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Monthly Archives: January 2012

Law, Liberty

Pres. Obama Signs Indefinite Detention Bill Into Law

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The indefinite detention bill passed the Congress with support from both parties, but that only means it was a bad idea with bipartisan backing:

President Obama’s action today is a blight on his legacy because he will forever be known as the president who signed indefinite detention without charge or trial into law,” said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU executive director.

“The statute is particularly dangerous because it has no temporal or geographic limitations, and can be used by this and future presidents to militarily detain people captured far from any battlefield. The ACLU will fight worldwide detention authority wherever we can, be it in court, in Congress, or internationally.

Signing the bill with serious reservations is still allowing it to become law, and that indefinite detention is now part of American law is worse than a confession of serious reservations.

Via ACLU.

Foreign Affairs, Freedom of Speech, Laws/Regulations, Liberty

China’s President Pushes Back Against Western Culture

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BEIJING — President of Hu Jintao of China has said that China must strengthen its cultural production to defend against the West’s assault on the country’s culture and ideology, according to an essay in a Communist Party policy magazine published this week. The publication of Mr. Hu’s words signaled that a new major policy initiative announced last October would continue well into 2012.

The essay, which was signed by Mr. Hu and based on a speech he gave in October, drew a sharp line between the cultures of the West and China and effectively said the two sides were engaged in an escalating culture war. It was published in Seeking Truth, a magazine that evolved from a publication founded by Mao as a platform for establishing Communist Party principles.

A defensive effort of this kind stems from weakness. It may score successes now and again, but irrestible state control of culture is possible only in places like North Korea.

Those who insist loudly and nervously that they ‘just have to get their message out’ are already losing the battle of ideas.

Via New York Times.

Libertarians, Presidential race 2012

The Libertarian Party’s New Executive Director

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The national LP picked Carla Howell, of the Center for Small Government, to be its next executive director. (For more about the Center, see Center for Small Government: “Small Government is Beautiful”.)

Her longstanding commitment to small government (advocated from her home state of Massachusetts) will leave her in good shape as the party’s ED.

The LP’s leadership will push, so much as they can, to assure that former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson becomes the 2012 LP presidential nominee in May. Howell and others are right to push the party to pick an experienced politician; the party’s message needs a messenger who’s campaigned before.

There will be other nominees, and perhaps a few rounds of balloting between Johnson and other candidates known only to Libertarian activists. I’d expect Johnson to win the nomination, but after that I think he’ll have a hard time attracting attention. (The right-leaning Bob Barr had trouble in ‘08, and the left-libertarian Johnson probably won’t fare better.)

Americans may not be well-satisfied with a choice between Pres. Obama and the GOP nominee (most likely Romney), but enough will stick with one of the two, thereby keeping third-party voting down to a small percentage of the presidential vote.

Still, Johnson’s nomination would be good for the LP, and one hopes Howell’s selection as executive director is auspicious, too.

For Howell’s optimism, see 2012 – Possibility and Hope for Libertarians.

Animals, Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 1.3.12

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Good morning.

A mostly sunny day with a high of twenty-four for the Whippet City, but in Los Angeles, it will be a sunny day with a high temperature of eighty-two.

If you’re a botanist, 2012 starts as a memorable year: you don’t have to record new species with Latin descriptions, and you can record those species online.  Welcome to the 21st century.

If there are many plants to be discovered, then there are also new animals to be discovered.  2011 was a year of significant animal discoveries.  See, Still a Wild World: Top New Animals of 2011. Among those discoveries: dolphins, sawsharks, psychedelic geckos, tube-nosed bats, snub-nosed monkeys, african wolves, and the eel-like protoanguilla palau.

Below is a video of protoanguilla palau, the mysterious ‘eel-a-saurus.’

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City, Politics

Predictions for 2012

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Here’s my amateur version of the late William Safire’s long-standing tradition of offering annual predictions. The list for 2012:

1. In 2012, UW-Whitewater will win the following number of national sports championships:
A. None
B. One
C. Two
D. More than two

2. The Whitewater citywide vote for president will be
A. A clear win for the GOP nominee
B. A close win for the GOP nominee
C. A clear win for Pres. Obama
D. A close win for Pres. Obama

3. In the Wisconsin presidential vote, the results will show
A. A clear win for the GOP nominee
B. A close win for the GOP nominee
C. A clear win for Pres. Obama
D. A close win for Pres. Obama

4. The national vote for president will be
A. A clear win for the GOP nominee
B. A close win for the GOP nominee
C. A clear win for Pres. Obama
D. A close win for Pres. Obama

5. In Wisconsin’s 43rd Assembly district, the winner will be
A. Incumbent Evan Wynn easily
B. Incumbent Evan Wynn in a close race
C. The Democrat easily
D. The Democrat in a close race

6. In a recall election,
A. Gov. Walker will be recalled by a large margin
B. Gov. Walker will be recalled by a small margin
C. Gov. Walker will not be recalled
D. There will be no gubernatorial recall

7. Whitewater’s North Street Bridge will be
A. finished in the first half of 2012
B. finished in the second half of 2012
C. never be finished
D. never be finished but become Whitewater’s leading tourist attraction (‘The Amazing and Exceptional Virtual Bridge’), complete with a large construction crane in the middle of the street

8. In the Wisconsin State Senate recalls,
A. the Democrats will retake the Senate
B. the GOP will retain the Senate
C. the Democrats will retake the Senate but lose the majority again in November
D. there will be no Senate recalls

9. After spring elections, Whitewater’s Common Council will be
A. more conservative
B. more liberal
C. about the same
D. there’s no left or right in Whitewater’s local politics

10. In the US Senate race from Wisconsin, the winner will be
A. Tammy Baldwin
B. Tommy Thompson
C. Mark Neumann
D. Jeff Fitzgerald

Adams’s guesses for 2012:

Here’s my local, amateur version of the late William Safire’s long-standing tradition of offering annual predictions. The list for 2012:

1. In 2012, the UW-Whitewater will win the following number of national sports championships:
C. Two. Same number of wins as in 2011.

2. The Whitewater citywide vote for president will be
C. A clear win for Pres. Obama. As in past years, the Democratic presidential nominee will sweep the city.

3. In the Wisconsin presidential vote, the results will show
B. A close win for the GOP nominee. Assuming the nominee is Romney, he takes Wisconsin in a very close vote.

4. The national vote for president will be
B. A close win for the GOP nominee. Assuming the nominee is Romney, he also takes America in a very close vote. Third party candidates, including the LP nominee, have a negligible impact on the race.

5. In Wisconsin’s 43rd Assembly district, the winner will be
D. The Democrat in a close race. Not a large margin, but a margin outside of a recount. Something less than former Rep. Hixson’s best results, but clear nonetheless in a reshaped district.

6. In a recall election,
B. Gov. Walker will be recalled by a small margin. A recall by a margin so small that there is a recount, and controversy will drag on for months. Walker’s inability to attract independents will doom his retention, but other GOP candidates will receive enough support from independent voters to win. In the end, Walker himself will have been too much for too many.

7. Whitewater’s North Street Bridge will be
A. finished in the first half of 2012, but there’s an outside chance that it will D. never be finished but become Whitewater’s leading tourist attraction (‘The Amazing and Exceptional Virtual Bridge’), complete with a large construction crane in the middle of the street.

8. In the Wisconsin State Senate recalls,
C. the Democrats will retake the Senate but lose the majority again in November. Redistricting matters.

9. After spring elections, Whitewater’s Common Council will be
C. about the same, and in any event, D. There’s really no left or right in Whitewater’s local politics

10. In the US Senate race from Wisconsin, the winner will be
B. Tommy Thompson. Thompson defeats Neumann and Fitzgerald, and then wins against Baldwin.

City

Review: Predictions for Whitewater, Wisconsin for 2011

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Let’s see how I did on predictions for 2011. The list for last year appears below, with my guesses from last year in blue, and the correct answer in red.

1. In 2011, the University will win the following number of national sports championships:
A. None
B. One
C. Two
D. More than two

Adams’s guess: C. Two.

Correct answer: C. Two, in football and wheelchair basketball.

2. Under a new focus on blighted properties, the City of Whitewater will
A. Help rehabilitate a few properties and condemn a few others
B. Make lasting headway against blight
C. Make only temporary headway against blight
D. Accidentally condemn Whitewater’s Municipal Building on aesthetic grounds

Adams’s guess: A. Help rehabilitate a few properties and condemn a few others and C. Make only temporary headway against blight. Although, there’s an outside chance that, following a party, some official will D. Accidentally condemn Whitewater’s Municipal Building on aesthetic grounds.

Correct answer: C. Make only temporary headway against blight. Only growth will meaningfully and lastingly eliminate blight.

3. Of the following print publications, how many will fold in 2011? (Daily Union, Janesville Gazette, Good Morning Advertiser, Whitewater Register)
A. None
B. One
C. Two
D. More than two

Adams’s guess: B. One.

Correct answer: None.

4. This year, how many incumbent Common Council members will be defeated in their bids for office?
A. None
B. One
C. Two
D. Three

Adams’s guess: B. One.

Correct answer: None. It was a local incumbent’s year, as it is almost every year.

5. New 2010 Census figures will show that poverty from 2000 to 2010
A. Dropped
B. Increased slightly
C. Increased significantly — up 1/10th or more as an increase over the decade
D. Was unchanged

Adams’s guess: C. Increased significantly — up 1/10th or more as an increase over the decade.

Correct answer: C. Although all the U.S. figures aren’t out for Whitewater, they are sure to corroborate other findings that show marked increases in Whitewater’s poverty.

6. In 2011, the Whitewater Innovation Center will serve as
A. a catalyst for meaningful job growth
B. a source of meaningful technological innovation
C. a waste of money, time, and greenspace
D. Wisconsin’s largest LEED-certified pigeon coop

Adams’s guess: C. a waste of money, time, and greenspace although, there’s an outside chance that it will become D. Wisconsin’s largest LEED-certified pigeon coop.

Correct answer: C. The project is a failure by its own standards. A defense of it is absurd and evidence of political dysfunction.

7. 2010 Census figures will show that compared with Jefferson, Fort Atkinson, Delavan, and Palymra, Whitewater’s economy is
A. Stronger
B. About the same
C. Weaker
D. Much weaker

Adams’s guess: C. Weaker.

Correct answer: It’s likely to be C, although all the data are not yet available. Available data on child poverty suggest we’ll fall behind Jefferson, Fort Atkinson, and Palmyra.

8. To assure the loyalty of all residents to the vision and goals of the City of Whitewater, City Manager Brunner will propose that each resident
A. Complete a Myers Briggs evaluation
B. Carry a small red book with Brunner’s most popular sayings
C. Stand in his or her doorway at dawn, and sing the city’s Ballard of Acquiescence and Assimilation Stanzas One through Three, and Five
D. Find and publish no fewer than two dozen, mostly inapt quotations to be used as proof of an enlightened sensibility

Adams’s guess: B. Carry a small red book with Brunner’s most popular sayings.

Correct answer: None of the above, although ’12’s another chance. Really, though, serial over-promising and under-delivery have taken a toll, and there’s less margin than ever for grand but empty gestures or cheerleading about the same.

9. Large swaths of Whitewater’s Business park will
A. Remain vacant
B. Remain seeded with corn (as they are now)!
C. Be filled with new businesses
D. Become a landfill and state-certified seagull preserve

Adams’s guess: A. Remain vacant and B. Remain seeded with corn (as they are now)!

Correct answer: A. Remain vacant and B. Remain seeded with corn (as they are now)!

10. The Whitewater Unified School District’s proposal to the state for a charter school will be
A. Approved
B. Denied
C. Tabled
D. Unfunded due to changes in state and federal funding

Adams’s guess: A. Approved.

Correct answer: A. Approved. This was one of the best developments of ’11, and a genuine innovation.

That’s a score of about seven of ten, and a score easily achieved when one writes one’s own questions. Some data are yet pending, but that’s a fair assessment, I think.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 1.2.12

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Good morning.

Welcome to the new year.

If you’re in Whitewater, your second day of the year will be mostly sunny with a high temperature of twenty degrees. In Knoxville, ahead awaits a mostly sunny day with a high temperature of thirty-nine.

I’ve had doubts about part parts of the Occupy movement’s agenda (that’s an understatement), but a protest is a good thing for a community, and these recent protests have been good for America. Embedded below is a clip from a trailer for a collaborative film about the Occupy movement.

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