INCONVENIENT TRUTHS

Inconvenient Truths is a space for honest conversations and perspectives that are often overlooked or avoided. This page features blog posts from community leaders who are willing to name the hard realities, challenge the status quo, and speak candidly about the issues shaping our community. These voices may be uncomfortable at times, but they are grounded in lived experience, care for our neighbors, and a belief that real progress starts with telling the truth.

The Democratic Sin of Abdication

by A.J. Nino Amato Democracy rarely disappears overnight. More often, it weakens gradually—through complacency, political fashion, and the quiet surrender of responsibility by those elected to represent the public. That erosion is now visible not only in our nation’s capital; it is tragically unfolding much closer to home. In our city, 17 of the 20 City Council members have effectively abdicated their elected responsibilities to an increasingly autocratic, power-consolidating

Nino Amato

Dec 152 min read

Madison Deserves Better: The Real Cost of Failed Leadership

by A.J. Nino Amato Since taking office in 2019, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway has presided over a series of policy decisions that have inflicted lasting social and economic harm on Madison residents. While often framed as “progressive,” these policies have instead produced some of the most regressive outcomes in our city’s modern history. Today, Madison has the highest rents and property taxes in Wisconsin—a distinction that should alarm anyone who believes in affordability, econ

Nino Amato

Dec 142 min read

“America must address our epidemic of gun violence”

by A.J. Nino Amato Gun violence in America is not just about individual acts of unconscionable rage — it’s a public health crisis that continues to devastate families, schools and communities. While each tragedy is complex, the collective toll is staggering. It demands bipartisan, thoughtful and commonsense leadership from our elected officials. Elected officials, especially school boards and state legislatures, must act. That means investing in violence-prevention programs

Nino Amato

Nov 161 min read