http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/blog_rss/xoff Sporadic thoughts about politics and life in the universe, from a retired political hack. Witness Against War, the 500-mile walk from Chicago to St. Paul, is in its final week, and will arrive this weekend in time for the Republican convention. Bill Christofferson, an antiwar atheist, walked with the group of Catholic Workers for a day last weekend, on the Mississippi River from Pepin to Maiden Rock, and reports on the trip at Uppity Wisconsin. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHBh http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHBh/commentary#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:04:42 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHBh Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHBh/ Eleven events are scheduled in Wisconsin on Friday, August 15, as part of the Iraq Moratorium, a growing national, grassroots effort to end the war and occupation of Iraq. This is the 12th month of such actions. Wisconsin has had more local events than any other state except California, with six times the population. Two communities, Rice Lake and Waupaca, are holding their first Moratorium events on Friday.  Wisconsin events are listed on a new blog, Iraq Moratorium-Wisconsin. The national Iraq Moratorium asks people to take some personal or group action on the Third Friday of every month to express their support for ending the war and bringing the troops home. Those actions can range from wearing a button or black armband to work or school to participating in an organized action. Since it began in September, more than 1,200 events in 41 states and 240 communities have been listed on the Iraq Moratorium website, www.IraqMoratorium.com , which also collects reports, photos and videos of events and offers ideas and tools for organizers to use. The Madison-based Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, a coalition of more than 150 groups, has helped promote the Moratorium in the state. Do something, whatever you are comfortable with -- whether it's wearing a button or protesting in the streets --  to call for an end to the war and occupation.  It's got to stop, and we've got to stop it. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHBM http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHBM/commentary#comments Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:28:51 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHBM Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHBM/ Kathy Kelly, a leader of the Witness Against War walk from Chicago to St. Paul, was arrested Sunday in a nonviolent action at Fort McCoy. In another post, she explains why she and others do what they do. --Xoff By John LaForge TUNNEL CITY, Wisconsin -- The long history of anti-nuclear protests in Wisconsin caught up yesterday with Kathy Kelly, a founder of Voices for Creative Nonviolence in Chicago, when a group of 13 peace activists walked onto the grounds of Ft. McCoy, the National Guard base near here, calling for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Ft. McCoy is one of the country's largest Guard bases and is a central training and deployment hub for occupation troops being shipped into Iraq and Afghanistan. Of the 13 peace activists that were charged and ticketed with trespass, only Ms. Kelly was kept in the Monroe County jail in Sparta, because of an outstanding warrant. Kelly, who has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was being held on a 1999 warrant from Ashland County, Wisconsin. The warrant stems from a protest against the now-closed submarine transmitter Project E.L.F. near Clam Lake. The Extremely Low Frequency (E.L.F.) transmitter was the object of nuclear weapons protests from 1968 until it closed in 2004. Critics called it a "nuclear war trigger" because of its function in signaling a potential first-strike with submarine-launched ballistic missiles. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGn http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGn/commentary#comments Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:46:32 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGn Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHGn/ The Iraq Moratorium will mark its 12th month of locally-based, grassroots actions on August 15 -- as always, the Third Friday of the month -- with events across the country. Wisconsin has had more events than any other state except California. Rice Lake just announced yesterday that it would begin monthly vigils in August, and others are in the works. The Moratorium has a new website address, www.IraqMoratorium.com , and a new logo. There's also a new Iraq Moratorium Wisconsin blog site, which lists Badger State events and reports. Visit it here. One thing that hasn't changed is the determination to end the senseless war and occupation of Iraq, by encouraging locally organized, grassroots actions to move more of the silent majority who say they oppose the war to do something to end it. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGg http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGg/commentary#comments Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:12:58 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGg Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHGg/ The bureaucratic mind never ceases to amaze. The Department of Corrections has decided it is just too risky to allow a non-profit, in-state group to send free books to inmates in Wisconsin prisons. Citing security concerns that the books somehow might contain contraband, Corrections has informed Wisconsin Books to Prisoners that it will no longer allow the group to send books to prisoners. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMy http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMy/commentary#comments Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:05:39 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMy Xoff Xoff 1 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHMy/ Witness Against War, a 450-mile walk from Chicago to St. Paul for the Republican convention, organized by Voices for Creative Nonviolence, continues to wend its way across Wisconsin. The walkers leave Prairie du Sac Thursday morning, July 31, headed for Baraboo. The schedule for the next week or so follows below the fold: http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMm http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMm/commentary#comments Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:55:19 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMm Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHMm/ What began as a protest at Milwaukee's Summerfest over an Army "virtual reality" game that allowed 13-year-olds to shoot a machine gun from a Humvee at life-sized human targets has sparked national attention. The ACLU says the Army is violating international law by targeting children in its recruiting. More here. UPDATE: Wall Street Journal story. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMz http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMz/commentary#comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:47:56 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMz Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHMz/ Witness Against War, a 450-mile walk from Chicago to the Republican convention in St. Paul, is between Milwaukee and Madison this week, with stop at Lake Mills in between. You can read here about the walkers' trek through Milwaukee on Monday, see some photos, and link to more information and the full schedule. Anyone can join them for a day, part of a day, or more. It's an energizing thing to do. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMb http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMb/commentary#comments Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:47:00 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMb Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHMb/ Today is Iraq Moratorium day, a day to take action to end the war and occupation of Iraq. This month, it leads into three days of action to prevent war with Iran. A number of Moratorium events will connect the two, as participants in today's events make cell phone calls to Congressional offices, leaflet about Iran, or write or email their representatives. Much of the focus is on a House resolution which essentially calls for a blockade of Iran. List of sponsors includes Wisconsin Dems Ron Kind and Steve Kagen and Repub Paul Ryan. Does your opinion matter? United for Peace and Justice reports that two members of Congress already have changed their minds after being challenged by local peace organizations. This report from St. Louis tells of one of the successes. Wondering what to say? Here's a letter from former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist and his wife, Susan Mudd, to their Congressional representative, Jan Schakowsky. (Norquist and Mudd now live in Chicago, where he heads the Congress for a New Urbanism.): http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMc http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMc/commentary#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:51:40 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMc Xoff Xoff 1 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHMc/ And sometimes I can't believe my own eyes. WashPost: : CINCINNATI -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called for sweeping educational reforms today in a speech before the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, an association which he said "means more to me than any other," despite his historic opposition to many of its policies. McCain, who has received an F grade from the NAACP for his votes in each of the past four Congresses, acknowledged that he might not win the votes of the group's members in his race against Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill. McCain skipped the NAACP's convention last year -- he apologized for that today, saying he "was a bit distracted at the time dealing with what reporters uncharitably described as an implosion in my campaign" -- and in 1996 he advised then-GOP Sen. Robert J. Dole of Kansas not to attend it on the grounds that he would face a hostile audience. Today, accompanied by Maryland's former lieutenant governor Michael Steele, who is African American, McCain said he would seek the organization's support for his presidential bid. That's right. John McCain apparently believes that the past doesn't matter. We all get a clean slate any time we ask for it. To forgive is divine; to forget is even better. In that spirit, although I have spent the last eight years saying terrible things about them and doing everything in my power to bring about their defeat and stop their programs, and although I have written negative things about them almost daily for the past three years, I am going to ask George Bush and Dick Cheney to endorse my blog. Their support would mean more to me than anyone else's, despite my historic opposition to many of their policies. Anyone have a problem with that? (Apologies to Will Rogers, who never met Dick Cheney) http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMq http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMq/commentary#comments Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:52:25 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMq Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHMq/ Friday, July 18, is Iraq Moratorium day #11. It is a day, as is the Third Friday of every month, on which individuals and groups across the country take some action to call for the end to the war and occupation of Iraq. As usual, Wisconsin is a hotbed of activity, with events scheduled across the state. The number of listed events on the Iraq Moratorium national website, IraqMoratorium.org , is approaching 100, with more still being added. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMp http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMp/commentary#comments Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:03:13 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHMp Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHMp/ On Saturday, a group of walkers for peace will set out from Chicago on a seven-week walk ending at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Their mission: To challenge and to nonviolently resist our country’s continuing war in and occupation of Iraq. The walk, which will cross the entire state of Wisconsin, is organized by Voices for Creative Non-violence , a Chicago-based group with deep, long-standing roots in active nonviolent resistance to U.S. war-making. Begun in the summer of 2005, Voices draws upon the experiences of those who challenged the brutal economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and U.N. against the Iraqi people between 1990 and 2003. Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota peace organizations are supporting the walk, playing host to the walkers and holding events along the route. People can participate by joining the walk for a day, a week, a month or the entire Witness Against War. Those who live along the route could consider making a food donation or organizing with others in your community to provide lunch or dinner to walkers. This flyer shows the whole schedule at a glance. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHjQ http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHjQ/commentary#comments Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:20:42 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHjQ Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHjQ/ One more time on Summerfest and the Army. Having visited the Army exhibit, rather than relying on newspaper reports, I'm now for declaring victory. What the Army exhibit offers now is much different from the virtual killing it was promoting as a recruiting tool for young teens before Peace Action-Wisconsin intervened. Summerfest still needs some thank you calls at 414-273-2690. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHjH http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHjH/commentary#comments Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:36:40 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHjH Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHjH/ Rabid radio talker Charlie Sykes devoted more than half of his morning show railing on Summerfest for asking the Army to shut down a virtual killing game , urging listeners to call those wimpy Summerfest folks and complain. Actually, Summerfest needs to be thanked and congratulated for doing the right thing. It is never easy to publicly take a stand and reverse an earlier decision -- not to mention facing down the military. Please take a minute to call Summerfest at 414-273--2680. They need some support. More here. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHjZ http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHjZ/commentary#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:17:04 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHjZ Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHjZ/ One small step for humankind: At the request of Summerfest officials, the U.S. Army on Tuesday removed a virtual urban warfare game that allowed fest-goers as young as 13 to hop into a Humvee simulator and fire machine guns at life-size people on a computer screen. Peace Action-Wisconsin launched a campaign Tuesday to shut down the "game," and Veterans for Peace, Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice also joined in asking their members to call Summerfest to complain. Summerfest officials reported "a handful" of complaints, but it took less than 12 hours to get action, suggesting there was more than a handful of callers, which forced Summerfest to take it seriously. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHjq http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHjq/commentary#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:47:05 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHjq Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHjq/ Another cave-in by House Dems. Another $162-billion for war. At least 151 Dems voted against it, even if it was a token gesture and they knew the bill would pass. Wisconsin's Ron Kind was one of 80 Democrats who voted yes. (The number keeps shrinking; last time it was 85.) Even Dave Obey and Nancy Pelosi, who cut the deal, didn't vote for it. What is Ron Kind thinking? Perhaps we should all call him and ask. More on the vote, and activist David Swanson's reaction in a Milwaukee speech, here. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGy http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGy/commentary#comments Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:23:51 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGy Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHGy/ You have to give the Republicans credit for one thing: They have an echo chamber that won't quit, even when what they're echoing rings totally false. Republicans from Dick Cheney on down have been admitting they were wrong in claiming that China is drilling for oil off the coast of Florida. It's a false claim that somehow spread like wildfire among conservatives, suggesting it was in some widely-distributed talking points. But that didn't stop Wisconsin's retreaded Congressional candidate, John Gard, from making this claim : "China, with the permission of the Cuban government, is actually drilling for natural gas and oil on the Outer Continental Shelf within view of the Florida coast," said Gard. "So, while Steve Kagen's votes are blocking Americans from accessing this abundant source of oil, the Chinese are tapping a resource that could literally be putting money back into the wallets of hard working families." Gard uses it to attack Rep. Steve Kagen, the Dem who beat him two years ago and is likely to beat him worse this time, if this is any indication of the kind of campaign he's running. Embarrassing. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHG8 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHG8/commentary#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:08:23 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHG8 Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHG8/ Should George Bush and Dick Cheney be impeached? David Swanson , a national activist and writer who speaks in Milwaukee Thursday night, thinks so. So does Dennis Kucinich, who read 35 articles of impeachment against Bush into the record last week. I've been skeptical about impeachment, but a conservative professor and blogger may have tipped the scales with his belief that Bush and Cheney should get a free pass not only on impeachment but on any criminal charges, no matter what laws they might break. (I thought conservatives were for law and order.) Read more here and get details on Swanson's free Milwaukee talk in the One Wisconsin Now calendar. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGK http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGK/commentary#comments Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:11:22 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGK Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHGK/ John McCain insensitive to the human cost of the war in Iraq? Au contraire. He's very sensitive: "Nothing is more precious than Americans, and I know that it has caused great heartache and pain," he said, "but I also want to tell you that I believe in the conflict in Iraq with this new strategy, we are succeeding. "Every American is precious, every casualty is someone that pains and grieves us, no one more than a veteran," said Mr. McCain, who spent five years as a prisoner of war during Vietnam. "But the consequences of failure would be chaos and genocide in the region." Maybe that's why we don't even bother to count the number of Iraqis killed, while estimates range in the hundreds of thousands, even a million. Every American is precious. Iraqis' lives are cheap. And it's really "not too important" when the killing stops. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGc http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGc/commentary#comments Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:02:55 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/CHGc Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHGc/ You undoubtedly know that Wisconsin ranks high among the 50 states in how much taxes its citizens pay. The media have been reporting it for years, and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and their Republican friends have made it an article of faith and a perennial campaign issue, blaming Democrats even when Republican spending was to blame. So when there's what qualifies as at least a minor man-bites-dog story -- or at least man-growls-at-dog story -- on the same topic, you'd expect to read it in the state's largest newspaper, which has reported many of the WMC-GOP stories for years. Guess again. We'll let Bruce Murphy of Milwaukee Magazine take it from here: On May 27, the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance did a new report showing Wisconsin dropped out of the ranks of the 10 highest-taxed states for the first time in more than 25 years. Indeed, going all the way back to 1963, when the state first adopted a sales tax, Wisconsin has ranked in the top 10 every year except 1980 and 1968. As recently as 1999, when Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson was near the end of his long tenure, Wisconsin ranked as the third-highest taxed state. Today, Wisconsin has dropped to 11th-highest. That's quite a change, and it got extensive coverage in the Wisconsin State Journal . The story was picked up by other newspapers statewide. But the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel sat on the report for nearly a week and then barely reported it: The disclosure came in the 23rd graph of a story telling us "Property taxes jump 3.8%, most in 3 years." At the very end of this story telling us taxes are going up, the paper devoted just four paragraphs to the news that the state dropped out of the top 10, and used a quote from Taxpayers Alliance President Todd Berry saying the ranking merely showed that some other states increased their taxes. Read the rest here. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/C272 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/C272/commentary#comments Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:44:24 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/xoff/C272 Xoff Xoff 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C272/