Sunday’s Theme Music — Get You
Ashland, southern Oregon. Sunday, August 2, 2026.
Our weather is cool, 62 F right now. It’ll rise to the mid 80s, basically as it did yesterday. The air is clear with an AQI that says ‘it’s good’. Clouds muddle around the sky as if they’re waiting for a door to open somewhere.
I’m suspicious of it all.
Things are going well — here. Relatively. Everything is relative. We live on spectrums of changing needs, abilities, awareness, knowledge. It all seems more acute for me as I grow older.
I don’t feel particularly old now but then I look in the mirror. Like, who stole my hair? Will they be returning it?
My face just looks different. Not like my parents or grandparents. Now I’m wondering if someone stole into the house and replaced my face.
Then, why would they have taken my average white, upper middle age (ahem) face?
Answer is, of course: they’re going to use my face to commit a crime somewhere.
So now I wait to see what crime my face shows up as part of.
Watching Mom, friends, and Trump, I don’t look forward to getting much older. Mom, 91, is cranky on most days. Filled with pain, she tells me. I see a video of her in a chair, trying to exercise. She’s listing to her right as she jerks her right arm up. She doesn’t look happy or healthy, but she’s trying.
Trump worries me even more. His language, never a strong suit, has become much worse. There are reports of him crapping his pants or delivering some nasty farts. Where there’s this much smoke, I got to wonder about the truth behind it. If he’s crapping himself or emitting enough noxious foulness that others are gagging and turning away, those aren’t signs of good heatlh.
In photos, Trump’s face has that old person, mean, angry look going. He’s glaring at the world like he’s trying to hear what they’re saying and can’t.
Worse, though, are those late night texts — from Mom and Trump.
Mom reached out at 2 AM to ask me if we’re safe from the fires. She pinged me again a few minutes later to ask, “Why don’t you answer?”
I don’t see these texts until I get up a few hours later. Then reply, sorry, missed your texts, was asleep, we’re fine. And I thank her for her concerns.
My sister later reports that Mom texted her in the middle of the night, asking what did Gina do with all the clothes Mom left behind in her house.
I worry, why is Mom up in the middle of the night texting?
Trump worries me in the same way. He spends a lot of nocturnal hours texting. Then he’s shown ready to fall asleep in his chair at meetings during the day.
Trump’s texts are worse than Mom’s texts. Mom shows a belated handle on what’s going on and often shows concern for others.
Trump texted an AI generated vision of himself as Elvis Presley. What an absolutely strange thing to do, I think as I see this. Who in their right mind pretends to be someone else like that?
Let’s pause to think about it: Trump is posting an image of himself as a popular pop culture star. One who died in 1977, almost fifty years ago. What is going on in that troubled head that he entertains these thoughts?
I then think of Trump’s MAGAts. They say that he speaks for them.
Are they out there generating AI images of themselves as others? Are some of them projecting themselves as young Johnny Cash or dead young athletes and actors?
As an aside to that, I admit that I admire the new Iran War Participation Award someone created for Trump. It has the right mix of bitter humor and deadly insights.
I received other texts and messages from people worrying about us and the fires. As the fires grow in the Pacific Northwest and more are evacuated, the news shifts toward the top of the news cycles.
We’re fine, I reply to all, knock on wood. No, it’s been a remarkably ‘cooler’ summer, with us rarely challenging 100 F. Wildfire threats have been far away. The smoke has only been mild and hasn’t lasted too long — knock on wood. Hope to hell I’m not jinxing us by mentioning it.
No, our thing remains the drought. Winter supplies are down to the low 40s. We’re conserving. Vegetation is browning, which would be nice if these were pie crusts baking in the oven instead of grassy fields and mountain meadows.
Between nature’s growing extreme trends and aging, there’s a sense that something is going to get you. Trump, acting crazy, arming ICE and mobilizing them in cities, fostering more war, using violence as a mallet to try to fix things, only makes that feel worse. Especially as his main concerns are promoting himself as a young Elvis Presley, affixing his name to buildings, and destroying our heritage and cultural norms.
No surprise then, with The Neurons’ music choice for the morning mental music stream. “One Way or Another” is a 1979 Blondie song. Deborah Harry was being stalked but wrote the song with some humor injected into it.
Sample Lyrics:
One way or another, I’m gonna find ya
I’m gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya
One way or another, I’m gonna win ya
I’m gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya
One way or another, I’m gonna see ya
I’m gonna meet ya, meet ya, meet ya, meet ya
One day, maybe next week, I’m gonna meet ya
I’m gonna meet ya, I’ll meet ya
Catchy. Easy to sing along with, good hard beat with a fast tempo made it a popular and memorable song. Makes perfect sense for today, with the threats being raised by nature and Trump.
Hope your day is threatfree, and that you enjoy carefree moments of pleasure and happiness with people you’re fond of, in places which you enjoy.
Cheers
Trump Caught Lying Again
Trump was caught lying again.
It was one of his classic whoppers about stolen elections. He focused on one of his favorite hate targets — yes, the ‘unifier’ has many hate targets, doesn’t he? — California, and the mayor’s race in Los Angeles.
“Very few people voted. They had more votes cast than they had people. So the people came in, but the ballots were far more than the people.”
“They had more votes cast than they had people. Okay? How about that one? By a lot.”
No; they didn’t.
Trump didn’t provide any evidence because Trump was making it up. Lying. Fact checkers confirm that no, the number of votes was not more than the city’s population.
Trump just lies. He keeps the stolen election lies going because he’s suffering failure after failure, disaster after disaster. Energy prices aren’t coming down. Affordability isn’t improving, and it’s Trump’s economy — although he wants to blame anyone else for it. Everyone is not getting ‘richer’. The Iran War isn’t over, and Iran is fighting back. In fact, the war is enlarging.
Trump orders fresh attack against Iran as war enters sixth month
Trump has still kept the Epstein files back. Still golfs. Still building the ridiculous, ugly White House ballroom. Still charging the taxpayers for it after he said they wouldn’t.
Lie after lie after lie. Broken promise after broken promise. Failure after failure.
Like the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Trump grandstanded about how he was finally fixing it, clapping himself on the back about doing something that no one’s ever done before.
Within weeks, it was a mess. Spinning, trying to blame others, Trump launched new lies about sabotage and vandals.
Now the DOJ has dropped the case.
Justice Dept. admits Reflecting Pool renovation was ‘hasty and botched,‘ drops case against former Olympian
Labirinto Pisani said it well in comments on the story:
“Only a month ago, FOX News had Leavitt, Pirro, Burgum, and Watters all solemnly insisting the Reflecting Pool vandalism was real, while Trump’s slapstick imitation of “slashing the pool” played like a lost Marx Brothers reel. MAGA loyalists, predictably, swallowed every frame. Reality, as usual, declined to participate.“
Failures like this — and the news coverage of it — is why Trump so desperately keeps churning out the same baseless fantasies about stolen elections, now trying to drum up fears about communism. He’s trying to distract everyone from how badly he’s doing. Keep us divided. Unsure.
Trump is instilling chaos. Then he can declare an emergency. Assume sweeping powers. Vacate elections.
No; the Constitution doesn’t give him these powers. Trump is taking them.
And MAGA and the GOP say, yep; go for it, Trump. Because that’s their twisted vision of how the government should work.
We thought that the American ideals are justice, freedom, and democracy. We thought we understood that we are all better if we stand united.
Turns out, that’s not what they think.
I’m so disappointed in them.
Saturday’s Theme Music — The End
Ashland, southern Oregon.
Saturday, August 1, 2026. Happy Lammas Day!
It’s 71 F in our valley at the moment. Light, high white clouds. We expect a high in the upper 80s.
A new heat dome is moving into the region. But the jet stream shifted a few years ago. Now we’re often protected from those heat domes. It can change again at any moment, so I’ll take it for now and celebrate the small win.
It’s a new month but much hasn’t changed.
Eight-five fires are burning in Oregon.
They still haven’t closed on Mom’s house. She is aware that it’s being sold, though, asking me for updates every day.
Trump is still lying. Still squirming, trying to distract us from his failures.
The Epstein files haven’t been released. Trump’s war with Iran is still going on. Affordability remains a crisis. Healthcare costs are going up.
Like many people, I’m waiting for other things. Like the old story: waiting for the other shoe to drop.
So, it’s a new month, but the same mode of waiting.
Without much surprise, The Neurons caught onto my thinking. My Neurons can be slow and flaky, easily distracted by games and cats, but like a car, they can get fired up and pointed in the right direction once in a while.
Today’s song in the morning mental music stream is “Waiting for the End”. This is a Linkin Park song. Came out in 2010. I caught it on SNL and went looking for it to hear it again.
Sample Lyrics:
Waiting for the end to come
Wishing I had strength to stand
This is not what I had planned
It’s out of my control
Yeah, yeah
What was left when that fire was gone?
I thought it felt right, but that right was wrong
All caught up in the eye of the storm
And trying to figure out what it’s like moving on
And I don’t even know what kind of things I’ve said
My mouth kept moving, and my mind went dead
So, I’m picking up the pieces now, where to begin?
The hardest part of ending is starting again
The song is about hope, paralysis, and frustration, IMO. Feels right for today. Here we are, waiting for the end, trying to figure out how we define the end.
I hope you have a strong day, whatever one it is, whatever your season, a day that comes with lasting peace and grace.
Cheers
Friday’s Theme Music — Seeing Truth
Ashland, southern Oregon — Friday, July 31, 2026.
July is dawdling to a close. Hotter today; but 74 degrees F now, a high of 96 F is expected. Then it will cool back down tomorrow.
Concerns for days like this is that the dry land, already very hot, cranks up the winds, and thunderstorms develop, lashing us with lightning. We’ve been fortunate so far this year.
Not so with much of Oregon. The state is on track for the worst season ever as 34 major fires burn. As an Oregon rancher affected notes, this ends up affecting everything. With the grasslands burned, they’ll need to buy expensive hay to feed their cattle.
With gas and diesel prices up, thanks to Trump’s Iran war and refineries threatened by high heat, expect grocery store prices to rise more. Beef, lettuce, and tomatoes are expected to surge by over 10% this year.
Trump doesn’t help the situation. Instead of providing funding and help to fight the fires, he worsens the situation by playing political games. Between that, DOGE cuts, and a poorly thought out reorganization, Trump has reduced the nation’s ability to effectively fight these fires.
Hackers are apparently going after our water infrastructure. Minnesota reported attacks earlier in the week. Since then, the FBI confirmed that seven US states have seen such attacks and warn of more.
Naturally — because that’s who he is — Trump denied that Iran could be involved and instead blamed Democrats. This goes against the FBI, security, and intelligence assessments.
But that’s Trump, exposing both his ignorance and his pettiness in one clumsy display.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Trump declared himself the ‘peace’ and ‘unity’ president when he took office in January of 2024.
“My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be: a peacemaker and a unifier.”
Of course, Trump also claimed in that same speech, “Next, I will direct all members of my cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation, and rapidly bring down costs and prices. The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices, and that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill.”
All of us then scoffed because we knew from history that he’s only about enriching himself.
Everything since then has validated that truth and that he will break every promise, from being a peacemaker to lowering prices. Our national oil reserves are now at the lowest level in 43 years. Maybe Trump will try to make them the lowest in 47 years; that’s the sort of egotist he is.
But MAGA believes, yes, Trump is a unifier. Yes, he’s bringing peace by being strong. Perhaps they’ll see the truth…someday. I’ve become doubtful. There is no FAFO for many of them.
As for Trump’s legacy, it will be one of lies, corruption and destruction, not unity and peace.
That takes me to today’s music: “Gimme Some Truth”. John Lennon released the song in 1971. I ended up with a Pearl Jam live version from a few years later in my morning mental music stream. I can’t explain it.
Lennon’s lyrics fit this Trump era:
I’m sick and tired of hearin’ things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritics
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
I’ve had enough of readin’ things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
Over fifty years later, we’re still hearing from uptight short-sided, narrow-minded hypocrites, led now by Trump.
Hope the day speaks to you in positive ways.
Cheers
Thursday’s Theme Music — Distractions
Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, July 30, 2026.
Clouds and sunshine is mixing it up in our valley. 75 F at this point, the high is expected to top off in the upper 80s today.
The air remains clear of wildfire smoke, as well, knock on wood. A little rain would be welcomed.
Trump continues to slog through a summer of bad news. More light came to be shed about Trump’s reasons for attacking on Iran, I think.
US economy slowed more than expected as the Iran war took hold
The United States economy slowed more than expected as an inflation surge took hold over the early months of the Iran war, a government report on Thursday showed.
The economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.5% over three months ending in June, marking a slight slowdown from 2.1% growth recorded in the previous quarter. The figure came in lower than economists’ expected.
Still, the latest data outperformed 0.5% annualized gross domestic product (GDP) recorded over final three months of 2025.
The period covered by the data release followed a historic global oil shock set off by the Middle East conflict.
Trump’s war with Iran makes more sense to me now. Trump attacked Iran because the economy was weak. He needed a distraction, cover for why inflation was not going down. Besides that, the Epstein files are still out there, waiting to be released. Also, polls were showing that Trump and his policies were becoming more and more unpopular, a trend that’s still going.
Trump’s approval rating plummets near George W. Bush levels – Daily Kos
Of course, Trump ignorantly thought the war with Iran would be a cakewalk. Instead, whoa, half a year has gone by.
Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! is another Epic Trump Failure.
On top of these things, Trump has been trying to drum up fears about election being stolen! Election fraud! Oh, no, commies are coming!
States are pushing back.
Florida ‘has not been hacked’: Trump election claim crumbles as states start to speak up
Facts, truth, history: these are anathema to Trump, who much prefers ignorance, lies, wealth, and idolization.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Trump loves tough talking. Especially when he’s sending others in to face danger, and it is others who are being killed.
Today’s theme music emerged from the headlines.
Noah Kahan rips White House, Trump for using hit song in video of prez touring GM plant
I wasn’t familiar with the song. Once I heard it, it struck me as a really weird song choice for visiting a factory. But that aligns with Trump and his Trumpions’ thinking. “American Cars” is the song title, and that’s all they needed.
I was pleased that Noah Kahan pushed back against Trump’s use of the song.
“Kahan wrote Tuesday, according to Variety, “Would never approve of my music being used in support of you or this administration.””
His writing partner, Noah Levine, was more to the point: “You fat f–k, this song isn’t for you.”
Love you, Noah Levine!
Hope your day is wealthy with friendship, good health, and good times.
Cheers
Wednesday’s Theme Music — Parenting
Ashland, southern Oregon — Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
July is trickling toward the end, but summer continues unabated. 68 F now, blue skies, etc., high of 91 F today here in our valley.
Mom’s house was supposed to close tomorrow. But we’re uncertain at this point if it will. We will know later today.
Was strangely lethargic yesterday, bereft of energy. Got up early, took the car in for routine maintenance. Came back and I felt like I was being deflated. Slept a great deal. Feel much better today.
Trump has denied Oregon funds and assistance for fighting its two largest fires. No straightforward reason given — there was some strange language but it’s probably because Oregon votes blue. The irony is that Trump carried the affected areas.
From the article:
The East Evans Creek Fire reached nearly 16,000 acres with more than 230 homes on Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation orders. Despite also threatening roads, bridges and other infrastructure, FEMA denied a firefighting grant application on July 22.
The Row Creek Fire Complex, meanwhile, was at one time the largest fire in the country, sprawling as of Tuesday over nearly 300,000 acres. It’s expected to merge soon with the nearby Brewer Fire. When the application was made, more than 400 people were on Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation orders.
According to the senators’ letter, FEMA denied the applications after a shift in terms — one seemingly small but radical in effect. FEMA’s policy manual states that an FMAG is warranted when a fire “threatens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster,” the senators said, but the agency seemingly determined that fires would only qualify for FMAGs if they might also receive a major disaster declaration, which is a specific designation used for other forms of FEMA assistance.
From what I’ve read of Trump voters, they’re probably (mostly) saying, “That’s okay. He’s doing it to punish the state of Oregon because of their policies. So we’re good with it.” Even if, in punishing the state, these voters are the ones who will take the brunt of the punishment. But they’re staying with him because, he’s Trump, and he tells it like it is and speaks up for them.
Rep. Cliff Bentz (Trump, OR) said nothing about those fires not getting any assistance. Instead, Bentz lavished praise on the Trump administration for providing approval to fight three smaller fires. spe
In Trump Double Standard news, Trump is now doing something that he blasted President Biden about.
Trump criticized Biden for draining America’s oil reserves. They’re now at a 43-year low amidst a Middle East war
Yes, that is classic Trump. Accused President Biden of being out of touch and tired; now that’s exactly how Trump is often perceived. Postured that President Obama played too much golf, while he, Trump, would NEVER golf because he would be too busy — yet, Trump golfs more than any other POTUS. Kept on bashing President Biden about inflation and affordability. Now he says, they don’t matter. Bashed President Biden about being corrupt as he, Trump, makes over $2B from serving We the People in his second term.
Now your Trump Quote of the Day:
This is fascinating. He already has torched the ‘I’m A Great Businessman’ meme. After that, Trump, married three times, convicted of crimes, a serial adulterer, came out about how religious he is. Then he pushed law and order while breaking laws. Alongside that, he preached against shithole countries and people of color. Then he rolled out terrorism, calling ANTIFA — which is not an organization — a terrorist group. Next: the red menace — communism — is back.
But Trump is losing ground. So now he’s saying, think of me as your parent. Look how much more I’ve done for you than your own parents.
That does two things simultaneously. One, it’ll work with some weak minds, just as his other lies found purchase. Some will say, yes, Trump is better for me than my parents ever were!
Second, it’s a terrific new distraction from the rising affordability problem, the Epstein files, the ongoing, growing Iran war, the wretched ‘renovations’ Trump is doing, Trump’s inability to do the job, and his long list of broken promises and outlandish claims.
Most of us see it for what it is. We’ll shake our heads again and then wait, wondering what new distraction and effort will come about from Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!
Today’s song is “Father of Mine” by Everclear. The Neurons loaded the 1998 song into the morning mental music stream after I read and digested Trump’s claim about doing more for me than my parents. I vehemently disagree with that claim.
The song is a bitter tirade about a man feeling abandoned by his father.
Sample Lyrics
Father of mine
Tell me, where have you been?
Yeah, I just closed my eyes
And the world disappeared
Father of mine
Tell me, how do you sleep?
With the children you abandoned
And the wife I saw you beat
I will never be safe
I will never be sane
I will always be weird inside
I will always be lame
Now I’m a grown man
With a child of my own
And I swear, I’m not gonna let her know
All the pain I have known
May you have a strong day — full of joy, good health, friends and family.
Cheers
Tuesday’s Theme Music — Roll with it
Ashland, southern Oregon — Tuesday, July 28, 2026.
We’re still in the 60 (low) to 90 F daily range. Living under blue skies and sunshine, watching our water levels trickle away.
Yesterday found our air good again in the morning. Then smoke trickled in. Looking for the source, I was in hit in the face with this headline:
Size of Oregon wildfires skyrocket to more than 1M acres burned over the weekend
About all I’m writing today. Feeling tired. Returning to bed. Reading.
Hope you have a solid day.
Cheers
Monday’s Theme Music — Stuck in the middle
Ashland, southern Oregon — Monday, July 27, 2026.
Another day of sunshine, blue skies and 90 F. Free again of fire and smoke. Kind of holding my breath on that. Been a relatively good year for us in terms of smoke and heat. We’re doing much better than previous years.
Can’t say the same for the rest of the world and the US. Once Democrats can take over Congress, I hope they turn their attention back to addressing climate change.
“The New Republic” offered a perspective on Trump’s second term. I’d noticed the same but they do a better job of categorizing it for us.
The Seven Trump News Cycles We’re All Stuck In
- Tariffs
- Iran War
- ICE violence
- Self enrichment
- Voter suppression
- Bad renovations
- Everyone’s getting sicker
I would add Distractions, aka “Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!”. Trump keeps circling to insulting people, claiming the US should own Greenland, he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, “The commies are coming!”, and multiple other irritatingly inane, pathetic proclamations.
Perhaps Affordability should be one, too.
Speaking of which, I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s an interesting idea:
MAGA voters will soon ‘quit watching Fox’ as gas soars and GOP excuses Trump: Republican
From what I’ve read, MAGA voters squirm and dismiss gas prices and the other things that irritate us, claiming that those things are happening because of the Deep State or other bizarre logic.
Grifter Rick Scott (Trump – Floridastan) still has his head firmly up Trump’s rear:
“We’ve got to explain to people that, you know, unfortunately until we get some new leadership in Iran, we’re going to continue to see conflict, which is going to see higher gas prices.”
As the rest of us know, higher gas prices also pad prices and costs on everything else. Also, Scott is flat out saying that Trump is working on regime change in Iran — again, since he already changed Iran’s regime once. As history shows, regime change as a policy is highly ineffective.
Since Republicans still think they’re in the 1800s, it’s not surprising that they haven’t picked up on that truth.
Given that we’re stuck in these horrid loops, My Neurons naturally turned to a Stealers Wheel classic. “Stuck in the Middle with You” was released in 1973 but it’s stuck in my morning mental music stream today.
I’ve always enjoyed the song. It’s one that Mom used to enjoy singing to us, a surprising change from her usual offerings. She especially liked the part that goes:
And your friends, they all come crawling
Slap you on the back and say
“Please, please”
Hope your day is loop free and takes you to refreshing new times and places.
If not, hang in there. I find that coffee, wine, beer, reading, and napping with fur friend helps.
Cheers
Sunday’s Theme Music — Lyin’ & Dyin’
Ashland, southern Oregon — Sunday, July 26, 2026.
It’s another 90 degree day, F, with blue skies, sunshine. Dropping nicely into the upper 50s to low 60s at night so we’re able to cool off. No smoke again, knock on wood.
Mom and my sister, Gina, both texted me to announced they’re mad at one another again. Those are the words each used. Both also said they blocked one another. Again. There will be no more texting between them.
Came about because Mom asked for a jacket from her house. Gina responded, your clothes are gone. Your house is being sold. Mom: you got rid of all of my old clothes? Why did you do that? Gina: I told you we were going to. Why didn’t you ask for them before if they were important?
I think this will last about five, six days. Then Gina will wonder, how is Mom doing? What does she need?
And Mom will think, I need my meds. Who can get them?
And the only one always there to do it is Gina.
Trump’s attacks on Iran, launched before spring began, continues through the summer. The war is almost five months old. What has it accomplished?
Trump killed Iranians in the name of freeing them, with an estimated 8,000 to 19,000 people in total killed during this conflict, including eighteen Americans.
Screwed up the global supply chain. Cost nations around the world more money while running down US supplies. Increased our national debt. Well done, Trump! Well done, GOP!
Remember when Trump said this isn’t a war and the GOP went along with that? Recall when Trump said it would be over in weeks? Do you remember when he said, “No new wars”?
I know it’s not news any longer that Trump is a liar, that many people around the world find him dishonest, and many don’t trust him. But as long as there are some out there preaching that Trump is wonderful, I’ll keep posting reminders that he’s not.
With energy prices rising, affordability becoming a crisis for many, the increasing healthcare crisis, rural hospital closures continuing, the ongoing Iran war, and the growing measles outbreaks, I wonder what the tipping point for them will be. From what I’ve read, as long as Trump continues to bully others, lie about what he’s doing, and frames himself as a champion for them — regardless of the tangible impact — they will not turn away from him.
Today’s song is “Lyin’ Eyes” by The Eagles. Seems like The Neurons made a good choice for the morning mental music stream as I think about Trump’s life and words.
Hope your day is rich with peace and grace.
Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 