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Author Archive for JOHN ADAMS

Conspiracy Theories, Courts, Daily Bread, Gableman, Law, Laws/Regulations, Misconduct, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 11.20.24: Justice Comes for Former Justice Gableman

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be windy with snowy conditions in the evening and a high of 41. Sunrise is 6:53, and sunset is 4:27, for 9 hours, 33 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 73.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Parks and Recreation Board meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1945, the Nuremberg trials against 24 Nazi war criminals begin at the Palace of Justice at Nuremberg.

These many years later, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice and current conspiracist Michael Gableman now finds himself the subject of a professional disciplinary complaint:

The Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) filed a disciplinary complaint against former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman on Tuesday. In 10 counts, the complaint alleges Gableman violated numerous provisions of the Wisconsin Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys during and after his much-maligned investigation of the 2020 election. 

….

The first two counts against Gableman involve statements and actions he took after filing subpoenas against the mayors and city clerks of the cities of Green Bay and Madison. The complaint alleges that Gableman mischaracterized discussions he had with the lawyers for both cities, communicated with Green Bay’s city attorney when the city had obtained outside counsel in the matter, lied to Green Bay city officials about the work of his investigation and mischaracterized those actions when he filed a petition with a Waukesha County Circuit Court attempting to have the mayors of both cities arrested for not complying with his subpoenas. 

The third count alleges that Gableman made false statements in his testimony to the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections when he accused officials at the Wisconsin Elections Commission, as well as the mayors of Green Bay and Madison, of “hiring high-priced lawyers” to conduct an “organized cover-up.”

See Henry Redman, Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation files disciplinary complaint against Gableman (‘Complaint alleges 10 counts of violations of state attorney code of conduct against former Supreme Court justice’), Wisconsin Examiner, November 19, 2024.

Redman’s reporting summarizes all ten Office of Lawyer Regulation complaints against Gableman. The full complaint appears immediately below:

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court adjudicates complaints from the Office of Lawyer Regulation alleging attorney misconduct under a set of published court rules. See SCR 20A, 20B (2023).

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will decide what, if any, sanctions Gableman merits against him. Apart from any disciplinary action (rightly decided only on the rules and facts before the court) one can say even now that Gableman’s political influence over the last four years has been among the most controversial of recent memory.

See from FREE WHITEWATER a post category dedicated to Michael Gableman.

Fox & Badger Enjoy a Snack:

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Conservative Populism, Conspiracy Theories, Daily Bread, Eric Hovde, US Senate Race 2024, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 11.19.24: A Concession Laced with Lies

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 59. Sunrise is 6:52, and sunset is 4:27, for 9 hours, 35 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 82.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

The Whitewater Common Council meets at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1863, Pres. Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the dedication ceremony for the military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Eric Hovde has not once — not once — disappointed his critics during his U.S. Senate race. He’s been consistently and unfailingly unworthy of the office. Even during his stubbornly-delayed concession, Hovde proved himself worthy, offering a concession speech laced with lies:

Twelve days after news organizations called the Wisconsin U.S. Senate race for Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin, Republican candidate Eric Hovde conceded the race.

Hovde announced on Nov. 18 that he would not seek a recount. In the same video posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, he repeated falsehoods about Milwaukee’s absentee ballots.

“The results from election night were disappointing, particularly in light of the last-minute absentee ballots that were dropped in Milwaukee at 4 a.m., flipping the outcome,” Hovde said.

….

Wisconsin election experts told PolitiFact that this early morning influx of ballots was expected — and they not only don’t signal anything nefarious, they resulted from adherence to the law.

That’s because state law does not allow election workers to process absentee ballots before Election Day — a bipartisan bill to change that passed the Assembly, but Republicans in the state Senate did not take it up.

The claims echo falsehoods about the 2020 election, which included the same criticisms of Milwaukee’s early morning absentee ballot influxes.

“This is something that everybody who’s familiar with elections in Wisconsin understands will happen,” said Jay Heck, executive director of the public advocacy group Common Cause Wisconsin.

See Hope Karnopp, As he concedes, Eric Hovde earns a ‘Pants on Fire’ for absentee ballot claim, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 19, 2024.

Hovde’s not a conservative populist, but the conservative populists traffic in conspiracy theories (about elections, vaccines, ‘a deep state,’ fluoride in the water, etc.). This out-of-state man knows his party’s base, and it’s simply impossible for him to leave them with an admission of his undoubted failure. Something, somewhere, had had to go wrong, had to be untoward: the populists will never blame themselves, and so will never admit an honest and lawful defeat.

Hovde: true to form, to the end.

Previously at FREE WHITEWATER: Eric Hovde’s Bad Math, Describing Eric Hovde Accurately, Hovde’s Out-of-State Bank Recipient of Bogus Positive Reviews, Hovde Rationalizes His Ignorance and Sloth, California Carpetbagger with a Utah Bank Doesn’t Bother to Read Farm Bill on Which Wisconsin Agriculture Relies, Hovde & Baldwin, Hovde Spreads Lies About Hurricane Response (Of Course He Does), These Aren’t Subtle Men, Eric Hovde’s Banking Deal with a Cartel-Linked Mexican Bank, Hovde’s Evident, Ignorant Racism, Eric Hovde Treats Wisconsin as a Side Hustle,  It’s Not Going So Well for Hovde, Eric Hovde Should Fire His Political Consultants and Hire a Therapist, Tim Michels 2.0 Eric Hovde Announces U.S. Senate Run, and Another Vanity Candidate.  

USC Student Rocket Group Shatters Amateur International Space Record:

Aftershock II is believed to be the world’s first civilian-built rocket to reach an altitude of 470,000 feet. The latest rocket designed and built by the student-run USC Rocket Propulsion Lab (USCRPL) at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, has broken the international altitude record – reaching further into space than any non-governmental and non-commercial group has ever flown before.

Crackpots, Daily Bread, Health, Medicine, Tommy Thompson, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 11.18.24: Wisconsin Octogenarian Desperate for Attention and Relevance

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 58. Sunrise is 6:51, and sunset is 4:28, for 9 hours, 37 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 89.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Police and Fire Commission meets at 6 PM, and the Library Board meets at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1928, the Walt Disney Studio releases the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon.

Anything for an invitation:

Screenshot

See Jessie Opoien, Tommy Thompson shows support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leading Department of Health and Human Services, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 16, 2024.

Insurers say ‘bear’ that damaged cars was a person in a costume:

Animals, Daily Bread, Sports

Daily Bread for 11.17.24: Pigeon Racing in Wisconsin

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 56. Sunrise is 6:50, and sunset is 4:29, for 9 hours, 39 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 95.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1820, Captain Nathaniel Palmer becomes the first American to see Antarctica. (The Palmer Peninsula is later named after him.)

Wisconsin Life | Family passion for pigeon racing:

Dark Horse Loft near New Richmond is home to a unique mother and son pigeon racing team who compete against each other in an unusual sport hundreds of years old.

Not my sport, yet fascinating nonetheless.

The person in line ahead of you ordering coffee:

Daily Bread, Music, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 11.16.24: Vinyl Records Spin Back to Life

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 51. Sunrise is 6:48, and sunset is 4:30, for 9 hours, 41 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 99 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1821, Missouri trader William Becknell arrives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, over a route that became known as the Santa Fe Trail.

Wisconsin Life | At Waxxy Poodle, vinyl records spin back to life:

Dave Eck’s passion for vinyl began at Madison record stores as a teenager. That early love of music led to a career mastering records for major artists. Now he’s brought vinyl manufacturing back to Wisconsin, opening Waxxy Poodle in Cross Plains — the state’s first record pressing facility in nearly 100 years, producing thousands of records daily.

Please stand by:

We apologise for any technical difficulties you may be experiencing. Our engineers are working on a solution as we speak. Please stand by.

— Cats with Jobs ?? (@catworkers.bsky.social) November 14, 2024 at 12:21 PM

Conspiracy Theories, Daily Bread, Elections, Eric Hovde, U.S. Senate, US Senate Race 2024, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 11.15.24: Eric Hovde’s Bad Math

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 54. Sunrise is 6:47, and sunset is 4:31, for 9 hours, 44 minutes of daytime. The moon is full with 99.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1777, after 16 months of debate, the Continental Congress approves the Articles of Confederation (only coming into force after ratification in 1781).

While Eric Hovde lost the race for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin (see below), he’s doing better with conspiracy theorists on X:

Social media posts about election fraud in Wisconsin have surged since Election Day, surpassing all other battleground states, according to data collected by PeakMetrics, a software analytics company.

Between Nov. 6 and Nov. 12, the number of posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, mentioning election fraud in Wisconsin surged from 2,570 to 22,589 — an approximately 789% increase, according to the report. There has been no evidence to suggest voter fraud is a common issue in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Republican Eric Hovde has been among those sowing doubts about voting integrity on X following the election, which he lost to Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

See Maia Pandey and Alex Groth, Posts on X about Wisconsin election fraud have increased nearly tenfold since Election Day, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 15, 2024.

Two days ago, I posted on a headline that nicely summarized Eric Hovde’s claims about his election loss: One week after Senate race was called for Tammy Baldwin, Eric Hovde admits he lost, but won’t concede.

Hovde’s claims about his loss to Tammy Baldwin are easily debunked, as Ricardo Torres writes at the Journal Sentinel:

Hovde went on to say that at 4 a.m. Milwaukee updated its count to include roughly 108,000 absentee ballots and that Baldwin won “nearly 90% of those ballots.”

“Statistically, this outcome seems improbable,” Hovde said. “As it didn’t match the pattern from same day voting in Milwaukee, where I received 22% of the vote.”  

….

Absentee ballots are just a portion of the total votes in any election. But since Hovde is focused on absentee ballots, it’s fairly easy to see his claim is incorrect by going to the city of Milwaukee’s election results page. It should be noted that some absentee voters chose third party candidates for U.S. senate or skipped that race.

Milwaukee received 108,964  absentee ballots by Nov. 5, according to the unofficial count. 

Of that group, Baldwin received 88,229 and Hovde received 17,699 absentee ballots. 

So Baldwin got about 80.9% of the absentee vote and Hovde got about 16.2% of it. 

Clearly Baldwin did not get “nearly 90%” of the absentee ballot vote.

Baldwin’s absentee ballot vote in Milwaukee was similar by proportion to her Election Day in-person vote in Milwaukee. Torres continues:

On Election Day itself, there were 140,043 votes cast in Milwaukee, according to the unofficial count. Of that number Baldwin received 102,598 and Hovde received 29,574.

So Baldwin pulled down 73.2% of the vote on Election Day compared to Hovde’s 21.1% of that vote. 

See Ricardo Torres, Fact check: Hovde’s claim Baldwin won ‘nearly 90%’ of absentee votes is a flop, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 15, 2024.

The wide disparities that Hovde claims are false: Baldwin did somewhat better with absentee ballots, but there was no statistically improbable result as Hovde claims.

Previously at FREE WHITEWATER: Describing Eric Hovde Accurately, Hovde’s Out-of-State Bank Recipient of Bogus Positive Reviews, Hovde Rationalizes His Ignorance and Sloth, California Carpetbagger with a Utah Bank Doesn’t Bother to Read Farm Bill on Which Wisconsin Agriculture Relies, Hovde & Baldwin, Hovde Spreads Lies About Hurricane Response (Of Course He Does), These Aren’t Subtle Men, Eric Hovde’s Banking Deal with a Cartel-Linked Mexican Bank, Hovde’s Evident, Ignorant Racism, Eric Hovde Treats Wisconsin as a Side Hustle,  It’s Not Going So Well for Hovde, Eric Hovde Should Fire His Political Consultants and Hire a Therapist, Tim Michels 2.0 Eric Hovde Announces U.S. Senate Run, and Another Vanity Candidate.  

Castle appears to ‘float’ in clouds in eastern France:

Drone views show the medieval castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg, as if it were floating in clouds on a foggy day. Built in the 12th century by a Germanic imperial family, the castle was a mountain fortress which was later besieged and pillaged.

Conspiracy Theories, Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 11.14.24: Imperfect Justice

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 53. Sunrise is 6:46, and sunset is 4:33, for 9 hours, 46 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous, with 97.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Community Involvement & Cable TV Committee meets at 5 PM.

On this day in 1851,  Moby-Dick is published in the United States.

We awake to news of imperfect justice, as Oliver Darcy reports Not Satire: The Onion acquires Infowars (‘As part of the deal, The Onion will own Infowars’ website, product inventory, customers lists, social media accounts, and intellectual property’):

The Onion has successfully acquired Infowars. 

The satirical news outlet purchased Alex Jones‘ right-wing conspiracy empire at a court-ordered auction, the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting announced Thursday. 

“The dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the death of Infowars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for,” said Robbie Parker, whose daughter was killed in the 2012 school shooting.

As part of the deal, The Onion, owned by Twilio co-founder Jeff Lawson and led by chief executive Ben Collins, acquired Infowars’ website, product inventory, customers lists, social media accounts, and intellectual property. 

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But the Sandy Hook families increased the size of The Onion’s bid by agreeing to forgo a portion of the money Jones owes them. 

“From day one, these families have fought against all odds to bring true accountability to Alex Jones and his corrupt business,” Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Connecticut families, said in a statement. “Our clients knew that true accountability meant an end to Infowars and an end to Jones’ ability to spread lies, pain and fear at scale.”

See Oliver Darcy, Not Satire: The Onion acquires Infowars, Status (November 14, 2024).

Every so often, a notorious liar, a peddler of conspiracy theories large and small, meets a fitting fate. This is one such occasion: that the brand he built and wielded against grieving families is now the property of a satirical publication.

Not enough, by far, but something.

AI robot wages war on weeds:

Carpetbaggers, Daily Bread, Elections, Entitlement, Eric Hovde, US Senate Race 2024, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 11.13.24: Describing Eric Hovde Accurately

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with evening showers and a high of 54. Sunrise is 6:45, and sunset is 4:33, for 9 hours, 48 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous, with 92.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Lakes Advisory Committee meets at 4:30 PM.

On this day in 1833, the Great Meteor Storm of 1833 takes place:

Although it has been suggested the Leonid meteor shower and storms have been noted in ancient times, it was the meteor storm of November 12–13, 1833 that broke into people’s modern-day awareness. One estimate of the peak rate is over one hundred thousand meteors an hour, while another, done as the storm abated, estimated in excess of 240,000 meteors during the nine hours of the storm, over the entire region of North America east of the Rocky Mountains.

It’s been over a week, in a state where margins of electoral victory survive scrutiny (despite conspiracy theories and speculation), and yet losing candidate Eric Hovde admits he lost, but won’t concede. In this, Hovde is true to form, confirming what critics (as I am) saw about him. Wisconsin Public Radio describes Hovde’s stance accurately:

See Rich Kremer, One week after Senate race was called for Tammy Baldwin, Eric Hovde admits he lost, but won’t concede, Wisconsin Public Radio, November 13, 2024.

Hovde, accurately described.

Previously at FREE WHITEWATER: Hovde’s Out-of-State Bank Recipient of Bogus Positive Reviews, Hovde Rationalizes His Ignorance and Sloth, California Carpetbagger with a Utah Bank Doesn’t Bother to Read Farm Bill on Which Wisconsin Agriculture Relies, Hovde & Baldwin, Hovde Spreads Lies About Hurricane Response (Of Course He Does), These Aren’t Subtle Men, Eric Hovde’s Banking Deal with a Cartel-Linked Mexican Bank, Hovde’s Evident, Ignorant Racism, Eric Hovde Treats Wisconsin as a Side Hustle,  It’s Not Going So Well for Hovde, Eric Hovde Should Fire His Political Consultants and Hire a Therapist, Tim Michels 2.0 Eric Hovde Announces U.S. Senate Run, and Another Vanity Candidate.  

Cats with Jobs:

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Courts, Daily Bread, Law, Legislation, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 11.12.24: Oral Argument at the Wisconsin Supreme Court Over an Abortion Ban

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 49. Sunrise is 6:43, and sunset is 4:34, for 9 hours, 50 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous, with 85.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Public Works Committee meets at 5 PM, and the Public Art Committee meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1938, Nazi Germany issues the Decree on the Elimination of Jews from Economic Life prohibiting Jews from selling goods and services or working in a trade, totally segregating Jews from the German economy.

Todd Richmond reports Wisconsin Supreme Court grapples with whether state’s 175-year-old abortion ban is valid:

A conservative prosecutor’s attorney struggled Monday to persuade the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reactivate the state’s 175-year-old abortion ban, drawing a tongue-lashing from two of the court’s liberal justices during oral arguments.

Sheboygan County’s Republican district attorney, Joel Urmanski, has asked the high court to overturn a Dane County judge’s ruling last year that invalidated the ban. A ruling isn’t expected for weeks but abortion advocates almost certainly will win the case given that liberal justices control the court. One of them, Janet Protasiewicz, remarked on the campaign trail that she supports abortion rights.

….

The ban stood until 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide nullified it. Legislators never repealed the ban, however, and conservatives have argued the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe two years ago reactivated it. 

Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit challenging the law in 2022. He argued that a 1985 Wisconsin law that prohibits abortion after a fetus reaches the point where it can survive outside the womb supersedes the ban. Some babies can survive with medical help after 21 weeks of gestation.

Urmanski contends that the ban was never repealed and that it can co-exist with the 1985 law because that law didn’t legalize abortion at any point. Other modern-day abortion restrictions also don’t legalize the practice, he argues.

Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper ruled last year that the ban outlaws feticide — which she defined as the killing of a fetus without the mother’s consent — but not consensual abortions. The ruling emboldened Planned Parenthood to resume offering abortions in Wisconsin after halting procedures after Roe was overturned.

Urmanski asked the state Supreme Court in February to overturn Schlipper’s ruling without waiting for a lower appellate decision.

See Oral Argument in Josh Kaul v. Joel Urmanski, as DA for Sheboygan County, WI 2023AP002362 at Wiseye (free subscription req’d):

Wisconsin Supreme Court: Josh Kaul v. Joel Urmanski

As noted in yesterday’s post there is, however, a constitutional Supremacy Clause that, if relied upon following federal restrictions, would make state action moot.

Why methane emissions matter in the fight against climate change:

Courts, Daily Bread, Federal Government, Law, Legislation, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 11.11.24: Wisconsin Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in Abortion Lawsuit

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Good morning.

Veterans’ Day in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 50. Sunrise is 6:42, and sunset is 4:35, for 9 hours, 52 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous, with 75.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Plan & Architectural Review Commission meets at 6 PM.

On this day in 1918, Germany signs an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car in the forest of Compiègne.

Sarah Lehr reports Wisconsin Supreme Court hears arguments Monday in abortion lawsuit (‘The case involves a 19th century law previously interpreted as banning abortions in the state’):

The state Supreme Court will hear Monday from attorneys on both sides of a case that could decide the future of abortion rights in Wisconsin.

Oral arguments are scheduled to begin at 9:45 a.m. before the seven-justice court, which flipped to a liberal majority in August of last year. 

Planned Parenthood is currently providing abortions at several clinics in Wisconsin, citing a lower court decision. But a ruling from the state’s highest court could provide more finality and clarity about the legal status of abortion in Wisconsin.

There is, however, a Supremacy Clause that, if relied upon following federal restrictions, would make state action moot.

Bells return to Notre Dame Cathedral after 2019 fire:

Daily Bread, Dogs, Science/Nature

Daily Bread for 11.10.24: The Neuroscience Behind… Wet Dog Shakes

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy, with scattered morning showers, and a high of 58. Sunrise is 6:41, and sunset is 4:36, for 9 hours, 57 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous, with 65.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1958, the Hope Diamond is donated to the Smithsonian Institution by New York diamond merchant Harry Winston.

The neuroscience behind wet dog shakes:

When a dog shakes water off its fur, it is not just a random flurry of movements — nor a deliberate effort to drench anyone standing nearby.

This instinctive reflex is shared by many furry mammals including mice, cats, squirrels, lions, tigers and bears. The move helps animals to remove water, insects or other irritants from hard-to-reach places. But underlying the shakes is a complex — and previously mysterious — neurological mechanism.

Now, researchers have identified the neural circuit that triggers characteristic ‘wet dog’ shaking behaviour in mice — which involves a specific class of touch receptors, and neurons that connect the spinal cord to the brain.

November Meteor Showers 2024 (Leonids in Mid-November):

See also Leonid meteor shower: All you need to know in 2024.