Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

Here are some observations on last night’s vice presidential debate. Nobody cares. People don’t vote for vice president and, anyway, a snap poll taken by CNN immediately afterwords called it a draw, which is what it felt like to me. But it was nice. It was nice to see two guys disagreeing agreeably. Despite J.D.Continue reading “Observations on the VEEP Debate”

The arrogance of the Madison school board is just epic. They’re asking taxpayers to approve the largest referendums — and highest tax increases — in Madison history this November. Yet, they won’t lift a finger to tighten their belts or even provide detail on how some of the money will be spent. In a secondContinue reading “The Arrogance of MMSD”

Good things are happening in big time college sports. Once the wall of the mythical “student-athlete” finally cracked, it has come tumbling down fast. Players are finally getting some of their share of the billions of dollars they produce for others. But when walls crash they leave a mess for a while. And that’s whereContinue reading “Sluka Points To the Next Step in College Sports”

This week’s quote and quiz comes to us from none other than Wausau Mayor Doug Diny, who, after personally removing a voting drop box from in front of city hall, said: “This is no different than the maintenance guy moving it out there.” A) He noticed that it was stuffed with so many early ballotsContinue reading “The Q&Q For 9/28/24”

From the moment Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race I started to feel better about the Democrats’ chances. That has been an unbroken melody. Until just about now. First, let’s review the chain of happy events. Biden finally succumbed to mounting pressure orchestrated by the real hero in all of this, Nancy Pelosi.Continue reading “Curb Your Enthusiasm”

To hear Republicans tell it, voting drop boxes will destroy American democracy. Democrats swear they’ll save it. Neither is true. There’s no evidence that drop boxes increase voter participation. We got along without them for 250 years or so and democracy survived all that time. But, on the other hand, there’s no evidence that dropContinue reading “Boxing Match”

In the first academic year since the Supreme Court struck down racial preferences in college admissions, the results are murky, though they point to some reduction in students of color. That’s unfortunate, but it also means that the ruling was necessary. Let me explain. According to an investigative piece in the Wall Street Journal, theContinue reading “A Radical Idea: Ignore Race”

One of the many things I don’t like about Democrats’ attempts (too many successful) to pay off student loans is that those attempts do nothing to address the underlying issue. Which is: why is the cost of college going up so fast? A big part of that answer comes in a new Wisconsin Legislative FiscalContinue reading “UW: Too Damned Many Bureaucrats”

I’m never quite sure if Donald Trump is a mad genius or just mad. During his debate with Kamala Harris I was watching it with a Republican friend who, when Trump brought up Haitians eating pets, put his head in his hands. I guess he didn’t want to see the smile on my face. ButContinue reading “Immigration Dogs the Dems”

The Madison school district expects voters to approve two referendums in November, adding $1,600 to the average property tax bill. They keep providing more reasons for voters to send them back to the drawing board. Last week when Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes suggested that the district revisit its 2021 decision to pull cops outContinue reading “More Bad Management From Madison Schools”