Right-wing and left-wing echo chambers

 Browsing more lately the main right-wing and left-wing parts of the blogosphere and if everyone agrees with each other or tend to agree with each other on most of the issues of the day I don't know.  Let's say I was given a listen of 50 subjects or topics and told just simply state your opinion as briefly as possible and so I did then I find some commenter out there who agrees exactly with my pov in each of the fifty cases I'd be that's kind of weird.  I have a lot of reasons for my opinions but I can't be right about everything.  I might be missing something.  Maybe I'm half right or mostly right or partially right or just full of shit.  So what do you think of the current blogging scene?

MAGA behind the blue tsunami?

 Theory floating out there backed up by some Frank Luntz polling data.  Trump pissed off voters who voted for him in 2024 and so they flipped to the Democrats.  The Iran War, affordability, health care, housing, gas, groceries, tariffs, Epstein, Israel First etc.  In a nut Trump betrayed MAGA and MAGA got back.  Basically some of the data strongly suggests this was a massive collective vote against Trump and not people suddenly liking abortion more or socialism more or woke more or anything else leftist more.  This was politically existential, taking it to the next level.  MAGA no longer supports Trump.  Only the splinter offshoot Trump cultists do.

That is the theory.  Hmmm......

A sharp rebuke to Trump and Trumpism

 As predicted.  The 2026 midterm election results.  The Ohio Governor's race shouldn't have been that close.  I guess slime sells.  I'll be brief.  Vance is chalking up the devastating GOP midterm losses to the Iran War.  That's a part of it but a big part.  Actually it's everything.  It's All Of The Above and it all has to do with Trump.  I call it the Asshole Effect.

I didn't know if you took a girl out you had to wear a tie

 Election Day ruminations.  Some folks be in a time warp.  I can't remember the last time I saw an actual hippy.  Does Jackson Galaxy count?  This is gonna come out the wrong way but some older folk can't stop talking about WW2.  Not a pacifist but I also think war should not be celebrated.  That said Hegseth should have treated the Eisenhower globe with more respect.   "We had nice songs back in the day" is another one.  The time will come when a future generation won't even know who Lady Gaga was and we"ll be saying the same thing.  There's a strong bias towards the past among many folk who don't seem to know what going forward means.  BTW if the tie comes off does that mean things are gonna get a little frisky?

On the eve of disaster

 The NYC Marathon.  These people are amazing.  I can barely walk to my local bodega.

The time change.  Driving home after work yesterday.  Pitch black at 5 PM.  I'm lovin' it.

Will the real Dan Sullivan please stand up

 Reading about the Alaska Senate race.  Apparently it is true according to the New York Times that the Democrats scoured the state of Alaska to look for another Dan Sullivan to run as an independent against the Republican Senate candidate the actual Dan Sullivan the idea being to confuse voters into voting for the wrong Dan Sullivan to get the Democratic candidate Mary Peltola in.  She has denied any knowledge of this Dem scheme.  The Trump DOJ involved.  Would be kind of like if the Repubs ran a candidate named Hank Frankenberry in an Ohio Senate race and the Dems found another Hank Frankenberry to run.  What are the odds?  OK so Dan Sullivan is a rather common name but still.  Nobody believes in their platforms anymore?  No more confidence in the power of ideas and proposals to sway voters?  What in hell are the Dems doing trying to add credence to Trump's constant election fraud mythology like maybe the man has a point after all?

Both parties are a joke.

I'm just a squirrel collecting my nuts

 Prepping for retirement.  Trying to get my financial house in order.  What I don't get is these long lines of yahoos getting the new I-Phone with the folding screen issues.  Got a Samsung Galaxy 5G phone at a Walmart at a reasonable price and I'm good.  People don't budget themselves.  Sure I'm no financial saint and have maxxed out on a couple of Visas myself but you learn.  We're a nation of compulsive shoppers.  Probably half the people who go to Target don't really need anything.  I'm on a budget but it's not overly strict.  My CB and pipe tobacco are still essentials.  I cut my own hair with a Wahl.  It ain't that hard.  I think some guys just want the girl's tit in their face while she washing their hair.

The older I get the more grouchy I get.