Good morning.
Monday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 24. Sunrise is 7:18 and sunset is 4:21 for 9 hours 3 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 16.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
The Whitewater School Board meets at 6 PM. Whitewater’s Police and Fire Commission also meets at 6 PM and the Library Board at 6:30 PM.
On this day in 1791, the Bill of Rights becomes law following ratification by the Virginia General Assembly.
Sen. Ron Johnson’s habit of endorsing and promoting unfounded and discredited claims is unmatched in Wisconsin. He’s working to extend his lead among conspiracy theorists:
For years, Sen. Ron Johnson has been spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation about COVID-19 and the safety of vaccines.
He’s promoted disproven treatments for COVID-19 and claimed, without evidence, that athletes are “dropping dead on the field” after getting the COVID-19 vaccination. Now the Wisconsin politician is endorsing a book by a discredited doctor promoting an unproven and dangerous treatment for autism and a host of ailments: chlorine dioxide, a chemical used for disinfecting and bleaching.
The book is “The War on Chlorine Dioxide: The Medicine that Could End Medicine” by Dr. Pierre Kory, a critical care specialist who practiced in Wisconsin hospitals before losing his medical certification for statements advocating using an antiparasite medication to treat COVID-19. The action, he’s said, makes him unemployable, even though he still has a license.
Kory has said there’s a globally coordinated campaign by public health agencies, the drug industry and the media to suppress evidence of the medicinal wonders of chlorine dioxide. His book, according to its website, contends that the “remarkable molecule” works “to treat everything from cancer and malaria to autism and COVID.”
The book jacket features a prominent blurb from Johnson calling the doctor’s treatise: “A gripping tale of corruption and courage that will open eyes and prompt serious questions.”
Chlorine dioxide is a chemical compound that has a range of applications, including as a disinfectant and deodorizer. Food processing plants apply it to sanitize surfaces and equipment. Hospitals use it to sterilize medical devices, and some municipalities use low levels to treat public water supplies. Paper mills rely on it to whiten wood pulp. Safety experts advise those who handle it to work in well-ventilated spaces and to wear protective gloves.
Concentrations in drinking water systems higher than 0.8 milligrams per liter can be harmful, especially to infants, young children and fetuses, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
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It is not medicinal, despite Kory’s contention. “It is all lunacy. Absolutely, it’s 100% nonsense,” said Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society in Montreal and an expert on the threat of pseudoscience.
See Megan O’Matz, Senator Endorses Discredited Doctor’s Book on a Chemical He Claims Treats Everything From Autism to Cancer (‘Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson has a history of spreading vaccine misinformation. Now he’s giving credence to assertions about the therapeutic powers of chlorine dioxide, a disinfectant and deodorizer. “It is all lunacy,” one expert said’), ProPublica, December 11, 2025.
Sen. Joe McCarthy was a destructive conspiracy theorist, yet Johnson overmatches even McCarthy for the number of ludicrous claims made in one lifetime. There is an entire FREE WHITEWATER category dedicated to Johnson and his many false claims.
Turn aside, now, from a conspiracy theorist’s latest dark composition to something enduringly bright. Sophia Smith Galer discusses Handel’s Ariodante:
Click image to play video.