dave stagner

every now and then i am reminded that people allow push notifications for news alerts and social media. give yourself the gift of turning that shit off in '25. ✨

“Holy infant so tender and mild” will never not be funny, don’t write lyrics when you’re hungry.

See? This is a perfect example of just how fuckin’ bad your side is at insults.

Abraham Lincoln once described an opponent’s argument as “as thin as the homeopathic soup that was made by boiling the shadow of a pigeon that had starved to death”.

And somehow, America devolved to a place where Trump the Insult Comic Dog is considered witty.

479! I think we have that many just in our neighborhood. Although the presence of a drug dealing hub skews the numbers some.

Sure, Matt Gaetz paid an underage girl for sex, but that was in 2017, so she’s not underage anymore, so it’s cool, right? #MAGALogic

I think the reason Trump is talking about invading Greenland is because he looks at Mercator projection maps and thinks he can double the size of the United States.

I first read this as “did not disclose additional tips”, and that’s when I realized he gets tipped for his work.

Just did my annual re-watch tonight!

Dogs are higher up the karmic ladder than humans. That’s why every dog I know is better than every person I know.

If you’re good enough in this life, maybe you get to come back as a dog in the next one.

Have you read “The Burnout Society”, by Byung-Chul Han? Whole different approach… he argues it’s cultural. Very thought-provoking read. (Caveat: It’s modern philosophy, short but quite dense, not an easy read, especially if your brain has been addled by social media.)

[a horse walks into a bar]

bartender: what can i get you

horse: what no that’s not how this format goes you’re supposed to say why the long f… you know what nvm just show me where i can get some water

bartender: i could but then i can’t make you drink

horse: what

What’s your sign

In the aftermath, Elon will devote himself and his considerable resources to complaining about Trump to anyone within earshot, like a jilted lover who can’t stop talking about their ex. And Trump will, of course, strike back.

Make some popcorn and enjoy the show!

Meanwhile, Trump will grow increasingly irritated with Musk’s antics - and the attention he gets. Trump does NOT share the spotlight, ever. So either Elon will quit, or Trump will fire him. And unlike Republicans, Elon doesn’t need Trump’s approval. So when they split, he’ll be livid with rage.

Congress is NOT going to give an unelected bureaucrat the authority to second-guess their budgets, or take away pork flowing into their districts. And Congress, not the President, controls the budget. All DOGE will be able to do is write reports and try to spin the media. This will frustrate Elon!

Waiting for the bromance between President Musk and his puppet Trump to break down, which should happen sometime in 2025. It’s gonna be hilarious!

DOGE will fail spectacularly. Elon is delusional enough to think running a government is like running a business… and he hasn’t had a boss for decades.

Don’t tell the Republicans that Christmas isn’t white, they’ll go on another “War on Christmas” rant and demand that Christmas be as white as their party.

I love going to the pet store and seeing treat flavors like “blueberry almond”, which are clearly aimed at sounding tasty to humans.

My dogs eat POOP. I have to listen for the cat in the litter box to beat them to THOSE treats.

Salvador is one of my role models. I wish I could love like he does.

I think I’m gonna start using the term #PresidentMusk a lot. Because I am SO looking forward to the breakup of that particular bromance!

Unlike the elected GOP and the right-wing media, Musk isn’t afraid of Trump. When he splits from Trump (and he will), he’ll make revenge his mission.

Beautiful.

My dog loves eating used tissues. Yeah, it’s gross to us, but it makes him happy.

I have a cold. I’m blowing my nose constantly.

Salvador is in heaven.

I’m trying to learn some Spanish, so to help my ear for natural language rather than lessons, I watched Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, which I haven’t seen in like 20 years.

Wow, I love Pedro Almodóvar movies.

I first saw this one on one of my first dates with my spouse, back in 1989!

Wahala indeed.

Bottom trawling should simply be banned worldwide.

One of the problems with maintaining fisheries is we only measure the fish that we consume directly, not the ones we ignore. Bottom trawling wrecks whole ecosystems to get a handful of fish we actually want to eat.

Skeuomorphism of the horseless carriage turns into skeuomorphism of the mobile home.

Keep in mind I’m deeply critical of the left in this country. Sharing Luigi memes isn’t “Marxist” in a meaningful sense, and it’s not a proper violent opposition.

We’re not even up to the Weather Underground standards of the 1960s. And the FBI had to arm the Weather Underground themselves.

Were you on the ground, in Minneapolis? I was. I saw what happened.

The police rioted. Hell, when the state police came in, the first thing they did was arrest a CNN reporter, live on the air.

And our *public debate* language says “violence”, not “assault” or “vandalism”.

This has the huge political advantage of not radically changing our current model and its “ownership of the means of production”, as Marx would say. Which makes it easier politically. We wouldn’t have to nationalize, or introduce new taxes (even though the taxes would be cheaper than insurance!).

A government panel sets fixed prices for all medical goods/services. That’s what providers can charge. That’s what insurers must pay. No “networks”.

This fixes the perverse incentives of the American system. Focuses both providers and insurers on internal efficiency, not exploitation.

And some clarification on the Japanese model. First, it costs about half what ours does per capita, and has the best outcomes in the world.

Second, it uses private employer-based insurance and private providers. Sound familiar?

The difference is there’s no negotiation between insurers/providers.