BURNING UP...

In spite of having a much larger venue than his opponent Hillary had the day before, I thought chances were slim to get into hear Bernie speak yesterday at the Omni Center.  You see even with RSVP's made we weren't going to be able to arrive until the 4pm door opening. (the on-line reservation stated it didn't hold us a spot) The lines had started forming in the morning although the speech would not be until 7pm. Parking would be limited and folks were asked to carpool. Varying reports circulated as to the ice hockey rink's 3400+ person capacity.

 A Disney like queue extending a couple blocks serpentined back and forth. BUT the line was moving when we arrived. Canvassers and button and tshirt sellers broke up the monotony of the stand still times. We were super fortunate the morning rains had ceased. It could have been really nasty.
Security was made clear early on in the line. Think airport- metal detectors,  no bags allowed, phones had to be on, no sharp objects, purses would be searched, etc... No e cigarettes? OK, not a prob. After clearing security,  we filed into the open arena space.

The space, well, was less than stellar as folks had to stand the entire time. That's right no bleachers nor chairs. Standing room only. Our group plopped to the cement floor and played some card Scrabble to pass the time. With an hour to go, we stood up achy from the cement floor. We were the elders as this crowd wasn't all white haired folks, it was much younger, a lot of college aged students. Noise and restlessness increased as the 7 pm time neared and passed. All 3300+ folks were ready. 

Cathy Van Maren

Welcomed by our loyal and local Sanders campaign chair and friend, Cathy Van Maren set the stage as to why we were there. Following Cathy, a young volunteer  spoke about her political involvement and the importance of getting friends to vote 'early' after which President Cleveland of the Ho Chunk nation greeted the crowd in his native tongue and addressed two very nasty anti Ho Chunk pieces of legislation recently submitted by Republicans. This land

Wilfrid Cleveland
 Ho Chunk Nation President

belonged to the HoChunk way before the settlers arrived and it is being destroyed for greed. We need politicians who will protect the land and its inhabitants. Transition to a  presidential candidate who will be a land steward, Bernie Sanders. 

  A giant ROAR from the crowd. 
First, Senator Sanders thanked us for coming and quickly surveyed us by a show of hands of how many had already voted. He emphasized this election can only be won if we get out the vote. 

 Then Mr. Sanders lit into a list of injustices of the people of the U.S. :

*broken treaties and the indigenous land ethic 
 *environmental issues against fracking, the quality of water
*moral obligation for our children vs short term profit
*erasing college debt, we bailed out Wall Street now it's time for Wall  Street to help out education
* alarming incarceration rates of minorities, prison system needs to be revamped, jail shouldn't be for profit
* youth unemployment college degree is what a high school degree once was and everyone's entitled to an education, should be able to refinance their school debt at lowest interest rate as going to school shouldn't be a debt sentence.
*pay equity for women  $.79/1.00 is not good enough, men should support women in achieving that too
* raising minimum wage to $15/hr
*every citizen being automatically registered to vote at age 18
*Healthcare reform, Medicare for all,  Health care is a right. Pharmaceutical prices are out of control
*campaign reform, amount of $ spent is incomprehensible
*legalization of marijuana and addiction treated as health issue
*immigration reform
*war policies,  he didn't vote for Iraq
*vet treatment, medical needs to be better including mental health care
*revitalizing unions 

 I'm sure I forgot some... The man was impressive.

The sheer number of people crammed into the space, TV lights and no air flow caused a couple of folks to need medical attention as they suffered from heat exhaustion and started dropping like flies. Bernie stopped his speech and waited for the Medics to assist.  

Sanders's a mensch and his genuineness was undeniable. He didn't just invent his platform, he has always fought for the issues. 

What's not to love about a candidate who is not about dividing and conquering but rather about uniting in coalition with others to win for an all inclusive America?


                                 Oh yeah, I felt the Bern.

FEELIN' THE BERN