Tag: Strait of Hormuz

Friday’s Theme Music — Trump speaks!

Ashland, southern Oregon — Friday, May 15, 2026.

It was cloudy but the clouds have fade, retreated, moved on. Sunshine is winning the morning, carrying us through the mid 50s now. Today high will be around 70 F.

Trump is returning from China. They apparently didn’t want him, either. We should have sweetened the offer, let them keep Air Force 1 if they kept Trump. Throw in Melania and Colossus Don, Dozy Donnie’s golden Floridistan statue.

Note: “Colossus Don” sure sounds like a mob name, doesn’t it? I can imagine a scene of dialogue about him. “What’s Colossus Don doing?”

“Feeding his fat face, of course. That fat fuck doesn’t give a fuck about nobody but himself.”

Trump is pleased because China agreed to buy more US oil. Krugman pointed out that it doesn’t really help us much as consumers. It raised oil prices in the US. Oil and energy companies are making more money and profits. They’re corporations, so we see the fallout from that in the stock market and the stockholders. Krugman points out that the stock market is owned by a small percentage of people in the US and that foreigners own a chunk of it. Yet we’ll keep hearing about how great the stock market is!

Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! is contemplating a new Iran military operation. Just don’t call it war. Sure, we’re using military equipment and weapons to shoot at others and destroy things while they shoot at our military and destroy things, but that’s not war in Trumpyworld.

In the next move of the non-war, Trump will launch Operation Sledgehammer to see if they can open the Strait of Hormuz, as they were in February, before Trump ordered the attacks.

Trump’s administration also announced they were increasing global humanitarian aid to $1.8 billion after slashing it before. This seems like another Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! move to me. The announcement is one thing; will other nations see the funds? Not under the standard OE — LS! processes. Just grab headlines, distract from bad news, poor economy, Epstein files, etc.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

“According to a CNN/SSRS poll, 77% of people surveyed said Trump’s policies increased their cost of living. Roughlt two-thirds of Americans said Trump’s policies made the country’s economic conditions worse, according to the poll conducted between April 30 and May 4.” USA Today, May 15, 2026.

My music today is from Led Zeppelin. I watched the Netflix documentary, “Becoming Led Zeppelin” this week. I’ve been a Zeppelin fan for most of my life so it was entertaining to learn more details about them as individuals and how they came together. Jimmy Page was really the force, but all four were intense, talented musicians.

The making and playing of “Whole Lotta Love” consumed the documentary’s final minutes. As a youth, the song fascinated me. I remember listening to that middle ‘avant garde’ section, identifying sounds as it moved around the room, thinking that’s really cool. LOL. The Neurons enjoyed remembering the song, so it’s hanging around the morning mental music stream, so here you are.

I remember listening to it, too, and having Mom and my sisters look at me strangely when I talked about the song. Mom didn’t get it at all. My sisters seemed really jaundiced about what they were hearing as well.

I hope your Operation Epic Friday begins well and improves as the hours progress.

My coffee is here. Time for Operation Epic Drink Coffee.

Cheers

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Trump: Pretzel Logic

The war with Iran is not a war.

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.

The really big question is, what do Dozing Donnie’s bones say about the war?

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.”

Meanwhile, smog is increasing in Utah and Arizona, but it’s not a problem. That bad air is from other places. Although it affects local citizens, Trump’s EPA ruled that the affected cities don’t need to do anything about them.

Did you hear, too, Trump says his economy is booming!

That’s what Trump told small businesses this week.

Small business bankruptcies surged 67% in the first quarter of 2026.

However, the stock market is doing well. Corporate profits are at record levels.

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.

Especially if that gas price goes to $7 per gallon, as some analysts suggest.

The U.S. average for regular gasoline was approximately $3.81 to $3.82 per gallon at that time.

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Friday’s Theme Music — Surrender

Ashland, southern Oregon — Friday, May 1, 2026.

It’s 57 F outside and a high of 77 is predicted, despite clouds and haze obscuring the sun.

Good-bye April, hello May. As it’s May 1st, I’m staying home and not buying anything today.

The fifth month of 2026 begins with little change politically.

  • Trump remains in office
  • Prices are still rising, with gas in the US setting records for how fast they’re rising
  • Kash Patel is still running the FBI but that’s not expected to last
  • The Epstein files haven’t been released
  • Trump’s approval ratings are falling and his disapproval is climbing

May begins as the third month with the US Schrödinger’s War with Iran where we’re at war and not at war. Common sense says we attacked them, bombed them, killed people, all in pursuit of Trump’s fragile objectives — ego, approval, masculinity. Iran has fought back and we have warships stationed over there. Ergo, it’s war.

Legal semantics are being employed to argue the US is not at war because, law. “Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL” began on February 28, 2026. Trump formally notified Congress on March 2. Today is then the legal deadline to either stop the war or get a formal Authorization for Use of Military Force. All eyes still wearily blink at Congress to see who among them have grown a spine.

Republicans argue that sudden withdrawal would embolden Iran. I think Trump’s failed bombing campaign is already doing that.

Newsweek offered some classic clickbait:

Donald Trump’s odds of winning 2026 Nobel Peace Prize surge

The article says they gave him a 55% chance of winning last year, and now give him a 25% chance. Sounds like Trump math. He’s still in sixth place or lower as a potential winner. In my mind, if they gave the prize to Trump after all his bombing and threats, the prize would lose all credibility.

Trump has seemed very low key, low energy recently. It’s like he checked out. Never one to be on top of things, he’s always been bombastically out there, pretending like he is. I wonder, though, if it’s not a culmination of his war against the press merging with the press’s weariness over his lies and attacks resulting in less reporting of him. Could be, too, that he’s simply retreating into trusted safe places.

Whatever the cause, the optics of his absence as ‘commander in chief’ promote the impression that he’s overwhelmed and flailing. Stacked on top of ‘the bulge’ in his pants, his weary appearance, and fewer, more muted appearances, I’m getting a lame duck vibe.

I’m looking forward to his May 17th Rededicate 250 speech. At this point, anything he says and claims about Making America Great Again is going to remind us about how much worse the nation is now compared to two years ago.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

I have “Sweet Surrender” by Sarah McLachlan in my morning mental music stream. This actually came about when my ginger fur friend, Papi, did a roll at my feet on the patio as we tested the weather together. I chortled and gave him some skritches and rewarded him with extra treats. His move seemed like he was doing a sweet surrender, but so did my response.

I hope this day goes well for you, with good friends, good food and drink, and good news.

Cheers

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Thursday’s Theme Music – History

Ashland, Oregon — Thursday, April 22, 2026.

Strong sunshine spreads across the valley from the east this morning. There are few clouds. The temperature is 41, the forecast calls for sunny weather, and the high end will see 67 F.

The latest move in Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! came out today.

Donald Trump reclassified state-medicinal marijuana as “less dangerous”. News reporting calls it “historic”, making it a perfect component of OELS!

With this, people will stop talking about:

  • High gas, fertilizer, and food prices
  • How badly Trump’s war in Iran is going, which he declared over as soon as it began (among other things)
  • The 1973 War Powers Act and the 60-day limit
  • Upcoming 2026 midterm elections and a potential blue wave
  • The Strait of Hormuz and whether it’s blockaded, who is doing it, and whether ships are paying tolls, and who’s collecting it
  • Trump’s feud with Pope Leo XIV
  • Rising disapproval numbers and bad polls
  • The backlash to depicting himself as Jesus via AI
  • Labor market weakness
  • Exploding national debt
  • Low consumer confidence
  • Trump’s health, stumbling, and slurring
  • The Epstein files, and Trump’s role in Epstein’s life and crimes.

If it’s not one thing, it’s the same damn thing, over and over.

Trump did his Bible verse reading. The right-wingers predictably gushed over Trump’s bold leadership. Many of the rest of us said, “Wow, that was terrible.”

Jokes arose about whether Trump would read from the Quentin Tarentino version. While others’ Bible reading was live-streamed, Trump’s was recorded and heavily edited.

Your Trump quote for the day:

Ah, Trump math. “Nobody’s ever seen anything like it.”

Sure, we have. Many con artists make outlandish claims like this, such as George C. Parker, famous for selling people ownership in the Brooklyn Bridge.

Today’s music comes from my dream side. During the dream, I kept hearing the song, “Shame on the Moon” by Bob Seger.

But the dream was about this big birthday celebration for somebody. At its end, Shirley Bassey was introduced to sing.

As I remembered the dream, The Neurons introduced a different Shirley Bassey song, “History Repeating”. The one with her and the Propellerheads from 1997 took over the morning mental music stream.

Lyrics

The word is about, there’s something evolving
Whatever may come, the world keeps revolving
They say the next big thing is here
That the revolution’s near
But to me it seems quite clear
That it’s all just a little bit of history repeating

The newspapers shout – a new style is growing
But it don’t know if it’s coming or going
There is fashion – there is fad
Some is good – some is bad
And the joke is rather sad
That it’s all just a little bit of history repeating

h/t to Genius.com

We heard from Mom. The social worker contacted her. Mom sent a chaotic text summarizing it. Basically, the social worker said that they would not be helping Mom move from the assisted living facility. Mom ended the text by asking my sister if she’ll help her move out at the end of the month.

Hope you have a great Thursday, wherever you are.

Cheers

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The Art of the Con

personnelente shared a post today about Trump. It’s divided into two convenient parts.

Part one reveals the GOP moves to honor Trump. The most horrible of these is a move to force the State Department to issue a Trump Peace Prize.

Part two is a recap by Daniel Dale of CNN about Trump’s Iran War lies, such as Trump’s lie that the Pope wants Iran to have nuclear weapons.

It’s a wonderful side by side comparison, revealing the GOP’s kiss-ass attitude toward Trump while showing that Trump is an absolute liar and can’t be trusted.

Check it out, please: Narcissus At The Pool, or “The Attack of the Ass-kissers”.

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Monday’s Theme Music —

Ashland, Oregon — Monday, April 20, 2026.

Sunshine baths the east. Dark, stormy clouds claim the rest of the horizon. It’s 58 F outside with a mild, pleasantly balmy wind. 62 is expected to be the high as rain returns to the valley.

We’re going into eight weeks in the Trump Iran war. Trump and Iran each are declaring victory. As it was a month ago, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. The ceasefire that Trump declared is fracturing as Iranian ships fire on tanks and US ships fire on Iranian ships and seize them.

Trump’s comments are the war seem almost meaningless. He doesn’t seem to understand what’s going on sometimes, making contradictory claims. He’s proving himself to be as poor at managing a war or negotiating a ceasefire as he was running his businesses. The difference here: he can’t save himself in a bankruptcy court. There are no contractors he can stiff and walk away from. The art of the con has been fully exposed.

Stories have emerged that Trump was kept out of the planning stages for the airman rescue in Iran because the military and staff worried that Trump would derail it. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump raged about fear of failure.

Stock markets don’t know to go up or down. Oil prices immediately rose.

So, we sit on Monday morning, waiting to see what will happen on Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Epstein files are still out there, waiting for all to be revealed.

My wife and I watched Shrinking last night. Today’s song was featured. My wife sang along with it; when the show was over, she walked around the house singing it. Somehow The Neurons ended up mindlessly playing it over and over in the morning mental music stream.

From out of 2011, here is Christina Perri with “A Thousand Years”.

The lyrics cycling through my brain:

I have died every day waiting for you
Darling, don’t be afraid
I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What’s standing in front of me
Every breath, every hour has come to this

The song was originally written and featured on “Twilight”, which I’ve never seen. I found an interesting ‘cover’ of the song and thought I’d share it here.

My wish for you is that you find yourself on Tuesday healthy, happy, safe, and free.

Cheers

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Saturday’s Theme Music – Have A Bite!

Ashland, Oregon — Saturday, April 18, 2026.

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:

Hundreds of Fake Pro-Trump Avatars Emerge on Social Media

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.

In a sliver of good news, US gas prices dropped seven cents. The average price per gallon still remains over $4 a gallon.

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.

Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music — Dirty Deeds

Ashland, Oregon — Tuesday, April 14, 2026.

No rain today! Cloudy, blue sky is visible. 62 F is expected to be our high but it’s 46 F right now. Spring weather but more rain than we typically receive.

Trump’s body count continues to rise. As part of his project, Operation Look — Squirrel!, SOUTHCOM ordered more boaters killed. No court, no evidence, no trial; it’s the Trump Method.

I’m not surprised SOUTHCOM killed five more this week, bringing the total murders to 170. Trump Iran war, now seven weeks old, isn’t going well. Efforts to find peace and withdraw are going worse.

Then, his latest ploy in Operation Look — Squirrel!, to depict himself as Jesus while claiming it wasn’t a depiction and he was a doctor, went sideways fast, with the post quickly deleted.

This all comes on top of Melania Trump’s desperate efforts to project herself completely uninvolved with Ghislane or Epstein. Melania used the classic Trump defense, “Don’t believe the photographs and testimony, believe me, because I tell the truth.” While it works sometimes for Trump because he speaks the hate which MAGA and Evangelicals like, it didn’t work for Melania. She is experiencing historically low poll numbers for a first lady.

Instead of reassuring everyone, Melania also managed to remind everyone about the Epstein file. Dozy Donny has been trying to make it go away. After using it as a campaign tool by promising to release it all on day one, he’s complaining that people won’t forget it. Must have brought him a lot of joy *snark* when Melania held a conference to talk about it.

All that bad news was on top of rising gas prices in the US. High gas prices are not usually good for the economy, and the Trump economy was already not doing well, with the farmers and rural citizens who make up Trump’s base, doing especially poorly.

Well, things are blowing up for Trump, I thought this morning.

Boom *sorry*, The Neurons loaded the morning mental music stream with AC/DC and “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”. The 1976 rocker is all about a man willing to do dirty deeds for a price. That pretty well summarizes Trump’s minions and suck ups for me.

Hope your day is free of murders and travesties against humanity, sickness or illness. In other ways, hope it’s a good day for you and yours.

Cheers

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Sunday’s Theme Music

Ashland, Oregon — Sunday, April 12, 2026.

Another chilly spring dawn greeted us. Light rain fell yesterday and overnight. The front and its clouds keep the sun from warming us. Yesterday was mostly bleak, as if the sun felt too tired to heat up. It’s 49 now and the high will be 52 F.

And here we go again:

Trump threatens Strait of Hormuz blockade after US-Iran ceasefire talks end without agreement

Trump said he has “instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.” Other nations would be involved in the blockade, he said, but did not name them.

Yes, other unnamed nations are involved, just like unnamed former presidents are cheering Trump on.

Just like that, Trump has decided the US Navy will be the police of the high seas, interdicting ships ‘who pays an illegal toll’. Funny sentiment coming from a person who loves announcing illegal tariffs.

Where the hell is Congress? Oh, that’s right — they’re on a break. Congress being on break while Trump grows increasingly unstable and belligerent is another sign of the nation’s misplaced priorities. It’s absolute nuts.

Trump also wants to paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building with “magic paint”. Trump says unnamed experts endorse this plan. Meanwhile, real named experts say that it’s a bad idea.

There are several recurring Trump themes here. One, Trump thinks he knows better than experts. We’ve seen him proclaim that throughout his business career as he conned others and declared bankruptcy after bankruptcy. We’ve seen it, too, with tariffs and medicine, such as his suggested COVID-19 treatment ideas.

Trump’s other trend is mentioning people who can’t be named or don’t want to be named. People congratulating, calling him, thanking him, advising him. How many of them are real?

A third Trump trend we’re seeing is his dependence on “his feelings”.

Trump says war with Iran will end when ‘I feel it in my bones’

In 2025, Trump made similar comments about childhood vaccinations. “This is based on what I feel. The mumps, measles and — the three should be taken separately. And it seems to be that when you mix them, there could be a problem,” Trump said. “So, there’s no downside in taking them separately. In fact, they think it’s better. So let it be separate.”

Is it just my imagination or is this really nuts?

When ‘imagination’ crossed my mental threshold, The Neurons pounced like a red light in front of Papi. They quickly ran “Just My Imagination” by The Cranberries into the morning mental music stream.

It’s a light song, with chill lyrics from a ‘saner’ time of 1999:

There was a game we used to play
We would hit the town on Friday night
Stay in bed until Sunday
We used to be so free
We were living for the love we had
Living not for reality

Hope you have a sane, safe Sunday, full of peace, grace, and joy.

Cheers

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Trump: Round and Round

Round and round and round we go.

Where we’ll end up, nobody knows. Especially Trump.

I saw a comment the other day which summarizes Trump voters for me. I remember what they said but not who said it:

“Trump didn’t betray you. He showed us exactly who he is. You betrayed us.”

Look at these headlines.

Trump rules out ceasefire as US sends more troops to Middle East

Trump says US considers ‘winding down’ Iran military effort

US Sends Another 2,500 Marines to Iran as Ground Option Emerges in War

Same war, same Trump, intentions going everywhere in a lost haze of thought.

TSA lines are causing traffic delays as TSA agents don’t come to work. Why should they? Trump is not paying them because of his partial government shutdown.

Now, some small regional airports might shut down due to Trump’s partial government shutdown.

As oil prices go up, so do gas prices at the pump but analysts warn that oil prices will hit every sector because of shipping. Meanwhile, another set of analysts warn that we’ll probably start seeing food prices increasing because of Trump’s tariffs — from ‘liberation day’ of last year. Companies were spreading the costs out among multiple products and lines to spread increases and ease the pain. Now, forced to the wall, Food Navigator thinks the price increases will be more direct.

My wife and I are forever laughing about economists and their expectations. Earlier this month, the poor jobs growth surprised them. Now APNews reports it’s consumer wholesale prices.

U.S. wholesale prices came in hotter than expected in February, driven partly by a sharp increase in food costs.

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — rose 0.7% from January, and 3.4% from February 2025. The year-over-year increase was the most since February 2025.

The price gains were bigger than economists had forecast, and they occurred before the U.S. and Israel attack on Iran pushed energy prices sharply higher.

It’s like, where do these economists live and shop that they don’t walk into a place and notice prices going on month by month? It’s surreal.

Now my wife and I are trying to figure out what a ‘K-shape economy recovery’ looks like. I’m telling you, if it’s not one thing…

Oh, BTW. Remember how Trump said he and one of his Republican lackeys had a great plan to send a hospital ship to Greenland? Surprised everyone because we all knew the Navy’s hospital ships weren’t available, but Trump’s ‘plan’ grabbed headlines and distracted everyone from the Epstein files for a few days. No ship was ever sent.

I mention it now because Trump signed an executive order to have the government work with the NCAA and whatever so that the Army-Navy football game is the only game being broadcast.

That smacks of classic Trump distraction. Polls for him are down, the economy is swirling around the toilet, and the Epstein files still haunt him. Now, what he thought would be a one and done in Iran is a growing disaster. Quick! Distraction: Army-Navy game.

Who still falls for his inanity these days?

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