Progresstival Feb 29

LEAP INTO ACTION!

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2020
1 to 5:30 p.m.
CONCORDIA BALLROOM

Please download and share the flyers! This one for printing and posting.

 This one for online sharing.

SIGN UP FOR YOUR TABLE
at this LINK! 


SCHEDULE

12:30 p.m.	Set up for tablers	(Not open to public)
1:00	Doors Open - Activist Fair	(Donations at door!)
1:30	Concurrent Workshops	(see below)
4:20	Welcome & Introductions	(Tabling ends)
4:30	Speaker	Elizabeth Ward, Exec. Dir., John Muir Chapter, Sierra Club
5:15	Closing
5:30	Clean Up

  OUR FOCUS THIS YEAR IS ON ACTIVISM! GETTING MORE ACTIVE, HELPING OTHERS GET ACTIVE, MAKING OUR ACTIVISM COUNT!
CONFIRMED GROUPS   7 Rivers Community High School Cia Siab, Inc. Citizen Action of Wisconsin Citizens' Climate Lobby Coulee Collaborative to End Homelessness Coulee Region Sierra Club Coulee DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) Democratic Party of Wisconsin Driftless Voter Coalition Human Rights Commission  La Crosse Area Transit Advocates La Crosse County Democratic Party La Crosse for Bernie Sanders La Crosse Interfaith Shoulder to Shoulder Network Next Gen Wisconsin Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of La Crosse  Wisconsin Conservation Voters Wisconsin Resources Protection Council    WORKSHOPS
Organizing for Action  Ben Wilson, Citizen Action of Wisconsin   Voter Registration - Making Sure Everyone Can Vote   Open Pit Mine on the Menominee River -an introduction and activist guide  Al Gedicks, Wisconsin Resources Protection Council
Your Story is Your Superpower: How to use your story for change  Marie Lindberg, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin

SPEAKER

Elizabeth Ward Executive Director, John Muir Chapter, Sierra Club

2/23: La Crosse Berners Meet & Greet

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23

11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m at The Root Note

Ron Kind Listening Session Wednesday

There will be a Ron Kind listening session on Wednesday, February 19 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in room 401 Integrated Technology Center, Western Technical College, La Crosse.

Given that two big studies in the last two months have confirmed that a single-payer health care system like Medicare for All would save Americans' money and lives, we might like to ask Ron Kind to sign on to HR 1384, the 2019 Medicare for All Act, which currently has 118 co-sponsors.

Studies are here:
* The Lancet study just released
* Urban Institute metastudy from January

There are other good issues as well like Green New Deal. Under a Green New Deal pathway, for example, workers losing jobs because the Genoa coal plant will be closing, would receive training and assistance to find new jobs in the clean energy sector. Despite a year's worth of begging Kind to co-sponsor the Green New Deal, we have not moved Kind to support this important first step.

Take this opportunity to keep up the pressure on important issues.

And, as a friend has reminded, please also express support for Hmong and southeast Asian families who may now be under threat of deportation by the Trump administration.

Advance notice: Wisconsin Grassroots Network March 21

VOTE

The Wisconsin Supreme Court primary is on Tuesday, February 18. We will choose two candidates for Wisconsin Supreme Court to move on to the April 7 election. The three candidates are Jill Karofsky, a Dane County judge; Ed Fallone, a Marquette University law professor; and Daniel Kelly, a friend of Scott Walker who recently got a "shout out" from Donald Trump. 

Currently, conservatives, including Kelly, have five of seven Wisconsin Supreme Court seats. Voting in this election is incredibly important. A Supreme Court Justice's term is 10 years. Environmental, voting, energy, justice, and citizen rights are in the hands of the court. We must use this election to turn the balance. If we can move the needle to 4-3 this year, in 2023 we will have a chance to get back the court majority.

Are you registered to vote? Look yourself up at myvote.wi.gov. Do you need to register or update your registration? You may do that in your municipal clerk's office or at your voting place on February 18. If you need to register or update, be sure to have the correct proof of residence.

If you are a La Crosse resident, you may vote "absentee in person" Monday through Friday, February 10 through 14, from 8:30 to 5:00 p.m. in the City Clerk's office in City Hall. If you live elsewhere, ask your clerk. When you go to vote, make sure to take your ID. 

(By the way, a recent blog post by the ACLU, Block the Vote, lists many ways voters are being disenfrancised by draconian voter ID requirements. Wisconsin is one of the worst.)

The primary is Tuesday, February 18. Make a plan now and plan to vote either this week, absentee in person, or on election day. Wisconsin statute 6.76 grants time off for voting.  

6.76  Time off for voting.

1)  Any person entitled to vote at an election is entitled to be absent from work while the polls are open for a period not to exceed 3 successive hours to vote. The elector shall notify the affected employer before election day of the intended absence. The employer may designate the time of day for the absence.

(2) No penalty, other than a deduction for time lost, may be imposed upon an elector by his or her employer by reason of the absence authorized by this section.

(3) This section applies to all employers including the state and all political subdivisions of the state and their employees, but does not affect the employees' right to holidays existing on June 28. 1945, or established after that date.

Cash Bail and Criminal Justice Reform

On February 12th, the La Crosse Public Library will host a program with La Crosse District Attorney Tim Gruenke, Justice Support Services Manager Mandy Bisek, and Judge Elliot Levine on cash bail and the criminal justice system at 800 Main street in the basement auditorium. This program will be an overview of the cash bail system and its unjust components, and a discussion of how we can reform this system. In light of the recent regressive bills proposed by our state government, now is the time to get involved building a rehabilitative system that can move our community in the right direction. Come learn about criminal justice and have your questions ready for these public servants!

La Crosse Dems has a new HQ