Tag Archives: Wisconsin

Iowa’s Six-Week Abortion Ban Called ‘Cruel Future’ GOP Wants for Entire Nation

Denouncing “extremist Republicans,” EMILY’s List says the new state law exemplifies why voters “have to stop them at the ballot box this November.”

By Jessica Corbett. Published 7-29-2024 by Common Dreams

As Iowa’s six-week abortion ban took effect on Monday after a June ruling by the state Supreme Court, reproductive rights advocates pointed to the law as the latest proof of the importance of opposing anti-choice Republicans in the November elections.

“Today, people in Iowa woke up to the unfortunate reality that their reproductive rights have been ripped away,” said NextGen America. “They’re already fleeing the state for care. In November, abortion is on the ballot. Vote on it.”

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‘Ed Scare’ Deepens as 4,000+ Books Banned in First Half of School Year

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“The bans we’re seeing are broad, harsh, and pernicious—and they’re undermining the education of millions of students across the country,” said one lead author of a new PEN America report.

By Brett Wilkins Published 4-16-2024 by Common Dreams

U.S. school districts banned more books during the first half of the current academic year than during the entire last scholastic year, a report published Tuesday revealed.

PEN America recorded 4,349 book bans across 52 school districts in 23 states during the fall 2023 semester, more than double the 1,841 titles that were prohibited during the spring term and more than the 3,362 volumes reported banned nationwide during the entire previous academic year.

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Wisconsin Gov. Uses Line-Item Veto to Boost Education Funding for 400+ Years

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“This is how you’re supposed to legislate,” said Nina Turner.

By Jessica Corbett Published 7-5-2023 by Common Dreams

Among the dozens of Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ line-item vetoes for state Republicans’ two-year budget on Wednesday was a move to boost funding for public education for the next four centuries.

The budget approved by Wisconsin lawmakers hiked the revenue limit for school districts—or how much they can raise from state aid and local property taxes—by $325 per student “for the 2023-24 school year and the 2024-25 school year.” Evers, a former public school teacher and administrator, turned that into “for 2023-2425.”

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Thousands Across US Demand Reproductive Freedom on Roe’s 50th Anniversary

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“The overwhelming majority of Americans in all states support abortion rights—and women will fight to protect our rights and our lives,” said the executive director of Women’s March.

By Kenny Stancil. Published 1-22-2023 by Common Dreams

People rally for abortion rights at the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison on January 22, 2023. (Photo: Hedi Rudd, Paisley Koch/Women’s March via Twitter)

Thousands of people called for reproductive freedom at rallies around the United States on Sunday—the 50th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion a constitutional right until the Supreme Court’s reactionary majority overturned it last summer.

At more than 200 events in 46 states, demonstrators condemned the court’s 6-3 opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which enables states to curtail or even prohibit access to reproductive healthcare. Since the ruling was handed down on June 24, Republican lawmakers have enacted deadly abortion restrictions in 26 states, including near-total bans in several. Continue reading →

Marches on US Main Streets Center Poor Voters’ Demands Ahead of Midterms

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“The priorities of poor and low-income people are on the ballot this election—from healthcare to living wages to social programs that lift the load of poverty and much more,” said Poor People’s Campaign co-chair Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis.

By Jessica Corbett Published 10-15-2022 by Common Dreams

The Poor People’s Campaign organized get-out-the-vote marches across the United States, including in Westminster, Maryland, on October 15, 2022. (Photo: Maryland Poor People’s Campaign/Twitter)

Less than a month before Election Day, low-income people and allies came together across the United States on Saturday as part of a get-out-the-vote push by the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.

The campaign aims to reach at least five million people by the midterm elections next month, spreading the word that “if we ever needed to vote for democracy and justice, we sure do need to vote now!” However, the effort also has a message for politicians. Continue reading →

To Avoid ‘Spoiling’ Hungry Children, Wisconsin School District Opts Out of Free Meal Program

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“No matter their family income, it’s unacceptable for any student to go hungry at school,” said the Wisconsin Democratic Party.

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 8-27-2021

Image: Forest Ridge School District 142/Facebook

Hundreds of families and educators in Waukesha, Wisconsin are calling on the city’s school board to reverse a decision it made earlier this year to opt out of a federal meal program that was introduced at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, offering free food to students regardless of income.

As the Washington Post reported Friday, Waukesha is the only school district in the state to reject funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Seamless Summer Option program, which was praised by economists and beneficiaries alike for destigmatizing the need for public assistance and eliminating red tape. Continue reading →

‘We’re Staying’: Line 3 Opponents Camp at Minnesota Capitol to Protest Oil Pipeline

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“The cops are gathered here by the hundred and the governor’s brand new fence glimmers in the background, but our spirit is resolved.”

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 8-26-2021

Demonstrators protest the Line 3 pipeline on the grounds of the Minnesota capitol building on August 25, 2021. (Photo: RootsAction)

With Enbridge on the verge of completing its multibillion-dollar Line 3 pipeline, thousands of Indigenous leaders and environmentalists brought their protests against the sprawling tar sands project to the grounds of the Minnesota state capitol building on Wednesday to demand that lawmakers intervene before the dirty oil starts flowing.

Roughly 2,000 demonstrators—including Indigenous leaders who marched over 250 miles along the pipeline’s route—rallied at the capitol Wednesday afternoon and hundreds stayed through the night as Minnesota police officers guarded the building’s perimeter, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence installed in anticipation of the protest. Continue reading →

Secret IRS Files Reveal How Much the Ultrawealthy Gained by Shaping Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Tax Cut”

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Billionaire business owners deployed lobbyists to make sure Trump’s 2017 tax bill was tailored to their benefit. Confidential IRS records show the windfall that followed.

by Justin Elliott and Robert Faturechi. Published 8-11-2021 by ProPublica

Image: Pixafree.org/CC BY-SA 3.0

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

Series:
The Secret IRS Files

Inside the Tax Records of the .001%

In November 2017, with the administration of President Donald Trump rushing to get a massive tax overhaul through Congress, Sen. Ron Johnson stunned his colleagues by announcing he would vote “no.”

Making the rounds on cable TV, the Wisconsin Republican became the first GOP senator to declare his opposition, spooking Senate leaders who were pushing to quickly pass the tax bill with their thin majority. “If they can pass it without me, let them,” Johnson declared. Continue reading →

Wisconsin on Track for Another ‘Wolf Slaughter,’ Sparking Calls for Federal Protections

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“Our state’s Natural Resources Board voted today to double down on wolf management that goes against science and ethical norms.”

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 8-12-2021

Wisconsin is set to hold its second wolf hunt of the year this fall.. Photo: Gunnar Ries/flickr/CC

Less than a year after a February wolf hunt condemned as “an outright slaughter,” conservation advocates are warning that the animals in Wisconsin are at risk of being wiped out after state officials voted Wednesday to approve a kill quota of 300 wolves for the fall 2021 hunting season—more than twice the number proposed by the state Department of Natural Resources.

The “harvest quota” was approved in a 5-2 vote at an in-person meeting of the Natural Resources Board. Continue reading →

Water Protectors Gather for ‘Largest Resistance Yet’ to Line 3 as Enbridge Accelerates Pipeline Construction

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“We need to protect all that we have left of the sacred gifts and land.”

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 6-6-2021

Image: Indigenous Environmental Network/Twitter

Thousands of people from across the nation are traveling to northern Minnesota this weekend to join Indigenous leaders in what organizers described as the “largest resistance yet” to Line 3, an Enbridge-owned tar sands pipeline whose construction has accelerated in recent days as opponents warn the project poses a threat to waterways and the climate.

The Treaty People Gathering kicked off Saturday, the first of several expected days of action against Enbridge’s multi-billion-dollar project, which aims to replace and expand the Canadian company’s existing pipeline along a route that crosses more than 200 bodies of water and 800 wetlands. Continue reading →

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The Movement Continues – Globally

Tag Archives: Wisconsin

Iowa’s Six-Week Abortion Ban Called ‘Cruel Future’ GOP Wants for Entire Nation

Denouncing “extremist Republicans,” EMILY’s List says the new state law exemplifies why voters “have to stop them at the ballot box this November.”

Denouncing “extremist Republicans,” EMILY’s List says the new state law exemplifies why voters “have to stop them at the ballot box this November.”

“The bans we’re seeing are broad, harsh, and pernicious—and they’re undermining the education of millions of students across the country,” said one lead author of a new PEN America report.

“This is how you’re supposed to legislate,” said Nina Turner.

“The overwhelming majority of Americans in all states support abortion rights—and women will fight to protect our rights and our lives,” said the executive director of Women’s March.

“The priorities of poor and low-income people are on the ballot this election—from healthcare to living wages to social programs that lift the load of poverty and much more,” said Poor People’s Campaign co-chair Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis.

“No matter their family income, it’s unacceptable for any student to go hungry at school,” said the Wisconsin Democratic Party.

“The cops are gathered here by the hundred and the governor’s brand new fence glimmers in the background, but our spirit is resolved.”

Billionaire business owners deployed lobbyists to make sure Trump’s 2017 tax bill was tailored to their benefit. Confidential IRS records show the windfall that followed.

Series: The Secret IRS Files

“Our state’s Natural Resources Board voted today to double down on wolf management that goes against science and ethical norms.”

“We need to protect all that we have left of the sacred gifts and land.”

Series:
The Secret IRS Files