Tag: opinion

Tuesday’s Theme Music — What’s up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s classic Trump Double Standards:

Trump votes by mail again in his home state of Florida

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

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

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

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

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

It’s a good song for the times.

Sample Lyrics

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

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

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

Now off to write.

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

Cheers

2

Sunday’s Theme Music – Trapped

Bandon, southern Oregon coast. Sunday, August 16, 2026

It’s clear and sunny, 61 F, here in Bandon. Supposed to rise to 66 F here.

Last night was clear and beautiful, to be sure. We stopped on the way to dinner to see what was left of the circles.

As you see, they were totally gone by then. Still, breathtaking to gaze across the beach and ocean while soaking in sunshine.

Didn’t read much news yesterday. I did read this Jamelle Bouie opinion in NYT about Trump’s fantasyland. Which, yes, I believe this, based on all that I’ve seen and heard from Trump, and the results.

“Trump, according to Haberman and Swan, has not simply junked this process in its entirety — he has set up his White House to affirm his frequently arbitrary instincts above all other considerations. He has insulated himself from opposing views and made internal dissent verboten. At no point does Trump receive neutral information; just about everything is tailored to his whims, impulses and mercurial disposition. The result is that he is isolated from reality to the extent that he is practically living in a fairy tale.

“Haberman and Swan describe a Trump who cannot see beyond the first few steps of any given action and is constantly taken aback by political obstacles and backlash. Recent controversies, from the depletion of our military’s stock of sophisticated munitions to worsening conditions on some of our naval vessels, are easier to fathom when you consider the strong odds that Trump is told precious little about the actual conditions of his war. More likely, he is told what he wants to hear: that America is winning and Iran is on the verge of surrender.

“So far, much of the destruction of the second Trump administration is self-inflicted. It is Trump and his allies who have wrecked the administrative state, undercut science and mired the country in a new Middle East quagmire. There has not yet been an external crisis — the kind of catastrophic event that demands an active and effective leadership. Through their reporting, Haberman and Swan make clear that if and when this country faces such a crisis, both the president and his administration will be caught flat-footed.”

The worse for me remains that the GOP condones this policy by fantasy by not talking about it or taking action, while MAGAts pretty gleefully support it until FAFO smacks them in the face.

Till Trump is back out of office, we’re trapped in a box. The Neurons responded to that thought with “Trapped in A Box” by No Doubt in my morning mental music stream. Song came out 1992. The song came out of a poem the drummer wrote. Although it didn’t chart in the US, I sometimes heard the song on the alt adult stations I often listened to as I drove around the SF-SJ Bay Area. I always thought the song has a Squirrel Nuts Zipper vibe to it.

Sample Lyrics

Trapped in a box of tremendous size
It distorts my vision, it closes my eyes
Attracts filthy flies and pollutes in the skies
Sucks up our lives and proliferates lies
Trapped in a box

Trapped in a box, four walls as sky
Got a screen for a window about two feet wide
My mind rides and slides as my circuits are fried
No room for thought, use the box as my guide
Trapped in a box

Ooh, trapped in a box
Watch the world as it flocks
To life’s paradox
We’re all trapped in a box

Hope you’re not trapped in a box, but enjoying a day of peace, grace, and good health.

It’s off to a walk on the beach for me. Cheers

0

Claims, Facts, and Evidence

More confrontations occurring between US citizens and DHS are in the new again.

ICE agent points gun at Virginia woman who shouted at them in video that conflicts with government’s narrative

The Trump administration repeatedly claims that ICE agents were threatened or attacked — often saying that people ‘weaponized’ their vehicles or that agents feared for their lives. Yet in case after case, video, witnesses, and subsequent legal proceedings have contradicted or undermined those accounts.

So it was with some doubt that I read this DHS claim:

“Our officers are experiencing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them, a 3,300% increase in vehicular attacks, and an 8,000% increase in death threats. When faced with dangerous circumstances, DHS law enforcement used their training to protect themselves, their fellow officers, and the public,” the DHS spokesperson said in the statement.

There’s not much context to assess their claim, such as a timeline. Additionally, ICE underwent a huge expansion since Trump came back into office. I want to know, what are the raw numbers, such as the number of assaults based on the number of agents? That would be a more meaningful number.

Secondly, I ponder, how is DHS categorizing and cataloguing ‘threats’. Do they change definitions to make the numbers seem worse, giving them cover to respond more aggressively because ‘their agents are being threatened’? That seems to be the conclusion of an older DHS Inspector General finding.

Third, for me, while ICE aggressively expanded, ICE slashed their training regime. Based on historic trends among military, law enforcement, and other professions, less training often ends up resulting in lower standards and more incidents.

Finally, I think that Trump’s more aggressive deployments to cities and

In short, has the danger to the typical ICE officer actually increased by anything remotely approaching the enormous percentages being cited?

Or is this like the Trump and his administration’s broader pattern of making outlandish claims:

Given Trump’s history of unsupported and misleading quantitative claims, I want to see the underlying data and methodology before accepting the interpretation DHS is placing on those numbers.

1

Thursday’s Theme Music — Simple Minds

Ashland, southern Oregon. Thursday, August 13, 2026.

Another cool one for us, 71 F and 86 later. Blue sky, sunshine, clear air. You have no complaints from me about it.

Still worried, though; red flag warnings have been issued for much of Oregon for later today. Lightning, which too easily translates to more wildfires.

Although I live in Oregon, north of California, I checked out this news article on SF Gate this morning:

Here’s what the ‘extraordinary’ new El Niño forecast means for California

It’s supposed to be a super El Nino. The conditions creating the super El Nino is why we’re not having as many hurricanes in the Atlantic this year.

But the article begins, “All eyes are on the unusual power of this year’s El Niño.“

I laughed when I read that. I don’t think Trump’s eyes are on the impending El Nino at all. Led by Trump, his administration has focused on policy actions that roll back climate science initiatives and downscale the federal agencies responsible for tracking things like El Nino. Erika Spanger, director of strategic climate analytics at UCS, summarized it well:

“This is the year when the triple crises of climate change, a reckless authoritarian government, and economic insecurity will start to collide.”

That’s Trump: reckless. His path of destruction screams about the reckless nature of his decisions. Trump doesn’t learn; he hears some bullshit that his supporters like hearing and adopts it as policy. Traditional conservatives and members of the GOP supports him because he’s not a Democrat.

Meanwhile, look at how poorly the job market is doing. How much cases of measles are rising. The slog unofficially known at the Trump Iran War — TIW.

Look at his lies about one thing after another.

It turns my stomach.

We’re watching El Nino here, of course. We’ve been enduring wildfire damage. That sets us up for erosion, flooding, and landslides. That’s compounded by the drought conditions we’ve had for several years. With drought, the earth can absorb less water. Hence, more flooding. Additionally, we’re expecting warmer than usual weather; we aren’t expecting the snow we need for next year.

Based on his history, I expect Trump and MAGAts to shrug and say, “It’s weather.” Talk about simple minds.

Today’s music is “Sanctify Yourself” by Simple Minds. A dream deposited it in my morning mental music stream. At one point in the dream, my wife and I, along with my sister-in-law, went into what seemed a hotel suite — or our house. Not really clear on that point. I heard the song play in the dream and briefly wondered, hey, is Simple Minds here? But in classic dream fashion, I then pivoted to other matters.

A dream deposited it in my morning mental music stream. At one point in the dream, my wife and I, along with my sister-in-law, went into what seemed a hotel suite — or our house. Not really clear on that point. I heard the song play in the dream and briefly wondered, hey, is George Thorogood here? But in classic dream fashion, I then pivoted to other matters.

This is a 1986 song that I’ve always enjoyed myself. I found a Night of the Proms performance of this song. I frequently enjoy the way the Proms series present these songs. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Sample Lyrics

Is this the age of the thunder and rage
Can you feel the ground move ’round your feet?
If you take one step closer, it’ll lead to another
The crossroad above is where we meet

I shout out for shelter, I need you for something
The whole world’s out, they’re all on the street
Control yourself, love is all you need
Control yourself in your eyes

Sanctify yourself, sanctify (sanctify)
Be a part of me, sanctify (sanctify)
Sanctify yourself, sanctify (sanctify)
Sanctify yourself, set yourself free

May your August day be one that’s sweetness and light, with peace and grace, in the face of the mess that keeps building.

Cheers

0

Trump’s Critics

Heed The Warning ⚠️!!!

Jill Dennison — always a terrific source for news, opinion, music, and humor — provides more insights into why Trump can’t be trusted. “Where There’s Smoke” provides quotes from ten people who previously worked for Trump. People who endorsed him. Lawyers, generals, CEOs, politicians, governors, cabinet members. Pieces like this remind me that my distrust of Trump is seated in truth, revealed again and again. In this effort, she’s enabled by Keith, who is always good for intelligent and insightful discourse.

Read it, and as Jill says, take heed. I will but I know, MAGAts and many in the GOP will not. They’ll remain in FAFO mode, supporting Trump until their part of the world burns down or implodes.

Then they will probably cry about how Trump tricked them, absolving themselves of any responsibility.

0

Tuesday’s Theme Music – Money

Ashland, southern Oregon. Tuesday, August 11, 2026.

We continue slowly cooling in our area. 78 F, 92 F is the expected high. But we never saw the forecast high yesterday, coming up a few degrees short. I was alright with that. Smoke has been absent from the sky, too, knock on wood, despite so many fires plaguing Oregon and the United States in general — indeed, the world. The world’s oceans had their highest recorded temperature in July.

My sisters and I entered an extended text session a few days ago. Continued into today. All about the family. Turns out we aren’t “Parks” except in name. Mom’s maiden name is Parks. Her father was Parks. But his father was Slacks. So we’re Slacks. After Alfred Parks died, Mom’s grandmother married Slack and had our great-grandfather. She then divorced Slack and resumed life as Parks, re-naming her two children from Slack as Parks. Family legend from another part of the family claim that Alfred Slack’s side was shady, which might explain things.

It’s probably just me, but Trump’s Patriot Games seem to be going on with little notice. I think he imagined something grand but as usual with Trump efforts, the execution was shoddy. Besides having to move it from D.C. to Ohio, because of competing events — which Trump ordered — participants weren’t selected for their athletic prowess from great competitions. Most of them turned out to be white, which isn’t a surprise to me. Some represented states they weren’t from — which, yes, also aligns with classic Trump sloppiness.

Athletes attending Patriot Games reveal how it devolved into MAGA madness

The games themselves are a very strange choice, it seems like:

Qualifying rounds, along with kickball and dodgeball, took place on Sunday. On Monday, male and female competitors participated in a “varsity circuit” that strung together many sports: athletes had to throw footballs at targets, catch tennis balls out of the air, kick a soccer ball at a target, spike volleyballs over a net, hit wiffle balls with a bat, and sprint around a baseball diamond. Also on Monday, athletes competed in “operation endurance,” in which they had to maneuver through an obstacle course that involved army crawling, climbing nets, lifting heavy tires, monkey bars, and balance beams.

Let’s just call it what it is, more distraction from what a crappy job Trump is doing, more Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIREEL!, just like the Epstein ballroom, the war on Iran, the threats about Greenland, the attack on Venezuela, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the pathetic arch, calling Democrats ‘dumocrats, renaming buildings and airports after him, TrumpRx, Freedom Fuel, Trump’s denunciation of President Biden’s economy — which is way better than the Trump economy, America’s state fair, the blustering about commies stealing the election — hell, all the election fraud crap Trump spouts all the damn time — and other things, like Haitians eating pets. Lies, corruption, and distractions: that’s Trump.

While we have real problems in the US and around the world, Trump attacks imaginary problems, trying to magnifiy their impact, trying to scare people. Meanwhile, our real problems worsen.

I checked this morning and the measles outbreaks are still breaking out. We’re already into new modern records. Texas and South Carolina are the nation’s hot spots, with significant outbreaks taking place in Texas, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

I have “For the Love Of Money” by the O’Jays playing in the morning mental music stream. Song came out in 1973 and was a top 10 hit for in the US. I’m thinking about it today because of how it’s screwing up existence. Capitalism, right? And dark money, which has assumed such a dominant role in modern US politics. Then there are the wealthy oligarchs and billionaires, hunting more for themselves to the detriment of everyone and everything else.

Then there’s the top of the greed pyramid, Donald Trump. Greed and money drives Trump — along with his fantasies about how wonderful and brilliant he thinks he is, ignoring all evidence and facts that consistently confirm, is actually pretty damn inept. He’s an excellent liar and con, and that’s about it.

Sample Lyrics

(For the love of money) people will steal from their mother
(For the love of money) people will rob their own brother
(For the love of money) people can’t even walk the streets
Because they never know who in the world they’re gonna beat
For that mean, oh mean, mean green

Almighty dollar, that money

(For the love of money) people will lie, Lord, they will cheat
(For the love of money) people don’t care who they hurt or beat
(For the love of money) a woman will sell her precious body
For a small piece of paper, it carries a lot of weight
For that mean, mean, mean, mean, mean green
Almighty dollar, talkin’ about, talkin’ about

I know that money is the root of all evil
Do funny things to some people
Give me a nickel, brother, can you spare a dime?
Money can drive some people out of their mind
(For the love of money) no good, no good, no good
(For the love of money) don’t sell your soul for the money, no, no
(For the love of money) lay down, lay down, women will

Money is the root of all evil
Do funny things to some people
Give me a nickel, brother, can you spare a dime?
Money can drive some people out of their minds

Hope your day brings you safety, peace, and security, along with good things to eat and drink. May you live long and prosper, as others used to say.

Cheers

0

Monday’s Theme Music – Cracking Up

Ashland, southern Oregon. Monday, August 10, 2026.

Our August cooling trend continues. Today we’ll see low 90s with blue skies and sunshine in our valley. Last night saw the temperature fall to 58 F in our area. I had to go around closing windows to keep the house from getting too cold. Poor us, right?

Mom and Gina, my sister and Mom’s Power of Attorney, continue their cold war. I don’t think peace will come again, a change from how I was viewing it. Something about the conflict has triggered both, hardening their attitudes. Each instantly react angrily. Invectives and accusations fly.

Got Food & Friends deliveries today, along with a medical appointment this afternoon, so it’s another brief post. Somehow, most of my reading ended up being about Trump and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The story reminds us that Trump first claimed how resilient the fix he installed was.

“In May, for example, Trump said the lining was “so strong, so powerful” that it couldn’t be cut with a knife. He even drove his motorcade across it while it was being installed to inspect the work.”

Then, somehow, a vandal or group with knives managed to cut and tear that ‘so strong, so powerful’ lining.

Next, Trump was making claims about the evidence of this vandalism:

“We have photographs, or tapes,” he said, making a circular gesture with his hands. After a pause, he pointed to the cameras recording him and added: “Like moving cameras, right?”

Except, oh no, after Jeanine Pirro announced that they were dropping prosecution of the one vandal they’d arrested, Trump now claims there is no evidence:

“There was substantial other damage to the Reflecting Pool, also but, unfortunately, there is no video or proof, other than the damage, itself,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. 

Anyone following the story knows the truth and has seen the evidence: the one who screwed up the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is Trump. And the one lying about it is also Trump.

The thing is, too, as it’s been often noted, the cover up is frequently worse than the crime. If Trump had just let it go, admitted he made a mistake, or anything like that, it would have already disappeared as a story. Instead, Trump dug in, refuse the facts and the truth, and made it worse.

But that’s Trump: lying, then lying about his lies, digging deeper and deeper holes. Did it with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool; tariffs and the economy; the Epstein files; and the war he began with Iran.

A little over a year ago, I used the song “Basket Case” by Green Day as the day’s theme music. Trump has just attacked Iran for the first time. At that time, I wondered if June 21, 2025 and the attacks on that day would go down as the day that World War III quietly began?

Trump declared that mission enormously successful.

Trump says US ‘completely and totally obliterated’ nuclear facilities in Iran

Three days later, he walked back those claims. February of this year, he attacked Iran again. And the war has been going ever since, off and on, widening and creating death and destruction. Time and again, Trump gives different reasons for that war, not calling it a war to avoid being held in check, and has claimed different levels of results and success.

And that is why “Basket Case” is playing in the morning mental music stream today — again.

Sample Lyrics:

Do you have the time to listen to me whine?
About nothing and everything, all at once
I am one of those melodramatic fools
Neurotic to the bone, no doubt about it

Sometimes I give myself the creeps
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me
It all keeps adding up
I think I’m cracking up
Am I just paranoid or am I just stoned?

Papi has settled in for the day. He’s ready for a day of relaxation. Hope you are, too.

Cheers

0

Saturday’s Theme Music — Games

Ashland, southern Oregon. Saturday, August 8, 2026.

Cooler today. Although now 74 F, it will get only to 96 today. Officially, I think we hit 99 yesterday. My house saw 102 again.

There’s another fire burning. This one is to our northeast. Already at 19,000 acres with no containment, we’ve added it to our fire watch.

Trump urged his Attorney General to open prosecutions of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool again. Given the plethora of bad news for Trump this week, I’m not surprised.

That’s part of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! When things get bad, Trump tries to change the topic. Bad economic news came out. Trump would normally bluster about bombing Iran again. Can’t: low munitions, so they’re supposed to be ‘negotiating’.

Fallback number two would be to talk about how great everything is. But with prices still up and affordability still in crisis mode, he’s probably been advised to not talk about that.

Trump’s other topics would be calling climate change a hoax but with so many fires burning in the United States, he’s been silent about them — after stupidly threatening to impose tariffs on Canada because their wildfire smoke was bothering the US. While the US has ‘only’ burned over 6 million acres compared to 9 million in Canada, the United States’s fires outnumber Canadian fires 45,000 to 3,900.

Trump sure as hell can’t talk about Epstein…especially after a Federal court ruled that tearing down part of the White House to build a new ballroom was outside of Trump’s authority. That sent Trump off on an angry frenzy; since Trump lives there, he thinks he can do what he wants to it and fails completely to understand that the White House belongs to We the People. He’s just an occupant, and many of us are ready to kick him out.

With celebration of the nation’s 250 Anniversary going poorly so far, Trump is staying pretty mum about the Patriot Games which are starting this week. They had to move them from D.C. to Ohio. This is a classic Trump thing: the Freedom 250 Indycar race is coming up in a few weeks. Guess what? You can’t set up for an Indycar race at the same time that you’re running Patriot Games. The operations clashed, setting up a logistics nightmare.

So the Hunger Games — sorry, Patriot Games — were quietly moved.

I’m not overly impressed with those games, either:

The DC Indycar race — arrives later this month. The event has free admission, but many are angry about it. 1) Trump ignored getting approval from anyone for the event — surprise! 2) Although ‘free’, people attending aren’t permitted to bring in anything: chairs, foods, suntan lotion, drink, etc. 3) Locals are upset about how the race and its logistics are going to affect their lives during hot, humid August, especially when the race was forced on them without their approval.

So, back to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool for Trump. It’s a mess that he created, a blot on his recorded, etched into his legacy, along with the Iran war, Epstein files, poor economy, and his corruption and ineptitude. He created this mess, and he’s going to go down swinging, pretending it’s not his own fault.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Yes, he’s had some great polls, if you ignore over half the nation.

Trump is weak, ineffective, losing power and losing face. He’s struggling to save it, but too delusional to do anything meaningful. So he’ll continue with the same ol’ same ol’ fantasies, ranting, raving, threatening, and bullying.

With all these thoughts of games — Trump’s games, pretending that he’s doing great, the ‘Patriot’ games, etc — Les Neurons supplied the morning mental music stream with an Alan Parson Project fave, “Games People Play.”

May your day bring a winning hand your way today and every day.

Cheers

0

Friday’s Theme Music —

Ashland, southern Oregon — Friday, August 7, 2026.

Sunshine rules but smoke threatens. We’re still safe, knock on wood. Our hearts go out to the many, many, many others — animals, people, land — enduring fires and its impacts.

Hit 102.7 at our house yesterday. Project to hit the same today. It’s 80 F right now.

It’s my anniversary with my wife today. 51 years. Some were rocky but we’re still here, growing old together.

Meanwhile, Trump’s economy, now in its second year, continues flailing. The Jobs Report comes on the heels of the report that showed that the economy’s growth is anemic. What happened to all those manufacturing jobs Trump promised?

Paul Krugman again helped me understand what the July Jobs Report means.

News of the Weak (Labor Market)

“The surprise fall in employment — 23,000 jobs lost, when the consensus forecast was for around 80,000 gained — made headlines. As always, it’s important to realize that monthly jobs numbers are noisy, so you shouldn’t overreact to one report. However, this report also revised data for several earlier months down, so the broader picture of job growth in Trump’s “golden age” is significantly worse than it seemed.“

Krugman also shares this graph from Haver Analytics.

Krugman has often talked about a recession vibe. That comes about when everyone talks about how bad the economy ‘feels’ versus what the data shows. The intersection of gas prices what won’t come down, a terrible job market — as show in the Jobs Report and in jobseekers’ perceptions of what the job market is like — and slow growth is what gives us this vibe.

Trump will probably respond with claims of fake news, or attempt to blame Presidents Obama or Biden, or the Democrats. It’s always someone else’s fault when things go wrong, although he’s always hungry to try to claim glory and success.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

We need to keep repeating this: Trump doesn’t think about anybody except himself. He doesn’t care about anybody but himself. This economy, Trump’s growing wealth, and Trump’s war with Iran is what you get when you vote for Trump and the GOP that enables him.

“Beds Are Burning” are in my morning mental music stream again. This is a 1987 Midnight Oil song. The Australian group’s song is in there because there’s been so — much — fire — this year, around the world. Record disasters. With Trump’s reactive policies, this will get worse. A super El Nino is already forecast for this coming winter in the northern hemisphere. With fires burning so much of the woods and vegetation and a wet super El Nino in the works, the potential for devastating flooding is enormous.

The other reason that “Beds Are Burning” is today’s song is because of the Trump economy. It’s also burning; more money is being poured into the Defense budget and weapons. But Trump and Hegseth are burning through them. Meanwhile, Trump is trying to fund battleships and Arctic ships. It’s surreal as hell. The economy and world is burning, and he’s wasting money not on helping the people, but on building armies to attack others.

I hope you have a safe and healthy day, and it precedes a long string of such days for you.

Cheers

2

The Trump Problem

Several interesting Trump developments caught my wandering eye this morning. He’s losing more and more, and getting angrier and more desperate about it. He’s also denying that it’s because He. Is. The. Problem.

Rep. Andy Ogles loses his Republican primary in Tennessee

Good riddance to him Ogles, who was endorsed by Trump.

Retail gas stations touted by Trump racked up penalties in New Jersey

Basically confirms what I suspected about this business.

Appeals court says Trump lacks authority to build White House ballroom without approval from Congress

As we have suspected all along. But this will go to the Roberts Court, where they follow Calvinball rules.

Trump backpedals in $10B BBC lawsuit after request for his financials

The BBC’s attorneys note the result of Trump’s latest move:

“In fact, claiming $10 billion in harm while purporting to disclaim damage to Plaintiff’s business and professional interests renders it all the more implausible that Plaintiff will ever be able to show such damages.”

That’s pretty much Trump: wanting something for nothing.

Trump warns he may be the last Republican president in Abdul El-Sayed message

Trump’s warning is funny is so many hilarious ways. Trump claims he’s so popular and this is a ‘golden age‘. Well, for who, then, if he’s worried about being ‘the last Republican president’.

BTW, given how terrible it’s been under Trump — and getting worse — Republicans deserve not to have another POTUS. Trump was the best they could do? Sure, he tricked many voters, as they found out. He lied and made promises. They’ve awakened to that.

But others, like Mike Johnson, JD Vance, Pompeo, Cruz, will march right in line behind Trump, singing this same warning. It’ll become part of the fear chorus — Commies! Red Menace! Iran! Woke! Woe is Trump!

Elevating his insults to the nursery school level, Trump dismisses Democrats as dumocrats. Yet Trump is worrying about losing to the Democrats. Well, if they’re dumb and they’re winning and he’s not, what does that make him?

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Yes, voters are mad at ‘Republicans’ but they’re not mad at Trump. *sure* Trump is confusing his base with We the People.

Trump’s base swallows almost every line and asks for more. Meanwhile, We the People are very pissed at Trump. He’s started a war with Iran, he’s blowing through the treasury coating things with gold and firing missiles, all while prices keep going up and the economy worsens.

US economy lost 23,000 jobs in July; analysts expected gains

Trump’s record speaks for itself.

‘I’m very good at grass’: Why does Trump keep talking about lawns?

The question is, is Trump as ‘good at grass’ as he is with war and the economy.

Face the facts: Trump is only good at lying and taking care of Trump.

As we see as he plays hide the Epstein files.

To me, Trump’s declarations about being good at grass is another Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! distraction.

And he’s hiding from the truth: he is the problem.

2

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑