Except for timely election info, the extensive list of voting resources will now be at the end.

“There’s a reason why you separate military and police. One fights the enemy of the State. The other serves and protects the People. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the State tend to become the People.” ~ Commander Adama, “Battlestar Galactica” (“WATER”, Season 1 episode 2, at the 28 minute mark.)

Welcome to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig on KPFT Houston at 90.1-HD2, Galveston 89.5-HD2, and Huntsville 91.9-HD2. KPFT is Houston’s Community radio

On this show, we discuss local, state, national, and international stories that may have slipped under your radar. At my website, THINKWINGRADIO-dot-COM, I link to all the articles I read and cite, as well as other relevant sources. Articles and commentaries often include lots of internet links for those of you who want to dig deeper.

This begins the 18th week of Trump’s military presence in Los Angeles, now reduced to several hundred federalized National Guard troops, and the 9th week of Trump’s military occupation of Washington DC.

1. “On September 28, Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement troops with automatic weapons and full combat gear patrolled high-visibility tourist areas in Downtown Chicago. An investigation was launched by Broadview police into an “unprovoked attack” by ICE who allegedly shot a chemical munition at a WBBM-TV Chicago news van.^[48]” [from Wikipedia]
   1. Guard and federal law enforcement forces were deployed to Memphis, on October 1, 2025.
   2. Other cities face Trump’s continuing threats of imminent military or federal intervention, as ICE continues to rampage across the United States using Gestapo-like tactics to kidnap people from the streets, their places of work, and their homes.
   3. “On September 2, 2025, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the Trump administration had violated the Posse Comitatus Act and ordered the administration not to use National Guard or military troops for civilian law enforcement in California with that prohibition to take effect on September 12.
   4. Breyer described the administration’s actions and rhetoric of further domestic military deployments as an apparent attempt at “creating a national police force with the President as its chief” and described the rationale for deployment as contrived, writing that “There was no rebellion, nor was civilian law enforcement unable to respond to the protests and enforce the law”.^[18][72] He said the Trump administration, if it wished to argue, would have to “satisfy the requirements of a valid constitutional or statutory exception, as defined herein, to the Posse Comitatus Act.”^[73] [from Wikipedia]
   5. The Trump regime appealed Breyer’s ruling the next day, and as near as I can determine, that appeal is still pending while Breyer’s restraining order has been paused.
   6. An October 2^nd article from CNN entitled What to know about Trump’s latest federal deployments in Memphis, Portland and other US cities gives more information on this continuing slow-motion power grab.
   7. I asked Google Ai the following question: “Does the US military have a legal mechanism to refuse the president’s orders?”
   8. Here is Google’s response: “Yes, the U.S. military has a legal mechanism to refuse the president’s orders if they are unlawful. A service member’s ultimate allegiance is to the Constitution, not to any single individual or political party.
   9. Legal basis for refusing orders
   10. The requirement to disobey unlawful orders is a core tenet of U.S. military law, reinforced by domestic and international legal principles.
   11. Oath to the Constitution: All U.S. military members swear an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States”. The oath includes obeying the orders of the President and appointed officers, but only “according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice” (UCMJ).
   12. Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ): Articles 90, 91, and 92 of the [Uniform Code of Military Justice] penalize the failure to obey a lawful order. An order is not considered lawful if it violates the Constitution, U.S. federal law, or international law.
   13. Nuremberg Principles: The principle that “just following orders” is not a valid defense for committing a crime was established at the Nuremberg trials following World War II. This principle is a cornerstone of military ethics and legal training.
   14. Manifestly unlawful orders: An order is considered “manifestly unlawful” if its illegality is clear and obvious to a reasonable person. Examples include orders to commit war crimes, such as intentionally harming civilians, torturing detainees, or attacking lawful protests in violation of the First Amendment 
   15. The process of refusing an order. The refusal of an order must be legally justified and is not a decision taken lightly. Military members are trained to handle such situations through official channels.
   16. Seek clarification: If a service member believes an order is unlawful, the first step is typically to seek clarification from a superior.
   17. Consult legal counsel: Personnel can and should seek legal advice from a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer if they believe an order is illegal.
   18. Report the activity: Unlawful orders can be reported to the chain of command, a JAG officer, the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG) Hotline, or congressional representatives.
   19. Refuse the order: If an order is clearly and obviously illegal after seeking clarification, the service member has a duty to refuse it. This is a high-risk action that can lead to a court-martial if the service member is wrong.
   20. Challenges and protections. While the legal mechanism exists, refusing an order, even an unlawful one, is extremely difficult in practice.
   21. Presumption of legality: All orders are presumed to be legal, and the burden of proof falls on the service member who refuses to obey.
   22. Career and legal risk: Refusing an order carries significant risks, including retaliation and court-martial. For this reason, the Military Whistleblower Protection Act provides some legal protection for those who report illegal orders.
   23. High-level orders: While a president can issue potentially illegal orders, senior military leaders have a duty to interpret them through a legal lens and may resist orders that are obviously illegal. Some scholars, however, note that historically, the military has often carried out presidential orders even when questions of legality existed.”
   24. The question remains, ‘When will the US military say they’ve had enough?’
   25. Later in the show, I’ll be reading and commenting on stories from this past week’s unprecedented in-person meeting of America’s top brass — some might call it Trump’s attempt at holding a political rally.
2. Let’s start with some local and regional news and information — The Joint General & Special Election is November 4.
   20. Early Voting begins on Monday, October 20. That’s only about 2 weeks!
   21. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot for Harris County is October 24, and it must be received by close of business on that day. If you want to apply for a mail-in ballot, I’d suggest mailing your completed application to the address on the form no later than October 13^th AT THE LATEST.
   22. In this show post at ThinkwingRadio-dot-com, I’m providing a link to apply for a mail-in ballot in the event you may be eligible. Fill it out, print it, and mail it as pre-addressed. It must physically arrive there by the end of business on October 24^th.
   23. If you live outside of Harris County, visit your County Clerk or Election Clerk website for a ballot application and election information. I have links at the bottom of this show post. If you find any out of date, please let me know.
   24. HarrisVotes-dot-com has an active “What’s On My Ballot” link, which you can access from this show post at ThinkwingRadio-dot-com. You can fill in your name and address and see your particular ballot.
   25. If you’re voting in person, you can print your ballot and mark it with your choices. You are permitted to bring that paperwork to the polling place as a reference, but you must take it with you when you leave.
   26. Other counties should have similar links, as well as the Texas Secretary of State at VoteTexas-dot-gov.
3. In local area news — Lake Livingston route approved for Entergy’s new power line despite Houston’s water concerns; By Claire Hao, Staff Writer | HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM | Oct 2, 2025. TAGS: Entergy Texas, Southeast Texas Area Reliability transmission line (SETEX), Lake Livingston,
   1. State regulators finally approved a route for Entergy Texas’ plan to build a new power line north of Houston, resolving a case that had become especially controversial, even for a large-scale infrastructure project. 
   2. Entergy’s Southeast Texas Area Reliability transmission line, also known as the SETEX project, will be built along Route 10, one of dozens of paths proposed by the utility company. 
   3. [MIKE: That’s not to be confused with I-10, Continuing …]
   4. This route was determined by state regulators and administrative law judges to have the least impact on nearby residents and the environment, even though it crosses through Lake Livingston. 
   5. The lake crossing had become a key point of contention for opponents — including officials at Houston Public Works — who worry construction of the power line will impair water quality in the lake, a key source of drinking water for the city of Houston. 
   6. Entergy has maintained that there is no evidence the SETEX project would harm water quality, pointing to its two power lines already crossing through Lake Livingston without issue. State administrative judges, after hearing the arguments of numerous groups, agreed with the utility.
   7. Still, Randy Macchi, Houston’s director of public works, sent a letter to state regulators in September stating that Entergy hadn’t contacted city officials to discuss their concerns. He urged regulators to direct Entergy to build a power line that doesn’t cross the lake.
   8. [Macchi wrote in September,] “The construction of power lines across Lake Livingston creates many undesirable scenarios and potential environmental hazards to a major water supply, none of which are in the best interest of the city’s customers.”
   9. In a statement, Entergy Texas said the new transmission line is critically needed to ensure the utility can reliably deliver electricity to customers in its service territory, which includes some of Houston’s fastest-growing suburbs and booming industrial areas along the Gulf Coast. 
   10. The project meets all federal and state environmental requirements, an Entergy Texas spokesperson said. Its estimated $1.4 billion cost will be spread out among Entergy’s Texas customers, but the spokesperson didn’t answer how much that will add to the average customer’s monthly bill. 
   11. [Entergy Texas CEO Eliecer Viamontes said in the statement,] “It’s our responsibility to ensure we build a resilient power grid that supports long-term economic expansion and future energy needs.”
   12. Houston Public Works didn’t return a request for comment on regulators’ Thursday decision approving a lake route for the project.
   13. … Transmission projects often draw backlash from affected landowners along the proposed routes, and Entergy’s SETEX project was no exception.
   14. For months, the public docket for the project has been flooded with hundreds of comments from residents and businesses arguing against one route or another. …
   15. Regulators with the Public Utility Commission of Texas on Thursday agreed with state administrative law judges that the routes crossing the lake were the best option, as they ran along the fewest number of habitable structures and cost customers less than the path avoiding the lake. 
   16. Commissioners had narrowed their choices down to two lake routes: Route 10, which wouldn’t avoid a new residential community planned in Willis, and Route 10 MOD D, which would. 
   17. Caldwell Companies, which is still developing the Chambers Creek community, said last month that Route 10 would “cut directly through the heart of the development, causing significant damage to infrastructure, home sites, and amenities.”
   18. But Commissioner Kathleen Jackson said Thursday that existing developments deserve more consideration than future or even ongoing ones, when it comes to planning new power lines. PUC Chairman Thomas Gleeson said there was a “preponderance of evidence” in support of Route 10 as the best choice, before commissioners voted at their meeting to approve this path. …
   19. MIKE: There’s a bit more detail in the story.
   20. MIKE: I can see a significant legal action developing from this. I am no lawyer, but I presume that Caldwell Companies purchased this land with an assumption of its value based on its then-current condition, and that that condition did not include high-tension wires cutting through it. That will undoubtedly change the potential resale value of some or all of the properties in their planned development.
   21. MIKE: I could thus foresee a lawsuit from them for a restraining order and/or damages, and that could further delay this project.
   22. MIKE: I can also imagine that during construction, some dangerous sediments could be stirred up in Lake Livingston, as Houston Public Works fears, and that could lead to prolonged and expensive efforts to mitigate any contamination the construction has caused.
   23. MIKE: So, to be continued.
   24. BACKGROUND: Entergy wants to build a power line across Lake Livingston. Will it risk Houston’s drinking water?
4. Sprawling Muslim community center eyes fall opening in Houston; By Gwen Howerton, Texas Culture Reporter | CHRON.COM | Oct 3, 2025. TAGS: Houston Ismaili Center, Houston, Montrose, Ismaili Muslims,
   1. The decades-long quest to bring the first-ever U.S. location of a massive religious center to Houston is almost complete. 
   2. Ismaili Center Houston, a five-story, 11-acre religious center for Ismaili Muslims, is poised for a grand opening ceremony next month on Allen Parkway and Montrose Blvd. When the center opens, it will be the first Ismaili center in North America and just the seventh in the world. It will be open to the public, serving as a community space for Ismaili Muslims to pray, socialize, and gather. 
   3. [Omar Samji, a spokesperson for the Ismaili Center, said in a statement last week,] “The Center’s aim is to foster mutual understanding between different communities and cultures: to invite Ismailis and non-Ismailis to connect through shared events such as lectures, conferences, music recitals, and art exhibitions that nurture curiosity, celebrate difference, and encourage conversation.” …
   4. … [T]he Ismaili Center will feature a cafe, a black box theater, a library, public art and green space. It will span 150,000 square feet, and designers said the center will fit in with nearby Buffalo Bayou, which is across the street. The massive, meditating human figures found along Allen Parkway in the park were funded partially by the Ismaili Aga Khan Foundation, an international development agency founded by Karim al-Hussaini Aga Khan IV (the spiritual leader of the world’s Shia Ismaili Muslims who died earlier this year). 
   5. [Said Thomas Woltz, a landscape architect on the project,] “The Ismaili Center gardens reinterpret Islamic landscape traditions while grounding the Center in Texas’s diverse ecologies and addressing flood risks.”
   6. Houston’s Ismaili Center has been nearly two decades in the making. In 2006, the Aga Khan Foundation and the late Aga Khan IV announced that Houston had been selected as the site for the first Ismaili Center in the United States. The foundation paid an undisclosed sum for the land on Allen Parkway, replacing the former historic Sears warehouse on the spot. 
   7. “We hate to lose an important historic building like that, but at least this time there is a chance that some very good architecture is going to be built on that site,” David Bush, a spokesman for the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, said of the project’s approval in 2006. …
   8. MIKE: There’s much more about the new center itself, as well as the Muslim community it’s intended to serve. The story also includes a beautiful photo that I think shows this new center to its best advantage, and which I have linked to in this show post at ThinkwingRadio-dot-com. If they would welcome it as a potential tourist and educational attraction, I think it could become very popular for admiring the building and its grounds, as well as a place for meditation.
   9. MIKE: In this show post, I’ve also included reference links about the Ismaili community and also an image of the historic old building that it replaced.
   10. REFERENCE: The official website of the Ismaili Muslim Community —THE.ISMAILI
   11. REFERENCE: Who are Ismaili Muslims and how do their beliefs relate to the Aga Khan’s work? — THECONVERSATION.COM
   12. REFERENCE: Baylor College Of Medicine At 2323 Allen Pkwy. (Formerly Sears Warehouse mentioned in article) — HOUSTONARCHITECTURE.COM
5. Houston Mayor John Whitmire to propose as-is tax rate as need for more revenue grows urgent; By Abby Church, City Hall Reporter | HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM | Oct 2, 2025. TAGS: Mayor John Whitmire, City Tax Rate, City Finances,
   1. Mayor John Whitmire on Wednesday will propose a plan to keep the city’s tax rate as-is despite a growing and urgent need for more revenue.
   2. If passed as written, residents will keep on paying around 52 cents per $100 dollars of their home’s assessed property valuation. Residents with a home that costs $300,000 would pay $1,530 each year to the city in taxes under the calculation.
   3. [NOTE] While the tax rate remains the same, residents’ tax bills could increase when the value of their home rises.
   4. The proposal was frustrating to multiple council members who have been repeatedly proposing ideas to get more revenue, like implementing a trash fee or raising the revenue cap, as the city continues to dig itself into a financial hole.
   5. Should the city continue spending in the way it is without gleaning more revenue, it could be up against a nearly $227 million deficit next year, according to projections from the city’s finance department. That deficit could grow to nearly $463 million by 2030 if there is no new revenue.
   6. Whitmire has historically waffled on a trash fee and has been reluctant to go to the voters to raise taxes without doing as much as the city can to cut spending first.
   7. MIKE: I’ll agree with Whitmore on that, but my reasons are that a trash fee is another regressive tax that hurts the poor and middle class more than the well-to-do. Continuing …]
   8. … Council Member Sallie Alcorn, chair of the council’s Budget and Fiscal Affairs committee, said Whitmire’s proposal will be hard to support without a plan from the administration for additional revenue, though she appreciates efforts he’s taken so far to keep taxes low and cut back on city spending through the recent financial efficiency study.
   9. That efficiency study combed through the finances of each city department to look for ways to restructure and spend its money differently.
   10. The city has already had to make cuts to numerous department budgets. Departments like parks and libraries saw millions in cuts under this year’s budget, leading to a reduction in services, Alcorn said. …
   11. [MIKE: I’ll point out here that cutting services does not qualify as improvements in efficiency. It’s just a reduction of services. Continuing …]
   12. Council Member Joaquin Martinez also his concerns about the tax rate. He has repeatedly proposed a trash fee and said he will continue to have conversations with constituents about it as well as raising the revenue cap.
   13. But he has also had conversations with the mayor’s office and trusts the city can make new revenue happen. 
   14. Martinez said the mayor is looking into a few revenue sources, such as how local partners like TIRZ and METRO can be of more help. METRO last year gave the city $100 million to help cover streets, drainage and traffic enforcement as a result of a then-$330 million deficit.
   15. Martinez also hopes the city can bring in more through sales taxes as a result of the crowd the World Cup may bring in. Houston is set to host seven games next summer.
   16. Finance Director Melissa Dubowski and Whitmire’s office did not immediately return requests for comment on the tax rate Thursday.
   17. Dubowski will give a presentation on the proposed tax rate to the council’s Budget and Fiscal Affairs committee on Tuesday.
   18. MIKE: Fees are flat taxes, and flat taxes are regressive. They hurt the less-well-off more than the well-to-do. And the well-to-do tend to generate more trash, so that means that everyone else is subsidizing them if there’s a per-household trash fee. It’s just noire wealth transfer from the bottom to the top.
   19. MIKE: I’ve said before that you get the government you pay for. Wasting money is bad. But using tax revenue to maintain and even increase city services for all residents equally is good.
   20. MIKE: It would be nice if Whitmire in particular, and more politicians in general, understood that.
6. UH study: Inflation forcing Houstonians to cut back or move; By Faith Bugenhagen, Trending News Reporter | CHRON.COM | Oct 1, 2025. TAGS: University of Houston, Center for Public Policy’s Survey on Public Attitudes and Community Engagement City Panel (SPACE City Panel), Inflation, Houston residents,
   1. Most Houstonians report being unable to keep up with inflation over the next year, with many stating they’re open to relocating due to rising costs, according to a recent study by the University of Houston. 
   2. The Center for Public Policy’s Survey on Public Attitudes and Community Engagement City Panel (aka, the SPACE City Panel) released its findings, which evaluate how inflation and debt contribute to Houston-area households’ financial insecurities. 
   3. Only 29 percent of respondents said their household income would “probably” or “definitely” keep pace with inflation over the course of the year. Among the households that wouldn’t, 76 percent reported that they’d consider or be open to relocating from Houston. 
   4. The results echo recent U.S. Census Bureau data indicating that Houston has the highest poverty rate, at 21.2 percent, among major U.S. cities. 
   5. Pablo Pinto, director of the Center for Public Policy and professor in the Hobby School, said conducting such a survey is necessary because researchers want to understand “what’s happening at the household level.” 
   6. “Which,” [Pinto said,] “is something publicly available data doesn’t necessarily reflect.”
   7. Forty-six percent of the responding households reported that they’ve had to cut back on spending on essential needs, such as food and energy. Nearly 86 percent of respondents identified the high cost of living as the top economic challenge, with more than 70 percent having some form of debt, including credit cards, car loans or student loans. 
   8. Among households with annual incomes of less than $60,000, credit cards accounted for the bulk of their debt. 
   9. Income isn’t the only disparity factor; white and Asian households were nearly twice as likely as Black and Hispanic households to report having savings or investment portfolios. 
   10. Thirty percent of Houston residents rate their community’s economic conditions as “poor or very poor” compared to only 17.6 percent in nearby areas. 
7. That takes us to the next related story — The top 20% of Americans are keeping the economy alive. That’s not a good sign; By Alicia Wallace, CNN | wlfi.com | Sept 20, 2025. TAGS: Consumer Spending, US Economy, K-Shaped Economy,
   1. Consumer spending is a crucial part of the US economy, accounting for about two-thirds of its growth. And judging from retail sales data released earlier this week, that economic engine appears to be running smoothly. Sales were up a strong 0.6% in August, a month when spending was expected to be somewhat lackluster.
   2. At face value, this latest data appears to be yet another testament to the sheer “resilience” of the US consumer, a storyline that’s become all too familiar these past several years: that ‘despite (insert economic concern here), the US consumer is doing just fine and keeping the economy chugging along.’
   3. However, the solid gains are masking a deepening inequality among US households’ economic experiences, a “K-shaped economy,” where a small share of high-wealth Americans is seeing continued gains while a larger share of middle- and lower-income households is experiencing increased strain.
   4. [Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told CNN,] “The economy’s prospects are tethered to the fortunes and spending of the well-to-do. Those in the top 20% of the income distribution are driving the economic train.”
   5. And that gap is widening to a historic extent, Moody’s Analytics data shows. As of June 30, the top 20% of earners accounted for more than 63% of all spending, and the top 10% accounted for more than 49% — both the highest on record, according to data that goes back to 1989. In 2019, during the comparable period, those shares were 59.2% and 44.6%, respectively.
   6. [MIKE: Interestingly, I think that roughly aligns with the share of national wealth that those segments hold. And while I am not an economist or socialogist, I interpret those numbers to mean that the bottom 80% of households basically have no money to spare on discretionary purchases while they’re struggling to just keep their heads above water. That is bad for the country as a whole on many levels. Continuing …]
   7. [Zandi said,] “If [the top-earners] turn more cautious in their spending, for whatever reason, the economy will suffer a recession.” That could happen if there were a significant correction in stock prices, he said, since much of the wealth that fuels spending by those “well-to-do” individuals is tied to the robust financial markets.
   8. … The wealthiest households accounting for an even greater share of US spending growth is causing upward pressure on inflation and spurring speculative bets that could foment asset bubbles. That could make the United States more vulnerable to a potential recession in the process, but it also risks setting back some Americans for years to come, economists tell CNN.
   9. [Said Tyler Schipper, an associate professor of economics and data analytics at the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota,] “The business cycle is always super depressing when we think about the different parts of the income distribution, because the lowest decile [MIKE: that is to say, the lowest 10%] … fall further and further behind.”
   10. The widening spending inequality is happening at a time when the US economy is slowing, inflation is heating up and the job market is getting shakier.
   11. For some people, like Minnesota resident Calyssa Hall, money is tight, and especially so since the pandemic.
   12. [Hall told CNN,] “It’s been hard to bounce back totally. But we are believing that all the good things are coming. I truly believe that I’m going to get back to the point of abundance and non-panic — not spending like crazy but just being able to go and not worry about money.” …
   13. When tracking prices at the Minnesota State Fair this year, Schipper [the economics professor], noticed that attendance was below average despite incredibly favorable weather. He attributed that to the fact that “consumer sentiment is lower, and the State Fair tends to be a place where you’re maybe not as cost-conscious.” One way to avoid paying higher prices is that some “just don’t go to the fair at all,” he said.
   14. … President Donald Trump’s widespread and steep tariffs on US imports have weighed on consumer demand, business investment, and hiring, said Justin Begley, an economist at Moody’s Analytics.
   15. Still, [Moody’s Analytics’ US Household Debt report for August showed that] on an aggregate basis, US households appear to be managing their debt, and delinquencies haven’t escalated to concerning levels.
   16. However, for lower- and middle-income households, that credit picture is looking less stable, according to a Moody’s Analytics analysis of delinquencies by credit score (which is the closest proxy for income).
   17. While overall delinquency rates are hovering around their pre-pandemic levels, the percentage of balances 30 days or more past due for households with sub-660 credit scores rose to 9.06% in July, the highest share since February 2016.
   18. Additionally, credit scores are dropping at the fastest pace since the Great Recession, according to new data released this week by credit scoring company FICO.
   19. Overall wage growth is slowing, and the pandemic era trends where pay gains were faster for lower-income workers have reversed themselves and are now faster for higher earners.
   20. [MIKE: Yeah, it’s a shame how quickly “essential workers” went back to being just “low-wage workers”. Continuing …]
   21. [A]new analysis released Thursday morning by Oxfam suggests that the highest-earning Americans — the [top] 0.1% — are expected to heavily benefit (to the tune of $60.3 billion) from the recently passed US tax law. Oxfam estimates that the corporate tax provisions in the bill could boost the top 1% of earners by $2 trillion.
   22. At the same time, price stressors have been particularly acute for low- and middle-income households, Schipper said. “Economists have long said that tariffs are regressive; they function as a consumption tax, and consumption taxes are more stressful for households that are spending more of their budgets on goods and services. We’re also seeing middle-income households actually shopping at places like dollar stores and Walmart.”
   23. In Fishers, Indiana, Scott Goodwin’s family recently started buying groceries at a different store.
   24. [Goodwin told CNN,] “We’ve changed grocery stores from the more — I hate to say — one of the more nice grocery stores to shop at locally; we used to go there for five to 10 years. And now, we went to another chain. My wife thought we can save more money by going to another store, so we’re doing that.”
   25. The Goodwins have long taken a conservative approach to spending — they typically don’t take trips, and instead they use the money to take care of bills, including student loan payments.
   26. [Goodwin added,] “The economy is always changing; it’s changing now. Do I have as much spending power today as I did five years ago? Probably not. We’re conscious of that. My wife and I pull back when we need to.”
   27. But recently, they’ve pulled back more on what they spend on food and leisure, including cutting out concerts this year.
   28. [Said Goodwin, who was born with polycystic kidney disease, a rare genetic disease that has now progressed to Stage 5, [which is] kidney failure, “Is that because I’m sick, or is that because of the economy? It could be a combination of both.”
   29. More medical costs are on the horizon for Goodwin, as he’ll start dialysis soon and desperately hopes for a transplant. …
   30. …Inflation has heated up in recent months, in part because of tariff-related effects but also higher services prices, particularly for travel-related sectors.
   31. [Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG, told CNN,] “Affluent households are still willing to pay for the front of the bus, and they’re also willing to pay up, while a lot of households are curbing their discretionary spending. You have this pocket of affluent consumers holding up service sector inflation in a way that you wouldn’t normally have.”
   32. Plus, the widening gap is making overall spending weaker, she said, [adding,] “Inequality is also important, because [for] lower- and middle-income households, any dollar they earn or that’s put in their pocket, they’re more likely to spend than a high-income household. When you have higher inequality, overall consumer spending is weaker as well. And so, it’s not just a bifurcation, it actually dampens overall spending and inequality.”
   33. She [further] added: “It’s like the worst of all worlds, in some ways, for the [Federal Reserve].”
   34. On Wednesday, the Fed cut rates for the first time this year, lowering its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point. Monetary policy acts with a lag, and the size of the cut isn’t expected to be a salve for the K-shaped economy-related ills. However, it could bring some relief to certain households, [Professor] Schipper said.
   35. “I think a household that’s struggling with credit card debt and is actively trying to get rid of it — every little bit helps. There will be some households, potentially, that it might make sense within the next six months to refinance their mortgages, and that can be a big help.”
   36. But, [Schipper added,] it’s likely not generating huge sighs of relief that the worst is over, he said. “It’s just a little bit less of a struggle.” …
   37. MIKE: In my opinion, there are a couple of points that still need to be made.
   38. MIKE: First, it’s important to remember that the technical definition of money is that it represents a store of value, and its main function is to facilitate trade in a way that’s more efficient that barter.
   39. MIKE: That being said, as a store of value, concentrating too much money in too few hands at the top of the economy could be seen as hoarding that value, and denying it to individuals and families that could benefit from that stockpiled value.
   40. MIKE: Stockpiling value, to use my word for it, means that value is essentially warehoused. It’s doing no good for value producers, since the ultra-wealthy can’t and don’t spend remotely all of their “stockpiled” wealth for production. And this warehoused wealth certainly does no good for potential consumers. It’s effectively sitting collecting metaphorical dust, with the exception of producers of the kinds of goods and services enjoyed by the top 1%.
   41. MIKE: Thus, being ultrawealthy — or to use my term, ultra-hoarding potential value — is not what might be called a victimless crime. It’s denying the entire economy of potential activity that would benefit all of us. And remember that “the economy” is really a term for the ease or strain of how our people are living their lives.
   42. MIKE: Ironically, putting more wealth into the hands of the lower and middle economic classes would even benefit the ultra-wealthy, who have their fingers in most of the enterprises at which consumers would shop.
   43. MIKE: In short, the US is in need of radical wealth redistribution. This can be accomplished with more progressivity in taxes and less regressivity in taxes, which I’ll leave to better minds than mine.
   44. MIKE: Just remember that elections have consequences.
8. This is now old news, but I couldn’t discuss it before now because I was off for last week’s show, so I’m just going to recap and then comment — Sinclair says it won’t air Jimmy Kimmel on its stations after Disney announced his return; By Kelsey Vlamis and Katherine Li | BUSINESSINSIDER.COM | Sep 22, 2025, 6:25 PM CT. TAGS: Sinclair Broadcast Group, Jimmy Kimmel’s Show, ABC Affiliate Stations, ABC, Disney, Media Consolidation,
   1. Sinclair [did] not air Jimmy Kimmel’s show on its ABC affiliate stations.
   2. Disney announced on Monday that Jimmy Kimmel’s show will return on Tuesday.
   3. Sinclair will [temporarily replaced] the show with news programming [before eventually returning Kimmel to the air on their stations] …
   4. MIKE: As per Wikipedia, Sinclair Broadcast Group is one of several mega-networks of station affiliates, “owning or operating 193 stations across the country in over 100 markets, covering 40% of American households.”
   5. MIKE: And they are second only to Nexstar Media Group, which owns 197 television stations across the United States, most of which are affiliated with the four major American television networks”, and they indirectly own or control more stations than that, both TV and radio.
   6. And both Sinclair and Nexstar are trying to merge with Tegna which, according to a NY Times story, “says it controls or provides services to 201 stations, reaching roughly 39 percent of television households in the United States. … Tegna owns roughly 64 TV stations and overlaps with Nexstar in roughly 35 market areas.”
   7. MIKE: I’ve linked to the NY Times article in this show post at ThinkwingRadio-dot-com, and it’s well worth reading in full.
   8. MIKE: According to Wikipedia, As specified in Section 1 of the Communications Act of 1934 and amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 … , the mandate of the FCC is, “to make available so far as possible, to all the people of the United States, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, rapid, efficient, nationwide, and world-wide wire and radio communication services with adequate facilities at reasonable charges.”
   9. MIKE: “Furthermore, the Act provides that the FCC was created, “for the purpose of the national defense,” and, “for the purpose of promoting safety of life and property through the use of wire and radio communications.”^[4]
   10. MIKE: We now have an intolerable concentration of opinion-shaping power that in no way truly embodies broadcast media’s responsibility to “serve the needs and interests of their communities of license.”
   11. MIKE: And in my opinion, our current media landscape is not, in my opinion, serving the national defense. (As an aside, I’m providing a link to an FCC facts sheet that describes what are supposed to be the FCC’s consumer missions.)
   12. MIKE: It’s important to note that a “household” can have anywhere from 1 to an unknown number of viewers. And just the fact that one company can have control over what 40% of American households can watch on TV just because their corporate sensibilities have been offended is intolerable and unacceptable.
   13. MIKE: This is the result of regulatory decisions made 30-40 years ago, mainly under pro-business and anti-regulatory Republican governance, and it has led us to a dark media landscape. Now, under Trump’s Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Car, things may actually get worse, since Carr is thinking of loosening ownership rules even further.
   14. MIKE: Divesture of concentrated media by these mega-networks is essential to the health of our democracy, and divestiture must be one of the main priorities in the event of future Democratic control of the three branches of government.
   15. MIKE: It’s true that the US government will need an enormous number of high-priority reforms and maybe a Constitutional amendment or two after Trump, the Republicans, and Project 2025 are ousted from power, but media divestiture must be among them.
9. MIKE: I suspect that most of you listening to this show are aware of the darkly comical in-person meeting that Defense Secretary — that’s still his legal title, by the way — that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for all of America’s top brass and their highest advisors at a previously announced time and in a previously announced location, with president Trump also in attendance. Due to the genius decision to publicize this meeting in advance, if someone had wanted to decapitate the US government of most of its important leaders, this would have been the time to do it.
   1. MIKE: Bearing in mind that impeachment is a political decision and not a legal one, this degree of leadership incompetence should by itself qualify for impeachment as — at the least — a “high crime or misdemeanor”.
   2. Following are a sampling of story headlines and initial paragraphs from the Washington Post about what one story called his “military pep rally”:
   3. Trump, Hegseth lecture military leaders in rare, politically charged summit; The unusual, hastily organized event became a forum for the president and his defense secretary to tout their partisan agenda. By Dan Lamothe, Tara Copp and Alex Horton | WASHINGTONPOST.COM | Updated September 30, 2025 at 6:57 p.m. EDT. TAGS: U.S. Military, President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Pentagon, Assembled Senior Officers,
      1. Hundreds of the U.S. military’s top leaders listened in silence to highly partisan addresses from President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, with each harshly criticizing their predecessors and hyping their political objectives during an extraordinary exhibition of both men’s grievances.
   4. Opinion – Trump and Hegseth’s backward-facing message to the generals; A preoccupation with “woke” culture and “enemies” won’t prepare the military for the high-tech demands of 21st-century war. By David Ignatius | WASHINGTONPOST.COM | September 30, 2025 at 6:38 p.m. EDT. TAGS: Tuesday’s Military Pep Rally, President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth,
      1. Here’s the scariest part about Tuesday’s military pep rally: President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — in their focus on grooming, fitness standards and “the enemy within” — seem oblivious to the reality that 21st-century combat will be dominated by drones and artificial intelligence, plus commanders who understand these high-tech weapons.
   5. OPINION — U.S. cities aren’t meant to be military training grounds; Our soldiers didn’t sign up to be police officers. By the Editorial Board | September 30, 2025 at 6:59 p.m. EDT. TAGS: President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, War From Within, Domestic Enemies,
      1. President Donald Trump, while speaking to the nation’s generals and admirals on Tuesday, placed a distressing emphasis on deploying the military for domestic law enforcement. He referred to a “war from within,” a determination to crush “domestic” enemies who “don’t wear uniforms” and a desire to use dangerous cities “as training grounds for our military.”
   6. Hegseth to upend troops’ access to watchdog, whistleblower complaints; New Pentagon directives will overhaul the channels that allow troops and defense personnel to file whistleblower complaints, report toxic leadership or point out discrimination. By Tara Copp and Noah Robertson | WASHINGTONPOST.COM | September 30, 2025 at 7:40 p.m. EDT. TAGS: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Whistleblower Complaints, Bullying, Hazing, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Defense Department’s Equal Opportunity Outfit, Defense Department, Pentagon Inspector General,
      1. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he will overhaul the military channels that allow troops and defense personnel to file whistleblower complaints, report toxic leadership or point out discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality or religion.
   7. Hegseth wants to return the military to 1990 — a dark time in its history; The early 1990s saw the U.S. Navy rocked by the Tailhook sexual assault scandal, exposing a dark underside of military culture. Analysis by Karen Tumulty | WASHINGTONPOST.COM | Updated September 30, 2025 at 6:37 p.m. EDT. TAGS: Marine Corps Base Quantico, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Military Standards,
      1. At his presentation Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested to hundreds of gathered generals and admirals that the military could restore a “warrior ethos” by turning back the clock.
      2. [Hegseth said,] “What were the military standards in 1990? And if they have changed, tell me why. Was it a necessary change based on the evolving landscape of combat, or was the change due to a softening, weakening, or gender-based pursuit of other priorities? 1990 seems to be as good a place to start as any.”
   8. Trump tells a roomful of silent generals to join a ‘war from within’; Story by Emily Davies, Matt Viser | WASHINGTONPOST.COM | Sep 30, 2025. The president delivered an unusually meandering speech to an unprecedented gathering of the nation’s top military leaders. TAGS: President Donald Trump, US Military Leaders, Marine Corps Base Quantico,
      1. President Donald Trump delivered a meandering address to an unprecedented gathering of the country’s top military leaders, railing against his predecessor, celebrating tariffs and floating the idea of using American cities as a training ground for the military as he painted a picture of the U.S. under attack “from within.”
   9. MIKE: Well, on that last story, there’s no question that America is in danger from an “enemy within”. That enemy is Donald Trump and his entire regime of fascists, loonies, and straight-up incompetents (and that’s plural, not possessive).
   10. MIKE: I remarked elsewhere that the good news about this meeting is that at least it didn’t turn out to be a secret war-planning conclave. At least as far as we know.
   11. MIKE: The authoritarian control — which is actually totalitarian control — that seems to be the goal of Trump and his Republican sycophants, is now in full, open, and unapologetic swing.
   12. MIKE: Their public effort to politicize the leaders of our military with a transparently political rally is terrifying.
   13. MIKE: Trump is making noises and announcing decisions that predict or enable more military occupations of US cities. Plainly speaking, these federalizations of National Guard troops have already been declared illegal by judges in California and Oregon, but court rulings don’t stop tyrants, and the Republican-run Congress seems to have no interest in exercising its power of ‘checks and balances’ as a theoretically co-equal branch of government.
   14. MIKE: Y’know, I’ve been doing this show on KPFT for almost 13 years now. I used to call myself, half as a joke, the most conservative liberal at KPFT. I’m no longer sure that I can call myself that since Trump became president. Again.
   15. MIKE: I think it’s important for recent listeners of this show to know that in my entire 7 decades of life, I have never before said the things about our government that I’ve been saying these past few months. But to quote Illinois governor JB Pritzker, if I sound alarmist, it’s because I’m alarmed.
   16. MIKE: This meeting — or military pep rally — that was called by Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump is just one glaring symptom of a bigger rot that this regime is causing in our government and our country.
   17. MIKE: The regime is damaging our national power, our national security, our technological primacy, our national health and our national safety, and we may never entirely recover what we were or what we had.
   18. MIKE: When you vote, remember who did this to us.
10. I have edited the following opinion piece for clarity — Trump’s Destruction of the US Economy; By Michael Hudson | COUNTERPUNCH.ORG | September 19, 2025. TAGS: Donald Trump, US Economy, China, foreign trade,
    1. … Trump has created a perfect storm for U.S. agriculture, first in his Cold War policy that has closed off China as a soybean market; second in his tariff policy blocking imports and thus raising prices for farm equipment and other inputs; and third in his inflationary budget deficits that are keeping interest rates high for housing and farm mortgage loans and equipment financing – while keeping farmland prices low. 
    2. The most notorious example is soybeans, America’s major farm export to China. Trump’s weaponization of U.S. foreign trade treats exports and imports as tools to deprive foreign countries dependent on access to U.S. markets for their exports, and on U.S.-controlled exports of essential commodities such as food and oil (and most recently, high technology for computer chips and equipment). …
    3. Trump’s weaponizing of foreign trade — keeping open a constant U.S. threat to cut off exports on which other countries have come to depend — has led China to totally stop its advance purchases from this year’s U.S. soybean crop. China understandably seeks to avoid being threatened by a food blockade …, and has imposed 34% tariffs on U.S. soybean imports. The result has been a shift in its imports to Brazil, with zero purchases in the United States so far in 2025. This is traumatic for U.S. farmers, because four decades of soybean exports to China have resulted in half of U.S. soybean production normally being exported to China; in North Dakota the proportion is 70%.
    4. China’s shift in its soybean purchases to Brazil is irreversible, as that country’s farmers have adjusted their planting decisions accordingly. As a member of BRICS [a consortium made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa], especially under President Lula’s leadership, Brazil promises to be much a more reliable supplier than the United States, whose foreign policy has designated China as an existential enemy. There is little chance of China responding to a U.S. promise to restore normal trade by shifting its imports away from Brazil, because that would be traumatic for Brazilian agriculture and would make China an unreliable trade partner.
    5. So … what is to become of the enormous amount of U.S. farmland that has been devoted to soybean production? Unable to find foreign markets to replace China, farmers are reported to suffer a loss on their soybean production, which is piling up in excess of existing crop storage capacity. The result is a threat of farm foreclosures and bankruptcy, which would lower prices for farmland. And as interest rates remain high for long-term loans such as mortgages, this deters small farmers from acquiring troubled properties. The result is to accelerate the concentration of farmland in the hands of large absentee financial funds and the wealthy.
    6. This shift is irreversible. … In any case, Trump’s policy represents a sea change, a quantum leap into U.S. coercive trade aggression. 
    7. There is zero chance of U.S.-China trade in soybeans or other basic Chinese needs … being revived. Neither it nor other countries threatened by U.S. trade aggression can take the risk of depending on the U.S. market.
    8. America’s agricultural [costs] and income squeeze [go] far beyond soybean sales. Production costs are also rising as a result of Trump’s tariffs, especially on farm machinery, fertilizer, and [tightening] credit as the risk of farm debt arrears increase.
    9. Trump’s Tariffs are Raising U.S. Industrial Costs of Production
    10. Trump’s tariff anarchy also is causing losses and layoffs of two thousand employees for John Deere and Company, with … demand also falling for other manufacturers of farm equipment. The most serious problem is that … harvesting equipment, like automobiles and all other machinery, is made out of steel, along with aluminum. Trump has broken the basic logic for tariffs – to promote the competitiveness of high-profit capital-intensive industry, … largely by minimizing the cost of raw materials. Steel and aluminum are basic raw materials.
    11. These tariffs have hit John Deere in two ways. For its domestic production, sales are low because of the depression of farm income cited above. Yields have soared this year for corn as well as soybeans, leading … prices and farm income to decline. That limits the ability of farmers to buy new machinery.
    12. Deere imports about 25 percent of the components of its products, whose cost … is increased as a result of Trump’s tariffs. Deere’s manufacturing facilities in Germany have been especially hard hit. Trump surprised Deere by ruling that over and above his 15% … tariffs on imports from the EU, he is imposing a 50% tax on the steel and aluminum content of these imports.
    13. That also hits foreign producers of farm equipment, leading to new complaints by [the] EU about Trump’s constant “surprises” in adding to his demand for “givebacks”, in exchange for not raising tariffs on imports from the EU even further.
    14. Trump’s Fight to Accelerate Foreign Reliance on Oil, and Hence Global Warming 
    15. Opposing any [mitigation of] global warming, Trump has withdrawn from the Paris agreement and has cancelled subsidies for wind power, [as well as] for public transportation. This is the effect of lobbying by the oil industry. …
    16. S. foreign policy [is] dominated by the demand to control oil as the key to weaponizing foreign trade sanctions, [as well as being a matter of] U.S. domestic economic policy. Soon after World War II ended, Los Angeles tore up its streetcars, forcing its inhabitants to join the automobile economy. Dwight Eisenhower initiated the interstate highway program to favor auto transportation – and with it the consumption of oil. 
    17. MIKE: Strictly speaking, that may not be entirely true. My understanding is that after WW2, on a visit to Germany, Eisenhower was so impressed with the German autobahns for military transportation that he pushed for a similar high-speed, high-capacity highway system in the United States. He felt that in a country 3000 miles wide, speedy transport of military equipment and personnel from one end to the other was essential to the national defense. Continuing …]
    18. Also plaguing U.S. agriculture is a deepening water shortage for crops, and destruction caused by flooding, drought and other extreme weather. One cause is the extreme weather resulting from global warming, which Trump denies as part of his policy to support U.S. oil and coal while actively fighting against wind and solar energy production. …
    19. [MIKE: As an aside, it is also claimed that fracking reduces water supplies, since the water used for fracking is contaminated and subsequently sequestered far below water tables. Continuing …
    20. Insurance costs are rising to unaffordable levels for many areas most prone to storms and flooding, [and] the annual cost of housing has soared in Miami and other Florida cities and the southern border states threatened by hurricanes.
    21. A parallel disruption is the rising [price of electricity,] as well as a water shortage caused by the rising demand to cool the computers needed for Trump’s support of [artificial] intelligence and quantum computing. The increasing demand for electricity [goes] far beyond the investment plans by power utilities to increase their production. Such planning takes many years – and utilities are happy to see the shortages push demand far above supply, [increasing prices and profits while contributing to inflation with higher costs of production.]
    22. Trump and his cabinet have made fun of China for spending so much money on its high-speed train service. Western calculations of economic efficiency leave out the all-important balance-of-payments effects of this rail development: It avoids forcing Chinese to drive cars using imported oil. China has no domestic oil industry to dominate its economic planning or foreign policy. In fact, its foreign policy aims regarding the oil trade are the opposite of those in in the United States.
    23. Trump’s Sanctions to Weaponize U.S. Exports to Its Designated Enemies
    24. Trump’s (and Congress’s) threat to sabotage exports of computer switches with secret “kill switches” to turn them off by U.S. fiat has led China to cancel its planned purchases from Nvidia. The company has warned that without the profits from exports to China, it will be unable to afford the R&D needed to keep competitive and maintain its monopoly on chip manufacturing.
    25. These trade policies slashing U.S. export markets and imports are just one reason why the dollar is weakening.
    26. [MIKE: On that note, have you checked the current exchange rate for the dollar versus the Euro? It used to be about $1.10 to the Euro. Now it’s $1.17. For comparison, the Canadian dollar is worth about US$1.40. Do you see the potential trend here? Continuing …]
    27. Other causes are declining tourism as a result of U.S. harassment, especially of foreign students from China, on which U.S. universities have depended… . 
    28. These non-trade balance-of-payments trends explain why Trump’s high-tariff policy has not led the dollar’s exchange rate to strengthen despite its effect on discouraging imports. Normally that would [improve] the trade balance. But Trump’s war against all other countries (mainly his European allies, Japan and Korea) has led to a shift of their dependency on U.S. exports (such as soybean), and products against which they are retaliating in order to protect their own balance of payments… [This includes cutbacks in foreign tourism to the U.S., reducing dependency on U.S. arms exports – and most of all, financial capital flight seeing that the shrinking U.S. home market must cut into foreign profits, and the dollar’s decline will [further] reduce its valuation in foreign-currency terms.
    29. Also, as BRICS and other countries conduct trade in their own currencies, this reduces their need to hold foreign-exchange reserves in dollars. They are shifting to each others’ currencies, and of course to gold, whose price has just soared over $3,500 an ounce.
    30. Trump’s Sharp Increase in Inflation, From Electricity and Housing to Industrial Products Made Out of Aluminum and Steel, [are] Subject to Crippling Tariffs on the Supply of Parts and Necessary Inputs.
    31. Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on basic inputs, headed by aluminum and steel, are increasing prices for every industrial product made [from] these metals.
    32. And of course, his tariffs generally are [increasing] prices across the board, as companies [are] raising prices as their existing inventories of goods produced by China, India and other countries are exhausted.
    33. Trump’s deportation of immigrants has increased the cost of construction, which relied largely on immigrant labor – as did agriculture in California and other states at harvest time. It is not clear who, if anyone, will replace this labor.
    34. Instead of attracting foreign investment, as Trump has demanded that Europe and other trade “partners” provide, he has made this market much less desirable. What he has done is provide an object lesson in what other countries need to avoid in creating regulations, tax rules, and trade policy to … become more competitive.
    35. Trump’s Monetary Policy is Sharply [Raising] Long-Term Interest Rates, even If Short-Term Rates Decline.
    36. Long-term interest rates determine the cost of mortgages, and thus the affordability of housing. Trump’s inflationary [policies] also increased interest rates for long-term bonds. The effect is to concentrate borrowing at short-term maturities, concentrating the problems of rolling over debt in times of financial crisis. This impairs the resilience of the economy.
    37. Many consumer goods imports are bought by the ultra-rich – the 10% of the population who are reported to account for 50% of consumer spending, For them, higher prices simply increase the prestige of such conspicuous-consumption status …
    38. MIKE: All of the aforementioned once again begs the question: If Trump was a Russian asset, what would he be doing differently? And this of course suggests another question: Why is the Republican Party — formerly so stalwart in its support of our foreign alliances, partnerships, and economic primacy — so willingly following Trump down this path that is so disastrous for the long-term security and prosperity of the United States?
    39. MIKE: Discuss.