The Sizzle: What the News Won't Tell You (Jan. 17, 2025)

Topic: The Sizzle

I haven’t written an installment of The Sizzle since 2023, mostly because I’ve been preoccupied with some event called the 2024 election. For those who are new here or cannot remember The Sizzle, it is a periodic installment at Captain K’s Corner exclusive to my paid subscribers intended to penetrate today’s headlines and give you some real meaning – or what I would call actionable intelligence – the so what? to today’s headlines.

The Sizzle was my nickname in my first Army unit, the First Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas. I was just a Second Lieutenant and was given the task of giving weekly pilot briefings to our aviators consisting of relevant news so I could get some practice in front of grizzled veterans and officers senior to me. One day, I said “anyone can give you the steak but I’m here to give you the sizzle.” The nickname stuck and so has the point – to always get to the heart of a matter with accuracy, brevity, and relatability, rather than regurgitating headlines.

This installment will be patterned after my Ten Bold Predictions for 2025, which has three getting ready to come to fruition here before Donald Trump even puts his hand on the Bible. Without further ado, The Sizzle’s first go since 2023:

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I. Hell Frozen Over?

My very first prediction was Donald Trump will Assume the Presidency at Noon on January 20, 2025, made in response to the constant drumbeat of predictions that go something like, “the Deep State will make sure Trump never gets back to the White House!” I remember the same predictions that Trump couldn’t win the primary, couldn’t stay out of jail, and couldn’t win the Presidency, if in fact he made it past the first two alligator pits, and I also remember how sensationalists convinced you that Congress wouldn’t certify the Trump win on January 6, 2025.

I am just over 72 hours away from being correct on my first prediction, and I’ll be there in person to take it all in thanks to Congressman Ciscomani’s office coming through with tickets. I attended the inauguration on January 20, 2017, and while it was cold, it wasn’t like a reenactment of the Battle of the Bulge, either, like Monday’s ceremony is shaping up to be. Trump should be taking the oath in temperatures hovering around 20 degrees, give or take a few, and if we are lucky, the snow and ice will hold off. If the forecast sticks, this ceremony will be the coldest since Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985.

In my opinion, this is a fitting reintroduction for our 45^th, and soon to be 47^th, Commander in Chief, who many are expecting to employ a much frostier demeanor this time around when it comes to dealing with our own government bureaucracy, which appears to serve no purpose other than to fatten itself, plunder the citizenry, and exercise powers no one gave them in the first place. If you see me there, say hello.