Incompetence of the powerful
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Best quote from a republic ever
Mike Johnson, the speaker of the house and a leader in the republic party, just drooled this out:“Don’t get lost in the facts.” The great aspiration of the US has always been that people would be rational, honest actors. That’s clearly gone, at least among the republics. Continue reading
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A bill of goods
“We’ve been sold a bill of goods in this country that we’re divided. We’re divided by gender, we’re divided by race, we’re divided by who we love, we’re divided by where we worship or whether we worship at all. And now they’re trying to tell us that we’re divided by Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Let Continue reading
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Promises, promises
The latest from the Orange Baby is this announcement from Friday, September 26: Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America. “IS BUILDING” will be defined as, “breaking ground” and/or “under construction.” There will, Continue reading
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They lie for a living
Years ago I had to go through a metal detector to enter a courthouse. I was reporting for jury duty (I was never empaneled, which was a bit disappointing). I emptied my pockets and the guards confiscated one of those little nail clippers I had in my pocket. I asked why and they claimed that Continue reading
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Not my president
In the past, I’ve always assumed that a phrase like “not my president” had to do with a hissy fit by some snowflake way out on the right or left wing of political bent. But this time the president has decided on its own that it is not my president. And that goes for more Continue reading
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Sure, just make it up
“Zuckerberg joined Trump at a White House tech event on Thursday evening and sat next to the president. Trump asked Zuckerberg about Meta’s upcoming investments in AI infrastructure, “How much are you spending, would you say, over the next few years?” “Oh gosh. I mean, I think it’s probably going to be something like, I Continue reading
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So now we know
Remember that thing about the orange baby getting a lot of electoral help from its friends in Russia a few years back? And how it has said nothing but “hoax” ever since? Well now we know, the orange baby did collude with Russia to win its first presidential election. How do we know? Its national Continue reading
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They really think we’re that stupid
The orange baby held an impromptu press conference last week when Stephen Moore, supposedly an economist, arrived with a big chart purporting to refute the official Bureau of Labor Statistics report. His big chart was labeled “Medium Income.” Assuming the mooron meant “median income,” the numbers on the chart were fact checked. And those weren’t Continue reading
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Now we are all expatriates
In The French Dispatch, all of the stories are from Ennui-sur-Blasé, France. One of them is by Roebuck Wright. “The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner” relates Wright’s dinner at the Police Station, prepared by the legendary police chef Lt. Nescaffier. The journalists in The French Dispatch are part of their stories, although they Continue reading
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Zero-based reporting
Here’s an idea. The bulk of “news reporting” in the US these days is telling you what the orange baby just said. Without any historical context to how often it has repeated the same exact thing with different details. Here’s one list, and this one is only focused on “the biggest scandal.” Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
Check out my other blog, Techlimitics, where I’m grappling with the nature of simplicity.