Good Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with an even chance of afternoon thundershowers, and a high of sixty-five. Sunrise is 6:15 AM and sunset 7:36 PM. The moon is a waning gibbous with 89% of its visible disk illuminated. Today is the {tooltip}one hundred fifty-seventh day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}
On this day in 1775, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society (then the Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage) becomes America’s first abolition society. On this day in 1865, Pres. Lincoln is shot while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre (and passes away the next day). Former Wisconsin governor Leonard Farwell was in attendance and rushed to warn Vice President Andrew Johnson of an impending attack.
Recommended for reading in full —
Karen Madden writes that a Wisconsin Mega-dairy’s future in question after ruling: “SARATOGA – An appeals court has blocked key parts of a proposed large-scale dairy farm that has been the subject of controversy for years in central Wisconsin, leaving both sides of the 5-year-old issue wondering what happens next. The owners of the proposed farm, known as Golden Sands, do not have the right to use more than 6,000 acres of land for agriculture and manure spreading, according to the Wisconsin District IV Court of Appeals in a ruling issued Thursday morning. The ruling overturns an earlier decision by a Wood County Circuit Court judge, which found the Wysocki Family of Companies’ application for dairy buildings on 100 acres of Saratoga land allowed it to use additional land associated with the proposed dairy for agricultural purposes. The appellate judges who issued the ruling found that Golden Sands “fails to support” its legal claim to use the land as proposed.”
Christopher J. Coyne and Abigail R. Hall consider Four Decades and Counting: The Continued Failure of the War on Drugs:
Proponents of drug prohibition claim that such policies reduce drug-related crime, decrease drug-related disease and overdose, and are an effective means of disrupting and dismantling organized criminal enterprises.
We analyze the theoretical underpinnings of these claims, using tools and insights from economics, and explore the economics of prohibition and the veracity of proponent claims by analyzing data on overdose deaths, crime, and cartels. Moreover, we offer additional insights through an analysis of U.S. international drug policy utilizing data from U.S. drug policy in Afghanistan. While others have examined the effect of prohibition on domestic outcomes, few have asked how these programs impact foreign policy outcomes.
We conclude that prohibition is not only ineffective, but counterproductive, at achieving the goals of policymakers both domestically and abroad. Given the insights from economics and the available data, we find that the domestic War on Drugs has contributed to an increase in drug overdoses and fostered and sustained the creation of powerful drug cartels. Internationally, we find that prohibition not only fails in its own right, but also actively undermines the goals of the Global War on Terror.
See, full study, Four Decades and Counting The Continued Failure of the War on Drugs.
Historian Rick Perlstein writes I Thought I Understood the American Right. Trump Proved Me Wrong: “A puzzle remains. If Donald Trump was elected as a Marine Le Pen-style — or Hiram Evans-style — herrenvolk republican, what are we to make of the fact that he placed so many bankers and billionaires in his cabinet, and has relentlessly pursued so many 1-percent-friendly policies? More to the point, what are we to the make of the fact that his supporters don’t seem to mind? Here, however, Trump is far from unique. The history of bait-and-switch between conservative electioneering and conservative governance is another rich seam that calls out for fresh scholarly excavation: not of how conservative voters see their leaders, but of the neglected history of how conservative leaders see their voters.”
David Graham observes that Press Secretary Sean Spicer Throws In the Towel: “Why had the president decided the Ex-Im Bank wasn’t such a bad idea? “Let me get back to you on the Ex-Im bank. It’s a very complex issue and I would like to get back.” Why does Trump no longer believe China is devaluing its currency, even though he has said so as recently as February? “It’s a very, very complex issue and I’m gonna leave it to the president to specifically answer it,” Spicer offered. There’s an element of comedy to this: Spicer’s job is to explain the president’s positions to the press and the public. And sure, the press secretary can’t be expected to be an expert in every topic. Except that Spicer knows a thing or two about trade policy, having served as a spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative during the George W. Bush administration.”
John Bacon explains Stuff you should know if you find a bat in your salad: “If you do find a bat in your salad, don’t touch it! The CDC says data suggest that transmission of the rabies virus can occur from minor, seemingly unimportant or unrecognized bites from bats. “Human and domestic animal contact with bats should be minimized, and bats should never be handled by untrained and unvaccinated persons or be kept as pets,” the CDC says. A warning most of us probably don’t really need. If there is direct contact with a bat, unless you are certain there was no bite or scratch, the CDC recommends a delightful little regimen it calls “post-exposure prophylaxis.” Translation: a series of shots over two weeks. Also, if you are wondering whether you may have eaten salad from the recalled production line, fear not. “People who have eaten the recalled salad product and did not find animal material are not at risk and do not need to contact their health department,” the CDC cheerfully reports.”