Author Archives: maplesdave

Too many people died, but when we step back and look at the broad sweep of history, there are reasons to be very hopeful. One of the most impactful books I’ve read in the last couple of years is “Enlightenment Now” by Harvard Professor Steven Pinker. In the book, Pinker makes a convincing case thatContinue reading “The Upside of Plague”

While there are good arguments on both sides of the debate, I would abolish the filibuster. But that’s not going to happen, so it would be better to double down on it instead. Getting rid of the filibuster has become something of a cause among hard left Democrats, but they should be careful what theyContinue reading “Stand and Deliver”

Democratic Congressman Ron Kind of La Crosse has thought about running for statewide office over and over again. He never pulls the trigger. Maybe 2022 is his time. So, imagine that running for statewide office is a football. And those of us who have wanted Ron Kind to run for U.S. Senate or governor, we’reContinue reading “It’s Kind of Time”

Just before the November election, Congress came together behind increased funding for a program that has helped protect natural places from Devil’s Lake to the Apostle Islands and thousands of areas like them around the country. Just in time, because the pandemic has spurred a renaissance in Americans’ love of the outdoors. By Spencer BlackContinue reading “The Bipartisan Power of the Outdoors”

Where is the line of defense against de facto censorship? To be honest, I had never even heard of, much less read, the six Dr. Seuss titles that Theodore Geisel’s estate recently decided to stop publishing. And, of course, just because a private entity makes a decision, which is perfectly within its rights, to stopContinue reading “Suess and Desist”

Just after the Fourth of July last year, a group of writers, journalists, artists and academics issued a letter in support of free speech and other classically liberal ideas. It was printed in Harper’s Magazine and soon became known simply as “The Harper’s Letter.” What’s striking about it is that it was necessary at all.Continue reading “The Harper’s Letter”

All the attention right now is on some relatively minor adjustments leveraged by a few moderate Democrats. The changes are actually pretty insignificant. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) is, as I have written many times since Democrats took back the Senate by the narrowest of margins, the second most powerful man in America right now.Continue reading “Picking Around the Edges of the Covid Bill”

What do you own if you own land? Conservatives might answer, “everything.” Liberals might be more inclined to say that you are stewarding a public resource. The answer to the question of just what it is that you own is constantly evolving. By Harvey M. Jacobs This is the third in an occasional series onContinue reading “This Land Is Whose Land?”

Liberal Democrats have long had a problem with condescension. If you don’t agree with them, well, you’re just not understanding your own best interests. You really should just leave decisions about your life to those smart people in the Democratic Party. Comments made yesterday by state Sen. Janet Bewley and Congressman Mark Pocan underscore theContinue reading “Bewley Says Voters Are Stupid, And That Was Really Dumb”

Right now the Republican Party comes off like a bunch of arsonists demanding stronger fire codes. After spending months sewing doubt about what, by all accounts, was a free and fair election, the party is proposing “reforms” designed to fix the problems that exist only in the imaginations of unhinged conspiracy theorists. Don’t let theContinue reading “Why Doesn’t GOP Want a Fair Fight?”