FREE WHITEWATER

Budget, Daily Bread, Elections, Legislature, Wisconsin, WisDems

Daily Bread for 7.21.25: “If Wisconsinites want a better budget…”

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 80. Sunrise is 5:35 and sunset is 8:26, for 14 hours, 51 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 13 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

The Whitewater Common Council & the Whitewater Unified School District Board meet jointly at 6 PM. Whitewater’s Library Board meets at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1983, the world’s lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at -89.2 °C (-128.6 °F).

There’s much talk about whether the recent Wisconsin biennial budget was the best that Wisconsin could do. It’s an editorial from The Cap Times — that’s right, Madison’s Cap Times — that assesses this matter most accurately:

Without Evers’ vetoes, the harm done by President Trump’s big, ugly plan to gut safety net programs — as part of a strategy to provide massive tax cuts for billionaires — would have been even more severe for working Wisconsinites.

But Evers could not veto the 2025-27 budget to perfection, or even to acceptability in the eyes of most Legislative Democrats. 

…..

Where this leaves us is with a political reality: if Wisconsinites want a better budget, they have to elect more moderate, liberal and progressive Democrats to the Assembly and Senate.

See Editorial, If you want a better budget, elect a better Legislature, The Cap Times, July 9, 2025.

Yes. Directing criticism toward Evers — the governor of Wisconsin, not a senator from far bluer New York — is merely a work of self-indulgent performance art.

Those who want better will have to work for better by canvassing, voting, and effectively advancing their message at public assemblies.

Those who are not canvassing, voting, and effectively advancing their message at public assemblies will get the legislative majorities that their opponents want.

Common Species From The Panama Hummingbird Feeder Cam:

0:00 – 0:21 Panama Hummingbird Feeder Cam Intro 0:22 – 0:35 Blue-chested Hummingbird 0:36 – 0:42 Long-billed Hermit 0:43 – 0:52 Rufous-tailed Hummingbird 0:53 – 0:59 Snowy-bellied Hummingbird 1:00 – 1:10 Stripe-throated Hermit 1:11 – 1:25 Violet-bellied Hummingbird 1:26 – 1:42 White-necked Jacobin 1:43 – 2:08 White-vented Plumeleteer

Charity, City, Daily Bread, Good Ideas, School District

Daily Bread for 7.20.25: A School Supplies Drive for Whitewater

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 77. Sunrise is 5:34 and sunset is 8:27, for 14 hours, 53 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 22.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1969, Apollo 11‘s crew successfully makes the first human landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.

The City of Whitewater is conducting a school supplies drive:

The supplies drive runs through 8.11.25.

Best wishes for a successful campaign.

Tiger cub siblings vaccinated at Germany’s Magdeburg Zoo:

Daily Bread, Food

Daily Bread for 7.19.25: A Real New York Sandwich

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be cloudy with scattered thundershowers and a high of 81. Sunrise is 5:33 and sunset is 8:28, for 14 hours, 54 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 33.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 64, the Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.

Here’s the Real New Yorker’s Sandwich:

Forget your street cart hot dogs and deli pastrami, the real New Yorker’s sandwich is the chopped cheese, a beautiful conglomeration of chopped ground beef, melted cheese and secret seasoning, all served on a hero or a roll. The birthplace of the chopped cheese is Hajji’s Deli in Harlem, where Salah has been managing the joint for the past 15 years. Inspired by an Arabic dish, the chopped cheese has now become a New York staple, with fans in everyone from Jay-Z to Cam’ron.

— Bodega Cats (@bodegacats.bsky.social) 2025-07-14T11:14:50.665Z

Daily Bread, Economy, Tariffs, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.18.25: Tariffs’ Consequences for Wisconsin

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 78. Sunrise is 5:32 and sunset is 8:29, for 14 hours, 56 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 42.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1821, the United States takes possession of Florida after the Kingdom of Spain cedes the territory.

Tariffs’ effects are notable for Wisconsin manufacturing. In an interview with Kate Archer Kent, President and Managing Director Sandi Siegel of customs brokerage M.E. Dey & Co. described tariffs’ toll on prices:

KAK: Can you bring this down to the micro level in Wisconsin? Are individual consumers and households seeing the effects of these tariffs and trade threats?

SS: I ask customers myself when we meet and talk about the challenges. Are you passing on the tariffs to your customer? Are you absorbing it? How are you managing that? I won’t say all companies, but I’d say most companies can absorb, not happily, but they can absorb a 10 percent increase (from tariffs). When you start getting into some of these higher dollar amounts, like percentages for China and some of the other rate increases going on, that is a different conversation. They certainly are passing on those rates. 

One of the bigger impacts that has been coming fast and furious is the (50 percent) steel and aluminum tariffs. We’re a heavy manufacturing community in Wisconsin, and their raw materials are being impacted heavily. My understanding is some of the steel and materials needed can’t be sourced even within the U.S. So there are some definite challenges there that certainly are increasing prices. 

See Lauren Cox, How latest Trump administration tariffs and trade disputes are affecting commerce in Wisconsin (‘Changing tariffs and shifting trade negotiation deadlines has created challenges for Wisconsin companies importing and exporting goods’), Wisconsin Public Radio, July 16, 2025.

Watch whale nudge boat during close encounter:

A curious whale came pretty close to a group of whale watchers off the coast of Argentina.

City, Film

Film: Tuesday, July 22nd, 1:00 PM @ Seniors in the Park, Last Breath

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Tuesday, July 22nd at 1:00 PM, there will be a showing of Last Breath @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building:

Adventure/Thriller/True Story

Rated PG-13. 1 hour, 33 minutes (2025)

A true story: North Sea deep-sea communication divers battle the raging sea to rescue their crew mate trapped on the ocean‘s bottom with oxygen and time running out. Gripping. Breathtaking. Edge of your seat! Filmed on location. Stars Woody Harrelson.

One can find more information about Last Breath at the Internet Movie Database.

Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.17.25: Wisconsin Justice Rebecca Bradley’s Career Options Narrow

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 70. Sunrise is 5:32 and sunset is 8:29, for 14 hours, 58 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 55.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Community Development Authority meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1821, the United States takes possession of Florida after the Kingdom of Spain cedes the territory.

Wisconsin will hold her next state supreme court election in April 2026. Incumbent Justice Rebecca Bradley has declared her intention to run, but has not formally entered the race. Although she has several career choices before her, a federal judicial appointment is not (by her choice) one of them:

U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin have sent to President Donald Trump this week five recommendations for filling a vacant seat on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, but the Trump administration is signaling that it is going its own way in selecting the nominee.

Sources told the Journal Sentinel that Trump officials interviewed a handful of conservative Wisconsin candidates on their own. The interviews occurred before Johnson and Baldwin’s judicial nominating commission, which normally selects candidates for federal judgeships and other positions and forwards them to the White House for consideration, completed its review and submitted candidates’ names.

At least five of the 19 applicants for the position traveled to Washington, D.C., to sit for interviews with White House staff in mid-May, according to multiple sources familiar with the process.

….

Several prominent Wisconsin judges who were expected to vie for the seat didn’t end up applying. Those included state Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley, Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow and U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig, a Trump appointee.

All three have strong conservative credentials, but multiple sources told the Journal Sentinel that the president wanted to nominate someone who is expected to be on the appellate court for decades. Bradley, Dorow and Ludwig are all 54 years old or older.

See Daniel Bice and Lawrence Andrea, Trump administration signals it is bypassing Wisconsin’s senators in key judicial selection, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 17, 2025.

Her decision not to seek the federal appointment now leaves Bradley with these options:

Bradley (1) might receive an appointment to the federal bench, (2) might come across a lucrative private sector offer, (3) would have a tough go of reelection, and (4) would sit in the minority on Wisconsin’s high court for at least two more years even if she won re-election in 2026.

See also Updates on the Careers of Gableman and Bradley (4.8.25), Chris Taylor Enters Wisconsin Supreme Court Race (5.24.25), and Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley’s Career Prospects (7.15.25).

‘Good Trouble’ protests honor John Lewis and challenge Trump policies:

Over 1,600 ‘Good Trouble’ protests are expected on July 17 to honor late civil rights icon John Lewis and challenge Trump-era policies.

See also Good Trouble Lives On.

Daily Bread, Elections, Gubernatorial Race 2026, Wisconsin, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 7.16.25: Out-of-State Billionaires Seek Attention of Another Out-of-State Billionaire

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with scattered afternoon thunderstorms and a high of 87. Sunrise is 5:31 and sunset is 8:30, for 14 hours, 59 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 66.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Parks and Recreation Board meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1945, the Atomic Age begins when the United States successfully detonates a plutonium-based test nuclear weapon near Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Here’s a headline and three paragraphs about the 2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial election:

Winklevoss twins spend big on Bill Berrien, 2026 Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial candidate.

MADISON – Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of cryptocurrency company Gemini and known for their legal dispute with Mark Zuckerberg over the creation of Facebook, donated a total of $1 million to support Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Berrien, campaign finance reports show.

The twins each donated $500,000 to Berrien’s PAC that he launched earlier this year, which at the time of its launch was characterized as a way to boost GOP candidates through tough election cycles.

The donations accounted for the vast majority of Berrien’s fundraising, which totaled $1.2 million, according to the records.

See Anna Kleiber, Winklevoss twins spend big on Bill Berrien, 2026 Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial candidate, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 15, 2025.

(This is Kleiber’s second strong story in the same week.)

Here’s what it means:

Out-of-state billionaires seek attention of another out-of-state billionaire. The Winklevoss brothers are seeking Trump’s notice (and so, too, is in-state candidate Berrien).

This attention-seeking isn’t a sign of WISGOP strength; it’s a sign of dependency on one Florida man.

Helicopter drops water as aerial crews battle wildfire in Central Oregon:

Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.15.25: Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley’s Career Prospects

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 86. Sunrise is 5:30 and sunset is 8:31, for 15 hours, 1 minute of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 76 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Innovation Center Advisory Panel meets at 8:30 AM. The Whitewater School Board’s Policy Review Committee meets at 4 PM. The Whitewater Common Council meets at 6 PM.

On this day in 1815, the Napoleonic Wars draw closer to their end when Napoleon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon. (The Second Treaty of Paris, signed on November 20, 1815, marks the formal end of the Napoleonic Wars.)

Screenshot Rebecca Bradley April 5, 2025
Screenshot, Rebecca Bradley, April 5, 2025, shortly after Judge Susan Crawford was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley raised no money for reelection through the end of June:

MADISON – Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley is up for reelection in 2026 but did not raise money in the most recent campaign finance reporting period that spans through the end of June, according to state records.

Bradley, a member of the court’s conservative minority, is up for a new 10-year term on the court next year. She has not yet announced whether she will run again.

But in April, Bradley told WisPolitics.com that she planned to run again to “ensure that there is a voice for the constitution and for the rule of law to preserve that in the state of Wisconsin.”

Liberal state Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor, who is running for the seat, raised more than $583,000 since she launched her campaign in May, according to her campaign.

See Anna Kleiber, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley raised no money for reelection through end of June, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 14, 2025.

Quick assessment on this important reporting about the state’s 2026 high court race:

Bradley (1) might receive an appointment to the federal bench, (2) might come across a lucrative private sector offer, (3) would have a tough go of reelection, and (4) would sit in the minority on Wisconsin’s high court for at least two more years even if she won re-election in 2026.

See also Updates on the Careers of Gableman and Bradley (4.8.25) and Chris Taylor Enters Wisconsin Supreme Court Race (5.24.25).

Inflation in June:

Daily Bread, Liberty, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.14.25: Good Trouble Lives On

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 83. Sunrise is 5:29 and sunset is 8:31, for 15 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 85.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Plan & Architectural Review Commission meets at 6 PM.

On this day in 1789, revolutionary insurgents Storm the Bastille.

This July 17th, there will be nationwide Good Trouble Lives On rallies organized under the expression and ongoing inspiration of the late John Lewis:

We are facing the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations. Whether you’re outraged by attacks on voting rights, the gutting of essential services, disappearances of our neighbors, or the assault on free speech and our right to protest – this movement is for you.

There are locations all across America participating, including some not far from Whitewater.

See previous posts @ FREE WHITEWATER: Go Outside (about the Hands Off rallies in April) and No Kings (about the subsequent mid-June rallies).

Wildfires force evacuations at Grand Canyon park:

Wildfires have forced evacuations for visitors and staff at two national parks — Gunnison and the Grand Canyon — in the U.S. as the summer monsoon season brings increased lightning to the arid region.

Daily Bread, Nature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.13.25: Big Manitou Falls

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 79. Sunrise is 5:28 and sunset is 8:32, for 15 hours, 4 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 92.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Held during the summer of 1956, the Dartmouth workshop is the first conference on artificial intelligence.

Big Manitou Falls @ Pattison State Park:

46.5360520°N 92.1213038°W

The Surprising Origin of Dippin’ Dots:

Dippin’ Dots—they’re an amusement park, zoo, aquarium and overall summertime staple. The mini balls of ice cream that melt in your mouth are also a childhood favorite. But where did the “ice cream of the future” come from? The answer has a little something to do with cow feed.

Daily Bread, Health, Medicine, Vaccines

Daily Bread for 7.12.25: You May Have Forgotten Measles, But Measles Hasn’t Forgotten You

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny in the afternoon with a high of 82. Sunrise is 5:27 and sunset is 8:33, for 15 hours, 5 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 96.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1806, at the insistence of Napoleon, Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg and thirteen minor principalities leave the Holy Roman Empire and form the Confederation of the Rhine.

Measles cases surge to highest levels in over 30 years, CDC data shows:

CDC data shows 2025 is now the worst year for measles cases in this country in more than three decades. More than 150 people have been hospitalized due to the growing outbreak and three have died, including two unvaccinated children in Texas. Amna Nawaz discussed more with Dr.. Adam Ratner, author of “Booster Shots: The Urgent Lessons of Measles and the Uncertain Future of Children’s Health.”

Bat pup gets a wash at Fledermaus Station Österreich:

Conservation, Daily Bread, Nature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.11.25: The Knowles Nelson Stewardship Fund Deserves Renewed Support

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with evening showers and a high of 84. Sunrise is 5:27 and sunset is 8:33, for 15 hours, 6 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 99.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1972, the first game begins in the World Chess Championship of 1972 between challenger Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky.

Polar bears and moving ship challenge North Pole marathoners:

Runners participating in the North Pole Marathon are wasting no second of their training even if they are on a ship.