I really don’t know why there has been no concerted response. Maybe it’s because of the general chaos in this society that we don’t focus on the needs and concerns of children and youth. Maybe it’s because adults don’t really know how to respond. I refuse to believe it’s because we do not care. But when a student survivor of St. Louis’ first school shooting came to me for a platform to express her discounted pain, I wondered about us as a society.

We must build a formidable united front for justice and democracy. The motley picks for cabinet positions by trump mirrors his distorted view of governance and power. The main thing these cronies have in common is their unfettered and unconditional loyalty to trump. This is a required trait for a wanna-be dictator who is now more dangerous the second time around.

Wisconsin voters, you did a valiant job of not being swept into the sea of Republic redness during the presidential election. You lost to trump by a hair and Senator Tammy Baldwin held her ground. You still have Governor Tony E in place. You’re in an excellent position to move forward unlike other states who will have to dig themselves out of red holes on the local and statewide levels. The MAGA movement has gained new momentum, but it is not unstoppable.

The Left needs a sobering analysis of how trump got elected twice and lay out its plan to stop the hemorrhaging of democracy.

This country is at that “fateful fork” which requires serious intervention on the part of its citizens if we want to experience the unflinching progress we so desperately seek.

The drug is a driving force in the chemical warfare that plagues our communities. The recent news of drug overdose deaths seemed like a light at the end of a long and tortuous tunnel. For people like me who have lost a loved one to fentanyl, it offered a glimmer of hope for others.

I have organized around police accountability for over five decades and helped to lead the fight for civilian oversight in St. Louis, MO. I was appalled, but not surprised, to hear that Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway is already proposing cuts to Madison’s agencies that oversee police operations. This is what happens when the police unions get in the ears of elected officials with their veiled threats and predictions of increased crime. Given the history of the city’s police abuse, the community’s demand for an independent and effective Police Civilian Oversight Board (PCOB) is a step in the right direction.

If the ultimate goals are peace and sovereign respect, new thinking is mandatory to re-imagine how we get there.We are past the one year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel. To mark the deadly occasion, Vice-President Kamala Harris planted a pomegranate tree at her home and President Joe Biden lit a candle at the White House. The initial calls for a ceasefire now seem woefully inadequate and definitely ineffective. It’s time to light some fire under Congress.

Police Chiefs and County Sheriffs across the country will tell you with a straight face that it’s the anti-police rhetoric that’s responsible for the precipitous drop in staffing and the inability to recruit. Milwaukee County recently pulled street patrol personnel and reassigned them to the courts. Dane County’s plan is moving ahead to expand its jail despite the disproportionate numbers of African Americans being housed.