Tag: taste

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.

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Thirstdaz Theme Music

Today is Thirstda, August 28, 2025. We awoke to a pleasant 65 F. A cloud regatta keeps the sky from being blue and free. 96 F is expected today.

After dreaming about having a new kitten, I got up and faced a new challenge: remembering who was in the Partridge Family. The Patridge Family was an American pop singing group and television sitcom.

I owe this AM conundrum to an exchange during Mexican Train on Saturday night. Someone said something about getting happy. It was late. We were giddy by then. That’s when we have the most fun. Usually, we play off words and sing songs. Hilarity ensues. But in parallel, we’d been pursuing 1960s pop culture trivia. I asked our group, “Who sang, ‘Come On, Get Happy’?” None remembered the song, forcing me to sing it. None still remembered, so I played found a Youtube video of it. Now I pass it on to you.

Except, The Neurons were hijacked by The Go-Go’s, “Our Lips Are Sealed”. That video followed the other. I found the 1981 offering more interesting. I remember watching that video in some club on Okinawa, where I was assigned to Kadena Air Base from May of 81 through the end of 84.

My wife and I mentioned the Mexican Train game to multiple people. Many were familiar with it. One friend said she hated it but never explained why. She’s a very controlling individual who likes order, so I suspect the game’s chaos might annoy her. That’s just my suspicion and I really want to hear her explanation.

One thing that’s offered here in Ashland is lithium water. One can drink it straight out of the fountain at Lithia Park’s entrance. I mention this because we discussed the value of lithium in treating dementia last night. One individual said, “All we need to do is take a sip out of the fountain every day.” Another responded, “But that water tastes like wet farts.”

I read an excellent Mother Jones article today: The Brain Rot Cabinet. As the article points out, Trump’s cabinet are deeply invested in wild and unproven conspiracies. What’s important to Trump is that they share his values and are obedient lapdogs. They will do nothing good for the nation nor the world. Meanwhile, all those of us still anchored to reality can do is grit our teeth and resist.

Representative Ashley Hinson (Iowa, MAGA) got an earful when she tried convincing her constituents that the Big Beautiful Bill was wonderful, claiming it raised wages and improved the cost of living. We the People in Iowa weren’t having it. According to an article in The New Republic (via Yahoo), people shouted back objections.

“Higher wages?” shouted one woman incredulously. “For who? For you?”

“Cost of living is higher than it’s ever been,” another woman said.

“You are a fraud,” a constituent shouted at her at the time.

I only hope more wake up, stand up, shout back, fight back, and resist.

Coffee has made a controlled landing into my system once again. I hope peace and grace shadows you in all your endeavors today. Here we go, one more time. Cheers

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Wenzda’s Wandering Thoughts

“Priscilla wants Peeps. She’s providing them.”

My wife informed me of these things as we shopped for Easter Brunch ‘garnish’ last week. Chocolates, jellybeans, Jordan almonds, gummi Easter treats. Quite a cornucopia of sugar.

I was glad we weren’t buying Peeps. I dislike the marshmallow concoctions. Recent flavors like Dr. Pepper doesn’t sell them to me. My sister loves them. Especially stale Peeps. Gads.

I joke about Peeps flavors with friends. None of them like them, either.

“What if they were beer flavored?” I asked.

My friends seem horrified and mystified. “How will that work?” one asks. “Will they be sweet?”

“Yes, marshmallow beer,” I answer.

Eye rolling and groans meet this answer.

Priscilla provided a bowl of neatly organized Peeps. She’s always organized. Just her way.

I was staring at the bowl. She joined me. “I don’t see any of the new-flavored Peeps,” I said.

“No.” Priscilla frowned. “I only buy traditional Peeps.”

Hours later, clean up began at the Brunch. It looked like the bowl of Peeps had lost one. I had not seen anyone eating any.

“Want to take some Peeps home?” Priscilla asked.

“No, thanks,” my wife and I sang together.

Priscilla nodded. “We’ll probably just throw them out.”

But I wondered: will she really eat them in secret later?

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Friday’s Wandering Thoughts

My wife and I are fumbling around plans to move to the northeastern US. Part of that is researching locales and checking out houses on real estate sites. Some of the interior decor ideas startle us, and not in good ways. We’ve always preferred lighter colors on our walls. Seeing them in cherry red, lemon yellow, and apple green — not infrequently in the same room — takes our breath away. We remind ourselves, it’s just paint.

Several facets strike us about these homes with brightly painted walls. They seem to be older homes, and they seem like they’re in places where cold, long winters are endured. Just saying.

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Thursday’s Wandering Thoughts

Stopped by Starbucks yesterday to meet a friend. They had a big display up celebrating twenty years of the pumpkin spice flavor. I remembered the first time I ever had one. My wife and I lived in Half Moon Bay, California. Relatives from the eastern US were visiting. An oddly chilly, damp day, we went to the Tech Museum in San Jose. Not far away was a Starbucks. We walked to it to get a hot coffee drink and on a whim, several of us had pumpkin spice lattes. The flavor surprised and impressed me.

But they or I changed in the intervening time. I had a sampler they’d put up; after a sip, the tastebuds said, “Oh, god, no.” I tossed it.

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Taste. What I Watched – and Didn’t

Maybe it’s me. Oh, and my wife.

We’re not enamored with either the GOT or LOTR prequels. What are they called again?

We watched the maiden episodes of each of these new prequels. Yes, it’s but one episode of each which we watched. We had our own opinions about them. I’ll not interpret my wife’s thinking, but she was disappointed. I’ll say that I didn’t find anyone to root for in either. They threw so much at me, dangling storylines, trying to force tension while showering me with music and CGI, that it all elicited a weary shrug for me. Yes, it’s just one episode. Needs to grow on me, right? Give it time, right?

Right.

Much better in my mind were several other shows. One that we’re watching now is The Nevers on HBO MAX. It’s a compelling, twisted, and complicated science fiction fantasy speculative fiction beast. Terrific acting, excellent production values, tantalizing spoonfuls of past, present, and future possibilities are regularly dribbled out. We cheer for many on that show.

Second, one we finished, was Paper Girls on Prime. Those were four girls and young women which we enjoyed watching and cheering, with an intriguing and different take on time travel. It was a fascinating look at life as well, about what we try and hope to become, and what we share with the world. I hope the sophomore season is as entertaining as the first. Doesn’t always happen for us. Like The Boys. Loved year one. Year two did little for us.

Of course, some, like The Umbrella Academy and Stranger Things stayed strong for me. My wife didn’t feel the same with either one, as far as I know, but I don’t want to elaborate on that because I didn’t follow her reasoning.

Likewise, we didn’t enjoy Picard season two as so many did, but Strange New Worlds delivered a solid taste of the Star Trek franchise.

We know that taste is subjective. Need the truth of that? Talk to others about food and drink, like pizza and coffee. You’ll see.

Others will love these new series no matter what. Others will never ‘get them’. Like, as fer instance, I enjoyed The Sopranos but had friends who disliked the lying, killing, and violence. Justified always engaged me but friends and others dismissed it as a cowboy soap opera. Yeah, huh? Okay, maybe some, but it had smart dialogue and strong acting.

I also enjoyed the Dune series when it came out, but it didn’t stay with me the way that the novels did. Of course, I was a young and impressionable human when I read the books. Never at all got into the Foundation series. It was a strike out for me. Again, others loved it.

While I loved Game of Thrones and enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies, I’m dubious that prequels will ever surmount the favorites upon the top of my list, The Last Kingdom and The Expanse. That could change. Someone might bring out The Murderbot Diaries as a successful series. And I’d be interested in seeing how someone handles When Women Were Dragons.

While I’m at it, I’m bemused that Quantum Leap has been rebooted, and that The Sopranos have a prequel series. While I’m at it, did you hear of the Hulu show called Reboot about a reboot of a once popular show? Perry Mason has already been redone. Multiple Sherlock Holmes versions exist and compete. Magnum PI and Hawaii 5-0 were rebooted. What show is next? I doubt they can do I Love Lucy. It wouldn’t be the same without Lucy, would it, although they brought us Lucy. It’s all about finding something that satisfies and entertains. That’s a pretty hard task.

Now excuse me, it’s back to my novel writing for me. Cheers

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