Op-Ed, Author at Milwaukee Independent

Op Ed: Milwaukee can never desegregate under America’s Oligarchy system

Posted by Op-Ed | Apr 15, 2018 |

“American democracy is a sham, no matter how much it is pumped by the oligarchs who run the country, and who control the nation’s ‘news’ media. The United States, in other words, is basically similar to Russia or most other dubious ‘electoral’ and ‘democratic’ countries. We were not formerly so, but we clearly are now.” – Eric Zuess The United States is dominated by a rich and powerful elite. This is the conclusion of a 2014 study, produced by Princeton University Professor Martin Gilens and Northwestern University Professor Benjamin I Page, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups,...

Online patriots too lazy to honor troops by actually attending Veterans Day Parade

Posted by Op-Ed | Nov 6, 2017 |

Anyone in Southeastern Wisconsin who complains on social media about how Veterans are dishonored should have actually made the effort to honor them on November 4. The ongoing protest by NFL players during the National Anthem has generated a great deal of online controversy. Many in Milwaukee feel that the actions by athletes are a dishonor to veterans. However, for all the time these individuals have to vent their opinions on Facebook and Twitter, they made no time to attend this year’s Veterans Day Parade. The event’s name was a bit of a clue as to its purpose. Veterans...

Milwaukee’s wave of “change” is more like a merry-go-round of the “same”

Posted by Op-Ed | Oct 17, 2017 |

“It’s long overdue, as far as I’m concerned. We’ve needed a resurgence of activity in our city for a long time. We’re finally starting to see it with all this construction.” – Sam Belton, owner of City.Net Café [1] The New York Times (NYT) recently detailed the building boom in Milwaukee for a featured article about the city. There is a lot to love and much to be proud of. The news story published photos of the new gleaming skyline, and offered the usual historical timeline with statistics. At the peak of its population, Milwaukee had 741,000 residents in...

No longer the only voice of power White men in America feel oppressed

Posted by Op-Ed | Aug 14, 2017

“I signed up to fight Nazis 73 years ago and I’ll do it again if I have to. Hatred, bigotry, and fascism should have no place in this country.” – John Dingell, former Michigan Congressman Imagine if these people ever faced actual oppression. Nobody is trying to legislate away their right to marry. Nobody is trying to make them buy insurance to pay for ‘male health care.’ The law never enslaved their great-grandparents, robbed their grandparents, imprisoned their parents, shot them when unarmed. There is no massive effort at the state and local level to disenfranchise them of the...

Foxconn deal likely to create more jobs from its environmental disaster cleanup

Posted by Op-Ed | Aug 5, 2017 |

In a short-sighted rush to give away Wisconsin’s resources to a multi-national corporation, state legislators are pushing to pass a bill to exempt the Foxconn manufacturing company from state environmental protection laws. Foxconn’s proposed 1,000-acre site is a major project that could have significant wetland and waterway impacts. The full scale of this exemption will depend on where the project will be located. But if this law passes, any wetland or waterway impacts wouldn’t be regulated under state environmental protection law. And any wetlands that are not under federal jurisdiction – Waters of the US – would be entirely...

Rev. Willie E. Brisco: Transit routes in crisis

Posted by Op-Ed | Apr 17, 2017 |

Milwaukee’s Community Brainstorming Conference will gather the public, community leaders, and key elected officials to discuss JobLines routes 6 and 61 on April 22. The routes are viable transit solutions to connect Milwaukee’s inner city workers with over 150 employers in Waukesha and Washington counties. The conversation will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at St. Matthew C.M.E. Church at 2944 North 9th Street. Since the decline of industry and manufacturing in the city of Milwaukee in the 1970s, 80s and the 90s, there has been a steady deterioration of the middle class, especially in the inner...