Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

I might have a new political hero: San Francisco Mayor London Breed. The once fiery liberal mayor is now sounding like a law and order hardliner. After the George Floyd murder she came out for defunding the police. Now, after a couple of years of rising murder and crime rates, smash and grab flash mobs,Continue reading “Where’s the Mayor on Body Cams?”

We’ve got a new feature here at YSDA: the Modcast Podcast. Check out Episode One, M-A-N-C-H-I-N, wherein Dave tries to figure out how the damn thing works. He also talks about the riddle inside the enigma that is Joe Manchin. Six weeks ago Manchin said that rumors of his leaving the Democratic Party were “bullContinue reading “The Modcast/M-A-N-C-H-I-N”

Gov. Tony Evers may have just out-maneuvered Republicans at their own game. But maybe not. Evers submitted redistricting maps to the state Supreme Court yesterday which comply with the court’s order to deviate as little as possible from current maps. And yet his maps also achieve pretty much the same projected partisan split as theContinue reading “Smart Move on Maps”

Dick Wagner was, literally, a gentleman and a scholar. And, he was something else: the very model of a politician who understood how to combine idealism with pragmatism. Dick died on Monday in a way that spoke to who the man was. He was being a good neighbor. Some groceries had been delivered to hisContinue reading “Remembering Dick Wagner”

Sen. Kathy Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls) deserves our respect and our thanks. Bernier is chair of the Senate Elections Committee and a former county clerk. She understands how elections are run, having, you know, actually run them. Contrast this with former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who is running the sham partisan “investigation” into last November’sContinue reading “A Sane Republican”

If you’re a Democrat, there’s not much to look forward to in 2022. Since World War II the party in the White House has lost an average of 25 seats in the House in the midterm elections, but when the president’s approval rating is under 50 percent, as Biden’s is currently, that soars to 37Continue reading “Eight Questions For ’22”

Good Sunday morning. Still a little groggy? Well, cheer up sleepy Jean. Michael Nesmith died the other day. The thinking man’s Monkee was 79. Nesmith’s death got me thinking about the Monkees, which got me thinking about a David Brooks column from back in March. Brooks’ piece was titled How Woke Ends. His premise wasContinue reading “The Meaning of the Monkees”

For the second day in a row I’m starting with a notion I came across in a Peggy Noonan column. This is weird because I’m not that much a fan of Noonan. Her patrician tone in her rambling Wall Street Journal columns drives me nuts. But I give her credit for her Never Trump, generallyContinue reading “Politics and Policy”

Just a brief riff today about Democrats, urgency and “root causes.” “Root causes,” is a favorite phrase among Democrats. They want to find the root causes of crime, of inflation, of poverty, of everything. Vice President Kamala Harris wants to discover the root causes of the immigration problem at the southern border. When she visitedContinue reading “Root Out the “Root Causes””

On the Land O Lakes Trails in the Ottawa National Forest yesterday afternoon. First time out this year, the conditions were perfect. More snow on the way today and a lot more tomorrow.