Friday’s Bumper Sticker
Trump 2026: Chaos, Tariffs, and Presidential Whims
Recent Trump actions and behavior have me rolling my eyes.
First, congratulations to Trump for finally releasing a healthcare ‘plan’.
After ten years of promises, it underwhelms. Trump believes that giving money directly to taxpayers so they can ‘make their own decisions’ will make healthcare cheaper and more effective. The White House has declared this as a framework and urges Congress to take it up.
How much Trump’s healthcare idea will help is unknown, but —
- The plan lacks implementation detail and is light on issues such as rising costs or coverage gaps
- Potential impacts on revenue streams due to additional administrative and bureaucratic costs must be a concern
- Uncertainty about its legislative prospects loom as midterm elections draw near
- The competitive, heavily regulated nature of the industry means oversight will be needed, and that is opaque
- His proposal might help where healthcare is well established, like cities, but not in rural areas where options are limited
- Trump’s Inspector General purge of 2025 included HHS, handicapping the oversight mechanisms which already existed
As misdirection, Trump’s plan helps shift attention from unfavorable facts, like less than one percent of the Epstein files has been released, and ICE is increasingly unpopular with voters.
Trump’s second move is another emerging from the swollen perception he has of his intelligence, acumen, influence, and his abuse of what patriotism is.
A man who never served in the Army or Navy, who played football briefly as a teenager, Trump wants to dedicate one Saturday’s four-hour window to have only the Army-Navy college football game televised. To make that happen, Trump, professing he’s being patriotic, declares he’ll sign an executive order to make it happen.
I think if he wants to be patriotic, he’ll let Congress pass laws about things like that, according to what We the People want. Trump’s move is all about indulging his own whims as a barometer of what’s best. With all that’s wrong with the world, presidential oversight of college football television scheduling is completely unneeded.
Playing for the trifecta, Trump tied two favorites together, tariffs and Greenland, in one quick chop. Frustrated by other nations rallying around Greenland to stymy Trump’s plans, Trump declared tariffs on eight nations — all allies — to coerce them into ‘giving’ Greenland to the United States.
I can’t comprehend how taxing Americans and reducing product availability will force those nations to ‘give’ away Greenland. Never mind that Greenland belongs to one nation, Denmark. He wants other nations to do his dirty work and convince Denmark to give up Greenland, which Denmark and Greenland consistently reject.
Trump’s new tariffs fly against the trade agreements he’d just completed with these EU nations regarding tariffs, reducing their trust of the United States. Trump earned himself the nickname TACO — Trump Always Chickening Out — for the manner he rolled out and rescinded tariffs in 2026. Economists and CEOs often cited the resulting chaos from Trump’s practice for business uncertainty and confusion.
Trump still doesn’t get that We the People often end up paying the tariffs and rising prices result, directly impacting affordability.
Prices will likely increase, if Trump follows through with these new tariffs. Congress is talking about intervening, but the established pattern doesn’t bode well for any early or quick relief. The Trump Administration tends to actively resist rulings against their policies, push backs hard, and delays implementation.
With prices — like beef — already high, the stacking effect means other prices end up rising from demand. People who can’t buy beef buy chicken, for example, pushing up the demand on chicken, increasing prices.
While those EU prices might not directly drive up prices, pressures in the supply chain and indirect costs associated with them might be experienced.
Too early to say. Trump may chicken out from imposing the tariffs, or lower the tariff amounts — who knows?
I know the global markets didn’t like it, as many economists and investors worry about a trade war.
The only thing clear at this point is that 2026 is much like 2025: chaotic and uncertain.
With Trump still calling the shots, I expect it to get worse.
Sundaz Theme Music
Sunday, January 18, 2026, commenced as an extension of Friday and Saturday’s weather in Ashland. Dry, air stagnation continues from an inversion layer, making air unhealthy by trapping particles. Although now in the 30s to 40s — 32 degrees F at my house — blue sky and sunshine promise another venture into the sixties today.
Meaning temperatures in the 60s, of course, not the famous years of demonstrations, civil unrest, hippies, and war in the United States, the 1960s. Wait; that 60s may be coming, too, the way I.C.E. violently attacks We the People and Trump escalates military power to bully other nations.
As a 1960s teen, I watched confrontations between protestors and the Federal government on the television nightly news. Now, in 2026, I’m watching the news from Minnesota.
Minnesota has become the focal point of ICE tension in 2026. Trump ordered U.S. military troops in Alaska to be ready for deployment to Minnesota. Minnesota has National Guard ready in response to the ongoing unrest tied to ICE enforcement in Minneapolis.
That’s an interesting inversion of the 1960s, when state governments used national guard units to enforce segregation. Presidents Eisenhower (Republican) and Kennedy (Democrat) responded by Federalizing the national guard or sending in military troops to enforce court rulings.
Back in the 1960s, the perception was that states were resisting change and wanted to continue treating Blacks as lessor individuals, with fewer rights.
Now, Trump is trying to treat anyone who doesn’t support him and his policies as lessor individuals, with fewer rights, and using ICE to bully people into submission. Then, as now, race and power were key issues.
It’s not overly surprising. Progress is uneven. A relatively young nation — just 250 years old — the United States is still adjusting to this whole idea of We the People, with freedom, justice, and equality for all.
It’s a classic situation. Who has the most rights, Federal government, state government, or We the People? Trump’s posture is usually, “The State is Me, and I have the power.” He also claims that We the People gave him the power when he won the support to be POTUS, completely warping the concept that he’s the people’s servant.
After the morning news scan, The Neurons offer Dropkick Murphys and “Citizen I.C.E.” in the morning mental music stream. Not my usual genre, so I wasn’t familiar with the song, learning of it through Crooks & Liars. Watching the Minneapolis crucible to see what happens today, “Citizen I.C.E.” emerges as a worthy theme song.
May your day satisfy your needs today and start an upward trend of good things happening for you. I’m going to address my needs with a little coffee now, if you don’t mind. Cheers
“Standing Beside Her: Confronting ICE in the Heartland”
Protests against ICE swept across the United States last weekend. Many citizens filled the streets and lined sidewalks to protest ICE’s policies and deployments.
Those ICE policies and deployments led to escalated violence. The most shocking violence occurred when ICE agent Ross killed Renee Nicole Good, unarmed and in her car, in Minneapolis a few days into 2026.
This week, another report emerges of ICE agents threatening U.S. citizens. This is the story of Pastor Kenny Callaghan of Minnesota.
White and gay, Pastor Callaghan was standing with protestors a few days ago when an ICE agent confronted him. Pastor Callaghan told his story to news reporters.
Rev. Kenny Callaghan is the senior pastor at All God’s Children Metropolitan Community Church in Minneapolis. He was driving to work on the morning of Jan. 7 when he saw a large crowd on Portland Avenue.
Callaghan said he parked his car and walked three blocks toward the crowd and saw several ICE agents. At the time, Callaghan didn’t know why agents were there, but saw agents approach a Hispanic woman, so he went to stand beside her.
He heard her tell agents she wasn’t afraid of them. Then, he said there was a wave of energy. It was the news of Renee Good’s death.
“I welled up in energy, even more energy than I had, and I said at that time toward those ICE agents approaching this young Hispanic woman, ‘take me, take me instead of her, I am not afraid of you either’,” he said.
Callaghan said an ICE agent approached him and asked him to repeat what he said.
“I said I am not afraid and then they pointed a gun in my face, and the crowd was chanting louder and louder, they were also chanting at this time, ‘we are not afraid, we are not afraid.’ ICE put handcuffs on my hands and put me in a black SUV,” Callaghan said.
He said while he was handcuffed in the car, ICE agents approached him a few times, asking if he was scared, and he repeatedly said no. Callaghan said ICE agents then asked him for his ID and cellphone. He asked if he was being arrested, and then he said ICE slammed the door and walked away.
“A few moments later, they came back and they said, ‘Are you afraid yet?’ and I said ‘no,’ and then they said it ‘Well, you’re White. You wouldn’t be fun anyway.’ And then I was shocked because if I hadn’t seen enough, it was then that I knew that this staging that these ICE raids are really about fear and intimidation,” he said.
Many observers agree that Pastor Callaghan is right. Trump’s ICE policies aren’t about making America great again, immigrants, whether they’re illegal or not. ICE’s tactics are about threatening Americans to do as they say, or else.
For many of us, Trump’s ICE policies aren’t a surprise. Reports from Defense Secretary Esper emerged that Trump asked about shooting protestors in Trump’s first term. During that same period, Trump also suggested invoking the Insurrection Act as justification to send tens of thousands of soldiers to deal with protestors.
Since taking office in 2025, Trump increased ICE’s budget and role. He sent ICE agents into cities on missions to round up illegal immigrants but also sent National Guard units into multiple U.S. cities. Established in 2003, ICE — Immigration and Customs Enforcement — is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Under Trump, the agency is now violently confronting U.S. citizens far from our borders. The people they’re stopping are not immigrants and ICE agents often do not identify themselves.
Tell me, are you afraid yet?
Mundaz Theme Music
Munda, January 12, 2026, arrived in Ashland with little fanfare but plenty of cold.
I’m suspicious again of technology and weather forecasts. My weather system told me it was 30 degrees F last night when Alexa shared, 41 degrees F, with a low of 36. I provided feedback. Today, she is closer to my system, which says it’s 25 F outside. Sunny, hard frost coats part of the ground white under a sprawling blue sky.
Circumstances shorten this morning’s post as it’s our morning to deliver Food & Friends. This program delivers prepared meals from state and local agencies to people in need.
Before racing off to deliver meals, I do want to note how heartened I was that so many people protested Trump and demonstrate against ICE. More de-ICEing is needed, given the wanton way they arbitrarily act as judge, jury, and executioner.
So, in honor of those standing against them, or those, like Renee Good — dying while exercising her rights and freedoms as a citizen — I present today’s theme music.
Neil Young first offered us “Rockin’ in the Free World” in 1989 in response to the politics of that era, which included the Cold War. I think what we’re seeing now is worse in the U.S. I hope more people stand up to keep us in a free world.
May peace and grace be with you today and every day as we move forward. Cheers
Thirstdaz Theme Music
I’m working through tendrils of a new day, a new month, and a new year. Not much of it taxes me yet, but we’re only nine hours into it in Ashland.
Winter continues its weather games. Today, Thirstda, January 1, 2026, brings rain and a leaden, swollen sky. Winds whisper, howl, and moan. Temperatures around town reportedly range of 46 degrees F to 53. My house says it’s 51. Today’s high will be…51.
I posted news of Dad’s passing on Facebook and heard from many, including military peers, corporation co-workers, fellow writers-in-struggling, and friends on other continents. Comfort and thankfulness rose in me for so many taking the time from their lives to comment.
I’ve accepted Dad’s death on at least the surface. Flashes of not being able to speak or visit with him slide like gentle waves through my thoughts. Some tears fell yesterday. Today, I’m remembering him with fondness, chuckling and laughing at memories of how he smiled, laughed, and spoke.
As for the new year and month, I’m uncertain of what to expect. Last year was a ride on a cantankerous bear. Too many Trump and GOP actions dismayed my core. That core holds beliefs that We the People are supposed to have a voice in our government; that laws will be followed and enforced; that everyone is equal and deserves freedom and respect. Actions such as Trump’s rants about hoaxes, fake news, Democratic scum, and ICE rounding up people without due process all undermine my hopes.
I’ll continue voting, protesting, and writing about how Trump is conducting business. And I’ll keep trying to nurture hope and optimism that we’ll see a shift toward my hopeful vision of progress and democracy.
Here’s today’s music: “God Gave Rock and Roll to You”. The 1973 song was written by Russ Ballard. Ballard was in Argent at the time, so Argent performed and released it.
I suspect The Neurons planted the song in the morning mental music stream because I was thinking about working hard on the novel-in-progress, and the need to keep editing it. The song reflects those sentiments on one stanza:
Lyrics (h/t to Genius.com)
If you wanna be a singer or play guitar
Man, you’ve gotta sweat, or you won’t get far
‘Cause it’s never too late to work nine to five
And if you’re young, then you’ll never be old
Music can make your dreams unfold
How good it feels to be alive
Coffee is served again. May peace and grace find you and guide you along a hopeful path in the new year. Cheers
Thirstaz Wandering Political Thoughts
I might come across as pessimistic and resigned in many of my posts when I address this era of politics.
Yep, I do feel it’s another bad time for the United States. We have been through stuff like this before. This period feels like it’s reaching a crises.
Trump, bankrupt of morals, ethics-challenged, ignorant of history, and an unrepentant, pathological liar and narcissist, occupies the Gold Room (formerly known as the Oval Office) in the building formerly known as the White House. Enabled, inspired, and goaded by boot lickers draping their tongues over his shoes and sticking their heads up his ass, Trump is on a Make America Trash campaign. He’s abetted by a covey of almost covert right-wingers who are frequently members of the Heritage Foundation. Those right-wing cretins created the horrendous plan called Project 2025. Basically, they’re trying to re-write history, dismantle the government except for the military and a national police force, and abort We the People’s rights and freedoms.
It does not help that some members of Congress on the right willingly abrogate their responsibilities as defined by the U.S. Constitution to act as a check on the office and activities of the President of the United States. Nor does it help that the Supreme Court is eagerly stepping up to advance a right-wing agenda. But that’s where we’re at.
The right-wing’s history rewrite is all about telling us how great whites are. Especially white men. Particularly white rich men. Especially if they call themselves ‘Christians’. Doesn’t matter to them if these are small ‘c’ christians. They’re okay with Christians who use Christ as their moral compass and then turn 180 degrees from what he preached. Divorce and remarry, lie and cheat on your family, business, and country, turn away from the sick and poor — and even attack them because they’re not white and wealthy — they’re good with all that, so long as you call yourself a Christian and vote for other such Christians.
The rest of us aren’t good with that, though. We, the rest, don’t really categorize ourselves as white, male, or Christian. We do believe in helping one another, basically doing so to alleviate others’ suffering and misfortune. We also like to pay attention to and learn from history so mistakes aren’t repeated. Most of us, I think, believe in the general principle that we’re healthier, stronger, and better people by helping one another. And having healthier, stronger, and better people is accomplished through education and cooperation, along with equal freedom and justice. To that end, if you’re a human, you’re a part of us. We believe we’re all in this together.
That also means we recognize that your culture matters. So does your history and your individual identity and all the traits and differences that make you and me unique as individuals. We’re going to treat you like us and want you to do the same.
The right-wing disparages this as ‘woke’. They label it as DEI.
DEI and woke are horrible, offensive ideas to the right-wing. They prefer wealthy, male, white, and Christian. They tell us by deed and action, “Just keep that ‘woke’ stuff about freedom and equality to yourselves, you damn libruls.”
And that’s one of the problems for the right-wing and grandiose plans to rule the world. They think they’re stronger as individuals than we are as a group. They think that we can be sufficiently distracted that we don’t see what they’re doing. They think that our principles can be bought via bribes, goods, and special rights and privileges.
This is a problem for the right.
These Heritage Foundation people, these Neocons and Teabaggers, these Project 2025 and PNAC folks all know and understand that when We the People reached out to others and they reached out to us, we became friends, admirers, and supporters. We found common problems and worked to find common solutions, things that work for all of us. Yes, compromises were sometimes required, and that can often be a challenge. But we learned that when all of us pull together, when we work together, when we stand together, we can make great things happen.
That was the promise of the ‘left’, which isn’t actually that left in the United States, for the last fifty years plus. We made progress. We advanced. We prospered. More or less.
No, it wasn’t a rising tide for all. It wasn’t without stumbles.
Stumbles are expected. You don’t give up when you stumble and fall. You ask yourself, WTF just happened? You figure out why you fell and then try again without falling. And when we see others falling, we reach out and try to catch them and keep them from falling.
That’s why I’m so disappointed in Trump and MAGA, and the right-wing in general. They’re trying to change all that we’ve learned, not just as United States citizens, but as humans. They’re trying to usurp and bury all the ways in which we advanced.
I really don’t think their approach will work. Humans have experienced thousands of years of warfare and strife. We’ve endured kings, queens, dictators, and autocrats. We’ve seen how all those things undermine our civilization. And we’ve seen what can happen when we work and play together and try to avoid war and keep kings, queens, dictators from taking over.
And guess what? We think it’s a better idea that we’re ruling ourselves and not at war.
That’s why we’ll keep resisting Trump, the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025, Neocons, etc. Our vision of rights, freedom, education, prosperity, and good health for all of us regardless of who we and they are is more powerful than their vision of greed and privilege.
Even if they call themselves Christian.
Michael Seidel, writer 