Get Bent

Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, recently stated that Americans should be prepared to be stopped and prove their citizenship.  Yup, she said that. 

Noem was asked by reporters on Thursday (January 15, 2026) about reports that ICE agents have stopped people in several Minnesota locales and demanded they produce proof of citizenship during immigration enforcement activities.  Many of these individuals were bonafide citizens; the Real McCoy. 

Noem described these encounters as part of targeted enforcement operations and said that officers may ask people nearby who they are and have them validate their identity.  When pressed on whether Americans should carry proof of citizenship, she indicated that U.S. citizens should be prepared to provide evidence of their status if contacted during such operations. 

  

Legal analysts note there is no general requirement for U.S. citizens to carry proof of citizenship in everyday life.  Furthermore, the Fourth Amendment limits when police can demand ID without reasonable suspicion or actual evidence of wrongdoing.   

Secretary Noem's remarks have drawn strong reactions from lawmakers and civil liberties advocates who argue such guidance risks turning routine enforcement into encounters solely for purposes of demanding ordinary citizens to produce their papers.    

I wasn't born here, yet I've led the entirety of my adult life in the country I am a citizen-of without being stopped and required to produce evidence of my citizenship status.

Arguably, it is a very low probability of an older white guy, speaking without an accent, of actually facing that probability.  Nevertheless, if one or more masked ICE agents, without any visible identification, no body camera and carrying a sidearm along with an automatic assault rifle pull me over, stop, interrupt and in the absence of a warrant, evidence or even a whiff of suspicion of my commission of a crime and demand my papers my inclination is to tell them to get bent.

If any of you MAGA devotees reading this care to explain to me how this great nation hasn't got one foot in the grave of a police state I'm all ears.

I'm waiting... 

Friday Music

Written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio this song was originally recorded by the US band the Four Seasons and released in 1964 on the flip side of US number one single Rag Doll (also composed by Crewe and Gaudio).

The British band The Tremeloes recorded their version in 1967.  Their cover reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and rose to 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming one of the top performing songs of 1967.  I was 12 years old that year and five and a half decades later it's still gold.

Silence is Golden.....

Billboard Twist

Messages on the side of the road have ranged from the historical humor of Burma-Shave, to modern safety warnings to Buckle-Up, Don't Text and Drive and Hands-Free Phone Use Only in Construction Zones.  There has even been spiritual guidance drawing on scripture to be attentive and show kindness to others on their journey.

Nowadays a trip on any stretch of Highway 29 is dominated by a couple of personal injury lawyers.  You know who. 

On the trip home from a South Dakota pheasant hunting trip there was this breath of fresh air....

State Highway 29 just east of Thorp; That's between the Wisconsin cities of Chippewa Falls and Wausau.

Happy Motoring.... 

The Red Rocket

Yesterday I shared my conviction that my dog came to our household factory-equipped with an on-off switch.

When the switch is in the OFF position she's at rest.

When the switch is in the ON position she's tearing around the landscape at full-tilt whether on the hunt or at play.

As a matter of fact, on the subject of an object happens to be in motion, she has raised Newton's Law of Inertia to art form.... 

 

Inflation Steady as Fed Considers Rate Path

 

In the event you were interested the numbers are in today  

Inflation ended the year on a subdued note, as the administration's 2025 import taxes (tariffs) worked their way through to sticker prices.

Consumer prices were 2.7 percent higher than a year ago, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Tuesday, or 2.6 percent when stripping out volatile food and energy prices.

That was about in line with the number for November, which was artificially depressed by irregularities arising from a lapse in data collection during the government shutdown. And it was only slightly slower than the pace at the beginning of 2025, before the prices of durable goods like cars and toys began rising as President Trump imposed steep tariffs on most countries.

The report is the last of its kind before the Federal Reserve meets again in two weeks. With the employment report for December showing the unemployment rate sinking back to a relatively healthy 4.4 percent, officials are expected to hold interest rates steady after cutting them three times since September.

The Consumer Price Index was pulled down by the cost of used cars and trucks, which fell 1.1 percent over the month, and have risen only 1.6 percent over the past year. Yearly growth in that category peaked at 45 percent in June 2021, before turning negative in 2023 and 2024. Airline fares, on the other hand, unexpectedly jumped 5.2 percent, potentially reflecting record travel during the holidays. And the price of groceries also came in hot, at 0.7 percent over the month and 2.4 percent since this time a year ago. That was the fastest one-month gain in grocery prices since 2022, driven by higher prices for items such as meats, dairy and coffee.

Inflation has been pulled down over the past year by apartment rents, which have been sinking from pandemic-era highs after cities like Denver, Phoenix and Austin, Texas, saw a boom of new supply. In December, rents rose 3.1 percent over the year, while the cost of owning a home has risen 3.4 percent.

Energy prices overall have risen 2.3 percent over the year, but that masks big differences between sources: the price of gasoline was down 3.4 percent, while electricity prices rose by 6.7 percent.

Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, last month said he expected the peak impact of tariffs on price pressures to materialize in the first quarter of the year, meaning that the next couple of inflation reports will be even more closely scrutinized.  Of course, that was before the DOJ locked horns with the Fed with a probe that the Fed chair attributed to political retribution over its approach to monetary policy.

President Trump seized on the inflation report to demand that the Federal Reserve lower interest rates swiftly, as he renewed his public attacks on Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the central bank.

Yesterday, and overnight the Senate, former Fed Chairs and the business community started circling their wagons around the Powell with the admonition that meddling  with the independence of the Federal Reserve will likely increase inflation expectations and probably increase rates over time.*

Watch the bond markets, folks.

Meanwhile, any wagers on who blinks first?______________________________________________________________ 

*The New York Times Breaking news: Inflation holds steady as Fed considers rate path

 

 

 

Chill'n

I am convinced my dog came to our household factory-equipped with an on-off switch.

When the switch is in the ON position she's tearing around the landscape at full-tilt whether on the hunt or at play.

When the switch is in the OFF position she's at rest.

As a matter of fact, on the subject of an object at rest, she has raised Newton's Law of Inertia to art form.... 

 

Marks and Spencer

This roll-on deodorant has been living in my travel backpack since I returned from our family vacation last year in the UK.  

I purchased it at an M&S Simply Foods grocery within walking distance of our digs at the Royal Horseguards Hotel.  As a near lifetime user of Old Spice (original stick formula) deodorant this was a pleasant change of pace.  Not the roll-on feature - the scent.  A very pleasing scent.

Anyway, it's all used-up from traveling since then and I got to wondering if it was available for sale anywhere locally.  Nada.  Not Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Pick & Save or Tadych's.  I didn't find it online at Costco either. 

I did find it for sale (and denominated in USD) at Amazon UK.  Unfortunately, the UK website in typical polite British form regrets to inform me: This item cannot be dispatched to your selected delivery location.  Please choose a different delivery location.

Obviously, somewhere on their side of the pond.

I did find something similar to the UK product available via our Prime account at Amazon.

But I'll give it a rest for the present and return to the comfort of my familiar Old Spice.

Besides, you never know when a travel opportunity might pop-up that results in a return to the UK. 

I can scratch that itch then. 

Meanwhile, if you're traveling to the UK and surrounding environs keep your eye peeled for Marks and Spencer and their smaller M&S Simply Foods.  You have my personal assurance you will find everything thing you need at regular pricing - even in midtown London.  Same for Monoprix in France.

Happy traveling....