Thursday, June 19, 2014

Paul Cienfuegos' We The People workshop is returning to the Driftless!


(courtesy of the kind folks at CRA of Vernon County)

Registration is open for the We the People Community Rights Workshop in Viroqua coming up June 27 - 29. If you want to attend, DO NOT WAIT --- register now as openings are limited. Pre-registration is required!

We've made it easy. Click our Online Registration Form and submit. Put any questions and home-stay or camping requests in the questions/comments section of the form and we will get back to you.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP:



Gear up for Independence Day with a weekend workshop to learn the history of corporate "rights" in America and how to fix the balance of power in our country.

"We the People" have the RIGHT to self-governance. Community Rights are about the inherent right of a local majority of residents to protect the health and welfare of their local communities. This applies to situations like frac-sand mining or hydraulic fracturing, corporate factory farming, sewage sludge or coal ash dumping, hazardous and/or nuclear waste transport or storage, drilling for corporate water withdrawals, testing of GMO seeds, right of ways for transmission lines, pipelines, or other energy projects, or a thousand other corporate projects that your community does not want where rule by the people is often ignored in favor of serving the needs of large mining/oil/gas corporations. More than 160 communities have passed legally binding, locally enforceable Community Rights ordinances each of which defines what the community wants, reins in corporate so-called "rights, and stops legal but harmful corporate activity dead in its tracks.

We invite you to spend a weekend learning about our inherent right to govern ourselves and to protect our communities and the rest of the natural and living world. We will explore questions like:

--Do we have a government of, for, and by The People, or the elite few?

--How can we exercise our right to govern ourselves?

--What would real decision-making look like at the local level?

Paul Cienfuegos will present a history of how our democracy has changed since the Revolution, and introduce strategies from the national Community Rights movement to put power back in the hands of We the People. The workshop will introduce a history of corporate "rights" in America and suggest strategies to bring balance to the structures of power in our country.

We invite local business owners, city and county officials, and most importantly concerned citizens from all walks of life. Together we will explore Community Rights strategies to protect our community with powerful local laws.


Paul Cienfuegos works full­-time in the fast­-growing national movement to reign in corporate power at the local level. For more info, go to PaulCienfuegos.com.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP:
We the People Are More Powerful than We Dare to Believe - First Steps in Overcoming Corporate Rule
June 27-29, 2014
Family and Children's Center
1321 N. Main St.
Viroqua, WI 54665

June 27   Fri   6 pm – 9 pm  Potluck and Orientation (pot-luck from 6 pm to 7 pm)
June 28   Sat  9 am – 6 pm  History and Background (coffee, tea, snacks available)
June 29   Sun 9 am – 5 pm  Community Rights Perspectives and Next Steps (coffee, tea, snacks available)

COST:
We suggest a donation of $50 --$250 ($25 for students). Honor system: the amount is up to you. Please keep in mind that larger donations from some of us help to defray costs for those with fewer resources. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. We are asking everyone to pay between $50 and $250 for this workshop.

In this society, we tend to forget that lower income people have much less disposable income for extras of any kind than do higher income people. So what ends up happening is that lower income people actually end up subsidizing the participation of higher income people at events where everyone pays the same price to attend.

If you have lots of dependents, please consider paying a bit less than the amounts listed below. If you have few or no dependents, please consider paying a bit more than the amounts listed below. 
Through everyone's donations we need to cover the costs of our education.

  • If you make less than $15,000 per year, please consider paying $50 or more.
  • If you make $15,000 to $25,000 per year, please consider paying $80 or more.
  • If you make $25,000 to $40,000 per year, please consider paying $110 or more.
  • If you make $40,000 to $70,000 per year, please consider paying $150 or more.
  • If you make $70,000 to $100,000 per year, please consider paying $200 or more.
  • If you make $100,000 or more per year, please consider paying $250 or more.
If you are at all uncomfortable with our suggested fee scale, please pay whatever amount you feel is right for you to pay. YOU are the best judge of what you can afford to pay.
Flyers are attached.

Many thanks for your attention, help, and interest. We The People can make a difference!

Community Rights Alliance of Vernon County
928-830-3311