A FACT-DRIVEN VOICE FOR MIDDLE WISCONSIN VIEWS

Information Technology Solutions

FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE STATE FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS

Middle Wisconsin News

www.MiddleWisconsin.com November 22, 2011

IN THIS ISSUE:

THANKSGIVING 2011
Thanksgiving . . . . . . . . . .1 Recall Points. . . . . . . . . . .2 The Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Working Wisconsin . . . . . 4 The New Economy . . . . . 5 Recall Recipes . . . . . . . . 6 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 The Literary Page . . . . .10 TimeBanks . . . . . . . . . . .12 Challenging the Myth . . 13 Beyond Wisconsin . . . . .14

n a year that has witnessed the end of collective bargaining, huge corporate giveaways, massive cuts in education, healthcare, and our communities, and the enactment of some of the most restrictive voter laws in America, it may seem difficult at first glance to find cause for thanks in Wisconsin. But on many other accounts, 2011 has given us extraordinary reason for hope.

ur grassroots Middle Wisconsin didnt exist a year ago. Political rallies were virtually non-existent. The Courageous 14 senators had not yet risked their careers to protect the people of Wisconsin. We have found that community, and a sense of fair play, and a belief in mutual respect are alive and well in our state. But perhaps most important of all are the wonderful, caring people that each of us has had the privilege of meeting in the past ten months. It is truly a reason to give thanks.

e shall overcome. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

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Middle Wisconsin News

November 22, 2011 Page 2

THE RECALLS
Support the Recall of Governor Scott Walker and Senator Pam Galloway because Governor Walker:
The Talking Points on this page and The Test on page 3 were developed by a Wausau area Think Tank lead by Phil Keller and Tom Ivey. Middle Wisconsin and all those working to recall Scott Walker are grateful for the dedicated efforts of this group .

stripped workers of their ability to provide for their families, while taking almost a billion dollars out of Wisconsins economy took billions of dollars from our childrens and adults education to give to wealthy, out-of-state corporations eliminated health care benefits for thousands of our children, disabled and elderly citizens is dismantling critical protections for our land, waterways, wildlife and our air jeopardized funding for womens health issues such as mammograms and pre and post natal care is making it difficult for our citizens to vote in the November, 2012 elections

and Senator Galloway supports him every step of the way!

Recall Governor Walker and Senator Galloway.

The Governor's Office, Wisconsin State Capitol 11-19-2011 For more information on how you can help recall Governor Walker and Senator Galloway, and restore balance to Wisconsin, contact the Marathon County Democratic Party 715-297-0278; email: marathondems@gmail.com; website: marathondems.com

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November 22, 2011 Page 3

The Test Wisconsin Values

A Progressive Balance
We Wisconsinites hold strong values. We feel strongly about the communities in which we live. We are proud to say, Im from Wisconsin. We believe people should be treated fairly and with respect - just as we ourselves want to be treated. This country does in fact have a serious deficit problem. But the reality is that the deficit was caused by two wars - unpaid for. It was caused by huge tax breaks for the wealthiest people in this country. It was caused by a recession as a result of the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street. And if those are the causes of the deficit, I will be damned if were going to balance the budget on the backs of the elderly, the sick, the children, and the poor. Thats wrong.
--Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont)

Wisconsinites believe our governments role is to create balance - balance between the needs of people, businesses, and our community institutions such as local governments (schools, cities, municipalities etc.) and non-profit groups (charities, churches and other service organizations). When these are in balance, our communities are strong. When they are not, our communities suffer, our quality of life declines, and people and businesses begin to look elsewhere for a place they want to live and do business. Try this simple test to determine whether or not an existing, or proposed, law or regulation brings balance to our communities - whether it is worth supporting or needs to be opposed. These questions cannot be answered in isolation. Like the pieces of a jig saw puzzle, the answers must fit together to give a clear picture and to answer the question

Does what is being proposed or acted upon reflect our Wisconsins Values?

Does it treat people fairly?

Does it show respect? Does it support the common good of our community?

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If the proposal doesnt create an appropriate balance among these questions, then we need to change our direction and elect representatives who will work together to bring clear thinking back to our state.

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November 22, 2011 Page 4

Working Wisconsin Labor News and Views

By John Spiegelhoff

The Moral Arc of Justice

I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country.
--Thomas Jefferson

D O

r. Martin Luther King Jr. once so famously said How long? Not Long. The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

n November 15, 2011 we embarked on a journey to turn back the assault on workers rights started by the corporate puppet Governor Walker and those who followed walk step with him, including Senator Pam Galloway. We are encouraged by the fact that the good citizens of Ohio have successfully fought back through the repeal of Senate bill 5 on November 8, 2011 which stripped the rights of all public workers in Ohio. Citizens in Mississippi voted to reject the radical Republican agenda which aimed to turn back womens reproductive rights to the turn of the century. The citizens of Maine voted to restore voters rights when they regained same day voter registration which they once had for the last thirty years.

t is apparent through the Occupy movement and recent events in Ohio, Mississippi and Maine that the vast majority of American citizens value their communities over corporations and people over profits. It is now time for the citizens of Wisconsin to fight back by recalling those legislators who have turned their backs on their constituents and the progressive values of Wisconsin. United Wisconsin with the assistance of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin are leading the charge against those who have harmed the working and middle class of Wisconsin. It is our time to hold them accountable. But politics is not a spectator sport. It is not enough to sit at your computer and blog about how awful it is in Wisconsin. It is erroneous to think that others will circulate petitions for the recall of Walker, Kleefisch and Galloway. It is up to each individual to play an integral part in turning back regressive legislators who act as corporate puppets.

isconsin citizens have strong beliefs. We believe in our communities. We believe in respecting the rights of others in our communities, and, we believe in fairness. We have a responsibility to our community to talk to our family, friends and relatives about how these people have harmed us. We have a moral obligation to sign the recall petition and encourage others to do the same. There is much at stake during the next two months and beyond. It is only through direct tangible action that the arc of the moral universe will bend towards justice.

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November 22, 2011 Page 5

The New Economy

By Virginia Kirsch

T
For all the difficulties and despite the challenges facing progressive politics, there are reasons to think that neweconomy efforts have the capacity to gather momentum as time goes on. The first is obvious: as citizen uprisings from Tunisia to Madison, Wisconsin, remind us, judgments that serious change cannot take place often miss the quiet buildup of potentially explosive underlying forces of change. --Gar Alperovitz

he old economy is not coming back, so what does the new economy look like? It is increasingly green and socially responsible. It democratizes ownership. The new economy has a growing sense of community and shared mission. The American Sus-

tainable Business Council promotes environment and social outcomes as well as profits. The rapidly growing organization BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living
Economies) states that their long-term goal is to develop a global system of interconnected local communities that function in harmony with their ecosystems. New standards are being developed that measure genuine economic gain, environmental destruction and even human happiness, because the gross national product indicator is misleading. Both work that causes pollution and work that cleans it up are registered as positive in the GNP.

here are an increasing number of worker-owned cooperatives. These groups use profits for environmental and social goals. There are 1.6 million nonprofit corporations, particularly in the area of agriculture and no processed food. Cooperatives are not a new idea, but they are evolving. In Cleveland, the Evergreen Cooperatives are linked through a nonprofit corporation, revolving loan fund and the common goal of rebuilding the Greater University Circle neighborhoods. There is a green industrial-scale laundry, a solar installation company and a large-scale greenhouse, all linked to expand and serve their local area. Evergreen is based on the purchasing power of the areas large hospital, university and other anchor institutions, which buy $3 billion of goods and services, which previously had not come from local businesses.

T I

he for-profit groups are also changing. There are more than 11,000 companies owned entirely or in large part by some 13.6 million employees. W.L. Gore, maker of Gore-Tex and many other products has 9000 employee-owners in forty-five locations. Litecontrol makes high-efficiency light fixtures in Massachusetts and is owned by 200 employees, fully unionized. Seventh Generation makes dishwashing soap, tissues, paper towels and other household products. It has a policy allowing no one be paid more than five times higher than the average employee. n certain states, companies can register as B Corporations. B stands for benefit and allows the company to work for social and environmental goals as well as profit. Thus King Arthur Flour, a highly successful Vermont-based, 100 percent employee-owned company, can state that making money in itself is not our highest priority. Four states now permit B Corp chartering: Maryland, Vermont, New Jersey and Virginia.

D
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avid Korten, board chair of YES! Magazine promotes self-organizing communities that rely almost entirely on local resources, companies that are de-centralized and work not for growth, but for maintenance. uch changes will face opposition, as you can easily imagine. But the new-economy movement is here. It taps into peoples moral concerns. It will need all of our moral support at the grassroots level.
Source: Gar Alperovitz in June 13, 2011 edition of THE NATION.

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November 22, 2011 Page 6

Recall Recipes
By Frances Irwin

A
Recipe For Life

few days ago I was at a Middle Wisconsin General Assembly and someone mentioned that, "There's a reason the Republicans put chocolate chip cookie recipes on the back of their football game schedules." This triggered one of my fondest memories from my days as a campaign staffer. I was just out of college, new to the area and completely overwhelmed. I said, "Wait! What?" so often, that some people thought it was my name. Supporters and volunteers took mercy on me. They stopped in, shared their knowledge, offered encouragement and provided the gift of good food.

Ingredients: Good Food Family Friends Laughter

ometimes it was a pizza or a sandwich, but more often than not it was homemade. It fuelled me, my colleagues, the candidate, and other volunteers. It never failed to remind us that what we were doing mattered beyond the walls of our office. In that moment at the General Assembly, I knew that in addition to collecting signatures to recall Gov. Walker, Lt. Gov. Kleefisch, and Sen. Galloway, we can do more than share a chocolate chip cookie recipe.

R I I

ight now, we need LOTS of people to collect signatures and we are so grateful for all of those doing what they can to protect the foundation of democracy in our state. We recognize that many of you will also use your culinary talent to further our effort. To that end, I have suggested that we honor those contributions and document this moment in history by collecting recipes from those willing to share them. I've had lots of positive feedback and offers to help with the project. And we have several places (like newsletters and emails) where we can use them to help lighten the mood. f you are interested in participating in this project, please email your recipe to me at slezakf@yahoo.com. If you don't have email or don't have the time to type your recipe, drop off a printed copy at either the Recall Headquarters or the Marathon County Democratic Party Office. There will be a recipe box in each office starting Monday (11/21/11) for collection of the hard copies. As an example, you'll find my recipe for Fruit Bars on the following page. The batch I dropped off today for the staff was made with blueberries. For my next endeavor I'm going to make something that will stick to the bones a little longer, perhaps a nice soup or a nutritious snack. hope you enjoy the recipe and will participate in this endeavor. It would also be wonderful if, in addition to your recipe, you included a few words about why you're helping the recall effort. For example, I'm volunteering in the recall because I believe that government (like food) is for the many, not the few.

Mix thoroughly Add Warmth Enjoy

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November 22, 2011 Page 7

Fruit Bars
Fruit Bars Prep: 15 min. Bake: 30 35 min. Oven: 350 F Vegan Ingredients: Crust: 1 c. flour 1 c. rolled oats 2/3 c. brown sugar t. baking soda t. ground cloves t. ground nutmeg 1/8 t. ground ginger 1 t. ground cinnamon c. vegetable shortening Filling: 1 2 c. of fruit Any of the following work: apples (sliced), blueberries, cherries (halved), dates (chopped), peaches (sliced), rhubarb (chopped). Mix dry ingredients for the crust in a bowl. Cut in the shortening until the mixture crumbles. Pat 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Spread the fruit over the crust in an even layer. Use more fruit for a gooier filling. Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over the fruit. Place pan in oven and cook for 30 35 minutes. Cool 10 15 minutes before serving. Variation: Fruit crisp. Prepare as above, except halve the ingredients for the crust, use 2 c. of fruit, and do not place any crust in the bottom of the pan. Serve warm with ice cream. Adapted from The Joy of Cooking and Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook Submitted by: Frances Irwin
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Middle Wisconsin News Information Technology Solutions

November 22, 2011 Page 8

Letters
This letter was originally sent to The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on Oct. 30, 2011

Dear Editor: Recently you wrote an opinion piece stating your opposition to the recall process now in place in Wisconsin. You stated: One legislative vote does not justify a recall election. This recall is not about one legislative vote. It is about many legislative votes that are truly despicable in my estimation. 1. Act 10--This law had nothing to do with the budget deficit, but everything to do with breaking the backs of the public sector unions. It was meant to weaken and bust the public sector voice. It was meant to target a group of hard-working, mostly middle class workers who are dedicated to their jobs. 2. Act 23--As despicable as Act 10 is, Act 23 is even more egregious. This act targets the elderly, the disabled, the poor, and others and puts up road blocks to voting which is our most sacred right. Just today in the Capital Times there was an article about a 101 year old woman who had to go through many obstacles to get the Photo/Voter ID. I cannot tell you in strong enough terms what I think about Act 23. I am working with a small group in Hayward, the Sawyer County Voter ID Project, educating the public and eventually assisting people to get their Photo/Voter ID. We just began this project and have spent many hours studying Act 23. This law puts up many other roadblocks to voting besides needing a photo ID. I would suggest you go to the GAB website and print out the 40 page explanation of this detestable law. Check out for yourself the barriers put in place to vote. This governor has said over and over that We are broke, but we still have over $7,000,000 to spend on assuring some people will not be able to vote. This law brings shame to our once proud state. 3. It is difficult to keep up with the power grabs of this governor. I wont even spend the time listing them because there are so many. As an example: letting Scott Walker decide how election petitions can be distributed online. And now another bill wants the recall petitions to be notarized - something he voted to eliminate when he was in the legislature. 4. This governor and the Republican led legislature do not play by the rules. The legislature wrote a law about the need for public meetings to be open to the public. But they chose to break the very law they wrote. This governor and the Republicans wrote a law saying the recall elections will be held using the old district maps. Now they want to change the very law they just wrote because it might hurt Republicans in the recall elections. When we hear and see what this administration and the GOP legislators are doing, is it any wonder we dont trust our government. I keep saying to myself, this just cant be happening in my beloved state. Truly, I weep when I think of how Wisconsin has been turned upside down.
Continued on next page
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The new progressive era will need a fresh and gutsy generation of candidates to seek election victories not through wealthy campaign financiers but through free social media. By lowering the cost of political campaigning, the free social media can liberate Washington from the current state of endemic corruption.
--Jeffrey Sachs

Middle Wisconsin News Information Technology Solutions Letters Continued . . .

November 22, 2011 Page 9

It is important to cover the news. It is more important to uncover the news. News is what people want to keep hidden; everything else is publicity. --Bill Moyers

5. The concealed carry law is another example of a horrible law. All we have to do is follow the money and the influence of the NRA, to name just one group, to know why this law was passed. I am a little old grandmother, and I will NEVER carry a gun. Does this law make me safer? Absolutely not! All we have to do is think back to Tucson, Arizona. Did the gun law in Arizona make Christina Greene safer and the others who were killed and wounded? Absolutely not!!! 6. Expanding voucher schools is another contemptible law. Our public schools need all the help they can get and this law only weakens them at a time when we should be doing everything in our power to strengthen our public schools to meet the challenges of the future. The voucher schools cannot prove they do any better than the public schools. 7. Probably the worst thing this governor and the GOP legislators have done since January of this year is to divide the people of Wisconsin and pit neighbor against neighbor, family member against family member. This governor had an agenda to divide this state calling the public sector the haves and everyone else the have nots. He must be in the haves group because he has been feeding at the trough as an elected official at taxpayers expense for many years. We were this once proud state of hard-working, mostly middle class and the working poor, caring for our communities, neighbors, those less fortunate, the poor and disadvantaged. I could write volumes of what this state has stood for, the policies--many of them the first in the nation-- that were enacted. Now we are known as the battle ground state. We are fighting one another. It just breaks my heart to see this happening in Wisconsin. There are no words to describe the loss I feel. I could write an entire book about the actions of this present administration and GOP legislators as to why I support recalls. I will work the hardest I have ever worked to see that there is a change in Madison. The recall elections will put other governors and legislators on notice that we will not tolerate such a power grab ever again!!! We need the recall process. As I said in the beginning of this letter: The recalls are not about one legislative vote. I do not expect you to print this letter because of the length. But I want you to know I support the recall elections. I have been guilty of being the silent majority but never again. I will raise my voice and use my pen to bring attention to any injustices I see happening. I will also use my most sacred right--the vote--(until it too might be further hindered or taken away by some power-hungry administration that would want to silence my vote and me). Joyce Luedke Hayward, WI

Real news is the news you and I need to keep our freedoms. --Richard Reeves

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November 22, 2011 Page 10

The Literary Page

Poems by Tom Neale

HAFIZ AT THE WELL Poems keep their own counsel. Any agenda i might have doesnt matter. My impatience becomes an obstacle. This is what i put up with when i spit out a poem too soon. The imagination is a well. Inspiration is the bucket that draws a poem up from the dark. This pen the ladle that allows me to wet my lips with singing.

The Hafiz poems are from THE PARABLES OF KHIDR, the devotional series. Hafiz is the name I gave to my fictional dervish wandering a mythical Middle East. It is also the name of a 14th century Islamic poet/saint. I chose the name in honor of his memory. -- Tom Neale.

HAFIZ SPEAKS OF BEAUTY Beauty eludes me. I see it, i hear it, i taste it, i share in its enthusiasm; but i cannot describe it. Were i to speak of beauty would i be any better than the theologians who profess to believe in what they preach? A seed sleeps in the soil of the moment. An idea crosses from silence to silence; leaving hints, glimpses, echoes, and old ghosts in a conversation i cant quite hear.
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The Literary Page Continued . . .

It is time we the people declare our independence from the money-favoring Wall Street economy. I find hope in the fact that millions of people the world over are seeing through the moral and practical fallacies underlying the Wall Street economy and are taking charge of their own economic lives.
--David Korten

A WOLF ON THE SLED

By Tom Neale

It is more important to shoot the wolves on the sled, than to take aim at the ones at the treeline. --Anthony Zinni The wolf road - the night sky's Milky trail of glittering lights yellow eyes glowing in the dark. Curved teeth gleaming beyond the treeline That growling an echo of the poet's singing raising hackles on the tyrant's neck. The poet ties greed's baggage around the tyrant's body so it might sink into Satan's ice. The poet's road through the forest of the imagination is a glimpse, a wisp of smoke. Snarling at propaganda, lyric poetrys vertical truth is a wolf on the tyrant's sled.

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November 22, 2011

Middle Wisconsin News

Page 12

Time Banks
By Sally Schmidt

A quick stop at the grocery store, an hour of babysitting, a freshly raked yard, a piano lesson...what do all of these have in common? They are all daily tasks that can enrich our lives when shared with others...through TIMEBANKING. What is a Time Bank? I like to describe it this way: the old fashioned barter system meets Facebook. That is, any service you need, anything you can imagine, can be bartered with any other member of the Time Bank. I want to learn to play the piano. I know how to crochet. Trouble is, I don't know any piano teachers who want to learn to crochet. A dentist needs her car tuned-up. A mechanic needs speech-therapy for his son. Problem solved...with TimeBank. Now whatever service I perform for ANY TimeBank member earns me one Time Dollar on my account. I can spend my Time Dollar on any other service offered by any member of the group, not just the person I performed the service for. The Community TimeBank started in Portage Co and will expand to other areas including Marathon and Wood counties as there is enough interest to manage the local aspects of the TimeBank. There is so much to be gained from being a TimeBank member. Besides the service you receive, there is the satisfaction of serving in return, the opportunity to meet neighbors& community members, the potential to develop lasting partnerships, and the place of belonging within a strong community of service. Middle Wisconsin members may further appreciate the "counter-cultural" or "revolutionary" potential of TimeBanking. By taking professional and non-professional service to one another outside the traditional economy, TimeBanking has the potential to transform our interactions from the purely financial into highly personal, satisfying, and nurturing relationships with neighbors, transforming communities into interpersonal webs. Instead of money being filtered through the traditional economy, TimeBanks allows us to put service to one another back into the hands of the 99%. We are the 99%, and through timebanking, we are working for one another. Go to commtimebank.org to learn more.

Get To Know Your Neighbors . . . . Join the TimeBank

TimeBanks create a way for neighbors to connect, help each other, and gain a greater sense of community. They provide a structured network to:
Connect people and unmet needs with untapped resources Provide economic relief through access to alternative resources Encourage increased community interaction, wherein people help themselves and others Foster mutual respect for all individuals in a community and bridge gaps between existing barriers Promote equality, recognizing that all services are necessary to society and equally valuable

A TimeBank is not . . . an agency or a service provider, it is a connected group of community members.

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November 22, 2011 Page 13

CHALLENGING THE MYTH...

And if all others accepted the lie which the party imposedif all records told the same tale then the lie passed into history and became the truth. George Orwell, 1984 (published in 1949)

IDEOLOGY IS THE MYTH

By Dave Svetlik

M T

any of us have heard how IBMs Watson computer was victorious over all human challengers while competing in television game shows. Remarkably, this same vast information processing computer technology is now being used to diagnose medical problems. Few among us would object to having the pragmatic analysis of our medical issues based on the facts, science, and historical record provided by Watson. In fact it is exactly what we want. We are likely to have a better outcome from our treatment. However, when it comes to running our nation or the world for that matter all of this intelligence, empirical evidence, and history is thrown to the wind. Ideologies rule the day, and please dont confuse me with facts could well be our national motto. axing the wealthy kills jobs, runaway government spending, job killing regulations, and socialism is taking over America are all examples of ideology trumping truth. The longest period of low unemployment, and the greatest growth of the middle class (from WW2 to the late 1970s), occurred during a time of high progressive and corporate taxes. Government spending as a percent of GDP remained unchanged from 1970 through 2008. Most legitimate research on environmental, safety, and labor regulations show that the majority of regulations not only make us healthier and safer, but result in net gains in employment, technological advancement, and economic growth. The belief that socialism (the government takeover of the means of production and distribution) is taking over America, has no supporting evidence. In fact just the opposite is occurring. We are corporatizing government functions at unprecedented rates. Yet these are the deliberately perpetrated fallacies guiding America. If we were to base our medical treatment on as little fact as we tolerate in the governance of our country, we would all live very short lives.

erein lays the connection to Watson. We no longer have to tolerate government by ideology, mythology, and fear mongering. Because of ongoing advancements in computer technology, we are now capable of operating America and the world for that matter with intelligence and integrity. We can process the enormous amounts of empirical information necessary to seek optimum outcomes for all of our citizens. We can govern with truth.

he past thirty years have seen a continuous growth of government by ideology. We are attempting to operate the United States of America in total disregard of the facts. But truth, and the laws of physics and nature eventually rule. They dont care what we believe and they are the final arbiter of reality. Because of advanced computer technology, we are now capable of casting aside the destructive, irrational, and selfserving nonsense currently being passed off as political debate. Aided by the non-political, non-ideological, pragmatic information processing capabilities of a Watson, we can begin the honest, intelligent decision making that can rebuild the American dream, and move us toward prosperity for all of the worlds people.

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Beyond Wisconsin
HOW TO SUPPORT THE OCCUPIERS
Reported by Virginia Kirsch

Many other powerful movements-from latenineteenthcentury populism to civil rights to feminism and gay rights--were not predicted by those who viewed politics only through the narrow prism of the current moment. -- Gar Alperovitz

We the People are now awake and know what Wall Street has done to create the financial mess. What can we do locally to build the progressive movement? 1. Organize locally. This is happening right here in Marathon County. The recent meeting at the Labor Temple of Wausau on Tuesday, November 15, was about organizing and supporting the progressive movement. Plan teach-ins. Plan meaningful action. Creative brainstorming is needed right now. Keep the flame of progressive politics burning! 2. Get non-profits into the picture. Groups such as labor unions and environmental groups can pledge a percentage of their resources to support the Occupiers. 3. Organize teach-ins about Wall Streets casino mindset. Teach about the dangers of too much money concentrated in too few hands. Teach how jobs can be created and how Wall Street took down our economy. 4. Move your money out of major banks. Support local institutions. Take ad vantage of this common time, while the public is awake. Burn credit cards! 5. Believe you can make a difference. This new progressive movement is grassroots. It is up to each of us to make a difference, to talk about it in our neighborhoods, to provide information by writing letters and going online. Dream big!

Source: Les Leopold, Director of Labor Institute and Public Health Institute, From www.alternet.org

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