Commentary
Inflation boogeyman scares only the extremely wealthy
The inflation fear-mongers are at it again. In a futile attempt to discredit President Joe Biden’s extraordinarily popular American Rescue Plan (economic recovery) and American Jobs Act (infrastructure) the usual Republican and neo-liberal suspects are once again raising the boogeyman of inflation. Responding to Biden’s proposals, Republican Sens. Ron Johnson, Charles Grassley and John Thune […]
Evers’ budget moves us toward a better, more equitable economy
For our state’s economy to work for everyone, Wisconsin needs to invest in healthy communities, working families and public infrastructure across the entire state. We also need a tax system that provides a level playing field for Wisconsin families and businesses, rather than a structure that gives an advantage to the well connected who rig […]
Chauvin verdict is the glimmer of hope we needed
The guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial is a sigh of relief but we know this is not over. As I am typing this, we are learning of a new murder in Columbus, Ohio, where a 16 year old girl, Ma’Khia Bryant, was shot and killed by the police. That is why today […]
You. Are. Not. Welcome. Here. Being Black in Minnesota | Essay
For years my daughter took dance classes at the corner of Snelling and Larpenteur in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, kitty-corner from the state fairgrounds. The dance school she attended was behind a fairly nondescript strip mall with a spectacular Chinese restaurant, a pizza place, a cell phone store, a locksmith, a liquor store. You had to […]
Supreme Court will determine DNR’s authority to protect drinking water
This week, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a nearly decade-long environmental protection case. The Court’s decision will likely have an impact on the ability of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to protect drinking water from agricultural pollution. The case began more than eight years ago in Kewaunee County when Kinnard Farms, a […]
Republicans are throwing away our money and wasting our time
What is it with Wisconsin Republicans? As our state struggles with the unprecedented crises affecting both our economy and public health, our GOP legislative leaders are busy turning down billions of dollars in aid from the federal government and posturing by passing bills they know will be vetoed in a fruitless attempt to seize control […]
Signs of hope
As the weather warms up, the grass turns green and daffodils explode in a cheerful yellow riot, spirits are rising. All over our state and our nation, people are emerging from a long hibernation, getting their vaccines, and beginning to imagine what life could be like without the oppressive weight of the pandemic and the […]
What Wisconsin small business needs now
Small business owners, workers and communities across Wisconsin support the Badger bounceback budget put forward by Governor Tony Evers. Here’s why. First, it prioritizes Main Street Wisconsin with $200 million in additional support, on top of the $600 million of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan. Some businesses were able to pivot and depending […]
New voter restrictions fit a long pattern
In this current debate about whether to expand or restrict voting, each side is probably spot on about the basic motivations of the politicians on the other side of the argument. GOP legislators say expansion, such as expressed in a sweeping measure in Congress, H.R.1, intended to achieve nearly universal voting, is a power grab […]
Restoring sanity to Wisconsin government
The conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturns an emergency public health order in the middle of a pandemic — even as new COVID cases rise. Writing for the majority, Justice Brian Hagedorn acknowledges that the virus is “dangerous” and has “taken far too many lives,” but the important issue, he writes — bolstered […]
There is no ‘border crisis’
Just when it seemed we were emerging from the anti-immigrant hysteria of the Trump era, our country is suddenly descending into a new moral panic. The news of the past two weeks has been full of dire warnings about a “border crisis.” A “surge” of migrants heading for the United States is taking advantage of […]
Hey Wisconsin Republicans, don’t let Madison liberals steal your shots!
A neighbor of ours was out walking her dog the other morning and stopped to tell us how delighted she was about getting her first COVID vaccine. She drove an hour away, to a pharmacy in the Republican-leaning town of Reedsburg, where she easily got an appointment. While this might not seem completely fair to […]