Good morning.
Saturday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 37. Sunrise is 7:25 and sunset 4:30 for 9h 04m 14s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 87.5% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1916, Russian mystic and advisor to the Tsar Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin is murdered by a loyalist group led by Prince Felix Yusupov.
A robot is carving a cathedral. Here’s how:
The Brothers Who Invented a Formula 1… for Marbles:
Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 39. Sunrise is 7:25 and sunset 4:29 for 9h 04m 14s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 93.3% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1812, the USS Constitution, under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captures HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three-hour battle.
On Wednesday, FREE WHITEWATER posted on A Story on Federal Review of Wisconsin’s Recent Gerrymandering Case. The Journal Sentinel story described avenues and prospects for federal review of Wisconsin’s high court decision. (See Republicans likely to take Wisconsin gerrymandering case back to the U.S. Supreme Court.)
Two other recent stories describe the legal process the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ordered on redistricting. At the State Journal, Alexander Shur reports Who are the 2 referees the Wisconsin Supreme Court named to review new maps?:
When the Wisconsin Supreme Court last week ordered parties to a redistricting lawsuit to draw new legislative maps, it also named two referees to evaluate the maps’ adequacy.
The two consultants — University of California, Irvine political science professor Bernard Grofman and Carnegie Mellon University postdoctoral fellow Jonathan Cervas — may not be household names in Wisconsin, but they have played prominent roles in settling map disputes in other states.
In Wisconsin, they’ll weigh in on whether the maps abide by the court’s standard that any new maps contain equally populated districts; be bounded by county, precinct, ward or town lines; include only contiguous territory; be as compact as possible; and comply with federal law.
They’ll also assess whether the maps preserve communities of interest, reduce municipal splits and are drawn so that no party benefits more than the other.
On Tuesday, the consultants sent out a letter to parties in the case specifying how they will evaluate the proposed maps. They called for each party to note themselves when their proposed maps may go up against one of the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s proposed metrics, and said they’ll independently verify each claim.
The new maps must be submitted by Jan. 12, and the professors’ evaluations are due by Feb. 1.
Rich Kremer of WPR spoke with Morning Edition about the upcoming legal processes:
AC [Alex Crowe of Morning Edition]: There’s going to be a big fight now over drawing some new maps. With this ruling, are we going to get new maps right away before the election in 2024? What does that process look like?
RK [Rich Kremer of WPR]: The court didn’t immediately draw new legislative districts to replace those deemed unconstitutional, but like you said, they have to be in place prior to the 2024 elections. Justice Karofsky said she’s hopeful that the GOP-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers will agree on new maps.
In the meantime, they’re going to be proceeding toward adopting what they call remedial maps. What that means is in a separate court order, the majority laid out deadlines for maps and they appointed two national experts to oversee the process. Parties in the case have until Jan. 12 to submit remedial maps. These consultants have until Feb. 1 to file a report on the competing proposals.
The majority also said it will consider partisan impact when evaluating the remedial maps. But Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has said in recent months that the U.S. Supreme Court will have the last word on the redistricting litigation in Wisconsin. This week, he said the Legislature will pursue all federal issues arising out of the case.
And so, and so — there are state processes certain to take place, and federal litigation likely to take place.
Perseverance Rover Zooms in on Ancient Mars River:
After 1,000 Martian days of exploration, NASA’s Perseverance rover is studying rocks that show several eras in the history of a river delta billions of years old. Scientists are investigating this region of Mars, known as Jezero Crater, to see if they can find evidence of ancient life recorded in the rocks. Perseverance project scientist Ken Farley provides a guided tour of a richly detailed panorama of the rover’s location in November 2023, taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument.
Composed of 993 individual images and 2.38 billion pixels, this 360-degree mosaic looks in all directions from a location the rover science team calls “Airey Hill.” Portions of the rover itself are visible in the scene, appearing more distorted toward the edges as a result of the image processing.
A color enhancement applied to the image increases contrast and accentuates color differences. By approximating what the scene would look like under Earth-like lighting conditions, the adjustment allows mission scientists to use their everyday experience to interpret the landscape. The view on Mars would be darker and more reddish. The panorama can be explored and downloaded at: https://go.nasa.gov/3tmJnGB.
Good morning.
Thursday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 38. Sunrise is 7:24 and sunset 4:28 for 9h 03m 39s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 97.5% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1943, Soviet authorities launch Operation Ulussy, beginning the forcible deportation in cattle wagons of the Kalmyk nation of 93,000 people to Siberia and Central Asia.
The Universities of Wisconsin Regents unanimously voted yesterday evening to fire UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow over Gow’s appearance with his wife, Carmen Wilson, in several pornography videos. The story, understandably, has attracted national attention. Never a dull moment in the Badger State.
From the Journal Sentinel, one learns the cause of Gow’s dismissal:
Gow, 63, and his wife, Carmen Wilson, appear in videos on several porn websites using “Sexy Happy Couple” as the account name, a moniker also used on at least two social media accounts.
The couple also published two books under pseudonyms detailing their experiences in the adult film industry. Both books and the social media accounts feature photos clearly showing Gow and Wilson.
….
The couple’s account on X, formerly Twitter, hinted at their hobby: “The Passionate plant-powered couple cooking, conversing, and shooting with top adult video stars. Visit our LoyalFans and OnlyFans sites for fully explicit scenes!”
Gow and Wilson have six videos on OnlyFans that feature adult film stars, according to descriptions of the videos. They also appear on at least two other porn websites, PornHub and XHamster. Some videos have more than 200,000 views. All videos were posted in the last two months.
Liam Beran of the Daily Cardinal offers more detail:
The couple has posted nine videos on their Youtube channel Sexy Healthy Couple — described as “a plant-powered couple [making] delicious vegan food with top adult stars,” per a channel description — with the first posted on Dec. 9, 2023, as first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The videos feature Gow and Wilson making recipes alongside adult film entertainers and small segments of suggestive material.
The channel’s Twitter account advertises “fully explicit scenes” on their OnlyFans account.
In one video, Gow shows a book entitled “Monogamy with Benefits: How Porn Enriches Our Relationship,” which he says he wrote with Wilson. The book is listed under pen names Geri and Jay Hart, which are described on Amazon as “pen names of a married woman and man who serve in executive positions at two well-known organizations in the U.S.”
“Not our real names, because we’re still forced to kinda lay low on that, but someday,” Gow said in the Dec. 13 video.
Properly speaking, if Gow wanted to describe ongoing concealment in the present, he would use lie low, not lay low (past tense). Lay low would correctly describe prior concealment, but then again Gow might have been using lay low as wordplay to describe the particulars of his lifestyle. Perhaps chancellors in La Crosse are crafty that way.
The Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman stated after Gow’s dismissal that
“Upon my recommendation, the UW Board of Regents today terminated Dr. Joe Gow from his position as chancellor of UW-La Crosse effective immediately. In recent days, we learned of specific conduct by Dr. Gow that has subjected the university to significant reputational harm. His actions were abhorrent.
“As a tenured faculty member, Dr. Gow will be placed on paid administrative leave as he transitions into his faculty role at UW-La Crosse. However, I have filed a complaint this evening with interim Chancellor Betsy Morgan regarding Dr. Gow’s status as a tenured faculty member, asking that such status be reviewed. In addition, an outside law firm has been engaged to undertake a fulsome investigation of the matter. We anticipate the complaint will be considered in the normal course as dictated by Wis. Admin. Code Ch. 4.”
While one can understand that Gow’s behavior is embarrassing to the Regents, Rothman’s use of abhorrent (lit., inspiring disgust and loathing; repugnant) seems a bit much for a public university system that has over many years tolerated far worse than anything Gow has done. (All Gow’s actions were, after all, apparently weird-but-consensual.)
Gow, himself, has few regrets, as Kelly Meyerhofer reports:
Joe Gow has just one regret about the recent sex videos that ended his 17-year career as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
He wishes he hadn’t self-censored that part of his life for so long, fearing his secret would lead to his being shunned by the higher education community.
After years of hearing UW leaders profess the importance of free speech, Gow decided to test that commitment. He felt the timing was apt, with months left in his chancellorship and plans to return next fall as a faculty member.
“I felt a little bit more open about ‘let’s raise these free speech issues and see how the board responds,’ and now we know,” he said.
The national Daily Beast picks up on how Gow might describe himself and Wilson in a story entitled College Chancellor Canned for Secret Life as Vegan Porn Star.
A Hulu series can’t be far away.
Roofs blown off houses as Storm Gerrit brings high winds and floods to UK:
Good morning.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 41. Sunrise is 7:24 and sunset 4:27 for 9h 03m 09s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 99.7% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1929, Soviet General Secretary Stalin orders the “liquidation of the kulaks as a class” leading to a Soviet campaign of political repressions, including arrests, deportations, or executions of millions of kulaks (prosperous peasants) and their families.
Jessie Opoien and Molly Beck report in a general readership story that Republicans likely to take Wisconsin gerrymandering case back to the U.S. Supreme Court:
In order to get the U.S. Supreme Court to look at the case, the Legislature and its allies will need to make the argument that there was a violation of federal law. That’s because, explained Rob Yablon, University of Wisconsin Law School professor and co-director of the State Democracy Research Initiative, the core legal claim in the case — contiguity — is a matter of state law.
The case brought to the court argued the maps violate Wisconsin’s Constitution because some legislative districts include pieces of land that are not connected.
“The Wisconsin Supreme Court has the last word on state law questions,” Yablon said.
A request for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on a state Supreme Court decision (or a federal appeals court decision) is known as a petition for certiorari, or cert petition. Under U.S. Supreme Court rules, four of nine justices must vote to accept such a case.
“(The majority) did a really intentional job of sticking to very narrow state constitutional issues, which has the effect of insulating a lot of the decision from U.S. Supreme Court review,” said Daniel Suhr, a Republican attorney who served in former Gov. Scott Walker’s administration. “When a case is decided on only state constitutional grounds, there’s not a U.S. constitutional hook for the Supreme Court to rely on in intervening.”
In their story, Opoien and Beck consider two principal arguments for federal intervention (Protasiewicz’s participation in the Wisconsin decision and if any new maps have an unlawful racial bias) but report through interviewed experts that both lines of argument have uncertain prospects.
In any event, while it’s four to take the case, it’s five to overturn on federal grounds.
What ChatGPT is and what it’s not: A three-minute guide:
Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 51. Sunrise is 7:24 and sunset 4:27 for 9h 02m 44s of daytime. The moon is full with 99.8% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1776, at the Battle of Trenton the Continental Army attacks and successfully defeats a garrison of Hessian forces.
Robert D’Andrea reports Wisconsin adds more jobs, unemployment remains low (‘State reaches all-time high in total non-farm jobs’):
Wisconsin’s labor force continues to grow, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The total number of non-farm related jobs across Wisconsin hit a record high of more than 3 million during the month of November.
That’s more than 32,000 additional jobs compared to the same time last year, and an increase of 1,700 compared to October, according to an analysis of the preliminary data from the state’s Department of Workforce Development.
“If you’re a job seeker, this is a fantastic time. If you’re trying to hire, it’s a little tougher,” DWD economist Scott Hodek said Thursday. “That’s why DWD and the state are doing so many things to try and get everybody into the labor force and skilled-up as much as possible.”
Wisconsin’s unemployment rate was 3.3 percent last month, up a tenth of a percent from October.
That’s lower than the national average of 3.7 percent. And it remains far below the average of the last three decades.
Large explosion in Crimea as Ukrainian airstrike hits Russian warship:
Good morning.
Christmas in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 54. Sunrise is 7:24 and sunset 4:26 for 9h 02m 22s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 97.2% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1776, George Washington and the Continental Army cross the Delaware River at night to attack Hessian forces serving Great Britain at Trenton, New Jersey, the next day.
Post by @catsofyoreView on Threads
A hand-colored portrait of the Trimpey family cat, Mary, posed by a small Christmas tree. The tree is decorated with ribbon garland and there is a toy mouse and ornament at the base of the tree.
See Portrait of a Cat, Wisconsin Historical Society.
Good morning.
Christmas Eve in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 54. Sunrise is 7:23 and sunset 4:25 for 9h 02m 05s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 93.8% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1943, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower is named Supreme Allied Commander for Operation Overlord.
Young People’s Chorus of NYC Performs The Twelve Days of Christmas:
Good morning.
Saturday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 46. Sunrise is 7:23 and sunset 4:25 for 9h 01m 52s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 87.8% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1954, the first successful kidney transplant is performed by J. Hartwell Harrison and Joseph Murray.
Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 45. Sunrise is 7:22 and sunset 4:24 for 9h 01m 44s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 79.3% 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.”
Whitewater has a pool and fitness center, and has had one for many years. The local school district owns the building and the city manages the pool. Negotiations for a new agreement between those two parties have dragged on for centuries decades a long time.
There are only two ways for a serious person to describe the length of time these negotiations have carried on: as a straightforward, neutral account or as a farce. Professional reporting presents these events, as it must, straightforwardly (leaving readers to decide for themselves how nutty this all is). See School board says it will consider arbitration regarding aquatic center agreement; city cites contractual changes, issues of transparency.
Commentary, however, is not so constrained. And so, and so: These protracted negotiations have long ago descended into farce. What’s wrong with some of these people? Honest to goodness.
I have advocated for months in favor of an agreement. See The Pool (‘The rational course is a settlement that assures ongoing operation at minimal cost while further discussions on medium and long-term solutions are crafted. A reduction in political temperature — down to, let’s say, negative 30 Fahrenheit — would serve this community well’), Prioritization in a Small Town (There’s a tendency in Whitewater for people to flit from issue to issue, supposed crisis to crisis. For example, is there a need to address the substantive quality of a Whitewater public education, an athletic field, or a pool? Is there a need for housing, to address poverty, or to improve the lakes, etc.? These and other matters are important, but which matters more, and in which order should they be addressed?’), and Chronologies (‘From the school board, this has stopped being responsible dealmaking and has descended into negotiations as a fetish. Those who wish to be taken seriously behave seriously. These board changes aren’t serious; they’re ridiculousness cosplaying as seriousness’).
And now, and now… the Whitewater Unified School District describes its view of the negotiations:
To which the City of Whitewater comprehensively responds in a 49-page reply (link and see embed at the end of this post).
A few key points.
This matter should have been resolved months ago.
This matter was not, and could not, have been resolved by a councilman and a school board member sitting in the middle of a room tryin’ to hash all this out. It’s about a detailed contract, and hugging it out wasn’t going to work.
Nothing about this matter will be settled by a ‘save the pool’ committee. A superintendent with an evident will to power was always going to walk all over that tiny band. See More on Messaging in Whitewater (‘At a council meeting about a month ago, a resident pointed out that the City of Whitewater’s success in moving toward a resolution of the funding dispute for the pool rested with Whitewater’s city manager, John Weidl. You know, although I’m not in the habit of touting the public sector, the resident’s observation is spot on. There was a ‘Save the Pool Committee’ formed in the winter or late spring of this year, not long before the April spring elections. That committee held a few of its own meetings, and leading members of that group attended a few public meetings, but it contributed next to nothing to the work that moved pool negotiations along’).
The city administration suggested arbitration months ago; it would have been more economical than protracted negotiations.
Money spent on the pool is a serious matter; time lost when this district’s board president discusses a pool rather than education is irrecuperable.
Finally, the nuttiest development so far is the appearance on the Whitewater Common Council dais of the school district’s press release before the latest council meeting.
Here’s the reporting on the mysterious placing of those documents on the council table:
Responding to questions posed by WhitewaterWise, Whitewater City Manager John Weidl said that he was first made aware of the district’s statement when he found a copy “sitting with my (Tuesday common council) agenda packet materials at the dais.”
He noted that the council president, upon seeing the distributed statement, asked about its appropriateness as a handout.
Weidl said he told the council president that handing the statement out without it undergoing the appropriate process for inclusion on a council meeting agenda would be a violation of the city’s transparency ordinance.
Said Weidl: “I further explained that I would have the city clerk enter a copy of what was received into the public record at the next available opportunity.”
Weidl added, that, to “everyone’s credit, the paper copies were collected and given to the clerk.”
Wait, what? How did copies of the district’s press release appear at the council table before the recent council meeting?
Did Whitewater’s superintendent, ensconced in the district’s office, snap her fingers and summon one of her many elves to scamper across town to deliver the press release?
And if so, did anyone see School Board President Larry Kachel anywhere near the city council table before the meeting?
The memo from the city administration in reply to the district’s press release appears below:
Good morning.
Thursday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 40. Sunrise is 7:22 and sunset 4:24 for 9h 01m 40s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 70% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Ethics Committee meets at 5:00 PM and the Community Development Authority at 5:30 PM.
On this day in 1968, Apollo 8 is launched from the Kennedy Space Center, placing its crew on a lunar trajectory for the first visit to another celestial body by humans.
By NASA/Bill Anders – http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a410/AS8-14-2383HR.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=306267
Winter begins today at 9:27 PM and lasts until Tuesday, March 19th at 10:06 PM.
It’s this libertarian blogger’s second-favorite season (after autumn). Winter is austere, and in that seasonal austerity one has fewer distractions. Spring and summer tempt, fall rewards and then cautions, but winter alone denies. Winter is the economic principle of scarcity plainly manifest. She limits and by limiting imposes choices: What will you do, from what will you refrain, and why? What matters to you, and what doesn’t? She will expect — and within her power compel — an answer.
Winter in our part of the world is cold, but she is beautifully cold.
Vivaldi – Winter from The Four Seasons | Netherlands Bach Society:
Good morning.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 40. Sunrise is 7:21 and sunset 4:23 for 9h 01m 41s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 58.2% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Park & Rec Board meets at 5:30 PM.
On this day in 1803, the Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.
Yesterday’s post linked to the agenda and embedded the agenda packet for the Whitewater Common Council session for 12.19.23. Item 22 of the 12.19.23 agenda concerned the city’s Ethics Committee:
22. Discussion and possible action regarding possible retention of outside legal counsel for the ethics committee – City Clerk/HR
General background on procedural events that led to this item is available from WhitewaterWise @ Ethics committee to meet Thursday; council to consider outside legal counsel to advise committee.
A well-ordered town government should be a public institution of laws and procedures, limited in reach, and applied fairly and equally to all. There will always be questions in any community about who did what to whom? Villagers in the foulest hovel in medieval Europe could have asked these same questions, albeit in short lives plagued with disease and poverty.
It is not enough to ask those questions. A well-ordered American town answers those questions methodically, diligently, and fairly. In this way, an ethics committee must give each his or her due (rendre justice) to do justice (rendre la justice).
The advance from a community in the grip of status to a community of free and equal residents depends on doing so.
The city administration’s memo for Item 22 and the city’s Code of Ethics appear below:
Oops — Mission: Impossible Theme Song Interrupts House of Lords Ceremony:
Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 33. Sunrise is 7:21 and sunset 4:23 for 9h 01m 45s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 47% of its visible disk illuminated.
The Whitewater Common Council meets at 6:30 PM.
On this day in 1776, Thomas Paine publishes one of a series of pamphlets in The Pennsylvania Journal entitled “The American Crisis.”
Linked above is the Whitewater Common Council agenda for the first council meeting of December. Embedded below is the full agenda packet for the session.
After Weeks of Warnings, Iceland Volcano Erupts in Plumes of Fire:
Good morning.
Monday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 32. Sunrise is 7:20 and sunset 4:22 for 9h 01m 55s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 35.9% of its visible disk illuminated.
The Whitewater School Board enters closed session shortly after 5:30 PM and returns to open session at 7 PM. Whitewater’s Library Board meets at 6:30 PM.
On this day in 1865, US Secretary of State William Seward proclaims the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, prohibiting slavery throughout the United States.
What Happened To Wonder Bread?:
Wonder Bread’s annual sales sits around half a billion dollars for its owner Flowers Foods, despite healthier alternatives like whole grains and sourdough dominating the fragmented U.S. bread industry. While consumer preferences started shifting away from white bread starting in the 1960s, Wonder Bread still enjoys a 94% brand awareness according to Flowers Foods. Watch the video above to learn more about how the once beloved American staple has stuck around a century later.
Chapters:
00:00 — Introduction
01:45 — White bread in America
04:40 — Saving the brand
06:10 — Stable contributor
Small owl living in a family’s Christmas tree goes unnoticed for four days:
Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 43. Sunrise is 7:20 and sunset 4:22 for 9h 02m 09s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 26.4% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1903, the Wright brothers make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
By John T. Daniels – This image is available from the United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ppprs.00626.
Corrinne Hess reports Wisconsin school districts would have to comply with competitive bidding requirements under new proposal (‘Wisconsin is only one of three states that doesn’t require schools to go out for bid on construction projects’):
School districts in Wisconsin would have to comply with competitive bidding requirements for construction projects costing more than $150,000 under a new legislative proposal.
Wisconsin is one of only three states that allows a project of any size to be awarded on a no-bid basis, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Municipalities, meanwhile, have to seek a competitive bid for any project over $25,000. The same proposed legislation would increase that threshold for municipalities to $50,000.
During a public hearing Thursday before the Assembly Committee on Local Government, Chris Kulow, government relations director for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, testified against the bill. He argued that requiring a competitive bidding process would take away local control.
Kulow said most school boards are already using competitive bidding. He said having to choose the lowest bidder could mean having to sacrifice the best quality.
“Currently, districts that have long-standing relationships with local contractors have the opportunity to work with them to negotiate deals that include spending resources locally, keeping those dollars in the community,” Kulow said. “They result in the hiring of parents whose children attend the schools. They want to do a good job, and they’re less likely to ask for extra charges.”
All school boards, not merely most, should use competitive bidding for large projects. Kulow’s argument about districts with long-standing relationships with local contractors is unsupported by his testimony. He’s telling a story about local, but his story offers not measurement but instead only unsubstantiated-yet-beguiling claims: “spending resources locally,” “dollars in the community,” “hiring of parents whose children attend the schools,” etc.
Sounds great, right? How often, how much, how many?
Kulow — who asserted his points as a representative of educational boards — offered in his testimony no evidence whatever. Not a shred. See testimony of Chris Kulow, Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Local Government, 12.14.23, video @ 1:17:23. A former superintendent, now part of the school board association’s staff, followed Kulow’s presentation with his own singular experiences in one school district.
Honest to goodness. A knowledgeable or educated person should expect more than this. A student who turned in a term paper so vacuous would deserve a poor grade (or a chance at a re-write); an adult representative of school boards doing the equivalent deserves the intellectual scorn of his fellow Wisconsinites. Our millions of fellow Wisconsin adults did not, each of them, fall off of turnip trucks yesterday.
These men represent school boards; many more men and women are on school boards. There are thousands of superintendents and other administrators in over four hundred school districts in this state. Anyone — any single one — who was graduated from high school, college, or a graduate program with a presentation as light as Kulow’s either learned too little or has forgotten too much.
Those who wish to argue against required competitive bidding — a practice adopted in 47 of 50 states — need to do better than this.
See a massive galaxy cluster evolve in simulation:
