ArcaMax

Baraboo, Wisconsin, is known as the former home of the Ringling Bros. Circus' headquarters. But even that extravaganza of acrobats and clowns could not surpass the dazzling tent show playing out in Baraboo this month, starring the Sauk County Board of Supervisors. Only ... you couldn't have seen it, because the tent was zipped tight to keep ...Read more

A farmer was asked what he'd do if he won a million-dollar lottery. "Well," he said, "I guess I'd just keep farming 'til the money runs out."

Trying to make a living as a farmer is not for the fainthearted. You have to take out high-interest loans from cold-eyed bankers to put in a crop and buy supplies. Then you're also at the mercy of ...Read more

Every once in a great while, a major media celebrity comes along who puts his or her talent and -- well, celebrity -- to work for the common good.

Many generous artistic souls support good causes -- and bless them for that! But there are a few who put the public interest at the center of their professional calling, and it's been my joy to ...Read more

"I've got those

Payday-Friday

Grocery store blues."

That working-class lament is from an old bluegrass song, but millions of working stiffs are singing it today. While many workers have finally seen an uptick in their paychecks, they've been dismayed to see the increase quickly gobbled up by jacked-up grocery prices. What the hell?...Read more

"Big Boss Man," an old song by blues legend Jimmy Reed, still packs a potent political punch for today's working class:

You got me workin', boss man, working 'round the clock

I wanna little drink of water, but you won't let Jimmy stop

Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call?

But then, Reed urges workers to see how small the ...Read more

We've recently learned about Project 2025, the GOP's scheme to let corporate agents take over our government. But what about the less visible effort to make Democrats install corporate-subservient officials who'll expand their monopoly power?

High-finance finaglers of Wall Street and Silicon Valley are quietly demanding that Kamala Harris ...Read more

You know that American politics is turning into a sad joke when a supposedly serious presidential campaign tries to demonize laughter.

Yet, bizarrely, Donald Trump's humorless gaggle of strategists decided that their first point of attack on Kamala Harris would be: her laugh. No, seriously! Donald himself launched the offensive -- "I call her...Read more

Suddenly, the presidential election has turned dynamic ... even fun!

The handoff from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris has not only energized Democrats, but it's also driving the Trump Party's top leaders absolutely crazy. Of course, that's a very short ride for most of them.

Take Andy Ogles, a far-right congressional goober from Tennessee who ...Read more

Playing the billionaires' news game, mega-investor Warren Buffett once held a portfolio of 31 dailies and 49 weeklies, including such major city papers as the Buffalo News and the Omaha World Herald. He specialized in squeezing out competitors. His scheme was to create monopoly papers and then chop staff and news content, letting him glean ...Read more

"Summertime, and the living is easy, fish are jumping, and ..." Wait a minute, what the hell is this?

A summer camp for kids -- but with a disturbing corporate twist. Some outlets of Chick-fil-A, the fast-food chicken chain, are promoting a summer camp where children as young as 5 can learn "how to be a Chick-fil-A worker."

Isn't this fun? ...Read more

What is a SCOTUS? Sounds like a prehistoric critter scuttling along some seabed. But, no, it is the acronym for our Supreme Court of the United States.

SCOTUS is meant to be the impartial arbiter of legal disputes over what our laws mean. Yet, who are these arbiters, how are they elected, why don't we even know their names, and if they go ...Read more

For us Texans, there's nothing new about Bible-thumping politicians bedeviling us with the foolishness of their dogmatic Christian piety. A century ago, for example, a proposal was made to offer bilingual education to Spanish-speaking school kids. But it was quashed by the governor, who solemnly declared: "If English was good enough for Jesus ...Read more

Here's a member of Congress with too much time on his hands ... and way too little of anything on his mind.

Rep. Greg Steube of Florida is a run-of-the-mill, extremist Republican specializing in such partisan slapstick as trying to nullify Joe Biden's election and install GOP loser, Donald Trump, as president.

But Steube went full-tilt ...Read more