Tag: trump broken promises

Saturday’s Theme Music — Honesty

Ashland, southern Oregon — Saturday, July 18, 2026.

It’s a sunny 68 F under blue skies in our valley. Hot again but not as, hitting only 86 F today.

The cooling effect comes from smoke. The East Evans Creek fire, north-northwest of Ashland, began on July 10, 2026 when a car hit a utility pole. It’s now 14,000 acres and about 8% contained. The air quality is unhealthy right now, better than yesterday, when we went purple. Smoke obscures the view to the west. Today’s wind forecast warns that we’re going to have a weekend of unhealthy air.

I read an interesting article this morning about an ICE traffic stop in Pennsylvania earlier this month. The article elaborates on 1) how poorly the ICE agents executed the stop and 2) how video evidence contradicts ICE’s public statements and claims.

ICE is always claiming vast criminal records for the people they stop. But ICE agents drive unmarked vehicles. They act aggressive, issue orders and make demands without properly identifying themselves, and are generally violently threatening. Reasonable people fearing for their lives try to get away. From the videos I’ve seen, I don’t blame the people. I blame ICE. They have a continuing pattern; without being punished or reprimanded for it, without accountability, they’ll just continue their ways. Now, after DHS said to suspend the traffic stops, Trump overruled them. So the continuing unreasonable violence against We the People will continue.

DHS is ordering that at least one agent on every stop will now wear a body cam. What good is to come of that? I believe that we’ll have a lot of incidents where agents ‘forgot’ to turn them on or the camera ‘failed to work properly’.

Let’s face a fact here: Trump lies. That’s well-documented.

And through his smirking ‘leadership’, so does his administration, and his spokespeople. I, along with most Americans, do not trust him or his administration to tell the truth. Thanks to Trump’s time on the world stage, it’s a global opinion that Trump is dishonest. Worse, Trump is dragging other nations’ opinion of the United States down with him.

Of course, here in ‘Merica, he’s broken marriage vows more than once, has multiple bankruptcies and failed businesses, and broken campaign promises. From lowering inflation to no new wars to attacking Iran — again and again — to releasing the Epstein files to a new healthcare program to the claim that the Epstein ballroom will be paid for by We the People, Trump lies and breaks promises.

No wonder Americans don’t trust ICE, a trend that is growing.

Today’s song is “Honesty” by Billy Joel.

I hope you have a safe and healthy Saturday and have good things to look back at when you call it a day.

Cheers

2

The State of Trump

These declarations sum up the state of the union and Trump right now:

Trump praises “cash cow” data centers as his neighbors reject major project

While US towns, citizens, and states are more and more frequently challenging the need for AI centers, Trump is gung-ho to get them built. Many variables are being rolled out against building them:

  • Are they actually needed and will they be profitable?
  • Impact on the dwindling water supply
  • The heat data and AI centers are shown to displace
  • Energy use and costs

Many Trump supporters think Trump is a ‘smart businessman’. The rest of us count Trump’s many bankruptcies, the continual grifting, and his mismanagement of war with Iran, the economy, trade deals, tariffs, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and respond, not so fast.

Harry Enten explains why Trump’s signature issue just turned into a polling nightmare

Donald Trump is currently plummeting in the polls on his signature issue of immigration, noted CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten on Tuesday.

It was “one of the pillars of Donald Trump’s first campaign back in 2016, winning that Republican primary,” noted Enten, who also pointed to Trump’s anti-immigration agenda enjoying 53% backing when he won his second term in 2024.

But now there’s been “a massive change in the court of public opinion,” he said.

“Now, 58% of Americans say no, they do not, in fact, trust Trump on immigration. Just 41% say yes. So what we’re seeing with ICE is finding its way to the Trump administration at large, to Trump at large.”

ICE keeps killing people, using under claims for public safety or ‘fear for their own lives’. But the video evidence and witnesses’ recounting completely contradicts those narratives. Meanwhile, more FAFO stories show up about Trump’s ICE forces grabbing people trying to complete their citizenship requirements and wholly, totally legally here.

More of We the People are saying, “Enough.”

Americans Know Trump Is Lying

No amount of media sanewashing can convince Americans that Donald Trump is rationally prosecuting the Iran war or accurately relating the terms of a (sort of) deal. No matter how many times Trump repeats his outlandish lies on matters big or small — e.g., vandals at the reflecting pool! She begged me for a photo! — or tosses out bacchanalian distractions, or seeks refuge in hapless propaganda (none creepier than Vice President JD Vance’s pro-Nixon spin), he cannot arrest a growing national consensus: whatever Trump is doing is a failure and whatever he says is a bald-faced lie.

Trump’s inability to snow over the public with his blizzard of deceit bodes well for Democrats’ chances to trounce Republicans in the midterms. Candid after his primary defeat, Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn let on: “The jury’s still out whether this MAGA populist movement can survive the midterms.” But widespread agreement that Trump is an inveterate liar offers the opportunity for something beyond a midterm victory, which would be nothing less than a reality reset.

In the late stages of any authoritarian crack, the degenerating despot’s spin, lies, and excuses eventually reach a point of diminishing returns. Each additional fabrication only reinforces exasperation with his galling mendacity. That, in turn, may whet the public’s appetite for some unvarnished truth-telling and public accountability.

Jen Rubin wrote this, and she is absolutely right.

Trump keeps rolling out new distractions. He’s doing everything he can to turn We the People’s attention away from his increasing lists of lies, failures, and broken promises.

His latest Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! effort is for money to fight communism in the United States. But all of it is secret. Trump runs an opaque administration. Whenever documentation and proof is demanded, he blusters and folds.

The ‘war on communism’ is his latest desperate attempt to stoke fear, sow divisions, and stay in power.

Johnson Says Pentagon Needs More Money for ‘Fighting Communism on Our Own Shores’

As he pushed for Congress to approve $350 billion in new spending requested by the Pentagon, House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested Tuesday that some of the funds were needed for “fighting communism on our own shores,” an ominous notion in light of President Donald Trump’s threats to deploy the US military against his domestic enemies.

In addition to the already record-breaking $1.1 trillion military spending bill that was approved last month by the House Appropriations Committee, the Pentagon has requested a separate $350 billion package to be passed through a separate GOP-led spending bill known as “Reconciliation 3.0,” which can pass without Democratic support.

Sure. They’re fighting ‘communism’. Some of We the People will hear the word and shrivel up in fear. But most of us know this dance and will not be fooled again. As Jen Rubin wrote, we know Trump is lying. So is Johnson.

Next, we have this piece by Paul Krugman.

The Humbling of the Once Almighty Dollar

Donald Trump’s stunning failure in Iran has weakened America on many fronts. The world now perceives us as neither a reliable ally nor an invincible enemy, with an extortionately expensive military that is losing its best and brightest to Pete Hegseth’s prejudice and incompetence. We are now four months into a war that was supposed to last a couple of weeks.There is no end in sight as strikes and counter-strikes continue despite Trump’s farcical proclamations of American victory and Iranian surrender. Sixteen months into his presidency, Trump has squandered all of America’s credibility with the rest of the world.

So let me add one more item to the tally of destruction: The supremacy of the dollar, the pre-eminent tool in America’s toolbox of global financial power, has been seriously damaged by the rise of alternative payment systems – a rise that was greatly hastened by the Iran war.

Paul Krugman summarizes how the United States and the USD are losing ground in international affairs. Instead of increasing respect for the United States, Trump has managed to reveal that, with him in charge, the US is now an unreliable ally and trade partner. Trump thumbs his nose at international law, sneers at history, and makes boasts and claims that he can’t back up.

Like We the People, the world is reaching the point that they’ve had enough.

Here is the capstone of the current trend:

Trump’s 37% approval problem just got harder to ignore

Trump’s approval rating is more than a single bad headline. At 37%, the president is sitting in territory that usually signals a broad coalition of dissatisfaction, not just predictable opposition from the other party.

Yes, it’s more than bad headlines, distractions, an unneeded war, and constant lies. Those are all symptoms.

The truth is that a person who should not be in charge of this nation won an election. Since his election, he’s done grave damage to our nation’s system of government and has grown as a threat to not just We the People, but to democracy itself.

Trump knows this. As much as he tries to spin matters, as much as his staff hides the truth, the cracks are showing.

Trump is failing. He and his policies need to be reined in before it’s too late.

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Monday’s Theme Music — Sweet Lies

Ashland, southern Oregon — Monday, July 13, 2026.

We’re climbing through the 70s, on our way to 90 degrees F. Sunny. Blue sky. No clouds. Supposed to be different tomorrow, with a 55% chance of rain. We will see.

We took a moment at our house to talk about Sam Niell passing. We both enjoyed his work. I was just watching him in the television “Peaky Blinders” last night.

My wife said today, “Who could have guessed that the cease fire with Iran would unravel?”

Yes, a Trump deal unraveling? Perish the thought.

I’ve been following numerous stories in the press that analyze what Trump says and how much of it is a lie. It’s become like a hobby for me. It takes enormous time because Trump lies frequently.

Some of his recent lies are in these stories:

Analysts fact-check the president‘s latest claims about the US economy

Trump Justifies Money Made as President With Inaccurate Claims

Trump claims 59% approval, but recent polls show support far lower

And then there was this headline out of Fortune Magazine:

U.S. Treasury has borrowed $155 billion every month of this fiscal year—and is now paying $24 billion a week in interest on its debts

Tax cuts and spending increases have pushed current spending. The nation is expected to borrow $2T to finance the debt in 2026.

Trump still believes in magic, though, claiming he will balance the budget without doing a thing. Your Trump Quote of the Day:

I file this Trump declaration with Trump’s many other declarations, lies, and broken promises, including the one about no new wars, releasing the Epstein files, and that other one about lowering inflation.

Today’s morning mental music stream is “Sweet Lies” by Fleetwood Mac. The Neurons inform that they are playing this song for me because Trump tells sweet little lies. MAGAts and Republicans faithfully nod, agreeing with his lies. Does that make them liars by proxy?

Hope your day comes free of lies and full of joy, peace, and security.

Cheers

4

Saturday’s Theme Music — Uneasy Distractions

Ashland, southern Oregon — Saturday, July 11, 2026.

65 and cloudy, it feels like a comfortable 72 outside. The temperature will rise into the high 80s today in our valley.

It seems to me like Trump has been losing mojo. Just IMO. Gas prices are rising — again, after a brief reprieve while a ceasefire was in effect — and the recession vibe remains strong. People keep talking about it and they’re not pleased.

Although Republicans ‘support’ the war with Iran, it’s not very popular. His objectives are all over the place, as is the timetable. Only the triple impacts of death, destruction, and costs are clear.

Hustling to keep power, Trump is trying distraction after distraction under Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! This week, he rolled out the classic right-wing trope, ‘commies’.

Like many of Trump’s tactics, he’s going after emotional votes, and uses fear. Basic insights tell us that this shift is to attract anyone previously affected by communism, such as Cuban voters who escaped Castro. It’ll also speak directly to those cold war survivors who had the commie threat ingrained in them for decades.

Threat inflation, I believe it’s called, and it’s been used in politics forever, most recently when JD Vance and Trump made up stories about Haitians eating people’s pets.

Trump is hoping that the commie threat will distract us from the tangible and intangible expenses of his war with Iran. He also has his fingers crossed that it’ll be enough of a distraction to lower our concerns about the rising challenge of affordability in the US, extreme weather problems being fueled by climate change, his grifting, and the many other ways he’s broken promises and failed.

That emotional vibe is what keeps MAGAts riding the Trump bus.

Meanwhile, the rural hospital crises goes on. Measles outbreaks have already surpassed 2025’s total, and will get worse. Measles used to reflect the school-year cycle but now, as children attend summer camps, the spread of measles is no longer contained to the school systems as much as it was.

A new vision of Trumpland rises. The wealthy top five to ten percent enjoy life as poverty grows. People outside of the wealthy class increasingly struggle to keep up with needs — food, health, shelter, energy — or the house and health insurance to save them when things go wrong.

Trump keeps juggling distractions: Greenland! Ballroom! Security! Freedom 250! Formula 1 race in DC! Immigrants! Commies, commies, commies! Iran with nukes! The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Stolen elections! Election fraud!

Emotional voters will vote for him because he says it like it is, because he speaks to their fears.Yes, that’s a little reductive; others will vote for him because ‘the Bible’ or ‘woke’. More will vote for him because ‘Merica, or ‘Republican’.

That’s what we face to bring sensible change back into the national conversation.

Today’s song came out in 1973. The ballad of the “Uneasy Rider” was by the Charlie Daniels Band — CDB. It tells the story of a long-haired person driving through the south back in the early 1970s when they have a flat tire.

While waiting for their tire to be fixed, the narrator takes refuge in a bar, where he hides his hair up under his hat. But circumstances arise when he must ‘tip his hat to a lady’. He does, revealing his long hippie hair.

Suddenly he’s nervous and in danger. In order to escape, he starts accusing one of the others of various things — playing on fears. Here’s the lyrics that tell the tale:

And I knew I better think of something pretty quick
So I just reached out and kicked ol’ green teeth right in the knee
Now he let out a yell that’d curl your hair
But before he could move I grabbed me a chair
And said, “Watch him folks ’cause he’s a thoroughly dangerous man!”
“You may not know it but this man is a spy
He’s a undercover agent for the FBI
And he’s been sent down here to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan!”
He was still bent over holding on to his knee
But everybody else was looking and listening to me
And I laid it on thicker and heavier as I went
I said, “Would you believe this man has gone as far
As tearing Wallace stickers off the bumpers of cars
And he voted for George McGovern for President”
“Well, he’s a friend of them long haired hippy-type, pinko fags!

I bet you he’s even got a commie flag
Tacked up on the wall inside of his garage”
“He’s a snake in the grass, I tell you guys
He may look dumb but that’s just a disguise
He’s a mastermind in the ways of espionage”

h/t Genius.com

The narrator plays on fears to distract so he can escape, just as Trump does to ‘change the narrative’.

Listening to the song, I heard a few differences in this version.

  1. He doesn’t mention peace signs on his car.
  2. The original mentioned voting for Wallace; it’s been changed Reagan.
  3. The narrator accuses green teeth of voting for Jimmy Carter for president.
  4. “Mario Andretti would have sure been proud” was the original reference; that was changed to Cale Yarborough.
  5. And the references to their peckers on fire has been changed…

Hope you have a distractionfree day of peace, grace, good food and good health.

Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music – Golden Years

Ashland, southern Oregon — Friday, July 20, 2026.

It’s 70 F under bright sunshine this morning. A high of 90 is expected. Papi has already out to sleep through the heat in a comfortable space.

The Mitch McConnell pool remains open. Is he or isn’t he alive? He hasn’t been seen in public since June 14. People kept insisting they spoke with him but never offer proof. I suspect some mad scientist is probably trying to reanimate McConnell, or tech bros developing an AI version of him.

I can see the new Roberts Court ruling: “AI are people, too.”

Reminds me of an old nursery rhyme. “Fe fi fo fum, I smell the blood of a Republican. Be he live or be he dead, there’s not enough there to fit between my bread.”

My wife and I were talking last night about how things were before. It was mostly about our lives and bodies and their changes, but the conservation expanded in multiple directions.

One question that arose was, did we ever live in a golden age? Neither of us thought so. We used to work hard, budget money carefully, save. We were not extravagant people. Still aren’t. That kept us secure and safe. But we were young and healthy, with that glow that anything was possible.

We believed our society would keep moving forward and work closer together to solve what seems like insurmountable problems. Now, with Trump in the White House and most Republicans with their heads planted where the sun doesn’t shine, we have no faith that all the progress we thought had been made would continue.

For laughs, I reminded my wife that Trump said that we’re living in a golden age.

She mimed gagging, choking, and puking in response. Her follow up was, “Only if you’re wealthy. But every era is a golden age if you have enough money.”

No matter how well some might be doing now, as Trump attacks programs that aid the impoverished and needy, I can’t ever think of this period as a golden age or golden years. Since Trump began his second term, overall prices have not fallen. Real wages have declined and economic growth has not accelerated. Manufacturing employment continues to decline and the national debt keeps growing.

To distract us from noticing this, Trump attacks others. Right now, Trump is attacking Iran — again — after declaring that conflict over.

With his history — three marriages, cheating on his wives, numerous affairs, multiple business bankruptcies, the Epstein files, and a campaign strewn with broken promises — Trump can’t be trusted. How can I ever believe him when he says we’re in a golden age?

I don’t see the evidence for a golden age. My wife and I are in a golden age in the sense that we don’t organize our lives around our employment schedules. That sort of freedom is golden, if you’re financially secure. That’s a big caveat in the US. As for the rest of life, this is not a golden age.

Which takes me to the music. Today we have David Bowie singing “Golden Years” in the morning mental music stream. Came out in 1975.

For me the lines which matter from this song are,

“Run for the shadows, run for the shadows

“Run for the shadows in these golden years.”

Yes, run for the shadows.

Golden years are supposed to be a time of prosperity, happiness, and satisfaction. We seem to have some distance to that goal right now.

My hope for you is you have a golden day — one of prosperity, happiness, and satisfaction.

Cheers

3

Thursday’s Theme Music — Heroes

Thursday, July 9, 2026 — Ashland, southern Oregon.

Gonna be another 90+ degree summer day in our Valley. Now is the time to be outdoor doing things, as it’s 70, with a light cooling breeze. Heeding that advice, that’s exactly what our Papi did. No moss grows under his paws.

Familial news front remains quiet. Mom’s house is going through the appraisal process today, needed for the buyer’s loan. Fingers crossed, you know? Fingers crossed is my favorite way to achieve good results, knock on wood.

We’re not at war again but Trump says the cease fire is over and we’re firing missiles at us, and they’re doing the same. The peace president declared, “This is really not a war so much. It’s a de-nuking of Iran, de-nuclearization of Iran.” To people who were in wars before, it seems like a war, what with all the bombings, explosions, and death. Classic Trump Double Standards.

Trump also previously declared that Iran no longer had any nuclear capabilities. Yet he’s attacking them again to get rid of their nuclear capabilities.

It all feels like more of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! Other than MAGA, Trump’s popularity is dropping. Bombing Iran is unpopular, and will likely get worse as Trump shifts why we’re doing it and how long it will last, exposing him again to being unreliable. The war will drive prices up again, and cause drops in the stock market, affecting the 401Ks that Trump was just crowing about a few weeks ago.

But the ‘conflict’ gives him a private boast to his ego because he can unleash the military and say to himself, “Look how powerful I am.”

Meanwhile, prices will rise. Affordability will get worse.

Trump will get richer.

Bonnie Tyler passed away. I always enjoyed her voice and style. So, today’s song is a reflection of her impact.

“Holding Out for A Hero” is right as a song to remember Bonnie Tyler as well as a song for the moment. Trump and his cast of spineless GOP minions are not heroes. Many have abandoned their duties as part of the checks and balances system in a crass display to remain in power, to be relevant, and to enrich themselves.

Meanwhile, on the Democrat’s side of the aisle, we have the Graham Platner fiasco. We thought he was someone with principles and moral courage. Subsequent revelations showed we were wrong.

Now we’re again looking for heroes. People to stand up against Trump and help rebuild our democracy. Someone who will drain the swamp and restore our values.

I hope your day is beneficial to you in every matter that’s important.

Coffee is here.

RIP, Bonnie Tyler.

Cheers

2

How Low Can Trump Go?

A WSJ story today conveys Trump offering things from a White House room full of Trump merchandise to a foreign delegation.

My first reaction was, of course he has a room in the White House full of stuff he wants to sell to make money. That’s all he really thinks about: how can I make myself more money? He’s such a broken toy.

But next, I thought, sure. Trump is giving his stuff away because he can’t sell it.

Third: Trump thinks this is normal for government officials to be offer things to sell on the Internet to make money.

In reactions to the story, one person wrote it best: “Just when you think he has hit rock bottom, Donald blasts 20 feet deeper.”

Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! fired up again now that the Freedom250 phase of it ended. OEL–S! is Trump’s continual efforts to distract us from his grifting, and how he’s corrupting democracy, and bankrupting the nation. Like a magician, he’s always utilizing ways to stop us from looking at one place too long, trying to weave a spell of confusion about what the hell he’s doing.

Trump isn’t as smart as he thinks he is. We always know what he’s doing, even when he tries hard to hide it, except for the MAGA faithful. They prefer to remain blind to it, even perversely cheering him on.

Freedom250 and the Great American State Fair are supposed to be celebrations of the nation’s beginnings. First, Trump has a decidedly skewered view of that. His ignorance of history is appalling, and that doesn’t seem to be an act. He honestly appears to be that uneducated and ignorant in that realm.

Second, Trump’s ego says, I must make it about me, so he does. Everything becomes about him, to the detriment of We the People.

In the latest OEL–S!, the United States is again attacking Iran. The Trump administration accuses Iran of violating the terms and declares punishment, doing so in the name of peace, of course.

Trump declared that the ceasefire is over. Bombing will commence again. Oil prices immediately rose. The stock market immediately dropped.

Meanwhile, Trump is backing the Freedom Fuel Network.

After chastising President Biden for high gas prices, Trump launched a war that sent gas prices rocketing upward. Now, he’s crowing about supporting 25 gas stations where gas is lower than the national average while remaining higher than what it was when Trump took office, back when it was just $3.12 a gallon.

I’ll tell you what: Trump is involved, so I’m suspicious about the foundation and future of Freedom Fuel Network. From my point of view, when a con is involved with a new business, it’s another con. My evidence on this is built upon evidence of:

  • Trump Shuttle
  • Trump Mortgage
  • Trump Steaks
  • Trump Bibles
  • Trump Plaza and Hotel
  • Trump Taj Mahal
  • Trump Mobile T1
  • Trump Castle/Trump Marina
  • Trump University
  • The Donald J. Trump Foundation
  • Trump Vodka
  • $TRUMP Memecoin
  • World Liberty Financial
  • Freedom250
  • the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
  • Trump Sneakers
  • Epstein files
  • Iran War and ceasefire
  • and multiple other Trump promises and claims, like paying for sex with Stormy Daniels, then lying about it

How low can Trump go?

He’ll keep going lower until he’s finally passed away and lowered into the ground.

Then we’ll begin to learn the truth about how low Trump went.

10

Sunday’s Theme Music — the Craziest Thing

Ashland, southern Oregon — Sunday, July 5, 206.

It’s another hot summer day. Clouds are in the air and the temperature will be about 90 degrees, not nearly as life-threatening as so many others are enduring around the world.

We attended the Independence Day parade in Ashland yesterday. Very tepid. Low turnout to watch, low enthusiasm for the people marching by, dull interest in the music. The ‘flyby’ came about ten minutes after the parade ended.

It could all be me and my friends, of course, but I walked around to hear what others were saying. One young man pushing a stroller, a woman and another child with him, were all dressed in the national colors. “That wasn’t much,” he was saying, walking away. “Where should we go?

Trump broke more promises yesterday, of course. He said he was going to speak no matter what the weather, but then waited until it was cool, much later. That’s TACO for you. He also said he was going to speak for a very long time but spoke only 40 minutes. More TACO.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Trump was said to be talking about the crowd at the July 4th celebration. He thinks that crowd is “the craziest thing anyone’s ever seen.”

No, Trump, the craziest thing ever seen remains how much you lie and steal, and yet people keep saying how wonderful and great you are. That’s the craziest thing anyone’s ever seen in the last fifty years.

Trump promised a ‘golden age’ during his speech. I’ll tuck that promise in with these previous Trump promises:

We’ve seen the outcomes of these Trump promises. Trump has attacked several countries. He went to war with Iran. Inflation is still up and affordability is a hot issue for many people. Trump was frequently golfing during the war with Iran. Medicare has been cut. A new healthcare plan never emerged. Trump is still building the border wall; Mexico isn’t paying for it.

With MAGA’s unquenched love for Trump going strong, The Neurons unspooled “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen in the morning mental music stream.

I’ve read essays during the last few weeks about how Republicans have weaponized words like patriotism, woke, freedom, God, and religion. They essentially coopted and twisted these words and their meanings in the finest “1984” fashion. So while I use ‘love’ as a descriptor for what MAGAts hold for Trump, I’m not certain that it’s love in the sense that the rest of us employ it. If it is, it’s love in the sense of too many tortured relationships, where one is the abuser and the other is abused, yet the abused cannot quit the relationship. I know that I’m thinking of it from my side of the perspective, and not the abused MAGA position.

But how else can I think of it? Trump continually lies to them. He makes and breaks promises, just as it’s seen in many abusive relationships. Yet, they can’t quit him; they love him. They love him even though he made two billion dollars and did little to improve their lives, even as they struggle more and more with worsening conditions and deteriorating affordability.

So here we go: theme music for the MAGAts and Trump.

Hope your day brings you the best life you can live. May peace and grace smooth your way and take you on to better things.

Cheers

3

Friday’s Theme Music – Pretending

Ashland, southern Oregon — Friday, July 3, 2026.

Hot is the word for today. 90 is our expected high. It’s sunny but windy, with a blue sky coping with several blue clouds.

It’s funny to me how Papi awakens me every morning at about 5:50. Today was a little later, 5:57. I wonder about the little clock in his head. More correctly, it seems to be a stomach alarm. “More food, please, hurry.” Which I do. Which he probably wouldn’t ask for if this habit hadn’t been established. Which came about with previous cats and my work schedule. Some things endure change. *smile*

I was looking at the area weather statistics for June. Although we ended on a cool streak, we were 2.5 degrees above average for the month. There were no days when we exactly hit the average.

My body, mind, and spirit feel very strong today. Thank you to everyone who took time to send me positive energy. Send it to others now more in need, please, as I’m doing good.

There’s no escaping Trump today. He’s encountered most days in this era, lying, gloating, boasting, mocking, demeaning. Too often, there’s an announcement accompanied by his smirking visage, and I just respond, ugh.

We have the terrible circumstances that a wealthy man interested only in himself ‘leading’ the government as we celebrate our nation’s beginnings. It feels like a low point. Yes, we’ve been polarized and demoralized before as a country. There have been scandals like Watergate, Contragate, Teapot Dome. There’s been crises like the Cuba Missiles Crises, and so many, many wars. Disasters were endured; pandemics. Assassinations. I didn’t live through many of these and rely on reports others made. I’m living through this, though, and I don’t like it.

What is funny is how fast and consistently MAGA pivots to cover Trump. They embrace his explanations and excuses, ignore his broken promises, and dismiss his lies and convictions in court as meaningless. As they depress me, I turn further and further away from their concerns…

In many ways, I think MAGAts are pretending that Trump speaks for them. They’re pretending that life under him is what they voted for and wanted. They pretend that he’s not misleading them, dismissing them, forgetting them as he grows wealthier and they often grow poorer. Weaker. Sicker.

The real question is, how will they feel when Trump is gone and their situation is not better for any of them except the wealthy? Who will they blame? Where will they turn?

As Trump is already ranked at or near the bottom of historic ratings, I believe that the Trump Era will gain a place in our nation’s history as a dark, low time.

With those of pretending populating my thoughts, The Neurons cranked up “Pretending” in the morning mental music stream. Eric Clapton wrote and recorded it but Jerry Lynn Williams wrote it. With lines like these, it feels right for this Trumpishly diminished day:

“How many times must we tell the tale? How many times must we fall? Living in lost memory you just recall.”

“That’s when I knew she was pretending. Pretending to understand.”

May you find joy and peace in your hours today, happiness in your night, and love in your heart.

Coffee is at hand again. Time to write. Cheers

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