Serial gropers
My story goes back to the 1980s. I spent that decade working for a succession of small, community newspapers. When this incident took place, I was working for a suburban weekly as a reporter. It was...
View ArticleI confess! I'm part of a vast conspiracy to defeat Donald Trump
There, I said it. The Trump supporters are right. There is a vast conspiracy to keep Donald Trump out of the White House. And I’m part of it. I just have to come clean.There are millions of us. We’re...
View ArticleThe Al Smith Dinner: She crushed it
I’ve seen a lot this morning about Donald Trump laying an egg at the Al Smith Dinner last night. But I had to go looking to find anything about how Hillary Clinton did.Three word review: She crushed...
View ArticleIt wasn't Kos' fault; he was just wrong
I've read a good number of comments blaming Kos and this site, at least in part, for the massive beating we just took.Kos didn't cause this. Yes, those of us who were not convinced Hillary Clinton was...
View ArticleMoving forward: Our new mantra should be 'It's not a zero-sum game'
Bernie, Hillary, POC, white working class males, LGBTs, straights… It doesn’t matter how you slice it, it just isn’t a zero-sum game. It’s not. Increasing access for one group does not diminish the...
View ArticleWe need to be more convincing; our survival depends on it
We didn’t talk politics at the Thanksgiving table yesterday. Not that there would have been arguments — we’re all disheartened by the outcome of the election. There are no Trumpians in my family. But...
View ArticleKos: I'm angry too
Kos is angry. I don’t blame him. I’m angry too.Like a lot of people, I’ve been struggling with my emotions since the night of Nov. 8. There are a thousand reasons. Losing the Supreme Court for a...
View ArticleWhat if Trump's election is overturned?
There are two scenarios going around that could overturn Trump’s electoral college victory, though I consider both longer than the longest long shot.1. Thirty-seven electors don’t vote for the...
View ArticleSMHRB: One small repair
The Saturday Morning Home Repair Blog (SMHRB) is where we gather to discuss the many and varied aspects of home repair. Some here are trained professionals. Some, talented DIYers. All are welcome....
View ArticleA frame I'd like to see discarded
If Hillary/Obama/a Democrat did that, Republicans would go batshit!The examples are beyond counting. Trump’s travel expenses in a single month are almost equal to a year of President Obama’s travel...
View ArticleI have a simple solution for the whole transgender public restroom thing
Urinals. That’s the problem.When men go to a public restroom, chances are, they use a urinal rather than a full-fledged toilet (unless they went there to drop a deuce, but we’ll just pass that...
View ArticleSMHRB: Smoke gets in your eyes
Welcome again to Saturday Morning Home Repair blogging, where we talk about fixing houses and the things in them that are supposed to work for us. An ad hoc cadre of building professionals and gifted...
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Do not go gentle into that good night
…Rage, rage against the dying of the light.Ollie lived on this earth for fourteen and a half years and a few days. In that time, he seldom gave an inch or a rat’s ass about what anybody expected of...
View ArticleI can't wait for Bret Kavanaugh's TV court show
I’ve been helping a friend through a course of five-day-a-week medical treatments. In the treatment room, the technician keeps the TV (there to help the patients stay calm through an uncomfortable...
View ArticleSMHRB: The garage door... OMG, the garage door
Welcome again to Saturday Morning Home Repair blogging, where we talk about fixing houses and the things in them that are supposed to work for us. An ad hoc cadre of building professionals and gifted...
View ArticleI'm going to vote; I'm gonna vote HARD
Warning: Salty language aheadEleven days to go. Oh yeah, I’m going to vote a week from Tuesday. I’m gonna vote HARD. I may break some pencils. I may stick that ballpoint pen on a string right through...
View ArticleWhat Black Panther and Aquaman taught me about American politics
If you think I’m going to say something deep or important here — sorry -- OK, not sorry. I’m going to talk about the political implications of two very popular superhero movies that came out this...
View ArticleDoes Medicare For All really abolish the insurance industry?
Does Medicare For All abolish the insurance industry? I know it sounds like it would. If everybody has to pay the taxes that fund Medicare, why would anybody choose to pay for private insurance as...
View ArticleIs breaking up Facebook the answer?
Bernie Sanders is calling for Facebook to be broken up.I'm not a Facebook fan, in fact, I fucking hate Facebook. They were a major player on turning my country over to Donald Trump. It's a ridiculous...
View ArticleWhy a Trump impeachment wouldn't be like the Clinton impeachment
This is going to be short, because it’s really, really simple.Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about something that nobody had the right to ask about, and had zero impact on how he governed.I was...
View ArticleA f*cking traffic accident
The events of this diary took place last September.It was about 8:15 p.m. It was dark. It was raining. Not a gully washer, just a steady drizzle. Enough to make the pavement wet.I was driving home...
View ArticleThe busing question
Lets start with a disclaimer. I am not a Joe Biden apologist. Truth be told, Harris is my current preference. However, if Joe Biden is the eventual nominee, he’s my candidate. The same is true for...
View ArticleBan private insurance?
I don’t have any statistics to offer. What I have is my experience as a member of a union (the Newspaper Guild) who had employer-provided health insurance as a benefit back before I retired and three...
View ArticleDear Mr. Steyer: Don't do this
We don’t need you in the Democratic primary race for president.On the surface, we don’t need another billionaire businessman in the White House. We’ve tried that and it did not work out well.Oh, I know...
View ArticleVice President Pence: What would Jesus do?
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you...
View ArticleAn investigation: Does Donald Trump have bones?
Trump says he doesn’t have a racist bone in his body. Maybe it’s true. Maybe he doesn’t have any bones.First, we need to determine what a racist bone looks like. Has anyone ever seen one? I haven’t....
View ArticleThe Great Hack on Netflix will chill you to the bone
The Great Hack on RogerEbert.comThis is a new documentary on Netflix. I watched it this afternoon. I know, I should have been watching the Mueller hearing, but I watched the morning and the Republican...
View ArticleTrump is not a 'counterpuncher'
Whenever Trump spits out one of his vile insults, racist tropes, inane nicknames, his surrogates all say “He’s a counter puncher.”He’s not a counter puncher. A counter puncher absorbs the blow, then...
View ArticleJust the facts, ma'am
Yeah, Jeffery Epstein’s death stinks. There are lots of questions about how he died and how he was allowed to die. But without the answers to those questions, my conspiracy theory is just as good as...
View ArticleA new, urgent reason to impeach
Whether you love me or hate me you have to vote for me. — Donald TrumpDonald Trump told a rally this morning that if he didn’t win the election everybody’s 401k fund would collapse and the American...
View ArticleThe Making of a Secular Humanist
We used to have sort of a mystery in my family. For some reason, when asked about our ethnicity my older sister and I would say “Jewish.” My two younger brothers would say “German.” My brothers would...
View ArticleSo, let's say Soleimani really was planning an imminent attack against us
A simple question: How does killing him stop the planned attack? As far as I know, being a general and all, had people working for him that did all the actual attack stuff. So, once he’s made a plan,...
View ArticleDr. Trumplove, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb
The general consensus this week has been that we've been experiencing an entirely new level of batshit crazy from Trump. He almost started World War III. But, you know what, this hasn't been anything...
View ArticleBernie supporters, Liz supporters: You're kneecapping yourselves -- STOP IT
I’m an Elizabeth Warren supporter. But my second choice is Bernie Sanders. I was a Bernie supporter in 2016.Sanders and Warren are the two candidates who most closely match my ideology. I’d really like...
View ArticleIn what legal system is extortion not a crime?
Alan Dershowitz was on CNN this morning saying he’s only helping Trump’s defense against impeachment because he’s against impeachment, not for Trump. That idea in itself is suspect, but let’s let it go...
View ArticleOn my honor, I promise to shut up about this now
Well, not exactly now. There wouldn’t be much point to a diary where I didn’t say anything. But after this diary, I will drop the subject of this diary until at least after November.First, I’m not...
View ArticleI'm backing Bernie, but I expect Biden to win
Like I said in the title, I’m backing Bernie, but I expect Biden to win. I don’t think there’s a conspiracy against Bernie. I think Biden just has broader appeal. But I’m still going to back Bernie —...
View ArticleThe *other* reason conservatives want to reopen states
Conservatives want to reopen the country because “the cure is worse than the disease.” When you’re talking about a potentially fatal illness, this is a difficult argument to understand. The fatality...
View ArticleAnother form of voter suppression
I have a friend who has just moved from Illinois to Michigan. Upon establishing her residence here by purchasing a house, she went to her new city clerk and registered to vote. That part was easy. But...
View ArticleWe have met the enemy and they are us
I have to thank Chitown Kev for pointing me to this article this morning:www.theatlantic.com/…It’s an analysis of all the Jan. 6 insurrection participants who have been charged so far.“In recent weeks,...
View ArticleStanding in line at the grocery store
So, a couple of days ago I was standing in line at the checkout in my local grocery store. The line was long because they only had two registers open. An elderly woman standing behind me says: “They...
View Article'If the vaccine works, then why doesn't it work?' Or why you can't change an...
Here’s the punchline up front: You can’t change an antivaxer’s mind because he doesn’t understand what a vaccine is.Many years ago, I got into one of those total-waste-of-time arguments about the...
View ArticleI don't know what's going on in Ukraine and neither do you
In my past life as a journalist, there was a story that had been floating around the newsroom for ages about a rookie reporter who covered his first basketball game with a story that more or less went:...
View ArticleAbout those anti drug price setting ads
No doubt you've seen those TV ads against “drug price setting.” The ones that moan about price setting cutting off research on new drugs.They infuriate me. They are based on the fantasy that drug...
View ArticleTwo bars, dammit
I'm 71 years old and diabetic. So, you can be sure I've paid attention to Covid precautions. I mask when I shop, I avoid crowds and I've been to exactly one movie in a theater in the past three years...
View ArticleThe Logic of Gun Fetishists
I can repeat over and over that the framers of the Constitution were talking about establishing an all-volunteer army when they wrote the Second Amendment, not the right of citizens to rise up against...
View ArticleSelf publishing, is it worth the trouble?
I’m going to start with a question for Mark Sumner. Mind you, I’m not asking for dollar amounts.But a few years ago, you published a short science fiction novel, first serializing it here, and then...
View ArticleCNN, Discovery, HBO, the Frankenstein of network mergers
So, Chris Licht is out. I wish that meant CNN was going to come back from the dead, but the same people are pulling the strings, so I think it's doubtful.Really, who thought combining HBO, CNN and...
View ArticleUm... what was I going to write about?
I was trying to text a friend about how my opthalmologist appointment went yesterday, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember the word “dialate.” You know, the drops the put in your eyes.Clearly, I...
View ArticleTrump can't find a bondsman
Trump has been unable to find anyone willing to lend him the bond for his fraud judgment. He's now back asking the judge, for the 2nd time, to accept $100 million instead of $454 million-plus.Fat...
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