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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 1 Comment

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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

[COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY] WARNING [BECAUSE ANYONE WHO CARES HAS SEEN THE MOVIE BY NOW]: SPOILERS THAT WILL SPOIL ALL OF THE SPOIL-ABLE THINGS IN “AVENGERS: ENDGAME” ARE SPOILED IN THE SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW THAT FOLLOWS (WHICH, BY THE WAY, ALSO IS CHOCK FULL OF SPOILERS).

Alrighty, then. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way…

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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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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  • 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...
  • Ruth Feiertag on We did itJon, I hope we can recover from the damage this administration and its supporters have wrought. I also hope your...
  • Geoffrey Dix on We did itAnd now it appears that Georgia has handed Biden the Senate as well. I believe Democrats will manage this advantage...
  • Erika T on R.I.P. E.V.H.This had me in tears.. I've been a fan for years & have been surprised at how much his death...

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Jon ZalFollow22,42357,060

Husband, father, writer, drummer, Army vet (M.P. K-9), ex-music journalist, Democrat, Red Sox fan • BLOG: https://t.co/VKNuVvMZ3e • IG: https://t.co/TuGsM4GY63

Jon Zal
OfficialJonZal avatarJon Zal@OfficialJonZal·
15 Feb 1361449428901654528

Just wanna thank Dave Grohl & Taylor Hawkins of @foofighters for making “Shame Shame” the single greatest “I sound fucking awesome covering this brand new song on the drums five minutes after hearing it” track of all time.

Twitter feed video.
Image for the Tweet beginning: Just wanna thank Dave Grohl
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OfficialJonZal avatarJon Zal@OfficialJonZal·
14 Feb 1360931972915359765

Actual American patriots.

Actual American patriots.
͏Postcards4USA@postcards4USA

Thank yous and admiration to the House Impeachment Managers and their Staff!
You made America proud!
And now we FIGHT on!
@repraskin @JoaquinCastroTX @RepCicilline @RepDean @StaceyPlaskett @RepDianaDeGette @RepTedLieu @RepJoeNeguse @RepSwalwell

#43Traitors #GOP43

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OfficialJonZal avatarJon Zal@OfficialJonZal·
14 Feb 1360929009870241793

Congress should establish a law whereby twice-impeached former presidents whose two impeachments stem from attempts to steal the presidency are not entitled to ongoing, taxpayer-funded Secret Service details for themselves, their birther wives, or their wretched adult offspring.

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OfficialJonZal avatarJon Zal@OfficialJonZal·
13 Feb 1360694691759607812

Every single time Republicans have been given the chance to choose America & the Constitution over a dangerously unfit, racist, reality-TV host, they’ve chosen the latter. What an utterly worthless & disgusting party.

Thank you to the Republican senators who did the right thing.

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OfficialJonZal avatarJon Zal@OfficialJonZal·
13 Feb 1360691760142417921

It’s wild that almost every Senate Republican is a dishonest, unAmerican garbage human.

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OfficialJonZal avatarJon Zal@OfficialJonZal·
12 Feb 1360035476980314113

Just realized that, despite how messed up so many things are right now, it is absolutely delightful to not see, hear, or read a single dumb thing Donald Trump has been thinking for the past three weeks.

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OfficialJonZal avatarJon Zal@OfficialJonZal·
11 Feb 1359680684164599810

Anyone else having a nervous breakdown & midlife crisis, or just me?

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What a day. Cheers, America. 🥂🇺🇸 What a day. Cheers, America. 🥂🇺🇸
I took this back in May of 2018, when D.C. wasn’ I took this back in May of 2018, when D.C. wasn’t a war zone.

Looking forward to making a course correction on Wednesday and bending that moral arc Dr. King spoke of back toward justice. #MLK #MLKday
51 🎂 It was a Very Boston Birthday. New @RedSo 51 🎂

It was a Very Boston Birthday. New @RedSox pullover, @BostonGlobe longsleeve tee, & an Alex Cora tee ... and the pièce de résistance: four pies delivered (deep freeze 🥶) from @reginapizzeria! 😋
Lots of losses this year, but I hope you’re find Lots of losses this year, but I hope you’re finding joy this holiday season. Wishing you & yours a safe, healthy & rockin’ 2021. 🎅🏻🎄🎸🥁
My indoor/outdoor tree game is strong, y’all. 
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Thanks for getting it right, America. 🇺🇸🤘 Thanks for getting it right, America. 🇺🇸🤘🏻
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