Ben Wikler is passing the torch, so Wis*Dems will have a new chair come June of this year.
He has a new website and newsletter: https://www.benwikler.com/
It will come as a surprise to absolutely no one that I have already signed up. Thank goodness she some asshole didn’t snatch that up and try to charge an arm and a leg for it. Or, if you’re as savvy as Ben Wikler, it’s likely that you may have snatched it up years ago and have been sitting on it, waiting for the right moment.
It’s been the honor of my life to serve as Chair of WisDems for the last six years. With a pro-democracy Supreme Court secured for years to come, Wisconsin can reach for a trifecta in 2026. Our state party is in superb shape. So today, I’m announcing that, this summer, I’ll be passing the torch.🧵
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler.bsky.social) April 10, 2025 at 1:53 PM
.
Sad that it’s the end of an era for Wisconsin, but Wikler is a rare talent and I’m sure he’ll be back in the fight in some capacity, after some well-deserved downtime.
Open thread.
Hands Off! – Denver, San Diego & Austin
Baud
Who is she?
ETA: Kudos on a job well done, Ben. It couldn’t have been easy dealing with Omnes.
WaterGirl
@Baud: That is a special autocorrect + my M key not working properly combo!
Josie
@WaterGirl: My “M” key is not working also. Hmmmm.
ETA: I have to remember to slow down and check for strange spelling now.
WaterGirl
@Josie: Conspiracy?!
Josie
@WaterGirl:
My thoughts exactly!
Actually, I hope he decides to run for something.
RaflW
Wikler is definitely smart and talented. I was bummed that he didn’t get the top Dem job. I hope he will do more great things for the movement to rescue our democracy, though taking a rest for a bit is something he’s earned.
WaterGirl
@Josie:
Good advice. I am so impatient these days. I realized this morning that it’s been nearly a year since all the awful stuff that happened in July. Not quite a year, but long enough to conceive a baby and give birth. (Which, just to be clear, I did not do, in that 9 months.)
High levels of stress for an extended period of time… Not helpful!
edited
WaterGirl
@RaflW: I am still bummed about that. I predict that he will start a new organization with a national focus. Unite and Fight.
That’s what I would do if I were him. He has to have been thinking about all the things he would do if elected DNC Chair. I would let the ideas percolate over the spring and into the summer, and then get going for real in late summer or early fall.
You heard it here first! And if I’m wrong about that, well, it certainly won’t be the first time. :-)
Josie
@WaterGirl:
So true, and it isn’t good for your health. I started singing in the church choir with my middle son, and that has helped tremendously. i get to spend some special time with him, and the music is soothing.
WaterGirl
@Josie: And I still miss Steeplejack so much.
Josie
@WaterGirl:
Yes.
terraformer
I’m of the opinion that had Wikler won instead of Martin, we’d be seeing the kind of actions we’ve (well, most of us anyway) have been yearning for for years from the D side of things:
“shadow government” reports on what MAGA’s doing, why it’s wrong, and what Dems would do instead; better organizing and support for state parties across the country; proactive (rather than reactive) communication on how things people currently enjoy that will go away to pay for MAGA tax cuts for the rich; a focus on voters that make <$50K per year; what people will *lose* from MAGA – essentially, that Dems embrace and act as the opposition party
All I’ve seen from Martin so far is “we’re going to show you how to fight back” a few weeks ago. Nothing since.
Old School
My money is on chem trails.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@terraformer:
From what I understand, there’s been town halls organized by Dems/the DNC in red congressional districts. The “shadow government” seems to be taking shape too.
Ken Martin wasn’t my first pick either and he’s said some tone deaf things, but it seems like he’s putting in the work
Suzanne
@terraformer: Agree.
I remember reading one of our pols say that the big difference in the Dems right now isn’t centrist vs. lefty, it’s really about fighting stance. I would also add style/presentation to that. I have my personal favorites amongst our electeds, but they aren’t all Elizabeth Warrens. :) Personality and inclination matter a lot to effectiveness, I think.
Jackie
@WaterGirl: WHOA!
I had to slow down and read that again! LOL
Betty Cracker
Come to Florida, Ben. We need you. I’ll take you on a marsh birds and gators tour — no charge! I’ll make you a key lime pie and shrimp etouffée.
WaterGirl
@Jackie: Sorry, in case you were wondering, I did not have a baby! Just using that as a measurement of time.
Mousebumples
2 NE WI news orgs on bsky I want to highlight – I think they’re also on Facebook, if that’s your thing.
https://bsky.app/profile/dairyland.news
https://bsky.app/profile/badgervanguard.com
I think both are run by the same WisDems associate of mine (retired journalist) with an aim of trying to counter the AltRight news.
The bottom one seems less active recently, but I just added them to my follows.
Re – Ben Wikler, I’m not super surprised. I felt like this might be coming, since he ran for DNC Chair. Curious who will succeed him. And can he think about running against RoJo in 3 years? (or at least run that campaign?)
Another Scott
@terraformer: Wikler’s very good. I wish him all the best in what he’s doing in the future.
Martin talks a little about what he’s doing on his BlueSky thing.
https://bsky.app/profile/kenmartin.bsky.social
Scroll down.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Old School: Get your vax boosters before September!
pajaro
@terraformer:
So far, In addition to helping in Wisconsin, Martin’s new initiatives include a number of shadow town halls and the formation of a shadow cabinet.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Human gestation period is to time what football fields is to length.
Belafon
@Baud: It’s all about not using metric.
Steve in the ATL
@Baud: for shorter distances, I used to go with a “nerf punt”
Anne Laurie
Let’s see if I can embed / link…
[deleted code]
*sigh*
Any BS user can rescue this from Cean Observer’s feed?
Scout211
@Anne Laurie: Nice to “see” you in the afternoon, AL.
deleted the rest. I misunderstood the question.
WaterGirl
@Anne Laurie: I’ll attempt it here.
Anne Laurie
Doesn’t work for my patched-together systm, but look for Hammbear2024’s feed!
Baud
WaterGirl
@Anne Laurie:
WaterGirl
@Anne Laurie: I pasted the embed code in using the TEXT tab. If that’s what you did, and it didn’t work, then guessing maybe it is your old system?
But if you pasted the code in Visual mode, that’s what it would look like.
Martin
China has halted LNG sales from the US without warning, turning ships in the Pacific around. China buying from Australia instead. New trade alliances being formed around the US.
Eduardo
@Betty Cracker: LOL, I would marry him in a parallel universe in which that is what he asks for coming to FL. What the people of Wisconsin have done — are doing — is so epic someone should do a mini docu-series.
Mousebumples
@WaterGirl: that is State Senator Kris Alfheim! She’s not my Senator (still have a GOP, sigh), but I’ve only heard positive things about her.
Baud
Via reddit, I love the power of money
WaterGirl
@Martin: What is LNG?
Gin & Tonic
@WaterGirl: Liquified Natural Gas.
WaterGirl
@Baud: Wow, talk about wanting to have it both ways!
catclub
@WaterGirl:
It is also used to demonstrate some processes can be parallelized and some cannot. You cannot get a baby in one month with nine women all working on the project.
Gin & Tonic
@Baud: And what Rhode Island is to area.
lowtechcyclist
@Martin:
Everybody’s backing away from the crazy man.
Mousebumples
@Anne Laurie: mobile ask for any FPers – can we clean up the coding in this post. It’s making my screen streeeeetch.
Harrison Wesley
@catclub: Is that where Elon went wrong?
lowtechcyclist
@Eduardo:
And he’s done that in a state where the electorate isn’t appreciably more Dem-leaning than it was when he took over. As last year demonstrated, it can still go either way in a statewide election. This isn’t like Virginia which has gone from red to mostly blue because it’s become a lot more urban/suburban and less rural.
Martin
@catclub: Elon Musk sure is trying to get that to work though
Fucking Harrison typing faster and stealing my joke. :P
Martin
@lowtechcyclist: And cleaving off a little bit of America alliance. When this is over Russia will be our only fake friend.
lowtechcyclist
@Baud:
Dems should just say the Catholic Church is now saying a fetus isn’t a person after all. Let the people on the other side of this one explain that it’s just a Catholic hospital, and let them explain about the legal mumbo-jumbo.
As the saying goes, when you’re explaining, you’re losing.
WaterGirl
@Gin & Tonic: Thank you.
WaterGirl
@catclub: So true!
WaterGirl
@Mousebumples: Was it just the one set? I removed that.
Mousebumples
@WaterGirl: all better now, thanks!
Harrison Wesley
@lowtechcyclist: Trump is a uniter. Wasn’t there a tariff fight between Australia and China not too long ago?
jonas
@Old School: Of course the reason it seems like more people have autism is that we’re better at diagnosing it than we were a generation ago and it’s also not one thing; that’s why it’s called a “spectrum” disorder. I suspect the solution will be to just discourage doctors and psychologists from diagnosing or treating it at all. Poof! Problem solved! Just like Covid disappears when you stop testing for it.
Baud
LNG industry has billions locked up in export facilities. They’re all “he’s not hurting the people he’s supposed to be hurting” right now.
catclub
I was thinking it will be blamed on woke ideology.
That stuff is dangerous.
Either the parents’, the neighbors’, or the kids’, depending on who looks like the best scapegoat.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@jonas: Kennedy’s side are ones who claim autism is caused by vaccines. If autism goes away then the anti-vax argument goes too.
sab
@WaterGirl: My guess is liquified natural gas.
japa21
@jonas: Exactly. I wish someone would ask him to define autism.
catclub
@sab: No love for long-necked geese?
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Mexican Work Drug Cartels sending their autism mules across Trump’s big, beautiful boarder to lick door nobs of American homes.
MisterForkbeard
@Old School: I’m going with… corn syrup and vaccines.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
behold the LNG Carrier. some of the largest ships out there.
Harrison Wesley
Suppose a link between autism and brain worms is discovered?
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@MisterForkbeard: Don’t forget SSRIs.
catclub
In the ‘no honor among thieves’ line of stories about business:
There is now a case where the group that wanted to build a ‘commercial’
LNG plant asked their future customers to front the money, and they would then get LNG at favorable long term contract rates… as soon as the plant goes into full commercial operations.
Meanwhile, the spot market for LNG shot up after the invasion of Ukraine. The Group that built the plant is now selling LNG on the spot market in very large (‘commercial’?) quantities, while claiming the very last rivet has not yet been painted, so they are NOT in full commercial operations. And so they do not have to honor their obligations to the people who put up the money.
I think the plant is in Louisiana …. cancer alley presumably.
arrieve
Sorry if someone else posted this–I’ve spent most of the day hiding from the two lovely Ukrainian women who were doing a deep clean of my apartment–but Marco Rubio says that Mahmoud Khalil is subject to deportation because of his beliefs. I didn’t have Thoughtcrime on my bingo card, but that was clearly an oversight.
sab
@catclub:Does China even sell us long-necked geese?
Deputinize America
@Martin: Learn Mandarin if you’re under 50, and encourage your kids and grandkids to do the same.
They’ll need it, because it will be the lingua franca of finance and trade in the decades to come.
catclub
@arrieve: This is not as new as you might think.
Believing that communism was superior to the US brand of capitalism was another belief that could get you expelled 70 years ago. And probably still on the books today.
catclub
@sab: Not anymore!!!
schrodingers_cat
The Republican party is rewarding white married women who vote for them by making it harder for them to vote.
53% white women voted for the Orange Man in 2024. Again.
SAVE (Rs) ACT just passed the Congress with 4 D votes. What are its chances in the Senate?
Steve LaBonne
@arrieve: All existing law says that a legal permanent resident has the same First Amendment rights as a citizen. If that goes out the window, NOBODY has the right of free speech. I guess we’ll find out just how Nazi John Roberts wants to go.
A Ghost to Most
Jackson Browne had it nailed in Before the Deluge. Damn.
catclub
CNN:
Well I gotta give credit to Musk for identifying an idiot. Although he was by no means the first vis a vis Navarro.
Steve LaBonne
@catclub: We’d better ask Ron Vara for his opinion.
Josie
@jonas:
My seven year old granddaughter is on the spectrum. Our research revealed that, for a long time, girls have not been diagnosed since they were better at masking and fitting in socially. Now that people are learning to recognize the characteristics, more are being diagnosed. We began to suspect something when she was three and were able to get therapy for her early. If you didn’t know her, you probably would not be able to tell unless you spent a lot of time with her.
catclub
@Steve LaBonne: Ron Vara.
anagrams is tricky, ETA: so is re-editing of a post.
Baud
Via reddit.
No comment.
Gretchen
@Old School: Kennedy transferred Fauci’s wife, a bioethicist, to an Indian Health Service position out west. Trump’s taking revenge on spouses.
Kayla Rudbek
Open thread: lump appears to be a cyst according to the nurse practitioner, mammogram tomorrow morning. Eyes also fine, very little change in prescription so no need for new glasses either and no complications from the diabetes with respect to my vision
sab
@schrodingers_cat: That could save us next election. I have gathered all my documents. They might not know to do it.
But that is only for registration, so if they already vote they are still a problem until they move.
Steve LaBonne
@Kayla Rudbek: Always glad to hear good news!
sab
@Kayla Rudbek: That all sounds good. Yay for you.
Josie
@Kayla Rudbek:
All good news. I’m sure you are relieved.
sab
@Gretchen: Their privately funded security protection might be cheaper out there.
zhena gogolia
@Kayla Rudbek: Fingers crossed!
Baud
@Kayla Rudbek:
You got this!
prostratedragon
Charles Gaba has all the pie charts 🧵:
Baud
@prostratedragon:
Hopefully voters will believe us when we tell them all that.
Spanky
@Kayla Rudbek: Crack open a good bottle and relax!
Baud
Fender bender
prostratedragon
@Baud: Indeed. A case where the pie chart might actually be the best tool. Gaba seems to be a good follow for health care data coverage.
Spanky
@Baud: I’ll see you and raise you a helicopter crash in the Hudson. No Sully to save them this time.
Gretchen
@Baud:Their mission statement says they value every human life from conception, but that a 34 week fetus isn’t a person. Good luck with that.
prostratedragon
@Kayla Rudbek: Well that sounds encouraging. Good luck tomorrow.
Suzanne
@Kayla Rudbek: WOOT WOOT! Fantastic news!
Baud
@Spanky:
The helicopter disassembled. Not sure Sully could do anything with that.
Gretchen
@jonas: RFK is also cutting services for disability. I have a friend whose autistic kid is now 37. Back then she had to fight for skimpy services, often driving long distances and paying out of pocket. My 2yo grandson has therapists coming to the house 7 days a week. I can’t believe the early intervention services now, and of course that makes a big difference in outcome. And of course it costs a lot in the short run, even though it saves in the long run.
catclub
@Gretchen:
34 weeks! wow.
prostratedragon
One-bird band! ❤️
Baud
@catclub:
That fetus is old enough to work in a meatpacking plant.
dnfree
@Old School: “By September we will know what has caused the autism epidemic,” Kennedy said. “And we’ll be able to eliminate those exposures.” Characterizing autism as an epidemic will likely anger many, especially those in the autism community who do not view being autistic as something to be eradicated, though for others, it may be welcome.
So they’re going to figure out how to eliminate genes or chromosomes, or whatever the correct biological term is?
Steve in the ATL
@Baud: or a Hyundai factory in Alabama!
Martin
@Spanky: Why does this happen to some probably lovely family and not a bunch of hedge fund assholes flying from their NJ office to Goldman.
Harrison Wesley
@dnfree: I don’t appreciate the wait. Why doesn’t he just announce right now that vaccines cause autism? That’s obviously the conclusion his “investigator” is going to arrive at.
Martin
@dnfree: Well, we’ve characterized black people as an epidemic before, so sure, why not.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Steve in the ATL:
Only if said fetus is a white redneck…which if it’s near a foreeen automaker in the Old Confederacy is a given.
Martin
@Baud: I do appreciate that the transition to going to see your aunt becoming a life and death decision is being centered at Reagan National where the greatest impact will be felt by lawmakers, rather than fucking up some far flung community they’ll never have to think about.
sentient ai from the future
Breaking: SCOTUS tries to split the baby with Abrego Garcia, but in this case also tells the admin to bring that poor man back, and to tell the lower court precisely what they are doing to do so.
Probably the best case scenario given current shittiness
https://bsky.app/profile/chrisgeidner.bsky.social/post/3lmildjwftc2b
Martin
John Roberts gives a cookie and takes a cookie.
Feds must facilitate the return of the Maryland man thrown in an El Salvador gulag.
schrodingers_cat
Bernie Sanders was on CNN badmouthing US healthcare and praising tariffs in principle. He did criticize the yoyo Orange tariffs.
sentient ai from the future
@dnfree: parents of autistic kids vs shithead influencers? I know who I’m placing my bets on being the most vocal and effective.
Baud
@sentient ai from the future:
Wow. No dissents. Unconstitutional rendition too much for even the Bad 3.
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
Doesn’t sound too bad.
Jackie
@Kayla Rudbek: That’s great news! I know you won’t be able to fully exhale until your mammogram, so fingers crossed you can breathe fully tomorrow!
Martin
@Baud: So, here’s the operative question – will they have Garcia killed in that prison so they can reconcile this case in a way that leaves Trump on top? Because you know that’s a thing El Salvador is willing to do.
Jackie
@sentient ai from the future:
I sure hope he’s still alive! His wife hasn’t had any communication with him since the day he was disappeared.
I see Martin thinks similarly.
sab
@sentient ai from the future: Even with no funding? Parents will shriek but schools will cut back.
I have never in my life voted against a school levy. If this stuff goes through I will never again vote for a school levy.
Martin
@Baud: Bad messaging. Trump is on the ropes. Democrats need to rip into him on tariffs.
I agree tariffs have their place, but that’s bad politics right now, and too complicated messaging.
CarolPW
@Kayla Rudbek: You might ask (or even insist!) on an ultrasound. They told me that the lump I found was probably a cyst when it did not show up on the mammogram, but I insisted it felt exactly like the previous cancer I had found that also did not show up on the mammogram. They did an ultrasound (probably to get me to shut up) and it was oops, solid not cyst. Biopsy a week later, cancer.
Even though I had already had breast cancer, the second one was entirely unrelated. Your lump, even if it is cancer, is not necessarily a recurrence, could just be a new episode of mother-fuckery in your life.
So much better than it used to be.
Baud
@Martin:
“Doesn’t sound too bad” = “Bernie didn’t attack Democrats”
TS
@Harrison Wesley:
Australia signed a free trade agreement with China in 2015. There was some concern about too many EVs coming to Australia & a suggestion of a tariff but nothing eventuated.
There have been concerns about too much of our gas production being exported leaving not enough for our own use, sending more LNG could have repercussions on the domestic availability of gas.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Kayla Rudbek: Excellent!
Martin
@Baud: Got it. LOL.
sab
@sab: I probably should e-mail our imported from the South new superintendant that guaranteed passage of school levies is not actually a thing here. Mostly yes but sometimes we vote no.
As a DEI grandparent those cuts will be toxic to me.
JCJ
@Baud: Holy shit! That is so messed up!
sab
Grand-daughter had a bad teacher. Too many of “those kids” in her classroom. She might actually have had too many of those kids in her classroom, but whining at the parents was not a useful approach to fix the problem. Her parents now know she resents “those kids. ”
Ome of those kids is my granddaughter. And theh realky expwct me tovote for the next school levy? Really?
YY_Sima Qian
@Martin: US gas is more expensive than Qatari or Australian gas, certainly much more expensive than the depressed Russian gas. Countries buy US gas to get the US off their backs about trade deficit (since the US is a fossil fuel power house). If there is no political pressure to buy US gas, no one (at least in Asia or Europe) would be buying them.
One of the requests from MAGA for any negotiation w/ the likes of Japan & Taiwan is them financing the construction of a gas pipeline in Alaska.
Quiltingfool
@Josie: Early therapy is so important for children on the spectrum.
My great nephew is on the spectrum. My nephew and his wife did not want to acknowledge their child might be autistic, so they delayed testing, and then did nothing to educate themselves on how to help their child, or get him appropriate therapy.
He is 10 now, and is having lots of problems. He hits, bites, throws chairs (gave his teacher a mild concussion) when he is frustrated or denied something he wants.
It is a sad situation for the child, and his parents aren’t helping.
I had children on the spectrum when I taught science. Their parents had gotten therapy for them, and it made a big difference for the kids. Thing is, I had a strong suspicion my nephew’s son was on the spectrum when he was barely a toddler. His interactions with everyone, including his parents, was wildly different than the other toddlers in the family.
YY_Sima Qian
@TS: Among Western nations, Australia has probably the widest choice for passenger vehicles. No trade barriers for imports, & just large enough market that every Chinese maker (whether they are winning or losing in the PRC) w/ international ambitions wants a stab at it. Right hand drive versions can also be sold in the UK, NZ, HK, Thailand & Singapore, all which have low trade barriers against Chinese vehicles.
Another Scott
@Old School: He said 20+ years ago that it was mercury.
Of course, Thimerosal was removed from childhood vaccines around 25 years ago, and there’s no evidence that it has anything to do with autism.
Mercury in the environment and in the air is bad. Maybe RFK Jr will demand a crash program to clean up smelters, coal burning power plants, refineries, etc., etc.
I mean, it’s what the science says needs to be done, so he’s gotta be for it, right??!
Grr…
Best wishes,
Scott.
sab
@sab: My typing is not good.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: His populism is not that different from the Orange one’s. His cult has unrealistic expectations and is always badmouthing whatever the Ds do. Like passing the ACA for example. Have you ever heard BS say one good thing about it?
YY_Sima Qian
Arm twisting the ROW to isolate the PRC is a MAGA fever dream. Both the EU & the PRC will be in greater mood to find a compromise on EVs, so both are better positioned to fight MAGA coercion.
Price floors, volume caps on imports, investment in production w/in the EU (already happening) w/ tech transfer, in return for dropping of EU tariffs on Chinese EVs. Managed trade that will help protect the EU’s automobile industry (if it collapses in face of unfettered Chinese competition it will be a debilitating blow to the EU economy & likely cause political instability), but will also undermine consumer interests & slow EV adoption, but would still be better than the status quo.
Another Scott
@Kayla Rudbek: Thanks for the update. Fingers crossed that the good news continues!
Best wishes,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@YY_Sima Qian: ROW? You guys need to spell out acronyms that most of us don’t know. :-)
Gretchen
@Quiltingfool: My grandson is on the spectrum, got thrown ouf of two preschools for behavior. Got him into a therapeutic preschool, then an IEP as soon as he got to kindergarten. They threw a fair number of resources at him, including « friendship class » to teach social skills. He’s 11 now, a happy, well adjusted, well behaved kid. Another kid in his class with behavior issues was pulled out of school for behavior. His parents didn’t want him « labeled », so now they’re « homeschooling » ( really non-schooling), with no plan for how he’ll be an out of control teen that’s bigger than them. So sad and such a waste, knowing the resources he’d get at that very school if they weren’t too proud to take them.
schrodingers_cat
@WaterGirl: Rest of the World.
YY_Sima Qian
@Kayla Rudbek: Great news! Take the weekend off & forget the world’s troubles!
Kayla Rudbek
@Baud: If Baud is for me, who can possibly be against me?
Kayla Rudbek
@Spanky: I went to the yarn store for knitting night and I bought a few things…
Kayla Rudbek
@dnfree: 1) I do not suffer from autism, I enjoy every minute of it (never formally diagnosed but when your own mother watches Bones because Tempe Brennan reminds her of you, I am pretty sure that I am high-functioning and on the spectrum, also I have autistic relatives on the same side of the family as the engineers/mechanics/electricians) 2) typical does not mean good or correct, it means usual and this applies to neurotypical versus neurodivergent 3) most increase in the diagnosis of autism is probably due to better understanding and practice than in the 1970s 4) most of the rest of the increase is probably due to assortative mating and environmental factors (I’ve said over on Bluesky that 100 years ago, oddball smart kids would have been encouraged to join religious orders and take vows of celibacy if they were Catholic/Orthodox Christian/Buddhist, nowadays there’s more expectation to have children/get married, and much more plastic floating around in the environment)