Christmas on Mars, a film from The Flaming Lips, one of America’s finest psychedelic alternative rock bands, will soon be in Whitewater. Yes, Whitewater, Wisconsin. I received a helpful heads up from Ray Privett of Cinema Purgatorio announcing upcoming dates for the film. Here are the dates for our area — Wisconsin: Whitewater, Wisconsin: Theatres…

Good morning, Whitewater There are no public meetings scheduled for the city today. You stay private, Whitewater! (Hat tip to the fine screenwriters of Anchorman.) The National Weather Service forecasts sunny weather, with temperature of 79 degrees. The Farmers’ Almanac predicts that pleasant conditions will continue. Yesterday’s better prediction: Even. An FA forecast of pleasant…

I have enjoyed this first half of September, and the beginning of fall weather.  As much as I have enjoyed the repose of these several days, I prefer blogging far more.  For the remainder of the week, beginning Wednesday, here’s a partial list of upcoming topics:   The LP campaign through mid-September Empty Accountability Register…

Twitter.com is a program that allows one to post messages of less than one-hundred forty characters, via the Web, email, or text. The messages are formally supposed to respond to a single question: What are you doing now?  Each message is called a ‘tweet,’ and others can follow those tweets, to learn what a friend,…

I posted earlier this week on a news report that Columbia County D.A. Jane Kohlwey signed a secret deal with a criminal defendant (a deputy) so that the defendant could avoid a felony conviction.  The Wisconsin State Journal carried the story, originally from the Baraboo News Republic.  Here are remarks from today’s State Journal editorial: The…

One would think, and hope, that if an American citizen could protest peacefully anywhere, then he or she would be able to protest outside a political convention hall.  Officials in Denver may have decided that a political convention means fewer rights for nearby citizens.    News website Raw Story reports that police and municipal officials may have committed numerous…

Readers know that I am opposed to confidentiality agreements in municipal litigation: lawsuits against public entities, about public matters, involving public figures should be publicly known.    Recently, Wisconsin’s Crime Victims Rights Board reprimanded Columbia County District Attorney Jane Kohlwey for something worse: a secret deal with a defendant’s attorney.       The AP Wire…

I saw a post at a website comment board, that had the name of the poster, and his supposed comments. Here’s what it looked like: Joe Biden – “Here’s a little speech that I wrote last night: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears…” A small joke, but amusing to find on a comment board,…

Sheboygan confronts a lawsuit – a chaotic and troublesome matter. What are a few of the challenges awaiting a city in this situation? (Sheboygan is far from my own small city – my analysis is general and implies no specific assessment or even comparison between the cities. Later this week, I will update on a…

In a prior post, I mentioned the egregious and reprehensible treatment of Jennifer Reisinger, the blogger at Sheboygan Shenanigans. Her encounter with municipal officials occurred in 2007. Why do municipal officials go wrong this way? I am not from Sheboygan, but I will offer a few guesses about how so-called public servants go astray, and…

Wisconsin has thousands of bloggers, and among that number is one who covers municipal affairs in Sheboygan. Her name is Jennifer Reisinger, and she is the blogger at Sheboygan Shenanigans. There are both similarities and differences between her website and FREE WHITEWATER: she is conservative, where I am a libertarian; she uses her own name,…

Talent and experience raise daunting expectations. Watching the Planning Commission, one feels that they have all the ability that success requires. If they should fall short, it won’t be for lack of ability or commitment. A dozen outside events might obstruct their efforts; still, they have as strong a roster as any commission in the…

At last night’s meeting, a local church sought a conditional use permit to move into a former liquor store’s location. Although, I firmly believe that a church should be treated like any other conditional use applicant, I see easily the political and social risk in not treating the application delicately. To serve the city well,…