Good morning,

It’s a blue moon tonight. I have no idea if that rarity will produce rarities for Whitewater, Wisconsin. If one unusual event begets another, expect some of the following: a Whitewater city manager who sets aside false humility and résumé-building marquee projects, a Whitewater police chief who sets aside public relations for true community policing, a common council member who sets aside the rationalization of conflicts of interest, and a political class that doesn’t confuse looking good with being good.

I am quite sure that 2009 has been a horrible year for Whitewater, and America. If we are an exceptional town, then we’re an exceptional town of self-important politicians and town squires who have, yet again, put their own images ahead of better lives for their constituents and neighbors. We are a place of deep poverty, mostly ignored by those who would rather trumpet, well, anything except the truth.

And yet, I am convinced that these difficult times offer more for reform in Whitewater than ever before. Not, I’m quite sure, because any number of arrogant new men will see how wrong they’ve been. On the contrary, I very much expect them to lie, rationalize, hide, and self-promote even more in the new year. They won’t get better; they’ll get worse.

It is, instead, because the opportunity unfolds to exercise one’s rights under the law vigorously, and litigate at their denial, that I believe the new year offers so much promise. There’s a point when one simply exercises one’s rights, ignoring what others think. There has never been a better time for that approach.

It is sad and troubling that life in Whitewater is hard for so many, and that their pains are made worse by the arrogance of third-tier municipal officials and their deluded apologists. I have not lost a focus on this fundamental truth of our common condition; no other remarks matter half so much.

I will, though, offer these personal remarks for my readers: since Advent, and growing through the season, I don’t believe I have ever felt better. I am so very much convinced and confirmed in the exercise of individual liberty, the power of markets, and the opportunities from a smaller government and more vigorous civil (that is, private) society.

More than that: one should take the message of these principles and the exercise of individual rights to within an inch of a bureaucrat’s nose, so to speak.

In that there is hope, opportunity, and a bit of adventure (as a ‘happy warrior,’ in the way of Al Smith), too.

Good morning,

There’s a likelihood of a light snow today, with a high in the mid twenties. No meaningful accumulation is expected.

On this day in 1922, law enforcement in Madison had a busy day, as the Wisconsin Historical Society recalls:

1922 – Authorities Confiscate Illegal Alcohol

On this date authorities in Madison confiscated 1,200 gallons of “mash” and fifteen gallons of moonshine from the home of a suspected bootlegger. As the illegal liquor trade flourished in Madison’s Greenbush neighborhood during Prohibition, two rival gangs, one on Regent Street and the other located on Milton Street, fought to gain control until the “Rum War” erupted among these factions in 1923. [Source: Bishops to Bootleggers: A Biographical Guide to Resurrection Cemetery, p.189]

Good morning,

It’s a cold day in Whitewater, with a predicted high of only 19 degrees.

There’s no school (of course) and no municipal, public meetings for the City of Whitewater (thankfully).

If one reads one local story today, about our part of the world, I would suggest the Gazette’s Walworth County Search Warrants Could Disappear. There’s much more to post of the topic, but I’ll first point toward the story.

It’s also the anniversary, from 1879, of the birthday of William “Billy” Mitchell. The Wisconsin Historical Society marks the anniversary:

1879 – General William “Billy” Mitchell Born

On this date aviation pioneer Billy Mitchell was born in Nice, France. Mitchell grew up in Milwaukee and attended Racine College. During World War I, Mitchell was the first American airman to fly over enemy lines. He also led many air attacks in France and Germany. Upon return to the U.S., he advocated the creation of a separate Air Force. Much to the dislike of A.T. Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt, and other contemporaries, Mitchell asserted that the airplane had rendered the battleship obsolete, and attention should be shifted to developing military air power. Mitchell’s out-spokenness resulted in his being court martialed for insubordination. He was sentenced to five years suspension of rank without pay. General Douglas MacArthur — an old Milwaukee friend — was a judge in Mitchell’s case and voted against his court martial. Mitchell’s ideas for developing military air power were not implemented until long after his death. In 1946 Congress created a medal in his honor, the General “Billy” Mitchell Award. Milwaukee’s airport, General Mitchell International Airport, is named after him. [Source: American Airpower Biography]

Good morning,

It’s a day of freezing rain, with a high of about thirty-six forecast for today.

Offices in the City of Whitewater are closed today.

Today is the anniversary of the end of the War of 1812, under terms that made Wisconsin possible:

1814 – War of 1812 Ends

On this date the Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the the War of 1812 which was fought between the United States and Great Britain from June 1812 to the spring of 1815 (news of the treaty took several months to reach the frontiers of No. America). The treaty provided for the cessation of hostilities, the restoration of conquests, and a commission to settle boundary disputes. John Quincy Adams served as the chief negotiator for the United States. The treaty formalized U.S. possession of land which included present-day Wisconsin. [Source: The Avalon Project at Yale Law School]

Good morning,

It’s a cloudy but relatively mild day for Whitewater, with predicted temperatures to be in the thirties.

It’s the last day of school before Christmas Break, and only a day until Santa visits Whitewater. I put good and open government on my Christmas list again this year, but I don’t know how Santa might get that down the Whitewater Municipal Building’s chimney (or if our municipal building and planning command center even has a chimney).

There are, to my knowledge, no public meetings scheduled for today.

I did read, though, that today is the anniversary of the day that Van Gogh supposedly cut off his ear, or at least a part of it. Even in 1888, I’d guess, holiday shopping was stressful.

Good morning,

It’s a snowy day, with little accumulation expected, and a high of twenty-nine degrees.

I don’t know of any municipal public meetings scheduled for the cIty of Whitewater this week. We approach Christmas quietly.

There’s an odd anniversary on this day, from 1956. The History Channel recalls that on this day in 1956,

First gorilla [was] born in captivity

On this day in 1956, a baby gorilla named Colo enters the world at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, becoming the first-ever gorilla born in captivity. Weighing in at approximately 4 pounds, Colo, a western lowland gorilla whose name was a combination of Columbus and Ohio, was the daughter of Millie and Mac, two gorillas captured in French Cameroon, Africa, who were brought to the Columbus Zoo in 1951. Before Colo’s birth, gorillas found at zoos were caught in the wild, often by brutal means. In order to capture a gorilla when it was young and therefore still small enough to handle, hunters frequently had to kill the gorilla’s parents and other family members.

Gorillas are peaceful, intelligent animals, native to Africa, who live in small groups led by one adult male, known as a silverback. There are three subspecies of gorilla: western lowland, eastern lowland and mountain. The subspecies are similar and the majority of gorillas in captivity are western lowland. Gorillas are vegetarians whose only natural enemy is the humans who hunt them. On average, a gorilla lives to 35 years in the wild and 50 years in captivity.
At the time Colo was born, captive gorillas often never learned parenting skills from their own parents in the wild, so the Columbus Zoo built her a nursery and she was reared by zookeepers. In the years since Colo’s arrival, zookeepers have developed habitats that simulate a gorilla’s natural environment and many captive-born gorillas are now raised by their mothers. In situations where this doesn’t work, zoos have created surrogacy programs, in which the infants are briefly cared for by humans and then handed over to other gorillas to raise.

Colo, who generated enormous public interest and is still alive today, went on to become a mother, grandmother, and in 1996, a great-grandmother to Timu, the first surviving infant gorilla conceived by artificial insemination. Timu gave birth to her first baby in 2003.

Today, there are approximately 750 gorillas in captivity around the world and an estimated 100,000 lowland gorillas (and far fewer mountain gorillas) remaining in the wild. Most zoos are active in captive breeding programs and have agreed not to buy gorillas born in the wild. Since Colo’s birth, 30 gorillas have been born at the Columbus Zoo alone.