19 results for month: 08/2023
Don’t Tread on Me….Big Business!
Down the road whereon our home sits a neighbor flies the flag with a coiled rattlesnake and the words Don't tread on me written above it. I'm sure you've seen one like it. This is a flag with a history reaching to the mid eighteenth century. Back then the original colonies were pretty loosely connected and were facing off against the French and their Native American allies in what historians call the French and Indian War.
My neighbor's flag evolved from a political cartoon image that Benjamin Franklin first published in 1754. It depicted a snake chopped up into separate segments with the words Join or Die written under it and carried a very ...
THE HUMAN JOURNEY
Historically, two of the strongest indicators that a dominant "empire" is irreversibly in decline, are the financialization of its economy (manipulating money to make money - effectively parasitism) and excessive militarism (to defend and spread its parasitism). The US now exhibits these indicators in spades. Our nation, the United States, follows the path of previous great powers exiting the stage.
But again, speaking historically, the equation is different this time around. Humanity, for the first time, faces two great threats to our actual ongoing presence on Earth – global warming and the growing likelihood of nuclear Armageddon. The import ...
Forcing Religious Beliefs in the Classroom is not Condoned
America is changing and becoming something new. That is the purpose of teaching history. It is important to know what we have been, and, as importantly, what we have not been. With current politicians basing some of their electoral appeal on interpretations of U.S. history, it is more important than ever to teach as accurate and fact-based narrative as possible. That goes for the history of our religious past. as well.
Our founding fathers realized that no group is more dangerous to the social fabric of a country than religious extremists who believe they only have the truth. The lesson they learned from European history is that ...
Tiffany Song and Dance
“I hope you are enjoying the summer heat.” Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI).
This is the opening line in Tiffany's August 11 email newsletter. Wisconsin is suffering from unprecedented heat. Almost all of Wisconsin is experiencing drought. Parts or the state – including Tiffany's northwestern district – are in “extreme” drought with the south shore of Lake Superior having “exceptional” drought (the National Weather Service's highest category). Where I live in Douglas County is 6-9 inches below normal rainfall. Given these facts, Tiffany's statement is particularly glib and insensitive.
One assumes Tiffany was downplaying our extremely hot, ...
Climate Leaders along with Congressman Mark Pocan, Madison’s Mayor, and Dane County Executive to Mark the First Anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act and Celebrate the Efficiency Navigator Program
MEDIA ADVISORY
Congressman Mark Pocan, Madison Mayor, Dane County Executive, and Climate Leaders to Mark the First Anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act and Celebrate the Efficiency Navigator Program
The event will highlight the IRA's benefits to Wisconsin and urge Congress to protect investments in climate and clean energy.
Madison, WI – On Wednesday, August 16, Congressman Mark Pocan, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, and Dane County Executive Joe Parisi will join Faith in Place, Healthy Climate Wisconsin, the National Wildlife Federation and other climate champions at the Wisconsin State Capitol to celebrate the first annive...
Memories and Condolences for Theresa Miles
It is with sad hearts we bid farewell to Theresa ("Myrt") R. Miles, who passed away on Monday, August 1, 2023, after a courageous nine-year battle with cancer. At a time when public education has been under siege, Theresa stood out historically as a champion of public education from the start of her career. She began her career in Wausau in 1973, teaching at GD Jones before moving to Rib Mountain Elementary. At Rib, she taught first grade for 30 years. She also became the "literacy coordinator" in the WSD, coaching other teachers in the district. Numerous students and staff, along with parents and community leaders, have spoken to the positive ...
Learning From Finland on Public Education
“Finland is leading the way because of common-sense practices and a holistic teaching environment that strives for equity over excellence.” World Economic Forum, “10 reasons why Finland's education system is the best in the world,” September 10, 2018.
“We prepare children to learn how to learn, not how to take a test,” Finland’s head of the Ministry of Education and Culture (a former teacher). Finland does not do standardized student achievement testing like in the United States.
Finland is a world leader in education. For many years Finland has been recognized for having among the best public schools in the world. Finnish students ...
CONFLICT OF INTEREST???
The following is an excerpt from a statement made by journalist Max Blumenthal of the “Gray Zone” to the UN Security Council on June 29, 2023. It is self-explanatory.
“Indeed, military cemeteries in Ukraine are expanding almost as rapidly as the Northern Virginia McMansions and beachfront estates of executives from Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and assorted Beltway contractors benefitting from the second highest level of military spending since World War Two.
These are the real winners of the Ukraine proxy war. Not average Ukrainians or Americans. Or Russians or even Western Europeans.
The winners are people like Secretary of State Tony ...
Commonwealth Spirituality
Here in northern Wisconsin, on Tuesday night, August 15, 2023, the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors defeated, by a vote of 13-9, a resolution calling for a county-wide referendum on the funding of the county-owned nursing home, Pine Crest. Over one hundred people—many of them elderly, some in wheelchairs—were in attendance in the big room where supervisors meet. Over half-a-dozen citizens spoke, all in favor of the resolution, including one man who pointed out that a ten-year $8 per month price tag (the property tax increase) offered an astonishingly inexpensive insurance policy for permanent disability or old age infirmity, not to speak of the ...