One reason Ben Franklin is my favorite Founding Father, besides his work in my industry and all his inventions (including the volunteer fire department), is his way with words, such as: “Here comes the orator! With his flood of words, and his drop of reason.”
That sentence comes to mind when I read statements by elected officials or those who would become elected officials who make statements beneath the intelligence of their would-be constituents, or supporters of either group who make assertions of their favored candidates or their opponents that, at minimum, are factually incomplete.
This page this week includes criticism about past and future power transmission lines. One Letter (and I’m sure future letters) criticizes a state senator without mentioning that electric power projects are approved not by the Legislature, but by the state Public Service Commission, whose members are appointed not by the Legislature but by the governor who, based on the tone of the Letter, most likely got the Letter-writer’s vote in 2018 and 2022. It would be refreshing to read, in this case, something like “the governor I voted for twice was wrong about siting power projects in the beautiful Driftless Area,” or “the leaders of my party need to change their view of big power projects that aren’t in their back yards.”
(Side note: I did ask that governor twice about local opposition to power lines and renewable-energy projects. He basically blew off the question by saying it would all work out. As I’ve written here before, I’m still waiting to see valuable Madison land get covered by solar projects and wind turbines.)
You have also regularly read (and I’m certain will before our Letters deadline of Oct. 19 for the Nov. 3 election) inflation of non-favored incumbents’ political power, as if, for example, they personally caused our current $4-plus-per-gallon prices. (Which, adjusted for inflation since 2021, would be $1 per gallon more, and since 2008, back in my business magazine days, would be heading toward $7 per gallon today.) The corollary is how a favored candidate will singlehandedly end inflation, high energy costs, etc., while completely ignoring the legislative process and how this candidate may be suggesting initiatives that his or her party’s leaders may not favor. (And if you think this is a flaw found only in Letters in your favorite weekly newspaper, check your mailbox.)
It’s not that hard. “(Candidate) supported (legislation), which led to (bad result) because ...” Or: “(Candidate) supports (proposal) that will (cause better result) because …” (And avoiding using the cliché “democracy is at stake” since the cynic reads “democracy” as meaning “my party in charge.”) The “because” part is what we in journalism call the “Why” and “How” part of our five Ws and one H. (I’m not mentioning the other four Ws because you already know about “Who,” “What,” “Where” and “When.”) Answering “why” and “how” is an effort to persuade, instead of just expressing feelings. If a Letter-writer is trying to persuade instead of vent, feelings are not as effective as facts, logic and reason. Free speech says you have your right to your opinion, not necessarily an unchallenged opinion.
Speaking of facts, logic and reason: A look at page 8A this week reveals a possibly unprecedented (or at least in a long time) situation in Six Rivers Conference football: Five teams, including Iowa–Grant and Potosi/Cassville, tied for first place after the halfway mark of the Six Rivers season.
Picking among Iowa–Grant, Potosi/Cassville and River Ridge is difficult since Iowa–Grant lost to River Ridge, which lost to Potosi/Cassville, which lost to Iowa–Grant. Black Hawk/Warren is a perennial that got smoked by Iowa–Grant, but the Warriors still have to play Potosi/Cassville. Few picked Riverdale to be part of a first-place tie this late in the season, but those Chieftains still have to play, in order, Black Hawk/Warren, Iowa–Grant and Potosi/Cassville.
I still don’t think anyone will touch Darlington (maybe anywhere this season), but it certainly is an interesting race in the Southwest Wisconsin Activities League after the Redbirds, with five teams not named Darlington with .500 or better overall records with three weeks left. The Southwest Wisconsin Conference increasingly looks like a two-team race between Platteville and Prairie du Chien, which meet next week, unless Dodgeville decides to spoil Platteville’s Homecoming Friday night.
Meanwhile, in the latest example of matrix logic, Belmont beat North Crawford to remain the only unbeaten team in the Ridge & Valley 8 … and dropped from third to fourth according to the matrix. Platteville remains 19th in Division 4 with only one loss, with five 4–2 teams ranked higher. Given that the SWAL is the best conference in at least this area this season, for Darlington to not be ranked number one defies rational explanation.
