Author Archive for JOHN ADAMS
Public Meetings
Alzheimer’s Action Day
by JOHN ADAMS •
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 CommunityTo 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.
Recent Tweets, 9.11 – 9.17
by JOHN ADAMS •
Why so high? Poll: 12% happy with Congress (Jennifer De Pinto/CBS News) bit.ly/p79C8K
Who answers this way? Gov. Walker says ‘it’s hard to tell’ if he should be worried about FBI raid on top aide’s home bit.ly/osSv1O
‘Back to business’ doesn’t mean more joblessness: Wisconsin’s unemployment rate rises again bit.ly/nYBPwd
Not bad for a place maligned as separate from ‘real’ Wisconsin: Madison ranked as best educated city in U.S. reut.rs/oIEzgQ
Citizen Dave: Madison ‘just can’t be anti-growth and a progressive community at the same time’ bit.ly/oQAJqD
Not a defense, but an admission Assembly Speaker: light September calendar “is normal for the legislature” bit.ly/qfrVvy
Simply nutty: Rickert really thinks anti-unionism can be cured with a few pro-union ads? bit.ly/qJmogV
Cartoons & Comics
Mickey Mouse in The Karnival Kid
by JOHN ADAMS •
Holiday, Law, Liberty
Constitution Day
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s Constitution Day in America.
Cars, Free Markets, Government Spending
Ford Slams GM, Chrysler Over Government Bailouts
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s not a real press conference, but it’s a real, unscripted message: a buyer says he bought a Ford because he didn’t want a car from a company that took a taxpayer-funded bailout.
The commercial doesn’t address the merits of any given Ford, GM, or Chrysler car: it impugns the two latter automakers generally. It’s a powerful line of attack: the ad may compel Ford’s domestic competitors to waste time defending their overall strength rather than talking up their cars’ particular features.
Animals
Friday Poll and Comment Forum: Dolphins in Captivity?
by JOHN ADAMS •
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.
Cats
Friday Catblogging: Clinic Seeks Donations for Cat Rescued from Fire
by JOHN ADAMS •
A rescued cat requires surgery, and cat fanciers can help with donations to the Countryside Animal Clinic. Donations for Scooter the Cat’s surgery may be sent to the clinic at 5335 Wayne Terrace, Madison, WI 53718.
Daily Bread
Daily Bread for 9.16.11
by JOHN ADAMS •
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
by JOHN ADAMS •
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
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Alzheimer’s Association issued a press release on upcoming local events that I am happy to post –
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
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
by JOHN ADAMS •
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
Libertarians
Libertarianism for those on the Left and Right
by JOHN ADAMS •
Dr. Stephen Davies of the Institute for Humane Studies has made two videos encouraging liberals and conservatives to consider libertarianism.
See what you think –
For liberals –
For conservatives –
Daily Bread
Daily Bread for 9.14.11
by JOHN ADAMS •
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 .