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.