FREE WHITEWATER

Monthly Archives: March 2012

City

Wanting, and Getting, Newcomers

by  • 

I’ve written before about making Whitewater hip and prosperous. Those sketch-posts were part of an ongoing series about the city.

Today, not a suggestion but an observation: the kind of energetic newcomers that Whitewater needs will be unsettling to many of those longtime residents now looking for newcomers. (Some residents would not like anyone new, of course; I’m writing about those who see the importance of new arrivals to the city’s economy.)

New people, especially successful and energetic ones, will not simply fit into Whitewater; they’ll transform it. Arrival is not a pledge to do what has always been done, although there’s more than one stodgy town father who thinks so. The city is not a hidebound club, with cultural membership rules that must be obeyed, although there’s more than one stodgy town father who thinks so.

Ambitious people who come here will come here to make their marks, not to copy others’ marks as mere scribes.

This is why the stodgiest of residents prefer no new residents, and why some others like idea of newcomers more than they would like the genuine articles. It’s the difference, for them, between wanting and getting new residents.

For those who want the present to continue unaltered into the future, there’s a daunting task: work each day and every day, morning and night, to make certain that ‘everything has a place, and that there’s only one place for everything.’

They’ve sure to contend for their vision of Whitewater, however long ago. For the change-opposed, there’s probably an appeal in Whitewater as a real life version of Pleasantville, while still in black-and-white.

Only two things matter about a vision of Whitewater-as-Pleasantville: the transition to color can’t be stopped, and happily not, as Joan Allen was far lovelier in color

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 3.9.12

by  • 

Good morning.

Whitewater will have a sunny day, with a high of thirty-six today.

I found a video that you may have seen, too, from Brazil. In it one finds an example of human compassion. The recording shows a group of dolphins being beached at Arraial do Cabo on March 5th. The beachgoers are at first startled, but they quickly hit upon a method for rescuing the dolphins. One sees that their rescue requires no committees, task forces, or commissions – one person, and then another, then still more act through the same method to return the dolphins to the ocean.

In a short time, all the dolphins are back in deeper water, free to swim normally.

I’m sure this isn’t the most elegant, refined, or proper plan – it’s simply effective.

So very well done and admirable.

Fashion, Libertarians, Presidential race 2012

A Libertarian’s Anti-Style as High Style

by  • 

At the Daily Beast, Isabel Wilkinson writes of Ron Paul’s clothes that

In lopsided jackets many sizes too big, trousers so baggy they could pass as harem pants, and black orthopedic “referee” sneakers, Paul has distinguished himself during election season as the least sartorial of the bunch. He greeted Iowans last summer in a lime-green golf shirt with thick black stripes, tucked in a short-sleeved madras shirt for a television interview, and donned tan hiking boots with suit pants onstage for the Ames Straw Poll.

I’ve been critical of Paul for not being libertarian enough (his ‘newsletter problem’) and critical of other candidates for their unfashionable attire, but I’ll defend Paul here – his anti-style is so pronounced it’s a style all its own.

It is, after all, the English philosopher and musician Adam Ant who correctly observed that

We don’t follow fashion
That would be a joke
You know we’re gonna set them, set them
So ev’ryone can take note, take note.

I like Paul’s confidence, so deep that he wears what he wants, when he wants. (Paul reminds me of Nat Hentoff this way.)

In Paul’s case, his anti-style is high style.

That’s true fashion.

Posted originally on 3.8.12 at Daily Adams.

Libertarians

Invaluable Independence

by  • 

Liberal Ezra Klein understands what’s at risk in the battle over Cato.

Writing at Bloomberg, Klein (a self-described technocrat) nicely summarizes what’s at stake in the Kochs’ battle to control the Cato Institute:

The Koch brothers’ fortune is estimated at more than $60 billion, a couple thousand times Cato’s annual operating budget. The brothers have started a large number of advocacy organizations, many of which spend their time — and the Kochs’ money — trying to influence the next election. They could start another such group, one dedicated to providing campaign-season ammunition, without noticing the expense.

The puzzle is that the Kochs ever started this campaign in the first place. It’s easy enough to see what they hoped to achieve: They would quietly take control of Cato and then leverage its credibility to help elect a Republican. Unfortunately for them, the cries from inside Cato made the “quietly” part impossible. But it would have been impossible in any case: Cato’s credibility is derived from its independence; it wouldn’t last long separated from it.

What the Kochs have in Cato is an advocacy organization that matters in the years between elections, even when the Koch brothers’ preferred candidate doesn’t win, even to people who don’t share the brothers’ ideology. Cato is an organization that can have more than a marginal impact on elections. It can have a significant impact on policy and governance. That’s a level of influence even the Kochs can’t buy….

It’s Cato’s serious, independent, libertarian research that’s made her great. The Kochs don’t see this, or don’t think it matters; they’re wrong where the liberal technocrat Klein is right.

(Matt Wech, writing at Reason, has a solid summary of commentary on the Koch takeover battle. But for a magazine that’s taken so many strong stands, his summary is only a summary – he takes no stand for or against the Kochs.

Charles & David Koch, I’d guess, have reversed Dr. Moreau’s project to turn animals into men: Koch money turns men into mice.)

Posted originally on 3.8.12 at Daily Adams.

City

The Good Work of the City

by  • 

The good work of the city is mostly unseen, and so unrecognized. One finds it in the private, charitable and civic commitments of so many. These civic-minded people do what they do because they believe it’s right, and they do so without expectation that they’ll find their efforts mentioned in newspapers, websites, blogs, or on Facebook.

I went out yesterday, to meet someone like this, and to thank her for her long hours of work on behalf of others.

She was as one would expect her to be – patiently serving the community. We had not met before, although I have known of her work for years. In this (as among other things, surely), I have been remiss.

She was engaging and charming. There was a temptation to talk a bit more, but it would have been an indulgence. She was truly working; I was casually visiting. The fewer her distractions, the better.

I’m out and about often – here and visiting other places across Wisconsin — but it’s rare that I introduce myself, as I did yesterday. The best part of a visit is meeting someone, having a conversation, and hearing what someone has to say. In visits, watching and listening mean more than saying and announcing.

Sometimes, though, simply saying thanks is the order of the day, as it was yesterday.

The pleasure was mine.

New Media

Daily Adams

by  • 

Readers have asked why I now have a third blog (www.dailyadams.com).

It’s straightforward, really.

I mean Daily Adams to cover state or national topics from a libertarian perspective, Daily Wisconsin to publish squibs with news of the Badger State, and FREE WHITEWATER to post original local content (and re-post state & national topics from Daily Adams).

Daily Adams is a libertarian project, born of a need to advocate diligently and zealously for traditional and genuine libertarianism, often against counterfeit versions of libertarian thinking. (See, along this line, The Existential Threats to Libertarianism.)

Those from old libertarian families, as I am, knew that a break with Charles and David Koch was inevitable. I thought of this third site months ago, after libertarians in Washington shared with me news of the Kochs’ pressure-filled demands for a partisan slant to Cato.

(I’m also interested in writing about Wisconsin politics at Daily Adams, as our state’s politics are especially interesting these days. There’s your euphemism, and understatement, of the day. My first posts at DA discussed state politics, until the Koch story broke. State issues will be a recurring topic.)

Daily Wisconsin will stay as it is now, with news squibs about Wisconsin. It’s great fun pouring over stories from across Wisconsin each day.

FREE WHITEWATER will offer original, local content on politics (I think the city still lacks a political culture worthy of her people), and slices of life from places within the city (reviews, photos, charitable events).

Whitewater’s truth is that Old Whitewater cannot shepherd – and does not wish to shepherd – the inevitable New Whitewater that awaits about a decade ahead. I’m convinced that a New Whitewater – a hip and prosperous place – isn’t that far away. (There’s nothing decisive that a few stodgy town fathers can do to stop it, however much they’re sure to try.)

It’s possible to present a more interesting and cosmopolitan image of the city than anyone’s doing now (that’s another understatement).

If they won’t or can’t do it, I will. I‘d guess the mix will be one-third local commentary, two-thirds reviews, events, photos, sundry topics, with re-posts from Daily Adams on top.

(Of course — without the slightest doubt — I could never publish any site that doesn’t have occasional catblogging, or cartoons and animated films.)

I’ve no more definite plan than this. It’s enough to pack sensibly for a trip, with only a general destination in mind. All the rest is serendipity.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 3.8.12

by  • 

Good morning.

Whitewater’s Thursday will be about twenty degrees cooler than yesterday: a breezy day with a high of forty-four.

On this date in 1943, a famous Wisconsin doctor passed away:

1943 – Joseph Dean Dies
On this date Joseph Dean died. One of the great physicians of the Madison area, Dean founded the medical clinic which bears his name today. He began his Madison practice in 1904, was chief of staff at St. Mary’s Hospital, and served on the state board of health from 1925 to 1939. He often traveled by bicycle to his patients’ homes to administer treatment. Dean is buried in Resurrection Cemetery in Madison. [Source: Bishops to bootleggers : a biographical guide to Resurrection Cemetery, p.225]

Via Wisconsin Historical Society.

Google’s puzzle for today asks about Ohio of the 1930s: “In 1931, Toledo, Ohio gave a status to a European town that created a relationship never before seen in North America. What kind of relationship?”

Libertarians, Liberty

The Existential Threats to Libertarianism

by  • 

There are only two dire threats to libertarianism The first is the threat of tyranny to all forms of independent thought (libertarian or otherwise). This is easy to see: Stalinism wasn’t a problem for libertarians; it was a threat to humanity.

In America, a free and orderly republic, the state is a problem, but certainly not an existential threat, to libertarianism. It’s in dictatorships that the state represents and immediate an existential threat to libertarianism and other expressions of conscience (as those regimes by definition oppose freedom and destroy liberty where they find it).

There is, however, a second kind of dire threat to liberty that one does find even in America: the false and dishonest use of libertarian terms for illiberal ends. Those who, for example, use the terms free market, liberty, and peace while committing themselves to the opposite are the greatest present threat to the liberty movement.

False, unchallenged descriptions of libertarianism – often intentionally and self-servingly delivered – threaten the health and life of the liberty movement.

Libertarians can well hold their own against Left and Right. We are skilled in defending ourselves rigorously, diligently, and zealously against the rival views of our liberal and conservative friends.

False libertarians are, by contrast, a grave threat. Some were once truly libertarian, but now use libertarian rhetoric for reactionary or left-wing ends. Others were never libertarian, but garb themselves in liberty and markets as sheep’s clothing.

Honest and sincere people of the Left and Right cannot see us truly if others use the rhetoric of liberty for illiberal ends.

Our long and reasonable way of life, espoused long before anyone first spoke the very word libertarian, deserves a full defense against the cold, cynical distortion of our beliefs for illiberal ends.

One wishes this defense were unnecessary. Sadly, it has never been more necessary.

One might hope to do a thousand other, simpler things. It does not matter – it is this thing, this full defense of our philosophy – to which present circumstance compels us.

Posted originally on 3.7.12 at Daily Adams.

Libertarians

The Kochs’ Flimsy, Self-Serving Defense of the ‘Rule of Law’

by  • 

You may have seen that the Charles Koch Institute sent an email defending the Kochs’ attempt to size control of the Cato Institute. As one would expect, the Kochs’ describe their lawsuit in self-righteously and sanctimoniously, as a defense of the very rule of law:

….Charles and David are absolutely committed to libertarian principles and the libertarian issues Cato works on. They merely want the integrity of the shares, the original structure that all parties agreed to, upheld and for Cato’s officers and directors to act in a manner consistent with the principles the organization was founded on. As you know, a key principle of libertarianism is recognizing and respecting the rule of law….

For the full text of the email, see Dave Weigel’s Hot, Fresh Koch Damage Control.

The rule of law….as though every shareholder dispute implicates a conflict between law and the alternatives of utter disorder or abject tyranny. That’s simply absurd, but proof of how vainglorious the Kochs have become.

If the Kochs, themselves, are in court, after all, they may be reassured that the rule of law is not in jeopardy. This is a question of a contractual interpretation under the law, and a larger question about what’s right for libertarianism.

Claiming that the primacy of law itself is endangered begs these questions: are the Kochs so grandiose that they believe their own rhetoric, or do they think everyone else is so stupid as to to believe it?

Those who seek to subordinate the Cato Institute to the political interests of Americans for Prosperity, for example, may call themselves libertarians, but it’s a hollow, incredible claim.

Posted originally on 3.7.12 at Daily Adams.

Libertarians

What do the Kochs want with Cato?

by  • 

Bob Levy, current chairman of Cato, describes a conversation with David Koch:

In early November, David Koch met with Bob Levy, chairman of Cato’s board of directors, at Dulles International Airport. They were joined by Richard Fink, Koch’s chief adviser, and Kevin Gentry, a vice president of Charles Koch’s charitable foundation who’d been put on Cato’s board of directors. (Former Americans for Prosperity President Nancy Pfotenhauer had joined the board after the same meeting.)

“They said that a principle goal was to defeat Barack Obama,” remembered Levy. “The way David [Koch] put it was, ‘We would like you to provide intellectual ammunition that we can then use at Americans for Prosperity and our allied organizations.’ AFP and others would apply Cato’s work to advance their electoral goals.”

Levy asked them: “What gives you the impression that [Cato isn’t] providing intellectual ammunition?” He says now: “I never got a satisfactory answer. The only answer that makes sense was that Cato needed to be more responsive to their needs. We would take closer marching orders. That’s totally contrary to what we perceive the function of Cato be.”

Americans for Prosperity, by the way, has an upcoming rally that Rep. Michele Bachmann and Sen. Pat Toomey will headline.

You may have supposed that Bachmann and Toomey were something other than libertarian, and if you thought that, you were right.

They are something different — they’re called Republicans.

The Kochs might have built a new Republican-friendly institute, but instead chose to take an existing libertarian one and twist it into a servile, GOP-friendly paper-mill.

Cheaper, to be sure, but antithetical to an honest and independent libertarianism.

Posted originally on 3.7.12 at Daily Adams.

Beautiful Whitewater, Books, Press Release

The Living Mississippi: From Twain to Today at the Roberta Avonn Art Gallery 3/9/12 to 4/4/12

by  • 

Opening reception on March 12, 2012 from 3:30-5:00 p.m.

Historic photographs of the Mississippi River by Henry P. Bosse are juxtaposed with modern photos of river restoration projects completed by the non-profit group, Living Lands & Waters. Quotes from Mark Twain’s prose link the river’s past with the present.

The exhibit is a partnership with UW-Whitewater’s Earth Day Committee and our community’s 4th Big Read. The 2011 Big Read Mural will also be on display. The exhibit was compiled by UW-Whitewater student Karly Modesti, in partnership with our Community’s 4th Big Read.

The community is invited to attend a special opening reception on March 12, 2012 from 3:30-5:00 p.m. at the Roberta Avonn Fiskum Gallery, James R. Connor University Center on the campus of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Artist and Big Read muralist Joel Schoon Tanis will speak in UC Summers Auditorium, at 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Henry P. Bosse was a draughtsman and cartographer with the Army Corps of Engineers at Rock Island, Illinois. Between 1882 and 1892 he photographed the upper Mississippi River and documented the untamed and wild river that Mark Twain encountered as a young river pilot. The exhibit includes a selection of his reprinted artwork, reproduced with permission from the Rock Island and St. Paul district’s collections of Henry P. Bosse’s works. Bosse’s works were mainly forgotten.

For 100 years, the artist remained unknown. Then, in the spring of 1990, a Washington, D.C., antique dealer discovered an album of Bosse’s images in the study house that belonged to Major General Alexander Mackenzie. General Mackenzie had been the Corps’ Chief of Engineers, or top ranking officer, from 1904 to 1908. Within a year, this album would be worth over a million dollars and Bosse praised as one of the late nineteenth century’s finest photographers.

Living Lands & Waters, is an active non-profit group dedicated to cleaning up and preserving our nation’s rivers. Photos from their community river clean ups provide a potent comparison to Bosse’s early images of the mighty Mississippi.

Living Lands & Waters has 10 full-time employees and a fleet of four barges, a towboat, six workboats, two skid steers, five work trucks, and a large box truck.

With this equipment, the crew is able to travel and work in an average of nine states a year along the Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, and Potomac Rivers, as well as many of their tributaries. Since the project’s inception, Chad Pregracke, his crew, and over 60,000 volunteers have collected over six million pounds of debris from our nation’s greatest rivers. Most recently, Chad expanded the mission of the organization to include Big River Educational Outreach, The Million Trees Project, and the Adopt-a-River Mile programs.

Noted children’s book illustrator Joel Tanis will discuss the 2011 Big Read Mural and his own artistic methods. In 2011, Joel worked with students from four area schools to create a culminating artistic response to Edgar Allan Poe’s writing. The students created four large 4’x6’ panels that depict scenes from the works of Poe. Joel will once again be working with four area schools for the 2012 Big Read. Students will delve into specific works by Twain to create visual art that captures the mood and emotions of the author’s work.

2012 participating schools include: St. Joseph’s School in Fort Atkinson; Eastview Elementary in Lake Geneva; Jefferson Elementary in Janesville; and East Troy High School in East Troy. The 2012 mural will be unveiled at the Big Read Kick Off at the historic Horticultural Hall in Lake Geneva, Thursday, March 29th at 6:00 pm.

For the fourth year in a row, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded a local partnership to bring the national Big Read initiative to Rock, Walworth, and Jefferson County. Mark Twain in the Rock River Basin will be the focus of this year’s Big Read in southeastern Wisconsin. Led by the Irvin L. Young Library in Whitewater, the Arrowhead Library System in Rock County, and UW-Whitewater’s Young Auditorium, the Big Read will provide a host of activities and in-school outreach.

This National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Grant gives young adults the opportunity to learn more about reading, writing, different cultures, and encourages them to explore their interest in these areas. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Local sponsorship supported is provided by Fort HealthCare, American Family Insurance, The Janesville Gazette and the The Daily Jefferson County Union.

The Young Auditorium is a 1,300 seat performing arts center located in Whitewater that serves southeastern Wisconsin. Each season the auditorium presents the best in touring professional productions from Broadway, Rock & Roll, Shakespeare, Family Friendly Favorites and Ballet. Over 500,000 K-12 students have experienced educational performances through the Horizons Matinee Series. The facility boasts two all-purpose rooms for up to 120 guests for special receptions, dinners, or business meetings. A non-profit organization, the Young Auditorium has special benefits for Members; and discounts for groups. Special email offers and giveaways area available via free email updates from ArtsENews.

http://www.uww.edu/youngauditorium

Information: 262-472-4444 Tickets: 262-472-2222

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts—both new and established—bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute’s mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. For more information, please visit www.imls.gov.

Arts Midwest connects people throughout the Midwest and the world to meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge, and understanding across boundaries. Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest’s history spans more than 25 years.

For more information, please visit http://www.artsmidwest.org/.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 3.7.12

by  • 

Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater looks to be warmer than yesterday, with a high temperature of sixty-four, and a good chance of rain.

This afternoon, Whitewater’s Landmarks Commission meets at 5 PM.

The Wisconsin Historical Society marks a notable birthday today:

1811 – Increase Allen Lapham Born
A pioneer naturalist and noted author, Increase Allen Lapham was instrumental in establishing the Milwaukee public high school program. He was one of the founders of Milwaukee Female Seminary in 1848 and served as president of the State Historical Society from 1862 to 1871. Lapham came to Milwaukee in 1836 to serve as chief engineer and secretary for the Rock River Canal Company. He was one of the first authors and map makers in Wisconsin. Among approximately 80 titles in his bibliography, most notable was his Antiquities of Wisconsin, the first book length investigation of Wisconsin’s Indian mounds. Lapham also served as chief geologist for Wisconsin from 1873 to 1875. He founded many educational, civic, and scientific organizations in Wisconsin. You can see many of his writings, letters, maps, and drawings, at Turning Points in Wisconsin History by typing “Lapham” into the search box. [Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin Biography, SHSW 1960, pg. 221]

Google’s daily puzzle tests how much people know (or can find out) about a meteorite: “75% of all Martian meteorites are named after a meteor that fell in a town in India. How heavy (in pounds) was that meteorite?”

It’s against the law in Whitewater, but in a less restrictive (and indeed, in a trendier) place, upper-middle class residents might have a few urban chickens or a tiny goat.  Here’s how to raise a backyard goat: