CORONAVIRUS AND ECONOMICS
Humans, us, we, are at a crossroads, a critical juncture in our evolution on a lonely planet, voyaging through the Universe. A mindless, moral-less, belief-less, dangerous, microscopic virus is bringing us great clarity if we allow ourselves to see. It cares not what we “believe,” cares not our “economic” ideology, cares not our ethnicity or location on the globe, cares not who thinks themselves a “chosen,” a “special” people. A mindless virus is telling us - - - we, the people of Planet Earth, travel together. We succeed together – we fail together. No ...
GREED – THE TRUE DISEASE
The recent revelations of “insider trading” tactics employed by some members of Congress as they learned about the severity of COVID-19 only scratch the surface of the depth of the true disease in our country and much of the rest of the world. It spread quietly and slowly with little fanfare and only noticed by marginalized populations around the world.This disease is greed. It is more insidious than COVID-19, more contagious and much more deadly. Greed has landlords believing that they have the right to evict people when they cannot pay their rent while they are ...
WISCONSIN SPRING SONNET
In spring when winter keeps a stealthy gripBlack crow on carrion feeds in country ditchEast wind maintains a daily wicked whipNightfall the coyote cries its tensive pitch The auburn cow, she seeks a place to layAlong the rusted barbwire hedgerow pathA thicket keeps the icy wind at bayThe morning sun reveals a newborn calf How does the singing April robin thrive?The mottled starlings raid the farmers’ grainThe buntings left for slopes to swoop and diveBrave stands the crane head bowed in driving rain ...
THE HUNTING DOGS OF ORION
Orion, the hunter, has two smaller constellations following him through the night sky from late December until late March each year. Legend from the Greek and Roman tradition tells us that they are his hunting dogs. Both are assigned Latin names: one is Canis Major (Large Dog). The other is Canis Minor (Small Dog.) In late March, both constellations should be easy to find if you have a clear view to the south-west. To find the Large Dog, first find brilliant Orion in the south-west, still fairly well-placed above the southwest horizon. Orion, as you will ...
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND THE CORONAVIRUS
Image by Jen Dolan March is MS Awareness Month, but for those of us with multiple sclerosis, we just want people to be aware that we exist. I have MS, and I often feel forgotten. I have family members with MS who feel forgotten too. It doesn’t just start when a diagnosis is given. Most other MS sufferers I know received a diagnosis when they were still highly functional. I envy those people because they had the opportunity to seek treatment early on. Some are still able to work. I wasn’t so lucky. I was misdiagnosed for over a decade, being ...
WISCONSIN UNITED TO AMEND
On Tuesday, April 7th, Wisconsin residents in Seventeen communities will vote on whether to amend the U.S. Constitution to clarify that only humans should have constitutional rights and that money is not the same as speech and political spending can be limited to allow all Americans to participate in the democratic process.Voters will cast ballots in the following cities and towns:Cities: Rhinelander, Eagle RiverTowns: Wescott (Shawano); Newbold, Crescent, Pelican, Woodruff, Pine Lake, Hazelhurst (Oneida); Arbor Vitae, Presque Isle, Winchester, Boulder Juncti...
WHY CORONAVIRUS IS HUMANITY’S WAKE UP CALL
(This article is reprinted from YES website under the Creative Commons agreement.) The rapid spread of novel coronavirus has prompted government, business, and civil society to take dramatic action—canceling events large and small, restricting travel, and shutting down major segments of the economy on which nearly all of us depend. It is a demonstration of our ability, when the imperative is clear, for deep and rapid global cooperation and change at a previously unimaginable speed and scaleThere is an obvious desire to protect ourselves and our loved ...
A POCKET FULL OF MIRACLES OR CHAOS
In an age when falsehoods arrive in gleaming packages promising truth, ferreting out actual truth to help us make the most important decisions of our lives can be daunting. Yet, the consequences of bad decisions are escalating daily. If only we could know one truth, one big TRUTH, we could shine a light on its deniers and know they routinely lie about a host of other things as well.This quandary was vexing me for the umpteenth time the other day when I found myself staring at my smartphone. I had my answer.In 2018 alone, Apple and its competitors were granted ...
WE ALL MUST LEND A HAND
We all know there is too much money in politics. Running for office has become outrageously expensive. Politicians, who are supposed to be “representing” us, spend all their time fund raising. Big donors have too much influence and elections are being bought by a few deep pockets. Obviously, the country needs serious campaign finance reforms. But this isn't likely to happen. So we, the people, must counter the corrupting influence of big money by supporting candidates that actually serve the public. Most people don't have deep pockets but collectively we have ...
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION DAY
March 16 is Freedom of Information Day. It is a day to commemorate people who have worked for the public’s right to know and to reinforce that right in our own lives. The Freedom of Information Act was suggested by John Moss, a Democrat elected to Congress in 1952 during the secrecy of the Cold War. He believed that “the present trend toward government secrecy could end in a dictatorship. The more information that is made available, the greater will be the nation’s security.” He worked for more than a decade to finally have FOIA passed and ...
