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Daily Bread

Daily Bread: September 17, 2009

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Good morning, Whitewater

As with yesterday, there are no scheduled municipal, public meetings for the City of Whitewater today.

There’s something better, for all America — it’s Constitution Day, the anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787.

The National Constitution Center, a non-profit, non-partisan organization, has a page dedicated to Constitution Day.

Here’s today’s almanac:

Almanac
Thursday, September 17, 2009 Sunrise Sunset
Official Time 06:36 AM 07:01 PM
Civil Twilight 06:08 AM 07:29 PM
Tomorrow 06:37 AM 06:59 PM
Tomorrow will be: 3 minutes shorter
Amount of sunlight: 12h 25 m
Amount of daylight: 13h 21 m
Moon phase: Waning crescent

Libertarians

TV – Newsday – John Stossel from ABC’s 20/20 to Fox Business Channel

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John Stossel, a well-known libertarian reporter at ABC’s 20/20, will leave for his own program, with additional airtime, at the Fox Business Channel. (Fox has more than one channel: the business channel is separate from the older news channel.)

Stossel’s a fine reporter; his new program will be well-worth watching.

See, John Stossel from ABC’s 20/20 to Fox Business Channel

City

Whitewater, Wisconsin: Televise!

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We have a fine public access cable channel in Whitewater. That station provides the only full and unedited coverage of our common council, planning, and school board meetings.

Without that programming, we’d have no way to check against ambiguous meeting minutes and cheery spin.

Let’s televise other public meetings: Police & Fire Commission, Community Development, assorted task forces, etc.

That’s a big job: if there are not resources enough to record every meeting, let someone set up a video camera and record it.

If someone in Whitewater complains that this can’t be done, ask him or her to show you, under Wisconsin law, why it can’t be done. Ask for an opinion letter from our municipal administration’s city attorney.

Our city deserves more than some nervous incumbent’s vague pronouncement about possible risks; instead, deliver a clear statement of law.

As policy, public bodies should be proud to have their proceedings recorded, for their fellow residents to see.

Go ahead, Whitewater – embrace this opportunity for open and accountable government.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread: September 16, 2009

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Good morning, Whitewater

There are no scheduled municipal, public meetings for the City of Whitewater today.

Here’s today’s almanac:

Almanac
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 Sunrise Sunset
Official Time 06:35 AM 07:03 PM
Civil Twilight 06:07 AM 07:31 PM
Tomorrow 06:36 AM 07:01 PM
Tomorrow will be: 3 minutes shorter
Amount of sunlight: 12h 28 m
Amount of daylight: 13h 24 m
Moon phase: Waning crescent

Daily Bread

Daily Bread: September 15, 2009

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Good morning, Whitewater

There are three municipal, public meetings scheduled for the City of Whitewater today. At ten, the Whitewater-University Tech Park board meets. At 6:00 p.m., Alcohol Licensing Committee meets. At 6:30 p.m., Common Council meets. The Common Council agenda is available online.

The Wisconsin Historical Society recalls a famous treaty signed on this date:

1832 – Ho-Chunk Treaty Signed

On this date a a treaty was signed between the Ho-Chunk and the United States that stipulated that the Ho-Chunk cede lands lying to the south and east of the Wisconsin river as well as lands around the Fox river of Green Bay. [Source:Oklahoma State University Library].

In our schools, there Whitewater Middle School PTO meets in the library at 7 p.m.

Here’s today’s almanac:

Almanac
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 Sunrise Sunset
Official Time 06:34 AM 07:05 PM
Civil Twilight 06:05 AM 07:33 PM
Tomorrow 06:35 AM 07:03 PM
Tomorrow will be: 3 minutes shorter
Amount of sunlight: 12h 31 m
Amount of daylight: 13h 28 m
Moon phase: Waning crescent

more >>

Daily Bread

Daily Bread: September 14, 2009

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Good morning, Whitewater

There are a few municipal, public meetings scheduled for the City of Whitewater today. At noon, the Seniors in the Park Senior Forum meets in the community building at Starin Park. At 4:30 p.m., the Community Development Board of Directors meets. There’s also a meeting of the Business Park Marketing Committee this afternoon. At 6:30 p.m., the Library Board meets.

There’s a dinosaur auction to take place on October 3rd in Las Vegas. Wired has the story at “Want Your Own Dinosaur? Place Your Bids.”

Here’s an excerpt of the Wired story:

If you ever dreamed of owning your own dinosaur, now’s your chance. Possibly the most impressive natural history auction ever is set to take place Oct. 3 at the Venetian Casino in Las Vegas.

The main event will be Samson, one of the best T. rex skeletons ever found. But there are around 50 lots for sale, including many impressive, museum-quality rarities, all of which will be on display to the public in the weeks preceding the auction.

“The items we have in this auction are definitely museum standard, or better,” said Tom Lindgren, co-director of natural history for the auction house Bonhams & Butterfields told Wired.com in August. “Most of the museums in the world don’t have anything near what we have in this auction.”

Highlights will include the largest shark jaw ever found, a giant pig skull and a duck-billed dinosaur.

In our schools, there’s a Music Parents meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the high school.

Here’s today’s almanac:

Almanac
Monday, September 14, 2009 Sunrise Sunset
Official Time 06:30 AM 07:07 PM
Civil Twilight 06:04 AM 07:35 PM
Tomorrow 06:34 AM 07:05 PM
Tomorrow will be: 3 minutes shorter
Amount of sunlight: 12h 34 m
Amount of daylight: 13h 31 m
Moon phase: Waning crescent

more >>

Daily Bread

Daily Bread: September 11, 2009

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Good morning, Whitewater

The New York Times frontpage stories on September 11, 2001 are available online.

There are no municipal, public meetings scheduled for the City of Whitewater today.

In our schools, it’s Eagle Day and Spirit Day at Washington School.

Taste of Whitewater begins tonight at 5 p.m. Details are available in my calendar entry to the right.

Here’s today’s almanac:

Almanac
Friday, September 11, 2009 Sunrise Sunset
Official Time 06:30 AM 07:12 PM
Civil Twilight 06:01 AM 07:40 PM
Tomorrow 06:31 AM 07:10 PM
Tomorrow will be: 3 minutes shorter
Amount of sunlight: 12h 42 m
Amount of daylight: 13h 39 m
Moon phase: Third quarter

more >>

Economy, Free Markets, Libertarians

From Reason.tv: Bjorn Lomborg — What’s the Best Way to Live with Global Warming?

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Over at Reason.tv, there’s an interview with Bjorn Lomborg, asking, What’s the Best Way to Live with Global Warming?

Here’s a description of the interview:

What’s the best way for humanity to reduce suffering from man-made
global warming? No individual has been a stronger voice for rational cost-benefit analysis on this issue than Bjorn Lomborg, the head of Copenhagen Consensus Center, and author of The Skeptical Environmentalist and Cool It! On Thursday, September 3, 2009, Lomborg stopped by Reason’s DC HQ to discuss the latest iteration of his ongoing project with Reason magazine science correspondent Ronald Bailey.

The Copenhagen Consensus Center’s expert panel of five top economists, including three Nobel laureates, has concluded that greater resources should be spent on research into climate engineering and green energy.

They also concluded that the least cost-effective way to deal with
climate change is carbon taxes. Such carbon taxes are the economic
equivalent of cap-and-trade carbon rationing schemes like the
Waxman-Markey bill being considered by Congress and which are being negotiated by the U.N.

The expert panel consisted of Nobel laureate economists Thomas
Schelling, Vernon Smith, and Finn Kydland. They were joined by University of Chicago economist Nancy Stokey and Columbia University economist Jagdish Bhagwati. The panel considered and ranked 21 ground-breaking research proposals by top climate economists on the basis their benefits and costs in dealing with global warming.

The website’s link to the video is available, too.