Is it Free $peech?

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(Note from Lynn: I asked my smart friend, Judy Nagel, retired Wells Fargo Financial Advisor and active member of Rotary International, to share with us her perspective on a proposed amendment to the Constitution regarding needed campaign finance reform. And so we ask you to consider: Is it free $peech?)

Yes, you read that correctly: I want to know whether money is part of free speech, because the United States Supreme Court said it is. Remember Citizens United in 2010, when the Court ruled that restricting political spending by corporations and unions is inconsistent with the First Amendment? Money talks, I guess, and we’re not allowed to silence it.

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What Would Ida Mae Say?!

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Ida Mae Fuller. Ever hear of her? Probably not. In January 1940, she received a check for $22.54. It was the first-ever U.S. Social Security check issued. I suppose, back in 1940, that little check provided a lot more to Ida than it would to you or me in 2025. We’ve come a long way since 1940 – even a longer way since 1925. But our progress is now in jeopardy.

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"The Earth Itself is in Peril"

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a comprehensive summary of The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump

Recently I was searching my Kindle to see what I might dig into next – perhaps an unfinished read or even a book I’d bought and forgotten about. Indeed! There was a book called The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump. I had no recollection of buying it, nor did I have any idea what it was about – except, of course, the obvious. Did it “call to me”? You bet it did! This was right at the time that Donald Trump was being inaugurated for the second time – January 2025 – and, yes, I was scared this time.

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I Want My Vote to Count!

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Hey! I want my vote for president to count. You too? I mean I want a system whereby, in our presidential election, every voter who casts a vote for Candidate A actually sees his or her vote go to Candidate A. Likewise, each vote cast for Candidate B by an eligible American voter goes directly to Candidate B. And we add them up, and that’s it: We have a winner, chosen directly by the people. I like that.

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“Stand out... Believe in truth... Investigate!”

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On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder

I can’t recall ever reading a simpler, clearer, more readable – but absolutely valuable – book than this one by Yale University history professor and revered, prolific author, Timothy Snyder. And, depending on how you feel about what lies ahead for our democracy, this powerful, easy read might be just what you’re looking for.

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School Shootings Can be Stopped

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Yesterday at 5:32 a.m. I was awakened by a text to my phone. It was our Superintendent of Schools, alerting all School Board members of a threatened school shooting that day at not one but two of our high schools. She’d been awakened at 3:30 a.m. and had started the planned, approved response, and now she felt it was time to bring us in. I let her know I’d be ready if I could help in any way, and then I went about my business with full faith in our administrative leaders and the Green Bay Police Department.

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Cabinet Simplicity (8)

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Tom Homan – on the straight and narrow

Well, my friends, this will not be a long treatise – nor will it meander. After the rather nauseating convolutions I’ve encountered while studying other picks for the incoming president’s cabinet, this one is as short and straight and simple as can be. Let me explain. I referred to my review of RFK, Jr.’s life as a roller coaster ride. And remember Tulsi Gabbard? I called her a shape-shifter. And what of Linda McMahon, a “professional wrestler” who never taught a day in her life, suddenly poised to direct the Department of Education. Lot of questionable choices, ups and downs, unforeseen hairpin turns. But nothing surprising about this Tom Homan, Border Czar-to be.

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Key to the Cabinet

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That Cabinet Again? (7)

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Tulsi Gabbard – Shape-shifter

Of all the cabinet nominations by President-Elect Donald Trump that I’ve researched, the selection of Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence has been the most confusing. While I try in every case to be as even-handed as possible in presenting the facts about the nominee, in this case, the facts themselves are so contradictory and shape-shifting that I struggle to assemble them in logical fashion. Much of her background makes her an absolute puzzlement; other facts about her suggest (at least to me) that she doesn’t even fit the MAGA mold. Let me try to explain.

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