SenatorJPO eschews this week's episode in favor of logging more hours at his ever-expanding work assignment. (This will be the first time he's worked five consecutive days, since holding two part-time jobs in his college days.)
It also proves to provide a larger wage premium than his college education, which will be the subject of the first WPR Rebuttal Halloween episode next Friday, October 28, 2016.
SenatorJPO invites callers to join his discussion of how relevant various tax-reduction techniques have proven fruitful for their bottom line, including -- but not limited to -- the federal income tax.
The precipitating event inspiring this podcast episode was a Reuters/Ipsos poll that purported popular opinion to be against a presidential candidate's lawful avoidance of whatever taxation he (or she) could legally avoid.
However, congressional intent and the widespread usage of tax credits, deductions, and other "loopholes" means that by not paying federal income tax, Donald Trump is more similar to the "average taxpayer" than what one might presume.
I, SenatorJPO, was ready to podcast -- but the studio is unavailable because it's a federal holiday (Columbus Day) and my immediate roommate is a federal employee who has off; is not someone I would want involved in the podcast; and has decided to stay in. (There has been no discussion of my podcast, due to not wanting that person to call in.)
Sure, I could call the conference line to begin the show and walk outside to hold my podcast there -- but then, I wouldn't have my notes, because they're all on my PC. (And I don't use a smartphone, because I don't want to pay for a data plan, amongst other reasons.)
Therefore, the next episode -- on federal income taxation; who pays it or doesn't pay it; and why little can be inferred from this -- will instead go live on Friday, October 14 at 1:30 p.m.
(If I find out otherwise, then I'll make a brief podcast announcement to the contrary; but, "The third time is the charm," should apply here.)
Today's show was preempted by SenatorJPO being called into work.
As a courtesy to our listeners, SenatorJPO has announced a re-scheduling, such that what would have been this week's episode will instead air on Monday, October 10 at 1:30 p.m.
When's the last time you heard of a podcast taking a raincheck? Well, it happens today!
Ever in demand as a Top Temp, SenatorJPO was called-in to work additional hours at the dairy plant. Several tons of packed cheese later, SenatorJPO arrived home too exhausted to bother trying to cram in a podcast to an already-busy day.
Over the weekend, SenatorJPO shall finish compiling notes on Monday's topic: Federal income taxes; who doesn't pay them; and why one should -not- pay more taxes than they owe (even if none at all). See you then!
Independent policy analyst Joe Ohler finds Wisconsin's population, birth rate, and median age are not correlated with UW-Milwaukee's enrollment levels. He cites three sources to support his contentions:
-
Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health
-
U.S. Census Bureau
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UW-Milwaukee Fact Book, 2015-2016
Demographic changes can therefore be ruled out as a cause of UW-Milwaukee's mistfortunes. UWM's enrollment problem is thereby one of mindshare, i.e. public relations and grassroots perception, not of the relative availability of local consumers.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee lost $6.5 million in tuition and student-based formula grant revenues as a direct consequence of losing 900 students, as admitted in its autumn-semester enrollment report.
Unfavorable word-of-mouth sentiment -- that UWM just isn't worth going to -- has prevailed over the machinations of UWM's professional marketers and college recruiters.
(Although higher education reformer Joe Ohler, Jr. of Wisconsin has been credited with being the most vocal critic of UW-Milwaukee, it is clear that others have been incorporating his message into their opinions of UWM.)
UWM's latest setback is a symptom of the under-employed college graduate epidemic. Spurred by enrollment loss, college administrators are (reluctantly) conceding an under-acknowledged reality:
Many potential students simply won't enroll at a university, until that institution guarantees them a minimum amount of paid work experience relevant to their intended field of study.
Such acknowledgment of the problem, and of its multi-school scope, is necessary for UW-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside, and other ailing institutions of higher education to (stand any chance whatsoever to) regain ground lost to college skeptics and those who had been undecided but ultimately chose vocational-technical school (such as through the Wisconsin Technical Colleges).
But without acting on this problem, UWM, UWP, and ilk should shutter sooner than later. The onus is upon them, because the legislature will expect such occupational-outcomes accountability measures be enacted in exchange for bail-out funding.
On the September 6, 2016 edition of The Joy Cardin Show on Wisconsin Public Radio, fill-in host John Munson gave UW-Stevens Point professor Susan Turgeson free rein to shill home economics courses.
Sue and her colleagues have attempted to STEM-ify home ec. by equating it with -all- sciences generally. However, SenatorJPO shows this is a false equivalence, as well as tears down Turgeson's examples of home economics in action.
*Note: When hearing the phrase "family and consumer sciences," that is a reference to home economics. Don't let Turgeson mislead you, because the course content has remained practically the same, except for the particulars of the household appliances used.
One week after applying for Director of Administration at Lodi, WI, SenatorJPO submitted his responses to their essay questions. (This coincidentally parallels the essay-critiquing theme established when SenatorJPO read and responded to UW-SAGLA scholarship essayists.)
What are the questions? Which ideas did SenatorJPO draw upon to answer these executive challenges? And how does all this tie into international trade policy?
After sending my resume, cover letter, and a fillable-PDF that served to repeat some of the resume information (but not all of it, due to formatting restrictions limiting room), within an hour of my email submission I had received an email response with an attachment.
I -believed- that to be the quickest rejection ever, because after all, that type of email -usually- indicates a boilerplate rejection letter. (An invitation to interview would have that as the subject line, or be a phone call instead.)
But to my pleasant surprise, it was actually an essay questionnaire that all candidates who meet the initial closing date must then answer by a subsequent 7-day deadline.
This indicates a greater emphasis on technical merit and critical-thinking skills than upon how one's career inertia, i.e. upon how effectively one has kissed-up to others in the past.
I'll report on the outcome of their selection process for Lodi Administration Director, as well as how I had answered applicable essay questions.
Topics include:
• How to feasibly fix the WI Department of Transportation's budget shortfall;
• Why a proposal to replace instructors with tutorials is gaining traction; and
• UW-Milwaukee's latest milestones!
Our call-in number at WPR Rebuttal is (929) 477-3965. Dial our show at 1:30 p.m. to speak -your- mind!
1) Loss of effective life (time you'll never get back).
2) Faked smiles from peers who'd rather you be dead (verifiable when trying to network with them as alumni).
3) Misleading "moral support" from administrators who don't want to share internship opportunities (let alone recommend you be chosen for any).
These are but a sampling of the sickening situations one is subjected to by the exploitative Higher Education-Administrative Complex (HEAC).
While it is thankfully not anyone at WPR Rebuttal returning to the unpaid servitude and thinly veiled peer hostility that comprises classrooms of people who don't want to be with each other (but for the contrivance of course offerings), we feel the world-pain that occurs every time the young and the hopeless vie for limited opportunities that their educational overlords all but hoard for their own progeny.
Even for someone who will never again be subjected to the cynical dynamics of a liberal arts college, enough pain and hatred abounds against the HEAC such that another petition is in the works as an outlet. Stay tuned!
NOTE: Today's podcast is not only brief, due to the "stay-cation" story line, but also heavier on the descriptive text than it is on the audio. This is because there are other people in the house, who I did not anticipate would be here during my normal broadcast time.
This, dear listeners, is what happens when you earn a few college degrees from the University of Wisconsin System and then find out all the hoopla towards your graduation was just a bunch of fakery, i.e. that no one gives [an excrement]:
You've less to show in terms of socioeconomic independence than the high school drop-out who signed up at the staffing agency when you were filling out college admissions applications and writing essays!
Has your computer ever slowed to such a crawl, you couldn't even save anything? And then you step away for a while, only to find that while your computer is no longer laggy, a summer thunder storm rolls in at ~35 mph and -obliterates- your data through a power outage?
No? Well, that's -precisely- what happened here at WPR Rebuttal!
"My kingdom for an uninterrupted power supply," Richard III would have said if he had lived in modern times instead of medieval. Even then, he'd be hobbled by the various background processes that -slow- the typical Windows box into a Win-Doze crawl.
Whether my Windows-loyalist acquaintances like it or not, my -next- computer is going to have a Linux installation. (There's too much awry with my present computer and so little hard disk space left, to add a Linux partition on it would risk a crash from read/write errors and lack of memory.)
And yes, I'll independently purchase it as a WPR Rebuttal-only computer off-limits to family members, so that no one is saying, "Make sure you get a Windows PC, because I'll have to use it, too." No more!!!
P.S.
It truly is uncanny how a Microsoft Malware Removal Tool-induced CPU stupor and an unforeseen downpour confluenced into the proverbial "perfect storm" and wiped out what I was working on.
It's almost as if my opponents are not merely in the realms of higher education and human resources, but at a higher, more spiritual level (RE: Ephesians 6:12).
-If not for BTR's draconian title-length limits, the title of this episode would be, "SenatorJPO vs. SAGLA Scholarship Essayist: Social Science Major Missteps in Critical Thinking."-
SenatorJPO continues onto another essayist from among the final cohort of UW-SAGLA Liberal Arts Essayists. (After a few weeks of other topics, SenatorJPO is on Essayist 3 of 6.)
UW-La Crosse political science double major Avery Wehrs attempts a comparison between the purported salaries of philosophy graduates (her minor field of study) and wages of welding program graduates, in support of the UW-SAGLA assertion her liberal arts education is "likely to pay off."
However, the data sources differ drastically in scope and quality: One relies upon self-selection from amongst only working respondents; whereas the other data source is randomly selected and includes both employed and unemployed respondents.
SenatorJPO explains this discrepancy to its logical conclusion by introducing complementary data, by which his logical inferences contrast with Wehrs' conclusions.
There's not enough time to hold today's show, when factoring in how much time it takes to write a formal case against the DWD - UI and how it discriminated against the show host in the selection process for Employment Security Assistant 3.
Choosing to preempt was an easy decision, as a victory for SenatorJPO in this time-sensitive case will mean a victory for every aspiring call-center worker the DWD - UI screened out based on EEO-related factors that don't impair operations at its Benefits Center.
In a WPR Rebuttal exclusive, content producer Joseph Ohler, Jr. shares the uncensored, full-length recording of his August 4, 2015 interview for Employment Security Assistant (Tier 3) at the Wisconsin Benefits Center.
Unreleased for nearly a year, Mr. Ohler has opened his recording of this meeting to the masses.
The recording was in a public building amongst public officials for the consideration of his employment. No other candidate’s credentials were discussed; and the assessment questions asked during the interview are unclassified and in the public domain.
Because Mr. Ohler has waived the privacy of his employment-related interview at the Wisconsin Benefits Center by publicly sharing it, his audio recording should be considered lawful and not in violation of anyone’s rights, whether torte or criminal.
To aid the listener’s understanding of events in the recording: Mr. Ohler is greeted by an office program associate (receptionist); given a benefits claim practice assessment (call simulation) in a mock call kiosk; and then interviewed by three panelists.
The key finding is that lead interviewer Dan Rach states, around the 28-minute mark, “…Previous experience is not disqualifying, you know, if you haven’t been in a call center before.”
He thereby contradicts the post-interview assertion of Deputy Chief Legal Counsel (Sheri Pollock), “…The interview panel concluded that his lack of call center experience did not make him a good fit for the position.”
Pollock wrote that in response to Mr. Ohler’s official complaint that the Wisconsin Benefits Center had discriminated against him in violation of certain civil rights characteristics.
It raises questions as to whether Rach knowingly lied during the interview about how important prior call center experience was.
After a break to cover other urgent topics, SenatorJPO is back on track to further his mission of dispelling the notional value of a liberal arts education (especially as delivered by the UW System).
Today, he examines the essay of runner-up Olivia Devalk. What does she have against successful alumnus Jason Adrians, a newspaper editor many years her senior?
And how much more can she maintain such naive trust in the UW System when Joe Ohler is living proof a liberal arts doesn't always confer the occupational prestige (or ability to attain it) that many presume? Find out in today's episode!
WPR Rebuttal host, SenatorJPO, applied for Legislative Editor at the Legislative Reference Bureau earlier this week. Here's the job description:
http://web.archive.org/web/20160707043501/http://wisc.jobs/public/job_view.asp?annoid=88509&jobid=88023&org=330&class=99951&index=true
I would say "SenatorJPO contends," but the matter is out of his hands, as experience shows government bureaucrats "hate being lobbied" (their words) by the applicant. However, they are not exempt from popular scrutiny and public contact!
This ability and right to sway the reference agency's personnel decisions is why the public can exploit the LRB's contact information, as follows:
Lynn Emery, Business Manager, 608-261-4452, lynn.emery@legis.wisconsin.gov
You're utmost welcome to tell her you want SenatorJPO as your next Legislative Editor. (You can also reference my real name when telling Lynn to hire me, although she should have enough evidence from my resume to identify stage name "SenatorJPO" as one of the people who applied under a legal name.)
The future Legislative Editor depends on the extent to which the Legislative Reference Bureau's hiring officials -- which presumably includes Emery, the business manager -- is swayed by popular opinion. SenatorJPO is the greatest net utility to the public interest, whether Emery et al. realize it!
As for scheduling subsequent critiques of UW-SAGLA essays, the absolute half-hour limitation of freemium BTR podcasts presents a logistical challenge that I work around every week. It sometimes means I have to put plans on hold, as is common with no-frills productions (and life itself).
Having declared there would be "no more Monday shows," WPR Rebuttal authorized one exemption so that host SenatorJPO could continue his coverage of UW-SAGLA scholarship essays.
However, an impending family celebration cut short his intended time frame, something all but forgotten when SenatorJPO racked his mind for a plausible next-episode air time! How rude would it be to talk to an impersonal Internet radio audience when your very relatives are within earshot, wanting to speak with you?
The solution is to deliver an episode, as advertised, but to change the theme to fit the truncated window of opportunity. Hence, the American Independence Day special!
How to commemorate? Rather than find an uploadable, royalty-free clip of "The Star Bangled Banner!," SenatorJPO directly provides the audio by singing America's National Anthem.
Critique of UW-SAGLA shall resume this Friday, July 8, 2016 at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time -- plus at dates and times negotiated with yet-to-be-covered winners and runners-up!
At long last, WPR Rebuttal host SenatorJPO addresses the ideas expressed by winners of the final UW-SAGLA essay competition! Can there be common ground?
Statements within essays will be compared against outside notes. Time permitting, runners-up might also be examined, depending on caller volume.
Or rather, the plan -was- to examine the three winning essays, but SenatorJPO ran out of time! Only excerpts were read; and Kevin Lyndon Veloso's work was the one reviewed in this episode. Five more are to come!
Having caught up on a backlog of note-taking regarding current events (congrats to the U.K. for its courageous, anti-globalist BrExit); job vacancy archival; and some graphical design (interspersed in future AJV Blog articles), SenatorJPO girds himself for the debate of a lifetime!
He finished analyzing the cost, ground rules, and mission of the now-defunct SLAE scholarship program to determine why the UW System decided to pull the plug on that once-touted contest.
SenatorJPO has now begun reading the essays -- writing rejoinders where opportune -- and is hereby sending notification, to the soon-to-be-P'WNED scholarship recipients -- of this forthcoming debate:
SenatorJPO vs. SAGLA Scholarship Winners: The Realist vs. the Essayists
Date: Friday, July 1, 2016
Time: 12:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Central Standard Time*
Access line: (929) 477-3965
Today's podcast is thereby cancelled to make way for the necessary preparations. (Those streaming or downloading this podcast will notice it is mostly the above announcement, but in audio format.)
*Although BlogTalkRadio permits only half an hour per day on its freemium plan, SenatorJPO will make a rain check for continued discussion -- at a time mutually agreeable to both him and the SAGLA scholarship recipient who calls in -- if time is running low during the debate. However, a caller who schedules more debate time, but fails to call in at that mutually-agreed time, forfeits the debate.
Having safely worked a strenuous palletizing job the last 20 months or so, including every Saturday and Sunday, host SenatorJPO had explored the similarities and differences of other high-adrenaline jobs. In this episode, SenatorJPO observes as much risk volatility -between states- for the same job classification as there is between jobs of different levels of exposures to possible danger.
Finally, this Friday is the big throw-down between SenatorJPO and the winners of the final LEAP-UW System essay scholarship contest. Don't miss it!
To what extent does the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents' request to legislators, at a June 9 meeting of the Regents, for $6.38 million in additional Wisconsin Grant funding -- taxpayer money -- further subsidize an already heavily discounted good of increasingly difficult-to-prove value?
SenatorJPO does the math in this highly algebraic podcast! And the results ain't pretty.
Plus, an open challenge to the last-ever winners of the LEAP essay contest!
SenatorJPO relates the after-effects of his adrenaline-pumping day job to his predictably oversized podcast workload. Time for another format change? Callers, here's your chance to shape the future of WPR Rebuttal!
Time for another format change? Callers, here's your chance to shape the future of WPR Rebuttal!
Also, our host receives a conceptually related dream! SenatorJPO explains in this thrilling episode.
Contrary to the media narrative about divisive UW-Madison student Denzel "King Shabazz" McDonald, he might not have been a first-time offender. Did the District Attorney overlook a prior conviction for the same crime of vandalism?
SenatorJPO examines the evidence in a WPR Rebuttal exclusive! Journalists will be scrambling for this lead.
Having described the erratic behavior of the Deltek Talent System, SenatorJPO shows you how to circumvent via a time-tested trick. Make the otherwise super-formidable SNAFUs seem SAWFT with this surefire workaround!
The key lies in -not- uploading your resume; then -entering only one- position title in your work history; and then -pasting- your resume into the text area. The complete walkthrough is in the podcast.
The poorly designed Deltek Talent System throws quite a few unpredictable errors. SenatorJPO describes these errors and explains why it matters for human resources and job seekers alike.
This episode was inspired by SenatorJPO spending more time than he would have liked -- than anyone should need -- on attempting to send a job application online! (You thought he retired as a job seeker? Then, who would review these crummy-crumb applicant tracking systems?!?)
The UW Board of Regents is fulfilling its annual obligation to meet at "Palooka University" UW-Milwaukee on Thursday, June 9 and Friday, June 10, 2016. What will be discussed?
SenatorJPO gives you the scoop and invites callers to comment on the topics, to be revealed on-air. Those wishing a sneak peek may visit the Board of
Regents website to access the official agenda:
https://www.wisconsin.edu/regents/download/meeting_materials/2016%283%29/june/Short-Agenda-June-2016.pdf
Call WPR Rebuttal at (929) 477-3965 to tell us your take on the Board of Regents' June 2016 UW-Milwaukee agenda!
SenatorJPO explains why Ray Cross is acting responsibly -- in a long-neglected, market-oriented stewardship -- towards the UW System.
SenatorJPO explains why Ray Cross is acting responsibly -- in a long-neglected, market-oriented stewardship -- towards the UW System. But what about the perspectives of other alumni? Shouldn't there be a survey, as there should be regarding college graduates' occupational outcomes?
If you're a UW alumnus or alumna, do you support, oppose, or feel ndifferent to UW System President Ray Cross? I'm asking not only University of Wisconsin grads from the Madison campus but alumni from throughout the UW System campuses.
Call WPR Rebuttal at (929) 477-3965 to tell us your take on Ray Cross and how he's handling the legitimation crisis of the UW System!
WPR Rebuttal Preempted by College Graduates' Occupational Outcomes Study: Owner Takes Time to Update and Promote Petition
An important petition this potent has power to preempt even the most-listened-to Internet radio broadcasts: http://goo.gl/nYDjrU
The slasher film is a pertinent analogy for how students enroll in college with the best intent but end up getting screwed, even to the point of career death. The classic "cabin in the woods" scenario illustrates how what seems to be a propitious opportunity, i.e. a state-subsidized university education, can precipitate's one ruin.
Features a chilling intro, as well as a comparison between film critic Roger Ebert's "waste of life" spent watching a two-hour movie and college graduates' "waste of life" spent earning a degree (or several), only to find their lack of full-time work experience made the decision to study full-time quite the harmful choice.
UW System President Faces No-Confidence Votes; Emerging Legitimation Crisis of UW System Part 2
UW System President Faces No-Confidence Votes from Several Faculty Senates; Reflective of Emerging Legitimation Crisis Against Entire UW System (Part 1)
Wisconsin has been a so-called "purple state," dominated by neither conservatives nor liberals. With Republicans having a slight edge due to the effects of intergovernmentalism and rural organizing, urban voters decided the moderate track no longer served their needs. This podcast examines the evidence for this supposition.
Move over, Wisconsin Public Radio! WPR-Rebuttal.com looks forward to thinking critically alongside its engaged audience in furtherance of the true pros, cons, and explanations behind the latest regional news that WPR only halfway covers.