FREE WHITEWATER

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 3.26.15

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Thursday in town will be increasingly cloudy with a high of thirty-nine. Sunrise is 6:46 and sunset 7:14, for 12h 28m 19s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 41.6% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1953, Jonas Salk makes an announcement:

On March 26, 1953, American medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announces on a national radio show that he has successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the crippling disease of polio. In 1952–an epidemic year for polio–there were 58,000 new cases reported in the United States, and more than 3,000 died from the disease. For promising eventually to eradicate the disease, which is known as “infant paralysis” because it mainly affects children, Dr. Salk was celebrated as the great doctor-benefactor of his time….

On this day in 1881, a Wisconsin mascot dies in a fire:

0302000207-l

1881 – Old Abe Dies
On this date Old Abe, famous Civil War mascot, died from injuries sustained during a fire at the State Capitol. Old Abe was the mascot for Company C, an Eau Claire infantry unit that was part of the Wisconsin 8th Regiment. During the Capitol fire of 1881, smoke engulfed Old Abe’s cage. One of his feathers survived and is in the Wisconsin Historical Museum. [Source: Wisconsin Lore and Legends, pg. 51]

Here is the Thursday game from Puzzability, in the Mixed Company series:

This Week’s Game — March 23-27
Mixed Company
The economy may be looking up, but these businesses have fallen to pieces. For each day this week, we started with the name of a current Fortune 500 company. We removed all spaces and punctuation, then divided the string into three-letter chunks. Those chunks, in random order, are the day’s clue.
Example:
RIC ESS XPR AME ANE
Answer:
American Express
What to Submit:
Submit the company name (as “American Express” in the example) for your answer.
Thursday, March 26
ERS IBB STO BRI SQU LMY

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 3.25.15

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Midweek in the Whippet City will be mostly cloudy with a high of forty-three. Sunrise is 6:47 and sunset is 7:13, for 12h 25m 24s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 31.4% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Tech Park Board meets at 8 AM. This afternoon, the CDA’s Seed Capital Committee meets at 4 PM, and the CDA Board at 5 PM.

It’s the one-hundred fourth anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire:

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Manhattan, New York City on March 25, 1911 was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers – 123 women and 23 men [1] – who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Jewish and Italian immigrant women aged 16 to 23;[2][3][4] of the victims whose ages are known, the oldest victim was Providenza Panno at 43, and the youngest were 14-year-olds Kate Leone and “Sara” Rosaria Maltese.[5]

Because the owners had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits, a common practice used to prevent workers from taking unauthorized breaks and pilferage,[6] many of the workers who could not escape the burning building jumped from the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors to the streets below. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers.
The factory was located in the Asch Building, at 23–29 Washington Place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, now known as the Brown Building and part of New York University. The building has been designated a National Historic Landmark and a New York City landmark.[7]

Here’s Puzzability‘s Wednesday game:

This Week’s Game — March 23-27
Mixed Company
The economy may be looking up, but these businesses have fallen to pieces. For each day this week, we started with the name of a current Fortune 500 company. We removed all spaces and punctuation, then divided the string into three-letter chunks. Those chunks, in random order, are the day’s clue.
Example:
RIC ESS XPR AME ANE
Answer:
American Express
What to Submit:
Submit the company name (as “American Express” in the example) for your answer.
Wednesday, March 25
ORN OWE ING NSC

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 3.24.15

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Tuesday in town will be increasingly cloudy with a high of thirty-eight. Sunrise today is 6:49 and sunset 7:12, for 12h 22m 30s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 21.7% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission meets today at 4:30 PM.

On this day in 1989, America saw one of the worst oil spills in her history:

The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound’s Bligh Reef at 12:04 a.m.[1] local time and spilled 11,000,000 to 38,000,000 gallons of crude oil[2][3] over the next few days. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters.[4] The Valdez spill was the largest in US waters until the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in terms of volume released.[5] However, Prince William Sound’s remote location, accessible only by helicopter, plane, or boat, made government and industry response efforts difficult and severely taxed existing plans for response. The region is a habitat for salmon, sea otters, seals and seabirds. The oil, originally extracted at the Prudhoe Bay oil field, eventually covered 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of coastline,[6] and 11,000 square miles (28,000 km2) of ocean.[7]

It’s Harry Houdini’s birthday:

1874 – Harry Houdini Born
On this date magician Harry Houdini was born in Budapest, though he later claimed to have been born on April 6, 1874, in Appleton, Wisconsin. At the age of 13 he left Appleton, where his family had emigrated, for New York City, and began his career as an escape artist and magician. [Source: Houdini.org]

Here’s the Tuesday game from Puzzability:

This Week’s Game — March 23-27
Mixed Company
The economy may be looking up, but these businesses have fallen to pieces. For each day this week, we started with the name of a current Fortune 500 company. We removed all spaces and punctuation, then divided the string into three-letter chunks. Those chunks, in random order, are the day’s clue.
Example:
RIC ESS XPR AME ANE
Answer:
American Express
What to Submit:
Submit the company name (as “American Express” in the example) for your answer.
Tuesday, March 24
LEL RIC ERA GEN ECT

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 3.23.15

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Spring, but a cold spring: some snow, with a high of thirty-four. Sunrise is 6:51 and sunset 7:10, for 12h 19m 34s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 13.2% of its visible disk illuminated.

This day in 1839 turns out O.K., OK, okay:

On this day in 1839, the initials “O.K.” are first published in The Boston Morning Post. Meant as an abbreviation for “oll correct,” a popular slang misspelling of “all correct” at the time, OK steadily made its way into the everyday speech of Americans.

During the late 1830s, it was a favorite practice among younger, educated circles to misspell words intentionally, then abbreviate them and use them as slang when talking to one another. Just as teenagers today have their own slang based on distortions of common words, such as “kewl” for “cool” or “DZ” for “these,” the “in crowd” of the 1830s had a whole host of slang terms they abbreviated. Popular abbreviations included “KY” for “No use” (“know yuse”), “KG” for “No go” (“Know go”), and “OW” for all right (“oll wright”).

Of all the abbreviations used during that time, OK was propelled into the limelight when it was printed in the Boston Morning Post as part of a joke. Its popularity exploded when it was picked up by contemporary politicians. When the incumbent president Martin Van Buren was up for reelection, his Democratic supporters organized a band of thugs to influence voters. This group was formally called the “O.K. Club,” which referred both to Van Buren’s nickname “Old Kinderhook” (based on his hometown of Kinderhook, New York), and to the term recently made popular in the papers. At the same time, the opposing Whig Party made use of “OK” to denigrate Van Buren’s political mentor Andrew Jackson. According to the Whigs, Jackson invented the abbreviation “OK” to cover up his own misspelling of “all correct.”

The man responsible for unraveling the mystery behind “OK” was an American linguist named Allen Walker Read. An English professor at Columbia University, Read dispelled a host of erroneous theories on the origins of “OK,” ranging from the name of a popular Army biscuit (Orrin Kendall) to the name of a Haitian port famed for its rum (Aux Cayes) to the signature of a Choctaw chief named Old Keokuk. Whatever its origins, “OK” has become one of the most ubiquitous terms in the world, and certainly one of America’s greatest lingual exports.

On this day in 1864, the 36th musters in:

1864 – (Civil War) 36th Wisconsin Infantry Mustered In
The 36th Wisconsin Infantry mustered in at Camp Randall in Madison. Its brief service included the defense of Washington, D.C., the Battle of Hatcher’s Run, Virginia, and the surrender of General Lee and his army at Appomattox Court House.

Puzzability has a corporate theme this week, in its Mixed Company series:

This Week’s Game — March 23-27
Mixed Company
The economy may be looking up, but these businesses have fallen to pieces. For each day this week, we started with the name of a current Fortune 500 company. We removed all spaces and punctuation, then divided the string into three-letter chunks. Those chunks, in random order, are the day’s clue.
Example:
RIC ESS XPR AME ANE
Answer:
American Express
What to Submit:
Submit the company name (as “American Express” in the example) for your answer.
Monday, March 23
ACI ONP UNI FIC

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 3.22.15

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Our Sunday will be mostly cloudy with a high of forty-one. We may have up to an inch of snow overnight, and at the least some rain or sleet. Sunrise is 6:53 and sunset 7:09, for 12h 16m 38s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 6.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

On March 22, 1765, Britain imposed the Stamp Act of 1765 on her American (and other) colonies. The British thought themselves justified; not all agreed, however:

The debate in Parliament began soon after this meeting. Petitions submitted by the colonies were officially ignored by Parliament. In the debate Charles Townshend said, “…and now will these Americans, children planted by our care, nourished up by our Indulgence until they are grown to a degree of strength and opulence, and protected by our arms, will they grudge to contribute their mite to relieve us from heavy weight of the burden which we lie under?”[26] This led to Colonel Isaac Barré’s response:

They planted by your care? No! Your oppression planted ‘em in America. They fled from your tyranny to a then uncultivated and unhospitable country where they exposed themselves to almost all the hardships to which human nature is liable, and among others to the cruelties of a savage foe, the most subtle, and I take upon me to say, the most formidable of any people upon the face of God’s earth. …

They nourished by your indulgence? They grew by your neglect of ‘em. As soon as you began to care about ‘em, that care was exercised in sending persons to rule over ’em, in one department and another, who were perhaps the deputies of deputies to some member of this house, sent to spy out their liberty, to misrepresent their actions and to prey upon ’em; men whose behaviour on many occasions has caused the blood of those sons of liberty to recoil within them … .

They protected by your arms? They have nobly taken up arms in your defence, have exerted a valour amidst their constant and laborious industry for the defence of a country whose frontier while drenched in blood, its interior parts have yielded all its little savings to your emolument … The people I believe are as truly loyal as any subjects the king has, but a people jealous of their liberties and who will vindicate them if ever they should be violated; but the subject is too delicate and I will say no more.”[27]

Honest to goodness, Townsend’s remarks so nicely summarize a condescending government view, looking at others as though they were children. Britain came to get the comeuppance she deserved from America during the Revolution; in a truly just outcome, British officials would have received even worse.

On this day in 1854, a great Wisconsin inventor, so to speak, is born:

1854 – Eugene Shepard, Father of the Hodag
On this date Eugene Shepard was born near Green Bay. Although he made his career in the lumbering business near Rhinelander, he was best known for his story-telling and practical jokes. He told many tales of Paul Bunyan, the mythical lumberjack, and drew pictures of the giant at work that became famous. Shepard also started a new legend about a prehistoric monster that roamed the woods of Wisconsin – the hodag. Shepard built the mythical monster out of wood and bull’s horns. He fooled everyone into believing it was alive, allowing it to be viewed only inside a dark tent. The beast was displayed at the Wausau and Antigo county fairs before Shepard admitted it was all a hoax. [Source: Badger saints and sinners, by Fred L. Holmes, p.459-474]

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 3.21.15

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Good morning, Whitewater.

We’ve a mostly sunny day with a high of forty-eight ahead. Sunrise is 6:54 and sunset 7:08, for 12h 13m 43s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with just 1.8% of its visible disk illuminated.

How ’bout an aerial tour of faraway Nepal?

Drone over Nepal from Fallout Media on Vimeo.

A quick edit of some aerial drone footage shot over Kathmandu and Annapurna in Nepal.
We did a short trek to Poon Hill which is part of the Annapurna circuit, and I flew the Phantom at Ghandruk and Tadapani villages. Unfortunately my drone had a mishap and I wasn’t able to fly it on the second half of our journey. Next time, flying on an actual mountain summit!

DJI Phantom 2 (v2) with GoPro HERO 4.
Music: ‘Dragon Age Inquisition Theme’ by Trevor Morris

Via Fallout Media.

On this day in ’63, Alcatraz shuts down:

Alcatraz_dawn_2005-01-07

Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay closes down and transfers its last prisoners. At it’s peak period of use in 1950s, “The Rock, or “”America’s Devil Island” housed over 200 inmates at the maximum-security facility. Alcatraz remains an icon of American prisons for its harsh conditions and record for being inescapable.

The twelve-acre rocky island, one and a half miles from San Francisco, featured the most advanced security of the time. Some of the first metal detectors were used at Alcatraz. Strict rules were enforced against the unfortunate inmates who had to do time at Alcatraz. Nearly complete silence was mandated at all times.

Alcatraz was first explored by Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775, who called it Isla de los Alcatraces (Pelicans) because of all the birds that lived there. It was sold in 1849 to the U.S. government. The first lighthouse in California was on Alcatraz. It became a Civil War fort and then a military prison in 1907.

The end of its prison days did not end the Alcatraz saga. In March 1964, a group of Sioux claimed that the island belonged to them due to a 100-year-old treaty. Their claims were ignored until November 1969 when a group of eighty-nine Native Americans representing the American Indian Movement (AIM) occupied the island. They stayed there until 1971 when AIM was finally forced off the island by federal authorities.

The following year, Alcatraz was added to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It is now open for tourism.

Assault Awareness & Prevention, Crime, Misconduct, University

How UW-Whitewater Treated a Sexual Assault Victim

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I’ve written before about the handling of sexual assault complaints nationwide and at UW-Whitewater. The more one reads on the matter, the more concerned one becomes, both generally and locally.

There’s a new and troubling story about how UW-Whitewater handled an assault victim’s Title IX assault complaint at WISC-TV. In the report, entitled, Graduate speaks about filing Title IX complaint against UW-Whitewater, one learns that a sexual assault victim felt that her experience filing a complaint – in her own words, was

worse than the assault. Worse. A lot worse. I regret with every… coming forward and saying anything.

In response to these specific injuries, as you’ll see in the video, Chancellor Telfer can bring himself to do no more than issue a general, bland statement that all is well on campus. It is impossible to overstate how unworthy is his response, so far beneath the standard of a man or woman in respect of another’s injuries.

There’s much more to write about this administration’s conduct – and one may be assured that I am committed to that long and thorough effort – as to remain indifferent or silent would be inconceivable. Simply inconceivable.

Above one finds the video and a link to the online story. Below one finds a transcript from WISC-TV of the report.

Transcript: Transcript from WISC-TV.

See, also, the It’s On Us Campaign and Not Alone, a site for those who have experienced sexual assault with resources of support.

Education, Elections, School District

On School Board Candidate Jim Stewart

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Jim Stewart, as you may have read from his own news site the Whitewater Banner, is running for school board. He last sat on that board about ten years ago, and for twenty-odd years before that. More recently, he was a member of Whitewater’s Common Council.

His candidacy in 2015 is a puzzle, three times over: (1) it rests on the unsound assumption that one may be a newsman and a politician simultaneously, (2) that there is a need for his presence on the school board despite his own implications to the contrary, and (3) his downplaying of how far from the center he has been on many issues.

Readers here at FREE WHITEWATER know that I favor sound policy over personality.

I’ve no doubt that Mr. Stewart is a wonderful person, but elections in these times require candidates of contemporary thinking, boundless energy, the ability to assess details, to communicate articulately & persuasively, and with a faithful commitment to plain views.

Conflicts Between News and Politics. I’m not a newsman; I don’t want to be one. Mr. Stewart very much sees his site as a news site, and asks and expects the community to treat it that way.

Fair enough – I’m a free-speech advocate; Jim Stewart has a right to present himself as he wishes.

It’s simply odd, however, to deny that reporting the news and being a politician doesn’t present a conflict. No one thinks that Scott Walker should be both governor of Wisconsin and publisher of the Wisconsin State Journal.

(Let’s be clear – Gov. Walker, himself, wouldn’t think that was a good idea, and he’d probably be the first to say so. Mr. Stewart, who has been a Walker supporter, should adopt the governor’s stance and pick a role.)

Consider what this means: it means that one member of the school board would report to the community as news on what the entire board and district did. That’s not impartial news reporting – it’s an inherent advantage to one politician over others. The whole news site, in fact, would act as a kind of campaign advertisement for the politician-publisher. That Mr. Stewart has carried on this way while in office previously does not justify resuming the practice.

The idea that one simply ‘wears different hats’ is silly and unconvincing. However many hats one wears, they sit on the same head. Same thoughts, same intellect, same ideas, same man.

There is no reason – none – to believe that even the most advanced scientist (Isaac Newton, let’s say) could pull this off. If Sir Isaac couldn’t do it, one can guess that it’s not possible for those of us today, either. There is no reason to believe that any local publisher is more intelligent or discerning than Isaac Newton was.

All the rest is a conceit, unconvincing to anyone sensible.

Mr. Stewart should make a choice, as normal publishers and politicians across America would: politics or the news business?

No Compelling Justification for Running. Oddly, by Mr. Stewart’s own statements, it’s clear that he has no policy justification for running against Mr. McCrea or Mrs. Davis.

At his campaign website, Jim Stewart writes that, concerning the five characteristics of an effective school board, “We are fortunate that our School Board measures up well in these characteristics.”

As that is so, and by his own contention that the board has been acting soundly, then he has no claim to replace Dan McCrea. Dan McCrea has been one of the reasons the board has been effective, for goodness’ sake.

At the same time, at a recent campaign forum, Mr. Stewart helpfully reminded attendees that one could vote for two candidates, not one, as he sat next to Mrs. Davis. (Mr. McCrea was not in the room when Mr. Stewart said this.)

As that is so, and Mr. Stewart implies that Mrs. Davis would be a good choice, then he has no compelling reason to advance himself over her.

I’d suggest that voters take Mr. Stewart’s own implied endorsements, and select Kelly Davis and Dan McCrea.

One sees the point: Mr. McCrea and Mrs. Davis are more current on school policy, more energetic, and more powerfully expressive in support of their well-defined views.

Wanting a seat is not enough – there should be a compelling policy justification for his candidacy that Mr. Stewart simply does not offer.

It’s hard to tell which politics Mr. Stewart will really advance. As with the other candidates in the race, he offers a written statement online at http://www.lwvwhitewater.org/elections.html.

Reading through it, one encounters a large number of words, but far fewer actual positions. It’s the longest candidate statement, but simultaneously the least informative. Combined with his statements at candidate events, there’s both hedging and indirection in his responses.

Fiscal Management. Mr. Stewart promises that he’ll be a good fiscal manager, but his record has been one of big-government conservatism, of spending big on dubious projects.

As councilman, he supported tax incremental financing policies that led to Whitewater becoming one of few communities in the entire state with a distressed tax incremental district.

As a member of two economic boards, Mr. Stewart had oversight on an agreement with the federal government that prompted a cease and desist order from the Economic Development Agency for failure to understand basic conflict-of-interest provisions when awarding federal money to contractors.

Flacking endlessly for big-ticket projects has not helped ordinary people in this town meet basic educational and economic needs.

Big-government conservatism is a poor recommendation for these demanding, detail-oriented times. Genuine conservatism would not have committed big money to projects with small rewards.

Clear Views. Mr. Stewart supported Act 10, and has been a champion of those who have pushed that legislation. That’s his right.

Now, however, with an election close at hand, he’s observed that he’s not so sure about Act 10. He declares that it saved millions in public employees’ wages, but then he says he’s not so sure about it….

Mr. Stewart was for it, before (with an election approaching) he might now be kinda-maybe-possibly-a-little-bit-not-sure-if-he’s-against-it-possibly.

Hemming and hawing are poor recommendations for these demanding, detail-oriented times.

Transparency. Much talk is made of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email system. I’d guess that politicians and commentators of Mr. Stewart’s partisan views have roundly criticized Mrs. Clinton.

That’s quite the coincidence.

As a council member, Mr. Stewart asked for an exception to use his own, private email for public business. In a close vote (in which he voted in his own favor rather than abstain), he was allowed to do so. He assured council members that he would turn over any email that was the subject of a records request.

Secretary Clinton assures us that she, too, will turn over all that’s required of her.

Let’s take them at their word.

One should not be surprised now, however, that Mr. Stewart dismisses open government with the offhand remark that “[t]he current buzz word is “transparency” in all actions of the board, especially for the non-parent group.”

Open government is no “current buzz word” [sic] and transparency doesn’t belong in ill-composed scare quotes.

We should always have open, transparent government.

Mr. Stewart has not been supportive of the same rules of open-government for all, having once sought an exception for himself.

His is a candidacy that’s both a poor fit for these demanding times, and puzzling for the conflict of interest it presents, the lack of a substantive justification, and an unwillingness to be direct about support for past spending priorities that contributed to our present difficulties.

Voters may choose two from among the three candidates running in the April 7th election.

It’s a clear choice from among the alternatives.

I’m supporting Kelly Davis and Dan McCrea for school board, and I hope you will, too.

Previously: On School Board Candidate Dan McCrea, On School Board Candidate Kelly Davis, and On the Whitewater Schools.

I’ll follow with further posts as events suggest.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 3.20.15

by  • 

Good morning, Whitewater.

The end of the work-week will be mostly sunny with a high of fifty-six. Sunrise is 6:56 and sunset 7:07, for 12h 10m 48s of daytime. It’s a new moon today.

Quick note: there will be no poll and cat blogging today, as there usually are on Fridays, as a serious subject from the university makes those posts inapt today. They’ll be back next week.

On this day in 1965, Pres. Johnson places the Alabama National Guard under federal order:

President Lyndon B. Johnson notifies Alabama’s Governor George Wallace that he will use federal authority to call up the Alabama National Guard in order to supervise a planned civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery.

Intimidation and discrimination had earlier prevented Selma’s black population–over half the city–from registering and voting. On Sunday, March 7, 1965, a group of 600 demonstrators marched on the capital city of Montgomery to protest this disenfranchisement and the earlier killing of a black man, Jimmie Lee Jackson, by a state trooper. In brutal scenes that were later broadcast on television, state and local police attacked the marchers with billy clubs and tear gas. TV viewers far and wide were outraged by the images, and a protest march was organized just two days after “Bloody Sunday” by Martin Luther King, Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). King turned the marchers around, however, rather than carry out the march without federal judicial approval.

After an Alabama federal judge ruled on March 18 that a third march could go ahead, President Johnson and his advisers worked quickly to find a way to ensure the safety of King and his demonstrators on their way from Selma to Montgomery. The most powerful obstacle in their way was Governor Wallace, an outspoken anti-integrationist who was reluctant to spend any state funds on protecting the demonstrators. Hours after promising Johnson – in telephone calls recorded by the White House – that he would call out the Alabama National Guard to maintain order, Wallace went on television and demanded that Johnson send in federal troops instead.

Furious, Johnson told Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach to write a press release stating that because Wallace refused to use the 10,000 available guardsmen to preserve order in his state, Johnson himself was calling the guard up and giving them all necessary support. Several days later, 50,000 marchers followed King some 54 miles, under the watchful eyes of state and federal troops. Arriving safely in Montgomery on March 25, they watched King deliver his famous “How Long, Not Long” speech from the steps of the Capitol building. The clash between Johnson and Wallace–and Johnson’s decisive action – was an important turning point in the civil rights movement. Within five months, Congress had passed the Voting Rights Act, which Johnson proudly signed into law on August 6, 1965.

On this day in 1854, the Republican Party is founded in Ripon:

1854 – Republican Party Founded
On this date Free Soilers and Whigs outraged by the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, met in Ripon to consider forming a new political party. The meeting’s organizer, Alvan E. Bovay, proposed the name “Republican” which had been suggested by New York editor Horace Greeley. You can see eyewitness accounts of the meeting, early Republican campaign documents, and other original sources on our page devoted to Wisconsin and the Republican Party. Though other places have claimed themselves as the birthplace of the Republican Party, this was the earliest meeting held for the purpose and the first to use the term Republican. [Source: History of Wisconsin, II: 218-219]

Here’s the final game in Puzzability‘s Green Party series:

This Week’s Game — March 16-20
Green Party
We’ve minted some new questions for jaded solvers. In this St. Patrick’s Day trivia quiz, the answer to each day’s question is a name or title that includes a shade of green.
Example:
For what 1978 movie did director Michael Cimino suggest that little-known Meryl Streep write her own lines to flesh out her underdeveloped role?
Answer:
The Deer Hunter
What to Submit:
Submit the name or title (as “The Deer Hunter” in the example) for your answer.
Friday, March 20
What restaurant chain’s long-running slogan “When you’re here, you’re family” is now owned by Jimmy Fallon, who received the rights on-air?

Education, Elections, School District

On School Board Candidate Dan McCrea

by  • 

One may say a few things with confidence. 

First, those who have followed Whitewater’s schools & politics know Dan McCrea. He’s a member of the school board now, and is seeking re-election.

Second, I’m not typically predisposed toward incumbents. 

Third, and this matters to me more than either of the preceding: Dan McCrea’s experience, ability, and outlook makes him easily deserving of re-election. 

It would be foolish – odd, really – to ignore his solid presence on our school board.  To argue categorically against incumbency would be to overlook his strength as a candidate and representative for the district. 

Sound judgment requires that one see and appraise a situation clearly, or at least make a serious attempt to do so. 

These are not easy times for Wisconsin.  A Great Recession, one that lasted longer as financial-sector recessions do, and imposed policies more celebrated than effective, have only mired us in unwelcome choices and inauspicious alternatives. 

We hoped for better in Wisconsin; we’re managing through less than we hoped. 

Some will have to be part of Whitewater’s efforts to slip between the shoals.  Dan McCrea should be one of those elected for that effort. 

He’s done budget work of the kind we need (in past board service, in current board service, and in his profession), he’s knowledgeable about where Whitewater now stands, and he’s likely to choose fairly, reasonably, and perceptively  from among alternatives.  Mr. McCrea has worked effectively with his colleagues.  As a parent of a currently-attending student, he’s knowledgeable about our schools as they are now. 

There’s ample reason for returning him to office. 

All the candidates in the race prepared a statement of their views, and Dan McCrea’s is online at http://www.lwvwhitewater.org/elections.html.  From that statement, consider his remarks on assuring that we have a strong and inspiring faculty:

One of the top three issues for the district is the recruitment and retention of quality teachers and staff. The district is currently working with staff on the implementation of Teachscape, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s teacher evaluation tool modeled after Charlotte Danielson’s framework for teaching. The model’s four domains include planning and preparation, professional responsibilities, the classroom environment and instruction. Effective teacher evaluation should lead to improved instruction. In addition to focusing on the art of teaching, compensation practices, a culture
that supports innovation in the classroom and aligned professional development will all aid the recruitment and retention of effective educators.

He’s right. This approach will not succeed, however, without forward-looking members of the board. Mr. McCrea has been, and would be, that necessary kind of board member. 

Now, I have a theory about Mr. McCrea, having heard him speak these several years, including recently during this campaign. 

A guess, but surely a sound one: if one poured all the arguments in the world on Dan McCrea, with all the ability one could summon, still he would stand firm, listen, and respond accordingly based on his best assessment. 

That, really, is how policy should be: strong arguments, delivered and answered. There are other ways to look at all this; they’re of little interest, and no lasting value. 

We may select two from among three candidates running in the April 7th election.  We’re fortunate that Dan McCrea, like Kelly Davis, is among those choices. 

I support Dan McCrea for school board, and I hope you will, too.

Previously: On School Board Candidate Kelly Davis and On the Whitewater Schools. 

Tomorrow: On School Board Candidate Jim Stewart.