Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

Tom Nelson has joined Alex Lasry and Sarah Godlewski with a television ad buy. The least-funded of the four major candidates vying to take on Sen. Ron Johnson in November will probably have the smallest reach, but the ad itself could pack a bigger punch. The fourth candidate, Mandela Barnes, has yet to hit theContinue reading “He Shoots! He Scores!”

A few months ago we ended the practice of posting long opinion pieces by others verbatim. A reader and veteran journalist brought our attention to the concept of “fair usage.” That’s the principle (and law) that says it’s okay to quote bits and pieces from another writer but not to cut and paste their entireContinue reading “Abortion Opponents Aren’t Evil”

I’m late with my Midwest post this Sunday, but I’m still getting it in before Sunday ends — and I have a good excuse. It’s the firewood window up here in the U.P., and so I was using every daylight hour I could to put in my stock for the fall. I count the firewoodContinue reading “Midwest: Firewood”

For the third time in six years Democrats and liberals are being given an opportunity to turn tragedy into progress. Will they blow it again? What was surprising about the leak of the draft of a decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade was the leak itself, not its substance. From the moment the SupremeContinue reading “Safe, Legal & Rare”

Somebody violated protocol and leaked an early draft of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade. This has sent people off, as you might expect it would, but let’s try to sort through it as rationally as we can. The first thing to observe is that the leak itself was aContinue reading “Sorting Through the Leaked Roe Draft”

I’m headed north today, so we’ll just have a quick update on an issue we addressed a few weeks ago. As the new Dane County Board reorganizes itself after the spring elections, there was a move to eliminate the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance before the board meetings. There was also a proposal toContinue reading “Pledge Wins; Prayer Loses”

Now on week three of my promised Sunday morning series about the Midwest, some thoughtful readers have chimed in to ask: do you even know what you’re talking about? Now, in truth, that question is asked regularly on any number of topics I have addressed in this and other spaces. It’s not even limited toContinue reading “Midwest: Where Is It?”

Fellow Madison blogger David Blaska has accused me of being an Eisenhower Republican. I think I’ll take that as a compliment. Dwight Eisenhower was my President when I was born in 1959. Consider these things about Eisenhower: His proudest accomplishment was the Interstate Highway System, the biggest single public works project in American history. (FDR’sContinue reading “Am I an Eisenhower Republican?”

One of the best things that has happened in Wisconsin over the last several years is the advent of the Marquette University Law School Poll. The detailed poll, run by Charles Franklin, never fails to provide interesting data, mostly on politics but also on the state of the state more broadly. For a political columnist,Continue reading “Sifting Through the Latest Marquette Poll”

Let’s say you’re a public official with $3 million burning a hole in your pocket. Pick the option that aligns with your values.  Get it out to local small businesses contending with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 shutdown.  Increase efforts to attack the homeless problem, which was made worse by COVID.  Bolster food pantries,Continue reading “$1000 For Dane County Employees? Bad Idea”