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Democratic Party of
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Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation

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Good morning!
It’s Sunday, January 4, 2026

🎉 Our original plan for this morning was to offer a simple “Happy New Year” and get into the details of what Wisconsin voters will be asked to decide in 2026. But this weekend’s events in Venezuela certainly changed that.

In fact, President Donald Trump’s use of the military — without Congressional review, much less approval — also changed the other message we were going to share this morning… about this week’s anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

You see, UpNorthNews went online exactly one year earlier: Jan. 6, 2020. So Trump’s attempted coup serves as an annual reminder to reaffirm our mission to inform Wisconsin about the actions of leaders in Madison and Washington — whether they are either engaged in public service for the people or working to tear apart the fragile fabric of our democracy.

Who would have guessed five years ago that Trump would not only evade consequences for attempting an extra-legal seizure of the US government but would be put back in the White House and then seize the government of another country less than a year later?

Understand that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro deserves no sympathy. Like Trump in 2020, Maduro worked to manipulate election results in July 2024 — the difference being he got away with it. But even if that were justification for US military involvement (it’s not), the Constitution’s language on the power to wage war is clear — but not to someone who wants to be “dictator for a day” and his enablers.

Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin rightly noted that, “The President does not have the unilateral authority to invade foreign countries, oust their governments, and seize their resources. It's time for Republicans and Democrats in Congress to reassert our constitutional role in authorizing military force when needed and holding President Trump accountable before the United States is engaged in another war the American people did not choose."

US Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) said, “I commend President Trump and the brave US personnel who carried out this efficient and effective operation.”

This is not surprising, given that Tiffany was a leading supporter of Trump’s last attempt at regime change, by supporting a lawsuit that would have overthrown Wisconsin’s 2020 votes. Tiffany is emblematic of the zombie Congress that enables Trump’s unchecked power grabs. And now he is the leading Republican candidate for governor. What extra-legal power grabs would we face here at home if he were to win election later this year?

Pat Kreitlow
Founding Editor
UpNorthNews

“The President does not have the unilateral authority to invade foreign countries, oust their governments, and seize their resources. It’s time for Republicans and Democrats in Congress to reassert our constitutional role in authorizing military force when needed and holding President Trump accountable before the United States is engaged in another war the American people did not choose.”
—Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) ”