This week’s quote comes to us from Iditarod racer Jessie Holmes, who said: “I had to punch a moose in the nose out there.” A) He took a short cut. B) He shot up his dogs with performance enhancing drugs. C) He shot up himself with performance enhancing drugs. D) He failed to properly gutContinue reading “The Q&Q For 3/8/24”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The State of Joe Biden
At tonight’s State of the Union address what Joe Biden says won’t be heard. How he says it is the whole ballgame. The week started for Biden in the worst possible way. A new New York Times/Siena College poll came out and all the numbers were bad. The most relevant one in this context isContinue reading “The State of Joe Biden”
Cancel the Dem Convention
Okay, okay. I know that the Democrats are not going to cancel their 2024 convention in Chicago the way they all but tanked their 2020 event in Milwaukee. But they should. With the party facing a pandemic of boredom they’d be better off. After all, there essentially was no convention four years ago and theyContinue reading “Cancel the Dem Convention”
Scrap Police Board
The city of Madison is facing a budget crisis. I’ve got an idea to save an easy half million dollars. The Civilian Police Oversight Board was created in 2020 following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. It never made any sense because the Madison Police Department has long been among the most progressiveContinue reading “Scrap Police Board”
The Catchup: Good Riddance, Mitch McConnell
The sap is flowing up here in the Northwoods. We’re going to do some boiling today. Let’s catchup on stuff that was simmering last week. Trump made McConnell look good. How bad is Donald Trump? He made me see Mitch McConnell as sort of a good guy. McConnell has been one of the few high-profileContinue reading “The Catchup: Good Riddance, Mitch McConnell”
The Q&Q For 3/1/24
Have you been following the big controversy over the new baseball uniforms? Here’s what an unidentified Baltimore Orioles player had to say about them: “The look of it is like a knockoff jersey from T.J.Maxx.” A) Players worry that they make them look fat. B) They’re a little binding across the chest. C) The sizesContinue reading “The Q&Q For 3/1/24”
MMSD Underperforms… Again
A few weeks ago I wrote about a study that showed that Madison public schools are underperforming both state and national averages for math scores. And while everyone is bouncing back a bit after COVID, Madison students’ improvement has severely lagged. Now comes a Wisconsin State Journal report on absenteeism. It’s bad everywhere but againContinue reading “MMSD Underperforms… Again”
Will New Maps Bring Moderation?
Wisconsin finally has fair legislative district maps. This is nothing but a good thing. But for our purposes, here on the tiny island of moderation in the roiling sea of political passions (don’t try writing like this at home, people), will they lead to moderate policies and a more pacific politics? Not necessarily. For oneContinue reading “Will New Maps Bring Moderation?”
Welcome Back, Gothard
I was going to write about the new redistricting maps today, but yesterday the Madison school district announced that it had hired Joe Gothard as our new superintendent. So, we reorganize. Redistricting tomorrow. Gothard today. The school board did the right and obvious thing. Gothard had just been named national Superintendent of the Year forContinue reading “Welcome Back, Gothard”
The Catchup: Just Deserts
Spring training has begun. One of my favorite sports fan signs of all time came from a then Cleveland Indians fan in the 1970’s. The Indians (now the Guardians) were in the midst of a long pennant slump as they still are. The sign held up by a fan on the first day of springContinue reading “The Catchup: Just Deserts”
Yellow Stripes & Dead Armadillos 