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Daily Bread for 12.28.24: Murals in Snow

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 48. Sunrise is 7:25 and sunset is 4:28, for 9 hours, 3 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 5.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1943, Soviet authorities launch Operation Ulussy, beginning the deportation of the Kalmyk nation to Siberia and Central Asia.

Whitewater’s recent snow, only a small accumulation, is already gone. Those of us who like snow (and, in my case, snow shoeing) will have to wait. We can be patient; winter has only begun. (Remember: big snow is good snow!)

In the meantime, here’s an artist who works in, and with, snow:

Update — NASA spacecraft, the Parker Solar Probe, is safe after closest-ever approach to the sun:

Previously: NASA spacecraft attempts closest-ever approach to Sun.

Beautiful Whitewater, City, Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 12.27.24: Christmas at Cravath’s Festive Lights

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 48. Sunrise is 7:24 and sunset is 4:27, for 9 hours, 3 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 10.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1968, Apollo 8 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, ending the first orbital crewed mission to the Moon.

By NASA – http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a410/ap8-S68-56310.jpg
Public Domain

In Whitewater, at the Cravath Lakefront, one finds this year Christmas at Cravath’s festive lights display. It’s quite beautiful, and unlike any display in the city within memory. The lights will be up through 1.6.25.

Highly recommended.

City, Daily Bread, Economy

Daily Bread for 12.26.24: Economic Growth Remains Strong

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 43. Sunrise is 7:24 and sunset is 4:27, for 9 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 17.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1776, at the Battle of Trenton, the Continental Army under George Washington executes a successful surprise attack and defeats a garrison of Hessian forces serving Great Britain.

A reminder, as the year ends, that American economic growth has been strong:

The US economy expanded at a faster pace in the third quarter than previously estimated, owing in part to to stronger consumer spending and exports.

Gross domestic product increased at a 3.1% annualized rate in the third quarter, the third estimate of the figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed Thursday. That compared to a previous projection of 2.8%. Consumer spending was marked up to a 3.7% pace — the fastest since early 2023 — boosted by stronger outlays on services.

Exports expanded by 9.6% in the July-to-September period, up from 7.5% in the prior estimate. That was also entirely due to services.

The numbers reinforce the notion that the economy is still powering ahead despite expectations among forecasters for an eventual slowdown. 

See Matthew Boseler, US Growth Revised to 3.1% on Stronger Consumer Spending, Exports, Bloomberg, December 19, 2024.

Of inflation, a similar good story is true: national inflation peaked two years ago, and has since fallen drastically. See Greg Iacurci, Here’s the inflation breakdown for November 2024, CNBC, December 11, 2024.

The contention that the economy has been terrible, most notably these last two years, is false. And yet, and yet, one hears each day new contentions that distort to the point of mythology the state of the economy. If the economic continues to do well, expect the populists to insist that it was only strong from January 20th onward. If the economy does poorly, expect the populists to say that the fault lies with anyone and anything other than the populists themselves.

One more point, evergreen in Whitewater: Whitewater’s old guard, its special interest faction, has never produced through its policies for this city broad economic gains for individuals and households. For themselves, of course. For others, no.

On the contrary, even in solid national conditions they found themselves bemoaning their own policies’ inability to capitalize. See Whitewater’s Still Waiting for That Boom.

In this respect, these transactional, special-interest men in Whitewater are like the populists: they don’t care about the accuracy of what they’re saying, but only that what they’re saying serves their particular political interests.

PBS Wisconsin Visits the Yerkes Observatory:

Daily Bread, Holiday

Daily Bread for 12.25.24: Merry Christmas

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Good morning.

Christmas in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 36. Sunrise is 7:24 and sunset is 4:26, for 9 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 26.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1968,  Apollo 8 performs the first successful Trans-Earth injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.

By NASA/Bill Anders – www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a410/AS8-14-2383HR.jpg Public Domain

Midnight Christmas Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris:

Worshippers gathered on Tuesday evening for Christmas Midnight Mass at Cathedral Notre Dame, the first since it reopened after a devastating fire ravaged the medieval landmark in 2019.

Owl surprises Virginia family by perching atop Christmas tree:

When Sgt. Spencer Murray arrived at a home for an animal control call in Virginia, he saw one of the most majestic tree toppers he has ever seen: a Barred Owl that swooped in through the chimney. The bird perched atop a spruce covered in lights and ornaments.

Daily Bread, Faraway Places, Holiday

Daily Bread for 12.24.24: Dining in a Santa Claus Village in Finland

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Good morning.

Christmas Eve in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 32. Sunrise is 7:23 and sunset is 4:25, for 9 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 34.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1814, representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States sign the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812.

Visitors to Santa Claus Village in Finland dine in minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Farhenheit):

Shuffling across icy ground, tourist groups pour into Santa Claus Village, a winter-themed amusement park perched on the edge of the Arctic Circle, just seven kilometers north of Rovaniemi.

NASA spacecraft attempts closest-ever approach to Sun:

A NASA spacecraft is attempting to make history with the closest-ever approach to the Sun. The Parker Solar Probe is plunging into our star’s outer atmosphere to try and help us better understand how the Sun works. It is out of communication for several days and scientists will be waiting for a signal, expected at 05:00 GMT on 28 December, to see if it has survived.

Budget, Daily Bread, Legislature, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 12.23.24: Four Billion’s a Lot of Money to Be Left Unused

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 37. Sunrise is 7:23 and sunset is 4:25, for 9 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 43.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1688, as part of the Glorious Revolution, King James II of England flees from England to France after being deposed in favor of his son-in-law and nephew, William of Orange and his daughter Mary.

The State of Wisconsin has both a general fund surplus and a rainy day fund, with the surplus now at $4,500,000,000. It is, after all, a lot of money:

Gov. Tony Evers announced Friday that Wisconsin’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, which is published by the Department of Administration, recorded a $4.5 billion positive balance in the state’s general fund at the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year. 

In addition to the general fund, the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund — or “rainy day” fund — ended the fiscal year at the highest level in state history with a balance of $1.9 billion. The rainy day fund has set a new record every year since Evers took office in 2019.  

“For thirty consecutive years, our state’s checking account ran at a deficit. Thanks to our efforts to pay down our state’s debt and work across the aisle to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, Wisconsin has never had a deficit since I took office,” Evers said in a statement. “This is great news for the people of Wisconsin and our state’s economy.” 

The balance in the general fund — a budget surplus — will likely be a major point of discussion next year as Evers and lawmakers begin work on the state’s next two-year budget.

See Baylor Spears, Wisconsin’s annual financial report records $4.5 billion budget surplus, Wisconsin Examiner, December 21, 2024.

The inability of lawmakers to agree on a plan for the use of the general fund surplus is unsurprising. These are the men who gerrymandered, backed grossly wasteful projects, pretended a pandemic was safe, and endorsed election conspiracies for so long as conspiracists did not level accusations in their own direction.

Honda and Nissan start merger talks in historic pivot:

Honda and Nissan have started talks toward a potential merger, they said, a historic pivot for Japan’s auto industry that underlines the threat Chinese EV makers now pose to some of the world’s best known car makers.

Daily Bread, Holiday

Daily Bread for 12.22.24: Christmas Displays Around the World

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 30. Sunrise is 7:23 and sunset is 4:24, for 9 hours, 1 minute of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 52.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1864, Savannah, Georgia, falls to the Union’s Army of the Tennessee, and General Sherman tells President Lincoln: “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah”

Christmas displays around the world:

From Paris to Lima, with Christmas Day fast approaching, cities around the world are getting into the festive spirit.

In the aftermath of war, a Christmas tree stands amid the rubble of a Lebanese church:

Climate, Daily Bread, Space, Weather

Daily Bread for 12.21.24: Sure, It’s Winter Here, But It’s Springtime Only 103 Million Kilometers Away

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Good morning.

Winter begins this Saturday in Whitewater with partly sunny skies and a high of 19. Sunrise is 7:22 and sunset is 4:24, for 9 hours, 1 minute of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 62.3 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1937,  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world’s first full-length animated feature, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre.

Fall and Winter are may favorite seasons (in that order), but for those preferring warmer weather, there’s a place offering consolation. It’s winter here on Earth, but on springtime on Mars:

Mars scientists have recently marked a new year on the Red Planet, a milestone that occurs every 687 days. Because the Martian new year coincides with spring in the planet’s northern hemisphere, it’s a time of lots of activity — avalanches, exploding jets of gas, and more. JPL research scientist Serina Diniega explains some of the changes to the Martian surface that scientists can track with spacecraft like NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

(The distance between Earth and Mars varies, but today — 12.21 — it’s a short 103 million kilometers away.)

Creating a Christmas Song from Scratch in Five Days:

Christmas number 1 song? Top of the Xmas UK music chart? East 17. Mariah Carey. Wham!… Bobby and the Baubles? With the help of East 17’s John Hendy, music mogul Fred Casimir, and a bunch of Fiverr musicians, Great Big Story’s Bob Fletcher attempts to make this dream a reality.

Daily Bread, Legislation, Legislature, Toxic Positivity, WisDems, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 12.20.24: Wisconsin Senate Democrats Hope Hyenas Will Stop Eating Meat

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 30. Sunrise is 7:22 and sunset is 4:23, for 9 hours, 1 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 71.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1803, the Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.

There’s positivity, there’s toxic positivity, and then there’s utter delusion:

Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) and Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) both serve on one of the most powerful committees in the Wisconsin State Legislature, yet as members of the minority they’ve often been frustrated by the way Republicans on the committee have excluded them from conversations. The lawmakers say they hope some of this changes next year.

The 16-person Joint Finance Committee is responsible for writing the state’s two-year budget — deciding which policy priorities get funding and which don’t — and reviewing all state appropriations and revenues. Republican lawmakers will continue to hold 12 seats next session with Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) serving as co-chairs.

….

Johnson said she thinks that new legislative maps could help change the dynamic. Roys also said it could have an impact that the state Supreme Court found it unconstitutional for the committee to block state spending on land conservation projects after the money has been budgeted. 

“That dynamic is at play, and I wonder if it will chasten the Republicans. It doesn’t seem to have done so yet,” Roys said. 

Emphasis added.

See Baylor Spears, Senate Democrats on budget committee say they hope Republicans change their approach, Wisconsin Examiner, December 20, 2024.

Honest to goodness. The people who take 12 of 16 committee seats despite a closely divided legislature are not, and will not be, chastened. They might one day lose their legislative majorities, but even afterward they will insist they were always — always — justified.

People flee cafe as magnitude 7.3 earthquake hits Vanuatu:

The moment a violent earthquake shook a cafe in Vanuatu’s capital on Tuesday.

Daily Bread, Foxconn, Legislature, Speaker Vos, Wisconsin, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 12.19.24: The Wisconsin Man Who Backed Foxconn Now Brings You Government Efficiency

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be snowy with a high of 29. Sunrise is 7:21 and sunset is 4:23, for 9 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 79.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1776, Thomas Paine publishes the first of a series of pamphlets in The Pennsylvania Journal entitled “The American Crisis.”

Of past performance, consider from 2017: Vos: Foxconn Deal Will Be Good For Taxpayers. And yet, and yet, these are ahistorical times, where past performance is ignored:

MADISON – A new Assembly committee will focus in the next session on government efficiency, inspired by a similar federal department to be run in part by Elon Musk.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said in a Wednesday interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the new committee will be known as GOAT: Governmental Oversight, Accountability and Transparency Committee.

See Laura Schulte and Hope Karnopp, Robin Vos to create government efficiency committee inspired by Elon Musk’s DOGE, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 18, 2024.

Binary star system found near monster black hole:

A pair of stars orbiting one another has been found near the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT).
Full Story: Astronomers discover 1st binary stars orbiting supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way

Daily Bread, Legislation, Legislature, Wisconsin, WisDems, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 12.18.24: That ‘Bipartisanship’ Didn’t Last Long — Because It Was Never There

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 31. Sunrise is 7:21 and sunset is 4:22, for 9 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 87.3 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1865, Secretary of State William Seward proclaims the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, prohibiting slavery throughout the United States.

Five days ago (less than a single week for those with calendars), one read that Wisconsin’s Senate Democrats had hope for a more bipartisan politics. This libertarian blogger had his doubts (see The Glistening Optimism of Wisconsin’s Senate Democrats).

Along comes Wisconsin Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) to confirm my skepticism:

New-elected Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) said Tuesday that she hopes for more bipartisan conversations next year, but that her caucus plans to operate in the same way it has previously, since Republicans still hold the majority in the Wisconsin Legislature, even after losing a handful of seats this election year. 

The Legislature will return with closer margins next year following elections under new legislative maps. Republicans will have an 18-15 majority in the Senate, down from their previous 22-seat supermajority.  In the Assembly Republicans will hold  a 55-45 majority. Felzkowski made her comments during a WisPolitics panel Tuesday alongside Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) and two strategists — Keith Gilkes, a consultant and former chief political advisor for Republican former Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic strategist Tanya Bjork.

“Make no mistake, we still hold the majority,” Felzkowski said. “I hope we have better conversations. I hope we have better negotiations.” 

See Baylor Spears, ‘Make no mistake, we still hold the majority’ says Wisconsin GOP Senate president, Wisconsin Examiner, December 18, 2024.

Again, as before: “For a decade, Wisconsin was the most gerrymandered state in the country, the WISGOP still controls both chambers of the Legislature, and the GOP will soon control all three branches of the federal government (the single most powerful human institution on Earth).”

Those aren’t the sort of people in a genuinely compromising mood.

California driver safe after car plunges into fitness center pool:

A driver in California escaped with minor injuries after they crashed through the glass wall of a fitness center and plunged into a swimming pool.

Daily Bread, Technology, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 12.17.24: Landlines (Remember Them?) on the Way Out

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 38. Sunrise is 7:20 and sunset is 4:22, for 9 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 93.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

The Whitewater Common Council meets tonight at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1835,  the second Great Fire of New York destroys 53,000 square meters (13 acres) of New York City’s Financial District.

One could guess that telephone landlines were in decline, but a recent story drives that point home:

AT&T plans to discontinue its traditional landline telephone service in Wisconsin and most states in its service area by the end of 2029. 

….

The company says only 5 percent of its residential customers still use copper technology and it’s working with them to ensure they do not lose voice or 911 services. The company has introduced a new service that works like a traditional landline, but connects using wireless networks or broadband.

In Wisconsin, roughly 15 percent of households still had a landline as of 2022, while roughly 5.5 percent of adults still primarily used their landline and 3 percent rely entirely on landlines, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. 

The vast majority of households used only wireless telephones in 2022 — 83.7 percent in Wisconsin. That number has come up substantially over the last few decades as advancements in cell phone technology have led to consumers increasingly ditching traditional landline service.

For comparison, about 12.8 percent of American households only had wireless phones in the latter half of 2006, according to federal data.

See Joe Schulz, AT&T to discontinue traditional landline service in Wisconsin by the end of 2029, Wisconsin Public Radio, December 17, 2024.

Rare tornado rips through Northern California town:

Agriculture, America, Daily Bread, Federal Government, Legislation, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 12.16.24: Slow Going on the Farm Bill (From Those Who Say the Farm Bill Matters)

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 42. Sunrise is 7:19 and sunset is 4:21, for 9 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 97.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

The Whitewater School Board goes into closed session shortly after 6:15 PM and resumes open session at 7 PM. Whitewater’s Library Board also meets tonight at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1773,  members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians dump hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.

If rural America matters, and if it needs what advocates for rural America insist it should have1, then there’d be a new Farm Bill by now. The best that these advocates and professed defenders of rural America will produce, however, is likely to be a second extension of the existing legislation:

Wisconsin’s federal lawmakers are blaming the other side of the aisle for getting in the way of extending the farm bill.

The legislation is renewed every five years to fund programs around agriculture, conservation and food assistance.

Congress failed to pass a new farm bill in September 2023 and have instead extended the 2018 bill in order to keep programs operating. After making little progress on new legislation this year, federal lawmakers are expected to pass another extension as part of a deal to fund the government into early 2025. 

See Hope Kirwan, Partisan approach to farm bill delaying updates for Wisconsin farmers, Wisconsin Public Radio, December 16, 2024.

Rescuers seek cyclone survivors in devastated Mayotte:

Emergency workers race to find survivors and restore services to the French overseas territory of Mayotte, where hundreds, possibly thousands, are feared dead from the worst cyclone to hit the Indian Ocean islands in nearly a century.

_____

  1. Not what this libertarian blogger insists rural America should have, but what professed advocates of rural America (from both parties) insist rural communities should have. ↩︎

Daily Bread, Holiday

Daily Bread for 12.15.24: World’s Most Unusual Christmas Traditions

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 43. Sunrise is 7:19 and sunset is 4:21, for 9 hours, 3 minutes of daytime. The moon is full with 99.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1864,  the Battle of Nashville begins at Nashville, Tennessee, and ends the following day with the destruction of the Confederate Army of Tennessee as a fighting force by the Union Army of the Cumberland.

World’s Most Unusual Christmas Traditions:

From Austria’s scariest Christmas tradition, the krampus parade, to the man who is legally called Santa Claus, and Catalonia’s figurine, the Caganer.

Kevin the Chihuahua manages the trash in his house: