Saturday, June 22, 2019

GET ME REWRITE: Bought-and-paid-for conservative members of Wisconsin Supreme Court serve as office staff for GOP legislative leaders


No independent judiciary here! 


The "further review" is in.

On 4-3 vote, Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds state's lame-duck laws limiting power of Democratic governor.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6/21/2019)
Writing for the dissenters, Dallet contended the Legislature's two-year session "ceased to exist" in March 2018, when it held its last planned meeting. Leaders had "no authority" to bring lawmakers back in December because no state law gave them that power, she wrote. 
"The Legislature violated the plain constitutional text, and this court must act as a check," she wrote.


Wisconsin Supreme Court order puts most lame-duck laws back into effect. (Wisconsin State Journal, 6/11/2019)
 The Supreme Court by a split decision in April decided it would take over the appeal in the case. It did so voluntarily, without a motion from any of the parties involved, a relatively rare move. Parts of the case were set for trial on Wednesday and Thursday in Dane County Court, but the Supreme Court’s order suspended it pending a further order from the high court. 

"Did so voluntarily"? 

Bet your bottom dollar Fitzgerald and Vos gave Chief Justice Patience Roggensack -- she's the blonde on the left -- her marching orders.

Related lame-duck, extraordinary session, power grab posts:
The GOP Wisconsin State Senator from Appleton is a bald-faced liar. Period.   (1/12/2019)
Scott Walker appoints GOP contributor to UW Board of Regents. (12/4/2018)
Scott Walker gives campaign contributor her old job back at the PSC.  (12/4/2018)
All of a sudden, Scott Walker is in a big hurry to fill nontraditional student regent position that was vacant for nearly a year.  (12/5/2018)
UPDATE: Robin Vos continues to show signs of severe delirium.  (12/5/2018)
From library champion to "hot mess" chump.  (12/6/2018)
Rick Gundrum between a rock and a hard place. (12/6/2018)
The Dave Murphy, "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away" edition.  (12/6/2018)
UPDATE. Thank you for your response, John Macco.  (12/13/2018)


5/15/2019 update, "Bought and paid for conservative justices signal skepticism of challenge to lame-duck laws", starts here.


Sources:  



Related reading:
The Destruction of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  (The New Yorker, 5/5/2015)


5/1/2019 update, "Will the conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court give its seal of approval to the GOP power grab?", starts here.

Really.  Was there ever any doubt?

There's a word for that, Melissa.   The order to restore the appointments comes as the state's highest court considers lawsuits filed by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and others over action taken in December by the GOP lawmakers to shift away powers from Evers and Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul before they took office. Evers' spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff said Evers is "confident that the court will ultimately rule against the Legislature's unconstitutional attempt to override the will of the people" despite Tuesday's decision.

Original 4/20/2019 post starts here.

The 4 do what they're told to do. The court's decision means two of the four lawsuits challenging the GOP-controlled Legislature's action before Evers and Kaul were sworn into office will be decided by the Supreme Court, which is controlled by conservative-leaning justices. 
The court's four conservative justices wrote that they "concluded that the interests of the state would be best served by the appeal bypassing the court of appeals and proceeding in this court."

Elections have consequences

Brian Hagedorn greatly outperformed the 2018 conservative Supreme Court candidate.

Sources:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (20182019)

Friday, June 21, 2019

Climate change as a matter of fact: The disappearing glaciers of the Himalayas



2,112,809,600,000

Reported in Rising Temperatures Ravage the Himalayas, Rapidly Shrinking Its Glaciers.  (The New York Times, 6/19/2019)

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

Asia
No groundwater for 100,000,000 people in India? That sounds like 'unlivable' to me. (6/21/2019)
Kazakhstan: The melting of Tuyuksu glacier.  (1/21/2019)
Record heat in Japan raises concerns over 2020 Olympics.  (7/23/2018)
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
Italy's olive groves.  (3/11/2019)
Rising seas threaten Scottish heritage.  (9/29/2018)
Norway, Finland, and Sweden.  (7/19/2018)
Portugal.  (6/19/2017)
The Netherlands.  (6/19/2017)

North America
Great Marsh, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  (6/4/2019)
Alaska:  Iditarod sled dog race.  (3/3/2019)
Greenland's rapidly melting ice.  (1/22/2019)
Insect apocalypse:  Monarch butterfly.  (12/10/2018)
Hot nights in the U.S.  (9/6/2018)
Hampton Roads, Virginia.  (8/19/2018)
Front-page news at Des Moines Register.  (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
Unprecedented ice melt in Greenland and the Arctic so far this June.  (6/15/2019)
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
Galapagos Islands.  (12/19/2018)
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
Business leaders acknowledge bottom line risks and costs of climate change.  (6/5/2019)
Ocean heat hits record high.  (3/30/2019)

Greetings from Trump's America: Stearns County, Minnesota, where John Palmer is pissed off about "these people" not from Norway


‘These People Aren’t Coming From Norway’: Refugees in a Minnesota City Face a Backlash.  (The New York Times, 6/20/2019)
Every weekday, he sits in the same spot at Culver’s restaurant — the corner booth near the Kwik Trip — and begins his daily intake of news from xenophobic and conspiratorial sites, such as JihadWatch.org, and articles with titles like “Lifting the Veil on the ‘Islamophobia’ Hoax.” On Thursdays, Mr. Palmer hosts a group called Concerned Community Citizens, or C-Cubed, which he formed to pressure local officials over the Muslim refugees. Mr. Palmer said at a recent meeting he viewed them as innately less intelligent than the “typical” American citizen, as well as a threat. 
“The very word ‘Islamophobia’ is a false narrative,” Mr. Palmer, 70, said. “A phobia is an irrational fear.” Raising his voice, he added, “An irrational fear! There are many reasons we are not being irrational.”

Source:  Wikipedia (Stearns County, St. Cloud)


St. Cloud is the county seat of Stearns County.


% of population 25 and older with bachelor's degree:
  • 27.2% - Stearns County
  • 34.8% - Minnesota
  • 30.9% - U.S.
% of population 65 and older:
  • 15.1% - Stearns County
  • 15.9% - Minnesota
  • 15.6% - U.S.

Source:  Wikipedia
3rd-party candidates received 25.9% of vote in 1992, 17% of vote in 1996, 8% in 2016
(George Wallace received 6.5% of the vote in 1968)

Other Trump's America posts:
Alabama
Autauga County.  (6/29/2017)
Bibb County.  (11/10/2017)
Covington County. (11/11/2017)
Dale County.  (12/12/2017)
Geneva County.  (11/11/2017)
Marion County.  (11/11/2017)

Arizona
8th congressional district.  (4/25/2018)

Arkansas
Faulkner County.  (3/20/2018)
Mississippi County.  (3/19/2018)
Woodruff County.  (3/26/2018)

California
Mesa County.  (7/20/2017)
Shasta County.  (7/4/2017

Colorado
Morgan County.  (4/25/2017)

Florida
Citrus County.  (3/5/2017)
DeSoto County,.  (9/9/2017)
Pinellas County.   (3/14/2019)

Idaho
Kootenai County.  (9/25/2017)

Illinois
Effingham County.  (2/15/2018)
Franklin County.  (2/27/2017)
Jersey County.  (5/12/2019)
Jo Daviess County.  (5/13/2018)
Knox County.  (5/13/2018)
McHenry County.  (2/5/2017)
Perry County.  (5/8/2017)
Stephenson County.  (5/13/2018)
Whiteside County.  (5/13/2018)
16th Congressional District.  (3/26/2017)

Indiana
Dearborn County.  (3/16/2019)
Franklin County.  (3/16/2019)
Granger.  (3/26/2017)
Hendricks County.  (10/1/2017)
Howard County.  (3/19/2019)
Huntington County.  (4/27/2017)
Jefferson County.  (3/10/2018)
Madison County.  (3/16/2019)
Posey County.  (10/21/2017)
Scott County,.  (10/21/2017)
Union County.  (3/16/2019)
Vigo County.  (3/15/2019)
Wayne County.  (3/16/2019)

Iowa
Adair County.  (9/16/2018)
Adams County.  (9/16/2018)
Allamakee County.  (7/31/2018)
Appanoose County.  (8/4/2018)
Audubon County.  (4/26/2019)
Benton County.  (8/2/2018)
Boone County.  (1/15/2017)
Bremer County.  (8/2/2018)
Buchanan County.  (8/2/2018)
Butler County. (8/6/2018)
Calhoun County.  (9/6/2018)
Cass County.  (4/3/2018)
Cedar County.  (7/31/2018)
Cerro Gordo County.  (8/6/2018)
Cherokee County.  (4/29/2019)
Chickasaw County.  (8/2/2018)
Clarke County.  (8/8/2018)
Clayton County.  (7/31/2018)
Clinton County.   (10/15/2017)
Davis County.  (8/3/2018)
Decatur County.  ( 7/5/2018)
Delaware County.  (7/31/2018)
Des Moines County.  (8/1/2018)
Emmet County.  (8/19/2018)
Fayette County.  (8/2/2018)
Floyd County.  (9/25/2018 update)
Franklin County, (8/14/2017)
Fremont County.  (3/24/2019)
Greene County.  (9/6/2018)
Guthrie County.  (9/16/2018)
Hamilton County.  (4/2/2018)
Hancock County. (8/7/2018)
Hardin County.  (4/2/2018)
Henry County.  (7/9/2018)
Howard County.  (8/2/2018)
Ida County.  (4/28/2019)
Iowa County.  (8/2/2018)
Jasper County.  (8/5/2018)
Jefferson County.  (8/1/2018)
Keokuk County.  (8/2/2018)
Kossuth County.  (8/18/2018)
Lee County.  (8/1/2018)
Louisa County.  (8/1/2018)
Lucas County.  (8/5/2018)
Lyon County.  (4/2/2018)
Madison County.  (8/8/2018)
Marion County.  (5/23/2017)
Mitchell County.  (8/7/2018)
Monona County.  (4/27/2019)
Monticello County.  (1/13/2017)
Muscatine County.  (8/1/2018)
Palo Alto County.  (9/6/2018)
Pocahontas County.  (9/6/2018)
Poweshiek and Webster counties.  (2/7/2017)
Ringgold County.  (8/8/2018)
Sac County.  (4/28/2019)
Sioux County.  (8/26/2018 update)
Tama County.  (7/6/2018)
Taylor County.  (9/16/2018)
Union County.  (9/10/2017)
Van Buren County.  (4/25/2019)
Wapello County.  (8/3/2018)
Washington County.  (4/2/2018)
Wayne County.  (8/5/2018)
Webster County.  (8/9/2018)
Winnebago County. (12/17/2017)
Winneshiek County.  (8/2/2018)
Worth County. (8/7/2018)
Wright County.  (6/3/2019 update)

Kansas
Clark County.  (3/21/2017)
Comanche County. (12/22/2018)
Doniphan County.  (3/27/2019)
Mitchell County.  (1/29/2017)
Sumner County.  (10/1/2017)

Kentucky
Bell County.  (6/4/2018)
Hancock County,.  (10/21/2017)
Jackson County.  (12/9/2017)
Knox and Whitley counties.  (2/17/2017)
Lee County.  (12/9/2017)
Letcher County.  (6/29/2017)
Martin County.  (3/22/2018)
Perry County.  (10/10/2017)
Rowan County.  (6/4/2018)

Louisiana
Calcasieu Parish,.  (5/22/2017)
St. Martin Parish.  (4/26/2017)

Maine
Piscataquis County.  (7/3/2017)

Michigan
Lake County.  (9/16/2018)
Macomb County.  (11/29/2017)
Monroe County.  (3/9/2019)
St. Joseph County.  (6/5/2017)

Minnesota
Chisago County.  (6/20/2018)
Itasca County.  (5/12/2018)
Lac qui Parle County.  (7/2/2017)
Mower County.  (5/12/2018)
Nobles County.  (1/26/2018)
Steele County.  (6/9/2019)

Mississippi
Pontotoc County.  (7/19/2017)

Missouri
Atchison County.  (3/25/2019)
Butler County.  (7/22/2018)
Holt County.  (3/25/2019)
New Madrid County.  (4/23/2019)
Pike County/Bowling Green.  (5/23/2019)

Montana
Valley County/Opheim.  (5/27/2019)

Nebraska
Boyd County.  (4/14/2019)
Burt County.  (3/27/2019)
Keya Paha.  (4/14/2019)
Knox County.  (3/28/2019)
Nemaha County.  (3/27/2019)
Richardson County.  (3/27/2019)
Sioux County.  (12/22/2018)

New Jersey
7th Congressional District.  (4/14/2017)

New York
Broome County.  (2/14/2019)
Cayuga County.  (2/13/2019)
Cortland County.  (2/14/2019)
Essex County.  (11/29/2017 update)
Franklin County. (2/9/2019)
Fulton County.  (2/10/2019)
Herkimer County.  (2/10/2019)
Orange County.  (2/15/2019)
Oswego County.  (2/11/2019)
Otsego County.  (2/12/2019)
Putnam County.  (2/27/2018)
Renssalaer County.  (2/13/2019)
St. Lawrrence County.  (2/8/2019)
Seneca County.  (2/14/2019)
Sullivan County.  (2/15/2019)
Warren County.  (2/11/2019)
Washington County.  (2/11/2019)
19th Congressional District.  (3/26/2017)

North Carolina
Robeson County.  (12/1/2017)
Union County.  (3/9/2017)

North Dakota
Sargent County.  (10/22/2017)

Ohio
Adams County.  (12/9/2017)
Ashtabula County.  (2/18/2019)
Belmont County.  (7/17/2018)
Columbiana County,  (12/11/2017)
Coshocton County. (3/6/2019)
Defiance County.  (3/21/2017)
Erie County.  (3/5/2019)
Gallia County.  (2/23/2019)
Guernsey County.  (2/27/2019)
Highland County.   (3/19/2017)
Huron County.  (6/19/2017)
Jackson County.  (6/6/2017)
Jefferson County.  (2/20/2019)
Lawrence County.  (2/25/2018)
Marion County.  (7/14/2018)
Meigs County.  (2/22/2019)
Morgan County.  (10/10/2017)
Muskingum County.  (2/26/2019)
Ottawa County. (3/5/2019)
Portage County.  (3/7/2019)
Sandusky County.  (3/5/2019)
Shelby County.  (3/2/2018)
Trumbull County.  (4/3/2017)
Van Wert County.  (4/12/2017)
Wayne County.  (5/6/2018)
Williams County.  (3/21/2017)
Wood County.  (3/6/2019)
Wyandot County.  (5/4/2018)

Oklahoma
Bryan County.  (5/5/2017)
Nowata County.  (5/5/2018)
Osage County/Fairfax.  (5/12/2019)

Oregon
Douglas County.  (5/17/2017)

Pennsylvania
Beaver County.  (2/8/2019)
Blair County/Altoona.  (4/28/2019)
Cambria County/Johnstown.  (6/3/2017)
Dauphin County. (4/22/2017)
Elk County.  (3/24/2019)
Erie County.  (10/11/2018 update)
Fayette County.  (7/25/2018)
Greene County.  (5/3/2017)
Lawrence County.  (2/5/2019)
UPDATE. Luzerne County.  (1/14/2017)
Mercer County.  (2/9/2019)
Northampton County.  (7/20/2017)
Old Forge (Lackawanna County).  3/18/2019)
Warren County.  (3/24/2019)
Wayne County.  (3/1/2018)
Williamsport.  (1/24/2017)

South Carolina
Spartanburg County.  (6/5/2017)

South Dakota
Lawrence County,.  (4/27/2017)

Tennessee
Campbell County.  (12/10/2017)
Lake County.  (12/22/2018)
Marion County.  (4/1/2017)
Maury County.  (10/31/2017)
Roane County.  (5/1/2018)
Union County.  (5/30/2017)

Texas
Gaines County.  (4/26/2017)
Shackelford County.  (2/26/2018)

Washington
Grays Harbor County.  (8/20/2017)

West Virginia
Berkeley County.  (3/25/2018)
Boone County.  (3/23/2018)
Brooke County.  (3/17/2019)
Cabell County.  (8/4/2017)
Doddridge County.  (3/19/2019)
Fayette County.  (1/24/2017)
Greenbrief County.  (12/14/2018)
Hancock County. (3/17/2019)
Harrison County.  (3/19/2019)
Jackson County.  (6/18/2017)
Lincoln County.  (3/21/2019)
Logan County.  (3/21/2019)
Marion County.  (3/18/2019)
Marshall County.  (2/7/2018)
Mason County.  (12/16/2017)
McDowell County.  (7/10/2017)
Mercer County.  (3/20/2019)
Mingo County.  (3/25/2018)
Summers County.  (3/25/2018)
Wayne County.  (3/24/2018)
Wetzel County.  (3/19/2019)
Wood County.  (1/15/2019)
Wyoming County.  (3/20/2019)

Wisconsin
6th congressional district.  (1/27/2018)
Adams County.  (2/6/2017)
Buffalo County.  (3/19/2017)
Burnett County.  (2/24/2018)
Clark County,.  (8/13/2018)
Crawford County.  (5/14/2018)
Fond du Lac County.  (3/7/2018)
Forest County.  (6/16/2019)
Grant County.  (5/16/2018)
Green Lake County.  (1/26/2018)
Jackson County.  (3/8/2018)
Johnson Creek.  (1/21/2017)
Juneau County.  (2/23/2017)
Lafayette County.  (5/16/2018)
Langlade County,.  (6/9/2019)
Manitowoc County.  (8/10/2017)
Monroe County.  (3/8/2018)
Oconto County.  (7/24/2018)
Oneida County.  (4/24/2017)
Pepin County.  (12/21/2017)
Price County.  (12/23/2018 update)
Richland County.  (11/10/2017)
Sauk County.  (5/14/2018)
Sawyer County.  (3/20/2017)
Taylor County.  (12/23/2018 update)
Trempealeau County.  (5/28/2019)
Vernon County.  (5/14/2018)
Waushara County.  (2/6/2017)
Winnebago County.  (11/27/2017)
Wood County.  (3/8/2018)

Climate change as a matter of fact: No groundwater for 100,000,000 people in India? That sounds like 'unlivable' to me.




India is running out of water, fast.  (Aljazeera, 6/20/2019)
At least 21 cities in India, including capital New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, will run out of groundwater by 2020, affecting around 100 million people.  
[snip]  
One of the worrying predictions of climate change has been a weakening monsoon season in South Asia. For the last five years, rainfall in the region has been below average, with 2015 being the worst at 86 percent. This year's late monsoon progress is worrying, with a prolonged heatwave aggravating the situation. From Andhra Pradesh to Bihar, the late onset of monsoon cloud and rain has allowed daily temperatures to remain higher than normal.

Original 7/21/2018 post, "India, where wet bulb temperatures could make much of the country unlivable", starts here.

Map source:  NOAA

Reported in In India, Summer Heat May Soon Be Literally Unbearable.  (The New York Times, 7/17/2018)

Related reading:
WetBulb globe temperature.  (National Weather Service)

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

Asia
Kazakhstan: The melting of Tuyuksu glacier.  (1/21/2019)
Record heat in Japan raises concerns over 2020 Olympics.  (7/23/2018)
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
Italy's olive groves.  (3/11/2019)
Rising seas threaten Scottish heritage.  (9/29/2018)
Norway, Finland, and Sweden.  (7/19/2018)
Portugal.  (6/19/2017)
The Netherlands.  (6/19/2017)

North America
Great Marsh, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  (6/4/2019)
Alaska:  Iditarod sled dog race.  (3/3/2019)
Greenland's rapidly melting ice.  (1/22/2019)
Insect apocalypse:  Monarch butterfly.  (12/10/2018)
Hot nights in the U.S.  (9/6/2018)
Hampton Roads, Virginia.  (8/19/2018)
Front-page news at Des Moines Register.  (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
Unprecedented ice melt in Greenland and the Arctic so far this June.  (6/15/2019)
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
Galapagos Islands.  (12/19/2018)
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
Business leaders acknowledge bottom line risks and costs of climate change.  (6/5/2019)
Ocean heat hits record high.  (3/30/2019)

The line graph does not accompany Nicholas Kristof's op-ed in the print edition of the New York Times



When We Kill, by Nicolas Kristof.  (The New York Times, 6/14/2019)
President Trump is now calling for expanding the death penalty so it would apply to drug dealers and those who kill police officers, with an expedited trial and quick execution. A majority of Americans (56 percent, according to Gallup) favor capital punishment, believing that it will deter offenders or save money and presuming that it will apply only to the vilest criminals and that mistakes are not a serious risk.  [emphasis added]
All these assumptions are wrong.

Thursday, June 20, 2019

BREAKING NEWS; Second Wisconsin State Senate fiscal hawk sez 'no' to budget



Reported in
GOP budget on shaky ground as second Republican senator vows 'no' vote.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 6/20/2019)


Original 6/20/2019 post, "The districts represented by the Wisconsin State Senate fiscal hawks", starts here.

Yes, a white male brigade to the rescue!!

Photo credits:  Wisconsin State Senate

Republican senator to vote 'no' on GOP budget.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6/19/2019)
The announcement from Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, means Republicans can afford to lose only one more GOP vote for the budget to pass in the Senate, assuming no Democrats vote for it. Republicans control the Senate by a 19-14 majority. 
[snip] 
There are other fiscal hawks in the Senate who could join him. Those include Sens. Dave Craig, R-Big Bend; Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville; and Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield.

The Milwaukee "collar" districts of 11 (Nass), 20 (Stroebel), 28 (Craig), and 33 (Kapenga).

Population loss in rural Arkansas: Calhoun County


Population loss as in major -- 50% or more.  

Source:  Wikipedia (Calhoun CountyHampton)


Hampton is the county seat of Calhoun County.

Population loss by degrees:  80-89%70-79%, 60-69%, 50-59%.



Percentage of population 25 and older with a bachelor's degree:
  • 12.3% - Calhoun County
  • 22.0% - Arkansas
  • 30.9% - U.S.
Percentage of population 65 and older:
  • 21.1% - Calhoun County
  • 16.6% - Arkansas
  • 15.6% - U.S.

Calhoun County voted consistently Democratic until the 1968 election, when third-party candidate George Wallace won 55.5% of the vote.  The county has voted Republican 7 of 9 times since 1984, native son Bill Clinton winning in 1992 and 1996.

Photo credit: South Arkansas Sun

Related reading:
Hampton Race War of 1892.  (Encyclopedia of Arkansas)

Other Arkansas population loss posts:
Lee County/Marianna.  (6/12/2019)
Phillips County/Helena-West Helena. (6/13/2019)
Desha County/Arkansas City.  (6/15/2019)
Chicot County/Lake Village.  (6 /16/2019)
Lafayette County/Lewisville.  (6/17/2019)
Woodruff County/Augusta.  (6/18/2019)
Monroe County/Clarendon.  (6/19/2019)

Other population loss series:

Dear Marathon County Board of Supervisors, Your timing is off. Best, Retiring Guy


Wouldn't this action been more appropriately approved a month ago?


Marathon Co. Board to vote on resolution to make June Pride Month. (WAOW, 9/18/2019)
“The resolution is not meant to alienate anybody or exclude anybody, but rather send a strong statement that Marathon County is a welcoming community for all” Yee Leng Xiong, the chair of the Diversity Affairs Commission said. 
The County Board will vote on the resolution at their next meeting Tuesday, June 25.

But wait, there's more!  


Reported in Marathon County committee debates Pride Month, compares LGBTQ plight to being left-handed.  (Wausau Daily Herald, 6/18/2019

We're not there yet, Romey.


Related reading:
What left-handed people can teach the LGBTQ community.  For centuries, left-handed people were viewed with scorn and even fear.  (LGBTQ Nation, 10/21/2017)