Commentary
Robin Vos holds it together
When Robin Vos is the voice of reason, you know you’re in trouble. At the Republican state convention last weekend, delegates booed lustily when Assembly Speaker Robin Vos had the temerity to state the plain facts: There is no way to recall the results of the 2020 election, remove President Joe Biden, and re-install Donald […]
Seizing on tragedy, Republicans seem determined to make things worse
There is no shortage of godawful news to turn into fodder for this year’s political campaigns. True to form, Wisconsin Republicans are preparing for their political convention this weekend by putting out statements seeking to one-up each other in a game of Who’s the Toughest in response to the shootings last Friday night outside the […]
The terrible toll of white nationalism
Revulsion is too tame a word for what I’ve been feeling ever since the heinous racist massacre in Buffalo on Saturday. But I can’t say that I’m surprised by it. Because this is the natural outcome when political leaders and media hotshots traffic in hatred and bigotry. This is what happens when Donald Trump blows […]
In an unprecedented economic recovery, why are we only talking about inflation?
The latest jobs report shows that the U.S. economy continues its rapid recovery from the pandemic crisis. Employers added 428,000 new jobs in April, continuing a now-year-long streak of similarly strong job growth. After surging to a post-World War II high of 14.7% in 2020, unemployment is now down to 3.6%, the lowest level in […]
It’s hard to ignore some facts about the largest hog Confined Animal Feed Operation in Wisconsin
After the so-called Roth II hog factory in the town of Marietta, Crawford County, was granted a Wisconsin Pollution Elimination Discharge Permit by the Department of Natural Resources, Forest Jahnke, a longtime opponent of such giant operations told me, “To me, it says a CAFO of any type and size can be sited anywhere in […]
The ACA helped us afford our daughter’s brain surgery. We need to build on its legacy.
It was a humid night in India when my 11-year-old daughter Merlin lost the ability to use her right arm. She was happily playing with friends at a class party when her fingertips started to grow numb. Within minutes, her entire arm was tingling and limp. We returned to our home concerned, but within the […]
Overturning Roe v. Wade, part of the ‘war on women,’ will leave blood on the hands of the GOP
There’s a reason the Declaration of Independence reads “all men are created equal” and not “all men and women are created equal.” Simply stated, the Founding Founders were all white guys who didn’t think women were their equals. In fact, the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution after that, basically regarded women […]
The wholly unsurprising fate of Roe v. Wade
Being a woman in this country often feels like an exercise in futility. It’s repeatedly baring your soul and sharing your personal and intimate stories in hopes of proving that you deserve basic rights, only to be slapped in the face with decisions that explicitly negate your own experience. It is exhausting. I am rarely rendered speechless, […]
We’ve been warned! Authoritarianism can happen here
The other day, I went to the Great Hall at the University of Wisconsin’s Memorial Union to listen to a lecture about our democracy at risk. It was given by NYU history professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of “Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present.” You may have seen her on MSNBC or CNN. She really knows […]
‘We saw this day coming’ — midwives prepare to protect abortion access in Wisconsin
The morning after the terrible news broke about the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v Wade, I called my homebirth midwife, Ingrid Andersson. Ingrid is my hero. She helped me have all three of my daughters at home. No one is more dedicated to women’s health and bodily autonomy, to creating a warm, nurturing […]
DHS reversal puts seniors at risk
On April 21, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) rescinded the citations it had issued to a senior health care facility for having violated state law when it evicted my mother, Elaine Benz, last fall. No reason was given for the state’s reversal. My sister, Diane, and I, who have power of attorney for […]