Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

I got a fundraising email from Rebecca Cooke yesterday. I usually don’t pay much attention to these mass emails, but something about this one caught my attention. It contained this picture. Cooke explains that as she runs for Congress in southwest Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District, she’s also waiting tables at a restaurant. She writes, “TheContinue reading “Is It Rebecca Cooke’s Time?”

I used to think it would be a good thing if we got big money out of politics. I still think that, but now I’m not so sure if small money isn’t even worse. It’s like pulling weeds. Every week or so I get a breathless text message from my good friends Chuck or NancyContinue reading “Small Donors Contribute to Polarization”

I’m one of a tiny number of Americans who believe that we should still have a presence — military and otherwise — in Afghanistan. In fact, the only other commentator I can find who agrees with me (publicly) is long-time Philadelphia Inquirer foreign policy columnist Trudy Rubin. And even she hasn’t touched the subject in overContinue reading “We Should Still Be In Afghanistan”

Why is college so expensive?  When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Pres. Joe Biden’s college loan forgiveness plan earlier this summer, I agreed with them. I have 12 reasons for believing that this was a horrible idea.  But the main one I want to explore today is a concern about Biden’s plan that evenContinue reading “Audit the UW”

Today I’m going to complain about government. Or, as my hero (for today) Ronald Reagan would have said, “gov-ment.” One of the great things about having a blog is that when something relatively minor sticks in your craw you can unstick it by sharing. I suppose that’s true of social media in general, but IContinue reading “Why is the Government So Bad?”

For a group that represents less than one percent of Americans there sure is a lot of churn over transgender people. It’s literally true that you cannot get through a single day of NPR news programs without hearing a transgender story and exclusively from the point of view of transgender activists. Anyone who raises soContinue reading “Trans-formation”

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”