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WORDS OF GRATITUDE

In this season, it is time to stop and give thanks. I would like to share the Thanksgiving Address as presented by Robin Wall Kimmerer in her beautiful book Braiding Sweetgrass (Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants). Today we have gathered and when we look upon the faces around us we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now let us bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as People. Now our minds are ...

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DEMOCRATS CALL FOR HEARING ON PROPOSED CITIZENS UNITED RESOLUTION

The Assembly Committee on Constitution and Ethics held its first meeting of the 2017-18 legislative session. Representative Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) and Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) requested that Committee Chairperson, Rep Scott Allen (R-Waukesha), include Assembly Joint Resolution 53 [2] on today's public hearing agenda. AJR 53 would place a statewide advisory referendum question on the ballot asking voters whether they support a constitutional amendment overturning the United States Supreme Court's decision in _Citizens United v. FEC_. AJR 53 was referred to the ...

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RETIREMENT SECURITY FOR PRIVATE SECTOR WORKERS

By Powrs (Protect Our Wisconsin Retirement System) Two Wisconsin legislators, Rep. Eric Genrich-DePere and Senator Dave Hansen-Green Bay, have teamed up to bring retirement security to private sector workers in Wisconsin. Assembly Bill 403 and Senate Bill 302 propose solving the impending retirement crisis by helping create a way for everyone to achieve a decent retirement income in the future. These ideas were proposed in the past, but the Republican-controlled legislature has not allowed the bills out of committee for a floor vote. The need for retirement-for-all ...

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About Middle Wisconsin

Our Mission: Middle Wisconsin is an online magazine promoting just and transparent government, quality public education, healthy communities, thriving local economies, and environmental stewardship Get our bimonthly email with news, events, and action alerts. You'll get the latest articles in your inbox, and we'll never share your email address. Go to our home page at www.middlewisconsin.org Enter your email address. We at Middle Wisconsin welcome thoughtful articles and letters in support of community, families, and a sustainable planet. Limit each submission to ...

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October Events

OCTOBER EVENTS ========================================= THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19 LIFE UNDER CONSTRUCTION: DESIGNING A LIFE YOU LOVE By Allison Liddle, a Wausau native 6 – 8 p.m. YWCA Wausau 613 N. Fifth Street Wausau Wisconsin 54403 715-842-3381 Free and Open to the Public Free on-site Child Care To register today: Email info@mcdevco.org Allison will share her personal transformation journey to grow herself, her business, and empower her life as she talks about her book: Life Under Construction. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26 The United ...

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When The Chickens Come Home

Wisconsin Public Radio recently reported that the Walker administration is not enforcing fire safety codes. The laws requiring fire suppression sprinklers in apartment buildings are in conflict with another anti-regulation law passed by the Walker wrecking crew. As I have written in the past, there are consequences to the destructive, mean spirited, short sighted, ideologically driven agendas of the radical Republicans now in charge of Wisconsin and the nation. The consequences of their senseless actions frequently hurt people. Refusing to enforce basic fire safety for ...

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GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS

In the last five months, seven Door County communities have shown their support for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would get money out of politics and give citizens their voices back in our elections. The city of Sturgeon Bay, the towns of Baileys Harbor, Egg Harbor, Forestville and Liberty Grove along with the villages of Egg Harbor and Ephraim, all have unanimously approved resolutions backing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that proclaims that corporations are not persons and money is not speech. They are part of a tremendous grassroots movement ...

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Ban the Bomb

Seventy two years ago, the United States became the first and only country to use nuclear weapons on civilians. On August 6 and 9, 1945 we bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people. We tell ourselves it was necessary. It was to save lives and end the war. We tell ourselves that nuclear weapons kept us safe during the Cold War and are necessary for our “defense” today. But these rationalizations ring hollow when examined closely. There were alternatives in 1945, and there are alternatives today to perpetuating the threat of a ...

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“LOVING US” POWWOW ENCOURAGES RECOVERY

“I lost my granddaughter to heroin addiction,” Anita told me. “We’ve lost so many people,” Tena added. Recently, former Marine Tena Quackenbush and her friends, including Quincy Garvin, Jasime Funmaker, Lori Pettibone, Cindy Ward hosted a gathering to promote and encourage recovery from addiction, especially the scourge of heroin addiction. Ms. Quackenbush started #StoptheStigma, an organization with a mission to stop the stigma of addiction. She was joined by members of “Natives Against Heroin” in hosting the event. “Wogixete Wi” was a ...

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Ruminations on Foxconn

The giant electronics manufacturer Foxconn has announced it will locate in Wisconsin. It supposedly plans to spend $10 billion to create a “campus” to build LCD panels. The politicians were, of course, tripping over themselves to get in on the photo op. But I wonder if the old adage applies: “If it sounds too good to be true...it probably is.” The announcement was held at the White House. Foxconn CEO Terry Gou, President Trump, Governor Walker, and House Speaker Paul Ryan were in attendance. Trump, with typical arrogance, said it wouldn't have happened if he ...

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