FREE WHITEWATER

Monthly Archives: February 2008

City, Libertarians, Public Records 1

Beginning Monday, 3/3/08: Witch-Hunting a Blogger in Whitewater, Wisconsin

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Good morning.

Beginning Monday, March 3rd, I will offer the true account of a pseudonymous blogger from Whitewater, Wisconsin who became the target of public officials’ months-long witch-hunt, to learn his identity using public resources, on public time.

I am that blogger. My name is John Adams, and I am the pseudonymous author of FREE WHITEWATER, a local website with commentary on life in Whitewater, Wisconsin. My website is published almost every day at www.freewhitewater.com.

Although my story may seem incredible, I have obtained the public records to confirm these events. I sought these public records after fair-minded residents warned me that public officials might be working, with considerable zeal, during public time, in public facilities, on hunting through the community to determine my identity.

I obtained these documents under the provisions of Wisconsin’s Public Records Law, Wis. Stats. 19.31 — 19.39. I will share my story, and the results of my public records request, in a series of posts beginning on Monday, March 3rd at 8 a.m. CST.

I blog about municipal affairs, and other topics, as a libertarian, and my website has sometimes been critical of certain police practices and actions, and government planning. The real message of my site, though, is an uplifting one: the greatness of the American promise of individual liberty and the liberating power of free markets.

Here’s a bit more about my website. (I have included my website’s signature comment about life in our town — a bit dramatic, but catchy, too, I think!)

FREE WHITEWATER offers a confident message to the residents of Whitewater, Wisconsin:

“You have lived in Whitewater, Wisconsin for years, perhaps your entire life. Despite your affection for this beautiful city, life in our small municipality leaves you uneasy. You find yourself increasingly convinced that something is distorted, and wrong, in the politics and culture of our city. Rest assured: You are not alone…”

Embracing one of the oldest traditions of free speech in America, FREE WHITEWATER is published under the pseudonym, JOHN ADAMS. Many of the greatest men of this republic published anonymously, or pseudonymously, among them Hamilton, Madison, Jay, Paine, and occasionally, John Adams himself. The second president of the American Republic was a great, but flawed man. His greatness and his flaws inspire the choice of this name: a lofty example leavened with the humbling awareness of imperfection in him, and more so, in us. JOHN ADAMS represents no party, faction, or clique within our city. ADAMS represents, instead, a fair politics, and a free, open culture.

FREE WHITEWATER publishes almost every day, and has covered dozens of local topics in hundreds of posts — development, police conduct, free speech, beautiful spots in town, photos, local political events, and even cartoons.

Join me, beginning Monday, March 3rd, and see how a few wrong-headed public officials have used public time and resources in a disturbing effort against a libertarian blogger.

Free Markets

American Ingenuity: HP Calculators!

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Longtime readers know that I believe in the promise and possibility of the American free market. We are a clever, innovative people. You may not know, however, that like many others, I am a great admirer of Hewlett Packard (now called HP) calculators. I am not alone — many who first used an HP calculator in the 1970s were struck by the power and elegance of their design.

So many, in fact, that there’s even a website called the Museum of HP Calculators! (It’s not affiliated with HP.) How’s that for geek cred?

My first HP was the HP 33C, a great calculator with continuous memory. HP’s products, then and now, use a form of entry and computation called RPN, and it’s efficient and powerful.

Today was a fun day for me — when I got home, there was a package waiting for me with the latest, HP 35s scientific calculator, that offers contemporary power with a retro look reminiscent of the HPs of the 1970s (only without the red LED screens). Here’s what the 35s looks like:

Sharp, isn’t it?

If you used these Hewlett Packard calculators years ago, or have a more recent model, you know what it means to be an HP fan — we’re part of a club that appreciates great design and performance, and these products have both.

Bonus Details Update, 7:23 PM — The calculator comes with a hard case, two Panasonic watch batteries, a thorough manual with plentiful information on programming, plus a DVD with some history about HP calculators. This is a company that respects its customers and its products.

The DVD has a story called the ‘hippo story.’ (I watched the whole DVD, naturally.) Apparently, according to HP legend, a zookeeper used an HP calculator to estimate how much food a hippo would need. The calculator fell from the zookeeper’s pocket, and the hippo ate it. The DVD explains that hippos take between 41 and 43 days to digest their food, so the zookeeper waited to see what would happen more than a month later. On the 42nd day, the hippo produced the calculator. After cleaning it up, the zoo staff found that the calculator still worked! Hippo proof!

City, Police

Police and Fire Commission: February Meeting

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Update: 2/28/08, 8:44 PM: I see that the link to the agenda for 2/20 is working. The agenda is better prepared than previous ones. (As I will show next week, some of the remarks in an email I received in my Public Records Requests, 2008-1 A and B, may explain why the agenda is more detailed.)

Here are three questions, though:

(1) When the notice for a Wednesday, 2/20 PFC meeting comes out on Friday, 2/15, doesn’t that seem that the two weekend days reduce the available exposure & attention the meeting will receive?

(2) Was this meeting announced on the main page of the City of Whitewater website, like other meetings? I don’t recall seeing it there.

(3) If the agenda link on the website doesn’t work until after the meeting, what kind of website notice is that?

At the City of Whitewater website, as of this morning, there is a link to a February 20th agenda of the Police and Fire Commission. It doesn’t open properly as of this post, but it’s there. (The January 10th Special Meeting agenda of the PFC also mentioned that there would be a 2/20 — presumably regular — meeting.) I have two questions:

1. Did the meeting take place? I can’t tell, of course, from a broken link to an agenda.

2. If there were a meeting on February 20th, how did the City of Whitewater publicize it? I do not recall seeing it announced on the main page of the City of Whitewater website. The law requires notice (albeit short); most commissions and boards in our city in practice provide much better notice than the law requires.

The Whitewater PFC does not follow that practice. As I have noted before, this significantly reduces the chances for citizen participation, in what should be one of the best-announced meetings in Whitewater.

The members of the Commission are free — yes, you really are, under the law — to offer an explanation.

Comment on a public duty should always be more important than silence to maintain social standing, or for any other reason.

I can be reached at adams@freewhitewater.com.

City, Libertarians, Public Records 1

Public Records Requests 2008-1, A and B

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A few weeks ago, I submitted a public records request to the City of Whitewater. Some have asked me how my request has fared.

Yesterday, the City of Whitewater sent a response to my request. The response included a fair amount of email, but perhaps not all that I requested. I will review the documents, and think about what they mean. A citizen can always challenge a response as incomplete, can submit additional requests, seek guidance, etc. I have time; there’s no reason to rush.

A public records request is a vital part of Wisconsin’s commitment to good, open government. The law is a reason to be proud to live in the Badger State.

City

Legislating Prosperity

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Months ago, I wrote about a neighborhood services effort to notify homeowners of ways in which they fell short of City of Whitewater code standards. The post, entitled, “Your Messy House? My Better Plan!” criticized the overly fussy letters to residents. I suggested alternative targets for the city’s aesthetic ire.

There’s an even bigger problem with those notices (or similar efforts) than their pettiness, though: some of these requirements amount to the expectation that you can require prosperity, and prohibit lack of means.

In many cases, a person may have forgone basic home improvements not because she is careless or slovenly, but because other needs are more pressing (e.g., food, clothing, medical care). This should be obvious – the tendency to preserve a home from basic deteriorate is common to homeowners, across all income groups. Persisting, curled shingles or broken windows are not aesthetic problems, for goodness’ sake; they’re economic problems.

A community cannot – successfully and seriously — ban lack of means. Do you lack the money for shoes? Very well, then: we’ll require you, by ordinance, to purchase new ones.

We’ll not, for example, make a poor woman’s condition better by requiring that she buy new clothes. If she reasonably could, she would. (Nor, by contrast, should fine clothing matter.)

A few in the community, though, may think that it’s not a matter of means, but of judgment and priority. There we are – the notion that a few people know how to manage basic priorities, and though government regulation they will guide others to a proper understanding.

I am unpersuaded that a few, supposedly wise people need to guide other homeowners in basic property maintenance. Perhaps – although I cannot read others’ minds – there is for those guardians (public and private) of property maintenance a feeling of benevolent superiority.

It’s just condescension, to my mind. People do not fail to act in these matters for lack of desire, will, or sound judgment.

They likely confront different immediate priorities, and priorities that government cannot readily alter through regulation.

Free Markets

Planning Challenges Small and Big

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Government planning is susceptible to two interesting of challenges, one for small projects, one for big ones.

In small efforts, there is the tendency to expect a role or say in the modest, readily comprehensible effort.

For example, suppose a restaurant wanted to put a sign up. It’s not hard to understand a project like that, and because everyone can understand a sign, so suddenly everyone wants a say in it. How big, what color, how many colors, what design?

A small public project that requires official approval is a prime target for everyone’s petty say. Did you want blue for the lettering on your sign? What shade of blue, exactly? It’s tempting to ask a question like that, and expect an answer, from the owner and designer of the sign. It’s tempting because it’s easy to comprehend and question the project.

There’s an expression for that sort of question: “What color is the bike shed?” from C.N. Parkinson, author of Parkinson’s Law.

Many are tempted to meddle in a small project like a bike shed. (One odd aspect of the bike shed problem – Parkinson described the meddlesome tendency, but never addressed color in his original example.)

In big projects, like vast hydroelectric plants, the scale and complexity is intimidating, so public officials initially avoid trying to direct the details of design. Instead, they cooperate with special interests with knowledge of ways to benefit from the intricacies of funding a large public project. No one asks about small details; legislators and lobbyists unite covertly to make sure that their interests are protected in funding the public effort. Shades of blue don’t matter, so long as the painting contract goes to someone in Legislator X’s district.

Over time, that may change, as maintenance funding of the project may present opportunities for new hordes of lobbyists, who may seek to expand the original design for their own benefit.

In private projects, the risks of these tendencies are less. A society that doesn’t regulate a small restaurant’s sign specifications is a less meddlesome one. The restaurateur creates his own sign, and no one pesters him.

A company that funds a large project privately without legislative interference is better shielded from legislators and lobbyists who see the public project as a common, public trough from which they will be gorge themselves.

Discussions like this are available at the Cato Institute’s blog, and over at the Volokh Conspiracy, a group blog of law professors, economists, and others.

Blog names may sound odd, but that shouldn’t put you off – plunge in and swim around.

City, Development, Economy, Free Markets

Zoning and Housing Prices

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Readers may recall that I have criticized politician-dentist Roy Nosek for his advocacy of limitations on student housing. Here are some of my posts on the subject:

On Nosek on Student Housing, Part 1 (Economics)

On Nosek on Student Housing, Part 2 (Culture)

Student Housing in Whitewater

One of the points that I have made is that Nosek’s views are ill-presented and jumbled; they’re cultural as much as economic. My best guess is that Nosek’s advocacy of zoning restrictions, followed with code enforcement efforts, and preferences for young couples over other buyers, would both increase housing prices and later lead to a collapse in prices in then-stagnant neighborhoods.

There’s ample, readily available information to support this assessment. Randal O’Toole of Cato has a post with links to well-researched studies confirming that land use planning increases housing prices, entitled “Land Use Regulation and the Credit Crisis.”

What’s telling, though, is that O’Toole also cites research from economist Edward Glaeser that land-use regulations also make housing prices more prone to crashes.

Nosek evidences not slightest understanding of economics, and thus not the faintest awareness that the restrictions he favors increase housing costs and shortages throughout the city.

City

On Primary Election Day, 19 February 2008

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A few quick thoughts on the primary in Whitewater:

Predictions. At the beginning of the year, I offered predictions for 2008. After the Whitewater primary, I’m probably 1-1. Sen. Obama likely will win Whitewater in November, and our incumbent municipal judge will probably be elected in his own right in April. (I have a preferred candidate in neither race.)

I expected Sen. Obama to do well, and well he did – winning each of our districts. Municipal Judge Kelly won about half the votes cast in a four-way race, and it will be hard for all Kelly’s opponents’ votes to coalesce to his remaining opponent, Art Coleman. I was wrong before, though, and it may be possible; there were a lot of votes cast for someone other than the incumbent.

It says much, though, that Kelly in the 2008 primary received more votes than Spear in the 2007 general election. Spear would be unable to win citywide: he’s finished here, no matter how often a few people insist (outrageously) that he’s somehow a victim.

New Polling Place. We were right to establish a new polling place, and it was the destination for just over 800 voters. Well-done, Whitewater.

I know, and you know, how disconcerting this polling place was to the most hidebound among us. Inconveniencing campus voters is the last refuge of a declining, stodgy town faction. Too late now – someone championing that anti-market, anti-expression clique will not be able to win in a city with fair, convenient access to the polls for all voters.

The Waning District. Over in the Third Aldermanic District, home of Common Council member and dentist Dr. Roy Nosek, voting was less than in any other district in the city. For all the talk about representing the ‘community,’ Dr. Nosek barely won his seat in the last Third District election – a two vote margin, I think – in a district that cast fewer votes than any other this election.

It’s hard to be a tribune of the people when, in fact, you represent few active voters, and you have won even fewer votes.

Obama and Whitewater. Although I have no current preference for a presidential candidate in November, Obama’s success in the primary (and that of Kerry and Gore city-wide before him) suggests the limits of the identity-theft crowd’s reach. They’re a loud, self-important clique, in an echo chamber. They have each other, a desire to abandon principle to bolster themselves, and a thin, poorly written local paper, but that’s about all.

They are a loud, but distinct minority, within town. The idea that they’re people of influence grows less true each day. (It was never true the way they want it to be; these are people who spend too much time looking in the mirror.) They place their own interest ahead of American principles of expression and liberty, and so it is no surprise that American trends leave them bitter and confused.

Poll Workers. Any number of citizens were at the polls, supporting our elections at two different polling places. They deserve our thanks and praise.

Inbox Reader Mail, School District

Inbox: Reader Mail (Multiple School Delays)

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A reader wrote me with a concern about a proposed change to delay the time that school might start on some days, to accommodate meetings of school staff. Her email appears below, with my reply in blue thereafter:

Reader: I feel the public should know what the school board is tiring to pass basically under the table. They would want school to start one hour later every Thursday so the teachers can discuss what has been going on. What are parents with smaller children in school supposed to do as many of them have jobs to go to. I feel the public should be aware of this matter as it will greatly affect some people.

Adams: My views, simply described, on our schools can be found in my post entitled, “On Public Education.” Most especially, I am interested in the ways that a spontaneous order — rather than a engineered solution — can advance substantive learning though interesting, creative possibilities.

The author of this proposal does not matter to me; it’s a bad idea in any event.

The proposal to delay school hours is a poor idea for two principal reasons. First, it visits the effects of administrative and internal workings of the district onto parents. That’s a poor practice — internal needs of an organization should not be visited on customers, clients, or patients. What those within an organization want is sometimes different from what a customer wants or needs. That’s a sign of a poorly focused organization, out of alignment with its customers’ needs.

Second — and far more important — is the stress that a delay like this places on working parents. It’s foolish to think that an employer would be indifferent between a full day off, and eight delays of one hour. I may have control over my schedule, but most people don’t, and they fell the stress of an impatient employer who expects workers to arrive on time, each and every time. A day off is easier to arrange than any number of one-hour delays — and this should be intuitive to those who run our district.

I urge the district to abandon this stress-creating proposal.

Holiday

Lincoln’s Birthday

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It’s Lincoln’s birthday today, and it offers us the moment to consider that singularly great man. The true advocate of freedom respects and admires Lincoln. (See, for example, Timothy Sandefur’s Liberty and Union, Now and Forever.)

Lincoln visited Wisconsin, and delivered a speech before our agricultural society in September of 1859. The speech addressed particular topics of interest to its audience, but ended with an observation that’s both haunting and hopeful:

It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: “And this, too, shall pass away.” How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! — how consoling in the depths of affliction! “And this, too, shall pass away.”

And yet let us hope it is not quite true. Let us hope, rather, that by the best cultivation of the physical world, beneath and around us; and the intellectual and moral world within us, we shall secure an individual, social, and political prosperity and happiness, whose course shall be onward and upward, and which, while the earth endures, shall not pass away.

Libertarians

The Citizen’s Life

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Longtime readers know that I am from a libertarian background (affectionately called being ‘in the movement,’ in such families). I am the fortunate inheritor of a proud tradition. Some have asked me my thoughts on free expression in the face of hostility or opposition, and I’ll offer my perspective.

First and foremost, officials in most communities accept criticism as part of their public lives, and are consequently respectful of America’s legal and political tradition of free expression. Most places are fair and well-ordered.

Rarely, a person may live in a place where officials are disrespectful of the American guarantees of free expression. It’s unfortunate if you live in a place where public officials or officers try to intimidate and cow ordinary citizens into silence, either through the use of their office, or with the help of their idle, private supporters.

The worst cases of public officials’ attempts to shame and coerce citizens into silence for exercise of their rights happened in segregation states decades ago — but it still happens in disordered, troubled communities today.

Wherever you live, you have the right as a citizen to live out American promise of free expression. Here are some observations that you may find useful.

Know Your Tradition. No matter how knowledgeable or educated you may be, it’s always a good idea to carry with you books and documents that remind you of your tradition. Take time to read a few words each day, to remind yourself of who you are, and where you live. In my own case, I carry in my briefcase a small Bible, a book of prayer, and a copy of the U.S. Constitution. In my wallet, I carry a small plate inscribed with the Bill of Rights. I have read each fully, far more than once, but I always learn something new in reflection.

Some people may tease you when they first see that you carry these books, but if you take a moment and explain what they mean to you, you’ll be surprised how many people respond positively. In reply, they’ll tell you what matters to them. Listen carefully to what they have to say; that’s the beginning of a great conversation.

(The Bill of Rights edition that I carry is available from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the copy of the Constitution from the Cato Institute. Our law is more than one document, but this is its foundation.)

Know Your Rights. If you are unfortunate enough to live in a troubled, disordered place where police leaders or officials try to coerce citizens into silence, then you must review your specific rights carefully. Remember: if police or officials confront your for exercising your rights, they will be do so at a time of their choosing, their preparation, and your greatest surprise.

They do this because they are too weak or self-absorbed to respond to you on the merits of your lawful, political speech. They will try to shift the ground, to scare you into silence. They are bullies, and all bullies undertake an emotional line of attack.

If you have carefully reflected on your faith and on your political tradition, you will be better composed to face the adversaries of free speech. They may be ferocious, but you will be composed.

Maintain the Harmony of Your Home. Very rarely, a public official will disgrace himself, and violate our political tradition, by going to a citizen’s home, and trying to ‘shame,’ ‘scare,’ or ‘intimidate,’ the citizen into silence. Your political speech is a constitutional right, for which you need never be ashamed. Still, they may try to pressure or scare you.

Ask them to leave — you owe them no audience on your property. They are uninvited; send them away without discussion. They may try to cajole you into a discussion on your own doorstep. Ignore them: They are weak and detestable. If they were respectful of the American political tradition, they would have answered you through political speech. As they show no respect for our political heritage, they deserve only a reminder to leave your property.

Never Respond with Anger. It’s a garden-variety trick of bad policing, for example, to try to provoke a person to anger, and then contend that the person was violent, hostile, etc. They may say all sorts of threatening things to you (about which they will lie), but you must never respond in kind, no matter what they say. This is, of course, another reason to avoid discussions where they try to confront you on your own property: their sheer audacity and arrogance is likely to be infuriating to an ordinary person.

They understand this, and they may use it as a way to provoke you. Never respond to threats; never make threats. Stay calm, always.

Reporters. In big cities (usually) and in well-ordered places (often), reporters are well-trained, and most maintain an independent position from public officials. Sometimes in smaller places, reporters are easily manipulated, captivated, or overly-supportive of public officials. It may be that they are pressured to maintain municipal ad revenue for their small papers, told they cannot have access unless they are positive, are ‘star-struck,’ or just third rate-hacks.

It doesn’t matter — be wary of them. They will help self-interested officials before they will serve their communities.

Recordings and Photographs. Some people ask what they should do if an official confronts a citizen about political speech, and asks to photograph or tape record a conversation with a citizen. Never allow this without a lawyer present — ever. The whole idea is crazy — and an official or officer has nothing good in mind by asking for something like this.

I have been asked if a citizen should carry a camera and dictaphone with him, in case of an encounter with hostile officials. Always remember that officials who confront you for your political speech, on your property or elsewhere, never have your constitutional interests in mind. Avoid talking with them at that time, no matter how insistent they are. They must never set your agenda by ‘ambushing’ you, or insisting they ‘need to talk.’ Their supposed needs are not constitutional rights — never forget this.

Officials who are upset over political speech are in the wrong line of work; let them go see a therapist or a priest. What they ‘need’ you cannot give them, in any event.

Be careful producing either a camera or voice recorder: (1) it may encourage abusive officials to linger, and (2) they may try to take your possessions from you, in the process possibly destroying your property or injuring you. If they’re so angry that they don’t respect your speech rights, then they likely won’t respect your property rights, either.

I carry both a camera (with video capabilities) and a voice recorder, because I like to take photographs of interesting natural scenes, and because I sometimes dictate memos. (Older iPods used to have voice memo capability, but I do not think that the iPod that I have now does.) I have been in all sorts of political debates in my life, and have a knack for staying calm, but I still would not encourage others to do anything except asking officials to leave the property, or walk away.

The True Friends. Most importantly, always remember that you are never alone in our free society. There are many people, of all political views — conservatives, moderates, progressives, and libertarians — who believe in free speech just as you do.

Be happy! It’s fun to live out a citizen’s life.

Ignore people who place social connection or office ahead of principle, and make friends with those who believe in speech rights as you do. You will find that they will be among the best friends anyone could ever have.

City, Libertarians, Public Records 1

The Public Records Law

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We are fortunate to live in Wisconsin, as our state is committed to good and open government. Part of our law includes the Public Records Law, found at Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31 – 19.39. About a week ago, I contacted our city manager, in reference to the administration of the law.

I have now submitted my first request under the Public Records Law.

I was happy to hear that our most recent Common Council meeting, from Tuesday, February 5th, included a discussion of the Public Records Law. It is a statewide requirement, and more importantly, an expression and commitment to good government. (I will post more about that council meeting separately.)

In every case, there may be the temptation, based on self-interest, to shirk the law, defeat its purposes, or hide and conceal information.

(To see how government may disregard good government, and fall into the temptation of breaking the promises that it makes to its citizens, see my post entitled William Schaefer and Whitewater, in particular, paragraph four.)

We must not allow that to happen in Whitewater.