Tag: opinion

Tuesday’s Theme Music — Walk On

Ashland, southern Oregon. Tuesday, August 25, 2026. We’re into August’s final week. September begins next week.

Cooler day today. Cloudy this morning, there remains plentiful sunshine. 73 F, we’ll climb to 94.

Mom fell from her bed yesterday at the assisted living facility. We don’t know details, whether she rolled off or slipped off while sitting or missed the bed when she tried sitting on it. My niece, May, visited there yesterday and reported that the bed is very high. Mom texted me, the fix-it man was supposed to fix it but couldn’t because he was the cook. ?

Gina visited there today and reports, yes, it’s a tall bed. It’s stripped and she saw that it’s two thick mattresses. I asked, “Has it always been this tall?” Yes; this is the same bed Mom has used since arriving in February.

Mom has now been there a half year. It’s been a tumultuous time.

My wife and I are pissed about the Roberts Court decision regarding mail-in ballots. Basically, the POTUS, who has nothing to do with voting. That’s the states and Congress. But the Roberts Court walked a very fine line. Oh, the states filed too soon because they’re not yet being harmed by Trump’s efforts.

WTAF.

Not that Trump’s action are legal or illegal, or if has the authority to do this, etc. No, let’s wait and see, the Roberts Court declared. Kick it down the road. Wait till the election gets fucked up because the USPS isn’t delivering ballots. Then they’ll talk about it.

I was a conspiracist, I’d say the Roberts Court is trying to walk us into the state of midterm election chaos Trump wants so Trump can step in and declare an emergency.

Election fraud is another Trump boogey man. Just like his racism and his commie screams, he uses these words to instill fear and manipulate others.

Evidence of the voting fraud Trump screeches about is as scant as the cancer caused by windmills. Trump’s claims make as much sense as he did when he declared he’d lower prescription drug prices by more than 100%.

Trump is a weak person who thinks himself strong. I suspect the midterms will be as messy as Trump’s Iran War — reaching six months now, after he claimed it would be over in weeks — the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool fiasco, or the White House ballroom. It’s another case built on lies and false claims. It’s as reliable and substantial as AI-generated pictures of Trump as Jesus or Superman, or Trump with George Washington.

That is Trump: a fake. A con. A charlatan.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Trump has always called himself a great negotiator. But progress with Iran and Canada both verify, no, Trump is not a great negotiator. Despite Trump claims about what was done to Iran, the war continues. Prices continue rising and the affordability crisis grows.

Now, Trump’s negotiations with Canada has resulted in yet more pain for US consumers.

WSJ is dumbfounded by Trump’s dumb beef with Canada: it just ‘got dumber’

That’s Trump, too: dumb, and dumber.

Thinking about the court’s narrow approach, The Neurons gave me “Walk On” by U2 in the morning mental music stream. The song came out in 2000.

Sample Lyrics

And if the darkness is to keep us apart
And if the daylight feels like it’s a long way on
And if your glass heart should crack
And for a second you turn back
Oh no, be strong

Walk on, walk on
What you got they can’t steal it
No, they can’t even feel it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight

Yes, Trump is the darkness, trying to tear our nation apart.

Walk on. Stay safe. Be strong.

Cheers

2

The Trump Logic

I laughed today, reading a few articles about Trump. For example, this one:

Haberman reveals why Trump ignores his own team’s plea to stop voter revolt

“During a Monday morning appearance on MS NOW, author and journalist Maggie Haberman revealed that President Donald Trump’s own team pleaded with him to address voter anxieties, but he has so far seemed content to ignore them as the midterms approach.“

I laughed because Trump has demonstrated that he’s so out of touch, it’s gone beyond surreal. As further news emerges about Trump’s relationship with Natalie Harp, I think she’s influencing him, bolstering ideas that Trump is doing great. So, ipso facto, if Trump is doing great, as he believes, he has no reason to change.

Secondly, I would not be surprised if Trump is already planning to declare an emergency, and in fact to create an emergency to intervene in the 2026 elections or even suspend them. Everyone except Republicans would be in an immediate uproar. What’s really scary in this scenario is that the courts would probably tell Trump that he lacks the authority, but the Roberts Court would probably let Trump do so while they schedule arguments.

Trump and his Project Heritage puppet masters, are expecting that. They’ve been probing the judicial system to see how it reacts to different situations and arguments. They know which courts and judges favor Trump. And they also see how much legal leeway Roberts is giving Trump.

It would be so weirdly Trump: he would simultaneously claim — as he has — that crime and violence is down and everything is great — but also declare an emergency because of how bad everything is.

At the same time, Trump has repeatedly argued that the economy is strong and that his economic record will help Republicans in the 2026 midterms.

When talking about the economy, Trump likes to say that we’ve entered a golden age. He then recites a laundry list of ‘good things’. The thing is, those measurements are typically the metrics for the wealthy.

Outside of the wealthy, the economy sucks. The national debt is at a record high. Dominos fall from that. Bond rates increase; interest rates rise; the housing market suffers.

Gas and diesel fuel prices are up. That drives up the cost of everything, including just going to the store to buy things. With prices up, people have to spend more to buy less.

Back to school sales will be a tell about the economy; so will the upcoming holiday months. But retail sales are trending down YTY for the same period, not a good sign. Although places like Walmart say they’re going to counter by slashing prices by using refunds of tariffs they paid, how much can they significantly offset. More importantly, in parallel to that, Trump is adding more tariffs, and energy prices are ticking upward.

The bottom line of that: the government gives retailers money back for tariffs because the Roberts Court ruled against them. Then retailers use some of it to reduce prices. But Trump imposes new tariffs that push costs back upward.

And Trump knows that his tariffs are costing consumes, even though he previously said that they don’t. That takes us to quotes about what Trump has said about affordability, prices, and tariffs.

Your Trump Quote(s) of the Day:

So, I get it!

According to Trump, he’s going to address affordability, and bring prices down on day one, except affordability is really a Democratic hoax and doesn’t matter, and he doesn’t care anyway. And affordability — that Democratic hoax — is better under Republicans, even though prices are higher and trending to go higher yet. Also, consumers don’t pay tariffs but he’s suspending beef prices to lower prices for you.

If you believe that, Trump has a bible to sell you, religiously used for him to pray every night.

Listening to Trump has all the exasperation and weariness of dealing with a toddler, except toddlers are make a lot more sense.

Joey Politano put it best:

“[E]very 6 months the Trump administration realizes lowering tariffs will lower prices, applies this insight to one specific good, and then proceeds to never introspect beyond that,” he wrote in a post on X. “It’s honestly beautiful in its stupidity.”

Even more beautiful in an ugly way is how so many MAGAts still trust and believe in Trump. Because the direction Trump has taken us in the United States is what they want.

That’s the Trump logic at work.

6

Saturday’s Theme Music — Unravelling

Saturday, August 22, 2026. Ashland, southern Oregon.

Although the clouds have departed and sunshine spreads across a blue sky, today’s temperatures are cooler. 68 F now — feels like 70 something — 86 F will be our high.

Like many others, I’m reading about Trump, Natalie Harp, and Trump’s desperate efforts to win support. It’s unravelling for him.

2026 is becoming the year in which nothing goes right for Trump. Sure, he made a lot of money last year — $3B. But after bragging about how good the economy would be under him and proclaiming a golden age, Trump gets the honor of being the Oval Office resident as the national debt rockets past $40T and climbing.

Gas prices are up. Diesel prices are climbing. Beef prices are still up. Trump’s Iran war goes on. People still ask, what do the Epstein files reveal about Trump that Trump is dodging their release.

Then there’s Natalie Harp. Lo, this blonde looks much like his daughter, making us all gag with memory about Trump’s earlier suggestions about dating her. Natalie Harp, aka the Printer and the Human Binky, is Trump’s constant companion and his wall against the world. He was very upset when people said things about her.

Predictably, Trump launched more Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!

Trump puts his face on Reflecting Pool water in algae green during latest posting spree

Does that shout WTF, or what? Certainly crazy of him because it draws attention back to a series of humiliating setbacks. Trump scorned previous administrations’ efforts to fix it. Trump also said, “Our job will take one week and will cost about a million and a half dollars.”

Trump also said, “This will last for at least 50 years and you’ll never have a leak. It’s very strong. You couldn’t — if you had a knife, I don’t want to give anybody ideas — if you had a knife you can’t even cut it.”

LOL.

“THE FACTS: Work is ongoing 15 weeks later. The pool was drained for a second time in mid-July to address returning algae blooms and issues with a new coating that was peeling. Trump’s estimates of the project’s cost have increased as work has progressed, to “less than $20 million.” Records show that more than $16 million worth of contracts have been awarded for the project so far.”

h/t to AP News

So why did Trump put his face on the pool, which many now call symbolic of his shambolic administration?

Maybe he didn’t.

It’s possible that Natalie Harp posted it on behalf of Trump, trying to coax a smile out of that dour old orange peel face. Because posting on social media on Trump’s behalf is part of Natalie Harp’s official duties.

Trump’s face on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool isn’t likely to improve his tanking poll numbers. Trump knows that. So he pulled another trick out of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!

Trump Announces Beef Tariff Relief — and Takes Jab at Biden — in Bid to Cut Prices

Anyone with half a brain would know that Trump’s move would irritate ranchers and beef producers. Tragically, there’s not half a brain within all of the Trump administration put together.

Pushback was almost instant.

Republicans revolt over Trump’s beef tariff relief: Will ‘further harm’ MAGA

This is so catastrophically funny. Trump imposed the beef tariffs. That, with the actions he took to cut out trading partners and his war with Iran, has raised prices. Now, desperately trying to do anything to improve his numbers, he’s actually going against his own tariffs and war.

Trump is basically warring with himself. Of course, with all of it, it’s always someone else’s fault.

Doesn’t matter who Trump tries to blame. He’s made a mess of the United States, and now he’s unraveling.

And all of it was predictable way back when he began his presidential campaign back in 2015. We knew he was a fraud, liar, and inept, a con who cheated his way to apparent success.

But there’s a sucker born every minute. Trump managed to con them into voting for him.

Thinking about Trump unravelling caused The Neurons to bring up one of my favorite unravelling songs. Weezer came out with “Undone” back in 1994. The song quickly became known as “Undone – The Sweater Song”.

Sample Lyrics

If you want to destroy my sweater
Hold this thread as I walk away (As I walk away!)
Watch me unravel I’ll soon be naked
Lying on the floor, lying on the floor, I’ve come undone

h/t to AZLyrics.com

It’s a fun song. Though, truthfully, I shudder to think about Trump lying naked on the floor. *ugh*

I hope you don’t unravel but that your day is carried out with peace and grace, and a tincture of tranquility.

Cheers

0

Facing Truths

It’s getting messy for Trump and the Republicans.

The headline says it all:

‘I’m Not That Informed on National Security,’ Graham Says in South Carolina Debate

That would be Darline Graham, Trump’s choice to replace the GOP senator who died last month. No, not Mitch McConnel, the other one.

Darline Graham is a Trump supporter so it’s no wonder that he chose her; for him, her not being informed on national security is a benefit. He doesn’t know much about national security, either.

Losses are piling up for Trump-backed candidates

“Republican primary voters have now rejected 10 Trump-endorsed candidates for statewide office or Congress this primary season.”

Why are they being rejected? Evidence is still being collected.

I don’t know if the truth is coming out, TBH, the truth being that Trump is self-centered, aging, sick, and incompetent. I think this is more of a FAFO matter that people are voting against Trump: they’re hurting and the future isn’t the rosy scenario that Trump promised and they expected.

Many people seemed to vote for Trump by ignoring his actual record of achievement. They blindly accepted his promises in 2024:

  • No new wars
  • Prices will come down — fast
  • No golfing
  • Law and order
  • Building the military
  • Improving the economy
  • Lowering the national debt
  • Make America healthy again

Everything Trump’s done since he began his second term has resulted in the opposite of his promises.

  • Trump started a war with Iran which reduced military munitions and readiness
  • Prices keep going up, now setting new records for how high they’ve reached
  • Trump golfs over a quarter of the time he’s been in office
  • Political prosecutions and pardons have replaced law and order
  • While the unemployment rate remains roughly 4%, the number of employed Americans are declining
  • Trump is adding no new jobs
  • Measles cases are at a 30 year high

Trump claims we’re in a ‘golden age’ but personal bankruptcies are going up.

Personal bankruptcy filings are soaring in 2026, signaling growing economic distress

“The number of Americans who file for bankruptcy is growing. More than 500,000 people took this step in 2025, nearly 50% more than in 2022. And the numbers have kept on climbing, with a 12% jump in June 2026 from a year earlier as many consumers struggled to pay their bills.”

The bottom line, again is the truth: Trump cares about no one but Trump.

Your Trump Quote of the Day reminder:

Unable to change now, Trump continues with the same con that brought him success, whip-cream claims and empty promises.

Trump’s ‘Golden Age’ Economy Pitch Fizzles With Midterm Voters

“Inside the White House, there’s broad confidence that the administration has a record to run on, one the president will likely be hammering from here to November. But other Republicans, including some people close to the president, are concerned that won’t be enough, especially for candidates running in competitive races. They want him to offer fresh economic plans, such as further tax cuts expanding on last year’s major law that’s central to the GOP economic pitch.”

And yet, with all that’s going bad, Trump thinks it’s going great:

Trump probably wants to be the next POTUS because he’s making so much money off of being in the Oval Office during this term. Besides increasing his wealth by over $3B in 2025, We the People are paying for all of his mistakes. We’re paying for his travel, and we’re paying for his golfing.

Yet, these are only the first manifestations of the many messes Trump has created. By rolling back environmental protections, the impact, via increased pollution, more extreme weather, and more natural disasters, are looming on the horizon.

Likewise, Education, which Trump has gutted, is a ticking timebomb. One of the foundations for US growth in the last century was its strong education system. It wasn’t perfect, and it was uneven, and yet, it offered promise and hope.

The GOP has been actively wrecking it, monetizing it more each year. Trump is accelerating this process, effectively dumbing down America at a time when the challenges we face require more thinking, more knowledge, more education, and more intelligence.

The evidence of Trump’s impact on our education system won’t immediately show. But like all the other mistakes which Trump has made, it’ll soon be as evident as the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the White House lawn.



1

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

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