One thing is for sure, any mention of Israel and Palestine just brings out the fucking worst in people. I just spent the last 24 hours watching half my twitter feed blame Israel for the hospital explosion, the other half blaming PIJ, and no one can wait ten fucking minutes to find out what is going on. And even if we ever fully understand what happened, people will still believe whatever the fuck they want anyway. I’ve seen some flareups here in the comments, and I am here to say knock it the fuck off. You’ve been warned.
Everyone is so fucking sure of everything. I mean, it’s not unreasonable to think that Israel might have blown up a hospital. Mistakes happen, and the IDF has been wrong or lying before. Likewise, it’s not at all hard to believe that an errant rocket from the PIJ hit their own people.
Speaking of bringing out the worst, Gym Jordan temporarily sated his humiliation kink this morning with a second vote, this time getting less support than the first vote. I’ve seen reports that his opposition is staggering their no votes so he gets fewer votes each attempt. You’d think he would want to quit doing this, but he’s fucking dumb, so there is no telling how many more times he will keep trying.
Also, I am cranky.
Urza
I often wish for a “Like” feature on Balloon Juice posts and comments.
moonbat
Me too! Harumph!
I miss your regular rants, Cole.
dexwood
You think as I do, you write my less organized toughts. Thanks.
Josie
I totally agree with everything you say here, John. I keep reminding myself that there is nothing I can do about any of it, but that certainly doesn’t make me any less cranky. I wish I could just sleep through much of it.
MISTERPUFF
So what else is new
Sister Golden Bear
A-fucking-men! Cole.
MattF
Jordan getting one vote less than last time was apparently a precisely calculated insult.
Yarrow
I miss your rants too. I am also cranky. And exhausted.
The Jim Jordan thing is making me laugh though. Thank goodness enough Republicans hate him enough to do this to him.
Burnspbesq
When is Cole ever not cranky? Not that I blame him. There’s plenty to be cranky about.
Dan B
We had dinner with friends on Sunday. We had an extended and very reasonable conversation about Israel – Gaza. We agreed that there were a small portion of bad apples that were putting everyone in Israel’s borders into a desperate situation. There are some good people out there.
My partner’s sister, a conspiracy fan, who warned us not to go anywhere because a jihad with islamists coming across the border and organizing in mosques. I went to the local Kaiser clinic for my Covid booster and flu jab. About 1/6th of the people there were Muslim and there were several Jews. It was like our minority majority neighborhood, very calm.
BTW The dinner was excellent!
bbleh
Me too! I am just so ANGRY that NOBODY is standing up and applauding my OBVIOUS solution to a 2000-plus-year-old conflict!
Anne Laurie
Wise words, Cole. You are not alone in your feelings.
P.S. If you haven’t done so already, time to break out the anti-SAD lights, everybody!
bbleh
@Burnspbesq: One assumes his business cards are something like
– – – – John Cole – – – –
Blogfather and Crank
Suzanne
The hardest part about the entire conflict, for me…. is that it won’t resolve anything. It’s just people suffering and dying, two groups of people with valid grievances, important aspirations, and terrible leadership…. and it’s just going to be more of the same.
Geoduck
Someone beat you to it.
John Cole
@Anne Laurie: I have Arizona for a few months.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
I just haven’t seen a valid reason we as a society should favor one side or another. Reason I might get a little heated, though I haven’t here on this any time lately, is that our government does and has has been favoring a side.
Suzanne
@Anne Laurie:
Am I the only one who thinks we are getting into the best time of the year? I love sleeping in cold weather and I find it so restful. And I get to be less manic about sunblock. And I get to wear fleece!
CaseyL
Number me among the folks who love your rants, John! It’s good to know that love and (impending) domestic bliss haven’t mellowed you out or anything :)
I’m Jewish, and was once a Zionist, but turned my back on Israel when it elected Netanyahu and became a thuggish RW theocracy that welcomed the Russian mafia. I have never held any love at all for the Arab side of things, either. At this point I don’t much care who is killing who over there, as long as their bullshit doesn’t spread beyond the region.
NotMax
Day with a “y” in it, huh?
:)
Yarrow
@Suzanne: Fall is the best time. It’s cool but there’s still light. Spring is annoying because it means summer is just around the corner. Every day is one step closer to the misery that is summer.
Brachiator
Great rant, John Cole.
I hope Jordan gets thoroughly rejected and kicked to the curb. Unfortunately, the next Republican to vie for the job will probably be just another cretin.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Suzanne: Hoodie and sweater season. Strongest we’ve had here in MA in a while. Love it.
And John; something, once cranked, requires release. Thanks for sharing your wound up wisdom and an outlet to do the same.
scav
@Brachiator: No reason not to recognize, spotlight and celebrate all their deep-bench of cretins. Participation Speakership votes for all!
SpaceUnit
Glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks autumn is the absolute best time of the year and that summer sucks.
I get depressed in the summer. There’s not a goddamn thing I want to do when it’s 90 degrees. I just stay inside and worry about my AC conking out.
pluky
I’ve had a longstanding policy (like long before the current mess) of not engaging in discussion of the Israel/Palestine situation. Basically I don’t have a dog in this fight. So in my own head I have the freedom to take an abstract, disengaged, game theoretic point of view. In game theory there is no good/evil, nor right/wrong, only expected outcomes predicated on prior actions. As I weight the scenarios of possible actions by their probabilities, the likeliest outcomes leave me with a mix of horror and despair.
Yarrow
@SpaceUnit: The only thing I want to do when it’s summer is go where it’s cooler. Summer sucks.
NotMax
@SpaceUnit
It’s fall here. It’s 90 degrees here.
This is not normal.
WaterGirl
@Suzanne: Don’t forget to moisturize. :-)
Yarrow
@NotMax: It’s normal now.
Suzanne
@WaterGirl: Oh, I have my skincare covered.
Although I have had to reduce my retinol use to every-other-day. I’m taking extra collagen to make up for it!
If anyone has wondered…. the Cosrx Snail Slime Moisturizer and Serum are fantastic.
Argiope
@Anne Laurie: I broke mine out two days ago after realizing I was getting progressively more pissed off about minor stuff. It’s amazing how quickly I’m feel better, and today the sun actually shone for the first time in 6 days so things are looking up. I may even be able to start to see some of the bright sides Suzanne mentions. MAYBE.
Anne Laurie
Oh, I agree — I love autumn best of all!
Doesn’t mean the low daylight levels and fall allergens aren’t doing their best to make me miserable, though…
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Suzanne: For me, skin care amounts to “use the scrapy sponge.” The one thing I really dig about the whole being a man
ETA: Loofas really are heaven. Rhino knees are unsightly.
Suzanne
@Yarrow: Spring is also annoying because of allergies.
Mr. Suzanne and I went on a six-mile trail run on Sunday. Autumn leaves dropping, light drizzle, breeze….. freakin’ picture-postcard perfect.
Argiope
@Suzanne:
“It’s not slime, it’s MUCUS!” Princess and the Frog, anyone? Seriously though, how do they obtain the slime? I googled and now I want to try it.
frosty
@Suzanne:
Nope not for me. Not Fall. Spring. Still sleeping in cold weather, not worrying about sunblock, and wearing fleece. But days get lighter not darker.
wjca
Even in a collection of the stupid and the horrific, there are degrees of awfulness. Less bad may be the best we can realistically hope for. But it’s still worth hoping for that.
piratedan
well, we still have expected temps hitting 100 for the next two days but then we finally drop into the 80s here in the desert southwest.
As for the Speaker Circus, we have to remember that the GOP is beholden only unto themselves, not their constituents, not the nation… their party. Makes it a lot easier to understand the seeming sibling rivalry that is taking place and how everyone is fighting for Dad’s attention… unfortunately/fortunately Dad (DJT) is busy trying to keep his ass outta jail.
SpaceUnit
@Yarrow:
Yeah. I get why people romanticize summer, of course. I was a kid once. Summer meant freedom and fun. I lived at the pool. So I’m not really surprised that people can go all their lives associating summer with freedom and youth and fun.
But damn.
Suzanne
@Argiope: I have no idea how they get the slime. But it’s great. Moisturizing without being heavy.
Gvg
Your rants have style John. I don’t know what to do about 2 groups who won’t get along, and don’t know how to solve their problems.
There have to be good leaders on both sides first. We can only help after that, not impose some miracle. I guess any temporary calm down is better than more grudges and more deaths. Stall until good leaders show up.
SpaceUnit
@NotMax:
Sorry to hear that.
We actually caught a break this last year. I live just outside of Denver and we had a slightly cooler summer than what has become the new normal. It was sizzling all around us, though.
WaterGirl
@Suzanne: I know, I was just teasing you because I know that’s your thing. :-)
WaterGirl
@Argiope: You are alway so even-tempered!
Betsy
I love when you’re cranky because then cranky me doesn’t look so bad.
Lunkhead Gym Jordan. Dumb as a post. His head looks like one of those ‘roid boiz. His voice is that same adenoidal sneering pitch that seems so common and beloved among Republican males these days, like Ted Cruz and De Horribilis and that twerp Haz-Ben Shapiro.
There. See how cranky I am?
MMM
You are in a better mood than I am
piratedan
speaking of Jim Jordan…
https://pixcayanmacuahuitl.medium.com/the-jim-jordan-les-wexner-nexus-c8cd376e5bb4
no idea on how reliable a piece that is, but wow
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
Gotta speak up for winter, though. First of all, the food holidays. Also, summer vacation is for kids. The snow day is eternal*. A snow day also begins to hold all new meanings for many workers, as well.
*Regional exceptions will apply.
Suzanne
@WaterGirl: It’s definitely one of my things! Hey, a family history of skin cancer and a cornucopia of allergies will make you have strong opinions about skincare.
mvr
@Burnspbesq: There is at least one constant in our world.
Argiope
@WaterGirl: Ha! Tell that to Mr. Argiope after the weather turns cold and gray x 5 days….. I was unhappy with my own conduct. This season I’m going to hit the lightbox heavy and see if I can’t stop hating winter so much.
Lyrebird
I should run and hide when I/P is brought up.
I thought that it might be good to make a convenient link to Anne Laurie’s post with Julia Ioffe and Alexandra (?) Petri’s columns in it, since they pretty much said everything, and Adam’s said everything with more on the ground detail, but spread across multiple posts.
Argiope
@Suzanne:
Thanks! I’m going to try it.
Danielx
Also, I am cranky.
And with good reason.
David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch
@Argiope:
What brand/type do you use?
How long do you use it (eg 20 minutes in the morning) ?
schrodingers_cat
I don’t like weather extremes, so July and January are the worst. Not a huge fan of lack of daylight that fall brings.
WaterGirl
@Suzanne: Not judging! Just teasing. :-)
Odie Hugh Manatee
I have a solution for all of mankind’s problems but it involves the sun going red dwarf. That’s all I got. As far as the I/P conflict goes, nothing I say can change a fucking thing. Since that is the case, I’ve got nothing to say other than to wish the worst on religious zealots/extremists.
Argiope
@David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch:
I have something called JUXLamp. I’m using it as an alarm clock (it does a sunrise thing). Once I’m awake I unplug it, bring it downstairs with me, and crank it up to high for about 30 minutes while I drink coffee. I like that it holds onto the current time even while unplugged, so it’s easily portable from room to room.
CaseyL
I’ve always said Autumn is my favorite season, but I think what I love is more a Platonic ideal of Autumn: sunny crisp days, just chilly enough to justify a fleece jacket, with a faint woodsy scent to the air.
We don’t actually get many of those here in the PNW. Autumns are mostly soggy, with just enough sunny days – one or two at a time – to fool you into thinking you might get a whole week’s worth.
Maybe I need a new favorite season.
Villago Delenda Est
Cole, good rant. You know as well as any of the vets here that first reports cannot be trusted. Both Bibi and Hamas have lots of reasons to lie, spread disinformation, and otherwise be less than forthcoming about everything under the sun.
eversor
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation:
Get ye some tar soap. Did wonders for me. You’ll stink like coal and campfire but it’s fine smell, for a man. Cleared up all my skin and scalp issues quick.
I order mine from a pair of old hippy women out of NH and it’s quality stuff. Made from all natural beef tallow as well (sorry vegans! no not sorry!). This is 100% all natural beef tallow soap with 20% pine tar made by setting logs and trunks on fire and extracting said tar. Amazing stuff!
https://www.thehealthyporcupine.com/soap/pine-tar-20
MMM
I feel a good one coming on – Blackberry Smoke
prostratedragon
I share the blogfather’s sentiments on much of the recent news.
On a far more trivial matter, I also just felt the need to say that while I am more agnostic on men’s bowties apart from formal wear, Rep. McHenry looks more ridiculous in one than any man I’ve ever seen who was not trying to be funny. Does no one at his home, or even his office, ever look at him for a moment and just shake their head, “No?”
NotMax
@MMM
What you get when your PDA overheats?
;)
Pennsylvanian
Cranky John Cole is my favorite John Cole, historically.
So happy for you on the upcoming nuptials! If we need to crowdfund a water source, moving specialist, animal transfer, or some such whatever, sign me up.
Many blessings on your camels…and other creatures…and so absolutely joyous at your love and care for people, pets and stray creatures of dubious ancestry…you are the ultimate mensch.
Don’t let AZ change you!
Jackie
John: 👍🏻
That is all. Agree 100%
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
Random thought.
The good people aren’t perfect, why must we endure perfect assholes?
Jay
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation:
Stop dissing the sphincter,…..
Jackie
@Suzanne: All that’s wonderful! No complaints from those benefits.
It’s the shorter days (less daylight) and longer nights (less daylight) that sucks. SAD syndrome is a bummer for those of us who NEED sunlight.
kindness
@MMM: I saw them last month. They played Napa and I went. It’s odd, they’ll tour the country 2 or 3 times in a year and we get 2 shows total in N. Cal. We’ve always treated them nice. I don’t know why they avoid us.
jhe
Been following this blog since ~ 2008 and I just have to say that the proprietor is my spirit animal.
NotMax
Of some interest, even if much of it is squinting at a befogged crystal ball from a distance.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Jay: Sorry, I was only referring to metaphorical assholes. The other kind is essential and often a source for great joy.
Jackie
@CaseyL: You’re not describing east of the Cascades where sunshine rules in the Fall😊
Hoppie
The worst: Hiding the sausage, perhaps?
Noskilz
Stakes and emotions are high with a lot of ghosts are coming home to roost – so many dead people on all sides of the conflict, with so many more deaths ahead.
It seems like there are just all these really awful situations getting back into the spotlight at once. People who feel they’ve been ignored feel the need to draw attention to the death and suffering before media boredom sets in. People who fear what is to come likely feel even more pressure to warn of what they fear before it is too late – again. And of course there are always the grifters and trolls trying to turn it to their own advantage.
People often seem to have a hard time with the notion multiple things can be true at the same time, and are unfortunately often willing to ignore the inconvenient bits. Probably more about wanting a straightforward story rather with good and bad guys than malice – at least most of the time.
Hoppie
@Hoppie: i am the threadkiller, be very careful…
Manyakitty
@Suzanne: I get stressed out when the weather is too good. No matter what I’m doing, I feel like it’s the wrong thing and I’m wasting the weather and I end up sitting around and cranky. 🤣
So, yes, bring on the gloomth!
bookworm1398
Well Facebook just informed me that Stanford professor concluded there is no free will. So I’m not responsible for any of my actions.
StringOnAStick
@Jackie: Truly, the fall here in central Oregon has been glorious lately!
prostratedragon
@Suzanne: Nope. Another fan of long cold nights here.
Burnspbesq
Omar and Tlaib are being predictably awful, and it’s inhibiting their ability to do something that needs doing, I.e., to remind Americans that the Palestinians have legitimate grievances that need to be addressed.