This will probably raise the hackles of the right wing talkers — “What? They’re talking about peace in school? And we’re paying those teachers?” — but fifth graders at Milwaukee’s Fratney School have gotten some attention for their opposition to the war in Iraq. Two weekend national blog entries, with photos: Docudharma and Daily Kos
In Wisconsin, approximately half of the African-American population does not have driver’s licenses, and at least 123,000 people were found to have no form of state-issued photo ID in 2005. And 33% of Wisconsin’s DMV offices, where one theoretically could register to vote, are open less than 4 days a month. Lucky for us, though, […]
John McCain fancies himself as a great reformer of our campaign finance system. Unfortunately he does not seem to be obeying some of his own rules regarding his own campaign travel. He had a stated policy of not using aircraft of companies with lobbying interests in Washington for campaign travel. The Boston Globe identified campaign […]
Next week John McCain is planning to give a number of speeches on health care. His plan will probably not give adequate focus to one of our largest problems in the area of health care, the 47 million Americans that are uninsured. It would also be wise to take note of who benefits most from […]
There has been some discussion in the news regarding the electoral process and a futile attempt by the Wisconsin State Senate to reform it. Several bills were sent to the Assembly to reform such things as the State Supreme Court races and fund raising. These were all conveniently dropped into committee to die by the […]
Pro-choice activists yawned at the “news” that John McCain was endorsed yesterday by Wisconsin Right to Life. After all, the guy has been one of the most extreme anti-choice votes in Congress – voting against birth control, abortion rights, and reproductive health care 125 out of 130 times over his Washington career. McCain, contrary to […]
Hey everyone! Robert from OWN here, and welcome you to La Crosse Progressives! Here are a couple of tips and tricks to get the most out of your local group. First, when you joined the group, you should have been prompted to create an account. Definetely make one! You’ll be able to post blogs […]
On Wednesday Democrats and some Republicans in Congress tried to pass a discrimination bill. It would have allowed employees more time to sue if they were being discriminated against in pay. The bipartisan effort was unsuccessful because of an almost exclusively Republican filibuster. Even if the measure would have passed, it would have also faced […]
The Wisconsin Right to Life Political Action Committee announced its endorsement of John McCain today. Here’s what Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin has to say about John McCain’s record: For the past 25 years, John McCain has consistently voted against women’s health. From opposing funding for family planning programs to voting against requiring insurance coverage […]
As he continues with his ‘Forgotten Place’ tour today John McCain is going to speak in the lower ninth ward of New Orleans. I have a funny feeling that he will conveniently ‘forget’ a few things as he makes this stop. I wonder if John McCain will remind the people of New Orleans that in […]
While J.B. Van Hollen is having a problem hanging on to veteran lawmen at the Department of Justice, there is no shortage of political cronies that he isn’t willing to hire and promote. The Wisconsin State Journal reported that Jim Warren, the state’s former top criminal investigator felt that his sudden retirement was ‘shoved down […]
On April 22, 1970 20 million people across America observed the world’s first Earth Day. Now the observance continues to grow as do the environmental challenges that we all face. This year there are a multitude of events all taking place to educate and inspire a growingly concerned public. Even if you are not able […]
On Sunday’s This Week program, George Stephanopoulos asked John McCain, who wants to make health insurance benefits by workers part of their taxable income, the following question: One of the points Mrs. Edwards made in the Wall Street Journal, she said that your whole life, you had government health care. You were the son of […]
Last week as Wisconsinites paid their taxes, we pointed out that our state has paid $8.3 billion to help fund the war in Iraq. That is over $8 million dollars that could have been used in so many other productive ways but instead was lost to the Iraq Tax. John McCain has walked in lockstep […]
Just last week John McCain announced his economic plan which largely consisted of continuing the Bush tax cuts to the wealthy and going even further by providing massive tax giveaways to some of the largest corporations in the world. McCain even came to Milwaukee to have a closed door meeting with big business elites. Neither […]
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Pope Benedict XVI for visiting the United States under many challenges this nation faces. I would like to express my congratulations to my fellow American citizens displaying to the Pope what it means to be a true American; tolerant, religious, and friendly. These past six days […]
‘Studies show that no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than, you know, a few decades. So it’s the death knell of this country.’ ‘I honestly think it’s the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam ‘ which I think is a big threat, OK?’ When Oklahoma […]
It has already been clearly demonstrated that John McCain has not learned the lessons of the failed Bush policy on education and education funding. He seems fully prepared to go even further in slashing funding for our schools and other critical education programs. McCain’s proposals would specifically shortchange Wisconsin nearly $541 million. Below is a […]
We already know that the recently announce economic plan by John McCain is going to be a boon for corporations and the most wealthy. We also know that his plan will do very little to help the average American, and in many cases will be hurtful to them and their interests. To pay for even […]
The Iraq Moratorium, a nationwide grassroots movement uniting individuals and groups against the Iraq war, will be observed on Friday, April 18. Individual actions can range from wearing a black armband or a button to school or work to writing letters, putting up signs, calling members of Congress, and a wide variety of other actions. […]
We already know that the centerpiece of John McCain’s plan for the economy consists of massive corporate tax cuts and continuing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. While he has been so focused on tax policy lately isn’t it strange that he continues to delay the release of his tax returns? It looks like […]
Today the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on John McCain’s meeting with corporate elites. The report cites a conference call that was hosted by One Wisconsin Now yesterday. The call served as a reality check for McCain’s economic plan. It included comments from James Kvaal of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Sara Rogers of […]
Imagine not 4,000+ Americans dead, but 150,000 American fatalities in the last five years. Thirty or more American deaths on the average day, week in and week out, with no end in sight. Would that be enough to arouse the citizenry, to demand an end to the killing and bloodshed? You’d think so. But the […]
**Update Below**Senator John McCain is visiting the Milwaukee area today and plans to have what he is calling an ‘economic summit.’ What is telling is who John McCain has decided to include in the discussion. Both panels at the event are stacked with nothing but CEO’s of large corporations. This includes one board member of […]
Senator John McCain will be making a campaign stop in the Milwaukee area on Wednesday. He is supposed to talk about the economy and hype his out of touch plans to treat what ails it. Yes, the man that admitted that he doesn’t really understand economics plans on lecturing the rest of us on economic […]
Recently Senator Herb Kohl wrote a piece appearing in the Monroe Times suggesting that elections happen on the weekend. As we saw on April 1, an embarrassing number of people just don’t make it to the polls, leaving the decisions to a very few. Although higher profile elections bring out a lot more voters, the […]
Contact Speaker Michael Huebsch and his co-hort Representative Stephen Nass, and let them know that you object to their destroying Wisconsin’s world-class educational institution. Wisconsin used to take pride in its university system supported by a bipartisan consensus to create a world-class educational facility. Now, under the leadership of the GOP-led state Assembly, the University of […]
You’ve paid your Wisconsin income tax. Wouldn’t it be nice if Corporate Wisconsin did, too? Take a look at this list of corporate giants. Chances are you paid more in state income tax than did any one of them:MicrosoftMcDonald’sMerckPepsiCoGeneral ElectricSears.Budget Rent a CarKimberly-ClarkAppleBoston MarketDeereFrito-LayKmartStokeley-Van CampVictoria’s Secret In fact, chances are you paid more in state […]
While people are rushing to file their income taxes all across the state, it seems appropriate to focus on the tax that we are paying for the war in Iraq. The Bush administration and its facilitators in Congress bemoan taxes but continue to spend those dollars in Iraq. Senator John McCain is essentially promising more […]
True Majority and Citizen Action of Wisconsin are having a Tax Day rally to tell Congress to stop spending endlessly on the Iraq War. Rather, they are demanding that our elected officials should be investing in America’s future. The details for the rally are as follows: What: Milwaukee Tax Day! Invest in America When: April […]
The non-profit Wisconsin Books to Prisoners (WBTP), in conjunction with Rainbow Bookstore (Madison), sends books, free of charge, to prisoners in Wisconsin and other states who request them. They need your help. Many prisons have antiquated, non-accessible, and, in some cases, non-existent library facilities. As a result, prisoners have little or no reading or educational […]
Of all the people in the world to NOT advocate for veterans, in a million years, would anyone had guessed it would be those fine folks at the Veterans Administration? Well yeah, but not a decade ago. This is just another prime example of how this administration has their oppressive thumb on every facet of […]
Is J.B. Van Hollen running out of work or something? Yesterday it was reported that the Wisconsin Attorney General sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, asking them to block a proposed merger of Sirius and XM satellite radio. Is this really an issue that should get such prominent treatment from the Wisconsin AG? […]
While he’s out on the road glad-handing lobbyists and raising millions of dollars from corporate donors, John McCain seems to be forgetting one thing – his duty to his constituents. According to the Washington Post, McCain missed 304 votes in the 110th Congress—that’s 56.8% of the total votes by the Senate for the session. In […]
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Laurel Walker reported this week that between 65 and 100 people in Oconomowoc voted at the wrong place last week. Actually it seems that this has been going on for several years. The voters in question live in two 24-unit condo buildings and have been voting in one district while actually […]
Gen. David Petraeus told Congress this week that he is recommending that President Bush ‘pause’ the draw down of troops in Iraq this July. Bush has accepted that recommendation ‘leaving open the possibility that about 140,000 U.S. servicemen and women will still be in the war zone when the next president takes office.’ Not only […]
Military Families Speak Out is challenging U.S. Senators —starting with two named Obama and Clinton — to filibuster and stop President Bush’s request for more money for the Iraq war and occupation, another $102-billion. The Senate Democrats’ excuse for inaction has been that it takes 60 votes to end a filibuster, so they have held […]
Twenty-one years to the day after he attended the second meeting to put pressure on federal regulators which became known as the Keating Five scandal, John McCain is showing how out of touch he is by continuing to cozy up to lobbyists. A new report from Public Campaign Action, shows a real mixed record on […]
In 2005 Great Lakes Governors signed off on an agreement to protect our region’s most important asset, the Great Lakes. To be implemented the compact had to be approved by all of the Great Lakes state legislatures. Earlier this year the Wisconsin State Senate finally approved the compact by an overwhelming 26-6 vote. Unfortunately the Assembly […]
The Center on Wisconsin Strategy and the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families released an analysis showing that the gap between the rich and poor is growing in Wisconsin. While Wisconsin still fares much better than the national average and most other states, it has been moving in the wrong direction over the last number […]
Major donors to All Children Matter, the pro-private school voucher group under investigation by the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, have donated nearly $130,000 to members of the Wisconsin Legislature.
On Monday we drew attention to All Children Matter, the pro-private school vouchers group founded by a Michigan Republican billionaire. Specifically we pointed to a recent unanimous ruling by the Ohio Elections Commission that the right wing group illegally funneled $870,000 into the state. The body also fined All Children Matter $5.2 million for their […]
Yesterday a coalition of groups, including the One Wisconsin Institute, formally launched an effort to restore voting rights to felons that have served their time in prison. Under current law, convicted felons can’t vote until after they are off probation. In some cases this disenfranchises people for decades even after they have already served their […]
All Children Matter, the pro-private school vouchers group founded by Michigan Republican billionaire Richard DeVos was leveled with a $5.2 million fine Friday for illegally funneling money into Ohio campaigns.
All Children Matter, a pro-private school vouchers group founded by a Michigan Republican billionaire was fined $5.2 million for illegally funneling money into Ohio campaigns. This is the same group that is under investigation in Wisconsin after the State Elections Board determined in 2006 that it violated election rules here. In a 5-0 decision, the […]
The Bush-McCain economic blueprint of tax cuts for the rich and corporate bailouts continues to cost American jobs with the latest news that over 80,000 were lost last month alone. That’s on top of 152,000 more since the beginning of the year. And McCain wants to stay the course. “So my friends, we can fix this economy. […]
Wisconsin AFL-CIO President David Newby has it spot-on regarding John McCain’s unwillingness to join a roundtable to talk with working people about the incredible challenges facing families under the current economic disaster of George Bush and his cheerleader John McCain. Read what Newby had to say, after the jump. “On Tuesday, workers in Annapolis Maryland held a workers roundtable to […]
John McCain is going to Memphis tomorrow to visit the National Civil Rights Museum. Nice change of pace for a man who in 1989 voted against the establishment of the birthday of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a national holiday. Thankfully, McCain failed and the holiday honoring Dr. King was eventually […]
The Kentucky House has approved a proposed constitutional amendment seeking to automatically restore the voting rights of certain felons. (See http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=8105451&nav=menu203_2) Rep. Parisi of Madison is currently sponsoring legislation in the Wisconsin Assembly to the same effect. “Felon voting” was a huge issue in the 2004 Milwaukee elections fiasco. Legislation like this would allow felons […]
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) successfully bought a corporate majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court this week. They accomplished their goal in the most dishonest and deceptive of ways, churning out a nonstop flow of deceptive ads. They were successful at kicking out one of the most brilliant minds and first ever African American on […]