Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Busy, busy, busy

It's been almost a month since the last post. Lots of stuff has happened, is happening and will happen, but illness, work, family, farm and other life goings on have been overwhelming lately! It would be great if a few others would volunteer to post once a week or so, but I know my busy life is nothing compared to some others'!

So, this is a brief update - what's coming up immediately - and I hope to update the whole site this weekend and get on a better update schedule (but, I'm on dial up and it takes time!)

Friday is UN Day - to celebrate, Dr. Keith Knutson, Viterbo history professor, will speak on "How Can the US Regain its Leadership Role Regarding International Human Rights?" The setting will be Viterbo University's Reinhart Center Board Room, at 12:00 noon.

Friday at 6 p.m. at Valhala, UW-L Cartwright Center is a free musical kickoff to the final days of the campaign. Don't miss ROCK FOR BARACK featuring some of the great bands of our area (sponsored by UW-L Dems)

Sunday, October 26, plan to attend the Affordable Health Care for All Rally, sponsored by AMOS from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. at the English Lutheran Church, 1509 King Street.

On Thursday, October 30, the Clean Energy Coalition will have their monthly meeting at 7 p.m. at the Ho-Chunk Three Rivers House (8th and Main). This month's program will be "Harnessing Wind Energy in the Midwest," or "A T. Boone Pickens Plan for the Midwest," or "How will the Midwest Wean itself of Coal-produced Electricity?" Howard Kruger, of Ecoenergy (headquartered in Elgin, IL), will explain the projected construction of 195 to 200 wind turbines, producing 500 megawatts of energy, between Olmstead, Wabasha, and Winona Counties. Those attending will also receive a basic introduction to power lines: what currently exists and what would be needed to carry wind-produced electricity in western MN and SD to the power-hungry population centers along the Great Lakes. (Consider the October meeting a preparation for a debate about the CapX 2020 powerlines project, which will be the topic for the CEC forum on Thursday, Nov. 20.) For questions, contact billkatra@hotmail.com.

Volunteers are desperately needed in the last few days before the election. We cannot let up now. Did you know Wisconsin is listed as one of the states where real voter problems could be a major factor in the election? Check out this Salon.com voter suppression guide or read the entire Pew report or read Block the Vote in Rolling Stone mag or watch Prof. Mark Crispin Miller discuss his book, Loser Take All - Election Fraud and the Subversion of Democracy. We need to make sure people get out to vote if they haven't done so already and we need to be alert to possible problems (yes, even in quiet little western Wisconsin!) Call (608 785-5866) or sign up on the web site. Vols especially needed from November 1 through the 4th (make election day your own personal holiday and spend it helping the right people get elected!)

By the way, with the sad demise of cursor.org, I've been shopping around for a new go-to web site. While not as humorous or immediate, truthdig.com has great writers and important news. I highly recommend a visit there. Some of their recent postings include a great piece by Chris Hedges: The Idiots Who Rule America, A Week in Real America by Bob Boyarski and Going Poll Crazy (trying to make sense of election polls).

Updates to numbers, headlines and more coming this weekend. In the meantime, if you'd like to help keep this site up to date, please email Cathy.

[And, totally unrelated to anything above (except maybe the ELECTION) is this dire warning from the ACLU!]