Tag: iran war

Thursday’s Theme Music — Insanity

Ashland, southern Oregon. Thursday, September 3, 2026.

Cool rainy weather continues here. Today’s high will be 63 degrees F, ten degrees above the present temp. Blue sky is a memory as gray clouds take over from horizon to horizon, no matter where I look. Rain fell yesterday, and it was very enjoyable, almost springlike to me. No more rain is expected today; just clouds and cool temperatures.

My sister, Gina, is irritated with Mom again. This is about Mom’s Amazon purchases but also this new account Gina set up. Apparently, Mom can only have six transactions a month. Mom used three on Amazon already, then Gina paid three bills but forgot to include those for her calculations for Mom’s account, so Mom now can’t spend any more money in September, according to Gina. As she’s not communicating with Mom, she is asking one of us to tell Mom for her. I think Gina needs to own it.

I admit, I’m a little irked with Gina’s thinking here. On the one hand, she’s complaining about Mom’s deteriorating mental state and memory. On the other hand, she sets Mom up with an account with expectations that Mom will think of everything she’ll need for the month and place one order. Hard to fault Gina, though, because she — almost alone — is the one child living locally trying to help Mom.

My wife told me about a mother of five being convicted. Her crime was letting her five-year-old walk a few blocks by himself in their gated community in Virginia.

My wife and I were astonished. Our parents would’ve been thrown under the jail, as much as we freely roamed. I walked, ran, and biked everywhere, starting when I was about five. By the time I was twelve, I was hitching rides with strangers. On the other hand, maybe I was just lucky that nobody wanted to get me during that era. No one tried that until I was sixteen, when a crew-cut man in a pickup truck in his early fifties begged me to show him my pecker and offered money.

Today’s news has alarming moves revealed by the US Postal Service. As expected, Trump is trying to weaponize the USPS to stop voting by mail. As he and the GOP take a wrecking ball to nation’s norms, buildings, arts, laws, economy, healthcare system, and military, Trump is trying to keep as many people as possible from voting. He claims voting fraud but has never proven it. Likewise, other than small and isolated amounts, it’s never been found or proven elsewhere in the nation in this century.

Trump, though, is at once desperate to claim he’s popular by making the mid-term elections about him. He’s also afraid of that truth that he’s not popular. Whenever a candidate backed by Trump losing, Trump blames the candidate. Of course, the candidates he’s backed aren’t generally quality people, either, so there’s a load of blame to spread around.

In Texas, Trump is both trashing the GOP candidate, Ken Paxton, and urging for people to vote for Paxton. Like talking about how bad a restaurant is and then urging you to eat there, isn’t it?

Paxton is a GOPer modeled after Trump. Paxton paid $300K to get securities fraud charges against him dropped, and his wife is divorcing Paxton after reports of numerous affairs.

Big question: is Paxton also in the Epstein files, like Trump?

This was a hilarious headline:

Donald Trump ‘will quit after midterms and hand presidency to Vance’, expert predicts

That’s so ridiculous it’s not worth addressing beyond noting its existence.

Well, I also will say, if you think Trump is going to quit, I have a Trump Bible to sell you, barely used.

Speaking of selling, the Trump coin is officially available to buy. Except it’s sold out. And it’s a collectible, not legal tender. Talking about it with my wife, she asked, “Is that all they do, sit around talking about ways for Trump to put his name on things and make money?”

I read that another judge ruled against another Trump effort to ignore the Constitution and Amendments. That prompted “I’ll Stick Around” by Foo Fighters in the morning mental music stream.

Why that song? The song was released in 1995 and was It seemed to come from thinking about refusing to accept all the crap Trump is doing to our world. Then, thinking about why MAGAts go along with it. Then, reflecting on history — McCarthyism, the Ku Klux Klan, the way blacks, the people who lived on this continent before us, women — anyone who wasn’t white CIS male — was treated.

We overcame those things before; we need to overcome them again. And this song speaks to that: “I don’t owe you anything.” I’m speaking to the MAGAts who believe they’ve had it so bad.

Sample Lyrics

I still refused all the methods you abused
It’s alright if you’re confused, let me be
I’ve been around all the pawns you’ve gagged and bound
They’ll come back and knock you down and I’ll be free

I’ve taken all and I’ve endured
One day it all will fade, I’m sure

I don’t owe you anything
I don’t owe you anything
I don’t owe you anything
I don’t owe you anything

I had no hand in your ever desperate plan
It returns and when it lands, words are due
I should’ve known we were better off alone
I looked in and I was shown, you were too

I’ll close with wishes for you to achieve and persevere today and everything, in good health, with good friends. Peace and grace to you.

Cheers

1

Your Trump Quote of the Day

Yes, that’s what so many Americans are worried about. War with Iran, Epstein files, Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, government corruption, climate change, decreasing employment, increasing national debt, more measles and spreading COVID-19, rising gas, food, and housing prices — food recalls — forgot those!

Private jets are the line in the sand.

Of course, there is more to the story…

The US–Canada Aircraft Certification Dispute: What the Latest Developments Could Mean for Aviation Safety

What happened (in plain English)

“In late January 2026, President Donald Trump publicly threatened to “decertify” certain Canadian-made aircraft (often cited as Bombardier’s Global Express family) and to impose a 50% tariff on aircraft imported from Canada. Reporting linked the threat to Canada’s pace in certifying (validating) several US-made Gulfstream business jets for Canadian operation.”

Wait a minute!

Are you telling me that Trump’s complaint about Canada not being willing to certify the Gulfstream is a result of Trump threatening to decertify Canadian aircraft and impose a 50% tariff?

Why, Donald Trump — suddenly, I can believe that Canada has not certified the Gulfstream.

What I can’t believe — again — is how you refuse to accept the consequences of the stupid decisions you make.

And again, you try blaming others for your stupidity.

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, then I’m a Republican.

2

Sunday’s Theme Music — Promises

Ashland, southern Oregon. It’s the next to last day of August – Sunday, August 30, 2026.

Autumn has definitely inserted itself around her. Chilly last night, dropping into the forties. Trees are turning gold and red against a blue velvet sky. Sunshine is expected to lift us from our current temp of 53 degrees F to 86 degrees F.

Mom texted me several times yesterday but I couldn’t understand most of it. She didn’t respond to requests for clarification.

We seem to be on flat loop for political news. That’s not to dismiss or make light of all the news about murders, gun violence, fires, and death going on. I’m just keeping the focus narrow right now.

Trump keeps sending out texts, of course, and does some AI-generated photos of himself with truly famous and important people, trying to revitalize his tired image and poor record by leeching off of others.

Ironically, Trump once leeched off of Epstein’s popularity to boost himself. Trump called Epstein a “terrific guy”. Now he’s trying to hide his relationship with Epstein.

An expert said that Trump’s recent round of texting himself with famous people in AI generated images did real work to displace actual news.

Like, no kidding. We the People call them ‘distractions’. I refer to the entire body of distractions as Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!

Besides the texts and AI generated images, Trump torn down part of the White House to build a ballroom. Now it’s a mess.

Trump started a war with Iran. That was also to project how tough he was and how powerful the United States is. But Trump has the anti-Midas touch: all which he touches, organizes, or touts quickly diminishes in value. So the US military is now mired in another new Middle East war.

Way to go, Trump.

Besides starting that war, Trump did the Venezuela oil deal. Which…we won’t know what it means until all details are released and time has passed. Trump is talking about how great it is, but that’s what he always does.

Like this economy. Trump says it’s great. But the numbers aren’t great. Beyond rising prices, which are mostly fueled by Trump’s tariffs, his lingering war with Iran, and rising costs associated with climate change and extreme weather, personal bankruptcies are up. So are home foreclosures. Trump is killing the American dream. He’s not worried, though, because he’s enriched himself.

Overall, Trump’s second term legacy can be summed up as lies, delusions, and failures.

And now, a quote about Trump:

Today’s music comes out after thinking — again — about Trump’s many promises and delusions. I think too much about it, to be honest. I do so because he says these things, breaks his promises, and yet MAGAts and the GOP are all, it’s all gone.

Some of the MAGAts support Trump because he’s tearing everything down. That’s what they want: tear it down so we can rebuild. Unfortunately for us, ‘tearing it all down’ in this age will cause huge damage to the world. I guess they have Mad Max fantasies about leaving in a dystopian land…

Anyway, The Neurons ended up inserting a Simple Minds song in my morning mental music stream. “Promised You A Miracle” came out in 1982 and has that 80s techno rock vibe. The lyrics fit now:

Sample Lyrics:

I promised you a miracle
Belief is a beauty thing
Promises, promises
As golden days break wondering

Seems to fit with Trump and the MAGAts, doesn’t it. ‘Belief is a beauty thing’.

May love, peace, and abundance be with you on this and every day.

I’m off for coffee, writing, being. Cheers

0

Friday’s Theme Music — Babble

Ashland, southern Oregon. Friday, August 28, 2026.

Another cooler day graces our valley with temperatures rising from 70 now to the low 80s later, all Fahrenheit. Signs of autumn are creeping in beyond temperatures as maples are already shifting colors.

Mom finally responded late yesterday to tell me she’s feeling much better, a relief for my mind.

We did grocery shopping yesterday and then went out to see the lunar eclipse. Success, as I saw it twice, once in the evening, and again in the middle of the night. I took some tme to imagine how our ancient ancestors viewed these things. Cool and clear, being out under the stars, watching the moon felt rewarding.

Then it was a night of dreams and a morning of texts with my sisters. My sister, Gina, is going through all of Mom’s letters from Mom’s mother, and it’s a revealation. Gina photographs and texts the letters to us. I honestly don’t recognize many of the names my grandmother writes about. I never met those people and never heard about them.

Vee also visited last night and today. Vee is for visitor, but my wife calls the gray and white tabby because of the lining around the cat’s eyes.

Saw on the net that some are calling for Dolly Parton day. I support the idea. Dolly left a solid impression of what a good person can be. She’s someone worth celebrating and emulating.

Meanwhile, down on the other end of people and personalities, we have Donald Trump. Trump has established himself as Exhibit A in multiple categories of what They Tell Us Not to Be: a liar, greedy, womanizer, racist, hateful, sexist, hot tempered, and a bully. Besides showing poor math skills and cheating on contractors and wives, he craves attention and hates criticism.

This week, continuing to break norms, ignore treaties, and playing a wannabe dictator, Trump declared Lake Ontario would be known as Lake America.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Trump has half of what he says it takes, because people keep giving him pens.

Trying to rename Lake Ontario is another of Trump’s Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! distractions to me.

Continuing a year of failures, he has the mess at the White House, where he screwed up the lawn and demolished the East Wing for a ballroom. First he claimed that ballroom was ‘needed’. Then he said it was a monument for himself. Also, he kept insisting donors are paying for it. Then, oh, no, that ballroom is for national security.

Take his tariffs — please. Up and down, off and on, insisting how great they’re making the economy. But boom — unemployment is level but so is employment. More Americans should be working, and they’re not. Further, thanks to Trump, we have price increases, and a national debt that’s past $40 trillion for the first time in history. Way to go, Trump!

The national debt isn’t just Trump’s fault. The Spend Without End GOP shares a huge share of responsibility. They let Trump blow through money without employing any checks and balances. So long as Trump is in office and the GOP lets him get away with it, the national debt will worsen. Mind you, that’s despite Trump’s claims that he’s cut so much fraud and waste.

Part of that Republican spending spree is on the useless, unneeded war in Iran. Not only is it costing the world in terms of lives and energy, but it’s costing the United States in tangible and intangible ways. Tangibly, we, the world’s most powerful military, has managed to do little but kill people and blow things up. That’s largely because Trump attacked Iran with little planning and no tangible objectives.

On the more intangible side, other nations like China and Russia are noting how inept the military is under Trump, encouraging them to make moves with hard and soft power.

But Trump babbles on, and the GOP stands in line behind him.

What’s worse is the effect of the current situation. We have rising prices, rising bond rates, rising mortgage rates, flat unemployment, rising national debt, anemic job growth and the spectre of rising AI use. Stacked with Trump’s war in Iran, Trump’s erractic behavior and pronouncements, and the upcoming midterms, we’re facing a very uncertain future in the US.

Then add in climate and the expected super El Nino this winter, and brace yourself. This could be a wild roller-coaster ride.

With all this going on, Les Neurons have “Life During Wartime” playing in the morning mental music stream. The 1979 Talking Heads song is about surviving in a dystopian period. Such survival to extreme changes requires a lot of adaptation, and that might be where we’re heading soon.

Sample Lyrics

Heard about Houston? Heard about Detroit?
Heard about Pittsburgh, PA?
You oughta know not to stand by the window
Somebody see you up there

I got some groceries, some peanut butter
To last a couple of days
But I ain’t got no speakers, ain’t got no headphones
Ain’t got no records to play

Why stay in college? Why go to night school?
Gonna be different this time?
Can’t write a letter, can’t send no postcard
I ain’t got time for that now

Trouble in transit, got through the roadblock
We blended in with the crowd
We got computers, we’re tapping phone lines
I know that that ain’t allowed

We dress like students, we dress like housewives
Or in a suit and a tie
I changed my hairstyle so many times now
I don’t know what I look like

You make me shiver, I feel so tender
We make a pretty good team
Don’t get exhausted, I’ll do some driving
You ought to get you some sleep

Burned all my notebooks, what good are notebooks?
They won’t help me survive
My chest is aching, burns like a furnace
The burning keeps me alive

May this day and the days to come treat you with peace and grace as you ride the roller coaster of life.

Cheers

1

Thursday’s Theme Music — Driving Me Crazy

Ashland, southern Oregon. Thursday, August 27, 2026.

Another cool morning — 62 F right now — which will see temperatures in the mid to upper 80s again. No clouds are in view, just blue sky over a brown and green landscape.

Had beers with friends last night. Talking about Dolly Parton dominated. All admired her talents and abilities, but we addressed her sense of humor and willingness to support others more than anything. She’s left a tremendous legacy of kindness, a beacon of light in this nasty Trump era.

Mom is sick this week. She’s complaining of being in pain everywhere and freezing. I’ve asked for updates but she’s not responding, and my sisters aren’t communicating with Mom. The assisted living facility won’t tell me about her because security; they don’t know me.

Our conversations last night about what’s going on in the United States often circled back to the same point: Just when you thought it couldn’t get any crazier, it does.

Then I was reading about a rancher who is upset about Trump’s policies which were affecting her. She defended her vote for Trump, and it’s essentially because she worries about transgender children and her offspring being exposed to transgender children. Yes, oh my!

Which brings me to one of the most ludicrous things Trump ever said, and that’s a long list.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

It’s an absolutely batshit crazy claim. These weren’t off hand remarks. This was Trump campaigning to lead the nation, feeding their fears and petty anxieties. And they have been absolutely debunked.

Just like Trump’s claims of stolen elections.

Does Trump believe what he said that day in August?

Doesn’t matter to me if he believed it or not. He said it to fuel hatred and divide our nation. We are stronger as a nation if we’re all helping one another and pulling together and was — and keeps — deliberately undermining that critical premise.

And then Trump has the gall to claim that he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker and unifier.

A unifier does not deliberately use hatred to turn citizens against each other. Nor does a peacemaker. A peacemaker also doesn’t start an unnecessary war, as Trump did with Iran (now going into its sixth month). Nor does a peacemaker order the military to kill over two hundred people at sea without going through the legal system.

Yet MAGA seems to generally support this. They foster a “conditional unity”, which is, we will support your and your participation and existence, as long as you’re like or fit into our narrow definitions of genders, sexual orientation, skin color, place of birth, ethnicity.

We’ve learned these lessons before. Under Trump, they’re being dismantled.

Yet, there will come a time when we’ll need to learn and employ these lessons again.

Today’s morning mental music stream inhabitant is by FYC. FYC is Fine Young Cannibals, a Brit group. The song today is “She Drives Me Crazy”. The band released it in 1988 and it’s about love and relationships. Makes it apropos for today. The Neurons fed it to the MMMS after I was thinking about how Trump and his supporters drive me crazy.

Sample Lyrics

I can’t stop the way I feel
Things you do don’t seem real
Tell me what you’ve got in mind
‘Cause we’re running out of time
Won’t you ever set me free?
This waiting ’round’s killing me

Hope you’re rocking this day and making good time on your daily life goals. Be good to yourself and to each other.

Cheers

2

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

Saturday’s Theme Music — Unravelling

Saturday, August 22, 2026. Ashland, southern Oregon.

Although the clouds have departed and sunshine spreads across a blue sky, today’s temperatures are cooler. 68 F now — feels like 70 something — 86 F will be our high.

Like many others, I’m reading about Trump, Natalie Harp, and Trump’s desperate efforts to win support. It’s unravelling for him.

2026 is becoming the year in which nothing goes right for Trump. Sure, he made a lot of money last year — $3B. But after bragging about how good the economy would be under him and proclaiming a golden age, Trump gets the honor of being the Oval Office resident as the national debt rockets past $40T and climbing.

Gas prices are up. Diesel prices are climbing. Beef prices are still up. Trump’s Iran war goes on. People still ask, what do the Epstein files reveal about Trump that Trump is dodging their release.

Then there’s Natalie Harp. Lo, this blonde looks much like his daughter, making us all gag with memory about Trump’s earlier suggestions about dating her. Natalie Harp, aka the Printer and the Human Binky, is Trump’s constant companion and his wall against the world. He was very upset when people said things about her.

Predictably, Trump launched more Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!

Trump puts his face on Reflecting Pool water in algae green during latest posting spree

Does that shout WTF, or what? Certainly crazy of him because it draws attention back to a series of humiliating setbacks. Trump scorned previous administrations’ efforts to fix it. Trump also said, “Our job will take one week and will cost about a million and a half dollars.”

Trump also said, “This will last for at least 50 years and you’ll never have a leak. It’s very strong. You couldn’t — if you had a knife, I don’t want to give anybody ideas — if you had a knife you can’t even cut it.”

LOL.

“THE FACTS: Work is ongoing 15 weeks later. The pool was drained for a second time in mid-July to address returning algae blooms and issues with a new coating that was peeling. Trump’s estimates of the project’s cost have increased as work has progressed, to “less than $20 million.” Records show that more than $16 million worth of contracts have been awarded for the project so far.”

h/t to AP News

So why did Trump put his face on the pool, which many now call symbolic of his shambolic administration?

Maybe he didn’t.

It’s possible that Natalie Harp posted it on behalf of Trump, trying to coax a smile out of that dour old orange peel face. Because posting on social media on Trump’s behalf is part of Natalie Harp’s official duties.

Trump’s face on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool isn’t likely to improve his tanking poll numbers. Trump knows that. So he pulled another trick out of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!

Trump Announces Beef Tariff Relief — and Takes Jab at Biden — in Bid to Cut Prices

Anyone with half a brain would know that Trump’s move would irritate ranchers and beef producers. Tragically, there’s not half a brain within all of the Trump administration put together.

Pushback was almost instant.

Republicans revolt over Trump’s beef tariff relief: Will ‘further harm’ MAGA

This is so catastrophically funny. Trump imposed the beef tariffs. That, with the actions he took to cut out trading partners and his war with Iran, has raised prices. Now, desperately trying to do anything to improve his numbers, he’s actually going against his own tariffs and war.

Trump is basically warring with himself. Of course, with all of it, it’s always someone else’s fault.

Doesn’t matter who Trump tries to blame. He’s made a mess of the United States, and now he’s unraveling.

And all of it was predictable way back when he began his presidential campaign back in 2015. We knew he was a fraud, liar, and inept, a con who cheated his way to apparent success.

But there’s a sucker born every minute. Trump managed to con them into voting for him.

Thinking about Trump unravelling caused The Neurons to bring up one of my favorite unravelling songs. Weezer came out with “Undone” back in 1994. The song quickly became known as “Undone – The Sweater Song”.

Sample Lyrics

If you want to destroy my sweater
Hold this thread as I walk away (As I walk away!)
Watch me unravel I’ll soon be naked
Lying on the floor, lying on the floor, I’ve come undone

h/t to AZLyrics.com

It’s a fun song. Though, truthfully, I shudder to think about Trump lying naked on the floor. *ugh*

I hope you don’t unravel but that your day is carried out with peace and grace, and a tincture of tranquility.

Cheers

0

Facing Truths

It’s getting messy for Trump and the Republicans.

The headline says it all:

‘I’m Not That Informed on National Security,’ Graham Says in South Carolina Debate

That would be Darline Graham, Trump’s choice to replace the GOP senator who died last month. No, not Mitch McConnel, the other one.

Darline Graham is a Trump supporter so it’s no wonder that he chose her; for him, her not being informed on national security is a benefit. He doesn’t know much about national security, either.

Losses are piling up for Trump-backed candidates

“Republican primary voters have now rejected 10 Trump-endorsed candidates for statewide office or Congress this primary season.”

Why are they being rejected? Evidence is still being collected.

I don’t know if the truth is coming out, TBH, the truth being that Trump is self-centered, aging, sick, and incompetent. I think this is more of a FAFO matter that people are voting against Trump: they’re hurting and the future isn’t the rosy scenario that Trump promised and they expected.

Many people seemed to vote for Trump by ignoring his actual record of achievement. They blindly accepted his promises in 2024:

  • No new wars
  • Prices will come down — fast
  • No golfing
  • Law and order
  • Building the military
  • Improving the economy
  • Lowering the national debt
  • Make America healthy again

Everything Trump’s done since he began his second term has resulted in the opposite of his promises.

  • Trump started a war with Iran which reduced military munitions and readiness
  • Prices keep going up, now setting new records for how high they’ve reached
  • Trump golfs over a quarter of the time he’s been in office
  • Political prosecutions and pardons have replaced law and order
  • While the unemployment rate remains roughly 4%, the number of employed Americans are declining
  • Trump is adding no new jobs
  • Measles cases are at a 30 year high

Trump claims we’re in a ‘golden age’ but personal bankruptcies are going up.

Personal bankruptcy filings are soaring in 2026, signaling growing economic distress

“The number of Americans who file for bankruptcy is growing. More than 500,000 people took this step in 2025, nearly 50% more than in 2022. And the numbers have kept on climbing, with a 12% jump in June 2026 from a year earlier as many consumers struggled to pay their bills.”

The bottom line, again is the truth: Trump cares about no one but Trump.

Your Trump Quote of the Day reminder:

Unable to change now, Trump continues with the same con that brought him success, whip-cream claims and empty promises.

Trump’s ‘Golden Age’ Economy Pitch Fizzles With Midterm Voters

“Inside the White House, there’s broad confidence that the administration has a record to run on, one the president will likely be hammering from here to November. But other Republicans, including some people close to the president, are concerned that won’t be enough, especially for candidates running in competitive races. They want him to offer fresh economic plans, such as further tax cuts expanding on last year’s major law that’s central to the GOP economic pitch.”

And yet, with all that’s going bad, Trump thinks it’s going great:

Trump probably wants to be the next POTUS because he’s making so much money off of being in the Oval Office during this term. Besides increasing his wealth by over $3B in 2025, We the People are paying for all of his mistakes. We’re paying for his travel, and we’re paying for his golfing.

Yet, these are only the first manifestations of the many messes Trump has created. By rolling back environmental protections, the impact, via increased pollution, more extreme weather, and more natural disasters, are looming on the horizon.

Likewise, Education, which Trump has gutted, is a ticking timebomb. One of the foundations for US growth in the last century was its strong education system. It wasn’t perfect, and it was uneven, and yet, it offered promise and hope.

The GOP has been actively wrecking it, monetizing it more each year. Trump is accelerating this process, effectively dumbing down America at a time when the challenges we face require more thinking, more knowledge, more education, and more intelligence.

The evidence of Trump’s impact on our education system won’t immediately show. But like all the other mistakes which Trump has made, it’ll soon be as evident as the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the White House lawn.



1

Tuesday’s Theme Music — What’s up

Ashland, southern Oregon. Tuesday, August 18, 2026.

We’re back from the coast. Cool there — usually in the 60s. Yesterday made it to the 90s F after our return; we expect more of the same, with the temperature reaching the mid 90s today. Right now, still feels like the coast, minus that fresh air scent. 65 F but already feels like 71.

Mom’s house will close tomorrow. Maybe. I hope; the delays are ratcheting up everyone’s nerves. We’re on edge because if it doesn’t sell, here we go again. I also feel for the people waiting to buy. I imagine what they’re going through. Mom is sad about losing her home, and I understand that, but I’m looking at the flip side, of the people who thought, here is the answer we’ve been seeking.

Getting back into the normal groove. Making a list of things to do around the house. Must replace my wife’s lost phone. That’s job 1.

Meanwhile, though, get caught back up on the news. What is Trump up to now?

Trump has fingers in everything. New taser mittens for ICE agents. Terrific. Starting another war somewhere while ditching an old trusted and reliable ally in South Korea? Sure, that’s Trump all over, with allegiance only to himself.

Having wrecked the White House east wing and paved over the historic Rose Garden, Trump is destroying the south lawn. Already looking bad due to his various ‘functions’ on it — which of course, he blames on vandals, now becoming one of his favorite old man words — he’s going to ‘fix it’.

I already cringe at the idea that Trump will try to fix something else. Look how he ‘fixed’ the Oval House, plastering gold all over. Recall how Trump fixed the economy: the number of the employed is falling, the national debt is rising, and the affordability crisis is spreading like an unchecked tumor.

Or look how Trump fixed crypto. Made himself and his family wealthier while others — well, not so much.

Look how Trump ‘fixed’ Iran, by bombing it to the point that the US’s munitions were seriously depleted. Look how Trump fixed the navy (exhibit number 1: USS Abraham Lincoln, or the USS Benford) and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Someone captured Heather Cox Richardson’s conclusions about our current state in a graphic.

Here’s classic Trump Double Standards:

Trump votes by mail again in his home state of Florida

As with everything else Trump, there is no evidence to his delusional claims. It’s just more Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!, more squirming to avoid the truth and facts, and more scheming to gain and keep wealth and power for himself.

Just as Trump claimed that the ballroom was being built as a monument to himself and then shifted to claim it’s about security.

Just as Trump claimed he would never golf after criticizing President Obama for golfing. Yet, Trump has golfed 27% of his second term.

As an aside, what’s the latest on Mitch McConnell? Back from the dead yet? How ’bout the Epstein files? Trump fulfill that promise yet?

After that thinking, the morning mental music stream occupant is by Four Non-Blondes. I was talking about this song the other night. The Neurons made a note. When I said to myself, coffee in hand, “Okay, let’s see what’s up,” the song “What’s Up” began playing.

It’s a good song for the times.

Sample Lyrics

And I try, oh, my God, do I try?
I try all the time, in this institution
And I pray, oh, my God, do I pray?
I pray every single day for revolution

And so I cry sometimes when I’m lying in bed
Just to get it all out, what’s in my head
And I, I am feeling a little peculiar
And so, I wake in the morning and I step outside
And I take a deep breath and I get real high
And I scream from the top of my lungs, “What’s going on?”

And I say, hey-ey-ey, hey-ey-ey
I said, “Hey, what’s going on?”
And I say, hey-ey-ey, hey-ey-ey
I said, “Hey, a-what’s going on?”

Now off to write.

I hope your day is complete with peace, grace, good foods, and good weather.

Cheers

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