I saw a story in the Chicago Tribune about how red-winged blackbirds were attacking pedestrians and cyclists along walkways in Chicago. The Tribune story, to which I have linked, even has photographs of a blackbird attacking a cyclist. No how, no way did the poor cyclist deserve such mistreatment. The attacks are so common that…

Over at the Wisconsin State Journal, there’s a story on the Wisconsin Department of Revenue’s assessment that Wisconsin will not see economic recovery until 2010. That’s a long way off for many businesses and families. The Dept. of Revenue report is a statewide assessment; some areas may lag the Wisconsin average. One could guess —…

Here’s a video this morning, instead of my Friday cartoon feature, in which the Beatles sing about how much they like the rain. Enjoy.

Here’s a description of a group within a struggling community. Who’s the group, and what’s the community? Recognize anyone you know? The answer this evening… [L]ocals were overwhelmed. Modern…ways and the waves of foreigners had created among them a sense of panic, he said, “the erosion of everything traditional and a real sense of insecurity.”…

On Monday, I published a post on local politics entitled, “Local Incumbency.” The post was a brief — too brief, I think — stab at the idea (well-circulated long ago) that politicians, despite ideological rhetoric, tend toward self-interest. There’s a school of economics and political thought — public choice theory — that admirably sets out…

It was a year ago that FREE WHITEWATER began. Since then, there have been hundreds of posts, on dozens of topics. Many have addressed the administration of justice in our small town, and other posts considered the right of free expression. My interest in these topics is unchanged. Nonetheless, I did not begin writing for…

There’s a new feature that I have added to the site, on the right sidebar. It’s called ‘Now Reading’ it shows what a blogger has on his or her reading list. There’s also a section to add a review of books finished. The plug in was created by Rob Miller, a college student in England,…

Here’s a Felix the Cat cartoon from 1923. Entitled, “Felix the Cat Get Broadcasted,” it’s both an example of an emerging technology of the time, and a sci fi prediction of what might one day be possible. Enjoy.

There’s a story online at Newsweek entitled, “The Left Starts to Rethink Ronald Reagan.” The story features an interview with Sean Wilentz, a prominent liberal activist, who has been reconsidering Reagan’s legacy. (Wilnetz’s reconsideration follows Sen. Obama’s remarks that Reagan was a ‘transformational’ president.) Wilnetz sees much that was positive in Reagan, and urges others…

I’ve mentioned before that I consider blogging part of a Once and Future American Tradition. Americans were pamphleteers once, and some are bloggers now. There are hundreds of blogs in Wisconsin covering local affairs in their respective towns. More than half are written pseudonymously, the way many pamphlets were early in our tradition. If I…

Ballpark is an occasional series of posts following the Brewers season. In this post, I’ll talk about the Brewers’ opening series of the 2008 season. St. Louis may be a serious rival, but no Brewers fan doubts that the greater rivalry is with the Cubs. Like the Brewers, the Cubs have been a regular-season-and-out team.…

Ballpark is an occasional series of posts following the Brewers season. In this post, I’ll make a few general observations about the Brewers, and their prospects this season. The Milwaukee Brewers have been a professional ball club, under that name, since 1970. They played their first game on Tuesday, April 7th 1970 at County Stadium.…