Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

We have our recurring themes and ongoing causes here at YSDA: pay college athletes, appoint retired judges to the PSC, deemphasize race and gender in American life. We’re going to return to another of our favorites today: to fight climate change do NOT talk about climate change. The latest and most compelling evidence to dateContinue reading “To Fight Climate Change Don’t Mention It”

I’ve been an unapologetic defender of West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. Maybe not much longer. I’ve defended Manchin against attacks from liberals because I think we should be grateful for his very existence. The guy is a Democrat who wins in a state that Donald Trump carried by 36 points, more than any other stateContinue reading “Manchin’s Machinations”

I like the free market. So, when Anheuser Busch decides to hire a transgender influencer to promote Bud Light I question the taste of the influencer, but not the right of the company to ask her to influence. When Disney takes a stand against a Florida law that restricts the teaching of gender identity toContinue reading “It’s Just Beer, It’s Not a Cause”

Those of you who read this column regularly may have taken notice that now and then I opine in favor of paying college athletes. Well. Okay. Fine. It seems like I do that every other week.  But that’s only because the gods of college sports keep feeding me more evidence. The latest piece is theContinue reading “Add the Ducks, Add the Bucks”

In a leading candidate for least surprising story of the year, Ellen Nowak took a senior position with the American Transmission Company.  That was predictable because Nowak is recently gone from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. The cozy relationship between the regulators and the regulated was recounted in a recent story in the Wisconsin StateContinue reading “Cozy PSC-Utility Ties Continue”

Former State Street business owner Janice Durand has written a memoir that will keep you turning pages whether or not you care about the ups and downs of small businesses or of State Street. It’s a book that will capture your interest if you care about life, which makes it appealing to a fairly broadContinue reading “It Was Magic”

Over the last week I’ve been heavily critical of the new liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. It looks to me as if they sacked a perfectly competent courts administrator to put in place their own political appointee, loyal to them. But now they’ve done some things that are worth praising. They’ve changed aContinue reading “Liberal Justices Do Some Good Stuff”

The liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court has gotten itself off to a disastrous start. They’ve dug themselves a hole and they just keep digging.  On their very first day in power the four liberals fired what appears to be a perfectly competent, low-profile public servant. Courts administrator Randy Koschnick was sacked without explanation.Continue reading “They Keep Digging”

Here’s an optimistic view of America: only 20% of us are crazy. I reach this happy conclusion in rough — and perhaps unreliable — fashion, but hey, any port in a storm, people. Here’s how my reasoning goes. According to a recent Gallup poll, we are evenly split between those who identify as Republican andContinue reading “8 of 10 Americans Are Sane”

Liberals took over the Wisconsin Supreme Court yesterday and promptly stepped on their own story. The first action of the new 4-3 liberal majority was to engage in a senseless partisan witch hunt. They fired the state’s courts administrator because they could and, apparently, because he’s a conservative. Never mind that his job has nothingContinue reading “A Bad Start”