I’m depressed.
I mean it. I’m just fucking depressed. Not about life in general, as my life and my family and my dogs and my friends are all fine, but I’m just depressed at how fucking stupid everything is these days. This is the dumbest, most venal, most ridiculous campaign season I remember living through. It’s dumber than even the PUMA’s or the Halperinesque 2008 tendency to tell us that everything wwas good news for McCain. It really says something that this campaign season is dumber WITHOUT Sarah Palin. It’s just hideous, and literally every time I check the headlines of any news outlet I want to swallow the barrel of a shotgun while hanging myself in the basement with a belly full of oxycodone and vodka.
Are we really this fucking stupid of a nation? I mean, I’ve been swamped the last couple of weeks, and unable to blog the way I want to, but then when I have time, I read the bullshit and I just want to say fuck it all and go listen Simple Plan’s How Could This Happen To Me while opening a couple veins in a hot bathtub. Part of it is that this is the first election cycle where we have had so many front pagers, so there is never anything new for me to discuss. I go to write a post on something, and someone has already covered it, and usually what they are covering becomes more personally depressing when I see a new and improved different angle on why our politics suck. I had my own opinion on why this was shite, now Mistermix or DougJ or AL or ABL has a different angle on why the already shitty is shittier from a perspective I didn’t have.
The last 24 hours have been a perfect example. Someone inside the Libyan embassy, trying to not get killed by an angry mob whipped up by some lunatic Christianist filmmaker, an equally despicable Evangelical minister monster and his Egyptian evangelical and rabble rousing buddy Morris Sadek, tweeted basically that America respects all religion, and the fucking Romney campaign rushes to the microphone to blame the Obama administration for the deaths that are about to take place. How does it fucking get uglier and dumber than this? Then we learn that not only did Terry Jones and Morris Sadek coordinated this, but that Al Qaeda seized upon it to kill Americans.
I mean, seriously, fuck it all. Who can retain a positive outlook with this kind of ugly cynicism and vile stupidity at foot? And then you have displays like this:
A top foreign policy adviser to Mitt Romney on Wednesday repeated the campaign’s insistance that the Obama administration was at fault for “sympathizing” with the attackers of a U.S. consulate in Egypt and Libya, describing the president’s policies in the Middle East as a “disaster.”
“As it relates to events over the last couple of days, you know, just a reminder, Wolf, of the chaos that a lot of the policies of this administration have showed,” Dan Senor told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday night. “Chaos in the Arab Spring. Chaos where allies in Israel feel they can’t rely on us. You saw the flare up with Israel and the president.”
“Do you think the president’s policy in the Middle East has been a success? It looks like a disaster to most Americans,” Senor added.
If you want to know what a disaster really looks like, look at Senor’s performance in Iraq. Why is this person taken seriously? Why does this scumbag even have a forum to spew his filth? Sean Smith, a gamer, died yesterday and gave more to his country than chickenhawk foreign agents like Dan Senor ever will, but the only people who will remember his contribution to our country are the EVE online community.
Dan Senor will live on, making CNN appearances, and his dipshit wife will continue to have appearances on the NY Times op-ed pages.
So, yeah. I’m fucking depressed. Or maybe disgusted and fed up. In a just world, for my support of the Iraq War, I’d be cleaning bedpans in military hospitals for the rest of my life. Fortunately for me, this is not a just world, but at least I somewhat I learned something. Dan Senor and those like him, on the other hand, continue their work as agent provocateurs, even though they should be half hung and flogged every day on the lawn of the White House.
So yeah. I’m rambling and depressed.
MoeLarryAndJesus
Calm the fuck down and just think how good you’ll feel on Election Night when Obama throttles the living shit out of Willard. Jeezus, calm down.
Seanly
Then let’s do what we can to make sure those assholes at least don’t get the keys back again. There is only the justice that we make.
The world is a shitty place, but all our dogs know is that they love us. I take a lot of comfort in that no matter how terrible things are, my dog will always love me.
GregB
Blogging the Apocalypse is no pic-nic Cole.
Watch some Three Stooges or Caddyshack and lay off the fucking booze, its a depressant.
anon
Dan Senor came back from Iraq and was John Kerry’s son’s roommate. They are buddies. That’s all you need to know about why this country is so f’d up.
AA+ Bonds
Well, we have some signs of intelligence; the press is responding to Romney’s super-weird statement with incredulity and disgust instead of doing the Reagan dance and trying to figure out an angle where it makes sense . . .
. . . and Netanyahu has the brains to try to ratfuck our election because he wants to see the return of vicious right-wingers like himself ready to plunge the Middle East into war, which is at least ‘clever’
Christian Sieber
I love me some John Cole and I miss the days when he would post more.
Also, thanks for mentioning Sean. He was a great guy and a fantastic friend to all who gamed with him.
AA+ Bonds
I think statements like this go a long way toward making the world a better place, true story
Seanly
And what porn site am I going to that now the ads I see here are for Mitt T-shirts? Fuck that douchenozzle…
Violet
Idiots have always been with us and will always be with us. We have to work to make sure they are as marginalized as possible.
Go do something for someone else and step away from politics for a bit. Life is lived in the small things for most of us. Help someone and you’ll be making a big difference.
On a positive note, my neighbor has a new puppy and I swear it is the cutest puppy I have ever seen. Some kind of sheepdog type. She’s a sweet little ball of fur with razor sharp teeth and a high pitched whine and she runs around trying to herd her people and the cats. Hilarious and adorable.
LT
Edit: I didn’t seethe part about Sean smith. Don’t know him – but I’ll save my bitching for another time.
Feel better quick, John.
hells littlest angel
I’m pretty sure everything will look a lot better on the morning of November 7th.
Hunter
What comes around, goes around.
AA+ Bonds
My suggestion to the Democrats is to push back every time Netanyahu is equated with ‘Israel’
Point out how racist and anti-Semitic it is for Republicans to pretend that Israel doesn’t have left-right politics just like us, with Netanyahu on the war-mongering right
I do not think many Jews in America are eager to be seen as down with Netanyahu and his track record
Anne Laurie
I feel your pain. But I’m gonna quote someone you probably haven’t read:
Also, it’s both allergy and SAD season. Get a lightbox, and change the filters in your HEPA air cleaners…
Ripley
Thanks for reminding us that this all about you, Cole. Forgot, what with world events and such.
Eljai
Cole, this website is a beacon of joy for me. I know some of the topics y’all write about are depressing and you wouldn’t be the fine human being that you are if you weren’t deeply affected by all the shit going on in the news. So if you need a break, take one. And then come back. Because we’re with you. We’re all in this together and there’s more of us than you know and we will win.
AA+ Bonds
@Anne Laurie:
I don’t think people should downplay the objective reality of the Republicans’ growing and intense irrationality; there is not a one-way trend but over the last few years, they definitely swung back from “global warming is real” to the spirit of those years when Reagan administration officials would write letters to people in the media about how sorry they would be when Christ returned etc.
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
Post anyway, John. Despite the fact that all your front pagers may be covering the same news, you are not them, and you have a different perspective.
When it gets too grim, go to a phone bank. Even an introvert like me can make calls. OFA’s got you calling D’s, not R’s. In PA today my wife was calling voters who might need to get ID.
The good news for an introvert is that mostly nobody’s home and all you have to do is leave a message.
LT
@Eljai: Mmmmm, bacon of joy.
Oh, wait…
xyzxyzxyz
I totally understand where you are coming from. I have the luxury of having a job where I get to see the next generation (I’m a Prof. at a state university). I think sometimes that we spend too much time in this bubble of blog and wonk-ism, and we don’t realize that we’re not normal. Others, the young in particular, are going about their business oblivious to the push and pull of the daily political climate. You may think this implies that they are unaware. Instead, I think it gives them the big picture. They know what’s up. They know substance from stupid. They are the future, and we need to keep that future in play.
I’ll put in in Steeler’s terms (and for a Seahawks fan this is hard)….we are the generation of defense. Our job is to control the line, be the free safety that punishes the glamour-boy wide receiver trying to show us up, and grind every yard out. We’re building a “dynasty” (a word I hate, but seems to be used in the sports world), but you build that dynasty on defense first. The offence will come, and it will be beautiful when it arrives.
Oh, the refs totally gave y’all super bowl XL over the ‘hawks….just sayin’
Richard
Fed seen launching fresh stimulus, details in question
http://news.yahoo.com/fed-seen-launching-fresh-stimulus-details-040552162–business.html
The timing of this is interesting. Additional stimulus has been long overdue, but the conventional wisdom is that Bernanke has shied away from it because he has been pressured into doing nothing by the Republicans, who want the economy to be as bad as possible going into the elections for their political advantage. I suspect that Bernanke has come to the conclusion that the inept Romney will inevitably lose, and as such, he has decided that he might as well get started now with the stimulus that he otherwise would have begun after Mitt’s election.
Alison
@Ripley: If it bothers you, you could always step away from your computer and pour yourself a steaming mug of STFU. Jeez. It’s his blog, if he wants to write a personal post about how he’s feeling in regard to the current political climate…he can go right the fuck ahead and you can fuck right the fuck off.
Jiminy crickets.
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
@xyzxyzxyz:
Oh, gotcha, Ravens then. And Orioles in their prime, when Earl Weaver’s mantra was “Pitching, defense, and three-run homers.”
BenTheTipsyBear
Suck it up, soldier. You’re doing good. And we need you.
Take a break, easy on the booze, heavy on the 02 and nature. How about a day trip and short hike with the dogs?
Then come back. We’ll be here.
Mary G
No one does a late night rant like you, John. Get some rest, enjoy your pets and family, and post when the spirit hits.
Rev. Jeff
Dufe I absolutely know how you feel: we just seem so well and truly fucked one way or another, ruled by people whose very opulence enables them to live a lifestyle where empirical reality can be ignored. Take it easy man, like The Dude says.
As far as the Iraq war goes you’ve learned and been humbled by the experience so what else is there to say? Seems like the best you could hope for from a person.
e.a.f.
hey kid, get over yourself. the really important things are your family & friends & as you said they are fine so what else matters? So the world is a pit at times & there are assholes running it. You may not be able to do anything about that but you could do something about the things in your community. You can’t save the world but you maybe able to help some one else with their problem. The world isn’t saved by one great action, it is done, one step at a time, with one person at a time.
forget CNN news & the dip shits there, they dont’ make any sense & they are just there to get the headlines which will make their company money. Watch your PBS station if you want decent news.
Now go out there & get involved in your own life & feel better. The world will still go to hell in a hand basket, either way. You might just enjoy what you have for a while
Violet
I also wanted to say that I really enjoy your posts, John. I like all the front pagers–they all bring something different to the blog–but your posts are what got me coming here in the first place. Maybe you don’t feel up to posting due to the funk you’re in, but I always enjoy your posts when you do post. Especially the rants.
srv
So your position on freedom and courtesy bombs has changed and Obama’s ME policies are a wild success?
Senor will always be a neocon dickhead, but the neo-Wilsonians in Obama’s administration aren’t their ideologically opposites. More like hawks of a feather.
xyzxyzxyz
@ Brother
If we’re the Ray Lewis and Ed Reed of liberal defense, then I’m fine with that. The opposition will surely get a bit short armed when they cross the middle. I’d riff on the baseball analogy, but we really don’t have baseball out in Seattle. I’d be out of my element.
PNW_WarriorWoman
I hear you and have the same feelings far too frequently. Possible Rx below. Just *try* it before you judge it:
Honeydew Melon Mint & Cucumber Smoothie
1/2 ripened honeydew melon (chopped to fit into blender – if you can chill first even better)
1 English cucumber (chopped to fit into blender)
12 mint leaves
2-4 tablespoons of lime juice (to taste)
1 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon of honey (to taste)
Jam it all into a blender, puree then pour into a fancy glass over rocks if you need it chilled.
You’ll love it.
redshirt
Just wait for the Super Volcano or the Asteroid or the Solar Flare or the Gamma Ray Burst or the Magnetic Reversal or so on and such as it pertains to global disasters for people. It’s inevitable.
AA+ Bonds
@Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason:
In states where these laws have been passed this is very important no matter what the courts do to stop voter suppression
Because when it comes down to it, what will matter is how well voters are equipped to handle Mr. Suddenly Volunteering At The Polls who has spent the year planning how he will personally stop billions of “illegal aliens” and other suspicious non-whites from implementing the reconquista
Cacti
@AA+ Bonds:
And trumpet the fact the majority of Israeli citizens DO NOT favor a war with Iran.
Ruckus
John
Sounds pretty coherent to me.
There is good reason to be depressed about US politics and what it has done/is doing to the world. (Not that a lot of the world is much better but still). Would it help to know that a lot of us feel the same way?
One thing that works is sticking your head in the sand so you don’t see or hear that which makes you depressed. Course your head is stuck in the sand then. Not quite as bad as cramming it up your own ass but we are talking small steps here.
The key is figuring out how to help make it better. That to me is the only way to beat this type of depression.
Now for that I am entertaining any ideas that even make the smallest bit of sense and positive direction.
AA+ Bonds
@Cacti:
Yes, exactly – portray Netanyahu as what he is, an embattled dead-ender who does not represent Israel. Obama cannot do this; Democrats on the street can
Bruce S
Jeezus – we’re fucking winning this election cycle. Do people turn wuss when they become Democrats? The bigger challenge will be after the election when Simpson Bowles becomes “sensible centrism” and we’ve got to continue to fight these fuckers on the ground to protect Social Security and Medicare from our own “moderates” seeking a compromise – but once again Obama’s “base” will drop the ball in favor of whining while the crazies muster full force of their resentments. We’ll reelect him, but we won’t have his back or give him the necessary push so that the “center” he’ll need to hew to as POTUS isn’t on the Right. Wait and see. Whatever else one might say about Obama’s strengths and weaknesses, he doesn’t feel sorry for himself.
“Dan Senor came back from Iraq and was John Kerry’s son’s roommate.”
That would actually be the son of the late Republican Senator John Heinz, and Kerry’s stepson. They were classmates, close friends and formed – of course – a Bainish private equity firm together. Don’t blame Kerry for his stepson’s bad taste in men.
The Dangerman
You’re depressed? At least you didn’t make the mistake of turning on Hannity tonight out of curiosity if he’d dial it back from 11, just for tonight. Fucker cranked it up to about 17 (insert Winger joke here). It was disgusting.
LT
@Bruce S: Nice comment.
Ruckus
@Ripley:
Hey asswipe, this is his fucking blog. If he wants to write about how he got TP stuck to his shoe and made a mess out of the house because of it, he is not only allowed, he’s encouraged.
Just like you are being encouraged to go sit in the corner and repeat to your self five thousand times, I will turn on my brain before putting mouth in gear. Come on back when you are done.
Jay
“foreign agents like Dan Senor…”
Fer crissake, no need to resort to old – school stereotypes to call a proven asshole an asshole. You’re better than that, man.
Gretchen
John, I like to hear your take on things even if somebody else has written about the same topic. Your take is always worth reading.
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
@xyzxyzxyz: The baseball is a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.
Back when I sat in the upper deck of Memorial Stadium with a $1.50 student ticket, brought in my own beer, got high from the fumes from Section 34, and liked nothing better than a 0-0 pitching duel going into the 9th.
not motorik
Someone didn’t get any pussy at the DNC.
Laertes
Live for election night. Wingnut tears taste like fine champagne.
Darkrose
It’s the last gasp of a dying and discredited ideology. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.
John, you can always do what I’m planning to do: go hang out for a couple of hours in a place where I can kill dragons and eat their souls, cut people’s heads off when they try to give me a hard time, and yell at time to slow down and have it do so. Choose your own adventure, but I honestly believe that gaming is a good break from the real world sometimes.
And tonight, I’ll be thinking of Sean Smith, a fellow geek who’s gone well before his time. My Dovahkiin will lift a tankard of Black-Briar Reserve in his honor.
LT
ABL on the NDAA:
http://angryblacklady.com/2011/12/18/ndaa-is-not-a-detention-bill/
This will be interesting.
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/09/obamas_ndaa_law.php
Richard
Netanyahu really has to be put in his place, and shown the consequences of being the puppet of Sheldon Adelson.
DonkeyKong
John Cole and fellow Bloggy-Americans, I think we could all use some words of encouragement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib43Lfdivdw
Kris Collins
Yeah, it all sucks. As a life-long, occasionally suicidal (though not for a looong time!) depressive, I absolutely get it. No, I am not kidding, I GET IT!!!!! On the other hand, you have great family, great friends, great pets, and Romney just blew both his damn feet off with this Libya crap. So, pet Tunch, hug the girls, and get a grip. And by the way, I really want to see a picture of Rosie real soon, I’m starting to worry that she’s gone on the lam and you don’t want to tell us.
P.S. I don’t follow football, I’m a college basketball freak (GO Syracuse!!!!) but the Steelers are cool.
Yutsano
@xyzxyzxyz:
Ben. Never. Broke. The. Plane. I’ll never get tired of ranting about that factoid.
@redshirt: Daleks. There better be Daleks. Dammit.
dogwood
Calm down John, this isn’t much worse than any other campaign. People have such short memories when it comes to politics. The 1988 election ended up revolving around Willie Horton and flag burning.
Or something like that.Suffern Ace
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/us-gave-tacit-approval-to-embassy-attacks-wikileaks/186503/on
Well I’m assuming he’s not thinking he’ll get much sympathy anyway. But he does know how to get in the news.
Bruce S
Cole: “This is the dumbest, most venal, most ridiculous campaign season I remember living through.”
You’re fucking lucky you were a Republican on December 12 of 2000.
trollhattan
@Yutsano:
Also, too, the receiver’s endzone push-off should not have nullified the TD.
Also, also, too, I’ll repost this from an earlier dead thread–because the Republicans were so pathetic in ’08, these people aren’t dwelling in some musty corner of the White House, today. Don’t tell me clan Palin wouldn’t have driven out the McCains by now.
Just letter-perfect.
max
Are we really this fucking stupid of a nation?
I’m from Texas, yes, and I’m used to the politicians sounding like idiots. (This sort of thing is why the Tea Baggers hate politicians. If they ever gave up on the stupid tax thing and started sacking these guys, we’d get somewhere.) Being from WV, I’m surprised you aren’t used to it.
And of course, riling up the base about a) black people and b) furrners is the classic Southern politician’s misdirection. I quit letting it bother me to any degree at all when Bush got reelected. You may remember that particular escapade.
Oh, well. Read enough history books and you discover that lots of people in charge, regardless of race, sex, creed or social beliefs, are a bunch of fucking morons (by their *own* standards).
If there’s any lesson to be learned that Monty Python hasn’t already explained, I think it would be that God has a wicked, nasty sense of humor.
max
[‘There’s a town in the WV panhandle (the eastern one) named Romney. Someone should call their city hall and tell them we’ve found their idiot and they can have him back now.’]
Or something like that.Suffern Ace
@trollhattan: is there anyone in Alaska under 20 with the name of William or Jennifer?
Rev. Jeff
@Laertes:
I like the cut of your jib.
karen marie
@hells littlest angel: Erm, be prepared to be disappointed. Not that I don’t think Obama will win, and handily, but the lunatics on the right are not going to accept electoral defeat easily.
@Ripley: LOL
Kane
Cole, an introvert such as yourself goes off on a mini-vacay to North Carolina where you’re surrounded by the laughter, playfulness, baloney sandwiches and plunging necklines of ABL and her awesome friend Heather, and you’re given a massive dose of their attention that your system is not accustomed to. After such an experience, returning to your quiet, comfortable blog-life will understandably take some time. I don’t think that it’s depression that you’re feeling, you’re having an ABL jones.
trollhattan
@Or something like that.Suffern Ace:
Heh, if there are, they’re probably tribal kids.
My favorite Palin name is Duffel.
trollhattan
@Kane:
All that, plus Cole Got. To. See. The. President’s. Acceptance. Speech. In. Person.
Yeah, pretty much anything would be a letdown after that.
The prophet Nostradumbass
@LT: You really think that’s going to get big press in the current climate?
taylormattd
I don’t really get why you find this *more* depressing than 2008. In 2008, the media fawned ALL OVER Sarah Palin, John McCain, Lady Lynn DeRothschild (or whatever that PUMA bitch’s name is), Geraldine Ferraro.
They pissed themselves with glee, propped those psychopaths up, reported everything they said as fact, and routinely pretended they were serious people. All the while treating Obama as if he had the plague.
At least now, there are tiny glimmers where folks in the media are actually pointing out that Mitten and Ryan are lying.
karen marie
@srv: It’s got less to do with ideology than competence to not get us all killed.
LT
@The prophet Nostradumbass: Blogwise it will I think.
Narcissus
Breeze Beretta is a fantastic stripper name
Also a part time private investigator/nail stylist
karen marie
@Ruckus: Instead of getting all hot around the collar, I’d suggest you give his comment a LOL. I thought it was funny, because the fact that it’s John’s blog means it is all about him, his conversation, whether the posts are by him or someone else.
The one thing that I’m least keen about here is the willingness of some people to get all hot and bothered at fairly innocuous comments. I don’t think John needs Respect Police.
AB
I wish I knew what to tell you. I’m supposed to work in a few hours, but I’m awake reading the internet because I’m upset about what happened to Smith — a guy I don’t think I ever interacted with personally (though he moderated a forum I’ve read for a long time). It’s unbelievable that he’s dead and his children will grow up without a father because of the independent awful actions of multiple different kinds of assholes at all different points on the globe. Mitt Romney trying to capitalize on it is just the wretched icing. It’s frustrating as hell.
karen marie
@Bruce S: I’d love to know what John thought of that at the time.
Or something like that.Suffern Ace
@karen marie: if john cole ever introduces respect police, we will need to get to West Virginia and start searching for him. Bring your dogs and nets. Strait jackets if you got em.
YellowJournalism
I don’t have any words of encouragement except to say that I wish I could give you a hug and offer you a nice hot beverage, as I hear you’re supposed to do on times of others’ distress.
Narcissus
As insane as the wingers are right now, I’m not nearly as stressed/nervous as I was in 2004. Things could actually be a lot worse, dude.
The prophet Nostradumbass
@LT: and that will change anything how?
joel hanes
Cole:
At times like this, it helps to remind yourself:
Could be worse.
I could still be in the Army.
Look at the meals you prepare, the view from the back door.
You could be sitting Charge Of Quarters in fatigues, looking forward to hot chow in the mess hall, and living with three barracksmates, sharing a window that overlooks a track park.
Some vets got clawed back after separation and were made to stand tours of active duty. I can’t imagine. I have nightmares like that.
So get out the DD 214 and look at it, and then go outside at night and sit in the dark and listen to the sounds. And to the quiet.
DPS
@Bruce S:
I hear that.
For that matter, 2004 and 2008 were truly, deeply moronic. Swift Boat Vets? Windsurfing? Purple band-aids? Joe the Plumber? Palling around with terrorists? Tire pressure gauges? I think it just doesn’t seem so bad after some time has passed and the idiocy has lost its freshness.
Or something like that.Suffern Ace
@DPS: Is 1996 really going to be the last “good” election of my hopefully long life?
? Martin
I’m liking it. But then I’m a big subscriber to the theory that people don’t really change until they hit rock bottom. Look at how long Cole desperately held onto the GOP until he bottomed out.
So, this is actually progress, of a perverted sort. I’d prefer more of an Obama blowout than we’re going to get, because I think that’d cause the GOP to really blow up sooner, but instead we’ll have an even more bonkers insane 2016 until the GOP realizes for 2020 that they’re going to lose Texas to the Dems, and are forced to truly retool.
Arclite
When I get depressed, here’s what I do:
First I watch PSY’s Gangnam Style, and think, “That dude is an Asian John Cole.”
Next, I go here and listen to this Dark Knight music. Hans Zimmer FTW.
joel hanes
The most depressing moment, the nadir, even worse than the Coup in 2000 or the Dubya Down in 2004, was the Military Commissions Act of 2006, triumphantly passed by all the Rs and many of the cowed and supine Ds, in which the Congress of the United States freely abandoned the Great Writ of habeas corpus.
That was a very evil moment, very dark.
Since then, political things have been more or less better. Incrementally at times.
It looks as though they might get a bit better again soon, if we all do our part.
Romney is certainly doing his part to destroy Republicanism. It’s an opportunity unlooked-for, and that’s exciting.
priscianusjr
@Rev. Jeff:
Applejinx
Remember, there are people who are willing to spend a hell of a lot of money to MAKE you feel like you’re the outsider and ‘most people’ are on their side. They’re prepared to buy media figures, make movies/video of all sorts, and directly benefit from bullying people into silent complicity to create an appearance that they are the zeitgeist.
They ain’t.
You saw the zeitgeist _personally_ at the DNC, and you saw for yourself the echo of America’s real demographic, and you saw how they really feel about things. Courage.
DPS
@Or something like that.Suffern Ace:
Never thought I’d be reminiscing about Bob Dole.
TS
I will never think otherwise than that John McCain launched this sh_t onto America when he put Sarah Palin onto the stage. She generated the racism and hate against blacks and mooslems that Romney carries today.
On a more positive front – I felt so depressed about this time in 2008 – but should have held fast – this time I know Romney can’t win – despite the vote suppression and anything else the GOP might try. The right wind doodlebats are calling the media left – which means they must have disagreed with the GOP at least once in the past 24 hours.
Romney can smirk his way to Palin insignificance – the sooner the better.
Raven on the Hill
My sympathies, guy. You’re right: this is a toxic election. The Republicans have pulled out all the stops. They hope this election will be their victory, and there will be no-one to call them to account at the end of it and they know that if they lose the election and the next, they lose permanently: the demographics are turning against them.
BTW, did you see David Dayen’s and Juan Cole’s remarks on this bombing? The YouTube video may have been the excuse, not the reason; mortars and rocket-propelled grenades aren’t typically brought to demonstrations.
R-Jud
@joel hanes:
My mother-in-law has a quote she uses: “In times of trouble I always remember that I am an Englishwoman, I was born in wedlock, and I am on dry land.”
Anatoliĭ Lъudьvigovich Bzyp (formerly Horrendo Slapp, Jimperson Zibb, Duncan Dönitz, Otto Graf von Pfmidtnöchtler-Pízsmőgy, Mumphrey, et al.)
Do your best to keep in mind that things are getting better. They’re getting better more slowly than any of us would like, but they are getting better. We have a health insurance law today that we didn’t have four years ago. It isn’t what most of us would like, but its a first step, something to build upon. The economy is slowly dragging itself out of the grave that Bush the Younger had thrown it into.
And here’s something I thought of last night: I was watching the news of Rmoney’s floundering and fucking up and being an asshole, and I turned to my wife, and I said, “Something just clicked with me: For almost four years now, I go to bed knowing that I don’t have to worry that our president won’t fuck something up beyond hope while we’re all asleep. I like that.” That’s worth something.
raven
“Someone inside the Libyan embassy”
Uh, say what?
Randy P
Lancing the wound. Turning the light on the cockroaches in the kitchen. Lifting the rock to see the squirming uglies underneath.
Use your favorite analogy. Since 2008 we’ve exposed the ugly stuff that managed to bubble unspoken just below the surface, out there in the population and in the minds of the writers. And every time something truly crazy comes out, somebody sane backs off a little bit farther.
Hell, Michelle Bachmann is in trouble. Think about that if you want to know whether we’re moving in the right direction. Watch Todd Akin’s electoral arc.
This election is not just about Obama and the presidential race. I love that the winning message from the Democratic convention is the anti-Reagan one of “It’s not did I get mine, but am I helping my neighbor”. They sang that tune loud and clear, they asked who do we want to be as Americans, and notice how America responded.
Ponder that if you want to know the trend.
notoriousJRT
Hey, Cole, maybe you should book a vacation on Kauai. That is where I am / what I am doing right now, and I’m here to tell you it is practically impossible to be depressed in this place (at least for a week of vacation). It is beautiful and warm and the people who live here are, too. This is my first visit since battling breast cancer (mastectomy, lymph nodes, chemo, and radiation), and I am finding it SO therapeutic. I highly recommend it.
But, if you can’t do that, don’t let the imbeciles or the SamBeciles with whom we share our country get you down. The arc of the universe IS long, but it does bend toward justice. Mitt Romney has NOT helped himself with his shit-for-brains response to the events in Benghazi. Senor and his cohort should be shunned, but, alas, he is ensconced in what passes as the Republican elite. That party has lost its effing collective mind. We just have to keep striving for the causes and policies we believe in and try to move them forward – inch by inch if necessary.
Buck up, Bucko, and write your damn posts. They are what I come here for, frankly. No offense to the other FP’ers, but some are not my cup of tea and even those who are do not get my first read if Cole is on the menu. Post something and put the Act Blue donation link up every day. As the president says, “Let’s go win this thing.”
The nightly deluge here just came and went; I expect sunshine in the morning!
slightly_peeved
A big difference this season –
when was the last time you saw the Democrats hitting back this hard?
Go rub your cat’s enormous belly. That should keep you busy for an hour or so. Hope you feel better soon.
Triassic Sands
John, maybe this will cheer you up. I know it did me.
The other day Martin Bashir reported that Sarah Palin ran a faster marathon than Paul Ryan. Now, if that doesn’t bring a grin to your face, you’re dead.
Schlemizel
@TS:
Sorry but this sh_t as you call it existed long before McCain selected Palin and has been festering up to the surface more than at any time since the early 60’s.
There has always been a contingent of this filth in the nation and some politicians (see: Dixicrats) have played to it but that has not been socially acceptable for years. But it became the major component in one major party around 1992 and now is the only real position of that party; nothing matters to them but the crazy.
I have been active in campaigns since I was 5 years old, seriously. My dad was a DFL die-hard and I got the bug from him so I have seen dozens of campaigns from from the POV of a low-level functionary or volunteer. I have never seen the crazy, even during my time in Florida who to me led the pack with this bullshit like we are seeing today. Sure grandpa Walnuts and the Grifter were bad but they were not peak wingnut, it scares me now that Willard has turned it up to 11 that this might not be either.
hep kitty
Yeh, you need to relax and enjoy the spectacle. I have never seen anything like it, at least since I was old enough to vote and I’m 50 now. It’s all good for Obama.
Yes, Americans are stupid. It sounds so simple to blame it on brainwashing, but when you shrink it down to the root cause, it’s brainwashing that got increasingly worse with the advent of Fox News and Monicagate, all that. It’s very very simple. People do not realize how easily they can be hypnotized by the teevee, never realizing what happened.
I’m seeing a hypnotherapist (professionally!) and he explained this to me and it makes perfect sense now that I understand it better.
We talked about Iraq and how most of the country was under such sway they never knew what happened to them, how they were manipulated by the media like newborn babies, and before long we were invading a country that had done nothing to us. A completely illogical, irrational act.
So there you go. Shock and awe and mass hypnosis. Many have broken away and come out of their long sleep and perhaps learned to question what comes out of their teevees from time to time, but many remain.
Remember how we all got here, how you got here, and perhaps you will find comfort in understanding the fragility of the human mind, the human condition and it’s partner in crime, poor education and critical thinking skills.
Chuck Butcher
Goddam it Cole, I may like the other FPs but I started coming here quite awhile ago to read you and watch how you devloped post GOPerism. I don’t have the luxury of having backed the other side – I’ve been there for-fucking-ever, I’ve pushed as hard as I know how to get my own side to act like it was my side. I’ve spent a lot of my and others money, time, and energy to run at Congress because I was just exactly that goddam tired of idiots.
Jayzus on a crutch – you do remember that we elected Richard goddam Nixon twice, don’t you? Do you really propose to compare the inept plutocrat r-Money to RMN and have him come out worse? ON ANY FUCKING SCALE YOU CHOOSE?
Well… Fuck ’em and take no prisoners then. Write your ass off and try to understand that it makes a difference to your readers. Please yourself with what you write and we’ll come along for the ride.
Hell’s Bells, I have to come here and blogwhore… and you’re complaining?
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
It’s the politics, John. Anyone who’s hip deep in the stupid all day is bound to get depressed if they have a functioning brain. Politics is just the dumbest thing that we do and feeling lousy as a result is inevitable. I have no solution to suggest.
hep kitty
John, apparently you’ve been so busy you’ve missed seeing the Romney campaign go up in flames. You really need to go back and absorb that. You’ll feel much better!
Anya
John, this is probably a dead thread, and you’re depressed but i think you meant to say: “someone inside the American Embassy in Egypt.”
marianne19
I was profoundly saddened by the events of the last few days. I hate to say it, but misery loves company. Thanks for letting me know that at least one other person has had the same reaction.
sherparick
I would join some of the others on this thread recommend you enjoy the current beautiful weather and take the dogs out for a walk in the woods.
History and comedy and good friends are my best cure. And the stupidity of our fellow travelers in this vale of tears has often produced the Mark Twain’s, Alexander Pope’s, and Jonathan Swift’s of the world (that might not be the best tip since the state of humanity caused both Twain and Swift to frequently angry and depressed!!)
Hey, this could be the election of 1856, the choice between Buchannn, Fremont, and Fillmore or 1920’s Cox v. Harding. Talk about elections that could drive a man to drink!!
1badbaba3
DougJ gets dosed in CA, Cole gets too much happy in NC, and ABL gets stranded in NYC. Okay FPers, no more leaving home. You are not free to roam around the country. Do not pass ‘go’. You only exist in service to us, the loyal commentariat. Now go into the kitchen and make the food.
Gus
Yes. SATSQ.
Alex
“Someone inside the Libyan embassy, trying to not get killed by an angry mob whipped up by some lunatic Christianist filmmaker, an equally despicable Evangelical minister monster and his Egyptian evangelical and rabble rousing buddy Morris Sadek, tweeted basically that America respects all religion, and the fucking Romney campaign rushes to the microphone to blame the Obama administration for the deaths that are about to take place.”
—–
Someone inside the Egyptian embassy, earlier that day before the protests even really began, released a press statement about respecting religion. Later, after the Egyptian mob was pacified, they tweeted that they condemned the attack but it didn’t invalidate their statement.
Next, the Obama administration announced that they hadn’t cleared that statement and it was done by the local person. Then it was announced that someone had died in a separate attack in Libya. THEN Romney lifted the embargo on his statement, which accused Obama of sympathizing with the attackers. (Statement mentions the dead consulate worker).
Josie
John – I know this is a dead thread and I can’t read it all since I have to go to work, but the one thing you could post about that the others can’t is your experiences at the convention. You promised us such a post and still haven’t done it. Sorry, do I sound like a mom?
hep kitty
@Josie: Apparently, the “sugar high” has worn off for Mr. Cole.
LGRooney
Sounds like righteous anger and not depression. Then again, RMoney & I have the same mechanic so it could be in the tuning.
You need to go spend a few more days with ABL and forget about this for a while.
Hillary Rettig
John, you run a terrific blog/community, and have done a huge amount for people and animals. You’ve more than atoned for having supported the war. And Anne Laurie’s right that it’s always the worst election ever.
Take the long view, and take care of yourself. I mean that. You’ve got a lot going on.
Trinity
@Hillary Rettig: This.
We are here with you Cole. Be good to yourself and enjoy your loved ones.
Poopyman
Just read this, but it’s the perfect time, really.
Go out into the garden John, and weed. Or dig. Or get a bed ready for fall/winter crops. The world always looks like a shithole from the perspective of the internet.
Go feel the sun on your back.
salacious crumb
Hey John, what I cant understand is why you are letting Obama off the hook here? Remember even you thought that going into Libya to oust Gaddhafi was a bad idea, with law of unforeseen/unintended consequences taking shape. people warned Obama, including then Secretary Gates not to do this, yet Obama did. and guess what I am willing to bet a lot of those rebels who had a role in storming the US consulate in Benghazi were probably supported by us. Of course the Obots will flame me as they are flaming the rebels for making Obama’s decision in Libya look bad, but the buck stops with Obama. fuck Romney, fuck Senor, but Obama made the decision to wade in Libya, and how he has to see the consequences of his decision.
Bob2
haha league of ordinary wankers
http://ordinary-gentlemen.com/blog/2012/09/on-why-i-registered-to-be-a-republican-this-morning/#more-42819
karen marie
@Or something like that.Suffern Ace: No, it’s the self-appointed ones I think are the problem.
Culture of Truth
Geez, things were way worse in the 70s, also in the 80s, early 90s, late 90s, and all around from 2000 to 2010.
These are the freaking GOOD days for American sanity.
Culture of Truth
Going into Libya was a good idea, and these recent events do not change that.
RaflW
This Greg Sargent piece this a.m. says to me (as he looks thru Fox poll’s crosstabs) that enough of the American electorate is waking up to the bullshit, lies, and incompetence of ‘manager’ Mitt.
Have courage, John. Yes, 27% of our country is insane, but we’re not alone in that sort of thing. Marine Le Pen won a rather nauseating 18% of the vote in France this year. That doesn’t make us Ameros OK, but idiots live everywhere…
Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God
@xyzxyzxyz:
I’ve had thoughts along the same lines, but lack the ability to make football metaphors.
I like your description of it better.
Tractarian
You need to realize that depression is a treatable disease. You also need to realize that when you have this disease, things don’t look right – at all.
For years, I used to be on depression meds. If I would go off it for a few days, I would start getting extremely irritable. Everything I looked at, read, or heard about would piss me off. And it all seemed totally rational.
But it’s not rational. It’s the function of chemical imbalances in your brain. And – this bears repeating – it is treatable. All you need to do (assuming you are fortunate enough to have health insurance) is seek it.
Cognitive therapy can help also. Let me try a bit. In 2012, Barack Hussein Obama, a mixed-race, liberal community organizer and law professor from Hawaii via New York, Harvard and Chicago, is the president of the United States. This president has, in the past two years, ushered in a near-universal health care law, historic investments in clean energy, financial industry reform, and equal rights for members of the military. Yes, in 2012, the GOP presidential nominee is, as always, doing a lot of lying and dissembling and pandering – but this time, the media is calling him out on it and the voters are noticing. In 2013, we will likely have a Democratic president, a Democratic Senate, and there is an outside chance of Democratic House. You, personally, will have a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators, even though you live in a very conservative state.
These are not rational reasons to be depressed.
Now this, I can’t help you with. You made this particular bed by inviting half your commentariat to be front-pagers, and now you have to lie in it. Though, no one ever said you can’t kick one or two of the more expendable front-pagers to the curb. You are the blogboss, after all.
BillyGibbonsBeard
Hunh. Is it possible that Romney worked with Jones to set this all up? I loathe conspiracy theories but it’s a legitimate question considering the lows to which the GOP are sinking these days.
Bulworth
And yes it is pretty amazing that this year’s campaign is even suckier, even with the absence of Palin, although she continues trying to insert herself back in. We are in, and I fear we’re further headed into, even more ridiculous and stupid times than were in right now. The ugly is going to keep getting uglier.
Jesse
I sympathize completely, John (sans the part about your blog being taken over by a bunch of FPers). I’ve been really depressed about stuff since the 2008 election season. I thought that was pretty bad, with McCain bailing out (or trying to), Sarah and the great waste she made of marginally sensible US political discussion, tire gauges, etc., etc. I had just hot a job abroad (I applied to 60+ places in the US — no dice. this was 2008-9.) I’ve been living abroad since and have no desire to go back. Almost every day I read about the most insane crap back home. Going back home to visit wingnut family members who get the ball rolling saying “you didnt build that” and sinilar nonsense is like going to the moon. I hardly recognize it anymore. I just want to unload on idiot after idiot, but we’re ling past the point where discussion could take place. I wonder how many there are like me who have left with the intention of coming back, but now are so horrified that there’s just no way I’ll go back unless under very narrow conditions. So yeah, I’m depressed, too.
Bulworth
But for something almost uplifting, may I recommend Dana Milbank’s column today in the Wash Post. I know, it’s Dana fcking Milbank, but he gives team Romneybot the business this morning.
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/page/284869_About_those_Daily_Intel_Briefi
slag
@notoriousJRT: Kick. Ass. I like your style.
Stay well and enjoy the surf!
Spatula
Please. Bout time to wake up, John.
U.S. politics suck. It’s a really stupid country, overall.
And rather than lead by teaching or example, even Dem leaders dumb down to the lowest common denominator.
Here’s a clue, John: Free yourself of the need to BELONG to a tribe, wearing their colors and supporting their mascot. You don’t need that shit.
Call it as you see it, wherever you see it, and get rid of two thirds of the dead weight front pagers. Your strategy in that regard has watered BJ WAY down.
Spatula
@anon:
YUP
Spatula
@Alison:
Ah Alison, so cute. What would Cole do without you to defend him?
Also because it IS a blog, readers are free to write down their comments in REACTION to Cole’s posts. See how that works?
Spatula
Alcohol is a powerful depressant.
Can’t imagine why coming off a two week bender would leave one depressed.
WaterGirl
One of the things I admire about you, Cole, is your ability to start a conversation.
Even when your posts are just a sentence or two long, it starts the conversation. I read every single Cole thread because the comments are always the best.
We need your perspective, John, even if it’s just a few sentences for a post. I miss you!
I mean, I don’t even know if you thought the convention was the best thing ever or if you wanted to crawl into a corner and hide. Tell us! Please.
DFH no.6
@Spatula:
Yeah, well, sure, free to react and then write whatever the fuck, but I’m with Allison’s reaction to Ripley’s fairly dickish (and, I think, wrong) comment.
My reaction is that I very much appreciate Cole’s posts, BJ in general, this post in particular (kind of parallels my own current mindset, so no doubt that helps the appreciation) and I further react by saying you and Ripley can both… nah, forget it. Enough nastiness without making more.
There, now I feel better. Thanks.
Angela
I’m not much of a hugger, but how about I go to PetCo tonight and hug someone’s dog for you? I got to do that to TWO dogs earlier this week and it was wonderful.
Heliopause
That’s OK, everybody’s entitled now and then.
That may be true insofar as your memory goes, but objectively it was ever thus. We just have an internet now so that we can marinate ourselves in it all day and night.
Short Bus Bully
@xyzxyzxyz: Awesome post is awesome.
Platonicspoof
Less than three weeks to the first debate.
Maybe we could think of this as three weeks to the political bloggers’ xmas season, and saint Mitt will bring the undecided voters all kinds of coal for their stockings.
Mike E
Hear ya, buddy. But lemme point out some of the obvious huge differences going on this time:
Know that many who before had felt similar ickiness are now hitting back, reaching out to their family and friends and coworkers, and in the process discovering many who, unbeknownst to them before, secretly agreed with them and are now letting their voices be heard about how sick of this nonsense they all are.
There are more of us than there are of them. Just sayin’.
ETA block FAIL, but you get the idea
patrick
Sounds like Johnny boy needs to get laid…..
I think the idiot mouth breathers have always been around, but in the youtube/twitter age, they are harder to marginalize and ignore.
that said, I’ve read a number of historical biographies, and contextually, the shallowness and idiocy of this campaign really isn’t that much different than some I’ve lived through, or others that have happened in history (Adams/Burr/Jefferson, any of Henry Clay’s runs, etc)
kate
@joel hanes: Beautiful
darms
Lemme’ fix that for you – Are
wethey really this fucking stupid of a nation?In a word, “yes”. & 2014 will be worse, until 2016 which will be much worse. And that’s just the way it goes…I wrote a song a long time ago which I never recorded entitled “This is not my country, I just live here”. Despite the fact I am the descendant of many generations of US citizens (had a grandmother eligible for the DAR). I long ago accepted a disconnect between myself and what constitutes “we the people” at least according to the picture the media presents us with these days. May I remind you that “American Idol” drew a massive audience as well, yet I never watched a moment of it. I’ve been reading you since you were an R and was amazed at how you came to your senses, nevertheless I know a few folks who support Rmoney despite the fact that his positions are diametrically opposed to their needs & best interests. BFD, I also knew drug dealers who supported Reagan. BFD, that’s the way US citizens work and those of us who want to keep our sanity accept this & move on. Depression IMHO is the natural reaction to any sane thinking person who is paying attention to life these days.You don’t have children? Then your future and your responsibilities are finite like mine, I’m older & dumpier than you in any case… Pet your Tunch (& post pix), love your girls, enjoy the company of your friends and post whatever you want whenever you want you may be assured there’s a lot of folks out there that will read whatever you write. Offing one’s self in the absence of major prosecution or terminal illness is fucking stupid and by virtue of realizing the day to day inanity of US public life is by definition that you are far from stupid. & thanx personally for introducing me to ABL, a hell of a good writer…