Category Archives: Uncategorized

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 aContinue reading “Settling, but not ‘Settling’”

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 andContinue reading “Heroes and Victims”

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 hammeredContinue reading “Selling Air”

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 himContinue reading “The Moderate Case for Mamdani”

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 affirmContinue reading “Trumpers Now Attack Empathy”

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.Continue reading “NRA Joins Trans Rights Activists”

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 thatContinue reading “Weighted Grading is Fair Grading”

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.Continue reading “NPR Will Be Fine”

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 racesContinue reading “An Opening on the Supreme Court”

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 toContinue reading “How I Spent My Summer Vacation”