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Budget, City, Daily Bread, Gov. Evers, State Government, Wisconsin, WisDems, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 7.3.25: Vos Admits That Worry Over National GOP Policy Compelled WISGOP Deal With Evers

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 88. Sunrise is 5:21 and sunset is 8:36, for 15 hours, 15 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 57.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1863, the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg culminates in Confederate defeat following Pickett’s disastrous charge.

Whitewater’s Independence Holiday celebration begins today at the Cravath Lakefront:

Christman Family Amusements Wrist Band Session: 5-9 PM, $25 each wrist band
Family Day Sponsored by Generac 4-7 PM
Karaoke at Frawley Ampitheater: 4-6 PM
Miss Whitewater Pageant at Frawley Ampitheater: 6:30 PM
Civic Organization Food Vendors: 4-11 PM

There’s a new state budget, despite grumbling about the terms from many Democrats and some Republicans. I’m neither a Democrat nor a Republican (nor of any political party), and perhaps that makes it easier to discern insightful reporting from the stenography of posturing and whining. Fortunately, Anya van Wagtendonk accurately reports on the underlying WISGOP weakness that Gov. Evers exploited:

That speed [in adopting a budget] was motivated by a deadline out of Washington, as Congress works to pass President Donald Trump’s signature “Big Beautiful” budget bill before a self-imposed July 4 deadline. That far-reaching tax and immigration legislation includes massive cuts to Medicaid, including a cap on how much money states can request from the federal government through hospital assessment fees. 

The Wisconsin state budget passed Wednesday night raises its assessment fee to the maximum amount. By passing the budget before the Trump bill is signed into law, Wisconsin lawmakers dodged the new cap.

Earlier in the day, Assembly Speaker Vos said legislative Republicans and Evers’ office were aligned in trying to pass the budget quickly for that reason.

“We all understand that once the signature goes on at the federal level, it really limits the options for us to capture that federal revenue,” he said. “I think that’s one area we found pretty widespread agreement.” 

As he signed the bill into law early Thursday morning — a contrast to past budget cycles, when he has acted days after passage, during the day and often flanked by kids — Evers referred to the truncated timeline, too. 

“We want our health care system to be in good shape, and in order to do that, we’re going to need help from the federal government, and whatever we can do before they pass through … the federal budget, we will be able to access help from them to keep our hospitals afloat,” he said. “It’s absolutely critical for us to do that.”

(Emphasis added.)

See Anya van Wagtendonk, In wee hours, Legislature passes and Evers signs 2-year, $111-billion state budget, Wisconsin Public Radio, July 3, 2025.

That’s it: national Republican policy made state Republicans vulnerable to a looming deadline (a vulnerability that Evers exploited with dispatch). Vos was weak, not strong or ‘bipartisan’; Evers shrewdly exploited that weakness.

In Whitewater, the city’s declining and aged special interests look to Vos as patron and exemplar. In this, their judgment is weak and their prospects poor.

Sierra Nevada red fox spotted on camera in California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park:

Courts, Daily Bread, Law, Legislation, Legislature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.2.25: Wisconsin Supreme Court Majority Rules That Last Fifty Years of Wisconsin Abortion Legislation Effects a Repeal of 1849 Abortion Ban

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 84. Sunrise is 5:21 and sunset is 8:36, for 15 hours, 16 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 47.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Landmarks Commission meets at 6 PM.

On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress adopts the Lee Resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain, although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not adopted until July 4.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), overturning Roe v. Wade (1973), the application of an 1849 Wisconsin statute became a legal controversy in Wisconsin. Did that old statute come into force after Dobbs as a ban on abortion, was the statute more limited (and so not a general ban on abortion), or was the 1849 no longer effective under some other principle of law?

In 2023, a Dane County Circuit Court ruled that the 1849 law was limited in scope, and so did not work as a ban on Wisconsin abortions. Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski appealed that circuit court decision, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court took the case directly on appeal.

Today, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, ruled that the 1849 law has been repealed impliedly through fifty years of more recent Wisconsin legislation on abortion. The Legislature retains the right to draft new legislation on abortion policy in the state.

Today’s opinion, Josh Kaul v. Joel Urmanski, 2025 WI 32, No. 2023AP2362 (July 2, 2025), with concurrences and dissents, appears below:

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The Night Sky for July 2025:

Some months are astronomically quiet others are bursting with a variety of interesting events to try and see, keeping in mind the moon phases and weather. This year, July is somewhere in the middle; throughout the July night sky, you’ll have the chance to spot planets, shooting stars, and even some deep-space objects. In any case, there are plenty of reasons to get out and enjoy the night sky this month, and I hope you take full advantage of them. Whether you’re heading out on your own, trying out some new equipment, or bringing family or friends out to share the wonders of the universe with them, here are the best events in the July night sky to plan your stargazing sessions around.
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Budget, Daily Bread, State Government, Wisconsin, WisDems, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 7.1.25: On the State Budget Deal, Evers Seems to Win Most

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 82. Sunrise is 5:20 and sunset is 8:37, for 15 hours, 17 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 37.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg begins.

There’s a deal this morning between Gov. Evers and the WISGOP legislature over much of the next biennial state budget. The news comes only this morning, and involves only part of the budget. With those caveats, a review of published accounts of the deal suggests that Evers has managed negotiations with the WISGOP well. There are four principal terms of the deal:

[1] Evers and Republicans agreed to $1.3 billion in income tax cuts largely targeting the middle class. More than 1.6 million people will have their taxes cut an average of $180 annually. 
The deal would expand the state’s second lowest income tax bracket and make the first $24,000 of income for people age 67 and over tax-free. It also eliminates the sales tax on electricity, saving taxpayers about $156 million over two years. 

….

[2] The Universities of Wisconsin would see a $256 million increase over two years, the largest funding increase for the UW system in about two decades. UW Regents had asked for an $855 million overall increase and Republicans in June floated the possibility of an $87 million cut.

The deal also imposes a faculty minimum workload requirement and calls for an independent study on the system’s future sustainability.

….

[3] There will be $200 million in additional tax revenue to pay for transportation projects, but Evers and Republican leaders did not detail where that money would come from. 

The agreement increases funding for child care programs by $330 million over two years, a third of which will be direct payments to providers. The money will replace the Child Care Counts program started during the COVID-19 pandemic. That program, which provides funding to child care providers, expired on Monday. Evers, Democrats and child care advocates have been pushing for additional funding to address child care shortages throughout the state.

Funding for K-12 special education programs will increase by $500 million.

State employees, including at the university, would get a 3% raise this year and a 2% raise next year.

….

[4] Once the budget clears the Legislature, Evers will be able to make changes using his expansive partial veto powers. But his office said Evers would not veto any budget provisions that were part of the deal he reached with Republicans.

Evers, who is midway through his second term, has said he will announce his decision on whether to seek a third term after he has signed the budget. He has 10 business days to take action on the spending plan once the Legislature passes it.

See Scott Bauer, Wisconsin’s Democratic governor reaches budget deal with Republicans to cut taxes, fund university, Associated Press, July 1, 2025.

Devil’s in the details, yet this looks like a good deal for Evers. Some in the WISGOP will balk, but Evers will have enough Democratic legislative support to overcome any WISGOP defections.

French wildfire smoke engulfs highway:

Wildfires broke out in France’s southwestern Aude department, where temperatures topped 104 degrees Fahrenheit, burning 988 acres and forcing some evacuations, authorities said.

Animals, Daily Bread, Nature, Photography

Daily Bread for 6.30.25: Summer from the Nature Conservancy

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 85. Sunrise is 5:20 and sunset is 8:37, for 15 hours, 17 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 29.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1934, the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler’s violent purge of his political rivals in Germany, takes place.

These frogs think you’re up to something:

Bear spotted on airport tarmac in northern Japan:

A bear was spotted running across the tarmac at Japan’s Yamagata airport on Thursday morning. Akira Nagai, deputy manager of Yamagata airport, told reporters that the runway was temporary closed and over 10 flights were affected.

Music

Monday Music: The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, On Parade

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Why red coats:

The musicians of this unit recall the days of the American Revolution as they perform in uniforms patterned after those worn by the musicians of General George Washington’s Continental Army. Military musicians of the period wore the reverse colors of the regiments to which they were assigned. The uniforms worn by the members of the Corps are dated circa 1784, and consist of black tricorn hats, white wigs, waistcoats, colonial coveralls, and distinct red regimental coats.

Cats, Daily Bread, Weather

Daily Bread for 6.29.25: Stay Hydrated

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 89. Sunrise is 5:19 and sunset is 8:37, for 15 hours, 18 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 20 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 2007,  Apple Inc. releases its first mobile phone, the iPhone.

By Carl Berkeley from Riverside California – iPhone First Generation 8GB Uploaded by Partyzan_XXI, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

Stay Hydrated:

Sometimes territoriality goes too far:

Daily Bread, Newspapers, Politics, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 6.28.25: How Many Journal Sentinel Reporters Does It Take to Flack Unnamed WISGOP Sources? At Least Four.

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 86. Sunrise is 5:19 and sunset is 8:37, for 15 hours, 18 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 12.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1902, Congress passes the Spooner Act, authorizing President Theodore Roosevelt to acquire rights from Colombia for the Panama Canal.

One reads at the Journal Sentinel from four reporters (Molly Beck, Jessie Opoien, Daniel Bice, and Lawrence Andrea) that Tim Michels and Eric Hovde are considering running for governor. It’s less a news story than filler. See Businessmen Tim Michels, Eric Hovde considering return to politics with runs for Wisconsin governor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 27, 2025.

This is a story from “Republican sources” and “sources who spoke with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.” The reporters then use embattled WISGOP chairman Brian Schimming to comment on the rumors. (In fairness, Michels looks improbable even to Schimming, who laughably adds that he thinks Tom Tiffany might run. Tiffany might run, but if so it would be more economical to jump ahead to Tiffany’s inevitable outcome and say that Tiffany lost.)

These sources won’t be quoted by name for an anodyne story about whether Hovde or Michels might run? It’s not a controversial topic. It’s not news that two out-of-state mediocrities might want to buy the governor’s mansion to run for office again. The story is simply an attempt by political operatives to float (and launder, truly) their choices through the press. There’s no groundswell for Michels or Hovde. Never was.

Indeed, Michels and Hovde are so out-of-state that the Journal Sentinel has to tell readers in the story’s title that the paper’s sources say they might run for Wisconsin governor. Knowledgeable readers might otherwise wonder if Hovde was thinking about the West Coast and Michels about Connecticut.

Fireball in the sky over US as suspected meteor rattles Georgia and the Carolinas:

America, Authoritarian Populism, Conservative Populism, Daily Bread, Liberal Democracy, Libertarians, Never Trump, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 6.27.25: Persuading the Persuadable Is How This Conflict Will Be Won

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with a high of 82. Sunrise is 5:18 and sunset is 8:37, for 15 hours, 19 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 6.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1981, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party issues its “Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China,” laying the blame for the Cultural Revolution on Mao Zedong.

There’s a nagging question that’s confronts part — but only part — of the grand coalition committed to the defense of the constitutional order: how much effort should that coalition spend trying to win over the conservative populists? For some, reaching out to that pernicious faction is an important obligation, almost a moral imperative.

For others of us, this libertarian blogger among them, there is no need, either moral or practical, for those committed to a liberal democratic order to beseech would-be authoritarians to learn what draws them to overthrow the constitutional order with a herrenvolk state. We believe, by contrast, that it is enough, morally and practically, to persuade the persuadable.

Of the practical, within Wisconsin, Bruce Murphy writes of the futility of spending time trying to win over deep red areas (when there is more to be gained in blue areas):

Yet experts continue to tell Democrats they need to make more efforts in rural areas. The latest wave of this came in reaction to an essay in the New York Times by sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild, who has studied the people of eastern Kentucky, including a county where Trump won a whopping 81% of the vote. Her book is called Stolen Pride.

The county was a center for coal-mining, an industry that’s all but dead. These are people heavily dependent on government assistance, as are many red counties across the country, particularly in the south.

As Hothschild describes these voters it is hard to know precisely how Democrats are supposed to win them over. It is Democrats who support Medicaid and other safety net benefits, but the recipients are not happy about needing the assistance and bitter about being left behind. And so, even though Trump and Republicans want to cut those benefits, these voters support them.

Hothschild suggests Democrats shouldn’t talk down to these voters, but who exactly are these candidates stupid enough to do this? And how do you remind them you support the safety net — a key pocket book issue — without bringing up a sore subject?

Hothschild suggests Democrat need to listen to these voters. But that’s exactly what Baldwin did in the rural areas of Wisconsin. “I think showing up matters, listening matters,” Baldwin told a Fox News Digital reporter. “And so I go, and I really listen and get to know the challenges and aspirations of people.”

And for that she got 4,548 more votes than Kamala Harris.

We are fortunate that there’s a better option, as Murphy observes:

What possible answer can a Democrat offer to this? And how can they do it diplomatically and memorably in the face of Republicans who can say the nastiest things, even threaten to jail their opponents? And finally: why expend all that effort in places that don’t have that many votes?

Meanwhile America’s suburbs are becoming less red. In the last 20 years Ozaukee County has gone from 33% to 44% Democratic and Waukesha County has gone from 33% to 39% Democrat. And these are big population counties where you connect to more voters more easily. Then there are the cities, key Democratic areas where Republicans have made some inroads with minority voters. In both cases these Democrats can make their pitch a little more easily, without having to untangle the complicated pathology described by Hothschild. On a cost vs benefits basis, there is probably no area of the nation where Democrats are likely to gain less than rural America.

See Bruce Murphy, Can Democrats Win More Rural Voters?, Urban Milwaukee, June 18, 2025.

A grand coalition (of Democrats, independents, libertarians, etc.) should keep to the practical and moral goal of persuading the persuadable. It is in that way that Wisconsin, and America, will be won.

Commuter water traffic stops for whales on Australia’s humpback highway:

Courts, Daily Bread, Law, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 6.26.25: Wisconsin Supreme Court Rejects Challenges to State’s Congressional Maps

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will see a partly sunny afternoon with evening thunderstorms and a high of 89. Sunrise is 5:18 and sunset is 8:37, for 15 hours, 19 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 1.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1948, the first supply flights are made in response to the Berlin Blockade.

There are risks in intimating (1,2) even a simple probability (there are no certainties) of an appellate court’s ruling. One saw this yesterday, as the Wisconsin Supreme Court dismissed challenges to the state’s congressional district boundaries:

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to hear challenges brought by Democrats seeking to throw out the battleground state’s current congressional district boundaries before the 2026 midterms.

The decisions, made without explanation from the court, is a setback for Democrats who had hoped for new, friendlier district boundary lines in Wisconsin as they attempt to win back control of the House next year. 

Democrats asked the court to redraw the maps, which would have put two of the state’s six congressional seats currently held by Republicans into play. It was the second time in as many years that the court had refused to hear the challenges.

See Scott Bauer, Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to hear challenges to the state’s congressional district boundaries, Associated Press, June 25, 2025.

This is not only a setback for Democrats; it’s a setback for anyone who wanted fair maps.

Rubin Observatory’s first images — Take a tour in 4K:

Tour the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s views of the Virgo cluster, Trifid and Lagoon Nebulas.

Budget, Daily Bread, Speaker Vos, State Government, Wisconsin, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 6.25.25: It’s Not a Wisconsin Budget Negotiation, It’s Another WISGOP Display of Bad Faith Claims

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 82. Sunrise is 5:17 and sunset is 8:37, for 15 hours, 20 minutes of daytime. The moon is new with 0.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1950, the Korean War begins when North Korea invades South Korea.

One reads that the state budget deadline looms as Assembly approves new programs without funds:

Assembly Republicans gathered ahead of the floor session to stress the need for bipartisan negotiations and progress on writing the state budget.

Budget negotiations fell apart last week for the second time as Senate Republicans walked away from talks with Gov. Tony Evers. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) said in a statement at the time that discussions were “heading in a direction that taxpayers cannot afford.” 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said during a press conference that he has been in communication with Evers, including on Tuesday morning. 

Vos said the discussions about child care funding are “preliminary” with “a lot of details to be worked out.” He said Assembly Republicans remain “steadfast” in its opposition to “writing checks out to providers” but are open to working with Evers on child care. 

Evers told reporters Monday he wouldn’t sign a budget if it doesn’t include money for child care.

“Republicans need to get their act together and come back and let’s finish it up,” Evers said.

Asked if he would sign a budget that doesn’t include funding for the state’s Child Care Counts program, Evers said “no.” 

Evers has not vetoed a budget in full during his time in office, though he has exercised his partial veto power extensively, rejecting major tax cuts and making changes to extend increases for school revenue – to the great irritation of Republicans.

See Baylor Spears, Budget deadline looms as Assembly approves new programs without funds, passes nuclear power bills, Wisconsin Examiner, June 25, 2025.

Professional journalism only goes so far, by its own standards, in calling this what it is.

Prof. Mark Copelovitch, using higher-education funding as his example, describes Assembly Speaker Vos’s approach:

Quite right: Vos reflexively argues in bad faith, where there is always another reason, lurking behind his professed reason, for his actions.

In Whitewater and across Wisconsin, Vos is a hopeful model for liars, schemers, and posers that they, too, can gain power and influence without talent or integrity.

Drones tackle Everest’s trash crisis, carry garbage down:

A Nepalese company has used drones on Mount Everest to transport crucial mountaineering equipment up perilous crevasses, and then using the same drones to transport trash back down the mountain.

Animals, Birds, Conservation, Daily Bread, Environment, Insects, Nature, Plants, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 6.24.25: Prairies & Pollinators

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 84. Sunrise is 5:17 and sunset is 8:37, for 15 hours, 20 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 1.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1812, Napoleon’s Grande Armée crosses the Neman river beginning the invasion of Russia.

An interlude for today, of prairies and pollinators.

Prairies:

Pollinators:

Congress, Daily Bread, Fair Maps, Wisconsin, WisDems, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 6.23.25: Noticing Wisconsin Congressional Redistricting Before 2026

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 92. Sunrise is 5:17 and sunset is 8:37, for 15 hours, 20 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 5.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Lakes Advisory Committee meets at 4:30 PM and the Urban Forestry Commission meets at 5:30 PM. The Whitewater School Board meets at 7 PM.

On this day in 1917, in a game against the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox pitcher Ernie Shore retires 26 batters in a row after replacing Babe Ruth, who had been ejected for punching the umpire.

The national press has begun to notice what’s been evident locally for weeks: that Wisconsin congressional redistricting before 2026 will bring changes to the state’s partisan congressional mix. (See from FREE WHITEWATER on 5.13.25 Probable Consequences of Redrawn Wisconsin Congressional Maps.) Dan Merica and Matthew Choi write:

Wisconsin has only eight congressional districts, and many of them are considered safe seats. However, because the state may undergo a rare mid-decade redistricting process ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, two districts currently controlled by Republicans could become significantly more competitive.

Just ask one of the Republicans representing one of those districts.

“We both lose,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden said when asked by CNN about the stakes of redistricting in the state, referring to himself and Rep. Bryan Steil. “So that’s why everyone’s paying attention to this on a national level.”

The last redistricting in the state occurred under a conservative-majority Wisconsin Supreme Court that applied the “least change” standard, which Democrats contend left the districts biased in favor of Republicans. The state’s legislative maps were redrawn in 2023 after the court abandoned that standard, but the congressional maps were not.

….

“It’s hard to think of a standard that would lead to maps getting even more skewed in favor of Republicans in Wisconsin, so Derrick Van Orden has about a year and a half to decide how to spend his final months in Congress,” said Ben Wikler, the outgoing chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. “The writing is on the wall here.”

See Dan Merica and Matthew Choi, How voters in rural Wisconsin could decide the House majority, Washington Post, June 23, 2025.

Merica and Choi write elsewhere in their story that “[h]yperbole aside, the result could decide control of the House,” but that strikes me as hyperbole in the middle of it: could decide is possible but only in the way that many causes and effects are possible.

I’ve no idea whether Wisconsin’s congressional results will decide the national House majority. It’s enough to know that congressional redistricting in Wisconsin is probable before the 2026 election, and that Van Orden and Steil would both lose if their district maps are redrawn.

Kevin the Canadian Chihuahua has his own way to beat the heat:

 
 
 
 
 
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