Thoughts for the Day, January 26, 2026: I have calmed down, but I still have a lot to say. If you do nothing else, please see my video of the day, which I put at the beginning of the blog

I got a few things off my chest with my unprecedented Sunday post yesterday. In my conversation with my sister Nancy last night, she referred me to the following video, which helped me immensely. Thank you, Nancy, this is well worth your time.

**********************************************************************************************************

Video of the Day: Reverend Adam Hamilton from the pulpit Sunday January 25, 2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18gi6Tz8cY/

***********************************************************************************************************

Trust is a terrible thing to lose

I never thought I would live to see a day that trust in the Department of Justice had fallen so low that a federal judge felt compelled to issue a judicial order to prevent the DOJ from destroying evidence. Unfortunately, it is where we are now as law enforcement from Minnesota and Minneapolis are trying to investigate a killing but are being prevented from doing so by DOJ.

Mary Geddry reported the following on Sunday. As protests spread from Minneapolis to cities across the country, a federal judge quietly did something radical: he ordered federal agencies to preserve evidence related to Pretti’s death. That ruling came in response to Minnesota officials accusing federal authorities of actively obstructing investigations, a charge that could win the understatement of the year award. When judges have to step in to prevent evidence from disappearing, the problem is no longer “engineered chaos,” it’s full-on institutional panic.

*************************************************************************************************************

Speak up and speak out. Make “good trouble”.

Harry Littman said this today. Whatever one’s views of the circumstances that ICE agents confront, the gravity of …lies (by the administration) to the American people can’t be overstated. The highest federal official immediately jumped in to defame and disparage the victim of an ICE killing. That is exactly how totalitarian governments react. It’s the sort of official dishonesty that can and should bring down governments…

Next in the familiar template, federal officials band together to forcibly keep local law-enforcement from investigating the crime scene. Their bullying of state counterparts extends to the raw refusal to honor a state-issued judicial warrant. (Which ruled law enforcements were entitled to access and investigate the crime scene and related information)

Taken together—the shooting itself and the federal response afterward—the episode screams out profound contempt for both the Constitution and the public it exists to serve.

There are dozens of critical details that require immediate attention on the part of dozens of different actors in Minnesota, Washington, and around the country. These include… the preservation of the crime scene and the strongest countermeasures to prevent ICE and the feds from interfering with the ability to fully investigate and prosecute.

*********************************************************************************************************

You knew this would happen.

Elliot Kirschner is speaking out today like never before.…Let’s be very clear. None of this is a surprise. None of it. Not the cruelty. Not the corruption. Not the recklessness.

• · Not the lawlessness, the scale of the terror, or the damage to the world order.

• · Not the attacks on science or civility, the rewriting of history, or the wrecking ball taken to our constitutional order.

…You knew it and said so. So did people you know and love. So did candidates for office, former presidents, and leaders across society. Tens of millions of voters cast their ballots fully aware of what was likely to come.

When the history of this age is written, there will be no shortage of evidence about what went wrong. There will be no plausible claim of ignorance.

Scholars …as they catalogue the speeches, the court filings, and the protests, they will see time and again how clearly the danger was identified and documented in real time.

These future historians will have nearly infinite contemporary sources warning that the Supreme Court had been corrupted. That the violent insurrection of January 6 should have forced a lasting recalibration of American democracy. That the current president should have been barred from re-election. That science was under attack. That corruption was rampant. That this regime was beholden to tyrants abroad and intent on the destruction of democracy at home. And the list goes on.

…those who look back will find something else that demands explanation. They will see that the people who most clearly recognized the danger were often dismissed and ignored ..by those in positions of power in media, politics, and business who congratulated themselves on being sober-minded and pragmatic. Too many who understood what was coming were ...were told to calm down. They were chastised by a mainstream that prized decorum over diagnosis and tone over truth.

…It will not be enough to replace this regime with an administration that promises a return to the norms of the past. Those norms helped create the conditions that brought us here. Accountability is essential. (H)ow we assess and share information, how we define what is responsible… and whose voices are elevated or dismissed (is also essential)

This work cannot wait. It must move alongside resistance and rebuilding…if we are serious about saving our democracy.

We knew what was coming. We said so. We are fighting for our country now. And we welcome new allies.

*******************************************************************************************************

The reality of the “Big Beautiful Bill”

The reality of the “Big Beautiful Bill” is hitting hard this month. The Big Beautiful Bill provided tax breaks for the wealthy and is crushing the middle class. It is not the liberal media saying it, it is the Wall Street Journal that is saying it.

From the WSJ today. Millions of Americans are starting to see their monthly health-insurance bills rise, a new pressure point for a nation still frustrated with the high cost of living.

Many of those facing the most substantial dollar increases are middle-income Americans who buy health insurance through the marketplaces set up by the government’s Affordable Care Act. Expanded subsidies for those insured under the ACA expired on Dec. 31—the central battle in last year’s record-long government shutdown.

Now, the newly calculated insurance bills are coming due, and Americans are having to figure out how to pay up, or go without.

Lenny and Mandee Wilson, who are 47 years old and live in Charleston, W.Va., paid $255 a month last year for a low-end ACA plan. Late last year, they learned their bill would be going up to $2,155 a month, a sum nearly triple their monthly mortgage payment of about $760.

The Wilsons each squeezed in one last checkup before the end of 2025 and are now going without insurance. They are planning to put the money they used to spend on their premiums into an emergency fund. They will avoid any preventive care and hope their modest savings can cover any medical costs.

Their ACA insurance wasn’t “the greatest plan, but it gave us some coverage and made sure we wouldn’t go bankrupt if something happened,” said Lenny Wilson, who co-owns an IT business. His wife, Mandee Wilson, makes pottery.

Living without health insurance feels precarious. “If we step off the ladder wrong and make a trip to the ER or have to spend the night in the hospital for any reason, that would pretty much wipe us out financially,” Lenny said.

The couple faced such a big increase because they earn about $110,000 a year combined, or more than 400% of the federal poverty level. That group is hardest hit by the expiring subsidies.

*************************************************************************************************************

A big week for Michigan’s Men’s basketball team.

Michigan (18-1 and ranked #3) plays Nebraska (20-0 and ranked #5) on Tuesday at home and then travels to E. Lansing to play MSU (18-2 and ranked #7) on Friday.

This will be a crucial week for all three teams if they want to win the regular season B1G title. In the B1G Nebraska is 9-0 while Michigan and MSU are tied with Illinois at 8-1. Both MSU’s and Illinois lone losses are at the hands of Nebraska.

Michigan will need to get back to the form that they showed in late November and early December when they were beating good teams by an average of over 30 points.

Recently, Michigan’s three-point shooting has declined, while their turnovers have increased. If these trends continue, Michigan will need to ratchet up their defense, which at times, is the best in the country, while continuing their dominance of points in the paint and fast break points.

It is going to be fun to watch.

***************************************************************************************************

Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative”

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

*****************************************************************************************************

Quote of the Day: “Going back to... Renee Good and today, man, it’s just sad. It’s scary. It’s gonna end bad. It’s already ended badly twice. And somebody’s got to step up and be adults because, man, two people have died for no reason. And it’s just sad.” Charles Barkley, on TNT’s NBA Show following the cancellation of the Minneapolis Timberwolves game against the Warriors on Saturday.

Orchid of the Day: Piston’s head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, for being named the head coach for the Eastern Conference NBA All Star Game.

Onion of the Day: The Trump administration for their false narratives about Alex Pretti immediately following his killing on Saturday.

No condolences for the family. No “sorry it happened”. Instead, an immediate response that he was terrorist and professional agitator who brought a gun to a protest to assassinate federal agents. This was doubled down with their comments on the Sunday during morning news shows. The administration’s comments couldn’t be further from the truth.

Question of the Day: Have you spoke up and spoke out today? Have you made “good trouble”? Have you contacted your congressperson yet? What are you waiting for?

Lyrics of the Day: One of my favorite songs of the sixties. It is more of statement than a question.

There’s something happenin’ here
A what it is ain’t exactly clear
There’s a man with a gun over there
A tellin’ me I got to beware
I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s goin’ down
There’s battle lines being drawn
And nobody’s right, if everybody’s wrong
Young people speaking their minds
A gettin’ so much resistance from behind
Time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s goin’ down
What a field day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singin’ songs and a carryin’ signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s goin’ down
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
Step out of line, the man come and take you away
And we better stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s goin’ down
You better stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s goin’ down

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for January 21, 2026. Another One Bites the Dust by Queen

Video of the Day: See above

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.