Wisconsin

Archaeology, Daily Bread, Elections, Recall, Speaker Vos, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 6.10.24: So Is This a Political Crisis for Robin Vos?

by JOHN ADAMS • 06/10/2024 • Comments

Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 69. Sunrise is 5:15 and sunset 8:33 for 15h 17m 25s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 17.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Planning & Architectural Review Commission meets at 6 PM.

On this day in 1999, NATO suspends its airstrikes after Slobodan Milosevic agrees to withdraw Serbian forces from Kosovo.

It’s possible that Speaker Robin Vos is “in the flight of his life” over a possible recall and then November election campaign, as emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Mordecai Lee contends. See Rich Kremer ‘The fight for his life’: Vos faces 2 challengers in district race who helped with ongoing recall (‘A Republican primary challenger and independent candidate facing off against longtime Assembly Speaker Robin Vos assisted with second effort to remove him from office’).

Kremer reports:

The Wisconsin Elections Committee is currently vetting more than 9,000 signatures submitted by organizers of the Racine Recall Committee. Committee members are confident they’ll have enough signatures to trigger a recall election, despite falling short with their first attempt earlier this year.

A Friday press release from the Racine Recall Committee says the group is “extremely confident” it has enough signatures. A statement from the Vos-aligned group Wisconsinites for Liberty Fund posted by WisPolitics last week claims recall organizers have “once again fallen woefully short on collecting the required number of signatures.”

On Friday afternoon, Vos filed a challenge to the Racine Recall committee’s petition, claiming that organizers initiated it in the wrong Assembly District.

A press release from Vos’ campaign called the second recall attempt a failure. It claims organizers allowed hundreds of people to sign recall petitions multiple times and states 2,000 signatures were collected from outside Vos’ old 63rd Assembly District.

Vos is now running in the new 33rd Assembly District, where he will face up to three challengers, two of them people who have helped the latest recall effort.

They include Andrew Cegielski of East Troy, who plans to run against Vos in the Republican primary, Kelly Clark of Sturtevant, who plans to run in the general election as an Independent, and Democrat Alan Kupsik of Lake Geneva.

See also FREE WHITEWATER’s dedicated Speaker Vos category.

So is this a political crisis for Robin Vos? At the least, one can say that Vos’s tenure has been a political crisis for others.

There are probably a few people — including in Whitewater — who are obtuse enough to think that dropping Vos’s name still reflects well on them. If doing so ever reflected well on those so inclined, it’s been so long that only historians and archeologists can mark that ancient time.

Embed from Getty Images

World’s first drone delivery on Mount Everest a success:

Conspiracy Theories, Crime, Daily Bread, Elections, Presidential race 2020, Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 6.9.24: Ron Johnson

by JOHN ADAMS • 06/09/2024 • Comments

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.

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.

Crime, Daily Bread, Elections, Josh Kaul, Law, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 6.5.24: Wisconsin Attorney General Files Criminal Charges over Fraudulent Presidential Elector Scheme

by JOHN ADAMS • 06/05/2024 • Comments

Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will see partly sunny afternoon conditions with a high of 77. Sunrise is 5:16 and sunset 8:30 for 15h 13m 29s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 1.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1883, William Horlick patents the first powdered milk in the world. He named his new product, intended to be used as a health food for infants, “Malted Milk.” Horlick’s product went on to be used as a staple in fountain drinks as well as survival provisions. Malted milk was even included in explorations undertaken by Robert Peary, Roald Amundsen, and Richard Byrd.

On this day in 1944, more than 1,000 British bombers drop 5,000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries on the Normandy coast in preparation for D-Day.

Yesterday, Attorney General Josh Kaul filed felony charges against three, two of whom are attorneys, for a fraudulent presidential electors plot. Anya Van Wagtendonk and Sarah Lehr report Wisconsin AG files felony charges against Trump allies involved in 2020 false electors scheme (‘Attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Jim Troupis, political operative Michael Roman each face 1 count of felony forgery’):

Wisconsin’s attorney general filed felony charges Tuesday against three people in connection with a 2020 scheme to submit a slate of false electors in support of former President Donald Trump.

Attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Jim Troupis, as well as political operative Michael Roman, each face one count of felony forgery for their roles in the scheme, which involved signing official-looking documentation claiming that Trump won Wisconsin in 2020, even though he had narrowly lost.

The Class H felony charges were filed Tuesday morning by Attorney General Josh Kaul in Dane County Circuit Court. They use a state law suggesting that Chesebro, Troupis and Roman acted knowingly when they worked to collect and submit the false elector documentation.

….

Chesebro is considered the architect of the plot, which extended to multiple swing states Trump had lost, in the days following the 2020 presidential election. In a memo he sent to Troupis, who was then the lead attorney for the Trump campaign in Wisconsin, Chesebro laid out a strategy to use “alternate” electors to contest the election results.

Chesebro and Troupis recently settled a civil lawsuit related to their actions in Wisconsin. As part of that agreement, the two men admitted no “liability or culpability,” but said they would not submit false electors in the future.

This cow is the most expensive ever sold at auction:

Bad Ideas, Daily Bread, Speaker Vos, UW System, Wisconsin, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 6.4.24: Regent Bob Atwell Yields and Resigns (So Much for Vos’s Advice)

by JOHN ADAMS • 06/04/2024 • Comments

Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with nighttime thunderstorms and a high of 82. Sunrise is 5:17 and sunset 8:29 for 15h 12m 31s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 4.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

The Whitewater Common Council meets at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1861, Dr. Erastus B. Wolcott, a Milwaukee surgeon, performs the first recorded removal of a diseased kidney.

On this day in 1989, the Tiananmen Square protests are suppressed in Beijing, leading to a massacre by the People’s Liberation Army, with between 241 and 10,000 dead (an unofficial estimate).

FREE WHITEWATER has been following the controversy Regent Bob Atwell created by taking Robin Vos’s advice to remain on the Board of Regents past Atwell’s term. See Another WISGOP Holdover (After an Encouraging Reminder from Lifetime Schemer Robin Vos) and Update on Another WISGOP Holdover.

Atwell has now yielded and resigned from the Regents, confirming once again that listening to Robin Vos is a sucker’s play. Kelly Meyerhofer reports Conservative UW Regent Bob Atwell resigns, clearing way for new appointee to serve:

A conservative University of Wisconsin regent who planned to remain on the board despite his term ending has resigned, clearing the way for his successor to join the board.

Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker appointed Bob Atwell to the UW Board of Regents for a term that ended May 1. Atwell emailed UW System leaders late last month about his plan to continue serving until he resigned or his successor was confirmed by the GOP-controlled state Senate. He noted his replacement hadn’t even been named and he hoped his extension would improve communication between the Legislature and the board.

The state Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that political appointees can remain in their posts until the Senate confirms their successor because the expiration of a term doesn’t in itself create a vacancy.

Evers on May 31 announced Timothy Nixon would take Atwell’s spot for a term ending in 2031. Nixon, who earned a bachelor’s degree from UW-Green Bay and a law degree from UW-Madison, is a bankruptcy lawyer for Godfrey & Kahn.

Atwell resigned Monday, according to an email he sent to UW leaders and shared with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Atwell is claiming his actions were ‘misinterpreted,’ but it is Atwell who followed Vos’s lousy advice and declined to change course until he, Atwell, faced public criticism. The best way to avoid being ‘misinterpreted’ is to avoid counsel from men whose advice leads to ‘misinterpretation.’

Which men would those be? Men like this:

“Incredibly Safe!” By Lehnmat – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=89016154

Baby Bats via Bat Conservation International:

Crapweasels, Daily Bread, Speaker Vos, UW System, Wisconsin, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 6.3.24: Update on Another WISGOP Holdover

by JOHN ADAMS • 06/03/2024 • Comments

Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 80. Sunrise is 5:17 and sunset 8:28 for 15h 11m 28s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 10.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Equal Opportunities Commission meets at 5 PM, and the Police & Fire Commission meets at 6 PM.

On this day in 1965, NASA launches Gemini 4, a NASA crew’s first multi-day space mission. Ed White, a crew member, performs the first American spacewalk.

Here’s an update on yesterday’s post about Another WISGOP Holdover (After an Encouraging Reminder from Lifetime Schemer Robin Vos). Robert Atwell, who has signaled he’ll overstay his term in the Board of Regents, cannot say no other nominees are pending. Henry Redman reports Evers makes three appointments to UW Board of Regents despite Walker appointee’s refusal to leave:

Gov. Tony Evers on Friday announced three appointments to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, including one to replace an appointee of Gov. Scott Walker who has said he won’t leave his position despite the expiration of his term.

In a news release announcing his appointments to the board, which contains 14 citizen members, Evers did not address Robert Atwell’s statement earlier this week that he would be remaining on the board, but said that the body is at a “critical juncture.”

“Our UW System is at a critical juncture after a decade-long war waged on higher education by Republican lawmakers in our state, the devastating results of which we are seeing firsthand as campuses close their doors, layoff staff, and cut programs,” Evers said. “The work of the UW Board of Regents is as important as ever, and I have full confidence that the three individuals I am appointing today are ready and prepared to face these challenges head-on, to do what is in the best interest for our students, faculty, and staff, and to ensure we have the fully funded, fully functioning UW System that Wisconsinites deserve and that meets the needs of our students, our workforce, and our local communities.”

On Monday, Atwell said in an email to UW System leaders that he wouldn’t be leaving. He’s able to remain on the board because of a legal precedent set by the state Supreme Court after a Walker appointee to the state Natural Resources Board refused to leave for over a year past the expiration of his term. The precedent states that so long as the state Senate, currently controlled by Republicans, does not confirm an appointee’s replacement, that person can remain in their post indefinitely. Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe has also used the ruling to remain in her post despite opposition from Republicans to her continued service in the role.

Evers appointed Tim Nixon, Jack Salzwedel, and Desmond Adongo to seven year terms.

Nixon, a commercial lawyer, was appointed to replace Atwell. He has received three degrees from UW schools.

Can stay and should stay aren’t the same concepts; a well-ordered system is one in which should trumps can.

Conditions allow firefighters to make progress in containing Corral Fire:

Crapweasels, Daily Bread, Speaker Vos, UW System, Wisconsin, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 6.2.24: Another WISGOP Holdover (After an Encouraging Reminder from Lifetime Schemer Robin Vos)

by JOHN ADAMS • 06/02/2024 • Comments

Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 77. Sunrise is 5:17 and sunset 8:28 for 15h 10m 23s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 19.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1966, Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world.

Readers will recall Fred Prehn, the dentist-cranberry farmer who refused to leave his seat on the state’s Natural Resouces Board at the expiration of his term. Although the Wisconsin Supreme Court, then with a conservative majority, found his actions lawful, Prehn later left that board, in the way that even the most stubborn ticks dislodge themselves after they’ve gourged long enough. See Tiny Fred Prehn, Fred Prehn, the Most Self-Aware Man in All History, and Frederick Prehn finally resigns from Natural Resources Board.

Now comes another, as Todd Richmond reports Republican-appointed University of Wisconsin regent refuses to step down when term ends:

Then-Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, appointed Robert Atwell to the Board of Regents in May 2017. His seven-year term ends this month.

Atwell sent an email to Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman, regents President Karen Walsh and regents Executive Director Megan Wasley on Monday saying he won’t step down until he chooses to resign or the state Senate confirms a successor.

The state Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that political appointees don’t have to leave their posts until the Senate confirms their successor. Atwell said in his email that Assembly Speaker Robin Vos reminded him that he could remain in his position on the regents.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has yet to announce Atwell’s successor.

“I knew Bob Atwell as a person of high personal integrity,” Evers told The Associated Press on Saturday. “Something has changed.”

Quite a menagerie the WISGOP has: Atwell comports himself as a parasitic arachnid and Vos as a weasel. Admirers, it seems, in their own disordered but surprising fashion, of the animal kingdom.

Mass parachute jump over Normandy kicks off commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day:

Parachutists jumped from World War II-era planes into now peaceful Normandy to kick off a week of ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Soldiers from across the United States, Britain, Canada and other Allied nations waded ashore through hails of fire on five beaches on June 6, 1944. French officials, grateful Normandy survivors and other admirers are saying “merci” but also goodbye to the fast-dwindling number of D-Day veterans still alive. (AP video by Nicolas Garriga/Production by Jeffrey Schaeffer)

Daily Bread, Elections, Fair Maps, Legislature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.31.24: New Representatives for New Legislative Districts

by JOHN ADAMS • 05/31/2024 • 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:

Conflicts of Interest, Daily Bread, Ethics, Misconduct, Self-Dealing, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.30.24: Update on Another Fine Public Servant (Mount Pleasant Edition)

by JOHN ADAMS • 05/30/2024 • Comments

Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 71. Sunrise is 5:19 and sunset 8:25 for 15h 06m 45s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 51.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1860, two cars were drawn over the line known as the “River & Lake Shore Street Railway for the first time.” Four horses pulled the cars. The car track was laid in early May from East Water Street, north to Division Street. George H. Walker, Lemuel W. Weeks, Col. W.S. Johnson, and F.S. Blodgett were prominent among the builders of this street railway. A company was organized to sell $50,000 in stock subscriptions to pay for the service.

On this day in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..

Readers will recall a story from early May about how the Mount Pleasant village president dumped waste from a private pond on public land to avoid cost. See Another Fine Public Servant (Mount Pleasant Edition). There’s an update from Mount Pleasant, as a resident of that village has now filed an ethics complaint against village president over pond muck dumping:

A Mount Pleasant resident has filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission against Village President Dave DeGroot over the dumping of muck from his neighborhood pond on a village-owned property.

….

Last fall, residents began seeing trucks dumping “black sludge” into the park. One neighbor, Kevin Rannow, followed the trucks back to their source, a pond in DeGroot’s subdivision, and traced a posted Department of Natural Resources permit to the village president.

DeGroot and the homeowners’ association in his neighborhood have been working to “revitalize” the pond near their homes and acquired the DNR permit to fill a small bit of wetland. The approval from the DNR notes that the homeowners association is “responsible for obtaining any other permit or approval that may be required before starting your project. These include but are limited to local zoning ordinances, shoreland zoning, floodplain zoning, DNR construction site stormwater (for land disturbances greater than an acre), and requirements by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.”

The contractor hired to complete the project began hauling the waste from the pond to the village property. The pond waste includes a small amount of harmful chemicals, including DDE — a substance that is formed when the banned pesticide DDT breaks down in the environment.

Village staff learned about the dumping and issued a cease and desist order against the contractor. The contractor appealed the decision to the village’s zoning board of appeals, which consists entirely of members appointed by DeGroot. At an appeal hearing, with no input allowed from the public, DeGroot testified in favor of overturning the decision to block the dumping.

This ilk uses government preferentially & selfishly as a personal tool to advance their interests. They are proud private men when that status suits them but willing manipulators of public institutions when that status profits them.

Gas leak blows out first floor of Ohio building:

Conspiracy Theories, Crackpots, Daily Bread, Elections, Recall, Speaker Vos, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.29.24: Once More, With Feeling

by JOHN ADAMS • 05/29/2024 • Comments

Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 68. Sunrise is 5:19 and sunset 8:25 for 15h 05m 25s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 63 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Lakes Advisory Committee meets at 4 PM.

On this day in 1848, Wisconsin becomes the 30th state to enter the Union with an area of 56,154 square miles, comprising 1/56 of the United States at the time.

On this day in 1953, Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on Tenzing Norgay’s (adopted) 39th birthday.

Ah, persistence. Henry Redman reports Right-wing activists try for second time to recall Assembly Speaker Vos:

A group of right-wing activists enraged by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’ failure to appease their calls for a more aggressive response to claims of election fraud and their demand that he fire the chief state election official, has for the second time filed signatures to force a recall election against Vos.

The group tried to recall Vos earlier this year, submitting more than 10,000 signatures in support of the effort in March. However the effort failed because those 10,000 signatures did not all come from the proper district.

Which district the signatures should come from has caused some confusion among the recall petitioners and officials at the Wisconsin Elections Commission because the map under which Vos was elected have been declared unconstitutional, while the new map won’t go into effect until this fall’s elections. The recall group gathered signatures from the district Vos currently represents and the new district created under the new maps.

The group also gathered signatures from various other parts of the state, which were immediately declared invalid.

On Tuesday, the group announced it had gathered about 9,000 signatures. There must be 6,850 valid signatures submitted to force a recall election in the district.

“We are highly confident we have the sufficient number,” former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman said outside the WEC offices Tuesday afternoon.

Vos is the longest serving Assembly Speaker in state history. He’s served in the Legislature, representing a district outside of Racine, since 2005 and as the Speaker since 2013, presiding over the state Republican party’s decade-long stranglehold on legislative power.

However right-wing activists have turned against Vos in recent years, claiming that he has not sufficiently responded to their allegations that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

Vos brought this on himself. He schemed with schemers who were as persistent but twice as nutty, only to have them turn on him. Dante could not have devised a poetic punishment more haunting than Vos’s fate: to be stalked forever by Michael Gableman.

See also What Vos Wrought and If At First You Don’t Succeed…

Airplane turbulence: Has it gotten worse?:

Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Labor, Law, Litigation, Unions, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.28.24: Wisconsin’s Act 10 Collective Bargaining Restrictions Back in Court

by JOHN ADAMS • 05/28/2024 • Comments

Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 68. Sunrise is 5:20 and sunset 8:24 for 15h 04m 02s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 73.53 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

The Whitewater School Board goes into closed session shortly after 5 PM and returns to open session at 7 PM. Whitewater’s Finance Committee meets at 5 PM and the Whitewater Common Council at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1837, the first steamer to visit Milwaukee, the James Madison, arrives.

On this day in 1987, an 18-year-old West German pilot, Mathias Rust, evades Soviet air defenses and lands a private plane in Red Square in Moscow.

Scott Bauer reports Wisconsin judge to hear union lawsuit against collective bargaining restrictions (‘A Wisconsin judge is expected to weigh a union lawsuit against collective bargaining restrictions’):

A law that drew massive protests and made Wisconsin the center of a national fight over union rights is back in court on Tuesday, facing a new challenge from teachers and public workers brought after the state’s Supreme Court flipped to liberal control.

The 2011 law, known as Act 10, imposed a near-total ban on collective bargaining for most public employees. It has withstood numerous legal challenges and was the signature legislative achievement of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who used it to mount a presidential run.

The law catapulted Walker onto the national stage, sparked an unsuccessful recall campaign, and laid the groundwork for his failed 2016 presidential bid. It also led to a dramatic decrease in union membership across the state.

If the latest lawsuit succeeds, all public sector workers who lost their collective bargaining power would have it restored. They would be treated the same as the police, firefighter and other public safety unions who remain exempt.

No one should be surprised. From conservatives nationally in federal courts and the center-left statewide in Wisconsin courts, re-litigation has become the order of the day.

X2.9 flare. Sunspot AR3664 returns with major eruption, spits fire:

Adventure, Daily Bread, Nature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.25.24: Wisconsin’s Top Nature Destinations

by JOHN ADAMS • 05/25/2024 • Comments

Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 73. Sunrise is 5:22 and sunset 8:21 for 14h 59m 34s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 95.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1787, after a delay of 11 days, the Constitutional Convention formally convenes in Philadelphia after a quorum of seven states is secured.

Nature Nomads lists the top ten nature destinations in Wisconsin:

1. Devil’s Lake State Park – A hiker’s paradise with stunning bluffs.
2. Apostle Islands National Lakeshore – Kayak through mesmerizing sea caves.
3. Door County – Scenic lighthouses and charming coastal towns.
4. Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest – Endless trails amidst lush landscapes.
5. Horicon Marsh – A birdwatcher’s dream and a marshland of wonder.
6. Pattison State Park – Witness the power of Wisconsin’s highest waterfall.
7. Ice Age National Scenic Trail – Trace the path of glaciers over rolling hills.
8. Wisconsin Dells – Natural sandstone formations meet thrilling waterparks.
9. Rib Mountain State Park – Year-round fun with awe-inspiring views.
10. Perrot State Park – Canoe and hike where rivers and bluffs converge.

The Wisconsin Department of Tourism draws a list of seven: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Big Manitou Falls, Cave of the Mounds, Devil’s Lake State Park, Eagle River Chain of Lakes, High Cliff State Park, and Horicon Marsh.

Meanwhile, among human designs, an SUV spontaneously combusts in a driveway:

Daily Bread, Trains, Transportation, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.24.24: A New Train Line

by JOHN ADAMS • 05/24/2024 • Comments

Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with afternoon rain and a high of 77. Sunrise is 5:22 and sunset 8:20 for 14h 57m 58s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 98.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1844, Samuel Morse sends the message “What hath God wrought” (a Biblical quotation, Numbers 23:23) from a committee room in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland, to inaugurate a commercial telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington D.C.

There’s more information at a WPR interview between Lisa Stern, Chief of Railroads and Harbors at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and WPR host Rob Ferrett:

Rob Ferrett: Take us on a tour. What are the basics of the Borealis route?

Lisa Stern: The Borealis route will complement the existing Empire Builder. It’s going to leave from both Chicago and the Twin Cities — St. Paul, actually — around 11 to 11:30 in the morning, and then arrive at their destinations between 6:30 and 7. So it’s a very convenient time frame.

It’ll be running through Wisconsin through the middle of the day. It will also provide a much more reliable schedule eastbound. I think a lot of people have been using the Empire Builder. And if you have, you know that sometimes that trip from Seattle back to Chicago has significant delays. But with this route, it will be just between the Twin Cities and Chicago and it will be a much more reliable schedule.

RF: What do you know about demand for this new route? You’ve built it, will the passengers come and ride the rails?

LS: The passengers are already coming. This started on Tuesday, and we have very high levels of train tickets being sold already. For this weekend, we were looking at 70 percent of the train already being sold out (as of) earlier this week. So there is a demand there.

When we were looking at the service to start with, and evaluating the Empire Builder, 60 percent of the people who got on in Wisconsin got off within this route. So there was already a demand.

Given the choice between driving to Minnesota and riding a train, I’d take a train most of the time. These stations on the route are not close to Whitewater, but driving to one would still offer advantages over a longer drive to the Twin Cities.

Howler monkeys are dropping dead from trees in Mexico’s intense heat:

It’s so hot in Mexico that howler monkeys are dropping dead from trees. At least 83 of the midsized primates, who are known for their roaring vocal calls, were found dead in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco. Others were rescued by residents, including five that were rushed to a local veterinarian who fought to save them. (AP/Luis Sánchez) Read more here: http://apne.ws/bAQVkXg

City, Daily Bread, Insects, Nature, Science/Nature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.23.24: Cicadas Begin to Emerge Nearby

by JOHN ADAMS • 05/23/2024 • Comments

Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 76. Sunrise is 5:23 and sunset 8:19 for 14h 56m 20s of daytime. The moon is full with 100 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Board of Zoning Appeals meets at 6 PM.

On this day in 1854, the Milwaukee and Mississippi railroad reached Madison, connecting the city with Milwaukee. When the cars pulled into the depot, thousands of people gathered to witness the ceremonial arrival of the first train, and an enormous picnic was held on the Capitol grounds for all the passengers who’d made the seven-hour trip from Milwaukee to inaugurate the line.

On this day in 1949, after approval from the Western occupying powers, the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany takes effect.

This long weekend may give Wisconsinites their first cicada-viewing opportunities. Claire Reid reports 17-year cicadas are emerging now in Wisconsin. Here’s where you can find them:

“With the temperatures this week and rain showers today and tomorrow, that’s really going to help things,” [Director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Insect Diagnostics Lab PJ] Liesch said. “Once the emergence gets going in full swing, we’re probably going to be seeing tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of these emerging in relatively small areas in Lake Geneva and other spots in the state.”

Here’s where else the cicadas are expected to emerge in the coming weeks.

Where will 17-year cicadas emerge in Wisconsin?

The Lake Geneva area will be the best place in Wisconsin to see the 17-year cicadas due to their well-established record there, especially along the northern side of the lake, Liesch wrote in his blog.

Other cicada hotspots include areas of Green County and Rock County, including Janesville and Beloit. Additionally, the insects are expected to be prevalent in southwestern Wisconsin’s Driftless Area counties: Iowa, Sauk, Richland, Crawford and Grant.

See also Return of the Cicadas.

I hope we’ll see cicadas in Whitewater; if not, we’ve other viewing spots nearby.

How the cicada phenomenon is capturing our collective attention:

Beauty, Daily Bread, Nature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.19.24: Northern Lights Both Natural and Vocational

by JOHN ADAMS • 05/19/2024 • Comments

Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 81. Sunrise is 5:26 and sunset 8:16 for 14h 49m 16s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 84.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1675, Fr. Jacques Marquette (1636-1675) dies near Ludington, Michigan, at the age of 39. After the famous voyage down the Mississippi that he made in 1673 with Louis Joliet, Marquette vowed to return to the Indians he’d met in Illinois. He became ill during that visit in the spring of 1675 and was en route to Canada when he passed away. His diary of the trip is online in the Wisconsin Historical Society’s American Journeys collection.

On this day in 1963, the New York Post Sunday Magazine publishes Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail.

The Mesmerizing Northern Lights Over Wisconsin:

This Man Chases the Northern Lights for a Living: