Category Archives: Uncategorized

Wisconsin’s got a drinking and driving problem. The Legislature just made it worse. Earlier this month there was a late night crash at the intersection of two rural highways in Racine County. Three vehicles were involved. All three drivers were legally intoxicated. All three. A few weeks before that, a Green Bay driver was arrestedContinue reading “One For the Road”

Who do the hard left and hard right activists in the two major parties ignore? Most of us. Think of politics as a tennis match. Those of us who are moderates are the net. The ball keeps getting slammed over our heads — and sometimes right into us — by partisans to our left andContinue reading “The Battered Middle Majority”

We here at YSDA won’t be making candidate endorsements. But what we will do is provide our best sense of which candidates are more moderate when there’s a choice. So, for those of you who live in Madison and are voting in competitive city council races this April, here is our take on candidates inContinue reading “Moderates For City Council”

I am an avid hunter who owns two guns. I’m also for the strongest gun control measures we can get. Gun control is one of those issues that should be easy to compromise on. That’s because there are so many options for things that we might do. But, as is the case on too manyContinue reading “Gun Owners for Gun Control”

“Today’s version of private property is a moderate position,” asserts Prof. Harvey Jacobs. Americans are not free to do whatever they want with their land, but the question of exactly what they can do is never settled. Climate change may be the latest disruption that redefines our relationship to land. By Harvey M. Jacobs This isContinue reading “This Land is Whose Land? (Part 2)”

My fellow liberals: It’s okay to say you don’t accept critical race theory. It really is. I call myself a moderate these days, but truth be told, I still meet most of the liberal litmus tests. I’m pro-choice, pro-labor and pro-environment. I think climate change is an existential threat as are Donald Trump and RonContinue reading “It’s OK to Reject Critical Race Theory”

It’s March Madness. You know what’s really madness? Not paying the players. This is another in an occasional Sunday series with our sports columnist, Joe Grump. Joe scours the sports pages and then pummels you with his insights. It’s best just to nod in silent agreement. If you engage, it will only encourage him. ByContinue reading “On the Hard Woods With Joe Grump”

If you live in Madison, on your April ballot you’ll find a series of questions about the makeup of the city council.  These are advisory questions only. Any changes would have to be approved by the council in separate action and some would require approval in another referendum, which would be binding. The questions springContinue reading “More Full-Time Pols? Really?”

Why is it okay to be openly hostile to old white guys? I’m on my neighborhood listserv here on the very liberal near west side of Madison. The vast majority of the traffic on the listerv is about somebody trying to get rid of something in their attic or looking for a recommendation on aContinue reading “Bigotry”

The moderate mind set is averse to drama. Moderates just want to work the problem. One of the things that’s wrong about our public debates these days is the tendency for both sides to declare everything a matter of fundamental principles or basic rights. That makes it virtually impossible to find common ground because everyContinue reading “Apocalypse Never”