Alan J. Borsuk – Page 113 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

WEAC and MTEA: This Is War (I Expect)

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:February 9, 2011
Post category:Education & Law Milwaukee Public Schools

The decision by the state’s largest teachers organization, the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), to alter its stands on teacher evaluation and advocate breaking from the traditional method of paying teachers was not such a huge surprise for those who had been following statements from union leaders in recent months. The educational and political landscapes have changed, and the union wants to play a role in big decisions coming soon.

But the WEAC stand in favor of breaking up Milwaukee Public Schools into “smaller, more manageable districts” caught people (count me in) off guard. It’s just not something to which the union had shown previous inclination. And the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, WEAC’s largest affiliate, strongly opposes such ideas.

There were clear indications in the way things happened this week that the gap between leaders of WEAC and the MTEA is now wide and sharp, and communication among them is not friendly.

Paul Ryan: Amiable Style, Heavy Content

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:February 4, 2011
Post category:Political Processes & Rhetoric Speakers at Marquette

He wore a sweater and showed off the heavy boots he was wearing because, in the aftermath of the snow storm, this wasn’t “a wingtips day.”

He paused in mid conversation to plop a mint his mouth because “if I’m ever in the neighborhood, I always go to Real Chili.”

He poked fun at himself for being nervous when the cameras went on for his nationally-televised response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech last week.

He shrugged off talk of his political future. “When I look in the mirror, I see a broken nose and a widow’s peak. I don’t see a future president.”

But, during Rep. Paul Ryan’s “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” visit Thursday to Marquette University Law School, there was no mistaking that the Republican from Janesville regards himself as a key player in making the most crucial decisions the United States faces.

Our Boys: Statewide Loyalty to Wisconsin’s Sports Teams

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:January 31, 2011
Post category:Marquette Law School Speakers at Marquette Sports & Law

They may be called the Green Bay Packers and the Milwaukee Brewers, but the degree to which major sports teams in Wisconsin are embraced by fans everywhere else in the state is not common in the sports world. These are “our teams” even if they play 100 or 200 miles away.

That’s on exhibit for all the world to see this week with the Packers’ appearance coming up Sunday in the Super Bowl. Fan loyalty to the Packers in Milwaukee, for example, often seems to know little limit, even though the team stopped playing in Milwaukee in the mid-1990s and (dare I say this) from Milwaukee, it is just about the same distance to Soldier Field in Chicago as it is to Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

Much less noted is the degree to which the Brewers are a Wisconsin team.

In an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session last week at Eckstein Hall, Rick Schlesinger, the Brewers’ executive vice president for business operations, talked about how important it is for the team to give people who attend games a good experience, and how important out-state fans are to the Brewers.

“We have to draw from not just Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin,