Dec 22, 2025 (336/1461)
Ever the giver, that TOM is. For Christmas this year, he’s canning 30 diplomats. Hey, when you come home for the holidays, bring all your stuff with you. You’re not going back. Happy New Year, you don’t have your post anymore! “The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and other senior embassy posts as it moves to reshape the U.S. diplomatic posture abroad with personnel deemed fully supportive of President Donald Trump’s “America First” priorities. The chiefs of mission in at least 29 countries were informed last week that their tenures would end in January, according to two State Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel moves. The State Department declined to comment on specific numbers or ambassadors affected, but defended the changes, calling them “a standard process in any administration.” It noted that an ambassador is “a personal representative of the president and it is the president’s right to ensure that he has individuals in these countries who advance the America First agenda.” Right, because I’m sure anyone appointed by Biden had America second or third on their list.
People in Kentucky might want to think about who they voted for last year and why. Because a bog old red state is now feeling the effects of tariffs. One of the main sources of state revenue and state pride, Kentucky bourbon, has been hit. “Bourbon maker Jim Beam is halting production at one of its distilleries in Kentucky for at least a year as the whiskey industry navigates tariffs from the Trump administration and slumping demand for a product that needs years of aging before it is ready. Jim Beam said the decision to pause bourbon making at its Clermont location in 2026 will give the company time to invest in improvements at the distillery. The bottling and warehouse at the site will remain open, along with the James B. Beam Distilling Co. visitors center and restaurant.” Now you’re messing with people’s livelihoods, pride, and history.
“Overall exports of American spirits fell 9% in the second quarter of 2025 compared to a year ago, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. The most dramatic decrease came in U.S. spirits exports to Canada, which fell 85% in the April-through-June quarter. About 95% of all bourbon made in the U.S. comes from Kentucky. The trade group estimated the industry brings more than 23,000 jobs and $2.2 billion to the state.” That ought to play well in 2026 elections.
We know he’s short sighted, but killing wind farms? That’s cutting off your nose to spite your face. “The Trump administration on Monday said it would pause leases for five wind farms under construction off the East Coast, essentially gutting the country’s nascent offshore wind industry in a sharp escalation of President Trump’s crusade against the renewable energy source.
The decision injected uncertainty into $25 billion worth of projects that were collectively expected to power more than 2.5 million homes and businesses across the Eastern United States, according to Turn Forward, an offshore wind advocacy group. The five wind farms were projected together to create about 10,000 jobs. But citing unspecified national security concerns, the Trump administration said it would freeze those leases, effectively blocking construction or operations and jeopardizing billions of dollars that have already been invested.” Can he not come up with a better excuse than “national security?” Of wind farms? Because we store classified data and state secrets on wind farm computers? Do better, TOM.
“Jeremy Slayton, a spokesman for Dominion Energy, called the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project “essential for American national security and meeting Virginia’s dramatically growing energy needs.”
The company argued that stopping the project for any length of time would threaten grid reliability “for some of the nation’s most important war fighting, A.I. and civilian assets.” Seems that might be a threat to national security. But what do I know?
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