Joemala: Episode 85

by | Sep 21, 2022 | Joemala | 135 comments

 

“The pandemic is over,” Joe said sadly.

“I know, Mr. President,” Karine said. “But you weren’t actually supposed to say that.”

“I’m the President,” Joe replied.

“But we prepared your remarks so carefully and they were right there on the Teleprompter,” she said. “We were all really disappointed.”

“Would you just leave him alone?” Finnegan asked. “He’s tired. The flight back from England has him all worn out.”

“I was on TV,” Joe said. “I’m the President. How do you–listen here, Jack.”

“Who’s Jack, Grandpa?”

“Jack. Jack. He’s Jack, goddammit,” Joe said, the dry skin around his eyes flaking as he squinted.

Karine looked at Finnegan and sighed loudly.

“Did I just go to a funeral?” Joe asked querulously.

“Yes, for the Queen of England,” Finnegan said.

“The Queen of England died?” Joe asked.

“You just went to her funeral,” Karine said.

“I’m focused,” Joe asserted. “Mentally focused. I’m all there up in the head. The proof is in the eating of the pudding a man once said and I want to honor him today.”

“Don’t get agitated, Grandpa,” Finnegan said.

“Agitated? Who’s agitated, dammit?” he demanded, his voice rising. “I was on oxygen on the plane and I feel great.”

“This happens when he flies,” Finnegan said.

“I HAD TO FLY, dammit!” Joe said. “Damn dammit damn! Damn, damn, damn.”

“How about I draw you a nice bath?” Finnegan asked. “Do you want a bath? Nice warm bath?”

“The Queen died,” Joe said. “I had to go to her funeral.”

“Of course you did,” Karine agreed.

“I’m the President. Me.”

“Yes, sir.”

“No one else is the President,” Joe insisted. “That’s why the pandemic is over. I won.”

“Not officially, sir,” Karine mumbled.

“I called off the pandemic,” Joe said. “I am science.”

“Dr. Fauci is science, sir,” Karine said. “There can’t be two sciences.”

Joe arghed like a comic strip protagonist and collapsed.

“I guess I’m just happy I got a chance to say goodbye.”

 

One last sniff.

About The Author

SugarFree

SugarFree

Your Resident Narcissistic Misogynist Rape-Culture Apologist

135 Comments

  1. db

    Beauty! Enlightenment!

  2. db

    Didn’t Pearl Jam write that song? “Last Sniff?”

    • EvilSheldon

      I had thought that was a cover? Even Pearl Jam couldn’t write something that insipid…

      • Tundra

        So embarrassed that I used to like them. Talk about not passing the test of time.

      • EvilSheldon

        No kidding. Definitely fifth out of the big five grunge acts.

      • Tundra

        AiC is about the only one that held up. Maybe Screaming Trees.

        I remember that the guys in Soul Asylum found it hilarious when reporters asked them if they were “grunge'” Since, you know, they’d then been doing it since the early ’80s! And clearly never made that kind of music.

      • Timeloose

        No love for Soundgarden? They still sound great to my ears.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbckIuT_YDc

        You do have to get past the hundreds of times you have heard the song since it was released.

      • EvilSheldon

        Early Soundgarden is great.

        Post-Superunknown Soundgarden is pretty crap, but it hasn’t really aged badly. It was crap in 1995 as well.

      • Tundra

        It just never resonated with me. No denying the talent, though.

      • Timeloose

        I just listened to the b-side of Badmotorfinger again for the first time in probably 15 years after posting the first comment. Wow, I need to do that more often. Some great music that won’t be a hit fest you might be sick of.

      • The Last American Hero

        Ten is a phenomenal album. Solid top to bottom. Finishing returns after that. But PJ was fantastic grunge in its day.

      • Zwak. who's suit is as ragged as his nerves.

        Yeah, it isn’t something I mention a lot.

        Although, 20 years ago I worked with a woman who was very proud of her collection of Pearl Jam bootleg CD’s. She had a whole disc binder full of them. It was weird, to say the least.

    • kinnath
      • Tundra

        Winner.

        I loved that song!

    • SugarFree
  3. Shiny Nerfherder

    Is that bottom photo doctored or did they actually have that much makeup on the old cryptkeeper?

    • DEG

      I like the look on Charles’ face.

    • SugarFree

      It is real as far as I could find.

      • Bobarian LMD

        As lifelike as Madame Tussauds.

    • juris imprudent

      You know the Bee used the same photo – now I am terribly confused that it wasn’t manufactured as satire.

      • SugarFree

        I saw it on Twitter but not connected to the Bee. Now I don’t know.

  4. Tonio

    “But we prepared your remarks so carefully and they were right there on the Teleprompter,” she said. “We were all really disappointed.”

    Beautiful.

  5. The Late P Brooks

    “There can’t be two sciences.”

    “There can’t be two sciences.”

    That certainly seems to be the prevailing consensus. SCIENCE! was handed down to us on tablets of stone.

    • Shiny Nerfherder

      At least until the next set is delivered two weeks later.

    • juris imprudent

      Yep, truer words were never written.

      • Swiss Servator


        “That is not very scientific!”

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      The Science is like Highlander.

      • EvilSheldon

        There can be only one Highlander movie?

      • UnCivilServant

        Unfortunately it appears the one we got stuck with was “The Source”

  6. Tundra

    Joe arghed like a comic strip protagonist and collapsed.

    Gold.

    That pic, though.

  7. The Late P Brooks

    I’ve got fifty bucks in my pocket. I wonder if that’s enough to get a haircut and buy a gallon of milk.

    • Not Adahn

      only at the non-happy ending haircut places.

    • Mojeaux

      Well, $80 (including tips) got me a massage and a haircut yesterday, but heaven forbid I go to the grocery store and walk out with $80 worth of decent groceries.

      • EvilSheldon

        I tried a new barbershop last week, not realizing that the $20 men’s haircut comes with a five minute neck and shoulder massage. Ooooohhhh. They almost had to pour me out of the chair. I like this new trend.

      • UnCivilServant

        I would gladly pay more to have them Not touch me.

      • db

        Flowbees are still a thing

      • Mojeaux

        Generally speaking, I love being touched (ASMR), but I love it more when they don’t talk to me. My life has improved dramatically, so I was extra-chatty yesterday.

      • Bobarian LMD

        Unless they wear gloves? How much would you pay then?

      • Mojeaux

        Yes, she gave me a scalp massage when she washed my hair, and I asked her to use cold water to get to my very hot scalp, which I cannot do in the shower.

        I’d already had a massage, so the scalp massage was a bonus.

    • Fourscore

      “and” should be replaced with “or”. Can’t have both, Brooks, not today

    • Zwak. who's suit is as ragged as his nerves.

      Better check downtown first.

  8. Not Adahn

    “Dr. Fauci is science, sir,” Karine said. “There can’t be two sciences.”

    Karine is doubleplussungood goodthinker.

    • juris imprudent

      You are the President sir, not Science. You can’t be both President and Science.

  9. Lackadaisical

    I liked it. Thought about sharing this one out.

    • Necron 99

      I keep thinking of putting some of these on FB to see my liberal family flip their lid. I can tell stories at the FEMA camp ending with, “harlotries ensued.”

      • Necron 99

        LOL, do we really need an edit fairy?

      • slumbrew

        harlotries ensued

        *perks up*

  10. DEG

    “The pandemic is over,” Joe said sadly.

    Tell that to the bitter clinger at my gym and the bitter clingers in the Boston Swing dance scene.

    The proof is in the eating of the pudding a man once said and I want to honor him today.

    Heh.

    OT: I received the latest pro-Chris Pappas ad. I didn’t look to see who paid for it.

    Did you know that Chris Pappas is for funding the police? and firefighters too! He’s endorsed by the NH Professional Firefighters association. The ad also has a picture of NH’s first black sheriff who endorses Pappas.

    • juris imprudent

      I have much disappoint that that picture of NH’s first black sheriff was not Cleavon Little. And he’s a MASKED man at that.

      • DEG

        I’m not surprised by the mask. Strafford County is hugely Democrat.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      the bitter clingers in the Boston Swing dance scene.

      This place is wild.

      • kinnath

        Isn’t that where you go to swap partners?

    • Not Adahn

      At the “serious” club’s 9/11 charity shoot, I RO’d a guy who was, as we used to say “none too swooft.” After he was done, he put a campaign flyer into my hand.

      I will not be voting for him.

      • UnCivilServant

        Did you inform him of the fact and return the flyer?

      • Not Adahn

        That would be rude.

  11. MikeS

    We’ve got him this time!!11

    Donald Trump, His Company Sued by New York Attorney General on Fraud Allegations

    New York’s attorney general filed a civil fraud lawsuit Wednesday against former President Donald Trump, his company and its leadership, alleging they falsely valued assets for economic gain.

    The suit, from Democratic state Attorney General Letitia James, alleged fraud and misrepresentations inflated Mr. Trump’s personal net worth by billions of dollars and gave false impressions to banks and insurers about how his financial statements were prepared.

    • UnCivilServant

      “Ms James, how do you respond to Andy’s charges of Ethics violations by you and your office?” – Asked by no reporter at her press conference

    • EvilSheldon

      Why are states allowed to bring civil actions against citizens?

      • UnCivilServant

        I would say that only in the limited circumstance where the citizen has directly committed a tort against the state, such as contract violations, there is grounds for the state to bring a civil action. If the state is not a part to the purported tort, they have no standing and the AG should be held personally liable for court costs, the cost of her agency’s time, and defendant’s attorney’s fees for brining such an action.

      • Gender Traitor

        Because “nothing outside the state”?

      • Tundra

        Just gonna take a stab in the dark: FYTW?

    • juris imprudent

      Maybe she’ll have more success than Stormy Daniels?

    • Drake

      Wait. Wouldn’t inflated estimates cause his insurance premiums to go up? And were any of the loans from banks not repaid?

      How does the state have any standing at all in this made-up bs case?

      • Shiny Nerfherder

        And if the IRS determines it’s a holding company, it’s a tax liability. This is such a bullshit case.

      • Sensei

        For surety work inflated statements would be grounds for recission.

      • Drake

        Sure – I guess if you are inflating your collateral that would be bad. Maybe bad enough for the insurance company (not the state) to rescind the policy or even to sue.

    • rhywun

      That’s the best she could come up with after two and a half years? You know she has been at it non-stop. Wow.

    • Spartacus

      Donald Trump is the first person in history to inflate the value of the stuff he is offering as collateral for a loan.
      He must be stopped at all costs…at least, all costs borne by the taxpayers.

    • Shiny Nerfherder

      alleging they falsely valued assets for economic gain

      BWAHAHAHAHAHAaaaaa….

      The burden rests squarely on the lender to make the determination of value. Now if he falsely attested to ownership of assets, that’s a different story, but I doubt he did that.

  12. Certified Public Asshat

    Not OT?

    WH @PressSec says Biden didn't actually mean the Covid pandemic is over despite saying it: "Just to step back for a second, when he made those comments, he was walking through the Detroit car show, the halls of the Detroit car show, he was looking around." pic.twitter.com/JUMzkkA1P8— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 21, 2022

    • Tundra

      “He was walking around!! At a car show!

      You can’t hold him to account for what he says, bigots!”

      It would be funny if I wasn’t gonna die in a nuclear holocaust.

      • Swiss Servator

        It would be funny if I wasn’t gonna die in a nuclear holocaust freezing, hungry, and in the dark.

      • Tundra

        Potato, potahto.

    • Fatty Bolger

      You can’t expect the man to walk and talk at the same time! Just be glad he wasn’t chewing gum, or something really bad might have happened.

    • juris imprudent

      Holy shit, did you scroll down to Wall Street Silver?

      • Tundra

        That’s gold.

      • Shiny Nerfherder

        *hurk*

    • The Other Kevin

      There are lots of famous quotes from presidents out there. For Biden, they will all have a strikethrough, and then “that’s not what he meant to say.”

    • Rebel Scum

      Grandpa gets distracted and forgets things.

  13. CPRM

    I won.”

    “Not officially, sir,” Karine mumbled.

    The Chocolate Covered Strawberry is an Election Denier!!111111!!!

  14. Shiny Nerfherder

    For Swiss

    *smooches*

    • The Other Kevin

      Saucy.

    • Rebel Scum

      That’s a saucy meme.

      • Rebel Scum

        Missed it by that much…

    • Zwak. who's suit is as ragged as his nerves.

      That goes into the joke bank!

      • rhywun

        OK, dad. *teen eye roll*

    • Swiss Servator

      I have already had that one plaguing me…

      *narrows gaze*

    • Tundra

      Bravo!

  15. The Late P Brooks

    My life has improved dramatically, so I was extra-chatty yesterday.

    *toots horn, throws confetti*

  16. PieInTheSky

    Better than Bulgaria but not as nice as Cuba: how did the US become such an awful place to live?
    Arwa Mahdawi
    Arwa Mahdawi
    The land of the free is heading for ‘developing country’ status, based on a UN index that ranks quality of life. The UK’s not doing much better

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/21/us-un-living-standards-sustainable-development-goals

    US is bellow Ukraine and way bellow Romania. That is funny i dont feel that rich.
    But anyway take that loosers. Also france must be happy to be above them dn swiss

    https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/rankings

    • kinnath

      Fuck Sustainable Development Goals.

      The US is the Land of Consumption. It’s what makes the country great.

      • PieInTheSky

        I can tell you the affordable part of the “affordable and clean” energy goal is not going great for Europe

      • juris imprudent

        You just don’t understand what is in your own interests!

    • Shiny Nerfherder

      US is below Ukraine

      Fuck off. Not all of America is West Baltimore.

      • PieInTheSky

        It feels good to be Twice as high as Singapore though I could probably not afford to live there

    • whiz

      US is bellow Ukraine

      Funny, I don’t remember having to dodge bombs.

      • Swiss Servator

        So you ain’t on the West Side of Chicago then?

      • Swiss Servator

        South Side – yeah, it’s rough. They kill ya.

        West Side – They kill ya, then do shit to yo’ body after you dead…

        /IDOC parole officer, late 1990s

      • Dr. Fronkensteen

        I thought the bombs were in Philadelphia. West and South Side is small arms fire for now.

      • Penguin

        But…they’re sustainable bombs.

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      Strange that so many people are trying to immigrate here. Maybe we should send them on to Cuba.

      • juris imprudent

        Really – you’ll be happier there. Don’t take our word for it!

      • robc

        That is the easiest best measure of country rank: Net migration.

    • rhywun

      Never change, The Guardian.

    • Fatty Bolger

      So our red ratings are:

      SDG2: Zero hunger (just walk around and marvel at all the emaciated people)
      SDG10: Reduced inequalities (some people making more money is bad)
      SDG12: Responsible consumption and production (how dare you spend that money you make)
      SDG13: Climate action (lol)
      SDG15: Life on land (what does this even mean?)
      SDG16: Peace, justice and strong institutions (fine, I’ll give you this one)
      SDG17: Partnerships for the goals (fuck off)

      • rhywun

        Yet another “our model produces the exact results we were looking for”.

        Too bad it is not only Guardian readers who are stupid enough to buy this BS.

      • Shiny Nerfherder

        I love the chart. Particularly that rate ceiling in 2007.

  17. Shiny Nerfherder

    For Sugarfree

    *smooches*

    • SugarFree

      I wonder what comes out of that crotch nozzle…

      See the afternoon links for more clowning around!

      • Shiny Nerfherder

        I think that’s the shower lever.

        Help Kinko out and get a shower, kids!

      • Zwak. who's suit is as ragged as his nerves.

        Thats Golden, Jerry!

        Golden!

      • SDF-7

        Dangnabbit! Too slow.

      • SDF-7

        That’s golden, man….

      • SugarFree

        Oh. OH.

        Ew.

      • Grummun

        I’d guess that is a valve handle for the shower nozzle in the nose.

        Is that what they’re installing in the new middle school locker rooms?

      • Zwak. who's suit is as ragged as his nerves.

        Apparently, you get two knobs in Canada.

  18. juris imprudent

    So, dragging along the national conservative, the economic fallacies…

    …more precisely, an economic nationalist view of trade—by former US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer. Chatting afterwards with students attending the Forum, one of them asked me what I thought of Ambassador Lighthizer’s remarks. My response was: “It was mercantilism, updated for the twenty-first century.”

    • SDF-7

      I don’t give a rat’s ass about mercantilism compared to globalism except that I do believe keeping certain domestic capacity for production is vital for national defense. Screw the perfection of the market — like Germany relying on all its fuel from Russia (or us for medical supplies from China… remember that coming out in 2020?), there is a serious argument to be made for self-sufficiency for a nation.

      Or in other words, sometimes there are other factors than pure economics.

      Oh, I also believe playing fields must be level. Do I begrudge India competing with us relatively fairly for tech jobs? No. Do I begrudge China getting manufacturing by stealing IP and using slave labor? Hell yes. (Setting aside the environmental regulations that make us noncompetitive with non-Western nations, which is a whole different discussion).

      So yeah, I’m really not convinced the “national conservatives” are that crazy on this front, sorry.

      Oh, and thanks to Pat for the link to their speaker list / website, so now I know that there are actually some trying to call themselves that. 🙂

      • Fatty Bolger

        I share many of the same concerns. But as always, it’s difficult in practice to separate actual national interests from rent seeking.

      • R C Dean

        sometimes there are other factors than pure short-term economics

        The manic pursuit of quarterly profits at the expense of long-term, I’ll say it, sustainability is at the root of many of our problems. Global supply chains are all well and good, for non-essentials (defined as you please). But just as individuals need some level of self-sufficiency, so do communities.

      • juris imprudent

        I think you are calling out stupid govt policy viz Germany rather than some market failure (or ideal).

  19. Not Adahn

    Lol.

    Apparently some of the plaintiffs against the horrible forced relocation by DeSanits are Yanet Doe, Pablo Doe, and Jesus Doe.

    • UnCivilServant

      That’s because it’s not one of the actual Illegal Aliens doing the suing, but an activist group. I doubt they’ve even talked to any of the illegals.

      • Shiny Nerfherder

        I think the Left has already proven they don’t actually give a flying fuck about the illegals, only their utility to the cause.

    • Swiss Servator

      Don’t fuck with the Jesus!

    • Penguin

      The Babylon Bee documents another method of retribution they’re using to get DeSantis.

      • kinnath

        At publishing time, DeSantis confirmed the Karens had been apprehended by the Florida National Guard and were on their way to Gitmo.