An independent state Assembly candidate is taking her fight to describe herself on the ballot as "NOT the ‘whiteman's bitch' " to federal court.

Ieshuh Griffin, who's running for a Milwaukee seat, says the Government Accountability Board "unlawfully restrained my liberty" on Wednesday when it barred her from using the language. And on Thursday, she filed a federal writ of habeas corpus in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee arguing it's within her constitutional rights to use the phrase on the ballot. She requested a temporary injunction "as the validity of the regulation is challenged as unconstitutional."

It's worth mentioning this story because you will be seeing it in national headlines sooner or later.

SCOTT BAUER

MADISON — Tom Barrett's campaign Web site really stands out.

For what it lacks.

Two months after the Democratic Milwaukee mayor joined the governor's race, after weeks of pressure from the White House and others in the party, Barrett's campaign Web site remains bare bones.

The pedestrian site includes only a picture of Barrett and links to sign up for updates, to volunteer and, of course, to donate money.

Contrast that with the two most prominent Republican candidates, and even a dark horse newcomer, all of whom have flashy sites complete with biographies, videos, position papers and other bells and whistles.

Republicans Scott Walker, the Milwaukee County executive, and Mark Neumann, a former congressman, are also far more prolific on other social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter.

Even Mark Todd, a newcomer to statewide politics running as a Republican from Appleton, has a Web site that has his biography, outlines his positions, and tells followers where he'll be next.

Visitors to Barrett's Web site, barrettforwisconsin.com, won't find any information about campaign stops or his positions on issues. Barrett was the last of the three major candidates to get into the race. He announced in November while Walker's site has been up since April and Neumann's went live the day he announced, July 1.

Barrett campaign spokesman Phil Walzak said a new and improved Web site should launch within a couple weeks. The campaign also expects to have a person on staff any day to work on new media outreach.

"We certainly will be investing quite a bit in online presence within the next couple weeks," Walzak said. "We fully expect to be able to engage voters online."