Sunday’s Theme Music — Caring

Ashland, southern Oregon — Sunday, October 25, 2026.

A dull sky hangs on as the sun struggles with heating and lighting, product of the Earth’s tilt and annual trip around the sun. 56 F now, it doesn’t feel that warm. Most of the trees are losing their leaves in my area. The leaves which remain glow gold against the overcast sky.

We attended a party for a friend’s 90th birthday. Her sister came up from California and hosted the party. They rented a large house in the country where all the family members stayed. Very good time by all. The woman, Anne, seemed like she was about 74 years old instead of 90.

On the negative side of the daily ledger, two friends tested positive for COVID. He suffers from Parkinsons and broke his hip. After three pins were put in it to fix it, he’s convalescing in an assisted living facility until he’s able to get around on his own. She, his wife, tested positive after him. We believe he caught it form staff or a visitor, and she picked it up from him. Not a fun way for them to end October.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Just a reminder of Trump’s response to COVID-19 and the pandemic. Six years later, and COVID-19 is still here.

Over in politics, Trump is becoming more openly aggressive and partisan. Through DOJ, Donald Trump threatened to investigate Alaska’s election results if a Republican doesn’t win. Within a day, Donald Trump himself warned that he would probably not do anything to help South Carolina in his official capacities if a Republican doesn’t win there.

Bottom line for all this: Trump cares nothing about the law. Yes, already well established. Nor does he care about Americans, including MAGA and Republicans. That’s clear as well now, because he would obviously try to help Republicans and MAGA even if it’s not a Republican representing them. But with the same certainty that the sun is hot, DJ Trump cares nothing except himself. End of story.

As October ends, I fully anticipate an ‘October surprise’. What will Trump do? Declare another emergency? Launch another wave of ICE assaults on US cities and citizens?

Both of those possibilities are within his wheelhouse. Trump may also orchestrate another ‘assassination attempt’ on him in an attempt to garner some sympathy votes.

Just as likely, Donald Trump, who claims he’s a peace president, will attack another nation, or increase his attacks on Iran. I can imagine Trump warning that he’s going to go nuclear, too, just to distract everyone and get their attention. Because this is Donald Trump. He doesn’t care what happens to anyone except Donald Trump.

Sure. Trump is ‘unifying’ people by threatening states and lawsuits if they don’t vote his way.

I’ll keep saying it and writing it because there are still some out there who think that Donald Trump cares about them: Donald Trump cares about nobody except himself. Until everyone out there agrees, Trump cares for no one except himself, and states it out loud, I’ll keep repeating it.

In honor of Trump’s attitude, Les Neurons installed Phil Collins’ classic song about caring in my morning mental music stream. “I Don’t Care Anymore” in 1983. Some of the song’s lyrics beautifully reflect what I think when I hear Trump these days.

Sample Lyrics

I don’t care what you say
We never played by the same rules anyway

Of course, while I don’t care about Trump and his lies, I must care about what he does and how he damages our nation, and the world. It’s a matter of collective security and future wellbeing. I care that others have equal rights, freedom, and the vision of a functioning and healthy democracy. Closer to home, I share the anger and frustrations that my wife, sisters, and female friends express about women’s rights and protections being stripped away by Trump. I share, too, the anger that people feel that they’re expected to work at multiple jobs in order to just survive while Trump keeps handicapping them with his callousness, greed, hate, and stupidity. It’s just fucking wrong.

May you be surrounded by caring friends and family and enjoy a carefree day.

Cheers

October 25, 2026 1

Trump Accelerates Distractions & Whining

What’s Trump doing today?

We ask that question every day at my house. We ask even though we know he’ll be lying, whining, distracting, and doing things that test the limits of law, ethics, and taste. We ask knowing that with polls showing the GOP and Trump as losers in the upcoming elections, Trump will be triggered and will increase the scale of distractions under Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! to new heights.

Today, Trump is whining again about not winning the Nobel Peace Prize. It went instead to Navi Pillay. Congratulations to her!

I’m not surprised that Donald Trump didn’t win. In his worldview, killing people and destroying things mean peace. That’s not how the rest of the world tends to view peace. At 80 years old, you would think Trump would have learned by now that he has not. Trump demonstrated long ago that he lacks learning abilities — unless it’s about ways to gain and keep more money for himself.

Donald Trump has also proven to be vindictive. It wasn’t surprising that his administration immediately ordered more sanctions against the ICC after one of those former judges won the Peace Prize.

Trump thinks he’s done ‘far more blah blah Trump weave blah’ than the human rights activist, Navi Pillay, who won. Of course, Donald Trump has also rated himself as the greatest president ever earlier this year, another sign of Trump’s detachment from reality. Over in reality, historians and voters disagree with his assessment.

Polls since Trump released his assessment said that almost half Americans rank Trump as a failure. 65% disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy.

In other “we-don’t-really-need-this” Trump news, Donald Trump has announced that he wants to make one of his Florida golf resorts into a presidential retreat.

The letter announcing this latest move made my wife and I laugh and laugh. Summaries of the letter’s contents published in newspapers said that Trump International will pay for the improvements.

Sure.

I believe that, dont’ you? I’ll bank that right beside Trump’s promise to not golf if he won the election because he’s too busy.

That promise for Trump International to pay for the improvement carries the same weight of promise for Trump’s gold cell phones. I believe that Trump International will pay for it as much as I believe Trump’s previous claims that he would probably release the Epstein files, that private donors would pay for the new ballroom, and that that Americans would get a DOGE dividend because we’re making so much money as a nation.

I believe the assertion that Trump International will pay for it as much as I believe that Trump has lowered prices on everything since taking office, and that he lowered the price of prescription drugs by hundreds, even thousands of percent.

I believe this declaration as much as I believe that Donald Trump has fixed the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, one — two — three times — no, wait, they’re still working on it.

I believe it as much as I believe that Trump’s tariffs will not raise prices. (Note: they HAVE.)

Assurances that Trump International will pay for it all carries as much water as a pail without a bottom. I believe it as much as Trump’s declaration that as part of his ‘bold agenda’, there would be no new wars.

In short, I don’t believe any of Trump’s promises, or any promises made by any organization or project with Trump’s name attached to it.

The evidence that Trump and his organization will not do what they say they will is overwhelming. Only people in cults or those who have an agenda which Trump serves will believe it.

I’m not part of either of those camps.

October 9, 2026 5

Mondah’s Theme Music – Caged

Ashland, southern Oregon — Monday, June 22, 2026.

It’s a Mon-dah. Kind of eh at this point.

We’re cruising through the seventies in our valley. Degrees, I mean, not years; the 1970s would be way too modern for Trump and the MAGAts. On our way to the region of 95 F today. Blue sky. No clouds. Browning greens.

In an aside, Trump and his MAGAts is a good name for a failed punk rock band. They dreamed big but their guitars had no strings. The drummer had no bass. All anyone heard was Trump the vocalist, shouting words.

Mom and Gina are skirmishing back home again. It remains about ‘Mom’s pills’. This is actually a good sign, as Mom is again in a fighting mood and is in the moment. Gina is displaying remarkable calm and patience with Mom. Mom said, “That’s funny that you think these people are better at giving us our meds and they don’t know an aspirin from a Tylenol.”

Gina replied, “Well everything is labeled for them and they know what day it is and they document everything.”

2026 drones on with Trump in weak command of a flopping economy and low popularity. Revealing again that he’s absolutely out of reach with reality, Trump tried to pump up his ego by claiming how great everything is going. All but the MAGAts know Trump lies.

Trump touts “best economy ever.” What the data shows

Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! continues to decline into Operation Epic Dead Squirrel. Trump is thumping war drums over Iran again, pitching the same spiel that he used months ago — “They’d better, or else!” — as he blusters about Iran.

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool continues as a fabled metaphor for Trump’s miscalculations and flophouse execution. He’s proven again, everything that he touches withers, except for his grifts. They flourish, especially with the GOP covering him, and control of the Department of Justice. Like a caveman, he uses the Department of Justice as a club to try to beat others down.

He launched another of his endlessly screeching Truth Social texts about the New York Times last night. They published an article about the useless and unneeded Iran war Trump ended, and the way he fizzled through negotiations like wet black powder.

Trump used the same strong language he always invokes when aggrieved:

“The way the Corrupt and Failing New York Times is covering stories on a very battered and beat up Iran, through FAKE & MADE UP ‘FACTS’ is, in my opinion, ‘TREASONOUS. I will be adding all of their false and ridiculous reporting to my multi Billion Dollar lawsuit against them. They are Criminals!”

In classic Trump writing, he projects himself: corrupt; failing; treasonous; ridiculous.

I have “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers playing in the morning mental music stream. Came about from looking at photos of the area around the White House. Employing my Trump writing style, I’ll elaborate:

“The WH lawn looks TERRIBLE! So NASTY! It is the worse it has looked in its Entire History! HORRIBLE!!! DISGRACEFUL!!! tRump and the Awful Repuglicants should be in prison for WHAT THEY’VE DONE!!! It’s A Crime for what they’ve done to the home of We The People!!!”

The song arose because its first line mentions ‘coming out of my cage’. As I’d been looking at the UFC ‘cage’, the Neurons — never very awake — thought that I was singing to myself about a cage, and well…here we are.

Hope your Mon-dah is better and progresses with peace, joy, and good health.

Cheers

June 22, 2026 1

Thursday’s Theme Music

Ashland, Oregon — Thursday, February 19, 2026.

More snow was falling and an inch accumulated. 35 degrees F, sunshine emerged, the snow stopped, and today’s accumulation melted off the streets. We still have several inches in the yard but the roads are clear. Today’s high will be 41 among expectations that more snow flurries are due.

My cold is so much better today. I slept terrific, straight through about five and a half hours. Didn’t get up to pee, blow my nose or take meds, or read a text, stacking small victories.

As I reflected on my cold, I thought about how long it was lasting and remembered reading about a virulent strain going around the region.

I began exploring my cold as a vehicle for reacting to life. Some with the cold would rush to the medical facilities for help. Others would take no protections and keep working either because they financially needed to or they wanted others to catch the cold so we could develop ‘herd immunity’.

A faction might use the cold as a launching pad to campaign against our modern diets and processed foods. Others might see the cold as proof that our society is over-vaccinated. I think a sector would call it a warning to get closer to mother nature, and another group would decree that the cold and its spread is due to modern stress weakening our systems and high population densities.

In truth, I suspect the cold and its spread has some truth in all of these things. Our modern life feels like it makes everything monolithic when there are so many nuances and variables involved.

Mom’s saga continues in Pittsburgh, PA. Sis sent out alarming emails at 4 AM eastern time about her anger at Mom and how she wasn’t going to do this and that. The tone worried me. Sis is Mom’s primary engine at this point and if she quit on behalf of Mom, team Mom would be seriously depleted.

But that rant seemed to help her because this morning, she was more methodical and very calm, checking out assistance living places, talking to the social worker, etc. I let out a huge sigh of relief.

Riding some dream energy. The Neurons noticed and fed the morning mental music stream with The War on Drugs and “Red Eyes” from 2013. Its vibe suits my mood.

Lyrics h/t to Genius.com

[Verse 1]
Come and see
Where I witness everything
On my knees
You beat it down to get to my soul
Against my will
Anyone could tell us you’re coming
Baby don’t mind
Leave it on the line, leave it hanging on a rail

[Verse 2]
Come and ride away
It’s easier to stick to the old
Surrounded by the night
Surrounded by the night, and you don’t give in
But you abuse my faith
Losing every time but I don’t know where
You’re on my side again
So ride the heat wherever it goes
I’ll be the one to care, woo!

Hope you have some strong, positive energy today and it takes you to good places. Until later. Cheers

February 19, 2026 0

Wenzdaz Theme Music

Wenzda, January 14, 2026, settles onto Ashland like invisible fog. Alexa insists fog is out there but blue skies and sunshine meet my little eye. It’s in truth, very pleasant appearing outside the windows. But dress right; my system warns that it’s 35 degrees F. Alexa actually agrees with that part. We hope to see the low to mid-fifties today, but it depends on where you’re at in Ashland, I think.

Despite the sunshine, rising violence in the United States undermines my hope and optimism. Digby posted several excellent posts about Customs and Border Patrol’s confrontation guidelines, and Trump’s plans to add Greenland to the United States.

Trump keeps circling back to controlling Greenland, suggesting the United States should either buy or invade it. Trump declared the United States is safer against China and Russia with controlling Greenland.

I’m frankly surprised. The United States is about to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the nation’s beginning without Russia or China invading us through Greenland. To be sure, it’d be a circuitous and challenging route to take to reach the United States.

Worries about a Russia/China attack also seems to undermine the U.S. Navy and Air Force’s power and global reach. Geography matters, yes, and firepower doesn’t erase its strategy, but it does limit it, especially when nuclear deterrence is considered.

Greenland is Denmark’s territory, and Denmark is a NATO member. U.S. Attacks on Greenland would probably trigger a NATO response, which is where Digby’s post helps. Digby shared information from Malcolm Nance, former naval intelligence officer, foreign policy analyst and pundit, about the consequences of a United States attack on Greenland.

My perception of Trump is that he thinks that attacking Greenland would be quick and easy for the United States. Despite Greenland’s statements that they would resist, Trump seems to think that Greenlanders want to be part of the United States. I don’t know how he arrives at that conclusion.

To me, Trump’s framing regarding control of Greenland reflects pre-nuclear, industrial-era thinking, and not modern reality. Regardless of a NATO military response, an attack on Greenland would severely damage the global economy, destabilize peace, and increase the threat of nuclear war.

It seems like Trump is omitting or downplaying the political, economic, and military cost of forecefully taking Greenland. As far as buying it, Denmark and Greenland have both declared that it’s not for sale. Unfortunately for them and us, Trump often doesn’t accept rejection.

All of this thinking led The Neurons to fill the morning mental music stream with a rock song about truth. “Tell the Truth” is a Derek and the Dominos original, included on their album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Like “Layla”, Eric Clapton’s love for George Harrison’s wife, Patty Boyd, inspired Clapton.

More importantly for me is the chorus about telling the truth.

Tell the truth, tell me who’s been fooling you?
Tell the truth, who’s been fooling you?

Who has been fooling Trump? Or is he trying to fool us? Probably both, right?

That’s where I really flail with Trump, his plans, and his support. Either some other reality guides their thinking and planning, or they’re lying. I wish they were more straightforward with the facts and truth, instead of making bellicose statements.

Anyway, on into the day and its invisible fog. No great plans for me other than writing, reading, and visiting with my wife and cat. My wife surprised me yesterday by asking if we could have Indian food tonight. So, we’re going out to a local restaurant, House of India. Truthfully, I’m looking forward to it.

Hope truth finds its way to you and carry you forward into the rest of this year, and peace and grace join. Cheers