FREE WHITEWATER

Artificial Intelligence, Business, Daily Bread, Economy, Technology

Daily Bread for 9.26.26: No One Should Be Too Big to Fail

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 69. Sunrise is 6:46 and sunset is 6:44 for 11 hours 58 minutes of daylight. The moon will be full today with all of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1960, in Chicago, the first televised debate takes place between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy.

This libertarian blogger will not suggest all the possible dangers of using large language models for artificial intelligence, as I do not know all those possible dangers. Nor will I suggest all the possible benefits, as I do not know all those possible benefits.

Instead, there is a sound proposition on which this advocate of markets will confidently stand: no business and no industry should be too big to fail. Bethany McLean, writing in the New York Times, sensibly advances this position:

It was about a year ago that Sarah Friar, the chief financial officer of OpenAI, said one way the company might sustain its current financial high-wire act was with a “backstop” or “guarantee” — as in, a government guarantee — “that allows the financing to happen.” Almost at the same time, Sam Altman, the company’s chief executive, said, “Given the magnitude of what I expect A.I.’s economic impact to look like,” the government should serve the role of “insurer of last resort.” They qualified those comments, but still, the gist seemed to be that the industry The Wall Street Journal calls “the biggest economic bet in U.S. history” is so important to the nation that if it needs more funding, taxpayers should be on the hook.

Another way to put it is that the government should regard artificial intelligence the same way it regarded the banks in the 2008 financial crisis: too big to fail.

[…]

The A.I. boom is far larger than the boom in subprime mortgages that set off the 2008 crisis. A.I.-related spending accounts for about half the growth in the U.S. gross domestic product, by some estimates. The vast majority of the $33 trillion in market value the S&P 500 has gained since late 2022 has come from spending linked to A.I. companies.

[…]

This technology may be critical to the future of the United States, but preserving it doesn’t mean we have to bail out the private entities that are leading the field at this particular moment, nor does it mean we have to protect the fortunes of their investors and executives. The solution to the whole ever-expanding A.I. terror starts with remembering the lessons of the 2008 crisis: No company should be too big to fail.

See Bethany McLean, What Happens if the A.I. Bubble Bursts, New York Times, September 26, 2026.

There’s discussion that the A.I. boom may unfold as did the railroad boom of the nineteenth century: an important industry in which some investors went bust, to their detriment and temporarily for the economy. See John Cassidy, Lessons from the Original Tech Bubble, New Yorker, June 15, 2026 and Adrian Wooldridge, AI’s Future May Be Written in Railroads’ Past, Bloomberg, December 5, 2025.

It would be better if no one went bust, but worse if large investors were bailed out for their improvident choices. Giving large investors the confidence that they’ll be supported at public expense regardless of their poor choices only encourages them to make poor choices with fewer personal consequences. Presumed protection creates the moral hazard of encouraging investors into riskier ventures with less risk to themselves.

I’m not sure what will happen with major investments in artificial intelligence; I’m quite certain what shouldn’t happen.

See also Is the AI boom anything like the 19th-century railway boom?:

What are the potential benefits of ‘bubbles’ to society? Every now and then a new technology comes along that changes everything – electricity, computers, potentially AI. In mid-19th-century America, that technology was the steam locomotive. While it drove the nation’s industrialisation during the Gilded Age, it also caused one of the biggest financial crises in American history.? ? FT Alphaville editor Robin Wigglesworth tells his co-host, FT columnist Gillian Tett, the story of the great railway bubble that ended in the Panic of 1873 and the lessons for the investors gambling on today’s AI boom.?

Note: In the video above, Financial Times editor Robin Wigglesworth questions whether society needs large data centers to create ‘fake videos of cats.’ He’s right — we do not need large data centers to create fake videos of cats. We could, however, stand to have a more modest infrastructure that provided a steady stream of genuine videos of cats.

Like this:

Daily Bread, Gubernatorial Race 2026, Newspapers, Press, Tom Tiffany, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 9.25.26: Tom Tiffany’s Misguided Press Ban

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 70. Sunrise is 6:45 and sunset is 6:46 for 12 hours 1 minute of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 98.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1956, TAT-1, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable system, is inaugurated. (“The developments that made TAT-1 possible were coaxial cable, polyethylene insulation (replacing gutta-percha), very reliable vacuum tubes for the submerged repeaters, and a general improvement in carrier equipment. Transistors were not used, being a recent invention of unknown longevity.”)

Earlier this week, WISGOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany barred two Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters from a campaign event:

The campaign’s decision to prevent reporters Mary Spicuzza and David Clarey from covering the event comes just days after Tiffany said at a news conference that he would allow reporters, even those from “slanted” outlets such as the Journal-Sentinel, access to his campaign. Tiffany was asked about press access in the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke White House press badges for reporters from CNN, MS Now and Politico. 

“As you can see, I did not deter anyone here from joining us today and I don’t plan on doing that — even you [Journal-Sentinel reporter] Laura [Schulte], I’m going to continue to allow you here,” Tiffany said at the Wisconsin Counties Association conference on Tuesday. “I believe in open, free press, that they be able to ask us questions. The principle that I live with, is I just expect all of you to be fair, and as long as you’re fair in your writing, I always welcome the press here. It’s when the press is slanted, that’s what’s frustrating.” 

At the event, Tiffany told reporters that he’ll “have to talk to his communications team” about Spicuzza’s access. 

[…]

In a post on social media after the event, Tiffany’s campaign said it had notified Spicuzza that she wouldn’t be allowed into the event because of her alleged political views, but that other staff members from the outlet would be allowed. 

“Liberal activist [Spicuzza] was notified yesterday that she would not be permitted to attend,” the Tiffany campaign wrote on X. “[The Journal-Sentinel] has a photographer at the event, and we welcome all balanced journalists across Wisconsin, including [Journal-Sentinel reporter Jessie Opoien]. That’s why WISN, CBS 58, and other outlets are in attendance.”

See Henry Redman, Tiffany campaign blocks Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reporters from event, Wisconsin Examiner, September 24, 2026.

I’ll offer a few remarks.

1. When Gov. Evers barred the MacIver Institute from attending an event in 2019, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Evers’s decision, and the U.S. Supreme Court let that decision stand (as it declined to take an appeal of the Seventh Circuit decision). I’ll not speculate on how courts might rule now, should a legal challenge against Tiffany’s actions be filed.

2. However this race between Crowley and Tiffany turns out, it will not turn on Tiffany’s actions here. That’s the key practical point. Anyone who was going to support Tiffany was going to do so regardless of his actions against Spicuzza and Clarey; anyone who was going to oppose Tiffany was going to do so anyway. The campaign’s actions against these reporters offer no practical gain for Tiffany.

3. A campaign that’s not focused on practicality is either desperate or dimwitted. Either the Tiffany campaign doesn’t know what to think or doesn’t know how to think.

4. Perhaps it’s a combination of both:

When pressed on why his campaign staff had blocked Spicuzza, he said he’ll “have to go back and talk to my communications team.”

Tiffany also accused his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, of “being managed” by his campaign’s communication staff.

“I think you should follow up with Mr. Crowley and ask him if he’s going to be as open and transparent as I am,” said Tiffany.

See Rich Kremer, Tom Tiffany’s campaign blocks reporter from Milwaukee event, Wisconsin Public Radio, September 24, 2026.

Honest to goodness. Every accusation is a confession.

5. I’ve never met Mary Spicuzza, but I’ve followed her reporting for many years. She’s sharp and thorough, and, from this newspaper-reading blogger’s view, easily within the standards of traditional American journalism. One benefits far more from a sharp reporter than a dull candidate.

The answer to smart, thorough reporting is a reply, not a ban. How unfortunate that Tiffany doesn’t have the presence of mind to see as much.

Here’s someone from the Midwest who’s not afraid of press coverage:

Leo spoke to reporters Friday on his way to France for a four-day visit. Asked by a CNN reporter about the Trump administration’s attempt to bar CNN and other reporters from the White House grounds, Leo said the media was welcome on his plane.

City, Daily Bread, Economy, Planning

Daily Bread for 9.24.26: The Draft Whitewater Forward Comprehensive Plan

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 69. Sunrise is 6:44 and sunset is 6:48 for 12 hours 4 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 94.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Common Council and Plan and Architectural Review Commission meet jointly at 6 PM.

On this day in 1906, President Roosevelt proclaims Devils Tower in Wyoming as the nation’s first National Monument.

By James St. John – https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/55038836017/, CC BY 4.0, Link.

Following a planning group’s work and a presentation at an open house last night, the Whitewater Common Council and Plan and Architectural Review Commission now jointly consider a draft update to the Whitewater Forward Comprehensive Plan.

Many meetings, with many discussions, over many hours brought us here. For it all, no planners numbering close to sixteen can ensure on their own a vision for this city of sixteen thousand residents. (If that were true, then Old Whitewater’s men would still control over development and this city’s principal public institutions. They no longer do; occasional encomiums will not revivify.)

In the months ahead, if this draft is to have lasting meaning, it will need to be seen, discussed, and critiqued among residents to shape its recommendations and projections along lines of residents’ actions and aspirations.

In any event, tonight could be no more than a beginning only, and this beginning depends on the lengthy draft being presented in full, in as many places as possible. (No one sees an invisible painting; no one hears an inaudible song.)

For today, here are the introductory memorandum and full draft, without further comment:

View Fullscreen
Skip to PDF content

NASA visualizes pulsar’s bizarre dance with a giant star:

The BP Crucis system features a pulsar plunging through a dense stream of plasma flowing from a blue hypergiant star 40 times the mass of our Sun, causing its X-ray brightness to flare during each four-day passage. As the pulsar moves through the plasma, its accretion disk breaks apart, reforms, and eventually spins in the opposite direction. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Laboratory.

Daily Bread, Economics, Economy, Energy, Federal Government, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 9.23.26: A Possible Ban on Diesel Exports Reveals the Failure of Federal Policy

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 67. Sunrise is 6:43 and sunset is 6:50 for 12 hours 7 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 89.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Comprehensive Plan Work Group meets at 4 PM and there is a Whitewater Forward Comprehensive Plan Final Open House from 6 PM to 7:30 PM.

On this day in 1846, astronomers Urbain Le Verrier, John Couch Adams, and Johann Gottfried Galle collaborate on the discovery of Neptune.

This libertarian blogger has heard, as have so many others across the planet, that Donald J. Trump is a dealmaker. (So much so that someone ghostwrote a book for him on dealmaking.) It seems improbable, however, that a true master dealmaker who claimed he would restrict imports and boost exports might now be looking to ban the export of diesel. Our energy policy is such a fiasco that, in desperation over high diesel costs, the federal government ponders whether to ban diesel exports:

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he backed the idea of a diesel export ban as a way to lower prices that have hit record highs due to a global supply shortage. But analysts and market watchers warn that such a measure would do little to ease high energy prices, and could worsen supply and economic disruptions around the globe.

Trump’s comments come as average US diesel prices have jumped to a record $6.510 a gallon, according to AAA. Diesel is critical to the global economy because it powers transportation, farm equipment and the machinery used to make and move goods.

A ban, however, will make matters worse:

A ban on diesel exports would push up prices of diesel globally, while pushing down prices in the United States and hurting US refining margins, analysts warned.

“Initially, a diesel ban would send global prices skyrocketing… A ban could raise world prices by as much as 100%, given the fuel’s low price elasticity of demand,” said energy economist Philip Verleger.

Any ban would likely push refineries to cut the amount of crude they process. If US refineries cut runs, it would also lower the amount of gasoline and other products produced and push up prices for those fuels, analysts and traders said.

“Banning exports of diesel would drive refiners to cut runs because the physical market they can access would be cut, and no market participant in any market sells product at a loss. While an export ban might have a very short-term impact that lowers price, it would not be long-lived…,” said Kenneth Medlock III, a fellow in Energy and Resource Economics at the Baker Institute for Public Policy.

See Arathy Somasekhar and Liz Hampton, Ban on US diesel exports would hurt, not help fuel markets, analysts say, Reuters, September 22, 2026. See also FREE WHITEWATER, Wisconsin’s Economy Depends on Diesel (and Now Diesel Costs Much More), September 18, 2026.

It was a mistake to mistake a man who said he was a real estate dealmaker for someone who had read and understood even simple market principles. (The local version of this in Whitewater is believing that a few landlords or a lobbyist somehow knew more than others. Paraphrasing a line from a film: The greatest trick that Whitewater’s special-interest men ever pulled was convincing anyone, even themselves, that they had credible economic insights to offer.)

And so, and so, here we are.

Rural voters frustrated by economy under Trump, AP-KFF poll finds:

About half of rural American voters believe the economy is worse off now than when President Donald Trump returned to office, according to a new survey of the key demographic that has largely backed Republicans in recent elections.

Daily Bread, Fall

Daily Bread for 9.22.26: Autumn Has Been Waiting

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Good morning.

Fall in Whitewater begins with morning showers on a mostly cloudy day with a high of 60. Sunrise is 6:42 and sunset is 6:52 for 12 hours 10 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 83.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Finance Committee meets at 5 PM.

On this day in 1953, the Four Level Interchange, the first stack interchange in the world, opens in Los Angeles.

Four Level Interchange of Arroyo Seco Parkway, Harbor Freeway, Santa Ana Freeway, and Hollywood Freeway, looking northeast in January 1999.

Now, again, fall at last begins. The most intense and demanding of our seasons awaits us. No one is called to an easy task. There is much to do, much to accomplish, between now and December. For today, however, it’s enough to be grateful for the very opportunity.

Below, the simplest of fall’s offerings, the changing of leaves, charted on the Travel Wisconsin 2026 Fall Color Map:

Blue Jays Demolish Peanuts On FeederWatch Cam:

Watch highlights as several blue jays empty an entire feeder of peanuts in exactly two hours. Why do blue jays take so many peanuts? They are extraordinary at “caching” items, hiding food like acorns, nuts, and peanuts in the ground or under leaves to eat later. Because of this, blue jays help with seed dispersal and can actually help build forests! The birds in this video are most likely caching many of the peanuts to eat during the winter. This FeederWatch cam is located in the Treman Bird Feeding Garden at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York. Perched on the edge of both Sapsucker Woods and its 10-acre pond, these feeders attract both forest species like chickadees and woodpeckers as well as some species that prefer open environments near water like red-winged blackbirds.

America, Daily Bread, War

Daily Bread for 9.21.26: Just Another International Day of Peace

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 62. Sunrise is 6:41 and sunset is 6:53 for 12 hours 12 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 74.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Library Board meets at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.

Today is, on the United Nations’ calendar, the International Day of Peace (often simply called World Peace Day). Here in America, in his second inaugural address, the president of the United States pledged that his “proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be: a peacemaker and a unifier.”

If there is a celebration at the United Nations today, then it’s safe to say the celebrants are approaching the holiday aspirationally:

Why Trump Is on the Warpath in Somalia, BBC News, February 7, 2025.

Trump launches large-scale strikes on Yemen’s Houthis, at least 31 killed, Reuters, March 15, 2025.

US inserts itself into Israel’s war with Iran, striking 3 Iranian nuclear sites, Associated Press, June 22, 2025.

White House defends US attack on boat from Venezuela as lawful, Reuters, December 2, 2025.

Venezuela says 24 security officers were killed in US operation to capture Maduro, Associated Press, January 6, 2026. (Rights abuses persist in Venezuela despite Maduro’s removal, UN experts say, Reuters, September 16, 2026.)

New strikes hit Tehran – as it happened, The Guardian, February 28, 2026.

Tracking U.S. Military Killings in Boat Attacks, New York Times, updated September 21, 2026.

An individual or a people has a right to defend itself. That right does not extend to vaingloriously plunging a community — or the world — into chaos.

U.S. and Iran trade threats as fears of return to all-out war mount:

U.S. and Iran trade threats as fears of return to all-out war mount. The IRGC warned it has prepared for a “long-term war” with unused strategic weapons, while Trump told Fox News he was weighing options “if and when do I blow the entire nation up.”

15th Senate District, Agriculture, Daily Bread, Economy, Tariffs, War, Wisconsin, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 9.20.26: Wisconsin Farm Bankruptcies on the Rise

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 65. Sunrise is 6:40 and sunset is 6:55 for 12 hours 15 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 66.3 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1982, NFL players begin a 57-day strike (reducing the 1982 season to 9 regular games).

I read recently that the WISGOP state Senate candidate for Senate District 15, of which Whitewater is part, promises that he “will fight for policies that support farm viability, cut unnecessary regulations, and ensure agriculture remains the backbone of our rural economy.” There’s much dissonance in that, isn’t there? The current GOP positions from Washington Palm Beach, Florida, have only made Wisconsin’s farmers worse off:

Seven farms across Wisconsin filed for bankruptcy in the first eight months of 2026. Filings have come in at a slower pace than 2025 but are still on an overall upward trend since the COVID-19 pandemic ended.

By this same time in 2025, 14 Wisconsin farms had filed for bankruptcy with 16 total farm bankruptcies statewide at the end of the year.

[…]

“The conflict in Iran has put additional strain on our farm due to the concomitant increases in the price of fertilizer inputs for crops to feed our cattle and diesel fuel to power our farm equipment,” the owner of a Walworth County dairy farm wrote in bankruptcy court documents filed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

That Walworth County dairy farm is the latest to file for Chapter 12 bankruptcy in Wisconsin’s Eastern District. The farm had been in operation for more than a century, starting in 1901, court documents say.

[…]

But for some family farms, Chapter 7 liquidation is not a desirable option as younger generations of farmers try to take on their family’s operation.

The dairy farm in Walworth County was scheduled for foreclosure July 14. The court documents say the farmers’ son completed a dairy science degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with the intention of taking over the farm someday.

“Due to the application of [his] dairy science knowledge, and help from a new nutritionist, the dairy herd’s production is climbing, but [we’re] still unable to secure refinancing,” the farm owner wrote in the bankruptcy filing.

See Caden Perry, Wisconsin farm bankruptcies rise again after post-pandemic lull, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 15, 2026. See also FREE WHITEWATER, Rail Fuel Surcharges Squeeze Farmers During Harvest Season, Tariffs Leave Farmers Paying More, and Worsening Market Conditions for Wisconsin Farmers.

But at Mar-a-Lago, they’ve not had their minds on agriculture —

An entertainer performs at Mar-a-Lago’s ‘Great Gatsby’-themed Halloween party on 10.31.25. Screenshot from an attendee video, as reported in The Daily Beast.

_____

Forthcoming topics (in no particular order): A New Ethics Ordinance, Development in Downtown Whitewater (follow-up), and Steps for a Public Interest Campaign.

Is Iran Shaping Up to Be a ‘Forever War’?:

Our White House and national security correspondent, David Sanger, compares past “forever wars” that President Trump campaigned against with the war in Iran that has no clear endgame.

Books, Climate, Daily Bread, Environment, Rain, Weather, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 9.19.26: Rain

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 71. Sunrise is 6:39 and sunset is 6:57 for 12 hours 18 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 57.3 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1796, George Washington’s Farewell Address is printed across America as an open letter to the public.

It’s rainy today. There is life and beauty in the rain. Here in agricultural Wisconsin, we likely understand that as well as anyone anywhere in America.

Cynthia Barnett’s Rain: A Natural and Cultural History describes the importance of rain in ecology, in meteorology, and in history and culture. And yet, and yet, she’s not sentimental about rain’s potential for destruction through flooding (sometimes unavoidable, sometimes the result of poor human planning).

It’s a fine book, well-written and memorable. Highly recommended, especially on days like these.

_____

Forthcoming topics (in no particular order): A New Ethics Ordinance, Development in Downtown Whitewater (follow-up), and Steps for a Public Interest Campaign.

See also Rain: A history for stormy times | Cynthia Barnett | TEDxJacksonville:

Cynthia Barnett is an award-winning environmental journalist who has reported on water and climate change around the world. Her latest book is Rain: A Natural and Cultural History, longlisted for the National Book Award and a finalist for the 2016 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award.

Daily Bread, Economy, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 9.18.26: Wisconsin’s Economy Depends on Diesel (and Now Diesel Costs Much More)

by  • 

Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with evening rainstorms and a high of 71. Sunrise is 6:38 and sunset is 6:59 for 12 hours 21 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing crescent with 47.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1948, Margaret Chase Smith of Maine becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate without completing another senator’s term.

Most Wisconsin drivers don’t use diesel fuel, but the trucks that transport goods on Wisconsin highways most certainly do:

Diesel prices in Wisconsin have hit record highs as the war in Iran continues to disrupt the flow of the fuel globally.

In Wisconsin, the average price per gallon of diesel fuel on Wednesday was $6.13. Last year, the average in the state was $3.45 per gallon, according to data from the American Automobile Association. 

Mike Semmann, president of the Wisconsin Grocers Association, said the price of diesel will have an impact on many different parts of the grocery supply chain. 

“Diesel is to the economy what electricity is to a home,” he said. “For Wisconsin consumers, it’s not just about what diesel costs, but about how businesses across the state are really trying to work to keep those costs from becoming a burden on Wisconsin families.”

He said diesel costs affect every part of the supply chain, and grocery stores pay special attention to diesel prices as part of their overall costs.

“Diesel helps move milk to and from farms, ingredients to processors, products to stores and goods to consumers,” Semmann said. 

In Wisconsin, about 85 percent of goods are transported by truck. The President of Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association, Dan Johnson, said about 30 percent of the costs for a trucking company go toward fuel. Trucking companies have to raise their prices for transporting goods when diesel prices get this high. 

See Elissa Eaton, Record high diesel prices likely to drive up cost of groceries, other goods, Wisconsin Public Radio, September 17, 2026.

That’s 85% of Wisconsin goods transported by truck while diesel fuel prices have increased by nearly 78% in only one year.

What do those large percentages portend?

Nothing good for consumers.

_____

Forthcoming topics (in no particular order): A New Ethics Ordinance, Development in Downtown Whitewater (follow-up), and Steps for a Public Interest Campaign.

Thoughtless wars bring unpredictable consequences. This Critical Oil Chokepoint Is Now Under Houthi Control:

Iran-backed Houthis have opened a new front in the war in the Middle East. The group’s quick offensive to take the southwestern coast of Yemen and control the Bab al-Mandeb Strait has sent shockwaves around the world. WSJ explains how the militant group and other Iranian allies have moved to choke off oil shipments and attack Saudi Arabia exports, sending oil prices higher and complicating the U.S. war with Iran.

Cats, Science/Nature

Friday Catblogging: New Wild Cat Species Identified

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Even in this century, new — and in this case happy — natural discoveries await:

For the first time in a century, researchers say they’ve identified a new species of wild cat previously unknown to science.

Leopardus tilcayo — or the tilcayo tiger cat — is slender and spotted, with rounded ears. It is smaller than a typical house cat and lives in the Bolivian Yungas, the cloud forest where the Andes mountains meet the Amazon basin. The species was described for the first time in the journal Current Biology on Thursday.

It’s rare to find a new, relatively large mammal. Unsurprisingly, most newly discovered animal species are small in size, said Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, who co-authored the study and leads a wild cat conservation program called Programa de Investigación de Félidos Bolivia (Bolivian Felid Research and Conservation Program).

“This time, it’s a cat. That’s really novel. And it hasn’t happened in 100 years,” she said. “No one else had named it. No one else had described it.”

The size of the Leopardus tilcayo population is not clear yet.

“We really don’t know how many cats are still in the wild,” said Nogales-Ascarrunz, whose work as a conservationist is funded by National Geographic. “We need science, we need more studies to answer this question, which is actually critical for its conservation.”

See Evan Bush, New wild cat species is identified for first time in 100 years, researchers say (‘A type of tiger cat, the animal is slender, spotted and smaller than a house cat. It lives in the Bolivian cloud forest’), NBC News, September 17, 2026.

Congress, Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Fair Maps, Gerrymandering, Law, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 9.17.26: Wisconsin Supreme Court Hears Congressional Gerrymandering Arguments

by  • 

Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with a high of 72. Sunrise is 6:37 and sunset is 7:01 for 12 hours 24 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing crescent with 37.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Community Development Authority meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention endorse the Constitution created during the four-month-long convention.

Yesterday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court heard arguments on whether it should accept cases challenging Wisconsin’s congressional district maps as unlawfully gerrymandered. The question before the state’s high court was whether to take up challenges to these maps (a necessary preliminary to deciding the cases on the merits):

Members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court seemed open to redrawing the state’s U.S. House districts during oral arguments for two lawsuits claiming the current congressional map is gerrymandered.

The court’s liberal majority is considering whether to allow the cases seeking a new map before the 2028 election to proceed after panels of circuit court judges dismissed them this summer.

Both cases allege gerrymandering, but by different means. The suit from national Democratic firm Elias Law Group argues Republicans drew the map as a partisan gerrymander to keep their party in the majority. The suit from the liberal firm Law Forward argues the House map is an anti-competitive gerrymander, aimed at protecting incumbents.

Attorneys representing Republican members of Congress and the GOP-controlled Wisconsin Legislature disputed those claims and argued plaintiffs are asking the court to go rogue by cutting lawmakers out of the redistricting process.

Debate on the merits of the suits lasted nearly eight hours Wednesday. Both cases argue the current 6-2 GOP majority in Wisconsin’s congressional delegation was designed by Republican legislators who drew the map in 2011. Then, the suits argue, that gerrymander was cemented by the Supreme Court’s former conservative majority in 2022 when it ordered a new House map with the least changes possible. 

See Rich Kremer, Wisconsin justices hear congressional gerrymandering arguments, Wisconsin Public Radio, September 16, 2026. The cases are Bothfeld v. Wis. Elections Comm’n, No. 2026AP1168 and Wis. Bus. Leaders for Democracy v. Wis. Elections Comm’n, No. 2026AP1008. Audio recordings of the September 16, 2026 oral argument before the Wisconsin Supreme Court are available online.

Kremer correctly highlights a key question in this matter, about an earlier ruling of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to apply a ‘least change’ standard when evaluating redistricting of the congressional maps:

Chief Justice Jill Karofsky, who is among the court’s liberal majority, wasn’t a fan of the least change requirement either.

“Least change says we are going to bake in whatever the political motivations were of that 2011 Legislature, and we’re going to bake it in for perpetuity,” Karofsky said. “And we continue to follow least change in 2021 and in 2031 and 2041 and 2051.”

Conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn, who was part of the court’s majority that endorsed the least change directive, took issue with a claim that it gave “blind deference” to partisan gerrymandering. He said plaintiffs would have to prove justices intended to help Republicans, when the court explicitly said it didn’t. 

“We said we don’t mean to do anything for partisan advantage,” said Hagedorn. “In fact, we mean to exclude that entirely from our consideration.”

‘Least change’ is, fundamentally, the issue here. Insulating least change from challenge absent a showing of intentionality leaves, practically and consequentially, a perpetual gerrymander of the WISGOP-created maps going forward, no matter how significantly voters’ legislative preferences might change.

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Forthcoming topics (in no particular order): A New Ethics Ordinance, Development in Downtown Whitewater (follow-up), and Steps for a Public Interest Campaign.

Fly to a Stellar Nursery with Views from the James Webb Space Telescope:

See a breathtaking James Webb Space Telescope view of IC 348, an incredible stellar nursery where clouds of gas and dust are sculpted into glowing shapes as new stars take form. Located about 1,000 light-years away in Perseus, this vast cosmic landscape offers a stunning glimpse into a region where stars are being born. And hidden within this stellar nursery are some fascinating discoveries—including brown dwarfs only a few times the mass of Jupiter.

City, Daily Bread, Elections, Law, Laws/Regulations, Local Government, University, Voting Rights

Daily Bread for 9.16.26: A Sound Decision — Whitewater Common Council Keeps Its Existing Polling-Place Agreement

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will see scattered showers this morning with a later mix of sun and clouds and a high of 71. Sunrise is 6:35 and sunset is 7:02 for 12 hours 27 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing crescent with 28.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Parks and Recreation Board meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1959, Xerox introduces the first successful photocopier, the Xerox 914, in a demonstration on live television from New York City.

Xerox 914 photocopier, Link.

Last evening, as part of its agenda, the Whitewater Common Council voted unanimously to preserve in full its existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater that ensures two polling places in the city for all elections except in August. For previous posts on this topic see Preliminary Remarks Against the Proposed Discontinuation of the UW–Whitewater Polling Place in Odd-Numbered Years, Council Discussion of the Proposed Discontinuation of the UW–Whitewater Polling Place in Odd-Numbered Years, and City of Whitewater’s September Polling Place Memo Changes the Question (from ‘Consolidation’ to Relocation).

This was easily the right decision. Even-numbered years and odd-numbered years are sensibly treated the same way under that agreement. The MOU from 2024 has worked well, and provides polling access across our city. Ready access to polling places advances voting rights, and from those rights, representative government derives its legitimacy.

And yet, it advances something more: the harmony in the community that comes from inclusion and equal access, and makes possible progress in so many other areas.

Last night’s unanimous vote of the Whitewater Common Council was a good vote on an important community issue, and so, more broadly, yesterday was a good day.

Embedded below is the council discussion and public comment from last evening:

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Forthcoming topics (in no particular order): A New Ethics Ordinance, Development in Downtown Whitewater (Follow-Up), and Steps for a Public Interest Campaign.

Watch Costa’s and Anna’s Hummingbirds Hover and Sparkle:

With their pinpoint aerial precision, hummingbirds are the most impressive fliers in the bird world, and they’re among the most beautiful as well. In this video, take an up-close look at the shimmering colors of two Southern California hummingbird species—the rose-pink Anna’s Hummingbird and the velvety purple Costa’s Hummingbird. See these shimmering gems like you aren’t able to with a naked eye or binoculars with the help of Tim and Russell Laman’s expert still photos and slow-motion camera work.