Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 46. Sunrise is 6:54 and sunset is 4:26 for 9 hours 32 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 1.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1969, the first permanent ARPANET link is established between UCLA and SRI.
In Whitewater, one sometimes hears at the Common Council lectern from one or another of yesteryear’s men, having positioned themselves as concerned about taxes, and complaining about this local action or that. How odd to read, then, that the very party they likely supported, and the candidates they likely supported, are responsible for America’s multiple challenges with affordability:
Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s and TJX — the parent company of TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods — all described a cautious consumer, with tariffs, political tensions, still-high interest rates, an uncertain job market and the rising cost of essentials bogging down their outlook on the economy. But they continue to spend as the holiday season approaches — stretching their budget to afford groceries and essentials and willing to splurge if the deal is right and the product is new and on-trend.
Analysts also had a caveat: The future could get murkier after the holidays as more tariff-induced price increases will likely be passed on to consumers.
Consumers are “stable on the necessities but hesitant on big spending,” said Bryan Hayes, an analyst at Zacks Investment Research. “This cautionary theme of spending will certainly linger into early next year and likely midway through.”
(Emphasis added.)
See Jaclyn Peiser, ‘Anxious’ shoppers keep scaling back and hunting for deals, retailers say, Washington Post, November 21, 2025.
An entitled perspective is not an enlightened one. As it turns out, an inherited collection of student rentals is a poor substitute for sound reading and good judgment.
Wisconsin Life | Keeping a Swedish candle tradition alive: