Good morning.

Whitewater will see morning thunder showers on an otherwise cloudy day with a high of thirty-seven. Sunrise is 6:36 AM and sunset 5:39 PM, for 11h 02m 41s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 4.9% of its visible disk iluminated.Today is the {tooltip}one hundred eighth day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}

On this day in 1868, House of Representatives votes 126 to 47 in favor of a resolution to impeach President Andrew Johnson for high crimes and misdemeanors. (He was later acquitted in the Senate.) On this day in 1863, the 28th and 29th Wisconsin Infantry regiments and 12th Wisconsin Light Artillery take part in an expedition in Mississippi.

Recommended for reading in full —

Jeff Potrykus reports on Ohio State 83, UW 73: Slow start kills Badgers: “Wisconsin played its worst half of the season in the first 20 minutes, followed that with a slightly better effort in the second half but still suffered a humbling 83-73 loss to Ohio State on Thursday night at Value City Arena. “You’ve always got to be fearful of a team that has nothing to lose,” UW senior guard Bronson Koenig said of the unranked Buckeyes. “That’s kind of what happened tonight. They just were tougher than us. They beat us to loose balls. They played harder than us and that is something we pride ourselves on. “Hopefully, this is another wake-up call and we don’t have to have too many of these…I didn’t expect this at all.” As a result of the ugly loss, the 15th-ranked Badgers (22-6, 11-4) trail first-place Purdue (23-5, 12-3) by a full game with three games remaining.”

Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns report that An Alarmed Base Prods Democrats Into an All-Out War: “Immediately after the November election, Democrats were divided over how to handle Mr. Trump, with one camp favoring all-out confrontation and another backing a seemingly less risky approach of coaxing him to the center with offers of compromise. Now, spurred by explosive protests and a torrent of angry phone calls and emails from constituents — and outraged themselves by Mr. Trump’s swift moves to enact a hard-line agenda — Democrats have all but cast aside any notion of conciliation with the White House. Instead, they are mimicking the Republican approach of the last eight years — the “party of no” — and wagering that brash obstruction will pay similar dividends.”

Mark Berman reports Republican lawmaker who won’t hold a town hall invokes Gabby Giffords shooting. She responds: ‘Have some courage.’: “Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.), in a statement released this week, blamed his decision not to hold these events in person on “the threat of violence at town hall meetings.” He also pointed to a specific violent event to bolster his case, invoking the 2011 shooting that severely injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and killed six others. The former congresswoman responded Thursday, and she made clear that she does not agree with lawmakers shying away from meeting with members of the public. “To the politicians who have abandoned their civic obligations, I say this: Have some courage,” Giffords said in a statement. “Face your constituents. Hold town halls.”

Richard Paddock and Choe Sang-Hun report that Kim Jong-nam Was Killed by VX Nerve Agent, Malaysians Say: “KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The poison used to kill Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was VX nerve agent, which is listed as a chemical weapon, the Malaysian police announced Friday. In a brief statement, Khalid Abu Bakar, the national police chief, said the substance was listed as a chemical weapon under the Chemical Weapons Conventions of 1997 and 2005, to which North Korea is not a party. South Korea has suggested that the killing was the work of the North Korean government. The revelation that a banned weapon was used in such a high-profile killing raises the stakes over how Malaysia and the international community will respond. VX nerve agent can be delivered in two compounds that are mixed at the last moment to create a lethal dose. The police say that two women approached Mr. Kim at the airport with the poison on their hands and rubbed it on his face one after the other.”

Tech Insider unboxes the latest Nintendo console, the Switch:

Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of forty-seven. Sunrise is 6:38 AM and sunset 5:37 PM, for 10h 59m 51s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 10.6% of its visible disk illuminated. Today is the {tooltip}one hundred seventh day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}

Whitewater’s Community Development Authority Seed Capital Committee meets at 4 PM, the CDA Board at 5 PM, and Common Council at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1945, photographs Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, depicting six United States Marines raising a U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. The photograph depicts the second of two flag raisings on the island. (“The photograph was first published in Sunday newspapers on February 25, 1945. It was extremely popular and was reprinted in thousands of publications. Later, it became the only photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photography in the same year as its publication, and came to be regarded in the United States as one of the most significant and recognizable images of the war. Three Marines depicted in the photograph, Sergeant Michael Strank, Corporal Harlon Block, and Private First Class Franklin Sousley were killed in action over the next few days. The three surviving flag-raisers were Corporals (then Private First Class) Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, and Harold Schultz who first received Marine Corps recognition in June 2016.^[2]“)

On this day in 1864, the 1st, 10th, 24th and 26th Wisconsin Infantry regiments continued fighting at Dalton, Georgia.

Recommended for reading in full — 

Aaron Blake reports that Donald Trump is losing his war with the media: “A new poll from Quinnipiac University suggests that while people may be broadly unhappy with the mainstream media, they still think it’s more credible than Trump. The president regularly accuses the press of “fake news,” but people see more “fake news” coming out of his own mouth. The poll asked who registered voters “trust more to tell you the truth about important issues.” A majority — 52 percent — picked the media. Just 37 percent picked Trump.”

Jon Schuppe reports that Town Hall Protests Revive Art of Bird-Dogging Politicians: “When activists needed advice on disrupting Republican lawmakers’ hometown events this month, they turned to Hugh Espey, a self-taught master in the art of political bird-dogging….The work is grinding and can go unnoticed. But there are big-game triumphs. Like the time he and fellow members of the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement hounded Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney into blurting at the Iowa State Fair in 2011 that “corporations are people” — a remark that shadowed him for the remainder of the campaign….”Bird-dogging,” Espey told them, “means you get to speak out and fight back with other like-minded folks. It’s liberating. And actually, in fact, when you bird-dog you may be called a heckler. And that’s OK.” His tips: prepare pointed questions, bring several people, spread out in the audience, ask the questions repeatedly, create tension, attract attention, take video, and talk to the media.”

Richard C. Paddock and Choe Sang-Hun explain Kim Jong-nam’s Death: A Geopolitical Whodunit: “The very public killing of Mr. Kim appears to be another remarkable episode in the annals of bizarre North Korean behavior, a whodunit with geopolitical implications. Speculation swirled that he had been killed to remove him from the line of succession in North Korea. In the days since the killing was caught on video, the drama has had an ever-expanding and multinational cast of characters — women from Indonesia and Vietnam accused of carrying out the attack, one of whom was apparently wearing a white shirt emblazoned with the letters LOL; a Malaysian boyfriend; and others believed to be North Korean agents. On Wednesday, Malaysia’s police chief, Khalid Abu Bakar, said a senior diplomat at the North Korean Embassy and an employee of the North Korean state-owned airline, Air Koryo, were also wanted for questioning. Another North Korean, who was not identified, was also being sought. Mr. Khalid also said that extra police officers had been sent to the morgue where Mr. Kim’s body was being kept after an attempt to break into the facility was detected.”

Don Behm reports that Milwaukee County pension chief loses job after overpayment error: “The head of the Milwaukee County retirement system is out of the job after public disclosure of another pension payment error, and at least one County Board supervisor is pushing for the troubled system to be turned over to the state. County retirement plan services director Marian Ninneman resigned after failing to correct an ongoing overpayment to one person that amounted to $140,000 over several years even though Ninneman was informed of the mistake nearly three years ago, County Executive Chris Abele said. “This pensioner didn’t do anything wrong” but now that person is being asked to pay it all back, Abele said in an interview.”

Philip Carlson is the talent agent who signed and represented Philip Seymour Hoffman, Claire Danes, Idris Elba, Viola Davis, and Liev Schreiber. He describes his Passion for Finding Talent:

Good morning.

Whitewater’s midweek will be unseasonably warm with a high of sixty-nine. Sunrise is 6:39 AM and sunset 5:36 PM, for 10h 57m 01s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 17.2% of its visible disk illuminated. Today is the {tooltip}one hundred sixth day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}

Whitewater’s Police & Fire Commission is scheduled to meet tonight at 6:30 PM.

George Washington was born on this day in 1732. On this day in 1922, Wisconsin experiences one of the worst ice storms on record, experiencing “ice accumulations of 1-2″, with a few reports of around 4″, built up on trees, poles, and wires. Property damage was a staggering $10 million in Wisconsin.”

Recommended for reading in full —

Annysa Johnson reports that Tony Evers, Lowell Holtz easily advance out of Wisconsin DPI superintendent primary: “Incumbent state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers easily placed first in Tuesday’s primary election, earning the right to defend his seat in the April 4 election against voucher advocate Lowell Holtz. Evers, who is seeking a third four-year term, had about 69% of the vote. Holtz, a retired Whitnall School District superintendent, had 23%. And former Dodgeville administrator-turned-part time-consultant John Humphries was third with 7%. The state’s top education post, which pays $120,111 annually, is officially nonpartisan. But Tuesday’s primary sets the stage for a quasi-partisan battle over the direction of education in Wisconsin. It pits a longtime public school advocate favored mostly by Democrats and teachers unions against a pro-school-choice, anti-Common Core candidate backed primarily by Republicans.

Michael Shear and Ron Nixon report that New Trump Deportation Rules Allow Far More Expulsions: “WASHINGTON — President Trump has directed his administration to enforce the nation’s immigration laws more aggressively, unleashing the full force of the federal government to find, arrest and deport those in the country illegally, regardless of whether they have committed serious crimes. Documents released on Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security revealed the broad scope of the president’s ambitions: to publicize crimes by undocumented immigrants; strip such immigrants of privacy protections; enlist local police officers as enforcers; erect new detention facilities; discourage asylum seekers; and, ultimately, speed up deportations. The new enforcement policies put into practice language that Mr. Trump used on the campaign trail, vastly expanding the definition of “criminal aliens” and warning that such unauthorized immigrants “routinely victimize Americans,” disregard the “rule of law and pose a threat” to people in communities across the United States. Despite those assertions in the new documents, research shows lower levels of crime among immigrants than among native-born Americans.”

Jenna Portnoy reports that The women got up in Brat’s grill, and then some: “BLACKSTONE, Va. — Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), who drew national notice after complaining that women were “in my grill” because he was reluctant to hold a town hall meeting, finally relented and came face to face with those women — and plenty others — at a raucous public event Tuesday night. [“The women are in my grill no matter where I go,” Brat says ] Brat held the meeting in a tiny town in Nottoway County, a rural community carried by Trump in November. It’s about an hour south of where most in Brat’s district live, but that didn’t stop a stream of people from driving into town and filling up the town hall, with scores shut out on the sidewalk.  For a little more than an hour, Brat was heckled nonstop as he fielded questions on health care, President Trump’s policies and the border wall. His answers seemed to antagonize most in the crowd of 150, who yelled back at him, at points drowning him out and prompting a few of his supporters to leave early in disgust.”

Roger Cohen describes The Russification of America: “For me, the most troubling thing was finding myself unsure who was more credible — Pence or Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister. The Russification of America under Trump has proceeded apace. Vladimir Putin’s macho authoritarianism, disdain for the press, and mockery of the truth has installed itself on the Potomac. Putin is only the latest exponent of what John le Carré called “the classic, timeless, all-Russian, barefaced, whopping lie” and what Joseph Conrad before him called Russian officialdom’s “almost sublime disdain for the truth.” The Russian system under Putin is a false democracy based on a Potemkin village of props — political parties, media, judiciary — that are the fig leaf covering repression or elimination of opponents. Russia runs on lies. It’s alternative-fact central (you know, there are no Russian troops in Ukraine). But what happens when the United States begins to be infected with Russian disease?”

Great Big Story explores Chicago Footwork: Music and Dance at a Whole New Speed:

Chicago Footwork: Music and Dance at a Whole New Speed from Great Big Story on Vimeo.

Good morning.

Here in Wisconsin it’s election day in the Spring Primary; two (Holtz, Humphries) of the state superintendent candidates call each other liars. Well done, candid politicians, well done. In Whitewater, we’ll have a day of morning clouds and afternoon sunshine, with a high of sixty-two. Sunrise is 6:41 AM and sunset 5:35 PM, for 10h 54m 12s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 25.6% of its visible disk illuminated. Today is the {tooltip}one hundred fifth day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}

On this day in 1885. the Washington monument is dedicated. On this day in 1918, the Wisconsin Assembly rejects (by a 76-15 margin) a denunciation of  Sen. Robert LaFollette and the nine Wisconsin congressmen who refused to support World War I.

Recommended for reading in full — 

Jason Stein reports that Scott Walker’s budget would shrink parole agency to 1 employee: “MADISON – The state’s parole system for roughly 3,000 long-time state inmates would drop from eight employees to just one, under Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal. As a lawmaker in the late 1990s, Walker championed the state’s truth in sentencing law to ensure tough sentences on convicted criminals. Now as governor, Walker wants to sharply downsize the system for handling the potential release of state inmates who are still subject to the rules that were in effect prior to the debut of truth in sentencing in 2000. The move is in keeping with other actions of the governor, such as his decision not to issue pardons. If the state loses some of its staff experienced in judging the risk of paroling inmates, the effect will likely be more people remaining in prison for longer, Madison attorney Lester Pines said.”

Michael Rosenwald reports on Trump’s dislike for Camp David in Mar-a-Lago 3, Camp David 0. With Trump as president, is the rustic Md. retreat doomed?: “THURMONT, Md. — Dwayne Snurr, a janitor and lifelong resident of this rural, working-class town 60 miles from the White House, was eating chicken wings in a cafe off Main Street last week when he began chewing over a locally important subject: President Trump’s taste in vacations. “I guess he’s got that place down in Florida,” Snurr said, referring to Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach resort. “When you have a place like that, I have to assume you prefer the beach and nice weather.” Trump’s Florida compound and his other gold-laden properties have been top of mind lately in Thurmont, where just a few miles up a winding mountain road presidents have vacationed and cajoled world leaders at Camp David — deep in the woods, in cozy cabins, a total anathema to Trump. “Camp David is very rustic, it’s nice, you’d like it,” Trump said in an interview with a European journalist just before taking office. “You know how long you’d like it? For about 30 minutes.”

Peter Baker and Sewell Chan describe the process From an Anchor’s Lips to Trump’s Ears to Sweden’s Disbelief: “….in that moment was born a diplomatic incident that illustrates the unusual approach that President Trump takes to foreign policy, as well as the influence that television can have on his thinking. After watching the program, Mr. Trump threw a line into a speech the next day suggesting that a terrorist attack had occurred in Sweden the night before. Just like that, without white papers, intelligence reports, an interagency meeting or, presumably, the advice of his secretary of state, the president started a dispute with a longtime American friend that resented his characterization and called it false. The president’s only discernible goal was to make the case domestically for his plans to restrict entry to the United States.The Swedes were flabbergasted.“We are used to seeing the president of the U.S. as one of the most well-informed persons in the world, also well aware of the importance of what he says,” Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, said by email on Monday. “And then, suddenly, we see him engaging in misinformation and slander against a truly friendly country, obviously relying on sources of a quality that at best could be described as dubious.”

Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy, with a chance of afternoon & evening showers, and a high of sixty-three. Sunrise is 6:42 AM and sunset 5:34 PM, for 10h 51m 24s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 34% of its visible disk illuminated. Today is the {tooltip}one hundred fourth day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}

On this day in 1792, Pres. Washington signs the Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department. On this day in 1863, Company A of the 10th Wisconsin Infantry began training as sharpshooters in Madison, Wisconsin.

Recommended for reading in full — 

Annie Armstrong interviews Ex-Neo Nazis [to] Explain What’s Driving the Alt-Right: “Do you feel like if that hadn’t have happened, your old self could have identified with the alt-right? Frank Meeink: Oh, absolutely. It’s the same movement. It’s just cleaned up; it’s well-spoken. They preach exactly the same stuff that I used to preach. Exactly the same stuff. Angela King: The alt-right does not exist. It’s nothing more than white supremacists who have repackaged the hate and served it up in a more palatable form for human consumption.”

Josh Marshall describes The American Experiment in Exile: “The historic oddity of this situation points to a common dynamic Americans now face at home and abroad. Our partners in the international order we created – some of whom we conquered to make it possible – are now seeking to defend it from us. Let’s say that again, Defend it from us. How do we now as loyal Americans look at the warnings of the French and the Germans, as well as the British and our other erstwhile allies’ warnings? This is a complicated question which different people, depending on their professions and governmental responsibilities and personal dispositions, must answer in different ways. But we cannot ignore the fact that the American experiment is now in a kind of exile – taken refuge elsewhere – and the executive power of the American state now under a kind of, hopefully temporary, occupation. We face a comparable dynamic at home. I have been thinking for weeks that the central challenge and reality of the Trump Era is what do you do as an institutionalist when the central institutions of the state have been taken over, albeit democratically, by what amount to pirates, people who want to destroy them? To put it another way, do the institutions and norms which Trump and his gang are trying to destroy become shackles and obstacles in the way of those trying to defend them? There’s no easy answers to these questions.

Kristina Rizga explains Why Teaching Civics in America’s Classrooms Must Be a Trump-Era Priority: “In 2011, all federal funding for civics and social studies was eliminated. Some state and local funding dropped, too, forcing many cash-strapped districts to prioritize math and English—the subjects most prominently featured in standardized tests. A study by George Washington University’s Center on Education Policy found that between 2001 and 2007, 36 percent of districts decreased elementary classroom time spent on social studies, including civics—a drop that most affected underfunded schools serving working-class, poor, rural, and inner-city kids.*

Charles F. Gardner reports on the NBA All-Star Game: West prevails; Giannis leads East: “NEW ORLEANS – The Greek Freak put on a show in his all-star debut. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a team-high 30 points and pounded home some crowd-pleasing dunks, but the Western Conference all-stars pulled away in the final quarter for a 192-182 victory over the East in the NBA All-Star Game at the Smoothie King Center. New Orleans forward Anthony Davis set an NBA All-Star Game record with 52 points to lead the West, beating the mark of 42 points set by Wilt Chamberlain in 1962. Russell Westbrook just missed beating Chamberlain’s mark, scoring 41 points. Antetokounmpo was impressive with 14-of-17 shooting on layups and dunks. He attempted a single three-pointer and missed it. He scored in the last second to reach the 30-point mark, the most scored by a Bucks player in an NBA All-Star Game. He also had six rebounds, three steals and one assist while playing 23 minutes.”

Have Conspiracy Theories Gone Mainstream?

Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of sixty-three. Sunrise is 6:44 AM and sunset 5:32 PM, for 10h 48m 36s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 42.8% of its visible disk illuminated. Today is the {tooltip}one hundred third day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}

On this  day in 1473, astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus is born in Toru?, Poland. On this day in 1863, photographer Edward S. Curtis is born near Whitewater.

Recommended for reading in full —

Patrick Marley reports that Wisconsin gives cash to Lincoln Hills guards fired for excessive force (on juvenile inmates): “MADISON – For the second and third times, Gov. Scott Walker’s administration has given cash settlements to guards who it determined had used excessive force on juvenile inmates, state records show. The payoffs — including one totaling $9,000 — were reached as the FBI continues a criminal investigation of Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls, which share a campus 30 miles north of Wausau. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last year reported officials at the prison complex trained staff improperly, failed to preserve video evidence, didn’t document serious incidents and often shirked their duty to report matters to parents, police and social service agencies. State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) said he wants the Walker administration to explain why it is cutting deals after disciplining employees. “Either they had a weak case going in or they had a strong case but they suddenly lost their backbone,” he said. “Neither one is good.”

Darren Samuelsohn and Annie Karni report on a Leaked Trump tape: ‘You are the special people’ (Exclusive audio shows how Trump lets loose at his clubs — inviting guests to join him on staff interviews): “President Donald Trump, living alone inside the White House, often hungers for friendly interaction as he adjusts to the difficult work of governance. At his clubs, he finds what’s missing. That showed last November at a cocktail and dinner reception celebrating longtime members of his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club. Deep into the process of meeting potential Cabinet nominees, the president-elect invited partygoers to stop by the next day to join the excitement. “We’re doing a lot of interviews tomorrow — generals, dictators, we have everything,” Trump told the crowd, according to an audio tape of his closed-press remarks obtained by POLITICO from a source in the room. “You may wanna come around. It’ll be fun. We’re really working tomorrow. We have meetings every 15, 20 minutes with different people that will form our government.” “We’re going to be interviewing everybody — Treasury, we’re going to be interviewing Secretary of State,” he continued. “We have everybody coming in — if you want to come around, it’s going to be unbelievable….so you might want to come along.”

The New York Times editorial board fittingly describes President Trump, White House Apprentice: “It’s with a whiff of desperation that President Trump insists these days that he’s the chief executive Washington needs, the decisive dealmaker who, as he said during the campaign, “alone can fix it.” What America has seen so far is an inept White House led by a celebrity apprentice….“Everything he rolls out is done so badly,” Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian, marveled recently. “They’re just releasing comments, tweets and policies willy-nilly.”

Daniel Dale’s updated The complete list of all 80 false things Donald Trump has said in his first 4 weeks as president: “The [Toronto] Star’s running tally of the bald-faced lies, exaggerations and deceptions the president of the United States of America has said, so far….”

Helen Czerski, author of Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life, explains why some of the kernels in your popcorn don’t pop: