321 results for author: Phil Anderson

Saving PBS

“Can't have the kids being groomed by Antiques Roadshow.” This statement is from a cartoon by Jen Sorensen talking about the defunding of public broadcasting. The humorous, but perceptive,   cartoon explains the ridiculous reasoning behind Republican attacks on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.   Back in 1961 Newton Minow, the Federal Communications Commission Chairman, famously described commercial television as a "vast wasteland." Television, like radio before it, was a wonderful communication tool for providing quality information, education, entertainment and cultural programming. But Minow believed its potential was being ...

Food Stamp Folly

"We all do better when we all do better" was the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone's simple, yet profound, statement of economic truth. In a stable, sustainable economy no one should be left behind even if they are poor or not as “productive.” This is not just kindness or charity. It is a recognition that an economy, like a chain, is only as strong as its weakest link. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP – formerly called food stamps) illustrates how Paul Wellstone's economic principle works in the real world. It is an example of how helping poor people is good for everyone else. The current administration's mean-spirited, ...

SAVING PBS

“Can't have the kids being groomed by Antiques Roadshow.” This statement is from a cartoon by Jen Sorensen talking about the defunding of public broadcasting. The humorous, but perceptive, cartoon explains the ridiculous reasoning behind Republican attacks on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Back in 1961 Newton Minow, the Federal Communications Commission Chairman, famously described commercial television as a "vast wasteland." Television, like radio before it, was a wonderful communication tool for providing quality information, education, entertainment and cultural programming. But Minow believed its potential was being squandered and ...

Nuclear War Scenarios

(one of two in a series) “The likelihood of a nuclear catastrophe is greater today than during the cold war, and the public is completely unaware of the danger.” Former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry This year is the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Most Americans, if they think about the issue at all, probably think the threat of nuclear war ended with the break up of the Soviet Union. They believe peace through strength, mutually assured destruction (MAD) and deterrence worked. Nuclear war was avoided and America won the ideological struggle with communism. The truth is we were lucky to have survived the ...

Silence is Consent

“He was very emaciated. He had no shoes on, his pants were tattered, he had a kind of a rope or string holding his pants up. Filthy. Probably hasn’t bathed in months, probably hasn’t eaten in days...” “He puts out his hand, and so I beckoned him to come to me. I said, ‘Come here.’ And he reaches out and he holds my hand, and he kisses my hand and he says, ‘Shukran' (thank you). He “didn’t make it home. He walked 12 kilometers to get some food, picked up scraps off the ground cause that’s all that was left...and when he left, he was killed by the IDF” (Israeli Defense Forces). This is an eyewitness account of a young ...

Abolishing Nuclear War

“Nuclear weapons do not provide security. They are instruments of mass suffering. Preventing nuclear war is a public health imperative.” Physicians for Social Responsibility We can abolishing nuclear weapons. It is a realistic, achievable goal. It is not a Utopian fantasy. But people must demand the United States change course and join the worldwide effort to abolish them. The politicians will not act unless pressured by people. We know what needs to be done. We know why it must be done. We know how it can be done. We have the blueprints to make it happen. We know from past experience that citizen pressure can effect change. What is ...

Summer Reading

“I am looking at a witch hazel blooming in a garden The bright yellow flowers in the middle of wintertime And I tell my heart be strong like the witch hazel flower And you will not be injured by this dark and troubled time.”   From the folk song “Witch Hazel” by Tom Gala. Some nice renditions are available online. In these dark and troubled times, one refuge is reading. Escape novels can be useful, but more serious books can also provide perspective and comfort. This article talks about some recent reading I found cathartic. Andy Borowitz is a writer, comedian and satirist. He is known for his satirical ...

Who is “threatening” whom in the Middle East?

For many decades U.S. presidents, foreign policy elites, pundit talking heads, mainstream news media and most politicians of both major parties have accused Iran of being “a threat” to the Middle East and world peace. But is this true? In reality who is “threatening” whom in this region? Hypocrisy is not a good basis for foreign policy. The historical record does not support this bi-partisan, militaristic “group think” about Iran. The United States has too often been “part of the problem rather than part of the solution” in the Middle East as in other areas of conflict around the world. As Martin Luther King said about the use of ...

Ruminations on No Kings Day

(No Kings Day in Brule, WI. Photo Credit Phil Anderson) “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” James Baldwin (1924 – 1987) American author, poet and civil rights activist On Saturday, June 14, 2025, America “faced” the threat of Donald Trump to our nation. Although the people protesting his egregious behavior may not change anything immediately, the huge numbers pouring into the the streets, all over the country, clearly show momentum is building and change is possible. The latest estimate is 13 million people attended rallies and marches in 2300 locations all across the ...

Northland Grandmothers for Peace and Lake Superior Veterans for Peace

Northland Grandmothers for Peace and Lake Superior Veterans for Peace condemns the unilateral, immoral, and criminal U.S. bombing on the sovereign nation of Iran. June 21, 2025 will be remembered as the day the U.S. once again chose war over diplomacy, unleashing consequences we may come to regret. This unprovoked, deliberate attack on Iran is a violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the U.S. Constitution.   The pretext of Iran’s alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons is a familiar lie. Just like Iraq in 2003,we are being dragged into war based on deliberate deception. The aggressors in this reckless escalation are ...