Fundraiser in support of Alison Page with special guest U.S. Congressman Dave Obey*

Saturday, May 17 from 11am - 1pm

At the home of Alison and David Page,  430 Crescent St in River Falls. 

RSVP to katie.saarinen [at] gmail [dot] com or 608-260-2417. 

Suggested contribution:  $35

Sponsorships: $1000 Host, $500 Sponsor, $250 Supporter and $100 Friend

Send your check for this event, made payable to "Page for Senate," to 430 Crescent St, River Falls, WI 54022 or contribute online HERE.

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Introducing a new blog aimed at taking control of the state assembly:

Today seems like a great day to kick off a 16-month project to blog
about retaking the majority in the Wisconsin State Assembly for
Democrats. After the Democratically-controlled Senate passed, on a
party-line vote, their own version of a biennial budget,
the Republican-controlled Assembly is considering tonight a regressive
budget that seeks to make Wisconsin a terrible place to live (in the
next few days or so, I'll include things about the GOP budget and
Democrat's budget - and highlight how radically out of touch state
Republicans are with not only the people of Wisconsin, but also with
reality). Just in case you're up for a little prep reading, you can
check out what the Republican budget looks like too.

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This from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

Note that although it's not perfect, and it's not all-inclusive by any means, it's a step in the right direction.

WISCONSIN DEMOCRACY CAMPAIGN E-LERT

In this update:
1. Doyle to sign ethics reform bill tomorrow
2. Up next: Campaign finance reform
3. Supreme Court race taking shape

Governor Jim Doyle will sign the ethics reform bill into law tomorrow morning, marking a happy ending to a long, tough fight to revive meaningful enforcement of high ethical standards and accountability in state government. To see newspaper coverage of the near-unanimous approval of the reform measure by the Legislature, go here. For television coverage, go here. To read the editorial on the subject that appeared in this morning's edition of the state's largest newspaper, go here.

There's been a little bruhaha today because the state Republicans have been distributing a flyer in which Rob Kreibich (who was at one time an Eau Claire Channel 13 reporter) throws his support behind Dave Zien (R) over Pat Kreitlow (D). Well, no big surprise there. -- Update - I have added a link to a statement from Pat Kreitlow on the ad.

The point of contention, though, is that they used Channel 13's and NBC"s logos in the flyer, which may or may not be legal. And it certainly adds to the confusion that a few people in the area seem to be getting about the two former Channel 13 employees, and which is which (geez, if you ever talked to either of them you'd be able to keep it straight, I think - Kreitlow, Kreibich - Democrat, Republican - Black, White - all fine distinctions).

According to Rolling Stone, our very own James F. Sensenbrenner is the second worst congressperson in the US, closing in quickly on Denny Hastert. This is particularly embarrassing, as in one of my past lives Hastert was my representative.

No politician better embodies the zealotry of the 109th Congress than Sensenbrenner, chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee. His solution to hot-button issues is always the same: Lock 'em up.

This article is a sidebar to the primary article about the current Do-Nothing Congress. Read both articles - it'll make you want to vote more than you already do.

I'm beginning to find it a little disheartening that Rolling Stone is becoming one of the better investigative journalism sources in the US. Where the hell is everyone else?

I'm normally a fairly positive person, and God knows I hate to regurgitate anything that Nancy Reagan said, but here it is:

Just Say No!

It's been a difficult time for progressives. The house and senate and presidency have been firmly controlled by the Republicans. Corruption in Washington has reached levels that are incomprehensible to me. There's a new story every day, so it seems. We've become embroiled in a war that most of the country does not support, and the war has killed as many as 650,000 people in a foreign country. We made up a reason for invading the country, and continue to make up excuses for our war, our conduct, our history of torture (and saying that it's justified).

The Republican party is proudly pointing to the "economic progress" of the country. There's been plenty of economic progress for the people with money, for the people with investments, for the friends of the Republicans. But damn little for any of the rest of us. For most of the country. For the poor, for the middle class, for the people we used to think were the backbone of America. They give us answers like fences, Health Savings Accounts (if you can't afford to take your kids to the doctor, it's a cinch you can't afford those).

Eau Claire for Health Care Coalition member, UWEC Progressive Student
Assn. is one of the sponsors of a Rally and march for peace and
justice, specifically in opposition to the marriage and civil union ban
and the death penalty referendum and in support of accessible,
affordable health care and the Eau Claire Health Care Referendum.

This is what we've been working toward in Eau Claire the past nine
months, progressives working together in a multi-issue approach to
support traditional Wisconsin values of peace, social justice,
equality, quality, affordable medical care and the general right of all
people to fulfill their potential to be free, healthy, productive
individuals.

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My wife and I attended the Chippewa Valley Candidates Forum last night in Eau Claire. The forum was intended to be particularly focused on issues affecting women.

Although I suppose we are somewhat biased, we both felt that the Democratic candidates made their points much better than the Republicans, and that their opinions were much more carefully thought out. Every time one of the Democratic candidates made a point, the challenging Republican candidate had very little to say. I'd say that in general the Democratic candidates were much more supportive of women's issues. Health Care was the big topic of the evening's discussions, and although the Democrats had many good ideas on improving health care delivery in the state, none of the Republican candidates offered any constructive ideas at all.

I'm including the photographs of the candidates at the forum so you can see for yourself. Click on Read More to see the pictures ----