FREE WHITEWATER

Monthly Archives: December 2012

Daily Bread for 12.23.12

Good morning.

Sunday in the Whippet City will grow increasingly cloudy, with a high of twenty-five.

On this day in 1986, an aviation milestone:  “On Dec. 23, 1986, the experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completed the first non-stop, around-the-world flight without refueling as it landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California.”

On this day in 1865, Wisconsin soliders return home, their defense of the Union having been successfully accomplished:

1865 – (Civil War) The 13th Wisconsin Infantry returns home
The 13th Wisconsin Infantry returned home to Madison to be discharged. During its service it had moved through Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama, and Tennessee. The regiment lost 193 men during service. Five enlisted men were killed and 188 enlisted men died from disease.

Google-a-Day asks a question of military history and academic performance: “What was the class rank upon graduation from West Point of the man who, until his dispute with the president, was commander of the U.N. troops in Korea?”

Daily Bread for 12.22.12

Good morning.

It’s a sunny Saturday with a high of twenty-seven for Whitewater. We will have 9h 1m of sunlight and 10h 6m of daylight. Tomorrow’s daylight will be about one minute longer.

On this day in 1864, a Christmas gift for Pres. Lincoln, from Generals Sherman and Scott:

The dispatches of Gen. Sherman and Gen. Foster are as follows:

Savannah, Ga., Dec. 22.

To His Excellency, President Lincoln:

I beg to present you as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton.

(Signed.) W. T. Sherman, Major-General

Steamer Golden Gate,

Savannah River, 7 P.M., Thursday, Dec. 22.

To Lieutenant-General Grant and Major-General H. W. Halleck:

I have the honor to report that I have just returned from General Sherman’s headquarters in Savannah.

I send Major Gray of my staff as bearer of dispatches from General Sherman to you, and also a message to the President.

The city of Savannah was occupied on the morning of the 21st. Gen. Hardee, anticipating the contemplated assault, escaped with the main body of his infantry and light artillery, on the morning of the 20th, by crossing the river to Union Causeway, opposite the city. The rebel iron- clads were blown up, and the Navy-yard was burned. All the rest of the city is intact, and contains twenty thousand citizens, quiet and well-disposed.

The captures includes eight hundred prisoners, one hundred and fifty guns, thirteen locomotives in good order, one hundred and ninety cars, a large supply of ammunition and materials of war, three steamers and thirty-three thousand bales of cotton safely stowed in warehouses.

All these valuable fruits of an almost bloodless victory have been, like Atlanta, fairly won.

I opened communication with the city with my steamers to-day, taking up what torpedoes we could see, and passing safely over others. Arrangements are made to clear the channel of all obstructions. Yours, & c.,

(Signed.) J. G. Foster, Major-General.

Over at the Washington Post, you’ll find an extraordinary 3.8 billion pixel composite photo of Mount Everest. The paper has a link to a panoramic image with gigapixel navigation. (The small orange flecks you’ll notice on the initial view are, in fact, easily-visible encampments for would-be summiteers when one magnifies the image.)

In Wisconsin history on 12.22.1862, Woof-Woof was born:

1862 – Wisconsin Governor Walter Goodland Born
On this date Governor Goodland was born. Goodland had a long and successful career editing and publishing various newspapers in Michigan and Wisconsin, including the Racine Times. Newspaper reporters dubbed him “Woof-Woof” due to his deep, rumbling voice. Twice widowed, Goodland eventually married his secretary, Madge Roche Risney Goodland (also widowed).

After retiring from the newspaper business, Goodland decided to run for lieutenant governor under Progressive Orland Loomis. Loomis died before inauguration, giving the office to Goodland. Goodland, a Republican, proceeded to win the governorship in 1944 and 1946. He died in the old executive residence on March 12, 1947 at the age of 84, being the oldest governor in office in any state. [Source: First Ladies of Wisconsin, The Governors’ Wives by Nancy G. Williams]

Google offers a daily question of science and industry: “Who founded the company named for the man who invented vulcanized rubber?”

Friday Catblogging: Cat fight pits government against Hemingway museum

From Florida comes news of a regulatory battle between the federal government and the Hemingway museum:

A popular tourist attraction has lost another round in the legal battle over who is in charge of the slinky creatures with nine lives and six toes roaming its grounds.The

11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday ruled that the government does have the power to regulate the dozens of cats that live at the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum in Key West, Fla. — a notion the attraction has fought for years.

The museum declined to comment about the court decision.

Some 250,000 visitors flock to the site each year to experience the house where the famed American writer lived from 1931 to 1938 and see the polydactyl six-toed felines whose company he enjoyed.

The cats deserve proper care, but they should be getting that care without federal intervention. Litigation like this – at a federal circuit court – is evidence (in part) of the parties’ failure to balance their interests against the cost of a continuing dispute. A simple written promise of care should have avoided all this, without federal litigation.

Here’s more about the six-toed cats:

Via Cat fight pits government against Hemingway museum – TODAY Travel.

Friday Poll: Will There Be a Fiscal Cliff Deal?

Congress and the White House have yet to agree on (let alone pass into law) a budget deal to avert the much-discussed fiscal cliff of automatic cuts through sequestration.

Do you think there will be a deal, before the first of the year?

I’ll say yes, there will be a last minute arrangement of some sort to prevent sequestration.

What do you think: deal, no deal, or a deal but only after 2013 has begun?


Daily Bread for 12.21.12

Good morning.

Friday brings a day of blowing snow and a high of twenty-four to Whitewater.

On this day in 1968, America launched the first manned mission to another world:

Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders aboard.

On Christmas Eve, the astronauts entered into orbit around the moon, the first manned spacecraft ever to do so. During Apollo 8‘s 10 lunar orbits, television images were sent back home, and spectacular photos were taken of Earth and the moon from the spacecraft. In addition to being the first human beings to view firsthand their home world in its entirety, the three astronauts were also the first to see the dark side of the moon.

On Christmas morning, Apollo 8 left its lunar orbit and began its journey back to Earth, landing safely in the Pacific Ocean on December 27. On July 20 of the next year, Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, astronauts of the Apollo 11mission, became the first men to walk on the moon.

Orbiting alone was a huge accomplishment. Here’s their Christmas message while in orbit, with the moon visible from the capsule:

Google’s daily puzzle asks about art: “Which of Ivan Albright’s paintings features a panel that can be seen as both an opening and a final closure, accented with a bouquet of flowers?”

Meditation to the Sound of a Blizzard

We’re a winter climate, and snow shouldn’t be stressful. On the contrary, hundreds of thousands have watched this soothing video of a snowy scene, with the accompanying soundtrack of a blizzard.

Clear your mind, think of the snow, imagine the snow, become the snow…

In only moments, our winter weather will seem magical yet again, as it was when you were a child.

Via Meditation To The Sound Of A Blizzard (HD) – YouTube.

Daily Bread for 12.20.12

Good morning.

It’s rain and snow for Whitewater today, with about two inches of snow accumulating during the day, and another one or two inches overnight. We are a winter state, and a snowfall like this is typical for us.

Judging from snow that’s already on the ground, we have an answer to a recent Friday poll question about when we’d have our first inch of accumulated snow.   It was yesterday, December 19th.  (I was too late with my prediction, of December 23rd.)

On this day in 1989, U.S. troops launched a campaign to topple Pamana’s dictator, Manuel Noriega, from power.

Beginning in 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites enlisted and served in the SEcond World War:

1941 – Wisconsin Soldiers Enlist, 1941-1945

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, thousands of Wisconsin citizens volunteered to fight. Roughly 320,000 Wisconsin soldiers served in the armed forces during the WWII, including more than 9,000 women. Wisconsin’s National Guard formed a substantial part of the new Red Arrow Division, helping to maintain the respected reputation of its predecessor from World War I by remaining undefeated in the Pacific theater. The majority of Wisconsin soldiers were draftees who served in units comprised of men from around the country. More than 8,000 soldiers died and another 13,000 were wounded in combat. Fifteen Wisconsin men won the Medal of Honor during WWII. [Source: Turning Points in Wisconsin History]

Google-a-Day asks a geography question: “When the krewe that is the “King of Mardi Gras” makes its way along its traditional parade route, onto what street does it turn when it comes to the end of St. Charles?”

 

Common Council Session of 12.18.12: A New Councilmember

Whitewater had a Council vacancy to fill, and for that vacancy she received four initial applicants to an at-large seat. (For a prior post about those applicants, please see It’s Not Who, But What.) There are only two such seats, representing all the residents of the city.

At last night’s session, three applicants were able to attend, and of those three, Council chose Andrew Crone over Cort Hartmann in a 3-2 vote. (Five members voted; Council. Pres. Patrick Singer abstained as he will seek this seat in the spring.)

Each applicant submitted a written application, and spoke before the Council and city in support of his or her consideration. I thought this was a good process: speaking gave others the opportunity to learn more about the applicants.

It was reasonable that each of the applicants would speak before Council (and really, thereby, speak to the many city residents they sought to serve). This seems a basic expectation, not requiring any prior announcement. No one has today reminded me of the law of gravity, but I’m still aware that if I drop a pen from my hands, it will fall to the floor.

The questions were good, and the applicants’ answers sound and informative.

A quick, public thanks is due to all those who’ve written and asked if I might run for Council. I’ve answered those messages individually, and I’ll thank you again for your kind inquiries. It’s worth stating my views about this.

Who does the work of the city?

It’s each and every resident, in his or her own way, who does the good and valuable work of our community. People have different and particular roles, each (one hopes) suited to their preferences and talents. This is mine.

I don’t think it’s necessary to assume many roles. Each person may do a particular thing, leading to a general benefit. I do not hold this this view because it sounds sweet; I hold it because I believe it to be true.

Best wishes to Council’s newest representative, Mr. Crone, and to all the Council in year ahead.

Common Council Session of 12.18.12: Backyard Chickens

Here’s my fourth post on last night’s meeting.

Approved unanimously, and waived from a second reading, Whitewater now has a backyard chicken ordinance. Not just an ordinance, but a fine, model one of which we should be proud.

This is a good idea, that’s come to Whitewater through the hard work of a thoughtful resident. His work (and that of those on our Planning Commission and in city government), for month after month of planning and review, benefits everyone.

We will be a lovelier, more interesting, greener, and freer city for it. For an earlier post in support of backyard hens, see A Model Ordinance.

The urban chicken movement has grown considerably these last several years, yet still even a sound ordinance like this would not have been possible even a few years ago. I would not have expected one for years to come.

Yet here we are.

A super-smart friend sent me additional information on urban chickens before my last post on the subject, and from that kind message I learned more than I knew before. Although I am no one’s idea of a chickenologist, either amateur or professional, the sustainability of the movement has always impressed me. (Quickly, before someone writes: I don’t think ‘chickenologist’ is a real term – I just think it should be.)

Backyard hens aren’t the destination for a New Whitewater, but they’re a welcome marker on the journey.

Next: A New Councilmember.

Common Council Session of 12.18.12: On the Police and Fire Commission

Here’s my third post on the 12.18.12 session.

Seeing a need to harmonize Whitewater’s municipal code with state statutes, Council restored the title of Police and Fire Commission to a citizen’s commission previously known as the Police Commission.

Years ago, I remarked how odd it was that Whitewater’s PFC never addressed fire department matters, name notwithstanding. (I was aware then, as I am now, that Whitewater’s local ordinances preserved an exemption against PFC oversight of the fire department.)

In an unrelated action, others saw this, too, and Lynn Binnie moved (I recall) to amend the local ordinance to refer to that body simply as a Police Commission. Doing so at the time reconciled name and day-to-day function. That’s practical.

I regret, though, that I never wrote more on this subject, these years since. At the time, I had a hunch – that’s all, really – that the ordinance’s total carve-out for oversight of the fire department was questionable under Wisconsin law. A hunch, though, amounts to nothing compared to a proper assessment. That proper assessment I have never attempted, much to my embarrassment, so much time having passed.

If Dr. Kidd and others now have questions about what is the right structure under law and policy, they’re easily as far ahead as anyone has been.

What to do? A few suggestions, the same I think as came out of the discussion following Dr. Kidd and Mr. Winship’s remarks:

1. Change the Title. Council took this step last night.

2. A Memorandum of the Law. What the law requires is the foundation for any discussion on this topic of PFC responsibilities. If Wisconsin law requires a change in responsibilities, then there’s no alternative but to change the practical PFC responsibilities to align them with state law. If there’s no requirement to change, then there’s still a policy question about what’s the best arrangement for the PFC.

To start, the city should prepare and post within a Council packet — sometime in 2013 when this matter is again addressed — a memorandum of law carefully stating the municipal administration’s legal assessment of what the PFC must do.

There should be enough time for all residents to view it.

3. Policy Discussions. Whether law requires a change to PFC responsibilities, or policy suggests it, still leaves Whitewater the opportunity for a new, negotiated framework with the fire department. Whitewater’s fire chief has declared his willingness to talk about the relationship between the PFC and department.

It’s far better to establish a new arrangement by consensus after the city has a memorandum of law from which to consider what must be done. This still leaves, apart from the law, what should be done.

There’s time for this, but it’s sensible than the city and department should complete this review and make any adjustments in 2013.

Next: Backyard Chickens.

Common Council Session of 12.18.12: Citizen Comments

Here’s the second of my posts on Tuesday’s session.

Move to Amend. James Hartwick, a resident and leader of the Starin Park Neighborhood Association, introduced a petition (in support of the Move to Amend campaign) for our 4.2.2013 ballot calling to amend the U.S. Constitution, under this question:

Shall the City of Whitewater adopt the following resolution:

Resolved, that We the People of the City of Whitewater, Wisconsin, seek to reclaim democracy from the expansion of corporate personhood rights and the corrupting influence of unregulated political contributions and spending. We stand with the Move to Amend campaign and communities across the country to support passage of an amendment to the United States Constitution stating: 1. Only human beings – not corporations, limited liability companies, unions, nonprofit organizations or similar associations and corporate entities – are endowed with constitutional rights, and 2. Money is not speech, and therefore, regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech. Be it further resolved, that we hereby instruct our state and federal representatives to enact resolutions and legislation to advance this effort.

Although I am strongly opposed to the petition (libertarians generally think Citizens United was a sound, pro-speech decision), I am strongly supportive of placing it on our ballot. Residents should have a chance, following the collection of hundreds of other residents’ petition signatures, to vote on a resolution like this.

If anything, I wish we had more petition drives for more ballot resolutions.

I recall seeing Mr. Hartwick at a table across from the Old Armory, at the November election, collecting petition signatures for this resolution. Good for him. I briefly thought about stopping over and talking to him about it, but I quickly thought better of it. He was working, so to speak, and did not need the distraction of a pesky blogger.

I’ll write on this topic closer to the election, in opposition to the resolution, but not to those working toward it. I wish well anyone who works sincerely in a case like this, as his or her conscience sees fit.

My preferred outcome: the most successful unsuccessful ballot resolution in the history of our city.

Dr. Nosek’s Remarks. As is his annual custom, toward the end of each year, this year Dr. Nosek spoke on topics of concern to him. There just aren’t many people in any community who care enough to commit to annual remarks like this. There also aren’t many people who are – regardless of views – as interesting. I’d don’t think there’s ever been a time that Dr. Nosek hasn’t held my attention.

Next: On the Police and Fire Commission.

Common Council Session of 12.18.12: Staff Reports

Last night’s 12.18.12 Common Council meeting was a busy one, with staff reports, reading of ordinances, and appointment of a new alder to Council. This was the last meeting of 2012, and the session covered much ground in under three hours. All in all, a good night, I’d say, for the city.

I’ll post on sundry items throughout the day. In this post, I’ll write about some of the staff reports presented last night.

Dean Fischer’s Retirement. Council delivered a proclamation to retiring Public Works Director Dean Fischer, having been employed with the city for over forty-years.

A K-9 Service Animal. Whitewater’s Police Department is looking to add a service dog, through a fundraising program. Since Whitewater has a history of success with public safety fundraising, the odds are good that the department will raise the money. The dog proposed is a tracking, drug-interdiction dog. (Other dogs, those trained to use force against a suspect, are apprehension dogs).

Because Whitewater’s proposed program is part of an anti-narcotics effort, its role depends on political and cultural forces outside the city. Enforcement of this kind relies on Wisconsin’s view of the Drug War. For now, it’s safe to say that no changes nationally will affect Whitewater’s (or even Wisconsin’s) views on these policies.

(There’s a fine essay from a faculty member at Marquette, to which I will refer another time, that I think reasonably suggests that Wisconsin may be one of the last states in America to abandon the Drug War. If that’s true, then not only a tracking dog, but also those leaders advocating one, will likely be retired before any significant changes in Wisconsin’s narcotics laws.)

The Library’s Building Plan. A consultant has modified by reduction the expansion plan for the library. Meetings about the plan will continue through much of 2013.

Big Brick Park’s Ice Rink. The park needs some furnace repairs, in an amount under $2,000. Routine repairs of this kind can and should be undertaken under ordinary administrative authority, and that’s what happened in this case. Happy skating – think snow (or at least suitable cold).

Next: The Move to Amend Petition.

Daily Bread for 12.19.12

Good morning.

Wednesday’s forecast calls for cloudy skies and a high of thirty-five. We’ll have snow this week, but it’s not forecast to begin during daytime Wednesday. There will be 9h 2m of sunlight today, 10h 6m of daylight, and tomorrow will be one minute shorter.

On this day in 1776, America first saw one of her finest, and most inspirational, political essays:

These are the times that try men’s souls; the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.

When these phrases appeared in the pages of the Pennsylvania Journal for the first time, General George Washington‘s troops were encamped at McKonkey’s Ferry on the Delaware River opposite Trenton, New Jersey. In August, they had suffered humiliating defeats and lost New York City to British troops. Between September and December, 11,000 American volunteers gave up the fight and returned to their families. General Washington could foresee the destiny of a rebellion without an army if the rest of his men returned home when their service contracts expired on December 31. He knew that without an upswing in morale and a significant victory, the American Revolution would come to a swift and humiliating end.

Thomas Paine was similarly astute. His Common Sense was the clarion call that began the revolution. As Washington’s troops retreated from New York through New Jersey, Paine again rose to the challenge of literary warfare. With American Crisis, he delivered the words that would salvage the revolution.

Washington commanded that the freshly printed pamphlet be read aloud to his dispirited men; the rousing prose had its intended effect. Reciting Paine’s impassioned words, the beleaguered troops mustered their remaining hopes for victory and crossed the icy Delaware River to defeat hung-over Hessians on Christmas night and on January 2, the British army’s best general, Earl Cornwallis, at the Battle of Princeton.

Also on this day, in 1813, Wisconsin governor Nelson Dewey was born:

1813 – Nelson Dewey Born
On this date Nelson Dewey, the first governor of the state of Wisconsin, was born in Lebanon, Connecticut. The son of Ebenezer Dewey and Lucy Webster, Nelson arrived in the Wisconsin Territory in 1836. He studied law, began a legal and business career in Lancaster, and made a considerable sum of money in land and lead mining investments. At the age of 35, he became the first state governor and served two terms, from June 7, 1848 to January 5, 1852.

In later years, Dewey suffered misfortune. On Thanksgiving day, 1873, his mansion at Stonefield was gutted by fire, after which his wife and children moved to Europe for several years. In 1886 he began divorce proceedings against his wife on grounds of desertion but later dropped the suit. For more than 10 years Dewey lived alone. During the final 5 years of his life he had no contact with his family. He lost a fortune in a railroad deal and was ruined financially.

In February 1889, he suffered a stroke while arguing a court case in Lancaster. Nelson Dewey died on July 21, 1889, in Cassville, where he is buried. [Source: First Ladies of Wisconsin-The Governors’ Wives by Nancy G. Williams]

Google-a-Day offers up a combined sports and television question: “Who is the only NFL player married to a former million-dollar winner of “Survivor”?”

 

A Handbook

Among the agenda items discussed at last night’s school board meeting was the appointment of board members to a committee to prepare an employee handbook for the district (agenda item 13c). Two were appointed.

A handbook, of course, has a much greater significance in districts that will, overtime, be without public-employee collective bargaining. (Here I am assuming that ongoing litigation about Act 10 will end with the Wisconsin Supreme Court upholding that law.)

One should be clear about Act 10 as it was offered, not as it has been used: whatever one thinks of it, the professed justification for that bill was to help Wisconsin overcome a structural deficit. I’d say that could and should have been done in other ways, but no matter: such was the justification for Act 10.

In the absence of public-employee collective bargaining, where there are no longer union agreements in force, some districts and municipalities have crafted employee handbooks with significantly altered employee rights.

One cannot emphasize enough what a distraction and mistake those districts have made in their preoccupation with altering employee-employer obligations in this way.

Our school district‘s obligation is to advance substantive learning, athletics, and the arts, fairly to all, and within a reasonable budget. Lengthy debates about dress codes, or other employer-employee policies, only sap energy and distract from those key objectives.

Often the explanations in favor of these peripheral matters are embarrassingly weak. Only recently, Janesville’s superintendent offered a poorly-reasoned defense of a stricter teacher dress code.

I commented on it recently. (See, The Janesville Schools’ Cautionary Tale for Whitewater.) Janesville should not have wasted its time on a teacher dress code. Her school board should have spent those many hours crafting a better set of standards for a superintendent.

We have no reason to make Janesville’s mistake, on dress codes or a dozen other employer-employee matters.

Our emphasis should and must be on substantive student accomplishment. Our concern should be to deliver these accomplishments as economically as possible. Anything else is a sideshow.

I’m confident we’ll do well, and better than others.