Opinion

Only four months into the year, we already have witnessed our entire state government take a radical turn to the right. It started with an unprecedented attack on working families, but it is quickly extending beyond. No wonder an unprecedented number of recall efforts have been launched.

The enthusiasm to recall eligible Republican state senators has been demonstrated in many ways. In most cases the efforts have led to 40 to 50 percent more signatures being submitted for recall than were required by law. Six of the eight eligible Republicans could face recall elections this summer.

The American Civil War began with the Confederate shelling of Fort Sumter 150 years ago this month. To mark the occasion, PBS reran Ken Burns’ epic documentary about the war. In the midst of Wisconsin’s divisive Supreme Court race and the polarization gripping the country, I watched the series with renewed horror and fascination.

More than 600,000 soldiers died during the war, comparable to 6 million losing their lives today. Total Civil War casualties exceed the death tolls of every American war from the Revolution through Vietnam combined. A staggering two-thirds of the deaths were due to disease rather than battlefield wounds. Over 36,000 African-American men died fighting for the Union.

A radical brand of Republicans seized control of our state government in January, and they’ve already inflicted a lot of damage on the state. But they’ve also inspired a growing movement of regular citizens who are fighting to take back Wisconsin from their extremist, one-party rule.

In addition to bringing protesters to Madison in record numbers, grassroots activists have organized impressive campaigns to recall all eight Republican state senators who are eligible for recall under state law. The activists working to recall Sen. Dan Kapanke, R-La Crosse, have already filed petitions with the Government Accountability Board. They not only filed their papers in less than half the time allotted by law, but they turned in 40 percent more signatures than required.

It is rare to witness the journey of someone who moves from acts of hatred to redemption, from homophobia and racism to acceptance. But I had this experience at the hate crimes summit held at Marquette University on March 10, sponsored by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Attendees included law enforcement, government officials and members of the judicial system. Keynote speakers included Dennis Shepard, father of murdered Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard, and Sheriff David O’Malley, who was the lead investigator of that hate-motivated crime.

When actress Geri Jewell was 12, she found what looked like cute little balloons in her parents’ bedside drawer. She blew up a few, rubbed them in her hair and made them stick to the wall. Then her dad walked in.

A bit disconcerted, Jack Jewell explained to his daughter that, well … they were toe warmers that men wore under their socks. He then opened two more condoms, put them on his big toes, finished dressing and left for work.

Last week the state of Delaware cleared a major hurdle toward becoming the seventh in the nation to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples. The state’s legislature passed a bill by a 26-15 vote, followed by an eruption of applause. Delaware’s Democratic governor of two years says he’s looking forward to signing the bill into law.

Wisconsin is quickly moving in the opposite direction. This rapid descent is particularly troubling given that our state was the first to enact legislation protecting LGBT people from employment discrimination.

It sure does seem like a lot of bad things have been happening lately, doesn’t it?

Budget battles, union busting, earthquakes, tsunamis, assassinations, oil spills, air strikes, hate crimes, name-calling – not to mention nuclear crisis! Everyone, young or old, gay or straight, seems to agree that the world is going to hell in the proverbial hand basket.

I was 14 years old when my father died.

The death certificate records his death as due to carbon monoxide asphyxiation, but he really died as a result of alcoholism.

The burden of Wisconsin's northern latitude winters is lightened by the quality and diversity of the performing arts groups that crisscross the state.  You’d have to search hard to find a corner of the Badger State where you could not access an outstanding performing arts venue.

Unfortunately, Gov. Scott Walker’s budget is as artless as it is heartless. Not content merely with gutting healthcare and education funding, he’s also taken an ax to the arts. His budget eliminates all funding for the Wisconsin Arts Board and subsumes it beneath the Department of Tourism, which is headed by Walker crony and former beauty queen Stephanie Klett. Her experience with the arts is apparently limited to the cornet, which she played at the 1993 Miss America finals in Atlantic City.

In the last few months we have witnessed the dangers one-party rule can bring when it rests in the hands of extremists. In the current political environment it is more important than ever to have checks and balances among the three branches of government, because members of our current state Legislature have proven they are rubber stamps for Scott Walker’s agenda. This makes the Supreme Court election on April 5 vital to Wisconsin.

Incumbent Justice David Prosser is a partisan who very early in his campaign pledged he would be a complement to Walker and the Republican majority. One would expect a justice on the Supreme Court to avoid making such partisan appeals and rather commit to basing decisions on the law and the facts of each case.

In only a few weeks, Milwaukee County voters will choose a new executive to take the job once held by Scott Walker.

It has become increasingly clear that the differences between Chris Abele and his opponent, GOP state Rep. Jeff Stone, are dramatic. Abele is not a career politician. He has spent his time building broad consensus and strengthening our community in many different ways.