Before I start on the newsy bits, here are two events of note coming up quickly. First is a May 1 Day of Action. In Milwaukee and in Madison, Voces de la Frontera will hold its annual Day without Immigrants event. Here, there will be a rally at 10:00am at the Voces Offices (733 W Historic Mitchell Street). At 11:00am participants will march to the Federal Building (517 E Wisconsin Ave) for a program there. In Madison, the rally will take place at 12:00pm at Library Mall (715 State Street) followed by a march to the State Capitol at 1:00pm.

The more general May 1 Day of Action is themed "It's Workers Over Billionaires." Here's how you participate: No Work. No School. No Shopping. That's the essence of the action. Here's how the organizers describe the purpose of the event: "We are a network of hundreds of organizations and hundreds of thousands of working people coming together with a common purpose: standing together against the billionaires waging a war on working people." The demands are straightforward:

• Stop the billionaire takeover corrupting our government.
• Protect and defend Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs for working people.
• Fully funded schools, and healthcare and housing for all.
• Stop the attacks on immigrants, Black, indigenous, trans people, women and all our communities.
• Invest in people not wars.

To find events in your area, visit the MayDayStrong website.

And on Sunday, May 17, Grassroots North Shore will hold a forum for the Democratic candidates for governor. It will take place at Nicolet High School (6701 North Jean Nicolet Road, Glendale). The event will be moderated by Kathleen Dunn, a veteran of 44 years as a radio talk show host. The doors will open at 2:00pm; the program will begin at 2:30pm. As space is limited, please do yourself a favor and RSVP.

Here's some startling good news to get us going today. "In a Fox interview that aired on Wednesday, President Donald Trump effectively admitted that the ongoing Republican campaign to rig electoral maps in their favor to avert a wipeout in this year’s midterm elections has been a spectacular failure" (Daily Kos, April 15, 2026). Of course, his rambling interview was filled with lies — he had "the greatest opening year" and "the greatest economy ever." Some anchor in reality is better than none, I suppose.

Now for some not-so-wonderful news. In his Morning Memo at Talking Points Memo, David Kurtz writes, "The descent of the Justice Department into a crude weapon wielded by an erratic authoritarian is gathering speed and quickening the threat to America’s fraying democracy in ways that we all feared but hoped might be kept at bay for a bit longer." He cites four judicial events from yesterday:

1. The DOJ abandoned the seditious conspiracy convictions of a number of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers whose sentences had already been commuted. But now the DOJ seeks to wipe the slate clean.
2. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that District Judge James Boasberg could not investigate the contempt of court for the DOJ and ICE's failure to follow a judicial order that would have prevented 100+ Venezuelans from being deported to El Salvador in spring 2025.
3. Prosecutors in US Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office showed up unannounced at the Federal Reserve headquarters to try to undermine the Fed's independence.
4. The Trump DOJ released its so-called weaponization report attacking President Biden's Justice Department.

For the details on these, read the whole thing. TPM is always worth a look.

And on the sex scandal(s) beat, here's the latest. The collapse of Eric Swalwell's campaign and probably his career too has been swift. Yesterday, he resigned from congress, having already halted his campaign for governor of California amid a widening sexual assault scandal. It's all too familiar by now. But here's what puzzles me. Knowing that these allegations were just waiting to be discovered, why he nevertheless thought he could run for governor without being exposed escapes my understanding completely. What sort of reasoning leads a man to think that the scandal would never occur? The only thing holding the Epstein victims back from more openly implicating Donald Trump, it seems, is fear. Maybe Swalwell — and Tony Gonzales too — believe they are similarly immune, when clearly they are not. So what differentiates the "Epstein class" from these miscreants, I wonder. And will we ever see the full Epstein files? Keep watching the skies, I guess.

In Wisconsin, our legislature held a special session to deal with gerrymandering in the state. Except the session didn't actually happen. As Wisconsin Public Radio has it, "a special session of the Legislature to consider banning partisan gerrymandering came and went Tuesday. But it’s not gone for good." instead of quickly gaveling a session in and immediately gaveling it out again, this time "they didn’t adjourn — they just postponed." Republicans say they're "working toward a thoughtful solution to partisan gerrymandering." Governor Evers counters: “Lawmakers either want to ban partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin or they don’t. It’s that simple. If lawmakers fail to take a public vote on this basic question, then Wisconsinites have no choice but to assume their lawmaker’s position on this issue.” Maybe a little star gazing on this issue is in order.

Today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is chock full of stories and pictures of last night's thunderstorms and possible tornados, but I could not find a single article about the legislature's lack of action on gerrymandering yesterday. A wonderful headline today, though, almost makes up for that neglect: "GOP lawmakers hire private lawyers to defend spending on private lawyers." The piece begins "Republican leaders will pay private lawyers up to $550 an hour in taxpayer money to represent the Legislature in a lawsuit challenging them over that very practice: using taxpayer money to hire private attorneys." Irony and cynicism abound.

Meanwhile, we're in the seventh week of our ugly war with Iran and in the midst of a pretend ceasefire. This afternoon the New York Times announced that "Stocks Approach Record High as Wall St. Looks Beyond War." The first paragraph says it all: "The S&P 500 approached a fresh record high on Wednesday, reflecting investors’ optimism that a peace deal would be reached before the war in Iran could inflict significant damage on corporate America, even as a spike in oil prices has led to a gloomier economic outlook." The operative phrase here is "inflict significant damage on corporate America." I think what we're seeing is the effect of gaping wealth inequality in this country. Later in the article, the Times acknowledges that "some market watchers have been perplexed by the recent rally" since the Strait of Hormuz is like a straight jacket on the world's economy and "high oil and gas prices have been feeding into rising U.S. inflation and tumbling consumer confidence."

The preliminary data for April 2026 from the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers show that we are pretty unhappy. "Consumer sentiment sank about 11% this month, extending a decline that began with the start of the Iran conflict, and is currently about 9% below a year ago." Measured at just 47.6, confidence in the economy has hit a historic new low. Nevertheless stocks surge.

Let's end on an upbeat note. Senator Baldwin issued a press release a few days ago to announce that she "and her colleagues Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) ... will force the Senate to vote again to end the war in Iran." See the full press release. May the force be with them.

Here's the rest of the newsletter I sent on Wednesday, April 8, with the list of events and some Take Action posts. But before we get to that material, I have a couple of bits of information to add about elections past and future.

Let's begin with what just happened today in Hungary. Autocrat Victor Orban went down to a landslide defeat. Péter Magyar's party looks like he will win at least 2/3 of the seats in Parliament, making him the next Prime Minister of Hungary with a supermajority so that much of the damage Orban did to Hungary's democracy can be undone! May it be a harbinger for our elections in the fall.

I also want to mention that a Democrat, Alicia Halvensleben, won the election for mayor of Waukesha City — apparently she is the first Democrat to win that seat since 1964!! The surprisingly good news from our April election just keeps coming.

I also need to add two important events to this missive: The Worth Fighting For Wisconsin monthly meeting is on Monday, April 13, on Zoom at 7pm. Greta Neubauer, minority leader in the Assembly, and Jodi Habush Sinykin, subbing for Senate Democratic Leader Dianne Hesselbein, will be discussing the strategies for winning the majority in both houses, and of course the governor's race as well. Plus Ben Wikler, former chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, will also appear to discuss his forthcoming book — This Is the Plan: How to End America's Meltdown and Save Democracy. His book promises to show what individuals and small groups can do to build a future in which democracy thrives. You should definitely sign up for this event.

Then on Wednesday, April 15, Wisconsin SEIU is sponsoring a rally — Tax Day: Protest Tom Tiffany's Healthcare Cuts. The event will take place at 11:00am at the GOP Milwaukee Field Office, 2244 N Dr. Martin Luther Kind Jr. Dr in Milwaukee. Tiffany, a MAGA Republican who is currently the representative of Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District, voted to cut healthcare to help fund tax cuts for billionaires. And this year he's running to become Wisconsin's governor. We cannot let that happen. AccuWeather predicts temperatures in the low 60s and unfortunately rainy. Bring your umbrellas and raincoats. As the organizers say, our voices are stronger together. Join in!

TAKE ACTION

Milwaukee Voter Project: Be an MVP! The Milwaukee Voter Project is up and running and we need your help. Since the beginning of November 2025 we have had fewer than twenty people volunteer to work shifts registering voters at the DMV offices. Most weeks we are lucky to fill only two or three of the 65 shifts we have available. There are two important elections remaining in 2026:
               •  August 11- primary for partisan offices
               •  November 3- general election for partisan offices
We would like to get as many volunteers as possible trained and reaching out to voters during this important election cycle. You can sign up through May 30!

We have updated our processes and recommend that anyone who has not worked with us since 2024 watch two videos: the DMV training video AND the MYVOTE training video. These videos can be found on the 'training' tab on our MilwaukeeVoterProject.com website. And you can sign up for shifts for registering voters or for VOTER RECOVERY shifts on the Shifts tab on our website. Have questions or need more information? Call 262-617-9877 or email [email protected].

5 Calls: Here are some of the worthy topics you might want to use to call Senator Johnson, Senator Baldwin, and your Representative.
               •  No War with Iran;
               •  Impeach Trump;
               •  Impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth;
               •  Oppose Healthcare Cuts to Fund ICE and Illegal War;
               •  Protect Our Public Lands.

WOW! What a night. Chris Taylor won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court (SCOWIS) by a whopping 20 points!

The last four liberal justices won their seats by a mere 10 or 11 points and we all thought that was amazing enough. Every county save one — Menominee — swung toward Democrats compared to the votes in that county for president in 2024.

You've probably seen the map of Wisconsin with counties coded in shades of red or blue, depending on who won that county and by how much. But you may not have seen the "swing" by county. So here is the image from the New York Times account of the Wisconsin election.

Below is a numerical version of the swing toward Democratic votes by counties that are of particular interest to us and by the counties that fall in whole or in part in Congressional District 1 — Bryan Steil's district — and Congressional District 3 — Derrick Van Orden's district.

Here's another way of looking at the breadth and scope of the Taylor win, one that should give us a hefty lift as we look forward to the fall elections and our efforts to unseat Steil and Van Orden. From VoteHub on X:

Chris Taylor won 7/8 congressional districts last night:
WI-01: 🔵+15 (Trump + 4.5)
WI-02: 🔵+59 (Harris +40.0)
WI-03: 🔵+21 (Trump +7.4)
WI-04: 🔵+62 (Harris +51.4)
WI-05: 🔴+9 (Trump +22.1)
WI-06:🔵+4 (Trump +16.4)
WI-07: 🔵+3 (Trump +22.5)
WI-08: 🔵+7 (Trump +16.2)

(April 8, 2026)

Congressional District 5, currently occupied by Scott Fitzgerald, lies in the rural areas between Madison and Milwaukee. Obviously it's a much more difficult area for Democrats to win. But Wisconsin CD7, an open seat because Tom Tiffany is currently running for Governor, may be within reach. Ditto CD8 since the Fox Valley trended so heavily blue this spring.

Past performance does not guarantee future outcomes of course. Turnout can be quite different from one election to the next, especially when comparing spring elections, which typically have relatively low turnout, to presidential elections — with the highest turnouts — or to the midterm elections like the one we will have in fall 2026. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's calculation of turnout for this April's election has two different outcomes depending on how it is figured: based on Wisconsin's voting age population or based on all registered voters. The first method yields a statewide average of 32%. The second method yields ~42%. The second method does not include those who registered at the polls on election day, which means there's some uncertainty about the actual number of registered voters when the polls closed at 8pm CT.

Turnout in Milwaukee County, calculated with registered voters, was just shy of 39%. In Ozaukee County turnout was calculated at 48%. Taylor won the county by 4 points. I have not yet calculated all the returns in Oz, but a quick scan tells me she won every ward in the village of Thiensville, every ward in the city of Cedarburg, all but three wards in the city of Mequon, and every ward in the city of Port Washington. Some of those wins were relatively modest but some were HUGE.

I will do a deeper dive into the outcomes in the North Shore and Ozaukee and Washington Counties over the next few days. And I will also send another newsletter with the Events included. The Wisconsin election overshadowed the TACO Tuesday momentous event: our fearful leader's back-pedaling in his war with Iran. But that will have to wait.

This newsletter is all about REAL WINNING. And the results here are down to all of you, making phone calls, sending postcards, and most of all voting. We have some laurels and a few weeks to rest on them before we have to start gearing up for the fall. So a heartfelt thank-you to everyone.

Yours,
Nancy Kaplan
Grassroots North Shore

For the next six days, the only thing that matters — locally at least — is the upcoming election for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice. Early in-person voting ends in most North Shore suburbs, Ozaukee County municipalities, and Washington County municipalities on Friday, April 3. Contact your municipal clerk for dates, times, and places. In Milwaukee, early in-person voting also takes place in several locations on Saturday, April 4, and Sunday, April 5. If you have not voted yet, please do so this week! Otherwise, plan to vote on Election Day, Tuesday, April 7, from 7:00am to 8:00pm.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is organizing plenty of Get Out the Vote Canvassing with a number of candidates for the Democratic nomination for governor. This is a great opportunity to meet and hear from them AND to do a little electioneering! Here's a list of who will be where as we knock the last doors in our communities.

• Chris Taylor in Milwaukee's West Side, Saturday, April 4 at 12:00pm;
• Joel Brennan in Tosa, Saturday, April 4 at 12:00pm;
• Joel Brennan in Riverwest, Saturday, April 4 at 3:00pm;
• David Crowley in Glendale, Saturday, April 4 at 3:00pm;
• Kelda Roys in Bayview, Saturday, April 4 at 3:00pm.

• Sara Rodriguez in Milwaukee's West Side, Monday, April 6 at 9:00am;
• Missy Hughes in Tosa, Monday, April 6 at 3:00pm

And to close out the campaign, Chris Taylor will kick off the canvass at the Bayview office of the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County, 2999 S Delaware Ave in Milwaukee, on Tuesday, April 7, at 12:00pm!

Please sign up to do some canvassing as we run through the tape at the finish line of this election. It will certainly be a low turnout affair. Which is why we need to urge people to vote in this one. Already, the rate of early and absentee votes lags well behind where it was a year ago when Susan Crawford was running. Here's a list of canvassing staging locations for the Get Out the Vote end game:

• Brown Deer, April 4, 5, 6, and 7
• Fox Point/Bayside, April 3, 4, and 6
• Glendale, April 3, 4, and 6
• Germantown, April 2, 4, 6, and 7
• Grafton & Cedarburg, April 4, 6, and 7
• Lakefront, April 4, 6, and 7
• Mequon, April 2, 4, 6, and 7
• West Allis, April 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7
• Whitefish Bay, April 3, 4, and 6

People don't seem to feel the same sense of urgency about this election that they felt a year ago when the balance of the court was in the contention, but they should. With a solidly liberal majority currently on the court, what's the big deal this year? There's a lot less money sloshing around this race — and no Elon Musk to act as villain. Yet, a little reflection reveals that electing Chris Taylor solidifies control of the court until at least 2030, when the next census takes place. That means protecting fair maps, voting rights, and reproductive rights — not to mention election challenges emanating from the 2028 elections!

Campaigns are always interesting windows into the character of candidates. So I was thrilled when I accidentally received a post card from the Lazar campaign. I thought I'd share with you the way her campaign portrays her opponent and herself. The photo of Judge Taylor speaks volumes, as does the characterization of her as "The Activist."

Although Judge Taylor has been on the bench since 2022, the Lazar campaign pronounces her a "career politician" and fails to note that she is a sitting judge. She's depicted in a clearly darkened photograph, microphone in hand and no judicial trappings in sight. Adding that she worked for Planned Parenthood is simply a way of saying that she supports reproductive rights without having to come out and say directly that Maria Lazar is opposed to abortion!

Meanwhile, the Lazar campaign portrays the candidate in a bright light, smiling, in front of what appears to be a library of law books. The card uses her title and proclaims that she has "12 years of Honorable Judicial Experience" without providing a clue about her judicial philosophy, let alone her ideology.

The headline above the two pictures reads "TWO RECORDS. ONE CHOICE." The reverse side of the card, however, reveals a great deal about Lazar's views: "Wisconsin's Supreme Court is our last line of defense. The Madison political machine is spending millions to install a career activist who will put her partisan agenda first." The reference to the "Madison Machine" is simply code for lefties we don't like. And of course, there's an appeal for a donation complete with QR code.

As for the money race, the financial reporting for February 3 through March 23 came out on Monday. As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel put it on March 31, "Chris Taylor outraising, outspending Maria Lazar in Supreme Court race." Their analysis shows "Taylor and her supporters have outspent Lazar and her backers 15-1." It's no wonder the Republican party, which paid for the Lazar campaign piece I received, is so eager to funnel donations to their candidate!

It's pretty late in the cycle, but the two candidates are going to debate on April 2 — that's tomorrow — from 7:00 - 8:00pm on WISN 12 News. Even if you've already voted, it is worth watching I should think.

In no election, no matter how small, can we afford to sit on our hands. So please, get busy. If you cannot canvass, you can make phone calls, send texts, talk to like-minded family and friends, urging them to get out and vote.

And thus endeth the lesson!

Our demented leader plans to address the nation tonight. Any bets on whether he rambles on about his ballroom, about rogue judges, about the pens he uses? Will he declare victory in Iran and leave? Does he think the price of gasoline will magically decline Thursday morning if he announces that he's won? After all, according to his highness, the war has already achieved regime change: "President Trump on Sunday suggested that 'regime change' in Iran had been achieved because so many of its top leaders have been killed in U.S.-Israeli attacks, as he sought to show progress in a war that has entered a second month." So said the New York Times on Monday.

Today, though, the story is a little different. Here's the Times' headline: Trump Seeks to Redefine ‘Regime Change’ in Iran War. The flip-flopping stars in the story: "Regime change has occurred in Iran. Or it hasn’t. It is a goal of the war. Except it isn’t. Those are some of the dizzying messages that have come from President Trump and his aides in recent days. The phrase 'regime change' has flown from lips this week like fighter jets crisscrossing the Persian Gulf" (March 31, 2026). Maybe it's time for some regime change here at home.

Let's end this report with some really good news. CNN Politics looks at the two special elections in Florida that took place on March 24 and finds that they "provided more evidence that the Democratic success in elections since Donald Trump’s return to the White House rests not just on a motivated base but also on winning over Republicans and independents." To get at the reasoning, I need to quote the piece at some length.

We have the wind at our backs. So do something good for your soul, your community and your country.

TAKE ACTION

5 Calls has you covered for a number of highly urgent matters. As always, the site provides information about each subject, contact numbers for the relevant officials, and a script you can use or modify. Here are two salient issues right now.

• Oppose Healthcare Cuts to Fund ICE and Illegal War
  
  
• Say No to War with Cuba

MoveOn has a petition asking senators to block the nomination of Casey Means, who is not a doctor, to the post of Surgeon General. Sign it.

Before we get to the delicious news from the latest polls, I just need to remind you in case you haven't given it much thought:

NO KINGS THIS SATURDAY!
MAKE YOUR PLAN NOW — AND BRING A FRIEND!

The main event is being held at Washington Park at the bandshell (1859 N. 40th Street, Milwaukee) from noon to 3:00pm. Speeches are scheduled to begin at 1:00pm. Here's a map of the Park.

No Kings rallies and marches are a joyous and peaceful way to celebrate our freedom to assemble and to protest: NO KINGS and NO WAR IN IRAN. If you don't already have a sign to bring, or you just want to make a new one, there will be a sign making station at the Park. If you want to do it in advance, here are some ideas!

The venue is bigger than the last one to make sure there's room for everyone. Plan to attend! But be forewarned: there is very little parking nearby. So why don't you RIDE THE BUS with Grassroots North Shore? We are chartering as many school buses as we need, but first we need YOU to do TWO things:

1. Make a reservation so we will be sure to be able to accommodate you.
   
   
2. Pay $10 PER RIDER to defray the cost of the rental.

If you have already reserved seats on the bus but have not paid for every person, including yourself, who plans to ride with us: DO IT NOW please.

Find other solutions to the parking problem — including some parking suggestions if you are driving and route information if you want to take public transportation — on the pdf we are providing. Of course, you can carpool with friends. Or consider using UBER or LYFT!

If you can't make it to Washington Park, there are other No Kings rallies scheduled around the area. Each one has a different time. So click the link for the one you might like to attend to find out the details.

• Shorewood
• Grafton
• West Bend
• Brookfield
• Greenfield

Now for some news. The new Marquette poll came out yesterday. Although many likely voters claim they are still undecided, Chris Taylor leads Maria Lazar by 8 points. The degree of uncertainty is a bit disquieting but on a hopeful note, self-reported independents favor Taylor by 9 points. "Registered voters have become somewhat more familiar with both candidates since October, though more than 60% continue to say they haven’t heard enough to have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of each candidate." Good news but no excuse for letting up. Run through the tape, always.

Unfortunately, the candidate debate originally scheduled for tonight has been postponed because Judge Taylor is recovering from kidney stones. No new date has yet been set for it. We hope she recovers soon. Kidney stones are no joke!

So here are some numbers to get you in the NO KINGS mood from Strength in Numbers: "President Donald Trump has had a bad month of news cycles (again). His new war against Iran is one of the most unpopular ever. The national average price of a gallon of gas is now $3.96, according to AAA — up over a dollar from $2.93 before the U.S. war in Iran began on Feb. 28, 2026. That price is now higher than at any point since 2022." The poll shows a 6-point margin in favor of Democrats on the generic ballot question. Moreover, he writes, "the party out of power has gained an average of about 5 points between February and November in modern midterm cycles. If that pattern holds — and the starting point is already D+6 — Democrats would be looking at a margin well into wave territory by Election Day."

Have a look at the approval-disapproval graphs on key issues from G. Elliott Morris' substack:

In more bad news for our malevolent leader, Emily Singer (staff on Daily Kos), headlines today's post "Men propelled Trump to the White House. Now they're turning on him." Harry Enten, the CNN data guy, put it this way in a March 24 post: "Trump won in 2024 because of men. They are abandoning him right now. He won men by 13 pt in 2024, but his net approval is now -7 pt with them. Men under 45: Trump won by 5 pt in 2024. Now he's 19 pt underwater with them." You can see his segment — and enjoy his high energy reporting style — in a post on The Daily Beast. It's 3+ minutes of WOW and worth a watch.

In other just-desserts comeuppance, NBC News is reporting that the activist who pushed 2020 election fraud claims was convicted of election fraud. And guess where this happy event occurred: right here in Racine, Wisconsin! "A jury convicted a Wisconsin man of election fraud and identity theft for requesting the ballots of Republican state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Democratic Racine Mayor Cory Mason without their consent." Huzzah!

Finally, despite Aileen "Loosey" Cannon's judicial order sealing the report from Jack Smith's investigation of the purloined classified documents our wannabe dictator took when he left the Oval Office in 2021, MS NOW reports that "Trump appeared to have business motive for keeping classified documents, Jack Smith finds." Here are the first two paragraphs of the news item:

Read the whole thing. It's mind-blowing!

TAKE ACTION

Campus Voter Engagement Volunteers Needed

Alerting students to upcoming elections is very rewarding. Volunteers will be informing students about the Supreme Court Election and providing them with information on registering to vote, early in person voting on the UWM campus and other city locations, and candidate information. Your job will be handing out flyers and holding a very quick conversation with students as they dash by to their next class. We need volunteers to work at UWM the week of March 30 – April 3 and April 6 and 7. A shift is approximately 1 ½-2 hours, and the work is outdoors (weather permitting) since we are handing out partisan flyers and need to stay on public sidewalks and Spaights Plaza at UWM. Please let Norma Gilson know if you can participate at [email protected], 414-588-1241.

Get Out the Vote: Early in-person voting began yesterday!

Pedal to the metal, folks.

• Brown Deer, March 28 and 29 plusApril 4, 5, 6, and 7
• Fox Point/Bayside, Saturday March 28 plus April 3, 4, and 6
• Glendale, Sunday March 29 plus April 3, 4, and 6
• Germantown, Early Vote, Sunday March 29
• Germantown, GOTV, April 2, 4, 6, and 7
• Grafton & Cedarburg, Early Vote, Sunday March 29
• Grafton & Cedarburg, GOTV, April 4, 6, and 7
• Lakefront, Saturday and Sunday March 28 & 29 plus April 4, 6, and 7
• Mequon, Early Vote, Saturday and Sunday March 28 & 29
• Mequon, GOTV, April 2, 4, 6, and 7
• West Allis, Saturday and Sunday March 28 & 29 plus April 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7
• Whitefish Bay, Saturday and Sunday plus GOTV days March 28 & 29 plus April 3, 4, and 6

Grassroots North Shore is co-sponsoring a virtual meeting between the Democratic National Committee and various grassroots groups, including Swing Leftand the Swing Blue Alliance. This is the first time that I can recall that the Democratic Party is meeting with grassroots groups. So I hope Grassroots North Shore supporters will sign up to make sure we have a good showing and to find out how the party intends to "Flip the House." The event is scheduled for Wednesday, March 18, at 7:00pm Central Time. And just FYI, both Derrick Van Orden (Wisconsin CD3) and Bryan Steil (CD1) are on the flip list.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! NO KINGS 3 is coming on March 28! And we need YOU! Not only do you need to attend a rally, either the main one in Milwaukee at Washington Park from 11:00am - 3:00pm or one of the other smaller gatherings around the city (see the list below or visit nokings.org for a complete map) but you also need to DO SOMETHING MORE. Grassroots North Shore needs volunteers to work the crowd. The goal is to persuade others to step up, to go beyond attending protest rallies and marches. Here's what you'll do:

1. chat with attendees and thank them for coming;
2. hand them a flyer and encourage them to find ONE action they can do to make a difference in their communities;
3. ask them to follow the flyer's QR code to sign up for an action then and there.

SIGN UP to volunteer.

If you cannot canvass (or even if you can), PLEASE DONATE to fund the sound system, the port-a-potties, the garbage cans, and some extra screens so everyone in the crowd can see and hear the speakers.

Here's a list of other rallies around Milwaukee. The times vary so check with and sign up for the rally you want to attend.

• Shorewood
• Grafton
• West Bend
• Brookfield
• Greenfield

While we're in the midst of one campaign for a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, comes news that Justice Annette Ziegler plans to retire in August, 2027, at the end of her current term. Which means in spring 2027 when there is yet another election for the court, the seat will be open! Defeating a sitting justice has been next to impossible. So it is to our advantage to have another open seat next year.

Although Annette Ziegler did not cite the change of the court's ideological make-up, as Rebecca Bradley did when she announced that she would not run again, Wisconsin Public Radio notes that "her tenure was not without its disputes with what recently became a liberal majority on the court. In 2023, after Justice Janet Protasiewicz took the bench, flipping the court’s ideological stance for the first time in 15 years, Ziegler accused her liberal colleagues of going “rogue” and undermining her authority as chief."

Now we're only weeks away from this spring's election. Early in-person voting begins March 24 and ends in most of the suburbs on April 3. You can check your community's website for days and hours. You can also still request an absentee ballot at MyVote.WI.gov. You may be able to return it through a drop box (again, check with your community's clerk for more information). If you use the postal service, be sure you do so as early as possible, because the mail has been slower than in the past. And the new process for postmarking mail means that your ballot will not necessarily be postmarked the day you put it in the mail! See the postal service's explanation and what you can do to ensure your ballot is postmarked appropriately here.

In these last few weeks before Election Day, it is vital that we contact as many supportive voters as we can! That's why the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has organized canvasses all over the state. Below you will find a list of staging locations together with dates and times. But NOTE: there is a special canvass at the Glendale staging location (6563 N Crestwood Dr, Glendale 53209) you won't want to miss: former White House chief of staff and former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel will cheer us on and knock doors with us starting at noon on Sunday, March 15. Sign Up to attend.

The City of Milwaukee has been preparing for ramped up immigration enforcement with a trio of proposals for its "ICE Out MKE" campaign. Two of three proposals — one of which "declared opposition to ICE activity in the US" and the other of which called on "Milwaukee Police to intervene if anti-ICE protesters’ rights are violated" — have been passed by the Council and were signed by Mayor Johnson on March 6. The third proposal would prohibit ICE from using City-owned property for any of its activities (620WTMJ Radio Station, March 9, 2026).

The internet at my house has been spotty lately. And while I can't make a direct connection between its sporadic failures and the illegal war we are waging in Iran, CNBC (March 11, 2026) notes that "Data centers have already been targeted. Iran’s wave of retaliatory attacks hit AWS facilities in the UAE and Bahrain, causing banking, payments, enterprise and consumer services to experience outages." The article begins "Tech companies have been funnelling billions of dollars into AI infrastructure projects in the Middle East over the past few years, drawn in by cheap and readily available energy and land, alongside local government support." Data centers in Wisconsin threaten to raise utility rates and use huge quantities of water to keep the servers cool. Let's hope our legislature takes heed before it is too late.

This just in: "Trump says he’ll tap Strategic Petroleum Reserve to cut energy costs" (CNBC, March 11, 2027). Meanwhile "The International Energy Agency has ordered the largest release of government oil reserves in its history in an effort to calm the oil price shock triggered by the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. All 32 members of the world’s energy watchdog agreed unanimously to release about 400m barrels of emergency crude, a third of the group’s total government stockpiles and more than double the IEA’s previous biggest release, the IEA said" (The Guardian, Middle East Crisis Live, March 11, 2026).

Not everything is grim, though. A new satirical statue of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein has appeared on the National Mall. On Tuesday, the third golden statue appeared "depicting Donald Trump and the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein as doomed lovers from the movie Titanic" (The Guardian, March 11, 2026). I think you'll want to see it.

There is also a "Jeffrey Epstein Walk of Shame." It was "installed last weekend in Farragut Square, a public park close to the White House, naming and shaming public figures associated with the late child sex offender and trafficker" (MEDILL ON THE HILL, March 4, 2026). The installation consists of stars — modeled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — "featuring prominent politicians, billionaires and celebrities tied to Epstein. Each star carried a QR code that directed visitors to specific entries in the Epstein files or news articles detailing their connection to him."

"Hurry up, please. It's time." That's from T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land. And it begins "April is the cruelest month." Let's make sure it's not cruel this year: get your absentee ballot, plan to vote early in person, see what's on your ballot at MyVote.WI.gov. And then get busy!

TAKE ACTION

Campus Voter Engagement Volunteers Needed: Alerting students to upcoming elections is very rewarding. Volunteers will be informing students about the Supreme Court Election and providing them with information on registering to vote, early in person voting on the UWM campus and other city locations, and candidate information. Your job will be handing out flyers and holding a very quick conversation with students as they dash by to their next class. We need volunteers to go to the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) during the week of March 23-26 and possibly April 6 and 7. We need volunteers to work at UWM the week of March 30 – April 3 and April 6 and 7. A shift is approximately 1 ½-2 hours, and the work is outdoors (weather permitting) since we are handing out partisan flyers and need to stay on public sidewalks and Spaights Plaza at UWM. Please let Norma Gilson know if you can participate at [email protected], 414-588-1241.

From Indivisible: Tell your Members of Congress: End Trump’s illegal war with Iran. Trump’s war has already cost the lives of US servicemembers, at least 1,000 Iranian civilians, and others caught in the crossfire throughout the region. Democrats' efforts to end it with a War Powers Resolution failed last week, but the fight is far from over. The regime will soon ask for billions more of taxpayers' money to continue their bloodsoaked recklessness. Use the link above to email your Members of Congress, then call your senators and your representative and demand they refuse to fund Trump's war.

March is for MARCHING FORWARD. And there is so much to do that I am going to devote the bulk of today's newsletter to the many civic engagements and volunteer possibilities in our area, beginning with the needs of Grassroots North Shore. Followed by some newsy bits.

First up, Campus Voter Engagement Volunteers Needed: Alerting students to upcoming elections is very rewarding. Volunteers will be informing students about the Supreme Court Election and providing them with information on registering to vote, early in person voting on the UWM campus and other city locations, and candidate information. Your job will be handing out flyers and holding a very quick conversation with students as they dash by to their next class. We need volunteers to go to the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) during the week of March 23-26 and possibly April 6 and 7. We need volunteers to work at UWM the week of March 30 – April 3 and April 6 and 7. A shift is approximately 1 ½-2 hours, and the work is outdoors (weather permitting) since we are handing out partisan flyers and need to stay on public sidewalks and Spaights Plaza at UWM. Please let Norma Gilson know if you can participate at [email protected], 414-588-1241.

Second, Canvassing in your area: The latest Marquette poll finds that two-thirds of voters say they are undecided about the race for the Supreme Court. You can make a dent in that number! Here's a list of opportunities. So put on your running shoes or just a comfortable pair for walking so you can start turning out the vote. Here's the canvassing schedule for the North Shore and some parts of Milwaukee. Please sign up for one or more shifts in a location near you.

• Canvass in Fox Point/Bayside, Saturdays: March 7, 14, 21, & 28.
• Canvass in Glendale, Sundays: March 8, 15, 22, & 29.
• Canvass in the Lakefront, Saturdays: March 7, 14, 21, & 28.
• Canvass in Shorewood, Saturdays: March 7, 14, 21; Apr 4.
• Canvass in West Allis, Saturdays: : March 7, 14, 21, & 28.
• Canvass in Whitefish Bay, Saturdays: March 7 & 21.

Attend the next meeting of Worth Fighting For Wisconsin on Monday, March 9, at 7:00pm. Why? Anat Shenker-Osorio from ASO Communications is the featured speaker. Anat is a researcher and campaign strategist par excellence. Many of us have attended her monthly (now bi-weekly) Movement Briefings for years, learning how to frame issues and use winning narratives. WFFWi (and North Shore Maps before it) use her messaging advice, as do thousands — probably hundreds of thousands — of people around the world. Also, Court of Appeals Judge Chris Taylor will talk a bit about herself and her campaign for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. This discussion will be STRICTLY NONPARTISAN!. Join the virtual meeting!

Some other NO KINGS events in our area:

• NO KINGS SHOREWOOD, 2:00-3:30pm. RSVP for specific directions.
• NO KINGS BROOKFIELD, 10:30am - 12:00pm. RSVP for specific directions.
• NO KINGS GREENFIELD, 10:00 - 11:30am. RSVP. Rally at S 76th St and W Layton Ave, Greenfield.
• NO KINGS WAUKESHA, 1:30 - 3:00pm in Cutler Park, 321 Wisconsin Ave, Waukesha. RSVP.
• NO KINGS GRAFTON, 10:00 - 11:00am. RSVP. Rally at North and South sides of Washington St (between Port Washington Rd & Cheyenne Ave), Grafton.

Support Chris Taylor for the Supreme Court: MAKE A SHORT VIDEO explaining why you are voting for Judge Taylor and what this election means to you. (If you can do a selfie, you can make a short vertical video!) As you know, hearing from friends, family and neighbors is the best way to motivate others to vote. Videos like these are incredibly impactful — an easy way to make a big difference in this election! A Better Wisconsin Together, the organization putting this effort together, will send you talking points. They'll use the videos in social media around the state to drive turnout for this crucial election. (NOTE: You will be identified by your first name only.) To get started, just send a quick email to [email protected] for more details.

Souls to the Polls: Free Rides to the Polls 2026. We need you to show up! Free and fair elections are the foundation of a healthy democracy, but they only work when people actively participate and protect them. Showing up — whether to vote, volunteer, advocate, or support voter education — ensures that every voice has a chance to be heard and that the rules of our democracy are applied equally to all. The stakes could not be higher in this election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. We need in-person poll drivers and volunteers in the Virtual Call Center to make calls to voters and answer our hotline to schedule and dispatch rides to vote. Together, we can make voting accessible to all those who want their voices heard. Please complete a short form to let us know where your skills, interests, and passion fit best.

Milwaukee Voter Project: MVP needs to fill a third of its shifts at various DMV sites. Please donate some time to help us reach more voters. Even if it is only one shift it will make a difference. Shifts are 2 hours long and the MVP will train anybody who is new to this project. Sign up for one or more shifts on the DMV Signup Genius.

League of Women Voters Volunteers Needed - Be an Election Observer! Help the League monitor Wisconsin's elections. We are seeking volunteers to be trained as Election Observers and placed in polling places in specific areas around the state. You don't need to be a League member to volunteer for this &mdassh; although we'd love to have you join us!

The Election Observation Program works

• to be sure there is no disenfranchisement;
• to monitor the voter experience - including registration and showing ID<;/li>
• to monitor the absentee ballot counting process;
• to track any problems that can be fixed in future elections.

The LWV is currently recruiting Election Observers for the April 7th Election. Sign up by March 16th to volunteer. Join us! Let’s celebrate the freedom to vote in 2026! More information and sign up.

Also the League has yard signs for just $24. Buy one with a donation to the League of Women Voters.

Finally, Grassroots North Shore has placards to put in car windows (or house or apartment windows). Displaying a placard or a yard sign doesn't substitute for more substantive engagement. So by all means show your support as you drive around town, but be sure to lean in to one of the many ways to get more engaged I have noted above. To get a placard, all you have to do is contact the person who lives nearest to you. and has some signs to give away.

The placards are 17"x14". Here's what they look like:

Here's where you can get yours:

• Karin Adelmann, [email protected], Fox Point.
• Mark Gennis, [email protected], Mequon.
• Cheryl Maranto, [email protected], Glendale

Just send an email to get the address and to arrange a time to pick one up. 

Another placard that might tickle your fancy is available for download and printing. It's an homage to the lockeroom sign in the beloved Ted Lasso TV series. Perfect window dressing! Enjoy.

Also note that today, March 4, is the last day to BUY TICKETS to the Annual Gala of the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County on Sunday, March 22 at the Italian Community Center (631 E. Chicago Street, Milwaukee). The special attraction this year is a 2-hour happy hour featuring the Democratic gubernatorial candidates! All the candidates. One room. Two hours to actually talk to them. Tickets start at $100 for an individual attendee. A sponsorship is $150 and includes an individual ticket plus a $50 donation. You can be listed as a Host for $250. And you can purchase a table of 10 seats for $1000. Doors open at 4:00pm. Please RSVP names and dietary needs by March 4th to Brady Coulthard.

Newsy Bits

In his Recombobulation Area analysis of the latest Marquette poll — which found that 66% of Wisconsin registered voters were undecided in this two-person race for the Supreme Court seat — Dan Shafer notes that "President Donald Trump’s net job approval [in Wisconsin] just reached another new low for his second term, and has been on the decline since his return to office. It’s at a net minus-10 now, nearing his lowest mark overall in the poll across his two terms." And this poll took place before he began bombing Iran, a move that does not have a lot of American support. Let's see how low he can go.

My favorite data substack, G. Elliott Morris's Strength in Numbers has a new poll showing that Trump's SOTU “pivot” to affordability didn't work. Among Americans who watched the speech, 57% thought our orange overlord mostly focused on topics other than the issues that mattered most to the respondent. And those respondents were not wrong. "According to an analysis of Mr Trump’s speech by Strength In Numbers, the president spent just 13% of his time Tuesday night talking about affordability, jobs, and health care — the top 3 issues voters say they care about today. In comparison, he spent 24% of his SOTU address on immigration, including deportations and mentions of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants, and 20% on foreign policy." Here's a complete view of respondents's answers to the question which issues are most important to them compared to which issues Trump focused on in his 108 minutes of the speech:

And last, a reminder that the Milwaukee County Democratic Party is holding a series of events in their Bay View office — 2999 S Delaware Ave, Milwaukee — to provide an opportunity for people to meet the gubernatorial candidates one at a time. Here's the list of all the meetings. Be sure you save the dates and times for the candidates you want to meet.

• Francesca Hong, Sunday, February 22, 1:00 - 2:30pm
  
  
• Kelda Roys, Thursday, March 5, 6:00 - 7:30pm
  
  
• David Crowley, Saturday, March 7, 12:00 - 1:30pm
  
  
• Missy Hughes, Wednesday, March 11, 6:00 - 7:30pm
  
  
• Joel Brennan , Monday, March 16, 6:00 - 7:30pm
  
  
• Mandela Barnes, Wednesday, March 25, 6:00 - 7:30pm

Robin Vos, the longest serving Assembly Speaker in Wisconsin history, will not be running for reelection this year! Yippee!!! Here is Dan Shafer's quick summation in his substack The Recombobulation Area (February 20, 2026 ). "The era he’s presided over has been destructive and damaging for Wisconsin, and he’s been at the heart of it all. Wisconsin is unequivocally worse off for his years of leadership in the state. His calculating, power-consolidation-at-all-costs approach has held the state back time and time again. His clear disdain for his opposition, lacking even a baseline level of respect, is abhorrent. The way he’s deployed a politics of dismissive cruelty to blue cities like Milwaukee has been repulsive. His stubborn refusal to act at a moment of genuine crisis in 2020 was cataclysmic, and is one of endless examples when he’s put politics over people. He’s been a singular force against good governance throughout his time as Assembly Speaker. The way he operates is the antithesis of everything politics should be." About Vos's retirement, he says: "For the good people of Wisconsin, this is true cause for celebration." Amen to that!!

Vos decided to close up shop for the remainder of the year, ending the legislative session last week. And he was determined to bury a bill extending postpartum care to lower income mothers, keeping it bottled up in committee even though it had already passed the Senate. Democrats used an arcane strategy that threatened to up-end the legislative calendar but Vos finally relented at the urging of several Republicans who were also sponsoring the bill — and perhaps in a sign that with his retirement pending he no longer held an iron grip over his caucus. The measure passed! (ProPublica, February 19, 2026). Dems used the same strategy for a bill on insurance coverage for breast cancer screenings, and got that one passed too! Now Vos can go home and watch the paint dry: there will not be a regular legislative session for the rest of the year.

Nevertheless, in his State of the State address Governor Evers "announced he will be signing an executive order calling the Wisconsin State Legislature into a special session later this spring to pass a constitutional amendment banning partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin" (WisPolitics, February 17, 2026). More happy, happy, joy, joy!!

To amend the Wisconsin Constitution requires two successive state legislatures to pass it. Then it goes to the people for a referendum. So this effort has a ways to go. And Governor Evers will no longer be in office if the legislature manages to pass the proposed amendment. And that makes it all the more imperative that we elect Democrats to the governorship and provide Democratic majorities in both the Assembly and the Senate in November. So get your skates on so you can start now with turning out the vote for the Wisconsin Supreme Court election in April and support for the Democratic ticket in the fall! Here's the canvassing schedule for the North Shore and some parts of Milwaukee. Please sign up for one or more shifts in a location near you.

So I have to say a word about the Trump show last night. You know — the State of the Union address that took more than 100 minutes to deliver. I did not watch it. You may not have either. My word about it, nevertheless, is peeyew. Apparently he avoided some subjects like ICE and Epstein. Instead he lied his way through, claiming that "this is the golden age of America." He "bragged about tax cuts for billionaires, claimed 'no inflation' and said 'prices are plummeting downward,' bragged about how all his job creation was in the private sector (conveniently ignoring that the country only created 181,000 jobs in all of 2025), and claimed he secured $18 trillion in new investment—a number so ludicrous that the libertarian CATO Institute called it 'mostly fake,' 'wildly exaggerated,' and 'ridiculous'" (Daily Kos, February 25, 2026). Kos sums up like this: "He was nasty, rude, divisive, and as always, full of lies."

In an admirable bit of snark, a headline in today's The Guardian reads "‘Nobel prize for fiction’: Trump’s State of the Union provokes polarized reactions." In her opinion column in The Guardian today, Moira Donegon notes "Trump has lost the ability to entertain. Sadly, he hasn’t lost the ability to offend." And that's all the time I intend to devote to his fantasies.

And once again, the courts, however slowly, are pushing back on some of the regime's most noxious policies. Just today a Federal Judge Finds Third-Country Deportations Unlawful (the link is shared to avoid the paywall). "The ruling amounts to a sweeping repudiation of one of the administration’s most aggressive deportation policies, one in which immigrants are flown to distant places to which they have no ties, including Eswatini, Rwanda and Ghana."

Now it's time to get busy!

TAKE ACTION

On February 1, Grassroots North Shore hosted a fabulous webinar focused on the role of the courts in preserving our democratic republic, featuring three renowned litigators: Jeff Mandel founder, president and general counsel at Law Forward; Mary McCord from Executive Director of Georgetown Law's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP); and Paul Kiesel from Speak Up for Justice. If you missed it or just want to refresh your memory, you can watch it on our YouTube channel.

There are so many depredations emanating from the Trump regime that you could probably attend a different demonstration every day from now until 2028! And now that the weather in Wisconsin is a bit more hospitable for big outdoor crowds, it's time to get engaged. So here are two coming right up.

First, there will be Stand Up for Science rallies all around the country on Saturday, March 7. You can find the nearest one on the website. When I looked last week, the nearest one will be in Madison — sign up for it here. There may be one in Milwaukee too. Check it out.

Second, the next NO KINGS rally is scheduled for March 28 in Washington Park in Milwaukee. I'll have more details closer to the date but right now make sure you mark your calendar and plan to attend. Also, staging big rallires is not cost free. If you can afford to give a few shekels, here's where to go: nokingsmke.com.

Prepare for ICE incursions: Help save children and hardworking parents from DHS and ICE incarceration!

Kathleen Blake is offering a flyer you can use to host your own Whistle & Zine packet construction party. You can download it here. She will supply the whistles and a pdf of the zine (instructions). The flyer is intended for anyone – neighbors, church friends, Zentangle enthusiasts, gardening clubs, or family projects. Let's create positive change! She has listed locations that urgently need DROP-OFFS of whistle packets. Call her for addresses. Spread the word! Use the space at the top right for your DIY party details. Get others involved!

We provide the whistles and zines; you simply enjoy the company of friends while contributing to the safety of our neighbors and loved ones. Order your materials today: Kathleen@[email protected].

From the national Indivisible weekly newsletter: Join the week of action to halt ICE/Border Patrol terror. Members of Congress return to DC tomorrow; this will be a critical week in our fight against new ICE and Border Patrol funding without meaningful guardrails and a stop to the violence in our communities. Groups are encouraged to organize nonviolent rallies outside congressional offices, and everyone should use our call and email tools to keep up the pressure on their Members of Congress.

The Milwaukee County Democratic Party is holding a series of events in their Bay View office — 2999 S Delaware Ave, Milwaukee — to provide an opportunity for people to meet the gubernatorial candidates one at a time. Here's the list of all the meetings. Be sure you save the dates and times for the candidates you want to meet.

• Francesca Hong, Sunday, February 22, 1:00 - 2:30pm
  
  
• Kelda Roys, Thursday, March 5, 6:00 - 7:30pm
  
  
• David Crowley, Saturday, March 7, 12:00 - 1:30pm
  
  
• Missy Hughes, Wednesday, March 11, 6:00 - 7:30pm
  
  
• Mandela Barnes, Wednesday, March 25, 6:00 - 7:30pm
  
  

Our Wisconsin legislature seems to be wrapping up business this week and ADJOURNING for the rest of the year! Meanwhile, Governor Evers in partnership with the Democratic Party is raising money to hand over to the campaign of whoever wins the Democratic primary on August 11. Named the Wisconsin Governor Readiness Project, it aims to build a war chest and the campaign infrastructure the winning candidate will need to hit the ground running on day one of the general election campaign. The donation page has high preset amounts on it but you can type in whatever you can afford. Because the Governor is right: "In 2026, we need to protect the progress we’ve made by electing a Democrat who believes in supporting working families, strengthening public schools, and protecting our rights and freedoms" (WisDems website, September 22, 2025). We need to make sure we elect a state government that works for us. Please give what you can.

And just FYI, Grassroots North Shore will be holding a forum for the gubernatorial candidates at Nicolet High School on Sunday, May 17. Save the date in your calendar now so you don't miss it. Kathleen Dunn (a longtime radio host and inductee into the Milwaukee Media Hall of Fame) will moderate the event. The forum will take place from 2:00 — 5:00pm. Other details will be finalized and announced soon. But you can sign up now!

Most of our communities did not have a primary for the nonpartisan election that will be held on April 7. But that does not mean the election isn't important. The ballot is usually filled with candidates for city, town, or village boards and judges. You can preview your ballot at MyVote.WI.gov. While you're there, make sure you check your registration. And plan to request an absentee ballot! It's becoming increasingly important to vote early, whether by absentee ballot or during the early in-person period before each election. For April's election, early voting in most communities will take place weekdays from March 24 through April 3. Check your own municipality's website for specific information where you live.

Why does voting absentee or voting early in-person matter so much this year? We've all heard our loathsome leader bloviate about nationalizing the 2026 elections, or even calling them off altogether. He threatens to issue an executive order to forbid mail-in ballots (which he himself uses to vote in his south Florida district)! Of course the executive branch of the federal government has no role in the administration of elections. The US Constitution assigns that power to the states, although Congress can pass some regulations to make the system more uniform across all the states. In many areas of the country, election officials are preparing for a range of possibilities. "While many Republicans brush off the president’s threats, election officials are rushing to organize meetings and conference calls to prepare for scenarios in which Trump might use federal agents, troops or MAGA-aligned local officials to interfere in elections" (MSNOW, February 9, 2026). Voting absentee or early in person makes crowds at the polls less likely and can reduce the amount of time voting is interrupted by challenges to voters.

One of the ways those of us who probably don't live in areas that could be subject to ICE, National Guard, or other federal agents seeking to intimidate voters — most likely in densely urban and Democratic areas like Milwaukee — is to vote early and then volunteer to be an observer at polls where such threats might materialize. As a citizen of the state you can observe at ANY POLLING LOCATION. The League of Women Voters has an excellent Election Observation Program that has been running since at least 2016. The League will train volunteers who must be available on election day for two-hour shifts. You can begin for the April 7 election if you sign up by March 16. Start at the League's page for volunteer opportunities and the click the link to Sign Up Today!

Why is electing Chris Taylor so vital? After all, when we elected Susan Crawford in a landslide last year, we produced a liberal leaning court for the first time in forever. And we definitely want that to last! The next justice to be up for re-election is Rebecca Dallet, one of the key defenders of our freedoms. Her election will take place in April 2028. So Chris Taylor is our insurance policy keeping the court in the hands of those who have brought us fair maps, will ensure reproductive rights, and protect the rule of law. The liberal majority, with Chris Taylor, holds the court through the next census. And that could be vital for ensuring that the legislature draw fair, nonpartisan election maps.

Taylor's opponent, Maria Lazar, has tried to make herself sound like a reasonable and fair-minded judge. But she just isn't. American Bridge 21st Century spells it out: "Maria Lazar is running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court with a record that shows she is unfit for Wisconsin’s highest court. Throughout her career Lazar has repeatedly taken positions and issued rulings that narrowed fundamental rights, favored political power over fair representation, and discounted harm to victims and voters."

Here are a few key issues:

• Supports extreme abortion positions;
• Supports gerrymandered maps;
• Makes decisions (since overturned) aiding election deniers.

In contrast, Judge Taylor

• Supports reproductive rights and freedoms ;
• Spent 10 years in the state Assembly championing progressive issues;
• Supports the right of workers to unionize.

Finally, you've probably seen the news that the FCC leaned on CBS who told Stephen Colbert in no uncertain terms that he could not air an interview with Jim Talarico, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Texas. Naturally what happened next is that the segment was posted on the CBS YouTube channel and "aired" in its entirety there. The FCC can bluster all it wants about stuff using the public airways, as CBS does. But not the Internet. And now the results are in: How the GOP’s latest media meddling is a major self-own shows interest in Talarico skyrocketing, both nationally and in Texas. (Scroll down to see the graphs.) And it's not just googling. CBS Austin reports the Talarico campaign raises $2.5M in 24 hours following 'Late Show' appearance. Early voting in the primary began yesterday. The primary will be held on March 3. We'll be watching!

I've repeated the links to sign up for this weekend's canvasses in the North Shore. None were listed for Ozaukee County. So if you are able, please sign up to alert voters to the coming election and its importance to the future of our state. Below the box for the canvass stations is a box of dates the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County is holding for the public to meet gubernatorial candidates one at a time. It's an up close and personal way to hear directly about issues that matter to you. You should go!

TAKE ACTION

5 Calls: This site makes it dead simple to call your Senators and your Representative on key issues of the day. The site provides an explanation of the issue, phone numbers for your Reps, and a script to follow. This week, we are urging you to make calls on the following issues:

• No funding deal for the Department of Homeland Security, the department in which ICE, CBP, and other immigration organizations are housed, until meaningful guardrails for ICE, CBP, and other similar organizations are implemented in the funding bill.
  
  
• Claw Back the $170B Slush Fund for ICE and CBP. Congress must immediately claw back the tens of billions of dollars being used to terrorize and murder people across the United States at the expense of government programs that keep our communities safe.
  
  
• Demand Full Epstein Case File Release and Public Hearings. Congress must demand the DOJ release all files as mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, call for public hearings on the released files’ contents, and hold the DOJ accountable for shielding perpetrators.
  
  
• Impeach Attorney General Pam Bondi!

Epstein just won't die! So, some Congressional Representatives have been able to look at the Epstein files with the redactions removed if they personally traipse to the Department of Justice to view them. They are not permitted to take any electronic devices into the room with the computers that display the files, but apparently they can take notes. This morning's Daily Kos feature — Abbreviated Pundit Roundup — features images of Tuesday evening's New York Times front page to show how much real estate the newspaper devoted to Epstein-related matters: six top stories in all.

If like me you are getting a bit tired of how much the Epstein matter still dominates the news, you might be amazed at how far the scandal reaches. The BBC News has a half-hour program explaining how the files are impacting a range of countries. The presenter notes that there are now investigations in 10 countries! If you have the time, it's worth a listen. The sex trafficking now seems to be the least of it, or at least coexists with financial and political revelations. The web of powerful people revealed in these files so far has recently overtaken more salacious stories. Reports of whose names are in the email exchanges are always careful to explain that social relationships with the convicted sex offender is not itself a crime. But oh what these files reveal about elites and their behind-the-scenes activities, events and relationships they have desperately wanted to remain hidden.

Big surprise! Bad Bunny has now become the great dividing line between MAGA and the rest of us. Yahoo News proclaims Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Gets ‘Awful’ Reviews From MAGA and Most of the Internet. On the other hand, Time leads with Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Was an Exuberant Act of Resistance: "Bad Bunny’s halftime show was a fierce act of resistance, and a triumph on many levels. It was an exuberant exercise in spectacle, stagecraft, choreography and camera work; you could have not understood a single word and still had a blast." The opposing views certainly speak to our political and cultural moment. Another article on Yahoo News, MAGA Civil War Erupts Over Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Show, says it all.

Yesterday there were several national notices of important election issues. The New York Times analysis notes that the affidavit authorizing the search of the Fulton County Georgia Election offices said the "FBI criminal investigation originated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, Presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity." It goes on to say "many of the claims in the affidavit refer to long-held — and consistently debunked — conspiracy theories about elections in Georgia, including arguments about fraudulent and duplicate absent ballots, election-machine tabulator tapes and missing ballot images. The claims often focus on small administrative errors or easily explainable abnormalities as evidence of fraud." The NYT article is gifted to you to avoid the paywall.

Kyle Cheney, alas on X so I will not link to it, notes that "A federal judge in Michigan has rejected the administration's attempt to obtain the state's voter rolls. Judge Hala Jarbou, a Trump appointee, said the law does not require the state to turn them over." The judge — chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan — dismissed the case. NBC News points out that this is the "the third time a court has tossed a lawsuit by the Trump administration in its efforts to obtain voter registration lists from the states."

The Trump regime's losses in courts keep piling up. No doubt you've already heard the acting U.S. Attorney for DC Jeannine Pirro tried and failed to get a grand jury "to indict Democratic lawmakers over a video urging members of the military and intelligence communities not to comply with unlawful orders" (NBC News, February 10, 2026). The story goes on to list other failures to indict Trump's political enemies like James Comey and Letitia James, who the U.S. Attorney's office tried and failed to win an indictment with TWO DIFFERENT grand juries! And a jury trial acquitted the man who threw a Subway sandwich at a federal officer, also in DC. The piece ends with this observation: "It’s very rare for federal grand juries to say prosecutors failed to meet the probable cause threshold for an indictment." Looks like it's getting more common lately.

As we look toward the fall elections, it is helpful to keep an eye on the big picture. Here's an NBC News take on how current Senators and Representatives are seeing the fall outcome: Members of Congress are fleeing the job at a historically high rate. "Fifty-one House members and nine senators have decided not to run for re-election, the most retirements from Congress this century." In 2018, a year when Democrats gained 40 seats in the House, 34 Republicans decided not to run again. The picture is a bit complicated by the fact that some who are choosing not to run for their House or Senate seats have decided to run for a different office — for governor, for example, or for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

In other election news you might have missed, Analilia Mejia has won the latest special election primary — in New Jersey. She bested a large field that included a former Representative, Tom Malinowski. Mejia is described as a "progressive activist" who "ran on a platform of affordability for the working class, including more funding for child care and raising taxes on the highest earners" (The 19th, February 10, 2026). The seat became open when Mikie Sherrill was sworn in as Governor of NJ. It's not a competitive district, so Mejia is expected to win the seat. But she'll have to do it all over again for the fall election!

And that's the news portion. Now it's your turn to get engaged. The two boxed items just below are both concerned with upcoming elections and provide you with opportunities to help knock on doors in your neighborhood and to meet some of the gubernatorial candidates ahead of the August primary. After that come our weekly ACTION items and then a really long list of area events. Get busy!

TAKE ACTION

5 Calls: This site makes it dead simple to call your Senators and your Representative on key issues of the day. It always provides an explanation of the issue, phone numbers for your Reps, and a script to follow. This week, we are urging you to make calls on the following issues:

• Oppose the SAVE America Act - HOUSE VOTE THIS WEEK. This bill would hinder millions of eligible Americans, including married women who changed their name, from registering to vote by requiring citizens to present a birth certificate or passport in person to register and again when they go to the polls.
  
  
• No Continuing Resolution (CR) for the Department of Homeland Security, the department in which ICE, CBP, and other immigration organizations are housed. This would cut off funding for DHS until appropriate restraints on ICE and CBP are implemented in law.
  
  
• Claw Back the $170B Slush Fund for ICE and CBP. Congress must immediately claw back the tens of billions of dollars being used to terrorize and murder people across the United States at the expense of government programs that keep our communities safe.
  
  
• Demand Full Epstein Case File Release and Public Hearings. Congress must demand the DOJ release all files as mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, call for public hearings on the released files’ contents, and hold the DOJ accountable for shielding perpetrators.

Saturday, March 7

Monday, March 9

Tuesday, March 18