You may notice the same wording used several times in this week's events:

Orange is a color associated with safety. Everything from life vests to traffic cones is orange, and orange is the color hunters wear to protect themselves and others. Orange also was the favorite color of Hadiya Pendleton, whose friends organized the first National Gun Violence Awareness Day in 2015 to honor the talented young woman who was shot and killed at the age of 15, just one week after performing at President Obama’s second inauguration. The vision of these young friends has become a national movement–June 2 is now Wear Orange Day across America.

We wish we could say that this is a new issue that we have nip quickly. It has happened so often that we fear people are getting used to it. DON'T. THIS IS NOT NORMAL.  We have highlighted the issue in previous newsletters here and pieces on our blog here and here. So, why has nothing changed?

I learned something when I saw RBG this weekend. Ruth Bader Ginsburg's lifetime of work is predicated on the belief that lasting change comes in small steps. When Ginsburg attended Harvard Law School she was one of two women. The class of 2020 is 48% female. It did not happen quickly, but the change is permanent (as long as we don't end up in a Dystopian future like The Handmaid's Tale).

What can you do to help facilitate change? A lot.  You can attend one of the events on Thursday and Friday. You can also ask questions.  Let your current and future legislators know that you will be voting based on their stances about background checks and other sane legislation to control the epidemic of gun violence. Look below at the items in orange.  They are all opportunities to ask candidates and public officials if they support gun legislation and what their plans are to accomplish that goal.

We will most certainly be asking those questions at our own Governor's Forum.

Help Us Interview the Next Governor of Wisconsin

On the afternoon of Sunday, June 24^th at Ovation Sarah Chudnow Campus in Mequon, the six top-polling candidates for the Democratic nomination for Governor will respond to a wide array of questions and issues at a Grassroots North Shore forum.

Candidates have already sent in their views on two important questions:

1)      What is the role and responsibility of the state regarding protection of immigrants?

2)      Would you leave in place the current public versus voucher structure? If not, how would you propose changing and funding that relationship?

Their responses will be presented in next week’s newsletter.  Tune in next week and check out what they have to say.

Then rsvp (or do it now) to find out what else they believe in and stand for. We need more information to make a good choice, and this is our chance.

Many more questions will be asked and answered on June 24^th-- sign up to come and then bring your friends, family, and colleagues along.

Matt Flynn, Paul Soglin, Mahlon Mitchell, Tony Evers, Mike McCabe, Kathleen Vinehout

Doors open 3:00, presentation begins at 3:30; light refreshments served; free and open to the public.

I spent the summer of 1965 in Berkeley, CA as part of The Encampment for Citizenship, a program for teens to teach and encourage social engagement. The Encampment prepares young people to be informed, responsible and effective global citizens through experiential learning and through living in a diverse, democratic community. It was most certainly an amazing time to be in Berkeley and yes, I am that old.

One evening a group of us went into San Fransisco to the Hungry i, to hear a set performed by Tom Lehrer,  a math Professor from MIT. It was, to say the least, a memorable experience.  It occurs to me now, how many of those subjects Lehrer satirized have returned to again bite us in our collective derrieres. 

So please join me in a trip down memory alley to look at some of the things that scared us then and have returned today in all new proportions.

• The Environment in his song Pollution, where he indicates that ours is becoming a country where you can't drink the water or breathe the air.
• Drug Addiction where he discussed the role of the dealer in The Old Dope Peddler.
• Inclusion where he predicts that National Brotherhood Week will only be for show and that hate will win out.
• Racism as an entrenched reality in I Want to Go Back to Dixie. 
• The Military in It Makes a Fellow Proud to be a Soldier and  Send the Marines
• Nuclear War, which by 1965 seemed to have been averted. Leher commented on the possibility in several pieces:
  • Who's Next which among other conflicts looks at the Arab/Isreali imbalance of power.
  • So Long, Mom (A Song for World War III) about the youth who will have to fight.
  • Finally, We Will All Go Together When We Go about the ultimate demise of society.

This was some of the satire from the 60's that got us through. I wish it were not so relevant today and wonder what Tom Lehrer would do with today's list of new horrors. EVENTS

On August 14, 2018, we will hold a Primary Election to decide who will run to replace the current governor.  After that will come a blitz of fundraising and advertising -- at least for the Democratic Candidate.  The Republican is not waiting until then.  Scott Walker's campaign started with an ad in October 2017. Since then we have seen a lot of shenanigans in these ads and in what he purports to have done for the state.

• Education - Walker claims that his budget will give more to public education than ever. "We are investing more money into education than ever before in the history of Wisconsin." One problem. He does not account for inflation in that claim.  When adjusted for inflation 2011 per student spending was $13,112, considerably higher than $12,329 spent in 2017.
• Welfare "Reform" - What the current administration calls "reform" is a continuation of race-baiting and innuendo. The Progressive's analysis is spot on.  Walker's ad cuts to a black woman for his example.  In reality, 56-68 percent of the welfare recipients in Wisconsin are white. Additionally, the largest chunk of money goes to children who receive 43 percent of the total allotment. 
• Jobs - Walker claimed that if Democrats get control of the Executive Branch the Foxconn deal would be over.  He based this on Dana Wachs' statement that he would hold Foxconn accountable for the terms of the contract and if the company violates those terms, he would push to extricate the state from the agreement.  When interviewed this past Sunday by Mike Gousha on his show "UpFront" Walker said, “What other company in the world would consider coming to this state if that’s the kind of leadership that’s going to be in place?”  When did holding to the terms of a contract become a demonstration of poor leadership?
• Taxes - In a blatant attempt to buy votes Walker instituted a $100 child tax credit. "Parents will have from May 15 to July 2 to sign up for the tax rebate on a state Department of Revenue website that has yet to be launched.[As of this newsletter, the site has launched] They'll then receive the rebate checks later in the summer — just a few months before the November election. " (MJS)

Bottom line: Don't be duped by ads and phony rhetoric.

IMMIGRATION EVENT RECAP from Shirley Horowitz

Q: WHAT HAPPENED in Shorewood on the evening of April 29^th?

A: More than 70 people attended the Focus on Immigration evening at North Shore Presbyterian Church. They enjoyed delicious ethnic treats, shared stories about how their families originally came to the United States and learned how the current legal landscape today compares with immigration of the past.

Speakers detailed immigration’s past rules and their effects. Grassroots North Shore extends a hearty thank you to Professor Rachel Buff for her illuminating tour through immigration history, and to Kelly Fortier for her fascinating and funny but sometimes horrifying rendition of current immigration requirements, and to Nancy Flores and Miguel Lopez of Voces de la Frontera for the heartfelt and riveting story they recounted of coming to the United States as an undocumented immigrant.

The audience learned that long wait times for green cards, sometimes spanning decades, have contributed to people coming to the United States by unorthodox means. For example, a married son or daughter sponsored by a US citizen parent will usually wait 13 years to be reunited with child; for a U.S. citizen parent from Mexico, it would be 23 years before the child could enter.

Speakers’ presentations were followed by a 30-minute Q&A from the audience. The questions regarding immigration and its past effects on the United States were sometimes surprising and always informative; the questions regarding the future of immigration remain and can only be answered by how we respond to its challenges.

Maybe this will be the “Year of the Woman”, maybe not, but it is the year of the women candidates I am happy to say! We know that women have a different and needed understanding and perspective in policy areas such as healthcare, transportation, education, jobs and the environment. And we know that, of course, women should be equally represented in all levels of government, right? We also agree that women make up 50% of the population in Wisconsin. Those are facts, as are the following:

22% of City Council positions are held by women

20.4% of County Board positions are held by women

19% of Circuit Court judges are women

22% of WI Assembly members are women

27% of WI Senate members are women

For 3 decades the percentage of women in the WI Legislature has hovered at 25%.

Organizations are working hard to change this. Emerge Wisconsin trains Democratic women to run for public office. This round of training has 32 women from rural and urban areas. As an Emerge alum says, “Women need to step up if they want to see change.”

Women Lead’s mission is to support and promote viable pro-choice progressive women running for office in Wisconsin and seeks to make a direct and immediate impact on legislative policy affecting women’s rights and reproductive health while building a pipeline of seasoned candidates to run in future races.

Here is a sampling of the fantastic legislative candidates running in the southeastern part of Wisconsin:

Marisabel Cabrera- AD 9 www.votemarisabel.com

Lillian Cheeseman- AD 15 www.wisconsinlikescheese.com

Charisse Daniels- AD 37 www.charisseforwisconsin.com

Erica Flynn AD 84- www.flynnforassembly.com

Julie Henszey SD 5- www.julieforwi.com

Christine Rahlf- AD 60 www.chrisrahlfforassembly.com

Emily Siegrist- AD 24 www.emilysiegristforwi.com

Liz Sumner- AD 23 www.lizforwisconsin.com

Gina Walkington- AD 61 www.walkingtonforwi.com

Come and meet some of them on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, at 1122 N. Astor St., 5 to 7:30 PM.

Contact [email protected] for more information.

* We at Grassroots North Shore urge our members to judge all candidates based on individual strengths.

DoYou Want to Help the Blue Wave?  Are you a great phonebanker? Here is your chance to help.

Caleb Frostman is running in a special election for State Senate to represent the 1st District. His campaign set up a virtual phone bank so that we can help.  If you have never participated in a Virtual Phone Bank, it is quite easy. You will always be calling someone who has not been contacted by anyone else.  Check out the directions and links here.

From 1998 until 2012 I taught high school English in highly conservative Washington County. In addition to teaching I learned. I discovered that Republican is not a synonym for racist.  I learned that we do not own social justice. I discovered that we all want the best for ourselves, for our families, and for our communities. How was it possible for us both to be good people while agreeing on almost nothing. It all comes down to our definitions. We all agree on the definition of self; we have some differences on the meaning of family; we completely differ in our definition of community. For some, community extends only as far their city limits, for others, it extends only as far as their block and for yet others, their community ends at their front door. For those of us who identify as Liberal, our sense of community extends to all who live and breathe. 

Short of spending a decade working in a conservative community, how do we discover our similarities, our shared humanity? More important, how do we all become part of the same community?  We must build bridges and that begins with talking and listening. Grassroots North Shore has two upcoming events that address that precise need.  On Wednesday, Jan 31, we are hosting WAVE for How to Talk About Guns and Protection.  The talk will be at our office, 5600 W. Brown Deer Rd. #116, from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm. The second event is broader, focusing on knocking on doors and building relationships based on shared values and we need to do this before we start asking people to vote for specific candidates. To that end, please join us on Feb. 24, in our Bridge Building initiative.  You can read more about it and sign up to participate on our website.

"The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something." -Barack Obama

"I abhor _________________, but what can I do?" There is no shortage of issues to fill the blank. When a friend recently filled the blank with racism I signed him up for Rid Racism Milwaukee's newsletter. When it comes to gun violence, WAVE is the group to follow and emulate.  Last week WAVE had a letter-writing session that we can all take part in.

Recently the Wauwatosa School Board passed a resolution to amplify the voices of students demanding action. "Among a slate of proposals, the School Board also is calling for more mental health funding for schools, universal background checks for gun purchases, an assault weapons ban and waiting periods for gun purchases." (Milwaukee Journal/Sentinal, April 20, 2018)

We can all write letters to our school boards, asking them to pass local resolutions calling on the legislature to enact the following policies, as identified by the students: universal background checks on all gun sales, limits on magazine capacity, an assault weapons ban, and raising the minimum age for firearms purchases from 18 to 21.

When we act locally, we see change.

Event Reminder

On Sunday, April 29, 2018, Grassroots North Shore will be presenting Focus on Immigration:

If you have not submitted your RSVP, do it now!

Don’t ignore the fun part of the event, FOOD. Heritage Foods:  You are invited to contribute a savory or sweet finger food representing your heritage or ethnic background.  Small plates only, no entrees.

Suggestions include fruit, vegetable, dairy, or sweets.  Items are to be plated and ready to serve.  If interested, please email Kathy Golden at [email protected]

Hope to see you there.

Rebecca Dallet was not our only win last week. The voters of Wisconsin rejected a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate the State Treasurer that would further weaken our checks and balances on the State Budget. On a local level, we sent a message to Chris Abele, the Milwaukee County Exec., about using his money to pack the County Board with hand-picked, rubber stamps.

None of this happened without hard work.  At GRNS we made calls, knocked doors, and wrote postcards.  We were not alone in our efforts. New groups are popping up and sharing the effort. Among those that added their voices and resources to the cause were The League of Progressive Seniors, River West Team, East Side Action, Southside Freedom League,  Grassroots South Shore, Greendale Grassroots SW, and Midtown Action all joined the effort.

Campaign work is, however, expensive. We bought two cell phones, printed, stamped, and sent over 1000 postcards. If you are able, we could use some financial help to keep it all going.  A Blue Wave will not happen without boots on the ground, lawn signs, phone calls, and events to meet the candidates.  Please, if you can, offer your financial support at Act Blue.

First, before anything else, get ready to vote on Wednesday, April 3. 

• Check for your polling location and confirm your registration status. You can even check out what is on your ballot.
• Decide when you will vote and how you will get there.
• Have a backup plan.  This is, after all, Wisconsin. We could have a snow storm or sweltering heat.  Be prepared.
• Make note of these numbers in case you experience any problems:  If you need help voting or see problems at the polls, call one of these free, nonpartisan hotlines to get the assistance you need:
  • 866-OUR-VOTE - English
  • 888-VE-Y-VOTA - Spanish
  • 1-844-418-1682 - Arabic
  • 888-API-VOTE - Asian/Pacific Islander languages

Know for whom you will vote. We have two recommendations:

Rebecca Dallet for State Supreme Court. If you want a judge who is fair, experienced, and independent, Rebecca Dallet is the only choice.   Read our full endorsement. 

If you live in Milwaukee County's first District, we recommend Theo Lipscomb.  Even without the controversy about Chris Abele's Super PAC and the $500,000 he spending on some very expensive rubber stamps, Lipscomb would still be our choice. He has served his constituents well.  Read our full endorsement.

Finally, please remember to vote no on the Statewide Referendum to eliminate the position of State Treasurer.  Do not allow another watchdog to be silenced!

See you at the polls.

• Chris Abele asked someone to run against Theo Lipscomb.  He told the woman that she would not have to worry about finances. She shared these details the day after she received the call.  She turned him down.
• Another person shared that she has received two calls where the caller claimed to be conducting a survey funded by and on behalf of the County Board of Supervisors. "When I told him that I intend to vote for Lipscomb he launched into a long list of Lipscomb's faults.  According to this guy, Lipscomb is self-serving, costing us money, cutting care and services, etc.  His opponent, of course, he described as stellar."

If these kinds of tactics scare you as much as they scare us, join us tomorrow, March 28, 2018, to let Leadership Mke and Chris Abele know that we stand against his attempt to buy himself a County Board that will be his rubber stamp.  In a Democracy, dissent is vital.  We have seen all too graphically what happens when one party buys itself both the Executive and Legislative Branches of Government.  Don't let Milwaukee County go the way of Madison and Washington. Let's show them what Democracy Looks Likes.

Before anything else we must apologize to The League of Women Voters for misrepresenting their position.  Please read the full statement here.

Last week saw another red district turn blue with Connor Lamb's election in Pennsylvania. His win would not have happened if a lot of people had not worked very hard. We can only do this if everyone out there works. We have momentum but that alone is not enough. There is a rule of thumb in campaigning that it takes five touches to be certain someone will vote and touches are interactive, not static.  An ad doesn't count. A Facebook post does not count. A touch is a conversation, a personal connection.  If we want to make sure that Rebecca Dallet wins on April 3, we have to put in some time. Please, help us make sure that Rebecca Dallet is elected to the State Supreme Court.  Here are the things that you can do:

• Call five friends.  Talk to them about Dallet and ask them to call five more people. If you don't feel like you know enough, that is easily remedied. 
• We are making calls and writing postcards. Sign up to help with that effort.
• Make sure everyone you know is registered to vote.  If someone isn't, help them register here.
• On April 3, become really obnoxious about making sure that everyone votes. We Dems have a horrible voting record for anything other than the Presidential election. We must change that.

Save the Date for Our Next Event, Sunday, April 29

Focus on Immigration

“What then is the American, this new man? I could point out to you a man whose grandfather was an Englishman, whose wife was Dutch, whose son married a French woman, and whose present four sons have now four wives of different nations….The American is a new man, who acts upon new principles…. This is an American.”  Michel-Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur (1770, approx.)