Yellow Stripes & Dead Armadillos
Dugan’s No Hero
Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan is on trial this week for helping an illegal immigrant escape — briefly — arrest by ICE. I don’t know if she’ll be convicted or not and even if she is she’s likely to get a light sentence. That’s appropriate because Dugan should never have been criminally prosecuted in…
What’s College For?
An Associated Press story from the other day caught my eye. It was about a controversy stemming from a new policy limiting how much a student can borrow under federally supported student loan programs. The policy itself is sound. It limits how much a student can borrow based on their likely income once they graduate.…
Trump’s Derangement
Rob Reiner’s going to get the last laugh. The other day Donald Trump did what Donald Trump does. He was mean-spirited, cruel, vulgar, self-obsessed and wrong. That’s par for Trump’s course. On Monday Trump said that Reiner’s death was “reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with…
‘Sensible Dane’ Still Makes Sense
A few weeks ago, former journalist, local pol and current blogger-provacateur David Blaska invited me for a cup of coffee. He wanted to run an idea by me. His idea was to create a new local party in Dane County. I thought it was a good idea, until I didn’t. Blaska, a Never Trump Republican…
Trump Fades Some More
The evidence of Donald Trump’s slipping hold on his party is growing. Yesterday, the Indiana State Senate overwhelmingly rejected Trump’s demand that they rig their congressional maps to provide Republicans with another seat. More Republican senators voted against Trump than with him. On the same day, four Republicans U.S. Senators voted with the Democrats to…
Brennan In, Conroy Out
Since the announced sale of Exact Sciences, which makes the colon cancer test kit, a few months ago, there’s been speculation that the company’s founder and CEO Kevin Conroy would get in the race for Wisconsin governor. It now comes down to this: how do you get along with your brother-in-law? Because yesterday Joel Brennan,…
The Elites Had This Coming
There’s a certain kind of liberal who doesn’t care much for democracy. When I became Mayor of Madison in 2003, my experience in government had been as an aide in the legislature and as a Dane County Supervisor. Those bodies operated pretty much as a political science major would have expected. Bills were introduced, powerful…
Give a Kid a House
One of the more intriguing — and one of the few positive — things to happen in the last few weeks is the announcement that Michael and Susan Dell will contribute $6.25 billion toward “Trump accounts” set up under the Big Beautiful Bill. Shameless self-promotion aside, this is one good thing that’s come out of…
Checking in on Dem Candidates
With Mandela Barnes’ unsurprising announcement that he’s joining the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, that field appears to be pretty well set. The only potential, but not yet announced candidate, out there is former state Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan. I would expect him to get in before Christmas and I’d be surprised…
Two Tales of Honduras
Trump pardons a notorious drug dealer while he deports a bright college student. The college student didn’t flatter him and hire Roger Stone. Her bad. Any Lucia Lopez Belloza is a 19-year old student at Babson College near Boston who has been in this country since she was seven. She has no criminal record. In…
Barnes’ Heavy Baggage
In what will compete for the least surprising story of 2025, Mandella Barnes officially entered the race for Wisconsin governor yesterday. There had been an effort to keep him out. The Black-owned Milwaukee Courier newspaper, which endorsed Barnes in his 2022 U.S. Senate bid, wrote an October editorial urging him against a gubernatorial run. “Mandela had his…
Burns Gets It Right
Okay, so I understand that I am required to gush over everything Ken Burns does. I may not so much as even mention his Moe Howard hair cut. The man’s a genius and who am I to raise so much as a dust speck of dissent? And yet… if I could just offer one little…
The Quote & Quiz, Thanksgiving Edition
Welcome to this week’s Quote & Quiz, which moves from its usual Saturday spot to today’s place of honor on Thanksgiving Day. This special quote comes to us from none other than Lanette Cook, education and engagement manager at the Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary in Erie, Colorado. Cook asked this of Gus, a farm raised…
Kelly’s a Hero
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and a handful of Congressional colleagues, who are service veterans, issued a video last week directed at active service personnel. Their message was simple and true: officers and soldiers need not follow illegal orders. They pledged loyalty to the Constitution, not to Donald Trump. In fact, their message was consistent with…
The Quote & Quiz for 11/22/25
This week’s quote comes to us from none other than Katie Wilson, mayor-elect of Seattle who said: “I will appoint a cabinet of exceptional leaders whose lived experiences reflect the diversity of Seattle’s Black, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islander, Latinx/Hispanic, and People of Color communities as well as that of women, immigrants and refugees, 2SLGBTQIA+…
What We Lost When We Lost Sharon’s Store
Sharon owned a small store in Rockbridge. For a few decades her store served as a deer registration station during the nine-day gun deer season, which begins again on Saturday. When you shot a deer in her neck of the woods you had to bring it to Sharon’s where she filled out some paper work…
The Tragedy of Tommy
At some point, when he’s long gone, people will look back on the Trump era and make a simple judgement: did you oppose or support the man who was the most corrupt president in history? A man who sought to destroy American democracy and replace it with an autocracy. A man who displayed nothing but…
Sunset of Trump?
That orange glow you see on the horizon may be Donald Trump setting in the west. God knows, we’ve been here before. I was sure of several things. Trump could not be elected in 2016. Trump could not be reelected in 2024. And along the way, on numerous occasions, I was absolutely certain that he…
Blame My Dog
Close readers of YSDA may have noticed that our production has fallen off in recent weeks. The other members of my household are to blame. I’ll explain. I usually write this blog early in the morning. I read something in the morning’s papers. My goat is gotten. I spout off. I post the spouting and…
Moderates Act Like Adults
Three weeks ago in this space we urged Democrats to do the responsible thing, be the adults in the room, and vote to end the government shutdown. Now, thanks to the sensible moderate Democrats in the Senate, that’s exactly what’s happening. Moreover, it’ll pay off politically for their party. Our argument back in October was…
The Fitz Was Sunk From the Start
The Edmund Fitzgerald began to sink in June, 1958. Today, November 10th, only marks the 50th anniversary of the actual sinking in 1975. That’s one conclusion you could reach after reading a new recounting of the tragedy, Wrecked: the Edmund Fitzgerald and the Sinking of the American Economy, by Tom Nelson with Jerald Podair. Nelson…
Badgers Buck the Trend
If you can just step back, take your heart out of it for a moment, and analyze it as a management exercise, the whole controversy over the future of the Wisconsin football program and, indeed, the whole Athletic Department is fascinating. The latest news, as of this morning, is that Luke Fickell will be back…
The Anti-Establishment Moderate
It’s possible to be both frustrated with the Beltway consultants and pols in the Democratic Party and not take positions on the issues that are out of the mainstream. But a recent column in the New York Times by Michelle Goldberg about the troubled candidacy of Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner posits it as…
It’s About Prices
There was one clear message from yesterday’s elections: it’s all about the cost of living. The Democrats got creamed a year ago not because most voters loved Donald Trump or embraced his full agenda. They were pushed toward him by a Democratic Party whose image was too far to the left on social issues and…
My Most Ill-Advised Blog Ever
Say what you want about YSDA, but we go there. We go to places sensible people fear to tread. And that has never been more true than it is today, when we dare to take on the feminization of America. We go there now because there’s an essay out there causing a mild stir. It’s…
Tuesday’s Just Tuesday
There are four elections of note tomorrow. The pundits will over analyze the bejesus out of them. And YSDA will not be left behind in this regard. Instead of trying to predict the results or to pick apart their meaning, what we’ll do today is analyze the analysis. What do the predictable talking points from…
Boo! Trump in ’28?
It’s Halloween, so I thought I’d tell the scariest story I could come up with. The twenty-second amendment is pretty clear: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” And yet there’s no reason to think that’ll stop Donald Trump from seeking a third term. After all, in his…
Is Fickell Too Big To Fire?
Why won’t the UW fire athletic director Chris McIntosh and football coach Luke Fickell? I have my theories. One of them, as expressed over in my Isthmus blog this week, was that Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, who could fire McIntosh outright and Fickell by extension, had not yet heard enough from big donors, both those who…
A Glimmer of Hope in the GOP
Yesterday, in a piece on the government shutdown, I noted in passing an interesting trend in the Republican Party: Trump devotees who are breaking with him over a more traditional form of populism. I’d like to explore that a little more today. Trump practices a form of huckster populism. He’s a demagogue playing to people’s…
Shutdown Showdown
Now it’s getting serious. For the first couple weeks of the government shutdown it was almost a parlor game. Who would get the blame? Who would blink first? It was about strategy and maneuvering and messaging. Take your turn to roll the dice, move your piece on the board, pick a card. Sure, there have…
Enough With the Stupid Uniforms
Today we’re not messing around. We’re taking on the big issues. Enough with the stupid football uniforms already. Last night we reached a new low in dumb uniforms with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ alleged throwback unis. I’m pretty sure that no Steeler from the 1930’s would have been caught dead in the get up that Aaron…
What’s Going On at West High?
Last week a student was beaten in a bathroom at Madison’s West High School. The school district would like you to know that there’s nothing to see here. Press reports of the incident were sketchy due to the standard lack of information provided by the district. Then a video of the incident, recorded on a…
Why Won’t the Left Disavow Platner?
In most walks of life there is forgiveness. But especially these days, in politics there is no redemption. Witness Kamala Harris. She tried hard to get to the center, but she couldn’t shake some things she had said as a successful California Democrat. The most effective ad against her used her previously stated position in…
Who Hates America?
I find that I write a lot of posts criticizing the left — which is, more or less, my own side. I write much less stuff that’s critical of Trump, the GOP and the hard-right then I could mostly because if I went after every outrage and every dumb thing they did I wouldn’t have…
How About Barry as Interim AD?
Here’s a special Saturday morning edition of YSDA. Let’s call it No Kings, No Coaches. While the Badger football team is being dismantled by Ohio State at Camp Randall this afternoon thousands of people will be out in the streets hoping to dismantle Donald Trump. We’ve commented sufficiently on the No Kings (Except Elvis) rallies,…
Dems Should Reopen the Government
Americans are becoming more frustrated with the ongoing federal government shutdown. But while each party labors to cast all the blame on the other one, the most recent poll finds that most people blame them both. An AP/NORC poll that was reported this morning shows that 60% of Americans blame Trump and the Republicans while…
Why “No Kings” Won’t Kill the King
If you go to a No Kings rally on Saturday don’t bother to look for me. I’ll be enjoying the fall colors on the Fall Art Tour in the Driftless Region of southwest Wisconsin — a much better way to spend my day. I’m no fan of street protests in any event. I think about…
Dems Shouldn’t Play Trump’s Game
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says that Democrats should “fight fire with fire.” He forgets that most fires are fought with water — the exception is wild fires which Newsom knows something about and may shape his view. In politics when we fight fire with fire the whole house gets burned down. I’m referring here to…
Shalala For UW Athletic Director
It’s only a matter of time now until Chris McIntosh is fired as Wisconsin Athletic Director and walks away with over $3 million in an obscene contract buyout. I have two things to say about that. First, good riddance. And second, let’s hire Donna Shalala to replace him. As far as I can tell Shalala…
The Past Isn’t Past
When I was in first or second grade at St. Ignatius school what I could have told you about George Washington was that when his father confronted him with a fallen cherry tree he told the truth and accepted the consequences. What I could have told you about Abraham Lincoln was that he walked miles…
The Curse of Tribalism
One of the things that has brought us to the present awful state of affairs is tribalism. It’s corrosive to support our own team even if we know what they’re doing is wrong and to oppose the other guys even if we think they’re right. We should have left that stuff back in the cave.…
Latest Handicap for Wis Guv
With Josh Kaul now out of the race for Wisconsin governor (he’s decided to seek a third term as AG), let’s take a look at where we’re at. On the Republican side it looks like the nominee will be Tom Tiffany, an ultra-conservative Trump acolyte whose congressional district spans northeast Wisconsin, the most conservative place…
Kaul’s Catch 22
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced yesterday that he won’t run for governor after all. This makes him the best qualified candidate. Kaul had been widely expected to be the heir apparent to Gov. Tony Evers who is not seeking a third term. Now, it’s true that his heirness wasn’t all that apparent as Kaul…
A Good Move by CBS
CBS has taken an important move toward reestablishing public faith in legacy media by hiring Bari Weiss as its news director. Weiss is cofounder of The Free Press, an online news source that I’ve found to be as objective and even-handed as any out there. Before that she worked for Tablet, an excellent centrist website,…
The Coup Started This Week
Let’s be clear about what Donald Trump did this week. He took the next big step in overthrowing American democracy. In an unprecedented move, he ordered the 800 top U.S. military leaders to Washington for a reason he didn’t specify. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blathered on about the “warrior ethos” and hit the usual culture…
Madison School Board Rewards Itself For Failure
One of the enduring themes here at YSDA is that everything in this world is not about race and gender. My biggest concern, among many, with the Madison school board is that they seem to believe just the opposite. Case in point is their comments when they awarded themselves a big pay increase the other…
Missy Hughes, A Politician, Joins the Race
As expected, Missy Hughes, Wisconsin’s economic development director, joined the growing Democratic primary field looking to succeed Gov. Tony Evers. I like her profile: 17 years as an executive at Organic Valley and then six years heading up Evers’ development department. I also like the lane she’s chosen, which suggests she leans moderate. “Right now…
Why I Love Amazon, And What the Dems Can Learn From It
I’m told I’m supposed to hate Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos. The most recent reason is that Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post, spiked an editorial that would have endorsed Kamala Harris for president. In fact, there was a day last fall when I was supposed to boycott Amazon in protest. Liberals were…
Harris & Biden Are So 2024
Kamala Harris is under the impression that anybody still cares. In her account of the 2024 presidential contest she bites the hand that fed her while Biden still apparently believes that he could have won in 2024. But here’s the thing: Democrats — and everybody else — have moved on. Harris writes many dumb things…
Snip the UW’s Golden Parachutes
There’s the world you and I live in. Then there’s the universe occupied by Luke Fickell, Chris McIntosh and Jennifer Mnookin. That trio is enjoying a lazy cruise down the River D’Nile. Fickell has solidified the growing notion that he wasn’t the right guy to lead the Badger football program. McIntosh, the UW Athletic Director…
The 64-year Question
If you were to guess at the persona of the country’s longest serving legislator you might come up with someone like Bill Clinton. Gregarious, smooth, glib, manipulative and ruthless when he thought he needed to be. It turns out that the man who holds the national record for legislative service, at 64 years, is Madison’s…
Public Broadcasting’s Real Challenge
Public broadcasting took a big hit with the loss of federal funds and in some states even their state support is shrinking. My own view is that NPR and PBS earned all this by dismissing well documented charges of liberal bias that went on for decades. But these stations are still left with substantial resources…
Add a Season Trophy
Let’s not mention Wisconsin or Green Bay football right now. There’s enough ugliness in this world. Instead let’s think about baseball. Yesterday the Milwaukee Brewers backed into their fourth NL Central Division title in five years. They backed in because they lost Sunday’s game, but so did the Cubs and so the Brewers captured the…
The Q&Q For 9/20/25
Today marks the return of the not-so-popular Quote & Quiz. A regular Saturday feature here at YSDA, it’s lightly read by dozens. But we like it and if our readers don’t, well, that’s their problem. This week’s quote comes to us from none other than Tesla’s board chair, Robyn Denholm, who said: “The plan is…
Jimmy Kimmel and Free Speech
I stopped watching late night television when David Letterman retired. Two reasons for that. First, I loved Letterman. And second, I got old. I struggle to stay up past 9:30. So, I literally never saw Jimmy Kimmel’s show. For that matter, I never saw Stephen Colbert’s show either. Both have been essentially fired because they…
Early Handicap on Wis Guv’s Race
Sabato is wrong. Sabato’s Crystal Ball lists next year’s Wisconsin governor’s race as a toss up. It’s not. Democrats have a big advantage. The only thing you really need to know is that Trump voters show up only to vote for Trump. That has been amply demonstrated in countless races all over the country for…
I’m Doing a Terrible Job. Pay Me More!
Where would I be without the Madison School Board? Every month or so they provide me with fodder for this blog. Why, just last week the district touted a new logo for which they paid an out-of-state design company $100,000, only months after the voters gave them another $600 million in taxing authority to spend,…
Settling, but not ‘Settling’
I came to Madison as a transfer student in 1979. I moved into a studio apartment on Doty Street. Because I arrived as a junior and didn’t know anybody in town it was hard to find friends. Getting established here was a long, hard slog. But it worked out eventually. I ended up marrying a…
Heroes and Victims
It’s possible to be repulsed by an act without canonizing its victim. I’ve made that point in the past with regard to George Floyd and, here in Madison, regarding Tony Robinson. Floyd, of course, was the victim of a murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. That cop was brought to justice and…
Selling Air
Did the Madison school district need a new logo? Did Cracker Barrel need a fresh look? Of course not. And creating new logos was needless, expensive and ultimately counter-productive. But it’s easier and cheaper to rearrange the deck chairs than it is to have enough life boats. The school district should be getting justifiably hammered…
The Moderate Case for Mamdani
I disagree with much of what Zohran Mamdani supports in his bid to become New York Mayor. But if the polls can be believed, he’s going to win easily in November. So, Democrats need to focus on the big picture strategy. Is it really worth the fight within the party to try to defeat him…
Trumpers Now Attack Empathy
Of all the horrible things that hard-right populism is doing to our country, maybe the worst is the attack on one of our best human traits. Empathy, you might think, is a good thing. But not to hard-right Christian nationalists according to a recent AP story. “Empathy becomes toxic when it encourages you to affirm…
NRA Joins Trans Rights Activists
You know it’s a crazy mixed-up world when I agree with the NRA. In its ongoing effort to scapegoat transgender people for every problem under the sun, the Trump administration has floated the idea of restricting gun ownership for anyone experiencing gender dysphoria. The response from the NRA and other gun rights groups was swift.…
Weighted Grading is Fair Grading
Here’s something you won’t read in YSDA every day: the Madison School Board is right. Well, okay, so not the whole board. Just one and a half of the seven members. Those members are Nicki Vander Meulen and Martha Siravo. The issue is weighted grading. The state of Wisconsin has set up a system that…
NPR Will Be Fine
I have a strange relationship with public broadcasting. I consume a lot of it and it drives me crazy. It’s like the restaurant reviewer who said of a new bistro, “the food here is terrible. And such small portions!” I thought NPR and PBS had a liberal bias even back when I was a liberal.…
An Opening on the Supreme Court
There’s an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and it’s an opening in more ways than one. Justice Rebecca Bradley announced last week that she won’t seek another ten year term on the court. That’s probably because the conservative saw the writing on the wall. Liberal Democrats have won the last two court races…
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
I took the summer off to finish a book. The book is “finished,” sort of. It’s now in the final stages of consideration by the publisher. No contract yet. I’ll tell you more about it when the ink is dry, but because there’s still more work to do on it, these posts are unlikely to…
See You in September
Dear Readers, Well, I’ve got some good news and some bad news, though for some of you it will be good news and even better news. The good news is that I’m close to getting a publisher for my book. The bad news is that the publisher would like to see my final draft later…
The Q&Q For 6/7/25
The week’s quote comes to us from none other than Elon Musk who said: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election. Such ingratitude.” A) A disagreement over who is really the world’s richest man. B) Musk’s proposal at DOGE to save a billion dollars by cutting the paper and Sharpees Trump uses to sign…
My Purpose
The other day — well, okay it took me two days — I built a display case for my collection of logo golf balls. It is one of my proudest accomplishments. Because I play golf the way everybody plays golf — which is to say, badly — I need to do something else while out…
Any Adults Around?
I can’t say that I’m proud of the snark that often graces these digital pages. I just write what I think and it turns out that sarcasm is often caught up in my authentic self. I am who I am. But I also like to think that back when I held a responsible adult job…
The Long Struggle
Liberal democracy isn’t done. But it’s also far from safe. This is going to be a long fight. That’s the lesson I take from the last year or so of election results around the globe. Trump returned to office and he’s now doubling down in his effort to destroy any semblance of democracy or human…
Tax Those Tips
Not taxing tips is a really stupid idea. Let me offer a half dozen arguments against this. It’s just rank pandering for votes in Nevada. It’s almost certain that a tax exemption on tips will soon become law. It’s part of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” and even the Democrats support it. That’s not because it’s…
MMSD: More $, No Accountability
Next year Madison’s school district will spend 8% more than it did the year before. That will be $20,300 per student or 15% more than the average district spends on a per student basis. School taxes on the average Madison home will go up by $834. And what will we get for all that money?…
The Q&Q For 5/31/25
This week’s quote comes to us from none other than our own Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, who said: “I’m just as prone as everyone else to go, ‘Well, that’s wacko. That’s a conspiracy.’ But then you start getting the information and you start going, ‘Wow, is that weird.’ And as we find out, in so…
Tax Me
Long time readers of YSDA will know that I’m somewhat spirited in my opposition to forgiving college debt. I’ve got a dozen or so reasons for that, but the primary one is that people should keep their promises, not to mention their legal obligations. You took out a loan. You promised to pay it back.…
Rahm in ’28? Meh.
I’m glad to see early talk among Democrats of nominating a moderate for president in 2028. I’m just not sure I like Rahm Emanuel for the job. In a recent piece in the Wall Street Journal, Emanuel talks more or less openly about his ambitions in that regard. I like a lot of what he…
Squandering Floyd’s Legacy
This last weekend marked the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. It’s a lesson in how the hard-left hurts its own causes. Floyd didn’t deserve to be blamed for his own death, as the hard-right is trying to do right now, or canonized, as the hard-left has done ever since his death. The truth about…
The Future of War
It’s Memorial Day, so let’s do some reflecting on war. Here’s my key reflection: the most dangerous thing we face right now may be the passing of the WW II generation. Here’s why. Let’s start with some good news. Despite the awful things happening in Gaza and Ukraine, overall since WW II we have lived…
Why is WI Subsidizing Kwik Trip’s Competitor?
There are two Wisconsin traditions I love above all others. Sheesphead and brats? Well, yes. Let me rephrase that. There are two Wisconsin institutions I love above all others. The UW and the Green Bay Packers? Well, yes. Let me further refine my search. There are two Wisconsin-born businesses I love above all the rest.…
We Need Another SC Candidate
With yesterday’s announcement from liberal Democrat Chris Taylor, it looks like next April’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race is already set — 11 months in advance. Let’s see how it’s shaping up. First off, and oh so mercifully, we won’t see nearly the same amount of advertising. That’s because there’s not much at stake. No matter…
Public Media Gets Defensive
The people who run public media could have risen to their own image of themselves. Instead they stayed defensive. Conservatives have complained of a liberal bias from taxpayer-funded media for half a century. Richard Nixon tried to cut it soon after it was created under Lyndon Johnson. The attacks have not only been sustained, but…
The Blindness of the Elites
The New York Times writer David Brooks wrote an extraordinarily tin eared piece last weekend. It was about how hard it was to be young and privileged. His thesis was that kids who got into Ivy League schools now faced intense competition to get into the right clubs, get just the right summer internships and…
The Q&Q For 5/17/25
This week’s quote comes to us from none other than Jordan Hudson, the young woman who is famously dating the old man Bill Belichick. In an email to her cheerleading teammates thanking them for their support she wrote: “During this time, I have faced a slow, exterior erasure of my strong, individual identity.” A) She’s…
Breaking the Two Party Monopoly
Dale Schultz and Dave Mahoney have a good idea. Like a lot of good ideas it faces a hard road ahead. Schultz, the former Republican state senator, and Mahoney, the former Democratic Dane County sheriff, have formed a third party they call United Wisconsin. But it’s unlike other third parties, which come and go, and…
Biden Gave Us Trump
Joe Biden had shown signs of cognitive decline even when he was running for president back in 2020. For four years it only got worse. That’s the unsurprising conclusion in a new book set to come out next week. In “Original Sin,” journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson interviewed some 200 people, most of whom…
Watch Josh Hawley
On the shaky assumption that Donald Trump won’t declare marshal law and cancel the 2028 elections, Republicans are already trying to figure out how to be the next Trump. Their problem is that, because there may be a God after all, there is only one Donald. And when he’s gone I don’t see anybody else…
Gogebic County Hates Me
The rumor around the lake is that Gogebic County hates us. That’s why getting my boat in the water was such a disaster this year. Because I have an inkling that the connection may not be immediately obvious to you, let me offer something in the way of explanation. A man who knows something about…
Splitting Wood
Next to the Friday before opening day of deer season, last Wednesday was my favorite day of the year. I made firewood. I love splitting firewood. Real men use an ax, of course. I rent a hydraulic splitter from the hardware store down in Conover. But still, it takes a whole day to split and…
The Q&Q For 5/10/25
This week’s quote comes to us from none other than Donald Trump who said of his idea to reopen Alcatraz: “It will serve as a symbol of law, order, and justice.” A) Frank Morris and John and Clarance Anglin. B) Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly and John Dillinger. C) Clint Eastwood, Fred Ward and Jack…
The Cards Pick a Winner
The last thing the world needed was another hard-liner. Instead, we got a new world leader that appears to be someone who will push back against hard-right populism. In Robert Prevost the College of Cardinals hit all the right notes. The new Pope can be claimed by the developing world where Catholicism is strongest since…
The Q&Q For 5/3/25
This week we’re going to do something a little different for the Quote and Quiz. Instead of providing you with a quote and questions related to it, we’re going to ask you to speculate on what was being said at one moment in time. Here’s the moment: Only one question this week. What might have…
Local Public Media Will Pay the Price For the Sins of NPR
This week, just because everybody else left of center is taking the opportunity to pile on Trump after 100 days, we here at YSDA, given our contrary nature, have decided to scour the record to find things we actually agree with him on. Make no mistake, we think this guy is a disaster. But we…
DPI Still Doesn’t Get It
Every commentator who is left of center is taking the opportunity of Trump’s first 100 days to blast the bejesus out of him. I agree with all of it. Donald Trump is an awful human being who is doing an awful job as president. I take a back seat to nobody in my contempt for…
Trump’s Right on Student Debt
The convicted felon Donald Trump’s first 100 days back in office have been a train wreck. He inherited a healthy economy and drove it into a brick wall. He destroyed generations of American leadership in the free world. He claimed powers for himself (not really for his office, but more for himself personally) that are…
O, Canada!
Donald Trump has now been crushed in two major elections this month, both essentially referendums on his leadership so far. Earlier this April, the liberals not only won a Wisconsin Supreme Court race that was supposed to be close, but they won it by 10 points. And last night, Liberal Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney…
Arresting Judges
I think Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan was probably wrong to help a defendant flee ICE. But the Trump Administration’s reaction was much worse. The story as reported so far is that Dugan was presiding at a hearing involving a man, apparently in the country illegally and charged with domestic violence, when she learned that ICE…
The Q&Q For 4/26/25
This week’s quote comes to us from none other then the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Todd Lyons, who said at a recent border security conference in Phoenix that the agency needs: “To get better at treating this like a business” and suggested the nation’s deportation system could function “like Amazon, trying to…
The Pope’s Place in the World
As Popes go, I liked this one. His ideas were rooted in the 19th Century, which is about a millennium ahead of his recent predecessors. But what passes for progressive in the Catholic Church, well, isn’t anyplace else. He had good things to say about women and gay people, but they’re still second class citizens…
NFL Should’ve Paid For Its Own Party
When Vince Lombardi was coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers, he sat at a card table with a cardboard name plate and when the Packers’ number came up he picked Donnie Anderson. Those were the days when men were men. Now, the draft has become like an awards show. It’s… let me…
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Yellow Stripes & Dead Armadillos 