Uppitywis Blogs

Please vote Lynn Utesch for Assembly on November 8. Our very survival as a state we can call home, depends on it.

Our state Republicans are compromised beyond hope

By Senator Kathleen Vinehout   From Arrowhead to West Salem, voters across the state are considering the future of their school districts when they go to the polls. Citizens in 46 districts will be asked to approve referenda.   Some questions relate to the building of new facilities. However, 46% of this year’s referenda are for the on-going expenses of operating local schools.   I received many calls about school funding, property taxes and the problems underlying the questions voters face on the ballot.   “Aren’t referenda usually passed to build something new?” an Eau Claire man recently asked me

David Gorski's campaign has Big Ag frightened because Gorski is leading a number of reformers running for public office who fight for tourism, public schools, recreation and water as the life blood of their communities, while extolling the economic benefits of these very resources.

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson has been frothing at the mouth lately, calling Russ Feingold "a complete phony" because, in Johnson's view, Feingold is an "arrogant elite" and not the regular guy persona that Wisconsinites think they know.

Meanwhile, Johnson insists he's not the arrogant elite that Wisconsinites have come to know.  You see, everyone has got it all wrong:  Before he went to the Senate in 2010, he spent the previous 35 years as a simple "working man."   Just a good 'ol boy, never meanin' no harm.

Never mind that while Russ Feingold was in Congress he stood out as one of the few non

In U.S. Senator Ron Johnson's latest ad, they're apoplectic at the notion of a Political Action Committee (PAC) spending "nearly half" of their contributions on fundraising for more contributions.

Although this may seem like a lot, it depends on how you look at it.  If you spend six dollars to bring in ten (a four dollar net gain), it's better than spending one dollar to bring in three (a two dollar net gain).

Plus, only a small percentage of fundraising appeals yield money.  However, the 95% of the people that just read the fundraising letter or web ad and don't give are still armed with the

Halloween seems like the right time for a hike down memory lane to review the goblins and ghouls that inhabit the Republican underworld. Let us start with the main monster: Donald Trump. Beyond our wildest imagination, this Republican nominee for president is the most frightening gargoyle of all time. Almost daily we learn of new revelations that show how disturbed and dangerous he is. His latest boasts of being a sexual predator may be the wooden stake aimed at his vampire heart. With the majority of women now denouncing him it has almost certainly closed off his path to the White House. What

By Senator Kathleen Vinehout   On a beautiful October Saturday afternoon, my college-student son and I went to vote. Afterwards, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.   Just between you and me, I worried about my son voting. Would he come home before Election Day? Would he know the rules about mail-in ballots?   Mail-in early voting is complex.   You must request the ballot by mail by downloading the ballot request form. (http://elections.wi.gov/sites/default/files/gab_forms/4/el_121_application_for_absentee_ballot_2016_08_p_44421.pdf). You fill out the ballot request form and make sure you mail it so your

The Wis.community web site is a new project for my web development company. Think of it as a set of  mini-sites about different topcs and (eventually) different parts of the state. At the moment we're concentrating on the Chippewa Valley.  If you are in the area please join me at our first Community Meeting -- at 6 PM on Monday the 24th.  The meeting will be in the classroom at the beautiful classroom at Menomonie Market Food Co-op - it's upstairs in the office area. We will be talking about what Wis.community can do now, and what people would like to see in the future.  See you there!!

From the heart of Wisconsin comes democracy and a battle for the water the likes this state has never seen.

Monthly Meeting of Protect Wood County and Its Neighbors
Date: Monday October 24th
Time: 6:30PM
Location: Saratoga Town Hall

Clean and safe water - Rally and party at the Madison, Wisconsin Capitol on Oct 22, Saturday from 10 a.m. to Noon, and after.

We're fighting for clean and safe water from the biological, chemical, and economic attack from industrialized ag factories.

The Dunn County Board last night passed a six month moratorium on CAFO expansion of more than 10% on farms of over 1000 animals in the county. This is in response to a very large expansion of Cranberry Creek Farm planned for the county, and was prompted by many questions raised about the ability of the farm owners to manage runoff, and some serious issues with the application and the ability of the DNR to properly consider the issues  in awarding a permit. The permit is for an expansion of up to 7150 animals.

This is a very unusual step, and was largely brought about through the joint efforts

By Senator Kathleen Vinehout   “When you write about tax money going to private schools, please tell people about special education vouchers,” a rural school board member told me. “Because of a change in state law, our school district is paying for special education students to sit at home in front of a computer.”   October is budget time for school districts. The rural school board member just saw the new budget and learned of the high cost for special needs students who are now attending an online school with $12,000 per student of school funds. The school board member asked that I not mention

Got enough milk? Yes, we do.

The enormous milk glut has prompted industrialized dairy factories to dump 43 million gallons of milk as nitrates and phospherous ravage steams, lakes and groundwater, amid growing report of Blue Baby Syndrome. This is indecent.

Coming off a League of Women Voters candidate forum this week in Door County, Lynn Utesch was roundly praised for a passionate and erudite performance that "cleaned the clock of" State Rep. Joel Kitchens, in the words of a Utesch supporter.

Now, along with the Gorski-Krug race in assembly district 72, Utesch is gaining currency as a major pick-up opportunity in an election that may see some one dozen Democratic Party gains should the political trajectory keep moving towards a wave cycle.

Big Ag is spending $Six figures on the lackeys in the legislature who run political interference for the polluters and poisoners of our families and communities. Rightwing money allied with Big Ag is working to defeat State Sen. Julie Lassa and Dave Gorski in central Wisconsin, Here's what we can all do ...

In rightwing land, it's indecent. The way to campaign is for Scott Krug and his extremist friends to inflict as much psychological abuse as possible on a disabled rights champ, educator and public school advocate by claiming he is against rights for the disabled and public schools. Welcome to the muck where Krug resides.

By Senator Kathleen Vinehout   “I am paying for private schools with my taxes?” the women from Pepin asked following my presentation at a recent Town Hall meeting. “Yes, you are,” I told her.   Residents were surprised at the sharp increase in the state spending on private schools – nearly a doubling in seven years. At the same time, Pepin School District lost nearly half of its state support. With less state money, property taxes made up a larger share of school support.   Wisconsin has funded private schools in Milwaukee by taking money from local public schools for a long time.   With passage of the

Dark money is now dominating targeted mailings aimed at water warriors Jule Lassa and David Gorski.

But destroying communities, which is the result of Republican-enacted schemes, is too much to ask from conservative enclaves now supporting water warriors.

A federal court has stymied the state of Wisconsin’s effort to drug test food stamp applicants.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) championed the drug test policy as he launched a doomed presidential bid in 2015. The Obama administration said federal law doesn’t allow states to drug test food stamp recipients, so the Walker administration asked a federal court to decide.

And they decided.  Once again proving that the current administration has very little concept of how federal law works, the court basically said that you cannot ask for a test on a law you have not written yet. This is  not quite

Water is life. Right on.

Can a cause in central Wisconsin get some 75 people to show up on a Monday morning with 30 hours notice?

Yes, clean water, stopping the proposed Wysocki Inc.'s factory farm, and electing Dave Gorski over Big Ag man, State Rep. Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa) gets people out in the streets.

Inspiring video by Eric Peterson: