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Ban the Bomb
Seventy two years ago, the United States became the first and only country to use nuclear weapons on civilians. On August 6 and 9, 1945 we bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people.
We tell ourselves it was necessary. It was to save lives and end the war. We tell ourselves that nuclear weapons kept us safe during the Cold War and are necessary for our “defense” today. But these rationalizations ring hollow when examined closely. There were alternatives in 1945, and there are alternatives today to perpetuating the threat of a ...
“LOVING US” POWWOW ENCOURAGES RECOVERY
“I lost my granddaughter to heroin addiction,” Anita told me. “We’ve lost so many people,” Tena added.
Recently, former Marine Tena Quackenbush and her friends, including Quincy Garvin, Jasime Funmaker, Lori Pettibone, Cindy Ward hosted a gathering to promote and encourage recovery from addiction, especially the scourge of heroin addiction.
Ms. Quackenbush started #StoptheStigma, an organization with a mission to stop the stigma of addiction. She was joined by members of “Natives Against Heroin” in hosting the event.
“Wogixete Wi” was a ...
Ruminations on Foxconn
The giant electronics manufacturer Foxconn has announced it will locate in Wisconsin. It supposedly plans to spend $10 billion to create a “campus” to build LCD panels. The politicians were, of course, tripping over themselves to get in on the photo op. But I wonder if the old adage applies: “If it sounds too good to be true...it probably is.”
The announcement was held at the White House. Foxconn CEO Terry Gou, President Trump, Governor Walker, and House Speaker Paul Ryan were in attendance. Trump, with typical arrogance, said it wouldn't have happened if he ...
ARE YOU AN ANIMAL?
Are you an animal? Does your employer or former employer see you as an animal and treat you like one? Would your employer hire an animal trainer from a zoo to train you and keep you in line? Does your employer surround the top of the building with netting to keep you from jumping off and committing suicide because the working conditions are brutal?
Are you, the tax payer, willing to mortgage and yoke yourself to a foreign company for over $3 billion without any return to the tax payers for the next 25 years or more? Each Wisconsin household will pay $1200 to this ...
FREEDOM SUMMER
You've heard of "Democracy Spring"? This is an invitation to participate in a "Freedom Summer" - progressive freedom, that is! For those of you who aren't current subscribers to my Progressive Values Messaging service, you are missing a great opportunity to participate in our "Freedom Summer."
In order to counter the current authoritarian in the White House, progressives need to start communicating freedom from our perspective - where we feel a moral sense of responsibility for the freedom of others. After all, democracy isn't just about you, or me, it's about all of ...
One Veteran’s Perspective on the Vietnam Memorial Wall
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall was in Superior July 20-23rd. The 250 foot, half scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has more than 58,000 names of those American service members who were killed in Vietnam.
It was billed as “The Wall That Heals.” The wall in Washington, D.C. is one of the most visited monuments in the capitol. For many visitors the physical act of touching the name of a loved one, relative, or a buddy served with, helps heal the sorrow, guilt, PTSD, and memories of the war.
But is the wall about “healing?” Or is it another effort ...
THE SUMMIT IS AROUND THE CORNER
With budget negotiations still stalled, a pile of troubling legislation on deck at the Capitol, and our schools facing more budget uncertainty than ever, the time to unite to stand up for our students and their public schools is now.
Wisconsin Public Education Network's 3rd Annual Summer Summit is your invitation to come together.
Register today and be a part of the public education event of the year.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9 AT LAKE MILLS HIGH SCHOOL
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The agenda has something for everyone: from veteran teachers, board members, administrators and ...
Ruminations on Mowing Grass
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Mathew 6:28 & 29
I thought of this the other day when I was mowing grass. The wood violets were in full bloom all over the yard. I paused to “consider” the wild flowers of the field. They don't have to toil. They just come up with the spring rains. Neither did I have to buy them, plant them, weed them, or all the rest of the work of making a garden. I had just helped my ...
QUOTATIONS
“May we think of freedom not as the right to do as we please but as the opportunity to do what is right.” By Peter Marshall
Reclaiming This Nation Starts With Reclaiming Our Attention
"Obsessing over tweets doesn’t count as civic duty. It’s rubbernecking, not awareness building, and it’s making us feel more disconnected than ever before. Reclaiming this nation starts with reclaiming our attention, our daily media practices, our everyday conversations." By Courtney Martin
The Spirituality of the Ordinary Is Luminous
"Awe is such a quintessentially ...
CHANGE OF HEART?
The other day I was reading Krista Tippett’s blog ON BEING. I was surprised that she interviewed Glenn Beck who says he has had a change of heart. Beck has acknowledged his role in the damaged state of our nation.
Krista Tippett spoke with Glenn on May 11, 2017 as part of her Civil Conversation project. They talked about what it will take to heal the divisions in our nation.
Glenn Beck now broadcasts on The Blaze, a multi-platform news and entertainment network that he founded.
Beck is concerned that Donald Trump could go totalitarian, but he may be a “decent ...
