Rep. Neylon: Wisconsin Improves Business Rankings

Last week, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) recognized Wisconsin as one of the best states in the country to do business.

Money & Politics

Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Will Likely Get Costly

Most of the cash in high court campaign will spent by conservative and liberal outside groups — not the candidates themselves.

On Tuesday, Wisconsin will hold a primary election for state Supreme Court, narrowing the field from three candidates to two. Then the race will begin in earnest.  Justice Patience Roggensack, who has already served one 10-year term on the state’s highest court, is expected to survive the cut. Her challengers are Ed Fallone, a Marquette University Law School professor, and Vince Megna, a Milwaukee lawyer specializing in suing auto companies. The general election is April 2. Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 4, according to the most recent reporting, Roggensack had raised about $200,000, compared to Fallone’s $75,000 and Megna’s $0. Roggensack reported having $219,154 cash on hand, compared to Fallone’s $63,713 and Megna’s $5,340. Most of Megna’s …

•  21 Comments
• Photos (1)

Colonel Mustard

10:56 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Well, we see how well it worked out for the crazed Allen West (former 1 term Congressman). He got his butt kicked up to his loud mouth. The next up-coming "McCarthy" Clone is loud-mouthed Sen. (of 6 weeks) Ted Cruz (TEA BAGGER - TX).   more ›

The Super Bowl Ad That Has People Talking: Dodge's 'God Made A Farmer'

Being a farm girl myself, this ad reminded me just how cool calling yourself a "farm girl" really is.

I am the daughter of two parents, who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. And when I was 10, they bought a farm in Wooster, Ohio. And when I saw that Dodge Ram commercial during the Super Bowl last night, which featured Paul Harvey reading the poem God Made a Farmer, it brought up all of these wonderful (and emotional feelings) I have about growing up on a farm. My parents didn’t know that there is no hobby in farming – only a commitment to working until the work is done and the work is never done.  We started off with three hogs, and two steers, then quickly grew to having 300 hogs, a few horses, and an orphaned goat named Gabby. We owned a 1942 Case Tractor that had a crank start and an electric start that came with a plow and a manure spreader…

•  16 Comments
• Photos (2)
• Videos (1)

Mental Illness, Online Anonymity and DNA Submissions Among Hottest Blog Posts

From submitting a DNA sample when arrested to comparing the President to the Three Stooges, Patch bloggers weighed in on a variety of topics this week. Here is a look at some of the most popular posts over the past week.

Blog posts in Wisconsin Patches this past week ran the gamut — from mental health to gun control to bullying. Every day, Patch's Local Voices bloggers share information, insight and opinion about what matters to them. Here's a selection of blogs from throughout the past week. In, "Mental illness and Violence: An opinion," Patch Local Voices contributor Tracy Craft takes a look at President Barack Obama's movement to require more mental health screenings in an effort to decrease violence in America.  "Passport Please" garnered more than 114 comments in just a couple of days on Patch. Rees Roberts asks if no longer allowing people to post anonymously online would help develop more respectful and responsible posting. Drawing from current …

•  6 Comments
• Photos (5)

Money & Politics

Court Ruling Blamed for Record Campaign Spending

2012 was the most expensive election in the "history of the world," and advocate says it's all the U.S. Supreme Court's fault.

During a recent news conference at the state Capitol, Lisa Graves, executive director of the Madison-based Center for Media and Democracy, made an astonishing claim. “This past election, in 2012, was the most expensive election in U.S. history,” Graves said. “In fact, it was the most expensive election in the history of the world.” She later pointed to articles that backed this up, at least in terms of total amount. The Jan. 22 event, before a mostly empty room, highlighted a new report tracking spending in the 2012 elections, the first since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United. That ruling, which equated money with speech and barred government from restricting “independent” spending on political campaigns, opened two …

•  24 Comments
• Photos (1)

anita

6:04 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013

I am a progressive liberal, and yes, you are right! NO money should be shoveled into anyone's campaign. None. There was/and still is an outcry. Where have you been?   more ›

Money & Politics

Cost a Key Factor in Debate over Drunken Driving Laws

What's blocking Wisconsin from implementing new, tougher laws against drunken driving? It could be "the dollar factor."

Mark Grapentine is a seasoned observer of state politics. He was an aide to then-state Rep. Scott Walker and a policy adviser to then-Gov. Tommy Thompson. For the past decade, he’s been a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Medical Society.  In this capacity, he’s pushed for tougher state drunken driving laws — and noticed that, despite an absence of pushback, these laws have stayed mostly the same. “It has been interesting to watch how there has been a lack of progress in an area where there seems to be a tremendous amount of agreement on the need to do something,” Grapentine says. Wisconsin remains the only state where first-offense drunken driving is not a crime, although the civil penalties include license suspension and substantial fines. Two …

•  13 Comments
• Photos (1)

Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch: We Are Moving Wisconsin Forward

Republican lieutenant governor says Wisconsin is "in better shape today than we were before, and we're not done yet."

With a collective sigh of relief, we can now look back at the time since Governor Walker and I took office, and size up the accomplishments of the last two years.  Although we've seen things unprecedented and unpredictable, our experiences have made us stronger. We have a lot to be proud of. Our successes give us new perspective, though, and through the lens of a state pursuing economic competitiveness, we see we have a lot of room to grow in our future. Despite the rampant wrong turns from our federal government, Wisconsin is finally on the path to prosperity. We inherited a $3.6 billion budget deficit that has been balanced without raising taxes. After seeing nearly 150,000 jobs lost under the last three years of the previous …

•  50 Comments
• Photos (2)

The Donny Show

8:32 am on Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Another set of facts of raising taxes of the rich never achieves its goal. The rich just move or do what they have to do....WE NEED TO WORK TO LOWER TAXES IN WI. We dont have a Woods or Mickelson, but why would any company or person live here if we dont create a great business and tax climate. Tiger Woods is the prime example. He "moved" to FL in 1996. His off-course deals (rounded) starting in '…   more ›

Gov Walker: A Look Ahead

Gov. Scott Walker looks at the upcoming legislative session as lawmakers return to work.

Each week, Gov. Scott Walker delivers a weekly radio address. The following is the transcript from the address titled A Look Ahead. Hi I’m Scott Walker.  Two years ago, Wisconsin was facing a $3.6 billion budget deficit and the state had an unemployment rate of 7.5 percent. Today, Wisconsin has a $341 million surplus and we set money aside in the rainy day fund for the first time in two consecutive years.  The unemployment rate is 6.7 percent. In 2010, a mere 10 percent of employers surveyed said the state was headed in the right direction. Chief Executive Magazine ranked Wisconsin as the 41st state for business rankings. In 2012, 94 percent said Wisconsin was headed in the right direction.  Chief Executive Magazine moved our ranking up to…

•  31 Comments
• Photos (3)

Sen. Ron Johnson: Comments on the Fiscal Cliff Vote

Sen. Ron Johnson is Wisconsin's Republican senator in Washington, D.C. This commentary is taken from his weekly e-newsletter to constituents.

Although I strongly prefer extension of current tax rates for all Americans, I supported the compromise bill that protects 99% of Wisconsinites from an income tax increase, limits the death tax, and prevents a dramatic increase in milk prices. It is by no means a perfect piece of legislation. The revenue raised by this legislation will equal approximately 7% of projected deficits. It is now time for President Obama and his Democrat colleagues to show the American public their plan to close the other 93% of the deficit. Our nation's debt now stands at $16.4 trillion, and has reached its statutory limit. We blew through the $2.1 trillion increase in the debt ceiling granted in August 2011 in only 17 months. This is clearly unsustainable, and…

•  66 Comments
• Photos (1)

Walker

8:05 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013

47% . . . wasn't that Mitt's final vote tally? How ironic.   more ›

Anti-Gun Nuts on False Witch Hunt

Patch blogger Brian Dey struck a nerve when he said those who want to ban assault weapons are on a "modern-day witch hunt." More than 100 people have commented so far on this controversial blog. What's your take?