September 5, 2019

Wanted: Event spaces and venues for Milwaukee 2020 Democratic convention

From bars and restaurants to boats and gyms, the 2020 Democratic Convention is looking to sign up venues that could be used as entertainment spaces during next summer's event.

The host committee has created an online portal to get a detailed list of venues willing to host one of the 2,000 events associated with the convention.

According to its website, the host committee isn't just looking for venues in the city, but across the region.

"While some organizations might be doing their own research and contacting venues directly, the vast majority will be contacting the host committee events team for guidance," the website said. "It is the goal of the Milwaukee 2020 events team that every event finds the right home."

Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/09/04/dnc-venue-signups-begin-milwaukee-2020-convention/2209110001/
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

September 5, 2019

No, Evers did not 'cancel' the sales tax holiday

Back-to-school shopping was a smidge more expensive in Wisconsin this year.

Wisconsin Republicans set up a sales tax holiday in 2018, giving consumers a pass for many categories of clothing, computers and school supplies. There was no such holiday in 2019.

And since there’s change, there must be blame.

In posts on Twitter and Facebook, the Wisconsin Assembly GOP pointed the finger at the state’s new Democratic governor.

"Last year, Republicans gave part of Wisconsin's budget surplus back to the taxpayers by instituting a sales tax holiday on some back-to-school items," the Aug. 27, 2019, posts said. "You won't see that this year under Governor (Tony) Evers, despite the continued surplus."

Read more: https://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2019/sep/03/wisconsin-assembly-republicans/no-evers-did-not-cancel-sales-tax-holiday/

September 5, 2019

'Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren' to debut Sunday

Greta Van Susteren will be back on TV beginning Sunday.

The Appleton native's new political program, "Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren," will air at 10:30 a.m. Sunday on WBAY-TV in the Green Bay market. In the Wausau-Rhinelander market, it airs at 9 a.m. on WXAW-TV.

Van Susteren works for Gray Television, which owns TV stations in more than 90 markets across the country. The new Washington-based show will air in 76 percent of the nation's TV markets, including New York and Los Angeles.

Sunday's half-hour episode will include interviews with Hawaii Rep. and Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard and former NFL head coach Tony Dungy.

It was announced in the spring that Van Susteren, a graduate of Xavier High School and University of Wisconsin-Madison, was joining Gray Television as the chief political analyst and that two nationally syndicated shows were in development.

Read more: https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/entertainment/2019/09/04/greta-van-susterens-new-show-full-court-press-debuts-sunday/2208254001/

September 5, 2019

Democrats introduce bills aiming to provide financial stability for farmers

Dem lawmakers have introduced a package of measures aimed at providing financial stability to farmers in the state facing “an agricultural crisis.”

Reps. Dave Considine of Baraboo, Mark Spreitzer of Beloit, Don Vruwink of Milton and Sen. Janis Ringhand of Evansville were joined by local farmers in a Capitol news conference yesterday to unveil three bipartisan pieces of legislation that would alleviate financial pressures on new farmers and improve farm succession planning.

The first proposal would create a grant program that would provide grants of up to $50,000 to diversify small-scale farming operations, while a second measure would create a student loan assistance program for newly graduated farmers. The program would reimburse higher education debt up to $30,000 with the provision that the recipient commits to farming in Wisconsin for at least five years.

“This bill will truly help Wisconsin lead the way in supporting our next generation of farmers,” Spreitzer said.

Read more: https://www.wispolitics.com/2019/dems-introduce-bills-aiming-to-provide-financial-stability-to-farmers/

September 5, 2019

Marquette Law School Poll gives slight edge to Biden, Sanders over Trump in 2020 match-up

The latest poll of Wisconsin voters shows President Donald Trump trailing Democrats Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders in a potential 2020 match-up.

The Marquette Law School Poll released Wednesday, which surveyed 800 registered voters from Aug. 25-29, gave the former vice president a 9-point edge over Trump with 51% to 42%.

Bernie Sanders, who won the Democratic primary here in 2016 but was the national runner-up to Hillary Clinton, was favored by 48% of respondents while 44% picked Trump. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has polled in the top three nationally along with Biden and Sanders, tied Trump with both favored by 45%.

Numbers fall off considerably from there, Marquette Law School Poll director Charles Franklin said, pointing out that the huge field of candidates “has substantially failed to connect with Wisconsin voters.”

Read more: https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/poll-gives-slight-edge-to-biden-sanders-over-trump-in/article_99d9aeef-d82b-5eed-8590-03bcd96f67ad.html

September 5, 2019

Jimmy Kimmel Live: Trump Has "Never Heard" of a Category 5 Hurricane

September 5, 2019

Texas cities seek comfort in football after shootings

Far more than the final score will be on the line as two grief-stricken cities shaken by mass shootings weeks apart turn to the proud Texas tradition of high school football as part of the healing process.

Perhaps no team symbolizes this rite of fall in the state more than the Permian High School Panthers, which are hosting the game Thursday night in Odessa against the Franklin High School Cougars from El Paso. The Panthers' 1988 team was immortalized in H.G. Bissinger's book "Friday Night Lights," which inspired a movie and television show by the same name.

"It's football in West Texas. But there's something larger that's going on at this game as far as this is about community, about healing, comfort and just solidarity with each other," said Julie Gray, an executive board member for Permian's football booster club.

A gunman on Saturday killed seven people and injured around two dozen others as he went on an hour-long rampage from Midland to Odessa, firing at random before being killed by police outside a movie theater. In El Paso four weeks earlier, a gunman opened fire at a Walmart, killing 22 people before being taken into custody.

Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texas/story/2019/sep/05/texas-cities-seek-comfort-football-after-shootings/793678/

September 5, 2019

Texas House Democrats ask Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session after two mass shootings

by Cassandra Pollock and Chase Karacostas, Texas Tribune


Democrats in the Texas House are calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to convene a special legislative session to address gun violence — a move designed to place even more pressure on the state’s top GOP official to act in the wake of two deadly mass shootings just weeks apart.

A letter to Abbott was delivered Wednesday morning, hours before the House Democratic Caucus hosted five news conferences across the state to discuss “protecting Texans from gun violence.” The letter, which also included several gun-related legislative proposals, was signed by 63 of the 66 members in the caucus.

The caucus requested Abbott include issues such as “closing the background check loopholes” and “banning the sale of high-capacity magazines” in a special session agenda, along with "enacting extreme risk protective order laws and closing existing loopholes in current protective order laws," "limiting the open carry of certain semi-automatic long guns" and "requiring stolen guns be reported to law enforcement."

The request comes days after a gunman killed seven people and injured 22 others while on a rampage in Odessa and Midland. That shooting happened four weeks after a massacre in El Paso left 22 dead and more than two dozen wounded.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/09/04/Texas-House-Democrats-ask-Greg-Abbott-for-emergency-session/

September 5, 2019

Young Texans Are More Skeptical Of Democracy And Open To Change, Study Finds

Younger Texans are less likely to view democracy positively and more likely to want to significantly and structurally change American government, according to a Texas Lyceum poll released today.

When asked, 32% of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 said they “strongly agree” that democracy is the best form of government. In comparison, the study found 45% of voters between ages 30 and 44, 61% of those between 45 and 64, and 78% of Texans over 65 felt that way.

“I don’t think that young people are questioning the value of democracy,” Joshua Blank, the research director of the Texas Lyceum poll, said. “I think they are just less satisfied with the way we are implementing it in the U.S. currently.”

Blank said young people are frustrated with how the government is working and want to see serious change.

Read more: https://www.kut.org/post/young-texans-are-more-skeptical-democracy-and-open-change-study-finds

September 5, 2019

Shouting Matches Disrupt Homelessness Forum @ St. Ed's, Putting Austin Council Members On Defensive

Austin's third forum on homelessness this summer began with a benediction, of sorts, from moderator Jack Musselman: that all people are created in God's image, and that the forum, hosted by St. Edward's University, would be civil and comport to the university's Catholic mission.

The guy from InfoWars apparently wasn't there for that benediction.

And so, roughly a third of the way through, Owen Shroyer interrupted, calling the Austin City Council "full of s- - -" and suggesting Democrats are the cause of homelessness crises in cities across the U.S. As he was removed, his comments were met with applause, kicking off a handful of disruptions over the 90-minute forum on the city's revised homelessness ordinances and its plans to build a shelter in South Austin.

They ranged from direct questioning of Austin City Council members about how the city's ordinances could affect child safety to outright shouting matches between attendees.

Read more: https://www.kut.org/post/shouting-matches-disrupt-homelessness-forum-st-ed-s-putting-council-members-defensive