Yellow Stripes & Dead Armadillos
A safe place for moderates in a polarized world
Latest from the blog
Conversion Therapy Ruling More Evidence for Appointed Courts
Chris Taylor will be the next Wisconsin Supreme Court justice. The political stars just align that way. But she won’t do it with my vote. Nor will I vote for the conservative on offer, Maria Lazar. The system isn’t giving me a choice I want. I want to vote for a respected lawyer or judge,…
A Good Obit is Worth 400 Words
Most people reach a point in their lives when they start reading obituaries. This happens because we all want to cull our Christmas card lists. As we age and we find ourselves on fixed incomes just as the cost of postage continues to spiral out of control, it’s important to keep those lists current. I’ve…
I Want the Dems to Win… Why Again?
As Wisconsin’s two-year legislative session raced to a close this month the Democrats had some leverage. They didn’t use it well. The Republicans still control both houses, but by much narrower margins since fair maps went into effect for the last election. The GOP runs the Senate, but by a thin 18-15 margin. That means…
The Quote & Quiz for 3/28/26
This week’s quote comes to us from none other than the Wall Street Journal editorial page. In opining against the massive taxpayer handouts being bandied about as the Chicago Bears play Illinois off against Indiana for their new stadium, the paper quoted a study on the value of these subsidies: “Nearly all empirical studies find…
The Dems’ Self-Loathing
Here’s a paradox. Democrats are likely to win the April Wisconsin Supreme Court race easily and then take the majority in the state Senate, retain the governor’s office and pick up the Third Congressional District seat in the fall. And yet, with all that potential winning, the party is less popular than Luke Fickell. This…
Taylor’s a Lock, Hong is For Real
It’s Christmas morning for Wisconsin bloggers. That’s right. There’s a new Marquette poll out. Let’s unwrap our gift from Uncle Charles and see what we’ve got. Taylor is a lock. Yeah, I know. Democratic operatives will hit the panic button to motivate voters, but Chris Taylor will win the Supreme Court race by a comfortable…
Public Broadcasting Survives
Last summer on my favorite public radio station, Rhinelander’s WXPR, I kept hearing how the impending elimination of federal funding was going to be “devastating” and how “life saving” alerts were at risk. And here we are several months since the money went away and yet good ol’ XPR is still going strong. As far…
Four Problems With the Environmental Movement
Wisconsin enviromentalists wouldn’t compromise, so the state’s premiere conservation program, the Stewardship Fund, will die this summer. It’s an old, sad story and it’s one reason that green policies, once widely popular and bipartisan, are now on the ropes. Refusal to compromise is just one of four problems plaguing a movement I was once very…
The Quote & Quiz for 3/21/26
This week’s quote comes to us from none other than the Wall Street Journal. Here’s the lede paragraph from a story about progressive Democratic senators plotting to unseat their minority leader, Chuck Schumer: Sen. Chris Murphy was dining with progressive activists at a French restaurant in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood when the conversation about how to advance their…
Police Monitor Circus Goes On and On
A few years ago the circus came to town. And it just won’t go away. In 2020, and for no apparent reason, the Madison City Council created the Madison Police Civilian Oversight Board and the Office of the Independent Police Monitor at an annual cost to taxpayers of around $500,000. They did so even though…
Roys Right on Bucky Bailout
I emailed my State Senator, Kelda Roys, this morning to thank her for her vote the other day against Assembly Bill 1034, the Bucky bailout bill. I got a reply a little while later and, while it was a form reply, I thought it was excellent, so I’m going to share it with you here.…
Don’t Name Schools After People
People are flawed and history is relentless. Yesterday’s heroes are today’s oppressors. And activists are unforgiving. Taking a person’s full contributions into account and balancing those against his mistakes and even outright misdeeds is not something that’s in fashion in today’s hyper-polarized society. I wrote about that a few years ago when Madison’s James Madison…
The Fix Was In on the Badger Bailout
Bipartisanship isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. Take Assembly Bill 1034, the legislation that would hand over almost $15 million in taxpayer money every year to the UW Athletic Department. The bill passed yesterday on a “bipartisan” vote, but there’s nothing good about this cross aisle cooperation. Here’s what happened. The bill was a…
Fight the NIL Give Away
Do you want your tax dollars to help pay Luke Fickell’s salary? That’s essentially the question before the state Senate this week. A couple weeks ago I wrote about an awful bill in the Legislature which would hand over $14.6 million in our tax dollars to fix a hole in the UW Athletic Department’s budget…
Barnes’ PSC Idea Should Spark Debate
Mandela Barnes has hit on a good issue, even if he did so in a clumsy sort of way. Last week, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate said that he would only appoint Public Service Commission members who would pledge never to increase utility rates. That specific proposal is a bad idea because sometimes rate increases are…
Little Choice for Madison School Board
I’m grateful to have any choice at all. Usually, members of the Madison school board run for reelection unopposed. But this cycle both incumbents who are up for reelection have opponents. That’s the good news. There is some additional good news in that each of the challengers seems smart, capable and committed. But while I’m…
The Proper Uses of Alcohol
Several years ago I recognized that I had a drinking problem. To be specific my problem was that I was an average Wisconsinite. From what I could tell from my observations of family, friends and the Badger nation at large, I was actually on the light side of local consumption. But it’s all relative and…
More of the Same Coming to Supreme Court
I have amazing powers of prediction. I can tell you who the next two Wisconsin Supreme Court justices will be. Next month Chris Taylor will defeat Maria Lazar by about ten points. Then a year from now Clark County Circuit Court Judge Lyndsey Brunette will replace Annette Ziegler, who announced her retirement yesterday. Here’s how…
This is How Democrats Win
As a center-left Democrat, I don’t often look to Texas for good news. Mostly what we get out of the Lone Star State are hard-right gun and God (in that order) worshiping cowboys. But even the Democrats aren’t often my cup of tea. Rep. Al Green, who has made it his signature move to yell…
The Wrong Investigation
Maia Pearson, the chair of Madison’s police oversight board and a Madison school board member, has been charged with criminal misdemeanors related to her resisting arrest in an incident in downtown Madison in December. In a criminal complaint, it is alleged that she and her friend, Urban Triage executive director Brandi Grayson, verbally abused staff…
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