ProPublica Report: Ron Johnson finagled $200M tax break for Uihleins and his other wealthy benefactors
Billionaire business owners deployed lobbyists to make sure Trump’s 2017 tax bill was tailored to their benefit. Confidential IRS records show the windfall that followed was due in large part to assistance from Senator Ron Johnson. In November 2017, with the...
Lawmakers who tried to end unemployment benefits push to reward employees that reject vaccine policies
A GOP-authored proposal to grant unemployment pay to employees who quit their jobs to avoid a COVID-19 vaccine has exactly the wrong end of the stick, a small business lobbying group says. “The best thing that can be done to help address labor shortages and help small...
Release of official 2020 Census data kicks off redistricting battle in Wisconsin to save democracy
The partisan battle over Wisconsin’s next round of redistricting officially began on August 12 with the release of 2020 U.S. Census data to states. Though high-level numbers were released in April, the data released on August 12 included the numbers necessary for...
GOP Gerrymandering has left Wisconsin’s electoral boundaries ranked under developing nations
The United States is becoming a land filled with “democracy deserts,” where gerrymandering and voting restrictions are making voters powerless to make change, like in Wisconsin. And the new round of redistricting could make things even worse. Since 2012, the Electoral...
Bounce Milwaukee encouraged its workers to form a union as it prepares to reopen after a pandemic hiatus
While other hospitality industry operators bemoan that their cupboard is bare when they try to hire workers, the owners of one Milwaukee venue are pursuing a dramatically different approach. Bounce Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Area Service & Hospitality Workers...
Poor Air Quality: Wisconsin see unprecedented level of smoke due to wildfires driven by climate change
Smoke has been funneling into Wisconsin at an unprecedented level due to wildfires and weather patterns, impacting air quality and sensitive groups. Researchers argue climate change is driving extreme heat that’s fueling wildfires and degrading the air people breathe....
Clear Warnings: Scientists understood in 1856 that humans were already increasing carbon dioxide
By Sylvia G. Dee, Assistant Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Rice University Long before the current political divide over climate change, and even before the U.S. Civil War, an American scientist named Eunice Foote documented the underlying...
Selfishness as a deadly virus: There is no vaccine that can make Americans care about other human beings
I can’t believe we’re still here. I can’t believe that we’re entering the second full year of this unfathomable madness. We are, and we don’t need to be. Here in America, we have enough vaccines for every adult here. The embarrassment of riches most nations on this...
Healthcare Capitalism: Pfizer and Moderna hike up COVID-19 vaccine prices on orders worldwide
With some of the world’s wealthiest countries continuing to oppose temporary patent waivers for COVID-19 vaccines in order to more rapidly deploy life-saving shots worldwide, pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Moderna have raised the price for European Union...
HIPAA Rights and COVID: It is not a violation of the law if businesses require proof of vaccination
As businesses reevaluate their public health requirements, such as lifting face mask mandates for customers who are vaccinated against COVID-19, questions about medical privacy are back in the spotlight. The question of whether it is legal to ask a maskless people if...
New entry protocols for Summerfest requires visitors to have proof of COVID vaccination or negative test
Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. (MWF) announced on August 10 that a COVID-19 vaccination or negative COVID-19 test result will be required to attend Summerfest 2021, including the Wednesday Weekend Preview concerts held at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater....
An immoral indifference: Why the ideology of refusing the COVID-19 vaccine is un-American
By Christopher Beem, Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute of Democracy, Co-host of Democracy Works Podcast, Penn State Decades ago I helped organize a conference that brought together vaccine skeptics and public health officials. The debate centered on what...
