Author Archives: maplesdave

It’s a free country and I believe in maximum free speech. People should be able to say things that I find offensive and even fact-free, if they like. Yes, that includes former (and how wonderful is it to use that word in reference to this guy?) Pres. Donald Trump. But it also applies to theContinue reading “The Ungracious Brandi Grayson”

Pres. Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill is about more than good roads. It’s about demonstrating that democracy is stronger than authoritarianism. China is delivering prosperity, it’s getting stuff done, it’s starting to influence the world. The Chinese model is a combination of aggressive capitalism, centralized planning and authoritarian rule. What makes it work is that theContinue reading “China Road”

As of today, the Democrats can count on 634 more days in power. In all likelihood they will lose their majority in at least one house of Congress, and probably both, on January 3, 2023. After that, nothing meaningful will pass for the next two years. Since WW II, the party in power has lost,Continue reading “Drive the Camry Fast”

There is a lot of talk these days about cancel culture. That talk mostly comes from the right and it’s directed at “woke” leftists. But, at least when it comes to the time-honored tradition of banning books, the right still holds the cancel culture crown. Don’t get me wrong. I am very concerned about illiberalContinue reading “The Right Tries to Cancel More Books”

Yesterday’s decisive defeat of a full-time Madison City Council in an advisory referendum wasn’t surprising. Among many good arguments against it was the comparison to the state Legislature. Voters looked at their part-time citizen council and they looked down the street at the “full-time” Legislature and they decided, wisely, to keep what that have, insteadContinue reading “Support Your Local Alders”

Sometimes I know that I’m screaming into a howling wind, but I do it anyway just because I think I’m right. It’s a character flaw. Take today’s blog. In honor of election day, I’ll try to make a case that we should go back to voting on one day and eliminate or scale back earlyContinue reading “Let’s Vote on Election Day”

We need to lower the temperature on rhetoric about voting. One side falsely claims wide spread voter fraud while the other charges that some election law changes are, “the new Jim Crow.” Neither accusation holds up under scrutiny. To hear Democrats tell it, the bill recently enacted in Georgia to change some voting rules isContinue reading “Georgia On Our Minds”

What can I say? I like voting on election day. It has been my ritual since I was 18 years old. I did the safe thing for the elections during 2020 and voted absentee. But now, all vaxed up, it seems responsible again to vote in person. (I think we should go back to mostContinue reading “Tuesday’s Choices”

Nice weekend weather, but if you’re looking for an evening movie, you might want to check out A Man For All Seasons, which is available on demand at Turner Classic Movies right now and probably for the next week or so. The movie won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1966. The film is aContinue reading “We Need More ‘More’”

College sports as we know it are coming to an end. And that’s a very good thing. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could rock the NCAA. But, even if the court rules in favor of the association — which appears unlikely — college sports will still look moreContinue reading “Pay the Players”