Category: miscellaneous

The Trump Blue Wave Weave

It’s very interesting to look at how different industries responded to the 2026 blue wave.

Wall Street loved it! They foresee political gridlock, which is ‘good for the stock market’.

The AI industry and data center construction were instantly up in arms, warning what the Democrats will do via building limitations on new and bigger data centers.

Healthcare and insurers focused on ACA were delighted, as Democrats were bound to make moves to restore the subsidies which many people need to afford insurance in this era.

Oil prices dropped, which will bring relief to food sectors because fertilizer prices should drop, along with gas and diesel prices, and the shipping costs associated with those. This comes just in time for Black Friday and the traditional holiday shopping frenzy in the US.

Oil stocks dropped. Sad face for those oil companies which made huge profits since Trump attacked Iran in Feb of 2026.

The renewable energy sector is also excited but realize, too, that with Trump in the White House, the Federal government will stymie investment and construction of windmills and solar arrays. They’ll probably turn to the states for renewable energy initiatives.

Meanwhile, who will emerge as the Democrats’ leaders? My wife is pushing a ‘take no prisoners’ attitude. She is all for bringing back the guillotine. Her choice to lead the Dems is AOC.

Others are pushing for Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, but there are also those pushing against those two, viewing them as enablers. Champions for these two react by claiming that the blue wave is a direct success from their leadership.

Selecting their party’s leadership is just the beginning for the Dems. They must decide on their priorities and objectives. One contingency of voters wants to go after Trump and his enablers and minions and demand accountability for their transgressions.

A more moderate group preaches to attack affordability first. Retake the purse strings and re-establish checks and balances. Put out the fires and then go after Trump et al.

Hakeem Jeffries suggested that voters don’t want to go after Trump at all. Jeffries said, “”I haven’t had a single member of the House Democratic caucus talk to me about impeachment. We’ve been relentlessly focused on affordability and accountability.”

Personally, I’m not certain that accountability can be achieved without impeachment, but that such claims either way should be part of a transparent investigation. Trump’s corruption is another growing sore point among Americans.

Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

I suspect that if corruption isn’t investigated, Republicans would seize on that as evidence to them that the Democrats are the source of corruption. I make that suggestion based on Trump and the GOP’s recurring use of projection.

There’s also a fear that Democrats will waffle and bicker and not come to any decisions or take any directions, leaving us swirling around and around in a whirlpool of indecision.

Suggestions are out there about what to do. Drew Magarey published his demand list for Dems. It’s something to think about.

In the meantime, Donald Trump remains in the Oval Office, disconnected from reality, pushing forward an aggressively reactionary agenda, dismissing social services, pursuing deregulation and causing destabilization, distracting us from serious challenges as he tries to build things and name things in honor of him. Expect a great deal of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! from Trump in the coming months. Expect more, too, quiet behind-the-scenes maneuverings from the Heritage Foundation. I have little doubt that they’re coaching Trump, pushing his lawsuits and attacks on checks and policies, sneaking around, trying to advance the goals and ideals of Project 2025.

Going into 2027, we know that for every Dem action, there will be a Trump reaction. Donald Trump will resist ending the Iran war and fight to keep the tariffs in place. Trump will fight renewable energy projects and attempts to gain transparency into his administration.

It’s not science. Just history.

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Monday’s Theme Music — Tuesday morning

Ashland, southern Oregon — Monday, November 11, 2026.

Overcast and wet defines the morning’s view of the sky and land. Still colorful but fading, November is taking over, kicking October’s influences out. It’s 52 F with a chance of 58 F as a high.

My 1440 minutes are consumed with writing and BCG wash number 5. My wife and I were talking about going to a Day of the Dead celebration after my appointment but we both realized how stupid that would be. *smile*

Nothing new from Mom’s negotiations with my sister, Gina. I don’t expect a fast decision. Gina is always suspicious of Mom these days. In Gina’s view, Mom uses pain and problems as tools to manipulate others, so she’s waiting to see how sincere and true Mom’s offer to apologize to Gina’s husbands really is.

I don’t blame Gina at all. I’m extremely leery of Mom’s current entreaties. I want Mom to be happy but I’m not certain she has that capacity any longer.

Tomorrow is election day in America. Trump is escalating his attacks on democracy. Through him and his minions, voting by mail is threatened. Trump is also attacking voter registration and trying to intimidate state voting officials. As usual, Donald Trump is trying to use ’emergency’ as his excuse for what he’s doing, pleading to the Roberts Court for help. Yes, we’ve seen this playbook.

My wife and I talk about the midterm elections a lot at our house. There is a bit of fatigue in our conversations. The GOP’s television commercials are so friggin’ annoying.

Like Brad Hicks, running for state office. Part of the appeal he makes to voters is that ‘one party shouldn’t be in charge of everything.’

Hello, Brad. You’re a Republican. You do realize that Republicans control Congress and the White House, don’t you? You are, in effect, arguing against voting for Republicans because one party shouldn’t be in charge of everything.

Other than that, and attack, attack, these Trump-supporting candidates try to appeal for affordability and common sense. They never elaborate on either and don’t address the Trump-sized elephant who is affecting affordability in America.

So we are really, really, REALLY looking forward to Election Day — ESPECIALLY if We the People manage the blue wave so many are predicting.

With those thoughts in mind, The Neurons have placed “Sweet Tuesday Morning” in my morning mental music stream. This is a Badfinger song which came out in 1971. I had the album and listened to the tune often. I don’t think I’ve heard it on the radio in decades, which is a shame. Other than being about Tuesday, though, the song doesn’t have much to do with election day or the stresses, worries, and frustrations it represents.

I hope your 1440 minutes are stress free and relaxed although I suspect many are like me, hopeful but anxious, angry and weary.

May the blue wave arrive and save us.

Cheers

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Trump Double Standards

The political world had some fascinating headlines going this past weekend.

Five big reasons Republicans don’t deserve your midterm vote

Trump Tries to Trick Voters. They Treat Him to Pushback.

Trump cut funding for farmers — then unlocked billions for them before Election Day

That last headline is interesting. It highlights Trump’s patterns, IMO.

Trump likes to lie to win over voters (which some admire because he’s ‘telling it straight’ to them, in their mind). Then he makes solemn promises — over and over — about the great things he’ll do for people and the nation. Righteous declarations follow about who he is — a peace president who stopped eight wars, a unifier, a churchgoer who cares about everyone, a person who would never condone violence.

Then Trump broke many of his promises. Donald Trump often claimed that wasn’t what he said, that wasn’t what he meant, or that he was joking.

Next, Trump cut funding to programs and services. Some was done in secret, depending on the category of spending and how his ‘base’ feels about it. However and whyever Trump cuts, repercussions emerge. Experts often warn Trump and his supporters that those results will probably happen, but they ignore them, because TRUMP.

Then, lo, the results come in, almost as predicted. People become angry. If the angry people are part of Trump’s base, he slowly, belatedly, tries to fix things. Trump’s typical fix is usually a cash offer of dividends, subsidies, assistance. Those things sound terribly socialist, because such government handouts are branded as socialist by the right, but that’s okay; that’s Trump and his base.

That’s different.

It always is one standard for Trump and his supporters, and another for everyone else.

It’s the Trump Double Standard.

The debacle with the farmers can be traced across Trump’s second term.

Farmers’ problems began well before Trump came into office the second time as climate change, widespread heat, and drought changed weather patterns, and insurance costs skyrocketed. But I want to specifically address how Donald Trump’s actions actively worsened the situation for American farmers.

DOGE cut USAID funds because America First. As part of those cuts, the Food for Peace funds were cut. While the Food for Peace program fed people outside of the United States, Food for Peace bought billions of dollars of produce from American farmers. Just like that, that market was gone. Thank you, Donald Trump.

At the same time, funding for programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) was frozen, leaving farmers who had already invested money into soil and water conservation projects completely in limbo regarding federal reimbursements. Thanks again, Donald Trump.

By this point, the financial strain from lost global markets, halted conservation rebates, and rising operational costs culminated in farm bankruptcies hitting a six-year high in 2026. Thank you again, Donald Trump.

Then, while farmers and most Americans were struggling to pay bills, Trump launched his war against Iran, immediately affecting global oil shipments and the international supply chain, resulting in higher prices for oil, diesel, and fertilizer for farmers. Thank you a fourth time, Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s solution for the problems he caused American farmers from the 2025 DOGE cuts, lost global markets, and higher prices from the 2026 Iran war was to throw money at it. Just days before the November 2026 midterms, the USDA scrambled to pledge $15 billion in emergency ad-hoc aid.

It’s too late for many farmers. They already declared insolvency. It’s also too late for those who are planning their fall purchases and next year’s crops. Not for the first time, Donald Trump, self-proclaimed expert in so many fields, failed to grasp the powerful negative impact of his decisions. And not for the first time, Donald Trump has No. Way. Out.

Thank you again, Donald Trump. Thank you for worsening the situation for farming in America. Thank you for raising the prices of food staples, oil, gas, diesel, and fertilizer. Thank you very damn much.

A change is needed. Vote blue.

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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.

  1. Way back when cigarette companies paid doctors to reassure people that cigarettes weren’t dangerous.
  2. 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.
  3. How ‘bout that time that oil and energy companies found and hid the risks and dangers of climate change?
  4. Purdue, the Sacklers, and the opiod epidemic early this century?
  5. 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.

3

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.

3

Wednesday’s Theme Music – Wrap it up

Ashland, southern Oregon — Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

Awoke to 30 degrees at my house and very clear skies. Gorgeous moon last night lit up the valley. Peaceful, but cold. We’re creeping past 48 F, leaning toward something in the mid 50s as a high. The sun shines but our planet’s journey mitigates its effects. Angles, distance, all that.

Mom is scuffling with Gina again. Mom ends up texting and calling Gina’s daughter, complaining about Gina and begging the daughter to pick her up and take her shopping. Mom won’t ask the assisted living facility staff for help because Mom thinks they’re too dumb to help her. So it goes.

Got my diet requirements for the week of my colonoscopy and polypectomy. The diet is to be started three days before surgery. No caffeine. Like, gasp! The horrors!

White bread and no fiber. Nothing with seeds. No nuts. But I can eat all the meat I want. Geez. But don’t drink or eat anything red! That’s repeated multiple times. Then, only clear fluids the day before.

My wife seized on it. She loves a good eating challenge. She quickly started mapping out meals for me.

Meanwhile, though, we’ve joined a soup organization. SoupDivas make a soup every week, then send out an email announcing the choice. After that, it’s first come, first served, $17 a quart. Once you’re on the list, pick up is Wednesday. I duly picked up this week’s quart, Quixote Lemon Lentil. Looking forward to a nice hot soup on a chilly autumn day.

I was reading about the increasing odds of a ‘blue tsunami’ in the 2026 midterms. I remain anxious, hopeful, and leery, which sounds like some new variation on the seven dwarfs.

Part of me though, thinks, wrap it up, I’ll take it! Which triggered The Neurons. They put “Wrap it Up” in my morning mental music stream. I had the cover done by the Fabulous Thunderbirds in mind. But when I drifted through the net in search of a video offering, I came across Bonnie Raitt and friends performing it on “Austin City Limits”. The friends include Brittany Howard, Gary Clark Jr., and Jimmie Vaughan playing and singing, a good group of friends for this Sam and Dave classic.

Yes, I’ll take a blue tsunami. Wrap it up!

Simultaneously, if a blue tsunami takes over, I expect Trump’s rage to break the rage meter. He’ll dial up the chaos and hate, screaming and crying about fraud and stolen elections. I also expect him to turn on the Republicans who lose, blasting them for not being as good as him, which is how Trump sees it. Donald Trump works hard to pretend he’s great and all powerful, and not a miserable cheating creep. Taking a loss that repudiates him will spin him like tornado. Expect an F5.

I hope the best kind of day for you today. May it feel your needs and help with your wishes.

Cheers

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