Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

Jimmy Carter’s passing has got me thinking about the Presidents that have served during my lifetime, which began at the end of Dwight Eisenhower’s second term. I have great respect for Carter. He may have been one of the very best human beings ever to occupy the White House. But how does he stack upContinue reading “Ranking Presidents Since 1959”

As a rule, I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions. But I am a planner and a record keeper. I set annual goals for exercise (e.g., walk 540 miles a year, that’s an average of 1.5 miles a day), writing (an average of three hours a day, five days a week), and a half dozenContinue reading “Resolved: Embrace Technology”

The election of an unstable, hard-right, populist authoritarian to return to the White House notwithstanding, it was actually a pretty good year for moderate politics. The country may have swung hard-right at the top, but in a lot of other ways it nudged to the middle. Let’s take a quick look back. Kamala Harris. Yes,Continue reading “The Year in Moderation, 2024 Edition”

This year, New York Times columnist Pamela Paul emerged as my favorite opinion writer, while old favorites like David Brooks and Bret Stephens also had fine years. But the best column of the year, in my opinion, was a one off by an obscure NPR editor named Uri Berliner. By the way, you can followContinue reading “My Favorite Columns of 2024”

This week’s quote, the final one for 2024, comes to us appropriately enough from President-Elect Donald J. Trump, who as part of his Christmas message said, “Go to hell!” A) Joe Biden. B) Nancy Pelosi. C) Undocumented immigrants. D) Federal death row inmates whose sentences were commuted by Biden. 2. Match the Christmas message withContinue reading “The Q&Q For 12/28/24”

Every year about this time I like to do a roundup of words and phrases that drive me crazy. I always figure that some year I won’t have enough material, as I try not to repeat myself. And yet, writers and speakers and broadcasters just keep churning this stuff out.  The kind of language thatContinue reading “Speak No Evil”

We’re just finishing up our fourth full year of producing YSDA. Readership has grown steadily since we began and so, this year, we exceeded all three previous years for traffic on the site. It’s not spectacular growth and we have not gone viral, but it’s steady progress — which is appropriate enough for a siteContinue reading “Most Read Blogs of ’24”

The state of Wisconsin has a nice problem. It has a $4 billion surplus and next year the governor and legislature will have to figure out what to do with it. Republicans want to give most of it back, more or less in proportion to how it was paid in, which means the wealthier youContinue reading “The Best Way to Use $4 Billion”

This week’s quote comes to us from none other than Clark Griswold who said: “If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am right now.”  A) He realized he hadn’t brought a saw out to the tree farm. B) His in-laws announced they wereContinue reading “The Q&Q For 12/21/24”

Let’s ignore the top of the ticket for now (you’re welcome) and focus on the biggest winners in state and local politics this past year. Here they are in order of the biggest winners first.  The Madison school board. The biggest winners were the folks in charge of running Madison public schools. In April, twoContinue reading “The Winners in ’24 State & Local Politics”