Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
Jill’s post, “Da ‘Toons Tell Da Story” sharply illustrate the foolhardiness of the Trump administration and his followers. I pulled a few favorites to share right here and now, but way more are on her page. Get thee over there to check ’em out!
My Five Favorites:
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:
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:
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
It’s good to laugh, especially when I can laugh at Trump. Jill Dennison again provides the need laugh-fuel for a weary feeling March Tuesday. Here are my top choices from her terrific solution. Hope you read the rest and find your own.
Feels good to laugh, even when it hurts a little because it’s all too damn true and real.
Ashland, Oregon — Friday, March 6, 2026.
Our temperature is 51 F. Sunshine broadly spreads across the valley as thin gray fog recedes. Today’s high might be in the low fifties, we’re told.
Papi doesn’t care about temperatures. That sunshine provides a warm bathing space and he uses his tongue like he hasn’t washed in weeks.
As I sipped coffee and read the news, I thought about the illusions that Trump and his supporters and enablers entertain. That only whites matter, that history should be rewritten to reject anyone who was not a white, Christian heterosexual. It’s so narrow and foolish; again, I’m reminding that we’re only as strong as the weakest among us, only as smart as the least intelligent in our ranks, only as healthy and wealthy as the sickest and poorest.
Trump initially sold those ideas to supporters but has abandoned them. He ran on a promise of lowering prices, convincing many that he would do so on day one of his second term, improving the economy. Now, asked about rising gas prices after his attack on Iran and its impact on gas prices, Trump shrugs it off.
“I don’t have any concern about it. They’ll drop very rapidly when this is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit.”
I don’t trust Trump’s analysis or promises. Trump has littered the political landscape with broken promises: he would deliver a new healthcare plan in two weeks. He would never golf because he would be too busy working. Mexico would pay for the wall. There would be no new wars. Prices would come down on day one. He would end Russia’s war on Ukraine on day 1. Those are just the ones I easily remember.
Trump also claimed that last year’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities had destroyed them. Now he says the war is needed to destroy them.
While thinking about Trump’s positions and policies, The Neurons filled the morning mental music stream with “Fooling Yourself” by Styx. I last played this on my blog when COVID-19 was raging in the United States.
Back then, I quoted and commented on these statements and beliefs made by a MAGAt.
No worse than the flu and already going away. No, the greatest threat to America comes from “libtards” and their willingness to give everything away (he believes “Obama destroyed America and the economy”). Further, Trump’s recent sickness was really just a cover for him to rise up and finally vanquish the Dems and “libtards”.
Again, I think Trump supporters are fooling themselves. Trump is fooling himself.
On February 19, 2026, Trump said at the ‘Board of Peace’ meeting in the Oval Office:
“And there’s nothing less expensive than peace. You know, when you go to wars, it costs you 100 times what it costs to make peace.”
Nine days later, Trump launched a war that’s costing over $60,000,000 a day for the United States. This doesn’t address the cost of the other nations, such as Iran, the center of the destruction. Nor does it address the cost of lives lost, disrupted, and destroyed, regardless of the nationality, age, or religion.
And after a year in office, the Ukraine War continues.
The video I chose joins the song’s writer, Tommy Shaw of Styx, performing it with the Cleveland-based Contemporary Youth Orchestra. I hope you watch, listen, and enjoy.
May your day find you warm, safe, and blessed with love and good fortune.
Cheers
Ashland, Oregon — Sunday, February 22, 2026. Sunshine washes mountain conifers and hardwoods as ominous clouds float away, revealing a hazy blue sky. 51 degrees now, a 56 F high is projected.
Papi is enjoying the wind-free sunshine, soaking it up like his body was starving for it, then rolling around on the patio.
It’s quieter back east this morning as Mom tries again to reset everyone’s relationship with her back to what it was a month ago. She’s trying to engage allies to move her back home; all of her offspring agree, sorry, Mom, but where you’re at is the best situation for you. It’ll take a long time for Mom to accept that.
On top of that, though, sis reports that she’s sick today. While the stress didn’t help, neither did her daughter’s illness. It’s going around, and sis’s daughter didn’t take precautions to avoid contaminating others. Sigh.
News headlines were about an armed man being shot and killed at Mar-a-Lago and Trump raising tariffs, among others. The basic scan reveals a chaotic but quiet Sunday morning.
This is our new norm as Trump challenges norms and ignores lawful processes and limits, such as firing James W Hundley. The Trump administration failed to follow the process to have an AG appointed for Eastern Virginia. A law covers that contingency, and the Virginia judiciary followed that law, appointing Hundley. The Trump Administration promptly fired him without cause, despite him being legally appointed. And so, another legal battle ensues.
Just think, it was only a year ago that DOGE was spreading a swath of destruction across the federal government. We’re still learning the ramifications. Trump may consider himself the peace president and a uniter, but I see him as the President of Chaos, sowing and encouraging it, to no one’s benefit but his own.
It’s interesting to remember, too, that Trump first promised to ‘declassify’ the Epstein files while campaigning in June of 2024. Then he dismissed it as a hoax. Since then, We the People notice a continuous pattern that he delays and distracts. Meanwhile, in Europe, real justice is being pursued. They are setting the standard that the United States needs to follow. Although I do note that right now, they’re going after the former prince for divulging information and not other crimes, but other crimes are being investigated.
Sensing my mood, The Neurons have plucked Rush out of memory and put “Working Man” in the morning mental music stream. This is a song that says to me, you gotta keep doing what you need to do. That’s about how I feel for today. Press on regardless.
Lyrics h/t Genius.com
It seems to me I could live my life
A lot better than I think I am
I guess that’s why they call me
They call me the workin’ man
Let’s give a shout out to peace and grace, see if we can get them back into our lives and move forward into a better existence.
Cheers
Scotti provides us with a somber but excellent collection of memes and news over at Scottie’s Playground. They all struck hard and true. Some stayed with me more, so I included them below. I hope you’ll check them all out. Cheers
The net has a few comments catching my attention today.
It is January 6 and we have the fifth anniversary of Trump’s first attempted coup to remember.
MPS offers a succinct reminder.
Never forget that Republicans voted for this. Three times. That’s your root-cause analysis right there.
Meanwhile, the Trump Regime continues its thriving hypocrisy practice. Tina Peters is a Colorado MAGAt. She was also an elected official. She claims the 2020 was stolen and allowed Trump allies illegal access to voting machines. Her convictions in state court include four felonies.
Trump wants to pardon Tina but can’t. Tina was prosecuted under state laws. Wah-wah. So Humpy Trumpy told the DOJ he weaponized to go after the entire Colorado prison system to apply pressure to Colorado lawmakers and the governor into ignoring law and order, as Deceitful Don does, and just set Tina free.
What’s really freaking comical is how this person claims the lawsuit is about the conditions in the Colorado prison system. Not humane enough.
Isn’t that outrageous? This orifice of horror and cruelty, who gleefully celebrated the Alligator Alcatraz, who callously orders family separated, ignoring human rights, legal rights, and due process while disappearing people, including parents, is wringing his hands over Colorado’s prison conditions. What a fucking farce.
After being in office for eleven months with GOP control of the Congress, Trump is trying to blame Democrats for inflation.
“That’s our message. They gave you high prices. They gave you the highest inflation in history, and we’re giving you, we’re bringing those prices down rapidly,” Trump said. “Lower prices, bigger paychecks — you’re getting lower prices, bigger paychecks. We’re getting inflation, we’re crushing it, and you’re getting much higher wages.”
~snip~
Prices aren’t going down. Hence, the speech to declare he’s doing.
Trump speeches are a waste of air. Then he went on with more trumpshit.
~snip~
“I have no higher priority than making America affordable again,” Trump said. “That’s what we’re going to do. And again, they cause the high prices, and we’re bringing them down. It’s a simple message.”
~snip~
But, but, but Trump says the affordability is a scam.
~snip~
“The word affordability is a con job by the Democrats,” Trump said Dec. 2. “The word affordability is a Democrat scam.”
~snip~
So there Dozy Donny goes, bellowing about how well he’s fixing affordability after bellowing about affordability not being a problem because it was a scam. Follow that Dizzy Donny logic?
He also told us to cut back on our pencils and dolls.
~snip~
“You can give up certain products. You can give up pencils. That’s under the China policy, you know every child can get 37 pencils—they only need one or two, you know they don’t need that many,” Trump said, adding, “You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter, two or three is nice, but you don’t need 37 dolls.”
~snip~
Less is better is a great sentiment who wants more money, more money, more money! Less dolls, pencils, foods, gas, is great for the masses but Duplicitous Donny wants more of everything for himself. Look how he festooned the building previously known as the White House with unneeded gold. Couldn’t he do with less gold, as he lectures us to do with less?
No, we know him too well by now. He’s a master of double standards.
Of course, those of us outside of the Trumpbubble know that Trump hasn’t lowered prices. Prices have been going up. Trump has tried lying to us about it. Tried hiding numbers. Worked with Walmart to con us into believing Thanksgiving was more expensive in 2024. We saw through all that. People are feeling it, and it’s showing in polls.
Too many still support Trumpy Dumpty and his backward policies in my opinion. I’m looking forward to seeing his approval crash in 2026.
Michael Seidel, writer 