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Tom Still: Will AI improve our world, unravel it … or a little of both?
The genie cannot be squeezed back in the bottle, so the challenge is how to harness AI for societal good – and how to build guardrails that prevent AI from being hijacked by bad actors or taking on a life of its own.

William Osmulski: State agencies struggle to perform basic functions, according to self-assessments
The MacIver Institute examined the 2024 performance measures for the state’s largest agencies. Among them, there were a total of 102 performance measures, of which the agencies met the standards for 44 of them (43%).

Bruce Thompson: Should Wisconsin legalize marijuana?
What do the people want? Let’s look at the data.

Patrick McIlheran: Policy Brief: Legal cannabis’ impact on physical and mental health
Marijuana affects its users mentally and physically — that much has long been known. As more states legalize its use, research is making clearer exactly what those effects are.

Johnny Kampis: GOP stymies excessive broadband spending in Wisconsin
Republican lawmakers on the Wisconsin Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee worked to stop excessive taxpayer spending on broadband considering the more than $1 billion the state will get from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program.

David Ahrens: Referenda would hit low-income families hard
Despite city leaders’ hand-wringing about access to housing in Madison, the discussion about the dual tax referenda proposed by the mayor and the School Board lacks any concern about the impact of the proposed increases on the cost of housing.

John Torinus: Trump, Harris far apart on Ukraine
The policy gaps between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris must be among the widest in U.S. history. The biggest gap in foreign policy, of course, is on Ukraine.

Jerry Hanson: This is the America a MAGA vote could bring
A MAGA victory in the November election holds the real possibility that the oft-denied PROJECT 2025 agenda developed by MAGA operatives to turn their grievances into policy will be the play book used to govern.

James N. Fitzhenry: Voter frustration fueled by lack of policy details on issues like health care, climate
Main Street Agenda town hall meeting in La Crosse focuses on health care and climate change … two topics Wisconsin residents ranked among the top 5 issues on their minds.

Eli Federman: Misleading swastika mural deserves obscurity, not more attention from vandals
The image, combining a swastika with the Star of David, is an offensive and entirely false comparison. Leaving the mural intact may actually help the pro-Israel cause.

Gregory Humphrey: GOP must stop their cruel actions against kids, such as ‘conversion therapy’
Willfully creating or accepting measures that have proven to marginalize and endanger kids should be ousted as fast as an old apple core. It really should not be so hard to be nice to our nation’s kids.

Dave Cieslewicz: Harris reverses excitement gap
Kamala Harris didn’t get a bump out of her debate last week, where it was widely believed, even among Republicans, that she bested Donald Trump. But other indicators look good for the Democrat.

Bruce Murphy: Do Republicans want election chaos?
Refusal to pay for elections commission staff will help fan the flames of conspiracy theories.

Mark Belling: Democrats want vapid figureheads
This allows unaccountable radicals to actually run everything.

Gregory Humphrey: Stern words about saving democracy not reason for Trump assassination attempts
To now assert that if the public speaks with urgency and determination to not have our democracy trashed means there is a call for violence underscores how desperate and absurd the Trump campaign has become.

Richard Moore: The value of dissenting opinions
Justice Rebecca Bradley represents the gold standard in a long and important American judicial tradition.

Emily Pritzkow, Lee Kinnard and Brain Dake: We don’t agree on much. We’re united in support of Enbridge Line 5 relocation.
Due to a federal court decision, Enbridge needs to relocate a 12-mile section of the pipeline off the Bad River Band’s Reservation near Ashland.

Ty Babinski: Celebrating 20 years of partnering with teachers and lawmakers to give Wisconsin kids educational options
As the Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School Families prepares to enter our third decade of advocacy, we are not resting on our laurels. We are going to leverage our shared experiences to improve Wisconsin’s educational landscape. Specifically, we have our eyes set on improving Wisconsin’s Open Enrollment law, and we’re looking for champions in the State Capitol who are willing to say “I Trust Parents!”

Bill Barth: School tax requests extend across state
It’s not just Beloit trying to balance the books.

Dave Zweifel: Charging parents is no solution for gun violence
While it might provide some small measure of comfort to grieving families, it does little to prevent the next shooting. And unless as a nation we get serious about actually addressing our gun problem, there will be others for sure.

WisOpinion.com: ‘The Insiders’ consider potential Republican challengers to Baldwin in 2024
The WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, look at the possible GOP candidates to run against Dem U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin in 2024. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.

Rewind: Your Week in Review for September 1
On this week’s episode of “Rewind,” WisPolitics.com’s JR Ross and CBS 58’s Emilee Fannon discuss Assembly Republicans’ $2.9 billion tax cut proposal, the Senate hearing on Meagan Wolfe as Elections Commission administrator, GOP talk of impeaching liberal Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz and more.