50 Things I Trust More Than Trump

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50 Things I Trust More Than Trump

50 Things I Trust More Than Trump

By Cate Rees-Hessel

 

  1. Toxic waste since “The Donald” is the worst agent orange
  2. Decades old unrefrigerated milk
  3. Mold
  4. At home body piercing
  5. Porta Potties
  6. The smell of an outhouse
  7. Stomach acid
  8. Dirty diapers
  9. Puppy Pee Pads that have been cleaned by running then through a sprinkler
  10. Gently used tampons
  11. The smell of used kitty litter
  12. Venereal disease film strips from junior high
  13. The local listed sex offender – likely joins Trump on the Epstein list
  14. Used car that was driven once a week to church by a little old lady
  15. A broken prophylactic
  16. Yellow snow
  17. The stench of a dumpster on a hot summer day
  18. A T- shirt and shorts on a cold winter’s day
  19. Cancer causing windmills
  20. A Tesla, maybe? This is a close race
  21. Three Mile Island
  22. A raging bull
  23. My father-in-law
  24. GMO and artificial colors in my food
  25. Carmel color
  26. A Yugo
  27. Craig’s list
  28. Corporate America – maybe not…
  29. Big pharma, big banks, and insurance carriers – well…
  30. Tonya Harding’s advice on how to win friends and influence people
  31. Marjorie Taylor Green charm school
  32. A $1.39 bikini wax
  33. Utility companies
  34. Payday loans
  35. A root canal with out a nerve blocker
  36. A rumor Melania was a virgin before her nuptials to “Donny boy”
  37. A car engine and brake pads from a junk yard
  38. The National Enquirer
  39. Online degree from Elon Musk University
  40. Temu quality
  41. Botox from a tattoo parlor
  42. Interest rates under this administration
  43. Haircut from a first day of beauty school student
  44. Running out of gas on a first date
  45. Nixon’s ghost
  46. Reagan’s ghost
  47. A TV bought from the back of a van
  48. A decade old disposable razor
  49. Home perm kit from a dollar store
  50. My ex-boyfriend

Hints Your Valentine Might Not Be A Romantic

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Hints Your Valentine Might Not Be A Romantic

Hints Your Valentine Might Not Be A Romantic

By Cate Rees-Hessel

 Here are 14 warning signs your date isn’t Cupid-approved:

  1. His idea of a romantic evening out involves a monster truck rally or tractor pull.
  2. He drops a hint that maybe you will be getting something sparkly and he gifts you a roll of ‘Sparkle’ paper towels.
  3. Instead of a heart shaped box of chocolates you get an expired granola bar with a left over Christmas bow on it.
  4. He spends half the evening comparing you to his ex (you need to run away screaming).
  5. He brings an old college chum that happens to be in town along on your date.
  6. He lives with his mom.
  7. He tells you to wear your paint clothes and ratty old sneakers on your date.
  8. He wears paint clothes and ratty old sneakers on your date.
  9. He keeps staring at his reflection in every glass surface he passes.
  10. Every gift he gives is stamped “made in PRC.”
  11. He arrives for your date with no gift and an explanation that the Dollar General had already closed.
  12. He brought an open half drunk bottle of wine for your romantic evening at home.
  13. His Valentine’s Day present is a re-gift from Christmas.
  14. A romantic dinner with this guy involves a bucket of chicken and a can of beer.

More food for thought:

In recent weeks, I have seen a number of ads for un-Valentines celebrations and I find it disparaging for such a beloved holiday. There is an old song entitled “What the World Needs Now is Love (Sweet Love)” – it goes on to say, “It’s the only thing, that there’s just too little of”; I agree. “Lord, we don’t need another mountain, There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb…” Yes, what the world needs now is love for our fellow men and women. Love for all humanity.

I know Valentines Day is about romantic love, but for this year let’s make it about love for all humankind, animals, and our planet. Let’s perform an act of kindness before we devour frilly pink and red heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and heart-shaped pizzas. A smile or a wave. Hold a door open for someone, send a card, hug somebody that needs it, agree to disagree with kindness. “Love thy neighbor as thyself”. Practice self love: take a break from social media, binge watch Hallmark movies with your significant other and your fur babies, take a bubble bath, get a massage and pedicure. Eat healthy, do some yoga, because as another tune teaches us, “love in any language, straight from the heart”, has style…

Street Feet

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Street Feet

Street Feet

 

By John Curran

I’m told we’re gonna have another Saturday street fest. A ‘pop up’ they’re callin’ it. The next big ones not gonna be ’til March 28th, 2026 but I guess since this party thing has gotten to be so much fun; well Grants Pass just can’t wait til then. So much fun and actually, the shit has gone nationwide. Killer you could say, don’t we know.

And since I help out my presence is definitely encouraged, I push wheelchairs see, among other things, chores, alla’ that. ‘N hey, I get into it too. It’s a hoot. Maybe I’ll bring my little bongo drum, its a good excuse to do something with it besides having it just sitting there in the corner of my room. Yeah there might be a drum circle, for sure there’s good DJ action, There’s a guy workin’ it out of the back of van. People are decked out in all kinda’ crazy ways, bunny outfits,  dogs dressed as dinosaurs, clown acts, everything.

Speaking of clown acts, we got two sides o’ the street setup to really liven it up-kind of an us ‘n them sort of standoff. Its great. We yell at them and they yell back at us, man you hear all kinds of funny and amusing ranting and raving and I must say, the excitement is in the air. Usually there’s a whole lot more of us than the themmers on the other side, some people just more inclined to party I guess, but the thems are catching on, I think,  they know we be serious about some lively action and this, without  fail, will be that.

‘Course we don’t have the real edge that some city’s been having, the kind of thing that really sends the shit into overdrive, not yet, anyway. And actually, if you think about it, nothing spoils a good party more than a public execution of an innocent person right there in front of everybody, definitely a party pooper that.

So we be good, so far; so I will say, Minneapolis ain’t so far away so, serious partiers we are and will be.  I push wheelchairs see,  and whatever. Just glad to be there and glad to help, however I can. Do I love it? Damn right I do, and all the dogs and cats do too.  ‘Course the one cat will make ya wonder, sometimes. One in every crowd, I guess.

At the Point S

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At the Point S

At the Point S

Editor: I needed a break from Donald 2026.  So as a temporary escape from the minute by minute Trump coverage I went to the tire shop.

 

By D.S. Mitchell

It was time for an oil change and a tire rotation so I called and made an appointment for Friday at the Point S in Grants Pass. These folks are awesome on the kindness scale, and reasonable on the prices. I added on a bad tail light and a broken grab bar and a safety check when I got there. Anyway, I settled in for an hour plus wait. As I’m flippin’ through the old magazines in the lobby I spot a great article in the May 2024 Real Simple magazine. In the Get It Done section Erica Finamore & Hannah Baker offered 14 easy and inexpensive DIY home projects that have big impact for a very small investment in time and money.  I’m only going to pass on the 7 I liked the best. I just wish I had pictures. So here we go:

1.) Add attractive storage for those oversized cookbooks at the end of your kitchen island simply by adding a couple of shelves, then paint the new shelving a bright surprise color.

2.) Stencil the walls of a nook or entry area. It is important to choose a stencil with a registration mark, “these are the small design elements cut into the edge of the stencil that help you repeat the pattern evenly.” A big impact for a small space.

3.) Fake the art. If you’re hanging art over a sofa or buffet, the frame should be two thirds the width of the furniture.  Soooo, if you have an 8 foot couch the wall hanging should be about 5 feet, four inches wide. The height of the art is up to you. Once you decide how big your piece of art needs to be based on the above measurements its easy to create a giant piece of art. Maybe a colorful shower curtain stretched over a frame. In my case, I just went to the fabric store and found a bright ‘modern art’  piece of material and cut it and stapled the material on to a canvas stretcher. Voila! A real scene stealer.

4.) Replace the pantry door in your kitchen with an antique door, something to give the space a unique look.

5.) I love this one! Even if you aren’t an artist you can still project a design you like onto an exterior wall or even a shed wall, or maybe the pool house wall. Project the image you like onto that wall and with chalk out line the design in colors similar to the paint colors you will ultimately use. This will help you remember what color goes where. They suggest two coats of outdoor paint for the project, and a one inch brush for crisp sharp edges. A three or four inch brush is good for filling in the larger areas they suggest.

6.) Crown molding takes a plain jane room to a Parisian retreat. On this one I’d call my son. If you don’t have a carpenter in the family on speed dial you might want to find a licensed and bonded contractor.

7.) Let’s add beams to the ceiling. Hell, yeah, I say. Again, here’s where I’d call my son, or that licensed and bonded contractor. They don’t have to be big massive beams, smaller beams are lighter and easier to install. In fact, the writers suggest 2 x 6 cedar boards in long lengths to fully cross the ceiling width.

What fun. If you want pictures of the above projects go on line and check out the May 2024 edition of Real Simple magazine.

 

The Spider Series-Available on Amazon

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The Spider Series-By D.S. Mitchell

As bodies fall we need to know, is she guilty?

The Spider Series-By D.S. Mitchell

Available on Amazon

The Big Beat

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The Big Beat

 

The Big Beat

 

By John Curran

 

Well you can close your eyes now Angel and fly away, you’ve done your best; you tried to help them right to the end, trying to alleviate the distress of them coming at that poor helpless person, a woman was it not? Yes, and them coming at her in that big bunch with guns ‘n all the rest of that. All charging at her the way they do, to frighten, intimidate, and control, and oft times physically hurt. But you were there filming and you stepped in-your last great gesture-one more time to try again to ease some ‘a the suffering of this world. It’s ramping up now. The senseless, needless killings, state killings…and you tried to help out the woman when they were coming all over her…and now you are gonna see what good that’s gonna get ya, today yeah ’cause today you’re gonna see it all.

And I’m sorry you have to see it. You were a good man and they beat ya down, they pounded you in the head with the metal canister an’ then they laid you out like Christ on that cross and they pumped you full of lead. I’m sorry you had to see that. Nobody should have to see that, but you can close your eyes now and fly away angel and remember always ‘radio loves you’. Your name is heard, all over the land, love’s ya’, and they be trembling now, before that mighty voice.

The Rigged Game

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The Rigged Game

The Rigged Game

Editor: The Jan-Feb 2026 edition of Mother Jones published a scathing indictment of the sitting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, and the actions that have directly led to the “corrupt and abusive Trump reign”. What follows are direct quotes (with large parts of the article left out because of copyright issues) from that brilliant article by Pema Levy and Ari Berman. All items within parentheses are added by this writer for clarification. Please subscribe to Mother Jones and support its 50 years of fearless journalism; it’s definitely worth the money. Call 1-800-438-6656 for subscription information. Sign up for newsletters at motherjones.com/daily-news-D.S. Mitchell, aka “Calamity”.

Excerpts from “Blame John Roberts for Everything”

By Pema Levy and Ari Berman

 

“Today, as the Robert’s court rewrites the Constitution in the image of Trumpian autocracy, it’s become clear that Robert’s promise (when he was testifying to the Senate at his confirmation hearing) to be a neutral umpire was a lie. We are watching a rigged game, and Roberts set it up.”

“Twenty years ago, John Roberts promised (the Senate, the country and the media) that as chief justice of the Supreme Court, he would be like an umpire, calling balls and strikes. The delusion was so powerful that for two decades the media defaulted to portraying him as a moderate institutionalist.”

“The Robert’s court has spent Trump’s second term not applying the law so much as clearing it out of his (Trump’s) way. In a matter of months, the court’s 6-3 GOP aligned majority has permitted a long list of lawless actions, including firing independent agency commissioners, using racial profiling in immigration sweeps, disappearing immigrants to authoritarian and war-torn nations, and defying Congress’ power of the purse.”

(This didn’t start yesterday,) “Robert’s has been embedding white-dominant authoritarianism into the country’s source code for two decades. It is impossible to imagine today’s crisis without the Robert’s court having first undermined the foundations of our democracy.”

“(Representative) Democracies are built on the right to vote and choose representatives. The United States finally recognized this right for all people with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (and 1982).”

“As chief justice (Robert’s) has helped craft a string of rulings knee-capping (the Voting Rights Act of 1965 & 1982) laws, starting with his 2013 Shelby County v Holder. The decision overruled Congress and freed states with histories of discrimination to change their voting rules, spurring the creation of 115 voter suppression laws in more than 30 states. Many were inspired by Trump’s election lies.”

“After oral arguments in a Louisiana redistricting case, observers expect Roberts and the GOP justices to declare that the districts drawn to preserve representation for voters of color are either unconstitutional or subject to insurmountable barriers. It’s a decision that would turn the 14th and 15th Amendments-passed during Reconstruction to give formerly enslaved people citizenship and equal rights-on their heads, and turbocharge Trump’s gerrymandering push.”

“Such redrawn (gerrymandered) maps could shift up to 19 eats to the GOP in 2026 and runs the threat of creating a permanent GOP control of Congress.”

Continue reading

26 Methods to Disempower the MAGA Cult

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26 Methods to Disempower the MAGA Cult

(20)26 Methods to Disempower the MAGA Cult

 

By Cate Rees-Hessel

 

  1. I will not lose hope. I will be always faithful, no matter what is happening in our nation. * “The sun will come out tomorrow, come what may. Tomorrow is only a day away.”
  2.  I will stand up for what is right, I will not flinch. I will not engage in arguments with the MAGA crowd; understanding the MAGA mentality is hard as a rock.
  3. I will not be a victim of MAGA shock and awe tactics. My work is more important than being  deterred by the “emergency” of the moment.
  4. I will not take God’s word out of context despite what the red caps say or do.
  5. I will stand up for human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, animal rights and LBGTQ rights, not allowing prejudice or bigotry to color my opinions.
  6. I will run away from racism while standing firmly against it.
  7. I will prioritize self care. I must be strong and healthy for those who need my care and support.
  8. I will remember it’s okay to not be ok.
  9. I will not waste time on stupidity.
  10. I will love my neighbor as myself.
  11. I will not cave to bullying.
  12. I will stand firm in my beliefs system.
  13. I will not compromise what I know is right.
  14. I will remain empowered in the face of adversity.
  15. I will embrace my relationships and gain strength from them.
  16. I will step back from social media when I need to.
  17. I will laugh because it is the best medicine for mental well being; and its free.
  18. I will take mental health days to rejuvenate and soothe my weary soul.
  19. I will intentionally avoid stress whenever I can.
  20. I will eat healthy and exercise.
  21. I will spend quality time with family, pets and friends.
  22. I will give myself permission to chill out and relax.
  23. I will drink hot chocolate, mocha latte, Kahlua, wine spritzers, mimosas, milkshakes, tea slushies, or even a soft drink on ice when needed to lift my spirits.
  24. I will practice my faith and trust in God in my own way and take my time without apologies.
  25. I will allow myself an occasional guilty pleasure. Brandy truffles anyone?
  26. I will take a walk on the beach and breathe deeply.

*Quote from the play, “Annie.”

A Funeral Poem

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A Funeral Poem By Henry Van Dyke

Editor: A person I loved and  admired died recently. I’ve been having a hard time dealing with that loss. A friend of mine, my soul sister for the last 60 plus years sent me a loving note and included the Funeral Poem by Henry Van Dyke. The poem reminded me that my loved one will never really leave those of us who loved her so deeply, she is now just waiting for us to finish our work here and she will welcome us on the other side.

**********

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says: “There, she is gone!”

“Gone where?”

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at the moment when someone at my side says: “There, she is gone!” there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: “Here she comes!”

And that is dying.