WHEREAS WisGOP resolves to dismantle public education

As an education advocate, when I talk about the need for diligence in fighting for quality public education, I sometimes meet resistance from other parents and even educators, who find some of the concerns I raise to be so extreme-sounding, so irrational and unreasonable, that they're tempted to dismiss them as being overblown and impossible.  "No one would ever really want to do that to public schools," they say.  "That could never happen here.  People support public education here."

But - as much as I love hyperbole  (I'm an English teacher and a writer. What can I say?), I'm not the kind of person who takes liberties with facts, and I'm certainly not the kind of person who would accuse anyone of trying to undermine the cornerstone of democracy, public education, if it weren't entirely, documentably, true.  And even though none of us really want to believe it, I don't think anything could make how true it is more clear than going directly to the horse's mouth.

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The passage below is copied directly from the 2013 Wisconsin Republican Party State Convention Resolutions as Adopted.  The convention was held on May 4, 2013 in Wausau, where "Republican leaders including Governor Scott Walker, Congressman Paul Ryan, and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus spoke to an excited crowd ready to take our message and Party to the next level."  If you want to join the 44 people (give or take, since at least 5 of them are me) who cared what Priebus had to say in his Walkerphilic keynote begging for more members and wondering why the GOP hasn't won a decisive presidential victory in over 20 years (see below for why), click here.  Or just read on to see what they formalized in terms of an education agenda.

 
The "education" part of the WisGOP message is pasted below.  The entire thing is dripping with thinly veiled contempt for, and unfounded assumptions about the bias within, public education. I started to bold the sections that you might find most shocking or outrageous, but within minutes, pretty much the whole thing was bolded, so I'll just give you a chance to wrap your mind around the highlights before you read on:

• They want to eliminate 4K, which research shows is one of the leading factors in graduation rates, retention and test scores for all students, but especially low income students.
• They want to eliminate funding for mental health screening (which potentially reduces violence in schools and helps troubled kids get the help they need), but create funding to put armed staff in public schools, a potentially tragic idea against which mental health professionals strongly warn.
• They want to eliminate minimum certification requirements to create a system so lax that teachers need neither degrees in education nor student teaching experience to enter a classroom, a move that feeds on increased funding to groups like Teach for America that undermine qualified teaching staff by putting inexperienced temps into the classrooms that most need experienced instructors for short-term assignments. This move also has a disproportionally negative impact on low-income students and those with disabilities.
• They want to amp up public funds to private school vouchers AND increase the already massive tax break for private school tuition regardless of a family's financial need.  Maybe you didn't catch that last part.  It was this: REGARDLESS OF A FAMILY'S FINANCIAL NEED.  Pardon the shouting, but I just want to make sure this is crystal clear: rich families in Wisconsin will now get both tax breaks AND vouchers, a supreme double-dip government handout, an unconscionable subsidy for the wealthy at the expense of taxpayers and public schools.
• They not only oppose adopting Common Core State Standards (or any standards for public education), but they actually endorse the ABOLISHMENT of the U.S. Dept. of Education.  That's right.  In the same breath as claiming that the taxpayer should fund the education of wealthy, and that they support de-funding virtually every aspect of public education that helps level the playing ground for low-income students, they've revived the most laughable, least reasonable, of the anti-government-school Tea Party mantras:  "we endorse that the U.S. Department of Education be abolished."  

What more do you need to know to accept that this is not a false alarm?  The war on public education is going on now, in full public view, and we ignore it at our peril.  This is not the rambling of the radical fringe.  This is the official resolution of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. The party responsible, under the well-bought "leadership" of Scott "Fundraising IS Governing" Walker, for the largest cuts to public education funding ever.  The party that tried to run a candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction whose platform was basically "get guns in schools and cut funding to everything else." A party that has been wholly bought and paid for by those with a vested interest in dismantling public education.

 

Read on for the full monty, and then think hard about whether or not this is really your definition of "forward":   

 

  
2013 Wisconsin Republican Party Education Resolution:

WHEREAS, we believe in limited government, individual freedom and personal responsibility; and
WHEREAS, parents have the right to spend their money on the school or method of schooling they deem appropriate for their children; and
WHEREAS, virtual schools have come under attack by the leadership of the state teacher’s union; and
WHEREAS, parents have the fundamental right and responsibility to educate their children and provide for their moral guidance; and
WHEREAS, parents should have as much choice as possible in selecting the right school for their children; and
WHEREAS, vigorous competition from independent schools will stimulate government schools to strive for and achieve excellence; now,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Republican Party of Wisconsin, in convention assembled:

• Urges that parents of school-age children be given vouchers or tax credits designed to give all parents equal freedom of choice in education without regard to their financial means; and
• Urges that religiously oriented schools not be discriminated against for exercising their freedom of religion; and
• Strongly urges that the right to home school shall not be abridged; and
• Urges our state legislators and local school boards to push for curriculum changes that place greater emphasis on the basics, and eliminate all programs whose objectives are social engineering or advocacy of special interests; and
• Calls for the state legislature to eliminate funding of 4-year-old kindergarten; and
• Urges Congress to pass legislation that prohibits schools from forcing or coercing parents to put their children on drugs and eliminates all funding for government-mandated mental health screening of all children; and
• Supports academic efforts that ensure that the presentation of our history and founding Judeo-Christian principles in our educational institutions, including those of higher learning, is objective, truthful and complete; and
• Urges legislation adopting alternative standards for teacher licensing that do not require a degree in education or student-teaching experience; and
• Urges that if political issues are discussed, that multiple opinions be presented to represent a more fair discussion and to allow for debate; and
• Opposes the adoption and implementation of Common Core Standards as well as the International Baccalaureate Curriculum in the Wisconsin school system; and
• Supports allowing properly trained adult staff to be armed in public schools.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we support legislation to make it easier to fire unsatisfactory teachers in the public schools and to encourage performance pay for the best teachers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we support local school districts’ decisions to set up virtual schools and parents right to participate in their children’s education and to choose virtual schools for their children’s education; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge libraries in all publicly-funded schools have a balance of reading materials that reflect conservative values as well as liberal values; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we endorse that the U. S. Department of Education should be abolished and all federal mandates and funding (such as Common Core Curriculum), leaving education decision making at the state, local or personal level; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we support school districts having the right to choose from multiple vendors for their statewide school information system (SSIS) on the grounds that multiple vendors will lower costs to the taxpayers and promote free market principles.

- See more at: http://www.wisgop.org/our-party/republican-party-of-wisconsin-2013-state-convention-resolutions-as-adopted/#sthash.1m5kd8Dz.dpuf

Laughing all the way to the bank: 67% of voucher applicants ALREADY attend private schools

In a recent report from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction reveals that over 76% of applicants to the amped-up voucher program implemented by Gov. Scott Walker and his political cronies do not attend regular public schools.  Of these, a whopping 67.3% (!) already attend private schools, with the remainder being home-schooled, attending no school, or out of state applicants.  A paltry 24.3%(503 applicants) currently attend regular public school.

This means a few things:

1. Wisconsin parents and Wisconsin students do NOT believe Wisconsin schools (which lead the nation in graduation rates) are "failing" as our governor and his cronies like to pretend, and are not clamoring over each other to "save" their kids by pushing them into questionably accredited, science-optional, no-accountability private voucher schools like Walker predicted they would.  Nor do they believe the myth that private schools are inherently superior to public schools. Because they aren't.
2. Vouchers are not the "choice" of high-need, low-income taxpayers that we were told (by Walker, and his funders and the mainstream media) they would be.  They are the choice of people who could already afford to send their kids to private schools, who are now taking advantage of the outrageous double-dip that is their massive $10,000 tax break for private school tuition coupled with a expansion of the voucher program than allows a government handout in the form of a $6400 coupon toward their  kids' education, paid for by the rest of us and siphoned out of the public education fund for the rest of our kids.
3. It pays to support Scott Walker.  The special interest groups and profiteers who paid so richly to ensure Scott Walker and his cronies remain in office are seeing some very generous returns on their "investment."  At our expense, and at the expense of quality public education statewide.
4. People who care about public education would be wise to look for - and hold accountable - candidates who agree that Wisconsin cannot afford to subsidize private school for the rich AND public school for the rest of us.  Because if people who care about public education vote, people who put profits before our children - and our collective future - lose.

On solidarity, and singing along: It's not about the permit. It's about our rights.

If you follow Monologues of Dissent on facebook, you may or may not be annoyed by my frequent updates on the Capitol shenanigans in the past few weeks.  And while the midwesterner in me feels obligated to apologize (like we do) for my incessant posts on the crackdown that has let to over 100 arrests and citations of those who peacefully assembly in the rotunda at any weekday at noon, the media coverage has been so predictably abysmal and misplaced, that I just feel compelled to make sure that people remain aware of what's actually at stake here.

This is not some tiny, close-knit group of radical weirdos who have some kind of singsong cult like the press would have you think.  Every single time I make it down to the Capitol on my lunch break, I see a different crowd - of others, like me, on their lunch breaks or taking time on a day off to speak up against the continued injustices of the Walker administration's iron fist: educators, business professionals, union and non-union workers, vets, students, retirees, PhDs, people with great jobs and people looking for great jobs.  Regular people of all walks of life, united by widely varying but equally passionate concerns that if we do not speak out, we jeopardize our collective future, in big and small ways.

photo: Rebecca Kemble

And these people are being arrested for charges that simply stagger the mind of any person (like me, and like you) who grew up being told that the foundation of a healthy democracy was an informed and engaged citizenry, that debate and dissent are healthy and productive, and that both our state and federal constitutions specifically designate our right to mobilize and share our concerns:

Right to assemble and petition. Section 4. The right of the people peaceably to assemble, to consult for the common good, and to petition the government, or any department thereof, shall never be abridged.

And yet, the charges, accompanied by totally unnecessary cuffing and detainment:  No permit. Unlawful assembly.  Criminal trespassing (in the people's house! during regular business hours!).  Arrests and countless threats of arrest for "participation" simply for observing - warning tourists and spectators that they must leave or risk arrest.  Arrests for documenting the actions of the Capitol police, led by Scott Walker's former body guard.  Yesterday, one person received $9000 worth of tickets for "chalking" at $500 each.  Last week, a man was taken to the Dane County jail and charged with criminal trespassing for re-entering the building after having been cited for not having a permit.  His bail was set for $701. A Vietnam War veteran who fell down the marble stairs as he was marched to the holding area by the palace guard was not immediately issued a citation.  It arrived in the mail a few days later at his home address.  A state representative was warned she'd be ticketed for watching the arrests from a balcony. These intimidating infringements on our liberties in the form of citations and threats are not just a massive embarrassment to our state, and to our children (who bear witness to a struggle in which their parents are forced to fight the battles that were already fought and won, and learn - against our will - to fear the retaliation of police even as we try to teach them to trust and respect law enforcement), they're a massive affront to anyone who can see the irony of enforcing an unconstitutional rule that forces those who would dissent to get permission from the government to do so.

Do you get what's happening here? $9000 in tickets IN ONE DAY - 18 counts of "chalking" at $500/each. They are trying to bankrupt dissidents - or at least put the fear of bankruptcy in them, since most of the charges will likely be dropped - so that others are afraid to petition the government.  Read that sentence again.  Let it sink in. 

Over the course of the last two weeks, as Capitol Police have been forced again to crack down with a series of questionably constitutional arrests, I have been struck by the refusal of the presumably free press to accurately or adequately report what is going on in the people's house, and also by the lack of solidarity from those on the right whose "Don't Tread on Me" mantra demands outrage over such heavy-handed abuse of power.  The gleefully hateful "counter" by conservatives - who by all rights should be brandishing their beloved firearms over this assault on our constitutional right to petition the government (can you IMAGINE the outrage if President Obama even hinted at the sort of oppressive measures Walker has codified?) is astounding to me. 

To wit (and I use that term loosely):

This land is my land, it is not your land
I got a shotgun, and you don't got one
If you don't get off, I'll call the Sher-iff
This land is private property

What is going on here? The lyrics (seriously: check out those lyrics) of the "We've Got a Permit Singers" aren't just horrible and spiteful and partisan; they are absurdly dismissive of the actual issue at hand, and the mainstream press has followed suit by simply ignoring the central issue that motivates people like me (parents, teachers, concerned citizens) to continue to speak up against the oppressive measures our government has taken to control the discourse.  It's not about the recall. It's not about the "ease" of obtaining a permit. It's about our rights.  It's about freedom.  The freedom to petition the government with our grievances.  The right to know what is being done with our money, in our names. The freedom to organize.  The right to earn a living wage. The right to free and equitable public education guaranteed by our constitution. The right to have a say in government affairs.  The freedom to remind our elected officials know they work for us, not vice versa.

Perfectly stated. Meme by Worley Dervish.

Obtaining a permit for the noontime sing along is not a "no brainer."  It's a prima facie absurdity, predicated on the assumption that some core entity or individual is liable for the actions of whatever random group of people might show up on any given day to express, collectively, their on-going concerns with the Walker administration, their draconian austerity measures, and their totalitarian methods.  The sing along is a residual articulation of a movement that began with the massive protests of 2011 but has evolved into a peaceful, lasting statement: We are still here. We are paying attention. We care, deeply, and we're not going anywhere. 

If you want to sing out, sing out.  And if you want to be free, be free.  And if you can't make it to the Capitol to do either in person, please consider contributing to the those who are doing so for all us.  Similar sing along actions are now being mobilized in Michigan and Texas, as people realize that the collective voice is more powerful than the individual voice, and that the need for citizen action is essential at a time when our voices seem to matter so little to the powers that be.

The rights to freedom of speech, assembly and dissent are not partisan issues.  They are cornerstones of the very possibility of democracy, and the urgency of what's happening right now in the Wisconsin state house cannot be underestimated. We write this off as a handful of stubborn individuals at the peril of democracy.

Guest post: Dear Republicans: What's wrong with you?

The following post was written by a friend who is a retired educator and deeply committed advocate for fair labor and public education.  He asks a good question: what's wrong with those who continue to sell out the American Dream in exchange for a greedy handful of the same magic beans that got us into this mess?

Dear Republicans:

What’s Wrong With You?

I am concerned about you. So many of the decisions you have been making lately haven’t been good for anyone—not even yourselves. The kind of things that make us human—compassion, acceptance, common sense—seem to be completely absent from your decision making processes, especially among your leaders.

Do you have collective amnesia? After we took nearly all the controls off your banker friends, they went berserk and crashed the economy. Now you want to eliminate the few controls that we managed to put back on them? Why? So they can crash the economy again? Don’t you remember we bailed them out while letting ordinary homeowners swing in the breeze? What keeps you from seeing that? What’s wrong with you?

Have you been dissed by a cantankerous senior? Has a toddler drooled some errant mucous on you? Has a handicapped person made you park five steps further away at Target? Those people--children, the sick, and the aged--bear the brunt of most of your hostile policy proposals. You want to repeal their health care, defund their schools and steal their pensions. Why? What’s wrong with you?

Did your public school teachers fail to teach you about democracy? About how a bill becomes a law? About the necessity for compromise in civil society? Any Republican lawmaker who even hints at compromising with other duly elected lawmakers of the other party is taken to the woodshed and thrashed. That’s why so many of them sound like punch drunk fighters standing their ground no matter what. That’s why they’ve voted three dozen times to do away with a health care law they don’t like and have completely ignored the job creation legislation that Americans so desperately need. What’s wrong with them? What’s wrong with you?

Are you having trouble telling right from wrong? In my state of Wisconsin, law enforcement has been busy arresting 80 year olds for the crime of singing. More than 100 lawbreakers so far and more every day. In North Carolina, Moral Mondays have produced about 1,000 arrests (and counting) as people try to stand in the way of Republicans intent on defunding schools, making unemployment compensation impossible to get (especially cruel in this jobless economy), and making the democratic act of voting as difficult as possible. Do you really think that arresting people who care deeply about their state and country is helpful? Why? What’s wrong with you?

Has your reading list become too narrow? Do you believe Atlas Shrugged should be in the nonfiction section? Do you only read the parts of the Old Testament that focus on retribution and ignore the Christian injunctions in the New Testament to care for “the least among us?” Your willingness to impose your religious beliefs on the rest of us, especially women, is deeply un-American. Look around you. The only other people intent on imposing their religious beliefs are in places like Egypt, Iran, and Pakistan. Don’t you see those countries aren’t good role models? What’s wrong with you?

Are you mesmerized by rich people? On their way to setting up new election rules so they can legally buy elections, have they convinced you that you won’t be the next one thrown under the bus? They’ve flatlined the incomes of working people, stolen their pensions, undercut their health care and undermined their schools. Do you really think the rich folks care about you? Good luck with that. What’s wrong with you?

Have you bought into the strange psychology that government is the root of every problem? Do you support the Republican threat to shut down the government this fall if Obama refuses to repeal health care? Shutting down government has real consequences for our country’s security, for old and sick people, for schools, for roads, for so many things of value. You wish to put everyone at risk so you can have one more vote on health care in the House of Representatives? Go ahead and do it. The whisper of ordinary people just trying to live their lives without the disruption of political drama is likely to rise to a shout.

They will be shouting. “WTF is wrong with you?”

You’d better have an answer.

Free advice: Rape isn't funny. Ever.

It's been a while since I offered an installment of free and valuable unsolicited advice, and I apologize for the delay!  I hope you'll find this tip useful:
 

Stop laughing at rape jokes. 

 

from the tumblr Rape Jokes Are Not Funny

I was recently scandalized by a comedian on Comedy Central whose tired premise is shock-appeal dressed as apathy.  The majority of his jokes had to do with either rape or domestic abuse.  He actually enumerated his rape jokes and let us know more were on the way. The crowd was loving it.  I was not.  I felt like, in the random flip of a channel, I learned that all the work women and men have done for the past 50 years to get people to take rape seriously had been laughed under the table. 

I did some googling.  Turns out there's a whole subculture of young, largely-not-that-funny-in-my-opinion comedians vying to out-rape-joke each other in the ratings/pseudo-radical mainstream comedy wars.  Which is about the lamest controversy imaginable, and absolutely disgusting to me at a time when men should be clamouring over themselves to help women protect their rights. But it got me thinking, and I don't know what else to do about this problem. Speech is free and laughs sell, so this guy's not going anywhere.  Not much we can do about that but maybe petition, or boycott the sponsors, but that just draws attention to the problem and increases its impact; I refuse even to give the comedian in question free publicity by saying his name.  

But there is something we can all do.  We can stand up and call it out: rape jokes are not funny.  Silence is not always consent in the bedroom, but it most certainly is in the world of public opinion.  We cannot continue to be silent about this issue in an age when young people are trying to negotiate relationships with each other in a culture that normalizes rape videos, rape jokes, and violence of every kind.  Expecting them to sort through that on their own is negligent and unrealistic.  We must play active, vocal roles in making sure the kids in our lives grow up prepared to deal with this crap and filter it smartly into the garbage.  

So here's my big advice:
 

Teach your sons and daughters that rape is never, ever, ever, funny. Ever.

Teach them to respect themselves, and each other, by respecting them yourself. 

Teach them to live with dignity, and to value their rights and their bodies.

Teach them to use their brainpower to make a positive difference.

Teach them how words matter, why it what they say and how they say it is never harmless.

Teach them to trust their voices, and use them.

Teach them that silence is NOT consent when it comes to sex, but silence IS consent when it comes to speaking out for what's right.

Teach them that it's better to speak out and stand alone than to stay silent and share the blame.

Teach them to love themselves, and to shine that love out into the word without fear. Teach them to take pride in who they are.  Teach them that the only person's whose judgment really matters to them is their own. 

Teach them to be confident enough in themselves and their talents that they won't one day find themselves on a stage somewhere grasping for approval by attempting to normalize something they know is awful, pretending their actions have no impact on the world.

Teach your sons and daughters that rape is never, ever, ever, funny.

Value meals? Join the #MomsNotLovinIt revolution

#MomsNotLovinIt takes on McDonald's predatory marketing to kids of color  and in public schools

Issues related to both education and exploitation of children are usually at the heart of my ethical and political preoccupations, and I have written often on both my concerns about exploitative marketing toward children (most specifically in the gendered markets that dominate the "girl aisle" and the invasive marketing of McDonald's into our classrooms) and the need for parents, students and educators to form a united coalition to protect the integrity and quality of education.  So I was excited to learn of some upcoming events designed to address these issues and bring more concerned people together in support of moving forward to protect our children and stand up for fair practices in advertising as well as promote healthy living.

Our friends at Corporate Accountability International have planned social media events connected to their Value [the] Meal campaign in an attempt to draw attention to - and combat - the manipulative and predatory marketing practices that the McDonald's corporation routinely engages in to advertise explicitly to children.  To this end, they've announced a series of "Tweetchats"  on Mondays in July to address various issues with McDonald's deceptive and unscrupulous practices.   To participate, follow @StopCorpAbuse on Twitter and join in the conversation on the hashtag  #MomsNotLovinIt on the scheduled dates!

Lappé

Here's the schedule of topics for the Tweetchats:

• July 8: McDonald's targeted marketing to youth in communities of color, hosted by LaDonna Redmond, of the Campaign for Food Justice Now, a food justice activist who took on nutrition in Chicago public schools before moving to the Minneapolis area, where she continues her efforts. 

• July 15: McDonald's predatory marketing in schools (something with which I've had personal experience).  That Tweetchat will be hosted by Leah Segedie of Mamavation, who also has recent experience with McDonald's marketing to her young child at school.  

• July 22: Other tactics McDonald's uses to skirt parental authority and market directly to kids, hosted by Anna Lappé
  Lappé
  and Food MythBusters!

Throughout these events, they've got a great lineup of folks participating, including Michele Simon of Eat Drink Politics and MomsRising, so please join in and help spread the word.  The first step toward meaningful action is to educate ourselves and come together on the issues that matter to all of us!

I know that our inclination is to think "McDonald's can market however they want. It's up to parents to choose what their kids do or don't eat," but whenever this discussion comes up, it never ceases to amaze me how resistant people are to addressing the perverse tactics of marketers. I think we are brainwashed by the capitalist machine to think of ourselves as "free to choose" and therefore impervious to unscrupulous campaigns, when all of the evidence proves otherwise. Why is it ok with us that McDonald's (and many other companies) have targeted campaigns that attempt to manipulate children and trick them into thinking unhealthy food is healthy? Or that they use age-inappropriate movies (and toys associated with them) to push their products? Or that they market to kids at all - when the parents are the ones buying the food? Why is it ok to disproportionately target kids of color? We ignore the severity of this issue at our peril, and whatever personal choices we make about what to eat (or not), we cannot deny the impact of these incredibly pervasive, successful and proven marketing strategies. I invite all of you to open your minds to this issue and join in the conversation.  The least we can do is know what we're up against. 

Tired of @McDonalds peddling junk food to kids? Join @StopCorpAbuse for the first #MomsNotLovinIt chat on July 8 @ 8:30pm EST

Read more about how McDonald's explicitly targets children of color in this must-read article by Naa Oyo A. Kwate, Ph.D., "McDonald's Exploitative Roots Go Deep." 

You can also take action by signing Corporate Accountability International's petition: Tell McDonald's: Stop Marketing Junk Food to Our Kids. Health care professionals can click here to sign on to a similar open letter of petition.

Special thanks to Corporate Accountability International's Lillyanne Daigle for reaching out to MoD with details on these important events, and to our good friends at Campaign for a Commerical-Free Childhood for connecting us by cross-posting my piece on the McDonald's math-vertisement I found in my daughter's kindergarten workbook.

Will your doctor defend your rights when your government won't?

5 July 2013

Today in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker signed SB-206, the fast-tracked Vaginal Ultrasound Bill, which never saw a minute of public hearing, into law. He did this, like he does most things, behind closed doors and out of the public eye - trying to slip this most invasive of laws into being on the Friday of a holiday weekend, when he hopes most of us will be out having too good a time to pay attention to what's being done in our name, and at our expense, at the Capitol.  We're reminded of his secret declaration, on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, of "Protect Life Day."  Apparently a man's decision to sign a bill into law is deeply personal and none of our affair.

This law requires healthcare professionals to perform a medically useless procedure for the sole purpose of degrading and humiliating patients into feeling guilty about obtaining an abortion, regardless of the circumstances. The law, which was immediately met with lawsuits, violates the most basic of our privacies.

All over the country, similar big-government measures to control reproductive healthcare decisions and our relationships with our doctors are on the table with our exposed bodies.

This is not ok with women.

It's not ok with doctors.

And it's a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees both the right to healthcare and the right to live free from "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."


It may be time to call on healthcare professionals as well as their patients to take a stand.  If those we entrust with our government continue to betray the public trust, at what point can we no longer rely on those who we entrust with our bodies to defend our right to professional, humane, impartial, medical care?  When will the demand that medical professionals abandon their oaths to perform uncivil and unnecessary procedures necessitate a new demand for civil disobedience?  We are headed down a strange and slippery slope, and it will be difficult to find foothold in the hypocritical moralizing at the heart of these measures.

Doctors and other medical professionals have been speaking out against the damage done to Wisconsin patients and families under Walker's austerity policies for over two years now.  Ordinary people have taken to the streets and petitioned the Capitol time and again, only to be mocked, ignored, and subdued.  What is the tipping point?  

Wisconsin citizens may have learned that raising our voices in the streets has no impact in Fitzwalkerstan, but that doesn't mean they've gone away, or that they aren't paying attention.  Together with the teachers, doctors, and scores of public and private sector employees suffering under this administration, they are watching. They are working. They will defend our rights.  And we will stand together.




Note: Special thanks to MoD fan Jennifer Berns Ryan, for inspiring this image by pointing us to the World Medical Association's oath of conduct.