Good morning. 
Friday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 81. Sunrise is 6:30 AM and sunset 7:12 PM, for 12h 41m 50s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 15.1% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1846, Elias Howe is granted a patent for the sewing machine.
Lori Aratani reports TSA doubles fines for people who refuse to wear masks at airports, in other transportation settings:
People who refuse to comply with a federal mandate that requires them to wear masks in airports, and on trains, buses and in other public transportation settings will face stiffer penalties, Biden administration officials announced Thursday.
Beginning Friday, the fine for refusing to wear a mask will increase to a range of $500 to $1,000 for first offenders. Penalties for a second offense will range from $1,000 to $3,000.
“TSA will double the fines on travelers that refuse to mask,” President Biden said Thursday. “If you break the rules, be prepared to pay. And by the way, show some respect!”
The stiffer penalties are part of aggressive new actions the administration is taking to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The highly contagious delta variant has fueled a sharp uptick in infections this summer and is causing more than 1,500 daily deaths, chiefly among those who have not been vaccinated. More than 655,000 people in the United States have died of the virus.
One hears so often that the conservative populists insist they are a people of ‘common sense,’ that it is somehow others who are hysterical or afraid. And yet, and yet, in public scenes across America, it is the populists who tantrum while shaking their heads, raising their arms, and screaming what, what, what? in reply to simple public-health requests.
And so, a question: Who rampaged better, an ape in an old television commercial or present-day anti-maskers in airports?
[…] the conservative populists tantrum, and some others look away, there are yet more of us who […]
[…] See along these lines Who Rampaged Better? […]
[…] The seventh point offers sound advice during this national conflict. One should — to be effective — carry on during this conflict methodically, calculating at each moment in support of one’s position. The conservative populists talk about common sense, but their demeanor is all umbrage and rampage. (See along these lines Who Rampaged Better?) […]
[…] Trump and his followers know this, and they delight and batten on the diffidence of others. See Who Rampaged Better? […]
[…] Populism requires new enemies and outrages to sustain itself. For all their talk of being sensible, the conservative populists are the opposite: easily slighted, hot-headed, and susceptible of ill-formed ideas. See Defining Populism, Conservative Populism Moves in One Direction Only, and Who Rampaged Better? […]