Uppity Wisconsin | WisCommunity

Uppity Wisconsin

User-Contributed Politics News

News

Primary Image
Sen. Jeff Smith - We are All One Wisconsin

#000000;">This past week, I met with several healthcare leaders from around the state. Dentists, dental hygienists, physicians, nurses, social workers and others discussed a whole gamut of healthcare topics.

#000000;">Each professional was unique, but the message was the same – we need Medicaid expansion. It’s been a long eight years for our health care professionals while they watched 37 other states fully expand Medicaid. It should be no surprise that taking back our money from the federal government was their number one request.

#000000;">We need to listen to the professionals’ recommendations. Let’s set aside the partisanship and expand Medicaid. Playground politics is a dangerous game when it prevents people getting the care they need.  

Jeff Smith - Knowledge is Power

#000000;">How many times have you heard the expression, “Knowledge is Power?” I heard it from an unexpected source last week during one of our public hearings in the Senate Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection Committee.

#000000;">Who could disagree with the statement that knowledge is power? In fact, when someone used that line representing the conservative group, Americans for Prosperity, I thought it might be an opportunity to find agreement. The person testified in favor of a bill (Senate Bill 179) to force gas stations to post a sticker on each gas pump stating the tax being charged per gallon.

Constitutional boundaries need enforcement - League of Women Voters

On May 15, the Supreme Court will hear arguments concerning the legality of the December 2018 “extraordinary session.” The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin is one of the plaintiffs in this lawsuit. In recent weeks, there have been some misconceptions perpetuated by those who oppose the merits of our case. Here are some facts of the lawsuit:

Valuing Our Voices

During the past two months, I traveled throughout the 31st Senate District and met with constituents to hear their thoughts on the budget introduced by Governor Tony Evers. I joined Governor Evers at listening sessions in Eau Claire, Oshkosh, Kenosha, Superior and sat alongside Joint Finance Committee (JFC) members in River Falls for a public hearing. These were opportunities to listen to the comments and reactions from hundreds of Wisconsinites.

Jeff Smith - Mental Health is Real Health

#000000;">So much can be said about mental health and yet so little has been done. We all know someone struggling with mental illness. So few receive the help they need.

#000000;">Over the past few weeks, I’ve been at eleven budget listening sessions. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive about Governor Tony Evers’ budget. Time and time again, many of the conversations I have with attendees is about mental health.

#000000;">Some people are born with mental illness, some form destructive habits after experiencing traumatic events. Despite the causes, we fail to treat the seriousness of the issue.

New Richmond ICE detention center planning update

The City of New Richmond released further information on the zoning process for the proposed ICE detention center this afternoon. The city will hold a community meeting on April 23 at 4:30 PM at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College, New Richmond. This is an informal discussion and will not include any action on the part of the city. A planning commission and special city council meeting will be held in the same location on May 7 at 6 PM, at which time the city will consider the zoning request. 

Wisconsin Farmers Union travels to Farmers Bill of Rights Rally

I was privileged to be able to travel with the Wisconsin Farmers Union to the Farmers Bill of Rights rally in Storm Lake, Iowa on March 30. Members from around the state traveled together on a bus, with most of the members being from the Chippewa Valley area. 

The rally was sponsored by Family Farm Action, Iowa Farmers Union, and other farm organizations. Details and bios of the different speakers are attached to the article and included Sarah Lloyd from the Wisconsin Farmers Union (pictured above). 

The rally was in support of the Farmers Bill of Rights which includes the following nine issues:

Right to Fair, Open Markets

Heartland Forum

Wis.Community will be traveling with the Wisconsin Farmers Union to the Heartland Forum in Storm Lake Iowa. The trip will include the forum itself, which is the first candidate forum of the 2020 campaign season. It will also include a Farmer Bill of Rights Rally sponsored by Family Farm Action.

The forum will discuss rural issues and corporate power in America's Heartland. The forum will be moderated by Pulitzer-prize-winning editor Art Cullen and Amanda Terkel and Zach Carter of Huffington Post. The event will also be live-streamed at Huffington Post.

Judge blocks lame-duck session laws, Evers and Kaul move to drop ACA Lawsuit

Update - 1:30 PM

Moving rather quickly after the injunction, Governor Evers has instructed AG Josh Kaul to start the process of withdrawing from the multi-state lawsuit against the ACA. One of the lame-duck session laws prohibited the administration from withdrawing from this suit. There were many predictions that the passing of the lame-duck session laws would create a legal quagmire, and it appears that we are now well into the process a few hours after the initial injunction.

----------

This morning Circuit Judge Richard Niess issued a temporary injunction against the laws passed in the lame duck session at the end of Governor Walker's term that limited the powers of incoming Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul. 

Jeff Smith - First Glance at Governor Evers' Budget

#444444;">Governor Tony Evers presented his first budget to the Legislature on Thursday evening last week. It was a uniquely crafted budget. It contained encouraging policy for Wisconsin’s future. And many of the Governor’s budget provisions were long overdue.

#444444;">The Governor’s comments highlighted his goal to present the people’s budget to the Legislature: “It’s about creating a Wisconsin that works for everyone — a Wisconsin for us. This isn’t the Tony Evers’ budget, the Democratic budget, the speaker’s budget, or the Republican budget — this is the people’s budget. And it’s one that we crafted together.”

Governor Evers Proposes non-partisan maps in state budget

Today Governor Evers proposed a non-partisan solution to gerrymandering in the state, which will be included in the governor's budget which will be released Thursday.

This proposal would put drawing of legislative maps into the hands of a non-partisan commission of state employees at the Legislative Research Bureau. Members of the commission would be selected by the legislative leaders of both parties, and the chair would also be selected by a decision of the four legislative leaders. 

Governor Evers signs executive order to recall National Guard

Governor Ton Evers has signed an executive order withdrawing 112 Wisconsin National Guard members from the border. The National Guard had been deployed by former Governor Walker. 

A copy of the Executive order is attached.

As Number Of Wisconsin's Women Legislators Stalls, Partisan Mix Shifts

November 6, 2018 marked an historic election in the United States due to the unprecedented numbers of women elected to state and national offices. Iowa, Maine and South Dakota elected their first women governors, Arizona, Mississippi and Tennessee elected their first women senators, and 37 new women were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. These historic results, however, were not equally distributed between the two major political parties.

No Quarters for Kathy Shame on you, Kathy Bernier. Don't you for a moment try to normalize the prospect of toll roads in Wisconsin. For the first 100 years of automobile travel in Wisconsin, we have ensured that our taxes are enough to provide good roads.
Putting the Conn back in Foxconn

In a morning, Louis Woo, special assistant to Foxconn Chief Executive Terry Gou suggested that plans for Foxconn manufacturing in Wisconsin may be scaled back again, and may in fact not include any manufacturing at all. The company had previously scaled back plans for the advanced large screen manufacturing that had been promised for Wisconsin, and said they would concentrate on technology development and manufacturing smaller scale screens.

2019 State of the State Address

Why Wasn't 2018 A Big Election For Women In The Wisconsin Legislature?

Women vying for public office made historic waves across the United States in the 2018 midterm elections. Wisconsin, however, didn't quite follow that national trend. Additionally, while voters elected more women to the state Assembly in 2018, the state finds itself lagging behind its Midwest neighbors.

Walker concedes to Evers

The Governor's campaign office has released a concession letter. Evers is now speaking after the concession.

Matt Rothschild, Dr. K. Zagorski on Fair Maps

Thursday night Matt Rothschild of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and Dr. K. Zagorski spoke in a forum on fair maps and gerrymandering in Menomonie. The discussion, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Greater Chippewa Valley clarified the history and current status of gerrymandering in Wisconsin, and what can be done to move forward. Wisconsin currently has one of the most gerrymandered voting maps in the country. Litigation over the state maps worked its way up to the US Supreme Court recently, for further work, and will be re-heard in the future.

67th Assembly District Candidate Forum

The League of Women Voters of the Greater Chippewa Valley sponsored a candidate forum on October 22 at Bloomer Middle School. Rob Summerfield and Wren Keturi fielded a wide array of questions submitted by the audience, which numbered approximately 35. This video will be the last of our video coverage of area candidate forums. 

Please keep the candidate responses to the questions in these forums and in the various voter questionnaires in mind when you vote on Nov. 6. 

Subscribe to News
randomness