Category: Information

Thirstdaz Wandering Political Thoughts

Keep asking. Trump has a history of lying and making false promises.

Keep the pressure on. Don’t let Trump worm his way out of being confronted with facts and truth. He is a liar. Truth, facts, and history are his kryptonite.

We knew the truth about TACO’s relationship with Project 2025 in 2024. But, per his usual, Trump lied his way out of it, claiming that Project 2025 was a Democratic Party disinformation campaign.

That’s Trump. Lying. Blaming others. But now he’s openly embracing this ‘disinformation’. See how he lies?

Trump Flaunts Project 2025 While Teasing Permanent Cuts To ‘Democrat Agencies’

Likewise, adhering to his established pattern, while running for office, Trump trumpeted that he would release the Epstein files. Now he’s spinning it as a hoax by the Democratic party.

“So, this is a Democrat hoax that never ends. You know, it reminds me a little of the Kennedy situation,” Trump said in the Oval Office, referencing documents related to the assassination of former President Kennedy. “We gave them everything over and over again, more, and more and more. And nobody is ever satisfied. From what I understand, thousands of pages of documents have been given.”

Do we need to ask about his healthcare plan? That’s been completely dropped, despite his continual insistence in his first term that he was just about to release. Such a plan was never released.

Back to the future: Trump’s history of promising a health plan that never comes

How many times must it be shown that Trump is a liar purveying in false promises before people believe?

Now we’ve arrived at the 2025 Government Shutdown. Trump, Republican, is in the Offal Office. Republicans control the House and Senate. Back in 2013, he proclaimed that shutdowns are on the president.

Yet, since making that claim, Trump has been in the Offal Office for the last three government shutdowns. In his own words, that shows how weak he is.

Just as he did with Project 2025, TACO is trying to lay the blame on the Democrats. Yet, there’s one fact that can’t be overlooked.

That should tell people who wants this shutdown and who specifically are responsible: Donald J. Trump and the GOP.

Stop believing his lies. Stop accepting his promises. Don’t accept his blame game. He is an agent of destruction, a hollow man without empathy. Don’t let him tell you otherwise any longer. The facts are in.

He’s shown who he is. Make him face the truth.

3

Thirstdaz Theme Music

Rain, clouds, cool temperatures, and colorful leaves. It is indeed autumn in Ashlandia. 51 F now, 62 F on the way. This is Thirstda, October 2, 2025.

Gonna be a busy day for me. Slew of health and dental appointments scheduled. All were scheduled through different agencies back in June and July.

Remember when Donald J. Trump lied to everyone about Project 2025 while running for POTUS in 2024?

“I have not seen it, have no idea who is in charge of it, and, unlike our very well received Republican Platform, had nothing to do with it,” he wrote, describing attempts to tie him to the proposal as “pure disinformation.”

He wrote in another post, “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.”

Trump’s Past ‘Project 2025’ Remarks Resurface as He Touts Conservative Plan

Now he’s loving and embracing that ‘absolutely ridiculous and abysmal’ things. That’s Trump, con man and liar to the core, as many of us knew. That’s one of three areas where he keeps exceeding expectations during his term: lying. The second area would be making up things, and the third is bragging about himself. In all other areas, he’s an absolute failure and disaster.

But of course Trump lied about his relationship with Project 2025 during the 2024 elections. Its flat-out regressive plans were massively unpopular with voters in polls. Trump couldn’t stand that. He knew that without lying, such as his lies about immigrants eating pets, he would never be elected.

Speaking of Trump’s lies, Daily Beast has an update.

Trump Shamelessly Blames His Enemies for Carnage He’s About to Order

“Well, there could be firings, and that’s their fault, and it also could be other things,” Trump told OANN’s Daniel Baldwin. “We could cut projects that they wanted, favorite projects, and they’d be permanently cut.”

So Trumpian! So TACO! MAGA will swallow it whole, because that’s what they do. Low and under-informed voters will dully go along with that thinking because they don’t pay much attention and still don’t get what a greedy and selfish con man and liar Trump is. But the world knows. You know, and I know. Just as we know that the Epstein file is wealthy with the many terrible things Trump did as Epstein’s BFF, which is why Trump fights the release of the files and the truth that’s on display in them.

Today’s theme music comes straight out of thinking and reading about news, coupled with my busy day. As all the plans and appointments were regurgitated through my thoughts, The Neurons bounced up with a Grateful Dead song. Here’s “Touch of Grey”, with its chorus, “I will get by. I will survive.” Perfect song for the growing Trumpswamp.

Well, still waiting for peace and grace to pop back into our lives. Till then, I’ll coffee up and work on getting by. Hope you get by and survive, too. Cheers

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Social Media Sez

Trump’s BS isn’t going over well in the socialsphere. The right-wing bubble might be lapping it up but here in the real world, mocking Trump is growing as a pastime.

Some straightforward truth…

A little history…

In closing…

Laurence Britt’s list was displayed in the holocaust museum

And something from Trump’s alternate reality…

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Wenzdaz Wandering Thoughts

Hurt myself today. Yep, totally self-inflicted, and I was totes sober and drug free. Goes like this.

I was walking fast into the bathroom to get into the business of shaving, teeth brushing, and showering. A million things were heading through my mind. I’d just come from the living room, where Papi, by sole floof, was sweetly sleeping on a chair. But as I walked into the primary bath, I heard a loud, sharp meow behind me.

I knew it wasn’t Papi. Not his meow.

Whirling around, I simultaneously turned my head to go the other way and plowed straight into the door jamb. I fortunately hit with my forehead. Being hard-headed can sometimes help, and this is one of those times. Had my head been up, I could have easily broken my nose or given myself a split lip or black eye.

Staggering back after bouncing off the frame, I held my head and said, “Jesus, Michael. What is wrong with you?” Remembering the meow, I looked up.

A small gray and white feline visitor was staring at me through my patio door. I’d never seen the critter before. As I said, “Hello, who are you,” it whipped around and dashed away.

I peered outside for any more sign of it. Seeing none, I checked my damages in the mirror. One thing really still bothered me.

What caused that cat to meow like that?

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Wenzdaz Wandering Political Thoughts

Breathe deep, I remind myself. So much shitty news roils my complacent sailing. I seethe against Trump and the GOP. My specific seething target is that waste of space, Mike Johnson (R) – Hell. When questioned and pressed for an opinion about Trump suggesting that United States cities should be used as a training ground for the military, Johson squirms like a worm putting put on a hook. The Daily Beast reports via MSN.

Mike Johnson Cornered Over Trump’s Dark Military Threat: ‘Answer the Question!’

“I don’t serve in the Pentagon. I run the House of Representatives, and what we need to be talking about today is real harm that the American people are going to feel because of what Chuck Schumer is doing,” Johnson replied, referencing the government shutdown that Republicans are trying to pin on Democrats.

Yes, squirm, worm, squirm!

Shutdown Blues are sweeping the country. Trump seems pretty unconcerned from what we’ve seen and heard of him. Hell, he’s still getting rich, stealing from the government and scamming folks from the Offal Office. More than that, in his altered reality, he’s probably being cheered and feted with confefve from adoring crowds. Yet, coupled with the government shutdown and the impact that’ll splash over into the economy and the United States’ credit and bond ratings, people should be bracing themselves for rising prices, falling services, failing and businesses, and well, greater yet enshittification. This is the kind of event that’ll sweep over all facets of society. Trump seems oblivious, but that just released ADP jobs report is ugly. UPI feeds us the deets.

ADP report shows 32,000 loss in jobs in September

Oct. 1 (UPI) — Private companies’ payrolls dropped by a seasonally adjusted 32,000 jobs in September, according to an ADP report released Wednesday.

The figure represented the largest decline since March 2023. ADP also revised its August numbers — from an increase of 54,000 jobs to a drop of 3,000.

Well, tourism is down. Prices are rising as tariffs kick in and stock built up before Trump’s tariffs were announced dwindle. Beyond that, Trump’s erratic rollout, as consistent as a tide on a stormy beach, confuses business leaders and encourages distrust. Disrupted supply chains and doubtful, worried consumers encourages suspicions about what will happen next. Trust, once broken, isn’t easily regained.

UPI‘s story goes on to note,

The ADP report showed a 28,000 overall drop in service-related jobs, including leisure/hospitality (19,000), professional/business services (13,000), financial activities (9,000), trade/transportation/utilities (7,000) and other services (16,000). There was a rise in education and health services jobs — by 33,000 — and in information jobs — by 3,000.

Meanwhile, MarketWatch reports on deeper, ongoing problems.

The vital signs for the U.S. jobs market were already flickering before the employment report was delayed. Just how bad is it?

The health of the labor market is the single biggest worry of the Fed — even more than a recent rise in inflation. The central bank trimmed a key U.S. interest rate in September in what appears to be the beginning of a rate-cutting cycle to shore up the economy.

Most top Fed officials continue to call the labor market stable. Yet they are increasingly alert to the possibility of “more meaningful and unwelcome increase in the unemployment rate” that could damage the economy, as Boston Fed President Susan M. Collins said Tuesday.

But is the labor market really stable? On the surface, it appears so.

The economy is still adding jobs, if at a glacial pace, and the unemployment rate is quite low historically at 4.3%.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits each week is also surprisingly low, a sign that businesses are mostly avoiding layoffs. Instead, they simply aren’t filling open positions after former employees leave — what economists call “attrition.”

Dig a little deeper, though, and the vital signs for the labor market don’t look nearly so good.

Start with a decline in hiring — the number of new hires per 100 workers. The hiring rate among private-sector businesses fell again in August to 3.5%, matching a five-year low.

The slowdown in hiring is glaring in the most recent U.S. employment reports. The economy added an average of just 25,000 new jobs a month from May through August, marking the weakest four-month stretch since 2010, ignoring the COVID-19-era period.

Not only that, but employment actually fell in June for the first time since 2020.

“Low hiring remains the main driver of weaker labor market,” economists at Citi Research said.

Trump has a proven history of trying to hide from facts and pretend that all is not just great, but the greatest ever. It’s not a deep surprise that the BLS Jobs Report will be delayed. Many, including moi, think Trump’s minions will outright game the numbers to tell a wholly different story. While that might appease his MAGA base and buy time with lockstep Republicans, business people, critical thinkers, and, well, citizens residing in the real world will react with greater distrust and suspicion.

Seasonally, we should be seeing a jump in sales and employment in the United States. It’s the economic fourth quarter. Black Friday is coming, along with the big holiday season that so many love and loathe. The portents are mixed about what will happen. As Paul Krugman likes to remind us, hard data is catching up with soft data.

Time will tell for us but despite his appearances, Trump knows the clock is running. Tick, tock, TACO, tick, tock.


4

Wenzdaz Theme Music

Cool air and rainy vistas wraps Ashlandia’s autumn persona. 68 F is our expected high, 12 above our current setting.

Wenzda. October 1, 2025. September is gone, finishing off nine months of 2025. The final three months promise quite a ride.

Trump is trying to move the needle to full dictatorship. With the GOP mostly going along with him, the Roberts Court dished him one small setback in its Lisa Cook Fed board ruling. I think his military show threw him a deeper setback. Trump’s chosen Foxer to rule the nation’s military arm, Hedwig the angry inch, had summoned the U.S. military’s top leadership to D.C. Trump, apparently hearing about it, decided to insert himself into it. Between those two, the stoic military seemed less than impressed with the clown show encountered. This Fox broadcaster and a desperately vain, overweight billionaire were going to show them, professionals of twenty+ years, how to be strong and how to military. I’m sure a strong vein of who do they think they are went through gathered military. Nothing else, military leaders tend to be proud, intelligent, and lean toward arrogance. They’ve worked hard. Sacrificed. Committed to principles. They taught and practiced loyalty, and they’re versed in history. They are not fools nor easily cowed. And Trump and Hegseth treated them like fools, trying to cow them, dismissing all that they are. I think Trump’s Regime made a huge mistake staging this situation. The military knew what it looked like and what Trump was trying to do. And they probably did not like it. No, they will not speak out. But they were in front row seats for the unfiltered TACO show. They probably walked away thinking, he’s our commander-in-chief but our duties lie with the Constitution.

Unfortunately, Trump can fire a lot of them. Just decide, be gone. Might not be legal but that’s the Trump nation. Legality’s hold is weak and diminishing. So Trump fires them. Puts in replacements. I don’t know how that would all sit with troops. We saw with Germany, Vietnam, and other conflicts that the military often falls back on, “I’m just following orders.” So, we need to hope that they’re strong enough, intelligent enough, to resist those orders when they’re unlawful, and do the right thing.

Wow, what a place for our nation to reach.

They might also remember, hey, Trump’s best friend, Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted of some pretty unsavory crimes. They might wonder, what exactly is in that Epstein file? They may recall photos like this:

And they might think, POTUS or not, I really don’t like this guy.

Today’s song came from looking for Papi, my orange boi. I was like, “Where is that cat?” Then kind of thought, I wonder if he’s out front. And just like that, The Neurons had me singing “I wonder, wah wah wonder,” from “Runaway”. Then Bonnie Raitt’s cover took over the morning mental music stream and here we are.

Meanwhile, Papi wandered in from another room, yawning and stretching, back arched, stretching his front legs, then dragging his back legs in another stretch. After a few tottering steps, he sat and furiously washed several areas, then looked up at me in mid-wash. “Hungry yet?” I asked. He trotted forward.

Looking for peace and grace to find you? Me, too. I made some coffee, trying to lure them in. Fingers crossed that it works. Here we go, one more time into the breach. I mean, day. Cheers

1

Twozdaz Wandering Thoughts

My wife and I are traveling east in October to attend Mom’s 90th birthday celebration. I bought my airline tickets this morning. I have twenty-four hours to cancel them without punishment.

Wasn’t a pleasant process. I’ll put it out up front is that part of this is that we do fly first class. It is elitest, I guess, because we can afford it. Not really our choice, though, I’m gonna claim. My wife and I are naturally frugalish. That comes from parents who were tight with pennies, people who emerged from rural areas where the depression lingered a while. They taught us not to waste money. Then, in the military, enlisted in the 1970s through 1990s, we were solid lower middle-class earners. We’re not wealthy but we’re comfortable, yet my wife and I remain ‘natural savers’.

So saying, “Let’s fly first class,” goes against our grain. But, my wife suffers medical conditions. That’s one. Stack the airline propensity to squeeze us into tinier and tinier spaces to minimize their costs and maximize profits and executive bonuses, and you can understand why we spend the cash on first class.

Going first class automatically limits a lot of options. They aren’t many first-class seats. Usually just a few rows. On many aircraft, the last row of first-class seats do not recline or recline only a little. That severely limits the comfort level, in our experience, so that last row is out. Well, usually. That gets complicated. It’s like that on some aircraft and some airlines.

Then there’s the matter of the first row. They typically lack storage. If you’ve flown, you know that the standard storage for people is under the seat in front of them. Guess what the first row lacks? That’s right, a seat in front of you. That means your belongings must be stored elsewhere. Typically, that’s in the overhead bin, but that requires you to get up to get it. Yet if you have bad weather, you can’t just get up and get things at will.

I know, it’s a lot of complaining, isn’t it.

I’m not done.

We live in southern Oregon. Our airport is Medford. It’s a small airport. We’re flying across the nation to Pittsburgh, PA. That means we must go through hubs. San Francisco, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Portland are the main hubs for us out of Medford. So, what time do we want to leave?

We’ve learned from nasty past flights that going early is the best option. That’s because so many friggin’ flights get canceled or delayed. Going early gives us more options when things go awry.

Then, though, there are the layover time gaps. One fight offers five hours in an airport. Another offers six minutes between flights. Six minutes. How the hell are you expected to raise from gate to gate in that time? It’s bullshit, innit?

So, those are the basic parameters for trying to cope with cost, times, space, distance, health, comfort, etc. Whatever we do, a long day is guaranteed. The best we can do is try to make it as easy as possible.

Even though the airlines seem to be actively against that sometimes. Label this as first-world blues.

4

Twozdaz Theme Music

Good morning to the world once again. This time, it’s Twozda, September 30, 2025. Blustery day for September’s final shout, chilly and wet in Ashlandia. 46 F outside. Summer has packed its bags. Autumn has slid in. 62 F will be Ashlandia’s high.

I hoped Trump doesn’t read about the Taliban’s move. 1440 tells me, “Taliban severs fiber optic connections across Afghanistan in its first nationwide internet shutdown amid morality crackdown”. That sort of morality move has a TACO vibe. I could see him making an announcement that he’s shutting down the Internet without understanding of the rippling effect across the nation and world, blaming the Democrats for making him do it or some shit.

I also couldn’t avoid the news that Bad Bunny is the next Superbowl halftime headliner. While congratulations to Bad Bunny are extended, I’m indifferent to the halftime show and typically just walk away. I’m not actually deep into watching the game unless my team is in it. I do casually tune in if my team is not. My wife, who is a social observer, does like to clock the commercials for the freshest and most interesting, an outgrowth of her time in the advertising industry over a quarter century ago.

One must wonder if the NFL knew that Bad Bunny would be a controversial choice.

Bad Bunny Being Chosen for Super Bowl Halftime Show Sparks MAGA Fury

The Superbowl halftime show used to have a ‘theme’. The last theme listed in Wikipedia’s list of shows was in 2004, when the theme was Use or Lose, an MTV effort to encourage people in the United States to register and vote. I think it ironic, given Trump and the GOP’s efforts to curtail the vote by making it harder by doing things like challenging mail-in ballots and baselessly screaming about voter fraud and stolen elections. Trump understands, though, scream loud enough and often enough, and people will begin believing, contrary to the old adage about people crying wolf too many times.

Maybe this year’s Superbowl theme is, Screw You, Donald Trump. It’d be great if there was a Jumbotron display of Donald J. and his BFF, Jeffrey Epstein, and their mates during the show. Wouldn’t that be great?

Today’s theme music comes from a juxtaposition gumbo. Like Trump’s declining ratings, the arguments washing around the looming Federal gubmint shutdown, frustrations with a Pandora’s box of personal matters that aren’t about me, per se, and about generalizations about enshittification of modern U.S. first world life. Although yes, I read that Trump’s approval rating has mildly ticked up recently, an abomination of common sense and critical thinking, but that’s how he was elected to start. Overall, I hold to a sense of free fallin’, hence the Tom Petty song choice today from 1989, “Free Fallin'”.

Got my lucky shirt on so I have hopes for the day. But I’m not sure about the providence of my other garments, particularly my underwear. They’re newish, and unproven. Here’s hopes that grace and peace find their way out of the woods and into our lives once again. Till then, cheers.

2

Just Passing It Along

I picked this up from Judy Thompson’s site, “There and Back Again“. Kevin Wilson puts to music the new daily wonder, “What’s Donald gonna do today?” Hope you enjoy it. Cheers

2

Mundaz Wandering Thoughts

My wife and I had a minor disagreement the other day.

I had surgery to repair a ruptured tendon last year, in October, 2024. I’ve had pain of various kinds since then. One source of pain was along toes three to five, which was often stiff with burning pain. I’d mentioned it to my surgeon, as it began during my convalescence from surgery. He said that it sounds like a nerve was damaged. I felt the same. Although I’m not a medical expert or doctor, etc., I broke and dislocated a wrist in my late twenties. Pins casts immobilized that wrist and arm. I suffered from a burning, painful sensation along the pin sites after they were removed. My doc back then told me it was probably nerve damage. It did go away after about twenty years. This foot pain felt just like that pain.

While walking the other day, I felt a sudden sharp and painful snap in my foot where the toe pain resides. After gasping and slowing for a second, I resumed walking. Lo, that foot pain was gone. It hasn’t come back.

I was so elated. I went home and told my wife. She responded, “Why is this the first that I’m hearing about this?”

One, it wasn’t the first she was hearing about it. She’d forgotten me mentioning it, but I spoke about in early January of this year. I don’t blame her for forgetting it. We don’t remember everything we’re told.

Two was a broader philosophical position. Basically, I don’t tell her about every pain I endure. I’m aging, and have pains from time to time. Feet, ankle, hips, neck, shoulder, back, abdomen, eyes, etc. Those pains often go away. Their duration can last anywhere from a few hours to a week. Sometimes they limit movement, and more rarely limit my activities. My point is, pain comes and goes. I prefer to not complain. And then means, to me, not mentioning.

And there’s a little history in that. Number one was Mom. Mom as a mother often told us to stop crying, stop whining, stop complaining. She wanted us to be happy children. If we couldn’t be happy, she wanted us to be quiet.

Then there’s history with my wife about this. Long ago, when I was twenty, I was severely sick for several days. We didn’t see doctors back then for things like that. Basically vomiting, not eating, listless, sweating a lot, lot of pain. That pain resulted in some moaning and groaning.

Yeah, I got over it and lived. But about a year later, my wife was speaking to others and talked about what a baby I was when I was sick and hurt. That insulted and angered me. I told her so when we were alone. It since became a theme for her to talk about how often men complain about being sick or hurt when women are so much hardier, and more willing to endure. I finally mentioned to my wife that I disliked this reductivism about men and pain. She’s done it off and on since, and once, after seeing me give her a look when she made such a statement, apologized and claimed that she wasn’t including me. Since then, she’s slowly drifted out of the habit.

But this is how we evolve. We have our basic attitudes and tendencies, and then we react to our environment. Part of that is how we react to what we hear. What is said about us, especially by those we love, admire, and trust. Maybe I’m being thin-skinned, but words matter. Part of my problem, too, is that I seem to have a very strong memory. I don’t easily forget or forgive.

I guess that’s my bottom line.

1

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