Senator Ron Jonson under fire for pushing tax changes that enriched himself and family interests
Ron Johnson, the senator from Wisconsin who has led the Republican campaign in the Senate of making unfounded claims about Joe Biden’s son Hunter, is facing a host of questions about his own ethics, including whether he personally benefited from a change in tax law...
The boast of “greatest economy” continues to unravel as Wisconsin suffers from massive job losses
Coarse, cruel, chaotic. Donald Trump has been called a lot of things. Even some of his supporters have had a hard time embracing the darker aspects of his personality. Until recently they have, however, trusted the president on one one vital issue: the economy. But...
Wisconsin voters can “pre-bunk” election falsehoods by knowing what hoaxes and propaganda to expect
The best defense from rumors, hoaxes and propaganda is knowing what to expect ahead of Election Day. News that three trays of mail had been discovered in a ditch in Greenville, Wisconsin, recently spread on social media and evolved into a national talking point for...
November is Coming: How people who choose to embrace democracy can stop Trump’s election coup
We have a president who has openly said he might not respect the outcome of our election. We have to be ready if he claims victory before votes are counted, tries to stop counting, or refuses to accept a loss. Some days I feel confident it will happen. A poll showed...
Knowing Who Won: The formalities of declaring the 2020 presidential election
By Amy Dacey, Executive Director of the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics, American University With the U.S. presidential election rapidly approaching at a time of extraordinary political and social disruption, the possibility of an unclear or contested result is...
Briggs & Stratton’s Greed: How corporate executives plundered millions in bonuses before going bankrupt
Just days before filing for bankruptcy in July, Milwaukee’s Briggs & Stratton Corp., at one time the largest producer of small engines in the world and employer to 11,000 union production workers making a solid, middle-class living, handed its top executives $5...
Quarantine Envy: It took a pandemic to wake people up to the systematic inequalities of life in America
By Jessica Rosenfeld, Associate Professor of English Literature, Washington University in St Louis In recent months, mental health experts have been drawing attention to what they have dubbed “quarantine envy.” Many people, they note, have been sizing up the extent to...
Wisconsin suffers worst COVID-19 outbreak in America due to state Republican’s political machinations
Right now Wisconsin is battling the worst coronavirus outbreak in America. The question is why? What about Wisconsin is different from the neighboring states of Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois, where the virus is not spreading nearly as fast? The answer, at least in...
Pandemic uncertainty contributing to a spike in Wisconsin’s already climbing suicide rate
Suicide rates in Wisconsin rose 40% between 2000 and 2017 according to new report published by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and in 2019, 850 Wisconsin residents died by suicide. Rates have climbed considerably higher nationwide during the pandemic. The...
Everybody’s Racist: Deprogramming the bias teaching and negative stereotypes rooted in White society
By Benjamin Waddell, Associate Professor of Sociology, Fort Lewis College; R. Nathan Pipitone, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Florida Gulf Coast University Progress toward a more just and equitable society may be on the horizon. Since the killing of George Floyd...
Conditioned to Fear: How Whites can overcome the generations of hate that they have been taught
“I believe whites are not only “carefully taught” to hate, but they are also carefully conditioned to know the consequences if they don’t. The older that one is, the deeper this conditioning runs, and it’s based in part on a well-founded fear of physical...
Gateway to Radicalization: Wisconsin cultivates extremism with ties to Michigan insurrection group
The men arrested in connection with a kidnapping plot against Michigan’s governor were connected with a movement of anti-government extremists that is active in Wisconsin. Experts who track extremists say the loosely organized groups can serve as a gateway to...
