301 results for author: Phil Anderson

Ruminations on a happy new year

“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” Tom Bodett, author, and NPR personality. “Happy New Year” is one of the meaningless Hallmark platitudes of the season. You hear the greeting from friends and strangers. It is in the shopping mall Christmas music tape loop. The cards you get from the power company or your dentist wish you happiness. For a few weeks everyone is full of good will and peace on earth. At least until January 2nd. All humans seem to seek happiness. We are social animals with a propensity to smile, laugh, sing, create art, ...

A New Day in Wisconsin?

“What’s best for our kids, is what’s best for our state and our democracy.” Governor elect Tony Evers, 2018 "Well, we're going to start in a couple weeks with our budget adjustment bill. The first step is we're going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer." Governor Scott Walker talking to billionaire campaign contributor Diane Hendricks about getting rid of unions and making Wisconsin a “completely red state,” January 18, 2011 (emphasis added) “It is a new day in Wisconsin.” Tony Evers after being elected governor The contrast in priorities between Governor-...

Hate in America

Driving around the Northland you can see the confederate flag displayed on vehicles. Do you ever wonder what motivates a person to display this symbol of racism and hate? This isn't the Deep South. Wisconsin and Minnesota men fought proudly for the Union, and we have a very small minority community. Why would anyone want, or feel the need, to publicly display this hateful southern symbol? The confederate battle flag IS a symbol of hate. It is not merely an expression of pride in their “southern heritage,” as the apologists claim. Magnolia blossoms, mint juleps, and fried chicken don't come to mind when you see this symbol. This flag reminds us ...

Don’t Celebrate – Organize

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” Frederick Douglass “Don't mourn – organize.” Joe Hill, labor activist We, thankfully, don't have to mourn the last election. But the job is not done. Now is not the time to kick back and wait for the next election. This would be tempting and we all need a rest from politics. But, progressives must continue to oppose the destructive policies of Republicans and to push Democrats to do what is needed for people. Don't celebrate – organize. Democrats made some gains in the last election. Wisconsin elected a number of champions for the people including Tony Earl as Governor, and Mandela ...

Leadership to Move Forward

The struggle is not over. The blue wave was successful in many places across the country. But it was not a tsunami. It did not wash away all the obstacles to building a better, more just America. The good news is we no longer have complete Republican control in Wisconsin and nationally. The downside is that we have a divided government, and legislative gridlock will be the likely result. But this does not mean we can't move forward with a progressive agenda. There is a positive path forward that can build on the success of this election. We can continue the process of building grassroots support for a progressive agenda in preparation for 2020. ...

Wisconsin’s Other Choices

Electing a governor or president gets a lot of press attention. Voters have plenty of opportunity to learn about these candidates. But in a federal system of government, like ours, other state and local offices are also important. Too often these “down ballot” candidates don't get the attention they deserve. Often people going to the polls don't even know who is running for these offices. They don't know the qualifications, political philosophy, or agenda of these candidates. They don't know what difference one candidate or the other might make. In short, they can't vote knowledgeably. This article is for voters in northwest Wisconsin. It looks ...

More Wisconsin Choices November 6th

This article is for voters of northwest Wisconsin and continues our look at the other candidates on the November 6th ballot. Wisconsin Assembly Democrat Nick Milroy is the incumbent in the 73rd Assembly district (most of Douglas County). He has been elected to three terms and is unopposed in this election. Nick has been a biology teacher and has worked as a biologist for state, federal, and tribal agencies. Nick is a strong advocate for people and the environment. Beth Meyers is the Democratic, two term incumbent representative for Assembly district 74 (Bayfield, Ashland, Iron and Price and parts of Douglas counties). She has been a social ...

Causes of Poverty

History often repeats itself but we seldom learn from the past. The Gilded Age is being repeated. A tiny few have unprecedented fortunes while many working people stay in poverty and the middle class is shrinking. Today Victorian attitudes about the poor still hold sway in 21st century America. In Victorian England “respectable” people believed the poor were poor because of their laziness and moral failings. They were in poverty because they didn't work hard enough. This is a commonly held belief in modern America. Today many politicians repeat the same false belief that people are poor because of their own behavior. Immigrants are rapists and ...

Socialism Supports the Troops… So Why Not the Rest of Us?

This year a number of candidates for state and national offices are running as democratic socialists. Many of these candidates are women and minorities. AND they are being successful in the primary elections! It appears that younger voters are looking for real solutions to our problems and are not as susceptible to meaningless attack ad labels. Bernie Sanders is a democratic socialist. But Bernie does not intend to change the structure of the economy. Rather he simply advocates making the economy work better by being more inclusive. His support for universal healthcare, affordable college, regulation of Wall Street, and increasing the minimum wage ...

A Tale of Two States

“It's the economy stupid.” James Carville, aide to Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential race. In the Wisconsin election for governor the state of the economy is a big issue. Governor Scott Walker claims to be improving the state's economy and making Wisconsin “open for business” with his conservative policies. But prosperity has not trickled down to many working people or to many areas of the state. Minnesota took a different path and the results have been better. Who gets elected does make a difference in the lives of people. Wisconsin voters should take note of these differences. Wisconsin and Minnesota are very similar in many ...