Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 07/10/2026The powers that be are busy trying to erase her. We can't let them. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/a-century-...mikemccabe.substack.comA Century Ahead of Her TimeRosa Parks is a household name while Ellen Garrison is not but should be. 011
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Taking this subject to rural Republican southwestern Wisconsin. 020
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 22/09/2026There has never been a moment in my lifetime when joy was more powerful and important than it is now, for our society is being poisoned. Choosing joy is not escapism, nor is it suffering with a smile, it is a conscious reaching for an antidote to the toxins. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/the-deadli...mikemccabe.substack.comThe Deadliest Poison’s AntidoteJoy is many things all at once, including things not normally associated with happiness. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 09/09/2026What I posted yesterday over at Ebiyan House is in memory of two lives well lived but is mostly about what their passing made me appreciate, namely how we stand on the shoulders of others and are shaped by our surroundings. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/there-but-...mikemccabe.substack.comThere But for the GraceA passing of note reminds me there’s no such thing as a self-made man. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 01/09/2026If you take the time to read this article, our nation will be some $22 million deeper in debt when you finish. Rich people want it this way, they profit handsomely from it being this way. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/mooching-u... 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 18/08/2026My latest offering over at Ebiyan House pays tribute to this effervescent lover of life who once had five of his books on the New York Times bestseller list at the same time but would be a fish out of water in today's America. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/for-fear 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 03/08/2026Cast my ballot early in Wisconsin's August primary election. Took only one fear with me to the polls. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/the-lights... 010
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 27/07/2026The way I see it, Wisconsin Democrats are badly misreading the moment and shooting themselves in the foot. As those who rule over the party stand firm with their old habits while the ground beneath them violently shifts, the land of Oz comes to mind. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/a-scarecro...mikemccabe.substack.comA Scarecrow Named LexSuch a shabby figure, way up there looking down. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 08/07/2026May we be so fortunate one day to have history record that we recovered our own fumbles, drove the length of the field, going for broke on fourth down against a furious blitz, catching excellence as our time expires. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/warts-and-... 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 01/07/2026Even though it was written 250 years ago, many of the passages in the Declaration are so pertinent to the present moment that they seem like they were written yesterday. The grounds for independence then speak powerfully about conditions today. Happy 4th! mikemccabe.substack.com/p/redeclarin...mikemccabe.substack.comRedeclaring IndependenceLooking around, the mood is hardly celebratory, yet celebrate we should. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 23/06/2026Socialism in North Dakota 110 years ago. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/the-makeup... 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 19/06/2026The Reflecting Pool on the National Mall is the jumping off point for this article I wrote this week about why, for me, throwing a hat in the ring is such an unnatural thing. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/knowing-my...mikemccabe.substack.comNo Sense Bucking Natural ForcesThe Reflecting Pool on the National Mall is a case in point. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Not a comprehensive list by any stretch of the imagination. Feel free to add to it. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/beyond-memikemccabe.substack.comBeyond MeThese are confounding times, and there’s so much I just don’t get. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 04/06/2026For all the worshipping going on, there’s very little faith. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/dirtying-t...mikemccabe.substack.comDirtying the WordHave to admit, had to look it up. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 28/05/2026What’s the matter with Kansas? Far as I can tell, not nearly as much as some would have you believe. Get the feeling change is afoot in this place with a rich history of unpredictability, a presumed “red state” once known for a different shade of red. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/nothing-th...mikemccabe.substack.comNothing's the MatterMade a visit to Red America and didn’t see it. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 20/05/2026Opportunity always lurks amidst calamity. Something’s brewing out there, something your average tech bro cannot see coming. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/what-might... 000
Reposted by Mike McCabeJoanne Boyer @wisdomvoices.bsky.social · 20/05/2026Always amazes me that @backroadauthor.bsky.social can find optimism in today's world. "Something’s brewing out there, something Musk and Thiel and their ilk cannot see coming." Worth your time to read👇 What Just Might Unite Us open.substack.com/pub/mikemcca...open.substack.comWhat Just Might Unite UsMarshall McLuhan never did a Zoom call, never got to meet Sarah Lloyd. 011
Reposted by Mike McCabeLeague of Women Voters of Dane County @lwvdanecounty.bsky.social · 15/05/2026Did you miss our forum on Tuesday night? Watch it on our YouTube channel: youtu.be/JHk3Ei1WwN4 011
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 12/05/2026Should've learned these things in school, needed to learn about them, but didn't, leaving my formal education woefully incomplete. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/condemned-... 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 08/05/2026Read it and weep. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/03/u...nytimes.comThe Last Days of Butter Ridge 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 05/05/2026Eight mammoth problems, and we're letting everything from bombs to seashells get in the way of us dealing with them. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/mums-the-w... 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 21/04/2026His spell will break when our focus shifts from him to us, our problems, our blessings, our past, our future, our hopes, our dreams. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/the-plebei...mikemccabe.substack.comThe Plebeian PitfallThe spotlight shines only on a few, or one. 010
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 15/04/2026Whether looking back or pondering what lies ahead, there are monsters in sight. How to respond, that's the test. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/seeing-mon... 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 10/04/2026Doing this in about a month. Greatly looking forward to it. Important discussion. www.lwvdanecounty.org/forums/conne... 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 07/04/2026None of us is self-made. We walk in others’ footsteps, we stand on others’ shoulders, we’re shaped by others’ experiences and influences. Learning this never comes easy, it remains lost on some of the oldest and most powerful among us. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/if-you-giv...mikemccabe.substack.comIf You Give a Boy a CellMaybe he’ll be fine. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 31/03/2026Posted first thing this morning, my 200th article on Substack, about what democracy truly looks like. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/the-missin...mikemccabe.substack.comThe Missing BillTheir flaws were many, but our nation’s founders were no fools. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 25/03/2026Have seen this movie before. Many times. I'm a parent. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/caught-in-...mikemccabe.substack.comCaught in a LieLots of brainy people work on Wall Street, misdirected though their smarts may be. 020
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 25/03/2026Have seen this movie before. Many times. I'm a parent. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/caught-in-...mikemccabe.substack.comCaught in a LieLots of brainy people work on Wall Street, misdirected though their smarts may be. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 17/03/2026Too good not to share right about now, seeing how quick we are to put people in boxes these days and how inclined we are to see our society as hopelessly divided. Behold... mikemccabe.substack.com/p/miles-apar...mikemccabe.substack.comMiles Apart, One Step AwayI yield my time to the Danes. 001
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 11/03/2026We are at war. Or whatever military attacks are called when they look suspiciously like the maneuverings of two men desperate to stay out of jail. Their toadies seem to be having fun. The rest of us puzzle over why this is done in our name and at our expense. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/putty-in-t...mikemccabe.substack.comPutty in Their HandsNote to younger self. Thank you. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 04/03/2026The land tells a story . . . of looming danger and a path to safety. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/the-land-k...mikemccabe.substack.comThe Land Knows BetterListen to the land, it talks sense. 010
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 24/02/2026Appleton this Friday. Will be swapping stories, pouring drinks, selling and signing some books. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 24/02/2026We can either have a workable system facilitating orderly legal entry and residence in the country or large masses of people who continue to see unauthorized migration as their best chance or only hope. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/hold-on-ti... 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 18/02/2026Hear it all the time, "I'll believe it when I see it." Actually, we're better off when we think it's the other way around. As Trevor Noah said, “even though you cannot see it, you believe that it can happen.” mikemccabe.substack.com/p/first-thin... 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 09/02/2026Couldn’t understand the words, still the message came through loud and clear. Pay less attention to the nightmare and more to the dream. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/suena-mi-n... 110
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 02/02/2026The trade our country is now making is even more foolish than the one made the day after Christmas in 1919. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/the-worst-... 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 30/01/2026So many names and images from the Twin Cities burned into our memories. Here's one that's liable to be quickly forgotten but shouldn't be. Isaiah Blackwell's story is worth retelling again and again. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/warmth-in-...mikemccabe.substack.comWarmth in the Freezing ColdHate the sin, love the sinner. 111
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 30/01/2026Coming up in a couple of weeks. Will be talking about the tragedies unfolding in our country, trying to make sense of the madness, imagining how we might pull our fat out of the fire. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 12/01/2026The little possum's timeless message still resounds, though it's not easy to hear with all the noise pollution from the constant actions aiming to ethnically cleanse our nation, distract from unnerving economic uncertainty and stifle social unrest. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/pogos-remi... 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 10/01/2026Crowd gathered outside the Wisconsin State Capitol on Friday during a vigil for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday. I love this nation of immigrants and will always stand in its defense against xenophobic violence. 020
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 30/12/2025First came the scorched boat. Then the mangled bodies. Then the packets with traces of marijuana. Now, fishermen fear the ocean that feeds them. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/w...nytimes.comGrim Evidence of Trump’s Airstrikes Washes Ashore on a Colombian Peninsula 010
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 29/12/2025Thanks for sharing @wisdomvoices.bsky.social. Happy holidays and best wishes for the year ahead. 110
Reposted by Mike McCabeJoanne Boyer @wisdomvoices.bsky.social · 29/12/2025Have always loved @backroadauthor.bsky.social columns. Spot on again here. Worth the read. 👇 #HappyNewYear Something's Off open.substack.com/pub/mikemcca...open.substack.comSomething's OffWhat a difference a little three-letter word can make. 111
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 18/12/2025A caller to the radio show I'm on every Wednesday afternoon brought up this passage from A Christmas Carol while we talked about my holiday-themed Substack article that dropped Monday. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/just-needs... Love Dickens, love A Christmas Carol, especially love these two pages. 000
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 15/12/2025In the spirit of the season, my warmest holiday wishes along with words of great concern about current conditions in the world and high hopes for our shared future. Also an embedded video clip of a 60 Minutes interview that is quite remarkable @ mikemccabe.substack.com/p/just-needs... 010
Mike McCabe @backroadauthor.bsky.social · 09/12/2025The cure for the powerlessness that ails us can be found in our own history, provided we have the wisdom and courage to teach it and the good sense to believe in it. mikemccabe.substack.com/p/curled-up-... 010
