It showed how far he’s come — progress that, not long ago, felt out of reach. I made mental notes of the areas where we still need to do some work, but mostly I just sat with the joy of seeing comments like “participates well in class” and “a pleasure to have in class.”

Wisconsin’s 2025-2027 biennial budget includes several provisions aimed at improving the affordability of childcare in the Badger state, ending the misguided effort to directly support private childcare providers’ operating expenses with taxpayer dollars — and instead focusing on reducing costs for families through regulatory reform and targeted assistance.

Donald Trump’s conquering of the country is complete. The blows he’s inflicted on American democracy will take a lifetime to heal.

Caroline Grover, the gentle woman her family referred to as Mother Teresa, will be put to rest tomorrow in Gresham where she was born 86 years ago.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza under Israel’s blockade is now receiving daily press coverage. But it was clear in March, after Israel broke the ceasefire in Gaza, that conditions had become increasingly desperate.

The news this morning is unsettling. The FBI is forcing out more senior officials, including a former acting director who resisted Trump administration demands to turn over the names of agents who participated in Jan. 6 Capitol riot investigations and the head of the bureau’s Washington field office.

Chances are you have never heard of Cove, Mumbies, Service ID or Vitaminis, but if the owners and supporters of those four young companies are successful, those might be familiar names in the years ahead.

In this historical moment, as President Donald Trump and his fascist allies are dismantling American democracy, I’m frequently unsure what the best progressive strategy moving forward is. One thing of which I’m certain, though, is Democratic congressional leadership, in Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, must be replaced.

As I write this column, Wisconsin is in the midst of a severe air quality crisis, with alerts due to smoke from distant wildfires that have persisted in the “unhealthy” category.

For those who think only Wisconsin has confronted the corruption of gerrymandered legislative districts, look south across the border.

The small-d democratic logic of an argument made by Texas state Representative Ann Johnson—who, with her Democratic colleagues in the state legislature, has left Texas in order to prevent Republican legislators from carrying out President Trump’s order to radically gerrymander its congressional maps—is beyond debate.

This month, for the first time in 30 years, the Wisconsin Supreme Court is without Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. It is also without one of its most consistent advocates for transparency in government.

It’s been a troubling summer for anyone who cares about children, families and the thousands of students who rely on summer and after-school programs across Wisconsin.