Though I laughed, I admit I also gnashed my teeth as I scrolled and read. Trump’s first term was horrible. His second term is a disaster, with assaults on equal rights, good taste, intelligence, and common sense. These toons remind me that he’s an empty person who only cares about himself who makes empty promises to con others.
Here are my top three:
This summarizes not just Trump’s Iran war, but every promise he’s made since he became a candidate for office: empty, empty, empty.
Perfect: the web Trump has trapped himself in. Yet, MAGAts continue to cheer him on.
Disappointed that the Epstein files aren’t on there.
Click on over to Jill to find one that makes you laugh more than you GRRRRRowl.
Ashland, southern Oregon – Wednesday, June 10, 2026.
Warmer today. 56 F now but looking for 80 degrees as sunshine stretches across a clear blue sky.
Papi did his morning laps. I did the same. We meet, a Venn diagram of habit, wants, and needs, then go back to our respective circles.
Gina plies us with news about a hundred things happening. House inspections, furniture removal, cleaners, realtor. Prescriptions for Mom ordered — not yet ready, come back at 3:30! Commenting that she’s sweaty and tired. Informing us that Mom hasn’t said a word about the house. Saw the listing on Zillow but never spoke about it. Instead talks of the assisted living place.
After Gina’s demands at Heritage Grove, they cleaned Mom’s floor yesterday. Gina orders Mom, “Track it. They better do it once a week. Tell me if they don’t.”
Outside of those twenty texts, it’s quiet.
Trump and Iran are heating up their war. Trump makes continued assertions: the war is over. We have won. They have nothing. We are all powerful. I am a great negotiator. I want peace.
But retaliation is the order of the day: they hit us, we hit back — harder. Playground mentality — or mobster?
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Iran will ‘pay the price’ for daring to fight back after Trump attacked them. The word sounds like lines out of a movie like “Red Dawn”. The movie was about high-schoolers fighting back after the Soviet Union (along with Cuba and Nicaragua) invade a small town in Colorado. 1980s fare. Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, other young actors.
In an ironic aside, the movie’s background is that NATO was dissolved, which encouraged the invasion, an interesting point, given Trump’s position on NATO…
According to Wikipedia, “Red Dawn” began life as a little anti-war movie but MGM wanted a teenage Rambo style approach. The Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, helped refine the script.
Today’s morning mental music stream inhabitant is “Invincible.” I’m referring to the 1985 song Pat Benatar performed to commercial success.
Sample Lyrics:
This shattered dream you cannot justify. We’re gonna scream until we’re satisfied. What are we running for? We’ve got the right to be angry. What are we running for when there’s nowhere we can run to anymore? We can’t afford to be innocent stand up and face the enemy. It’s a do or die situation – we will be invincible. And with the power of conviction there is no sacrifice. It’s a do or die situation – we will be invincible.
Blue sky, cool air, and sunshine marks the valley. We’re at 59 F and expect a high of the upper seventies.
In Mom’s world, it’s been quiet on her health. No feedback from her visit to the hospital ER and the tests they ran. On the housing side of it, there’s a good offer on Mom’s house. I voted to take it, but they have opted to wait and see if more come in. The offer expires tomorrow night.
In depressing US news, the Roberts Court ruled Alabama can use its new Congressional map. A lower court found it racial. But the Roberts Court, hiding behind the shadow docket, said, “It’s good,” without bothering to sign their opinion. This is the John Roberts’ legacy.
Trump’s legacy is war, lies, and fake news. News reports are bubbling over the job reports. Based on economic factors and indicators, economists were expected another bad one. Gosh, somehow the Trump appointee managed to find ‘good’ numbers.
No, the numbers aren’t sterling. I expect them to be revised downward in a few months or exposed as fake. That’s in keeping with Trump’s preaching. He’s always shouting fake news, fake news while lying about what’s happening or planned.
He lied and promised no new wars, claimed the war was over, and we won, and yet, the war goes on. So, no, I don’t believe anything come out of the Trump administration.
I don’t have a Trump Quote of the Day available. Instead, I offer this image of Trump celebrating Pride Month.
I got a song stuck in my morning mental music stream: “Nothing Gonna Stop Us Now”. The song, from 1987, was performed by Starship. It’s the theme song to the move, “Mannequin”. I have never seen it.
I don’t know why The Neurons planted it in my morning stream. I was doing my dream recall routine and the song started. It doesn’t seem to be specifically related to any part of any dream, though. Hope you enjoy it.
Enjoy your first June Friday! Hope peace, happiness, and joy fill it.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Saturday, May 30, 2026.
It’s a gray and chilly May day, 52 F with no blue sky available for the eyes. Bleak sunshine slants in, casting faint shadows. No rain is expected today but our high will crest in the mid 60s again.
Not the happiest of weather but not the worst, either. Makes it perfect for morning reflections on the news and life on this next to last day in May.
Mom’s possessions are going fast. Sis found people who wanted things and invited them over. Now she’s not accepting any money. It has to go, so. We the siblings are fine with that, and agree with that sentiment. We like to know these things will be useful to others.
Gina sends photos of Mom’s rooms and the transformation as items disappear. Click, click, click. It’s forlorn progress.
Likewise, we have forlorn progress against Trump’s moves. Judges have ruled that the Kennedy Center couldn’t have the board just up and change its name and that they needed to stop the renovations because it wasn’t properly addressed. Other judges ruled that Trump’s slush fund might be illegal and no payments can be made from it yet. Diane Ravitch offers good summaries of it all.
Meanwhile, economist Paul Krugman helps us understand more about the Trump economy and We the People’s view of it. Trump and his minions like to crow about how MAGA supports him 100%. And polls show that as true.
But when it comes to the economy, Krugman points out that only MAGA approves of the economy at this point, and they represent 19% of all Americans. Even non-MAGA Republicans are going, no, this is not good.
What’s most disturbing when I look at that MAGA trend line is that it’s slowly increasing. This is despite Trump’s clear lies, corruption, and ineptitude. Truly makes me shake my head. This is why it’s become the Golden Age of Corruption.
Classic con man sleight of hand. If he was as interested in the law as he proclaims, he would not ignored it to wreck the White House and begin building the Epstein ballroom. He would have released the Epstein files, as he promised, instead of twisting and turning, trying to claim that it was a hoax.
Today’s music is “I’m Goin’ Down”. This Bruce Springsteen song came out in the mid 1980s. It’s about relationships and songs. I really don’t know why The Neurons parked it in the morning mental music stream today. Sometimes they work in ways that I don’t understand.
Trump Administration (TA): Woke ruined everything! White men are being discriminated against! It’s not fair to white men!
MAGA: Yea! Woke sucks!
TA: Cities – especially blue cities – are the economic engines of the US. So let’s send ICE there and disrupt flights into them and cause a slowdown there because we don’t like them and their woke liberal policies.
MAGA: Yea! Libruls suck.
TA: Companies will move out of blue cities and blue states to red states.
MAGA: Yeah! Libruls suck.
Blue States: Even though the nation is going through a drought and there’s less and less water available to drink?
MAGA: Fake news!
TA: We have plenty of water, don’t worry. There is a drought going on, don’t worry. It’s weather! Louisiana isn’t sinking, don’t worry. The glaciers aren’t melting, don’t worry. The sea level isn’t rising, don’t worry. The average temperature isn’t rising, don’t worry. That’s all a Chinese Democrat Deep State hoax.
MAGA: Yeah! Hoax!
Media and Economists: The tariffs and war in Iran are driving up oil prices and disrupting supply chains. That increases energy and fertilizer prices. That raises transportation and shipping costs, food prices, healthcare costs, and consumer goods prices.
TA: Prices might go up a little bit for food but don’t worry, we’ll be better off for it in the long run.
MAGA: Um…yeah.
TA: Don’t worry about the national debt, either. We’re all going to get so rich, it’ll be beautiful.
MAGA: Yeah.
Media and Economists: The rising prices will also affect insurance premiums because they’re tied to the costs of everything else. Insurance is also going up for many homeowners due to more extreme weather events and wildfires.
MAGA:
TA: Forget the Epstein files! It’s a Democrat hoax! They’ve all been released. They’re nothing.
MAGA: Grumble grumble grumble
TA: Look at this ballroom! Isn’t it beautiful? It’s the biggest and most beautiful in the world!
MAGA:
TA: Donors are paying for the ballroom! It’ll only cost 200 million! 300 million! 400 million! We need a billion dollars to make it safe!
MAGA:
TA: And look at this 250th celebration of our nation. Look at this fight we’re staging at the White House!
Media: It’s just like the Coliseum in Rome. Or the Olympic Games in Berlin before World War II.
MAGA:
TA: We’re winning the war in Iran! It’s already over! We obliterated their military! There is no more threat from Iran! It’s all or nothing! They’re running on fumes there! The people are going to rise up and take over! The Strait of Hormuz will be open, or else! We’ll bomb them more! The clock is ticking! They must give up their nuclear program! We destroyed their nuclear program! They have nothing!
MAGA:
Media: Trump has gone golfing today. He’s golfed 23% of the time he’s been in office.
Fog struck. The wind’s been strong the entire visit. Today, it felt like it shifted into a higher gear, cutting through our clothing with an icy edge. 52 F in the morning, the day’s high would be 58 F, but the wind would make it feel much colder.
We checked out early, heading north just a few miles, to Newport. Here we’ll stay two more nights. A new hotel, a new view, but it’s the same ocean and Oregon coast.
Meanwhile, we stopped at our favorite coastal eatery, The Green Salmon. It’s all vegan there. After a satisfying breakfast — “Only Murders in the Building” omelet for me — we fought the wind walking on the 804 trail for ten minutes. Retreating from nature, we went north to Depoe Bay to see if any whales were hanging around. Short answer: no.
Retracing our steps, we went back down Highway 101 to Nye Beach. A bookstore popular with us, Nye Beach Book House, was no longer a business. We stopped at a bakery and shared a large frosted cinnamon roll, hot out of the oven. Then, on to our Newport hotel, Hallmark and checked in. Once we were settled in, my wife napped. I went for a walk on the beach, one mile in each direction, battered by the wind in both directions. As long as I didn’t look at the buildings overlooking the beach, I could pretend that I was an exploring, the first to walk on this stretch of land. As it was entirely empty, it was entirely believable.
Is it any wonder that The Neurons are playing “Against the Wind” in the morning mental music stream? Well, it started in the morning but it played all day. The 1980 song was a hit for Bob Seger, who wrote and performed it. It’s about looking back and thinking about the choices made. Besides the wind, being alone on that beach made this song a good companion piece because of that connection about reflecting on life.
As far as the news goes, we went without knowing anything until about an hour ago. We’re just starting to reconnect with the world again. I see that Trump’s war has now been going 82 days — longer than the four to five weeks that he once claimed.
I see that the Epstein files still aren’t released and the price of gas here is still high, as it does across the nation.
It seems like Trump is counting on his ballroom to distract us as part of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! Trump is now babbling about the ballroom’s roof as a drone base and snipers’ nests. Not sure why he thinks either are needed as part of Washington D.C. Maybe he’s planning to stay there, hunker down after he’s removed from the Oval Office.
I hope your day was as satisfying for you as my day was for me.
Michael Seidel, writer 