Monday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny during the day, and rainy this evening, with a high of 64. Sunrise is 6:22 and sunset 5:49 for 11h 26m 33s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 39.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
There will be Election Inspector Training today in Whitewater at 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM. Whitewater’s Lakes Advisory Committee meets at 5 PM, and the Equal Opportunities Commission also meets at 5 PM.
On this day in 1776, the Continental Army fortifies Dorchester Heights with cannon, leading the British troops to abandon the Siege of Boston.
Two quick reminders on local government, special interests, etc.:
Second, a good way to measure the strength of a position (considering its quality of being strong, its merit, and its desirability) is to ask: would one trade that position for another one?
Sunday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 68. Sunrise is 6:24 and sunset 5:48 for 11h 23m 40s of daytime. The moon is in its third quarter with 50.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
“It was hard to break through but it’s good to get out here for a good cold plunge,” a voice narrates, poking at the icy crust that still glazed the lake. Slowly, the camera pans to reveal a shirtless Hovde, nipple-deep in Lake Mendota.
Hovde, a Republican, is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Wisconsin while also running a company that is not based in the Badger State. He reportedly shot the video near a home he owns on Lake Mendota.
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“So the Dems and Sen. Baldwin keep saying I’m not from Wisconsin, which is a complete joke,” Hovde continued, back hair fluttering in the frigid breeze. “Alright Sen. Baldwin, why don’t you get out here in this frozen lake and let’s really see who’s from Wisconsin.”
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin had a one-word response to Hovde’s invitation to go jump in a lake to prove how Wisconsin-y she is. “No.”
Wisconsin Democrats were not so amused by the stunt.
“If California bank owner Eric Hovde thinks sitting in a lake is going to stop us from telling Wisconsinites about his California bank, California megamansion, and California ties, he’s going to be swimming a whole lot for the next eight months,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Rapid Response Director Arik Wolk said in a statement.
Holy Moly, Hovde must be totally nuts a tad insecure to film a stunt like this. He doesn’t need political consultants — he needs counseling.
Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 60. Sunrise is 6:26 and sunset 5:47 for 11h 20m 46s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 61 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1983, compact discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had previously been available only in Japan.
Friday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 47. Sunrise is 6:27 and sunset 5:45 for 11h 17m 53s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 70.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1917, the Zimmermann Telegram is reprinted in newspapers across the United States after the U.S. government releases its unencrypted text.
Most of the run-government-like-a-business rhetoric leaves this libertarian blogger cold. There are fundamental distinctions between public and private that the mantra about making both run the same way ignores. And yet, ironically, a description of how private corporate boards work, from Matt Levine, is a good starting point for a discussion of public municipal boards. Levine explains when The Board of Directors Is in Charge (and when it’s not):
The basic rule is that the board of directors of a company is in charge of the company, and when they are faced with a decision, the directors are supposed to make the choice that they believe is best for the company and all of its shareholders. The shareholders don’t make the decision; the board does.[1]
Now, the directors are elected by the shareholders, and when the company has a controlling shareholder, the idea that the directors are in charge can feel somewhat absurd. The controlling shareholder — say, a founder and chief executive officer who owns 60% of the stock — can come into the boardroom and say “I want you to sell all of the company’s assets to me for $1,” and the directors will say “no, in our independent judgment that’s a bad idea,” and the founder/CEO/shareholder will say “okay you’re fired,” and she will replace them with more pliable directors. And she can do that, because she has the votes.[2] But still: The directors are supposed to exercise their independent judgment and do what is in the company’s best interests, and if they conclude that the founder/CEO’s plan is bad, they have to say no and get fired. They can’t just say “well, ultimately she controls the company, so we have to do what she asks.” Exercising independent judgment is their job.
I cannot promise that every board of directors of every company sees things this way — I think some directors of private startups see their job as “advise and empower the founder/CEO” rather than “exercise independent judgment” — but the courts in Delaware, where most US public companies are incorporated, definitely see things this way.[3]
(Levine is always worthy reading — insightful and artful.)
There’s much in this description that one can apply to public councils and boards.
First, ordinarily, a council or board is, and should be, the primary authority in a public institution.
Second, they are to make decisions in the public interest (as directors are to make decisions in shareholders’ interests).
Third, just as some shareholders gain so much leverage over an institution that they become controlling shareholders, so in disordered communities special interests sometimes gain control over a council or board and misdirect its attention and efforts to their own selfish ends.
Fourth, the distinction between private and public action is fundamental: public institutions belong to all, while private institutions belong to those who have ownership interests. In the case of Whitewater, the answer to the question Who Owns Whitewater? should and must be Everyone and Yet No One.
There should be, and must be, a large space for private activity, but just as all cannot be public in a productive society that necessarily depends on private property, so not all can be private in a society that respects equally the rights of individuals.
While controlling shareholders may dominate and manipulate a private corporation and its directors, however risky that may be, private residents must not dominate public institutions in the same way.
Reasonable people are able to make relevant and material distinctions between private and public.
Applied to Whitewater: recently the Whitewater Common Council and for many years the Community Development Authority were run as though this city had a few controlling shareholders who counted for more than others. These controlling shareholders were no better than others, if not in many ways worse.
There is reason to be concerned that the same special interests (acting as though they are controlling shareholders) are even now plotting a return, first to capture again the CDA and then to capture again the Common Council in the years afterward.
Repeated encroachments will only lead to an escalated campaign against their efforts; a campaign against them will not stop until they stop.
While the city has had a problem with a few residents who have acted as controlling shareholders and catspaw directors, the school district has a different problem: the district has a board that simply will not listen to any shareholders, and is run with, so to speak, a CEO and weak board of directors that allows too much from the CEO and listens too little to the shareholders.
The city has seen too much influence from a few entitled men; the district has seen too little influence from well-meaning ordinary men & women.
This, it seems, is the least responsive school board and administration since FREE WHITEWATER began publishing in 2007. (Honest to goodness, I never thought a board and administration would be less responsive than when Steinhaus was administrator, but never say never. See Dr. Steinhaus’s Glass House and Dr. Steinhaus vs. Student: Student Wins!)
I’ll offer a series next week on how we got here, and how to set the district on a better path.
This Leap Day in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 43. Sunrise is 6:29 and sunset 5:44 for 11h 15m 00s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 78.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1796, the Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain comes into force, facilitating ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations.
A former Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) warden who served on the agency’s committee to create a new wolf management plan for the state is under investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for killing a wolf in his yard in December. He has claimed self-defense, but he posted on Facebook in November that he was baiting the animals with doughnuts and rice crispy cereal.
The warden, Patrick Quaintance, also sits on the Wisconsin Conservation Congress where he holds positions on the body’s fur harvest and bear committees. The conservation congress serves as an important pathway between residents in Wisconsin and environmental policy makers. In the past, conservation groups have complained that the body is controlled by pro-hunting interests.
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The investigation into Quaintance was first reported by Wisconsin Public Radio and the Ashland Daily Press. The Examiner has confirmed the investigation with the DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
A month before killing the wolf, in November, Quaintance posted a photo of a wolf from a trail camera on his property to his Facebook page. In the comments, he is asked what he’s baiting them with.
He first responds with an emoji of a doughnut before adding that he used “rice crispy.” Another commenter responds with “snap crackle POP.”
Because wolves are currently listed by the federal government as endangered in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest, a wolf can only be killed in self-defense. The hunting and trapping of wolves, including the use of bait, are currently illegal in Wisconsin.
Quaintance did not respond to a request for comment.
Quaintance’s career places a special burden on him: a warden, or former warden who respects the legacy of his service, cannot uphold the law by breaking it. As a smaller matter, it should be obvious that wolf-hunting with rice crispies is simply a weakling’s method. No bragging rights here, old boy.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 41. Sunrise is 6:31 and sunset 5:43 for 11h 12m 08s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 85.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1983, the final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 110 million viewers.
Readers in the area may remember the sham Harry Potter Warriors & Wizards festival that Jefferson, Wisconsin once held. That so-called festival was a threadbare event that advertised extravagantly yet produced shabbily.
Well, Scotland has its own version of this problem, as different promoters are working from the same promise-big-deliver-nothing playbook. Benj Edwards reports Cops called after parents get tricked by AI-generated images of Wonka-like event (‘Dull in-person warehouse for kids doesn’t live up to technicolor AI-generated promo images’):
On Saturday, event organizers shut down a Glasgow-based “Willy’s Chocolate Experience” after customers complained that the unofficial Wonka-inspired event, which took place in a sparsely decorated venue, did not match the lush AI-generated images listed on its official website (archive here). According to Sky News, police were called to the event, and “advice was given.”
“What an absolute shambles of an event,” wrote Stuart Sinclar on Facebook after paying 35 pounds per ticket for himself and his kids. “Took 2 minutes to get through to then see a queue of people surrounding the guy running it complaining … The kids received 2 jelly babies and a quarter of a can of Barrs limeade.”
The Willy’s Chocolate Experience website, which promises “a journey filled with wondrous creations and enchanting surprises at every turn,” features five AI-generated images (likely created with OpenAI’s DALL-E 3) that evoke a candy-filled fantasy wonderland inspired by the Willy Wonka universe and the recent Wonka film. But in reality, Sinclair was met with a nearly empty location with a few underwhelming decorations and a tiny bouncy castle. In one photo shared by Sinclair, a rainbow arch leads to a single yellow gummy bear and gum drop sitting on a bare concrete floor.
The promise and the reality differed:
apparently this was sold as a live Willy Wonka Experience but they used all AI images on the website to sell tickets and then people showed up and saw this and it got so bad people called the cops lmao pic.twitter.com/tfkyg0G0WG
Tuesday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 69. Sunrise is 6:32 and sunset 5:42 for 11h 09m 16s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 91.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Reporting from Talking Points Memo and CNN shows that Wisconsin native Kenneth Chesebro, now an admitted felon, lied about his instigation of insurrection while writing as BadgerPundit. Molly Beck of the Journal Sentinelsummarizes the reporting:
A Wisconsin native at the center of Donald Trump’s 2020 scheme to stay in power tweeted anonymously under the name “BadgerPundit” in the days following Trump’s reelection loss, promoting theories on how the former president could avoid leaving office.
Kenneth Chesebro, a former campaign attorney for Trump, used the Twitter account to urge Republicans to use Trump electors or Republican-led state legislatures to overturn Trump’s loss and concealed the account from Michigan prosecutors probing the scheme, according to new reporting from CNN and Talking Points Memo.
Chesebro, who is helping investigators in at least four states who are probing the scheme to overturn the 2020 election, initially denied using the social media platform formerly known as Twitter or having “alternate IDs” when asked by Michigan investigators in 2023 but has since confirmed to CNN he used the BadgerPundit account.
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Chesebro initially told Michigan prosecutors he felt “misled” by the Trump campaign about the fake elector plan but the BadgerPundit account also defended the plot. The blog associated with the social media account dates back to 2011, inspired by the Act 10 legislation that spun Wisconsin politics into turmoil.
Attorneys for Chesebro told CNN “there’s clearly a conflict” between what Chesebro told investigators and what he tweeted.
Monday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 61. Sunrise is 6:34 and sunset 5:40 for 11h 06m 24s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 96.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission meets at 4:30 PM. The Whitewater School Board’s Policy Review Committee meets at 5:30 PM. The Whitewater School Board then holds its regular meeting this evening, going into closed session shortly after 6:30 PM and returning to open session at 7 PM.
On this day in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba.
Linked above is the agenda for the 2.26.24 policy review meeting and regular meeting of the Whitewater Unified School District Board. Embedded below is the agenda of the school board’s regular meeting.
Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 54. Sunrise is 6:35 and sunset 5:39 for 11h 03m 33s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 98.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
MADISON – Assembly officials have admitted former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman violated public records laws while taxpayers paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars to probe the 2020 election — an investigation that did not turn up any evidence to question President Joe Biden’s victory.
The acknowledgment by Assembly leaders was part of an agreement to settle a lawsuit filed against the Assembly’s Office of Special Counsel when Gableman occupied the office. It was filed by liberal watchdog American Oversight after Gableman testified he routinely deleted records during a hearing in another lawsuit over Gableman’s record keeping.
Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 35. Sunrise is 6:37 and sunset 5:38 for 11h 00m 43s of daytime. The moon is full with all of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1803, in Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review.
Ever wondered how they create those terrifying zombies in movies? Creating a convincing zombie isn’t easy, as it requires a special expertise and CELL Technical Art Studios are the masters. Working on hugely-popular zombie films such as ‘Train to Busan,’ Netflix’s ‘Kingdom’ and many more, the small team have mastered the art of making rotting flesh.
And they don’t just do gore – they made props for Bong Joon-ho’s acclaimed films ‘Parasite’ and ‘Okja.’ The founder and CEO, Hwang Hyo-Kyun lives and breathes SFX, and has been deceiving audiences for more than twenty years.
This cottage industry might be under threat by CGI, but Hwang’s team of experts are still in high demand. Disclaimer: This video contains gory imagery, but the props shown in this video are created solely for entertainment purposes. Viewer discretion is advised.
If you like horror films, and you’ve not seen a Korean zombie film, then you’re missing out. Korean cinema is excellent across many genres, including zombie films. Train to Busan and Kingdom are both quite good.
In a kingdom defeated by corruption and famine, a mysterious plague spreads to turn the infected into monsters. The crown prince, framed for treason and desperate to save his people, sets out on a journey to unveil what evil lurks in the dark.
Friday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 44. Sunrise is 6:39 and sunset 5:37 for 10h 57m 53s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 99.3% of its visible disk illuminated.
The state Ethics Commission alleges Donald Trump’s joint fundraising committee and GOP state Rep. Janel Brandtjen schemed to evade campaign finance limits as part of an effort that steered at least $40,000 to the 2022 primary challenge of Speaker Robin Vos, according to records obtained by WisPolitics.
The commission this week recommended local district attorneys investigate and charge both, as well as the campaign of Adam Steen, who lost to Vos by 260 votes, eight individuals and the three county Republican parties alleged to be involved.
The referrals accuse Steen, Brandtjen, the Save America Joint Fundraising Committee and others of committing felonies.
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The commission alleges the participants sought to take advantage of Wisconsin laws that place no caps on the size of donations political parties may receive and allow them to make unlimited transfers to candidates.
The heart of the effort was an arrangement between Steen, the county parties and others to send donations to the Langlade County GOP, the investigation found. Steen and campaign aides told those who wanted to give more than the $1,000 limit on individual donations for Assembly candidates to send the additional contributions to the Langlade County GOP with a “63” in the memo line. That references the district Vos, R-Rochester, represents. The number was a signal that the Langlade County GOP was to forward those funds or use them for in-kind donations to benefit Steen, according to the documents, which were obtained through an open records request.
