The August Jobs Reports was released. More new jobs were unexpectedly added. It wasn’t levels like we saw under President Biden or President Obama, but it was above the norm for Trump’s second term — although still anemic.
Like many Trump watchers, I’m skeptical of these unexpectedly stronger numbers. Trump fired previous people for reporting the numbers as they were, hiring someone who fit his mold. That’s one.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
July is trickling toward the end, but summer continues unabated. 68 F now, blue skies, etc., high of 91 F today here in our valley.
Mom’s house was supposed to close tomorrow. But we’re uncertain at this point if it will. We will know later today.
Was strangely lethargic yesterday, bereft of energy. Got up early, took the car in for routine maintenance. Came back and I felt like I was being deflated. Slept a great deal. Feel much better today.
The East Evans Creek Fire reached nearly 16,000 acres with more than 230 homes on Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation orders. Despite also threatening roads, bridges and other infrastructure, FEMA denied a firefighting grant application on July 22.
The Row Creek Fire Complex, meanwhile, was at one time the largest fire in the country, sprawling as of Tuesday over nearly 300,000 acres. It’s expected to merge soon with the nearby Brewer Fire. When the application was made, more than 400 people were on Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation orders.
According to the senators’ letter, FEMA denied the applications after a shift in terms — one seemingly small but radical in effect. FEMA’s policy manual states that an FMAG is warranted when a fire “threatens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster,” the senators said, but the agency seemingly determined that fires would only qualify for FMAGs if they might also receive a major disaster declaration, which is a specific designation used for other forms of FEMA assistance.
From what I’ve read of Trump voters, they’re probably (mostly) saying, “That’s okay. He’s doing it to punish the state of Oregon because of their policies. So we’re good with it.” Even if, in punishing the state, these voters are the ones who will take the brunt of the punishment. But they’re staying with him because, he’s Trump, and he tells it like it is and speaks up for them.
Rep. Cliff Bentz (Trump, OR) said nothing about those fires not getting any assistance. Instead, Bentz lavished praise on the Trump administration for providing approval to fight three smaller fires. spe
In Trump Double Standard news, Trump is now doing something that he blasted President Biden about.
Yes, that is classic Trump. Accused President Biden of being out of touch and tired; now that’s exactly how Trump is often perceived. Postured that President Obama played too much golf, while he, Trump, would NEVER golf because he would be too busy — yet, Trump golfs more than any other POTUS. Kept on bashing President Biden about inflation and affordability. Now he says, they don’t matter. Bashed President Biden about being corrupt as he, Trump, makes over $2B from serving We the People in his second term.
Now your Trump Quote of the Day:
This is fascinating. He already has torched the ‘I’m A Great Businessman’ meme. After that, Trump, married three times, convicted of crimes, a serial adulterer, came out about how religious he is. Then he pushed law and order while breaking laws. Alongside that, he preached against shithole countries and people of color. Then he rolled out terrorism, calling ANTIFA — which is not an organization — a terrorist group. Next: the red menace — communism — is back.
That does two things simultaneously. One, it’ll work with some weak minds, just as his other lies found purchase. Some will say, yes, Trump is better for me than my parents ever were!
Second, it’s a terrific new distraction from the rising affordability problem, the Epstein files, the ongoing, growing Iran war, the wretched ‘renovations’ Trump is doing, Trump’s inability to do the job, and his long list of broken promises and outlandish claims.
Most of us see it for what it is. We’ll shake our heads again and then wait, wondering what new distraction and effort will come about from Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!
Today’s song is “Father of Mine” by Everclear. The Neurons loaded the 1998 song into the morning mental music stream after I read and digested Trump’s claim about doing more for me than my parents. I vehemently disagree with that claim.
The song is a bitter tirade about a man feeling abandoned by his father.
Sample Lyrics
Father of mine Tell me, where have you been? Yeah, I just closed my eyes And the world disappeared Father of mine Tell me, how do you sleep? With the children you abandoned And the wife I saw you beat
I will never be safe I will never be sane I will always be weird inside I will always be lame Now I’m a grown man With a child of my own And I swear, I’m not gonna let her know All the pain I have known
May you have a strong day — full of joy, good health, friends and family.
A brief history of Trump claims through the years.
How Epstein is a close friend. Trump will fix affordability; affordability is a hoax! He’ll balance the budget. Iran’s military has been destroyed.
I suspect that if someone confronted Trump with all of these claims, he would scream, “Fake news!” He’d claim, “That’s not what I said.” Then he would attack the one confronting him. Call them vile. Nasty.
That’s his MO. He cannot face the truth and can’t handle the facts.
For the record, affordability is a crisis for many Americans. Oil and gas prices are flirting with record highs.
His war with Iran is nearing its fifth month.
The Epstein files are still not released. The ballroom is still being built, and the US taxpayer is being billed.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Tuesday, July 21, 2026.
Another hot day, but this one is cloudy. 83 F now, we’re destined for life in the 90s. The wind has changed, protecting us from the East Evans Creek Fire. The firefighters to whom we owe so much every year have it 18% contained. The fire has consumed over 16,000 acres, and mopping up is underway.
My younger sister, Gina, has been shepherding the project to move Mom’s things out of her home and sell the house. Part of the project is the collection and review of personal papers. I wrote Mom many letters from my assignments around the world. She kept them all, along with letters from her siblings and mother. My sisters are busy recalling the different eras of Mom’s life: the men she was with, where she lived, what was happening to them. A very chaotic period, it finally settled when Mom got her GED, went on to become a nurse, and bought her house. But for Mom and my sisters, its seems like an anguished period before that.
My two youngest sisters. Gina is on the left. The photo was taken in 2019.
Trump double standards — TDS — are in the news today. Trump has unleashed new retaliatory tariffs on Canada. Trump cites how Canada discriminates against the United States by importing fewer American cars and not selling American whiskey. Trump fails mentioning his history in this: that he began that trade war with Canada, that their ‘discrimination’ emerged because he attacked Canada with tariffs and suggested Canada should be the 51st US state.
Meanwhile, Trump is blasting Iran over human rights violations while he actively undermines human rights in the US. Ignoring due process and legal status — and even court’s decisions to not do things — Trump uses ICE to intimidate people, especially citizens of blue cities, run by Democrats, to coerce them to cooperate with them.
Classic Trump: do as I say, not as I do.
If you’ve been paying any attention, you ought to know this by now. You ought to know that Trump is only out for himself. You ought to know that Trump is vain and self-centered, and tone deaf. It’s all about him and how he can destroy our heritage to improve how he’s perceived.
That’s why Trump has done petty things with his predecessors portraits.
It’s why Trump paved over the historic Rose Garden and tore down the East Wing.
He had to change it all to make it about him.
That’s why he’s trying to rewrite history, enlarging his part while dismissing what women and people of color did. That’s why he’s trying to elevate himself to the same position as the founders.
That’s why he wants a place on Mount Rushmore.
That’s why Trump wants the Nobel Peace Prize.
That is so, so, laughable. Trump has nowhere near intellect of the founders. He lacks backbone, principles, and moral courage. His current active role in trying to curtail freedom, democracy, and voting rights would infuriate the founders. It’s scandalous how he’s enriching himself through the Oval Office, something that the founders actively warned the nation about happening.
President Lincoln famously warned that the United States is more likely to be destroyed from within. Ironic that the one doing so — Trump — likes to compare himself to Lincoln.
Another example of his double standards come via the Epstein file, Algaegate — the Trump Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool cockup — and the Jan 6 insurrections.
Trump and his administration keep hiding the Epstein file, ignoring the victims.
For Algaegate, he had a person arrested and charged with vandalism. In classic Trumpyism, his DoJ has screwed the case up.
For Jan 6, after his supporters were responsible for the death and injury of law enforcement officers and the destruction of Congressional offices, Trump pardoned him.
There is the clear line of Trump Double Standards.
Today’s song in the morning mental music stream is “You Oughta Know”. Alanis Morrisette. 1995. A scathing rebuke of a former lover. Listen to that crowd singing with her:
Lyrics:
And I’m here to remind you Of the mess you left when you went away It’s not fair, to deny me Of the cross I bear that you gave to me You, you, you oughta know
Yep, when Trump goes away, he’ll leave a huge mess.
Trumpsanity continues to rage around the world. Trump orders attacks on Iran based on reasons he said before didn’t exist. Claims the war is not a war. It will be short — just as he said before. Just as he before said that the war was over when it started and has declared it over multiple times.
The aircraft was then heavily modified for royal use. That’s probably what Trump is talking about: all those luxury accoutrements.
Yet, luxury is not what the ultimate aircraft for We the People is all about. Air Force One was made to be safe and secure, not luxurious. Bowing to that, Trump ditched Qatari One, reverting to the old aircraft due to security. If Trump had the balls of steel he’s always making himself out to have, he would have said, “Damn the danger,” and stayed with Qatari One. He didn’t, because he remains a coward.
Struggling with declining popularity and growing problems, Trump wheeled out more distractions via Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!
That doesn’t change anything. The Epstein files are still out there, waiting to be released and fully expose Trump. The economy is still groaning and flailing from the Trump tariffs and rising prices due to the Trump war.
Some excellent posts are out there to help cope with the Trumpsanity.
Annie Asks summarized our political mess and candor in politics in her post, Mitch McConnell, Graham Platner, and Candor in American Politics. Schroedinger’s McConnell — both alive and dead until we see his corporeal vessel — has been generating a lot of press, along with what’s happening with Graham Platner and others running for our nation’s highest offices. It’s a good read to help filter the noise.
Jill Dennison shares John Pavlovitz’s column about Graham Platner, reminding us as Democrats and Progressives in what we don’t want in our candidates in MISSING: Humanity | Filosofa’s Word
Pavlovitz finished his comments:
As the Democrats scramble to choose his replacement and try to salvage a victory in Maine, progressives, liberals, and moderates who are crestfallen today need to remember that in the loftier spaces that transcend politics, this is still a win.
Choosing not to align with indecency always is.
I agree with him. Likewise, choosing not to align with Trumpsanity is a step forward to a better world.
Welcome to the first day of summer for those living above the equator. Sunny skies and 85 F are in our valley’s forecast today. It’s a pleasant 68 F right now.
Of course, if you’re south of the equator, welcome to the first day of winter. Stay safe and warm down there.
Oh, and Happy Father’s Day in the US.
And Happy Pride Month in the US.
Eureka, Utah, has been evacuated due to the growing Iron fire, a somber reminder that we’re in wildfire season. People are out using power tools right now, which is permitted in the early morning, when it’s cool.
It’s a lazy morning for me. Still sobering up from my dreams. Experienced many vivid ones. So I’m being lazy with my theme music, and posting a few things from the net. They caught my attention and add perspective on what continues to go on with the corrupt Trump administration and their leader’s many failures.
On that, I’ll move on. Today’s music is “Lonely Boy” by Andrew Gold. Song came out in 1977. The Neurons set it off in my morning mental music stream after I looked at some photos of Trump at the G7. I thought, wow, he looks so lost. And, well, lonely. Like he has no friends and has no idea of what to do. Because nobody wanted to be with him. They know what a pompous fool he is/
May your days, whether they’re summer or winter, be filled with the warmth of friendship, love, and hope.
Trump reminded everyone we’re at war but also said he’s not going to use the word war because that would need approval. Also, the war that wasn’t a war stopped with the ceasefire in April, even though there’s shooting going on.
At the same time, Trump also told Axios there was “nothing left” to bomb in Iran. Trump also said, “Any time I want it to end, it will end.”
Trump later told supporters at a Kentucky rally that same day that Washington “won” in Iran and the conflict was “over.”
You follow that? We were at war, we were never at war, it’s a mini-war, the war is over, and it’ll be over whenever Trump says it’s over.
Fine, fine pretzel logic.
“We have a war right now, and we’re to what, six weeks? They said, ‘What’s taking so long!’ We were in Vietnam 19 years.” Donald Trump, April 21, 2026.
Technically, the US can’t blockade Iran because that’s an act of war and we’re not at war, although we might be in a ‘mini-war‘.
Lindsey Graham is getting into Trump’s pretzel logic: “If we can take back control of the Strait of Hormuz, it is checkmate. This thing is over.”
George Conway “Interesting. This must be a new kind of chess where you compete to put the pieces back where they were before you smacked them off the board.”
Not everyone is in the stock market. And even if corporations are making profits, not all employees will see much more money, except for in the C suite. People who aren’t in the stock market or a corporate exec paying $4.46 per gallon of gas in the US might not agree that the economy is booming.
Warming up today. 56 degrees, climbing to 75 as the sky goes full blue. After Saturday and Sunday going to the 70s, rain is expected Monday and most of the week, with high temperatures in the mid to upper fifties.
Scanning the news, I read a good piece from Digby, Trump’s El Foldo, about Trump’s Iran deal. They pointed out how Trump raged about President Obama releasing 1.7 billion to Iran.
Trump outdid that, of course, without a shred of self-awareness or irony, releasing 20 billion dollars to Iran according to some news reports. It’s a payoff to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, which were already open before Trump bombed Iran. It’s also a payoff to stop Iran’s nuclear program, which started on a fast track once Trump began his first term and tore up the agreement the United States had with Iran.
That’s the Trump shuffle: one step forward, five steps back.
The NYTimes has obtained Supreme Court ‘shadow papers’ regarding their shadow docket, where they decide cases with little to no explanation. Did not read the documents yet, but I read the reporters take on them. The most infuriating takeaway:
The conservatives reacted to Obama’s use of power very differently from Trump’s.
Yeah, no shit. We’ve known this. Seeing it in print just stimulates my fury about GOP hypocrisy and double standards.
The rest of the papers seem to show that Roberts’ drive was a personal grudge against the Obama Administration and the EPA, and not about legal reasoning, which is something that we’ve long suspected. Roberts is supposedly thinking more about his ‘legacy’ these days; if so, these revelations did substantial damage.
There are also articles about the huge price increase — from $12.90 to $150 — for World Cup spectators to take the train to get nine miles to Met Life Stadium, Trump’s massive, ridiculous monument to himself (the drunk arch), and how much it’s costing to retrofit Qatari’s gift aircraft.
Everything Trump does stinks of ‘me first’. There is little outside of his braying that is ‘America first’. Sending Vance to campaign for Orbán; America first? Really?
And then, just to fuel that extra edge of anger I feel about the Trump administration:
Sure, tell me again the fable that this is all about truth, justice, and the ‘American Way’.
I remain convinced that all of this is still part of Operation LOOK — SQUIRREL! to keep the public from knowing what Trump did with Epstein, which is why all the files are still not released. Trump’s minions have claimed several times that all were released, only to later reveal that more unreleased files exist. Tell me again that they’re not hiding something.
Is it any surprise that My Neurons have Aerosmith serenading me with “Eat the Rich” from 1993 in my morning mental music stream?
Jean Jacques Rousseau originated the phrase, “Eat the rich”, during the French Revolution. Little ironic that a rock band of wealthy successful individuals advocate ‘eat the rich’.
Lyrics
Well I woke up this morning On the wrong side of the bed And how I got to thinkin' About all those things you said About ordinary people And how they make you sick And if callin' names kicks back on you Then I hope this does the trick 'cause I'm sick of your complainin' About how many bills And I'm sick of all your bitchin' 'Bout your poodles and your pills And I just can't see no humor About your way of life And I think I can do more for you With this here fork and knife
Eat the rich There's only one thing that they are good for Eat the rich Take one bite now - come back for more Eat the rich I gotta get this off my chest Eat the rich Take one bite now - spit out the rest
I got a little coffee to wash down a few bites of the rich. I hope you have a significantly satisfying Saturday.
It doesn’t feel like a Twozda. The computer calendar insists it’s Twozda, January 13, 2026. I just don’t feel it.
Alexa and the online weather stations claim it’s 46 F in Ashland. My system claims it’s 30 degrees F. The ground’s hard white frost agrees with me.
Invisible fogs surround us again, and invisible clouds keep the sky’s brilliant blue from glowing with sunshine. I don’t know where Alexa and online systems gather their Ashland weather observations but it’s nowhere near my home.
My weather obsession shifts into news obsessions. I floundered with efforts to reconcile Trump’s statements and activities with law, history, and his campaign promises.
Campaign promises are clearly out. Nikki Haley was once his political opponent. Trump said her foreign policy plans were, “Let’s kill people all over the place and let’s make a lot of money for those people that make the messes.”
Now Trump has ordered military attacks on locations in other nations. His body count is rising. He’s threatened to acquire Greenland, and warned Cuba and Mexico to ‘watch out’, rhetoric that underscores his policies’ growing reach and unpredictability.
And the nation’s wealthiest are getting wealthier. What I see happening from Trump’s policy is completely counter to his campaign promises.
In an Agenda 47 video Trump made and circulated in 2024, he complained about foreign intervention. Trump congratulated himself as “the only president who rejected the catastrophic advice of many of Washington’s Generals, bureaucrats, and the so-called diplomats who only know how to get us into conflict, but they don’t know how to get us out.”
Yet the beginning of 2026, before Trump’s first year was over, had Trump sending in military forces to capture President Maduro of Venezuela. And this week, Trump went further, changing a Wikipedia.org page to show he’s the acting president of Venezuela.
Many progressives like me frequently believe Trump projects when he accuses others. He said the same of golfing in his 2016 campaign. After mocking President Obama for golfing, Trump said he wouldn’t go golfing as President Obama did. “I’m going to be working for you — I’m not going to have time to go play golf.”
Analysis of Trump’s first term activities shows he golfed about 30% of his term. He’s just under that level for his second term, running about 27%.
Really, Trump’s campaign promises are as reliable as many of the local weather observations. They just don’t align with the truth before my eyes.
The disconnects bring on my jaded side. The Neurons noted it all. They came up with a reminder about a Green Day song called “Holiday” for my morning mental stream.
Green Day made it a protest song against Trump during Trump’s first campaign. A video of one performance from that period begins, “Do you want to start a fucking war?” The song goes on from there.
My Neurons knew what they were about. Billy Joe’s angry cynicism fits my developing mood pretty well.
My hope today for you and me and the world is that we quickly find some peace and grace. Meanwhile, brace yourself and be strong. Things don’t seem very predictable for now. Cheers
Meanwhile as Trump has the White House transformed into a shit house more suited to him and his regime, he steps forward with his micro balls to demand that the DOJ reimburse him for past cases.
President Trump is demanding that the Justice Department pay him about $230 million in compensation for the federal investigations into him, according to people familiar with the matter, who added that any settlement might ultimately be approved by senior department officials who defended him or those in his orbit.
The situation has no parallel in American history, as Mr. Trump, a presidential candidate, was pursued by federal law enforcement and eventually won the election, taking over the very government that must now review his claims. It is also the starkest example yet of potential ethical conflicts created by installing the president’s former lawyers atop the Justice Department.
Just as with much of Trump’s behavior, there is no precedence. No precedence for the Supreme Court to rule someone is above the law.
No precedence for a convicted felon to be elected to the nation’s highest office.
No precedence for Trump’s trashing of the U.S. Constitution.
No precedence for Trump’s contempt for due process and law and order.
No precedence for a grifter to eagerly and actively use their position to enrich themselves and their family.
No precedence for a liar using a fake narrative to use the military to attack We the People.
That’s the Trump Regime, the GOP, and Project 2025, unprecedented in their hatred of the United States and their eagerness to destroy it.
Michael Seidel, writer 