LETTERS OPINIONS
Can American democracy rebuild after Trump?
There are a lot of things Donald Trump does not like. Find a common theme, and one may conclude that Trump doesn’t like America. This thought is not original to me. Democratic strategist James Carville offers it as his theory of why Trump wreaks so much damage on this country.
Depravity denial: On sexual violence, progressives make an Israel exception
By nightfall on Oct. 7, 2023, enough details of what several thousand Hamas gunmen had done to about 1,200 Israeli civilians had emerged to make clear the scope of their savagery: youngsters executed en masse running for their lives from a dance festival, families tied together and burned alive or …
Good fences make good neighbors; zoo should build its own
To the Editor: This letter is in response to the July 11 front page article regarding the proposed apartment complex in Minocqua and the unusual requests from Wildwood Wildlife Zoo and Safari. How can anyone suggest that an adjacent property owner should be responsible for creating a buffer that you …
Drunk and defiant: ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ tops the charts
Every year, there’s a song of summer. It’s often something to argue over when conversation lags at the barbecue. In 2013, feminists attacked Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” for allegedly glamorizing sexual violence. “Blurred Lines” was a huge hit. According to Rolling Stone, “It held the whole world in its slightly …
Labor unions kill jobs
Progressives love unions. Not only do unions protect workers, they say, unions gave us the weekend and the middle class. I say, capitalism created the middle class. Employers, competing for better workers, gave us the weekend.
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Big bill, big consequences
To the Editor: The “Big Beautiful Bill” has passed, and it is now official. There is over a one trillion dollar reduction in Medicaid over 10 years. In Wisconsin, we also call ours BadgerCare.
Big bill, bigger debt, no plan
To the Editor: In the debate about the budget bill recently passed by Congress, an essential point got lost. Estimates are that the tax and spending bill will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. Missing from the discussion is that this amount is on …
Attention disorder: America sleeps as Trump hands Putin what he wants
The late Charlie Munger, who with longtime friend Warren Buffett turned Berkshire Hathaway into a behemoth, attributed his investment successes to his ability to pay sustained attention. “I did not succeed in life by intelligence,” Munger recounted. “I succeeded because I have a long attention span.”
Musk should return to the Democratic Party
Elon Musk warned that if Republicans passed their big domestic policy bill, he would form a new “America Party” to primary those who voted for it. He doesn’t need a new party. He has his old one, the Democrats.
No room for relief, reader admonishes Aspirus
To the Editor: Aspirus Health is failing our community in one important aspect. Aspirus is one of the only clinic/hospital systems in our area, and it employs some very fine doctors and other providers. The administration, though, has made a decision that is making it hard for some people to …
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River News: Our View
A famous film director, Justine Bateman, has an expression of deep feeling pinned to the top of her X account: “Decompressing from walking on eggshells for the past four years.” Bateman posted that after last November’s election, and it captures the emotions of many Americans who feel that they can …
TikTok runs the table: After Mamdani, Democrats mull picking their poison
In Woody Allen’s iconic film “Annie Hall,” protagonist Alvy Singer instructs his new girlfriend that our existence is divided into two categories: the horrible and, if you’re really lucky, the miserable. For many Democrats who find Donald Trump and his presidency an abomination, their alternative seems a Democratic Party dominated …
Congress must act to help the new postmaster general pull USPS back from the brink
The United States Postal Service is on the brink of a self-induced collapse. The failed policies of the Delivering for America Plan have driven away customers through a combination of sky-high rate increases and degraded service. David Steiner, who will take over as Postmaster General on July 14, has a …
The war should be turned back to Israel
Let me offer some rare praise for Donald Trump. His attack on Iran’s nuclear development sites was carefully executed. Nobody outside a tight circle knew about it in advance. And he was wise in shifting the talk into calls for peace.
Team feckless: Democrats’ blather on Iran does no one any good
While our avowed admirer of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un spent American taxpayers’ dollars parading military hardware through Washington, D.C., in order to celebrate his 79th birthday and sent troops to quell protests about the forcible detention of immigrants, Democrats scratched their heads wondering why they’re so unpopular among …
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