Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

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

Elections aren’t won by handwringing, cowering, and/or bashing your own candidates.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Let there be snark.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

No one could have predicted…

“Loving your country does not mean lying about it’s history.”

Even though I know this is a bad idea, I’m off to do it anyway!

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

It’s easier to kill a dangerous animal than a man who just happens to have different thoughts/values than one’s own.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Another missed opportunity for Jamie Dimon to just shut the fuck up.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Russia bombs Ukraine’s maternity hospitals; Republicans in the House can’t sort out supporting Ukraine.

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101Comments

  1. 1.

    dmsilev

    Likewise in a mental fog, but I can blame the COVID and flu shots I had this morning. Based on past experience, I have another hour or two before I hit the wall and have to sleep.

  5. 5.

    bbleh

    AND it’s getting colder AND darker almost by the day.  AND as hard as I work I feel like I’m slowly but inexorably losing ground in a permanent defensive battle.  And I can’t find anything I want to watch on any of my streaming channels.

    It’s enough to drive a man to drink.  Except I already drink, probably too much.

    I am SO going to write an ANGRY letter to my Congressman!

  7. 7.

    Hoppie

    When we were home teaching (long story) we assigned researching the references in Billy Joel’s song We Didn’t Start the Fire to our son.

  9. 9.

    Spanky

    @bbleh:

    AND it’s getting colder AND darker almost by the day

    No “almost” about it. Two minutes twenty seconds per day of daylight lost for us in mid latitudes.

  16. 16.

    NotMax

    @bbleh

    And I can’t find anything I want to watch on any of my streaming channels.

    What type or genre of programming meets your preferences for watchability? Oh, and are subtitles okay?

  17. 17.

    Spanky

    @John Cole: People were wondering about that. Got feelers out at the local Wv&PA schools

    Eta – or AZ schools? Now’s the time to check them out.

  22. 22.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Carried over from the dying thread below:  So Italy has projected an image of the Israeli flag on the Arch of Titus as a gesture of solidarity with Israel. The Arch of Titus was built built by Domitian to celebrate the victory by Vespasian (D’s father) and Titus (D’s brother who died) over a rebellion by the people of Judea. Someone needs to spend more time thinking about the Roman Empire.

  27. 27.

    WaterGirl

    @dmsilev: Do you have this crap at your University, too?  It was like this every year for 9 years when we were in the recession.

    I finally got tired of all the uncertainty and left and hung out my own shingle.

  29. 29.

    MattF

    @dmsilev: I finished my ‘triple play’ (COVID, flu, RSV) over the weekend, sore arms but otherwise not too bad. CVS turned out to be the answer— there are four within walking distance of my condo’s front door. Including a new one across the street, where I got the RSV shot. Not feeling especially beat up, even so.

  30. 30.

    catclub

    @cain: ​
      I really really want to see the Grand Canyon in winter again. I am really really NOT moving to Arizona.

  34. 34.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    I went about 30 years between speeding tickets.  I totally spaced out on a country road Sunday and drove by a trooper just waiting for assholes.  Fucking BUSTED!   My whole body and mind have been angry for 48 hours.  So stupid of me.

  38. 38.

    CaseyL

    @John Cole: Oh, crap.  I am so sorry to hear this.  Um… no tenure?

    Fingers crossed you find a soft landing. Maybe a new career, like… house remodeling.

  39. 39.

    Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA)

    @John Cole: That’s a shitty feeling. I’ve been through it a couple of times. If it helps, though, each time it happened I ended up somewhere better. And if I can, you definitely will.

  40. 40.

    dmsilev

    @WaterGirl: We’re relatively ok, at least for now. There’s always a perpetual chase for funding, both from the government and from other sources, but we really do try to move people around to other roles if a particular funding stream dries up.

  42. 42.

    MattF

    @Omnes Omnibus: I eventually realized, long ago, that the ‘interesting’ bits in Gibbon were in the untranslated footnotes, which ended my engagement with the Romans. But I did find the Arch of Titus when I visited Rome, and did not walk. under it.

  47. 47.

    Ohio Mom

    @John Cole: Oh crap. I was hoping your job was safe. When I’ve seen lists of departments on the chopping block, well I knew you weren’t in the graduate math department or public administration or any of the others being closed down.

    We’ll all be crossing fingers, toes and eyes for you. Not that crossing things works, but I can’t think of anything else to do.

  48. 48.

    Madeleine

    I hope you don’t get fired, John. But, if you do, I hope it leads to better things. I speak from experience.

  49. 49.

    BlueGuitarist

    No postcard (& music) thread tonight, but finishing up a set of 50 GOTV postcards for Virginia candidate Kimberly Pope Adams tonight.
    mailed out 50 for Michael Feggans.
    These are the 2 candidates in the BJ fundraiser for Virginia Purple House of Delegates districts,    currently almost at 90%. Link in the sidebar.

    You can get addresses and sample scripts for these and other candidates from

    https://postcards4va.com/

    Link in the sidebar also for more info on postcard writing opportunities.

    going to get some Ohio addresses from postcards to voters for the next batch,
    then do some more for Virginia.

    a couple of people discussed enjoying discovering the names of towns when writing postcards.
    I’ve been noticing things like (slightly anonymized) a person named Faith who lives on Church street, someone named Freeman who lives on Liberty Street, the kind of thing that an editor would cut from a work of fiction.

    Forever grateful to blogfather for this place.
    keep on keeping on JC!

    Curtis Mayfield, Keep on Keeping On:

    https://youtu.be/t-l91O9VxN0?si=LAqayUKp2kdzM1Ld

  52. 52.

    laura

    @John Cole: I’m shooting you the tiny, powerful arrow of Know Your Worth. You contain multitudes, and the Universe and the Community Web you’ve woven will catch you and launch you into a place you’re going to plant and bloom that you may have never seen coming.

  53. 53.

    HeleninEire

    I feel the same. Dad had an issue today that freaked me (and him) out but all is well now. Thank the Goddess that I have a great boss.  I am 3 1/2 weeks from wheels up to Dublin. I will go. Also too? His fucking grandchildren suck. Both my nieces and nephews and the steps too.

  59. 59.

    BlueGuitarist

    @sab:

    Kimberly Pope Adams, Virginia House of Delegates candidate, is an accountant!  Unlike the hyped messaging of some of her supporters, the messaging on her website is straightforward, plain spoken, accountable, e.g.: “adequate” funding and staffing, “measurable results.”

  61. 61.

    WaterGirl

    @Punchy: Cole doesn’t really mean fired.  Positions and departments are being cut where he works, and more than a third are being cut in his department.  People are finding out day by day, and they will all know by Friday.

    If he’s cut, he will still have a position until the end of the school year, I think.  But it still totally sucks.

    They did that at the University where I worked for years, and it was hard waiting to find out if you were one of the people being cut.

  68. 68.

    Danielx

    Still headachy from resolving brain bleeds but getting better by the day. Currently enjoying good medicine in the form of a loudly purring tabby lying between chest and arm.

  72. 72.

    Punchy

    @WaterGirl: Ah….the “right-sizing” BS.  Ive never dealt with this but the spouse has.  The economy is strong enough that Johnny will get plenty of job appys.

  74. 74.

    Ms. Deranged in AZ

    John, I feel your pain but at least you only have yourself and your fur babies to worry about.  I’ve been unemployed since end of June and have a 19 yr old who cant afford to live on their own and a 13 yr old to worry about.  If I don’t have a job by next month I’m going to have to sell my house, take the cash left over and probably move somewhere cheaper, preferably out of state.    I do NOT recommend anyone move to AZ but John, if you do, do you want to buy my house?  LOL  I’m still waffling on whether I want to request front page assistance from the jackaltariat for a job.  I followed up on all the previous leads given to no avail.   I’ve never been in this situation before and I’m really, really struggling.

  77. 77.

    Yarrow

    @HeleninEire: Oh, they never step up. The hard work of elder care falls to one person and everyone else tells them they’re doing it wrong and yells at them about the decisions they’ve had to make and how they’re managing things. They’re not going to step up and do anything, mind you. But they’ll sure tell you how you’re doing it wrong.

    Your dad is lucky to have you and I’m sorry you’re both having to deal with this. Good for your cousin for helping. And everyone else sucks. It’s okay to say it, think it and feel it.

  79. 79.

    dnfree

    @John Cole: I’m retired and have been for almost 12 years, but in my long career (1967-2011), in Data Processing>Information Systems>Information Technology I had five jobs, not one of which I left voluntarily.  First job was with a national laboratory that laid off 20% of its staff, including me the young programmer.  Second job was a science consulting firm that lost the contract I was working on. Third company, a turnkey consulting firm involving minicomputers, went out of business.  Fourth job had a union squabble where the company outbluffed the union that thought they were bluffing, resulting in a loss of production at that plant.  The fifth and last job was with a company that traded its homegrown software for SAP implemented by programmers in India.  The good news was that I was 65 and didn’t have to retool myself once again in 2011.

    I was so lucky to be able to find good jobs each time, even when I was over 50. It doesn’t always work that way.   Hope you’ll land somewhere that you’re satisfied with.

  81. 81.

    Yarrow

    Best of lucky, John. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. Whatever happens at least you won’t be in limbo. That’s a stressful place to be.

  82. 82.

    MisterForkbeard

    @John Cole: Best of luck. Also, fuck your admin team. Those guys are gigantic idiots AND assholes, so you’ve got a really plum group of fuckers over there

  83. 83.

    jonas

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​
      So Italy has projected an image of the Israeli flag on the Arch of Titus as a gesture of solidarity with Israel.

    Oh, FFS. Someone told someone there’s a menorah on there and that’s like totally Jewish or something, so let’s light that up. Almost Trump-esque in both its offensiveness and irony.

  84. 84.

    Ohio Mom

    @Yarrow: Family also doesn’t step up when you have a disabled kid and are wondering who is going to keep an eye on the social workers who have him on their caseload when you are dead.

    And they are also full of advice for you, which is just a backhand way of saying “you’re doing it wrong.” It would be a lot more helpful if they told their kids, Guess what, you are elected to care about your cousin Ohio Son.

    I have no problem with saying they suck.

    As I recall, Helen in Erie has a disabled sister and I’m betting no one is stepping up on her behalf, either.

  86. 86.

    Another Scott

    Wishing you the best of luck, whatever the future brings, JC.

    We’re with you.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  88. 88.

    Yarrow

    @Ohio Mom:  People just suck. I’m sorry for you and your whole family you’re in that situation. There doesn’t seem to be any way to get people to care. They just don’t. They suck.

    My advice to anyone heading into elder care is go in with clear eyes that you’re on your own and help isn’t coming. And get used to being told you’re doing it wrong. If you’re lucky enough to have one of the unicorn families where family members cooperate to help their elder(s), count your lucky stars. Most people don’t and there’s a lot of heartache that happens as each person discovers that they’re on their own and their family sucks. It can tear families apart.

  90. 90.

    HeleninEire

    @Ohio Mom: Yes. I have a disabled sister. Thankfully she is well taken care of ina group home. But yes who TF is gonna care for if I can’t?

  91. 91.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    @jonas: you’re right, I’ll bet that’s exactly why it was picked for the image. “There’s this one arch with a menorah on it, let’s use that.”

  93. 93.

    Soprano2

    @Yarrow: My husband had that experience with his dad. He moved dad here from Chicago because he almost lost his house because he wasn’t paying the mortgage and younger brother who was living with dad had no idea. I figure I’m mostly on my own as far as hubby is concerned. My friend whose husband had Alzheimer’s told me they say there’s help for you, but the truth is there’s not much. She said no one wants to deal with people with dementia. I’m lucky that I won’t have to worry about money, but that’s not much comfort. I want my husband back….😥

  97. 97.

    Embir

    @john cole Having been through that a handful of times my suggestion is a two week road trip by yourself if you can swing it. Just go somewhere you’ve always want to go and have a couple of adventures. Gets your head in the right place for moving forward, better than sitting at home and stewing in it. Furbabies may be an issue – but you can sort that out. Good luck.

  99. 99.

    evodevo

    @jonas: Yep…history! What is it?!  Vespasian was the Roman general, along with his son Titus, who prosecuted the siege of Jerusalem after the first Jewish Revolt in 66 AD…the legions proclaimed Vespasian emperor and he left for Rome, while Titus took over.   The Arch depicts the triumphal parade of Titus when he returned, displaying the sacred articles from the Second Temple, like the temple menorah, the shewbread table, trumpets, etc. as spoils of war.  Not a background I would have chosen, but maybe they were expressing an ironic viewpoint…it is said that many viewing the monument have uttered the phrase “Titus is gone, but Israel is still here”

  101. 101.

    bluefoot

    @John Cole: ​
      Damn. I have my fingers crossed for you.

    I just got laid off – part of a big restructuring of the company. We were notified in the morning and our access etc cut off by close of business.

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