dave cieslewicz

The Q&Q For 3/15/24

This week’s quote (ok, well, phrase) comes to us from independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, Jr., who said that he’s been talking to Aaron Rodgers about joining his ticket “pretty continuously.” A) Sen. Rand Paul. B) Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. C) Techie Andrew Yang. D) Self-help guru Marianne Williamson. 2. In addition to Rodgers whoContinue reading “The Q&Q For 3/15/24”

YSDA Supported Candidates

This year we’re adding a new feature here at YSDA. We’re going to recommend candidates for your consideration. We’ll look for moderate Democrats, Never Trump Republicans and independents as well as middle-of-the road candidates for nonpartisan races, like school board, city council and county board. And we won’t stop at the Wisconsin border. In fact,Continue reading “YSDA Supported Candidates”

The Rural Retreat

The last thing higher education — or American society and politics — needs is a further retreat from rural and small town America. But that’s exactly what’s happening. Yesterday the UW announced that it was closing its two-year Waukesha campus. That brings to five the number of two-year institutions that the UW will be shutteringContinue reading “The Rural Retreat”

Biden, Hovde Take On Their Challenges

Joe Biden is too old. Eric Hovde is too California. Those are the attacks leveled against them by their opponents. In Biden’s case it’s true that he’s the oldest president ever and his problems with age aren’t just an attack coming from Republicans, but the perception of even 61% of Biden’s own 2020 voters. InContinue reading “Biden, Hovde Take On Their Challenges”

The Catchup: Lionizing Robinson is Disgraceful

I couldn’t bring myself to watch the Oscars last night. I just assume Taylor Swift won all the big awards. So, let’s see what else happened last week. Wrong message. The Madison Parks Commission has made a terrible mistake. They’ve allowed a mural to go up in an East Side park lionizing Tony Robinson. NineContinue reading “The Catchup: Lionizing Robinson is Disgraceful”

The Q&Q For 3/8/24

This week’s quote comes to us from Iditarod racer Jessie Holmes, who said: “I had to punch a moose in the nose out there.” A) He took a short cut. B) He shot up his dogs with performance enhancing drugs. C) He shot up himself with performance enhancing drugs. D) He failed to properly gutContinue reading “The Q&Q For 3/8/24”

The State of Joe Biden

At tonight’s State of the Union address what Joe Biden says won’t be heard. How he says it is the whole ballgame. The week started for Biden in the worst possible way. A new New York Times/Siena College poll came out and all the numbers were bad. The most relevant one in this context isContinue reading “The State of Joe Biden”

Cancel the Dem Convention

Okay, okay. I know that the Democrats are not going to cancel their 2024 convention in Chicago the way they all but tanked their 2020 event in Milwaukee. But they should. With the party facing a pandemic of boredom they’d be better off. After all, there essentially was no convention four years ago and theyContinue reading “Cancel the Dem Convention”

Scrap Police Board

The city of Madison is facing a budget crisis. I’ve got an idea to save an easy half million dollars. The Civilian Police Oversight Board was created in 2020 following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. It never made any sense because the Madison Police Department has long been among the most progressiveContinue reading “Scrap Police Board”

The Catchup: Good Riddance, Mitch McConnell

The sap is flowing up here in the Northwoods. We’re going to do some boiling today. Let’s catchup on stuff that was simmering last week. Trump made McConnell look good. How bad is Donald Trump? He made me see Mitch McConnell as sort of a good guy. McConnell has been one of the few high-profileContinue reading “The Catchup: Good Riddance, Mitch McConnell”