Frustrated by the efforts of Dane County judges to delay the implementation of state legislation, a number of Republican lawmakers, led by Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, and Rep. David Craig, R-Big Bend, have introduced a bill that would limit the authority of circuit judges. Currently, an injunction placed on… Read more »

It’s no secret: Wisconsin is one of the drunkest states in the nation. To students of the University of Wisconsin who live in downtown Madison and are familiar with the typical mayhem of Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, this factoid is rather unsurprising. A more eye-opening observation is while Wisconsin… Read more »

There very well may be University of Wisconsin students with perfect attendance records. After all, in a population of more than 40,000 students there ought to be some statistical outliers who show up five minutes early to every class, week in week out, for four straight years – an attendance… Read more »

Recently, two notable Wisconsin Republicans, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and Gov. Scott Walker, clarified their positions on the subject of gay marriage. When put on the spot, both politicians took the stance that gay marriage is a matter of “states’ rights.” In an interview with Fox 6 News in… Read more »

I’ve always been a hockey fan. Maybe I was genetically predisposed to love the game, considering my father taught me to skate as soon as I could walk, and that his father coached his neighborhood peewee teams. It could also be a byproduct of growing up in St. Paul, Minn.… Read more »

In the State of the Union address, President Barack Obama approached higher education from the same economic perspective he usually does. He stressed how education builds a well-trained workforce and fuels a high-tech economy, opening up the subject of higher education with the truism, “The more education you have, the… Read more »

When I heard last week that a number of U.S. Senators, including Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla, had drafted a framework for immigration reform, I was cautiously optimistic. I even wrote under a quote on the subject from President Barack Obama, “While … immigration reform has year… Read more »

Academically speaking, one of the relatively few universal undergraduate experiences at the University of Wisconsin is an ethnic studies course. It’s a graduation requirement that serves as a sort of common ground for the student body — a common ground that is constantly evolving. As the UW prepares its new… Read more »

Mining regulation reform has returned to the foreground of Wisconsin legislation. Last year, controversy erupted over a bill that would streamline the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permitting process and reduce environmental standards for mines across the state. The plot was thickened by the fact the mining firm Gogebic Taconite made clear… Read more »

The wave of mass shootings that rocked the United States in 2012 reignited the gun control debate with explosive force. After so much tragedy, politicians in Washington are under pressure to do something — anything — to slow the epidemic of violence. Last week, President Barack Obama passed executive orders… Read more »

Hey readers, Charles here. I’ll be editing opinions, Editorial Board-ing it up and writing a column or two this semester. It’s exciting to get back to the office, dust off the old laptop and start making newspapers this spring. When I’m not checking for AP Style, ranting about the latest… Read more »

This semester, the University of Wisconsin has lost two students to suicide. Nothing I can say will fully express how tragic this has been for their families and friends.  These are not isolated incidents. UW has higher suicide rates than most other Big Ten universities. That is why it’s extremely… Read more »

As you may have noticed, Associated Students of Madison’s Student Services Finance Committee recently approved almost $70,000 of funding from the General Student Services Fund for the student organization Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics. On the surface, it appears that this is only fair. Religious student organizations such as Badger Catholic… Read more »

I never got the impression that Texans were thrilled to be a part of the American experiment. It has always seemed that the state of Texas never forgot the Republic of Texas long enough to be comfortable as a part of the United States. Shortly after it joined the Union… Read more »

Presumably, I’m not the only Facebook user whose thread was inundated in political expression two nights ago as election results were pouring in from across the country and political science experts were scrambling to call the race. It was as if the entire social network imploded upon itself in a… Read more »

Politicians have a tendency to view science as a means to an end — for them it stands for technological innovation, a strong industrial economy and an ever-increasing standard of living. Sure, they support science in an abstract sense, but I get the impression many of the politicians making critical… Read more »

Last Wednesday, Trek Bycicle Corporation became yet another company to break ties with legendary cycler Lance Armstrong over allegations of performance-enhancing drug use. Trek joins a growing list of businesses — which includes the likes of Nike, Giro and Anheuser-Busch InBev NV — that have decided to drop Armstrong as an… Read more »

Madison has been having a tough time with homelessness. Recently, the city decided to put an end to panhandling in the downtown area. As long as I can remember, the rattling of change in a plastic cup and the usual pleasantries that accompany it have been quintessential features of a walk… Read more »

If you’re reading, this then you’re probably like me — a college student investing in an education while accumulating student debt. In order to pay for our higher education, we all make sacrifices. We hold two jobs during the school year and try to fit in some homework on the… Read more »

Cornell University just dropped its contract with sports apparel juggernaut Adidas amid allegations that after the closing of an Indonesian factory, the company neglected to compensate over 2,700 workers with the $1.8 million dollars they were due. The University of Wisconsin-Madison also contracts with Adidas, and has raised similar concerns… Read more »

It’s stupid early in the morning. I’ve just dragged myself out of bed, clammered onto a frigid bicycle while clutching a thermos coffee for warmth and psychological comfort and pedaled down a deserted University Avenue to the University of Wisconsin chemistry building for a morning lab.  The laboratory is crowded… Read more »

The excitement of a new school year, a return to the college lifestyle and the crunch of autumn leaves have all been tempered by sudden tragedy in the waters of Lake Mendota. Mendota has for many years been a scenic landmark beloved by Madison residents for its natural beauty, cool… Read more »

The net effect of Wisconsin’s ongoing recall process has been a deepening of political divisions along party lines. Since last February, the state has been involved in a constant political debate — protests led to a petition drive, and recall elections this fall will mark the end of a year… Read more »

Chemicals are cool, but they can be scary as well. After suffering through a year of general chemistry, I learned that some chemicals can be very useful in various industrial and biological processes and that some are toxic to humans. Unfortunately, some chemicals have both these properties — in particular,… Read more »

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson has made energy independence a recurring theme in his campaign for U.S. Senate. On his site, Thompson, a Republican, has outlined a plan to “Restore America,” which he claims would spur economic growth and make the country independent from foreign oil. The main objectives of… Read more »

In the wake of the tragic shootings of Trayvon Martin and Bo Morrison, questions have been raised of underlying racism in the use of deadly force and the legal proceedings that followed. This particularly hits home in Wisconsin, where recently passed concealed carry laws are hotly debated. Martin was walking… Read more »

In reference to the Milwaukee Brewers’ payroll for the upcoming season, which is the first in team history to exceed $100 million, primary owner Mark Attanasio said it was simply the price of winning, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Unfortunately, he’s right. For the Brewers, a payroll in the… Read more »

On the national scale, the Republican Party has become divided into two distinct camps: fiscal conservatives like Gov. Scott Walker and Rep. Paul Ryan, and the social and religious conservatives like Rick Santorum. Within the past 10 years, the party has become dominated by the social and religious conservative bloc,… Read more »

While the legislative session that began in January 2011 and ended last Friday is now a thing of the past, its impact is still reverberating through the state of Wisconsin. If there were such a thing as a political seismograph— you know, those devices that measure earthquakes and look like… Read more »

A pair of rulings by Dane County judges has declared the voter ID law unconstitutional, and the GOP is finding out the hard way that it can no longer railroad legislation through the Capitol like has been for the past year. Last year, before the first wave of summer recalls, Republicans… Read more »

While it’s not a normal activity of mine, this weekend I had the unique opportunity to wear a polar bear costume and wave at people. Maybe some explanation is in order. One of my cousins works for an organization called Alaska Wilderness League, which is the only Washington, D.C.-based environmental… Read more »

Rick Santorum, the underdog of the GOP presidential primary election, has a tendency to say all kinds of crazy shit. He’s made a splash this fall by raising eyebrows on the left and right with his religious fanaticism and his social conservatism. He is probably the only candidate still in… Read more »

The federal trial in the case of the controversial redrawn voting districts has been yet another revelation in the overt political self-interest of the Republican Party. The maps were introduced and pushed through the Legislature under Republican support with the approval of Gov. Scott Walker, and then instantaneously contested in… Read more »

Yesterday, while I was poring over the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, I found an interesting report about the proliferation of opioid painkillers during the past decade. I found that the focus of this Journal Sentinel investigation was the way in which pharmaceutical companies, physicians and lobby groups have become financially entangled.… Read more »

I’m sure that University of Wisconsin memes were cool long before I found them, and that people with more “internet savvy” or “computer literacy” or “time to spend on Internet junk” than I have were posting meme after meme before they were even cool in the first place. Anyhow, I… Read more »

Amid the ongoing controversy over ID requirements for Madison bars, the state Assembly is poised to take bar reform to the next level. There is a bill on the table that would give establishments the right to sue underage drinkers in civil court for damages up to $1,000. The bill… Read more »

Ongoing investigations reveal that several of Gov. Scott Walker’s aides were doing campaign work while on the clock at the Milwaukee County Executive’s office. Kelly Rindfleisch, 43, has been charged with four felony counts of misconduct in office, and Darlene Wink, 61, has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of… Read more »

In the unprecedented political situation which we find ourselves today, it is hard to ignore the parallel plotlines playing out on the state and national level. On the national stage, there is the fiercely competitive Republican primary, in which Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney seem to be taking the lead… Read more »

Being a physics major, I feel almost comfortable admitting between classes last spring I would often wander around Chamberlain Hall and look at the research facilities like normal people wander around a museum. I’d ogle at the glittering metal chambers and the technicolor web of entangled wires that surround them,… Read more »

After a wild and debauchery-driven day on the streets of Mifflin last year, Mayor Paul Soglin said he was in favor of scrapping the party entirely. Two people were stabbed and 162 were arrested, and in the words of the mayor himself, “By noon you had kids who were staggering… Read more »

I remember a conversation I had a couple of years ago in the poolside bar area of a party hostel in Medellin, Colombia, with a British guy named Allen. For both of us, college was an eventuality that we were both looking forward to and dreading, but at that time… Read more »

State Representatives Mark Pocan, D-Madison, and Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, have introduced a bill that would legalize medical marijuana in the state of Wisconsin. If the bill is puff puff passed, patients with glaucoma, cancer, AIDS or other chronic conditions will be eligible for marijuana prescriptions. They would receive ID cards… Read more »

Put it in the books, folks — the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently completed a tally of jobs lost and jobs created in the month of October, and the results are less than reassuring for Wisconsin. The BLS reported that Wisconsin lost 9,700 jobs, more than any other state, coming… Read more »

A coal-fired power plant in the small town of Alma, Wis., has taken center stage in the never-ending tug of war between environmentalists and power companies. Dating back to 1947, the plant, owned by Dairyland Power Cooperative, has been the center of an environmental and political debate that spans generations.… Read more »

The state’s Joint Finance Committee has approved a proposal to restrict government spending on health services in an effort to curb the budget deficit. The proposed change in Medicaid and Medicare services denies eligibility to adults under the age of 26 who are covered under their parents’ insurance, caps premiums… Read more »

Six Madison protesters are suing the state’s Department of Administration over a ban on signs and banners in the Capitol. The lawsuit was filed on Friday and claims the $500 dollar fine for carrying a sign or banner in the Capitol without the approval of the Department of Administration is… Read more »

The Madison Fire Department is fed up with all of the careless cooking that’s going on in this town. Residents have become more and more lackadaisical in the kitchen in the past few years, and department officials don’t care if cooks are scatterbrained with academic stress, tired from excessive protesting… Read more »

Wisconsin lawmakers are taking steps to protect youth athletes from repeated concussions. A bill currently before the Legislature would cover youth sports from ages 11 to 19 and require coaches to take a player out of the game or practice immediately if the player may have had a traumatic brain… Read more »

According to an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week, the city of Waukesha recently received a $350,000 grant to start a special court for nonviolent drug-dependent criminals. The goal of this drug court is to combat the rise in abuse of opiates, including both heroin and prescription drugs.… Read more »

Last week, Amando Rodriguez-Benitez was driving drunk the wrong way down I-43 in Milwaukee when he was stopped by a sheriff’s deputy. At that point he had already crashed into one car and caused another driver to swerve into the median, but nobody was seriously injured.  Rodriguez-Benitez plead guilty to numerous… Read more »

The achievement gap between black and white students is widening in Wisconsin. The gap between the two for fourth grade reading proficiency increased by 8.4 percent between 2003 and 2010, while the gap in high school graduation rate increased by 12.4 percent, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Clearly, the… Read more »

Last week, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s tribal council had a meeting with Gov. Scott Walker at the Capitol. The meeting concerned the planned Gogebic Taconite mine on the Bad River Watershed, which will blast down to the iron ore and, in the process, create a… Read more »

Last Wednesday evening, State Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, was at the Inn on the Park with a group of fellow legislators when protesters decided to crash the party. Racine native Miles Kristan and an accomplice with a video camera allegedly barged into the establishment and began shouting at the group… Read more »

Two Wisconsin Republicans, Van Wanggaard of Racine and Dale Kooyenga of Brookfield, have proposed a bill that would use tax dollars to invest in the state’s biotechnology sector. Under the New Generation Jobs bill, 95 percent of the increase in biotech payroll taxes will go to a reserve fund, which… Read more »

This summer, while grassroots organizers and big-time fundraisers were orchestrating a recall bonanza, a noteworthy piece of legislation found its way to Scott Walker’s desk, was signed and became law. On July 8, Wisconsin Act 35 made it legal for residents to carry concealed firearms so long as they also… Read more »

There is a recent development in higher education that will affect many of our fine students. And their younger siblings. And prospective students in high schools across the state. And hell, maybe even our children and our children’s children. As many of you esteemed readers know, the great states of… Read more »

Next week, the National Wildlife Refuge System is holding a conference in Madison that will fine tune the vision for the future of the Refuge System for the next 10 years. It will address recent catastrophes such as the Gulf oil spill and develop a strategy for land acquisition, especially… Read more »

The news of Osama bin Laden’s death took us all by surprise. Although he had been the world’s most wanted terrorist since 2001, with a bounty of $25 million on his head, bin Laden kept a low profile. Some even speculated he was already dead. Sunday night’s breaking news that… Read more »

I’d like to personally thank Sarah Palin for gracing this fair city with her presence on Saturday, because her speech answered a few questions I had about her beloved Tea Party. In the biting cold and stinging rain, in front of yet another crowd on the steps of the Capitol,… Read more »

The race for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court has taken center stage as a showdown between a Walker yes-man and a challenger who would stand up to the overreaching governor. Long overshadowed by the budget bill pandemonium, this race heated up in a frantic final push by the… Read more »

During spring break there was a shadow hanging over my head like a plume of radiation steam. Every time I turned on the TV or opened a newspaper, fear of a nuclear catastrophe on the order of Chernobyl was played out in words and pictures. Japanese families huddled in makeshift shelters and… Read more »

Education seems to be under attack from all sides these days, both from the state government and from within the University of Wisconsin administration. Gov. Scott Walker has been painted to be an archenemy of schoolteachers, but if you ask me, Chancellor Biddy Martin isn’t any better. Her New Badger… Read more »

One of the rallying cries of pro-labor protesters for more than a week has been the call and response, “What’s disgusting? Union busting!” The protesters seem to have hit the nail on the head with this one. The central issue in Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal is not health care… Read more »

Picture yourself on the way to class, not walking, but rolling effortlessly down University Avenue on a brand new, publicly owned bicycle. You stop outside the door and rather than awkwardly locking your bike to a tree or streetlamp because the bike rack is an uninviting mess of chains and… Read more »

President Barack Obama gave university students plenty to be excited about in his State of the Union address Tuesday. Yes, we have heard it all before, and yes, the White House’s commitment to education is always reaffirmed in the address. But although Obama made reference to such persistent national issues… Read more »

After the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords last week, there was a surge of calls for more civility in national public discourse. NPR was running radio spots calling for a more civil debate, and in Washington there were politicians pleading that the rhetoric be toned down. It seems like all… Read more »