Today The New York Times takes a front-page look at the Butler-Gableman election fiasco, using it to highlight the contrast between the U.S.'s elected judges and the selection systems used by other countries. Comments to the article are already closed, but most of the 40 that have been posted are worth reading.
The hazards of judges' [...]

These guys are my new heroes. Truth, justice, and proper spelling and grammar! Power to the punctuation!
(Hat tip to Patrick McIlheran. Yes, really: English usage is not a conservative or liberal issue. And yes, of course this post’s title is [sic].)

That was quite a bold stand Patrick McIlheran took in Sunday’s Journal Sentinel, disapproving of the Sheboygan mother who got drunk and shot her 8-year-old with a BB gun on a bet from her boyfriend. Seriously, who in the world is defending this woman? The Dirtbag Mothers of America?
It’s not as if McIlheran was making [...]

I keep seeing letters to the editor in the Journal-Sentinel reflecting an idea you’ll also see in national magazines and conservative blogs: Liberals oppose the war in Iraq because they hate George W. Bush and want to see him fail, no matter the cost.
This is, of course, insane.
Do these W supporters really swallow their own [...]

My post about Michael Monyelle provoked a lot of comments, almost uniformly negative, as I expected. I am reminded of this passage from Robert Bolt’s play about Thomas More, A Man for All Seasons:
Meg: Father, that man’s bad!
More: There’s no law against that!
Roper: There is, God’s law!
More: Then let God arrest him!
Alice: While you [...]

Got a good laugh out of the Journal-Sentinel’s editorial page today (no, it wasn’t from the piece about people plotting to forcibly inflict spoilers on children waiting for the new Harry Potter book — they are scum who should be used as quidditch balls).
According to the paper’s editorial board, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker [...]