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Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Musk, Scott Walker, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 4.10.25: That Was Walker’s Plan? Well, It Was Dumb Enough to Be Walker’s Plan…

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 46. Sunrise is 6:21 and sunset is 7:31, for 13 hours, 11 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 95 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 837, Halley’s Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (3.2 million miles).

Yesterday’s post here at FREE WHITEWATER was about Scott Walker’s irrelevance to current Wisconsin politics. See Scott Walker, Man from Another Era. Bruce Murphy, at Urban Milwaukee, has a revealing post about how Walker tried, and failed miserably, to become relevant again. (As Murphy perceptively notes, the story depends on accepting the veracity of Walker’s account of Walker’s behind-the-scenes conduct.) Murphy lays out the details:

Musk’s approach, if we can believe Scott Walker, came from a plan hatched by Walker and the former Republican governor’s political consultant Keith Gilkes. Their pitch was for Musk to get involved in the Wisconsin race as he did in the presidential race in November. “You were effective in Wisconsin, and you can be effective in this race again in Wisconsin,” Walker said he told Musk.

Except. Musk spent money on a presidential race that polls showed was very close and with Trump leading. A relatively safe investment. And a race so close that the Musk super PAC canvassing voters door-to-door could get a big return from turning out a relatively small number of voters compared to the total number voting in Wisconsin and other swing states in November. Trump won Wisconsin by just over 29,300 votes, a margin of less than 1 percent.

Which is a very different situation than the Supreme Court race in Wisconsin. The state’s previous high court race, in 2023, with the abortion the key issue, was an 11% loss for the conservatives, with liberal Janet Protasiewicz defeating conservative Dan Kelly by more than 203,000 votes. Granted, Schimel was a better candidate than Kelly, but abortion was still going to be a major issue in this year’s election. Moreover, we now know that Republicans knew Crawford was ahead in the race and their polls showed Schimel’s high point in the polls was five points behind. In short, this would not be like the presidential election, where a relatively small increase in turnout could decide the election.

See Bruce Murphy, How Much Did Musk Pay Per Vote?, Urban Milwaukee, April 8, 2025.

Astonishing. This could have been Walker’s plan: it is, after all, Foxconn-level thinking. If Walker is to be believed, Walker was able to persuade Musk to waste tens of millions on a race that Schimel was losing and was likely to keep on losing once the radioactive Musk became involved.

Walker likely did concoct this plan, and get Musk to go along. There is, after all, no evidence whatsoever that the only person who could have concocted a worse plan was involved in the Wisconsin election.

Advice from cattosbeingcattos:

Courts, Daily Bread, Gableman, Law, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 4.8.25: Updates on the Careers of Gableman and Bradley

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 42. Sunrise is 6:24 and sunset is 7:29, for 13 hours, 5 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 83 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Tech Park Innovation Center Advisory Board meets at 8:30 AM, the Public Works Committee at 5 PM, and the Community Development Authority at 6 PM.

On this day in 1820, the Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.

There are updates on the careers of influential two Wisconsinites.

Michael Gableman, former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and thereafter Speaker Robin Vos’s selection as a paid election conspiracy theorist, has struck a deal with the Office of Lawyer Regulation:

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who led a widely derided review of the 2020 presidential election,  searching for evidence for baseless accusations of fraud, will have his law license suspended for three years, according to a stipulated agreement between him and the state Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR). 

Law Forward, the progressive voting rights focused firm, filed a grievance against Gableman with the OLR in 2023. The OLR filed a complaint against Gableman in November that alleged, among other counts, that he had failed to “provide competent representation” and to “abstain from all offensive personality” and of violating attorney-client privilege.

The allegations against Gableman stemmed from his treatment of the mayors of Green Bay and Madison, whom he threatened with jail time during his review, false statements he made during testimony to legislative committees, violating the state’s open records laws, breaching his contract with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and, when OLR began investigating him, “making false statements” to the investigators in an affidavit. 

As part of the stipulated agreement, Gableman admitted that “he cannot successfully defend against the allegations of misconduct … and agrees that the allegations of the complaint provide an adequate factual basis in the record.” 

See Henry Redman, Gableman’s law license suspended for three years, Wisconsin Examiner, April 7, 2025.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will have to approve the agreement between the parties, as is likely. A three-year suspension is lenient; Gableman’s conduct merits permanent disbarment. Vos, regrettably, remains in office despite his own role in selecting (and tolerating too long) Gableman’s cascade of lies.

Screenshot Rebecca Bradley April 5, 2025

When one last heard from Justice Rebecca Bradley, she was bitterly complaining expressing mild disappointment with Judge Susan Crawford’s election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Bradley’s now announced that she will run again next year:

MADISON – Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley said this week she plans to seek another 10-year term in 2026, setting in motion another high-pitched battle for a seat on the state’s highest court.

….

State appeals judge Chris Taylor, a former Democratic state lawmaker, told the Journal Sentinel on Saturday she is considering running for the seat.

Bradley, appointed to the court by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2015 and elected for a full 10-year term in 2016, announced just days after liberals secured control of the court until 2028.

….

Bradley also has been floated as a contender to replace retiring federal judge Diane Sykes on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which would be a lifetime appointment.

She told Wispolitics she is focused on Wisconsin at the moment.

See Molly Beck, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley announces she’ll seek another 10-year term, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 5, 2025.

At the moment: unless something more secure comes along.

Philippine volcano erupts, shooting ash cloud kilometers into the sky:

City, Courts, Daily Bread, Economy, Local Government, Nativism, Special Interests, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 4.3.25: Adding Another Threat for the Nation, State, and City

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 50. Sunrise is 6:33 and sunset is 7:23, for 12 hours, 51 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 34.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Public Arts Commission meets at 5 PM, and the Whitewater Common Council meets at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1865,  Union forces capture Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy.

In October, writing about the scariest things in Whitewater for the year, this libertarian blogger listed the two worst threats to the city as special interests and nativism. Later, in February, I wrote that there was now only one notable kind of conservative in Whitewater, as only the conservative populists matter politically (‘a conservative might imagine himself as something else (a traditionalist or a deal-maker), and might be something else, but only in his house or in his head’).

There’s one more threat to add to the list, brought about by the same movement that is responsible for the other three: A third global recession in 20 years looms.

There’s always someone who thinks that this predatory movement will see the error of its ways. It won’t, not now, not ever. It may lose its grip on the nation, but it will fall to a majority of others outside that movement to turn it aside.

Those who’ve gone this far, these dead-enders, will never repent of the their conduct, of the damage they’ve caused others.

On the contrary, they’ve never been more assured, more self-justified, than now.

The most conservative justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court — she is — seems upset:

Authoritarian Populism, Authoritarianism, Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Law, Musk, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 3.31.25: Musk Has a Good Time in Green Bay

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will see wind gusts and a high of 46. Sunrise is 6:38 and sunset is 7:20, for 12 hours, 42 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 6.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

The Whitewater School Board meets at 7 PM.

On this day in 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Convention of Kanagawa with the Tokugawa Shogunate, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade.

Update No. 2: Turns out Nicholas Jacobs, one of the winners of a million dollars, wasn’t an ordinary attendee but a Wisconsin College Republicans chairman:

One of the recipients of Elon Musk’s $1 million checks at his event in Green Bay Sunday night is the chairman of the Wisconsin College Republicans, sparking some suspicion on social media that the giveaway was fixed.

Nicholas Jacobs, a student at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, is listed as the chairman of Wisconsin’s College Republicans chapter. He has made his account private on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that Musk owns.

According to his LinkedIn account, Jacobs worked for the campaigns of U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and Rep. Derrick Van Orden. In the fall of 2024, he worked as a “ballot chase representative” for Turning Point Action, which began as a youth-focused group active on college campuses but has expanded its voter outreach operations, especially in Wisconsin.

See Hope Karnopp, Wisconsin College Republicans chairman received one of Elon Musk’s $1 million checks, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 31, 2025.

And so, and so, of the attendees the breakdown would be two winners in a room full of suckers.

Update No. 1 on yesterday’s post (Wisconsin Courts Won’t Intervene Against Musk): Elon Musk hands out $1 million payments after Wisconsin Supreme Court declines request to stop him:

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Elon Musk gave out $1 million checks on Sunday to two Wisconsin voters, declaring them spokespeople for his political group, ahead of a Wisconsin Supreme Court election that the tech billionaire cast as critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda and “the future of civilization.” 

Elon Musk presents a check for $1 million dollars to a man during a town hall Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
Elon Musk presents a check for $1 million dollars to a man during a town hall Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
Elon Musk presents a check for $1 million dollars during a town hall Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
Elon Musk presents a check for $1 million dollars during a town hall Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

“It’s a super big deal,” he told a roughly 2,000-person crowd in Green Bay on Sunday night, taking the stage in a yellow cheesehead hat. “I’m not phoning it in. I’m here in person.”

….

A unanimous state Supreme Court on Sunday refused to hear a last-minute attempt by the state’s Democratic attorney general to stop Musk from handing over the checks to two voters, a ruling that came just minutes before the planned start of the rally.

See Scott Bauer and Thomas Beaumont, Elon Musk hands out $1 million payments after Wisconsin Supreme Court declines request to stop him, Associated Press, March 30, 2025. See also Wisconsin Supreme Court Kaul v. Musk, Case 2025CV001087, March 28, 2025.

How Tariffs Are Going To Jack Up Car Prices In The U.S.:

Authoritarian Populism, Authoritarianism, Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Law, Musk, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 3.30.25: Wisconsin Courts Won’t Intervene Against Musk

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 64. Sunrise is 6:40 and sunset is 7:19, for 12 hours, 39 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1867, the United States and the Russian Empire agree to the purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, about two cents/acre. The parties later ratify the agreement by treaty, and effective transfer occurs in October 1867.

It was improbable that Wisconsin courts would intervene to prevent Elon Musk from conducting a giveaway (of either hundreds of dollars or even millions of dollars) so close to the April 1st election. American courts are not dispositionally situated to address an authoritarian movement, as these movements act quickly, audaciously, and ignore both law and tradition in pursuit of their goals.

Attorney General Kaul’s litigation against Musk has come to naught:

A Wisconsin appellate court denied the state Democratic attorney general’s request to stop billionaire Elon Musk from handing over $1 million checks to two voters at a rally planned for Sunday, just two days before a closely contested Supreme Court election.

The denial Saturday by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals is the latest twist in Musk’s deep involvement in the race, which has set a record for spending in a judicial election and has become a litmus test for the opening months of Donald Trump’s presidency. Trump and Musk are backing Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel in the race, while Democrats are behind Dane County Judge Susan Crawford.

Attorney General Josh Kaul filed the lawsuit Friday, arguing that Musk’s offer violates the law. Kaul on Saturday later appealed to the state Court of Appeals, after a county court judge refused earlier in the day to hear the request for an emergency injunction to block the payments.

See Wisconsin appeals court won’t stop Musk’s $1M payments to voters after attorney general sues, Associated Press, March 29, 2025. See also the circuit court filing Kaul v. Musk, Case 2025CV001087, March 28, 2025.

Authoritarian movements do not meet their end in the courts; they meet their end through widespread protest and civil disobedience.

Global protests against Tesla CEO Elon Musk:

Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Musk, Schimel, Susan Crawford, Trump, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 3.28.25: Look Who’s Coming to Review His Investment

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 76. Sunrise is 6:43 and sunset is 7:16, for 12 hours, 33 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 1.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1862, in the Battle of Glorieta Pass, Union forces stop the Confederate invasion of the New Mexico Territory.

It’s a frenetic ending to the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.

Elon Musk is coming to Wisconsin:

In a post on X, the social media platform he owns, Musk wrote late Thursday that he would “give a talk in Wisconsin” on Sunday night. He did not say where.

“Entrance is limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election,” he wrote, though he did not specify how that would be verified.

Musk also wrote that he would present two $1 million checks “in appreciation for you taking the time to vote.”

….

In a statement, the spokesman for Schimel’s opponent, liberal Susan Crawford, said Musk was trying to buy off Schimel and labeled his visit a “last-minute desperate distraction.”

“Wisconsinites don’t want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for, and on Tuesday, voters should reject Musk’s lackey Brad Schimel,” spokesman Derrick Honeyman said.

See Alison Dirr, Daniel Bice, and Molly Beck, Elon Musk will be in Wisconsin Sunday, hand out $2M ahead of Tuesday state Supreme Court election, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 28, 2025.

Trump joins a teleconference for Schimel:

Trump framed the race that will decide the ideological balance of the state Supreme Court in national terms, saying it would have an “outsized impact on the future of the country.”

“I know you feel it’s local, but it’s not. It’s really much more than local,” Trump said in the 10-minute call. “The whole country’s watching.”

See Alison Dirr, President Trump in public call urges Wisconsinites to support Brad Schimel in Supreme Court race, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 27, 2025.

We’ll know soon enough.

This time, a Guinness World Record for an Ashland motorcyclist’s global journey:

After 14 months and 50,000 miles, Bridget McCutchen from Ashland earned the Guinness World Record as the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe by motorcycle. The northern Wisconsin native traversed 45 countries, developing newfound confidence — and inspiring more women to ride — along the way.

Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Musk, Schimel, Sen. Ron Johnson, Susan Crawford, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 3.25.25: Ron Johnson’s Right (Truly) About Musk & Schimel

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 46. Sunrise is 6:48 and sunset is 7:13, for 12 hours, 25 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 19.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Finance Committee meets at 5 PM.

On this day in 1655, Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christiaan Huygens.

It’s a week from Election Day, and Ron Johnson’s correct in his recent observation on Brad Schimel’s campaign for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court:

His comments came as he and Schimel joined Musk in a live, half-hour discussion on the social media platform X, which the tech billionaire owns. The conversation took place less than 24 hours after Trump waded into the race with a long-sought endorsement of Schimel.More: All our reporting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Susan Crawford, Brad Schimel

“This is entirely winnable, and you know, if we do win it, again, we have to thank Elon for all the support he’s given this race, and I was really glad to see President Trump throw in his endorsement as well,” Johnson told the 10,000 people on the livestream…..

….

A statement from Crawford’s campaign described the X event as “Elon Musk’s check-in with his $12 million investment.”

“Musk wants a lackey on the Supreme Court who will rule in his company’s favor on their lawsuit against the State of Wisconsin,” said Crawford campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman. “Wisconsinites don’t want this slimy and corrupt billionaire running our Supreme Court.”

See Alison Dirr, Elon Musk will be to thank if Brad Schimel wins Wisconsin Supreme Court race, Ron Johnson says, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 22, 2025.

Crews in the Carolinas fight multiple wildfires:

Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Musk, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 3.23.25: Musk to Pay $100 for Each Wisconsin Petition Signature

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will see afternoon showers with a high of 47. Sunrise is 6:52 and sunset is 7:11, for 12 hours, 19 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 38.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1933,  the Reichstag passes the Enabling Act of 1933, making Hitler dictator of Germany.

Musk has the money, and says he’ll pay one-hundred dollars for each Wisconsin signatory on a petition his political action committee is circulating:

A political action committee associated with Elon Musk is offering Wisconsin voters $100 if they sign a petition “in opposition to activist judges” and another $100 if they refer another person who signs the petition. The petition requires people to provide a name, address, email and phone number — information that will help the group make further contact with voters.

The group, America PAC, has reported spending more than $7 million in support of Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel’s campaign for state Supreme Court. Musk himself has contributed more than $13 million to pro-Schimel efforts.

During the campaign, Schimel’s opponent, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, has accused Musk of trying to buy a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Musk’s company, Tesla, recently filed a lawsuit against the state seeking to change Wisconsin’s law about who can operate car dealerships within the state.

Schimel himself has portrayed himself as a “support network” for President Donald Trump if elected to the Court.

See Henry Redman, Musk PAC offers Wisconsin voters $100 for signing petition against ‘activist’ judges, Wisconsin Examiner, March 21, 2025.

The payment is for a signature in exchange for contact information. The contact information is only useful if those contacted then vote Musk’s way. Those voting Musk’s way are only valuable to Musk if they would not have voted Musk’s way otherwise.

(There might be an opportunity here for people to sign Musk’s petition — whether they choose to ignore any follow-up contact or sign it although they already intend to vote his way — and get paid on Musk’s tab.)

via GIPHY

Trekking the blue ice of Perito Moreno in Argentina as world marks World Glacier Day:

Friday marks the first-ever World Glacier Day, an international observance established by the United Nations to raise awareness about the rapid retreat of glaciers worldwide. As experts warn of accelerating ice loss, visitors at Argentina’s Perito Moreno Glacier watch in awe as massive ice chunks break away and crash into Lake Argentino—a process both natural and symbolic of broader climate concerns. (AP Video/Sara España).

Conspiracy Theories, Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Schimel, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 3.20.25: Schimel Remixes Yesteryear’s WISGOP Conspiracy Theories

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 40. Sunrise is 6:57 and sunset is 7:07, for 12 hours, 10 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 68 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Community Development Authority meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1815,  after escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his “Hundred Days” rule.

Look who’s pushing with yesteryear’s bogus claims:

The Republican-backed candidate in Wisconsin’s closely watched state Supreme Court race has resurfaced long debunked concerns about voting fraud because of the late reporting of ballots in Milwaukee just two weeks before the April 1 election.

Brad Schimel, a former Republican attorney general, spoke of the possibility of “bags of ballots” and fraud in Milwaukee during an interview Tuesday on conservative talk radio. Schimel faces Democratic-backed Susan Crawford in the April 1 election with majority control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court at stake.

Schimel, in an interview on WISN-AM, said his supporters need to “get our votes banked, make this too big to rig so we don’t have to worry that at 11:30 in Milwaukee, they’re going to find bags of ballots that they forgot to put into the machines.”

Schimel said that happened in 2018 and in November “when (U.S. Senate candidate) Eric Hovde was ahead all night, and then all of a sudden, Milwaukee County changed that.”

What’s the plain truth about how ballots are processed? It’s this:

Milwaukee’s absentee ballots are counted at a central location and reported all at once, often well after midnight on election day. Elections officials for years have made clear that those ballots are reported later than usual due to the sheer number that have to be counted and because state law does not allow them to be processed until polls open.

See Scott Bauer, Republican-backed Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate resurfaces unproven fraud concerns, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 19, 2025.

When the WISGOP loses, it screams against voting counting; when the WISGOP wins, it holds its tongue.

These ‘unproven fraud concerns’ are the work of excuse-makers.

A Baraboo Circus Artist:

Artist Joan Stevens helps preserve Circus World Museum’s historic wagon collection.

Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Musk, Susan Crawford, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 3.19.25: Musk’s Fraud on Wisconsin

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 42. Sunrise is 6:59 and sunset is 7:06, for 12 hours, 7 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 75.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Parks and Recreation Board meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1918,  Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time.

The editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes of Musk’s fraudulent mailers attacking Judge Susan Crawford:

If billionaire Elon Musk wants to dump millions on the Wisconsin state Supreme Court race, that’s his prerogative — we’ve come to expect that sort of thing from both sides in a battleground state where control of the court seems to be perpetually in the balance. But, in the interest of voters here, we ask one thing: Be honest about it.

And, above all, do not spread false and malicious information disguised as facts.

Reporting by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Daniel Bice shows we’ve crossed into dangerous territory. A political group funded by Musk manufactured a disinformation campaign against Susan Crawford, a Dane County judge running for a seat on the court April 1.

The disinformation stems from ads, posted on Facebook and delivered in text messages, that are false on two fronts. First, Progress 2028 casts itself as a progressive alternative to the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. It’s not. Progress 2028 is a front for Building America’s Future, a Musk-funded political nonprofit.

Second, it purports to address things Crawford is supposedly committed to, which are actually hot button issues many voters oppose at the gut-level. This makes it doubly specious, because it cynically tries to create a cloak of authenticity when its real mission is to muddy the waters, then dip into the mud to throw it. 

See Editorial Board, Elon Musk’s despicable disinformation tampers with WI Supreme Court election (‘A political group funded by Elon Musk manufactured a disinformation campaign against Susan Crawford, a Dane County judge running for a seat on the court April 1’), Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 19, 2025.

When Elon Musk call for free speech, he calls for his right to lie; when he calls for free speech absolutism, he calls for his right to lie with abandon.

Susan Crawford for Wisconsin:

Courts, Culture, Daily Bread, Elections, Narcissistic Injury, Schimel, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 3.16.25: Brad Schimel’s Halloween Costume

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will see light snow, mostly cloudy conditions, and a high of 38. Sunrise is 7:04 and sunset is 7:02, for 11 hours, 58 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 95.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1935, Hitler orders Germany to rearm itself in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Conscription is reintroduced to form the Wehrmacht.

Schimel’s supportive costume1:

And for years, Judge Schimel has repeated some of Mr. Trump’s talking points about Wisconsin elections.

During an April 2018 interview with one of the state’s leading conservative talk-radio hosts, Judge Schimel said it was not clear that Mr. Trump, who carried the state in 2016 by fewer than 23,000 votes, or Senator Johnson, who won by about 99,000 votes that year, would have prevailed had the state’s voter identification law not been in place.

In January, he said he did not object to Mr. Trump’s pardons of supporters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Then there was the Halloween party last year.

In the final week before the election, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. appeared to call Trump supporters “garbage.” Mr. Trump responded by dressing up in a sanitation worker’s reflective vest and driving a garbage truck.

Two days later, when Judge Schimel’s cover band, 4 on The Floor, played a Halloween gig at Michael’s Funky Monkey bar in Waukesha, he wore a reflective vest just like Mr. Trump’s and rocked out while playing the Rolling Stones classic “Sympathy for the Devil.”

See Reid J. Epstein and Steve Eder, The Trump Loyalist Aiming to Swing Wisconsin Back to the Right (‘Brad Schimel, a judge who is so supportive of the president that he dressed up as him for Halloween, is hoping to flip the Wisconsin Supreme Court for conservatives’), New York Times, March 13, 2025.

There are many ways to describe Schimel’s costume choice, some supportive (identifying with his political hero and that hero’s supporters who believe they’ve been insulted), some not (a weak man’s choice, identifying with an autocrat who stokes the narcissistic insult that a populist horde too quickly feels).

Both can be true, but the latter tolls more strongly.

______

  1. The link to the New York Times story is open, and one can play the clip of Schimel with maracas standing around awkwardly groovin’ to the vibe. ↩︎

Cougar cubs:

Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Musk, Schimel, Trump, Trumpism, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 3.13.25: The Crawford-Schimel Debate

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 60. Sunrise is 7:09 and sunset is 6:59, for 11 hours, 50 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 99.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1862, an Act Prohibiting the Return of Slaves is passed by Congress, effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation.

Last night, Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel met in the only debate of their campaign for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court:

Several times, Crawford accused Schimel of saying different things to broader audiences than to audiences made up of his political allies. She called attention to reporting by the Washington Post that Schimel said Trump was “screwed over” by the Supreme Court in its decisions regarding the 2020 election, and reporting by the Wisconsin Examiner that he had told a group of canvassers he’d be a “support network” for Trump. 

“He is not impartial, and he says different things in front of a broad audience like this, where he knows it’s going to be televised, than he’ll say when he’s talking to his political allies,” she said. “He is not trustworthy.” 

On the campaign trail, access to abortion has been one of the most prominent issues. The Court is currently considering a lawsuit that would have the state’s 1849 law declared invalid, while another lawsuit is pending in the lower courts asking if the state’s Constitution grants a right to abortion access. 

Schimel has said he personally opposes abortion, that both of his daughters are adopted and he believes the 1849 statute is a “valid law.” In the debate he repeated what he’s said during the campaign on the issue — that it should be up to the state’s voters. Wisconsin doesn’t allow voters to influence state law through a referendum process. 

See Henry Redman, Supreme Court candidates continue accusations of partisanship in sole debate, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 13, 2025.

Schimel likely knows, if he’s worked up the energy to read the law after his habitually light work schedule, that a voters’ referendum would be advisory,1 and to overturn Wisconsin’s 1849 statutory abortion ban would require a proposed state constitutional amendment2 that the WISGOP legislature would never put before voters.

Schimel being untrustworthy is an axiom. See FREE WHITEWATER, We Now Know that Schimel Has Lied at Least Once (Could Be More!), March 28, 2025.

Shrewd moment of the night came from Crawford:

At one point, in a remark that Crawford said was a “slip of the tongue,” she referred to Musk as “Elon Schimel.”

Worth running an add with that moniker for Schimel…

______

  1. As with a proposed advisory referendum in 2024 that, in fact, never made it out of the Wisconsin Legislature. ↩︎
  2. Gov. Evers has proposed the ability of voters to adopt or repeal state laws without the Legislature, but the WISGOP won’t approve that, either. ↩︎

How to see Thursday’s night, Friday morning’s lunar eclipse:

Look to the sky late Thursday evening to spot a rare blood moon lunar eclipse. The total lunar eclipse will be visible in North America, South America, western parts of Europe and Africa from Thursday, March 13 to Friday, March 14. As the moon passes through the Earth’s innermost shadow, light from the sun passing through the Earth’s atmosphere will be filtered in just the right way to bathe the moon in a reddish, orange hue. Totality – when the moon is completely within the Earth’s inner shadow and turns reddish – will start at 12:26 a.m. EDT and 11:26 p.m. PDT and last about 65 minutes. The phenomenon is visible by the naked eye, but for the best viewing experience, find a dark environment and grab a pair of binoculars or a telescope. According to NASA, another total lunar eclipse won’t be visible in the U.S. until March 2026.

Catspaw, Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Schimel, Trump, Trumpism, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 3.12.25: Trump Runs for Wisconsin Supreme Court

by  • 

Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 55. Sunrise is 7:11 and sunset is 6:58, for 11 hours, 47 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 97.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1989,  Sir Tim Berners-Lee submits his proposal to CERN for an information management system, which subsequently develops into the World Wide Web.

Musk pays for ads that boost Schimel for Tump:

“Conservative Brad Schimel will support President Trump’s agenda!” says the new flyer. “Together, we won the White House. Now it’s time to win the courthouse!”

A mailer supporting conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel is paid for the America PAC, a super PAC started by billionaire Elon Musk to support Donald Trump during his campaign for the presidency..

The campaign literature features a picture of Trump being sworn in as president with his hand upheld and a second photo of Schimel with the Wisconsin Capitol in the background. It then urges voters to elect Schimel to the Supreme Court next month.

America PAC, the Musk super PAC, and a second Musk group, the nonprofit Building America’s Future, have reported spending more than $10 million on TV ads, digital ads, mailers, voter turnout and canvassing.

(Emphasis in original.)

See Daniel Bice, New Musk mailer says Brad Schimel will ‘support President Trump’s agenda’ from bench, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 12, 2025.

Brad Schimel, circuit court judge, isn’t running for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court; Trump’s dutiful foot soldier is running for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Trump will have to split his time between golfing, buying cars on the White House Lawn, and trying to stay awake during sessions of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

‘Dollar for dollar’: Canada announces 25% tariffs on nearly $30bn in US imports:

Canada’s finance minister, Dominic LeBlanc, announced retaliatory tariffs on US imports, including steel and aluminum, amid a growing trade war.

Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Musk, Politics, Populists, Schimel, Trump, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 3.6.25: Mr. Trump’s Little Helper

by  • 

Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 40. Sunrise is 6:21 and sunset is 5:50, for 11 hours, 29 minutes of daytime. The moon is in its first quarter with 49.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Public Arts Commission meets at 5 PM.

On this day in 1967,  Joseph Stalin‘s daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva defects to the United States. (She later moved to Wisconsin, and passed away in Richland Center.)

Brad Schimel, candidate for a seat of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, would be happy as a footstool for Trump:

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel told a group of canvassers in Waukesha County last weekend that he needs to be elected to provide a “support network” for President Donald Trump and shared  complaints about the 2020 election that have been frequently espoused by election deniers. 

In a video of the remarks, Schimel is speaking to a group of canvassers associated with Turning Point USA — a right-wing political group that has become increasingly active in Wisconsin’s Republican party. 

….

“Donald Trump doesn’t do this by himself, there has to be a support network around it,” Schimel said.

Which conspiracies are on Schimel’s mind? These:

Schimel pointed to the issue of special voting deputies in nursing homes as a major problem. 

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials known as special voting deputies who normally go into nursing homes to help residents cast absentee ballots were unable to enter those facilities. 

Republicans have claimed that decision allowed people who should have been ineligible to vote because they’d been declared incompetent to cast a ballot. Conspiracy theorists have pointed to affidavits filed by family members of nursing home residents that their relatives were able to vote. Only a judge can declare someone incompetent to vote, however. 

The issue led to the Republican sheriff of Racine County to accuse members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) of committing felony election fraud and became a target in former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman’s widely derided review of the 2020 election. 

Schimel also blamed the election commission’s decision to exclude the Green Party’s candidates from the ballot that year for Trump’s loss. WEC voted not to allow the party on the ballot because there were errors with the candidate’s addresses on the paperwork. The party sued to have the decision overturned, but the Supreme Court ruled 4-3 against the party because it was too close to the election. 

While conservatives held the majority on the Court at the time, Schimel  blamed liberals. 

See Henry Redman, Schimel tells canvassers he’ll be ‘support network’ for Trump and rehashes election conspiracies, Wisconsin Examiner, March 6, 2025.

See also FREE WHITEWATER, We Now Know that Schimel Has Lied at Least Once (Could Be More!) and Wisconsin Politico Swears He’s the Most Apolitical Man Alive.

If you’ve AppleTV+, then a recommendation: Berlin ER (Krank: Berlin). Here’s the trailer in the original German, with English subtitles: