Good morning.
Ash Wednesday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of twenty-four. Sunrise is 6:20 AM and sunset 5:50 PM, for 11h 30m 04s of daytime. The moon is new.
Today is the eight hundred forty-seventh day.
On this day in 1862, the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry heads south:
the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry (then an infantry unit) embarked to join the “Army of the Gulf.” It arrived below New Orleans on March 12, 1862, and landed in New Orleans on May 1. The 4th was at once assigned to active service and joined an expedition up the Mississippi River against Vicksburg in May. By June they occupied Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The troops there were employed in several successful expeditions during that winter, and remained in the area through most of the war. In June of 1862, its commander was punished for refusing to return escaping slaves to their masters (more information on this event is at Turning Points in Wisconsin History). In 1863 the unit was equipped as a Cavalry Regiment; it returned to Wisconsin in 1866.
Recommended for reading in full:
Patrick Marley and Molly Beck report In a blow to conservatives, a national business group is staying out of the Wisconsin Supreme Court race:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce won’t pour money into this year’s state Supreme Court race, creating new challenges for conservative candidate Brian Hagedorn.
The national organization often funnels money to Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce to help conservatives in court races but won’t do so this year, according to three sources familiar with the plans.
The move comes as other conservatives signal they’re staying on the sidelines after reports about Hagedorn founding a school that can ban teachers and students in gay relationships and giving paid speeches to a legal organization that has argued in favor of anti-sodomy laws.
The Wisconsin Realtors Association last month withdrew its endorsement of Hagedorn and asked him to return an $18,000 donation. Soon afterward, longtime Republican consultants R.J. Johnson and Deb Jordahl — who have run past independent efforts to help conservatives running for the Supreme Court — wrote a column defending the Realtors’ decision to stay out of the race.
The Committee to Investigate Russia writes White House Fights Oversight:
It took just one day for President Trump to change course from saying he cooperates with everyone to attacking the House Judiciary Committee’s request for documents and information as it advances its investigation into potential obstruction of justice, corruption, and abuse of power.
“It’s a disgrace to our country. I’m not surprised that it’s happening. Basically, they’ve started the campaign. So the campaign begins,” Trump told reporters at the White House after signing an executive order on veterans’ suicide prevention.
“Instead of doing infrastructure, instead of doing health care, instead of doing so many things that they should be doing, they want to play games,” he continued.
(…)
The president’s remarks suggest the White House could invoke executive privilege or take other measures to shield internal documents or discussions from Democratic-led panels investigating Trump’s administration, campaign and businesses.