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 ...
REPUBLICANS WEAKENING WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
Workers Compensation began in Wausau, Wisconsin with Employers’ Mutual over 100 years ago. This model system protects injured workers and makes sure they are treated fairly. This plan benefits both employers and employees. The Wisconsin Workers Compensation Plan is nationally respected.
On Tuesday, November 10, Rep. John Spiros (R-Marshfield) and Rep. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) introduced AB501. They say the bill will prevent workers from fraud and abuse of the system. This bill is dangerous because it would considerably weaken the Workers Compensation System and ...
PUBLIC EDUCATION WINNERS AND LOSERS
WINNERS in Colorado and Ohio….
Education, Inc. is the excellent video showing the Koch-sponsored candidates winning in the School Board race in Jefferson County, Colorado in 2013. If you saw the film you will remember the ultra-conservative School Board throwing out a popular superintendent and completely shutting out the citizens from all decisions. The situation got so bad that thousands of students walked out.
In the past two years, local citizens organized and worked very hard to recover their school board. In a recent election they did just that. By a vote of ...
LAOS AND THE LEGACY OF THE VIETNAM WAR
“When the fighting stops the suffering continues.” This is the message Jim Harris brings to his talks on the legacy of our bombing of Laos. Jim and his wife Marty run the nonprofit organization We Help War Victims, Inc., which assists Laotian refugee families in America and victims of war living in Laos. The Vietnam War ended over forty years ago, but that distant conflict still impacts the lives of millions of people in both Asia and America.
For ten years Jim has worked to remove unexploded ordinance in rural areas of Laos. He leads a team of skilled Laotian ...
FRIDAY NIGHT IN MADISON
It was Friday night at 5:00 pm.
Most people were leaving work and looking forward to the weekend. Maybe they headed to see friends and family at the fish fry or watch the prep football playoffs.
At that same hour, Senators received details on two very important bills. Legislation that rewrote laws related to elections, campaign finance, lobbying and the ethics of elected officials.
Leaders kept details about changes to the bills secret until the last minute. Details we had not seen; the press had not read; no member of the public had an opportunity to provide ...
MINDLESS MENACE OF VIOLENCE
(Let us not wait another 47 years to meet the challenge that this American prophet once laid out for us. Thanks to The Daily Call for bringing this article to our attention.)
“I have saved this one opportunity to speak briefly to you about this mindless menace of violence in America which again stains our land and every one of our lives.
It is not the concern of any one race. The victims of the violence are black and white, rich and poor, young and old, famous and unknown. No one – no matter where he lives or what he does – can be certain who will suffer from ...
PROTECT LOCAL CONTROL OF LOCAL SCHOOL REFERENDUMS
Some state legislators have introduced Senate Bill 355 and Assembly Bill 481 that would tell us when school districts can go to referendum and how often. The bills dictate the financing methods as well.
These bills take away local control. Local public schools need to be kept in the hands of our local citizens. How can state politicians take over our public schools?
Public schools have received the largest funding cuts in state history. Small rural districts are struggling to keep their doors open and the furnace turned on. SB 355 and AB 481 would put more pressure ...
CAN WE TAKE BACK OUR DEMOCRACY?
Yes, we can, according to Harry Boyte, who spoke at the 20th Conference on the Small City and Regional Community at University of Wisconsin-Marathon County on October 6, 2015. Boyte defined the small city as a population less than 50,000 population. Boyte firmly believes that democracy is being renewed and recovered in small towns across the USA.
He noted that the level of citizen engagement is the lowest in 40 years. However, 70% of the people still believe in local government. People still trust their local governments which can be the incubator for new ideas.
Ac...
ALL REAL POWER RESIDES IN THE PEOPLE
ALL REAL POWER RESIDES IN THE PEOPLE
(A Closer Look at Wisconsin Civil Service)
By William Franks, Jr. AFT-W Local 4848 Retiree, Emeritus Chief Steward and former Equal Opportunity Specialist of Senior Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
Senator Fred Risser’s (The Dean of Wisconsin Legislators) grandfather, Ernie Warner, introduced the legislation in 1905 responsible for creating what we now refer to as the Wisconsin Civil Service System. Warner was a Republican Lafollette Progressive. As I listened to Senator Risser’s interview on Wisconsin Public Radio, ...
IMPROVING OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
IMPROVING OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
By Phil Anderson
The problems facing Wisconsin's public schools are complex. There are no quick or easy fixes. But neither are the problems insurmountable. People of good faith, working together, can find ways to improve our schools.
We should begin by admitting that we are all part of the problem. The problems of our schools reflect American society. The inequality, racism, poverty, and violence common to American culture are reflected in our schools. We cannot blame teachers or schools for the social problems we are unwilling to address ...
