Category: News

Saturday’s Theme Music — Don’t Look Back

Ashland, southern Oregon — Saturday, October 3, 2026.

A scorcher of a day is set up. Long stretches of thin white crossing the atmosphere’s bowl, but it’s mostly blue. Dropped to 80 now — a hot 80 — but it was over 90. More of the same is expected tomorrow.

Mom reports she’s feeling better. Played bingo at the assisted living facility and won five games. She seemed relaxed and — risking the chance of jinxing it — happier today.

Meanwhile, my WordPress still isn’t right, just a fly in my pinot noir. On the good news side, my next step in my cancer treatment, the BCG was moved up to this coming Monday. An impatient person, that pleases me. I’m a ‘let’s get this done’ sort of personality.

Reading political and other news, I told myself, don’t look back. Looking back causes me to grit my teeth with pain and anger over what’s happening with our nation, especially so as Donald Trump breaks promise after promises, rages about different things, and lies about almost everything. There’s a lot riding on the upcoming midterms.

Those thoughts encouraged The Neurons to introduce “Don’t Look Back in Anger” into the morning mental music stream. As I hummed the Oasis tune to myself this morning, I was surprised to see an article claiming that it was released 31 years ago. Why it seems like just yesterday!

Then again, it seems like just yesterday that I took my first driving test and got my license. It feels like just yesterday that I as going to the prom, and just yesterday that I was getting ready to play a football game.

Just yesterday seems so close and so far. Maybe I’m going on a long elliptical orbit around my existence. My memories will begin fading and the next thing I know — without knowing — is that I’m living my life all over again, following the orbit already established through agencies outside of my control.

Here’s the Oasis music. May your orbit take you into brighter, happier days and you smile often.

Cheers

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A Trump Threefer

We were the beneficiaries of a Trump threefer in yesterday’s news spillage.

A twofer is when you get two for one; with a threefer, well, you can do the math.

Donald Trump is known for telling lies. It’s been hugely documented. This week alone brought evidence of lying a few more times.

‘Like he’s just lying’: Trump supporters in deep-red state have regrets

Trump claims South Korea will invest $50B in Alaska gas pipeline. Not so fast, Korean officials say

He’s also known for trying to bribe people to curry favor. That’s also historically demonstrated.

Finally, Donald Trump is a master of distraction. His attempts to change the narrative via have been ongoing but largely unsuccessful, thanks to modern technology. To Donald Trump’s surprise, modern technology is able to show videos and transcripts with the exact words, date, time, and context when he blustered or lied. I like to file these attempts under the umbrella, Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!

As a sign of how desperate Donald Trump is, he gave us three for one yesterday — a lie, a bribe, and a distraction.

For background, the 2026 midterms are coming up in the United States. Democrats are expected to win, largely based on people disapproving of the job Donald Trump is doing and the direction the nation is going.

Donald Trump is desperately aware that’s he doing terrible. Claiming that he’s doing great, Trump grows angry and throws tantrums whenever someone asks about one of the many things not going well. That would include releasing the Epstein files, rising gas and food prices that Trump hasn’t been able to lower, the war in Iran Trump started, the many lies he’s been caught making, and his disastrous attempts to fix the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

The other things going terribly under Donald Trump was his attempt to add his name to the Kennedy Center, rising measles outbreaks and measles deaths in the United States, and the surging federal debt.

Besides those things, the other things going poorly for Donald Trump is the growing backlash to AI/data center backlash, multiple court rulings against his plans and tariffs, reported munitions shortages due to Trump’s Iran war, the debacle with the USS Abraham Lincoln, and his poorly attended midterm convention, Trumpapalooza.

Additionally, the things going bad for Donald Trump include anemic job growth, especially when compared to the success which Presidents Biden and Obama had with job growth. Donald Trump is increasingly shown injured, sleeping during meetings, or confused about what’s going on, a bad, bad image for Trump after he pummeled President Biden for being old and sleepy.

Aware of these things, Donald Trump presented his threefer.

Trump promises ‘nearly $100’ to 20M seniors in latest cash giveaway

Yes, another cash giveaway, or shall we call it a bribe?

Donald Trump promised cash giveways before.

  • DOGE Dividend (Early 2025): Trump and Elon Musk floated sending 20% of federal budget cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency back to taxpayers as a $5,000 dividend. Never happened.
  • Tariff Refund (Late 2025): Donald Trump proposed using incoming import tax revenue to fund direct payments or $2,000 checks for the public. Never happened.
  • Repeated Tariff Dividend (2026): Trump again promoted sending cash directly to Americans using projected tariff revenues ahead of formal policy announcements. Never happened.
  • The “Trump Dividend” (September 2026): Trump officially unveiled a $5,000 cash payment for adult citizens, conditioned on Republicans maintaining control of Congress in the midterms. Hasn’t happened, and has gained a lot of negative press.

Trump’s announcement about this $100 senior giveaway is another obvious bribe and distraction. But he also lied when he made the announcement. That gives us the threefer!

Donald Trump said the giveaway would, “…help pay for their Medicare Part B premiums, which we have already reduced by significant amounts.”

And there’s the lie. Trump Medicare Part B premiums have not been reduced. They’ve gone up, up, up. Anyone paying Part B premiums know this. And it’s easily verifiable by using a search engine on the Internet.

As an aside, that $100 would pay less than half of one month’s Part B premiums.

And BTW, Donald Trump said ‘he’ would be sending ‘nearly $100’ but the White House Fact Sheet puts it at $90.

Donald Trump had Trump lied again.

Those who still believe Trump after this threefer remain the hateful, the ignorant, or the ones who just don’t care about what Donald Trump is doing to this nation.

I guess they share the same values as him.

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Friday’s Theme Music — Gigantic

Ashland, southern Oregon — October 2, 2026.

It’s a summery fall day with a spring feel in our area. A thin, waning moon hides behind a screen of nebulous clouds in a bright blue sky. Sunshine splashes off the autumn foliage with eye-watering vividness. We’re at 68 F, on our way to 85.

October always means birthdays in my family. Too many of the people we’d fete have gone through the secret door. But I set up reminders to buy cards during the digital dawn. The reminders come up, reminding me that I need to take them down.

It amuses me that the reminders have survived a succession of computers, laptops, and software updates, yet my regular processes are often maligned or broken. As Laura put it in a comment on my current WordPress issues, “In order to serve us better… (worst phrase in the English language!) …”

Yes, when they tell us, they’re often putting icing on a turd.

No, my WordPress tags do not work today. Hearing that Laura was also a comfort in the ‘it’s-not-just-me’ sense.

As I went through the news headline progressions today, I thought, what a gigantic friggin’ mess the world is becoming. I modified my appraisal a few times. The world has always been a gigantic mess. Usually, though, if we found out we were making the world worse, we would try to fix things. With Donald Trump on the scene, our government actively works to make the gigantic mess an even larger mess.

Which led to my conclusion, Donald Trump is a gigantic jackass.

This headline helped cement that conclusion:

Third aircraft carrier and thousands of troops head to Mideast as Trump weighs new Iran strikes

Most striking here are, well, so many thoughts. Like, it’s Trump weighing new strikes. Said he was a peacemaker. Unifier. Said the war was over. Said it wouldn’t last more than a few weeks. Yes, that Trump.

SMFH

Verifying Trump remains a gigantic liar and ignorant buffoon, I read the story following this headline:

When Trump boasts about donating his presidential salary, be sure to read the fine print

  1. Trump inflates is salary from $400K to $550K.
  2. Trump is not the first or only to donate is salary.
  3. All of this is easily found and verified via the Internet so, WTF is he making these claims?
  4. Donald Trump is a gigantic jackass.

Which brings us to Your Trump Quote of the Day:

It’s another Trump broken promise, as Trump reported making over $1B while being in office in 2025. That doesn’t include his golf and travel scams.

That brings me to a song by The Pixies, “Gigantic”. The Neurons plugged the song into my morning mental music stream but the song doesn’t really fit. It only connects with my thinking via that one word, gigantic.

Sample Lyrics

“Hey Paul, hey Paul, hey Paul, let’s have a ball
Hey Paul, hey Paul, hey Paul, let’s have a ball
Hey Paul, hey Paul, hey Paul, let’s have a ball”

[Chorus: Kim Deal & Frank Black]
Gigantic, gigantic, gigantic
A big, big love
Gigantic, gigantic, gigantic
A big, big love

[Verse 2: Kim Deal]
Lovely legs, they’re a…
What a big black mess, what a hunk of love
He’d walk her every day into a shady place
He’s like the dark, but I’d want him

Nevertheless, I like the song — especially Kim’s voice.

May your day be full of gigantic good news and good times

Cheers

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The Funny Donald Trump

I had to laugh when I read the complaint.

Here’s the headline that drew me in:

Trump blew his top during his Time interview with a furious curse-filled tirade

Donald Trump blowing his top during an interview is nothing new. Donald Trump ‘blowing his top’ about anything isn’t new, as he seems like a perpetually angry person, swearing, lunging at people, turning red and scowling.

Reading the article, what made Donald Trump angry was that Trump didn’t think he was being asked enough positive questions about all the positive things Trump has done.

Like what?

Eradicating measles? Oh, no, that’s worse under Trump.

Reduce personal bankruptcies, released the Epstein files, apologize for all the things he’s done to others, apologize for his grift, lower prices, better healthcare, cheaper insurance, a better education system, a lower national debt, higher respect among other nations?

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Here’s an excerpt from Tom Boggioni’s article:

After being asked about the status of former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the president lost his cool.

“Have you seen the videos of Mitch McConnell back in the Senate? Do you think he should resign because of his health condition?” he was asked.

“It was a disappointment to a lot of Republicans,” Trump began before switching gears and going back to a previous question about handing out pardons.

“So that’s just—well, Sleepy Joe gave pardons to everybody. He gave them to Fauci. He gave them to this. But you mean I’m not allowed to give them, but Sleepy Joe’s allowed to give them?” he argued. “This ain’t gonna be much of a story.”

“Here we are doing this. You haven’t asked me one f—— positive question. All of this. What about this? What about that? What about that? What about this? All negative,” he continued.

“Why are you devoting all this time to the White House? You know how I do, I do that out of my back pocket. I pay for a lot of it, but I fix it because the White House should look like that,” he complained. “It shouldn’t look like—if you would have stood in that balcony and looked at that wall, half the wall was falling. It’s actually dangerous. People are walking under, crap was falling off it all the time. Every time it rained, it was leaking, horrible. Now it’s perfect, and I would say that I should be given credit for fixing the White House because I’m also doing very well with the war.”

I was laughing at this point, because Trump thinks the war he started with Iran is going very well. That’s the war that Trump claimed to have won, the one that was supposed to have been over weeks after it started, which was months ago, the war that’s disrupting the global supply chain, driving up energy costs, and making affordability a major issue for millions of Americans.

This would also be the war with Iran which Trump insists is not a war. *cough cough*

But here is the clincher, the Trump statement that had me rocking with incredulous laughter:

“I’m doing very well with another war that we already won, Venezuela. Do you notice you haven’t asked me a question about Venezuela?”

WTAF?

Trump, who promised to start no new wars, has now admitted to starting two — if you can call a military operation on another nation to abduct its sitting president a ‘war’.

Donald Trump is one warped individual, demanding credit for his lawlessness and failures.

Please, Vote Blue in 2026.

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Wednesday’s Theme Music — Right Now

Ashland, southern Oregon. Wednesday, September 30, 2026.

Gonna be a warm autumn day here — 85 F at its hottest — with springlike ambiance among the fall foliage.

Had one of those sighing but I must laugh moments today. Reading politics (of course, sigh). And about a Trump administration announcement by the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth was announcing Project Meridian. Looking to the United States’ future needs, Hegseth is tapping Trump’s favored billionaire — Elon Musk — along with Newt Gingrich, an 83-year-old politician, and Palmer Luckey, a weapons manufacturer.

Yeah, that sounds like an effective group. *eye roll* Perfect for looking forward to protect America’s future.

As Newt Gingrich once said, “You can’t trust anybody with power.” I certainly don’t Hegseth and this triumvirate, or Donald Trump.

Then, oh Lordy, we had the spectacle of a GOP senator attempting to trap Jack Smith in his testimony, only for Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt to reveal himself as a buffoon. It’s another one of those situations which would be funny — certainly worth of a Saturday Night Live skit — except this is a US senator, an elected official who is supposed to be capable of deciding our nation’s laws and solving its problems, which makes this painfully, painfully sad.

5 Points About a Senator’s Disastrous But Hilarious Attempt to Accuse Jack Smith of Perjury – TPM – Talking Points Memo

Both of these stories echo with the stupidity of Pizzagate and other QAnon insanity.

Then there’s a ‘this-is-so-expected’ headline about Meta using AI to cheat on its Federal taxes.

How Meta Uses A.I. Data Centers to Avoid Billions in Federal Taxes

That about seems up my morning view of things. It ended up leaving me thinking, right now, I could use some good news, and moved on to other needs.

Hearing that, though, The Neurons introduced the Van Halen song, “Right Now” to my morning mental music stream. It’s a good song to carry me through the day, strong sound, solid vocals. Hope you find something in it.

May some good news find you right now and carry you forward on its shoulders for a couple days at least.

Cheers

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Thanks for the Broken Promises, Donald Trump

Today ends the ninth month of 2026.

Just a little month than a month and a few days remain until the November midterm elections. It’s a good time to reflect on what Donald Trump promised and what Donald Trump delivered.

Back in 2024, Donald Trump promised no new wars. At the end of Feb, just seven months ago, Trump started a new war with Iran. Donald Trump has since claimed we won the war or that it’s over or that it’s almost over over 30 times.

How can anyone still believe anything Donald Trump says about the war with Iran after that?

Donald Trump’s story about his relationship with Epstein and the Epstein files shifts just as much.

From that quote, Trump drifting into telling us that he barely knew Epstein.

““Well, I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him. I mean, people in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach,” Trump said in 2019 soon after Epstein was charged. “I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn’t a fan.”

When asked in 2024 while he was running for office, Donald Trump said that he would release the Epstein files if elected. Almost two years into his second term, they still haven’t been fully released, and Trump’s DOJ continues to avoid doing so, despite a law saying he would.

While campaigning in 2024, Donald Trump assured voters he would lower prices, vilifying President Biden’s economy as he did.

Now AAA national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.43. By comparison, the national average in September 2024 hovered between $3.06 and $3.24, meaning drivers are paying roughly $1.20 to $1.37 more per gallon today than they did two years ago.

Many food prices are higher this year than they were in 2024, especially beef, coffee, chicken, and fruit and vegetables.

Thanks, Donald Trump, for breaking all of these promises and assurances.

Thanks to Donald Trump’s arrogance, Americans can no longer see the White House’s East Wing. Donald Trump demolished it to build a new ballroom. Donald Trump claimed that balloom would cost Americans nothing because donors were paying for it all. Now Trump insists that the ballroom is being build for ‘national security’.

We the People will pay about $1B for a project we didn’t ask for and Congress never approved.

It’s like renting your house to someone. While they’re living there, they tear down part of it because they’re living there, so they assume they have the right to change it as they want.

These things are not even the top of the mountain, and Trump has brought a mountain of disaster to the United States and the world. Today’s headlines will help keep us focused on what a disaster Trump is in his second term of office.

The Government Rolled Back Fuel Economy Standards. Here’s How Many Lives It Will Cost

Only Trump Would Spell United States Wrong in an Executive Order

Donald Trump embarrassed as NFL ratings claim is contradicted

Trump Used to Be Good at Attacking the Press. Things Have Changed.

From the horse’s mouth: Trump’s comment on his presidency becomes accidental self-own

That last headline leads us to your Trump Quote of the Day:

Renaming AI to something else is Donald Trump’s latest effort in the Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! playbook. As with many other things, Donald Trump, arrogant and ignorant, thinks that just because he thinks of something and says it aloud, it’s so.

Desperate to make something out of nothing because 2026 has been such a horrible year for Donald Trump, he tried to make it look like he was being praised for being great.

Instead, he stupidly confessed that he’s doing a shitty job.

Couldn’t have said it better, Donald Trump.

Couldn’t have said it better.

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Tuesday’s Theme Music – Masquerade

Ashland, southern Oregon. Tuesday, September 29, 2026.

Another lovely autumn day in the Pacific northwest corner of the United States — at least in my small valley. 65 F, with sunshine and blue skies, and a high of 75 F expected.

Spent some time reading sickening news of the Cornell 7. The truth is dribbling out. Right now, the university and those seven men appear despicable, part of the patriarchy and ol’ boys network which so many of us have come to despise. It reminded me and my wife of how Brock Turner got off.

Mom’s birthday is next month. She’ll be 92. My sisters and I are sharing ideas about what she needs and what we can buy her to show love and caring while filling needs and making her a little happier.

One of the other residents is an elderly blind man. Mom returned to find him in her room after lunch today. He’d taken all her clothes out of her closet and strewn them around the room, knocked things over, and made a big mess. Mom summoned the home’s director. She’s calling the blind man’s daughter.

While what happened to Mom is disturbing, I think about what the blind man might be enduring, and how this call can affect his daughter and her family and plans. It’s another of those things which just induces sighs.

Listening to Trump, it feels like we’re at a masquerade ball. Trump pretends we’re in a golden age while so many struggle to pay bills and personal bankruptcies are at a rate not seen since 2010. As the US military launches more attacks on Iran and Iran swings back, Trump at once pretends it’s ‘a conflict’ and simultaneously declares we’re at war.

Trump also masquerades as being indifferent about the war, referring to it as small potatoes. I’m sure that Iranian citizens will be pleased to hear that Trump thinks the bombing of their nation and the killing of their children and others is ‘small potatoes’. But that’s Trump — a monster trying to masquerade as a human.

Most distressingly, so many Republicans, too many citizens, too many in the media, and even too many Democrats treat what Trump and the Project 2025 contingency embedded in his administration as if it’s normal. Chief Justice Roberts in the Supreme Court bounces around the masquerade ball, fretting about what Trump is doing, then enabling him via unsigned shadow docket rulings for emergencies.

So today’s music is “This Masquerade”. George Benson had a hit with this half a century ago, a fact that makes me LAUGH OUT LOUD.

I hope this day gave you a number of reasons to laugh out loud and look back with joy.

Cheers

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Trump’s Slipping Masks

Trump has worn masks all of his life.

Yeah, Trump put on masks as genius, intellectual, historian, grass keeper, builder…

Avoiding military service, Trump went to a military school and has since pretended he’s tough as a marine, as knowledgeable as admirals and generals.

Given hundreds of millions of dollars, power, and name when he was young, Donald Trump wore a mask as a self-made businessman. Masquerading as a leader, he’s trying to become a trillionaire via grift and political corruption.

Married three times, he’s worn masks as a faithful husband and doting father. Holding a Bible, he wore a mask as a Christian and paid money to hide his affairs.

Wearing a mask as a good friend to Epstein, Trump then put a mask that he would provide the truth, and now keeps trying to put on a mask that he had little to do with Epstein.

What wouldn’t Trump do to advance himself?

Well, tell the truth. Face reality.

Trump’s masks slip off his face so fast these days, it’s almost as if the masks are rejecting him. During his inauguration, Trump tried masking himself as a unifier and peacemaker.

Since that time in 2025, Trump:

  • Established immigration policies which ordered ICE to surge multiple times, brutally rounding up people, deporting them without due cause, detaining, shooting and killing US citizens
  • Directed the US Navy to attack boats in international waters, murdering 234 people without due process or evidence
  • Ordered the US military to kidnap President Maduro of Venezuela, again without court orders, due process, or evidence
  • Commanded the US military to attack Iran in 2025 to destroy their nuclear capability
  • Began a war with Iran to overturn their government and destroy their nuclear capability — which he’d already claimed to have destroyed, despite his promise of no new wars

Trump claimed he would Make America Healthy Again. Despite that slogan, the number of rural hospitals closing continues without slowing down. The hospital closures through 2026 are highest in Texas (39), Tennessee (19), Mississippi (17), and Oklahoma (17). All of these are red states who carried Trump back into office in 2025.

Measles outbreaks is at the highest levels in the United States since 1991, thanks to Trump’s healthcare policies and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Trump campaigned against President Biden and Vice President Harris on affordability. Now affordability is a major crisis for many Americans, completely tearing the mask off the person making those claims that he cared about them and would lower prices.

The worse mask Trump wore, though, was the one that he would govern in accordance with the Constitution and the laws and norms which bind our politics. Trump tossed that mask aside on day one. He began by Installing a billionaire, foreigner, and unelected individual, Elon Musk, to an official government position. Musk, via DOGE, fired employees, cut Congressionally authorized spending and programs, and ignored the checks and balance and agencies established via 250 years of trial and error, law, and votes.

That was only the beginning. Trump has since completely abandoned the masquerade that he’s for free and open democratic elections. Through Republican surrogates and toadies, he’s pushed for lines to be redrawn to favor Republicans. Using executive orders as imperial decrees, Trump personally attacked mail-in voting and is using the USPS and DHS to reduce its effectiveness — even though Trump uses the mail to cast his votes.

Classic Trump Double Standards. He never could find a mask to hide that one.

Trump’s masks fooled enough people that he was voted into office twice. But now, approach the midterms, enough of Trump’s masks have fallen away to expose all of his corruption and ineptitude.

Anyone voting for Trump now is voting to continue that corruption and ineptitude, regardless of the reasons they give for supporting Trump.

All of this is just the tip of the iceberg of corruption under Trump. We’re not sure how much of it is concealed. Growing evidence such as Trump’s exploding wealth and the number of pardons he’s issued led many of us to think that the corruption is enormous.

Vote blue in 2026 so We the People can begin again to try to have and hold a democratic republic.

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