Politics
Wisconsin’s Budget
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has released his proposed 2025-2027 budget. In what has become a legislative tradition, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos declared Evers’ proposal “dead on arrival.” The next step in the biennial battle is for the Republican controlled Joint Finance Committee to write their own budget ignoring most of Evers' work.
Gov. Evers' budget proposes a $119 billion plan for investments in education, healthcare, public health, cleaning up environmental problems and tax relief for the lower tax brackets. There are a number of improvements for ...
Tom Tiffany Empty Town Hall
A Tom Tiffany town Hall was held at Wausau Infused on Thursday, April 24. As constituents living and working in Wisconsin’s wonderfully diverse 7th Congressional District, we believe it’s more important than ever for our members of Congress to have an open and honest conversation with the people they represent.
Whether it’s rising costs, economic uncertainty, or the future of programs like Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP, the decisions made by Congress are impacting the lives of all Wisconsinites, including children, aging populations, disabled community ...
Attacks on Freedom
Funding for institutions of higher learning, including the University of Wisconsin’s campuses in Wausau and Marshfield, is being used to coerce them into following philosophical mandates issued by the Trump Administration. Attempting to coerce universities to change admission and administrative policy is an assault on academic freedom and on the First Amendment to the Constitution.
The First Amendment is written for the express purpose of allowing people to speak in opposition to government policy without recrimination. The Trump Administration has been abducting and ...
Tariffs and Oligarchy
What is a tariff? It is a tax placed on items imported from another country. Does the other country pay the tax? No, the American importer pays the tax and then passes the increased cost of the product on to the consumer. Who benefits? If tariffs become the major way of collecting taxes it is the wealthiest members of society. People with lower incomes spend most of their salaries or hourly wages on their daily needs. When prices rise, because of the across the board tariffs, they will pay taxes on most everything they buy. Wealthier people make money they don’t need for ...
RETURN OF THE ROBBER BARONS 4.0
TIME TO REDISTRIBUTE THE WEALTH
NORTH DAKOTA NON-PARTISAN LEADER 1918 - - HISTORY REPEATS
https://digitalhorizonsonline.org/digital/collection/ppf/id/24639/rec/706
Senior citizens are rightfully concerned about the “security” of Social Security. We hear endless
warnings claiming the program is insolvent and bankrupting the federal government. The
“Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) would happily gut and privatize the program
(something the Robber Barrons of Wall Street have wanted since its establishment under the
Franklin D. Roosevelt ...
Budget Chaos in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Senator Chris Larson is concerned about the impact on Wisconsin's state budget from Trump's cuts to federal funding. The cuts being implemented at the federal level will create havoc with the Wisconsin state budget. Senator Larson has introduced emergency legislation – the Frozen Federal Funds Emergency Act – to help deal with this problem.
The proposed bill requires the legislature to convene an extraordinary session if the Trump funding cuts are implemented. The extraordinary session would “consider” providing money from the “budget ...
Meeting the Moment
Please register at this link:
https://www.mobilize.us/rustbeltrising/event/779324
Jalisco and the Refugee Crisis
Jalisco state in Mexico rings in the ears with mariachi music and brightly dressed dancers twirling, while onlookers toast glasses of tequila. Both this iconic music and the even more iconic drink fermented and distilled from the blue agave are said to have been born there. Nat King Cole and Elvis sang the praises of Guadalajara, Jalisco's capital, and the beaches of Puerto Vallarata will undoubtedly tickle the memory circuits of many folks from Central Wisconsin. Colorful and inspiring, Jalisco is also home to one of Mexico's brutal drug cartels and ...
A Need for Empathy
What is empathy? It is the capacity to “walk in another’s shoes.” To walk in another’s shoes means to understand, feel, and identify as an other. It is different from compassion, which is when one in a superior position feels sorry for a less fortunate other.
Empathy is a two-way street. The feeling of understanding for the unfortunate must go the other way as well. It involves understanding as well as being understood, and trust and respect that go both ways. I must understand who I am in my shoes, before I can walk in those of another. Empathy is a feeling of ...
A WAR CORESPONDENT
Those of us born in the 1940’s and 50’s well remember the Cuban missile crisis when the Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba that were minutes from destroying Washington DC and other major US cities. And we all remember President Kennedy’s speech to the American people telling us that the Soviet Union meant no harm and was just defending itself from American aggression and that Cuba was a sovereign nation and had every right to allow Russia to place missiles on its soil. There was nothing to worry about.
Of course, we all know exactly the opposite ...