Sandy Lyon <water@spacestar.net>
July 15, 2001

The following note is Ed Garvey's response to the information about "We The
People".
(and I know the guy's got to be correct on this stuff, otherwise he would
have that cute little grin of his :-), Sandy
And now...........here's Ed

Sunday, July 15

Thanks for the information. Here is some for you. We The People (WTP) 
sets the stage for election coverage on public television and Channel 3 and 
they are now going into issue coverage to frame the debate on issues 
important to big business in the state. They avoid issues such as corruption 
via campaign contributions but they have decided to weigh in on the 
transmission line. Why? Because the utilities failed miserably to justify the 
line in the hearings--technical and public. Now the pr machine turns on and 
cranks out videos, news releases, news conferences with the governor and 
would-be cabinet member Ave Bie.

In the upcoming gubernatorial race, they will hold the only debates among 
Democratic candidates for governor, and in the finals, they will protect 
McCallum by hosting only one debate with a dry format and little fanfare in 
front of their pre-selected audience and moderated by peopel the governor 
feels comfortable with. 

WTP is composed of right-wing Wisconsin State Journal, conservative 
Channel 3, Wood Communications, and Wisconsin Public Television. (Not radio.)

Wood, as Sandy suggested, did commercials in favor of the Crandon mine; 
Jim Wood went to Germany for the honors bestowed on Jim Klauser by the German government; and he is the producer of We the People. If Jim Wood, a former candidate for lt. gov as a Democrat, wants business from the administration and to remain producer of We the People, he must conform to their agenda. Tom Still's wife selects the audience for We The People with help from newspaper editors in Wisconsin who are notorious for their right-wing views and, of course, Jim Wood. Her efforts are paid for from a grant from the Pew Charitable Trust for Journalism. And, Public Television and Channel 3 select the co-hosts. 

The wife of program manager for Wisconsin Public Television worked for 
Wood Communications before moving on to another position. 

Heinen and Still had Steve Hiniker as their guest on the Sunday program 
to discuss the transmission line and he, of course, conceded the need for the 
line. I called Still and Heinen and raised hell that they did not involve the 
leading opposition to the line, SOUL, but have not heard back from Still. 
(Heinen left a message and I'll get him tomorrow.) Given Hiniker and CUB's 
loopy position--"we need the line but not here" and "we will go to court over 
an unwinnable issue"--seems to me that WTP is doing what they are funded to do: the bidding for the utilities while providing opposition that is either 
inarticulate or compromised.
I
have written columns about We the People, which, you understand is part 
of the reason they will no longer permit me on Weekend as a panelist and will 
not interview me on issues. SOUL must take them on.

Now, let us follow the advice of Joe Hill on his way to being hanged. 
"Don't mourn, organize!" We can have a counter program that will force the 
media to cover both. Madison, perhaps but I would think Wausau where we will get coverage.

And, we need to demand some answers from We the People by asking 
Wisconsin Public Television, what they think they are doing.

One odd sideline. It was Tom Still who confirmed in a return call to me 
that Scott McCallum did, indeed, say he supports the line. He would not back 
down despite the Governor's office demanding a retraction. "We both had it in 
our notes. He said it. There can be no mistake about which line he was 
discussing." So, even blind squirrels find acorns.
Best regards, Ed 

And also here is a response from Linda Ceylor, of SOUL's board.
To all,
Sandy, thank you for expounding on the bad news. Now let me worsen it. 
Several days ago I was faxed a letter that was sent to ALL town clerks. 
The letter is dated July 2, 2001 from Xcel Energy, detailing its 
"Hometown Partners" survey. Let me quote a bit from the cover letter 
and you will see the connection. 
"Why did we want to know more about resident perceptions regarding 
issues other than electricity and electric utilities? Simply, because 
issues impacting western Wisconsin and the U.P. also have a significant 
impact on our company, and visa versa. Residents of this region, 
customers, our employees , retirees, friends and neighbors all live and 
work side by side , whether its in La Crosse, Sparta, Eau Claire, 
Ironwood, Ashland, Hudson, Chippewa Falls or the other communities we 
serve..."
In this survey, the towns learn, among other things that "a solid 
majority support electric utilitiy deregualtion", and that "a growing 
number of residents were concerned about the continued reliability of 
thier area's electrical system, with most focused on cost 
considerations."
All were Xcel customers.
And I agree, spin is working overtime from all angles. 
Linda Ceylor
PS When Bob Ringstat and I were at the Xcel Shareholders meeting, we 
noticed on a map of the US that they had projected as part of a power 
point large arrows indicating where they were to expand on energy 
projects. Interestingly enough, to our suprise, one arrow was through 
Wisconsin, beginning north by Duluth and headed to Wausau. That caught 
our attention....
....................
thanks Linda, Ed. and also thanks out there to Gil and Mike and Nick and
Eric, it's up to you guys to follow this trail, for it leads to Wisconsin's
energy and political (hence environmental) future. Things are looking
pretty dark out there and it's not 'cause the sun's not shining. (but, as
they say, "the darkest hour".....)
Ever hopeful,
Sandy

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