A Tale of Two Trails
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness....” Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
folks who like to hike. They both help attract visitors and boost tourism. The Lake Superior Trail runs north from Jay Cook State Park along the north shore of Lake Superior. The North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST) crosses far northern Wisconsin on its way from New York to North Dakota.
This is a story of these two trails and efforts to combine them. But it is also a story of the difficulty of getting ...
TEN HEALTHY SIGNS THAT DEMOCRACY WILL PREVAIL OVER TRUMP
The Women’s Marches
The Women’s March on Washington and in other cities on January 21 constituted a powerful shot across Trump’s bow.
The Airport Protests
The protests that erupted on January 28 at JFK, O’Hare, and other airports to defend refugees showed that Trump can’t get away with scapegoating.
The Judges’ Orders
One federal judge after another has ruled against Trump’s Muslim bans.
The Marches for Science and the Earth
Trump has galvanized scientists and environmentalists: “There is No Planet B.”
The Press Gets a Spine
A...
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 ...
A COMMUNITY CARES FOR ITS CHILDREN
It is deep in our human nature to care for other people. Many years ago that was the only way for people to survive. We humans still come equipped with caring for others or showing empathy. A good example of one community showing empathy for all its children and teachers is Marathon, Wisconsin.
Caring citizens in Marathon, Wisconsin established the Marathon School District Endowment Fund. In the years since its beginning, this fund has supported projects throughout the Marathon School District. The Endowment Fund has given tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships to ...
THE FLAG DROOPED SADLY AT HALF-STAFF
The flag drooped sadly at half-staff as the nation mourned the slaughter of Americans having fun at a country-music concert in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 1, 2017.
The life-giving blood of 59 concert goers gushed, oozed, and flowed as they lie dying. The horrified ran, hid, protected and aided others as more than 500 women and men were wounded and mowed down like grass on a field oozing blood, crying, screaming, and writhing in pain.
https://www.ktnv.com/news/photos-remembering-those-killed-in-las-vegas-mass-shooting#id0
https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-las...
Bribe Games By the Number
“Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.” Ambrose Bierce
Bribing companies to create jobs is not an effective way to promote economic development. It is not a comprehensive way to promote prosperity. The primary, and often only, result of business development tax incentives is simply reduced tax collections from the favored businesses. Everyone else pays for the incentives provided for the few.
In Wisconsin the job creation numbers provide proof. Citizen Action of Wisconsin has ...
A NEW ROLE FOR LABOR UNIONS
From The Commoner Call (10/30/17)
A recent statement from the AFL-CIO regarding a rejection of NAFTA and other corporate/globalist trade agreements unfortunately only skims the surface of the issues working people face. We are missing a vision of where we are going as a nation.
At root of the problem is a missing American vision of where we are going as a society. Our mythos is wrapped up in conquering the “wild” lands, inhabited by people we don’t respect or understand, whom we can push out of the way. Those days are over, but something really important is ...
THE VIOLENT END OF THE GILLILAND BOYS
In the completion of my recent book, Murrder in the County: 50 True Stories of the Old West, I discovered that three of the fifty murders profiled there were committed by members of the same family! Intrigued, I researched more about these folks and the result is now published under the title The Violent End of the Gilliland Boys. Fascinating and shocking, this story features more twists and turns than an Ozark’s dirt road.
Christmas Day horse races 1872, Middle Fork Valley. Young Bud Gilliland waits, eager for another chance at his neighbor Newton Jones. Only this ...
LIMITS OF POWER
By WIPPS
What are the limits of power in our government? And how has the relationship between the Constitution, Congress and the presidency changed over time, especially in the 21st century?
WIPPS and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters will present a panel of experts who will address:
Why presidents sometimes issue executive orders that fundamentally change public policy, while other times appear completely impotent to political action
Where the limits of institutional power are considered unsettled
If presidents have used executive orders ...
UNION PLAYS CRITICAL ROLE IN FAMILY’S LIFE
As a Latino growing up in Shorewood, Wisconsin, I’ve seen unions play a critical role in the life of my family and community. As a result of inflammatory words spoken against Mexicans and those of Muslim faith in the recent presidential campaign, many immigrants face the future in fear.
Unions have helped by continuing to support them in their union jobs and even, in some cases, reaching out to them to offer advice and other assistance.
My father is an immigrant who came to this country from Guatemala, a nation where people have been jailed or even killed for union ...
