Gotta love that Donald Trump, don’t you? So very, very predictable, always wanting credit for how great he thinks himself, while shedding responsibility like a rattler shedding its skin.
Appearing on CBS’s revamped “60 Minutes”, Trump was contrite about the ICE raids and his anti-immigration policy. “It was too tough. I think it might be too tough,” Donald Trump said.
Before his contrite admission was even aired, Trump promoted Stephen Miller to be his White House Chief of Staff. Miller, who was the primary architect of the immigration policy which might have been ‘too tough’.
Trump makes it sound like, well, gosh, he had little control over it. Because anyone in charge of something can change it, right? Especially if they don’t like how it’s going. And the way that Trump kept framing it, repeatedly insisting that the midterms were lost due to “bad messaging”, doesn’t show that he didn’t like policy; it was the public’s response which bothered him.
And then, Donald Trump promoted the person in charge of it — Stephen Miller — and gave him more power.
How very contrite.
CNN wrote it up as a ‘striking acknowledgement’. Please, Donald Trump acknowledged nothing. Trump merely gave cover to himself, trying to lull people and get them to lower their guard.
A truly contrite person would have said something like, “We’ve already made changes.” Trump didn’t say that, and won’t, because this is just a PR stunt.
Trump also declared that he has no idea that he’s making money or how much he’s making. He doesn’t know what stocks he has…
Yet, Trump was upset with his lawyer’s husband when he made a chunk of millions, mentioning
Just in, more consistently than the sun’s rising and setting, Trump has spun back. Donald Trump originally said that he accepted the elections results. Less than a week later, he’s gone back on what he said.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Donald Trump’s new weave is just like his old weave — misinformation, lies, and fantasies. Diehard MAGAts will eat it up.
The rest of We the People have had our fill. We have learned from watching and listening that Trump makes promises, breaks promises, and goes on, pretending like everything is great as it all falls apart.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Sunday, November 8, 2026.
Drizzly and chilly outside, a beaten gray sky hangs low over Ashland. 54 degrees, it rains off and on, a pattern expected to carry through the high of 60 F. A few remaining shimmering maples are ablaze in red against the misty gray.
Gina (sister) took Mom by the house Friday. The house is Mom’s house. Given the upcoming holiday season, my mind flashes back to past travels and its associated planning. Ten years ago — 2016 — my wife and I would be talking about going back East to see Mom and my sisters in Pittsburgh, then visiting my wife’s mother and sister in West Virginia. We usually flew into Pittsburgh, rented a car, visited a day or two in Pittsburgh, drove down, visited there for several days, and then drove back up to Pittsburgh and spent several more days.
Plans slowly changed. My wife’s mother moved into an assisted living place as her Parkinson’s advanced. Our visits were quiet times sitting with her, waiting for her to speak. We would take her favorite food to her a few times, dinner from Bob Evans. Then she passed and the visits were only to Pittsburgh.
Reflecting on this year’s travel plans, I’m working around my medical issues, and my wife’s RA issues would make cross-country travel a daunting challenge.
Part of these thoughts emerged from a friend’s medical crisis. She lost her husband on October 17, 2026. Thursday, she had a stroke and went to the hospital for a carotid artery stent. Her surgery was Friday morning. She’s been unresponsive since then.
Sorry. I didn’t plan to write a somber post. That’s just what emerged. It’s not unique; millions of people have similar stories about life, family, and change. Experiencing these things in parallel to me, my wife says little about it, but I know she deeply feels the changes and losses. Ultimately, as with almost everything else, we process differently. Neither way is right or wrong, just different.
On the very, very positive side, I have wonderful memories of journeys ‘home’ to visit with Mom and my sisters and their families and will keep feasting on them.
Also emerging were more reflections about the 2026 blue tide. Republicans staying home instead of voting was a significant reason why Democrats strongly prevailed. That’s nothing to count on for future elections, but it certainly repudiates Trump and the GOP’s direction for the company: Republicans couldn’t even hold their noses to vote to keep Republicans in office under Trump.
It seems like Trump is subdued since then. I imagine that a sane person in Donald Trump’s situation would be digging into the post-mortem to discover what went wrong. But Trump always buries his head. Right until he election, he insisted that his approval ratings were great. Since then, he blamed the losses on the candidates, continuing his standard of ignoring truth and reality.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Donald Trump refuses to accept that he was on the ballot, and that’s why Republicans lost. Trump thinks “everyone is profiting” because the stock market is up, completely ignoring the affordability issues caused by rising gas, diesel, oil, food, and healthcare prices.
Just like their leader, Donald Trump, MAGAts are blaming everything rather than looking squarely at the truth and Steve Bannon wants to double down on the failed policies.
With my thoughts of going ‘home’ in the past and Republicans staying home, Les Neurons predictably responded with…a song about home.
The Neurons actually played multiple songs about home in my morning mental music stream. We had Ozzy, Bruce, John Denver, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Motley Crue, Simon and Garfunkel all offering songs about being home, hometowns, and going home. It was Home-a-palooza in the head.
I eventually landed on a favorite song by Blind Faith, a 1969 gem called “Can’t Find My Way Home”. I came across this version by Rachel Price and enjoyed it, so I offer it to you.
I ended up on this song because I wondered how the GOP was going to find their way home. Under Trump, they’ve been promoting election deniers and candidates running on hate and deception. The voters rejected so where — or how — will the GOP turn now?
Meanwhile, the Democrats have found a cadre of strong, principled, young candidates, and many won. I’m not going to celebrate too much because holding office change people, as do events. Despite my age, I still can’t see the future.
May you and your family enjoy a wonderful day at home or traveling, whatever works for you, as long as you find solace and joy in what you do.
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.
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.
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.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, November 5, 2026.
Warmer and drier today, with a hazy but blue sky and a temperature of 48 F. Our valley’s expected high is 60 F.
Mom’s latest lab report returned with bad news. Her Escherichia coli count was abnormal, >100,000 CFU/mL. More antibiotics are being prescribed, and Gina is picking those up.
Gina, my sister, acts as Mom’s POA, messenger, driver, and financial manager. Now, as she points out to Mom, she’s also managing Mom’s doctor visits and prescriptions. Mom can do little on her own. I was aware of this back when I visited Mom before Frank passed away. Mom struggled to keep things mentally organized and clarified. Frank helped a great deal by being Mom’s driver, helping Mom with her doctor’s visits, and picking up her prescriptions.
Now, with Frank no longer available in those roles, Mom struggles to understand why Gina doesn’t respond immediately to every text Mom sends her, instantly escalating from “I need this” to “WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME”. When Mom posits her requests and needs, she tends to be demanding, as if an imperial decree is being issued.
Mom has always been like that. What’s fascinating is that I’ve witnessed these transactions and saw how they went down. Mom often projected herself as being very sweet, patient and polite. That was often far from the truth. That’s part of the reasons why my sisters and I keep our distance from her.
Enough of that complaining. Had to get it off my chest.
We’ve been processing the blue wave, waiting for some results, and digesting the ‘what happened’ autopsies. I’m expecting two years of Trump chaos and legislative gridlock. The Democrats will be under a microscope, with every move and word examined for effectiveness as the GOP and Trump enter counter-attack mode. Accusations about overreach, communism, socialism and other rightwing scare tactics will soon begin popping up.
I don’t expect any changes to Trump’s attempts to rule like a dictator. He’ll keep insisting that he’s above the law, the greatest ever, and a genius at everything, while demonstrating amazing ignorance. Trump has already gone from being contrite about the midterm results to blaming the Republicans who lost for not being him.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
There’s a mountain of evidence that Trump and his policies and administration are unpopular. Donald Trump will continue to deny them because he cannot face the truth.
Today’s theme music is a 1972 Black Sabbath offering. I was thinking about Mom, politics, and life and went into a reflection about wheels turning.
The Neurons pounced! The morning mental music stream went from John Lennon and Alice Cooper offerings to a Journey tune to a BST song1. Then, perhaps because I was thinking about my youth and Mom, 1972 called up with “Wheels of Confusion”.
My gosh, was that a surprise. I’d not heard this song in too long and hearing it in my mental stream made me grin. So I offer it up to you.
I hope the wheels keep turning for you and carry you to better places.
Cheers
John Lennon – “Watching the Wheels”; Alice Cooper: “Under My Wheels”; Journey: “Wheel in the Sky”; BST (Blood, Sweat, and Tears), “Spinning Wheel”. ↩︎
I was reflecting on a Trump quote I shared in an earlier post. It triggered a need for a sports analogy for me.
Ordinarily, I avoid sports analogies when addressing politics. Such analogies are generally lazy, lowering politics and their outcome to the same level as pastimes which have grown into enormous, profitable businesses but are meaningless in the long run. Sports preoccupy many people and divert their attention from real and serious matters. (Some will rebut, that’s exactly why sports are needed, to divert us from all the problems we face but I’ll leave that diversion alone…)
First, the Trump quote:
I want to add context. Trump made his statement on the day on which a blue tsunami took national elections in a stark repudiation of the direction Trump was taking the United States.
Additional context: when Trump took office in 2025 after winning election in 2024, the GOP took control of both chambers of Congress. The Roberts Court already had a right-wing tilt built into it. In essence, conservatives, led by Donald Trump, controlled the Federal government.
Donald Trump won re-election by making many promises, among these, starting no new wars, lowering prices on day one, and ending Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Trump said at his inauguration that he wanted to be remembered as a uniter and a peace president.
Since taking office, he’s broken many promises. While he’s become quite wealthy, many Americans are coping with an affordability crisis. People are struggling with food, housing, insurance, and energy prices, among other things.
Here’s where the sports analogy enters.
First, let’s pretend that Donald Trump is the head coach of a football team.
Trump’s team started aggressively but undisciplined. They stalled their own efforts with penalty after penalty. It was like they didn’t understand the rules and refused to accept the rules.
His team has not scored any touchdowns. They fumbled the ball away multiple times, challenged rulings on the field, and lost, setting them further back.
The offensive side of the ball couldn’t advance the ball down the field, so they kicked it from far away from the goal and scored a few points. The defense is worn down because the offense no longer has anything left.
The other side, meanwhile, has grabbed the momentum. Their defense has been playing strongly, keeping Trump’s offense from advancing, and now the offense has scored multiple times.
And here is Donald Trump, head coach, walking to the locker room at halftime, beyond by over twenty points, saying, “We’ve played the greatest first half in all of football.” It’s a delusional halftime speech from a coach refusing to look at the scoreboard.
As I watch, I think, Trump still refuses to admit how miserable it’s going. He’s going into the locker room and won’t make any adjustments. He’ll just keep trying to do the same miserable, failed plays.
Beautiful day outside. Something in the air. The sky is a fantastic BLUE and the sunshine is sharp and bright.
It’s 49 F degrees outside, rising to 58 F today. We might see 60. Overall, a crispy autumn day.
My sister, Gina, took Mom to vote yesterday as well as taking Mom to her doctor’s appointment. Gina treated us to regular updates about Mom’s awareness of what was going on and what was expected. Gina concluded that Mom needs to be in a nursing home.
The midterm elections were held in the US yesterday. The projected blue tsunami came through even stronger than expected.
I’m sure there are many who think as I do, that the midterm election results are in with good results for We the People but the mango maniac still remains in a seat of power. Trump may be contrite today, blaming others for his mistakes, but Donald Trump will come raging back. Don’t let your guard down.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Even after the decisive Democratic victories in the midterms, an election specifically about the success and direction of the nation, Donald Trump refuses to accept the failure of his policies and practices.
With all that bubbling in my thinking, The Neurons pulled up “Right Here, Right Now”. This Jesus Jones song reflected exactly what my main body of thought was reporting. Take a pause, right here, right now, to accept the win because we’ve been waiting for it but now that it’s not over.
November has arrived, and it looks tired out there today. Dispirited. Like it’s beginning with a hangover. Limp with rain and moisture, many leaves have surrendered, leaving their trees almost naked. The remaining leaves appear dull, as if they’re just hanging on.
Fog and mists cut down the light and block the views. It’s warmer today, already 43 F, with a high of 53 possible.
Mom sent out a text to Gina (my sister) yesterday. Mom will give Gina $4K a month and apologize to Pat if she can come live with Gina.
The money aspect isn’t a concern for Gina. It’s always been about Mom’s accusations about Pat and her refusal to apologize to him for what she claimed he did to her. Mom claimed that Pat spied on her all the time, took and hid her remote, and used an ‘invisible device’ on her head to cause her pain.
I don’t know what will come of this. Texts exploded yesterday after Gina and Mom became angry again, with Gina threatening not to take Mom to her appointment or to vote next week.
With November here, the midterm elections are at last in reach. I’m feeling the anxiety that many others. One, a hope that there is a blue wave.
Two, a worry that there won’t be a blue wave.
Three, a worry that there is a blue wave and Trump reacts by inciting violence. There is infamous precedence for that.
For whatever reasons, the Bachman-Turner Overdrive song, “Roll On Down the Highway”, is being cranked through my morning mental music stream.
The song was released in 1975. I was in my first year of service in the US Air Force and my wife was a senior in high school. She graduated and we married, and this was part of our soundtrack of the time.
Today, my mind is stuck on the chorus, “Let it roll, down the highway.” It’s a reflection for me that I’m ready for some changes. The dice are thrown. Let’s see how they roll.
I hope the dice roll breaks in your favor today and everyday. Have a peaceful and joyous Sunday.
That’s especially true in this era, when extreme weather strikes more frequently, and el Nino is bringing in new changes to the patterns.
Donald Trump’s pattern under pressure and criticism is to become more belligerent and aggressive. He rails more; whines more; and attacks more. The midterms are coming up, and prices are not coming down. Trump, who once promised no new wars, instead finds the war he started with Iran dragging on. Trump has claimed it’s over, it’s almost over, or ‘we won’ numerous times before. Now, Trump is saying the war will “probably end after the mid-terms”.
Doubts about Trump are growing and persisting. Regardless of what polls say about the elections and a midterm blue wave or Donald Trump’s declining popularity, the tells of his decline among his base are visible. Rallies where Trump is appearing are weakly attended. Trump’s calls to support AI and data centers construction are met with silence.
After all that’s gone wrong and getting worse for Donald Trump, I was unsurprised that Trump’s DOJ raided Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home in Minnesota. Rep Omar has three things going against her in Trump’s eyes: she’s an intelligent woman, a refugee from Somalia, and an outspoken Trump critic.
I guess Trump sees Rep. Omar is a good test case for Trump’s increasing tactics of lawfare and weaponizing the government against his opponents. Trump’s previous efforts to prosecute political opponents, James Comey, Letitia James, and David Hearn, flopped in big, audacious ways.
But Trump has nothing else to offer. Trump already went after the press, trying to ban press organizations who tell the truth about his sparsely attended rallies, terrible and worsening economy, and the growing disaster that is now the Iran war. Trump also dislikes being reminded that he’s breaking promises and laws, and that he is not the all-powerful, all-knowing, always-right person he likes to pretend he is.
The press fought back, and the courts have sided with the press, so far. Precedence would point to a win for the press in all the courts. Freedom of the press is one of those things we used to pride ourselves on in the United States. Donald Trump arrived on the scene, though, and weaponized people’s distrust of the press to gain popularity.
Now, with his popularity waning, even Donald Trump’s MAGA base are walking away from him. Not because of the attacks on the press, or attacks on the sitting members of Congress, or using the government as a weapon to persecute and prosecute opponents. No.
MAGAzens are turning on Trump because he failed to release the Epstein files and he failed to lower prices. Now, thanks to Trump’s own failed policies, it’s too late for him to fix either.
Trump has tried badgering and bullying his way back to strength. He’s lied from the beginning and fed people’s hate and fear. Those aspects of his portfolio have grown old and thin.
Trump tried bribing We the People, attempting to buy popularity with various ‘dividends’. But Trump’s brand is so toxic, even that failed to gain Trump any props.
Trump tried to lower prices, drilling, making deals for oil and gas, temporarily suspending sanctions and tariffs. They, too, failed to win anyone back, as his efforts instead highlighted his hypocrisy.
Now Trump has returned to his most proven, effective tool, attacking immigrants and women. Doesn’t matter if the woman he’s attacking is a sitting member of Congress, legally elected to the office by We the People, and legally sworn in.
Trump has never cared for law or justice and won’t begin now. Donald Trump will just attack more, hoping to bully his way into popularity once again.
So, brace yourself. I don’t doubt that this is just a test case. Trump and his minions and advisors floated this raid on Rep. Omar to see how it floats with his base.
Trump doesn’t see that a growing number of people are weary of him and ready to turn the page.
Vote blue in November, so we can keep turning the page on Donald Trump.
Just a bag of trick or treat political offerings. C’mon, man, with December holiday props already up in places, I can be excused for being a few days early for Halloween, can’t I?
I know facts are not in vogue with the Grand Old Trump party. But Schwab sent me an email with links to historic data about political parties and various financial facts since 1961. People claim it’s the economy, so let’s take a look.
The proferred analysis shows that what party is in charge doesn’t affect the stock markets. They keep going up no matter who is charge.
GDP. If you’re worried about the GDP, go Democrat.
The annual average growth under Republicans is 2.5%.
Democratic presidents saw 3.3% average growth. President Johnson led everyone with 5.5%.
If it’s unemployment rates causing your political itches, go Democrat.
“Next, we can look at the unemployment rate, which on average started lower under Republican presidents than under Democrats. However, on average, the unemployment rate rose under Republicans and fell under Democrats.”
Turning attention to the S&P 500, should that be what gives you a rash, the Democratic Party is the one for you.
“As shown via the summary rows at the bottom, stocks have performed better in all four cycle years under Democratic presidents.“
As for the sectors, no rhyme and reason is found regarding the political party in charge. Check out the article for the fuller deets.
Annie shared Infidel753’s post about polls and the chance for a blue sweep. Infidel753 cautions that they might not be right, but they point out some trends, logic, and past results for why a blue wave might happen. Check it out.
The brilliant boy, Elon Musk, has the classic Trump grasp of governing. As do Trump supporters. Musk warns about some hardships trying to immediately slash the government’s burden. From what I’ve understood of the Federal budget process, Congress controls it.
“The Constitution makes clear that Congress holds the power of the purse, giving it authority “to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises” and specifying that “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by law.” In short, federal taxing and spending requires legislation that is enacted into law.”
As usual, the Constitution and its strictures mean nothing to the GOT Party. They just want to do what they want to do.
Dreams last night were like energetic kittens wrestling and playing: lot of action and motion, and not too linear.
But one sequence’s sharp focus overpowered memories of the rest. I’d gone upstairs in a house to shave. We lived by the ocean on a bluff. Wanting to look out at the day (and the sea), I raised a white blind. When I did, I saw a huge blue wave breaking. The wave was the windows height, and splashed against the glass. Startled by its height, I lowered the blind and left the room.
Rushing downstairs, I told my wife about the huge wave. It impressed because our house was set back from the bluff’s edge by over twenty feet. For the wave to travel across that distance and still break on the second story window was amazing.
I ran back up the stairs to the bathroom. Raising the blind again gave me time to see another enormous bright blue wave racing toward me. Taller than the last, I realized it was going to break over the house.
Before I could close the sash, the wave broke. The house shuddered with the impact. I expected the window to break, but it didn’t. Halfway through shaving, I went to check on the property. Everything seemed fine, except my car, a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro, was gone. The wave took it, I thought. Other than those enormous waves, it wasn’t storming, but calm.
