World View: etc!: Collateral Damage

Friday, January 30, 2026

Collateral Damage

Today's Tids Issue 5,993

Just Wait:

Two words that should only be used after due consideration are never and always.

DT announced his replacement for Jerome Powell this morning. Powell did a good job during several trying eras like the pandemic. And he resisted it seems with all his might the politicization of the Fed. Independence is key and you see that concern even in the SC pondering of the Janet Cook dismissal. The new guy, Keven Warsh, has been good at many things over the years including his time on the Fed, and will now lead the Fed after Congressional approval. He has always in his past iteration leaned towards higher rates. And today he says he is a rate cutter. Let’s hope he sees what is before him on the domestic and global economic stages and decides in favor of the reality.

Remember one thing: The deeper the snow the brighter the sring when the flowers bloom again.

“Dogs are always in the push-up position.” --Mitch Hedberg

The Question:

Why is a man who never lays a wager as bad as a gambler? Bonus: Why is a four-quart jug like a side saddle?

The Headlines:

--Three Major Markets Down While Calculating Affects of Trump Fed Chief Announcement; Apple Off on Future Assessment After record Reports.

--Senate Reaches Agreement to Avert Shutdown.

--CNN Reporter A Don Lemmon Arrested in Minnesota; Says He was Just Doing His Job Reporting Events; After Magistrate Judge rejected First Charges, Lemon Lawyers Say toy Don't know what Charges backed his Arrest;

--PPI (Producer Price Index) Surges .5% in December, Far Greater than Expected; Powell and Other Economists Call it Tariff Inflation, But See it Topping Out Midyear.

--US Dollar Falls to Four Year Low; Expected to Fall Further; Could Affect US Borrowing Costs.

--Trump Threatens New Tariff Against Canada and Mexico;

--Trump and Family Sue US Government and IRS for $10 Billion; Suit is Over Leak of Tax Returns.

Ice storms are devastating, and I feel for those people in the south. It's hard, scary sitting there freezing knowing the pipes in your home may be ready to burst. Many around here remember that similar scenario so many years ago when all you could hear were limbs snapping off trees from the weight of ice. And sitting there in blankets, cooking before a fireplace as the frigid air outside assaulted your home. That’s what I'm worrying about today, not the political crapola. The people. The real people of the USA who I know have a tough road ahead.

The latest techno-Annoyance supposedly designed to boost my daily comfort level is my phone suddenly reading the news to me. I don’t like people talking to me in the morning. I like to read the news with quiet music in the background. I can't get rid of it. Andthat is just the beginning of the AI Assault.

“Is a hippopotomous a hippopotomous or just a really cool opotomous?” --Mitch Hedberg.

The Apple financial results looked quite rosy indeed. But Tim Cook warned that the enormous growth of AI puts a massive strain on Memory chips which will more than likely add to the costs and reduce profit margins in Tech products going forward. So many things are interconnected that a tweak here can induce a fault there. It’s like a chemical formulation where when looking for improvement in properties, the rule is to get a little you got to take a little. Life is like that, too.

No TidsPickers this week. Aren’t you happy. We ended playoff picking 12-0. One game left. Of course, my inclination will be to pick my Beloved Pats. But Seattle looked pretty darn good last week. A week and a couple of days to go.

A good friend and very intelligent guy is all for, MAMA – Make America Moral Again. Looking around the television and at the sensationalism and adoration of misbehavior gives you a hint about where he is thinking -- that a strong Moral base will indeed make America Great Again.