Free Republic

Bertha (Schmidt) Weingarten at age 20 Bertha Schmidt Weingarten 1914 - 2013 My Mother was born Bertha Schmidt, in Brook Park, Minnesota, on December 21, 1914.  She was an early Christmas present who arrived shortly after the start of World War I.   She was the seventh child to be born in a log cabin with two little loft bedrooms.   Her mother, Emma, left her abusive husband when Bertha was 12.   At the time Bertha was one of ten children.   Divorce was very rare.   Her father had taken to drinking.  The situation must have been very bad for her...

Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker, who survived a 2012 recall effort by groups angered over his successful push to end withholding of dues paid by state employees to their unions, is set to square off against Democratic challenger Mary Burke for Election Day honors this November. And recent polling shows that the recall victor could face a tough fight to keep his job this time around. Burke, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s nominee for governor, is a current school board member in Madison. She’s also a former top executive at Wisconsin’s Trek Bicycle Corporation, a company founded by her father...

Realistically, Walker’s the best chance conservatives have at a nominee who’s both acceptable to them and capable of stopping the RINO dynamic duo of Jeb Bush and Chris Christie in the primaries. Two months ago, that scenario was right on track: Walker led Democrat Mary Burke 48/41 in his race for a second term as Wisconsin governor. Two months later, the lead is up in smoke. It’s 46/46 among registered voters with Burke’s name-recognition rising.Granted, Walker leads by three here among likely voters, but nothing’s going to stop me when I’m in an eeyore spiral. Dude, I’m nervous: In...

SNIP To lead the Republican majority staff, Gowdy selected Philip Kiko, a key aide to Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., when the latter served as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and more recently a registered lobbyist for the Smith-Free Group, a K Street lobbying firm with a diverse roster of clients. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, swiftly welcomed Gowdy’s choice, calling Kiko “a man of unquestioned integrity with a record of distinguished service” in and out of Congress... SNIP However, emails obtained by Fox News show that some conservatives are unhappy with Kiko’s appointment, chiefly because of his recent lobbying...

Challengers see themselves in the Texas senator, even in races where their odds of an upset are considered steeper than Cruz’s surprise victory over a GOP establishment figure two years ago. He’s made endorsements in the Oklahoma and Nebraska Senate races, plus the Nebraska gubernatorial race, and sent almost $26,000 to federal candidates through his leadership PAC. “Ted Cruz would be extremely helpful as an endorser and a fundraiser,” said C. Edmund Wright, a consultant to longshot South Carolina Senate hopeful Lee Bright, in an email. “Rand Paul and Mike Lee would be great also.” But, he said, “the reason...

Some righties are grumbling about this, but c’mon. No one expects a Republican governor who’s up for reelection in a blue state to lead the “throw the RINOs out!” movement. Besides, this makes strategic sense if I’m right about Walker’s niche in the 2016 field. I see him as an establishment/tea party “hybrid” candidate who’ll challenge Christie from the right (especially on social issues) and whoever emerges as the tea-party favorite from the center (especially on immigration). His war with the left over collective bargaining reform in Wisconsin is already so legendary that there’s practically nothing he could do to...

<p>Same-sex marriage is accepted by younger conservatives and won’t likely be an issue in upcoming political races, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said.</p> <p>Urgent: Should Pope Francis Allow Women Priests, Contraception? Vote Here Now.</p> <p>The discussion stemmed from Republican Sen. Rob Portman’s announcement last week that he has changed his position on same-sex marriage because he wants his son, who is gay, to have the same “joy and stability of marriage” that he has had and that he wishes for his other two children.</p>

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is wading into the crowded Arizona governor's race by throwing his support behind state treasurer Doug Ducey (R) Wednesday morning. "Doug Ducey demonstrates the kind of conservative, common-sense leadership that our party needs in Arizona," Walker said in a statement shared with Post Politics by Ducey's campaign. "He’s not afraid of taking on tough challenges, and that’s why I know he’d be a great Governor."

Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Hillary Clinton would make a "spectacular candidate" for president in 2016. “I think she would be a spectacular candidate on the Democratic side. Bloomberg also praised former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) and Govs. Chris Christie (R-NJ) and Scott Walker (R-WI) pointing to their "executive experience"on the potential candidates on the Republican side of the ticket.

KENOSHA COUNTY , Wis.,A Wisconsin father has taken out a restraining order against a 5-year-old kindergartener who has allegedly been bullying his daughter at Prairie Lane Elementary School in Kenosha County. Brian Metzger took out the order after his daughter's classmate allegedly threatened her and physically attacked her. "She came home and said a student threatened her by saying, 'I want to slit your throat and watch you bleed,'" Metzger told WISN. According to Metzger, the male student has also bothered other students in the class and the school has shirked its responsibilities in dealing with the situation. "I think...

As we all know by now having heard the details and audio on the talk shows, a group of 2,400 "teachers" and, inexplicably, a few students, gathered together to search for their "inner racist" and... surprise! they found it! We should loudly applaud any meetings of liberals to confront their inner racist. As I think Ann Coulter said once: If we can just get them to stop hating white people, it would be a good start. In any case it would have been laudable that there are efforts to teach youth to appreciate each other and overcome racism, even though...

Sal Russo, co-founder of the Tea Party Express, announced his support for amnesty on Wednesday, reversing his organization’s statement from a year ago that it would not take a position on immigration reform. If you take a look at Russo’s background, this isn’t exactly the revelation that some in the media are making it out to be. What’s interesting, though, is the dichotomy between Russo’s position and the principles of the organization he helped to create. The Tea Party Express bills itself as anti-establishment, but Russo’s immigration proposal is nearly identical to the principles pushed by GOP House Leaders --...

Madison, Wis. – In a ruling with stunning implications on political speech in Wisconsin and beyond, the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals declared portions of state campaign finance laws restricting issue ads unconstitutional. The 88-page decision handed down late Wednesday afternoon sides with Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. and its state political action committee, which sued to block the enforcement of multiple state statutes and rules against groups that spend money for political speech independently of candidates and parties – so called issue advocacy groups. The 7th Circuit’s ruling, legal experts tell Wisconsin Reporter, could cut the legs out...

MINOCQUA (WAOW) -It is spring in Wisconsin but in some parts of the Northwoods, lakes are still covered with ice, delaying the fishing season. "We're excited that we can feel that spring is on the horizon," said Kim Baltus, the Minocqua Chamber of Commerce executive director. “But on Lake Minocqua there still is ice on the majority of the center parts of the lake." The ice kept some anglers from fishing last weekend - the opening of inland lakes season. "We need the ice to go away, so people can get out there and get the walleyes and all kinds...

Green Bay — The Green Bay Packers were one player away from disaster Thursday night in the first round of the National Football League draft. Prospect after prospect the Packers held in high regard and held out hopes might be available at their No. 21 position had to be removed from their draft board. Finally, it came down to the slot just ahead of Green Bay. What would have been the reaction among the Packers' decision-makers if the New Orleans Saints would have selected safety Ha'Sean "Ha Ha" Clinton-Dix of Alabama with pick No. 20. "I would have been crushed,"...

After surviving two long, cold Wisconsin winters on the streets, Betty Ybarra traded freezing park benches and tents for a tiny house made of recycled wood she helped build herself. Her 99-square-foot home, which boasts flower window boxes, was built by volunteers of the Occupy Madison group, as part of about a half dozen similar projects around the United States, including in New York and Texas, to shelter the homeless. -SNIP- "The village will bring dignity. We will have a fence and we will have community," organizer Trina Clemente said. For Ybarra a tiny house means much-needed normalcy after many...

Madison — In a pingpong match of court orders this week, a federal judge halted an investigation into conservative groups' political activities, an appeals court immediately blocked that ruling and the judge then reinstated his injunction blocking the probe. They were the latest twists and turns in the complex litigation surrounding the secret John Doe probe looking into fundraising and spending during the attempts to recall Gov. Scott Walker and state senators. Here's a look at how the situation got to this point and where it could go next. Q. Who launched the investigation? A. Milwaukee County District Attorney John...

THIS IS FOR THE MIDWEST (NORTHEAST and SOUTH is in a separate thread and West coming later, see links below) There are numerous important House Primary Races! And places where we can WIN! PLEASE contribute! And if you can't contribute money ... the least we can do is go to their pages and give them a "like" or a tweet. All of these candidates are involved in primaries that are close (or could be close) against generally more moderate or liberal Republicans. All of these districts are winnable in November. West Virginia: ALEX MOONEY, WEST VIRGINIA-2, May 13th .... Open...

“It was a miracle I wasn’t paralyzed,” Tanya Weyker said about her February 2013 collision with a Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Deputy. The deputy, caught on video, rolled through a stop sign and T-boned Weyker’s car. However Weyker, 25, was charged with drunk driving, according to a report from Fox6Now.com. After the crash, Weyker said she told deputies she’d taken a few sips of a friend’s drink that night. When a deputy asked why her eyes looked red and glassy, Weyker said she told him he had been crying. According to the report, she also told him she had taken Vicodin...

Early in the morning on October 3, 2013, armed officers showed up at the homes of Deborah Jordahl and R. J. Johnson. Their homes were illuminated by floodlights perched on sheriff deputies’ vehicles as officers seized business papers, computer equipment, phones, and other devices. While their residences were raided, Jordahl and Johnson were restrained under police supervision and denied the ability to contact their attorneys. Jordahl and Johnson were not part of any illicit drug ring. They hadn’t been trafficking in human organs or distributing child pornography. Their crime? Supporting Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. Jordahl and Johnson run the Wisconsin...