Yellow Stripes & Dead Armadillos
A safe place for moderates in a polarized world
Latest from the blog
Deal Strengthens the Middle
Maybe some day Annie Kuster will be as much a household name as Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Rep. Kuster (D-New Hampshire) is a leader in the New Democrat Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats that has announced its early support for the budget deal between Pres. Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy that would avert a…
Once I Was
For Memorial Day here’s a song by Tim Buckley, Once I Was. It’s not specifically about veterans, but it was used in the final scene of the 1978 Vietnam War drama, Coming Home. It’s a poignant reminder of the cost of war and lives cut short, sometimes to protect our freedom or to fight tyranny,…
Off Target
There’s an old saying in politics. When you’ve dug yourself a hole, drop the shovel. That’s true many times, but not always. A case in point is Target and its celebration of Pride Month. They went all in with rainbow displays and tee shirts with provocative messages. And they went full-out LGBTQ++++ with a swimwear…
Gard Got It All
UW men’s basketball coach Greg Gard received a $30,000 bonus for his team’s appearance in the NIT. The school got paid about $26,000 for being there. So, essentially, in a disappointing season that saw the Badgers miss the big dance, Gard pocketed all the money the school got for going to the little dance, and…
Yeah, Trump’s a Fascist
One of the things I hear about from readers most consistently is my somewhat frequent assertion (I just did it again yesterday) that Donald Trump is a fascist. Well, he is. He meets the definition. Here’s part of the definition of a fascist from my online dictionary: “a person who is extremely right-wing or authoritarian; a person who is very intolerant or domineering.” You don’t think Trump…
Could I Vote For a Republican?
Let me dispense with the suspence right away. No, I will not vote for a Republican for president in the general election in 2024. But what about the Wisconsin primary next April? I’ll have nothing to vote for in the Democratic column, so I’ll feel like a free agent. And what if, by the time…
Debt Limit Drama: Meh
It seems to me that all the debt ceiling drama is overwrought. It would certainly be a mess if the government defaulted, but predictions of armageddon are probably over-stated. Since it has never happened before nobody knows what would really happen. In any event, we’re not likely to have to find out. It looks like…
The Big Two
Goodbye ACC. So long, PAC 12. Aloha, Big 12. The Power Five conferences will, by the time this decade is out, be the Power Two. That’s the clear implication from a lot of observers, the most recent of which appeared in this morning’s State Journal sports pages. The paper ran a piece by Omaha World…
Blaska and Me
Conservative commentator David Blaska and I have one thing in common in addition to a first name. We don’t mind angering our friends. Blaska wrote an oped this morning in the Wisconsin State Journal explaining why he’ll never vote for Donald Trump again. His argument was strategic more than anything: Trump is a loser who…
Check the Label
As a self-proclaimed moderate you’d think I’d love No Labels. I don’t. I really, really don’t. Here’s why. No Labels is a sort of third party movement designed to push the two major parties toward the center. They would do that with what is essentially a big threat. They will run some sort of self-styled…
Let Line 5 Flow
This is how environmentalists get a bad name. So, here’s the deal. There is a 645-mile oil and natural gas pipeline that runs from Superior, Wisconsin to Ontario through northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula. It’s vital for the economy in the Upper Great Lakes region. And it runs not too far from our place…
In Defense of Guys
Last night I attended the annual dinner of an organization called Wisconsin Women in Government. I was there because Janet Piraino, a long-time friend and my chief of staff for all of the eight years that I was mayor of Madison, was getting the organization’s Legacy Award. Piraino has been chief of staff to two…
Wednesday Stuff
Lots of interesting stuff in the paper this morning, none of it necessarily calling out for an entire column. Take your time. I’ve been a little critical of Dane County Executive Joe Parisi’s quick (and it turned out disastrous) hiring process for a new human services director. Six weeks wasn’t enough. But how about more…
My Speech to the Class of ’23
First, let me make it clear that I will not pay off your college debt. You signed a contract promising to pay it back. So live up to your responsibilities and do what you said you would do. Doing things you promised to do — especially when they turn out to be harder than you…
Progress on DEI
Here’s an observation on human nature. When you insult people they tend to not like you. If forced to continue to sit in a room with you anyway, they will stop listening. I’ve found myself writing a lot lately about diversity, equity and inclusion programs, mostly I suppose because there has been a fair amount…
Lest I Become Fred Siegel
He was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, a spokesperson for George McGovern, a fellow of the Progressive Policy Institute, a voter for the independent John Anderson in 1980, a close advisor and supporter of Rudy Gulianni and finally a voter for Donald Trump. Let the progression of Fred Siegel be a lesson…
Free Speech Does’t Have Just One Side
So far I’ve been impressed by new UW System President Jay Rothman. Yesterday Rothman announced that he was directing system campuses to eliminate any questions for job applicants about diversity, equity and inclusion. Rothman recognizes that requiring statements about what a candidate has done in that regard favors ideologically liberal candidates. If anything campuses need…
DEI Isn’t Above Critique
A symposium, set up apparently to be critical of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, has had to be moved from the Medical College of Wisconsin to an off campus site. The reasons given were vague, but it looks like there was a concern that the event would be disrupted by hard-left protestors. According to a…
Curiouser
I have always thought Dane County Executive Joe Parisi was a solid, experienced leader and a man of good judgement. I still think that, though he’s starting to make me wonder what he’s thinking. About a month ago Parisi tried to fill one the county’s most important jobs, director of its sprawling human services agency,…
Prepare to Panic
It’s too early to panic over prospects for a second Trump presidency. But it’s not too early to get real nervous. The latest round of disheartening polling came out over the weekend, this one brought to us by ABC News and the Washington Post. Let’s run through the top lines. Pres. Joe Biden’s approval numbers…
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