Ashland, southern Oregon — Tuesday, November 10, 2026.
Today began with some clouds. Sunshine won for an hour and then fog rolled in. Fifteen minutes later, the fog passed on, leaving us with blue sky flavored patches of clouds. Our temperature scaled the mercury to 69 F before receding to its current 51.
It came through just a short time ago that the Republicans are relying on Jim Jordan and John Thune for ‘leadership’. Which means, they will support Trump and stay the same course that took them crashing through the blue waves.
Trump, as noted in another post, is still floating on clouds of lies, delusions, and faux machismo. After Donald Trump floated ideas about changing his immigration, his MAGA base threw a tantrum. Trump quickly shifted to TACO and reverted to form.
That tells us a lot about how the Republicans, MAGA, and Trump, are planning to play the next two years. They’ll continue their ways, trying hard to obstruct the Dems. Trump and the GOP aren’t going to do anything to improve affordability in the US — especially if the Democrats are sponsoring the legislation.
I’m just floating through days myself right now, hitting medical appointments, adjusting to news, going on with my writing endeavors, living my best life, even if it sometimes feels very mediocre. The Neurons inserted a Modest Mouse tune into my morning mental music stream, “Float On”. Song came out in 2004 and was written about the politics of the time as George W. Bush led the United States into wars with Iraq and Afghanistan based on rumors Dick Cheney floated about WMDs.
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.
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.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Monday, November 11, 2026.
Overcast and wet defines the morning’s view of the sky and land. Still colorful but fading, November is taking over, kicking October’s influences out. It’s 52 F with a chance of 58 F as a high.
My 1440 minutes are consumed with writing and BCG wash number 5. My wife and I were talking about going to a Day of the Dead celebration after my appointment but we both realized how stupid that would be. *smile*
Nothing new from Mom’s negotiations with my sister, Gina. I don’t expect a fast decision. Gina is always suspicious of Mom these days. In Gina’s view, Mom uses pain and problems as tools to manipulate others, so she’s waiting to see how sincere and true Mom’s offer to apologize to Gina’s husbands really is.
I don’t blame Gina at all. I’m extremely leery of Mom’s current entreaties. I want Mom to be happy but I’m not certain she has that capacity any longer.
My wife and I talk about the midterm elections a lot at our house. There is a bit of fatigue in our conversations. The GOP’s television commercials are so friggin’ annoying.
Like Brad Hicks, running for state office. Part of the appeal he makes to voters is that ‘one party shouldn’t be in charge of everything.’
Hello, Brad. You’re a Republican. You do realize that Republicans control Congress and the White House, don’t you? You are, in effect, arguing against voting for Republicans because one party shouldn’t be in charge of everything.
Other than that, and attack, attack, these Trump-supportingcandidates try to appeal for affordability and common sense. They never elaborate on either and don’t address the Trump-sized elephant who is affecting affordability in America.
So we are really, really, REALLY looking forward to Election Day — ESPECIALLY if We the People manage the blue wave so many are predicting.
With those thoughts in mind, The Neurons have placed “Sweet Tuesday Morning” in my morning mental music stream. This is a Badfinger song which came out in 1971. I had the album and listened to the tune often. I don’t think I’ve heard it on the radio in decades, which is a shame. Other than being about Tuesday, though, the song doesn’t have much to do with election day or the stresses, worries, and frustrations it represents.
I hope your 1440 minutes are stress free and relaxed although I suspect many are like me, hopeful but anxious, angry and weary.
Science fiction and fantasy writer John Scalzi weighed in on the 2026 midterm elections and who you should vote for in Ohio, where he resides. I think much of his advice applies to other states in 2026. Really, his final paragraph summarizes it all very well.
“And don’t vote for any Republicans. Let their manifest exile begin this year. Let it be compounded in 2028. Let them wander in the wilderness for a very long time. They deserve it.“
I urge you to read the rest of his post. It might make you smile.
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.
Another 30-degree night. White clouds overly the blue sky, creating a hazy white and blue sky. About 50 degrees high expected, I think.
Halloween has arrived in the US. At last. Decorations have been up for a while, and a casual topic of conversation, a filler. “So, do you have any fun plans for Halloween?” “Do you get many tricker or treaters?”
We have no fun Halloween plans. Going to a Day of the Dead party, but that’s on Monday. No, we don’t get any trick or treaters, and we’ve ceased buying treats because we ended up eating them all or freezing them forever.
I chuckled as a I dressed today. I’m wearing a sweater with a black tee shirt under it. I bought the sweater before moving from California to Oregon, so that’s over 21 years ago. But I recognized the tee shirt as one of the black cotton tee shirts with a chest pocket that I wore with my battle dress uniform in the Air Force over thirty years ago. I was in special ops for a while, and they required black tees. I still have three of them. Amazing how well they held up.
Gosh, if we’re getting richer, as Trump claims, I wonder what’s causing the soaring personal bankruptcies this year if we’re all ‘getting richer’? And if the US as a nation, why is our national debt so high and climbing, or that the budget deficit is getting worse?
I also wonder why so many people are complaining about the high costs of food, healthcare, and just about everything else. Besides increasing personal bankruptcies, personal savings are cratering in the US, and credit card debt keeps going up. Even farmers and ranchers, beneficiaries of Trump’s attempts to buy them off, are starting to say that Trump is a disaster.
Well, the truth to Donald Trump’s assertion is in his words. When Trump says “we’re getting richer”, he doesn’t mean We the People. Trump means Donald Trump and his family and peers like the wealthiest five percent of the nation are getting richer.
For Trump, it’s always about us and them. Trump managed to con a large portion of the population into thinking he included them when he said ‘us’, but they’re starting to understand that Donald Trump is a greedy, lying narcissist who is using his position to enrich himself.
‘Starting to’ is key to that. Many Trump supporters ‘sort of kind of maybe realize’ it but support Trump despite what it does to the nation because they like his brand of greed, hate, division, faux religion, and chaos. They approve of his ‘small government model’ because it means less regulation for business and more money and opportunity for them to get wealthier! “Everyone for themselves!” is their model, echoing the Founders’ intentions.
As everyone knows, it’s all part of the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all white men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Christian God with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Getting Richer, Screwing Everyone Else, and Doing Everything to Hold onto Power.”
Every school child is taught that early in American schools, especially private, white Christian schools paid for by vouchers made possible by poor taxpayers.
For as the old maxim goes, “We are only as strong as our weakest link, so we need to break those links and replace them with links like us. For in conformity is strength.”
Today’s theme music is by Pink Floyd. “Us and Them” was part of the album, “Dark Side of the Moon”, which was released in 1973. The lyrics are perfect for the Trump era, as he’s constantly dividing the nation, world, and even his own party under terms which call out us and them.
Sample Lyrics
“Forward”, he cried from the rear And the front rank died The general sat and the lines on the map Moved from side to side
Black and blue And who knows which is which And who is who
Up and down And in the end It’s only round and round, and round
“Haven’t you heard it’s a battle of words?”
The poster bearer cried “Listen, son”, said the man with the gun “There’s room for you inside”
They’re not gonna kill ya So like, if you give ’em a quick short, sharp, shock, they won’t do it again Dig it? I mean he got off lightly ’cause I would’ve given him a thrashing I only hit him once It was only a difference of right and wrong, innit? But really, I mean good manners don’t cost nothing, do they, eh?
Down and out It can’t be helped But there’s a lot of it about
With, without And who’ll deny It’s what the fighting’s all about
I hope you and me, and all our friends and relatives, have very good days and comfortable nights.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Saturday, October 17, 2026.
It’s a cool morning, 48 F. Dogs are barking outside, and neighbors are warming up motorcycles for a fall Saturday ride.
I asked Alexa the weather. She told me it was a sunny 43 degrees. As I peered out, observing the clouds and looking for sun, she went on, “Today’s high will be 72 degrees and the low will be 45. There is no rain expected.”
My wife and I looked at each other. But, but — if today’s low is going to be 45, and it’s now 43, what does that make 43 in this report? It’s another modern puzzle.
Mom is on the warpath again. We grew up hearing that expression. Mom had several she regularly used: the poor house, insane asylum, and warpath are three prominent examples. She regularly warned us that she was on the warpath, that we were driving her to the poor house, or that she was going to end up in the insane asylum because of us.
It’s about diapers. She’s out of them and weirdly, they’re difficult to find them locally. She wants to order them online but is having trouble doing that. My sister, Gina, recommended Mom ask one of the young women who work in the assisted living home help her. Mom replied that to the effect that she’s the smartest one there. Gina said, “Well, they’re younger and are probably more familiar with the technology.” Mom refused to budge, insisting that they would be no help.
Donald Trump is on the campaign trail. He’s visiting places where he won. Yes, because that’s the sort of ‘fighter’ TACO is. Remember that he was named TACO? ‘Trump Always Chickening Out’.
Holding true to that, TACO is going to Iowa, where Republicans are struggling to win votes in a reliably red state. It’s not a puzzle why: a CNN poll found 70% of likely Iowa voters said current gas prices were a moderate-to-severe hardship, 74% said Trump administration policies had increased the cost of living, and 48% named the economy or cost of living as a top election issue.
Where this is a puzzle is that with the economy the leading issue, why are some Republicans still ready to vote for more of the same?
Do Iowa voters support Trump’s war in Iran? I read that they didn’t.
Are Iowa voters against abortion choice, or do they the absolute bans which Republicans have pursued? Again, I read that most Iowa voters are against strict and absolute bans.
And, like most US voters, those in Iowa are for limiting new AI and data center construction, a position which is 180 degrees from Trump’s position.
As I say, it’s a puzzle.
All this puzzle thought stirred The Neurons. I ended up with a Radiohead song about puzzles in my morning mental music stream. As the song streamed through memory, I couldn’t quite place it. Had to resort to looking it up. Yes, Radiohead. From 2007! Thought it was older than that. Ah, memory. It’s called “Jigsaw Falling Into Place”. Has naught to do with politics; this song is all about a wild night out.
Sample Lyrics
Just as you take my hand Just as you write my number down Just as the drinks arrive Just as they play your favourite song As your bad day disappears No longer wound up like a spring Before you’ve had too much Come back in focus again
May the month find you happy with you are and sure of where you’re going.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, October 15, 2026.
Ah, the 15th. Used to be one of our paydays in the military. Yea, money in the bank! I asked AI if people still get paid on the 15th. It says it does, because that’s how the modern payroll systems are structured. As a military retiree, I get paid once a month. Likewise, my SSA payment comes once a month. Just some morning mental flossing.
It’s warming up out there in our valley. 67 F now, it feels warmer. A high in the 80s is expected today and the overnight low will only dip into the low 50s. Blue sky provides a terrific background to the brightly colored trees, and sunshine dazzles on leaves right now, given the low angle of the sun.
No Mom news, which I call good news. Hope it means she’s painfree and comfortable.
Speaking of money — well, technically, I wrote about payday. Behind that is money, right? I read a WaPo article about Trump’s latest campaign thrust. Going to a deep red Arizona district, the article highlights how little Trump has to offer.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
The radical authoritarian Donald Trump can’t talk about how great his economy is because it isn’t great. Under the radical, lawless Trump, who broke every campaign promise he ever made, we now have the highest national debt in the history of our great nation. If we had voted in Vice President Harris, we wouldn’t be paying Russia for diesel fuel in an attempt to lower prices from their current record highs and we wouldn’t be in a useless, pointless war in Iran.
Despite facts and history, Trump’s declarations still ring right with some MAGA. From the same article, one 72 year-old Trump supporter said, ““It’s not about MAGA. It’s about what’s best for our country, our freedom, our Constitution, our First and Second amendment.”
I would sure love to see him peppered with questions about Trump’s attacks on the press and freedom of speech. I would also like to hear this MAGAt explain how Trump is supporting our freedom and Constitution. What is he seeing and experiencing that makes this man believe Trump is good for either of those things?
I have the Pink Floyd song, “Money”, in my morning mental music stream. The song came out in 1973. I was a high school junior at the time. I vividly remember listening to it on AM radio as I drove with my friends, Kat and Sandy. We were in Kat’s parents’ car — a huge green Pontiac Bonneville, going through downtown Beckley, WV, on a fall day that’s a lot like today.
Sample Lyrics
Money It’s a crime
Share it fairly, but don’t take a slice of my pie Money So they say Is the root of all evil today
But if you ask for a rise It’s no surprise that they’re giving none away Away, away, away Away, away, away
It’s funny in a bitterly angry way, but Trump is giving money away in an effort to bribe voters to keep Republicans in office. Yet, when it comes to increasing people’s wages, Trump says he’s for it. Yet the minimum wage remains at the same level as 2009, $7.25. As with everything Donald Trump declares, it’s put your money where your mouth is. For us, that means, a larger military, more monuments for Trump, his name on more buildings and airports — and higher prices for everyone else.
May your day be worry free and joyous. See you on the next one.
