LOGGING THE BRULE RIVER
“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
-- Aldo Leopold
“I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.”
-- Dr. Seuss in “The Lorax”
The Brule River State Forest is going through a 15-year Master Plan review. It is also dealing with a state mandate to increase the available acreage for logging. Is this the best use of our public forests? Is it good for the health of the forest? ...
WEALTH AND MONEY PART XXIV: WEALTH AND ANTIWEALTH
“Humanity has the option to become successful on our planet if we reorient world production away from weaponry - - - - from killingry to livingry.” - - Buckminster Fuller
Fuller used the terms “livingry” and “killingry” to describe alternate paths in utilizing Earth’s physical resources and human intellect. “Livingry” supported life and planetary health while “killingry” was harmful to both. In keeping with the concepts of this “Wealth and Money” series, the terms “livingry” and “killingry” could also be called “wealth” ...
ALT-RIGHT….THE WHITE SUPREMACY GROUP BUILDING NEW CONSERVATISM
Alt-Right sounds like “all right.” But it is NOT all right. Not at all.
This movement, found in the USA as well as Europe, accuses older conservatives of selling out their countries to foreigners.
In 2008 Richard Bertrand Spencer coined the term Alternative Right, based on “white identity and the preservation of “Western Civilization.” Spencer leads the white nationalist think tank National policy Institute. Alt-Right rejects egalitarianism and universalism.
From the National Policy institute column, February 2014, “Immigration is a kind a proxy ...
QUOTATIONS….
“The only thing stronger than fear is hope.”…UN Refugee Agency
“In the big scheme of things, is the purpose of having a Christian faith primarily for gaining political power, or creating and enforcing laws, or hoarding wealth, Or living as comfortable a life as possible? Or is it ultimately about bettering and saving humanity?” Stephen Mattson
“Grit is not just having resilience in the face of failure, but also having deep commitments that you remain loyal to over many years.”—Angela Duckworth
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that ...
NORTHWOODS HUNTING HERITAGE
Minnesota's rifle hunting season is open and Wisconsin's is two weeks away. Minnesota Public Radio had a fluff piece this week on the “tradition” of the hunting camp with all its camaraderie and wholesome family bonding. The nostalgia is nice but it seems like our outdoors heritage is being replaced by a virulent gun centered paranoia. Hunting is declining in popularity while gun sales are increasing. Most of the new gun ownership is being driven by a small minority of 2nd amendment nuts.
This change is illustrated by an encounter I had last year with several ...
THE RIFLE
By Dave Svetlik
(reprinted from January 27, 2015 MW issue)
Born in the late 40’s, I grew up in a family of hunters. Fair shots most of them, I remember standing next to my father when a spooked buck crossed our path at a dead run. Dad shot twice, hit twice, and the buck went down. It was near Hatfield, in central Wisconsin.
Dad’s rifle was an old, iron sight, pump action, 30 Remington. It has killed (we kill deer – corn and oats are harvested) a few deer since my father died in ‘94. My sons have used the rifle. It was never a popular caliber and bullets ...
LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP: KNOW THE EFFECTS OF SELF-INSURANCE BEFORE ADOPTING
The Walker Administration is racing to complete final work on adopting a self-insurance program for the 2017-2019 biennial budget. The lure is more than $42 million in potential annual savings promised by Segal Consulting, the consultant to the Group Insurance Board (GIB). While there is nothing wrong with looking at ways to save money, there is something wrong when doing it to the exclusion of considering the adverse effects of such a change.
The health insurance marketplace is extremely complex and inter-connected: pull it here and something moves over there. To ...
GET BIG MONEY OUT OF POLITICS
By Wisconsin United to Amend
Eighteen Wisconsin communities voted with overwhelming majorities on Tuesday, November 8th, Wisconsin 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.
All referenda passed with overwhelming majorities: Rock County (86%), Reedsburg (86%), Manitowoc (81%), Delafield (79%), Neshkoro (88%), New Glarus (88%), Spring Valley (91%), Osceola (86%), Mt. Horeb (84%), Monticello (86%), Clayton (86%) and the towns of New Glarus (83%), Harris (65%), ...
WEALTH AND MONEY PART XXIII: PIE IN THE SKY??
“Powerful enemies must be out-fought and out-produced. It is not enough to turn out just a few more planes, a few more tanks, a few more guns, a few more ships than can be turned out by our enemies. We must out-produce them overwhelmingly, so that there can be no question of our ability to provide a crushing superiority of equipment in any theatre of the world war.”
- - President Franklin D. Roosevelt speaking to Congress and the nation after Pearl Harbor.
The United States Army ranked thirty-ninth in the world in 1939. It had a cavalry of fifty thousand ...
QUOTATIONS
“Beneath the shouting, there is suffering.
Beneath the anger, there is fear.
Beneath the threats, there are broken hearts.
Start there and we may get somewhere.”
By Parker Palmer
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“Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything. That is how the light gets in.”
By Leonard Cohen
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Gwen Ifill was a journalist who worked “to bring light rather than heat to the issues.”
The Week, November 18, 2016
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