They discoed in DC and dressed as dogs in Austin to add a lighter touch to the serious issue of ending the war and occupation of Iraq. Iraq Moratorium #6 had a serious and somber side as well. In Madison, three were arrested in a shopping mall (above) where they held a solemn vigil honoring […]
Well before the end of the year we warned that the estate tax would be ended, costing our state some $300 million. As Wisconsin’s budgetary problems gained more news coverage, conservatives planned to bridge the gap by drastically cutting many good programs for the most needy. In response, we launched an online petition asking legislators […]
Since talk radio is so disproportionately dominated by the rabid right wing, I find myself listening to one of the few alternatives available. One station that I enjoy is Milwaukee’s WMCS 1290 AM. The station has a very strong African American audience, but has been doing a great job of broadening their audience in recent […]
John “100-Year-War” McCain, fresh from a flip-flop vote in favor of waterboarding, campaigns in Wisconsin Friday. LaCrosse activists plan to protest his stands when he holds a town hall meeting there. And now there is a last-minute effort underway in Milwaukee to confront him there, too, when he speaks at Serb Hall, traditional stopping place […]
With the state facing a $650 million budget deficit, it is clear the state needs to end the $300 million estate tax loophole for the rich which just went into effect in January. One Wisconsin Now launched a petition drive calling on the state legislature to stop this giveaway to the heirs and heiress of […]
The Planned Parenthood Action Fund launched a multimedia campaign in Wisconsin today to educate voters about Sen. John McCain’s troubling anti-health care voting record. The ad campaign, which features online spots on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Web site highlights how this supposedly independent thinker is in lockstep with the most extreme fringes of the Republican Party. […]
In December One Wisconsin Now sent a letter of concern to the Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee (JCIC). It was about a very questionable set of letters sent out by Supreme Court Candidate Michael Gableman. The letters could have been interpreted that Gableman would rule a specific way on specific cases if they again come […]
If you’ve got a big fat corporate check to spare Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce has an event for you! Over the next couple weeks, the state’s big business lobby is going to be traveling around the state hosting member events to rally support and cash in its efforts to restore corporate fealty to the state […]
Note to Mike Gableman: You can tell a lot about a person by the company he keeps. Oft-overturned judge and Supreme Court candidate Mike Gableman made a questionable visit at this weekend’s Americans for Prosperity dittofest. The host organization, the big-oil funded Americans for Prosperity is run by Mark Block, who is no stranger […]
Friday is Iraq Moratorium #6, a loosely-knit national grassroots effort to end the war and occupation of Iraq. Nearly 90 events already are listed on the national website, from sea to shining sea. They range from street corner vigils to die-ins, with a dash of street theater thrown in. There have been 600-plus events since […]
To most people in the world $100 million is an unimaginable amount of money. Apparently that is not the case when you are a right wing ideologue looking to short change programs for the needy. In today’s Capital Times story, about OWN’s petition on the estate tax, Todd Berry of Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance gives us […]
Today the Capital Times ran a story, in its business section, highlighting OWN’s efforts on the estate tax. Legislators allowed the estate tax to expire at the end of last year costing Wisconsin some $300 million over three years. At the same time, conservatives are looking to bridge a $300 million gap in the budget […]
A new web site has been developed at LessJobsMoreWars.com The site focuses on recent comments by Presidential Candidate John McCain, that there will be “more wars” under a McCain Administration. The new site is complete with two versions of the below video. It is a humerous take on a very serious subject, what the War […]
This weekend, Americans for Prosperity gathered together a bunch of Republicans and right wingers to talk about why more of your tax dollars should go to corporations. Given that Americans for Prosperity is the tax exempt mouthpiece for big oil, it’s no surprise. Here are the facts about Americans for Prosperity and Big Oil: […]
The following unfortunately went unpublished as a letter to the editor in response to Sam Clegg’s column that ran in the Herald this week concerning the death tax. In addition to accusing OWN of framing the estate tax debate as a class warfare issue to propose an unreasonable solution to the state budget shortfall, he […]
In September we reported that State Supreme Court Candidate Michael Gableman had a terrible record at the State Court of Appeals. According to the Wisconsin Law Journal, Gableman was affirmed at the Court of Appeals only 67 percent of the time. When using the same criteria, even the average judge was affirmed 81 percent of […]
As we approached the new year OWN pointed out that the estate tax in Wisconsin was set to expire. Just last month we informed the public that this move would cost the state some $300 million. Ironically that is the same amount of our current budget deficit. It is in the name of that deficit […]
If you have ever heard of the state of Wisconsin’s largest lobbying group, Wisconsin Manufactures Commerce, it was probably in reading some article about a corporate taxation bill or the Annette Ziegler controversy. However, what the average Wisconsinite doesn’t read about is how the state’s largest business lobbying group is voting against the people of […]
…and really the coverage of these primaries is misleading, at least on the Democratic side with the proportional delegates. Watching the vote counts certainly gives the winning side some bragging rights to hang their hats on, not being able to see projected numbers of delegates really changes the feeling of finality, even after tonight.
Well as the vote counts start to pour in tonight, its clear that the increased emphasis placed on the super delegates in the media in the last weeks is justified. At least at this point, Obama seems to be pulling away from Hillary with the regular delegate count (which is actually decided by us, the […]
Seriously, what is it with State Senator Glenn Grothman and his unhealthy obsession with race? Monday, it was reported that he is planning yet another whack at affirmative action in Wisconsin. He is planning to introduce an amendment similar to the one passed in Michigan banning affirmative action. Grothman defends the idea by appealing to […]
Last week Republican Congressman Paul Ryan scored some press coverage by unveiling his annual ‘Budget Boondogle Awards.’ The coverage included a blurb in the state’s largest newspaper, complete with a comparison to the late Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire. Once again Paul Ryan is being given a pass, playing the role of an authority on sound […]
Hey Everyone, Welcome to the new website! Make sure and try out all the new tools we have available, and take a minute or two to try the new buttons etc. Any questions or commments, please let us know at own@onewisconsinnow.org thanks! Robert & the OWN Team
Rolling out their economic stimulus package for the state, Senate Democrats are calling for an end to the ridiculous “Las Vegas Loophole.” Under the loophole corporations dodge $90 million owed to Wisconsin taxpayers by setting up a skeleton subsidy in a place like Nevada, which doesn’t collect corporate incomes taxes. Remember, as long as they […]
Yesterday the Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee announced that it was bringing on two new members, both conservatives. Although they appointed two yesterday, bringing on John Torinus raises the most concerns and questions. This is a committee focusing on the judicial code of ethics, yet Torinus has used his space in newspaper columns to excuse […]
now that rudi is gone, how ever are we going to be reminded of 9/11? well, just to make sure we all remember that day, here’s a compilation (not my work, i wish…) of rudi 9iu11ani’s never-ending exploitation of that day. oh, and by the way…the Florida strategy? Ha. 9iu11ani spent $50 […]
I really expected Edwards to push on until the convention, hold his delegates and become king-maker there. I wonder what kind of deal was made… And here’s to OWN getting a shout-out at the end of the internet debate between the candidates for WI Supreme Court last night. I wonder how long its going to […]
On Tuesday Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler and Burnett County Judge Michael Gableman participated in their first debate. It took place on a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee program called Panthertalk. During the internet based event, a caller asked both candidates about a clean campaign pledge that they have both been asked to sign, by the Wisconsin […]
The Assembly Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for tomorrow introducing an abortion procedures ban. One must wonder what the real motives are behind this flawed legislation, because the things addressed in it are already illegal under federal law. One would certainly hope that our legislators are not wasting this kind of time and money simply […]
If you were left scratching your head after the rosy picture presented by Scott Walker in his State of the County speech, consider his track record when it comes to economic prognostication. Bloggers will remember his gem from the Walker blog two years ago: “As President Bush said on Friday, ‘the American economy heads into […]
Finally. I never have to waste a January night listening to more lies and promises of privatization from this, the worst president I’ve ever known. As it was, I had to leave when GWB said he wanted health care decisions to be made my “patients and doctors, not in the halls of congress.” So quickly […]
Last year the Wisconsin conservation community held their annual lobby day, where citizens engaged their legislators in support of conservation priorities. Those priorities are selected by more than 50 Wisconsin conservation organizations. Last year over 430 people came to the Capitol to speak with their legislators about the critical issues. One of the major topics […]
Last night in his final State of the Union address, George Bush said this of Iraq: “When we met last year, many said that containing the violence was impossible. A year later, high profile terrorist attacks are down, civilian deaths are down, sectarian killings are down.” Delivered on the day when five American soldiers were […]
Today ACORN and allied groups held a press conference to officially launch their voter registration drive for 2008. Joining ACORN at the event were representatives of Campaign Against Violence, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Urban Underground and Voces de la Frontera. The general goal is to greatly increase the participation of low-income and minority residents in […]
One Wisconsin Now has launched a statewide online petition drive calling for Wisconsin legislators to fill a projected $300 million budget shortfall not by slashing critical programs to the poor, elderly and disabled, but by reinstating the estate tax for the heirs and heiresses of Wisconsin’s wealthiest which expired January 1. This $300 million brand new […]
One would think that after constant Wisconsin bashing from WMC and others on the right that residents would rank “taxes” higher on the items that they care about. According to a new Wispolitics/Checkpoint poll, taxes are listed as one of the lowest factors that respondents will use in picking a presidential candidate. Concern about taxes […]
Wisconsin Republicans brought former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to Milwaukee yesterday apparently to both cheerlead and pontificate. He was also there to promote his new book, “Real Change” which is a strange title for a political has been yapping about making English the official American language. That hardly sounds like change, it sounds […]
Earlier this week Congressman F. Jim Sensenbrenner endorsed Michael Gableman in his quest for the states high court. Given the two men’s partisanship, the endorsement is certainly no surprise. It does, however, make one wonder if Gableman shares the same extreme Sensenbrenner positions on the law, civil rights and issues in general. Here is a […]
After the governor delivered his State of the State address, he was followed by a pre-recorded response by Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch. The most fitting moment of the night, however, came when Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald tried to deliver his response. While the Governor delivered a speech with a clear attempt at cooperation, Fitzgerald’s […]
Forty years ago, on the morning of April 5, I sat in a hotel coffee shop in Decatur, Ill., reading the morning Decatur Herald-Review with the headline proclaiming the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A grizzled longtime representative of our union walked by, saw the headline, and said, “They finally got the bastard,” […]
Only a matter of weeks ago Michael Gableman made the decision to take the race for State Supreme Court into the gutter. He and members of his operation made outrageous remarks about the incumbent Supreme Court Justice, prompting a rebuke from the newly formed Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee (JCIC). Now he seems to be resorting […]
John Torinus writes a regular column for the The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s business page. He is a reliable WMCheerleader who regularly fills the pages of the state’s largest paper with all of the latest Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) talking points. Although he feeds this steady diet to readers he rarely discloses his deep involvement […]
Today is the 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision guaranteeing a women’s right to make her own decisions regarding her reproductive health. How appropriate that today Representative Terese Berceau (D-Madison) and Senator Mark Miller (D-Monona) have introduced the Women’s Health and Safety Act. The legislation will remove a 158-year-old Wisconsin law that […]
Friday was the fifth time that people all over Wisconsin took action to stop the war in Iraq. People took action both big and small, both as individuals and collectively. The effort is part of the growing Iraq Moratorium, which encourages everyone to do something to help end the war in Iraq. Friday there were […]
Beware the warm, engaging smile! It can lure so many of us into taking actions that go against our own best interests. As we approach the 2008 elections, we must look behind the appealing demeanor and pretty phrases of some of the candidates to see just what their political priorities are. It’s just such benevolent […]
“I don’t care what literature you send me, but I just think they went too far.” This was the reaction of just one Racine resident who opened an unwelcome package from that county’s affiliate of Wisconsin Right to Life – a two-inch plastic fetus. But looking at their agenda, sending plastic shock toys (which this […]
Today the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel focused on State Senator John Lehman’s (D-Racine) plan regarding virtual schools in Wisconsin. A major piece of his plan focuses on bringing some real accountability to virtual schools. The proposal would require school districts that offer online instruction to make their contracts with for-profit companies public. This is a common […]
A dozen events calling for an end to the war in Iraq are planned across Wisconsin in connection with Iraq Moratorium #5, a national grassroots movement, on Friday, January 18. The Iraq Moratorium calls for people to take some action, individually or in a group, on the third Friday of every month to show that […]
As expected, Assembly Republicans continued their war on voting today. In their crosshairs is the decades-old practice allowing same day voter registration. In many ways this tradition has helped to produce voter participation numbers that are the envy of most other states. Republicans on the Elections and Constitutional Law committee are ignoring the Constitution. Sacred rights […]
The La Crosse Tribune reported today that Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem) wants to focus on health care during the 2008 session. Given his history of inaction in this area and based on his defense of our dysfunctional status quo this is bound to be a very short discussion. Here is what the Huebsch […]