Animals, Daily Bread, Nature, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 10.5.25: Three Thousand Wisconsin Bats
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 80. Sunrise is 6:57 and sunset is 6:28, for 11 hours 32 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 96.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1846, Wisconsin’s first state constitutional convention meets:
The convention sat until December 16, 1846. The Convention was attended by 103 Democrats and 18 Whigs. The proposed constitution failed when voters refused to accept several controversial issues: an anti-banking article, a homestead exemption (which gave $1,000 exemption to any debtor), providing women with property rights, and black suffrage. The following convention, the Second Constitutional Convention of Wisconsin in 1847-48, produced and passed a constitution that Wisconsin still very much follows today.
Beatrice Lawrence reports on a dance of 3,000 bats:
It was 4 a.m. and dark. J. Paul White greeted about 20 people. He’s the bat program lead at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation.
“There must be a lot of birders here, you guys are ready to go,” White whispered.
The group found their seats and waited quietly for the show to start. As the sun slowly rose, we started to see the bats — dancing.
This field trip to Nelson Dewey State Park was organized by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, a nonprofit that works to protect the state’s lands, waters and wildlife. This particular group camped out to see the Stonefield colony of little brown bats as they emerged to feed at sunset.
We were also there to witness the bats’ return as a swarm at dawn: all 3,000 of them.
…
According to Redell, the state of Wisconsin plays an especially important role for little brown bats in the U.S. Nearly half of little brown bats in the country hibernate in just a few Wisconsin mines.
Little brown bats are endangered in the U.S. Like many species of hibernating bats, their population has been threatened by a fungal infection called White Nose Syndrome. But in recent years, Wisconsin’s little brown bats have shown signs of recovery.
See Beatrice Lawrence, A Dance of 3,000 bats: Watching the Morning Swarm at Nelson Dewey State Park (‘Each year, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin organizes hundreds of trips to get people in touch with the natural world and show them conservation projects — like bat monitoring — in action’), Wisconsin Public Radio, October 2, 2025.
Can Owls Turn Their Heads 360 Degrees?:
Agriculture, Daily Bread, Tariffs, Trade, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 10.4.25: Tariffs and Trade War Hit Wisconsin’s Soybean Farmers
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 85. Sunrise is 6:56 and sunset is 6:30, for 11 hours 34 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 91.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1957, Sputnik 1 becomes the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth.
Someone once said that “trade wars are good, and easy to win.” He was wrong:
This parachute is full of holes and that’s a good thing:
CDA, City, Daily Bread, Development, Housing
Daily Bread for 10.3.25: A Few General Remarks on Development in Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 86. Sunrise is 6:54 and sunset is 6:32, for 11 hours 37 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 83.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1863, President Lincoln declares the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.
For today, a few general words on development. The particulars of any claims made below will come later as part of a discussion the City of Whitewater plans to advance on single-family housing proposals for the community. (That discussion will be welcome and timely. See An Upcoming Presentation on Development.)
Normal discussions. Discussions on development happen all the time in well-functioning communities across Wisconsin. The economic forces that shape these discussions do not begin with policymakers. These needs and desires arise from within a community, from among many residents. (There are local discussions across Wisconsin like Whitewater’s, there are state-level discussions in Wisconsin like this, and there are national discussions like this.) When a few insist that they have what they call ‘our tradition,’ they mean their narrow self-interest over the community interest.
Pretending that proposals on development are intrusions on the community ignores the many in this community for the sake of a few.
Whitewater. In all of this discussion, a reminder is worthwhile. Whitewater is a city of fifteen thousand, and its local government is by law bound to the electorate of this city. Whitewater has not elected a common council to represent people in other communities, but the electorate in this community. It’s understandable to be polite to visitors to the council lectern, but it is a duty to represent those who live within the city limits. Those on council, boards, and commissions owe a duty residents within this city.
Communities outside Whitewater should not be determining Whitewater’s economic future.
Flow. Anyone who follows the flow of the arguments1 on development in this community has seen that claims against projects have grown ever more extreme: anti-funding arguments about apartments have become anti-funding arguments about any kind of residence, which then morphed into arguments against any funding for anything, and thereafter descended into claims against any development and any growth.2
It has been a predictable decline from a critique (however incoherent and hypocritical of their own past work) to obstruction.
Stagnation is decline. Doing too little in the past, and doing it poorly, has left Whitewater behind. Standing still will increase the gap between this city and nearby cities of similar size. America doesn’t stand still, Wisconsin doesn’t stand still, and prosperous communities across this state do not stand still.
Staying the same is falling behind, and falling behind means a harder time meeting residents’ basic needs.
Plans from the local government for housing and business development within the City of Whitewater? A reasonable, thoughtful person will welcome this discussion with interest and curiosity.
_____
- Listening and marking the arguments against development is the equivalent of watching a someone throw objects against a wall, hoping something will stick. ↩︎
- Past opposition from the last decade (2010s) to project funding in Whitewater is easily and reasonably distinguished: the funding bases were different then, the goals were ill-defined then, and the officials running development were out of their depth (to state the matter generously). ↩︎
Bear enters Arizona grocery store and runs through aisles:
Cats, Nature
Friday Catblogging: New Hampshire Bobcat Strolls Along Driveway
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Film
Film: Tuesday, October 7th, 1:00 PM @ Seniors in the Park, Superman
by JOHN ADAMS •
Tuesday, October 7th at 1:00 PM, there will be a showing of Superman @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building:
Action/Adventure Rated PG-13
2 hours, 9 minutes (2025)
The never ending battle for truth, justice and the human way. Superman faces innumerable challenges including arch nemesis Lex Luthor, Kaiju, pocket universes, Kryptonite and a totalitarian dictator. All in a superhero’s day’s work!
One can find more information about Superman at the Internet Movie Database.
City, Daily Bread
Daily Bread for 10.2.25: ‘What Ails, What Heals’ and What’s Changed
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Thursday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 82. Sunrise is 6:53 and sunset is 6:33, for 11 hours 40 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 74.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1766, the Nottingham Cheese Riot breaks out at the Goose Fair in Nottingham, UK, in response to the excessive cost of cheese.
In November 2022, a FREE WHITEWATER post assessed conditions in the city and listed What Ails, What Heals. Below is a summary of that post (with the full text linked above). This list of what ails, written in the fall of 2022 was, by intention, a look at conditions then and in the generation before.
What ails:
- Boosterism. The view that if one accentuates the positive, the community will reap economic gains.
- Toxic Positivity. The view that every outlook should be a positive one.
- Regulatory Capture. Government should be limited, responsible, and humble. Whitewater’s government is not by law, and never should be in practice, the private property of a few. The last generation has seen the special-interest manipulations of landlords, bankers, and public-relations men.
- Populism. Whether of left or right, populism sweeps individual rights aside for the sake of the group, cadre, or horde, while demonizing all others.
- Closed government.
- News Deserts. We don’t have a professional press in Whitewater, and that’s a huge loss.
- Violence. Violence includes sexual harassment and assault, or unjustified use of official force, and the supportive reflex only to look the other way.
And what heals:
- Free Markets. Voluntary transactions between people and groups uplift from poverty into a true prosperity.
- Charity. Our small city is beautiful, yet beautiful while in need. Government, politics, business, journalism, and commentary have not been enough to alleviate all loss and suffering. (With reference to the historical example and importance of Dorothy Day: Waiting for Whitewater’s Dorothy Day.)
- Tragic Optimism. A true optimism, that forges on despite the occasional tragedies that befall a community. See Tragic Optimism as an Alternative to Toxic Positivity.
- Open Government. Government is a mere instrumentality, established for limited purposes, constrained by law. It must be obvious and transparent to the people from whom its authority derives.
- Impartial Government. Whitewater doesn’t have a few stakeholders — she has 14,889 residents.
- A Professional Press. The city could use greater focus and respect for professional journalism.
- Individual Rights. Each person is accorded by right an equal moral and legal status. No one forgotten, no one swept aside, no one by birth or birthplace greater than another.
If this was a look at conditions in 2022 and during the generation before, then has anything changed?
Yes, in these three years the municipal government has grown more open (by far), more professional (by far), and more empirical in its approach (again, by far). It’s not a close comparison between what Whitewater had before 2022 and what she’s had since. (There’s a difference between being a critic of government and being blind to genuine improvement.)
If this was a look at conditions in 2022 and in the generation before, then was anything missing from the list?
Looking at the list, residents in productive Wisconsin cities of similar size would have noticed that this libertarian blogger made no mention of ordinary development. A resident elsewhere might have said, “you mentioned free markets, but you left out any mention of development.”
That’s true. Whitewater before then was a place of regulatory capture that prevented normal development, and the best that one could expect was to juxtapose general principles (markets, impartiality) against a small, selfish cronyism that had this community in its grip. Whitewater has always been beautiful; she always deserved better than fifteen domineering over fifteen thousand.
The chance to live and flourish as a beautiful city of normal development is now before us. That’s a subject worth visiting many times in the months ahead.
October 2025 Skywatching Tips from NASA:
0:00 Intro
0:13 Supermoon
0:51 International Observe the Moon Night
1:14 Draconid meteor shower
1:53 Orionid meteor shower
3:00 October Moon phases
Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 10.1.25: Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Field Likely Set as Taylor v. Lazar
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 77. Sunrise is 6:52 and sunset is 6:35, for 11 hours, 43 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 65.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Landmarks Commission meets at 6 PM.
On this day in 1971, Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida.
Chris Taylor is running for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and after incumbent Rebecca Bradley decided against running for reelection, Maria Lazar declared her candidacy yesterday:
Lazar’s announcement came a month after Bradley said she wasn’t seeking reelection. In the statement announcing her decision, Bradley called on the conservative movement to “take stock of its failures, identify the problem, and fix it.”
Lazar, 61, has been on the Waukesha-based District 2 Court of Appeals since 2022. She previously served as a Waukesha County judge, an assistant attorney general under Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, and as an attorney in private practice.
She is entering an open race for a seat on the court that’s controlled 4-3 by liberals.
Taylor, who launched her bid in May, will have the support of Democrats. She is a judge on the Madison-based District 4 Court of Appeals.
It’s unclear whether other candidates will get in the race.
Taylor’s campaign has reported raising more than $1 million and was sitting on more than $500,000 by June 30. Lazar reported having only about $1,000 in her campaign account in her last report.
See Mary Spicuzza, Maria Lazar launches Wisconsin Supreme Court campaign, taking over conservative lane from Rebecca Bradley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 1, 2025.
A few remarks:
The spring general election for the court is in April 2026. While others might enter the race, Taylor and Lazar are likely to be the leading candidates.
It’s a nonpartisan race, yet it’s not. Taylor is the WisDems’ candidate and Lazar the WISGOP’s candidate.
Lazar will raise enough to get on television, as there are plenty of conservative donors inside and outside Wisconsin ready to spend.
Pending Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions will affect the April election, notably among them any final decisions on Act 10 and congressional district boundaries. Even so, we live in a nationalized political environment; national events are sure to play a significant role in voter turnout and preferences next year.
Best guess: this race favors Taylor, though not prohibitively so.
Chunk, a 1,200-pound bear with a broken jaw, wins Alaska’s Fat Bear Week contest:
City, Daily Bread, Energy, Laws/Regulations, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 9.30.25: Public Service Commission Approves Whitewater Solar Project
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 80. Sunrise is 6:51 and sunset is 6:37, for 11 hours, 46 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 55.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1947, the 1947 World Series begins. It is the first to be televised, to include a Black player, to exceed $2 million in receipts, to see a pinch-hit home run, and to have six umpires on the field. (The Yankees would go on to defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games.)
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission has approved two clean energy projects, one of which is the Whitewater Solar project:
The Badger Hollow Wind Project in Iowa and Grant counties and the Whitewater Solar Project in Jefferson and Walworth counties received approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, or PSC, on Thursday.
The Badger Hollow Wind Project is a 118-megawatt wind farm that will be able to generate enough electricity to power more than 30,000 homes, while the Whitewater Solar Project is a 180-megawatt solar farm that will be able to generate enough electricity to power more than 21,000 homes, according to the developers.
…
Clean energy and environmental groups framed the approvals as wins for the renewable energy sector.
“Renewable energy generally is facing a lot of threats nationally. Our federal government is taking a lot of creative paths to putting up hurdles for renewables,” said Chelsea Chandler, climate, energy and air program director for the nonprofit Clean Wisconsin. “It’s encouraging to see that projects are still getting permitted here in Wisconsin.”
…
Andrew Kell, policy director for the nonprofit RENEW Wisconsin, said the projects approved by the PSC will be on private property, with farmers choosing to lease their land for solar or wind.
“It’s really an issue of private property and something that allows farmers to continue their businesses here in the state of Wisconsin,” he said.
See Joe Schulz, Wisconsin utility regulators approve 2 new clean energy projects, Wisconsin Public Radio, September 30, 2025.
A few remarks —
About a determination meeting: Wisconsin law does not provide for public comment at such proceedings. There are opportunities for comment (both written and in person) earlier in the evaluation of a project. One should think of the determination meeting like an appellate court’s issuance of an opinion: while there may have been oral argument previously, on the day an opinion is handed down any remarks about a written opinion come from the appellate judges alone (if reading from a portion of an opinion, for example).
There’s nothing improper about the lack of public comment when a decision is handed down. (It’s mistaken to imply that in the Whitewater Solar determination “[t]heir opinions [of those objecting to the project] were not expressed, as there was no opportunity for public comment” at the determination meeting.) On the contrary, public remarks at that stage would only extend comment or oral argument at the expense of a discrete moment when a tribunal (administrative body in this case, appellate court by analogy) hands down a decision. There were opportunities beforehand as the Whitewater Solar docket shows. Public comment lawfully and sensibly closes on a date before the determination in Wisconsin Public Service Commission cases.
(Indeed, the PSC provides a simple explanatory sheet for the public that makes this plain.)
Private property: The Whitewater Solar project involves private landowners making arrangements with a private developer. Andrew Kell, policy director for the nonprofit RENEW Wisconsin, has it right when he observes that it’s “really an issue of private property.” While there are limits to private conduct, discussion of this issue too often ignores the property rights of landowners to contract with a developer.
(The next thing you know, someone will suggest that private landowners in Whitewater should be prevented from feeding squirrels in their own yards. Update, Tuesday afternoon: this aside about squirrel feeding was a reference to a city ordinance passed in 2021, during a prior municipal administration, and a prior council president. Current municipal initiatives are more serious.)
Hurricane Humberto’s eye illuminated by lighting in space station time-lapse:
Congress, Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Law, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 9.29.25: Wisconsin Supreme Court Orders Briefs in Congressional Map Challenges
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Monday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 84. Sunrise is 6:50 and sunset is 6:39, for 11 hours, 49 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 45.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission meets at 5:30 PM.
On this day in 2005, John Roberts is confirmed as Chief Justice of the United States.
Two redistricting cases are now pending in Dane County Circuit Court: Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, No. 2025CV002252 (Wis. Cir. Ct. Dane Cnty. July 8, 2025) and Elizabeth Bothfeld et al. v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, No. 2025CV002432 (Wis. Cir. Ct. Dane Cnty. July 21, 2025). The plaintiffs in those cases are asking for a three-judge panel to review the constitutionality of Wisconsin’s congressional maps.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has now ordered the parties to submit legal briefs in those cases:
The court issued its order in response to two requests asking justices to appoint a judicial panel to consider the constitutionality of Wisconsin’s congressional voting map ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The lawsuits were filed in circuit court in July by two liberal law firms. They asked the Supreme Court to appoint three-judge panels to decide whether Wisconsin’s congressional districts are unconstitutional. Until Thursday, the court hadn’t responded.
The three-judge panel concept was created by Republican state lawmakers in 2011 as a means to expedite redistricting challenges. Under that law, if parties in a circuit court case request the panel, the Supreme Court is required to appoint circuit court judges to sit on it. It also requires any appeal of the panel’s ruling to go directly to the Supreme Court.
This week, an attorney representing plaintiffs in one of those cases sent a letter to the Supreme Court stating a Dane County judge denied their request to set a briefing schedule in the case because doing so would violate the law passed by the Legislature more than a decade before.
On Thursday, the majority responded. Instead of appointing the judicial panel requested by the liberal firms, they ordered legal briefs arguing whether or not the lawsuits filed in Dane County constitute a valid “action to challenge the apportionment of a congressional or state legislative district.”The Wisconsin gubernatorial field for the August 2026 primary saw some changes over the last week.
See Rich Kremer, Wisconsin Supreme Court orders legal briefs in 2 congressional map challenges, Wisconsin Public Radio, September 25, 2025.
I’ll not venture a guess about how the Wisconsin Supreme Court might decide this question. It’s enough to see that they have agreed to address “whether Bothfeld’s complaint filed in the circuit court constitutes an ‘action to challenge the apportionment of a congressional or state legislative district’ under WIS. STAT. § 801.50(4m).”
See also Bothfeld v. Wis. Elections Comm’n, Order, 2025XX1438 (Wis. Sept. 25, 2025):
The New Zealand falcon, or Karearea, is crowned Bird of the Year:
Music
Monday Music: Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’, Norm Lewis from Highest 2 Lowest
by JOHN ADAMS •
New life to an old standard —
Daily Bread, Gubernatorial Race 2026, Wisconsin, WisDems, WISGOP
Daily Bread for 9.28.25: Wisconsin Gubernatorial Candidates, In and Out
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 79. Sunrise is 6:49 and sunset is 6:40, for 11 hours, 52 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 36.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1066, William the Conqueror lands in England, beginning the Norman Conquest.
The Wisconsin gubernatorial field for the August 2026 primary saw some changes over the last week.
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has officially entered Wisconsin’s 2026 race for governor, joining a field of GOP candidates hoping to win back control of the executive branch, held by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers since 2019.
During an appearance on WISN-AM’s Dan O’Donnell Show Tuesday, Tiffany laid any lingering doubts to rest.
“I’m here to announce on your show that I’m going to run for governor of the state of Wisconsin in the 2026 election,” Tiffany said. “It is a great challenge that is going to be before us, but it is also a great opportunity. And we are going to accept that challenge, and we’re in as of right now.”
See Rich Kremer, US Rep. Tom Tiffany enters race for Wisconsin governor (‘After months of teasing run, Tiffany makes his entrance into 2026 campaign official on conservative talk radio show’), Wisconsin Public Radio, September 24, 2025.
One of the candidates in the GOP primary for Wisconsin governor has dropped out of the race, days after it was reported that he once followed several authors of sexually explicit essays on social media.
New Berlin businessman Bill Berrien, who got into the race for governor in July, announced Friday that he was suspending his campaign.
…
When Berrien launched his campaign this summer, he began with an ad that framed himself as a businessman, ex-Navy SEAL and political outsider, not to mention a big supporter of President Donald Trump. Berrien financed his early ads with the help of a political action committee, whose biggest donors included the billionaire brothers known as the Winklevoss twins, made famous for their lawsuit against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
…
The ads also criticized Gov. Tony Evers’ record on transgender issues, pledging to “keep boys out of our daughters’ sports and locker rooms.” Evers has vetoed multiple bills aimed at restricting trans kids from joining K-12 girls’ or university women’s sports teams.
While Berrien’s position is common in GOP politics, it came under new light when his social media history became public. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that Berrien used the social media platform Medium to follow a transgender porn star named Jiz Lee. Berrien also followed publications like “Sexography,” which calls itself “an inclusive place for people to talk about and explore sexuality from all orientations, cultures, and perspectives,” and “Polyamory Today,” which promotes relationships with multiple partners.
See Shawn Johnson, Republican Bill Berrien ends campaign for Wisconsin governor (‘Berrien’s decision comes days after news surfaced that he followed authors of sexually explicit essays on social media’), Wisconsin Public Radio, September 26, 2025.
A former Democratic state lawmaker from Madison who has been investigated for various incidents of alleged misconduct and known for pulling stunts that have angered his own party at times is launching a new campaign for governor.
Brett Hulsey, 66, announced Wednesday he would join the Democratic primary for governor. It’s his second time pursuing the governor’s office after coming in a distant third in 2014.
See Molly Beck, A former Wisconsin Democratic lawmaker known for antics, investigations joins governor’s race, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 24, 2025.
What should one make of all this?
Tiffany is now the favorite in a WISGOP field that might still find (and needs) a younger and more dynamic candidate (as Tiffany is neither). Berrien was always a long shot, and the Winklevoss twins never had their fingers on the pulse of WISGOP trends in any event.1 While Brett Hulsey has entered the Democratic primary, no one without a microscope will be able to follow his campaign.
_____
- Berrien’s embrace of WISGOP orthodoxy was hypocritically out of step with his own private reading. The WISGOP position makes that private reading publicly unacceptable. Yesterday’s complaints about ‘cancel culture’ have become today’s imposition of that same culture inside and outside the party. ↩︎
James Webb Space Telescope captures Milky Way’s ‘largest star-forming cloud’:
Conspiracy Theories, Courts, Daily Bread, Law, Laws/Regulations, Misconduct, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 9.27.25: Proposed Three-Year Suspension for Gableman
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 84. Sunrise is 6:48 and sunset is 6:42, for 11 hours, 55 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 28 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1940, Germany, Japan and Italy sign the Tripartite Pact.
These many years later, attorney discipline draws closer for Michael Gableman, former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, former special counsel hired at the insistence of Robin Vos, and perpetual conspiracy theorist:
Former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman’s license to practice law in Wisconsin should be suspended for three years, a third-party referee wrote, agreeing with the state Office of Lawyer Regulation’s allegations that he violated standards for professional conduct during his much-maligned review of the 2020 presidential election.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will have the final say in the matter, a Court spokesperson said Friday.
The suspension recommendation marks the conclusion of Gableman’s effort to fight attempts to hold him accountable for his conduct during the election investigation. The OLR found that while working on behalf of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to look into alleged wrongdoing during the election, Gableman lied to a Waukesha County judge about conversations he had with other attorneys, lied to an Assembly committee, deliberately violated state open records laws, used his agreement with Vos to pursue his own political interests, violated his duty of confidentiality to his client and lied in an affidavit to the OLR as it was investigating him.
Gableman’s investigation ultimately cost the state more than $2.3 million without finding any evidence to confirm President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of fraud during the 2020 election.
See Henry Redman, Three-year suspension recommended for Gableman’s law license, Wisconsin Examiner, September 26, 2025.
Should never have been a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, should never have been hired as a special counsel, and should have been disciplined sooner for his unethical performance as special counsel.
And yet, and yet, at least discipline draws closer.
Trump’s trade battle with China puts American soybean farmers in peril:
Daily Bread, Economy
Daily Bread for 9.26.25: Tariffs on Trucks, Drugs, Kitchen Cabinets
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 80. Sunrise is 6:47 AM and sunset is 6:44 PM, for 11 hours, 57 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 19.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1777, British troops occupy Philadelphia. (The British evacuated Philadelphia in 1778, after 266 days of occupation.)
It’s tariffs after tariffs for Americans:
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled sweeping new import tariffs, including 100% duties on branded drugs and 25% levies on heavy-duty trucks, triggering fresh trade uncertainty after a period of comparative calm.
The latest salvo, which Trump said was to protect the U.S. manufacturing industry and national security, follows wide-ranging duties on trading partners of up to 50% and other targeted levies on imported products such as steel.
It’s the latest upheaval for global businesses already struggling with snarled supply chains, soaring costs and consumer uncertainty caused by Trump’s trade war. The barrage has cast a pall over global growth, while the Federal Reserve has said it is also contributing to higher U.S. consumer prices.
See David Shepardson, Trump slaps new US tariffs on drugs, trucks and furniture, Reuters, September 26, 2025.
Humberto becomes a hurricane in the Atlantic: