Advoken's Blog
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Category: Uncategorized
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For years, northerners, such as those of us in Milwaukee, have always had a superior attitude about our racism when we think about places like South Carolina, where the confederate flag – and its symbols of slavery – for years flew proudly. We have nothing to be smug about; racism still reigns in the State…
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It’s time to revisit Pastor Martin Niemoller’s famous quote: First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR This essay, written by Makena Easker, a sophomore student at Durand High School, was entered into the 2014 National History Day competition. It is reproduced since it brought the meaning of the 103 year old Triangle Fire into the present day, and to represent many of the efforts of young people who…
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I started to write something poetic about Christmas, something that was not full of clichés . . . you know, things like it being “a magical time of the year,” and putting “Christ back into . . .” You all know them, including the pictures of chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Has anyone ever…
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(History tells us grassroots actions needed to spur action) Often overlooked in the marvelous Ken Burns’ PBS Roosevelt series was that much of FDR’s New Deal rose as much from the grassroots as it did from the President’s skillful, if sometimes crafty, political leadership. Today’s Democratic Party has lost its appeal among the very people…
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A clear, mild, autumn morning . . . for a walk in the park – Jackson Park . . . in the middle of a bustling city. Such peacefulness will be found in walking aimlessly along the paths . . . through the abbreviated woods . . .next to the lagoon, glassy smooth in the…
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It’s an unexpected joy to learn that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar “likes” Wisconsin. At least, he says he does, based on the comedic – some would say embarrassingly corny – commercial promoting tourism in the state. If you haven’t seen it, Kareem re-enacts the part he played in the hilariously funny movie, “Airplane,” as the plane flies…
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On a relatively mild February afternoon in 2013, I inexplicably fell into the middle of a street a couple of blocks from my home. It’s one of those things that happen to people of my age (83 then) over which they seem to have no control. All I remember is heading face down onto the…
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Well over 100 young people filled the site of the Our Next Generation Neighborhood Center at N. 34th Street and W. Lisbon Ave., on Wednesday, June 4, to echo a common message: “Put the Guns Down.” This combined effort of Westside Academy II and Serve-2-Unite was designed by the teenagers themselves, according to Jennifer Koss,…
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Horses are no longer a part of daily life. That’s hardly news, of course, but to the longtime erudite sports columnist and author Frank Deford the fact that horses have lost their importance in daily life is one of the reasons that horse racing has lost popularity to the general public. On his National Public…
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