Very moving, Garrison. I read your Substacks out loud using what I imagine is your voice, most times to my self, but sometimes to my wife, who the first time she heard me as she came into the kitchen, thought you’d come for breakfast.
I’m going to try my damndest to see the May 27th show as it is most convenient and easily reachable as I live a 25 minute train-ride from NYC.
Thanks for years of gut-busting laughter and heart-felt tears.
It’s 6:30 am but I really got up at 3;30. Well not “up” but awake. Well my eyes were closed but I was awake… awake thinking about the woman who worked for the government for 38 years. She was about to retire but was indiscriminately fired by Musk. So now no job and worst of all no pension. What is she supposed to do? If they take away my social security what am I supposed to do ? Are any of us awake?
You made that up. Nobody works for the government for 38 years and leaves without a pension. A person is fully vested after 5 years of service. If you are age 62 or older at separation with 20 or more years of service, your annuity is 1.1 percent of your "high-3" average salary multiplied by your years and months of service.
The answer isn't to keep relying on govt programs, as they will ALWAYS be fraudulent. That is the nature of govt. Lies, false promises, deceit, chacanery. "Wow everyone look at my stable job and the only place you can get a pEnSiOnNnn anymore" with a smug smile was never the way to be. Too bad so many ignorant rubes who fed from the taxpayer teat didn't understand that. Otherwise, they might get a little sympathy. They are the types whose lines would have died out long ago if their families before them hadn't made a living out of bootlicking, and they know it.
Fired former (and all current) fed employees need to learn to provide goods and services. They need to gain some self worth. They are in their "bad boyfriend" relationship thinking "no one else will want me ..I am being spoonfed my crumbs and what would I have without that??"
Let's buck up and get to work for real. If the factories do indeed go up, the fired workers can start there. They will wonder immediately why they ever put up with the pathetic pay and horrific treatment from the govt. No, you don't get more in benefits than that 25% pay cut. You are better off taking the 25% more money and investing it than you are relying on govt to hand it back to you after it has been wildely outpaced by inflation.
The answer is to let Musk and Trump cut cut cut CUT. Then when they try to steer us into technoenslavement, *yank* that wheel straight. One thing that has to go is the federal reserve.
Thank you, Garrison, both for spreading cheer and for calling out everything that is terrible about what these people are doing to our country. (Well, not everything - that would likely take a tome the size of your upcoming novel before the deletions.) We need all of our voices now, loudly and constantly objecting which is why I went to a protest in front NYC Fox News headquarters on Tuesday and will be at another in Washington Square tomorrow. I keep thinking of Dr. Suesse's "Horton Hears a Who". The Wickersham brothers are about to boil the dust speck settled upon which is the town of Whoville because, in spite of everyone in Whoville shouting, "We are here! We are here!" only Horton, with his huge elephant ears, can hear them. The Mayor of Whoville rushes through the town to see if there is anyone not shouting, and he finds one small boy silently playing with his yo yo. He grabs the boy, carries him to the top of the highest tower and tells him to shout. The boy shouts, "Yop!" and suddenly, with that one added voice, the Wickersham brothers and everyone else gathered to watch the dust speck boil, hears them and Whoville is saved. All our voices are needed now. "Yop!"
I wish I could see your NYC May 27th show but I'm afraid as an actor and a senior living on Social Security and my Actors' Equity pension, it is out of my price range. But wish you nothing but broken legs in all your performances.
I started listening to you in 1982 I drove to my Saturday night 12 step meeting in Raleigh from Chapel Hill. I have missed your baritone, cheerfulness, and nonpartisanship so it is good o have the pen behind the voice on Substack. I can conjure your voice out of the airwaves anywhere. How great you are!
Just another elderly man amusing himself at the laptop. It's a wonderful piece of hardware, especially the DELETE function. The Underwood didn't have that.
Thank you for the last sentence. If that could come to pass it would be great…but it ain’t gonna’ happin’…because if they move away from identity politics they have to have common sense…
You are standing up for angry fools and I think you should be more careful. The deportation of Ukrainian refugees is pure cruelty. There are not words to describe it. It is a violation of our fundamental values.
YOU ARE RIGHT-ON THE TARGET, SIRRAH! GOOD WRITERS WRITE AND ARE RIGHT-ENOUGH AND FOR YOUR READERS, "SO IT GOES." SOON ENOUGH IT'S US WHO GOES AND LEFT OUR STYLUSES BEHIND..
BUT THOSE WRITINGS,AND REALLY AREN'T GONE, NOR ARE THE MEMORIES TOLD AND SONGS SOON..
SING ON LAD! BEING A PIED PIPER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR AND US BEING PIED, TOO. PRESS ON....
YOU'VE BEEN GIFTED, SIR, AND STILL YOU CARRY THE RIBBONED-BOW GIFT. "FOR ON THE BOTTOM OF YOUR BOX, THE GIVEN GIFT IS YOU!"
Garrison: What ever happened to the best of the letters that you sent to subsctibers? I looked forward to them every week, but then the simply stopped coming.
Thank you Garrison. We do our best and then realizing it is not enough we do more, just like you, just like our parents did and just like our children will do. God bless America and god bless his son Garrison. ♥️
"Identity politics" seems to be MAGA Republicans attacking minorities and Democrats refusing to go along with it. Democrats are then derided as pedophiles, groomers, etc. Many voters seem to be distracted indeed.
When and if you do go, please tell the British and all of Europe, and Eastern Europe, that we are so very, very ashamed and sorry, that we hope they will give us another chance at love once this nightmare is over, but mostly that we are just profoundly ashamed to be American now and we hope they will forgive us eventually. He is disgusting, but you know that.
And, Mr. Keillor, please tell Canada the same but with even more emphasis. Please tell them that real Americans love them and would never want them to become a state in the U.S. because the existence of Canada gives us hope for an escape from the loony bin that is now the U.S.
Garrison, thanks for sharing your experiences in foreign lands.
I do not know what in my upbringing made me feel that I had to get my own house in order before looking to help others. But somehow I think my parents did it.
Something has not been right in the US for quite awile. The slums and ghettos in Chicago have remained largely unchanged since I was born in 1960, and nationally, the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (United Way term) households accounts for 29% of the nation. Our house is not in order. As a result I feel strange helping other countries, when we should be helping our own first.
And by the way, my 30 something daughters do not agree with me. And the common logic escapes us, so we agree to disagree.
I know Trump does not care the practice of humanitarianism or benevolence anywhere, but I wish we could first practicing these principles at home, before exporting them.
If our country can provide a home for folks who can accumulate millions or billions of dollars personally, there is definitely enough money sloshing around to provide humanitarian assistance in a lot of places. Unless you can provide evidence to the contrary, your feelings in the matter may not be based on reality.
There are preventable diseases that, without our simple intervention, will kill millions of people. The greatest thing George W. ever did was simply say Yes to sending HIV meds to Africa, he preserved a whole generation.
My wife and I frequently attempt to arrive at an explanation for what is happening. This morning, I think we hit the nail on the head. Early on, Musk demanded an audience with Donnie. Taking a page from the Reagan and Hitler playbooks, Musk told Donnie that he no longer wanted the burden of taxes, and the way to accomplish that was to eliminate most of the pesky federal departments and employees that require money to keep working for us. Albert Speer told Hitler the same thing to pay for a war. Speer got rid of Germany's bureaucracy. Reagan got rid of California's free university education to get rid of those pesky student protesters at Berkeley. They would have to spend their time working to pay for their education. By the way, Reagan brought day workers from Mexico to replace California farm workers who had formed a union. Reagan went on to the presidency and Hitler went to...well, we know where he went.
It's difficult these days to sing a happy tune when the country is burning before our eyes and with cheers from so many who haven't a clue about consequences. So it goes.
David Kannas - We do the same at our house, often asking, "WHY is this happening?"
It has gotten very little news coverage, but Bernie Sanders' "No Oligarchy" tour is drawing big, enthusiastic crowds; in Kenosha, Wisconsin the estimates were at least 4,000 with many more in the overflow space. When you see the film of just that gathering alone, the crowd is huge. The crowds are opposition crowds to thump and the crime organization posing as our government. It gives one hope, as do some of the court rulings.
The latest lie from the MAGAt inveterate (and anti-veteran) liars is that the crowds at the "town halls" where the thump-politicians are met with questions, anger, challenges, loud voices are paid troublemakers. The lies never end. Look at the crowds that show up at those town halls: they are children, they are old folks, they are farmers, they are black, white, men, women and nobody was paid by anybody to be there. That little weasel Mike Johnson with his butter-melting voice, please-his-master unctuous, fake piety and dental crises because he lies through his teeth all the time is going around doing his thump-kissing act saying that the crowds are paid "troublemakers" and that he/MAGAts are telling their "members" not to hold in person town halls. That's right: the people who elected them, the people they ostensibly represent (ha), the people whose taxes, savings, livelihoods, Social Security, health care, personal security peace of mind they are robbing, are to be avoided.
The ridiculous "fight-dance" of some of the Democrats on Tik-Tok shows them to be not serious in these very serious times. That no Democrats stood with Al Green or walked out with him when thumpthugs evicted him is deplorable. That TEN Democrats voted with Republicans to CENSURE Al Green is despicable. That no Democrats stood up and walked out when thump did his stupid "Pocohantas" bit that he thinks is an insult to Elizabeth Warren is complicity with his vile presence. The fight has to be everywhere all the time from all of us. The press/media need to stop indulging his mobster ways and when he insults or bullies one of them (or bans one, like the AP), they need to walk out en masse and deprive him of the media attention that is his oxygen! Stop indulging monsters!!
I called Al Green's office yesterday to thank him for his courage but found that his mailbox was full. He was a lone voice that night when Donnie stood before us and demeaned him and lied to all of us. I fully expect that Donnie will find an excuse to declare a national emergency and call on the military to quell us pesky folk. I predicted during his last reign that he would do something awful to stay in power. I was right. I hope I'm wrong this time. To those with a knowledge of history, this is right out of 1930s Germany. Thanks for the response.
Yes, indeed, VERMONT made America proud!! And Bernie Sanders is a Vermonter and he is drawing huge crowds who are the opposition to thump and mob!! It is thoroughly heartening to see those Vermonters greet Vance and to see the 4,000 crowd inside and another 1,000+ in the overflow space in Kenosha, Wisconsin for Bernie Sanders. I saw the video on TV but his crowds and speeches are getting very little coverage even though these are REAL Americans showing up to join the resistance!! Meanwhile, the new MAGAt line is that the anti-MAGA people showing up at the Republican electeds "town halls" are paid to show up and make trouble: unctuous weasel Uriah Heep - aka Mike Johnson- is out there now claiming that CONSTITUENTS, those who ELECTED the representatives, are paid by, for example, George Soros!! And they're now advising their "members" not to hold town halls anymore!
The orange bankruptee came to prominence as an entertainer. As a TV star. I think MAGA came for the entertainment and has stayed for the entertainment and they have not been disappointed. If the entertainment comes with a little pain and disruption, well, that is just the price of admission.
Very moving, Garrison. I read your Substacks out loud using what I imagine is your voice, most times to my self, but sometimes to my wife, who the first time she heard me as she came into the kitchen, thought you’d come for breakfast.
I’m going to try my damndest to see the May 27th show as it is most convenient and easily reachable as I live a 25 minute train-ride from NYC.
Thanks for years of gut-busting laughter and heart-felt tears.
BTW/ when does the Woebegone novel come out?
It’s 6:30 am but I really got up at 3;30. Well not “up” but awake. Well my eyes were closed but I was awake… awake thinking about the woman who worked for the government for 38 years. She was about to retire but was indiscriminately fired by Musk. So now no job and worst of all no pension. What is she supposed to do? If they take away my social security what am I supposed to do ? Are any of us awake?
Patricia Hambrook, may I repost your comment on my Social Media? With or without your name. Your comment is very poignant in this PINO world.
Yes without my name . Thank you for asking.
You made that up. Nobody works for the government for 38 years and leaves without a pension. A person is fully vested after 5 years of service. If you are age 62 or older at separation with 20 or more years of service, your annuity is 1.1 percent of your "high-3" average salary multiplied by your years and months of service.
I read it. Did not make it up.
The answer isn't to keep relying on govt programs, as they will ALWAYS be fraudulent. That is the nature of govt. Lies, false promises, deceit, chacanery. "Wow everyone look at my stable job and the only place you can get a pEnSiOnNnn anymore" with a smug smile was never the way to be. Too bad so many ignorant rubes who fed from the taxpayer teat didn't understand that. Otherwise, they might get a little sympathy. They are the types whose lines would have died out long ago if their families before them hadn't made a living out of bootlicking, and they know it.
Fired former (and all current) fed employees need to learn to provide goods and services. They need to gain some self worth. They are in their "bad boyfriend" relationship thinking "no one else will want me ..I am being spoonfed my crumbs and what would I have without that??"
Let's buck up and get to work for real. If the factories do indeed go up, the fired workers can start there. They will wonder immediately why they ever put up with the pathetic pay and horrific treatment from the govt. No, you don't get more in benefits than that 25% pay cut. You are better off taking the 25% more money and investing it than you are relying on govt to hand it back to you after it has been wildely outpaced by inflation.
The answer is to let Musk and Trump cut cut cut CUT. Then when they try to steer us into technoenslavement, *yank* that wheel straight. One thing that has to go is the federal reserve.
Thank you, Garrison, both for spreading cheer and for calling out everything that is terrible about what these people are doing to our country. (Well, not everything - that would likely take a tome the size of your upcoming novel before the deletions.) We need all of our voices now, loudly and constantly objecting which is why I went to a protest in front NYC Fox News headquarters on Tuesday and will be at another in Washington Square tomorrow. I keep thinking of Dr. Suesse's "Horton Hears a Who". The Wickersham brothers are about to boil the dust speck settled upon which is the town of Whoville because, in spite of everyone in Whoville shouting, "We are here! We are here!" only Horton, with his huge elephant ears, can hear them. The Mayor of Whoville rushes through the town to see if there is anyone not shouting, and he finds one small boy silently playing with his yo yo. He grabs the boy, carries him to the top of the highest tower and tells him to shout. The boy shouts, "Yop!" and suddenly, with that one added voice, the Wickersham brothers and everyone else gathered to watch the dust speck boil, hears them and Whoville is saved. All our voices are needed now. "Yop!"
I wish I could see your NYC May 27th show but I'm afraid as an actor and a senior living on Social Security and my Actors' Equity pension, it is out of my price range. But wish you nothing but broken legs in all your performances.
May 15th is a way off, but perhaps a national “YOP” day can be celebrated where all of us “who’s” can make our voices heard.
YOP!!!!
I started listening to you in 1982 I drove to my Saturday night 12 step meeting in Raleigh from Chapel Hill. I have missed your baritone, cheerfulness, and nonpartisanship so it is good o have the pen behind the voice on Substack. I can conjure your voice out of the airwaves anywhere. How great you are!
Just another elderly man amusing himself at the laptop. It's a wonderful piece of hardware, especially the DELETE function. The Underwood didn't have that.
"The Democrats need to set aside identity issues and unite as Americans to save the Republic." At Last! Now you're talkin' G.K.!
Thank you for the last sentence. If that could come to pass it would be great…but it ain’t gonna’ happin’…because if they move away from identity politics they have to have common sense…
You are standing up for angry fools and I think you should be more careful. The deportation of Ukrainian refugees is pure cruelty. There are not words to describe it. It is a violation of our fundamental values.
I do not know any angry fools in my circle…we are all very cheerful.
The war will be over before any Ukrainians are deported. It is just a negotiating ploy.
I hope so. I have some very scared Ukranian families in my circle who are very scared. Why don't you come and explain/calm their nerves? /s
YOU ARE RIGHT-ON THE TARGET, SIRRAH! GOOD WRITERS WRITE AND ARE RIGHT-ENOUGH AND FOR YOUR READERS, "SO IT GOES." SOON ENOUGH IT'S US WHO GOES AND LEFT OUR STYLUSES BEHIND..
BUT THOSE WRITINGS,AND REALLY AREN'T GONE, NOR ARE THE MEMORIES TOLD AND SONGS SOON..
SING ON LAD! BEING A PIED PIPER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR AND US BEING PIED, TOO. PRESS ON....
YOU'VE BEEN GIFTED, SIR, AND STILL YOU CARRY THE RIBBONED-BOW GIFT. "FOR ON THE BOTTOM OF YOUR BOX, THE GIVEN GIFT IS YOU!"
Garrison: What ever happened to the best of the letters that you sent to subsctibers? I looked forward to them every week, but then the simply stopped coming.
This doesn't ring a bell. Sorry.
I think he's asking about Post to the Host.
Thank you Garrison. We do our best and then realizing it is not enough we do more, just like you, just like our parents did and just like our children will do. God bless America and god bless his son Garrison. ♥️
When are you coming to Minnesota?
There's a show in December at the Fitz.
Do you ever come down to SW MO?
The Democrats are outnumbered and outmaneuvered. We, the small "d" democrats are going to need to the saving. Don't let identity politics distract us.
"Identity politics" seems to be MAGA Republicans attacking minorities and Democrats refusing to go along with it. Democrats are then derided as pedophiles, groomers, etc. Many voters seem to be distracted indeed.
Please PLEASE come to the UK. I don't mind where... I'll travel anywhere to see you.
Love to, especially now that Europe is watching America jump the rails. Keir Starmer needs to step up.
When and if you do go, please tell the British and all of Europe, and Eastern Europe, that we are so very, very ashamed and sorry, that we hope they will give us another chance at love once this nightmare is over, but mostly that we are just profoundly ashamed to be American now and we hope they will forgive us eventually. He is disgusting, but you know that.
And, Mr. Keillor, please tell Canada the same but with even more emphasis. Please tell them that real Americans love them and would never want them to become a state in the U.S. because the existence of Canada gives us hope for an escape from the loony bin that is now the U.S.
I'm so angry and ashamed that I have sent emails of apology to the embassies of our allies. I mean, former allies.
I love this.
Garrison, thanks for sharing your experiences in foreign lands.
I do not know what in my upbringing made me feel that I had to get my own house in order before looking to help others. But somehow I think my parents did it.
Something has not been right in the US for quite awile. The slums and ghettos in Chicago have remained largely unchanged since I was born in 1960, and nationally, the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (United Way term) households accounts for 29% of the nation. Our house is not in order. As a result I feel strange helping other countries, when we should be helping our own first.
And by the way, my 30 something daughters do not agree with me. And the common logic escapes us, so we agree to disagree.
I know Trump does not care the practice of humanitarianism or benevolence anywhere, but I wish we could first practicing these principles at home, before exporting them.
Unfortunately this administration is burning the house down.
We can and should be doing both things.
It is not either/or.
Thats what my daughters say!!!!
But I am the sort that believes we, and organizations, have limited bandwidths and limited resources. So we just agree to disagree.
If our country can provide a home for folks who can accumulate millions or billions of dollars personally, there is definitely enough money sloshing around to provide humanitarian assistance in a lot of places. Unless you can provide evidence to the contrary, your feelings in the matter may not be based on reality.
There are preventable diseases that, without our simple intervention, will kill millions of people. The greatest thing George W. ever did was simply say Yes to sending HIV meds to Africa, he preserved a whole generation.
Oh, come on. We're the richest nation in the world. We can do both.
My wife and I frequently attempt to arrive at an explanation for what is happening. This morning, I think we hit the nail on the head. Early on, Musk demanded an audience with Donnie. Taking a page from the Reagan and Hitler playbooks, Musk told Donnie that he no longer wanted the burden of taxes, and the way to accomplish that was to eliminate most of the pesky federal departments and employees that require money to keep working for us. Albert Speer told Hitler the same thing to pay for a war. Speer got rid of Germany's bureaucracy. Reagan got rid of California's free university education to get rid of those pesky student protesters at Berkeley. They would have to spend their time working to pay for their education. By the way, Reagan brought day workers from Mexico to replace California farm workers who had formed a union. Reagan went on to the presidency and Hitler went to...well, we know where he went.
It's difficult these days to sing a happy tune when the country is burning before our eyes and with cheers from so many who haven't a clue about consequences. So it goes.
David Kannas - We do the same at our house, often asking, "WHY is this happening?"
It has gotten very little news coverage, but Bernie Sanders' "No Oligarchy" tour is drawing big, enthusiastic crowds; in Kenosha, Wisconsin the estimates were at least 4,000 with many more in the overflow space. When you see the film of just that gathering alone, the crowd is huge. The crowds are opposition crowds to thump and the crime organization posing as our government. It gives one hope, as do some of the court rulings.
The latest lie from the MAGAt inveterate (and anti-veteran) liars is that the crowds at the "town halls" where the thump-politicians are met with questions, anger, challenges, loud voices are paid troublemakers. The lies never end. Look at the crowds that show up at those town halls: they are children, they are old folks, they are farmers, they are black, white, men, women and nobody was paid by anybody to be there. That little weasel Mike Johnson with his butter-melting voice, please-his-master unctuous, fake piety and dental crises because he lies through his teeth all the time is going around doing his thump-kissing act saying that the crowds are paid "troublemakers" and that he/MAGAts are telling their "members" not to hold in person town halls. That's right: the people who elected them, the people they ostensibly represent (ha), the people whose taxes, savings, livelihoods, Social Security, health care, personal security peace of mind they are robbing, are to be avoided.
The ridiculous "fight-dance" of some of the Democrats on Tik-Tok shows them to be not serious in these very serious times. That no Democrats stood with Al Green or walked out with him when thumpthugs evicted him is deplorable. That TEN Democrats voted with Republicans to CENSURE Al Green is despicable. That no Democrats stood up and walked out when thump did his stupid "Pocohantas" bit that he thinks is an insult to Elizabeth Warren is complicity with his vile presence. The fight has to be everywhere all the time from all of us. The press/media need to stop indulging his mobster ways and when he insults or bullies one of them (or bans one, like the AP), they need to walk out en masse and deprive him of the media attention that is his oxygen! Stop indulging monsters!!
I called Al Green's office yesterday to thank him for his courage but found that his mailbox was full. He was a lone voice that night when Donnie stood before us and demeaned him and lied to all of us. I fully expect that Donnie will find an excuse to declare a national emergency and call on the military to quell us pesky folk. I predicted during his last reign that he would do something awful to stay in power. I was right. I hope I'm wrong this time. To those with a knowledge of history, this is right out of 1930s Germany. Thanks for the response.
As always, thank you Garrison,
(from here in the snowy woods of southern Vermont).
And thank you to all in Vermont who showed up to protest JD Vance!
Yes, indeed, VERMONT made America proud!! And Bernie Sanders is a Vermonter and he is drawing huge crowds who are the opposition to thump and mob!! It is thoroughly heartening to see those Vermonters greet Vance and to see the 4,000 crowd inside and another 1,000+ in the overflow space in Kenosha, Wisconsin for Bernie Sanders. I saw the video on TV but his crowds and speeches are getting very little coverage even though these are REAL Americans showing up to join the resistance!! Meanwhile, the new MAGAt line is that the anti-MAGA people showing up at the Republican electeds "town halls" are paid to show up and make trouble: unctuous weasel Uriah Heep - aka Mike Johnson- is out there now claiming that CONSTITUENTS, those who ELECTED the representatives, are paid by, for example, George Soros!! And they're now advising their "members" not to hold town halls anymore!
The orange bankruptee came to prominence as an entertainer. As a TV star. I think MAGA came for the entertainment and has stayed for the entertainment and they have not been disappointed. If the entertainment comes with a little pain and disruption, well, that is just the price of admission.
Well said, sir.