It’s perfectly logical and reasonable to wonder what politicians who want to protect secret donations are hiding. You don’t want us to know something? Why? When it comes to public servants, especially our elected representatives, nothing financial should be “none of our business.” That is ”” unless you’re a House Republican. Yes, 21 Republican members… Continue reading →

If you didn’t have, say, a sense of smell, and 3,000 people all informed you Casablanca Lilies were pleasantly fragrant ”” you’d rely on that information and assume they were right. Now if you didn’t have, say, a sense of humor, and 3,000 people around you all guffawed uncontrollably at jokes about you ”” best… Continue reading →

Americans used to buy savings bonds to support the war effort. These were securities liquidated after the war was over which ideally would spur an economic boom. During World War II, Defense Bonds, War Bonds and what was called Series E Savings Bonds offset the massive costs. The gush of liquidity after that war created… Continue reading →

We must love boisterous blowhards. As Americans, we are fixated on people who make loud, definitive declarations so we can stand behind them waving our oversized number-one foam-fingers chanting: “Go team! Win!” If you take away all the nebbishy number-crunching and bureaucracy – which is most of government ”” politics is all posturing and platitude… Continue reading →

Republicans will tell you they’re the sole Constitutional purists in the country; they worship the document more/better than you do. But imagine if the First Amendment had to be voted on today. It would need two-thirds majority in both Houses just to be proposed. Consider it: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of… Continue reading →

The ravages of the economic downturn have left a series of empty storefronts in my neighborhood. They exist as specters of a former up-and-coming enclave of local businesses. Now they’re home to hurried graffiti, the occasional panhandler and once a year to tax accountants. Yes, the hallows of what used to be a local retail… Continue reading →

This week, AT&T announced its plans to buy their competitor T-Mobile. Now it’s up to regulators to approve the merger. Politicians pandering to the Tea Party love to talk about a free market. It sounds sexy. It sounds like wealth and freedom got married and had a perfect concept. If capitalism is a religion ””… Continue reading →

Wisconsin adopted “Forward” as their state motto in 1851. Sculptor Jean Pond Miner was commissioned to create a representation of her home state and in 1893 created a seven-foot tall bronze statue of a female figure bearing the state’s maxim. The Wisconsin Historical Society notes, “Forward is an allegory of devotion and progress, qualities Miner… Continue reading →