Seeking Common Sense in a World Gone Mad
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Wisconsin Democratic Party Convention begins in Oshkosh
Republicans and Greens circle around nearby...
by babblemur
The Wisconsin Democrats meet again in the Fox Valley to rally their supporters for
2006 and 2008. Governor Doyle, who will be challenged by both Greens and
Republicans in 2006, will address the convention, as will Indiana Senator Evan
Bayh, who is considering a Presidential bid in 2008. (Why Bayh is headlining and
not Feingold, who is also considering a Presidential run in 2008, is a mystery to
me. Feingold isn't too far left for his own party, is he?)
If anything interesting comes from this, it might be who the Democrats elect to be
state party chair. Joe Wineke, Doyle's pick and Madison insider, runs against
grass roots organizer Jeff Rammelt. If Rammelt wins, it will be news, as the
Democrats would be sending a message that they intend to compete harder at the
local and grass roots level where they are being out paced by Republicans,
Libertarians and Greens in Wisconsin.
Local activist Tony Palmeri has written a wonderful speech that he feels Gov.
Doyle should read when addressing the convention on Saturday. I strongly
encourage you to check out "We are the Lesser Evil" by Tony Palmeri.
The Republicans are going to lurk about Oshkosh as well, as Mark Green, who is
challenging Doyle for Governor in 2006, hangs out at the Pioneer Inn tonight. The
Green Party is opting for a closer view as they plan to protest immediately outside
the Convention.
I feel no concern from it; but I should
suffer the misery of devils, were I to
make a whore of my soul..." -Thomas
Paine
Rally for Real
Democracy in Wisconsin
Oshkosh Demonstration Planned
OSHKOSH – Activists and concerned
citizens from across the state of
Wisconsin will converge at Riverside
Park in Oshkosh Saturday, June 11 to
participate in the Rally for Real
Democracy in Wisconsin. The rally is
scheduled to begin at 10:00am.
The rally is in direct response to the
Wisconsin Democratic Party Convention
being held the same weekend in
Oshkosh. “The Democratic Party states
that they have a lot to celebrate, yet in the
past year Wisconsin has seen some of the
worst attacks on the environment and the
UW system in history, while other issues
such as health care and campaign finance
reform have not even been mentioned,”
stated Lake Winnebago Green Party Co-
Chair Julie Stockwell.
The rally will focus on the following
issues:
- Opposition to the horrific Gov.
Doyle-sponsored Job Creation
Acts that have dismantled air and
water quality protections - Opposition to the backroom
logrolling of Gov Doyle’s
administration on the minimum
wage deal that took away local
control - Opposition to the bipartisan
assaults on the UW system that
have diminished the quality of
education while increasingly
replacing merit as a determinative
factor in the make up of the
student body (the average
household income of a UW
student is $94g) - Opposition to the Democratic
Philosophy of “Lesser Evilism”
which consistently sells short the
citizens of Wisconsin - To demand progress towards
Guaranteed Health Care, as over
9% of the state's population is still
uninsured - To demand serious Campaign
Finance Reform, a promise that
Gov Doyle made over 2 years ago - To demand serious environmental
quality protections - To demand domestic partner
benefits and for gender identity
protection under our state’s
existing nondiscrimination law
The Rally for Real Democracy will take
place at Riverside Park, Oshkosh, directly
behind the Park Plaza Convention Center,
One North Main St, Oshkosh. For
directions visit: http://www.
parkplazaoshkosh.com/Directions.
htm. Organizers of the rally include the
Lake Winnebago Green Party, the
Oshkosh Campus Greens, and active
citizens from across the state.
Contact: Julie Stockwell 920-205-
7363, julestockwelll@yahoo.com
Will Dems stand up for an Attorney General that cares
about the Environment and Ethics?
Opinion piece by John Nichols in the Capital Times
"...Doyle allies who object to Lautenschlager's independence - particularly on
environmental and ethics issues - and by those who want to get the incumbent out
of the way so that they can hand the party's nomination to a more pliable pol."
Pella, IA. (Photo by Associated Press I think, I claim permission to reprint since its kin)
ExxonMobil influence on Bush snub of Kyoto Global
Warming Treaty
John Vidal, environment editor
Wednesday June 8, 2005
The Guardian
(Thanks to the Progressive Populist for the link!)
President's George Bush's decision not to sign the United States up to the Kyoto global warming
treaty was partly a result of pressure from ExxonMobil, the world's most powerful oil company,
and other industries, according to US State Department papers seen by the Guardian.
The documents, which emerged as Tony Blair visited the White House for discussions on climate
change before next month's G8 meeting, reinforce widely-held suspicions of how close the
company is to the administration and its role in helping to formulate US policy.
Click here for the whole story
Green Party :
"Impeach Bush"
The Green Party of the United States has
repeated its July 2003 call to impeach George
Bush. "The Downing Street Memo confirms
what we already knew -- that a conspiracy to
deceive the American people led us into the war,
and that this conspiracy constitutes 'high crimes
and misdemeanors' according to the U.S.
Constitution." Said David Cobb.
Some information on this below:
"The 'I' word"
By Ralph Nader and Kevin Zeese
The Boston Globe, May 31, 2005
Reprinted on common dreams:
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0531-23.
htm
Letter to Pres Bush Concerning the
"DowningStreet Minutes"
From Rep. John Conyers
http://www.johnconyers.com
"Hold Bush Accountable If He Lied About Iraq"
By Mark Dunlea (Green Party of New York
State)
The Albany Times Union, July 9, 2003
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0709-04.
htm
Buy Your Gas at Citgo: Join the BUY-cott!
by Jeff Cohen
Looking for an easy way to protest Bush foreign policy week after week? And an easy way to
help alleviate global poverty? Buy your gasoline at Citgo stations.
And tell your friends.
Of the top oil producing countries in the world, only one is a democracy with a president who
was elected on a platform of using his nation's oil revenue to benefit the poor. The country is
Venezuela. The President is Hugo Chavez. Call him "the Anti-Bush."
Citgo is a U.S. refining and marketing firm that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Venezuela's
state-owned oil company. Money you pay to Citgo goes primarily to Venezuela -- not Saudi
Arabia or the Middle East. There are 14,000 Citgo gas stations in the US. (Click here
http://www.citgo.com/CITGOLocator/StoreLocator.jsp to find one near you.) By buying your
gasoline at Citgo, you are contributing to the billions of dollars that Venezuela's democratic
government is using to provide health care, literacy and education, and subsidized food for the
majority of Venezuelans.
Instead of using government to help the rich and the corporate, as Bush does, Chavez is using the
resources and oil revenue of his government to help the poor in Venezuela. A country with so
much oil wealth shouldn't have 60 percent of its people living in poverty, earning less than $2
per day. With a mass movement behind him, Chavez is confronting poverty in Venezuela. That's
why large majorities have consistently backed him in democratic elections. And why the Bush
administration supported an attempted military coup in 2002 that sought to overthrow Chavez.
So this is the opposite of a boycott. Call it a BUYcott. Spread the word.
Of course, if you can take mass transit or bike or walk to your job, you should do so. And we
should all work for political changes that move our country toward a cleaner environment based
on renewable energy. The BUYcott is for those of us who don't have a practical alternative to
filling up our cars.
So get your gas at Citgo. And help fuel a democratic revolution in Venezuela.
Jeff Cohen is an author and media critic (www.jeffcohen.org)