Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with a high of fifty-one. Sunrise is 6:17 AM and sunset 7:33 PM, for 13h 15m 45sof daytime. The moon is full, with 99.9% of its visible disk illuminated. Today is the {tooltip}one hundred fifty-fourth day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}

On this day in 1898, Pres. McKinley asks Congress for a declaration of war against Spain. On this day in 1965, six tornadoes struck Southern Wisconsin, killing 3 and injuring 65, as part of an outbreak of 51 tornadoes responsible for 260 deaths and over $200 million in damages throughout Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

Recommended for reading in full —

Jacob Carpenter reports that a Milwaukee woman accuses jail staff of causing unborn child’s death: “A former inmate at the Milwaukee County Jail is alleging her unborn child died in the womb because of improper medical care she received while in Sheriff’s Office custody. Attorneys for Jennifer Jawson said they believe medical staff failed to give the 35-year-old mother proper prescriptions during her weeklong stint in jail. Jawson was nearly 9 months pregnant when her child’s heart stopped beating, her lawyers said Jawson’s attorneys on Friday filed a notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit against a county agency. It’s the fifth notice of claim filed against the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office in relation to medical care and a death involving an inmate in 2016. Four people died at the facility last year.”

Anthony Faiola and Sarah Pulliam Bailey report How Pope Francis is leading the Catholic Church against anti-migrant populism: “VATICAN CITY — As politicians around the world including President Trump take an increasingly hard line on immigration, a powerful force is rallying to the side of migrants: the Roman Catholic Church led by Pope Francis. Catholic cardinals, bishops and priests are emerging as some of the most influential opponents of immigration crackdowns backed by right-wing populists in the United States and Europe. The moves come as Francis, who has put migrants at the top of his agenda, appears to be leading by example, emphasizing his support for their rights in sermons, speeches and deeds. The pro-migrant drive risks dividing Catholics — many of whom in the United States voted for Trump. Some observers say it is also inserting the church into politics in a manner recalling the heady days of Pope John Paul II, who stared down communism and declared his opposition to the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The Vatican is standing in open opposition to politicians like Trump not just on immigration but also on other issues, including climate-change policy. But the focal point is clearly migrant rights.”

Michael J. O’Loughlin reports New data suggest Clinton, not Trump, won Catholic vote: “According to an analysis of American National Election Studies data by a political scientist at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Catholic voters narrowly went for Democrat Hillary Clinton, 48 percent to 45 percent. Among Hispanic Catholics, Mrs. Clinton cleaned up handily, winning by more than 50 points.”

Rick Wilson contends that The Trouble With Trump’s White House Is Donald Trump: “Trump is faced with terrible options when it comes to rearranging the deck chairs on the SS White House, and those of us who warned you this was inevitable are ordering popcorn. The cancer in the presidency isn’t his staff—though they reflect his shoddy intellect, his shallow impulsiveness, his loose grasp of reality, and Chinese-menu ideology. The problem is Trump himself, and nothing and no one can change that. Let’s start with the leader of the Pepe Army sleeper cell at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Steve Bannon. If Trump keeps his chief strategist, he keeps the poisonous, post-conservative nationalism and thinly-veiled racial and religious animus that helped put him in the Oval Office. Bannon was great at running a conspiracy blog, but his political instincts are those of an arsonist, not a strategist. He has led Trump into a series of unforced political debacles, tainted relations with Congress, and alienated members of America’s new royal family. He’s already become persona non grata in Congress for his absurdly villainous performance trying unsuccessfully to browbeat them into accepting the ludicrously unpopular Trumpcare bill, and his economic nationalism is big-government statism wrapped in populist trade and industrial policies. Bannon is a famous brawler, and like many brawlers after too many beers, he lashes out any anyone for lookin’ at him funny. A Bannon power center in the White House is as dangerous as its vacuum.”

So, why do goats have weird eyes?

Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will see a high of seventy on a day with a probability of thunderstorms. Sunrise is 6:19 AM and sunset 7:32 PM, for 13h 12m 57s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 99% of its visible disk illuminated. Today is the {tooltip}one hundred fifty-third day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}

On this day in 1866, Henry Bergh founds the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York City. On this day in 1861, 26 volunteers from Sauk County depart for Madison where they would become part of the First Wisconsin Infantry, Company F. (By the end of the war, over one thousand men would serve in the Union Army from Sauk County alone.)

Recommended for reading in full —

Emily Steel reports that Fox Asks Law Firm to Investigate Bill O’Reilly Harassment Claim: “21st Century Fox has enlisted the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison to investigate at least one accusation of sexual harassment against the Fox News host Bill O’Reilly. The move is the latest in the response to a New York Times investigation published this month on Mr. O’Reilly’s settlements with five women who complained of sexual harassment or other inappropriate behavior. Wendy Walsh, a former guest on Mr. O’Reilly’s show who detailed accusations against him to The Times, called 21st Century Fox’s anonymous hotline last week, prompting the investigation. “21st Century Fox investigates all complaints and we have asked the law firm Paul Weiss to continue assisting the company in these serious matters,” the company said in a statement on Sunday. Paul Weiss is the same law firm that conducted an internal investigation into Roger Ailes, the former Fox News chairman. 21st Century Fox executives decided to dismiss Mr. Ailes after the lawyers took statements from at least six women who described inappropriate behavior by him.”

Danny Vinik outlines Trump’s threat to the 2020 Census: “Already, Congress’ inability to agree on a full-year funding measure for fiscal 2017 has forced the Census Bureau to cancel multiple field tests and delay opening three field offices. It also had to cut back on new, less labor-intensive methods for verifying household addresses, a critical undertaking that was supposed to make the 2020 Census more cost-effective and accurate. And more broadly, the Trump administration’s hardline rhetoric and executive orders cracking down on undocumented immigrants may already be creating a major new risk for the census, making members of minority and immigrant communities less likely to respond. “If you imagine that the federal government is asking for personal information and you feel that the federal government is hostile and that if you were to answer this, perhaps they would use this against you,” said Terry Ao Minnis, director of the census and voting programs at Asian Americans Advancing Justice. “That of course will make people less inclined to participate.”

Lindsey Rupp, Lauren Coleman-Lochner, and Nick Turner report that America’s Retailers Are Closing Stores Faster Than Ever: “Extrapolating out to the full year, there could be 8,640 store closings in 2017, Buss said. That would be higher than the 2008 peak of about 6,200. Retail defaults are contributing to the trend. Payless is closing 400 stores as part of a bankruptcy plan announced on Tuesday. The mammoth chain had roughly 4,000 locations and 22,000 employees — more than it needs to handle sluggish demand. HHGregg Inc., Gordmans Stores Inc. and Gander Mountain Co. all entered bankruptcy this year. RadioShack, meanwhile, filed for Chapter 11 for the second time in two years. Other companies are plowing ahead with store closures outside of bankruptcy court. Sears Holdings Corp., Macy’s Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. are shutting hundreds of locations combined, reeling from an especially punishing slump in the department-store industry.”

Shawn Boburg and Robert O’Harrow Jr. describe How Bannon’s multimedia machine drove a movement and paid him millions: “A Washington Post examination found that Bannon was able to produce more than a dozen conservative documentaries over the past decade by drawing on a network of two dozen nonprofit organizations and private companies. Bannon helped arrange donations from wealthy Republicans to the nonprofits that paid him for films and other work, documents show. At the same time, Bannon and his firms took in at least $2 million from the nonprofits and an additional $5?million from the private companies, records show. Bannon, who had already made millions on Wall Street, often was paid in multiple ways for each project — a common practice in Hollywood, where he had worked as an entertainment financier. Because he was paid through the nonprofit and private companies, which have limited obligations to disclose details about their activities, the total pay to Bannon remains unknown. In a personal financial disclosure released by the White House last month, Bannon reported his net worth as between $11.8 million and $53.8 million. Bannon, the White House and Schweizer did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Tax specialists told The Post that some of Bannon’s activities raise questions about compliance with Internal Revenue Service restrictions against using tax­exempt charities to attack a political candidate or for excessive personal financial benefit.”

Simon Whistler presents The Rubber Band: Holding It Together Since 1820:

Good morning.

Palm Sunday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with a high of seventy-three. Sunrise is 6:21 AM and sunset 7:31 PM, for 13h 10m 07s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 97% of its visible disk illuminated. Today is the {tooltip}one hundred fifty-second day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}

On this day in 1865, Lee surrenders to Grant. The 5th, 6th, 7th, 19th, 36th, 37th and 38th Wisconsin Infantry regiments were among the troops that had helped corner Lee there. The 36th were present to witness the formal surrender ceremony.

Recommended for reading in full —

Margaret Sullivan observes that The media loved Trump’s show of military might. Are we really doing this again?: ““Guest after guest is gushing. From MSNBC to CNN, Trump is receiving his best night of press so far,” wrote Sam Sacks, a Washington podcaster and journalist. “And all he had to do was start a war.” Why do so many in the news media love a show of force? “There is no faster way to bring public support than to pursue military action,” said Ken Paulson, head of the Newseum Institute’s First Amendment Center. “It’s a pattern not only in American history, but in world history. We rally around the commander in chief — and that’s understandable.” Paulson noted that the news media also “seem to get bored with their own narrative” about Trump’s failings, and they welcome a chance to switch it up. But that’s not good enough, he said: “The watchdog has to have clear vision and not just a sporadic bark.”

(This is true of successful criticism: it begins and exhibits periods of a sporadic bark’s maneuver, but it prevails though a clear vision’s attrition. See, along these lines, What Grant’s Overland Campaign Teaches for Grave Political Conflict.)

Former GOP Congressman Mickey Edwards exclaims Stand Up, Paul Ryan, or Step Aside: “The toadiness of the legislative leadership, and the low regard in which it is held by the president’s entourage, have led to such previously unimaginable scenes as Stephen Bannon, a senior White House staff member, giving orders to members of Congress and demanding a copy of the leadership’s secret vote counts to create an enemies list for possible reprisals. Mr. Bannon should have been ordered to leave the Capitol. Again, it was Speaker Ryan’s job at that moment to assert the independence and equal status of the legislative branch. Instead, he obsequiously ran downtown to see the boss.”

(Local publications like the Janesville Gazette have cosseted Janesville resident Paul Ryan for years, but their gentle petting has ill-prepared Ryan for defending his institution against men like Bannon.)

Jeremy Peters contends that Bannon’s Views Can Be Traced to a Book That Warns, ‘Winter Is Coming’: “The book, “The Fourth Turning,” a 1997 work by two amateur historians, Neil Howe and William Strauss, lays out a theory that American history unfurls in predictable, 80-year cycles of prosperity and catastrophe. And it foresees catastrophe right around the corner….But those who question Mr. Trump and Mr. Bannon’s motives say the central premise of “The Fourth Turning,” with its religious subtext and dark premonitions, is a convenient excuse to sow fear and justify extreme action. Many academic historians dismiss the book as about as scientific as astrology or a Nostradamus text. And many will find reason for alarm in its conclusion that the coming crisis will demand loyalty and conformity from citizens.”

(It’s worth noting that Bannon’s ideas derive from several, but equally fringe, theories.)

Joshua Partlow reports that The Soviet Union fought the Cold War in Nicaragua. Now Putin’s Russia is back: “Three decades after this tiny Central American nation became the prize in a Cold War battle with Washington, Russia is once again planting its flag in Nicaragua. Over the past two years, the Russian government has added muscle to its security partnership here, selling tanks and weapons, sending troops, and building facilities intended to train Central American forces to fight drug trafficking. The Russian surge appears to be part of the Kremlin’s expansionist foreign policy. In other parts of the world, President Vladimir Putin’s administration has deployed fighter planes to help Syria’s war-battered government and stepped up peace efforts in Afghanistan, in addition to annexing the Crimean Peninsula and supporting separatists in Ukraine.”

Here’s a video from You Suck at Cooking that tackles tomato sauce:

Good morning.

Whitewater’s Saturday will be sunny with a high of sixty-nine. Sunrise is 6:22 AM and sunset 7:30 PM, for 13h 07m 17s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 92.6% of its visible disk illuminated. Today is the {tooltip}one hundred fifty-first day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}

On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s home-run record (714) by hitting his 715th home run off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing. On this day in 1865, Union forces including the 8th, 11th, 14th, 20th, 23rd, 27th, 28th, 29th, 33rd, and 35th Wisconsin Infantry regiments capture Spanish Fort and seize control of Mobile Bay, Alabama.

Recommended for reading in full —

Jason Stein and Patrick Marley report GOP allies Scott Walker, Robin Vos have heated Twitter, text exchange on Wisconsin budget: “As I recall, the debate started with the unprecedented discussion of starting with a new budget & the continued attacks on transportation. It would be odd if I didn’t defend my positions,” Walker wrote at one point in the text exchange. “I think it actually started with the decision of your office to not really involve us before the process began unlike each of your other budgets … So without giving us ownership of anything in your budget it’s kind of hard for us (to) just rubber stamp it,” Vos responded. “Unlike the last budget where we met with nearly every member in advance & got trashed,” Walker snapped back.”

The New York Times editorial board asks, After the Airstrikes on Syria, What’s Next?: “It was hard not to feel some sense of emotional satisfaction, and justice done, when American cruise missiles struck an airfield in Syria on Thursday. The country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, needed to understand that there would finally be a cost for his brutality, in this case the use of chemical weapons with sarin, a banned nerve agent, that killed scores of civilians earlier this week in one of the worst atrocities of the Syrian civil war. But it is also hard not to feel unsettled by the many questions raised by President Trump’s decision. Among them: Was it legal? Was it an impetuous, isolated response unrelated to a larger strategy for resolving the complex dilemma of Syria, a nation tormented not just by civil war but also by the fight against the Islamic State? So far, there is no evidence that Mr. Trump has thought through the implications of using military force or figured out what to do next.”

Louisa Loveluck and Zakaria Zakaria write that Warplanes return to Syrian town devastated by chemical attack: “BEIRUT — Residents of the Syrian town devastated by a chemical-weapons attack last week said that warplanes had returned to bomb them Saturday as Turkey described a retaliatory U.S. assault as “cosmetic” unless it removed President Bashar al-Assad from power. At least 86 people were killed in Tuesday’s attack on the northwestern town of Khan Sheikhoun, which left hundreds choking, fitting or foaming at the mouth. Eyewitnesses said Saturday that fresh airstrikes on the area — now a ghost town — had killed one woman and wounded several others. Photographs from the site showed a pair of green slippers, abandoned by a blood-spattered doorway. The U.S. military launched 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian military airfield early Friday in the first direct American assault on Assad’s government since that country’s six-year civil war began. Although American officials have predicted that the strikes would result in a major shift of Assad’s calculus, they appeared to be symbolic in practice. Within 24 hours of the American strikes, monitoring groups reported that jets were taking off from the bombed Shayrat air base once again.”

Rosie Gray writes of Trump’s Disillusioned Supporters (the president’s military action in Syria is a bitter disappointment for some of his biggest fans): “What Trump did was nothing less than a betrayal, a betrayal of his supporters, of his message ‘America First!,’ of his promise to be different—to learn from the mistakes of the past and chart a new course,” said Richard Spencer, the alt-right leader who takes credit for coining the term. “I’ll wait and see, of course, but I’m not sure I can continue to support him. Most all of the alt-right feels the same way.” Spencer tweeted on Thursday, “Tulsi Gabbard 2020 #Trumped,” a reference to the Democratic congresswoman who recently made a controversial trip to Syria and met with Bashar al-Assad. Mike Cernovich, the pro-Trump blogger and Twitter personality who identifies as a member of the “new right,” has been tweeting and livestreaming his opposition to military action almost constantly since the news of the strikes last night. Cernovich, who claimed this week that the chemical attack was carried out by “deep state agents,” told me he still supports Trump. “If Hillary had been elected I wouldn’t even bother speaking out, as war would be certain,” Cernovich said in an email. “I’m still a Trump supporter, as last night’s air strikes appeared to have been limited. I do not and will not support another war in the Middle East.” “There comes a day in every child’s life when his Daddy bitterly disappoints him,” Milo Yiannopoulos, the former Breitbart tech editor and provocateur who resigned from the site earlier this year amid controversy over remarks he’d made about pedophilia, wrote on his Facebook on Thursday night.”

Tech Insider describes 5 survival myths that could get you killed:

Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of fifty-seven. Sunrise is 6:24 AM and sunset 7:28 PM, for 13h 04m 26s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 85.7% of its visible disk illuminated. Today is the {tooltip}one hundred fiftieth day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}

On this day in 1862, Union forces under the command of Gen. Grant defeat Confederates at the Battle of Shiloh in southwestern Tennessee. On this day in 1970, the Milwaukee Brewers play their first game at County Stadium.

Recommended for reading in full —

Annysa Johnson and Kevin Crowe report that Wisconsin voters continue to approve more school referendums as $700 million OK’d this week: “Voters across Wisconsin agreed Tuesday to boost local school spending by an additional $700 million, approving the majority of referendums school districts placed on the ballots. In all, voters agreed to take on an additional $464.7 million in new debt for building projects — on top of the $1.35 billion approved last year — and to contribute an additional $235 million for operating expenses. Of the 65 questions before voters Tuesday, 40, or 62% passed, including a near-record $181.3 million sought for the burgeoning Verona Area School District in Dane County. But more than a third of the measures failed, an outcome district officials say will force them to cut programming, lay off staff, and eliminate or defer building maintenance and improvements.”

Adam Taylor reports that Trump loves a conspiracy theory. Now his allies in the fringe media say he’s falling for one in Syria: “Across the Internet, an alternative take on the horrific attack — widely attributed to the Syrian government — has begun to spread. It was a “false flag,” the theory goes, designed to trick Trump into intervening more forcefully in the Syrian war. Those spreading this theory are often closely linked to the “alt-right,” a small, far right movement whose members are known for espousing racist, anti-Semitic and sexist points of view. One of the most notorious figures associated with the movement, Mike Cernovich, posted tweets on Wednesday claiming that the gut-wrenching footage of victims of the attack had been faked.”

Note: There’s ample evidence that the gas attacks against civilians were both genuine and devasating; Trump’s trafficked in so many lies, and his most rabid supporters are so accustomed to lies, that now a conspiracy-driven chief executive faces his own conspiracy-driven vanguard.

Maggie Haberman, Jeremy Peters, and Peter Baker report that It’s Bannon vs. Kushner: “WASHINGTON — Thick with tension, the conversation this week between Stephen K. Bannon, the chief White House strategist, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, had deteriorated to the point of breakdown. Finally, Mr. Bannon identified why they could not compromise, according to someone with knowledge of the conversation. “Here’s the reason there’s no middle ground,” Mr. Bannon growled. “You’re a Democrat.” The schism within Mr. Trump’s perpetually fractious White House has grown in recent weeks, fueled by personality, ideology and ambition. At its core are Mr. Bannon, the edgy, nationalist bomb-thrower suddenly in the seat of power, and Mr. Kushner, the polished, boyish-looking scion of New Jersey and New York real estate. Even as Mr. Kushner’s portfolio of responsibilities has been expanding, Mr. Bannon’s in recent days has shrunk with the loss of a national security post.”

The Los Angeles Times editorial board writes that, in reponse to Trump, California Fights Back: “For starters, California should continue to pursue its agenda on human and civil rights, on clean air, water and climate change, and on equality. Trump can dismantle the federal Clean Power Plan, but he can’t stop the state from moving toward its renewable energy goal of 50% by 2030 as laid out in SB 350 two years ago. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can reduce national fuel efficiency standards, but if it seeks to revoke California’s waiver that lets the state set its own, tougher rules, state lawmakers should fight back, including taking the agency to court if necessary. Trump can continue his counterproductive and mean-spirited efforts to deport non-criminal immigrants living in the country illegally, but the state’s local law enforcement agencies are not legally required to do the feds’ job for them; they should not.”

What would an orchestra of typerwiters sound like? Playing Against Type: The Typewriter Orchestra shows —

Playing Against Type: The Typewriter Orchestra from Great Big Story on Vimeo.

For pre-digital natives, there’s nothing quite as nostalgia-inducing as the manual “click,” “clack” and “ding” sounds of an old mechanical typewriter. That’s why The Boston Typewriter Orchestra is making these old machines quite literally “sing” again. Since 2004, this six-man ensemble has been playing a range of covers and original songs on both desktop and portable machines from years past. And if you thought all typewriters emitted the same sounds, think again. This orchestra’s sonorous symphonies have captivated crowds all over New England.