By the time you’ve read this, the city of Madison will have survived yet another Iron Man competition. I say “survive” because going through downtown Madison is a nightmare every time Iron Man comes to town. The same goes for other lovely events that tie up traffic and making walking and driving through the area … Continue reading downtown Madison is over hyped. the city suffers.

man adult businessman laptop 1459246 Many states, including Wisconsin, allow for a legal structure for cooperative businesses. Credit unions have been at the forefront of such movements. The structure of a credit union is, in many ways, quite revolutionary in theory. With an initial deposit of $25 in savings, a depositor becomes a member of … Continue reading Heartland Credit Union’s 2023 annual meeting: the cooperative doesn’t understand the assignment

I was quite familiar with the band Berlin in my teen years. But I hadn't realized that they were releasing singles as early as 1979. They didn't really become that well-known until 1983. The lead singer Terri Nunn would have been either 19 or 20 years old in this video. John Crawford, who wrote this … Continue reading a very young Berlin band

I was recently doing my frequent late-night habit of perusing music videos on YouTube. I'd become quite fond of videos from a couple of German live music shows--Beat Club and Musikladen--that had performances from the 1960s to the early 80s. One of the suggested videos was by an artist by the name of Chi Coltrane. … Continue reading how had I not heard of Chi Coltrane until now?

Michelle Vallejo trails her Republican opponent by just 1/10 of a point, yet gets little support from Democratic party leadership Does the Democratic Party really want a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives or do they only want a certain type of people representing them? Shunning progressives would seem like an extraordinarily dumb tactic … Continue reading why is the democratic party shunning progressives even when control of U.S. house is at stake?

Foxygen has had a talent for mining the absurd depths of late 60s and early 70s California cheese-pop and creating something alternately hilarious and catchy. Their band name, and the album title "We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic" says a lot about how the degree to which they do and don't … Continue reading how can you really not love Foxygen?

https://youtu.be/zw-KASkQyAk Cruelty to immigrants is now a campaign tactic. The blatant level of mistreatment of immigrants has escalated with the behavior of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas. Some of the immigrants flown by DeSantis to Martha’s Vineyard had immigration hearings in Florida scheduled as early as Monday. A few … Continue reading cruelty to immigrants is now a campaign tactic

If you believe that the biggest threat to the U.S. is critical race theory in schools, Goldman Sachs and AIG have a bridge to sell you. Financial institutions that profited handsomely from the Great Recession are some of the biggest funders of the culture wars. That's so they can keep a large section of the … Continue reading the biggest funders of the culture wars

https://youtu.be/STgwl9RkMWk Siouxsie and the Banshees and Dreampop. If you think the band and the style might not fit well together, you'd be wrong. The Banshees weren't just influential as a punk band but also in the development in what eventually became the Goth and Dreampop musical styles. This 1987 single is probably the best of … Continue reading Siouxsie and the Banshees and Dreampop