Category Archives: Uncategorized

We’re out of the prediction business here at YSDA, but the latest Marquette University Law School poll is filled with bad news for Democrats. Rather than trying to predict how things will actually turn out in November, let’s just raise some interesting questions. Is it possible to have a split result? Democrat Mandela Barnes isContinue reading “New MU Poll: That Sinking Feeling”

If you live in Madison you almost can’t help but know a lot of lawyers. But how many of them seem to really enjoy their work?  Michael May often said, “I love the law.” It was said with a trademark overzealousness that suggested self-mockery. But it also became clear over the seven years that IContinue reading “He Loved the Law”

It’s not surprising that a guy who grew up in Scranton would see the revival of manufacturing jobs as the key to saving democracy. But that guy is only partially right. I’m in the 40% of Americans who approve of the job Joe Biden is doing. The most important thing about the guy is thatContinue reading “Lunch Pail Joe Has Part of the Answer”

This was the week I put summer away. I took my boat out of the water. For instructions on how to do this (actually it’s about how to put a boat in the water, but taking it out is just doing this in reverse) there’s none better than (who else?) Charlie Berens right here. AsContinue reading “Midwest: The Summer Ends”

Yesterday I offered a somewhat sobering take on the mid-term elections from a Democratic perspective. My analysis basically went like this: Everything is going to hell. The Democrats want to make the election all about abortion while the Republicans want to make it about crime. Crime is trumping abortion. It has occurred to me sinceContinue reading “Go After GOP on Crime”

Things are looking bleak for Democrats in the mid-terms. Inflation remains stubbornly high. Gas prices were heading back up even before OPEC announced a production cut yesterday. Mortgage rates have gone through the roof. Talk of a recession is getting louder. There’s little of that that Democrats could control, but they’ll take it on theContinue reading “In Crime v. Abortion, Crime Wins”

The city recently announced that the Freakfest Halloween celebration on State Street has been canceled for a third year in a row. The last two cancellations were due to COVID, but this one could spell the end of the event.  As the mayor who started Freakfest you might think I’d have some personal investment inContinue reading “Madison’s Freakfest Served Its Purpose”

I read the New York Times every morning the same way I used to dutifully say five Our Fathers and five Hail Marys after going to confession. Penance cleanses the soul. Reading the Times isn’t quite wearing a hair shirt, but most days it feels close. What the Times lacks is any understanding of anybodyContinue reading “Midwest: NYT Insults the Old Fashioned”

With a little more than a month to go before the mid-terms, many analysts have decided that the Republican wave election expected just a few weeks ago has now been called off. CNN commentator Chris Cillizza posted this late yesterday: Republican groups are increasingly hyper-focusing their resources on the several dozen races that hold theContinue reading “Is the Red Wave Back On?”

There is a story in this morning’s Wisconsin State Journal that highlights three things that are wrong with the Madison School District. The story was about new Sennett Middle School principal Jeffrey Copeland, who lasted there only a few weeks. Copeland was placed on administrative leave on September 13th and he left the district altogetherContinue reading “Where is Jeffrey Copeland?”