TonyPalmeri.Com Update For June 25, 2004
1. Peace Rally Saturday--From Bob Poeschl:
The Winnebago Peace and Justice Center has organized a major peace rally for Saturday, June 26th at 2 p.m. The state gathering will take place at Opera House Square Park (Peace Park) downtown Oshkosh.
The rally is part of a national day of peace action, organized through United for Peace and Justice. The nationwide movement will call for a true plan for peace in lieu of the June 30th transfer of power in Iraq.
The event will host Iraqi Freedom veteran and folk musician Jason Moon, as well as many featured speakers including Omro Priest Joe Mattern, 6th Congressional District Green Party candidate Carol Rittenhouse, 54th Assembly district Green Party candidate Tony Palmeri, UW Oshkosh professor Dr. Alfred Kisubi and others.
For more information, contact Bob Poeschl at (920) 203-6966 or email carpepax@riseup.net
2. July 10 Event Shaping Up: The Time For Tony Palmeri for Assembly campaign will have a rally at the Algoma Room (upstairs from the Water City Grill) on Saturday, July 10th. The event begins with a social hour from 5 - 6 p.m., followed by music and speakers. Speakers lined up so far include Amy Heart of Stevens Point, former Green Party candidate for Mayor and state assembly; Kay Springstroh, Queer on the Water (QH20) activist; Johnny Romano, local comedian (and Chicago Italian). We'll also have folk singing performed by Steve and Vivian Hazell, Karen Harvey, and possibly Jason Moon. A splendid time is guaranteed for all. If you are in the Fox Valley, please do attend this event.
3. Breakdown of Democracy in America: Business Week, of all places, this month includes six excellent stories on the breakdown of Democracy in America. If you're not already convinced that we need a thriving, no-nonsense Green electoral movement in America, these articles will probably help move you in that direction: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/toc/04_24/B38870424vote.htm
4. Doyle Worse Than Tommy on $$$--From Jay Heck of Common Cause/Wisconsin:
CONTACT: Jay Heck - 608/256-2686 RELEASE: Thursday, June 24, 2005
DOYLE HOLDS THREE FUND-RAISERS THIS WEEK--29 MONTHS PRIOR TO HIS RE-ELECTION
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle likely raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for his re-election this week at three fundraising events with 29 months before he next faces the voters of Wisconsin in November of 2006. The Governor, who pledged to clean up the corruption in the Capitol in the wake of the campaign fund raising scandal that brought down Brian Burke, Chuck Chvala, Scott Jensen, Steve Foti and Bonnie Ladwig in 2002, has reneged on that pledge and instead, is raising campaign cash at a pace that rivals, if not exceeds the money grabbing pace set by Wisconsin's all-time fund raising champion--former Governor Tommy G. Thompson.
Doyle, who has not expended an ounce of political capital or energy into making comprehensive campaign finance reform a reality in Wisconsin since taking office eighteen months ago, has expended a tremendous amount of energy to raise money for his 2006 campaign. His week began with a $1000 a head golfing tournament this past Monday at University Ridge Golf Club in Verona. Who, other than influential lobbyists and wealthy pals of the Governor can afford those steep green fees?
Then, yesterday, Doyle managed to hold two fund raisers at the same time several thousand miles apart! The Governor himself attended a $500 a head soiree (with lawyer types) in BOCA RATON, FLORIDA while the First Lady, Jessica Doyle pinch hit for the Governor at a cafe in Milwaukee that charged at different levels. For $500 you could be a "gold" sponsor, for $250 a "silver" sponsor and for just $100 a "friend." No doubt the Doyle campaign was hoping there would be fewer friends and more gold and silver. And what was the Governor doing in Florida (with former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno as his special guest) raising thousands from attorneys?
Here's a suggestion: the next time you receive an invitation to attend a fundraising event from the Governor or from any member of the Wisconsin Legislature--just tell then to forget it until they come back into session to consider, pass and enact bipartisan comprehensive campaign finance reform. They could do it tomorrow--the framework has already been set up and it is ready for final negotiations and consideration. Most of the heavy lifting was already done earlier this year by the Wisconsin Legislature's leading campaign finance reform advocate, Sen. Mike Ellis of Neenah with the assistance and support of CC/WI. There are many who want reform to fail but you can make it happen.
Call Governor Doyle at 608/266-1212 and your State Senator and your State Representative toll-free on the legislative "hot-line" at 1-800-362-9472 and demand that they meet in special or extraordinary session on comprehensive campaign finance reform this Summer. And don't contribute to anyone's campaign until they do.
Here are the details about the three Doyle fundraising events that you are no doubt kicking yourself now for having missed:
Monday: June 21, 2004 at 1:30 pm: Governor Jim Doyle's Second Annual Golf Outing, University Ridge Golf Course, 9002 County Rd PD, Verona. 1:30 pm: Shotgun start - scramble format. Grill-out reception to follow. $1000 per person. Payable to Doyle for Wisconsin, 222 W. Washington Ave, Madison, WI, 53703. Call Kelly or Jill to RSVP at (608) 250-5083.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004: 5-6:30 pm: Fundraiser for Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, Reller Rudman PLLC, 197 S. Federal Highway, Suite 200, Boca Raton, Florida. Special guest: Janet Reno. $500 per person. RSVP by June 10. Call Paul Geller or Jonathan Stein for details (561) 750-3000.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004: 5:30-7 pm: Doyle for Wisconsin, (First Lady Jessica Doyle and Attorney Catey Doyle), Bean Head Cafe, 1835 North MLK Jr Dr, Milwaukee. Gold sponsor: $500. Silver sponsor: $250. Friend $100. Payable to Doyle for Wisconsin. No corporate checks. RSVP by June 18 to Kelly at (608) 250-5083 or e-mail Kelly@JimDoyle.org.
We'd be remiss if we didn't also mention another fundraising event held in Madison yesterday for former Republican Speaker of the Assembly Scott Jensen, the only one of the five legislators charged in the Legislative Caucus Scandal who is seeking re-election this year. Jensen held an event at the Madison Club in Madison (Jensen represents Waukesha County, not Dane County) but he was looking for special interest campaign cash which is in no short supply in Madison. What struck us was the name of his campaign committee: "Taxpayers for Jensen." Ironically appropriate name when you consider taxpayers unwillingly forked over approximately $200,000 to pay for Jensen's legal bills when he was still Speaker and fighting the caucus investigation prior to being charged with three felonies for improper fundraising and misconduct in October of 2002. As Yogi Berra said: "It's Deja Vu all over again."
Here are the details on the Jensen event that you have already missed and cannot now attend:
Wednesday, June 23, 2004: 5-7 pm: Reception for State Rep. Scott Jensen, Lake Dining Room, The Madison Club, 5 E. Wilson St, Madison. PAC and conduit donations gratefully accepted. Payable to: Taxpayers for Jensen, 850 S. Springdale Rd, Waukesha, WI, 53186.
5. Union Leader: Doyle getting ready to "decimate" state workers: More evidence as to why we need something other than Republicans and Democrats in Madison http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=18676
We have 132 members of the legislature, and yet literally all the power is in the hands of three people: Democrat Doyle, Republican assembly leader John Gard, and Republican Senate leader Mary Panzer. So we have essentially 130 worthless legislators, who may not be able to get anything done on behalf of the citizens, but they are good at rigging the electoral process so that most do not even have challengers this year: http://www.madison.com/wisconsinstatejournal/local/76329.php Amy Rinard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently wrote about this shamefully sorrowful sham full-time professional legislature (the only problem with her essay is that it minimizes just how bad the problem really is): http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/jun04/237094.asp
The Wisconsin State Journal states the bottom line: the governor and the legislature now collude to put off tough decisions http://www.madison.com/wisconsinstatejournal/opinion/76744.php
And in an op-ed, Jay Heck writes that "Doyle,
Gard and Panzer have left in place compromised campaign finance laws that favor
a few, wealthy special-interest groups at the expense of the rest of us and
which have added to the persistent and debilitating state budget deficits which,
as of last week, are now greater than was previously thought to be the case."
6. The myth of Wisconsin's tax hell for big business: "Wisconsin
ranks 47th in business taxes as a share of total state and local taxes, according
to 2000 national data from the Ernst & Young Accounting firm." More:
http://www.madison.com/captimes/news/stories/76951.php
7. Nichols, Garvey on Democracy Now: The Cap Tmes' John Nichols and FightingBob.Com's Ed Garvey appeared recently on Amy Goodman's great Democracy Now! program. Nichols actually says on the program (you can get the streaming video on the site linked below) that "Wisconsin would not be a battleground state in the 2004 presidential election if the Democrats actually stood for something." http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/06/18/1413201
8. Dems sue to keep Nader off ballot: One way of telling if an establishment party stands for something is by judging how it treats minor party candidates and independents. If the party stands for something, then the party has confidence that in open debate, anyone thinking of voting for the minor party candidate or independent will "see the light" and vote for the establishment party. If the establishment party stands for nothing, then it forsakes debate and instead tries to sue to keep the independents off the ballot, as is happening in Arizona: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A626-2004Jun23.html What a disgrace, and what a powerful symbol of how sick our democracy really is. The irony is that in the same paper we learn that Nancy Pelosi is complaining about the Democrats in Congress getting poor treatment at the hands of the Republican majority: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A680-2004Jun23.html
9. Two reviews of Fahrenheit 9/11: Roger Ebert gives it ***1/2 stars. http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/cst-ftr-moore24f.html The best negative review I've seen is by Chris Hitchens, who is still one of my favorite writers even though his politics have shifted in a direction I am not comfortable with. He calls Moore's film a "sinister exercise in moral frivolity, crudely disguised as an exercise in seriousness" (if I didn't know better I'd think he was talking about Wisconsin's budget deliberations!). Here's the full review: http://slate.msn.com/id/2102723/
10. Ms. Madison has the right platform!: Every year the Miss Wisconsin pageant is held in Oshkosh. Even though Ms. Oshkosh, Jenna Poeschl, has the same name as our great Peace Activist Leader Bob Poeschl, I'm throwing my support behind Ms. Madison Molly McGrath. Why? Her platform is . . . VOTING! (:-). Here are the contestants: http://www.misswisconsin.com/reps2004.htm