Citizen Action today, tomorrow, every day

By the way, it's not too late to sign up and attend Saturday's Women's March in Madison!

Great turnout yesterday at Sustainable La Crosse's Alternate Transportation forum. Once again, citizens turned out in force to voice support for a better public transportation system, more and better pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, a better balance in public support (less for parking ramps and more for people's transportation needs), and a plan and commitment from our leaders. The La Crosse Tribune had a very good article summarizing the range of issues and solutions brought up by those who attended. It was interesting to learn that, apparently, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has decided that its main and only concern is road building. It's statements of vision, mission, and values say something quite different. Check it out.

​Mission: Provide leadership in the development and operation of a safe and efficient transportation system.
Vision: Dedicated people creating transportation solutions through innovation and exceptional service.

Last fall several La Crosse activists met with representatives of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, a non-profit member driven activist cooperative that provides communities ways to identify issues and efficiently and effectively organize to work on them. Please read up about their model and consider joining so we can have a La Crosse organization. (Citizen Action will be at Saturday's Womens March, too).

On Monday at 7 p.m. the La Crosse County Democrats will hold their January meeting. If you are like me, you've spent decades of your life working for, donating to, and voting for Democratic candidates without having any input into how the candidates are chosen, what the party priorities are, or who the candidates are. If you are like me, you've found it increasingly difficult to enthusiastically support some of the candidates because they seem to be totally disconnected from, even opposite of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt "common man" party many of us think of when we think of the Democratics.

Some may have split for good with the Democrats after the DNC's behavior this year and the decades of (some say) harmful "third way" policies championed by Bill Clinton that favored corporate donors over the traditional base - workers, women, immigrants, the disenfrancised. Some may have gone over to the Greens or be yearning for a new third party to challenge the corporate-controlled "duopoly" Ralph Nader has warned of. But the Dems already have, thanks to our efforts and donations, a system and infrastructure that can field and support candidates. It might be better to remodel the house than try to build an entirely new one. 

In 1964, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was formed. The Democratic Party had blocked out African Americans and supported racist and segregationist candidates in the south. This new party, which welcomed black and white members, was an attempt to call out the status quo Dems and provide a path for a more diverse membership, platform, and candidate pool. It's a fascinating history and anyone who remembers watching the MFDP try to take seats at the 1964 Democratic Party convention or hearing Fannie Lou Hamer tell the rules committee why things have to change will still feel a tingle in the spine.



Let the consequences of disenfranchsing and ignoring the people be remembered. Let the fortitude, determination, creativity, perseverance, and compassion of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, SNCC, the Freedom Riders and their supporters be a lesson for us now.

If you want to try and make a difference, now's the time to join, renew, or get back involved with the party to help steer its priorities, programs, policies, procedures, and candidates. You can fill in the membership form and bring it with your dues to the meeting on Monday - 7 p.m. at the Ho-Chunk Three Rivers House (corner of 8th and Main). If more people from diverse backgrounds and experiences join and help lead, we can make sure that the national party truly represents the people and their needs and desires going forward. Join and make a difference.

What else? Is your organization hosting an event? Do you have an issue that could be helped by dozens of people calling to support it? What challenges are coming up?

If you'd like to blog here at Coulee Progressives, please email! The more diverse voices, the better.
If you have an event for the calendar, please email!

TOO MUCH ICE! LaX Dem mtg & MLK Jr event postponed

Due to inclement weather, classes today, Jan. 16 are cancelled as of 6 p.m. The MLK Celebration is rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. 

and 

Save Our Healthcare Rally

Dr. Bob Freeland addresses the crowd. Photo: Maureen F.

About 150 people turned out in the nice sunny January weather to show their support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA or "Obamacare"),  Medicare and Medicaid, and Planned Parenthood. This rally was one of hundreds around the country. A great group of healthcare professionals and providers spoke about how the changes proposed by House speaker Paul Ryan and the GOP would make healthcare worse for millions in America. A petition to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) opposing the repeal of Obama-care, cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, and the defunding Planned Parenthood was signed by nearly everyone.(If you weren't able to attend today's rally, please contact the speaker on your own and  sign this CREDO petition.)

JD Wine, 2017 co-chair of the La Crosse County Democratic Party, introduced the speakers  including

Jill Billings, Wisconsin State Assembly Representative (D-95th District) who talked about how Scott Walker's refusal to accept federal Medicaid expansion dollars cost Wisconsin taxpayers millions of dollars and made it harder for those who needed it to secure affordable health insurance;

Robin Yaffe Tschumper, who has taught at the University level, was a consultant for nursing homes and ran a non-profit program for domestic abuse. She talked about her difficulties obtaining insurance in a high risk pool after having a stroke. She also spoke of the difficulties her coworkers and clients had in obtaining healthcare before the Affordable Care Act.

Beth Hartung, former director of Options Health Clinic (now Essential Health) and former president of the Wisconsin Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association talked about how Planned Parenthood and other reproductive care clinics have been literal life-savers for low income men and women around the state. Hartung noted that if Republicans are successful in defunding Planned Parenthood, 50% of Wisconsin counties will lose their only family planning providers.

Dr. Robert Freedland, who is a La Crosse physician. He talked about how Republican plans (such as they are) for health care are unaffordable and unsupportable.

Maureen Freedland, who read a moving testimonial from local author, Susan Hessel.* Susan is battling serious cancer. In the wheel of insurance misfortune, Susan ended up with an inadequate HDHP (High Deductible Health Plan) when her cancer roared back. This insurance, the model for what Republicans plan for us all, has paid hardly anything of tens of thousands of dollars in medical costs. She is so grateful to have been able to get a plan this year through the health care exchange and she hopes that Medicare is still available when she is eligible for it later this year.

Robin Transo helped organize and is the Executive Director of a free clinic for low income people in Grant and Crawford County. She talked about how the Affordable Care Act made it possible for so many of here clinic’s clients to have insurance for the first time in their lives.

Dr. Ralph Knudson, a retired family doc who has practiced in Iowa and Wisconsin and volunteers at the St. Clare Health clinic. He told about how lack of health insurance strains families, how Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA moved people from despair to hope. Knudson urged everyone attending to contact their elected officials and not letting up. He also recommended the Indivisible Handbook, an online guide put together by former Congressional staffers to help citizens sway lawmakers.

[* How bad is America's healthcare system? In trying to find Susan Hessel's GoFundMe page (because TENS of thousands in medical costs not paid by the high deductible (read "worthless") health plan), I came upon a vast directory of GoFundMe cancer pages for Sues and Susans all around the country. Try it. It will make you sick.]

The rally was well covered in the local media. The La Crosse Tribune's Mike Tighe had a great, thorough report. In fact, the Tribune's Saturday edition included a very good fact check pushing back against lies Republicans have been telling about the Affordable Care Act and other social health care programs.

Channel 8 (WKBT) news had a good report on the rally as did WXOW-TV19. Rallies around the country included hundreds of thousands, including many Trump voters who wanted a BETTER health plan not NO healthcare at all.

Next step? Call Speaker Ryan every day (202 225-0600). Call healthcare foe, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson every day (202 224-5323 (DC) or 414 276-7284 (Milwaukee)). Demand that they keep Trump's promise not to cut Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Demand that they not end the ACA unless and until they have in place a system that will provide better coverage for more citizens. No vouchers. No high deductible plans. Demand that they not defund Planned Parenthood which is the only care provider available to so many citizens.

Mark adds: Here is something concrete folks can do today - contact each and every one of the 13 quisling "Democratic" senators who abandoned us to align with the Republicans and Big Pharma to defeat Bernie Sander's bill and make sure you, your family, neighbors and the rest of working America will pay artificially high prices for medications.

Spread the word about this rally. Encourage others to get involved - writing letters to the editor, calling elected officials, joining local or national groups. (Beware FAKE - astroturf - groups that do just the opposite of what you might think they do!)

Participatory Budgeting

 

    Real Money, Real Power: Participatory Budgeting

In 2016 and 2017, La Crosse has allocated $1.5 million dollars - $750K each year - to infrastructure projects decided by selected neighborhood associations and their residents. There is no more money allocated for neighborhood improvement projects beyond 2017, which is also an election year for all Common Council districts and the Mayorship. In order to keep this valuable program, it is important for residents to speak up before March 15th, when project requests are due to the City Finance Department.

This is a valuable process that has the potential to engage more people in democratic process, and  The Participatory Budgeting Project there are other examples of Cities running similar programs.  These examples could help show the value of La Crosse's existing program and potentially show ways to refine and expand it. For more information, check out the video above and the following documents:

• PB toolkit
• PB info sheet
• Sample ballot
• “Putting In Their 2 Cents” New York Times, March 2012

If you are a La Crosse city resident, you may consider writing to the Mayor or your Councilmember to make sure participatory budgeting is included in the 2018-2022 Capital Improvement Program. While the Common Council approves the CIP in November, staff begins working on it as early as January. Contact for your Councilmember can be found here, but if you don't know your district, here's the map which will change to this after the 2017 election. Note: the big red-outlined numbers are the district.

Sample Social Media Posts

Twitter: Will [official’s Twitter handle] support #ParticipatoryBudgeting to bring real democracy to the community? @PBProject https://vimeo.com/162743651

Facebook: Hi [official’s name], will you support participatory budgeting, to bring real democracy to the community? See this video to learn more:https://vimeo.com/16274365 

Sample Email

You can copy and paste the sample email below to introduce PB to your local elected officials and to schedule a meeting. For more guidance on how to organize for PB, read our Organizing Toolkit.

------

Dear [your official’s name],

As stakeholder in [your community], I join my neighbors in urging you to support a participatory budgeting(PB) process. PB is a democratic process in which community members decide how to spend part of a public budget. The White House recently lifted up PB as a best practice in open government.

Elected officials in cities across the nation have been inviting their constituents to join them in making meaningful decisions around public budgets as a way to improve their communities. I ask for your support in bringing PB to [your community]. It would be an innovative and effective way of directly including me and my neighbors in local budget making.

Please consider including PB in the 2018-2022 Capital Improvement Program. The $750,000 budgeted in 2016 and 2017 for neighborhoods to decide which infrastructure funding is most important to them was a great way to get residents engaged in improving the city.

Can we schedule a meeting so we can discuss how to bring this transformative process to our community?.

Sincerely,

[your name]

Our Revolution Coming to La Crosse

Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign launched a political revolution, and now it’s up to all of us to continue it in Wisconsin.

Our Revolution is helping to carry out the legacy of Bernie's campaign, but the only way we'll do that is if we do it together. Bernie has always said that change happens from the bottom up. That's why we are committed to organizing at the state and local level here in Wisconsin.

We're launching "Our Wisconsin Revolution" by kicking off a series of organizing meetings across the state during the next several weeks. There's an event happening near you — will you come out to one of these important meetings to hear what's next for our movement?

Organizing Meeting in La Crosse
Southside Neighborhood Center
Saturday, February 4ᵗʰ at 3:00 pm CST
1300 S 6th St
La Crosse, WI 54601

RSVP TO ATTEND »

Here’s the plan:

• Hold regional meetings all across Wisconsin to engage people who want to build the political revolution – putting forward the vision, hearing what people have to say to strengthen our approach, and to develop our program.
• Build local chapters and hold a founding convening in early spring to formally launch Our Wisconsin Revolution.

We can build the political revolution and take power back from the establishment and the billionaire class. Fundamental change starts from the grassroots — that means all of us.

Build a powerful organization, Our Wisconsin Revolution. Elect our own to office and fight for Bernie’s agenda at the local, state and federal levels. Wisconsin deserves a grassroots group created by the people, for the people. Join now and commit for the long haul.