Don't be a Sucker

Today, August 15

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  7:02pm

  Steve Hanson updated Muslim Advocates Responds to Trump’s Comments on White Supremacist Violence
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  7:00pm

  Steve Hanson created Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Responds

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 15, 2017 Lawyers’...

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  August 15, 2017

   

  Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Responds Condemns President Trump For

  Again Blaming “Both Sides” For Violence In Charlottesville

   

  WASHINGTON, D.C. – Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued the following statement Tuesday after President Trump once again sought to diminish the role white supremacist marchers played in a violent protest in Charlottesville, Va., last weekend:

  “The President’s statements today rubbed salt into the wounds of millions of Americans still reeling from the national tragedy that unfolded in Charlottesville.  By repeating his totally off base and offensive view that ‘both sides’ are to blame for the death and destruction that occurred last weekend, the President once again revealed his hostility towards race relations in our country.  His comments embolden the racially-motivated and hate-fueled forces who seek to divide our country.  Moreover, his comments threaten to further embolden the growing alt-right and white supremacist movement in our country. This is an affront to the generations who marched for racial equality and economic justice, as those who marched with the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. did 54 years ago this month. 

  
  “As the President continues his efforts to divide the nation and stoke fear, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law will continue to fight for the civil rights of racial minorities who are targeted by this administration.”

  The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a Communities Against Hate partner, leads the Stop Hate Project.  The Stop Hate Project works to strengthen the capacity of community leaders, local government, law enforcement, and organizations around the country to combat hate by connecting these groups with legal and social services resources and creating new ones in response to identified needs.  The Project’s resource and reporting hotline for hate incidents, 1-844-9-NO-HATE (1-844-966-4283), connects people and organizations combating hate with the resources and support they need. 

  About the Lawyers’ Committee:

  The Lawyers’ Committee, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination.  Now in its 54th year, the Lawyers’ Committee is continuing its quest “Move America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee is to secure,...

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  6:56pm

  Steve Hanson created Muslim Advocates Responds to Trump’s Comments on White Supremacist Violence

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  /...

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  / LINK

  August 15, 2017

  Contact: Scott Simpson, [email protected]

  Or Nicky Vogt, [email protected]

   

  Muslim Advocates Responds to Trump’s Comments on White Supremacist Violence

   

  Washington, DC – The following is a statement from Farhana Khera, Executive Director of Muslim Advocates, regarding Trump’s latest comments on the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, VA this past weekend:

   

  “President Trump is acting like the white-supremacist-in-chief.  

   

  To be clear: there is only one side to this hate and violence, and the President is choosing to stand with the white nationalists, the confederates, the neo-Nazis, and people like Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka.

   

  This is an intolerable failure to govern our diverse nation, and we urge all Americans to hold this president accountable.”

   

  Muslim Advocates is a national legal advocacy and educational organization that works on the frontlines of civil rights to guarantee freedom and justice for Americans of all faiths.

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• 

  6:53pm

  Steve Hanson created Rep. Gordon Hintz - Where will Wisconsin find the workers?

  The shiny object in front of lawmakers’ eyes when talking about the Foxconn...

  The shiny object in front of lawmakers’ eyes when talking about the Foxconn proposal is the potential of new jobs.  “13,000 direct jobs!  Another 22,000 indirect jobs!”

   

  All of these claims ignore the reality in 2017 Wisconsin faces. If the jobs do materialize, where will the workers come from?

   

  The important statistic when considering the availability of labor is the “prime working age” population, which economists classify as people between 25 and 54 years old. Wisconsin had 105,000 fewer prime working age people in 2015 than it did in 2010. Some of the sharpest decreases occurred in Jefferson, Kenosha, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha counties. As the state with the 15th oldest population in the U.S., Wisconsin’s prime working age population is expected to continue to shrink through 2040 to just 33% of its total population.  This is down from 41% in 2010.

   

  Looking at 2016 census estimates for Racine and Kenosha counties, Racine lost 6,709 (8.3%) of its prime working age population in just the past 6 years. Kenosha lost 2,998 (4.3%) since 2010.  So the very region being counted on to fill as many as 35,000 jobs has a smaller number of working aged people, and that number is continuing to decrease.

   

  Wisconsin’s current and future demographic challenge is not new, but considerations for how the state will address this challenge and manage the consequences do not seem to be at the forefront of the Governor’s current decision-making. 

   

  In addition to the lost workforce due to the retirements of baby boomers, more than 27,000 people left Wisconsin between 2010 and 2014, according to a study from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX). According to Todd Berry, WISTAX president, Wisconsin lost people “at a faster rate than we should, and this means not only are we not going to grow the workforce, we’re going to see a shrinking workforce if we keep that up.”

   

  If you build it, will they come?

   

  Wisconsin is not alone in facing a labor shortage. Both Illinois and Michigan face shrinking working age populations, while Minnesota and Iowa expect small increases through 2040.  Nationwide, there are more than 1 million unfilled manufacturing jobs and there is high demand for skilled labor.

   

  Workers choose where they...

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• 

  10:11am

  Steve Hanson created "Loving Us” Pow Wow Encourages Recovery

  BySenator Kathleen Vinehout“I lost my granddaughter to heroin addiction,”...

  By

  Senator Kathleen Vinehout

  “I lost my granddaughter to heroin addiction,” Anita told me. “We’ve lost so many people,” Tena added.

  Recently, former Marine Tena Quackenbush and her friends, including Quincy Garvin, Jasime Funmaker, Lori Pettibone, Cindy Ward hosted a gathering to promote and encourage recovery from addiction, especially the scourge of heroin addiction.

  Ms. Quackenbush started #StoptheStigma, an organization with a mission to stop the stigma of addiction. She was joined by members of “Natives Against Heroin” in hosting the event.

  “Wogixete Wi” was a traditional pow wow. Translated from Ho-Chunk, wogixete wi means “Loving Us.” Reaching out with love to those in recovery and to those still suffering from addiction was the theme of the pow wow.

  I was honored to be one of the speakers at the gathering.

  “You are making a difference,” I told the pow wow attendees. “Building a culture that heals. Putting aside our differences and working to bring love and healing to all who suffer.”

  Traditional drummers joined us, including the Red Bone drummers from Minneapolis. The Andrew Blackhawk Legion Post #129 assisted in organizing the event. Ho-Chunk members of all ages danced in brightly colored costumes adorned with intricate beadwork.

  Eighty-one year-old Clyde Bellecourt mesmerized the group with his stories. The famous Native American civil rights organizer co-founded the American Indian Movement (AIM). Mr. Bellecourt is a White Earth Ojibwa. He shared how a group of a few motivated people can change the world.

  “AIM was started with fewer people than you have here,” Mr. Bellecourt told us. “And mostly women and children.”

  At the potluck dinner following the pow wow, I was seated with some of the elder women. They shared with me many sad stories about the scourge of heroin addiction.

  Celeste told me, “My grandson OD’d in my home. I didn’t even know he was there.” She found all types of drug paraphernalia hidden in her house. The boy just turned 25 and is now in jail.

  Tena showed me a photo of the dresser in the room where a woman recently succumbed to addiction. On it were two bottles of Naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan, which blocks the effects of narcotics. Even with this prescription antidote, the woman died of an overdose of heroin laced with a deadly elephant tranquilizer....

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