Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

In December of 2021 Darrell Brooks plowed his SUV into a crowd at a holiday parade in Waukesha. He killed six people and injured dozens more. A habitual criminal, Brooks was free on only $1,000 bail. His actions that day didn’t just end six lives. It also ended any serious discussion of reducing or eliminatingContinue reading “Unwise”

My priorities are all messed up. Until a few days ago I hadn’t realized that for an entire year my beloved M&M’s candies were undermining the social order. For the past year I’ve been obsessing over trivia: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, inflation and the concern about recession, crime, the Madison schools and junk like that.Continue reading “The Candy Wars”

Christopher Hitchens didn’t take many prisoners. The day after the Rev. Jerry Falwell died he went on Fox news to declare, “If you gave Falwell an enema he could be buried in a matchbox.” Hitchens himself was buried, probably in something larger than a matchbox, in 2011 at age 62, the victim of cancer. He leftContinue reading “There’s Only One Hitch”

House Democrats are forming the Heartland Caucus. That’s good, but it needs to be just the first step. Led by Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan), a group of Democrats from the Midwest has formed the caucus. They hope to grow the group to around 40 members, but it already includes prominent members like Rep. Ilhan OmarContinue reading “Midwest: Heartland Caucus Is a Good Start”

A Florida Gators booster group offered a hot quarterback prospect $13 million in advertising contracts (called Name, Image and Likeness or NIL) to sign with the team. That was a wonderful thing. It was the free market at work and it meant that a player was finally being paid something close to what he wasContinue reading “The Pretentious Hypocrisy of the Varsity Collective”

Here’s the way it’s supposed to work. A candidate for a judicial seat is asked a direct question about how she would rule on a hot button issue. The candidate demurs, instead talking in general terms about how her personal views will not impact her decisions. At the same time she winks and nods atContinue reading “Honesty and the Court”

Since the fall elections a strange thing has been happening in Wisconsin politics. Gov. Tony Evers and Speaker Robin Vos have sought a reset on their relationship. Evers met with Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LaMehieu shortly after the election and Vos has talked about working more cooperatively with the Democratic governor. It’s notContinue reading “Promise of Progress”

Vermilion Development has done the right thing. Let’s see if they get punished for it. Vermilion is the developer of a proposed apartment complex on Sherman Ave. across from Tenney Park. Late last year they proposed a 445 unit development at the site of an old nondescript office building, which would be razed for theContinue reading “A Developer’s Risky Move”

I got nothing this morning. I’ve read the papers and, meh, I dunno. Nothing’s really lighting a fire under me. But I’m going to ramble on for, say, 500 words or so anyway. This violates one of my main rules of life and writing: when you’ve got nothing to say, say nothing. This is notContinue reading “And Another Damn Thing”

On February 7th we may see just how serious the Madison Common Council and Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway are about the city’s housing shortage.  That’s the day the council is scheduled to take up a proposal, unanimously endorsed by the Landmarks Commission, to confer local landmarks status on the Filene House, a large nondescript office buildingContinue reading “The Misuse of History”