Saturday, March 11, 2017

As Alabama Attorney General, Jeff Sessions made no effort to remove racist langauge from state's constitution


Source:  Justia  (highlight added)

FYI, Alabama’s constitution still calls for ‘separate schools for white and colored children’.  (Washington Post, 3/10/2017)
Yet in the 116 years since it was written, and after all of the efforts to modernize the document — many of those efforts aimed at revising or eliminating racist language — these racist words still reside in the document:


Steve at Bucknuts sez 'I can't see', which is why he picked Ohio State to beat Northwestern in Big 10 tournament


Steve Says: Some home cooking for Maryland in B1G tourney?  (Bucknuts, 3/8/10217)


To beat Northwestern, who went on to defeat Maryland in a 'virtual home game'.


Sam joins the Laddies in one of their 3 top 20 hits from 1957.


Give Steve credit for nailing the Wisconsin-Indiana final score.

Rusk County Community Library holdings, 2011-2015





2011-2015 changes:
  • Books |  -602
  • Audio |   +29
  • Video |  +401
  • Periodicals | -46
  • Expenditures | -$4,023 (-9%)

Rusk County Community Library

Other updates and additional entries to series:
Algoma Public Library.  (9/21/2016)
Alma Public Library.  (9/21/2016)
Altoona Public Library.  (9/22/2016)
Antigo Public Library.  (9/23/2016)
Appleton Public Library.  (9/23/2016)
Argyle Public Library.  (9/24/2016)
Vaughn Public Library, Ashland.  (9/25/2016)
Baldwin Public Library.  (9/27/2016)
Baraboo Public Library.  (9/29/2016)
Barneveld Public Library.  (9/30/2016)
Barron Public Library.  (10/1/2016)
Beloit Public Library.  (10/6/2016)
Benton Public Library.  (10/7/2016)
Berlin Public Library.  (10/9/2016)
Big Bend Village Library.  (10/10/2016)
Hildebrand Memorial Library, Boscobel.  (10/18/2016)
Boyceville Public Library.  (10/20/2016)
Brandon Public Library.  (10/21/2016)
Brillion Public Library.  (10/22/2016)
Brown Deer Public Library.  (10/25/2016)
Bruce Area Library. (10/27/2016)
Butler Public Library.  (10/29/2016)
Cadott Community Library.  (10/31/2016)
Jane Morgan Memorial Library, Cambria.  (11/1/2016)
Cedarburg Public Library.  (11/8/2016)
Centuria Public Library.  (11/9/2016)
Chilton Public Library.  (11/11/2016)
Clinton Public Library.  (11/15/2016)
Cobb Public Library.  (11/17/2016)
Colby Public Library.  (11/18/2016)
Colfax Public Library.  (11/19/2016)
Coloma Public Library.  (11/20/2016)
Columbus Public Library.  (11/21/2016)
Cornell Public Library.  (11/22/2016)
Crandon Public Library.  (11/23/2016)
Rosemary Garfoot Public Library (Cross Plains).  (11/24/2016)
Cuba City Public Library.  (11/25/2016)
Cudahy Family Library.  (11/26/2016)
Thomas St. Angelo Public Library, Cumberland.  (11/27/2017)
Darien Public Library.  (11/28/2016)
Johnson Public Library, Darlington.  (11/29/2016)
Deer Park Public Library.  (11/30/2016)Delafield Public Library.  (12/4/2016)
Aram Public Library, Delavan.  (12/5/2016)
De Soto Public Library.  (12/6/2016)
Dresser Village Library.  (12/10/2016)
Drummond Public Library.  (12/11/2016)
Durand Community Library.  (12/12/2016)
Alice Baker Memorial Library, Eagle.  (12/13/2016)
Walter E. Olson Memorial Library, Eagle River.  (12/14/2016)
East Troy Lions Public Library.  (12/15/2016)
L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library  (Eau Claire).  12/16/2016)
Edgerton Public Library.  (12/17/2016)
Elkhart Lake Public Library.  (12/18/2016)
Matheson Memorial Library, Elkhorn.  (12/19/2016)
Ellsworth Public Library.  (12/20/2016)
Elm Grove Public Library.  (12/21/2016)
Elmwood Public Library.  (12/22/2016)
Elroy Public Library.  (12/23/2016)
Endeavor Public Library.  (12/24/2016)
Eager Free Public Library, Evansville.  (12/25/2016)
Fairchild Public Library.  (1/1/2017)
Fall Creek Public Library.  (1/3/2017)
Dwight T. Parker Public Library, Fennimore.  (1/4/2017)
Florence County Library.  (1/5/2017)
Fond du Lac Public Library. (1/6/2017)
Fontana Public Library.  (1/8/2017)
Dwight Foster Public Library, Fort Atkinson.  (1/9/2017) 
Fox Lake Public Library.  (1/10/2017)
Franklin Public Library.  (1/11/2017)
Frederic Public Library.  (1/12/2017)
Neuschafer Community Library, Fremont.  (1/13/2017)
Galesville Public Library.  (1/14/2017)
Gays Mills Public Library.  (1/15/2017)
Genoa City Public Library.  (1/16/2017)
Germantown Public Library.  (1/18/2017)
Gillett Public Library.  (1/19/2017)
Western Taylor County Public Library, Gilman.  (1/20/2017)
North Shore Library.  (1/21/2017)
Glenwood City Public Library.  (1/22/2017)
Grafton Public Library.  (1/23/2017)
Granton Communty Library.  (1/24/2017)
Grantsburg Public Library.  (1/25/2017)
Brown County Public Library.  (1/26/2017)
Caestercker Public Library (Green Lake), 1/27/2017)
Greendale Public Library.  (1/29/2017)
Greenfield Public Library, 1/30/2017)
Greenwood Public Library.  (1/31/2017)
Hales Corners Public Library.  (2/1/2017)
Hammond Community Library.  (2/2/2017)
Hancock Public Library.  (2/6/2017)
Jack Russell Memorial Library, Hartford.  (2/7/2017)
Hartland Public Library.  (2/8/2017)
Hawkins Area Library.  (2/9/2017)
Weiss Community Library, Hayward.  (2/11/2017)
Hazel Green Public Library.  (2/12/2017)
Hillsboro Public Library.  (2/13/2017)
Horicon Public Library.  (2/14/2017)
Hortonville Public Library.  (2/16/2017)
Hudson Area Library.  (2/17/2017)
Hurley Public Library.  (2/19/2017)
Hustisford Community Library. (2/20/2017)
Independence Public Library.  (2/21/2017)
Iola Village Library.  (2/22/2017)
Iron Ridge Public Library.  (2/23/2017)
Hedberg Public Library, Janesville.  (2/24/2017)
Jefferson Public Library.  (2/25/2017)
Johnson Creek Public Library.  (2/26/2017)
Juneau Public Library.  (2/27/2017)
Kaukauna Public Library.  (2/28/2017)
Kendall Public Library.  (3/1/2017)
Kenosha Public Library.  (3/2/2017)
Kewaskum Public Library.  (3/3/2017)
Kiel Public Library.  (3/4/2017)
Kimberly-Little Chute Public Library.  (3/5/2017)
Mill Pond Public Library, Kingston.  (3/6/2017)
Kohler Public Library.  (3/7/2017)
La Crosse County Library.  (3/8/2017)
La Crosse Public Library.  (3/9/2017)
Madeline Island Public Library, La Pointe.  (3/10/2017)

UPDATE: Best to get your facts straight when criticizing the Trump team



Source:  Twitter

The fact is.....millions of slaves were brought to the Western Hemisphere.


How Many Slaves Landed in the U.S.? by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  (PBS, originally posted on The Root)
The most comprehensive analysis of shipping records over the course of the slave trade is the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, edited by professors David Eltis and David Richardson. (While the editors are careful to say that all of their figures are estimates, I believe that they are the best estimates that we have, the proverbial “gold standard” in the field of the study of the slave trade.) Between 1525 and 1866, in the entire history of the slave trade to the New World, according to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database,
  • 12.5 million Africans were shipped to the New World. 
  • 10.7 million survived the dreaded Middle Passage, disembarking in North America, the Caribbean and South America.
And how many of these 10.7 million Africans were shipped directly to North America? Only about 388,000. That’s right: a tiny percentage.
Related reading:
Rapid Natural Increase in U.S. Slave Population.  (Economic History Association)


Original 3/7/2017 post, "Photo of HUD Secretary Ben Carson selected as dictionary illustration for 'obtuse'", starts here.

He may have been a brilliant neurosurgeon, but on every other topic on which he expounds, he seems just not to get it.



Dual senses of 'obtuse' provided by Merriam-Webster


[emphasis added]

Ben Carson just referred to slaves as 'immigrants'.  (USA Today, 3/6/2017)

Aboard the Underground Railroad:  The Slave Trade.  (National Park Service)

Equating the slave trade with immigration is just....well, actually, it's not all that surprising coming from a member of the Trump administration.

When it comes to political appointments, the Trump team throws extreme vetting out the window



Quoted in Trump team knew Michael Flynn might register as a foreign agent for Turkey work.  (USA Today, 3/10/2017)
But documents Flynn filed this week with the Justice Department raised fresh questions about his ties to the Turkish government, even as he was serving as top adviser to Trump's presidential campaign. His now-shuttered firm, Flynn Intel Group, earned $530,000 last year for work on behalf of Inovo BV, a Dutch firm, whose Turkish founder has ties to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As part of its contract, the firm undertook research into an Erdogan political opponent, Fetulleh Gulen, an Islamic cleric who lives in exile in rural Pennsylvania.

Related posts:
Even basic vetting would have unearthed Robert Harward's decision not to serve.  (217/2017)
"Extreme vetting" obviously wasn't in place when Paul Manafort was hired as Trump's campaign chairman.  (8/15/2016)

The poorest and richest towns in Georgia: Thomson and Skidaway Island


The poorest towns in every state.  (24/7 Wall Street, 5/24/2016)

The richest town in every state. (24/7 Wall Street, 6/1/2016)

The poorest: Thomson  (east central Georgia)

Source:  Wikipedia


Other numbers
% of population living in poverty
  • Thomson | 41.0%
  • Georgia | 17.0%
  • U.S.  13.5%
% without health insurance
  • Thomson | 26.6%
  • Georgia | 15.7%
  • U.S. | 10.5%
% of population 25 and older with bacherlor's degree
  • Thomson | 10.6%
  • Georgia | 28.8%
  • U.S. | 29.8%

The richest:  Skidaway Island ("exclusive census-designated place" just south of Savannah)

  • 2000 | 6,914
  • 2010 | 8,341


Other numbers:  
Median household income:
  • Skidaway Island | $106,042
  • Georgia | $49,620
  • U.S. | $53,889
% of population 25 and older with bacherlor's degree
  • Skidaway Island | 68.9%
  • Georgia | 28.8%
  • U.S. | 29.8%

Related reading:
UGA merges with Skidaway oceanography institute; Tech, other schools hope to benefit.  (Atlanta Journal Constitution, 1/15/2013)
 
Related series:
The 10 most distressed cities in the U.S.
The 10 most prosperous cities in the U.S.

Related posts:
Alabama.  (2/28/2017)
Alaska. (3/1/2017)
Arizona.  (3/2/2017)
Arkansas.  (3/3/2017)
California.  (3/4/2017)
Colorado.  (3/5/2017)
Connecticut.  (3/6/2017)
Delaware.  (3/8/2017)
Florida.  (3/10/2017)

Friday, March 10, 2017

The news isn't Scott Pruitt's views on climate science -- they're obvious -- it's GOP orthodoxy



Mapping EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt's Many Fossil Fuel Ties.  (Desmog, 1/13/2017)

Scott Pruitt denies basic climate science. But most of the outrage is missing the point.  (Vox, 3/10/2017)
It’s not about Pruitt, it’s about the Republican Party.   My inbox is groaning with statements from previous EPA administrators, scientists, nonprofits, members of Congress, and assorted others, condemning Pruitt’s ignorance in florid terms. But they are all about what Pruitt believes. And in the end, who cares what he believes? He is a functionary, chosen in part to dismantle EPA regulations on greenhouse gases. If it weren’t him, it would be some other functionary.

Donald Trump and Jim Mattis side by side



Trump quote from Slate.

Mattis quote from  Nude-Photo Scandal May Expand Beyond 'Marines United' Facebook Group.  (NPR, 3/10/2017)

UPDATE. Moving-in day at the Wisconsin Trade Center satellite development


Photo by Retiring Guy

Robertson Cosmetic Center on Facebook

12/10/2016 update, " Wisconsin Trade Center development from a different perspective", starts here.

Photo by Retiring Guy


11/4/2016 update, "Middleton Plan Commission learns its lesson:  No more monochrome facades", starts here.


Like the one they regretfully approved for the Cayuga Court development.

Photos by Retiring Guy

9/13/2016 update," Mixed-use development in Middleton's Greenway Centre takes shape", starts here.



Original 6/22/2016 post, "Wisconsin Trade Center in Middleton gives up some frontage to smaller mixed-use development", starts here.

The Wisconsin Trade Center, located in Middleton's Greenway Center, is a Kraemer Brothers property.  (As is the neighboring, blandly named Greenway Office Building)



Photos by Retiring Guy



Dear Glenn Grothman, You won't find any answers to your IRS questions at Watchrag


Wisconsin Watchdog, 3/9/2017

Glenn, it's really very simple.  I'll let Dennis Ventry spell it out for you.


Quoted in Under Trump, an Already Depleted I.R.S. Could Face Deep Cuts.  (The New York Times, 3/2/2017)

Related posts:
Trying to have it both ways, Glenn Grothman serves up a big bowl of mush.  (3/6/2017)
Self-proclaimed fiscal conservative and thorough hypocrite Glenn Grothman goes all out for The Wall.  (2/26/2017) 
What DO they think of Glenn Grothman on Capitol Hill?  (1/31/2017)
Not a Muslim ban, Glenn Grothman? The numbers indicate otherwise.  (1/31/2017)
On the other hand, some might say we do need Congressmen, but we can not have the wrong Congressmen.  (1/2/2017)
The conservative values of Glenn Grothman, straight shooter and exemplary public servant.  (10/30/2017)
GOP donor and Neenah realtor pens letter to editor, praises Glenn Grothman.  (10/28/2017)
Well, Glenn Grothman, looks as though Donald Trump and Paul Ryan won't accompany Mr. Gumpy on his outing.  (10/20/2016)
Meet the 3 Stooges who introduced Donald Trump at yesterday's rally in Green Bay.  (10/18/2016)
Likely to be other reasons why Trump and Glenn Grothman's relationship might be "less than perfect".  (10/13/2016)
Glenn Grothman raises GOP specter of black bogeyman Al Sharpton.  (7/14/2016)
Recommended reading from Glenn Grothman.  (3/3/2016)
Once again, Grothman does the blah blah blah.  (1/13/2016)
Tea Party alert: Glenn Grothman supports increase in federal gas tax.  (12/29/2015)
Glenn Grothman's moving service.  (11/16/2015)
Glenn Grothman: Still trying to get to 'yes' with Paul Ryan.  (10/18/2015) 
Dear Glenn Grothman, Breaking up is hard to do.  (10/17/2015) 
He's a guy, and has access to 'all machines that one would need'.  (9/29/2015) 
Meet the Members of the Republican Study Committee: Glenn Grothman (R-WI, 6th District).  (8/18/2015)
What about seeing the light, Representative Grothman?  (8/11/2015)
Glenn Grothman's gibberish in full flower.  (7/1/2015)
Rep. Glenn Grothman puts corporate personhood first.  (6/23/2015)
Glenn Grothman Finds His Voice in Washington, D.C. (6/19/2015)
Glenn Grothman goes seriously bland on us.  (5/12/2015)
Glenn Grothman's lips are zipped.  (4/9/2015)
Glenn Grothman Speaks the Language of the Godfather of states' rights.  (1/13/2015)
Glenn Grothman, Quiet Man.  (10/12/2014)
Tom Petri returns the favor to Glenn Grothman.  (9/5/2014)
Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District primary: Less than 12% of voters paid attention.  (8/24/2014)
Hey guys and gals, Scott Walker is not 100% convinced that Glenn Grothman can win the 6th CD. (8/23/2014)
Career politician Glenn Grothman moves one step closer to Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District general election.  (8/22/2014)
To the tune of $692,000.   (8/14/2014)
Glenn Grothman:  A man without a mandate.  (8/14/2014)
Glenn Grothman to Tom Petri: Thank you for your 35 years of service.  (8/1/2014)
Duey Stroebel can't be bothered with fundraising, looks to buy seat instead.  (8/1/2014)
Clearly, "common-sense bills" and "Grothman" should never be used in the same sentence.(7/9/2014)
Two career politicians pledge limited service in the U.S. House of Representatives.  (7/8/2014)
Glenn Grothman, Affirmative Action, and the demographics of Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District.  (4/28/2014)

Rep. James Edming votes to reduce size of state government by 0.002661%


Rep. Edming Votes to Reduce the Size of Government.  (James W. Edming press release,  3/9/2017)

Did I miss something? Scott Walker signs a law pertaining to library circulation policies?




Happy Friday!

Raising the minimum wage is a bipartisan issue


(color-coded according to 2016 presidential election results)

Jobs report: 235K jobs added last month, unemployment rate falls to 4.7 percent.  (Chicago Tribune, 3/10/2017)
Minimum wage increases last year in 17 states and Washington, D.C., helped raise pay among the lowest-paid workers, the EPI found. Pay increases for the poorest 10 percent of workers were more than twice as high in states where the minimum wage rose as in states where it did not.  
At the start of 2017, minimum wages rose again in 19 states, a trend that might have helped raise pay last month.  [Plus Maryland and Oregon on July 1, 2017)

Related posts:
Former U.S. Senator Alan K. Simpson isn't singing with the current Republican chorus.  (11/9/2015)
Scott Walker sez the minimum wage is 'lame' because the Koch Brothers bible tells him so.  (7/14/2015)
And many of us feel that Scott Walker serves no purpose.  (10/15/2014)
Forbes bangs on the drum all day, all week, all month, all year....... (8/22/2014)
Reporting the economic news like there's still an abundance of good-paying union jobs out there.  (8/14/2014)
Seattle's minimum wage:  It's complicated.  (6/29/2014)
What happened the last time a minimum wage bill was introduced in the Wisconsin state legislature.  (6/27/2014)
 UW-Milwaukee survey:  76% of respondents support raising the minimum wage.  (6/25/2014)
Wisconsin's $7.25 minimum wage: "Minimum comfort" indeed! (6/24/2014)
U.S. minimum wage since 1960.  (6/24/2014)
Support for minimum wage hike grows.  (6/21/2014)
More evidence that Scott Walker and the Republican state legislature is increasingly out of touch with the people they serve.  (5/28/2014)
Earning minimum wage and looking for a place to live? Check the "Dumps" listings! (4/25/2014
Scraping by on $83.65 an hour.  (3/17/2014)
Minnesota legislature looks to boost minimum wage from $6.15 to $9.50 per hour.  (3/4/2014)
The minimum wage:  It's not the same all over.  (2/18/2014)
A border debate on the minimum wage.  (2/16/2014)
The MacIver Institute's Pavlovian response to an increase in the minimum wage. (1/10/2014)
The view from the other side of the counter.  (11/29/2013)
The minimum wage and the poverty guideline.  (11/20/2013)
Most of us don't buy into U.S. Chamber of Commerce handwringing over minimum wage.  (11/1/2013)
A look at the minimum wage.  (9/28/2013)

CNN sez let's put a positive spin on low-wage job growth




25 Lowest Paying Jobs in America.  (24/7 Wall St., 3/10/2017)


Think about it.  If the accepted norm for housing costs is 30% of gross income, a single person earning $12,060 would need to limit his monthly housing expenditures to $278.  No surprise we have a growing homeless population.  More specifically, where is a family of 3 at the poverty level going to find a livable 2-bedroom apartment in Madison for $510/month?

Related reading:
Help wanted: Most U.S. job openings are for low-skill, low-pay workers.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/4/2015)
The United States Leads in Low-Wage Work and the Lowest Wages for Low-Wage Workers.  (Economic Policy Institute, 9/4/2014)
Recovery Has Created Far More Low-Wage Jobs Than Better-Paid Ones.  (The New York Times, 4/27/2014)