Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

He’s a dangerous egomaniac who doesn’t listen to anybody. There’s not much there even when he’s all there, and now there’s reason to believe that he’s not. No, I’m not talking about Donald Trump, but rather his old boss Vladimir Putin. And yet, maybe no one has done more to revive liberal democracy than theContinue reading “Did Putin Just Save Democracy?”

Nothing illustrates just how far gone the Democratic Party is, how out of touch they are with average citizens, and how little interest they have in winning elections, then this week’s votes on bail reform in the Wisconsin Legislature. Some quick background. In December a man with a long criminal history drove through a crowdContinue reading “Pfaff Gets It, His Party Doesn’t”

It’s time for sensible people in Dane County — which, I am convinced are the vast majority of people here — to wrest control of public safety issues from our paralyzed public officials. Three issues demand a reasoned approach. First, there is the Dane County jail. Former Sheriff (and star public servant, in my book)Continue reading “Public Safety Can’t Be Left to Public Officials”

Much of the Democratic Party is now made up of extremely liberal, affluent and well-educated urbanites. They’re super woke and pro-union, but when woke and solidarity run head-on into the education of their offspring, education is going to leave their other values in pieces on the side of the road. What liberals understand, intuitively ifContinue reading “Liberals Value Education Above All Else”

Welcome to the 365th day of consecutive posts here at YSDA. I made it. I’ve crossed the finish line. I get the medal and the t-shirt. And two tickets for use at the beer tent. For reasons I can’t put my finger on, I decided several months ago to see if I could post aContinue reading “Marathon Completed”

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is the longest-serving speaker in Wisconsin history. To some on the hard-right in his own party he may have over-stayed his welcome. Vos has spent most of his career holding onto power by appeasing the crazies in his own caucus just enough. That explains his embarrassing “investigation” into last November’s electionContinue reading “Vos: Not Crazy Enough?”

This was coming. Let’s see how far it will go. Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes has been running away with the Democratic nomination to take on Sen. Ron Johnson. It has been clear for some time now that the only way any of his three main challengers can catch up is to make the case thatContinue reading “Bice Opens the Door to Questions About Barnes”

Wisconsin’s legislative Republicans are passing a series of bills aimed at putting Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on record against them and, they hope, on the wrong side of hot-button issues. Since he took over as governor, Evers has vetoed 66 bills, but the pace has picked up recently. Evers has vetoed measures sent to himContinue reading “Dems Should Support Bail Reform”

The Public Service Commission must rescind its approval of the Cardinal-Hickory Creek power line. Every day they dither, more rate-payer money is wasted and a deeper scar gets torn unnecessarily through the Driftless Region. A federal court has closed off any chance that the line can cross the Mississippi River at its planned spot, andContinue reading “PSC Must Kill Cardinal-Hickory”

Maybe nothing better describes why I’ve been driven from the Democratic left to the center than what happens on public radio at dinner prep time on Saturday evenings. For a couple of decades I loved chopping and simmering stuff while listening to A Prairie Home Companion. Garrison Keillor was an unabashed liberal Democrat, who oftenContinue reading “Saturday Evening Drove Me From the Left”