301 results for author: Phil Anderson
Social Security is on the Ballot
Social Security works for all Americans. Social Security is essential to most people's present and future financial security. It is much more than retirement income for old folks. Social Security is very efficient with overhead costs which are way below those of private insurance companies. It is also very popular and the most successful public program in our history.
So why are Republican politicians constantly trying to mess around with Social Security? Even more inexplicable, why do so many people, who benefit from Social Security, continue to vote for Republicans?
Social Security is on the ballot in November and, if Republicans win ...
Taxes, Debt and War
“War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes.” President James Madison (1751-1836)
Today well over half the discretionary federal budget (your income tax dollars) go for war, weapons of war and the bureaucracies of war – the “armies” from which “proceed debt and taxes.” A large percentage of the national debt is the result of Pentagon spending and the cost of wars. We spend more on “defense” than the next 10 military powers in the world combined (and most of those ten are our allies).
In 1953 President Dwight Eisenhower said, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in ...
Perfect Is The Enemy of The Good
“We’d all like to vote for the best man, but he’s never a candidate.” Kin Hubbard (1868-1930), an American cartoonist, humorist and journalist.
“How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?” Anonymous
I have been reading about and hearing from progressive's who are not happy with President Biden. He is too old, too corporate, too harsh on immigrants, too soft on environmental issues and most significantly he is a war monger. He got us into another no-win war in Ukraine. Even worse he is complicit in the crimes against humanity being perpetrated by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank.
All this ...
We Can’t Soar With Turkeys
“It’s hard to soar with the eagles when you’re surrounded by turkeys.” This saying is insulting to turkeys. The wild turkeys in my neighborhood are beautiful, intelligent birds with strong and adaptable survival skills. Perhaps this is why Ben Franklin proposed having the turkey as our national bird.
The eagles are also survivors, having come back from near extension because of DDT, a man made chemical. Today my wife and I often see them “soaring” at a roadside carcass to gorge on carrion. This is not the noble, patriotic image we associate with eagles. But who am I to criticize? I too have occasionally dined on roadkill.
But this ...
Who has better policy ideas?
Wisconsin Assembly majority leader Robin Vos claims that Republicans have “better policy ideas for the State of Wisconsin.” He claims this will allow Republicans to continue winning elections for the legislature. But he was only putting a positive spin on being forced to accept Gov. Evers more democratic redistricting maps.
Republicans may continue to win elections despite no longer having as many gerrymandered “safe” districts. But they will not win because they have “better policy ideas.” If they win it will be because they are better at manipulating the public using fear, divisiveness, misinformation and huge amounts of dirty money for ...
Wisconsin Happenings
The big story in Wisconsin is the new Assembly and Senate district maps. For a decade Wisconsin has had the most gerrymandered electoral districts in the country. The Republican legislature, fearing the Wisconsin Supreme Court creating a map, reluctantly passed Gov. Evers' redistricting plan – the least democratic option of those before the Court. Gov. Evers signed the bill and Wisconsin now has a much more competitive and democratic political landscape.
This didn't happen because Republicans were willing to compromise to resolve the redistricting controversy. Nor were they acting in the best interests of Wisconsin citizens. It was simply another ...
Honest Debate vs Political Spin
As I have pointed out in prior articles, Rep. Tom Tiffany's positions on most issues are misguided and not in the best interests of most of his constituents. Tiffany's positions on the environment are especially harmful. His thinking is founded in partisan talking points and not good science, knowledge, and the history or what is actually happening to the environment.
I am not being partisan in making these statements. When one examines Tiffany's own words, and compares them with the facts from reliable sources, it becomes very clear he is either misinformed, ignorant or deliberately distorting the truth for political advantage. Below are just two ...
Everybody wants to use God…
“You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” Anne Lamott, American contemporary author.
“The will of God (or Allah) is the passing off of the responsibility of mankind.” Unknown source
“Religious freedom exists to safeguard the right to practice religion free from persecution... Practicing religion is about what you do or don’t do, not about controlling what others do.” Dale Richter, writing in the blog host website Medium.com
Recent national and world events demonstrate the dangers of mixing religious dogma and public policies. The continuing massacre ...
We Share the Blame…
“Is it for freedom or our comfort and convenience?
Is it to profit for big business we pledge our allegiance?
Are we prisoners in the land of the brave and the bold?
Held by indifference, our hearts grown hard and cold?
From Sara Thomsen's song “Is It For Freedom.”
As a nation, our hearts have become hard and cold to the killing of innocent people all over the world. We are so accustomed to our government constantly bombing someone, somewhere that we can not see the humanity of the victims. Claiming to be defending freedom, democracy or protecting “national security” we have become prisoners of militarism. We ...