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Monthly Archives: August 2010

Libertarians, Politics

Senator Feingold’s Re-Election Prospects

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Tom Bevan of Real Clear Politics asks, Will Feingold Get Swept Away by GOP Wave? I don’t know if Senator Feingold will be re-elected; I do know that his possible defeat should leave libertarians with mixed feelings. For although we oppose campaign finance restrictions and a big (spending) government, in many other ways Senator Feingold has been a strong advocate of civil liberties.

Feingold’s defeat would leave civil libertarians with one voice fewer on many rights issues. (Most Wisconsinites know little about Feingold’s likely Republican opponent, Ron Johnson. They do know that Feingold has supported individual privacy rights against state overreach time and again. It hasn’t always made him popular; it’s made him right.)

In a way, this is a risk that President Obama’s sagging popularity presents for libertarians: we oppose his economic policies, but we see his administration offers good policies in other areas. In any event, movement libertarians have no personal dislike toward him. (I don’t understand why some dislike Pres. Obama so personally; he seems generally likable to me, and surely no less so than Sen. McCain. Quick disclaimer: I voted for Libertarian candidate Bob Barr in 2008, and Barr’s a curmudgeon if ever there were one.)

This is a conservative year; some liberal politicians will feel its sting. After November, however, many libertarians may find that they’ll have a harder road ahead, with fewer officeholders in support of their commitment to individual privacy rights. Having no alternative, we’ll push on. We’ve never been the big-crowd type, in any event.

Laws/Regulations, Liberty

Institute for Justice: Free the Monks and Free Enterprise

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We have become so regulated, and government has become so much a tool of particular businesses over others, that in Louisiana monks of Saint Joseph Abbey cannot even build and sell caskets for those who would prefer a simple casket.

Fortunately, the Institute for Justice is prepared to defend the right of a monastery to build well-made and simple caskets for those might prefer them. Were that defense not available, monks at an American monastery would find themselves unable to continue doing do what they’ve been doing for one hundred years.

(It’s not whether one style is better, but rather that people should be able to choose, and the monks should be able to satisfy some of those choices.)

Louisiana’s government may be under the sway of funeral directors seeking to maximize profits for themselves, and exclude legitimate alternatives for grieving families, but it’s a violation of Americans’ economic liberty. (It’s also a despicable collision between Louisiana’s politicians and avaricious businesspeople.)

The Institute for Justice has filed a federal lawsuit, Saint Joseph Abbey, et al. v. Castille, et al., to challenge Louisiana’s casket cartel. See, Free the Monks and Free Enterprise: Challenging Louisiana’s Casket Cartel in Federal Court.

Here’s a video that explains what’s at stake, with accompanying commentary from the Institute afterward:



The Institute summarizes the fundamental right that’s now threatened:

Can the government restrict economic liberty just to enrich a group of politically favored insiders?

That’s the question the Institute for Justice and its client, Saint Joseph Abbey of St. Benedict, La., have taken to federal court in challenging the constitutionality of Louisiana’s outrageous requirement that the monks of the Abbey must be licensed as funeral directors and convert their monastery into a licensed funeral home in order to sell their handmade wooden casket.

Under Louisiana law, it is a crime for anyone but a licensed funeral director to sell “funeral merchandise,” which includes caskets. To sell caskets legally, the monks would have to abandon their calling for one full year to apprentice at a licensed funeral home, learn unnecessary skills and take a funeral industry test. They would also have to convert their monastery into a “funeral establishment” by, among other things, installing equipment for embalming human remains.

On August 12, 2010 [today], the Institute for Justice teamed up with the monks of Saint Joseph Abbey to file a federal constitutional lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana to vindicate their right to earn an honest living. In a time of 10 percent unemployment and widespread economic pessimism, this case raises one of today’s most important constitutional questions: May the government restrict economic liberty just to enrich a group of politically favored insiders such as licensed funeral directors?

One of the freedoms we enjoy as Americans is the right to earn an honest living in the occupation of our choice without arbitrary government interference. Louisiana’s casket licensing law violates that right.

For more about the case, readers can visit a helpful resource page.

Best wishes for IJ client Abbott Justin Brown and for the monks of Saint Joseph Abbey. more >>

Elkhorn, Politics

Walworth County Board Wisely Rejects Expansion Proposal

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One sees that the Walworth County Board voted, 8-3, to recommend against an expansion of the board’s size. (The 8-3 vote included all eleven current board numbers.) See, Walworth County Board Opposes Member Increase.

This was the right decision — expanding the board because of politicians’ complaints of overwork at a time when too few have work was a bad idea. I’ve written in opposition to expansion before. See, Walworth County Board Sizes and Walworth County Today: Walworth County Wants Public Input on Board Size (politicians complaining about a large workload).

Membership of the Walworth County Board is voluntary, and those who think it’s too difficult should stop running for re-election, or resign even before their seats are up, if it’s all so difficult. There will be others who’ll choose to run, and serve, without grousing.

At the end of Ann Marie Ames’s story, she reports that

the board voted 6-5 in favor of continuing county support for the Walworth County Economic Development Alliance in the form of $50,000 in the county’s 2011 budget. The vote is advisory to Administrator Dave Bretl. The matter could come up again in September when Bretl proposes a 2011 budget to the board.

The alliance uses public and private money to promote businesses and administer grants and loans for business development.

That’s a big deal by itself — WCEDA has a bare majority in support from among the eleven on the board. There’s reason to be skeptical about WCEDA’s ability to make a difference. It won’t be the credentials of WCEDA’s new executive director, Douglas Wheaton, but practical accomplishments that will matter. The former executive director, Fred Burkhardt, did his successor no favors, and left Wheaton with a paltry legacy and diminished political support.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for Whitewater, Wisconsin: 8-12-10

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Good morning,

Today’s forecast calls for a high of ninety-one degrees.

The Wisconsin Historical Society recalls that on this date in 1939,

1939 – Wizard of Oz World Premier — in Oconomowoc
According to the fan site, thewizardofoz.info, “The first publicized showing of the final, edited film was at the Strand Theatre in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin on August 12, 1939. No one is sure exactly why a small town in the Midwest received that honor.” It showed the next day in Sheboygan, Appleton and Rhinelander, according to local newspapers. “The official premiere was at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on August 15, attended by most of the cast and crew and a number of Hollywood celebrities.” [Source: thewizardofoz.info]

Here’s a video about the casting of the witch in the Wizard of Oz:



Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qHaIO0LU38

Time has proved that Hamilton was a good choice. more >>

Freedom of Speech

Judge delays signing agreement on issue ads – JSOnline

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The delay is because of uncertainty over whether state or federal court is the right venue, and not from doubts about the certain unconstitutionality of the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board’s issue ad regulations.

These regulations are doomed in any event.

Madison — A federal judge declined to sign an injunction Wednesday barring the state from enforcing new disclosure rules on campaign-style ads, but the state is sticking by an agreement not to implement them.

U.S. District Court William M. Conley in Madison ordered the state and two groups that sued over the rules to file briefs next week saying whether federal court is the correct venue to decide the case….

The state on Tuesday reached an agreement in one case not to enforce key parts of the rules. Kevin Kennedy, director of the Accountability Board, said Wednesday the state would stick by the agreement not to enforce those parts of the rules even though Conley had not signed off on them.

The rules required groups to register with the state by Friday and disclose their funding staring Monday.

Groups suing the state contend the rules go far beyond regulating those who run third-party ads and affect any citizens groups or bloggers who discuss the positions of politicians.

See, Judge delays signing agreement on issue ads – JSOnline.

Government Spending, Taxes/Taxation

JOHN STOSSEL: Memo to Alan Greenspan — Zip It

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….[Greenspan] says he supported the 2001 cuts because of pending budget surpluses, but now that huge deficits loom, new revenues are needed.

Why? Brian Riedl of the Heritage Foundation says that since the cuts, “The rich are now shouldering even more of the income tax burden.” The deficit has grown not because we are undertaxed but because government overspends. “Tax revenues are above the historical average, even after the tax cuts,” Riedl writes.

Given the stagnant economy, this is the worst possible time for tax increases. (Is there ever a good time?) Taking money out of the economy will stifle investment and recovery, and it’s unlikely to raise substantial revenue, even if that were a good thing….

See, JOHN STOSSEL: Memo to Alan Greenspan — Zip It.

Weird Tales

“Eau Claire man with 2 wives fined” from GazetteXtra

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In last Friday’s open comments forum, one of my commenters asked if marriage were a wholly private matter, whether that would allow polygamy.

I think one would find few cases of polygamy in any event, as relationships of many are potentially less stable (with shifting alliances possible) than relationships between two.

Nonetheless, the different relationship of bigamy is also illegal. Perhaps even worse than mere bigamy, is the excuse a man may have offered for not divorcing his first wife before marrying a second: “A criminal complaint says Buehler told investigators he planned to divorce his first wife, but time just slipped away.”

See, “Eau Claire man with 2 wives fined” by Latest News — GazetteXtra.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for Whitewater, Wisconsin: 8-11-10

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Good morning,

The forecast for Whitewater calls for a chance of thunderstorms today, with a high temperature of eighty-six degrees.

The Wisconsin Historical Society notes that on this day in 1919:

On this date the Green Bay Packers professional football team was founded during a meeting in the editorial rooms of Green Bay Press-Gazette. On this evening, a score or more of young athletes, called together by Curly Lambeau and George Calhoun, gathered in the editorial room on Cherry Street and organized a football the team. [Source: Packers.com]

I’ve posted about cycling, and about the opposition of some fans to doping in cycling, and their efforts to root it from the sport. I very much support their efforts. In the New York Times, there was a story that describes the dislike some fans have for doping. In Cycling Fans Root for Dopers to Get Caught, Robert Mackey writes that

As a remarkably entertaining edition of the Tour de France comes to an end this weekend, some of the most passionate fans of professional cycling are paying less attention to what’s happening in the race than they are to news of a federal investigation into the allegation that Lance Armstrong engaged in systematic doping to win it on seven previous occasions.

That is at least in part because some of the best-informed fans, who maintain remarkably detailed and active Twitter feeds dedicated to sharing information about performance-enhancing drugs, remain convinced that some of the top riders have found ways to cheat and avoid detection.

Among the most knowledgeable and entertaining of these feeds are the ones written by the obsessive, recovering fan who use the Twitter handle Cycling Fans Anonymous, an English woman who calls herself Festina Girl, and the bike racers and cartoonists Andy Shen and Dan Schmalz who write as NY Velocity.

As my colleague Ian Austen reported in May, their suspicions are shared by scientists who have demonstrated that a technique known as microdosing could allow cyclists to use the blood-boosting drug EPO, which changed the sport in the 1990s, to “gain a significant performance advantage” while still passing all of the tests currently administered.

I follow Cycling Fans Anonymous on Twitter, and they cover the doping controversy in cycling closely (as much a brief tweet can do). These fans want a clean sport, an honest sport, and they deserve one.

There are videos at the GazetteXtra.com and WalworthCountyToday.com that show how those online publications are making clever use of the web. First the videos, then a few remarks.

At GazetteXtra.com, community blogger Glen Lloyd has a new video about Ronald Reagan and his connection to the Janesville-area Rock River:

Here’s the second, posted at WalworthCountyToday.com, from an AP story at Fox 6 News, showing a case of McNugget Rage:



The videos are different, but they illustrate the contrast between these local publications and others nearby. Only the websites of the GazetteXtra.com and WalworthCountyToday.com show a real understanding for the web, and for what it can do.

The nearby Daily Union site has nothing so lively, of such range. I doubt they’d show a viral video, in any event. It might not seem serious to them, perhaps. In this, they would ignore the variety on the web, limit their traffic, tie themselves to an oh-so-serious but stodgy coverage of events, and reflexive support of public officials. (On the print side, I find it hard to see how an afternoon newspaper has any longterm prospects. If the much livelier Capital Times couldn’t make it in print in Madison as an afternoon paper, I don’t see how the DU can stay an afternoon paper in Jefferson County.)

The website of the formerly-local Whitewater Register is shared between several papers in the Southern Lakes newspaper chain. There’s a video posted there as of this morning, but the link for it points nowhere. The website looks less polished than what an ordinary person could accomplish in a weekend.

Finally, about that McNugget video: the customer’s drunk, but is there something about being drunk that makes McNuggets irresistible? I’ve never heard of a sober customer with such a craving. more >>

Charity

Middleton Food Pantry Now Delivers

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True charity requires true service to others —

A Middleton food pantry now delivers, bringing its bounty directly to some of the people it serves….

The service started after some MOM employees and volunteers came to Fonder [Executive Director of Middleton Outreach Ministry] and told him that there were pantry clients, including many seniors, concentrated in the two [Middleton & Madison] housing complexes that either were disabled or lacked the transportation to get them to the distribution center.

The mobile food pantry is the newest way MOM is serving people in need. “To say that it’s been successful is certainly an understatement,” Fonder said.

See, Middleton food pantry now delivers.

Freedom of Speech

Speech Victory — Wisconsin to Drop New (Unconstitutional) Rules Governing Issue Ads

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The State of Wisconsin had only two choices: capitulate or lose in court.

The state capitulated Tuesday in a lawsuit over new rules regulating campaign-style ads, agreeing they should not be enforced….

The board and the groups that brought one of the lawsuits filed a joint stipulation Tuesday with the federal court in Madison in which the board agreed to a permanent injunction preventing the enforcement of the rules regarding issue advocacy….

Those rules applied to ads and other communications that praised or criticized candidates without telling people specifically to vote for or against them. The rules would require for the first time the disclosure of who funded those communications.

The groups said those rules violated their First Amendment right to free speech.

See, State agrees to drop new rules governing issue ads – JSOnline.

Politics

“Barrett calls on union to drop Viagra lawsuit” — GazetteXtra

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Great line:

“Barrett says that, if elected governor, he would work to invest more money on education but [instead of money for Viagra] ‘dollars should be devoted to enhance performance in the classroom.’

Emphasis added.

That’s just too funny, but it’s good to see that Barrett has (I think) a sense of humor.

See, “Barrett calls on union to drop Viagra lawsuit” by Latest News — GazetteXtra.

Freedom of Speech

You’re Welcome, Feisty Readers

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I write what I believe, and I would do so even if I were the only person who thought as I do. I’m poor at predicting which posts will generate email, but I can see that the post immediately before this one has elicited quite a few messages, even in these several hours. See, Objections and Replies on Independent Commentary. Thank you for your kind remarks.

It’s not a detailed post, but as someone mentioned, it’s a “feisty and rhetorical” one. Yes, it surely is.

Posts like this — and far more polished ones — are part of our way of life. Not the way of life of some faraway or imaginary people, but of the people of this continent. This is part of our tradition, our rich heritage. We would be right to defend and embrace this way even if we had nothing else. We may hope for many things (some deserved, some not), but if it should be that we have only this, still we’ll be fortunate.

More important, we embrace this way with the conviction that as we would defend expression, even more so would we defend those we love. One contends on public matters for the betterment of other, higher things.

How ’bout a badger photo, for some feisty readers?



Public domain image from Wikipedia