Sunshine lit up the room today. It’s Thursday, February 5, 2026, in Ashland but the weather defies that date. Papi and I went out to the back patio and enjoyed sunshine.
“It feels balmy out,” Papi noticed.
“I agree,” I answered.
Oh, wait; reverse that. Papi agreed to me, or so I thought from how he threw himself down and rolled around, inviting a belly rub and purring.
62 F online, my home says it’s 69. White pulled-taffy clouds have a small footprint in the dominant blue sky. Highs might crest 70.
Talking with friends last night, we agreed, nice weather but worrisome for the coming summer’s water needs. Meanwhile, sis sent me photos of her glistening snowclad yard, pretty but 22 degrees.
I showed sis’s snow photo to my wife. “Yes, it’s pretty until it melts,” my wife offered. I agreed.
My wife mentioned that TrumpRx was launching tonight but didn’t think it would do well.
Trump certainly has a chaotic and checkered history that sets his efforts up for doubt. As for TrumpRx, we’ll see. Only time and facts will reveal the truth.
The Neurons pulled a strange song into the morning mental music stream. “Kings and Queens” by Aerosmith came out almost fifty years ago. I knew it from their album but I don’t think I’ve ever heard it on the radio. Yet, there I was, singing it to myself in the kitchen as I fulfilled Papi’s feeding needs.
I suspect the song came up because I’m serving Papi and thinking about recent political developments.
Onward into the day’s mettle with hopes that peace and grace find and carry us. See you on the other side of the coffee cup.
Part of the annual spectacle is the halftime show, which expanded from marching bands in early years to a huge production with significant musical headliners. This year’s show is headlined by Bad Bunny and Green Day.
Bad Bunny is one of the current era’s hottest young entertainers. The Bad Bunny choice has agitated conservatives. Many decree Bad Bunny as a bad choice becausethey want an American, and they don’t like that he sometimes performs in Spanish.
I was floored. A Puerto Rican, Bad Bunny often performs in Spanish, because that’s a natural language in his area. I want to scream at them, “Don’t you understand that Puerto Rico is part of the United States? Bad Bunny is an American.”
Their ignorance is probably one reason Bad Bunny performs in Spanish.
Dry but cold and sunny, Wednesday, February 4, 2026, has begun its 24-hour Ashland residency. 50 – 46 – 37 F are Ashland’s temperatures, given by Alexa, online, and home. Sunny, with blue skies and no clouds that Papi and I can see. A high of sixty-something is projected.
I’m thinking about beats today. Give me a beat, we got the beat, we were beat, they beat him down.
Every day — every hour — has its beats. Sometimes they come out sharp and clear. Today, they’re muted background noise for me.
Reading a novel for a bit doesn’t reveal the day’s beats. Nor does reading the news. Yet the beat goes on.
Papi has his beat, moving with private style, a cool and graceful study in orange fur. Bit jealous, watching his steady gaze as he sits, looks, washes.
It’s only February and already the news beat has been manic with news that has me gritting my teeth, bracing for worse. The Neurons have offered up a Foo Fighters tune to blanket the noise. “The Pretender” plays in the morning mental music stream, driving me forward a new, harder beat. The song reminds me, same ol’ story, waiting to see what happens, waiting to hear their defense, waiting for a change back to the nation I knew.
Sample Lyrics
What if I say I’m not like the others? What if I say I’m not just another one of your plays? You’re the pretender What if I say I will never surrender?
The song fits my mood because I often ask of Trump, who are you to issue decrees like a pompous king? And I ask of the MAGAs, who are you that you believe where Trump leads, not just accepting, but supporting and encouraging it?
The morning circle is done. Hope peace and grace find you, me, all of us, and take us tightly through this day and into a better tomorrow.
Cold ruled Ashland last night. Temperatures fell into the high 20s in my zone but, guided by sunshine and clear skies, we’re pressing into the upper 60s today. It’s 57 F now.
I’m late with my posting because early running around was required. My wife’s big do was on Sunday. Maybe things were rented and borrowed. We had to wash and clean it all and returned it today.
The do was a success, celebrating Mary Bergstrom’s fifty years as a exercise instructor with our Family Y. Mary is still going strong after all those years and remains beloved by her students. My wife was asked to organize it and did a great job, although it was intense at times and not without conflict, irritation, and frustration. It’s all done now, another memory to pull out.
Meanwhile, as I watch Trump’s grip on the United States flailing, as shown in approval polls, he joked about canceling the 2026 elections, and then mused about taking over elections in ‘some’ states. Those would be the states run by Democrats, blue states which challenge his assault on our norms, traditions, and laws.
Many, including me, immediately jumped up with notice that Trump is always insisting that he’s for state rights, the foundation for his moves to reduce the Federal government’s size and regulations. As always, Trump’s logic is conditional. He’s for something until it’s in his interests to be against it. In short, whatever most benefits Trump will be his political position.
Personally, I consider this another distraction tactic. He distracted from the Epstein files with ICE surges and military actions amid more threats to sue others. Meanwhile, he also tore down the White House East Wing, obsessed over Greenland, and whined against not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He also declared affordability was a hoax, but that inflation was ‘fixed’, like he’d darned a hole in a sock.
So now, here we go again, with Trump defiling something that works under the guise, “It’s broken and only he can fix it”. We hear this from him, yet he keeps breaking more things, making things worse for many of us. All I’ll say about it now.
For music today, The Neurons have me humming, “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues”, as it plays in my morning mental music stream. The 1983 Elton John offering is a mellow reflection of love, living, remembering, and being, easily slotting into my state at the moment.
I hope that life brings you grace, peace, and good health today and every day. Cheers
February 2, 2026, in Ashland. Colder today, as a cold front moved in last night. The sky was glassy clear and the moon boomed with bright light as temperatures fell into the high 20s. We’re recovering now, with temps up to 41 already under sunny conditions. Another dry day, we’re on our way to highs in the upper 50s to low 60s.
Reviewing the weather, much of North and South Carolina received more snow today than we’ve received all winter. We’re not a ridiculously snowy place in Ashland but it usually snows enough to paint the world white for a few days. If I was a conspiracy guy, I’d suggest that some evil overlords are testing a weather machine, aiming to see how the southern U.S. copes with winter conditions.
Speaking of evil overlords…
Trump’s shifted position on his aggressive immigration Minnesota policy. Daily Kos had a good summary, Why Trump is finally waving a white flag in Minnesota. Daily Kos points out, Alex Pretti is the reason for Trump’s shift.
ICE agents killed Alex Pretti in January in Minnesota during an ICE raid. Recorded by Minnesotans on their phones, the official narrative of another ‘domestic terrorist’ didn’t fit — Alex Pretti was young, white, male, an employed VA nurse, who arrived with a legal gun. Stacking this on top of the other narratives of death and violence, such as Nicole Good’s shooting death, Trump’s logic was suddenly toppling, taking his approval ratings with it.
That, as Daily Kos documented, is why the situation is changed in Minnesota.
Personally, I think it’s a victory. More critically, it reinforces the power of showing up, getting involved, and being witness, along with using phones to record what’s happening.
I expect Trump will launch another Minnesota surge in a different location. Trump’s softening stance is a politic move, not a change in attitude. He remains a bully, employing intimidation in attempts to dominate.
Another example of that tactic rose today, as Trump threatened to sue the Grammys over a Noah Trevor joke making fun of Trump.
“Noah said, incorrectly, about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. Wrong. I can’t speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight’s false and defamatory statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media,” said Trump. “Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast. It looks like I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$.”
That bully, Trump, isn’t changing. We the People must remain alert to respond and stand up for our rights and each other, again, again, and again.
Reading over my shoulder, The Neurons were stirred to bring up a 1971 John Lennon, “Power to the People”. This is a cover made by Tom Morello, Bruce Springsteen, Ike Reilly, Al Di Meola, Rise Against on January 30, 2026, in Minnesota.
Power to the people Power to the people Power to the people Power to the people
[Chorus] Power to the people Power to the people Power to the people Power to the people, right on
February entered Ashland looking just like January’s little sibling. No snow or precipitation, blue sky mottled with slivers of nascent white clouds, 37 F but climbing quick under solid sunshine. We expect a high of 54 F today, not bad if you can get it, but we need snow.
Back east, that is not a problem as videos with one headline proclaiming, “Bomb cyclone explodes, dragging Arctic blast over US states”.
Sure is true where my family resides in Pennsylvania. Sis sent a flurry of photos of the snow still embracing her area. She asked if I was aware that Mike Seidel was on the air over on Fox Weather. I wasn’t aware, I answered, because I don’t watch Fox Weather or Fox News.
I do and did watch other news and was pleased that five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos is back home in Minneapolis with his father. His father sought asylum from Ecuador in the United States when the Border Patrol decided he was here illegally, shipping the father and son to a Texas detention center. Homeland Security, Border Patrol, and ICE all insist that they didn’t arrest or detain the five-year-old but didn’t give a term for what it was.
SNL gave us some laughter with a terrific skit about a diehard MAGA mom, but I wondered how much truth the humor harbored.
Another piece of SNL humor touched on the news cyclone around Trump in their cold open. They suggested the Minnesota ICE surge was to distract from the Epstein files being released, but then the Epstein files had to be released to distract from the ICE violence in Minnesota.
Papi the ginger floof again provided me with theme music. For whatever reasons, Papi came in from outside charged around the house, reversing directions and fishtailing like he drove a getaway car. Watching that as I laughed, The Neurons spun “I Get Around” by the Beach Boys in the morning mental music stream.
Hope this Sunday finds you with peace, grace, warmth, and safety as the second month of 2026 takes over. Cheers
Ashland settles into Friday, January 30, 2026, with a long sigh of clouds. 46 F now, we don’t expect it to get much hotter or colder. We’re still looking for our first winter snow.
In other U.S. regions, snow and ice remain big problems. Power outages continue, communities are digging out, but more snow is on the way in several places.
Turning to political ICE, ICE remains a problem for too many as another ICE detainee’s January death was a homicide. Add Geraldo Lunas Campos to the list of deaths beside Keith Porter, Renee Nicole Good, and Alex Pretti.
A new story highlights that ICE is converting warehouses and industrial buildings located by 23 towns around the United States. Each is expected hold thousands. Concerns emerge about the conditions of those buildings and the impact on local fresh water supplies. The Trump ICE team plows on regardless of worries that We the People express. Trump is in charge, and ICE is going to remind you, it’s the Trump way or else.
These new Trump ICE facilities are in addition to existing facilities.
Trump was called out for lying — again. The subject was California and Walmart. Trump claimed that California’s minimum wage was too much for WalMart, and WalMart was closing stores. Trump stated that California’s minimum wage is $22 per hour but it’s $16.90, except for fast-food workers, paid $20 per hour.
Trump claimed WalMart was closing 250 California stores. “This isn’t accurate information,” an unnamed Walmart spokesperson told CNN. “In fact, we actually just recently opened a new store in California.”
CNN calls Trump’s claims ‘wildly inaccurate’. Based on Trump’s extensive catalogue as a serial liar, I think Trump’s claims can safely be declared another lie.
The Neurons have Faith No More singing “Epic” from 1990 in the morning mental music stream.
“Epic” Lyrics
Can you feel it, see it, hear it today? If you can’t, then it doesn’t matter anyway You will never understand it, ’cause it happens too fast And it feels so good, it’s like walking on glass It’s so cool, it’s so hip, it’s alright It’s so groovy, it’s outta sight You can touch it, smell it, taste it, so sweet But it makes no difference ’cause it knocks you off your feet, say
The song mostly just rhymes to a heavy beat, challenging you to follow the logic. It fits as today’s theme music because following such hollow logic is how it is for me with MAGA and Trump. What’s the logic, and how does it hold?
I find many Trump and MAGA claims effectively hold up as solidly as a brown paper bag in water. Affordability and the assertion that Trump is the Peace President — and a unifier — sit at the top of the messed-up logic pyramid. MAGA and Trump both keep squirming away from the truth, but the truth is rising faster than the new Trump ballroom.
The trick at this point is not to become inured or complacent, or as worse, too weary and drained to respond. Thom Hartmann wrote about the dangers, and Jill Dennison shared it for us. A good read, it’s a necessary reinforcement, this is not the end or beginning; we’re in the middle.
I hope peace and grace finds you and keeps you warm, safe, strong, and healthy — today and every day. Cheers
Thursday, January 29, 2026, arrived in Ashland, bleakly overcast, 46 degrees. A high of 55 F is forecasted for us.
“Looks like rain,” my wife said. I nodded, agreeing. Papi meowed for food.
We need snow but it’s been a while since we’ve had serious precipitation in Ashland, invoking drought memories. With drought comes more wildfires, stirring recall of the 2020 Almeda fire, which destroyed several neighborhoods, almost wiping out entire towns. Rebuilding continues more than five years later.
It feels like it echoes Yogi Berra’s observation, “It’s deja vu all over again.”
I met with friends for beers and chats last night. As we discussed ICE in Minnesota and the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, two members reminded us of another ICE killing. Keith Porter was killed on December 31st in Los Angeles. He had a rifle and was shooting it into the air to celebrate the New Year. Not illegal, but an off-duty ICE agent shot and killed Keith Porter for it.
Three dead, all from innocuous actions. ICE’s record for killing U.S. citizens while aggressively hunting ‘illegal immigrants’ darkly disturbs me.
I hope there will be justice for Keith Porter, Renee Good, and Alex Pretti. I’m not sure if that’s possible in the U.S. with Trump in charge. Trump suggested that Renee Good was a terrorist who deserved to die, an allegation given without evidence.
More depressing, those three deaths are just the headline news. Other reports have ICE is responsible for the deaths of eight people in 2026. It’s not even the end of January yet.
Some glimmer of optimism was found on Daily Kos. Mark Sumner summarized how Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who killed Renee Good, might be prosecuted, citing previous legal rulings and the courses which might be followed. I read it and took deep breaths.
I’m not overly hopeful but there is a glimmer. Part of my negativity stems from several simple facts in the cases and rulings Sumner cited: law enforcement killing citizens is more deja vu all over again.
Trying to break out of the cloud of general malaise now falling on me, The Neurons have a Cake song organized in the morning mental music stream. My friend and I were chatting last night, and I was telling him about this song, “Short Skirt Long Jacket”. He wasn’t familiar with it, though I sang it to him and everything. Should have just pulled out my phone, right? I realized that an hour too late.
Anyway, the bouncy song is now rooted in me, so let’s play it, sing along, and maybe smile a bit.
May peace and grace find us and save us from this cycle of ICE killing, and may justice be served. Cheers
Much of North America appears to be trapped in snow and ice. Ashland is dry and 45 F under a blue and white sky with a potential high of 55 F. It’s Wednesday, January 28, 2026. I keep hoping for some snow in the Cascade to build up the snowbank needed to carry us through summer and fall.
Several friends and family members are trapped in Winter Storm Fern’s aftermath. Meteorological forces have the cold air locked into place, so snow and ice will likely hang around for several long days. Power outages remain in eastern Texas, spreading east across several southern states, up into Tennessee. The death toll is 50 to 58 at this point. FEMA updates show that some hybrid hotshot crews are being deployed to help clear debris and set up generators where they can. Early days, yet.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump seems trapped himself. He’s put at statements that he’s trying to de-escalate confrontations and violence between ICE and the citizens of Minnesota. But Trump made comments that do the opposite on Truth Social.
Meanwhile, an ICE agent attempted to enter the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis. DHS denies this, but video evidence exists, contravening — again — DHS claims about what’s going on.
The Neurons chose the Allman Brothers Band’s cover of “Soulshine” for a residency in my morning mental music stream. It’s because, for me, things seem calmer and cooler than in previous days of 2026. I wait to see whether this is a false dawn or a signal of true change.
“Soulshine” by Warren Hayes works because of its message that it can get better.
I grew up thinking that I had it made Gonna make it on my own Life can take the strongest man Make him feel so alone Now sometimes I feel a cold wind Blowing through my aching bones I think back to what my daddy said He said, “Boy, there is darkness before the dawn”
I hope it becomes better for all of us, whether we’re in the United States as citizens, or people in other nations. The color, gender, political affiliation doesn’t matter in my thoughts. We need to work together to help one another remains my bottom line.
Best of luck today and every day. May peace and grace find, guide, and hold you. Cheers
Tuesday slid into Ashland under a cloud. 46 F out, rain and sunshine are expected today, January 27, 2026. Our high will be in the mid-fifties.
Buoyed by a powerful dream, I’m in an upbeat and optimistic mood today. I know a lot of crap is going on in the world and many people have it bad. That weighs on me and yet, I feel empowered today.
A friend sent me an interesting video. It’s all AI. My Neurons urged me to use it as today’s theme music. I’ll do so. It’s a catchy punky-influenced tune, made with AI’s help. The chorus has found a home in my morning mental music stream. From Sean Hayes at Scaredketchup, here is, “ICE, F**k You”.
I hope you’re in an upbeat, optimistic place despite the world load, and that it leads to a happier place for all of us. Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 