FREE WHITEWATER

Sen. Ron Johnson

Daily Bread for 7.24.24: A Slight Break in Wiconsin’s Judicial Gridlock

Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 79. Sunrise is 5:39, and sunset is 8:23, for 14h 43m 26s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 86.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1935, the Dust Bowl heat wave reaches its peak, sending temperatures to 109 °F (43 °C) in Chicago and 104 °F (40 °C) in Milwaukee.

On this day in 1969, Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean.


Wisconsin has had a federal court vacancy for over two years, after Sen. Ron Johnson withdrew his bipartisan support (with Sen. Tammy Baldwin) for a prior nominee, William Pocan (brother of U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan). That time having been lost, Johnson has now agreed to support a new nominee, Byron Conway:

Earlier this month, both Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin turned in what are known as “blue slips,” formalizing their support of President Joe Biden’s appointment of personal injury attorney Byron Conway to U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. That’s significant because two years ago, Johnson blocked Biden’s previous pick from the judgeship from advancing to a hearing.

Conway’s nomination is set to receive a hearing before the Senate’s Judiciary Committee in “coming weeks,” a spokesperson for the committee’s Democratic majority said Monday. The process will not be affected by Biden’s announcement on Sunday, in which he pulled out of the race for another presidential term, the spokesperson said.

Johnson’s office did not respond Monday to a request for comment.

If Conway gets an OK from the judiciary committee, his nomination will then advance to the full Senate, where he’ll need majority approval before he can become a federal judge.

That’s significant because two years ago, Johnson blocked Biden’s previous pick from the judgeship from advancing to a hearing.

Ron Johnson. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America / (CC BY-SA)

There never should have been a delay, and Johnson’s claim he withdrew support from the prior nominee because of a lack of Green Bay ties (the judicial office for this judgeship is in Green Bay) is both trivial and false. It’s trivial because one correctly selects for the federal bench based on intellect, knowledge, and experience, not membership in local community groups. It’s false because Johnson’s blue-slip retraction was based not on Pocan’s abilities but on irrelevant, unrelated, or discriminatory considerations.

Judicial vacancies impede the timely administration of justice. The sooner the seat is filled, the better.


A hydrothermal explosion sent visitors running from the boardwalk as hot water and debris rained down in Yellowstone National Park:

Daily Bread for 6.9.24: Ron Johnson

Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 73. Sunrise is 5:16 and sunset 8:32 for 15h 16m 46s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 10.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

 On this day in 1954, Joseph N. Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Army–McCarthy hearings, giving McCarthy the famous rebuke, “You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”


While these years since 2016 have ruined some (Gableman comes to mind), and left others in the past (Walker), a third type has come through better in these worse times. Charlie Sykes is of that last type: an ideological transformation that has shown him to be more principled in less principled times.

Sykes writes of Ron Jonnson, Wisconsin’s ventriloquist dummy of conspiracy theories, in Sen. Ron Johnson’s claim he knew nothing about a fake electors plot isn’t believable (‘Text messages show that Johnson and his staff were told explicitly about the plot to deliver the fake electoral votes to Washington’):

On Tuesday, Wisconsin’s Department of Justice brought felony forgery charges against one of the architects of the plan, Kenneth Chesebro. That attorney already pleaded guilty in Georgia to participating in the illegal attempt in that state to overturn the election. Wisconsin prosecutors also charged Trump aide Mike Roman and attorney Jim Troupis, who represented Trump in Wisconsin during the 2020 election. Wisconsin is the fifth state to bring criminal charges in connection with the conspiracy to overturn Trump’s defeat.

The evidence supporting the Wisconsin charges is especially robust, given the volume of communications — text messages, emails, photos, videos and social media posts — that were gathered as part of an earlier civil lawsuit that unearthed more than 1,400 pages of documents related to the conspiracy. (That case was settled after the fake electors admitted they had signed a document that was “used as part of an attempt to improperly overturn the 2020 presidential election results.”)

….

Johnson initially said he was “basically unaware” of what was going on, dismissing the attempted handoff of the fake certificates as a “staff-to-staff exchange.” Later, however, he admitted that his staff had been in touch with Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., “about how Kelly’s office could get us the electors because they had it.”

Even so, he continued to insist that he “had no idea that there was an alternate slate of electors.” Referring to Troupis, Johnson said, “He was asking me to deliver some documents.” He said he didn’t know the document Troupis wanted him to hand off was a fake slate of Trump electors from his home state. What did he think the document could have been, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked. Responded Johnson: “I couldn’t have cared less. I’m asked by the attorney for the president of the United States to deliver something to the vice president on that day.”

But documents released as part of the civil lawsuit in March seemed to blow a hole in Johnson’s story. In a Dec. 8, 2020, email to Chesebro, Troupis wrote that he “spoke with Senator Johnson late last night about the Pence angle at the end.” Troupis wrote, “Just wanted to take his temperature.”

….

The documents also show that Troupis texted Johnson personally on Jan. 6, explicitly mentioning the electors: “We need to get a document on the Wisconsin electors to you for the VP immediately.” He added, “Is there a staff person I can talk to immediately.”

That same day, Troupis texted Chesebro, confirming that he had been “on the phone with Mike Roman and Senator Johnson’s COS [chief of staff] to get an original copy of Wi slate to VP.”

Of all the many influences of these last years on the men and women of Wisconsin, one can easily say that Sykes rose, while Johnson descended, to the occasion.

See also Wisconsin Attorney General Files Criminal Charges over Fraudulent Presidential Elector Scheme,  Wisconsin Native Kenneth Chesebro’s January 6th Instigation, and Wisconsin & Arizona Investigations into Fraudulent 2020 Presidential Electors, and the 6.4.24 criminal complaint, below:

Powered By EmbedPress


In Paris, a 10.5-mile trail plotted out by American Boy Scout troop leaders:

In Paris, among all of the history and glamour, one can find something completely unexpected: a 10.5-mile trail plotted out by American Boy Scout troop leaders. The trail highlights sites of importance to both the French and Americans. Ed O’Keefe brings us along to explore this connection dating back to Benjamin Franklin.

Daily Bread for 1.8.23: Why Have a Popular Vote When the Gerrymandered Wisconsin Legislature Can Pick the Winner?

Good morning. Sunday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with a high of 35. Sunrise is 7:24 AM and sunset 4:38 PM for 9h 14m 07s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 97.6% of its visible disk illuminated.  On this day in 2005, the nuclear sub USS San Francisco collides at full speed with an…

Daily Bread for 10.14.22: Ron Johnson, Conspiracy Theorist, Leads in U.S. Senate Race

Good morning. Friday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 53. Sunrise is 7:08 AM and sunset 6:13 PM for 11h 05m 05s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 77.4% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1912, Theodore Roosevelt is shot in Milwaukee: Roosevelt was in Wisconsin…

Daily Bread for 10.6.22: Mandela Barnes Will Lose Without a Fundamental Change in Messaging

Good morning.     Thursday in Whitewater will see an even chance of morning showers with a high of 65. Sunrise is 6:58 AM and sunset 6:26 PM for 11h 27m 46s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 85.8% of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Finance Committee meets at 4:30 PM.  On this…

Daily Bread for 9.12.22: Ron Johnson, the Corporate Welfare Beneficiary (and Ideological Fraud)

Good morning.   Monday in Whitewater will be rainy with high of 63. Sunrise is 6:32 AM and sunset 7:09 PM for 12h 36m 48s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 93.4% of its visible disk illuminated.  Whitewater’s Planning Commission meets at 6 PM.    On this day in 490 BC, the conventionally…

Daily Bread for 8.31.22: Ron Johnson Hires a Bogus Elector as a Staffer

Good morning. Wednesday in Whitewater will be sunny with high of 84. Sunrise is 6:19 AM and sunset 7:30 PM for 13h 10m 44s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing crescent with 17.1% of its visible disk illuminated.  On this day in 1939, Nazi Germany mounts a false flag attack on the Gleiwitz radio station,…

Daily Bread for 8.7.22: Michelle Cottle Asks, and Answers, Why Ron Johnson Is Still Competitive

Good morning. Sunday in Whitewater will see scattered thunderstorms with a high of 82. Sunrise is 5:53 AM and sunset 8:07 PM for 14h 13m 47s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing gibbous with 72.5% of its visible disk illuminated.   On this day in 1782, George Washington orders the creation of the Badge of Military…

Daily Bread for 7.3.22: Hero, Villain, Stooge. Guess Where Ron Johnson Fits In.

Good morning. Sunday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 87. Sunrise is 5:21 AM and sunset 8:36 PM for 15h 14m 43s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing crescent with 16.8% of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Independence holiday events continue at the Cravath Lakefront (church in the park, amusements, a…