Retiring Guy's Digest: 2018-08-12

Saturday, August 18, 2018

KTHP on the radio: Four-sevenths of ketchup in Hemphill Texas

KTHP -- Classic Country

Photo by Retiring Guy

Source: Wikipedia

Aretha Franklin's two-sided hit single among the newcomers on Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending August 17, 1968

Billboard Hot 100

Related reading:
Music And Lyrics: Burt Bacharach And Hal David. (NPR, 5/5/2010)

GROSS: So, I thought we could close with another song. And this is a song that you wrote - that you didn't write for "Promises, Promises," but it's been interpolated into the new production. And the song is "I Say a Little Prayer." And I thought we'd use Aretha Franklin's 1968 recording of it.

Mr. DAVID: A great record.

GROSS: Yeah. Were you amazed to hear her record this?

Mr. BACHARACH: It's a better record than the record we made.

Mr. DAVID: Mm-hmm. We did, yeah. And we did a great record, but she topped it.

Mr. BACHARACH: Yeah.

GROSS: Why is this one better?

Mr. DAVID: You'll hear it.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Mr. BACHARACH: It's more natural.

Mr. DAVID: Yeah.

Mr. BACHARACH: It's just more natural. We were talking about our changes and time changes on the chorus of forever and forever, you stay in my heart, and I will - you know, that's going 4-4, 3-4, 4-4, 3-4. Then regard the way it was treated by Aretha, because Aretha just makes it seamless, the transition going from one change to another change. You never notice it.

How much do you make? CEOs of America's 350 biggest companies leave the rest of us in the dust

CEO compensation surged in 2017. (Economic Policy Institute, 8/16/2018)

Why it matters: Regardless of how it is measured, CEO pay continues to be very, very high and has grown far faster in recent decades than typical worker pay. Higher CEO pay does not reflect correspondingly higher output or better firm performance. Exorbitant CEO pay therefore means that the fruits of economic growth are not going to ordinary workers. The growth of CEO and executive compensation overall was a major factor driving the doubling of the income shares of the top 1 percent and top 0.1 percent of U.S. households from 1979 to 2007. Since then, income growth has remained unbalanced. Profits and stock market prices have reached record highs while the wages of most workers have continued to stagnate.

Economic costs for employee compensation -- March 2018. (Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. Department of Labor, 6/8/2018)

Employer costs for employee compensation averaged $36.32 per hour worked in March 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries averaged $24.77 per hour worked and accounted for 68.2 percent of these costs, while benefits averaged $11.55 and accounted for the remaining 31.8 percent.

Divide and conquer: The war on public employees

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $34.17 per hour worked. Total employer compensation costs for state and local government workers averaged $49.40 per hour worked.

Climate change as a matter of fact: Red-hot summer of record heat in Europe

Red hot planet: This summer’s punishing and historic heat in 7 maps and charts. (Washington Post, 8/17/2018)

Previous climate change as a matter of fact posts:
Africa
Cape Town, South Africa. (1/31/2018)
Kenya. (7/23/2017)

Asia
Record heat in Japan raises concerns over 2020 Olympics. (7/23/2018)
Wet bulb temperatures in India. (7/21/2018)
Lebanon's cedar trees. (7/19/2018)
Rising seas + draining underground aquifers = Jakarta disaster. (12/22/2017)

Australia and the Pacific
Dying coral of the Great Barrier Reef. (4/22/2018)
Easter Island. (3/18/2018)
Green sea turtles of the Great Barrier Reef. (1/11/2018)
Kiribati. (7/6/2016)

Europe
Portugal. (6/19/2017)
The Netherlands. (6/19/2017)
Norway, Finland, and Sweden. (7/19/2018)

North America
Iowa front-page news. (8/12/2018)
Miami, again. (6/14/2018)
May 2018 record heat in U.S. (6/9/2018)
Miami. (5/4/2018)
Melting outdoor ice rinks in Canada. (3/21/2018)
Gulf of Maine. (3/8/2018)
Jean Lafitte, Louisiana. (2/26/2018)
Lodi, Wisconsin. (2/3/2018)
Maine shrimp season. (12/27/2017)
California fires. (12/8/2017)
Wisconsin. (11/16/2017)
Hampton Roads, Virginia. (11/4/2017)
Georgia peach orchards. (9/18/2017)
Northeast U.S. pine forests. (8/29/2017)
Tangier Island, Virginia.  (8/25/2017)
South of the Arctic Circle in Alaska. (8/25/2017)
New Orleans.  (8/12/2017)
Mexico City.  (2/19/2017)
Kansas. (1/29/2017)
Moose of Maine.  (1/21/2017)
Florida Keys.  (1/14/2017)
California wine country. (1/11/2017)
Kaktovik, Alaska. (12/20/2016)
Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park. (7/7/2016)

Polar regions
Disappearing old ice in Arctic. (6/4/2018)
North Pole. (2/28/2018)
Beavers migrate to Arctic. (12/24 /2017)
Shrinking sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. (12/14/2017)
Emaciated polar bear. (12/9/2017)

South America
Peru. (11/26/2017)
Brazil. (6/8/2017)
Bolivia. (7/11/2016)
Peru, (5/21/2016)

U.S. Military
Military prepares for reality of climate change, rising seas. (8/11/2018)
U.S. military bases around the world. (1/8/2018)
U.S. Department of Defense. (12/16/2017)
U.S. military bases. (9/22/2017)

Worldwide
Not just a wake-up call anymore. (8/10/2018)

Friday, August 17, 2018

Peeing in public in Paris

Picture this...

...in the frame.

Nope, Those Aren't Mailboxes: Paris Rolls Out Sidewalk Urinals. (NPR, 8/14/2018)

In Paris, authorities are taking an unusual approach to combat the scourge of public urination: Make urination even more public. The city is experimenting with completely exposed, eco-friendly urinals.

The devices are called "Uritrottoir," which combines the words for urinal and pavement. They're not at all subtle.

They're bright red and in heavily trafficked areas — for example, directly next to the Seine near the Notre Dame Cathedral.

In Trump's America, it's OK to disparage blacks, Mexicans, and foreigners

Reported in An Iowa worker fired for disparaging Mexicans says she should get unemployment, arguing such talk is routine after Trump's election. (Des Moines Register, 8/16/2018)

Related reading:
The rise of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in Trump’s America. (SBS News, 1/2/2018)

The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) said there was a nine per cent increase in anti-Muslim incidents and a 20 per cent increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes last year. The Jewish Anti-Defamation League said its data points to a potential 37 per cent increase in anti-Semitic incidents in 2017. They include discrimination, harassment, assault and bomb threats. “I personally link it directly to Donald Trump and his empowerment of bigotry and white supremacy,” claimed CAIR’s National Communication’s Director Ibrahim Hooper.

The Year in Hate: Trump buoyed white supremacists in 2017, sparking backlash among black nationalist groups. (Southern Poverty Law Center, 2/21/2018)

Aside from hate groups, the SPLC identified 689 active antigovernment groups that comprised the “Patriot” movement in 2017, up from 623. Of these, 273 were armed militias.

Historically, these groups rise during Democratic presidencies out of fear of gun control measures and federal law enforcement action against them. They typically decline under GOP presidencies. This has not been the case under Trump, whose radical views and bigotry may be energizing them in the same way he has invigorated hate groups.

"Bombs bursting in air": The skyrocketing estimated cost of a military Trumpfest

Pentagon says Trump's military parade postponed until 2019 amid reports costs jumped 666%. (USA Today, 8/17/2018)

In other words, the groups says, 'Let's get our priorities in order here!" The American Legion said in a statement Thursday that the organization appreciates Trump's desire to "show in a dramatic fashion our nation's support for our troops." But the veterans group believes that with troops still deployed overseas in the fight against terrorism, "the parade money would be better spent fully funding the Department of Veterans Affairs and giving our troops and their families the best care possible."

Trump has expressed a desire for such a parade for years and was greatly impressed by the Bastille Day march he witnessed on a presidential trip to Paris in 2017.

Maybe we should double-check on those initial border wall cost estimates.

Washington Post, 2/10/2017

According to the article -- $25,000,000,000

Do I hear $191,667,000,000?

Why Scott Walker is going to lose in November: He never listens, he always shills

And voters are tiring of his act.

In an advisory referendum, West Allis voters loudly demand legislators close the so-called dark store loophole. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/16/2018)

"It was pretty convincing," Mayor Dan Devine said of the wide margin. "I hope this strong message sent by voters resonates with the legislature and the governor."

More than 50 municipalities and counties have passed referenda on closing the dark store loophole.

Have you heard Scott Walker speak out on the issue recently? Not likely, as our governor takes his business marching order from WMC.

Related link:
Dark store information. (City of West Allis)

Thursday, August 16, 2018

WOW! The Leahs win 15 of 72 Wisconsin counties

Source: The New York Times

GOP primary voters in west-central Wisconsin appear to have been especially taken in by this central casting version of a candidate. The highlighted counties are where Nicholson gathered at least 55% of the vote.

Democratic primary UPDATE. Wisconsin 2018 elections: Who's running in the 77th Assembly District?

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The headline says it all.

Shelia Stubbs wins Democratic primary for 77th Assembly District, faces no Republican or independent challengers for November. (Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, 81/4/2018)

Shelia Stubbs, a Dane County Board supervisor, will be the first African-American elected to the state Legislature from Dane County following her primary win Tuesday for Assembly District 77.

The winner of the Democratic primary secured the seat — representing Madison’s South, Southwest and West sides as well as the UW-Madison campus and Shorewood Hills — since no Republican or independent challenger is running for the office.

Original 7/18/2018 post starts here.

Open seat. Terese Berceau (D-Madison) not running for re-election.

Sources include Wisconsin Elections Commission

Berceau's margin of victory in last 2 general elections:

unopposed in the 2014 general election; no primary challenger.
unopposed in the 2016 general election; no primary challenger

Source: Ballotpedia

(which does the best job of outlining

The Art of the Wisconsin Gerrymander)

GOP primary UPDATE. Wisconsin 2018 elections: Who's running in the 59th Assembly District?

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin Primary: Ramthun wins 59th State Assembly District Republican race. (Fond du Lac Reporter, 8/14/2018)

Thanks to gerrymandering. The 59th Assembly District reaches into four counties: the southern part of Calumet County; the eastern part of Fond du Lac County; the northern part of Washington County; and the eastern part of Sheboygan County.

With no Democrat challenger, Ramthun will be uncontested on the Nov. 6 ballot. A native of Kewaskum, Ramthun has served as an executive business management consultant since 2010.

In his role, he addresses customer satisfaction, profitability, enhancing quality and operational service requirements in various private sector businesses.

Original 7/12/2018 post starts here.

Open seat. Jesse Kremer not running for re-election

Sources include Wisconsin Elections Commission

Kremer's margin of victory in last 2 general elections:

unopposed in the 2014 general election; won 4-way GOP with 38.6% of vote
unopposed in the 2016 general election; no primary challenger

Source: Ballotpedia

(which does the best job of outlining

The Art of the Wisconsin Gerrymander)

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Wisconsin farm facts 2018: Top 5 cheese-producing states

Source: 2018 Wisconsin Farm Facts

Related articles:
State cheese production in 2017 reaches a record 3.37 billion pounds. (Wisconsin State Journal, 4/26/2018)

Nationally, cheese production reached 12.7 billion pounds, a 3.9 percent increase. Eleven of the country’s top 14 cheese-producing states increased production in 2017, according to the NASS data. California was the nation’s second-leading producer at just over 2.5 billion pounds, which was a one-year drop of less than 1 percent.

Wisconsin’s overall production was led by big increases in Hispanic (7 percent), American (5.5 percent) and Italian (3.7) cheese production, the data show.

Original 8/7/2018 post, "Top 10 commodities" starts here.

Source: 2018 Wisconsin Farm Facts

Related articles:
Wisconsin is gaining fast on California. (Hoard's Dairyman, 9/22/2017)

When California took over as the nation’s biggest milk-producing state in 1994, it ended at least a 70-year run as number one for Wisconsin. (USDA records start in 1924, and Wisconsin outproduced number two New York that year by nearly 50 percent.) California became the leader in dairy cows in 1998.

Over the next decade, California widened its lead dramatically in both categories. The high watermarks came in 2008 at 16.73 billion pounds and 592,000 cows.

But things have changed a lot since then — slowly at first, and much more rapidly of late. In 2016, California’s lead over Wisconsin had dropped to 10.35 billion pounds and 483,000 cows.

Those are still huge advantages, but a trend is clearly underway — one that says Wisconsin may be on track to eventually be the top dairy state again

Wisconsin doubles down on dairy distinction with goat farms. (San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/20/2016)

It's not 2008 anymore in Nashville and Davidson County, Greater Appalachia

Medium, 11/8/2017

He thinks he has the data to prove it. I don’t disagree that the United States is in crisis, with fissures breaking apart our facade of national unity and revealing structural weaknesses of the republic. Our federation — and, therefore, the world — is in peril, and the stakes are enormous. As the author of American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America, however, I strongly disagree with the now-conventional narrative that what ultimately divides us is the difference between metropolitan and provincial life. The real divide is between regional cultures — an argument I fleshed out at the outset of this series—as it always has been. And I now have the data to demonstrate it.

If this argument as a familiar ring, you probably encountered this 1991 book....

...which is still available in LINKcat.

Personally, I wouldn't put all of my research eggs in the 2008 basket.

Welcome to Nashville and Davidson County, ~~Tennessee~~, Greater Appalachia, where Clinton beat Trump by 25.8 percentage points.

Let's take a closer look. (And I repeat, [w]ithin each of the 11 “nations” of the U.S., rural and urban voters actually behave very similarly.)

Source: Wikipedia (by county)

Source: Wikipedia

Opinion. The Maps That Show That City vs. Country Is Not Our Political Fault Line. (The New York Times, 7/30/2018)

In five regional cultures that together constitute about 51 percent of the United States population, rural and urban counties voted for the same presidential candidate, be it the “blue wave” election of 2008, the Trumpist upheaval of 2016 or the more ambiguous contest in between. In the Deep South, Greater Appalachia, New France and the Far West, rural and urban majorities supported Republican candidates in all three elections, whether voters lived in central cities, wealthy suburbs, mountain hollers or the ranches of the high plains.

State and regional maps and county voting statistics used in original 3/13/2018 post, "It's not 2008 anymore in Indianapolis and Marion County, Greater Appalachia", start here.

Welcome to Indianapolis and Marion County, ~~Indiana~~ Greater Appalachia, where Clinton beat Trump by 23.8 percentage points.

Let's take a closer look. (And I repeat, [w]ithin each of the 11 “nations” of the U.S., rural and urban voters actually behave very similarly.)

Source: Wikipedia (by county)

State and regional maps and county voting statistics used in original 3/13/2018 post, "It's not 2008 anymore in Columbus and Franklin County, Greater Appalachia", start here.

Welcome to Columbus and Franklin County, ~~Ohio~~ Greater Appalachia, where Clinton beat Trump by 26.2 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election.

Let's take a closer look. (And I repeat, [w]ithin each of the 11 “nations” of the U.S., rural and urban voters actually behave very similarly.)

Source: Wikipedia (by county)

You can check for yourself, but Merriam-Webster doesn't list 'vote' as a synonym for 'behave'.

Nextbook

On a scale of 1 (you're kidding me!) to 10 (stunning), how would you rate this house's curb appeal?

It's located in a neighborhood where most of the other homes have undergone recent facelifts.

Other Around Town posts
August 2018
It's now easier to access to Tiedeman Pond from Park Street. (8/15/2018)
Must be on a tight schedule. (8/6/2018)

July 2018
What type of seeds? (7/6/2018)

June 2018
If it's not one thing, it's another. (6/23/2018)
Bloom Bake Shop to reopen as Bloom Bindery, a bakery/bookstore. (6/15/2018)

May 2018
The Tiedeman Pond frog chorus. (5/15/2018)

March 2018
Tiedeman Pond winter fish kill. (3/30/2018)
Hear that lonesome whistle blow. (3/22/2018)
Explosion on Elmwood Avenue. (3/20/2018)
Googling 'Henry Hubbard'. (3/18/2018)
A not-so-faded Flo strikes a new pose. (3/12/2018)

February 2018

3 orange cones on sidewalk. (2/26/2018)

January 2018
This corner house is now a rental. (1/16/2018)
This 1955, 1296-square-foot ranch on Cooper Avenue was listed at $219,500. (1/13/2018)
It's always the season of the witch at this Anderson Street address in Middleton. (1/11/2018)

December 2017
A sure sign that this request went unheeded, if not unseen. (12/24/2017)
Turnstile Christmas Eve services at St. Luke's. (12/13/2017)
You've heard of a bear hibernating, but how about a bakery? (12/13/2017)

Meet Sarah Huckabee Sanders, fact masher extraordinaire

Source: U.S. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

January 2009-December 2016 increase:
3,451,000

January 2017-July 2017 increase
834,000

Quoted in White House Falsely Claims Trump Has Created More Jobs for Black Americans Than Obama Did. (The New York Times, 8/14/2018)