WOMEN’S MARCH ON MADISON

  Set your calendars! It's a new year with many opportunities! January 21 we will have a bus going to Madison for the March on Women (everyone is included). This march is in solidarity with those in Washington D.C. on that day. We will leave the Universalist Unitarian Church parking lot, 504 Grant Street, Wausau at 9 AM sharp! Be ready to board at 8:40 AM. We will march from Library Hall, 728 State Street, Madison to the Capitol. The end time is approximately 3 PM. Speakers will include Senator Lena Taylor. There will be performances by ...

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FROM HOPE TO HOPELESS?

My father was 23 years old in 1941. He was well aware of the terror occurring in the world and the need for it to be stopped. He enlisted in the US Army on November 29, 1941, as America learned of barbaric acts of terror and brutality by the Imperial Army of Japan, such as the Rape of Nanking. He knew that a hardline militarism, nationalism and totalitarianism represented a real threat to the freedom of people everywhere. He was well aware of the loud, racist and hateful rhetoric and continued lies and conquest of Europe's countries by Adolf Hitler. He was aware of ...

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QUOTATIONS

quotations
“Something to think about: The Earth is 4.6 billion years old. Let’s scale that to 46 years. People have been here for four hours. Our Industrial Revolution began 1 minute ago. In that time we have destroyed more than 50 per cent of the world’s forests. This is not sustainable.” --Anonymous “Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he or she sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.” –Robert F. Kennedy “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything ...

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THANK YOU FROM MIDDLE WISCONSIN

We are entering 2017. Somewhat to our own surprise, we at Middle Wisconsin are in our sixth year of publishing. For better or worse, those six years have witnessed remarkable history. Through it all we have had a wonderful readership. Many of you have been following our work since we began. We have received heartfelt support and encouragement, and have often heard how much we are appreciated. We simply want to take a moment to say thank you. Thank you for all the kind words and thoughts you have sent our way, and thank you for reading and spreading our work. It is much ...

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Scientific Ignorance in a High Tech World

“We exist in a bizarre combination of Stone Age emotions, medieval beliefs, and god-like technology.” Edward O. Wilson, author and biologist “The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.” Neil DeGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist Our modern world is the result of a long history of scientific achievement. Our homes, workplaces, and communities are filled with technology created by scientific advances. We live longer, eat better, survive diseases, and have more comfortable lives because of science. Yet despite the fact that ...

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THE GREAT SPIRIT

“I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong.” “My conscience won’t let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people or some poor, hungry people in the mud, for big, powerful America.” “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the ...

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The Retirement Crisis

One of the annoying aspects of our broken electoral system is that issues of real importance are often ignored. Our elections are a money driven media circus of personal attacks, misleading sound bites, and ideological slogans. The real problems facing citizens and the country are not discussed in any rational, substantive way. Retirement security is one of these issues. Yes, there was some mention of Social Security in the last election. The misleading, party line talking points were reiterated during the “debates.” But the broader issue of retirement security for ...

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WEALTH AND MONEY PART XXVI: WHO IS BANKRUPTING AMERICA?

printing money
U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said: “Because of Obamacare, Medicare is going broke.” But the Medicare trustees themselves, along with a host of experts, say the Affordable Care Act’s changes to Medicare – including holding the line on spending and raising taxes [a surtax on high income earners] – actually puts Medicare in better shape than before the law was adopted. That’s a long way from making Medicare go broke. We rate Ryan’s statement Pants on Fire. - - Tom Kertscher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “Pants on Fire” has become standard operating proced...

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Looking Forward to 2017

The turn of the calendar to 2017 brings us hope for better prospects in our public affairs. I am particularly inspired this season for the many who wrote with solutions to problems facing our state. The many letters from readers gives me optimism for a coming bloom of civic mindedness. Certainly your notes and letters bring a fresh approach to lingering problems. I do see signs on the horizon that our state may be stumbling. Deep budget cuts have affected the forward progress of our University of Wisconsin System. Faculty have left UW and taken their research ...

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NORTH CENTRAL ORGANIZING COOPERATIVE

We would like to invite you to learn more about what our early adopters are calling the "North Central Organizing Cooperative". Late last week about 60 progressives came together to launch a member-owned organization that will fight for you, but ONLY if we identify over 250 people in roughly 60 days! Two weeks ago supporters joined together in Wausau and shared big ideas about how we can make our region a better place to live and work! Check out this 2-minute video on Middle Wisconsin’s page. These Organizing Cooperatives already exist in Milwaukee, Western ...

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