MOVE TO AMEND

In January, 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Citizens United vs FEC (Federal Election Commission). This devastating ruling says that money is free speech and allows the incredibly rich to flood our elections with unlimited “big money” and “dark money” through the use of Super PACs (Political Action Committee). No longer are there any restrictions on how much money is put into our elections or which representative can be elected with millions of dollars. With Super PACs no one knows where the money is coming from, or going to. It is untraceable. These funds could be drug money, foreign money, or from some other extreme group or ...

WHAT’S IN IT FOR THEM?

The power of money in politics is on our minds these days, especially since the Koch brothers just announced that they will be spending almost a BILLION dollars on the 2016 election. What’s in it for the Koch brothers? To bypass party politics altogether. Why? To govern on their terms. What would that mean? In 1980, David Koch ran for vice president on the Libertarian ticket. The party platform answers this question. Here are a few excerpts: Repeal federal campaign finance laws, and abolish the Federal Election Commission. Abolish Medicare and Medicaid. Deregulate the medical insurance industry. Repeal Social Security. Abolish ...

Corporate Colonization of Wisconsin: Divide and Conquer

Portions of this article appeared originally on Uppity Wisconsin and can be found here. This is the first in a series of articles by Dr. Keith Roberts discussing the corporate colonization of the state of Wisconsin. In this article Dr. Roberts defines the process of colonization and shows comparisons between the exploitation of third world countries and the current state of affairs in Wisconsin. “Divide and conquer” is a critical first step in controlling the colonized population. Many of the problems in today's world are the legacy of colonization. This can be seen in the tensions between India and Pakistan, in the Gulf States in the ...

The Senate Just Voted to Keep Big Money in Politics. Three Reasons to Celebrate Anyway

The fact that the issue reached the Senate floor is a huge victory for the American people, who overwhelmingly say they want something done about corporate influence in elections. It was no surprise that the Senate’s proposed “Democracy for All” amendment to the constitution did not pass Thursday. It takes 67 votes to pass an amendment in the Senate. So Thursday’s vote of 54 in favor and 42 against spelled defeat. Senators who voted against the amendment will need to explain their actions to their constituents. But the vote represents a giant leap on the road to overturning the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which opened ...

Move To Amend Approved By Wausau City Council

The Wausau City Council put the Move to Amend Petition on their agenda for the meeting on August 13, 2014. Many supporters came to witness the outcome. Milt Pachal spoke to the Council saying that they had over 600 more signatures than necessary and other communities in the area had asked them when they could also sign a petition. Clearly there was united support as Council members spoke in favor of the initiative and thanked the Pachals and citizens for all their hard work. After discussing whether they should proceed with a resolution or a referendum they decided that citizens would be best served if this went on the November ballot in the ...

Move To Amend Petition on November 4th Wausau Ballot

Something amazing has been happening in the city of Wausau. For the past two months 55 volunteers have been at your Wednesday night concerts, farmers’ markets and doors getting signatures on a petition. On August 13th the city council voted unanimously to put this petition on the November 4th ballot as a referendum. The petition reads: “Shall the City of Wausau adopt the following resolution? Whereas, the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and related case law allows unlimited political campaign spending to influence local, state, and federal elections; RESOLVED, the City of Wausau, Wiscons...