Good morning. Thursday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 55. Sunrise is 5:48 and sunset is 7:55, for 14 hours, 7 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 19.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Public Arts Commission meets at 5 PM. On this day in 1931, the Empire…
Local Government
City, Daily Bread, Local Government, Open Government, Police, School District
Daily Bread for 4.30.25: Discussion of Whitewater’s School Resource Officer Merits a 120-Day Contract Extension
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning. Wednesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 65. Sunrise is 5:50 and sunset is 7:54, for 14 hours, 5 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 11 percent of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1803, American representatives sign a treaty to purchase the Louisiana Territory from…
City, Daily Bread, Local Government, School District
Daily Bread for 4.7.25: Referendums
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Monday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 46. Sunrise is 6:26 and sunset is 7:28, for 13 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 75.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1862, at the Battle of Shiloh, the Union’s Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio defeat the Confederate Army of Mississippi near Shiloh, Tennessee.
Referendums. One referendum for the City of Whitewater (Police & EMT personnel) and one referendum for the school district of which the city is the largest part are now behind us. Agreeably, happily behind us.
Both were important to their proponents, the Police & EMT referendum being especially so as it was operational. A referendum that retains or adds people (adding in this referendum to adjust workloads) is more important than capital improvements or modifications to public property. The loss of the municipal referendum would have increased burdens on the workforce (as rejection would have worked an attitudinal burden all its own on existing employees).
The community gets more personnel and the personnel know that the community appreciates the need for more personnel. These are each gains for Whitewater’s residents.
Of the district’s capital referendum’s merits, by contrast, it seems clear to me that enough could’ve been done with far less.
Taxes. An anti-tax wave swept Whitewater in the early winter and into the new year, but it did not change the result of either referendum. In January it looked to me as though it would sink both referendums, but by March that seemed less probable. The Police & EMT referendum was easily better offering. That city referendum seemed secure to me by March. We’ve no polling for the Whitewater area, but it’s likely the anti-tax faction saw what it wanted to see among like-minded residents, and ignored or distorted contrary indications among others.
The herding and magnifying influences of Facebook, especially, leave people thinking their views are more widespread than they are. It takes time and effort Facebook does not require (and does not provide) to assess opinion accurately. Facebook is often like a man who goes into the woods, makes a lot of noise, and then looks around for how many birds he can count. By then, only the loudest or deafest ones remain.
Rearview Mirror. These were important topics for the community, and yet, and yet… this libertarian blogger will be happy that they’re over.
Before us persist issues and conflicts in the city to address now that these referendums are behind us.
Veluwabbit (Lagomarsupialis veluwensis) spotted in the Netherlands on April 1st:
City, Daily Bread, Local Government, School District
Daily Bread for 4.6.25: Quick Observations on a Weekend
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 51. Sunrise is 6:27 and sunset is 7:27, for 12 hours, 59 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 65.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1865, at the Battle of Sailor’s Creek, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia fights and loses its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia, during the Appomattox Campaign.
A few quick observations:
Dorothy Day. Whitewater is divided into several factions, a divide that has grown wider over the last twenty years. The best outcome for Whitewater, after the Great Recession especially, would have been for Whitewater to have had a local version of Dorothy Day. That moment never came, and the recession of the Aughts became the lost years of the Teens, the rise of rightwing populism, a pandemic, another recession, and now a return to a populism more virulent than the last.
We are past the point when someone other than Dorothy Day, herself, could bridge the gap between defenders of the constitutional order and authoritarian populists. This political conflict will end only when one side prevails; pretending otherwise is delusional and attempting otherwise is futile. While not every event will be political, there’s no solution apart from the political.
City and Environs. The most obvious political observation one might make in our area is that the City of Whitewater is a center-left community and the nearby towns within the Whitewater Unified School District are on the right. The gap has grown between the city and these towns, and by now I would have thought that every man, woman, child, and household pet understood as much. Still, there’s room for empirical inquiry.
Coalitions. Whitewater has had, this last generation, a type now nearing endangered status: the supposed independent, or even Democrat, who aligns with conservatives (in this town, special interests) on major policies. These remaining few will keep pretending (of course they will) but stark political times make their kabuki evident for what it is. A soft-spoken liberal in a rightwing coalition is rightwing. No one owes anyone else his or her LARPing and cosplay. You are your vote, you are your coalition.
Fallacies and Denials. The people who brought you a politicized Christian theology, pandemic denialism, a recession thereafter, and claims that a violent insurrection was an act of love, now bring you an authoritarianism that offers nativism, book-banning, closet-confining, and a crackpot economics. The mix: fallacies of Tu Quoque (diversionary arguments by claims of hypocrisy), Whataboutism (diversionary arguments by claims of unrelated events), and a closed system of belief (where evidentiary counterexamples are denied or redefined beyond recognition).
The School District. Voters returned both board incumbents to office, and approved a large referendum. There’s probably more than one conservative who’s wondering what happened. I’ll answer only for my own view of the outgoing administration. Of my views of this administration, I have been clear: These Aren’t the MAGA Claims You Were Looking For and “Nice Person, But…”
These posts came in March 2024, when conservatives still held a majority on the board. For months prior, they had the chance to use that majority in the service of open government. They couldn’t muster four votes to rebuke a ridiculous defamation effort against a boardmember and send the current administration on its way. Should have been then.
I don’t think that the city saw the 2025 election this way, but I do: a conservative board didn’t act in 2024 when it should have, and a center-left board didn’t act as it should have in the year since. (No doubt, some rationalized this as a necessary defense against an instability that might have produced reactionary policies.)
The district instead should and can have open government and a community united against reactionary policies. Both, not either.
The district has been these recent years, all around, a dog’s breakfast.
How Japan Perfected the Art of Ramen:
America, City, Daily Bread, Local Government, Never Trump, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 4.5.25: Go Outside
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Saturday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 50. Sunrise is 6:29 and sunset is 7:26, for 12 hours, 57 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 54.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1938, two days after the Nationalist army occupied the Catalan city of Lleida, dictator Francisco Franco decrees the abolition of the Generalitat (the autonomous government of Catalonia), the self-government granted by the Republic, and the official status of the Catalan language.
Our people have a centuries-long tradition of protest. Today, across this continent, Americans will exercise that right against Trump and Musk. There are both in-person and virtual events to which the American people are cordially invited. (You don’t need to be a Democrat, as I am not. Patriotism is your only necessary credential.) There’s no location for Whitewater, but other nearby by locations await (including Walworth, Janesville, Stoughton, Beloit, and Madison):
Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. They’re taking everything they can get their hands on, and daring the world to stop them. On Saturday, April 5th, we’re taking to the streets nationwide to fight back with a clear message: Hands off!
A beginning only: every movement and every coalition has a beginning. Start, then keep going.
Authoritarian Populism, Authoritarianism, City, Daily Bread, Economics, Economy, Local Government, Nativism, Never Trump, Recession, Special Interests, Tariffs, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 4.4.25: Is Hyperlocal Politics Finally Dead?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 50. Sunrise is 6:31 and sunset is 7:25, for 12 hours, 54 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 45.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1865, a day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, President Lincoln visits the Confederate capital.
In this last generation, Whitewater, Wisconsin has felt the effects of national calamities: the Great Recession, a pandemic, an insurrection, and now a trade war.
In each case, a small group of local men and women carried on as though local affairs were paramount1; in each case, they did so while conditions in the city grew worse from those national calamities.
Now comes another calamity, and with it a few likelihoods.
Those who supported the authoritarian movement that made a pandemic worse, inspired an insurrection, the return to power of a would-be king, and now a global economic crisis will never admit that they were wrong. Never. They wanted this and they will continue to want this, all of it.
Those who cannot see past Townline Road won’t develop broader horizons. It’s all roads, press releases, and sanewashing with that crew. They’ll keep thinking that if you talk to a hyena in a soft voice that foul creature will give up meat for vegetables. They’d probably keep thinking this even as that carnivore crunched on the nearest human femur2.
There are, however, many more residents in this city, in this state, and this nation who will stand opposed to wholesale ruin.
Of that ruin, there are months and years of damage3 ahead, with this only a portion:
Is “recession” now spelled T-A-R-I-F-F?
Markets were gripped by the recession trade after President Trump’s tariffs on Wednesday threatened a global trade war. Treasury yields, stock futures and the dollar all plunged.
This isn’t mere market hyperbole. Thursday was only the sixth time in history that the S&P 500 had fallen more than 4% while the dollar also fell more than 1%—with investors shocked that the greenback had failed in its usual role as a safe haven.
The carnage in the markets might be just the beginning: If the biggest U.S. tax rise since at least the 1950s causes the economy to shrink, stocks and Treasury yields still have a long way to go down.
As recessions take hold, stocks are hit both by lower earnings and by lower valuations, as spending falls and savers switch to safer assets. Defensive stocks better able to maintain sales—such as sellers of food and other household staples—beat those selling optional purchases such as luxury goods and cars, known as cyclicals.
See James Mackintosh, Market Upheaval From Trump’s Tariffs Could Be Just the Beginning, Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2025.
______
- By contrast, this libertarian blogger has argued that the betterment of the city comes from applying the best of the nation. See FREE WHITEWATER, ‘How Many Rights for Whitewater?’, ‘What Standards for Whitewater?’, and ‘Methods, Standards, Goals’ (2013). ↩︎
- The last words of these sad types would likely be along the lines of ‘but I tried to be bipartisan!’ ↩︎
- The greater losses have been and will be to individual rights. ↩︎
We’ll have more than egg prices to worry about:
See Matt Grossman, Near-Term Inflation Expectations Surge, Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2025.
City, Courts, Daily Bread, Economy, Local Government, Nativism, Special Interests, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 4.3.25: Adding Another Threat for the Nation, State, and City
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Thursday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 50. Sunrise is 6:33 and sunset is 7:23, for 12 hours, 51 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 34.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Public Arts Commission meets at 5 PM, and the Whitewater Common Council meets at 6:30 PM.
On this day in 1865, Union forces capture Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy.
In October, writing about the scariest things in Whitewater for the year, this libertarian blogger listed the two worst threats to the city as special interests and nativism. Later, in February, I wrote that there was now only one notable kind of conservative in Whitewater, as only the conservative populists matter politically (‘a conservative might imagine himself as something else (a traditionalist or a deal-maker), and might be something else, but only in his house or in his head’).
There’s one more threat to add to the list, brought about by the same movement that is responsible for the other three: A third global recession in 20 years looms.
There’s always someone who thinks that this predatory movement will see the error of its ways. It won’t, not now, not ever. It may lose its grip on the nation, but it will fall to a majority of others outside that movement to turn it aside.
Those who’ve gone this far, these dead-enders, will never repent of the their conduct, of the damage they’ve caused others.
On the contrary, they’ve never been more assured, more self-justified, than now.
The most conservative justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court — she is — seems upset:
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley on Crawford: "I think the way Judge Crawford ran her race was disgusting…I'm not looking forward to working with her. She's bought and paid for by the Democratic Party." Via Vanessa Kjeldsen
— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.bsky.social) April 2, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Common Council, Daily Bread, Development, Local Government, Special Interests
Daily Bread for 2.5.25: Doubts About the Location of a Rail Spur Prove Unfounded (Predictably)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 31. Sunrise is 7:04 and sunset is 5:13, for 10 hours, 9 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 53.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Starin Park Water Tower Community Committee meets at 6 PM, and the Landmarks Commission meets at 7 PM.
On this day in 1849, the University of Wisconsin opens:
The University of Wisconsin began with 20 students led by Professor John W. Sterling. The first class was organized as a preparatory school in the first department of the University: a department of science, literature, and the arts. The university was initially housed at the Madison Female Academy building, which had been provided free of charge by the city. The course of study was English grammar; arithmetic; ancient and modern geography; elements of history; algebra; Caesar’s Commentaries; the Aeneid of Virgil (six books); Sallust; select orations of Cicero; Greek; the Anabasis of Xenophon; antiquities of Greece and Rome; penmanship, reading, composition and declamation. Also offered were book-keeping, geometry, and surveying. Tuition was “twenty dollars per scholar, per annum.” For a detailed recollection of early UW-Madison life, see the memoirs of Mrs. W.F. Allen [Source: History of the University of Wisconsin, Reuben Gold Thwaites, 1900]
In early January, the Whitewater Common Council met to consider two development projects. In its deliberations, the Council heard objections that the placement of one of the development projects on vacant land (Tax Parcel No. /A4444200001) would interfere with the mere possibility of a future railroad spur at that location. The Council voted against that project of the east side of town, on a 4-2 vote. See Quick Update on Development Projects.
The concerns about a possible rail spur being an obstacle to a development at this location seemed speculative and unrealistic1. Turns out, those concerns were speculative and unrealistic. A study the city commissioned shows that the location of the proposed development was not a good location for a rail spur (“marginal rail-served value”) with two better locations available (“good rail service potential” and “excellent rail service potential,” respectively).
Embedded below is that segment of the January rail spur discussion:
Here are the material parts of that January discussion, from councilmember, city manager, and incumbent landlord:
Councilmember Singer: And then I know in the past, this particular parcel, you know, the CDA had been working with a potential light industrial, to do some electronics recycling. And one of the attractive parts of that was the rail spur potentially access. It’s one of the only parcels that would allow us to, now there’s no spur now, but it’s set for, you know, if we had a need and the funding to be able to get one installed, it was an attractive parcel. So that’s where I’m having a little bit of trouble reconciling like, okay, you know, that was a prime piece for an industrial, light industrial development that would bring in jobs versus a residential use.
And so that’s just, I mean, it is a complete 180 from what kind of the CDA and the city in the past has been trying to do on that. And I think Mr. Knight mentioned it earlier. It is one of our only spots if we did need to attract a business that required rail access that we would be then offloaded.City Manager Weidl: I’m with you. But then when you do the research on how much linear feet you need to actually do a rail siding, you need three quarters to a mile for it. And so from a viability standpoint, the other intersections make that a site where rail siding is not likely to occur.
I mean, I understand, I get it. Like you don’t give up rail if someone’s gonna build something there and have a distribution facility. The, and Taylor, correct me if I’m wrong, the requests we’ve gotten from JCEDC and Walworth County have all been looking at the rail spur on the other side of the municipality.
And that’s, those are the ones we’ve been responding to because the length of the rail available is long enough for an actual siding. That’s what it comes down to is speed of train equals length of siding. And the siding is the side track, S-I-D-I-N-G.And so that’s the technical issue we’re running into. Notwithstanding, I totally hear where you’re coming from. Making sure we’re protecting the viability of parcels, notwithstanding the offers.
Incumbent Landlord Kachel: I would recommend, too, before you try to do anything on it, as it being either the only one or one of the only ones that have rail access, you have Don Vruwink as the railroad commissioner, former assembly person from this district. Reach out to him and he would love to help Whitewater bring in a railroad spur. But in order to do that, you have to bring in some businesses, some jobs.
A few remarks:
1 . The recycling opportunity was a years-long exercise that came to nothing. It was one false start after another. I’m surprised that anyone would hold it up as an example of a realistic prospect or example for future development. It wasn’t and it isn’t.
2. I’m sure that a 180-degree turn in Community Development Authority policy upsets a few aged men in this town, but it matters more that 15,000 people have a better CDA. If a 180-degree turn is hard, it’s because moving from bad to better is hard.
3. Whitewater’s old guard steps on its own arguments all the time. If incumbent landlord Kachel should be right that we need more businesses than we have in the industrial park for a railroad spur, then concerns from Knight and Singer about an obstacle at this given location are immaterial. These three couldn’t decide among their arguments: was the need for a spur at this location a realistic concern or not a concern? The study answers that question (it wasn’t a realistic concern at this location).
4. Be clear: the arguments of these gentlemen (who didn’t bring a bounty of businesses to the industrial park when they were at the CDA) effectively work by doubt and delay to satisfy an incumbent’s landlord’s opposition to new apartments.
The Rail Spur Study appears below:
__________
- When I heard these arguments in January, I thought: could some of these gentlemen be more obvious? ↩︎
Crowd crush: Could fluid dynamics save lives?:
Daily Bread, Local Government, Reasoning
Daily Bread for 2.4.25: Whitewater’s Poor Past Record on Studies and Data (Now with New Frontmen)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 28. Sunrise is 7:05 and sunset is 5:12, for 10 hours, 7 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 41.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Common Council meets at 6:30 PM, later in the evening goes into closed session, thereafter to reconvene in open session. The agenda is embedded below:
On this day in 1789, George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the Electoral College.
Yesterday’s post, Dressing for the Weather, was about the way in which one responded to controversies in Whitewater, principally over the use of data and studies:
Whitewater has had its share of controversies. There are five differences between those of the past and now: (1) the pace between accusations is quicker, (2) there are more of them offered at the same time, (3) they are often made without accuracy and sound reasoning, (4) they are made in a time that deprecates any expertise, and (5) behind-the-scenes conflicts of interest are ignored.
The sarcastic implication of the expression a little knowledge is a dangerous thing applies to much of what one hears and reads from would-be critics of policy.
In the Aughts and Teens (2000-2019, and even a few years beyond), much of Whitewater heard from its local government involved dodgy data and weak analysis. This was notably true of the Community Development Authority during those times (with only a few exceptions) when the CDA was run like a club in a third-rate southern town.
The consequence of this is that (1) Whitewater heard a lot of bad claims, (2) residents were expected to accept bad claims at face value, and (3) residents became inured to the notion that the city would be perpetually under the sway of a few self-promoters (and their softer-talking enablers). There was and is always one such enabler, on the CDA or Council, whose job it was and is to try to make the unreasonable sound reasonable. Men are what they say and do, and what they defend and rationalize.
And now, and now, a higher standard of analysis comes along from the city government. Not always perfect, but notably higher than what past municipal administrations or a past CDA produced.
The problem residents face now is that opponents of today’s better work, themselves, argue mostly with the fallacies and low-grade thinking of the past.
And so, and so, one will have to craft an index or catalog of some sort, readily on display, to track the many false claims of special interests and their various frontmen and enablers. The Bauhaus school contended (broadly) that form follows function, and so form of expression will have to follow the worthy function of accurate and reasoned discussion.
There’s no burden in this, but rather only opportunity. There’s merit in a pointed critique of old errors.
One is reminded of the expression: Hard work is good work.
A sharp-looking cedar waxing from Oklahoma:
(Cedar waxwings are found beyond Oklahoma, including in Wisconsin. The description “Only seen in Oklahoma during the winter” simply means that these birds are commonly found in that state during that season. They’ve a wider range in other places during the full year.)
Daily Bread, Local Government
Daily Bread for 2.3.25: Dressing for the Weather
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Monday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 38. Sunrise is 7:06 and sunset is 5:11, for 10 hours, 4 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 31.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Equal Opportunities Commission meets at 5 PM.
On this day in 1959, rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson are killed in a plane crash along with the pilot near Clear Lake, Iowa, an event later known as The Day the Music Died.
Whitewater, like many other places, now heads into a period of controversies. The question for residents of this small city is how to address those controversies, responding when necessary, and deciding how to organize one’s responses.
Whitewater has had its share of controversies. There are five differences between those of the past and now: (1) the pace between accusations is quicker, (2) there are more of them offered at the same time, (3) they are often made without accuracy and sound reasoning, (4) they are made in a time that deprecates any expertise, and (5) behind-the-scenes conflicts of interest are ignored.
The sarcastic implication of the expression a little knowledge is a dangerous thing applies to much of what one hears and reads from would-be critics of policy.
All of this requires changes in responsive approach, to respond competently and thoroughly, in conditions of frequent sleet and hail.
One dresses for the weather, so to speak.
City, Daily Bread, Federal Government, Immigration, Local Government, Nativism, Never Trump, Religion, State Government
Daily Bread for 1.22.25: National, State, and Local Topics
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be windy with morning snow and a high of 21. Sunrise is 7:18 and sunset is 4:55, for 9 hours, 37 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 42.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
There is a Lakes Advisory Committee meeting at 4:30 PM and the Library Board meets at 6:30 PM.
On this day in 1968, the Apollo Program‘s Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first lunar module into space:
Once the craft reached orbit and the LM separated from the S-IVB booster, the program of orbital testing began, but a planned burn was aborted automatically when the Apollo Guidance Computer detected the craft was not going as fast as planned. Flight Director Gene Kranz and his team at Mission Control in Houston quickly decided on an alternate mission, during which the mission’s goals of testing LM-1 were accomplished. The mission was successful enough that a contemplated second uncrewed mission to test the LM was cancelled, advancing NASA‘s plans to land an astronaut on the Moon by the end of the 1960s.
For today, a few points: national, state, and local. In February, I’ll split national topics into a new site, with state and local topics staying here at FREE WHITEWATER. Regrettably, national topics may intrude into Whitewater’s life for the worst of reasons (as they have in the past), and so one ordinary person’s preferred distinctions may understandably again yield to imposed circumstances.
In Whitewater, the national has become local. National attention over immigration in Whitewater is at best an interference with the natural growth and development of this city, and at worst would be an inhumane displacement that no majority within this city has (or ever will) support1.
A campaign of shock and awe only works on those who are susceptible of being shocked and awed2. Anyone who watched the 2024 presidential campaign would have expected all of this. Expectation and patient preparation in reply to what one heard and saw leaves one neither shocked nor awed. All of this was easily predictable.
The particular demands of national, state, or local governments should not, and must not, trump fundamental individual liberties. That’s a genuine libertarian view; no one should expect anything different from a genuine libertarian.
All populism, whether of the left (Revolutionary France) or right (America today), assumes strength in its members and weakness in its opponents. Sometimes that’s true, but other times false. Populists, soaked in their own fervor, cannot discern the character of others until conflict begins. Roosevelt was right of the American commitment to liberal democratic traditions, that no one should mistake out kindness for weakness.
There’s much to dispute and doubt, from this libertarian’s viewpoint, with the views of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. On some fundamentals, however, she’s right, as with her contention that those within the American tradition should reject both the Confederates and the Nazis. No one is lawfully required to reject those malevolent ideologies, yet failure to do so places one outside the liberal democratic3 paradigm. (Her manner of presentation is skillful, although of a style from the generation after my own. Ocasio-Cortez is our children’s age, and she speaks in the easy, familiar manner of a social media generation.)
Of course Elon Musk’s gestures (twice) at an inauguration event were Nazi sieg heil salutes. He knew what he was doing, and people of normal discernment knew what they saw. He likely practiced in front of a mirror, and crafted an implausible denial beforehand. Musk, a supporter of Germany’s racist AfD party, wouldn’t be the first fascist to practice in front of a mirror.
Wisconsin has now joined other states in opposing Trump’s attempt to rewrite through a mere executive order the United States Constitution’s express provision of birthright citizenship:
President Donald Trump issued an executive order Monday that will end automatic citizenship for children whose parents are foreign nationals, whether they’re here legally or not.
On Tuesday, a coalition of 18 states sued Trump and federal agencies in U.S. District Court in Massachussetts, claiming the order violates the Constitution. The ACLU filed a separate legal challenge in New Hampshire on behalf of immigrant advocacy organizations on similar grounds.
It would, they said, upend a foundational aspect of the United States of America: that anyone born here is from here.
The executive order, called “Protecting the Value and Meaning of American Citizenship, would prevent federal agencies from issuing Social Security cards, passports or welfare benefits to U.S.-born children in a sweeping reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born in the United States.
….
Its first sentence sums up the citizenship right guaranteed at birth: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
A court case soon tested whether the amendment also afforded birthright citizenship to children born in the U.S. to immigrant parents. In United States v. Wong Kim Ark, a man born in San Francisco to Chinese parents challenged the government’s claim that he wasn’t a citizen.
The Supreme Court decided in 1898 that “children born in the U.S. to immigrant parents are citizens, regardless of their parents’ immigration status,” according to the American Immigration Council.
See Lauren Villagran, Trump executive order restricts birthright citizenship; states sue, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 21, 2025.
Trump’s birthright order — by which he alone presumptuously claims to rewrite the law — is also incoherent as an attempt to do so. Josh Marshall explains:
But if you accept that place of birth isn’t controlling, everyone’s citizenship becomes at least uncertain or not clearly documented — and for many whose parents or grandparents immigrated, the uncertainty becomes very real. If any court takes this seriously, they’ll have to untangle that and possibly end up with tens of millions of Americans who may need to prove that they’re actually citizens. Even if you accept the false claim that birthright citizenship can be abolished by anything other than a constitutional amendment, there’s no way that everyone’s citizenship — and I mean everyone’s — will now rest going forward on the claims made in an executive order.
See Josh Marshall, Day Two, Talking Points Memo, January 21, 2025.
Finally, a few remarks about the prayer service at the National Cathedral yesterday. (The National Cathedral is a private Episcopal church in Washington, D.C. The name national does not mean public ownership.) The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, speaking from the pulpit, addressed Trump and others in attendance. She called for mercy (a virtue) toward gays, lesbians, and migrants. Trump, predictably, did not like these remarks, and wants an apology.
He deserves nothing of the kind. He’s weak, easily insulted by gentle words, and lashes out in response to his own narcissistic injury.
Some Americans, I included among them, worship with Episcopal congregations much like the one at the National Cathedral4. Our beliefs don’t come from Trump, won’t yield to Trump, or any of the populists who insist that God is as they last learned about Him at a political rally.
One more point about these loud and proud nativists: they lack long-term memories. One will hear that they’ve been here for a few generations, and so that entitles them to precedence. Someone else could say that his families on both sides, of German & French ancestry, came to this continent before the Revolution, and so he should have precedence5. Then again, someone could say that his forebears came to this continent in bondage even earlier. Finally, another person could rightly say that his forebears were here thousands of years earlier.
It is enough that people are here now as our neighbors.
___________
- As I discussed with residents last night in multiple conversations, no one in this city — other than residents who may be personally affected — wants national immigration policy to disrupt life in this city less than I do. There’s only loss in all of this. ↩︎
- As a military strategy, shock and awe is overrated. ↩︎
- Honest to goodness, for the thousandth time, the liberal democratic paradigm describes preservation of individual rights (liberal) in a society of majority decision (democratic). It doesn’t mean liberal as a partisan affiliation. Both, not either. ↩︎
- Not all Episcopal parishes are the same, in liturgy or political affiliation of members. There are probably about four or five different forms of worship among Episcopal congregations, and their membership runs from progressive to conservative depending on the community. In my case, the congregation with whom I worship is Anglo-Catholic in liturgy and progressive in members’ secular views (more progressive than mine — free markets are both moral and efficient). ↩︎
- I’m not ignorant or selfish enough to advance this claim this: all these ancestral claims strike me as primitive. My point is only that the nativists aren’t special as they imagine themselves to be. None of us is special in a nativist way. ↩︎
City, Daily Bread, Immigration, Local Government, Nativism
Daily Bread for 1.21.25: The Executive Order on Realigning The United States Refugee Admissions Program
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny and cold with a high of 0. Sunrise is 7:19 and sunset is 4:54, for 9 hours, 35 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 51.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
The Whitewater Common Council meets at 6:30 PM.
On this day in 1968, a B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete.
Whitewater has received considerable attention, mostly lies and scapegoating, for the arrival of immigrants into this community. Yesterday, via executive order, Whitewater received yet more. Our city received mention in Section 1, first paragraph:
Section 1. Purpose. Over the last 4 years, the United States has been inundated with record levels of migration, including through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). Cities and small towns alike, from Charleroi, Pennsylvania, and Springfield, Ohio, to Whitewater, Wisconsin, have seen significant influxes of migrants. Even major urban centers such as New York City, Chicago, and Denver have sought Federal aid to manage the burden of new arrivals. Some jurisdictions, like New York and Massachusetts, have even recently declared states of emergency because of increased migration.
There’s no surprise in this — I’ve an archive of hundreds of stories about Whitewater’s immigrants that I’ve collected methodically and patiently over these months. The archive is a partial one; it’s likely there have been thousands of stories, most of which repeated the same hysterical claim that this small town had somehow been invaded.
This national attention in a nativist media environment was predictable; Whitewater’s place in a 1.20.25 executive order, however ill-fitting, was predictable. The use of immigrants as a justification for staffing increases in Whitewater, when those staffing increases were justifiable regardless, was a fundamental failing. This libertarian blogger (and others) advised against this course, having denounced the so-called press conference that preceded it. We were ignored, not to our disadvantage, but the disadvantage of newcomers, and of the entire community.
One cannot be certain where this leads, although nativist scapegoating of Whitewater now set loose across an entire nation shows a momentum all its own.
Updated, afternoon of 1.21.25, see below memoranda from the City of Whitewater in English and Spanish in reply to the 1.20.25 federal executive order. So many years ago, FREE WHITEWATER expressly began after immigration controversies in this city. My own views on this matter have been clear since that beginning in 2007. They remain unchanged as they are by received tradition unchanging.
It’s likely an understatement that, given all possibilities, few today would want to be in our present, divided politics.
One acts in the present and on the margin. It is, in fairness to all, the best that anyone can do.
City, Daily Bread, Local Government
Daily Bread for 1.20.25: The State of the City (Whitewater) Presentation
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Dr. Martin Luther King Day in Whitewater will be sunny and cold with a high of 4. Sunrise is 7:19 and sunset is 4:52, for 9 hours, 33 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 61 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1783, the Kingdom of Great Britain signs preliminary articles of peace with the Kingdom of France, setting the stage for the official end of hostilities in the Revolutionary War later that year.
On 1.9.25, the Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters sponsored three presentations at Whitewater’s city hall, from City Manager John Weidl, Chancellor Corey King, and Superintendent Caroline Pate-Hefty. The first of these, from Whitewater’s city manager, is embedded above.
A few remarks:
This is a strong presentation. Neither of the last two city managers ever delivered remarks with this succinct clarity. A position of ideological skepticism of government (like mine) should strengthen, rather than weaken, one’s grasp of conditions and people. (Strengthen, rather than weaken, because it’s a sound position to hold.) And so, and so, one should be plain: there is a wide gap between this presentation and those of former city managers, or a few aged residents, who themselves have not spoken with such succinct clarity (and likely could not). Whitewater benefits by addresses like this.
Development has grown significantly in these last two years, both residential (homes and apartments) and commercial (stores big and small). Development (lit., ‘the process of converting land to a new purpose by constructing buildings or making use of its resources’) is a community gain.
We’ve also had new cultural events, e.g., a food truck fest and Christmas at Cravath. Along with thousands of residents, my family enjoyed both of these events. See A Food Truck Festival @ the Lakefront and Christmas at Cravath’s Festive Lights. These social events create social bonds.
Whitewater has sensibly moved to a professional fire and emergency services model. Response times are now markedly better. There should be no doubt that moving to a professional model meets the minimum expectation of any government: that it provides for public safety. (If all this could be done through volunteers, there would be an alternative worth considering; all this cannot be done through volunteers, and so that alternative is beyond consideration.) There is now before the city a policing referendum for additional officers. A referendum that staffs a neutral, non-ideological public safety department is in the community interest. (Every word in that last sentence matters: a partisan, ideological public safety department would not be in this community’s interest, at staffing of one person or a thousand.)
Finally, a few words about our lakes. It’s understandable that residents would be disappointed at the condition of the lakes. The last municipal administration, however, was not alone in leaving the lakes like this. There were many thousands of us living here, and all of us knew that there were lakes, and what they looked like1. We all knew it looked bad. Not enough of us did enough. Some did, but not enough of us. (This libertarian blogger is in the not enough of us group.) A comprehensive lakes management plan with outside institutional support, as is now underway, is the right direction.
There should be a discussion, and debate, about public directions. I’d guess this, however: most people in this city of fifteen thousand see progress (and far more progress than before). Most people (by a larger margin) likely prefer the current direction to the alternatives.
That preference is predictable and sensible.
__________
- Admittedly, the last city manager wasn’t aware for two days that oil from an asphalt project, for example, was running into the lake. ↩︎
How Bluesky Grew From A Twitter Side Project To An X Competitor:
City, Daily Bread, Local Government, Reasoning
Daily Bread for 1.14.25: A Bit More on Expertise
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 15. Sunrise is 7:23 and sunset is 4:45, for 9 hours, 22 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 99.3 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Tech Park Innovation Center Advisory Board meets at 8:30 AM, the Public Works Committee meets at 5 PM, and the Landmarks Commission meets at 6 PM.
On this day in 1784 it’s the first Ratification Day, as the Confederation Congress (under the Articles of Confederation) ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain:
By the United States in Congress assembled, a proclamation : Whereas definitive articles of peace and friendship, between the United States of America and His Britannic Majesty, were concluded and signed at Paris, on the 3rd day of September, 1783 … we have thought proper by these presents, to notify the premises to all the good citizens of these United States … Given under the seal of the United States, witness His Excellency Thomas Mifflin, our president, at Annapolis, this fourteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four …
Yesterday’s post, Debunking Grifters and Crackpots on Social Media, described the skill with which Dr. Jessica Knurick refuted false nutritional claims on social media. In this clash of ideas, Knurick applied her field’s expertise in reply others’ weak or mendacious claims. A few points about expertise appear below.
First, this libertarian blogger has not described himself on this site as an expert in some particular field. FREE WHITEWATER is, by design, a website for all readers of ‘commentary on politics, policy, and popular culture, published from Whitewater, Wisconsin since 2007.’ I have a profession, but this website isn’t designed merely for that profession. (FREE WHITEWATER would look very different if were otherwise.) It’s meant to be as it is. And so, and so, I’m not referring to myself as an expert in anything that follows.
Second, as someone wrote to me last night, nutrition expert Dr. Knurick takes a dim view of, in her words, capitalism1. (That’s true, she does, and anyone who followed her work, as I have, would know as much.) And yet, and yet, I did not tout her expertise in economics but rather her expertise in nutrition. She’s strong there: that was the full reach of my endorsement (although I’m sure she’s a fine person and an asset to her community).
Third, a responsible community, and responsible political leadership, should at the least allow those with a strong expertise or understanding to speak responsively to others’ claims (especially others’ tendentious claims). While any resident should be allowed to stand at the lectern and speak, afterward members of the government should be able to reply to unsupported claims or weak arguments. Residents should be able to speak; a responsible board or council should allow members of the government to reply after all residents have finished speaking.
I’m not writing here about general, non-agenda public comment, but about residents’ specific comments on points that are on the agenda.
Otherwise, at that meeting, one hears only one side of the issue. ‘We’ll get to the other side later’ impoverishes the discussion. Whitewater should expect of her government that it be capable of replying then and there. Holding back the government reply to placate a few residents only serves to create the false impression that a point from the lectern is more serious, and so needing of study, than it truly is2.
If there is a government employee who can answer a point after residents’ points have been made, based on that employee’s knowledge, he or she should be allowed — indeed, afforded the opportunity — to do so. More speech means more speech3.
Bluntly: keep the discussion going, as the strength of a claim is often revealed only after it meets a reply. If a reply is available readily, then it should be heard, not postponed.
How could one not admire Dr. Knurick’s argumentation, for example, on nutrition? It’s cultivated abilities like hers, of so many in so many fields, that have made America a global leader.4
Whitewater should not hold back members of an administration with equivalent abilities.
__________
- Private ownership of capital is merely one part of a productive, advanced economics. It’s much more than that, as myriad free, voluntary transactions: of capital, labor, goods, and services. All of it, all of those, where one chooses freely. ↩︎
- If there’s a ready answer, boards and commissions only undermine rigorous discussion to placate a few by contending that something needs to be looked into. ↩︎
- Not merely more speech for one’s friends at the lectern. ↩︎
- High octane is the best octane. ↩︎
Why Is US GDP Growth Outperforming the World?: