On Tuesday, nearly 50,000 people cast votes for “uninstructed” in the Wisconsin Democratic primary as a way to protest President Biden’s full-throated support for the Israeli slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza.
Nearly 50,000 People in Wisconsin Cast Protest Vote Against Gaza Slaughter in Democratic Primary
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Wisconsin voters approve ban on private election grants as Biden, Trump win primary
Wisconsin Supreme Court orders new legislative maps in redistricting case brought by Democrats
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos called it “a sad day for our state” and suggested it would be appealed, saying the U.S. Supreme Court would have the final say.
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The maps from parties to the lawsuit are due by Jan. 12, with supporting arguments due 10 days later. Reports from the consultants are due by Feb. 1, with responses a week later. That means the court will release new maps likely sometime in late February or early March unless the Legislature acts first.
Seven unions representing teachers and other public workers in Wisconsin filed a lawsuit Thursday attempting to end the state’s near-total ban on collective bargaining for most public employees.
Unions in Wisconsin sue to reverse collective bargaining restrictions on teachers, others
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Wisconsin’s Act 10 Is in Jeopardy (WSJ)
The law, signed by former Gov. Scott Walker, has saved the Badger State from turning into Illinois or New York, where public unions essentially run the state government for their own benefit. According to the MacIver Institute, Act 10 has saved Wisconsin taxpayers $16.8 billion since it was passed in 2011, making public finances more manageable at every level of government.
Progressive mayors who publicly rail against the law know that repealing it would wreak havoc on municipal budgets. According to Wisconsin Right Now, Milwaukee’s budget says it has saved about $345.4 million in health insurance since 2012 because of Act 10’s requirement that public employees contribute to their health plans.
The lawsuit by teachers and other public unions focuses on a narrow part of the law that exempts public-safety employees. The unions say this creates a “favored” class of workers and imposes “severe burdens on employees in the disfavored group.” Act 10’s “anti-democratic regime,” the unions continue, subjects “general” employees “to a panoply of burdens and deprives them of important rights,” while exempting police officers and firefighters from “all its injurious provisions.”
Attacks on Public-Sector Unions Harm States: How Act 10 Has Affected Education in Wisconsin
A Decade After Act 10, It’s A Different World For Wisconsin Unions
WSJ quotes MacIver Institute, from the Atlas Network via State Policy Network, Bradley Foundation, and Americans for Prosperity (Kochtopus). Former WI Governor Scott Walker, another Atlas/Koch tool, does not rule out intervening.
Wisconsin supreme court appears poised to strike down legislative maps and end Republican dominance
Taylor Meehan, an attorney for legislative Republicans, argued that districts had long been considered to be contiguous as long as they kept towns, counties and wards whole. In Wisconsin, localities have annexed disconnected parts of land that have resulted in strange shapes. “You can define contiguity as strictly or as loosely as you want,” she said.
They look like Swiss cheese!
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Advocates rally to protest Wisconsin’s ‘etch-a-sketch gerrymandered maps’
“The entire country should know what’s happening here in Wisconsin,” said the state’s Senate Democrats.
Alarm Grows Over Wisconsin GOP’s Supreme Court Impeachment Threats
Wisconsin Republicans are afraid to lose their majority!
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‘What Authoritarianism Looks Like’: Wisconsin GOP Threatens to Impeach Liberal Justice
Right-Wing Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Accused of ‘Meltdown’ After Liberal Takeover
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