Friday, August 14, 2026. Ashland, southern Oregon.
Another cool day in which the high temperature is expected to crest in the mid 80s F again.
More stories are now coming out about the declining situation on the aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln. The ship has been on an extended deployment to support Trump’s war with Iran. The ship has been deployed a record number of days without a port stop.
Trump has not said anything about it. That makes sense; he’s claiming to be rebuilding the military, and has asked for record amounts of more money for that purpose. To find out now that one of the nation’s frontline warships is suffering problems more suited to a *cough* ‘shithole country’ would be another terrible blemish on Trump’s already horrid record.
No, Trump won’t say anything about that. Brace yourself for a new spurt of distractions — texts making insane claims, bold — but faulty — proclamations about how great Trump thinks he is and how wonderful everything is going in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Trump is the overseer of another modern record that will infuriate him:
Regular unleaded is $4.071 per gallon, up from $3.15 at this time last year while diesel has jumped to $5.40 per gallon nationally.
Yowza. That does not play well against the reality that Trump keeps trying to foist onto We the People.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Trump wants an A+ on the economy, with gas prices establishing a new record for this time of year. To me, that’s a failing grade.
Your bonus Trump quote of the day:
Instead of bringing energy prices down, Trump instead brought the global supply chain down via DOGE’s cuts and his tariffs. Then Trump made everything worse by attacking Iran, who responded by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz. That upended the global oil supply chain, which affected almost every other supply chain, driving up costs and prices.
That’s the MAGAts’ Trump: wholly unthinking — except when it comes to himself — irrational, and destructive, taking us all down while he improves his own situation.
What is the point of no return for them?
I have “Point of Know Return” by the prog rock band, Kansas, in the morning mental music stream. This is an energized 1977 song that often has people singing along with the refrain, “How long?” Easy to see how this emerged in my morning mental music stream, given My Neurons’ tendencies. Kind of interesting, but the song is actually about a sailor going off to sea. I think.
May peace and grace bless this and every day for you.
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:
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.
Ashland, southern Oregon. Wednesday, August 12, 2026.
Cooler day today. 86 F is projected as the high while it’s 71 F outside my house right now. Wind is pretty calm and the sky is pretty blue. Pretty sunny today, too. And clear, although Oregon has many fires still burning east, north, and west of us, and California to our south, has some major fires.
Papi and I went outside a short while ago. Vee — my name for Papi’s frequent visitor — was out there. I petted her, gave her treats, and ensured she had water. Papi tolerates her. Vee is a young shorthaired gray tabby with white legs, chest, belly, and paws. Very sweet, friendly, and social, with a silent meow. I think she lives locally, and her people put her out when they go to work, as she arrives at specific times again and again.
A breeze kicked up while we were out there. Honestly felt and sounded like autumn.
The Year of Trump Follies continue. Trump apologists are digging in hard to avoid facing the truth.
“Everybody but Trump” is the GOP chorus when things go downhill, as so much of it is. “It’s all me,” Trump declares when it’s going well, especially when he had absolutely nothing to do with it.
It’s like, they’re resist facts and learning. Trump’s latest Executive Order about vaccines is another facet of their foolishness and ignorance. They’re changing something which has worked for decades to bow to misinformation about autism and vaccines. But hey, that misinformation is popular with the MAGA crowd.
This is double weird given what happened with military recruits and mandatory vaccines in June, just two months ago. The mandatory flu vaccine was dropped; it was now voluntary. Lo, a flu outbreak immediately rose, affecting training and readiness. The mandatory flu vaccine was reinstated forthwith.
Triply weird, when MMR vaccinations are down and measles outbreaks are increasing. Not Trump’s fault, the fools shout. No, it’s not Trump, it’s open Borders! It’s Fauci!
With all the things Trump — and his GOP — have done, he’s now out there trying to scare up more fools to support him. That’s why I have “Find Another Fool” in my morning mental music stream. This was a top twenty hit for Quarterflash in 1981.
Sample Lyrics
You pulled this once… you pulled it twice It’s time you listened to my advice… oh, baby
I’d never take advantage of our love I can’t imagine what you’re thinkin’ of You’re over due… you think this storm is through. Well, baby, I’ve got news for you
When the season of Trump finally ends, it’ll be like recovering from a major storm. So much will need to be fixed, rebuilt, and changed. I’m looking toward the MAGAts to be part of it. They seem beyond being reached at this point. Maybe, someday, that will change.
Not holding my breath.
I hope this day finds you in good health, good times, and good company.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
Got chilly last night — low 60s — which felt awesome. Even now, it’s in the upper 60s and a cool breeze is swimming past. Sky is postcard blue; no smoke or clouds. Expected to be in the mid 90s as our highs.
Mom and sis, Gina, remain at war. I’m surprised it lasted this long. Gina usually tries for another pact. Perhaps, after all attempts have failed, she’s really given up on Mom. Mom, on her side, blames Gina; sees no fault on her end. Mom did ask when her house was closing, which won’t be until after August 14.
It was a night of deep sleep and wild dreams. We have some socializing happening today, so I’m not going to dwell on the news.
Today’s music is “Catch Us If You Can”. This is a Dave Clark 5 song that came out when I was 9, in 1965. I know it because my sister, two years older, was getting into music. She had a DC5 album, along with albums by Freddie and the Dreamers, and Herman’s Hermits. She played them a lot.
Why is the song in my morning mental music stream? I don’t know. The Neurons probably conjured some secret connections with my dreams, thinking, writing, memories, but they’re as revealing as the Sphinx on a hot day.
I hope that you have a satisfying and enjoyable day, and that maybe it has some socializing in it.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
Thursday, August 6, 2026. Ashland, southern Oregon.
Another hot one in store for us. Funny in an odd way but many sources show yesterday’s high for our town as 91 F. But my car registered 104. My home registered 101.5. Other friends had the same experience with their cars, phones, and homes.
Whatever yesterday’s true high was, today expects to clip 100. Smoke is streaking the blue sky, coloring it with gray.
The news from Trumpland continues along fantasy lines. Trump thinks everything is going great. He wants battleships built! And ice-breakers! The latter seems like a sweetheart deal for some other corrupt cohort. Wonder how much Trump will get as a kickback?
With Democrats winning, Trump is wringing his hands and worrying again about stolen elections. Never offers evidence, just claims.
“MY REAL POLL NUMBERS ARE THE HIGHEST THEY HAVE EVER BEEN” Trump claims.
But that is the Trumpster. Is he fantasizing or does he live in a fantasy world? Perhaps he’s just trying to appease his tired, broken ego. Maybe — maybe — others are feeding him this to buoy his spirits. Based on Trump’s track record of making stupid statements and acting like an idiot, he may actually be dumb enough to believe that he’s very popular.
It’s also possible that Trump is making these claims as part of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!
His Iran war is not going well. The US — largest military in the world — needs to resupply itself because Trump and Hegseth have wasted so much. The Trump economy isn’t doing well, either, with growth down and prices up.
As election results rolled in from Michigan, there came a distinct response from Trump that shouted, oh no! Because he immediately began spinning tales from the election theft crypt.
Then there are also more FAFO stories like this one, with MAGAts who proudly voted for Trump now whining about what he’s doing.
The Neurons think that “Hey You” by Pink Floyd is right for this day. I assume that’s why they put it into the morning mental music stream. They specifically channeled these lines:
That’s pretty Trump, getting trapped in his own fantasies while something eats his brain. Our challenge it to keep his fantasy from doing more damage and then rebuilding to recover from it.
May your day progress on solid truth, moving you and yours toward a better place, where we will no longer deal with the madness of Trump.
Ashland, southern Oregon. Wednesday — August 5, 2026.
We hit 101.5 at my house yesterday. That was outside. Inside, we stayed below 80. We’ve yet to run the A/C yet this year — knock wood — as the temperatures drop enough at night to cool the house and land down.
We’ll see if that holds today. Right now, it’s 83 F, on its way to 101 again.
The thing about yesterday’s weather is that it climbed slowly. At one mid-afternoon point, I thought, well, this isn’t bad. 91 then, I thought, maybe we won’t hit one hundred. Then I entered a store, came back out said to myself, holy shit, it’s hot as hell. What happened?
Today, though — hot early, hot fast.
Although there are more fires burning across the United States, we’re still fire-free — knock wood. The smoke isn’t bad, either. We’re fortunate in our neck of the woods; Oregon has topped 2,000,000 acres burned this year. Washington has several large fires going. Portland (OR) now has the worst air in the world, due to the wildfires.
Mom and my sister, Gina, continue their quiet war. Mom turned to her granddaughter, Gina’s daughter — Amy — as the go-between. Amy is rejecting the role. Although Mom helped raise Amy, Amy doesn’t deal well with the tension of being the go-between. Plus, Amy is in college, working on a Masters, and she works. So I help fill the gap.
As 2026 wears on, we’re seeing the shadows of Trump’s thinking, lying, fantasizing, playing out in real time now. It’s all catching up.
“When Trump hits a brick wall now, as president, he just fashions an alternative reality. He can talk up tough financial data or a foreign policy hiccup as though he’s bigging up a tatty property in a real estate prospectus.“
Your Trump Quote(s) of the Day:
This is the same tired claim Trump made in January of this year:
Trump has made this claim dozens of times already. But reality does not back him up. As with many matters, Trump has a basic misunderstanding of how things work. If inflation cools, prices don’t ‘come down’; inflation is a measure of how much they’ll increase.
Trump’s claims about affordability and prices coming down, and being in a ‘golden age’ is just like his Iran War rhetoric. Trump has claimed victory again (April), again (June), and again (July). Yet the war goes on, in August. He keeps trying to distract us from the truth. Not happening, because we’re paying through the nose, and we’re feeling it.
Today’s music is “Shadowplay” by Joy Division. Seems right for today. I didn’t know the song when it came out, and discovered it when The Killers covered it for a movie. I like the original’s sonic approach to the gittar playin’. Good morning mental music stream occupant for these times as Trump’s shadow grows.
Michael Seidel, writer 