Video from Madison's Democracy Convention

You can click on the links below to see video of some of the panels and workshops that AfD co-chair Nancy Price organized at the Democracy Convention last week.

The video was shot by Justice Rising editor Jim Tarbell, who was also a participant in panel discussions on community radio and building community economics.

Eco-Climate Justice: A Revolution of Values for People and Nature, featuring Alberto Saldamando, Ashley Anderson, Carolyn Raffensperger, Rachel Smolker, and Ronnie Cummins; introduced by AfD co-chair Nancy Price. This was the opening plenary of the eco-justice/earth democracy conference, one of eight that made up the full convention program. Since this was the first event, Nancy runs through the full lineup of workshops and plenaries--there was a lot going on!

Climate/Earth Justice: Debunking Climate Markets and the Neoliberal Green Economy, with Ruth Caplan, AfD vice co-chair and director of our Defending Water for Life campaign, Daphne Wysham and Rachel Smolker.

Water: A Fundamental Right for People and Nature, with Alberto Saldamando, Nancy Price and Ruth Caplan

And part two of Teaching Earth Democracy, with Nancy Price, Riki Ott, and Bob Peterson. Nancy gives a demonstration of the Tapestry of the Commons interactive project.

We hope to have more video up here and on our Youtube channel soon.

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"Corporations and Democracy" interviews Wisconsin democracy activist Ben Manski

Ben Manski, executive director of Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution and spokesperson for the Wisconsin Wave, talks to Steve Scalmanini and Annie Esposito, hosts of the August 19 edition of Corporations and Democracy, heard on KZYX&Z-FM, Mendocino County Public Broadcasting in Philo, California.

Ben, Steve, and Annie discuss heartland progressive populism and resistance to attacks on local government in Benton Harbor and other Michigan towns, to the results of the recent Wisconsin recall elections, including allegations of pro-GOP election fraud in a well-to-do county (not the first time this has happened!). Ben reviews the history of home rule provisions and the need to strengthen them today to provide a democratic bulwark against corporate personhood and corporate rule.

Listen online here!

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Register now for the 2011 Democracy Convention, Madison WI, August 24-28

Be a part of the movement to build a more participatory, more comprehensive, and more responsive democracy--come to Madison, Wisconsin this August for the 2011 Democracy Convention. Join Alliance for Democracy, the Center for Media and Democracy, Liberty Tree, Move to Amend, and The Progressive as we share strategies and inspiration from diverse movements--from labor, student, anti-militarism, anti-racism, sustainability, economic and environmental justice--and seek common ground for building a broad-based movement for democratic governance and responsive policy.

Register online today! The convention runs from Tuesday, August 24 to Sunday August 28.
 
Regardless of the issues or the projects we work on--whether we're fighting for single payer health care, protecting our election systems, working to pass anti-corporate personhood resolutions or ordinances, or supporting local economic rights and building alternatives to a monopoly-corporate economy, the issue behind the issues is corporate power and corporate rule.

“Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.” --Sydney J. Harris

Do the people and institutions that hold power in our country deserve to hold it? What checks and balances can "we the people" hold over multinational corporations and the legislators whose campaigns they fund? As we face down a fiscal crisis, privatization pressure and harsh "austerity" measures, who benefits?
 
The Democracy Convention is the place ask and answer the questions of who rules, and who should be in charge, to unite, to explore resistance to oligarchy, build connections across the issues, and be inspired by the determination and ongoing work of Wisconsin's labor and community activists.

Register here: http://democracyconvention.org/register-here
 
Reserve a room at the Madison Concourse, the city's only union hotel: http://democracyconvention.org/lodging
 
Learn how you can sponsor the convention: http://democracyconvention.org/sponsor-convention
 
Can't attend? A donation, large or small, helps tremendously:
http://democracyconvention.org/donate
 
We hope to connect with you in Madison--for a vibrant democracy that inspires us to renew governance to meet community needs, preserve ecosystems, and establish justice for all (non-corporate) people!

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Madison and Dane County, Wisconsin voters reject corporate personhood and "money as speech"

A resolution and ballot question establishing that corporations are not people and money isn't speech was approved by 84% of voters in Madison, Wisconsin, and 78% of voters in surrounding Dane County. South Central Wisconsin Move to Amend organized to get the resolution and question on the ballots and get it passed.

The Madison resolution states: "RESOLVED, the City of Madison, Wisconsin, calls for reclaiming democracy from the corrupting effects of undue corporate influence by amending the United States Constitution to establish that: 1. Only human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights, and 2. Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political
contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech."

Dane County voted on a question asking: "Should the US Constitution be amended to establish that regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting freedom of speech, by stating that only human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights?"

Congratulations to South Central Wisconsin Move to Amend and their supporters at the ballot box.

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A call to action from Madison

Likening the fight for workers' rights and for the economic well-being of the vast majority of Americans to broad and transformative movements of the past, Rep. Dennis Kucinich calls for new unity and resistance to corporate control of government. "This is a moment in America history where we're called upon to respond with everything that we are, with all that's in our heart and soul, so that we can reclaim the essence of economic justice before somehow it is lost on the corporate scaffold. We have to fight back!"



Kucinich spoke at the "Speak Up For Workers' Rights rally in Madison, WI, shortly after Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill that eliminated most collective bargaining rights for public employees.

More from UpTake video here.

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Portland AfD responds to Wisconsin GOP vote to kill collective bargaining rights

AfD-Portland is helping organize two local rallies in response to the Wisconsin vote to eliminate public employees' collective bargaining rights and in support of job creation, preserving the safety net and our common wealth, and making Wall Street pay for the collapse they encouraged. Here's the email notice:

In an act of class warfare, Wednesday the Wisconsin Senate (with the Democrats still in self-imposed exile) cut the collective bargaining rights of public sector unions and the people responded immediately by poring an estimated 7000 protesters into the state capital building in Madison. So many people occupied the capital that the police gave up trying to stop them and as of 10 PM Wednesday evening the doors of the building were wide open. Many of those protesting the decision have called for a General Strike. The Republican Senate action would still need to be approved by the Wisconsin Assembly before becoming law.

Read the AP story here. See some video from the NBC affiliate here. The MSNBC story is here. Slide show of pictures of the scene here.

Portland must respond. Below are notes on two upcoming public protests in Portland. WE MUST BE THERE!

Please forward this message.

STAND WITH ALL WORKING FAMILIES!! WISCONSIN, OHIO, INDIANA......
"SAVE THE AMERICAN DREAM" RALLY
March 15, 5 pm, Terry Schrunk Plaza at SW 3rd and Madison

"In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans as 'right to work.' It provides no 'right' and no 'works.' Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining...We demand this fraud by stopped."-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King was on the front lines of the sanitation workers struggle in Memphis just before he was killed. He understood the struggle for union rights, civil rights, for human rights.

Today, he would be on the front lines in Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio.

Now is the time to join the fight for Full and Fair Employment, quality public education, good jobs, strong communities, advanced manufacturing, a green economy and ...the American Dream!

More info: jwjpdx.org, 503.236.5573

PORTLAND RISING
RALLY & MARCH OF JOBS AND BENEFITS, NOT CUTS
Saturday, April 16-Noon at Pioneer Courthouse Square

Eight million jobs were lost in the 2008 meltdown. Today there are more than five jobs seekers for every job. Instead of creating jobs, Congress is focused on cutting the safety net!

Let's stand up for community values:
• Create good jobs now.
• Stop job killing trade agreements.
• Protect and strengthen the safety net.
• Support collective bargaining as 15,000 workers lauch campaign for fairness at work in Portland.
• Wall Street should pay for the economic crisis, not working people!

Sponsored by Jobs with Justice, Alliance for Democracy, AFSCME Council 75 and Local 3135, Economic Justice Action Group of 1st Unitarian Church, Oregon Progressive Party, SEIU Local 49 and 503, Teamsters Local 206, flierLocal 555, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and more.

More info: jwjpdx.org, 503.236.5573

Printable flyer here.

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Monopoly: The Wisconsin Edition

This infographic details how Koch Industries supported the candidacy of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, only to be well positioned to take advantage of a provision in his budget bill that would allow him to sell off state-owned energy infrastructure to whomever he likes at whatever price he wants. Check out The Other 98%'s website for other good videos, graphics, and signs.

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Solidarity everywhere!

State capitols saw turnouts in solidarity with Wisconsin,but smaller towns marched too--AfD co-chair Bonnie Preston joined some 20 people in Blue Hill, Maine, to a lot of positive response, including that of a retired teacher from the Badger State, who parked by the marchers, rolled down her car window and sang the entire "On Wisconsin" fight song.



The back of the large sign in the photo says "Without Dissent There Is No Democracy."

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Fighting "austerity" measures and corporate giveaways in Wisconsin and nationally

Here's an interview with Ben Manski of Wisconsin WAVE, a new organization fighting austerity measures, and Kabzuag Vaj of Freedom, Inc. They talked about building a wider movement in the face of anti-labor measures in Wisconsin and elsewhere with Laura Flanders of Grit.tv. You can read more at Common Dreams, here.

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Ethics fallout from the Koch prank call to Wisconsin's Walker

Yesterday, PR Watch pointed out some interesting implications from Daily Beast's Ian Murphy's prank call to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Murphy pretended to be billionaire David Koch, who has been a big Walker funder both through PAC donations and to groups supporting his campaign. Aside from the tacky factor--Walker hadn't been taking calls from the Senate minority leader but he had 20 minutes to eagerly bring a big time funder up to date on the situation--PR Watch points out some basic ethical implications from the content of the call, not to mention some overlooked provisions in the so called "budget repair bill."

For instance, did you know there's provisions in the bill "allowing the no-bid sell-off of any state-owned heating, cooling, or power plant, plus new rules on pipeline transport"? Koch interest include a pipeline system that crosses Wisconsin, a power plant company, and a company that distributes fuel through pipelines and terminals in four Wisconsin cities. Which company might be first in line for state energy infrastructure if the governor decided to raise some quick cash by privatizing them?

Walker's on-call plan to lay off state workers to strongarm Democrats into cooperation may also be in conflict with state labor and contract law. And there's a strong whiff of "pay to play" in the call, as the PR Watch article points out:

Wisconsin has the toughest ethics law in the nation... You can't even take a cup of coffee from a lobbyist.

Earlier in the call, Walker had asked the fake Koch for help "spreading the word," especially in the "swing" districts, in defense of his determination to break the unions, and help get calls in to shore up his Republican allies in the legislature. Walker benefited from a high-dollar "issue ad" campaign by groups funded by Koch group before the election. Americans for Prosperity, which Koch chairs, also promoted and funded a couple thousand counter-protestors last Saturday.

On the same day that the scandal broke here in Wisconsin, Americans for Prosperity went up with a $342,000 TV ad campaign in support of Walker –- an enormous sum in a state like Wisconsin. If such ads are effectively coordinated with the Governor's office, they may be subject to rules requiring greater disclosure of expenditures and contributors.

Toward the end of the call, the fake Koch offers to fly Walker out to California, after they "crush the bastards," and show him "a good time," to which Walker responds enthusiastically, "All right, that would be outstanding." But, Wisconsin rules bar state officials from taking action for something of value. After Walker agrees to the junket, the fake Koch adds, "And, you know, we have a little bit of a vested interest as well" to which Walker responds, "Well that's just it."

The full article is here.

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Saturday, February 26: Noon Rally at Every State Capitol

AfD members can find a rally near them (every state Capitol & many major cities, too) at MoveOn.org

Don't let the American dream die. Support the movement back to what Van Jones calls “the moral center,” where workers are treated with dignity and policies protect the middle class and the pathways to it. Join the call for the American people to gather at every state capital across the land in support of our brothers and sisters in Wisconsin--and now Ohio and Indiana--who are marching not just for their own rights but for the rights of us all.

The Alliance for Democracy joins with MoveOn, unions and other groups in a Call for Citizens to Stand United. We proclaim:

• Stop Union Busting: No Cuts to Jobs or Benefits; Yes to Collective Bargaining
• Workers Rights, Not Corporate Rights
• Tax the Rich and Corporate Profits - Pay All Workers a Living Wage
• No Cuts in the Social Safety Net (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid)
• Stop Foreclosures Now

Rally NOW to support protesters in Madison and across the nation. Teachers, students, firefighters, police, laborers… they’re all standing up to big money in politics and this latest attack on the middle class, the working poor, and the unemployed. If we want a democracy, and not a corporatocracy, we must stand up with them. We can't wait for for someone else to fight for us--we must do it ourselves.

The right-wing libertarian Koch brothers and the US Chamber of Commerce financed the election of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and other GOP governors in Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey, and Florida, many of whom are launching the same attacks on labor.

The US Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v FEC opened the floodgates to unregulated, unaccounted-for special-interest funding of elections, enabling the election of bought-and-paid for politicians who answer to their funders regardless of the needs of their constituents.

Join the rallies on February 26, and then be ready to join in more locally organized rallies like the one being organized in Portland, Oregon on April 19. Portland Jobs with Justice, the Alliance for Democracy, and various labor and citizens groups are planning a rally/march in downtown Portland to ask the simple question: “Where Are the Jobs?” and to demand “Jobs with Benefits, Not Cuts!”

So stand with us now. See you at your state capital.

Nancy Price and David e. Delk, Co-chairs

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Download and print these signs--they copy on 11 x 17 paper:
"Stop Union Busting"
"Tax Corporate Profits/Pay a Living Wage"
"We Won't Pay for Crony Corporate Giveaways"
"Worker's Rights, Not Corporate Profits"
"We're Not a 3rd World Country... Yet!"

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Good news from Wisconsin

From Move to Amend: "On April 5 residents of Madison and Dane County, WI will have the opportunity to pass a resolution to amend the U.S. Constitution to abolish Corporate Personhood. The campaign is organized by South Central Wisconsin Move to Amend. Last fall the group collected over 15,000 signatures to get the resolution placed on their city and county ballots."

You can read the whole Move to Amend alert on Wisconsin here.

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The Wisconsin Wave points to the corporate connection

Protests continue today in Madison, with thousands of teachers and students, firefighers and police officers, nurses, clerks and, yes, taxpayers, out in the streets and inside the Capitol to oppose the proposed axeing of Wisconsin state employee's collective bargaining rights. Nationally, solidarity demos are planned across the country. (PR Watch has been liveblogging here--this is a great "one stop site" for keeping an eye on events.)

It didn't take long for connections to be made between Wisconsin's budget shortfalls and giveaways and tax breaks to big business, and for people to organize to spotlight and fight these deals.

The Wisconsin Wave is a new group determined to expose and end the kind of government collusion with corporations that's kept profits privatized, losses socialized, and a recession which was technically over in 2009 "live and kickin'" for the vast majority of Americans.

You can hear a press conference with Wisconsin Wave founders Ben Manski, Joe Conway, President of Fire Fighters Local 311 in Madison, Kevin Gibbon, co-president of the Teaching Assistants Association at UW Madison, and others here, thanks to Wisconsin Radio Network, and read about the conference here and here. The group plans to picket Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, a state group that lobbies for corporate interests, tomorrow.

Also of interest: this excerpt from Les Leopold's 2009 book The Looting of America," focusing on how the town of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, joined with four other districts in a multi-million dollar investment plan with the goal of beefing up a school-employee benefits trust fund--long story short, they were pitched what looked like golden eggs but turned out to be a pile of goose poop, and lost bigtime. While it's possible to fault the school boards on due diligence, it's important to note that no one's yet voted millions in taxpayer money to bail out Whitefish Bay.

Lastly, sometimes solidarity comes with extra cheese: From PRWatch, last night: "Mary Bottari reports that Ian's Pizza, located a few blocks away from the capitol, delivered another 50 pizzas to the WI capitol building. Ian's has received calls from all 50 states and 12 countries from people wanting to support the students and workers. Employees Marty and Lexy have delivered over 1,000 pizzas in recent days. In a five minute perfectly executed operation, they drop off, pick up the empties, and zoom out the door. A cart helps them make it through the slippery streets back to their truck."

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