FREE WHITEWATER

Open Government

WisconsinWatch.org: Lawmakers shouldn’t meet in secret

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Town, village, city, school district and county governments are prohibited from having such closed-door meetings, except in very limited circumstances, to discuss sensitive matters such as employee discipline or negotiating purchases of property. And even then the public must be notified of the general topics to be discussed.

In contrast, the Wisconsin Legislature routinely passes sweeping bills after little public discussion because the thorny details and disagreements have been hammered out beforehand in private partisan caucuses.

Rep. Cory Mason wants to change that. The Racine Democrat has re-introduced a bill, Assembly Bill 89, requiring lawmakers to follow the same rules as other public officials.

“For me, the hypocrisy of it is that, at the state level, we mandate openness for lower levels of government,” Mason says. “We ask everybody else to live up to these rules, then we exempt ourselves from them at the state level”….

”In the end, the public is almost completely shut out of the real debate and instead hears mainly partisan talking points.“We are no longer a deliberative body,” says Mason.

“We break into our respective caucuses. We have all of our debate behind closed doors. We come out in public and make speeches. It’s very important for the public to see these debates.”

Via WisconsinWatch.org.

Libertarians, Politics

Liberal or Conservative? Neither

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I had a spirited discussion with a conservative the other day, who seemed to think that I was drifting too far to the left. From her point of view, I probably do seem too far to the left.

She was mistaken, though, on two counts. First, libertarians aren’t naturally more right or left. Second, in my case, there’s no drifting involved. If what I believe seems more or less inclined to one politics, it’s not that I’ve changed (to my knowledge, anyway) — it’s that the political world shifts all the time, and most people simply respond to those shifts. Bloggers are no different from anyone else.

Libertarians, Politics

The Libertarian Republicans

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There are two GOP presidential candidates with libertarian views: the well-known Ron Paul and the not-so-well-known Gary Johnson. Neither has much of a chance to be the GOP nominee. Really, neither has any chance at all.

Still, here’s a profile for each of them, from Reason.Their presence will still shape the race in ways that big-government Republicans won’t like, but that will benefit the rest of America. One does not have to be a Republican to wish these libertarian-leaning candidates good luck.

Congressman Ron Paul, who gave this interview just before he declared his intention to run:

Ron Paul Explores the 2012 Presidential Race.

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson:

A Pragmatic Champion of Liberty.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 5.13.11

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Good morning.

Whitewater’s forecast calls for a day of isolated thunderstorms, with a high temperature of sixty-six.

Quick note, for those who’ve asked: Returning next week — an updated Comment Forum, including a weekly poll.

From Wired, a view of nature — an amazing bird-cam:



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City, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Politics, Walworth County, Wisconsin

Emily’s Post: ‘Welcome to Wisconsin, Jim Crow’

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Emily Mills writes about Assembly Bill 7, sure to become law:

This bill is, at its core, a rollback of the right to vote that impacts the most vulnerable and already disenfranchised populations in this state. It spits in the faces of those who’ve come before and fought (and sometimes died) to see this most fundamental right guaranteed to all citizens….

Via Isthmus Daily Page.

It was wrong as policy and wrong for individual liberty to restrict freedom of association through collective bargaining – and yet, these unnecessary and unfair restrictions on citizens’ voting rights are even worse.

They’re despicably un-American.

Not a single legislator who voted in favor of this bill, and not a single one who should prove to support it in the Wisconsin Senate next week, is worthy of re-election. Contentions that this legislation is necessary to prevent fraud are, as Ms. Mills notes in her post, exaggerations and – most likely – lies.

In every race in Whitewater, in the 2012 election, candidates should be asked: Do you support elimination of workers’ bargaining rights for government workers, local, county, and state? Do you, in fact, support the elimination of these rights for some employees, and not others, as Gov. Walker does?

Do you support restrictions that would deny the ability to vote, under current circumstances, to these numbers of law-abiding citizens now lacking a photo ID:

177,000 elderly Wisconsinites, 17% of white men and women, 55% of black men, 49% of black women, 46% of Hispanic men, 59% of Hispanic women, 78% of black men aged 18-24, and 66% of black women aged 18-24?

These vast numbers are citizens who have done no wrong, represent no danger, and yet would be denied the exercise of a fundamental right.

This proposal stains our beautiful state, working an injustice on some, while tainting others who remain idle.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 5.12.11

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Good morning.

Whitewater’s forecast calls for a day of scattered thunderstorms, with a high temperature of seventy-nine.

In Whitewater this evening, there will be a meeting of the Police Commission at 6 p.m. The meeting agenda is available online.

Wired UK offers video of a Ghostly ‘Winged’ Octopus Caught on Camera:

A rarely seen white deep-sea octopus has been captured on camera in high definition by researchers from the University of Washington. The octopus features two ‘wings’ which make it look just like the ghosts from Mario videogames, aka Boos. The Grimpoteuthis bathynectes octopus, also nicknamed the Dumbo octopus, was filmed with an HD video camera at a depth of more than 2,000 metres [6,500 feet] about 200 miles off the coast of Oregon.

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City

Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters May 2011 Newsletter

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The Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters’ May 2011 Newsletter is out, and it includes articles and a calendar of upcoming LWV events. The latest copy of the LWV newsletter is available as a link on my blogroll, and is embedded below, with coding through Google.

This June, on Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11, the Whitewater-Area League is sponsoring the State Annual League of Women Voters meeting. The two-day event will take place at the Connor Center, on the UW-Whitewater campus.

Friday, June 10th Events:

1:30 – 3:30 PM State Board Meeting
4:00 – 5:00 PM Registration
5:30 – 6:30 PM Dinner
6:30 – 8:30 PM Membership Recruitment Initiative Training
8:30 – 9:30 PM League Social Hosted by Whitewater-Area League

Saturday, June 11th Events:

7:30 – 8:30 AM Breakfast/Roundtable Discussion
8:30 – 9:10 AM Welcome/Introduction/Agenda
9:10 – 10:00 AM Keynote: Dr. Charles Franklin, UW-Madison, “Impact of Polarized Politics in Wisconsin”
10:15 – 11:30 AM Training: 501c3/Website
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Lunch
12:45 – 1:45 PM Parade of Leagues
2:00 – 4:00 PM Plenary
4:00 PM Adjourn

Registration for the event may be completed online at www.lwvwi.org.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 5.11.11

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Good morning.

Whitewater’s forecast calls for a chance of thunderstorms, with a high temperature of eighty-three.

The Tech Park Board will meet this morning, at 8 a.m. The meeting agenda is available online.

Later tonight, at 6 p.m., there will be a community listening session about the search for a new police chief. Information on listening sessions, and a survey that the community can take, is available online.

School District

Zentner and Afterward

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Nearing the end of her two-year contractual tenure, Whitewater Schools’ Administrator Dr. Suzanne Zentner has tendered her resignation, for employment in Arizona.

One wishes her the best; she’ll do well.

Sadly, Zentner’s departure creates significant risks for Whitewater. Although I thought her early months as administrator went poorly, she’s proved to be a significant asset to our community. Suzanne Zentner did not have the benefit of a worthy act to follow — her immediate predecessor, Leslie Steinhaus, was an abject disappointment, who left the district drifting on most occasions, and heading in the wrong direction on those rare moments when she did act.

Whitewater’s problems during that earlier time were considerable. One could disagree with aspects of Zentner’s focus, but her manifest creativity and energy were what Whitewater so very much needed.

The district will have to consider a permanent replacement at a time when Wisconsin’s schools are beset by fiscal problems. Talented candidates from outside the state will avoid Wisconsin; candidates from within Wisconsin may be third-tier prospects who are uncompetitive elsewhere.

Although we’re a community that wisely chose Zentner, we’re also the community that foolishly chose her predecessor, Steinhaus — twice (both hired and renewed). Zentner was a welcome relief from Whitewater’s business-as-usual approach.

It’s true that fiscal policy matters for Whitewater’s schools, but it matters as a means to accomplishment in academics, the arts, and athletics. I’m more than prepared to argue over dollars-and-cents, but that debate comes in the context of higher concerns (of the extended curriculum and of fair treatment of all students).

Accomplishment will not come from dull, tired, status-quo solutions. Zentner assured a contemporary direction.

There will be much desire to shape, guide, and direct a hiring effort along the lines that Old Whitewater so very much wishes. Nothing — nothing — could be worse for this district than that approach.

Still, more than one town squire will scheme for exactly that.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 5.10.11

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Good morning.

It’s a chance of thunderstorms, and a high temperature of seventy-eight, ahead for Whitewater.

Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission meets today at 4:15 p.m.  The agenda is available online.

In our schools, there’ll be a fifth-grade district-wide ban concert at the high school at 7 p.m.  At Lincoln School, there will be a PTO meeting at 3 p.m.

In Wisconsin History, the Wisconsin Historical Society recalls a proud day in our past —

1865 – Wisconsin Troops Capture Jefferson Davis

Just after dawn on May 10, 1865, Col. Henry Harnden of Madison and his squad of 30 volunteers from the First Cavalry arrested the President of the Confederacy. After Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9th, Davis fled south with his cabinet and family. Col. Harnden, commanding the Wisconsin First Cavalry at Macon, Ga., was ordered to scour the countryside for him. After four days of searching, early on May 10th they caught up with Davis and his entourage in the woods near Irwinville. As they approached, Col. Harnden’s troops were attacked by soldiers in the brush. Returning fire, they killed two of their adversaries before discovering they were U.S. soldiers who had converged on Davis from a different direction. Hearing this friendly fire tragedy, the Confederate President tried to escape but Harnden “rode up, dismounted and saluted, and I asked if this was Mr. Davis. ‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘I am President Davis.’ At this the soldiers set up a shout that Jeff. Davis was captured.” They included about 30 enlisted men from Wisconsin who helped bring the Civil War to its close that day. [Source: Wisconsin Local History & Biography Articles]