FREEDOM OF INFORMATION DAY

March 16 is Freedom of Information Day. It is a day to commemorate people who have worked for the public’s right to know and to reinforce that right in our own lives.   The Freedom of Information Act was suggested by John Moss, a Democrat elected to Congress in 1952 during the secrecy of the Cold War. He believed that “the present trend toward government secrecy could end in a dictatorship. The more information that is made available, the greater will be the nation’s security.”   He worked for more than a decade to finally have FOIA passed and ...

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FREEDOM FROM STUFF

Waste is a human invention. Nature has no waste. In nature everything is recycled. A fallen tree is shelter for animals and food for insects and fungi. Everything decomposes and becomes soil or nutrients for plants, bacteria, and fungi. Dead organisms become food for other organisms. All this material transfer happens in closed circular patterns called cycles. There is no garbage, landfills, or toxic Superfund sites.   Humans are the only animal that fouls its own nest. We are the only ones creating toxic materials that do not exist in nature or cannot be broken ...

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YOU CAN VOTE EARLY

  With the looming threat of an epidemic, people are preparing in all sorts of ways. Hand sanitizer, toilet paper, cold and flu medication are gone from store shelves. People are washing their hands more often, wearing masks, and telecommuting to work. Athletes and entertainers are playing for fans who are watching via television only, and events, some of them slated for several months from now, are being canceled or postponed. So what about voting?   On April 7, Wisconsinites are expected to vote in local races and cast their ballot in the presidential ...

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MARSY’S LAW FOR WISCONSIN

The April 7 ballot will include this question:   Question 1: Additional rights of crime victims. Shall section 9m of article I of the constitution, which gives certain rights to crime victims, be amended to give crime victims additional rights, to require that the rights of crime victims be protected with equal force to the protections afforded the accused while leaving the federal constitutional rights of the accused intact, and to allow crime victims to enforce their rights in court? YES vote would mean updating Wisconsin’s Constitution with strong, ...

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WISCONSIN GRASSROOTS FESTIVAL IN THE CLOUD

  WISCONSIN GRASSROOTS FESTIVAL GOES VIRTUAL   IN THE CLOUD WISCONSIN GRASSROOTS FESTIVAL SATURDAY MARCH 21st 9:30 AM   On March 21st Visit https://tinyurl.com/s4v2yzq For Easy Steps to Join the Festival Also Visit Anytime for the Latest Information   MUSIC The Raging Grannies - Raging Grannies of Madison Tom Kastle - Tom Kastle   SPEAKERS  Lisa Graves - Truth North Research Mike Crute - Devil's Advocates Radio Karen McKim - Wisconsin Election Integrity Tyler Norman - Community Disaster Preparedness  Ben ...

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WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

  “What is America’s newest leadership position? It’s energy waste.”  Eric Savitz in Forbes magazine, 2013 “Energy efficiency is a powerful tool that has delivered greater economic growth, reduced emissions, and enhanced our quality of life on a massive scale.” The authors of the 2019 “Energy Efficiency Impact Report” Conservation and reducing energy consumption are more cost effective than building new power plants. Helping people use less energy is cheaper for utility companies than new power plants and transmission lines. More energy ...

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PRECESSION AND THE NORTH STAR

  "A child's top spins. It not only spins, it wobbles. After a short time, the handle of the top begins moving in a circle. This happens because of the uneven distribution of the weight (or mass) of the child's top. A slight "nudge" allows the wobble, called precession. Our planet Earth acts like a child's top. The movement of celestial bodies was very important to the ancient Egyptians. Much of interior Egypt had been a desert for a very long time. The production of food was dependent on the flooding of the Nile, which laid down a layer of fertile sediment ...

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NEW RULES FOR RESISTANCE

  Don’t use his name. Remember this is a regime and he’s not acting alone. Do not argue with those who support him. It doesn’t work. Focus on his policies, not his mental state. Keep your message positive; they want the country to be angry and fearful because this is the soil from which their darkest policies will grow. No more helpless/hopeless talk. Support artists and the arts. Be careful not to spread fake news. Check it. Take care of yourself. Resist! Keep demonstrations peaceful. In the words of John Lennon: “When it ...

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SAY NO TO ARTICLE V

  Republican state legislators are proposing a reckless way to try to amend the U.S. Constitution—and for reckless purposes. The proposal for a convention of the states is often called an Article V proposal, after the article in the Constitution that establishes two ways for amending the constitution. One is the usual way, where two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate approve the amendment and then three-quarters of the states ratify it. The other way is for two-thirds of the states to call for a constitutional convention and then have ...

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GET RID OF GERRYMANDERING

  I’m happy to report that the movement to ban gerrymandering keeps gaining speed. One illustration of that fact is the executive order that Gov. Tony Evers signed on January 27 to create an independent, nonpartisan commission to draw what he calls “the people’s map.” Along with other advocates and activists, I was at the press conference in his office when he signed the order. He deserves our praise for that. Another illustration is the fact that legislation to give Wisconsin the Iowa Model of redistricting now has five Republican co-sponsors, which ...

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