Thursday’s Theme Music — Illusions

Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, June 4, 2026.

Out one window, it’s a gorgeous day: sunny, clear blue sky. Out toward the west, dark clouds are moving in. They look like they have different intentions. It’s 55 now but we expect 80.

Mom’s house is up for sale and it’s had a lot of early interest. I’m not surprised, once it went live. Comparing it to other homes in the $150k range in that area reveals that most are as old or older, and the same size. Mom’s house was built in 1940; others in that range/area were built anywhere from 1930 to 1960. But they’re usually two bedrooms, one bath whereas Mom’s place offers four bedrooms and three baths. I easily visualize it as ideal for a small multigenerational setup. I hope this early interest isn’t an illusion.

While I’ve been focused mostly on Trump’s war on Iran (96 days and counting), he’s been busy with other wars. He’s been actively warring against cultural and political norms. All presidents have done so but none on the scale that Trump has done. We have the visual evidence of the Epstein ballroom and the war for funding for it (after Trump claimed it would cost taxpayers nothing); the atrocious rose garden; and the horrible disfiguration of the Lincoln Memorial.

Trump is turning the White House lawn into a stadium for fights and appending his name on famous places like the Kennedy Center. He’s doing all these things outside of the law but the law is fighting back via judges and courts and their rulings.

Under Trump, his advocates are trying to break the law and have currency with his likeness on it.

Through MAHA and Kennedy, Trump has been warring against good health. Through the EPA, Trump has warred against clean air and water. Through Hegseth, he’s warred against having a good defense and diversity. Through the Departments of Education and Justice, Trump has warred against good education, research, and law and order.

Through his pardons, he’s warred against justice.

Through ICE and his immigration policies, Trump has warred against our very nature as a melting pot, a place that welcome the poor and tired.

Through cuts in the social safety net and programs such as SNAP and Headstart, Trump has warred against people in poverty.

Via cuts to NASA, NOAA, and NIHM, Trump has warred against research, science, and technology.

Through it all, Trump has warred against intelligence, decency, unity, and compassion via his texts.

MAGA stays loyal to him. He buys their loyalty because he’s cultured a distrust of the media, calling it ‘the enemy’. Then he screams:

  • Look at how they treat me!
  • They stole the 2020 election!
  • Look how great I am and what wonderful things I’ve done!
  • I’m doing it all for you and our great nation!

Yet, the evidence shows otherwise.

Trump is selling a grand illusion. But the details reveal the truth.

Not surprisingly, Les Neurons are playing “The Grand Illusion” in my morning mental music stream.

Lyrics:

But don’t be fooled by the radio
The TV or the magazines
They show you photographs of how your life should be
But they’re just someone else’s fantasy

So if you think your life is complete confusion
Because you never win the game
Just remember that it’s a Grand illusion
‘Cause deep inside we’re all the same
We’re all the same…

So if you think your life is complete confusion
Because your neighbors got it made
Just remember that it’s a Grand illusion
And deep inside we’re all the same

The Styx song came out in 1977. Dennis DeYoung wrote the song and said it’s all about how ‘they’ set you up to think and see one thing to hide the truth:

“It’s that feeling that success is set up in such a way that if you succeed you’re a failure, and if you don’t succeed you’re a failure.”

That’s the Trump methodology all the way.

I hope your day is not a grand illusion, but has real progress toward happiness and satisfaction.

Cheers

Sunday’s Theme Music — Wrong Way

Ashland, southern Oregon — May 31, 2026.

The last day of sunshine finds our area with blue skies and sunshine. It’s 48 F now and we expect a high in the mid 70s.

The Mom report is that she fell over backwards in her wheelchair and hit her head hard on the ground. A facility employee was present when it happened and wanted Mom to go to the hospital. Mom declared that. It happened at 7 AM but she didn’t share that news with us until the late afternoon. Now we worry and wait, hopeful that she didn’t do more damage to herself.

When Mom spoke to me last week, she mentioned that they were required to be in the dining room for breakfast at 8 AM. Mom has a roommate and one bathroom that they share. The roommate is on hospice, and the guidelines are that hospice residents have bathroom priority. In practice then, Mom can’t get ready to go to the dining room in the morning because her roommate is in the bathroom, and ends up getting down there late or skips breakfast.

In light of performers withdrawing from Trump’s ‘Great American State Fair’, Trump is going to open, headline, and hold a rally.

It’s also reported that Trump is urging to cancel it outright, classic Trump Always Chickening Out.

I’d prefer the latter. If Trump is there, he would make this overtly political. It’ll be less about the United States and more about him. Sure, he’ll say that we’re a ‘great nation’. Then he’ll go on to say how great he is, how great he made the nation, call former President Biden some names, name some others as enemies, and rail about how Democrats are ‘ruining’ the nation, and spread lies about what he’s done and how others think he’s doing a great job.

Exhibit A:

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

*snark alert* Isn’t that sweet how Trump compares himself to ‘The King’ of rock and roll, someone who has been dead almost fifty years, someone who people paid to see? If he wants to draw the largest draw, he’ll need over 3.5 million people.

Trump is against Democrats because Democrats keep pushing on voters’ rights, diversity, law and order, truth, facts, and history. Those principles and ideals often collide with Trump’s grifting, ego, ignorance, and authoritarianism. Trump would prefer to lie about what’s going on, making up information, and boast about doing things like lowering prescription prices 1,000 percent. While Trump campaigned on no new wars, releasing the Epstein files, lowering food and energy prices on day one, he broken all of those promises.

His supporters like Trump and still support him because he runs roughshod over the Constitution, ignoring due process to go after political enemies, ordering ICE to attack anyone who might be illegal — especially if they look like they’re anything but white. ICE goons will ignore evidence that others are here legally and will react violently when confronted. That’s Trump’s ‘law and order’ for you: a police state.

Trump’s Iran War is at 92 days.

Meanwhile, his destruction of Washington DC and the White House continues. Not satisfied with tearing up a public golf course, screwing up the Lincoln Memorial, and tearing down the East Wing to build the Epstein ballroom, Trump is now talking about the Kennedy Center never re-opening.

After illegally changing the Kennedy Center’s name by adding his to it and closing the center for ‘renovations’, a judge ruled put the name back to what was established by act of Congress, per the law, and open it. TACO immediately whined that he’s not being allowed to do what he wants to do and threatened to keep the Kennedy Center closed forever.

Of course, much of this classic Trump bluster is part of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! Keep everyone distracted so he can enrich himself. Like, where is the money for the Board of Peace?

No wonder two thirds of Americans think we’re going the wrong way.

After thinking about how Trump is taking the nation in the wrong direction, The Neurons had a response. They brought “Wrong Way” by Sublime to the morning mental music stream.

That surprised me. I didn’t know The Neurons have such a dark sense of humor. The punk ska melody is all about young prostitution and the struggles of young women and what they face.

Wrong Way” Lyrics:

Annie’s twelve years old, in two more, she’ll be a whore
Nobody ever told her it’s the wrong way
Don’t be afraid with the quickness, you get laid
For your family, get paid
It’s the wrong way

I gave her all that I had to give
I’m gonna make it hard to live
Salty tears running down to her chin
And it ruins up her makeup and never wan’ give

A cigarette pressed between her lips
But I’m staring at her tits
It’s the wrong way
Strong if I can, but I am only a man
So I take her to the can
It’s the wrong way

The only family that she’s ever had
Is the seven horny brothers and a drunk-ass dad
He needed money, so he put her on the street
Everything was going fine, until the day she met me

h/t to Songfacts.com

I hope your life and day are going the right way.

Cheers

Sharing Memes!

Jill’s memes collection needs to be shared. Too many of these truths get lost in the wash. Let’s pick them up, elevate them, and share them around the world. Here are my favorite four. They offer a historic slant to what Trump is doing as his regime goes after freedom of speech, reminds us of how selectively the GOP complains about violence, especially when it’s an avowed right-winger like them doing the killing, points out that the United States was not founded as a Christian nation and shows us just how frail and weak Trump really is.

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