The Great Bamboozle Begins
If you read or listened to President Trump’s inaugural address you may have been surprised by what he had to say. At first blush it sounds progressive! He calls for returning power to the people. He says “a nation exists to serve its citizens.” He expresses concern for working people and calls for broadly sharing the wealth.
“For too long, a small group in our nation's Capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished -- but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered -- but the jobs left, ...
C’mon Now – Let’s Work Together
Pledging to "drain the swamp" during a presidential campaign is an effective metaphor which captures the widespread frustration people have with our current political system. Now we’re all mad because our government is broken. Everyone sees that the big-money corruption in our election system is not serving us well. What has happened?
The Supreme Court has given constitutional rights meant only for individuals to artificial entities such as corporations and unions and has ruled that money spent to influence the political process cannot be limited. Thus, our government ...
IT’S ABOUT MORE THAN MONEY
Public education in Wisconsin should provide high quality learning for ALL children no matter who they are or where they live,” Eau Claire School Board President Chris Hambuch-Boyle recently told me.
Chris and education leaders across the state read with interest details of the Governor’s plan for our next state budget. Governor Walker gave money to a number of new initiatives and reaped the praise of some education leaders.
The plan picks and chooses among various proposals advanced over the last few years. Some new programs are funded and some existing programs ...
A SWORD CUTS BOTH WAYS
For decades, the religious right has gained access to tax dollars by filling a niche in the education system. In addressing an ‘at risk’ population among children, these religious activists have made great strides toward the use of tax dollars for religious instruction.
It’s a clever end-run around the law. In Arkansas until 2012, a quietly growing swarm of such preschools illegally utilized millions of tax dollars for programs that began each day with prayer and Bible study. (Which they have never been required to pay back.) Classroom activities included coloring ...
NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER
From the White House we hear the incessant lies, and subsequent views from those who try to explain them away as “alternate facts.” This is sufficient if you live in an “alternate universe.”
However, the world of the alt-right is the golden ring for S. Bannon and S. Miller. It is a very dark, neo- fascist word view envisioned by these individuals. For them the “ends justify the means.” This end goal leads to a world ruled under an Alt-right ideology, which would manifest the most despicable realities that our country and the civilized world fought to stop ...
WEALTH AND MONEY PART XXVIII: THE WRONG WAY TO FINANCE INFRASTRUCTURE
On June 29th, 1956 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 and the U.S. interstate highway system, the greatest public works project in world history, was born. This occurred only a few short years after America had invested millions upon millions of dollars in World War II and government debt was at an all-time high.
But dollars and wealth are not the same thing. Following the war America was the unquestioned industrial leader of the world. We had unprecedented capacity to produce true wealth – the products and services of an ...
CANDIDATES FOR WISCONSIN SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
Tomorrow is the primary election for a very important position in Wisconsin, the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Since 1848 Wisconsin supported an independent state school superintendent. The constitution believes that this position should be elected by state voters. Be sure you vote tomorrow in the primary election and April 4 in the general election.
For information on voter registration, voter identification requirements, and to see a sample ballot or find your polling place, visit:
https://MyVote.wi.gov
There are three announced candidates and one ...
ON THE BOOKSHELF
(This article looks at World without Us by Alan Weisman)
“If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.”
E.O. Wilson, biologist and author
“You share 25% of your genes with a banana. Get over yourself.” Bumper sticker
Supposedly when asked what the study of nature told him about God, the biologist J. B. S. Haldane said, "The Creator must have an inordinate fondness for beetles. He made so many ...
TROTTING OUT THE WHIPPING BOY
For as long as there have been politicians, there have been whipping boys. Politicians need someone to punish for their own shortcomings.
No one is better with the whip than Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. He is highly skilled in the use of divide-and-conquer tactics, a master at pitting one group of struggling and vulnerable people against another. It’s his favorite play, the governor’s political equivalent of Vince Lombardi’s Power Sweep or USC’s famed “Student Body Right.”
Walker turns to this page in his playbook repeatedly, whenever he’s feeling ...
A POLITICIAN TO KEEP ME SAFE
I want a politician who will keep me safe:
- You are 35,079 times more likely to die from heart disease than from a terrorist attack
I want my politicians to invest my tax dollars into publicly funded medical research on how to reduce heart disease and other common health problems. The funds for this can be taken from the rogue US military and Dept. of Homeland “Security.” I want my politicians to keep me safe.
- You are 33,842 times more likely to die from cancer than from a terrorist attack
“The United States health care system is the most expensive in ...
