A little more than 24 hours ago our sun unleashed a powerful X-Class solar flare along with a fast
Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME). It arrived overnight and, expecting it, I snapped some average photos* of the arrival of the northern lights.
The first couple of photos were snapped before bedtime at 10.06 PM the evening of January 19, 2026. They were OK - yet not what I expected.
For any of the following photos click on the image for a closer look.
Twice more I arose to check on the progress of the lights (thank you bladder) and peering from the bathroom window to the north only once did my naked eye perceive any action. With wind chills -20F I wasn't inclined to take an actual photo sampling.
Finally I arose before 6 AM (permanently) and took a peek outdoors.
Yowza! The aurora borealis had gathered in strength with the night and as darkness began to wane was dancing in the pre-dawn skies. Here is a sampling of the shots I took; January 20, 2027 at 5:58 AM.
And, in-case you needed a guide to decipher the lights, here you go...
*iPhone 14 Pro
I use a Snapseed App to manipulate the aperture and ISO. My device uses a stabilizer setting for extended exposures.
As a general rule I do the cooking around this joint. And it's usually just the two of us. So it's not like I'm up to my elbows in pots and pans.
I was chatting with someone on a private FB page last week about how our dietary choice fit (or didn't fit) with HHS's new inverted food pyramid. We eat red meat with venison at the top of the list followed by chicken, pork and fish (typically salmon) as proteins. Beef is at the very bottom and is usually a ground chuck burger sourced from our butcher. We eat a pile of veggies and this time of year I eat Irish porridge (with blueberries) nearly daily. I also can and freeze produce from our garden, fresh-caught fish, venison in all forms and plenty of homemade soups.
We drink milk, use butter and cheese and have incorporated duck fat in frying potatoes for as long as I can remember. Having gotten air popper for making popcorn I picked-up some coconut oil to flavor the product with a little fat along with salt. I'm told it's a movie theater hack. I'll report on results later.
This time of year the weather conditions can be so unpredictable or inhumane that grilling outdoors or firing-up the brick oven isn't worth the trouble. Consequently, the new GE range with an expansive cook top, traditional oven/broiler and a second oven/broiler with convection and air frying settings allows for quite a bit of versatility.
In any event here's a few dinners from the last month in case you're nosy. And because we keep our own schedules for outside interests and activities we're not averse to leftovers in case someone needs to pack a meal or is eating alone.
It all works out in terms of variety and division of labor.
And for a couple of old farts our metabolic labs are in good working order.
The sun woke-up on the flare side of the bed overnight, unleashing a powerful X-class solar flare along with a fast
Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME), which is currently forecast
to hit our home planet within the next 24 hours.
One of the redeeming features of Face Book is that it has facilitated the reunification of any number of us who grew-up together and came of age in the 60s and 70s. I suppose we can thank COVID for more free time and screen time. Add to this a milestone High School reunion only a couple of years ago. After roughly 50 years of separation for some of us the reconnection has been a good thing.
Plenty has changed for many of us; nevertheless, becoming reacquainted is A-OK by my standards. FB has become our Town Square and gathering spot to share thoughts and opinions and remain in-touch. And while the pace of new friends and acquaintances may have slowed the list continues to grow. In any event, one of those pals from the old neighborhood posted this photo on his FB page including his own words (italics) preceding it:
The Democrats saw Obama as their chosen one that would lead them into their socialistic utopia. When Trump was elected those same people realized that their utopic dreams were not going to be realized. They then started hating and attacking anything and anyone that threatened the " progress" they believed they had made politically and culturally in transfirming/destroying the USA.
So, their protesting and at times violence is the continuation of their deranged hatred of President Trump. If Kamala or some other person adored by their Party was directing these deportations there would be no issue no protests, no threats to Law enforcement personnel. Hypocritical in their thoughts and actions. Sad, real sad.
I commented with this:
I was actually studying-up on this phenomenon this afternoon. Under Obama, interdiction and deportation was hardly ever public and rarely involved any drama. Not even background noise. Interestingly, very close to same in the early years of the first Trump administration. I absolutely know what changed (because I took old fashioned notes). 10 guesses anyone?
The
discussion that followed included defenses of President Trump
considering everything from Trump Derangement Syndrome, generalized
media bias, to perceived Face Book and iPhone (Apple) algorithm biases. My childhood pal shared this: I respect your research and notes Tom. Please share.
So I did. I had to cut and paste my notes from my laptop resulting in poor formatting; nevertheless editable. They are as follows:
Here’s
a brief summary of deportations under Barack Obama (2009–2017) and
Donald Trump - (both terms, including his second term starting in 2025) -
focused on ICE/DHS removals/deportations by the numbers. Note: The Trump second term is incomplete and stats both reflect that and are annotated.
Over
the eight years (2009 - 2017) of Obama’s presidency, ICE and DHS
reported approximately 3.1 million immigration removals/deportations.
Highlights - FY 2012: ~409,849 deportations — one of the highest annual
totals. FY 2013: ~438,421 deportations — often cited as the highest
year.
Observations:
Deportations
were high early in his tenure and declined later — partly due to
changes in enforcement priorities and declining border apprehensions.
Later years saw lower totals: ~235,413 in FY 2015 and ~240,255 in FY
2016
Obama’s
approach focused more on recent border crossers and noncitizens with
criminal convictions, rather than broad interior enforcement.
Trump Administration (2017 - 2021 & 2025 - ?)
First
Trump term (2017–2021): DHS/ICE data shows fewer overall removals than
under Obama, with around 932,000 deportations reported over those four
years.
Second Trump administration (2025 onward): Data is less centralized, but multiple sources provide partial figures: ICE
deported nearly 200,000 people in the first seven months of 2025 alone.
Some government estimates suggest combined deportations + other
removals could reach ~300,000+ in FY 2025 under Trump’s enforcement
surge. Public reports cite overall removals including border expulsions
and voluntary departures in the hundreds of thousands by the end of
2025.
Observations:
Trump’s
highest annual ICE deportation figures (e.g., ~267,000–300,000+)
clearly have not surpassed Obama’s peak year totals (which were ~438,000
in 2013).
The
Trump administration’s enforcement in 2025 increased interior ICE
arrests and targeted broader categories of unauthorized immigrants
including many without criminal records.
Data
releases from DHS/ICE have been inconsistent, making comprehensive
year-by-year comparisons harder than with historical Obama data.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
1. Enforcement Priorities: Targeted Arrests vs. Universal Arrests
Obama:
Focused
on enforcement priorities aimed at public safety: Serious criminals,
national security threats and recent border crossers. ICE was supposed
to emphasize these groups before acting on others; this constrained the
agency’s interior enforcement focus.
Trump:
Early
executive orders broadly expanded enforcement priorities to include all undocumented non-citizens as targets for arrest and removal. This
resulted in enforcement shifting from a targeted, risk-based approach to a
wide net aiming to arrest anyone removable under immigration law.
2. Criminal History Composition of Arrests
Obama:
A
larger share of ICE interior arrests historically involved people with
criminal convictions. ICE largely confined interior enforcement to those
with broader public safety concerns.
Trump:
Recent
data show a dramatic rise in arrests of people with no criminal
records. Nearly 1/3 of those arrested in 2025 by ICE had no criminal
history. Another report suggests tens of thousands without criminal
convictions were picked up, contradicting official focus on criminals.
Independent data also show a sharp shift in arrest composition, with
non-criminal individuals making up a much higher share of total ICE
detentions under Trump.
3. At-Large vs. Custodial Arrests
Obama:
ICE
largely arrested individuals already in jail/prison (custodial arrests)
via information sharing with local jails and prisons; use of at-large
arrests (sweeps in communities) was more limited.
Trump:
ICE
dramatically increased at-large arrests — apprehending people in homes,
workplaces, and communities rather than primarily from jails. This
shift meant broader, more public operations compared with the
historically jail-linked approach.
4. Collaboration with Local Law Enforcement
Obama:
ICE
cooperation with local police/jails — such as through Secure Communities— was significant but tempered by enforcement priorities and
some jurisdictions’ non-cooperation.
Trump:
Expansion
of programs like 287(g) dramatically increased the role of local police
in immigration enforcement, allowing them to question and detain
immigrants for ICE — a tactic scaled back or de-emphasized under Obama.
5. Detention Policy and Public Operations
Obama:
Fewer
large-scale, publicized raids; enforcement often occurred in less
visible ways (custodial transfers from local jails, routine immigration
check-ins).
Trump:
Enforcement
has included public raids, frequent at-large operations, and actions in
“sensitive locations” that were avoided under prior internal DHS
policies — including immigration court check-ins, workplaces, and
neighborhoods. ICE has also faced criticism for increased detention
populations and facility deaths tied to expanded enforcement.
6. Policy Framing and Quotas
Obama:
Restored
a degree of prioritization to manage enforcement resources and judicial
backlogs, focusing removal on higher-risk individuals in many years.
Trump:
Reports
indicate daily arrest “quotas” and political mandates for mass
enforcement, with leadership pushing ICE to meet broad arrest targets
rather than focusing solely on prioritized categories.
Summary:
Obama’s
ICE tactics centered more on defined enforcement priorities and
collaboration with the criminal justice system; whereas, Trump’s approach
expanded who could be targeted, expanded community arrests, and
integrated local law enforcement more deeply, resulting in broader
sweeps and more arrests of people without criminal records.
*Note: The notion that I had burned about three hours time (time I will never get back) that same afternoon was a consequence of a FB post - including an eight year-old YouTube "Ride With ICE" video - from another neighborhood pal of mine. It was thought-provoking and encouraged me to initiate some background as it didn't get anyone's interest on FB other than me and maybe one additional individual.
Inasmuch as things went silent on my pal's FB page following posting my notes I added an additional comment for purposes of background (see asterisk above) on Sunday morning. That comment, including the YouTube video, are as follows:
As a follow-up to my notes I posted yesterday I want to share that the
inspiration for my inquiry into this subject was a post that (name redacted) put out there four days ago.
In it he asked: "8+yrs ago Obama's Ice
agent's were well respected heroes, just doing their job.
wonder what changed?" (Note: Video is dated August 25, 2017 making these Trump's ICE agents. Typo?)
The video is from 8 years ago
and taken during the first year of the first Trump term. It's not very
long so watch it to the end and then afterwards ask yourself "what
changed between Trump 1.0 and 2.0 with respect to ICE protocols and
reflecting on the differences between the two Presidents and their
approach to interdiction and deportation.
Not stirring things-up as I happen to think (name redacted) has raised an excellent point and asked a thought-provoking question.
Have
you ever wondered what it's like during the life of an Immigration and
Customs Enforcement agent? Phil Shuman of Fox 11, Los Angeles, takes
you along for a ride on August 25, 2017.
At the time of this post's publication that thread has gone silent. No further discussion. The point I was attempting to make (perhaps not very clearly) was we have the same President today as eight years ago. Almost at the same point in time of each presidential term.
The clip is from the first year of the first Trump term in 2017. Contrast that with ICE operational procedures today - the first year of the second Trump term in 2025.
Are there objective differences between ICE agents and their protocol between then and now?
If any, what may they be? What, if anything, changed?
I have some working theories about how, and why, ICE evolved between Trump 1.0 and Trump 2.0
Just last week, SpaceX received federal approval to dramatically
increase the size of its Starlink constellation, clearing the way for
the launch of an additional 7,500 satellites into low-Earth orbit.
While this would have seemed impossible a decade ago, the space industry
hardly bats an eye today, as mega-constellations like Starlink have
become an increasingly familiar component of modern infrastructure.
Pardon me; is there a space race going on?
If so, it isn't even a contest.
For more insights on the rapid advances in spaceflight technology click on the image for a closer look.
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.
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.
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