Ashland, Oregon — Thursday, April 22, 2026.
Strong sunshine spreads across the valley from the east this morning. There are few clouds. The temperature is 41, the forecast calls for sunny weather, and the high end will see 67 F.
The latest move in Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! came out today.
Donald Trump reclassified state-medicinal marijuana as “less dangerous”. News reporting calls it “historic”, making it a perfect component of OELS!
With this, people will stop talking about:
- High gas, fertilizer, and food prices
- How badly Trump’s war in Iran is going, which he declared over as soon as it began (among other things)
- The 1973 War Powers Act and the 60-day limit
- Upcoming 2026 midterm elections and a potential blue wave
- The Strait of Hormuz and whether it’s blockaded, who is doing it, and whether ships are paying tolls, and who’s collecting it
- Trump’s feud with Pope Leo XIV
- Rising disapproval numbers and bad polls
- The backlash to depicting himself as Jesus via AI
- Labor market weakness
- Exploding national debt
- Low consumer confidence
- Trump’s health, stumbling, and slurring
- The Epstein files, and Trump’s role in Epstein’s life and crimes.
If it’s not one thing, it’s the same damn thing, over and over.
Trump did his Bible verse reading. The right-wingers predictably gushed over Trump’s bold leadership. Many of the rest of us said, “Wow, that was terrible.”
Jokes arose about whether Trump would read from the Quentin Tarentino version. While others’ Bible reading was live-streamed, Trump’s was recorded and heavily edited.
Your Trump quote for the day:
Ah, Trump math. “Nobody’s ever seen anything like it.”
Sure, we have. Many con artists make outlandish claims like this, such as George C. Parker, famous for selling people ownership in the Brooklyn Bridge.
Today’s music comes from my dream side. During the dream, I kept hearing the song, “Shame on the Moon” by Bob Seger.
But the dream was about this big birthday celebration for somebody. At its end, Shirley Bassey was introduced to sing.
As I remembered the dream, The Neurons introduced a different Shirley Bassey song, “History Repeating”. The one with her and the Propellerheads from 1997 took over the morning mental music stream.
Lyrics
The word is about, there’s something evolving
Whatever may come, the world keeps revolving
They say the next big thing is here
That the revolution’s near
But to me it seems quite clear
That it’s all just a little bit of history repeating
The newspapers shout – a new style is growing
But it don’t know if it’s coming or going
There is fashion – there is fad
Some is good – some is bad
And the joke is rather sad
That it’s all just a little bit of history repeating
h/t to Genius.com
We heard from Mom. The social worker contacted her. Mom sent a chaotic text summarizing it. Basically, the social worker said that they would not be helping Mom move from the assisted living facility. Mom ended the text by asking my sister if she’ll help her move out at the end of the month.
Hope you have a great Thursday, wherever you are.
Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 
I. Will. Be. So. Happy. When. This. “Trump Thing.” Is. GONE!!!!
LikeLike
there is just so much of this that I will not miss
LikeLike
When we get the Trumpian Math of saving us anything over 100% (which would mean the “stuff” is free), I keep waiting for my checks in the mail from the pharmaceutical companies. 700% savings? With that kind of payment I might be able to put gas in my tank!
LikeLike