FREE WHITEWATER

Legislature

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

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

by  •  •  Comments

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

by  •  • 2 Comments

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

by  •  •  Comments

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, Legislation, Legislature, Wisconsin, WisDems, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 12.13.24: The Glistening Optimism of Wisconsin’s Senate Democrats

by  •  •  Comments

Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 22. Sunrise is 7:17, and sunset is 4:21, for 9 hours, 4 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 95.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1972, Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt begin the third and final extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or Moonwalk of Apollo 17. To date they are the last humans to set foot on the Moon.

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). And yet, and yet, Wisconsin’s Senate Democrats are hopeful they can work ‘across the aisle’ with the WISGOP:

Wisconsin Senate Democrats knew going into this year’s elections that their opportunity to flip the Senate wouldn’t come until 2026, but they had a goal of flipping four seats and keeping every seat already held by a Democrat. They succeeded, and now the caucus is preparing for a legislative session with high hopes for bipartisan work.

Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) told the Wisconsin Examiner in a year-end interview that her 15-member caucus is bringing “a lot of energy, enthusiasm and honesty” to the Senate and is looking forward to working next session. She said the bolstered caucus is returning for the next two-year session with “a lot of good ideas.”

….

With a more evenly split Legislature, Hesselbein said there will be the potential to get more things done in a bipartisan way. She noted that last session several big pieces of legislation, including funding renovations at the stadium where the Milwaukee Brewers play, investing in the state’s local government funding and overhauling the state’s alcohol licensing, had bipartisan support.

See Baylor Spears, Senate Democrats aim to work across the aisle, Wisconsin Examiner, December 13, 2024.

What’s the counter-argument to Senate Minority Leader Hesselbein’s optimism for legislative bipartisanship?

The Wisconsin Assembly Speaker is… Robin Vos.

Perseverance Rover Panorama of Mars’ Jezero Crater:

Travel along a steep slope up to the rim of Mars’ Jezero Crater in this panoramic image captured by NASA’s Perseverance just days before the rover reached the top. The scene shows just how steep some of the slopes leading to the crater rim can be. The rover used its Mastcam-Z camera system to capture this view on Dec. 5, 2024, the 1,349th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. At the time, the rover was about 1,150 feet (350 meters) from, and 250 feet (75 meters) below, the top of the crater rim – a location the science team calls “Lookout Hill.” The rover reached Lookout Hill on Dec. 10 after a climb of 3½ months and 1,640 vertical feet (500 vertical meters).

Conspiracy Theories, Daily Bread, Gableman, Legislature, Misconduct, Speaker Vos, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 11.26.24: Vos Right at Least Once! (But He Was Originally Wrong About Even This)

by  •  •  Comments

Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 36. Sunrise is 7:00, and sunset is 4:23, for 9 hours, 23 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 18.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Finance Committee meets at 5 PM.

On this day in 1838, the Legislature assembles in Madison for the first time:

[A]fter moving from the temporary capital in Burlington, Iowa, the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature assembled in Madison for the first time. Two years earlier, when the territorial legislature had met for the first time in Belmont, many cities were mentioned as possibilities for the permanent capital — Cassville, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee, Platteville, Mineral Point, Racine, Belmont, Koshkonong, Wisconsinapolis, Peru, and Wisconsin City. Madison won the vote, and funds were authorized to erect a suitable building in which lawmakers would conduct the people’s business. Progress went so slowly, however, that some lawmakers wanted to relocate the seat of government to Milwaukee, where they also thought they would find better accomodations than in the wilds of Dane Co. When the legislature finally met in Madison in November 1838 there was only an outside shell to the new Capitol. The interior was not completed until 1845, more than six years after it was supposed to be finished.

One might imagine that Speaker Robin Vos has never been right about anything. It’s not true! He’s right about at least one thing:

In a Sunday morning interview on WISN-TV’s “Upfront,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos repeated calls for former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who he hired, then fired, to investigate the 2020 election, to be disbarred and “never allowed to practice law in Wisconsin again.”

“I certainly hope Michael Gableman loses his law license. I hope he goes back to work at Home Depot, where he was working prior to working for us,” Vos said. “As I look at what the Office of Lawyer Regulation is saying happened, it’s an embarrassment for anybody who practices law.”

The Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation filed a disciplinary complaint Tuesday alleging Gableman violated the Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys, including engaging in “disruptive behavior” during a court hearing, making false statements about the integrity of a judge and violating the state’s open records law.

Emphasis added.

See Hope Karnopp, Robin Vos again calls for Michael Gableman to be disbarred after 2020 election review, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 25, 2024.

Vos is right that Gableman should lose his law license, but it was Vos, himself, who hired Gableman: “working for us.”

Even on the rare occasion that Vos proves right, it turns out he’s to blame for the original wrong.

Quick snack:

43rd Assembly District, City, Daily Bread, Elections, Legislature

Daily Bread for 11.4.24: In the 43rd District Race, Scott Johnson’s Disqualifying Situation

by  •  • 6 Comments

Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 69. Sunrise is 6:33, and sunset is 4:42, for 10 hours, 9 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent, with 8.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his men find the entrance to Tutankhamun‘s tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

In the 43rd Assembly District, Whitewater resident Brienne Brown is running against Jefferson resident Scott Johnson.

Here is a map of the 43rd Assembly District’s boundaries:

Whitewater, the largest city in the district, is at the northeast corner of the map. Jefferson is in another district.

On April 11th, Scott Johnson published an announcement for his candidacy for the 43rd Assembly seat.

On August 12th, Johnson attended a meeting of the Whitewater Planning Board. At that meeting, Johnson spoke during public comment on a proposed apartment complex on the east side of Whitewater.

Here’s how Johnson began his remarks (with his full remarks available online):

“Good evening. I’m Scott Johnson, I’m not from this local community…”

Johnson does not live in Whitewater, and he does not live anywhere else in the district. It’s lawful to do what Johnson is doing, but it’s irresponsible and selfish.

The proper order for a candidacy goes like this: live in the district, learn about the district, and run only after you have lived here.

This reasonable & responsible sequence applies to Republicans, Democrats, and independents.

All the rest — claims and counterclaims, opposition research and replies — should be secondary and subordinate to a candidate’s residency in this community before he runs for office.

I have always — always — encouraged people to move to Whitewater. Johnson should first sell his out-of-district residence, move here to Whitewater (his best option) or elsewhere in the district (a second-best choice), live here with us, and only then consider a candidacy after living with us.

It’s beautiful here. Whitewater has options for homes and apartments, including among them several senior living facilities.

If Johnson does not believe this district is good enough for a residency-first approach, then this district is too good for Johnson.

No yielding whatever on this fundamental point.

Uncovering a lost mountain metropolis:

An isolated plateau in the highlands of southeastern Uzbekistan in Central Asia, looks like an expanse of rolling hills. But look closer and a shard of pottery or the stony remnant of an ancient wall might hint at an archaeological secret hidden for hundreds of years. Now a team of archaeologists have used drone-mounted LiDAR to virtually peel back the layers of sediment and vegetation. Revealing two ancient cities, much larger than previously imagined, built 2,000 metres above sea level. The finding of these urban centres, called Tashbulak and Tugunbulak, at such high altitudes, may mean that highland areas may have played a more important role in medieval trade than previously thought. Read the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s4158…

Daily Bread, Legislature, State Government, Tony Evers, Wisconsin, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 10.15.24: Another WISGOP Holdover Appointee

by  •  •  Comments

Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 51. Sunrise is 7:09, and sunset is 6:11, for 11 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous, with 94.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Alcohol Licensing Committee meets at 6 PM and the Whitewater Common Council meets at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1815,  Napoleon begins his exile on Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.

The cold, rigid hand of the WISGOP yet grips Wisconsin. Erik Gunn reports Scott Walker holdover’s labor review board term expired in 2023, but she’s still on panel (‘Evers’ commission nominees haven’t gotten state Senate hearings, confirmation votes’):

Six years after Gov. Scott Walker left office, an official he appointed continues to interpret state laws covering jobless pay, workplace injuries and civil rights.

Georgia Maxwell’s term as one of three members of the Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission (LIRC) expired March 1, 2023, more than 18 months ago. Nevertheless she remains in the seat even though Gov. Tony Evers has appointed her replacement.

Maxwell is following the example of another Walker appointee, Fred Prehn, a Wausau dentist who refused to step down from the Natural Resources Board at the end of his term in May 2021.

As the Wisconsin Examiner reported, Republican leaders in the Legislature held off formally confirming Evers’ appointed successor to Prehn and encouraged the Walker appointee to hang on to his seat. A legal battle led to a landmark state Supreme Court ruling in June 2022 declaring Prehn could remain in the post until the Wisconsin Senate approved his successor.

In response to an interview request Monday, Maxwell said she would not answer questions about her decision and instead referred to the letter she sent Evers the day before her term expired.

In that Feb. 28, 2023 letter, Maxwell cited the Supreme Court ruling in the Prehn case and asserted her belief “in the continuity of work that we do” at the commission.

Consider, from 2018, the will of Wisconsin’s voters:

Via Politico

How ’bout 2022? Here are those results:

Via Politico

And yet, and yet, Walker appointees are still holding over.

No one should be shocked. In 1968, George Romero made a full-length documentary1 about creatures that just won’t go away:

NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission Launches From Kennedy Space Center (Highlights):

  1. From that film, one of the finest exchanges in cinema history:
    Field Reporter: Are they slow-moving, chief?
    Sheriff McClelland: Yeah, they’re dead. They’re all messed up. ↩︎

Daily Bread, Language, Law, Legislature, State Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 8.4.24: No on Amendment Questions 1 and 2

by  •  •  Comments

Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 86. Sunrise is 5:50, and sunset is 8:10, for 14h 19m 39s of daytime. The moon is new with 0.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1914,  in response to the German invasion of Belgium, Belgium and the British Empire declare war on Germany. The United States declares its neutrality.

Voters will see two questions on the state’s Aug. 13 primary ballot to amend the state constitution, both of which would shift power to direct federal funding from the governor to the Legislature.

Questions written nebulously, and presented to voters on a month of traditionally lower turnout, deserve rejection. Government, and the questions it presents, are meant to be more than semantic trickery.

These are the amendment questions:

QUESTION 1: “Delegation of appropriation power. Shall section 35 (1) of article IV of the constitution be created to provide that the legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated?”

QUESTION 2: “Allocation of federal moneys. Shall section 35 (2) of article IV of the constitution be created to prohibit the governor from allocating any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule?”

For more information on the amendments, see Michael Keane, Wisconsin Constitutional Amendments, Wisconsin State Law Library. Keane writes:

If a majority of those voting on the ratification question vote “yes,” then the amendment has been ratified and becomes part of the constitution upon certification of the results by the chairperson of the elections commission, unless another date is specified in the amendment. (Wisconsin Statute 7.70(3)(h)).

The two amendments on the ballot in August, dealing with the expenditure of federal funds, were approved by the legislature on first consideration during the 2021 session (2021 Senate Joint Resolution 84; Enrolled Joint Resolution 14); they were approved on second consideration by the 2023 legislature (2023 Assembly Joint Resolution 6; Enrolled Joint Resolution 14). Two questions must be submitted to the vote because two different constitutional revisions are incorporated in the single joint resolution. The Supreme Court has ruled that in such cases, separate questions must be submitted to the people. (State ex rel. Thomson v. Zimmerman, 264 Wis. 644).

It appears that, for the first time, the people will be asked to approve a constitutional amendment at a primary election. All previous constitutional amendments have been submitted to the voters for approval at the non-partisan general (April) election, or the partisan general (November) election. (Wisconsin Blue Book, p. 509-514).

Signs of Ancient Life on Mars? Here’s What We See in This Intriguing Rock:

NASA’s Perseverance rover has made very compelling observations in a Martian rock that, with further study, could prove that life was present on Mars in the distant past – but how can we determine that from a rock, and what do we need to do to confirm it? Morgan Cable, a scientist on the Perseverance team, takes a closer look.

Daily Bread, Ethics, Law, Legislature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.28.24: When Wisconsin Public Officials Impede Public Accountability

by  •  •  Comments

Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will see scattered showers with a high of 80. Sunrise is 5:43, and sunset is 8:18, for 14h 35m 15s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 45.3 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1934, Two killed, 40 hurt in Kohler riot; National Guard occupies town:

On this day, the “model industrial village” of Kohler became an armed camp of National Guard cavalrymen after deadly strike-related rioting. The July 27th violence, which killed two Sheboygan men and injured 40 others, prompted the summoning of 250 Guardsmen to join the 200 special deputy village marshals already present. After striking workers became agitated and began to destroy company property, deputies turned to tear gas, rifles, and shotguns to quell the stone-throwing crowd, resulting in the deaths and injuries.

Owner Walter Kohler blamed Communists and outside agitators for the violence, while union leaders blamed Kohler exclusively. Workers at the Kohler plant were demanding better hours, higher wages, and recognition of the American Federation of Labor as their collective bargaining agent. Not settled until 1941, the strike marked the beginning of what was to become a prolonged struggle between the Kohler Company and organized labor in Wisconsin; a second Kohler strike lasted from 1954 to 1965.

On this day in 1996, the remains of a prehistoric man are discovered near Kennewick, Washington. Such remains will be known as the Kennewick Man.

There is a temerity (lit., excessive confidence or boldness) and a perversity (lit., the quality of being contrary to accepted standards and practices) in public officials who fight public accountability. Anya Van Wagtendonk reports Rep. Janel Brandtjen sues state Ethics Commission after campaign finance investigation (‘The complaint aims to fight charges against Brantdjen connected to an alleged 2022 campaign fundraising scheme’):

Republican state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, has filed suit against the Wisconsin Ethics Commission in an effort to halt an investigation into her campaign finance activities from two years ago.

The complaint, filed Monday in Waukesha County Circuit Court, argues the commission violated state separation of powers protections when it recommended felony prosecution of Brandtjen.

“WEC is improperly stepping into the shoes of the District Attorney, and the executive branch, in regard to the exercise of prosecutorial discretion,” the lawsuit reads.

In February, the bipartisan state Ethics Commission found cause for charging Brandtjen and others with campaign finance violations tied to a 2022 primary challenge against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. Investigators alleged that Brandtjen coordinated a scheme to bypass donor limits using county GOP offices and a war chest tied to former President Donald Trump’s campaign.

The commission referred the case to local district attorneys, depending on where the alleged violations took place. Brandtjen’s case was referred to the Waukesha County district attorney who, like the other local prosecutors, declined to press charges. The Ethics Commission then referred the charges to Washington County, according to the complaint, where the local DA also did not prosecute.

That opens the door for the commission to refer the charges up to the state Department of Justice.

Brandtjen holds public office while fighting to prevent a public inquiry. Her suit should be dismissed, and the investigation should proceed. She is no private party; an honest public official would welcome public proceedings.

Jasper National Park:

Daily Bread, Elections, Legislature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.18.24: Interactive Maps on Wisconsin’s Legislative Primary Races

by  •  •  Comments

Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 75. Sunrise is 5:33 and sunset 8:28 for 14h 54m 29s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 90.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

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

On this day in 1968,  Intel is founded in Mountain View, California.

The Wisconsin Examiner has published two interactive maps for Wisconsin’s legislative primary races:

These interactive maps show every candidate listed on primary ballots in August this year as certified by the Wisconsin Elections Commission. They also include additional information about some of the Democratic and Republican primary races as well as information about the most competitive districts identified by a Marquette Law School analysis done by John Johnson, a research fellow in the Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education. In his analysis, Johnson used the results of the 2022 state legislative elections to predict which districts will have close races under the 2024 maps.

….

2024 Wisconsin State Assembly Primary Races (‘Map reflects candidates who will be on the August primary ballots’) [link opens in another window]

2024 Wisconsin State Senate Primary Races (‘Map reflects candidates who will be on the August primary ballots. Odd numbered Senate districts (grey) are not up for election this year’ [link opens in another window]

Wisconsin’s August Partisan Primary is 8.13.24, Wis. Stat. 5.02(12s).

Butterfly Chases Hummingbird at Panama Fruit Feeders:

Watch this quick clip of a butterfly chasing a White-vented Plumeleteer above the platform feeder in Panama. Stay until the end to see a slow-motion replay of the events. It’s unclear exactly what led to this interaction. Butterflies and hummingbirds often compete for the same food sources, and there’s research to suggest both hummingbirds and various insect species will display interspecific territorial behavior near food sources.

Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Law, Legislation, Legislature, Liberty, State Government, Tony Evers, Voting Rights, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.5.24: Wisconsin Supreme Court Restores Absentee Ballot Boxes

by  •  •  Comments

Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a chance of scattered afternoon showers and a high of 76. Sunrise is 5:23 and sunset 8:35 for 15h 12m 21s of daytime. The moon is new with 0.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1687, Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.

On this day in 1832, General Atkinson and his troops entered the area known by the Native Americans as “trembling land” in their pursuit of Black Hawk:

The area was some 10 square miles and contained a large bog. Although the land appeared safe, it would undulate or tremble for yards when pressure was applied. Many of the militiamen were on horses, which plunged to their bellies in the swamp. The “trembling lands” forced Atkinson to retrace his steps back toward the Rock River, in the process losing days in his pursuit of Black Hawk.”On this day in 1832, General Atkinson and his troops entered the area known by the Native Americans as “trembling lands” in their pursuit of Black Hawk. The area was some 10 square miles and contained a large bog. Although the land appeared safe, it would undulate or tremble for yards when pressure was applied. Many of the militiamen were on horses, which plunged to their bellies in the swamp. The “trembling lands” forced Atkinson to retrace his steps back toward the Rock River, in the process losing days in his pursuit of Black Hawk.

Whitewater’s Independence Holiday celebration continues today at the Cravath Lakefront:

Christman Family Amusements Wrist Band Session: 5 PM to 9 PM
Civic Organization Food Vendors: 4 PM to 11 PM
Live Music at Frawley Ampitheater: 
Cactus Brothers 5 to 7 PM sponsored by TDS
Titan Fun Key (Whitewater band playing ‘70s rock, funk, and blues) 8 PM to 10:30 PM
Family Day Powered by Generac: Free petting zoo, pony rides, camel rides 4 to 8 PM 

This morning, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued rulings restoring absentee ballot boxes (Priorities USA v. Wisconsin Elections Commission), holding unconstitutional specific statutes that placed the power of the executive branch to carry out the law in a committee of the legislature (Tony Evers v. Howard Marklein), and reversing a lower-court decision that allowed recommitment and involuntary medication without actual hearing notice to the subject individual (Waukesha County v. M.A.C.).

All three decisions appear below.

Powered By EmbedPress

Powered By EmbedPress

Powered By EmbedPress

Italy’s Mount Etna erupting at night:

Italy’s Mount Etna has erupted again, sending out spouts of lava into the night sky. Europe’s most active volcano has become a destination for tourists and volcano enthusiasts looking to catch a glimpse of its frequent activity.

Daily Bread, Elections, Fair Maps, Legislature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.31.24: New Representatives for New Legislative Districts

by  •  •  Comments

Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 78. Sunrise is 5:18 and sunset 8:26 for 15h 08m 01s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 40.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1790, the United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.

On this day in 1899, two salesmen, John H. Nicholson and Samuel E. Hill, crossed paths a second time, in Beaver Dam. The pair had first met eight months before in the Central Hotel in Boscobel and discussed the need for some way to provide Christian support to traveling businessmen. During this second meeting in Beaver Dam the two decided to “get right at it. Start the ball rolling and follow it up.” They invited their professional contacts to an organizational meeting to be held in Janesville on July 1, 1899, at which the organization was formally named and chartered. By 1948, the Gideons had distributed over 15 million bibles world-wide. 

Rich Kremer reports Nearly half of Wisconsin Legislature won’t run in old districts as new maps shake up state politics (‘At least 44 state representatives and senators will run in new districts under maps drawn by Gov. Tony Evers and passed by Republicans’):

As the dust settles from the past year’s redistricting battles in Wisconsin, the state Legislature is undergoing a shakeup, with nearly half of all state lawmakers having announced they won’t run in their old districts. 

All told, at least 61 members of the state Assembly and Senate won’t run again in their old districts. Of those, 41 are Republicans and 20 are Democrats.

In the Assembly alone, 40 representatives — more than a third of the chamber —have either filed to run for new seats in the Legislature or say they plan on it. 

Another 16 state lawmakers, including eight Democrats and eight Republicans, have announced plans to leave the Legislature entirely. 

This is all to the good — Wisconsin could use a new legislature.

Back from the brink, whooping cranes inspire awe but still need help:

Daily Bread, Elections, Legislature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 4.9.24: Competitive Legislative Races Return to Wisconsin

by  •  •  Comments

Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 60. Sunrise is 6:20 and sunset 7:31 for 13h 10m 59s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Public Works Committee meets at 6 PM.

On this day in 1860, on his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville makes the oldest known recording of an audible human voice.

Wisconsin has new legislative maps, and although maps do not elect candiates, there’s reason to believe that the extreme gerrymandering begun in the Walker years will give way to a more representative set of legislative districts. In the New York Times, Julie Bosman reports (open link) Fierce Races Loom With Wisconsin’s New Political Maps (‘The new legislative maps reflect a near split between Republican- and Democratic-leaning districts. For more than a decade, earlier maps had helped Republicans hold power’: 

Yee Leng Xiong, a 29-year-old nonprofit executive, has been an elected official in Wisconsin since he was a teenager. From a north central county known for ginseng farming and downhill skiing, he has served on the local school board, the Marathon County Board and the village board of trustees in Weston, population 15,000.

But he is a Democrat, and running for a seat in the State Legislature in a solidly Republican district had always seemed a little outlandish.

Until this year.

In February, new legislative maps in Wisconsin were signed into law after more than a decade of partisan wrangling and legal battles. The new maps undid the gerrymander that had helped Republicans keep control of both state legislative chambers since 2012. The 85th Assembly District in Marathon County, where Mr. Xiong lives, is no longer a Republican-leaning seat: It is a tossup.

“This idea came to reality when the maps changed,” Mr. Xiong said in an interview last month.

….

The state’s residents have long been a close mix of Democrats and Republicans, which makes Wisconsin a crucial swing state in presidential elections and means statewide races are often fiercely contested. The reshaping of the maps is expected to suddenly return many legislative races to the realm of true competition as well.

After more than a decade of languishing in the minority in the State Legislature, Democrats are now in a position to vie for political power with the Republicans, who currently hold about two-thirds of the seats in both the Senate and the Assembly.

Competitive races do not assure outcomes — they are, after all, competitive not prohibitive races. And yet, and yet, competitive races can work their will on candidates, forcing them (if they wish to win) to take positions acceptable to the more balanced electorates in their districts.

It’s been a long time since most WISGOP legislative candidates had to compete earnestly in their districts. They’re going to have to learn compromise and persuasion all over again.

Not so easy for those legislators who’ve lived a troll’s life for a decade.

One of the oldest forms of barbecue uses an underground oven called a pib:

Crapweasels, Daily Bread, Elections, Fair Maps, Gerrymandering, Legislation, Legislature, Speaker Vos, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 2.14.24: Speaker Vos Rushes While the Rushing is Good

by  •  • 1 Comment

 Good morning.

Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 45. Sunrise is 6:52 and sunset 5:25 for 10h 32m 57s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 28.4% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 2018, a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is one of the deadliest school massacres with 17 fatalities and 17 injuries.

Baylor Spears reports Legislature adopts Evers’s maps in second attempt to choose before state Supreme Court (‘Most Democrats vote no, saying they don’t trust Republicans’):

Six parties submitted maps to be considered and consultants recently said that the two sets of legislative maps submitted by Republican lawmakers and the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) amounted to more partisan gerrymandering.

The consultants did not pick a preferred map, but said the other maps, including Evers’ submission, were “nearly indistinguishable.” Those proposals have been projected to reduce Republican control of the Legislature from its current near-supermajority status 

Republicans lawmakers have found Evers’ maps, which would likely keep a Republican majority, although a smaller one, in the Legislature, preferable to the other submissions before the state Supreme Court. 

“Republicans were not stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Sen. Van Wannggard (R-Racine) said in a statement about the vote. “It was a matter of choosing to be stabbed, shot, poisoned or led to the guillotine. We chose to be stabbed, so we can live to fight another day.” 

….

Vos, who was the only representative to speak during the floor session, also rejected the idea that the move was a legal strategy.

Ahead of the floor sessions, some Democrats expressed concerns that Republicans wanted to pass Evers’ maps and then back a federal legal challenge before Republican-nominated U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Diane Sykes, formerly a conservative justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Such a challenge “could ultimately keep the state with its current gerrymandered maps, Democrats told the progressive news platform Democracy Docket. 

“If we get these new maps, the governor’s maps, signed by the Republicans, it’s more than likely that there’ll be a challenge in the 7th Circuit Court,” U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan said over the weekend. “We’re fearful the Republicans are finally trying to come around to do what they should have done in the first place, but they’re doing it with — I guess the technical term would be ‘with sh-t-eating grins on their faces.’ We can assume that this is not done because of the idea of good government.”

Evers’s maps would be an improvement, but Vos’s trustworthiness is discernible only with an electron microscope. Delays in Evers’s maps, either as implementation within the legislation or by litigation against implementation, would be objectionable. 

Vos does objectionable quite well. 

Note to the special-interest men (movers & shakers, lobbyists, p.r. men, whatever) in Whitewater: looking up to Robin Vos is like looking up to the pigeon that’s gonna relieve itself on a car. Normal people do not respect the men, or the pigeons, who do that.

Ukraine’s forces claim to have destroyed a large Russian landing ship in the Black Sea: