January 2, 2026
You know, I was trying to think about what to write today, but some days are tougher than others. For example, I started a piece with:
Whatever Happened to Matt Lauer?
But it just wasn’t any fun. Here’s a guy standing on career third base, the hitter has just pounded the ball deep into the left field corner where the outfielder is gamely trying to run to it. All Mr. Lauer has to do is to energize himself to lope easily to home plate, jump up and stomp down on the plate, and bask in the accolades of his thronging teammates and adoring crowd. Instead, what does he do?
He goes over to chat up the cheerleading squad.
Worse, he recently tested the waters about a media comeback. At last report, he is bobbing aimlessly in the ocean offshore near his home in the Hamptons. To be clear, there are lots of ships and boats cruising by on those heavily travelled waters, but none have so far attempted to throw him a life ring.
My gentle readers…there is something soul-destroying writing about someone/something like that.
Then I started a piece titled:
What If Kamala Won?
Tim Walz (whom you know I’ve always found to be cringeworthy) would now be our Vice President and we would be consumed with four years of Somali money scandals in Minnesota. Can you imagine not only the constant distraction, but the heat it would continue to generate? Plus, the stuck-in-the-jaw nature of a Dem Party stalwart as the icon for government assistance perhaps run amok?
OK, but then I thought, do something like this for balance:
Can Vice President Vance Achieve Trump Escape Velocity in 2028?
We all agree he is the prohibitive favorite for the nomination in 2028. But if Mr. Trump falters, what then with VP Vance? Could Trump falter? Yup, he can. Some of his recent social media posts have been more than unusually wincing. And I have to say that his renaming of the Kennedy Center was less than gracious.
But that all dead-ended for me. So, I thought…maybe Mark Ruffalo has been active, but alas, he’s gone silent. OK, so sitting in the bullpen…Gavin Newsom.
I’m sorry the hair just gets to me. I picture him in the chair, puffing and bouffanting the wave and closing his eyes when they spray in the product. As an aside, I have a cowlick and the same color hair and maybe someday he can advise me.
But at any rate, he gives you a lot of material. Here’s just one small sample:
He posted a video on Christmas Eve criticizing President Trump over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files release. The 20-second video showed pages of redacted documents from the Epstein case interspersed with old footage of Trump and Epstein together from the early 1990s, set to Mumford & Sons’ “White Blank Page.” He captioned it “2025: REDACTED” with a voiceover saying “And with that, the 2025 season comes to an end. Goodnight.”
As reported in The London News Network
Wow. OK. OK. Governor? It’s Christmas Eve, you know? People are in a feel-good mood or at least trying to get into one. And then you come along, like a Grinch, putting that thing into people’s inboxes? And you think you have your finger on the pulse of the country? No, you are actually sticking your thumb in their eggnog,
Gentle readers, I’m not apologizing for Trump. You learn early in life the dogs and fleas things and so, anyone who careened into Epstein’s orbit may never get them out. But you know, Gavin, give it a rest on Christmas Eve? You’ve got another three years to exercise yourself.
I’ve said before I believe his chances in 2028 are less than a comet striking him.
But I ran out of word-gas on that one so couldn’t build a piece around him. Other candidates shouldered their way in and were dismissed…
A conversation between Hillary and Bill about recent events. It started out well enough but got incredibly nasty so I dismissed them both.
A discussion with Joe Biden about why no one is hiring him to speak but I felt badly for him and for me.
A Q&A with Jimmy Kimmel about why he felt it necessary to go to the UK and trash our President to a European audience but then figured he’s a pal of Bruce Springsteen so I should let it alone, having done that one before.
Mr. Kimmel, when you get a sec, ask Mr. Lauer how important you are.
I started writing about Jim Acosta but couldn’t remember exactly who he was.
Marco Rubio talking to Mrs. Rubio about his “chances” in 2028, but that went nowhere. I couldn’t strike the right tone with it.
A check-in with Robert DeNiro as to whether or not he took up my idea of doing Word-a-Day, you know, broaden the vocabulary into polysyllabic utterance, but I knew the answer even as I asked it.
By then, writer’s block had me in its grip and I had a momentary panic: What if I’ve run my well dry? What if I’ve said everything I can say?
But then, in that brief interval of silence and stuttered breathing, trying to get hold of my emotions, that sweet lilting voice filled the air and saved me:
“The bankers are corrupt, the financiers are corrupt, the billionaires are corrupt, Trump is corrupt, the Republicans are corrupt and I will continue to fight fight fight fight fight for the people of Massachusetts until we root out the corruption.”
Thank you! I was at the brink of despair, and you pulled me back.
Thoughts, questions, or reflections? I’d love to hear them. You can reach me anytime at anthony@workingprofit.com
