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So far as I can see, Trump’s virulent base is most powerfully animated by a small-minded desire to give the rest of us a big, long middle-finger salute. Let’s not reciprocate, but let’s not pretend it’s much more complicated than that.
There’s a lot of work to be done. The plan to close Lincoln Hills and open smaller, regional facilities should go forward regardless of who wins the governor’s race later this year. Changes shouldn’t have to wait for the next budget to pass, either.
No one should have to endure daily uncertainty, fear, or physical danger at their workplace.
It would be easy to lament what could have been had a traditional conservative won the Republican primary, but debating alternative futures is the realm of fiction authors. Trump’s record of conservative reforms is impressive as it stands. Let us hope that he can maintain pace and direction of reform in 2018.
What was your New Year’s resolution? More civility toward those with opposing views? Reaching across the aisle to find common ground? Not if you are the hyper-partisan Capital Times.
Our goal as we seek to address the crisis of veteran suicide should be meeting the needs of those veterans in crisis in a nimble and effective way.
Unless the way we elect people is based on a more equitable and level-playing field all the grand ideas we may hold about building a stronger society will be short-changed due to an overly partisan and uncompromising legislature.
The Legislature has refused to release records about personnel and sexual harassment investigations, advanced a bill to restrict access to body cam footage, and is considering legislation to seal off documents about wrongful convictions. Has the Assembly kept its 2015 commitment to ensure the public records law is “preserved without modification or degradation?” You be the judge.
In the aftermath of a hip operation that for good measure resulted in a broken leg, I’ve been confined to my basement rec room where I read and write — and I’ve got cable news running incessantly in the background.
As the new year begins, I look back on my time in the Legislature and think of decisions that have an effect on our families and our neighborhoods.
How crazy will 2018 be? Let us count the ways.
Unplugging – whether literally, figuratively, or both – is one way to demonstrate to others that we care about them and that we are listening. Building on that, if our family, friends, and colleagues benefit from uninterrupted time, does our inner self not deserve a little uninterrupted time as well?
As I retire after almost 25 years as President of the nonpartisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, I can’t help but reflect on how Wisconsin government and politics have changed over the decades. Perhaps the most significant change that has occurred is the increasingly partisan and polarized nature of dialogue and decision-making in the public arena.
Now that 2017 is in the rearview mirror, it is time to look back on what was a wild ride when it came to transportation funding in the state of Wisconsin. Google Maps could not possibly have mapped this route.
As President Trump encourages investing in our workforce to repair our roads, airports and bridges, he should also look to Wisconsin’s conservative reforms.
Day in and day out, the industries, businesses, farmers, and workers that make Wisconsin what it is — including “America’s Dairyland” — rely on NAFTA to get the job done. It would be a profound mistake to abandon it.
All the faux outrage on the part of Wisconsin GOP kingpins these past several years has been a clever way to mask the obvious: Their operatives, especially Scott Walker during the 2012 recall election, brazenly skirted the state’s campaign finance laws and had the John Doe been allowed to dig deeper several may have wound up being indicted.
Gov. Scott Walker spent part of New Year’s Eve whining again about the remote possibility that he might be outspent in his re-election campaign. At 11:03 a.m., rather than having a mimosa or pickled herring, he tweeted: “In 2017, the Democrat candidate for governor in VA and his allies outspent the Republican candidate and his allies by about $30 million. We cannot let that happen in Wisconsin.” Of course, Walker is used to having a $30 million advantage himself.
Some states allow the major parties to prevent candidates from appearing on the ballot under their name.
So far as I can see, Trump’s virulent base is most powerfully animated by a small-minded desire to give the rest of us a big, long middle-finger salute. Let’s not reciprocate, but let’s not pretend it’s much more complicated than that.
There’s a lot of work to be done. The plan to close Lincoln Hills and open smaller, regional facilities should go forward regardless of who wins the governor’s race later this year. Changes shouldn’t have to wait for the next budget to pass, either.
No one should have to endure daily uncertainty, fear, or physical danger at their workplace.
It would be easy to lament what could have been had a traditional conservative won the Republican primary, but debating alternative futures is the realm of fiction authors. Trump’s record of conservative reforms is impressive as it stands. Let us hope that he can maintain pace and direction of reform in 2018.
What was your New Year’s resolution? More civility toward those with opposing views? Reaching across the aisle to find common ground? Not if you are the hyper-partisan Capital Times.
Our goal as we seek to address the crisis of veteran suicide should be meeting the needs of those veterans in crisis in a nimble and effective way.
Unless the way we elect people is based on a more equitable and level-playing field all the grand ideas we may hold about building a stronger society will be short-changed due to an overly partisan and uncompromising legislature.
The Legislature has refused to release records about personnel and sexual harassment investigations, advanced a bill to restrict access to body cam footage, and is considering legislation to seal off documents about wrongful convictions. Has the Assembly kept its 2015 commitment to ensure the public records law is “preserved without modification or degradation?” You be the judge.
In the aftermath of a hip operation that for good measure resulted in a broken leg, I’ve been confined to my basement rec room where I read and write — and I’ve got cable news running incessantly in the background.
As the new year begins, I look back on my time in the Legislature and think of decisions that have an effect on our families and our neighborhoods.
How crazy will 2018 be? Let us count the ways.
Unplugging – whether literally, figuratively, or both – is one way to demonstrate to others that we care about them and that we are listening. Building on that, if our family, friends, and colleagues benefit from uninterrupted time, does our inner self not deserve a little uninterrupted time as well?
As I retire after almost 25 years as President of the nonpartisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, I can’t help but reflect on how Wisconsin government and politics have changed over the decades. Perhaps the most significant change that has occurred is the increasingly partisan and polarized nature of dialogue and decision-making in the public arena.
Now that 2017 is in the rearview mirror, it is time to look back on what was a wild ride when it came to transportation funding in the state of Wisconsin. Google Maps could not possibly have mapped this route.
As President Trump encourages investing in our workforce to repair our roads, airports and bridges, he should also look to Wisconsin’s conservative reforms.
Day in and day out, the industries, businesses, farmers, and workers that make Wisconsin what it is — including “America’s Dairyland” — rely on NAFTA to get the job done. It would be a profound mistake to abandon it.
All the faux outrage on the part of Wisconsin GOP kingpins these past several years has been a clever way to mask the obvious: Their operatives, especially Scott Walker during the 2012 recall election, brazenly skirted the state’s campaign finance laws and had the John Doe been allowed to dig deeper several may have wound up being indicted.
Gov. Scott Walker spent part of New Year’s Eve whining again about the remote possibility that he might be outspent in his re-election campaign. At 11:03 a.m., rather than having a mimosa or pickled herring, he tweeted: “In 2017, the Democrat candidate for governor in VA and his allies outspent the Republican candidate and his allies by about $30 million. We cannot let that happen in Wisconsin.” Of course, Walker is used to having a $30 million advantage himself.
Some states allow the major parties to prevent candidates from appearing on the ballot under their name.
