☀️ Good morning!

It’s Sunday, August 17, 2025

As much as I’d like to stay focused on consistently positive themes, like free Brewers burgers at George Webb’s or Taylor Swift plugging her new album on her boyfriend’s podcast, we also have to confront some of the realities of everyday life. Instead of picking just one for this morning’s greeting, I have three mini-editorials deserving a little of your time.

1️⃣ Bill Berrien’s Shooting Gallery

Give some credit to Republican candidate for governor Bill Berrien. He’s not a politician who’s beholden to public opinion polls, even if he’s got a terrible idea that’ll get people killed. Berrien says he’d prefer to get rid of permits for carrying concealed weapons — even though polling shows 75% of Americans don’t think that’s a good idea. Looks like most of us don’t want a governor who puts so little stock in the safety of our children and other potential shooting victims.  

2️⃣ Was Pam Bondi Not Available?

Wausau Mayor Doug Diny has still not faced consequences for removing an absentee ballot drop box from City Hall last year. (Do you think you’d be treated the same way if it had been you?) Diny has echoed Republican talking points designed to undermine drop box integrity. There was finally some movement this week in the appointment of a special prosecutor, but… it’s the Republican district attorney who was the last GOP candidate to run for state attorney general: Eric Toney, who has argued ballot drop boxes are illegal. (They’re not.) This doesn’t mean Eric Toney can’t pass a fair judgement on Diny, but with about 70 other district attorneys in the state, it does make me wonder if the lack of consequences will only encourage more malicious mischief in future elections.

3️⃣ The Surplus Is Shrinking. Good.

The nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum has taken the final numbers from the new state budget and calculated what that will do to the budget surplus. Not surprisingly, the report says the surplus will shrink. Their job is to put out the data; others can interpret it. Here’s the interpretation we should go with: Good. That multi-billion dollar surplus sat there for years. Now it’s finally being put to work in a combination of tax cuts (demanded by Republicans) and better investments (sought by Democrats). There are plenty of ways it could’ve been used better, but at least it isn’t all being squandered on tax breaks at the top of the wealth chain. Now let’s get back to more normal budget conditions — not giveaways, not spending bonanzas, just responsible taxing and spending.

Enjoy your day. And stay up to date with our weekday newsletter, our social media posts, and our morning radio show.

⏮️ Last Week: Should politicians be using personal social media accounts while in office? 

🄰  23% said yes. Mary K. said: “If the posts make them look bad so be it. I enjoy following many responsible elected officials that do inform with their posts.”

🄱  77% said no. Mary E. said politicians should focus on broader constituent contact: “I like the idea of more listening sessions. What would be wrong with virtual meetings if they’re afraid to meet in person?”

A similar view came from Karen S.: “Be quiet and people may think you are stupid — or get on social media and leave no doubt.”

⏭️ This Week: Let’s try making a word cloud. It means we’re not going to give you a multiple choice of options. We want you to reply to this email with one word or phrase — in this case, a job title. 

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told the New York Post that if Donald Trump weren’t president, he’d want to be the transportation secretary. Why?

“You know, he flies. Um, he talks to pilots. He loves airplanes,” he responded. “He really is fascinated and cares about roads and bridges — and what kind of pavement is being used.”

So, whether it’s transportation secretary or something else, we want to know: What role do you want to see Donald Trump in when he’s no longer in the Oval Office?

To answer this week’s question or to suggest a different answer, hit reply or email me directly at pat@couriernewsroom.com, and we may share it in a future newsletter or on our radio show.

(Shutterstock)

This was a classic case of headline writers being technically right but missing the point. Lots of headlines said something like, “Governor Evers vetoes bill to give benefits to delivery drivers.”

It might lead you to assume the governor doesn’t want gig workers to have benefits. Nothing could be further from the truth, but you have to read deeper into the story to learn that Evers thought the bill was one-sided for employers and needed more input from workers and organized labor. 

Former state Rep. Dana Wachs is a trial attorney with lots of experience representing workers who were denied benefits, pay, or damages because they were considered independent contractors despite clear connections between a company and someone working for them.

“It’s a terrible bill,” Wachs told us. “These outfits hide behind ‘independent contractors.’ They hire people and say, ‘You are not an employee of ours.’ And [they’re] running all over our highways and these companies are trying to escape liability and [avoid] doing the right thing.” 

Wachs said the bill Evers vetoed would have added even more barriers to someone being considered an employee, making it harder to be compensated for an accident or injury. 

DoorDash spent more than $1 million lobbying in support of the bill. The Wisconsin AFL-CIO said the bill would have permanently stripped protections from drivers such as worker’s compensation, unemployment insurance, and minimum wage and overtime pay.

1️⃣ Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul joined colleagues from all 50 states in sending letters to dozens of telecom companies, demanding they do more to stop illegal robocalls — which now number more than 4.6 billion per month, according to a WPR report.  

2️⃣ President Trump is nominating Assistant US Attorney Rebecca Taibleson in Milwaukee to a spot on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Taibleson clerked for US Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Brett Kavanaugh. Despite her conservative experience, former US Attorney Jim Santelle told us he has worked with Taibelson and called her a good lawyer, “the kind of person the Justice Department should be putting up for the courts and this is a good nomination.”

3️⃣ Texas Democrats who fled their state to prevent a further Republican gerrymander of US congressional districts will be coming home soon — but before they found lots of allies, including fellow legislators from Wisconsin. Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) said the GOP effort to steal five Democratic seats was a hot topic in Boston, site of the National Conference of State Legislators convention.

“If we allow this to happen,” Emerson told us, “we’re never going to have fair maps anywhere ever again.”

California’s governor announced a November referendum on a plan for new maps that would offset the action in Texas, done at President Trump’s demand as a way to stem potential GOP losses in next year’s midterm elections.

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🏁 Thanks for reading today’s update.

Have a great week.