FREE WHITEWATER

Freedom of Speech

Daily Bread for 3.8.24: Speech & Debate in the Whitewater Schools

 Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 45. Sunrise is 6:16 and sunset 5:54 for 11h 38m 12s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 5.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1775, an anonymous writer, thought by some to be Thomas Paine, publishes “African Slavery in America,” an article in the American colonies calling for the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery


No principled person, having observed over these recent months the conduct of the Whitewater School Board and its superintendent, could remain unconcerned. 

Since 2007, when FREE WHITEWATER first began publishing, no official in this city has advanced action through counsel against a resident, whether a private party or government official, to restrain free speech & debate1.  For this superintendent to have done so was a grave mistake. Since 2007, when FREE WHITEWATER first began publishing, no official in this city has sought refuge in closed sessions, so obviously to conceal error, as this board president and some other boardmembers have done. 

Since 2007, no official in this city has suggested, as this school board president has done, that a board member might be liable to censure for lawful speech. Principled men and women in Whitewater should not tolerate — must not tolerate — efforts to stifle speech through threats of censure.

The particular compensation awarded to an employee is less important than the method of the award by whom awarded and to whom awarded (especially if through a procurement policy).  Everyone who works in the Whitewater Unified School District works as an employee of a public institution paid at public expense. No employee of the Whitewater Unified School District has a private contract with a private employer. They have public contracts with a public employer. 

Those in this district who wish to work as private employees should — and must — seek private employment. There can be no private exceptions for anyone working for the public Whitewater Unified School District.

  1. This superintendent must abandon any legal action against the free speech rights of either boardmembers or residents. Failure to abandon action against speech rights should be disqualifying from public employment in the Whitewater Unified School District.  It is impossible for a principled person committed to free expression to hold otherwise.  

  2. This board president and any other board members must abandon the threat of censure against another board member over this matter. Failure to abandon the threat of censure should be disqualifying from membership on the Whitewater Unified School District Board. 

  3. The Whitewater Unified School District Board meets in regular session on Monday, March 18th. That regular session must offer an open dialogue between this superintendent and the residents of the community, other than a mere public comment period, to answer residents’ questions fully to the reasonable satisfaction of those residents. That regular session must offer an open dialogue between this school board and the residents of the community, other than a mere public comment period, to answer residents’ questions fully to the reasonable satisfaction of those residents. 

  4. The decision of this board president, other board members, and this superintendent to engage in dialogue is the right path forward to reconciliation. It is fair for all parties. Failure to take this opportunity should be disqualifying from employment or board membership in this district.

  5. There is time, but only a little time, left for this board, this board president, these board members, and this superintendent to speak candidly to Whitewater. Principled men and women in Whitewater should not tolerate — must not tolerate — concealment through closed sessions, cease-and-desist actions, and threats of censure.

Americans, including those of us in Whitewater, are inclined to kindness. Many of us these last few months have been restrained, and through this restraint, shown respect and kindness. Franklin Roosevelt was right, when speaking of our people, that no one should mistake our kindness for weakness.  

True in his time, and true in ours.


1. Someone once did worse, but then his career in this city later came to a deservedly ignominious end.

Daily Bread for 1.3.24: Hockey, Hayek, and Hope

 Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 34. Sunrise is 7:25 and sunset 4:33 for 9h 08m 11s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 54.9% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Library Board meets in closed session at 4:30 PM

On this day in 1777, General Washington defeats British General Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.


Whitewater has had significant political activity throughout 2023, and the local Spring Election awaits the city in April. 

There’s more than one way to think about these changes, but political, economic, and social dynamism is common across America. It’s not merely common, but felicitously a source of our national strength, making us the envy of other peoples around the world.

A few remarks about hockey and Friedrich Hayek (not usually associated) explain much of Whitewater’s recent politics. 

Consider ice hockey, starting with the rink on which that game is played.  

By Jecowa at English Wikipedia. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1914457

Odd, isn’t it? Circles and lines across a sheet of ice, on a rink where those markings and the players skating in competition would seem incomprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game.

And yet, and yet, for a little bit of time and willingness, someone can learn about hockey and enjoy watching or playing a game. Indeed, without markings on the ice, and rules of the game, there would be no National Hockey League. A few people might be on a few rinks, but those few would never unite into a profitable professional association. 

As it turns out, local governments have their own version of rules from federal & state statutes, local ordinances, and local policies those communities adopt as binding. In Whitewater, relevant & material statutes, ordinances, and policies are compiled (in significant part) in the city’s Good Government Manual and the CDA Rules of Procedure.  

A key point that cannot be emphasized enough: these federal and state statutes, city ordinances, and local policies pre-date the current city administration. They are not a new development. They always should have been, and now are, being read and applied as they were meant to be applied. They were years ago lawfully drafted and adopted. If their application has seemed alien to some in Whitewater, then it is because some have unfortunately become unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the lawful rules and procedures for this very town. 

To do otherwise would be to expect the equivalent of a hockey game where players follow no rules or different rules, crashing into each other and the boards. 

And look, and look — this libertarian blogger is not a member of the government and never will be. This libertarian blogger has never represented the government and never will. It is right, however, to follow the rules properly established at federal, state, and local levels until they are lawfully revised. 

Deprecation of these rules does not advance this city; it perpetuates backwardness. 

This brings us to Nobel laureate Friedrich Hayek. Hayek was an opponent of most state planning, and rightly so. He understood, however, that some level of preliminary planning (and this meant government planning) was necessary to make private success possible. His remarks on this point in The Road to Serfdom are oft-quoted:

Nor is “planning” a medicine which, taken in small doses, can produce the effects for which one might hope from its thoroughgoing application. Both competition and central direction become poor and inefficient tools if they are incomplete; they are alternative principles used to solve the same problem, and a mixture of the two means that neither will really work and that the result will be worse than if either system had been consistently relied upon. Or, to express it differently, planning and competition can be combined only by planning for competition but not by planning against competition.

It is of the utmost importance to the argument of this book for the reader to keep in mind that the planning against which all our criticism is directed is solely the planning against competition the planning which is to be substituted tuted for competition. This is the more important, as we cannot, within the scope of this book, enter into a discussion of the very necessary planning which is required to make competition as effective and beneficial as possible. But as in current usage “planning” has become almost synonymous with the former kind of planning, it will sometimes be inevitable for the sake of brevity to refer to it simply as planning, even though this means leaving to our opponents a very good word meriting a better fate.

(Emphasis added.) 

F.A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom 89 (The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek, Volume 2 ed. 2007).

Government’s orderly planning, including the application of established policies, makes government responsible. It also leaves government in its proper, limited place. 

Hope for a better future is not only — and not principally — to be found within the walls of city hall. 312 W. Whitewater Street is merely one address in this city. Whitewater is a city of fifteen thousand, not fifteen. Whitewater’s many private needs will not be met through fights among government men or recriminations among them. 

The purpose of a well-regulated government, like a well-regulated militia, is (and must be) to protect the flourishing of private life. 

There is much that must be accomplished in this regard. See Waiting for Whitewater’s Dorothy Day, Something Transcendent, and in the MeantimeAn Oasis Strategy, The Community Space, People Bring Color. From Government, Failure is Both Loss and Distraction, and The Shape of Decline to Come (and How to Carry On).

Hope comes privately and stays privately. She’s more likely to arrive, and more likely to stay, in a city of rules-based limited government.


What’s Up: January 2024 Skywatching Tips from NASA:

Daily Bread for 6.4.23: On Book Banning, a Law to Restrict Worse Laws

Good morning. Sunday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 82. Sunrise is 5:17 AM and sunset 8:29 PM for 15h 11m 45s of daytime. The moon is full with 99.9% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1876, an express train called the Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco,…

Daily Bread for 2.24.23 More Convenient than a Cat’s Meows from the Rafters

Good morning. Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 23. Sunrise is 6:37 AM and sunset 5:38 PM for 11h 01m 24s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 22.8% of its visible disk illuminated.  On this day in 1803, in Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the…

Daily Bread for 2.14.23: Nothing Upsets the Populists Like Contrary Speech (esp. from Blacks or Gays)

Good morning. Valentine’s Day in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 50. Sunrise is 6:52 AM and sunset 5:25 PM for 10h 33m 36s  of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 40.9% of its visible disk illuminated. Now, Whitewater — don’t let showers dampen your spirits. There’s romance in the rain.  Whitewater’s…

Daily Bread for 6.8.22: Residents’ Ongoing Concerns Over the Whitewater Unified School District

Good morning. Wednesday in Whitewater will see showers and thunderstorms with a high of 65. Sunrise is 5:16 AM and sunset 8:31 PM for 15h 15m 39s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing gibbous with 58.5% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1950, the iconic Volkswagen Type 2 “Bus” begins production. The…

Daily Bread for 6.7.22: Big Changes Require Big Explanations

Good morning. Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 74. Sunrise is 5:16 AM and sunset 8:31 PM for 15h 14m 50s of daytime.  The moon is in its first quarter with 49.4%% of its visible disk illuminated. The Whitewater Unified District School Board meets in closed session at 6 PM and…

Daily Bread for 3.3.22: A Ukrainian Family Prepares for War in Kyiv

Good morning. Thursday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 33.  Sunrise is 6:25 AM and sunset 5:47 PM for 11h 22m 10s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing crescent with 0.9% its visible disk illuminated.  Whitewater’s Landmarks Commission meets at 6 PM, and Whitewater Fire Department, Inc. holds a business meeting at…

Daily Bread for 10.16.21: Waukesha School District bans LGBTQ+ and other signs

Good morning. Saturday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 58.  Sunrise is 7:10 AM and sunset 6:09 PM for 10h 58m 48s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing gibbous with 83.7% of its visible disk illuminated.  On this day in 1780, the Great Hurricane of 1780 finishes after its sixth day, killing…

The Power of Refutation

Laura Hazard Owen writes When’s the best time to correct fake news? After someone’s already read it, apparently: Debunking > prebunking. If you want someone to not believe that false or misleading headline they just read, when’s the best time to correct it? We hear a lot about inoculating people against fake news or “prebunking”…

‘A New Generation Challenges the Heartland’

 Last July, Tim Craig and Aaron Williams reported A new generation challenges the heartland (‘Big changes in small towns are fueling a racial justice movement across the Midwest’). They wrote last summer that The number of young people of color living in the Midwest has surged over the past decade, as the older white population…

Widespread, Continuing National Support for Racial Justice Protests

Steven Long and  Justin McCarthy of Gallup report Two in Three Americans Support Racial Justice Protests: WASHINGTON, D.C. — About two in three Americans (65%) support the nationwide protests about racial injustice that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in late May. Half say they feel “very” (23%) or…

Detailed Video Timeline of the Crackdown on Protesters Before Trump’s Photo Op

The Washington Post analyzed hours of video footage and obtained audio of police communications and other records to assemble the most complete account to date of the June 1 crackdown on protesters in Washington D.C.. Late in the day on June 1, demonstrators gathered near the White House, on the edge of Lafayette Square, to…