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
Reflections On Trump from the Net
Collections from BlueSky, Facebook, and other social media platforms.
Trump and Iran have a Memorandum of Understanding about not shooting and killing any longer. Much is being said about the $300B portion of the MOU. None of that money is supposed to be from the US government.
Tell you, what, though. Trump has established a pattern of being opaque about money, where it came from, and where it went. Trump made claims about Mexico paying for the wall. Cutting the national debt. Money for the Board of Peace. Trump makes big, headline-grabbing claims that rarely materialize as truth.
Trump claimed he would release the Epstein files and then tried to write it off as a hoax and keeps using every trick possible to keep them from being fully revealed. Likewise, Trump resists releasing his full income tax information, leading many, including me to wonder, what is he hiding?
Then there’s the ballroom, which was to cost US taxpayers nothing, and now — yeah, you get it.
Onward to the news!
TACO Rides Again!!!
Summarizing Trump: ABSE: Always Blame Someone Else
Raw
Be my guest
No one said
But I made myself
At home
Sitting where I please
Drinking what I wanted
Gazing where I chose
Till one said
Who you looking at
And another asked
Why are you here
What are you doing
So I shrugged
Smiled
Drank
And told them
Being
Me
*This post is part of Linda Hill’s SoCS fun at The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS June 13, 2026 |
Floofmaniac
Floofmaniac (floofinition) – A person who has an uncontrollable impulse to love, pet, or be with animals. Origins: FLOOFO +MANIA, FLOOFMANIA, first noted use in 1945.
In Use: “The net became a floofmaniac’s dream as videos of playing animals and animals loving and helping each other exploded across the globe.”
In Use: “Sylvia demonstrated early floofmaniac tendencies, first with stuff animals, but swiftly graduating to real animals, eventually starting a career at eleven years old to fund animal rescues and help pay for animal food and health.”
Saturday’s Theme Music
Ashland, southern Oregon — Saturday, June 13, 2026.
Another June morning. 63 F, it feels cool and comfortable to me, “chilly” for my wife. Today’s high will peak in the mid 90s. A heat advisory is on for tomorrow as temperatures are going over 100. Temperatures are expected to drop on Tuesday — a little.
Nothing new from my family and Mom in Pittsburgh. Going through dreams occupied my morning.
I enjoyed this morning headline:
Trump’s name removed from Kennedy Center after blowing past deadline
One small step for decency, democracy, and justice.
But the Epstein ballroom is still under construction, and Trump is racing to build his Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! arch before the system can stop him.
Do we really need a monument to remind us of Trump’s ego? No. Sure won’t help with any problems we face. It’s just more by Trump, for Trump.
Seven states led by Democrats — Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington — have withdrawn from the ‘Freedom 250’ fair. The states withdrew, citing costs and politicalization.
It started out as a celebration of the United States. As with anything with Trump involvement, he’s slowly made it less about that and more about him. For example, after many musical performers bowed out, Trump decided to replace them with himself as the opening act. He plans a ‘rally’.
Trump’s war with Iran goes on. The war has clocked 105 days. Peace is close, both sides agree, then argue about whether the other is telling the truth. It feels like, “Pot, meet kettle,” to me.
Gas prices in the US have dribbled down over the past few days as peace in Iran seesaws. Many best-case scenario project gas prices will drop to $3.75 gallon on average by November. In most dire predictions, $6.35 a gallon is projected as the national average.
I laughed at this headline today:
Man fed 32,754 of Donald Trump’s Truth Social posts to AI and one concerning observation stands out
The story continued:
Key takeaways
- Self-Focus: AI found that Trump frequently centers himself in posts, with roughly 1 in 11 posts being self-praise, and his name appearing as the most common positive reference.
- Conflict & Adversaries: Many posts involve accusations, criticism, and disputes, portraying Trump as both a victim and a winner in political and legal battles.
- Posting Habits: Notable patterns include heavy capitalization (16% of posts), late-night posting (midnight–6 a.m.), and recurring themes of praise, boasting, and accusations.
We didn’t need AI analysis for these conclusions. They’re self-evident, something who isn’t part of the MAGAsphere has noted for years.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
“Wrong Again” Trump was wrong again. We the People built this nation. Men like him just conned people to make money from what others built.
Playing “Spelling Bee” this morning, I laughed and put in Levitake as a word. “Not on the list”, the system responded.
I think it should be. Levitake: to lift and remove something. In use: “They worked through the night to levitake Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center.”
The music playing in today’s morning mental music stream is “Fantasy” by Aldo Nova. The 1982 song started playing as The Neurons spied on me doing my dream review. It was because of the night breeze coming in the window, cooling me.
May your day progress with peace and grace, and bring you an abundance of joy and love.
Cheers
The Writing Moment
The Writing Equation:
Five minutes of imagining scenes of your novel in progress while in bed = roughly thirty thousand words and ten days of writing.
That’s how it feels to me.
Your experience may vary.
Michael Seidel, writer 