Category Archives: Uncategorized

We all know that mayors are where it’s at. Presidents and governors give speeches, senators hold hearings, Congressmen where nice buttons on their lapels. But mayors do stuff. Even the loftiest of politicians, once they become mayor, quickly transform into the purveyors of nuts and bolts. They might come into office talking about “new urbanism”Continue reading “Radical Practicality”

Last year we pumped out 262,750 words in 395 posts here at YSDA. That’s the equivalent of three or four average length books. Of course, it goes without saying that every one of those words was carefully chosen and absolutely correct. I know you agree. I thought today we’d revisit the most popular (or, atContinue reading “It’s Okay to Reject Critical Race Theory”

Here we are on New Year’s Eve. Or what you might think of as the Eve of Destruction. If you’re a Democrat, or just somebody who happens to like democracy, things are not looking so good. On the world stage the trend is sobering. China has snuffed out democracy and a free press in HongContinue reading “Naive Optimism for 2022”

Good news is rare, not because it doesn’t exist but because “news” is pretty much defined as negative. There are exceptions, of course, but when things go right that’s more or less expected, and when they go wrong that’s notable.  So, for example, when your city plows the streets beautifully after a blizzard, it doesn’tContinue reading “’21 Could Have Been Worse”

Good news is rare, not because it doesn’t exist but because “news” is pretty much defined as negative. There are exceptions, of course, but when things go right that’s more or less expected and when they go wrong that’s notable. So, for example, when your city plows the streets beautifully after a blizzard, it doesn’tContinue reading “The Year in Good News”

What was the most important state news story in 2021? You might nominate the ongoing fight over COVID restrictions and the waves of patients that are crushing the state’s ER’s and ICU’s. Then again, certainly, the Kyle Rittenhouse trial and verdict was the biggest national story that came out of Wisconsin this year, rivaled onlyContinue reading “The Big Story of ’21”

I’m a plodding reader. I know people who read books like I eat potato chips. They can’t stop. They don’t bother to count. Not me. I read 37 books this year plus six more that I gave up on without quite finishing. I am no speed reader. I will not count a book as readContinue reading “My Favorite Reads of ’21”

As I mentioned yesterday, in the Best Pols category, their opposite number was going to be much tougher. There’s so much competition for the top spot. And the judges had to wrestle with a tough question that has come to the fore since the Age of Trump. Is it worse to be an idiot fascistContinue reading “Worst Pols of ’21”

It’s annual list time! We’ll fill much of this week between Christmas and New Years with our lists of favorite stuff from the year almost gone by. Let’s start with our favorite pols countdown. 10. Tom Barrett. Milwaukee’s long-time, likable mayor doesn’t get — and may never get– the credit he deserves for managing theContinue reading “Political Heroes of ’21”

It’s Christmas day, so let’s take a break from politics. Let me just thank you for reading. It’s been a year since we started Yellow Stripes and readership has grown steadily. And each month we get more comments, both for publication and in emails, and they have been uniformly thoughtful and civil. Thanks to everyoneContinue reading “Merry Christmas”