According to this article, the U.S. has been at war for 46.9% of my entire lifespan, and a quarter of Americans have never experienced a time of peace (ahem, Afghanistan).
On a related note, from the always excellent McSweeneys, The Case for War, by Someone Whose Kids Won’t Die Fighting in It:
I, and I can’t stress this enough, don’t have any skin in the game. Your kids quite literally have skin in the game, some of it no doubt to be melted off by napalm.
I grew up listening to Howard Stern on the radio, and when he made the switch to satellite I lost track. Sometime in the intervening years he embraced his ability to be an excellent interviewer. He had Hillary Clinton on last week, and the whole thing is fascinating: he’s empathetic and insightful, and she’s a human being. It’s depressing how much of the current political process strips the personality and warmth from our candidates; I like this Hillary and I wish we’d seen more of this side of her on the campaign trail four years ago.
Trump Immigration Official Leaves Bar After He’s Berated by Former Presidential Candidate.
A couple of things about this caught my eye: Martin O’Malley used to be my governor, and before that, mayor of my city. Ken Cuccinelli is an ethically corrupt fuckstick. And the Dubliner is just around the corner from my office.
It’s pretty clear that I lean leftward when it comes to politics; however, with the flood of Democratic candidates out there to choose from, it’s hard to know where they all stand on things. The Washington Post has put together a handy guide to learn who aligns with your particular politics. Looks like I agree most with Joe Biden and Jerry Yang. Sobering, because I wasn’t that impressed with either of them.
Our Velveeta Baby-in-Chief doesn’t like the coverage he’s getting in print journalism, so he instructs all federal agencies to cancel their subscriptions to the Washington Post and the New York Times. I don’t know whether to laugh or be gravely concerned for his mental health. I give him another 3 months before he’s holed up in a room pissing in jars and collecting his own fingernail clippings.
I read with sadness this morning that my representative in Congress, Elijah Cummings, died this morning in hospice care. He was a strong voice in the House and held truth to power wherever and whenever he was present. As a strong opponent of our current administration, I was proud to see him stand up for his (and our) principles. He will be missed. Tyler Tynes wrote a great article about him over at The Ringer.
Ha ha ha. An artist named Mitch McConnell (not that Mitch McConnell) crowdfunded a They Live-inspired billboard in Times Square, which is currently up for display. The best part is that the billboard says “Paid for by Mitch McConnell” at the bottom. If he gets more contributions, he’ll keep it up longer. I love this. (via)
This is a nice summation of what’s happening in politics from day to day: What the Fuck Just Happened Today?
Impeach the Motherfucker. Just what it says on the label.
File this under It’s-About-Fucking-Time: Walmart announced they are going to stop selling military-caliber ammunition, handgun ammunition, and all handguns. They also asked people to stop open-carrying weapons in their stores (duh) and go so far as to say the assault-weapons ban should be “debated.” I guess it’ll take another 22 dead customers for them to actually push for a ban.