Council’s scheduled to address the possibility of selling hundreds of acres of public land to the Community Development Authority for a dollar ($1.00). (It’s Item C-9 on tonight’s agenda.) The proposal’s been kicked around for months, but I’m curious if there’s been any positive headway since an April memo from the CDA’s Patrick Cannon, and…
Law
America, Law, Liberty, Press Release
Sunday, June 30th: Mock Funeral for the 4th Amendment
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve received the following message about a political rally at Madison’s Capitol Square in support of Fourth Amendment rights. Those rights are succinctly and clearly expressed in the Constitution: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against un- reasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and…
Law, Libertarians, Liberty
Friday Poll: Libertarian v. Libertarian on the NSA Surveillance Scandal
by JOHN ADAMS •
One might think that all libertarians would be equally outraged over revelations (for some, long-suspected) of the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance, but it’s not true. In the video below, libertarian John Stossel contends that the surveillance isn’t as troubling as other government actions, including the Drug War. In reply, libertarian Andrew Napolitano contends that…
Business, Law, Local Government, Official Misconduct, Open Government
How Local Government Has It Easier Than Yelp
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yelp may be a popular website for positing restaurant (and other) reviews, but it has a controversy on its hands. Some businesses are complaining about Yelp’s practice of hiding some reviews behind a link (that is, where one has to click the link to see all posted reviews). Some restaurateurs contend that Yelp hides favorable…
Federal Government, Law, Liberty
She’s Right
by JOHN ADAMS •
CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Law, Official Misconduct, Open Government, State Government, Taxes/Taxation, Wisconsin
The Truth about the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
by JOHN ADAMS •
A person should be able to make simple distinctions, as between the sensible and foolish, or practical and impractical. Sometimes those distinctions should be clear, and as stark as the difference between the contents of a sample cup and a glass of Chardonnay. You’ll hear a lot locally over the next few days about a…
Free Markets, Immigration, Labor, Law, New Whitewater
Who Should Live in Whitewater?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Crime, Freedom of Speech, Law, Liberty
The Beatles on Revolution and the Constitutional Order
by JOHN ADAMS •
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…
Crime, Law
How to Tell a Tide’s Turning
by JOHN ADAMS •
After National Review repeatedly questions a grand policy, and the Wall Street Journal prints an essay against that same policy, the tide’s turned in a meaningful way. Bonus indicators: (1) defenders of the current policy have to justify it in ways they wouldn’t imagine necessary a decade earlier, and (2) David Frum – self-professed conservative…
Crime, Health, Law
Looking at the Forty-Years’ Drug War
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at the Wall Street Journal, Nobel laureate in economics Gary Becker and Univ. of Chicago economist Kevin Murphy ask, “Have We Lost the War on Drugs?” Their answer is that we have, and what Richard Nixon began in 1971 has been a forty-years’ failure: President Richard Nixon declared a “war on drugs” in 1971.…
Crime, Health, Law, Laws/Regulations
Wisconsin and Marijuana and the Drug War
by JOHN ADAMS •
Colorado and Washington State are backing away from the Drug War, having recently decriminalized minor marijuana offenses. The long-term prospects for widespread drug prohibition, of the kind we’ve had for a generation, aren’t good: it’s been too much money, and for no lasting gain. It’s a fair guess that by the 2033, the hundred-year anniversary…
City, Law, Local Government, Police
Common Council Session of 12.18.12: On the Police and Fire Commission
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s my third post on the 12.18.12 session. Seeing a need to harmonize Whitewater’s municipal code with state statutes, Council restored the title of Police and Fire Commission to a citizen’s commission previously known as the Police Commission. Years ago, I remarked how odd it was that Whitewater’s PFC never addressed fire department matters, name…
43rd Assembly District, Law, Open Government, Politics
Choosing Wrongly
by JOHN ADAMS •
A new legislator starts out with a promise of independent thinking, and with a clean slate before him. One hears that he’ll represent only his constituents, regardless of party, buck his own party whenever necessary, and stand only on principle. He’s photographed signing the legislator’s book, attending some civic events, and touts some (but not…
Human Nature, Law
The True Measure of Institutional Greatness
by JOHN ADAMS •
Most communities – even small ones — have a few larger institutions, and Whitewater is no exception. The measure of those institutions is not how they protect their leaders’ reputations, but how they support and nurture the many individuals, separate and distinct, of which they are formed. This is true even when those individuals meet…