middle wi news - november

8/3/2019 Middle WI News - November

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Information Technology SolutionsMiddle WisconsinNews

A FACT-DRIVEN VOICE FOR

MIDDLE WISCONSIN VIEWS

FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE STATE

FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS

No ve mb e r 2 2 , 2 0 1

Thanksgiving . . . . . . . . . .1

Recall Points. . . . . . . . . . .2

The Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Working Wisconsin . . . . . 4

The New Economy . . . . . 5

Recall Recipes . . . . . . . . 6

Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Literary Page . . . . .10

TimeBanks . . . . . . . . . . .12

Challenging the Myth . . 13

Beyond Wisconsin . . . . .14

2011Middle Wisconsin

IN THIS ISSUE:

www.M id d le Wisco n s in . co m

In a year that has witnessed the end of collective bargaining, huge corporate

giveaways, massive cuts in education, healthcare, and our communities, and the

enactment of some of the most restrictive voter laws in America, it may seem diffi-

cult at first glance to find cause for thanks in Wisconsin. But on many other ac-

counts, 2011 has given us extraordinary reason for hope.

Our grassroots Middle Wisconsin didnt exist a year ago. Political rallies

were virtually non-existent. The Courageous 14 senators had not yet

risked their careers to protect the people of Wisconsin. We have found that com-

munity, and a sense of fair play, and a belief in mutual respect are alive and well in

our state. But perhaps most important of all are the wonderful, caring people that

each of us has had the privilege of meeting in the past ten months. It is truly a rea-

son to give thanks.

We shall overcome. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

,

THANKSGIVING2011


2/14

THE RECALLSSupport the Recall of Governor Scott Walker andSenator Pam Galloway because

Governor Walker: stripped workers of their ability to provide for their

families, while taking almost a billion dollars out ofWisconsins economy

took billions of dollars from our childrens and adulteducation to give to wealthy, out-of-state corporation

eliminated health care benefits for thousands of ourchildren, disabled and elderly citizens

is dismantling critical protections for our land, water-ways, wildlife and our air

jeopardized funding for womens health issues suchas mammograms and pre and post natal care

is making it difficult for our citizens to vote in theNovember, 2012 elections

and Senator Galloway supports him every stepof the way!Recall Governor Walker and Senator Galloway

For more information on how you can help recall Governor Walker and Senator Galloway, andrestore balance to Wisconsin, contact the Marathon County Democratic Party 715-297-0278;email: [email protected]; website: marathondems.com

Middle Wisconsin NewsNo ve mb e r 2 2 , 2 0

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The Talking Pointson this page and

The Test on page3 were developed by

a Wausau area

Think Tank lead byPhil Keller and

Tom Ivey.Middle Wisconsin

and all those work-ing to recall Scott

Walker are gratefulfor the dedicated ef-forts of this group .

The Governor's Office,Wisconsin State Capitol

11-19-2011

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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The TestWisconsin ValuesA Progressive Balance

We Wisconsinites hold strong values. We feel strongly about the communities inwhich we live. We are proud to say, Im from Wisconsin. We believe peopleshould be treated fairly and with respect - just as we ourselves want to be treated.

Wisconsinites believe our governments role is to create balance - balance betweethe needs of people, businesses, and our community institutions such as local governments (schools, cities, municipalities etc.) and non-profit groups (charities,churches and other service organizations). When these are in balance, our commu

nities are strong. When they are not, our communities suffer, our quality of lifedeclines, and people and businesses begin to look elsewhere for a place they wantto live and do business.

Try this simple test to determine whether or not an existing, or proposed, law orregulation brings balance to our communities - whether it is worth supporting orneeds to be opposed. These questions cannot be answered in isolation. Like thepieces of a jig saw puzzle, the answers must fit together to give a clear picture andto answer the question

Does what is being proposed or acted upon reflect our

Wisconsins Values?

Does it treat people fairly?

Does it show respect?

Does it support the common good of our commu-

nity?If the proposal doesnt create an appropriate balance

among these questions, then we need to change our direc-

tion and elect representatives who will work together to

bring clear thinking back to our state.


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This country doesin fact have a seri-ous deficit problem.But the reality is that

the deficit was

caused by two wars- unpaid for. It wascaused by huge tax

breaks for thewealthiest people inthis country. It wascaused by a reces-sion as a result of

the greed, reckless-ness and illegal be-

havior on Wall

Street. And if thoseare the causes ofthe deficit, I will be

damned if were go-ing to balance the

budget on the backsof the elderly, thesick, the children,

and the poor.Thats wrong.

--Sen. Bernie Sanders

(I-Vermont)



4/14

Information Technology Solutions

The Moral Arc of Justice

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once so famously said How long? Not Long. Thearc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

On November 15, 2011 we embarked on a journey to turn back the assault onworkers rights started by the corporate puppet Governor Walker and those

who followed walk step with him, including Senator Pam Galloway. We are encouaged by the fact that the good citizens of Ohio have successfully fought back througthe repeal of Senate bill 5 on November 8, 2011 which stripped the rights of all public workers in Ohio. Citizens in Mississippi voted to reject the radical Republicanagenda which aimed to turn back womens reproductive rights to the turn of the century. The citizens of Maine voted to restore voters rights when they regained sameday voter registration which they once had for the last thirty years.

It is apparent through the Occupy movement and recent events in Ohio, Mississippi and Maine that the vast majority of American citizens value their communitie

over corporations and people over profits. It is now time for the citizens of Wisconsin to fight back by recalling those legislators who have turned their backs on theirconstituents and the progressive values of Wisconsin. United Wisconsin with theassistance of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin are leading the charge against thoswho have harmed the working and middle class of Wisconsin. It is our time to holdthem accountable. But politics is not a spectator sport. It is not enough to sit at youcomputer and blog about how awful it is in Wisconsin. It is erroneous to think thatothers will circulate petitions for the recall of Walker, Kleefisch and Galloway. It iup to each individual to play an integral part in turning back regressive legislatorswho act as corporate puppets.

Wisconsin citizens have strong beliefs. We believe in our communities. Webelieve in respecting the rights of others in our communities, and, we believ

in fairness. We have a responsibility to our community to talk to our family, friendand relatives about how these people have harmed us. We have a moral obligationto sign the recall petition and encourage others to do the same. There is much atstake during the next two months and beyond. It is only through direct tangible ac-tion that the arc of the moral universe will bend towards justice.

Working WisconsinLabor News and Views

By John Spiegelhoff


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I hope weshall crush inits birth the

aristocracy ofour moniedcorporationswhich darealready to

challenge ourgovernmentto a trial bystrength and

bid defiance

to the laws ofour country.

--Thomas Jefferson


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The New Economy

The old economy is not coming back, so what does the new economy look like? It isincreasingly green and socially responsible. It democratizes ownership. The new

economy has a growing sense of community and shared mission. The American Sus-tainable Business Council promotes environment and social outcomes as well asprofits. The rapidly growing organization BALLE (Business Alliance for Local LivingEconomies) states that their long-term goal is to develop a global system of interconnectedlocal communities that function in harmony with their ecosystems. New standards arebeing developed that measure genuine economic gain, environmental destruction and evenhuman happiness, because the gross national product indicator is misleading. Both workthat causes pollution and work that cleans it up are registered as positive in the GNP.

There are an increasing number of worker

-owned cooperatives. These groups use

profits for environmental and social goals. There are 1.6 million nonprofit corpora-tions, particularly in the area of agriculture and no processed food. Cooperatives are not anew idea, but they are evolving. In Cleveland, the Evergreen Cooperatives are linkedthrough a nonprofit corporation, revolving loan fund and the common goal of rebuildingthe Greater University Circle neighborhoods. There is a green industrial-scale laundry, asolar installation company and a large-scale greenhouse, all linked to expand and servetheir local area. Evergreen is based on the purchasing power of the areas large hospital,university and other anchor institutions, which buy $3 billion of goods and services,which previously had not come from local businesses.

T

he for-profit groups are also changing. There are more than 11,000 companies

owned entirely or in large part by some 13.6 million employees. W.L. Gore, makerof Gore-Tex and many other products has 9000 employee-owners in forty-five locations.Litecontrol makes high-efficiency light fixtures in Massachusetts and is owned by 200employees, fully unionized. Seventh Generation makes dishwashing soap, tissues, papertowels and other household products. It has a policy allowing no one be paid more thanfive times higher than the average employee.

In certain states, companies can register as B Corporations. B stands for benefit andallows the company to work for social and environmental goals as well as profit. Thus

King Arthur Flour, a highly successful Vermont-based, 100 percent employee-ownedcompany, can state that making money in itself is not our highest priority. Four statesnow permit B Corp chartering: Maryland, Vermont, New Jersey and Virginia.

David Korten, board chair of YES! Magazine promotes self-organizing communitiesthat rely almost entirely on local resources, companies that are de-centralized and

work not for growth, but for maintenance.

Such changes will face opposition, as you can easily imagine. But the new-economymovement is here. It taps into peoples moral concerns. It will need all of our moral

support at the grassroots level.

Source: Gar Alperovitz in June 13, 2011 edition of THE NATION.

By Virginia Kirsch

For all the difficul-ties and despite thechallenges facingprogressive politics,there are reasons tothink that new-

economy effortshave the capacity togather momentum astime goes on. Thefirst is obvious: ascitizen uprisingsfrom Tunisia toMadison, Wisconsin,remind us, judg-ments that seriouschange cannot take

place often miss thequiet buildup of po-tentially explosiveunderlying forces ofchange.

--Gar Alperovitz


6/14



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Recall RecipesBy Frances Irwin

Recipe

For

Life

Ingredients:Good Food

FamilyFriends

Laughter

Mix thoroughlyAdd Warmth

Enjoy

Afew days ago I was at a Middle Wisconsin General Assembly and someonementioned that, "There's a reason the Republicans put chocolate chip cookie

recipes on the back of their football game schedules." This triggered one of my fondest memories from my days as a campaign staffer. I was just out of college, new tothe area and completely overwhelmed. I said, "Wait! What?" so often, that some people thought it was my name. Supporters and volunteers took mercy on me. Theystopped in, shared their knowledge, offered encouragement and provided the gift ofgood food.

Sometimes it was a pizza or a sandwich, but more often than not it was home-made. It fuelled me, my colleagues, the candidate, and other volunteers. It never

failed to remind us that what we were doing mattered beyond the walls of our officeIn that moment at the General Assembly, I knew that in addition to collecting signa-tures to recall Gov. Walker, Lt. Gov. Kleefisch, and Sen. Galloway, we can do morethan share a chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Right now, we need LOTS of people to collect signatures and we are so gratefulfor all of those doing what they can to protect the foundation of democracy in

our state. We recognize that many of you will also use your culinary talent to furtherour effort. To that end, I have suggested that we honor those contributions and docu-

ment this moment in history by collecting recipes from those willing to share them.I've had lots of positive feedback and offers to help with the project. And we haveseveral places (like newsletters and emails) where we can use them to help lightenthe mood.

If you are interested in participating in this project, please email your recipe to meat [email protected]. If you don't have email or don't have the time to type you

recipe, drop off a printed copy at either the Recall Headquarters or the MarathonCounty Democratic Party Office. There will be a recipe box in each office startingMonday (11/21/11) for collection of the hard copies. As an example, you'll find myrecipe for Fruit Bars on the following page. The batch I dropped off today for the

staff was made with blueberries. For my next endeavor I'm going to make somethingthat will stick to the bones a little longer, perhaps a nice soup or a nutritious snack.

Ihope you enjoy the recipe and will participate in this endeavor. It would also bewonderful if, in addition to your recipe, you included a few words about why

you're helping the recall effort. For example, I'm volunteering in the recall because Ibelieve that government (like food) is for the many, not the few.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


7/14

2011Middle Wiscon-


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Fruit Bars

Prep: 15 min.

Bake: 30 35 min.

Oven: 350 F

Vegan

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 c. our

1 c. rolled oats

2/3 c. brown sugar t. baking soda

t. ground cloves

t. ground nutmeg

1/8 t. ground ginger

1 t. ground cinnamon

c. vegetable shortening

Filling:

1 2 c. of fruit Any of the following work: apples

(sliced), blueberries, cherries (halved), dates (chopped),

peaches (sliced), rhubarb (chopped).Mix dry ingredients for the crust in a bowl. Cut in the

shortening unl the mixture crumbles. Pat 2/3 of the

mixture into the boom of an 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Spread

the fruit over the crust in an even layer. Use more fruit

for a gooier lling. Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture

over the fruit. Place pan in oven and cook for 30 35

minutes. Cool 10 15 minutes before serving.

Variaon: Fruit crisp. Prepare as above, except halve the

ingredients for the crust, use 2 c. of fruit, and do notplace any crust in the boom of the pan. Serve warm

with ice cream.

Adapted from The Joy of Cooking and Beer Homes

& Gardens CookbookSubmied by: Frances Irwin

Fruit Bars


8/14


This letter was originally sent to The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on Oct. 30, 2011

Dear Editor:

Recently you wrote an opinion piece stating your opposition to the recall process now inplace in Wisconsin. You stated: One legislative vote does not justify a recall election.This recall is not about one legislative vote. It is about many legislative votes that aretruly despicable in my estimation.

1. Act 10--This law had nothing to do with the budget deficit, but everything to do withbreaking the backs of the public sector unions. It was meant to weaken and bust the publicsector voice. It was meant to target a group of hard-working, mostly middle class workers

who are dedicated to their jobs.

2. Act 23--As despicable as Act 10 is, Act 23 is even more egregious. This act targets theelderly, the disabled, the poor, and others and puts up road blocks to voting which is ourmost sacred right. Just today in the Capital Times there was an article about a 101 year oldwoman who had to go through many obstacles to get the Photo/Voter ID. I cannot tell youin strong enough terms what I think about Act 23. I am working with a small group in Hayward, the Sawyer County Voter ID Project, educating the public and eventually assistingpeople to get their Photo/Voter ID. We just began this project and have spent many hoursstudying Act 23. This law puts up many other roadblocks to voting besides needing a photoID. I would suggest you go to the GAB website and print out the 40 page explanation ofthis detestable law. Check out for yourself the barriers put in place to vote.

This governor has said over and over that We are broke, but we still have over$7,000,000 to spend on assuring some people will not be able to vote.This law brings shame to our once proud state.

3. It is difficult to keep up with the power grabs of this governor. I wont even spend thetime listing them because there are so many. As an example: letting Scott Walker decidehow election petitions can be distributed online. And now another bill wants the recall petitions to be notarized - something he voted to eliminate when he was in the legislature.

4. This governor and the Republican led legislature do not play by the rules. The legislaturwrote a law about the need for public meetings to be open to the public. But they chose tobreak the very law they wrote.

This governor and the Republicans wrote a law saying the recall elections will be held us-ing the old district maps. Now they want to change the very law they just wrote because itmight hurt Republicans in the recall elections.

When we hear and see what this administration and the GOP legislators are doing, is it anywonder we dont trust our government. I keep saying to myself, this just cant be happen-ing in my beloved state. Truly, I weep when I think of how Wisconsin has been turned up-

side down.


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Letters

The new progres-sive era will need afresh and gutsy gen-eration of candidates

to seek election vic-tories not throughwealthy campaignfinanciers butthrough free socialmedia. By loweringthe cost of politicalcampaigning, thefree social media can

liberate Washingtonfrom the current stateof endemic corrup-tion.

--Jeffrey Sachs

Continued on next page


9/14


5. The concealed carry law is another example of a horrible law. All we have to do is fol-low the money and the influence of the NRA, to name just one group, to know why thislaw was passed. I am a little old grandmother, and I will NEVER carry a gun. Does thislaw make me safer? Absolutely not! All we have to do is think back to Tucson, Arizona.Did the gun law in Arizona make Christina Greene safer and the others who were killedand wounded? Absolutely not!!!

6. Expanding voucher schools is another contemptible law. Our public schools need all thehelp they can get and this law only weakens them at a time when we should be doing eve-rything in our power to strengthen our public schools to meet the challenges of the future.

The voucher schools cannot prove they do any better than the public schools.

7. Probably the worst thing this governor and the GOP legislators have done since Januaryof this year is to divide the people of Wisconsin and pit neighbor against neighbor, familymember against family member. This governor had an agenda to divide this state callingthe public sector the haves and everyone else the have nots. He must be in the havesgroup because he has been feeding at the trough as an elected official at taxpayers ex-pense for many years.

We were this once proud state of hard-working, mostly middle class and the working poor,caring for our communities, neighbors, those less fortunate, the poor and disadvantaged. Icould write volumes of what this state has stood for, the policies--many of them the first in

the nation--

that were enacted. Now we are known as the battle ground state. We arefighting one another. It just breaks my heart to see this happening in Wisconsin. There areno words to describe the loss I feel.

I could write an entire book about the actions of this present administration and GOP legis-lators as to why I support recalls. I will work the hardest I have ever worked to see thatthere is a change in Madison.

The recall elections will put other governors and legislators on notice that we will not tolerate such a power grab ever again!!! We need the recall process. As I said in the beginningof this letter: The recalls are not about one legislative vote.

I do not expect you to print this letter because of the length. But I want you to know I sup-port the recall elections. I have been guilty of being the silent majority but never again. Iwill raise my voice and use my pen to bring attention to any injustices I see happening. Iwill also use my most sacred right--the vote--(until it too might be further hindered or tak-en away by some power-hungry administration that would want to silence my vote andme).

Joyce Luedke

Hayward, WI


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Letters Continued . . .

It is important to

cover the news. It ismore important touncover the news.

News is what peo-ple want to keep hid-den; everything elseis publicity.

--Bill Moyers

Real news is thenews you and I needto keep our free-doms.

--Richard Reeves


10/14



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The Literary PageHAFIZ AT THE WELL

Poems keep their own counsel.Any agenda i might have doesnt matter.My impatience becomes an obstacle.This is what i put up withwhen i spit out a poem too soon.

The imagination is a well.Inspiration is the bucketthat draws a poem up from the dark.This pen the ladle that allows meto wet my lips with singing.

HAFIZ SPEAKS OF BEAUTY

Beauty eludes me.I see it, i hear it, i taste it,i share in its enthusiasm;but i cannot describe it.

Were i to speak of beautywould i be any betterthan the theologians who professto believe in what they preach?

A seed sleepsin the soil of the moment.An idea crossesfrom silence to silence;

leaving hints, glimpses,echoes, and old ghostsin a conversationi cant quite hear.

The Hafiz poems arefrom THE PARABLESOF KHIDR, the devo-tional series. Hafiz is thename I gave to my fic-

tional dervish wanderinga mythical Middle East.It is also the name of a14th century Islamicpoet/saint. I chose thename in honor of his

memory. -- Tom Neale.

Poems by Tom Neale


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The Literary PageContinued . . .

A WOLF ON THE SLED

By Tom Neale

It is more important to shoot the wolveson the sled, than to take aim at the onesat the treeline.

--Anthony Zinni

The wolf road - the night sky'sMilky trail of glittering lights -yellow eyes glowing in the dark.

Curved teeth gleaming beyond the treeline -

That growling an echo of the poet's singing

raising hackles on the tyrant's neck.

The poet ties greed's baggagearound the tyrant's bodyso it might sink into Satan's ice.

The poet's road throughthe forest of the imaginationis a glimpse, a wisp of smoke.

Snarling at propaganda,

lyric poetrys vertical truthis a wolf on the tyrant's sled.

It is time we thepeople declareour independ-ence from the

money-

favoringWall Street econ-omy. I find hopein the fact thatmillions of peo-ple the worldover are seeingthrough the mor-al and practical

fallacies under-lying the WallStreet economyand are takingcharge of theirown economiclives.

--David Korten


12/14



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A quick stop at the grocery store, an hour of babysitting, a freshly raked yard, apiano lesson...what do all of these have in common? They are all daily tasks thatcan enrich our lives when shared with others...through TIMEBANKING.

What is a Time Bank? I like to describe it this way: the old fashioned barter sys-tem meets Facebook. That is, any service you need, anything you can imagine, canbe bartered with any other member of the Time Bank. I want to learn to play the piano. I know how to crochet.Trouble is, I don't know any piano teachers who want to learn to crochet. A dentist needs her car tuned-up. Amechanic needs speech-therapy for his son. Problem solved...with TimeBank. Now whatever service I perform

for ANY TimeBank member earns me one Time Dollar on my account. I can spend my Time Dollar on anyother service offered by any member of the group, not just the person I performed the service for.

The Community TimeBank started in Portage Co and will expand to other areas including Marathon and Woodcounties as there is enough interest to manage the local aspects of the TimeBank. There is so much to be gainedfrom being a TimeBank member. Besides the service you receive, there is the satisfaction of serving in return,the opportunity to meet neighbors& community members, the potential to develop lasting partnerships, and theplace of belonging within a strong community of service.

Middle Wisconsin members may further appreciate the "counter-cultural" or "revolutionary" potential of Time-Banking. By taking professional and non-professional service to one another outside the traditional economy,

TimeBanking has the potential to transform our interactions from the purely financial into highly personal, satisfying, and nurturing relationships with neighbors, transforming communities into interpersonal webs. Instead ofmoney being filtered through the traditional economy, TimeBanks allows us to put service to one another backinto the hands of the 99%. We are the 99%, and through timebanking, we are working for one another.

Go to commtimebank.orgto learn more.

Time BanksBy Sally Schmidt

Get To Know Your Neighbors . . . . Join the TimeBank

TimeBanks create a way for neighbors to connect, help each other, and gain a greater sense of community.

They provide a structured network to:

Connect people and unmet needs with untapped resources

Provide economic relief through access to alternative resources

Encourage increased community interaction, wherein people help themselves and others

Foster mutual respect for all individuals in a community and bridge gaps between existing barriers

Promote equality, recognizing that all services are necessary to society and equally valuable

A TimeBank is not . . . an agency or a service provider,it is a connected group of community members.
http://commtimebank.org/http://commtimebank.org/http://commtimebank.org/


13/14

By Dave Svetlik


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CHALLENGING THE MYTH... And if all others accepted the lie which the partyimposedif all records told the same talethen the lie passed into history and became the truth.

George Orwell, 1984 (published in 1949

IDEOLOGY IS THE MYTH

Many of us have heard how IBMs Watson computer was victorious over all human challengers whilecompeting in television game shows. Remarkably, this same vast information processing computer

technology is now being used to diagnose medical problems. Few among us would object to having the prag-matic analysis of our medical issues based on the facts, science, and historical record provided by Watson.In fact it is exactly what we want. We are likely to have a better outcome from our treatment. However,

when it comes to running our nation or the world for that matter all of this intelligence, empirical evi-dence, and history is thrown to the wind. Ideologies rule the day, and please dont confuse me with factscould well be our national motto.

Taxing the wealthy kills jobs, runaway government spending, job killing regulations, andsocialism is taking over America are all examples of ideology trumping truth. The longest period of

low unemployment, and the greatest growth of the middle class (from WW2 to the late 1970s), occurred dur-ing a time of high progressive and corporate taxes. Government spending as a percent of GDP remained un-changed from 1970 through 2008. Most legitimate research on environmen-tal, safety, and labor regulations show that the majority of regulations not onlymake us healthier and safer, but result in net gains in employment, technological

advancement, and economic growth. The belief that socialism (the governmenttakeover of the means of production and distribution) is taking over America,has no supporting evidence. In fact just the opposite is occurring. We are cor-poratizing government functions at un- precedented rates. Yet these are the delib-erately perpetrated fallacies guiding America. If we were to base our medicaltreatment on as little fact as we tolerate in the governance of our country, we would all live very short lives.

Herein lays the connection to Watson. We no longer have to tolerate government by ideology, mytholo-gy, and fear mongering. Because of ongoing advancements in computer technology, we are now capa-

ble of operating America and the world for that matter with intelligence and integrity. We can processthe enormous amounts of empirical information necessary to seek optimum outcomes for all of our citizens.We can govern with truth.

The past thirty years have seen a continuous growth of government by ideology. We are attempting to

operate the United States of America in total disregard of the facts. But truth, and the laws of physics

and nature eventually rule. They dont care what we believe and they are the final arbiter of reality. Because

of advanced computer technology, we are now capable of casting aside the destructive, irrational, and self-

serving nonsense currently being passed off as political debate. Aided by the non-political, non-ideological,

pragmatic information processing capabilities of a Watson, we can begin the honest, intelligent decision

making that can rebuild the American dream, and move us toward prosperity for all of the worlds people.


14/14



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Beyond Wisconsin

We the People are now awake and know what Wall Street has done to create thefinancial mess. What can we do locally to build the progressive movement?

1. Organize locally. This is happening right here in Marathon County. The recentmeeting at the Labor Temple of Wausau on Tuesday, November 15, was aboutorganizing and supporting the progressive movement. Plan teach-ins. Planmeaningful action. Creative brainstorming is needed right now. Keep the flameof progressive politics burning!

2. Get non-profits into the picture. Groups such as labor unions and environmentalgroups can pledge a percentage of their resources to support the Occupiers.

3. Organize teach-ins about Wall Streets casino mindset. Teach about the dangers

of too much money concentrated in too few hands. Teach how jobs can becreated and how Wall Street took down our economy.

4. Move your money out of major banks. Support local institutions. Take advantage of this common time, while the public is awake. Burn credit cards!

5. Believe you can make a difference. This new progressive movement is grass-roots. It is up to each of us to make a difference, to talk about it in ourneighborhoods, to provide information by writing letters and going online.Dream big!

Source: Les Leopold, Director of Labor Institute and Public Health Institute,From www.alternet.org

Many otherpowerfulmovements--from late-

nineteenth-

century popu-lism to civilrights to femi-nism and gayrights--werenot predictedby those who

viewed politicsonly throughthe narrowprism of thecurrent mo-ment.

--Gar Alperovitz

HOW TO SUPPORT THE OCCUPIERS

Reported by Virginia Kirsch
http://www.alternet.org/http://www.alternet.org/http://www.alternet.org/

middle wi news - november

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