Wednesday’s Theme Music — Parenting
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.
Trump has denied Oregon funds and assistance for fighting its two largest fires. No straightforward reason given — there was some strange language but it’s probably because Oregon votes blue. The irony is that Trump carried the affected areas.
From the article:
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.
Trump criticized Biden for draining America’s oil reserves. They’re now at a 43-year low amidst a Middle East war
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.
But Trump is losing ground. So now he’s saying, think of me as your parent. Look how much more I’ve done for you than your own parents.
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.
Cheers
Thursday’s Theme Music — Billions & Trillions
Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, July 23, 2026.
Cooler today, although the sky is blue and the sun is brightly shining. 75 F now, we expect a high of 93 F.
The air was much better last night and today, as well. The East Evans Creek Fire is now 38% contained, and there were no flare ups despite yesterday’s strong winds and high heat.
Extraordinary how often things in the news are now measured in billions and trillions. They used to be eye-opening amounts. Now we see them daily in the news:
US House passes record $1.15trn defence bill to fund Iran war
US national debt hits record $39 trillion ($113,616 per person!) and $40 trillion could be right around the corner
Kansas City Chiefs Unveil First Renderings for $3 Billion Stadium Opening in 2031
Google hit with $1 billion in fines as EU braces for Trump battle
Trump made more than $2.2bn last year. Experts say this extraordinary haul is only part of the story
AMD to invest up to $5 billion in Anthropic as part of computing power deal
Meanwhile, down here in the trenches, life is still measured in dollars and cents as we struggle with affordability.
Current U.S. Beef Prices (July 2026)
As of the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data (July 22, 2026), national average retail beef prices are up modestly from last month, with most cuts seeing gains of 0.6%–1.2%. National Average Retail Prices (per pound, USDA Choice cuts unless noted)
- Sirloin Steak (USDA Choice): $14.45/lb — ▲1.2% vs. June, ▲6.6% vs. last year
- Round Steak (USDA Choice): $9.84/lb — ▲0.6%, ▲13.3% year-over-year
- All Uncooked Beef Steaks: $12.88/lb — ▲0.6%, ▲8.5% YoY
- Chuck Roast (USDA Choice): $9.55/lb — ▼0.6% (but still ▲13.2% YoY)
- All Uncooked Ground Beef: $7.14/lb — ▲1.1%, ▲9.8% YoY
- Ground Beef (100% Beef): $6.83/lb — ▲1.2%, ▲9.1% YoY
- Ground Chuck (100% Beef): $6.98/lb — ▲3.8%, ▲10.1% YoY
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Of course, Trump had already claimed 20 times that prices were coming down quickly, back in February of 2026.
The price of a pound of ground beef was $6.74 compared to $6.83.
That’s some more of that Trump math.
Same math Trump used to claim that the ballroom would cost US taxpayers nothing:
“It’s a private thing, yeah, I’ll do it, and we’ll probably have some donors or whatever, but it’s about $200 million. So, we’ve been planning it for a long time. They’ve wanted a ballroom at the White House for more than 150 years. But there’s never been a president that was good at ballroom. I’m really good.”
Donald Trump, July, 2025
Back then, Trump was also bragging that the ballroom would cost $200M.
Trump administration quietly shifts $352m in federal funds for White House ballroom
That headline is from June of 2026.
All that has The Neurons playing “Billion Dollar Babies” in the morning mental music stream. The Alice Cooper song (and album of the same name) came out while I was in high school. My friend, Bob, was instantly enamored with both and used to spit out parts of choruses as we went from class to class, a period which I think lasted a week or two.
Alice Cooper was a cross-dressing rock star for a long period. Yet he’s expressed views against transgenders and supports Donald Trump. “(America) got so ‘woke’ with the Biden people, even they thought it was crazy. If a guy says to a coworker, ‘I like your new dress,’ that means he now gets fired? That’s crazy. It got so over the top that whoever ran against the Democrats was going to win. America got sick of the stupidness and all I can say is, in a shooting war, you don’t want a poodle; you want a pitbull.” Wikipedia
Because of this, I don’t often listen to Alice Cooper much any longer.
Hope your day brings fresh air and some good weather, good friends, and good times.
Cheers
Sunday’s Theme Music – Way it is
Ashland, southern Oregon — Sunday, July 19, 2026.
We’re into the endurance stage of summer. Today will hit 97 degrees F. A maybe is attached, for it depends on the smoke’s thickness and sprawl.
80 right now, thin white clouds and strips of gray smoke force the sky into a hazy shade of blue.
That’s just how it is in the summer here.
This headline caught my attention this week:
Gas is nearly $4 again and diesel just topped $5. It’s not what you think
The story reminds us that Trump’s Iran war is affecting oil and gas prices. But they also note that much of the gas products refined in Trump’s America are going to other places.
US refineries processed their largest amount of crude in the second quarter since 2019.
But a record amount of American-produced fuel is heading overseas – in the form of jet fuel (for Europe) and diesel (for Asia and Australia) to help the world bridge the gap in fuel supplies.
That has sent US gasoline inventories to their lowest levels since 2012.
The CNN article then goes on to mention that US refineries are struggling to produce products due to extreme heat.
Meanwhile, Trump, whose administration has rolled air and water pollutions standards back, is complaining about Canada ‘invading the US’ with filthy air. Classic Trump Double Standards.
Trump denies climate change, deriding it as a hoax, as he does many things which he can’t comprehend or doesn’t want to address.
“This ‘climate change,’ it’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion,” Trump said. “All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong. They were made by stupid people that have cost their countries fortunes and given those same countries no chance for success. If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.”
Your Trump Quote(s) of the Day:
Trump has chosen to treat our friends in Canada with more tariffs. That’s just the way he is. Instead of working with others to solve problems, he attacks, mocks, and derides.
Trump is so tone deaf. He claims that America “are a people like no other” and then goes to war with Americans, for example, referring to Democrats as “Dumbocrats”, significantly restricting, cutting, and altering healthcare benefits, and nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, with a heavy emphasis on transgender Americans.
This is how Trump ‘honors’ the people like no other.
That’s just the way he is.
No surprise for me, The Neurons have “The Way It Is” in the morning mental music stream. Bruce Hornsby wrote the song and he and his band, the Range, performed it. America’s civil rights movement of the 1960s inspired him when he wrote it.
Lyrics
They say, “Hey, little boy, you can’t go where the others go
‘Cause you don’t look like they do”
Said, “Hey, old man, how can you stand to think that way?
Did you really think about it before you made the rules?”
He said, “Son
That’s just the way it is
Some things will never change
That’s just the way it is”
Ha, but don’t you believe them
Mmm, yeah
That’s just the way it is
That’s just the way it is
Well, they passed a law in ’64
To give those who ain’t got a little more
But it only goes so far
‘Cause the law don’t change another’s mind
When all it sees at the hiring time
Is the line on the color bar, ooh, no
h/t to AZLyrics.com
Bruce Hornsby is a liberal, something that came from his mother, according to him in this 2020 interview in “The Independent”:
“Narrow-minded attitudes prevailed in my small southern town,” he tells me. “But my mum, Lois, was from a more forward-thinking family of New Englanders who’d moved down to Richmond when her dad got a job there as a church organist. Liberal Lois, my mum, married a big old handsome country boy. Bob Hornsby was from a fishing village and he was cut from the local cloth. My parents’ votes cancelled each other out in elections from 1948 to 1976 when my mum persuaded my dad to vote for Jimmy Carter and he never looked back and he voted Democrat for the rest of his life.”
As Bruce’s mother, Liberal Lois, proves, it doesn’t have to be the way it is, if people are willing to keep trying to open narrow minds and change their values.
Not Trump, of course. From Epstein to corruption and dishonesty, that’s just the way he is.
I hope comes complete with safe times, good times, and happy memories.
Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 