Yellow Stripes & Dead Armadillos
A safe place for moderates in a polarized world
Latest from the blog
Half a Good Idea on Homelessness
The city of Madison has half the right idea on dealing with the homeless tent encampment that has sprung up during COVID. But its success will be hampered if it doesn’t follow through on the second part of what needs to be done. First off, let’s give Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, the City Council and cityContinue reading “Half a Good Idea on Homelessness”
The Art of Alienation
Pretty much every week brings at least a couple of fresh examples of things that push me further away from the left and from the Democratic Party that it dominates. Now, let me hasten to add right here that these things do not shove me into the Republican Party. I find the party of TrumpContinue reading “The Art of Alienation”
Why I Love Amazon
Why did they want to break up the old New York Yankees? Because they were too good. Same goes for mega-retailer Amazon. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is now calling for breaking up one of the most successful companies in the world. I don’t know. I can’t think of a single thing I’ve ever gotten out ofContinue reading “Why I Love Amazon”
The Chicago Principles
From time to time, I come across a document that is so good that I want to share it with you in its entirety. That’s the case with the Chicago Principles, a stirring statement in defense of free expression and academic freedom from the University of Chicago. Here it is, unabridged. Report of the CommitteeContinue reading “The Chicago Principles”
Pic of the Day/Mural
The new mural on the side of the Neuhauser pharmacy on the corner of Monroe and Harrison streets. I have mixed feelings about it.
Pic of the Day/Willow River
The Willow River near Loyd, Richland County. My last day on a trout stream this season.
Options For Democrats
There is reason for pessimism about the future of the Democratic Party. That’s unfortunate because the alternative right now is a Republican Party that has abandoned any shred of loyalty to liberal democracy. It might be overstating the case, but it’s not entirely implausible that the future of American democracy depends on the Democrats gettingContinue reading “Options For Democrats”
In Defense of Joe Manchin
Can we get a little perspective here, people? Sen. Joe Manchin is taking a lot of flak from the left for not being onboard with their $3.5 trillion social safety net and climate change program. “Two people do not have the right to sabotage what 48 want, and what the President of the United StatesContinue reading “In Defense of Joe Manchin”
Blank Slate
Rebecca Blank has been a good administrator, but she has not defended classical liberal values. The UW Madison chancellor is heading to Northwestern at the end of this school year after almost a decade here. Let’s start by giving her the credit she deserves for what she has accomplished. This is how the Wisconsin StateContinue reading “Blank Slate”
Reading the Maps
Let’s start by giving Gov. Tony Evers’ People’s Maps Commission its due. It fulfilled its assignment. The commission produced new legislative maps that were fair in the sense that they were drawn in compliance with current legal standards, and more or less blindly to partisan advantage. And while the products themselves (three sets of mapsContinue reading “Reading the Maps”
Pic of the Day/Joe Hesse
Went to my sheepshead friend Joe Hesse’s memorial service today. Joe was a beloved German and French teacher at Stoughton High School. After our last game, shortly before he died, Joe’s lasts words to us were, “See you on the other side, boys.” See you there, Joe. You buy the first pitcher.
Evers Doubles Down on His Pardon Peril
Last night, for the first time in 20 years, a Madison police officer was shot. We’re lucky that the officer’s injuries are not life-threatening, but it’s yet another indication of the dramatic rise in shootings here and nationwide. And the Democrats sleep. Here’s more evidence that Democrats just aren’t getting how dangerous crime is —Continue reading “Evers Doubles Down on His Pardon Peril”
Pic of the Day/Dave’s Supper Club
I’ve always wanted to have my own Northwoods supper club (but only in high concept; I wouldn’t want to do all that actual work.) Now, I’ve got my theme down. It would be “Dave’s Supper Peninsula Club: Where the Elite Retreat to Eat Meat.”
Kloster Muck
We now have a better understanding of why Speaker Robin Vos won’t release the names of people working with Michael Gableman on his “investigation” into last November’s election. He’s embarrassed — and he has every right to be. Vos hired the former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, who was never considered the sharpest member of theContinue reading “Kloster Muck”
Pic of the Day/Empty Dock
The fishing boat and kayaks went into the garage yesterday. Fall’s coming… and so are the guys who take in the dock.
The Gableman Follies
Let us review. Joe Biden won the November election in Wisconsin by about 20,000 votes. That has been confirmed through the normal, rigorous and demonstrably accurate canvass process and reconfirmed through extraordinary recounts and in court challenges from former Pres. Donald Trump and his pals. It’s fair to say that this has been the mostContinue reading “The Gableman Follies”
The Complications of James Madison
James Madison was a complicated man. He was perhaps the primary inventor of what most people in all the American generations since his time have thought of as “freedom.” But now the narratives about both James Madison and freedom are changing. A new generation no longer accepts the idea that Madison and many of theContinue reading “The Complications of James Madison”
Let the People Decide
The Madison City Council has identified affordable housing as a key city goal and, to its credit, it seems to understand that the best way to restrain the growth in housing costs is to simply build more of it. It’s a refreshing acknowledgement that the free market can work. But there’s a catch. In 2023Continue reading “Let the People Decide”
Mural Makes Good Trouble on Monroe St.
Sometimes art should sooth us and sometimes it needs to challenge us. The new mural on Monroe Street does the latter. The mural on the side of Neuhauser Pharmacy, on the corner of Monroe and Harrison streets, depicts a line of children of color standing in front of a vending machine. Bad stuff is beingContinue reading “Mural Makes Good Trouble on Monroe St.”
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