V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

Hurray!  I received news yesterday that the Wisconsin Senate has rejected the ALEC mining bill (Assembly bill 426) and that Gogebic-Taconite has announced that it will leave the state.  Thanks go to Sens. Jauch and Dale Schultz and the great citizens of Wisconsin who fought so hard and chose to keep our beautiful environment over pollutive jobs.  Special recognition should go to Sen Schultz for being the lone Republican to take a moral stand against the party line.  Republicans in Washington should have this kind of moral conviction.  The Wisconsin legislative session ends on March 15th and it is unlikely that the mining bill will be resurrected before then.  The Penokee mine issue is a perfect example of what citizens can do when they choose to take a stand against corporate fascism and greedy people.

There are still some events coming up.  On March 16, Al Gedicks, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, will speak at the Bad River Lodge and Casino Convention Center from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. about the influence of the proposed mine on the indigenous people of the area.  Then between 1:30 - 2:30 p.m., Cyrus Hester from the Bad River Natural Resources Environmental Program, will speak on Resource Challenges and show a presentation of Last Mountain.  The day ends with a potluck dinner celebrating the victory over the mine. 

On March 18, Non-violent Roots for Change and the NVC (non-violent collective) will offer non-violent direct action training at the Northland College Sigurd Olson Center in Ashland from 1:00 - 6:00 p.m.  Visit the event page for more info and to R.S.V.P.

On the voting front, the Wisconsin Senate has passed its restrictive voter registration bill.  And, Dane County Judge David Flanagan has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the bill before the upcoming April 3 elections.  Better to be safe than sorry.  Check your voter registration status.

Here is a link to a nice 2012 Wisconsin Voting Guide courtesy of WTMJ 620 AM Newsradio.  On a personal note, Tom and I took Lara and Ed to get official state identification cards at the nearest DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) office because the one they had expired.  We found that all identification cards were being processed through ONE office and that the waiting time was (when we were there several weeks ago) up to two weeks in order to receive the cards.  I have not been back to the DMV office to see if this has changed, but if you need a state ID for voting this year, I recommend you go to the nearest DMV office and get it now. 

Finally, tomorrow at the Capitol down in Madison will be a We Are Wisconsin rally  beginning at 1:00 p.m.  The event is supposed to be crowded and it is recommended that if you want to go try to take one of the regional buses (see the link above for locations).

Tomorrow is My-Own-True-Love's birthday so we are going to celebrate with some Chinese food and I made him a New York Style Diabetic Cheesecake . 

Take care and I'll talk to you soon!