P.O. Box 1222, Madison, WI 53701 | www.prodane.org | office@prodane.org | (608) 257-4985
The State Journal wrote a front page article in the Sunday paper on Progressive Dane. The article included sidebars featuring PD candidates and a hip picture of PD members Brenda Konkel, Nick Berigan, Sang Lee and Michael Jacob.
The article was very well written and gave the community a balanced picture of Progressive Dane. There are too many highlights to include here, so check the entire article.
This was just part of what turned into PD media day. PD member Yogesh Chawla was interviewed live on Channel 3 news with Dawn Stevens. The interview highlighted PD's success in the spring primaries and touched on many of the issues in the State Journal article. Please contact PD if you would like to borrow a DVD or VHS of the interview.
Posted by prodane at 10:25 PM
PD Dane County Board Supervisors Kyle Richmond and Echnaton Vedder introduced a resolution against the federal government’s support for torture at the last County Board meeting on February 3, 2005. The resolution was introduced the same day that the U.S. Senate confirmed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, a major legitimizing force in the Bush Administration’s torture policy.
Despite opposition to introduction of the resolution from some fellow liberal/progressive supervisors, Vedder and Richmond were able to get 16 co-sponsors, including County Board Chairman Kevin Kesterson and Vice Chairman Scott McDonell, and three conservatives. The 18 sponsors are one less than the 19 votes required for passage of the resolution. The resolution has been referred to the Executive Committee of the Board for referral to the floor.
Click on the link below for highlights from the resolution. Click here for the entire resolution (pdf).
It is in the direct interest of the citizens of Dane County, Wisconsin to oppose any federal government actions that actively or tacitly approve of the use of torture. Not only do Dane County residents serve in the U.S. armed forces, but any policy designed to dismantle long-standing moral and practical opposition to torture could soon reasonably be expected to make U.S. civilians, including Dane County residents, subjects of torture. A United States foreign and/or military policy that seeks to legitimize torture is a perilous erosion of American moral standing in the world, and an attack on human dignity.NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Dane County Board of Supervisors does hereby condemn the use of torture in any form, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Dane County Board of Supervisors urges the prosecution of all parties, foreign or domestic, confirmed to be involved in torture, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Dane County Board of Supervisors urges U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to clearly and publicly reject the use of torture, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Dane County Board of Supervisors urges Dane County’s representatives in Congress to take an active role in monitoring and overseeing any programs or personnel of the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Defense, Central Intelligence Agency, White House, Bush Administration or any other U.S. government-sponsored entity that may be involved in interrogation or detention
of suspects, andBE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to Representative Tammy Baldwin, Senator Russell Feingold, Senator Herbert Kohl, the rest of the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, and President George W. Bush.
Posted by prodane at 10:32 PM
PD member Joe Lindstrom was recently called to duty in Iraq. Alder Austin King recently assisted in starting a campaign to bring awareness to Joe's service and to help bring Joe home. Please visit www.bringjoehome.us
Joe Lindstrom is a deeply valued and missed member of the Madison community. Joe was opposed to the invasion of Iraq, and he is opposed to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. He is a progressive activist who has led successful local campaigns for affordable housing, Madison's municipal minimum wage, Progressive and Green candidates, and against poverty and homelessness.
Below are some snips from the recent State Journal article. Here is another article as well.
A fundamentalist Christian fellow Progressive Dane members describe as a "flaming liberal," Lindstrom has been a leading crusader for causes ranging from the city's minimum-wage hike to homelessness.Ald. Austin King, District 8, helped devise the Bring Joe Home Campaign, an awareness effort that Lindstrom's friends will formally launch in the Capitol today at 11 a.m. With buttons, bumper stickers, and a Web site planned for www.bringjoehome.us, organizers say they hope to highlight the difficult decisions poor people face, especially as college tuition increases.
"In reality, we don't have a volunteer army anymore," King said. "We also don't have an education system that's accessible to normal people. The way that those two really modern phenomena interact with each other is really the story of Joe and why he's in Iraq."
Posted by prodane at 10:43 PM
PD endorsed candidates for Madison City Council had impressive spring primaries. Both Sarah and Austin King as well as Brian Benford had first place finishes. Lisa Subeck had a strong second place finish.
PD Elections Committee Chair Michael Jacob was on the WORT news program "In Our Back Yard" to discuss the elections results. Click here to listen (mp3 format).
PD looks forward to spring election and we encourage everyone to support and volunteer for this strong slate of candidates. Please visit our candidates page for more info on their campaigns. Check out the State Journal and Capital Times coverage. Click on the link below for complete coverage
Election Results, *denotes winnersDistrict 1
*Jed Sanborn 392 41%
*Lisa Subeck 273 28%
Aaron Backer 202 21%
Margaret Liss 83 8%District 8
*Austin King 295 78%
*Kami Eshraghi 58 15%
Ryan Corcoran 21 5%District 12
*Brian Benford 540 58%
*Michael Welling 358 38%
Christian Odom 20 2%District 13
*Sarah King 430 46%
*Isadore Knox, Jr. 353 38%
"Progressive" Duane Steinhauer 78 8%
William Kuehn 62 6%
Posted by prodane at 10:59 PM