My wife carries a small Casio calculator in her purse.
Solar-powered, made of black and gold plastic and black vinyl, the calculator folds. When it’s folded, it’s about the size of a credit card and is as thick as two stacked cards. We bought it for a few hundred yen when we lived in Japan on Okinawa between 1981 and 1985.
Actual size.
We used it last night to balance the checkbook. As we finished, we talked to each other about how amazing it was that the little inexpensive still worked. Back then, the yen to dollar ratio was about 234 to 1.
Over forty years later, it’s a little worn but works perfectly. As I reflected on that, I wondered how many other things I’d ever owned that I could say the same about.
Spring endures in Ashland. 48, blue skies, clouds, sunshine, high in the mid-sixties expected.
Mom endures in her assisted living facility. My sister couldn’t do the things she enumerated yesterday. Mom remains in the assisted living facility and seems agreeable to selling her house. However, she’s trying to manipulate us in other ways, according to my sister. She said Mom wrote a long text that she wanted sis to share with all of us. My sister refused. Life.
My plumbing endures. Mixed results with the plumber yesterday. Both shutoff valves replaced at the toilets, but the plumber felt only one had a leaking wax seal. When he pulled it, lo, the wood under it was soaked. So, wax ring replaced, toilet put back, but now we need to send someone under the house to examine that area. I’ve been under the house; not fun. We have a low, low crawlspace. But I don’t have the expertise needed for this kind of assessment. Thought about using different cameras to see what it looks like. Still noodling that.
Trump endures, too. It is remarkable but many speculate that Trump staged the attempt on him. While Trump blames ‘the left’, he continues to incite hatred and violence toward others while asking that we be nicer to him.
Part of this is that Trump is a documented liar and cheat. He wants to be feared, liked, respected, admired. As part of his ‘weave’, he’ll say anything but that’s shredded his credibility. We know now he makes grandiose promises and bizarre accusations and declarations; it’s all just air.
Doesn’t help, neither, that within hours of the attempt, Trump was calling to build his White House ballroom because, “Security!” But the WHCD was not in the White House. Even if the ballroom had been done, it wouldn’t have affected what happened at the WHCD.
I will also say that even if Cole Tomas Allen left behind a ‘manifesto’ and seems to have a life, Hollywood has convinced me that creating a legend like that is very possible. While I don’t particularly believe the Trump administration is sanguine enough to get it done, there are some high-tech security firms in his corner who could do it. If I believe Hollywood, so could the CIA.
Why not? It’s the age of deep fakes and AI.
With Trump not being held accountable for his lies and behavior, it’ll probably because worse as others attempt to emulate and duplicate his success as a con artist. More troubling is how his actions undermine our trust and belief in authority.
Meanwhile, the squeeze is on U.S. farmers. They’re in a bad situation: diesel is up, fertilizer is up, interest rates are up, available migrant labor is down, and droughts are in the forecast.
“Data from the USDA show that soybean exports to China, as of March 19, are about half the amount they were last year.”
Reminder: we’re into the eighth week of the Trump Iran War. He has no exit plan.
Reminder: the Epstein files have not been completely released.
Reminder: Trump’s popularity is declining and prices are rising.
Expect some new Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! breaking news soon.
“Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” ended up in my morning mental music stream. So many bricks being put into place between what we were, what we could become. Trump builds walls to divide and separate, keep the poor in misery and empower the wealthy, along with walls against equality, freedom, science, and education.
Hope you end up in the best possible place when this day is finished. Onward.
Hope your April is going well. We’re saying good-bye to it this week.
It’s a cloudy spring day here. 46 F, our afternoon forecast includes rain and a high of 62. It’s a pretty tableau outside, with shafts of sunlight highlighting green leaves and far off trees rising on the southern mountains.
Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! opened another line of distraction last night. Shots were reported at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Trump and his staff were hustled away. No one was hurt. Headlines were captured, though.
It seems so obviously planned or a deliberate lapse in security. First, Trump never goes to the dinner but decides to go this year. Second, the reactions afterward by Vance, Trump, etc., seemed false.
Bottom line: Trump really thinks we’re idiots.
The allegedly staged attempt is understandable, though. Trump is desperate. His approval ratings are falling, his war is going bad, prices are rising and everyone is reminding everyone else he said he’d lower prices day one. He said he’d end the Ukraine War before he took office but didn’t. He said, no new wars, and here we are, in another war.
We won’t rehash the Epstein files. He wants them buried. Forgotten. That’s not happening.
I wonder how long it will be after this speech before he calls a political opponent, journalist, Democrat, or woman, a dog or scum?
All this focused The Neurons on Trump’s warped memories and views. “Time Warp” from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” entered the morning mental music stream. I found a Tenacious D cover of it that I enjoyed. Hope you do, too.
Let’s all have a Sunday of peace and unity, along with a little grace, and treat each other like humans.
Rained earlier but a clear blue sky is above us now. Sunshine is warming us. We’re at 47 F but expect to hit the low to mid 70s today, spring weather at its finest.
Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! continues. Trump announced he’s ‘renovating’ the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool with a pool cover. Classy as ever. He says some suggested covering it with granite; I’m surprised Trump didn’t leap at that, which was basically what he did to the historic White House Rose Gardens.
Trump had to do something. His approval ratings are tanking, and the DOJ announced they ended the criminal probe of the Fed head, Jerome Powell, without any indictments. That’s another failure in Trump’s efforts to persecute political enemies. Some indictments were also tossed because Lindsey Halligan was illegally appointed, which further tarnishes Trump’s reputation.
Your Trump quote of the day:
Trump fired Bondi nine months later as part of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!
Trump is right, the Trump administration is THE TALK OF THE WORLD.
They’re talking about how Trump has disrupted world trade and global markets. Many are talking about how Trump caused a 40% increase in gas prices in the US. They are talking about Trump’s disastrous war in Iran, now going into its 8th week. They’re talking about his spat with the Pope and how many people he’s ordered killed in his multiple military operations.
And they’re still talking about Trump and Epstein, and why Trump is so desperate to bury the Epstein files. In that regard, Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! is backfiring.
The morning mental music stream was filled with “Lawyers, Guns and Money”. The song is by Warren Zevon, and it’s an angry tale about law, order, and things going wrong. This cover is by The Killers.
My hopes and wishes for you is that this is a happy, satisfying, and healthy Friday. Stack days like that, and you can have a good life.
After a day in which the thermometer didn’t press past the low fifties and the sky cried most of the day, we are seeing more of the same. Less sunshine, so it’s chillier, just 44 F now. The high will be 56.
I skimmed through the news but most of it had me saying, meh. More deaths, more politics, more crime and punishment.
Your Trump quotes for today:
Read those Trump quotes and the contradictions they expose, the outright hypocrisy, and the ignorance. Trump can’t be trusted.
BTW, the Epstein files have still not been all released.
I’m out of sorts today so I don’t have much to say. Dave Mason passed away, 78. He’s a musician. Just a few years older than moi, he was part of my musical landscape. He played with many others, wrote some songs with staying power, and had his own act.
When I read the news, his song, “We Just Disagree”, entered the morning mental music stream and stayed. The song came out in 1977. Married, I was alone on assignment in the Philippines with the US Air Force. 21 years old, I was wrestling with adulting basics. Mason’s music was one of my evening companions as I sat in my room, read, drew, and painted between shifts. Hearing of his death brought that music and time sharply back into focus.
Now I look back and think, wow, look at how many years ago. I sweep a mental eye over all of the changes the world has seen since then.
My hope for you is that peace and grace find you and give you the strength to make this day a success for you.
Warming up today. 56 degrees, climbing to 75 as the sky goes full blue. After Saturday and Sunday going to the 70s, rain is expected Monday and most of the week, with high temperatures in the mid to upper fifties.
Scanning the news, I read a good piece from Digby, Trump’s El Foldo, about Trump’s Iran deal. They pointed out how Trump raged about President Obama releasing 1.7 billion to Iran.
Trump outdid that, of course, without a shred of self-awareness or irony, releasing 20 billion dollars to Iran according to some news reports. It’s a payoff to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, which were already open before Trump bombed Iran. It’s also a payoff to stop Iran’s nuclear program, which started on a fast track once Trump began his first term and tore up the agreement the United States had with Iran.
That’s the Trump shuffle: one step forward, five steps back.
The NYTimes has obtained Supreme Court ‘shadow papers’ regarding their shadow docket, where they decide cases with little to no explanation. Did not read the documents yet, but I read the reporters take on them. The most infuriating takeaway:
The conservatives reacted to Obama’s use of power very differently from Trump’s.
Yeah, no shit. We’ve known this. Seeing it in print just stimulates my fury about GOP hypocrisy and double standards.
The rest of the papers seem to show that Roberts’ drive was a personal grudge against the Obama Administration and the EPA, and not about legal reasoning, which is something that we’ve long suspected. Roberts is supposedly thinking more about his ‘legacy’ these days; if so, these revelations did substantial damage.
There are also articles about the huge price increase — from $12.90 to $150 — for World Cup spectators to take the train to get nine miles to Met Life Stadium, Trump’s massive, ridiculous monument to himself (the drunk arch), and how much it’s costing to retrofit Qatari’s gift aircraft.
Everything Trump does stinks of ‘me first’. There is little outside of his braying that is ‘America first’. Sending Vance to campaign for Orbán; America first? Really?
And then, just to fuel that extra edge of anger I feel about the Trump administration:
Sure, tell me again the fable that this is all about truth, justice, and the ‘American Way’.
I remain convinced that all of this is still part of Operation LOOK — SQUIRREL! to keep the public from knowing what Trump did with Epstein, which is why all the files are still not released. Trump’s minions have claimed several times that all were released, only to later reveal that more unreleased files exist. Tell me again that they’re not hiding something.
Is it any surprise that My Neurons have Aerosmith serenading me with “Eat the Rich” from 1993 in my morning mental music stream?
Jean Jacques Rousseau originated the phrase, “Eat the rich”, during the French Revolution. Little ironic that a rock band of wealthy successful individuals advocate ‘eat the rich’.
Lyrics
Well I woke up this morning On the wrong side of the bed And how I got to thinkin' About all those things you said About ordinary people And how they make you sick And if callin' names kicks back on you Then I hope this does the trick 'cause I'm sick of your complainin' About how many bills And I'm sick of all your bitchin' 'Bout your poodles and your pills And I just can't see no humor About your way of life And I think I can do more for you With this here fork and knife
Eat the rich There's only one thing that they are good for Eat the rich Take one bite now - come back for more Eat the rich I gotta get this off my chest Eat the rich Take one bite now - spit out the rest
I got a little coffee to wash down a few bites of the rich. I hope you have a significantly satisfying Saturday.
My sister and I were talking about how Mom sometimes talks to Alexa as if it’s a person. That reminded me of this old SNL skit. Hope you laugh as much as I did.
A gray dawn in Ashland. Rain is expected throughout the day as clouds gather and temperatures drift from the low forties to the low fifties. Temperatures are expected to drop into the low thirties tomorrow morning. A frost warning is in effect.
Reason.com reminded us of Trump and the emptiness of his declarations and claims. This one was about the national debt. Ten years ago, Trump said he would eliminate the national debt. Oh, the cheers he got for that.
They asked him, how long would it take? “Fairly quickly,” Trump replied. When pressed for a more specific answer, Trump provided a shocking timeline. “Well, I would say over a period of eight years.”
Analysis showed that Trump was blowing wind. His plans to eliminate the national debt was diametrically opposed to his plans to lower taxes. Lower taxes won.
The national debt was 19 trillion dollars ten years ago. It’s now 39 trillion dollars. President Biden added to it, but Trump has done most of the damage.
Put this in their with the other claims he’s made. That’s he’s the peace president. A unifier. That he was going to replace Obamacare with a much better plan. That Mexico would pay for the wall. That he would lower prices from day one. That he would drain the swamp, eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse.
That he would release the Epstein files on day one.
Sickening how much he has lied and done to destroy the nation. More sickeningly, so many Republicans still cheer him on.
It was the fourth attack in four days. No war; no court; no evidence. No judge, jury, ruling. Just Trump ordering the US military to kill untried civilians.
Today’s song comes from 1986. The Neurons had nothing to do with it. I read the news and remembered “Bullet the Blue Sky” by U2. Inspired by what Bono witnessed the US military doing in El Salvador and Nicaragua under Reagan. Much like now, when Trump is using military force in the name of Christianity, morality, democracy, and freedom to kill others. Sadly, this is an American tradition. Trump is just being overt, boastful, and brazen about it.
It’s demoralizing and depressing, but angers me as well, watching Trump tear down our norms and violate the laws, throw his name on everything, build monuments to himself. Meanwhile, measles outbreaks are on the rise, food and gas prices are climbing, and Trump is killing and destroying in our name. Our national debt grows but worse is what he’s done to our reputation and morals.
I hope your Wednesday is filled with peace and grace, and that we can garner the voice and political will to move us toward a better future, like the future we were once moving toward.
Another chilly spring dawn greeted us. Light rain fell yesterday and overnight. The front and its clouds keep the sun from warming us. Yesterday was mostly bleak, as if the sun felt too tired to heat up. It’s 49 now and the high will be 52 F.
Trump said he has “instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.” Other nations would be involved in the blockade, he said, but did not name them.
Yes, other unnamed nations are involved, just like unnamed former presidents are cheering Trump on.
Just like that, Trump has decided the US Navy will be the police of the high seas, interdicting ships ‘who pays an illegal toll’. Funny sentiment coming from a person who loves announcing illegal tariffs.
Where the hell is Congress? Oh, that’s right — they’re on a break. Congress being on break while Trump grows increasingly unstable and belligerent is another sign of the nation’s misplaced priorities. It’s absolute nuts.
There are several recurring Trump themes here. One, Trump thinks he knows better than experts. We’ve seen him proclaim that throughout his business career as he conned others and declared bankruptcy after bankruptcy. We’ve seen it, too, with tariffs and medicine, such as his suggested COVID-19 treatment ideas.
Trump’s other trend is mentioning people who can’t be named or don’t want to be named. People congratulating, calling him, thanking him, advising him. How many of them are real?
A third Trump trend we’re seeing is his dependence on “his feelings”.
In 2025, Trump made similar comments about childhood vaccinations. “This is based on what I feel.The mumps, measles and — the three should be taken separately. And it seems to be that when you mix them, there could be a problem,” Trump said. “So, there’s no downside in taking them separately. In fact, they think it’s better. So let it be separate.”
Is it just my imagination or is this really nuts?
When ‘imagination’ crossed my mental threshold, The Neurons pounced like a red light in front of Papi. They quickly ran “Just My Imagination” by The Cranberries into the morning mental music stream.
It’s a light song, with chill lyrics from a ‘saner’ time of 1999:
There was a game we used to play We would hit the town on Friday night Stay in bed until Sunday We used to be so free We were living for the love we had Living not for reality
Hope you have a sane, safe Sunday, full of peace, grace, and joy.
Springish today. After an evening of solid rain, clouds maintain a presence and sunshine is muted. 54 F is our temperature now, with the chance of more rain and a high in the mid 60s. Right now, if you walk out and the clouds are merged, it’s chilly. But when sunshine is freed, you feel the heat.
Late blogging/writing start. We ran errands this morning, looking for plants to fill gaps. Then, since we were out and around grocery stores, quick runs to pick up a few items.
There’s also been heavy texting with my sister about Mom. Mom asks when sister is selling Mom’s house and also talks about plans to move in there, leaving us wondering, what? D Day, when Mom said she is moving out of the assisted living facility, arrives soon. Everyone advises her not to, but she’s adamant about her intentions, even if she lacks plans.
Is the Iran War cease fire holding? The news cycle runs fast these days and I haven’t been at my computer for hours. All manner of disasters, attacks, and accusations may have happened in the four hours since I was last on the ‘puter.
Bad news is emerging out of the US Postal Service. They’re suspending FERS contributions due to a cash flow problem. But this stuff has been going on for a while. Rural areas have been suffering as the USPS closed rural post offices and satellite operations. Meanwhile, as the cost of a first-class stamp keeps rising. Now, thanks to Trump’s Iran War, the cost to ship things such as the mail are also rising.
This all puts more stress on our economic system and the most vulnerable of our society. Consider how many elderly and rural people depend on the postal service to receive medication and bills. They’re the ones who were most negatively impacted by several aspects of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill and are the ones who will suffer most under his proposed 2027 budget.
It’ll be interesting to see how our political leaders respond. Polarized, Congress has been gridlocked and even routine budget seems like titanic challenges. Can a Trump -led government rise to the level of thinking and cooperation needed to address this problem or will we wait until it’s a crisis.
Today’s news and environment encouraged The Neurons to play “Living in the Past”. This Jethro Tull came out in 1969. It’s all about waiting to live in a more peaceful, relaxed time, so you can see how it plays in this period.
Hope you have a relaxed day, filled with peace and grace, and if not that, that you emerge safe and unscathed.
Michael Seidel, writer 