One reads that 33-year-old Bucks exec Alex Lasry got COVID-19 vaccine, says he was ‘lucky’ to jump line: As the son of a billionaire, Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry is used to jumping to the front of the line. The 33-year-old New York native is even thinking of running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate from…
Politics
America, Authoritarianism, Congress, Documentary, Never Trump, Politics, Trump, Trumpism
Frontline: Trump’s American Carnage
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
In the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, FRONTLINE investigates how Donald Trump’s presidency laid the groundwork for bitter divisions, violence and ultimately insurrection. “Trump’s American Carnage” investigates Trump’s siege on his enemies, the media and even the leaders of his own party, who for years ignored the warning signs of what…
Culture, Local Government, Politics
Local ‘Apolitical’ Isn’t Apolitical and Never Was
by JOHN ADAMS • • 3 Comments
One sometimes hears that local politics should be purely local, without regard to state or (especially) national issues. Local politics has never been purely local, and in any event purely local is a stunted standard. For decades, in small cities like Whitewater, the disingenuous claim of an apolitical local atmosphere belied a center-right politics. Which…
Newspapers, Politics, Press, Sen. Ron Johnson
The Journal Sentinel’s Footnoted Reply to Ron Johnson’s Op-Ed
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
Last week, the Journal Sentinel called on Sen. Ron Johnson to resign or be expelled over his repeated election-related lies and conspiracy theories. Johnson wrote in reply to the paper. In response to his reply, the Journal Sentinel footnoted Johnson’s reply with 19 specific refutations. A few remarks: If Johnson runs again, the Journal Sentinel won’t decide…
Conflicts of Interest, Elections, Local Government, Newspapers, Politics, Press, Press Release, School District
Campaign Conflicts of Interest at a Self-Described Local News Source
by JOHN ADAMS • • 5 Comments
The Whitewater Unified School District’s board will see a contested February primary and a contested April general election. Regrettably, Whitewater has no professional newspaper, print or electronic, to cover that race. A post from today at the Whitewater Banner, entitled “Whitewater Unified School District Returns to In-Person Learning; Tom Ganser Photos Show the Excitement at…
Babbittry, Boosterism, Conflicts of Interest, Culture, Disinformation, Local Government, Mendacity, Negligence, Politics, Public Relations, Reasoning, School District, Self-Dealing, That Which Paved the Way, Trump, Trumpism, University
Consequences, Accountability, Repentance, Redemption
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
David Frum, writing of Trump & Trumpism in The Conservative Cult of Victimhood, observes that There is no redemption without repentance. There is no repentance without accountability. There is no accountability without consequences. He rightly concludes that for the Trumpists, the absence of a moral order of accountability and repentance has meant that Even as Trump commits…
City, Culture, Demographics, Economy, Education, Local Government, Politics, School District
Local 2021 Races in the Whitewater Area
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Update: this post about local politics, with an optimistic final sentence, was published before the morning and afternoon events in Washington. It has always been true – and always will be true – that what harms the country harms the city; what stains the nation stains the city. Every moment of opposition to Trump and…
Aside
Having descended nationally into a dead-end assemblage of ‘pardoned felon, adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, a White House trade adviser and a Russian agent’s former lover,’ versions of the same yet scheme for local office. As there is nationally, there is also a need to oppose Trumpism down to the local level as it moves – walking, crawling, or slithering – to the detriment of small and beautiful cities.
Conspiracy Theories, Elections, Politics, Sen. Ron Johnson, US Senate
Ron Johnson’s 12.16.20 Senate Hearing on Election Security
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
Yesterday, Sen. Ron Johnson held a hearing as the (outgoing) chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. A video of the full hearing appears above. Johnson may run for a third term, and even if he doesn’t, his role in support of Trump and his affinity for a Trumpist outlook make him a subject of…
Crime, Law, Politics, Trump, Trumpism
Trump and 2024
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Gerrymandering, Politics, Sen. Ron Johnson, Trumpism, Wisconsin, WISGOP
Probable Wisconsin Political Issues for 2021
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Although one can confidently doubt that ‘everything changes’ after the pandemic, there are in any year prominent political issues. Some are national, some statewide, some local. One can guess correctly that the new year will entertain at least three notable statewide issues, each summarized below. These are statewide issues that will reach deep into every…
America, City, Culture, Ethics, Never Trump, Politics, School District, Trump
They’ve Become What They Once Despised
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
The greatest tragedies are injuries inflicted on the innocent. There are, however, other sad moments of our time, among them the collapse of responsibile conservatism into Trumpian irresponsibility & dishonesty. So many conservatives have become what they once despised. A local example would be proud conservatives who now insist, nationally or locally, that government is…
Politics
Shark Week, Revisited
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
City, Culture, Law, Local Government, Open Government, Politics, Wisconsin
In Whitewater, Three Recent Trespasses Against Public Comment
by JOHN ADAMS • • 6 Comments
Whitewater’s public comment periods are lawful rights worth defending, and there has never been a time when respecting public comment – humbly and gratefully – has been more important for the city. Since June, there have been three meetings during which Whitewater’s current council president has deprecated public comment, or wrongly set the order of…