Here’s a question about (limited) government: If the residents of a town want an official fired, is the fundamental problem that they’re asking that he be fired, or the reason that they’re asking? In the Township of Linn, not far from Whitewater, a group of residents want the police chief fired. They’ve filed a complaint…
Politics
Politics
State Journal: Running for Governor (of WI) with Hope — but without much money or recognition
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a story at the Wisconsin State Journal about small-party candidates who are running for governor of Wisconsin. See, Running for Governor with Hope — but without much money or recognition. It says much about our politics that although Wisconsin makes it easy for smaller-party candidates to get on the ballot, they’re unknowns. The story…
Law, Politics
Wisconsin Supreme Court Deadlocks in the Gableman Ethics Case
by JOHN ADAMS •
Wisconsin’s newest Supreme Court justice, Michael Gableman, is embroiled in an ethics case, and Wednesday night (!) that court deadlocked on whether Gableman committed misconduct. See, Supreme Court Deadlocks in Gableman Ethics Case. The issue before the court was. as Ryan Foley of the Associated Press notes, was “whether Justice Michael Gableman violated the judicial…
Politics
Milwaukee County’s Immoral Utilitarianism: Update 14 (Trying to Hide the Truth Until After the Election)
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a new story at the Journal Sentinel entitled, “Review of Patient Safety at Mental Health Complex to Take Year: Board will issue recommendation in the interim for consideration in county’s 2011 budget.” The story offers new and vital information: Waiting until after the November elections: Milwaukee County has already tried to quell controversy with…
Politics
Update: The Outgoing Wisconsin Administration’s Cronyism
by JOHN ADAMS •
I posted last week about the cushy job that a Doyle Administration official, Michael Morgan, got with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. See, The Outgoing Wisconsin Administration’s Cronyism. Morgan didn’t even need to submit a resume before he got the six-figure job! (A public records request from the Wisconsin State Journal revealed that he emailed it…
Freedom of Speech, Liberty, Politics
Our Robust Heritage: “The Feuding Founding Fathers”
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve contended consistently that robust, polemical commentary is part of the American political tradition, and that it always has been. (On the left side of FREE WHITEWATER, there’s a link to a few examples from different times in our long history.) Ron Chernow, author of Alexander Hamilton and Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller,…
Freedom of Speech, Politics
Reason.tv Interview with Brian Lamb of C-SPAN
by JOHN ADAMS •
Few people have made government more visible to more Americans than Brian Lamb, the CEO of C-SPAN. Because of Lamb’s efforts, millions of Americans have seen live proceedings of the U.S. House and Senate, public hearings, political debates, and lectures on public policy, history, and literature. Reason.tv has a short interview — about six minutes…
Politics
The Outgoing Wisconsin Administration’s Cronyism
by JOHN ADAMS •
When people go looking for a job, they’re often asked to provide a resume. For more demanding and higher-paying jobs, it’s a standard practice across America. (America: a vast continental republic of over three-hundred million people.) Wisconsin’s part of America (at last check), but there’s different standard for one highly-placed member of the Doyle administration.…
Politics, Press
The Real Surprise in the U.S. News and World Report Poll on Sarah Palin
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a U.S. News and World Report poll about Sarah Palin, asking what readers think of her. It’s not surprising that newspapers and websites have polls about Palin, as she’s well-known, and typically evokes an opinion from readers. My point here isn’t about Palin, but about the website that offers the poll. What’s surprising is…
Government Spending, Laws/Regulations, Politics
Wisconsin’s Criminals Find Work as Lobbyists
by JOHN ADAMS •
Politics
Nick Gillespie on Congressional Conflicts of Interest
by JOHN ADAMS •
On CNBC, libertarian Nick Gillepie argues against financial conflict of interest reporting requirements. He contends that the resulting information is confusing to voters, and that those politicians without interests in the fields they regulate are often ignorant of the underlying subject matter. I’m not persuaded that we should abandon reporting requirements. I am persuaded of…
Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Politics
Institute for Justice: Protecting Grassroots Activism
by JOHN ADAMS •
Freedom of speech and assembly are rights the United States Constitution, and the Wisconsin Constitution, readily recognize. Activism — persuading someone to a cause — should be free in a free society. Better put, we could not be a free society if conditions were otherwise. And yet, that simple truth runs against the schemes of…
Government Spending, Politics
Reason.tv: Is Hillary Clinton Right That The Rich Don’t Pay “Their Fair Share” in Taxes?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Secretary of State Clinton recently said that productive Americans, among others in the developed world, don’t pay their fair share of taxes. (Clinton offered that observation at the Brookings Institution earlier this week. Clinton was quick to say that she was not speaking for the administration of which she is, after all, a Senate-confirmed cabinet…
City, Free Markets, Planning, Politics
Whitewater Local Government’s Favoritism of Some Local Businesses Over Others
by JOHN ADAMS •
In towns across America, private businesses and groups compete for support. This is to be expected and defended in a free society. That competition for support need not — and should not — receive a preferential boost from local government. It’s only in a community where bureaucrats are confused about the limits of government that…