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Recall

The WisDems’ New Ad: I recall

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The Wisconsin Democrats have a new, 1:45-long ad advocating Gov. Walker’s recall. The ad has two targets: Democrats sure to support a recall, and independents and moderates who may be frustrated or embarrassed by Walker’s supposed stridency (or supposed economic ineffectiveness despite legislative victories). Democrats are the sure votes; it’s persuading moderates that Walker’s more trouble than he’s worth that’s the more important political goal. I think this ad will be effective with those moderate voters.

See what you think:

Via I recall – YouTube.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 12.19.11

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Good morning.

It’s an increasingly cloudy day with  a high temperature of thirty-nine ahead for Whitewater.  In Austin, TX, they’ll have a day of thunderstorms and a high temperature of sixty-eight.

The housing committee of Whitewater’s Community Development Authority meets today at 4 PM.

Amazing, but true: a comet survives a close encounter with the sun.

NASA explains its video of the comet’s path:

Comet Lovejoy survived its encounter with the sun. The second clip shows the comet exiting from behind the right side of the sun, after an hour of travel through its closest approach to the sun. By tracking how the comet interacts with the sun’s atmosphere, the corona, and how material from the tail moves along the sun’s magnetic field lines, solar scientists hope to learn more about the corona. This movie was filmed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory in 171 Angstrom wavelength, which is typically shown in yellow.

Google’s puzzle for today is, I think, the oddest they’ve crafted: “You’ve bet a friend you could live longer without water than a cockroach could live without its head. Will you win the bet?”

Twitter

Recent Tweets, 12.11 to 12.17

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13 Dec
24-Year-Old Asks Facebook For His Data, Gets 1,200 PDFs – Slashdot bit.ly/rznTVt

13 Dec
Editor: Headline wrong Suspicious recall signatures, with proper dates and locations, [may!] will be counted bit.ly/s2C03e

12 Dec
Sadly, sounds like Floyd Landis & every pro cyclist ever caught: Probable Braun defense strategy – bit.ly/tzc60P

11 Dec
Odd: State Journal website offers nothing prominent about Ryan Braun suspension pic.twitter.com/2JHb1aRx

Comment Forum, Nature

Update: When will Whitewater see its first accumulated snowfall this season? When you thought it would…

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Over a month ago, I asked in a Poll & Comment Forum: When will Whitewater see its first accumulated snowfall this season?  The standard was at least one inch, and I think we’re close enough today for Saturday, December 17th to be Whitewater’s first snowfall.  It’s not much snow, but it’s enough to be noticeable, and easily more than just frost.  (There’s an imprecision in a poll like this that’s harmless; it’s not bridge-building or automotive engineering.)

The largest group of respondents was on the money: the first snowfall was between 12/16 and 12/31, as they predicted:


(I was way off: I’d predicted November 28th; it would have been better to stick with the sharp prediction of over 42% of respondents.)

Economy, Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s Poor Record of Job Creation

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We’ve had five straight months of job losses in Wisconsin, with another 14,600 jobs, including 11,700 in the private sector, lost last month.

You know, and I know, that Gov. Walker insists that Wisconsin is open for business. I’m sure it is; I’m equally sure that when most people use that expression, they’re not thinking of a fire sale.

Arguments over recall petitions notwithstanding, we’re sure to have a gubernatorial recall election, and among the many issues will be our poor record on employment. Gov. Walker can expect considerable criticism from the Left (the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future among them), as found in a flyer I’ve embedded below. He’ll need an answer, a convincing one, to their critique.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 12.16.11

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Good morning.

It’s a sunny day for Whitewater, with a high temperature of thirty-two degrees.  In Lincoln Manor, Maryland, it’s a partly sunny day ahead, with a high temperature of forty-six.

The Wisconsin Historical Society recalls that on this day in 1922,

….James Davidson died. He was born in Norway in 1854 and emigrated in 1872. He became a leading merchant in Soldiers Grove and served as village president, village treasurer, assemblyman, state treasurer, and lieutenant-governor before becoming governor of the state from 1906-1911. As governor, he introduced the law providing for bank examiners and promoted legislation giving the railroad commission jurisdiction over most public utilities. He is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison. [Source: History Just Ahead: A Guide to Wisconsin’s Historical Markers, edited by Sarah Davis McBride]

I had not heard of him, or his accomplishments, until I saw the entry on the Historical Society’s website.  It’s a reminder to me that most officials, no matter how accomplished in their time, will fade from popular memory.  Perhaps this is less true in a time of video recording, but I think it still – mostly – applies.  I’m sure, though, that it will not apply to Gov. Walker.  One way or another, he’s sure to be remembered.

Google’s puzzle for today asks an historical question, of a time long before Wisconsin’s history: “One of the earliest uses for glass bottles dates back to before 1000 B.C. What group of people is credited with the first use of glass for perfume bottles?”