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Author Archive for JOHN ADAMS

Animals

Friday Poll and Comment Forum: Dolphins in Captivity?

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There’s a story in Wired about whether dolphins should be kept in captivity. In the confines of an aquarium tank, two dolphins crashed into each other, and one was killed:

The dolphin, a 4-year-old named Nea, died on the afternoon of Sept. 5 at the [Chicago] Brookfield Zoo.

According to a zoo press release, trainers heard ‘a loud pop’ from the pool, apparently the sound of two dolphins colliding. Nobody reported seeing the collision, but it’s thought to have happened in the air as the animals jumped. Nea died minutes later from a fractured skull.

Zoo officials described it as a ‘freak incident,’ ascribing it to typical roughhousing gone awry. But crowding dolphins into small, unnatural environments makes accidents more likely, said Wild Dolphin Project biologist Denise Herzing.

What do you think: should dolphins be kept in captivity?

(When I’m saying should, I’m referring to private decisions for or against a course of action; government need not regulate these activities, although it now does regulate them in countless ways. Private parties are capable of making these decisions wholly part from regulations.)

I’d say yes, as long as they’re treated well, and given activities suitable to their considerable intelligence. Although accidents may happen in captivity, untreated injury or illness is sure to happen in the wild, too. (The National Geographic video embedded above marks dolphin infant mortality at 50%, but I don’t know how that compares to aquarium-born dolphins.)

With dolphins, of course, there’s the question of how sharp they may be, and if one could show that dolphins suffered emotionally from captivity as humans do, I would reconsider my own support for captivity except for limited research purposes (that is, no captivity in water shows, etc.). That showing has not been made, persuasively – dolphins in most aquariums seem happy and active.

I’ve a poll and forum for comments below. The post will remain open until Sunday morning. Comments will be moderated against profanity and trolls; otherwise, have at it.


Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 9.16.11

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Good morning.

Whitewater’s forecast calls for a cloudy day, with a high temperature of sixty-one.

NASA may be offering a multi-billion dollar rocket to nowhere no place definite, but there’s still interesting science from that agency when they focus more narrowly. They’ve recently discovered a ‘Star Wars’ like planet with two suns. See, Kepler 16b: NASA Discovers ‘Star Wars’-Like Planet With Two Suns (PHOTOS, VIDEO).

NASA offers an animation to depict the planet and its two stars.

The planet’s not like Tatooine from Star Wars, but if it were, then it might have a Mos Eisley, that wretched hive of scum and villainy…



Government Spending, Planning, Science/Nature

NASA’s Amazing New Rocket to … Somewhere

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One sees that NASA has a proposal for a new, powerful rocket. It’s a design that’s impressive, expensive, and oddly aimless.

NASA’s problems are the problem of many government plans – the plan offers a Next Big Thing without a clear goal. NASA once built rockets to send Americans to the moon and back; now we propose large rockets for the moon, asteroids, Mars, whatever. Where the lunar goal once drove the means (e.g., Mercury, Gemini, Apollo), now the means are a multi-billion-dollar end in themselves, with the wishful view that we’ll find something to do with all this advanced rocketry.

Kennedy set a clear goal for space exploration; NASA’s new rocket proposal isn’t a goal, it’s a public-spending sinkhole.

(Funny moment: the news host obviously wasn’t prepared well, and initially thinks the NASA animation shown in the segment is a different, existing American rocket.)

Via Video – NASA Unveils Plans for New Rocket Powerful Enough to Launch Astronauts to Asteroids and Mars – WSJ.com. more >>

Charity

Alzheimer’s Action Day is September 21st

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The Alzheimer’s Association issued a press release on upcoming local events that I am happy to post –

ALZHEIMER’S ACTION DAY – SEPTEMBER 21
Wear Purple and Attend an Event in Your Community

To commemorate Alzheimer’s Action Day, Wednesday, September 21, the Alzheimer’s Association of Southeastern Wisconsin is inviting residents within its 11 county service area to attend a variety of free educational programs and activities.

In Jefferson, Dodge and Walworth Counties, the Alzheimer’s Association of Southeastern Wisconsin is joining forces with Fort Memorial Hospital to build awareness of brain health.

Join us for FREE educational presentations and ice cream sundaes with brain healthy toppings. Challenge your memory with brain games, and get some tips for a brain healthy lifestyle!

1:00 – 2:00 pm “Know the 10 Signs – Early Detection Matters” – a free presentation by Bonnie Beam-Stratz, Community Outreach Coordinator, Alzheimer’s Association in the Auditorium at Fort Memorial Hospital.

2:00 – 3:00 pm Join us for an Ice Cream Social in the Steel Away Cafe at Fort Memorial Hospital

3:30 – 5:30 pm “Maximize Your Memory” – a free presentation by Bonnie Beam-Stratz, Community Outreach Coordinator, Alzheimer’s Association in the Auditorium at Fort Memorial Hospital

Location:
Fort Memorial Hospital
611 Sherman Ave, East
Fort Atkinson

For more information: call Bonnie Beam-Stratz at 920-728-4088 or email Bonnie.Beam@alz.org.

September is World Alzheimer’s Month. Join us on Alzheimer’s Action Day, September 21, as we acknowledge the fact that 5.4 million individuals in this country are living with Alzheimer’s disease. It is the 6th leading cause of death and yet it is the nation’s largest underfunded public health threat.

To show their support on Alzheimer’s Action Day, Jefferson, Dodge and Walworth County residents are urged to wear purple, the official color of the Alzheimer’s Association.

The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.

Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. For more information about Alzheimer’s disease and local services visit www.alz.org/sewi or call the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900.

Click to learn more about world Alzheimer’s month.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 9.15.11

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Good morning.

It’s a sunny day for the Whippet City today, with a high temperature of sixty-one.

Tonight, at 7 p.m., the League of Women Voters will hold a public program entitled, “Understanding the New Voter ID Law” at the Cravath Lakefront Pavilion. Here’s a description of tonight’s program:

Three speakers (Steve Pickett, Adam Harvell, and Aaron P. Frailing) from the Government Accountability Board (GAB) will talk on how the law has changed and what voters need to do to comply with the new requirements.

The program will include: 1) An overview of the law, including changes to registration and proof of residence; 2) requirements for a photo ID, with a breakdown of what IDs are acceptable and how to obtain them; and 3) How the law affects various groups, like absentee voters, the elderly and people with disabilities, voters changing their name, etc.

More info is available at the GAB website: http://gab.wi.gov

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 9.14.11

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Good morning.

A partly cloudy day, with a high of sixty-two, awaits Whitewater.

There’s a meeting of the Tech Park Board today at 8 a.m.

On this day in 1875, one of Wisconsin’s greatest residents, with a fine record of accomplishment, passed away:

1875 – Increase Lapham Dies While Fishing

On this date Increase Lapham died of a heart attack while fishing in Oconomowoc. Lapham served Wisconsin as a geologist, meteorologist, historian, archivist, anthropologist, and scientist.He helped found the State Historical Society and served on its board for 22 years. He helped establish the National Weather Service and worked to preserve Native American burial mounds, as well as the forests and prairies of Wisconsin. He also helped establish hospitals for the blind, deaf, and mentally ill in Milwaukee and to start two women’s colleges, Carroll College and Milwaukee-Downer College. [Source: Badger Saints and Sinners; by Fred L. Holmes, p.330-344]

Via Wisconsin Historical Society .

Freedom of Speech, Politics

Tips for Politicians When Encountering Protesters

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Yesterday, I posted a video of a confrontation between Rep. Paul Ryan and some activists at a Labor Day parade. (I’ve embedded the video again at the bottom of this post.) Today, I’ll offer tips for how Ryan, or any politician, can avoid embarrassing encounters with protesters at parades, grocery stores, etc.

For those who take umbrage that anyone would dare offer suggestions to Ryan: although he’s now chair of the House Budget Committee, he wouldn’t need tips from bloggers if he handled these situations more effectively.

(Some on the left think that they can beat Ryan next year; I don’t see how. I do see, though, that he looks awkward, uncomfortable, and bothered around opponents.)

Rep. Ryan didn’t do well at the labor day parade, but remedial suggestions are at hand.

1. Public spaces mean public questions. One can’t go to a Labor Day parade and credibly assert that it’s not the time for labor-related issues. Saying as much makes a politician look arrogant or weak. One’s supporters may accept that contention, but it’s the uncommitted middle that matters most, not one’s supporters.

2. Always assume you’re being recorded. It’s a prudent assumption.

3. Don’t mug for the camera. You’re not Bill Murray, and you’ll not be so skillful in the delivery of a snarky line. Don’t offer candy or Packers schedules to protesters.

4. Be prepared, for goodness’ sake. If it’s a Labor Day parade, your aides should have a closely-typed, single sheet, double-sided list of your labor-related proposals. Hand them to protesters. Always add some new material, so when the protester says he’s seen it all, you can reply that he hasn’t, and that you’ve something new on offer.

If the protester balks at taking the sheet, question his sincerity to his professed cause.

5. Never let a softball or ludicrous question go unanswered. If someone asks you if the only way to stay competitive is to make a dollar an hour like in China, respond to that absurd claim. Many on the left dislike free trade, despite the global prosperity free trade assures participating nations.

If you can’t respond to that question then and there, you’re failing the good cause of economic liberalization and freely functioning markets.

6. Respond to obnoxious questions directly and assertively. Don’t just answer, answer assertively. Be blunt, and answer in a single sentence.

7. Don’t make silly offers to mock or tease.

8. Don’t look away from a protester. They’ll sense weakness, and others will sense weakness or indifference.

9. Offer your hand. Be outgoing. Wade into crowds, draw close to people.

10. During a confrontation, never take direction from a spouse or relative. Husband, wife, child, parent – it doesn’t matter. You ran, you won; it’s you’re decision, not a family decision. They weren’t on the ballot. Exception: it’s sometimes advantageous to let an aide be the heavy, but only occasionally (and never with ordinary people in public).

11. Don’t tell the protester the purpose of a parade. You’re not Emily Post, or a mother lecturing children about what’s appropriate, etc. Saying ‘it’s not the right time’ or ‘it’s not the right place’ at a parade makes you look skittish or stodgy.

A parade is not off limits; a wake is off limits.

12. Even when walking somewhere (other than parades), give at least a minute. Adjust your schedule accordingly, for additional time in public spaces. Have a card to give, and if possible take down an activist’s number on one of your cards.

Encounters with protesters aren’t going away, on left or right: adjust or look foolish for failure to do so.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 9.13.11

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Good morning.

Whitewater’s forecast calls for a sunny day, with a high temperature of seventy-one.

The Wisconsin Historical Society recalls that on this day in 1813, the controversial

William Augustus Barstow [Was] Born

On this date William Augustus Barstow, governor of Wisconsin, was born in Plainfield, Connecticut. The son of William A. Barstow and Sarah Hall, William Barstow served as secretary of state in Nelson Dewey’s administration. He was elected governor on the Democratic ticket in 1853. He was renominated for a second term and ran against Coles Bashford in the general election. Barstow was declared the winner but was removed from office two months later when he was found guilty of election fraud. He was the first governor in U.S. history to be so deposed.

Afterwards, Barstow moved his family to Janesville, where they lived until the onset of the Civil War. Barstow raised the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry and was appointed colonel of this regiment. William Augustus Barstow died of chronic diarrhea on December 13, 1865 in Leavenworth, Kansas, where he was serving as Provost Marshall General of Kansas. He is buried in Brookmere Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio. [Source: First Ladies of Wisconsin-The Governors’ Wives by Nancy G. Williams, p.36]

Freedom of Speech, Politics

Left Dogs Paul Ryan at Labor Day Parade

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The left’s no fan of Paul Ryan, although I don’t share their strong – stronger by the day, really – dislike of him. I support some of his agenda, and oppose other parts of it. Here’s a clip of a confrontation between Ryan and an activist (starting at about :56 in).

Two quick points: (1) Like it or not, confrontations like this between politicians and protesters are now the norm and (2) Ryan needs to be quicker on his feet, and more comfortable, in these situations.

(Republican Chris Christie comes to mind as an example of a more assertive, quicker-on-his-feet politician. The left doesn’t like him either, but he invariably holds his own.)

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 9.12.11

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Good morning.

It’s a warm September day that awaits Whitewater, with mostly sunny skies and a high temperature of eighty-six.

In the City of Whitewater today, there’s a Park & Rec Board meeting at 4 p.m., a Planning Commission meeting at 6 p.m., and a Library Board meeting at 6:30 p.m.

On this day over a century ago,

1892 – UW-Madison Schools Open

On this date the School of Economics, Political Science and History at UW-Madison opened under the leadership of Professor Richard T. Ely. [Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison.]

Via Wisconsin Historical Society.