Uppity Wisconsin

Wisconsin is home to a multitude of outstanding citizens who have fought for the very fabric of our democratic government against a radicalized Republican Party that has become home to a faction of corrupt, militaristic reactionaries. Here are a few who have fought for freedom and the rule of law:
 
Russ Feingold – Feingold’s dedicated work for the preservation of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights have won him the respect of citizens the world over.
 
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin – In the face of the war on women’s reproductive rights, Planned Parenthood has stood fast in their service to women, and won a landmark legislative achievement for women protecting their right to health care.
 
Attorney Lester Pines and every organization who successfully fought our corrupt Attorney General in the Van Hollen v. WI GAB Voter Suppression Case.
 
Navy veteran Keith Roberts — An innocent victim of the U.S. Dept of Justice and U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs (VA), Roberts continues his court battles that have made it greatly more difficult for the VA to actually jail our veterans for receiving benefits to which they are entitled.
 

The Proletariat site contends "It seems to me Roe v. Wade will be a lot safer in a McCain than an Obama presidency," promoting Ralph Nader's appearance in Madison tonight.

Is this guy kidding?

From John McCain's site on women's choice:

Human Dignity and the Sanctity of Life Overturning Roe v. Wade John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench. Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states.However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion.

I have voted for Nader for president before, but I swear some of these pro-Nader people are as deluded and oblivious to facts as the religious right.

The phantom southside Milwaukee candidate for state assembly, José Guzmán, is at last revealing himself contending with his recruitment by the political operative, Tom Reynolds, the notorious former state senator known for his anti-Catholic views and often bizarre political behavior.

After weeks of silence, Guzmán is meeting criticism of his campaign by finally speaking to the press, and accusing one of his opponents, incumbent Democratic State Rep. Pedro Colón (Eighth Assembly District, Milwaukee), of being "anti-catholic" for his vote for the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims bill, signed into law by Gov. Doyle in March.

Guzmán criticized Colón for his vote, saying Colón voted for "anti-Catholic legislation ... against the people of the 8th Assembly District." [See Guzmán literature below.]

via mal contends - Pro-Life Wisconsin announced their candidate endorsements via its Pro-Life Wisconsin Victory Fund political action committee this week.

Five of the six candidates being run by Tom Reynolds' Clean Sweep Wisconsin (CSW) in the Milwaukee-area Democratic primaries are recipients of the "Pro-Life" endorsements, even though the five candidates themselves have not voiced the extreme anti-abortion and other controversial views of CSW's treasurer and mastermind.

The Pro-Life Wisconsin endorsement corroborates the conventional political wisdom that Tom Reynolds' Clean Sweep Wisconsin is running rightwingers in the Democratic primaries, further eroding his already nearly nonexistent credibility.

via mal contends - A woman's right to choose is dead if John McCain is elected president.

But the Bush administration is fighting to inflict as much damage as possible on women prior to that sickening possibility of choice disappearing, including decreasing the availability of contraception.

From today's Washington Post:

The Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing a draft regulation that would deny federal funding to any hospital, clinic, health plan or other entity that does not accommodate employees who want to opt out of participating in care that runs counter to their personal convictions, including providing birth-control pills, IUDs and the Plan B emergency contraceptive.

Update: Voices too often missing in op-ed land: women's

via mal contends - One of my favorite political sites is WiscOpinion.

But take a look at WiscOpinion and you see a disturbing trend, echoed across the state: Few women writers expressing their political views in blogs.

It's not sexism by WiscOpinion or any other site, it's a lack of women expressing their voices.

Consider another of my favorite sites: Uppity Wisconsin.

I know women writers here, but they write under a pseudomyn, safety being an obvious concern.

There are notable exceptions:

- Milwaukee Rising