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Charity, Daily Bread, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 2.6.25: Musk Attacks Two Wisconsin Lutheran Groups

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 37. Sunrise is 7:03 and sunset is 5:15, for 10 hours, 9 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 64.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Lakes Advisory Committee meets at 8:30, and the Public Arts Commission meets at 5 PM.

On this day in 1778, in Paris the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce are signed by the United States and France signaling official recognition of the new republic.

Private citizen Elon Musk never tires of using his control of the federal government to threaten others. Two Wisconsin Lutheran groups were among his latest targets:

Over the weekend, former national security advisor Michael Flynn posted on X, the social media platform Musk owns, accusing Lutheran organizations who receive federal grants of committing “money laundering.”

Musk responded that his team at the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, is “rapidly shutting down these illegal payments.”

Federal grants totaling billions of dollars each year go to nonprofits to provide a range of community services that states don’t provide themselves, such as housing or food assistance.

Flynn’s post included screenshots of some Lutheran groups that receive federal funds. But it’s unclear how Flynn identified which Lutheran groups to name in his post, or how Musk determined those payments to be illegal.

The two Wisconsin groups included by name in Flynn’s post are Wisconsin Lutheran Child and Family Services (WLCFS), a Christian mental health care provider in Germantown, and the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation in La Crosse, a nonprofit health clinic that no longer has any affiliation with the Lutheran Church.

See Anya van Wagtendonk, Musk calls for cutting funds to Lutheran groups, including in Wisconsin
(‘2 Wisconsin groups were named in a social media post baselessly accusing Lutheran charities of money laundering’), Wisconsin Public Radio, February 6, 2025.

Wildlife rehabilitator nurtures injured squirrels and rabbits back to health:

Holly Hill-Putnam transforms her Windsor home into a wildlife sanctuary, providing round-the-clock care for up to 36 injured and orphaned animals. The Wisconsin WildCare volunteer specializes in rehabilitating squirrels, rabbits and chipmunks, preparing them for release back into nature.

Babbittry, Boosterism, CDA, Charity, City, Corporate Welfare, Culture, Daily Bread, Development, Economics, Economy, Free Markets, Housing, Local Government, Poverty, School District, Zoning

Daily Bread for 9.28.22: Local and National Views of Child Poverty

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Good morning. Wednesday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 58. Sunrise is 6:49 AM and sunset 6:40 PM for 11h 50m 44s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 7.6% of its visible disk illuminated.  Whitewater’s Parks & Recreation Board meets at 5:30 PM.    On this day in 1781,…

Beautiful Whitewater, Beauty, Charity, City, Culture, Daily Bread, Faraway Places, Local Government, New Whitewater, Open Government, Politics, Poverty

Daily Bread for 8.19.22: Residency Matters, Practically and Ethically

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Good morning. Friday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with a high of 79. Sunrise is 6:06 AM and sunset 7:49 PM for 13h 43m 24s of daytime.  The moon is a waning crescent with 45.2% of its visible disk illuminated.   On this day in 1812, the American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast…

Charity, City, Culture, Local Government, Newspapers, Police, Politics, Poverty

‘Communicate, Communicate, Communicate’ Isn’t So Easy in a Fractured Town

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Some years ago, an administrator (no longer with the school district) told others that a good practice for leaders was to ‘communicate, communicate, communicate’ with the community. The concept makes sense: craft a message and then make sure it’s heard by repeating it. In a small town, how hard could that be? As it turns…

Business, CDA, Charity, Development, Economics, Economy, Failure, Free Markets, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Poverty, Press Release

Markets and Markets

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One reads that Whitewater now has an option, for most of the city, of grocery delivery from nearby cities. As it is, Whitewater has a Walmart, but no stand-alone, full-service grocery. Private delivery service is a benefit to the community. It’s better to have more grocery options than fewer. These are private enterprises providing private delivery…

Charity, City, Poverty

Waiting for Whitewater’s Dorothy Day

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Whitewater has many needs, but fulfilling them requires setting aside the city’s longstanding addiction to press releases, public relations, ‘messaging,’ etc. That approach is both ineffectual and proud (where pride is a sin). Worse still is the irreparably conflicted role of politician and reporter, a government intrusion into civil society, a bad habit of Old…

CDA, Charity, City, Economy, Local Government, Poverty, Recession

A Key Difference Between Bristol, New Hampshire and Whitewater, Wisconsin

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A sad story from April about Bristol, N.H. (population 3,300) reveals key differences between that town and Whitewater. While this new recession affects both communities, the economic hardship will be different.  See David Gelles, ‘This Is Going to Kill Small-Town America.’ Bristol depends on one major, private manufacturer: By the end of March, with just…

Charity, Crime, Immigration, Trump

Charity as Crime

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New York Times Opinion on Twitter Scott Warren is facing 20 years in prison. His crime? Providing food and water to migrants in Arizona’s deadliest desert corridor. https://t.co/MgHhBjRuTP https://t.co/SArgVEdJij

Charity, Good Ideas, Holiday

Charitable Gifts for Mother’s Day

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Mother’s Day is May 12th this year, and families in Whitewater and far beyond will naturally and rightly purchase gifts for the mothers in the lives.  For those who are able, there’s an additional opportunity to purchase charitable gifts for mothers and children under the care of the International Rescue Committee. The IRC was founded…

Charity, City, Education, Poverty, Press Release, School District

What Matters, What Doesn’t

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Some contrasts are so clear that, on seeing them, one can tell immediately what matters and what does not:   Number of homeless students in Whitewater School District reaches ‘crisis level’: The number of homeless students in [Dr. Lanora] Heim’s district last school year was more than double what it was three years ago—going from…

Charity, City, Culture, Local Government, Poverty, School District, University

The Recent Cold

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It’s been unseasonably cold in southeastern Wisconsin this week, and in Whitewater that presents a challenge for the disproportionately large number of impoverished residents (some of whom occasionally lack utilities, even at the most unfavorable times). The three large public institutions in the city – municipal government, school district, and public university – have collectively dozens…