Wednesday’s Wandering Political Thoughts

A list of posts and columns have helped me crystalize thinking about the current Trump Administration, ICE, and Minnesota evennts.

As with many Americans, I’m grieving Alex Pretti’s death. ICE agents shot him to death, and video evidence contradicts Homeland Security’s claims that agents were defending themselves.

One, I’m for standing up for our rights, and fully support the freedom to assemble, protest, and demonstrate.

I’m less enthusiastic about the 2nd Amendment and gun violence in the United States. However, Alex Pretti’s death wasn’t due to him having a gun. Pretti had a gun, but obeyed the rules and laws 2nd Amendment advocates have established in the last fifty years.

Secondly, the Trump Administration are tangling themselves up trying to create space between the Kyle Rittenhouse and the Alex Pretti situations. Rittenhouse, a teenager, illegally carried a firearm across state lines to a protest and shot three people in 2020, killing two. This was deemed justified.

Alex Pretti had a legally procured handgun, which he didn’t draw. ICE agents beat him on the ground and then shot Pretti, a nurse. Some witnesses reported that Pretti was shot ten times.

Paul Krugman takes up the arguments in “Was This a Murder Too Far?“ He notes that in the first ICE killing in Minneapolis, the MAGA faithful closed ranks and blamed the victim.

When Good was killed on January 7th, the Trump administration circled the wagons, insisting that Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who shot her, was defending himself as she tried to run him down. A close look at the videos showed that this was a lie: Ross leaned into the car to shoot her at close range through the windshield, not something you would do if you thought a car was about to run you over. He then shot her twice more through the side window as the car rolled by in front of him, one of those shots being fatal.

But the MAGA faithful closed ranks, echoing the party line that she was a militant terrorist, albeit one with a dog in the back of the car, who smiled and said soothing words to her killer. Per usual, business remained silent as Good’s character was slandered. And so it looked as if the Trumpists would just bull through with impunity as they had many times before.

Krugman contrasts Good’s death with what happened when ICE shot and killed Alex Pretti, a legally armed.

Media coverage has been much clearer than the coverage after Good’s death. As I was writing this, the Wall Street Journal headline read “Videos Contradict U.S. Account of Minneapolis Shooting”. After some initial equivocation, the New York Times is calling out administration lies and featuring a chilling moment-by-moment analysis of videos showing what really happened.

Big corporations based in Minnesota, after staying completely silent, have finally said something, even if it’s just an anodyne call for “de-escalation of tensions.”

Centrist Democrats, who have spent weeks trying to ignore Minneapolis so they could talk about the price of eggs, are finally taking a stand and appear ready to vote against another round of DHS funding. And several Republicans are now speaking out.

The NRA and other gun groups are now calling for a full investigation of Pretti’s murder, angry that the DHS justifies the execution of Pretti because he was, entirely legally, in possession of a gun. Even Fox News’ s Maria Bartiromo, a tireless Trump cheerleader, sounded patently skeptical when questioning Kash Patel about DHS’s outlandish claims.

ICE remains in Minnesota. Several changes have taken place. The two agents who killed Alex Pretti are on leave. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, a visible presence in Minnesota, left for California.

I keep wondering, what will happen next? In Comment on This: Trump will Steal Election 2026, The Psy of Life posted a suggestion Trump might steal the 2026 midterms.

Trump has joked about not having elections in 2026. Jokes are Trump’s means of putting something out there to see who reacts. Trump also demonstrates no interest in states’ rights, the Constitution, laws, or checks and balances, except as props when he needs a word salad to rationalize events.

Mary Trump reminds us who Trump is in a Substack post, “The Tipping Point”. (Kudos to Nan for making me aware of it.)

When called to serve in Vietnam, he deferred five times. He and his father engaged in racist rental practices so egregious that they were sued by Richard Nixon’s DOJ in 1973. His businesses declared bankruptcy six times between 1991 and 2009. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he disparaged military officers who died while serving their country; mocked a disabled reporter; and insinuated that Sen. John McCain, a legitimate war hero, was a coward. In the Hollywood Access tape, he admitted to sexually harassing women. In 2023, a jury of his peers found him liable for defaming and sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll. A year later, another jury found that he had “acted in malice when he denied Carroll’s allegations” and awarded her $83.3 million. That same year, he was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records (also by a jury of his peers) and his company was ordered to pay $450 million in damages.

Moving forward, we need to keep in mind what Trump did in business and life before.

Like, what’s information the Epstein Files reveals about Trump that he doesn’t want us to know?

January 28, 2026 0

Monday’s Theme Music

Monday, January 26, 2026, has landed. Frigid cold holds much of the U.S. Ashland in Oregon remains 40 degrees and dry, but partly cloudy, with a high of 57 F expected this afternoon.

Much of my attention shifts between Minnesota, Trump in general, and the winter storm, Fern. My general reflections at this point make me think that the U.S. is in danger of becoming a wasteland, a rich center for the wealthy but a miserable place for the rest. As education and norms are peeled away and freedom is squashed, the future has a bleaker look to it.

For what, many of us ask? We know Trump is the figurehead and has enabled others to act on his behalf. More, the Project 2025 authors are driving it. Their intention seems to be, tear it all down, and then we’ll rebuild in an image of our own making. The image seems to be, believe in our God, buy our goods, and keep your opinions to yourself. In return, we’ll call you free, and remind that this is America, land of the free and home of the brave.

And if you resist, we will vilify, harass, and even shoot you. We will gas you and strip you of your dignity and rights.

To which We the People reply, bring it on.

Today’s music is brought to you by The Neurons. They identified “Baba O’Riley” by The Who as ideal theme music for this final Monday in January, 2026.

Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don’t need to fight
To prove I’m right
I don’t need to be forgiven

Don’t cry
Don’t raise your eye
It’s only teenage wasteland

Sally, take my hand
We’ll travel south ‘cross land
Put out the fire, don’t look past my shoulder
The exodus is here
The happy ones are near
Let’s get together before we get much older

h/t to songmeanings.com

So let’s continue getting together and stand up for the United States that we believe in, a nation where we can criticize the government without threats of lawsuits or violence, a nation of elected officials who believe they work for We the People to help us all rise and be stronger, safer, and freer, and not just a privileged few.

Hope it’s a grand, safe day for you, one that helps establish a firm foundation for the needs ahead. Cheers

January 26, 2026 0

At the Moment

Middle age

Young age

Old age

A childhood time

Post modernism

Pre-industrial

Eras we define

Space age

Information age

Net age

Here we come

Knowledge at our fingertips

Truth is on the run

Thinking

Wishing

Wondering what will be

How will history

Change this age

Of truth

Of change

Of greed?

Sitting on the cusp

Of something

Trying to make sense

How long can this go on

With so many

On the fence?

If you ask me what it means

Uncertainty arises

I think I know what I see

I’m not sure

I like it

January 25, 2026 1

A Symptom of the Age, or Something Worse?

Today, January 24, 2026, the news reported that ICE killed another American citizen in Minnesota.

As with the death of Renee Good earlier this month, Homeland Security claims the protestor, Jeffrey R Pretti, was obstructing justice and that ICE agents feared for themselves. Early video evidence of Pretti’s death shows something else happening than what Homeland Security claims, a disturbing and continuing trend. Watching Good’s death, many of us saw a woman driving away. Others claimed she was driving her car at the agent. Later evidence revealed that AI was used to alter the original video, obfuscating the truth.

Whatever circumstances surround Good’s death, the Trump administration closed ranks, blocking local and state investigations. Nothing released or transpired since then has given reason to believe an open and truthful investigation is forthcoming.

Trump has shaped this climate by previously and consistently spreading misinformation. Further, Trump’s pattern of comments raises concerns that government violence against Americans under his administration is part of larger and more dangerous intentions.

Trump suggested heavy Federal presence was needed in Los Angeles and Portland (OR) because the cities were on fire, stories debunked before any troops were deployed, causing his to wonder — why were they there?

Before Trump federalized Washington, D.C.’s police force, he claimed he needed to counter “rampant crime,” but statistics and studies didn’t support that reasoning. Trump claimed Chicago residents were “screaming for us to come” despite significant decreases in violent crimes.

In such an era, I worry the Trump administration will again stop any open investigation of Pretti’s death. In his second inauguration speech, Trump declared, “I want to be remembered as a Peacemaker and Unifier.” With actions speaking louder than words, that is not how I expect Trump to be remembered.

As a manager and retired senior NCO from the military, I learned to investigate mistakes to find what went wrong to prevent reoccurrences. As leader of the Federal government’s executive branch, Trump should welcome open and transparent investigations, and order changes as necessary to ICE’s methodology.

Without such investigations, my doubt grows that we’ll see meaningful change. Without change and clarity about what caused these deaths, I worry for my fellow citizens’ safety, and for the future of our nation.

January 24, 2026 0

Saturday’s Theme Music

Today is January 24, 2026.

Saturday came to Ashland dressed in the same weather that Friday wore. Coldish but clear, with sources reporting 36 to 46 degrees F in Ashland, with blue skies. We no longer have a stagnant air advisory and the high will be in the 50s.

As I watch the storm developing in the eastern U.S., I realize that I’ve taken on a new life as a tracker. My tracking life is an old life, but just freshly understood — tracking weather, prices, people’s health along with their moods and situations, and politics.

Sis reports what’s up with Mom, which is mostly moods and mental issues. The truth is, Mom’s issues made co-existing with her a struggle, no matter who it is. A sad trend, sure, but we’ve seen this happening for years. When her boyfriend, Frank, was alive, she complained about him, accusing the 95-year-old of being mean, cheating on her, and secretly plotting and planning unnamed things.

Mom’s prescriptions and credit cards are now the issue. Mom insists she doesn’t have a co-pay; she does until she maxes her deductible. Her credit card was blocked because Frank’s name was on it, too, and his family tried closing it. Sis reports daily rounds about the co-pay and credit cards. Mom is furious with sis because sis argues back and has the receipts, which shows what’s going on. Mom ends with telling sis that sis is being mean — just as Mom used to say about Frank.

As for politics…

Trump requires heavy tracking energy, as that meme shows. His logic defies logic, his history defies history, and his facts defy the truth. That shifts heavy lifting to those aware of these things — tracking them. We know the real story when he says that prescription drugs will be 1,000% (or more) lower or that he’s stopped hundreds of wars and saved millions of lives. We live the truth that the economy and the deficit are not rosy, as he declares.

The Davos show was interesting. According to some reports, he was expected to make an announcement about using 401(k)s to buy houses. But he never mentioned that, instead focusing on himself and disparaging the rest of the world, particularly our allies. Speaking in Switzerland, he said that we’d all be speaking German, if not for the United States, another testament to his vast wasteland of broken understanding.

So much of this places me in a waiting stage, waiting to see what happens with Mom, the economy, politics, the weather, and our life. I’d selected “Wind of Change” by the Scorpions as today’s theme music. It plays in my morning mental music stream, an homage to Francis Buchholz, the group’s bassist who recently died. Written in the USSR during perestroika, the song reflects the sense of change in the nation as realization arrived, the cold war is ending.

Look at the song’s lyrics:

The world is closing in, and did you ever think
That we could be so close like brothers?
The future’s in the air, I can feel it everywhere
I’m blowing with the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away (dream away)
In the wind of change

It’s about moods, expectations, and how they impact us. That’s why I think it perfect for today.

Stay warm, be safe, and keep tracking what matters to you. May the day bring you grace and peace. Cheers

January 24, 2026 2

Friday’s Theme Music

It’s Friday, January 23, 2026. Eight more days, and 2026’s first month is done.

Ashland’s weather is again blue sky, sunshine, and 36 to 46 degrees F, with stagnant air. I guess the weather isn’t into changing much around here.

Reading of the advance of that big winter storm smothering the eastern U.S., I’m happy with my weather today. Snow, ice, freezing rain, sleet, and record cold temperatures are aligned to strike. All of you in that weather’s path, take care and hang on.

***Tell me you don’t know the difference between weather and climate without telling me***

It’s sad that people like Donald Trump don’t understand the difference between weather and climate. I don’t think it’s a failure of education as much as it’s lazy thinking. As they say, weather is your mood today; climate is your personality.

I’d like to insert a courtesy reminder that today is a Day of Truth and Justice. This is to remind us that an ICE agent killed a person, Renee Good, earlier this month. Since then, ICE has increased its presence and violence in Minnesota.

While official-sounding reasons about immigration sweeps are announced, the primary reason seems to be retaliation. That explanation fits with the pattern to date under Trump 47. Minnesota is blue and Donald Trump is levying vengeance on any state that he didn’t carry, in much the same way that he’s trying to bully other nations to do whatever he thinks is best.

To counter Trump’s tactics and strategy, a general boycott to support Minnesota and those suffering from ICE’s attacks on Americans is in effect today, January 23, 2026. If you care, don’t buy, please.

For me, that means staying at home to write and not spending any money for anything past what’s already committed for health, safety, and security, such as electricity and water.

The Neurons inserted a song by The Smiths in the morning mental music stream, “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”. The trigger for the song’s recall was, “Why do I give valuable time to people who don’t care if I live or die?”

I believe it’s a general reflection that many of us are trying to improve everyone’s life. That includes some people who don’t care about others living or dying. Some even have expressed it online with lines like, “Die Liberal Scum”. It’s enough to make you wonder, as The Smiths did.

My hope for you today is that you’re safe, healthy, and warm. Happy would be nice, too, if it can be managed. For now, I’ll accept coffee. Cheers

January 23, 2026 1

A Car & Its Driver

I paced the room, waiting for word about my wife’s 2003 Ford Focus. The car was recently stopping on its own, unsafe and inconvenient.

I resisted thinking it was a battery at first. The car cranked up and fired without any issues but then died.

My wife didn’t think it was a battery. “It starts up. Nothing dims, and it doesn’t have that weak, sluggish sound when it starts.”

I agreed in principle. I checked the battery, confirming, no loose wires or cables, intact and clean. A date on the battery’s side, 05 20, surprised me.

Telling my spouse about it, I added, “I didn’t think the battery was that old.”

We reminisced about buying it. Delivering Food & Friends alone because the COVID pandemic was underway, her car died enroute. She called me to rescue her, which I gleefully did to escape the house.

I reminded her, recent ‘high-discharge’ batteries don’t show the same dying battery symptoms we grew up seeing. Then I recalled, it was cold when the car died on her a couple times this week. Cold affects how much energy batteries can deliver.

I decided, checking the battery was where to begin. An appointment at Les Schwab, a mile away, was made for 10 AM this morning.

I started the Focus without any issue; it died five seconds later. I started it again. Death came five seconds later.

Three times was a charm, but I worried about the car dying as I drove to the appointment.

The Les Schwab tech confirmed, bad battery. “One cell is completely dead,” he said.

That fit, to me. A couple hundred dollars later, we believe we have the problem solved.

Whether the problem is truly solved won’t be clear until the car has been driven normally a few times. I have high confidence it’s fixed, though.

But — knock on wood.

Just in case.

January 22, 2026 0

Thirstdaz Theme Music

Today is Thursday, January 22, 2026.

Ashland continues a weather pattern of cold nights, warming days, blue skies, and air stagnation. Blue skies came, went, and returned yesterday. Like yesterday, today’s highs will register over 50.

I’m happy to report that Alexa, online, and my system closely agree that it’s cold this morning. Alexa calls it 31, my system tells me it’s 27 F, and Ashland’s temperature online says, 32. Rejoice!

It looks warmer out there, an illusion of golden sunshine on majestic but naked oak branches lit against sky blue. Stepping out, as Papi will tell you, is a different matter. He did his business and hurried back in to work through breakfast.

Mom and sis each report adjustments have been made, and acceptance of their new relationship is growing. Each still complains about the other but in gentler terms, with more compliments for one another sprinkled in. Hope remains alive that Mom living at sis’s house will eventually thrive.

Sis says they’re preparing for a big winter storm in Pittsburgh, up to twelves inches of snow. She stocked up on baked goods to prepare.

It’s always interesting how things change and stay the same. Weather is one, Mom and sis are another. Trump is a third.

Trump wants Greenland ‘for the United States’, threatening eight allies with tariffs. Global markets responded with fast drops based on worries about a trade war. Whether that impacted Trump’s thinking, he withdrew the tariff threats on those eight nations.

We wait to see what Trump will do next. He promised to cap credit card interest rates by January 20. Didn’t happen.

“We’re going to issue a dividend to our middle-income people and lower-income people, about $2,000,” Trump told the press Nov. 10. “And we’re going to use the remaining tariffs to lower our debt.”

Nobody has received that check. Trump didn’t remember making that promise when people asked about it.

And, let’s not overlook the Trump phone. Promised in 2025, there were rumors of about 600,000 pre-orders. None have been reported as received or delivered.

I’ve heard whispers from some that maybe a tipping point was reached with Trump. I’m not sure that’s so and won’t let myself get optimistic about it.

Thinking about what they’d seen, The Neurons brought up Green Day and their song, “Waiting”.

Now, time to chug coffee and head out to the repair shop to deliver my wife’s vehicle and await their verdict. The car sometimes completely dies without warning. It’s over 20 years old but in good shape, so we have our fingers crossed that something quick and easy will be found. Taking a book with me, in case it’s a long wait.

I hope positive energy fills your day and good things come your way, today and every day. Cheers