COMING TOGETHER
We have become human high-tension wires stripped of our protective insulation. We crackle and arc with fear and anger all because the illusions of stability, like the assured continuity of our majority rule democracy, in a changing world are popping around us like soap bubbles.
We blew them off the front porch when we were kids, safely tucked under the warm comforter of our childhood naivete. We watched them trail off on the breeze hoping they would float high and away and last forever. Like our illusions, pop they did but with soapy water we ...
WORDS FOR WAUSAU EVENT COMMEMORATING 100 YEARS OF WOMEN’S RIGHT TO VOTE
Sheku Sk^n^ko.ka/Hello, Are you in the Peace.
Yaw^ko Thank you to Dorthy Miller for inviting me to speak and to Carolyn Michaski who helped me decide on a topic.
Haudenosaunee People – Longhouse People refers to five, later six, Indigenous Nations who shared a matrilineal culture and a language group and came together as a powerful representative democracy here on Anowalko Owe.no.te/Turtle Island/North America, before the discovery and colonization of the continent. The Haudenosaunee or Longhouse People is the name we call ourselve...
QUESTIONS FOR THE MALL PROJECT
Among all this recent excitement generated by proposals to redesign the Mall I need to ask: "While making Wausau a hot spot for young urban professionals to drop a planter for a few years, what is the mechanism by which a significant proportion of our rooted citizens will benefit from the millions spent on these projects with our tax dollars?"
I asked this question of the Council last year while heaps of accolades were being made over the success of Riverlife. Only one member of the Council appeared to understand the paltry extent to which such ...
ATTACKS ON THE WISCONSIN VOTING SYSTEM
President Trump is criticizing Wisconsin’s voting laws which were put in place by the GOP.
“The state’s voting laws and procedures were overhauled repeatedly during eight years of GOP control of state government.” These changes began in 2011 after the Walker Administration and the Republicans gained total control of the state.
The Republicans repeatedly declared the changes were made to “improve voting integrity and ensure the public had confidence in it.”
“Republicans dissolved the body that oversees ...
TWO MORE COMMUNITIES VOTE TO GET BIG MONEY OUT OF POLITICS
In the November election, Wisconsin residents in two communities voted 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.
The referenda passed with overwhelming majorities in both Winnebago County (76%) and the town of Land O’ Lakes in Vilas County (84%).
That brings the total to 166 Wisconsin communities that have called for an amendment. In total, almost 3.2 million people (56% of Wisconsinites) live in these jurisdictions. Across the country, 20 ...
REDISTRICTING OFFERS OPPORTUNITY TO UNITE
With so much attention devoted to the presidential election, an equally important story has gotten lost in the shuffle. State GOP leaders saw the possibility to gain a super majority in the state assembly and senate, something that would have granted Republican legislators the ability to override the veto power of our governor. As it turns out, this didn’t happen.
All of the attempts at cheating just didn’t payoff for state Republicans. Somehow, despite all of the gerrymandering that happened following the 2010 Census, Democrats were able to make ...
SUPPORT THE ADRC – SUPPORT WISCONSIN
Throughout my life I would tell people that the most significant problem I suffered from was not that I am visually impaired, rather, I suffered from a severe lack of information. Since I was born with my visual impairment I am quite capable of handling that aspect of my life. Everything else though was a challenge for me. A person who has better vision can walk into an office, scan the signs on the wall or a rack full of brochures or forms and quickly find whatever they need. Not me though. I could easily miss information shown on a sign or not notice a rack of ...
OBJECTS IN THE SKY: CONJUNCTIONS – JUPITER AND SATURN
Looking low in the southwest sky at dusk this December, two bright objects stand out. The lower and brighter one is the planet Jupiter. Higher and a bit to the left is Saturn. During this past spring and summer, the apparent distance between the planets has been decreasing. On December 21, 2020, the two planets will be at their minimum separation, about 0.15° apart. This is only about one-third the width of the full moon. Jupiter and Saturn have not been this close since the year 1226 A.D. In historical perspective, Francis of Assisi died in that year and ...
HELPING THE HOMELESS
(Author’s note: This was originally written about homelessness in Duluth, Minnesota. The statistics may differ but the problems AND SOLUTIONS are similar in Wisconsin and across the country.)
"A lot of us are one paycheck away, and there's just a variety of folks that can experience homelessness. It's not just a certain group of people, and it's really important we stop characterizing people and just start helping them." Shelly Bruecken, member of the Loaves and Fishes community and homeless advocate in Duluth.
Homelessness continues to be ...
Video: Norfleet and Kilian Discuss Environmental Justice in Wausau
A video discussion on the "Brother2Brotha Who's Talking" podcast with guests Chris Norfleet and Tom Kilian. Recorded November 7, 2020, it touches on local topics such as the East Riverfront, the Wausau Mall Redevelopment, Thomas Street, and the overall need for local frameworks that foster an inclusive democracy and equity for all.
Note: Tom Kilian has served as a volunteer on Middle Wisconsin's digital efforts since 2013