February 6, 2006
In December, we traveled to Iran for 10 days, and we heard many legitimate questions from Iranian citizens.
Here are some of them:
What right does the United States have to deny Iran the peaceful use of nuclear power when the United States itself has many nuclear power plants?
Why does the U.S. want the United Nations to impose sanctions on Iran when the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty allows it to do nuclear enrichment to fuel its own nuclear power plants?
If the United States is against nuclear proliferation, why is it building new "tactical" nuclear weapons while it already maintains the world's largest nuclear arsenal?
Why does the United States not focus on Israel, India and Pakistan's existing nuclear weapons?
Americans are fearful of Iran, but Iranians, too, are worried about the U.S. military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan to its west and east. They see danger from Israel, which has threatened to bomb Iran's nuclear reactors just as it did Iraq's Osirak plant in 1981. And they feel insecurity from the nuclear weapons of Israel and other countries.
Since groups like the International Institute for Strategic Studies say Iran is several years away from producing a nuclear weapon, the United States should seek alternatives to military action.
First, we should restore diplomatic relations and replace the name-calling that currently substitutes for diplomacy.
Second, we should urge the U.N. Security Council to demand disarmament in the entire Middle East.
Third, we should shift our efforts from a single-minded focus on Iran to actually working for the abolition of nuclear weapons in every country.
The tension between Iran and the United States should not be viewed as a tension between Muslims and Christians.
In Iran, we learned that the Prophet Mohammed said that it is wrong to poison a well, and thus each of Iran's Supreme Leaders have stated that nuclear weapons, which poison much more than wells, are incompatible with Islam.
Christians should oppose all war because Jesus said, "Put your sword back, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword." (Matt 26:52)
Christians and Muslims should now join together by demanding the abolition of all nuclear weapons in every country.
Bonnie Block
and Robert Block live in Madison, Wis. They were part of an 18-person delegation organized by the Fellowship of Reconciliation. They can be reached at pmproj@progressive.org.By MARIE ROHDE
Posted: Feb. 16, 2006
Whitefish Bay -
The pro-war referendum was designed as a counterpoint to a question that will be on the ballot. All the trustees said they were uncomfortable with that referendum, some because they see it as an anti-war statement and others because they think it is an issue that is inappropriate for action at the local level.
The question that will be on the ballot was approved by the board Jan. 9 after it received petitions with 1,000 signatures. The signatures and the petitions were validated, and the board was told that it had two options: Place it on the ballot or adopt the language of the petition as the board's own.
Trustee David Fee, whose son is a soldier headed for Iraq, was bothered by what he considers an anti-war referendum disguised in innocuous language. He said a neighbor who is a lawyer suggested the counter-referendum earlier this week, and that the village attorney, Christopher Jaekels, said it could be done if the board voted on or before Thursday. State law requires that referendum questions be decided six weeks before an election.
The unsuccessful referendum question was: "Do you support the armed forces of the United States in their mission to oppose terror and help establish and support free democracies around the world?"
Chuck Baynton, organizer of the group that collected more than 1,000 signatures to force the initial referendum on the April 4 ballot, accused Fee of abusing his authority by pushing for the counter-petition.
"We got on the ballot by pounding the pavement," Baynton said, making reference to the door-to-door petition campaign his organization ran. "I seriously question if something like this would happen if it were not of a particular private interest to a member of the board."
But Fee said he was not pushing an agenda; he said he and others were concerned that Baynton's referendum was so ambiguous that no one could be against it. "It was such a positive statement that without doing some research, you wouldn't know the true intent," Fee said. "It's disguised, but it's an anti-war statement."
Baynton's referendum question is: "Should the United States now begin withdrawing troops from Iraq, and continue steady withdrawals until all our troops are home?"
Whitefish Bay is one of about two dozen communities in the state that have a referendum on the ballot that is perceived to be against the war. An effort in Ozaukee County to draft a resolution to support the war on terrorism failed earlier this week.
Fee said he apologized to the other six members of the board when he sent a memo Monday asking that a special meeting be held Thursday to consider a second referendum.
"I am not trying to bypass public involvement," Fee said.
Trustee James Brennan, the only one who supported Fee's effort for the counter-referendum, said he did so because "if the resolution that is on the ballot now passes, I will be ashamed of my hometown."
An attempt to place a referendum on the April 4 ballot supporting the war on terrorism was defeated Thursday when a committee of the Village Board voted 4-2 to table the proposal.A Taxing Situation
Would A Proposal To Cap State And Local Taxes With A Constitutional Amendment Be Good For Wisconsin?
No
Let's Ask Ourselves: Who Would Jesus Tax?'
Wisconsin State Journal :: FORUM :: B1
Sunday, February 19, 2006
SCOTT D. ANDERSON
I thought about Susan Pace Hamill last week as I read about the misnamed "Taxpayer Protection Amendment" being pushed in the Wisconsin Legislature.
Hamill, a University of Alabama Law School professor, is absolutely on fire for the gospel. She also is a corporate tax expert trained in a big New York City law firm who worked for four years at the IRS before pursuing a doctorate in taxes.
"I spent most of my professional time on the side of business, with a heavy emphasis on taxation," she says. "I'm a pro-business moderate."
Then something stirred Hamill's heart. As she read her Bible, she was surprised by how much it had to say about her favorite subject: taxes.
She regularly cites Matthew 25:45: "Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."
Luke 16:19-31 is a parable of a rich man sent to hell because of his indifference to the disadvantaged and in Jeremiah 22:15-16, "He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well."
A lifelong, devout United Methodist, she enrolled at Beesom Divinity School at Samford University, where she completed a masters degree in theological studies.
While in Seminary, Hamill applied her knowledge of Christian teaching to her legal expertise. The result was a master's thesis that ended up as a 2002 article in the Alabama Law Review: "An Argument for Tax Reform Based on Judeo-Christian Ethics."
It ignited a grassroots tax revolution in Alabama, which has one of the most regressive and dysfunctional tax systems in the United States.
And who is leading the campaign for tax justice in Alabama? The state's two largest denominations: United Methodists and Southern Baptists, along with Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Roman Catholics.
Hamill would certainly see through the "Taxpayer Protection Amendment" introduced last week in Wisconsin.
This proposed amendment would enshrine arbitrary funding formulas in our state's constitution. It conveniently relieves our state Legislature of its responsibility to decide biannually how much to tax and how much to spend.
It may indeed save us taxpayers a few dollars.
But the well documented, longer-term damage it will do to basic services such as public schools and medical services for the elderly and disabled will in the long run be morally unacceptable to those of us who cling to Biblical principles of justice rather than the self interest of pocketbook politics.
We need Susan Pace Hamill here in Wisconsin. We need a prophetic voice to speak up for tax justice on behalf of those in our state who can't organize an expensive lobbying effort to defeat this measure, and who will suffer the most if it passes.
Antiwar Activists Disrupt Kohl Campaign Rally
WED., FEB 22, 2006
Antiwar activists briefly took over the lectern at a campaign rally for U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl in Madison on Wednesday, demanding he sign a pledge to begin bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq and vote to cut off money for the war.
The Milwaukee Democrat stood by patiently as about a half dozen local members of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance rushed the microphone in the Orpheum Theatre lobby just as Kohl was to begin speaking.
Shouting across the room, the speakers pressed their demands that Kohl sign on to a bill by fellow U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., calling on President Bush to set a timetable for withdrawing troops and vote against $72 billion in supplemental money for the war effort.
Flustered campaign staffers sought to intervene, although protesters, including one mother of a soldier, went on largely unimpeded until the audience began chanting, "We want Herb."
There was no pushing or shoving, and supporters eventually crowded the protesters away from the microphone. Kohl acknowledged the "fine group of people who have made their position known," but said he wouldn't sign the pledge.
"I have said I believe the president has misused his authority and that is why we are where we are today," Kohl said, adding that he felt the U.S. needs to do "much more" to speed up the transfer of governance and security to Iraqis.
Yet Kohl, like most lawmakers, has consistently opposed an immediate withdrawal.
"He really is a bit wishy- washy and not willing to come out strongly against the war," activst Joy First said afterward.
Wednesday's event was billed as a "pre-kickoff" of Kohl's campaign for a fourth six-year term and featured a DVD highlighting his career.
The 11-minute film uses testimonials from state residents who tell how Kohl has helped them deal with a variety of issues, including advocating for small farms, lower prescription drug costs and after-school programs.
The campaign plans to distribute as many as 100,000 copies of the DVD. Kohl, a multimillionaire, is expected to rely mostly on his own money to pay for his campaign, which he said insulates him from the influence of special interests.
Kohl, who faces several unknowns and perennial candidates but no major opposition, is expected to formally announce his re-election bid in late spring.
Rick Wiley, executive director of the state Republican Party, said the GOP expects to have a challenger to Kohl in the race by the end of March.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
PHIL BRINKMAN pbrinkman@madison.comThursday, February 23, 2006
By Samara Kalk Derby The Capital Times
A small group of activists disrupted a campaign event for U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl and challenged him to sign a pledge against the war in Iraq.
Calling themselves members of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, seven anti-war protesters interrupted Kohl as he was about to speak to supporters at the Orpheum Theatre Wednesday evening.
"We all now know that the war in Iraq was based on lies," protester Jim Murphy, a Catholic priest from Portage, read from a script. "Too many innocent lives have been lost and too many dollars have been spent. We are here tonight to appeal to your conscience and ask you to sign a pledge."
The activists asked Kohl to endorse a timetable for troops to withdraw from Iraq as fellow Democratic Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold has done. They also called on Kohl to vote against a supplemental spending bill that includes about $72 billion more for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The group surrounded Kohl following his introduction by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Libby Burmaster. Kohl was preparing to make brief remarks before debuting a 10-minute campaign video to a crowd of about 150 supporters in the theater's lobby.
Instead, Kohl stood and listened attentively to the activists as his supporters looked on in disbelief.
"We support our troops by ending this illegal and immoral war and bringing them home," activist Bonita Sitter read from the script. Sitter has a stepson in the Minnesota National Guard and said he is scheduled to deploy to Iraq next month.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Meeting with eager supporters and distressed protesters, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis, kicked off his reelection campaign at the Orpheum Wednesday evening.
Filled with lavish appetizers, guest orators and a DVD screening, the swanky event was momentarily put on hold as war protesters interrupted the senator’s speech.
While National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance members accused the senator of refusing to support U.S. troops, Kohl supporters stood firmly behind "nobody’s senator but theirs," slogan.
"Your interests are my interests. They’re not the special interests," Kohl said. "As you know, I’m lucky enough to not have to give money to special interest groups. I may be the only person in Washington who doesn’t solicit money."
Although Kohl’s statements were mostly met with strong approval, a number of NCNR members approached the senator and asked him to pledge to stop funding the war.
The pledge called for Kohl to oppose President Bush’s proposed additional appropriation for the Iraq War.
Additionally, the pledge asked the senator to support a bill by U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, D-Wis, which asks for a timeframe of troop withdrawal.
While Kohl refused to sign the pledge, he did agree to talk about the Iraq issue.
"I believe the president has misused his authority … and that is the reason why we are where we are today," he said, adding he believes the Iraqi government should be stabilized before withdrawing forces.
Protesters, however, were not satisfied, repeatedly interrupting Kohl’s speech to ask for a signature.
Although Kohl initially listened to the protesters’ arguments, he eventually asked them to step away and allow him to speak – a request that was only heeded after Kohl supporters pressured protesters with shouts to go home.
According to NCNR member Jackson Tiffany, the senator has not been receptive to the group’s concerns.
"I think it was a very important step, even though it was a somewhat awkward moment," he said. "Because he has not been responding to our efforts."
Due to Kohl’s failure to commit to NCNR requests, Tiffany added the group will stage statewide 24-hour sit-ins at Kohl’s offices.
Despite the protests, those in attendance – including Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, State Superintendent Libby Burmaster, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Joe Wineke – remained supportive of the senator.
"Herb Kohl is as much about Wisconsin as Wisconsin is," Wineke said in an interview. "He’s the guy that has been there for people forever [and] he’ll always be."
Kohl, in an interview before his speech, expressed his excitement for this year’s U.S. Senate race, and added how happy he is to see political activism on campus.
"I really appreciate the involvement of students in politics," he said. "I’m always engaged with their comments about current affairs and the things they say that I believe are important and fresh and need to be said. The student activity on campus is a really important part of our society."
by Ann Babe
The Capital Times
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Dear Editor: So Jim Doyle is "unsure" about the "Bring Our Troops Home" referendum, which will be on the ballot in 23 Wisconsin towns and cities on April 4, and he's not even sure what he thinks about Russ Feingold's plan to withdraw troops from Iraq. "I think there are good arguments on both sides," he says. While Doyle dawdles and dithers, good men and women -- some of them from Wisconsin -- are dying.
And Doyle may be confused about what we should do in Iraq, but there's no confusion in the minds of the Iraqi people. A recent poll taken by the British Ministry of Defense found 82 percent of Iraqis polled were "strongly opposed" to the U.S. occupation, and two-thirds of Iraqis said they would actually feel safer if our military forces left their country.
If anyone questions the need for a statewide grass-roots "Troops Home" campaign, Jim Doyle just provided all the justification we need. This is a man who obviously needs to hear from his constituents. Let's all send him a clear message when the referendum comes to a vote on April 4.
To help with the Madison referendum campaign, please call 250-9240.
U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl handled the interruption of his re-election announcement by anti-war protesters with his usual grace. But he lost an opportunity to do the right thing.
A small group of activists confronted the Milwaukee Democrat as he was taking the stage at Madison's Orpheum Theatre Wednesday night to launch his campaign for a fourth term.
"We all now know that the war in Iraq was based on lies," the Rev. Jim Murphy, a Catholic priest from Portage, told the state's senior senator and a stunned crowd of Kohl supporters. "Too many innocent lives have been lost and too many dollars have been spent. We are here tonight to appeal to your conscience and ask you to sign a pledge."
The pledge was not a radical statement. Rather, it was a commitment to back a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, along the lines of the one that Kohl's colleague, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., has been pushing since August. As one of the anti-war activists, Bonita Sitter, whose stepson is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq next month, explained, "We support our troops by ending this illegal and immoral war and bringing them home."
Members of the group also asked Kohl to vote against supplemental funding for the war, as several Wisconsin representatives - including Madison Democrat Tammy Baldwin, Wausau Democrat Dave Obey and Fond du Lac Republican Tom Petri - have when similar requests have come before the Congress since the occupation of Iraq began in 2003.
On one level, Kohl handled the interruption of an otherwise carefully scripted campaign event well. The senator listened attentively as the protesters made brief statements from the stage on which he was supposed to be speaking. When they had had their say, he asked them to relinquish the microphone, saying, "You have had your say and you should move away. I believe you are diminishing the effectiveness of what you are trying to convey."
Kohl's point was well taken, and well communicated. And the activists stepped off.
On a more meaningful level, however, Kohl missed a chance to be the sort of leader that is needed at a point when a disastrous war is spiraling deeper into chaos.
The senator refused to sign the pledge, which was his right. But, after criticizing President Bush for misusing the authority given him by Congress to pressure Iraq and for mishandling the war itself, Kohl essentially echoed the administration's line on staying the course.
"My own position is we ought to do much more to encourage, if not insist, that the Iraqi government, the leadership, come together in a unified manner so that they can, number one, govern their country and, number two, take over security," Kohl said. "That will enable the U.S. to draw down and then hopefully phase out of the occupation."
By any meaningful measure, those words are indistinguishable from the talking points of a White House that Kohl admits has misused its authority and mishandled one of the most important responsibilities given any president - that of sending the sons and daughters of this country into combat.
Herb Kohl is a decent man, and in many ways a fine senator. But on the issue of a war that is surely the most pressing matter of the moment, the senator needs to listen a little less to the White House and a lot more to Russ Feingold and the people of Wisconsin.
John Nichols is associate editor of The Capital Times, Wisconsin's progressive daily news source. E-mail: jnichols@madison.com <mailto:jnichols@madison.com>
Published: February 27, 2006
Submitted by WNPJ member Mike Ferner
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
CommonDreams.org
WASHINGTON – In a civil disobedience protest against the war in Iraq,
seven peace activists were arrested yesterday holding a banner that read,
"God Forgive America" in front of the White House.
Brian Terrell, Ed Bloomer, and Elton Davis, all from Catholic Worker
communities in the Des Moines, Iowa area, David Goodner, University of
Iowa student, Eileen Hansen, a Catholic Worker from the Winona, Minnesota,
Jeff Leys, co-coordinator of [LINK: <http://www.vcnv.org/>] Voices for
Creative Nonviolence (VCNV), and Bernie Meyer, a retired social services
worker from Olympia, Washington were arrested by U.S. Park Police.
The seven were charged with the federal misdemeanor of demonstrating
without a permit, fined seventy-five dollars, and released yesterday
evening. The action was part of VCNV’s "Winter of our Discontent"
demonstrations in the month leading up to the third anniversary of the
U.S. invasion of Iraq on March 20.
Terrell organized the group of 15 from Iowa that included students from
Loras College, a hospital worker, and a farmer from Missouri who drove 140
miles to Des Moines to join them.
"If not now, when?" Terrell replied when asked why they drove 20 hours
overnight to get arrested in the nation’s capital. "Some people consider
civil disobedience an extreme measure for extreme times. If these aren’t
extreme times I don’t know what are."
The Maloy, Iowa farmer and Catholic Worker added, "We came here to use two
complimentary methods to protest this war. Some of our group are visiting
members of Congress, and some are putting our bodies on the line."
Goodner, the 25 year-old Iowa Hawkeye, said his reason was "a deep concern
for the plight of the world. I worry where the world is heading when I
think of global warming and war. I believe the capitalist model of
globalization is the root cause of the institutional problems facing us,
and governments aren’t going to solve those problems, individuals are."
Bloomer, 58, an Army draftee who served from 1966-68, is also a member of
[LINK: <http://www.veteransforpeace.org/>] Veterans For Peace. He said he
became a Catholic Worker in 1983 when he was active in the Nuclear Freeze
movement to stop the spread of atomic weapons, because he agreed with the
Worker’s approach. "They say if you see something that ain’t right, fix
it. I see half the world starving without a crust of bread while our
resources are going to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This is the right
thing to do and it’s good to show your colors."
The entire group demonstrated on the sidewalk in front of the White House
fence, walking slowly with placards and banners for about 30 minutes. The
seven who were arrested took their signs to the portion of the fence ruled
off-limits to protests where they stood, attracting the attention of Park
Police who warned them they risked arrest. When they refused to move,
police called in a large team to make the arrests which included six
officers on motorcycles, one on horseback, and over a dozen in patrol cars
and unmarked vehicles including several command officers, with four Secret
Service officers observing.
After police roped off a large, square area in front of the protesters, a
lieutenant, speaking through a patrol car loudspeaker, warned the
protesters to leave the enclosed portion of the White House sidewalk or
risk being arrested. Three warnings later, officers approached the
activists and began handcuffing and searching them one at a time. To
cheers from supporters and under the eye of dozens of tourists, the
protesters were led into a large police wagon and taken away. The whole
operation took about 90 minutes.
Last night, Leys said they had been processed, fined, and released later
in the day around 5:00 pm.
The former union representative from Milwaukee and three others are
participating in a 34-day, liquids-only fast and vigil at the Capitol as
part of the Winter of Our Discontent. He noted the fasters are observing
the period between February 15, 2003 when millions of people around the
world protested the likely U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the date of the
invasion, March 20. He added that VCNV plans additional protests in
Washington and elsewhere in the country before March 20.
JUNE
U.S. out of Iraq NOW
BY MIKE FERNER
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
A Madison protester was sentenced to three months in prison for civil disobedience.
Fred Brancel, 79, was sentenced Monday to three months in a federal penitentiary following his arrest Nov. 20 at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, according to the organization SOA Watch.
According to police, Brancel and 40 other protesters crawled under a barbed-wire fence surrounding the facility in order to gain access to the base. This is the third time Brancel had participated in protests against the facility. Brancel and others allege that the facility has been a training ground for Latin American assassins and death squad leaders who committed numerous human rights violations.
Brancel has spent much of his life advocating social causes, including 20 years in Africa as an agriculture missionary as well as a recent visit to Baghdad in order to assess the ongoing war.
Submitted by WNPJ member Jean McElhaney
Thursday, February 2, 2006
Dear Editor: Coretta Scott King, another champion for social justice, has passed away. But you and I are alive, and we are still shaping the world each day with our actions.
I suggest that we honor her memory by participating in the Season for Nonviolence, which was inspired by the 30th and 50th anniversaries of the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and M.K. Gandhi. It is a 64-day period, from Jan. 30 to April 3 each year, that is specially dedicated to demonstrating the power of nonviolence to heal and transform our lives and our communities.
Participation can take many forms. These include things like cultivating a specific quality of nonviolence each day (e.g., courage, forgiveness, respect, etc., for self and others), transforming a personal conflict, studying the lives and teachings of nonviolent leaders, supporting organizations working for nonviolent social change, and joining the movement to create a Cabinet-level Department of Peace. Use your imagination, love and will to find the way that is right for you!
For more information, check out these Web sites: www.agnt.org/snv02.htm for the Season for Nonviolence, www.ThePeaceAlliance.org for the Department of Peace Campaign, and www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org for the Nonviolent Peaceforce.
You may be part of a group that would like to sponsor a speaker or a workshop on nonviolence. The Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, www.wnpj.org, maintains a speaker's bureau. Facilitators for workshops on nonviolence can be found by contacting the Fellowship of Reconciliation, www.for.org.
Thursday, February 2, 2006
Dear Editor: Coretta Scott King, another champion for social justice, has passed away. But you and I are alive, and we are still shaping the world each day with our actions.
I suggest that we honor her memory by participating in the Season for Nonviolence, which was inspired by the 30th and 50th anniversaries of the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and M.K. Gandhi. It is a 64-day period, from Jan. 30 to April 3 each year, that is specially dedicated to demonstrating the power of nonviolence to heal and transform our lives and our communities.
Participation can take many forms. These include things like cultivating a specific quality of nonviolence each day (e.g., courage, forgiveness, respect, etc., for self and others), transforming a personal conflict, studying the lives and teachings of nonviolent leaders, supporting organizations working for nonviolent social change, and joining the movement to create a Cabinet-level Department of Peace. Use your imagination, love and will to find the way that is right for you!
For more information, check out these Web sites: www.agnt.org/snv02.htm for the Season for Nonviolence, www.ThePeaceAlliance.org for the Department of Peace Campaign, and www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org for the Nonviolent Peaceforce.
You may be part of a group that would like to sponsor a speaker or a workshop on nonviolence. The Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, www.wnpj.org, maintains a speaker's bureau. Facilitators for workshops on nonviolence can be found by contacting the Fellowship of Reconciliation, www.for.org.
Assisted Suicide
Oregon's Law Withstood A Court Challenge, And A Right-to-die Bill Has Been Introduced In Wisconsin. Is It A Good Idea?
In Favor
A Good Law Can Help A Person Die With Dignity
Wisconsin State Journal :: FORUM :: B1
Sunday, February 5, 2006
SEN. FRED RISSER
Terminally-ill people cannot choose an alternative to death. The issue is whether those who are mentally competent and know that their death is imminent should have the freedom to decide when and how to die.
Those opposed to any legislation on this subject argue that laws authorizing death with dignity could lead us down the "slippery slope" to euthanasia or result in undue social or economic pressure on the elderly, poor or vulnerable of our society to prematurely end their lives.
The answer is to regulate against such potential abuses, not shut off the rights and desires of competent, terminally-ill adults.
This is not a new idea. It is patterned after a law that has been in effect in the state of Oregon since 1998. A majority of the voters in Oregon supported "Death with Dignity" in a state ballot initiative in November 1994 by 51 percent to 49 percent. This despite strong opposition by the American Medical Association, the Catholic Church, and both the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor.
Implementation of the law was delayed until 1998, when a second referendum was submitted to the voters of Oregon. This time it was approved by an even wider margin of 60 percent to 40 percent. During the first seven years of the law, a total of 208 people elected to end their lives under its provisions.
I have introduced legislation to allow a physician to comply with a patient's desire for a death with dignity in the most limited and narrow of circumstances.
The proposal contains stringent safeguards. Only a mentally competent adult who has been judged terminally ill by two physicians may voluntarily make a written, retractable request to his or her attending physician for medication to end his or her life in a humane and dignified manner.
The requester must first make the request orally and then again in writing. There must then be a further oral request to the doctor, after which the doctor may write the prescription for the requested medication. The physician may or may not be present when the requester self-administers the medication.
If, in the opinion of the attending physician or the consulting physician, a requester may be suffering from a psychiatric or psychological disorder that causes impaired judgment, the requester will be referred for review and counseling to a psychiatrist or psychologist who will determine and certify in writing that judgment has not been impaired by such a disorder before a request for medication is fulfilled.
In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to forego unwanted medical treatment. Living wills, which allow competent adults to state their preferences on whether or not to permit the use of life-sustaining procedures in the event of terminal illnesses, are currently authorized in 47 states and the District of Columbia.
More recently, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Gonzales v. Oregon, upheld rulings by two lower federal courts which in essence held that the regulation of medical practice generally belongs to the states and refused to strike down the Oregon law.
Society must continue to evaluate and to address related issues, such as pain control, health care for all, and treatment of depression and the social isolation of persons who are older or disabled. Aid in dying must not be an alternative to quality home care, or access to a licensed hospice. Individual choice and the desire to die peacefully are the foremost reasons in support of "Death with Dignity."
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
By Pat Schneider The Capital Times
Worker advocates are calling on American Family Insurance to prevent what they say are attempts by its cleaning company to stop janitors at American Family's Madison headquarters from organizing.
As part of the Justice for Janitors movement, the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of South Central Wisconsin is calling on the insurance giant to stop CleanPower, a large Wisconsin janitorial service company, from interfering with efforts by the Service Employees International Union to organize the janitors.
A letter expressing surprise at anti-labor tactics at American Family's headquarters and urging its board of directors to support janitors in their right to organize was signed by 42 members Tuesday at the coalition's annual Clergy-Labor Luncheon at the Catholic Multicultural Center on Madison's south side.
The letter expresses surprise at the "irresponsible behavior" by a leading corporate citizen and says that CleanPower is attempting to indoctrinate workers against the union, as at a meeting held at American Family last fall.
The janitors, the letter says, do not make a living wage and have no sick leave, health insurance or pension benefits, and should be allowed to organize "without interference or intimidation."
American Family spokesman Ken Muth said Tuesday the company is not taking sides, but has directed CleanPower to stop talking about union matters at meetings with its workers held at American Family.
"We feel it is inappropriate to interfere or impose our will on employment matters of another company," he said. "And we expressed that to both supporters of the union effort and to CleanPower management."
Muth said company officials learned late last year that CleanPower had discussed the union and shown an anti-union videotape at one of its periodic meetings with employees at American Family last fall. "We told them strongly we didn't want union issues discussed in any manner on our property. We told them we did not want it to occur again," he said.
American Family does not have any unionized employees, Muth said. "We take great pride in providing a good work environment, benefits and compensation to employees," he said.
Kathy Bullermann, CleanPower's vice president of human resources, said today in a written response to questions that most of the company's workers are part time by choice and get paid holidays, paid on-going training and various bonuses.
She said a recent company survey found that 67 percent of part-time workers reported they had health insurance through a source other than CleanPower.
Bullermann said the company's approach to unionization efforts "has been largely to ignore the union's tactics and adhere to the positive employee relations and customer service model that has made CleanPower a success."
She pointed out that in two years of organizing efforts SEIU has failed to get an adequate number of workers to endorse a vote on organizing, as required by the National Labor Relations Board.
Patrick Hickey, director of the Interfaith Coalition's Workers' Rights Center, told coalition members that while professing to be hands-off, American Family is forcing down workers' wages and benefits by contracting with CleanPower at a rate company officials must realize will not support fair compensation for the janitors.
The role of the coalition, which brings together labor advocates and communities of faith, is to build awareness of issues on which they can be "the conscience of a community," Hickey said.
"We want to educate the public on what American Family is involved in," he said.
Jim Cavanaugh, president of the South Central Federation of Labor, told the group that the law governing collective bargaining has been so gutted by amendments and court rulings that it is now a tool of management.
Instead of working for an election on forming a union, many unions now "try to embarrass the employer into being up front and neutral on labor organizing," he said.
A separate letter urging members of the Madison clergy to speak to their congregations about the janitors' labor organizing efforts at American Family also was circulated Tuesday.
Kristi Sanford, organizing director with Interfaith Worker Justice national headquarters in Chicago, told the group that clergy support has played an important role in successful organizing campaigns for janitors in other cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.
Besides lending material and moral support to the workers, clergy can "make people think about them as human beings" making $8 an hour without health insurance, she said.
\ E-mail: pschneider@madison.com
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
It's time we start questioning the budget priorities in this country. The House just voted to cut over $39 billion from Medicaid, Social Security for people with disabilities, child care and student loans. The president is about to ask for another $70 billion for the Iraq war.
Spending on the war in Iraq has already reached approximately $250 billion. The cost of the overall "war on terror" is approaching half a trillion dollars and the federal budget deficit is growing. First, we don't have the money to pay for this war. Second, what does it say about this country's values that we are more willing to spend money to kill people than to help them? Third, how does being in debt and making international enemies help our national security?
We would be more secure if our financial house were in order and if we made sure our human needs were taken care of. I do not believe the federal budget reflects the values of its citizens.
Contact government representatives and lead them to a more sane budget. After all, it's our money.
-- Jean McElhaney, Lone Rock
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
By Steven Elbow The Capital Times
The mayor of Watertown said today he believes the city will likely not appeal a judge's order to put an anti-war referendum before the voters.
Reserve Jefferson County Circuit Judge Patrick L. Snyder of Waukesha gave the city 10 days to decide whether to appeal the ruling, but officials are hoping to make their decision tonight.
The City Council voted in January to kill the resolution by the Watertown Peace and Democracy Coalition, which urges an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. The coalition filed suit days later.
The coalition exceeded the 980 signatures needed to get the measure before the City Council, but the council decided the issue was not an appropriate one to be decided by the city government.
Snyder disagreed.
"The order from the judge was very clear," Mayor John David said in an interview.
Watertown is one of about 22 municipalities that has gathered the signatures needed to put a "Bring the Troops Home" measure before voters, including Madison and Monona. Milwaukee is set for the November ballot.
The coalition wants to put the resolution to the voters to send a strong statement of no-confidence to Washington regarding the war.
David said the council will meet in a special session tonight to take up the matter.
He said he didn't know what action the council would take, but added, "My guess is they're going to put it on a referendum."
\ E-mail: selbow@madison.com
Thursday, February 9, 2006
By Steven Elbow The Capital Times
The Watertown City Council, under orders from a judge, voted unanimously Wednesday to allow an anti-war resolution to go before voters in the spring.
But council members left no doubt that they did so unwillingly.
"The Common Council is opposed to the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and believes that this is an issue that resides in the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government," reads a resolution passed unanimously by the council on Wednesday.
The wording is a direct rebuttal to the resolution the council was ordered to put on the ballot by Jefferson County Reserve Judge Patrick L. Snyder. The resolution calls for the immediate withdrawal of troops, starting with the National Guard and Reserves.
In January the council voted to kill the resolution. The Watertown Peace and Democracy Coalition, which gathered over 980 signatures to advance the measure, filed suit days later.
"We just don't feel that it's in the realm of the City Council to tell the federal government what to do with the troops," said council President Gerald Yenser.
David Austin, an attorney for the Watertown Peace and Democracy Coalition, said the resolution opposing the troop pullout was the "last petty word" by the council, which he said had no problem voting on national issues in the past.
In 2003 the council voted to oppose the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). He said the council's actions regarding the anti-war resolution simply reflect the council's ideological bent.
"I suspect it is ideologically driven given that they passed resolutions on national matters in the past," he said.
Yenser said international trade issues earned the attention of the council because of their indirect effect on the local economy. He denied that the council acted in a partisan manner regarding the anti-war resolution, but he suggested that the anti-war protesters are more likely to make partisan statements.
During their frequent local demonstrations, Yenser said, anti-war activists "have signs about Bush and things like that."
Referendum organizer Penny Eiler said the battle with the council is not about partisan politics, it's about upholding the state law that allows citizens to get an issue on the ballot.
"Our intent was to let people express their feelings, and if their feelings are partisan, then I guess we're guilty," she said.
Watertown, Madison, Monona, Evansville and Mount Horeb are among the 22 Wisconsin municipalities that will have the "Bring the Troops Home" measure on the ballot.
\ E-mail: selbow@madison.com
Saturday, February 11, 2006
DEAR EDITOR: I WAS A CHRISTIAN PEACEMAKER TEAM DELEGATE TO IRAQ. I TELL THE STORIES I HEARD. A RETIRED MILITARY INTELLIGENCE OFFICER APPROACHED ME AT THE END OF A TALK OUT WEST TO TELL ME I WAS A MOST DANGEROUS PERSON TO MY GOVERNMENT BECAUSE I SAW AND HEARD EXPERIENCES OF ORDINARY IRAQI PEOPLE AND WAS TELLING THEIR STORIES OF LIVING UNDER CORPORATE AND MILITARY OCCUPATION.
Too many Iraqis have been tortured and detained and disappeared. Christian Peacemaker Team has been telling of them since 2003, long before the photos from Abu Ghraib appeared. Team members walk unarmed and unprotected by weapons through Baghdad streets, grocery shopping, visiting friends, attending church, meeting Iraqi doctors, lawyers, businessmen and accompanying them to U.S. installations.
The military intelligence officer said I was very brave to tell stories that contradict the image presented by the powers that be.
The Iraqis whom Christian Peacemaker Team works with, their friends and the friends of their friends have indicated that no one knows or has ever heard of the group claiming to have kidnapped the four Christian Peacemaker Team members in November. It is not in the interest of Iraqi people who want the world to know their relatives have been detained or disappeared to threaten Christian Peacemaker Team members who tell the stories.
According to the U.S. intelligence officer, it is our government that doesn't want the stories told.
I wish I could call him and ask him who he thinks is holding the Christian Peacemaker Team members. But I can't, because he was afraid to stay in touch with me.
Marion Stuenkel Madison
Monday, February 13, 2006
At the State of the Union address Cindy Sheehan, who was invited to attend the speech, was ousted for wearing a shirt proclaiming the number of dead soldiers in Iraq. She was accused of "politicking" in the Capitol, as if there is never "politicking" going on there almost every day!
There were 32 nonviolent activists who were arrested at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Ga., last fall for entering the grounds of the base to protest the training of soldiers from Central and South America and the Caribbean in methods of torture, in the use of sophisticated weapons and ways of killing those citizens who do not obey their orders. Thirty-one of these nonviolent people, some from the North Woods of Wisconsin, were just sentenced to prison for two to six months, with fines. Recently, a soldier went to court for the torture and homicide of an Iraqi citizen. He received no jail time!
Dear Editor: We continue to see hypocrisy in our society. We claim to be concerned about human rights, freedom and democracy. However, our actions do not prove that.