FREE WHITEWATER

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 6.6.12

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Good morning.

It’s another beautiful day for Whitewater, with sunny skies and a high of seventy-five.

Whitewater’s Community Development Authority meets today at 4:30 PM.

On this day in 1944, Allied forces landed at Normandy to begin the liberation of Europe.

The Wisconsin Historical Society recalls this day in 1822 as the date on which an odd series of experiments began:

1822 – Shooting Leads to Medical Experiments

On this date Alexis St. Martin was accidently shot in the stomach at Mackinac Island. St. Martin was treated by Dr. William Beaumont, who saved his life but left an open wound in the young man’s side. Over many subsequent years, Dr. Beaumont conducted experiments through the opening in St. Martin’s stomach. Beaumont and the St. Martin family moved to Prairie du Chien for a period, where the doctor conducted 238 scientific experiments on St. Martin’s exposed stomach with only a spool of thread, a scissors, various foods, and a thermometer. Beaumont’s important discoveries about digestion were published in 1833 in “Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice and the Physiology of Digestion.” His experiments proved to be crucial to a scientific understanding of how human digestion works. More information is available elsewhere at wisconsinhistory.org. [Source: Badger Saints and Sinners by Fred L. Holmes, p. 136-150]

Google’s daily puzzle asks about a simple pleasure: “How much would it have cost a family of four to enjoy patent #1,909,537 on the day it was introduced to the public?”

Liberty

The Right to Bargain with Government

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It is a simple principle of liberty that any person, in any employ, should have the right to bargain peacefully with, and even against, his or her own government. No worldly thing is as powerful as the state: it alone possesses the right to tax and to arrest. No matter how influential other institutions may be, they don’t possess government’s vast powers to confiscate and detain.

No worker should be denied the right to join with others to bargain collectively against something so unmatched in power as government.

Our state has had difficult times, and has troubled finances. It does not matter; liberty requires citizens’ individual and collective rights even in the worst of times. Contrary views are possible, but to be genuinely libertarian and hold otherwise seems impossible.

There is not the slightest chance that I shall be a member of a union Still, liberty demands a general, rather than merely a particular, recognition of rights.

Gov. Walker has both admirers and detractors. Many hold their views of him passionately. I respect those strong feelings, but do not hold either view intensely.

Instead, on a matter of principle, I believe Gov. Walker has unjustifiably expanded the power of the government at the expense of workers’ rights to organize. Government should be much smaller and less expensive; this was not a libertarian way to achieve that end.

For this reason, simply held and without animosity, I believe it is contrary to libertarian conviction to stand with Gov. Walker.

City, Elections, Liberty, Wisconsin

The Secular Call

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For the first time in her history, likely not to be repeated in our time, Wisconsin votes on the recall of her governor.

If you are well and able, will you not turn out today? From every part of this beautiful but divided state, citizens will pour out to vote, exercising their right to select who will govern the millions living here.

There are few human things so beautiful as people voting to select those who, for limited times and with discrete powers, will govern.

This is our secular call, the natural right and desire of any free people. This is true regardless of one’s partisan convictions.

Contentious, rancorous, messy and imperfect, yet beautiful: a good day.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 6.5.12

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Good morning.

Whitewater’s election day forecast calls for sunny skies, with a high temperature of seventy-three.

On this day in 1933, Pres. Roosevelt took America off the gold standard, and in 1968, Sen. Robert Kennedy was killed in California while campaigning for the presidency, among other events happening on June 5th in history.

Google’s daily puzzle asks of the image appearing above whether “this mathematical symbol [would] typically be placed before or after a logical consequence? I certainly don’t know, but I do know that there are readers who know the answer quite easily. more >>

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 6.4.12

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Good morning.

The week begins with a slight chance of thunderstorms and a high of seventy-seven.

Whitewater’s Parks & Recreation Board meets today at 4:00 PM.

On this day in 1942, the Battle of Midway began, concluding days later in a decisive victory for the United States over Japan.

The Wisconsin Historical Society marks 6.4.1861 as first for medicine:

1861 – First Recorded Kidney Removal Occurs

On this date Dr. Erastus B. Wolcott, a Milwaukee surgeon, performed the first recorded removal of a diseased kidney. [Source: History Just Ahead: A guide to Wisconsin’s Historical Markers edited by Sarah Davis McBride, p. 22.]

Google’s daily puzzle asks about civil strife: “Which of these countries–Greece, Switzerland, Finland–had the most recent civil war?”

Beautiful Whitewater, City, Food, Hip & Prosperous, Press Release

Pork in the Park: September 21-22, Cravath Lakefront

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Something delicious for the beginning of fall, from Downtown Whitewater —

Downtown Whitewater. Inc. Announces New BBQ Pig in the Park State Championship Cook-off Sanctioned by Kansas City Barbecue Society

Downtown Whitewater, Inc. will host the area’s first BBQ Pig in the Park Cook-off, which was sanctioned by Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) 2 weeks ago, and this week became a State Championship event. The event will be held September 21-22, 2012 in Downtown Whitewater, on the beautiful award-winning Cravath Lakefront.

“This is a wonderful endorsement for Downtown Whitewater, Inc., to receive the sanctioning status from KCBS and the state championship status from the Governor’s office. A sanctioned contest brings fair scoring, integrity, experience, a built in base of cookers and judges and a support system of other organizers and members,” said Tami Brodnicki, Executive Director of Downtown Whitewater, Inc.

“Downtown Whitewater, Inc. is beginning the Annual Pig in the Park BBQ Cook-Off Competition for two reasons,” Brodnicki explained. “First we want to promote our lakefront, the downtown and the merchants.” “Second the BBQ Cook-Off will be a fund-raising event for our organization, we want to continue providing programs for the community, merchants and property owners.”

The Kansas City Barbeque Society, a nonprofit organization, sanctions over 400 barbeque contest coast- to-coast throughout America. From volunteering to actual event production, their members also offer assistance to civic and charitable organizations who organize events.

For more information about KCBS you can visit www.kcbs.us and for more information about our Pig in the Park BBQ Cook-Off or if you would like to volunteer for the event please visit www.piginthepark.net.

Downtown Whitewater was formed in 2006 and is a non-profit, community-based organization devoted to preserving, improving and promoting Whitewater’s quality of life, by strengthening our historic downtown as the heartbeat of our community.

The Triangle
Eat * Shop * Enjoy

Twitter

Recent Tweets, 5.20 – 6.3

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3 Jun
RT@dailywisconsin
Bizarre: Weekend before recall election, State Journal’s top story is about a 78-year-old juggler http://bit.ly/L5wfEd

31 May
RT@dailywisconsin
But no Obama – source to WisPolitics: Clinton to campaign for Barrett tomorrow in Milwaukee http://bit.ly/JU70Fn

30 May @FREEWHITEWATER
The Fitzgerald-Compas Debate in the 13th Senate District » FREE WHITEWATER http://bit.ly/LV7MUE #wirecall

29 May @FREEWHITEWATER
Whitewater’s Online Commitment to Budget Transparency » FREE WHITEWATER http://bit.ly/JTsjFd #opengovernment

29 May @FREEWHITEWATER
They will: Toppers aims to win over Chicago pizza snobs – Crain’s Chicago Business http://bit.ly/MWqFsp

27 May @FREEWHITEWATER
Pleasures of beautiful morning: cycling through Whitewater countryside, lush beauty of created order, shrimp salad, iced tea

23 May @FREEWHITEWATER
5.26.12 @ 10 AM Guided tour of Whitewater’s Effigy Mounds Preserve — Walworth County Today http://bit.ly/KpvAjg

23 May RT@dailywisconsin
‘This is me’: Accused Wisconsin thief leaves video of himself on stolen camera http://bit.ly/LfqNOE

22 May RT@dailywisconsin
Creator of University of Wisconsin Bucky Badger mascot, William Sachse, dies at 85 http://post.cr/L2mJVh #bucky

History, Human Nature

Franklin on Success

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There’s a famous saying, of Benjamin Franklin, that “success has a thousand fathers, but failure is an orphan.”

It’s very true, and evergreen: one often comes upon new examples of this observation. Human nature has not changed, these intervening centuries, and it likely never will.

How telling, that for all our many advances, our supposed sophistication, people still fall prey to making claims that Franklin thought presumptuous hundreds of years ago.

Cats

Friday Catblogging: So, how smart is your cat anyway?

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Over at Yahoo!, there’s a quiz that you can take to see how smart your cat may be:

But how smart are cats? Sure, they can groom themselves, have a natural inclination to use the litter box and are easily amused, but not too many have a repertoire of tricks or follow commands. Those who have more than one catprobably differentiate their kitties in terms of their smarts (being “the dumb one” doesn’t mean you’re loved any less!), so just like any other animal, we know there is an intelligence hierarchy.

There’s no scientific method to determine how brainy your cat actually is — but we can try to figure it out! CatChannel.com devised this clever IQ test, which could indicate you’re housing the feline Einstein. Find out if your cat is about to take over the world . . . or just that comfy sofa cushion.

Your cat will be just as lovable, or just as ornery, regardless of a quiz score, of course.

(I’m assuming that you’ll be completing the quiz about your cat; cats able to complete the quiz themselves would be in a class of their own. If you have a cat able to do so, feel free to let me know at adams@freewhitewater.com, or just ask the cat to drop me a line.)