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An obstruction of progress: The word “filibuster” was derived from the term for “pirate”

By Joshua Holzer, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Westminster College “The word filibuster derives from the Spanish filibustero, itself deriving originally from the Dutch vrijbuiter, ‘privateer, pirate, robber.’ The Spanish form entered the English language in the 1850s, as applied to military adventurers from the United States then operating in Central America… The term was revived in the mid-19th century to describe the actions of adventurers who tried to take control of various territories by force of arms.” – Wikipedia As the U.S. Senate proceeds with its business, split 50-50 between Republicans on one side and Democrats and independents...

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“No Menthol Sunday” campaign kicks off in Wisconsin as Federal government mulls action on tobacco

Faith leaders, elected officials, youths, and others joined local and national health advocates to kick off No Menthol Sunday activities in Wisconsin in grand fashion recently. “The FDA has made flavored vapor products illegal, but they have made an exception for menthol, and this contributes to issues of health equity that we experience across the state,” said Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes during his opening speech. No Menthol Sunday, which is being celebrated on May 16, is an annual day of observance led by The Center for Black Health and Equity and supported locally by the Wisconsin African American Tobacco...

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The state of air quality: Wisconsin has seen cleaner skies but smog is still a problem for some counties

Most of Wisconsin has breathed cleaner air over the last several years, according to the American Lung Association. But, the group gave failing grades to six counties along Lake Michigan over smog pollution as part of its annual national report card on the state of air quality. Overall, Wisconsin is seeing fewer days with high ozone levels. But, the report gave a failing grade to Kenosha, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine and Sheboygan counties for the highest number of days with poor air quality due to smog. That’s down from eight counties in the group’s 2018 air quality report. The...

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Amtrak proposal revives Milwaukee-to-Madison route as part of Midwest rail corridor for passenger service

Stu Nicholson has been trying for decades without success to get Amtrak, or any other passenger rail service, to come to Columbus, Ohio. As director of All Aboard Ohio, a passenger rail advocacy group, Nicholson helped explore possibilities, like creating a new route from Chicago to Pittsburgh, with Columbus in the middle. But for now, Columbus, a city with 878,000 people, the second-largest city in the Midwest, has no passenger rail service. It does not even have a station. That could soon change. A plan Amtrak is floating would not just restore passenger service to Columbus, but also across...

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Vice President Kamala Harris promotes $2T infrastructure plan during visit to Milwaukee

Vice President Kamala Harris visited Milwaukee on May 4, where she promoted the president’s $2 trillion infrastructure proposal and toured two university research centers. Harris highlighted the federal funding the Biden administration plan would allocate for research and development programs aimed at clean energy and climate change solutions, as well as $100 billion that would be spent modernizing K-12 schools. Harris’ chief spokeswoman, Symone Sanders, said that next week there “will be a number of meetings at the White House with bipartisan lawmakers trying to find common ground on the Biden and GOP Infrastructure proposals,” according to White House...

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Reparations 101: Repairing the damage from generations of concentrated disadvantage

“At long last, let America contemplate the scope of its enduring human-rights wrong against a whole people. Let the vision of blacks not become so blighted from a sunless eternity that we fail to see the staggering breadth of America’s crime against us. Solutions must be tailored to the scope of the crime in a way that would make the victim whole. In this case, the psychic and economic injury is enormous, multidimensional and long-running. Thus must be America’s restitution to blacks for the damage done.” – Randal Robinson, “The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks” (2000) “As a...

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