This Week and Next
MAHA Madness, The Mile High Club and a Small Town Leader Takes a Stab and Misses at Full Disclosure
The MAHA Moms
They feel double-crossed. President Trump’s executive order aimed at spurring production of a pesticide has infuriated leaders of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA movement. Bummer.
Let’s stop calling them MAHA Moms. Let’s stop calling them anything but what they are: dangerous. These reckless parents (not all MAHA Moms are XX) are at best well intentioned, but deadly all the same. Taking information from Instagram and a conspiracy-peddling lawyer who pumps steroids into his worm- and drug-addled body and brain checks the box for ignorant².
Not only have these people helped institutionalize healthcare ignorance; in doing so they’ve put their own children as well as other kids at risk for preventable deadly diseases like measles and pertussis. But of course it’s not just kids. They’ve put the elderly and immunocompromised people at risk as well. Make no mistake, when their children actually get sick they jump in their entry-level Range Rovers and head immediately to the doctor’s office, causing access issues for all.
Call them uninformed. Call them whatever you want, but in the end they are a big part of what’s actually making America very unhealthy again. These are diseases we once conquered. RFK Jr. is not a physician; he is a lawyer who has lied to the American public, and these people elevated him to the position.
It does take a village - but avoid this town. It’s too risky.
Kristi Noem’s Frequent Flying
Our country’s top dog killer, Kristi Noem, who is married to Byron Noem, continues to raise eyebrows (and bile) with her side piece, Cory Lewandowski, who, for the record, is married to Allison Hardy. As of September 2025, Lewandowski serves as acting Chief of Staff to Secretary of Homeland Security Noem in an unpaid special government employee (SGE) position, which raises a host of questions on its own.
By law, SGEs are limited to 130 days of work in any 365-day period, a designation originally intended for temporary outside experts, not people running a federal department. Yet Lewandowski has been a constant presence at DHS since shortly after Noem’s January 2025 confirmation, functioning as her gatekeeper and de facto chief of staff with the power to hire, fire, and veto contracts over $100,000. By mid-August 2025, DHS officially claimed he had worked only 69 days. Insiders called that number a gross undercount, and reports emerged that Lewandowski had been avoiding swiping his badge, working remotely, and tailgating other employees into government buildings to keep his official day count low. The White House Counsel’s Office took notice, issuing a government-wide memo on July 3, 2025, reminding SGEs of the 130-day limit, and then began quietly monitoring Lewandowski’s hours. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott reportedly grew so frustrated that he told Lewandowski he would no longer take orders from him because the 130-day limit had expired. Despite all of this, no action was taken, and Lewandowski’s SGE status was simply renewed for 2026.
The rumors of the two of them having an affair continue to simmer to the top of the swamp, and it tracks. For those not in the know, in September 2021, reports emerged that Lewandowski had allegedly made sexual advances towards the wife of a major Trump donor, prompting a Trump spokesman to assert that Lewandowski would “no longer be associated with Trump World.”
Yet by August 15, 2024, Lewandowski was back, joining the 2024 presidential campaign for Donald Trump as a senior advisor, until his removal in October, reportedly due to a staff conflict, and subsequent transfer to New Hampshire and appointment as manager of the state campaign for Trump’s presidential bid.
The most recent scuttlebutt is that the pair are racking up frequent flier miles in the Mile High Club aboard a taxpayer-funded private jet, one that conveniently comes equipped with a bar and a private bedroom featuring a queen-sized bed, where they are reported to spend time alone.
Small Town Politics and Big Time Truths
The Wine Wars continued with some rather shocking revelations in the Chatham Town Board meeting held on 2/19/26, all of which I will detail in next week’s installment of The Wine Wars, but it’s worth mentioning some of what happened. I attended remotely and it was worth the watch.
The Chatham Town Supervisor, Donal Collins, for the first time disclosed that he does have a business relationship with Dr. Ed Williams, the man who is trying to open a commercial venue on a residential dirt road. Collins went on to claim he recused himself from any decision-making on the county level, where he is a member of the board of supervisors. Why?
If he recused himself, why disclose it now after the proverbial horse left the barn and Dr. Williams’ commercial venue has been approved as a legit agricultural enterprise replete with the zoning and tax breaks? Why, as one person asked, didn’t Mr. Collins appoint a surrogate to represent the town at the Columbia County Board of Supervisors meeting when this “hot” issue was being decided?
A burning question: When did Mr. Collins recuse himself? It has to be in writing by law. He also slipped into the conversation that the county is looking at what might be a weak way of notifying citizens of changes that by law they have to make. Lawyers seem to make a big deal out of this. I’m not kidding, they call it “notice” - as if it’s like some really big deal. Legalese and all.
Again, maybe all of these disclosures had nothing to do with my reporting. Just a coinky-dink.
I was tickled by Mr. Collins’ memories of being a boy and how dirt roads handled commercial traffic like milk trucks. Wedding parties, wine enthusiasts: same as the milkman.
I have boyhood memories too. I remember riding in the car on our way to Albany and large smokestacks billowing toxins on the banks of the very polluted Hudson River. As a kid I never saw a bald eagle except in my Ranger Rick magazines. They were functionally extinct. NYS had ONE wild breeding pair. Sad.
Speaking of pollution, in the next Wine War installment I have some fascinating science. Who knew that vineyards in the Northeast pose a threat to soil erosion? Who knew that vineyards on hills with over a 15% slope grade pose a higher risk for soil erosion? Who knew Dr. Williams’ 400 vines (planned to be 5,000) are on such a steep slope? I wonder... maybe Mr. Collins knew? Maybe the slope and DEC wetlands are on a map?
Another small issue I’ll get into is beehive collapse and the specific pesticides used by vintners. Again, who knew? After all, Dr. Williams has been working with the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE). I wonder if they (CCE) have any research on soil erosion and hive collapse specific to NYS vineyards?
Soil, FOIL and SEQRA - Oh MY!
It’s been a week. All sorts of things hitting the fan. My best advice? Don’t stand behind the screen door.
Why Your Subscription Matters
Independent journalism answers to readers—not advertisers, corporations, or access-hungry editors. No story gets killed because it upsets a sponsor. No punch gets pulled because someone important made a phone call.
Your support makes possible sharp commentary, fearless satire, and reporting that follows the story wherever it leads. In an era of manufactured narratives and algorithmic blandness, that independence isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity.
Subscribe to The Powell House Press. Or settle for content that tells you what someone else wants you to hear.
© The Powell House Press | josh@thepowellhousepress.com