Posted on 09/08/2007 1:20:10 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
BARABOO -- Anti-war activist and noted Bush administration critic Cindy Sheehan will speak Saturday at the sixth Fighting Bob Fest political rally at the Sauk County Fairgrounds.
The festival is from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Sheehan is scheduled to speak at 3:40 p.m. Others on the agenda include political commentator Jim Hightower, speaking at 2:30 p.m., and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, whose district includes Columbia County. She will speak at 9 a.m.
Entertainment will include the Raging Grannies, singer-songwriter Chuck Mitchell and poetry by Daniel Kunene.
More than 70 activist organizations have booths at the event, ranging from Amnesty International and the Code Pink anti-war group to Obama for President and Upity Wisconsin, a progressive political blog.
At noon, festival participants are invited to break into discussion groups around a variety of political issues. Issue groups include: global warming, political campaign corruption in Wisconsin, the crisis in education and agriculture and democracy.
Fighting Bob Fest is an opportunity for progressive activists to gather strength, discuss issues and figure out how to influence state and national policy, said Ed Garvey, a Madison-based activist attorney and former candidate for governor. However, it is also fun, with music, poetry, food and a festive atmosphere.
"It has grown from a first year of about 1,000 people to last year over 6,000," he said. "It's an event where people feel comfortable."
Rural Wisconsin Dells resident Hiroshi Kanno is a member of the Concerned Citizens of Newport, an active Democratic Party member and one of the founding organizers of the festival. He said he will be particularly excited to hear Sheehan, a woman whose son was killed in Iraq and who has come to prominence as a strong anti-war voice.
Sheehan is running as an independent candidate for the U.S. House seat held by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and is challenging the Democratic Party to take a stronger stand against the war. Young American soldiers continue to die in an unpopular conflict and the party's top leaders aren't doing enough to stop it, Kanno said.
"She's sending a message to the Democratic Party, which they may not like, but it's a wake-up call for them," he said.
Kanno said he will provide the Fighting Bob Fest stage and will help organize the event in other ways. A crew of 70 to 80 volunteers are working on the event by directing visitors to parking, working at booths and providing other services.
"You get a chance to see the people you've been reading about," Kanno said. "You always meet new people and new issues."
On the Web
www.fightingbobfest.org
I’m thinking that this would be an excellent place for a meteor to hit!
LLS
An entire day of side-splitting comedy? Damn, sorry I can't make it, but I have a hunch they'll just be preaching to the choir.
What’s with that state? Is that loon of a senator going to make the beer bong parade at 7pm?
When he died in 1925, Fightong Bob was succeeded in the US Senate by his son, Bob La Follette, Jr., known as “Young Bob,” who was, in turn, defeated in 1946 by a WWII veteran named Joe McCarthy.
Bob LaFollette was the only “Republican” next to TR that my communist high school history teacher liked.
PASTA YO!
;-)
“Fighting Bob” LaFollette. He was a progressive (liberal) governor in the early 20th century. Sort of a populace jackass.
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