87 results for author: Virginia Kirsch
LIFE AFTER THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
You have survived the election process. Regardless of who gets elected, progressives have their work cut out for them.
Big Money still has too much power in US politics. The work to bring about clean, transparent government needs to continue. We need to protect each person’s equal voice.
Wisconsin Democracy Campaign headquartered in Madison is working for full disclosure of the donors who fund phony issue ad groups. Montana already has a law that requires such disclosure. Republicans and Democrats in Montana joined together to create the Bipartisan Montana Disclosure Act which will end the flood of “dark money” (money of nonprofit groups ...
PRESERVE OUR WISCONSIN PUBLIC SCHOOLS…. DOING NOTHING IS NOT AN OPTION
For years, Wisconsin was in the TOP TEN states when it came to spending money on public education. In the past years, Wisconsin has slipped below the median. Yes, sad but true, Wisconsin is in the middle ranking in financial support of public education.
It is important to be aware of this and to arm yourself with facts. Call your legislators and let them know you are among the 90 per cent of the public who support our public schools.
You can call the legislators on off-hours and put your message on the message machine or you can call during office hours and talk with a staff member who is charged with recording your message and relaying it to ...
WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN THIS ELECTION
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are getting most of the media attention in this frantic, frazzled presidential race. “Trump and Hillary are taking up all the oxygen, but really policymaking is getting done in the states,” says Nick Rathod, head of SiX (State Innovation Exchange).
Democrats should be on the alert. Since 2010, Democrats lost 913 states legislative seats. Republicans now control 68 of America’s 99 state legislatures—“more than at any time in our history,” according to Jim Hightower, September 2016 LOWDOWN.
There is much more to watch. Charles and David Koch have nearly one billion dollars to spend. They originally ...
80 FEET IS ENOUGH – MARSHFIELD GROUP OPPOSES ENBRIDGE EXPANSION
By Virginia Kirsch
Today I had the pleasure of meeting Mark Borchardt and his wife Gwen Stone from Marshfield. Mark told me about his experiences with Enbridge, the Canadian corporation that builds pipelines to move oil. When he and his wife bought their house 24 years ago, they realized there was one pipeline under their driveway, but they were not bothered by that.
In 2007 -2008 Enbridge added Line 61 which daily moves 1.2 million barrels of crude oil from Superior down to Janesville. In 2014 Enbridge surveyed the entire swath of pipeline land 300 miles through Wisconsin in preparation for expanding their operations. A pumping ...
ON THE BOOKSHELF – RINGSIDE SEAT
Today we are looking at a wonderful book about Wisconsin politics from the 1970’s to Scott Walker.
RINGSIDE SEAT by Senator Tim Cullen takes us through the governorship of Scott Walker and all of the bombs he dropped on Wisconsin, moving our state to the extreme right and insuring partisan politics. Wisconsin has never been as politically divided as it is now.
Senator Tim Cullen was born and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin. He is a graduate of UW-Whitewater. He served in the State Senate (1975 – 1987 and 2011 - 2015).
In 1987 he became Secretary of the Department of health and Social Services under Governor Tommy Thompson. In 1988 he took ...
WHAT HAPPENED TO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY IN WISCONSIN?
Dr. Robert Kraig (Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin), spoke in Wausau on rising poverty rates in Wisconsin.
Since 2001 the middle class of Wisconsin has shrunk the most of any state, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. Clearly this is a bi-partisan problem. The job growth since 2008 has been in service jobs with poverty wages.
According to DIP (Department of Public Instruction) Chart for Free Lunches, many Wisconsin children are in poverty. In Wausau the rate of children eligible for free lunch at school is 50%.
To change the thinking about poverty, we need constant repetition. Keep repeating that it is for the ...
WALK-IN FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17
Last September, Milwaukee educators, parents, students and community citizens showed their support for public schools in Milwaukee when they held walk-ins at over 100 public schools in Milwaukee. As a result, school takeover attempts were stopped.
The county executive and takeover commissioner publicly committed to support MPS and took over only one empty building.
On Wednesday, February 17, 2016, the movement goes national as families and educators at over 700 schools – in Wisconsin and across the nation – walk in. Together people are standing up against school takeovers and demanding public community schools that welcome and serve ALL ...
VOTE ON FEBRUARY 16
MARK YOUR CALENDAR. PLAN TO VOTE AT THESE FOUR ELECTIONS IN 2016:
February 16….nonpartisan primaries
April 5….vote for a new Supreme Court justice and many local officials including every county board member, and Wisconsin’s Presidential Preference vote.
August 9….partisan primary (not including president)
November 8…elect President of the United States, all members of the State Assembly, half the State Senate and other local partisan positions.
Wisconsin now has some of the strictest voting laws in the nation. You will need a photo ID to vote.
For 80 per cent of us, it means we must remember to take our driver’s license ...
TAKE-NO-PRISONERS POLITICS IS NOT NEW TO THE USA…..
TAKE-NO-PRISONERS POLITICS IS NOT NEW TO THE USA…..
Do you remember a few years ago when HBO presented the series of John and Abigail Adams? The Adams were portrayed as leaders and saviors of our fledging US democracy. HBO attempted to change the story of Adams presidency. What really happened is this:
In 1796, President John Adams and his wife Abigail brought a take-no-prisoners politics to Washington D.C. This brought fear and division into the new country. It also brought out the worst behavior in Adams’ Federalist (Republican) supporters.
In 1798, under the Presidency of John Adams (second president of USA) the Federalist Party ...
ON THE BOOKSHELF: CHANGE THE STORY, CHANGE THE FUTURE
Today we are looking at a significant book by David C. Korten entitled CHANGE THE STORY, CHANGE THE FUTURE (A Living Economy for a Living Earth).
Currently we-the-people are up against Corporations that control everything, including politics, education and health. The people work hard to offset total corporate control, but can we do enough?
David Korten looks beyond the laws and policies of our government to something more basic...that is the story we live out of. What informs our daily thoughts and actions? What makes the world go around for you?
Most of us live out of the story that time is money, and that the purpose of life is to make ...