Soundtrack in my head: Nick Drake, "Introduction." Well, that went by quickly. I have now lived in Madison Wisconsin for twenty years. How I ended up here is still a fascinating story I haven’t told in a while, so click elsewhere if you’ve heard this one. In July 2000, I was at the peak of … Continue reading twenty years in madison
evading the corporate media filters
I just had a powerful realization about all of the time that I've spent posting on social media. Yes, we can talk about doomscrolling and how mind-numbing social media can be. But what makes this act so mind-numbing is that the mysterious corporate media filters are deciding what we see for us. My social media … Continue reading evading the corporate media filters
election intimidation could disrupt 2022 voting
OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay There are growing reports of election intimidation and fear that it could create disruptions in the 2022 mid-term elections. Such intimidation includes, but is not limited to armed, masked people camped next to ballot boxes in Arizona. A common tactic is the placement of uniformed police officers in or near polling precincts. … Continue reading election intimidation could disrupt 2022 voting
2020 election fraud: the lie that won’t die
Photo Credit: Drew Angerer / Getty Images Rep. Dan Crenshaw, center. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) signed onto an early lawsuit challenging the validity of the 2020 elections. But he revealed recently that not only are claims of 2020 election fraud false, but the Republicans who continue to promote this theory fully know that they're lying. … Continue reading 2020 election fraud: the lie that won’t die
Wisconsin as a GOP laboratory for dismantling democracy
This is what the GOP's one-party state would look like. Wisconsin is being widely viewed as a model of what dismantling democracy in the United States might look like. Ari Berman recently spoke in a Democracy Now! post about the history of the Republican takeover of Wisconsin politics. The twelve-year process of the Wisconsin GOP's … Continue reading Wisconsin as a GOP laboratory for dismantling democracy
why is the democratic party shunning progressives even when control of U.S. house is at stake?
Michelle Vallejo trails her Republican opponent by just 1/10 of a point, yet gets little support from Democratic party leadership Does the Democratic Party really want a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives or do they only want a certain type of people representing them? Shunning progressives would seem like an extraordinarily dumb tactic … Continue reading why is the democratic party shunning progressives even when control of U.S. house is at stake?
unexpected allies: wisconsin dairy farmers and undocumented immigrants
Left to right: Ruth Conniff, Mercedes Falk, Shaun Duvall, Roberto Tecpile, John Rosenow and Stan Linder at the Wabasha library | Wisconsin Examiner photo With the toxic anti-immigrant sentiment that has become a staple of American politics, it is heartening to hear about new bridges being built between Wisconsin dairy farmers and undocumented immigrants. These … Continue reading unexpected allies: wisconsin dairy farmers and undocumented immigrants
a version of “Our Lips Are Sealed” ages well
"Our Lips Are Sealed" was a song co-written by Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go's and lead singer Terry Hall of The Specials and Fun Boy Three. According to Wiedlin, the song was about an affair that she and Hall had in 1980 when The Go-Go's opened for The Specials despite Hall being in another relationship … Continue reading a version of “Our Lips Are Sealed” ages well
Michels too extreme for Wisconsin
Community groups gather in from of a Michels company building in Milwaukee. (Photo | Voces de la Frontera Action!) You'd think that after four disastrous years of a Trump presidency, the trope of a businessman making an ideal politician would be dead in the water. Yet, here it returns, zombie-like, from the dead with Tim … Continue reading Michels too extreme for Wisconsin
60 years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, nuclear threats are still not an option
Union of Concerned Scientists We still need to defuse nuclear weapons because nuclear threats are still not an option. Nuclear war is not an option. Sixty years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, one of the most blatant threats of nuclear war has been made by Russian President Vladimir Putin. But these are far from the … Continue reading 60 years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, nuclear threats are still not an option