Thoughts for the Day, January 28, 2026: This is what happens when you are surrounded by "yes"

This is what happens when you surround yourself with people who tell you what you want to hear and not what you need to hear.

In over 40 years of leadership, I encouraged people to tell me what I needed to hear. I knew I wasn’t smart enough to have all the answers. I knew that my team members’ opinions and ideas when different than mine would allow me to make better decisions.

As I look at Trump’s immigration policy, I firmly believe the recent failures in Minnesota are a direct result of Trump being surrounded by people who only tell him what he wants to hear, not what he needs to hear.

Public opinion supported securing our borders. Public opinion supported the deportation of violent criminals. Unfortunately, Trump during the campaign promised he would implement the greatest deportation plan in the history of our country. He said he wanted to deport 15 million people.

Trump put people in place who were more than willing to carry out his desires. People like Kristi Noem, Steve Miller, and Greg Bovino. These were people who couldn’t take a big picture approach, and push back on Trump, by saying we have secured the borders, but the public will not stand for us detaining U.S. citizens or people who are legally in the county. The public will not tolerate military type takeovers of our cities. The public will not tolerate the shooting and killing of U.S. citizens who are protesting aggressive deportation methods. The public wants us to do this in a legal, methodical, and humane manner.

Not only did Trump not have anyone in his inner circle pushing back on him, there were also no Republican members of congress who publicly pushed back on Trump and his team about his deportation tactics. In fact, Republican congress members passed the “Big Beautiful Bill”, which provided ICE and Border Patrol, with the most funding they have ever received. The Republican members of congress passed this bill knowing that they were giving the Trump administration carte blanche power to do what it wanted to do when it came to aggressive deportation methods.

There was no pushback within the Trump administration or from Republican members of congress when Nicole Goode was killed. There was no pushback after ICE agents broke down the door to a home without a legal warrant and removed a person and a young child who was legally in the country. There was no pushback after an agent shot a person in the leg.

It took the killing of, Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen to for members of the Trump administration and Republican members of congress to pushback on Trump. It took irresponsible comments by Kristi Noem, Steve Miller and Greg Bovino immediately following the killing of Pretti, for some members of Trump’s administration and some Republican members of Congress to finally push back on Trump’s aggressive deportation methods. It took a tragedy to make the pushback happen.

All of this could have been avoided if Trump hadn’t surrounded himself with people who only told him what he wanted to hear. All of this could have been avoided if Republican members of Congress would have told Trump what he needed to hear, not what he wanted to hear.

Rather than taking the win that came with securing the borders and then intelligently and methodically removing the illegal immigrants who had criminal records, Trump wanted it all. He wanted to secure the borders and get rid of all illegal immigrants faster than the system could handle. He wanted to deport 15 million people, whether this was realistic or not. No one in his administration had the guts to push back on him. No Republican members of Congress had the guts to push back on him.

This is what happens when leaders surround themselves with people who tell them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear.

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Congress Jack Bergman’s post on Facebook.

I have not received a response to my letter to the congressman from Friday, so I must be patient. However, he did post the following on Facebook on January 26.

As with any incident involving a law enforcement shooting, there will be a full and thorough investigation. I look forward to seeing the results and I will not offer further comment on the incident in Minnesota until that investigation is complete.

Any loss of life is tragic, which is precisely why the mission of ICE is so critical. These brave men and women are enforcing the laws of our Nation, identifying and deporting criminal illegal aliens - and working to clean up the consequences of four years of dangerous, open-border policies.

There are several facts that are undeniable:

• - Legally carrying a firearm is not a crime.

• - Peacefully protesting is not a crime.

• - Criminal illegal aliens must be deported or self-deport and pursue the legal process if they wish to live in the United States.

• - A Nation of law and order requires borders, laws, and the fortitude to enforce them.

• - Interfering with federal law enforcement operations is a crime, and those who do so should face serious consequences.

• - We must deliver on the commitment President Trump and Congress made to the American people by fully securing our border and ending illegal immigration.

• - There must be accountability in any instance where law enforcement fails to meet its standards.

• - Irresponsible rhetoric from social media and radical politicians has fueled confusion, hostility, and reckless decision-making.

The American people deserve better.

Once again, Congressman Jack Bergman is not willing to challenge the Trump administration and hold them accountable for their actions, no matter how much Trump’s actions weaken the legislative branch. He does not challenge the deportation tactics of ICE and Border Patrol in our major cities. He does not call out the Kristi Noem, Steve Miller, President Trump and VP Vance for the reprehensible comments immediately following the killing of Alex Preti. There is no mention of Alex Pretti and Nicole Goodmen. He talks in generalities because he doesn’t want to call anyone out and he does not want to upset the Trump administration because he does not want to get “primaried”

Congressman Jack Bergman does not tell Trump what he needs to hear, Bergman tells Trump what he wants to hear.

As a retired Marine General, I thought Congressman Berman would be willing to stand up for the constitution and would be willing to keep the executive office in check. I thought Congress Bergman would be willing to stand up to Trump. When I voted for Bergman in 2024, I obviously didn’t do my homework. For that I am embarrassed.

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Friday Night: Michigan vs. MSU. Number 3 vs. Number 7. First place in the B1G is on the line.

Both Michigan and MSU survived hot shooting from their opponents in the first half, as well as self-inflected unforced turnovers for the first 30 minutes of each of their games on Tuesday. They both squeaked out wins. Michigan won by three points over Nebraska after trailing for all but the first and last minute of the game. MSU won in overtime over Rutgers after tying the game in regulation with a three-point basket in the closing seconds of regulation.

Good teams find ways to win games when they don’t play well or shoot well. Michigan and MSU are both good teams and they both found a way to win on Tuesday. Michigan did it with tough defense and great foul shooting in the last 10 minutes of the game. MSU did it with outstanding play by their point guard, Jeremy Fears, who scored 27 points in the second half after scoring only two in the first half.

Halfway through the B1G schedule, there is a log jam at the top of the standings. Michigan, MSU, and Nebraska are tied for first at 9-1, with Illinois right behind at 8-1. The winner of the game on Friday night will take a major step towards winning the B!G championship. The loser will have an uphill battle as it does not look like any of the four teams are going to falter down the stretch.

For U of M and MSU there is very little room for error, which is why it is critical for both teams to clean up their turnover issues. Neither team is a good outside shooting team. They both win with defense, rebounding and two-point shooting. Both teams have shown that they can go long stretches within a game without turnovers, but both have struggled to go a whole game against good teams without a stretch of unforced turnovers. In games that are decided by three points or less, each turnover can be the difference between winning and losing.

Friday night is going to be special regardless of who wins. The Breslin will be rocking and rolling. It doesn’t get much better that two bitter rivals both ranked in the top ten fighting to maintain first place in the B1G.

North Carolina and the ACC may have Duke and UNC, but I will take U of M vs MSU anytime as the best rivalry in college basketball.

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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.

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Quote of the Day: “I think we got a pretty good team, but tonight they deserved to beat us. And yet I’ve said, whether it be my championship years, other years, there’s always a game or two in the season that you have to win when you don’t play as well or the opponent plays really well. And that’s how you stay above water. Tonight, it almost took a miracle on that last play.” MSU coach Tom Izzo following last night’s win over Rutgers.

Orchid of the Day: MSU’s point guard Jeremy Fears, Jr. for scoring 27 points in the second half of MSU’s overtime win over Rutgers

Onion of the Day: Me. For not doing my homework on Congress Bergman prior to voting for him.

Question of the Day: In men’s college basketball which is the better rivalry, Duke vs. UNC or U of M vs. MSU?

Lyrics of the Day: Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some loving here today, yeah

Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some loving here today, oh (Oh)

Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me so you can see
Oh, what’s going on

Hint: It was one of Motown’s first protest songs

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

Lyrics of the Day for January 22, 2026. For What It’s Worth, Buffalo Springfield

Video of the Day: The video to yesterday’s Lyrics of the Day.

Buffalo Springfield - For What It’s Worth - Lyrics

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.