Tag: opinion

Trump — Narrow and Backward

Let’s begin with your Trump Quote of the Day:

This was from the Dallas 2026 midterm conventions. Trump insisted that the convention be made about him. That way, the midterm will be about Trump, because Trump thinks he’s the greatest.

And those of him applauding and pledging with him must agree. Why else put your hand up and say those things — unless they’re like Trump, willing to say anything?

Trump made many claims during his speech. A few had a basis in truth. Like, he did increase oil and gas production.

But that’s the problem. Trump’s focus is so narrow and backward. While he increased oil and gas production, that resulted in:

  • Record high profits for the energy companies
  • Diesel gas prices going over $6 per gallon for the first time in US history
  • The highest average price per gallon for gas on Labor Day in the US — ever
  • Increased costs for food and construction due to high construction costs
  • A record national debt that is growing faster than our nation
  • And an affordability crisis for Americans

Now for our second Trump Quote of the Day:

Trump has insisted that we’re not at war (although Trump also claimed we are at war and that’s why we can’t afford things). He always calls the war with Iran a conflict.

But here he is, verifying, yes, he thinks of it as a war. He used the word ‘war’ repeatedly this week.

Because it is a war.

“I think the war’s going to end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” Trump said. “They’re desperate to affect the election, so that we can get a nice, weak group of people in there and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon. All they want is their nuclear weapon, and if they have a nuclear weapon, the whole world is in deep trouble.”

Which means that he has illegally taken our nation into war over six months ago. The Constitution states only Congress can declare war.

I know Trump apologists – Trumpologists – are hurriedly giving him cover. “He was just talking,” they’ll probably say. “That doesn’t mean that we’re at war.”

That’s what Trumpologists always say about Trump. Trump was just talking, whether it’s about why he ordered the attacks on Iran, when the Iran war will end, declaring he’ll balance the budget, reduce prices, start no new wars, be a unifier and a peacemaker, release the Epstein files, cheat, or lower drug prices by over 100%.

He was just talking.

Trump cannot be trusted to keep his word. And his attitude and policies are too backward and outdated for what’s needed in this century.

Instead of facing this, Trump lies, bullies, cheats, and exaggerates.

I believe we need people in our leadership positions who are willing to face the challenges and rise to them, instead of trying to drag us backwards.

Otherwise, we’ll forever be going backwards as the world goes forward.

Vote Blue in 2026. End the war, stop the lies, and restore trust.

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Here We Go Again — Your Trump Quotes of the Day

I laughed as soon as I read the headline today:

Trump pledges $5K ‘Trump dividend’ if Republicans hold onto Congress

Bribery: such a classic grifter move: I’ll pay you through the government if you vote to keep and put Republicans in office.

Gosh, has Trump ever made a promise like this before?

Trump Has Repeatedly Promised Payments That Have Yet to Materialize

I’m sure there are some voters out there nodding and saying, “Did you hear? Trump promised us money for our vote. I’m going to vote Republican.”

Meaning, they would need to pretend that Trump is going to follow through on this promise after all his other failed promises. It’s so much easier for Trump to promise more instead of fulfilling all the previous promises. Especially those promises Trump made such as, “I will not golf”, “I will deliver a new healthcare plan”, and “I will start no new wars.”

Or this classic Trump promise:

Over two years later, and we’re waiting for Trump to do what he promised.

Trump is calling this a ‘dividend’. He’s not really explaining how it’ll be paid for. It’s hard to believe that a ‘dividend’ is available when the national debt has surged past $40T, a level never seen before, and shows no signs of slowing.

In the past, Trump has cut programs and services which he didn’t like, labeling these fraud and waste. These were mostly from the regulatory side and the social safety net, like SNAP, healthcare premium subsidies, and childcare assistance. Since Trump has already cut those, what else can be cut? Defense?

I can see why people with little future and little hope, desperate just to make it to the next payday in order to buy gas and food might want to take Trump’s deal. But Trump is the one who create the 2026 affordability crisis. His DOGE cuts, tariffs, and bloated defense budget with its plan to build ‘Trump’ class battleships created this crisis. Trump’s Iran War fueled the crisis by disrupting the global supply chain and pushing gas prices to record levels.

Now, instead of addressing those things, he’s offering a bandage when surgery is needed.

I think Trump is falling back on an old favorite.

We’ll need to wait and see if Trump can buy his way out of another mess, as he tried to do when he paid off Stormy Daniels after Trump had an affair with her.

That worked out so well.

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Wednesday’s Theme Music – Rock Me

Ashland, southern Oregon. Wednesday, September 9, 2026.

Sunny warmth has reclaimed the valley. 82 F now, today’s high will crest in the low to mid 90s.

News rocks me my wife every day. Especially these things which Trump claims.

Trump’s latest claims center around what a hero he was on 9/11, down there with a large construction crew, trying to help. Witnesses and reports from that time do not show a heroic Trump anywhere near the twin towers.

The question that hits me is, does Trump believe this fantasy that he’s created about what happened a quarter century again? If so, my concern about his mental state, already very high, given his control of our weapons and his habit of putting his supporters in subordinate positions, to much higher levels.

The other piece of that puzzle is, if Trump isn’t so delusional that he actually believes his fantasy and lies, what drives him to lie like this? And that’s equally scary, because he’s now deliberately trying to twist facts, truth, and history to pretend that he’s someone else.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

To what ends does Trump make these lines? To keep control and make himself look better, it seems. And to me, a person willing to do these things to maintain control and power is extremely unpredictable.

The other news rocking me was Germany’s right-wing party gaining strength and winning elections. We’ve already fought one destructive war which resulted in millions being killed.

It’s sobering that Donald Trump eagerly embraced AfD’s election win in Germany. The memory of World War II—where the United States and allied nations fought a devastating global war to defeat the Nazi regime after the far-right seized power in Germany in 1933—remains a cornerstone of the modern international order and the U.S.–Germany alliance. To me, this points to exactly where Trump is moving the nation.

Finally, wearying me today is the chaos around Missouri’s congressional map. Various court decisions about GOP efforts to keep Democrats out of office are out there across the land, so I think we’ll be seeing more of this midterm chaos.

My wife and I discussed these stories and others this morning. She concluded, “I struggle to feel balance. It seems like every other day brings some news that rocks me.” I agreed with her.

My Neurons pounced on ‘rock me’. I immediately had “Rock Me” in my morning mental music stream. This is a bluesy 1987 hard-rock offering from Great White. Maybe you’re familiar with it.

I hope your day brings you a sense of beauty, renewal, and good health.

Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music — Clocks

Ashland, southern Oregon. Tuesday, September 8, 2026.

I hope everyone had a good weekend.

It’s warming here again. 54 F at my house this morning. Sunshine and the fronts, which could be the name of a rock band but isn’t, are expected to warm us into the high 80s today. While the sky is blue over our green and brown landscape, clouds varnish it with gray.

One of the things about holidays in the US are SALES! We used to be inundated with mailers and radio and television commercials about how the sales.

Well, I stream and don’t watch over the air or cable channels so I had none of those. Heard nothing on the radio about the sales this year. Nor were there flyers in the snail mail.

Never fear, they sales were shown in the mail inbox. I always have a huge collection of offers. Not the old Viagra stuff, no. This is the standard LOOK AT WHAT WE’RE SELLING AT GREAT PRICES STUFF. Lot of subscription offers. Last chances to REALLY SAVE was going to end LAST NIGHT.

The sales ended. I bought nothing. Some things don’t change. I’m sure I’ll have more chances in the future, despite their declaration that this was my LAST CHANCE. I just need to click through my mail, trashing all these GREAT OFFERS.

Meanwhile, I’m worrying about our fellow humans in Hawaii as another storm bears down on them.

Do we have a Salute Gate brewing? Trump failed to return the Marines’ salute when he left Marine One. Remember how conservatives raised a storm about President Obama saluting with a coffee cup? I’m sure this will be worse…not. Trump Double Standards are strictly enforced.

I love trackers and appreciate and respect the people that put them together for us.

I already regularly check the National Debt Clock, watching as the numbers spin and climb, showing exactly how much more debt we as a nation are in by the second.

Then there’s the IranWarClock. This displays how long the Trump Iran War — TIW for short — has been going, and how long it’s been since Trump said it would be over. Thanks to this site, I know that Trump has shifted the TIW’s timeline eight times, and that it has now been going on 192 days.

Now, Daily Kos has pointed me toward one developed by Watson School of International and Public Affairs at Brown University: the Iran War Energy Cost Tracker. This tells us how much the TIW is costing our nation to the second. It then helpfully shows how much more each American household is paying for energy thanks to the TIW.

Then there’s the Measles Outbreaks tracker to see what’s going on with measles in the US and around the world.

GasPricesLive is good to compare how much we’re paying for gasoline per gallon.

For more fun, you can go to the Trump Timer, which shows how many days until his second term ends.

It’s all just information. Facts and figures. History.

All this thinking about clocks, trackers, and time has The Neurons busy with rock songs about time in my morning mental music stream. Among these are “Time Won’t Let Me” by the Outsiders, “Clocks” by Coldplay, and “Time” by The Alan Parsons Project.

There are other songs — Cher, The Doors, Jim Croce, BB King, Chicago, the Rolling Stones, the Guess Who…it’s a long list.

But here we go, with “Clocks” by Coldplay and “Time Won’t Let Me” by The Outsiders.

May you have the time and will to do all you need and want to do.

Cheers

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Monday’s Theme Music — Moon Man

Ashland, southern Oregon. Monday, September 7, 2026.

Our valley will warm back up today. It’s 52 F now but the high is supposed to be in the upper 70s. Sunshine and blue sky are all my vantage offers. Warmer tomorrow, in the low 80s, and low 90s by Wednesday.

It’s Labor Day in the US. Happy Labor Day! Labor Day used to mark the unofficial end of the summer and the start of the autumn and school year when I was growing up. As I moved to other areas, I discovered the school year starting in August as districts frontloaded the school calendar in anticipation of school closures for snow days.

This is one of those holidays Mom enjoyed as family. It usually meant a gathering and cookout. I feel fortunate to have such memories of enjoying life, delicious food, fun company.

For today, there is no cookout. We’re going to friends later for dinner and games. I go on with my normal routines.

Trump launched another part of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! last weekend. He’s been making some outrageous claims by changing the names of places, generating AI images, and doing his pathetic little kicks dance. And Trump changed his hair style to some very ugly reviews. He’s even trying to fix the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool — again — crowing — again — how great it’ll be, which stirred a lot of mocking about him and his previous claims, and the amount of money Trump has spent trying to fix it.

With all that bad press happening, Trump went to the net and — quick. LOOK — SQUIRREL!

“THE MOON IS OURS”

Yes, that’s Donald Trump, current Oval Office occupant, highest elected position in the land, acting like a cartoon villain.

Just to prove how much of a fool he is, and keep us distracted, Trump also floated changing New Mexico’s name.

Trump Floats Renaming New Mexico as ‘New America,’ Prompting Pushback

I’m sure MAGAzens are chortling, “Look how Trump is owning the libs!” Meanwhile, they’re paying a lot more for food and gas. For example, gas prices on Labor Day 2024 were about $3.29 a gallon. Thanks to Trump, they’re at a record Labor Day high.

Fuel prices at record Labor Day high in US thanks to Iran War and refinery issues

The gas price per gallon US average is $4.14, 32 cents per gallon more than the previous record, set in 2012.

Affordability remains a crisis in the US, Trump’s war with Iran is dragging on — 191 days and counting — he hasn’t released the Epstein files…it’s a long list of failures and broken promises.

That’s the Trump legacy.

That’s the MAGA legacy.

In honor of Trump’s absurdity, my morning mental music stream is gushing with songs about the moon. So many are out there…”Dark Side of the Moon” punched in fast. But I ended up with “Man on the Moon” by R.E.M.

Sample Lyrics

Mott the Hoople and the Game of Life
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Andy Kaufman in the wrestling match
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Monopoly, twenty-one checkers, and chess
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Mister Fred Blassie in a breakfast mess
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Let’s play Twister, let’s play Risk
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
See you in Heaven if you make the list
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Now, Andy, did you hear about this one?
Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Andy, are you goofing on Elvis?
Hey baby, are we losing touch?

If you believed they put a man on the moon
Man on the moon

If you believe there’s nothing up his sleeve
Then nothing is cool

The 1992 song was a tribute to comedian Andy Kaufman. It’s also about questioning truth, history, and reality, and losing track of these things. It’s a suitable song to reflect what we seem to be seeing from Trump and his long, very public decline.

As always, I wish the best for you and yours on this day as well as every other day.

Cheers

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Your Trump Quotes of the Day

Donald Trump continues pretending that he’s doing so well — and so are we!

After claiming that the US won the war in Iran which Trump started back in February, the US is now escalating it.

Iran is warning of more attacks on the US. It’s the tit for tat phase of the war, which Trump says isn’t a war. The GOP agreed it’s not a war. Beyond what it’s doing to Iran and the loss of life, the war is costing We the People. Estimates range from $37B to over $100B, with heavy hits to munition and equipment levels, such as Reaper drones.

Being a child of the sixties who joined the military in 1974, I can’t help but see parallels between Trump’s escalation with what happened in Vietnam. Operation Rolling Thunder was specifically designed to disrupt North Vietnam’s ability to supply the war in the South; impose costs on Hanoi until its leadership decided continuing the war was too expensive; demonstrate U.S. resolve; and eventually force political concessions.

Back then, North Vietnam adapted and shifted tactics. Despite Trump’s insistence that ‘we already won’ and the ‘US destroyed Iran militarily’, Iran shifted toward drone warfare and demonstrated impressive resilience — emulating the success which Ukraine is experiencing with Russia.

This is a war Trump said would happen if Vice President Kamala Harris won. Trump then did his weave — which the rest of us call lying — and said he never guaranteed a new war.

Like many, I believe that Trump started this war to distract everyone from the Epstein files and what the files revealed about Trump.

Especially when Trump campaigned on ‘no new wars’, complaining that Democrats were often starting wars. He also campaigned on stopping wars, like Ukraine – Russia — which is still ongoing, 18 months after Trump took office.

Once again, Trump’s history shows how much his words are worth.

Go forward with Trump at your own peril. But if he tells you that a bridge is safe to cross, I would definitely seek someone else’s opinion — someone not involved with Trump.

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Sunday’s Theme Music — Waiting

Sunday, September 6, 2026. Ashland, southern Oregon.

I went out with Vee — our visitor cat — to check the weather situation. Heavy gray asserted itself overhead, especially to the south. 48 F, one small cup of blue sky was visible and sunshine was lost behind the clouds. “Doesn’t look like it’ll be sunny today,” I said.

“Yeah, feed me, please,” Vee answered.

‘Bout ten minutes later, rain fell. Ten minutes after than, sunshine crashed through the clouds.

Bottom line for us, it’ll be 68 F as our high, with clouds, rain, and sunshine. More springlike weather on this late summer day. Autumn is on the way.

We can use more rain. Not far away, Emigrant Lake is down to just 4% of itself now because of the long drought and the lack of snow last winter.

All quiet on the family side of life. Last I heard from any of them was the other day, when sister Gina was caught in heavy downpour in Pittsburgh while taking her grandson, now a high school student, home from his clarinet lessons. Winds blew down trees and power lines. Streets were flooding, forces many route changes. But they made it safely. Bonding with weather, I can imagine them remembering this together when he has a family and he’s visiting grandma.

Meanwhile, the White House is pushing forward to stop voting by mail, challenging recent court setbacks in the Roberts Court. I wouldn’t be surprised if they rule that Trump can proceed, 5-4, with Roberts again dissenting, questioning the legality.

Trump’s approval rating remains anchored to about 35% of the nation’s voters. The rest of us disapprove of him. So it’s no wonder that Trump is trying to game the system. That’s how he’s always gotten ahead.

Trump Approval Rating: Underwater in the Newest National Polls

I’m basically drifting right now, waiting for the Roberts Court’s ruling, waiting for the next evolution in the Iran War, waiting for the midterms, waiting, waiting, waiting. I can’t wait until Trump is gone. He’s a pox on civilization.

I ended up with Stevie Nicks and “I Can’t Wait” in my morning mental music stream. The Neurons put the 1985 there because of the song’s title. But Stevie is singing about a different kind of anticipation when she’s waiting.

Sample Lyrics

I can’t wait, I can’t wait
Sometimes she talks to him
Sometimes, well, she’s only dreaming
Then, when she wakes up
Somehow, well, she still believes him
Yes, I know you
Though we’ve been out of touch
Yes, I know you
To be continued, it’s too much, well

Although that final line, “It’s too much”, does fit.

May your day proceed without waits to find out what the hell is going to happen. Be strong and go in peace.

Cheers

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Saturday’s Theme Music — Disgust

Ashland, southern Oregon. Saturday, September 5, 2026.

Labor Day is just around the corner, but it feels like a gorgeous spring day. Warm sun, blue sky, scattered white clouds. Now 65 F, it feels warmer. Yet, as I walk, the wind carries yellow and red leaves past my head. Summer is ending; autumn is coming. Our high will be…70 today.

Today’s music comes from The Stooges. “Search and Destroy” is in my morning mental music stream after I read about Trump’s latest, and the nation’s latest with him in the Oval Office. Feels like Trump is out to destroy all evidence of anything good, all to glorify himself. So sickening.

The song came out in 1973; the title was derived from a newspaper or magazine article about the Vietnam War. The Trump era feels a lot like that period, when Nixon took over and dirty tricks became the new norm for a while, culminating in Nixon’s resignation. We can only hope that Trump will resign but he lacks the intelligence or grace to do so; resigning would require a self-awareness that Trump completely lacks.

May your day be filled with hope and optimism, as well as peace and grace. I think we’ll often need these things going forward in the coming months.

Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music — Let’s Do It

Ashland, southern Oregon. Friday, September 4, 2026.

Another wet and cool, springlike late summer early autumn day. *smile* 58 F with light rain and a full load of clouds. Blue sky sometimes peeks out like a shy young kitten, darting back before we can see that’s it really there. Sunshine comes and goes with even greater speed.

Out in the world, it’s another day of sloppy bad news, mostly because Trump and his administration is still in office, along with those spineless enabling Republicans. Like, they’re crowing about how unexpectedly good the jobs report is when it’s well below what is needed. Then there’s the story about the damage done to the Grand Canyon parks in August — and the Trump administration’s stony silence about it.

More stuff happening on the Mom front, too.

There’s one thing after another. On the one hand, these can be written off as ‘that’s life’. Also, perspective is needed that others have it far, far worse.

Perhaps naively, I remain hopeful for all of us. Optimistic. Polls and commentary feed my hope and optimism. Science. Medicine. So I’m going with “I Got A Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas as today’s theme music.

As the song says, “Let’s do it, let’s do it, let’s do it.” Get rid of Trump and his sycophants, minions, and enablers. Let’s return our nation to a responsible course where most of us were at least trying to be tolerant of others unlike ourselves and realize that we are better when we respect and help one another. Let’s build something better, and work with the world to take on the challenges to lift us all into a more egalitarian and safer, freer future.

Cheers

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