Food Stamp Folly
"We all do better when we all do better" was the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone's simple, yet profound, statement of economic truth. In a stable, sustainable economy no one should be left behind even if they are poor or not as “productive.” This is not just kindness or charity. It is a recognition that an economy, like a chain, is only as strong as its weakest link.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP – formerly called food stamps) illustrates how Paul Wellstone's economic principle works in the real world. It is an example of how helping ...
SAVING PBS
“Can't have the kids being groomed by Antiques Roadshow.” This statement is from a cartoon by Jen Sorensen talking about the defunding of public broadcasting. The humorous, but perceptive, cartoon explains the ridiculous reasoning behind Republican attacks on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Back in 1961 Newton Minow, the Federal Communications Commission Chairman, famously described commercial television as a "vast wasteland." Television, like radio before it, was a wonderful communication tool for providing quality information, education, entertainment and ...
LABOR DAY POSTCARDS
SAY IT IN ONE SENTENCE POSTCARD CAMPAIGN!!
Yep, that’s right. Write one sentence “I WORK HARD FOR A LIVING AND THIS IS MY MESSAGE TO YOU: Then address them to your elected officials, -we have the addresses for you. The postage is already on them, just drop them in the mail. THESE ARE AVAILABLE AT THE LABOR TEMPLE.
HAPPY LABOR DAY!! There will be burgers and brats after the parade!
WOMEN FOR WOMEN
All Women for Women Wisconsin meetings are virtual and take place on the first Thursday of each month at 6:00 p.m. The goal of W4W is to help citizens better understand the issues impacting our communities and to help voters make the best decisions when going to the polls.
September 4th at 6 PM
“Women Who Rise”
Our guest speaker will be Bianca Shaw in a continuation of National Women’s Equality Day. Bianca is the founder of Thrive National and also the author of the book “From Striving to Thriving.” Bianca will be speaking the week before at the Center ...
Climate Change and the Grand Canyon
It’s called the Dragon Bravo fire, and it has burned well over 140,000 acres on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, taking the historic Lodge and many of the guest cabins with it. Whether we’ve been there or not, mark this loss as one of enormous proportions. Sitting on the canyon rim, the view of a storm crossing the chasm while resting in front of the Lodge’s great window almost 55 years ago still lights up my soul the way a western lightning bolt lights up the night sky. The guest cabins, which in those days you could rent for the night even mid-Friday afternoon ...
Another Black Eye for United States
President Trump has revived the practice of separating small, immigrant children from their parents.
His first administration seized over 5,000 immigrant children to discourage other immigrants from entering the United States. A federal judge halted the practice in 2018.
Five years later, some of those families have still not been reunited.
The Trump administration claims the judge’s decision in 2018, prohibiting separation at the border, does not pertain to its current practice of taking children from their parents inside the US.
A current example of this policy is ...
Annual Environment and Spirituality (AES) Summit 2025
Bringing Spirituality and Environment Together: Faith in Place’s Annual Environment and Spirituality Summit 2025
Faith in Place is excited to announce our Annual Environment and Spirituality (AES) Summit 2025, formerly known as the Green Team Summit. Each year, this gathering brings together faith leaders, environmentalists, and community members for insightful conversations on the intersections of spirituality, justice, and care for our Earth.
This year’s Summit will take place September 29–30, 2025, featuring four inspiring sessions. Past Summits have hosted ...
WISCONSIN ALLIANCE FOR RETIRED AMERICANS
This last week we held awareness rallies for Social Security in Wausau and in Wisconsin Rapids.
The Wisconsin Rapids Field Office was the hardest hit office due to the DOGE employee buyouts in March when they lost 58% of their staff - leaving just 3 employees to manage all the public’s earned benefit work. The Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans decided to pay them a visit today to thank them for their service by demanding private interest keep their hands off their Social Security.
SSA is 90 years strong this week on August 14 and the program doesn’t run ...
Deja Vu History or a New Society?
Contemporary times have a feeling of deja vu, especially for a history teacher. Our new administration has its inspiration in an incompletely understood past. We can begin with an economic system built on protectionist tariffs which harkens back to the 16th to the 18th centuries in Europe. It was called mercantilism.
The system was simple, a country’s rulers wanted to produce wealth. What better way was there to do that than by having a trade surplus with every kingdom the country traded with. That resulted in countries trying to produce items, at higher cost ...