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80% Coalition: The tug-of-war between truth and lies over meaningful gun reform in Wisconsin

80% Coalition: The tug-of-war between truth and lies over meaningful gun reform in Wisconsin

Posted by | Nov 12, 2019 |

Per the August 2019 Marquette Law School Poll, 80% of Wisconsin voters want the gun background check loopholes closed and 81% want to allow Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) to remove a firearm from an individual only if so ordered by a court, from an individual who is a risk to themselves or others. Before the November 8 special session took place in the Wisconsin State Capitol building, representatives spoke on behalf of dozens of advocacy, business, education, faith-based, professional and service organizations from across Wisconsin, to insist that Wisconsin legislative leaders allow the vote on lifesaving gun violence...

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A Political Food Fight: How the news media profits by feeding the partisan divide

A Political Food Fight: How the news media profits by feeding the partisan divide

Posted by | Nov 12, 2019 |

A false “balance” infects the entire mainstream media and makes it puke out nonsense as if it were legitimate news in the public interest. The other day, while listening to that liberal bastion, NPR, the newscaster mentioned that another witness had given testimony that would be damaging to Trump in the House’s impeachment inquiry. In a transition so seamless it was an integral part of the story, the anchor immediately went on to say that Republicans claim the process is flawed, illegitimate, and partisan. Well, yes. But is this news? Of course, they object to the process. Don’t criminals...

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Reggie Jackson: A lesson on lynching and the insensitivity of powerful men who misuse the word

Reggie Jackson: A lesson on lynching and the insensitivity of powerful men who misuse the word

Posted by | Nov 6, 2019 |

“So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching. But we will WIN!” – President Donald Trump tweet, October 2019 “And from my standpoint as a black American, as far as I’m concerned, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas, and it is a message...

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Dark Money: How campaign funds from undisclosed sources has poisoned the democratic process

Dark Money: How campaign funds from undisclosed sources has poisoned the democratic process

Posted by | Oct 29, 2019 |

By Richard Briffault, Joseph P. Chamberlain Professor of Legislation, Columbia University With the 2020 campaign season upon us, “dark money” is again in the news. Yet most voters remain uninformed about what exactly it is and why the shadow funding is considered such a problem. As a law professor who studies campaign finance, I’d like to answer those questions and explain how improved disclosure laws could shed some light on dark money. 1. What is ‘dark money’? Election campaigns run on money. Money pays for salaries, travel – and especially advertising. Candidates who are not personally wealthy depend on...

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In order for things to be okay we need to wake up and actively make them that way

In order for things to be okay we need to wake up and actively make them that way

Posted by | Oct 26, 2019 |

I am a newly retired optimist. I used to believe that things would always be okay: that no matter how bad circumstances seemed in the world, I trusted that people would do the right thing, that goodness would prevail, that the rational center would hold. I used to believe that our system of checks and balances would protect us from overreaching parties and mentally-unstable presidents and political leaders lacking a working moral compass. I used to believe that most people were basically decent, and that this decency would win the day, because our shared humanity was something we were...

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Preliminary census data for Wisconsin shows state’s poverty level lowest since before Great Recession

Preliminary census data for Wisconsin shows state’s poverty level lowest since before Great Recession

Posted by | Oct 17, 2019 |

New Census data released in September contained mixed news relating to national trends in income, poverty and health insurance coverage across the United States. The new data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) show that there were 38.1 million Americans in poverty in 2018. That’s an unacceptably large number, but there are a few positive findings in the new poverty and income data: The official poverty measure fell for the fourth straight year in 2018, dropping to 11.7% from 12.3% in 2017 That change reflects 1.4 million fewer people in poverty last year, compared to 2017, and for the...

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Knezelism