Activism

Reverse Robin Hood Visits Banks Near WI Capitol

by Rebekah Wilce — May 11, 2011 - 1:56pm
  • Topics: Activism, Banking, Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Labor, Politics, Wisconsin Protests

    • This afternoon, the People's Rights Campaign, a coalition of labor and community organizations, organized a community action on Madison's Capitol Square. Activists scrounged for their last pennies and taped them to "deposit slips" so that they could be deposited directly into the accounts of the CEOs of M&I Bank, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase Bank.

    "Why should they have to pay any taxes at all when grubby peasants and working stiffs still have a few pennies left in their pockets?" asked the group's press release.

    Peabody Coal Company Spoofed in "CoalCares.org" Website

    by Anne Landman — May 10, 2011 - 2:14pm

    Peabody Energy, the world's largest private-sector coal company, says it is the victim of a hoax after a website, www.coalcares.org, sprang up offering free "Puff-Puff" inhalers for kids with asthma who live within 200 miles of a coal plant. The site allows kids to select the free decorative inhaler of their choice: "My First Inhaler" with a picture of a duck on it, or inhalers with pictures of My Little Pony, Harry Potter, Spongebob Squarepants, Justin Beiber and more. Each inhaler, the site boasts, in made from "sustainable, eco-friendly recycled plastic." The site offers a $10 coupon towards the cost of actual asthma medication and a free charcoal pencil with every order. Other links include the "Kidz Koal Corner" featuring word games for children ages 4-12, like a word puzzle called "The Good Coal Does" where children can hunt for words like "clean," "dependable," "jobs" and "natural." Another page has a photo of birds flying into a wind turbine's spinning blades, and explains the dangers of clean energy technologies. The text says, "Wind turbines can kill up to 70,000 birds per year, or 4.27 birds per turbine per year. Coal particulate pollution, on the other hand, kills fewer than 13,000 people per year." The site says it is sponsored by Peabody Coal. The activist group that created the site is unknown.

    Main Source: 
    TIME/Environment, May 10, 2011
    News

    Voter Suppression Bills Sweep the Country

    by Jennifer Page — May 10, 2011 - 11:45am
  • Topics: Activism, ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Economy

    • A wave of voter suppression legislation is emerging from newly elected GOP governors and Republican legislators that would make it much more difficult for traditional Democratic constituencies to vote -- just in time for the 2012 election. About a dozen states are are actively considering legislation that would make voting much more difficult for college students, minorities, the elderly and the disabled.

    News

    Because of Two Determined Women, Vermont May Be First Single-Payer State

    by Wendell Potter — May 9, 2011 - 11:53am
  • Topics: Activism, Health, Social Justice

    • While several states are suing the federal government to block health care reform and dragging their feet on implementing any part of it, Vermont this week will be taking a giant leap in the other direction -- toward universal coverage and greater cost control -- when Governor Peter Shumlin signs legislation putting the state on the path toward a single-payer health care system.

    The Vermont House last week voted 94-49 to approve legislation that has been years in the making. The Senate approved the measure a few days earlier. While it will not establish a government-run system right away, work will begin almost immediately to lay the groundwork to create a state health plan -- called Green Mountain Care -- that could be up and running as early as 2014.

    News

    Wisconsin Recalls Are Heating Up

    by Jennifer Page — May 6, 2011 - 12:45pm
  • Topics: Activism, Democracy, Politics, Wisconsin Protests

    • Recall elections loom on the horizon as petitions against nine Wisconsin state senators were recently submitted to the Government Accountability Board (GAB). Each successful petition must include 25 percent of the total number of votes cast in that senate district in the last election.

    The recall efforts of Republican senators who supported Gov. Scott Walker's Budget Repair Bill, and the Democratic senators who left the state to delay voting on the bill, are a result of the political firestorm that quickly flared up over the bill that sought to eliminate almost all collective bargaining rights for public workers.

    Currently, the Republican senators who are facing a recall election are Alberta Darling, Robert Cowles, Sheila Harsdorf, Luther Olsen, Randy Hopper and Dan Kapanke. Democrats are facing recall efforts are -- Dave Hansen, Jim Holperin and Robert Wirch.

    Big Money Behind Push for "School Choice" in Pennsylvania

    by Anne Landman — May 3, 2011 - 9:45pm

    FreedomWorks, the Washington, D.C.-based group chaired by Dick Armey that does not disclose its corporate funders, has been aggressively promoting a measure in Pennsylvania that would divert taxpayer funds to support religious and private schools. FreedomWorks has hosted town hall meetings, run a state-wide radio ad campaign and organized phone call and letter writing campaigns to support SB1, a measure to phase in a new educational system that would give parents taxpayer-funded vouchers to pay for their children to attend private and religious schools. The bill would also increase funding for an existing state program that gives businesses tax credits if they donate to private and religious schools. In addition to FreedomWorks, industry lobbying groups like the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association support the "school choice" measures. A group called Students First, which draws membership from FreedomWorks, recently conducted a "school choice" rally at the state capitol that revealed the group has access to cash and professional organizers. The rally included T-shirts, lunches and posters for hundreds of attendees, and the group uses a professional media adviser and veteran political ad man from Pittsburgh to help organize its events. The Students First PAC, funded by wealthy Philadelphia-area businessmen, first drew media attention after it poured millions of dollars into the campaign of Pennsylvania state senator Anthony Williams, who was running for governor. Williams made school vouchers a cornerstone of his campaign. Williams also co-authored the school voucher bill now before the state Senate.

    Main Source: 
    The (Allentown, Pennsylvania) Morning Call, April 12, 2011
    News

    Protests in Benton Harbor follow Martial Law Enforcement

    by Jennifer Page — May 3, 2011 - 4:35pm
  • Topics: Activism, Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Labor, Politics

    • The stripping of all power of the local government in Benton Harbor, Michigan has brought the national spotlight to the tiny town on the shores of Lake Michigan. The first city to be declared in a "financial emergency" by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, CMD reported that Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) Joseph Harris was assigned to the city back in 2010 by then-Governor Jennifer Granholm. But it wasn't until March of this year that Harris essentially disbanded the local government and boards.

    The Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. responded to this takeover while on a tour of the state, calling for a rainbow coalition to organize against the EFM bill and others that Snyder and the Republican-led Senate has passed. At a protest in Benton Harbor, Jackson said that he, along with Michigan Congressman John Conyers, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero and Benton Harbor Mayor Wilce Cook will file a lawsuit to challenge the law's constitutionality.

    News

    May Day March Unites Workers

    by Rebekah Wilce — May 1, 2011 - 11:55pm
  • Topics: Activism, Labor, Wisconsin Protests

    • May Day, or May 1st, became International Workers' Day in 1886, when it was the beginning of a multi-day general strike in Chicago in which workers demanded an eight-hour work day. On May 4, 1886, the strike ended in what became known as the Haymarket Affair.

    Yvonne Geerts of the Immigrant Workers Union said, "In 2006, immigrant workers reclaimed May Day as a clear acknowledgment that immigrants are the first workers who recognize the importance and the practicality of unity with all workers. Today, thousands of working families are victims of the policies of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, via service cuts to important programs like BadgerCare, FoodShare, Education, and so much more. Solidarity, today, is more relevant than ever."

    News

    Wisconsinites Get Revved up for Workers' Rights

    by Summer Abdoh — May 1, 2011 - 11:05am
  • Topics: Activism, Human Rights, Labor, Wisconsin Protests

    • Hundreds of Wisconsinites lined Madison's Capitol Square Saturday to welcome bikers from all over the Midwest and to protest Governor Scott Walker's attack on Wisconsin unions. Just when Walker thought he had memorized all the chants and signs, Wisconsinites revved it up a notch.

    Every kind of bike, from Harley-Davidsons to Huffys, descended onto the Square from Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd and South Hamilton Street. Eric Hartz, the organizer of the event, complemented the thunderous entrance with songs from the Raging Grannies, a social justice organization made up of older women. Other speakers included Sen. John Erpenbach, Sen. Mark Miller, Rep. Cory Mason, Rep. Peter Barca, Milwaukee Public School Teachers and the City of Middleton Fire Fighters.

    News

    Leader of Utah Recall Group Exposed

    by Jennifer Page — April 28, 2011 - 10:05am
  • Topics: Activism, Democracy, Wisconsin Protests

    • Back in February, CMD wrote that a little-known Utah group was behind many of the recall campaigns in Wisconsin targeting Democrats. The story about the American Recall Coalition left many Democrats and Republicans in Wisconsin scratching their heads. Now more is being discovered about this mysterious group and its leader Dan Baltes.

    The Salt Lake City Deseret News has done an in-depth profile of Baltes. For starters, Dan Baltes isn't his real name. His real name is Daniel Arthur Elliott. The Deseret News says, "He took his third wife's last name after they married about 3 ½ years ago. He said he wanted to distance himself from an ex-girlfriend and an ex-wife."

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