ANDROMEDA IN THE NOVEMBER SKY
Astronomers estimate that the presently observable universe contains about one hundred billion galaxies. These are very large groups of stars (see the 10/07/19 article by James Lewis) held together by gravity. They exist in difference shapes and can be spiral, elliptical, lenticular, or irregular.
Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and its nearest full-size neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, are both spiral galaxies. We used to think that the Andromeda galaxy was two to three times as large as our galaxy, but recent (2018) radio astronomy data shows that they are ...
PHARMACEUTICALS AS A PUBLIC UTILITY UNIT III: PRIVATE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY – HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH
“Following the lead of pharma-friendly Rep. Richard Neal, Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee this week crushed several progressive amendments to a House drug pricing bill that would have expanded the number of medicines covered by the legislation and extended lower costs to the nation's tens of millions of uninsured.
The Intercept reported Wednesday that Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, warned his Democratic colleagues against offering any amendments to the Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019 (H.R. 3) during the ...
FAIR MAPS FOR WISCONSIN SUMMIT
Marshfield will be the host of a statewide summit on nonpartisan redistricting on Nov. 9, 2019. Leading national speakers will be addressing the summit, as well as Wisconsin movement leaders and activists. The Fair Maps for Wisconsin Summit will run from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the Hotel Marshfield, and is sponsored by Common Cause Wisconsin, the Fair Elections Project, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, The Madison Institute, Oregon Area Progressives, Our Wisconsin Revolution, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Wisconsin Farmers' Union and Wisconsin United to Amend....
WAUSAU CITY COUNCIL APPROVES ACCESS FOR CCW TO TEST PARK
After a year and a half of community concern and deliberation at City Hall regarding Riverside Park, on Tuesday, October 22, the Wausau City Council approved the request of Citizens for a Clean Wausau (CCW) for access to the park to take soil samples and analyze them for dioxins and furans.
Results from 2006 private soil samples near a culvert area in the park revealed Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) direct contact soil exceedances for dioxins and furans. The samples were taken in relation to a lawsuit involving WAULECO and Sentry Insurance. Plaintiffs ...
KILLING THE MESSENGER
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Mathew 5:10
In a recent article I wrote about the legislation in Wisconsin to increase penalties for environmental protesters convicted of trespass or damage to property. These laws are intended to harass and discourage public protests of “critical infrastructure.” Dissidents, reformers, and activists have always been denigrated as criminals, dangerous radicals, terrorists, or Communists. Criticism of the government (or business) is ...
PUBLIC BANKING UNIT IV: THE BANK OF NORTH DAKOTA PAST
North Dakota State University Archives
By 1915 the farmers and workers of North Dakota had had enough. As the cover of the November, 1916 Nonpartisan Leader above indicates, they were done being run over by corrupt politicians, predatory bankers, the railroad cartel, grain speculators and privately held grain elevators. They were done losing their farms, their homes, and their hope. Led by a charismatic flax farmer, Arthur C. Townley, who himself was facing foreclosure to the Minneapolis branches of the Wall Street banks, they took matters into their own hands. ...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: LOOKING AT OUR POTUS
A short time ago, my cousin from New Zealand wrote, “Nearly every day there is a cartoon in our paper which says something uncomplimentary about Trump.”
I, too, for a long time have been much concerned about our president who leaves destruction in his wake in whatever he does. I have no words of comfort to share with my disappointed cousin.
Consider a short list of destructive acts carried out, without Congressional input, but with his executive orders:
He has pulled our nation out of the Paris Climate Agreements. We have lost our position as a ...
PHARMACEUTICALS AS A PUBLIC UTILITY UNIT II: WHO PAYS FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Most of us have heard of the EpiPen – the pharmaceutical corporation Mylan’s trade name for its Epinephrine Autoinjector. It is a device used to quickly inject the life-saving drug epinephrine into a person undergoing a potentially fatal allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, to a variety of things such as bee stings, peanuts or other foods, and medications. It is estimated that over 15 million Americans are subject to food allergies. Some 200,00 actual cases of anaphylaxis resulting in about 200 deaths occur each year.
Epinephrine is the industry name for ...
RECOGNIZING INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S DAY
There’s quite an interest in genealogy these days. We can now order a kit to learn what ethnicities make up our DNA to better understand our heritage and ancestry. Even beyond this initial discovery, we can connect to unknown relatives. It’s a privilege to learn more about who we are from our ancestry.
Last week, Governor Tony Evers declared the second Monday in October as Indigenous People’s Day. This day is an opportunity for Wisconsinites to recognize the rich ancestral history and cultural impact of Native Americans in our state that often goes unappreciated. ...
THE NIGHT SKIES IN OCTOBER
(James A. Lewis is a member of Stars R/us Astronomy Club.)
I think that October is one of the best months for roaming about in the night sky with just your eyes or binoculars. Why?
It gets nice and dark a lot earlier than in the summer. In October it’s quite dark about 8 p.m. In contrast, in mid-summer it takes until 10:30 for good views of the stars. It gets really cold in November and December and even colder later on.
The Milky Way, our home galaxy, is awesome in October. When it gets dark shortly after 8 p.m., scan the band of stars starting at the southwest ...