Gareth Penn
@garethspenn.bsky.social
"Those who cannot remember George Santayana are condemned to misquote him."
I asked a tour guide at San Simeon if the madonna above the main entrance of La Casa Grande was the one Dorothy Parker had written about, and he said, "Who's Dorothy Parker?"
I asked a tour guide at San Simeon if the madonna above the main entrance of La Casa Grande was the one Dorothy Parker had written about, and he said, "Who's Dorothy Parker?"
What strikes me particularly about Donald Trump Jr. is how little Eric resembles Qusay Hussein.
December 8, 2025 at 12:23 PM
What strikes me particularly about Donald Trump Jr. is how little Eric resembles Qusay Hussein.
When your boat is capsized at sea, you don't wave your shirt, you switch on your EPIRB and hope the Coast Guard finds you before you drown.
December 7, 2025 at 11:34 PM
When your boat is capsized at sea, you don't wave your shirt, you switch on your EPIRB and hope the Coast Guard finds you before you drown.
I started to draw a federal pension (FERS) in 2000. Net of my healthcare premium, I took home 84% of my pension. Twenty-five years later, I net 47%. Healthcare premiums increase at a higher rate than the FERS COLA, which was deliberately structured by Congress to lag behind the CPI.
December 7, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I started to draw a federal pension (FERS) in 2000. Net of my healthcare premium, I took home 84% of my pension. Twenty-five years later, I net 47%. Healthcare premiums increase at a higher rate than the FERS COLA, which was deliberately structured by Congress to lag behind the CPI.
They thought "transparent" was good until somebody pointed out that it sounds like "trans parent." Now they don't want to be associated with the word.
December 7, 2025 at 4:17 PM
They thought "transparent" was good until somebody pointed out that it sounds like "trans parent." Now they don't want to be associated with the word.
The crew of a capsized vessel isn't incapacitated? What alternate universe does he hail from? Oh, right — Arkansas.
December 7, 2025 at 4:13 PM
The crew of a capsized vessel isn't incapacitated? What alternate universe does he hail from? Oh, right — Arkansas.
For years I worked 1 month in 12 at sea on a NOAA research vessel. It was 171 feet from stem to stern and displaced 900 tons. It needed a crew of three per watch to operate. Why did this 30-foot boat with an outboard motor need a crew of 11? This is the question the news media need to ask but don't.
December 7, 2025 at 4:04 PM
For years I worked 1 month in 12 at sea on a NOAA research vessel. It was 171 feet from stem to stern and displaced 900 tons. It needed a crew of three per watch to operate. Why did this 30-foot boat with an outboard motor need a crew of 11? This is the question the news media need to ask but don't.
The economy has been better that he thought when it suits him, and it has been awful when he wants to blame it on Biden. Forget it, Brennan. You'll never get a straight answer out of this twisty snake.
December 7, 2025 at 3:56 PM
The economy has been better that he thought when it suits him, and it has been awful when he wants to blame it on Biden. Forget it, Brennan. You'll never get a straight answer out of this twisty snake.
It all comes back to attacking the messenger. Bessent will never address the actual issue; he will always hide behind an attack on the press.
December 7, 2025 at 3:55 PM
It all comes back to attacking the messenger. Bessent will never address the actual issue; he will always hide behind an attack on the press.
Farmers need a bridge payment so they can buy the bridge that Trump, Bessent & Co. are trying to sell them. History tells us that farmers will buy it.
December 7, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Farmers need a bridge payment so they can buy the bridge that Trump, Bessent & Co. are trying to sell them. History tells us that farmers will buy it.
For someone who has spent time working at sea, the big question is why a small craft powered by outboard motors needed a crew of 11. One or two (tops) would have sufficed. The other nine or ten took up space that would better have been used for cargo. The Hegseth version makes absolutely no sense.
December 7, 2025 at 3:40 PM
For someone who has spent time working at sea, the big question is why a small craft powered by outboard motors needed a crew of 11. One or two (tops) would have sufficed. The other nine or ten took up space that would better have been used for cargo. The Hegseth version makes absolutely no sense.
But if you ask Johnson how he feels about it, he'll say that he's unfamiliar with the facts.
December 7, 2025 at 3:28 PM
But if you ask Johnson how he feels about it, he'll say that he's unfamiliar with the facts.
Joshua Norton declared himself Emperor of the U.S. in 1859. He issued his own currency and sent telegrams to Lincoln and Queen Victoria telling them how to do their jobs. People humored him since he was amusing and had no power. Trump is equally mad but holds the levers of power — and isn't amusing.
December 7, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Joshua Norton declared himself Emperor of the U.S. in 1859. He issued his own currency and sent telegrams to Lincoln and Queen Victoria telling them how to do their jobs. People humored him since he was amusing and had no power. Trump is equally mad but holds the levers of power — and isn't amusing.
Schmitt is the "see no evil" monkey.
December 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Schmitt is the "see no evil" monkey.
German voters were looking for a disrupter in 1933, and they got one. They also got World War II and the Holocaust. But that's OK because calling them "disruptions" somehow mitigates the damage.
December 7, 2025 at 3:08 PM
German voters were looking for a disrupter in 1933, and they got one. They also got World War II and the Holocaust. But that's OK because calling them "disruptions" somehow mitigates the damage.
One of my Army buddies was from Milwaukee. He told me that his and his playmates' favorite pastimes when they were little was Cowboys and N-----s. Somehow I am not surprised by this video. Indeed, I'm surprised we aren't seeing more like it.
December 7, 2025 at 2:57 PM
One of my Army buddies was from Milwaukee. He told me that his and his playmates' favorite pastimes when they were little was Cowboys and N-----s. Somehow I am not surprised by this video. Indeed, I'm surprised we aren't seeing more like it.
Oh, the Homanity!
December 7, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Oh, the Homanity!
With my eyes wide open, I'm dreaming
You're with me now
Sharing a vow
Never to part
I'm so afraid to close my eyes
Afraid that I'll find
This lovely thrill
Is just a silly allusion
You're with me now
Sharing a vow
Never to part
I'm so afraid to close my eyes
Afraid that I'll find
This lovely thrill
Is just a silly allusion
December 6, 2025 at 11:52 PM
With my eyes wide open, I'm dreaming
You're with me now
Sharing a vow
Never to part
I'm so afraid to close my eyes
Afraid that I'll find
This lovely thrill
Is just a silly allusion
You're with me now
Sharing a vow
Never to part
I'm so afraid to close my eyes
Afraid that I'll find
This lovely thrill
Is just a silly allusion
I believe you also have to carry a hip flask of your favorite beverage and know how to operate the carriage return on a typewriter.
December 6, 2025 at 6:00 PM
I believe you also have to carry a hip flask of your favorite beverage and know how to operate the carriage return on a typewriter.
I thought Trump had restored Christianity in 2017. How many times does he get to do it?
December 6, 2025 at 5:58 PM
I thought Trump had restored Christianity in 2017. How many times does he get to do it?
Nikita Khrushchev's "On the cult of personality and its consequences," which dethroned Stalin as the object of worship in the USSR, was delivered in 1956. Nearly seven decades later, the US is installing its own version of the cult of personality. What we need is an American Khrushchev.
December 6, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Nikita Khrushchev's "On the cult of personality and its consequences," which dethroned Stalin as the object of worship in the USSR, was delivered in 1956. Nearly seven decades later, the US is installing its own version of the cult of personality. What we need is an American Khrushchev.
The cost of medical care has led the CPI for a half century or more because it is constantly improving and becoming more effective. The more people expect from it, the more expensive it will be. MAGA wants to get something for nothing.
December 6, 2025 at 3:52 PM
The cost of medical care has led the CPI for a half century or more because it is constantly improving and becoming more effective. The more people expect from it, the more expensive it will be. MAGA wants to get something for nothing.
Job description of the next Fed Chair:
1) Doing the President's bidding
2) Glorifying Trump with effulgent praise
1) Doing the President's bidding
2) Glorifying Trump with effulgent praise
December 6, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Job description of the next Fed Chair:
1) Doing the President's bidding
2) Glorifying Trump with effulgent praise
1) Doing the President's bidding
2) Glorifying Trump with effulgent praise
I feel that Trump ought to rename football "Gulf of Mexico," since that name is going begging at the moment. But I'm confused by "boofy." Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh is famous for boofing (rectal ingestion of beer). Does he count as a "boofy bloke"?
December 6, 2025 at 3:39 PM
I feel that Trump ought to rename football "Gulf of Mexico," since that name is going begging at the moment. But I'm confused by "boofy." Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh is famous for boofing (rectal ingestion of beer). Does he count as a "boofy bloke"?
When can we expect the personality cult to be enforced by the US equivalent of the NKVD?
December 6, 2025 at 3:18 PM
When can we expect the personality cult to be enforced by the US equivalent of the NKVD?