Tag: epstein

Thanks for the Broken Promises, Donald Trump

Today ends the ninth month of 2026.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Only Trump Would Spell United States Wrong in an Executive Order

Donald Trump embarrassed as NFL ratings claim is contradicted

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

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

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

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

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

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

Couldn’t have said it better, Donald Trump.

Couldn’t have said it better.

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Trump’s Slipping Masks

Trump has worn masks all of his life.

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

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

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

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

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

What wouldn’t Trump do to advance himself?

Well, tell the truth. Face reality.

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

Since that time in 2025, Trump:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The Trump Receipts

Who had Trump will ignore the court on their bingo cards?

I wasn’t overly surprised to read the Trump White House still refused to let the MS Now, Politico, and CNN reporters in after a judge issued an injunction against the White House ban on the three news organizations.

Trump declares himself as a ‘law and order’ proponent but keeps breaking laws. He also claims to be for peace while ordering attacks on other nations and insists he’s for technology — pushing AI and data centers — while stopping work on wind and solar-energy initiatives.

Likewise, Trump declared he’s for freedom of the press and freedom as speech while trying to shut down both. So ignoring the court’s ruling is totally in line with his general hypocrisy and double standards. I mean, he promised no new wars and then went to war and declared that he never promised no new wars and it’s not a war anyway. LOL. His duplicity and lawlessness are breathtaking.

Ironically, it’s technology that reveals what Trump said, context and all, proving that he said it. We have receipts: video. Transcripts. Records. He can squirm and try to wriggle out of what he said, but as long as we keep paying attention, facts and truths won’t be forgotten.

That circles us back to the Epstein files — again. Trump said that, yeah, I’ll probably release them. Then he insisted the Epstein files are a Democrat hoax.

That’s another of his favorite tactics, calling things a hoax, and blaming it on the Democrats.

Trump calls affordability crisis a ‘hoax.’ The data tells a different story

Impeaching Trump — twice — was a Democrat hoax; the Democrats’ criticism of how Trump was handling the coronavirus pandemic — hoax; Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election was a hoax, according to Trump.

Trans-Pacific Partnership? Hoax.

Climate change? Hoax, in Trumpworld.

Even rural MAGA voters have caught onto Trump’s methods and policies.

MAGA voters turned off by President Trump’s falsehoods in 2026

The distractions, lies, and broken promises are catching up with Trump.

We the People have receipts, and we’re not letting this go.

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Tuesday’s Theme Music — Walk On

Ashland, southern Oregon. Tuesday, August 25, 2026. We’re into August’s final week. September begins next week.

Cooler day today. Cloudy this morning, there remains plentiful sunshine. 73 F, we’ll climb to 94.

Mom fell from her bed yesterday at the assisted living facility. We don’t know details, whether she rolled off or slipped off while sitting or missed the bed when she tried sitting on it. My niece, May, visited there yesterday and reported that the bed is very high. Mom texted me, the fix-it man was supposed to fix it but couldn’t because he was the cook. ?

Gina visited there today and reports, yes, it’s a tall bed. It’s stripped and she saw that it’s two thick mattresses. I asked, “Has it always been this tall?” Yes; this is the same bed Mom has used since arriving in February.

Mom has now been there a half year. It’s been a tumultuous time.

My wife and I are pissed about the Roberts Court decision regarding mail-in ballots. Basically, the POTUS, who has nothing to do with voting. That’s the states and Congress. But the Roberts Court walked a very fine line. Oh, the states filed too soon because they’re not yet being harmed by Trump’s efforts.

WTAF.

Not that Trump’s action are legal or illegal, or if has the authority to do this, etc. No, let’s wait and see, the Roberts Court declared. Kick it down the road. Wait till the election gets fucked up because the USPS isn’t delivering ballots. Then they’ll talk about it.

I was a conspiracist, I’d say the Roberts Court is trying to walk us into the state of midterm election chaos Trump wants so Trump can step in and declare an emergency.

Election fraud is another Trump boogey man. Just like his racism and his commie screams, he uses these words to instill fear and manipulate others.

Evidence of the voting fraud Trump screeches about is as scant as the cancer caused by windmills. Trump’s claims make as much sense as he did when he declared he’d lower prescription drug prices by more than 100%.

Trump is a weak person who thinks himself strong. I suspect the midterms will be as messy as Trump’s Iran War — reaching six months now, after he claimed it would be over in weeks — the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool fiasco, or the White House ballroom. It’s another case built on lies and false claims. It’s as reliable and substantial as AI-generated pictures of Trump as Jesus or Superman, or Trump with George Washington.

That is Trump: a fake. A con. A charlatan.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Trump has always called himself a great negotiator. But progress with Iran and Canada both verify, no, Trump is not a great negotiator. Despite Trump claims about what was done to Iran, the war continues. Prices continue rising and the affordability crisis grows.

Now, Trump’s negotiations with Canada has resulted in yet more pain for US consumers.

WSJ is dumbfounded by Trump’s dumb beef with Canada: it just ‘got dumber’

That’s Trump, too: dumb, and dumber.

Thinking about the court’s narrow approach, The Neurons gave me “Walk On” by U2 in the morning mental music stream. The song came out in 2000.

Sample Lyrics

And if the darkness is to keep us apart
And if the daylight feels like it’s a long way on
And if your glass heart should crack
And for a second you turn back
Oh no, be strong

Walk on, walk on
What you got they can’t steal it
No, they can’t even feel it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight

Yes, Trump is the darkness, trying to tear our nation apart.

Walk on. Stay safe. Be strong.

Cheers

2

Trump in his Own Words

A brief history of Trump claims through the years.

How Epstein is a close friend. Trump will fix affordability; affordability is a hoax! He’ll balance the budget. Iran’s military has been destroyed.

I suspect that if someone confronted Trump with all of these claims, he would scream, “Fake news!” He’d claim, “That’s not what I said.” Then he would attack the one confronting him. Call them vile. Nasty.

That’s his MO. He cannot face the truth and can’t handle the facts.

For the record, affordability is a crisis for many Americans. Oil and gas prices are flirting with record highs.

His war with Iran is nearing its fifth month.

The Epstein files are still not released. The ballroom is still being built, and the US taxpayer is being billed.

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Wednesday’s Theme Music — Blind

Ashland, southern Oregon — Wednesday, July 15, 2026.

Gonna be 95 F here again. 79 right now. Will drop tomorrow to 85, they say. We’ll see.

Happy birthday to my younger sister. A mother of two, grandmother of two, she just retired from a long and very successful career in banking, and continues to have a happy marriage after 48 years.

To the news.

Heather Cox Richardson’s letter for yesterday — July 14, 2026 — relates how the United States slowly created and built its national parks and monuments. Presidents from both parties embraced the idea of saving natural lands for people to enjoy.

Armed with Project 2025 ideas and declaring a national energy emergency, Trump has rolled back protections. Even though people love the parks and the parks bring income into the nation’s coffers and create jobs, Trump is more interested in what it can do for the timber, mining, and energy industries. Under him, the parks will be smaller and trashier than they’ve been since the 1890s.

Shaking my head.

This article made me laugh this morning:

Fox News viewers savage Donald Trump for ‘redneck garbage dump’ White House decorations

The best comments for me:

“White House every day is looking more like a red neck garbage dump,” someone else blasted, with a fourth viewer weighing in, “Just because it’s gold doesn’t make it elegant. At some point, it starts looking less like a palace and more like a casino lobby.”

An article from TNR asked a question which many of us wonder:

Can We Lose the Same War Twice? With Trump, Anything’s Possible

Nice summation of the current mess in Trump’s war with Iran right here:

“The two New Jersey property managers Trump sent to negotiate his surrender produced a poorly written memorandum of understanding, or MOU, that captured the new power relations—Iran got nearly everything it demanded, including a $300 billion reconstruction fund, while the United States got vague promises of talks on all the issues Trump had started the war to resolve.”

Now Trump is back at it, launching attacks, still after the same objectives that he claimed to have achieved before, fighting the way he claimed to have won before.

Feels like just more Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! to me.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Classic Trump word weave. Little meaning, less truth, far less connection with reality.

I’m not an expert but based on experts’ opinions and history, I believe this policy will dramatically increase the costs of goods in the US, thereby increasing inflation, straining affordability and healthcare for many Americans.

Today, in honor of MAGA and Republicans, Les Neurons served up a song called “Love is Blindness”. U2 came out with it first. It was too mellow and chill for me. I prefer Jack White’s harder, more challenging edge.

Sample Lyrics:

A little death
Without mourning
No call
And no warning
Baby, a dangerous idea
That almost makes sense

Love is drowning
In a deep well
All the secrets
And no one to tell
Take the money
Honey
Blindness

h/t to Bing.

May this day come with peace, grace, and joy for you, and gently carry you forward to the best times possible.

Cheers

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Sunday’s Theme Music — the Craziest Thing

Ashland, southern Oregon — Sunday, July 5, 206.

It’s another hot summer day. Clouds are in the air and the temperature will be about 90 degrees, not nearly as life-threatening as so many others are enduring around the world.

We attended the Independence Day parade in Ashland yesterday. Very tepid. Low turnout to watch, low enthusiasm for the people marching by, dull interest in the music. The ‘flyby’ came about ten minutes after the parade ended.

It could all be me and my friends, of course, but I walked around to hear what others were saying. One young man pushing a stroller, a woman and another child with him, were all dressed in the national colors. “That wasn’t much,” he was saying, walking away. “Where should we go?

Trump broke more promises yesterday, of course. He said he was going to speak no matter what the weather, but then waited until it was cool, much later. That’s TACO for you. He also said he was going to speak for a very long time but spoke only 40 minutes. More TACO.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Trump was said to be talking about the crowd at the July 4th celebration. He thinks that crowd is “the craziest thing anyone’s ever seen.”

No, Trump, the craziest thing ever seen remains how much you lie and steal, and yet people keep saying how wonderful and great you are. That’s the craziest thing anyone’s ever seen in the last fifty years.

Trump promised a ‘golden age’ during his speech. I’ll tuck that promise in with these previous Trump promises:

We’ve seen the outcomes of these Trump promises. Trump has attacked several countries. He went to war with Iran. Inflation is still up and affordability is a hot issue for many people. Trump was frequently golfing during the war with Iran. Medicare has been cut. A new healthcare plan never emerged. Trump is still building the border wall; Mexico isn’t paying for it.

With MAGA’s unquenched love for Trump going strong, The Neurons unspooled “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen in the morning mental music stream.

I’ve read essays during the last few weeks about how Republicans have weaponized words like patriotism, woke, freedom, God, and religion. They essentially coopted and twisted these words and their meanings in the finest “1984” fashion. So while I use ‘love’ as a descriptor for what MAGAts hold for Trump, I’m not certain that it’s love in the sense that the rest of us employ it. If it is, it’s love in the sense of too many tortured relationships, where one is the abuser and the other is abused, yet the abused cannot quit the relationship. I know that I’m thinking of it from my side of the perspective, and not the abused MAGA position.

But how else can I think of it? Trump continually lies to them. He makes and breaks promises, just as it’s seen in many abusive relationships. Yet, they can’t quit him; they love him. They love him even though he made two billion dollars and did little to improve their lives, even as they struggle more and more with worsening conditions and deteriorating affordability.

So here we go: theme music for the MAGAts and Trump.

Hope your day brings you the best life you can live. May peace and grace smooth your way and take you on to better things.

Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music – Helpless

Ashland, southern Oregon — Tuesday, June 23, 2026.

Hot, mid 90s today, copy of yesterday for our valley.

We cope without using the A/C. I like them in cars and businesses, don’t like using them at home. At night, I cool-drench the house and that usually carries us through the day.

Smoke was in the air last night when I popped the door open. Not strong but I definitely smelled it. NextDoor had the answer: a controlled burn in the town next door. They have orchards. Blight had struck. To contain the blight and stop its spread, they cut off the affected limbs and burned them.

People were worried, though. We’re in a red flag situation. Sure, it was a controlled burn, but controlled burns can get out of hand.

Shows the complexity of the entire matter — drought, fire, trees, economy — on one succinct scenario.

At about 6, my wife went into the garage for something and returned. “I want to leave a door open and let hot air. Warm the house. It’s so cold in here.”

It was 92 outside. In the house at that point, it was 79.

She’s been having greater issues with staying warm. More issues with moving. Strength challenges. So freaking depressing to witness. Stoically bearing it, she complains little. Rocks to stand. Grunts with effort. Hangs on to balance herself.

We went to the growers market this morning. Bought baked goods for a friend and took them to him. He has Parkinsons and cancer. His wife is away on a trip with her sister to Alaska. The woman needed it.

Our friend is doing well. The housekeeper was in, finishing. Said she’d be back at 5. Meanwhile, friends are delivering pizza for his lunch at 2 PM.

It takes a community to cope with these things.

I had a pre-op telephone appointment for my bladder cancer on Thursday. Usual stuff about times, bathing with Hibiclens, drinking fluids, eating, where we’re going, where to park, how long it’ll take.

My wife asked, “What about afterward? What’d they say about that?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. This was pre-ops.”

“They’re all so compartmentalized,” she snapped.

I can’t argue that. It’s very true.

My wife and I chatted about the news. She had just read about Trump’s claim that the economy is the ‘opposite of a recession’.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

This seems like another part of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!, an attempt to distract us from what’s really going on.

Anyone living outside of a millionaire’s bubble will probably take issue with Trump’s claims. People are dealing with rising costs associated with energy, housing, food, consumer goods, and healthcare. Trump seems to believe that making these claims will make them true or enough people will simply go along with him on his magic thinking ride.

For the record, for example, oil prices aren’t even down to the levels they were when Trump took office.

Brent crude oil – Price – Chart – Historical Data – News

Beyond Trump’s fractured economic reality, people are awakening to the MOU that ended Trump’s Iran blunder that cost lives and money. They’re basically responding, WTF?

Besides the ongoing saga of the Epstein ballroom construction, we’re also dealing with Algaegate. Trump is straining to point the finger at someone else for the clear disaster that it’s become. It’s such ugly optics, but it perfectly summarizes Trump’s flawed grip on truth, facts, and history.

Today’s music is “Helpless” by Neil Young. Reading the news on some days just engenders that frustration and helplessness, a sense of ‘go do something.’ Protest, scream, call people, write things. Some mornings, I’m a stick stuck in the mud. But I drink my coffee, write out some of my anger. Suck in some air. Count my advantages. Move on for a short while, at least.

“Helpless” is performed by Neil and The Band. Hope you find it worthwhile to hear and watch.

Hope you’re feeling good, doing well, and looking forward to better days.

Cheers

5

Thursday’s Theme Music – Dealing

Ashland, southern Oregon — Wednesday, June 18, 2026.

We’re sitting in 72 F. Sun was out but clouds have moved in, murmuring about thunderstorms. One source said today’s high will be 98 F. Another said 91. I think the second one is correct.

We’re all abuzz about Trump’s deal. Fought a war — sorry, conflict — for it, and all we got is a lousy tee-shirt.

That’s the bottom line. Reviews on the left side of the political spectrum can be summarized, “Are you kidding me?” The right side is trying to rally to support Trump but I think the NY Post’s headline says it for many:

Trump’s Iran deal gives the Islamic Republic big wins up front — and America nothing

As part of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!, Trump’s Iran war did give Trump some respite from his failing economy, the Epstein files and Epstein ballroom, and the mounting court losses.

Overall, though, in a resume of bankruptcies and failures, this will go down as Trump’s biggest. The ‘Iran conflict’ will be the crown jewel in the write-ups about his ranking as ‘the worst president ever’.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Unfortunately for Trump, we have documents and videos from his speeches, texts, and interviews. They don’t align what his claim about getting 99.9% of what he set out to do.

What Trump Said He Wanted To Achieve in Iran War—And What He Says Now

It’s good to record what Trump is saying now and what he said a few months ago. Because in a while, perhaps a few months, perhaps a year, Trump will claim, I never said that. Because that’s what he consistently does.

Shaking my head, I was laughing to myself about Trump’s deal with Iran as I made breakfast. It’s like going in to get a pay raise and promotion and coming out agreeing to work more hours, with more responsibilities, with the same title and pay.

Spying on me, The Neurons broke out “Deal” in the morning mental music stream. The Grateful Dead tune is about being cautious about the deals you make.

Sample Lyrics:

Wait until that deal go ’round
Don’t you let that deal go down, oh no

Costs a lot to win
Even more to lose
You and me bound to spend some time
Wonderin’ what to choose

Trouble for Trump, he thinks he’s a military genius. He thought Iran would be a cakewalk. Once again, the truth — Trump is a liar and con man, and not a genius — has been revealed.

I hope you make better deals for yourself than Trump did for the nation. May peace and grace carry you today and every day.

Cheers

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