94 Comments

David - I think this is some of the best writing of yours. I think you've captured something really profound and true about politics - that the "players" in the "game" forget that the rest of us have better things and people to focus on.

Better yet, you captured the essence of "partners in crime" friendships and the, frankly, random cruelty of the universe, that we experience often, simply by trying to live our lives. May your dear friend rest in peace.

And may you find peace as well. I know the "hardboiled alcoholic" thing has a certain doomed romanticism to it (I've been, ahem, intoxicated by the idea as well), but I hope you navigate to the other side of your drinking problem, however that looks. I'd prefer a cranky, sober Cole to a... cranky, drunk and disabled or dead Cole.

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A very kind, and very astute, comment, Red. My sincere thanks.

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AMEN Red!! We love you Dave!!

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And I love YOU folks!

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Unfortunately, losing people is a sad, but constant part of our lives, and that only increases in frequency as we get older.

All that we can do is remember them, and reflect back on the fondness that we felt for them, cherish their existence, and leave that empty space in our heart, for them.

It's where they reside forever.

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Dave, loud and clear. You moved me to tears. She was a very lovely young lady and I'm sorry that you lost her.

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Thank you, Sandy. I very, very much appreciate that.

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All loss is hard. But some losses weigh more than others. I'd hug you if I could.

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The problem as I see it Dave is partially that as the center has moved ever leftward, the normals in the used-to-be middle have found themselves grouped in with what was once considered the lunatic fringe-grifters (Fuentes, Alex Jones, Andrew Tate, et al), while the mainstream right remains silent and useless. The fringe-grifters, being grifters, are smart enough to mix in just enough truth and outrage (the the left gives us a more than ample supple of things to be outraged about) into their lunacy to make the used-to-be middles start to rethink their positions. The less discerning among the used-to-be middle might start to say, “Well if he’s right about Covid, maybe there’s something to this Rothschilds thing?” And then it's off to the races.

I liken it to an innocent man being convicted and sentences to prison and being forced to associate with true criminals. Eventually out of need and familiarity, the innocent will be forced to integrate himself into this prison society or stand alone and veery few want to stand alone.

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That applies to my situation even more than you may know. Great comment!

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"while the mainstream right remains silent and useless"

It's really hard in some industries to voice sanity right now, especially if you're white.

There are a lot of people on the Westside of LA, for example, who are comfortable telling their friends that they are over the weird leftist nonsense of California. They'll say that at a cookout or working out at the gym. But for them to say that at work and be overheard could mean, basically, the end of their careers. Working class brown and Black men can openly talk about how they hate 'justice reform' and why they like Trump. But for anyone else it's basically suicide if you're in the arts or working at a university. Entire industries are affected by it.

It's one thing for a young person without much to lose to speak up (and I think a lot of the younger generation is less susceptible to a lot of the foolishness floating around right now than we give them credit for), but if someone has a spouse, kids, etc to think about - they can't just shoot from the hip. They have to pay the mortgage somehow.

The other issue is that the left is contained (however uneasily) in one party in this country. That's not always the case. In Canada, traditionally there's been the Liberals (more centrist) and the NDP (more far-left). The problem and the genius of the Dems right now is that they appeal to both the super-rich and to students and workers. They have planks in their platforms that appeal to CRE brokers and finance guys, but also to immigrants, to some tradespeople, (although they're increasingly losing them by importing lower cost, less skilled labor), to students.

The Dems are in danger of becoming the PRI, basically - the "Revolutionary Institutional Party" that effed Mexico up so badly. This is actually their Achilles heel - if you can split the rich donors in CRE and finance from the fools with no jobs, boom it implodes. If Republicans were savvy about calling them on that, they'd be cooking with gas. Unfortunately the mainstream opposition is run by idiots and they're doing stupid things like trying to limit people's access to contraception.

What most educated, coastal Republicans always liked about being Republicans was that their party was more hands-off about personal stuff than the Dems were. We really, REALLY need a viable opposition party and we also need to educate people where we can about the importance of an opposition. Without one, we'll end up with a failed state.

If rich Republicans were smart they'd be investing in fringe left candidates and parties the same way rich tech Dems have been disrupting Republican primaries. Split the party somehow. But no, Republicans will be arguing about abortion (which some people will always find a way to do, and which some people will always legitimately need for ectopic pregnancies etc) even though most of them barely passed HS biology. It's ridiculous, it really is. All the Rs have to do is point out that no party can truly represent Gwyneth Paltrow's interests and her cleaning lady's. All they have to do is split the Dems, which is a simple move. And they can't do it.

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To quote Yeats, "The best lack all convinction while the worst are full of passionate intensity."

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Don Corleone said to Michael: “Women and Children can be careless but not men.”

I often think about Sonny Corleone’s enthusiasm to enter the drug trade and how his showing of interest intrigued Sollozzo to kill the Godfather to do business with his son instead. We live in a world full of Sollozzos who’ll kill your dad because they think that is to their benefit somehow, not knowing their death is a toilet flush away.

We truly live in an age of apathy where vultures prey on the vulnerabilities of those whom they don’t like. An age where the expression of emotions is considered a sign of weakness and your guard down is their opportunity to punch. An age where the pain of others becomes the source of entertainment and wisecracks. Truly these are inhumane times we live in.

May sweet Vanessa rest in peace.

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Thank you so much, my good friend. And your Godfather reference is all-too-appropriate. Sadly so. It's one of the reasons I really don't mind being away from that cesspool of Twitter, though I miss how easy it was for you to send me great story ideas! DMing was Twitter's one saving grace.

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Hi Dave! Buddy, I want your gifted ass to know that you made me cry! This article is a fantastic tribute to her. By the way, I found this line particularly meaningful: "How can a freak who’s never had genuine relationships, whose only love is anime, understand what a Midwest family man cares about?"

Go easy on yourself, friend. You are needed and respected.

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Terry, that means so much to me. I'm truly glad you felt the kind of emotion reading the piece that I felt writing it. Thank you as always for your friendship and support.

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Excellent column yet again, sir.

We need our intelligent right-wingers to hop up into the ring and start kicking ass.

Sorry for your loss, but it also wasn't your fault.

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Just to think, man, there's a universe somewhere out there where Vanessa is still alive, the rightwing isnt cucked by Jonesian conspiracy theories, David never touched the Holocaust, and Ratibor is still alive.

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That last thing may be true in this universe, too! I have an important Ratibor update, which I'll post Friday.

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It's an old monster movie trope to have an egg cracking in the monster's hidden lair with the words "The End?" shown on the screen so there could be a sequel called "Son of..." Son of Kong, Godzilla, The Blob. It might be that my earlier theory about Ratibor holds and that he is in fact a Barugon. You will remember that Barugon hatched from a very small egg that kinda looked like a diamond or something but grew to very large proportions by the 5th reel. Large enough to terrorize Tokyo. Stay safe and make sure your insurance still covers monster attack in the event that said monster is a minor Toho monster or one from a smaller studio.

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That would be the greatest irony - the one thing my policy does cover is monster attacks, and they STILL turn down my claim!

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My respect for that stubborn bastard just doubled. He deserves a whole slice of cheese!

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This might just be my favorite thing you've ever written. Beautiful. Lots of people need to read and learn from this but sadly won't.

Also any time I think of Fuentard I think of Sam Kinison's line about Richard Simmons: "He's sucked more dicks than McDonald's has sold hamburgers".

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LOL!!!! Now that's what I'LL be thinking too!

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I really miss Sam Kinison. Sam seemed to be the last comedian or at least White Gentile comedian who got away with insulting homos like Rock Hudson or just the LGBT perv community. Sam was a regular American guy that somehow slipped through the cracks and made it for awhile.

I think it was the non political GOAT J comedian Rodney Dangerfield that discovered Sam Kinison and recruited Sam to be that AMAZING maniac History Professor in Rodney's "Back to School" movie.

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You're correct about Dangerfield discovering Kinison. Even before Back to School, Rodney was having Sam play Dangerfield's comedy club on a regular basis, and Kinison's big break was a Dangerfield HBO stand-up comedy special.

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Sorry for your loss, Dave. The column was a beautiful tribute to your friend.

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Thank you, my friend.

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"I’d give up everything ... to dance with Vanessa one more time.

To put my arm around the small of her back, and dance until sunup.

Just one more time."

All of this life, the joy and happiness, the grief and anguish, in three sentences.

God bless.

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And God bless YOU, Wanda, for such a kind comment. Thank you.

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I saw a dude in a sandwich shop this past Sunday morning: forty/fifty-something, neckbearded, fat, sitting by himself. Infowars cap. MAGA bandana. Arrest Fauci t-shirt. Listening to somebody shouting on a podcast. Meme fodder deluxe.

My inner voice is pretty harsh when I see someone like that:, but the day was young and my wife wasn't riding me about fixing the fence or getting the dogs groomed, so life was good. All I felt was pity because he was alone on a spring morning, and seemed to be accustomed to it. He just seemed like someone who never had a good time that wasn't caked in snark and pwning and rants and anger.

That's what it looked like, anyway. I didn't engage. Because of....discernment. The ability to step back and see how fucking dumb it is to peacock in political gear and hinge all of your passion and fulfillment on a candidate who'd never acknowledge your support because you're too fucking weird and weak to even attempt to live a normal life.

You've been preaching about this for years now, but it just mutates into some new form of anti-social dorkhood. Maybe the next big thing in the Rightosphere after the election will be incels and "Men Going Their Own Way" reclaiming their masculinity via the joys of trans-woman back-pussy love.

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LOL! Wouldn't surprise me.

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Can we get these people robots to sleep with? The Japs seem to think it's a good thing. Of course Japan is known for things like Hentai Ninjas. That's when a particularly devious and sneeky Jap will go Ninja and steel girls panties to use in incel rituals or other sordid rites.

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Personally, I agree with Saint Augustine in that every city should have a red light district, just as "every major city should have a sewer or cloaca." It might solve the incel issue but then again, could they even negotiate a deal? Could they navigate the financial chess game that is paying to play? Probably not.

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I "heart" the post because I couldn't find the "broken heart" option.

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Thank you, my friend.

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When a.i.d.s. hit, before it morphed into h.i.v., I lost so many people I knew. It was an absolutely horrifying shock how it hit & took. I was the kid & they were the older people who were theatre actors I worked with, learned from. One of side-effects of being in drama clubs/theatre groups is that many of those guys bat for the other team. Meh, life happens.

None-the-less., they meant a lot to me.

Believe me, I get it. I comprehend your message.

What does the world get?

Is it a cure for a.i.d.s/h.i.v.?

Naw, those left behind get an unusable quilt.

And an invasion of talentless qwerty-keys/woke/rainbow/pride/self-mutilating fetishers.

Ruining performance venues.

Not an improvement on the landscape.

Especially when, every time black people stub-a-toe, they're allowed to loot businesses into bankruptcy & burn everything to the ground & NEVER! be held responsible.

Must be nice to be so equitable.

If I thought, for one moment, that being destructive would bring any of those interesting, amazing, people back, I'd be the first in line to be as destructive. BUT! Due to the fact I'm an emotionally mature, civilized, adult, I get creative with the writing & whatever else work, e.g., Mow the lawn, walk Miss Magpie the dog, get along with the neighbours & be mundane.

Other civilized types go inward with alcohol & whatever.

It's understandable. Better than passing a counterfeit 20-dollar-bill for cigarettes.

Time to take a maudlin break. https://youtu.be/AeadLurGR1U?feature=shared

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I hear you about the AIDS thing. Being an early 1980s theater kid myself, by 1991 I'd lost a half-dozen good friends. It was tragic, and frustrating to watch it happen.

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It was made worse by every variety of religious types braying that it's "God's punishment", until it began hitting heterosexuals, blacks, browns, Asians. As with sports & game shows, stay humble & never celebrate too early.

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As a kid I grew up around these Nazis, friends and family, who survived the war. They enjoyed life, the rest of it. Live and let live.

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Sorry for your loss. I lost a sister in 2008 and not a day goes by that I do not think about her.

Getting to the incel, Nazi boys. They seem to be the equivalent of the incel ANTIFA on the left. Pretenders that never had the opportunity to play Cowboys and Indians as children. So, now they have to "get in the mud" for a cause, in their adulthood. They are no different that the average TSA worker. Men who could not become Police Officers, or soldiers. So they live out their dreams ordering around travelers. Incel Nazi Boys take their frustration out on the Joo's, ANTIFA take their frustration out on the windows of store fronts and TSA employees take their frustration out on your carry on. It's all similar, but different.

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Well-put! Thank you. And I'm terribly sorry for the loss of your sister. The loss stays with us, but thankfully so do the good memories.

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RIP Vanessa, sorry to hear that man, my condolences.

As for musk I thought for sure he'd dial things back after he did his apology tour with ben shapiro. Jared Taylor is still banned but Nick Fuentes gets the red carpet rolled out for him.

Nick has shit talked just about everyone who isn't a closeted city dwelling black israelite promoting tranny loving catholic sprite, he's basically the antithesis of good optics & that's who elon invites back. That dude has tarnished every formerly respectable person who has ever associated with him, he's so toxic he makes david duke political endorsements look appealing in comparison.

Even by 1488 logic this is an utterly baffling decision, nobody outside Nick’s room temperature IQ cultists likes him. He is living breathing carnival act, thirty years ago you would've seen him on Jerry Springers's show which is exactly where he belongs.

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Amen! "He makes David Duke political endorsements look appealing in comparison." LOL! I'll have to steal that line!

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Nah, he wouldn't meet the standards for Springer. He'd end up on Rikki Lake instead.

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I completely forgot about her show, they'd could get Nick's bitterly unrequited love interest Jaden McNeil on there with him, that'd make for a solid episode lol.

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Don't forget about Scammy Davis (aka: Ali Alexander)!

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Ah yes we can't leave out Nick's black pederast friend, should probably include the catboi Nick went on a date with as well, get the whole gang together. They can name the episode the Village YMCA Nazis lol.

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