Author: jplucas

Fundraising for the $35 million expansion of UW- Madison’s Chazen Museum of Art is lagging $10 million behind projections, delaying construction by at least two years – or, worst-case scenario, leaving its elaborate building plans uncertain.
When UW-Madison alumni Jerome and Simona Chazen donated $20 million to the former Elvehjem Museum of Art in May 2005, university administrators were confident that another $15 million for the facility’s 62,000- square-foot addition could be rounded up by this fall. To date only $5 million is “firmly committed,” said museum director Russell Panczenko.

Finally, a large number of American and Iraqi scholars, leaders and policy analysts have determined the obvious: yes, we have a civil war in Iraq, and it has existed for a long time.

Anyone with a sense of history knows that when a country is being torn apart by contending internal forces (two or more) and the government is largely dysfunctional and, above all, incapable of quashing the effort, that is civil war. Hardly rocket science. Add to the mix what historians recognize as ââ?¬Å?an insurgency,ââ?¬Â one that is remarkably successful and gaining in strength by the day. Maybe we are getting better.

After years of denial in Vietnam, we recognized reality ââ?¬â? and left. Does that mean ââ?¬Å?cut and runââ?¬Â? Can we move beyond President Bushââ?¬â?¢s clichÃ?©s and manipulative language and simply say we must leave a situation that we cannot control?

Stanley I. Kutler
The writer is emeritus professor of history and law at the University of Wisconsin.

The UW-Madison fundraising arm is drawing criticism for unsuccessfully fighting for two years to obtain an additional $100,000 from the estate of a donor who meant to leave the money for his once- estranged daughter.
Just as the state Supreme Court was ready to hear the case, the UW Foundation last month agreed to allow the estate of Harold Mennes to pay $100,000 to his daughter plus $34,000 in fees to her attorneys.

The case highlights a dilemma for nonprofit groups: how hard to pursue money they believe is theirs. Fight too hard and they risk antagonizing potential donors, but too soft might mean they lose money for their cause.

As one of the 37 percent of Americans who believe it is either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” that federal officials either participated in or took no action to prevent the Sept. 11 attacks, I’d like to point out that UW-Madison lecturer Kevin Barrett has challenged anyone — especially Rep. Steve Nass — to a debate.

U.S. must change backward views on breastfeeding

Thanks to Susan Lampert Smith for her Sunday column “UW being a boob with mom who must pump.” Smith accurately described the discrimination and humiliation new mothers often experience in the U.S. while breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding needs to be promoted, protected and preserved. New mothers should not have to be banned to the rest rooms to either feed their child or pump milk. I’m sure Camp Randall has an appropriate, clean place for mothers to breastfeed or pump in privacy.

Dear Editor: The University of Wisconsin is one of 14 competitors for the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, intended to replace the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Plum Island Animal Disease Center. The proposed facility would be located at the UW’s Kegonsa Research Facility in the town of Dunn.

The UW-Madison fundraising arm is drawing criticism for unsuccessfully fighting for two years to obtain an additional $100,000 from the estate of a donor who meant to leave the money for his once- estranged daughter.

Just as the state Supreme Court was ready to hear the case, the UW Foundation last month agreed to allow the estate of Harold Mennes to pay $100,000 to his daughter plus $34,000 in fees to her attorneys.

Joel Plant doesn�t think taverns should have last calls, because they cause patrons who may already be intoxicated to rush the bar and then drink fast before they pour out into the street.

Plant, Madisonââ?¬â?¢s Alcohol Policy Coordinator for about a year, also believes municipalities should have a system that prevents an establishment from morphing from a restaurant into a bar by removing tables and creating ââ?¬Å?vertical drinking space,ââ?¬Â where patrons stand shoulder to shoulder.