Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly.
He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
This is the first presidential election cycle that I can recall when at this stage I didn’t have some hope for a positive change in the status quo. Irrational optimism considering the long string of not so good nominees we left coasters were stuck with by the primary voter participants in the central, east and south. But at least that reduced a pessimistic stage to six or fewer months.
I feel you are doing just fine for the current temperament in the USA. Times are frustrating for those that truly care about the future of the USA and it’s citizens.
Besides better to release your frustrations on here then at home or around family members. I believe that all of us here can more then take it, so go for it when you need to.
Compared to others on this blog, and in the world, you’re downright cheery.
That said, if your mood is making you feel emotionally itchy, I encourage you to look for things to do and perspectives to hold which raise your mental health and spirit.
You deserve to be well even when some of your friends and family are not well. We all do.
You are not as grumpy as I was this morning, but then I found out that David Brooks is a journalist and now aI am happier because the NYT has more journalists than I thought they did, so now you are grumpier than I am, which is way too grumpy. I suggest some Cormac McCarthy to lighten your day.
For a number of years, I had a boss who had a heavy travel schedule and filled his dead hours with books which he then passed along to me because I was the only reader he knew. During one stretch, I suggested that maybe it was time for something not as depressing as Annie Proulx works, not withstanding her high quality writing and storytelling. But must say that “The Road” far exceeds Proulx for depressing.
I’d say reacting appropriately. We’re being pushed into an enervating Jebya vs Clinton swamp [bog]; let’s hope everyone feels equally awful about it and we emerge with O”Malley vs Walker after the republicans fail to derail the Iran agreement [it’s what they call visualizing and “they” claim it works]
In small ways I’ve seen “imagine” work, but only when the one with the imagination is wholly disinterested. That personally gains nothing from the visualization becoming a reality.
For example, after years of failed and troubled SO relationships, a friend actively engaged in visualization. One day, she shared with me her list of the criteria for the man she was imagining. I flipped it off with, “but none of that matters if he doesn’t have a loving heart.” She married a year later to a man with a loving heart and nothing on her list.
but you got her to visualize a man with a loving heart – very nice!
I’m going to visualize us emerging from the Jebya-Clinton bog [maybe the Klown Kar will throw out some sacrificial bog ppl], walking onto some boards placed over the bog with signs that say O”Malley this way and a signed agreement by all those guys w Iran.
p.s. it looks like the White House has said “please proceed” to the congress critters Iran item
but you got her to visualize a man with a loving heart – very nice!
That would be nice, but it’s not how it worked out. Doubt she even added a loving heart to her visualization criteria. After they married, I mentioned that Al has a good heart and she said that she hadn’t thought of that before.
Some hermit living on a mountaintop might be able to visualize good leaders for this and other countries, but as the rest of us have a vested interest in election outcomes, it’s beyond the capacity of the rest of us to visualize into reality.
Maybe someday before we destroy ourselves, we’ll get a Congress that says no to war and yes to peace. We did seem to be moving in that direction for a while until Reagan decided it was time to bomb Libya and invade Grenada. (Team Reagan’s interventions in Nicaragua and El Salvador were larger than those in Libya and Grenada but were covert and therefore, unknown to the general public.) That seemed to break the logjam on war or peace and BushI obliged the renewed US bloodlust.
I’d say you’ve accurately captured the mood/outrage that these times require.
I’d also say that you have realized that there is a preponderance of evidence that things may not improve in the near future and perhaps not in our lifetimes.
Your grumpiness is exacerbated by the knowledge that science, logic, truth and even morality seem to have failed us. The rules on which our lives have been based have been turned on their head. We have giant segment of the country support the obscene mendacity of climate denial, bigotry, misogyny, a foreign policy based on “make war not peace”, voodoo economics, a disdain for the poor, restricting access to healthcare, voter suppression, raping the environment for personal gain, and lying about every single one of these things.
Grumpy? Thank goodness! Otherwise this list could make you homicidal. So grump-on my man, grump-on.
I think you’re exactly the right amount of grumpy, considering the election cycle in front of us.
This is the first presidential election cycle that I can recall when at this stage I didn’t have some hope for a positive change in the status quo. Irrational optimism considering the long string of not so good nominees we left coasters were stuck with by the primary voter participants in the central, east and south. But at least that reduced a pessimistic stage to six or fewer months.
You do not seem like you’re having any fun, if that’s what you mean.
It’s a problem.
Nah. It’s just that there’s a lot of poisonous b.s. out there, and you’ve been ingesting way too much of it.
I feel you are doing just fine for the current temperament in the USA. Times are frustrating for those that truly care about the future of the USA and it’s citizens.
Besides better to release your frustrations on here then at home or around family members. I believe that all of us here can more then take it, so go for it when you need to.
Compared to others on this blog, and in the world, you’re downright cheery.
That said, if your mood is making you feel emotionally itchy, I encourage you to look for things to do and perspectives to hold which raise your mental health and spirit.
You deserve to be well even when some of your friends and family are not well. We all do.
I am grumpy.
You are not grumpy.
Here. Who wouldn’t be helped by this??
You’re pretty grumpy, but if that’s what it took to work up the last too posts, that’s just too bad, we’re going to have to ask you to stay there.
I mean two
You are not as grumpy as I was this morning, but then I found out that David Brooks is a journalist and now aI am happier because the NYT has more journalists than I thought they did, so now you are grumpier than I am, which is way too grumpy. I suggest some Cormac McCarthy to lighten your day.
For a number of years, I had a boss who had a heavy travel schedule and filled his dead hours with books which he then passed along to me because I was the only reader he knew. During one stretch, I suggested that maybe it was time for something not as depressing as Annie Proulx works, not withstanding her high quality writing and storytelling. But must say that “The Road” far exceeds Proulx for depressing.
Brooks is confused. He hasn’t been a journalist since his cub reporter gig in the summer he turned 21.
Are you feeling grumpy, or hopeless?
I’d say reacting appropriately. We’re being pushed into an enervating Jebya vs Clinton swamp [bog]; let’s hope everyone feels equally awful about it and we emerge with O”Malley vs Walker after the republicans fail to derail the Iran agreement [it’s what they call visualizing and “they” claim it works]
In small ways I’ve seen “imagine” work, but only when the one with the imagination is wholly disinterested. That personally gains nothing from the visualization becoming a reality.
For example, after years of failed and troubled SO relationships, a friend actively engaged in visualization. One day, she shared with me her list of the criteria for the man she was imagining. I flipped it off with, “but none of that matters if he doesn’t have a loving heart.” She married a year later to a man with a loving heart and nothing on her list.
but you got her to visualize a man with a loving heart – very nice!
I’m going to visualize us emerging from the Jebya-Clinton bog [maybe the Klown Kar will throw out some sacrificial bog ppl], walking onto some boards placed over the bog with signs that say O”Malley this way and a signed agreement by all those guys w Iran.
p.s. it looks like the White House has said “please proceed” to the congress critters Iran item
but you got her to visualize a man with a loving heart – very nice!
That would be nice, but it’s not how it worked out. Doubt she even added a loving heart to her visualization criteria. After they married, I mentioned that Al has a good heart and she said that she hadn’t thought of that before.
Some hermit living on a mountaintop might be able to visualize good leaders for this and other countries, but as the rest of us have a vested interest in election outcomes, it’s beyond the capacity of the rest of us to visualize into reality.
Maybe someday before we destroy ourselves, we’ll get a Congress that says no to war and yes to peace. We did seem to be moving in that direction for a while until Reagan decided it was time to bomb Libya and invade Grenada. (Team Reagan’s interventions in Nicaragua and El Salvador were larger than those in Libya and Grenada but were covert and therefore, unknown to the general public.) That seemed to break the logjam on war or peace and BushI obliged the renewed US bloodlust.
grump on. I think you’re probably ok but the constant diet of political ASCII must make it hard to stay optimistic.
Idiot — Not (nearly) grumpy enough.
That is all.
Take one in the morning:
https://youtu.be/n6j4TGqVl5g
…you’re not paying attention.”
Rubio and Bush are grumpy. Obama is has removed Cuba from the terrorist list.
Nope. Not grumpy enough.
Yes. Lighten up and have some fun, please.
Yeah boo, you’ need a pick me up. Take this and call me in the morning.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n4zRe_wvJw8
Here, Boo — I think you need this:
OMG!!!
I’d say you’ve accurately captured the mood/outrage that these times require.
I’d also say that you have realized that there is a preponderance of evidence that things may not improve in the near future and perhaps not in our lifetimes.
Your grumpiness is exacerbated by the knowledge that science, logic, truth and even morality seem to have failed us. The rules on which our lives have been based have been turned on their head. We have giant segment of the country support the obscene mendacity of climate denial, bigotry, misogyny, a foreign policy based on “make war not peace”, voodoo economics, a disdain for the poor, restricting access to healthcare, voter suppression, raping the environment for personal gain, and lying about every single one of these things.
Grumpy? Thank goodness! Otherwise this list could make you homicidal. So grump-on my man, grump-on.
Booman, I come to this blog to get a respite from the overheated emotions of the other lefty blog sites. You always have a measured take on things.
You’re not paranoid if they’re really out to get you. And you’re not grumpy if the Republicans really hold two chambers of Congress.