A NEW ROLE FOR LABOR UNIONS
From The Commoner Call (10/30/17)
A recent statement from the AFL-CIO regarding a rejection of NAFTA and other corporate/globalist trade agreements unfortunately only skims the surface of the issues working people face. We are missing a vision of where we are going as a nation.
At root of the problem is a missing American vision of where we are going as a society. Our mythos is wrapped up in conquering the “wild” lands, inhabited by people we don’t respect or understand, whom we can push out of the way. Those days are over, but something really important is ...
THE VIOLENT END OF THE GILLILAND BOYS
In the completion of my recent book, Murrder in the County: 50 True Stories of the Old West, I discovered that three of the fifty murders profiled there were committed by members of the same family! Intrigued, I researched more about these folks and the result is now published under the title The Violent End of the Gilliland Boys. Fascinating and shocking, this story features more twists and turns than an Ozark’s dirt road.
Christmas Day horse races 1872, Middle Fork Valley. Young Bud Gilliland waits, eager for another chance at his neighbor Newton Jones. Only this ...
LIMITS OF POWER
By WIPPS
What are the limits of power in our government? And how has the relationship between the Constitution, Congress and the presidency changed over time, especially in the 21st century?
WIPPS and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters will present a panel of experts who will address:
Why presidents sometimes issue executive orders that fundamentally change public policy, while other times appear completely impotent to political action
Where the limits of institutional power are considered unsettled
If presidents have used executive orders ...
UNION PLAYS CRITICAL ROLE IN FAMILY’S LIFE
As a Latino growing up in Shorewood, Wisconsin, I’ve seen unions play a critical role in the life of my family and community. As a result of inflammatory words spoken against Mexicans and those of Muslim faith in the recent presidential campaign, many immigrants face the future in fear.
Unions have helped by continuing to support them in their union jobs and even, in some cases, reaching out to them to offer advice and other assistance.
My father is an immigrant who came to this country from Guatemala, a nation where people have been jailed or even killed for union ...
RETIREMENT SECURITY FOR PRIVATE SECTOR WORKERS
By Powrs (Protect Our Wisconsin Retirement System)
Two Wisconsin legislators, Rep. Eric Genrich-DePere and Senator Dave Hansen-Green Bay, have teamed up to bring retirement security to private sector workers in Wisconsin. Assembly Bill 403 and Senate Bill 302 propose solving the impending retirement crisis by helping create a way for everyone to achieve a decent retirement income in the future.
These ideas were proposed in the past, but the Republican-controlled legislature has not allowed the bills out of committee for a floor vote. The need for retirement-for-all ...
FIFTY PER CENT DECLINE IN FARM INCOME……CHANGE NEEDED IN FARM BILL
By Darin Von Ruden, President, Wisconsin Farmers Union and a dairy farmer from Westby, Wisconsin.
This Farm Bill is critically important. Here in Wisconsin, we’ve seen devastating dips in dairy and crop prices. The American farm economy is on the brink of a crisis.
We need a drastic change in direction in the next Farm Bill. It may be time to focus less on how technology and exports are going to save the day and more on what can be done to address declining farm numbers, struggling rural communities, growing environmental concerns and the staggering anti-competi...
MORE AND BETTER CHILD CARE IS NEEDED IN MARATHON COUNTY
Recently I heard Julie Burmesch (retired educator) talk about the importance of quality child care. One dollar invested in quality child care produces $4 in stable and healthy adults.
Within the first 3 years of a child’s life, 80 per cent of the brain development occurs. By the time a child is 5, 85 per cent of his brain is developed. Environmental triggers can activate certain genetic tendencies.
Children need quality child care and enough food and water to fully develop their brain and be ready for school. The first 3 years are very important. It is like growing ...
TREASON
Suppose a small group of extremely wealthy people sought to systematically destroy the U.S. government by:
Finding and bankrolling new candidates pledged to shrinking and dismembering it;
Intimidating or bribing many current senators and representatives to block all proposed legislation, prevent the appointment of presidential nominees, eliminate funds to implement and enforce laws, and threaten to default on the nation’s debt;
Taking over state governments in order to redistrict, gerrymander, require voter IDs, purge voter rolls, and otherwise suppress the ...
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