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Merry Christmas And Happy New Year!
Caffeinated Politics returns with more opinions and musings on January 1st, 2026. Continue reading
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Letter From Home: “They All Want To Be A Christmas Tree!” 12/19/25
Though our home on the Madison isthmus was built in 1892 with one large white pine from the northern reaches of Wisconsin, we have never had a white pine Christmas tree. But when I was a young man, that variety was the only one ever to be decorated for Christmas in the apartments where I… Continue reading
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Goodbye Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Let A New Page Be Turned
It was only a few months ago that New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan embarrassed Catholics and slapped reason and common sense away when stating on right-wing television that racist, xenophobic, homophobic, and misogynistic Charlie Kirk was “a modern-day St. Paul.” And I am in the running for the next crew aboard the space station. What… Continue reading
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Cruelty Masquerading As Policy: Trump’s Assault On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
There are bad ideas in politics, and then there are ideas so drenched in cruelty that they defy even the most cynical explanations. Donald Trump’s latest proposal to strip Medicare and Medicaid funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care for minors is a calculated act of political theater that weaponizes children’s health for ideological gain.… Continue reading
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Letter From Home: “Recalling Past Christmas Smiles From WDOR And Keta Steebs” 12/17/25
This morning, I awoke to a very nice email from the granddaughter of a favorite person I knew when working in Sturgeon Bay. Keta Steebs was the newspaper reporter and columnist for the Door County Advocate. The email message asked me to call and reminisce about Keta’s life and who she was, the impact she… Continue reading
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Character Matters In The Oval Office
The words during the 1912 nomination speech by Warren G. Harding, then an Ohio newspaper editor, for President William Taft at the tumultuous Republican Convention need to be considered this week. The following portion showcases a stark contrast between then and what happened this week when Donald Trump verbally attacked Rob Reiner just a few… Continue reading
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Australia Takes Collective Responsibility For Curbing Gun Violence, US Should Follow Suit
As the new work week begins, a sharp lesson is playing out for the entire world to witness. Australia is showing that a nation can choose life over ideology, as the United States shows what happens when ideology is chosen over life. Two horrific acts of gun violence took place this weekend. At Brown University,… Continue reading
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Saturday’s Mass Shooting: Moral Indictment Of Nation Unwilling To Protect Its Citizens
The mass shooting at Brown University today is a barbaric and unacceptable tragedy that once again exposes the nation’s inability to confront its epidemic of gun violence. Two lives were taken, and eight more were injured during what should have been an ordinary day of final exams, leaving students terrified and a community shattered. The… Continue reading
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A Bittersweet Farewell To George Meyer, Dies In Madison, 78
Mother Nature offered a poignant farewell to George Meyer on Wednesday. The highly respected former secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and a steadfast friend to environmental causes across the state, passed away at his home after a courageous battle with cancer. In the final hours of Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, a… Continue reading
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