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More on political violence
Donald Trump has a lot of damn gall accusing Democrats and liberals of inciting political violence. Since 2015 he has been a primary source of inflammatory, divisive, hate-filled political rhetoric that encouraged violence by his supporters. He is the only president in our history to incite a mob to attack Congress.
In the past I wrote about how political murders are actually rare in comparison to other murders. But they are increasing along with other hate crimes. This article updates a prior article on political violence
“The hope of a ...
Working Class Neighborhoods
This is an open letter written to the Wausau City Council where they want to once again change the zoning back to industrial in a working class neighborhood.
Working class neighborhoods are constantly at risk. Historically they always face higher pollution levels which lead to less access to opportunities for a better quality of life. We are so quick to develop and create an aesthetic appearance in our city, but what about under the surface? How do most of our residents live? Most of our citizens are working class. There is pride in being working class, it is what our ...
This is why we feed kids at Thanksgiving
This is why we feed kids at Thanksgiving:
Hello everyone,
Growing up in a single-parent, low-income household, I’ll never forget the strangers who showed up with food and gifts during the holidays. Their kindness inspired me to give back.
That’s why I started this project—and thanks to your generosity, in 9 years we’ve raised $106,753.65 and provided 5,555 hams and turkeys to families in need.
We’re excited to share that Wausau Area Food For Hope is now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit—which means your donations are tax-deductible. (Email us ...
Hate in America 2025
Trump is lying again. Following the murder of right wing activist Charlie Kirk, he is falsely accusing liberals of promoting violence and political “terrorism.” With his usual fact free demagoguery, he claims, “The radical left causes tremendous violence” and in “a bigger way” than right wing extremists.
The truth is exactly the opposite and is well documented by numerous reliable sources including the right wing CATO Institute. The vast majority of racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and religious hate crimes are perpetrated by right wing extremi...
LABOR DAY POSTCARDS
SAY IT IN ONE SENTENCE POSTCARD CAMPAIGN!!
Yep, that’s right. Write one sentence “I WORK HARD FOR A LIVING AND THIS IS MY MESSAGE TO YOU: Then address them to your elected officials, -we have the addresses for you. The postage is already on them, just drop them in the mail. THESE ARE AVAILABLE AT THE LABOR TEMPLE.
HAPPY LABOR DAY!! There will be burgers and brats after the parade!
Why Verifying Smart Contracts Matters — and How to Do It Right
I once clicked into a token contract on a block explorer and felt that familiar knot in my stomach. Looks shiny. No source. Hmm. You can see the code on-chain — the bytecode — but you can't read the human-friendly source that explains intent. That gap is where trust evaporates. Verifying a contract turns opaque bytecode into readable Solidity, and suddenly the community can audit, reuse, and trust what’s running on Ethereum.
Short version: verification equals transparency. Long version: it’s about reproducible builds, exact compiler settings, constructor ...
Balancer, BAL and Building Better AMM Pools: A Practical Guide for DeFi Makers
Okay, so check this out—I've been in the trenches with AMMs for years, and Balancer still surprises me. Whoa! At first glance it looks like a Uniswap clone with more knobs. But actually it's a fundamentally different design that rewards creativity and careful engineering. My instinct said "this is neat," and then my brain started cataloging where it helps and where it hurts.
Here's the thing. Balancer lets you make pools that aren't just 50/50 token splits. You can set arbitrary weights. You can include three, four, or more tokens in one pool. That flexibility opens ...
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.
...
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 ...