Uppity Wisconsin

No Longer a Monster from Displaced Films on Vimeo.

Veterans testifying at Winter Soldier hearings, reveal the truth about Iraq and Afghanistan in a six-part web series. Watch the moving final episode.  Earlier episodes here.

New Hampshire just joined the list of states allowing gay marriage, after a quick trip through the legislature and a world-record-breaking signing by the governor. 

And yet, Wisconsin has somehow lost its progressive way on this issue.  2006 was the sad year in which Wisconsin legalized discrimination, both legally and morally.  It's time to fix this. Let's try again.  Let's keep trying until we get it right.

Here's just a taste:

On May 1, 2003, Richard Perle advised, in a USA Today Op-Ed, "Relax, Celebrate Victory." ...

Chris Matthews on MSNBC called Bush a "hero" and boomed, "He won the war. He was an effective commander. Everybody recognizes that, I believe, except a few critics." He added: "Women like a guy who's president. Check it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our president. It's simple."

PBS' Gwen Ifill said Bush was "part Tom Cruise, part Ronald Reagan." On NBC, Brian Williams gushed, "The pictures were beautiful. It was quite something to see the first-ever American president on a -- on a carrier landing."

And then there's this:

We were at a vigil in downtown Milwaukee last week when a young man stopped to say, with a rueful smile, "Can't you give him a little time?"

He was referring to the sign a couple of students were holding, calling for an end to "Obama's occupations."

The vast majority of the people at that vigil voted for Barack Obama. There may have been a few Green votes. I'd bet my bottom dollar there weren't any McCain backers in the crowd.

So, should we be patient?

I pointed out to the young man that while it's true Obama's only been in office a month, that's been enough time for him to decide to send 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, he's waffled on his campaign pledge to bring US troops home from Iraq in 16 months. And the report today is that he is leaning toward a 19-month withdrawal.

What's three more months when you've already been there for six years?

Not much in the grand scheme of things, right?

Iraq Moratorium LogoJoin us for the Iraq Moratorium event in Menomonie,WI.  The event will run from 4 PM until 5 PM in the Veterans Memorial in front of the Menomonie Market Co-op.  Please bring signs.

Please contact Steve Hanson - shansonuppitywis [dot] org.

Iraq Moratorium LogoJoin us for the Iraq Moratorium event in Menomonie,WI.  The event will run from 4 PM until 5 PM in the Veterans Memorial in front of the Menomonie Market Co-op.  Please bring signs.

Please contact Steve Hanson - shansonuppitywis [dot] org.

Despite forecasts of sub-zero temperatures and severe wind chills, Wisconsin activists say they will proceed with outdoor street corner vigils across the state. Wisconsin has more actions scheduled this month than any other state.

Organizers also encourage individual activity, from wearing a button to writing a letter or email to Congress to donating to an antiwar group on Friday.

This month, with the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama just days away, the Iraq Moratorium suggests that people ask Obama, through his transition website ( http://change.gov:80/page/s/iraq ), to act at once to begin the process of withdrawing US troops.

Since it began in September 2007, more than 1,500 actions in 43 states and 260 communities have been organized under the Iraq Moratorium umbrella and listed on its website, www.IraqMoratorium.com , which serves as a clearinghouse for event listings and reports, photos and videos afterward.

Obama We’re Hopeful (Nelson 2008, tune of “O Come All Ye Faithful”)

Obama we’re hopeful, cautiously believing

you meant when you told us that you’d end this war,

 Sooner than later, let’s get our troops back state-side!

 OBAMA WE’LL BE WATCHING, OBAMA WE’LL BE MARCHING, OBAMA WE’LL BE HOLDING YOUR FEET TO THE FIRE!

Ensconced in the White House, trying to get your bearings,

Oil men and gen’rals whisp’ring in those big ears,

Filling your head with doubts and grim scenarios,

OBAMA WE’LL BE WATCHING, OBAMA WE’LL BE MARCHING, OBAMA WE’LL BE HOLDING YOUR FEET TO THE FIRE!

That could be the theme song* for Camp Hope, which opens a 19-day presence in the president-elect's Hyde Park neighborhood on New Year's Day, also known as Emancipation Proclamation Day. Activities and actions are planned daily in Chicago, ending on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 19.

The Lame Duck probably expected his path to be strewn with rose petals and be welcomed as a liberator on his final visit to Iraq, but it didn't quite turn out that way. WashPost:

But during a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Bush received a taste of the immense resentment many Iraqis feel toward his policies: Just after Bush finished his remarks and said "Thank you" in Arabic, an Iraqi journalist took off his shoes and hurled them both at Bush, one after the other. The incident lent an air of chaos and farce to a trip intended to highlight improving security conditions in the war-torn country.

"This is a farewell kiss!" the man, identified as Muntadar al-Zaidi, a reporter with the Cairo-based network Al Baghdadia Television, yelled as he threw the shoes. Bush had to duck out of the way, and narrowly missed being hit, according to on-scene reports. Maliki reached out his hand to shield the president.

Iraq Moratorium LogoJoin us for the Iraq Moratorium event in Menomonie,WI.  The event will run from 4 PM until 5 PM in the Veterans Memorial in front of the Menomonie Market Co-op.  Please bring signs.

Please contact Steve Hanson - shansonuppitywis [dot] org.

The Third Friday of every month is designated as a day to interrupt our daily routines and take some action, individually or collectively, to call for an end to the war and occupation of Iraq.

In Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Coalition for a Just Peace and Peace Action-Wisconsin sponsor a rush hour downtown vigil from 5 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Water Street. People fill all four corners, hold signs, flags, and banners, leaflet pedestrians, and interact with drivers who show their support for getting out of Iraq.

 If you can't do that, consider taking some individual action. There are lots of ideas on the Iraq Moratorium website: http://www.iraqmoratorium.com/indiv_actions.htm

The Milwaukee action is one of a dozen or more across Wisconsin, which are listed here: http://iraqmoratoriumwis.blogspot.com/

You'll find a full listing of events across the country here: http://iraq-moratorium.blogspot.com/ 

Since it began in September 2007, there have been nearly 1,500 Iraq Moratorium actions in 42 states and 236 communities.

Join us.

The right hand giveth: Bush announces withdrawal of 8,000 troops from Iraq

and the left hand taketh away: As many as 3,500 Wisconsin National Guard soldiers heading to Iraq

Are we going to ask a Wisconsin National Guard member to be the last one to die for this mistake?

There is a movement underway in several states to keep the Guard home, on grounds that the legal basis to send them to Iraq has expired. Wisconsin is one of the states where legislation is expected to be introduced in the next legislature. Flyer.

Scott Ritter, the former UN weapons inspector and a harsh critic of Bush-Cheney policies in Iraq and Iran, who has authored three influential books on the subject, will speak in Milwaukee tonight.

 Ritter has warned since last spring that Bush and Cheney are likely to attack Iran during their remaining days in the White House.

This interview with Matt Rothschild, editor of The Progressive, explains why he believes that "we've never been at a greater risk of American military action against Iran."

 Ritter speaks at 7 p.m. Friday at Our Savior's Lutheran Church, 3022 W. Wisconsin Ave. The talk is sponsored by Peace Action-Wisconsin. A $10 donation is suggested; student admission is free. Ritter will sign books afterward.

Ritter also will speak Saturday at Fighting Bob Fest at the Sauk County fairgrounds in Baraboo.