Category: pop culture

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

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

0

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

2

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

1

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

2

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

2

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

0

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.

2

Sunday’s Theme Music — Caring

Ashland, southern Oregon — Sunday, October 25, 2026.

A dull sky hangs on as the sun struggles with heating and lighting, product of the Earth’s tilt and annual trip around the sun. 56 F now, it doesn’t feel that warm. Most of the trees are losing their leaves in my area. The leaves which remain glow gold against the overcast sky.

We attended a party for a friend’s 90th birthday. Her sister came up from California and hosted the party. They rented a large house in the country where all the family members stayed. Very good time by all. The woman, Anne, seemed like she was about 74 years old instead of 90.

On the negative side of the daily ledger, two friends tested positive for COVID. He suffers from Parkinsons and broke his hip. After three pins were put in it to fix it, he’s convalescing in an assisted living facility until he’s able to get around on his own. She, his wife, tested positive after him. We believe he caught it form staff or a visitor, and she picked it up from him. Not a fun way for them to end October.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Just a reminder of Trump’s response to COVID-19 and the pandemic. Six years later, and COVID-19 is still here.

Over in politics, Trump is becoming more openly aggressive and partisan. Through DOJ, Donald Trump threatened to investigate Alaska’s election results if a Republican doesn’t win. Within a day, Donald Trump himself warned that he would probably not do anything to help South Carolina in his official capacities if a Republican doesn’t win there.

Bottom line for all this: Trump cares nothing about the law. Yes, already well established. Nor does he care about Americans, including MAGA and Republicans. That’s clear as well now, because he would obviously try to help Republicans and MAGA even if it’s not a Republican representing them. But with the same certainty that the sun is hot, DJ Trump cares nothing except himself. End of story.

As October ends, I fully anticipate an ‘October surprise’. What will Trump do? Declare another emergency? Launch another wave of ICE assaults on US cities and citizens?

Both of those possibilities are within his wheelhouse. Trump may also orchestrate another ‘assassination attempt’ on him in an attempt to garner some sympathy votes.

Just as likely, Donald Trump, who claims he’s a peace president, will attack another nation, or increase his attacks on Iran. I can imagine Trump warning that he’s going to go nuclear, too, just to distract everyone and get their attention. Because this is Donald Trump. He doesn’t care what happens to anyone except Donald Trump.

Sure. Trump is ‘unifying’ people by threatening states and lawsuits if they don’t vote his way.

I’ll keep saying it and writing it because there are still some out there who think that Donald Trump cares about them: Donald Trump cares about nobody except himself. Until everyone out there agrees, Trump cares for no one except himself, and states it out loud, I’ll keep repeating it.

In honor of Trump’s attitude, Les Neurons installed Phil Collins’ classic song about caring in my morning mental music stream. “I Don’t Care Anymore” in 1983. Some of the song’s lyrics beautifully reflect what I think when I hear Trump these days.

Sample Lyrics

I don’t care what you say
We never played by the same rules anyway

Of course, while I don’t care about Trump and his lies, I must care about what he does and how he damages our nation, and the world. It’s a matter of collective security and future wellbeing. I care that others have equal rights, freedom, and the vision of a functioning and healthy democracy. Closer to home, I share the anger and frustrations that my wife, sisters, and female friends express about women’s rights and protections being stripped away by Trump. I share, too, the anger that people feel that they’re expected to work at multiple jobs in order to just survive while Trump keeps handicapping them with his callousness, greed, hate, and stupidity. It’s just fucking wrong.

May you be surrounded by caring friends and family and enjoy a carefree day.

Cheers

1

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑