Politics
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 ...
Social Security Turns 90
Social Security turns 90 on August 14th of this year! However, did you know....
The Social Security Commissioner is shifting about 1000 staff from processing claims to answer phones to 'pretend' that customer service is improving. Another attempt to fool Americans. This only takes a longer time to process claims... DUH! Time to call their bluff!! The 1-800 number at SSA is for triage, not handling cases.
Bottom line here is that congress needs to pass legislation to force THIS administration to hire enough worker to staff the Social Security Administrati...
THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY
As a former world history teacher at Wausau West and Newman high schools, I am dismayed by the attacks on this academic discipline in contemporary United States. As Mark Twain said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” History is a story of the past and cannot be repeated because change has occurred, but history does present us a narrative of the development of contemporary society. According to Twain, human behavior and the development of societies follow rhythmic patterns that are consistent over time. In that way we can discern repeating ...
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 ...
Be Bold and Be Unapologetic
https://youtu.be/5G8HjVkMnIo
Be bold and be unapologetic.
The No Kings Rallies across the nation serve as the perfect example of this. Look at the enormous crowds of people who are rising up, making their voices heard over the monied interests that are dictating this country, that’s right – DICTATING.
The working class has spoken with a message of truth and sincerity. Our elected officials need to start listening. Stop being afraid to speak up, stop being moderate, stop apologizing. A market that is rigged for the wealthy and business as usual is not ...
Are You Outraged?
"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." Comedian Lily Tomlin
We all should be outraged at the blitzkrieg of illegal, unconstitutional, dictatorial and simply stupid actions of the Trump administration. This article is about two of their outrageous actions that are blatantly immoral as well. One is the continuing, shameful support for genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza. The other is the shameful abandoning of the Afghan refugees who were our friends and allies in our country's longest war.
Mike Huckabee. Trump's Ambassador to Israel, says he is “outr...
Habeas Corpus Protects Us All From Abuses Of Government Power
During a recent Senate hearing, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was asked to define “habeas corpus.” In an answer as wrong as it was terrifying, Secretary Noem declared it was “a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country and suspend their rights.”
Senator Maggie Hassan corrected Secretary Noem, and explained habeas corpus instead allows people to legally challenge their detentions by the government. Senator Hassan also pointed out that habeas corpus is what separates free societies like America ...
Genocide in Gaza
Hitler murdered 6 million Jewish people during World War II. The world expressed shock and disbelief when the atrocities committed in the concentration camps were discovered. Jewish people were killed in mass shooting operations, through deliberate privation of food and water, through brutal treatment and the gas chambers.
Compare the plight of the Jewish people then to the plight of the people in Gaza today. There are roughly two million people crammed onto a narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea that are prohibited from leaving the area. Food and medical ...
Budget Chaos in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Senator Chris Larson is concerned about the impact on Wisconsin's state budget from Trump's cuts to federal funding. The cuts being implemented at the federal level will create havoc with the Wisconsin state budget. Senator Larson has introduced emergency legislation – the Frozen Federal Funds Emergency Act – to help deal with this problem.
The proposed bill requires the legislature to convene an extraordinary session if the Trump funding cuts are implemented. The extraordinary session would “consider” providing money from the “budget ...