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JON ZAL

Your front-row seat to my nervous breakdown

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There must be a reckoning

January 9, 2021 3 Comments

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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: Politics

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

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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: Politics 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

Kamala’s out. Now what?

January 2, 2020 3 Comments

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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

Yes she can

November 2, 2019 12 Comments

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In the wake of this week’s news that Senator Kamala Harris has restructured her campaign to go all-in on Iowa, I feel compelled to make a case for her candidacy … and even if you’re undecided, or you’ve already made up your mind to support someone else, there are good reasons for all of us to keep her in this race.

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Filed Under: Politics

“Stupid Watergate 2”: At last, a sequel that’s better than the original

October 19, 2019 3 Comments

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It seemed like it was going to be so good, didn’t it? That first “Stupid Watergate” movie? The stolen election, the illegitimate president committing obstruction of justice in public over and over, the Large Adult Son tweeting out evidence of collusion with Russia, the American hero poised to take them all down? Man, I really enjoyed those first two acts.

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Filed Under: Politics

The long-overdue “Avengers: Endgame” review that literally no one has been waiting for. You’re welcome.

September 29, 2019 Leave a Comment

My problem with “Avengers: Endgame” is not that it isn’t well-paced or well-shot, or that the story is not well-conceived, or that the action isn’t amazing, or that the actors didn’t deliver great performances, or that the creators failed to bring to life a comic book in a truly eye-popping and heartfelt fashion. To the contrary, the film nailed it on those counts. In fact, as cinematic achievements go, “Avengers: Endgame” is a visual feast filled with some of the most incredible comic-book action ever committed to film, wrapped around a clever plot that, had it not been for my disappointment with some crucial character decisions, would have left me standing on my chair cheering as the credits rolled. My ability to enjoy the many otherwise excellent elements of this movie, however, was insurmountably handicapped by some storytelling choices to which I could not object more.

And so, without further ado, I give you:

“What ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Did Wrong and How It Could Have Been Awesome, According to Some Random, Old Dude with a Blog Who Has Never Created a Comic Book, Nor a Movie, Nor a Comic-Book Movie, Let Alone the Top-Grossing Comic-Book Movie of All Time.”Read the rest »

Filed Under: Life, Movies, Parenthood

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Jon Zal 🇺🇦 Follow 23,851 55,132

Husband, father, writer, podcaster, drummer, Army vet (M.P. K-9), ex-music journalist. #BlackLivesMatter

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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal 🇺🇦 @jon_zal ·
23 Mar 1506728347652567053

Senate Republicans on the Judiciary Committee have used almost all of their time during this confirmation hearing to pander to Q-Anon lunatics. This should terrify everyone. Stop it with the “both sides” nonsense; one of the two major parties in this country is literally a cult.

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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal 🇺🇦 @jon_zal ·
23 Mar 1506727640782225410

Just wondering if Josh Hawley regrets inciting a violent insurrection against the United States Government that resulted in the death and maiming of police officers.

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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal 🇺🇦 @jon_zal ·
23 Mar 1506668483316260868

I am so far removed from the utter insanity of the far right that I keep feeling surprised when someone reminds me that Graham, Hawley, et al, are harping on the child-pornography thing in order to appeal to the Q-Anon conspiracy nuts whose votes are propping up the decrepit GOP.

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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal 🇺🇦 @jon_zal ·
23 Mar 1506643627950456837

Wild that Ketanji Brown Jackson has to teach the Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee how the Judiciary Branch works.

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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal 🇺🇦 @jon_zal ·
23 Mar 1506628980320911360

ProTip™: If you twice acquitted Donald Trump & helped him incite a violent insurrection that resulted in dead & maimed police officers, you’re not actually…

(•_•)/
<) ) TOUGH!
/ \

\(•_•)
( (> ON!
/ \

(•_•)
<) )> CRIME!
/ \

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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal 🇺🇦 @jon_zal ·
23 Mar 1506597758555377670

PARENTING UPDATE: Waiting to find out if your first-born child will get into the college of his choice is a special kind of torture.

If this kid doesn't get into this school, I'm going to cry.

(That's him in the George Washington costume he asked for as a 7th-birthday gift.)

Image for the Tweet beginning: PARENTING UPDATE: Waiting to find Twitter feed image.
Image for the Tweet beginning: PARENTING UPDATE: Waiting to find Twitter feed image.
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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal 🇺🇦 @jon_zal ·
23 Mar 1506422895030976516

Juxtapose Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s composure during hours of pointless, racist, pandering attacks from white men not worthy of carrying her laundry hamper to that of this black-out drunk, credibly accused rapist appointed by a credibly accused rapist:

Image for twitter card

Hell hath no fury like white-male privilege threatened

For a brief moment last Thursday, as Brett Kavanaugh began his opening remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee...

jonzal.com

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jon_zal avatar; Jon Zal 🇺🇦 @jon_zal ·
22 Mar 1506418152816660480

I love @SenBooker actually making his questioning of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson all about, you know, *Ketanji Brown Jackson*.

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ABOUT ME

Jon Zal @ The Capitol

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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  • Alexi on There must be a reckoningThis is simply a very very good post. Found you after seeing your tweet about your sister's win in MA....
  • 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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Photographic evidence that I occasionally leave th Photographic evidence that I occasionally leave the house. Rare … but it happens.
Go @RedSox! #OpeningDay Go @RedSox!
#OpeningDay
New profile pic. Previous one was six years old. S New profile pic. Previous one was six years old. Started to feel like a lie.

Longest my hair's been in 18 years. Planning to let it keep growing for a bit. Not gonna let it get as long as it was Back In The Day (read: down to my chest), but ... I need a change.

Anyway ... that's me now. 👋🏻
Just gutted by this loss. Van Halen, Rolling Sto Just gutted by this loss. 

Van Halen, Rolling Stones & Foo Fighters. That’s my Big Three … and of those three, there’s only one I was banking on as a go-to active interest for the next couple of decades. 

As with Van Halen, I fell in love with Foo Fighters not only because of the music, but because of the fun those guys had with, and love they had for, each other.

Had plans in place to go see Foos play in Oregon this October for the final stop on their now-canceled tour. Can’t believe I won’t get to see Dave & Taylor play together again. 

Dave was the first interview I ever did with someone who wasn’t a member of Van Halen. He let me call him at home one weekend, 22 years ago. Two East Coast guys, same age, drummers, music lovers, shooting the shit on a Saturday afternoon. It remains one of my favorite memories. 

I briefly met Taylor in Austin, TX, back in 2006 when he and his solo band somehow got put up at the same shitty Holiday Inn as me. He was very kind, gracious and cool to this awkward, socially anxious fanboy. Saw him play live that night, his drum kit positioned at the front lip of the stage so he could sing lead and play drums at the same time. Great set. 

I am absolutely gutted thinking about what Dave is going through right now. 

Hadn’t been playing much in recent months. Been sweating it right the fuck out every day since Taylor passed, though. Nonstop Foo Fighters & Nirvana play-along sessions. Only way I’ve been able to channel the grief. Glad I have that outlet. (Thanks for getting my ass behind the kit again, Taylor.)

Really hoping Dave finds a way to make peace with this tragic loss and keep being the joyful soul & inspiration he’s been to so many of us for so long now. 

#RIPTaylorHawkins 🥁💔
#FooFighters
My weekend? Awesome, thanks. How 'bout yours? Ret My weekend? Awesome, thanks. How 'bout yours?

Returned home Sunday and all is well now, but ... man, for a guy who not once in 52 years spent a night at the hospital or experienced a serious medical emergency, I made up for it in spades last week.

Celebrated Valentine's Day with my first colonoscopy. Couple small polyps removed. No cancer found, and no other problems. "Return in five years." Yay! 🥳

Fast forward to last Thursday (2/24), at which time large quantities of nothing but blood began exiting my body via an orifice from which large quantities of blood should not pass. So that was disconcerting.

Pro-Tip™: A good way to skip the wait at the ER is to show them a picture of a toilet bowl filled with nothing but your own blood and then pass out.

Three mostly sleepless beep-filled nights, one CT scan, a couple IV bags, several bazillion blood draws & some bad hospital food later, I was home without any further issues, and, thankfully, no surgery or other medical intervention required.

But, yeah ... hoping to never do that again. 🥴

So, uh, anyway ... how you doin'?
Happy #nationalmargaritaday. 🍹 Happy #nationalmargaritaday. 🍹
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