Lordy, where did the week go? I’ll tell you: In a million errands, a doctor visit, more errands, all complicated by construction on the major artery at the end of our street. But at the end of the week, all the things on the to-do list are crossed off, and one of them saved us some money. (An adjustment of our car insurance.) So I earned my keep, so to speak.
This is August: Just a big ol’ slog of humidity, road construction and trying to avoid the back-to-school ads everywhere. Realistically, adult summer runs through the end of September, with the beginning of October one of the most glorious parts of life in Michigan. A second June, warm enough to wear shirtsleeves during the day and sweata weatha at night.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Never rush summer, if you can help it.
I need a reset, a place to focus beyond The Current Situation, but is it hard. Every! Goddamn! Day! is something new and horrifying, some outrage against taste or decency or norms or whatever. It’s exhausting. Today alone we got Trump pushback on the Kennedy Center humiliation:
The board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted on Thursday to inscribe President Trump’s name on the building beneath the main signage, according to two people with direct knowledge of the proceedings, aggressively testing a federal judge’s order.
According to the resolution approved by the Trump-allied board, the inscription underneath the institution’s name would read: “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” The board’s decision, which directs officials to act by “all legal means,” came shortly after it voted to move forward with Mr. Trump’s plan to shutter the building for renovations.
We talk from time to time about the word hate. We use it too casually, some say. We say we hate everything from liver and onions to Hallmark movies to exes. Hate makes us prisoners of resentment and fear, our betters tell us. It’s swallowing rat poison and waiting for the rat to die. And so on. Even though my sharp tongue may suggest otherwise, I’m actually a pretty empathetic person. I can see the wounded child inside any number of contemporary monsters, and that alone makes it hard for me to say I hate someone, and mean it.
But honestly? I hate Donald Trump. I will rejoice the day he dies. I hope to live to see it. It’s probably a grave sin to say I pray that I live so long, but it does capture the depth of my contempt.
I also know this isn’t news to anyone, that I’ve been indicating it in a million ways for the last decade, but it’s like every single day this summer, it’s something new. Something stupid in the grand scheme — like the Kennedy Center — or something ghastly, like ICE getting new shock gloves, or the sight of Tubby at his desk proclaiming that “a soda can” of vaccines are injected into children, or the jaw-dropping sums being spent, and often wasted, on bullshit like re-gilding statues and the fucking Reflecting Pool, and well, it adds up.
Add to that the toadies like the Kennedy Center board, or the thousands of other cult members, and it just grows.
The other day I had to stop for a couple things at the grocery, just a few minutes after they opened. This was the fancy store, and I passed an end cap stocked with champagne, the good stuff. First thought: Do they know something I don’t? Was there news breaking overnight? Nah, couldn’t be. I’d know by now. At the top of the shelf was a magnum of Veuve Clicquot, a very nice bottle with a very hefty price tag, and I thought: That’s the bottle I’m buying when he dies, if someone else doesn’t buy it first.
I’ll probably have to throw elbows to get to it. Even here, people will clamor.
These aren’t comfortable thoughts. I am not letting them spoil my summer, but man — they are there, every day.
So. Just one bit of bloggage today, another great piece by an independent journalist, a story that would have been written by the Cleveland Plain Dealer or Akron Beacon-Journal back in the day, on the so-called Patriot Games this week in Geneva, Ohio. It was part of the 250th anniversary barrage of half-baked, badly produced entertainments we’ve had all summer. It’s young people, high school age, competing for big scholarship money ($125,000 for one boy and one girl) in American Ninja Warrior-type contests. Laura Jedeed cut right to the heart of it:
I found the Patriot Games somewhat hard to watch. There was no second place; if you ain’t first, you’re last. Crueler things have happened, of course, than falling just a few seconds short of a college education. Maybe these kids have families who can afford it, I don’t know. It still got to me. I wish there’d at least been second place.
…The American dream of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps was always out of reach for most people, but at least it was a good dream. Now, the dream is: get lucky. Win big. Escape the Matrix and exploit everyone beneath you. No one’s going from grocery clerk to CEO in 21st century America. Those days, to the extent they ever existed, are over.
Desperate people make for good entertainment. They make good subjects too. People barely hanging on aren’t going to take risks, speak out, or unionize, especially if they’ve become convinced that AI can replace them. It’s hard to think straight when your cortisol is high, when you spend so much of your time worrying about making rent or staying out of the hospital. Desperation is good business, and business is booming.
With that? Have a good weekend. You deserve it.
Jeff Gill said on August 14, 2026 at 8:03 am
My very kind & thoughtful and largely apolitical spouse (until a few years ago) observed again recently, possibly in reaction to the soda can ignorant aside: Trump has made me curse, damn him, something I never used to do.
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ROGirl said on August 14, 2026 at 8:57 am
He is the EIC, rhe Enshittifier-in-Chief. He enshittifies everything he touches.
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Julie Robinson said on August 14, 2026 at 9:30 am
Our entire household shares these feelings. We’ve been researching candidates ahead of next week’s primary, and once again my mother is searching for the moderate Republicans and once again she is shocked and disappointed.
On a happier note, who else is following along with AOC as she prepares to freeze her eggs? She blends education about the process with social commentary, noting that the same people promoting having babies are attacking her for trying to do just that. Her Congressional insurance doesn’t cover fertility treatments. I know most insurance doesn’t, but isn’t it supposed to be the best available? Of course, it wasn’t created with the idea of women in office, now was it.
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Jeff Borden said on August 14, 2026 at 9:36 am
I feel a combination of hatred and remorse. Contempt for the bloated boor, of course, but also great sadness from the realization of all that has been lost in just 10 years. And, Christ, we’ve lost so much.
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Icarus said on August 14, 2026 at 10:30 am
Not much to add so I’ll just add my list of acronyms for DJT and everyone can suggest any I missed:
“lying, petulant, insecure, thrice married, serial wife-cheating, porn star-banging, blue collar-worker-stiffing con artist.”
Apricot Pol Pot
Cadet Bone Spurs
Coppertone Caligula
Count of Mostly Crisco
Criminal-in-Chief
Dementia Don
Felon 47
Fanta Menace
Manchurian Cantaloupe
Mango Messiah
Metamucilini
Nostradumbass
Rumplethinskin
Preznit Fukwit
spray-tanned fucking Oompa Loompa
Senile Satan
Tangerine Palpatine
Voldemoron
Kim Jong Orange
Melania
Slovenian Sphinx
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Dave said on August 14, 2026 at 10:56 am
I imagine I say that I hate that vile SOB at least twice a day, then I’ll see something my suck-up senator from Columbia City says, who recently said he didn’t want his daughters growing up in a world where Iran has nuclear weapons, but I gather from that that he doesn’t mind them growing up in a world run by a misogynist rapist who talks down to women all the time, the ones he can’t get to lie for him.
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Mark P said on August 14, 2026 at 11:21 am
It apparently has not been confirmed by anyone aboard the plane whether Caroline Leavitt was on Air Force Tuck and Run. So being an unwilling sacrificial sack of shit might not be the reason she’s quitting. The most reasonable explanation that I have heard is that she wants to spend more time lying to her family.
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annie said on August 14, 2026 at 11:52 am
I have a fantasy/dream where Melania will pull out a gun and shoot him in public when he tries to touch her. But he won’t die–that would be too kind. Instead he’ll be forced to live with the embarrassment and whatever horrible injuries will ensue.
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Cheez Whiz said on August 14, 2026 at 12:55 pm
Since you offered an opening, I will recite my mantra:
Never forget the reason Trump is President is the full and unconditional support and protection of the Republican party. We could be suffering under President J D Vance within a week, but no. Every single thing Trump does is with the approval of his party. You need to hate, hate that party. They will remain when Trump is gone, and they will be searching for another Trump to finish what he started. Feel the power of the Dark Side flow through you.
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4dbirds said on August 14, 2026 at 1:42 pm
I too hate the orange dipshit. I’m a non-believer, so I only strongly hope for his imminent death. I say this as I still have overwhelming grief. Will his children mourn him? They seem so shallow that I find it hard to believe they will. His maga fans will probably mourn him, but it isn’t a real mourning. I was kicked off an online death support group when I refused to delete a post saying that the person waxing on and off about Princess Diana’s death didn’t know grief, not real grief because he didn’t know her. This was just after my son died. (For those who don’t know, I’ve lost two of my four children.) I mean I was fond of her celebrity and was sad she died but I didn’t lose a minute of sleep because of it. I don’t think there’s another person on Earth who I actively hope dies.
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Little Bird said on August 14, 2026 at 3:28 pm
I have a confetti cannon just waiting for the day.
I told my stepfather a few years ago (when they were all talking about that “big beautiful bill”) that I was actively looking forward to seeing the big beautiful obituary.
I really should pick up a bottle of champagne or Prosecco, to properly celebrate. I expect that there will be a rather boisterous celebration at my building attended by every one of the people who live here.
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Jeff Borden said on August 14, 2026 at 4:09 pm
My guess is his death will trigger spontaneous celebrations around the world. Think Times Square on NYE. The only sad places will be Moscow and Tel Aviv, which will mourn the passing of their useful idiot.
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Deborah said on August 14, 2026 at 6:27 pm
This post and comments warms my heart, I totally agree. I just hope no one kills him because then he turns into a giant martyr. I hope he dies a natural death, which doesn’t seem that far off from what I’ve read about what he eats, he doesn’t exercise and his sleep issues seem bad. Plus his hands (both it seems) are bruised and he has cankles now as we all know. Also he freaks out often, yelling at people etc. So something is up.
Lordy, I just mixed up crust for a tomato, corn tart and I used half the flour but all the salt and butter for a full pie crust. I only wanted a single crust. It’s in a ball in the refrigerator cooling for an hour. I was using the Pioneer Woman recipe but fucked it up. How in the heck is this going to turn out? Maybe just extra crispy with twice the butter? We shall see. I was in a hurry because I started it later than I wanted to, and got in a distracted frenzy.
I’ve been watching the AOC videos about her egg freezing, so informative, she’s great.
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Deborah said on August 14, 2026 at 6:40 pm
While I was typing that comment I just made, I heard the birds out in the yard going crazy. I thought it was the neighborhood cat making its usual rounds but it turned out to be a big hawk. It was much larger than the Coopers Hawks we get from time to time. I guess this could be because of the Frijoles fire nearby, even the big birds of prey seem to be coming into the city, maybe?
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Mark P said on August 14, 2026 at 9:55 pm
I will be happy to see Trump shuffle off, but I’m afraid my joy will be tempered if it’s before the end of his term by the sofa-lover who will take his place. I’d like to see a structural failure at the White House during a full cabinet meeting, caused by unrecognized damage during the East Wing demolition.
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Jeff Gill said on August 15, 2026 at 9:23 am
A disabling stroke would do. In fact, the working out of the Constitutional processes after such an event might be even more instructive and illustrative than a more distinct change of executive function.
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alex said on August 15, 2026 at 12:41 pm
I’ll happily join the cheering squad, although I’d prefer to see him incapacitated and suffer a slow and anguished demise where he’s forced to contemplate his karmic comeuppance.
Well, we had a getaway planned for next week at Miller Beach in the Dunes and the place got walloped by storms earlier this week and it’s still without power and trees are down all over the roads. So we might be getting a refund on our rental but need to come up with an alternative. So we’ll probably land in Michigan City and pay quite a bit more.
Also, I had hoped to take our bicycles and got a hitch installed on my car at U-Haul, but the technician then informed me that he could not install the plug-and-play wiring harness. Even though the harness is made expressly for my vehicle make and model, he claims that GM must have changed the plugs in my car’s wiring. I did some research online and I think that the technician was looking in the wrong place and I’m waiting for him to call back. The hookup is underneath the bumper fascia, not in the fenders behind the panels in the trunk. It’s fucking aggravating that I have to do other people’s work for them, and then I wonder if I should even trust them once I give them the correct instructions. First world problem, I know, but it’s working my last nerve.
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Icarus said on August 15, 2026 at 1:05 pm
It’s my belief that we are stuck with Trump until January 21, 2027. That is when JD can take over and still preserve his chance to run for office two more times. I don’t think he’ll get elected but I didn’t think Trump would either.
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Julie Robinson said on August 15, 2026 at 3:42 pm
My first world problem is a boy kitty who pees on things when he’s unhappy. After his last vet visit he punished us for a week. No idea what’s in that little one brain cell ginger head right now, but he let loose on the quilted bag where my mom keeps her meds. On the floor, natch, because as a hoarder there’s no space anywhere.
When did I discover this, you might wonder. After I carried it out, plopped it on the padded dining room table and emptied it onto the table. Wow, her meds have never smelled before, and what’s that drip and why is the table wet?
The one saving grace is that they were organized in gallon ziplock bags. The bags were unbreached and nothing inside got wet.
But what a stench, and of course the chair had a spot too. New baggies, everything cleaned up and the bag in the washer with a healthy scoop of oxiclean.
Now, why am I still smelling it? Yep, it was on my clothes too so another load and more oxiclean are next.
I’ve been eating super healthy but this episode required an ice cream treat. Next, a visit to the pool.
And I will take final charge of where the meds are kept. I do everything else with them already so there’s no reason for them to be in her orbit.
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Deborah said on August 16, 2026 at 12:13 am
So this is fun, I’m with LB in the Emergency department at the hospital. She was having projectile vomiting with blood in it (bright red) and she has welts on her shoulders and back etc. They seem to think it’s some kind of allergic reaction, we have no idea what from except that she’s been eating a lot of cucumbers lately, I mean a lot. She has food allergies but she hasn’t had any of that stuff at all. I have a feeling we’re going to be here until very late.
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Dave said on August 16, 2026 at 12:59 pm
Deborah, that’s a frightening way to start the day. I certainly hope all turns out for the better.
Meanwhile, that POS has no empathy for the sailors on the Abraham Lincoln, after all, he served in the trenches of the sexual wars of the 70’s, (didn’t he once say something to that effect?) so he knows exactly what they’re experiencing.
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Little Bird said on August 16, 2026 at 1:46 pm
I’m home! We got in not too long after Deborah posted. Cucumbers, the itty bitty ones, were my safe food, smothered in ranch that I mix up myself. Time to look for a new one I guess.
We’re going to head over to the pharmacy to pick up the meds they prescribed shortly.
I’m getting really tired of being medically fragile.
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Deborah said on August 16, 2026 at 1:59 pm
We were in the ER until after midnight, what an uncomfortable experience that was. Our healthcare system is so fucked up that people have to use the ER because they don’t have insurance. LB has Medicaid, at least so far, that may change in 2027 unfortunately.
The ER was mostly clean I guess, except for the blood splatters on the floor and wall in the first area we were waiting in, that had 2 uncomfortable cheap hotel ballroom type chairs in it, there was a broken curtain we couldn’t close for privacy. Then we were escorted to another room that had about 8 recliners in it for the patients and some more of the cheap uncomfortable chairs for people accompanying the patient. The recliners were Lazyboy types that were difficult to recline in. There were no curtains separating people and Drs and nurses would come in and talk to people that you could clearly hear, so much for HIPAA. It’s all just so dehumanizing and even humiliating. One poor older gentleman was in a recliner groaning loudly, obviously in pain.
I realize the volume of patients in ER is problematic since a lot of people don’t have any other choice to get the help they need. And many people are in ERs for life or death situations so saving lives is paramount. Drs and nurses do the best they can given the circumstances I’m sure.
Some emergency rooms in various hospitals have better conditions like the one I went to (Northwestern Memorial) when I smashed my face on the pavement when I tripped and fell in Chicago. Also, a lot of the people in ER have no way to pay so hospitals have to eat the costs which raises costs for everything else. As I said it’s a really shitty system that costs a fortune compared to what you get.
Santa Fe has 2 hospitals, Christus St. Vincents, where we went and Presbyterian which is on the other side of town. St. Vincents is locally referred to as St. Victims. LB has previously had some good care there and her Drs are associated with it so it’s somewhat unfair to call it that, but it does have issues.
A little dignity and humanity would make a big difference in healthcare. Until this administration is done and gone it’s not going to get better.
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Julie Robinson said on August 16, 2026 at 4:38 pm
Little Bird, Deborah, what a horrible experience. How are you doing today, LB? I’ve been to a few ERs but really, blessedly few. I get it about being medically fragile, though, as Mom’s there. Blood work on Friday indicated serious problems, so our next doctor visit will be a reckoning.
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Sherri said on August 16, 2026 at 7:11 pm
On those Democratic spam PACs: https://data4democracy.substack.com/p/hook-and-squeeze
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