Family & Community
ON THE BOOKSHELVES… “Wisconsin Bucket List: 100 Ways to Have a Real Wisconsin Experience”
“In my opinion, it is entirely possible that America’s Dairyland was once a shooting star
that traveled from the Milky Way and landed in the heartland of our great nation.”
— Kelly Jo Stull, author of The Wisconsin Bucket List
Looking for a home-grown GRADUATION, RETIREMENT, or FATHER'S DAY GIFT to kick off the summer travel season?
Wisconsin Bucket List: 100 Ways to Have a Real Wisconsin Experience is a compendium of 100 iconic Wisconsin attractions that will warm your heart as you laugh and nod in recognition of your own childhood memories and musings...
World War I Centennial
Thousands of soldiers with bayoneted rifles going “over the top” of a barb-wired, rat infested trench. Ever onward, soldiers fall to the left, to the right, in front and back mowed down by enemy gunfire while crossing ever more trenches into “No man’s land.”
Hundreds of dead soldiers lying face down amidst the trees in a forest.
Row after row of hospital beds filled with wounded soldiers tended by Red Cross nurses.
Blackened corpses lying in a hastily dug grave. Soldiers in gas masks. The ghastly scenes of gas warfare.
Millions of ...
Moral Monday: Enough is Enough
“Enough is enough. She’s innocent. She didn’t bother nobody” as yet another innocent girl’s life hangs in the balance after being shot in the crossfire of gunmen while on the playground at Clarke Street Elementary School in Milwaukee on May 21st.
The father, Onjaun Guyton, says, “Enough is enough” and holds the sobbing mother of 10 year old, Sierra Guyton.
“Think about that: A 10-year old shot on her school playground. What kind of world allows that to happen?”
Another father, Richard Martinezs, pleads on national television to please ...
The Global Fast Food Workers Strike
As many are aware, the global fast food workers strike took place this past May 15th. There were participants all over America. Citizens of all ages and backgrounds took part, and these were some of the comments from the courageous individuals who marched in Wausau:
“What 15 & a union means to me: Protection from wage theft and income inequality.
As a worker, I’ve seen wage theft happen first hand. Whether it’s not getting paid during training, taking out the trash on breaks, or even counting registers off of the clock, these are all forms of wage theft ...
Honor the Fallen by Working for Peace
On Memorial Day we remember our military dead and honor their sacrifice. But we do not honor veterans by lying to ourselves about why they died.
Many Americans believe we are “free” because of the military and the sacrifice of our troops. “Got freedom? Thank a Vet!” This is a nice sound bite, but it is not true.
This slogan only blinds us to the real causes of war. It promotes the next war. It justifies the war industry and maintains recruiting. It is misleading because it assumes that only veterans have protected our freedoms. And it assumes our numerous ...
Moral Monday: Discovering the Penokees
EDITORS' NOTE: "Moral Mondays" is a movement founded by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II to identify interconnected social and moral issues, and the people, movements, and organizations working to address these problems. "Moral Monday" is a weekly feature in Middle Wisconsin.
Moral Monday in the Penokees
By Joyce Luedke
An Open Letter to Senator Jerry Petrowski
After reading the book Discovering the Penokees by Joel Austin, Joyce sent a copy of the book and this letter to Senator Jerry Petrowski.
Dear Senator Petrowski:
Please share this book, Discovering the ...
Contraceptive Coverage & the Supreme Court
The stately Lady Justice sits beneath the Supreme Court inscription: “EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW.”
Advocates at the national family planning conference visited our elected officials this week. As I passed Lady Justice, I thought about the pending case on contraceptive insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Much of the public is weary of this tedious and endless debate on women’s health and women’s rights. But if the court’s motto is not to become an epitaph for equality for women, individual constitutional rights in these most intimate and ...
Why Women Should Support Women (written by a MAN!)
It's amazing that in 2014 we're still fighting over equality for WOMEN.
Equal pay for women is an example. This seems like a simple issue of fairness and family values. Women do make less than men for the same work. Women are the primary breadwinners in many families. Yet Gov. Walker ended the state equal pay law. This week the Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked DEBATE on the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have helped women fight unequal pay.
But it doesn't stop with pay. Opposition to health care reform impacts women more than men. So do attacks on voting ...
WHAT DOES THE FARM BILL MEAN?
In February, the US Congress passed the Farm Bill in the amount of $958.6 Billion. This money will be spent in the next ten years. Its official title is the Agriculture Act of 2014. US farmers make up less than 2 per cent of the population. Why do they receive so much money?
According to the Wisconsin Farmers Union, this legislation is really about food and nutrition. Seventy per-cent of the funds will support SNAP, WIC and the U.S. school lunch program. SNAP is the federal food stamp program, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. WIC is the public ...
How Is Wisconsin Faring?
1. Job Growth:
Wisconsin is ninth out of the 10 Midwestern states in private sector job growth. Only Illinois ranks lower.
Wisconsin is 32nd in all job growth from 2011 through 2013.
A job analysis by the Wisconsin State Journal shows Wisconsin, in 2010, ranked 16th in private sector job growth under Democratic Governor Doyle. At the end of 2013, Wisconsin ranked 36th.
Wisconsin ranks 45th in projected job growth.
Wisconsin placed 2nd in job losses during the month of February 9,500 jobs in the public and private sector were ...
