Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
Just a reminder of Trump hypocrisy, duplicity, and priorities.
It’s like his hypocrisy, duplicity, and dishonesty about the Epstein Files. Trump claimed and promised he’d have them released.
Exclusive: Trump Reposted Promise to ‘Expose’ Epstein Network in 2022
Now, though, now that Trump is the person in charge, it’s a whole other story being told.
Fact-Checking Trump’s Epstein Defenses In the face of mounting discontent over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, President Trump has turned to deflection, denial and downplaying.
The con man carries about nothing but himself and his image and power. If the Epstein Files carried so much damaging information about Democrats in it as TACO has claimed, there wouldn’t be an ice chip’s chance in hell for it to not be released.
No, this file is about him. Trump. And that’s why this twisted liar fights against getting it released. Trump is scared of what’s in it.
I’ve already created emergency preparedness plans for our house. I almost felt compelled to.
First, I spent my life from 18 years old to over 38 years old in the U.S. Air Force. Almost all of those years were in command and control. My initial duties were to learn how to execute checklist and manage communications relating to disasters affecting my base and unit, and executing war plans as defined by our mission. Then I trained others in those procedures. As I advanced in rank, I gained the responsibilities to write and review the plans, operational procedures, and checklist for disaster preparedness and recovery, and taking care of business.
All that sprawled over into the rest of my life. No matter where I was stationed, overseas or in the U.S., there was always a chance for a war, riot, or natural disaster such as a tornado, hurricane or typhoon (cyclone), earthquake, flooding, wildfire, etc. So I wrote us plans and checklists for coping with that, printed them out, and reviewed them with my wife. When we lived in areas prone to those problems, the local authorities strongly encouraged you to have those things and be prepared, so we did. They reside in a desk drawer but copies are in both cars.
So that’s how I am. Prepared. A checklist dictates what we need to take. We have a go-bag sitting in the closet and a kennel ready for the cat. Three days of clothing is inside the bag. Blankets and old pillows are in another go bag. A little case sits by our meds, ready to be swept up and carried off. A large cardboard box sits in the garage, ready to be filled with food. We keep unopened jars of large peanut butter available for that, along with other foods, such as energy bars, instant coffee, tea, utensils (including a can opener), cat food and treats. Our important papers are in a fire-resistant strong box so we can pick that up and go. We have a case of one liter bottles of water on hand. We also have a dozen plastic gallon jugs ready to be filled and carted off. We’ve had to get ready to evacuate places a couple times, so we’ve practiced grabbing all those things. Besides the basics of AM/FM radio, cell phones and flashlights, we keep a solar powered energy brick charged and ready to go. Extra radio and flashlight batteries are kept in plastic bags beside the go bag in the coat closet between the foyer and the garage.
Are we ready? I hope so, but I know from going through these things, plans go awry. I prefer to keep my fingers crossed and hope that we never need to do these things. But just in case, I’m going to do my best to stay prepared.
Fingers crossed, you know?
One thing many of us notice when we buy things online: they frequently arrive in boxes. Sometimes it’s boxes in boxes. The Bloomberg News information read via Alternet about box sales then becomes another warning sign for the Trump economy:
‘Not looking great out there’: Analysts warn this unexpected indicator predicts Trump slump
Bloomberg reports falling cardboard box sales are starting to worry analysts about consumer spending in the Trump economy.
“It’s just not happening, and they have no control over it,” said Adam Josephson, a former sell-side analyst who covers the paper and packaging sector. “[Across industries] all the measures I track are pointing in a not-very-good direction.”
Given Trump’s fear of facts and truths, it would surprise me not if some wealthy donors or other organization just starts ordering boxes to push the numbers up. Illusion, lies, and misinformation is the TACO Regime way. As noted economist Paul Krugman has commented, the hard data catches up with the soft data. And the soft data of CEOs announcing plans to cut back on production, lay off employees, and raise prices due to tariffs, shows the economy heading downhill.
It’s another Thirstda. With it, I realized, we’re on the cusp of August’s middle. Today is August 14, 2025.
We have a mild cooling trend underway. 68 F now, today’s high will peak at 86 F, falling from 93 F yesterday. Tomorrow is projected to be cooler yet. Rain is expected Satyrda and Sunda, with respective highs of 78 and 80 F.
I admit, I’ve never paid close attention to the Trumps. It shows; I often confuse the Trump women – Ivana, Ivanka, Marla, Melania. Lot of times, my Neurons will roll over and declare that Trump is married to Ivanka, his daughter. I suspect it’s my brain responding to casual connections projected in social media prompting my confusion. Anyway, Mea culpa.
An article I read asked and pursue the same questions in my mind about planned Trump’s White House ballroom construction: surely things like this are subject to oversight, permits, laws and regulations. The article reported that Trump has not applied for any permits. I, of course, snickered about that. I easily imagine Trump wiping out those requirements with his patented triad of weapons, the executive order, lies, and bullying. If oversight agencies aren’t checking him on other matters, why would anyone be naive enough to believe heritage, construction, and safety laws and regs will be applied? We know they won’t. This ‘law and order’ POTUS is pretty damn lawless. Part of his lawless path was charted by the Roberts Court, who decided something like, if the President does it as part of his official duties, it’s okay. So, there. He can build whatever unsafe, unregulated tacky outhouses that he wants on the land the We the People own. We the People can’t do a damn thing about it except write posts, protest, and call our elected reps. Oh yes, and try to vote him and that whole cancerous mass out of office.
Today’s theme music was caused by my wife. She and I were talking about a television show, Misfits, which we used to watch. She said, “Remind me.” With little thought, Les Neurons began playing the 2001 Nickelback song, “This Is How You Remind Me” in the morning mental music stream. This is how The Neurons work. All that’s needed is a tiny jiggle of a small connection between a song and a moment and they’re off!
Coffee is watering my nerves and energy is blooming in me anew. Time to risk getting dressed and going outside and interact with other humans. Hope grace and peace find you today and every day. Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 