Ashland, southern Oregon — Monday, November 9, 2026.
Autumn is clicking in the valley. Changing leaves and falling leaves: we have both! Rain and sunshine, chilly nights and sluggishly warm days? Yes!
It rained this morning. 53 F now, sunshine and dark clouds fence. Rain skirts in and drifts out.
We did our Food & Friends deliveries today, so I’m late posting things. Adding to my tardiness was breakfast out at a local favorite, Brothers.
We’re moving toward winter solstice, the longest night of the year. Came to me this morning as I crossed rooms and noticed how dark everything seemed because clouds were blocking whatever sun managed to clear the mountains.
Thoughts about being in the dark multiplied. As it happens with life, we’re often in the dark, waiting for decisions or see how someone else acts or responds, to health issues to…well, it’s a big list, isn’t it?
We know the Dems are taking over in January. But who will be leading the Dems? We’re in the dark at the moment.
What will happen with the Iran war? In the dark, aren’t we?
And what will Trump do between now and the end of his term? Lot of expectations and predictions based on his past but we’re in the dark. We wait in the dark to see what Trump’s next distraction.
Will prices go down? Will AI take over and build giant robots which become our overlords? In the dark.
And, thanks to Trump and his DOJ, we remain in the dark about exactly what the Epstein files hold.
The Neurons ran with being in the dark, producing “In the Dark” in the morning mental music stream. Billy Squier wrote and performed the song, releasing it in 1981. The lyrics are all about how you might feel in the dark.
The other part of this how woefully Trump is in the dark, deliberately so, about how unpopular he is. His policies are failures for We the People unless you’re among the wealthiest of the people. Then Trump’s policies are just peachy. If you’re wealthy enough that you live off the profits of your stock investments and don’t worry about the costs of things like food, housing, gas, energy, and healthcare, then Trump’s world fully fits your needs.
I hope you find comfort, love, and peace whether you’re in the dark or in the light.
Gotta love that Donald Trump, don’t you? So very, very predictable, always wanting credit for how great he thinks himself, while shedding responsibility like a rattler shedding its skin.
Appearing on CBS’s revamped “60 Minutes”, Trump was contrite about the ICE raids and his anti-immigration policy. “It was too tough. I think it might be too tough,” Donald Trump said.
Before his contrite admission was even aired, Trump promoted Stephen Miller to be his White House Chief of Staff. Miller, who was the primary architect of the immigration policy which might have been ‘too tough’.
Trump makes it sound like, well, gosh, he had little control over it. Because anyone in charge of something can change it, right? Especially if they don’t like how it’s going. And the way that Trump kept framing it, repeatedly insisting that the midterms were lost due to “bad messaging”, doesn’t show that he didn’t like policy; it was the public’s response which bothered him.
And then, Donald Trump promoted the person in charge of it — Stephen Miller — and gave him more power.
How very contrite.
CNN wrote it up as a ‘striking acknowledgement’. Please, Donald Trump acknowledged nothing. Trump merely gave cover to himself, trying to lull people and get them to lower their guard.
A truly contrite person would have said something like, “We’ve already made changes.” Trump didn’t say that, and won’t, because this is just a PR stunt.
Trump also declared that he has no idea that he’s making money or how much he’s making. He doesn’t know what stocks he has…
Yet, Trump was upset with his lawyer’s husband when he made a chunk of millions, mentioning
Just in, more consistently than the sun’s rising and setting, Trump has spun back. Donald Trump originally said that he accepted the elections results. Less than a week later, he’s gone back on what he said.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Donald Trump’s new weave is just like his old weave — misinformation, lies, and fantasies. Diehard MAGAts will eat it up.
The rest of We the People have had our fill. We have learned from watching and listening that Trump makes promises, breaks promises, and goes on, pretending like everything is great as it all falls apart.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Sunday, November 8, 2026.
Drizzly and chilly outside, a beaten gray sky hangs low over Ashland. 54 degrees, it rains off and on, a pattern expected to carry through the high of 60 F. A few remaining shimmering maples are ablaze in red against the misty gray.
Gina (sister) took Mom by the house Friday. The house is Mom’s house. Given the upcoming holiday season, my mind flashes back to past travels and its associated planning. Ten years ago — 2016 — my wife and I would be talking about going back East to see Mom and my sisters in Pittsburgh, then visiting my wife’s mother and sister in West Virginia. We usually flew into Pittsburgh, rented a car, visited a day or two in Pittsburgh, drove down, visited there for several days, and then drove back up to Pittsburgh and spent several more days.
Plans slowly changed. My wife’s mother moved into an assisted living place as her Parkinson’s advanced. Our visits were quiet times sitting with her, waiting for her to speak. We would take her favorite food to her a few times, dinner from Bob Evans. Then she passed and the visits were only to Pittsburgh.
Reflecting on this year’s travel plans, I’m working around my medical issues, and my wife’s RA issues would make cross-country travel a daunting challenge.
Part of these thoughts emerged from a friend’s medical crisis. She lost her husband on October 17, 2026. Thursday, she had a stroke and went to the hospital for a carotid artery stent. Her surgery was Friday morning. She’s been unresponsive since then.
Sorry. I didn’t plan to write a somber post. That’s just what emerged. It’s not unique; millions of people have similar stories about life, family, and change. Experiencing these things in parallel to me, my wife says little about it, but I know she deeply feels the changes and losses. Ultimately, as with almost everything else, we process differently. Neither way is right or wrong, just different.
On the very, very positive side, I have wonderful memories of journeys ‘home’ to visit with Mom and my sisters and their families and will keep feasting on them.
Also emerging were more reflections about the 2026 blue tide. Republicans staying home instead of voting was a significant reason why Democrats strongly prevailed. That’s nothing to count on for future elections, but it certainly repudiates Trump and the GOP’s direction for the company: Republicans couldn’t even hold their noses to vote to keep Republicans in office under Trump.
It seems like Trump is subdued since then. I imagine that a sane person in Donald Trump’s situation would be digging into the post-mortem to discover what went wrong. But Trump always buries his head. Right until he election, he insisted that his approval ratings were great. Since then, he blamed the losses on the candidates, continuing his standard of ignoring truth and reality.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Donald Trump refuses to accept that he was on the ballot, and that’s why Republicans lost. Trump thinks “everyone is profiting” because the stock market is up, completely ignoring the affordability issues caused by rising gas, diesel, oil, food, and healthcare prices.
Just like their leader, Donald Trump, MAGAts are blaming everything rather than looking squarely at the truth and Steve Bannon wants to double down on the failed policies.
With my thoughts of going ‘home’ in the past and Republicans staying home, Les Neurons predictably responded with…a song about home.
The Neurons actually played multiple songs about home in my morning mental music stream. We had Ozzy, Bruce, John Denver, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Motley Crue, Simon and Garfunkel all offering songs about being home, hometowns, and going home. It was Home-a-palooza in the head.
I eventually landed on a favorite song by Blind Faith, a 1969 gem called “Can’t Find My Way Home”. I came across this version by Rachel Price and enjoyed it, so I offer it to you.
I ended up on this song because I wondered how the GOP was going to find their way home. Under Trump, they’ve been promoting election deniers and candidates running on hate and deception. The voters rejected so where — or how — will the GOP turn now?
Meanwhile, the Democrats have found a cadre of strong, principled, young candidates, and many won. I’m not going to celebrate too much because holding office change people, as do events. Despite my age, I still can’t see the future.
May you and your family enjoy a wonderful day at home or traveling, whatever works for you, as long as you find solace and joy in what you do.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Saturday, November 7, 2026.
Wow, it was a bright and sunny morning this, um, morning. Sunshine blazed across the surviving leaves, giving a gift of beautiful colors. Temperature was in the high 30s but has already jumped to 63 F.
Since those early hours, clouds have hazed the sky’s clarity. Rain might come after sunset.
My sister, Gina, provided an interesting Mom report yesterday. Gina took Mom to another doctor appointment. Hearing of Mom’s constant UTI issues, he asked, “Why do they keep giving her antibiotics that don’t work?” Good question, doc. Put it to your colleagues.
Gina took Mom to McDonald’s afterward for a Big Mac. Mom loves McDonald’s and KFC. Always startled me when she’d inform me, eyes glowing with delight, that we were having KFC for dinner. Regardless of my opinion of it, Gina knew Mom loves it and treated her, which made Mom happy, which is a win.
Thinking about McDonald’s does trigger memories of our first McDonald’s visit. Sometime in the 1960s, Mom took my sisters and I to McDonald’s. We were all a little mystified and skeptical about this new, unusual eatery. But we enjoyed ourselves and the food seemed tasty.
Later, though, returning to the US from some overseas location in the 1980s, I ate at McDonald’s and disliked it. I tried again but either it had changed or my taste buds were changed. I only ate at McDonald’s two more times since then that I remember. Each time, I grimaced and swore never again.
Mom is also finally getting the private room she’s been after since moving into Heritage Grove earlier this year. The price is higher than she was quoted back then. My sisters all weighed in about the costs and the pros and cons of being in a private room, such as socializing. Gina’s contention, and I agree with it, is that we think Mom wants it so Mom will be happier in it. Fingers crossed.
Two songs competed for attention in my morning mental music stream today. One came about after the blue wave emerging from the midterm elections told Trump exactly what We the People think of him and his agenda. The second song came from a news article I read the other day.
The first song is “I’d Love to Change the World” by Ten Years After. Yes, Republicans lost on Tuesday in the US in a large way, but on reflection, we need to consider the rest of the world. Right-wing hate and agendas have emerged in multiple nations. It’s not surprising that in this turbulent period, a song about changing the world would pull The Neuron’s focus. Alvin Lee and Ten Years After came out with the bluesy rock song back in 1971. I was fifteen at the time and invested in social change and hope for a peaceful future, which is probably a weird thing for someone who joined the US Air Force to claim.
“Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” is the other song, two really, a medley released by The Fifth Dimension in 1969. The songs emerged from the musical, “Hair”. Their entry into the morning mental music stream was triggered first by that amazing early morning sunshine but its foothold was cemented by an article about “The Age of Aquarius”. From what I read, “The Age of Aquarius” is an astrological concept referring to a cosmic era defined by a shift in global consciousness, technological advancement, and humanitarian focus. It began in 2022 and has to do with where Pluto is and the alignment of planets. It happens about every 250 years and when it last happened, we saw the American and French revolutions.
We’ll see what happens, of course. May you enjoy felicitous weather for whatever you’re trying to accomplish today, along with a little harmony and understanding.
The AI industry and data center construction were instantly up in arms, warning what the Democrats will do via building limitations on new and bigger data centers.
Healthcare and insurers focused on ACA were delighted, as Democrats were bound to make moves to restore the subsidies which many people need to afford insurance in this era.
Oil prices dropped, which will bring relief to food sectors because fertilizer prices should drop, along with gas and diesel prices, and the shipping costs associated with those. This comes just in time for Black Friday and the traditional holiday shopping frenzy in the US.
The renewable energy sector is also excited but realize, too, that with Trump in the White House, the Federal government will stymie investment and construction of windmills and solar arrays. They’ll probably turn to the states for renewable energy initiatives.
Meanwhile, who will emerge as the Democrats’ leaders? My wife is pushing a ‘take no prisoners’ attitude. She is all for bringing back the guillotine. Her choice to lead the Dems is AOC.
Others are pushing for Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, but there are also those pushing against those two, viewing them as enablers. Champions for these two react by claiming that the blue wave is a direct success from their leadership.
Selecting their party’s leadership is just the beginning for the Dems. They must decide on their priorities and objectives. One contingency of voters wants to go after Trump and his enablers and minions and demand accountability for their transgressions.
A more moderate group preaches to attack affordability first. Retake the purse strings and re-establish checks and balances. Put out the fires and then go after Trump et al.
Hakeem Jeffries suggested that voters don’t want to go after Trump at all. Jeffries said, “”I haven’t had a single member of the House Democratic caucus talk to me about impeachment. We’ve been relentlessly focused on affordability and accountability.”
Personally, I’m not certain that accountability can be achieved without impeachment, but that such claims either way should be part of a transparent investigation. Trump’s corruption is another growing sore point among Americans.
I suspect that if corruption isn’t investigated, Republicans would seize on that as evidence to them that the Democrats are the source of corruption. I make that suggestion based on Trump and the GOP’s recurring use of projection.
There’s also a fear that Democrats will waffle and bicker and not come to any decisions or take any directions, leaving us swirling around and around in a whirlpool of indecision.
Suggestions are out there about what to do. Drew Magarey published his demand list for Dems. It’s something to think about.
In the meantime, Donald Trump remains in the Oval Office, disconnected from reality, pushing forward an aggressively reactionary agenda, dismissing social services, pursuing deregulation and causing destabilization, distracting us from serious challenges as he tries to build things and name things in honor of him. Expect a great deal of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! from Trump in the coming months. Expect more, too, quiet behind-the-scenes maneuverings from the Heritage Foundation. I have little doubt that they’re coaching Trump, pushing his lawsuits and attacks on checks and policies, sneaking around, trying to advance the goals and ideals of Project 2025.
Going into 2027, we know that for every Dem action, there will be a Trump reaction. Donald Trump will resist ending the Iran war and fight to keep the tariffs in place. Trump will fight renewable energy projects and attempts to gain transparency into his administration.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, November 5, 2026.
Warmer and drier today, with a hazy but blue sky and a temperature of 48 F. Our valley’s expected high is 60 F.
Mom’s latest lab report returned with bad news. Her Escherichia coli count was abnormal, >100,000 CFU/mL. More antibiotics are being prescribed, and Gina is picking those up.
Gina, my sister, acts as Mom’s POA, messenger, driver, and financial manager. Now, as she points out to Mom, she’s also managing Mom’s doctor visits and prescriptions. Mom can do little on her own. I was aware of this back when I visited Mom before Frank passed away. Mom struggled to keep things mentally organized and clarified. Frank helped a great deal by being Mom’s driver, helping Mom with her doctor’s visits, and picking up her prescriptions.
Now, with Frank no longer available in those roles, Mom struggles to understand why Gina doesn’t respond immediately to every text Mom sends her, instantly escalating from “I need this” to “WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME”. When Mom posits her requests and needs, she tends to be demanding, as if an imperial decree is being issued.
Mom has always been like that. What’s fascinating is that I’ve witnessed these transactions and saw how they went down. Mom often projected herself as being very sweet, patient and polite. That was often far from the truth. That’s part of the reasons why my sisters and I keep our distance from her.
Enough of that complaining. Had to get it off my chest.
We’ve been processing the blue wave, waiting for some results, and digesting the ‘what happened’ autopsies. I’m expecting two years of Trump chaos and legislative gridlock. The Democrats will be under a microscope, with every move and word examined for effectiveness as the GOP and Trump enter counter-attack mode. Accusations about overreach, communism, socialism and other rightwing scare tactics will soon begin popping up.
I don’t expect any changes to Trump’s attempts to rule like a dictator. He’ll keep insisting that he’s above the law, the greatest ever, and a genius at everything, while demonstrating amazing ignorance. Trump has already gone from being contrite about the midterm results to blaming the Republicans who lost for not being him.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
There’s a mountain of evidence that Trump and his policies and administration are unpopular. Donald Trump will continue to deny them because he cannot face the truth.
Today’s theme music is a 1972 Black Sabbath offering. I was thinking about Mom, politics, and life and went into a reflection about wheels turning.
The Neurons pounced! The morning mental music stream went from John Lennon and Alice Cooper offerings to a Journey tune to a BST song1. Then, perhaps because I was thinking about my youth and Mom, 1972 called up with “Wheels of Confusion”.
My gosh, was that a surprise. I’d not heard this song in too long and hearing it in my mental stream made me grin. So I offer it up to you.
I hope the wheels keep turning for you and carry you to better places.
Cheers
John Lennon – “Watching the Wheels”; Alice Cooper: “Under My Wheels”; Journey: “Wheel in the Sky”; BST (Blood, Sweat, and Tears), “Spinning Wheel”. ↩︎
Beautiful day outside. Something in the air. The sky is a fantastic BLUE and the sunshine is sharp and bright.
It’s 49 F degrees outside, rising to 58 F today. We might see 60. Overall, a crispy autumn day.
My sister, Gina, took Mom to vote yesterday as well as taking Mom to her doctor’s appointment. Gina treated us to regular updates about Mom’s awareness of what was going on and what was expected. Gina concluded that Mom needs to be in a nursing home.
The midterm elections were held in the US yesterday. The projected blue tsunami came through even stronger than expected.
I’m sure there are many who think as I do, that the midterm election results are in with good results for We the People but the mango maniac still remains in a seat of power. Trump may be contrite today, blaming others for his mistakes, but Donald Trump will come raging back. Don’t let your guard down.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Even after the decisive Democratic victories in the midterms, an election specifically about the success and direction of the nation, Donald Trump refuses to accept the failure of his policies and practices.
With all that bubbling in my thinking, The Neurons pulled up “Right Here, Right Now”. This Jesus Jones song reflected exactly what my main body of thought was reporting. Take a pause, right here, right now, to accept the win because we’ve been waiting for it but now that it’s not over.
Trump has become a bad television show or movie, one you stay with because it becomes so bad, it’s funny.
Unlike those television shows and movies, Trump is a real-life challenge to our norms and acceptable behavior, with far-ranging repercussions emerging from his action.
We rolled into Tuesday, November 3, 2026 — Election Day in the US — with Trump and his policies and administration growing less popular. Donald Trump has fired effort after effort to enhance his standing. He’s offered payments, subsidies, and benefits to offset the impact of starting a war in Iran, driving up prices, and causing death and chaos. He’s even portrayed himself as various respected people like superheroes and saints. Nothing is swaying the voters because the pain from Trump’s failures is cutting too deeply.
As part of Trump’s flailing desperation, he turned again to Iran. New attacks were launched, resulting in greater confusion and tension about what was going on with the war. Donald Trump previously said no attacks on Iran were planned and also mentioned that the war was over or won, that the war wasn’t a war, and that gas prices would quickly come down, soon.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Trump was trying to say that the US isn’t at war because there was no shooting going on — never mind the death and destruction already caused by the seven months of war already endured.
Unfortunately for Donald Trump, commander-in-chief, the US announced new military strikes on Iran shortly after Trump’s convoluted weave about what constitutes war. The timing between Trump’s defensive explanation and the new attacks left Trump looking like an a) an idiot, b) a liar, c) out of touch, d) not in charge, or e) all of these things.
Trump already attempted to reduce the impact of voting by mail. Recent elections showed more Democrats than Republicans voting by mail so Trump tried an end run, attempting to slow down the mail. This slowdown affected rural areas more sharply. Rural areas in the US tend to lean heavily Republican, so these postal measures have paradoxically created the highest risk of ballot rejection for the very demographic that Trump historically needs, rural voters.
Trump also attacked voter registration in California and other states, and tried intimidating state voting officials. In parallel, red states attempted to reduce voter participation by onerous voter registration and ID laws, closing voting locations, and prohibiting water in line.
With none of that working, Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! went into action.
Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! is Donald Trump’s recurring project to keep people distracted from what’s going on — especially bad things like a war not going as planned, prices rising across the board, and a rising national debt and a growing deficit. Worse than all of those things for Donald Trump is the specter of the Epstein files and what they tell about Donald Trump, and Trump’s declining popularity.
Under Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!, Donald Trump has launched a succession of distractions. These include trying to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, demolishing part of the White House, starting construction of a new, gigantic White House ballroom, festooning the Oval Office with tacky gold decor, paving over the historic Rose Garden, tearing up a golf course, cutting down trees, arbitrarily declaring new names for places, sending ICE into US cities, abducting the sitting president of Venezuela, and of course, attacking boats at sea, killing people, and starting the war with Iran.
Whew! That’s not even a complete list!
The distractions aren’t working. In fact, many of them blew up in Trump’s face, acting as a catalyst to decrease his popularity and approval ratings.
I yawned when I read Trump’s latest desperate distraction.
There are a number of legal, political, and logistical impediments to Trump’s grand declaration. Besides those aspects, I’m dubious of Trump maintaining the focus and political will to do this. I put this alongside of many other Trump announcements, like eliminating the national debt, prices coming down on day one, no new wars, prescription drug prices being cut by hundreds or thousands percent, and stopping the Ukraine War before he even began his second term.
Donald Trump makes many promises. Few promises result in anything close to what he claims. Instead, he’s enriched himself, increased division in the nation, and is inflaming the affordability crisis.
A change is needed. I hope enough people realized this.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Monday, November 11, 2026.
Overcast and wet defines the morning’s view of the sky and land. Still colorful but fading, November is taking over, kicking October’s influences out. It’s 52 F with a chance of 58 F as a high.
My 1440 minutes are consumed with writing and BCG wash number 5. My wife and I were talking about going to a Day of the Dead celebration after my appointment but we both realized how stupid that would be. *smile*
Nothing new from Mom’s negotiations with my sister, Gina. I don’t expect a fast decision. Gina is always suspicious of Mom these days. In Gina’s view, Mom uses pain and problems as tools to manipulate others, so she’s waiting to see how sincere and true Mom’s offer to apologize to Gina’s husbands really is.
I don’t blame Gina at all. I’m extremely leery of Mom’s current entreaties. I want Mom to be happy but I’m not certain she has that capacity any longer.
My wife and I talk about the midterm elections a lot at our house. There is a bit of fatigue in our conversations. The GOP’s television commercials are so friggin’ annoying.
Like Brad Hicks, running for state office. Part of the appeal he makes to voters is that ‘one party shouldn’t be in charge of everything.’
Hello, Brad. You’re a Republican. You do realize that Republicans control Congress and the White House, don’t you? You are, in effect, arguing against voting for Republicans because one party shouldn’t be in charge of everything.
Other than that, and attack, attack, these Trump-supportingcandidates try to appeal for affordability and common sense. They never elaborate on either and don’t address the Trump-sized elephant who is affecting affordability in America.
So we are really, really, REALLY looking forward to Election Day — ESPECIALLY if We the People manage the blue wave so many are predicting.
With those thoughts in mind, The Neurons have placed “Sweet Tuesday Morning” in my morning mental music stream. This is a Badfinger song which came out in 1971. I had the album and listened to the tune often. I don’t think I’ve heard it on the radio in decades, which is a shame. Other than being about Tuesday, though, the song doesn’t have much to do with election day or the stresses, worries, and frustrations it represents.
I hope your 1440 minutes are stress free and relaxed although I suspect many are like me, hopeful but anxious, angry and weary.
Science fiction and fantasy writer John Scalzi weighed in on the 2026 midterm elections and who you should vote for in Ohio, where he resides. I think much of his advice applies to other states in 2026. Really, his final paragraph summarizes it all very well.
“And don’t vote for any Republicans. Let their manifest exile begin this year. Let it be compounded in 2028. Let them wander in the wilderness for a very long time. They deserve it.“
I urge you to read the rest of his post. It might make you smile.
