State Democrats hope the new fully virtual convention will still energize voters.

WISCONSIN -- Wednesday, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler released the following statement in response to changes to the Democratic National Convention:

"Protecting the public’s health is a core value for Democrats. The fact that keeping Wisconsin safe requires making the convention fully virtual illustrates the total failure of Donald Trump to control the coronavirus pandemic, reflects Joe Biden’s commitment to making life better for Wisconsinites and all Americans, and underscores the life-and-death necessity of making Joe Biden the next President of the United States.

“The disastrous response to the COVID-19 pandemic by Donald Trump, as well as Wisconsin Republicans Robin Vos, Scott Fitzgerald, and others in the state legislature, has left Wisconsin reeling from an increase in infections and hospitalizations. In order to best protect our state, Democrats are following the advice of public health experts and telling speakers not to travel to the convention.

“Unlike Republicans, protecting the public’s health is the utmost priority for Democrats. The decision only further reflects that we need Joe Biden's commitment to ensuring the safety of all Americans in the White House.

"Throughout this crisis, Democrats have shown smart and rational leadership. From Vice President Biden to Governor Evers and down to local officials, Democrats are living their values, and demonstrating their willingness to make the tough decisions necessary to put the public good first. Today, as Republicans threaten to attack Governor Evers’s mask mandate and Donald Trump and his colleagues refuse to help Americans navigate this crisis, Democrats will hold a convention that will energize voters around the clear choice in this year's election."

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/unemloyment-lines-covid19-bg-s5.jpgThe COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of us out of work and policy decisions made in more normal times have made it difficult for Wisconsinites to get the help they need now. The legislature must meet to get us through this difficult time.

WI Federalist Society, WEAC President, Teachers to Call Out Administration for Not Prioritizing Safe School Re-Opening Plan.

WISCONSIN -- Today, as Betsy DeVos holds a closed-door event with members of the Wisconsin Federalist Society, WEAC President Ron Martin, La Crosse teachers Jesse Martinez and Tammy Gruen, and Wisconsin College Democrats Chair Cecelia McDermott will hold a video press conference calling out Trump and Devos for refusing to put a plan in place that would allow teachers and students to return to schools safely this fall. 

As local school districts and teachers are left in the dark about a plan to keep their students safe, DeVos is instead focused on touting her proposal that will make it harder for college students to report sexual harassment and assault through changes to Title IX.

WHAT: A press call discussing Donald Trump and Betsy Devos’ efforts to make it harder for college students to report sexual harassment and assault while offering no plan to get kids back to school safely.

WHO: Ron Martin, President of Wisconsin Education Association Council
Jesse Martinez, La Crosse Area Teacher
Tammy Gruen, La Crosse Area Teacher
Cecelia McDermott, President of the Wisconsin College Democrats

WHEN: Today, August 4th, 10:30 AM CT

WHERE: Register here.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/schools-reopening-2020-cnn-s5.jpgPracticing De Pere physician tells State Republicans to support real public health solutions over playing politics.

Black Wisconsinites dying from COVID-19 at seven times the rate as white neighbors while Latin community makes up 32 percent of the positive cases in Milwaukee County.

WISCONSIN - Congresswoman Gwen Moore, State Senator LaTonya Johnson and Common Council President Cavalier Johnson held a video press call where they called out the ways in which President Trump’s failed coronavirus response has exacerbated the stark inequalities that have existed in the United States for centuries. Trump has done little to address the crisis, resulting in Black Wisconsinites dying from COVID-19 at seven times the rate as White Wisconsinites while the Latinx community makes up 32 percent of the positive COVID-19 cases in Milwaukee County. Vice President Joe Biden has released a plan to advance racial equity as part of our coronavirus recovery.

Watch the full event here or read excerpts of what the speakers said below.

Congresswoman Gwen Moore: “When you think about living in the nation that spends twice as much money on health care as other wealthy countries. When you think about the treasure that we spend and we have the sickest people on Earth and to have this be the global epicenter of COVID-19 is disgraceful, tragic, and unnecessary. Joe Biden warned us in January that COVID-19 was coming this way. In the meantime we had President Trump denying it… and we squandered February, March, April, June, July… We will never be able to flatten the curve unless we have leadership at the top…In Congress now, we are having my republican colleagues not want to renew the $600 a week unemployment insurance for fear that there is some moral hazard in people not wanting to go back to work, in an effort to force people to open the economy again. Instead, Republicans have spent the last 75 days on their package dithering… I just want to say that we just can’t wait to elect Joe Biden on November 3rd.”

State Senator LaTonya Johnson: “Our world has changed a lot over the past few months, but the one thing that has remained the same is that Black and brown people in Wisconsin are needlessly dying because of the disparities that are growing even worse because of Trump’s gross mismanagement of the Coronavirus pandemic. Our health care system’s glaring inequities impact families across the state of Wisconsin. Our Black infant mortality rate is the worst in the nation and Black mothers are five times as likely to die in childbirth as white mothers. These are not just statistics, these are lived experiences that families are facing everyday in their health care system, and they’ve faced these disparities for decades… So when I see Trump claiming that this is all going to go away, that this is all going to disappear, one thing is for sure...everybody knows someone who has been impacted by the coronavirus, and some of those individuals know individuals who have died; some of them are family members. We know all too well that this is not a virus that is just simply going to go away, and that the deaths that have occurred in this city have an impact. Those people matter, their lives matter, and their families matter… This is why we need Joe Biden. We need a comprehensive plan to help us deal with the coronavirus, but all of the other issues that our state is facing…This is why I am so very excited to put my support behind Joe Biden and his leadership, so we can finally get the leadership that this country needs.”

Common Council President Cavalier Johnson: “The bottom line is that the city of Milwaukee needs help and we need help from the White House. It is very difficult to do the things that we need to do when we have a President in the White House that seems to be more interested in stoking racial grievances and pretending that the virus doesn't even exist…I represent service workers and health care workers…people who are on the frontline of this pandemic... The inequities in our communities that we face, from economic to health var to environmental, have only gotten worse under this President. Because of the structural racism that exists in our country, and the president at the top who is an advocate for it, it’s incredibly difficult for Black people and brown people to get ahead. The only way to get out of this crisis is to make Donald Trump a one term president…We need somebody like Joe Biden in the White House who is going to fight for us every single day that he walks into that oval office, and I’m convinced of that and am looking forward to doing all that I can to make sure that Joe Biden is the next President of the United States.”

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http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/unemployment-great-depression-jobs-s5.jpg30 million Americans have filed jobless claims since the pandemic began, and the U.S. gross domestic product contracted by a 32.9 percent in the 2nd quarter.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/coronavirus-mask3-jennifer-aniston-skynews-s5.jpgOrder puts public health first. Effective Saturday, August 1, persons ages five and older are required to wear a face covering when they are indoors or in an enclosed space outside their household.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/schools-reopening-2020-cnn2-s5.jpgWith the COVID-19 pandemic spreading, school districts are wrestling with questions to safely bring students back this fall. Schools need answers fast for educating students, supporting teachers and helping parents stay employed.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/unemployment-virus-outbreak-dp-s5.jpgNew Report shows loss of $600-per-week benefit will lead to over 65,000 additional jobs lost. Every metropolitan area to see substantial job loss as families lose funds.

Survey shows 23.7 million Americans had little or no confidence in their ability to pay the coming month’s rent.

WASHINGTON, DC - The federal moratorium on evictions signed into law in March as part of the CARES Act is set to expire Friday night at midnight, setting up the potential for a wave of evictions in the middle of a pandemic that President Trump acknowledged this week will get worse before it gets better.

It’s possible that the moratorium will be extended as part of a new relief bill, but Congress is mired in negotiations and is not expected to finalize legislation until early August.

Read the full story here