Isthmus
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Isaia Ben-Ami Is Truly Prepared To Start Work On Day One In State Assembly
There’s a particular kind of state legislative candidate who strikes my fancy. Someone who is serious about policymaking. Someone who knows the inside ropes and pulleys that make the machinery of the statehouse work. It takes more than a desire to be elected as a state representative. To be effective, one needs a certain background… Continue reading
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Caffeinated Politics Podcast: Gun Violence And Civic Strain
When the Badge Is Worn — or Carried Democracy’s Guardrails and the Words We Use Two Amendments, One November Ballot Neighbors, Flags, and the Long Arc of Decency Continue reading
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Happy Fourth Of July
At our home today, July 4, the flag that was flown over Mount Vernon in May 2016, the day James and I visited and toured the iconic home of George Washington. This flag is flown only on July 4 and is stored for the following national birthday. As I raised it at midnight, the enormity… Continue reading
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Letter from Home: “A Community” 5/23/26
Originally posted July, 8. 2009 It was a most pleasant sound that wafted across the warm air. A group of about ten women, comprising a writer’s group, had gathered on the back patio at one of our neighbors’ to talk about their creative efforts and get feedback from each other. (Our neighbor is sending out… Continue reading
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Letter From Home: “That Neighborhood Feel” Reprint From 7/8/09
It was a pleasant sound that drifted across the warm air. A group of about ten women from a writers’ group had gathered on a neighbor’s back patio to talk about their creative projects and offer each other feedback. (Our neighbor is sending out her first children’s book to publishers.) Their light‑hearted banter and gentle… Continue reading
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Letter From Home: “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah And A White Pine, Too” 3/30/26
There are those days in life when you must stop and slow down, recognizing that what is playing out is truly wonderful. Not because you are on vacation or won the lottery. As the day is put into perspective, all the events are rather ordinary. Yet putting them together, and taking nothing for granted, they… Continue reading
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Letter From Home: “Turning Pages In The Sun” 2/15/26
There’s a particular kind of joy that arrives the moment winter finally loosens its grip. That is what happened this weekend in places around Wisconsin. It’s not loud or dramatic. It’s quiet, like the soft sound of a book page turning. Sitting for the first time this year at the table and chairs on our… Continue reading
Caffeinated Politics 