politics
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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
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Senator Baldwin Correct: ICE Should Not Operate From Behind Masks
In a democratic society, government power is supposed to be exercised openly. Accountability is not a luxury that can be tossed aside when it is uncomfortable. Yet Immigration and Customs Enforcement has increasingly adopted the practice of covering agents’ faces during operations that we witness daily on newscasts or in our newspapers. ICE agents appear… Continue reading
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Fitchburg Man’s Story Echoes Fear About Ice in 2026
In the Sunday edition of the Wisconsin State Journal, a story about what to know if you’re approached by ICE caught my attention. This weekend, when placing a couple of books into a Little Library station in our neighborhood, I saw brochures with the same information being provided to passersby. While I very much agree… Continue reading
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Navigating These Days In America
Several events occurred today that put into perspective where we stand as a country and as individuals. How people express themselves at a time of highly fraught issues playing out hourly, and how we need to step back and find our personal comfort zones. For at least 15 years, I have been a part of… Continue reading
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Nation Cannot Survive At Shallow End Of Swimming Pool
Somewhere between rereading The Imperial Presidency by Arthur Schlesinger and the daily newspapers, I have been trying to place the lessons of the past into the constant absurdity and irrationality of the present. I am not sure I am making headway in my thinking, but I want to share where I am as of today.… Continue reading
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Local Citizen Writes Cogent Letter For Impeaching Donald Trump To Senator Ron Johnson And Congressman Scott Fitzgerald
Our friend and realtor, Robin Guernsey, wrote a powerfully cogent and timely letter to her federal officials this morning, following the murder on Saturday of an American on the streets of Minneapolis. Before I get to the heart of this column, first, I need to explain the character of the woman who wrote the letter.… Continue reading
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DeForest Village Board: Example Of Democracy Working
In the midst of so much awful news and absurd happenings, there was a news story that lifted the sails this week. The DeForest Village Board voted 5–2 to begin reintroducing fluoride into the water system. If you are asking yourself why ‘reintroduce’ this scientifically evaluated mineral to the water supply, you would be correct… Continue reading
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What Must Be Done To Face Our Current Crisis In America?
While reading the newspapers today, I thought about a book I had read decades ago by Arthur Schlesinger. I read it in my 20s while in Door County, a decade after it was published. The Imperial Presidency was written following the twin debacles of Vietnam and Watergate, with an emphasis on what should be the… Continue reading
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The Presidency Is Bigger Than The President
This weekend, another of those embarrassing incidents occurred featuring Donald Trump. He wrote a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Every lesson of global maturity, of basic common decency, and the most basic of niceties taught in childhood was upended. If you think it is a bad joke, let me make it clear… Continue reading
Caffeinated Politics 