Sunday in Whitewater will see a mixture of clouds and sun with a high of 81. Sunrise is 5:16 and sunset is 8:31 for 15 hours 15 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waning gibbous with 60.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1975, Sony launches Betamax, the first videocassette recorder format.
There’s a silly headline at the Journal Sentinel for a story on Trump’s Friday visit to Wisconsin:
At the Journal Sentinel and other newspapers, a headline isn’t always a reporter’s choice, but may instead be a decision between reporter and editor, or editor alone. (USA Today Co., Inc., formerly known as Gannett, publishes the Journal Sentinel.) In any event, choosing a headline that describes Trump as unflappable reveals a deficient grasp of an ordinary English word.
As with millions of others, English is my first language, and I’ve spoken it for a considerable time. Having met many other English-language speakers, I’ll venture confidently that no one with even a rudimentary grasp of that large-vocabulary language would describe Trump as unflappable. (That is, “persistently calm, whether when facing difficulties or experiencing success; not easily upset or excited.”)
There’s nothing about a temperamental, whining, excuse-making, vindictive Mar-a-Lago man that meets the definition of unflappable. He’s certainly not persistently calm, and a setting among devotees and sycophantic officials was hardly a test of remaining calm.
The Journal Sentinel has fallen on hard times, and their circulation is in steep decline. Misusing the language in which the paper is published cannot be helping their prospects.
_____
Upcomingposts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis, Whitewater’s Workforce, Outcome-Driven Argumentation, and a New Ethics Ordinance.
Saturday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 86. Sunrise is 5:17 and sunset is 8:30 for 15 hours 13 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waning gibbous with 68.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1944, the Allied invasion of Normandy begins with the execution of Operation Neptune — commonly referred to as D-Day — the largest seaborne invasion in history. Nearly 160,000 Allied troops cross the English Channel with about 5,000 landing and assault craft, 289 escort vessels, and 277 minesweepers participating. By the end of the day, the Allies have landed on five invasion beaches and are pushing inland.
He promised a quick end to the war in Iran. He held up photographs of various Washington improvement projects, including the “reflecting pond.” He complimented the physiques of male athletes. He listened as people praised him.
At an event held at a rural farm in Wisconsin on Friday, President Trump treated his supporters to a rhetorical lineup very similar to most of his recent Oval Office appearances, and reminded them that he could be doing something else.
“I don’t need this, I got elected, what the hell do I have to be here for?” Mr. Trump said to a crowd of people who had braved a rainy day to hear him speak. “I’m doing this because I like the farmer,” he said, adding: “I could be home right now in the beautiful White House, enjoying watching somebody else on television talking.”
Upcomingposts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis, Whitewater’s Workforce, Outcome-Driven Argumentation, and a New Ethics Ordinance.
Friday in Whitewater will see scattered showers with a high of 76. Sunrise is 5:17 and sunset is 8:29 for 15 hours 12 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waning gibbous with 77.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1947, in a speech at Harvard University, Secretary of State George Marshall calls for economic aid to war-torn Europe, a proposal that would come to be developed and known as the Marshall Plan.
It says nothing good about the quality of prior leadership in this city that a former school board president and former chairman of the Community Development Authority has been perseverating for months over a contrived, counterfactual scenario. Embedded below are this gentleman’s relevant public comments from the February 3 and June 2 meetings of the Whitewater Common Council.
In December of last year, on 12.16.25, the Whitewater Common Council heard a presentation from residents about using a portion of the Innovation Center for an early childhood project. While the Council did not act on the proposal itself, at that very meeting the municipal administration proposed to confer with the United States Economic Development Administration (EDA) about that possible use of the Center. (A portion of the funds to build the Center came from the Economic Development Administration; such grants often have conditions on their use.)
Here is an accurate timeline of events:
12.16.25: Presentation from leaders of the early childhood project.1 See Video 2025-12-16-Common Council at 3:14.
12.16.25: Statement from the city administration that they were drafting a letter to the EDA inquiring about the permissibility of a childcare operation within the Center. See Video 2025-12-16-Common Council at 50:46.
1.26.26: Email reply from the EDA informing the City of Whitewater that “childcare centers are not within EDA’s authorities, and using the proposed portion of the building for this purpose would take the grant out of compliance.” SeeCommon Council Meeting Agenda Packet, Item 16, Request for EDA Review and Guidance on Innovation Center Use Modification (Feb. 3, 2026).
1.26.26 and 1.28.26: City of Whitewater tells proponents of the early childhood project and existing tenants, respectively, that the early childhood project would not be a possibility for the Innovation Center. SeeCommon Council Meeting Agenda Packet, Item 15, Status of Innovation Center EDA Grant and ECEC (Feb. 3, 2026).
2.3.26: City of Whitewater describes this account of events in open-meeting remarks during that evening’s session. See Video 2026-2-03-Common Council at 14:36.
2.3.26: Despite the accurate account in the Common Council packet for 2.3.26, the former school board president and former chairman of the Community Development Authority claims, despite the explanation earlier in that very meeting, and contrary to the matter-of-fact EDA response to the city, that the city might have faced a claim for return of a portion of the Innovation Center’s grant money. See Video 2026-2-03-Common Council at 24:22.
6.2.26:Four months later, the former school board president and former chairman of the Community Development Authority continues to claim that the city might have faced a claim for return of a portion of the Innovation Center’s grant money. See Video 2026-6-02-Common Council at 37:03.
This gentleman’s argument rests on a hypothetical so contrived that it tells more about manufactured contentions than about real events. A weak claim is a weak claim no matter how often it’s repeated, and no matter how much it satisfies the claimant.
There was never a genuine risk to the City of Whitewater for loss of the Innovation Center’s grant money. Not even the risk of a single copper coin: the Council entertained a single presentation on the use of the Center, the administration thereafter inquired promptly of the EDA, received a cordial, businesslike reply from the EDA, and the matter was thereafter closed.
Claims to the contrary are like insisting that a woman who carried an umbrella would have become wet if she hadn’t carried the umbrella. And yet, and yet —she did carry the umbrella, she did open it promptly, and so she did stay dry.
This libertarian blogger saw the presentation that evening; I am familiar with the claims presented. Today’s post, however, does not address the project; this is a post on the city’s inquiry about locating the project at the Innovation Center, and parade-of-horribles accusations since. My purpose should be clear. ↩︎
_____
Upcomingposts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis, Whitewater’s Workforce, Outcome-Driven Argumentation, and a New Ethics Ordinance.
Thursday in Whitewater will see a mixture of clouds and sunshine with a high of 86. Sunrise is 5:17 and sunset is 8:29 for 15 hours 12 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waning gibbous with 85.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
The United States Camel Corps was a mid-19th-century experiment by the United States Army in using camels as pack animals in the Southwestern United States. Although the camels proved to be hardy and well suited to travel through the region, the Army declined to adopt them for military use. The Civil War interfered with the experiment, which was eventually abandoned; the animals were sold at auction.
Camel at Drum Barracks, San Pedro, California (1863 or earlier), Public Domain, Link
Whitewater has heard claims, even as recently as Tuesday night, about ethical standards and procedures for our city government. The assertions themselves come, by their claimants’ own admission, from non-residents; the amplification and repetition of those claims come from perseverating residents.
So be it. This city cannot expect every person speaking during open comment at a public meeting to be individuated and of good faith. (One would wait forever and a day for some of these gentlemen to get themselves sorted.) Some number of men will speak from bad faith.
It is enough, more than enough, to adjust and modify our ordinances to preclude, so much as is possible, concerns whether sincere or insincere.
Years ago, this city did not have a transparency ordinance. Now she does. Whitewater, Wis., Code of Ordinances ch. 2.62, Whitewater Transparency Enhancement Ordinance (2026). This city has ordinances on ethics. Whitewater, Wis., Code of Ordinances ch. 7.04, Code of Ethics (2026). She can have amended and improved provisions and procedures.
Good structure overcomes bad faith. Our residents are an educated people, in a university town. The Whitewater Common Council is more than capable of considering useful adjustments to relevant provisions in our municipal code from its Ethics Committee and interested residents.
A rational, thoughtful, and dispassionate approach will serve us well.
_____
Upcomingposts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis, Whitewater’s Workforce, Outcome-Driven Argumentation, and a New Ethics Ordinance.
Meet the cheerful American Goldfinch. In just two minutes, discover the basics of this familiar North American bird, how to identify it, what it eats, where it lives, and how it nests.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 81. Sunrise is 5:18 and sunset is 8:28 for 15 hours 10 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waning gibbous with 91 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Comprehensive Plan Advisory Work Group meets at 4 PM, and the Landmarks Commission meets at 6 PM.
On this day in 1965, NASA launches Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by an American crew. Ed White, a crew member, performs the first American spacewalk.
On June 3, 1965 Edward H. White II became the first American to step outside his spacecraft and let go, effectively setting himself adrift in the zero gravity of space. For 23 minutes White floated and maneuvered himself around the Gemini spacecraft while logging 6,500 miles during his orbital stroll. White was attached to the spacecraft by a 25-foot umbilical line and a 23-foot tether line, both wrapped in gold tape to form one cord. In his right hand White carries a Hand Held Self Maneuvering Unit (HHSMU) which is used to move about the weightless environment of space. The visor of his helmet is gold plated to protect him from the unfiltered rays of the sun. Public Domain, Link
Retiring Wisconsin politicians Gov. Evers, Speaker Vos, and Senate Majority Leader LeMahieu proposed a plan to spend the state’s budget surplus but failed after opposition from WisDems in the Senate and WISGOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany. SeeIf a ‘Bipartisan’ Bill Gets No WisDems Senate Votes, Was It Ever Bipartisan? The Democrats and Republicans who opposed the proposal, it turns out, were out of step with the popular mood — large majorities of poll respondents favored the deal. SeeWisconsin Surpluses, Deficits, and Popular Opinion:
What to make of support for a proposal that a reliable projection estimated would lead to a multi-billion dollar budget deficit? Crucially, even when respondents were told that the proposal could produce a future budget deficit, the spend-down still received wide support….That retiring leaders Evers, Vos, and LeMahieu were closer to the popular will than Republican Tiffany and many Democrats in the Legislature should give Tiffany and those Democrats [in opposition] pause.
Perhaps they don’t understand Wisconsinites’ views so well as they thought — something for all of us to consider when assessing the popular mood.
Pollster Franklin seems accurate in his assessment that the deal “gives something that everybody wants, at least a piece of.” Yes, indeed (some refunds to individuals & couples, some special education funding, satisfying different constituencies in part if not fully).
While the distinction between wants and needs is often nebulous, and much debated without resolution, it seems accurate to say that for many voters, their wants are, at bottom, their needs.
Concern about affordability has not gone away. Not at all — it’s present among many of our fellow residents.
_____
Upcomingposts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis, Whitewater’s Workforce, and Outcome-Driven Argumentation.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny, with a high of 77. Sunrise is 5:18 and sunset is 8:27 for 15 hours 9 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waning gibbous with 95.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Alcohol Licensing Committee meets at 5 PM, and the Whitewater Common Council meets at 6 PM.
On this day in 1774, Parliament establishes the Quartering Act of 1774, allowing a governor in colonial America to house British soldiers in uninhabited houses, outhouses, barns, or other buildings if suitable quarters were not provided.
It’s June 2, and yesterday was the filing deadline for Wisconsin’s gubernatorial candidates. With petition signatures yet to be verified, it’s a wide field:
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who has been endorsed by both President Donald Trump and the state Republican Party, was the only GOP candidate to submit signatures to run for governor, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
The eight Democrats running are former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Madison state Rep. Francesca Hong, former Greater Milwaukee Committee President Joel Brennan, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Madison state Sen. Kelda Roys, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Secretary Missy Hughes and Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad.
David D. King, a Milwaukee pastor, is running for governor as an independent.
The Democratic field is not quite as large as it was in 2018, when the eventual Gov. Tony Evers emerged from a ballot of 10, but the sizeable field means the candidates will have their work cut out for them as they seek to build name recognition and war chests ahead of the August primary.
The November election was always fated to be a contest between one servile Trump supporter and someone else. This stark choice places a heavy burden on Wisconsin’s Democrats — make a mistake and this beautiful state will be beset with four years of Mr. Trump’s man living in Maple Bluff.
Along comes Rep. Francesca Hong, energetic and photogenic, faring well in early polling. I’ll not doubt the value of energy; I’ll acknowledge, but not credit, the advantage of appearance.
Her democratic socialism scarcely matters to this free-market man, as she would have no chance whatever of governing this state as a democratic socialist. More importantly, there are far worse threats today than democratic socialism will ever be. The greatest danger this nation faces comes from Mar-a-Lago, not the Bronx. Ocasio-Cortez, Mamdani, and Sanders are not the Soviets. It’s a discrediting embarrassment that some pretend otherwise.
No and no again — the practical goals for policing are an end to grandiosity, refusal to admit error, and excessive use of force. We will always need police departments; America need not accept mediocre ones.
On May 16, Hong was asked by a member of a crowd gathered by the Taylor County Democratic Party what she would do in an “ideal world” to handle criminal offenders and to curb recidivism.
“I think that my perfect world would be a world without prisons, right, because we all see the humanity in one another and then we know nobody’s disposable,” Hong told the crowd, according to audio obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
(In fairness, a world without police departments would quickly lead to a world without prisons, as one cannot imagine criminals simply turning themselves in.)
As a gubernatorial nominee, Rep. Hong would be sure to face a torrent of effective campaign ads placing her views on policing and prisons against photos of violent criminals. Pictures of every sadistic, unrepentant murderer in this state’s history would appear against the Democratic nominee’s words in WISGOP ads.
There are two emerging political risks this state faces. The greater risk is that Tom Tiffany might become governor. The lesser, related risk is that Francesca Hong wouldn’t be able to stop him.
_____
Upcomingposts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis, Whitewater’s Workforce, and Outcome-Driven Argumentation.
Venus and Jupiter meet after sunset, the Moon passes in front of Venus, summer begins, and deep-sky treasures rise into view. To start June, look west after sunset to spot Venus and Jupiter shining close together, with Mercury joining the view low in the sky. Around June 9, Venus and Jupiter appear especially close in a planetary conjunction. From June 11 through 15, Mercury joins the scene, creating a mini-parade of planets near the western horizon. On June 17, from some locations, the Moon passes in front of Venus in an event called a lunar occultation. For viewers outside the exact viewing path, the Moon and Venus may still appear close together. [Important safety note: For many viewers, this event happens during the daytime. Never point binoculars, a telescope, or a camera near the Sun unless you are using proper solar-safe equipment.] June also brings the summer solstice, marking the start of astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere. And once the sky gets dark, look for the Summer Triangle and deep-sky objects like the Dumbbell Nebula, Ring Nebula, North America Nebula, and Veil Nebula. 0:00 Intro 0:11 Venus and Jupiter after sunset 0:23 Planetary conjunction 0:35 Mercury joins the lineup 1:09 Moon passes in front of Venus 2:03 Summer solstice 2:43 Summer Triangle and deep-sky objects 3:27 Moon phases
Monday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 75. Sunrise is 5:19 and sunset is 8:26 for 15 hours 7 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waning gibbous with 98.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission meets at 5:30 PM and the Plan & Architectural Review Commission meets at 6 PM.
Bryan Steil, U.S. Representative for Wisconsin’s gerrymandered 1st Congressional District, voted against funding to reduce lead in drinking water, but now that the money’s on the way to Wisconsin, he’s claiming credit in a press release. Here stands a man at the front of a parade he tried to cancel:
Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) is taking credit for helping to bring $94.3 million to his state to reduce lead in drinking water — except that federal money is flowing from a bill he voted against: President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law.
“Great news for Wisconsin! Proud to have worked to bring safe drinking water funding to our state,” Steil said Wednesday on social media. He shared a screenshot and link to an Environmental Protection Agency press release announcing the funding.
This money is being awarded to states through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which drawsits funds from a $15 billion pool established under the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“Today, I voted against the so-called infrastructure portion of Speaker Pelosi and President Biden’s $3 trillion spending agenda,” the Wisconsin Republican said at the time.
Sonny Rollins, one of jazz’s all-time greats, died Monday [5.25.26] at the age of 95 after spending more than five decades pushing the boundaries of the genre. Rollins won two Grammys and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in the early 2000s. Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown has a look at his career.
Sunday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 75. Sunrise is 5:19 and sunset is 8:26 for 15 hours 7 minutes of daylight. The moon is full today.
When a city has its own university campus, and that university wishes to acknowledge its academically successful students, it’s conventional and natural that the university would publish a dean’s list of those students in each semester. Many of those on that meritorious list are — now, today, this moment — residents of Whitewater.
How regrettable that an old and tired outlook would sift and sort among these students to deprecate their current, genuine residency, as one sees from another publication’s editor’s note appended to UW-Whitewater’s recent dean’s list:
Editor’s note: It is evident that the majority of the students listed here have not been long-term Whitewater residents (but some of them will undoubtedly stay here post-graduation). The university includes all students who have registered with a local address.
Well. This perspective — that these students are not long-term residents — is so very typical of Old Whitewater’s sifting and sorting of students (and others) into lesser categories. It’s what’s led to a same-ten-person problem, where boards, commissions, and organizations are unable to find new members, and old members are left complaining that no one will help them:
Younger members in these community groups come to realize that they’re not valued new members but instead disposable indentured servants. Since indentured servitude is seldom a personal aspiration, these newcomers quit the group. This leaves the group with indolent older members on the hunt for still more new recruits to dupe persuade into membership.
For successful community groups, the goal should be a few aged members advising and mentoring many more younger members who are given prominence and genuine responsibility. For unsuccessful community groups, it’s the opposite: many aged members hogging prominence and responsibility while relegating new, younger members to scrubbing and scraping.
‘That’s how we’ve always done it’ is the implicit motto of many a failing group.
For anyone wondering how this libertarian blogger feels about Old Whitewater’s outlook, I’d say it’s sadly and darkly comic. It’s as though one could have listened to the last few Raphus cucullatus insisting that, you know, they were the real birds and other species just hadn’t been around long enough.
Successful communities build their foundation, and present to the community, with more than atired combination of fussiness and stuffiness. The Whitewater community’s strongest foundation, and its most compelling presentation, will come from welcoming and inclusive opportunities for residents as true equals.
_____
Upcomingposts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis, Whitewater’s Workforce, and Outcome-Driven Argumentation.
Saturday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 71. Sunrise is 5:20 and sunset is 8:25 for 15 hours 5 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 99.3 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Ray Harroun’s Wasp, winner of the 1911 Indianapolis 500. The car’s rear-view mirror is mounted on struts ahead of the steering wheel. By Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
On Friday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court accepted an appeal challenging the boundaries of Wisconsin’s eight congressional districts. Two judicial panels considered separate challenges to those congressional maps, but dismissed the complaints in both cases. SeeWisconsin Supreme Court Appoints Redistricting Panels and Plaintiffs in Wisconsin Congressional Redistricting Cases Propose Different Timelines. Wisconsin’s high court has now accepted an appeal from the panel’s decision in Wis. Bus. Leaders for Democracy v. Wis. Elections Comm’n. (This is the case in which Law Forward represented the plaintiffs.) Henry Redman reports:
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the state’s congressional maps on the grounds that they’re an anti-competitive gerrymander, the Court ruled Friday afternoon.
In an order that again showed the Court’s partisan divide spilling out into the public, the Court’s four liberals voted to accept the case while Justices Rebecca Bradley and Annette Ziegler accused the majority of acting as tools of the Democratic party.
The lawsuit against the maps was brought last summer by a bipartisan business group, Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy Coalition, represented by the progressive nonprofit Law Forward. Rather than challenging the state’s congressional maps on the grounds that they’re an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander — a tactic that has repeatedly failed — the lawsuit argues the maps purposefully protect incumbents from realistic challenges.
Because of a state law passed by Republicans in 2011, the lawsuit was first heard by a panel of three circuit court judges. In a ruling late last month, the panel dismissed the lawsuit, finding that the claims were essentially the same as those made in a partisan gerrymander challenge and therefore a question for the executive and legislative branches.
The panel’s ruling was immediately appealed to the Supreme Court because the 2011 law states that appeals of these panel rulings can’t be heard by the Court of Appeals.
While accepting the case, the Court denied a request that it be heard on an expedited schedule. With candidates for this fall’s midterm elections required to file ballot access signatures by June 1 and ballots are set to be printed shortly after, it’s unlikely the case will be concluded in time to change the state’s maps before November.
The rules that ordinarily govern procedures in appeals to the court of appeals will apply to this appeal, including the procedures for filing a docketing statement, for filing a statement on transcript, for establishing the deadlines for the filing of briefs, etc., unless otherwise ordered by this court in a future order. See WIS. STAT. § (Rule) 809.63.
And so, Redman’s reporting on the timing of a decision is accurate: “it’s unlikely the case will be concluded in time to change the state’s maps before November.” ‘Unlikely’ here may be safely defined as ‘will not happen before November.’
The court has not previously had an opportunity to interpret the language of WIS. STAT. § 751.035(3). Although no motion is presently before us, we acknowledge that there is an unresolved question as to whether an appeal from a final decision or order of a panel in an apportionment challenge is a matter of right or a matter of this court’s discretion. We conclude that it is not necessary to resolve this issue in this case because it will not affect the outcome. See, e.g., State ex rel. Greenway v. Cnty. Ct. of St. Croix Cnty., 32 Wis. 2d 6, 10, 144 N.W.2d 569 (1966) (unnecessary to decide which version of statute applied, since the result would be the same under either version). Even if an appeal from a final decision of a panel in an apportionment challenge under WIS. STAT. § 751.035 is a matter of this court’s discretion, the court has decided that this appeal will be heard.
Of course — there is no insuperable principle of Wisconsin law that prevents the high court’s consideration of this appeal. Justice Zeigler, in her dissent, contends no more than that taking an appeal is “questionable.” Id. at 3. Questionable is no barrier to consideration; in many ways, it’s the reason for consideration.
On the contrary: questions of law, described colloquially as questionable, are presumptively — to speak in the very language of the law — justiciable. This principle would fit nicely on a 3×5 card, with room to spare: questions of law are presumptivelyjusticiable.
The majority opinion in the court’s May 29 order rests on solid ground.
_____
Upcomingposts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis, Whitewater’s Workforce, and Outcome-Driven Argumentation.
Friday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 82. Sunrise is 5:20 and sunset is 8:24 for 15 hours 4 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 96.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
In over thirty attempts, the Trump Administration, through the Department of Justice it so tightly manipulates, has sought the voter rolls of state governments. One of those attempts was to receive Wisconsin’s unredacted voter list. In December, the Wisconsin Elections Commission denied the federal government access to our state’s list:
The Wisconsin Elections Commission on Thursday denied a demand from the U.S. Department of Justice for the state’s full voter registration list, including personally identifiable information such as dates of birth, driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers.
At a special meeting Thursday afternoon and in a letter sent in response to the DOJ demand, WEC stated that Wisconsin law explicitly prevents the commission from sharing the personal information of voters.
“The U.S. DOJ is simply asking the commission to do something the commission is explicitly forbidden by Wisconsin law to do,” commissioner Don Millis said.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission refused to provide that documentation, citing state privacy laws. That prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to sue, arguing that it needed the unredacted information to ensure that Wisconsin was complying with the federal Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act. It also argued that the Elections Commission was required to provide the list under Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
On Thursday [5.21.26], however, U.S. District James Peterson dismissed that suit with prejudice.
“The court agrees that a voter registration list is not a record subject to production under Title III,” Peterson wrote. “So it will dismiss the complaint on that ground without considering defendants’ other arguments.”
This case was dismissed with prejudice (where dismissal with prejudice means, generally, that a dismissal is treated as a final adjudication on the merits for claim-preclusion purposes). Cases that reach a final adjudication on the merits cannot be refiled again merely because a plaintiff wants a different result. In this opinion and order, the court found that
The Seventh Circuit [the appellate court with jurisdiction over this trial court] has cautioned against dismissing a complaint without leave to amend, but the court may do so if any amendment would be futile. Indep. Tr. Corp. v. Stewart Info. Servs. Corp., 665 F.3d 930, 943 (7th Cir. 2012). The court has concluded that Title III does not even apply to the government’s request for Wisconsin’s voter registration list, so there is no way that it could amend its complaint to state a claim for relief. The government’s complaint will be dismissed with prejudice and without leave to amend.
Because there was no acceptable argument the federal DOJ could have made to cure the deficiencies of its complaint, the case was dismissed without an (unwarranted) opportunity to amend.
It’s not enough — in a free society under law — for government to want something. It’s not enough for Donald J. Trump to demand something. Government must justify its wants and demands.
A rocket belonging to Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin exploded during a test at the launch pad Thursday night, shaking nearby homes and briefly painting the sky orange. Blue Origin said its New Glenn rocket exploded during an engine-firing test being conducted ahead of a satellite launch planned for next week. No one was hurt, according to officials at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Thursday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 76. Sunrise is 5:21 and sunset is 8:23 for 15 hours 2 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 92.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Board of Zoning Appeals meets at 5 PM and the Ethics Board at 5:30 PM.
On this day in 2002, the last steel girder is removed from the original World Trade Center site. Cleanup duties officially end with closing ceremonies at Ground Zero.
So, here’s a literal title for the literal-minded among us: voters are never undecided.1Poll respondents may be undecided (‘no opinion,’ ‘don’t know’) but those who have voted are by definition those who have made a choice at the ballot box. Wisconsin ballots allow for a write-in candidate, and one can skip casting a vote in a particular race, but our ballots do not have an option for still unsure.
By contrast, in polling, respondents often have the choice to say that they are undecided. Many Wisconsin Democrats answer questions about their preference for governor that way — most now say they are undecided.
The push comes at a time when many voters are looking to disconnect from politics, said Anthony Chergosky, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
“One of the defining features of this campaign in the Democratic Party, so far, has been the general lack of awareness among voters of the candidates, and of — in many situations — just the existence of the campaign itself,” Chergosky said.
The seven major candidates on the Democratic side — and a few others considered much longer shots — all occupy a small sliver of voter attention. The vast majority of likely Democratic voters are undecided, according to recent polling. Only two rank in double digits among Democrats who’ve said they’ve made up their mind about who to support in the primary.
So for candidates like Crowley and Rodriguez — viable, but with lower name recognition — a spending boost from a political action committee could make a big difference, said Chergosky.
“The outside money is really important in a crowded field like this, because it’s going to take resources to stand out with so many competitors,” he said.
Outside groups can spend lots of money on a candidate without being subject to the same disclosure laws as the campaigns themselves. That provides a powerful money boost while small donations to campaigns may be trickling in, and are capped by state law. It also lets wealthier individuals throw their weight behind a given candidate without being directly tied to them.
Money buys campaign ads, campaign ads persuade, and the persuaded become voters.
_____
While not voting (either by not casting a ballot or by skipping a particular race on the ballot) is a choice, it’s not a choice of voting, or of a member of the electorate as a voter. This takes the discussion into abstruse territory, while the post’s main point still stands: Wisconsin Democrats will shift from indecision to decision soon. Further consideration of the nuances would require an Old Fashioned (brandy sweet always, and only after 5 PM). ↩︎
_____
Upcomingposts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis, Whitewater’s Workforce, and Outcome-Driven Argumentation.
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will pass about 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) from the Martian surface at 12,328 mph (19,840 kph) on May 15, 2026. The Red Planet will provide a crucial gravity assist, enabling the spacecraft to reach its namesake destination in the main asteroid belt. Known as a gravitational slingshot, the propellant-saving maneuver harnesses Mars’ gravity to boost the spacecraft’s speed and adjust its trajectory toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche for a 2029 arrival. The mission team will use the encounter to calibrate the spacecraft’s instruments. By capturing thousands of observations of Mars with the multispectral imager, engineers can hone the precise imaging and navigation techniques required to orbit Psyche and study what scientists believe is the exposed nickel-iron core of an ancient planet. This flyby represents a critical intersection of orbital mechanics and deep-space instrument testing on the mission’s journey to a metal world.
