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
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
Trump World Truths
I Found a new time suck.
Yes, that’s what my life was missing because I have all the time in the world and absolutely nothing to do.
This particular suck is all about the elections. The UF Election Lab maintained by Dr. MacDonald, offers interesting data on the 2026 midterm election cycles. Like any good time suck, it offers the kind of information that always has me questing across the net, looking for validation. Trust but verify.
But wait, there’s more!
The next site is called MAGA Report Cards. And holy cow, it’s a magnificent time suck for a good cause. It’s such a great collection of information about GOP candidates. What’s best about it, though, is how it connects the dots between who they were before and who they claim to be now.
For instance, on here, you can look up Republican’s positions on Medicaid cuts. You know that Republicans claim they’re against Medicare cuts, right? Or so they claim.
MAGA Report Cards responds with the receipts:
Republicans Cut Medicaid by Nearly $1 Trillion. They Scheduled the Pain for After You Vote.
This isn’t news for most of us who have been paying attention. But it’s helpful as a refresher, especially if you need to repudiate some MAGA fact denier.
MAGA fact deniers are amazing, terrifying critters. My wife was listening to a video of one yesterday. A reporter was asking a MAGAt woman what she thought of the Ukraine War and Trump’s failure to end it as he promised he would. This woman responded, well, that’s fake news.
There is no Ukraine war.
Like, whhhhaaaatttt?
No, according to this MAGAt, all that you see on the news about the Ukraine War is made up. Fake.
And that’s where technology fails us. At a time like this, I had a desperate urge to go through the computer screen and ask this woman, “If the Ukraine War is fake news, why is Donald Trump talking about it? Why did he make that promise in the first place, you fucking moron?”
Alas, technology hasn’t advanced that far yet.
Your Trump Quote of the Day, for the record:
I came across the MAGA Report Card when I looked up Christine Drazan’s record. Christine Drazan is a *cough* Republican running to be Oregon’s governor. Oregon is where I now reside and vote.
Voting by mail has been Oregon’s standard since 1998. Works great from my POV. I moved here in 2005 and have always voted by mail as an Oregon resident. I liked it because as a military member for twenty years, stationed around the world, voting by mail was often the only way to go.
Christine Drazen claimed that she fully supports voting by mail and blah blah blah.
That’s not what I remember of Christine Drazen’s previous position. She’s been in the Oregon legislature for a while. A search for her position on voting by mail took to MAGA Report Card.
MAGA Report Card handed me the receipts.
Christine Drazan Wrote the Bill to End Oregon’s Vote-by-Mail. She Describes It Very Differently.
Sites like MAGA Report Cards are so important in this digital age. The party of Trump follows their leader’s course. Donald Trump charts paths of lying, cheating, denying, and pretending.
MAGA Report Cards helps us stayed moored in facts, truth, and history.
Change is needed.
Vote blue in 2026.
Tuesday’s Theme Music — Here we go
Ashland, southern Oregon — Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
Here we go, another rainy autumn day, snow on higher elevations further north, shifting quickly from fall toward winter. Light blue splashes between white clouds smeared with gray. Rain rushes down and moves away. Another wave comes and goes.
It’s 42 F. Been 42 F since I got out of bed hours ago. High is supposed to be 48 F.
We’re all welcoming the rain. Lovely witnessing brown fields become green again.
Today’s music is “The Walker” by Fitz and the Tantrums. Came out in 2003. It entered my morning mental music stream today after I made my colonoscopy appointment. November 3 and 10 were offered first. But those are the Tuesdays after my next two BCG washes, so no thanks. The colonoscopy calls for a limited diet for the four days before the surgery, and the BCG can afford mood, energy, so on.
“The Walker” also fit my mood (and The Neurons’ thinking) because we’re closing on the national 2026 midterm elections. It’s like, here we go, just next Tuesday. Trump is already stumping that anytime someone he endorses loses, it’s a fake or stolen election — or ‘something smells’. Never offers any evidence, because there isn’t any. Now Donald Trump is offering money for reporting voter fraud.
Trump offers $1M rewards for reporting voter fraud in midterms
It’s another Trump stunt, another facet of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!
In effect, Trump is begging voters, “Please don’t judge me on my record. Don’t judge me on the desultory Iran war I began. Don’t judge me for not releasing the Epstein files. Please, please, don’t judge me on the affordability crisis and rising prices. And don’t judge me on the many lies I’ve made or the money my family and I made while in office. Don’t judge me for the pardons and the pay to play that’s going on.”
Trump was especially upset by how much better former President Barack Obama is polling compared to Donald Trump. Former President Obama is so much more popular than Trump! Showing how hurt and angry he is, Trump threw a fit on social media, ranting about Bill Maher. “Distraction, distraction, look at me, listen to me, love me!”
Trump’s justice department is trying to bring cases they failed to win before, and judges are slapping them around.
And Donald Trump is out there, trying to tell people that there is no inflation while grinning surrogates explain there is no inflation if you adjust for inflation.
Brace yourself, brothers and sisters. Here we go.
Sample Lyrics
Ooh, crazy’s what they think about me
Ain’t gonna stop ’cause they tell me so
‘Cause 99 miles per hour baby
Is how fast that I like to go
Can’t keep up with my rhythm
Though they keep trying
Too quick for the lines they throw
I walk to the sound of my own drum
We go, they go, we go, hey yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh, here we go
Feel it in my soul
Really mean it, mean it, so go
Gotta feel it, honey takes control
Really mean it, mean it
May this October day find you healthy and well, no matter what your season is.
Cheers
Monday’s Theme Music — Another day
Ashland, southern Oregon — Monday, October 26, 2026.
It was a chilly wet day in our valley. Layers of clouds thwarted the sun. Sunshine sporadically broke through but had little staying power. The asphalt roads were black and shiny wet, reflecting golden leaves. It was impressively spectacular on the large oak tree that resides across the street.
Today’s high was in the mid 50s. Now it’s in the low 40s F. That’s where it’s supposed to stop for the night.
Rolling out of bed and into another day’s light, I basically thought, “Here we go. Go check the phone calls and text messages and see what’s happening with Mom. Read the news, see what Trump and the GOP are up to. See if another war has been started. Get ready for another appointment, dress for another day, and so on.”
Yeah, still feeling a little weary, I’m afraid. I blame it on the rain.
The Neurons collected all this and set up “Day by Day” from “Godspell” in my morning mental music stream. I’m not religious but I understand the song’s sentiment. But for me, the song’s bottom line is the refrain, “Day by day.”
Hope your day was satisfying and rich with peace, joy, good news, and good health.
Cheers
Monday’s Wandering Thought
It wasn’t a simple hookup.
Despite the lidocaine injected up my urethra, the Foley catheter’s progress up into my bladder felt torturous. Didn’t help that the little exam room felt very, very…chilly, or that I was naked from the waist down, covered by a paper ‘blanket’.
Yes, this was my fourth BCG wash. Just two more to go. Fortunately, Nurse C, who does the instillation for me, is almost my age and shares an appreciation for a lot of the same rock music.
We compare who we’ve seen and what albums and songs we particularly enjoy. Nurse C has one concert over me that has me really envious: her first concert was Carlos Santana.
I’ve never seen Santana in concert.
Laughing, she told me, “It was 1975. I was a teenager and big into disco. So, I worked all summer to pick strawberries, saving my money to buy a ticket to see KC and the Sunshine Band. Dad drove me and my girlfriend to the concert and then waited at a nearby coffee shop.
“KC and the Sunshine Band finished. We got up and headed for the exit. Then the next guy came on. I said, ‘Who is that,’ and turned to pay attention. It was Carlos Santana. I’d never heard him before. That changed everything for me.”
My bladder was about finished voiding the urine through the Foley by then. Glancing at the beaker collecting it, Nurse C said, “You have some good-looking urine, though. That looks great.”
I shook my head. “Man, that’s the worst pick up line I’ve ever heard.”
We laughed as she loaded up the TB solution and began feeding into my bladder.
Music. It can really help you get through life.
