Good morning. Saturday in Whitewater will see a brief shower or two this morning followed by scattered afternoon thunderstorms with a high of 70. Sunrise is 5:17 AM and sunset 8:29 PM for 15h 12m 00s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 21.3% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1989,…
Language
Daily Bread, Fascism, Language, Russia, Ukraine, War
Daily Bread for 4.25.22: ‘Ruscism’
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning. Monday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 45. Sunrise is 5:56 AM and sunset 7:49 PM for 13h 53m 16s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 28.2% of its visible disk illuminated. The Whitewater Unified School Board meets in open session at 5:45 PM, then enters closed…
Cats, History, Language
Friday Catblogging: Why do we say ‘cat got your tongue?’
by JOHN ADAMS •
Language
A Reminder from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: “It’s not just Shark Week…”
by JOHN ADAMS •
As it turns out, while testing her microphone before going live at the first night of the Democratic National Convention, Gov. Whitmer of Michigan used a spicy test line: Gov. Whitmer (D-MI) jokes before going live: "It's not just Shark Week … it's Shark Week *mouths expletive*" pic.twitter.com/KSndbTvLZi — The Recount (@therecount) August 18, 2020…
America, Culture, Fortitude, Language, Rhetoric
Roosevelt’s Speech at Madison Square Garden (10.31.1936)
by JOHN ADAMS •
So this libertarian doubts the economic effectiveness of the New Deal, in its first and later iterations during the Roosevelt Administration. And yet, and yet… I admire Roosevelt greatly, as he was a courageous man who described the conditions of his time honestly (if the solutions not so well). His speech on 10.31.1936, announcing a…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Hunger, Language, Public Relations, University, UW System, Writing
At UW-Whitewater, For All That Value, Too Little Administrative Respect for Values
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a press release (screenshot here) contending that UW-Whitewater contributes a large sum – hundreds of millions – to the Wisconsin economy. The release is written by Assistant Vice Chancellor Sara Kuhl. Kuhl begins the release touting the power and influence of the university by misspelling a common English word (emphasis added): UW-Whitewater, one of…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Crime, Language, Newspapers, Writing
Janesville Gazette’s Reprehensible Story About an Alleged Sexual Assault
by JOHN ADAMS •
At the nearby Janesville Gazette, there’s a story about an alleged sexual assault that’s simply reprehensible reporting: Excessive drinking was prelude to sex assault, court document alleges. (The reporter, Frank Schultz; editor, Sid Schwartz.) Here’s how Schultz’s story begins – a single-sentence first paragraph: An 18-year-old Janesville man is accused of second-degree sexual assault after…
America, Language, Newspapers, Trump, Writing
Why Feature Stories on Major Topics are Now Often a Waste of Time
by JOHN ADAMS •
Feature stories on major topics, in which the author begins a multi-paragraph description of a person or scene before offering a substantive consideration of the topic, have today little use in newspapers. These stories are meant to set a scene, and perhaps evoke emotions in readers who are, the author presumes, indifferent or ignorant of…
City, Education, Language, Newspapers, School District, University, Writing
The Janesville Gazette‘s Sketchy Reporting on Major Topics
by JOHN ADAMS •
The nearby Janesville Gazette, a newspaper that insists ‘local matters,’ too often reports on Whitewater’s local matters in a careless way, ignoring key information. Whether that paper’s omissions are through negligence or by design, reporting like this ill-serves Whitewater. (In fairness, the Gazette long ago ran itself into the ground, and sold out this summer…
Dairy, Economics, Economy, Free Markets, Language, Newspapers
Does Anyone at the Janesville Gazette Have a Dictionary?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Recently, the Janesville Gazette‘s editorialist tried to defend remarks from Trump’s secretary of agriculture, Sonny Perdue, about the demise of family farmers. See Our Views: Ag secretary’s reality check wasn’t callous. In that defense, one finds that the Gazette‘s editorialist neither understands the meaning of simple English words nor basic economics. The secretary of agriculture said…
Language, Politics
That Saying About Leopards
by JOHN ADAMS •
History, Language, Trump
Full Transcript of Trump’s Black History Month Remarks
by JOHN ADAMS •
Kakistocracy, Language, Misconduct, Trump
The ‘Best Words’ Turn Out to Be Someone Else’s Words
by JOHN ADAMS •
Donald Trump insists that he uses ‘the best words‘ and that he will only hire ‘the best people.’ Turns out, some of those best people have found the best words not of their own expression, nor even of Trump’s, but of third parties from whom they have liberally plagiarized: Monica Crowley, President-Elect Donald J. Trump’s pick…
America, Authoritarianism, Foreign Affairs, Language, Liberty, Putin, Russia
‘His thoughts are so correct’
by JOHN ADAMS •
Consider a letter from Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, autocrat, murderer, and imperialist. Putin recently sent Trump a letter, only a few brief paragraphs, and Trump gave a statement in reply: “A very nice letter from Vladimir Putin; his thoughts are so correct,” Trump said in a statement. “I hope both sides are able to live up to…