Columns

Respecting Our Seniors

May 21, 2012

In May, we celebrate Older Americans Month. This is a time to recognize the many contributions and achievements of older Americans in our communities. It is also a time to reflect on how we honor and care for our seniors,...

Tax Dollars and (Common) Sense

April 11, 2012

Middle class Wisconsinites are struggling daily to find jobs, pay their mortgages, send their kids to college and keep food on the table. Meanwhile, the ultra-rich are reaping benefits unavailable to the rest of us. No wonder middle class Americans have long...

Debt Deal Failed Test

August 10, 2011

There is an economic crisis in our country, no doubt about it.But contrary to what you may have read and heard, the real crisis was not about raising the debt ceiling. That should have been an easy fix — a...

Preserving the Medicare Contract

April 20, 2011

I was raised by my maternal grandparents in Madison from two months of age. I was lucky they were there for me when I needed them. At that time in their lives, still working at demanding jobs, my grandparents should...

Health Care Reform One Year Out

March 22, 2011

A year ago March 23rd, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. After 70 years of aspiration and debate, Wisconsinites are now benefitting from meaningful health care reforms:Insurers are no longer allowed to discriminate against children with pre-existing...

Reflections from the War Zone

August 16, 2010

In early August, I had the extraordinary opportunity to travel to Afghanistan. No matter how much you study in advance or anticipate what it might be like, there is no adequate preparation for what you see and experience in a...

Combating Senior Fraud

February 22, 2010

Growing up in Wisconsin, I was raised by my maternal grandparents. Though I went east for college, I returned to my hometown of Madison after graduation to be there for my grandmother, now widowed, who had sacrificed so much...

Cracking Down on Credit Card Companies

February 8, 2010

I am deeply angered by the stories I have heard from honest, hardworking Wisconsinites who are abused by giant credit card companies. Just before Christmas, I heard from a teacher in Madison whose credit card company was raising her interest...

Change We Voted For

March 6, 2009

Every day I hear from families in south central Wisconsin who are experiencing layoffs, foreclosures, loss of health insurance, and the increasingly high cost of sending their kids to college. In Janesville, unemployment is now at 13.1%, in Beloit...

Challenging Times Bring Out the Best in Wisconsinites

June 23, 2008

I hadn’t ridden on a yellow school bus in many, many years and all my previous trips had been in happier times when the laughter of schoolchildren filled the air. The ride on June 13 wasn’t for a school...

Kids Deserve Health Care

October 1, 2007

In September, the House and Senate voted to renew and strengthen the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), known as BadgerCare in Wisconsin. SCHIP was created in 1997 to provide health care coverage for children in families that earn...

Energy Independence

July 30, 2007

You’ve probably seen that famous photograph of planet earth taken from an Apollo spacecraft on a trip to the moon. The blue of the oceans and the whiteness of the clouds were vibrant against the blackness of space. We...

One Person Makes a Difference

June 19, 2007

In March 2001, I responded to a letter from an ophthalmologist with the Veterans Affairs Hospital (VA) in Madison. A Korean War veteran himself, Dr. James Allen had treated veterans at the VA for more than thirty years. In...

New Year ? New Direction in Congress

December 18, 2006

A former Congresswoman, Pat Schroeder, said of her own 12 terms in office, “Twenty-four years of housework, and the place is still a mess.” Ten years after Pat retired from Congress, I return there to begin my 5th term...

A Cure for What Ails Us

November 17, 2006

One of the first lessons every medical student learns is, “When you hear hoofbeats, don’t think zebras.” The message is that, in most cases, the cause of an ailment is commonplace, not exotic. The same holds true for diagnosing...

See more columns