Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let’s show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

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

We still have time to mess this up!

In my day, never was longer.

When the time comes to make an endorsement, the pain of NYT editors will be palpable as they reluctantly whisper “Biden.”

Cole, when it comes to calico cats, restraint is overrated.

Republicans don’t trust women.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Joe Biden can go out like FDR, not by dying in office, but by crushing the fascists.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

It’s not hopeless, and we’re not helpless.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

White supremacy is terrorism.

There’s always a light at the end of the frog.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / We’re So Fucked

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127Comments

  4. 4.

    Scout211

    We’re So Fucked

    I don’t agree. It may look bad right now but I just don’t agree that we are fucked.

    Also, has this blog turned into a home base for doom scrolling?

  5. 5.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    We could simply seize the means of production and then we could all be bosses of proportionate stature.

  6. 6.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @FNWA:

    Heh, my first thought as well.

    As with the Onion, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish parody from the real thing.

  10. 10.

    Baud

    Seriously, did anyone read the article? I just don’t see how the mega rich are pleased with either Biden or Trump.

    And if there are mega rich supporting Biden, more power to them.  We need to beat fascism.

  21. 21.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    Somewhere Conrad Siegfried must be smiling.

    If ‘Bama pulls of this upset it’s mass Kaos for college football.

    Georgia and Florida St. would be out of the playoffs and Texas and the Tide would be in.🧨 🤯

  22. 22.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Scout211: Also, has this blog turned into a home base for doom scrolling?

    Wait, I thought we were having fun here. Is this not all meant as ironic?

  24. 24.

    smith

    Hey, now, WaPo has found itself a cozy spot nestled in the bosom of Jeff Bezos’ imperial state, why don’t you peasants just relax and think of England follow our lead and accept our new masters with good grace?

  25. 25.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud:

    Seriously, did anyone read the article?

    It’s a nothing article about Nikki Haley getting money from the Koch brothers and other rich guys looking to fund her, as well.

    Rich men funding awful Republican candidates. big whoop.

    They aren’t talking about anything new.

    The influence of the old bosses, including powerful governors, mayors and other party leaders, began to wane over half a century ago when, after the tumultuous 1968 Chicago convention, the Democratic Party revamped rules to give more power over the selection of national convention delegates, and therefore the eventual nominee, to voters.

    Congress, too, had a hand in the changes. After the Watergate scandal, Congress enacted new campaign finance laws designed to limit both individual contributions and overall spending by candidates. A system of federal-matching funds provided candidates with money from a voluntary taxpayer-funded pool to match smaller contributions. It was built on a bargain: In return for getting those federal funds, candidates agreed to abide by spending limits.

    That system began to erode about two decades ago as candidates with the capacity to raise money far beyond the spending limits opted out of the system. That allowed them to spend freely in the nomination contest. Over time, the whole system collapsed, putting candidates who could not raise huge amounts of money through individual contributions at a disadvantage.

    It goes on to talk about Citizens United.

    I only skimmed it, but it seems to me that there is nothing new in this article.  It’s just there for clicks (for them) and discouragement (for us).

    Fuck that.

    Is Dan Balz considered one of the good guys?

  26. 26.

    Tony Jay

    The Cannibal Babymunchers are the new heads of Kindergarten. Is this bad for child safety?

    How about it, Dan Balz? Want to take a wild guess?

  31. 31.

    tmulcaire

    @FNWA: what Dan Balz has in his hopper:

    “Is it bad for the dryness of your house if your roof leaks?”

    “Is it bad for a cat if a pack of starving dogs chases it?”

    “Is having a deadly illness bad for your health?”

    Balz is an elder statesman at the Post.  Only the most pressing debates cross his desk.

  33. 33.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    OMG – After all the anti-Harbaugh sabotage by the NCAA and Ohio St, Michigan is going to be the new number ONE team in the country (yes, they’re going to flatten Iowa)

  34. 34.

    R'Chard

    What with Citizens United, corporations that turn out to be people, and educational, medical, legislative, and judicial systems that favor the wealthy, I really do not see what else one could expect.

  36. 36.

    Scout211

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Wait, I thought we were having fun here. Is this not all meant as ironic?

    I am actually pleased that it has turned ironic and funny.  Thank you for that.

    I am not sure that’s how it started, though, or how some of the comment threads are going lately.

    Carry on.

  37. 37.

    WaterGirl

    @R’Chard:  WordPress doesn’t like nyms with apostrophes in them.  So we have to manually approve your comments each time.

    There is a look-alike character that WordPress is okay with.

  38. 38.

    Another Scott

    Kinda-sorta related…

    Our Ellie is about out of her Omega-3 fish oil supplement, so I was just poking around Amazon.

    The stuff we were originally using was labeled as being from Bayer, and now says is from “Elanco” (same basic label) but is only available in tiny capsules for some reason, so I started looking at other brands. What’s this “Nutri-Vet” stuff? Some division of “Manna Pro” whatever that is. Says it’s a US company, but the web page doesn’t actually say where it is. Hmm… Who owns them??

    November 2020:
    The Carlyle Group to Acquire Leading Pet Health and Nutrition Provider Manna Pro Products from Morgan Stanley Capital Partners

    JFC!

    The MotU banksters are everywhere!

    (Gov. Fuzzy Vest was a bigwig at Carlyle before he decided to run for governor.)

    [ sigh ]

    Gotta keep looking…

    We can beat the monsters, but we have to keep our wits about us.

    Hang in there, everyone.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  41. 41.

    danielx

    Only a Villager could phrase that as a question. Yeah, Dan Balz (yes, card carrying villager), heart in the right place, etc., but the mindset….

  44. 44.

    Steeplejack

    @R’Chard:

    Based on WaterGirl’s comment, just copy this version of your nym—
    R’Chard
    —and then make a new comment with it that she can approve. Then you’ll be good to go.

  46. 46.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… MASS HYSTERIA!

  48. 48.

    Another Scott

    @R’Chard: @WaterGirl:

    I don’t see Steeplejack around.

    StackOverflow.com has some pointers.

    ’
    [ & r s q u o ; – without the spaces between the characters ]

    should work as a curly apostrophe that won’t break the blog.

    Let’s see… Seems to work?

    HTH!

    [eta:] and Steeplejack appears!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  49. 49.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Baud: Cole obviously doesn’t read past the headlines. Typical bourgeoisie.

    I didn’t even get that far. I’m only now coming to the realization that this dude’s name is Balz.

    Much tittering will now ensue.

  50. 50.

    Marmot

    @Scout211:

    I am actually pleased that it has turned ironic and funny.  Thank you for that.

    I am not sure that’s how it started, though, or how some of the comment threads are going lately.

    Yep, I approve, Jackals.

    As for the trendiness of doom,  I was thinking I oughtta graph it by average number of daylight hours.

  52. 52.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Marmot: As for the trendiness of doom, I was thinking I oughtta graph it by average number of daylight hours.

    You’ll have to control for personality type.

  53. 53.

    WaterGirl

    @Another Scott:  I have kinda given up on trying to explain this to people, so I thought we would try to just give them the alternate nym to paste into the nym field.

    I actually called Steep and asked him to type the new version of the nym in a comment – with the alternate apostrophe that WordPress doesn’t mind – so we’ll see if R’Chard is still around, then I can approve his first comment with the new nym.

  54. 54.

    CaseyL

    @Scout211:

    Also, has this blog turned into a home base for doom scrolling?

    A bit, yes.  The non-politics posts (and posters) are rare, for any number of reasons.

    I’ve been feeling nostalgic for the days when Cole posted here more often: about his animals, his Fucking Old House*, or his family.  But there are a whole lot of reasons he doesn’t do that much anymore.

    We do have non-political topics, or at least topics that try to start that way:  Medium Cool, On The Road, TaMara’s Respite posts.  I love those, because I – yes, even I! – get so damn tired with politics and the associated doom stuff.

    *Maybe when John moves to Arizona, and he and Joelle decide to renovate her current digs or buy something new, we’ll get more This Fucking House posts.

  56. 56.

    Eolirin

    I was under the impression that it’s fairly standard for the people writing the headlines to not be the people writing the articles.

  59. 59.

    WaterGirl

    @CaseyL:

    The non-politics posts (and posters) are rare, for any number of reasons.

    We get people complaining that there are too many politics and complaining that there are not enough politics threads.  Kinda had to square that circle.

    It is truly impossible to please everyone here.

  60. 60.

    Another Scott

    @WaterGirl: Thanks for the pointer.

    (I don’t know if any of these supplements do any real good, but she’s doing well on them so it seems reasonable to keep it up (especially since she’s always eating a bunch of weird stuff like acorns…).)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  63. 63.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @WaterGirl: If anyone doesn’t like the quality work of our all-volunteer staff, they’re welcome to found their own almost top 10,000 blog.

  65. 65.

    Redshift

    @WaterGirl:

    Is Dan Balz considered one of the good guys?

    He’s not one of the bad ones, but he’s not particularly good either. He occasionally writes something interesting, but mostly he just follows the established narrative, like “Dean Phillips’s challenge to Biden makes Democrats ask if 80 is too old” (not making that up.)

  66. 66.

    Tony Jay

    Oh, and BTW, the second of David Tennant’s three Doctor Who specials aired tonight and may I just say that The Wild Blue Yonder was the closest the series has got to actual, genuine horror in a long time. I have a 10 year old sleeping in our bed tonight because it was that scary in parts.

    Great stuff.

  69. 69.

    wjca

    @Urza: Wait we shouldn’t turn the government over to Elon the Great?

    Of course we should.  Unfortunately,  Elon the Great isn’t on offer; all that’s available is Elon the Putz.  Who is definitely not the way to go.

  72. 72.

    Tony Jay

    @Redshift:

    It’s pathological. It could just as easily have been “Sexually explicit scribble on wall of Derry, Maine, bus-station toilet makes Democrats ask if 80 is too old”. Literally anything would do to get from A to B as far as the Priesthood of the Holy Narrative Are concerned.

  73. 73.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @wjca: Elon the Great isn’t on offer; all that’s available is Elon the Putz.

    Turns out Elon, the Putz, is a puppeteer and Elon, the Great, is a reasonably sophisticated puppet. This was all revealed to me by a very wise terrier.

  83. 83.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    This thread is a gotdamned emotional rollercoaster. I’m here for it.

  84. 84.

    Tony Jay

    @WaterGirl:

    Creepy horror. Bit of genuine dread. Eldritch abominations and vast empty spaces. Tennant and Tate absolutely sell it. Even the bits that would be laugh out loud funny in a different context were absolutely not.

    Put it this way. If my couch wasn’t against the wall, I’d have been behind it.

  86. 86.

    Steeplejack

    @Baud:

    You said (in passing) something like WaterGirl posts only “soft” stuff, seemingly forgetting the news and issues stuff that she does post.

    ETA: If I’m remembering the right occasion; it’s the only one I can remember.

  87. 87.

    Ohio Mom

    @MagdaInBlack: What happened to you this week? I don’t read every thread so I missed your news.

    On the topic of the post, I find it hopeful that the outsized influence of the mega rich is being openly discussed in mainstream media. There’s no chance of change if it isn’t discussed.

  88. 88.

    Baud

    @Steeplejack:

    Oh, I remember that.  I didn’t forget what WG posts.  I also mentioned her fundraising.  I think I acknowledged that WG posts about issues too, but I think it’s fair to say she doesn’t do it every day.  We were discussing Anne Laurie’s work scouring the web for stuff for us to talk about.

    ETA: I certainly wasn’t dissing anyone’s contribution.  Everyone brings something special.

    ETA 2: WG does a shit ton of work for this blog.  I wouldn’t presume to ask her for more.

  91. 91.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    @raven: I hope not, I want things to be edge on your seat dramatic.   That said, Washington, ‘Bama, Wolverines, Longhorns are the 4 conference champions.

  92. 92.

    Dahlia

    From Tony Jay:

    If my couch wasn’t against the wall, I’d have been behind it.

    Ah, the classic Doctor Who viewing position.

  94. 94.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Ohio Mom: Friday on the way to work a woman turned left in front of me and  I hit her. She then backed her car back into the turn lane and accused me of coming in to her lane, hydroplaning in the rain. The hit says differently and it will all work out. I cannot, however, rent a car: long story. That too will work out. I hurt where the seatbelt retracted but other than that nuthin. I work for a body shop, so there’s that.

    Thank you for asking, I was ready to whine a bit. Im over it now 🤗

    Eta: this just cements my ” i am so fkn done with the suburbs.” mindset.

  96. 96.

    Another Scott

    @WaterGirl: Sometimes she gets a little scratchy, but nothing bad.  No giant boils or anything like our Sophie had (poor thing).  We mainly give it to her to keep her from being constipated (she got really backed up when she went nuts eating cicadas during the most recent explosion of the 17 year brood here in 2021).

    Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  97. 97.

    Frankensteinbeck

    I’d say the ultra-rich are having less say over elections, especially presidential elections, all the time.  Witness every time the rich people try to throw in to support an anti-Trump candidate, that candidate disappears.  Biden wasn’t especially the guy the money guys were pushing forward.  For a while now, primaries mostly go to who the actual primary voters think represent them, which on the Republican side is usually the craziest.

    While Citizens United has done plenty of damage, happily a lot of it has been blunted as grifting PACs and political analysts have spotted the ultra-wealthy ideologues as the ultimate marks, willing to throw millions, tens of millions, sometimes hundreds of millions into a hole to Pwn The Libs.

  102. 102.

    Martin

    So, here’s something for people to read – I can’t really do it justice in summary, because who wrote it and when, and what is being described is what matters. This is an Exxon document published in 1978.

    Now, their conclusions were off a bit, but from top to bottom it’s first-order correct. Some things they overstated, but mostly they understated. And this is a better understanding of the problem that half of lawmakers and most of the public. And they spent the last 45 years, and actively are doing so today, denying and fighting this.

  105. 105.

    Martin

    @MagdaInBlack: Sorry to hear this.

    This is why I like my bike so much. I don’t need the stress of driving in my life. I like not having to worry if I fuck up I might kill someone. And it’s cheap as shit. And I get exercise. And it’s fun.

    I’d give anything to also have a tram I could ride. Trying to get my city to get there, even better bus service.

  106. 106.

    Steeplejack

    @Steeplejack:

    For those who must know why, here’s the back-story on the “apostrophes in nyms” thing.

    Because of an idiosyncrasy in WordPress on this site, if your nym has an apostrophe (straight single quote) in it every comment you make will have to be approved by a front-pager, unlike comments from nyms that don’t have an apostrophe.

    There is a way around it. You have to use a formal, “slanted” apostrophe—▶ ’ ◀—a single right quote, rather than the straight quote you get by default when typing.

    You can copy the one above or you can insert one in your nym using the “special characters” gizmo above the comment box. It’s the omega (horseshoe) icon at the right end of the comment toolbar (in Visual mode). You don’t want the first character that looks like a right quote, two spots before §; you want the second one, two spots after ». This is obvious on a computer, where the characters are labeled, but you might need it on your phone.

    You have to do this only once, if you have checked the box to have WordPress remember your nym. (And of course your first comment with the revised nym will have to be approved by a front-pager.)

    Hope this helps.

  107. 107.

    wjca

    @Frankensteinbeck: While Citizens United has done plenty of damage, happily a lot of it has been blunted as grifting PACs and political analysts have spotted the ultra-wealthy ideologues as the ultimate marks, willing to throw millions, tens of millions, sometimes hundreds of millions into a hole to Pwn The Libs.

    Thus demonstrating once again, in case anybody missed the memo, that great wealth does not imply even average good sense.

  108. 108.

    MagdaInBlack

    @eclare:  Yup it is. 27 years in body shop I am not in the least surprised.

    @Martin:  I have a big rant about public transportation and biking in the suburbs, but I’m sure it’s all been covered here.

  110. 110.

    Martin

    @Baud: Give the Qanoners credit for this – they know they’re being constantly gaslit, they just can’t cope with the fact that it’s their team doing most of it.

  111. 111.

    Martin

    @MagdaInBlack: I try.

    My city of 300K says we’re not big enough to operate our own transit system. Excuse me? We’re also one of the richest cities in the country, and cities 1/10th our size have light rail systems. There’s no excuse.

    That said, they’ve almost completely stopped doing single family development and almost everything is multifamily/mixed use. I was participating in their 2045 development plan and it was entirely car optional. In fact it was a bit car hostile. So the city planners get it. Working on city council.

  113. 113.

    Yutsano

    @Tony Jay: Dammit. I need to get on watching that while my clothes dry. And I should have been packed by now except I had to wash my duffel bag so none of that is happening until then.

  114. 114.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Martin: Chicago has a decent, tho I hear lately, not very well run transit system. The suburbs, not so much. Biking for leisure is big but for commuting forget it.

    I once had a professor who biked from Hyde Park (s side) to Union Station and took the train to his job in Naperville ( far west suburb)  I admired that.

  115. 115.

    wjca

    @Martin: Elon Musk is doing gods work providing irrefutable evidence of that.

    No one is utterly useless.  If nothing else, they can serve as a bad example.

  116. 116.

    Hoppie

    @wjca: There is no such thing as useless trivia.  You can always use trivia to bore people. (A button and t-shirt we used to sell)

  117. 117.

    mrmoshpotato

    @MagdaInBlack:

    I once had a professor who biked from Hyde Park (s side) to Union Station and took the train to his job in Naperville ( far west suburb) I admired that. 

    That’s a hike.

  118. 118.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Martin:

    I like not having to worry if I fuck up I might kill someone.

    Of course, in America, all this means is you’re the one who GETS killed when somebody else fucks up instead.

  119. 119.

    Mike G

    Hey Washington Pest,

    “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

  120. 120.

    Martin

    @MagdaInBlack: Yeah, I had a bunch of colleagues that would bike/walk to work (3-5 miles or more). Not one was born in the US. Despite that it still took me 15 years to get on that.

    @Matt McIrvin: Ask any black person who fought for civil rights if it was a risk-free activity. If you want things to change, you gotta put yourself out there. A least the article in the paper will read ‘activist for safer pedestrian and cycling infrastructure killed by motorist’.

  122. 122.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Tony Jay: It reminded me a lot of RTD’s Series 4 episode “Midnight”, which had a very similar premise and vibe (and the same lead actors, theoretically, though Catherine Tate was barely in that one).

  123. 123.

    Dopey-o

    @CaseyL: Maybe when John moves to Arizona, and he and Joelle decide to renovate her current digs or buy something new, we’ll get more This Fucking House posts pests.

  124. 124.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

     the mega rich are the new political bosses

    Maybe they mean Frank Rich🤔

Comments are closed.