When Donald Trump began his second term in the White House, there were fifteen original heads of executive departments like State, Defense and Treasury. There were seven additional cabinet-rank officials. Of the fifteen, Trump has fired three.
Trump’s first term saw a revolving door of cabinet-level officials. A newcomer to the Washington bureaucracy, Trump took advice from Republican insiders and appointed several department heads who had some experience in government. They stupidly put their oath to uphold the law and Constitution ahead of their loyalty to Trump. The Donald was not going to make that mistake again.
Did you file your tax return? Are you getting a refund or do you owe money? Did you fill out the form yourself? Did you use tax software? Did you hire an accountant?
Each year we spend an average of $240 to prepare and file our annual tax returns, according to the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service. We spend on average thirteen hours filling out the forms. People in other countries think we’re nuts.
I held off on this. Didn’t want to jinx it. Now that the Artemis II crew is back, safe and sound after a near perfect mission, I can write about the thrill once again of seeing humans reach the moon for the first time in 53 years. With all the divisiveness and strife of today’s world, it is nice, even if just for a moment, to reflect that somethings can still be achieved in the name of all mankind.
I still remember asking my parents for permission to stay home and the watch the flight of the first living thing America sent into space. It was 1961. The passenger inside the Mercury capsule was Ham, a chimpanzee. I was in grade school. Ham paved the route. Alen Shappard followed. Eight years later Apollo 11 landed on the moon.
I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore. Great line from a great movie (Network, 1976) and a line which perfectly matches my mood.
I am sick and tired of getting into a rage each day, sometimes more than once a day, because of something the monster in the White House has done. I am halfway through writing about one expression of outrage when another matter comes up, and I start all over again. I don’t know who I am most angry with. Donald Trump or the 77 million people who voted for him. I have spent the better part of a month not writing at all. And trying not to pay much attention to the news either.
Some events you remember. I thought back, as I watched the men’s U.S. ice hockey team win the gold medal at the 2026 Milan–Cortina Olympics, to the last time the team won. I remember it well. It was the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, in an event known as the “Miracle on Ice.” The team secured the gold medal on February 24, 1980, after defeating Finland, having upset the Soviet Union two days before on February 22, 1980.
We already know how 2025 has ended. Donald Trump has made it a wall-to-wall disaster with his illegal exercise of power with the goal of trashing the government and sweeping aside the norms of law and reason by which we have governed for 250 years. Even on New Year’s Eve he has vetoed a bipartisan law aimed at providing drinking water to tens of thousands. He has also reposted social media attacks on the memory of Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy, who tragically died of cancer at the age of 35.
These acts of retribution, jealously, and sheer cruelty are standard procedure for Trump, who seems to draw perverse pleasure from these vile acts.
But there is hope that 2026 can be different. the new year is also an election year. That means we the people get a chance to reverse the mistake made in 2024 and strengthen the roadblocks that keep Trump from putting a crown on his head. in 2025 the Republican majority in Congress abdicated its traditional role as legislative partner and overseer of the executive. But every member of the House of Representatives faces reelection in 2026. So does one-third of the members of the Senate. Voters can make their disapproval heard loud and clear.
Buckle up. 2026 will be a rough ride. But we can make a difference. Some assembly will be required.
When I wrote about the tragic murder of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, I noted the tremendous outpouring of sentiment saluting them not only for their contributions to the entertainment industry but also for their role in the community and their humanitarian work. I did mention that there was one notable dissent, and said I’d talk about it in the future.
I did not want to spoil the moment then and in truth I do not want to do so now. The problem is that, as the world is painfully aware, the dissent came from Donald Trump and he, by virtue of the position he holds, cannot be ignored. I resent that he dominates the news. I resent that he takes all the oxygen out of the room. I resent that he is the worst example of a human being I have ever seen. But he can’t be ignored. He must be called out. Rob Reiner would have wanted it that way.
Within hours of the time the news about the Reiners’ killing broke, Trump had put a post on his captive social media platform that was probably the most vicious thing I have ever seen. I asked one of my AI assistants what was the most common adjective being used to describe it and the response was, “cruel,” followed by “inappropriate,” “disrespectful,”“distasteful,” “callous,” “vile,”“incendiary.” and “depraved.” With my apologies, just in case you haven’t seen it yourself, read it and judge for yourself.
Trump’s post itself described Reiner as having a “mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME” and called him a “deranged person”.
Trump’s problem with Reiner is that the actor and director was also a progressive activist, a supporter of Democratic candidates, and an outspoken critic of Trump . A few hours after the post, Trump told a reporter that Reiner was “a deranged person” who “was very bad for our country.”
In the decade since he announced his presidential campaign by branding immigrants as criminals and rapists, the accepted wisdom about Donald Trump has become that no matter how outrageous are the things he says, he feels no consequences. This time was a little, just a little, different.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) labeled the discourse “inappropriate and disrespectful,” challenging his GOP colleagues to defend it. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) a former staunch ally, she rebuked the president, stating the deaths were a “family tragedy” that should be met with “empathy,” not politics. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), both condemned the remarks as “wrong,” urging for “sympathy and compassion” instead of political attacks. And conservative commentators including Jenna Ellis (Trump’s former lawyer) and David Urban (former senior adviser) called the remarks “indefensible” and a “horrible example”.
We are tempted to just throw up our hands and ignore the monster. But Trump didn’t stop with one vile act. Having already turned the Oval Office into a cheap looking gold filigreed imitation of The Palace of Versailles, he added giant ornate gold letters labeling the rooms of the White House, like the signs one sees in the memory section of an assisted living facility, and created a “Presidential Walk of Fame” featuring pictures of past leaders with grossly unflattering images for men he doesn’t like;
Trump has now added to the rogues gallery plaques which offer partisan comments on the past presidents, reflecting his personal perspective. Joe Biden‘s plaque repeats a false claim that the 46th president, a Democrat, took office “as a result of the most corrupt election ever,” when, in fact, he defeated Mr. Trump in 2020 in both the popular vote and the Electoral College. Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, is labeled “one of the most divisive political figures in American history.”
Trump also demanded, and was granted, free television time on December 17. Instead of a holiday address, or an announcement of a major event, Trump used 18 minutes for one of his regular rants basically saying everything has been great since he returned to office and anything that isn’t great is the Democrats’ fault. His delivery was so frenetic he had many wondering if he was under the influence of some form of medication.
But Trump’s pièce de résistance for this holiday season has to be the rebranding of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. At the beginning of the year, Trump fired members of the Center’s board, appointed loyal lackeys in their place, and had them “elect” him chairman. He subsequently approved all the performers named winners of the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, ordered a redesign of award medal which was originally created in 1978 and used ever since, and named himself as host of the award ceremony.
Then came the announcement, from the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rather than from Trump’s hand-picked board, that the center will now be known as “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” The vice president of public relations at the Kennedy Center later confirmed the announcement. The center’s web site carried a new logo within hours. The next day, workers were installing new signs on the exterior of the building. Trump said he was honored and surprised by the gesture. That is just more Trump BS. He had been referring to the center as “Trump-Kennedy” for months.
Not that it matters to Trump, but this renaming appears to be illegal. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was established by the John F. Kennedy Center Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 76h–76s, which outlines its purpose, governance, and operational framework. The law specifies the name, makes the center the only living memorial for President Kennedy within the District of Columbia, and precludes other names, plaques, or other citations. This is just one more example of Trump satisfying his ego by sticking his name where it does not belong. And doing so in defiance of the law.
This is one more item that will find its way into the courts. Or be reversed if and when the people in power are changed by the voters. Hint, hint. Or we can let Kerry Kennedy, niece of John F. Kennedy, and daughter of Robert F. Kennedy (the senior one), take care of it.
A footnote…. The TV ratings for the Kennedy Center Honors program Trump hosted were down 35% compared to last year’s ratings. That is the program’s lowest rating ever.
Scott Gurvey's Public Offerings 