COLUMN: Stop the madness

I was a fan of “Mad Magazine.” I waited for it to arrive at Honeyman’s Drug in Villisca. It was fun, silly, a little naughty and made me laugh at nonsense.

Alfred E. Neuman, the ever-present character, was a round-faced redhead kid with really large ears. His famous saying, “What, me worry?” that was in each issue. There was only one time when it was changed to “Yes, me worry!” after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979.

Life feels like we’re characters in Mad Magazine. Madness is everywhere. Every day. Yep! Time to worry.

Ready to close the 2025 books and hopeful for a calm 2026, I woke early on Jan. 3 discovering the U.S. invasion of Venezuela. A captured (kidnapped) president and his wife had been put on a plane to NYC for indictment and trial. What? Why? Who authorized? Congress? So much for a calm start.

What’s this madness? U.S. invasion of foreign soil? When did we declare war? Oh, wait! We didn’t.

Daily shiny objects and events divert our attention from one bad thing while creating more chaos.

Our country remains unsettled, distracted and unable to find steady footing. It’s like experiencing daily earthquakes followed by dozens of aftershocks.

2025 found a nation struggling with a sense of dis-ease. 2026 starting with a literal BANG of bombs, killing over 80 people with an invasion and apparent intent to “run” a country.

It’s just a daily dose of madness. Let’s recap 2025. What, me worry? YES!

National guard troops placed in cities without mayor and governor requests. Los Angles. Portland. Chicago. Troops present in Washington, D.C. with little to do except hang out in metro stations and pick up trash. Isn’t there a law about military being deployed in American cities? Yes.

The madness continues.

Immigrants believed the Statue of Liberty’s inscription. Those hoping for a better life were detained and “disappeared” from streets by masked ICE agents with little ID and driving cars with darkened windows.

Promises were made to deport the “worst-of-the-worst.” That didn’t happen. We witnessed deportation of grandmas at a market, mothers picking up school children, preschool teachers pulled from classrooms, children and college students plucked from streets, workers extracted from work sites and people sitting in coffee shops were gone. Families were left with no information regarding the location of loved ones who had no criminal record.

Court orders demanded return and release of deportees sent to detainment centers that were little more than torture camps worse than any horror movie. Too many detained had no criminal record. Not even a speeding ticket. American citizens were scooped up in the process, leaving families trying to find them.

The GOP campaign promised “releasing the Epstein files” would expose the rich and powerful abusing young girls. The process screeched to a halt by the Department of Justice. Delays and excuses slowed the release of information with little context. Claims were made to protect the victims. History will show it was to protect the guilty or cronies not the victims.

Promises to lower grocery prices, gas, electricity and living expenses evaporated with claims that affordability was a hoax. Reality said otherwise. The economy isn’t is a growth spurt for the average American.

Tariffs promised billions of dollars for the economy. Big surprise. Citizens, small business owners, farmers and ranchers paid the price of tariffs and bear the burden.

Expanding administrative authority without reason are daily discoveries. Over a hundred people have died by U.S. military action in the Caribbean without proof of transporting drugs. There wasn’t enough left of the boats or people to determine if drugs were being transported.

Constitutional powers of Congress and Senate were willfully handed to the executive branch. The Supreme Court looks the other way. Public opinion doesn’t support the actions. Any previous president would have been removed from office.

What’s the answer? We, the people, are the answer. Elections matter. It’s time to stop the madness. Pay attention. Vote.

What, me worry? YES. And you should too. Your voice is your power! It’s up to you!