Recent Comments

1. 8 minutes ago on Tom Toles

   Yeah, our local chapter of the American Constitution Society had a seminar on the idea of packing the court, during which the presenter (a law-school prof) ran thru the history of the number of justices. He seemed to think that fiddling with the numbers, terms, etc. was legally doable, but hardly anybody in the room (mainly other lawyers, con-law profs, law students, and the occasional nerd like me) thot that it was a good idea to try. I think a non-trivial chunk of that attitude was “better the Devil you know”, but another serious concern was that it might touch off an arms race that would lead to a court the size of the Nebraska legislature.

   It’s all academic (and moot) anyway, tho, as long as Congress continues to be controlled by the beneficiaries of Citizens United, which I don’t see ending any time soon, and possibly not in the absence of either a horrendous national catastrophe or a revolution.

2. 16 minutes ago on Candorville

   I too programmed computers for a living, and compared to what my parents had to live thru, it was a walk in the park. Let’s not beat up on the older generation just because they’re not as tech-savvy as the young’uns. Remember that, if civilization somehow survives long enuf for our grandchildren to inherit something, we’ll be obsolete, too, but that shouldn’t make us fit targets for putdowns.

3. 21 minutes ago on Rob Rogers

   I believe he makes an address to the nation pretty much every afternoon, and I can’t see how that’s helping in the least.

4. 24 minutes ago on Rob Rogers

   Its day has come! “Guy shopping”: Know what you want, go to a store that has it, find it on the shelf where you expect it, take it, pay for it, leave. Elapsed time: 5 minutes.

   Given occupancy limits in many stores these days, this is a good practice for everyone. Don’t bargain hunt. Don’t comparison shop. Don’t chit-chat. Don’t “see what’s new”. Don’t stand there wondering what you forgot. Don’t dawdle. Get in, get out, make room for others.

5. 30 minutes ago on Steve Benson

    Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US

   And yet the same Electoral College that gave us the guy who ignored the above once again gifted us with the guy who ignored “an out-of-control disease”.

   Right wingers always say we’ve got a republic, not a democracy, but it sure would be interesting to give that ol’ democracy thing a try, wouldn’t it?

6. 37 minutes ago on Mike Luckovich

   Further comment: To the great surprise of nobody at all, Andylit is once again talking out of his ass and has no idea whatsoever about the facts on the ground. Take it from somebody who actually lives in Wisconsin and knows what happened.

7. 39 minutes ago on Mike Luckovich

   (continuation)

   So if you’re a public-spirited citizen who wants to vote — or an elderly poll worker who’d like to help you do it — remember: Republicans don’t just want to stop you, they want to kill you if you try.

8. 39 minutes ago on Mike Luckovich

   I spent yesterday serving as an election official in Madison, Wisconsin, during which time I was (as always), scrupulously non-partisan. But the day before I sent the following letter to the top 10 dailies in the state:

   Let’s be blunt. Republicans hate it when people vote — especially the “wrong kind” of people.

   Their loathing for democracy was most clearly stated by right-wing guru Paul Weyrich, who laid out the case for voter suppression back in 1980: “I don’t want everybody to vote. … Our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.”

   Acting on his advice, Wisconsin Republicans, in thrall to their corporate overlords and campaign financiers, have done everything in their power to throw roadblocks in the path of voting: blatant gerrymandering to dilute opposing votes; restricting hours of voter registration; limiting the areas where volunteers can register voters or the times when DMV offices can take your picture; moving primary elections from September to August so college students can’t vote; closing or constantly changing polling locations (especially in minority areas), preferably to places without public transportation; and of course the notorious and completely unnecessary photo-ID requirement.

   To Republicans the current COVID global pandemic was like manna from heaven. It could be lethally dangerous for strangers to cluster in groups of 10 or more, so they could let nature do their dirty work for them by scaring citizens away from the polls. But only if the election were held as originally scheduled.

   That’s why, given a special session of the Legislature during which they could have postponed the election (as 15 other states have done) or adopted a sensible alternative like all-mail-in voting (as Gov. Evers proposed), they literally didn’t give a minute’s consideration to either. “Vote if you dare” was their attitude.

   (continued)

9. 42 minutes ago on Mike Luckovich

   “Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything.” —Josef Stalin

10. 43 minutes ago on Mike Luckovich

    Yup. Right you are. There’s a map of Wisconsin next to the word “gerrymandered” in the dictionary. It’s the most gerrymandered state in human history. For the past 4 statewide elections, ever since the 2010 Census, Democrats have piled up a majority of votes statewide, but Republicans control the US Congressional delegation 5-3, the State Senate 18-15, and the State Assembly (of which Robin Vos is the speaker) 60-39. And it’s been that way for years and undoubtedly will be again after the November elections, because the fix is in.