Tag Archives: Wisconsin

Happy Child Prevention Month!

17 Apr

Why is the Wisconsin State Capitol dome bathed in blue light? The Wisconsin Department of Administration Website has the answer:

From bunnyblinks

Thanks to Ramy for the tip!

Update: Apparently, last time the Capitol was lighted blue was for a slightly different cause.

Another update: Credit where it’s due. This guy snapped a gorgeous pic and posted it yesterday, noting the typo.

Lessons from New Jersey.

4 Dec

Jokes about New Jersey (“What Exit?”), like jokes about Wisconsin (“Cheese & Beer & Snow“), are easy to come by.

I’ve spent my first two and past 12 years in Wisconsin, but my mother was raised in New Jersey, and I still return (not as often as I’d like) to visit my cousins and friends who live there. I’ve enjoyed a few summer weeks on the Jersey Shore, as well as on Wisconsin’s middle-coast cheddarized version thereof. Perhaps that’s why I want to point out one or two more deep connections between what appear on the surface to be culturally distant states. Or a third:

This week, the entire country had a chance to learn “The lessons of Jersey Shore“ (courtesy of Fourfour‘s precision brand of hilaro-snark).

Next week, I hope New Jersey will teach us in Wisconsin one more lesson. New Jersey Peeps: Contact your legislators today!

There’s no harm in making fun of either state. But this time I hope New Jersey gets the last laugh.

Update (12/7/8) : via Joe. My. God. “Victory In New Jersey! Marriage Vote In Full Senate Slated For Thursday”

Wisconsin Spring Elections

27 Mar

It’s Spring in the MadCity, which means it’s time for another round of elections. It’s one of those elections that doesn’t get much buzz. You have to do a little research so as not to be surprised. I thought I’d share, and encourage you locals to GOTV on April 1st (no, it’s not a joke).

Here’s where you can find out where to vote, although if you didn’t vote the last time around in the Presidential Primary, you’re probably not gonna motivate yourself to vote in this one. But, ya know, just in case.

Here’s where you can see what’s on the ballot this time around. Depending on where you live, however, some candidates running for certain offices might be unopposed. (Is this a sign of good or bad government? In Madison, one could make a case for either.)

Here’s where you can find a sample ballot of the upcoming election, so that you’re not surprised by anything on the ballot (and so you can make time to do some research).

Trust me? Pressed for time? Wanna know how I intend to vote? Read on!

* Justice of the Supreme Court: Louis Butler is the good choice, and there are many compelling reasons not to vote for his opponent.
* Court of Appeals Judge: (unopposed)
* Circuit Court Judges: (2 seats, both unopposed)
* County Board: John Hendrick (Here’s why)
* MMSD School Board Seats 6 & 7 (both unapposed)

In my district, at least, the Supreme Court election should be the driving factor to get out the vote. If not, perhaps the one ballot question should get people riled up.

QUESTION 1: “Partial veto. Shall section 10 (1) (c) of article V of the constitution be amended to prohibit the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority, from creating a new sentence by combining parts of two or more sentences of the enrolled bill?”

I intend to vote yes, and you should, too. Here’s some background if you’re new to the discussion of Wisconsin’s Frankenstein veto.

Update: 4/2/08. Well, Frankenstein was tamed. This race didn’t end so well though. Do Wisconsinites really want a conservative Supreme Court justice (albeit by the narrowest of margins), as Althouse suggests? Or are we progressives really wimps?