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Monthly Archives: April 2011

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 4.22.11

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Good morning.

It’s a rainy day predicted for Whitewater, with a high temperature of forty-one degrees.

Schools and municipal offices are closed today.

The Wisconsin Historical Society posts that

On this date the Army-McCarthy hearings began. The hearings were televised live for 36 days to an audience of over 20 million viewers. Kinescopes of these hearings were used by Emile de Antonio to produce the 1964 documentary Point of Order. In the hearings, Senator Joseph McCarthy, chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, charged that the Secretary of the Army, Robert T. Stevens, and Army Counsel, John G. Adams, were hampering the committee’s attempts to uncover communists in the military. McCarthy failed to prove his charges. The hearings, given broad television and newspaper coverage, helped to end the anti-Communist witch hunt. In the end, McCarthy was publicly disgraced and condemned by the U.S. Senate. [Source: The Museum of Broadcast Communications]

Law, Politics, Wisconsin

Of JoAnne Kloppenburg

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On the Saturday before the April election, JoAnne Kloppenburg visited Whitewater, and I went out to see her. Like most people, I’d never seen her in person, and wanted to hear her talk. (Justice Prosser’s had a more public career, in the legislature and more recently on the court; many people have run into him, one place or another, over the years.)

There were about sixty-five people in a UW-Whitewater auditorium waiting to meet her. Her previous campaign stop had been, I think, in Stevens Point, so she had a long drive to reach Whitewater.

She spoke for a bit, and then answered questions. In her address, she was what one would have expected — intelligent, educated, cautious & measured, and sincere in her manner. There’s been all sorts of rhetoric that Kloppenburg’s too extreme, too ideological, etc., but that contention has always been silly. There’s no one who, having served for over twenty-years in Wisconsin’s Justice Department, could possibly be outside the mainstream of her profession. In her other pursuits, she’s very much an example of a successful, capable attorney with an interest in charitable causes and a kind of social justice.

(In his own way, Justice Prosser is also representative of a type of Wisconsinite. Prosser and Kloppenburg may differ on many things, but they’re only eleven years apart, and both are graduated from UW-Madison Law School.)

If one, having heard her speak, and learning of her background, doesn’t see that she’s an example of an accomplished professional — apart from any given political view — then one simply lacks an understanding of contemporary upper-middle-class life. She should be immediately recognizable as a smart, socially-committed Madisonian. Her views are not always my own, but that’s not necessary to appraise her accurately.

As I listened to her, I thought: the right will mistake your careful, thoughtful manner for weakness.

Sure enough, Jim Troupis, Republican attorney, Prosser’s attorney, and defender of caucus-scandal Republicans, thought he could scare her from a recount by declaring that even the request for a lawful recount would be met with a legal challenge, as frivolous. The law allows her a recount, at state expense, but Troupis threatened to sue to stop any recount request.

Prosser paid Troupis too much — Kloppenburg was likely to demand a recount in any event, but Troupis’s challenge made it certain that she would. He wanted to scare her away from exercising her legal right.

He may have felt that she’d request a recount regardless, and so that he might as well state the GOP position in response — that she was just wasting money on a futile effort.

I don’t think that’s all of it, though. I’d guess he and others thought they saw weakness in her, weakness in upper-middle-class, left-of-center women like her, and that she could be induced to back down. (When she made her request for a recount yesterday, the Wisconsin GOP used this theme of her supposed weakness, contending that “JoAnne Kloppenburg is too weak to say ‘no’ to the liberal special interests that pushed her into the spotlight in the first place.”)

Even if there are upper-middle-class women, somewhat left-of-center, who are particulary weak, then I don’t think Kloppenburg’s one of them. One can be quite sure, though, that the Wisconsin GOP — by its own account — sees her this way.

They’re mistaken about her, having confused — perhaps wishfully — a careful manner for timidity.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 4.21.11

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Good morning.

It’s a cloudy day ahead for Whitewater, with a high temperature of fifty.

The Wisconsin Historical Society recalls that it’s John Muir’s birthday:

On this date John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland. He immigrated with his family to Wisconsin in 1849 and spent his youth working on his father’s farms in Marquette County, experiences that are recounted in The Story of My Boyhood and Youth (1913). In 1868 he moved to Yosemite Valley, California, where he became a conservationist and leader in the forest preserve movement. His work led to the creation of the first national parks, the saving of California’s redwoods, and the founding of the Sierra Club. [Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin Biography, SHSW 1960, pg. 261]

City, Planning

Money, Memory, Butterflies

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A few more tidbits from last night’s Common Council meeting.

Money

It’s correct, but disingenuous, for Whitewater’s city manager to observe that he cannot assure spending without the Common Council’s approval (and so could not have promised a particular public works project). He’s right, but he’s the last official who should make that observation.

These recent years have seen the city manager trumpet project after project, and put himself front-and-center as a deal-maker. There are others in city government, on the council, too, who can make credibly the claim of prudent oversight; the city manger’s not among them.

Memory

Dr. Nosek, formerly on council, spoke last night, and mentioned that the city manager had once declared housing the city’s number-one problem. (I’d say it’s poverty.) Nosek’s correct in his recollection.

Goodness knows that I’m a critic of Nosek’s local proposals, but I’ve never doubted his intellect or memory. I don’t know how serious the city manager was when he decried a supposed housing problem, but Nosek’s serious about it, and remembers those words.

Butterflies

One hears that everything on earth is inter-connected, and so if a butterfly flaps its wings in Tokyo, we experience, if imperceptibly, the influence of that effort, even in Wisconsin. The theory came to mind when a member of a neighborhood association suggested that improvements to his neighborhood would make the whole city better.

Again, perhaps. That’s not the proper measure of an allocation though, is it?

The proper measure: Is this the best of all alternative allocations

One might as well say that one could produce a nice breeze in Whitewater if only one raised millions of butterflies in Tokyo — get enough insects flapping their wings in Japan, and surely we’d feel that influence in Wisconsin.

Possible, just possible, but there are better ways to spend on our community than an investment in attenuated influences at a distance. Other neighborhoods would feel the consequences of the Starin Neighborhood’s gains only slightly — there are other projects more necessary and influential for the whole city than several traffic islands along Starin Road.

Yet, we’ll have one, and perhaps a few more, before all is said and done.

Crime, Official Misconduct

The Talented Dr. Steven Hayne

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Dr. Steven Hayne is a forensic pathologist in Mississippi. He’s a fraud and liar, too. Here’s a description of his method (citations omitted):

Until 2008, Hayne performed about 80 to 90 percent of criminal autopsies in Mississippi, and has testified to performing more than 1,500 autopsies per year. Performing more than 325 autopsies per year is considered a “Phase II deficiency” by the National Association of Medical Examiners, and prevents an office from being accredited. While performing these autopsies, Hayne also regularly appeared in court to testify as a forensic expert, and held down two hospital jobs.

Hayne’s well-educated, but he applied his schooling and intellect to a method that was substandard in every way, leading errors, mistakes, and wrongful convictions.

Hayne’s shoddy work and testimony are responsible for placing innocent men on death row.

In 2008, Mississippi finally barred Hayne from performing any more autopsies within the state.

For more on Hayne’s disgraceful career, see the excellent work of Radley Balko (formerly of Reason, soon to be at the Huffington Post):

Balko, Radley (November 2007). “CSI: Mississippi: A case study in expert testimony gone horribly wrong.” Reason Magazine. http://www.reason.com/news/show/122458.html. Retrieved 2009-09-18.

Balko, Radley (October 2006). “The Case of Cory Maye: A cop is dead, an innocent man may be on death row, and drug warriors keep knocking down doors.” Reason Magazine. http://www.reason.com/news/show/36869.html. Retrieved 2009-09-18.

Balko, Radley (September 1, 2009). “Update in Mississippi: Titles Are Free!” Reason: Hit and Run. Reason Magazine. http://www.reason.com/blog/show/135818.html. Retrieved 2009-09-18.

Balko, Radley (February 19, 2009). “Manufacturing Guilt? Experts say this exclusive video shows a dental examiner creating the bite marks that put a man on death row.” Reason Magazine. http://reason.com/news/show/131527.html. Retrieved 2009-09-18.

Yet for years, despite Hayne’s absurd claims — and the unjust results they produced — he held onto his position. He even had defenders, status quo stalwarts who did anything they could to prop him up, until he was finally removed.

There’s the proof and demonstration of human nature — that some are corrupt and selfish, and will exercise power unjustly so long as they have a place from which to do so. They’ll say anything, do anything, merely to hold onto a position, title, or role. It’s not truth that inspires them, but prominence — as long as they have a chair at the table, they’re satisfied.

There’s great power in this situational amorality — without anything more than their selfish desires, they’ll dissemble, distort, and deceive so much as they need.

Hayne’s intelligent, but his career is one of degradation, of himself and others Even an ape would care better for its kind than Hayne cared for many others of his own kind.

If Hayne lasted so long, through his unremitting lies, then what finally did him in?

Someone like Balko, and others who publicized Hayne’s misconduct, eventually won the day. For if Hayne seemed the immovable object, Balko was — truly — the irresistible force. What Hayne had in selfishness, Balko exceeded in tenacity and patience. Along the way, Hayne probably seemed likely to prevail, until he was finally undone.

Politics is a long, ongoing thing. The selfishly situational — vile pigs like Hayne who will grab anything they can get — misunderstand the dynamic and transformational nature of America.

Hayne had the status quo, so to speak, but it wasn’t enough to resist a patient — very patient — doggedness for the truth.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 4.20.11

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Good morning.

Today calls for a slight chance of rain or snow, with a high temperature of thirty-eight.

There’s a book fair today, in the LMC library at Lincoln School, home of the Leopards.

Of libraries, the Wisconsin Historical Society notes that in

1836 – Oldest Library in the State Founded

On this date an Act of Congress created the Territory of Wisconsin and in the sixteenth and final section of that Act appropriated funds for the Wisconsin State Library to support the needs of the fledgling government. The library is still functioning but has been renamed as the Wisconsin State Law Library [Source: Wisconsin State Law Library]

City

Whitewater’s Common Council Meeting for 4.19.11 (Live Blogging)

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Here’s the format I will be using for live-blogging tonight’s Common Council meeting. I’m interested in using live-blogging to produce commentary more quickly. (My comments will remain after the meeting for later viewing.)

Additional remarks — 🙂

1. It’s a good idea for someone to express displeasure with boisterous or ornery members of the gallery. After all, each medium — live, radio, television, print — has its own standards of enough or too much. It’s worth pointing that out.

2. Although print has room for lots of fiery rhetoric, in-person conversations (and videotaped ones) require a cool delivery. That means tone has to be kept level. There’s a point in the discussion where the city manager seems really irritated with how someone described a supposed promise. There’s irritated and there’s seems irritated — and seems irritated is almost always a mistake on television.

Beyond that, a good politics has no end – it’s an ongoing process, with no fixed result. A new day begins, and new issues arise – it’s not winning or losing, but bringing one’s convictions to the events of each new day, and testing them against what one finds. A person may be privately irritated, but there’s no room for anything publicly except the next issue, the next set of facts, the next analysis, and the next advocacy.

It’s a commitment to forging ahead unfazed to that next day, to starting over again in the morning, that makes a great difference.

I’ll write about that tomorrow, in a post entitled, The Talented Dr. Hayne. more >>

Crime, University

GazetteXtra: Threat closes UWW’s Williams Center

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WHITEWATER – UW-Whitewater has closed the campus’ main athletics building after a written threat was found in a men’s restroom. A spokesman said there has been no explosion or injury. Here’s the text of a notice on the university’s website:

“Williams Center will be closed for the remainder of today, Tuesday, April 19 and all day Wednesday, April 20. A message was found in one of the men’s restrooms stating that a device would go off in the building. As a precautionary measure, the building will be evacuated and closed until 6 a.m. Thursday, April 21. This means that there will be no classes or intramural sports and all offices in Williams Center will be closed. Events not held in Williams Center will continue as scheduled.

“UW-Whitewater Police are working with area law enforcement agencies to ensure that the facility is safe. It is a criminal offense to make a bomb threat. Anyone found to be engaging in such activity will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Anyone with tips can call the Walworth County Crimestoppers line at 262-723-2677.”

Via “Threat closes UWW’s Williams Center” by Latest News — GazetteXtra.

Prompt, prudent, and poised.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 4.19.11

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Good morning.

Today’s forecast calls for a day of rain, snow, and sleet, with a high temperature of thirty-seven.

In Whitewater today, there will be a meeting of the Urban Foresty Commission at 4.15pm.  The meeting agenda is available online.  Later, at 6:30 p.m., there will be a meeting of the Common Council. That agenda is also available online.

In Wisconsin History, a sad and unusual story about a former governor, as the Wisconsin Historical Society tells it:

1862 – Governor Harvey Drowns in the Tennessee River

On this date Governor Louis Harvey died while leading an expedition to relieve Wisconsin troops after the battle of Shiloh. The expedition was bringing doctors, nurses, and much-needed medical supplies to soldiers when Harvey, crossing from one steamboat to another, slipped, fell into the swift currents of the Tennessee River, and never re-surfaced. His body was recovered ten days later, nearly sixty miles downstream. When news reached Madison, Lieutenant Governor Edward Salomon was sworn in as Wisconsin’s first German-American governor. [Source: Wisconsin in the Civil War, by Frank L. Klement]

Beautiful Whitewater, City, Economy

Whitewater’s Ongoing Success Story

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I’ve written before about the Whitewater Aquatic Center, and its impressive financial turnaround. See, A Whitewater Success Story: The Whitewater Aquatic Center. That positive news continues, and a story at Walworth County Today notes that the WAC has successfully erased past deficits —

The aquatic center opened in 2001 and was operated by Mercy Health System for more than five years. The board of directors assumed control in 2009 and has since steadily restructured spending to chip away at the deficit.

In 2008, the center was losing about $250,000 annually. Shortly after management changed hands, that decreased to $100,000.

Last year’s deficit was a far-smaller $10,000, with better news expected for this year.

It’s hard to over-estimate this accomplishment: local control has brought an astonishing turnaround. Even more impressive, all this was accomplished during the most difficult economic and financial conditions America’s faced in generations.

Whitewater’s had her share of successes, surely, but this one stands out as particularly impressive.

This is a good story, and I think it’s impossible to hear of it without smiling.

See, President: Whitewater Aquatic Center costs have dramatically decreased.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 4.18.11

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Good morning.

We’ve a dusting of snow, and we’re on our way to a high temperature of forty-three.

In our schools, there’s summer school registration this afternoon and evening.  Registration is also available online.

The Wisconsin Historical Society remembers a time when Wisconsin was part of Michigan:

1818 – Wisconsin Becomes Part of Michigan Territory

On this date land encompassing current day Wisconsin was made part of the Michigan Territory, representing one step in Wisconsin’s path to statehood. It had been part of the Northwest Territory from July 13, 1787 to May 11, 1800; of Indiana Territory from May, 1800 to Feb. 3, 1809; and of Illinois Territory from Feb. 3, 1809 to April 18, 1818. The Territory of Wisconsin was formed July 4, 1836.