Good morning, Whitewater.

Tuesday will be cloudy with a high of forty-six. Sunrise is 7:13 and sunset 4:20 for 9h 07m 32s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 8.3% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission meets at 4:30 PM, her Parks and Recreation Board at 5:30 PM, and the Zoning Code Update Committee at 7:00 PM.

On this day in 1941, America declares war:

Washington, Dec. 8.–The United States today formally declared war on Japan. Congress, with only one dissenting vote, approved the resolution in the record time of 33 minutes after President Roosevelt denounced Japanese aggression in ringing tones. He personally delivered his message to a joint session of the Senate and House. At 4:10 P. M. he affixed his signature to the resolution.

There was no debate like that between April 2, 1917, when President Wilson requested war against Germany, and April 6, when a declaration of war was approved by Congress.

President Roosevelt spoke only 6 minutes and 30 seconds today compared with Woodrow Wilson’s 29 minutes and 34 seconds.

The vote today against Japan was 82 to 0 in the Senate and 388 to 1 in the House. The lone vote against the resolution was in the House that of Miss Jeanette Rankin, Republican, of Montana. Her “No” was greeted with boos and hisses. In 1917 she voted against the resolution for war against Germany.

The President did not mention either Germany or Italy in his request. Early this evening a statement was issued at the White House, however, accusing Germany of doing everything possible to push Japan into the war. The objective, the official statement proclaimed, was to cut off American lend-lease aid to Germany’s European enemies, and a pledge was made that this aid would continue “100 per cent.”

On this day in 1917, a Wisconsin inventor passes:

1917 – Inventor John F. Appleby Dies

On this date the inventor of the twine-binder, John F. Appleby died. Appleby was raised on a wheat farm in Wisconsin and searched for an easier way to harvest and bundle grains. His invention gathered severed spears into bundles and bound the sheaves with hempen twine. His invention, which was pulled by horses, was a great success. In 1878 William Deering, a farm machinery manufacturer secured the right to use Appleby’s patent and sold 3,000 twine harvesters in a single year. In 1882 the McCormicks (of the McCormick reapers) paid $35,000 for the privilege to manufacture Appleby’s invention. Appleby spent the rest of his life in his shop trying to create additional successful machinery. [Source: Badger Saints and Sinners by Fred L. Holmes]

Here’s the Tuesday game from Puzzability:

This Week’s Game — December 7-11

Candle Holders

For each night of Hanukkah this week, we started with a title with AND in the middle and replaced all the letters with asterisks, except for one instance of each of the letters in the word CANDLE, including the AND. (Those letters may appear elsewhere in the title as well.) The day’s clue also indicates the date and category of the title.

Example:

2015 TV show: **C****  AND  L*E*

Answer:

Secrets and Lies

What to Submit:

Submit the title (as “Secrets and Lies” in the example) for your answer.

Tuesday, December 8

1930 novel: C****  AND  *LE

Good morning, Whitewater.

Monday in town will be cloudy with a high of forty-two. Sunrise is 7:12 and sunset 4:20, for 9h 08m 27s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 14.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

It’s the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, killing thousands and plunging America and Britain into a Pacific war.

On this day in 1787, Delaware leads the way:

In Dover, Delaware, the U.S. Constitution is unanimously ratified by all 30 delegates to the Delaware Constitutional Convention, making Delaware the first state of the modern United States.

Less than four months before, the Constitution was signed by 37 of the original 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention meeting in Philadelphia. The Constitution was sent to the states for ratification, and, by the terms of the document, the Constitution would become binding once nine of the former 13 colonies had ratified the document. Delaware led the process, and on June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, making federal democracy the law of the land. Government under the U.S. Constitution took effect on March 4, 1789.

Puzzability begins a new series entitled, Candle Holders:

This Week’s Game — December 7-11

Candle Holders

For each night of Hanukkah this week, we started with a title with AND in the middle and replaced all the letters with asterisks, except for one instance of each of the letters in the word CANDLE, including the AND. (Those letters may appear elsewhere in the title as well.) The day’s clue also indicates the date and category of the title.

Example:

2015 TV show: **C****  AND  L*E*

Answer:

Secrets and Lies

What to Submit:

Submit the title (as “Secrets and Lies” in the example) for your answer.

Monday, December 7

1980s TV show: C*****  AND  L**E*

Good morning, Whitewater.

Morning fog will give way this Sunday to afternoon sunshine, and a high of forty-four.  Sunrise is 7:11 and sunset 4:20, for 9h 09m 29s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 21.3% of its visible disk illuminated.

Friday’s FW poll asked whether readers thought that a photograph from Mars showed a mouse-like animal on the surface of that planet.  Most respondents were not convinced: 85.71% said ‘Oh, no, that’s crazy.’

On this day in 1884, construction finishes on the Washington Monument:

Construction resumed in 1879 under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Lincoln Casey of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Casey redesigned the foundation, strengthening it so it could support a structure that ultimately weighed more than 40,000 tons. He then followed the society’s orders and figured out what to do with the memorial stones that had accumulated. Though many people ridiculed them, Casey managed to install most of the stones in the interior walls — one stone was found at the bottom of the elevator shaft in 1951.^[39] The bottom third of the monument is a slightly lighter shade than the rest of the construction because the marble was obtained from different quarries.^[41]

The building of the monument proceeded quickly after Congress had provided sufficient funding. In four years, it was completed, with the 100-ounce (2.83 kg) aluminum apex/lightning-rod being put in place on December 6, 1884.^[37] The apex was the largest single piece of aluminum cast at the time, when aluminum commanded a price comparable to silver.^[10] Two years later, the Hall–Héroult process made aluminum easier to produce and the price of aluminum plummeted, making the once-valuable apex more ordinary, though it still provided a lustrous, non-rusting apex that served as the original lightning rod.^[42] The monument opened to the public on October 9, 1888.^[43]

Not every home is the same. Bruce Campbell (not the actor, but the airplane enthusiast) lives in a 727:

Good morning, Whitewater.

Saturday in town will be sunny and mild, with a high of forty-seven. Sunrise is 7:10 and sunset 4:20 for 9h 10m 33s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 29.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1933, America repeals Prohibition:

Economic urgency played no small part in accelerating the advocacy for repeal. The number of conservatives who pushed for prohibition in the beginning decreased. Many farmers who fought for prohibition now fought for repeal because of the negative effects it had on the agriculture business.^[63] Prior to the 1920 implementation of the Volstead Act, approximately 14% of federal, state, and local tax revenues were derived from alcohol commerce. When the Great Depression hit and tax revenues plunged, the governments needed this revenue stream.^[64] Millions could be made by taxing beer. There was controversy on whether the repeal should be a state or nationwide decision.^[63] On March 22, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an amendment to the Volstead Act, known as the Cullen–Harrison Act, allowing the manufacture and sale of 3.2% beer (3.2% alcohol by weight, approximately 4% alcohol by volume) and light wines. The Volstead Act previously defined an intoxicating beverage as one with greater than 0.5% alcohol.^[9] Upon signing the Cullen–Harrison Act, Roosevelt made his famous remark: “I think this would be a good time for a beer.”^[65]

The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933, with ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Despite the efforts of Heber J. Grant, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Utah convention helped ratify the Twenty-first Amendment.^[66]

….In 1930 the Prohibition Commissioner estimated that in 1919, the year before the Volstead Act became law, the average drinking American spent $17 per year on alcoholic beverages. By 1930, because enforcement diminished the supply, spending had increased to $35 per year (there was no inflation in this period). The result was an illegal alcohol beverage industry that made an average of $3 billion per year in illegal untaxed income.^[117]

Heavy drinkers and alcoholics were among the most affected groups during Prohibition. Those who were determined to find liquor could still do so, but those who saw their drinking habits as destructive typically had difficulty in finding the help they sought. Self-help societies had withered away along with the alcohol industry. In 1935 a new self-help group called Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was founded.^[114]

This day in 1879 was a good day for Wisconsin:

1879 – Humane Society of Wisconsin Organized

On this date the Humane Society of Wisconsin was organized in Milwaukee. Inspired by Henry Bergh, a New York City philanthropist, and his Humane Movement, the state Humane Society was formed to protect both animals and children.  However, with the formation of child protection laws in the early 1900s, the Humane Society of Wisconsin began to focus primarily on animal protection. [Source: Humane Society of Wisconsin]

Good morning, Whitewater.

Friday in town will be mostly sunny with forty-four degrees. Sunrise is 7:09 and sunset 4L31, for 9h 11m 42s of daytime.  The moon is a waning crescent with 38% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1945, the U.S. Senate approved American participation in the United Nations:

Washington, Dec. 4–The Senate passed by a 65-to-7 vote this evening the legislation to give the United States full, active participation in the United Nations Organization in accordance with the San Francisco Charter that it ratified, 89 to 2, last July.

Voting for the implementing measure, which now goes to the House, were forty-one Democrats, twenty-three Republicans and one Progressive. Opposing its passage were six Republicans– Senators Langer of North Dakota, Moore of Oklahoma, Revercomb of West Virginia, Shipstead of Minnesota, Taft of Ohio and Wherry of Nebraska, the minority whip–and one Democrat, Senator Wheeler of Montana. Senators Langer and Shipstead were the two who voted against ratification of the Charter.

Passage came after seven days of the Senate contest, which reached its final show-down stage in late afternoon as Senators Wheeler and Willis, Republican, of Indiana, sought to require the President to obtain specific Congressional authorization before he could make armed forces available to the UNO Security Council to halt an aggression or to maintain peace.

On this day in 1933, Janesville won’t quit:

1933 – Janesville Council Denies Prohibition End

On this date the Janesville Council drafted a “drastic liquor control law” that prohibited serving liquor. The law prohibited distilled spirits, but not beer, at bars, and limited liquor service to tables. Backrooms and “blinds” (closed booths) were also prohibited. The only place where packaged liquor was allowed to be sold was at municipal dispensaries. Further, bars were prohibited from selling packaged liquor. The next day, the city was uncommonly quiet as the 18th Amendment was repealed. For nearly 14 years, the 18th Amendment (the Prohibition Amendment), outlawed the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages within the U.S. [Source: Janesville Gazette, December 5, 1933, p.1]]

Here’s the final game in this week’s series from Puzzability:

This Week’s Game — November 30-December 4

The Possessive Filmfest

This week features some very personal movies. For each day, we’ll give you a series of clues, each of which leads to a word. You must drop one letter out of each of these answer words and put them together (in order), adding spaces as needed, to get the title of a movie that starts with a possessive first name.

Example:

Container for groceries / improved / out of danger / when dessert is served in a meal

Answer:

Babette’s Feast (bag / better / safe / last)

What to Submit:

Submit the movie’s title and the smaller words (as “Babette’s Feast (bag / better / safe / last)” in the example) for your answer.

Friday, December 4

Hot chocolate holder / brightest star in Orion / made a cut in lumber / wild dog of Australia

Good morning, Whitewater.

Thursday’s morning clouds will give way to sunshine and a high of thirty-nine. Sunrise is 7:08 and sunset is 4:21, for 9h 12m 53s of daytime.  The moon is a waning crescent with 47.9% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1776, Washington arrives at the Delaware:

In a letter dated December 3, 1776, General George Washington writes to Congress from his headquarters in Trenton, New Jersey, to report that he had transported much of the Continental Army’s stores and baggage across the Delaware River to Pennsylvania.

In his letter Washington wrote, “Immediately on my arrival here, I ordered the removal of all the military and other stores and baggage over the Delaware, a great quantity are already got over, and as soon as the boats come up from Philadelphia, we shall load them, by which means I hope to have every thing secured this night and tomorrow if we are not disturbed.”

Washington then made the critical strategic move of confiscating and burning all the boats along the Delaware to prevent British troops from pursuing his beleaguered forces across the river. The British strategy of chasing Washington across New Jersey, rather than capturing his entire army in Manhattan, seemed to be a stroke of genius. As New Jersey was devastated at the hands of British forces and Washington’s men cowered in Pennsylvania, even staunch Patriots, including Thomas Jefferson, considered surrender to the crown….

On this day in 1947, Wisconsin gets a station, of a new type:

1947 – First TV Station in Wisconsin Established

On this date the first TV station in Wisconsin, WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee, was established. The seventeenth television station in the country, WTMJ-TV was the first in the Midwest. [Source: University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Libraries]

Here’s the 121.3.15 game from Puzzability:

This Week’s Game — November 30-December 4

The Possessive Filmfest

This week features some very personal movies. For each day, we’ll give you a series of clues, each of which leads to a word. You must drop one letter out of each of these answer words and put them together (in order), adding spaces as needed, to get the title of a movie that starts with a possessive first name.

Example:

Container for groceries / improved / out of danger / when dessert is served in a meal

Answer:

Babette’s Feast (bag / better / safe / last)

What to Submit:

Submit the movie’s title and the smaller words (as “Babette’s Feast (bag / better / safe / last)” in the example) for your answer.

Thursday, December 3

Christmas song / a fan of, slangily / use a needle and thread / comedian Schumer