Dan Bice should be ashamed of himself

I live over 325 miles northwest of Milwaukee and don’t read Dan Bice’s column all that often, but I notice that the blurb under the title of his ” No Quarter Blog ” reads, “Daniel Bice, the Journal Sentinel’s watchdog columnist, holds politicians and the powerful accountable ”  Is that so?

Then someone please tell me why in the hell Bice wrote his most recent column about a pair of Lac Courte Oreilles tribal members legal troubles. Are Felina LaPointe and Mel Gasper, the two tribal members mentioned, politicians and the powerful?

I’ve met both Felina LaPointe and Mel Gasper. I worked on the Lac Courte Oreilles reservation for several years, and my wife Shelly worked there for 12 years. I’m pretty confident that both Felina and Mel have lived in poverty most or nearly all of their lives, much like a majority of Native Americans in northern Wisconsin. And like a lot of people who grew up and live impoverished, they’ve had their share of troubles.

But when the call came for volunteers to live at the Lac Courte Oreilles Harvest and Education Learning Project camp, they answered it. Like most Native Americans they’re sick to death of ” politicians and the powerful ” running roughshod over everything they hold dear, like clean water, fish safe to eat, and wild rice, or “Manoomin”, which holds a very special place in Anishinaabeg culture and mythology.

The legal troubles LaPointe and Gasper are facing have nothing to do with the issue at hand, namely, the construction of what might be the largest open pit iron mine in the world. Gogebic Taconite President Bill William’s legal troubles, on the other hand, have everything to do with the issue at hand, and yet the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Dan Bice have been largely silent on that particular matter. Why is that? I thought there was a big, bad watchdog columnist on the job down there.

In my view Bice’s piece is nothing more than a no-good, stinkin’, low down, reprehensible smear job of the first order of magnitude, and Dan Bice should be ashamed of himself.

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18 thoughts on “Dan Bice should be ashamed of himself

  1. So, to be blunt, our side cites rightfully, on a consistent basis—the corruption and lawlessness of Walker and his Tea Party—but it is BICE that should be ashamed to tell the truth? Frankly, the history of these people have as much to do with their politics as they did with recalled Senator Hopper’s ability to do his job. It is just as important and relevant as those alcohol issues did. BTW:Whenever Simpson defends our side for the same behavior—it makes me realize WHY we lost the recall and why we need more intelligent and credible people on our side that hold EVERYONE responsible for their own actions.

    1. Gretchen,

      Bice states that his column holds politicians and the powerful accountable. LaPointe and Gasper are neither. Bill Williams qualifies as the powerful. Maybe you need to re-read the post?

      1. Steve—La Pointe and Gasper ARE involved in politics—I find it fascinating that our side has so many dim and hypocritical people—that they simply cannot see that Bice AS a journalist has the obligation to tell all sides—or our the political extremes in Wisconsin—the same. I think they are. LaPointe and Gasper have some very serious issues here. We have a right to know their credibility factor. Bice should be ashamed of himself? I’m ashamed of our side when it seeks to discredit people on one side due to their foibles but simply cannot see that people like LaPointe and Gasper are simply not without their own. If we want to change the course that Wisconsin has taken—we need credible and focused people.

        1. Gretchen,

          What’s fascinating to me is that the legal troubles of GTAC president Bill Williams seem of so little interest to the MJS. Williams wandered around the north woods and told everyone he’d protect the Bad River watershed with this snazzy new engineering that he used in Spain, which appears to have failed in Spain, so much so that Williams may end up on trial for criminal damage to the environment. And you’re fascinated with Mel Gasper and Felina LaPointe’s credibility?

          You definitely have an eye for the weighty issue, Gretchen.

  2. It’s fatigue, Steve. Things are so twisted these days with so many points of abuse that reporters are looking for anything different to write about. At least that’s what they tell themselves. The mine is old news. And there’s no downside for the press as when attacking the powerful and abusive…like loss of “access” or ad revenue.
    And with our standard bearer, Vinehout, playing herself out of the fray, it looks like we are all going to be feeling the pain of the abuse of Democracy for a long time to come. Did you notice the self-satisfaction and arrogance that Vladdie Putin put on last night, while the media extolled him ad nauseam? I don’t see or hear them doing that for our President Obama on any occasion. And maybe you don’t agree, but Obama is twice the man and intellect of that Russian Gnome. Democracy is under siege worldwide. #MoveToAmend

  3. I’ve noticed that lately Dan Bice has delved into subject matter more fit for gossip columns than a “watchdog” column.

    That’s disappointing but not surprising, as I’m sure he’s under orders to get more eyeballs looking at his material.

  4. Wisgop is a sewer and we’re supposed to be outraged by these two mine protesters? Seriously? Walker and his pals have set a low water mark in Wisconsin far below possession and domestics. And both protesters’ charges pale in contrast to Bill Williams standing accused of poisoning an aquifer. Pretty weak sauce from Bice.

    1. This is the real story to me. Bice constantly makes the false equivalence of private citizen protestor = GOP official. They are not on the same galaxy, but Bice tries to make it so.

      Combined with his fascination over whether someone signed a recall petition, and I also suspect he is under orders- “To satisfy the MMAC agenda by playing Walker’s divide and conquer game.”

      Let’s face it. If Bice was truly doing his job, he’d have focused in on the Mother Jones article showing that 5 Wisconsinites were part of the secret Koch Brothers meeting in Palm Springs. But the corporate owners at the J-S can’t let that happen.

  5. Bice is no journalist at all. He is a public relations panderer, a mouthpiece for the monied interests. He wouldn’t know liberal if it bit him in the rear end. Zach is right…Bice is just a gossip columnist in journalist’s clothing. He cares not for the well being of the citizenry. He’s all about the paycheck, nothing more. I don’t know how he can even look at himself in a mirror. A propagandist for the monied elite, that is all he is.

  6. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!”

    This line uttered in a famous movie long ago seems equally applicable to Bice and the Journal Sentinel in my daily readings. They both have been “Gone With the Wind” many moon ago.

  7. This is common, we shouldn’t be surprised about this. Bice and Spivak have for years been pawns of the corporate world, and Indian haters to boot. The part that’s really, really sad is that they are getting some of their information from “disgruntled” Tribal Members, who would like nothing better than to tear down their own people. You will see similar articles about Indian Gaming/ Internet Gaming where these so called “journalists” stretch to connect “low-level” Tribal Members’ backgrounds to national and international issues. You will see more of these smear campaigns against Tribal People and Tribal Employees as important environment, economic, and legal issues take shape. Just ask LDF Tribal Member Bill Poupart about Bice or Spivak. He works extensively with them, feeding them tainted, skewed information for the purpose of harming the very Native Peoples he claims to want to help. Unfortunately, there will be more smearing of Tribal Members who are not politicians or wealthy influencers of public policy.

  8. Hey Ed, you must have got your information mixed up. IT is Spivak and Bice…. Also they have not worked together for about 6 years or so. Sounds like Brandon Thoms fed you information, who is actually a bootlicker of come other crooks in the Maulson family in Northern Wisconsin. You might want to get your facts straight before you go throwing names around so freely.

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