The WEDC is a state and national story that has local implications. Some of the toughest political battles are intra-party ones: Republicans or Democrats fighting against fellow party members for their respective primary nominations. For rival Republicans, Gov. Walker’s creation of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will offer a legitimate and compelling line of attack against his…
149 search results for "boosterism"
City, Culture, Local Government, School District, University
The Last Inside Accounts
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
America has a continent, Wisconsin a vast expanse, and Whitewater nine beautiful square miles. For Whitewater’s waning top-tier notables, however, there’s no more area than an arm’s length among a few dozen men and women. When even one of them steps aside for the bathroom, the remaining universe for the others shrinks by a percent…
City, Government Spending, Health, Waste Digesters
The Wastewater Facility Upgrades and a Digester
by JOHN ADAMS • • 5 Comments
On Tuesday night, Common Council heard the proposed cost of wastewater upgrades ($18.7 million) and the separate possibility of large digester. Let’s be clear about what a big digester’s “solids treatment” truly is: a process of importing other cities’ unwanted manure, human excrement, and industrial filth into Whitewater. A few quick comments, as there is…
Local Government, Press
Anger and Exhaustion Stalk Local Elites
by JOHN ADAMS • • 3 Comments
Years of asking for money for big-ticket projects for big-talking cronies, and insisting on imaginary successes and fabricated accomplishments, have left local insiders facing community anger and exhaustion. Of the two, exhaustion is – by far – the more debilitating to town squires’ plans. Anger flares over a project, here and there, and sometimes prevails…
Recent Tweets, 8.14-8.20
by JOHN ADAMS •
New York Times describes Wisconsin Supreme Court as ‘A Study in Judicial Dysfunction’ nyti.ms/nX1EpX 20 Aug Lunatic Alert™: Arizona sheriff promises Obama-eligibility probe – via equally nutty WorldNetDaily bit.ly/rqBoMR 19 Aug A prime aim of the growing Surveillance State – bit.ly/ciwJzl Mobile bit.ly/ppBV11 19 Aug PolitiFact’s silly, picayune critique of Rep. Baldwin’s statement about recalls taking place in reddest…
Politics
Wisconsin Reporter: Incredible, Ignorant Enthusiasm
by JOHN ADAMS •
I wrote yesterday about a new group of sham news sites, and mentioned the Wisconsin Reporter as among them. (If I had a dime for every time that website misspelled something, and later claimed the misspelling was just a typo, I’d have…lot and lots of dimes.) That’s not their big problem, of course: the big…
Politics
Peers and Politicians
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve often teased about a false nostalgia, the notion that everything was better decades ago. (The contemporary version is a false boosterism, the insistence that everything is wonderful now.) Some things, however, were better generations ago. One was once routinely taught that the fit subjects for criticism were typically peers and politicians. The expression is…
Economy, Poverty, Walworth County
Whitewater Among Top Six Walworth County Communities for Foreclosures
by JOHN ADAMS •
Although Whitewater is a larger city than some others in the county, nothing about her presence on a foreclosure list is auspicious. If there’s even the slightest doubt that these last several years have been unfavorable for countless thousands in the county, perhaps another disappointing statistic will overturn years of empty boosterism. See, Top Six…
City, Free Markets, Libertarians, Liberty
Sundry Libertarian Themes
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve had an eclectic set of posts lately, perhaps more even than usual. Someone asked me if there’s a theme to them, and there is. These recent posts reflect a libertarian view (although not exclusively a libertarian one.) I’ll list some posts, with a few remarks on each. First, what do we believe? Libertarians support…
Innovation Center/Tech Park
Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Innovation Center: The Limits of Photography
by JOHN ADAMS •
I wrote on Friday, in a post entitled, About that Public Hearing… (Part 2), that one could show how a recent announcement about Whitewater’s Innovation Center isn’t merely ineffective, but counter-productive, to the interests of that project’s proponents. I’m a critic of the project, and there are times when I think: I wish proponents would…
Recent Tweets, 9-12 to 9-18
by JOHN ADAMS •
Bacteria Ate Mostly Gas, Not Oil In BP Spill http://huff.to/d9vqu7 September 16, 2010 9:09:38 PM RealClearMarkets – AP – Markets – – US homes lost to foreclosure up 25 pct on year http://bit.ly/aZgEU4 September 16, 2010 9:06:10 PM CDT BBC News – Pigeon flies past broadband in data speed race » FREE WHITEWATER http://bit.ly/9i2uow September…
City
Community Surveys and Popularity Real and Imagined
by JOHN ADAMS •
In December 2009, the City of Whitewater announced the results of a “2009 Comprehensive Plan Community Survey.” Whitewater’s City Manager, Kevin Brunner, predictably touted the results as proof of satisfaction with his municipal administration. Around that time, I saw the survey results online, but I’m sorry to say I didn’t comment on the survey or…
City
Curious Aspects of a Rural Town
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
I have written a few overview posts, these past two weeks, highlighting unusual and curious aspects of life here. I will resume a more conventional posting schedule, with a daily morning feature, beginning next week. In the meantime, I will finish highlighting some of the ways that we’re just not the rural town that the…
City
The Truth About Cars
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
The Truth About Cars is a group blog, that Robert Farago founded because he felt that few were writing honestly and candidly about the automobile industry. Here’s a description from TTAC website: The Truth About Cars provides no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners automotive reviews and industry-related editorials. Our writers call it like they see it, and pull no…