Appleton Wonk

UPDATE: Michelle Litjens will be in office until next January. Tea Party darling and Michelle Bachmann “wannabe”, Michelle Litjens has been busy reinventing herself this year. First, the freshman Republican announced in February that she would not seek re-election to the state assembly. At the time TMJ reported that she wanted to spend more...
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So, we lost last night and Walker gets to stay on as governor. Yes, it sucks in a big way, but honestly people it isn’t over yet. We won’t lose unless we all figuratively decide to “take our ball and go home”. I, for one, won’t be doing that. On the bright side, we...
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About 40 people came to the early voting rally in Appleton, WI that started at City Park. Rep. Penny Bernard-Schaber was on hand and gave a rousing speech. She reminded us of how important it was for us to get Wisconsin moving in the right direction again and put it on a much better...
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Recall Walker day, June 5th is rapidly approaching. On this day people in Wisconsin can collectively stand up and put a stop to Walker’s anti-worker, anti-woman, anti-union, anti-environment agenda. We can show the state and country that people in Wisconsin still believe in the “Wisconsin way” of fair play, open government and progressive values....
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Yesterday the soon to be former governor visited the V.F.W. in Appleton to sign a bill that helps military veterans. Of course, he was met with a good sized “welcoming committee”. It’s heartwarming for this wonk to know that they could get a pretty good sized crowd together on such short notice. Some people...
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Update 04/05/12 “Do you even care at all about the 1,000 babies that died screaming?” This is a statement Francis Grady made aloud to his court-appointed attorney yesterday in federal court in Green Bay. Francis Grady wanted to plead guilty immediately to arson of a building used in interstate commerce and intentionally damaging a...
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I’ll be adding updates at the top of the post as this story progresses. – blue cheddar Saturday’s #newsq: Ask Gannett, is signing a recall petition really more of a political statement than not signing it? fdlreporter.com/article/201203… — NiemanWatchdog (@NiemanWatchdog) March 24, 2012 Today Genia Lovett from the Appleton Post-Crescent broke the news that...
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In what could be billed as the next “rule of thumb” similar to “Don’t take wooden nickels” or “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”, poll workers in Appleton, WI now have “Don’t accept doughnuts from candidates” as reported today by the Appleton Post Crescent. Fox 11 news also covered this story stating “the great donut...
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The video will start where the parade footage kicks in. Almost everyone is familiar with how the original St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland, but how many people know that St. Patrick made a special visit to Fond du Lac last Saturday during their annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade? He came...
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Frankly, I don’t have good news regarding the state of BadgerCare Plus. In another move that shows that Republicans don’t listen to their constituents and put corporations interests over people, the Joint Finance Committee approved changes to BadgerCare yesterday that will cut an estimated 22,800 people from the program. Even though this plan is...
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Who besides Homer Simpson believes in the “power of the doughnut” to influence all areas of life? The short answer is Appleton Taxpayers United. Just when I thought the story had gone stale I run into a video of Appleton Alderman James Clemons defending Cathy Spears against the ethics complaint against her. He brings...
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Last year Appleton Taxpayers United railed against same sex partner benefits for city workers in Appleton This year the group has filed an ethics complaint with the city of Appleton against Common Council President Cathy Spears because she delivered doughnuts to poll workers. Really. From an article at the Post Crescent. “Appleton Taxpayers United,...
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Last night the Reclaim Wisconsin Tour came to Kaukauna, Wisconsin. These events are sponsored by the Wisconsin AFL-CIO among other groups. From the Wisconsin AFL-CIO: “The “Reclaim Wisconsin Tour” will discuss the impact of Gov. Walker’s policies on working people including the loss of family-sustaining jobs, the loss of employment protections and benefits, the...
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Last year I started joking about having my cat run for Wisconsin governor. His slogan was “A vote for me is a vote for dolphin safe tuna in every bowl”. It was something that would bring the occasional chuckle from my friends and family but nothing more. What I didn’t realize is that pets...
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Last week Matthew Van Grinsven filed an ethics complaint against an attorney at the Michael Best & Friedrich law firm. Much has been made about the redistricting story and the secrecy agreement signed by Republicans. There has also been a lot of speculation about who knew what and when did they know it. Matthew...
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Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! In what could be viewed as the best Valentine’s day present for this wonk, TMJ is reporting that Tea Party and John Birch Society darling Michelle Litjens won’t be seeking re-election. She is one of 3 state-level GOP legislators that have decided to leave political life. The other two GOP...
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As many of you are aware it’s been just over one year since soon to be former Governor Walker announced his “budget repair bill”. Part of this budget repair bill took away collective bargaining rights from public workers. The thing that made my blood boil was the “budget repair bill” was “needed” because of...
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Yesterday, February 8, 2012, the Wisconsin Assembly Health Committee convened. One of the items discussed was Assembly Bill 371. This particular bill has long been touted by Rep. Michelle Litjens and “right to life” groups. I wrote about this particular bill before it had been written. My post from last August can be found...
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The protest video above was shot during the governor’s state of the state address on January 10, 2012. There’s nothing quite like watching protest video to get this wonk’s attention. It’s heart warming to see democracy in action. Since last year the people in Indiana have gained a special place in my heart. To...
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There’s a very important hearing regarding a proposed mining operation going on at the Hurley Inn auditorium starting at 10 this morning. Badger Democracy has done an excellent write up on this hearing. If you have a chance, I highly recommend taking the time to read their post. It can be found here. Mike...
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