Several recent posts here are FREE WHITEWATER are, collectively, a cautionary series on the difficulty of effecting substantive change in Whitewater, Wisconsin. One might want change; realism demands a clear-eyed assessment of its likelihood. Other towns might have better (or even worse) odds; Whitewater is not, by definition, another town. A listing of challenges, with…
Politics
Blogging, Culture, Local Government, Newspapers, Politics, Press
After a News Desert
by JOHN ADAMS •
A news desert is a community without coverage from a daily newspaper. If coverage means timely newspaper reporting on a city’s principal public meetings and events, then Whitewater has been a news desert since the nearby Daily Jefferson County Union stopped reporting on Whitewater’s common council & school board meetings. If coverage means timely, insightful,…
History, Politics, Presidential race 2020, Trump
Trump Rallies on Juneteenth in Tulsa
by JOHN ADAMS •
Trump is both ignorant and slow, but his aide Stephen Miller is neither. Knowing as much about these men, one reads that the Trump campaign has picked Juneteenth for a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma: How can you further inflame racial tensions? Send the president, who has called those protesting for racial equality “thugs,” to a…
Babbittry, City, Corruption, Federal Government, Law, Local Government, Official Misconduct, Open Government, Police, Politics, State Government
Cameras, Not Committees
by JOHN ADAMS •
Recent protests across America against excessive and biased use of police force began after ordinary people in those communities recorded official (to the point of murderous) actions, and then shared their recordings with others. It was not government – local, state, or federal – that promptly shared these recordings of excessive force; it was ordinary…
America, Politics, Poll, Trump
Trump’s Undersized Base
by JOHN ADAMS •
Polling from Morning Consult illustrates well the limitations of Trump’s base-only strategy: his support (base and supportive voters) represents less than needed for re-election. That support is, in fact, notably consistent in its inadequacy: Over many months, including before the brunt of the pandemic, Trump has been stuck in a weak position. This does not…
Babbittry, Bad Ideas, Boosterism, City, Culture, Local Government, Politics, School District, University
The Lingering Problem of Local Exceptionalism
by JOHN ADAMS •
A common error in small rural communities is the persistent, false claim that local officials are examples of a local exceptionalism that makes them implicitly immune from the flaws and mistakes that beset the rest of humanity. Under this thinking, while there may be problems in the wider world, there are no local examples of…
America, Bigotry, History, Never Trump, Politics, Treason, Trump
The Flag of Treason
by JOHN ADAMS •
Politics, Trump, Violence
Trump Can Incite, But He Can’t Quell
by JOHN ADAMS •
The man who in 2016 arrogantly declared “I alone can fix it” spent party of Friday evening sheltering in the White House bunker. Trump is unique among presidents in his support for vigilantism (see Donald Trump is America’s First Vigilante President). Inciting others to violent, illegal action (or excusing that action among this supporters) is…
Politics, Self-Dealing, US Senate
#RichMitch
by JOHN ADAMS •
2020 Presidential Election, Politics, Trump
Rep. Justin Amash Learns There Are Only Two Significant Sides in This Conflict
by JOHN ADAMS •
Rep. Justin Amash, who toyed with running for president as a third-party candidate, has decided against doing so. Amash has come – however slowly – to see that, in his words, “circumstances don’t lend themselves to my success as a candidate for president this year.” His candidacy was always a bad idea. See Only a Grand…
Politics, Trump
3 Views of the Trump Digital Campaign Operation
by JOHN ADAMS •
Trump’s campaign manager, Brad Parscale, is proud of the digital campaign operation he’s created for Trump’s election. He’s even referred to it (absurdly) as a ‘Death Star’ operation. Views of the Trump digital offering are mixed. Dave Weigel sees Trump digital platform as interactively engaging for Trump’s fans: Trump 2020 did not let me go…
Coronavirus, Federal Government, Local Government, Planning, Politics, Public Health, State Government
A Necessary Public Policy Question
by JOHN ADAMS •
Now, and ending one knows not when, public policy proposals that involve human interaction should address, as a necessary element, the question of whether the coronavirus pandemic affects the proposal. A person might assume that he could walk through a forest without ever encountering a wolf, and even convince himself that, by power of suggestion…
Politics, Trump, U.S. Senate
Forced Retirement
by JOHN ADAMS •
Senators Collins, Gardner, McSally, and Tillis put Donald Trump before their voters, every time. So let’s help force these Trump sycophants into retirement later this year.
Libertarians, Never Trump, Politics, Presidential race 2020
Repost: Only a Grand Coalition Will Prevail
by JOHN ADAMS •
Posted originally 4.14.20 — and still true. One reads that Justin Amash, a congressman from Michigan, is thinking about a third-party run for the presidency. Forget him; only a grand coalition will assure Trump’s defeat. Those of us who are Never Trump (mostly conservatives but some libertarians as I am), are part of a diverse…