MILWAUKEE - Our panel discusses Senator Ron Johnson’s continued anti-vaccination lies while the county struggles with slowing vaccination rates. How many will die because of Johnson’s political ambitions and loyalty to the ex President?

We update the state budget battle following Republican’s action in the Joint Finance Committee to strip hundreds of popular items. We also review the latest rash of terrible GOP bills on everything from school vouchers to more attacks on the voting process being pushed through the Legislature and certain to be vetoed by Governor Evers. Vital Federal pandemic recovery money will start to roll out to states and local governments as Wisconsin discovers our share will be $700 million less. Legislative Republicans are also preparing to impose more Unemployment Insurance barriers to acquiring vitally needed benefits, following other red state Governor’s blaming the unemployed, while a new conservative report pushes privatization of Wisconsin’s unemployment system in the wake of pandemic dysfunction at the agency. What could go wrong?

We close by encouraging our listeners to attend the Fair Maps Rally at the State Capitol next Monday, May 17th at Noon

LISTEN NOW – EPISODE #492
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MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered the Democratic Radio Address on the Joint Committee on Finance's vote last week to gut the governor’s Badger Bounceback agenda, the 2021-23 biennial budget, including provisions supported by an overwhelming majority of Wisconsinites, such as expanding BadgerCare, legalizing marijuana, raising the minimum wage, and ensuring a nonpartisan approach to redistricting.

Audio file of Radio Address.

Hey there, Wisconsinites. Governor Tony Evers here.

In February, I introduced my Badger Bounceback agenda, which is our biennial budget that was all about making sure our state and our economy could bounce back from this pandemic.

Our Badger Bounceback agenda made key investments in our schools, protecting our environment, expanding access to quality, affordable healthcare, and reforming our criminal justice system—among many other critical priorities—so that folks across Wisconsin have the resources they need to recover and succeed.

Unfortunately, last week, Republicans on the budget committee voted to gut nearly 400 provisions from our Badger Bounceback agenda.

And that included policies supported by an overwhelming majority of Wisconsinites like expanding BadgerCare, legalizing marijuana, raising the minimum wage, and ensuring a nonpartisan approach to redistricting.

Well, here’s my bottom line folks, our state’s economic recovery cannot wait, and we can’t afford for Republicans to play politics.

Republicans have tried to stop us from confronting this pandemic every step of the way, and now they are attempting to stop us from being able to help our economy rebound from the pandemic.

Well, that’s where you come in. Please contact your legislators today and tell them to stop playing politics with our economic recovery. Ask them to support our Badger Bounceback agenda so we can bounce back and better.

Thanks, and let’s get to work.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/guns-kenoshatavern-05182021-gettyimages-s5.jpgGun advocates push for looser restrictions, bipartisan bills on police reform move forward, federal recovery money starts rolling in.

Ma'Khia Bryant's death fades from the headlines as did thousands of missing and murdered Black women and girls in this country.

Green Bay – On April 20th, the same day the world witnessed Dereck Chauvin charged with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, Ma’Khia Bryant – a 16 year old Black girl – was fatally shot by police in Columbus, OH. As we held our collective breath, waiting for any form of accountability for George Floyd’s death that sparked the protests and uprisings one year ago, the same systems left a Black girl-child, who called on police for help, dead. We are reminded of how little change has occurred.

The following days offered fewer and fewer media reports about the killing of Ma’Khia Byrant, with focus largely shifting to how actions of this young girl who called police for help might have contributed to her death. Narratives suggested that a knife in a child’s hands were justification for a police officer taking her young life. We stand adamantly against this type of narrative and the violence and erasure it perpetuates, especially as it routinely plays out in the wake of Black girls and women surviving the systems of oppression that created their vulnerability.

In the words of Mariame Kaba and Andrea Ritchie: “Ma’Khia Bryant matters not because the timing of her killing allows for a neat juxtaposition, but because her life does.” It is our movement’s – the anti-oppression, anti-violence movement’s - responsibility to name police violence when it occurs. It is our responsibility to name those killed by police and related systems of violence, so as not to contribute to the wider pattern of created invisibility and skewed narratives surrounding Black girls’ and women’s bodies, survival, and value.

Ma’Khia Bryant should be alive today. It is in her name and in the name of the thousands of missing and murdered Black women and girls in this country that we call for alternative solutions to violence, including defunding police and investing in community responses that address violence at its roots.

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End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (End Abuse, www.endabusewi.org) is the leading voice for victims of domestic abuse in Wisconsin. At End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin, we educate shelter and program volunteers and advocates, law enforcement, legislators, and community members to provide safety and support to survivors. We strive to shift Wisconsin from the attitudes and beliefs that cause domestic violence to values of mutual respect and equality, and we partner with communities in the effort to prevent and end domestic abuse. We encourage reporters to include the National Domestic Violence Hotline number [1−800−799−SAFE(7233)] in their stories for victims who need help. A list of local Wisconsin domestic violence victim service providers can be found at www.endabusewi.org/get-help

MILWAUKEE - We discuss the partisan vote in Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee which removed 280 publicly popular items from their state budget, including BadgerCare Expansion. Does this end the budget fight or is it really just getting started?

Our panel talks about a Federal court ruling this week invalidating the CDC’s eviction moratorium. What is this Trump-appointed judge thinking? We also dig into why the green transition will largely exclude people of color and women if it does not include fundamental structural reform or our economic system. We welcome Tobita Chow from People’s Action to discuss President Biden’s bold move to suspend the patents of Big Pharma corporations to get generic COVID vaccines to the rest of the world. Is this the end or just the beginning of the fight with Big Pharma to prioritize lives over profits during the worst global pandemic in a century?

Listen Now – Episode #491
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MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered the Democratic Radio Address on the Wisconsin Tomorrow Small Business Recovery Grant program which will award up to $420 million to small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and has the potential to help approximately 84,000 Wisconsin small businesses.

Audio file of Radio Address

Hello Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers here.

This past year has challenged our state and country in more ways than we ever could have imagined. And Wisconsin’s small businesses have had to stay flexible and innovative to adapt to the challenges brought on by this pandemic.

That’s why, when we received our CARES funds in 2020, we put it to work and helped nearly 53,000 small businesses and restaurants through our We’re All In Grants, and made significant investments to support our farmers and our tourism, entertainment, and lodging industries, too.

Now, President Biden’s American Rescue Plan comes at a critical time. Wisconsin continues to be a national leader in getting available shots in arms and we’re also working to make sure our state can bounce back and better than we were before this pandemic hit.

I announced in March that we are using $2.5 billion of the $3.2 billion the state will receive of American Rescue Plan funding to support our state’s economic recovery, with $600 million going to our small businesses.

And just a few weeks ago, I announced we will award up to $420 million to small businesses through our new Wisconsin Tomorrow Small Business Recovery Grants.

This new program will help as many as 84,000 small businesses with $5,000 grants so that they can get back on their feet.

At the end of the day, I wanted our small businesses to know that help is on the way.

And once we get these federal funds and guidance, we will get them out the door quickly to help small businesses restock shelves, catch up on bills, or rehire and retain workers.

Folks, I know we can’t afford to play politics with our economic recovery, and that’s why we’re going to work quickly to get support to folks who need it so that they can keep serving customers, workers, and our communities so that we can bounce back together.

Thank you.

MADISON - I just wanted to say a word or two of thanks to Law Forward, which represented us, pro bono, in our amicus brief in the victorious case against Vos and LeMahieu for misappropriating taxpayer funds to pay for pricey lawyers in preparation for their schemes to re-rig the maps.

If you aren't familiar with Law Forward, check out their website, and sign up for emails to stay up to date with their legal work to protect democracy in Wisconsin. And Law Forward is ready for the redistricting fight. You can read Law Forward's overview of redistricting in Wisconsin, "Redistricting 101," here. And check out today's article in the Wisconsin Examiner on their good work with election litigation in Wisconsin.

The attorneys at Law Forward are a joy to work with, and we at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign are thrilled to be working with them.

We look forward to many more victories to come!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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TUCSON, AZ - Hello All! Buzz Davis here in sunny Tucson.

I hope each of you and your families have been safe from COVID!

It is good that there is much discussion of war and peace.

Discussions are one thing - actions to create peace are another and very hard to do for the leaders of all nations.

The psychological damages of war live on in the minds of all in war.

Those psychological damages are transferred to future generations by the actions of the parents and those other adults who interact with the children born after the wars.

The image is: Both veterans and civilians who are fighting the wars in their heads for decades can intentionally, or unintentionally, take out frustrations, fears or hatreds on their sons and daughters.

Through this, the kids may be psychologically damaged. And during their lives they may or may not recover.

The impacts of a person's physical damages from wars can be transferred to the children.

The impacts of the person's physical injuries, such as loss of limbs, mobility, internal organs, parts of the brain, etc. can lead to constant physical pain or emotional pain and that person's resultant actions, or inability to take actions, or emotional coldness can damage the children.

Environmental chemicals or nuclear radiation or depleted uranium may damage both the persons living during the wars, the children living after the wars and the environment for decades or longer.

From our collective actions in Vietnam and SE Asia, all of the "damages" of war are being transferred from generation to generation in Asia and in the homes of all the "outsiders" who lived or fought in SE Asia.

To save our democracy and way of life for our children and all children we must: o Educate! o Agitate! o And Activate Ourselves and Others!

Below is a very good essay by a Vietnamese person who is trying to help Americans understand what we and our government have done and must now do.

After reading her essay please consider ACTIVATING YOURSELF!

Step 1: To contact your US House member go to this site: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Step 2: Then type in your ZIP code and hit enter.

Step 3: Then you will see a picture of your House rep. Click on that picture

Step 4. On your Reps site, you will have to type in your ZIP code with the 4 number extension.

If you do not know that, you will have to click on the link to get the extension. Then go back to your Reps site and insert ZIP and extension. Follow the prompts until you get to the blank message you wish to send.

Step 5: Then copy and past the below essay into the message area.

Step 6: You may wish to type in your message at the top something like this:

Dear Representative:

I would like you and Congress to work harder to create peace than you do to create wars. Etc. etc.

MADISON - April 29, 2021 is a good day!

This morning, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Ehlke voided the expensive contracts that Speaker Vos and Majority Leader LeMahieu had entered into with the two law firms to prepare for upcoming redistricting battles. This is a sweet victory! And thanks to Law Forward for filing an excellent amicus brief on our behalf in this case. I write about the judge’s decision here:

Judge Voids GOP Contracts on Redistricting

And speaking about redistricting, here’s something you can do.

Our terrific ally, the League of Women Voters, is sponsoring a national day of action today to ban gerrymandering: #PeoplePoweredAction2021.

>> Please contact your state legislators and demand they co-sponsor and actively champion an end to gerrymandering. Contacting your legislators is simple with this online form: https://p2a.co/uRzaV08. <<

Here are a few other items that might interest you.

When I saw that LeMahieu had reappointed Robert Spindell to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, I had to write something. Spindell was one of 10 “fraudulent electors” who pretended to represent Wisconsin at the Electoral College. I write about Spindell here:

LeMahieu Reappoints “Fraudulent Elector” to Wisconsin Elections Commission

Yesterday, I testified at the Joint Finance Committee virtual hearing on the Governor’s budget. Here’s what I said:

Evers’s Budget Moves Wisconsin Forward

And on Tuesday, I submitted testimony to the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections about a couple of the ugliest anti-voter bills:

Two of the Worst Anti-Voter Bills in Wisconsin

Please contact your legislators about them, too!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

****

P.S. If you like the work we do, please send us a tax-deductible gift by clicking here. Thanks!

MADISON — On Thursday, Gov. Tony Evers delivered the Democratic Radio Address on the renegotiated Foxconn contract that the governor announced last week. The deal negotiated under Gov. Evers helps ensure the state will save taxpayers a total of $2.77 billion compared to the previous contract, maintain accountability measures, require job creation to receive incentives, and protect hundreds of millions of dollars in local and state infrastructure investments already made in support of the project.

Audio file of Radio Address.

Hi Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers here.

Four years ago, Wisconsin announced an agreement with Foxconn, which was one of the largest subsidies for a foreign corporation in American history.

But in many ways, that deal has fallen short. That deal didn’t work for Wisconsin, and that doesn’t work for me. I’ve said all along that my goal was to negotiate a better deal that works for taxpayers across our state.

And, last week, I was proud to be able to deliver on that promise and announce we negotiated a better deal that treats Foxconn like any other Wisconsin business.

Our new agreement will save Wisconsin taxpayers $2.77 billion compared to the previous contract.

We’re also bolstering accountability measures, requiring job creation to receive incentives, and protecting hundreds of millions of dollars in local and state infrastructure investments that have already been made in support of this project.

And we’re going to do all of this while still bringing good, family-supporting jobs to our state.

So while we work to make sure Wisconsin bounces back from COVID-19, our new agreement and these new jobs will help boost our economy and ensure that we are able to bounce back and better than we were before this pandemic hit.

Now I want to be clear, this new deal with Foxconn isn’t a silver bullet to economic development in this state. It wasn't then, and it isn't now.

Economic development can't and shouldn't rest solely on any one single deal, it must be a 72-county strategy. So, this is not the end of our work, but it’s a strong step forward for our state and our economy.

Thank you.