Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

Yesterday I attended a lovely celebration of the life of Gov. Tony Earl at Monona Terrace. I guess there were about 200 or more people there, most of them, as you’d expect, Democrats. But there was a fair sprinkling of prominent Republicans too, including Tommy Thompson, former Senate majority leader Mary Panzer, and retired SupremeContinue reading “Vos Missed An Easy Chance”

The news shouldn’t have been surprising, but in fact I was surprised that it was this bad. A study by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum concludes that state financial support for the UW System, when measured per student, ranks 43rd in the nation. The good news is that support for the state’s technical colleges ranksContinue reading “UW Must Reconnect”

I used to be a more pure environmentalist than I am now. Still, I think Republicans were dead wrong to block purchase of an easement on land that would become the Pelican River State Forest. Here’s what happened. A national nonprofit purchased somewhere between 55,000 and 70,000 acres (reports conflict, but it can be fairlyContinue reading “Odd Way To Celebrate Earth Day”

I’m back as promised (or threatened) after taking a few days off to mark the passing of my mother, who died on Saturday. She was 93 years, eight months and two weeks old. She never had cancer, heart disease or even a hint of dementia. Just the steady accumulation of stuff that goes wrong afterContinue reading “One Less Reader”

After 27 and a half months of writing YSDA we’re going to try something we’ve never attempted before. We’re going to take a break for a few days. We’ll see you back here on Friday.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin announced yesterday, to no one’s surprise, that she’ll seek a third term. She’s likely to get it. So far, no Republican has stepped up to challenge her. By this time in his reelection cycle, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson had four serious challengers vying for the chance to take him on as theContinue reading “Baldwin’s Got the Blue Print”

It’s 10:30 PM and your 17-year old is in his room, messing around (the way Wally and the Beav would mess around) on Instagram. Suddenly the cops burst through the door. They shout at you, “Where’s Josh?! We’re not playing around here, people! Where’s your son?!” You point up the stairs. The SWAT team rushesContinue reading “Drop the iPad, Kid!”

Once again neither political party is speaking to me. I think the Democrats may be taking the wrong message from Janet Protasiewicz’s big win here last week. It’s true that she made it an up-or-down vote on abortion, but it’s also true that she won by almost exactly the same margin as liberal Jill KarofskyContinue reading “Not Abortion, Not Woke”

I like to ply Wisconsin trout streams. I think I should pay my fair share for the privilege. So does Trout Unlimited. The organization’s Wisconsin chapter is lobbying the Legislature to increase the trout stamp from $10 to $15. When you buy a Wisconsin fishing license you have the option of purchasing an inland and/orContinue reading “Midwest: Tax Me For Trout”

Both sides are wrong in the blowup over guns in the Tennessee Legislature, but the Republicans are more wrong. Let’s play a little YSDA tennis, smashing the ball of insanity over the net of reasonable behavior. We start with yet another senseless school shooting, this one in Nashville where six students and administrators were gunnedContinue reading “Madness in Tennessee”