Author Archives: johntorinus
A long shot: Nikki Haley in Wisconsin

With Donald Trump enjoying huge leads in polling of Republican voters, will Wisconsin voters have a chance to make a difference in who the party’s presidential nominee will be? Nikki Haley is a long shot, but the political pundits are … Read the rest
Trump: Mental lapses add up; funny numbers don’t

Reason 3 to Nix Trump: More Mental Lapses. He is getting dotty. He will be 78 on election day, the average life expectancy for an American male, but humans age at very different paces. According to Forbes, he has mixed … Read the rest
10,000 acres preserved, despite GOP resistance

Wisconsin is blessed with a vibrant land trust movement, and Washington County is particularly blessed as the home to two of the best land trusts of the more than 40 in the state. That was highlighted Thursday when Tom Stolp … Read the rest
Moratorium needed on UW campus closures

It is important to remember that Gov. Evers vetoed only the “pilot” for consolidating the two-year colleges in Washington County. He suggested it was too small a solution because it only dealt with one county. That left open the broader … Read the rest
Price controls next for Wisconsin hospitals?

Is the Medical Industrial Complex (MIC) in Wisconsin headed for price controls? Ford Koles, a leading health care economist and guru for the Advisory Board, told Wisconsin self-insured companies last week in Madison that he thinks it could happen. And … Read the rest
Our GOP congressmen need to be centrists

How far the Republicans have gone off a sensible track became clear last week when all six Republican congressmen from Wisconsin voted to make Rep. James Jordan of Ohio the Speaker of the House. Jordan was one the principal ringleaders … Read the rest
50 years of projects transform downtown

Let no one say that leaders in West Bend aren’t bold and forward looking. The complete rebuild of Main Street, its sidewalks and the Riverwalk are the latest projects in a long series of projects that have put downtown West … Read the rest
GOP right wants to appease Putin, expose NATO

Let’s get something straight. When the extremist Republicans, including Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin (pictured below), push to cut off military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, they become allies of Vladimir Putin. They may not see it that way, but … Read the rest
Trump insulted Karl and his fellow Marines

Reason 5 for No on Trump: DISRESPECT FOR MILITARY HEROES John Kelly, retired top Marine general and chief of staff for former President Trump, went on the record last week to confirm that Trump categorized the 1800 Marines killed in … Read the rest
More reform in works for local colleges

One of my friends who loves policy analysis likes to say, “Statistics are stubborn things.” So are long-term trends. Despite some recent upward blips, the stubborn numbers on enrollment at the two-year colleges in Washington County are points in case. … Read the rest