Uppity Wisconsin

Conservatives who subscribed last year to the osmosis theory of church and state -- the one that said public officials were responsible for and agreed with everything their pastors say and do, unless they specifically condemn or disavow it -- will be surprised to discover the liberal views of Scott Walker, Republican candidate for governor.

The Heartland Hollar blog features a remarkable video of Walker's pastor, the Rev. Jamie Washam, who -- unlike Walker --- opposed the state's ban on gay marriages.   [UPDATE: Walker now says he attends a different church, although Rev. Washam's church was listed in his campaign biography in 2005, the year she was marching against the Iraq war (above.)  More at end of this post.]

She also -- unlike Walker-- supports women's reproductive rights, and -- unlike You-Know-Who -- was an early, vocal opponent of the war in Iraq. The photo above shows her marching with Clergy and Laity Concerned in Washington in 2005, when US combat deaths totaled about 1,500.

In response to the recent Gaza War, a fundraising page was set up on ActBlue.com in order to contribute to elected officials who have been supportive of the peoples of Israel and Palestine. The page is called A Dream of Peace: Justice and Equality for The People of Israel and Palestine, and can be found here .

The mission of the page states "All of the people of the Holy Land need to live in peace and security. We need to support and elect candidates that are willing to stand up for the rights of the citizens of Israel and Palestine. These candidates support measures to stop violence, increase economic and humanitarian aid, actively engage in negotiation, and promote co-existence among these two Peoples."

On January 28th, Rep. John Olver (MA-01) sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton requesting that the State Department release funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for reconstuction and humanitarian assistance in Gaza. The letter was signed by a total of 63 Democratic House members, including two members of the Wisconsin Delegation.

GoodSearch is a very cool way to direct money to your favorite non-profit organization every time you use it for a search.

Nothing negative against Google, but friends in Milwaukee this weekend showed me how GoodSearch works (a search engine just like Google) with the notable feature that a chosen non-profit gets money every time you do a search.

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Six months ago, I was confidently telling people that if the Democrats couldn't win the presidency in 2008, we should just disband the party.

Lately, I have started hedging my bets.  

And an hour with the front section of Sunday's New York Times was enough to make me think that we are headed for another heartbreaking and unnecessary loss.

What did we learn today from the "liberal media?"

1. Violence is on the decline in Iraq.

    2. One brigade of US troops has started to pull out.

    3. The troop surge has not produced the political progress that was promised, so the Bush administration is simply downsizing its goals, to make it look like progress.

     4.  The Democratic presidential candidates appear ready to soften their stances, or at least their language, on Iraq and change the subject to domestic issues.

Here we go again.  

We will be fooled again, it would appear.

OK, that headline is only true in my dreams.

But on a per capita basis, the equivalent happened on Iraq Moratorium  #3 last Friday in Hayward, Wisconsin.

Hayward, a city of 2,129 in northwestern Wisconsin, is better know as the Musky Capital of the World than as a center of antiwar activism.

But 40 people turned out for a vigil to call for an ending the war and bringing our troops home.

If Milwaukeeans had turned out in equal numbers, as a percentage of the population, there would have been 12,000 at our downtown rush hour vigil Friday night. Instead, there were perhaps 100 at most.

In New York City, there would have been 160,000 in the streets.  In Houston, 42,000.   In  San Jose, 18,000. And that’s without including any suburban populations.

This inspiring photo, which graces the Iraq Moratorium website, is not from Hayward, but from Sewanee, Tennessee, with a population of 2,335.

On Friday, Iraq Moratorium #3, will be observed in hundreds of events across the country. At least 10 actions to call for an end to the war are planned in Wisconsin, although not all are listed on the national website.

If you can't attend one of these, or public protest isn't your thing, consider taking some individual action, even if it's only wearing a button or putting a sign in your window. Doing something beats doing nothing.

Events:

HAYWARD: 4 to 5 p.m., Weekly Vigil for Peace, intersection of Highways 27 and 63. Sponsored by Peace North.

JEFFERSON: Peace Vigil, 5 to 6 p.m., Rts. 26 & 18, downtown, sponsored by Rock River Peace Group. Bring your black armbands.

WAUSAU: 3:30 to 5 p.m., Weekly Walk and Picket for Peace, in the triangle across from the County Courthouse at the confluence of Grand Ave., Forest St. and 6th St., sponsored by Northwoods Peace Fellowship.

STEVENS POINT: 3:30 p.m., weekly demonstration,downtown, by the Shopko parking lot, sponsored by Concerned Citizens of Stevens Point.

WOODRUFF: Noon to 1 p.m., Weekly Prayer Vigil for Peace, Holy Family Church.

A U.S. team of world-class bridge players, tired of being asked to defend their country's indefensible actions,disavowed George W. Bush's policies -- and risked their livelihood. All sorts of penalties are being threatened.

All they did was hold up a handmade sign saying, "We did not vote for Bush."  But they did it at a public event in China.

In the polite, refined world of duplicate bridge, it rivals the black power salute of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

Bridge players protest. In Pakistan, it's the lawyers. Can you imagine that here?

Anyway, it's a sneaky way to lead to the question: If they can do that, what are we going to do Friday, Iraq Moratorium Day #3?

Organizers ask people to do something -- anything -- to call for an end to the war in Iraq. It's a largely unstructured, grassroots event, designed to continue to grow, expand and escalate.

It recognizes that it's going to be a long haul to stop the war, and is digging in for a prolonged effort. It happens on the third Friday of every month.

Sunday's Journal Sentinel carried this op ed column. Unfortunately, they edited out the website link, so here it is: IraqMoratorium.org

How to take a stand against the Iraq war

As we march inexorably toward the sixth year of the Iraq war with no end in sight, the country's antiwar movement is asking itself: What will it take to end this war?