CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - As we approach our nation's 250th birthday, it's important that we are able to articulate what makes America great. That is best seen by comparing us to other "free" nations. Obviously you wouldn't want to live in China, Cuba, Russia or North Korea - places were you could be dragge...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - Until recently, I'd never heard of Hasan Piker. He's a far-left political commentator on Twitch. I'd never heard of Twitch either, until recently. He has 3.1-million followers and lives in a $2.7-million home in Hollywood - so he's doing better than me. Among his greatest hits: He's referred...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - As America nears its 250th birthday, I'm surprised that some of our largest companies are not doing more to mark the occasion. American freedom and the mighty American economy allows them to make millions. So where is the bold, outward display of American greatness? Here are the 10 largest co...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - Mark and Patricia McCloskey are wealthy. They live in Portland Place, a private gated community near St. Louis. Six years ago, something unusual happened. Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters got into Portland Place and began walking across the McCloskey's property. The wrought iron gat...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - George Michael, the singer, died a rich man. His net worth was $128-million. After his death in 2016, his extraordinary level of charitable giving became known. He'd asked the people who received gifts from him not to tell anyone while he was alive. George Michael was the patron and co-founde...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - I'm surprised by all of the political commentary that a socialist wave is rising after this week's primary results in New York. It's time to take a deep breath. Three far-left candidates won the primaries on Tuesday night. All were endorsed by New York's Mayor Zohran Mandani. What is there to...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - Missy Hughes, who dropped out of the governor's race this week, was never going to win. Her exit also says something about the current state of the Democratic Party. She couldn't win anything. Hughes was, by far, the most moderate Democrat in the race. As the former secretary of the Wisconsi...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - My oldest daughter went to college in Milwaukee, and continues to live there. She says Milwaukee is an underrated city. Perhaps. She knows Milwaukee better than I do. But if you're a young professional, Milwaukee isn't do-able once you have kids. The school system is notoriously bad. Incompet...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - Would you take this bet? I bet you that between now and the 60-days of negotiations with Iran, that there will be U.S. military engagement. You'd be a fool to bet against me. Consider what's happened since the 60-day clock started ticking last Wednesday. Talks that were supposed to begin last...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - I apologize for bringing up the hurtful past. Let us recall the time that Fred Phelps and his followers visited Wausau in 2003. They went around the country and protested outside churches that, they claimed, weren't strong enough in preaching against homosexuality. Fred Phelps was the founder...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - Tomorrow we celebrate Juneteenth. It's the day that our nation's dark stain of slavery finally came to an end. In the months and years after the Civil War, it became clear that some slave owners had no intention of releasing their captives. Slave emancipation came at different times in differ...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - Sara Rodriguez is one of the seven democrats in the running for her party's nomination for governor. She won the straw poll at last weekend's state party convention. Perhaps this is her moment. Or, perhaps, as the current lieutenant governor, she won because she's known to her party's inside...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - The success or failure of any deal with Iran is simple. It's a success if they don't get a nuclear weapon. That's all. That was the goal when we started this conflict. It's still the goal at the end of it. Everything else is background noise. Who controls the Strait of Hormuz? Well, it is an...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - Data Centers are so unpopular now that it would be difficult to get one approved anywhere in Wisconsin. We are told that they are polluters, using large amounts of water for cooling and sucking up energy for power. Some places, like Winnebago County would require that a new data center genera...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - We have an anger problem. It was on display earlier this week, in the Karmelo Anthony case. He's the 19-year-old who will spend the next 35 years in jail for a stabbing at a high school track meet. He wandered into the wrong team's tent. The exchange of words that followed resulted in a 17-ye...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - It's unusual for me to be undecided about a public policy issue. I am undecided about Wausau PD's use of Flock cameras. Flock is a private company. They operate thousands of license plate reading cameras around the country. In many cases they partner with police departments. In other communit...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - Political debates with more than two or three candidates are useless. A cattle call debate usually involves the participants speaking over each other, and not enough time to make intelligent points. The debates often degenerate into silly "raise your hand if..." questions or shoutin...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - Here is a basic standard for vote counting that we have let slip away. We ought to expect election results on Election Night. We cast our votes on a Tuesday; we wake up Wednesday morning and know who the winner is. The idea that a state like California now takes a month to count their vote is...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - Perhaps you remember the summer of love in Seattle. Some radicals in the Capital Hill neighborhood set up barricades in the streets, and declared a 6-squre block area a no-go zone for police. "We'll handle our neighborhood," they said. Of course, it was a utopian disaster. Sanitatio...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - I learned an important lesson about giving generously and helping others in the past week. There is a family at my church that has welcomed a new child. The child was born premature and weighed only 4-pounds. The mother and father are poor and have nothing. Our church has been helping them. W...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - A federal appeals court in Virginia released an illegal immigrant on a technicality. The illegal alien had escaped from custody. He was recaptured, and was convicted on a federal obstruction charge. That court ruling says that under an obstruction charge, the defendant must have obstructed a...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - Francesca Hong, the most liberal candidate in the race for governor, has a vision. She imagines an ideal world where there are no prisons and no police. Well, granted, if men were angels. We are all free to dream of utopia. But Francesca Hong isn't dreaming. She actually stands by her comment...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - Imagine this situation. At work, you are a long-standing and highly respected employee. You've been there forever. Co-workers know you're doing a good job. One day, management hires a new department head. They will be your new boss. And at the first meeting where the boss is set to introduce ...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - If the rolling of eyes made a sound, you would have heard it from the state's uber-liberal Supreme Court. Earlier this year they appointed two panels of local judges to review lawsuits claiming Wisconsin's congressional maps are unfair. And both panels of judges - full of hand-picked liberals...

CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) - You probably know the parable of the prodigal son. Jesus tells the story this way: A father has two sons. One son asks for his share of his inheritance early. He leaves home and squanders his money through reckless living. When his money runs out, he hires himself out to a pig farmer. He is s...