First, a few quotes to remind us who Trump is, in his own words.



On to the circus…














Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
First, a few quotes to remind us who Trump is, in his own words.



On to the circus…














Ashland, southern Oregon. Wednesday — August 5, 2026.
We hit 101.5 at my house yesterday. That was outside. Inside, we stayed below 80. We’ve yet to run the A/C yet this year — knock wood — as the temperatures drop enough at night to cool the house and land down.
We’ll see if that holds today. Right now, it’s 83 F, on its way to 101 again.
The thing about yesterday’s weather is that it climbed slowly. At one mid-afternoon point, I thought, well, this isn’t bad. 91 then, I thought, maybe we won’t hit one hundred. Then I entered a store, came back out said to myself, holy shit, it’s hot as hell. What happened?
Today, though — hot early, hot fast.
Although there are more fires burning across the United States, we’re still fire-free — knock wood. The smoke isn’t bad, either. We’re fortunate in our neck of the woods; Oregon has topped 2,000,000 acres burned this year. Washington has several large fires going. Portland (OR) now has the worst air in the world, due to the wildfires.
Mom and my sister, Gina, continue their quiet war. Mom turned to her granddaughter, Gina’s daughter — Amy — as the go-between. Amy is rejecting the role. Although Mom helped raise Amy, Amy doesn’t deal well with the tension of being the go-between. Plus, Amy is in college, working on a Masters, and she works. So I help fill the gap.
As 2026 wears on, we’re seeing the shadows of Trump’s thinking, lying, fantasizing, playing out in real time now. It’s all catching up.
And what has the war achieved? Death and high prices. A more unstable Middle-East. And now, a more vulnerable US.
Trump and his administration predicted 6% growth; it’s 1.5%
Which reality do you choose?
“When Trump hits a brick wall now, as president, he just fashions an alternative reality. He can talk up tough financial data or a foreign policy hiccup as though he’s bigging up a tatty property in a real estate prospectus.“
Your Trump Quote(s) of the Day:

This is the same tired claim Trump made in January of this year:

Trump has made this claim dozens of times already. But reality does not back him up. As with many matters, Trump has a basic misunderstanding of how things work. If inflation cools, prices don’t ‘come down’; inflation is a measure of how much they’ll increase.
Trump’s claims about affordability and prices coming down, and being in a ‘golden age’ is just like his Iran War rhetoric. Trump has claimed victory again (April), again (June), and again (July). Yet the war goes on, in August. He keeps trying to distract us from the truth. Not happening, because we’re paying through the nose, and we’re feeling it.
Today’s music is “Shadowplay” by Joy Division. Seems right for today. I didn’t know the song when it came out, and discovered it when The Killers covered it for a movie. I like the original’s sonic approach to the gittar playin’. Good morning mental music stream occupant for these times as Trump’s shadow grows.
Sample Lyrics:
h/t to Genius.com
Ashland, southern Oregon. Tuesday, August 4, 2026.
Supposed to get hellishly hot here today. 89 F now, the temperature is expected to go over 100 F. Heat index supposed to magnify the intensity.
Smoke from the fires has floated into our area. Air quality is slowly declining.
Back east, my sister reports that the closing on Mom’s house has slid back to August 14.
Reading the news, checking the weather, I again have “Running with the Devil” by Van Halen playing in the morning mental music stream. Trump is burning down the world. GOP is going along with it. MAGAts cheer him on.
Deteriorating quality of life, weather, rising inequality, increasing costs — who cares as long as Trump is getting his, right? That’s the Republican vision for the United States: protect Trump. Laugh at his ridiculous antics. Pretend that he’s not stealing them blind. Pretend that he’s making life better.
All they need to do is not think too hard about it. Stay in their Trump shells. Blame everyone else, everything else. And when he’s gone?
Well, first, will they accept that he’s dead? Will he become a second Jesus, where they spend their days waiting for him to come back? Will they pretend that he’s alive but being hidden by the deep state.
It’s all possible. GOP and MAGAts are good at pretending. Better at pretending than they are at thinking.
Hope you stay safe and comfortable, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing.
Cheers
Hard to stomach reading today’s news. An opinion piece cited Trump’s tariffs as his biggest policy failure.
I disagree; I think the war with Iran is Trump’s biggest policy failure. It also completely undermines Trump’s whole philosophy.
Trump came in. Removed generals and military leadership. Then he hired sycophants such as Hegseth to shape military policy and develop strategy.
Screaming, “WOKE! DEI!, Hegseth bludgeoned the established military establishment. Took people who earned promotion off the list because of the color of their skin or their sex, or their political loyalties.
Trump did all of this while scoffing at the military. He declared himself smarter than generals and has repeatedly blasted them.
Yet, here we are, mired in a war that Trump started. Trump claimed to have won. Claimed it was already over. Claims it’s not a war.
Yet it’s draining us in multiple ways and exposing Trump and his arrogance. He and his chosen staff thought war was easy. Though it was just a matter of power: who has the biggest military and the most weapons.
And the war continues without a certain end in sight.
As in many other things, Trump was exposed as ignorant and wrong.
Both policies — tariffs and the Iran War — are policy failures, though.
Both are driving increased burdens to the economy and to our citizens. The war, though, also resulted in people being killed, maimed, and injured, and has devastating consequences on the people of another nation.
When I think of things that Trump boasts of as successes and triumphs, I realize that there is nothing that this administration has done that has impressed me. He’s exactly how terrible I thought he’d be, and then some. We as a nation stagger through increasing loops of disasters.
Take our healthcare issues. Rural hospitals are closing. Measles outbreaks are increasing. Healthcare premiums are rising. AI plants are being built, which will increase energy costs and use land, further driving up healthcare costs. Yet Trump pushes to build more AI centers, more data centers. Models say that will worsen the extreme heat problem as well as the water shortage. It’s like WTAF are people thinking?
Instead of real solutions, We the People are offered more political theater as another underqualified Trump nominee moves toward confirmation for a powerful Federal position.
We’re instead subjected to Trump crowing about himself winning a golf tournament. Venting at his staff about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool fiasco.
Distracting us with AI-generated photos of himself as Elvis Presley.
While our nation is at war. While wildfires burn. While extreme heat and drought sweep the nation. While healthcare and affordability problems worsen.
That seems to be okay with MAGAts and the greater GOP, even if the rest of us are angry and disapprove of Trump. As long as Trump and his family keeps getting wealthier and speaking out for them — whatever the fuck that now means to them — they remain happy.
As far as those things falling apart and policy failures, that’s because of other people. It’s not because of Trump.
Never, in their eyes.
Never.
As for me, it will always remain, “Never Trump.”
Never.
Ashland, southern Oregon. Monday, August 3, 2026.
It’s cool now but heat and fire weather warnings are up. Our present temp is 68 F but we’re bracing for a 96 F high as the heat dome comes our way. Will the jet stream save us? If it doesn’t they warn us, brace yourself for temperatures over 100 with a heat index that pushes it much higher.
My wife and I had the case of the missing mangos this morning. “Hey, didn’t we buy mangos?” she asked, looking around.
Yes, I agreed, also looked around. We began a search. Not in the frig, on the counter anywhere. Didn’t ‘somehow’ get left in the car. At last: the last place we looked: with the potatoes.
My wife said. “I was tired when we were putting the food away.”
Case solved.
This is unlike the case of the missing senator. “He’s alive,” the GOP proclaims, but Mitch McConnell still hasn’t been seen in public for almost two months. It’s starting to be a lot like Trump’s war.
Trump’s war with Iran is also in a limbo states. Back in March, Trump and Hegseth claimed the war was over, with Trump declaring it was an “unmitigated success”.
That was six months ago.
Then Trump has gone on and off the record about what’s happening, swatting away any attempt to being held accountable to We the People. “I’m gonna bomb them,” he texts, then reverses himself. Oil prices rise and drop. Oil companies are making record profits. The rest of us scramble to deal with rising prices. That’s standard under GOP guidance: the rich get richer, the poor are told to suck rocks.
The Iran war is just one of many incomplete Trump mysteries. Other is, what happened to releasing the Epstein files? Trump promised he would release the files. A law was passed that they must be released. After months of distraction, Trumpnions are still holding them back on behalf of the bossman.
Thanks to Pirro’s terrible legal skills in leading the DoJ, the case about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is much stronger. Let the records show that it’s just as we thought, that Trump’s contractor botched the job and Trump scrambled to save face by screaming, “Vandals! Plots! Democrats!” Just as he does every time he screws up.
Likewise, the Freedom250 celebration isn’t as profitable and successful as Trump crowed it was, which required that We the People made up the shortfall. We all kind of saw that coming: Trump announced the performers and almost all immediately said, “No, no, we’re not part of this.”
Yes, it’s been the summer of Trump failures. Building toward a year.
Except for grifting; as always, he’s taking care of himself, making a ton of money by making the Oval Office into a crime boss’s golden lair. Between his ruthless need to be honored and his insane hunger to appear rich and powerful, he’s become a Bond villain caricature, which is something, since they’re often caricatures to begin.
Except, also, for the tournament he won at one of his golf courses. He won that. Everyone outside of his grift circle immediately questioned whether he cheated. This is because he’s Donald Trump, a known liar, adulterer, and cheater. Just pick a topic. Look what he promised and claimed. If you’re a MAGAt or Republican, you’re fine because the ends justify the means for you. So, Trump Double Standards are employed.
But they’ll reach that final FAFO moment when they’ve burned it all down. Given their recent history, they’ll pivot: create conspiracies. Blame others about what went wrong.
Just like their leader, Donald J. Trump.
Your Trump Quote(s) of the Day:

Trump on Jeffrey Epstein:

Trump on Affordability:



And the only truth Trump has ever uttered:

Today’s occupant in the morning mental music stream is “Power Failure” by Procol Harum. Released in 1971, it’s an old favorite of mine from a distant era. The song is about bands and the struggles they face. But I think it translates well to politics.
Lyrics (h/t to AZLyrics.com)
Climbing out of open windows
Crashing down from broken stairs
Keeping watch on smoking cinders
Falling over burning chairs
Tossed and crossed and screwed in transit
Broken , splintered, bruised and thrown
Badly shattered, gale force frighty
Rrushed across and shown alone
Speech reduced by poor relations
Strung from weeks of self abuse
Chopped up, churned out weeks of greazy
Spark plugs burned up, power’s fused
That imagery spells Trump failure and GOP collapse.
Hope your Monday — or whatever day — sparkles with magic that invigorates and moves you on to new heights and familiar joys.
Cheers
Trump was caught lying again.
It was one of his classic whoppers about stolen elections. He focused on one of his favorite hate targets — yes, the ‘unifier’ has many hate targets, doesn’t he? — California, and the mayor’s race in Los Angeles.
“Very few people voted. They had more votes cast than they had people. So the people came in, but the ballots were far more than the people.”
“They had more votes cast than they had people. Okay? How about that one? By a lot.”
No; they didn’t.
Trump didn’t provide any evidence because Trump was making it up. Lying. Fact checkers confirm that no, the number of votes was not more than the city’s population.
Trump just lies. He keeps the stolen election lies going because he’s suffering failure after failure, disaster after disaster. Energy prices aren’t coming down. Affordability isn’t improving, and it’s Trump’s economy — although he wants to blame anyone else for it. Everyone is not getting ‘richer’. The Iran War isn’t over, and Iran is fighting back. In fact, the war is enlarging.
Trump has still kept the Epstein files back. Still golfs. Still building the ridiculous, ugly White House ballroom. Still charging the taxpayers for it after he said they wouldn’t.
Lie after lie after lie. Broken promise after broken promise. Failure after failure.
Like the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Trump grandstanded about how he was finally fixing it, clapping himself on the back about doing something that no one’s ever done before.
Within weeks, it was a mess. Spinning, trying to blame others, Trump launched new lies about sabotage and vandals.
Now the DOJ has dropped the case.
Labirinto Pisani said it well in comments on the story:
“Only a month ago, FOX News had Leavitt, Pirro, Burgum, and Watters all solemnly insisting the Reflecting Pool vandalism was real, while Trump’s slapstick imitation of “slashing the pool” played like a lost Marx Brothers reel. MAGA loyalists, predictably, swallowed every frame. Reality, as usual, declined to participate.“
Failures like this — and the news coverage of it — is why Trump so desperately keeps churning out the same baseless fantasies about stolen elections, now trying to drum up fears about communism. He’s trying to distract everyone from how badly he’s doing. Keep us divided. Unsure.
Trump is instilling chaos. Then he can declare an emergency. Assume sweeping powers. Vacate elections.
No; the Constitution doesn’t give him these powers. Trump is taking them.
And MAGA and the GOP say, yep; go for it, Trump. Because that’s their twisted vision of how the government should work.
We thought that the American ideals are justice, freedom, and democracy. We thought we understood that we are all better if we stand united.
Turns out, that’s not what they think.
I’m so disappointed in them.
Ashland, southern Oregon.
Saturday, August 1, 2026. Happy Lammas Day!
It’s 71 F in our valley at the moment. Light, high white clouds. We expect a high in the upper 80s.
A new heat dome is moving into the region. But the jet stream shifted a few years ago. Now we’re often protected from those heat domes. It can change again at any moment, so I’ll take it for now and celebrate the small win.
It’s a new month but much hasn’t changed.
Eight-five fires are burning in Oregon.
They still haven’t closed on Mom’s house. She is aware that it’s being sold, though, asking me for updates every day.
Trump is still lying. Still squirming, trying to distract us from his failures.
The Epstein files haven’t been released. Trump’s war with Iran is still going on. Affordability remains a crisis. Healthcare costs are going up.
Like many people, I’m waiting for other things. Like the old story: waiting for the other shoe to drop.
So, it’s a new month, but the same mode of waiting.
Without much surprise, The Neurons caught onto my thinking. My Neurons can be slow and flaky, easily distracted by games and cats, but like a car, they can get fired up and pointed in the right direction once in a while.
Today’s song in the morning mental music stream is “Waiting for the End”. This is a Linkin Park song. Came out in 2010. I caught it on SNL and went looking for it to hear it again.
Sample Lyrics:
Waiting for the end to come
Wishing I had strength to stand
This is not what I had planned
It’s out of my control
Yeah, yeah
What was left when that fire was gone?
I thought it felt right, but that right was wrong
All caught up in the eye of the storm
And trying to figure out what it’s like moving on
And I don’t even know what kind of things I’ve said
My mouth kept moving, and my mind went dead
So, I’m picking up the pieces now, where to begin?
The hardest part of ending is starting again
The song is about hope, paralysis, and frustration, IMO. Feels right for today. Here we are, waiting for the end, trying to figure out how we define the end.
I hope you have a strong day, whatever one it is, whatever your season, a day that comes with lasting peace and grace.
Cheers
Ashland, southern Oregon — Friday, July 31, 2026.
July is dawdling to a close. Hotter today; but 74 degrees F now, a high of 96 F is expected. Then it will cool back down tomorrow.
Concerns for days like this is that the dry land, already very hot, cranks up the winds, and thunderstorms develop, lashing us with lightning. We’ve been fortunate so far this year.
Not so with much of Oregon. The state is on track for the worst season ever as 34 major fires burn. As an Oregon rancher affected notes, this ends up affecting everything. With the grasslands burned, they’ll need to buy expensive hay to feed their cattle.
With gas and diesel prices up, thanks to Trump’s Iran war and refineries threatened by high heat, expect grocery store prices to rise more. Beef, lettuce, and tomatoes are expected to surge by over 10% this year.
Trump doesn’t help the situation. Instead of providing funding and help to fight the fires, he worsens the situation by playing political games. Between that, DOGE cuts, and a poorly thought out reorganization, Trump has reduced the nation’s ability to effectively fight these fires.
Hackers are apparently going after our water infrastructure. Minnesota reported attacks earlier in the week. Since then, the FBI confirmed that seven US states have seen such attacks and warn of more.
Naturally — because that’s who he is — Trump denied that Iran could be involved and instead blamed Democrats. This goes against the FBI, security, and intelligence assessments.
But that’s Trump, exposing both his ignorance and his pettiness in one clumsy display.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Trump declared himself the ‘peace’ and ‘unity’ president when he took office in January of 2024.
“My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be: a peacemaker and a unifier.”
Of course, Trump also claimed in that same speech, “Next, I will direct all members of my cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation, and rapidly bring down costs and prices. The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices, and that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill.”
All of us then scoffed because we knew from history that he’s only about enriching himself.
Everything since then has validated that truth and that he will break every promise, from being a peacemaker to lowering prices. Our national oil reserves are now at the lowest level in 43 years. Maybe Trump will try to make them the lowest in 47 years; that’s the sort of egotist he is.
But MAGA believes, yes, Trump is a unifier. Yes, he’s bringing peace by being strong. Perhaps they’ll see the truth…someday. I’ve become doubtful. There is no FAFO for many of them.
As for Trump’s legacy, it will be one of lies, corruption and destruction, not unity and peace.
That takes me to today’s music: “Gimme Some Truth”. John Lennon released the song in 1971. I ended up with a Pearl Jam live version from a few years later in my morning mental music stream. I can’t explain it.
Lennon’s lyrics fit this Trump era:
I’m sick and tired of hearin’ things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritics
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
I’ve had enough of readin’ things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
Over fifty years later, we’re still hearing from uptight short-sided, narrow-minded hypocrites, led now by Trump.
Hope the day speaks to you in positive ways.
Cheers
Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, July 30, 2026.
Clouds and sunshine is mixing it up in our valley. 75 F at this point, the high is expected to top off in the upper 80s today.
The air remains clear of wildfire smoke, as well, knock on wood. A little rain would be welcomed.
Trump continues to slog through a summer of bad news. More light came to be shed about Trump’s reasons for attacking on Iran, I think.
The United States economy slowed more than expected as an inflation surge took hold over the early months of the Iran war, a government report on Thursday showed.
The economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.5% over three months ending in June, marking a slight slowdown from 2.1% growth recorded in the previous quarter. The figure came in lower than economists’ expected.
Still, the latest data outperformed 0.5% annualized gross domestic product (GDP) recorded over final three months of 2025.
The period covered by the data release followed a historic global oil shock set off by the Middle East conflict.
Trump’s war with Iran makes more sense to me now. Trump attacked Iran because the economy was weak. He needed a distraction, cover for why inflation was not going down. Besides that, the Epstein files are still out there, waiting to be released. Also, polls were showing that Trump and his policies were becoming more and more unpopular, a trend that’s still going.
Trump’s approval rating plummets near George W. Bush levels – Daily Kos
Of course, Trump ignorantly thought the war with Iran would be a cakewalk. Instead, whoa, half a year has gone by.
Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! is another Epic Trump Failure.
On top of these things, Trump has been trying to drum up fears about election being stolen! Election fraud! Oh, no, commies are coming!
States are pushing back.
Facts, truth, history: these are anathema to Trump, who much prefers ignorance, lies, wealth, and idolization.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Trump loves tough talking. Especially when he’s sending others in to face danger, and it is others who are being killed.
Today’s theme music emerged from the headlines.
I wasn’t familiar with the song. Once I heard it, it struck me as a really weird song choice for visiting a factory. But that aligns with Trump and his Trumpions’ thinking. “American Cars” is the song title, and that’s all they needed.
I was pleased that Noah Kahan pushed back against Trump’s use of the song.
“Kahan wrote Tuesday, according to Variety, “Would never approve of my music being used in support of you or this administration.””
His writing partner, Noah Levine, was more to the point: “You fat f–k, this song isn’t for you.”
Love you, Noah Levine!
Hope your day is wealthy with friendship, good health, and good times.
Cheers
Ashland, southern Oregon — Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
July is trickling toward the end, but summer continues unabated. 68 F now, blue skies, etc., high of 91 F today here in our valley.
Mom’s house was supposed to close tomorrow. But we’re uncertain at this point if it will. We will know later today.
Was strangely lethargic yesterday, bereft of energy. Got up early, took the car in for routine maintenance. Came back and I felt like I was being deflated. Slept a great deal. Feel much better today.
Trump has denied Oregon funds and assistance for fighting its two largest fires. No straightforward reason given — there was some strange language but it’s probably because Oregon votes blue. The irony is that Trump carried the affected areas.
From the article:
The East Evans Creek Fire reached nearly 16,000 acres with more than 230 homes on Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation orders. Despite also threatening roads, bridges and other infrastructure, FEMA denied a firefighting grant application on July 22.
The Row Creek Fire Complex, meanwhile, was at one time the largest fire in the country, sprawling as of Tuesday over nearly 300,000 acres. It’s expected to merge soon with the nearby Brewer Fire. When the application was made, more than 400 people were on Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation orders.
According to the senators’ letter, FEMA denied the applications after a shift in terms — one seemingly small but radical in effect. FEMA’s policy manual states that an FMAG is warranted when a fire “threatens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster,” the senators said, but the agency seemingly determined that fires would only qualify for FMAGs if they might also receive a major disaster declaration, which is a specific designation used for other forms of FEMA assistance.
From what I’ve read of Trump voters, they’re probably (mostly) saying, “That’s okay. He’s doing it to punish the state of Oregon because of their policies. So we’re good with it.” Even if, in punishing the state, these voters are the ones who will take the brunt of the punishment. But they’re staying with him because, he’s Trump, and he tells it like it is and speaks up for them.
Rep. Cliff Bentz (Trump, OR) said nothing about those fires not getting any assistance. Instead, Bentz lavished praise on the Trump administration for providing approval to fight three smaller fires. spe
In Trump Double Standard news, Trump is now doing something that he blasted President Biden about.
Yes, that is classic Trump. Accused President Biden of being out of touch and tired; now that’s exactly how Trump is often perceived. Postured that President Obama played too much golf, while he, Trump, would NEVER golf because he would be too busy — yet, Trump golfs more than any other POTUS. Kept on bashing President Biden about inflation and affordability. Now he says, they don’t matter. Bashed President Biden about being corrupt as he, Trump, makes over $2B from serving We the People in his second term.
Now your Trump Quote of the Day:

This is fascinating. He already has torched the ‘I’m A Great Businessman’ meme. After that, Trump, married three times, convicted of crimes, a serial adulterer, came out about how religious he is. Then he pushed law and order while breaking laws. Alongside that, he preached against shithole countries and people of color. Then he rolled out terrorism, calling ANTIFA — which is not an organization — a terrorist group. Next: the red menace — communism — is back.
But Trump is losing ground. So now he’s saying, think of me as your parent. Look how much more I’ve done for you than your own parents.
That does two things simultaneously. One, it’ll work with some weak minds, just as his other lies found purchase. Some will say, yes, Trump is better for me than my parents ever were!
Second, it’s a terrific new distraction from the rising affordability problem, the Epstein files, the ongoing, growing Iran war, the wretched ‘renovations’ Trump is doing, Trump’s inability to do the job, and his long list of broken promises and outlandish claims.
Most of us see it for what it is. We’ll shake our heads again and then wait, wondering what new distraction and effort will come about from Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!
Today’s song is “Father of Mine” by Everclear. The Neurons loaded the 1998 song into the morning mental music stream after I read and digested Trump’s claim about doing more for me than my parents. I vehemently disagree with that claim.
The song is a bitter tirade about a man feeling abandoned by his father.
Sample Lyrics
Father of mine
Tell me, where have you been?
Yeah, I just closed my eyes
And the world disappeared
Father of mine
Tell me, how do you sleep?
With the children you abandoned
And the wife I saw you beat
I will never be safe
I will never be sane
I will always be weird inside
I will always be lame
Now I’m a grown man
With a child of my own
And I swear, I’m not gonna let her know
All the pain I have known
May you have a strong day — full of joy, good health, friends and family.
Cheers