Commentary
Wisconsin is a major front in the war on U.S. democracy
It was startling to read in The Washington Post this week that former President Donald Trump, following the lead of right-wing conspiracy theorists, has demanded that the Justice Department turn over “all documents” on John Nichols, whom the Post describes as “a liberal journalist in Wisconsin who rightwing media have suggested encouraged violence at the […]
Why ‘color-blindness’ is dangerous
In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that “separate but equal” schools and other public accommodations for Black and white people were constitutional. The Plessy decision is also the first time the phrase “color-blind” was used in American political discourse by Justice Harlan in his dissent of the Plessy decision. Harlan […]
Hands off our national myth, er, story – the dynamic driving anti-wokeness
Legitimacy and the fear of losing it. That’s at the root of efforts to whitewash teaching that would otherwise tell stark, uncomfortable truths about U.S. history and the impacts that linger today. I’m referring here to the legitimacy of American exceptionalism. There are many who demand homogeneity even on what we agree is our national […]
This Thanksgiving, consider the wellbeing of family farmers
On Thanksgiving, families across America are gathering around tables to enjoy the season’s bounty. Yet, behind the scenes, a complex web of challenges threatens the agricultural foundation of this tradition. The recent one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill by Congress has brought temporary relief, but the call for a new, comprehensive five-year farm bill […]
Wisconsin’s gerrymandering case and the fight for democracy
Tuesday was a historic day in Wisconsin. As the state Supreme Court took up a long-awaited gerrymandering case, the Capitol was filled with a cacophonous din. In the rotunda, big screens broadcast the oral arguments from inside the Supreme Court chamber at high volume for public viewing. Simultaneously, on the other side of the marble […]
Being ‘welcoming’ versus being ‘safe’ — soul searching in a Madison suburb
In the context of recent events in the statehouse, the U.S. Capitol and the escalating war in the Middle East, the decision by the Village of Maple Bluff to move Halloween trick-or-treating from Tuesday, Oct. 31, to Sunday, Oct. 29, was not exactly headline news. Still, residents of the Madison suburb packed a village board […]
Conflict and agony in the Middle East
If you are progressive and conflicted about the Israeli-Hamas war, be comforted. Your discomfort could be a sign that you have not consigned yourself to a black-and-white, knee-jerk mindset for a problem with multiple layers of complexity. If you’ve been paying attention to the backlash that virtually any response to the conflict generates, you know […]
Wisconsin’s dangerous abortion restrictions threatened my life and will continue to harm women
Nearly a year and a half after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban went back into effect, it may be easy for some to forget the harm that the ban has been inflicting. But as anti-abortion lawmakers in our state continue to pass legislation to obstruct and stigmatize […]
Voters don’t agree with the GOP. Republicans don’t want to hear it.
Wisconsin Republicans passed a pair of campus “free speech” bills through the Assembly this week, one of which gives students unfettered editorial control of campus newspapers, and another that sets new free speech standards and heaps fines and punishments on campuses if they violate them. As Baylor Spears reports, floor debate on both measures revolved […]
Tommy Tuberville is losing
Let’s remember the stakes of Tommy Tuberville’s months-long blockade of military promotions. The Pentagon in February announced a new policy to help service members get abortion services, months after the U.S. Supreme Court gave states like Alabama the green light to to impose draconian restrictions on the procedure. The policy gives members of the armed forces […]
Robin Vos’ impeachment threats and the Republican hall of mirrors
The Republican clown caucus scored a victory Thursday when Assembly Speaker Robin Vos caved to pressure from election deniers and moved forward articles of impeachment against Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe. Vos, who had previously said he didn’t plan to act on the impeachment threat, was apparently moved by a six-figure ad buy in […]
Tell me if you’ve heard this: Two senior citizens run for president
At 70, I’ve slowed down some. Well, a lot. And, yet, I could be president. This is not hubris. Not “could” as in there is any remote possibility that I will ever be president or want to be. But, “could” in the sense that saddled with that job, it would not be beyond my physical […]