August / September 2008 Newsletter
WISDOM FROM THE PAST:
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our
liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow
private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by
inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will
grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property
until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers
conquered."
Thomas Jefferson, 1802
About now,
everyone’s eyes are glazing over as we consider what our government
hath wrought! As the
late Rep.Everett Dirksen said, “A
billon here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real
money.”
How much is 700
billion dollars? A stack
of $100 bills would reach a height of 54 miles!
In a coincidence, the “bailout” package is the same figure as
the Pentagon budget – a nice, round number.
(And this does not include homeland security or intelligence
costs.) There has
been a lot of analysis and commentary about who is to blame for this
ruinous mess, but it seems there is plenty of blame to go around.
We can only hope that a new Administration and Congress will
have the courage and conviction to tell the truth to the American
people, whether they want to hear it or not.
Our children and grandchildren, who will get stuck with the
debt, deserve no less.
THAT ALL IMPORTANT DATE, NOVEMBER 4th:
Voters are being told to check on their voting registrations early, not
waiting until the day of the election.
There is a lot of error and even hanky-panky going on with
regard to voting lists, particularly as they concern those whose
homes have been foreclosed, our college students and our service
personnel.
(Unfortunately, it may be already too late for those who have not
acted-- figure this one out: absentee ballots have not been made
available in time for these people to fill out and return, so their
votes count!) For more
information , go to:
www.stealbackyourvote.com.
Or go to:
www.866ourvote.org, for a voter registration guide from a group
called “Election Protection”, which is supporting everyone’s right
to vote.
ELECTION
FIRSTS:
There is an
“Obama-Biden” Campaign for Change Office in
Also, there are SIX state legislative districts representing parts of Ozaukee and Washington counties that are being contested in the general election this year. That is not only newsworthy, it is historic. Residents of Assembly districts 23, 24, 58, and 60 in Ozaukee and Washington counties are all going to have A Choice for A Change this November in state senate (districts 8 and 20) and the state assembly elections. Two of the challengers are progressive Independents, and four are Democrats. Virtually every citizen of Ozaukee and Washington counties will have more than one name on the ballot for at least one of their state legislators. But one of the interesting things about these races is that nobody even knows that choice exists (even though it's probably for the first time in generations) until the challengers themselves tell them, one-by-one, while campaigning door-to-door. And that's because the media is not informing voters of this historical, grassroots activated turn of events.
We solicit
your support for Perry Duman, a Democrat and a member of the
core group of OCAF, who is challenging Mark Gottlieb for the 60th
District Seat in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Perry has received the endorsements of the Sierra Club, the
Wisconsin Education Assn. Council (WEAC), the Wisconsin Nurses
Political Action Committee (WINPAC), the Center Advocates, Citizen
Action of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Professional Police Assn.
(WPPA). His website is:
www.dumanforassembly.org.
You are invited to a “Meet the Candidate” gathering on October 29,
from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Neiderkorn Library in Port, when Perry
Duman will be available to respond to your questions.
Another
good candidate, Clyde Winter, is running as an Independent
for the State Senate District 20, challenging Glenn Grothman.
JUST WHO
SUPPORTS THE TROOPS?
Iraq and
Afghanistan Veterans of America
(IAVA) has just issued their
2008 Congressional Report Card
on how
Out of 100
Five
American
Veterans (DAV)
on their "key votes" for the 109th Second session.
Senators Barack
Obama, Russ Feingold, and Herb Kohl received an 80 percent rating.
John McCain was one of three Senators (all Republicans) who got a 20 percent rating from DAV.
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WHAT IS
“350 PPM”?
At this year’s BOBFEST in early
September, Bill McKibben, well-known author and environmentalist,
stressed that this is the number leading scientists say is the safe
upper limit for carbon dioxide emissions in our atmosphere, which
are measured in “parts per million”.
At the present time, we are at the higher number of 387 PPM;
going back to 350 means actually transforming our world.
It means building solar arrays instead of coal plants.
It means planting trees instead of clear cutting rainforests.
It means increasing our efficiency and cutting our waste.
To accomplish these, we need a global treaty grounded in the
latest science and built around the principles of equity and
justice, that will take a movement of people who care enough about
our shared global future to get involved and make their voices
heard. If we do not,
just one of the disastrous results will be the sea level rise of
7 feet in the course of this century.
NOW isn’t too soon to start.
(NOTE: for a video of Bill
McKibben’s
energetic talk, contact
www.bobfest.org,
Videos of other speakers are also available.
FOOD NEWS:
“Country of Origin” labels
will soon be on store shelves.
It has taken six years for this rule to be implemented!
However, minimally processed foods will not have to be
labeled with their country of origin!
It is ludicrous that roasting, smoking, curing or freezing
whole foods makes them exempt from labeling.
Ask the USDA to fix these loopholes.
Go to:
www.actionfoodandwaterwatch.org.
Important Coming Event:
October 27
(Mon.), 7 p.m.
“Winter
Soldiers”,
PARTING
THOUGHT: BE THANKFUL!
If you
woke up
this morning
with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million
who will not survive the week.
If you have never experienced
the danger of
battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the
pangs if starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the
world.
If you have food
in the
refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a
place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the world.
If you have money
in the bank,
and spare change in a dish somewhere, you are among the top 8% of
the world’s wealthy.
If you can read
this message,
you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who
cannot read at all.
One World Week,
F.Y.I
Senator Kohl:
(202) 224-5653
http://kohl.senate.gov/contact.html
Senator
Feingold: (202)
224-5323
http://feingold.senate.gov/contact.html
Rep. J.
Sensenbrenner: (202)
225-5101.
http://sensenbrenner.house.gov/contactform