Bill Barth

Your right to information is under attack

Good journalism steps on toes. Indiscriminately. To the left. To the right. The best journalists do not want or need your love. They do want you to have facts, including the facts you might prefer not to see or read.

Hapless forecasters boldly predict 2026

Digest the latest flailings of the notorious group known only as Forecasters Anonymous. Most of their names would be familiar to folks in south-central Wisconsin but are withheld here to spare embarrassment and save their reputations.

The case for choice at the deathbed

A few states have had the courage to give sick people options for medically assisted suicide, allowing them to make their own choice about checking out.

Time for a revolution of the rational

Usually, when I write about politics, the topics revolve around local or state matters and I do my best to use measured language. Be warned. Not today.

Rude behavior mars culture and politics

It depends on whose ox is being gored.
I’m reminded of that old saying after U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil was shouted down repeatedly during what was called a “listening session” in Elkhorn.

America’s farm legacy is fast disappearing

Farming is not a job for the timid.
Which, apparently, means it’s a job for gray old men. And that is a growing problem in America, though it seldom gets much attention because so few people these days have ties to the land.

Maybe kids are doing better than you think

We found the Lake Brantley graduation experience at the University of Central Florida illuminating, inspiring and a sharp counterpoint to the negative narrative about kids.