Tag: Russia

The Trump Receipts

Who had Trump will ignore the court on their bingo cards?

I wasn’t overly surprised to read the Trump White House still refused to let the MS Now, Politico, and CNN reporters in after a judge issued an injunction against the White House ban on the three news organizations.

Trump declares himself as a ‘law and order’ proponent but keeps breaking laws. He also claims to be for peace while ordering attacks on other nations and insists he’s for technology — pushing AI and data centers — while stopping work on wind and solar-energy initiatives.

Likewise, Trump declared he’s for freedom of the press and freedom as speech while trying to shut down both. So ignoring the court’s ruling is totally in line with his general hypocrisy and double standards. I mean, he promised no new wars and then went to war and declared that he never promised no new wars and it’s not a war anyway. LOL. His duplicity and lawlessness are breathtaking.

Ironically, it’s technology that reveals what Trump said, context and all, proving that he said it. We have receipts: video. Transcripts. Records. He can squirm and try to wriggle out of what he said, but as long as we keep paying attention, facts and truths won’t be forgotten.

That circles us back to the Epstein files — again. Trump said that, yeah, I’ll probably release them. Then he insisted the Epstein files are a Democrat hoax.

That’s another of his favorite tactics, calling things a hoax, and blaming it on the Democrats.

Trump calls affordability crisis a ‘hoax.’ The data tells a different story

Impeaching Trump — twice — was a Democrat hoax; the Democrats’ criticism of how Trump was handling the coronavirus pandemic — hoax; Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election was a hoax, according to Trump.

Trans-Pacific Partnership? Hoax.

Climate change? Hoax, in Trumpworld.

Even rural MAGA voters have caught onto Trump’s methods and policies.

MAGA voters turned off by President Trump’s falsehoods in 2026

The distractions, lies, and broken promises are catching up with Trump.

We the People have receipts, and we’re not letting this go.

1

Thursday’s Theme Music – Seeing Through It

Ashland, southern Oregon. Thursday, September 17, 2026.

Sunny today, but cloudy. 66 F for the moment. 100% chance of thunderstorms, the weather seers tell me, with a high of 78 F.

Mom is back home in the assisted living facility. Suffering laryngitis and diarrhea. Resting in bed, she said, because she feels very tired. Mom has three appointments coming up. She has three medical appointments coming up in September.

I have a new appointment next week. Changing PCPs because my current PCP is leaving to go into private practice, focusing on peptide therapy. I meet my new PCP next week. Hope she turns out to be as good as my last one. Will lightning strike twice?

As expected, Trump launched some more Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! this week.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

I’m not a lawyer but I’ve watched some TV. You’d think that if evidence came out about this plot that any law-abiding, intelligent individual would ensure the authorities had it so that due process could take place and law and order maintained.

No. Not Trump. Instead of doing that, Trump went on social media to bray about it. Which tells us that it’s more fact news. Just another distraction. More Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!

No surprise that Trump launched a fresh distraction. War in Iran is going into seven months. That’s completely contrary to how long Trump said it would take, all after promising, “No new wars.” Stories are emerging that the United States suffered more damage than previously revealed.

Prices are creeping up. The Fed increased interest rates, contrary to what Trump wanted.

Trumpapalooza was affected by low attendance and low energy. Trump is at odds with recent CEOs that AI growth needs to slow down and perhaps be regulated.

As icing on Trump’s very bad month, part of Trump’s very bad year, his administration displayed Space Force uniforms which are being heavily mocked for their fascist look.

Finally, Trump claimed Ukraine and Russia said they wouldn’t attack diesel facilities any longer. Both nations denied any deal such as Trump suggested and continued their attacks.

That leads us to ask — again — why did Trump make that public claim? Did US intel get it wrong or did Trump hear someone wrong? Perhaps Russia and Ukraine lied to Trump and said they would, to make him appear weak and out of touch.

Or perhaps, truthfully, Trump just pretended this is what happened in order to make it seem like he’s relevant.

These positions and calamities have led to declining support for Trump and his policies. Of course, something from Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! was needed.

We’ve seen enough of Trump to see through his deceptions.

I ended up with Bob Dylan singing “Masters of War” in my morning mental music stream. I think the 1963 release accurately reflects how Trump behaves, hiding, making claims, while destroying our world.

Sample Lyrics

You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin’
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it’s your little toy

You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive

A world war can be won
You want me to believe

But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

May your spirit carry you through these times to happier places and a more comfortable and secure life.

Cheers

1

Trump Knows Better

Trump has said for years that he knows better.

Trump knows grass, claims he probably knows more than anybody in the world.

Trump knows more than the generals, he said. He’s always believed he knows more about trade, finance, and economics, as well as tariffs. Trump also claimed he knew more about medicine during COVID-19 than many doctors.

That’s why, despite all Trump’s expertise, the national debt is skyrocketing.

Measles outbreaks have achieved levels not seen in over a quarter century.

Affordability remains a growing crisis in the United States, with oil, diesel, and energy prices leading the way.

The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t disappear overnight as Trump claimed it would. Over a million in the United States experienced COVID-19 related deaths. We are still coping with COVID-19 six years after Trump made those claims.

Look at the messes Trump has made across the world. Let’s begin with the garish gold he put on We the People’s house.

Shift to how he’s demolished the East Wing, wiping out a heritage he couldn’t grasp, which can’t be duplicated.

Trump then turned his ‘expertise’ to the Kennedy Center, which is now falling apart and begging for money.

Likewise, Trump messed up the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pond. Every time Trump had work done on the pool, Trump claimed, I know better. Every time, Trump disparaged others’ knowledge and efforts. Every time, Trump lied about what happened and bragged what he was doing next.

Trump burdened our economy with tariffs, thinking that will drive manufacturing to the United States, and started a war which he doesn’t know how to stop, which is only worsening the affordability crisis.

That would be the prices which Trump complained about as being too high under President Biden. Now they’re higher under Trump. But under Trump, Trump Double Standards are employed. He spins a new word weave. These prices are not higher. They’re coming down soon. And they’re not his fault. Nor are they a problem — it’s a golden age! Here’s some tariff relief to bring prices down and more pulled from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves to try to reduce prices.

Then, Trump proffered five grand if his party keeps control of Congress.

Finally, in a desperate effort to displace blame and responsibility, Trump pivoted, blaming Ukraine for high diesel prices because Ukraine bombed Russia while pretending the war he started with Iran isn’t the single largest driver of rising prices.

Just as a reminder, Trump said he would end the Ukraine Russia war by the time he took office in 2025, eighteen months ago. Despite that claim, the war continues.

In short, Trump has created a shit show.

Now Trump is claiming that he knows more than AI experts. Eschewing their warnings, just as he dismissed warnings about tariffs, war with Iran, COVID-19 — just as he’s ignored every warning any true knowledgeable expert gave.

Your Trump Quote of the Day

Trump’s dismissive response to experts’ AI warnings has all the hallmarks of a Trump mess:

  • Trump called it a hoax
  • Trump declared himself strong and smart
  • Trump insisted that those worried about it are part of a ‘conspiracy’

Dig in. The shit storm is about to get real.

1

Your Trump Quotes of the Day

Donald Trump continues pretending that he’s doing so well — and so are we!

After claiming that the US won the war in Iran which Trump started back in February, the US is now escalating it.

Iran is warning of more attacks on the US. It’s the tit for tat phase of the war, which Trump says isn’t a war. The GOP agreed it’s not a war. Beyond what it’s doing to Iran and the loss of life, the war is costing We the People. Estimates range from $37B to over $100B, with heavy hits to munition and equipment levels, such as Reaper drones.

Being a child of the sixties who joined the military in 1974, I can’t help but see parallels between Trump’s escalation with what happened in Vietnam. Operation Rolling Thunder was specifically designed to disrupt North Vietnam’s ability to supply the war in the South; impose costs on Hanoi until its leadership decided continuing the war was too expensive; demonstrate U.S. resolve; and eventually force political concessions.

Back then, North Vietnam adapted and shifted tactics. Despite Trump’s insistence that ‘we already won’ and the ‘US destroyed Iran militarily’, Iran shifted toward drone warfare and demonstrated impressive resilience — emulating the success which Ukraine is experiencing with Russia.

This is a war Trump said would happen if Vice President Kamala Harris won. Trump then did his weave — which the rest of us call lying — and said he never guaranteed a new war.

Like many, I believe that Trump started this war to distract everyone from the Epstein files and what the files revealed about Trump.

Especially when Trump campaigned on ‘no new wars’, complaining that Democrats were often starting wars. He also campaigned on stopping wars, like Ukraine – Russia — which is still ongoing, 18 months after Trump took office.

Once again, Trump’s history shows how much his words are worth.

Go forward with Trump at your own peril. But if he tells you that a bridge is safe to cross, I would definitely seek someone else’s opinion — someone not involved with Trump.

3

Trump in his Own Words

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.

3

Thursday’s Theme Music — Fighting Fires

Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, June 25, 2026.

Cooler today — just 85 F — but the summer mix of blue sky and sunshine continues without interruption in our valley.

I haven’t been watching the World Cup games. Not my kind of football. But I dreamed that I was working with a gregarious black guy, trying to sell team jerseys to fans. He’d come into a large shipment of them at a discount, but he didn’t know what sizes he had. All had been manufactured outside of the US, and they weren’t using the labels familiar to me. I was using the Internet to help him size them so he could sell them.

Results are not back from Mom’s tests yesterday, except they have confirmed she doesn’t have a yeast infection. My sister, Gina, related that Mom was complaining about the sunglasses Mom was wearing: they were too big. She went on a rant that Frank probably let his sister, Joan, wear them, because Joan has a big head. She finished, “I could just kill Frank.”

Gina replied, “Mom, you do know that Frank died last year, don’t you?”

I feel like I’m in a variation of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. In that 1989 song, he recites court decisions, celebrity names, historic events, and pop culture fads and trends that took place between 1949, when Joel was born, to the current date in 1989. As I read the news, there’s a Billy Joel rhythm: Supreme Court rules, shooting leaves x dead, earthquakes, wildfires, flooding, climate change denial, Trump texts, Trump promises, Trump lies, Trump claims, distraction, distraction, distraction, fake news, elections, corruption, facts, truth, history, Epstein files, Epstein ballroom, tariffs, Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Strait of Hormuz, Musk, Venezuela, Ukraine, Russia, China, ICE in the cities, economy, jobs, prices, prices, prices, crisis, crisis, crisis!

Trump didn’t start the fire. But he threw gasoline on it and gave it oxygen. He didn’t start it but we’re gonna fight it.

The song had a lot of airplay back in the early 1990s but has since faded. Not one of Joel’s better offerings, the chorus was pretty familiar to everyone because of the airplay.

Despite those thoughts, The Neurons have the Allman Brothers performing “Statesboro Blues” in my morning mental music stream. A favorite song and cover, it has a jumping, thumping sound to it which always kickstarts my energy.

I hope you have great day, summer or winter, wherever you inhabited for now, and that all goes well for you and yours.

I’m off to my appointments. Cheers

1

Wednesday’s Theme Music – Rock & Hard Place

Ashland, southern Oregon — Wednesday, June 3, 2026.

Pleasant valley Wednesday. 66 F, sunshine percolates through some clouds. Rain and a high of 76 F are expected.

Mom and my sister went through a rough day yesterday, spending over eight hours at ER. Classic ER scene as the staff attempts to help everyone but there are so many who need help. They got home early in the AM this morning.

We’re not sure what’s going on with Mom. She had a CT scan but no results have been shared with us. At one point, they asked her if she wanted or needed anything, then added, but nothing to drink or eat. We all knew that usually means surgery. But surgery was never mentioned. She went home tired, thirsty, hungry, and sleepy.

Home: her shared room at the assisted living facility.

The US — or Trump, specifically — is between a rock and hard place. After Trump claimed he would end the Russia – Ukraine War, it continues with fresh strikes by Ukraine on Russia today.

Over in Iran, where Trump decided to start a war and declared it over, Iran launched an attack on a Kuwaiti airport.

Speaker Mike Johnson, who said this was a small operation back in March, was not available for comment. Trump’s Iran War was supposed to be over in weeks if not sooner, according to Republicans back in March. Now the war has been going 95 days.

Without too much surprise for me, I read that the Trump administration is dragging its feet on refunding Trump tariffs as ordered by the courts. Meanwhile, Trump dropped more tariffs on 60 nations, claiming it’s because they use forced labor.

Over in World Cup news, a Swiss player is waiting to see if he’ll be taking part in the games because the US has not said he’s allowed in yet, and the Iranians are worried about their team’s ability to come and go to the US.

The US mint announced FIFA World Cup coins. McDonalds announced a World Cup meal so the poor can get in on the excitement. Papi announced he’s taking a World Cup nap. It’s World Cup mania! Except ticket sales are flat and FIFA is being accused of using unofficial resale sites to cut prices.

The Epstein files aren’t completely released, and the Epstein ballroom is still short of funds but under construction. Under Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!, Trump is now not worried about it as a ballroom, but as a drone port. It’s all about the nation’s defense!

Of course, as I understand it, arming the White House to the teeth basically raises its value as a military target. After all, that’s what the US did in Iran: we went after the drone and missile launch sites.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

What hyperbole. Trump blasts a judge and rants, “we can no longer defend Washington, D.C., with rifles and pistols, alone.”

No kidding, Trump. You just proposed a 1.5 trillion-dollar defense budget, the largest in history, and you think D.C, us being defended by ‘rifles and pistols’?

Let’s face it, too; if the US has reached a point in a conflict that we’re depending on drones on top of the White House to defend us, we’re pretty screwed.

Today’s music comes out of the thought stew bubbling my brain this morning. Spying on me, The Neurons brought the Rolling Stones and “Rock and A Hard Place” to the morning mental music stream.

Sample Lyrics:

We’re stuck between a rock
And a hard place
Between a rock (yeah) and a hard place

This talk of freedom
And human rights
Means bullying and private wars and
Chucking all the dust into our eyes

And peasant people
Poorer than dirt
Who are caught in the crossfire ain’t nothin’

To lose but their shirts, yeah

May your day be carried forward with peace and grace.

Cheers

2

Saturday’s Theme Music

Ashland, Oregon — April 4, 2026.

Sunshine graces the valley again. 52 F, blues skies, spring. High in the upper 70s projected for our afternoon.

Yardwork and house chores are in my future. Looking forward to being out there and getting things done.

War continues in Iran. The quiet news cycle is about Trump thinking about more cabinet replacements as the war flounders in Iran. Two aircraft were shot down. We’re not sure why the A10 went down — yet — but the F15E Strike Eagle was shot down. Speculation swirls about what type of system took down the Eagle.

Personnelente had a comment on it in “The Price of Folly”: “Iran has shot down several US aircraft: at a minimum an A-10, and two F-15s. Russia is supplying advanced anti aircraft weapons to Iran even as Cadet Bone Spurs lowers sanctions on Russia and backs off helping Ukraine.”

Yes, Trump has baffled us by lowering sanctions on Russia, who supplies Iran with military equipment and advice, along with intelligence support. You gotta wonder…

Papi inspired The Neurons for today’s morning mental music stream. He’d come in from the sunshine and approached for…something. Papi isn’t really a communicator. But when I mentioned treats, he came to rest with an expectant gaze. As I got his treat, I sang out, “Gimme gimme good eating,” playing on a rock song from my youth. That’s Crazy Elephant with “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'” from 1969.

Hope your day is full of good things for you. My future sees coffee.

Cheers

2

Saturdaz Theme Music

Ashland, Oregon, landed on Saturday, January 17, 2026, with a quiet sigh. Freezing fog still plagues us but it’s invisible and doesn’t make us freeze. Temperatures now sit at 55 (my house), 51 (online) and 55 (Alexa) degrees F. Despite air stagnation, freezing fog, and an inversion layer, we’ll hit the mid to upper sixties today.

The snow drought bothers me. I’ve only lived here for 20 years. Dog knows memory is imperfect but this snow season is a monumental shift from my lived-in memories. We don’t usually get much accumulation in Ashland, but we typically get flurries a few times. An inch to three falls, giving us a lovely morning treat before sunshine burns it off into a memory.

There’s been no days like that which I’ve seen this year. I remind myself, this is still January and a couple winter months remain, and spring snow isn’t unusual. Just waiting, I suppose, for a reminder that it is winter.

Waiting for snow, I feel like I’m in stasis. Not the usual stasis where I don’t age and the outside world and I don’t meet. This is more of the stasis of waiting, like, ‘drop the other shoe already’ stasis.

That applies not just to weather. With Frank and Dad gone — two of the triumvirate parental units in my life — I await word on Mom. Regular accounts report her as increasingly less lucid and physically weaker. I think sis does a superb job of helping Mom, and continually thank her in my head and in conversations with her.

Part of my thanks float up whenever I do Food & Friends deliveries. I think, without sis, Mom would probably be in a situation like this, awaiting a knock on the door for a meal delivery, struggling to get to the door and get it open. Many recipients on our route live in nice homes but several lodge in apartments or motel rooms. There must be a better solution that doesn’t cost a gazillion dollars.

Part of my stasis also centers around ICE, especially with Minneapolis. Paul Krugman referred to that city as the ICE crucible, which fits; it’s an ICE experiment for how far Trump can intimidate through force and violence before someone reins him in.

Outside my home, the world spins on its own axis. Trump’s overtures about acquiring Greenland sound more frequently like Putin in Russia talking about Crimea and Ukraine. It strikes me less about geopolitical strategy and more about imperialistic land grab to acquire mineral rights.

So, I wait and wonder, will we go to war over Trump’s Greenland obsession, and how much greater will ICE’s violence against American citizens become?

The Neurons responded to my state with Queen of the Stone Age — “No One Knows”, in the morning mental music stream. The song opens,

‘We get some rules to follow. That and this, these and those, no one knows.’

Those opening lyrics work for my morning mind set. We’re given rules of living but the rules for dying are less defined. Likewise, Trump is a chaos multiplier, breaking rules and establishing his own rules, increasing tension and anxiety.

Hope your day is stress free and strong with hope and grace. Meanwhile, I will break my stasis with coffee and step into the day. Cheers

0

Wenzdaz Theme Music

Wenzda, January 14, 2026, settles onto Ashland like invisible fog. Alexa insists fog is out there but blue skies and sunshine meet my little eye. It’s in truth, very pleasant appearing outside the windows. But dress right; my system warns that it’s 35 degrees F. Alexa actually agrees with that part. We hope to see the low to mid-fifties today, but it depends on where you’re at in Ashland, I think.

Despite the sunshine, rising violence in the United States undermines my hope and optimism. Digby posted several excellent posts about Customs and Border Patrol’s confrontation guidelines, and Trump’s plans to add Greenland to the United States.

Trump keeps circling back to controlling Greenland, suggesting the United States should either buy or invade it. Trump declared the United States is safer against China and Russia with controlling Greenland.

I’m frankly surprised. The United States is about to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the nation’s beginning without Russia or China invading us through Greenland. To be sure, it’d be a circuitous and challenging route to take to reach the United States.

Worries about a Russia/China attack also seems to undermine the U.S. Navy and Air Force’s power and global reach. Geography matters, yes, and firepower doesn’t erase its strategy, but it does limit it, especially when nuclear deterrence is considered.

Greenland is Denmark’s territory, and Denmark is a NATO member. U.S. Attacks on Greenland would probably trigger a NATO response, which is where Digby’s post helps. Digby shared information from Malcolm Nance, former naval intelligence officer, foreign policy analyst and pundit, about the consequences of a United States attack on Greenland.

My perception of Trump is that he thinks that attacking Greenland would be quick and easy for the United States. Despite Greenland’s statements that they would resist, Trump seems to think that Greenlanders want to be part of the United States. I don’t know how he arrives at that conclusion.

To me, Trump’s framing regarding control of Greenland reflects pre-nuclear, industrial-era thinking, and not modern reality. Regardless of a NATO military response, an attack on Greenland would severely damage the global economy, destabilize peace, and increase the threat of nuclear war.

It seems like Trump is omitting or downplaying the political, economic, and military cost of forecefully taking Greenland. As far as buying it, Denmark and Greenland have both declared that it’s not for sale. Unfortunately for them and us, Trump often doesn’t accept rejection.

All of this thinking led The Neurons to fill the morning mental music stream with a rock song about truth. “Tell the Truth” is a Derek and the Dominos original, included on their album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Like “Layla”, Eric Clapton’s love for George Harrison’s wife, Patty Boyd, inspired Clapton.

More importantly for me is the chorus about telling the truth.

Tell the truth, tell me who’s been fooling you?
Tell the truth, who’s been fooling you?

Who has been fooling Trump? Or is he trying to fool us? Probably both, right?

That’s where I really flail with Trump, his plans, and his support. Either some other reality guides their thinking and planning, or they’re lying. I wish they were more straightforward with the facts and truth, instead of making bellicose statements.

Anyway, on into the day and its invisible fog. No great plans for me other than writing, reading, and visiting with my wife and cat. My wife surprised me yesterday by asking if we could have Indian food tonight. So, we’re going out to a local restaurant, House of India. Truthfully, I’m looking forward to it.

Hope truth finds its way to you and carry you forward into the rest of this year, and peace and grace join. Cheers

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑