Forced to cancel a planned visit to an oil platform off the Mississippi coast last week because of inclement weather—and the untimely leaking of hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil by a shipwreck in the vicinity—John McCain finally got his photo op at a Bakersfield, Calif., derrick on July 28.

Dear EarthTalk: What are the major environmental issues that our next president, be it Barack Obama or John McCain, will have to confront? —Melinda Barnes

Sen. Barack Obama’s connection to Rev. Jeremiah Wright has dominated the political conversation in recent weeks. But that has blotted out information about Republican nominee John McCain’s support from religious leaders who also hold controversial views.

The leafy suburb of Greendale is one of the most distinctive communities in the Milwaukee area. Even the most casual visitor will notice the differences between Greendale—with its mix of charming but affordable single- and multiple-family residences and well-thought-out village center—and the typical car-centric American suburb.

Former state Sen. Tom Reynolds, an ultra-conservative religious Republican from West Allis who lost his seat in 2006, is trying to get back into politics by undermining the Democratic primary on Sept. 9. Reynolds formed a political action committee (PAC) called Clean Sweep Wisconsin, which is running "anti-incumbent..."

Barack Obama knows which countries border Iraq, he understands the difference between Shia and Sunni, and he is probably aware that Czechoslovakia no longer exists, but as John McCain complains, the young senator has “no military experience whatsoever.”

East Side Alderman Robert Bauman has indicated that he’d OK zoning changes to allow New Land Enterprises devel oper Boris Gokhman to build a 27-story luxury condo development on the site of the historic Goll mansion at 1550 N. Prospect Ave. A New Land representative argued that the zoning change merely represents a “reallocation” of square footage currently allowed on that site.

The request—technically an amendment to the agreement currently in place between New Berlin and Milwaukee—would allow New Berlin to bring in Lake Michigan water to an “expanded service area” or the “middle third” of the community.

From the works of Mark Twain to Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor, there have always been people who didn’t get it—or worried about the damage that would ensue when other people didn’t get it. Today in America, despite the rising influence of “The Daily Show” and The Onion...

The state Supreme Court,state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and the big business lobby Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) handed Wisconsin residents a $350 million tax hike—and gave corpora tions a new tax break. Four justices on the state Supreme Court—Patrick Crooks, David Prosser, Patience Roggensack and Annette Ziegler...