Right now
A Supreme Court rerun in Wisconsin
If you are feeling deja vu about the Wisconsin Supreme Court election you are not imagining things. You have seen this movie before. The election on Tuesday, April 1st is a rerun of the 2020 and 2023 contests. The names have changed but the issues are the same.
In 2020 and 2023 Jill Karofsky and Janet Protasiewicz, both liberal jurists, won their elections defeating conservative Dan Kelly. Kelly had been appointed to the Supreme Court in 2016 by Gov. Scott Walker. The victory of Protasiewicz created a liberal majority on the court after many years of ...
Modern Abolitionists – All
I remember trout fishing in the mountains just east of Salt Lake City when we lived there in the '60s. Beautiful, clear, achingly cold streams in mountain valleys so picturesque you almost didn't care if you caught any fish at all. The prize might well have been just breathing in the view along with the cool, clean air. One hot afternoon I followed a small feeder stream away from the river I had been fishing. About a hundred yards or so up the ravine the small stream literally disappeared under a dark, thick wall of shrubs and scrub oak. I spread some branches ...
Building the Resistance
The 24-Hour Economic Blackout
Back in December I wrote about using our power as consumers to oppose the Trump wrecking crew. (“Now what? Tactics for resistance,” The Duluth Reader, Thursday December 5, 2024). In that article I suggested taking the fight to the wealthy Trump supporters by reducing our spending and not buying from companies that supported him.
I am not the only one pushing this tactic. I recently got an email saying that comedian Jon Stewart has been calling for Friday, February 28 to be a “24-hour Economic Blackout.” I have not found Jon's ...
MADISON DAY OF ACTION WITH NAOMI
Are you upset with the state of affairs in our state and nation! Come join us for an exciting day at WISDOM’S Madison Action Day, Thursday, April 10, 2025!
WISDOM is a state-wide network of people looking for the common good. WISDOM is committed to just change that brings health and stability for the second, third and seventh generations to come. NAOMI is one of 12
Affiliates in the state. Join with all the Affiliates for a dynamic day of advocacy, learning, and action with an opportunity to engage directly with your elected Representatives and Senators. Connect with ...
Immigration Lies
President Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, said, “If you are in the country illegally, you are on the table. We have millions of people with background investigations, paying a fee, standing in line to come into this country the right way,” giving the impression that people entering this country “the right way” would be safe.
At best he was misleading the American public.
Last week, 600,000 Venezuelan refugees with proper background checks and vetting by the Department of Immigration (DPI) had their Temporary Protective Status (TPS) classification cancelled. ...
DETENTIONS AND DEPORTATION WILL COST US
Currently thousands of law enforcement officers are directed to arrest undocumented immigrants. Because the crime rate among the undocumented is actually low, many of those arrested are not charged or convicted criminals. Their undocumented status is a civil, not a criminal, offense.
Large numbers of undocumented non-citizens are tax-paying, important members of our workforce. They build our homes, harvest our fruits and vegetables, pack our meat, staff our restaurants and beautify our yards. One member of a three-generation family of mixed citizens and non-citizens ...
CRISIS OF FAITH
In past times of turmoil and chaos, the faithful would often rely on their firmly rooted sacred beliefs. But what if those beliefs are part of the problem? What if they are facilitating the destruction of our very democracy?
American Christianity -specifically Christian nationalism– has damaged America in profound ways, causing a severe crisis of faith that’s driving people FROM the teachings of Jesus. Christianity is being hijacked by grifters and hypocrites, the very people Jesus challenged. He challenged the authority of the rich ruling class, called ...
HEADING TO A DANGEROUS FUTURE
These are troubling times we live in. Despite a robust, growing economy with historically low unemployment and inflation coming down from highs created by a world-wide pandemic, tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy, and exorbitant corporate profits, the American voters chose to make a change.
Many of those that voted for the convicted felon, gave in to their base racist and narcissistic characteristics. He appeals to the worst among us and even the worst tendencies of some good people among us. He and his closest followers follow the same playbook used by a small man with a ...
DISASTER RESPONSE
Americans once set political differences aside in the face of national emergencies. We offered unconditional support and did whatever we could to help the victims because they were Americans, just like the rest of us.
Today Trump and the MAGA crowd rush to cast blame and politicize these human tragedies with little or no concern for the victims. They continue to seek political gain rather try to help fellow Americans get through desperate times.
Just as he did after Hurricane Helene, Trump is busy spreading lies about the California wildfires. In each case, nearly ...
WHO IS REPRESENTING YOU
Are you a senior citizen on Medicare? Will you be? Did you know Rep. Tom Tiffany is working to make it harder for you to afford medicine?
Since 2022, federal law has allowed Medicare, working on your behalf, to negotiate prescription prices with drug companies. This resulted in lower prices for medicines like insulin. The law also caps the amount people on Medicare spend on prescription drugs at $2,000 per person annually. Additionally, the law requires drug companies to pay rebates to Medicare if their drug prices rise faster than the rate of inflation. All these ...