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Here's how to find me over at Blogging Blue (and I hope you will!):
Please click on this link, which will direct you to my new posts.
Click here for the url for my individual RSS feed.
Thanks, Lisa Mux aka Waukesha Wonk
Instead of writing about the Mining Bill Hearing in West Allis last week, I spent my free time figuring out why my blog was in Chinese, restoring the blog, moving the whole operation over to Blogger, and then back again. It was not pretty. Clearly, I’m a writer, not a website designer. With this in mind, I set out to find a new “home” for my writing. Waukesha Wonk is not going anywhere, and this website will remain intact, with increased security measures.
Continue reading "Waukesha Wonk to join forces with Blogging Blue in 2012"
When a federal judge sentenced Rod Blagojevich to fourteen years in prison yesterday, I felt a sense of relief knowing that justice was served. That Blagojevich is a Democrat is irrelevant; his conviction proved that corrupt governors DO go to jail. Some of the same statements made by the sentencing judge to Blagojevich might be said about Wisconsin’s own Governor Scott Walker, and more and more Wisconsinites are starting to understand why, as fact is separated from fiction.
Continue reading "Wisconsin's right-wing propaganda machine is becoming impotent"
We were downright giddy at the OconDems meeting on Saturday, as Lori Compas updated our group on the Fitzgerald recall petition drive currently underway. Lori, with her sunny disposition, sweet nature and freckled face, is the last person you’d expect to take on Senator Fitzgerald. In fact, several politically connected residents from the Fort Atkinson area told me that Fitzgerald was not only taken off guard by the success of the recall drive, now he’s quaking in his boots.
Continue reading "Scott Fitzgerald reportedly rattled by recall effort"
Tommy Thompson’s Senate kick-off rally at Weldall Manufacturing here in Waukesha was not what I had expected. With all the media trucks parked in the lot, and the tense political environment throughout Wisconsin, I was practically offended by the pleasant nature of this event. Despite the club music on the sound system and the energetic College Republican speaker from Madison, it felt less like a political rally, and more like an employee Christmas party at a bank.
Continue reading "Tommy Thompson: Wisconsin’s Mitt Romney"
Last night, Mike Tate officially disclosed the number of Walker Recall signatures gathered thus far-over 300,000 in just twelve short days. That’s terrific news. Not to harsh the buzz, but we’ve got a lot more work to do, especially here in Waukesha County. I realized this last week when I attended the Walker Recall Rally at UW-Waukesha, where rock-star Senator Chris Larson was unable to rouse the crowd, and I received an important reminder about the need for continued determination and focus.
Continue reading "Getting schooled by the UW-Waukesha College Democrats "
On Thanksgiving Day, I went “off the grid” to get a short break from Wisconsin politics. Even political junkies recognize the need to go offline once in awhile, if only to preserve our sanity. Amazingly, I managed to stay off the internet for more than six hours straight. Despite this Herculean feat, I still wasn’t able to escape Wisconsin politics, as that’s all anyone at our dinner table wanted to talk about. Even my mother, who has warned me not to talk politics at the table for the past thirteen years, couldn’t get enough, even with three guests joining us this year.
Continue reading "A very Wisconsin 2011 Thanksgiving"
Normally, I don’t read the comments following articles in local news publications, because oftentimes they’re cruel, illogical, and rife with grammatical errors. And since it’s kind of cowardly to leave an anonymous comment online, I don’t put much stock into what those commenting have to say. Sometimes, though, I can’t help myself, as was the case this morning, after I read a post about threats made to a national Teachers Unions firm in Brookfield, Wisconsin. One of the comments really irked me, and not just because “Capitol” is spelled incorrectly.
Continue reading "Teachable moments"
Drinking Liberally Waukesha: A stunning success
Submitted by Brian Sonenstein on Fri, 11/18/2011 - 3:46pm.
BY LISA MUX
Waukesha is the hub of Conservative politics in Wisconsin, and Waukesha County Conservatives are not used to being challenged. For years, they’ve enjoyed their majority status, as Liberals stood silently by. Well, not anymore. We’re coming out of the woodwork in droves, thanks to Governor Scott Walker and his anti-middle class agenda. The Walker administration’s dastardly deeds, combined with the power of social media, have united Waukesha Progressives. Phil Scarr and I recently formed the first-ever Drinking Liberally Waukesha, and the result was nothing short of astonishing.
We expected five to ten people to show up to the inaugural meeting of Drinking Liberally Waukesha at Sprizzo Gallery Café on November 7th. Even though we snagged Sly, a rock star radio host, as our first speaker, and despite having received a fair write-up in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the week prior, we didn’t have much hope for a high turnout. We were shocked when the room we had reserved filled up so quickly that we had to move the event downstairs in order to not violate fire code. Our group occupied the entire first floor of the restaurant!
Sly gave a rousing speech and stressed that if we band together in solidarity, we Waukesha Progressives can take our state back from right-wing extremists. Following Sly’s speech and a group photo, we mingled. Everyone was incredibly excited to meet and discuss the current political climate. It felt like long-lost family reuniting for the first time in years. People kept exclaiming, “I’m so happy I’m not the only Waukesha Progressive!”
The following Saturday, November 12th, we held a “Special Session” of Drinking Liberally Waukesha. We really wanted Scott Wittkopf to speak to our group, as he had just published an expose on Waukesha GOP infrastructure, and how it drives the politics of the entire state. We figured, if Scott Walker could hold a “Special Session”, so could we.
Phil and I prepared ourselves, and the room, for a sizeable crowd, even though it was a last-minute event. The room filled just to capacity, and every chair was taken. The crowd was a mix of people who attended the first event as well as some new faces. Two hours flew by as Scott Wittkopf discussed his ‘Blame Waukesha’ piece in detail while entertaining questions from the group. Many people approached us afterward to say they had a great time, and to thank us for starting the Waukesha chapter of Drinking Liberally.
Word is spreading quickly throughout Waukesha County about Drinking Liberally Waukesha, and our email subscriber list is growing at a rapid clip. Our next meeting is on December 5th at Sprizzo, with Mike McCabe of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign as our speaker.
A few days ago in downtown Waukesha, I ran into a woman who had attended the first two Drinking Liberally meetings. She proudly wore her Drinking Liberally button on her jacket, and giddily informed me that her tiny button had been spotted by someone who had also attended the events. She was clearly happy to have found a little blue in a sea of red. “You got any more of these?”, she asked, referring to the buttons. Looks like we’re going to need them.
(As posted on LivingLiberally.org. Big thanks to Justin Krebs & staff!)
Contrary to what James Wigderson and Mark Belling have said about me, I am perfectly capable of treating those with whom I disagree with respect. Just ask my Representative, James Sensenbrenner (R). I attended his Town Hall Meeting on Sunday evening in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and I didn’t act like a “jackass” or a “jerk”, or threaten the lives of any women or children. However, I did, as James Wigderson claims I am wont to do, feel good about myself. Several times, in fact.
Continue reading "Feeling good about myself at Sensenbrenner’s Town Hall Meeting"
The Waukesha Walker Recall Office was in full effect when I stopped by this afternoon around lunchtime. They were rocking the signatures like a well-oiled machine. You could walk in, sign the petitions, and get out quickly, or linger at the table and chat with one of the knowledgeable volunteers, like Emily Thomas, a recent UW-Milwaukee grad and Wauwatosa native. Emily kindly answered my questions about the first day of Waukesha Walker Recall-palooza.
Continue reading "Walker Recall Petition Drive in full effect in Waukesha"
Waukesha school teachers with whom I’ve spoken plan to head on down to the Waukesha Walker Recall Office tomorrow and sign the petitions necessary to recall both Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch. It’s not hard to understand why: many Waukesha teachers lost a couple hundred dollars per month due to what they see as a manufactured budget crisis, and they were demonized in the process.
Because the Governor now faces a massive gap of female supporters, a pro-Walker commercial featuring an attractive female school board member aired tonight. During the Packer game, no less.
But teachers won’t be fooled by right-wing partisan Karin Rajnicek’s saccharine persona, or by her factually incorrect statements. In the commercial, Rajnicek says, “Governor Walker-he gave us options that reduced our biggest costs, so that we could put more money back into our classrooms.” Really? Because The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s report proves otherwise.
That is an insult to teachers in Waukesha and across Wisconsin.
I guess desperate times call for desperate measures...
Due to the recent political awakening in Wisconsin, more citizens are taking an active role in our political process. Here in Waukesha, many new people have signed up to work as Chief Inspectors (aka poll workers) in upcoming elections. The Government Accountability Board requires these citizens to complete the Baseline Training course before working the polls. That makes sense. But the fact that Kathy Nickolaus will be leading those training sessions does not make sense; it’s like hiring Bristol Palin to teach sex ed classes.
Yes, the GAB investigated Kathy Nickolaus’s mistakes in recent elections and found her not guilty of criminal activity. But that’s not enough to inspire confidence in her abilities, at least not with the Waukesha residents with whom I’ve spoken. And yet, the GAB’s website lists Kathy Nickolaus as the Waukesha County Trainer for Chief Inspector for the November 29, 2011 courses. Seriously, GAB? Was there nobody else available? Come on.
For the third consecutive evening, downtown Waukesha was host to yet another Liberal event on Tuesday, the grand opening of the Organizing for America Waukesha office. Like the other events, the room was packed to the brim with area residents clamoring to enact political change, gleeful to find so many other Liberals in one spot at the same time. My favorite part of the night, aside from meeting new people and tasting a slice of that gorgeous sheet cake, was hearing a volunteer named Kim speak.
Continue reading "Organizing for America Waukesha officially opens its doors"
Last night’s inaugural meeting of Drinking Liberally Waukesha exceeded my expectations. I had thought five to ten people would show up, and my sole goal for the night was to not get shot. After all, some of the comments following the Journal Sentinel article about our event were downright creepy, and I’ve had some scary experiences here in Waukesha since I “came out” as a liberal blogger. But being afraid is no way to live. The only thing I really have to fear are the pumpkin bars that Phil's wife brought to the event.
Continue reading "Drinking Liberally Waukesha & the deadly pumpkin bars"
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