50 YEARS OF THE VRA…VOTING RIGHTS ACTS
50 YEARS OF THE VRA…VOTING RIGHTS ACTS
From League of Women Voters
August 6 was the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). This landmark civil rights legislation has protected voters from discrimination for nearly half a century. But today, the VRA does not offer the same protections it did in 1965.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 gutted key provisions of the VRA in its Shelby County v. Holder decision. Congress currently has before it various proposals, but there’s been no legislation passed to repair the damage. Meanwhile, new restric...
BOBFEST 2015
BOBFEST 2015
By MW Editorial Staff
Mark your calendar: Saturday, September 19 is Fighting Bobfest 2015 at Breese Stevens Field, Madison. Time is 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
It is back by populist demand and is sponsored by The Progressive magazine and The Cap Times.
Speakers include: Russ Feingold, Lizz Winstead, John Nichols, Mark Dimondstein, Scot Ross, Ed Schultz, Senator Tammy Baldwin, Kevin Alexander Gray, Jesse Hagopian, Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Jim Hightower, John Fugelsang, Rep. Mark Pocan, Young Gifted & Black Coalition and Ruth Conniff, editor of The Progress...
CHOOSE “WE” INSTEAD OF “ME”
CHOOSE “WE” INSTEAD OF “ME”
By John Spiegelhoff
Preamble to the U.S. Constitution:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
I had a coach during high school that always said, “There is no I in TEAM.” He was a wise teacher. He knew that the only way to succeed was to play ...
A Wisconsin Tragedy in Three Acts
A Wisconsin Tragedy in Three Acts
By Nancy Kaplan, Kath Michel and Pat Slutske
(of Grassroots North Shore)
The word 'free' is heavily used by the Right, even in contexts where it is not appropriate. They use it wantonly in order to control perception and influence people. Because everything 'free' must be good (like motherhood or apple pie), the word has a halo effect on other words in a phrase or sentence, magically making them inherently good too.
But beware! Right wingers use it to mask their true intentions: to strip us of the liberty and freedom democracy ...
ELEVEN STEPS TO A MORE OPEN AND HONEST GOVERNMENT
ELEVEN STEPS TO A MORE OPEN AND HONEST GOVERNMENT
By Mike McCabe
Those who call the shots in Wisconsin’s Capitol show themselves to be most comfortable working in the dark . They tried to butcher the state’s open meetings law, and only backed down when their action whipped up a public firestorm. They want to do away with the highly respected state audit office. They’re itching to turn a nationally acclaimed, politically independent elections and ethics watchdog agency into a lapdog .
They must have a lot to hide
With open government laws under assault, ...
Medicare and Medicaid Turn 50: Born from Compromise ~ Continuing in Controversy
Medicare and Medicaid Turn 50: Born from Compromise ~ Continuing in ControversyBy Senator Kathleen Vinehout“Whatever you do,” the elderly woman in Gilmanton told me a few years ago, “Keep your government-run hands off my Medicare.”Medicare and Medicaid turned 50 years old on July 30, 2015. After decades of political leaders grappling on the issue of health care, it was in 1965, that then President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law.Today we take for granted what was a seminal political accomplishment. Medicare, a federally run program, provides ...
YOU NEED A PHOTO VOTER ID TO VOTE
YOU NEED A PHOTO VOTER ID TO VOTE
by Virginia Kirsch
You need a photo ID to vote in Wisconsin elections. The Government Accountability Board of Wisconsin has a very handy, user-friendly website to help you with this process as well as many other details concerning elections.
At myvote.wi.gov you can register to vote, check your voter registration status, find your polling place, see what's on your ballot, request an absentee ballot (military and permanent overseas voters only), and check provisional ballot status.
The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the photo ID ...
HMONG SOLDIERS HONORED AT HONOR THE EARTH
HMONG SOLDIERS HONORED AT HONOR THE EARTH
BY PAUL DEMAIN
A delegation of Lao Veterans of America and United States Special Guerilla Unit members from Wisconsin and Minnesota were honored during the Veterans’ Recognition Ceremony at this year's Honor The Earth Pow Wow on Saturday morning, July 18th.
Flanked by Lt. Colonel Tou Fue Vang, standing to the right of Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Vice Chairman Rusty Barber, and on the left by Captain Nao Shoua Xiong, the Lt. Colonel outlined their history of service to the United States and made a presentation of the book ...
ON THE BOOKSHELF – “Devil in the Grove”
ON THE BOOKSHELF
By Steve Grillo
Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America. By Gilbert King
Our storied history, wrought with racial injustice and racial strife, is one which has left an indelible mark on a democracy which was built on the foundation of principles heavily rooted in equality and justice.
Understanding that history and how its complexities are interwoven into our daily lives today is paramount to being able to effect the lasting change so many strived for throughout our struggle to end racial injustice. ...
Imagining a Nuclear Free World
Imagining a Nuclear Free World
By Phil Anderson
John Lennon's song “Imagine” asks us to “imagine all the people living life in peace.” What we imagine shapes the way we see the world and how we behave in the world.
August 6th and August 9th are the 70th anniversaries of the U.S bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki using nuclear weapons.
As we remember these tragedies, can we imagine a nuclear weapons free world? We created these weapons of mass destruction and are the only
nation to ever use them against civilian targets. We should take responsibility ...
