FREE WHITEWATER

Author Archive for JOHN ADAMS

City, Libertarians, Public Records 1

Witch-Hunting a Blogger in Whitewater, Wisconsin: Part 3

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Part 3, “The Sergeant’s Intelligence Operation.”

(For earlier parts of this series, please click this link: Witch-Hunting a Blogger in Whitewater, Wisconsin.)

From the public records, in early August 2007, Police Detective Sergeant Tina Winger learns (from a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater police officer named Pieper) about FREE WHITEWATER, and alerts Chief Coan. Coan replies to Winger the same day. The exchange appears below in black font, followed by the actual PDF documents I obtained, and then my commentary in blue font.


The exchange:

From: Pieper, Samuel J [mailto:piepers@uww.edu] Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 9:50 AM
To: Tina L. Winger
Subject: freewhitewater.com

Tina,

Take a look at this site if you havn’t [sic] already.

freewhitewater.com

Sam

******

From: Tina L. Winger
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 9:46 AM
To: James Coan
Subject: FW: freewhitewater.com

Chief,

I don’t know if you have ever visited this web site, but I think it is someone we want to keep an eye on. Do you know who John Adams is? Seems like an anti-government radical to me. I’m going to dig a little more to try and get more intelligence on this goof.

Tina

******

From: James Coan
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 2:08 PM
To: Tina L. Winger
Subject: RE: freewhitewater.com

Tina,

Thanks for the heads-up, but I have been well aware of the website for sometime now. Although I have a few suspects, I do not know who “John Adams” is (yet). I agree with your assessment of the guy. He has been taking plenty of “shots” at me, our Department, and City Government in general (including DPW and the Fire Department).
It is certainly someone who actually writes pretty well, but who is obviously very arrogant, very liberal, and very condescending in what he writes. Please check with Ryan as I passed on to him some information that might be helpful in identifying who this might be. Thanks!

JC


The files: I have made the PDF files confirming this exchange available here — 2008-1 (2).


My comments:

1. Public employes, public time, public resources. Thursday, during the work day.

2. Sergeant Winger. Tina Winger is a police sergeant, since her promotion this spring, I believe, to detective sergeant. She is no new patrol officer — she’s a more seasoned veteran, and she, like Coan, commits public resources in our small town to tracking political speech.

3. Coan’s Pejoratives. Look at how Coan describes me, and you’ll see how he thinks. He says three things in succession: “very arrogant, very liberal, and very condescending .” They’re — all three — apparently pejoratives to him — arrogant, liberal, and condescending. I am a libertarian, and not a liberal, but you see the point, of course — liberal in Coan’s world is just another flaw, like arrogant or condescending.

If you voted for Gore, or Nader, Kerry, Clinton, or Obama (and many in our town did), you might want to ask Coan if being liberal or progressive is just another insult between the bookends of arrogant and condescending?

4. Actually Writing Pretty Well. Well, I’d say thanks, but you can see how begrudging Coan’s praise is. In fact, it suggests his surprise, to my mind. It must be hard for him to see that a critic of his leadership can write well. We can. We can tie our own shoes, and cut our own food, too!

5. An Intelligence Operation. Sergeant Winger writes Coan an ingratiating email that I am an “anti-government radical” on whom she will “get more intelligence.” I’m only radical if you think that men like Goldwater and Reagan were radical. If you think that they were, fine. They’re my heroes, and I am happy to identify with men like that.

Winger writes that she’ll get more “intelligence” on me. Where does she think that she works? We’re a small town, not a field of military operations. It’s the language of a Rambo movie. Does she talk about reconnaissance, or “recon,” too? Here’s my suggestion — less combat rhetoric, and more constitutional theory.

6. Condescending and Arrogant. Coan writes that I am condescending and arrogant. He’s entitled to his opinion. I would ask readers to consider, though, to whom I supposedly condescend, and to whom I am supposedly arrogant. In the case of Winger and Coan, if the shoe fits…

Next Up on Monday, March 3rd at 1 PM CST: Part 4, “The List of Suspects.”

City, Libertarians, Public Records 1

Witch-Hunting a Blogger in Whitewater, Wisconsin: Part 2

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Part 2, “The Police Chief Recruits a Computer Sleuth.”

(For earlier parts of this series, please click this link: Witch-Hunting a Blogger in Whitewater, Wisconsin.)

The police chief of Whitewater, Wisconsin is James R. Coan. He’s variously called Jim, James, or simply, Chief. I have been critical of certain practices of his, and he hasn’t taken that lawful and constitutionally-protected criticism so… well.

From the public records, in July 2007, Chief Coan and the City of Whitewater IT Administrator, Tim Nobling, have an email exchange about discovering my identity. The exchange appears below in black font, followed by the actual PDF documents I obtained, and then my commentary in blue font.


The exchange:

From: Tim Nobling
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 4:22 PM
To: James Coan
Subject: Free Whitewater

As far as making himself known, he is “private” as expected- His registration for his website is all private. But I did find thls-http://www.toplx.netiforumicitylwhitewater-wifTPQ1A5DST11C1BOTS
You may know some of those people you may not.

Going by the email he sent to Kevin over a month ago, He is a charter communications customer. He may actually live in Afton, WI. My guess is that he is a student/staff at UWW, as he has made an entry into Wikipedia
as well…

Tim Nobling MCP, MCSA, Security +
Information Technology Administrator
City Of Whitewater
312 W. Whitewater Street Whitewater, WI 53190
(262) 473-0580 x191

******

From: James Coan
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 4:46 PM
To: Tim Nobling
Subject: RE: Free Whitewater

Thanks Tim, it gives us something more to go on. You are earning your pay as a computer “sleuth”. Please let me know if you uncover anything else.

Jim

P.S. That “junior” police badge is in the mail!

******

From: Tim Nobling
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 4:46 PM
To: James Coan
Subject: RE: Free Whitewater

No problem, if you need anything else just let me know…

Tim Nobling MCP, MCSA, Security +
Information Technology Administrator
City Of Whitewater
312 W. Whitewater Street Whitewater, WI 53190
(262) 473-0580 x191


The files: I have made the PDF files confirming this exchange available here — 2008-1 (1).


My comments:

1. Public employes, public time, public resources. This exchange takes place on an ordinary work day, between public employees, using public resources, paid in a city that, however beautiful, has a poverty-rate higher than some of our neighboring towns. It would be a wrong use of resources in any event, but it’s also wrong because it’s wasteful of the salaries these two men receive.

2. Bold Promises Unfulfilled. Someone warned me, about three months ago, that the city IT worker (excuse me, ‘Administrator’) was helping the police chief learn my identity. I was stunned, but only at first. I was stunned because I had heard Nobling, more than once, address our Common Council about how important it was to comply with the law. (He also wrote me once, in an oddly unctuous email that should have made me suspicious. Nobling wrote me on August 17th, and by that time, he had already been reviewing email to see who I was.)

In fact, the City of Whitewater promises, in its website disclaimer, that “Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes than those identified in #3 above.”

This disclaimer describes website visits, but you see the problem — if they can ‘investigate’ someone based on lawful political speech, what else will Nobling, Coan, and others track?

I don’t know, of course, but that’s the problem. If you are injured, and want to file an anonymous complaint with the City of Whitewater, for example, how confident can you be of the (empty) promises of the City of Whitewater’s website disclaimer? That’s a real transgression, and a true broken promise.

3. Mostly Wrong! Nobling tells Coan that I may live in Afton, WI (not Whitewater) and that I may be a student or staff member of our local campus. Wrong, both times! As I had written by this time, I am a resident of Whitewater, and I have no connection to our local campus (except once, when I shopped in the campus bookstore, about three years ago!).

Nobling’s speculation makes me seem like a liar. I’m not, but then it was Nobling who spoke to our Common Council recently about the importance of the Public Records Law, and compliance, etc., while violating the spirit of our city’s website disclaimer…

I am a Charter Cable customer, though. Since Nobling seems to be so aware of that, perhaps he could do me a favor. My reception has been a bit spotty lately, and since Nobling seems to have time for tracking anonymous political speech, perhaps he could donate some of that time to ask Charter to make my picture sharper….

4. How to be Right. When the police chief asks you for information, tell him that you don’t think it’s appropriate. That’s hard, but that’s the choice a serious man will make, and sleep soundly for having done so.

5. Credentials. In his internal email, Nobling proudly includes his credentials — “MCP, MCSA, Security +” Impressive. In my experience, most in the IT field have credentials and a respect for lawful, anonymous speech as part of the American political tradition. Most.

When will these gentlemen learn:

It doesn’t matter whether a man is credentialed; it matters whether he is principled.

6. Why Such an Abrupt Beginning? The public records that I received begin in July, with a reply to Coan’s request for information. Are there more records, including memos, etc.? I don’t know, but this is an abrupt start.

7. What about Kevin? Our City Manager is Kevin Brunner. He is generally well-regarded. The record does not say if he had any role in helping with Coan’s request. I don’t know. He may not have known how his IT Administrator was spending his time; he does now.

8. The Junior Police Badge. Too funny. Too sad. It says everything you need to know about these men that they would have an exchange like that. By the way, why does Coan put “junior” in scare quotes? Does he think that Nobling might believe that there is a real junior badge somewhere? Embarrassing, all around.

Next Up on Monday, March 3rd at NOON CST: Part 3, “The Sergeant’s Intelligence Operation.”

City, Libertarians, Public Records 1

Witch-Hunting a Blogger in Whitewater, Wisconsin: Introduction

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Summary. This is 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 under the provisions of Wisconsin’s Public Records Law, Wis. Stats. 19.31 — 19.39. 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.

Who am I, by the way? That depends on whom you ask. These public officials describe me one way; I would describe myself in another. 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. Most of all, I have hoped for a better leadership for our police force for our city, and I know that one day we will have just that.

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. I have been fortunate to grow up libertarian, am religious, have celebrated the joy of a citizen’s life, offered photos of beautiful spots in my town, cheered public accomplishments, offered classic American animation, and even what’s great about HP calculators!

In the end, I’m just a common man, like so many others — citizen, resident, property-owner, husband, and parent. Bloggers are from all walks of life, across the political spectrum, and are, I think, just modern-day pamphleteers.

Plan. In each subsequent post, I will reveal results of my public records request, link to the actual PDF files I obtained, and then offer comments.

When. When does Witch-Hunting a Blogger in Whitewater, Wisconsin begin? Right now.

Next Up on Monday, March 3rd at 8:07 AM CST: Part 2, “The Police Chief Recruits a Computer Sleuth.”

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.