AI, Trump, and Deception
On some days, it’s hard to be in the coffee shop. I was writing away when a group of five males who are about my age arrived. I’ve seen them before but don’t know them. After ordering drinks, they took the table beside me and began discussing subjects I enjoy.
For instance, they mentioned “Klara and the Sun”. Terrific book. A short summary is given. They don’t know the author’s name.
Working on my manuscript, I refrained from informing them.
“Did you lose any money yesterday?” one asked another. “There was a big crypto crime. I can’t remember the name of the company.”
I know, I know, my brain shouted, but I kept typing, venturing deeper into the novel in progress.
My coffee-shop neighbors returned to an earlier topic, AI. One said, “I think they’ll need to start labeling things made with AI.”
“Oh, yes,” another confidently replied. “That’s a given.”
I laughed to myself. I don’t think anything involving large sums of money and corporations is a given. I think that’s especially so when profits and revenues are in direct competition with public health and safety. Thinking back, I easily recall several historic incidents that repudiate that idea.
- Way back when cigarette companies paid doctors to reassure people that cigarettes weren’t dangerous.
- Remember the exploding gastanks on Ford Pintos? Ford paid a lot of money to keep that quiet, figuring that it would be cheaper to pay off the lawsuits.
- How ‘bout that time that oil and energy companies found and hid the risks and dangers of climate change?
- Purdue, the Sacklers, and the opiod epidemic early this century?
- Or what about DuPont and 3M hiding the effects of forever chemicals, Johnsons & Johnsons and the talcum powder/asbestos scandal, Volkswagen and dieselgate, or Monsanto and Roundup?
I can imagine the campaigns already, based on what I’ve seen with GMO labeling battles and Oregon Connects’ astroturf efforts here in Oregon. AI companies will run emotional ads arguing that forced labels stifle local software developers, harm tech startups, and slow down life-saving medical AI innovations.
They’ll jump on the deliberate manufacturing of ignorance and doubt, tactics corporations successfully employed before. As we’ve seen with multiple issues and challenges, the fight over AI labeling won’t be fought with facts; it will be fought by trying to convince you that facts don’t exist yet, or that a consensus about the facts doesn’t exist. It’ll be fought by convincing you that there is doubt.
Which brings us to Trump. Trump loves AI, although he wants to rename it, of course. While in office, Trump will absolutely fight to keep AI labels from being applied. Donald Trump is all for making money and dismisses values like honesty, ethics, and integrity.
So Trump will instantly denigrate any efforts to label AI content. That, I think, to Trump seems a lot like ‘woke’. And if he does, it will malign the effort for years.
I think that because of the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump claims that election was ‘stolen’ from him. No evidence of that has ever been produced. Trump often claims it’s because of voting by mail. 51% of Americans believe that election security is now a big problem in 2026. When it’s addressed by party, 83% of Republicans believe that voting by mail is now not safe.
We can argue that the polls now reflect a worry that Trump has taken steps to make voting less secure. I believe that he influences others with his lies and deceptions.
Which is the point. When someone like Donald Trump takes the stage and bellows a claim, it becomes part of our modern landscape, tainting truth, spreading doubt and confusion.
And that’s why I don’t think that we’ll ever be able to accurately label AI content.
Not till longer after Trump is gone.
Saturday’s Theme Music – Us and Them
Ashland, southern Oregon — October 31, 2026.
Another 30-degree night. White clouds overly the blue sky, creating a hazy white and blue sky. About 50 degrees high expected, I think.
Halloween has arrived in the US. At last. Decorations have been up for a while, and a casual topic of conversation, a filler. “So, do you have any fun plans for Halloween?” “Do you get many tricker or treaters?”
We have no fun Halloween plans. Going to a Day of the Dead party, but that’s on Monday. No, we don’t get any trick or treaters, and we’ve ceased buying treats because we ended up eating them all or freezing them forever.
I chuckled as a I dressed today. I’m wearing a sweater with a black tee shirt under it. I bought the sweater before moving from California to Oregon, so that’s over 21 years ago. But I recognized the tee shirt as one of the black cotton tee shirts with a chest pocket that I wore with my battle dress uniform in the Air Force over thirty years ago. I was in special ops for a while, and they required black tees. I still have three of them. Amazing how well they held up.
Trump says we’re getting richer. Economists say, um, no.
Gosh, if we’re getting richer, as Trump claims, I wonder what’s causing the soaring personal bankruptcies this year if we’re all ‘getting richer’? And if the US as a nation, why is our national debt so high and climbing, or that the budget deficit is getting worse?
I also wonder why so many people are complaining about the high costs of food, healthcare, and just about everything else. Besides increasing personal bankruptcies, personal savings are cratering in the US, and credit card debt keeps going up. Even farmers and ranchers, beneficiaries of Trump’s attempts to buy them off, are starting to say that Trump is a disaster.
Well, the truth to Donald Trump’s assertion is in his words. When Trump says “we’re getting richer”, he doesn’t mean We the People. Trump means Donald Trump and his family and peers like the wealthiest five percent of the nation are getting richer.
For Trump, it’s always about us and them. Trump managed to con a large portion of the population into thinking he included them when he said ‘us’, but they’re starting to understand that Donald Trump is a greedy, lying narcissist who is using his position to enrich himself.
‘Starting to’ is key to that. Many Trump supporters ‘sort of kind of maybe realize’ it but support Trump despite what it does to the nation because they like his brand of greed, hate, division, faux religion, and chaos. They approve of his ‘small government model’ because it means less regulation for business and more money and opportunity for them to get wealthier! “Everyone for themselves!” is their model, echoing the Founders’ intentions.
As everyone knows, it’s all part of the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all white men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Christian God with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Getting Richer, Screwing Everyone Else, and Doing Everything to Hold onto Power.”
Every school child is taught that early in American schools, especially private, white Christian schools paid for by vouchers made possible by poor taxpayers.
For as the old maxim goes, “We are only as strong as our weakest link, so we need to break those links and replace them with links like us. For in conformity is strength.”
Today’s theme music is by Pink Floyd. “Us and Them” was part of the album, “Dark Side of the Moon”, which was released in 1973. The lyrics are perfect for the Trump era, as he’s constantly dividing the nation, world, and even his own party under terms which call out us and them.
Sample Lyrics
“Forward”, he cried from the rear
And the front rank died
The general sat and the lines on the map
Moved from side to side
Black and blue
And who knows which is which
And who is who
Up and down
And in the end
It’s only round and round, and round
“Haven’t you heard it’s a battle of words?”
The poster bearer cried
“Listen, son”, said the man with the gun
“There’s room for you inside”
They’re not gonna kill ya
So like, if you give ’em a quick short, sharp, shock, they won’t do it again
Dig it? I mean he got off lightly ’cause I would’ve given him a thrashing
I only hit him once
It was only a difference of right and wrong, innit?
But really, I mean good manners don’t cost nothing, do they, eh?
Down and out
It can’t be helped
But there’s a lot of it about
With, without
And who’ll deny
It’s what the fighting’s all about
I hope you and me, and all our friends and relatives, have very good days and comfortable nights.
Cheers
Friday’s Theme Music — Notorious
Ashland, southern Oregon – Friday, October 30, 2026.
Octobers is sliding home. On to November – highly anticipated, fraught with tension and holidays, November. Many think change is needed. Disagreement still fills debate about what change is required.
It was another cold night last night, 34 F. Today is bleakly sunny with faded, slanting sunshine and a high in the low 50s.
My wife and I are going to a movie tonight at the Varsity Theater. “Wicker” is finally out, a movie starring Olivia Colman, Peter Dinklage, and Alexander Skarsgård, my wife has been looking forward to it for months. Based on a short story, the movie is a romantasy comedy about a woman who commissions a basket weaver to make her a man made of wicker.
Mom and I talked on the phone for another 30 minutes today. Her voice doesn’t carry well and her thoughts seem to scatter. She’s free of her UTI for today, and her birthday went well as my other sister, Lisa, visited her. Gina went by today, dropping supplies off for Mom. Gina also will take Mom to her doctor appointment on Tuesday and take Mom to vote. Peace is at hand for a day.
Like many, I’m waiting to see what happens on election day next week. Mail slowdowns have been spotted so people have voted early in reaction. Trump’s Department of Injustice is already attempting to influence and challenge election results in several states. Whispers keep circulating about ICE being deployed to voting locations or other ‘strong man’ intimidation tactics. Trump insists without evidence that it’s needed because others will cheat. Well, we can smell that trumpshit, because we’ve smelled it before.
Trump is notorious for being indifferent to the law – or anything and anyone who isn’t him. When it comes to his welfare, wealth, image, and legacy, he’s very concerned. Not so much when it’s anyone else.
Donald Trump has failed in so many ways. Economy, healthcare, national debt, war, popularity, cell phone, crypto, tariffs, trade agreements. He even failed to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the Pulitzer Prize. He’s only won fake prizes created to appease him.
And his approval and popularity are getting lower and lower, especially compared to former President Obama. President Obama is filling places, getting cheers, and grabbing headlines. He’s very popular. People came away from President Obama’s speeches saying, “President Obama is so smart, and he looks so good. Wasn’t that another great speech?”
Trump is winning empty seats and crickets. He’s very unpopular. People come away from Trump’s erratic rants wondering, “What the hell was he saying? God, he looks so sick and unhealthy. I think he’s going to die soon.”
So, we’ll see what Trump. Tries. Next.
“Notorious” by Duran Duran is today’s theme music. Yes, The Neurons plugged it into the morning mental music stream after I used the word notorious while discussing Trump with my wife this morning.
Although it was released in 1986, the song has some lyrics which fit well with the Trump practice of making and blowing off promises.
Sample Lyrics
Girls will keep the secrets so alone the boys making noise
Fools run rings to break up something they’ll never destroy
Grand notorious slam (bam) and who really gives a damn for a flaky bandit
Don’t ask me to bleed about it I need this blood to survive
You own the money you control the witness I’ll leave you lonely
Don’t monkey with my business you’ve paid the profits to justify your reasons
I’ve heard you promise but I don’t believe it that’s why I done it again
No no notorious, notorious, notorious
I can see references to the Epstein files via ‘girls will keep secrets’ too. Ditto, ‘fools run rings to break something’. Damn, that pretty well summarizes the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025: let’s break everything so white rich people can rule and make more money!
I hope these final days of October of 2026 find you in good health and good spirits. May you keep both through the coming months and many years beyond.
Cheers
A Conversation with Mom
Mom called.
It was almost five PM. My wife and I were sitting there, my phone on the desk beside me. We never heard my phone ring. I picked it up to check something else only to see that Mom called four times in a span of ten minutes. Left a voice mail just two minutes before.
Complaining about my phone while I wondered WTH was wrong with it – or was it my service? – I called VM but couldn’t decipher what Mom was trying to say. As I was listening to it, she called again.
After answering, I listened as she complained about my sister, Gina, and begged me to call Gina and ask her to take Mom shopping tomorrow. I agreed to text Gina with the message.
Mom then said, “I told Gina that I would give her $4,000 a month if she let me live with her.”
I replied, “I know. Gina said she will if you apologize to Pat about the things you said about him.” Pat is Gina’s husband.
“I never said anything about Pat.”
“Then apologize.”
“I’m willing to pay for a lie detector test for both of us.”
“Who?”
“Pat and me.”
“Why would you need a lie detector test? You said you never said anything about him.”
“I didn’t. After I moved into Gina’s house, Pat would come in and spy on me. But I never said anything about Pat.”
“You used to tell me that Pat was coming in and stealing your remote control.”
“Well, yes, that. He used to come in and take my remote control and hide it.”
“You told me that he used to come in and hurt your head.”
“Yes, Pat used to come in and use an invisible machine on my head. He had a control that he could use to make the device squeeze my head and make it hurt so much.”
“Mom, you just told me that you never said anything about Pat. Then you told me several things that you think he did. He never did any of those things, Mom. There’s no evidence of it. If you apologize to Gina for saying that he did, you can live with her.”
“Well, then I can’t live with her. I’d rather die before I lie. And I can’t live here like this any more, so I’ll just die.”
“Okay, Mom. I’ll pass the message on. I love you.”
We said our goodbyes. I passed the message on.
Thursday’s Theme Music — Think
Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, October 29, 2026.
Another cold autumn night fell over us last night. I awoke this morning to 30 F and frost on the ground. A line of high and thing white clouds stretches over the blue sky. 36 F now, we expect a high of about 52 F today.
Happy birthday to Mom! I called and spoke with her for thirty minutes. She’d just had pizza for lunch as part of her birthday celebration, which the assisted living people did for her. They also presented her with a birthday cake for them to all to enjoy. Yellow cake with thick white frosting with yellow, purple, and pink flowers on it. Sheet cake. Mom was eating it while speaking with me. Our conversation was peppered with, “Oh, this cake is so good.”
My sister, Gina, complained that Mom is losing it because she paid for her rent with old checking account, and if Mom keeps doing that, that account will run out of money.
I resisted responding, yes, as you get older, change is harder to process. It doesn’t necessarily mean Mom is ‘losing it’. But changing habits and routines get more challenging as we age — especially since Mom didn’t participate in making the change. Gina made the change and forced it on Mom.
But I don’t think I would change Gina’s mind with those insights, so I’ll go on.
Mom had some coughing fits while I was talking to her and asked me if I could call her again later. So we agreed that I will call her again tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, the flowers I ordered her were delivered after our conversation. She should have them by now but hasn’t mentioned it. Maybe she’s saving it for tomorrow. *smile* She does that.
Back to politics. It’s asking a lot for some people, I know, but I hope they go into the 2026 midterms, think, and vote. Hard to do when Republicans are juking and jiving, avoiding giving truthful answers about anything and everything. They try to dismiss inflation by mentioning that it’s not as bad as it was under President Biden, while ignoring the practical ramifications of how much more things cost now. And the Iran war? Why, that’s necessary to save us, using the same kind of trumped up *sorry, not sorry* excuses used to invade Iraq.
So I hope people think and vote blue. Hope they realize that Donald Trump lies and breaks promises. Hope they think and understand that Donald Trump can’t be trusted. Hope people think and see that Donald Trump’s policies are not making America great in any sense of what that means.
I know I’m 1) a broken record about this (ha, ha, hope you’re old enough to understand the reference) and 2) that there’s a solid wall of Republicans who say, “Never Democrat”. 3) There’s also a group of voters out there who remain ignorant, some deliberately so, and 4) some MAGAts love the way Trump is tearing down the nation because of their framework, emotions, self-pity, or whatever.
So here is Aretha Frankling with “Think!” A rousing song, it’s one of The Neurons’ favorite songs and often haunts the morning mental music stream.
Sample Lyrics
People walk around everyday
Playin’ games and takin’ scores
Tryin’ to make other people lose their mind
Well, be careful you don’t lose yours
Ooh think (think)
Think about what you’re tryin’ to do to me
Woo-hoo, think (think)
Let your mind go, let yourself be free
I love this scene in the movie. Makes me grin and laugh every time. Hope you enjoy it as well.
Cheers
