Karl Rove predictable, as are his detractors

Karl Rove addresses an audience at UWM Thursday, Dec. 3.

You either love him or hate him, but there is no middle ground when it comes to Karl Rove. The alleged mastermind behind President George W. Bush’s two successful campaigns for president is charming, funny and knowledgeable to those who agree with his politics, while protesters at Rove’s UWM appearance called him a war criminal, evil monster and liar.

Rove was the invited guest of the UWM Student Republicans and he came to share his conservative outlook, offer advice to the two GOP candidates for Wisconsin governor, and promote his new book, Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight. Candidate Mark Neumann introduced Rove after telling the audience to believe in the American Dream.

“I’m optimistic for America,” Neumann said, while holding up a cell phone. “I remember when we had stacks of computer punch cards and now I have 10 times the power of that first computer on this phone. Imagine if the next generation can catch that vision.”

Once Rove appeared the crowd erupted in cheers and jeers. An older man was physically removed by Milwaukee Police Officers when he continued to applaud and loudly tell his neighbors he was “just clapping for the speaker.” Other protesters, dressed as wealthy patrons, mocked Rove, while another man stood amidst the crowd and unfurled a banner that read “9-11 was an inside job.” Everyone who shouted dissent was immediately surrounded by security and escorted from the room.

Outside of the meeting room, protesters called for Rove and President Bush’s arrests for the crimes they feel had been committed against humanity. They also called on Rove to return the speculated $25,000 speaking fee he received, mostly raised from student union funds.

A protester makes it clear what he wants to do with Rove

Rove offered Neumann and Scott Walker some advice for running a successful gubernatorial campaign. “Lay down a positive vision for the voters,” referencing the recent victories of Republican governors in Virginia and New Jersey. He said the way Republicans will win elections is not by simply being “not the other guy.”

 He explained that Bob McDonnell started his campaign by listing his disagreements with the Obama administration and his democrat opponent, “but this he provided alternatives.” “Bob talked relentlessly about his ideas, about job creation, education, transportation, and the environment. He put out position papers on these issues and he won by an 18 percent margin.”

In addition to sharing valuable campaign advice, Rove focused on President Obama’s 11-month old presidency. He said Americans didn’t vote for Obama because he was the most qualified, but because he represented hope and was aspirational. Rove praised voters for electing an African-American son of a Kenyan immigrant and American mother, showing that we as a people have come to realize the dream of content over color vocalized by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rove also praised Obama for defying his supporters and holding to his campaign promise to increase the troop levels in Afghanistan.

But that was the only issue, Rove and Obama seem to agree on. Rove called Obama out for running his campaign as a centrist, but governing as a liberal. He attacked the president and congress’s plan for overhauling health care, claiming that of the supposed 47 million uninsured citizens, only 5 million are truly lacking health coverage.

“9.7 million of that number are illegal and legal allians; 15 million are making at least $50,000 and choose not to have health insurance; and 14 million are eligible for other government health care, but have not been sign up properly. The government shouldn’t discombobulate the entire system for 5 million people. we should make it work better for them.”

 Rove also questioned Obama’s stimulus program, claiming only 5 percent of the more than $787 billion went to shovel ready project. Instead he said it has been wasted, including $5 billion for smoking cessation and obesity reduction programs.

 ”I just don’t think there are that many unemployed obesity counselors out there to warrant $5 billion,” Rove said, getting a laugh from the appreciative audience.

Overall, Rove’s message was predictable and his solution to the issues facing the nation today is to work to elect conservative, Republican candidates. The only thing more predictable than his message was that of his dectractors.

Barrett has Flynn’s back

Mayor Tom Barrett and Police Chief Ed Flynn at a recent news conference

Paul Bucher has found someone to blame for the failure of his marriage —Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn. The news of the past two days has been filled with Bucher accusing Flynn of being solely responsible for the destruction of his family and marriage to local journalist and UWM lecturer Jessica McBride, turning a personal matter into tabloid fodder. Bucher is demanding Flynn step down or that Mayor Tom Barrett fire the chief.

Flynn and McBride admitted in June that they did engage in an extramarital affair, complete with hot e-mails reprinted in the local newspapers. Both parties admitted their culpability and said they were going to return to their respective spouses and work on their marriages.

Luckily, Mayor Tom Barrett and the Milwaukee Police and Fire Commission saw then, and are able to see the important public issue in all this mess — is Flynn doing his job satisfactorily?  In one word: Yes.

Barrett has come forward again, as he did in June, in support of his chief, noting that this is a personal matter and that crime has fallen for eight consecutive quarters in the city since Flynn was hired. Flynn has the respect of the majority of his officers and is making inroads with the community by standing up to thugs and criminals, not coddling them or worrying about their low self-esteem. Flynn sees a criminal and deals with the criminal appropriately. That is what Barrett and the citizens of Milwaukee want.

Some have said Flynn has violated the moral code of society and possibly that of the Milwaukee Police Department. They even point to an antiquated law that makes adultery a criminal act, which I dare anyone to cite when the last prosecution for it was. And even though I personally find adultery to be a reprehensible act and morally wrong, cheating on your spouse and breaking up someone’s marriage is not a public matter. It is personal and maybe even spiritual; nonetheless, it is something to be discussed, argued and resolved by the two couples involved.

Bucher says he has proof that Flynn and McBride continued their affair in September, but he isn’t sharing the details. A shadowy “friend” of McBride’s claims that McBride told her of a meeting with the chief, which if the details became public, would get Flynn fired. Flynn has admitted he has been in contact with McBride since the affair was made public in June, but that he has not continued the physical affair. McBride, for her part, has kept her mouth shut on the whole matter.

Bucher would do himself well if he would learn from his wife’s silence. This is a personal matter and has nothing to do with Flynn’s job as top cop in the city. Flynn has exhibited a tough, but fair attitude toward crime prevention and has the statistics to back up his job performance. We don’t fire a businessman who is making money for the company when he has a illicit tryst with his neighbor’s wife; so, we shouldn’t use Flynn’s physical weakness to remove him from a job he is doing well.

Happy Birthday Sesame Street!

I remember exactly where I was 40 years ago today — sitting in front of our 26-inch color television console watching a big, yellow bird, a green garbage-can monster and a host of multicultural friends on PBS’ Sesame Street.

That program played a large part in my childhood. I perfected my counting skills, learned the alphabet with the forever 6-year-old Big Bird and even learned a smattering a Spanish. To this day, I can count to ten in Spanish because of Sesame Street!

 This was exactly the goal of the Children’s Television Workshop (CTW) when it started down the road of educational television programming for kids. The creators proposed using television’s “most engaging traits,” including high production values, sophisticated writing and quality film and animation, to reach the largest audience possible. CTW set out to create a program that would spread pro-learning values to both children and their parents and that would resonate with them long after they turned off the TV.

It worked. Sesame Street has become the leader and innovator in educational programming. It doesn’t talk down to the 3-to-7 set; instead, it speaks to this age group with intelligence and sophistication. Sesame Street also keeps up with the times — looking back at what I watched and what my nieces and nephews see on the Street is like comparing a buggy to a Maserati.

 But even though the look has changed to keep up with media-savvy toddlers, and the topics have broadened from simple sharing and an understanding of dying (remember when Mr. Hooper died?) to eco-friendly lifestyle and diversity issues in families, Sesame Street maintains its core curriculum of reading, writing and arithmatic.

I can still sing the Sesame Street theme song 40 years later with the same intensity and joy as I did when I was 4 years old. I even have some of the books and record albums that were put out in the early ’70s with the Muppets greatest hits — pop songs hiding important lessons on sharing, phonics and friendship. And yes, I sat on the floor cross-legged with my three children, too, as they watched Sesame Street, singing and laughing.

So pull off your tie, let down your hair and embrace the 4-year-old inside and join in with me: “Sunny days, chasing the clouds away. On my way to where the air is sweet. Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?!”

Why can’t Obama act presidential?

The GovFreak abides!

I was sitting in my car Thursday afternoon, listening with rapt attention to the news coming out of Ft. Hood. This tragedy has impacted Wisconsin especially hard, with two dead and two of the wounded coming from the Badger State. My condolences and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

But imagine my surprise and shock when the host of the show I was listening to broke away to the President’s address, only to hear Obama speaking in a jovial manner, thanking the organizers of an Interior Department Conference on Native American Affairs for their work, promising that his administration would continue to discuss issues with tribal leaders and even giving a “shout-out” to Dr. Joe “Medicine” Crow, a Native American Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

It was only after 2 minutes of frivolity did Obama comment on the tragedy suffered by the troops who serve under his command. I will give him credit for what he did say, calling the event a “horrific outburst of violence,” and that “these are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk and at times give their lives to the rest of us on a daily basis. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil.”

But that doesn’t excuse his poor decision to continue with the planned script for the day. It was well-known that Obama was planning to give closing remarks at the Native American conference on Nov. 5, and if this tragedy hadn’t occurred, nothing would have been thought of it. However, something tragic did happen to American soldiers waiting to deploy to a war that Obama is now in charge of.

He should have tossed his planned remarks, which came across to a stunned nation as insensitive and clueless, and immediately reassured the grieving military base and offered the condolences of the American people.

A lot of conservative talkers have demanded for Obama’s impeachment over this. That is a little much. It’s not a high crime or misdemeanor to be thoughtless and a clod. But the least Obama could do is to apologize for his insensitive behavior and demeanor.

The left has naturally come to Obama’s defense, immediately rehashing the “My Pet Goat” moment George Bush had on 9/11. If you’ve forgotten, Bush was reading a storybook to a class of elementary students when he was interrupted by an aide who informed him of the attacks on the World Trade Center. After this brief exchange, Bush finished reading the book to the students.

But there is a huge difference between these two events, a 3-hour difference. In Bush’s case, he was told of the attacks while he was reading to the students. Instead of immediately leaving or addressing the attacks in front of young elementary students, Bush maintained his composure, finished the book and left to deal with the business of the terrorist attack.

Obama, on the other hand, was told of the Ft. Hood incident as it was happening at 1: 30 p.m. (CST). He didn’t make his appearance before the Native American conference and address the nation until well after 4 p.m. (CST). Almost 3 hours had passed since Obama heard of the tragedy and his address to the nation. Plenty of time for him, his speech writer and his aides to dump the prepared remarks to the conference and adopt a more Presidential tone.

It’s not like the left doesn’t have examples of proper Presidential decorum in these types of situations. Bill Clinton unfortunately had to address the nation in times of great grief and he got it right.

When the Alfred R. Murrah building was destroyed by domestic terrorists at 9:30 am (CST),  Clinton was informed within minutes while meeting with the Turkish Prime Minister. He didn’t immediately address the nation, but waited until the afternoon when he declared a federal emergency in Oklahoma City and called the incident an “attack on innocent children and defenseless citizens.”

Clinton added to his presidential stature when the USS Cole was bombed by terrorists off the Yemeni coast in the early hours of Oct. 12, 2000, he was vacationing in northern New York for his wedding anniversary. He returned to Washington by the late morning and addressed the nation in somber tones.  He didn’t joke around with the reporters in the audience, he didn’t shout out to the military guards standing in the room.

So the left and Democratic apologists for Obama don’t have to excuse his behavior by playing the “Bush didn’t act Presidential fast enough” card. Instead, they should at least hold him up to the standards of a former President they worship and respect.

Hope for the Dems: Jared Christiansen

Wisconsin’ Democrats are waiting breathlessly for the white smoke to come from Tom Barrett’s chimney, hoping that Milwaukee’s mayor will decide to head west and lead the state into a liberal nirvana. But as they follow Barrett’s every move, there already is a declared Democrat candidate: Jared Christiansen.

Jared Christiansen, the only declared Democrat for Wisconsin governor.

Christiansen is an 18-year-old from Ellsworth.  He has worked for McDonald’s for the past three years and is on track to become the second-assistant manager at his location. He is a Deputy Cadet Commander in the Civil Air Patrol and he volunteers in his hometown. Christiansen attends a virtual high school and takes care of himself and the family home for two weeks each month, while his parents work as OTR truck drivers.

He is just as qualified to be governor as is Barrett. In fact, I think he is more qualified to run this state, given his long record of employment in the private sector. In addition to his three years at McDonald’s, Christiansen held down his first job while a middle schooler, washing dishes and serving food in the school cafeteria. His experience at both jobs taught him the importance of customer service, being fiscally responsible, managing people, and dealing with crisis on the spot. 

Can that possibly be better preparation for the governor’s office than the 25 years Tom Barrett has served as Milwaukee’s mayor, congressional representative and state assemblyman?  In a word, YES.

The one thing Christiansen has that Barrett doesn’t is a day-to-day dealing with the taxpayer. He has seen the effects of the recession first hand, as people move from designer dinners to McDonald Dollar Meals. Christiansen is helping his neighbors and family, who have seen their wallets lighter from job layoffs and high taxes, by stepping up and helping them directly by raking the leaves, carrying their groceries and getting a job to help pay the bills. And Christiansen knows what he wants, without waffling or stringing people along.

On his website, Christiansen cites listening, patience, respect and morals as tantamount to being a good governor. He has a D behind his name, but his political influence is John F. Kennedy, probably the most conservative Democrat in modern times. Christiansen is more moderate than the Wisconsin Democratic Party probably desires, claiming he will comb ideas from both parties to ensure bi-partisanship and smooth running government.

I don’t agree with all of Christiansen’s policy statements, but some of his ideas are clearly right of center. He would increase the payment rate from Indian casinos from 7.9% to 10 % and build a budget from the zero up, based on needs. In an effort to save and bring more jobs to Wisconsin, Christiansen proposes a freeze on corporate income taxes (how Republican of you, Jared) and to hold tuition increases at UW down by freezing or even cutting the number of non-classroom personnel hired. And as a virtual high school student, Christiansen is open to options in public education.

However, Christiansen also wants to see more use of alternative energy, allow criminals to spend time in “rehab” centers, raise income tax rates on the richest taxpayers (which will ensure corporate leaders will leave the state) and  expand BadgerCare for everyone.

The only problem I see the Dems would have with Christiansen is he is not a party insider and has no name recognition. But if the Dems would simply welcome him into the fold, invest some money and fund-raising into his effort and campaign for him, Christiansen could bring the Democrats to the party in 2010.

Whether he could dance with Walker or Neumann is a whole other question.

Enough is enough

Enough! 

I am on the verge of being taxed out of my last penny. I am not against paying taxes – for garbage collection, military intervention and protection, police and fire personnel, public education, road maintenance, and other things that I can’t do on my own. I pay $4,000 in annual property taxes, and in addition to the $1,000 I pay in income taxes, it  is a small price to pay for public safety, refuse pickup, and relatively safe roads.

But what I won’t put up with is more taxes to be thrown down the rabbit hole of mismanagement and arrogance. Milwaukee County is losing the fiscal battle, and as County Executive Scott Walker continues to suggest cost-saving measures such as privatizing janitors and park management, the county board continues to play the role of a make-work agency and finding new things to tax.

Most of us work in private offices that are cleaned by private cleaning crews after hours. They do a good job. My desk is always sparkling, the garbage can has a fresh bag every morning and my computer monitor is free of fingerprints. The pictures of my children are where I left them, the money I keep in my desk for a mid-day Coke is still in the tray and the keys to the office safe are safe where I left them.

But these private cleaning crews are not good enough for our courthouse. No way. According to Supervisor Toni Clark, these private employees would lead to increased thefts at the courthouse and other county buildings. She actually said these workers would ransack personal belongings and that saving cash for taxpayers wasn’t worth that risk.

Wow, what does she have in her desk that is more important than what is in mine?  Maybe Ms. Clark should do as school districts tell their students – don’t bring your iPods, large sums of cash, cell phones and other valuables and leave them in your locker, because they might be stolen.  Even by a county employee.

Another new tax on the horizon is a proposed $20 wheel tax on every vehicle in Milwaukee County. Currently only the poor souls in the city of Milwaukee have to pay this, but if County Board Chairman Lee Holloway has his way, everyone in our fair county will see an increase in their vehicle registration. (That’s $75 state, $20 county and another $20 in the city, just to register your car).  And for what? $10 million extra dollars that the supervisors could save by privatizing, getting rid of outdated and labor intensive outdoor pools and just cutting their own board budget? 

It can be done. Just this Friday, the county board’s finance committee found over $500,000 in the current year’s budget to avert Walker’s promised layoff of 180 county employees this week. The parks, sheriff and individual supervisors found places to cut spending and speed up revenue collections to halt the job cuts. This obviously demonstrates that when the supervisors say they have cut the budget to the bone, that there is still some meat to chew off that leg.

But don’t be lulled into the idea that the county board, or any other taxing authority, will start doing the right thing and begin budgeting with and eye towards reduced spending. They’ll just keep squeezing us until we all stand up and shout – Enough!

Giving journalists a bad name

I was shocked when I heard Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton had decided to drop out of the running for the open governor’s seat in 2010. She cited “deep personal reasons” as to why she was leaving a race she had only entered in August. Bloggers, new junkies and yes, the Govfreak, wondered if she was pushed out, considering that the same day she made her announcement, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ran a front page story about Mayor Tom Barrett receiving “encouragement” to run from the Obama administration. 

I was looking forward to watching Babs mount an ineffective and decidedly leftist campaign in moderate Wisconsin, but having interviewed Lawton a few times, I know firsthand that she is not up for a debate with either Scott Walker, Mark Neumann or the average fifth-grader.

However, that belief doesn’t mean I encourage sloppy, sensational journalism in the name of “conservatism.” I am referring to Jerry Bader, a conservative talker on Green Bay’s AM1360 WTAQ. In a blog posted Oct. 26, Bader “reported” that Lawton was dropping out of the governor’s race because information tying her to a lesbian affair was about to become public. Bader repeatedly assured his blog readers that his information was credible and factual, and that he had complete confidence in his source.

AM1360 WTAQ claimed that the information in Bader’s blog had not been reported by their news staff, so they were not officially putting the rumors into play, but when you go to the station’s website and it has a prominent link to the blog, it is at least tacitly giving its okay to the content.

Lawton, for her part, was upset by the blog. When a reporter for a local La Crosse television station asked her about the allegation, Lawton called the rumor, “an outrageous lie.” 

“It becomes clear the vulnerability one invites just by running for office and serving in government, doesn’t it? I am about to celebrate… 36 years,” Lawton said, before beginning to cry. She asked for the cameras to be turned off and left the interview.

By 10 a.m. Tuesday morning Bader was changing his tune. He released a statement saying he had “lost confidence in the sources” who had provided him with the information on Lawton. He called Lawton’s campaign manager to apologize and took the original story off his blog site.

I find Bader’s behavior to have given journalists a bad name. He was told a sensational personal story about a political enemy  and he ran with it. He claims to have used a reliable source, but having been on the receiving end from a source, I often received material that the provider felt would appeal to my political bent.  I didn’t have a highly rated talk show to support, so I could easily toss aside the outrageous, or at least take the time to find credible sources I wouldn’t have to recant within a day.

Lawton has said the information isn’t true, and after watching her reaction, I believe her. But even if it were true, don’t we live in a nation where a person’s sexual orientation shouldn’t matter? In fact, it doesn’t seem to matter to Wisconsin voters who have already placed an openly gay woman, Tammy Baldwin, in Congress. The only people this type of slanderous accusation appeals to are the ultra-conservatives who feel as much contempt for the person as they do for the sin.

Unfortunately, those are the same people who find Bader appealing and make it difficult for hard-working, honest and ethical journalists to thrive.

Obama gets and “A” for effort

We truly live in ‘bizzaro’ world. That is what the world has become after waking up to the news that President Barack Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. For what? What has he done to deserve such an honor, less than a year after his election turned his national campaign tour into an international one?

The Nobel Committee said Obama was awarded the prestigious prize because “… rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future.” The committee is hoping to enhance and support Obama’s ideas, but it did acknowledge that he has yet to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen the U.S. role in combating climate change, but the group is hopeful.

I’m so glad that five guys in Norway have bought into the “Hope and Change” mantra we have endured for almost three years. Unfortunately, the people who matter in world peace — Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, North Korea’s Kim Jong-il, Osama bin-Laden and the players in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, are not impressed. Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong-il have told Obama and the world that their nuclear power (aka — weapons) plans are none of their business, with Iran continuing to threaten long-time American ally, Israel with destruction. And an Associated Press headline in this morning’s newspapers cries out that ”Mideast peace hope dims.”

This award is undeserved and definitely premature. The deadline for this year’s prize was in February, a mere two weeks after Obama entered office. Obama and wife Michelle hadn’t even finished making the rounds of the inauguration balls when the nominations closed. The only real policy decision Obama had made by then was to close Guantanamo Bay, and we all know how well that is going.

Other sitting presidents have received the Nobel Peace Prize — Teddy Roosevelt in 1906 for negotiating the Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended the Russo-Japanese War, and Woodrow Wilson in 1919 for his leadership in the creation of the League of Nations. Even Jimmy Carter, who I believe is the worst president in my lifetime and possibly the nation’s, was awarded the prize in 2002 for his years of humanitarian efforts, promoting fair electoral processes around the world and for his role in the Camp David Accords and ultimate peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1979.

All Obama has done is give a good speech. Wow, if that’s the only criteria this gang of five in Norway uses to determine who has forwarded peace and worked to “reduce standing armies and the spreading of peace congresses,” then I should be awarded the medal for all my work to keep my children from killing each other over that last doughnut in the box this morning.

Contrast in attitudes

There is a lesson in contrasts between two sets of brothers in Milwaukee County. On the one hand there are the Popp brothers, Jason and Kurtis, who will stand up and take responsibility for one of the most expensive fires to ever burn in Southeastern Wisconsin – the July 5 fire at the Patrick Cudahy meatpacking plant. On the other hand, there are the Peters brothers – Anthony and his unnamed, cowardly brother.

It was announced Monday by Jason Popp’s attorney and the district attorney’s officer that he entered a plea of no contest to second-degree recklessly endangering safety and admitted to giving his brother a military flare that landed on the Patrick Cudahy plant and sparked the blaze.

The charge carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison. However, prosecutors plan to recommend that the prison term be stayed and that he serve three years probation with some time spent at the Milwaukee County Jail. Popp will also be required to perform some form of community service.

Popp’s attorney, Steven C. McGaver, said his client was extremely remorseful and never could have imagined that his admittedly stupid action could have resulted in millions of dollars worth of damage and a devastating impact to the community.

Kurtis Popp is facing the same second degree recklessly endangering safety charge and is expected to enter a no contest plea on Sept. 1. The terms of his plea agreement have yet to be finalized, according to his attorney, Julius Kim.

In stark contrast stand the Peters brothers. We all remember Anthony Peters, who with a few swings of a tire iron, he turned Milwaukee’s mild-mannered Mayor Tom Barrett into a living hero who will stand up to street thugs. And we remember his brother, who along with other relatives, offered excuses for his brother’ troubles. Instead of being a man and admitting to his criminal actions, Peters and his family have blamed the mayor, his ex-girlfriend, his child’s grandmother, and the world in general for Anthony’s troubles.

“Somebody got involved that really shouldn’t have gotten involved,” the brother said. “If he was able to see his kid it wouldn’t have gone this far.”

He also describes his 20-year-old brother as “a boy,” who doesn’t know how to control his emotions and handle stressful situations.

Peter’s mother actually believes her son is only being prosecuted because the victim of her son’s criminal actions was the mayor. If this had been you, me, or some other helpful citizen, she believes the cops wouldn’t have even bothered looking for him, much less prosecuting Anthony for felony first-degree reckless injury, theft, disorderly conduct, and bail jumping.

It has only been two weeks since Peters allegedly beat Mayor Barrett within an inch of his life on a West Allis street, and many have said it is understandable that a brother and mother would stand by their relative when in trouble. However, this attitude of blaming the victim and everyone else within hearing distance for your problems stretches the envelope of common sense and civil society.

The Popp brother’s father called it right when shortly after their arrest he said they had behaved “like idiots.” He didn’t blame anyone for his son’s troubles and he didn’t offer excuses for their behavior.

The Popp brothers are admitting their role in this tragic fire, which will cost the Patrick Cudahy Company upwards of $50 million. They are taking their punishment like men, even if it is not what everyone affected by their actions feels is fair.

Hopefully, their example will rub off on Anthony Peters as he moves forward in the justice system and he will become the man he needs to be, not the boy his brother excuses him for being.