Citizen Action Weekly: Friday, August 20th

Citizen Action Hosts Community Town Hall in partnership with Build Better Together

On Friday, August 20th, Attorney General Josh Kaul and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley came together with health care advocates and local residents as part of Protect Our Care’s nationwide bus tour to call for lowering Wisconsinites’ health costs, expanding coverage, and reducing racial disparities in care. Protect Our Care is fighting to ensure critical health care measures supported by President Biden remain in upcoming budget reconciliation legislation.

Traveling over 8,600 miles across the country, with 36 events in 19 states, Protect Our Care’s national bus tour is promoting the work of President Biden and dozens of Democratic lawmakers who are leading the charge to advance American health care and holding Republicans accountable for continuing to reject measures to improve care and lower costs for the American people. Thank you to everyone who helped us welcome Protect Our Care to Wisconsin!

Watch the Live Stream Now!

Apply Now! Citizen Action of Wisconsin Movement Politics Academy

Have you ever thought about running for public office? Apply for Citizen Action’s Movement Politics Academy this fall. Our nine-week program will give you the tools you need to run an effective, progressive campaign, advancing on issues you will run on, build relationships and so much more. Learn more and apply now! Connect with Barbara Cerda, SEWI Co-Op Organizer with questions at [email protected].

Join the Northwestern Wisconsin Co-op: Healthcare Issue Team Meeting

Our Northwestern Co-op’s Healthcare issue team will meet on September 1st, 2021 at 4:00 pm virtually as we discuss strategies to pass Medicare for All Resolutions and Badgercare Expansion Resolutions in our region. Register now and a Zoom link will be sent to you via email.

 

Community for All Resolution takes center stage!

Last Thursday, after nearly a year and a half of efforts by the Diversity Affairs Commission, the Task Force on a Community for All resolution, and a coalition of community members and grassroots organizations who worked tirelessly to educate the public on the issue and organize members of the public to get engaged in the process, an amended version of the document passed the Executive Committee of the Marathon County Board of Supervisors. It is not what those who authored and advocated for the resolution wanted, but this version of the resolution, if it passes at the regular meeting of the Marathon County Board of Supervisors next week Tuesday, August 24th at 7 pm, will be better than no resolution.

On Thursday, August 19th, at the organizational meeting of the Marathon County Board of Supervisors, 51 people registered to speak in regard to the resolution. Of those that registered, 29 spoke in favor of the resolution, and 25 spoke against it.

In March of 2021, the Citizen Action of Wisconsin North Central Organizing Co-op created an advocacy page to make it easy for people to email the county Board expressing their support for the resolution. Yesterday alone, the Board received a total of 104 emails asking them to support the resolution, and only 36 asking them to oppose it! A big thank you to everyone that utilized this tool to advocate for our community, and to every group that worked in coalition to amplify! This simple effort will have a huge impact on the minds of the Supervisors as they decide how to vote next week. If you live in Marathon County, there is still time to send an email to the Board, asking them to support the resolution. All emails should be sent before 7 pm on Tuesday, August 24th. Send an email now!

For residences of Langlade, Lincoln, Oneida, Vilas, Wood, Portage, Price, Taylor, Rusk or any one of the counties in the North Central region, and you would like to work on something similar, contact Organizer Joel Lewis, at 715-551-2525 or [email protected] and he will connect you to the leaders in Marathon County that have made this happen.

Urge the DNR to Defend Driftless Waters!

The DNR is on the verge of approving the largest hog CAFO in Wisconsin to operate on a narrow karstic ridge overlooking the lower Kickapoo River. The study and analysis done to date have been extremely lacking and, in some cases, simply incorrect. This is why we need a thorough review via an Environmental Impact Statement and serious conditions on this permit to protect air quality, streams, rivers, and groundwater, and the local community.
The decision to do more study and impose conditions on this permit sits entirely with the DNR, and this administration has pledged to do more to protect water, and recommit the DNR to science-based decision-making. After all the public hearings, press conferences, and bold rhetoric defining “clean water” as a priority, now we need to see action to back that up.
Please contact the Governor, Lt. Governor, and your local elected representatives to let them know that we expect our DNR to explore the full range of their regulatory authority in the case of this massive operation on such a sensitive and precious landscape.
Gov Tony Evers: [email protected]
Lt Gov Mandela Barnes: [email protected]
Senator Tammy Baldwin
Senator Ron Johnson
Congressman Ron Kind
State Senator Brad Pfaff: [email protected]
Representative Jill Billings: [email protected]
Representative Loran Oldenburg: [email protected]

Art and activism as we call on Congress to “Build Back Better”

Join us on August 26th from 12:00 PM –  2:30 PM as we demand that the Build Back Better Agenda is passed and bold climate action is taken now!
Dramatic weather events around the country and here in La Crosse are highlighting that the U.S. has to get serious about the threats of climate to communities around the world. This past weekend alone, the La Crosse area got over 5” of rain in approximately 2.5 hours. The latest IPCC report tells us we must dramatically reduce our carbon pollution by the end of the decade, or we won’t be able to stop the devastating impacts of climate change on our lives and our community.

We will be meeting at noon on the WWTC campus in La Crosse to create artwork that highlights the need for climate action.  At 1:00 we will hear from activists from across the Driftless Region speaking to the need for climate action in our communities.  We will march to Congressman Kind’s office to deliver our artwork and to ask the Congressman to support the Build Back Better agenda!

Location: Western Technical College La Crosse, 400 7th St N, La Crosse, WI 54601 at The Business Education Center and Integrated Technology Center
RSVP and Learn More!

Join Citizen Action for a Climate Solutions Roundtable on Thursday, August 26th!

The impact of Climate Change is clearly visible and we know that we must act boldly to create a future where we all can thrive. No matter the color of our skin or the amount of money we make, we all deserve a country that’s cleaner and fairer.  Unfortunately, a few politicians and those whose interests they serve are holding us all back. They try to divide us by our skin color, our zip code, or how we worship. By coming together, we can create an America where we protect our air and water, share in our economic prosperity, and build bridges across our differences. From calling on the Appleton City Council to commit to a transition to clean energy to supporting Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda, join us for a Climate Solutions roundtable with climate justice champions from across the State of Wisconsin and learn how you can make a difference in our fight for a just climate transition.

We know that change starts with us and the work we do in our communities. The City of Appleton has the opportunity to be a Regional Leader in the fight for a just climate transition and your elected officials need to know that you support them doing so. If you don’t live in the City of Appleton, you can take action by learning how you can fight for climate justice in your local municipality!

The Build Back Better Agenda will grow our economy and give American workers, businesses, and families the opportunity to succeed in the 21st century by creating millions of new, good-paying jobs: rebuilding roads and bridges, modernizing our energy grid, caregiving, and investing in clean energy and clean water. During the month of August, Congress is in recess, out of DC and back at home in their districts. Support the Build Back Better Agenda by attending this event and calling on Representatives Gallagher and Grothmann to act boldly on climate change.

Our event will be outside and comply with CDC recommendations to prevent the ongoing spread of COVID-19. Click Here to RSVP!

Citizen Action in the News

Citizen Action’s Robert Kraig was on the Jeff Santos show to discuss the COVID surge and the contradictions in both Democratic and Republican vaccine policy. Listen here.

Redistricting the future” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast

We welcome the Fair Elections Project’s Sachin Chheda to discuss breaking news on redistricting. The 2020 census data has just arrived from DC, the lawsuits have begun, and a new Harvard report ranks Wisconsin the least democratic state in the nation, classifying it a “democracy desert”. Our panel also talks about worsening COVID infection and hospitalization rates, and the controversy over the Biden Administration’s decision to authorize a third dose when big Pharma is still denying it to most of the world. Robert updates us on the dramatic and historically significant Congressional battle over the President’s Build Back Better agenda.

Listen now!
Learn more about the Fair Election Project.

Facebook Post of the Week