Opinion


Ayn Rand, Narcissism and Democracy

Ayn Rand (Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum) was an influential fiction writer. Her best sellers were “The Fountainhead” (1943) and “Atlas Shrugged” (1957). She was a Russian who reacted to the crushing uniformity under communism in Russia. She also saw the same dangers in the right-wing fascism of Hitler’s Nazism in Germany. The protagonists in her novels found freedom through the expression of their individualism. Determined to forge their own way, they not only rejected the conformity of totalitarian regimes, but also, the values of living in a community. If one is ...

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Union Busting is Disgusting

Union busting is not only disgusting, but also illegal. You have the right to organize in your workplace. Today several of us from the Marathon County Central Labor Council found ourselves at Starbucks in Plover. What brought us there was the illegal dismissal of a 21-year-old employee, Kolton. The reason for his termination was that he’d broken company rules by being in the back of the store while he was off the clock and being present in April after the store closed when he was off the clock. Kolton admits to this but also states the store policies are selecti...

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On the very triggering, but oh so important topic of diet

If I am eating something, I want to be in the moment. It gives my brain a chance to process what I am doing so that it is less likely for me to go overboard

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The art of never giving up

A single candle can be seen for miles.

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The chaos of constant toxic competition must end

Honestly, there are times when I feel like I should self-censure and retreat into a reclusive existence for the sake of self-preservation.

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Stop being so serious!

Growing up I understood that adults lived in a very different world than kids. While both adults and kids had responsibilities, they were different.

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A message from the editor

In our last edition, I wrote a couple of stories that reflected my mood. Sometimes, with all of the wicked problems the world faces these days, it can just get to a person. The news is often depressing, but I felt more frustrated than anything because while wicked problems are tough to solve, so many of them could have been prevented.

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Trump COVID: Get vaccinated

I realize that many people are afraid of getting the shot. Many people in this country are afraid of vaccinations in general, and not completely without reason.

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New regulations carry the promise of under-enforcement

This lack of enforcement is nothing new. The big difference in the circumstance of the mask mandate is that the decision not to enforce was politically motivated.

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Stepping back is hard to do

When you decide to step away from something you feel is important, it is much like when you have a sudden onset disability. The change in your life is disruptive. You find yourself itching for the old routine and sometimes slip into autopilot even months after. This is normal. These routines have been reinforced through years of training and it takes time to weaken the neural pathways you created in your brain. You will create new pathways as you build up a new routine. That is what our brain does.

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