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Conservative Populism, Daily Bread, Elections, Far-Right Populism, Gov. Evers, Newspapers, Politics, Populists, Social Media, Wisconsin, WisDems, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 7.25.25: Fog-Shrouded Wisconsin

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 84. Sunrise is 5:39 and sunset is 8:22, for 14 hours, 43 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 0.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1965, Bob Dylan goes electric at the Newport Folk Festival, signaling a major change in folk and rock music.

A few remarks on Gov. Evers’s decision not to seek a third term in 2026.

Of Evers. I find myself agreeing with Rep. Mark Pocan about Evers: “I think he is the most quintessential Wisconsin politician I’ve ever seen.” There’s much to admire in that.

Of Newspapers. Wisconsin’s newspapers, like those elsewhere, are in decline. Their weakness (desperation, truly) makes them susceptible to clickbait headlines, and this year and next will reveal how shallow is their reporting and speculative is their analysis. The Journal Sentinel and the State Journal have paltry circulation numbers even in their home cities. Gannett is taking its employees, including those at the Journal Sentinel, through another round of buyouts. The employees who are left will be under pressure to seek attention for their publications any way they can.

(Of paywalls, specifically: any Wisconsin publication with a hard paywall in this environment is an irrelevant publication. I’ve mentioned the State Journal in Madison, but that paper’s influence collapsed a decade ago as both readers and reporters fled for other destinations. Small papers, like the APG publications near Whitewater, are an impossible, nutty combination of paywalled sites that demand confiscatory advertising rates for ads no one will see. They’re unread and too expensive.)

Of Facebook. Facebook remains popular in Wisconsin, and leans toward right-wing populism. It’s a perfect medium for short, scarcely literate assertions and rumors. Expect every day to be filled with another comment about how the WISGOP is on the verge of TOTAL and PERMANENT victory.

If Facebook accurately presented the Wisconsin electorate, Brad Schimel would be awaiting his swearing in ceremony as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on August 1st. (Congratulations and best wishes to Justice-elect Susan Crawford.)

Very few Facebook pages are moderated well, and it doesn’t take long for populist trolls to dominate a Facebook page. (Center-left Facebook pages that allow right-wing trolls free rein are the equivalent of people who would allow someone else to vomit on their clothing: allowing as much shows a profound intellectual and psychological confusion.)

Populism of any kind, and certainly of the kind Wisconsin faces, tends toward sarcasm, schadenfreude, and sadism. Those expecting more of the populists are expecting too little of themselves.

Of Political Predictions. None to offer now, as we’ve a long way to go until Wisconsin elections in April, August, and November 2026. (If pressed, I’d say that the WISGOP is likely to lose the Wisconsin Supreme Court race in April 2026, regardless of what Justice Bradley decides.)

In so many critical 2026 elections, and especially with an open Wisconsin governor’s race, one can expect lots of fog-shrouded reporting and Facebook commentary.

Meanwhile, monsoon season prompts rescue in New Mexico:

Another afternoon of heavy rainfall prompted further flash flooding in the southern mountain village of Ruidoso, New Mexico, on Thursday. The community was still digging out following a deadly flood just weeks ago when more storm water overtook canyons and roadways.

City, Film

Film: Tuesday, July 29th, 1:00 PM @ Seniors in the Park, Black Bag

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Tuesday, July 29th at 1:00 PM, there will be a showing of Black Bag @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building:

Spy thriller/Mystery/Romance

Rated R (language) 1 hour, 33 minutes (2025)

The tale of a British spy (Michael Fassbender) who must ferret out a traitor in their midst amongst five potential suspects… one of which is his wife (Cate Blanchett). Also stars Pierce Brosnan. An erudite, clever, well-acted cat-and-mouse cloak-and-dagger spy mystery!

One can find more information about Black Bag at the Internet Movie Database.

City, Daily Bread, Library

Daily Bread for 7.24.25: Whitewater Public Library

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater see afternoon thundershowers with a high of 85. Sunrise is 5:38 and sunset is 8:23, for 14 hours, 45 minutes of daytime. The moon is new with 0.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1935, the Dust Bowl heat wave reaches its peak, sending temperatures to 109 °F (43 °C) in Chicago and 104 °F (40 °C) in Milwaukee.

Whitewater’s public library, now undergoing a renovation, is being renamed, sensibly, the Whitewater Public Library:

The change has been under discussion for months in public meetings of the library board. (As a matter of law, this board was free to change the name, based on the scant conditions of the prior naming agreement, the significant renovation of the building now underway, and a general presumption in Wisconsin law against a perpetual designation in light of the former.)

As it turns out, the library board has picked well: it’s a good name for this town’s library.

Galaxies, exploded stars and more in new NASA Chandra images:

NASA has released a new batch of images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory that they have dubbed “razzle-dazzle across space.”

Daily Bread, Elections, Legislature, Politics, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.23.25: A Better Wisconsin Politics Requires a Better Wisconsin Legislature

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be increasingly sunny with a high of 91. Sunrise is 5:37 and sunset is 8:24, for 14 hours, 47 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1829, William Austin Burt patents the typographer, a precursor to the typewriter.

By RyanCodyPotochnik – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

A better Wisconsin politics requires a better Legislature, and a better Legislature requires better legislators:

An analysis by Marquette University Law School researcher John Johnson suggests there are four “battleground” state Senate districts in play ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

They include:

  • The 5th Senate District held by Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield
  • The 17th Senate District held by Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green
  • The 21st Senate District held by Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine
  • The 31st Senate District held by Sen. Jeff Smith, D-Brunswick

“The good news for Democrats is that I would say all four of these seats lean Democratic, even though three of them have Republican incumbents,” Johnson told WPR. “I say that because not only did (Democratic U.S. Sen.) Tammy Baldwin win a majority of the vote in each of these districts in her 2024 senatorial reelection campaign, so did Kamala Harris, even though she lost the state.”

See Rich Kremer, Fight for control of Wisconsin Senate is shaping up ahead of 2026 election (‘Democrats focused on flipping seats made competitive under new legislative maps’), Wisconsin Public Radio, July 23, 2025.

Want better? Elect more.

What’s happened to Japan? Bear drill takes place following recent attacks in Japan:

Following the recent attacks across Japan, the police in Tochigi Prefecture, approximately 100 km north of Tokyo, and the local hunters club conducted a bear drill on Monday. In the mountainous area police demonstrated how to scare off a wild bear using fireworks.

Honest to goodness. If bear attacks on people were to befall Whitewater, the residents of this beautiful city should expect more than fireworks as a defense.

City, Daily Bread, Open Government, Police, School District

Daily Bread for 7.22.25: Whitewater School Board Settles on the Only Practical Option It Ever Had

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 85. Sunrise is 5:36 and sunset is 8:25, for 14 hours, 49 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 6.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1990, Greg LeMond, an American road racing cyclist, wins his third Tour de France after leading the majority of the race. It was LeMond’s second consecutive Tour de France victory.

There’s an expression, attributed to Winston Churchill, that ‘Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted.‘ A variation would apply to the Whitewater School Board, that the board has at last chosen the only realistic option it had, an agreement with the city’s police department. See previously School District Developments on a New Superintendent, School Resource Agreement, City of Whitewater Renews Proposal and Encourages School District to Negotiate, and Status of a School Resource Officer for Whitewater’s Schools.

City officials are surely pleased, as parents in the district should be, but all of this could have been accomplished without the district’s wasteful, indeed ludicrous, consideration of other options. One can present a serious critique of mistakes over the years by this department without being, as the district’s board has been, utterly impractical.

As with a wasted year over negotiations about the aquatic center, this remains a weak board of limited judgment. (The same often-wrong man who served as board president during most of the tedious pool negotiations urged keeping the public in the dark about the district’s wanderings away from a sensible, local security solution. See Yesteryear’s Familiar Tune.)

Open government is good government, and good government is open government.

Budget, Daily Bread, Elections, Legislature, Wisconsin, WisDems

Daily Bread for 7.21.25: “If Wisconsinites want a better budget…”

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 80. Sunrise is 5:35 and sunset is 8:26, for 14 hours, 51 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 13 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

The Whitewater Common Council & the Whitewater Unified School District Board meet jointly at 6 PM. Whitewater’s Library Board meets at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1983, the world’s lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at -89.2 °C (-128.6 °F).

There’s much talk about whether the recent Wisconsin biennial budget was the best that Wisconsin could do. It’s an editorial from The Cap Times — that’s right, Madison’s Cap Times — that assesses this matter most accurately:

Without Evers’ vetoes, the harm done by President Trump’s big, ugly plan to gut safety net programs — as part of a strategy to provide massive tax cuts for billionaires — would have been even more severe for working Wisconsinites.

But Evers could not veto the 2025-27 budget to perfection, or even to acceptability in the eyes of most Legislative Democrats. 

…..

Where this leaves us is with a political reality: if Wisconsinites want a better budget, they have to elect more moderate, liberal and progressive Democrats to the Assembly and Senate.

See Editorial, If you want a better budget, elect a better Legislature, The Cap Times, July 9, 2025.

Yes. Directing criticism toward Evers — the governor of Wisconsin, not a senator from far bluer New York — is merely a work of self-indulgent performance art.

Those who want better will have to work for better by canvassing, voting, and effectively advancing their message at public assemblies.

Those who are not canvassing, voting, and effectively advancing their message at public assemblies will get the legislative majorities that their opponents want.

Common Species From The Panama Hummingbird Feeder Cam:

0:00 – 0:21 Panama Hummingbird Feeder Cam Intro 0:22 – 0:35 Blue-chested Hummingbird 0:36 – 0:42 Long-billed Hermit 0:43 – 0:52 Rufous-tailed Hummingbird 0:53 – 0:59 Snowy-bellied Hummingbird 1:00 – 1:10 Stripe-throated Hermit 1:11 – 1:25 Violet-bellied Hummingbird 1:26 – 1:42 White-necked Jacobin 1:43 – 2:08 White-vented Plumeleteer

Charity, City, Daily Bread, Good Ideas, School District

Daily Bread for 7.20.25: A School Supplies Drive for Whitewater

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 77. Sunrise is 5:34 and sunset is 8:27, for 14 hours, 53 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 22.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1969, Apollo 11‘s crew successfully makes the first human landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.

The City of Whitewater is conducting a school supplies drive:

The supplies drive runs through 8.11.25.

Best wishes for a successful campaign.

Tiger cub siblings vaccinated at Germany’s Magdeburg Zoo:

Daily Bread, Food

Daily Bread for 7.19.25: A Real New York Sandwich

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be cloudy with scattered thundershowers and a high of 81. Sunrise is 5:33 and sunset is 8:28, for 14 hours, 54 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 33.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 64, the Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.

Here’s the Real New Yorker’s Sandwich:

Forget your street cart hot dogs and deli pastrami, the real New Yorker’s sandwich is the chopped cheese, a beautiful conglomeration of chopped ground beef, melted cheese and secret seasoning, all served on a hero or a roll. The birthplace of the chopped cheese is Hajji’s Deli in Harlem, where Salah has been managing the joint for the past 15 years. Inspired by an Arabic dish, the chopped cheese has now become a New York staple, with fans in everyone from Jay-Z to Cam’ron.

— Bodega Cats (@bodegacats.bsky.social) 2025-07-14T11:14:50.665Z

Daily Bread, Economy, Tariffs, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.18.25: Tariffs’ Consequences for Wisconsin

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 78. Sunrise is 5:32 and sunset is 8:29, for 14 hours, 56 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 42.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1821, the United States takes possession of Florida after the Kingdom of Spain cedes the territory.

Tariffs’ effects are notable for Wisconsin manufacturing. In an interview with Kate Archer Kent, President and Managing Director Sandi Siegel of customs brokerage M.E. Dey & Co. described tariffs’ toll on prices:

KAK: Can you bring this down to the micro level in Wisconsin? Are individual consumers and households seeing the effects of these tariffs and trade threats?

SS: I ask customers myself when we meet and talk about the challenges. Are you passing on the tariffs to your customer? Are you absorbing it? How are you managing that? I won’t say all companies, but I’d say most companies can absorb, not happily, but they can absorb a 10 percent increase (from tariffs). When you start getting into some of these higher dollar amounts, like percentages for China and some of the other rate increases going on, that is a different conversation. They certainly are passing on those rates. 

One of the bigger impacts that has been coming fast and furious is the (50 percent) steel and aluminum tariffs. We’re a heavy manufacturing community in Wisconsin, and their raw materials are being impacted heavily. My understanding is some of the steel and materials needed can’t be sourced even within the U.S. So there are some definite challenges there that certainly are increasing prices. 

See Lauren Cox, How latest Trump administration tariffs and trade disputes are affecting commerce in Wisconsin (‘Changing tariffs and shifting trade negotiation deadlines has created challenges for Wisconsin companies importing and exporting goods’), Wisconsin Public Radio, July 16, 2025.

Watch whale nudge boat during close encounter:

A curious whale came pretty close to a group of whale watchers off the coast of Argentina.

City, Film

Film: Tuesday, July 22nd, 1:00 PM @ Seniors in the Park, Last Breath

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Tuesday, July 22nd at 1:00 PM, there will be a showing of Last Breath @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building:

Adventure/Thriller/True Story

Rated PG-13. 1 hour, 33 minutes (2025)

A true story: North Sea deep-sea communication divers battle the raging sea to rescue their crew mate trapped on the ocean‘s bottom with oxygen and time running out. Gripping. Breathtaking. Edge of your seat! Filmed on location. Stars Woody Harrelson.

One can find more information about Last Breath at the Internet Movie Database.

Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.17.25: Wisconsin Justice Rebecca Bradley’s Career Options Narrow

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 70. Sunrise is 5:32 and sunset is 8:29, for 14 hours, 58 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 55.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Community Development Authority meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1821, the United States takes possession of Florida after the Kingdom of Spain cedes the territory.

Wisconsin will hold her next state supreme court election in April 2026. Incumbent Justice Rebecca Bradley has declared her intention to run, but has not formally entered the race. Although she has several career choices before her, a federal judicial appointment is not (by her choice) one of them:

U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin have sent to President Donald Trump this week five recommendations for filling a vacant seat on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, but the Trump administration is signaling that it is going its own way in selecting the nominee.

Sources told the Journal Sentinel that Trump officials interviewed a handful of conservative Wisconsin candidates on their own. The interviews occurred before Johnson and Baldwin’s judicial nominating commission, which normally selects candidates for federal judgeships and other positions and forwards them to the White House for consideration, completed its review and submitted candidates’ names.

At least five of the 19 applicants for the position traveled to Washington, D.C., to sit for interviews with White House staff in mid-May, according to multiple sources familiar with the process.

….

Several prominent Wisconsin judges who were expected to vie for the seat didn’t end up applying. Those included state Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley, Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow and U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig, a Trump appointee.

All three have strong conservative credentials, but multiple sources told the Journal Sentinel that the president wanted to nominate someone who is expected to be on the appellate court for decades. Bradley, Dorow and Ludwig are all 54 years old or older.

See Daniel Bice and Lawrence Andrea, Trump administration signals it is bypassing Wisconsin’s senators in key judicial selection, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 17, 2025.

Her decision not to seek the federal appointment now leaves Bradley with these options:

Bradley (1) might receive an appointment to the federal bench, (2) might come across a lucrative private sector offer, (3) would have a tough go of reelection, and (4) would sit in the minority on Wisconsin’s high court for at least two more years even if she won re-election in 2026.

See also Updates on the Careers of Gableman and Bradley (4.8.25), Chris Taylor Enters Wisconsin Supreme Court Race (5.24.25), and Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley’s Career Prospects (7.15.25).

‘Good Trouble’ protests honor John Lewis and challenge Trump policies:

Over 1,600 ‘Good Trouble’ protests are expected on July 17 to honor late civil rights icon John Lewis and challenge Trump-era policies.

See also Good Trouble Lives On.

Daily Bread, Elections, Gubernatorial Race 2026, Wisconsin, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 7.16.25: Out-of-State Billionaires Seek Attention of Another Out-of-State Billionaire

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with scattered afternoon thunderstorms and a high of 87. Sunrise is 5:31 and sunset is 8:30, for 14 hours, 59 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 66.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Parks and Recreation Board meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1945, the Atomic Age begins when the United States successfully detonates a plutonium-based test nuclear weapon near Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Here’s a headline and three paragraphs about the 2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial election:

Winklevoss twins spend big on Bill Berrien, 2026 Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial candidate.

MADISON – Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of cryptocurrency company Gemini and known for their legal dispute with Mark Zuckerberg over the creation of Facebook, donated a total of $1 million to support Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Berrien, campaign finance reports show.

The twins each donated $500,000 to Berrien’s PAC that he launched earlier this year, which at the time of its launch was characterized as a way to boost GOP candidates through tough election cycles.

The donations accounted for the vast majority of Berrien’s fundraising, which totaled $1.2 million, according to the records.

See Anna Kleiber, Winklevoss twins spend big on Bill Berrien, 2026 Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial candidate, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 15, 2025.

(This is Kleiber’s second strong story in the same week.)

Here’s what it means:

Out-of-state billionaires seek attention of another out-of-state billionaire. The Winklevoss brothers are seeking Trump’s notice (and so, too, is in-state candidate Berrien).

This attention-seeking isn’t a sign of WISGOP strength; it’s a sign of dependency on one Florida man.

Helicopter drops water as aerial crews battle wildfire in Central Oregon: