The Community of Wausau – Thomas Street Project
In a commendable act of community spirit, the Wausau City Council voted at its July 7th meeting to delay any action on Thomas Street reconstruction to allow time for study of an alternative plan presented by local citizen and architect, Kevin Korpela. It was truly an example of citizens, neighborhoods and officials working together for the good of all.
We appear to be witnessing the quiet – and sometimes not so quiet – renewal of citizen involvement in communities throughout Wisconsin. People are working together in the best interests of families, neighbors, and ...
Health, Global Warming & A Christmas Carol
Global warming will affect our health in ways you might not expect.
Because the air will be warmer, we’ll experience more frequent, more intense, and longer heat waves. As a result, many more people will suffer from heat stroke and related conditions, and some will die—especially children, the elderly, and poor people.
We’ll also have more droughts, which will make it harder to get water to drink and food to eat. That too will affect our health, as will the bigger and more intense wildfires that we’re just beginning to experience in the U.S.
Warmer air is ...
A Monumental Shift in Ideology with Respect to Religious Freedoms
The current Supreme Court session came to a climatic end this past week with decisions on religious freedom. These decisions come on the heels of a contentious shift within the Supreme Court on First Amendment issues over the past few years. The central issue coming out of these recent cases centers on finding an intricate balance between religious freedoms and protecting the interests of individuals.
The decision handed down by the Supreme Court in Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., et al. changes the landscape with ...
Corporate Tax Dodger…Pfizer
This is the fifth in a series on corporate tax dodgers. These summaries are taken directly from the report on Corporate Tax Dodgers by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies
First you use research from the National Institutes of Health and major public universities, funded by average American taxpayers, to help develop your highly profitable prescription drugs. Then you spend millions of dollars on lobbyists to convince legislators to write laws forbidding the U.S. Government to seek competitive bids on drug prices, thus ensuring American ...
Wisconsin Leading the Way in State Cuts to Schools?
The following article is a reprint of a recent news release by Senator Kathleen Vinehout to the people of Wisconsin. Middle Wisconsin feels strongly that the citizens need to be aware of the harm being done to our public schools and our children by the transfer of tax dollars to private institutions.
Wisconsin Leading the Way in State Cuts to Schools?
by
Senator Kathleen Vinehout
“Hard to believe we are in competition for last place!” said Pepin Superintendent Bruce Quinton. This is hard to believe indeed.A recently released study of state budget cuts to local ...
Unnecessary Plan to Decimate Thomas Street Neighborhood
The Wausau City Council will be meeting on July 8, 2014 at 7:00 PM, and Thomas Street is once again on the agenda. On June 12, 2014 the Capital Improvements and Street Maintenance Committee (CISM) voted to move ahead with widening the road. CISM voted to create a four-lane stretch of road into a two-lane bridge and will be recommending that the City Council vote to acquire about 50 properties along the Street, many of them homes of long time residents. The only apparent need for the acquisition of these properties is the eventual expansion of Thomas Street to four ...
Whose Freedom are we Celebrating?
WHOSE FREEDOM ARE WE CELEBRATING?
On our beautiful 4th of July weekend of parades, picnics and watermelon, I wondered what kind of freedom we were celebrating. There are two versions of freedom operating in our nation. One is the progressive view and the other is the conservative view. Each side thinks he is right and that the other will destroy our nation. For further reading on this subject, check out Bill Bishop’s THE BIG SORT.
I will refer to George Lakoff’s THE LITTLE BLUE BOOK, for the following insights:
Freedom, to the conservative, is based on a strict ...
The Soul of Wisconsin
“The Soul of Wisconsin is a sacred thing” is the way Marijane Curry begins her poem, Soul of Wisconsin.
Over the past three and a half years the “Soul of Wisconsin” has been trampled and broken by forces one can hardly comprehend. The “Soul of Wisconsin” has been “divided and conquered” by a governor and his billionaire friends.
Two of the governor’s “friends,” David and Charles Koch, are worth over $80 billion and have spent millions of dollars in Wisconsin to crush the “Soul of Wisconsin” by manipulating our governor to do their ...
Questions on Patriotism
Questions About Patriotism
Fourth of July celebrations get me thinking about patriotism and its role in our country. We are good at flag waving and platitudes. But our history shows we are not good at living up to our ideals. So patriotic holidays get me asking questions about what patriotism really means in America.
Why is patriotism considered the highest of virtues? Shouldn't we be more concerned about people? Shouldn't we love morality, justice, or tolerance more? Christ said we should love our neighbor, not our country.
Why is patriotism always expressed in ...
Concerns of Wisconsin Veterans
CONCERNS OF WISCONSIN VETERANS
Mary Burke (gubernatorial candidate) held a listening session in Wausau for Wisconsin veterans. This is what she heard.
The Director of DAV (Disabled American Veterans) spoke first. DAV works for high quality lives for veterans through advocacy. They meet with leaders at the state level as well as at the national level. They also give free assistance to vets. Last year, 25,000 rides were given to Wisconsin vets. DAV plans to hold a gubernatorial forum this fall and asked if Mary Burke would attend.
Janice, a veteran, spoke of the ...
