Friday’s Theme Music

Ashland settles into Friday, January 30, 2026, with a long sigh of clouds. 46 F now, we don’t expect it to get much hotter or colder. We’re still looking for our first winter snow.

In other U.S. regions, snow and ice remain big problems. Power outages continue, communities are digging out, but more snow is on the way in several places.

Turning to political ICE, ICE remains a problem for too many as another ICE detainee’s January death was a homicide. Add Geraldo Lunas Campos to the list of deaths beside Keith Porter, Renee Nicole Good, and Alex Pretti.

A new story highlights that ICE is converting warehouses and industrial buildings located by 23 towns around the United States. Each is expected hold thousands. Concerns emerge about the conditions of those buildings and the impact on local fresh water supplies. The Trump ICE team plows on regardless of worries that We the People express. Trump is in charge, and ICE is going to remind you, it’s the Trump way or else.

These new Trump ICE facilities are in addition to existing facilities.

Trump was called out for lying — again. The subject was California and Walmart. Trump claimed that California’s minimum wage was too much for WalMart, and WalMart was closing stores. Trump stated that California’s minimum wage is $22 per hour but it’s $16.90, except for fast-food workers, paid $20 per hour.

Trump claimed WalMart was closing 250 California stores. “This isn’t accurate information,” an unnamed Walmart spokesperson told CNN. “In fact, we actually just recently opened a new store in California.”

CNN calls Trump’s claims ‘wildly inaccurate’. Based on Trump’s extensive catalogue as a serial liar, I think Trump’s claims can safely be declared another lie.

The Neurons have Faith No More singing “Epic” from 1990 in the morning mental music stream.

“Epic” Lyrics

Can you feel it, see it, hear it today?
If you can’t, then it doesn’t matter anyway
You will never understand it, ’cause it happens too fast
And it feels so good, it’s like walking on glass
It’s so cool, it’s so hip, it’s alright
It’s so groovy, it’s outta sight
You can touch it, smell it, taste it, so sweet
But it makes no difference ’cause it knocks you off your feet, say

The song mostly just rhymes to a heavy beat, challenging you to follow the logic. It fits as today’s theme music because following such hollow logic is how it is for me with MAGA and Trump. What’s the logic, and how does it hold?

I find many Trump and MAGA claims effectively hold up as solidly as a brown paper bag in water. Affordability and the assertion that Trump is the Peace President — and a unifier — sit at the top of the messed-up logic pyramid. MAGA and Trump both keep squirming away from the truth, but the truth is rising faster than the new Trump ballroom.

The trick at this point is not to become inured or complacent, or as worse, too weary and drained to respond. Thom Hartmann wrote about the dangers, and Jill Dennison shared it for us. A good read, it’s a necessary reinforcement, this is not the end or beginning; we’re in the middle.

I hope peace and grace finds you and keeps you warm, safe, strong, and healthy — today and every day. Cheers

January 30, 2026 1

Monday’s Theme Music

Monday, January 26, 2026, has landed. Frigid cold holds much of the U.S. Ashland in Oregon remains 40 degrees and dry, but partly cloudy, with a high of 57 F expected this afternoon.

Much of my attention shifts between Minnesota, Trump in general, and the winter storm, Fern. My general reflections at this point make me think that the U.S. is in danger of becoming a wasteland, a rich center for the wealthy but a miserable place for the rest. As education and norms are peeled away and freedom is squashed, the future has a bleaker look to it.

For what, many of us ask? We know Trump is the figurehead and has enabled others to act on his behalf. More, the Project 2025 authors are driving it. Their intention seems to be, tear it all down, and then we’ll rebuild in an image of our own making. The image seems to be, believe in our God, buy our goods, and keep your opinions to yourself. In return, we’ll call you free, and remind that this is America, land of the free and home of the brave.

And if you resist, we will vilify, harass, and even shoot you. We will gas you and strip you of your dignity and rights.

To which We the People reply, bring it on.

Today’s music is brought to you by The Neurons. They identified “Baba O’Riley” by The Who as ideal theme music for this final Monday in January, 2026.

Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don’t need to fight
To prove I’m right
I don’t need to be forgiven

Don’t cry
Don’t raise your eye
It’s only teenage wasteland

Sally, take my hand
We’ll travel south ‘cross land
Put out the fire, don’t look past my shoulder
The exodus is here
The happy ones are near
Let’s get together before we get much older

h/t to songmeanings.com

So let’s continue getting together and stand up for the United States that we believe in, a nation where we can criticize the government without threats of lawsuits or violence, a nation of elected officials who believe they work for We the People to help us all rise and be stronger, safer, and freer, and not just a privileged few.

Hope it’s a grand, safe day for you, one that helps establish a firm foundation for the needs ahead. Cheers

January 26, 2026 0

Sundaz Theme Music

Sunday, January 18, 2026, commenced as an extension of Friday and Saturday’s weather in Ashland. Dry, air stagnation continues from an inversion layer, making air unhealthy by trapping particles. Although now in the 30s to 40s — 32 degrees F at my house — blue sky and sunshine promise another venture into the sixties today.

Meaning temperatures in the 60s, of course, not the famous years of demonstrations, civil unrest, hippies, and war in the United States, the 1960s. Wait; that 60s may be coming, too, the way I.C.E. violently attacks We the People and Trump escalates military power to bully other nations.

As a 1960s teen, I watched confrontations between protestors and the Federal government on the television nightly news. Now, in 2026, I’m watching the news from Minnesota.

Minnesota has become the focal point of ICE tension in 2026. Trump ordered U.S. military troops in Alaska to be ready for deployment to Minnesota. Minnesota has National Guard ready in response to the ongoing unrest tied to ICE enforcement in Minneapolis.

That’s an interesting inversion of the 1960s, when state governments used national guard units to enforce segregation. Presidents Eisenhower (Republican) and Kennedy (Democrat) responded by Federalizing the national guard or sending in military troops to enforce court rulings.

Back in the 1960s, the perception was that states were resisting change and wanted to continue treating Blacks as lessor individuals, with fewer rights.

Now, Trump is trying to treat anyone who doesn’t support him and his policies as lessor individuals, with fewer rights, and using ICE to bully people into submission. Then, as now, race and power were key issues.

It’s not overly surprising. Progress is uneven. A relatively young nation — just 250 years old — the United States is still adjusting to this whole idea of We the People, with freedom, justice, and equality for all.

It’s a classic situation. Who has the most rights, Federal government, state government, or We the People? Trump’s posture is usually, “The State is Me, and I have the power.” He also claims that We the People gave him the power when he won the support to be POTUS, completely warping the concept that he’s the people’s servant.

After the morning news scan, The Neurons offer Dropkick Murphys and “Citizen I.C.E.” in the morning mental music stream. Not my usual genre, so I wasn’t familiar with the song, learning of it through Crooks & Liars. Watching the Minneapolis crucible to see what happens today, “Citizen I.C.E.” emerges as a worthy theme song.

May your day satisfy your needs today and start an upward trend of good things happening for you. I’m going to address my needs with a little coffee now, if you don’t mind. Cheers

January 18, 2026 0

Thirstdaz Theme Music

I’m working through tendrils of a new day, a new month, and a new year. Not much of it taxes me yet, but we’re only nine hours into it in Ashland.

Winter continues its weather games. Today, Thirstda, January 1, 2026, brings rain and a leaden, swollen sky. Winds whisper, howl, and moan. Temperatures around town reportedly range of 46 degrees F to 53. My house says it’s 51. Today’s high will be…51.

I posted news of Dad’s passing on Facebook and heard from many, including military peers, corporation co-workers, fellow writers-in-struggling, and friends on other continents. Comfort and thankfulness rose in me for so many taking the time from their lives to comment.

I’ve accepted Dad’s death on at least the surface. Flashes of not being able to speak or visit with him slide like gentle waves through my thoughts. Some tears fell yesterday. Today, I’m remembering him with fondness, chuckling and laughing at memories of how he smiled, laughed, and spoke.

As for the new year and month, I’m uncertain of what to expect. Last year was a ride on a cantankerous bear. Too many Trump and GOP actions dismayed my core. That core holds beliefs that We the People are supposed to have a voice in our government; that laws will be followed and enforced; that everyone is equal and deserves freedom and respect. Actions such as Trump’s rants about hoaxes, fake news, Democratic scum, and ICE rounding up people without due process all undermine my hopes.

I’ll continue voting, protesting, and writing about how Trump is conducting business. And I’ll keep trying to nurture hope and optimism that we’ll see a shift toward my hopeful vision of progress and democracy.

Here’s today’s music: “God Gave Rock and Roll to You”. The 1973 song was written by Russ Ballard. Ballard was in Argent at the time, so Argent performed and released it.

I suspect The Neurons planted the song in the morning mental music stream because I was thinking about working hard on the novel-in-progress, and the need to keep editing it. The song reflects those sentiments on one stanza:

Lyrics (h/t to Genius.com)

If you wanna be a singer or play guitar
Man, you’ve gotta sweat, or you won’t get far
‘Cause it’s never too late to work nine to five
And if you’re young, then you’ll never be old
Music can make your dreams unfold
How good it feels to be alive

Coffee is served again. May peace and grace find you and guide you along a hopeful path in the new year. Cheers

January 1, 2026 0

November 23, 2025 0

Sundaz Theme Music

White frost inks the grass and bare mulch. Sunda, 23 November 2025, is seeing another morning of fog and a temp of 32 F. Walking around yesterday, a distinct wintry essence infiltrated the air. Snow felt imminent. But now sunshine is spreading, lighting up a blue sky. The temperature has crept up to 39 F. 66 F is possible before night takes it all down again.

Today’s song is “Sunshine”, a 1971 Jonathan Edwards song. Though I know the lyrics and melody well, I looked up the song writer and performer. I haven’t heard the song in years that I know. It overwhelmed the morning mental music stream, introduced in there by The Neurons when I happened to look out a window and say, “Look, sunshine!” That’s how Der Neurons roll.

The song’s lyrics always intrigue me. It seems like a song of defiance and hope mixing it up with grumbling, determination, and impulsiveness.

Sunshine, go away today
Don’t feel much like dancin’
Some man’s gone, he tried to run my life
He don’t know what he’s askin’

Well, he tells me I better get in line
I can’t hear what he’s sayin’
When I grow up, I’m gonna make it mine
These ain’t dues that I’ve been payin’

How much does it cost? I’ll buy it
Time is all we’ve lost, I’ll try it
He can’t even run his own life
Be damned if he’ll run mine

Working starts to make me wonder where
All that I do is going
He says in love and war all is fair
He’s got cards that he ain’t showing

How much does it cost? I’ll buy it
Time is all we’ve lost, I’ll try it
He can’t even run his own life
Be damned if he’ll run mine

Sunshine, come on back another day
I promise you I’ll be singing
This old world, she’s gonna turn around
Brand new bells’ll be ringing

Songwriters: Rodney Jerkins, Lashawn Daniels, Leendert Bolier, Cheryl Elizabeth Gamble, Johan Jacobse, Freddie D Iii Jerkins, Frederik D Freek Geuze.

We’re mock laughing in our household about brave Marjorie Taylor Greene. Oh, she’s resigning from Congress…in January, after her retirement benefits are won. What a deal! That will let this former MAGA star suckle off the public for the rest of her life. She also made a ton o’ cash with stock trading during her years of public service. Meanwhile, she’ll probably plop into some fat gig as media star commenting on current events, and we’ll be stuck with her for years as she pops up, trying to be relevant and insightful. Meanwhile, whenever she speaks, someone will say, “MTG is still alive? I thought she died years ago.”

Public service. Pays well for some, working for We the People. Just ask Trump. He’s certainly doing well, financially, as he craters the nation, starves people, and struts around bleating about how great he is, backing up his assertions with outright lies. Word is, it’s catching up with him, judging from polls and confidence indexes. As he crows about how popular he is, the number of people saying they disapprove of him, his regime, the economy, and the nation’s direction, are all climbing.

Peace and grace haven’t answered my invite. Hope they answer yours and show for us soon. Meanwhile, pour a cuppa and sit, read the news, think and sigh. Here we go. Cheers

November 23, 2025 5

Satyrdaz Theme Music

Suddenly, it’s November — again! Yep, we’ve leaped onto Satyrda, November 1, 2025 in Ashlandia, where the temperature is 52 and sunshine is singing praises to blue skies. The thermometer is expected to hop up to 68 F in our area.

Seems like it was just last year when it was November and we were voting on the nation’s future in the United States. The scandal-plagued, greed monger formally known as Trump, more informally known as TACO – Trump Always Chickening Out — won the 2024 election, to the joy of racists, white supremacists, and reactionaries everywhere. The rest of us were less sanguine about it. Now, just a year after that election, the Federal government is grinding to a halt. Under Trump, the government has been shut down for a third time, and Republicans, ‘led’ by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Hell), are refusing to work. Air traffic control and the military are working on promises to be paid, along with TSA. No worries, they’re just the backbone of safety and security. Thanks to DOGE, multiple agencies which helped farmers and families are struggling to function. Trump has stripped funding away from activities and canceled projects regardless of Congressional approval. Congress, remember, are our delegates, voted into office to work for We the People as our servants, just as Trump is supposed to be our servant.

What a servant. Stealing from us. Wrecking the White House. Trying to rewrite history and wipe out our heritage. Arbitrarily deciding what is a crime and who is a criminal, a total 180 of what is supposed to be ‘the American Way’. Taking bribes. Killing in the name of peace. Hounding and persecuting political enemies without evidence, trying to trump up charges that will stick. Dismissing real and meaningful work in the Department of Justice. He’s fired almost all of the Inspector Generals, who were there to investigate the government’s functions to ensure everything was being done legally. A general sense of disarray circles around D.C. It’s like a storm system building toward a hurricane. Distrust of Trump is growing. Disapproval is increasing as the fog thickens about what Trump is doing and how much is legal. Disapproval is rising as citizens and their families starve, employment falls off, inflation grows, and Trump goes golfing.

We still don’t know what it says in the Epstein Files against Trump. Maybe the Andrew formerly known as a prince can illuminate those things for us. I’d love to see that smirk chased off of Trump’s face.

Just a reminder to Trump, the Heritage Foundation and their Project 2025 wet dream, and MAGAland. We the People said No Kings in 1776. We the People said no to fascists in the last world war. We meant it both times. We the People still mean it.

My dreams featured hills, so The Neurons plugged a familiar song about hills in the morning mental music stream. Mind you, one major dream also featured food. People were plying me with sandwiches and desserts wherever I went, doing so as a way of thanks for stepping up and helping them. The food was so delicious and fresh! Kind of amused me in the dream, as I was just a dog with a bone, organizing things because that’s what was needed and that’s my strength. For a time, Der Neurons did consider songs like”Mean Mister Mustard” and “Long Tall Glasses” in the morning mental music stream. But ultimately, they went with “Over the Hills and Far Away” by Led Zeppelin.

We really need more peace and grace in this world. It’s a struggle to get it with Trump and his agents of chaos and destruction. May peace and grace emerge and grow and spread soon. Till then, be strong. Cheers

November 1, 2025 2

Fridaz Wandering Political Thoughts

First, happy Samhain or happy Halloween, whatever works for you.

I disagree with Jasmine Crocket. I like the humor but she’s wrong.

Trump is also progressing toward one-party authoritarian rule. When Trump briefed ‘Congress’ about his military activities, he only included Republicans.

Democrats Fume After GOP Shuts Them Out Of Briefing On Trump’s Military Strikes

“What the administration did in the last 24 hours is corrosive not only to our democracy but downright dangerous for our national security,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters on Thursday, warning that the move set a “troubling precedent” that had trampled on the longheld bipartisan tradition of bipartisan briefings of Congress on U.S. military activities abroad.

More at Yahoo.com/news.

Meanwhile, demonstrating his progressive trend of cratering successful organizations, the Trump Destruction Syndrome is evident at the Kennedy Center.

Ticket sales plummet at Kennedy Center after Trump takeover: Washington Post analysis

Ticket sales for the Kennedy Center have continued to plummet in the months since President Trump took over its operations.

Tens of thousands of seats have been left empty at the three main performance venues, according to The Washington Post.

About 43 percent of tickets remain unsold according to the Post’s daily analysis of the Kennedy Center’s Opera House, Concert Hall and Eisenhower Theater from Sept. 3 to Oct. 19.

New Trump administration rule bars student loan relief for public workers tied to ‘illegal’ activity

On Thursday, Oct. 30, the Education Department finalized new rules for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which allows people in specialized careers – such as nursing, firefighting, teaching and certain types of nonprofit work – to have their student debt canceled after 10 years of timely payments. The program was mismanaged for years until recently, when former President Joe Biden reformed it, ultimately forgiving billions of dollars in debt for more than 1 million Americans.

This topic shows Trump is now more actively and progressively deciding who is breaking the law and deciding who will be a target based on his discrimination without evidence or due process.

Specifically, the rules prevent businesses and organizations that have engaged in activities with a “substantial illegal purpose” from being eligible to participate.

Yet it’s not clear exactly what the Education Department will ultimately define as an “illegal” activity. According to the new regulations, such conduct will likely include providing support for undocumented immigrants, gender-affirming care for minors, supporting “terrorism” and aiding and abetting “illegal discrimination.”

More is available at USA Today.

Now some points of interest about current events from the web.

These posts reflect the lack of thinking behind the GOP and Trump’s actions and claims. This isn’t new. These are continuing trends. Trump and the GOP mouth things about the importance of law and order, how much they cherish life, children, and families, and then by their actions, they show that none of that matters. All that matters to them is money, being in control, and power.

The next one reveals so much about Trump. Trump doesn’t understand leadership, history, or Lincoln.

President Lincoln would not have been proud that the priority for the POTUS was to remodel the bathroom as millions of Americans face starvation. Of course, I’m pretty certain that President Lincoln would have been appalled that Trump is off golfing as the Epstein Government Shutdown of 2025 continues.

Yep, that’s the Trump M.O. all the way. Witness those recent talks with China. He created the problem and now he’s strutting around like he’s a genius.

This next one has special meaning to me. My brother-in-law is a MAGA with a ten-year-pin. He’s supported Trump for POTUS from go. He engaged my wife about antifa and tried to claim that it’s a national organization with elected officials, etc. She laughed and said, “You do realize that your father was antifa.”

He responded in surprise, “What?”

And she replied, “Yes, he fought in World War II, didn’t he?”

My wife’s point completely stunned my BIL. As it does with many MAGAts. They don’t understand history or choose to ignore it, and they just don’t think, preferring to parrot inane talking points.

Until they’re forced to confront the truth.

October 31, 2025 3

Twozdaz Theme Music

Cold and shiny Twozda Morning in October. This is 10/23/2025. 46 F in Ashland, the temperature will frolic into the low 70s with the sun’s herding. Fall’s grasp is as firm as ever, with leaves decomposing and dropping while others hang, shimmering in reds and golds.

Sis has moved Mom into her house because of Mom’s repeated falls and inability to care for herself. No one is there to help her at her house, etc. Sis meets with a real estate agent next Tuesday to pull the levers to sell Mom’s house. An estate sale is being established to sell Mom’s furniture and belongings. Not excited to return to this state, and you know what I mean. This is life. But I’m looking forward to seeing family and being in the area of my youth.

In one of Trump’s continuing rampages to show how much he hates the United States, he’s now having the physical building called the White House destroyed. As it was put in a comment on another site, I am volcanically pissed. Breathtaking arrogance. If anything proves that Trump has no sense of history and gives not a jot of shit about anything except himself, this is it. Destroying the house of We the People and replacing it with his own gaudy, cheap imitation of grandeur is disgusting and infuriating. Project 2025 is certainly well pleased and gleeful. Roberts Court is probably shrugging. They let him trample the Constitution with his overweight ego and obese body, why not allow this effrontery? Sure hope all those MAGA are happy too. Isn’t this how love for your nation is shown, by tearing down its heritage?

Approval for him falls. Disapproval for him rises. Strength to stand against him and his regime increases.

A Daily Kos post by Michael Taylor offers solid insights into the Trump Regime’s war against the United States.

Criminalising an idea: the dangerous fiction of “ANTIFA, the organisation”

Let’s talk about a magic trick. Not the kind with rabbits and hats, but the political kind, where a complex idea is made to vanish, only to be replaced by a simple, monstrous caricature. The latest magicians? Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General, and the broader Trump administration, who are attempting to pull off the dangerous illusion of criminalising ANTIFA.

The premise of their act is that ANTIFA is a unified, hierarchical terrorist organisation– a domestic version of ISIS – that can be neatly listed, proscribed, and its members prosecuted. This is a profound and likely deliberate misunderstanding. ANTIFA, short for “anti-fascist,” is not an organisation; it is a political belief and a movement, no more a single entity than “conservatism” or “environmentalism.”

Under cover of criminalizing a concept and calling it an organization, the Trump Regime can attempt to use all of the government’s military and police forces against United States citizens, weakly rationalizing it as part of their fight against ‘antifa’. As Taylor closes:

The real danger isn’t a black-clad protester breaking a window; it’s a government that seeks to break the foundational principle that in America, people are free to believe, and to protest, what they see fit.

Meanwhile, the Epstein Shutdown has moved into its third week, earning Trump’s third government shutdown in five years of ‘leadership’ as the third longest U.S. government shutdown in history.

Without too much surprise, Trump’s Gaza ceasefire is as successful as Trump University, Trump Steaks, various Trump casinos and hotels, and Trump Air. Trump is a magical enshittifier.

I have The Moody Blues performing “The Story in your Eyes” in the morning mental music stream. Between conversations with Papi as I explain we’ll be going away but his favorite house sitter will be here, and thoughts of Trump’s destruction, and, well, changes in life in general, Les Neurons responded with lines out of the song.

Listen to the tide slowly turning. Wash all our heartaches away. We’re part of the fire that is burning, and from the ashes we can build another day.

May grace and peace get up and going and come around to see how we’re doing. Coffee is making itself familiar to the various body functions. Time to rock it. Time to roll it. Until the next, cheers from Trump and his smirking BFF, Jeffrey Epstein.