Ilya Shapiro of Cato comments on the Supreme Court’s consideration (this term, March oral argument) of challenges to ObamaCare (considering particularly the individual mandate provision of that law).
There will be no more significant case before that court in this term, or any recent term.
See, SCOTUS Will Hear ObamaCare Challenges | Ilya Shapiro | Daily Podcast | Cato Institute.
Good morning,
A mostly sunny, balmy fifty-six degree day lies ahead for Whitewater.
Two public meetings await, too: the Urban Forestry Commission meets at 4:15 PM, and Common Council meets at 6:30 PM. The Common Council session features a public hearing on Whitewater’s 2012 municipal budget. I’ll offer fuller remarks on the 2012 budget tomorrow, after the hearing.
I earlier posted about the plans for an Occupy Whitewater protest on 11.17.11, and here’s more detail from the organizers’ press release, as published @ CSI Media:
On Thurs. Nov. 17 to 18th, the American Dream movement, along with three University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student groups, including Forward Whitewater, the Peace Group, and the College Dems, will be sponsoring an Occupy Whitewater event the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s South Library Mall, just off Main Street, (between Hyer Hall, the Anderson Library, and the University Center) (800 W. Main Street, Whitewater). We are the 99%, and we will recall Walker and other corporate-owned politicians who have forgotten to do the will of the people.
• We’ll have a booth to sign petitions to Recall Walker.
• There will be a teach-in starting at 3 p.m.
• The rally will begin at 5:15 p.m., with Representative Andy Jorgensen, Representative Peter Barca, and Senator Erpenbach stopping by.
• At 6:30pm we will march as a group (or you can drive) to UW-Whitewater’s Hyland Hall (Room 1000, Timmerman Auditorium), where Erpenbach will be speaking at 7 p.m.
• After the talk, please return to the UWW South Library Mall for hot chocolate and more protest fun.
• If you wish to stay overnight, tents can be set up after 2 p.m. We’re hopeful that a significant group will stay overnight in solidarity with the international Occupy Movement. Even if you don’t stay overnight, please come and join the rally.
I’m more than curious to see how this event unfolds, as it’s not characteristic of the city. Protests like these — of all stripes — are more common in other places, and there’s no reason they can’t transpire as smoothly in Whitewater.
Good morning,
For Whitewater today, it’s a slight chance of showers, and a high temperature of fifty-five.
The Wisconsin Historical Society notes the birth of a famous, Wisconsin-born historian on this day in 1861:
1861 – Frederick Jackson Turner Born
On this date Frederick Jackson Turner was born in Portage. Turner spent most of his academic career at the University of Wisconsin. He published his first article in 1883, received his B.A. in 1884, then his M.A. in History in 1888. After a year of study at Johns Hopkins (Ph.D., 1890), he returned to join the History faculty at Wisconsin, where he taught for the next 21 years. He later taught at Harvard from 1910 to 1924 before retiring. In 1893, Turner presented his famous address, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” at the Chicago World’s Fair. Turner died in 1932. [Source: Bowling Green State University]
Today is also the anniversary of the day in 1971 when the Dow first broke 1,000:
It finished at 1,003.16 for a gain of 6.09 points in what many Wall Streeters consider the equivalent of the initial breaking of the four-minute mile.
“This thing has an obvious psychological effect,” declared one brokerage-house partner. “It’s a hell of a news item. As for the perminence of it — well, I just don’t know.”
It’s all relative, really. (Too funny, also that the New York TImes offered the brokerage-house partner’s quote as without specific attribution, as though no one wanted to be known for speculation on the topic.)
With a hat tip to the Huffington Post, here a dog proves he’s not just man’s, but also children’s, best friend:
Despite tough times in America now, Ian Bremmer and Nouriel Roubini contend (and are likely right) that America remains the world’s best long-tern economic bet. There’s reason for optimism about our future:
But the longer-term future appears much brighter for the U.S. than for either Europe or China. America is still the leader in the kind of cutting-edge technology that expands a nation’s long-term economic potential, from renewable energy and medical devices to nanotechnology and cloud computing. Over time, these advantages will yield more robust economic growth.
The U.S. also has a demographic advantage. In Europe, declining birthrates and rising sentiment against immigration point toward a population that will shrink by as much as 100 million people by 2050. In China, thanks in part to its one-child policy, the working population has already begun to contract. By 2030, nearly 250 million Chinese will have passed the age of 65, and providing them with pensions and health care will be very costly.
Via Europe, China, U.S.: Whose Economy Has It Worst? – WSJ.com.
Activists Ready for Occupy Whitewater » FREE WHITEWATER bit.ly/udgiEp
11 Nov
Too funny – S&P Downgraded France’s Credit Rating by *Mistake* – The Atlantic Wire bit.ly/tL0gHs
11 Nov
R.I.P. Adobe (Mobile) Flash: The Crashes Won’t Be Missed – The Atlantic Wire bit.ly/vsltnd
9 Nov
Good Riddance, Arizona Sen. Russell Pearce « FREE WHITEWATER bit.ly/t8CqKN
9 Nov
A necessary first step NYT: Penn State Said to Be Planning Joe Paterno’s Exit Amid Sex Scandal bit.ly/s7Lklz
8 Nov
Whew! Via Astro Bob: Earth is safe; here’s what else you need to know about asteroid 2005 YU55 Duluth News Tribune bit.ly/tzI9KU
8 Nov
Only for the hunters: Can Wisconsin’s deer czar James Kroll ‘put the fun back in hunting?’ WI Outdoor Fun bit.ly/usrITa
7 Nov
Craig Gilbert: How a poor economy could affect the Scott Walker recall fight – JSOnline bit.ly/rz4Vqj
7 Nov
Gaming the system: Analysis shows hundreds of rehired UW-Madison retirees return for years bit.ly/u3XHYi
7 Nov
From Season 2 of the British series, Danger Mouse (the cartoon character, not the artist and musician!) battles a sneezing epidemic. Enjoy.
I see that activists are planning for an Occupy Whitewater event. Although I have more than a few doubts about the Occupy agenda, I sincerely wish the group well. Protest movements are both a right of speech and assembly, and they typically offer something to society no matter what their stated aims. (The right, in any event, settles affirmatively the question of whether they may speak or assemble.)
Dane 101 reports that
Occupy Whitewater is being organized in solidarity with a “99% National Day of Action” that will see large and small towns alike “occupy” streets, squares, and parks. The Whitewater event will also coincide with the launch of an effort to recall Gov. Scott Walker which starts on November 15….
State Senator Jon Erpenbach, long rumored to be a possible Gubernatorial candidate if a recall signature drive for Walker is successful, will speak after a 5:15 p.m. rally. After his speech occupiers are being encouraged to camp. James Hartwick, one of the organizers, said he camped out with Occupy Madison recently and hopes they’ll join him in Whitewater and return the favor. Occupiers will start setting up tents at 2 p.m.
Speaking at the kick-off event at 5:15 p.m. will be Reps. Andy Jorgensen and Peter Barca. That will be followed by a march to Hyland Hall at 6:30 p.m. to hear Erpenbach speak.
The kick-off event is being sponsored by the American Dream movement, Forward Whitewater, the Peace Group, and the UW-Whitewater College Democrats.
I’ll follow this protest as it develops.
Ideological differences notwithstanding, best wishes for a successful event.
I asked readers last week whether I should get an iPhone or stick with an Android one, having previously had three Android phones and more than that number of BlackBerry models still earlier. Comments were mixed, with some support either way. Poll results heavily favored the iPhone, and The Phantom Stranger’s recommendations (always reliable) made the choice an easy one: iPhone it was.
I didn’t have a chance to pick one up until yesterday, but I’m now even more a part of Apple’s ecosystem. (I have used Macs for years: FREE WHITEWATER and Daily Wisconsin are both Mac-produced, and FW is on its second Mac since ‘07.)
First and foremost: shopping for phones isn’t the most important thing a person could do, these days or any day. This is hardly a food-clothing-shelter issue. I see that; there’s still room to comment, in hard times, on many activities apart from necessities. That was true during the Depression; it’s just as true now.
Apple Online. In the evening, between 9 PM and Midnight, apple offers customers the chance to reserve a phone for pickup the next day. It’s a great service, as it allows patrons to know that they’ll have what they want when they arrive. Carrier, choice of color, storage capacity: you’ll know what’s waiting the next day.
No window shopper would I make: I shop in stores for simple things easily obtained, rely on specialized merchants for their guidance, or order items online. (Whitewater, by the way, has some excellent, specialized shops, and I visit them for their owners’ sound judgment and opinions, but that’s hardly browsing.)
Apple makes it easy to avoid prolonged and uncertain mall visits.
The Carrier. Apple’s sales rely on the connection between their hardware and a carrier’s service. My carrier was not at its best when I went to get my phone, and a software error kept my account password from resolving correctly on Apple’s register. I had to call the carrier three times to have the issue resolved, and that’s two calls too many.
Despite the delay, a conference call between Apple’s customer service and the carrier’s service fixed the problem (through a password reset, albeit one that might have been ventured sooner than the third call). A glitch like this is, nonetheless, trivial in the course of one’s life; it can only be handled well if one remains firm in one’s goal but otherwise calm. People who work in call centers have difficult jobs; it’s both wrong and unproductive to treat them poorly.
Apple’s Store. I was surprised at how busy the Apple store was. They had a greeter at the door, and ample staffing otherwise, but still they struggled to keep up with people looking for phones, computers, tablets, iPods, service, software, accessories, or classes for products already purchased. No other store nearby had so many customers inside. The store stayed busy throughout my visit, without relent.
The Store Staff. I used to think that Apple’s associates invariably looked younger (and thinner) than most customers. I would wonder if that might cause a perception gap of some sort, with older patrons struggling to relate to younger workers.
On my visit Thursday, I saw none of those differences: the workers were of different ages, and no more fit (generally) than their customers. Perhaps as Apple has become increasingly popular, her workforce has begun to look more like a cross-section of America. A youth-culture wouldn’t deter me; it’s just that it’s less evident.
The Phone. iPhones come in white and black, and most people suggested black. Libertarian and contrarian that I am, I went with the more unusual selection. (iBooks and iMacs were once white, and both of those now-retired styles were good to me in their day.) Still, pick what you want, and ignore people who say one choice or another really means something: in the end it only means that’s what you like. Apple once encouraged people to ‘think different’; there’s no reason to stop simply because they’ve a new slogan. Black looks sharp, too, by the way.
First impressions: Surprisingly light, great screen resolution, and easy-to-use apps. The voice A.I. (Siri) has worked well for scheduling two appointments, three reminders, and answering my questions about nearby restaurants based on cuisine.
It’s a good start, I think, for a happy customer.
Here’s a meteorological poll: When will Whitewater see its first accumulated snowfall this year? Let’s say accumulated means at least one inch – less would just be a dusting. When will that much snow first stick on the ground?
The National Weather Service has an online archive of past Wisconsin snowfall data at the ready.
I’ve a poll and comment forum below. I’ll say earlier this year than last year, and pick November 28th as the first day with one inch minimum accumulation.
Comments are moderated as always against trolls and profanity; otherwise, have at it.
Good morning.
A sunny day, with a high temperature of forty-six awaits Whitewater today.
It’s Veterans’ Day, and on this day in 1918, formerly known as Armistice Day, the First World war came to an end. The New York Times described the end of that terrible conflict succinctly at the time:
Washington, Monday, Nov. 11, 2:48 A.M.–The armistice between Germany, on the one hand, and the allied Governments and the United States, on the other, has been signed.
The State Department announced at 2:45 o’clock this morning that Germany had signed.
The department’s announcement simply said: “The armistice has been signed.”
The world war will end this morning at 6 o’clock, Washington time, 11 o’clock Paris time.
Over at the Capital TImes, editor emeritus Dave Zweifel nicely describes how to commemorate this day, in a column entitled, “Plain Talk: Remember to thank a veteran today”:
Regardless of your views of America’s ongoing wars, make it a point today to thank a veteran for his or her service to the country we all call home.
For it is veterans who have shouldered the burden that U.S. policies — good and bad — have wrought. Those who serve in today’s military don’t have to be there, but they’ve made a decision to put themselves at risk if for no other reason than to serve their country and all it stands for. That alone deserves a thank you and a pat on the back.
Today, Veterans Day, is also a time to remember the families of these servicemen and women. For they, too, have endured the pains and the worry while their loved ones were placed in harm’s way.
Sincere and worthy sentiments, I’m quite sure.
Google’s puzzle for today asks “This mineral functions as a compass inside the brains of birds. What is its chemical name?”
