Dow Jones odometer approaches 50,000...

Sadly, I must report that Trump actually managed to do a good thing somewhere along the way...

I pick up my Mom's prescriptions for her. One of them is for Jardiance, the oft advertised antidiabetic medication used to improve glucose control in people with type 2 diabetes. Last year, here in the Bay Area, it cost $750 for 30 pills (though her co-pay is only $20). Recently, I noticed that the cost had decreased by over $300 for the same 30 pills - no small chunk of change for someone without prescription drug coverage. I wondered about this price drop and learned that it was due to Trump striking deals with 16 drug companies, including the manufacturers of Jardiance.

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/16/nx-s1-5678915/trumprx-pharma-drug-price-deals-list-prices

Chalk it up to even a broken clock being correct twice a day?

Trump makes search for Savannah Guthrie's mom a national priority and puts all Federal law enforcement on the case...

He can't call out the national guard on January 6th, but he can dispatch Kash Patel and an army of FBI agents to look for Savannah Guthrie's mom:

https://thehill.com/homenews/5723792-trump-directs-federal-law-enforcement-search-nancy-guthrie/

President Trump on Wednesday said he is directing federal agents to assist in the search for “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie.

“I spoke with Savannah Guthrie, and let her know that I am directing ALL Federal Law Enforcement to be at the family’s, and Local Law Enforcement’s, complete disposal, IMMEDIATELY. We are deploying all resources to get her mother home safely,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “The prayers of our Nation are with her and her family. GOD BLESS AND PROTECT NANCY!”

An argument in favor of a change in generational perspective within the Democratic Party...

A persistent theme seems to run through Democratic circles from time to time - the argument that older folks need to get the hell out of the way and make room for the young. It is an argument premised on the notion that older folks (generally defined as anyone older than the younger person demanding change, with special exception for Bernie Sanders because, well, he is Bernie Sanders) aren't doing anything other than mucking about and waiting to die.

So, say the young, why not simply accelerate the process and get on with the anointing of a new generation of bosses now rather than later? After all, the young have been waiting all of five, ten or - gasp! - fifteen years since graduating from high school to take the reigns of power. Crazy. Almost as insane as the notion of walking four blocks rather than simply taking an Uber. Almost as wild as a prospective employer expecting you to be able to read cursive or understand an analog clock.

This process of pushing out old folks is easier said than done though. For some odd reason, old people really don't seem to want to budge. They're always bringing up their years of experience and their "wisdom" (all of which is easily replicated by AI). They're always droning on about how they "earned" their nest eggs (which could more wisely be invested in crypto in the hands of their kids). They have houses that are too big for them. Unfortunately, they'll have to die before their kids can inherit those houses. It's all just so annoying, you know?

So, what's a young person to do other than cajole, scold and/or guilt trip all these old folks at every step until they finally get the hell out of the way. That is the only course of action. Because this current generation of young people is completely different than any prior generation of young people. It's just so much harder for them than it was for earlier generations who only had to worry about little things like being drafted into military service against their will or economic malaise so bad that "Help Wanted" signs simply didn't exist.

Yes. A change in generational perspective within the Democratic Party is most certainly needed.

Sorry, but Trump did NOT kill the affordability issue. Case in point - The seemingly American staple of Quaker Oats

Who knew that Quaker Oats gets their oats from Canada? No wonder the boxes have gone up 50% since the last time I bought them. Quaker Oats, all subject to Trump's tariffs on Canada:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaker_Oats_Plant

The Quaker Oats Plant is the largest cereal mill in the world, located in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, alongside the Cedar River, originally founded in 1873, rebuilt after a fire in 1905. It employs about 740 people and produces various cereal products from Canadian sourced oats, including traditional rolled oats and oatmeal.

The United States has become a suspect nation where totalitarianism is accepted as long as the stock markets thrive...

January of 2026 was a cruel and bloody month in the United States. The month began with the killing of Renee Good at the hands of ICE and ended with the ICE directed murder of Alex Pretti. In between, countless other American citizens were beaten, pepper sprayed and shot at with either rubber bullets or actual live rounds. Roving bands of masked, militarized thugs seemingly arbitrarily picked individuals and groups off of American streets, workplaces and residences, a swath of "border enforcement" drawn far from any national border. If misery at the hands of a dictatorship could be charted, the United States would, in January, have been staring at a near vertical ascending line.

Despite all this escalating chaos, protests against the actions of an administration run amok were spotty at best, focused mainly in the Minneapolis epicenter of Trump's wrath and a few other large urban areas. Facing a threat not only to Democracy but also to freedom itself, Americans did not fill the streets by the millions as they should have. Clearly there is a disconnect among the population, perhaps a widespread notion that staying out of the crosshairs is the best course of action. Meanwhile, one sector of America does verifiably continue to march on - the American financial markets, which posted a modest increase for the cruel and bloody month of January of 2026.

Sometime next week or next month, in Minneapolis, a job opening for an ICU nurse will be posted...

The process will begin with no ill will intended. Emotions aside, it will be a business decision. A very busy intensive care unit, already struggling in a world de-prioritizing medical and health insurance funding, will be in need of a new staff member to assist with the important job of helping people regain their health, leave the hospital and get on with their lives. The job requirements posted will reflect all of the qualifications and responsibilities admirably performed by the prior holder of the position.

The new ICU nurse should have (1) an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), (2) an active, unencumbered Registered Nurse (RN) license, (3) certifications in Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) and (4) certification as a Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN). Preference will be given to those with one to two years of experience in acute care, such as medical-surgical or emergency nursing. The ideal candidate will display (1) strong critical thinking, (2) an ability to work under high pressure, (3) quick decision-making skills and (4) an ability to interpret complex, fast-changing data.

Not long after the job opening is posted, applications will begin to roll in. In this sterilized modern world in which we now find ourselves, resumes will initially be vetted by means of AI. In the process, some wonderful, qualified, capable individuals will seemingly arbitrarily be thrown by the wayside. Eventually, interviews will be scheduled. After which, a handful of prospects will appear, smiling and at the ready to answer the question...Tell us why you are qualified to fill the ICU nurse position recently left open by the murder of Alex Pretti.

There is no historical reference point for what we all are now experiencing...

Those of us who are old enough have numerous historical reference points to draw upon in our lives. We think back on times when we were children, teenagers and young adults. We reflect upon marriages, the birth of children and the approach of middle age. We carry with us physical pain from various injuries and illnesses suffered over the years and holes in our hearts from loved ones no longer with us. It's all there, a carousel of memories going back decades, constantly circling us, reminding us of times long gone. Which inevitably leads to comparisons of times past and present and a sober realization of where we are at any one moment in time. Some might call that wisdom. Others might call it a form of time travel...The simultaneous blessing and curse of being able to reach back in time to all of the moments from our lives and the awareness, all too often, that things weren't quite so bad as we made them out to be. Until now.

Right now, you and I are experiencing in real time a historical reference point unlike anything that any living American has ever experienced in the course of their life. As such, there is no comparison to anything any of us know. It's only natural that we should feel jolted. This is not a mere inflection point, as the pundits would have us believe. It is an abrupt right angle, detaching completely and flung far from the carousel of our collective memories. There will never be a time quite so bad as the present. It's an unsettling thought but there it is. Today is bad. And, tomorrow will be worse still. And, the day after that will be that much worse. Until we choose to change things.

None of us will ever forget these days. The young will acquire what the old already possess...The simultaneous blessing and curse of being able to reach back in time to these moments happening right now. Only then, hopefully, having learned from our mistakes, we'll appreciate what we have, knowing that nothing we ever again face will be quite so bad as what we all faced then.

For the umpteenth time, Gavin Newsom is a Californian...And, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that...

But, how will being a Californian play in places like Iowa or Georgia? I'll tell you how it's going to play. Like gangbusters, that's how. Why? Because, instead of waiting around for someone else to DO SOMETHING, Gavin Newsom has a long track record of actually getting it done.

Whether it's from a Republican or a Democrat, when we hear arguments that amount to bull shit, we (again, whether we're a Republican or a Democrat) should know to handle it. Why? Because, we've been here before and the words could just as easily have been...

I gotta ask you a question. I do not believe in, I can’t trust Newsom. I have read about him and he’s not, he’s not…he’s an evil Californian. No?

No, ma’am. No, ma’am. He’s a decent family man, a citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with.

For the umpteenth time, the man's name is spelled N-E-W-S-O-M...

As in awesom, handsom and wholesom. Of course, if you're a Republican snowflake, you might think him fearsom. Regardless of the case, the fact that some of you have yet to figure this all out is irksom, worrisom and tiresom. Get it together, get the man elected - so that we can finally evict the current loathsom, wearisom and decidedly unawesom resident of the White House.