History
The Jefferson Project: Thomas Jefferson’s Death Day and a Fourth of July Remembrance
Back in the mid-1980s, an outfit called Anvil Press published a book of mine. Its title was—still is—Nature’s Unruly Mob: Farming and the Crisis in Rural Culture. The topic (or its urgency) hasn’t gone away.
Anvil Press printed the book as a special issue of its occasional quarterly magazine, North Country Anvil. The magazine was full of larger-issue farm news and analysis, and it made the Anvil shop a hub and gathering spot for farm activists—all this in southeastern Minnesota, in a village called Millville, nestled below limestone bluffs, through which the ...
Profiles in Patriotism
In my writing I have frequently questioned the false narratives and harmful beliefs fostered by politicians and the media on our patriotic holidays. Why is patriotism considered the highest virtue? Why is military service always portrayed as the ultimate in patriotism? Why are other public servants who sacrifice for others not honored as patriots? Why is constructive criticism of our country branded as unpatriotic? Why isn't patriotic fervor used to mobilize people for good change instead of wars?
Historian Howard Zinn taught us that “dissent is the highest form of ...
JUST MONEY FOUR
Money and wealth are not the same thing.
Money is simply a medium of exchange – a legally accepted claim to wealth. Money doesn’t exist in nature and is generally created out of thin air by the central governments of nations. In our modern world 97% of money doesn’t physically exist. It’s just record keeping on computer screens. The distribution of money – who possesses it – determines the allocation and distribution of the wealth of a nation.
Wealth is the physical ability to provide for the wellbeing of the people of a society. Wealth is food, clothing, ...
On Tolerance
Tolerance is essential to our society. But intolerance is increasing in our country. People are increasing divided over religion, politics, ethnicity, race, sexuality and, it seems, just about everything. With the celebration of Juneteenth it seems appropriate to revisit this important topic. This article was originally written in 2017 but is, unfortunately, still relevant.
“Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” President John F. Kennedy
“Tolerance is giving to every other ...
The Address of an Uninvited Keynote Speaker
I wrote the following in one fell swoop after receiving a call from a young friend. He was relaying a tentative invitation—or the possibility of a tentative invitation—that immediately excited me into eight hand-written pages without a pee break. That was quite an accomplishment for an old man.
Well, the possible tentative invitation fell through. It failed to materialize. I’m not sure why. My inner hermit was relieved. My constricted soapbox manager was, at least for a while, beside himself with deflated bubbles.
But here are the hastily scribbled pages, ...
Manufacturing Enemies
“Once weapons were manufactured to fight wars. Now wars are manufactured to sell weapons.” Arundhati Roy, novelists, human rights and environmental activist.
In order to manufacture wars one must also manufacture enemies. Over the years, our government has been remarkably prolific at manufacturing enemies. Most of these alleged enemies were not a threat to our “national security” in any significant way. Most of these enemies did not have the military, economic or logistical capacity to be a serious threat to anyone. But these enemies did provide the excuse for ...
FOR HUMANITY’S SAKE – SEE THE OBVIOUS
When the United States places missiles on Russia’s borders that can incinerate Moscow and St. Petersburg in 5-7 minutes, and Russia does not place any missiles near US borders, it is the United States that is being “aggressive.” Not Russia. This is obvious. But the Orwellian message that has been foisted on Americans by all major media for years has been: “Russian aggression!” “Russian aggression!” “Putin is a monster!”
When the United States spends $5 billion in 2014 to orchestrate a violent coup in Ukraine to overthrow the democratically elected ...
Women for Women Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
Women for Women
Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 6 PM
Women for Women is extremely fortunate to have Tricia Zunker as our guest speaker on Thursday, April 6th, at 6 PM. She will speak to an issue we all should be aware of and strive to address; the horrible issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Tricia's background is astounding. She has been an Associate Justice of the HO-Chunk Nation Supreme Court since 2013. She has also served as President of the Wausau School Board, is founding director of Central Wisconsin Indigenous Peoples' Day Committee ...