Good morning.
Thursday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 17. Sunrise is 7:05 AM and sunset 5:11 PM for 10h 05m 38s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 7% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Landmarks Commission meets at 6 PM.
On this day in 1690, the colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in the Americas.
Jennifer Rubin writes How a free society can respond to right-wing disinformation:
First, it can counter educational arson by making speech more accessible. School boards want to ban “Maus”? Buy a copy of the book for every schoolchild in that district. Right-wing crusaders want to excise the Rev.Martin Luther King Jr. from the curriculum? Bring in pop culture icons to lead public discussions and provide a complete picture of America’s struggle for racial equality. And, as President Biden did with the Tulsa race massacre, he can use his bully pulpit, public celebrations and monuments to share the history the right would rather bury. (It wouldn’t hurt for him to denounce book banning.)
Second, refuse to normalize lies. Don’t give Jan. 6 apologists and vaccine deniers a free pass on mainstream media. Do not treat the right’s campaign of vicious lies as a function of horserace politics. Be clear about who is doing the censoring. (Media reports that cover the spread of book banning without saying who is banning them disguise the responsible players and suggest the phenomenon is not tied to a political agenda.)
Third, private actors (e.g., book publishers, universities, social media platforms) should reiterate their standards. Not every utterance by a professor warrants a firing, but neither should egregious (let alone repeated) bigotry go unnoticed. Suspension from media platforms should precede expulsion. A more nuanced response to vile speech will reduce cries of victimhood.
Finally, the right’s successful engagement in local politics must be matched by those committed to a free, democratic society. Run for school board. Petition local leaders. Organize rallies and engage in the free marketplace of ideas. The best solution to bad speech is, and always has been, more good speech.
Why water skitters off sizzling surfaces – and how to stop it: