No Festivals That Cancel Aren't Taking Away Your Freedom

A photo of the street festival
I organize.

 We saw them all last year, and they are cropping up again this year. Festivals small and large cancelling. A common reaction, at least in social media announcement post comments is something like this:
"Why don't you just have the festivals? If people want to go, they will go."
Is it that simple? Just hold the festival and let however many people are comfortable going show up?

Of course it's not.

But people with this reaction won't even take a minute to ponder the consequences, and not from a public health standpoint but to the festival itself. They have no idea what it takes to put one on and what is involved and what you can lose if you even have only 75%, let alone 50% or less attendance. Or if they even have the capability to put it on still. 

Let's take a quick, very quick, look at what goes into making this decision.

Whataboutism and the attack on the Capitol

cr. AP J. Scott Applewhite

In the realm of politics in America, in a two party system that easily lends itself to us vs. them reactions, cries of hypocrisy are common. I find myself using the term probably too often. Yes, often there are cases where each side can show the other side does the same thing. But, let's be clear, there is no false equivalency whataboutism that can compare yesterday to the protests of 2020.

The events of January 6th were a planned (and further incited) attack on THE Capitol of the nation, the representatives inside, and the process of the official, final selection of the next administration. The response by law enforcement to the event, once which again was an attack on the People's House - the seat of our national government - was far from equitable to other protests.

Poaching Chicken Adds Favor, Saves Time Later (Poached Chicken & Mushrooms With Umami Rice)

Poaching chicken (sous vide as well) is a great way to do some prep work to save time later, while adding flavor at the same time. I whipped up this recipe with tons of flavor using limited ingredients. It could be seen as a Clean Eating recipe, but it was created to be a Low Residue meal for prep day for a colonoscopy, following all the rules, which also works for people with IBD or similar digestive issues.

Nutritional Yeast Is My Fregan Recipe Secret Weapon (Mushroom Onion Casserole Recipe)

In my quest to east healthier and give up certain things as a flexitarian (or as I just made up: Fregan), I have developed an arsenal of special ingredients like smoke salt, onion and pepper water (from their jars); none are as useful and versatile as nutritional yeast.

Sometimes mistakenly called brewer's yeast, nutritional yeast is known mostly as a popcorn topping, or to vegetarians and especially vegans as a cheese substitute, but it has so many more uses. 

I used to in three ways in one recipe I just created that is both vegan and gluten-free:
Mushroom Onion Casserole with Crispy Tofu.

Where Did A Progressive Wisconsin Go?

Statue of the spirit of Forward

People elsewhere, especially on the coasts, even many Wisconsinites, may not know it, but Wisconsin has been a leader in many historical, progressive, movements.

In his DNC address, Wisconsin Lt. Gov Mandela Barnes gave a shout out to a few of our accomplishments, but there are many more. 

After all, our very motto is, simply, 'Forward'. 

Read on to learn about the many accomplishments our state has been a part of.