First, on the Congressional front: 52-year old Mike Johnson ( on the left ,  becomes 53 on January 30 ), from Louisiana, narrowly, and with some difficulty, was voted on the first ballot as Speaker of the House.  This was expected, but was nevertheless an embarrassment the way it happened. 63-year old  John Thune  ( he turns 64 on January 7 ), from South Dakota, is now Majority Leader of the Senate, replacing Mitch McConnell. Then, the daily Donald Trump incident.   Judge Juan Merchan denied Trump's bid to dismiss the case, and said the sentencing will be announced on January 10 , ten days before Inauguration Day.  Whew for Trump, for the judge did also say that there will be no jail sentence at this time.  Huh?  Well, let's see what Merchan says on January 10. The Sentry Tournament of Champions is being played in Kapalua on Maui,  15 miles north of the village of Lahaina , which was decimated last year by fire.  How different they ...

On this Day 13 of our cruise on the Norwegian Encore from Seattle to Miami, I feature Guatemala and  Costa Rica.... no t Guat a mala and Costa Ric o .  Then, of course, on November 3, we remain on board and sail away to Southampton, UK. But before the topic of today, here is something from the morning  New York Times,  sharing the latest doings of Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican Party. Republican Campaign Meet the new Project 2025: The America First Policy Institute, a right-wing think tank,   is planning for a Trump win . It wants ultrasounds before all abortions, work requirements for Medicaid and federal workers who can be fired at will. Trump said   he would fire Jack Smith , the special counsel who indicted him over the Jan. 6 riot and classified documents, if he were elected again. His lawyers are also seeking to   dismiss the Jan. 6 case , arguing that Smith was illegally appointed. Trump has floated the idea of   replacing income taxe...