Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of seventy-three.  Sunrise is 6:24 AM and sunset 7:22 PM, for 12h 57m 29s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing crescent with 43.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Landmarks Commission meets at 6 PM.

On this day in 1774, the First Continental Congress convenes.

Recommended for reading in full:

Patrick Marley reports An $8 million military project in Wisconsin is losing out to help fund Trump’s border wall:

Wisconsin will forgo $8 million in military spending to help pay for a wall along Mexico’s border.

President Donald Trump’s administration is diverting $3.6 billion from military projects for the wall. According to a document posted online by the Washington Post, $8 million of it will come from a planned small arms range at Truax Field in Madison.

….

“President Trump promised Mexico would pay for his border wall and that’s clearly not true because he is taking money from our military to pay for it,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin said in a statement.

Tory Newmyer writes Trump’s trade war is sinking his promise to revive American manufacturing:

In another sign the president’s crusade against China is hurting the U.S. economy, factory activity shrank in August for the first time in three years, according to a new survey.  

The measures the Institute for Supply Management uses for domestic manufacturing’s health fell nearly across the board. New orders for manufactured goods dropped for the second month in a row to a level not seen since late 2009; production and employment contracted for the first time in three years. Another reporton manufacturing activity — from IHS Markit, also released Tuesday — confirmed the findings, showing the weakest manufacturing activity in nearly a decade.

….

The slowdown in American manufacturing comes as the sector has hit a skid worldwide, a development dating to last year that has grown worse as trade tensions have intensified. But the ISM survey left little doubt that the president’s tariff fight is weighing on manufacturers. Four of 10 respondents that the survey quoted invoked the trade war as a top concern (“While business is strong, there is an undercurrent of fear and alarm regarding the trade wars and a potential recession,” one respondent working in chemical products said.)

(Emphasis in original.)

Mike Allen writes Trump allies raise money to target reporters:

President Trump’s political allies are trying to raise at least $2 million to investigate reporters and editors of the New York Times, Washington Post and other outlets, according to a 3-page fundraising pitch reviewed by Axios.

• The group claims it will slip damaging information about reporters and editors to “friendly media outlets,” such as Breitbart, and traditional media, if possible.
• People involved in raising the funds include GOP consultant Arthur Schwartz and the “loose network” that the NY Times reported last week is targeting journalists. The operations are to be run by undisclosed others.

The prospectus for the new project says it’s “targeting the people producing the news.”

Veteran-centered program saving lives through the power of opportunity:

Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of seventy.  Sunrise is 6:23 AM and sunset 7:23 PM, for 13h 00m 19s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing crescent with 32.4% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1886, Apache leader Geronimo surrenders at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona.

Recommended for reading in full:

Cary Spivak reports A nonprofit that’s supposed to promote dairy pays its leaders millions — while the farmers who fund it are going out of business:

As the number of dairy farms nationwide has plummeted by nearly 20,000 over the past decade, there’s one corner of the industry doing just fine:

The top executives at Dairy Management Inc., who are paid from farmers’ milk checks.

The Illinois-based nonprofit is charged with promoting milk, cheese and other products — spending nearly $160 million a year collected through federally-mandated payments from dairy farmers.

In 2017, a year in which 503 dairy farms closed in Wisconsin and 1,600 were shuttered nationwide, IRS records show 10 executives at the organization were paid more than $8 million — an average of more than $800,000 each.

Pay for Thomas Gallagher, the group’s CEO, has topped $1 million three times from 2013 to 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation into spending by the group found. His compensation included access to first-class travel and money to cover part of his taxes.

Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack, the group’s executive vice president, was paid $800,557 in 2017.

David Sanger and William Broad report North Korea Missile Tests, ‘Very Standard’ to Trump, Show Signs of Advancing Arsenal:

As North Korea fired off a series of missiles in recent months — at least 18 since May — President Trump has repeatedly dismissed their importance as short-range and “very standard” tests. And although he has conceded “there may be a United Nations violation,” the president says any concerns are overblown.

Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, Mr. Trump explained recently, just “likes testing missiles.”

Now, American intelligence officials and outside experts have come to a far different conclusion: that the launchings downplayed by Mr. Trump, including two late last month, have allowed Mr. Kim to test missiles with greater range and maneuverability that could overwhelm American defenses in the region.

Japan’s defense minister, Takeshi Iwaya, told reporters in Tokyo last week that the irregular trajectories of the most recent tests were more evidence of a program designed to defeat the defenses Japan has deployed, with American technology, at sea and on shore.

 Tent Courthouses Along the Border:

Tent courthouses are the administration’s latest move in its “Remain in Mexico” policy, forcing asylum seekers to wait in one of Mexico’s most dangerous states until their hearings. We track the tents’ expansion through satellite imagery — and explain how they could make the asylum process even harder.

Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will see occasional thundershowers with a high of eighty-one.  Sunrise is 6:22 AM and sunset 7:25 PM, for 13h 03m 07s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing crescent with 22.3% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1783, representatives of Great Britain and the United States of America sign the Treaty of Paris, ending the Revolutionary War.

Recommended for reading in full:

Mark Johnson reports 50,000 unvaccinated children head to Wisconsin schools as the U.S. copes with worst measles outbreak in 27 years:

When Wisconsin children return to school this week, close to 50,000 of them will have waivers that exempt them from vaccines, leaving them vulnerable to measles at a time when the nation has experienced its largest outbreak in 27 years.

Health officials across the U.S. have reported 1,215 cases of measles this year as of Aug. 22, the highest number since 1992, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Measles had been declared eliminated in 2000.

“I really do think it’s purely just dumb luck that this hasn’t spread to Wisconsin,” said James Conway, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Since November 2018, state health officials have investigated 382 suspected cases of measles; not one case has been confirmed.

Immunization rates of 92% to 95% are considered necessary to provide what health officials call “herd immunity.” The term is used to describe a level of immunization high enough to prevent the infection from spreading to those who are susceptible, possibly triggering a widespread outbreak. The vulnerable group includes children under a year who are too young to receive vaccines and children with weakened immune systems.

….

Not a single county in 2018 came close to the 92% threshold. In fact, 40 of the 72 counties had immunization rates below 80%.

Laura Santhanam reports How detention causes long-term harm to children:

The relationship between detention and increased mental health problems among children and families has been well-documented, according to Jaime Diaz-Granado, deputy chief executive for the American Psychological Association. His group has called the Trump administration’s rule change “a misguided attempt by this administration to stem the flow across the southern border.”

“The large majority of these children have already experienced trauma before arriving at immigration facilities, and the longer they are held in detention, the more likely their mental health will continue to suffer,” Diaz-Granado said.

Ample research has shown neglect harms children. In 2003, researchers published a series of foundational studies of the children raised in Romania’s orphanages that showed horrible consequences to those children and their society as a result of their institutionalization. Nelson was among the lead authors. When he hears reports of the U.S. separating immigrant children from their caregivers in federal custody, Nelson reflects on Romania where children were dropped off in institutions that had one untrained caregiver for more than a dozen children. “Yes, there are parallels,” he said.

Trying the Chow Mein Sandwich:

Good morning.

Labor Day in Whitewater will be partly sunny, with occasional showers, and a high of seventy-nine.  Sunrise is 6:21 AM and sunset 7:27 PM, for 13h 05m 55s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing crescent with 13.2% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1945, aboard the United States Navy battleship USS Missouri, officials from the Japanese government sign a formal instrument of surrender.

Recommended for reading in full:

Conservative Michael Gerson writes Don’t try to explain away Trump’s crazy ideas:

This process [of explanation] has a number of steps — the stages of servility. At first, there is stunned silence. (Did he really propose to buy Greenland?) Then the frantic search for hidden wisdom. (Climate change — which the president sometimes views as fake science — will melt Arctic ice, open sea lanes and turn Greenland into the Panama Canal of the north.) Then the determined Googling of historical precedents. (Harry S. Truman, it turns out, also contemplated a Greenland grab.) Then growing defiance. (Greenland has loads of zinc! Doesn’t America deserve zinc?!)

….

But we should not play down the importance of having a president with harebrained notions. We should not explain away the craziness.

Certainly the president should not be allowed to lie away the craziness. In the face of good reporting on Trump’s nuclear idea, his claim of “FAKE NEWS” is entirely unconvincing. We have reached the point where the president’s denial of a charge actually makes it more credible. Recall his suggestion that the “Access Hollywood” tape isn’t real. And the claim that he never said Mexico would pay for the wall. And his claim that he never ordered White House counsel Donald McGahn to fire special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. And his claim that he never said Russia didn’t meddle in the 2016 election. And his claim that he never paid for the silence of a porn star. Self-serving deception by the president is now a justified expectation.

Isis Almeida, Mike Dorning, and Mario Parker report U.S. Farmers Stung by Tariffs Now Face a $3.5 Billion Corn Loss:

American farmers already stung by President Donald Trump’s trade wars now face billions of dollars in potential losses as controversial data from the U.S. government snuffs out a rally in corn.

The Agriculture Department on Monday [8.12.19] said farmers planted a bigger corn area than analysts estimated and pegged crop yields that also exceeded expectations, sparking the biggest rout in futures since 2013. That was a blow to growers who were holding back supplies, hoping a rally that started in May due to delayed sowing would extend through the fall.

The decline represents a potential loss of almost $3.5 billion for U.S. farmers, according to the American Farm Bureau, and is another setback for them after prices fell following the USDA’s previous acreage report, which was widely criticized for containing outdated data.

How To Spot Fake Pokémon Cards:

Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with a high of seventy-four.  Sunrise is 6:20 AM and sunset 7:28 PM, for 13h 08m 43s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing crescent with 6.3% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1972, Bobby Fischer wins the 1972 World Chess Championship: “The first game was played on July 11, 1972. The last game (the 21st) began on August 31, was adjourned after 40 moves, and Spassky resigned the next day without resuming play. Fischer won the match 12½–8½, becoming the eleventh undisputed World Champion.”

Recommended for reading in full:

Craig Gilbert observes Both sides in 2020 election fight are watching farm country for political fallout from Trump tariffs:

Even glimmers of good news come these days with a sobering twist. Milk prices have rebounded a little, but partly because enough farmers have quit that it has reduced milk production, said Matt Lippert, a University of Wisconsin-Extension agricultural agent in Wood County.

Asked to sum up perceptions of tariffs among farmers he talks to, Lippert said:

“Some of them are supportive of the president and say, ‘We just have to be patient. We’ve not been (treated) fair and the president is going to fix it.’ Then some of them are like, ‘We’ve given him enough time already.’ And there are others who are like, ‘No this wasn’t the way ever to do it.’ But they all uniformly think that loss of markets and the tariff thing is hurting them.”

 

(Tariffs are taxes on American consumers and businesses; trade wars bring these taxes. Those who support Trump – a fundamentally ignorant man – delude themselves if they think he offers an economic solution for America, let alone rural America. Those who support him more probably do so for cultural reasons, and yet in this, they are more closely aligned with the worst nativism of our past than a healthy contemporary society.

Note well — even among a supposedly loyal rural demographic, nearly 4 in 10 strongly disapprove of Trump – as many strongly disapprove as strongly approve.)

Elaine Kamarck recounts Trump’s hostility to election security preparedness:

From the very beginning of his presidency, Donald Trump has denied or downplayed Russian interference in the 2016 campaign. He has, at various times, dismissed the whole idea as a hoax, as fake news, or as an excuse by Democrats for why they lost the election. At other times, he has proclaimed his innocence vis-à-vis Russian campaign interference. From the earliest days of his presidency when he fired FBI Director James Comey in an effort to stop the investigation, he has denigrated and dismissed the entire issue. In its place he has insisted that the real problem in 2016 was not Russian interference but rather illegal voting by immigrants. The president’s beliefs have put him at odds with his own government and his own appointees, creating some awkward moments as the machinery of the federal government comes into conflict with the tweets of the chief executive.

Tonight’s Sky for September 2019:

Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of seventy-two.  Sunrise is 6:19 AM and sunset 7:30 PM, for 13h 11m 30s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing crescent with 1.7% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1864, the Battle of Jonesborough, during the Atlanta Campaign, begins as Union troops seize “railroad supply lines into the city. The 1st, 12th, 16th, 17th, 21st, 24th, 25th and 32nd Wisconsin Infantry regiments along with the 5th and 10th Wisconsin Light Artillery batteries fought in this battle.”

Recommended for reading in full:

Patrick Marley and Lee Bergquist report As the fight over Wisconsin’s lame-duck laws rages, the legal tab for taxpayers tops $1 million:

Wisconsin officials from both parties have lawyered up this year at a cost to taxpayers of more than $1 million.

The legal fees will only go up, as was made clear Thursday when Republican lawmakers hired another law firm to assist them in one of several disputes with lawmakers.

It’s the fourth firm they’ve hired since January. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has hired three firms since then to represent him and other state officials.

The reason for the boost in legal bills: a set of lame-duck laws Republicans approved just before Evers and Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul were sworn in.

Those laws limit the powers of Evers and Kaul and have been the subject of five lawsuits, three of which are ongoing. Those cases have been the main source of the legal bills for taxpayers.

The lame-duck laws also made it easier for legislators to intervene in litigation over state laws. Legislative leaders have tried to insert themselves into four cases since January, helping fuel the rising legal costs.

Steven Elbow reports Labor report chronicles severe decline of unions in Wisconsin:

Republican efforts to eviscerate unions in Wisconsin have been wildly successful, according to a new report that indicates union membership has plunged by more than 50%, more than double the decline nationally.

University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) released its annual “State of Working Wisconsin” this week, showing that since the passage in 2011 of Act 10 — the law that stripped public unions of bargaining rights — union membership has declined by 53.9%. That’s three times the decrease of 14.9% in neighboring Minnesota. The decrease nationally was 21.2%.

In addition to Act 10, Wisconsin passed a right-to-work law in 2015 that allows union shop workers to decline to pay dues, delivering a blow to the financial position of unions in the private sector as well.

Before Act 10, Wisconsin’s rate of union members was above the national average. That changed in 2012, the year after the law passed.

Last year’s report — which is more detailed on even-numbered years and more a snapshot in odd-numbered years — detailed public-sector union membership rates, which fell from more than 60% since 2010 to 18.9 percent in 2017.

Wildlife center finds foster homes for 400 animals:

Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of seventy-three.  Sunrise is 6:18 AM and sunset 7:32 PM, for 13h 14m 17s of daytime.  The moon is new with 0.0% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1862, Wisconsin soldiers defending the Union rest on the White House lawn:

The 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin Infantry regiments fought in the Second Battle of Bull Run. By the end of this third day, more than 18,000 soldiers had been killed or wounded and Union forces had been pushed back to Washington, D.C. When the Wisconsin regiments arrived in Washington, they rested on the White House lawn. According to historian Frank Klement, “President Lincoln came out with a pail of water in one hand and a dipper in the other. He moved among the men, offering water to the tired and thirsty. Some Wisconsin soldiers drank from the common dipper and thanked the President for his kindness.”

Recommended for reading in full:

Laura Strickler reports Purdue Pharma offers $10-12 billion to settle opioid claims:

The maker of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, and its owners, the Sackler family, are offering to settle more than 2,000 lawsuits against the company for $10 billion to $12 billion. The potential deal was part of confidential conversations and discussed by Purdue’s lawyers at a meeting in Cleveland last Tuesday, Aug. 20, according to two people familiar with the mediation.

Brought by states, cities and counties, the lawsuits — some of which have been combined into one big case — allege the company and the Sackler family are responsible for starting and sustaining the opioid crisis.

At least 10 state attorneys general and the plaintiffs’ attorneys gathered in Cleveland, where David Sackler represented the Sackler family, according to two people familiar with the meeting. David Sackler, who was a board member of the company, has recently been the de facto family spokesperson.

See generally Watch Richard Sackler Deny His Family’s Role in the Opioid Crisis (“Sackler testified in 2015 in a lawsuit brought by Kentucky against his family’s company, Purdue Pharma, which makes the painkiller OxyContin. We published the transcript in February. Now you can see the video”) and Under Proposed Purdue Pharma Opioid Settlement, Sacklers Would Still Be Billionaires (“If the Sackler family, which owns Purdue Pharma, accepts the terms of a settlement now under discussion, Forbes estimates they will still be worth between $1 billion and $2 billion, down from a current net worth estimate of $11.2 billion”).

Ann E. Marimow reports Trump’s bank has tax records Congress is seeking in subpoenas targeting the president’s finances:

President Trump’s biggest lender has in its possession tax records Congress is seeking in targeting the president’s financial dealings, the bank told a federal appeals court in New York Tuesday.

The disclosure from Deutsche Bank came in response to a court order as part of a legal battle between Congress and the president over access to Trump’s business records.

The bank’s public redacted response filed Tuesday did not identify by name whose records it has.

Who Invented Chewing Gum?: