Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

Wondering About the Wonder Bar

Madison’s historic preservation movement has gone off track. Recently, a welcome new development just off John Nolen Drive that would provide much needed housing was laid on the table while neighbors fight to save the “historic” Wonder Bar building. The alleged reason? It was frequented by Chicago mobsters in the 1930s. Seriously, folks? The building,Continue reading “Wondering About the Wonder Bar”

Gableman Reports Excellent Night’s Sleep

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman told reporters that he had the best night’s sleep of his life this week while attending a conference in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The perfect rest came, Gableman claims, as the result of the MyPillow he received in his trinket bag upon registering at MyPillow company founder MikeContinue reading “Gableman Reports Excellent Night’s Sleep”

Dems Can’t Be the Dane County Party

The census data came out yesterday. Now that the state has the numbers necessary to redraw Legislative and Congressional districts, we can start down a road of predictable moves and an uncertain, though unpromising, outcome. Here’s what is almost certain to happen. Republicans will once again draw heavily gerrymandered maps designed to lock in theirContinue reading “Dems Can’t Be the Dane County Party”

Apply for a Wolf License, Then Tear It Up

Note: An alert reader points out that the deadline for applying for a license was August 1st, something I should have confirmed before I posted this. I’ll leave the post as it is, since the fundamental point — the insanity of the quota selected by the NR Board — remains. I’m going to apply forContinue reading “Apply for a Wolf License, Then Tear It Up”

Don’t Cancel Student Debt

Last week, the Biden Administration, nonsensically, extended college loan repayment forbearance until the end of the year. Never mind that the unemployment rate for college grads is barely 3%. And this may signal that Biden is moving to placate the hard-left by forgiving some amount of student debt outright. This is a terrible idea. IContinue reading “Don’t Cancel Student Debt”

I’m Loyal to My Dog

Yesterday I was reading a book review in the New York Times. It was David French’s review of Andrew Sullivan’s collection of essays, “Out on a Limb.” I like both French and Sullivan. They’re good and honest writers, though each is more conservative than I am. Anyway, I came across this in French’s review: “First,Continue reading “I’m Loyal to My Dog”

Take Some Responsibility

On the heels of yesterday’s column about identity politics and the increased tendency to blame others for problems of our own making, comes this polling result. A new Axios/Ipsos poll asked the unvaccinated who was to blame for the upsurge in COVID cases caused by the delta variant. Public health officials have told us thatContinue reading “Take Some Responsibility”

The Trouble With Identity Politics

Critical Race Theory has become a political football. The right is using it as a culture wars wedge issue while the left wants to dismiss it as just an obscure grad school discussion topic. So, let’s give CRT a rest for now and avoid all that. Instead, let’s consider identity politics, a concept that bothContinue reading “The Trouble With Identity Politics”