Summer remains in full effect here. While it’s a pleasant, blue-sky 70 now, we expect 94 F to arrive before the sun curves out of sight.
Papi says, that’s okay. Let’s get something to eat, clean up, and take a nap.
With little surprise and total arrogance, Trump insisted on a huge fireworks display for the 4th. Per nature’s rules, that caused pollution which resulted in unhealthy air for We the People living and visiting there. The situation was made worse by the extreme heat the area is experiencing. Saturday’s temperature reached 103 degrees F that day. The extreme heat caused the pollution to linger.
I have “Cinnamon Girl” stuck in my morning mental music stream. It’s dream related. I had three dreams last night and one involved a woman with cinnamon-colored skin. With my wife, she and I were taken aback by the woman’s beautiful skin. She was petite, barely more than a girl. We saw her three times in the dream but never spoke with her. Instead, we would be walking through the throngs, look up and say, “Look, there’s the cinnamon girl.”
So, here is the song by Neil Young and Crazy Horse.
May happiness and joy fill your Monday and carry you into a brighter, better future.
Hot is the word for today. 90 is our expected high. It’s sunny but windy, with a blue sky coping with several blue clouds.
It’s funny to me how Papi awakens me every morning at about 5:50. Today was a little later, 5:57. I wonder about the little clock in his head. More correctly, it seems to be a stomach alarm. “More food, please, hurry.” Which I do. Which he probably wouldn’t ask for if this habit hadn’t been established. Which came about with previous cats and my work schedule. Some things endure change. *smile*
I was looking at the area weather statistics for June. Although we ended on a cool streak, we were 2.5 degrees above average for the month. There were no days when we exactly hit the average.
My body, mind, and spirit feel very strong today. Thank you to everyone who took time to send me positive energy. Send it to others now more in need, please, as I’m doing good.
There’s no escaping Trump today. He’s encountered most days in this era, lying, gloating, boasting, mocking, demeaning. Too often, there’s an announcement accompanied by his smirking visage, and I just respond, ugh.
We have the terrible circumstances that a wealthy man interested only in himself ‘leading’ the government as we celebrate our nation’s beginnings. It feels like a low point. Yes, we’ve been polarized and demoralized before as a country. There have been scandals like Watergate, Contragate, Teapot Dome. There’s been crises like the Cuba Missiles Crises, and so many, many wars. Disasters were endured; pandemics. Assassinations. I didn’t live through many of these and rely on reports others made. I’m living through this, though, and I don’t like it.
What is funny is how fast and consistently MAGA pivots to cover Trump. They embrace his explanations and excuses, ignore his broken promises, and dismiss his lies and convictions in court as meaningless. As they depress me, I turn further and further away from their concerns…
In many ways, I think MAGAts are pretending that Trump speaks for them. They’re pretending that life under him is what they voted for and wanted. They pretend that he’s not misleading them, dismissing them, forgetting them as he grows wealthier and they often grow poorer. Weaker. Sicker.
The real question is, how will they feel when Trump is gone and their situation is not better for any of them except the wealthy? Who will they blame? Where will they turn?
As Trump is already ranked at or near the bottom of historic ratings, I believe that the Trump Era will gain a place in our nation’s history as a dark, low time.
With those of pretending populating my thoughts, The Neurons cranked up “Pretending” in the morning mental music stream. Eric Clapton wrote and recorded it but Jerry Lynn Williams wrote it. With lines like these, it feels right for this Trumpishly diminished day:
“How many times must we tell the tale? How many times must we fall? Living in lost memory you just recall.”
“That’s when I knew she was pretending. Pretending to understand.”
May you find joy and peace in your hours today, happiness in your night, and love in your heart.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, July 2, 2026.
It’s blue-sky Thursday. Admittedly, that’s the July norm for our parts. 61 F now, our high is jumping into the mid eighties today. There’s a good feel to the air. Papi and I sat back and sucked it up for a while. I went back in, and he commenced a vigorous pre-nap cleaning.
No smoke, either. I feel for places enduring wildfire and its smoke and its impact, such as Utah. I understand from my sisters that their area is insufferable due to high humidity and high heat. They’re trapped under that dome of dangerous heat affecting 160 million Americans.
I’m feeling so good today, it’s almost criminal. Had amazing dreams and a solid night of fantastic sleep.
Mom has been quiet. As has two of my sisters, on vacation. Hope it’s because all is well with all of them. Fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc.
What can we say about Trump and the news at this point that hasn’t been said? Empty promises, lying to promote himself, extending the Trump touch to everything, he gets wealthier while whatever he touches withers and collapses, decaying and fading.
Trump, though, feeds off others’ energy. He’s a strange, unusual creature. That’s why he likes to do rallies, have them all smiling hopefully up at him, agreeing with all he says as he spins stories about his greatness, ‘telling it like it is’.
Job numbers were down. Analysts expected 100K and only 57K were reported. Unemployment also ticked down but that’s because less people are participating in the work force. It’s at its lowest level since 2021. We won’t know what it all means for months but the people embroiled in it probably will tell you, “I know exactly what it means: the economy sucks.” The questions about why it sucks will rage on.
My wife told me of an interview with people in Florida that she watched. Asked about the economy and Trump’s increasing wealth, one said, “He’s not doing anything for the middle class but he’s certainly enriching himself.”
While I like hearing that from others, hoping it’s a sign that people are shifting from Trump, I read — but couldn’t vet — remarks from the MAGAsphere that Trump is so smart, and that’s why he’s making money. *gag*
More news came out about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pond and Trump’s ‘renovations’, aka Algaegate. Now they’re saying toxic materials were used. Bad for the environment, but that’s never been a Trump worry, long as he has a golf course.
The Epstein files still haven’t been fully released. Although not fully financed, the Epstein ballroom construction rolls on. With Trump’s manhandling of it, the nation continues to stumble through the celebration of 250 years.
He is wrong, of course, but it’s not surprising that he believes it. Being told by staff, friends, and family would let him shrug it off, as they knew he wanted to do. As he’s not a student of law or history, neither of those aspects would affect him, either. Since his bottom line has and is always how can he make things better for himself, how he can make himself look better, and how he can make himself richer, he was happy to run with what he was being told.
As usual, Trump heard what he wanted to hear, so he could think what he wanted to think, and do what he wanted to do.
My thoughts this morning were a stew. Jobs reports, working people, the upcoming holiday, and the struggles with affordability. Tasting it as I stirred, The Neurons emerged with “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)” by Styx. The 1978 song is all about working and making a living, and the determination to get ahead.
I’m off to other matters. Stay comfortable and safe, whatever conditions come at you, and go with grace and peace.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
July has landed in Ashland. Looks much like June: blue sky, sunshine, but unseasonably chilly. 52 F when I rolled out of bed and fed Papi. Now 60, climbing to the high 70s.
Some of the larger news stories coming out this week, beyond Trump’s Great American State Fair Disaster and the various Roberts Courts rulings, is about how much wealthier he’s become while in office a second time.
Donald Trump has boasted about how much money he is making during his presidency as cost-of-living pressures continue to soar for millions of Americans.
The extraordinary comments came as new figures revealed the president reported more than $1.4 billion in income from his family’s crypto ventures last year, fueling claims that he is using the presidency to enrich himself.
To summarize, as most Americans struggle with affordability, job insecurity, and inflation, Trump made more than $1.4B. As POTUS. While We the People pay for him to golf.
Remember when Trump said he would not golf as President, criticizing President Obama for golfing? Ha, ha, fool me once..
Defending himself, Trump insisted that ‘everyone is profiting’. Which. Is. Bull. Shit. That brings us to some Trump quotes.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Many reflect that Trump’s handling of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool — Algaegate — reflects his terrible management skills, and how frequently what he claims and the results seen are almost diametrically opposed.
In the same way, Trump’s quote about the stock market and 401Ks in regard to his wealth and affordability show his uncanny ability to lie and exaggerate while demonstrating how out of touch he is with average people and reality.
Trump claims the stock market is up 85%. It’s not: the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has risen 24%. No market has gone up 85%.
A 401K is a retirement account. If you’re not retired and withdrawing from it, the gains are all on paper. They do nothing to help with buying groceries.
Few Americans own stock, 58% by most recent calculations. They own it mainly through a 401K. About 21% of Americans have stock investments.
The wealthiest 1% of Americans own more than the bottom 90% combined.
Trump made his money through his crypto, not the stock market, so talking about the stock market is another distraction, just more of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!
I am not surprised to read and report that the MAGA faithful and most conservatives applaud Trump’s wealth grab while in office, attributing it to Trump’s skills as a ‘smart businessman.’
Well, then, Rural America, there it is, there he is, Trump, your king, making money off crypto. Hope all of your are getting off your asses and following his lead, because he’s showing you how it’s done.
Daily Kos added the perfect final assessment of Trump, his wealth, and affordability. In the end, it’s all about Trump and what he can get for himself.
Funny. Trump declared himself the peace president and started a war and kidnapped another nation’s president. Declared himself a unifier and verbally attacks and insults other Americans while sending in heavily armed ICE agents to grab people off the street. Declares himself the crypto president and crypto collapses.
Today’s song is “Ring Rang Doo” by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs. The song was a minor hit in the 1960s in the US but didn’t make the mark that “Woolly Bully” made. It entered my morning mental music stream when I entered the closet to decide what to wear.
Don’t ask me why it came then, but it makes sense in a Trumpish context. “Ring Rang Doo” is a made-up word that means nothing. Much of what Trump says is about the same.
I hope your July begins on a high note and just keeps going up as we work through the season.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Tuesday, June 20, 2026.
Blue skies and sunshine. A light wind is blowing. Temperatures are creeping out of the fifties through the sixties, heading for the seventies.
Hmm. Almost the reverse of the Trump administration. They’re creeping back toward through the seventies toward the fifties — the 1850s.
Hope they’ve read “Yesteryear”. *lol*
Back to the weather. The Gingerboi, Papi, declares it almost perfect. If not for the wind, he says…
Had an excellent sleep last night. My dreams had me laughing. I’d read again a historical novel, “The Winter King”, and watched again “The Last Kingdom”. I then ended up dreaming of myself as basically a character in those settings last night. They were fun dreams, and did not have the bloody violence of the television series or novel.
The War between Trump and Facts continues. In this episode, he battles on against what our eyes show: the Great American State Fair is another Great American Trump Mess.
Reputable reporters and bloggers reported low turnout for the heavily-hyped Trump event. Trump declared there were 45,000 people attending but offered no evidence of that while others provided photos
You know, I side against Trump. He’s lied thousands of times about multiple topics. He repeats lies — like how great the economy is doing and how much respect the nation has gained. Hard data and anecdotal experiences expose his lies.
Then, there is Algaegate, the ‘redoing’ of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Trump began by denigrating how it looked, dismissing what others did to fix. He bragged about how great he would make it look, what a great deal he got to make it happen, misleading us about the price while doing so.
Then the results came in, and its horrible. And the story grows about who did what behind the scenes — driving across the pool, using materials on it for which it isn’t suited, spending more money than claimed. It was supposed to cost $1M to $2M. He’s now had $16.4M spent on it.
There’s that expression, once bitten, twice shy. Other sayings proceeded it: a scalded cat fears cold water. The point is that we learn to distrust. Once mislead, we’re skeptical. Once hurt, we keep our distance.
Trump does not respect that at all. But that’s how I respond to all his claims. Any trust which may have been there is gone.
Here’s today’s music from the morning mental music stream, “Once Bitten, Twice Shy”, by Great White.
I hope you have a gloriously happy but safe day. Go with peace and grace.
Floofmaniac (floofinition) – A person who has an uncontrollable impulse to love, pet, or be with animals. Origins: FLOOFO +MANIA, FLOOFMANIA, first noted use in 1945.
In Use: “The net became a floofmaniac’s dream as videos of playing animals and animals loving and helping each other exploded across the globe.”
In Use: “Sylvia demonstrated early floofmaniac tendencies, first with stuff animals, but swiftly graduating to real animals, eventually starting a career at eleven years old to fund animal rescues and help pay for animal food and health.”
I was at the front door, staring at the corner to my right. My wife joined me.
We stared together. “The big spider is gone,” I said.
She and I looked around to see if the big spider was just outside of its usual location. “I don’t see her,” I announced. “You?”
“Maybe he went somewhere else,” my wife replied.
The big spider is a ‘daddy longlegs’. I always thought it was a female because it was large spider. Spiders need to carry eggs so the larger ones tend to be female.
My wife disagreed. “I read that some large daddy longlegs are males.”
Windows flank our front door. The big spider had been in the right window for months, a sentry against insect invaders. I’d watch her web become larger and larger. Some days, I came in and she was actively adding threads. I couldn’t figure out the design, though. Made no sense to me at all.
We didn’t mind the spider’s presence or its web. Never bothered us, so we didn’t bother her. Papi never gave her a glance. Although he’s gone to chase down the laser’s red dot, he’s rarely interested in bugs, insects, or spiders.
This is a huge contrast to Quinn. Quinn used to go after anything that moved on the floor or wall, swatting and swatting with his little black paw. The thing is, Quinn was a coward. If the critter turned and headed his way, Quinn freaked out, backpedaling and scrambling to get away, trying to bat the thing as he did. I never saw Quinn ever ‘get’ anything, but any blueberries that found the floor were whacked across the room repeatedly until it disappeared under some appliance.
We checked the web for a few more days but the web remained empty. I asked our other resident spiders if they knew what had happened to her. None ever spoke up.
I guess it was just meant to end.
And we never named her. She was always just the big spider.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Wednesday, June 3, 2026.
Pleasant valley Wednesday. 66 F, sunshine percolates through some clouds. Rain and a high of 76 F are expected.
Mom and my sister went through a rough day yesterday, spending over eight hours at ER. Classic ER scene as the staff attempts to help everyone but there are so many who need help. They got home early in the AM this morning.
We’re not sure what’s going on with Mom. She had a CT scan but no results have been shared with us. At one point, they asked her if she wanted or needed anything, then added, but nothing to drink or eat. We all knew that usually means surgery. But surgery was never mentioned. She went home tired, thirsty, hungry, and sleepy.
Home: her shared room at the assisted living facility.
The US — or Trump, specifically — is between a rock and hard place. After Trump claimed he would end the Russia – Ukraine War, it continues with fresh strikes by Ukraine on Russia today.
Speaker Mike Johnson, who said this was a small operation back in March, was not available for comment. Trump’s Iran War was supposed to be over in weeks if not sooner, according to Republicans back in March. Now the war has been going 95 days.
Without too much surprise for me, I read that the Trump administration is dragging its feet on refunding Trump tariffs as ordered by the courts. Meanwhile, Trump dropped more tariffs on 60 nations, claiming it’s because they use forced labor.
Over in World Cup news, a Swiss player is waiting to see if he’ll be taking part in the games because the US has not said he’s allowed in yet, and the Iranians are worried about their team’s ability to come and go to the US.
The Epstein files aren’t completely released, and the Epstein ballroom is still short of funds but under construction. Under Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!, Trump is now not worried about it as a ballroom, but as a drone port. It’s all about the nation’s defense!
Of course, as I understand it, arming the White House to the teeth basically raises its value as a military target. After all, that’s what the US did in Iran: we went after the drone and missile launch sites.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
What hyperbole. Trump blasts a judge and rants, “we can no longer defend Washington, D.C., with rifles and pistols, alone.”
Let’s face it, too; if the US has reached a point in a conflict that we’re depending on drones on top of the White House to defend us, we’re pretty screwed.
Today’s music comes out of the thought stew bubbling my brain this morning. Spying on me, The Neurons brought the Rolling Stones and “Rock and A Hard Place” to the morning mental music stream.
Sample Lyrics:
We’re stuck between a rock And a hard place Between a rock (yeah) and a hard place
This talk of freedom And human rights Means bullying and private wars and Chucking all the dust into our eyes
And peasant people Poorer than dirt Who are caught in the crossfire ain’t nothin’
To lose but their shirts, yeah
May your day be carried forward with peace and grace.
It’s 53, expecting a high of 85 F. A solidly blue sky and bright sun have taken over.
It’s a new month. Papi and I are celebrating by doing the same thing we do every morning. Eat, wash, etc. He sniffs the ground and air, I sniff the news.
Right now, dealing with Mom. She’s struggling to think, speak, plan things, respond.
Then, dealing with family. Older sister is moving from her condo of 13 years in a place more physically acceptable for her. One sister’s young son just graduated high school. Lots of moving parts. Past, present, future all breaking at once.
Also dealing with news.
Multiple individuals dead after mass shooting in Oregon: ‘I know many people are grieving,’ police chief says
I look for details, wondering, how many dead, searching for the circumstances, thinking about the people involved.
Good thing there’s a cease fire. We had several more attacks between the US and Iran. I always thought ‘cease fire’ meant no one would shoot. Of course, Trump and the angry inch have fluid definitions, changing and using them to suit their needs.
The Epstein ballroom is still under construction, too, and the Epstein files have not been fully released.
We’ve had over 2,000 cases of measles in the U.S. 318 locations so far in 2026. 73 new cases in the last two weeks.
But in the latest phase of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!, the Great American State Fair *cough cough* will go on.
Your Trump Quotes of the Day:
Today’s song is “Straight Up” by Paul Abdul.
It’s in the morning mental music stream because of my coffee. I picked up my fresh cup and inhaled. “Smells good,” I told Papi, who was watching. “Just as I like it. Black, straight up.”
The Neurons replied, “Oh, we know that song.”
Song came out in 1980s when I was stationed in Germany. I was at the NCO Club with friends after work, having a beer. MTV was on the television. The video came on for this song. Several friends said, “Wait, I have to watch this.”
What?
They’d pay no attention to any previous music videos but for them, Paula Abdul was a conversation stopper. *smile*
Michael Seidel, writer 