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State Rep. Marlin Schneider has been raving for years to his fellow legislators about an attack on the unprotected American spy ship USS Liberty in 1967 by Israeli fighter jets and torpedo boats that killed 34 and injured 171.The Wisconsin Rapids Democrat has repeatedly tried to get a resolution through the Assembly asking Congress for an investigation of the attack. But Israel says the attack was a case of mistaken identity during the Six-Day War against several Arab states, and Schneider has been met with boredom and occasional sneers from his colleagues. Some say the Wisconsin Legislature has no business...

This started as a top ten list.Let's face it, with President Obama's awful approval ratings and the unfortunate consequences of Obamacare felt like a sting around the country, Democrats were already vulnerable in this year's midterm elections. These gaffes certainly won't help. Let's take a look at some of the worst mistakes Dems have made on the campaign trail so far:1.) That awful/insensitive/shameful and now infamous ad from the Wendy Davis (D-TX) gubernatorial campaign. 2.) Those colorful campaign memos from Michelle Nunn’s (D-GA) campaign, in which her own campaign referred to her as a “lightweight.” 3.) Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) saying he was...

Aaron Rodgers and David Gruber partner for season three of itsAaron.com. This year Aaron and David are highlighting three amazing organizations who are doing big things for many people. In this episode, Aaron surprises Annie, the creator of Gold In September (GoldInSeptember.org). And together they surprise the entire neighborhood.

Wisconsinites go to the polls Tuesday to make a very important decision — choosing our next chief executive for the next four years. Before we review the credentials of incumbent Republican Gov. Scott Walker and his main challenger, Democrat Mary Burke, it’s vital to realize that your vote Tuesday is not about the past but indeed about the future. It’s about selecting a leader you think will do the best job helping make Wisconsin a better place to live and work.

In American politics, it pays to be a fighter. Candidates of every stripe and in every age have found it useful to pose as advocates for the common people, champions who will go to the barricades on our humble behalf. Genuine populists have worn the mantle most effectively. "Fighting Bob" La Follette was an impassioned rabble-rouser through his long career in Wisconsin politics, and fiery Dan Hoan regularly "gave 'em hell" during his 24 years as Milwaukee's mayor. Both men, and many of their contemporaries, were on a never-ending crusade against the "special interests" who sought to rig the system...

A daunting reality looms for President Barack Obama's Democrats ahead of U.S. congressional elections on Tuesday: Voters from the Republican Party are much more fired up. Reuters/Ipsos polling data shows Republicans are more certain they will vote, and see their ballot as a way to voice disapproval of Obama's handling of the Ebola outbreak and his health insurance reform law. Obama's approval rating is just 38 percent, according to other Reuters/Ipsos polling data, and he is a lightning rod for Republicans. "If there's a unifying theme here, it's a lack of confidence in the administration's management," Campbell said. In the...

Police officers in Stettin, Wisconsin, recently sent a militarized 24-man SWAT team and an armored vehicle to collect fines from a 75-year-old man whose property was deemed untidy by local officials. Following what his lawyer, Ryan Lister, described as a “long-running, heavily litigated dispute” over how he used his 20-acre property, Roger Hoeppner was ordered to clean up his land or face a $500-a-day fine. Here’s a little background on the case, courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Hoeppner owns about 20 acres along Packer Drive, which runs nearly parallel with Highway 29 west of Wausau, where he restores antique...

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Milwaukee Board of School Directors President Michael Bonds doesn’t like what he calls “biased” coverage by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel education reporter Erin Richards. So he’s asking the state’s largest newspaper to take Richards off the beat and assign a different journalist to write about Milwaukee Public Schools — or else. “I just requested that we have somebody who’s objective, who’s going to give the readers the truth and everything about what’s going on … we want a new reporter or else we’re going to cut off all ties with the Journal in terms of communication with them,”...

According to her resume, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke spent 1994 and some of 1995 working as the “Administrator” of the non-profit trade group Bicycle Industry Organization (BIO). However, an IRS document shows an address for the trade group that also happens to be a home formerly owned by Burke – a home that was purchased at least seven months after Burke claims she left BIO. According to Burke’s resume, Burke left BIO in 1995 and that same year returned to Trek Bicycle – her family’s business – as Director of Forecasting and Strategic Planning. According to a Dan Bice...

MADISON, Wis. – Another high-ranking Trek Bicycle Corp. executive on Thursday bolstered claims that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke was fired by the global bicycle firm launched by her father nearly 40 years ago. Until this week, Burke claimed her success at Trek was evidence she ought to unseat Republican incumbent Gov. Scott Walker in next week’s election. Wisconsin Reporter revealed Tuesday that Burke’s family terminated her in 1993, following her disastrous performance in the company’s European business unit, according to multiple former Trek executives and employees. Burke responded Wednesday to the allegations by clarifying that her position was “eliminated”...

In my item on Marquette Law School’s favorable final poll for Scott Walker yesterday, I touched briefly upon a story alleging that Democrat Mary Burke had been fired from her family’s bicycle company in the 1990′s. Burke has touted her business acumen and ‘job creation’ experience at Trek as a centerpiece of her gubernatorial campaign. I expressed some degree of skepticism over the Wisconsin Reporter’s scoop, as the top named source in the piece is a Republican county chairman, and other quotes were mined from anonymous sources. Burke initially denied the allegations outright, calling them “ridiculous” and “completely false.”...

If you can’t cover it up anymore, turn it into a joke. President Obama poked fun at the checkered political history of his hometown Chicago on Tuesday, reminding voters in Wisconsin to vote early — but not often.“You can only vote once — this isn’t Chicago, now,” Obama said at a rally in Milwaukee for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke.Obama was brought in to fire up the Democratic base, traveling to a ward in which he carried 99 percent of the vote in the 2012 presidential contest against Republican Mitt Romney. At least it’s not one of those places where...

Following an event during which some African American attendees walked out on a Barack Obama speech intended to galvanize them into voting for Mary Burke, the Wisconsin Reporter claims that a pivotal event from Burke’s career has been falsely described by her during the campaign to cover up an embarrassment. The article also claims that Burke included falsified information related to her job performance on her resume, a resume which she submitted before she was appointed as Wisconsin’s commerce secretary. Burke has claimed that, after two years heading Trek Bicycle’s European operations during which sales figures rose substantially, she was...

MADISON, WI (AP) — Republican Gov. Scott Walker is leading Democrat Mary Burke in the last Marquette University Law School poll released before Tuesday’s election. The poll released Wednesday showed Walker with 50 percent support, compared with 43 percent for Burke. The poll had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. Walker and Burke were tied with 47 percent support in the previous poll released two weeks ago. The one before that, on Oct. 1, showed Walker with a narrow 5-point lead. The latest poll of 1,164 likely voters was done between Oct. 23 and Sunday. Walker was campaigning...

A month ago, Wisconsin’s most respected pollster showed Walker at 50 percent and leading by nearly six percentage points. Two weeks ago, the race tightened considerably, with Democrat Mary Burke pulling into a tie with the incumbent — thanks in large measure to some puzzling shifts in the internals. Marquette Law School’s final poll of the race shows dramatic movement back toward Walker. Boom: New Marquette Law School puts Walker at 50%, Burke at 43% among likely voters (with a D+2 LV sample). #mulawpoll— MULawPoll (@MULawPoll) October 29, 2014 He also edges Burke by one point among registered voters,...

Dan O'Donnell ‏@DanODradio 2m2 minutes ago There is literally no good news for Mary Burke in this new @MULawPoll. None.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker apparently regained his stride with likely voters, opening a 7-percentage-point lead over Democratic challenger Mary Burke, according to a new Marquette Law School poll. The Marquette poll, which has an excellent track record for predicting Wisconsin election results, found that 50 percent of likely voters support Walker compared with 43 percent for Burke. Those figures represent a major shift from previous polls that showed the race neck-and-neck including an Oct. 15 poll where Walker and Burke were tied at 47 percent among likely voters. The reason for the changing tide in the Wisconsin governor's race is...

Republican Gov. Scott Walker leads Democratic challenger Mary Burke 50% to 43% among likely voters in a new survey by the Marquette University Law School. That represents a change from other surveys in recent weeks — including Marquette's previous poll two weeks ago — showing the race essentially tied. Marquette surveyed 1,164 likely voters from last Thursday through Sunday. The poll has margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

As President Obama spoke this evening in Wisconsin, the crowd began to file out. Here's video that captures some folks leaving, even as Obama's voice can be heard in the background.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- President Barack Obama is making a rare appearance on the campaign trail just one week before Election Day in an effort to help a Democratic challenger oust Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker from office. Walker is a top target of Democrats in the midterm elections after he angered organized labor by enacting a measure in 2011 that reduced the power of public sector unions in the state. Obama was scheduled to campaign Tuesday evening with Democrat Mary Burke, a former Trek Bicycles executive and state commerce secretary, who is running close against Walker, a potential 2016 presidential...