Once upon a time, the two houses of the state legislature were governed by different parties. One party wanted to create a large, new program to guarantee universal health care for everyone in Wisconsin, and raise the taxes necessary to pay for it. They came up with an ambitious but politically unlikely plan. The other [...]

Via Folkbum, I see that Jessica McBride has been nice enough to give us a perfect reminder of why I, like so many of my countrymen, have spent the last six years becoming increasingly contemptuous of conservatism and the Republican Party.
This is the sort of thing that should be copied down and preserved, so [...]

In my previous post, I got snarky about a grumpy article asserting that “Wisconsin could learn from Texas”, mostly by reorienting state and local governments around the goal of making things easier for business.
It’s a stupid article, and not worth spending much time on, but anyways:
All things being equal, we should try to make Wisconsin’s [...]

Via WisOpinion: when reading opinion pieces on how awful (*) it is to do business in Wisconsin, I tend to discount arguments that start like this:
So, I bought this little Oil & Gas company in Texas this month, several million in revenue added to the bottom line and 11 new employees, nothing major.
I downplay [...]

The Brewers will need all the help they can get this week at Wrigley. Hopefully, they can capitalize on some of that Chicago karma. There’s plenty to go around.
The coolest thing I learned today: it wasn’t noticed for twenty years, but as it turns out, Bill Buckner was wearing a Chicago Cubs batting glove [...]

I’ve argued before that the ball-and-glove logo is one of the best in professional sports, and it would be great to see its permanent return. I found this site with a sample mockup of a new design based on the old uniforms (*).
If they win next year, it will be too late to change [...]

A brief retrospective on the late presidential campaign of Tommy!:
April 2, 2007 — Former Wis. Governor Enters Race for Nomination: GOP Candidate Says He Is Confident After Months of Campaigning in Iowa
April 4, 2007 — Gingrich gives Thompson a fighting chance in Iowa
April 15, 2007 — Republican presidential hopeful: Money-making a Jewish tradition
April 16, 2007 [...]

Oh, Tommy!. I’m so sorry. What will a presidential campaign be without press like this:
Thompson says he’s happy he got in the race. He brought many several issues to the forefront including Iraq.
Because obviously, if it weren’t for the political acumen and insight of Tommy!, Iraq would not be an issue in 2008. His plan [...]

Baseball Prospectus puts the odds of the Brewers winning the National League Central at better than 55%, which makes me think there’s some money to be made by betting against them, since a team with no ace and a AAA bullpen is unlikely to win anything.
On the other hand, there’s a theory that you [...]

There are only four hours left before the deadline, but it sure would be nice if this rumor pans out. Given the financial situations of the teams they’re competing against, the odds aren’t good, but the bullpen has been awful lately, and even a past-his-prime Eric Gagne would help tremendously.
Update: No dice. It’ll be Turnbow [...]

President Bush’s approval rating in Wisconsin is 19%. 73% disapprove. It’s beginning to look like the enduring legacy of this mendacious and inept administration is going to be the return of the Democratic Party as the natural party of government.

I’ve long been a fan of providing local foods to community schools, and of the idea that our farm policy should encourage organic and local food markets.
It’s a little thing, but the benefits are many. It helps the family farm, and thus strengthens the hundreds of small towns that are scattered all across the Midwest. [...]

The Brewers’ magic number is currently 71.

It’s a great season when you can score 7 runs in the 7th, just as the game seems to be slipping away, and turn a mediocre pitching performance by Jeff Suppan into an easy win.
I’ve always liked the Brewers. The first baseball game I ever attended was at County Stadium, against the Red Sox. But [...]

Kudos to the Democrats in the Senate for unveiling a very good and thoughtful proposal for universal health care. I’m still reading up on the details, but my initial reaction is almost entirely positive, including in the upfront honesty about the need to actually pay for things, which is so often abstracted away with unaccountable [...]