New Format (9/26/26)
(Out of respect for your time...CME will now specify read time and be organized into three sections. Top stories, Other News and Ruminations. Ruminations, if you're wondering, are quotes, perspectives or other incidents that struck my fancy but may not yours. Read time for this edition: 9 minutes)
Top Three Tags:
Real Savings on Drugs for Americans.
Did Woke Make America Better?
More Obamacare Fraud Exposed.
MFN Drug Pricing
Trump's Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) drug-pricing strategy has moved well beyond the proposal stage. It is actually being implemented through voluntary agreements with drug manufacturers, TrumpRx.gov, and a new Medicaid pricing model.
26 drug manufacturers have signed MFN agreements. Agreements now cover about 89% of the U.S. branded-drug market.
Most importantly, MFN pricing is already producing lower cash prices for Americans, rather than being merely a proposed campaign promise.
As always, it's difficult to know how much Americans will actually save. But can't hurt. 'Bout time we stopped paying boatloads more for drugs far cheaper offshore (or across the border). Supposed allies have this habit of suppressing the price of drugs while we incur the R&D costs.
Did Woke Make America Better?
Did giving incompetency a leg up based on "victimhood" make things better?
Did admitting kids into colleges where they can't do the work, but earn worthless degrees anyway, or worse, yet drop out, really help them be more productive adults or advance the common good?
Did certifying the unqualified to design bridges, diagnose cancer, direct air traffic or lead military troops in battle really make life better, safer in America?
Did spending $ billions teaching and policing DEI in public schools really help our kids learn faster, better?
Did $ billions spent in corporate capital imposing DEI really produce better goods and services, lower prices, keep us ahead of foreign competition?
Were Americans brought together by canceling people and shutting down their speech because of terminology or opposing point of view?
Again I ask...
Did giving incompetency a leg up based on "victimhood" make things any better whatsoever?
When you, your family, your friends vote...remember, if Dems get back in power, it's coming back full on.
1 Million Obamacare Enrollees have No SS Numbers.
This year alone 1,000,000 new Obamacare enrollees were discovered not to have Social Security number.
JD/Oz report 750,000 will be disqualified saving US taxpayers $2.2 billion.
In other news...
Here's a First..
President Trump did not piss off the entire UN General Assembly with his speech this past Tuesday.
In fact, he got spontaneous applause when he said Iran must never possess a nuke.
He also got a smile from the PMs of Denmark and Greenland for that deal. He scorched Cartels and said we're comin'. The President of Ecuador touted significant progress on drug front thanks to recent cooperation with the US. Trump also said we're ahead of China in AI and plan to stay there. Nice set up for Mr. Xi.
So, Trump got pretty good grades. In fact, the President of Poland lobbied publicly for a US military base in his country. Guess not all NATO has their knickers in a twist..
Despite most countries in attendance gettin' whacked by higher oil and gas prices way more than we, they get the point of denying the sickies in Iran nuclear weapons.
Drone Deficit
500 companies in the US manufacture drones and produce 100,000 a year. Ukraine will produce 5,000,000 in 2026.
Start Spreadin' the News
...they're leavin' today. Paramount and Warner Bros. have been trying to merge their operations, and they have faced pushback from state and local authorities. California sued to stop it. The studio is now seriously looking at other options. Playing the field and flirting with Austin, Texas while looking for office space in Nashville, Tennessee.
It’s not an idle threat. Long-running talent show "American Idol" has already made the move. The ABC revival announced recently that it’s ditching Tinsel Town for Atlanta. Clearly this will change its most iconic line, "You’re going to Hollywood!"
Have some Dignity.
Remember when Democrats dragged Dianne Feinstein around until the end? Now Republicans are wheeling 84 year old Mitch McConnell around the same way. It's degrading. The guy should be wrapped in a shawl, watching Family Feud and having dinner at 5 pm. C'mon.
Never gonna happen. He's a Vote, man.
The Word of God...from AI
No surprise...25% of pastors admit they already use AI to write sermons.
IMHO, this is a good thing.
For a long, long time, I have recommended the Catholic Church take two steps to build attendance and influence. First - improve the music and its delivery. Second - improve the homily. I suggested commissioning the 10 writers best writers in the church to create 104 "core" sermons (two for each week) and insist all priests learn how to deliver them with conviction. New role - nobody graduates from seminary without an A in homily.
Shared these recommendations with my Pastor, Bishop and Pope Francis. The pastor took great umbrage. Never heard from the Bishop or Francis.
Long felt Irish septuagenarians scribbling on the back of 3X5s combined with Aunt Mary as a soloist is no way to put cheeks in the seats or bills in the basket. Let alone spread the gospel.
Little wonder religion's in the tank. It needs to be more than a guilt trip. Starts with an experience of value and fulfillment on Sundays. But, what do I know?
Climate Change: "Just When I thought I Was Out
...they pull me back in." Michael Corleone.
That's me and climate change. I would love nothing better than for this to be proven a ruse and discount forever. Alas, I cannot.
"Planetary boundaries" are a scientific framework for describing the environmental limits within which humanity can operate safely. Of the nine planetary boundaries, apparently seven of them have been "transgressed". Breached at some of the highest levels recorded. The ones transgressed are...climate change, change in biosphere integrity, land system change, freshwater change, modification of biogeochemical flows, introduction of novel entities, and ocean acidification. Of these, several of are codependent.
Not only that...the current El Nino is likely to be the greatest in 1000 years.
What does all this mean? Is it truly significant? Your guess is as good as mine...and probably the so-called experts.
Given I can't offer a credible interpretation, I'm not sure why I bother to mention. Oh yeah...to remain fair and balanced.
What next? RSA?
Republican Fascists of America.
A growing number of wealthy, conservative donors are joining the DSA in coming out with totally crank plans. Increasingly, cadres of influential conservatives can be heard espousing Hard Right themes. Not just Tucker Carlson and Candice Owens either.
Here's a few of their ideas... Preferred government “will not be democratic.” The state “will have unlimited means,” because “properly viewed, the state is not constrained externally.” “Women will not be permitted to choose career over family.” “Men will not be permitted to choose not to have a family.” The state will seize the assets of “any citizen who views himself as a global citizen.”
Congrats. Inflame the deranged and give sail to the claims of Hitlerian dictatorship.
Word Salad Strikes Again
Kamala Harris speaking at a rally to bolster support for Senate candidate and Piker bro, Abu El-Sayed, said, "An attack on DEI is an attack on maternal care...including the need to protect Black women in connection with their pregnancy, childbirth and post partum care."
In keeping with tradition...no one could figure out what she was talking about. But I'm tellin' you...DEI is hibernating.
300 of 400 Quit
Did you know that Civil Rights Enforcement is the largest unit in the Department of Justice? Did you know that when Trump appointed a new AG and she installed a new head of Civil Rights, 300 of the 400 attorneys in that department QUIT?
Why? Because of what they would be told to do. Heinous things like...clean up voter rolls, halt unfair college admissions, discontinue federal funding for colleges who allowed antisemitism etc.
Here's a sample of what the new Civil Rights director uncovered. A black or Hispanic applicant to UCSF medical school is 12 times more likely to get in than a white applicant. To obtain a concealed carry permit in San Jose, CA , which is totally legal, an applicant must pay $1600 and pass a psychiatric exam.
I bet the fact is we probably didn't need about 250 of the 300 that quit any way. I'm tellin' you...DEI is hibernating.
"In Trump's America, Violence against Transgenders isn't going up. It's Going Down."
Source: Headline in the Boston Globe. Yes, that Boston Globe who ranks right up there with "All the News Unfit to Print". Waiting for the retraction.
'Bout Damn Time (oops)
Yesterday Fulton J Sheen became the first American Bishop to be beatified, which is the last step before sainthood...canonization.
If you've never listened to a sermon by Bishop Sheen and you have a taste for great oration, do yourself a favor and listen to his "Seven Last Words of Christ" homily. He delivered it on TV every Good Friday for many years. It was required viewing for mother and me.
The seven words are:
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” — Luke 23:34
“Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” — Luke 23:43
“Woman, behold thy son… Behold thy mother.” — John 19:26–27
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” — Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34
“I thirst.” — John 19:28
“It is finished.” — John 19:30
“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” — Luke 23:46
More than any other, Sheen brought the Christian message to Radio and TV. In my life, I have never heard an orator, certainly not in the Catholic faith, that could hold a candle to Father Sheen. Riveting, moving, lasting. Sheen had a rare combination for me. I liked what he said and liked how he said it. Policy and personality one might say.
Ruminations...
The Zebra is the Monster
Not the Lion, if you ask the Grass. Perspective, context matter.
Filtered Feedback...Kiss of Death
By the spring of 1941, there were no officers left with the courage to disagree with Stalin when he scoffed at intelligence that a German invasion was coming. For three years, the Great Leap Forward’s mass famines were reported up to Mao as "record harvests". Self-censorship of Kennedy’s advisers on the Bay of Pigs spelled defeat for the invasion. The shah of Iran was shielded by his court from indications of a coming revolution until it was too late. Henry Ford ignored warnings that the Model T was dying until the market was dominated by General Motors. Afraid of volatile superiors, middle managers at Nokia in 2007 downplayed the appearance of the iPhone.
Intermediaries who filter reports from below often bring dire consequences. Hear that DJT?
"Logic is a Fist. Rhetoric is a Palm"
How much more persuasive might I have been had I heeded these words from a pre-Socratic scholar? How often has my desire to change someone's perspective been subverted by slamming them with "irrefutable logic". How many arguments might have been won by using some palm instead of all fist?
Persuasion is easily sabotaged when common sense and logic are cloaked by chilly rhetoric.
Good Faith Negotiation... a Non Sequitur?
Listened to an interview with Newt Gingrich the other day. In 1994, Newt, you may recall, was the Republican Speaker of the House who negotiated the "Contract with America" after Bill Clinton got horsewhipped in his first midterms. The Contract was a great success and led to four balanced budgets in a row. Ironically, Clinton's "reluctant willingness" to negotiate ended up buying him a second term.
Newt met with Clinton 4+ hours a day. One on one for six weeks after the midterm shellacking. Together they hammered out a meaningful compromise on priorities and spending. Something the midterm voters had clearly demanded.
When asked what Clinton was like, Newt replied, "He was very smart. Very personable. And the biggest damn liar I ever met. He'd leave the room after shaking hands on a deal point and return an hour later to say, "deal's off".
Lies, Damn Lies...and Polls
Trump has a huge disapproval rating. A Blue tsunami is coming in November. Hispanic voters who came out for Trump in 2024 STRONGLY...now favor Democrats 64% to 29%. Do you believe it? Guess we'll see. But I (fingers-crossed) kinda' doubt it.
Don't forget polls showed Harris up by 2-4 points over Trump the day before.
Here's a Doozy.
A lounge chair war turned deadly at a popular beach recently.
An 82-year-old man and a 76-year-old man got into a fiery argument on the morning of Sept. 20. The argument was over a chair on the beach in Vouliagmeni, Greece, just south of Athens. It was triggered when the 82-year-old attempted to reserve a seat for his incoming group.
During the confrontation, the 82-year-old went into cardiac arrest, collapsed and died on the sand.
Which is exactly why I don't go to the Beach. That and that at nasty sand gets in my trunks.
"Tell me if I'm Wrong"
I love this saying. Hugh Hewitt uses it all the time. It's a great way to soften delivery of an opposing or controversial viewpoint. It indicates openness, reasonableness and willingness to discuss objectively.
I think...Tell me if I'm wrong.
Gotta' remember to use it more.
Enjoy your weekend. You have my email and I'd love more feedback.
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