Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

A few years ago I started reading and hearing the word “equity” where I would have expected the word “equality” to be used. I put it down to the too common desire some people have to use a more obscure word in place of a plain one in order to sound smarter than they reallyContinue reading “Reconsidering “Equity””

Congressional Republicans seem determined not to give Pres. Joe Biden support for his proposals. By Spencer Black On the dance floor, it takes two to tango. And in Washington, D.C., it takes two to be bipartisan. Despite President Biden’s invitation, congressional Republicans won’t dance. Unlike Republican politicians in D.C., Americans are joining together in aContinue reading “Bipartisanship Is a Two-Way Street”

What’s come over Bernie Sanders? He just wants to make progress. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) is pushing, not for Medicare for All, but for Medicare for More. He’s championing legislation, which could be introduced in April, to lower the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 60, to expand coverage to things like hearing aids,Continue reading “Bernie Sanders: Incrementalist”

Who wins the race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction is important. But probably not because of what you think. On April 6th, Wisconsinites will choose a new Superintendent. To read the media accounts or listen to the candidates you would think that this is all about the highly charged issue of school choice. It’sContinue reading “The Shadow Issue”

Short and bitter for today. All we’ve got for you is a simple graph. This is a graph of gun deaths and gun ownership in five countries: Canada, Germany, Russia, Japan and the United States. Want to guess which is which? A – U.S. B – Canada C – Germany D – Russia E –Continue reading “More Guns = More Killing”

Wisconsin’s got a drinking and driving problem. The Legislature just made it worse. Earlier this month there was a late night crash at the intersection of two rural highways in Racine County. Three vehicles were involved. All three drivers were legally intoxicated. All three. A few weeks before that, a Green Bay driver was arrestedContinue reading “One For the Road”

Who do the hard left and hard right activists in the two major parties ignore? Most of us. Think of politics as a tennis match. Those of us who are moderates are the net. The ball keeps getting slammed over our heads — and sometimes right into us — by partisans to our left andContinue reading “The Battered Middle Majority”

We here at YSDA won’t be making candidate endorsements. But what we will do is provide our best sense of which candidates are more moderate when there’s a choice. So, for those of you who live in Madison and are voting in competitive city council races this April, here is our take on candidates inContinue reading “Moderates For City Council”

I am an avid hunter who owns two guns. I’m also for the strongest gun control measures we can get. Gun control is one of those issues that should be easy to compromise on. That’s because there are so many options for things that we might do. But, as is the case on too manyContinue reading “Gun Owners for Gun Control”

“Today’s version of private property is a moderate position,” asserts Prof. Harvey Jacobs. Americans are not free to do whatever they want with their land, but the question of exactly what they can do is never settled. Climate change may be the latest disruption that redefines our relationship to land. By Harvey M. Jacobs This isContinue reading “This Land is Whose Land? (Part 2)”