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Dan Shafer: Wisconsin passed a budget with Democratic votes. But is it enough?
Dianne Hesselbein and Senate Democrats proved critical in achieving major wins in a compromise deal. But overall, did Evers and Democrats press hard enough with newfound leverage?

Dave Zweifel: We should hold lawmakers to the standards they force on UW
In their latest attempt at micromanaging an institution for which their support ranks 44th among the 50 states, the budget contains a provision that requires faculty members to teach at least 24 credit hours per year, a number that is reduced to 12 credit hours for the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Kathryn Dicks: Wisconsin needs child care funding now
The child care crisis has been ongoing for several years and demonstrates market failure. The costs are too high for families, and providers struggle to keep their businesses open and pay fair wages.

Richard Moore: Of surrender and sovereignty: A tale of two Republican parties
Just in case anybody is still wondering why Wisconsin Republicans lose statewide elections all the time, look no further than the GOP’s legislative leadership for a quick explanation.

Eve Galanter: Don’t cut funding for public television, radio in Wisconsin
This funding was approved in the past. If it goes away, it would leave many in Wisconsin and across the nation without access to the critical services and educational programming public media provides.

Bill Kaplan: Trump and GOP sullied July 4th
The GOP-led Congress narrowly passed the “Big Beautiful Act”, to kneel before Trump on July 4th, sullying our sacred day.
LaKeshia N. Myers: The echo of history: Douglass’s question resonates in Trump’s America
When Frederick Douglass stood before a Rochester audience on July 5, 1852, and delivered his searing critique “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, he exposed the fundamental contradiction at the heart of American democracy.

Scott Walker: Make American civics courses mandatory in schools
We must remind our fellow Americans why we are a great nation.

Kristin Brey: A Fourth of July list of grievances from overworked, unrepresented America
For a country that prides itself on innovation and reinvention, we sure do seem stuck in the past — clinging to systems that serve fewer and fewer of us, while demanding more and more.

Michael Rosen and Charlie Dee: On Independence Day, we deserve a president who governs by founding principles
Americans celebrating July 4 deserve a president who can both articulate what the Declaration of Independence means and govern according to its principles.

O. Ricardo Pimentel: Who deserves to be a U.S. citizen?
I contend that a chief quality of those who deserve citizenship is that they don’t take their citizenship for granted. They know their parents sacrificed much to make it happen. We are proud Americans. We belong here. And we deserve to stay.

Michael Siebers: Save the VA
DOGE disruptions, retirements and anticipated cuts threaten care for veterans.

Mike Nichols: The truth about MPS, who makes it to graduation and who doesn’t
The big picture: For every kid who enters MPS as a freshman each fall and goes on post-secondary education, there are at least two who do not, at least not in the year after high school ended.

Paul Fanlund: JB Pritzker will bring the fire to Cap Times Idea Fest
Pritzker has long been a fierce Trump critic, and the billionaire governor of Illinois was unsparing in his initial post-election comments, warning against attacks on his state.

WisOpinion: ‘The Insiders’ Special Edition: Chuck Chvala and the late Ted Kanavas remember less partisan times
WisOpinion marks the Fourth of July weekend with this rebroadcast of the final Insiders segment with then-co-host former state Sen. Ted Kanavas, who passed away July 3, 2017. In the episode, the two discuss political civility and the meaning of Independence Day. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.

Gregory Humphrey: Americans summoned to think about future of country on July 4th
The Fourth of July is not just a ritual of fireworks and flag-waving and brats on the grill. It’s a call to remembrance. And shared responsibility. Those revolutionaries in 1776 didn’t just declare independence. They declared allegiance to a set of ideals that we must reaffirm this year. Liberty. Equality. Justice.

Erik Huschitt: Ethanol is saving Americans billions
As Americans prepare to celebrate our nation’s independence this Fourth of July, a new report offers a timely reminder: American-made ethanol is helping us move toward greater energy independence while saving consumers billions of dollars at the pump.

Ruth Conniff: Wisconsin is clawing back civil society
Republicans in Washington are threatening those gains.

William Osmulski: The Art of the Deal by Tony Evers
Gov. Evers proves himself to be a master negotiator, forcing Republicans to give ground on every issue, leaving Wisconsin conservatives empty handed.

Dan Knodl: Wisconsin’s high court says: Who needs laws when you’ve got bureaucrats?
In a 5-2 decision, the Court sided with the Department of Natural Resources in a case involving PFAS contamination—a case that fundamentally shifts how state agencies can wield power over our citizens and economy.

WisOpinion: ‘The Insiders’ Special Edition: Chuck Chvala and the late Ted Kanavas remember less partisan times
WisOpinion marks the Fourth of July weekend with this rebroadcast of the final Insiders segment with then-co-host former state Sen. Ted Kanavas, who passed away July 3, 2017. In the episode, the two discuss political civility and the meaning of Independence Day. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.

Rewind: Your Week in Review for July 3
On this week’s episode of “Rewind,” WisPolitics.com’s JR Ross and Wisconsin Public Radio Capitol Reporter Anya van Wagtendonk discuss the state budget, the state Supreme Court’s abortion ruling and more.