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JON ZAL

Your front-row seat to my nervous breakdown

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An Open Letter of Apology to President Barack Obama

January 16, 2017 81 Comments

P042213PS-0783

Haven’t posted anything new since my piece on the January 6th insurrection. Needed a break. Planning to get back at it very soon, but in the meantime, I’m pinning this entry at the top of my homepage because it is the post of which I remain the most proud, and I’d rather it be the first thing people see/hear than my (justifiably) angry rant about the insurrection. -JZ, January 2023

Dear Mr. President,

Let me begin by saying the two words you deserve to hear cross the lips of every American citizen, whether they know it or not:

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Filed Under: Greatest Hits, Politics, Portfolio Tagged With: obama

There must be a reckoning

January 9, 2021 2 Comments

Embed from Getty Images

Listen, I was willing to put it all behind me … the entire four-year-long grift and deadly disaster that has been the Trump presidency. I just wanted Donald Trump gone.

While some debated whether or not Biden’s DOJ should pursue criminal charges against Trump, against his administration, and against his family, I realized that I no longer much cared one way or the other. After four long years of feeling nothing but hatred, disgust and rage for Trump, for his wretched offspring, for his sycophantic enablers, and for his ignorant, brainwashed, racist followers, I was exhausted. I had allowed them all to sap more than their fair share of my energy, and I was willing to give them not one more ounce of it. I just wanted to put this awful chapter in American history behind me, welcome the new beginning that the Biden/Harris Administration represents, and embrace a return to a world in which the president of the United States is not 100% batshit crazy, racist, cruel, incompetent, and a clear-and-present danger to everyone on the planet.

As far as I was concerned, Trump and his entire cult could go spend the rest of their sad lives crying “No fair!” at the clouds while he bilked them out of more money with whatever new scam he could devise. Good riddance.

All of that changed on Wednesday.

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Filed Under: Greatest Hits, Politics, Portfolio

We did it

January 5, 2021 8 Comments

Written November 8, 2020

On election night in 2016, I sent my then-11-year-old daughter to bed with the assurance that, despite her concerns about how things appeared to be unfolding, there was no chance Donald Trump would win, and that she would wake in the morning to learn that America had finally elected a woman to its highest office.

When I rose the next morning, chief among the many gut punches that Donald Trump’s victory delivered was the realization that I now had to tell her that I was wrong … that a vile pig of man whose blatant racism and misogyny are among his most defining characteristics had been elevated to the Oval Office, and that his infinitely more qualified female opponent had been passed over thanks in part to a slavery-era relic that, twice during my lifetime, has awarded the presidency to an unqualified Republican for whom the majority of Americans did not vote.

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Filed Under: Politics

R.I.P. E.V.H.

October 11, 2020 6 Comments

Almost one year to the day before Edward Van Halen died, I texted a friend whom I was pretty sure would know the answer to a question that had been troubling me for some time.

Is Eddie sick?

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Filed Under: Music, Personal, Van Halen

‘All we needed was a competent president’

September 10, 2020 3 Comments

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On February 7th of this year, President Donald Trump, having been fully briefed on the danger posed by COVID-19, stepped to the podium in the White House briefing room and warned the American public that the virus was both airborne and lethal.

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Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: coronavirus, COVID-19, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Trump

Is it November yet?

June 30, 2020 7 Comments

Embed from Getty Images

For a while there, before things got as unimaginably bad as they’ve gotten, I somewhat enjoyed writing about the unprecedented incompetence, corruption, scandal, and cartoon-like madness of Donald Trump’s chaos presidency. There was mystery and intrigue and reasons galore for me to vent my righteous outrage about the petty, self-obsessed, lizard-brained conman who had ridden a wave of racism, misogyny, ignorance and greed into the most powerful office on earth … and, most compellingly, there was what, on multiple occasions, appeared to be the very real possibility that damning and richly deserved consequences were about to befall him.

It is adorable that Old Me had the capacity for that sort of optimism. I miss him.

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Filed Under: Greatest Hits, Politics, Portfolio Tagged With: Trump

Confessions of a former Daddy Blogger

February 12, 2020 3 Comments

Me

Years ago, in my former, pre-dystopian life, I had a blog where I mostly wrote about the sometimes humorous, always chaotic, generally rewarding experience of parenting two children who were, at the time, very young. I was, in the colloquial term of that fancy-free, pre-Trump day and age, a “Daddy Blogger.”

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Filed Under: Life, Parenthood

50

January 17, 2020 14 Comments

Jon Zal @ 50

Half a century. Yikes.

Listen, I’m optimistic about how much time I have left, but even if all of this working out and healthy eating pays off, an objective reading of the actuarial chart still suggests that I’d have to squint pretty hard to see the halfway point in my rearview mirror right now. Add to that the fact that each year now passes more quickly than the one that came before it and it’s easy to imagine that whatever time I do have left is going to feel exponentially more brief than the previous five decades.

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Filed Under: Life, Personal

Kamala’s out. Now what?

January 2, 2020 3 Comments

Embed from Getty Images

You would think that, having spent five decades on this planet, and all of that time as an American citizen, and most of my adult life as a Democrat, I would have, by now, purposely drowned in a bathtub any remaining vestiges of my political optimism and idealism, but here we are.

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Filed Under: Politics

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FEATURED POSTS

An Open Letter of Apology to President Barack Obama

Is it November yet?

Van Halen (or, The Band That Ate My Life)

Gene Simmons on stage

Dear Gene Simmons of KISS, a.k.a. My Childhood Hero: I think there’s been a terrible misunderstanding. Either that, or you’re an overly sensitive dick.

Take Me Out to the Therapist… Take Me Out to the Shrink…

Daddy Vader

If not for The Force, Darth Vader would have totally gotten his ass kicked, because that suit? Not very practical.

Turns out I have a bright future ahead of me ... in a field about which I know nothing

Man, this finding-a-new-job thing is going to be easier than I thought

No, really: This job-search thing is like shooting fish in a barrel

Hell hath no fury like white-male privilege threatened

There must be a reckoning

Don't miss a thing!

Sorry for yelling. Just trying to generate some excitement. Anyway ... enter your email address and you'll get a notification when I publish a new blog post. (I will never spam you.)

ABOUT ME

Jon Zal @ The Massachusetts State House, Boston

I was born in 1970, raised just outside of Boston, and now live near Philadelphia. As a child, I thought I was going to be…
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TWITTER

Twitter

jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal @jon_zal ·
8 Mar 1633596279757639680

Guys, no need to worry about rising energy costs here in Pennsylvania; Big Electric is looking out for the common folk.

I will try to not squander my new monthly windfall.

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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal @jon_zal ·
10 Feb 1623836552982851586

When you impersonate Taylor Hawkins and do drumeoke with the @foofighters.

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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal @jon_zal ·
17 Jan 1615495856526094336

53.
Cheers.

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Cheers. Twitter feed image.
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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal @jon_zal ·
25 Dec 1607047694270484485

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays, everyone. Wherever you are, whomever you’re with, I hope you’re feeling safe, warm & loved.

Image for the Tweet beginning: Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays, Twitter feed image.
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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal @jon_zal ·
11 Dec 1601783691688435712

The only football game I look forward to each year, and this year’s was the best I’ve ever seen. Way to go, @ArmyWP_Football!
#GoArmyBeatNavy

The only football game I look forward to each year, and this year’s was the best I’ve ever seen. Way to go, @ArmyWP_Football!
#GoArmyBeatNavy
U.S. Army @USArmy

Army Wins!

Incredible game and effort by both teams! Proud of @WestPoint_USMA's @ArmyWP_Football, and we salute the @NavalAcademy for a hard-fought game.

#ArmyNavyGame #GoArmy #BeatNavy @CBSSports @NavyFB #USArmy #GoArmyBeatNavy

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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal @jon_zal ·
9 Dec 1601292680784277505

Can confirm. Mail in the greater-Philadelphia area continues to be a complete and utter clusterfuck ever since Trump hired DeJoy to dismantle the USPS and disrupt mail-in voting.

Can confirm. Mail in the greater-Philadelphia area continues to be a complete and utter clusterfuck ever since Trump hired DeJoy to dismantle the USPS and disrupt mail-in voting.
ChesterCtyRamblings @ChesCoRamblings

Hey @USPS @USPSHelp @OIGUSPS @USPSNewsHQ @CareersUsps @USPSbiz WTF? Why don’t you try to help your individual post offices instead of trying to destroy the Postal Service day by day? @washingtonpost @nytimes @PhillyInquirer FIRE DEJOY ! @POTUS @WhiteHouse

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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal @jon_zal ·
9 Dec 1601200554180415489

tl;dr: “I crave attention. The 51-seat majority gave me less of what I crave, so now I’ve found a new way to get it.”

tl;dr: “I crave attention. The 51-seat majority gave me less of what I crave, so now I’ve found a new way to get it.”
Kyrsten Sinema @kyrstensinema

In a natural extension of my service since I was first elected to Congress, I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington and formally registering as an Arizona Independent. 1/3

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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal @jon_zal ·
9 Dec 1601200554180415489

tl;dr: “I crave attention. The 51-seat majority gave me less of what I crave, so now I’ve found a new way to get it.”

tl;dr: “I crave attention. The 51-seat majority gave me less of what I crave, so now I’ve found a new way to get it.”
Kyrsten Sinema @kyrstensinema

In a natural extension of my service since I was first elected to Congress, I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington and formally registering as an Arizona Independent. 1/3

Reply on Twitter 1601200554180415489 Retweet on Twitter 1601200554180415489 22 Like on Twitter 1601200554180415489 81 Twitter 1601200554180415489

Recent Comments

  • JON ZAL on Dear Gene Simmons of KISS, a.k.a. My Childhood Hero: I think there’s been a terrible misunderstanding. Either that, or you’re an overly sensitive dick.Thanks, Linda!
  • Linda Sutton (@LindaSu93798924) on Dear Gene Simmons of KISS, a.k.a. My Childhood Hero: I think there’s been a terrible misunderstanding. Either that, or you’re an overly sensitive dick.I really enjoyed that as well Jon. Very well written and extremely witty. I think I ( who doesn't really...
  • Shirley Maestas on There must be a reckoningAfter several years away from my blog I decided to check it out along with some that I used to...
  • Jon Zal on We did itThanks for the continued support, Robert. Always appreciate it! (And, yeah, meeting John Lewis will always remain an incredible memory,...
  • RUTH FEIERTAG on There must be a reckoningJon, I could not agree more. You point to two of the most dangerous aspects of the last four years:...
  • Jon Zal on We did itAgreed, Geoffrey. The Georgia win is huge. I didn't even let myself hope we'd get both seats. An unbelievably welcome...
  • Jon Zal on We did itI feel your pain, Christinne! Glad you found me. Thanks for writing! -JZ
  • Jon Zal on We did itHi, Ruth. Both the kiddos are very happy about the election outcomes, and horrified by what happened Wednesday. I share...
  • robertleepotter500 on We did itI so love that picture of you with Congressman John Lewis. What a lifetime memory! You are putting your words...
  • christinne on We did itI'm a newbie... So glad I found you!! Can't wait to read more but this has been/is the worst day...

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When the @celtics & @nhlbruins both have a playoff When the @celtics & @nhlbruins both have a playoff game on the same night. 🙄 (Might put the @redsox on my iPhone after I post this.) #BostonStrong
The kind of Type-A madness that compels me to hang The kind of Type-A madness that compels me to hang 700 lights on a tree of this height and size is both a curse and a blessing. Love having this spectacle in my yard & spreading the holiday cheer. Enjoy! 🎄
We did it! The last time I ran an official 10K ra We did it!

The last time I ran an official 10K race, I was 18 and in Basic Training/Military Police School at Ft. McClellan, Alabama. Let's just say I'm a bit longer in the tooth and wider in the waist than I was then. 🥵

Proud to have legged it out with my boy yesterday to support @travismanionfoundation. Thanks to all who donated. (FYI: Donation link, which is in my IG bio, remains open through the end of the year.)

Official time: 55:28

#RunWithTheMarines
#MCM10K
The last time I visited the Marine Corps War Memor The last time I visited the Marine Corps War Memorial with my son, he was in utero. 😳 This Sunday, I’ll visit it with him again after we cross the finish line at the MCM 10K.

I’m running in honor of my late grandfather, Finn, a Marine who fought on Saipan, Tinian & Iwo Jima with the 4th Division during World War II.

My son and I are are also running to support the great work of the @travismanionfoundation. If you would be willing to help me reach my fundraising goal, I’d really appreciate it. Link to my fundraising page is in my bio. Thanks!
Took over the State House in Boston today with my Took over the State House in Boston today with my sis, @repjamiebelsito!
Insta vs Real Life: How I looked 20 minutes after Insta vs Real Life:

How I looked 20 minutes after finishing yesterday's 5K vs how I looked immediately after finishing yesterday's 5K. 🥵

Happy to have my boy home for the weekend ... except for the part where he passed me mid-run, did the Steve Rogers "On your left" thing & finished two minutes ahead of me. 😜

Him: 24:17
Me: 26:21

Glad we did it.

#911 #neverforget
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