Social Commentary
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Governor Tony Evers Correct: Conversion Therapy Widely Discredited And Harmful
I am sixty-three years old, and I have lived long enough to watch the world change in ways my younger self could never have imagined. I grew up in a time when being a gay teenager was treated by some as a defect; my grandmother surely would have termed it a moral failure. It was… Continue reading
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Melanina Trump Is A “Working Mom”, I Call It Bunk
The latest insult to American women came from Donald Trump’s third wife. Melania Trump, who emphasized her experience as a “working mom” while serving as First Lady. It pays not to eat food and read the newspaper at the same time. Surely more than one person nearly choked when reading the Op-Ed column supposedly written… Continue reading
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Why N Word Has No Place In Janesville Bar
When I heard the following story for the first time, I blinked a few times and then asked it to be repeated. The story did not take place 30 years ago in Mississippi or 15 years ago in a redneck bar in Hayward. The story occurred just a couple of weeks ago in Janesville, Wisconsin.… Continue reading
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May 1st Is A Teaching Moment Outside Of Madison’s School Classrooms
May 1st is International Workers’ Day and often referred to as a “Day Without Immigrants”, where immigrant rights groups, labor unions, and folks like you and me join forces to organize protests advocating for worker rights, protesting immigration policies, and demonstrating the economic impact of immigrant labor. Many school districts have chosen to close their… Continue reading
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Just Another Day In A Gun‑Soaked America At White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Some days it feels like this country is held together with duct tape and the hope that the next breaking‑news alert won’t be about another shooting. But then it happens again. Tonight, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, of all places. A night that’s supposed to be about jokes, journalism, and a little Washington glitz… Continue reading
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And Then, C. J. Sansom Came Into My Life
During my medical physical this week, I was given a series of questions about whether I was feeling moody, depressed, a lack of interest in eating, an inability to sleep, or thoughts of self-harm. While I feel for people who have those concerns, I fall far on the other side of the equation. The varying… Continue reading
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Eight Black Kids Are Murdered With A Gun, Nation Yawns
There’s a point in a nation’s decline when the extraordinary becomes ordinary, when the unthinkable becomes background noise. That line could have been written every day since Inauguration Day 2025. But I write to refer to this past Sunday. And I write regarding the way eight Black children were violently shot to death in Louisiana,… Continue reading
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Madison Comes Together In Severe Weather
James and I spent the tornado warning early this evening in Target on University Avenue. It was the same store we spent a few hours in during the amazing 15-inch rainstorm in 2018. No, that was not a typo. Then we watched from the high windows as cars floated on University Avenue. Today I grabbed… Continue reading
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Even Good News Carries The Weight Of Our Time
The news was welcomed, and from a legal perspective, not surprising. Still, it was all very troubling. To settle a lawsuit from LGBTQ+ and historic preservation groups, the Trump administration agreed on Monday to allow a rainbow Pride flag to continue flying at the Stonewall National Monument in New York City after removing it in… Continue reading
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Americans Suffer From Psychological Jolts Due To Donald Trump’s Outlandish Absurdity
James and I were relaxing during the rain on Sunday. Following the much-desired electoral ousting of Viktor Orban and the hoped-for renewal of ties with the EU, we watched The Murder at the Vicarage, Agatha Christie’s first Miss Marple detective story. We read books and drank coffee and tea. As such, we were separated from… Continue reading
Caffeinated Politics 