Only if one lowers one’s sights.
Freedom of Speech
Crime, Freedom of Speech, Law, Liberty
The Beatles on Revolution and the Constitutional Order
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
Not every election ends as one hopes. That’s true for major-party members, and at least as much for members of third parties. There are millions of people disappointed that Pres. Obama was re-elected, as there were many who were disappointed that Pres. Bush was re-elected. Neither outcome is what many Americans wanted, although in both…
Freedom of Speech, Press
Have you ever thought about becoming a publisher?
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
City, Freedom of Speech, Local Government
Common Council Session of 12.18.12: Citizen Comments
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Here’s the second of my posts on Tuesday’s session. Move to Amend. James Hartwick, a resident and leader of the Starin Park Neighborhood Association, introduced a petition (in support of the Move to Amend campaign) for our 4.2.2013 ballot calling to amend the U.S. Constitution, under this question: Shall the City of Whitewater adopt the…
Crime, Freedom of Speech, Politics
Simple Standards of Political Discourse
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
One may express a few principles of political discourse succinctly: 1. Don’t destroy property. 2. Don’t use force against political opponents, either immediately or while destroying property. Over the last two years, countless Wisconsinites have voted, assembled, and protested with scarcely any property damage or violence. In this way, we have been a good example…
Freedom of Speech, New Media, Press
Sign of the (New Media) Times: From the Daily Planet to Blogging
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Looks like Clark Kent’s had enough of working at the dead-tree Daily Planet. Metropolis is about to get a new blogger: In the new issue of DC Comics’ Superman series, out tomorrow [that is, 10.23.12], Clark will stand up in front of staff in a “Jerry Maguire-type moment” which will see him resign from the…
City, Freedom of Speech
The Best Authority is a Good Argument
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
In a competitive marketplace of ideas – of left, right, center – each idea questioned and considered – the best authority is a well-reasoned position. Simple appeals to personal authority – of the kind that have been the foundation of Whitewater’s politics over the last generation – just aren’t good enough anymore. Who you know…
Agriculture, Animals, Freedom of Speech, Laws/Regulations
How Ag Gag Laws Suppress Free Speech
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
Utah and Iowa, among other states, have passed ‘ag gag’ laws to prevent the recording of videos that reveal animal abuse at slaughterhouses. These private recordings are a consequence of regulatory failure, just as laws to prevent them are proof of political hypocrisy. If states regulated properly the videos wouldn’t be necessary; likewise, proper regulation…
Freedom of Speech, Law, Local Government, New Media
First Amendment and Social Media in Federal Lawsuit Against City of Honolulu, Local Police
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
There’s a case in Hawaii, in federal court, that may limit a city’s restrictions on municipal webpages and social media. If municipal agencies establish Facebook or other social media pages, can they censor critical comments from among all other comments? That’s the question before the court in Hawaii, about the comments policy of the Honolulu…
Economy, Free Markets, Freedom of Speech, Libertarians, Liberty
Happy Birthday, Dr. Friedman
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Freedom of Speech, Law, New Media
Should ‘likes’ on Facebook be protected?
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Freedom of Speech, Law, Liberty, Wisconsin
The Place of Peace and Honesty
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Is there a place where hundreds of thousands have protested, packed their Capitol building, nearly a million later signing election petitions, without violence, at limited public costs, and without fraud? What spot of peace and honesty, integrity and democracy, is like that? Could there even be such a place, in all the world? There is.…
Food, Freedom of Speech
Why Marilyn Hagerty was right to review an Olive Garden restaurant
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Eighty-five year-old Grand Forks Herald columnist Marilyn Hagerty recently wrote a review of an Olive Garden restaurant that opened in her North Dakota town. Her review caught people’s notice, in cities across America. Established reviewers believe that one should not review a chain (and certainly not praise a restaurant chain, as Hagerty did). Some of…
Freedom of Speech, Law, Liberty
Know Your Rights: Photographers | American Civil Liberties Union
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Here’s a link to photographer’s rights from the ACLU. These are the rights of citizens, rights (among so many others) that they have as citizens. The linked page includes information on (1) general rights, (2) what to do if one is stopped for taking lawful pictures, (3) special considerations for video recording, (4) taking photographs…