Are you still struggling to right yourself after the November 5 election knocked you down? I am. But I am taking to hear Vice President Harris when she said: "only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, but for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here's the thing, America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion of stars. The light, the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service." We all need some time to recover from from what seemed to be a grievous blow. But I'm here to tell you that it was, after all, only ONE election. And not the end of the Democratic Party or the world. You can probably tell I'm in the "buck up, buttercup" phase of my post-election journey.

In fact, democracy, both as an idea and as a sytem of governance, is asserting itself even as our own system seems under attack from within. I speak of the recent events in South Korea and the ongoing events in the country of Georgia. In South Korea, the president declared martial law at 23:00 (11:00pm local time) on December 3. Almost immediately, thousands of people gathered outside the National Assembly compound. Some 300 elite military personnel landed helicopters within the grounds of the National Assembly, apparently to prevent the Assembly from overturnting the martial law declaration. Meanwhile, 190 members of the National Assembly hurriedly broke into the National Assembly building — equivalent to our Capitol Building — some of them clambering over fences. At 1:00am, the National Assembly voted to overturn martial law. As 5:18am the South Korean Cabinet rescinded martial law. Although martial law has been rescinded, the crisis continues as protesters call for the president to resign. An impeachment process is taking place in the Assembly.

So, the high drama began at 11:00pm and in essence ended six hours and 18 minutes later when the Cabinet lifted the declaration of marital law. Wow: it came and went in a flash.The president's imposition of martial law came late at night: was he counting on having the remainder of the night to solidify power? People of all ages turned out in a cold night by the thousands. How did so many people know about the declaration so quickly? And why did they rush to the National Assembly quickly enough to help prevent the police and the military from seizing it before the Assembly members could reach the building and hold a vote? Whatever the answers to these questions are, the moral of the story is crystal clear: in democracies, power emanates from the people. (See AlJazeera, December 3, 2024. )

Although still unfolding, the story in Georgia (the country not the state) is similar in some ways but far more intense and existential. This small country was part of the United Soviet Socialist Republics. Yet now an overwhelming majority of its citizens — more than 80% according to "In Georgia’s capital, a new fury fuels street protests" (Washington Post, December 4, gifted) — want to move toward integration with Europe. The current leadership, however, decided to postpone negotiations with the EU until 2028. In the face of public disapproval, the Dream Party, the party of the head of government, is trying to strengthen relations with Russia. "The country’s president and figurehead for the opposition, Salome Zourabichvili, is calling it Georgia’s 'Maidan,' referring to the uprising in Ukraine in 2013 that spelled the end for the country’s pro-Russian leadership" (Deacon Herald, December 4, 2024). It's unclear what the outcome of the impeachment vote — now scheduled for 7:00pm Saturday, December 7 — but we can see some starts twinkling in the darkness. Like Ukraine's, the trajectory in Georgia seeks democracy and a strong relationship with the West.

I bring these somewhat obscure stories of events in other parts of the world to help us see our own situation in their light. People in these two countries, and in Ukraine, care deeply about their democracies and their futures. And they have turned out in the streets in huge numbers to demonstrate their profound disagreement with their government. It's unlikely, perhaps, that millions of Americans will rush into the streets to mount peaceful yet continuous protests as our own wannabe dictator makes his moves. Yet it is important to see that people joining together can exert their collective power. In that vein, I also recommend Malcom Nance's Five Steps To Resist The Coming Tyranny.

Vance speaks of resistance. And in some ways that may be necessary. But we want to be more that resisters. We will form an opposition — so that we can both defend (resist) and act to change the world around us. Unlike Korea or Georgia, we live in a federalist system, one that relies on states acting independently of federal government. The outcome of our last elections show the promise: while Wisconsin, by the narrowest of margins of course, awarded its 10 electoral college votes to Trump, on the same ballot we profoundly changed the make-up of the Assembly and the Wisconsin Senate. And we re-elected Senator Tammy Baldwin, Representative Gwen Moore, and Representative Mark Pocan. At the state and local level, we have shown our power, and we can do it again in 2025.

So let us begin: on Monday, December 9, the North Shore Fair Maps group is holding its monthly meeting — MASS DEPORTATION NOW! — online at 7pm. The presentation will briefly lay out plans for 2025, outline the work ahead on enshrining fair maps first as a statute and eventually as a constitutional amendment, and shine a spotlight on the immigration threats. North Shore Fair Maps friend and one of the thousands of Dreamers, Iuscely Flores, who is one of those Dreamers, will explain what it's like to live under threat of deportation and what we can do to resist and oppose. Plan to register now for the event on Monday.

What you can do: help DACA recipients renew their papers at December workshops. Help by spreading the word: Sign up link for Dreamers to attend a workshop. Also tax-deductible donations needed to fund this vital work (DACA renewal costs $555) will be accepted through the project’s fiscal agent The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Please write “For the Dreamers” in the memo line. Donate here.

The spring election is usually a pretty low-turnout election. And this one may be also. So every vote we can rustle up for a progressive on the ticket is vital. Here's what's at stake in this Supreme Court election. When we elected Justice Janet Protasiewicz, we reoriented the Wisconsin Supreme Court. And as the Court was better aligned with our values, it reversed a previous SCOWIS ruling on our voting maps to give us, finally, fair maps that would yield a legislature that actually represents the voters. And the new maps did just that. Justice Ann Walsh Bradley was part of the four member coalition that brought us our current maps but she has announced that she intends to retire in 2025. So it is imperative that we keep the current SCOWIS progressive orientation.

So start helping to elect a new Supreme Court Justice by downloading and circulating nomination papers for Judge Susan Crawford. Here's who you'd be supporting as a nominator and circulator: As a prosecutor, private-practice attorney, and now as a Judge, Susan Crawford has always believed in protecting the basic rights and freedoms of Wisconsinites. She has a deep understanding of our justice system and knows how important it is to have Supreme Court justices who understand how to keep communities safe, who are fair and impartial, and who will reject efforts to politicize the constitution to undermine our most basic rights. She’s running for Wisconsin Supreme Court to protect the progress we've made and ensure we have a progressive majority that won’t rubber-stamp an extreme right-wing agenda to take our state backward.

Judge Crawford's announced opponent is Brad Schimel, former Attorney General in the Scott Walker administration. His Wikipedia page asserts, "Schimel is a practicing Catholic and supports pro-life causes." After Attorney General Josh Kaul defeated him in 2018, lame duck Governor Walker appointed him to the Waukesha County Circuit Court. Schimel was subsequently "reprimanded by the chief judge of the 3rd Judicial District" for failing to obey a statewide stat court directive to wear a mask during in-person court proceedings. Finally the head of the Wisconsin state court system, Justice Patience Rogensack, "barred Schimel from presiding over cases in person due to his refusal to wear a face covering (or hold proceedings all remotely via videoconference). The ban was lifted after Schimel agreed to wear a face covering in court."

You should also know that Dr. Jill Underly is running for re-election as State Superintendent of Public Instruction. You can download her nomination papers and detailed instructions. At least one other progressive — Jeff Wright, Superintendent of the Sauk Prairie School District — is also planning to run. As of today, he does not have a working website and his LinkedIn site does not appear to offer a way to acquire his nomination papers. As soon as I can locate them, I will make sure to alert you. As you probably know, you cannot sign nomination papers for more than one candidate in each race for one seat.

Take the next step to codify fair voting maps in state law. TELL YOUR LEGISLATORS TO PASS NONPARTISAN REDISTRICTING LEGISLATION. Sign the petition.

Finally, thanks to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, we have a preview of the spring 2025 races and potential candidates. Our 2025 Elections page provides an overview of all the races in the North Shore and in southern Ozaukee County, with links to specific communities and school boards. Nominations are not certified until after January 7, 2025, so we won't know for sure who is on the ballot or whether a primary will be necessary. Right now, we believe there will be primaries on February 18 for the Cedarburg School Board and the Mequon-Thiensville School Board. No other races currently will require a primary. But if a third candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction emerges, there will need to be a statewide primary for that race on everyone's ballot on February 18.

EVENTS

Tuesday, December 10

Wednesday, December 11

Saturday, December 14

Wednesday, December 18

Saturday, December 21

Saturday, December 28

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