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Many lessons for US from fraud scandal in Minnesota

I recall a saying from my youth that went, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” This comes to mind reading reports of the mind-boggling welfare fraud megascandal that has been exposed in Minnesota. For perspective on the scope of the scandal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson estimates fraud losses in Minnesota since 2018 could top $9 billion. We’re talking about fraud in Medicaid, nutrition programs, government-funded housing programs, government programs to assist autistic children, etc. Beyond tracking down and indicting criminals, there are ...

Harken back to a simpler and happier time in America

Scene: the Midwest in midcentury. The Madison, Wisconsin, neighborhood lived through the 1930s and 1940s, depression, wartime and polio. President Franklin Roosevelt’s radio fireside chats built morale. My father’s mother, Marie, a widowed nurse with four children, never missed Eleanor Roosevelt’s column, “My Day.” Her husband, Reuben, a University of Wisconsin doctor, died young. “Father’s death left me with shame. And I felt shame at feeling ashamed.” At age 8, just before Pearl Harbor, Richard felt bereft. Yet the 1940s were the best of times on the unified ...

Orchids & onions

ORCHID: To Youngstown Mayor Derrick McDowell for filling each and every Cabinet position in his new administration before his inauguration as the city’s 52nd chief executive earlier this week. At first glance, his mix of seasoned city department heads with new and talented faces appears to show promise for his goals of improving all facets of the city and its services. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll hold the mayor to his vow “of reclaiming our identity and driving towards the results that every resident and all 33 neighborhoods here deserve.” ORCHID: To the Cleveland ...

Use America 250 as opportunity for renewed unity

As our community, our state and our country stand at the starting gate to 2026, the 250th anniversary of the founding of this great nation, myriad opportunities abound. There are opportunities for deep reflection on the bedrock documents and principles that gave rise to the ongoing “great American experiment.” There are opportunities to support and join in joyous patriotic celebrations at a cornucopia of inspiring local, state and national semiquincentennial observances and special events. And, perhaps most importantly, there is a plethora of opportunities to forge a renewed ...

Thank you to my readers

As 2025 comes to an end, I want to thank my readers who have emailed me throughout the year with encouraging and kind words. I truly appreciate the thoughtfulness put into every message. Due to my teaching and grading load, I am not able to respond to every email, but I am deeply moved that people would take the time to write me. I’m also grateful to those who shared their dissenting opinions. I think we can all agree that we need more civil and polite discussions in online spaces. Three recent columns that particularly resonated with readers were my Thanksgiving commentary on ...

Wrong predictions? Never mind

End of the year predictions about the future have been around at least since the days of Nostradamus, but what about past predictions? There were plenty of predictions that electing Donald Trump the first time and then re-electing him would cause economic Armageddon. Democrats and their media mouthpieces have consistently predicted monetary collapse from President Trump’s policies. This year alone, editorials in The New York Times, The Washington Post and most “reporting” by mainstream networks have claimed with absolute certainty that the president’s tariffs would tank the ...