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Will energy bill be ticket to lawmakers’ unemployment? (2009/07/06)
WASHINGTON — Hours before the House passed its cap-and-trade bill last week, freshman Democrats Tom Perriello and Frank Kratovil were pondering the political fallout of the votes they were about to cast in favor of a plan Republicans were denouncing as “cap-and-tax.”

Our view: Budget finished ... but work isn’t done (2009/07/05)
Gov. Jim Doyle was markedly more relaxed than he was the last time he met with Tribune’s editorial board, a few months ago.

David Broder: Senate is fillibuster-proof, but on risky footing (2009/07/05)
WASHINGTON — Now that the Minnesota Supreme Court has ended the long count on the 2008 Senate race by awarding the seat to Al Franken, Democrats — at least on paper — have the power to pass whatever bills they want, without a single Republican vote.

Faith Blum: We can again be the greatest nation on Earth (2009/07/05)
In August 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech that would become one of the most famous speeches in American history, “I Have a Dream.” His dream of freedom has come true. He had a dream that our country would “be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”

Keith Knutson: In Macedonia, you’ll find history everywhere (2009/07/05)
In the first week of June, I visited the Republic of Macedonia for the first time. It was a delightfully eye-opening experience. History in this country is available and discussed everywhere. Skopje, the capital city, has a lively ambiance and wonderful cuisine.

Terry Schmeckpeper: One word for the GOP: Service (2009/07/04)
Since the state Republican convention in La Crosse and continuing through all the political sparring (as opposed to judicial considerations) surrounding the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, I’ve been thinking about the condition of the Republican Party.

Our view: Cap-and-trade bill tries to do too much (2009/07/04)
Who could vote against something called the Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009?

Opinion: The bear edition (2009/07/02)
Whether in the checkout line or the break room, it has been the topic of conversation all around La Crosse. And, even during this big news year, nothing has inspired our letter writers to take to their keyboards like the killing of a black bear Saturday in Myrick Park.

Our view: Move forward on city governance issues (2009/07/01)
Leadership. Reliability. Transparency. All qualities that contribute to the achievements of successful organizations — and all items that the city of the La Crosse too often lacks.

Tom Bice: Nuclear energy is answer to energy independence (2009/07/01)
There is a way to end this recession, and it is fairly simple. It will still leave many people struggling for many years, but this solution can work. This assumes that we don’t end up in so much debt that we can’t recover.

Our view: Bear in park was a public safety threat (2009/06/30)
A prominent bear researcher earlier this year pointed out that the Coulee Region provides perfect habitat for black bears.

Cal Thomas: I’m (not) gonna live forever (2009/06/30)
“How fevered is the man who cannot look Upon his mortal days with temperate blood, Who vexes all the leaves of his life’s book,

E.J. Dionne: No need for stone tablets on health care, just iron will (2009/06/29)
WASHINGTON — Every general studies the mistakes of the last war, and President Obama’s style has been much influenced by the difficulties of Bill Clinton’s presidency.

Our view: Our idolatry bears some of the blame (2009/06/29)
We are graced with their presence. But far too often we turn them into misfits or monsters.

Avery Wehrs: A history of invasion, repression, hypocrisy (2009/06/28)
For the past few weeks, the world has watched Iran explode, chaos reigning as protests rage in the streets, the military tries to quash the uprising, and the rest of the world offers words of support but no actual assistance.

President needs to stay the course in Afghanistan (2009/06/28)
WASHINGTON — What to do about Afghanistan? Ever since taking office in January, President Barack Obama has received no shortage of advice about the proper way forward on the first front of America’s struggle against radical Islam.

Our view: Don’t abolish QEO immediately (2009/06/28)
As is too often the case, state leaders say ‘ready ... fire ... aim’

Keith Knutson: Scandal erodes confidence in MPs (2009/06/28)
For three consecutive years, for one week in May, I’ve experienced the beauty of the cliffside city of Taormina overlooking the Ionian Sea on the east coast of Sicily. This year by chance I met Kathleen Herron, deputy managing editor of a leading British newspaper, The Sunday Times. Here's a link to one of her travel columns on Taormina: Casa nostra

Kathleen Parker: Please cry for me, South Carolina (2009/06/28)
WASHINGTON — A wise man once said that love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.

Obama must honor vow to set date for withdrawal (2009/06/28)
WASHINGTON — In March, President Barack Obama told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that the United States must have an exit strategy in Afghanistan.

E.J. Dionne: A court above politics? That’s not possible (2009/06/27)
WASHINGTON — The United States Supreme Court claims to be above politics, and it sometimes even achieves that.

Our view: Keep the public in public notices (2009/06/27)
In the ongoing saga of “what’s the latest provision buried in the state budget bill,” you’ll find a proposal that would dramatically change state law regarding public notices.

Our view: The winner-take-all Wisconsin budget (2009/06/25)
It’s unlikely the Democrat-controlled Wisconsin Legis-lature could craft a budget more likely to divide urban and suburban Wisconsinites from their more rural neighbors.

Kathleen Parker: The meaning of Neda: Don’t be afraid (2009/06/25)
WASHINGTON — Every revolution needs a unifying symbol, and members of Iran’s opposition movement now have theirs.

Marc Wehrs: Yes to nukes, firearms, but no to influenza (2009/06/24)
Our online polls continue to be a very popular feature at www.lacrossetribune.com. While they’re entirely voluntary and make no pretense at being a representative sample of our readership, they do offer an interesting look at the way people especially interested in each topic look at the world. Here are some results from the past couple weeks:

John Kass: The president learned to play political hardball in Chicago (2009/06/24)
It’s amusing to watch the Washington political establishment feign shock now that President Barack Obama’s reform administration has used a clay foot to vigorously kick one inspector general and boot another out the door.

Our view: Level heads prevail in foreign policy (2009/06/23)
It’s axiomatic that the enemy of our enemy is our friend. And its reflexive in Republicans to shower criticism on President Barack Obama on issues both foreign and domestic.

Cal Thomas: Education’s problematic presumptions, assumptions (2009/06/23)
Some people have certain presumptions — for example, that government is better suited to handling problems than individuals or private entities. Then there are the accompanying assumptions that government, for those who have faith in its supposedly superior capabilities, will always produce the desired outcome.

Our view: What next from the Legislature? More secrecy (2009/06/22)
The biennial budget bill that came out of the Wisconsin Senate is at odds with the Assembly version on several key points. So what will the Legislature do?

Bill Harnden: Johnny Young was part of local music history (2009/06/22)
If you walked into the Recovery Room on Thursday night, you might have felt as though you were at a Lindy Shannon rock ’n’ roll show.

Kathleen Parker: South Carolinians gone ape ... and damaging the GOP (2009/06/22)
WASHINGTON -- Rusty DePass, the South Carolina Republican activist who infamously “joked” that an escaped zoo gorilla was probably an ancestor of Michelle Obama’s, has learned the meaning of “hell to pay.”

Terry Terrell: Abortion opponents are trying to save lives (2009/06/21)
Your neighbor’s house is on fire. What would you do?

Amy F. Isaacs: Clean energy will restore U.S. as top world innovator (2009/06/21)
WASHINGTON -- The current clean-energy dividend legislation will not make U.S. businesses less competitive in the global market; on the contrary, it will secure America’s place as a leader of the future of the industry.

Keith Knutson: Preserving Italy’s cultural legacy (2009/06/21)
When the Renaissance Pope Leo X needed someone to look after the vast art collections at the Vatican, he hired the great artist Raphael.

Cap-and-trade system rewards special interests (2009/06/21)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- “Cap-and-trade” sounds fabulous: Those who emit carbon dioxide will have to obtain permits for their emissions. If they are able to reduce emissions cheaply, they will cut their emissions, enabling them to sell the permits they don’t need to those who can’t cut emissions as cheaply.

Marc Wehrs: Fathers aren’t really going it alone (2009/06/21)
It’s hard for me write about my father, about what he means to me. I trust that’s not all that unusual.

John Kass: An executive order is needed to resuscitate satire (2009/06/20)
Has President Barack Obama inadvertently killed off presidential satire?

Dave Drewes: Beyond the hype and on to the cold, hard facts of sustainability (2009/06/18)
It seems many in the city and county are enthralled with the thought of wind, solar, ethanol, biodiesel and who knows what else as a source for our future energy needs.

Our view: Looking at sustainability from different angles (2009/06/18)
The “sustainability” debate has been frustrating at times here in La Crosse, with people of good will, as is often the case, talking past one another.

Marc Wehrs: 2009 issues with a '70s sensibility (2009/06/18)
Remember Woodsy Owl? The star of the U.S. Forest Service’s public service announcements made his motto — “Give a hoot, don’t pollute!” — part of the lexicon of the 1970s. Woodsy was a younger colleague of Smokey Bear, who continued to remind us that only we can prevent forest fires.

Our view: Fighting a health menace: Our culture of binge drinking (2009/06/17)
It’s a grant we’d just as soon not be eligible for. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has awarded the La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium $87,000 to combat binge drinking in La Crosse County.

Pat Ruda: Parents have the most influence over teen drinking (2009/06/17)
Parents who Host Lose the Most is a statewide campaign in Wisconsin this spring and summer addressing underage drinking and the many ramifications for parents providing alcohol to underage drinkers.

Our view: It’s time to open up caucuses (2009/06/16)
The news out of Madison continues to be grim: Gov. Jim Doyle and the state Legislature continue their wholesale recasting of state policy on a host of issues without due debate and deliberation.

Staffer’s take: Of driver’s cards, insurance and in-state tuition (2009/06/16)
On Saturday, the Wisconsin Assembly approved driver cards for illegal immigrants in its state budget bill. They also voted to increase car insurance requirements, which will undoubtedly result in higher premiums.

Kathleen Parker: Our best protection? Demanding better (2009/06/16)
WASHINGTON — One thing we can conclude from David Letterman’s bad jokes about Sarah Palin: He hasn’t flown commercial in a while.

Sandra McAnany: We’re expelling far too many of our students (2009/06/15)
It is the end of the school year, and most Wisconsin students are looking forward to the summer. But a growing number of children have their educational futures taken away each year.

Our view: Look here for health care reform model (2009/06/14)
Air Force One landed a couple hundred miles off course Thursday when it touched down in Green Bay.

Blake Morrison: Mr. Sauer made a difference (2009/06/14)
When I graduated from Central High School in 1986, Jim Sauer was a high-energy optimist, the sort of teacher who brought out the best in every student, from the smartest to the least interested. As I saw earlier this year, when I spoke to one of his classes, he hadn’t changed a bit.

Mike Stolpa: Role of father isn’t easy, but it is rewarding (2009/06/14)
It is almost time to It is almost time to celebrate Father’s Day. Normally I might reflect on the trials and tribulations of that job. Maybe the trials I put my father through or the tribulations my own children put me through, but today I would like to briefly examine my role, and successes and failures with my own children.

Cal Thomas: Media cower under Obama’s unquestioned authority (2009/06/14)
A criticism heard during the early years of the Bush administration was that the media were “in the tank” for Bush, fearing to question his foreign and domestic policies in the aftermath of 9/11 because of his then-high approval numbers and concern that they would be labeled unpatriotic.

Health care providers can fulfill their pledge to cut costs (2009/06/14)
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Six health industry leaders promised President Barack Obama in May that they would do their part to help slow the growth of health spending. That much is agreed.

Health care providers’ pledged savings can actually boost spending (2009/06/14)
WASHINGTON — In today’s economic climate, everyone is looking for places to save money. Health care now consumes one-sixth of America’s economy. So it only makes sense that leaders of the U.S. health care sector want to do their part.

Our view: The ‘big oil’ tax on you that’s not really a tax (2009/06/13)
During the Joint Finance Committee’s deliberations on Wisconsin’s biennial budget, Rep. Jennifer Shilling took the right stand on the new tax on “big oil.”

Our view: What a terrific beginning for UW-L stadium (2009/06/11)
Even when times are tough — in the local economy and in the University of Wisconsin System — La Crosse gets things done.

Other views: U.S., others need to pressure N. Korea (2009/06/11)
The following editorial appeared in the Sacramento Bee on Tuesday:

Kathleen Parker: The GOP’s Sarah problem (2009/06/11)
WASHINGTON — Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska and GOP “It” girl, can warm up the Republican base like a hot toddy in a duck blind. But further inside the party organization, the air is a little nippy.

Our view: Joint Finance ‘help’ wasn’t very helpful (2009/06/10)
There are some issues we won’t leave alone, and the egregious practice of inserting policy items into the Wisconsin budget — especially under cover of the Joint Finance Committee — is one of them.

Kevin Horrigan: I have seen the future, and it stinks (2009/06/10)
I am trying to contemplate the future. It is too hard. The tube beckons.

Our view: Hopeful signs here amid scary national news (2009/06/09)
The economic news the past year has been steadily gloomy —and at times truly frightening.

Cal Thomas: Reagan unveiled just when we need the reminder (2009/06/09)
A statue of Ronald Reagan was unveiled last week in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda at a time when many Republicans, and even some conservatives, think Reagan’s ideas are passe. Before moving on, Republicans, and those conservatives who don’t want to “live in the past,” should be asked what better ideas they have to offer.

Clean government? Not this go-round (2009/06/08)
Democrats were were so full of self-congratulation in February it was a little unseemly.

Visiting Uijeongbu: Memories of Korea (2009/06/08)
David J. Marcou | La Crosse For many years, “M*A*S*H,” that richly sardonic television view of civil war in Korea (1950-53), though it related more feelings-wise to the Vietnam War (1963-75), graced U.S. network and cable channels. It still can be seen in syndication and is just as good now as when it was first broadcast.

Abortion was the only way to save my life (2009/06/08)
Last Sunday morning, a man walked into a church in Wichita, Kansas and shot to death Dr. George Tiller. Tiller was volunteering as an usher that Sunday, so he was standing in the lobby of the church when the gunman entered. Unfortunately, Tiller’s death didn’t really come as a surprise; his medical practice centered on performing abortions, particularly late-term abortions, and he’d been attacked before. Regardless of the near constant threats and harassment he received, Tiller was committed to his work. Why? Because he believed that “abortion is a matter of survival for women.”

Energy freedom won’t be found in wind or sun (2009/06/07)
WASHINGTON -- Miguel Cervantes created one of the most memorable characters of literature in Don Quixote, a delusional man who jousted with windmills he thought were giants.

Eco-friendly energies need more federal help (2009/06/07)
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Climate change is perhaps the greatest environmental and economic challenge of the 21st century. Scientific debate about its reality is now over, even if skepticism continues in some quarters. Remaining questions largely concern the magnitude, timing and location of the effects of planetary warming, not whether it will occur.

Exhilaration is what keeps us running (2009/06/07)
Paul Rykken | Community columnist It happened 55 years ago. Imagine it is May 6, 1954, and we are standing around a cinder track in Oxford England in the rain and cold. A young guy named Bannister desperately wants to be the first man to run the mile in under 4 minutes. The holy grail of distance running, runners had been chasing this for years.

Payback’s a ... tough experience (2009/06/07)
There’s a crude saying about payback that might be appropriate in describing what Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature are experiencing these days.

Church-state relationship requires vigilance (2009/06/07)
Americans United for Separation of Church and State has been the object of biting criticism in the letters to the editor on these pages. Here is a local member’s point-by-point response to a Tribune editorial that also criticized the organization.

Economic recovery act can help small businesses thrive (2009/06/07)
Small businesses and family farms are the backbone of our economy. They are creating 80 percent of the new jobs today and serve as important anchors in our communities. In a time when we are working through the most difficult economic environment since the Great Depression, it is important to listen to these local businesses and continue to support their needs. I believe it is these community businesses that will pull us out of this recession.

Can you channel your inner columnist? (2009/06/07)
The Tribune’s community columnists are among the most popular features on our Sunday Opinion pages.

Our view: Policy issues continue to litter budget (2009/06/06)
The co-chairmen of the Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee were making the rounds Wednesday, defending the panel’s work on a proposed biennial budget.

Guest view: Budget contains provisions unfair to nonunion builders (2009/06/06)
For years, construction trade labor unions have alleged that nonunion contractors are not complying with Wisconsin’s prevailing-wage laws and have demanded access to the payroll records of non-union contractors. When a contractor works on a publicly funded job, that contractor is normally required to pay a state-set rate known as a “prevailing wage”.

Al Bliss: Changing the culture of risky drinking (2009/06/04)
Underage drinking puts everyone in a community at risk, and reducing the problem will take a comprehensive, long-term commitment from the community as a whole.

David Broder: Beyond Bork? Don’t count on it (2009/06/04)
WASHINGTON — When a Supreme Court nominee such as Judge Sonia Sotomayor comes before the Senate for confirmation, she is promised a full, fair hearing. In fact, every nominee’s path is booby-trapped by the history of confirmation battles.

E.J. Dionne Jr.: Years later, it’s the economy again (2009/06/03)
WASHINGTON — It seems so long ago. In the weeks after the 2004 election, one exit-poll finding lit up the political world. The survey showed that “moral values” were the single most important issue in the election, narrowly outstripping even the economy and terrorism.

Our view: We’re about legitimate debate, not violence (2009/06/03)
President Barack Obama has long urged the opposite sides of the abortion debate to find common ground where they can and to respect each others’ differences where they can’t.

Tim Giago: It’s time for Indians to think independently (2009/06/03)
We are only halfway through 2009, and yet politicians across America are already gearing up for Election 2010.

Cal Thomas: Is he an innocent or our ‘infidel’ abroad? (2009/06/02)
President Barack Obama faces numerous challenges as he heads to Cairo this week for a much-anticipated speech to the Muslim world.

Our view: The church-state activists are on wrong track here (2009/06/01)
Thanks a lot, Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Larry Kerrigan: Labels matter — and they can be hurtful (2009/06/01)
If you’ve ever been called stupid, dim-witted or some other offensive name, especially by someone who earnestly meant it, you’ve had a taste of how it feels to a person with a disability when he or she is labeled retarded, slow or handicapped — even when uttered by well-meaning people.

Community columnist: The joys of being disabled (2009/05/31)
I have spent the past 24 years working with people with disabilities and the past 17 months as the father of a daughter with a traumatic brain injury. It’s been a long journey of ups and downs over the years. On a daily basis I have viewed the struggles that so many people I work with go through just to be accepted as valued citizens of society.

Rod Dreher: What I wish they had told me at graduation (2009/05/31)
The bad news, high school graduates, is you can’t have it all. You aren’t as free as you think you are. Sorry, but no matter what optimistic flapdoodle your commencement speaker tells you, that’s the truth.

Our view: Another disappointing budget process (2009/05/31)
The Joint Finance Committee came down with a severe case of constipation when the Legislative Fiscal Bureau’s revenue projections headed south ... yet again ... earlier this month.

Brent Smith: Court nominees aren’t so predictable (2009/05/31)
Within minutes of President Barack Obama’s nomination of federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter on the United States Supreme Court, speculation turned from who would be nominated to how that nominee, if confirmed, might influence the philosophical makeup of the court.

Robert Alt: Empathy, ethnicity must not overrule the law (2009/05/31)
WASHINGTON — In choosing a Supreme Court justice, President Barack Obama — like any president — should look for someone who will apply the Constitution and the laws as written, and interpret them consistent with their plain and original meaning.

Amy F. Isaacs: Criticisms thinly veiled racist, sexist attacks (2009/05/31)
WASHINGTON — The nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court is groundbreaking for a number of reasons and is a reaffirmation of the faith American voters displayed electing President Barack Obama.

Our view: Pettibone lease debacle reinforces mistrust (2009/05/30)
Pettibone Park Resort’s operators say they’ve paid their bills on time and in full.

E.J. Dionne: Sotomayor is no leftist (2009/05/30)
WASHINGTON — Republicans would be foolish to fight the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the

Our view: Give nominee fair, timely hearing (2009/05/28)
Confirmation hearing: the opportunity for grandstanding senators from either side of the aisle to bloviate embarrassingly before a small national television and radio audience.

Other views: Spock and Barack (2009/05/28)
The following editorial appeared Tuesday in the Chicago Tribune:

Cal Thomas: This Powell doctrine won’t work (2009/05/28)
The Republican Party of late has been on a listening tour, asking people for recommendations about what the party should do to revive itself after the last two disastrous election cycles. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has offered his opinions and in the process may have done more to further divide the party he claims to support.

Marc Wehrs: Toiling in the shadow of the Greatest Generation (2009/05/27)
Tribune community columnist Terry Schmeckpeper on Sunday reminded the rest of us baby boomers (and X-ers and Y-ers and everyone else) to be a little more like the Greatest Generation.

E.J. DIONNE: Obama and the limits of mastery (2009/05/26)
WASHINGTON — Bill Clinton tried to create a Third Way. President Barack Obama is doing it. This is exciting, but also disconcerting.

CAL THOMAS: The dueling visions of Obama and Cheney (2009/05/26)
Wouldn’t it be nice if things were simple instead of complicated; if hailing our Founding Fathers and the documents they wrote were sufficient to persuade people who do not share their views about life, liberty and religious tolerance to lay down their arms and worship at the altar of our Constitution in the temple of the National Archives?

Chris Hardie: Never forget Memorial Day (2009/05/25)
Eleven years ago, when I was the city editor of the La Crosse Tribune, I had the fortune to meet a very special person.

‘Tell their stories’ (2009/05/25)
A bright, late afternoon sun shines on Roald Finanger’s silver hair as he stands in the seventh row of section 18 in Oak Grove Cemetery in La Crosse.

Ron Kind: Supporting our troops and remembering our veterans (2009/05/25)
As families across western Wisconsin celebrate Memorial Day, it is important to reflect on the sacrifices our nation’s veterans have made, including the

Obama doesn’t follow own advice on abortion (2009/05/24)
The controversy surrounding President Barack Obama and Notre Dame University culminated with his speech Sunday in Indiana. I had returned from Washington, D.C., just in time to drop my bag and tune in to watch the address.

Are we passing on the right values? (2009/05/24)
This will probably be my last column as a community columnist, so I wanted it to actually be significant, something beyond the political ranting and fat-cat bashing of which I am so fond. I offer the following.

Republicans never condone torture (2009/05/24)
La Crosse In the May 17 Sunday Tribune, a local university history professor, Keith Knutson, asked whether Republicans reject the use of torture? And will they make torture its issue? There is no evidence of any Republican that I am aware of that ever condoned torture.

Nuclear energy is competitive with neither coal nor natural gas (2009/05/24)
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Policy analysts typically evaluate proposed new policies against the status quo. From this perspective, the question of whether Congress should encourage the development of nuclear power is moot, because support for nuclear power is a central element of the status quo.

Nuclear power: Clean energy we need for a post-carbon era (2009/05/24)
INDIANAPOLIS — If America is on the verge of a “nuclear renaissance,” as proponents of nuclear power contend, our nuclear Dark Age has cost us dearly.

Tax hike will chase wealthy from state (2009/05/24)
Members of the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly: I can tell you that the idea of raising taxes on high-income individuals in Wisconsin to solve our budget problem will not work.

Our view: Let’s talk about the choices we face (2009/05/23)
Cones of silence must have been on sale this spring at Intrigue Warehouse.

E.J. Dionne: Obama cannot duck the truly tough issues (2009/05/23)
WASHINGTON -- President Obama’s lieutenants would love it if all the networks ran a crawl line at the bottom of the screen during news broadcasts that kept repeating: “The economy, health care, energy, education. The economy, health care ...”

Marc Wehrs: Always when you least expect it (2009/05/21)
This column was supposed to be a slam dunk. On Tuesday, I received the best news I’ve had in years: a health scare for the woman I love averted and other wonderful news for my family — the prayers of my family, friends, co-workers, church members and even strangers answered in the way we had hoped they’d be answered.

Kathleen Parker: GOP disorder — purge or binge? (2009/05/21)
It’s not yet clear how the one-armed midget demographic is shaping up, but everybody else seems to be bailing on the GOP.

Tim Giago: Small successes come hard in the battle over mascots (2009/05/20)
Twenty nine years ago I wrote my first column about high school, college and professional sports teams using American Indians as mascots for their fun and games.

Cal Thomas: Obama at Notre Dame (2009/05/20)
Put aside the question of whether a distinctly Catholic institution like Notre Dame should award an honorary degree to a man who stands against any restrictions on abortion; put aside the notion of academic freedom, which liberals favor as an intellectual premise, but rarely practice when it comes to conservative speakers, whom you very rarely see standing at the lectern at commencement ceremonies anywhere in the United States this time of year.

Nothing to see here, folks (2009/05/19)
The reaction of visitors at www.lacrossetribune.com to a story announcing Sunday’s open carry picnic was astounding: a couple hundred reader comments in just a day or two.

Mike Stolpa: Time to put on your walking shoes (2009/05/18)
It’s like a walk in the park. Actually, it is a walk in the park, and around the block, and down the street and to some place and from some place and all kinds of good things. It’s just walking. Walkers are everywhere. They are like runners, only slower, and without the cool outfits.

Kevin Kulig: We paid good money for new slogan? (2009/05/18)
As a lifelong resident of Wisconsin, it is with great displeasure and embarrassment I read about and saw the state’s new tourism slogan and logo: “Wisconsin, Live Like You Mean It.”

Kathleen Parker: Torturing lawyers is wrong, too (2009/05/18)
WASHINGTON — It is supremely surreal to find oneself sipping sparkling water in a sunny hotel courtyard, dispassionately discussing the legalities of torture.

Our view: Health care is too broken not to fix it (2009/05/17)
Ready or not, it’s coming. That’s the message about national health care reform that our local providers are spreading. Come summer, we’ll have legislation. Come fall, that legislation will be the law of the land.

Burma-Shave: A concept updated (2009/05/17)
One of the things I loved doing, as a child in travelling our old station wagon, was to read the Burma-Shave signs scattered along the highway.

Laurel Grey: Find a healthy middle ground on meat issue (2009/05/17)
While I do agree with most of Heather Moore’s points in her recent column, I’m once again dismayed at her — and PETA’s — solution to the problem of the swine flu outbreak (and mad cow disease and SARS and bird flu): don’t eat meat.

Keith Knutson: A couple of history lessons for Cheney (2009/05/17)
Last Sunday on CBS, former Vice President Dick Cheney appeared on Face the Nation, and proclaimed he preferred Rush Limbaugh over Colin Powell as spokesman for the Republican Party. Limbaugh himself argues the biggest mistake Republicans could make is to follow Powell’s advice and move to the political center.

Ending subsidies will slash food prices for the rest of us (2009/05/17)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In 2005, a coalition of Midwestern corn growers, giant agribusinesses, environmental groups and politicians anxious to assuage public concern over dependence on foreign oil joined together to mandate the addition of ever increasing amounts of ethanol to our gasoline.

Don Kusler: Cutting subsidies to push wind and solar is foolhardy (2009/05/17)
WASHINGTON — Investments in wind and solar energy are a key part of our nation’s energy strategy, but now is not the time for Congress to stop investing in ethanol in favor of these alternatives.

Leslie Bow: Asian-Americans are not post-racial (2009/05/16)
We’re smack in the middle of Asian Pacific-American Heritage Month, but you wouldn’t know it.

Our view: County was correct to keep public records accessible (2009/05/16)
The La Crosse County Executive Committee on Wednesday unanimously endorsed continued online access to vital public records.

Our view: A junk yard in the middle of our jewel? (2009/05/14)
The La Crosse River Marsh has had a significant impact on the city’s history. It has been used for farming, reclaimed for industry, used as a location for cemeteries, gypsy camps, golf courses and even race tracks.

Eric Frydenlund: The time of death (2009/05/14)
Death took a strange turn out here in the Driftless area. I summitted a ridge the other night and startled a hawk dining on a squirrel. He flew off onto a nearby branch and eyed me like I was a telemarketer calling during suppertime.

Kathleen Parker: Why is that man smiling? (2009/05/14)
WASHINGTON — There’s nothing un-funnier than Saturday night’s jokes reviewed by the caffeinated light of Monday morning.

Marc Wehrs: Bumbling through the misinformation (2009/05/13)
Last week I ran into the odd combination of paranoia and condescension that is the conspiracy theorist’s domain.

Larry Kerrigan: People with disabilities make great employees (2009/05/13)
Finding employment, especially in this economy, is difficult for anybody. You have to sell yourself, your experience — even your personality — to an employer to stand out from thousands of others who also qualify for the same position.

Cal Thomas: The titled and the entitled (2009/05/13)
LONDON — There are titled people in Britain and then there are people who consider themselves entitled. The current scandal here is that the entitled are not the growing number receiving benefits from government, but the many members of Parliament whose highly questionable expenses are jaw dropping, even to the most cynical observer.

E.J. Dionne: An honest brawl about the Supreme Court (2009/05/12)
WASHINGTON — The coming battle over President Barack Obama’s first Supreme Court nomination could be an enlightening debate over what direction the court should take. It could also be a nasty and hypocritical fight that obscures more issues than it clarifies.

Our view: Goodbye to smoke; hello to clean air (2009/05/12)
While it’s disappointing that the proposed compromise delays doing the right thing for more than a year, we applaud the workplace smoking ban and trust the full Senate and Assembly will pass the measure.

Ann Kappauf: ‘Little man’ has right kind of role model (2009/05/10)
My father-in-law, an 84-year-old man with a heart the size of Minnesota, has grandchildren spanning in age from 2 to 40. The youngest, my son, aka “little man,” has recently inherited the cat feeding chores from his “Papa,” and what was once a 30 second chore now takes 30 minutes.

Public puts U.S. on fast track to federal control (2009/05/10)
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The main battle in the health reform debate in Washington is being fought over whether the federal government will set up its own health insurance plan to compete with private companies.

Our view: Get transit center back under control (2009/05/10)
A new mayor and a newly configured La Crosse Common Council already face a major test of leadership: recalibrating a transit center project that is heading for cost overruns and delays.

Glenn Garvin: Much talk, little clarity in Obama camp (2009/05/10)
You know what they say about monkeys, typewriters and Shakespeare. My question is, if you sat an infinite number of Joe Bidens at an infinite number of microphones, would any of them ever say anything that wasn’t infinitely stupid? From his reminiscences about Franklin Roosevelt’s famous White House television address on the day of the 1929 stock market crash (that is, three years before Roosevelt was president and 20 years before Americans bought TVs) to his campaign-rally exhortation to Missouri state Sen. Chuck Graham to “Stand up, Chuck, let ’em see ya!” (Graham’s in a wheelchair), Biden’s serial stupidities have become a national mortification.

Steve Roisum: Mine was the best mom for me (2009/05/10)
It’s early fall, and Mom is dying. She has been sick for years. By the time pneumonia rolls around, she’s too weak to fight it. We lost Dad seven years ago, and I don’t think life offered Mom that much after that.

Other views: Congress out of bounds on bowl game issue (2009/05/10)
The following editorial appeared in Newsday on Thursday, May 7:

Wayne Madsen: Federal health plan would offer real choices (2009/05/10)
WASHINGTON — Americans finally are starting to realize what citizens in other advanced democracies took for granted decades ago: Private health insurance is a shopworn relic from a bygone era when few people could afford quality medical care.

E.J. Dionne: Reaction or moderation: The stakes at Notre Dame (2009/05/09)
WASHINGTON — You have heard the expression “more Catholic than the pope.” We now know that the reaction of right-wing Catholics to Notre Dame’s invitation to President Barack Obama falls into this category.

Our view: Lack of debate led to bad decision (2009/05/09)
In what likely will be many such instances during the Wisconsin Legislature’s biennial budget process, a major policy change advanced Tuesday without public input.

Our view: We might of have dodged a bullet ... this time (2009/05/07)
Usually lectures about staying home when we’re sick and washing our hands regularly and vigorously come from our moms, health care pros and Tribune health reporter Terry Rindfleisch.

David Broder: Jack Kemp, conservative happy warrior (2009/05/07)
WASHINGTON — On the very day last week that Jack Kemp, the former quarterback, congressman and 1996 vice presidential candidate, succumbed to cancer, other Republicans were honoring his example by launching a search for new ideas and broader constituencies.

Kathleen Parker: Fear of flying — the less you know the better (2009/05/07)
IN THE MIAMI AIRPORT — Against the advice our vice president, I have braved the germ-infested world, forced into transit by prior commitments and surrounded by strangers who may not recently have washed their hands.


 



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