Category Archives: Uncategorized

Somebody violated protocol and leaked an early draft of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade. This has sent people off, as you might expect it would, but let’s try to sort through it as rationally as we can. The first thing to observe is that the leak itself was aContinue reading “Sorting Through the Leaked Roe Draft”

I’m headed north today, so we’ll just have a quick update on an issue we addressed a few weeks ago. As the new Dane County Board reorganizes itself after the spring elections, there was a move to eliminate the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance before the board meetings. There was also a proposal toContinue reading “Pledge Wins; Prayer Loses”

Now on week three of my promised Sunday morning series about the Midwest, some thoughtful readers have chimed in to ask: do you even know what you’re talking about? Now, in truth, that question is asked regularly on any number of topics I have addressed in this and other spaces. It’s not even limited toContinue reading “Midwest: Where Is It?”

Fellow Madison blogger David Blaska has accused me of being an Eisenhower Republican. I think I’ll take that as a compliment. Dwight Eisenhower was my President when I was born in 1959. Consider these things about Eisenhower: His proudest accomplishment was the Interstate Highway System, the biggest single public works project in American history. (FDR’sContinue reading “Am I an Eisenhower Republican?”

One of the best things that has happened in Wisconsin over the last several years is the advent of the Marquette University Law School Poll. The detailed poll, run by Charles Franklin, never fails to provide interesting data, mostly on politics but also on the state of the state more broadly. For a political columnist,Continue reading “Sifting Through the Latest Marquette Poll”

Let’s say you’re a public official with $3 million burning a hole in your pocket. Pick the option that aligns with your values.  Get it out to local small businesses contending with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 shutdown.  Increase efforts to attack the homeless problem, which was made worse by COVID.  Bolster food pantries,Continue reading “$1000 For Dane County Employees? Bad Idea”

From time to time here at YSDA we consider creating a new weekly feature which would be called something like Oh, For Cryin’ Out Loud. In OFCOL we’d highlight the inanity of the week. Michael Gableman alone could provide fodder nonstop. The only challenge would be to decide which of Gableman’s stupid moves and dumbContinue reading “Let’s Make a Virtue of Resilience”

What other region would put up with a moniker like “The Rust Belt”? Would the West Coast be okay with “The Drought Belt”? How about “The Wildfire Belt” for the Mountain states? Or the “Flooded Cities Belt” for the East Coast? But virtually every news outlet, including local ones, uses “Rust Belt” without a secondContinue reading “Midwest: Rust Belt No More”

I’ve served as an aide to politicians and as a politician myself and here’s what I’ve learned: activists have no role in a public official’s office, and when they start pushing for their own agendas they should be shown the door as soon as possible. This comes up now as the Biden Administration is bleedingContinue reading “Purge the Activists”

Anybody else tired of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis kicking Mickey Mouse around? Here’s the back story. A few weeks ago Florida passed a law, supported by DeSantis, which restricted formal teaching about gender identity (but not any discussion of it) in K-3 education. The left went ballistic, dubbing it the “don’t say gay bill.” UnderContinue reading “Leave Mickey Alone”