Tag: Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!

Tuesday’s Theme Music — The Man

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

95 will be today’s high. Blue sky, sunshine, 71 F right now.

We’re in a mini-limbo with Mom’s house sale. One set of inspections is done, and it’s not bad. Repairs and issues are underway. Some are due to the house’s age. For instance, back in the day, a window in the bathroom sufficed; fans weren’t needed. Now, with the house changing hands, code stipulates bathroom fans. And the dryer duct came undone. Stuff like that.

I used to tease Mom about her old washer and dryer. Both were ‘low value’ purchases. Didn’t match: Whirlpool and GE. She bought the dryer shortly after moving in back in ’95. The house had a washer but then needed to be replaced around ’99. But those two pieces have chugged along. Same with the old gas range. We siblings pitched together to buy her a portable dishwasher from Sears one Mother’s Day in the late nineties. My brother-in-laws installed it as a permanent piece in the early 00s. Still works as well.

Mom’s house is full of things that were old but worked well. She always took care of it all.

My dental appointments didn’t go well yesterday. These are about surgical dental implants. I had the surgery a year ago. The site that remains had a cyst removed and needed more time to recover. Well, yesterday’s ‘click tests’ with that tiny torque wrench show that it needs more time. So the next steps — installing the implant — were pushed back six weeks.

Ironically, I’d changed the implant date, June 25, to July, because it clashed with my scheduled bladder surgery. Oh, well.

It feels like D.C. and Trump has entered a sort of stasis. That’s my opinion from ‘out here’. One, Trump’s war with Iran is ‘over’. We’re all digesting its consequences. Two, Trump is definitely physically and mentally run down. I don’t give a damn about official reports. We can see it in whenever he appears in public, and can read it when he sends out midnight texts.

Those texts remind me of my mother’s bout with sundowner syndrome, BTW. She was also sending them in the middle of the night and they also made little sense.

The economy and systems are all also giving the signals about what Trump’s unchecked actions have wrought. Additionally, the judicial system is pushing back. Many Trump initiatives have become a tug of war in courts, things like his ICE deportation policies, ICE killing of US citizens, renaming the Kennedy Center, building the Epstein ballroom, the tariffs…it’s a long list.

The trends are clear. Trump acts fast, asserting permission with arrogance. Shock travels the affected. Reactions set in. Legal actions are raised against Trump. Courts rule. Trump often loses but appeals decisions, frequently changing legal tactics.

All of that is Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! to cover his enormous stealing, his insider stock trading, his underhanded grifting.

It’s all slowly catching up, leading to the mid-term confrontations. I’m sure Trump rushed to a deal now because he’s trying to save face and gain back support before the mid-terms. I’m sure he believes he can gain some support with Freedom 250 and the Great American State Fair, and the pageantry planned for that.

The problem with his plan remains: he is Trump. He’ll make it about himself.

He is Trump. He refuses to understand that his policies have failed, and that’s why voters are turning against him.

So, he is Trump. He will lash out.

Our question remains, how?

Today’s song ends up being “The Man” by The Killers.

Sample Lyrics:

Don’t need no advice
I got a plan
I know the direction
The lay of the land
I know the score like the back of my hand
Them other boys
I don’t give a damn

I’m the man, come round
No-no-nothing can break, no-nothing can break me down
I’m the man, come round and
No-no-nothing can break, you can’t break me down

The 2017 song was written about the POV that you feel invincible when you’re young. That makes sense.

The song came to the morning mental music stream when I was thinking about Trump and the morning news. And I realized that the song is apt for the day because a large part of Trump is his immaturity. He remains a person who thinks himself invincible.

I hope you have an excellent day, full of peace and grace, no matter the weather or season wherever you are.

Cheers

1

Monday’s Theme Music – Fight!

Ashland, southern Oregon – Monday, June 15, 2026.

Another hot day in the valley. Blue sky was tinged with smoke from a fire north of us. That smoke has receded.

The temperature now is 89 degrees. Today’s high will be 99 F.

A late start for me today, as we had Food & Friends deliveries. A sadly short list is one way to look at it, because we wonder, what happened to the people previously. On the other hand, less people need the service, right! At least in our area and the route we do. The truth is, we don’t know, and can only guess.

Mom’s home buyer backed out. The realtor ascribed it to cold feet as the reports and inspections had not even been completed. Our realtor is going to talk to the second-ranked buyer to see if they’re still interested.

Our big news is that Trump celebrated his 80th birthday and stayed awake! He held a UFC event, Operation Epic IT’S ALL ABOUT ME! on the White House south lawn, a solid performer under Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! umbrella of distractions.

Trump is a peace president. A violent blood fight at the home of We the People is a perfect demonstration of how much his words really mean.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

When Trump said, “I would never condone violence,” it had an asterisk. Trump only condones violence to celebrate himself, to entertain himself, to distract others from his grift and corruption, have people riot and try to overturn the election, and to kill other people via the military to show how tough he is. Otherwise, he would never condone violence.

Trump says peace is at hand with Iran. I don’t believe him. He’s lied too many times to accept at face value.

News analysis of the peace deal with Iran shows that many of the goals Trump stated when he started the war is unmet.

Trump said that his war saved Israel from nuclear extinction. Trump also said that the bombings he ordered last June, 2025, destroyed Iran’s nuclear program. And he had already claimed victory dozens of times earlier this year. He claimed that the war would be over by April 22, 2026.

Trump always insists that everyone is lying, especially the media. “Fake news!” he shouts. Documentation shows he’s done it well over 1,000 times.

Yet, he wants us to believe them now, when they report that ‘he’s won’. How can we when he’s conditioned us to disbelieve everything being said?

Trump’s name has been removed from the Kennedy Center. The Epstein ballroom is still illegally under construction. There are stories that the work Trump had done at the Lincoln Reflecting Pool is shoddy and already coming apart. Just like his lies, isn’t it?

Let’s see how much he starts caring about inflation now that he’s declared his war with Iran over.

In honor of Trump’s White House fight, My Neurons summoned an old disco-oriented song to the morning mental music stream. Carl Douglas wrote and performed “Kung Fu Fighting” in August of 1974. A global hit, it was on the radio often and I heard it often as I finished high school, graduated, and joined the military. I always thought it a silly song but it hooks me with the lyrics and melody.

I hope your day comes with good news and a good life.

Got to run now. Two dental appointments. First in Medford, the next in Ashland. It’s all about my final implant, where the cyst was removed from my gums.

Cheers

4

Sunday’s Theme Music

Ashland, southern Oregon — Sunday, June 14, 2026.

Summer is set to officially begin in the northern hemes next week. It’s already getting in place in Ashland. The sky is blue, blue, blue, and the sun is getting hot, hot, hot. My house saw 96 yesterday while most of Ashland felt mid 90s temperatures.

Right now, it’s 77 F with the upper 90s on the table. Officially, the weather services differ from my local reading; they say, it’s 83 and feels like 91.

Going through this heat wave with my wife is fascinating in a terrible way. When it hit 96 outside yesterday, inside was 83. Warmish to me, causing sweat to dribble down the small of my back and accumulate in my pits.

I asked my wife what she thought of the heat in the house. She said, “It’s cool to me.”

She also often needs lights on. Complains, “It’s so dark in here.”

Dismaying. The other day, I came home. It was 86 degrees outside. The room was 78. She had a space heater on.

My sister, Gina, said she thinks Mom is on her ‘last legs’. As an aside, that’s an interesting expression for humans, comparing us to repaired furniture.

Gina’s assessment came in the wake of continued complaints from Mom about headaches, UTIs, yeast infections, and diarrhea. Tests come back and show, ‘nothing is wrong’. But Mom had another fall and hit her head again yesterday.

I have felt that Mom was on her last legs for the last month. She’s continued through a spiral of pain and difficulty communicating, remembering, and moving. She still eats, though. How long her ‘last legs’ will last is always difficult to predict.

Gina sent photos of Mom’s empty rooms today. Mom’s keyboard was given away to a young woman. Gina shared stories of how Mom would play the keyboard and sing while Frank strummed along on the guitar.

I laughed at this World Cup headline:

Journalist stunned by ‘daylight robbery’ food prices at World Cup game

There’s been a few headlines and stories like that abounded, complaining about the costs of food and beverages at World Cup venues. Americans have been enduring this for years at professional sporting events. We’re not overly outraged, just savagely bitter. What makes these prices taste worse is that they’re often inflated by ‘fees’ to pay for the site.

That all helps fuel the K-shaped economy. Prices are hypermanaged to attract consumers. Then we’re gouged on ‘monetized’ aspects. For example, I can buy a ‘cheap’ airline ticket for a few hundred dollars. It won’t include food. The seat will be the worse on the plane. Doesn’t include baggage except a small carryon. And the actual price I pay will be much higher, as fees and administrative charges are added to pay for airport construction, security, and higher fuel and insurance costs.

I don’t expect it to get any better in Trump’s economy. Window dressing drives Trump’s values. He’s interested in what he thinks ‘looks good.’ So ‘low’ ticket prices are nice optics, even if they don’t reflect reality.

Americans have learned, though. We — those marginalized by the costs of living — understand how this works now. Consumer sentiment is understandably low. As this headline nicely puts it:

An update on US consumer sentiment: Gloomier outlook ahead of sunnier days

How is Trump’s war with Iran going? I don’t know; you tell me. The war is now at 106 days as Trump and Iran continue to negotiate.

The Epstein ballroom remains under construction. I believe that Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! is hosting an event involving UFC fighting on the White House lawn. BTW, in true Trump Double Standards fashion, Bud Light is sponsoring the UFC White House event. Bud Light was boycotted by MAGA just a few years ago for partnering with a transgender influencer.

Instead of a Trump Quote of the Day, I offer you this:

Here’s a little more about Trump’s declining popularity from the Political Tribune article about the Civiqs poll:

The states that remain in Trump’s column are still red on the map, although the intensity of that red has faded noticeably since inauguration day. Wyoming, still his strongest state, now sits at +25 after starting at +47. North Dakota follows at +15, South Dakota at +14, and West Virginia at +13. The more telling detail is not where they sit now, but where they began, with several of these states having effectively lost around half their initial support while staying on the positive side of the ledger.

Kentucky stands out as the only state to cross fully into negative territory, moving from +23 at the start of the term to -4 today, a 27-point swing that leads the national decline. Montana follows closely behind, dropping from +25 to +1, while Idaho slides from +34 to +11.

That’s a present to We the People on Trump’s birthday!

Today’s song is “More than A Feeling” by Boston. While the song is about love and loss, it’s in my morning mental music stream because economists keep talking about a recession vibe. They insist that the numbers look ‘okay’ if not great for the economy and we not heading for a recession. But We the People see the price and then the real cost. We know that’s a screwed-up economy.

My hope for you is that you have an enjoyable, happy day, wherever you are.

Cheers

0

Saturday’s Theme Music

Ashland, southern Oregon — Saturday, June 13, 2026.

Another June morning. 63 F, it feels cool and comfortable to me, “chilly” for my wife. Today’s high will peak in the mid 90s. A heat advisory is on for tomorrow as temperatures are going over 100. Temperatures are expected to drop on Tuesday — a little.

Nothing new from my family and Mom in Pittsburgh. Going through dreams occupied my morning.

I enjoyed this morning headline:

Trump’s name removed from Kennedy Center after blowing past deadline

One small step for decency, democracy, and justice.

But the Epstein ballroom is still under construction, and Trump is racing to build his Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! arch before the system can stop him.

Do we really need a monument to remind us of Trump’s ego? No. Sure won’t help with any problems we face. It’s just more by Trump, for Trump.

Seven states led by Democrats — Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington — have withdrawn from the ‘Freedom 250’ fair. The states withdrew, citing costs and politicalization.

It started out as a celebration of the United States. As with anything with Trump involvement, he’s slowly made it less about that and more about him. For example, after many musical performers bowed out, Trump decided to replace them with himself as the opening act. He plans a ‘rally’.

Trump’s war with Iran goes on. The war has clocked 105 days. Peace is close, both sides agree, then argue about whether the other is telling the truth. It feels like, “Pot, meet kettle,” to me.

Gas prices in the US have dribbled down over the past few days as peace in Iran seesaws. Many best-case scenario project gas prices will drop to $3.75 gallon on average by November. In most dire predictions, $6.35 a gallon is projected as the national average.

I laughed at this headline today:

Man fed 32,754 of Donald Trump’s Truth Social posts to AI and one concerning observation stands out

The story continued:

Key takeaways

  • Self-Focus: AI found that Trump frequently centers himself in posts, with roughly 1 in 11 posts being self-praise, and his name appearing as the most common positive reference.
  • Conflict & Adversaries: Many posts involve accusations, criticism, and disputes, portraying Trump as both a victim and a winner in political and legal battles.
  • Posting Habits: Notable patterns include heavy capitalization (16% of posts), late-night posting (midnight–6 a.m.), and recurring themes of praise, boasting, and accusations.

We didn’t need AI analysis for these conclusions. They’re self-evident, something who isn’t part of the MAGAsphere has noted for years.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

“Wrong Again” Trump was wrong again. We the People built this nation. Men like him just conned people to make money from what others built.

Playing “Spelling Bee” this morning, I laughed and put in Levitake as a word. “Not on the list”, the system responded.

I think it should be. Levitake: to lift and remove something. In use: “They worked through the night to levitake Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center.”

The music playing in today’s morning mental music stream is “Fantasy” by Aldo Nova. The 1982 song started playing as The Neurons spied on me doing my dream review. It was because of the night breeze coming in the window, cooling me.

May your day progress with peace and grace, and bring you an abundance of joy and love.

Cheers

3

Thursday’s Theme Music — Wrong Direction

Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, June 11, 2026.

It’s blue skies and warmer temperatures for us today. Like the weather has just awakened to the season and decided, alright, let’s go.

Tear it up, break it up, go for it. That’s Trump. He alone decides what ‘we’ the nation will do. This is true whether we’re going to war, escalating violence, tearing down the White House, remodeling it, building, modifying, or renaming monuments.

Trump ignores the law, goes around the requirements, skips past reviews. Then, as work begins and We the People protest, we go to court. While the issues are adjudicated, Trump keeps tearing and down and building. He’s been doing this with attacking Iran, building the Epstein ballroom — well, it’s a long list.

It’s also a giant middle finger at We the People, our political norms, checks and balances, laws, and Constitution.

The GOP is okay with it. Him. Speaker Johnson metaphorically shrugs. The media tiptoes around what he’s doing, because the other thing Trump does is threaten. His administration holds a bunch of keys. Everyone knows it. And Trump has demonstrated he has no concerns for anything and anyone but himself. Beyond his words, his policies reflect it. He thinks, oh, the war will end and prices will drop.

Really? Is that what happened when prices rose during COVID?

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Trump was lying, of course. He always lies. He began acting like a dictator on day one, and still is.

That’s why protests are important. When Congress stands aside, SCOTUS enables, and the press backs away, We the People must stand up.

No Kings is coming up again. Sunday, June 14, 2026.

Show up again. Keep showing up, please. We don’t like the direction Trump is taking us and must change it.

Today’s morning mental music stream song is “Invisible Sun” by The Police. I was reflecting on my childhood and pictures of smoky, polluted skies we would see in the newspaper. By then, our skies were much clearer and cleaner. Now, Trump is turning it back in the name of making money.

Sample Lyrics

It’s dark all day and it glows all night
Factory smoke and acetylene light
I face the day with my head caved in
Lookin’ like somethin’ that the cat brought in

My hopes for you are that the sun is warm, the air is fresh and clean, and your spirits are high.

Cheers

0

The MAGA Mind

I laughed. I had to.

Reports had come out: annual inflation was the highest in three years.

Americans are irritated. Worried. Bothered. Inflation has pushed up the costs of new homes, home repairs, car insurance, healthcare, health insurance premiums, food, and energy.

Trump said, “I love the inflation.”

Which is why I laughed.

It also makes total sense for Trump to say that.

Back when Trump started his war with Iran, he mentioned, “We’re not at war.” He often did it with a little sly week, instead referring to it variously as a conflict, operation, or excursion. Yet, he still used terms like dropping bombs and talked about destroying Iran.

MAGA, who loves Trump, immediately began parroting Trump’s language. So, the Iran ‘conflict’ is fine with them, because we’re not at war, and he didn’t break his promise, “No new wars.”

That’s why “I love inflation” makes sense now. They’ll hear Trump say that and begin using his phrase. They’ll get all gleeful and giddy about inflation — using Trump’s terminology, of course, about how inflation is good because we’re fighting Iran, and that’s some kind of good thing, in his head.

That makes it totally swell for MAGA.

For the rest of us in the real world, the inflation isn’t good and has serious repercussions on health, happiness, and the quality of life.

Also, making statements like, “I love inflation,” is part of Trump’s Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! distraction weave.

  • Look — I tore down the White House east wing! Building the biggest ballroom ever!
  • Look — I painted the Lincoln reflecting pool!
  • Look — I bombed Iran! Saved us all from nuclear annihilation!
  • Look — there’s election cheating going on in California!
  • Look — I love inflation! Isn’t that crazy?

As for the Iran War — what is it good for?

That depends on what day Trump is talking about it.

2

Wednesday’s Theme Music

Ashland, southern Oregon – Wednesday, June 10, 2026.

Warmer today. 56 F now but looking for 80 degrees as sunshine stretches across a clear blue sky.

Papi did his morning laps. I did the same. We meet, a Venn diagram of habit, wants, and needs, then go back to our respective circles.

Gina plies us with news about a hundred things happening. House inspections, furniture removal, cleaners, realtor. Prescriptions for Mom ordered — not yet ready, come back at 3:30! Commenting that she’s sweaty and tired. Informing us that Mom hasn’t said a word about the house. Saw the listing on Zillow but never spoke about it. Instead talks of the assisted living place.

After Gina’s demands at Heritage Grove, they cleaned Mom’s floor yesterday. Gina orders Mom, “Track it. They better do it once a week. Tell me if they don’t.”

Outside of those twenty texts, it’s quiet.

Trump and Iran are heating up their war. Trump makes continued assertions: the war is over. We have won. They have nothing. We are all powerful. I am a great negotiator. I want peace.

But retaliation is the order of the day: they hit us, we hit back — harder. Playground mentality — or mobster?

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Iran will ‘pay the price’ for daring to fight back after Trump attacked them. The word sounds like lines out of a movie like “Red Dawn”. The movie was about high-schoolers fighting back after the Soviet Union (along with Cuba and Nicaragua) invade a small town in Colorado. 1980s fare. Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, other young actors.

In an ironic aside, the movie’s background is that NATO was dissolved, which encouraged the invasion, an interesting point, given Trump’s position on NATO…

According to Wikipedia, “Red Dawn” began life as a little anti-war movie but MGM wanted a teenage Rambo style approach. The Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, helped refine the script.

Just for the record, because the record does matter, the war is 102 days and counting. Trump originally said it would be over in four to five weeks: 45 days. Since then, he’s also said it’s almost over 37 times. And counting.

In other news, US annual inflation hit its highest level in three years.

Though unfunded, work continues on the Epstein ballroom. All of the Epstein files have not been released.

Today’s morning mental music stream inhabitant is “Invincible.” I’m referring to the 1985 song Pat Benatar performed to commercial success.

Sample Lyrics:

This shattered dream you cannot justify.
We’re gonna scream until we’re satisfied.
What are we running for? We’ve got the right to be angry.
What are we running for when there’s nowhere we can run to anymore?
We can’t afford to be innocent
stand up and face the enemy.
It’s a do or die situation – we will be invincible.
And with the power of conviction there is no sacrifice.
It’s a do or die situation – we will be invincible.

I hope for your sake that your day goes well.

Got my coffee. Here we go again.

Cheers

0

Tuesday’s Theme Music – Crashing

Ashland, southern Oregon — Tuesday, June 9, 2026.

Lightly rained off and on all day yesterday. We have a marbled sky today, gray and white against blue. Sunshine cuts through the clouds, darkening the mountain’s greenery with shadow islands. 56 F, our high will cut into the mid 70s. I don’t mind; give me this instead of the drought’s extreme dry and the blistering heat that usually strikes.

Gina is on the warpath, as we put it in my household growing up, a carryover from Mom and her generation and those before her. Mom called Gina with reports of theft and the lack of regular cleaning. Mom said that she’s been cleaning her own bathroom floors with wet wipes.

As the most confrontational of my family, Gina charged right in: this needs to be fixed. What’s the ‘or else’ implied? I’m not sure. It might be ‘more Gina’.

My wife got her latest ‘real ID’ yesterday. This one has the star. What will adorn them next?

Getting that for her required an appointment and a visit to the ‘big’ DMV in Medford. It was either go there or camp out at the Ashland DMV every morning and hope the Gods of Bureaucracy were kind.

She took in her birth certificate. Not the real thing, but a tattered, certified ‘photographic reproduction’ created in 1962. Much of the birth certificate’s entries were in cursive. The DMV agent, a very nice person, laughed about the struggles to read cursive, as she hasn’t had to in a while. That led to a sidebar about her children. They don’t know cursive and when she writes notes using cursive, they ask things like, “What language is that?”

That chased us into a conversation about signatures. The DMV agent said anything can be used and recognized as a ‘signature’. From further conversation, it appears that we’re basically going back to ‘making our mark’.

On the Trump side of things, my wife and I were talking about the food prices. My gosh, how they’ve gone up.

This morning had news about Scott Bessent, Trump’s secretary of something, claiming that prices are coming down. I’m sure you can cherry-pick and find some prices have declined. Overall, prices remain UP.

I did a search about Bessent’s claim and saw that he’s made that claim a few times the last several months. And as late as last November – 2025 – he was trying to blame Democrats for the prices. I know from Trump’s latest Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! pivot, aka the Trump Iran war, that Trump knows that prices are higher. He knows that the war is causing it.

*probably also knows his tariffs are causing them but won’t admit it because that would reveal he’s been wrong all along*

Trump, though, has pivoted. He’s not worried about high prices, affordability, or Americans’ finances, no; he’s saving us from Iranian nukes.

Ironically, of course, that was also the Bush-Cheney claim for the war against Iraq: WMD.

Yes, Trump and the GOP have dragged WMD back out of the closet. They’ve avoided using that phrase. That phrase — WMD — is loaded with baggage for US voters and the world.

It shows that in the end, Trump and the GOP only have three dimensions to their strategy: fear, distract, and cause dis-unity. For when facts, truth, and unity show up, Democrats win, and we move forward. Not evenly, and certainly not perfectly. But we move forward in our efforts against poverty, food deserts, climate change, and real challenges. Not fake challenges that are monsters only in unthinking minds.

Trump’s war is now 101 days old and counting. Iran shot down a helicopter. Trump vowed retaliation. That’s how it works with cease-fires with Trump.

The other big Trump news was about Trump attending the NBA game in New York.

  1. Trump couldn’t make time to go to his son’s small, private wedding, but oh, boy, he loved showing up at an NBA playoff game.
  2. The arrogance and selfishness Trump showed by going to that game, and its impact on fans’ ability to enjoy the game.
  3. Boos rained down on Trump. He heard it and tried to pretend it was cheering. LOL. But he knew it was booing, and he didn’t like it.
  4. A photo showed Trump asleep at the game. Real? I don’t know. But Trump has been shown sleeping at enough events that the photo has legs.
  5. Trump looks really bad. Sick. Tired. OLD. DOTTERING.

Not a good outing for Trump.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

The Epstein ballroom remains under construction. No new news on who is paying for it.

Trump’s approval continues its slow crash. Disapproval numbers show a sea of red. In a way, Trump is starting to live up to the vision he had of himself as a ‘unifying’ force; unity in disapproval of him and his policies is increasing.

My morning thoughts were about a dream that involved flying. The Neurons were snooping around, found out, and introduced “Aeroplane” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers into the morning mental music stream. Hope you enjoy it.

My hopes for everyone and everything is to go with peace and grace and make life better for all of us. Not just a privileged few.

Cheers

0

Friday’s Theme Music

Ashland, southern Oregon — Friday, June 5, 2026.

Blue sky, cool air, and sunshine marks the valley. We’re at 59 F and expect a high of the upper seventies.

In Mom’s world, it’s been quiet on her health. No feedback from her visit to the hospital ER and the tests they ran. On the housing side of it, there’s a good offer on Mom’s house. I voted to take it, but they have opted to wait and see if more come in. The offer expires tomorrow night.

Read some good news for Australia. Their Cockroach King has been arrested. The US Cockroach King remains in the White House.

In depressing US news, the Roberts Court ruled Alabama can use its new Congressional map. A lower court found it racial. But the Roberts Court, hiding behind the shadow docket, said, “It’s good,” without bothering to sign their opinion. This is the John Roberts’ legacy.

Trump’s legacy is war, lies, and fake news. News reports are bubbling over the job reports. Based on economic factors and indicators, economists were expected another bad one. Gosh, somehow the Trump appointee managed to find ‘good’ numbers.

No, the numbers aren’t sterling. I expect them to be revised downward in a few months or exposed as fake. That’s in keeping with Trump’s preaching. He’s always shouting fake news, fake news while lying about what’s happening or planned.

He lied and promised no new wars, claimed the war was over, and we won, and yet, the war goes on. So, no, I don’t believe anything come out of the Trump administration.

I don’t have a Trump Quote of the Day available. Instead, I offer this image of Trump celebrating Pride Month.

The Epstein ballroom remains under construction. Trump’s war on Iran is closing on 100 days. The national debt is still growing, as is the national deficit.

I got a song stuck in my morning mental music stream: “Nothing Gonna Stop Us Now”. The song, from 1987, was performed by Starship. It’s the theme song to the move, “Mannequin”. I have never seen it.

I don’t know why The Neurons planted it in my morning stream. I was doing my dream recall routine and the song started. It doesn’t seem to be specifically related to any part of any dream, though. Hope you enjoy it.

Enjoy your first June Friday! Hope peace, happiness, and joy fill it.

Cheers

0

Thursday’s Theme Music — Illusions

Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, June 4, 2026.

Out one window, it’s a gorgeous day: sunny, clear blue sky. Out toward the west, dark clouds are moving in. They look like they have different intentions. It’s 55 now but we expect 80.

Mom’s house is up for sale and it’s had a lot of early interest. I’m not surprised, once it went live. Comparing it to other homes in the $150k range in that area reveals that most are as old or older, and the same size. Mom’s house was built in 1940; others in that range/area were built anywhere from 1930 to 1960. But they’re usually two bedrooms, one bath whereas Mom’s place offers four bedrooms and three baths. I easily visualize it as ideal for a small multigenerational setup. I hope this early interest isn’t an illusion.

While I’ve been focused mostly on Trump’s war on Iran (96 days and counting), he’s been busy with other wars. He’s been actively warring against cultural and political norms. All presidents have done so but none on the scale that Trump has done. We have the visual evidence of the Epstein ballroom and the war for funding for it (after Trump claimed it would cost taxpayers nothing); the atrocious rose garden; and the horrible disfiguration of the Lincoln Memorial.

Trump is turning the White House lawn into a stadium for fights and appending his name on famous places like the Kennedy Center. He’s doing all these things outside of the law but the law is fighting back via judges and courts and their rulings.

Under Trump, his advocates are trying to break the law and have currency with his likeness on it.

Through MAHA and Kennedy, Trump has been warring against good health. Through the EPA, Trump has warred against clean air and water. Through Hegseth, he’s warred against having a good defense and diversity. Through the Departments of Education and Justice, Trump has warred against good education, research, and law and order.

Through his pardons, he’s warred against justice.

Through ICE and his immigration policies, Trump has warred against our very nature as a melting pot, a place that welcome the poor and tired.

Through cuts in the social safety net and programs such as SNAP and Headstart, Trump has warred against people in poverty.

Via cuts to NASA, NOAA, and NIHM, Trump has warred against research, science, and technology.

Through it all, Trump has warred against intelligence, decency, unity, and compassion via his texts.

MAGA stays loyal to him. He buys their loyalty because he’s cultured a distrust of the media, calling it ‘the enemy’. Then he screams:

  • Look at how they treat me!
  • They stole the 2020 election!
  • Look how great I am and what wonderful things I’ve done!
  • I’m doing it all for you and our great nation!

Yet, the evidence shows otherwise.

Trump is selling a grand illusion. But the details reveal the truth.

Not surprisingly, Les Neurons are playing “The Grand Illusion” in my morning mental music stream.

Lyrics:

But don’t be fooled by the radio
The TV or the magazines
They show you photographs of how your life should be
But they’re just someone else’s fantasy

So if you think your life is complete confusion
Because you never win the game
Just remember that it’s a Grand illusion
‘Cause deep inside we’re all the same
We’re all the same…

So if you think your life is complete confusion
Because your neighbors got it made
Just remember that it’s a Grand illusion
And deep inside we’re all the same

The Styx song came out in 1977. Dennis DeYoung wrote the song and said it’s all about how ‘they’ set you up to think and see one thing to hide the truth:

“It’s that feeling that success is set up in such a way that if you succeed you’re a failure, and if you don’t succeed you’re a failure.”

That’s the Trump methodology all the way.

I hope your day is not a grand illusion, but has real progress toward happiness and satisfaction.

Cheers

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