Among the items in its ‘Monday Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down’ editorial, the Gazette argues against allowing Wisconsinites to drink organic milk (subscription req’d). It’s not merely that the paper’s editorial board thinks that drinking raw imprudent (pointing to illness from a recent incident), it’s that the board thinks sales should remain illegal. Without a law, the…
Law
Crime, Law, University
The Dean’s Drug-War Equality Argument
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’m sorry I didn’t get to this sooner, but one of UW-Whitewater Dean of Students Mary Beth Mackin’s remarks about drug busts on campus deserves a reply. She’s offered an argument for equality of treatment on and off campus. Her argument implies that she either misunderstands the underlying justification for equality arguments, or that she…
City, Law, Local Government
A Game It’s Not
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a story in the Gazette about a Janesville resident who’s looking for a litigation fund to support lawsuits against the City of Janesville. See, subscription req’d, Citizens group wants to mount legal offensive against City Hall. The story’s too funny – it’s part overwrought idea, and (I would guess) part effort of the Gazette…
America, History, Law, Liberty
Understanding America Backwards
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a longstanding maxim of liberty that Americans inherited from England: ‘those things not prohibited by law are permitted.’ The burden is on the state: if there’s no express ban under law, then a person is free to act. Since government has to enumerate restrictions if it wants to enforce them, a free society places…
City, Law
Caution on Publishing About Criminal Investigations
by JOHN ADAMS •
In the servile rush to defend every big institution, it might help to consider that publishing about a criminal investigation, while simultaneously writing in the same item about an employee’s administrative suspension, can leave an innocent employee looking like a criminal suspect. Following up with a ‘clarification’ a day afterward is better than no follow-up,…
Crime, Elkhorn, Health, Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Police, Walworth County
The End of the Beginning
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Law, Police
Interviews & Citizen Oversight
by JOHN ADAMS •
The responsibility to interview a candidate should – and reasonably does – require that one interviews with one’s independent judgment. If the interviewer, himself or herself, is under someone’s else’s watch, then the interviewers aren’t truly independent (and candidates see that, too). There’s a Police and Fire Commission meeting tonight, at 6 PM. The principal…
America, City, Law, Local Government
The No-Prior-Discussions, Wheelchair-Access Lawsuit Against Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
Weighty claims require that claimants present their grievances deliberately. A serious presentation ordinarily includes (1) signaling that one has a grievance, (2) offering a chance for a negotiated resolution, and only later (3) letting others know that one might seek recourse to the courts if negotiations should prove unproductive. (This last point only applies if…
America, Law, Liberty, Local Government, School District, Wisconsin
How Many Rights for Whitewater?
by JOHN ADAMS •
How many rights do Whitewater’s residents possess? It’s a simple question, and there’s a simple answer: They possess all the rights of residency or citizenship, respectively, of Americans and Wisconsinites elsewhere. One may express this plainly: All of America, and all of Wisconsin, for all of Whitewater. There is no local practice, no old custom,…
City, Law, Liberty, Local Government, Open Government
Closed Sessions in an Open Society
by JOHN ADAMS •
Consider a review of three grocery lists, labeled A, B, and C, respectively: List A: Purchases (1) One gallon, skim milk (2) One dozen navel oranges (3) One loaf of whole wheat bread List B: Purchases (1) fruit and/or (2) something made of flour List C: Purchases (1) something to eat They’re all lists; they’re…
Law, Liberty
Succinctly Stated: ‘Imprison the Royal Family and Abolish the Monarchy’
by JOHN ADAMS •
CDA, City, Law, Local Government
The CDA’s Possible Purchase of Hundreds of Acres of Whitewater’s Public Land for a Dollar
by JOHN ADAMS •
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…
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…