Uppitywis Blogs

February 24, 2016   People Make a Difference Despite Haste at Capitol By Senator Kathleen Vinehout   “What can we, as ordinary citizens, do to keep the legislature and the governor from passing/signing house bill 554? It scares the heck out of me,” wrote Claudia from Eau Claire.   “I know that Kathleen will vote against this terrible bill, but no doubt against the odds,” Sarah wrote from Eau Claire.   The “terrible” bill was AB 554, a bill that would allow out-of-state private corporations to buy public water and sewer utilities. The bill would eliminate a required public referendum to approve the sale

Retired Eau Claire teacher and activist Myron Buchholz will announce Monday morning that he is opposing Ron Kind as a Democrat in the August primary. Buchholz is currently on the board of the Chippewa Valley ACLU, and local low-power radio station WHYS. He is also active in  many local progressive organizations. 

From his press release:

On Monday, Myron Buchholz announced that he is challenging Congressman Ron Kind in the August 9th, Democratic Party primary in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District. Buchholz is a retired high school history teacher and longtime peace activist from Eau Claire

For other people like me, who are not in Madison, the Day Without Latinos protest in Madison is going on full force.  I've not seen a crowd like this at the capitol since the Act 10 protests. More power to them. Sadly, the anti-immigrant laws are but a small portion of the "Big Pot o' Bad Ideas"  racing through the legislature. With over 100 bills roaring through it's pretty hard for anyone to keep track, including the legislators.

As to the reaction of our governor and the rest of the GOP - pretty much the same as always.  People of the state don't count -- we and our contributors know what's

If you haven't already, be sure to go out and vote today. The Supreme Court primary is really important - particularly this time around. Also please remember that you NEED to have ID for this election, for the first time. If you have any questions about that, take a look at the GAB web site http://bringit.wi.gov for more info.

Thanks for doing your duty as a citizen.

  “This Land is Our Land” Or it used to be… Mississippi backwaters cut off to locals by railroad “police” by Senator Kathleen Vinehout   One of the best spots to ice fish is south of Alma just down the dugway from Carrol Iberg’s rural home.   Down there “ice fishing is really good,” Mr. Iberg told me. He fished five days a week and caught mostly pan fish, and a few northern and bass.   To get to one of the most accessible ice fishing areas around, just south of the power plant, you have to cross the railroad tracks.   The rail is owned by BNSF. The company is exerting its authority to enforce a

Justice Rebecca Bradley is one of the candidates for Supreme Court Justice in Tuesday's primary election. Her rather rapid advance through the court system hierarchy has been largely the responsibility of Governer Walker, as she has been appointed by him three times, most recently to the state Supreme Court. Past experience with the governor's atititude toward the courts suggests that he is somewhat less interested in fairness than in getting conservative outcomes.

The upcoming election is partly a referndum on whether her appointment to the Supreme Court was the right decisioin, or if another

It's easy these days to be discouraged as a progressive in Wisconsin. Sometimes it seems that between gerrymandering, the makeup of the state legislature, and the laws coming out of Madison, that there's no real hope for the future.

Last night I was reminded that in fact there really is a growing discontent and that we still have progressive champions wanting to make a difference.

I spent part of last night at a fundraiser for Russ Feingold. I'm happy to report that Russ is in fine spirit and looking ready for battle. There've been a lot of bad mistakes made politically in Wisconsin in the past

Just want to remind you that the upcoming February primary is the first election in Wisconsin requiring ID to vote. Please don't forget, you cannot vote in future elections without a valid voter ID. Confused about what the rules are? The state GAB has a site to explain Voter ID to you - at least as long as we continue to have a GAB. Of course, they have not been given enough money to actually promote the site to people, so let's help out a little.  You can go to http://bringitwisconsin.com (there are multiple other URL's that work as well) to get all the current information about Voter ID

The conservative revolution in the Wisconsin government has had a lot of casualties - schools, jobs, happiness ---

But perhaps the longest-lasting and least reversible casualties have  been the environment and the state's heritage. Two bills that are currently roaring through the legislature are particularly troubling. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, and Richard Gudex, R-Fond du Lac have introduced new legislation on fish farming in Wisconsin. As has been the trend, this is not a bill to ensure that fish farming be regulated to reduce its impact on the environment, but to turn fish farming into a

Every election cycle about this time we set up a fund on ActBlue that makes it easy to make a one-click donation to progressive candidates. This is my own hand-picked selection of candidates for state elections, as well as president. You can donate and divide your donation among all those candidates by clicking on the thermometer on the front page. You can also divide your donation up however you want on the donation page.

It's going to be a tough and pivotal election. Despite what you might think from the press coverage, elections are not completely about money, but money is sure heavily

Speed and Secrecy Kill Democracy

by

Senator Kathleen Vinehout

“How can we digest all your work in this short amount of time?” Senator Bewley asked the Chair of the housing committee and author of the bill before her. An amendment replacing the bill was released just before the hearing on that bill.

“How can we have a thoughtful and intelligent discussion...we just got this stinking thing a few hours ago.”

The bill, SB 464 (which has an Assembly companion - AB 582) was complex. The bill’s author said he wanted to avoid “moving the goal post” on a development project. Among other things, the bill

As I am sure many of you are aware, the state legislature is in the process of fixing another of the state's protective laws to suit the needs of business by allowing companies to destroy Native American effigy mounds. Of course the explanation here is that this is only allowed if nobody can "prove" that there are human remains in the mound. This is ludicrous in that the age of these mounds makes it nearly impossible to prove that there are remains -  plus they are part of the states and the Native American heritage whether bodies are buried in them or not. At some point we need to start

The sheets are off.  The Republicans are now saying in public what they have been saying to each other in private for years.  The racism in the party is so ingrained that they cannot see it themselves.  The fact is that this guy is not only serious, but also sarcastic about an unemployment situation that has caused poverty and crime.  Talgo had already located in the center of Milwaukee when Walker turned away $800,000,000 for the railroad expansion from Milwaukee to Madison which subsequently cause the train manufacturer to leave Milwaukee.  The open hostility toward Milwaukee that is

  Whose Property Rights Are Most Important? By Senator Kathleen Vinehout   “My neighbor likes to expand his lot,” Kelly told me. “First he put up a stone fence on our property and then he built a jungle gym for his kids on his other neighbor’s property.” The fence stayed but the jungle gym came down.   Laws and fences help make good neighbors.   Often these “laws” are ordinances passed by local communities. We decide collectively what works for our neighborhood, and what works in some areas will not work in other areas. You can’t have roosters in most cities. But in some cities, you can keep a few hens

I am looking forward to reading this book. Interview is from last week's Here and Now program on WPT.

Cramer is the director of University of Wisconsin's Morgridge Center for Public Service. Her new book, "The Politics of Resentment," connects Scott Walker's political rise to a rural resentment against the "liberal elite." This resentment, she says, represents how one's place-based identities influence his or her understanding of politics.

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Looking Forward to the Challenges of 2016

By

Senator Kathleen Vinehout

 

“I spent all day trying to get an ID for my mother,” Joe from Union Township told me. His mother, age 84, recently gave up her driver’s license because of a vision problem. She’d moved into an apartment in Eau Claire.

 

By changing her address and surrendering her drivers’ license, Joe’s mom was without the necessary current “government ID” she needed to legally vote in 2016.

 

Happy New Year! And welcome to Wisconsin, a state that now has some of the strictest voter identification laws in the nation.

 

Even if you’re registered

Bruce Hagen, mayor of Superior, Wisconsin is contributing to the surreal vibe in the state. Yesterday he commented on a picture in Facebook of Michelle Obama by saying

Unbelievable! She and her Muslim partner have destroyed the fabric of democracy that was so very hard fought for!

When questioned about this the mayor stood his ground by saying that he and many others believe the President is not a Christian.

He is now under pressure from several councilpersons to retract his statement or possibly face repercussions including a recall election.

There is apparently no end to the fantasy entertained

Last night I attended an initial discussion about a new organizing cooperative in the Chippewa Valley. Citizens Action is interested in helping to promote organizing and political action throughout the state. They have followed a successful model in the Milwaukee area of starting a local group that is paying for a professional organizer, and starting action in the area. They are hoping to extend this model to other areas throughout the state, and the Western Wisconsin region is of particular interest. This may well be a promising model to get some of these activities off the ground around the

Looking Back on 2015 By Senator Kathleen Vinehout   Happy Holidays! While Santa is making a list of who is naughty and nice, I spent time making a list of what folks cared about enough to call or write.   I am always impressed by how many people take the time to become engaged in their government. “Democracy” is truly a verb for the 7,007 individual people who communicated with me in 2015. Many offered their opinion not once but several times. My office recorded a total of 15,811 contacts with citizens.   This year was a budget year. It was also the year the Governor ran for President. Both had an

We've seen a lot of stuff happen in Wisconsin over the last few years that beggars belief. School teachers have been made the subject of ridicule. Corruption becomes ensconced in law. The state Supreme Court has its own sort of continual judicial shenanigans. But I never really thought I would see a state legislator recommend that we all become a bunch of armed vigilantes, packing heat when we go to the mall just in case someone might use a gun.

Yet Bob Gannon (R - Slinger) seems to be endorsing exactly that in a press release.  The recent unfortunate shooting incident at East Towne Mall was