Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 22. Sunrise is 6:57 and sunset is 5:21, for 10 hours, 25 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 98.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Public Works Committee meets at 5 PM.
On this day in 1979, the Iranian Revolution establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
A Different Kind of Snowy Season:
Good morning.
Monday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 29. Sunrise is 6:58 and sunset is 5:20, for 10 hours, 22 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 95.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Plan & Architectural Review Commission meets at 6 PM.
On this day in 1906, HMS Dreadnought, the first of a revolutionary new breed of battleships, is christened.
In Whitewater, in Wisconsin, and across America, there are people addicted to fentanyl. Tariffs won’t relieve them of their addiction:
Americans consume more illicit drugs per capita than anyone else in the world; about 6% of the U.S. population uses them regularly.
….
One such drug, fentanyl – a synthetic opioid that’s 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine – is the leading reason U.S. overdose deaths have surged in recent years. While the rate of fentanyl overdose deaths has dipped a bit recently, it’s still vastly higher than it was just five years ago.
Ending the fentanyl crisis won’t be easy. The U.S. has an addiction problem that spans decades – long predating the rise of fentanyl – and countless attempts to regulate, legislate and incarcerate have done little to reduce drug consumption. Meanwhile, the opioid crisis alone costs Americans tens of billions of dollars each year.
….
America’s experiments with tariffs can be traced back to the founding era with the passage of the Tariff Act of 1789. This long history has shown that tariffs, industrial subsidies and protectionist policies don’t do much to stimulate broad economic growth at home – but they raise prices for consumers and can even lead to global economic instability. History also shows that tariffs don’t work especially well as negotiating tools, failing to effect significant policy changes in target countries. Economists generally agree that the costs of tariffs outweigh the benefits.
Over the course of Trump’s first term, the average effective tariff rate on Chinese imports went from 3% to 11%. But while imports from China fell slightly, the overall trade relationship didn’t change much: China remains the second-largest supplier of goods to the U.S.
The tariffs did have some benefit – for Vietnam and other nearby countries with relatively low labor costs. Essentially, the tariffs on China caused production to shift, with global companies investing billions of dollars in competitor nations.
This isn’t the first time Trump has used trade policy to pressure China on fentanyl– he did so in his first term. But while China made some policy changes in response, such as adding fentanyl to its controlled substances list in 2019, fentanyl deaths in the U.S. continued to rise. Currently, China still ranks as the No. 1 producer of fentanyl precursors, or chemicals used to produce illicit fentanyl. And there are others in the business: India, over that same period, has become a major producer of fentanyl.
See Rodney Coates, Why Trump’s tariffs can’t solve America’s fentanyl crisis, The Conversation, February 1, 2025.
Drug War or Trade War: prohibition has been and will be futile against addiction. Domestic demand seeks supply, whether that supply is produced on this continent or elsewhere.
More on tariffs, apart from supposed drug reduction: Metals tariffs ‘will have significant cost’ for US:
Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 28. Sunrise is 6:59 and sunset is 5:19, for 10 hours, 19 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 90.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1870, President Grant signs a joint resolution of Congress establishing the U.S. Weather Bureau.
Overdue, both legally and technically, but justified litigation nonetheless:
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul are joining Wisconsin to a multi-state lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration and billionaire Elon Musk from accessing restricted government records on millions of federal employees.
In a statement, Evers said the lawsuit is aimed at protecting Wisconsinites’ personal details. “Wisconsinites expect the federal government to treat their Social Security numbers, bank account information, and other sensitive personal details with the highest level of protection and confidentiality — and that obligation doesn’t go out the window just because Elon Musk says it should,” Evers said.“Giving political appointees access to our most personal information like this is illegal. That’s plain as day.”
Agents working for Musk accessed the records maintained by the Office of Personnel Management, the Washington Post reported Thursday, citing four U.S. officials with knowledge of the developments.
….
The 19 states are seeking an injunction to block the Trump administration from blocking access to the payment system and a declaration that the Treasury Department’s policy change is unlawful, according to Kaul.
“Donald Trump has put the whims of Elon Musk ahead of Americans’ privacy and security,” Kaul said in a statement. “We’ve gone to court to address this outrageous situation and to protect the American people.”
See Molly Beck, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers joins lawsuit over Elon Musk’s access to restricted information, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 8, 2025.
What a young tapir looks like:
Good morning.
Saturday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 33. Sunrise is 7:01 and sunset is 5:17, for 10 hours, 17 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 83.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1971, the NASDAQ stock market index opens for the first time.
Watch Boom XB-1 take off and go supersonic in historic flight highlights:
Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 31. Sunrise is 7:02 and sunset is 5:16, for 10 hours, 14 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 74.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1964, The Beatles land in the United States for the first time, at the newly renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport.
This morning, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s Administrator, Meagan Wolfe, can remain in her post. The ruling was probable based on a prior court decision (under a different court majority) from 2022, as Scott Bauer reports:
The court said that no vacancy exists and, because of that, the elections commission “does not have a duty to appoint a new administrator to replace Wolfe simply because her term has ended.”
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The court relied on the precedent set in its 2022 ruling that allowed Republican-appointee Fred Prehn to remain on the state Natural Resources Board after his term had ended. That ruling came when the court was controlled by conservatives. The court now has a 4-3 liberal majority.
See Scott Bauer, Wisconsin Supreme Court says swing state’s embattled elections chief can remain in post, Associated Press, February 7, 2025.
I felt that Prehn should have resigned at the end of his term (and been removed for failing to resign), but the Prehn ruling in 2022 made today’s decision as certain as a legal outcome could be.
‘Marsquakes’ travel deeper than expected, says new research:
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:
Good morning.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 31. Sunrise is 7:04 and sunset is 5:13, for 10 hours, 9 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 53.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Starin Park Water Tower Community Committee meets at 6 PM, and the Landmarks Commission meets at 7 PM.
On this day in 1849, the University of Wisconsin opens:
The University of Wisconsin began with 20 students led by Professor John W. Sterling. The first class was organized as a preparatory school in the first department of the University: a department of science, literature, and the arts. The university was initially housed at the Madison Female Academy building, which had been provided free of charge by the city. The course of study was English grammar; arithmetic; ancient and modern geography; elements of history; algebra; Caesar’s Commentaries; the Aeneid of Virgil (six books); Sallust; select orations of Cicero; Greek; the Anabasis of Xenophon; antiquities of Greece and Rome; penmanship, reading, composition and declamation. Also offered were book-keeping, geometry, and surveying. Tuition was “twenty dollars per scholar, per annum.” For a detailed recollection of early UW-Madison life, see the memoirs of Mrs. W.F. Allen [Source: History of the University of Wisconsin, Reuben Gold Thwaites, 1900]
In early January, the Whitewater Common Council met to consider two development projects. In its deliberations, the Council heard objections that the placement of one of the development projects on vacant land (Tax Parcel No. /A4444200001) would interfere with the mere possibility of a future railroad spur at that location. The Council voted against that project of the east side of town, on a 4-2 vote. See Quick Update on Development Projects.
The concerns about a possible rail spur being an obstacle to a development at this location seemed speculative and unrealistic1. Turns out, those concerns were speculative and unrealistic. A study the city commissioned shows that the location of the proposed development was not a good location for a rail spur (“marginal rail-served value”) with two better locations available (“good rail service potential” and “excellent rail service potential,” respectively).
Embedded below is that segment of the January rail spur discussion:
Here are the material parts of that January discussion, from councilmember, city manager, and incumbent landlord:
Councilmember Singer: And then I know in the past, this particular parcel, you know, the CDA had been working with a potential light industrial, to do some electronics recycling. And one of the attractive parts of that was the rail spur potentially access. It’s one of the only parcels that would allow us to, now there’s no spur now, but it’s set for, you know, if we had a need and the funding to be able to get one installed, it was an attractive parcel. So that’s where I’m having a little bit of trouble reconciling like, okay, you know, that was a prime piece for an industrial, light industrial development that would bring in jobs versus a residential use.
And so that’s just, I mean, it is a complete 180 from what kind of the CDA and the city in the past has been trying to do on that. And I think Mr. Knight mentioned it earlier. It is one of our only spots if we did need to attract a business that required rail access that we would be then offloaded.City Manager Weidl: I’m with you. But then when you do the research on how much linear feet you need to actually do a rail siding, you need three quarters to a mile for it. And so from a viability standpoint, the other intersections make that a site where rail siding is not likely to occur.
I mean, I understand, I get it. Like you don’t give up rail if someone’s gonna build something there and have a distribution facility. The, and Taylor, correct me if I’m wrong, the requests we’ve gotten from JCEDC and Walworth County have all been looking at the rail spur on the other side of the municipality.
And that’s, those are the ones we’ve been responding to because the length of the rail available is long enough for an actual siding. That’s what it comes down to is speed of train equals length of siding. And the siding is the side track, S-I-D-I-N-G.And so that’s the technical issue we’re running into. Notwithstanding, I totally hear where you’re coming from. Making sure we’re protecting the viability of parcels, notwithstanding the offers.
Incumbent Landlord Kachel: I would recommend, too, before you try to do anything on it, as it being either the only one or one of the only ones that have rail access, you have Don Vruwink as the railroad commissioner, former assembly person from this district. Reach out to him and he would love to help Whitewater bring in a railroad spur. But in order to do that, you have to bring in some businesses, some jobs.
A few remarks:
1 . The recycling opportunity was a years-long exercise that came to nothing. It was one false start after another. I’m surprised that anyone would hold it up as an example of a realistic prospect or example for future development. It wasn’t and it isn’t.
2. I’m sure that a 180-degree turn in Community Development Authority policy upsets a few aged men in this town, but it matters more that 15,000 people have a better CDA. If a 180-degree turn is hard, it’s because moving from bad to better is hard.
3. Whitewater’s old guard steps on its own arguments all the time. If incumbent landlord Kachel should be right that we need more businesses than we have in the industrial park for a railroad spur, then concerns from Knight and Singer about an obstacle at this given location are immaterial. These three couldn’t decide among their arguments: was the need for a spur at this location a realistic concern or not a concern? The study answers that question (it wasn’t a realistic concern at this location).
4. Be clear: the arguments of these gentlemen (who didn’t bring a bounty of businesses to the industrial park when they were at the CDA) effectively work by doubt and delay to satisfy an incumbent’s landlord’s opposition to new apartments.
The Rail Spur Study appears below:
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Crowd crush: Could fluid dynamics save lives?:
Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 28. Sunrise is 7:05 and sunset is 5:12, for 10 hours, 7 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 41.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Common Council meets at 6:30 PM, later in the evening goes into closed session, thereafter to reconvene in open session. The agenda is embedded below:
On this day in 1789, George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the Electoral College.
Yesterday’s post, Dressing for the Weather, was about the way in which one responded to controversies in Whitewater, principally over the use of data and studies:
Whitewater has had its share of controversies. There are five differences between those of the past and now: (1) the pace between accusations is quicker, (2) there are more of them offered at the same time, (3) they are often made without accuracy and sound reasoning, (4) they are made in a time that deprecates any expertise, and (5) behind-the-scenes conflicts of interest are ignored.
The sarcastic implication of the expression a little knowledge is a dangerous thing applies to much of what one hears and reads from would-be critics of policy.
In the Aughts and Teens (2000-2019, and even a few years beyond), much of Whitewater heard from its local government involved dodgy data and weak analysis. This was notably true of the Community Development Authority during those times (with only a few exceptions) when the CDA was run like a club in a third-rate southern town.
The consequence of this is that (1) Whitewater heard a lot of bad claims, (2) residents were expected to accept bad claims at face value, and (3) residents became inured to the notion that the city would be perpetually under the sway of a few self-promoters (and their softer-talking enablers). There was and is always one such enabler, on the CDA or Council, whose job it was and is to try to make the unreasonable sound reasonable. Men are what they say and do, and what they defend and rationalize.
And now, and now, a higher standard of analysis comes along from the city government. Not always perfect, but notably higher than what past municipal administrations or a past CDA produced.
The problem residents face now is that opponents of today’s better work, themselves, argue mostly with the fallacies and low-grade thinking of the past.
And so, and so, one will have to craft an index or catalog of some sort, readily on display, to track the many false claims of special interests and their various frontmen and enablers. The Bauhaus school contended (broadly) that form follows function, and so form of expression will have to follow the worthy function of accurate and reasoned discussion.
There’s no burden in this, but rather only opportunity. There’s merit in a pointed critique of old errors.
One is reminded of the expression: Hard work is good work.
A sharp-looking cedar waxing from Oklahoma:
(Cedar waxwings are found beyond Oklahoma, including in Wisconsin. The description “Only seen in Oklahoma during the winter” simply means that these birds are commonly found in that state during that season. They’ve a wider range in other places during the full year.)
Good morning.
Monday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 38. Sunrise is 7:06 and sunset is 5:11, for 10 hours, 4 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 31.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Equal Opportunities Commission meets at 5 PM.
On this day in 1959, rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson are killed in a plane crash along with the pilot near Clear Lake, Iowa, an event later known as The Day the Music Died.
Whitewater, like many other places, now heads into a period of controversies. The question for residents of this small city is how to address those controversies, responding when necessary, and deciding how to organize one’s responses.
Whitewater has had its share of controversies. There are five differences between those of the past and now: (1) the pace between accusations is quicker, (2) there are more of them offered at the same time, (3) they are often made without accuracy and sound reasoning, (4) they are made in a time that deprecates any expertise, and (5) behind-the-scenes conflicts of interest are ignored.
The sarcastic implication of the expression a little knowledge is a dangerous thing applies to much of what one hears and reads from would-be critics of policy.
All of this requires changes in responsive approach, to respond competently and thoroughly, in conditions of frequent sleet and hail.
One dresses for the weather, so to speak.
Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 46. Sunrise is 7:08 and sunset is 5:09, for 10 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 20.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1653, New Amsterdam (now New York City) is incorporated.
Earlier today, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the world’s most famous meteorologist predicted six more weeks of winter.
An ordinary person can, reasonably, do Phil one better. We may have six more weeks of winter, but we’re sure to have more than six weeks of political controversy across the city, state, and nation. If there’s ever been an understatement, there it is…
As for Punxsutawney Phil, he saw his shadow:
New York inaugurates a new honorary dog mayor (since the human mayor of New York is under indictment, it’s probably for best):
Good morning.
Saturday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 33. Sunrise is 7:09 and sunset is 5:08, for 9 hours, 59 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 12.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1865, President Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, after Congress passed the amendment on 1.31.1865.
An 81-Year-Old Coder Transforms Japanese Gaming:
For more about Wakamiya see Kiyoko Ogawa, INTERVIEW | Masako Wakamiya, the Oldest App Developer in the World, Japan Forward, September 1, 2023.
February 2025 Skywatching Tips from NASA:
Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 45. Sunrise is 7:10 and sunset is 5:07, for 9 hours, 57 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 5.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1865, Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery, and submits it to the states for ratification
On the issue of whether he should hear a challenge to Act 10, or instead recuse himself, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn is undoubtedly right:
Conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn will not participate in a case challenging the constitutionality of Wisconsin Act 10, the 2011 law restricting public employee collective bargaining rights.
In an order released Thursday afternoon, Hagedorn said he would recuse himself from a case being considered by the state Supreme Court that was filed in 2023 by the Abbotsford Education Association. The court is currently weighing whether to take the case directly before a state appeals court weighs in.
Hagedorn previously served as chief legal counsel for former Republican Gov. Scott Walker when Act 10 was drafted and defended in earlier court challenges.
Hagedorn said after reviewing legal filings in the case and the court’s ethics rules, he determined that recusal “is not optional when the law commands it.”
“The issues raised involve matters for which I provided legal counsel in both the initial crafting and later defense of Act 10, including in a case raising nearly identical claims under the federal constitution,” Hagedorn said.
See Rich Kremer, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn recuses himself from Act 10 challenge, Wisconsin Public Radio, January 30, 2025 and Abbotsford Education Association v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, No. 2024AP2429 (Wis. Supreme Ct. Order Jan. 30, 2025).
And, there’s an update on yesterday’s post about partisanship on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Readers may have seen WISGOP complaints about Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford’s attendance at a Democratic event. The complaints would have more credibility if her conservative and WISGOP-backed opponent, Brad Schimel, hadn’t already justified partisan support of court candidates:
“It’s just become that way, that liberal judicial candidates will associate with the Democratic Party and conservative judicial candidates will end up affiliating with the Republican Party,” he said, adding that each campaign needs grassroots support. “The question isn’t whether you have a political affiliation. It’s whether you can set that aside when you get on the bench.”
Belgian zoo unveils baby white rhino:
Good morning.
Thursday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 51. Sunrise is 7:11 and sunset is 5:05, for 9 hours, 55 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 1.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1933, Hitler takes office as the Chancellor of Germany.
I’m not sure what to make of a story that finds the Wisconsin Supreme Court race effectually partisan. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has been partisan for many years. Still, someone feels the need to explain this to Wisconsin readers:
As with each one before them, Wisconsin’s next Supreme Court justice pledges to be “impartial” when ruling from the bench.
But the current race for that coveted seat has been — and will continue to be — anything but politically neutral.
Indeed, the two candidates are repeatedly pointing out the other’s political ties leading up to the April 1 general election, and the two major political parties have lined up behind their preferred candidate, animated by the prospect that voters could again flip the court’s ideological majority.
One hears that even a broken clock is right twice a day, and so it’s Brad Schimel (of all people) who explains the state of affairs accurately:
In an interview with the Journal Sentinel, Schimel said he didn’t see a retreat from the overt partisanship of state Supreme Court races coming any time soon.
“It’s just become that way, that liberal judicial candidates will associate with the Democratic Party and conservative judicial candidates will end up affiliating with the Republican Party,” he said, adding that each campaign needs grassroots support. “The question isn’t whether you have a political affiliation. It’s whether you can set that aside when you get on the bench.”
See Alison Dirr and Daniel Bice, Just how partisan are the candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court? Here are the details, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 30, 2025.
Indeed: that is a question.
The choice for voters, however, depends on what one prefers from the partisan alternatives on offer.
Drone captures hundreds of dolphins along the California coast:
Good morning.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 41. Sunrise is 7:12 and sunset is 5:04, for 9 hours, 52 minutes of daytime. The moon is new with 0.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1845, “The Raven” is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe.
Madison and Nashville killers visited the same online networks:
Moments before 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow opened fire inside her Madison, Wisconsin, school, killing two people and herself last month, a social media account believed to be hers posted a photograph on X showing someone sitting in a bathroom stall and flashing a hand gesture that has become a symbol for white supremacy.
As news about the shooting broke, another X user responded: “Livestream it.”
Extremism researchers now believe that second account belonged to 17-year-old Solomon Henderson, who police say walked into his high school cafeteria in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday and fired 10 shots, killing one classmate and then himself. Archives of another X account linked to him show that he posted a similar photo to Rupnow’s in his final moments.
While there isn’t any evidence that Rupnow and Henderson plotted their attacks together, extremism researchers who have tracked their social media activity told Wisconsin Watch and ProPublica that the two teenagers were active in the same online networks that glorify mass shooters, even crossing paths. Across various social media platforms, the networks trade hateful memes alongside terrorist literature, exchange tips on how to effectively commit attacks and encourage one another to carry out their own.
See Phoebe Petrovic, Madison and Nashville school shooters appear to have crossed paths in online extremist communities (‘A month after a student opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School, another killed a classmate at Antioch High School. Both were active in an internet subculture that glorifies mass shooters and encourages young people to commit attacks themselves’), Wisconsin Watch, January 24, 2025.
Lightning strikes British Airways plane at a Brazil airport:
