ADVANCE DIRECTIVES

Advance directives are documents signed when we are of sound mind to inform those who will be taking care of us in the future -- usually our power of attorney -- how we want our finances handled and what we would want for medical care under particular circumstances. Until now, there was no advance directive addressing one's preference for medical treatment when suffering from dementia. The National Public Radio show "On Point," heard on many public radio stations from 9:00-11:00 a.m. weekdays, recently discussed a new advance directive form created to address one's wishes in the event of the development of dementia. The form is not legally ...

ANOTHER COVERUP: TOBACCO AND LUNG CANCER

We are used to hearing misinformation about health care, climate change and the national debt Many lies have been spread about these topics in an effort to keep the status quo. We, as intelligent readers, need to be aware of how misinformation is spread. Ari Rabin-Hart and Media Matters have published the book, LIES, INCORPORATED which tells you how misinformation is spread. As early as 1912, research suggested links between tobacco and lung cancer. As additional studies were published over the decades, results became ever more conclusive. In 1953, tobacco industry leaders faced a crisis in the form of new cancer research that linked cigarette tar ...

TAX GIVEAWAY FOR THE RICH

The House Republicans, under Representative Paul Ryan's leadership, recently attempted to quickly push their bill, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), through congressional committees to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Only two days after the AHCA was unveiled, House Committees were voting on it, before the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) even had a chance to release a report analyzing the bill's projected effect on consumers, health care providers, insurance companies, and the federal budget. Joe Baker of the Medicare Rights Center (MRC), is troubled by the feverish rate with which Ryan is proceeding and the lack of transparency in ...

WHAT IS THE KEY TO WISCONSIN’S ECONOMIC SUCCESS?

The July 7, 2016, Price County Review described Governor Walker’s June 29 visit to Phillips as a blitz. He flew in, was ushered to the Municipal Building by law enforcement and security personnel for an invitation-only listening session for 20-30 people and a brief interview by local media, was escorted to United Pride Dairy near Phillips to announce $3.2 million in Youth Apprenticeship (YA) state grants, then was escorted back to the airport and flew away. During his announcement, Walker noted “The key to Wisconsin’s future success rests in our ability to provide the next generation of workers with the practical skills they need to succeed. ...

THE PANAMA PAPERS

The leaker behind the recent Panama Papers scandal revealed thousands of shell companies the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca used to hide assets for 14,000-plus wealthy individuals and corporations. Of note: Not many Americans were listed in the leak. In “Panama of the North,” Susan Harley of Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division indicates the reason few Americans were listed: The US is already well-established as a tax haven. Most states, like Nevada, require less information to start a company than to get a library card, a driver’s license, or even a voter ID card under Wisconsin’s new law. Anonymous companies are used to ...

AUDIT THE PENTAGON

In "A Golden Age for Pentagon Waste" (US News and World Report, 2-3-16), William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy, cites examples of Pentagon waste: *$17 billion spent on private villas and costly facilities that were barely used in Afghanistan. *$7 billion spent on unneeded equipment by the Defense Logistics Agency. *Congress inserted 11 additional F-35 combat aircraft into the last defense bill despite dubious value to the military. Over the last decade the F-35 project has cost $1.4 trillion and has yet to produce an airworthy plane. Hartung recalled the $2 billion cost overruns ...

JUDGE KLOPPENBURG FOR SUPREME COURT JUSTICE

Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg is running for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She faces a primary challenge on Tuesday, February 16, with general election on April 5. Kloppenburg received a B.A. in Russian studies from Yale University. After receiving a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University in 1976, she spent several years in the Peace Corps as a rural development planner in Botswana. Upon return to the United States, she established the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children in upstate New York and was an assistant dean at Wells College. Kloppenburg then obtained a law ...

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