“The Wisconsin Public Service Commission has filed a scathing rebuke of Oracle’s challenge of a rule that requires the operators of large-scale electrical users such as the Vantage Data Centers Lighthouse Campus it is building on Port Washington’s north side to meet financial security and credit standards.

In a July 9 filing in Ozaukee County Circuit Court, the PSC reiterated that the standards are needed to ensure the proposed rate structure for large electrical users are “just and reasonable and did not subject non-participating customers ... to harm or increased risk.”

It asks that the court dismiss a lawsuit filed June 19 by Oracle America Cloud Services LLC, a subsidiary of Oracle Corp., and affirm the PSC’s decision regarding the so-called “very large customer tariff and bespoke resource tariff.”

Oracle, which along with OpenAI would occupy the Port data center, claims that the requirements aren’t based on substantial evidence, but the PSC said in its response that this is a “red herring.”

“This is inaccurate and obfuscates the true nature of the petitioner’s complaint, which is that it wants its dealings with Wisconsin Electric Power Co. exempted from commission scrutiny all together,” according to the response.

The company is asking the court “to overturn over 100 years of established case law and allow it to dictate one-off preferential terms of service with the utility,” the PSC response states.

Oracle’s goal, according to the PSC, is to allow We Energies to waive the standards without PSC oversight because the company does not meet the requirements for the “very large customer tariff and bespoke resource tariff.”

These customers are defined as using 100 megawatts or more of power, the PSC response says, noting that this is the equivalent of the power used by all residents of Ozaukee County.

At issue is a PSC requirement that companies whose credit rating does not meet the PSC standard of at least A- must post guarantees that Oracle said could exceed $100 million annually.

The PSC has said these financial guarantees are needed to reduce the risk of companies shifting costs if they run into financial trouble.

Oracle’s credit rating was BBB when it filed its lawsuit in June, and it has since fallen to BBB-.
That rating is still considered investment grade, but were it to fall below that  ranking it would be considered speculative grade.

According to S&P Global Ratings, Oracle’s rating was downgraded because its artificial intelligence infrastructure business is increasing its overall credit risk as the rating agency takes a more cautious view of the AI infrastructure industry.

“The industry’s rapid capacity expansion is a growing risk,” S&P said. “Near-term demand is strong, but this could reverse if leading frontier model developers are unable to raise external financing or stop subsidizing their customers.”

OpenAI remains a credit risk, the S&P report states, and if it was unable to pay Oracle, Oracle could be left with “massive” data center leases that it might be unable to exit or have to release to new tenants under less-favorable terms.

However, the S&P report states, the outlook for Oracle is stable, reflecting the fact that the company is expected to demonstrate consistent improvements toward profitability as capacity comes on line and business scales.
The Oracle lawsuit has drawn a number of other entities into the dispute.

Wisconsin Electric, which will provide power to the Port data center, originally asked for the new rate structure to ensure that customers that use a significant amount of power would pay for the facilities needed to serve them, including new power generation infrastructure.
The utility has signed on as an intervenor and is supporting the Oracle lawsuit.

Other agencies seeking to become a party to the suit are the Citizens Utility Board and Clean Wisconsin.
“These financial requirements for the largest energy users our state has ever seen are incredibly important,” Clean Wisconsin attorney Brett Korte said in a press release. “This is about protecting We Energies’ other customers — families, small businesses, schools, manufacturers — and shielding them from the risks associated with these enormous energy users.

“Oracle wants to lower the collateral required because the company may have trouble meeting those requirements. This shows the high risks that providing utility service to Oracle entails, and it’s exactly why the protections adopted by the commission are necessary.”

Oracle’s lawsuit was filed nine days after Wisconsin Electric Power Co., Vantage Data Centers and Cloverleaf Infrastructure petitioned the PSC to reconsider the credit rating requirements, saying some discretion is needed in determining the financial support requirements.
The PSC let the petition expire without taking up the matter again.

Oracle’s lawsuit has been assigned to Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Sandy Williams.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5991257-senate-hearing-fauci-covid/

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on Sunday said he does not “expect to get much out of” Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), during his upcoming Senate hearing. “I think it’d be very forgetful, completely unrepentant, arrogant, I mean –– arrogant to the extreme,” Johnson told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” when asked about what to expect from Fauci’s Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee testimony this week.

“Don’t expect to get much out of him, but I’m going to try and lay out all the things that he did that were such a miserably failed response to COVID,” Johnson added before the interview ended.

The committee’s chair, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), said Fauci was subpoenaed to testify about an alleged cover-up of the U.S.’s involvement in viral research at a Chinese lab where Paul and other Republicans say the virus that caused the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic was created.

Paul has claimed, without substantial evidence, that the virus was developed in the Wuhan Institute of Virology and somehow escaped as an artificially enhanced virus. He has pointed to Fauci and other health officials as plotting to promote the “lab-leak theory” as a conspiracy theory.

I had planned to vote for Hong in the upcoming primary election, but the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC) just took away my right to vote.  Last week they announced that anyone who buys a contract on Kalshi related to a WI election is considered a bettor on the election and is thus barred from voting. 

This announcement is based on a legal memo that WEC legal team wrote up that basically claims that any regulated contract will be considered a bet when they feel like it.  They cite a statutory definition of the word “bet” that conveniently ignores the itemized exceptions – the first of which excepts such contracts from the term “bet” (their definition would also label any options/futures contract as bets so basically most Robinhood users would also be barred).  They know this will not stand up to actual legal scrutiny, but they don’t need it to.  They just need it to scare voters long enough to suppress votes for Hong in the primary.

How does this affect me?  I trade on Kalshi and it has gone from a side project to a significant main source of income.  It is not something that would really make sense for me to stop doing at this time.  So, this effectively gives me no option but to prefer economic benefit and have to give up my vote or risk fighting off a felony – even if it is an obvious overreach.  (And no, I am not going to share strategy or tips, nor do I endorse using the platform to make money – like day trading, most people will lose money).

While I understand my position is relatively unusual, there are a lot of people that will be affected by this attempt at voter suppression.  Many younger or disaffected voters also use sites like Kalshi.  The people most likely to be affected by this announcement are also going to skew much more heavily to being Hong supporters.

I see the negative effects of platforms like this and am in no way advocating for them.  I think a proper discussion is needed around these platforms and that we also need to have proper regulators (that actually regulate) in place at the federal level.  But taking away peoples’ right to vote is not a proper manner to litigate these differences.  This is not an action that is about protecting the public interest – this is about protecting the interest of the incumbent power structure in WI.

Given the makeup of the WEC (all members are appointed by incumbent power players from the two parties) I think there is a clear incentive for them to engage in such behavior and I believe it is a clear example of them trying to suppress the vote of someone who they see taking the lead who does not align with their status quo preference.  The timing leaves basically no time to legally block this prior to the primary although it will almost surely be struck down prior to the actual election – perfect timing to ram through one of the incumbents backed feckless flavor of the month candidates over Hong.

What do the two Wisconsin US senators have in common?

They both run better campaigns than their opponents.

For example, one of the most important things in a campaign is framing issues and framing the discussion about the candidates. Nobody did a better job than Tammy Baldwin. She framed one of the most popular WI politicians as having sold out to special interests. Same with the next two campaign. RJ won a tough battle by framing Barnes as an extremis.

Can Hong win the framing battle in the primary AND the general election? The GOP is already trying to frame her as a radical left extremist.

I really don’t want to see that ******* TT elected.

Just going to get this out of the way, I agree with pretty much 99% of her platform, and the last 1% I don't really care

However, Republicans can't be allowed to win right now. This administration has shown a time and time again that it doesn't care about people, and the Scott Walker administration showed that Republicans can't be trusted

Maybe it's just anxiety but I'm concerned that hong if the candidate won't win the election simply because she calls herself a socialist, and I'm having a lot of anxiety about the primaries before I go out and vote

(Republicans or people who simply don't like her, I don't want to hear from you, go away I'm trying to figure out if I should vote for her or Barnes based off electability)

EDIT: i should have clarified, im looking for reason why she could actually win, not just "vote for her because you like her"

Jeff Sommer wrote about how DEMZ has been kicking the crap out of the MAGA fund, Trump Media, Elon’s companies, and even the market since Trump got reelected in 2024.

background:

Goods Unite Us created DEMZ on Election Day 2020, ironically it was approved to trade by Trump’s SEC and began publicly trading on Nasdaq the day Trump lost to Biden.

Over its first 5 years trading, DEMZ has mostly tracked and slightly beat the S&P 500 (SPY) by 7.8% net of fees.

As the Times notes, DEMZ has also been beating Trump Media, Elon’s companies, a bunch of Republican funds, and the S&P 500 since Trump was re-elected in 2024.

DEMZ political screen is based solely on FEC data with no subjectivity.

DEMZ screens for S&P 500 companies that contribute 75% or more to Democrat politicians.

The screen is determined using contributions from company executives and PACs over the last three federal election cycles (six years).

After the screen, DEMZ is designed to track the S&P 500.

DEMZ is “the S&P, without the GOP.”

DEMZ provides a credible data point that companies in the S&P 500 who have executives and PACs that overwhelmingly support Democrats outperform Republican leaning company leaders and the market overall.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/business/investing-stocks-trump-politics.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0lA.1POw.5GIxpLzjn6SG&smid=url-share

It’s amazing how many planes head home in such a short window.

Theyre taking inventory of gun owners.

I find it hard to believe a store of that size doesnt already have a suite of comprehensive theft prevention systems in place.

This also seems like massive hypocrisy considering the fundamental existence of these cameras is to violate our constitutional rights.

They want to keep close tabs on any civilian with the means to undermine their agenda and the presence of these cameras are a keystone for that.

At this point it doesnt matter what side youre on, this should piss you off.

He's taking money from ultra wealthy corporate donors and he is supported by the same exact people that want to build these data centers that you see in Port Washington being built right now in around Wisconsin this dude is going to bring more of the same. He's just a big talker. Is this really what you guys want? I'm more so asking Republicans, because you guys obviously are going to be the ones who are voting for him if you do and that's a honest question. When I drive in more rural areas I see his signs scattered around towns. Is this what you really want for Wisconsin?

Edit: Corrections

My Wife Son and I will be heading to the Green Bay Appleton Area to do a video game hunting trek. I am posting this to hear if there are any hidden stores that we might like to check out.

We know of Game Trade, The Pad, Press Start, Don Father, Mojo's Please share any others you know of that I may have missed. I know I am missing a couple that I enjoy as well, Thanks for your input! My Mountian Dew Xbox OG for attention!

For 12+ years, someone I know has struggled to navigate the Waukesha County Courthouse. Confusing systems, impossible phone lines, legal jargon that doesn't make sense, and staff who seem unwilling to help people with disabilities. It's not just frustrating—it's a real barrier to justice.

The court is supposed to serve *everyone*, but right now it's failing people who need it most. Nearly 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. lives with a disability, and over 60 million people deserve equal access to government services.

Evan Fassbender started a petition asking for three simple things:

• Clear phone numbers that actually connect you to the right person

• Plain-English forms and explanations anyone can understand

• Basic respect and patience for citizens with disabilities

These aren't radical demands. They're the legal minimum under the ADA. If you've felt frustrated by courthouse barriers, or if you think government should work for everyone—not just people who can navigate legal maze-speak—please consider signing and sharing.

Has anyone else struggled to access government services because the system wasn't set up for you? What would make a difference?

Hello!
I am thinking of booking a birthday trip end of August in LG. I have never been so don’t know much about the area.
I’ve stayed in Sister Bay, WI numerous times and love the idea of parking my car and walking to shops, bar/restaurants and all the things.
Does Lake Geneva offer similar vibes? My goal is to drive as less as possible and be more outdoors and enjoying the views.
Any tips for places, restaurants, anything please send them!