PRESERVE WISCONSIN’S GAB
PRESERVE WISCONSIN’S GAB
By Rita Pachal
As of this writing the governor and legislature are looking to overhaul the GAB or Government Accountability Board.
This board governs our elections and the use of money in campaigns. It also investigates violations of the state ethics code.
This board consists of six former judges and staff. It was formed in 2007 when both Republicans and Democrats were mired in scandals. The formation of the board was supported by both parties and was passed almost unanimously.
The GAB forum held on September 14 at UWMC had panelists ...
A FALSE NARRATIVE ABOUT TEACHERS
By John Spiegelhoff and Dale Moerke
Communities do not operate in isolation. Quite the opposite is true. We rely upon one another, celebrate the talents we all bring to our community and appreciate the professions which nurture the next generation.
So why has it become political sport to malign the teaching professionals which we entrust our children to each and every day?
Recently, one politician said the following about teachers: “If I were king in America, I would abolish all teachers’ lounges where they sit together and worry about “woe is us.”
Pl...
ACTIVE CITIZENS MAKE DEMOCRACY WORK
Democracy requires citizens to be involved. It isn't a spectator sport. Too often people think electing a new president or a better legislator will solve our problems. Then they are disappointed when they find out he or she is a just another politician. Little or nothing changes. We want a savior when what really works is citizen involvement.
None of the progress we now enjoy came about by accident. None of it happened because the political leadership had vision. It all took decades of work by many people. It took citizens demanding change. Abolition of slavery, ...
MRS. JUNTTI
Mrs. Juntti was my first and second grade teacher in a small Finnish community in northern Wisconsin. My mother was too busy working on our farm to read to me. I still remember, after 66 years, the sheer delight of listening to stories read to us by Mrs. Juntti.
One of my favorite stories was Horton Hatches an Egg by Dr. Seuss. The lesson in the story (an elephant sitting on an egg abandoned by the mother bird) reminds me to be faithful and persevere despite the challenging conditions surrounding me. The faithfulness of Horton and his perseverance have been ...
IN WAY OVER THEIR HEADS
IN WAY OVER THEIR HEADS
By Mark L. Taylor in The Daily Call (9/24/15)
You can read many more articles, quotes and cartoons on Mark L. Taylor’s website:
www.thedailycall.org
Pope Francis gave an often inspiring speech before the gang of spendthrift grifters, hypocrites, fakes, racist bullies, big business pimps, flim-flam artists, and well-paid corporate sycophants making up the vast majority of the United States Congress. While far from the kind of well-deserved paint-blistering attacks on rapacious capitalism he has given in the past — and one would have ...
ICELAND SAYS YES TO REFUGEES
Last month the government of Iceland said they could take 50 refugees into their country.
However, the Icelandic author, Bryndis Bjorgvinsdottir, thought differently. She presented the case for refugees on her Facebook page.
Twelve thousand people offered to accept refugees into their home. That is 4 per cent of the total population of Iceland.
Four per cent of US population equals 12 million people. Do you think that many U.S. people would respond?
The Icelandic author said “we want to push the government—show them that we can do better, and do so ...
POPE FRANCIS AND FREE MARKETS
In a commentary on the CNN website about the visit of Pope Francis, Sean Duffy rushed to reassure conservatives that it is not “un-Catholic to support free markets.” He ignored that Pope Francis implored Congress to regulate free markets for the common good. Instead he dismissed the Pope’s message by linking it to Marxism and Che Gueverra. He claimed that Pope Francis has offended conservative Catholics.
It is convenient for ultra-conservatives like Sean Duffy to twist the words of Pope Francis and sell him short as some sort of communist. Rush Limbaugh has done ...
ON THE BOOK SHELF: THE END OF JOBS (Freedom Without the 9-5)
Taylor Pearson is the author of THE END OF JOBS (Freedom Without the 9-5).
The book tells how to be an entrepreneur to “create freedom, meaning and wealth in their lives.”
Taylor Pearson spent 3 years meeting with hundreds of entrepreneurs from Los Angeles to Vietnam, Brazil to New York. He worked with dozens of them in industries. He found one commonality: “entrepreneurship was more accessible, profitable and safer…while jobs were riskier and less profitable.
The jobs are spin-offs of the internet, such as online marketing, content editing, travel gear ...
THE DAILY CALL
THE DAILY CALL
By Virginia Kirsch
“Mere passive citizenship is not enough. Men must be aggressive for what is right if government is to be saved from men who are aggressive for what is wrong.” By Robert “Fighting Bob” LaFollette;
It is in this tone of Fighting Bob that articles are selected to keep our citizens informed and our democracy strong.
The Daily Call is a free daily update from Wisconsin on news updates, commentary, links and support networks for progressives.
Mark L. Taylor is the editor and invites you to read his daily post at www.thedail...
TELL LAWMAKERS TO KEEP THEIR HANDS OFF GAB.
TELL LAWMAKERS TO KEEP THEIR HANDS OFF GAB.
By Joyce Luedke
An August 25, 2015, editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel states: “As we suspected, a state audit released last week found no major problems with Wisconsin’s nonpartisan Government Accountability Board, which handles ethics complaints and supervises state elections.
Of course, you wouldn’t know that from the rhetoric coming from Republicans in the Legislature, some of whom want to gut this government watchdog. Citizens of this state need to send them a strong message: NO.
When even the MJS ...
