Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

It could be worse. Vance could have said “post-menopausal sows.” Waiting for that audiotape to surface.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

When they say they’re pro-life, they don’t mean yours.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

The US Supreme Court is on the ballot in november.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

American History and Black History can not be separated.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

The willow is too close to the house.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

You are here: Home / Dispatches From Trumplandia- Still Dumb as Fuck and Proud of It

Dispatches From Trumplandia- Still Dumb as Fuck and Proud of It

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There’s another one of those apparently weekly pieces in the WaPo about the plight of a bunch of salt of the earth morons who love them some Trump but are worried about what his tariffs are gonna do to them and whether or not they are going to make enough from the bailouts (I know, I know- they want handouts). This has the usual stuff in there about hating on the coastal elites and how the coasts should have their own country and golly gee they’ll all starve without us (hey you fucking morons your farm is dying because you can’t export to China and Mexico, California can feed itself, thank you, and this new Trump free coastal country won’t have trade wars and can grow or import what they need), and so on and so forth. I mean, you can read the whole thing yourself. But that’s not what caught my eye. These pictures of one of their living rooms did:

Anyone who decorates their living room like this doesn’t deserve the fucking franchise. And I have no idea what is going on with that drawing of Barry Gibb above the staircase.

Reader Interactions

120Comments

  1. 1.

    Steve in the ATL

    Wasn’t “staying alive” about Jesus’s resurrection? I recall that it came out at Easter.

  7. 7.

    plato

    The totus thug regime is an existential crisis to all sorts of people, not just to the salt of the earth morons, so why is msm obsessed with these racist pos?

  9. 9.

    p.a.

    The way that coyote is eying that xmas tree, wonder what the room smells like.
    Do Buff Jebus’ eyes follow you down the stairs?

  12. 12.

    NotMax

    Still trying to figure out what color the sky is in the world of a woman interviewed at Dolt 45’s fog and phony show in Orlando, who not only was insistent that he is deserving of another term but also said “and I hope his son runs after that.”

    My gast remains flabbered.

  13. 13.

    lamh36

    @itscaitlinhd
    LATEST: Children, including infants, are being held in a filthy border station. Their clothes are soiled with mucus, feces and breast milk. No soap. No toothbrushes. Not enough food. Even the guards are wearing masks. https://nyti.ms/2Iw1fEH

    1,369
    4:17 PM – Jun 21, 2019

  14. 14.

    Dmbeaster

    Left over hotel carpeting. As if there are no people with taste in Trumpland. I know there are people like that, but it seems that WaPo’s writer and editor are looking for the stereotype.

  15. 15.

    Ohio Mom

    Such a time capsule of a room! I’m guessing the furniture and carpet date back to the 1970s.

    It looks like it’s in remarkably good condition considering how old it is. Someone is a very good housekeeper, everything looks clean and tidy.

    Maybe they took such good care because they knew they were never going to replace it, that would cost too much money? Or maybe they are completely stuck in their ways? Or maybe both.

    It’s hideous but someone is proud of it.

  16. 16.

    lamh36

    @kylegriffin1
    28s29 seconds ago
    More
    Live now on @TheLastWord on @MSNBC: E. Jean Carroll discusses her accusation of sexual assault against Trump.

  17. 17.

    SteverinoCT

    The furniture is not facing each other, even at an angle, but straight-on to what I’d guess is the tee-vee. And I’ll bet it’s not even football season.

  20. 20.

    NotMax

    @Ohio Mom

    Rent-A-Center salesperson saw them coming, that’s fer sure.

    “If you purchase the entire Grizzly Adams suite, we’ll throw in the clock!”

    ;)

  22. 22.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    @Steve in the ATL:
    Speaking of which, NASCAR has been dying for the past 10-15 years. It’s almost sad. If not for the Southern redneck culture and constant ovals, I might actually tune in. Racing on road courses is far more exciting, if not exactly spectator-friendly

  28. 28.

    plato

    “I always say the West Coast and East Coast can each be a country and the rest of us will be just fine,” Martinmaas said from his kitchen table one recent Sunday, as Becky made butter biscuits.

    Those sentiments are mutual, martinmass.

  31. 31.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    @Jay:
    I love rally racing. Granted, I don’t watch it on the regular, but to me, it can be a ton more dangerous than Nascar, F1, etc depending on the course. They’re sometimes racing along cliffs with steep drop offs

  35. 35.

    Ohio Mom

    @plato: Your thought is repeated over and over in the comments following that article. People point out that the coasts can feed themselves, thank you very much, but that fly-over country couldn’t bail itself out, it’s finacially dependent on the coasts.

    There are over 4,000 comments. I wonder if Mr.and Mrs. Martinmaas will read them.

  37. 37.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    @satby:

    I have no great love for Redneck F1. Like I said, if it wasn’t for the cultural baggage and all the Ovals (basically more like Indy car but with stock cars) I’d like it better. I also hate the rampant commercialism. Cars are billboards that go around boring 1.5 mile ovals at 150 mph

    On top of that, despite their efforts, NASCAR has never really caught on beyond the Southern US, aside from when Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr were active in the late 90s/early 2000s. Other American sports like American football have similarly never became popular outside the US

  38. 38.

    Jay

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:

    Sadly, lots of spectators get plowed in Rally Racing, when cars leave the road, or crossing the road at the wrong time. I love rally racing as well.

    @NotMax:

    I used to race Pinto’s regularly. They were a great cheap car to take to the track, and compeditive against BMW’s and Datsuns.

    The 1600cc side valve engine in the first models, (46 hp), was also used in Cortinas, and Formulae Ford. Using stock parts, modified, ballanced and blueprinted, it could make 160hp and rev to 9,000 rpm for half a dozen races before rebuild.

    The first carbon fibre/ceramic engine ever built and raced, was for Indy Pinto’s in the mid ‘80’s.

  40. 40.

    James E Powell

    @plato:

    One of the reasons these ignorant bigots believe such bullshit is that they are constantly being told it’s true. And not just by RW media. The tendency to idealize rural ignorance & bigotry is wide-spread and deeply rooted. They cry all the time that the coastal elites mock them and look down on them, but the opposite is far more common.

    What do you suppose would happen if a liberal PAC ran the mocking rural bigots version of this TV ad?

  41. 41.

    plato

    @Ohio Mom: I liked this one.

    So they pay almost no taxes, are paid millions of dollars in subsidies, their votes count over 50 times more than mine, but they are gullible enough to believe what Rush Limbaugh says, and they voted for Trump, believing he would, I dunno, drain the swamp?

    Meanwhile, they whine about having to pay for a damn exhaust sensor? Then the guy drives on a public highway at over 100 mph to dramatize the burden placed on him by the nanny state. As if the tractor shuts down without it. I find it difficult to believe anyone is getting punished for going half a day without an exhaust sensor.

    Somehow, when they complain about coastal elites, I don’t think they mean me. In fact, I don’t think they have any idea what the hell is going on. The coastal elites they are complaining about are the billionaires. Can it be they have not noticed that the billionaires are 80 – 90% Republican?

    These coddled subsidized farmers are just last in line to get screwed by the super rich. I guess they looked down the long line of teachers, doctors, engineers, factory workers, union members, and civil servants, and figured the vulture capitalists would get tired of screwing before it was their, the farmers’, turn. SMH.

    And we are paying them 14 billion a year to keep voting for stupid.

  45. 45.

    plato

    Another well liked wapo comment

    Trump pursues the worst imaginable way to act on a problem. Talking and acting this way is not negotiation, it is bullying, unjustified rage that seems to come from nowhere, and it is seen as cocky swagger. This is why “America first!” sounds to other countries as “We are better than you, do as we say, or else!” People don’t like to be on the receiving end of this, and they don’t want to buy from people like this.

    Hate and attacks are quick and easy to create, they are not so quickly removed. Trump knows how to anger “the other side” in any situation, even when there was no other side. He creates these divisions where there was none, creates ill will, and then can’t stop it. Then he gets angry others don’t obey him as slaves or don’t praise him, and then he lashes out even more.

    Trump only knows how to create angry enemies. He has never created a friend, and he has taken our best friends and allies and made them so angry and disgusted they no longer trust us and they refuse to buy our goods.

    “Made in America” now carries stigma.

  47. 47.

    HRA

    OT I did a stupid thing this evening by reading the transcript of the Time interview with Trump. He didn’t separate the children from their parents. Obama and G W Bush did it. They separated the families. I kept them together.
    Previously to going to Time for the fiasco, I had read where some lawyers had gone to the Border Patrol station and 4 children were so sick they had them sent to the hospital.

  48. 48.

    Jay

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:

    I still have my last CRRA Class C Pinto. I take it to car shows. 1972.

    The suspension was lowered 3” by doing a spring over in the back and respringing with Datsun coils in the front. The suspension was tightened by using Koni shocks instead of stock, replacing the front roll bar with a Pinto Station one, and moving the stock roll bar to the rear, ( where there wasn’t one). Adding a center draglink to keep ther rear axel centered.

    A fiberglass airdam was added to the front, with rubber garage door weather stripping was added to the air dam and sides, ( 1/2 and inch above the ground) to help create a vacume effect. Rear gas tank removed, ( 20 gallon self sealing where the rear seat was), rear quarter panel removed.

    The engine was the 2.0 L block, 2.3 L head and pistons, Mustang II 2.3 L turbo, intercooler, Mazda RX7 4bbl carb, water injection, ballanced and blueprinted, 340hp, max 10,000 rpm, with the governor engaged.

    I blew the first engine build at 390 hp, 12,000 rpm.

    Tranny was a 5 speed Mustang II.

    Interior was gutted, windows replaced with acrylic, full roll cage, battery in the rear seat beside the fuel tank.

    Everything except the fuel tank, tires, mags, Recarro Racing seats, body ties, roll cage, water injection and battery box was scavenged at the wreckers.

    In front I ran 205/14/50 BFG’s, 235/15/50 BFG’s in the rear. Clearance to the stock fenders was obtained by sticking an ash baseball bat between the tire and fender, slowly rolling the car backwards and forward, allowing the bat to roll, while pressing gently upwards, to ( spin) new fenders.

    Raced against top shelf road racers, taking some 2nds and 3rds. Got one 1st, for the car, when John Morton rolled his factory Datsun in practice, then trashed his back up on the Deer’s Leap in the first race, so, out of cars, I loaned him my Pinto so he could stay in the Drivers Championship run. Afterwards, he told me that while there were a lot better drivers than me, there wern’t many better cars than mine.

    It s my 3rd favorite car/truck.

  50. 50.

    opiejeanne

    @Ohio Mom: Looking at the paneling on the walls, I would have guessed it was a double-wide from the late 60s, but the stairs say that it is a house. The sparkly cottage cheese ceiling makes it very early 70s, I think. That fad didn’t last too long on the Left Coast, thank God, but this is in a place that may have been using it well into the 80s. All of the furniture looks like the late 50s to me but I suppose you could find that stuff in stores for at least another ten years in places like this. .
    Peg Bracken’s book called “I Hate to Housekeep” and she made the comment that if you don’t remove that sock that ended up on the mantel, it will quickly become part of the decor and you won’t see it after a while. Your guests will but will probably be too polite to say anything to you. Anyway, that’s what I think happened in this house. They bought all that crappy stuff and now they don’t see it any more.

    One of them uses a walker and I suspect it’s Mom. The old geezer in the photo doesn’t look too spry either, so what kind of farming are they capable of doing?

  55. 55.

    ThresherK

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’m on my third Volvo. My third Volvo station wagon. And I’ve never had kids; it’s just my idea of the natural, ideal state of Volvoness. (And it holds my skis and my bicycle.)

  56. 56.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @opiejeanne: The furniture in the second picture is common to a lot of cabins in the Upper Midwest. I think they continue to sell is so that people can replace pieces that wear out of break without having to redo the whole room. Besides, it is comfortable and easy to clean if you get sand or mud on it.

  57. 57.

    plato

    @opiejeanne: His car, not his tractor which needed that effing gobinment instrument, which they shoved down their collective throats.

    What, keep a spare if it is so critical? That’s just libtard talk.

  58. 58.

    NotMax

    OT.

    Friend here moving to the mainland come September. He has a six (or maybe six-and-a-half) foot high, maybe 30 inch wide and about a foot deep wood and glass enclosed display cabinet with glass shelves which he mentioned the other day I could have for nothing. Hate to pass it up but no matter how I try to mentally rearrange things in the hovel, cannot for the life of me figure out anywhere it could fit. Hoping inspiration will blossom before he goes.

  59. 59.

    Citizen Alan

    “You know, we’re the ones taking the brunt of it in all these negotiations, so they need to be kind of helping us out right now.”

    Yeah, Fat Ass McRedneck and his Farmer Welfare are the ones taking the brunt of it and not, you know, all those kids in concentrations camps.

  60. 60.

    opiejeanne

    @Omnes Omnibus: The comfortable and easy to clean part I get but we didn’t see that stuff for sale in the big furniture store in Lake Arrowhead (Blue Jay), CA.I guess that’s just not a west coast idea of cabin chic. . What they did sell was a lot of dark plaid upholstery on very overstuffed, heavy furniture. I didn’t like it much, but I did see it in other people’s cabins, people with a bit of money, that is.
    Most of the furniture in older cabins looked a bit like the stuff in the photos up top, but I think it was cast offs from the owners’ flatland houses.
    Our cabin was small so we had a pair of very nice all-weather wicker that we got for $25 each from Target, and a cheap sleeper sofa that gradually became uncomfortable to sit on after 11 years.

  61. 61.

    mrmoshpotato

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Figured it was that ad. For the record, I’ve never had a latte.

    We know you prefer cappuccinos out in California.

    Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to enjoy the third coast with a latte.

  63. 63.

    opiejeanne

    @Citizen Alan: financially, he’s not taking the brunt of anything. He’s going to be subsidized at least twice for his inconvenience this year. Taxpayers, especially those on the coasts are the ones who will be financially burdened by it.

    The children, I just can’t even begin to deal with it because I feel so helpless and hopeless for them. The best I can do is keep calling our congresspeople and donating to ACLU and RAICES, but it doesn’t feel like enough.

  65. 65.

    The Dangerman

    @plato:

    I always say the West Coast and East Coast can each be a country and the rest of us will be just fine…

    Without the Coasts, I’d give the flyover states 5 years before the last person to leave would get to turn out the light (singular intentional).

  69. 69.

    Mike G

    I figured that pic was Dan Haggerty to go along with the whole Grizzly Adams decorating theme.

  71. 71.

    Sab

    Talk about patriarchy! The guy is married and his wife let him decorate the whole house like a man-cave.

  73. 73.

    NotMax

    @BillinGlendaleCA

    A frappe (pronounced frap-pay) is an iced beverage that has been shaken, blended or beaten to produce a tasty, foamy, and refreshing drink. It is served cold, often with whipped cream and toppings. You can add ice before or after beating the coffee and custom additives such as sugar, milk, vanilla, and sweet sauces. It depends on what you are shaking or blending it in: a shaker, frappe maker or blender. An ice-crushing blender is better than a shaker for blending a frappe. Source

  74. 74.

    James E Powell

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    That ad was ridiculous and an over the top example of what I’m talking about. But consider how Republicans have used the phrase “San Francisco values” and made their arched eyebrow references to Massachusetts as if it were a socialist police state where white people are forced to work 18 hour days and pay 90% taxes to support unemployed black people who buy steaks and lobster with their food stamps.

    What if we did the same? What if we talked about “Alabama values” or regularly referred to Mississippi’s ignorance and racism. We’d be factually accurate, but the entire press/media world would go crazy.

  76. 76.

    plato

    Judge Amy Berman Jackson is demanding that Roger Stone explain ⁠— by next Thursday ⁠— why she should not find he violated his gag order and release terms pending trial after prosecutors criticized his recent social media posts attacking the FBI/Mueller. https://t.co/aMptSq410K— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 22, 2019

    Yet another finger wagging stern warning to the privileged punk. Quelle surprise, surprise

  78. 78.

    CatFacts

    Good lord, that carpet looks like it’s from the mid-70s. Actually, the entire room does. Though I guess the taxidermy is timeless!

  80. 80.

    NotMax

    @BillinGlendaleCA

    Same link.

    Though a frappe has been traditionally made with coffee, you can make other flavorful frappe drinks with teas, juices or hot chocolate; the possibilities are endless. There are many different variations of this popular blended icy drink that was first inspired in Europe, decades ago. The word Frappe comes from the French word frapper which means to slap, knock, or beat.

    Ice cream parlors always used to have a selection of frappés on the menu.

  81. 81.

    Kattails

    I could not possibly live in that environment, and I’m an old hippie so that’s saying something.

  82. 82.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Steve in the ATL:

    not joking: earlier today I had vanilla almond milk with Cocoa Puffs. It was AWESOME.

    Always loved as a kid how Cocoa Krispies would leave you with a bowl of chocolate milk.

    Who wins in the vanilla almond milk vs Cocoa Puffs quest for flavor dominance?

  83. 83.

    Jay

    @NotMax:

    In SCCA/CCCA racing, stock tanks must be removed and replaced with a 1/4” wall SS, self sealing, welded tank placed inside, close to the center of the car, bolted or welded in place so it won’t break free in a collision, with a remote release fire extinguisher placed to smother any flames.

    The Pinto’s problem was dissimilar metals between the gas tank and straps, and road salt. Rubber between the two, solved the problem.

  84. 84.

    Ruckuis

    @Dmbeaster:

    As if there are no people with taste in Trumpland.

    Look who is their leader. Their world is decades old, before Truman integrated the military, before the use of the n word was made uncivilized. drumpf is the reincarnation of that world. Life is simple, rural, racist, white, everyone in town goes to one of the five or six churches for the 4,000 people that live in the area, white bread is that color for a reason – and it isn’t because it’s the color of the flour.

  86. 86.

    Ruckus

    @Dmbeaster:

    As if there are no people with taste in Trumpland.

    Look who is their leader. Their world is decades old, before Truman integrated the military, before the use of the n word was made uncivilized. drumpf is the reincarnation of that world. Life is simple, rural, racist, white, everyone in town goes to one of the five or six churches for the 4,000 people that live in the area, white bread is that color for a reason – and it isn’t because it’s the color of the flour.

  90. 90.

    Steeplejack

    I don’t think I’ve had any cereal but Raisin Bran Crunch in years. I need to expand my horizons. Used to love Trix as a kid.

  91. 91.

    NJDave

    Oddly, the captions on the photos in the article say that it’s 69 yo Ray’s FATHER’S house, not his. Which raises others questions: where’s dad? Why didn’t they show pictures of Ray’s house? …

  92. 92.

    Aziz, light!

    That picture on the wall is the whitest damn dark skinned curly haired Sephardic Jew I ever did see. Is Nazareth in Norway?

  97. 97.

    frosty

    @Jay: Nice! I met a Pinto racer back in the 70s. When he told me he tore down and rebuilt the engine for every race I figured that wasn’t going to be my hobby.

  98. 98.

    James E Powell

    @frosty:

    1979 Daytona 500 – Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison trading paint on the last lap. They both end up on the infield allowing Richard Petty, the King, to win. Then the two made history by getting into a fist fight. Peak NASCAR. It’s what every NASCAR fans dreams will happen when they watch a race.

  99. 99.

    Suzanne

    @MomSense:

    Cole, we promise never to say a critical word about your end tables again.

    Do ***we*** now?

    I read that piece earlier today. It’s just staggering how they have this inflated sense of self-importance. Dude. We don’t need you and your shit-ass farm. Get over yourself.

  100. 100.

    Darkrose

    Dear gods, these people are stupid. California won’t starve; neither will anyone else if we can’t get the corn that they grow for biofuels and high-fructose corn syrup. And we can probably do some good stuff with the tax money that’s not going to subsidize farmers growing non-food corn.

    “They’re the salt of the earth…the common clay of the New West…you know: morons.”

  104. 104.

    evodevo

    @Aziz, light!: Yes, and has been for ‘Murricans for a hundred years or more….can’t be prayin’ to some Jewish lookin’ guy, amirite?

  105. 105.

    JohnMcC

    Thought I’d chide Mr Cole for not noticing that the decorations that he disapproves of are actually in the home of Mr Martinmaas’ father. That gentleman must be in his 90s and piling on snide comments about his taste is remarkably poor. In fact it is precisely the cultural snobbery that made Rush Limbaugh a millionaire and R-party power house.

    So, good job, Mr Cole.

    Then I saw there were over a hundred comments. I’m late at the game, I thought. So I read some 50 or 60 comments looking for the correction by someone who reads captions.

    Crickets.

    Well done, jackals.

  108. 108.

    Ksmiami

    @plato: I could care less about these morons- I used to be sympathetic but now I just want them marginalized and walled off so they can’t damage or hurt others

  109. 109.

    kindness

    I draw the line at a rack of antlers mounted on the wall. Stuffed critters is just tacky as hell and a bit repugnant.

  112. 112.

    Ohio Mom

    @Suzanne: I keep saying I don’t see that ersatz wrought iron end and coffee table set in the new house. Remember, ABC (wonder how she’s doing, hope she’s fine) helped him decorate.

    Isn’t this your big weekend? You’re probably busy right now bringing Spawn #3 into the world. Sending good energy your way.

    Also, to the commentator who pointed out there’s no reading material in that house: I’m pretty sure they can go online. Computers let you access weather sites with all their forecasts, and see the weather radar in real time. Essential info for a farmer.

  114. 114.

    Starfish

    I never pegged you for West Virginia Coastal Elite John, but your critique of their decorating style has me wondering. This is a place that has not been redone since the early 1980s when this type of dark wood paneling was popular. I also remember my mom’s friend having furniture in patterns similar to those.

  115. 115.

    opiejeanne

    @Ohio Mom: The house belongs to the 90-year-old pater familias. My dad was online when he was 94, but only sort of. trading dirty jokes online with my least favorite uncle.

  116. 116.

    J R in WV

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    I learned to drink coffee prior to a trip to Spain and France in 2013. I quit a couplea months ago, I discovered it was what was upsetting my stomach. Back to hot tea – not Liptons~ – Oolong if possible.

    Avocado is good in a big salad, as well as guac.

  118. 118.

    EthylEster

    @NotMax wrote :

    Ice cream parlors always used to have a selection of frappés on the menu.

    But in the south where I grew up, they were never called fra-pays, instead it rhymed with wraps.

  119. 119.

    leeleeFL

    @NotMax: I live here in Flori-duh, and I can hardly speak to anyone for fear of who they support. My gast is also quite flabbered.
    BTW, you win the Internets!

  120. 120.

    Beldar

    Barry Gibb died for your sins, John.
    What’s that you say? Not dead?
    Okay, then… Barry Gibb died for your sins and was resurrected. Then he went on tour…

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