Category: Politics, Religion & Money

Flames On!

These fires are catastrophic and unprecedented in my lifetime. Trump is blaming the inability to control the fires on Governor Newsom, rather than expressing any sort of concern or promising to offer support after he is inaugurated.

There’s no reason to hold back from belittling and insulting Trump. We know that when he’s confronted with a real crisis, as he was with Covid, he’s going to screw up. It’s a certainty that by the end of his term, Trump’s reputation will once again be in tatters and many will wonder why they voted for him.

Speaker Up for Denmark

Denmark is well-known in audio markets for its brands of high-quality loudspeakers. These companies would be harmed by Trump imposing import tariffs on Danish goods in his mad wish to take possession of Greenland.

The granddaddy of Danish speakers was the now-defunct Dynaco, which also made highly regarded amps. I am the proud owner of a pair of beautiful Dynaco A25 speakers, now over fifty years old.

Dynaco A25 with “Aperiodic” port behind the non-removal grill cloth.

Here are present-day Danish manufacturers of premium loudspeakers that Trump is unknowingly threatening. Bang & Olufsen is a brand, now 100 years old, that you may have heard of before.

Bang & Olufsen
Dynaudio
Dali
Jamo
Buchardt

Also based in Denmark is a leading manufacturer of raw speaker drivers that other companies incorporate into their designs. Its woofers and tweeters were used in the original line of Dynaco speakers.

seas

And, oh yes, let’s not forget Denmark’s Ortofon, my favorite phono cartridge maker. Will Trump follow through on his reckless threat?

Ortofon Super OM 20

Post-Washington Post

Ann Telnaes quit The Washington Post after a cartoon idea she submitted was rejected by the Editorial Page Editor. The cartoon is on Ann’s Substack post about her resignation.

https://anntelnaes.substack.com/p/why-im-quitting-the-washington-post

The rejection served only to widen the cartoon’s exposure, of course. The paper seems to be on a downward slide since Marty Baron retired.

At this point, Bezos may as well sell the Post for whatever he can get for it. If he hangs into it, and the editorial content starts turning in Trump’s favor, that will be the end.

Oh, look! Someone else is wearing Audio-Technica ATH-M20X headphones.

My take on the cartoon is that it’s far from the best work by Telnaes. The idea behind it is more obvious than it is clever. I would have rejected it for relying on the old “bags of money” symbolism.

Drug Money

Under Medicare Part D, there is now a $2000 out-of-pocket limit for prescription drugs.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/medicare-2000-prescription-drug-cap-january-1-2025-how-it-works/

In preparation for my afib ablation, I have to start taking Eliquis twice daily on the 15th. With my insurance, a 90-day supply costs just under $500.

Will I be on Eliquis forever? Probably, but it depends on the outcome of the ablation. Assuming I need to continue taking the medication, that will be $2000 this year.

Next year, the price of Eliquis will be negotiated by the government. Two years after that, generic versions should be available.

https://www.medicare.gov/about-us/prescription-drug-law