Politics
C’mon Now – Let’s Work Together
Pledging to "drain the swamp" during a presidential campaign is an effective metaphor which captures the widespread frustration people have with our current political system. Now we’re all mad because our government is broken. Everyone sees that the big-money corruption in our election system is not serving us well. What has happened?
The Supreme Court has given constitutional rights meant only for individuals to artificial entities such as corporations and unions and has ruled that money spent to influence the political process cannot be limited. Thus, our government ...
NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER
From the White House we hear the incessant lies, and subsequent views from those who try to explain them away as “alternate facts.” This is sufficient if you live in an “alternate universe.”
However, the world of the alt-right is the golden ring for S. Bannon and S. Miller. It is a very dark, neo- fascist word view envisioned by these individuals. For them the “ends justify the means.” This end goal leads to a world ruled under an Alt-right ideology, which would manifest the most despicable realities that our country and the civilized world fought to stop ...
TROTTING OUT THE WHIPPING BOY
For as long as there have been politicians, there have been whipping boys. Politicians need someone to punish for their own shortcomings.
No one is better with the whip than Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. He is highly skilled in the use of divide-and-conquer tactics, a master at pitting one group of struggling and vulnerable people against another. It’s his favorite play, the governor’s political equivalent of Vince Lombardi’s Power Sweep or USC’s famed “Student Body Right.”
Walker turns to this page in his playbook repeatedly, whenever he’s feeling ...
A POLITICIAN TO KEEP ME SAFE
I want a politician who will keep me safe:
- You are 35,079 times more likely to die from heart disease than from a terrorist attack
I want my politicians to invest my tax dollars into publicly funded medical research on how to reduce heart disease and other common health problems. The funds for this can be taken from the rogue US military and Dept. of Homeland “Security.” I want my politicians to keep me safe.
- You are 33,842 times more likely to die from cancer than from a terrorist attack
“The United States health care system is the most expensive in ...
THE BIPARTISAN DISMANTLING OF AMERICA
The process began in earnest with the words of President Ronald Reagan. His catchy - and destructively false - soundbite, “government is not the solution to the problem, government is the problem,” initiated the dismantling of all we cherish as Americans. A catchy soundbite denigrated the sacred words of our Declaration of Independence stating that to secure the rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” It denigrated all those who fought and died in the ...
WE MARCHED FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Stepping off the bus and heading to State Street will be a memory forever embedded in me. We were at least 75,000 strong. It’s not just about the rights of Women. It is about everyone out there that is marginalized in some way or form. It is about color, it is how we identify sexually. It is about HUMAN RIGHTS.
After hearing about the March in Washington D.C., the idea spread quickly to other major cities. When I heard Madison would be having a march, I knew I would be there. When I spoke of it, people wanted to carpool. There are only so many seats in my car! Two ...
OLD FASHIONED AMERICA AND THE “WELL-BEING” STATE
“If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper,
you're misinformed.” Mark Twain
This quip accurately describes the results of today's for-profit news media and cable TV. Americans are uniformed and misinformed on many topics. One example of misinformation is life in the “socialist” Scandinavian countries. The media portray them as welfare states that have nothing to teach us. These countries supposedly suffer from high taxes and oppressive bureaucracies that kill initiative, free enterprise, and personal freedom.
A new book, ...
NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN ORGANIZING CO-OP
I have some exciting news to report. As of this afternoon, we officially surpassed the halfway point of the co-op drive! We currently have 126 pledges, and we have several high-profile events in the works in Oneida, Portage, Wood, Marathon, Lincoln, and Langlade Counties. I encourage all of you to check out the pledge page if you haven't. If you could add your pledge or start paying into the co-op at this time, that would be very helpful and greatly appreciated. Also, I would like to ask all of you that have pledged to commit to finding at least one more pledge. If all who ...
WEALTH AND MONEY PART XXVII: WAR, TAXES, BANKING AND THE LOOTING OF AMERICA
“Our roads and bridges are crumbling, our airports are out of date and the vast majority of our seaports are in danger of becoming obsolete. All the result of decades of neglect. None of this is really in dispute. Business leaders, labor unions, governors, mayors, congressmen and presidents have complained about a lack of funding for years, but aside from a onetime cash infusion from the stimulus program, nothing much has changed. There is still no consensus on how to solve the problem or where to get the massive amounts of money needed to fix it.” - - - CBS 60 Minutes ...
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Many people across our country are organizing to hold on to our democracy and to rebuild our country. Here are some examples.
Paula Lugar of Wisconsin writes:
“In 2011, I retired from 22 years of working in special education for a metropolitan Minnesota school district, ending my 37 year career as an occupational therapist employed to work with kids and families. I am taking a year to decide what comes next in my life after the August, 2016, death of my husband of 40 years. My exploration is informed by the core ethics of Permaculture: Care of People, Care of Earth ...
