 You'll call them up, OK. Good evening. Welcome to the First Unitarian Society. It is my honor to welcome you to this event with nuns on the bus Town Hall for the 100%. I am Kelly Crocker, Minister of Congregational Life here and on behalf of our community, I am here to say thank you to all of you and all of you for being with us tonight. Last June, Sister Simone Campbell was the wear lecturer at our Unitarian Universalist General Assembly. She was asked because we believe she is one of America's most articulate and effective advocates for compassionate public policy. Sister Simone is a religious leader, an attorney, and a poet who has been a passionate spokesperson for immigration, reform, economic justice, and health care for all. We are honored to be a small part of her jubilee year, 50 years of inspired and spiritual justice work in her order. In the wear lecture, she reminded us to stand in our power, face our fears, and walk toward trouble. She inspired and challenged us to work for the causes that we hold dear and work for the world of justice and peace that we know is possible. This year's nuns on the bus tour, we the people, we the voters, is near and dear to our hearts. As Unitarian Universalists, we believe in the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process and in doing everything we can to include everyone as active participants in that process. So what an honor to have all of you here with us this evening to challenge us, inspire us, hold us to our true calling to work for systemic change to make this world a better place for all. So if you will join me in welcoming Sister Simone Campbell and the nuns on the bus. Thank you so much. I realized coming back to Madison has said I think this is my third trip, and I must say it feels quite like home. So thank you for the warm welcome, and thank you for coming out. We didn't make it as far as Madison on our first bus trip, but I met some of you in Janesville at a certain congressman's office. That was quite a fun experience. Since I had expected Janesville to be the crossroad of two highways with a gas station and maybe an office in a general store, I was a little surprised to see what the city was like. But I was mostly surprised at the amazing warm welcome and the amazing support that we had. It was an amazing trip, and I will never forget it. It was our first full day on the bus, and it was like, whoa, too much, too much. So it's great to be back. You know, Wisconsin wasn't on our planned route, and I am exceptionally grateful for the Unitarians and Universalists in welcoming us to this place because it got scrambled together kind of at the last minute. Because what happened, we were on the bus for, we scheduled a tour for 10 states, I don't know, 150,000 days, or I forget how many exactly, that started on September 17th, and while we were on the road, I was still raising money for that trip when some folks who I had been requesting money from for that trip said, well, what if we gave you three times that amount? How much more could you do? Could you stay on the road? And we have the most amazing team ever, and so we said, well, I guess we could do it. So Bill, our bus driver says, I'm in, sister, I'm in. And I'll change anything for you girls, he told me. And our amazing team said, yes, let's make it happen. Then we said, okay, where are the most important places to go? So well, we were back in Iowa to account to Iowa what we had heard on our trip because we started there on September 17th. And what happened was then we said, where else do we need to go? And when we looked at the map, we looked at the races, we looked at politics, we looked at people who needed some encouragement, and we said, hmm, I think we need to go to Wisconsin. They've had a hard road. They've had a really hard road these last four years, and they need a little lifting up, a little nourishing of the spirit. And hopefully tonight what we'll do at this town hall is nourish the 100%. Nourish our commitment for democracy that says everyone is welcome at the table. That says the only way forward is if we have all the voices included that we leave no one out. We had an amazing time in Colorado which has some of the most amazing inclusive election policies that I have ever seen in my life where everyone who's registered gets a ballot in the mail. That ballot in the mail can be returned any time in these 24-hour drop-off places, can be mailed in, no postage paid. They also have an amazing thing if you go in for early voting or even on the day of election on November 4th, you can register to vote right then and vote, and your vote is counted. It's not a provisional ballot, it's not anything. They want to support voting. And when I think of our democracy, I think what is the way forward? The way forward is making sure that we, the people, are the voters, that we are engaged. It's not about leaving anyone out. It's about making sure everyone is included at the table of democracy. So, welcome to the table of democracy. We're gonna leave no one out tonight, we hope. We hope to get a little bit of community buzz going here and we're gonna do a four-part process. If any of you know, Catholic sisters were always about process. And we do a lot of processing in our communities. And I have my beloved sisters over here that we've been traveling together through Wisconsin. We were up in Green Bay last night and this morning. Then we were in Appleton. Now we're here in Madison, headed towards Milwaukee. And then I'm speaking in Sheboygan on Tuesday. And then we're back in Milwaukee. So we're making the rounds. We're trying to get it all covered. But, so what we're gonna want to do tonight is to build a bit of community here. And all around the country, we've been doing these town halls for the 100%. And what we're trying to do is to listen to what your experience is. So the first thing we're gonna do is have what we call buzz questions, which are just two minutes to chat with a neighbor. Now it's often better if you chat with someone to whom you are not married for 50 years. Because you might want to surprise them with the answers. But if you kind of split up and get with folks that you may not be the most familiar with. So we've got, let's see, we've got three buzz questions. That's two minutes each. Then we have a question for longer conversation in groups of about maybe five or six. Don't get your groups too large, because it's gonna be too hard in this setting. So you just want to kind of clump up. So those of you up in the top, maybe you could stand up and turn to the folks behind or you can do that down here. But just kind of gather together. We're gonna gather your input and then we're gonna have some conversation about what is it that we're facing in our nation at this moment. How do we move forward? How do we build a nation for the 100%? How do we care for each other? And somebody was, we were just at an event that they were raising the question, well, what do we do on November 5th? Well, we're hoping that the town hall for the 100% helps nourish us to give us some ideas of the way forward. November 4th is critically important, but November 5th is even more important and more challenging to do something about. So hopefully tonight we'll do that. So I have asked my sisters on the bus to introduce themselves and to share a buzz question and to tell you why they're on the bus. Because what we've discovered is, it's really important that you hear their story, but it can encourage you to share your story. Then at the end, it's a little dark outside, but we think we can do it, is we have these pledge cards, pledge to be a voter and get other people to vote. And so we're gonna ask you to fill those out and then come on out and sign our bus. Because at the end is the idea is that it's no longer just nuns on the bus, but it's everyone on the bus. So it's cool, it's really cool. It's gonna be a little dark so you can do it in braille or something like that. We'll work it out, we'll work it out. We'll see if we got flashlights or something. I don't know, we'll make it work. All right, so, Sister Bernadine, are you first? Okay, come on up, come on up. Now remember, you're gonna buzz in just twos or threes, no more than twos or threes, because you only have two minutes to answer this question after Sister Bernadine introduces herself. Good evening, everyone, and welcome. Thank you so much for coming out. My name is Sister Bernadine Kargi. I'm a Dominican sister of Cincinnati. I'm a graduate of Edgewood College, right down the road. I spent 11 years in the state of Wisconsin in formation at the mother house at Edgewood, and I taught school in Wasall with all the snow from October to May, and many years in Milwaukee. So Wisconsin is very near and dear to my heart. I'm a badger. Previous to coming to Wisconsin though, I was born and raised in Chicago. You may have heard of that place. And I live and work there now. I just retired from full-time immigration practice for the last 30 years, and I'm still active in many things. And in my ministry, it has been such a privilege to meet people who want to become U.S. citizens. And as you may or may not know, our very first immigration law was all about citizenship and who could have the right to vote. Only free white male persons, which excluded everybody who had the same chromosomes as I have, and there were other qualifications also. So when Simone sent me an email saying, "'Burn, are you free to come on the bus?' I thought, well, when and where are you going?' And it was sort of standby. So I cleared my calendar and was able to hop on the bus on Tuesday. Well, we had an event in Chicago, and then we started in Iowa on Wednesday. Last year I had the chance to be on the bus for the immigration piece, and I did the California leg, and we started at the border with the border angels, and they gave us a cross that said, "'No Olvidados,' which meant you are not forgotten.' And as I'm on this trip, I'm reflecting on all the people who have crossed the border and have died in the desert, seeking the American dream, and having been a child of the 60s, all the people who fought for the right to vote, you are not forgotten today." Fannie Lou Hamer, Mark Luther King, Jr., all the unnamed men and women who rode the buses, sat at the lunch counters, gave their life for this rate. So that's why I'm on the bus. And the other day, one of our activities was doing a phone bank, whatever city we were in, in Iowa, I think it may have been Mason City. Mason City, and we had the list, and I was calling people to see if they had their early voting ballot and would they return it? And one of the women I called was an 85-year-old woman named Mary, and she said, oh, yes, sister, I have my ballot, and I am bringing it down to the courthouse today, which gave me so much hope. And I thought, women have had the right to vote for less than a century, and here's Mary at 85, right at it, so that is just so wonderful. So in that vein, your first question is, what's my first question? When did you first vote, and who did you vote for? So you may have to take a moment to reflect on that, for those of us who have been around a long time. Yes, when did you first vote, and for whom did you vote? So take two minutes to chat about that, okay? One minute, you have one minute. You ready for the second question? I saw some people with pencil and paper trying to figure this out. Okay, woohoo, I love it. Apparently people in Wisconsin haven't had a chance to chat in years. Okay, sister Marty. Good evening, I'm sister Marty McCarthy. I am a sister of social service from rural county in Northern California. And I am the granddaughter of Irish and Czech immigrants. Last year I was on the bus for immigration, and I didn't, I got on the bus Tuesday, because a couple reasons, which I'm gonna tell you, but I was told that I had a paid trip to see most of Iowa and a whole lot of Wisconsin. And I said yes. Basically I'm on the bus for three reasons. One is because what happens in Wisconsin and Iowa and North Carolina affects me in Northern California, and vice versa. The second reason I'm on the bus is because in my work life through the years I've worked with a variety of people who working together can accomplish and have accomplished a great deal. And so I have a great belief in the capacity of people working together. The third reason may be yours too for coming here tonight. I have concern that the democracy that we have is at risk of erosion as big money and outside money and apathy, keep people from the polls. And so this venture is extremely important to me as I know from your presence here tonight, it is to you that we believe in our capacity and we use our responsibility to vote. So I hope you all have been canvassing, talking to your neighbors and some of you I'm sure have been making phone calls. So my question for Buzz is this, we're faced with a lot of challenges and somehow you're here, so you have some hope that things can be different. So my question is, who or what inspires you to keep going? So if you'd share that with a neighbor or two. Okay, one minute, you have one minute. Did you get your hope fluffed up? Good work, good work. Our last Buzz question, the last of the two minute buzzes is from my beloved friend, Sister Rachelle. Sister Rachelle, come on up. Hello everyone, thank you for welcoming us so warmly. My name is Sister Rachelle Friedman. I'm a presentation sister from Dubuque, Iowa. Thank you. And I grew up on a farm not far from Dubuque, so I have to say that I've always said I've lived and worked in Washington for 25 years, but when I come home flying into the airport in Dubuque and I see the land and I touch my feet on the ground, this is home and it's been so beautiful the last two, three, four days driving through Iowa, seeing the corn, seeing the corn being harvested and I love the land. I love the Midwest, you know, we call this the heartland. This is the heart of the country. And so one of the reasons that I wanted to be on the bus is because I knew that five weeks ago when it started, we were gonna be in Iowa for five days and then this time around we were gonna be in Iowa and then we were gonna be in Wisconsin, the heartland. And I care so much about what happens to the heartland and I think the people, the hearts of the people in the heartland are so good and so important that we preserve this goodness and we tap the sense of the goodness in the people here. I also work as an advocate in Washington, I lobby on Capitol Hill for programs that benefit low income and families and individuals and I also know it's really important who we elect. Some people say, well, it doesn't matter, it just doesn't matter and I say, oh, yes it does. There's a vast difference in the people we elect. So I believe passionately in our democratic system and I want us to elect members to Congress that reflect our values. So even though this is a bus tour that says we want you to vote, we the people, 100% we want you to vote, I think if 100% vote, we will get the people that we need in Congress to reflect our values. So the buzz question I have for you. I grew up in a family where there were six of us kids and the oldest five of us had one political persuasion. My younger brother had another political persuasion. It got to the point where we would gather for holidays, my mom would say to the five older of us, please, and my mother, she helped found a union. She found one of the last unions in Dubuque County. So she herself, Erdal Toy Factory in Dyersville, my mother helped found that union there. So it wasn't that she wasn't political, but she said, you know, let's not talk about politics because we don't wanna put Jack in a tough situation. So the question for you is, who in your family or neighbors or among your friends, who is it that you would hesitate to talk with about politics and why? You have about a minute, just a minute. Here for these difficult relatives or friends is what we ought to do is create a lending library of all of our difficult folks. And if I checked out of the library, your folks for Thanksgiving, I'd probably do a lot better than what I do with my brother, Jim. So maybe swapping could be a way to handle this. What do you think? And since we're coming up on Thanksgiving, this could be, we can test it out here in Madison. How's that? I know you have those little baby libraries, those little library boxes around. Maybe we could slightly larger ones for traveling relatives, I don't know. All right, so now the next part, the next part we're gonna do is about eight, let's see, seven minutes of conversation on the next question. And what we're gonna do then is what I wanna do is to hear from you things that strike you in this next conversation. And then I'm gonna write some stuff up here and then what we're gonna do is do another follow-on conversation and then do a piece in the hole, okay? So that's where we're going. So the next piece is a seven-minute piece. And to introduce that, we have Sister Barb, our very own person from Wisconsin. So my sister's on the bus, have been, where are the fleece blankets? And oh, we're gonna go out across the street, get my coat, I need my mittens and stuff. So I'm, we are wimps, I didn't wanna say it, she did. So it's a delight to be here. Thank you very much for coming out. I'm a school sister in Notre Dame. And yes, yeah, did we educate you, I hope? So it's pretty hard, as you can guess, to be a Catholic nun in a lot of ways. It's hard to be a Catholic woman in a lot of ways. It's hard to be a woman in Wisconsin in a lot of ways. So when I heard about the bus extending its trip into Wisconsin, I wanted to be on it because Simone and the work of the bus has been really inspiring for me and has been giving me hope. I grew up in Kenosha, and I now live and work in Milwaukee. But in between for 35 years, I worked with immigrants in South Florida and Chicago. And now I work with Wisdom, the statewide network that includes Moses, and yeah, Moses. So you know that a lot of our work has been about the poverty statement and the poverty summits, exactly what we're doing here. So our invitation at this point for your seven minutes is this, as we come up to Tuesday, what's going on in our national picture that concerns you most? What's going on in our national picture that concerns you as we go towards the election on Tuesday? You only have seven minutes. Your time is about half done. You're about half done. Two minutes, you have two minutes. You have about 30 seconds, 30 seconds. Oh, don't move, don't move, don't move, don't move, don't move, you're fine, you're fine. Okay, now stay where you are, stay where you are, because you're gonna have another round of conversation. What I wanted to get was a sampling of what you're saying so that we kinda get a sense of where you are. Now, I did get reminded that we're live streaming this, so hello, out there. And we know at least one person from our office is watching. So I think he wanted to make sure we were actually working and not just off on some glorious bus trip in Wisconsin. So what's gonna happen is Ashley and Abby, two of our staff, are gonna run microphones down here but the folks up above want to hear from you too and I'll repeat what you're saying so that we can make sure that everybody can hear, okay? Is that cool? Great. All right, so the question is, so what I'm curious about is, did you hear something that surprised you a new way of thinking about it or something that was a real consensus in your group? Those are the kinds of things we wanna get out, okay? Not just, oh, whoa is me, we've got a ton of concerns. We'd like to break it open a little bit, okay? So some bold person gets started. Oh, praise God, thank you. I'm always worried that everybody's an introvert and everybody will put their heads down and not be willing. Thank you. I am an introvert, but not about politics. Bold, you're a bold introvert, we need that, thank you. I think that one thing that we definitely all agreed on was money and politics. That seemed to be an affirmation, yes, yes. Isn't it horrible? And you all are ground zero for it, I mean, really. Okay, here we go, Abby, and then. We talked a lot about education. Education, what about it? Without an educated public, we are not going to be educated voters. We need education. Education as a key. As key. So it's education of voters, but in order to do that, we have to have a base education for everyone. Okay, over here. On the gerrymandering of districts so that people have apathy because the TV says, gee, these are the only races that anything can really happen because the rest of it has been constructed in a way politically that the person automatically is gonna win this. Right, that's really important, especially after 2010, yes. We also talked about voter disenfranchise. So we want, some places have voter IDs, some do not. We want to see some fair consistency and encouraging people to vote throughout the country. You all are in the advanced class with remedies. Cool, okay, over here. We talked about a concern about money and politics and what it'll take to get it out. And we think the only thing that would get it out would be a constitutional amendment. And there you have to get the word out to people. And there's a website called movetoamend.org. And a couple or three years ago, they said, get a stamp and stamp your money and I'm doing it, but just get a stamp made. www.movetoamend.org. Every dollar bill, are you $5 bill, $10 bills? You are actually at the PhD level. You not only have a plan, you've got the implementation already. That's perfect. Okay, over here. There were a couple people in our group who spoke about the inability of people in the legislatures to come to compromise. That the polarization is so great that the gridlock, that's a terrible word that's used all the time, but it just keeps people because of ideology, because of stubbornness, because of whatever. It just, people refuse to understand that we have to govern together. That the soundbite is more important than solving our problems is a huge problem. Huge thing. Okay, over here. Our group talked a lot about polarization as well. The one thing I wanted to make sure got on the flip chart that isn't there yet, particularly given the report that came out from the UN this week is the need for. The need to act on climate change. God, that's United, okay. Yeah, we were talking on the bus that we think Wisconsin might be a good place to move because our coasts are gonna be missing, so. You all might have beachfront property before too long. Okay, over there. We talked about climate change also, but as it being a bigger umbrella than we usually think and including such important elements as free education at all, that has to go with climate change. Naomi Klein was really pointing that out this a couple of days ago, she spoke here. Whoa, all right. So it's not only climate change, but it's the change connected with and you have to have more social justice at all levels in order to unite on climate change and you can't have it under the current capitalistic rules. You can't avoid climate change if we don't change our democracy. Wait, wait, just a sec, just a sec. Okay, there was a comment over here. The environment doesn't matter if you're hungry. Oh, the environment doesn't matter if you're hungry. Well, it does matter. It matters less if you can't afford it. Well, it was harder to be concerned about it. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. It matters, because often, especially pollution, often low income neighborhoods are in the most polluted areas. And so there's all kinds of additional consequences for low income folks. And then we were just up in Green Bay and heard that there's a whole dead zone in Green Bay. That was like, whoa, seems a little worrisome. Anybody noticed recently? Okay, we've got time for two more. Okay. The growing inequality of wealth. Let me do just a self-serving commercial with that one. Network, our organization at networklobby.org has a whole program on mind the gap, the income and wealth gap in our nation. And then we've got a new series that's out on mend the gap, but our first extensive series, our first way to mend the gap is with tax policy. And so we have a program, We the Taxpayer, and that you can get it with DVD as well as a leader's guide on how to lead conversations about taxes, why it's faithful to pay taxes. So we're trying to get... Oh, and since I got some applause for that, I'll add, we also have our second annual Taxpayer Pride Day coming up on April 15th. So that we're inviting everybody to send a selfie, you know, one of those pictures of yourself with your favorite government service, why you're glad to pay taxes. So we're trying to change the whole approach. Okay, do we have one more? Do we have anybody else? Okay, we got him. Okay, one. I neglected the top. Okay, you'll seed your time to the top. I'm so sorry, I'm just not used to it. All right, we have a gap in our audience too. Let's point this out. We'll go to the top 1%. Okay, okay, the issue of multinational corporations that are not accountable to any. And then there's the additional aspect of this. There was just an article I was reading, I think yesterday or the day before, that Canadian corporations have contributed millions of dollars to our election cycle through their subsidiaries because they know US policy will affect the mother corporations. So it's another aspect of money and politics, but this unaccountable multinationals is really becoming a growing concern. Cool. Okay, anybody else up there? Sorry, yes, in the back. Thank you for that cheery note. At least they will get better. We don't know the timeframe apparently in that analysis. We'll see. That's why we're on the road. That's why we're on the road to turn this one around. Okay, let's now you are going to have the next seven minutes in your group having heard all of this and heard that very uplifting analysis is what can we do to do this different? What can we do to turn this one around? How do we do it? Because I will tell you, I know it's not gonna come from the state house. It's not gonna come from Washington DC. It's gonna come from us. It's we, the people that have got to claim our democracy back. I mean, that's the story of it. So look at all this joyous news we have on this side. What do we do? How do we take this on? What does it mean? And I'll tell you, it's a lot easier for me to talk about what they ought to do than to talk about what can we do together. But the only ones we have any control over is us. I've discovered. So you're gonna have seven whole minutes for the advanced class in what do we do? See, I'm sure there's ideas percolating out there already. So we've got a couple over here, but let's get some more. So in your group, seven minutes, quick, beat me. Your time is about half done. You're about half done. One more minute, one more minute. Let's come on back together. I'm curious. Curious, what are you saying? I'm eager to hear. So what are we gonna do? How are we gonna move this forward? So raise your hands, let's get, what are the best ideas percolating out there? Something that caught your attention, surprised you. Oh, great, my favorite people. Thank you. McCabe's book, Blue Jeans in High Places, he talks about what all of the problems are with democracy, but he also gives solutions and possibilities. And he advocates that we need to think about things not from left to right, but from top to bottom. So we would all be clustered closer together instead of so far apart on issues. It's well worth the read, Mike McCabe's, Blue Jeans in High Places. One more thing, we discovered in our little group that right now the only way that people know how to get the book is to order it online. So if you're like a lot of us and trying to avoid Amazon, go into your local book dealer and ask for Blue Jeans in High Places. If enough people go to the bookstores and ask for it, they might actually stock it. Amen, amen. I could also say that's also true from my book and not on the bus, but another self-serving commercial. But anyway, great idea, great idea. Okay, over here we'll alternate between the sides. There and then up front. One person in our group had a suggestion that we have worked toward a national holiday on election day, but only for people who voted. Oh, I meant to explain this woman that's running around like a wild woman with the fancy camera and the raccoon tail on it. This is Melissa Regan and you can trust her, I think. No, I don't, okay. Because she's making a documentary about nuns on the bus. It's called Nuns on the Bus, The Movie. And she's been with us since the first day of the first bus trip, and this is the third one. And she's followed me all over every place. So please let her film so she can get it done. We're eager to get it done. And she's hoping with editing and all that next year that it'll be out well in advance of the 2016 presidential cycle, trying to raise up these issues that we're raising up. So that's why she's running around trying to capture all the wisdom. Okay, over here, great. I have to leave you all with another question. We all came back in our discussion to the point of what are we going to do about a Supreme Court seems to be an unsurmountable hurdle to a decent democracy. Unless you can get, for instance, the required reading for every middle or high school kid in school, Howard Zinn's history of the United States. When I read that, it was like a fantastic eye opener. But think about how can we attack, quote unquote, our Supreme Court? In a nonviolent, ever-thought-full way. Well, I didn't say that, but I mean, any court that can declare corporations and make them people with all that entails is just so unspeakably dangerous. What's interesting is weaving that question together with the idea of connecting not left and right, but top to bottom, and what it clearly shows is the folks at the top don't get, don't understand the bottom. And how do we as a nation then bridge that divide and educate the court when they're pretty insular to that education? It's a huge challenge. It's a huge challenge. But an interesting combination of points. Okay, we've got somebody over here. And it's up here. Treat all income the same, whether it comes from working or capital. So you would pay Social Security on all earnings. You'd pay Medicare tax on all earnings. You don't favor earnings that are not wages, but in fact are earned out of capital or money. And this would also solve the corporate tax issue. You would get rid of corporate tax and treat it the same way you do mutual funds or if you're an S corp, it all rolls down to the individuals that own the company and then they pay taxes on it no different than right now. I mean, that's what happens if you are your book, you get the money, guess what? It comes down to your taxes then you have to pay whatever the tax structure is. That way everybody is in the same game. We have some now excluded and we get rid of this thing if Apple can't hide money anymore. Because if it's earned, it has to be distributed to the stockholders which have to pay taxes. I think that's a really innovative thing. And it's an interesting juxtaposition to this concern about corporations not being people. Let's get it down to the people and have the actual people involved. Interesting, interesting, good point. Okay, we've got, Abby, there's somebody over here but we'll go over here first. Okay. Oh, and upstairs, we'll go to upstairs next after we do it. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. I'm just not used to having a talk, that's all. Okay. Well, moving from the Supreme Court to the end of the other end of the spectrum, the local, we were talking about how important it is for us, maybe some of us to run for local offices to get involved in more on the local level. Talk to our city council people, our people that are representing us right now in Dane County, Dane County's board supervisors and meet with them and find out how they, how we can communicate with them what our real issues are. These are people that are probably not so much controlled by money but are very concerned about their constituents and who's gonna run for office among us? You know, I mean, we need to take the responsibility to make changes. Ooh, good point, good point, bravo. Okay. Here and then there. I'm gonna keep my finger up there so don't forget. I think what we saw in terms of the gay marriage issue the last few years is a really good model to look at in terms of making change in other areas. It was at the grassroots. You know, two or three years ago, the Republicans were screaming about gay marriage. Now they're basically silent because there are many, many states that have approved gay marriage and it goes to comment about the local level at the grassroots. You know, there's another point that got raised. I was on a panel at the Ford Foundation on making change, political change. And there was one of the movers from the LGBTQ community speaking on the panel and they said that he thought one of the key reasons for the rapid change that surprised even them was that everyone knew someone who was gay or lesbian or transgender, bisexual, whatever and that the courage of the community to come out helped everyone move because once you know a person then you gotta change your mental set and then it was that that made the huge difference. So maybe a piece of it is those of us that care about these broader issues are we willing to come out and let the folks that in our families know what we really care about. Let reveal our hearts, not our platforms but reveal our hearts about what we care about, what we worry about. Could be interesting, could be interesting, good point. All right, the top. Who's, my folks up there, you were not wanting to be left out but who's gonna be in my bold, everybody's looking at each other like, well, who said that, who said that? Well, all right, in the back. You've been in, wait, wait, wait, you've been in before. So let me see, is there somebody else up there that's willing to, okay, way up in the back. All those emails asking for money. Ooh, good point. Okay, so the comment was to just make sure that our streaming folks hear this that rather than giving those blessed $5 to the president every time he sends an email every other day or every other minute is what it feels like that he's sending money on a regular basis to Emily's list because women who are having trouble need women to represent them and Emily's list is one way to help make that happen. But I think the thing to extrapolate from that is that investing in what we care about, that money is required, we're never gonna get rid of all the money in politics but where do we invest our time, our money, our concern, our conversation and that that on a regular basis can make a big difference. Good point, good point. Okay, anybody else up top? We'll get two of you up there. Now everybody turns shy. People are pointing at each other. No, you ought to do it, oh no, you ought to do it. I'm going, going, all right. We'll let you back in, sir, because you got a lot of shy people up there with you. And this isn't Minnesota, we're garrison killers from, from, so, all right. Okay, okay, but what we're looking for is ways forward. That's our deal. That there are different points of view, amen. You know, one of the things that I've found is when you encounter this kind of ugliness, usually it's about some kind of anger and fear. And do we have the courage to say to those people, why seems like you're kind of angry about that? Is that true? What are you afraid of? What's going on? Talk to me. Now, I'm kind of a Catholic sister so I'm sort of pastoral in my approach but I have to say it doesn't always work. We were, where were we, Mason City? Was Mason City where we had the protesters? We're in Mason City and this group of about six people showed up to protest the liberal nuns. It was very sweet and this guy in his shirt sleeve came out of his office, came across the street, huffing across the street. Comes over to me and he says, are you the liberal nun? I go, well, I'm not sure who are you looking for? Well, you know, the one who disagrees with all the bishops. I said, well, I don't disagree with all the bishops so I guess I'm not your liberal nun. Well, I'm not in support of what you're doing and so then I tried to engage him in conversation and he didn't want to be engaged. He just stormed back across the street and then a gaggle of him formed out there and my friend Melissa, where'd she go? I'm gonna outer. Oh, over there. My friend Melissa goes over and is filming them because she's been looking for some drama for her movie. But what I realized later was perhaps timing was wrong because if you've come out to protest somebody, you probably don't wanna engage in dialogue at that moment. So, but when can we engage in the conversation about what makes us nervous, what frightens us, how are we concerned? Why do you find me a threat to who you are? What can we talk about that? And I think if we could get to more of that conversation, we could break open some of this rather unpleasant approaches that are going on. Good point, good point. Okay, over here. Getting a little bit back to the local issue of what you can find to do locally. Well, I think one of the things that's important that we discussed in our group is that it's very liberating to make your own decision that whatever it is that you're gonna be doing that you say that you're not going to give up and that you're going to be persistent and then the people in power that you're dealing with have to know that no matter what happens, you're not going away. Really important and also important to try different strategies that can surprise. I mean, who would ever think some nuns getting on a bus driving around the country could do much of anything, really? So you never know what surprise it can be and what I find is listening. You know, I mean, I call it meditation but it's that being quiet, listening to the nudges of how to respond when you care about something. And if we care about our nation, we have to listen to those nudges too and stay faithful in the process and not give up. Good point, wow. Wonderful, okay, in the back. And then up here and then in the back, okay. Well, our group focused on the election coming up on Tuesday, we figured you're here for that reason, that's why. And so our group came up with the idea of trying to bring five people to the polls that wouldn't go there. Amen. Ingrid said that the estimate is about 59% turnout in Madison. If we could get that a little higher, if we can turn out our supporters. And the other thing we were brainstorming about, maybe you can help us with, is how can we get you on the media more? How can we use your trip here to counteract what might be concerted Catholics on the other side? And so we open that up to the just general assembly. How can we best promote your trip here to help turn out the vote? Because all the things that we see on the left side, we feel like if we can defeat Scott Walker on Tuesday here, it will send a message that will perhaps stem the tide. Good point, good point. And I think there's a bunch of good points in that. One is finding five people to go to the poll. I mean, we say at network, friends don't let friends vote alone. You take friends with you, you know? You get people to the poll. That's a really good point. The second is media. Being willing to be in the media. I mean, you're all really nice being, willing to be in Melissa's documentary here, but really being willing to speak out, a lot of us have the capacity. Right now I have sometimes an opportunity. We had a great turnout up in Green Bay of Press and our people have been working really hard to get press. So hopefully we can help make that happen. Really good point. But more of you need to be engaged in being willing to speak out to the media, too. Letters to the editor are great. Good deal, yes. There is a national organization that is trying to do some of the things that we're talking about. It's called the Coffee Party, but it's having a very hard time getting to... There's a bunch of efforts at alternative parties, third parties. One of the challenges in the House of Representatives right now is that there really are three parties, but John Boehner is trying to be the leader of two of them. And that's the Tea Party and the Republican Party. We were in Council Bluffs doing a town hall like this. We had round tables, and this group of people at this one round table said to me, well, we're Republicans, you know? And I said, oh good, so glad you're here. This is really important. Glad you're here. And there was a pause, and then they said, well, we're not the crazy Republicans. So... So that Republicans are having a really hard time trying to be Republicans in the sense that has been recognized as being needed in our nation to move forward. And so there are some efforts to create a variety of third parties. The Green Party's trying it on the environmental issues, Coffee Party, there's a... What were they calling them? Oh shoot, there's another one that's... I can't bring it back now, but it is an effort to bring people in the middle together to form a party. And so who knows where this will go? Some of them. Pardon? No labels. No labels, that's it. Thank you. Oh phew. This is the nice thing about having a community. You have a collective memory. And somebody will remember it. That's great. Okay, over here. We had a few thoughts. One is along with one that's already up there, do not give up. Another side of that is to join up and don't give up. Find people of similar interests and work together. Another is to work with politicians and organizations that are already in the neighborhood, so to speak, that are established, maybe local politicians, local organizations. Another is to take the power of gerrymandering into out of the hands of politicians and put it into the hands of nonpartisan citizens or judges or nonpartisan people in one way or another, like some states have already done. And then another is to translate global into local warming and to look at local environmental things that with which you could coalesce a wide spectrum of local people to act upon some environmental issue that's unique to Madison that will unify people of all political persuasions. Good point, good point. Good point, it's really great. Okay, we're getting close on time. So we've got time for one more. Two more if there's one at the top, okay. Okay, we'll do you after we do the last one at the top. Thank you for being bold and standing up. Yes, you're in. They can just mail it in. Okay, let me repeat it is that in the state of Oregon, they have all mail ballot, M-A-I-L, not masculine, all mail in ballots and they mail out to all registered people who are registered this ballot and you have to return it by the fourth. And it is one way that has made a huge difference. Colorado's doing really innovative things on ballots. And Washington State is also doing some innovative things on ballots. But it's all the idea that we want to encourage voting. What a thought. Encourage everyone to participate in our democracy. And the last word is gonna come here. And what I, the use of technology, we can do so much independently. We can do so much through Facebook, through emails, through, I got a Facebook thing today from Union Cab in Madison that said we're gonna take anybody who wants to go to the polls free and we're gonna bring you home too. Wow. Now, if you pass that around to all of your friends, they know just to call them. Exactly. And they have, that's one thing that every one of us could do. Fabulous. And could I add, could I add another self-serving comment. That if you wanna get cheered up about voting, go to our nunsonthebust.org page and look at our music video that we put up. It's just too fun for words. It is too fun for words. And the other piece is on, with media, is if anybody's on Twitter, please follow me at srunderscoredsimone, S-I-M-O-N-E, because I'm very competitive about the number of Twitter followers I have. And I'm trying to get to 11,000 and I only have 10,500. So please help me, I'd really appreciate it, that'd be good. All right, now our last little piece of work to be done is to follow up on this idea that we can do some very practical things between now and midnight, or eight, what time do your polls close, 8.30? Eight, eight o'clock on November 4th. I was informed that you all do have same-day registration, so I hadn't realized, praise God for that, that's really good. What we've got is we have our voter commitment forms and as well as what we call our side-by-sides, our voter commitment, what do I do with mine? Oh, lost them. Oh, well, lost them. Our voter commitment cards are little cards where we ask you to sign up and give a term in half, keep one half, and fill in the other half, because what we're gonna do with them is when the new Congress starts in January, we're going to visit your senators and your members of Congress and say, we've been in Wisconsin, we know your people and this is what your people care about. So commit to vote and then we're gonna hold them accountable. The other thing that you can do is after, we also are passing out, Ashley, can you give me one of those, please? Okay, so in most states where we were, we had senatorial side-by-sides, but in Wisconsin, because you're special, we have gubernatorial candidates on the issue. It's just taken what they said and lining them up side-by-side on the issues that we care about at network, our little organization that sponsors Nuns on the Bus. And it's on things like living wage, non-violent solutions to conflict, reasonable revenue, which we had some interesting revenue ideas over here for tax policy, immigrant rights, healthcare for all, a faithful budget that benefits the 100% and controlling big money in politics in elections. And so you can see what the candidates have said, no editorializing, read it, make your own decisions, share it with your friends, pass it around. We've got tons of them and November 4th is coming quickly, so they have a short shelf life, so we wanna get them out. And as you finish this up, I really wanna express my gratitude to you because so many of you gathered at the State House for days on end, folks have stayed faithful to a promise of a democracy that works for all. And in that not giving up, I think the other piece that we should put up here in red letters is that community is at the heart of it all. The only way to be able to sustain ourselves in the struggle for something better is to stay together, to be community with each other. For me, it comes as a piece of my faith that community nurtures all of us. Jesus in the gospel was always about community, about inviting people in, about going to people's houses for food, for meals, for being present, for scolding the folks in the hierarchy, but welcoming everyone in. And that community is what sustains me, but not everybody shares my faith, but what we do share is what's here on our pop-up sign is the Constitution. Our Constitution holds those same values for community. It is an unpatriotic lie that we're based in individualism. We are based in community because the first three words of our Constitution lets us know that it's we the people. So we the people have got to stay at it, but we have to stay together in order to do it. One of the challenges of progressive folks is that we always think we're special and we have to start a new organization in order to meet my very private concern. So what we urge you is join up with somebody else, okay? Because we don't need more organizations. What we need is we need organizations that support each other, that move together, that where your concern can be my concern for a while and my concern will be yours for a while, but that together we can make our nation better. That's what we need. So we invite you now having filled out our forms, turn in the forms as you leave. Our people will be standing back there and then go on out and sign the bus in the dark. I think it'll work. We think there's enough light out there. Find us a space and remember, no matter what happens on the fourth, we're in this for the long haul. We the people can make the difference. Thank you so much. That's where the bus is. We missed coming out.