FREE WHITEWATER

Libertarians

David Boaz: The Politics of Freedom

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I came home last night, and saw that my copy of The Politics of Freedom, by David Boaz of the Cato Institute, had arrived. Boaz, naturally, advocates a libertarian approach to the challenges — and opportunities — before America.

Anyone who visits the website of the Cato Institute will see that those writing there are serious men and women, who love America. You may not agree with everything that you see there, and I don’t know anyone who would agree with every position someone else takes, in any event. (Cato also has a blog, too, called Cato@Liberty.)

One thing’s clear, though — many of the ideas from the urbane and thoughtful man and women of Cato are shared by millions, and it betrays an ignorance of our politics to think that libertarians are just a fringe group of “anti-government radicals.”

Boaz is executive vice president at Cato, the largest libertarian think tank in the world. He’s written several books, including Libertarianism: A Primer and he edited the Libertarian Reader.

I ordered a copy from Amazon, but it’s also available on the Cato website. (Even after all these years, it’s still impressive to click on an item at Amazon, and have it show up, quickly, on your doorstep. Just one more thing to like about America, and convenient in a small town.)

I’ll post a review as soon as I’m finished.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread: Tuesday, March 18, 2008

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Good morning, Whitewater

Well, I have had some great new suggestions for the title of this daily feature, far better than any of the ideas that I had concocted. Abigail, my discerning wife, picked Daily Bread (with Adams’ A.M. Announcements as a close second.) Thanks much for all your suggestions.

We have a Common Council meeting tonight, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will air live on our public access channel, Station 13. The agenda does not list any particularly controversial items, but is available on the City of Whitewater webpage for downloading. Like most towns, much of the agenda involves resolutions or considerations on non-controversial items. For example, item C-2, under considerations, mentions “Presentation & Report of 1st Annual Stormwater Report.” Not exciting, but necessary….

Sometimes a little less excitement is a good thing.

Weather’s still dreary, with an 80% chance of rain, and a high of 40 degrees. The Farmers’ Almanac said that the weather would likely improve as the week went on, but I that’s not what the National Weather Service predicts. Your tax dollars may pay off, and the Weather Service may turn out to be right.

At 6 PM, there’s a Musical Fine Arts Night at Lincoln Elementary, proud home of the Lincoln Leopards.

City

Good Morning, New Readers from Across America

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Good morning, new readers from across America.

The fine Wisconsin State Journal story from veteran reporter Dee Hall, entitled “Whitewater Police Pursue Anonymous Blogger, Critic” has circulated far and wide, to every part of America. From nearby East Troy and LaCrosse, to Oklahoma City, Boston, and Alaska, thousands of new readers have visited this small website in the last day.

(To Angela in Alaska: You’re right, it’s cold here, too. 🙂 )

Many of you have written to express your support for free speech, and to urge me to keep blogging. You bet I will. America and her constitutional guarantees don’t stop at our city’s town line. In fact, I’m rolling out new features this week.

I am an optimist about America, and all the possibilities she offers. Being a small town blogger is just one of them, but it’s there for anyone to exercise and enjoy.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread: March 17, 2008

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It’s Daily Bread now.

UPDATE: 5:00 PM Well, it’s not the catchiest name. I have received some additional, great ideas, and I’ll let Abigail pick one that I’ll use starting tomorrow.

Good morning, Whitewater. Here’s that new (6 AM daily) feature I promised: a look at some of the day’s events in Whitewater, Wisconsin. I’m still not sure about the name, but I’ll try this for now. My wife — Abigail — suggested I try something…upbeat.

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, a big event in our small, campus-residing town. Sure, you could go for the green beer, but I recommend Guinness, suitable for any occasion. Celebrants throughout our city — please drink, drive, and walk (so best as you can) responsibly.

There’s a School Board Meeting tonight, with a regular session beginning at 7 PM. Published agenda items include a Summer School Busing report, a Field Trip Update, and District Website Update. You can catch the action live on public access channel Station 13.

The National Weather Service predicts that today will hold a 60% chance of rain or snow, with a high of 41 degrees, collapsing into a wintry mix by evening. Over at the Farmers’ Almanac, there’s an entry for stormy weather in the early part of our week.

Neither publication notes the average resident’s chance of a hangover by tomorrow morning, but I’d guess it’s at least at 80%.

City, Libertarians, Police, Press

To the Municipal Opponents of Free Speech

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Good afternoon, readers from across Wisconsin.

Earlier this Sunday, the Wisconsin State Journal‘s veteran reporter, Dee Hall, published a story describing my recent experiences as a blogger in Whitewater, Wisconsin. It’s on the front page of the State Journal, and is entitled, “Whitewater Police Pursue Anonymous Blogger, Critic.”

Her story recounts how City of Whitewater municipal officials acted against lawful, constitutionally-protected, anonymous political and social commentary. More startling, though, is the officials’ conviction that they were right to do so, and that there is no assurance that their efforts are not continuing even now.

This post is a point-by-point reply to the City of Whitewater’s efforts against free speech. I will offer replies to the anti-speech positions of Whitewater Chief of Police Jim Coan and Whitewater City Manager Kevin Brunner. I will refer to their on-the-record statements in Hall’s front page story.

On Constitutionally Protected Speech.

My website, and my postings, are a very small part of a great American tradition of constitutionally-protected anonymous or pseudonymous speech on public matters, involving public figures. It’s been part of the American legal tradition for over two hundred years, since the founding of this republic.

No one in my city, or my state, or anywhere in America has a right to overturn this tradition, and act against constitutional protections. No one. And yet, in Whitewater, city officials have placed themselves above, apart, and against these legal protections.

In doing so, they have shown themselves ignorant of the political heritage of their own country, and have brought embarrassment on themselves.

We are a beautiful, but troubled city; no one can help Whitewater who undermines American constitutional protections. On the “About” page of my website, I mention clearly that anonymous and pseudonymous speech is part of our legal heritage. Chief Coan and City Manager Brunner should have spent more time reading American history, and less time reading each others’ emails.

These men cannot build themselves up by pulling America’s free speech tradition down.

Famous Political Speech.

I said once that I write polemically, but live peacefully. That’s part of what’s great about America: we can do that freely here. At least, we’re supposed to be able to speak freely — including anonymously — in America.

Consider some tough, polemical statements from great people of American history. If readers click on one of the names below, they’ll go to a page with a tough, hard-hitting statement from that person. All of these statements were lawful, and any of the people who made them would have been allowed under our law to make them anonymously without interference.

(Ali and Buckley, I think, have the funniest, most polemical statements of the group.)

On Whitewater Police Chief Coan’s Remarks.

A. “Potential Threats.” Under this standard, anyone who disagrees with Coan’s leadership — and he has been bad for our city — might be a suspect, or person of interest, etc. Coan uses the language of the criminal law against lawful speech.

Of course, Coan knows that I have made no threats — it’s lawful speech itself he fears, and finds threatening. So threatening, he treats a constitutional right as though it were a potential crime.

B. Confusing Himself with the Whole City. Coan falsely contends that he was justified in his actions because I am “someone who seems so angry at me [Coan] and with our department.”

Throughout my website — fully searchable — my comments about Coan have been directed to his leadership, and where it has led others astray. In fact, my post on December 31, entitled “The Force we Need,” demonstrates clearly that my concern is for our police force and city, not against it.

Here is part of what I wrote in that post — written before Coan and one of his police lieutenants confronted a citizen at his home:

I have been — for sound, inescapable reasons — a critic of the state in which Jim Coan has left our lovely, but troubled, city. He, and those who have supported him, have made life worse for others. I have watched, day after day, as he has taken this city and its police force down the wrong path.

My family have a great familiarity with police work, one having committed himself to a lifetime of intelligent, dedicated leadership in that field. We well-understand this vocation, and it is the gap in leadership between what should be, and what is, that both astonishes and infuriates. Only someone confused, or ignorant could have confidence in the leadership that burdens and embarrasses our current force, and the city it is sworn to serve.

There are many in Whitewater who would like the force to be more than it is, and I know how disappointed they are that it lacks the leadership it needs….

This can be a beautiful and well-run place once again. Officers should embrace the community that they serve and be a part of it; community policing is the very opposite of a puffed-up idea of officers as warriors. Here is our invitation: Live here with us, worship here with us, send your children to our schools, and shop in our markets. We will be your neighbors and friends. Policing will be better, officers will feel better about their jobs, and our community will be safer.

If you live elsewhere, think about living with us here in Whitewater.

Coan odiously contends that criticism of him is criticism of all; one can easily see how false his contention is.

C. “Provide him with answers to his questions and concerns.” There are two obvious replies. First, I have always invited anyone, including Coan, Brunner, or members of our Police and Fire Commission, to reply to me via my website, and I would post those emails. I have posted numerous calls for their reply, to my documented, through critiques. Not one of them has ever done so. Ever.

Second, I am not sure if Coan is foolish, or expects others to be: No one goes to man’s home, accompanied by a police lieutenant, for a dialogue. That’s like a child’s justification. Coan wasn’t even strong enough to go alone — he had to have someone with him.

No one sent Laird Scott — ‘accused’ of being me — a belated birthday card for a dialogue.

D. Coan: the Amazing Empath. Coan states that he was concerned with someone who was “so angry.” I’m not angry: as I said before, I write polemically, but I live peacefully.

That’s some power Coan has — to be able to read the mind of others, and determine their emotions. He’s a bad version, I suppose, of the empathetic ship’s counsellor, Deanna Troi, on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He’s a bad version, indeed; actress Marina Sirtis has aesthetic advantages that Coan will never, himself, equal.

E. Lawful Conduct. My speech is lawful, and constitutionally protected, and Coan knows it. When he contends that he has other information that he is “not at liberty to discuss…at this time” he’s making empty excuses for running license plates and witch-hunting protected speech.

There is no phrase, by the way, so empty and hackneyed as one that declares someone is “not at liberty to discuss” something.

It’s as though Coan said the dog ate his homework, or, like disgraced Senator Joe McCarthy, dishonestly waived a piece of paper and declared that “I have here in my hand a list of 205—a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department.” (Griffith, Robert (1970). The Politics of Fear: Joseph R. McCarthy and the Senate. University of Massachusetts Press, pg. 49. ISBN 0-87023-555-9.)

On Whitewater City Manager Kevin Brunner’s Remarks.

A. “I think that it was a very legitimate use of their time.” Well, we don’t have to wonder where Brunner stands on free speech.

Of all that Brunner might have said, he has made the clearest statement against constitutionally-protected anonymous speech. Note, too, the superlative — not merely legitimate, but very legitimate, to Brunner’s thinking.

Brunner supports, endorses, and condones Coan’s actions, and those who helped him.

B. “I think that the impetus was to engage in some civil discourse with that person.” Outrageous, but laughable, too: as I have noted, anyone could write me without visiting a home with a police lieutenant at his side.

Brunner embarrasses himself when he contends that Coan and the lieutenant’s visit was has an impetus of civil discourse.

C. Stop Reading Free Whitewater. I’m not an ornithologist, but I’ve often heard that ostriches bury their heads in the sand when there’s trouble. It’s the first time, though, that I’ve seen a city manager exhibit those traits, and demand that others do the same.

If Brunner believes that his employees’ actions are a source of contention, he should look to their conduct, and not blame lawful speech. If they don’t have the proper respect for American tradition, then he should impart it to them. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to have that respect either; he cannot teach what he does not understand.

On Laird Scott.

Coan falsely identified, after a months’ long hunt, the wrong man. That should be clear by now, although who knows what Coan actually believes?

Note, though, that after Coan’s visit, someone sent Scott a belated birthday card, identifying him as me. Coan contends that he has no idea “who would do such a thing.” Coan visited Scott with one other member of his department, and so at least two people (other than Scott) thought that Scott was a blogger.

Coan himself emailed the Whitewater City Clerk, more than once, to share his (false) belief with her that he had identified the blogger, John Adams. If people falsely believed Scott was the blogger, Coan should look to his own actions for why that false belief started in the first place.

On Anonymous Speech in Whitewater.

I have called for anonymous speech for those wishing to report malfeasance, etc., in city affairs. That’s consistent with a U.S. Department of Justice white paper on the subject, entitled, Principles for Promoting Police Integrity, that I have cited in several posts.

After Coan and Brunner’s comments, I cannot see how any reasonable person would feel comfortable with an anonymous complaint, if they are injured, etc.

What’s Next?

Of course, I’ll keep blogging, under a pen name, as American law allows. I’ll seek guidance on my options, to assure that rights granted to all Americans to blog anonymously will be respected in Whitewater. I’m also adding new features FREE WHITEWATER, this week.

As my critics drift farther from the heritage of freedom, my website keeps growing, expanding, month after month.

Most importantly, I remain an optimist and true believer in the American promise. It’s a promise that we can bring to Whitewater, too.

City, Libertarians, Police

Front Page: The Wisconsin State Journal Covers Municipal Actions Against Free Whitewater Website

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Good morning, readers from across Wisconsin.

This Sunday, March 16th, the Wisconsin State Journal‘s veteran reporter, Dee Hall, published a story describing my recent experiences as a blogger in Whitewater, Wisconsin. It’s on the front page of the State Journal, and is entitled, “Whitewater Police Pursue Anonymous Blogger, Critic.”

http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/277169

The story details how City of Whitewater municipal officials acted against lawful, constitutionally-protected, anonymous political and social commentary. More startling, though, is the officials’ conviction that they were right to do so, and that there is no assurance that their efforts are not continuing even now.

It is an effort, Hall writes, that included our police chief’s “use of city employees to try to unmask Adams — exposed in a series of posts on his blog earlier this month — that is part Keystone Cops and part challenge to Adams’ constitutional rights.”

I am undeterred — I am an optimist and true believer in the American tradition of individual liberty, including the exercise of free speech.

(I will post a point-by-point reply to the City of Whitewater’s efforts against free speech in a post later today, entitled, “To the Municipal Opponents of Free Speech.”)

Here’s a picture of the print edition of the Wisconsin State Journal:

As local readers know, I recently published my true account of how a blogger became the target of public officials’ months-long witch-hunt, to learn his identity using public resources, on public time. (For earlier parts of this series, please click this link: Witch-Hunting a Blogger in Whitewater, Wisconsin.)

I am that blogger. My name is John Adams, and I am the pseudonymous author of FREE WHITEWATER, a local website with commentary on life in Whitewater, Wisconsin. My website is published almost every day at www.freewhitewater.com.

Although my story may seem incredible, I obtained the public records to confirm these events under the provisions of Wisconsin’s Public Records Law, Wis. Stats. 19.31 — 19.39. I sought these public records after fair-minded residents warned me that public officials might be working, with considerable zeal, during public time, in public facilities, on hunting through the community to determine my identity.

The Wisconsin State Journal has now published an account of my experiences.

Who am I, by the way? That depends on whom you ask. These public officials describe me one way; I would describe myself in another. I blog about municipal affairs, and other topics, as a libertarian, and my website has sometimes been critical of certain police practices and actions, and government planning. Most of all, I have hoped for a better leadership for our police force for our city, and I know that one day we will have just that.

The real message of my site, though, is an uplifting one: the greatness of the American promise of individual liberty and the liberating power of free markets. I have been fortunate to grow up libertarian, am religious, have celebrated the joy of a citizen’s life, offered photos of beautiful spots in my town, cheered public accomplishments, offered classic American animation, and even what’s great about HP calculators!

In the end, I’m just a common man, like so many others — citizen, resident, property-owner, husband, and parent. Bloggers are from all walks of life, across the political spectrum, and are, I think, just modern-day pamphleteers.

Uncategorized

New Features Next Week

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Beginning next week, FREE WHITEWATER will offer two new features. First, the website will have a weekday, early morning summary of events in Whitewater for that day. I have not hit upon a name for the feature, but if anyone has a suggestion for a name, please feel free to write me at adams@freewhitewater.com.

Second, I will post a weekly critique of the Whitewater Register. I have commented on that paper in the past, but it’s so remiss in so many ways, that I’ll start a weekly feature assessing its coverage.

Finally, my cartoon feature — with short animated films from America’s past — will be back this Friday. I have had questions, too, about a long-delayed video feature. It’s still a work in progress, so to speak. In the meantime, these new, expanded features (and the return of an older one) will start next week.

City, Police, Public Records 1

Police Commission Compliance: The Email Reveals Concern

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Frequent readers know that, last week, I ran a series entitled, “Witch-Hunting a Blogger in Whitewater, Wisconsin,” in which I posted public records that showed how public officials used their resources, time, and effort against the lawful, pseudonymous commentary. (For that series, please click this link: Witch-Hunting a Blogger in Whitewater, Wisconsin.)

There is another email exchange from the public records that I received that addresses a concern I noted from my December series. I have contended previously that our Police and Fire Commission falls below Wisconsin’s required standards for adequate notice, including thorough agendas published before a meeting, and detailed minutes published after a meeting.

In an email from the public record, dated December 18th 2007, City Clerk Michele Smith writes to Whitewater Police Chief Jim Coan to inform him that, based on Wisconsin law, the agendas published over these last years have been inadequate.

It matters because without adequate, thorough notice — citizens have reduced opportunities or incentive to attend — as they are allowed to do by Wisconsin law — a public meeting.

The mail appears below in black font, followed by the actual PDF documents I obtained, and then my commentary in blue font.


The email:

From: Michele Smith
Sent: Tuesday, December 18,2007 10:36 AM
To: James Coan
Subject: Police & Fire Commission

Hi Jim,

I’ve cut and pasted the most recent Free WW info re Police & Fire Commission. I meant to call you Friday but have been so busy with election work & agenda work I haven’t had time.

John Adams is writing on the PFC minutes. I talked to Kathy Boyd a little over a month ago, and when Adams first inquired about Agendas and Minutes for PFC, I started looking at them and noted that the Agendas PFC has are not in compliance with Statutes. The Agenda has to specifically identify each item the group will be discussing – Chief’s Report and Old Business / New Business don’t qualify as it doesn’t give the public specific information as to what will be discussed. I told Kathy I will help with the next agenda.

I did speak to Kevin about this subject on the blog as I am worried about the legality of the agendas PFC has issued. If something came of the agendas, which I do not believe comply with the Law, I did not want him to get blind sighted [sic].

Sorry, Jim – meant to get to you earlier, but am overwhelmed with work.

Michele


The files:

I have made the PDF files confirming this exchange available here — 2008-1 (10). (Please scroll the the end of the file to see the actual email.)


My comments:

1. Inadequate. I wrote in December that I thought that the agendas were inadequate — and failed under Wisconsin law. I am not alone in that view — the City Clerk of Whitewater, Wisconsin thinks so, too.

2. Where’s Chief Jim Coan? The law requires that Jim Coan send any public records specified in my request, and that requirement would include any email reply that he made to the city clerk. I received none, so did he make no reply via email? Did he reply to these concerns at all?

If he made no reply, then at least he is consistent — I am convinced that the agendas for our Police and Fire Commission have been inadequate for years. Inadequate agendas reduce the incentive for citizen attendance. No citizen attendance, no true community oversight as Wisconsin expects by setting out agenda requirements.

3. Where’s City Manager Kevin Brunner? To be City Manager is to be manager of all the community. The law requires that Jim Coan send any public records specified in my request, and that requirement would include any email that Brunner would have sent to Chief Coan on this matter concerning her concerns. I received none, so did Brunner send no email to Coan about these inadequate agendas? Did he reply to these concerns at all? What did he say? He has been, after all, in office for years.

Did our city manager speak to Coan himself? The email makes it seem as though Coan only learned of this concern from the city clerk. Did Brunner not trouble himself to speak to Coan himself? It is a matter of Wisconsin law, after all.

To manage the city — to be the leader one wants to be, and to be truly how one wants to be seen — is to step forward and be accountable, and to hold others accountable.

4. Where are the Members of the PFC? In all these years, there is no record that I can find in the tissue-paper minutes of our PFC that asks for better, reasonable agenda items. Never.

5. My challenge, unanswered. In a post entitled, Police and Fire Commission: February Meeting, I offered three questions — here they are —

Here are three questions, though:

(1) When the notice for a Wednesday, 2/20 PFC meeting comes out on Friday, 2/15, doesn’t that seem that the two weekend days reduce the available exposure & attention the meeting will receive?

(2) Was this meeting announced on the main page of the City of Whitewater website, like other meetings? I don’t recall seeing it there.

(3) If the agenda link on the website doesn’t work until after the meeting, what kind of website notice is that?

At the City of Whitewater website, as of this morning, there is a link to a February 20th agenda of the Police and Fire Commission. It doesn’t open properly as of this post, but it’s there. (The January 10th Special Meeting agenda of the PFC also mentioned that there would be a 2/20 — presumably regular — meeting.) I have two questions:

1. Did the meeting take place? I can’t tell, of course, from a broken link to an agenda.

2. If there were a meeting on February 20th, how did the City of Whitewater publicize it? I do not recall seeing it announced on the main page of the City of Whitewater website. The law requires notice (albeit short); most commissions and boards in our city in practice provide much better notice than the law requires.

The Whitewater PFC does not follow that practice. As I have noted before, this significantly reduces the chances for citizen participation, in what should be one of the best-announced meetings in Whitewater.

The members of the Commission are free — yes, you really are, under the law — to offer an explanation.

Comment on a public duty should always be more important than silence to maintain social standing, or for any other reason.

I can be reached at adams@freewhitewater.com.

Beautiful Whitewater, City, Development, Free Markets

Best Whitewater Project of 2007: Stone Stable

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Over at Downtown Whitewater, Inc., there was a recent awards ceremony. The Stone Stable restoration project won, if I understand the award correctly, for the best public-private partnership. I am pleased that the Stable Stable won an award, but a worthier designation would be to stay that the restoration was the best Whitewater project of 2007.

I have praised the effort before, in a few posts, the first of which, from August, was entitled, Beautiful Whitewater: The Stone Stable. Here’s part of what I wrote then:

If someone told you that an old stone stable had been torn down, and some of your fellow residents had organized to rebuild, stone by stone, the stable on a new location, what would you think? I heard of this project months ago, and when I first heard of it, I was surprised; it’s a bold idea toward a traditional end.

Those who founded this town of wood and stone did so with horses and mules, lanterns and candles, steam and sweat. They had harder lives than we do, and despite the difficulty of their circumstances, they bequeathed to us the public thing – the municipality – which now defines much of our connection to each other. It is also, however regrettably, the thing over which we sometimes contend, as we differ in how we have managed our common inheritance.

Here’s information on the stable, from a local website:

Who built the stone stable and for what purpose? Little is known for sure. The first settlers came to Whitewater in 1837 and by 1850 a small village existed in a triangle formed by Church, Whitewater and Main Streets. The stable stood within this triangle. According to research by historian Carol Cartwright, Nelson Combs, a wagon-maker and immigrant to Whitewater from New York State, paid taxes and built houses on adjacent properties in 1845 and 1847, about the time the stable was believed to have been built.

The designation public-private partnership would not have been my favorite. The award was deserved in any event, but it was mainly a private effort, as it should have been.

The public contribution was, in any event, no inhibition to the market. The municipal contribution to this project denied nothing to a private, rival competitor, nor established any unfair preferences, as their were no rival competitors, so to speak.

In how many other recent projects of business support can the city say the same — that it did not boost one to the preference of other, rival private efforts? Whitewater should be out of the business of picking winners — that’s the market’s function, and a function that it does far better.

The Stone Stable was a worthy project in itself.

Congratulations.

City, Police

Lawsuit Against Larry Meyer Continues

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Longtime readers of FREE WHITEWATER know that I have followed the federal lawsuit against Larry Meyer, a former investigator of the Whitewater Police Department.

The lawsuit is a matter of public importance: (1) it involves
constitutional claims against a former public employee, (2) it tells much about how that employee was supervised and managed, and (3) and the proposed settlement included a confidentiality agreement.

Local press coverage of the case has been — sad to say — only
sporadic and shockingly incomplete. In the fall, a local paper presented stories on how — from the point of view of Larry Meyer’s defense counsel — the case had actually been settled. I pointed out that that reporting seemed, well, less than thorough: see, Questions for a Reporter, and the Community and Answers for a Reporter and the Community, on the Larry Meyer Case.

For my opposition to a confidentiality provision, which would hide information on public matters, involving a public employee, on public time, see my posts entitled, Questions on the Settlement in the Larry Meyer Case and Cat Has Your Tongue?

In late January, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Callahan, in a thorough, thirteen-page decision and order, denied federal defendant, and former Whitewater investigator, Larry Meyer’s motion to enforce settlement in the lawsuit against him.

Undeterred, defense counsel filed a motion for reconsideration (of the denial). That motion for reconsideration was also denied, on March 3rd. United States Magistrate Judge Callahan’s order included the following scheduling information:

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. in Room 253 of the United States Courthouse, 517 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a scheduling conference will be conducted to discuss with the parties the further processing of this case to final resolution.

The case continues.

Libertarians

Two Libertarian Websites

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Libertarians are — more than ever — a part of the American mainstream, and here are two websites that I suggest for those interested in more on libertarian thinking. Both main websites have their own accompanying blogs.

First, the Cato Institute, and its blog, Cato@Liberty, are always interesting. Cato’s motto is “Individual Liberty, Free Markets, and Peace.”

Second, the somewhat more freewheeling Reason Online (from Reason Magazine) and its blog, Reason: Hit & Run. Reason’s motto: “Free Minds and Free Markets.”

You may not agree with every position, but then that’s to be expected. No one is likely to agree in every last case, on so many different issues.

What you will see, I am very sure, is that these men and women of Reason and Cato offer a perspective worth considering, grounded in solid principles.

Free Markets

The Motorcycle for Sale

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A while while ago, I drove through a town nearby and saw that someone had a motorcycle for sale on, or near, his front lawn. It was an old motorcycle, and likely in only fair condition. There was a sign beside the motorcycle with the asking price. The price was almost surely too high.

I passed through a few times thereafter, and the motorcycle was still there. The price was still the same. One day, though, I saw that the seller had made made a change — the motorcycle was painted differently, with a bright pattern along the sides. Again, the price was the same, but the motorcycle was different — it was flashier, sportier.

I never saw the motorcycle again after that occasion when I noticed it was painted differently. I don’t know if it sold, or at what price, but I’d like to think that it did sell, at a good price.

Transactions like this happen all over America — someone has something to sell, puts out a sign, and waits for a buyer. If the offer’s not attracting any takers, the seller either waits still more, pulls the offer, reduces the price, or offers more value (a sportier paint job, for example).

Now, I suppose that there are any number of objections to displaying a motorcycle for sale the way the buyer in my story did. I know, it probably doesn’t look right to some people. Still, if a young person fixes up a bike for sale, with a sign, isn’t that just part of a first taste and chance at the market? I know that many people want to look ‘right and proper,’ and would disapprove of a prominent display of the motorcycle for sale.

I wonder though, if in the insistence that each of our neighbors does things just the right way, we’ll lose some of the charm and vibrancy of small town experiences.

A lemonade stand, a few fruits and vegetables, a bike for sale now and then — we’ll not melt away from these opportunities. They’re a part of what makes us special in the world — that we’re not so fussy and stodgy about these offers.

City, Libertarians, Public Records 1

Witch-Hunting a Blogger in Whitewater, Wisconsin: Conclusion

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What’s Next?

I love my beautiful, but sometimes troubled, small town.

First and foremost, I hope that the man (and his family) that Coan unfairly pursued, confronted, and falsely accused is doing well. I have no connection to them, and have never spoken to them, but I have thought of them each day since I learned of Coan’s ‘conversation’ with the husband of that family. Coan must have felt entitled, and he initiated the confrontation over mere political speech. It’s no wonder the man was, in Coan’s account, very angry. Of course he was — Coan falsely accused him, on the basis of mere political speech.

As you know now, I was not the real subject of this witch-hunt. Someone else was. How many others had their names bandied about by Coan and those who helped him? I’m not sure, but I can say that any number was too many.

On election day in February, I believe that I saw the wife of the man that the Chief accused, on the other side of the Old Armory. (Someone pointed her out to me.) She seemed happy, and was smiling with other workers at her table. Coan falsely confronted her husband. She deserved better than that. I would have walked him promptly from the property. I had no interest in interfering with her work, and yet I might have kissed her on the cheek on another occasion.

Second, I look forward to a municipal culture that’s more tolerant of free speech. There are, as I have noted, hundreds of blogs on municipal topics in Wisconsin alone, and many are anonymous or pseudonymous. There are people in our town, as you’ve just seen, who think of speech as though it were a crime. Not in America.

If the Chief of Police in Whitewater, Wisconsin worries about political speech when real crimes are being committed, it’s sad and disgraceful. If anonymous or pseudonymous speech is so unwelcome, how will our city ever establish a trustworthy complaints process? The Department of Justice recommends one; I have called for one more than once. If some disadvantaged person is injured and wants to make a complaint anonymously, what confidence will that person have that he or she will be heard fairly?

Third, we need a public records collection process that’s transparent and dependable. I do not know who actually collected the records that I received. Some were withheld with explanation by the City of Whitewater. Did I receive all that I should have under the law? Who oversaw this process, to make sure that no documents were deleted, before they reached the City Attorney? I don’t know, really.

Finally, like most bloggers, I look forward to a more varied set of topics. I look forward to the day in my town when the very idea of public records like these, with scheming like this, will be unimaginable.

As I have written before, I have everything that I have ever wanted, and by any reasonable standard, I have led a charmed life. I very much enjoy the Citizen’s Life.

Still, everyone needs a break now and then. I think that I might even take some time off, to unwind until I begin blogging again. I am not sure how long – I’m thinking twenty-four, maybe thirty-six, hours. That should about do it.

I’ll see you again this Friday.

Adams