Society
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Local Leaders Say It Is “Increasingly Clear” Williamson Street Must Reopen To Traffic
The line from Madison Alder Davy Mayer and Dane County Board District Supervisor Yogesh Chawla jumps off the screen. It arrives at the opening of the sixth paragraph in their latest update to constituents about the growing issues at the corner of Williamson Street and Baldwin Street, where the police shooting of Corey Ruiz occurred… Continue reading
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The Price Of Gun Worship In Sentencing Colin Gray For Murder
There’s a moment in every American school shooting case when the country briefly pretends to be shocked. We clutch pearls, lower flags, and issue statements about another unthinkable tragedy, as though the tragedy weren’t entirely predictable. But this week in Georgia, the aftermath took a turn that should force us to confront the real problem.… Continue reading
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A Four‑Letter Word Won’t Fix A Broken Committee Hearing On Capitol Hill
There is a whole world of words available to anyone willing to open a dictionary, yet somehow Ohio Senator Sen. Bernie Moreno reached for the same tired expletive in Wednesday’s hearing on Capitol Hill. The latest example came during a Senate hearing called by Republicans to show they had hair on their chest as they… Continue reading
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Letter from Home: “Boy In Yellow Shirt, Uplift Of Talking To Strangers” 7/27/26
In these fraught, jangly‑edged times, the smallest conversations can remind us we’re still part of one another’s story. I write this column at a time of great angst in Madison following another police shooting (six blocks from where James and I live) and at a time when a series of hourly headlines from Washington alert… Continue reading
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Bite of Seattle Site Of America’s Shame With Mass Shootings: Three Lives Lost In Gunfire, Toddler Injured
The Bite of Seattle became yet another horrific crime scene in a nation that treats gun massacres like the latest weather report. Apparently unavoidable. Three people dead. At least four others were wounded. Including a toddler — a toddler — caught in the blast radius of our national cowardice. We have already heard the tired… Continue reading
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Berlin’s Night of Terror Shows Stark Line Between Celebration And Barbarism
Berlin, a city forever balancing on the fault line between its haunted past and its defiant present, felt that history rumbled again. Its latest chapter is the violent attack at its PRIDE event. One person has died, and at least 16 others have been injured after a vehicle was driven into a crowd in the… Continue reading
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Madison Police Chief John Patterson Needs City Support After Police Shooting On Williamson Street
Madison Police Chief John Patterson walked into the worst kind of afternoon on Wednesday. A single moment on Williamson Street where a man is killed by police gunfire leaves a neighborhood shaken (a few blocks from where I live), and the chief left holding the weight of emotions of a city that demands answers faster… Continue reading
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All Were Talking About The Powerful Political Play Of The Week In Wisconsin
Can we all agree on one thing? Didn’t it feel wonderful this weekend, regardless of what political party is our home, or what policy views we hold, or political philosophy we ascribe to, that it was fun to talk about the Wisconsin governor’s race with friends in the neighborhood or even with strangers at the… Continue reading
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Another Year Around The Sun
As today approached, I realized my life had wandered far from where it began. Not so much in miles, I guess, but certainly in perspective and outcome. I was born in Hancock, Wisconsin, a small rural Wisconsin town in Waushara County. Growing up in such a place means learning early how to live with a… Continue reading
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The Age Issue Looms Large In Trump White House
My best friend reminded me this week of a note he wrote to Democratic members of Congress, urging them to encourage President Joe Biden to step aside concerning the 2024 election. I should note that it was done even before the deeply wounding debate that left the nation shaken. With that reminder, I am curious… Continue reading
Caffeinated Politics 