news
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The First Amendment Doesn’t Need Donald Trump As A Babysitter
This is what I read today, and then noticed a couple of friends on my email list were as irritated as I was over this latest example of fascist actions taking hold in Washington, D.C. Why Stephen Colbert needed to tape an opener for last night’s “Late Show” is simply galling. The FCC ordered CBS… Continue reading
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Rev. Jesse Jackson Used State Representative Lary Swoboda’s Office For Coat Drop During 1988 Statehouse Campaign Rally
“ (George) Bush and I have one thing in common, and that is that we both came in second.” The laughter that filled the large room at the Monona Terrace in Madison in December 2007, following that comment by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, had a bittersweet sound as many in the crowd knew in their hearts that… Continue reading
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Trump Scandals Fit 150-Year Trend Of Republicans In White House
A woman walking in front of our home today stopped to chat about spring-like weather, and of course, the state of the nation. She had noticed several American flags flying upside down. I told her of many flags seen in a similar fashion across Madison over recent weeks. We agreed that what is playing out… Continue reading
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Waushara County Sheriff’s Department Needs An Anti-Fraternization Policy
The top of the fold main headline on the January 29, 2026, edition of the Waushara Argus read, “Waushara County Board accepts Executive Summary regarding Harassment/Discrimination investigation.” The months of inside stories and rumors running wild about sexual harassment and a hostile work environment at the Sheriff’s Office have placed this conservative rural county in… Continue reading
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Helmet That Spoke For Humanity At The 2026 Winter Olympics
There are numerous reasons to experience a range of emotions while watching the 2026 Winter Olympics. On Friday night, it was a profoundly happy outcome for Mikhail Shaidorov as he used power, grace, and fortitude to win the gold medal in figure skating. With that, Kazakhstan has its first-ever Olympic figure skating champion. But that happened after… Continue reading
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“Most Blatant Press Freedom Violation Of This Century.”
A society that claims to value freedom cannot selectively punish those who exercise it. A rather simple Civics 101 understanding. Yet that is precisely what the case of Rumeysa Ozturk illustrates—a young woman facing deportation because she wrote an op‑ed in a student newspaper. An immigration judge this week terminated removal proceedings against Tufts University doctoral… Continue reading
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Federal Judge’s Ruling For Senator Mark Kelly, Against Pete Hegseth, Uses Exclamation Point!
My husband and I read court rulings in cases that land at the center of our national strife. Today, we remarked on not being able to recall when an exclamation point was used to make a federal judge’s words more impactful. What you will read below was a brilliant ruling for its legal reasoning and… Continue reading
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Living The Imperial Presidency In 2026
Arthur Schlesinger Jr.’s The Imperial Presidency was designed to be a warning flare fired across the bow of American democracy, but revisiting it as the new year started in light of Donald Trump’s actions gives it an even sharper edge. I first read this book when living in Sturgeon Bay, during President Reagan’s second term.… Continue reading
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Foreign-Born Workers Aid U.S. Economy
The 2024 election cycle was used by the Republican Party to promote a harsh level of racism against Brown-skinned people. and to ramp up the culture war against transgender people. If we thought the campaign season was absurd, it does not compare to the mean-spirited, nasty, and ugly season in our country since Inauguration Day… Continue reading
Caffeinated Politics 