Tag: media

Mundaz Theme Music

We’re Gloomsville today, Munda, November 24, 2025. Fog is squatting on us with a chilly, gray ambiance. Sunshine took a look and said, “Pass,” for the morning. Warmer today than yesterday, 44 F, we’re hoping to plumb 60. Such a winter feel soaks the air that I wouldn’t be surprised if Frosty the Snowman strutted down past my house.

Yet this all feels like many childhood Thanksgivings in the Pittsburgh area where I spent my elementary and junior high school years. We’d be released from school for the holiday and rush into this stuff, noses red and running above our grinning mouths. Eyes sparkling, we’d ask one another, “What do you want to do?” Because we were free! And also because we knew good food was coming. Yes, some restrictions would also rise up about how to behave and dress for the good times as the larger mass of family, the ones we only saw a few times a year, all came together. Wish I could recover some of that youthful hopefulness and energy but the weight of too many events in too many years tamps it down tight. All that remains are reflections.

Sunda was spent celebrating another friend’s 78th. We treated them to dinner and then retired to their home for a few hours of Mexican Train, because that’s what she wanted to do. Phone calls of others interrupted out time, but that induced smiles instead of resentment. Good to know she was well thought of by so many friends and relatives that they took time to call.

My post today is late as it was our turn for our monthly Food & Friends deliveries. A smaller list this time. We wondered about the absentees and wished them the best. Then my wife suggested breakfast out somewhere. Although I’d eaten breakfast, I agreed because I know this as one of her favorite things to do. I’m still cautious and mindful about what I consume, eating in moderation and then monitoring my bod for problems.

Today’s song is “Man in A Box”. This is a 1991 grunge song by Alice in Chains. It’s a song about censorship and government restrictions, and was inspired by the songwriter learning how veal was produced via calves kept in cages. Later interviews, band members said that the song’s inspiration was derived from how the media worked in conjunction with the government to control the story. We’re all familiar with that, aren’t we. So, as I was reading the news this morning, The Neurons came up with this song.

I last played this in July of 2024, when we were still hopeful that people would Vote Blue. Not enough did. “The economy,” they cried. Now look where we’re at.

There was cause for some show and victory celebrations today. That would be the dismissal of the Comey and James prosecutions because the prosecutor was not lawfully appointed. I suspect that this will be challenged and end up at the Roberts Court. Odds there probably favor the Trump Regime. I write that because I don’t think the Roberts Court is overly invested in law, precedence, or the Constitution. The majority are more about right-wing ideology.

Next food for musing came from news about a new investigation.

Pentagon Launches Investigation into Senator Mark Kelly over Video Urging Troops to Defy ‘Illegal’ Orders

This is all about the video released the other day that urged military members not to obey illegal orders, reminding them that they swore an oath to the Constitution. I’m retired military; I fully understand what was in that video. I suspect Senator Kelly is like me and probably laughed, saying, “Bring it on!” This advice is continuously given to military members. Ain’t nothing new. That it’s a military veteran and senator, and Democrat giving that advice, along with other Democrats and veterans doesn’t change that it’s anything new or unique. It’s just timely, needed advice, given the Trump Regime’s propensity for lying, ignoring the law, and attacking people and encouraging violence against others based on political stances. We always address following and obey lawful orders, as called out in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or UCMJ. We learn that in initial training sessions and it’s reinforced multiple times in training sessions while in the military. It’s a serious matter, and that’s how we treat it.

Peace and grace ain’t here yet but I still light a candle in the window. Meanwhile, coffee up and carry on, or if you’re not part of coffee nation, whatever bevie works for you. Here we go again, once more into the foggy sunny windy chilly warming autumn winter day. Cheers

1

Sundaz Theme Music

Sunda has arrived in Ashlandia and is offering it’s bonafides as a typical summer day for us. It is July 27,2025. July skidded by on greased slicks, with little sound but a lot of speed. 82 F now, at noon, sunny, an 87 F high is expected by most forecasters for us. Air quality is good with a small smell of wet smoke detected by my nose. That smoke may have been from the Greenway Fire in Medford, 90% contained and 256 acres.

Lot of Trump news to review today.

Donald Trump struggles to understand simple question amid ‘cognitive decline’ concerns

Trump posts fat JD Vance meme sparking rumor they’ve fallen out

Trump’s imaginary numbers, from $1.99 gas to 1,500 percent price cuts

Poll: Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Is a Flop With Voters

Trump Is Trying to Hide the Cost of Renovating His New Air Force One

I take exception with the use of ‘imaginary numbers’ in the one article. Imaginary numbers have a place in math; what Trump is using is fictional numbers to spread his lies, as fiction is something invented or feigned. I know I’m pissing up a tree. It’s semantics and pretty meaningless in a world which plays with irregardless, figuratively vs. literally, etc.

I find the Trump meme about a fat Vance hilarious. Hello, kettle, sayeth the pot. You’re black.

And, there we go again, talking about Trump’s cognitive decline and his age, but few others take up the beat, yet they mercilessly hammered President Biden about these things. Yes, we know where the media takes their lead.

Today’s theme music comes from being outside and considering the stars and the black field where they play. Looking at those nocturnal diamonds, I wondered if there was anyone out there coming to save us or destroyus. Meanwhile, The Neutons quickly filled the mental music stream with songs about space and time before bringing up the diamong aspect, and “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” by Pink Floyd from 1975. I enjoy the lyrics and the sonic interplay happening during the various suites.

Hope you have the best Sunda that aliens, gods, fate, and your good selves can deliver. Time to put another one in the books. Cheers

0

Twosdaz Wandering Political Thoughts

Just a few tidbits of interest sucked in the grey thinking thingies in me today.

One that was sort of interesting in the course of conversations about inflation, the stock market, tariffs, unemployment, moving manufacturing the U.S., and the economy:

Ford CEO says rare earths shortage forced it to shut factory

This happened back in June. Ford CEO Jim Farley said the slowing critical minerals from China into the U.S. has presented a challenge.

“It’s day to day,” he told Bloomberg TV Friday. “We have had to shut down factories. It’s hand-to-mouth right now.”

Trump has responded by claiming that he’s convinced China to send the U.S. the rare earth minerals without mentioning that China responded as they did when he shoved huge tariffs down China’s throat and stopping visas Chinese students. Mines are supposed to be ramping up rare earth mineral production in the U.S. (Wyoming, Texas, and California) but how long until that gap is closed? ‘Ramping up’ normally takes a while.

Meanwhile, the heat is on in D.C. over the Epstein files. Many, like Trump, asks, why didn’t the Democrats release the files when President Biden was in the White House? Well, first, the records were sealed by a court, and President Biden respects due process. But also, Trump ran on a promise to release them. MAGALand wants that campaign promise fulfilled. It’s important to them because it’s supposed to be all about how terrible the Dems are. The reality may be much different.

As usual, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. That doesn’t include Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans. When the going gets tough, they hurry away as fast as possible.

“We’re not going to play political games with this,” Johnson said in a news conference July 22.

Because Trump is a Republican, Johnson didn’t add, because we have mounds of evidence about how differently the Republicans respond to accusations about their bloated God. Instead, Johnson, ‘not playing political games’, called for an early recess.

Finally, one distraction the Trump Regime threw out in their “Squirrel!” distraction tactics was to accuse President Obama of criminal allegations. It’s a terribly pathetic and desperate move, but when you move against facts and truth, pathetic desperation is your MO. Fact checkers have taken to the Trump Regime claims and have come out with the results: ‘Simply doesn’t come close’: Fact-checker takes seconds to dismantle Trump’s Obama claim.

Fortunately for Trump and his Greedy Old Trump Party, often just called the GOTP, Ozzy Osbourne has passed away at 76. That will take some heat off them as the media and public turn their attention to Ozzy and his career.

0

Twosda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

We’re a nation of games. How many of us play a computer game or two each day? I am guilty. The NY Times offers me Connections, Wordle, and Spelling Bee. I play them to keep my mind sharp *ahem*. I also play Sudoku at the Seattle Times, again to exercise my brain.

Online gaming is big business. People buy special chairs, headsets, computers and support systems to play hours online. Playing games on phones are an effective way to pass time while waiting for flights, buses, or meetings to begin.

Children begin playing games at a young age. Occupies their minds, helps their brains develop, and gives parents and caregivers a break. Games such as sports like football, basketball, and baseball are idolized as a way to gain fame and fortune. Television game shows offer you a chance for cash prices, as do lottery games. Besides a chance for people to add to their bank accounts, states use lotteries to raise money for education and projects. Indian casinos have increased in numbers, bringing money in for cash-starved tribes, and tax revenues and employment for communities.

The biggest games center in Washington, DC. Trump and the GOTP, along with complicit media, love playing games with The People. For instance, the cost of eggs.

Trump lies and claims that egg prices have dropped over ninety percent. In one speech, he claimed they’d declined over 98%! Ludicrous. Meanwhile, the Dollar Store has raised its prices to $1.25 and plan to raise them more. That comes and goes under the radar as Trump games people into looking elsewhere.

If you’re a coffee drinker, you know that coffee prices have increased. Initially, it’s not Trump’s fault. Weather affected coffee crops in important coffee growing places. This is just like the egg situation; it wasn’t President Biden’s fault that egg prices increased. Bird flu was causing it. Yet, we don’t hear nearly the screams about coffee inflation that we heard about eggflation. Because Trump and his campaign hammered eggflation. The game participants called the mass media picked up the ball and ran with it, trying to score points. But now, thanks to the Trump tariffs, coffee prices are percolating higher and higher. Little is heard, though. Trump has moved their attention to another game.

Meanwhile, funny enough, check out the egg prices on eggprices.org. Their chart shows egg prices have dropped.

But check below on the same page, at the highest price per dozen in the nation, and the lowest price per dozen in the U.S.:

Isn’t that odd? Virginia is cited as having the lowest price of eggs per dozen: $7.39. Yet the chart by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the average price of eggs per dozen is $3.43 a dozen.

Sure seems odd. Almost like someone is gaming the BLS chart.

Trump and Walmart are probably going to game us over prices. Walmart said they’ll increase prices to cope with the tariffs. Trump warned them, you’d better not, you’d better eat them. Walmart said, okay, will do, chief. What they’ll probably do at Walmart is subtly raise prices on specific sets of items and blame other factors. Trump will let them get away with it because they’re not blaming his tariffs. But customers will be paying more; inflation will increase.

In other gaming news, we have President Biden’s prostate cancer. Of course Trump and his surrogates, such as his son and the DOJ, jumped all over it with stories of coverups. They’re gaming the nation by feeding the media distractions, moving our attention away from Supreme Court rulings, Trump failures, and Trump scandals.

Among the failures are Trump’s pretended success with a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire. Check out multiple news sources on this continuing situation.

Trump Says Russia, Ukraine Will Start Ceasefire Talks

Trump says Russia, Ukraine peace talks to begin ‘immediately’ after Putin chat

Trump Backs Off His Demand That Russia Declare a Cease-Fire in Ukraine

What superb gamemanship! Trump is playing everybody…in the United States.

Likewise, with Trump’s potential scandal involving the Qatari jet offer, suddenly claims emerge that the Biden administration initiated that process. Ignoring all previous history on the subject, the press dutifully pivots toward that, bringing the Biden administration back into play.

The latest word game Trump is playing is his “Big Beautiful Bill” in Congress. This thing is loaded with strategically placed bombs to undermine the nation. It focuses on making the wealthy wealthier and sinking the poor deeper into poverty. As it’s based on Project 2025 and Heritage Foundation thinking and guidance, you know that this is about easing the burden on the wealthiest, thus encouraging them to create more business for the nation. These are the same people who offshored and contracted out manufacturing jobs. These are people who hoard wealth while others starve, beg, and are rendered homeless.

This is, of course, trickle-down economics. The theory has been disproven but the wealthy and conservatives love it. So we will not hear anyone calling it that this year. But that’s what Trump is leading the GOTP to do in his “Big Beautiful Bill”.

It’s not a surprise that Trump’s approval ratings have improved in polls. Too many people are too easily taken in by the games, or they’re busy playing elsewhere.

Now, I’m off. There are six pangrams today. Let the games continue.

1

Twosda’s Wandering Thoughts

I read several headlines this morning about a former NFL player.

Former NFL tight end Don Hasselbeck dies of a heart attack at age 70

Former Buff, NFL tight end Don Hasselbeck dies of a heart attack at age 70

Ex-Giants TE dies after going into cardiac arrest: ‘There is a 6’ 7” hole in our hearts’

Former Super Bowl winning tight end Don Hasselbeck dies at 70

Former NFL TE Don Hasselbeck, father of Matt, dies at age 70

Ex-NFL TE Don Hasselbeck, father of former QBs Matt and Tim, dies at 70

NFL Legend Don Hasselbeck Passes Away at 70 

Don Hasselbeck dies at age 70: Former NFL tight end won Super Bowl with Raiders

It fascinates me how many different ways the headlines for the same story is presented. Some call Don Hasselbeck a legend. A few mention his sons, or just one of his sons. All mention his age, and that he was in the NFL. Most mention he’s a tight end or TE. Several call out the different teams he played for. A couple note that a heart attack killed him.

I probably saw him play on television, but I didn’t remember his name, as it happens with many pro athletes, musicians, actors, writers, and leaders. Only a few catch and hold our attention.

I guess they all give what they can, though. I respect that.

0

Munda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

Yes, here we go again.

Anyone remember President George Dubya Bush’s war on Iraq?

He wanted to attack it and was looking for a reason. Polls show the public divided about it. Administration officials like Colin Powell said that Iraq wasn’t a threat.

Then we had 9/11.

The Bush Administration was quick to try to connect 9/11 and Iraq, and then began painting pictures of fictional ‘weapons of mass destruction’. They worked hard to sell the need to invade Iraq because of the imminent threat Saddam Hussein posed. Intelligence was cherry picked. The press got involved. Stories were planted by journalists favorable to the administration. Then the administration would quote those newspapers and stories to convince people that even the ‘liberal mainstream press agreed’ that war was needed.

Any of this sound in any way familiar? It should. It was a marketing campaign. The Trusk Regime is doing something similar. Floating the idea. See what sticks. Repeating it, repeating it, repeating it so people become familiar to it. As using military force gains traction as an idea to ‘keep America safe’, the logic behind it becomes twisted. Intel will get cherry picked or made up completely. People not really paying attention to WTF is going on will begin agreeing, “Yes, we need to do this. We need to use military force against this growing threat.”

Use your search engines and the net’s ability to store and recall information to check the polls and reporting of the period before the invasion of Iraq. The pattern was clear then; it’s clear now. Part of the sell back then was how easy such a military adventure would be for a power like the United States. Remember them telling us how short the war would be? How they mocked people who pointed out there wasn’t an exit strategy? Recall, they told us the war would pay for itself.

Trump wants to attack places. Maybe Greenland. Maybe Canada. Perhaps somewhere else. Putting the nation on a war footing will improve his popularity and strengthen his hold. Because if we’re ‘at war’, then criticizing or challenging him can be called out as detrimental to the war effort. Look back at how popular Dubya became for a while. And that was done without AI and bots. Ponder how effectively bots and AI can be used to sell a war on social media these days. Think of DOGE and Elon Reeve Musk’s potential role.

Yemen was a trial balloon to let his military advisors and senior officials a taste of it. More will come.

Tick, tick, tick.

2

Sunda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

Rose early, read some stuff. I finished reading a novel, The River We Remember. Then it was to the ‘puter. Normal bidness was planned but I was thinking slow (no coffee yet, you see), and I had a Slate article up already. I delved into it.

Luke Winkie wrote the article, I Wanted One Day of Peace on the Internet. So I swapped my feeds for a dose of what it’s like to live in the certainty of MAGA land.

I go into MAGA land to see what they’re reporting every other day. Luke Winkie is stronger than moi. I get in there and become enraged about the PINO Trusk lies and fawning. Can’t take it at all. Luke Winkie did, though, and wrote about well about why I couldn’t stay in MAGA land.

And while existing inside of MAGA land may be a reprieve from thTrade War Retaliation Will Hit Trump Voters Hardeste horror of existing outside of it, this is not a sane place to be either. The constant reaffirmations of loyalty must grow tiresome, even for the most committed of Trump accessories. We’ve become desensitized to the ritual by now, but slobbering over an elected official—of any stripe—is, and always will be, unbecoming. With my patience for the groveling wearing thin, I yearned for my ancestral home of belligerent progressives. I do not consider myself a person at risk of being red-pilled, and no surprise, but the propaganda did not work on me.

Second came a NYTimes article, Trade War Retaliation Will Hit Trump Voters Hardest. Ah, yes, I wanted to see that. FAFO, all that.

China has targeted corn farmers and carmakers. Canada has put tariffs on poultry plants and air-conditioning manufacturers, while Europe will hit American steel mills and slaughter houses.

Mr. Trump has argued that tariffs will help boost American jobs. But economists say that retaliatory tariffs can cancel out that effect.

Robert Maxim, a fellow at the Brookings Metro, a Washington think tank that has done similar analysis, said that other countries had particularly targeted Trump-supporting regions and places where “Trump would like to fashion himself as revitalizing the U.S.” That includes smaller manufacturing communities in states like Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan, as well as southern states like Kentucky and Georgia, he said.

The message foreign countries are trying to send, he said, is, “You think you can bully us, well, we can hurt you too. And by the way, we know where it really matters.”

But, you know, will MAGA land ever learn about this? I’m doubtful. Go into MAGA land and see how rosy it often looks.

Besides, I doubt the veracity of any organization led by a known, documented liar. In example, the CPI report released the other day said that inflation cooled in February. But this is PINO Trusk’s Department of Labor. DOGE has been in there. I think if PINO Trusk or his minions see a report with information that will render PINO Trusk and his economy less that awesome, they’ll just change the numbers.

This all leads up to the depressing aspect of PINO Trusk and their approach. They polarize. Divide to conquer. Foment distrust of each other and of the press, and now, the Federal government. It unites them in MAGA land because it keeps looking like the future’s so bright, they gotta wear shades. But for those of us outside of MAGA land, the future is getting dark.

0

Not Old News

When ‘Chaos = Profit’

Journalists and the media seem to have concluded that Trump has lied so much that they no longer report it. Continuing to make insane claims, such as in this instance, about electric boats being too heavy to float and getting electrocuted if they sink, they’re also shrugging. Yet they relentlessly go on about President Biden’s age.

This is from the Robert Reich July 8, 2024 column that I’m sharing from Jill Dennison’s post.

“So I said, ‘Let me ask you a question,’ and [the South Carolinian] said, ‘Nobody ever asked this question,’ and it must be because of MIT, my relationship to MIT — very smart. He goes, I say, ‘What would happen if the boat sank from its weight? And you’re in the boat and you have this tremendously powerful battery and the battery is now underwater and there’s a shark that’s approximately 10 yards over there?’

This story and its absolutely bonkers points should be all over the news every day. This is the individual the GOP is supporting for the powerful position of President of the United States.

Donald Trump is claiming an electric boat would be so heavy it would sink. Really? Really?? Really???

So, that electric boat would be heavier than all those cruise ships out there? You’re probably seen the ads for these floating cities lit up with electricity at night. These electric boats will be heavier than battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft carriers? They all float, don’t they?

The largest aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy is the USS Nimitz. It weighs over 100,000 long tons. It typically carries 64 full-sized aircraft on it and has a crew of 5,000. Yet, it doesn’t sink. It floats. Moreover, it has a nuclear powerplant and nobody is getting electrocuted.

Yes, the story was briefly covered, mocked, really, in the USA Today, NewsWeek, MSNBC, Washington Post and other outlets. But, come on, man, think about what Donald Trump was asking and claiming. Think about the fact that millions are promoting as the next POTUS.

IMO, Donald J. Trump shouldn’t be anywhere near an important office where decisions are made regarding the welfare of the nation. That the GOP fully supports this man who wonders about getting electrocuted by an electric boat says boatloads about what they are as a political organization.

That more media attention is being paid to President Biden’s age over Donald Trump’s remarks pretty well indicts our media as pretty damn useless when it comes to this election. As Jill put it, they’re failing miserably.

And then the media wonders why their readership keeps dropping.

0

Say What?

I said to my wife (yet again), “I can’t believe that NBC hired Ronna McDaniel.”

I’ve told her this several times since the news was announced. Ronna McDaniel is the former RNC chair. “Wny? She has no integrity. She supports the idea that the 2020 POTUS election was stolen or not fair in some way.”

“She sold out her name,” my wife replied. “A person who sells out their name to take a job will see which way the wind is blowing and change. Give it a few months.”

“That’s my point,” I answered. “She has no spine. No integrity. She never acknowledged that Joe Biden fairly won the election. All those lawsuits that said, didn’t happen. All that lack of evidence.”

I went on for a few minutes but my wife had zoned out. Her eyes had shifted to her computer screen. She wasn’t even pretend nodding to show she was still listening.

Yes, I’m angry. I clearly remember news reports declaring that Federal officials in Trump’s government said, “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised.”

That didn’t matter to Ronna. No sir. She now belonged to Trump.

“I think saying that there were problems with 2020 is very real. I don’t think that’s election denying,” McDaniel told Wallace. “I’m from Wayne County. We had a woman send a note saying I’m being told to backdate ballots. We had to look into that. That’s deeply concerning. When you have friends who are poll-watching and being kicked out, that’s deeply concerning. We have every right to look at that.”

In the interview, Wallace pressed McDaniel if she believed Biden legitimately won the election.

“I think there were lots of problems with 2020. Ultimately, he won the election but there were lots of problems with the 2020 election,” she said. “But I don’t think he won it fair. I don’t. I’m not going to say that.”

Excuse me, can you produce any evidence, Ronna? LIke, what were the results when you looked into the note from a ‘woman being told to backdate ballots.’ Was there evidence that was true? Or are you just throwing up bullshit?

That’s my primary concern with Ronna McDaniel as a member of the network she’s been consistently attacking and lying about since she became RNC chair. She was full of crap, making accusations and statements without backing it up with facts.

And now, you, NBC, are promoting this voice of lies, amplifying her as a serious person with serious positions, bending over backwards in the name of ‘bothsides’.

That is why you, NBC, have become part of the problem with US politics. You’re promoting a deceiver, a liar.

Which really demonstrates your own lack of scruples. No wonder that trust in the media keeps declining in America.

6

Tuesday’s Wandering Thought

Got a question for y’all: what is this ‘X’ thing I keep seeing? Anyone know?

Also, whatever happened to ‘Twitter’?

Yes, some holiday snark because everyone in the media keeps adding, “X, formerly Twitter.” Like we haven’t gotten it by now. I guess they’re still trying to cope with the change and put it up to remind themselves.

And yes, I did post about X and Twitter before in a similar vein. And no, I’m not obsessed with it. Not officially. Not yet.

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑