The New York Times recently reported that President Donald Trump has, on a number of occasions, contemplated withdrawing from NATO. This is an important issue for public debate and, ultimately, for elections. There is, however, no constitutional amendment codifying a forever-alliance with se…
It's possible that the worst legacy of the last three presidential elections is that we now expect our candidates to be Washington outsiders and "rock stars."
Milton City Council made a very disturbing decision Jan. 3 not to have a primary election in the mayoral race. For the cost of approximately one dollar per citizen, we could have assured a majority decision.
The national debt is at an all-time high of $21.9 trillion with tax cuts continuing. Government shutdowns began in 1976 with the three longest shutdowns all since 1995. The U.S. has had budget deficits every year since 2002. Tax cuts are always popular, and every president seems to promise t…
A 13-year-old girl spotted at a bus stop. Her home invaded by a shotgun-carrying predator who kills her father, then mother. Months at a rural Wisconsin home, hidden under a bed. The allegations following Jayme Closs’ disappearance tell a story beyond nightmares.
In February 2017, Dr. Christopher Duntsch became the first surgeon in American history known to be sentenced to prison for botching a patient surgery. A licensed neurosurgeon, Duntsch left a string of deaths and maimed bodies in his wake: He was accused of causing the death of two surgery pa…
Fear not: Schools using Raptor ID's visitor identification management system are keeping kids safe by keeping out sex offenders. That's part of the sales pitch offered on the company's website and a key takeaway from news stories on the website about the product. We hope it doesn't lull the public and schools into a false sense of security.
Want to boost our southern border security and create jobs while spending $500 million a year versus more than the low-ball $6 billion estimate for wall construction? There will be construction cost overruns, legal expenses (many affected landowners will fight the taking of their land) and e…
Wisconsin Republicans should pack their bags and go to Illinois for a month or two like the whining Democrats did right after Gov. Scott Walker was elected. Then, when they get back, the Republicans should start a recall petition against Gov. Tony Evers like the crying Democrats did against …
Hypocrisy is a human condition. Everyone -- no matter how kind, respectful or generous -- occasionally engages in some form of it, either for his or her own benefit or because there are few, if any, alternatives.
Rather than new DWI laws for Wisconsin, we really need a new judiciary, a DWI court that takes specific steps to hold people accountable for their actions. One of the first questions the judge should ask a defendant is if he has a drinking problem. A judge has some discretion about what pena…
"Law enforcement officials became so concerned by President Donald Trump's behavior in the days after he fired FBI Director James Comey that they began investigating whether Trump had been working for Russian against U.S. interests," The New York Times reported Saturday.
When and if the wall standoff ends, the side that decides to put America before its party will be called the loser and described as weak. The side that is most pigheaded will be called the winner and described as strong. Perhaps if the press and the public changed the narrative and declared …
Years ago, above the cash register at a local establishment in my hometown was a compassionate sign that read, in large letters, "Could I help you out?" At the bottom of the sign, in fine print, was the sarcastic reply, "Which door did you come in?"
What happens when immense bigotry gets lodged in a small mind? Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, is what happens.
The world turns even if America doesn’t. That’s certainly true on trade, where a rebranded Trans-Pacific Partnership has begun with the new year in 11 countries two years after President Trump withdrew. The biggest losers are American producers.
Any school district wondering how not to plan for the future should consider the pending closure of the Milton High School pool.
Gov. Tony Evers wants civility. I don’t think he is worried about that. He knows that Republicans are not going to harass his secretary and shout her out of a restaurant. There isn't a Maxine Waters or Rashida Tlaib among his opponents. He doesn’t have to worry about impolite questions from …
As a member of the Janesville City Council, I am looking forward to 2019 for a number of reasons. Many positive things are happening in Janesville. I am speaking for myself, not the city council, in drawing attention to these five events that I feel will help shape Janesville this year.
The partial government shutdown has forced some federal workers to move money around to pay for food and rent. No surprise there. What’s shocking is the many who don’t have the money to move. They have no financial cushion to cover even one month’s worth of ordinary expenses.
Two years ago, Gov. Scott Walker could call up his old friend, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, with concerns about an issue or controversy involving their beloved Wisconsin.
The Democratic solution to reopen the government and then resume negotiations over border security makes the most sense. It is not appealing to President Trump, but it is in our country’s best interest.
It seems this year’s Academy Awards will be conducted using a no-host format, now that Kevin Hart and his dossier of homophobic wisecracks have been officially ruled out.
Thumbs up to criminalizing first DUI, Jimmy Buffet returning to Alpine Valley, bipartisan progress on education funding. Thumbs down to shutting down E-Verify.
You may have heard that Michelle Obama's best-selling book "Becoming" is a well-written and fascinating story of a working-class Chicago girl who overcame obstacles to make it to the White House.
A dearth of contested races has us rethinking the merits of an all-volunteer school board and city council.
In 2014, when I started to write a book about the need to restrict the amount of time our kids spend on screens, the idea was not a popular one. The research I’d done persuaded me to set a tight policy for my own elementary-school children: No television or playing on tablets on weekdays. Bu…
President Trump, in his Tuesday address to the nation and in recent weeks, tells us illegal border entry from Mexico is a crisis that can only be stopped by finishing “the wall.” He cites four horrendous murders committed by illegals. But turn on your radio or television and view the daily m…
The olive branch has been extended by Gov. Tony Evers to create an atmosphere of problem solving involving ALL of our state representatives. The GOP of Wisconsin started out by doing unethical and underhanded last-minute legislative changes, throwing a proverbially grenade at the Democrats b…
True news: Donald Trump storms out of a White House meeting after he doesn't get what he wants (billions of dollars for a fake crisis), and tells off congressional Democratic leaders by tweeting, "bye bye." His cultists duly applaud.
So far: President Trump has announced a crisis that isn't actually a crisis, requiring a wall that is not really a wall, funded by Mexican pesos that are really American tax dollars, to keep out murderous migrants who are (as a whole) less violent than native-born Americans, leading to congressional negotiations that involve no actual negotiations, resulting in a government shutdown undertaken on the advice of radio personalities, defended in an Oval Office address that consisted of alarmism, prejudice, falsehood and other material caught in the P-trap of Stephen Miller's mind.
Within the space of 25 years, a company that began life selling niche second-hand books from a garage in Seattle has become the world’s most valuable business. Amazon was worth $815 billion when the US stock market closed on Monday, surpassing Microsoft for the first time.
How does technology affect the cost of wind power? Advancements in technology—as well as the way new wind farms are built and operated—are making this renewable resource more economic for customers.
If you are the mother or father of a high school athlete here in Wisconsin, this message is primarily for you.
President Donald Trump’s speech Tuesday night, and the congressional Democratic leaders’ response, offered nothing to the nation that it didn’t already know—that our government is broken, and there’s not much reason to have faith that it’s going to get any better.
This week, the American Psychological Association proved once again that it is a political body rather than a scientific one. This isn’t the first time a major mental health organization has favored politics over science—in 2013, the American Psychiatric Association famously reclassified “ge…
The kids are bratty, the parents fighting, the homes a mess. It’s remarkable how American domestic life can breed so much dissatisfaction amid so much plenty.
