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Charlie Sykes Charlie Sykes host a daily show on 620 WTMJ radio. The author of five books, including A Nation of Victims and Dumbing Down Our Kids, Charlie has worked as a newspaper reporter, a magazine editor and has written for publications such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Charlie also discusses the news on his weekly television show (Today's TMJ4 Sundays 10 am) writes a weekly column for CNI Newspapers and writes a blog (Sykes Writes) about contemporary news issues.
Recent Sykes Commentaries:

June 20, 2008 - Environmentalists Jump the Shark
May 15, 2008 - This Could Have Been Wisconsin
April 24, 2008 - Portrait of a Boondoggle
January 28, 2008 - Who Is the Real Enemy Here?
November 19, 2007 - A Quiet Defeat for Political Correctness
October 12, 2007 - The Colorado-Wisconsin Tax Gap.  And Why it Matters.
August 8, 2007 - About those "Public" Airwaves
July 20, 2007 - Journalistic Non-Diligence: Why Won't Reporters Ask the Questions?
June 27, 2007 - Finally, a Dime's Worth of Difference
May 25, 2007 - Milwaukee's Soft Bigotry
April 5, 2007 - Hold the Obits
button March 19, 2007 - Bait and Switch
button January 25, 2007 - Doyle's Faustian Bargain

a January 12, 2007 - Bring Bratton Here
December 21, 2006 - The New Class Warfare

George Lightbourn  George Lightbourn served as Secretary of Administration under two Wisconsin governors.  Since joining the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute in 2002, he has authored several research papers and numerous public policy essays.  Much of his writing concentrates on Wisconsin State government and the Wisconsin economy.  (E-mail George)
Recent Lightbourn Commentaries:

June 11, 2008 - Janesville's Second Line
June 2, 2008 - It Really Isn't Lying - Exactly
May 12, 2008 - Fixing the Budget: This is a Test
April 28, 2008 - A Lesson On the American Dream
April 14, 2008 - Where Have You Gone, Bob LaFollette?
March 24, 2008 - A Valentine Note from Eliot Spitzer to Jim Doyle 
March 10, 2008 - Healthy Wisconsin: A Dog That Just Won't Hunt
February 18, 2008 - By the People Or...To the People
February 4, 2008 - The Presidential Primary: Of Warm Milk and Pillow Talk
January 21, 2008 - Of Big Deficits and Short Memories: Welcome to the State Budget 
January 7, 2008 - The Straight Story, from Iowa to Wisconsin 
December 10, 2007 - For Once, Government Got it About Right 
November 12, 2007 - Tom Barrett: The Comfortable Mayor 
November 1, 2007 - A Firm Commitment to Mediocrity in the Madison Public Schools 
October 29, 2007 - The Truth About Choice in the Public Schools 
October 15, 2007 - The Spark That May Just Lead to Real Health Reform
September 24, 2007 - Budget Gridlock: Is it Time to Lower Our Expectations? 
September 4, 2007 - Senate Democrats Discover the Problem With Health Care: It's Me 
August 20, 2007 - The Next Revolution in Health Care
July 30, 2007 - The Governor's Gift
July 2, 2007 - Keep Government Out of the Examining Room
June 25, 2007 - A Message to Senator Erpenbach: STOP!
May 10, 2007 - A Lesson from St. Louis (And it Has Nothing to Do With Baseball)
April 24, 2007 - Mary Bell's Welcome to WEAC

April 2, 2007 - Team Doyle Inches Down the Road of Fiscal Responsibility
March 12, 2007 - Lessons From Walter Reed
February 19, 2007 - Ernie, the Change Agent
January 22, 2007 - The Predictable Editorial Drumbeat

Christian Schneider Christian Schneider is a fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institue. Schneider spent eight years working for the Wisconsin State Legislature. He holds a Master's degree from Marquette University and a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Utah, both in political science. Schneider was the recipient of the 2005 Wisopinion.com "Blog of the Year" award and contributes commentary to the "Here and Now" show on Wisconsin Public Television. (E-mail Christian)
Recent Schneider Commentaries:

June 9, 2008 - How Jim Doyle Can Save Wisconsin's Republican Party
May 19, 2008 - Grand Old Patriarchy: Whither the Republican Women?
May 5, 2008 - Public Libraries: No Longer Just for the Literate
April 21, 2008 - The Good Ol' Days of Mudslinging
April 11, 2008 - The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board: Growing Like a Weed
March 27, 2008 - The Wisconsin Legislature's Putrid Present
March 13, 2008 - Hate George W?  You Should Be a Conservative
March 6, 2008 - Electing Judges: Save Us From the Horrors of Democracy
January 10, 2008 - Leveling the Presidential Playing Field
December 20, 2007 - The Government Protection Racket
December 3, 2007 - Want to Pass a Bill?  Get a Good Mascot
November 5, 2007 - When Government is Bad, it's Even Better
October 25, 2007 - Pledging Allegiance to Higher Taxes
September 17, 2007 - Business: Victims of Their Own Success?
September 6, 2007 - The Minimum Drinking Age: What Price Freedom?
August 27, 2007 - Fire Your Legislators
August 16, 2007 - You, Too, Can Be a Wisconsin Liberal
August 6, 2007 - The Government Crackdown on "Big Babysitting"
July 22, 2007 - Wisconsin Law Throws Michael Vick a Bone
July 10, 2007 - Where Rhetoric and Governance Diverge
June 21, 2007 - Lead Our Lawmakers Not Into Temptation
June 4, 2007 - The Battle for the Liberal Conscience
May 3, 2007 - Two Tickets to Club Fed
April 9, 2007 - Is Health Care the Democrats' TABOR?
March 26, 2007 - Dancing on a Volcano

March 8, 2007 - Poor Stewardship of Tax Money
February 26, 2007 - Not-So Compelling Tax Increases
February 5, 2007 - The Wisconsin Campaign Finance Mystery

Deborah Hawley Jordahl is a conservative strategist and consultant who has directed numerous state and local campaigns for a variety of political, non-profit and corporate organizations. In 1995 she was appointed to lead the Division of Administrative Services at the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, an Executive position directing policy, budget, payroll, personnel, purchasing and information technology.  Jordahl frequently appears as a guest panelist on WTMJ’s Sunday Insight with Charlie Sykes.
Recent Jordahl Commentaries:

June 16, 2008 - Tim Russert: A Credit to His Profession
May 1, 2008 - Wisconsin State Bar History is Repeating Itself
March 31, 2008 - Supreme Court Plants Another Sloppy Wet Kiss on the Trial Bar
February 21, 2008 - Rigging the Game Again
January 24, 2008 - Virtual School Families Should Go to the Mattresses
November 29, 2007 - If We Only Had a Train
October 22, 2007 - Mike McCabe: MIA
September 20, 2007 - Democrats' Political Calculations Don't Add Up
August 30, 2007 - Thank You for Smoking
August 2, 2007 - "Just Get it Done"
June 14, 2007 - Wisconsin Regional Transit Authorities: Who's Driving Your Bus?

Ben Artz Ben Artz  has been a research fellow at WPRI since July of 2006.  After graduating from high school in Appleton in 1999, Ben studied Business-Economics at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee and graduated with a B.S. in 2003. He later went on to school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and earned a Masters of Arts in Economics. Ben is currently working on his doctoral dissertation in economics at UW- Milwaukee and hopes to finish in the near future. (E-mail Ben)
Recent Artz Commentaries:

May 29, 2008 - Graduation Rates: MPS vs. Choice
April 7, 2008 - The Wisconsin Wind Turbine Controversy
March 17, 2008 - Riding Out the Oil Bubble
January 14, 2008 - Poverty and Inequality
December 17, 2007 - Modern Day Robin Hood
November 26, 2007 - Consumerism and the Weak Dollar
October 18, 2007 - Does a Quality Teacher Determine a Quality Education?
September 10, 2007 - One Opinion on Poverty and Health Care in Wisconsin
May 17, 2007 - America's Newest Addiction: Corn
April 18, 2007 - Moral Hazard in Wisconsin Universities
March 22, 2007 - My Two Cents on Curbing Global Warming
February 8, 2007 - Teenagers and Cell Phones are not a Good Combination
January 29, 2007 - A Universal Healthcare Plan I Can Swallow...
December 18, 2006 - Is Wisconsin’s Brain Drain the Problem or Just a Symptom?

November 27, 2006 - Where's All the Talent?

Scott Niederjohn Scott Niederjohn is Charlotte and Walter Kohler Assistant Professor of Economics at Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wis. Dr. Niederjohn specializes in economic education, applied microeconomics and public policy analysis. Niederjohn is also a fellow of the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.  (E-mail Scott)
Recent Niederjohn Commentaries:

June 11, 2007 - What We Know About the Wisconsin Health Plan
May 21, 2007 - Teacher Residency: What a Shame
February 12, 2007 - Health Care Proposal Offers More Questions Than Answers
December 7, 2006 - Goodbye Dr. Friedman
November 13, 2006 - Who Were Those Voters? (and a host of other post-election questions)
September 21, 2006 - Celebrate Money Smart Week - Wisconsin Oct 2-7

Stephen Pigeon Steven Pigeon is originally from Green Bay and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he received a Bachelors Degree in Business Economics.  Steve also received a Masters Degree in Applied Economics from Marquette University and is currently a Market Research/Intelligence Analyst for a Fortune 500 company in Downtown Milwaukee.  (E-mail Steven)
Recent Pigeon Commentaries:

May 8, 2008 - Unleashing Wisconsin's Frugality
December 6, 2007 - Wisconsin's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
October 4, 2007 - Remembering the War
August 23, 2007 - Republicans Should Follow Walker
July 12, 2007 - Wisconsin's Government Role Should Be...
April 27, 2007 - I Want My Cheap Cable TV
March 5, 2007 -My First "Real" W-2
January 18, 2007 - Teachers, the QEO and Market Forces

December 4, 2006 - Let the "Spirits" of the Marketplace Work

©2008 Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, Inc. P.O. Box 487 Thiensville, WI 53092