Thursday’s Theme Music –
Ashland, Oregon — Thursday, April 2, 2026.
Cold morning with sunshine glinting off a wet ground. Thirty-five F. High will be about 55 F. Most trees remain bare branched. Blued white smoke boils out of planned fires in the mountains.
Friends were telling me last night that NOAA has put out a warning for Oregon rivers. Our extended snow-drought is going to cause water levels to drop on the rivers. That will really slice into the outdoor tourism industry in southern Oregon.
A friend passed away the other day. We just learned of it last night. 88, he’s been ill since I met him in 2007. A Republican and Trump supporter, he and I didn’t socialize much, and his illness kept him at home except for medical treatments for the last six years. Strange that he’s a Trumper, as he’s intelligent and compassionate. I never thought of him as racist, but he hated Affirmative Action. He called reverse discrimination. This was one of the many things we disagreed about. Still, his wife is a very nice person, and his son — a Republican — has worked hard with my friend to help the homeless. RIP, Bill.
Mom is quiet again, but she is applying for a senior living apartment. She’d have her own place and live by herself. I’m not enthralled with the idea, but she and my sisters like it. We’ll see what happens next.
Speaking of what happens, Trump gave a dud of a speech about the war with Iran he started. Meandering, he offered vague assertions about winning without clarification about what was won. He basically claims, ‘we’re safer now’ but doesn’t offer any facts to back that up. He also said that he might bomb Iran more. Why, if we’re safer now?
Today’s song comes from Todd Rundgren. “I Saw the Light” is in the morning mental music stream. I don’t know why. It doesn’t relate to anything from the dream side of things. Released in 1972, it was part of the radio rotation for a few years but never really spoke to me.
Hope your day is going well. May you flourish in the times to come.
Cheers
More WTH Trumpery
Pam Bondi is out as Trump’s Attorney General. I will not miss her, but what new horrible person will replace her?
I also wonder *smile* was Bondi a sacrifice to distract from the Epstein files?
Trump likes to claim how much he loves the military and respects veterans. Per Trump standards, his actions fail to support his words.
The Veteran’s Administration mortgage program had problems during the COVID years. Then the Biden administration killed part of the program that triggered a tsunami of foreclosures on veterans who purchased with VA-back loans. Trying to fix the problem under President Biden, the VA began a new program, VASP, to stem the foreclosures.
Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill of 2025 killed VASP, sending VA foreclosures to new highs.
More than 10,000 veterans lost their homes to foreclosure since May of last year, when the Trump administration shut down a key safety net in the VA home loan program, according to the latest industry data. That is the highest pace of foreclosures for VA loans in a decade.
A bipartisan bill was passed by Congress. Trump signed it into law but it was Democrats working with Republicans in Congress who got it done.
Many are cheering the Artemis II space launch. One of the biggest cheerleaders is Donald Trump.
Trump likes to forget that he’s cheering for an accomplishment which happened despite him.
President Trump’s 2026 budget proposal seeks to significantly slash NASA’s funding, which could bring an end to the Artemis program after Artemis III. The budget plan highlights a shift towards commercial space solutions for lunar missions, with a focus on Mars exploration. Major budget cuts to NASA’s space and Earth science programs are raising alarm within the scientific community, as they could impact the Mars Sample Return mission and other key initiatives. The proposal now awaits Congressional review, sparking heated debates and industry concerns.
Trump also hustled over the Supreme Court building to hear the arguments about his attempt to end birthright via executive order. Then he stormed out and lied about what’s going on.
“We are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow ‘Birthright’ Citizenship!” he wrote.
The United States is one of 32 nations who allow birthright citizenship.
As usual, Trump is wrong.
Michael Seidel, writer 