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The bigger story of Wisconsin’s pandemic election
There is a certain satisfaction — on the order of that joyful dance that Snoopy of Peanuts fame has gifted us — when a bully is thwarted. One contemporary example of bullying is when an outnumbered group games the system to impose its will on the more numerous simply to maintain power. In political parlance, […]
Coronavirus endangers our democracy
There is now stirring another virulent illness that can, if we don’t take effective countermeasures, also course through our already plagued nation. It, too, has deadly potential — for our democracy. It seems that the overtly partisan are putting up antibodies against accountability and doing it by essentially claiming – you guessed it – rank partisanship […]
Uncle Joe is not so bad
A few years ago, I wrote an “Uncle Fred” column. I was seeking an explanation for why Donald Trump could be attracting so much support, even though he was saying and doing outrageously offensive things. Partly, I reasoned, it was because many Americans have an Uncle Fred in the family. You know, the guy who […]
Stranger than fiction: how we are responding to climate change
In a manuscript I’ve tried to sell — agent rejections piled high — a subplot involves a time in the near future when a wildfire consumes Prescott, Arizona, killing hundreds. This shocks the conscience of the nation so much that an influential climate-change denier in Congress changes his mind and his heart. He becomes a […]
Call voter purging, voter ID & gerrymandering what they are
Here’s a distressing conclusion driven by relatively recent events: We tolerate or excuse behaviors by our institutions that we normally won’t abide in individuals. We shouldn’t. Most of us would not want to engage with a person who spouts the “n” word with abandon or otherwise acts out the racist and ignorant rot from which […]
Fact-based truth matters
To the uninitiated, it must have sounded like a journalists’ version of debating how many angels can stand on the head of a pin. Or should that be pen? The debate at some conference long ago went something like this: What’s more important in journalism, reporting facts or reporting truth? Most journalists, it seems to […]
‘OK, Boomer’ is not OK
I rise today in defense of Baby Boomers. There are vitally important Boomer accomplishments. Such as… OK, give me a second. Hold on. Um, I’ve got nothing. And, still, “OK, Boomer” is not OK. In case you haven’t heard, “OK, Boomer” is the ready retort whenever a Boomer says something that some member of a […]
One answer to the labor shortage: end ageism
You’re welcome, Wisconsin. I’m a Boomer and I’m working. Now, now, stop. I’m blushing. No need to thank me so effusively. We have a win-win here. I get to continue doing something I love (and supplement my retirement income) and you get to claim one early victory in what will become an increasingly frantic effort […]
Wisconsin should continue to welcome immigrants
One of the more refreshing features of Wisconsin, and Milwaukee in particular, is the broad appreciation for the ways in which different ethnic groups enrich a community. Other places where I’ve lived and worked don’t celebrate their diverse ethnic groups. In California, Arizona and Texas there are Mexican and Mexican American communities, with a few […]
Words far beyond dog whistle fertilize hate
If you’re human and not numbed by the horrifying repetition, each mass shooting stirs some measure of outrage and empathy. If the mass shooting targets a specific group and you are a member of that group, trust me, the feeling is far more pronounced, more visceral. Millions of Latinos like me awoke Sunday morning, the […]