Do you remember when Gen. MacArthur called for dedication to ‘Duty, Honor, Country, and Local Government’? Neither do I. He called, of course, for dedication to Duty, Honor, Country. It wouldn’t have occured to him to exhort a commitment to municipal government. America speaks – when she speaks most movingly – in the language of…
Politics
City, Politics
The Search for a Majority in Whitewater (Identity Politics Won’t Get You There)
by JOHN ADAMS •
I posted yesterday about the search for a majority in Whitewater. A political majority, whether temporary or permanent, requires three satisfied conditions: (1) a means of communications, (2) an understanding of the demographics of one’s audience, and (3) an issue around which a majority will form. More means of communication are better than fewer, but we have ample…
Business, City, Economics, Economy, Free Markets, Government Spending, Politics
The Growth That Uplifts
by JOHN ADAMS •
In a recent interview, Ana Revenga, senior director of the World Bank’s Poverty and Equity Group, talks about ending extreme poverty. See, Ending Extreme Poverty: World Bank Economist Ana Revenga @ The Christian Century. (The World Bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than $1.90 per person per day, and the article describes how…
City, Culture, Politics, Puzzles/Tricks
The Colors of a Rubik’s Cube
by JOHN ADAMS •
Imagine that one sees a Rubik’s Cube for the first time, on a table nearby. Three sides of that six-sided object are visible, displaying small squares of red, blue, and white. Consider this initial puzzle: What colors are the other three sides? How would one determine, with confidence, the colors on those sides obscured from…
City, Culture, Economy, Politics, School District, University
The City Never Sleeps
by JOHN ADAMS •
In the broadest, figurative sense, Whitewater never sleeps. Like any other place, she’s constantly changing, either to her benefit or detriment, but changing nonetheless. (It’s only the parochial myth that she’s already achieved a level of perfection that obscures the obvious truth of constant flux.) Glance away, for one day or forty, and when one…
Elections, Politics, Walworth County
On Wisconsin’s 2.16.16 Primary
by JOHN ADAMS •
Results are in from yesterday’s February primary, and there are a few clues about the April 5th election, with one big uncertainty. First, the obvious uncertainty. The Republican and Democratic presidential races have offered surprises, and will likely offer more. One or both major-party contests may still be raging by 4.5.16. Ongoing interest in either, or…
Elections, Elkhorn, Politics, Walworth County
The Walworth County Circuit Court Race (Preliminaries)
by JOHN ADAMS •
One may say two things, preliminarily, about the Walworth County Circuit Court race: It’s a race between generally conservative candidates; there are no left-right differences of significance. Incumbent District Attorney Dan Necci, after only briefly serving in that role, is running with almost no local, official support for his candidacy from among those with whom…
City, Local Government, Politics
The Importance of Why
by JOHN ADAMS •
In our state, local candidates have an early-January deadline by which to declare their candidacies for the 2016 election. In a small town, there’s bound to be some curiosity about who’s running. That curiosity, however, is merely a superficial – and often personality-driven – concern. It’s not who, but why someone seeks office that matters. Why…
City, Culture, Local Government, Politics
Commentary & Chronicle
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
I’ve been writing, happily, from Whitewater for years. Writing like this has, to my mind, two aspects: as commentary and as chronicle. Blogging as commentary is obvious, of course. Blogging as chronicle, however is just as important, if not more so. One writes sometimes to advocate, but always to describe. Longtime readers know that I have…
City, Misconduct, Politics
About Extraordinary Accounts
by JOHN ADAMS •
Politics, Presidential race 2016
GOP in MKE: Tonight at the Milwaukee Theatre
by JOHN ADAMS •
POLITICO has answers to likely questions about tonight’s debate: Everything you need to know about Tuesday’s Republican debate. Here are the two important answers about the main debate (an undercard debate will begin at 6 PM CST): When and how long is the debate? The prime-time debate will last two hours and begins at 9…
City, Culture, Local Government, Politics, School District, University
A, B, and Wrong
by JOHN ADAMS •
Most choices for government, such as an option between Policy Choice A or Policy Choice B, involve choices of ordinary outcomes. One option may be more efficient than the other, or one more aesthetically pleasing than an alternative, but either would be considered a normal, reasonable policy outcome. Preferences of the Right or Left, of…
City, Local Government, Politics, University
Whitewater’s Major Public Institutions Produce a Net Loss (And Why It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way)
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve often contended – and about this I’m sure – that most people are sharp and capable. It’s only on this foundation that a prosperous and dynamic culture like America’s would be – could be – possible. Whitewater’s major public institutions – her city government, school district, and local university – produce this unexpected result: although members of…
Blogging, Business, CDA, City, Free Markets, Gluttony, Local Government, New Media, New Whitewater, Politics
If Market-Based Solutions Are Superior to Cronyism, Why Are There So Many Cronies?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a question, concerning even small towns like Whitewater, for which the Financial Times publishes an answer: If market-based solutions are superior to cronyism, why are there so many cronies? First, there aren’t that many cronies (or insistent insiders) in Whitewater or elsewhere, but the few there are manipulate or intimidate weak reporters at local papers into representing their numbers as…