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America, City, Culture, Ethics, Never Trump, Politics, School District, Trump

They’ve Become What They Once Despised

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The greatest tragedies are injuries inflicted on the innocent. There are, however, other sad moments of our time, among them the collapse of responsibile conservatism into Trumpian irresponsibility & dishonesty. So many conservatives have become what they once despised. A local example would be proud conservatives who now insist, nationally or locally, that government is…

2020 Presidential Election, America, Coronavirus, Culture, Documentary, Economy, Elections, Film, Trump, Voting Rights

Frontline: A Nation in Turmoil (Full Film)

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Filmed across the country this past year by a production team headed by Mike Shum and Blair Woodbury, “American Voices: A Nation in Turmoil” captures the diverse perspectives of a number of people — a pastor, a barber, a doctor, an activist and more — as they deal with COVID-19 in their communities, respond to…

Culture, Economy, Joe Biden, Trump

The Economic Gap Between Biden and Trump Counties

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While Biden has won an absolute majority of the popular vote, he’s also won that majority from counties significantly more productive than the counties Trump won. A stark difference between counties that went for Biden and those that went for Trump is the significantly higher share of gross domestic product in Biden-supporting counties. (The gap…

Babbittry, Boosterism, City, Culture

Boosterism’s Cousin, Toxic Positivity

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In political life, boosterism is the overzealous promotion of officials or programs while ignoring actual conditions (particularly conditions of the disadvantaged). It’s wrong and repulsive. (An acknowledgement worth making: I have never criticized boosterism because of a personal concern. My life is comfortable; objections to political boosterism are deep-seated in me as a matter of learning.) Civilizations…

City, Culture, Law, Local Government, Open Government, Politics, Wisconsin

In Whitewater, Three Recent Trespasses Against Public Comment

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Whitewater’s public comment periods are lawful rights worth defending, and there has never been a time when respecting public comment – humbly and gratefully – has been more important for the city. Since June, there have been three meetings during which Whitewater’s current council president has deprecated public comment, or wrongly set the order of…

Babbittry, Boosterism, City, Coronavirus, Culture, Laws/Regulations, Local Government, Politics, Public Health

Whitewater’s Local Government: Always Literally, Not as Often Seriously

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It was the Trump apologist Salena Zito who, by way of defending Trump, suggested that his words should be taken ‘seriously, not literally.’ (She offered this defense in a deceitful effort to absolve Trump from the plain meaning of what he said, at any moment. Instead of considering his statements, one was supposed to take…

America, Culture, Documentary, Film, History, Race

A Black Cowboy’s Story

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Cowboys are among the most iconic figures of the American West. They’re mythologized as strong, independent people who live and die by their own terms on the frontier. And in movies, the people who play them are mostly white. But as with many elements of Americana, the idea of who cowboys are is actually whitewashed…

Babbittry, Boosterism, City, Conflicts of Interest, Coronavirus, Culture, Ethics, Local Government, Politics

Social Capital and Hardship

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What role does social capital play in a community’s health? Adam Gopnik, in The Paradoxical Role of Social Capital in the Coronavirus Pandemic, ponders whether there’s a relationship between communities with high social capital and a community’s public health. Gopnik uses a traditional definition of social capital as the “parts of society that, without being…

Conspiracy Theories, Culture, Disinformation, Education, Social Media

Facebook Discussions as Displays of Ignorance, Fallacies, and Marginal Literacy

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In communities in the Whitewater area, assorted Facebook pages (particularly) are a significant means of messaging about politics, culture, etc.  Too often, these messages are evidence of ignorance, fallacies, and are poorly written (to the point of only marginal literacy). Over time, as these rural communities have suffered relative economic decline, they have also experienced a…

Culture, Freedom of Speech, Politics, Protests, Race

Widespread, Continuing National Support for Racial Justice Protests

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Steven Long and  Justin McCarthy of Gallup report Two in Three Americans Support Racial Justice Protests: WASHINGTON, D.C. — About two in three Americans (65%) support the nationwide protests about racial injustice that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in late May. Half say they feel “very” (23%) or…

Conspiracy Theories, Coronavirus, Culture, Disinformation, Education, Free Markets, Public Health

The Price of Ignorance is Widely Paid

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As nationwide chains take sensible measures to require masks, ordinary workers at those chains find themselves the underserving recipients of abuse. Kelli Weill reports Walmart Workers Are Terrified of Enforcing Mask Rules: Even in a time of record unemployment, some of Dan’s colleagues at an Indiana Walmart have walked off the job. They aren’t quitting over…

Coronavirus, Covidiocy, Culture, Libertarians, Liberty, Public Health

Individual Responsibility in Conditions of Pandemic

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Economist Robert Samuelson, writing Americans are historically unhappy. But there’s a lesson to learn here, observes that The connecting threads of these pessimistic surveys are the novel coronavirus and its devastating impact on the economy. Nearly everyone is affected in one way or another. There’s a clash between America’s individualistic culture (“You can’t make me wear…