Tom Kertscher
@tomkertschernews.bsky.social
Wisconsin Watch reporter. Former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Freelancer for Associated Press Sports and Milwaukee Magazine. Author of Al McGuire and Brett Favre sports books. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ohio State University.
Hegseth calls six Democrats seditious. Is sedition punishable by death? wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/sedi...
Is sedition punishable by death?
No. President Donald Trump suggested the punishment could be applied to the crime, but the law only allows for up to 20 years in prison.
wisconsinwatch.org
November 24, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Hegseth calls six Democrats seditious. Is sedition punishable by death? wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/sedi...
In the wake of Donald Trump's post targeting Democratic lawmakers: No, sedition is not punishable by death. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/sedi...
Is sedition punishable by death?
No. President Donald Trump suggested the punishment could be applied to the crime, but the law only allows for up to 20 years in prison.
wisconsinwatch.org
November 21, 2025 at 6:20 PM
In the wake of Donald Trump's post targeting Democratic lawmakers: No, sedition is not punishable by death. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/sedi...
Crash test dummies are in the news. Our fact-check:
wisconsinwatch.org/2025/01/cras...
wisconsinwatch.org/2025/01/cras...
Does the US use crash test dummies that represent average-size women?
No. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration uses dummies that are 4-foot-11 and weigh 97 to 108 pounds to represent women.
wisconsinwatch.org
November 21, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Crash test dummies are in the news. Our fact-check:
wisconsinwatch.org/2025/01/cras...
wisconsinwatch.org/2025/01/cras...
"I really do believe that anxiety and joy can coexist. That’s kind of the hope I’m clinging to."--Julia Steiner of Chicago's @ratboysband.bsky.social, 11/17/25 @radiomilwaukee.bsky.social. I asked her afterward if she could elaborate. She said it was spontaneous and suggested we both think about it.
November 21, 2025 at 2:59 AM
"I really do believe that anxiety and joy can coexist. That’s kind of the hope I’m clinging to."--Julia Steiner of Chicago's @ratboysband.bsky.social, 11/17/25 @radiomilwaukee.bsky.social. I asked her afterward if she could elaborate. She said it was spontaneous and suggested we both think about it.
Obamacare premiums doubling for 20 million Americans? Do unauthorized immigrants have constitutional rights? And more. Take the @wisconsinwatch fact briefs quiz. gigafact.org/quiz/wiscons...
Wisconsin Watch Quiz - Gigafact
gigafact.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Obamacare premiums doubling for 20 million Americans? Do unauthorized immigrants have constitutional rights? And more. Take the @wisconsinwatch fact briefs quiz. gigafact.org/quiz/wiscons...
.@rebeccafinlay.bsky.social of @partnershipai.bsky.social to me on training AI systems: “If someone is developing a system and not attending to the data and the biases that sit within that data, that’s where it can move to potential harms.”
November 20, 2025 at 5:10 PM
.@rebeccafinlay.bsky.social of @partnershipai.bsky.social to me on training AI systems: “If someone is developing a system and not attending to the data and the biases that sit within that data, that’s where it can move to potential harms.”
No, Obamacare health insurance premiums aren’t doubling for 20 million Americans, but Yes, they rose 3 times the rate of inflation since the program started in 2014....Yes, unauthorized immigrants have constitutional rights but, No, tens of millions of them do not receive federal health benefits.
November 17, 2025 at 8:01 PM
No, Obamacare health insurance premiums aren’t doubling for 20 million Americans, but Yes, they rose 3 times the rate of inflation since the program started in 2014....Yes, unauthorized immigrants have constitutional rights but, No, tens of millions of them do not receive federal health benefits.
Sen. Bernie Sanders said premiums will double for 20 million Obamacare recipients. Sen. Ron Johnson said Sanders is wrong. We sort it out.
November 14, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Sen. Bernie Sanders said premiums will double for 20 million Obamacare recipients. Sen. Ron Johnson said Sanders is wrong. We sort it out.
From Wisconsin Watch: Yes, unauthorized immigrants have constitutional rights; Yes, the federal government warned retailers not to offer discounts to recipients of SNAP food assistance. wisconsinwatch.org/series/fact-...
Fact briefs - Wisconsin Watch
Wisconsin Watch is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims.
wisconsinwatch.org
November 11, 2025 at 3:30 PM
From Wisconsin Watch: Yes, unauthorized immigrants have constitutional rights; Yes, the federal government warned retailers not to offer discounts to recipients of SNAP food assistance. wisconsinwatch.org/series/fact-...
Our look at which constitutional rights are extended to all persons, including unauthorized immigrants.
November 11, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Our look at which constitutional rights are extended to all persons, including unauthorized immigrants.
On the 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald wreck, my
@milwaukeemag.bsky.social Q&A with the author of a new book on the disaster made more famous by Gordon Lightfoot’s song. One anecdote: How a 25th anniversary ring survived.
@milwaukeemag.bsky.social Q&A with the author of a new book on the disaster made more famous by Gordon Lightfoot’s song. One anecdote: How a 25th anniversary ring survived.
November 10, 2025 at 5:02 PM
On the 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald wreck, my
@milwaukeemag.bsky.social Q&A with the author of a new book on the disaster made more famous by Gordon Lightfoot’s song. One anecdote: How a 25th anniversary ring survived.
@milwaukeemag.bsky.social Q&A with the author of a new book on the disaster made more famous by Gordon Lightfoot’s song. One anecdote: How a 25th anniversary ring survived.
Update on our @wisconsinwatch.org story on permanently and totally disabled workers: New legislation would give them a raise for the first time since 2016. The lack of raises has cost 77-year-old Jimmy Novy an estimated $21,000, had his worker's comp check kept pace with inflation.
November 10, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Update on our @wisconsinwatch.org story on permanently and totally disabled workers: New legislation would give them a raise for the first time since 2016. The lack of raises has cost 77-year-old Jimmy Novy an estimated $21,000, had his worker's comp check kept pace with inflation.
There’s extra juice in the room when a new band plays its second-ever show, as Howl Owl Howl (Hootie’s Darius Rucker, R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, Black Crowes’ Steve Gorman) did 11/4/25 at Metro Chicago.
November 5, 2025 at 6:48 PM
There’s extra juice in the room when a new band plays its second-ever show, as Howl Owl Howl (Hootie’s Darius Rucker, R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, Black Crowes’ Steve Gorman) did 11/4/25 at Metro Chicago.
Sorting our social media posts: Yes, the USDA warned stores, amid the loss of funding for the SNAP food assistance program, not to offer discounts to SNAP recipients. But it's a standing regulation. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/snap...
Did the federal government warn retailers not to give discounts to SNAP food stamp recipients?
Yes. Federal regulations state no retail food store may single out SNAP recipients for special treatment.
wisconsinwatch.org
November 5, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Sorting our social media posts: Yes, the USDA warned stores, amid the loss of funding for the SNAP food assistance program, not to offer discounts to SNAP recipients. But it's a standing regulation. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/snap...
Wisconsin is one of 9 states that does not have a law on whether minors can get birth control without parental consent. Here's how that works in practice.
November 3, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Wisconsin is one of 9 states that does not have a law on whether minors can get birth control without parental consent. Here's how that works in practice.
My latest for Wisconsin Watch: No, Wisconsin does not have a law on minors getting birth control without parental consent; Yes, Obamacare premiums have increased three times the right of inflation.
November 3, 2025 at 11:10 PM
My latest for Wisconsin Watch: No, Wisconsin does not have a law on minors getting birth control without parental consent; Yes, Obamacare premiums have increased three times the right of inflation.
Yes, using a benchmark, Obamacare premiums have increased 3 times the rate of inflation since coverage began in 2014. Newer premium subsidies are due to expire Dec. 31.
October 29, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Yes, using a benchmark, Obamacare premiums have increased 3 times the rate of inflation since coverage began in 2014. Newer premium subsidies are due to expire Dec. 31.
The latest from @wisconsinwatch.org: Yes, the Senate's 60-vote rule is one reason for the federal government shutdown; No, despite sometimes being used interchangeably, communism and socialism are not the same.
October 24, 2025 at 6:46 PM
The latest from @wisconsinwatch.org: Yes, the Senate's 60-vote rule is one reason for the federal government shutdown; No, despite sometimes being used interchangeably, communism and socialism are not the same.
One reason for the federal government shutdown? Senate rules. Search Wisconsin Watch fact briefs for more.
October 24, 2025 at 6:44 PM
One reason for the federal government shutdown? Senate rules. Search Wisconsin Watch fact briefs for more.
A socialist Wisconsin state lawmaker was called a communist by a fellow lawmaker. @wisconsinwatch.org spells out how those two ideologies are not the same. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/10/comm...
Are communism and socialism the same?
No. Communism is an authoritarian system for controlling production and distributing wealth. Socialism can function in a democratic system as a restraint on capitalism.
wisconsinwatch.org
October 22, 2025 at 11:14 PM
A socialist Wisconsin state lawmaker was called a communist by a fellow lawmaker. @wisconsinwatch.org spells out how those two ideologies are not the same. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/10/comm...
A weekly newspaper produced by high school students has 1,000 paid print subscribers, @mirandadunlap.bsky.social and @josephmtimmerman.bsky.social report for @wisconsinwatch.org. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/10/wisc...
Meet the teens keeping this northeast Wisconsin village from becoming a news desert
Pulaski News is a fixture of the community, a tool to prepare students for the workforce and the last official source keeping residents informed about hyperlocal happenings.
wisconsinwatch.org
October 21, 2025 at 4:04 PM
A weekly newspaper produced by high school students has 1,000 paid print subscribers, @mirandadunlap.bsky.social and @josephmtimmerman.bsky.social report for @wisconsinwatch.org. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/10/wisc...
Are more than 18% of Americans atheists, as U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman said? No. But he's close, according to one poll, on the percentage of Americans who don't believe in God, @wisconsinwatch.org finds.
October 20, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Are more than 18% of Americans atheists, as U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman said? No. But he's close, according to one poll, on the percentage of Americans who don't believe in God, @wisconsinwatch.org finds.
Our latest: No, 1 in 5 Americans are not atheists; No, most drivers licenses don't prove citizenship. wisconsinwatch.org/series/fact-...
Fact briefs - Wisconsin Watch
Wisconsin Watch is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims.
wisconsinwatch.org
October 20, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Our latest: No, 1 in 5 Americans are not atheists; No, most drivers licenses don't prove citizenship. wisconsinwatch.org/series/fact-...
A legal fight is underway in swing-state Wisconsin on citizenship and voting. @wisconsinwatch.org looks at one question on proving citizenship.
October 15, 2025 at 1:35 PM
A legal fight is underway in swing-state Wisconsin on citizenship and voting. @wisconsinwatch.org looks at one question on proving citizenship.
How well does Gordon Lightfoot’s song capture what happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald? My Q&A with author @Johnubacon.bsky.com. www.milwaukeemag.com/author-qa-jo...
Author Q&A: John U. Bacon on ‘The Gales of November’ and the Edmund Fitzgerald
The new book comes just ahead of the 50th anniversary of perhaps the Great Lakes’ most legendary maritime disaster.
www.milwaukeemag.com
October 11, 2025 at 6:58 PM
How well does Gordon Lightfoot’s song capture what happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald? My Q&A with author @Johnubacon.bsky.com. www.milwaukeemag.com/author-qa-jo...