Politics
THE RIFLE
By Dave Svetlik
(reprinted from January 27, 2015 MW issue)
Born in the late 40’s, I grew up in a family of hunters. Fair shots most of them, I remember standing next to my father when a spooked buck crossed our path at a dead run. Dad shot twice, hit twice, and the buck went down. It was near Hatfield, in central Wisconsin.
Dad’s rifle was an old, iron sight, pump action, 30 Remington. It has killed (we kill deer – corn and oats are harvested) a few deer since my father died in ‘94. My sons have used the rifle. It was never a popular caliber and bullets ...
GET BIG MONEY OUT OF POLITICS
By Wisconsin United to Amend
Eighteen Wisconsin communities voted with overwhelming majorities on Tuesday, November 8th, Wisconsin to amend the U.S. Constitution to clarify that only human beings should have inalienable human rights and money is not the same thing as free speech.
All referenda passed with overwhelming majorities: Rock County (86%), Reedsburg (86%), Manitowoc (81%), Delafield (79%), Neshkoro (88%), New Glarus (88%), Spring Valley (91%), Osceola (86%), Mt. Horeb (84%), Monticello (86%), Clayton (86%) and the towns of New Glarus (83%), Harris (65%), ...
WEALTH AND MONEY PART XXIII: PIE IN THE SKY??
“Powerful enemies must be out-fought and out-produced. It is not enough to turn out just a few more planes, a few more tanks, a few more guns, a few more ships than can be turned out by our enemies. We must out-produce them overwhelmingly, so that there can be no question of our ability to provide a crushing superiority of equipment in any theatre of the world war.”
- - President Franklin D. Roosevelt speaking to Congress and the nation after Pearl Harbor.
The United States Army ranked thirty-ninth in the world in 1939. It had a cavalry of fifty thousand ...
QUOTATIONS
“Beneath the shouting, there is suffering.
Beneath the anger, there is fear.
Beneath the threats, there are broken hearts.
Start there and we may get somewhere.”
By Parker Palmer
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“Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything. That is how the light gets in.”
By Leonard Cohen
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Gwen Ifill was a journalist who worked “to bring light rather than heat to the issues.”
The Week, November 18, 2016
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...
Economic Justice and the Wisconsin Uprising
Since the uprising in February 2011, Wisconsin’s legislature has implemented a raft of legislation that denies basic rights for all working people, not just unions. The agenda advances corporate power over the interests of average families, including corporate takeover of public resources such as education.
The real occupy movement today is found in state houses across this great land where big money interests aided by faux journalistic outfits, think tanks, and lurid amounts of campaign funding run roughshod over the rights of working men and women. Ultimately, many ...
MAKING AMERICA GREAT
The presidential candidates are pontificating about making America “great.” The Republican candidate in particular has made this a theme of his campaign. Puffing up our alleged greatness is standard political campaign rhetoric. Meaningless sound bites and patriotic cliches are a common campaign strategy. It allows the politicians to avoiding meaningful discussion of actual problems and needed solutions.
There may be good reasons for candidates to avoid specifics. Too often those who did discuss the issues have lost. Policy positions are often complicated and boring. ...
CHARACTERISTICS OF A BULLY
1. Impulsive
2. Easily frustrated or annoyed
3. Lacks empathy, isn’t sympathetic to anyone’s needs or desires but their own.
4. Blames a victim for her/his behavior
5. Has difficulty following rules
6. Views violence in a positive way
7. Is motivated by power and the desire to dominate others
https://community.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3913
Bullying involves repeatedly hurting a victim with “teasing, name calling, mockery, threats, harassment, taunting, social exclusion or rumors.”
On a national level, these bullying tactics have taken ...
WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN THIS ELECTION
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are getting most of the media attention in this frantic, frazzled presidential race. “Trump and Hillary are taking up all the oxygen, but really policymaking is getting done in the states,” says Nick Rathod, head of SiX (State Innovation Exchange).
Democrats should be on the alert. Since 2010, Democrats lost 913 states legislative seats. Republicans now control 68 of America’s 99 state legislatures—“more than at any time in our history,” according to Jim Hightower, September 2016 LOWDOWN.
There is much more to watch. ...
Don’t Be Misled by “Half-Truths!”
Things are not always what they seem.
This past Labor Day, brought to mind my friend, Roy, who used to bake pies for a popular cafeteria. Roy had a reputation for making beautiful pies, particularly his lemon meringue pies. He started work before dawn because the pies had to be done before the cafeteria opened.
One day, shortly after opening, his manager approached him with a piece of lemon meringue pie. The pie was the picture of perfection with a beautiful, tall meringue topping perched on top of lemon filling. The manager invited Roy to taste it. He did, and ...
FIGHTING BOB 2016
Please save the date: Saturday, September 17 for the 15th Annual Fighting Bob Fest.
The place is Breese Stevens Field, Madison, Wisconsin.
The date is Saturday, September 17.
Fighting Bob Fest is organized by The Progressive magazine, founded by Robert LaFollette.
He gave many speeches in large outdoor meetings throughout Wisconsin. He organized people to fight for the common good. You can continue this tradition by attending.
The day will be inspiring with: nationally recognized speakers, breakout sessions, networking, grassroots organizing, live music, ...
