(SWWAP)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOCAL SIERRA CLUB DIRECTOR TO SPEAK

IN MOUNT HOREB JAN. 14

Wisconsin Environmental laws to be XXX (Examined, Explored and Explained)

“Wisconsin's water and wild places” sounds like the makings of a new theme park, but the topics are anything but child's play to Sierra Club's local chapter director Shahla M.Werner, Ph.D. She will present an update on new laws affecting water, air and wild places in Wisconsin and will also address likely environment-related bills to be tossed about inWisconsin lawmakers' next session. The talk will be held on Mon. Jan. 14, 7 PM at the Mount Horeb Community Center on 107 N. Grove St. Mount Horeb.

Southwest Wisconsin Area Progressives (SWWAP), a local democracy-in-action group serving the Mount Horeb area since 2004, is sponsoring the event. For further info contact Sierra Club, John Muir Chapter at 608-256-0565, email SWWAP member Tim White, tkwhites@tds.net or check SWWAP.org.

The public is invited to attend.

Wisconsin State Senator

Jon Erpenbach, 27th District

images/images-5.jpeg

• State Capitol

  P.O. Box 7882

  Madison, WI 53707-7882

• Office Phone: (608) 266-6670
• DC Fax: (202) 225-6942
• Email:  Sen.Erpenbach@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Homepage: Click Here

Wisconsin State Senator

Jon Erpenbach, 27th District

images/images-5.jpeg

• State Capitol

  P.O. Box 7882

  Madison, WI 53707-7882

• Office Phone: (608) 266-6670
• DC Fax: (202) 225-6942
• Email:  Sen.Erpenbach@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Homepage: Click Here

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/erpenbach/PressReleases/Pages/jONline-Archive.aspx

by Senator Jon Erpenbach, 27^th Senate District

When looking for wisdom in the value of same day registration we can look to the 1976 Legislature, who created the option of registering to vote on Election Day.  They said, “The vote is the single most critical act in our democratic system of government….(and) voter registration was not intended to and should not prevent voting.” Thank you to Diane Hermann-Brown from the Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association for sharing that quote in a recent Wisconsin State Journal story. Legislators before the days of billion dollar campaigns had the right idea: Voting is a constitutional right and our laws should not stand in the way of that right.

Legislators, unhappy with the outcome of some elections, have set their sights on limiting the rights of certain individuals to have access to vote. Elimination of same day registration would create an election system where thousands of individuals, otherwise qualified to vote, would be unable to exercise their most basic democratic constitutional right. 

In developing countries where democracy is young, an invisible permanent ink marks the hands of those that have voted so they cannot vote again. We have, however, set up a system of recording the verifiable personally identifiable information of those wanting to register to vote. Those that have moved since the last election and those new to voting must first register to vote. This is how we ensure the integrity of our elections. Through honesty and disclosure of accurate information given by voters and collected by our clerks and poll workers, we have a system that works for registration of our voters.

If Wisconsin does not allow for same day voter registration, we will have to create a new government system to address registration of voters in order to be in compliance with Federal law. Other states deputize workers at the Department of Transportation and at the local County Health services. Wisconsin would have to create a whole new government system for allowing people to register at many government locations at taxpayer expense. Workers with different jobs would be expected to register voters, while other citizens wait in line for that to happen. Let’s take a page out of the common sense book and not fix something that isn’t broken. Same day registration is working for Wisconsin; let’s stick with it.

For more information on voter registration laws please contact my office at: 608-266-6670 or 1-888-549-0027 or sen.erpenbach@legis.wi.gov 

I would like to thank you for giving me the privilege of serving as your State Representative. During the coming legislative session, I will be using this site to inform you of what is happening in state politics.

Before we dive into specific issues, I wanted to provide you with some useful links that will help you stay involved with the legislature as we near the start of the 2013-14 Session. The Wisconsin Legislature’s home page (www.legis.wi.gov) can be a wealth of information. By using the navigation pane in the upper left hand corner of the site, you can track and follow any proposal (using the Legislation header) before either house. You can also learn more about current elected officials (using the Assembly and Senate headers). There are also digital versions of the Wisconsin Statutes and Constitution (under the Wisconsin Law header and organized by subject and chapter).

Since my first term in the Assembly, I have focused on timely and thorough constituent response to questions and comments. To that end, I also want to make sure you have accurate contact information for my office. I can be reached by email at Rep.Pope-Roberts@legis.wi.gov, on the web at http://legis.wisconsin.gov/assembly/pope-roberts/, and by phone at (608) 266-3520.

I appreciate and encourage contact from anyone interested in state politics and am happy to use this forum as a way to discuss topics of specific importance to anyone. Thanks again for allowing me the opportunity to serve you and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Sondy Pope-Roberts
State Representative
79^th Assembly District

Here's the link to view it online:

• StoryBridge.tv/greenview/communityaction/story/TrashToTreasure

Currently, the GAB is made up of six former judges, who are nominated by a panel of Wisconsin Appeals Court judges, appointed by the Governor and then confirmed by the Senate. The appointment process has been praised by a national election law expert as a method "designed to promote impartiality."

Meanwhile, local elections officials have joined other voting rights advocates in opposing Governor Walker's proposal to end Election Day Registration. The Appleton City Clerk noted that same-day registration not only encourages people to vote but also is "the most cost-effective model" for our elections. The League of Women Voters defended same-day registration in a recent newspaper column and on the Joy Cardin Show on Wisconsin Public Radio.

Wisconsin Grassroots Network is almost 5 years old, originating as the Dane Grassroots Network. We network more than 70 grassroots across Wisconsin, expecting to increase that number. We provide support, training and strategy sessions statewide to promote progressive values and candidates.  SWWAP proudly counts itself as bein an affiliate of this organization.

To Contact Wisconsin Grassroots Network go to:

• WisconsinGrassRoots.net

ACTION ALERT - Contact Your Representatives

WDC was founded in 1995 as a nonprofit, independent coalition of individuals and groups responding to the growing dominance of special interest money in the campaigns of state lawmakers.

This webpage will highlight action alerts from the WDC.

To Go To The WDC Website Follow This Link: WISDC.org

Move to Amend Wins Big at the Ballot Box: Americans Fed Up with Big Money and Undue Corporate Influence

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 CONTACT:

Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, press@MoveToAmend.org, 707-269-0984

From Massachusetts to Oregon, Colorado to Illinois and Wisconsin, and Ohio to California, citizens throughout the country voted overwhelmingly yesterday for their legislators to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling and declare that only human beings – not corporations – are entitled to constitutional rights and that money is not speech and campaign spending can be regulated.

Residents in over 150 cities had the opportunity to vote on measures calling for an end to the doctrines of corporate constitutional rights and money as free speech, and in every single town the vote was supportive. Often by an overwhelming margin.

In Eau Claire, WI the vote was 71% in favor of a measure stating, "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, unions, or PACs, are entitled to constitutional rights?"

In largely conservative Pueblo, Colorado, where the city newspaper came out against the measure, residents still voted 65% in favor of Move to Amend's resolution, placed on the ballot by County Commissioners. Move to Amend volunteers in Massachusetts collected signatures to place the constitutional amendment question before one third of the population of their state. The "MA Democracy Amendment Question" passed by 79%.

Voters in Mendocino County, CA where volunteers collected signatures to become the first California county to place a Move to Amend citizen's initiative on the ballot, explicitly voted to "stand with the Move to Amend campaign" by a 73% margin. Move to Amend resolutions also passed in several towns in Illinois and Ohio and Oregon, all by similar landslide margins.

Montana voters approved a state-wide resolution by 75%.

Another organization -- Common Cause -- put forward several measures calling for simply overturning Citizens United and granting Congress authority to regulate campaign spending. These measures also passed by a wide margin. In the state of Colorado, the Common Cause measure passed by 64% and in San Francisco approval was 80% and 72% in Richmond, CA. The group's measure in Chicago passed by 74%. Common Cause was also an active member of the MA Democracy Amendment Coalition.

Move to Amend's position is that the Constitutional amendment must go beyond simply overturning Citizens United, "There is no reason for us to shy away from a true and lasting solution, rather than just band-aids," stated Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, a member of the Move to Amend National Leadership Team. "In every single community where Americans have had the opportunity to call for a Constitutional amendment to outlaw corporate personhood, they have seized it and voted yes overwhelmingly. Tuesday's results show that the Movement to Amend has nearly universal approval. Americans are fed up with large corporations wielding undue influence over our elections and our legal system. Citizens United is not the cause, it is a symptom and Americans want to see that case overturned not by simply going back to the politics of 2009 before the case, but rather by removing big money and special interests from the process entirely."

Move to Amend is a national coalition of hundreds of organizations and nearly 250,000 people. The organization also boasts over 150 local affiliates across the country. The Resolve to Amend Campaign goal was to have 50 cities vote on the group's resolution.

We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.

TAKE ACTION!

Sign The Petition @ Salsa3.SalsaLabs.com/o/50137/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6883

Tell the FCC: Stop Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch, the guy who controls the Fox News Channel, wants to expand his empire, and he's not letting FCC regulations get in his way.

Embattled and under investigation in England for phone hacking, influence peddling and bribery, Murdoch has set his sights set on the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, the major papers in the nation's second and third-largest cities, where Murdoch already owns several TV stations.¹

Shockingly, President Obama's Federal Communications Commission is trying to change the rules so Murdoch can get exactly what he wants. Even worse, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is hoping the agency can pass these changes without you noticing.

 

 

That's why we're joining our allies at Free Press and calling on the FCC to stop trying to change the rules for Rupert Murdoch.

Tell FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski: No more media consolidation for Murdoch.

Murdoch's media grab would be illegal under the current rules. But Chairman Genachowski is pushing the other commissioners for changes that would translate into a giveaway for Murdoch and other media barons.²

These rule changes wouldn't just benefit Murdoch. If the FCC changes the rules, one company could own the major daily newspaper, two TV stations, and up to eight radio stations in your town. And that one company could be your Internet provider, too.

Sound familiar? It should -- the FCC is pushing the same Bush-era media consolidation policy that millions rallied against in 2003, and 2007, and was defeated in court just two years ago. The Senate even voted to overturn this consolidation policy back in 2008, rebuking runaway media concentration led by, among others, then-Senator Barack Obama.³

Take Action! Call Your Representatives, and sign the following petiton.

 

 

Go To This Link To Sign A Petition and Find Out How To Get Sly Back On The Air!

• Secure3.Convio.net Link

A Petition site has been set up by We Are Wisconsin. Please consider signing on.

• Action.WeAreWisconsin.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8954