Shutdown Shuts Down

Trump signs bill to end longest in US political history.

So what lessons did we learn? Well, none of consequence really.

As the Democrats eat their own, especially Chuckie Schumer who let the 8 renegades needed to avoid a filibuster jump ship, here are a few takeaways.

The Democrats have no conscience. They are perfectly willing to lie and persecute the American people to pursue their deranged hatred of Donald Trump, his allies and the voters that put him in office a second time. The only concession they won by depriving families of food(SNAP), first responders and our military of paychecks, the Americans of safe travel etc. was a commitment that a vote on extension of the UN-Affordable Care Act (UCA) subsidies effected as a temporary Covid-era measure will take place next month. This provision was offered by the Republicans 40 days ago.

The Democratic party is controlled by the Woke Left. Full stop. Why? Because extremism meaning socialism/Big Government with a perverse twist is the only countermeasure they can come up with when one is on the 20% side of all 80-20 voter issues.

The term "essential employees" as regards shutdown pay is totally misleading. Employee groups in this category DO NOT GET paid during shutdowns. Their designation as "essential" merely guarantees back pay. It does not help with immediate cash flow. Hence all the the sickouts and absenteeism. Like the ATCs.

Here's a beauty. Members of Congress (Nonessential employees if there ever were one) do get paid on time. Yup. The service men and women, the air traffic controllers - nope. The weasels in Congress who get virtually nothing done go right on collecting. Go figure. Democrats have voted against changing this rule countless times because it reduces their leverage. They know Republicans will cave in during any shutdown of a Democrat government. They don't want the pressure of No Pay to increase the likelihood Dems will cave when its their turn.

This reopening lasts only until January 30. Since nothing in the makeup of Congress will change by then and there's no way the issue of Covid-era subsidies will be resolved, the chances of another shutdown in 79 days loom large.

There is a small Silver Lining. Several appropriations bills were included in the bill to reopen. The Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction, the Department of Agriculture, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Congress itself will be funded through September 2026. At least those levers won't be available in the next round of backyard brawling.

Winners? Losers?

None really, except AOC because this is likely the final nail in Chuckie's coffin, even though he held the line Progressives demanded.

All in all the Democrats achieved a big, fat nothing-burger except to prove to moderates in their party their opinions don't matter. Same for American people. I'm telling you these Dudes are ready to go scorched earth.

New Republican Backbone?

Republicans have been notorious for capitulation. Every time there's been a shutdown or other piece of detestable Democratic legislation, our side whines and opines, then caves. This time, even though the party in power always get blamed, they did not.

This type of resilience and political courage is essential to get our $40 trillion debt headed in the other direction along with the battleship called the United States of America. Wonder if we have those type of cojones? Wonder if enough voters will reward it? The guy at 1600 sure has the stones.

Problem is...we tend to blame those in power at the end of the day, regardless of the facts.

Around the Corner

As stated, in order to secure the eight votes needed to avoid a filibuster the Democrats were promised a vote in December on the UCA Covid-era subsidies that expire 12/31/25. Funny isn't it? Republicans committed to hold a vote on this issue 40 days ago.

While the Affordable Care Act has become UN-affordable for the insured, it's been a bonanza for insurance conglomerates. For example...when Obamacare was passed in March 2010, Aetna's stock was $30.50. Today it's $212. Centene's stock is up 604%. Molina 859%. Humana 490%. Cigna 822%. United Healthcare up 1017%. Silly me, I thought the subsidies were intended to provide cost relief to the insured, not send insurance company stocks and CEO's bonuses to the moon? Talk about getting it wrong.

Anybody remember Jon Gruber? You know - the Obamacare architect and MIT professor who was caught saying American people were "too stupid to understand healthcare, that the ACA was "a fraud", and "a lack of transparency is a huge political advantage"? He explained that the ACA was torturously written to avoid the appearance of taxes or it would have died. But that's exactly what it was...so healthy people would have to pay for sick people. Forget when Obama promised the ACA would save families $2500 a year in premiums and "you can keep your doctor."? Lies, lies, damn lies.

So what's the answer? In all likelihood, it starts with getting government the hell out of the healthcare business. Give control back to the purchasers, the beneficiaries, the users. Remember - for government to give, it must first take away.

Just like "most" (I use most because tariffs are a huge exception) things this Administration stands for - school choice, 401K accounts for kids, tax credits, less regulation - we need a mechanism, a system that allows users to determine winners and losers. Let the people vote with their wallets. Not the politicians. Whether it's healthcare savings accounts or something similar.

Make no mistake. The shutdown may be over, this skirmish ended. But the war is only starting over the healthcare system in America. Well, actually, "still going on" is the proper characterization.

Unspeakable Horror

If you ever want a clearer sense of what happened on October 7 in the state of Israel, watch Red Alert on Paramount. It depicts the day over 6000 machine gun-toting Hamas terrorists crossed the border between Gaza and Israel to rape and murder innocents. 1179 Israeli men, women (some pregnant) and children were slaughtered. Thousands critically injured. 251 were taken hostage including children ripped from their parents.

How one human being could do this to another is unfathomable. War is war but massacres of the innocent are inhuman. According to papers found on Hamas terrorists the mission was: kill as many Israelis as possible.

Gen Z (Ages 28-40) Nonplussed?

Seems ironic on one level. Trump did super well with Gen Z'ers for a Republican. Won 46% of their vote - unheard of for a Republican, Now they've switched sides to Mamdani. They approved when DOGE was rooting out waste and downsizing a government most young people feel has not served them well. Now they applaud Mamdani's pledge to double it's size.

So what gives? I know where I'm putting my money.

Seems clear, as a group, Gen Zer's don't love their current plot in life. ...many (most in NYC) think government is not working for them. Not making their lives better. Their goals more attainable. What drew young adults to Mamdani is the same thing that drew them to Trump: the promise to be different, to radically upend a system that Gen Z'ers believe has failed and disenfranchised them.

But is the root cause REALLY all government's fault (Biden years notwithstanding)? I think NOT.

Other forces bear the majority of the blame.

As it almost always does, it has much to due with what our young people are taught.

First, young people are not taught self-reliance as once was the case. They are programmed. Given a script to follow and when things don't turn out it's someone else's problem. When DEI destroys meritocracy, it proves performance, results, hard work are no longer most important. Entitlement is what counts most. When graduates can't find a job commensurate with the investment they made in their worthless college degree...it's not their fault it's the system's.

It all starts with an Education System that brainwashes kids (and parents) from middle school that a college degree is de rigueur. That you're a failure without one. A dummy. Then university professors take over and openly lecture their students about their obligation to tear down the country and the very systems that gave them the opportunity to sit there and listen to that crap in the first place. Reinforced and amplified daily by iPhones and lamestream media.

Think about it. Every day, every hour...TikTok (Chinese-controlled) and Instagram bombard our youth that socialism is nirvana, Republicans and Conservatives are evil, so too Billionaires and white men, the President of the United States is Hitler, Hamas is a victim and America is racist.

Surely much of Gen Z anger and malaise has to do with the proliferation of college degrees not worth the paper on which they're printed, no? (See College Degree - Bah Humbug later in this edition).

What to Do? What to Do?

In the short term, the Administration has no choice but to do what it can to assuage the misplaced concerns of younger voters. Despite the fact, that lower interest rates and other "affordability" remedies will likely further exacerbate our debt crisis. If they don't, Republican will be kicked out along with the chance to attempt a long term fix. The overhaul of our education system. You can bet on this. If the Left regains control, handouts will reignite with vengeance. Student loan absolution, free tuition, DEI, etc.. Can you imagine an AOC/Zohran ticket? Make Biden/Kamala look like Washington/Lincoln ( I know, I know - not really a ticket, but would have been a doozy).

Alma Mater Capitulates

Myself, two brothers and three nieces attended Cornell University. The Big Red, Far above Cayuga's waters and all that nonsense. Over the years as CU has turned further and further left so we have turned further and further away. But, it's not like Cornell was conflict-neutral when I was there.

Few will remember in the Spring of 1969 when a group of Black students led by Tom Jones took over Willard Straight Hall, the student union. Made the cover of Time magazine and was one of the seminal actions triggering the protests and race riots that followed. I still remember that Saturday morning. I walked up the Hill at 730 am to attend one of the very few Saturday classes I did and stopped at Willard for an early coffee. The door was locked so I pounded on it. A fellow I played football with, Homer Meade, came to the door. Homer was African American. He said, "Hey George, you better get outta here. We've taken over the building." To which I replied, "Are you nuts? I need coffee." What ensued were weeks of heated protests, confrontation, shutdowns, classes suspended and pass/fail grading.

Sound familiar?

But I digress...my real point is yet another "elite" university has capitulated for fear of losing federal funding. Cornell has agreed to pay $60 million to end investigations into the Ivy League school. Oh yeah. They also agreed to uphold federal civil rights laws regarding antisemitism and racial discrimination.

Wow - some concession.

Ivy League schools received $6.4 billion in federal funding in 2024 alone. Meanwhile, Harvard and Yale alone have combined endowments of $100 billion (with a B). That's our money being spent to have tweed jackets inveigle our youth with anti-American ideology.

College Degree? Bah Humbug!

Recently I heard an interview with Mike Rowe, CEO of Microworks, and Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Company. The topic was jobs in the new AI economy, which is coming on at full speed as surely as sun and rain.

One anecdote told of three electricians working in a Data Center in Texas. All were under 30 years old. All had been poached three times this year. Each was earning in excess of $240,000 per year. And no - their electrician certification did not come from Harvard or Yale.

Jim Farley went on to say Ford needs 400,000 technicians in their dealerships to service today's high electronics automobiles. They have 6000 "stalls" open because they lack mechanics.

Now there is no question, college education and thereafter are needed for medicine and other highly technical professions. But degrees in African Art and Gender Studies will, forever, be in short demand. Kids who spend their parents money on post secondary education better wake up.

Investing in trade schools could be a good thing if that train hasn't left the station already.

College degree? As the great Ebeneezer Scrooge said, "Bah, Humbug."

For the record, CME has been beating the "learn a trade" drum since inception.

Here's a First

In Oregon (of all places) a US Federal District Court Judge, Youlee Yim You, actually upheld a common sense protest.

Oregon teens Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard scored a win in their legal battle against the state's high school sports association after they stepped down from a medal podium to protest a trans athlete in May. Anderson and Eckard's lawsuit against the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) alleged the league excluded them from official photos after the protest and withheld their medals. The suit argued the girls' First Amendment rights were infringed upon by the officials.

(Judge) Triple Y must not have gotten the memo.

Really Scary - No, I mean "really".

By now everybody knows about Nvidia. The world foremost "superchip" maker. Only has a market value of $5 Trillion (with a T). First company ever.

Well, their CEO says China is going to win the AI race.

The chipmaker's chief executive told the Financial Times last Wednesday at the Future of AI summit that the West is limiting its own progress in AI through excessive "cynicism," while pointing to China's lower energy costs and fewer regulatory hurdles as advantages.

Thank goodness, President Trump has said, regarding NVDA's most powerful chips, ""The most advanced, we will not let anybody have them other than the United States,"

The Great Dichotomy

Democrats grab every podium, every Lamestream OpEd page, every social media outlet available to decry the impact of tariffs, the efforts of ICE and the hardship of everyday Americans. Yet the stock market is turning a blind eye and a deaf ear.

Go figure.

Forever many have believed the Market is best harbinger of things to come. Could it be investors agree with the Administration's efforts and progress thus far? Who's wrong? Wall Street or, perhaps, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries?

That conundrum aside, keep remembering - no pain, no gain. Takes time to turn a battleship around, especially when the left is steering full throttle in the opposite direction.

A Soapbox Moment

Indulge me for a minute as I opine on a few “habits worth considering” for those early in their career and still trying to get ahead. I have long considered procrastination one of the greatest enemies of productivity, performance and progress.  Whatever I have achieved, be it ever so modest, can be attributed in no small way to four habits that have stood me in good stead.

The first is results measurement.  I have long subscribed to the words of Peter Drucker, considered by most to be the father of modern management theory.  Drucker said (paraphrased)…if you can’t measure something, you can’t manage it.  What he meant, of course, is that, if you have no pre-established means of quantifying how successful you are at doing something or the results your actions produced, the probability is your outcomes will be marginalized.

The second is I outworked most other people.  Why?  Not because I am a workaholic but because I have been lucky enough, most of the time, to really like the work I do.  I find work not only essential and important, but I find improving results stimulating, challenging and rewarding.  Few things give me more satisfaction than finding a better way to do something.  In that I am most fortunate.

The third factor is what I call the “Do It Now” philosophy.  Do It Now refers to the habit of doing things immediately.  Not putting them off.  Not making “to do lists” that get longer and longer.  Especially…things that only require a few minutes of one’s time.  Like replying to a simple text or email. 

Why “do it now”?  Several reasons.  First, it shows respect for the party or parties who made the request or asked the question.  Second, it enables the requesting party to benefit from your response immediately and act accordingly.  Third, it frees you up to devote time to other things that require more effort.  And, lastly, it starts to clear your to do list, while producing a minor jolt of accomplishment.

The last factor is documentation.  Creating a record of what you ask others to do, how you responded to questions asked of you and the results of actions you have taken.  Email makes this super easy.  Without documentation, things get lost in the shuffle, follow up is degraded and results suffer.  Nothing frustrates more than asking for someone’s help or response and getting no answer or feedback in return.  How is one to know if the agreed action was ever taken?  It’s downright wasteful to have to ask three or four times for the same help.

Hope these habits make sense. Feel free to share them with your children or others. 

Is It Just Me?

Or have others notice a resurgence in church going? As noted, I attend mass regularly so I am in a position to clock attendance. I have seen a distinct uptick in the souls present since Trump was elected and, more significantly, since the Charlie Kirk assassination and ensuant tributes. Seems the latter really hit home.

I have long been a believer that the presence of God in one's life is a big plus. Going to church is, obviously, the most common "public" manifestation though not necessarily the most important. Doing for others is far more impactful and prayer may be more important than all. My philosophy on religion has always tended toward the practical. Of course, I have no idea if there is a life hereafter. Or whether one's conduct on earth plays a role in its determination. But why take the chance?

I am a bit hopeful that we, as a nation, are moving in the direction of making religion a good thing and openly acknowledging the importance of a supreme being to guide us. Few things in my life are as heart-warming as celebrating mass with family. I hope our children grow up feeling the same way.

An Actor Who Gets It

Billy Bob Thornton has long been one of my favorite actors. His series, Landman, is terrific. Season 2 starts Sunday.

Recently Billy Bob called out fellow celebrities who win an award then get up on stage to opine about their political views. Here's part of what he said (as only BB can say it)...

"I don't care much about awards any more. Maybe 'cause I got plenty of them and won most of them - under the wire, when awards were still kind of real. But these days I just look at it as like, 'Oh, OK, we're gonna go over here and, you know, have some dry chicken breast and green beans, you know, and we'll listen to people get up there and pontificate about how awesome they are."

Billy Bob went on to recommend that if someone wins an award and is "truly honored by it," they should take their time on stage to "honor the people who gave it to you," rather than bring awareness to some cause.

"Don't go up there and talk about saving the badgers in Wisconsin or something, you know what I'm saying?" he said. "These people would argue and say, 'Well, no, because everybody knows me, this is a great platform for me to put this out there'.

Well, how about this? If you have a billion dollars, and you want to save the badgers, f---ing save them. I mean, you got plenty of money to save the badgers, trust me. That's not gonna cut into your budget."

Too bad it's not only the badgers on which these phonies lecture us. Listen up Kimmel and Colbert, Rosie and Ellen, Clooney and Madonna - and TDS poster child, Booby DeNiro. Although - come to think of it, I don't recall any of them winning awards lately. Go you Billy Bob!

Who's her broker?

Pelosi earned $130 million in stock profits for a return of 16,930% during her time in Congress. That exceeds the Dow by 2300%.

I'd say that's pretty good. A little birdie told her.

Paradigm Disgraced.

The BBC has long been considered a model of journalistic accuracy, thoughtful commentary and integrity.

Not so much any more.

The BBC Director-General and UK News Chief have just resigned because they admitted intentionally omitting from their BBC documentary a key line from President Trump's speech to the January 6 protestors. The line omitted? Just the one where Trump clearly, unambiguously guides the protestors..."I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

The line they kept in? "Fight like hell." It's all about the context, Baby. Always.

For the record...the majority of the BBC board affirmed there is a problem of institutional bias reflected in the coverage of Donald Trump, Gaza/Israel and trans rights. Also the now disgraced Director who stepped aside, Ms. Deborah Turness, was president of NBC News from 2013-2017. Further proof of inbreeding.

More proof Jolly Ole has gone off the rails these days.

Hollywood Going Dark

Major studio productions shooting in the US dropped 40% between 2022 and 2025 (that's post pandemic, in case you're wondering). 42,000 jobs (30%) jobs have been lost in the motion picture industry in LA County between 2022 and 2024.

Streaming, user-generated content (YouTube, TikTok) and low budget AI-generated films all cost way less than George Clooney.

Can't believe Unions and Politics aren't playing a role.

Sounds like Auto Industry redux. Remember when Unions and greedy execs ruined it.

Tariffs, Scotus and the Economy.

While the President can tout significant influxes of tariff revenue and a few "deals" that make sense for America, tariffs remains a hugely unresolved issue. It appears that SCOTUS will weigh in soon. If they kneecap the President's authority in this area all Hell will break loose and the midterms could be a catastrophe. Keep praying they stay out of it.

Still the big issue is protracted uncertainty, which is reflected in the anemic growth of GDP, corporate investment and jobs. CEOs are on the sidelines. Won't take a real plunge until things clarify. Sure hope that's Q1.

Maybe China's Not that Close to Eclipsing US

At least in bridge construction.

A massive 758 meter bridge at a hydropower station in southwest China collapsed Tuesday, just months after it opened, according to Chinese state media. Fortunately no one died when the "engineering marvel" sent concrete and steel plunging into a river.

Biggest Danger to Republican in 2026?

Might be John Fetterman. More irony. This guy suffered a stroke, barely won in 2022 and now is the one and only Democrat in the Senate with the integrity and courage to stand for that which the American people really voted. No fear. Not afraid to say what he believes even when it sticks in the craw of the Left. I'm telling you his guy is stout. Anti-illegal immigration. Pro-Israel. Anti-shut down.

True to form, the Democrats, who swore on a stack of bibles he was fit to serve in 2022, are now casting more and more aspersions about his fitness. Just like they did with Sleepy.

Immigration Newsflash (Thursday)

Quickie. ICE and Florida law enforcement collaborated to arrest 230 criminal illegal aliens in 10-day operation. dubbed Operation Dirtbag. Included were 150 sexual predators with convictions for assault of minors, rape and exploitation. Nice catch.

Cali Forced to Clamp Down on Truckers

Remember the multiple reports about illegal immigrant truck drivers on the road without proper certification who caused crashes and killed people? Well, Cali just revoked 17,000 commercial driver's licenses in response to federal pressure. That's what I love about the Wildfire State. Always getting out front. Hah, hah and double hah.

Some Random Observations

Then I'll get ouuta here.

Back on the subject of the Gen Zers. How about some accountability? If NYC is too expensive, move! If your worthless college degree and other talents make it impossible to afford the $200 grand to live decently in the Big Apple, move somewhere you can afford. If your value can't command the wages you need to live in X, then move to Y. That's on you. Instead of turning the city over to a Commie, who makes stupid promises that will never fly and, God forbid they do, will bankrupt the City.

On H1-B visas.

Need to be careful here. Don't want to screen out super talents. Be good to brain drain the Chi-Coms. But only if those coming in really wanna be in America. Also, we should be rewarding those who've been in the immigration queue forever. Let's get them in and prove doing things the right way still matters.

And last but not least, here's what Kamala had to say recently...

"We should have done things differently with regard to Israel" (Finally - she's going to admit that supporting Netanyahu and taking a hard line with Hamas was the moral thing to do - right?). Ah...Nope. She regrets having "NOT speaking out more strongly against how Netanyahu conducted the war." F'n amazing. We have the hostages back and seem on the verge of disarming Hamas and Kamala is doubling down, despite a long history of doubling back. Just imagine where we'd be if she got in - on immigration, the border, energy, military rebuild, inflation, regulations, strength abroad. Need I go on?

Good weekend, all!