To celebrate Labor Day, look at what Labor is doing around the world. 1. Australia celebrated its Labour (that’s the Australian spelling) Day in Queensland on May 6. Thousands of workers marched through the streets of Brisbane asking for a pay rise. Ros McLennan (Queensland Council of Unions) said that people are struggling to make ends meet. “They are stuck in labour hire, casual work or on sham contracts.” Many workers live paycheck to paycheck and can’t really plan for the future. 2. Europe launched the results of its annual Global Rights Index (from International Trade Union Confederation in Geneva). Trade unionists were ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VkkCQyoRfY UNIT I: FRACTIONAL RESERVE BANKING As the above video by the Philadelphia branch of the US Federal Reserve Bank (the Fed) indicates, money is created out of thin air by the private banking industry through a process called “fractional reserve banking.” We all find this difficult to believe. It defies our “household budget” logic. How can money be created out of nowhere? Let us take time to look at how the centuries old practice of fractional reserve banking led to current practices where, by law, private banks are only required to physically possess 10 percent of the money they have actually ...

The popular solar group purchasing program for central Wisconsin home and business owners continues to see success. The “Grow Solar Central Wisconsin” group buy program has collectively reached its second milestone, 100 kilowatts (kW) of solar. All participants will now receive $.10 per/watt rebate on their systems, in addition to the already lower than average negotiated price.  The program is hosted by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) with the goal of helping home and business owners in Portage, Wood, Lincoln, and Marathon counties use their collective buying power to save on the total cost of going solar. The program uses ...

Please join us at our Reform Chautauqua, Sept. 7-8 in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Speakers include former Sen. Dale Schultz, Matt Rothschild of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Mike McCabe from Blue Jean Nation, Sachin Chheda on Fair Redistricting, Lena and Rich Eng from Unite America and George Penn with United To Amend. Please register here:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/21st-century-wisconsin-political-reform-chautauqua-tickets-62148252095. Are you a citizen activist, who fully understands that our democracy is corrupted and needs to be restored?  This Chautauqua will be a large gathering of people who want to help build the ...

The best things in life are free. We went to the beach this week. The weather was perfect and the clean, clear water of Lake Superior was not too cold for swimming. I was reminded of how precious the lake is for all of us and how important it is to keep this resource pristine. A perfect summer day by the big lake is priceless. Summer also brings good things from the garden. Rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries, cucumbers, fresh peas, fresh greens, and vine ripened tomatoes that you can't buy in the store at any price. These aren't free. There is a lot of work that goes into raising them, but they taste a lot better than the corporate, shipped-f...

(Denele Campbell blogs from Arkansas. You can read her blog at www.denelecmpbell.org.) As a nation operating under the concept of self-rule, we the people have to talk coherently about the issues. Mass shootings doesn’t solve our problems, but rather exemplifies our current failures as citizens. How did we get to this point? Does the 2nd Amendment really grant the right to assault rifles and 100-round ammo clips? No, it does not. Nor do gun hoarders constitute a “well-regulated militia.” A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. ...

The Ninth Veninga Lecture will feature two unlikely friends - a former racist skinhead and a Sikh whose father was killed by a white supremacist in the Oak Creek Sikh Temple shooting in 2012. Date: Monday, September 23 Time: 7-9 p.m. NEW Location: Wausau East High School Auditorium 2607 N. 18th Street Wausau, WI FREE and open to the public Arno Michaelis was a leader of a worldwide racist skinhead organization in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He turned his life around when those he had once professed to hate, including people who were Jewish, gay or black, persisted in treating him with kindness. Pardeep Singh Kaleka lost his father in ...