Author Archive for JOHN ADAMS
Daily Bread
Daily Bread for 5.14.12
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
It’s a warm and sunny Monday ahead for Whitewater, with a high of seventy-nine. Whitewater’s May 14th will be a day of 14 hours, 38 minutes of sunlight, 15 hours, 44 minutes of daylight, and a waning crescent moon.
Whitewater’s Planning Commission meets at 6 PM tonight.
On this day in 1804, Lewis & Clark set out westward.
The Wisconsin Historical Society marks today as the beginning of a ten-week strike in the Milwaukee beer industry:
1953 – Milwaukee Brewery Workers Go On Strike
Milwaukee brewery workers begin a 10-week strike, demanding contracts comparable to those of East and West coast workers. The strike was won when Blatz Brewery accepted their demands, but Blatz was ousted from the Brewers Association for “unethical” business methods as a result. The following year Schlitz president Erwin C. Uihlein told guests at Schlitz’ annual Christmas party that “Irreparable harm was done to the Milwaukee brewery industry during the 76-day strike of 1953, and unemployed brewery workers must endure ‘continued suffering’ before the prestige of Milwaukee beer is re-established on the world market.”
Google’s daily puzzle asks about a famous figure in law enforcement: “What office did the man who created the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list hold when he implemented the program?” more >>
Recent Tweets, 4.29 to 5.12
by JOHN ADAMS •
11 May
@dailywisconsin Baldwin 38%? Dubious @js_newswatch: Rasmussen Senate poll: Thompson over Baldwin, 50%-38% bit.ly/JsjvXr
11 May
@DailyAdams Japanese invent ice bra for women without air conditioning bit.ly/IQRLQA
9 May
@DailyAdams Nebraska man changes name to Tyrannosaurus Rex bit.ly/KmfDtF
8 May
@dailywisconsin REMATCH: Barrett wins Democratic primary, will face Walker in recall – JSOnline bit.ly/LJeLli
8 May
@dailywisconsin As everyone on planet expected, Walker easily wins recall primary bit.ly/KL2TdC #wirecall
8 May
@dailywisconsin Headline that Says It All™: “Falk has Union Support, Looks for Voter Support, too” bit.ly/JWGXz9
8 May
@dailywisconsin Nice to live in Wisconsin: Nevada allows Google to test driverless cars on public streets bit.ly/KjdYVN
8 May
@dailywisconsin But how can Melissa Gilbert still be on this show? DWTS: Donald Driver remains tied for 3rd place gbpg.net/III9Ya
7 May
RT @libertarianism No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session. – Mark Twain
7 May
@DailyAdams Cinco de Mayo: An all-American holiday | The Volokh Conspiracy bit.ly/ISkmGb
6 May
@FREEWHITEWATER Help a WI filmmaker achieve his dream by crowd-funding Heavy Hands by Sean Williamson — kck.st/ID9Z6P #film #kickstarter
5 May
@FREEWHITEWATER Help a WI filmmaker achieve his dream by crowd-funding Heavy Hands by Sean Williamson — Kickstarter kck.st/ID9Z6P
5 May
@dailywisconsin Video: Wisconsin 2012 Dem Candidates Debate bit.ly/Jbdb9G
4 May
@FREEWHITEWATER Vienna’s first cat cafe opens. bit.ly/IJLuY6
2 May
@FREEWHITEWATER Whitewater: Go Native! bit.ly/IrfDu0
30 Apr
@DailyAdams Low: Man arrested for stealing dog’s pills bit.ly/IoOFDV
30 Apr
@DailyAdams That’s like being an AT&T customer 24×7 – Milwaukee Verizon Wireless customers experiencing outages bit.ly/IkCVBI
Public Meetings
Community Development Authority (Closed Session)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Public Meetings
Common Council
by JOHN ADAMS •
Public Meetings
Planning Commission
by JOHN ADAMS •
Cartoons & Comics, Holiday
Sunday Morning Cartoon: Mother’s Day Cartoon
by JOHN ADAMS •
Freedom of Speech, Law, New Media
Should ‘likes’ on Facebook be protected?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Indeed they should, as expressive content – Trevor Burrus discusses.
Posted originally on 5.10.12 at Daily Adams.
City, Local Government, Open Government
Top-Secret, Ultra Hush-Hush Quadruped Directive No. 17
by JOHN ADAMS •
Consider two ways to discuss an event.
Let’s suppose the City of Whitewater’s municipal administration decides to erect a statue near Cravath Lake in honor of Gary Dahl, the creator of the pet rock. Dahl had no connection to Whitewater of which I’m aware, but he was innovative: he re-positioned rocks as pets, complete with an instruction manual for their proper care.
As city staff are erecting the statue on a pedestal, a piece of the sculpture’s big toe breaks off, and strikes a squirrel scampering by. The unfortunate creature is killed instantly. A small girl of about seven sees the accident, screams in horror, and faints.
After she’s revived, the city’s departmental directors ponder what to do, as they’re concerned that others will be similarly shocked at the accident.
They might choose from these alternatives:
Option 1
Issue an urgent memorandum to the members of Common Council, with the subject line, “TOP-SECRET, ULTRA HUSH-HUSH QUADRUPED DIRECTIVE NO. 17.”
The memorandum would relate the events of the morning, but caution that the account therein was confidential, lest there be a citywide uproar. Of particular concern would be the possibility that the nearby Maoist Animal Action League of Walworth County might learn of what happened, drive to the city in their aged VW van, and spread utter chaos through their customarily raucous leaflet-distribution schemes.
The memo would be emphatic on the need for secrecy, and generously peppered with the German words ACHTUNG and VERBOTEN.
Option 2
Promptly issue a news release telling the city that there was an accident during the installation of the Dahl statue, as a small piece broke off, killing instantly a squirrel walking underfoot. A girl witnessing the events was startled, momentarily fainted, but recovered quickly and was unharmed.
They are both options, and neither’s perfect, but Option 2 gives concise and prompt information on a public act to the public from whom all political authority ultimately derives. No fuss, no uncertainties, no counter-productive effort to make a public event into a confidential conversation.
I’d suggest Option 2.
Cats
Friday Catblogging: In Memory of Meow the Tabby
by JOHN ADAMS •
Thirty-nine pound fat cat Meow died this week, aged only two. Needless to say, that’s astonishingly large for a cat. (The news clip below says he was 37 pounds – most accounts put his weight at 39, although he had been on a veterinary-designed diet.)
Poll
Friday Poll: “Do you think Whitewater teaches and embraces free thinking?”
by JOHN ADAMS •
A smart reader wrote and offered an idea for a poll topic — “Here’s my suggestion for a poll question for your blog: Do you think Whitewater teaches and embraces free thinking?” Well, here we are, with that very question.
Quick assumptions:
(1) This question was about our schools, principally, but you may think of it more broadly if you’d like.
(2) I don’t have an answer – I know how I think, but not what’s being taught all over, throughout the community. I do think that there will be much more independent thinking in the years ahead.
(3) I’d say that free-thinking — whether of the left or right — is a good thing for a community, but others are sure to disagree, believing instead that an enforced consensus is preferable.
(In any event, I will always contend that free-thinking is an individual right, trumping compulsory-thinking expectations.)
Here’s that poll: Have at it.
Daily Bread
Daily Bread for 5.11.12
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Today looks to be a fine day – mostly sunny with a high of seventy-six.
That makes this afternoon a perfect opportunity for Great Flowers and Gifts at the Floral Villa Cash Mob —
Janesville, in 1931, was still battling over Prohibition, as the Wisconsin Historical Society records:
1931 – Janesville Police Nab Prohibition Violator
On this date Clifford Conn of Crandon was apprehended by Janesville police officers with 90 gallons of moonshine in his car. This was the largest single seizure of illegal alcohol by local law enforcement to this date. For the offense, Crandon was fined $700 and sentenced to two months in jail. [Source: Janesville Gazette]
Lots of elements to Google’s daily puzzle today: “What economics book, written by a clergyman, helped an English naturalist formulate a model of speciation that was controversial with creationists?”
Farming, Food, Liberty
Supporting food freedom, and agriculture without government subsidies
by JOHN ADAMS •
Reason interviewed free-market farmer Joel Salatin in an article published on 5.5.12.
Two of Salatin’s observations stand out.
On deciding what to eat:
I think the government should allow this debate to flourish in the marketplace of ideas. The government entered this debate in the early 1970s by publishing the first food pyramid, a guide for what Americans should eat. The obesity and diabetes epidemic in this country are a direct result of that intrusion, sponsored and massaged along by the grain cartel and big ag, from chemical companies to equipment dealers. Grain requires more machinery, more energy, and more risk (hence justification for manipulation) than pasture based livestock, and especially forage-based herbivores.
On the worst food law in America today:
The prohibition on raw milk specifically and direct producer-eater food commerce generally. If I could do one thing and only one thing legislatively for the food system, it would be to create a Constitutional Amendment called the Food Choice Emancipation Proclamation which would guarantee every citizen the inalienable, fundamental right to consume any product of their choice and legalizing the direct unregulated commerce between consenting adults of said product.
Right now, farmers can give away raw milk and home made pickles; the prohibition is on sales. What is it about taking money for something that suddenly turns it from a wonderful charitable product into a hazardous substance?
On organic milk, I’d say America is heading, however fitfully, toward liberalization. On government’s role in cajoling or banning other food choices, I’d guess we’re heading in the opposite direction.
Via Reason.
Originally posted on 5.8.12 at Daily Adams.
Beautiful Whitewater, City, New Whitewater
Whitewater’s Evolution
by JOHN ADAMS •
Update, 5.10.12 @ 8:20 PM: See, along these lines, Whitewater’s city manager’s published acknowledgement in a newspaper interview (online at 1:03 PM today) of a possible position with Walworth County.
Original post of 5.10.12 @ 12:30 PM:
Change comes at varying speeds, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, still other times seemingly (but only seemingly) not at all.
We’ll hear much in the days ahead about changes in Whitewater’s municipal administration. There’s no surprise in this: In general, once people start looking for a new position, they keep going until they find something.
I’ve written recently about possible changes. See, Qui-Gon Jinn’s Sound Advice for Whitewater and Whitewater’s present, future.
I cannot say precisely when there will be a new Whitewater, but I am certain of New Whitewater’s Inevitability. We’ve made the occasional step backwards or sideways, but our direction is principally forward.
Still much work to go, but then the work of the community has always been the work of many thousands, each shaping a part of the city’s future.