Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy on July 16, 1969, carrying Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin into an initial Earth-orbit of 114 by 116 miles. An estimated 650 million people watched Armstrong’s televised image and heard his voice describe the event as he took “…one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” on July 20, 1969.
Two hours, 44 minutes and one-and-a-half revolutions after launch, the S-IVB stage reignited for a second burn of five minutes, 48 seconds, placing Apollo 11 into a translunar orbit. The command and service module, or CSM, Columbia separated from the stage, which included the spacecraft-lunar module adapter, or SLA, containing the lunar module, or LM, Eagle. After transposition and jettisoning of the SLA panels on the S-IVB stage, the CSM docked with the LM. The S-IVB stage separated and injected into heliocentric orbit four hours, 40 minutes into the flight.
When the Wisconsin Legislature passed the state budget, it already had an irresponsible $500 million spending increase for K-12 education. With a stroke of his pen, Governor Evers used his powerful veto to increase spending by another $87 million. Now some lawmakers are proposing reining in the Wisconsin governor’s ability to use a veto to increase spending.
Governor Evers and his comrades have decried the attempt to curb the governor’s veto power as a partisan endeavor. Perhaps it is. And perhaps it would have been a worthwhile reform when one part controlled the legislative and executive branches. Even so, it often takes the abuse of power to spark reform, and this reform is badly needed.
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The constitutional amendment being circulated by Sen. David Craig and Rep. Mike Kuglitsch does not even approach eliminating the governor’s line item veto. Their amendment would simply prohibit the ability of the governor to use a veto to increase spending. The rationale is simple. No single person in government should have the power to spend $87 million on their own authority.
That is entirely too much power for one person to have over his fellow citizens. Our state constitution explicitly grants the power to appropriate money for precisely the reason that spending decisions should be subject to a rigorous legislative process and not be the subject to the arbitrary whims of a solitary governor.
The process to amend the state’s constitution is, rightly, a lengthy one. The amendment must pass both houses of the legislature in two consecutive sessions. Then the amendment must pass a statewide referendum. Fortunately, the governor is not involved in the amendment process.
Wisconsin’s governor’s veto authority makes him or her too powerful. It was true for Governor Walker. It is true for Governor Evers. It will be true for the next governor. It will be true for the one after that unless we change it. Taking a small step to limit that veto authority is not a partisan issue. It is just a simple reform to make a better government.
“On a more or less serious note: Folks…please don’t flush your drugs m’kay. When you send something down the sewer pipe it ends up in our retention ponds for processing before it is sent down stream. Now our sewer guys take great pride in releasing water that is cleaner than what is in the creek, but they are not really prepared for meth. Ducks, Geese, and other fowl frequent our treatment ponds and we shudder to think what one all hyped up on meth would do. Furthermore, if it made it far enough we could create meth-gators in Shoal Creek and the Tennessee River down in North Alabama. They’ve had enough methed up animals the past few weeks without our help. So, if you need to dispose of your drugs just give us a call and we will make sure they are disposed of in the proper way.”
The “methed up animals” is likely a reference to Limestone County’s “attack squirrel” case that made headlines across the country. Deputies say that suspect, Mickey Paulk, fed his pet squirrel meth to make it more aggressive. While on the run, Paulk denied this on Facebook Live and on the radio.
While I applaud the effort at transparency, why would he need to solicit comments from the public about opinions? I thought that the AG was supposed to offer legal opinions based on the law – not public opinion.
MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul today unveiled a new process and website for all Wisconsinites to provide information and perspectives on proposed Attorney General Opinion topics prior to the beginning of the Department of Justice drafting process. The new Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) webpage, doj.state.wi.us/OpinionRequests gives anyone the opportunity to weigh in on issues facing opinion review.
“With the changes announced today, we are making the AG opinion process transparent and open to input from the public,” said Attorney General Kaul.
With the new website, all commentary submitted will now be open to public review through the public records process. Public records requests can be made through the Department of Justice Office of Open Government by phone, mail or online. More information about making a public records request can be found here.
By statute, the Attorney General must, when asked, provide the legislature and designated Wisconsin state government officials with an opinion on legal questions. The Attorney General may also give formal legal opinions to district attorneys and county corporation counsel under certain circumstances. Wis. Stat. § 165.25(3) and 59.42(1)(c). Please see 77 Op. Att’y Gen. Preface (1988) for a more detailed explanation of the criteria for requesting a formal opinion.
Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker announced plans Monday to serve full-time as president of a national conservative youth organization and ruled out the possibility of him seeking political office in the next five years.
The board of directors of the Young America’s Foundation elected Walker to become president of the group in early 2021 when YAF’s current president will step down after more than 40 years.
YAF works to promote conservative ideas among young people.
This clears the way for someone to take the mantle in Wisconsin. Who will it be?
Chakrabarti had an unexpected disclosure. “The interesting thing about the Green New Deal,” he said, “is it wasn’t originally a climate thing at all.” Ricketts greeted this startling notion with an attentive poker face. “Do you guys think of it as a climate thing?” Chakrabarti continued. “Because we really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing.”
“Yeah,” said Ricketts. Then he said: “No.” Then he said: “I think it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s dual. It is both rising to the challenge that is existential around climate and it is building an economy that contains more prosperity. More sustainability in that prosperity — and more broadly shared prosperity, equitability and justice throughout.”
Chakrabarti liked the answer. “The thing I think you guys are doing that’s so incredible is … you guys are actually figuring out how to do it and make it work, the comprehensive plan where it all fits together,” he said. “I’d love to get into a situation where everyone’s trying to just outdo each other.” But Chakrabarti couldn’t help adding: “I’ll be honest, my view is I still think you guys aren’t going big enough.”
Ricketts seemed unfazed by the critique. “Well, you know, we’re not done. When it comes to a nationwide economic mobilization, there’s more to come on this front, for one. And other key components we’re going to be rolling forward speak to some of the key justice elements of this … ensuring every community’s got a part of this.”
Of course, the same could be said of much of the environmentalism movement. It has been co-opted by Marxists looking to use the environment as a cudgel to advance their ideology. It’s a shame that they squeeze out so many people who actually care about the environment and want us to use it in a responsible manner without abandoning our advanced civilization.
Also note the arrogance, and impracticality, of socialists. They actually think that a group of wonks sitting in a room designing an economy can produce better results than the cumulative effect of a trillion individual decisions. History disproves that arrogant notion.
I’ve written before that one of the greatest problems facing this country is a dearth of skepticism toward the extremely rich. Very rich people do not experience life — the tangled web of mutual obligation and care that makes working-class life possible — in the same way as us.
Really think about this: If for years someone is never subject to the will of another, compelled by the experience of scarcity, coerced by want, that person has been deprived of the human experience from which an ethic of mutuality, a capacity for empathy, grows.
Rich people tend to be less generous than poorer people. And the very wealthy are limited in their ability to comprehend the lived experience of others. Being a billionaire — a liberal one like Tom Steyer or a wannabe authoritarian like Donald Trump — should in and of itself be disqualifying for higher office, much less the presidency.
And while being rich isn’t necessarily a qualifier for office, people who have been in powerful positions, and become rich from it, are also accustomed to running large enterprises with competing interests. While nothing completely prepares someone to assume to presidency, such experience certainly helps.
(CNN)An armed man was fatally shot early Saturday during a confrontation with police after he hurled incendiary devices at a Washington state immigration detention center, Tacoma police said.
The shooting occurred about 4 a.m. local time outside the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Northwest Detention Center, where the armed man attempted to set the building and parked cars on fire, according to police spokeswoman Loretta Cool.
Authorities did not immediately identify the man who was armed with a rifle, saying in a statement the “medical examiner will release the identity of the victim when it is appropriate.”
I thought the people inside wanted to BE Americans? Isn’t why they risked everything to illegally get inside America? Why raise the Mexican flag?
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)– Hundreds of protesters gathered in Aurora on Friday evening to march to the ICE detention facility where illegal and undocumented immigrants are being housed. They also removed the U.S. flag, replaced it with a Mexican flag, and spray painted graffiti on a Blue Lives Matter flag before it was seen flying upside down on the flag pole.
I asked facetiously, of course. The reason they hoist the Mexican flag and deface a Blue Lives Matter flag is because they are an anti-American hate mob. Why do we want more of them storming over our border?
The world of elite chess has been engulfed in a cheating scandal after a picture emerged of a top grandmaster sat on a toilet allegedly using a mobile phone to cheat.
Police are investigating after Igors Rausis, who has represented Latvia, Bangladesh and the Czech Republic, was caught “red-handed”, the game’s governing body Fide said today.
Mr Rausis, aged 58, stunned the chess world by reaching the game’s top echelon at an age most players decline in strength.
The former Latvian champion was hailed as an inspiration to older players as he climbed from a Fide rating of around 2500 – the level of an average grandmaster – to the verge of 2700 in six years. Rausis also became the oldest player in the Top 100, reaching number 40 in the live rankings list.
However, his jump in middle age to the level of “Super” grandmaster was unprecedented in a game dominated by younger stars and this led to suspicion.
(CNN)In an apparent act of mob justice, a man was beaten to death after he tried to steal a car with three children inside, Philadelphia police said.
Erik Hood,54, drove off with the car while the children’s mother and father were in a store Thursday night, police said. The parents chased down the vehicle on foot and pulled the carjacker out of the car when he got caught in traffic, police said.
Hood assaulted the father and fled, but a large crowd stopped Hood and beat him, police said. He was pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital, police said.
“I’m not a fan of street justice,” Philadelphia Police Capt. Jason Smith said at a press conference Friday. “I think everything should play out through us as it comes to criminal actions.”
Police have video footage of the encounter and are trying to identify the people who assaulted Hood, Smith said. No arrests have been made, he said.
Wow. Way to use a BS technicality to hassle a Catholic High School, Madison.
Edgewood High School was evaluating its options, including possible legal action, a day after Madison’s Zoning Board of Appeals decided the school’s athletic teams can no longer do something they have been doing for more than 90 years: Play games on the school’s athletic field.
School President Michael Elliott said Edgewood officials are “incredibly disappointed” after the board voted 4-0 late Thursday to affirm that the school’s master plan allows for only physical-education classes and practices — but not games or matches against other schools — at the school’s Goodman Athletic Complex.
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Thursday’s decision hinged on wording in the school’s 2014 master plan that describes the intended use of the field as being for athletic practices and gym classes — without mentioning competitions.
Tucker said that within the plan, the school is required to explain the intended use of any space. Any uses that are not covered need additional approval from the city’s Plan Commission. Since competitions are not specified in the plan, Tucker said, the school needs to go through this approval process.
But Edgewood attorney Matt Lee and two other attorneys arguing on Edgewood’s behalf said there are other areas of the master plan that explain the space was meant for competitions.
Lee said simply labeling the space an “athletic field” makes it clear that its intended use includes athletic competitions. Lee also said the space is zoned as a recreational area, which means it should be able to be used for games.
In UW-Madison’s master plan, Lee said, the Natatorium and Goodman Softball Complex are both zoned recreational. He said the facilities host swim meets and competitive softball games, respectively.
Lee also noted that “classes and practices” was not meant to be an exhaustive list of all activities on the field.
Good. She raped a child. Too often we see the justice system go easy on female teachers who rape kids, but this sentence seems appropriate.
A former Arizona teacher who pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old boy has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Brittany Zamora, 28, from Goodyear, will receive credit for the nearly 500 days she has already served.
‘I am a good and genuine person who made a mistake and regret it deeply,’ Zamora said during a hearing on Friday morning, according to the Arizona Republic.
‘I lived my life respecting and trying to obey every law. I’m not a threat to society by any means.’
After apologizing to the victims and her family, she told Judge Sherry Stephens that she plans to earn a new degree in prison so she can start a new life when she gets out, reported the newspaper.
Per the conditions of her sentencing, she cannot be released on good behavior. This means that when Zarmora is done serving her sentence, she will be 48 or 49 years old.
After she is released, she will need to register as a sex offender and then begin serving two lifetime terms of probation.
Shocking… the Democrats voted to protect Big Tech.
US regulators have approved a record $5bn (£4bn) fine on Facebook to settle an investigation into data privacy violations, reports in US media say.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been investigating allegations that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly obtained the data of up to 87 million Facebook users.
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The FTC began investigating Facebook in March 2018, following reports that Cambridge Analytica had accessed the data of tens of millions of its users.
The investigation focused on whether Facebook had violated a 2011 agreement under which it was required to clearly notify users and gain “express consent” to share their data.
Google acknowledged its contractors are able to listen to recordings of what people say to the company’s artificial-intelligence system, Google Assistant.
The company admitted on Thursday that humans can access recordings made by the Assistant, after some of its Dutch language recordings were leaked. Google is investigating the breach.
The recordings were obtained by the Belgian public broadcaster VRT, which reviewed more than 1,000 audio clips and found 153 had been captured accidentally.
Google Assistant begins automatically recording audio when prompted by a user, usually by saying a wake-up word or phrase like, “OK, Google”.
The U.S. budget deficit increased by $140 billion during the first nine months of this budget year to $747.1 billion as government revenues and spending both hit records.
The Treasury Department reported Thursday that the deficit for the current fiscal year through June is up 23.1% over the same period a year ago with receipts rising by 2.7% while spending increased 6.6%.
The Trump administration is forecasting that the deficit for the full budget year, which ends on Sept. 30, will top $1 trillion, up from a deficit of $779 billion last year.
The Congressional Budget Office is not quite so pessimistic for this year, forecasting a deficit of $896 billion this year. But the CBO projects that deficits will top $1 trillion beginning in 2022 and will remain above $1 trillion annually through 2029.
Congressman Lacy Clay, a senior black Democrat, charged Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with playing the race card against Speaker Nancy Pelosi because she couldn’t get her way on a bill funding the border.
‘What a weak argument. Because you can’t get your way and because you’re getting push back you resort to using the race card. Unbelievable. Unbelievable to me,’ he told reporters in the Capitol on Thursday.
Clay was referring to Ocasio-Cortez’s anger over Pelosi’s pushing through the House $4.6 billion border bill from the Republican Senate, which the speaker did after the upper chamber refused to take up the House Democrats’ measure on humanitarian aid for the border.
This new trade deal is good for America. I’m encouraged that the Mexican Senate overwhelmingly ratified the USMCA in June and that President Trump has met with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau recently in Washington to shore up more support for the agreement. Now, the United States must act. House Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, must bring the USMCA before the House for immediate consideration. There should be no delay.
Failure to do so will leave American workers and businesses playing by an outdated set of rules as our foreign competitors move on without us.
I am hearing from small business owners, farmers, young people entering the workforce, and families who want us to rebalance our trade agreements and keep strengthening the American economy with balanced trade rules. Let’s get it done now.
KEWASKUM — The Kewaskum School Board is looking for a replacement after member Jay Fischer resigned Monday.
He wrote a letter to board President Mark Sette and fellow board members explaining his decision, and asked for a day to call the members himself before the information was shared.
“The reason for my resignation is that we will be downsizing our home situation and relocating out of the district,” he wrote. After another child graduated and moved out, he and his wife wanted a smaller home, and sold theirs in less than two hours.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ spokeswoman is calling a Republican proposal to limit his partial veto powers a “temper tantrum.”
Republicans have introduced a constitutional amendment prohibit the governor from increasing funding levels in bills that appropriate money. The move comes after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers used his partial veto powers last week to increase funding for K-12 schools by $65 million in the state budget.
Evers’ spokeswoman, Melissa Baldauff, said in an email that the amendment is a “temper tantrum” in response to Evers using his partial veto authority to bring the budget closer to want people wanted. She says Republicans are sore losers who want to change the rules whenever they don’t get their way.
The problem is that whoever proposed amending the governor’s veto powers will be accused of throwing a tantrum or political gamesmanship because it will always be in response to some outrage. But it is worth having a serious discussion about how powerful the governor’s veto is. Should one man or woman have that much power? I don’t care who the governor is, that’s a lot of power for one person to hold. Wisconsinites wisely peeled back the Vanna White veto where the governor could veto individual letters to make new words. Should they take the next step and restrict the line item veto?
IMHO, we should restrict this power. Concentrated power is always dangerous. But this is probably not the time to do it.
