Massive Rally Monday Night In Madison To Honor Martin Luther King, Jr., Energize For Election Day

This will be intense.  (Someone should alert Governor Walker so he can be out of the statehouse…there may be some tough words that might bother him if he sticks around to hear them.)

One of the men on the Memphis balcony on April 4th, 1968, the night Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, was Rev. Jesse Jackson.  Monday night Jackson will be in Madison at the Capitol for a massive event to honor King and his legacy, energize the union members in Wisconsin, and drive up the enthusiasm for Election Day on Tuesday.  Though Jackson has been here many times to speak, it will be especially timely and moving to have Jackson in our city at this time.

There is no doubt that King would have championed the workers in Wisconsin and united with them in the struggle we now experience.  There is no doubt King would have strongly encouraged every voter to cast a ballot in the Spring Election on Tuesday.

Those themes will ring out for the thousands that will join together and honor King Monday evening at the Capitol.

There will be eight different marches that will all wind their way to the Capitol Square.

Starting at 4:30, groups will gather at eight separate locations, based on your membership or interest, and a “feeder march” will begin at each location at 4:50, arrive by all eight streets approaching the Capitol for the rally that follows:

CWA & Private Sector Workers & Building Trades Feeder March begins at 316 W. Washington, marching to the Capitol up West Washington.

Immigrant Rights Feeder March begins at Monona Terrace, marching to the Capitol up MLK.

University Students, Staff and Faculty Feeder March begins at Library Mall, marching to the Capitol up State St.

Healthcare Feeder March, including healthcare workers, seniors, Badger Care Recipients, and the disabled begins at the Concourse Hotel, 1 W. Dayton St., marching to the Capitol up Wisconsin Ave.

Environmental Protections Feeder March begins at James Madison Park on E. Gorham St., marching to the Capitol up N. Hamilton.

Public Safety  & Public Workers & Service Cuts Feeder March begins at the City-County Building, 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, marching to the Capitol up S. Hamilton. 

K-12 Teachers and Students Feeder March begins at the Wisconsin State Dept. of Education, 125 S. Webster St. marching to the Capitol up King St.

Anti-Corporate Feeder begins at the parking lot at E. Washington Ave. & Butler Street, marching to the Capitol up E. Washington.

Beginning at 5:00 is the “From Memphis to Madison” Rally, featuring performances by Michelle Shocked and Michael Franti, and speakers will include Rev. Jesse Jackson.

No Apologies For Unions Boycotting Walker’s Business Friends

Much has been made of the noise from Union Grove about boycotting businesses that do not display signs in support of worker rights.   Last Friday Marty Beil, executive director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 24, said there is no boycott.

That may well be the case, but at the bottom of this controversy is the fact that businesses who supported Governor Walker for election now must decide to either still support him, or side with the workers of this state.

There is no middle ground.  Some may try to find it, even attempt to stand on it.

But at the end of the day either one supports the workers of Wisconsin or they do not.

I strongly support the actions of union members to highlight who does, and does not, support the cause of workers.

Let us remember this is all happening due to the result of Gov. Walker’s collective bargaining ‘law’.  Look what Walker has done to this state.  I think everyone needs to be mindful of how we got to this point. 

This all did not begin with workers starting a boycott of businesses.

The turtle never just lands on top of the fence post….someone had to put him there.

I do not think it makes sense to shop for a car or cheese at a place where my money will make profits that then goes to undermine my values and political ideals.  Since money is the only thing Republicans pay attention to it only makes sense to go for the dollars.

I might add for those who do not live in Wisconsin but read my blog  that the emotions over this matter are intense in ways I can not even give voice to on this site.  

It is personal in Wisconsin over this issue, and people are offended at how this ‘law’ was ‘passed’.   More than the  issue itself people reject the process of how Republicans slammed this bill through the legislature.   

The emotions of this issue are clear with the attempts at recall elections in numbers that will make a national record if all the signatures can be obtained. 

The first GOP Senator had signatures turned in against him on Friday.  They numbered more than  20,000!  This is wild stuff for voters who usually hunker down and just take what they have been handed.

Workers and others (union member or not) are  making it clear that we are disgusted and plan to react to what Governor Walker and the Republicans have done.  This is politics from the gut being played out.

The bottom line is if our neighborhood merchant will not stand with us at this critical hour when decades of labor history are about to be dumped for the most base of political reasons, then rest assured we will find another merchant.

The mushy middle is just not good enough when it comes to this issue.

Israel Facing “Diplomatic-Political Tsunami”

Israel is at the moment they have tried to avoid for decades.

Israel can either put forth a plan…a real plan…that allows for a true path forward for a Palestinian homeland, or the United Nations will take a vote, perhaps as early as September to welcome Palestine into the world community.

For too long the world has allowed Israel to act recklessly while it continued to build and settle on land they do not own, and should never consider to be their property.  That not ONE single government in the world agrees with the settlement policy seems not to bother the Israeli government.  After all, they have carried out this deed for so many years they now think it is all just the way the Lord intended it to be.

Well, actually no, there is a wall of time and space that Israel is about to reach.

And it likely will be this calendar year.

“We are facing a diplomatic-political tsunami that the majority of the public is unaware of and that will peak in September,” said Ehud Barak, Israel’s defense minister, at a conference in Tel Aviv last month. “It is a very dangerous situation, one that requires action.” He added, “Paralysis, rhetoric, inaction will deepen the isolation of Israel.”

With aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thrashing out proposals to the Palestinians, President Shimon Peres is due at the White House on Tuesday to meet with President Obama and explore ways out of the bind. The United States is still uncertain how to move the process forward, according to diplomats here.

Israel’s offer is expected to include transfer of some West Bank territory outside its settlements to Palestinian control and may suggest a regional component — an international conference to serve as a response to the Arab League peace initiatives.

But Palestinian leaders, emboldened by support for their statehood bid, dismiss the expected offer as insufficient and continue to demand an end to settlement building before talks can begin.