Tag: military

Friday’s Theme Music — No Return

Friday, August 14, 2026. Ashland, southern Oregon.

Another cool day in which the high temperature is expected to crest in the mid 80s F again.

More stories are now coming out about the declining situation on the aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln. The ship has been on an extended deployment to support Trump’s war with Iran. The ship has been deployed a record number of days without a port stop.

Trump has not said anything about it. That makes sense; he’s claiming to be rebuilding the military, and has asked for record amounts of more money for that purpose. To find out now that one of the nation’s frontline warships is suffering problems more suited to a *cough* ‘shithole country’ would be another terrible blemish on Trump’s already horrid record.

No, Trump won’t say anything about that. Brace yourself for a new spurt of distractions — texts making insane claims, bold — but faulty — proclamations about how great Trump thinks he is and how wonderful everything is going in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Trump is the overseer of another modern record that will infuriate him:

Gas prices jump again, national average is highest price ever for month of August

Regular unleaded is $4.071 per gallon, up from $3.15 at this time last year while diesel has jumped to $5.40 per gallon nationally.

Yowza. That does not play well against the reality that Trump keeps trying to foist onto We the People.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Trump wants an A+ on the economy, with gas prices establishing a new record for this time of year. To me, that’s a failing grade.

Your bonus Trump quote of the day:

Instead of bringing energy prices down, Trump instead brought the global supply chain down via DOGE’s cuts and his tariffs. Then Trump made everything worse by attacking Iran, who responded by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz. That upended the global oil supply chain, which affected almost every other supply chain, driving up costs and prices.

That’s the MAGAts’ Trump: wholly unthinking — except when it comes to himself — irrational, and destructive, taking us all down while he improves his own situation.

What is the point of no return for them?

I have “Point of Know Return” by the prog rock band, Kansas, in the morning mental music stream. This is an energized 1977 song that often has people singing along with the refrain, “How long?” Easy to see how this emerged in my morning mental music stream, given My Neurons’ tendencies. Kind of interesting, but the song is actually about a sailor going off to sea. I think.

May peace and grace bless this and every day for you.

Cheers

2

Wednesday’s Theme Music — Fools

Ashland, southern Oregon. Wednesday, August 12, 2026.

Cooler day today. 86 F is projected as the high while it’s 71 F outside my house right now. Wind is pretty calm and the sky is pretty blue. Pretty sunny today, too. And clear, although Oregon has many fires still burning east, north, and west of us, and California to our south, has some major fires.

Papi and I went outside a short while ago. Vee — my name for Papi’s frequent visitor — was out there. I petted her, gave her treats, and ensured she had water. Papi tolerates her. Vee is a young shorthaired gray tabby with white legs, chest, belly, and paws. Very sweet, friendly, and social, with a silent meow. I think she lives locally, and her people put her out when they go to work, as she arrives at specific times again and again.

A breeze kicked up while we were out there. Honestly felt and sounded like autumn.

The Year of Trump Follies continue. Trump apologists are digging in hard to avoid facing the truth.

Republicans will blame everybody but Trump for his actions | Opinion

“Everybody but Trump” is the GOP chorus when things go downhill, as so much of it is. “It’s all me,” Trump declares when it’s going well, especially when he had absolutely nothing to do with it.

It’s like, they’re resist facts and learning. Trump’s latest Executive Order about vaccines is another facet of their foolishness and ignorance. They’re changing something which has worked for decades to bow to misinformation about autism and vaccines. But hey, that misinformation is popular with the MAGA crowd.

This is double weird given what happened with military recruits and mandatory vaccines in June, just two months ago. The mandatory flu vaccine was dropped; it was now voluntary. Lo, a flu outbreak immediately rose, affecting training and readiness. The mandatory flu vaccine was reinstated forthwith.

Triply weird, when MMR vaccinations are down and measles outbreaks are increasing. Not Trump’s fault, the fools shout. No, it’s not Trump, it’s open Borders! It’s Fauci!

Shows in approval ratings. Trump’s disapproval has moved into historic levels. But Trump remains ‘approved’ by Republicans.

With all the things Trump — and his GOP — have done, he’s now out there trying to scare up more fools to support him. That’s why I have “Find Another Fool” in my morning mental music stream. This was a top twenty hit for Quarterflash in 1981.

Sample Lyrics

You pulled this once… you pulled it twice
It’s time you listened to my advice… oh, baby

I’d never take advantage of our love
I can’t imagine what you’re thinkin’ of
You’re over due… you think this storm is through.
Well, baby, I’ve got news for you

When the season of Trump finally ends, it’ll be like recovering from a major storm. So much will need to be fixed, rebuilt, and changed. I’m looking toward the MAGAts to be part of it. They seem beyond being reached at this point. Maybe, someday, that will change.

Not holding my breath.

I hope this day finds you in good health, good times, and good company.

Cheers

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There I Was Dream –

In the military again. Young. Off again on some special assignment.

First, I was trying to get there. Mom – the young woman of memory – gave a huge smile and a wave and told me, good luck, I’ll see you later. I was surprised and pleased that she was there to see me off.

A group of us were traveling together. We were each taking our own gear with us. Some of them had lost their gear.

I realized, they put it down in a marshy, muddy area, and their stuff sank. As they moaned and groaned, I told them, I know exactly where it sank, and showed them where to dig. They did and quickly recovered it.

We arrived where we were supposed to be. Outdoors, it was a strange setup: a large semi-circle of people seated at tables. Men and women. Seemed to be civilians, and older. It had been heavily raining and brooding clouds kept it dark.

Parallel and behind the semi-circle of people were our lockers where we were to stow our gear. We were being called out in units. I’d been fully prepared but now – damn it, I couldn’t find some of my gear. I also discovered, and then recalled, oh, yes, “I need to order a new phone.”

A little panicked, I was scrambling to get the right gear. Like, how the hell did that happen?

I noticed many others were in the same mode, alleviating some of my worries. I then managed to find the needed gear except –

Underwear. Where the hell was my underwear?

I knew I packed it but I couldn’t find it, and everything was getting muddy.

Dream end

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Another Military Dream – Almost

I wasn’t in the military. Young again, I discovered that I’d volunteered to do something. Many others had volunteered. We were waiting for the results.

While doing that, we went into a chowhall. The place seemed chaotically organized. I decided to fix a burrito. I managed to get a plate, tortilla, beans, rice, but then could find nothing else. I was watching people select other foods but none of those foods were familiar. I eventually found some corn chips. Crunching them up, I added them to my burrito and ate it. It was not very satisfying.

An announcement was then made. I, along with others, had been chosen for a special project. We were being told that it was a great honor and we would do a wonderful job. I have no idea what that was about, although I seemed to understand it in the dream.

We were told that we had new quarters we’d be sharing. Find someplace and stake a claim.

I knew no one else there; in fact, that seemed common: no one knew anyone else. So I’d be bunking with strangers.

I entered what was indicated as available quarters. What I encountered wasn’t what I expected. The walls were painted in bright white. Furnished, it was strangely arranged and organized. Wide, tall, the floor sloped like a meadow. Different rooms were indicated via arched halls. Whole thing reminded me of a hobbit’s place.

I encountered one of the others. A tall, white guy, bald, he was in Air Force dress blues. I gawked at his medals and ribbons; they were a collection unlike any I’d ever seen.

I told him so. Abashed, he replied, “Oh, yes, they rewarded me for being part of some special projects, but they weren’t really anything.” He then explained two of them but I don’t recall those details. One was a huge, blue and white ribbon with a large gold B on it.

Needing to use a restroom, I spotted one ‘down the living room slope’. The bathroom was a small, well lit cave with a rounded entry and door. The bathroom itself was gold and pink. Strings of bright white and gold lights were attached to the arched door frame.

I went in and sat on the commode, then tried to close the door. It would not stay close. We have to fix this, I thought.

A tall, muscular black woman in green shorts and a green top pushed the door in. I told her the room was in use. Never saying anything, she left.

The door remained open. Going out, she called out to the man in the dress uniform, “I can give you three four eight for seven. That should get you there.”

Leaving the room, I did up my clothes and asked in general, “What’s that mean?”

Dream end.  

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Randy & the General Dream

I was back in the military. One of my people, Randy, a friend, was chosen for a special honor. He was very nervous.

I told him, “Relax, there’s nothing to worry about. You’ll do great.” I then promised to circle back around but I had dozens of things to attend so I kept moving.

Somebody caught me and asked me if it was true that Randy had been selected for the honor. Yes, I confirmed. Did I have anything to do with it, I was asked. Yes, I answered, I nominated him and wrote up the nomination.

Leaving them, I checked on another task. A young officer was selected for a risky mission. I went by to see him and ask if I needed anything. He thanked me for my part in getting him the assignment because he knew I had something to do with it. Laughing, I joked, “Oh, no, don’t try to pin this on me,” and moved on.

After going by some other places, I returned to Randy. More details were emerging. He’d been sitting in a stadium full of people. A spotlight and camera would be on him.

I again assured him that he’d be fine. He then put on a black sports jacket. He told me, “I hate wearing things like this.”

I answered, “You’ll be fine. It’s just for a short time. Besides, it makes you look skinnier.”

He laughed and swore at me.

Time for me to leave. I headed for the exit, still with many things to do. A one star – brigadier general – tall, white, skinny – stopped me. I didn’t know him.

He explained that he’d heard that I’d supported the officer’s request for the assignment.

“Yes,” I replied. “I talked to him and he wanted it.”

The general said, “But it’s risky.”

“I know,” I said.

The general went on, “It took a lot of courage for you to agree with him going.”

“It did,” I agreed.

Thinking the conversation over, I went to move past him.

The general apparently thought I wanted a hug. When I realized that, I reciprocated the hug but I found it very strange. We ended up in an awkward half embrace that was made worse because he was much taller than him. When I looked up at his face, I was surprised that he was teary eye.

We broke the hug. I began moving on.

Dream end.

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Friday’s Theme Music – Yesterday

Ashland, southern Oregon — Friday, June 16, 2026.

Cooler forecast for today: 85 F. Thunderstorms and lightning are in the mix, making people apprehensive about lightning strikes and wildfires.

We had the windows open last night at 10.

“I smell smoke,” I said.

My wife agreed. “It smells strong.”

I went around closing windows and turned on a few exhaust fans. Then spent half an hour on different channels/media, trying to find where the smoke was coming from, what the threat was. 11 PM, I stepped out and took a deep breath.

Smoke smell gone.

Well, good. I returned inside and opened a few windows to continue cooling the house.

I’m a little groggy today. It’s a privileged whine, as I stayed up reading to finish a book, “Yesteryear”. I enjoyed it a great deal. Excellent satire. That’s the third terrific book I’ve read this month, the others being “James” and “A Drop of Corruption”.

All quiet with Mom. Mom is feeling better and asked when my sister, Gina, could come and visit with her, have a ‘real’ visit. Gina had to defer as her plate is filled with being parent & grandparent, taking care of Mom’s affairs, and working. There are also several graduations. It also happens that her vacation, planned for next week. It’s a trip down to the NC coast, where they’ve been going a decade, a small luxury to help her recharge. The house closing is set for July 17. She’s investigating whether it can be moved back, and whether she wants to.

Yesterday’s news was about the Iran truce deal. That was early hours. Later hours had Trump blustering about bombing Iran again if he’s not happy with the deal and how he thinks Iran is doing.

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and Trump’s crowing about ‘fixing it’ is just like the Iran war. Trump complained about how the reflecting pool was, hired a crony to fix it and now it’s worse.

Trump starts something, boasts about how much greater he will make, and then it turns out it’s not. It becomes a recurring pattern of stupid is, stupid does.

The latest news out of the training facilities in San Antonio, Texas reflects the same pattern. The “I Know Better” administration decided flu vaccinations are not mandatory, but voluntary. About 40% of trainees opted IN for the flu vaccines. Now there’s 159 cases of flu reported and one recruit is dead. Way to go, Trump! Way to ensure the military is in top form and able to respond.

News yesterday included a report that a new Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) poll of 5,469 adults found that 59% now believe Trump is a “dangerous dictator”. Last year showed 56% of Americans thought that, while the poll results in March resulted in 52%.

Acting quietly, it appears that the Trump administration secretly moved taxpayer’s money to pay for the Epstein ballroom construction. After often and loudly proclaiming that the US taxpayer wouldn’t need to pay for any of it, Trump asked Congress for the money and was denied. Now, using his standard tactics, Trump is siphoning and moving money to pay for it, money that Congress earmarked for other matters.

Is it any wonder that most of us see Trump as a dangerous dictator?

That’s just one of a multiple of reasons.

It’s all sticking on Trump now. Trump’s economic approval rating is at 33%, below the lowest rating that President Biden ever had.

Today’s song is “That Was Yesterday”. This is a rock ballad by Foreigner released in 1985 about a failed relationship. The Neurons plugged it into my morning mental music stream when I was talking with my wife this morning about the news. Something she said caused me to laughingly respond, “Well, that was yesterday.” The Neurons, being the inattentive buggers which they are, thought I wanted to hear the song and fired it up. Now I must pass it on to you.

The video begins with the end of some other song before it leaps into today’s music. Just bear with it, okay?

Hope your day follows positive twists and turns as you make your way from yesterday until tomorrow.

Cheers

5

Sunday’s Theme Music – Alright

Ashland, southern Oregon — Sunday, June 7, 2026.

Terribly deep blue sky is out there, reflecting the front capping the valley. Clear and sunny, the temperatures are hovering in the mid 50s F but are on their way up to 70.

I’ve been running into friends who have ‘heard the news’ about my bladder cancer. They get the look and posture of concern. Ask how I am, offer to do things for me, all those things that we do. I love the support but dislike the attention.

Of course, it’s more than me. Most of my friends have lost friends and family to cancer of different kinds. They carry that weight.

Mom’s house is still being cleaned out. Gina sent a photo of Mom’s empty closet. Mom’s closet was always tight with clothes but impeccably organized. She had a thing with hangers, using different types of hangers for different materials and needs, a process born from years of life, routines, plans.

Habitat for Humanity is closed to donations in that area. Gina is paying Goodwill to come, take the furniture out, haul it away. The sales of some other furniture, purses, Corning Ware, fans, and electronics will cover those costs. The clothes are being given to various area charities. The irony is that the cost is about $600, which is almost as much as Mom paid for that furniture twenty years ago.

To have a life reduced to dollars and cents.

I have thoughts on Trump today, gleaned from new articles, but I’m running late. My wife arose early to continue cleaning the refrigerator. I couldn’t stand by and not help. It’s all done now, and yes, looks great and was worthwhile to do.

The music in today’s morning mental music stream is “I’m Alright”. Kenny Loggins wrote and performed it. The song was used as the theme music for “Caddyshack”, a movie with Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, Michael O’Keefe, Ted Knight, and Chevy Chase that came out in 1980. It also starred a groundhog.

We were stationed in Japan shortly after that. Home video players were just hitting the market. We bought one and would go down and buy bootleg recordings of movies like “Caddyshack”. Then the USO at the base main gate opened a video rental business where we could rent videos for a dollar. Pause to reflect, that was over forty years ago. Where did the time go?

Hope your weekend is going well and is full of more happy peaks than low valleys.

Cheers

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Monday’s Theme Music — Straight Up

Ashland, southern Oregon — Monday, June 1, 2026.

It’s 53, expecting a high of 85 F. A solidly blue sky and bright sun have taken over.

It’s a new month. Papi and I are celebrating by doing the same thing we do every morning. Eat, wash, etc. He sniffs the ground and air, I sniff the news.

Right now, dealing with Mom. She’s struggling to think, speak, plan things, respond.

Then, dealing with family. Older sister is moving from her condo of 13 years in a place more physically acceptable for her. One sister’s young son just graduated high school. Lots of moving parts. Past, present, future all breaking at once.

Also dealing with news.

Multiple individuals dead after mass shooting in Oregon: ‘I know many people are grieving,’ police chief says

I look for details, wondering, how many dead, searching for the circumstances, thinking about the people involved.

Hell of a way to start June.

Trump’s Iran war still goes on. It’s now over three months old.

Good thing there’s a cease fire. We had several more attacks between the US and Iran. I always thought ‘cease fire’ meant no one would shoot. Of course, Trump and the angry inch have fluid definitions, changing and using them to suit their needs.

Oil prices surged again after Iran said it’s withdrawing from negotiations and would close the Strait of Hormuz. This comes on the news that gas prices in some parts of the US dropped to below $4 a gallon. Wonder how long it’ll take for them to go back up?

The Epstein ballroom is still under construction, too, and the Epstein files have not been fully released.

We’ve had over 2,000 cases of measles in the U.S. 318 locations so far in 2026. 73 new cases in the last two weeks.

But in the latest phase of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!, the Great American State Fair *cough cough* will go on.

Your Trump Quotes of the Day:

Today’s song is “Straight Up” by Paul Abdul.

It’s in the morning mental music stream because of my coffee. I picked up my fresh cup and inhaled. “Smells good,” I told Papi, who was watching. “Just as I like it. Black, straight up.”

The Neurons replied, “Oh, we know that song.”

Song came out in 1980s when I was stationed in Germany. I was at the NCO Club with friends after work, having a beer. MTV was on the television. The video came on for this song. Several friends said, “Wait, I have to watch this.”

What?

They’d pay no attention to any previous music videos but for them, Paula Abdul was a conversation stopper. *smile*

I hope your day is straight up awesome.

Cheers

1

Spreading It Around

Yes, I’m sharing a post that another shared that Digby shared. It’s worth sharing because Trump looks at the world through his Trumpvision glasses, which only permit him to see what he wants to see. His glasses generally colorize the world via politics, sexism, and racism. He is great and all who support him are great. Everyone else is terrible, ugly, crooks, stupid, unfair, etc.

Trump proclaimed in March of 2026, “Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the Nato Countries’ assistance _ WE NEVER DID!”

So here is the shared post in response, “The Truth Hurts”. Which is painful for Trump, because it’s the truth.

Cheers

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Sunday’s Theme Music

Ashland, southern Oregon — May 24, 2026.

Home again, home again…

Papi was as pleased as he ever shows himself to be when we opened the back door and called his name. Standing, stretching, he paused to wash, then began to trot towards us, then stopped to stretch, and finally walked over, sat down, washed, and looked up: “Oh. Hi. Didn’t see you there.”

Good to see him.

56 degrees F here, roaring power lawn equipment has replaced the sounds of surf. There’s no beach to ponder, no waves to assess and admire, no fresh ocean air to breath, no ‘sea breeze’ to battle as I walk.

Bummer. It’ll be 85 and dry here…

One thing that struck us yesterday coming home was how empty the roads were. Motor homes were especially absent, but in general, it was light traffic to moderate traffic. Long stretches of secondary roads were driven where we met no other cars, followed no vehicles, and had nothing in our mirrors. It did not seem like the holiday traffic — or even the coastal traffic — we’ve encountered in previous years.

Gina, my younger sister, makes progress selling Mom’s possessions: $530 has been realized. The dining room table, chairs, hutch and sideboard are gone. Gina is wheeling and dealing. Someone shows interest, she reaches out, negotiates, shows them what else is available. More prospective buyers are coming by tomorrow. Vacuuming, sweeping, dusting, and polishing is underway. Our oldest sister is driving in from Georgia to help out this week.

Trump says the US is almost close to a peace deal with Iran. Let’s add it to the list of times he said the war was over, we won, or that a deal had been negotiated before.

Iran says that they’ll control the Strait of Hormuz and that their nuclear program isn’t being discussed. They’re proposing ‘fees’ instead of tolls or taxes to use the straits.

It’s the same kind of deals we often see on the local levels when our local government wants to raise money but knows that ‘taxes’ will cause a backlash. The answer: fees. We see it with airlines, too. Security fees, handling fees, administrative fees. Not charges, not taxes, not tolls — fees. I remember once reading that Texas had no taxes but they charged fees on everything.

Besides the Golden Age of Corruption, it’s the Golden Age of Fees.

The war costing our nation a small fortune, monetarily. We also killed many people, disrupted lives, and lost military members.

Economists note that the US has been adding to its national debt at the rate of $5,000,000,000 per day since October of 2025.

In an interest coincidence, October of 2025 is when Trump demolished the White House East Wing to begin building the Epstein ballroom under Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!

Coincidentally, Trump’s disapproval ratings continue to rise to record levels in polls.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Today’s music is by Night Ranger. The Neurons unlocked it when I was in bed this morning, remembering dreams and drifting in and out of sleep. During that fugue state, “When You Close Your Eyes” from the 1980s began playing in the morning mental music stream.

As I remembered the song, I also remembered this was one of the songs I heard while visiting Mom and family after returning from Japan on military duty. My youngest sister and I were together. The song came on the radio. She smiled wide and said, “I love this song.” *smile*

And I realized that’s why the song came into the morning mental music stream; that sister had been in my dream as a young person.

I hope this day is going well for you, and you enjoy a day of peace and grace. If you can’t have that, I hope you can at least have a good meal and some happy times.

Cheers

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