Belling.com

By Mark Belling, WISN-AM

Paratech Ambulance, in direct violation of its contract, is refusing to respond to the majority of calls it is receiving in Milwaukee for paramedic service under the 911 system.

As I reported exclusively last week, Paratech, which was sold recently, has given Milwaukee notice that it intends to terminate its contract in six months. But I have now been able to confirm that Paratech is already bailing out of Milwaukee by simply refusing to honor the majority of requests it receives for service.

According to records provided by Acting Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, Paratech refused to respond to 1495 of the 2097 calls it has been assigned since March 14. Lipski says Paratech’s refusal puts it in violation of its contract with the city. That’s roughly 70 percent.

Three private ambulance companies, Bell, Curtis and Paratech, contract with the city for ambulance service. When a 911 call is received, the Milwaukee Fire Department responds. When the medical call is considered to be non-emergency, one of the three private companies is then dispatched to transport the individual to a hospital. Patients in more severe situations are transferred by the Fire Department paramedics. Milwaukee is broken up into three regions and each of the private companies handles calls for its region. When one of the companies says it can’t respond, one of the other companies takes the call.

The other two companies also refuse calls but nowhere near the rate at which Paratech is refusing service. Curtis delined 310 of its 1605 calls in the same time period. Bell has responded to virtually all of its calls, rejecting only 11 of 2222 calls. The usual reason for declining a call is that all units are responding to other calls but that doesn’t seem to be the problem with Paratech. City sources tell me that Paratech is having financial woes and has been unwilling to accept Milwaukee calls because most residents of the city are covered by Medicaid. Medicaid reimbursement for ambulance calls is much lower than the rate paid by private insurance or Medicare. All of the ambulance companies have been complaining about the problem. Paratech is the only one seeking to get out of its contract and, according to the numbers, is right now simply refusing to respond to most calls.

Milwaukee Alderman Michael Murphy, the longest serving member of the Common Council, tells me the situation is getting perilous. Individuals calling Milwaukee Police for 911 service have often waited hours. The same situation may be developing with ambulance calls. To be clear, individuals with life threatening conditions are not at risk here as those calls are all handled by the Fire Department itself.

Paratech official have consistently refused to respond to my questions. Paratech, which has been in business since 1973 and serves many cities, was sold to a company called Midwest Medical. The problems seem to have started after that sale.

Mark Belling
April 20

By: Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki

March 23, 2021

As I begin the final three years of my tenure as the Archbishop of Milwaukee, I envision that the major struggles will be in the area of religious freedom. Never did I think that religious freedom would be fundamentally questioned and challenged for the citizens of the United States of America. The Founding Fathers were prophetic in establishing the Bill of Rights because the very first freedom ensured by the constitution was religious freedom. This freedom establishes that there is a higher authority – higher even than the state – and that all citizens should acknowledge that. The understanding was clear: from this higher authority, all people derived their rights.

The Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Not all of the Founding Fathers were theists (believed in a personal God), but they probably were all deists (believed in a creator who was not personally involved in the lives of its beings). They understood it was this Creator who bestowed dignity upon all the citizens of this country.

We are a people who pride ourselves on the freedoms established by the Constitution. Today, many of the rights that our fathers and forefathers fought and died to defend are under attack. Some even wish to shift the democratic origins into a more socialistic governing model, removing decision-making from individuals and vesting them in the increasing power of the government. Look how the freedom of speech is limited and restricted to some voices. Of course, standing in the way of this massive governmental take-over is the Church and religion. The voice of religion and the teachings of the Church can never support governmental laws that disagree with our teaching that innocent lives may never be taken. Therefore, abortion has and will always be wrong.

Traditional families are the domestic church, so even though quasi-families might be established, they are not abiding by the Scriptures. “So God created mankind in his image, in the image of God He created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). Families are the bedrock of society’s future. Gender identification is not a matter of choice but is rooted in the physiology of a person. Take a few moments and read Cardinal Dolan’s critique of the Equality Act, which is neither equal nor equitable. Gender identification is not a personal choice motivated by one’s decision to one day be a male and the next a female. Certain serious questions must be answered before one exercises physiological change. But the Church, in her infinite wisdom, maintains the dignity and respect of all human beings, which is rooted in the fact that God created all in His image.

All Catholics should understand the importance of the ability to present the Church’s teachings and live them out without the interference or manipulation of the government. I have long maintained that the government, which is under a constitutional mandate not to establish a religion (the establishment clause), has de facto established a religion, and that religion is secularism. Secularism upholds the dependency on man alone, certification of popular mores of any social movement, and a skepticism of any religious teachings, which is diminished by belief in a Supreme Being.

In the history of Christianity, this is not the first time the Church has been under attack because of what it represents, and this will not be the last time. But, in these United States of America, we should enjoy the freedom to profess and teach our faith and live Christ’s command to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Many Hands. One Vision,

Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee

By Mark Belling, WISN-AM

Participating in a riot at a private residence and lying to police about a shooting is apparently a credential to get you an invitation to address students at Kettle Moraine High School.

The school invited Milwaukee State Assemblyman David Bowen to address students this afternoon during a Black History Month program at the high school in southern Waukesha County. Bowen was caught on video buying supplies that were used in the vandalism of a Wauwatosa resident’s house and later lied to police, claiming former Wauwatosa Officer Joseph Mensah fired a gunshot into the home during the ensuing riot. The man charged with the shooting has admitted firing the shot and has further stated Bowen urged others to lie about what happened.

Kettle Moraine Principal Beth Kaminski, in a written statement, said students invited Bowen to be one of several speakers at the event. Bowen ended up skipping the event, citing a conflict. Kaminski says the event was a success.

Mensah, who is African American, is now a deputy in the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department. Kettle Moraine didn’t invite him but did invite the elected official who lied and accused Mensah of firing a gunshot into an occupied home during a riot. (the homeowner is a Milwaukee police officer and Mensah’s girlfriend. She sustained multiple bruises after being roughed up by the mob which was part of the group The People’s Revolution. Its leader, Khalil Coleman, was arrested over the weekend in Kentucky accused of trying to rob a drug house.

Kettle Moraine Superintendent Pat Deklotz is retiring at the end of the school year. The district’s curriculum and programs have become increasingly radicalized during her tenure.

The KM school board president, Gary Vose, did not respond to my inquiry.

Mark Belling
February 23

Statement On Appleton Radio Host’s Suspension For Rush Limbaugh Comments
By Mark Belling, WISN-AM

It’s admittedly nice for liberals to feel some of the pain of the obnoxious cancel culture they have created. And a dopey DJ at WAPL in Appleton is feeling it now. Len Nelson, like many other bitter lefties, took to social media to dance on Rush’s grave by tossing out the usual buzzwords like “misogyny” and “racist.” The goof then went on to say the world is a better place without Rush.

WAPL has suspended him.

Obnoxious as Nelson’s comments are, he should not have been suspended and he should certainly not be fired. If his audience sees him for the doofus he is, fine. But this pandemic of firing people for saying things others don’t like is un-American. And it’s childish.

Nelson’s comments are not, to use a word the left loves, hurtful. Rush has been very important to my life and my career and I’m not hurt by Nelson’s comments one bit. I am able to consider the source and move on.

Liberals spent Rush’s entire career trying to get him fired for daring to express his opinions. Rush survived because millions of us loved his show and agreed with him. His legacy should not be to use the very tactics against his no-talent critics that were used on him.

Our world is better off with all speech, even obnoxious speech. Perhaps if liberals understand that the cancel culture they invented can be turned against them, they’ll start to back off. But that still isn’t justification for putting muzzles on all of us because of the misguided notion that we can’t handle speech we find nauseating.

Free Len Nelson.

Mark Belling
February 19

The table below shows data for each high school at each grade level in WSD, and also includes a YoY grade point comparison as well.

Note the following:

• Every single grade, at every single high school in WSD, has seen declines in their GPA, with a District wide decline of 10%.
• North and South fare the worst with 12% declines at the school level, and some grades seeing drops as high 18%
• East HS, which as I understand it, enrolls students who are most at risk of not graduating, shows declines in GPA of 24% among its Junior and 45% among its Seniors (Quarter Grade Data is not tracked at East HS).

Finally, here is a chart from another parent, also from the ORR data obtained yesterday, shows dramatic drops in student attendance, particularly at the middle school level (Grades 6-8)

EXCLUSIVE: Speaker Robin Vos Tells Wisconsinites To Stay Home “If They Can;” Guess Where He Was This Week?

By Mark Belling, WISN-AM

In the latest case of a politician ignoring their own Covid instructions, Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has recorded a “bipartisan” Covid radio and TV ad with Democrat Congressman Mark Pocan in which Vos urges Wisconsinites to “stay home if they can.”

The ad is running the very same week Vos went to Washington for the annual White House Christmas Party, hosted by President Trump, an event Vos crowed about on his Facebook page:

We’re Number One And Nobody Is Close! Radio Trade Publication Raves About WISN’s Dominance Of Milwaukee Radio

The following is from Talkers.com, a trade publication that covers the radio industry.

MILWAUKEE

• This is the third straight month at #1 for iHeartMedia Milwaukee’s WISN “News/Talk 1130,” which is an eyepopping +5.9 in four consecutive spikes (6.8 – 8.6 – 10.2 – 11.2 – 12.7, 6+), with 12.7 its highest 6+-stat in the PPM-era.
• In three gains in a row (5.5 – 6.7 – 7.2 – 8.0, 6+), Good Karma Brands’ crosstown WTMJ (Brewers, Bucks, Green Bay Packers) was a cumulative +2.5, but “Wisconsin’s Radio Station” erodes by -.9 to 7.1 (second to third, 6+).

• In Milwaukee, Good Karma Brands’ WKTI “94.5 ESPN” picks up three-tenths via four successive up or flat moves (.4 – .6 – .6 – .6 – .7, #18 to #16, 6+).
• After posting five straight reports without a loss for a net gain of two-tenths (.6 – .6 -.6 – .6 – .7 – .8, 6+), iHeartMedia-owned WRNW “97.3 The Game – Milwaukee’s Sports Talk That Rocks” forfeits one-tenth to .7 (unchanged at #16, 6+).
• Cluster-mate WOKY “The Big 920” triples (+.4) its 6+ AQH share in four consecutive sweeps without a loss (.2 – .4 – .4 – .4 – .6, #19 to #18, 6+).
• Also in Milwaukee’s top twenty is Entercom’s WSSP “Sports Radio 105.7 The Fan,” which is down a total of one-tenth in three straight negative or neutral trends (.5 – .4 – .4 – .4, #19 to #20, 6+).

• Unchanged at #8 in Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-owned WUWM improves by four-tenths in October/November (4 – 3.7 – 3.8, 6+).
• Elsewhere in Milwaukee, the (repetitive) August 2020 through November 2020 topline for Wisconsin Public Radio’s WHAD is: 1.3 – 1.4 – 1.3 – 1.4 (#13 to #11, 6+).

By Mark Belling, WISN-AM

Aaron Perry, who last Tuesday lost a bid for the state assembly in a district centered in the City of Waukesha, has been charged with felony domestic violence in connection with an incident that occurred this past Monday involving his ex-wife.

Perry is a former Republican who ran as a Democrat this year against incumbent Assemblyman Scott Allen.  Perry is a member of the Waukesha Common Council.  He faced misdemeanor chasrges several years ago after an incident, also with his now ex-wife.

The circumstances of Perry’s felony arrest this week are reported extensively in the Waukesha Freeman today.  Here’s a link.