State of Guv’s Race in the Third Inning

To put this in baseball terms (and let’s look ahead instead of looking back to an ugly end to the Packers’ season) it’s about the third inning in the Wisconsin governor’s race and there’s finally a score to look at. The bottom line is that it’s a close game with no clear favorite right now.Continue reading “State of Guv’s Race in the Third Inning”

Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho, MPLS Street Protests Have Got To Go

Martin Luther King Day is a good time to reflect on the efficacy of street protests. My view has long been that these things are usually ineffective, often counterproductive and rarely successful. The movement King led is a case in point because it was the rare exception that, after he was killed, degenerated into theContinue reading “Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho, MPLS Street Protests Have Got To Go”

The Quote & Quiz For 1/17/26

For the past several weeks the researchers, writers and editors on the YSDA’s Q&Q Desk have been frustrated by the lack of material generated by news makers that meets our high standards. So, we’ve gone silent. And wouldn’t you know it. The last couple of weeks we’ve been flooded by candidates for the highly prizedContinue reading “The Quote & Quiz For 1/17/26”

Trump Now Accepting All Trophies

Yesterday Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Machado stopped by the White House to drop off her Nobel Peace Prize for Donald Trump. The Nobel people said that the prize was non-transferable. What they didn’t say was what they meant: that they wish they had never given it to a nut like Machado in the first place.Continue reading “Trump Now Accepting All Trophies”

Trump’s Thugocracy

What’s going on in Minneapolis right now — and less dramatically across the rest of the country — is the very face of the Trump Administration. This is exactly who these people are. Masked men in fatigues carrying overpowered weapons dragging people from their cars. Demanding to see their papers like Gestapo agents at GermanContinue reading “Trump’s Thugocracy”

More Redistribution Needed?

In my last blog I made the assertion, quoting the center-right columnist and editor Jonah Goldberg, that the rich were already paying their fair share in taxes. Goldberg claimed that the top 10% of income tax filers paid three-quarters of federal income taxes. An alert reader took issue with my overall assertion and provided dataContinue reading “More Redistribution Needed?”

In Defense of Rugged Individualism

One line from Zohran Mamdani’s inaugural address from a couple of weeks ago has been getting a lot of attention. It goes like this: “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”  Does he mean the communal warmth of Stalin’s work camps in Siberia? Or maybe he means the literalContinue reading “In Defense of Rugged Individualism”

Some Choice For Madison School Board

I guess it’s better than nothing. I had expected that, per usual, the two incumbents up for reelection to the Madison School Board would face no opposition. So, I was pleasantly surprised that both Blair Mosner-Feltham and Nikki Vander Meulen will have opponents. The trouble is that their opponents are not raising the issues thatContinue reading “Some Choice For Madison School Board”

Where’s the Moderate in Dem Primary?

The field for the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin governor is set and it’s lacking a key ingredient. There is no one looking to occupy the moderate lane. What we’ve got are six candidates cramming into the main liberal-activist lane, one candidate looking to be the Badger Mamdani and one candidate who has a sailboat inContinue reading “Where’s the Moderate in Dem Primary?”