Tek posted a Wondermark cartoon earlier, which spawned conversation about eating veggies: https://wondermark.com/c/1583/
I agree with tek that she makes a good point. The ending lines, "I can't 'better' myself. I'm already great," evoke a whole string of additional meanings. They could refer to the child's personal situation (things are already good for me and can't get better) or of course the child herself (I'm already the best I'll ever be). The latter suggests a Dunning-Krugeresque inability to self-assess, as well as an incuriousness that will resist the introspection and outward learning that could lead to improvement of self and one's role in society.
Regarding the former, the MAGA movement seeks to return us to a world that existed only within the limited view available to the movement's members when they were children, as abetted by the limited view depicted in television shows and other media then and now. Their needs were at least met if not catered to, and in their fond recollections of that era, they see security of one's place in the hierarchy as a fair trade for some personal autonomy.
They were not exposed to, or have forgotten, just how much that world sucked for people who were not them. And they are incurious about how much better things could be for them personally if the world could progress to where others have their same opportunities. So they'll fit themselves into a neat little one-size-fits-all box and demand that everyone else do the same, and they'll call hellfire down on anyone who does not wish to be boxed in as such. Meanwhile, when people in the movement are discovered to possess reactionary and/or exaggerated deviance, they hypocritically excuse it or even if they tut-tut a bit, they never see the problem is not necessarily the behavior, but the box.
"the MAGA movement seeks to return us to a world that existed only within the limited view available to the movement's members when they were children"
and even the people who were their parents, but who shielded them from how shit things really were. Life wasn't fucking great in the 50s for most people.
Let alone, as you say, how much it fucking sucked for people who weren't whitebread cishet boring-o-matics. It fucking sucked. Also their parents probably railed against the civil rights movement.
It's a lack of empathy and understanding. Even if we disregard the obvious racial overtones (which we shouldn't do) then they crave a world where they were artificially protected from the crappiness which is life.
I’ve been working 14 hour days so imma way behind on my news-reading but wtf is up with this, are we just being out-and-proud about waging a Holy War in the Middle East now? Egged on by a bunch of End Times loonies?
“ 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD!” ”
"Iran’s ‘new’ regime looks much the same, only harsher"
Grandpa Sundown:
“The one regime was decimated, destroyed, they’re all dead. The next regime is mostly dead, and the third regime — we’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before… and frankly, they’ve been very reasonable,”
I would love ONE FUCKING DAY where I don't have to see a single one of his utterances. I will have to go away from the internet and tape my husband's mouth shut with duck tape for that though.
Iran’s downing of a U.S. plane and the complex two-day American rescue operation to extract a stranded airman has emboldened both sides, a potential recipe for escalation.
Idiocy. Conveniently forgets this happened after Trump repeatedly claimed we had destroyed their military. Or that we shouldn't even be flying planes over Iran, because the administration still can't tell us what we're trying to achieve and has no Congressional authorization for using the military this way.
I don't get passive aggressive shit. When my husband annoys me I tell him he's being an ass and to stop it. It's not all that hard and takes a lot less time.
President Trump: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP”
I have no idea, I was just continuing yesterday’s dreams. Earlier though, my morbid ass was wondering would he even fit in one of those drawers? Do they come in hefty-man size?
I love Smoke Signals! Such a beautiful tale, told with authenticity.
Loved this film. Love Sherman Alexie
Tek posted a Wondermark cartoon earlier, which spawned conversation about eating veggies: https://wondermark.com/c/1583/
I agree with tek that she makes a good point. The ending lines, "I can't 'better' myself. I'm already great," evoke a whole string of additional meanings. They could refer to the child's personal situation (things are already good for me and can't get better) or of course the child herself (I'm already the best I'll ever be). The latter suggests a Dunning-Krugeresque inability to self-assess, as well as an incuriousness that will resist the introspection and outward learning that could lead to improvement of self and one's role in society.
Regarding the former, the MAGA movement seeks to return us to a world that existed only within the limited view available to the movement's members when they were children, as abetted by the limited view depicted in television shows and other media then and now. Their needs were at least met if not catered to, and in their fond recollections of that era, they see security of one's place in the hierarchy as a fair trade for some personal autonomy.
They were not exposed to, or have forgotten, just how much that world sucked for people who were not them. And they are incurious about how much better things could be for them personally if the world could progress to where others have their same opportunities. So they'll fit themselves into a neat little one-size-fits-all box and demand that everyone else do the same, and they'll call hellfire down on anyone who does not wish to be boxed in as such. Meanwhile, when people in the movement are discovered to possess reactionary and/or exaggerated deviance, they hypocritically excuse it or even if they tut-tut a bit, they never see the problem is not necessarily the behavior, but the box.
brilliantly, and sadly, put
"the MAGA movement seeks to return us to a world that existed only within the limited view available to the movement's members when they were children"
and even the people who were their parents, but who shielded them from how shit things really were. Life wasn't fucking great in the 50s for most people.
Let alone, as you say, how much it fucking sucked for people who weren't whitebread cishet boring-o-matics. It fucking sucked. Also their parents probably railed against the civil rights movement.
It's a lack of empathy and understanding. Even if we disregard the obvious racial overtones (which we shouldn't do) then they crave a world where they were artificially protected from the crappiness which is life.
I don’t think the world they want ever existed. It’s imagined nostalgia. Look how fondly they gaze on the Civil War period.
100% correct, sir.
Thinking "I'm already great" grants themselves leave to never do the messy work of learning how things are for anyone else.
NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social
Pete Hegseth is practicing day drinking the right way.
by Ezra Klein
I just saw new post is up...
I’ve been working 14 hour days so imma way behind on my news-reading but wtf is up with this, are we just being out-and-proud about waging a Holy War in the Middle East now? Egged on by a bunch of End Times loonies?
“ 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD!” ”
Yes.
It's a Crusade.
He’s contemplating a nuke.
Luckily ... https://substack.com/@landshark765200/note/c-172316742
Well that brings back memories from my very distant childhood….
That possibility scares me a lot.
Definitely. It’s on his bucket list.
cnn:
"Iran’s ‘new’ regime looks much the same, only harsher"
Grandpa Sundown:
“The one regime was decimated, destroyed, they’re all dead. The next regime is mostly dead, and the third regime — we’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before… and frankly, they’ve been very reasonable,”
When facing war for survival, harshness is typically a requirement.
I would love ONE FUCKING DAY where I don't have to see a single one of his utterances. I will have to go away from the internet and tape my husband's mouth shut with duck tape for that though.
Have you tried holding a pillow over his face until he's quiet?
I have thought about it but I like him a lot so.....
That's what they tell him.
Yep, we have NO IDEA whatever these incompetent psychopaths are telling him.
Lies. It's all they know.
(One size fits all!) Actual headline:
𝗜𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱
Iran’s downing of a U.S. plane and the complex two-day American rescue operation to extract a stranded airman has emboldened both sides, a potential recipe for escalation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/05/world/middleeast/iran-us-rescue.html
Idiocy. Conveniently forgets this happened after Trump repeatedly claimed we had destroyed their military. Or that we shouldn't even be flying planes over Iran, because the administration still can't tell us what we're trying to achieve and has no Congressional authorization for using the military this way.
...can we get more escalated than bombing random males of war age and blowing up bridges- and the first responders responding TO said bombing?
OMG STFU grey lady.
Great photo, though:
Billboard in Tehran showing U.S. aircraft captured in a net:
https://substack.com/profile/157455618-wobbly/note/c-238544214?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=2lqtj6
This is where we are, Iran trolling us. I will NEVER forgive the idiots who voted for THIS. FUCK THEM.
I'd also like to know how much more emboldened the US can get considering we just went in bombing and killing folk /while at the negotiating table.
Don't get much more bold than that!
Hehehehehehe https://bsky.app/profile/noofieninja.bsky.social/post/3mimrlouevs2p
Marriage tips 101
I don't get passive aggressive shit. When my husband annoys me I tell him he's being an ass and to stop it. It's not all that hard and takes a lot less time.
The difference is either continued annoyance, and two hours of peace and quiet.
Silly woman should have poured urine under there.
Then he would have had to pee there also too. That's Big Dog 101.
Tell me you're a flailing wannabe mob-boss with late stage dementia without saying you're a flailing wannabe mob-boss with late stage dementia!
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2676666743/
Well, at least an "F-bomb" doesn't cost the taxpayers anything extra
We need our "The End Is Near" signs
A disturbing Easter Bunday message from Robert Fripp and Toyah Wilcox:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHBNn6IZvFo
And here from yesterday were their Upbeat Moments with their bun, Frippicus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dQF9tARB5U
They are TOO adorable. We love them.
President Trump: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP”
is this the new "Infrastructure Week"?
Just saw the headline at the Guardian. I can barely digest that this is real.
If he's calling God "Allah," he must be really, really mad at the Pope.
War Crimes R’ Us
What is the reason we attacked Iran again? Because negotiations weren't proceeding quickly enough? Oh that's right, it was the Epstein files.
Complete psychopath.
GMTA ... totally fucking whacked.
Bridge day, do we all pledge to play no trump?
My favorite bid when playing with a partner I don’t like…
Him: “One no-trump”
Me: “Seven no-trump. Can I get anyone a beer while I’m up?”
If Iran is at all familiar with Infrastructure Week, they know they have nothing to worry about.
The more I see that the more I don't think he wrote it. He would never put an apostrophe after "fuckin".
Agreed. This is a Cheung or Miller's attempt at "Let's say something crazy so they'll think we're crazy instead of just stupid."
The depth of this administration's thinking is a puddle.
Little Stevie "The Thumb" Chueng.
ooo yeah him. I keep forgetting about him
OMG YES!
omg was just gonna say that.
Also CRAZY would be all in caps
Right????? I would bet Stephen Miller wrote it. I don't think Hogsbreath would write it that way either.
Voice-to-text is Hegseth’s only way to write anything.
Hicsbreath would never say the word Allah
EXACTLY.
I forgot to thank Ziggywiggy for the adorable short fillum.
I enjoyed the animation, the reflections on the ice, very well done.
I wonder if the dumbass orange motherfucker is going to show up with fresh bruises for the egg festivities tomorrow.
The Power Plant and Bridge does not appear to be written by Donald Trump.
Asshole couldn’t have written it; he was being raised out of the morgue drawer by the almighty lord at the time.
Has anyone heard/seen anything more about his visit to Walter Reed yesterday?
thought I saw in passing that he can still recognize a camel, but that might have been a joke
I have no idea, I was just continuing yesterday’s dreams. Earlier though, my morbid ass was wondering would he even fit in one of those drawers? Do they come in hefty-man size?
Refrigerated truck required.
think they are all large enough to handle all but the very very very largest individuals.
I have a fridge with the freezer compartment on the bottom. Mr S said it reminded him of a morgue drawer when we first got it.
Is his head dead yet?
the boys in the news room have a running bet
I think that happened LONG ago.
Praise be to Allah
Exactly. sounds like Kegseth.
Easter Bunday golfing with Dementia Don
https://bsky.app/profile/teresalynnkocsis.bsky.social/post/3miptwr6hj22f