I saw this on Bluesky today. Using an image because I’m not sure why, but enjoy, if that’s the word:
Friends, I’m starting to think we’re in trouble here. I know the cabinet is stuffed with toadies, each one more toadying than the last, but at some point people — even his own people — have to be getting a wee bit concerned. They’re not all pushing 80. The soft bed of wingnut welfare is not unlimited in size and scope; at some point the grift will run out, and there will be no more book contracts, sinecures at right-wing think tanks or panel spots on cable news. Everyone has to be thinking exit strategy, and not just from Iran.
Meanwhile, our portfolio continues to drop in value as the stock market declines. Young people can’t find jobs — in a labor shortage. The other day I watched that Netflix doc on “the manosphere” and I was struck by…well, by a lot of things, but at one point the host, Louis Theroux, talks to two young men who idolize one of the rancid “influencers” Theroux is profiling. These boys are not, needless to say, the sharpest knives in the drawer. Rather, they’re the kind of dumb fucks who will pay an extra $20 to get their comment featured during a live chat for a second or two, who believe these trashy grifters who claim to have made £1,500 before they got out of bed, because their crypto or supplement brand or parlay or something else rose in value. Of course these two youngsters want their own piece of the pie, and talk about red pills and blue pills and all that stupid shit. (I had to explain the concept of red and blue pills to Alan, who never saw “The Matrix,” bless his heart.)
“The 9 to 5, that’s the matrix,” one said, and all I could think is, son, you have no idea. Once upon a time we all had one, yeah, one job. If you went to college, that one job was the e-ticket to at least the middle class and maybe higher. It was often a pain in the ass, maybe you considered your own soul-crushing, but at 5 p.m. you could slide outta there like Fred Flintstone down the dinosaur tail and start the portion of your life known as “personal.” You weren’t reachable 24/7. You didn’t have to be “making content” all the time to keep your idiot followers happy.
And in time, even the bad job memories fade. I recently learned one of the bosses of my youth is in ailing health, and I called him and we had a perfectly pleasant 45-minute catch-up. All was forgiven. (This is not true for all bosses, I should add.)
I started work on an essay that began with a working title — the unquiet death of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy — but is evolving into something else. I was thinking offering it to the Freep, but it’s a little too women’s-pages for an op-ed. I’ll let it marinate. But it gets into this, a little bit, the idea that once upon a time we weren’t all grubbing for the few dollars that haven’t been hoovered up by Jeff Bezos, et al, and life was better.
Meanwhile, how many of you saw Zohran Mamdani’s St. Patrick’s Day message?
Happy St. Patrick's Day, New York.
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@mayor.nyc.gov) March 17, 2026 at 11:23 AM
A generational talent, this guy.
How was everyone’s weekend? I spent mine working on our taxes, and I must say, TurboTax has lost a step; it’s not giving me the performance I’ve come to expect. I’m going to investigate FreeTaxUSA next year, but for this I’m committed, and it’s not going well. Stupid Intuit spent too much money on lobbyists, and not enough on user interface.
I did find time for the Sunday swim, followed by the vast feast to fill the hole that inevitably asserts itself in the shower afterward. Then I felt logy all afternoon, but I closed my rings with a vengeance, so who cares.
Have a good week, all.
David C said on March 22, 2026 at 7:02 pm
We used FreeTaxUSA last year and again this year. It was good last year when our taxes were very simple. We had only my W-2, Mary’s Social Security 1099, 1099s for each of our pensions, and not enough deductions to itemize. This year it was more complicated by two state returns. I thought they did fine on our Wisconsin return. I’m suspicious of our Michigan return. I thought the interface for Michigan was wonkier than Wisconsin. That may be because in my estimation almost everything in Michigan is wonkier than in Wisconsin. We got a much higher refund from Michigan than I thought possible. I ran everything twice and it came out the same. So we’ll see if we get a Dear Taxpayer letter. The Federal was free, the state returns were $15.99 each which beats the rest of them by a mile.
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Jeff Borden said on March 22, 2026 at 7:07 pm
The damage is generational…another lovely gift from us Baby Boomers…and I don’t expect to live long enough to see it repaired. It seems very likely the American experiment is running out of steam.
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Suzanne said on March 22, 2026 at 7:58 pm
I love Mamdani but some of that is because he looks a heck of lot like my oncologist, who I hold in highest esteem. I hope both of them stick around for a long time.
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Jeff Gill said on March 22, 2026 at 8:04 pm
Oh, the aspirational dream of that dinosaur tail slide, and evenings with the Loyal Order of Water Buffalos (oes?). It feels as if it was an archaic idea, to have one job that could offer up a secure life to retirement, even by 1985. Definitely by 2000.
And I regret to report the year of Y2K is now over a quarter century in our collective rearview mirrors.
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Deborah said on March 22, 2026 at 8:09 pm
I tried watching The Manosphere a couple of days ago and felt ill after about 15 minutes. Today I decided to grit my teeth and finish it because I’ve been reading so much about it, Lordy those guys are absolutely horrible.
The good guy won the mayoral election in Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire. Good news for cities everywhere.
Things in Iran are really getting dangerous, I’m afraid Trump is gonna go nuclear. We’re going to watch Dr. Strangelove again tonight.
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alex said on March 22, 2026 at 9:55 pm
Bari Weiss is probably shitting herself over the realization that Mamdani is not only a better storyteller than she is, and tons more relatable, but that her campaign to make him look like the anti-Christ (or, rather, the anti-Jew) is going to come back to bite her in the ass.
Fine summerlike weekend here. I spent it cleaning up after what God hath wrought the last week or so. The windstorms dumped more leaves on my yard than the trees did last fall, and I still haven’t begun to deal with the fallen tree that’s the capstone of all that mess.
Made a NYT chicken florentine for family dinner this evening and tomorrow I’m heading down to French Lick for a few days to hang out with friends who scored a timeshare condo for a week.
Just had a look-see at my retirement assets and they’re the lowest they’ve been since Liberation Day, although not that low yet. I bet they’ll surge when somebody offs that sumbitch and I’ll remember him in my prayers tonight.
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Julie Robinson said on March 22, 2026 at 10:58 pm
That’s the most depressing St. Patrick’s Day greeting ever, but he’s not wrong about the history.
I’ve had bad TurboTax experiences two years running now, and will try elsewhere next year too. They get me with inertia and poor eyesight; such a pain to type in all those tiny numbers on the documents.
Our 401K is in a fund that takes fewer risks as we age, but also won’t earn as much. I haven’t looked because it makes me crazy. Our kids have more education than us, earn less, and have lousy retirement plans. No wonder the birth rates are dropping.
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Deborah said on March 22, 2026 at 10:58 pm
So we watched Dr. Strangelove tonight, it had many years since I had seen it and there are lots of prescient scenarios it’s crazy. Seriously you should watch it will astound you. Mainly watching all of these inept, insane men acting ridiculously is exactly what we have going on now.
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ROGirl said on March 23, 2026 at 6:10 am
Had my taxes done on Friday. My tax guy is trumpy, foxy, gets his medical information from you tube videos. My accounts did really well last year, but the gains were all wiped out since the Iran attack. He did agree with me that Iran had not been an imminent threat, contrary to one of the many excuses.
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alex said on March 23, 2026 at 10:28 am
I was surprised not to see any skepticism in the media regarding Trump’s claims that Iran has come to the negotiating table. Krugman, as usual, nails it:
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/adventures-in-fantasy-diplomacy
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nancy said on March 23, 2026 at 11:54 am
“It’s Monday morning. Donald Trump has, at least for the time being, called off plans to bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure. He has done so because, according to him, highly productive negotiations are underway involving the government of Iran, an invisible six-foot white rabbit, and his Canadian girlfriend.”
Who knew economists could be so funny?
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Deborah said on March 23, 2026 at 12:27 pm
Krugman can be a riot. I always watch his videos.
I’m still stunned by Dr. Strangelove. Some of the things in the movie that are both hilarious and right on are the toxic masculine antics by the actors playing “tough guys”, just like Hegseth. One scene where they have a long table in the pentagon loaded with luxury foods next to the ginormous table of cabinet members and military leaders like the cabinet meetings that trump has with his dopes and reports of millions being spent at the Pentagon on lobster etc. The scenes where Peter Sellers plays Dr. Strangelove struggling to contain his hand from doing the nazi salute conjures Musk’s actions. When Sellers plays the president talking to the Russian president or prime minister on the phone have to be exactly how trump must sound when he talks to Putin, you can just imagine that’s what it must be like. Peter Sellers is fantastic playing the three different characters and George C. Scott is spot on in his role. The whole scenario of the errant bomber and the mentally ill general ordering it is freaky considering the bumbling idiocy and insanity happening today.
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Peter said on March 23, 2026 at 12:36 pm
“MEIN FURHER….I CAN WALK!!!!”
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Mark P said on March 23, 2026 at 12:47 pm
One difference between President Muffley in Dr Strangelove and our Nightmare on Pennsylvania Ave president is that when the Russian president tells Muffley about the doomsday device, Muffley understands what it means. Trump wouldn’t. He would probably start bragging that we have a doomsday device, too, and we’re going to explode it.
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Icarus said on March 23, 2026 at 12:54 pm
I’m still going with my theory that the GOP and his enablers are trying to rein in The Tangerine Palpatine as best they can until Jan 21, 2027, so that Vance can take over and then try to win two consecutive terms. Meanwhile, he knows they are going to cut him loose, so he is trying to break everything he can until then.
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Jeff Gill said on March 23, 2026 at 1:32 pm
My token wager of a York Peppermint Patty is that Vance realizes he’s gotten in way too deep into the Big Muddy, can’t figure out how to turn around, and is going to flail his way out by some unexpected means in hopes of keeping a shot alive for, say, 2032. He’s 48 then, just 52 in 2036. I’m not trying to defend or support the guy in any way at all, I just get a sense that he’s seeing how the wind is blowing, and is watching for a moment to bail out.
Marco, on the other hand… he’s 57 next round, a mere 61 in 2032 (how young that seems now), 65 in 2036. And I don’t detect any patience there. He sees an opening to grab at the successor role, and he’s gunning for it. Vance is not sticking his head up much, and I would bet an extremely small sum on him letting Rubio pass him on the left and take the lead. Because whoever takes the lead for 2028 is going to be facing headwinds aplenty, not to mention enfilading fire from the MAGA fringe. Like Elvis, it all seems fringe, but there’s MAGA elements (teleportation, anyone?) who will find Rubio far too “centrist” for their tastes.
I’d just like to see the Dems put up someone other than Newsom. I’ll vote for him if that’s the soup of the day, but I think we can do better. (Gavin is 61 this cycle on Election Day, so 65 in 2032, 69 in 2036 which we might finally start to think is too old for a chief executive. But short term he might grow on me.)
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Scout said on March 23, 2026 at 1:34 pm
Dump’s Iran stories change more often than his Depends. Sitting here listening to the birds chirping outside, and my mind automatically goes to what life will feel like if (when?) the stable genius decides to unleash the nukes. Nobody will stop him, I fear. I’m 68 years old and never before seriously thought it could happen. My golden years are tarnished, filled with dread and anxiety. I will NEVER EVER forgive anyone who voted for him after 2016.
Intuit. That corp is on my shit list forever. I’ve used Quickbooks for work since the 90’s. We bought many updated versions of the software when required. Then they decided to go on the subscription model, which costs our teeny weeny little company $2,500 a year. Last year I finally said no more. I put our archived files on a thumb drive and gave it to our CPA; and then started running our checkbook ledger through an Excel spreadsheet instead. It’s more work but so worth it to give the finger to those greedy bastards.
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Sherri said on March 23, 2026 at 2:18 pm
I’m hoping for someone better than Newsom, too, and I think the way the winds are blowing in the Dem party, Newsom won’t win the nomination. He went all in early on the shift to the right, throwing trans people under the bus, and I don’t think that’s going to hold up well.
But Newsom will redefine himself three or four more times between now and ‘28, so who knows. Of Dem governors, though, I think Pritzker has done a better job positioning himself.
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Sherri said on March 23, 2026 at 2:23 pm
As for the Republican side, if there is a post Trump, anything could happen. Neither Vance nor Rubio is particularly popular among MAGAts. I think we could see something crazy like Tucker Carlson come in and wipe out the politicians.
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Scout said on March 23, 2026 at 2:28 pm
Sherri – agree on Pritzker. He has stepped up in a very statesmanship way without being a mealy mouthed decorum appeaser. So far, he’s my pick.
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kayak woman said on March 23, 2026 at 3:03 pm
Our tax procedure is that my husband “does” the taxes with turbo tax, then we send it off to a trusted accountant. Turbo Tax worked smoothly for quite a few years. This year it was a nightmare and he had to “re-load” some things multiple times. Very painful even for me, in the next room. You could have cut the tension in the house with a knife. I have no polite words for Trump and his shenanigans.
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Sherri said on March 23, 2026 at 3:29 pm
We gave up on doing our own taxes a couple of years ago and pay an accountant now. Software has been degrading over the last few years, and vibe coding is going to accelerate the process.
Tech companies are laying off engineers not because AI can do the work of the engineers, but because they’re spending so much money on AI without corresponding revenues that they have to cut costs elsewhere to keep Wall Street happy. Never mind that unless AI magically starts producing revenue, revenues will drop without the engineers who actually produced the revenue. That’s a next quarter problem.
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Sherri said on March 23, 2026 at 3:36 pm
Airport security has always been a little too much security theater, but deploying ICE agents to stand around, armed, in groups in airports and literally do nothing goes well beyond security theater.
At least they’re not wearing masks, though still not wearing identification.
Someone should suggest other stupid ideas for ICE agents to Trump. Like he could send them to Oman to dig a canal alternative to the Strait of Hormuz!
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Mark P said on March 23, 2026 at 5:43 pm
Our taxes are just about as simple as possible since I retired. Our social security plus any IRA withdrawal and we’re done. I have used Onlines Tax for a couple of years. Federal returns are free.
I like our senator, Jon Ossof. His speeches, from what I have seen, are quite good. But right now he’s below the radar for pretty much everyone. He’s running for reelection this year.
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David C said on March 23, 2026 at 5:46 pm
Trump says we’re close to a deal that Iran won’t do what they weren’t doing. Wall Street has premature ejaculation. Iran says it’s all bullshit. I never thought I’d believe Iran over our government. But I do.
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Mark P said on March 24, 2026 at 12:44 am
Who to believe?
Iran? Probably not? Maybe?
Israel? No.
The U.S.? Oh hell no!
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Jakash said on March 24, 2026 at 1:03 am
Sherri and Scout mentioned Pritzker, who’s done a fine job in Illinois, IMHO. There was a nice article in the Chicago Sun-Times today about his speech at the Gridiron Club.
You should be able to read it for free, but you might need to give them an email address. In case nobody wants to do that, I’ll just post some of his funny lines:
“‘I’m JB Pritzker, governor of the great state of Illinois, and if you’re seeing me in person for the very first time, yes, I’m the gov who put ‘gov’ in Wegovy,’ Pritzker said, referring to the popular weight-loss drug…”
“‘As far as my own plans for 2028, here’s what I’ll say right now, I’m 100% focused on the people of Illinois,’ Pritzker said. ‘That’s not just me talking. That’s also a 2006 quote from Barack Obama.'”
“‘It’s too bad Stephen Miller couldn’t be here tonight. Unfortunately, he had a previous commitment — mass deporting a quinceañera,’ Pritzker said. ‘I mean, white tie, you’d think he’d be into it. Maybe next year if the invite said white hood. Just think how much more damage Miller would do if he could go outside in the daylight.'”
Rahm Emanuel, former mayor of Chicago, was there, too.
“Pritzker and Emanuel are longtime friends and are often grouped together on 2028 presidential lists. ‘When we chatted earlier, Rahm told me to go f— myself, but it’s nice to know that I’m back on his good side,’ Pritzker said.”
https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2026/03/21/pritzker-quips-weight-loss-rahm-2028-buzz-washington-speech
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alex said on March 24, 2026 at 8:38 am
Confirmed: Somebody made $580M in oil futures trading minutes before Trump’s announcement on Monday.
https://open.substack.com/pub/paulkrugman/p/treason-in-the-futures-markets?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
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Icarus said on March 24, 2026 at 12:25 pm
Alex, how can us “little guys” do the same thing? Asking for me.
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tajalli said on March 24, 2026 at 3:01 pm
The title about the approaching cliff immediately brought “lemmings” to mind and what it’s like to be at the mercy of a brainless mob. Other world powers are not even pretending to negociate with him anymore.
For the past 10 days we’ve been having a very hot June or September weather pattern, except wait … it’s only March. My leftover-from-last-year cherry tomato plant is flowering and setting fruit, so I won’t complain.
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Deborah said on March 24, 2026 at 6:43 pm
A friend of ours in CA showed us a photo of the temp on his phone where he was a couple of days ago – 106º in March. Crazy.
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tajalli said on March 24, 2026 at 7:42 pm
Today it is a modest 81 degrees while a week ago Monday it was 90. It’s usually much hotter in the Central Valley and in the southern portions of the state.
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Sherri said on March 24, 2026 at 8:55 pm
Gas is up to $4.99 at Costco now, and as high as $5.75 at other stations in Redmond. Too bad the rest of us can’t insider trade on what the administration is going to do.
I see that Pete Hegseth’s pastor is praying for James Talarico to die. Does that mean it’s okay for us to pray for Trump to die?
I find it fascinating that Hegseth thinks beards are bad for soldiers, and yet, so many ICE agents playing dress up soldier have beards. Of course, I also find it interesting that almost all the men in Hegseth’s religious circle are also bearded. Maybe manly Pete can’t grow a full beard? I assumed the lack of chest hair in photos was because he manscaped.
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