Politics
WITH UNIONS, EVERYONE BENEFITS
WITH UNIONS, EVERYONE BENEFITS
The concept of Unions, workers banding together to improve their wages, hours and working conditions, has been the great equalizer for workers in the United States for over one hundred years.
Only since 1971 have the public sector workers in Minnesota had the right to bargain collectively with their employers. A group interested in forming a Union goes through an election in the workplace. If a simple majority of eligible voters decide that they want a union, then everyone must be represented equally. Workers can choose not to be a ...
OPEN RECORDS REQUEST…..ORR
OPEN RECORDS REQUEST…..ORR
This fall, Wisconsin Republicans put game-changing legislation on a fast tract. From October 21 to November 16, they dismantled the independent Government Accountability Board (GAB), changed campaign finance laws such that Wisconsin now has the loosest restrictions on dark money of any state, and exempted themselves, and only themselves, from the secret John Doe process.
I wanted to know whether Wisconsin citizens were pushing for these changes, and whether citizens’ demands compelled the fast-track approach.
From the end of October ...
TAKE-NO-PRISONERS POLITICS IS NOT NEW TO THE USA…..
TAKE-NO-PRISONERS POLITICS IS NOT NEW TO THE USA…..
Do you remember a few years ago when HBO presented the series of John and Abigail Adams? The Adams were portrayed as leaders and saviors of our fledging US democracy. HBO attempted to change the story of Adams presidency. What really happened is this:
In 1796, President John Adams and his wife Abigail brought a take-no-prisoners politics to Washington D.C. This brought fear and division into the new country. It also brought out the worst behavior in Adams’ Federalist (Republican) supporters.
In 1798, under ...
REP. SPIROS, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?
REP. SPIROS, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?
By Randy Radtke
(Randy Radtke is President of Marathon County Labor Council, AFL-CIO)
It comes as no surprise that after Governor Walker was rejected on the national level that he and his colleagues didn't waste time attacking Wisconsin workers, again. One of their most recent attacks is on the Workers' Compensation Act, a program that has worked well for over a 100 years. Workers' Compensation has worked well because both the employer and employee had a voice in the process.
One of the co-sponsors to this bill is from Central ...
WHAT WILL IT BE: GOLF OR CAFO?
Mike Keiser is a Chicago businessman and golf developer. He built a first-class golf course in Bandon, Oregon, a small town that was transformed by the golf course. Keiser is planning a Sand Valley golf course to open in northern Adams County in 2017. This area is a thriving residential/ recreation spot that can attract many tourists through the new Sand Valley Golf Resort.
This soil in this area is sandy and water permeates rapidly. Many years ago, this land was at the bottom of an ancient glacial lake. Such soil is easily polluted. A golf course would work on this ...
ATTACK ON WISCONSIN’S GOOD GOVERNMENT
Good government in Wisconsin is under attack. At the beginning of October, Wisconsin served as a national model for clean and transparent government. By the end of the month, our government was on the verge of being open for corruption after Assembly Republicans rammed through legislation that decimated our state’s campaign and governmental oversights.
Perhaps the most self-serving piece of legislation that Republicans passed during this time was AB 68, which exempts political crimes from the John Doe investigation and prosecution process. This law creates one set of ...
NEW AND FREE! – LISTEN TO MIKE MCCABE PODCASTS FROM EIGHTY NINE.NINE FM, MADISON, WI
Listen below to Mike McCabe from Blue Jean Nation giving short weekly commentaries for the radio program Democracy Checkup from EIGHTY NINE.NINE FM in Madison, Wisonsin
Click here to get more information and shows directly from this community radio station.
THE RIFLE
Born in the late 40’s, I grew up in a family of hunters. Fair shots most of them, I remember standing next to my father when a spooked buck crossed our path at a dead run. Dad shot twice, hit twice, and the buck went down. It was near Hatfield, in central Wisconsin.
Dad’s rifle was an old, iron sight, pump action, 30 Remington. It has killed (we kill deer – corn and oats are harvested) a few deer since my father died in ‘94. My sons have used the rifle. It was never a popular caliber and bullets are no longer manufactured for it. I have about 35 left – should ...
REMEMBER ARMISTICE DAY ON NOVEMBER 11
WWI was “the war to end all wars.” It was one of the most unnecessary wars in human history. Historians still try to figure out why it was fought. Ten million people died. Another 20 million were wounded. There have been many wars since.
What the war did do was create a strong desire for peace by ordinary people. Especially in Europe, where the impact of the war was felt most, there was an unprecedented effort to prevent future wars.
The fighting ended on November 11, 1918 and that day became Armistice Day. It was an international holiday to remember the war and ...
TWISTED FIRST AMENDMENT
Matt Rothschild of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign recently spoke at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center near Ashland.
One topic he talked about was the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision dismissing the John Doe case involving Governor Walker, a case that Wisconsin Attorney General Schimel criticized. Rothschild recently asked AG Schimel about the decision, pointing out that it legalized coordination between candidates and outside groups, leaving in ruins our ability to enforce meaningful campaign contribution limits and disclosure rules.
Rothschild gave Schimel ...
