Internal strife within Republican Party may be more newsworthy than strife within Democratic Party during 2026.

In 2026, I think internal strife within the Republican Party will be more interesting than the much talked about strife between far left and moderate within the Democratic Party. The Democrats in Congress, did hold together from left to moderate on many votes trying to check some of Trump's powers. They just didn't have enough votes unless some Republicans broke with Trump and voted with the Democrats. One example of this was the vote to release the Epstein files. Another example is Trump's cancelling of the the Arkansas Valley water project serving a mostly Republican area in southeast Colorado. There may be more situations, like this going forward between now and November.

My New Year's mailing for 2025-2026.

Washington State budget jigsaw puzzle.

Balancing the state budget isn't an easy task. It looks like Governor Ferguson is thinking of taking money away from dedicated climate commitment funds to fill a hole in the budget to fund a tax credit for low income working families. This means less money from Cap and Trade for things like public transit, bike lanes and other climate resilience things.

It's less easy to take funds away from K-12 education which is a large chunk of money. State constitution mandates K-12 to be the paramount duty of the state.

Still, if one thinks more wholistically, climate resilience can also be seen as education; for instance children under 18 can now ride transit for free. Maybe that's being too generous for kids even from higher income families, but there is an educational logic to the free fares as well. Supposedly people, who learn the ropes of alternative transit early in life, are more likely to be dedicated low carbon consumers for life. Who knows for sure as often people, who enter adult working and family raising years, feel the economic pressure to adopt more mainstream ways such as feeling the necessity of having a car.

Ferguson is also proposing a wealth tax which could provide more revenue. Still a difficult lift and that proposal wouldn't go into effect till 2029, due to expected opposition and court challenges.

Like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces of the budget are bigger than the revenue box. I seems to never all fit.

Transportation takes lots of money also, including the state ferries. Car ferries are expensive compared to smaller passenger / bike only ferries. Could some money be saved there? This would also be a hard lift as people are addicted to their cars. Getting from islands to the mainland is important though San Juan County, which relies on ferries, is near the top for per capita income of state counties. Taking dedicated gas tax money away from cars wouldn't be easy either.

Give and take does take lots of patience and it seems like just about everything in the budget is crucially important.

Maybe Ferguson could draft two budget rough drafts. One with the wealth tax and another that would have cuts assuming no wealth tax. Float both scenarios with clear explanations and see how it plays in public opinion.

We certainly can't have it all when there are so many needs and the puzzle pieces are larger than the box.

In spite of fears that the DOJ would redact all the stuff that put their "leader" in bad light, they did show some transparency.

Looks like the Justice Department has released some of the files that put Trump in a bad light. Many of us have feared that this Trump Administration dominated Justice Department would delete things that put their leader in a bad light, but they have released some things, under pressure from Congress. Still they are claiming these findings are not valid accusations and concerns, I guess.

We'll see how this all plays out.

The few times I have been in an airplane.

For a while when I was in college, I saw a therapist at WWU's Counselling Center. I remember one session where I talked about almost being afraid to ride my bike at times. The following week, a pilot, living in the dorm, took a few of us up in his plane. It was the first I've been in a plane. The following week when I saw the therapist, she remarked, "Wow, you are making fast progress." "Last week you were almost afraid to ride a bike, this week you've gone up in a plane."

I answered that I was just a passenger. I would be afraid to be the pilot. I lack the confidence that it would take to pilot a fast moving vehicle. Cars going at highway speeds can be very dangerous. More dangerous than planes. One reason why I don't drive. I still see the car as a big responsibility. The tamer pace of a bicycle is more my speed if I am at the wheel.

As for being a passenger, I'm okay with speed, but I haven't had many occasions to fly. To this day, I've never been on a jet plane. I'm not the type of person to jet across the country for a weekend wedding, or a Christmas dinner, and then be back to work by Monday. My travel tends to be more about the trip and what I see along the way, versus the destination.

Years ago, I've taken a few commercial flights between Seattle and my hometown of Pullman. Back then it was propeller planes to Pullman. Since then, the Pullman / Moscow Regional Airport has a new runway so it has jet service. In recent years, I have bicycled to Pullman mostly for the things I see along the way. That takes about a week where as the trip by air takes a bit over an hour.

Pullman Moscow regional airport (Moscow, Idaho 8 miles east of Pullman) has had 3 terminals that I remember. The first one for many years from my childhood to the 1980s was very small. Like the little building seen on the right. The main terminal, in this picture was later. I took this picture passing by on my bicycle in summer of 2022. Now there is a bigger terminal, built more recently.

My very first flight was from Bellingham to fly around Mount Baker and back. Since it was a small plane, it did a few sharp turns. Taking off seemed normal until we turned east and flew over the freeway. In that sharp turn the bottom of the plane still felt like it was down, but when I looked out the window, the freeway looked like it was turning on its side.

Sort of what I-5 looked like tipping on its side from the plane.

It was different, but I was okay. The rest of that little flight was beautiful till we got to Mt. Baker and the pilot realized it was clouded in. He did another sharp turn over the glacier and headed safely back to Bellingham. I realized that I was probably safer in that plane than in a car or even on my bike, but it was a bit of an adventure.

Mount Baker seen in early 1990s from a bicycle trip on Glacier Creek Road.

A few times after that, I flew to Pullman. Before leaving on one trip, I remember asking someone what it was like to fly above the clouds. His answer was, "it's very interesting - for 5 minutes." Then, I guess it can get boring.

On one of my plane trips to Pullman, it was a totally clear day. The snowcap mountains were visible all the way from Canada down into Oregon. Every seat was a window seat with an aisle down the center. I happened to be sitting across the aisle from the President of Washington State University back then; Glen Terrill. It was a chance to converse with the president.

On another flight, it was cloudy with thunderstorms over eastern Washington. The plane was a bit larger, a turboprop with engines made by Rolls Royce. The flight was pretty turbulent, but my stomach was okay. When we landed at Pullman / Moscow, my family was waiting by that little runway. They said, "we're glad you are okay. The light are out at the airport. They were able to land the plane okay, but the little terminal was dark.

At Christmas time when I was around 5 years old, the family drove out to the airport to pick up my oldest sister who was flying in from Seattle. I wasn't one to believe in Santa Clause due to my scientific mind, I guess. My dad being a scientist. Still I remember seeing a red glow in the sky so I thought, maybe there is a Santa and that's the glow of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Just then, my brother commented that he could see the glow of the red runway lights off the clouds. So much for believing in Santa.

Worry about declining birthrates while there is an oversupply of refugees around the world doesn't make sense.

With an oversupply of people around the world seeking better countries to live in, it doesn't make sense that folks are worried about declining birthrates. I tend to avoid thinking about racism as a motivation for people's thinking, but there is a logic to blaming this situation on racism and or nationalism. Folks prefer growth from their own kind, rather than from other populations.

Growth, itself, whether from immigration or local births, does create it's own problems such as shortage of housing, increased traffic and environmental limits.

Still, lack of population growth effects the economy. Less young workers paying into Social Security, for instance.

We need to figure out how to have a sustainable economy that doesn't require constant increase in consumption while at the same time we are facing a huge amount of people wishing to migrate to better lands. Our tendencies toward tribalism, racism and nationalism, versus seeing the world as a global village, stands in the way.

Environmentalists need to help us reduce demand for fossil fuels. Just restricting supply can raise fuel prices and just lead to right wing populism.

I've heard of supply side economics as well as demand side economics. I got to thinking, is there supply and demand side environmentalism? Yes. I looked up on Google.

I believe that the emphasis on supply side environmentalism has been a mistake, for the most part. That is trying to reduce climate change by restricting oil drilling, for instance, thus restricting supply. It leads to populist rebellion against higher fuel prices. Leads to the rise of politicians like Donald Trump.

Demand side environmentalism works better. That is figuring out how to reduce the need for fossil fuels in people's lives and in the economy. Things like public transit, for instance and encouraging use of rooftop solar energy. Heat pumps, electrification, lifestyles and cultures of less consumption and so forth are dealing with the demand side.

Taxes on supply, such as carbon taxes or Washington State's Cap and Trade rules are somewhat hybrid, supply and demand side restrictions. I tend to support these, but raising taxes and or restricting supply can run the risk of political pushback.

In our liberal state (Washington) our cap and trade law did survive a repeal attempt in 2024 in spite of people complaining about this state's higher gas prices than in other states.

I'm glad that law survived. Washington tends to be a more liberal state than most. Still, it seems like working on the demand side is a safer way to go. Restricting supply, while people are still dependent on a product, is politically dangerous.

The law of unintended consequences and populism.

Looks like the current regime of Trump, voted in by populist and tax cut sentiment, continues to benefit the wealthy. This Christmas shopping season is mostly fueled by the top; the K shaped economy. The wealthy and billionaires are the main beneficiaries of current policy. The stock market goes up as well. Most stock owned by the wealthy.

As the political pendulum swings, the Trump regime is loosing popularity. Popular opinion does tend to flounder back and forth, but it is changing again.

Among Democrats, far left is only electable in certain regions. Moderates in other regions. They need to work together to have a majority.

Unfortunately, I doubt the majority of people, in this country, would support candidates considered to the far left. The left has traction in cities like New York and Seattle. Maybe even in Bellingham. Not across much of rural USA.

I think a "big tent strategy" is needed for the Democratic Party. One size fits all doesn't work and just leads to internal strife in any party. Different regions should support and elect who their voters wish. A diversity of opinions and strategies should be able to function and find at least some measure of consensus upon civil discussion.

Power to the people also means to the people who think in a great diversity of ways.

In spite of great diversity within the Democratic Party between far left and moderate, the party has been able to stick together and vote as a block in Congress. Since Republicans hold the majority, the Republicans still get their way in the end, but the Democrats, in spite of diversity, do put up a good fight.

Ethiopia can forge ahead with electric cars. Without much worry about Chinese electric car imports harming a domestic auto industry.

Since 2024, Ethiopia, a third world country in Africa, has banned import of gas and diesel burning cars in favor of electric cars. Lots of electric cars are available from China and a few other places. The first country to take such a step. Good news.

I feel that the US auto industry is more of an impediment to electrification than the oil industry. Fear of inexpensive car imports, from China, creating huge auto industry layoffs drives US policy against importing less expensive electric cars from abroad. Ethiopia doesn't have much domestic auto industry to worry about.

I would guess that the US oil industry is less threatened, these days, by cheap imported oil as US oil is similar, in domestic price, to imported oil.

Still, the oil industry may be threatened as well by electrification, so I wouldn't necessarily let them off the hook either.

There are a lot of relatively high paying jobs at stake in any transition. Transition can also bring prosperity in new ways, however. We just have to be willing to except change.

Ethiopia is willing to take the gamble for electrification in spite of reliability problems with the power grid there.

Still, the power supply is improving in Ethiopia, due to the new Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. From what I read, Ethiopia gets 97% of it's electricity from hydropower, though there are problems with distribution, having enough charging stations and so forth. Home solar panels can help also.

The electric cars work better in urban areas where there are more charging stations.

I would guess electric bikes are used also. The US does have lots of electric bikes in use; possibly seen as less of a threat to US auto industry than inexpensive Chinese electric cars.

Even old fashioned gasoline can be difficult to get in Ethiopia with long lines at petrol stations. The country imports oil.

Article in Sept. 12 2025 The Guardian. Powering up: how Ethiopia is becoming an unlikely leader in the electric vehicle revolution.

Standing by US supporters in adversarial nations does have its risks though it may still be the right thing to do.

In the news, I read that the suspect who shot at National Guard troops in Washington DC was from Afghanistan. Someone who had been involved with CIA helping US troops during that war. Allowed to immigrate to US after the war as part of US efforts not to turn our backs on those who have helped us overseas.

During that war, I remember the term "green on blue violence." That was when a few Afghans that were cooperating with US forces turned on the US solders. War is a dirty and messy thing.

I also read that the suspect has lived in Bellingham, which doesn't really matter, except that since I live in Bellingham, that puts a local twist and spotlight on this item of national news.

In another universe, Bellingham's central waterfront could have gotten a boost from WWU's housing needs.

Hindsight is better than foresight. I got to thinking maybe they should have built more housing for WWU students in the central waterfront district where Georgia Pacific used to be. WWU doesn't have much room for new dorms so several big student focused apartment complexes were recently built in Bellingham. One of the large complexes is Stateside while the other has a new name called The Wilder. See below.

Passing by large Stateside Apartment Complex between State Street and Bellingham's South Bay Trail.

An early waterfront plan called for WWU to relocate it's Environmental Sciences College at the new waterfront and even connect it to main campus with a gondola. I think the gondola plan ended, in part, due to NIMBY neighbors under it's proposed path.

Meanwhile the Environmental Sciences plan fell though around the 2009 economic crash and some state budget cuts. Since then, those two new housing projects were built on both State and Garden Streets.

Maybe they are better where they are now as they are closer to WWU than the waterfront district, but I tend to brainstorm about stuff like this. They could have provided more things for developing the waterfront area; especially if the gondola was there. Dream on.

Popular opinion still might matter, especially when it's more than just a razer thin margin.

I think Trump is more of a populist than a true Republican conservative. In his past, he was even a Democrat for a while. Recently he has come out in favor of extending Affordable Care Act Subsidies; a popular position.

Meanwhile mainstream Republicans are warning him that it would cost too much and add to the deficit. See link in comments. I think popular opinion still matters and can even steer this president.

Are we living within our means on this limited planet given the technologies we are using.

An important question is, "are we living within our means on this limited planet given the technologies we are using."

If we wanted to have lifestyles of flying across the Atlantic in minutes on suborbital spaceplanes, we could if energy came from clean sources and the technology wasn't damaging the planet.

On the other hand, if we hadn't ever invented the transistor, so we were still relying on vacuum tubes for electronics, we couldn't be using smartphones today. We don't have to go back to the past, but we do have to live within our means, given the technologies that we are using. Hydrogen fusion might be a solution, but it's still not available. Meanwhile we have things like solar power and nuclear fission. Even with utopian energy sources, however, there are other constraints to our lifestyles, such as if all 8 billion+ people drive cars, can they all find parking?

Poster I saved from trash now historic memory for WWU.

A replica of a poster I saved from my college days is now framed on the wall of a student lounge at WWU. Its in the corner of a small lounge in the LGBTQ+ space at Viking Union.

Someone else did the poster art, back in 1975 for a dance called A Gala Ball. Posters are normally thought of as temporary, but I kept a bunch of the posters, from back then, that are now part of a collection at WWU's Center For Pacific Northwest Studies. A few posters, I even got out of wastebaskets.

As was at that dance soon after I turned 20. It was held in the cafeteria of Fairhaven Dorms on campus.

The reverse side of the original poster has a bunch of colored lines as, I think, back in the 1980s, I used it to test a bunch of pens to see if they'd still write. I was going through a box of old pens. Fortunately, I didn't damage the front side of that poster.

Drilling off Florida Gulf Coast.

The vote in Florida went for Trump in 2024. Now he's paying them back by opening up oil drilling off the Florida Gulf coast though even many Florida Republicans worry about potential damage to the tourism industry on the coast.

Olympic pipeline leak could effect SeaTac travel and other fossil fuel dependent things in Pacific Northwest.

Olympic Pipeline, which fuels much of the Pacific Northwest has been shut down temporarily due to a leak discovered near Everett. This affects jet fuel delivery to SeaTac Airport as Thanksgiving "travel madness" looms in the near future. Workarounds, such as fuel delivery by truck, are being put in place. Our governor has declared a state of emergency to deal with this situation.

The pipeline also delivers most of the oil and gasoline used in the Northwest. It brings refined products, from the two oil refineries north of Bellingham and the two refineries near Anacortes, to consumers farther south. It goes from Whatcom County to Seattle and then on to Portland, Oregon serving a large population along the way.

From what I have gathered, in past years, some of the fuel used in Eastern Washington comes through Olympic as well as fuel travels by barge up the Columbia River from Portland to Tri Cities and then by truck to various distribution points from there.

In 1999, a leak in Bellingham caused a major fire along Whatcom Creek which killed three people. Great care must be taken in handling fossil fuels. I would guess that this 2025 leak was caught quite early.

Population size is an elephant in the COP30 room. Maybe a reason why India is reluctant to update its goals, though it's doing a lot to transition to cleaner energy.

On radio, I heard that India is refusing to update its goals for limiting carbon emissions. It's delegation responds by saying that India has done a lot in transitioning to solar and other alternative sources of energy. Still, India does burn lots of coal. I see the big problem as being population. India is now the most populated country in the world, surpassing even China. As India and other countries seek to bring people out of poverty, they use many sources of energy.

From what I hear the top 3 sources of carbon emissions in the world today, are China, USA and India with India being in third place. Each of these three nations have been attempting to transition to cleaner energy. China has now set some goals, but just setting goals isn't necessarily that effective. Just about every nation has broken the goals they have set at past climate summits.

Under Donald Trump, the official policy of the US government is now to tear up the goals, to consider climate change to be a hoax and to refuse to send a high level delegation to the climate talks in Belem Brasil. At the same time, various states and local centers of power, in the US, have sent people to the climate convention; for instance Governor Newsom arriving from California.

Whether setting goals and signing agreements makes a difference, or not, is a good question. Few countries have been able to meet their own commitments. It's possible that these conferences are just an exercise in futility and a waste of jet fuel for bringing delegates together. Still, they may serve a purpose as the leaders discuss climate change.

Population is not talked about enough. India is now on top of the world chart in size of its population. The size of our world's population is a big factor as so much of the world has been rising out of poverty, learning to drive cars and so forth, since my college days in the 1970s.

About Epstein Files, Trump's previous attempts to coverup the files might be worse than the alleged crimes. Remember Nixon and Watergate.

It was said about President Nixon, during the Watergate Scandal, and even President Clinton as the US House was voting on impeachment proceedings, that the coverup and lying was worse than the alleged crimes.

This could also be the case with President Trump's ties with Jeffry Epstein. Attempts to block release of the Epstein Files has, if nothing else, fractured Trump's base. Good news for Democrats as Trump's base quarrels among itself, similar to what Democrats do.

Internal strife, within both political camps, is nothing new, but things like the Epstein Files heighten the realization that political blocks are not necessarily as solid as they appear.

Now that Trump, like a loose cannon, has switched sides on this issue and come out in favor of releasing the Epstein Files, we'll see what happens next.

Seattle's new mayor elect Katie Wilson lives a car free lifestyle. Very good. Also my thinking on the economics that may not favor government run grocery stores.

Seattle's mayor elect Katie Wilson is said to not own a car as she uses public transit and bicycling for transportation. That sounds like me. It's also said that she and her small family live in a one bedroom apartment. It's good to have role models for lower footprint lifestyles.

Some folks are critical of her ideas; like government owned grocery stores. Yes, some of those ideas might have drawbacks. I've done some Google research to learn a bit more. It does seem like private industry does a good job with grocery stores. Profit margins, in large discount stores, tend to be thin. Lower prices usually come from big chains; the benefits from "economy of scale." Giants like Costco and Winco come to mind.

Yes, there are food deserts in certain neighborhoods and other problems with the fairness of food. Again, I can blame the automobile for some of these problems. Here in Bellingham, I've noticed most of the big grocers are near I-5 with acres of parking; not in denser residential areas where people can easily walk to the store from home.

In some cases, government can help by investing in neighborhood developments. Government can be a landlord attempting to lure a grocery store into an area. There are also alternatives to privately owned stores run for private profit motive. Winco is employee owned. Bellingham has two branches of the Community Food Coop which is a community coop. Some of it's prices are more expensive than the large box stores, but I still find it reasonable enough.

I often shop at the Coop as it's one of the only stores in the downtown area that's easy to get to by bike. Our downtown is becoming more dense with housing, so lots of people live nearby.

Since I'm single and don't cook much, I often eat at the Coop's instore deli. It also serves as a social outlet as many of my friends can be found there, on occasion. That's my lifestyle.

I sometimes call a local radio talk show with perspectives from my lifestyle. While the host of the show is fairly liberal, some of the callers skew more to the right. I remember one caller describing me as that bicyclist who seldom needs to stop for a breath (long winded?) who also likes living in a shoebox. Yes, my small apartment.

Vaccine research in mRNA vaccines offers potential for treatment of cancer, but anti mRNA sentiment in USA may impede progress.

New research has found an unanticipated result of these vaccines: Cancer treatments are more effective for some vaccinated patients, and many live longer than their unvaccinated counterparts. This news comes at a time where the federal government is slashing funding for mRNA research. More advances cancer research and treatment may come from other countries. A link to segment of NPR Science Friday.

Going to war for the Christians while starving the people.

A recent editorial in New York Times discusses Trump's possible plan to use military force in Nigeria for protecting Christians from attacks in religious fighting. Muslims are attacking Christians, but Christians are also attacking Muslims. The editorial says that far more Nigerians are dying from Trump and Republican cuts to USAID; than in the rivalry. Also USAID costs less than another military intervention.

It is also said that some of the rivalry, in Nigeria, relates to Muslim Fulani herders who have conflicts with settled Christian farmers. Makes me think of the old tune from the movie Oklahoma about how the farmer and the cowman should be friends. In my own thinking, not found in the editorial, is the issue of population growth. Nigeria's population is among the fastest growing of world nations. Nigeria has far less land than USA so conflict over land use is likely. We even have that here.

I also think about the US churches, such as a branch of the Anglican Church, that has broken away from the western Anglican church due to the western church being more accepting of gay people. Religious prejudice against alternative lifestyles that are less apt to engage in procreation is one of the things that causes more death and suffering around the world.

Some aspects of US economic expectations are unsustainable. Cost of living hard to solve. Now Republican incumbents will face voter disappointment.

Making life more affordable for the majority of Americans is a difficult task. With Republicans in power at the national level, they are likely to face blame from the public. This could be good news for Democrats at the pendulum swings.

Solving this problem is difficult for pretty much any politician. There are many reasons why affordability is hard to achieve including growing wealth and income inequality throughout the entire population. Climate change brings it's own costs, such as rising insurance rates due to fires, flooding and so forth. Addressing climate change brings its inconveniences as fossil fuel has been a convenient way to power current lifestyles, business practices and technologies.

Another problem is that the things making life less affordable for some people will benefit others. For instance, high home values benefit long term homeowners who no longer owe the mortgage, but they make life less affordable for renters and first time homebuyers. High salaries in various fields of employment such as healthcare, education and administration can make those services less affordable.

Big changes in the way we function as a society are needed. Money and the rising GDP is too important to our way of thinking. How much of the GDP is just inflation versus an actual increase in the quality of the goods and services we have?

Other values, such as community, health, friends joy and the perception of satisfaction are more important goals for me than just things measured in money.

One benefit of reopening the government is progress moving forward toward more transparency about the Epstein files.

Now that the government has reopened and Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva has been sworn in, more of the information about possible connections between Trump and Epstein is starting to become available. More transparency can be a good thing. A benefit of reopening the government.

Instead of bombing from the air couldn't there be ways to detain suspected drug dealing boats in the Caribbean Sea?

With so much money that the US spends on it's military, one would think they could have enough ships and boats to create blockades around suspected drug dealing boats in the Caribbean Sea.

Rather than just bombing the boats from the air, couldn't they surround the boats, board and search for drugs and possibly detain the crew if drugs were found?

If the US boats were fired on couldn't we fire back from the sea? I know, boarding the boats could be dangerous. Maybe drones could be sent to inspect the boats for suspicious things. One thinks there could be a better strategy than just bombing them from the air.

Lower birthrates no problem for talent supply. There's still an oversupply of talented folks seeking immigration to the better countries.

Some people worry that declining birthrates means not enough young people to fill jobs, grow the economy and pay for people's retirements. I don't see this as a problem since there is an oversupply of talented refugees seeking immigration to safer places all over the world. There are more than enough refugees to keep the economies running in the countries that folks wish to escape to. It's filling up the housing and infrastructures, in the nicer parts of the world.

Was the shutdown a good tactic for the Democrats?

Until the Democrats gain a majority in at least one house of Congress, there isn't much they can do; except make noise or "good trouble;" a quote from former Congressman John Lewis. The shutdown has brought attention to the health insurance issue, but it went as far as it could go before causing more bad trouble than it's worth.

Now the rising premiums will be a wakeup call as well.

Be willing to accept the tradeoffs that taxing the wealthy brings down to the middle class consumer.

Raising taxes on wealthy people is often a good idea, but lots of people fear that it will slow the economy. To be totally honest, it can slow the economy and hurt business.

On the other hand, adequately funding things like infrastructure, education and research can bring long term benefits to the economy. It's a case of short term pain for long term gain. This could be better explained and better understood by the public.

Some things, people value, might become less well financed; like pro sports and big budget movies. Another example is more expensive gasoline as taxes on oil producers get passed on to consumers. In exchange for this, we can get things like more public transit.

We can't "have it all." Lots of things, in life, are tradeoffs.

Even if the economy changes, other qualities of life can still improve. What we value and aspire toward can change.

Now that government reopens, Republicans will still have to face voter angst over rising insurance premiums.

Allowing the government shutdown to end is probably a good strategy for the Democrats though some feel the Democrats have capitulated. If the Republicans can't fix the problem of rising health insurance premiums the Republicans are likely to loose popularity heading into next year's midterm elections. If Democrats can retake a majority in at least one house of Congress that will make a difference in the power struggle at the top.

I do feel for the folks who have trouble affording healthcare premiums. I remember worrying about not having any health insurance during many years before the ACA (Affordable Care Act) even existed. Lots of employers don't provide health insurance. Fortunately my health got me through those years. Not everyone is that fortunate.

Still, I do tend to blame people for our problems. I also tend to blame the Republican Party, these days.

The Democrats aren't perfect either, but the voters, themselves, seem to be pretty fickle. Polls can swing back and forth as people don't seem to know what to do about the rising cost of living. Sometimes they just fall for celebrities, like Donald Trump, out of plain frustration, I guess. People lash out without much in the way of a rational game plan.

As problems get more obvious, the vote might swing back toward more progressive ideals. I often blame the masses, but I also feel like the masses can have the power, if they vote and live responsibly.

The Democrats do have a popular issue on their side; the rising cost of health insurance. Sometimes the people do need a wakeup call. If the shutdown had continued for several more weeks; another wakeup call would be taking place; a crippled Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday travel season due to air travel cutbacks.

I tend to think that much of mainstream American lifestyle is unsustainable, but people do keep propping it up. Millions of folks, taking jet planes across thousands of miles for just an extended weekend is a stretch, even in good times.

I may seem a bit smug in my unusual lifestyle choices; such as having no travel plans for either Christmas or Thanksgiving. My holiday plans are local.

Still, now that it looks like the government is reopening, at least the Democrats have dodged the bullet of blame that likely could have come their way from a ruined holiday season for voters.

Hope the momentum for Democrats continues into the 2026 midterm elections. Public opinion can be fickle.

Democratic victories across the country, in this last election, are said to be propelled by concern over the rising cost of living. Deep structural problems in our economy are making life less affordable for the majority of people and there may not be much politicians can do to resolve this.

Still, I'd rather see the Democrats gain ground versus the one party authoritarian rule of Republicans.

A fear is that populism quickly turns against politicians who promise to solve the problems, but can't deliver. This could swing populism back to the right by next year, but I think the Democratic momentum may still be safe a year from now during the midterms as Republicans are still the incumbents in national government. They still hold national power with iron fists. They will still be subject to blame as the economy continues to be problematic.