…. when I look around the Madison metropolitan area, I wonder, what problems would trains solve?
Relatively speaking, commutes to Madison are short and parking is not only plentiful but cheap. Plus, local officials seem more than willing to look kindly on the kind of dense, urban development trains inspire — even without any actual trains.
I’m left to deduce there is no mass tipping point in favor of mass train transportation, and, for now at least, the train argument seems confined to the politicos — and their competing versions of freedom.
Charity, Press Release
Hundreds to Gather in Lake Geneva for the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk® on Saturday, September 18th in Lake Geneva
by JOHN ADAMS •
I received the following press release that I am happy to post —
Join hundreds of community members for the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk® scheduled for Saturday, September 18, 2010 at Library Park, 900 West Main Street in Lake Geneva. Over 600 people from Walworth and surrounding counties are expected to participate in this year’s event, which will feature both a three-mile scenic walk along the lakeshore path and a one-mile historic walk in the Maple Park neighborhood. In 2009, over $70,000 was raised to help individuals and families affected by Alzheimer’s disease, including the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline, support groups, research, education and training.
Pre-walk registration and entertainment begins at 9:30 a.m., with the walk starting promptly at 11:00 a.m. Dr. Britt Kolar, MD, a specialist in Geriatric Medicine at Aurora Senior Health and Wellness Clinic is the Honorary Chairperson. Post walk festivities will include music by the Petty Thieves, along with a hot-dog lunch, compliments of Stinebrink’s Piggly Wiggly and the Lake Geneva Jaycees.
ABOUT MEMORY WALK
The Alzheimer’s Association’s Memory Walk is the nation’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research programs. Held annually in hundreds of communities across the country, this inspiring event calls on volunteers of all ages to become Champions in the fight against Alzheimer’s. Champions include those living with the disease, families, caregivers, corporate and local leaders, who actively support Memory Walk in the community.
HOW TO REGISTER
Participants can register and get information online at www.alz.org/sewi. For a brochure, please call 414.479.8800. Registration is also available the day of the walk, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The walk begins promptly at 11:00 a.m.
SPONSORS
Key sponsors of this event include Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital, the Cordon Family Foundation, The Mueller Family, Brookdale Senior Living and PyraMax Bank. The event is being presented by FOX6 News, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Newsradio AM620 WTMJ, 89.7 WUWM, and local radio station 96.1 WLKG “The Lake”.
LEADERSHIP
The event is being co-chaired by Andy Kerwin, principal and owner of Geneva Lakes Crossing, and Wendy Betley, Family Care Manager, Alzheimer’s Association. This event is supported by a committee of community leaders along with staff from the Alzheimer’s Association.
ABOUT THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION
The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in www.alz.org/sewiAlzheimer care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. For more information about Alzheimer’s disease and local services visit or call the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900.
Uncategorized
Does Your Language Shape How You Think? – NYTimes.com
by JOHN ADAMS •
Fascinating…
Some 50 years ago, the renowned linguist Roman Jakobson pointed out a crucial fact about differences between languages in a pithy maxim: “Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey.” This maxim offers us the key to unlocking the real force of the mother tongue: if different languages influence our minds in different ways, this is not because of what our language allows us to think but rather because of what it habitually obliges us to think about.
Consider this example. Suppose I say to you in English that “I spent yesterday evening with a neighbor.” You may well wonder whether my companion was male or female, but I have the right to tell you politely that it’s none of your business. But if we were speaking French or German, I wouldn’t have the privilege to equivocate in this way, because I would be obliged by the grammar of language to choose between voisin or voisine; Nachbar or Nachbarin. These languages compel me to inform you about the sex of my companion whether or not I feel it is remotely your concern.
This does not mean, of course, that English speakers are unable to understand the differences between evenings spent with male or female neighbors, but it does mean that they do not have to consider the sexes of neighbors, friends, teachers and a host of other persons each time they come up in a conversation, whereas speakers of some languages are obliged to do so.
Public Meetings
Common Council Budget Session
by JOHN ADAMS •
Public Meetings
Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk®
by JOHN ADAMS •
Join hundreds of community members for the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk® scheduled for Saturday, September 18, 2010 at Library Park, 900 West Main Street in Lake Geneva. Over 600 people from Walworth and surrounding counties are expected to participate in this year’s event, which will feature both a three-mile scenic walk along the lakeshore path and a one-mile historic walk in the Maple Park neighborhood. In 2009, over $70,000 was raised to help individuals and families affected by Alzheimer’s disease, including the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline, support groups, research, education and training.
Pre-walk registration and entertainment begins at 9:30 a.m., with the walk starting promptly at 11:00 a.m. Dr. Britt Kolar, MD, a specialist in Geriatric Medicine at Aurora Senior Health and Wellness Clinic is the Honorary Chairperson. Post walk festivities will include music by the Petty Thieves, along with a hot-dog lunch, compliments of Stinebrink’s Piggly Wiggly and the Lake Geneva Jaycees.
ABOUT MEMORY WALK
The Alzheimer’s Association’s Memory Walk is the nation’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research programs. Held annually in hundreds of communities across the country, this inspiring event calls on volunteers of all ages to become Champions in the fight against Alzheimer’s. Champions include those living with the disease, families, caregivers, corporate and local leaders, who actively support Memory Walk in the community.
HOW TO REGISTER
Participants can register and get information online at www.alz.org/sewi. For a brochure, please call 414.479.8800. Registration is also available the day of the walk, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The walk begins promptly at 11:00 a.m.
SPONSORS
Key sponsors of this event include Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital, the Cordon Family Foundation, The Mueller Family, Brookdale Senior Living and PyraMax Bank. The event is being presented by FOX6 News, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Newsradio AM620 WTMJ, 89.7 WUWM, and local radio station 96.1 WLKG “The Lake”.
LEADERSHIP
The event is being co-chaired by Andy Kerwin, principal and owner of Geneva Lakes Crossing, and Wendy Betley, Family Care Manager, Alzheimer’s Association. This event is supported by a committee of community leaders along with staff from the Alzheimer’s Association.
ABOUT THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION
The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in www.alz.org/sewiAlzheimer care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. For more information about Alzheimer’s disease and local services visit or call the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900.
Public Meetings
Open Forum on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia
by JOHN ADAMS •
“Coffee, Cookies and Conversation”
The Alzheimer’s Association is hosting “Coffee, Cookies and Conversation” in Elkhorn for community members who wish to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. This program will be offered on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. at People’s Bank of Elkhorn, 837 N. Wisconsin Street. There is no charge to attend; the program is open to the public.
Have you or a loved one recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia? If so, this open forum session will provide an opportunity to get questions answered and for participants to discover how the Alzheimer’s Association can help. Rather than a formal presentation, this program focuses on answering questions from the attendees. The presenter for this program is Bonnie Beam-Stratz, MA, MS, Regional Services Coordinator, Alzheimer’s Association.
To register, please contact Bonnie Beam-Stratz at 920-728-4088 or send an email to bonnie.beam@alz.org.
The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. For more information about Alzheimer’s disease and local services visit www.alz.org/sewi or call the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900.
Recent Tweets 8-22 to 8-28
by JOHN ADAMS •
Spreading Hayek, Spurning Keynes – WSJ.com http://bit.ly/bmPj3X
about 21 hours ago
Generation X more loyal to religion http://bit.ly/9dhJgq
August 27, 2010 7:23:35 PM CDT
Amazon Kindle Third Generation With 3G + Wi-Fi | Wired.com Product Reviews http://bit.ly/cO24LZ
August 27, 2010 7:16:08 PM CDT
RT @nature_org: Start your weekend with Nature Photo of the Week! http://nature.ly/bqIdXM
August 27, 2010 3:39:09 PM CDT
Hard to believe they were rules that lasted so long – Miss. school reverses race-based rules for student elections http://bit.ly/coI3u7
August 27, 2010 2:40:42 PM CDT
Vicious English Hag Throws Cat in Trash Can » FREE WHITEWATER http://bit.ly/cTM1Hg
August 27, 2010 9:40:01 AM CDT
Live Tiger Found in Bag Full of Toy Tigers at Thai Airport | Wired Science | Wired.com http://bit.ly/asKYRm
August 26, 2010 9:34:24 PM CDT
RT @nature_org: A teeny tiny frog–Asia’s tiniest–was discovered inside pitcher plants in Borneo (via @Mongabay) http://nature.ly/cEegeV
August 26, 2010 1:38:29 PM CDT
Murkowski Options Limited If Loses Alaska GOP Primary http://bit.ly/bi5PdE Murkowski’s not libertarian, doesn’t deserve LP ballot line
August 26, 2010 11:58:05 AM CDT
School referendum extending taxes & spending 5 more years should be last resort, after public consideration of options http://bit.ly/cy8Yhb
August 25, 2010 10:41:06 AM CDT
@wsjfree: Coffins Made by Brothers Have Undertakers Throwing Dirt http://on.wsj.com/bFDT8n Greedy funeral directors stifle competition
August 25, 2010 10:33:04 AM CDT
Perhaps he’d consider an extended stay – @BreakingNews: North Korea says former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has arrived in Pyongyang – AP
August 25, 2010 10:30:18 AM CDT
Tax savings to taxpayers are not a gift from bureaucrats, but simply a return to people of money they already earned http://bit.ly/cy8Yhb
August 25, 2010 10:21:31 AM CDT
RT @radleybalko: Cash for Clunkers fallout: Price of used cars jumps 30%. Why does Obama hate the poor? http://tinyurl.com/3xo9aea
August 25, 2010 8:00:44 AM CDT
Vast solar system found 127 light years away – Telegraph http://bit.ly/cIjZyq
August 24, 2010 10:08:39 PM CDT
Abuse of mental patients in Milwaukee County: Journal Sentinel Calls for Administrator’s Firing https://freewhitewater.com/?p=11424
August 24, 2010 10:14:02 AM CDT
Can’t blame her: Ousted federal official Shirley Sherrod declines invitation to return to Agriculture Department – AP http://bit.ly/b8OyHA
August 24, 2010 9:44:31 AM CDT
Milwaukee County’s Immoral Utilitarianism: Update 15 (Officials Unaccountable for Abuse) » FREE WHITEWATER http://bit.ly/9C8gK6
August 23, 2010 1:13:57 PM CDT
Cartoons & Comics
Sunday Morning Comic: Pearls Before Swine
by JOHN ADAMS •
Cartoons & Comics
August 28: Read Comics in Public Day
by JOHN ADAMS •
Today is Read Comics in Public Day. Comic books have some of the finest art, and some of the grandest dreams, of popular culture.
Here’s a public photo album, at Flickr, of people reading comic books outside today:
Economy
Second-Quarter GDP Growth Revised Downward – WSJ.com
by JOHN ADAMS •
The U.S. economy grew more sluggish than initially estimated in the second quarter, and corporate profits nearly dried up, further evidence that the recovery is losing steam.
Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, rose at an annualized seasonally adjusted rate of 1.6% from April to June, the Commerce Department said Friday.
Economic growth in the second quarter was revised downward, but came out better than expected, providing a glimmer of hope….
In the government’s first report of the economy’s benchmark indicator a month ago, the growth rate was estimated to have slowed to 2.4% after a 3.7% expansion in the first quarter….
Friday’s report also showed that companies barely managed to post profit gains, following several very profitable quarters. After-tax earnings edged up 0.1%, well off the previous quarter’s gain of 11.4%. First-quarter profits were revised down from the initial estimate of a 12.1% increase.
Liberty, Politics
Nat Hentoff on a Ground Zero Mosque
by JOHN ADAMS •
Nat Hentoff writes about the New York City mosque controversy in Pols Clueless on Ground Zero Mosque:
The angry national debate over Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s intention to build a mosque two blocks north of the horror of 9/11 at Ground Zero has been further fueled by supporter Nancy Pelosi declaring, “I join those who have called for looking into how … this opposition to the mosque is being funded.”
If one of her sleuths knocks on my door, this opponent will readily state that I need no outside funding as a reporter who is deeply investigating the motivation of Imam Rauf’s choice of this site of mass murder for the mosque. I will add that, of course, all American Muslims have their First Amendment right to exercise their freedom of religion in their place of worship. There have been other mosques in New York City built without opposition. That freedom is not at stake here….
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg charges that opponents of Imam Rauf’s mosque “should be ashamed of themselves” and are bigots.
Me, too, Mr. Mayor?
If you want to join Speaker Pelosi in investigating me, your honor, I’d be glad to oblige. I’m just doing my job as a reporter. I wish more reporters had gone beneath the shouting on both sides. There’s another part of the First Amendment in addition to the free exercise of religion: The press is free to investigate the reasons for Imam Rauf’s fixation on the 9/11 location of his mosque.
And why does this location make Hamas glow?
Opposition to the mosque does not make a man or woman a bigot. The freedom to exercise is not at stake — Muslims worship in mosques across New York, and across America. That freedom to worship is secure, and it’s false and hysterical to contend otherwise. It’s secure even for those who would, if given the chance, deny freedom of worship to others.
(I don’t believe for a moment that Imam Rauf is a freedom-loving man — he’s a defender of so much that’s inimical to liberty — as Hentoff relates in his essay. Having pledged to take money from the Iranian and Saudi governments, both among the most tyrannical on earth, Rauf shows himself a willing, would-be supplicant of tyrants.)
There are general and unwelcome trends in all this. There’s been a change in America, these last few years, with many privileged Americans abandoning their support for democratic Israel in favor of a false, self-righteous fixation on radical Palestinians or radical Muslims as victims. In ways their well-heeled defenders in America won’t see, some Palestinians and Muslims are victims: of the violence, misogyny, and oppression of their own leaders.
This change in sentiment, against democratic Israel in favor of her violent enemies, has not possessed all Americans. Sensible people can still the difference between a mongoose and a cobra. (One may never find, by the way, a libertarian for whom the difference between Israel and her radical Muslim & Arab enemies isn’t obvious.)
Fortunately, Hentoff makes seeing the difference that much easier, for anyone willing to listen.
Official Misconduct
Milwaukee County’s Immoral Utilitarianism: Update 20 (Half Measures Are Not Enough)
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published an editorial entitled, Still Not Enough that wisely concludes that Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s actions have been inadequate, in response to assault, neglect, and patient deaths at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex:
The demotion of John Chianelli, the man in charge of Milwaukee County’s Mental Health Complex, doesn’t solve the credibility problem at the facility.
Chianelli should have been fired – along with anyone else associated with the lax supervision of Omowale Atkins, a patient with a history of violence who allegedly attacked patients and staff alike. A psychiatrist involved with a series of patient controversies was suspended without pay Thursday.
Chianelli will become deputy director of the Disabilities Services Division; he had been paid about $118,000 a year to head the county’s Behavioral Health Division, which oversees the complex. Chianelli was in charge when Atkins committed most of his alleged crimes.
Firing Chianelli would have sent a clear message that the ineptitude so well-documented in the recent articles by Journal Sentinel reporters Meg Kissinger and Steve Schultze will not be tolerated….
County Executive Scott Walker’s first responsibility is to ensure that patients are protected and properly cared for. Anyone who allowed patients to be remain in unsafe conditions should be terminated….
But what’s needed even more is new management and a top-to-bottom shakeup that includes firing anyone found culpable of putting patients at risk. Walker and the board need to right these wrongs – now.
Indeed.
Imagine being a patient at the Disabilities Services Division, and realizing that Walker thinks you deserve better than a failed leader like Chianelli. People treat their animals better than some patients – neglected, starved, abused – were treated at the Mental Health Division under Chianelli’s leadership.
Keeping Chianelli – who allowed his professional license to lapse — on the payroll is wrong, as he deserves dismissal, and his retention sends the wrong message to others.
And yet, there is a cold political value to keeping him employed at public expense. Chianelli may reward those politicians who retain him by remaining silent about their own knowledge of his misdeeds, and their own acquiescence in the actions and inactions that have led to suffering and bad policy.
This issue will only go away when those responsible have been disciplined or removed entirely, and those who come after assure more humane treatment.
I’ve posted about Chianelli’s policy, and the tragedy that is conduct at the MHC, before. See, A Milwaukee County Bureaucrat’s Immoral Utilitarianism, Update: A Milwaukee County Bureaucrat’s Immoral Utilitarianism, Update 2, Update 3, Update 4, Update 5, Update 6, Update 7, Update 8, Update 9, Update 10, Update 11, Update 12, Update 13, Update 14, Update 15, Update 16, Update 17, Update 18, and Update 19.
Comment Forum
Friday Comments Forum — 10 Favorite Reads of All Time (including books, graphic novels, comic books, magazines, etc.)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s the Friday open comments post.
Today’s suggested topic is a list of “10 Favorite Reads of All Time (including books, graphic novels, comic books, magazines, etc.)?”
Here’s my list, in no particular order:
Paine, Common Sense. Concise, powerful, timeless.
Lincoln, Collected Works, Vol. 1 & 2 (Library of America). Simple, elegant, and powerful writing. Unmatched in American politics.
Commentary Magazine, 1979-80. Commentary when it was truly a neo-conservative magazine. Wonderful to read at the time, for their rigorous critique of Carter’s inept foreign policy.
William Gibson, Pattern Recognition. I think it’s his best work, even better than his highly-regarded Neuromancer.
Hayek, Road to Serfdom. The truth, published when it was an unfashionable truth.
Wells, War of the Worlds:
No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.
With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger, or thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable. It is curious to recall some of the mental habits of those departed days. At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us….
Learning the World, Ken Macleod. Humanity discovers an inhabited world, far from earth, with creatures just beginning their own industrial age. Macleod’s description of the small, intelligent mammals is memorable.
Melville, Moby-Dick. We presumptuously treat books like this as something from school, to be put behind us as we grow older. We’re foolish to do so. There’s wonder on these pages, if only we would read see it with fresh and open eyes.
Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. As with Moby-Dick, a book that’s new — and revolutionary — each time one reads it.
Wired. A guilty pleasure. It’s an uncertain grab bag of articles each month — one sometimes finds a real gem.
The use of pseudonyms and anonymous postings are, of course, fine.
Although the comments template has a space for a name, email address, and website, those who want to leave a field blank can do so. Comments will be moderated, against profanity or trolls. Otherwise, have at it.
I’ll keep the post open through Sunday afternoon. Enjoy.
Charity, Press Release
Open Forum on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m., Elkhorn
by JOHN ADAMS •
I received the following press release that I am happy to post —
“Coffee, Cookies and Conversation”
The Alzheimer’s Association is hosting “Coffee, Cookies and Conversation” in Elkhorn for community members who wish to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. This program will be offered on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. at People’s Bank of Elkhorn, 837 N. Wisconsin Street. There is no charge to attend; the program is open to the public.
Have you or a loved one recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia? If so, this open forum session will provide an opportunity to get questions answered and for participants to discover how the Alzheimer’s Association can help. Rather than a formal presentation, this program focuses on answering questions from the attendees. The presenter for this program is Bonnie Beam-Stratz, MA, MS, Regional Services Coordinator, Alzheimer’s Association.
To register, please contact Bonnie Beam-Stratz at 920-728-4088 or send an email to bonnie.beam@alz.org.
The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. For more information about Alzheimer’s disease and local services visit www.alz.org/sewi or call the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900.