Good morning.
Here in Whitewater we’ll have cloudy skies giving way to sunshine and a high of fifty-six. Sunrise is 6:48 AM and sunset 4:30 PM, for 9h 42m 21s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 98.7% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Common Council meets at for a public hearing on the 2017 municipal budget, 6:30 PM, and there will be a Fire Department business meeting at 7 PM.
Worth reading in full —
Kurt Eichenwald lists Two Myths Democrats Swallowed That Cost Them The Election: “1. The Myth of the All-Powerful Democratic National Committee. Easily the most ridiculous argument this year was that the DNC was some sort of monolith that orchestrated the nomination of Hillary Clinton against the will of “the people.” This was immensely popular with the Bernie-or-Busters, those who declared themselves unwilling to vote for Clinton under any circumstances because the Democratic primary had been rigged (and how many of these people laughed when Trump started moaning about election rigging?). The notion that the fix was in was stupid, as were the people who believed it….2. The Myth That Sanders Would Have Won Against Trump….”
Fiona Hill describes how Putin and the Kremlin are experts at reading the popular mood. And they were watching America: “Putin does not have deep knowledge of the intricacies of U.S. party politics. He cares little for the mechanics of the American electoral system and its complexities, and is disdainful of the messy nature of democracy in general. But one thing he does know well is how to gauge the national mood, play with emotions, and manipulate people. He also knows how to take the measure of individuals and exploit their flaws and weaknesses.”
Nelson Schwartz reports on Trump supporters’ hopes that he’ll save their jobs: “He cited Carrier again and again on the campaign trail, threatening to phone executives at the company and its parent, United Technologies, and to hit them with 35 percent tariffs on any furnaces and air-conditioners they imported from Mexico. To the cheers of his supporters, he predicted at rallies that Carrier would call him up as president and say, “Sir, we’ve decided to stay in the United States.” Now his supporters expect action. “If he doesn’t pass that tariff, I will vote the other way next time,” warned Nicole Hargrove, who has worked at Carrier for a decade and a half and is not certain what she will do if and when her job goes to Mexico.”
Trump moves to make government business his family’s business: “The Trump team has asked the White House to explore the possibility of getting his children the top secret security clearances. Logistically, the children would need to be designated by the current White House as national security advisers to their father to receive top secret clearances. However, once Mr. Trump becomes president, he would be able to put in the request himself. His children would need to fill out the security questionnaire (SF-86) and go through the requisite background checks. While nepotism rules prevent the president-elect from hiring his kids to work in the White House, they do not need to be government officials to receive top secret security clearances.”