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valleyrogue

valleyrogue's Journal
valleyrogue's Journal
March 18, 2026

Peter Thiel: Anti-Democracy Billionaire Heretic

This is a must-watch video by Frank Schaeffer: Psychopath doesn't begin to describe this truly degenerate, despicable human being:



March 7, 2026

Some Good News Today Regarding My Old Student Loans

I received this notice from Aidvantage this morning. This hasn't yet shown up on the Studentaid.gov site.

Congratulations! The U.S. Department of Education has forgiven your federal student loan(s) listed below with Aidvantage in full. This forgiveness is effective as of 12/31/25.

Loan Program Disbursement Date Original Principal Balance
DLSUBCONS 04/25/24 $ 7,382.19
DLUSUBCONS 04/25/24 $ 4,750.77

Log in to your account for details at Aidvantage.studentaid.gov.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Here are some important points on this IDR forgiveness: ·

Due to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 the balance of your loans that were forgiven is not considered taxable income for federal income tax purposes. Since state and local tax implications will vary, we recommend you contact a tax advisor for more information. · Not all your federal student loans may be represented in the table above as you may have begun repaying each loan on a different date. If you have federal student loans that are not included in the table, please continue to make payments on them. You can find your personal loan details through your account on our website and your StudentAid.gov account. To find options to help with repayment, visit StudentAid.gov. ·

We have notified, or will notify, all national credit bureaus of your student loan forgiveness. ·

If applicable, we’ll process a refund for any payments made towards the loans listed above after the effective date of this forgiveness.

NOTICE: This letter is NOT an attempt to collect a debt or a demand for any payment.

___

I needed that bit of good news.

Here is something I saw on Forbes regarding the latest legal wrangling over student loan debt forgiveness:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamminsky/2026/03/03/student-loan-forgiveness-may-be-about-to-either-stall-out-or-accelerate/

Snip

The Education Department is currently in the process of implementing a surge in student loan forgiveness approvals. This is good news for borrowers, many of whom have been waiting months for a formal determination that they qualify for a discharge. According to recent court filings by the department, student loan forgiveness approvals may have been about to peter out, however, at least temporarily. But a brand new legal development within the last week could actually lead to the opposite outcome – an acceleration in discharges for federal student loans.

The rollercoaster is due to a complex set of legal factors related to the current state of income-driven repayment (or IDR) plans. IDR, which is an umbrella term that refers to multiple separate plans, allow borrowers to make payments on their federal student loans based on a formula applied to their income and family size, with any remaining balance eligible for forgiveness after a fixed repayment term (historically, 20 or 25 years).

The department had halted student loan forgiveness for multiple IDR plans last year, but recently started resuming processing, leading to thousands of approvals. Due to legal issues impacting IDR plans, and in particular the SAVE plan, it’s not entirely clear where discharge processing for federal student loans is currently heading. But it could either slow down significantly, or dramatically expand. Here’s what’s going on, and what borrowers who are waiting for their student loans to be forgiven need to know.


November 15, 2025

Double Rainbow

I caught this with my iPhone last night:

September 14, 2025

This is absolutely disturbing, even for a red area.

Did or does anybody else on DU live in a part of the country with a similar rally planned or held "in memory" of hate merchant Charlie Kirk?

Several hundred motorcycles, cars, tow trucks and other vehicles assembled at the North Medford Walmart parking lot Saturday to launch a memorial ride honoring Charlie Kirk, the slain CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. The memorial ride was one of a handful of events announced within days of the shooting Sept. 10 that occurred at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. A suspect, 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson of Washington, Utah, is in custody.

Other local events were planned on Sunday.


https://rv-times.com/2025/09/13/hundreds-join-rogue-valley-wide-memorial-ride-for-charlie-kirk-more-events-planned/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMy__JleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHt_6dAInScniND1TTpVwGaHK8zPf82tP9Uvg9OszAWoLufMe_3c6pAvMMwmE_aem_eUPtQy_PiOKKfl21AbsdjA

The only things missing are hoods, robes, and cross burnings.

Absolutely disgraceful. I am glad I am avoiding the Sunday festivities because I am going on an organized hike in East Applegate.


August 15, 2025

Waterfall Corridor--Columbia River Gorge

I didn't have a chance to enhance these pictures of the various waterfalls at the Waterfall Corridor in Oregon, but I thought I'd share them all the same. These falls were on my bucket list, so I went on a tour bus to see them last Monday. Most of these were via the iPhone:

Iconic Multnomah Falls:



Horsetail Falls:



The view from Multnomah Falls at Benson Bridge:



Although a lot of it obscured by the plants, Wahkeena Falls:



Shepperd's Dell Falls:



Latourell Falls:



and here:







July 4, 2025

Old Airstrip Lower Table Rock

Taken in August 2024. This was once a private airstrip for the person who once owned the land on Lower Table Rock in southern Oregon.

July 4, 2025

At Lake Tahoe, California, from Lighthouse Rubicon Trail

This was taken in July of 2008 from the area of the lighthouse. Way in the back one can see one of the paddle boats on the way to Emerald Bay. Later in the hike, I had encountered a bear cub, but I wisely turned back.

July 4, 2025

At Cape Perpetua, Oregon Coast

I took this picture in 2019:

June 24, 2025

Silver Falls State Park, Oregon

A few selected waterfalls (not all of them) from Silver Falls State Park near Salem, Oregon. This park has long been on my bucket list. It is well worth seeing. I hiked the eight-mile Canyon Trail, which includes the ten waterfalls on it. It took me about five-and-a-half hours to hike it, including time for pictures. My feet were extremely sore. My tracker said I had almost 29,000 steps from this.

















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