“In late January 2026, President Donald Trump publicly threatened to “decertify” certain Canadian-made aircraft (often cited as Bombardier’s Global Express family) and to impose a 50% tariff on aircraft imported from Canada. Reporting linked the threat to Canada’s pace in certifying (validating) several US-made Gulfstream business jets for Canadian operation.”
Wait a minute!
Are you telling me that Trump’s complaint about Canada not being willing to certify the Gulfstream is a result of Trump threatening to decertify Canadian aircraft and impose a 50% tariff?
Why, Donald Trump — suddenly, I can believe that Canada has not certified the Gulfstream.
What I can’t believe — again — is how you refuse to accept the consequences of the stupid decisions you make.
And again, you try blaming others for your stupidity.
Ashland, southern Oregon. Wednesday, September 2, 2026.
Autumn landed in Ashland. Temperatures dropped. The heat came in. Thunderstorms and rain dominated the afternoon.
It was a hard rain — big silver drops falling in rapid succession. Not Portland or Seattle hard, and certainly not monsoon levels, but hard for us. 56 F now, just short of our 60 degrees high. 99% chance of rain today. Moving the needle a little back toward summer tomorrow, the high will be up to the mid 60s. Meanwhile, I am enjoying this rain.
I surfed the Tangle email this morning. In covering the Roberts Court decision to let Trump keep building the Epstein ballroom, they included a section about what conservatives are saying regarding the decision. They include Matt Margolis in PJ Media. Margolis compared Trump’s White House changes to those done by previous presidents, trying to make it seem like the same thing.
Which it isn’t. In all the instances Margolis cited, Congress was involved in approving the funding and construction. Margolis cites FDR’S swimming pool — oh, look, nobody complained about it! They’re treating Trump unfairly!
But FDR’s pool was built with private donations. And the Congressional Record makes this point explicitly: FDR was willing to accept the gift provided Congress authorized acceptance of it. Congress then passed the resolution.
Did Trump do that with the ballroom? We know the answer to that.
Margolis also wanted to compare Obama move to change the tennis courts to basketball courts, conflating it with $375M being spent and two years of construction. Except the records show the money was appropriated for Congress for a project approved for the Bush administration. President Obama just continued the project. And the basketball court didn’t require two years and millions of dollars. Nor did he destroy part of the White House to have it made.
This is all about Trump Double Standards and how MAGAts and Republicans attempt to justify them. Trump makes a mess of things, cutting down trees, removing art, breaking treaties, disrupting alliances, tearing down the White House, screwing up the economy as well as the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, fucking up the military, starting another war in the middle east, trying to rewrite American history, denying rights based on sex, orientation, and hiding Trump’s involvement in the huge Epstein mess. Much of this is happening while the GOP pantomimes see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil and gives way to Trump.
Watch how it will turn if the Democrats take control of Congress. Republicans will all suddenly be crying about law and order and precedence. If a Democrat is elected POTUS, the GOP will eagerly clamor for checks and balances. Meanwhile, the Democrats will be the ones fixing the Trump mess. Reverting names to what they were, addressing the rocketing national debt, pushing to address the growing measles outbreaks, coping with inflation. The GOP will demand cuts for the social safety nets but not for the wealthy.
That is their MO.
Meanwhile, Trump is making it clear to Republicans that he only cares about them if he needs them. For the most part, he’s dismissive of them, not willing to spend any campaign funds on them while collecting more — for what?
Today’s song came from thinking “bloody right”, as in that damn irritating US right wing. I’m sure they say similar about the left, Democrats, and Progressives. *smile* Anyway, as I mumbled to myself about the bloody GOP — I watch a lot of Brit and Aussie television — The Neurons powered up “Bloody Well Right” in the morning mental music stream.
Supertramp came out with the song in the early 1970s. (Pause to think, wow, fifty years ago. Unpause.) The song has a sharp anti-authority tone to it.
Sample Lyrics
So you think your schooling is phoney I guess it’s hard not to agree You say, “It all depends on money And who is in your family tree”
Right (right), you’re bloody well right You got a bloody right to say Right, you’re bloody well right You know, you got a right to say
Write your problems down in detail And take ’em to a higher place You’ve had your cry, no, I shouldn’t say wail In the meantime hush your face
Sounds suitable for now.
May purrs of joy fill your ears and good companionship carry you through whatever tribulations you’re enduring.
Ashland, southern Oregon. This is it: Monday, August 31, 2026. August’s last day for almost another year.
Autumn is manifesting through leaves changing colors, shorter days, cooler temperatures, and the sun’s angles. We have a blue sky and sunshine right now. 64 F, the air feels fresh and clean. Papi indulged in a short zoom around the yard, clawed up a tree’s bark, and then rolled around in sunshine on the patio and bathed himself. He paused once to give me a look that said, “Are you still there?”
Supposed to hit 89 F today. Rain is presumably on the way later this week. As with many things, we’ll see.
All quiet on the Mom front.
We’re going to the movies this afternoon to see “Coyote vs Acme”. This seems like a fun and natural outcome of the old Roadrunner cartoons. Coyote was always trying to catch the bird, often by using Acme products. The products frequently failed. Now Coyote is suing Acme.
Trump is a liar. That’s bad. But he’s delusional—and that’s even worse
Trump is painting the Venezuela oil deal as a great thing for the United States and Venezuela. But as details emerge, the deal appears legally shaky because it violates Venezuela’s laws.
Not that laws ever matter to Trump. He forced the deal through to feed his ego and appease his base because he’s desperate. Right now, it’s more of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! to me, an effort to distract everyone from how crappy everything else is going — if you’re not wealthy. If you’re wealthy, well, this K-shaped economy is doing just fine, thank you.
As with everything else about Trump, it’s shady.
So is his ICE campaign to ‘deport’ immigrants. Trump isn’t employing due process in his ICE campaigns.
Reading about it, Laura Berlin began researching and found who profits from this crackdown. She created a website to document this information. Responding to criticism as the Trump administration does, Berlin’s website was labeled ‘a tool for domestic terrorism’.
Facts, truth, history, journalism, free speech. Every day brings more aggressive tactics from Trump to shut them down.
Today’s music is by a Canadian group, Blue Rodeo. I was not familiar with them, but they have a song, “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet”, which they released in 1993. The song features the lyrics, “Watching the snow fall on this cold December night, and out in the middle of Lake Ontario, the same snow is falling on the deep silent water.”
Trump thinks he can magically change things. We the People disagree. So I’m playing this song for Trump.
May this day find you strong and healthy, and you continue to thrive as we move into September of 2026.
Ashland, southern Oregon. It’s the next to last day of August – Sunday, August 30, 2026.
Autumn has definitely inserted itself around her. Chilly last night, dropping into the forties. Trees are turning gold and red against a blue velvet sky. Sunshine is expected to lift us from our current temp of 53 degrees F to 86 degrees F.
Mom texted me several times yesterday but I couldn’t understand most of it. She didn’t respond to requests for clarification.
We seem to be on flat loop for political news. That’s not to dismiss or make light of all the news about murders, gun violence, fires, and death going on. I’m just keeping the focus narrow right now.
Trump keeps sending out texts, of course, and does some AI-generated photos of himself with truly famous and important people, trying to revitalize his tired image and poor record by leeching off of others.
Ironically, Trump once leeched off of Epstein’s popularity to boost himself. Trump called Epstein a “terrific guy”. Now he’s trying to hide his relationship with Epstein.
Like, no kidding. We the People call them ‘distractions’. I refer to the entire body of distractions as Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!
Besides the texts and AI generated images, Trump torn down part of the White House to build a ballroom. Now it’s a mess.
Trump started a war with Iran. That was also to project how tough he was and how powerful the United States is. But Trump has the anti-Midas touch: all which he touches, organizes, or touts quickly diminishes in value. So the US military is now mired in another new Middle East war.
Way to go, Trump.
Besides starting that war, Trump did the Venezuela oil deal. Which…we won’t know what it means until all details are released and time has passed. Trump is talking about how great it is, but that’s what he always does.
Like this economy. Trump says it’s great. But the numbers aren’t great. Beyond rising prices, which are mostly fueled by Trump’s tariffs, his lingering war with Iran, and rising costs associated with climate change and extreme weather, personal bankruptcies are up. So are home foreclosures. Trump is killing the American dream. He’s not worried, though, because he’s enriched himself.
Overall, Trump’s second term legacy can be summed up as lies, delusions, and failures.
And now, a quote about Trump:
Today’s music comes out after thinking — again — about Trump’s many promises and delusions. I think too much about it, to be honest. I do so because he says these things, breaks his promises, and yet MAGAts and the GOP are all, it’s all gone.
Some of the MAGAts support Trump because he’s tearing everything down. That’s what they want: tear it down so we can rebuild. Unfortunately for us, ‘tearing it all down’ in this age will cause huge damage to the world. I guess they have Mad Max fantasies about leaving in a dystopian land…
Anyway, The Neurons ended up inserting a Simple Minds song in my morning mental music stream. “Promised You A Miracle” came out in 1982 and has that 80s techno rock vibe. The lyrics fit now:
Sample Lyrics:
I promised you a miracle Belief is a beauty thing Promises, promises As golden days break wondering
Seems to fit with Trump and the MAGAts, doesn’t it. ‘Belief is a beauty thing’.
May love, peace, and abundance be with you on this and every day.
Ashland, southern Oregon. Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
Just so you know, it will not be 08262026 ever again. As far as we know. The way some of this news cycle goes, some days feel like a rerun.
Damn, that’s a scary idea, that we’re living in the same days over and over again, a cosmic “Groundhog Day”.
Today’s weather is cooler again, 68 F, with light, high clouds. Today’s high is expected to achieve 86 F.
Oh, boy, the news today. Tim Curry died, 80. Montana man killed 8 members of his family. Lightning strike killed Mom and daughter in Florida, and the US claimed Chinese hackers broke into DoJ, the Senate, NASA, and the Federal Reserve.
Just a good news Wednesday.
News like this isn’t out of the ordinary. Other than the Chinese hacking, this could be the headlines compiled in many other years. Only names and locations have changed.
Trump is using the FBI hacking revelations to claim that the Chinese manipulated the 2020 election. I counter that the Chinese influenced the 2024 election, making Trump illegally elected. Therefore, Trump should be immediately removed from office, because Vice President Kamala Harris really won 2024.
See, Trump? I can make claims, too.
Speaking of that:
Obama for President in 2028!
Trump’s head will explode if he sees and hears that too much, so please, whatever you do, don’t put Obama for President in 2028 on any social media. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Speaking of Trump, this headline had me grinding my teeth.
Yes, that Trump economy — great for the wealthy, but an excellent reminder that shit rolls down hill.
Mike Lindell is still out there. After losing the primary, he whined about the election being stolen. Refusing to concede, he’s asking for TROs and demanding a recount. In parallel, he missed the deadline for filing the payment for the recount he’s demanding. In his demands, he’s ignoring what Minnesota law requires, insisting that things are done his way for him.
Given how Lindell is handling this, doing it the same way that Trump would, making it all about him, Minnesota dodged a bullet when Lindell lost.
Today’s theme music is “After the Gold Rush”. This came into the morning mental music stream as I reflected on Dolly Parton passing. I remembered hearing the Trio — Emilylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt — perform this. “After the Gold Rush” was written by Neil Young and released by him in 1970. It’s a reflective song with tripply lyrics about dreams, change, and being, IMO. Trio does a beautiful job of delivering it, recording and releasing it over a quarter century later.
I think it holds up well, but that’s me.
Sample Lyrics
I was thinking about what a friend had said I was hoping it was a lie Thinking about what a friend had said I was hoping it was a lie
Well, I dreamed I saw the silver Spaceships flying In the yellow haze of the sun There were children crying And colors flying All around the chosen ones
All in a dream, all in a dream
Thanks for the music, Dolly.
No matter where you are, I hope this post finds you well, and that you have a wonderful day.
Ashland, southern Oregon. Tuesday, August 25, 2026. We’re into August’s final week. September begins next week.
Cooler day today. Cloudy this morning, there remains plentiful sunshine. 73 F, we’ll climb to 94.
Mom fell from her bed yesterday at the assisted living facility. We don’t know details, whether she rolled off or slipped off while sitting or missed the bed when she tried sitting on it. My niece, May, visited there yesterday and reported that the bed is very high. Mom texted me, the fix-it man was supposed to fix it but couldn’t because he was the cook. ?
Gina visited there today and reports, yes, it’s a tall bed. It’s stripped and she saw that it’s two thick mattresses. I asked, “Has it always been this tall?” Yes; this is the same bed Mom has used since arriving in February.
Mom has now been there a half year. It’s been a tumultuous time.
My wife and I are pissed about the Roberts Court decision regarding mail-in ballots. Basically, the POTUS, who has nothing to do with voting. That’s the states and Congress. But the Roberts Court walked a very fine line. Oh, the states filed too soon because they’re not yet being harmed by Trump’s efforts.
WTAF.
Not that Trump’s action are legal or illegal, or if has the authority to do this, etc. No, let’s wait and see, the Roberts Court declared. Kick it down the road. Wait till the election gets fucked up because the USPS isn’t delivering ballots. Then they’ll talk about it.
I was a conspiracist, I’d say the Roberts Court is trying to walk us into the state of midterm election chaos Trump wants so Trump can step in and declare an emergency.
Election fraud is another Trump boogey man. Just like his racism and his commie screams, he uses these words to instill fear and manipulate others.
Evidence of the voting fraud Trump screeches about is as scant as the cancer caused by windmills. Trump’s claims make as much sense as he did when he declared he’d lower prescription drug prices by more than 100%.
Trump is a weak person who thinks himself strong. I suspect the midterms will be as messy as Trump’s Iran War — reaching six months now, after he claimed it would be over in weeks — the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool fiasco, or the White House ballroom. It’s another case built on lies and false claims. It’s as reliable and substantial as AI-generated pictures of Trump as Jesus or Superman, or Trump with George Washington.
That is Trump: a fake. A con. A charlatan.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Trump has always called himself a great negotiator. But progress with Iran and Canada both verify, no, Trump is not a great negotiator. Despite Trump claims about what was done to Iran, the war continues. Prices continue rising and the affordability crisis grows.
Now, Trump’s negotiations with Canada has resulted in yet more pain for US consumers.
Thinking about the court’s narrow approach, The Neurons gave me “Walk On” by U2 in the morning mental music stream. The song came out in 2000.
Sample Lyrics
And if the darkness is to keep us apart And if the daylight feels like it’s a long way on And if your glass heart should crack And for a second you turn back Oh no, be strong
Walk on, walk on What you got they can’t steal it No, they can’t even feel it Walk on, walk on Stay safe tonight
Yes, Trump is the darkness, trying to tear our nation apart.
“During a Monday morning appearance on MS NOW, author and journalist Maggie Haberman revealed that President Donald Trump’s own team pleaded with him to address voter anxieties, but he has so far seemed content to ignore them as the midterms approach.“
I laughed because Trump has demonstrated that he’s so out of touch, it’s gone beyond surreal. As further news emerges about Trump’s relationship with Natalie Harp, I think she’s influencing him, bolstering ideas that Trump is doing great. So, ipso facto, if Trump is doing great, as he believes, he has no reason to change.
Secondly, I would not be surprised if Trump is already planning to declare an emergency, and in fact to create an emergency to intervene in the 2026 elections or even suspend them. Everyone except Republicans would be in an immediate uproar. What’s really scary in this scenario is that the courts would probably tell Trump that he lacks the authority, but the Roberts Court would probably let Trump do so while they schedule arguments.
Trump and his Project Heritage puppet masters, are expecting that. They’ve been probing the judicial system to see how it reacts to different situations and arguments. They know which courts and judges favor Trump. And they also see how much legal leeway Roberts is giving Trump.
It would be so weirdly Trump: he would simultaneously claim — as he has — that crime and violence is down and everything is great — but also declare an emergency because of how bad everything is.
At the same time,Trump has repeatedly argued that the economy is strong and that his economic record will help Republicans in the 2026 midterms.
When talking about the economy, Trump likes to say that we’ve entered a golden age. He then recites a laundry list of ‘good things’. The thing is, those measurements are typically the metrics for the wealthy.
Outside of the wealthy, the economy sucks. The national debt is at a record high. Dominos fall from that. Bond rates increase; interest rates rise; the housing market suffers.
Gas and diesel fuel prices are up. That drives up the cost of everything, including just going to the store to buy things. With prices up, people have to spend more to buy less.
Back to school sales will be a tell about the economy; so will the upcoming holiday months. But retail sales are trending down YTY for the same period, not a good sign. Although places like Walmart say they’re going to counter by slashing prices by using refunds of tariffs they paid, how much can they significantly offset. More importantly, in parallel to that, Trump is adding more tariffs, and energy prices are ticking upward.
The bottom line of that: the government gives retailers money back for tariffs because the Roberts Court ruled against them. Then retailers use some of it to reduce prices. But Trump imposes new tariffs that push costs back upward.
And Trump knows that his tariffs are costing consumes, even though he previously said that they don’t. That takes us to quotes about what Trump has said about affordability, prices, and tariffs.
Your Trump Quote(s) of the Day:
So, I get it!
According to Trump, he’s going to address affordability, and bring prices down on day one, except affordability is really a Democratic hoax and doesn’t matter, and he doesn’t care anyway. And affordability — that Democratic hoax — is better under Republicans, even though prices are higher and trending to go higher yet. Also, consumers don’t pay tariffs but he’s suspending beef prices to lower prices for you.
If you believe that, Trump has a bible to sell you, religiously used for him to pray every night.
Listening to Trump has all the exasperation and weariness of dealing with a toddler, except toddlers are make a lot more sense.
Joey Politano put it best:
“[E]very 6 months the Trump administration realizes lowering tariffs will lower prices, applies this insight to one specific good, and then proceeds to never introspect beyond that,” he wrote in a post on X. “It’s honestly beautiful in its stupidity.”
Even more beautiful in an ugly way is how so many MAGAts still trust and believe in Trump. Because the direction Trump has taken us in the United States is what they want.
Saturday, August 22, 2026. Ashland, southern Oregon.
Although the clouds have departed and sunshine spreads across a blue sky, today’s temperatures are cooler. 68 F now — feels like 70 something — 86 F will be our high.
Like many others, I’m reading about Trump, Natalie Harp, and Trump’s desperate efforts to win support. It’s unravelling for him.
2026 is becoming the year in which nothing goes right for Trump. Sure, he made a lot of money last year — $3B. But after bragging about how good the economy would be under him and proclaiming a golden age, Trump gets the honor of being the Oval Office resident as the national debt rockets past $40T and climbing.
Gas prices are up. Diesel prices are climbing. Beef prices are still up. Trump’s Iran war goes on. People still ask, what do the Epstein files reveal about Trump that Trump is dodging their release.
Trump also said, “This will last for at least 50 years and you’ll never have a leak. It’s very strong. You couldn’t — if you had a knife, I don’t want to give anybody ideas — if you had a knife you can’t even cut it.”
LOL.
“THE FACTS: Work is ongoing 15 weeks later. The pool was drained for a second time in mid-July to address returning algae blooms and issues with a new coating that was peeling. Trump’s estimates of the project’s cost have increased as work has progressed, to “less than $20 million.” Records show that more than $16 million worth of contracts have been awarded for the project so far.”
So why did Trump put his face on the pool, which many now call symbolic of his shambolic administration?
Maybe he didn’t.
It’s possible that Natalie Harp posted it on behalf of Trump, trying to coax a smile out of that dour old orange peel face. Because posting on social media on Trump’s behalf is part of Natalie Harp’s official duties.
Trump’s face on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool isn’t likely to improve his tanking poll numbers. Trump knows that. So he pulled another trick out of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!
Anyone with half a brain would know that Trump’s move would irritate ranchers and beef producers. Tragically, there’s not half a brain within all of the Trump administration put together.
This is so catastrophically funny. Trump imposed the beef tariffs. That, with the actions he took to cut out trading partners and his war with Iran, has raised prices. Now, desperately trying to do anything to improve his numbers, he’s actually going against his own tariffs and war.
Trump is basically warring with himself. Of course, with all of it, it’s always someone else’s fault.
Doesn’t matter who Trump tries to blame. He’s made a mess of the United States, and now he’s unraveling.
And all of it was predictable way back when he began his presidential campaign back in 2015. We knew he was a fraud, liar, and inept, a con who cheated his way to apparent success.
But there’s a sucker born every minute. Trump managed to con them into voting for him.
Thinking about Trump unravelling caused The Neurons to bring up one of my favorite unravelling songs. Weezer came out with “Undone” back in 1994. The song quickly became known as “Undone – The Sweater Song”.
Sample Lyrics
If you want to destroy my sweater Hold this thread as I walk away (As I walk away!) Watch me unravel I’ll soon be naked Lying on the floor, lying on the floor, I’ve come undone
That would be Darline Graham, Trump’s choice to replace the GOP senator who died last month. No, not Mitch McConnel, the other one.
Darline Graham is a Trump supporter so it’s no wonder that he chose her; for him, her not being informed on national security is a benefit. He doesn’t know much about national security, either.
“Republican primary voters have now rejected 10 Trump-endorsed candidates for statewide office or Congress this primary season.”
Why are they being rejected? Evidence is still being collected.
I don’t know if the truth is coming out, TBH, the truth being that Trump is self-centered, aging, sick, and incompetent. I think this is more of a FAFO matter that people are voting against Trump: they’re hurting and the future isn’t the rosy scenario that Trump promised and they expected.
Many people seemed to vote for Trump by ignoring his actual record of achievement. They blindly accepted his promises in 2024:
No new wars
Prices will come down — fast
No golfing
Law and order
Building the military
Improving the economy
Lowering the national debt
Make America healthy again
Everything Trump’s done since he began his second term has resulted in the opposite of his promises.
Trump started a war with Iran which reduced military munitions and readiness
Prices keep going up, now setting new records for how high they’ve reached
Trump golfs over a quarter of the time he’s been in office
Political prosecutions and pardons have replaced law and order
While the unemployment rate remains roughly 4%, the number of employed Americans are declining
Trump is adding no new jobs
Measles cases are at a 30 year high
Trump claims we’re in a ‘golden age’ but personal bankruptcies are going up.
“Inside the White House, there’s broad confidence that the administration has a record to run on, one the president will likely be hammering from here to November. But other Republicans, including some people close to the president, are concerned that won’t be enough, especially for candidates running in competitive races. They want him to offer fresh economic plans, such as further tax cuts expanding on last year’s major law that’s central to the GOP economic pitch.”
And yet, with all that’s going bad, Trump thinks it’s going great:
Trump probably wants to be the next POTUS because he’s making so much money off of being in the Oval Office during this term. Besides increasing his wealth by over $3B in 2025, We the People are paying for all of his mistakes. We’re paying for his travel, and we’re paying for his golfing.
Yet, these are only the first manifestations of the many messes Trump has created. By rolling back environmental protections, the impact, via increased pollution, more extreme weather, and more natural disasters, are looming on the horizon.
Likewise, Education, which Trump has gutted, is a ticking timebomb. One of the foundations for US growth in the last century was its strong education system. It wasn’t perfect, and it was uneven, and yet, it offered promise and hope.
The GOP has been actively wrecking it, monetizing it more each year. Trump is accelerating this process, effectively dumbing down America at a time when the challenges we face require more thinking, more knowledge, more education, and more intelligence.
The evidence of Trump’s impact on our education system won’t immediately show. But like all the other mistakes which Trump has made, it’ll soon be as evident as the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the White House lawn.
