Good for him: Sheboygan teenager and potential recall mayoral candidate Asher Heimermann said he intends to ignore a cease and desist letter from Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan to take down a fake Twitter account claiming to be Ryan, saying the account complies with the social media websites rules for parody and does not rise to…
Politics
Freedom of Speech, Liberty, Politics
Time names ‘The Protester’ Person of the Year
by JOHN ADAMS •
A solid choice: ….In short, 2011 was unlike any year since 1989 — but more extraordinary, more global, more democratic, since in ’89 the regime disintegrations were all the results of a single disintegration at headquarters, one big switch pulled in Moscow that cut off the power throughout the system. So 2011 was unlike any…
Business, Federal Government, Politics
In U.S., Fear of Big Government at Near-Record Level
by JOHN ADAMS •
Americans’ concerns about the threat of big government continue to dwarf those about big business and big labor, and by an even larger margin now than in March 2009. The 64% of Americans who say big government will be the biggest threat to the country is just one percentage point shy of the record high,…
Free Markets, Libertarians, Politics
GOP Message-Massager Frank Luntz, in the Wake of Occupy Wall Street
by JOHN ADAMS •
Matt Welch writes about the GOP’s needless fear, and silly response, to the Occupy movement: Did you need a little Monday morning reminder of why GOP politics and libertarian ideals so rarely mix when Republicans hold power? Well check out this piece from last week by Yahoo News Chris Moody, who went inside a recent…
Libertarians, Politics
Libertarian-leaning Ron Paul Clocks Newt Gingrich
by JOHN ADAMS •
Too, too funny — libertarian Ron Paul hits Newt Gingrich from the right, using conservatives (many of whom Paul himself rejects!), to disparage Gingrich as a money-grubbing, shifty, business-as-usual politician. Gingrich’s problem is that Paul’s right: Gingrich really is a money-grubbing, shifty, business-as-usual politician. Via Newt Gingrich: Serial Hypocrisy – YouTube.
Freedom of Speech, Liberty, Police, Politics
The Misuse of Law Enforcement Against Peaceful Protesters
by JOHN ADAMS •
I may have my doubts about the Occupy movement’s platform (such as it is), but I’ve none about the aggressive use of law enforcement against peaceful protesters: that use is wrong, being both offensive and contrary to America’s political tradition. The Huffington Post offers up a video of excessive use of force against seated protesters…
City, Freedom of Speech, Politics, Recall, University, Wisconsin
On Occupy Whitewater, 11.17.11
by JOHN ADAMS •
There was an Occupy Whitewater protest and rally on November 17 through this morning. Some attended a protest yesterday, a GOP counter-demonstration, a talk with three Democratic politicians, or camped over. The photograph above is from the morning of the eighteenth, with tents from those sleeping overnight occupying Whitewater. As one could tell, from the…
Freedom of Speech, Liberty, Police, Politics
84-Year-Old Woman Becomes the Pepper-Sprayed Face of Occupy Seattle
by JOHN ADAMS •
Photo: Joshua Trujillo / Seattle Post-Intelligencer Worse than outrageous: Seattle photographer Joshua Trujillo captured what may become the defining image of this week of Occupy unrest — an elderly woman being led away from the mayhem, her face covered with pepper spray. A pregnant woman and a preist were also hit with pepper spray during a…
Film, Politics
Television and Film: Inspiring, Instructive, and Misleading
by JOHN ADAMS •
Americans have all the drama, comedy, horror, and adventure programs and films anyone might want (and more each day, as desire and creativity are both dynamic). There are so many ways in which so much art is enjoyable and useful. That’s true of what appears on the screen, and true of what one thinks of…
Politics, Religion
On Schedule: Left Reports on How Right is Upset with Romney’s Mormonism
by JOHN ADAMS •
Politics
Gov. Walker’s Actual Political Standing in Wisconsin (October 2011)
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’m not a Walker supporter, because Gov. Walker’s far from libertarian. If one is a Walker supporter – as the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute surely is – it’s right to see Walker’s political prospects honestly. Despite a bit of spin in a WPRI narrative, a recent poll commissioned and published by WPRI reveals Gov. Walker’s…
Politics
Conservative Website FreeRepublic.com to Romney Supporters: ‘ENEMIES OF THE CONSTITUTION … ARE NOT WELCOME HERE’
by JOHN ADAMS •
No real surprise about FreeRepublic.com taking this position, but other rightwing sites may follow, and that’s the bigger deal for Romney. I’m no fan of Romney, but I wouldn’t consider him an enemy of the Constitution. (He’s more like a younger McCain in his politics, but that similarity only cements his reputation as an enemy…
Politics
A Very Simple Venn Diagram of Where the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street Agree
by JOHN ADAMS •
From Alexis Madrigal of The Atlantic (h/t Althouse). I’d say this is about right, and also shows where libertarians (who share some of the beliefs of these two groups, but definitely not others) land: in the overlapping area of TP and OWS, coming from the area Madrigal assigns to the TP (government has too much…
Crime, Politics
Guilty plea in marijuana case forces Whitewater city councilman to step down – Walworth County Today
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a solid, straightforward story about the conviction by plea and subsequent resignation of Whitewater Common Council member Javonni Butler over at the Gazette, portions of which are excerpted below. Of this, three things may be said with confidence: that for some, this is a moment of particular schadenfreude; that so hidebound is Whitewater that…