Posted inDonald Trump Humor National politics

Me and my senior citizen Marxist, Antifa, Hamas-loving friends will enjoy the No Kings rally tomorrow

I'm really looking forward to attending the No Kings rally here in Salem, Oregon tomorrow. But I'm confused about what Republicans have been calling the Hate America rally. It sure seems like me and my senior citizen friends love America. However, since President Trump is known for never lying, being even more honest than George Washington, who lied about chopping down a cherry tree (some say this is a myth, but that's another bit of fake news), naturally I assume that Republican leaders are just as truthful as Trump. [Note: some people may hear what Trump said at a press…
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Posted inHumor LGBTQ issues Political correctness

Bill Maher wrongly makes fun of Portland schools “wokeness”

I've watched Bill Maher for many years, most recently via his Real Time show on HBO. Generally I enjoy Maher's blend of political humor and observations, but sometimes his tendency to criticize perceived liberal excesses rubs me the wrong way. Not because I object to Maher making fun of extreme left-wing stances, which indeed can be deserving of ridicule now and then. Rather, I don't like it when Maher oversimplifies a complex issue just for the sake of making it a more convenient object of scorn on his show. Yesterday Maher had a bit in his New Rules segment where…
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Posted inHumor

These disturbing days I’m doing my best to deny reality

It's a tough time for lots of people in the United States. No, let's make that most people. President Biden said as much yesterday. Speaking to the Associated Press in a rare one-on-one interview in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon, the president touched on many topics from war to hair. “People are really, really down,” Biden told the Associated Press White House reporter Josh Boak, according to a transcript of the interview. “They’re really down.” Agreed. Maybe you aren't feeling down, but I sure am. Not totally, of course. I have plenty of cheerful moments. But I find it…
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Posted inHumor

Our 2021 Christmas letter explains what we mean by “Fine”

For us, 2021 was one of those years when we felt like adding an asterisk to our usual reply when asked by a store employee, "How're you doing?"  Fine was an OK answer. But Fine* is even better. Our Christmas letter allowed us to describe what we mean by the asterisk. Here it is in PDF and JPEG formats.Download 2021 Christmas Letter PDF
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Posted inHumor

Angry Owl’s 2021 predictions for Salem, Oregon

It's always a pleasure to be able to share local predictions for the coming year from Salem's most famous life form, Angry Owl. Here are Angry Owl's Twitter tweets -- better termed "hoots," of course.  They're funny and wise. Since Donald Trump has been permanently banned from Twitter, I'm recommending that his 80 million or so followers migrate over to Angry Owl's account.  After all, there's way more truth in a single Angry Owl tweet than in the countless tweets Trump inflicted on the nation. Enjoy...
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Posted inDonald Trump Humor

Borat 2 movie shows the funny side of right-wing politics

Humor is subversive. Lenny Bruce knew that. Other comedians throughout the ages, including ancient Greece, also have known that. To mock a political stance is to show how absurd it is, how open to ridicule it is. Sacha Baron Cohen's new Borat movie, creatively titled Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, may not be a comedic masterpiece, but it is damn funny.  Laurel, my wife, and I rarely laugh out loud during movies, even when we are watching them at home. But last night we fired up the Amazon…
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Posted inCoronavirus Donald Trump Humor

Trump is a genius! He just solved every problem on Earth.

Ever since he was elected president of the United States, I've been a vociferous critic of Donald Trump. But now I realize how wrong I've been. A recent statement by Trump points to a solution to not only the COVID-19 crisis, but every conceivable problem that afflicts our planet. Behold the genius of Trump the Almighty: I bow down before the glory of this single marvelous sentence which, in eight carefully crafted words, cuts through the thicket of confusion that has prevented humanity from dealing with so many issues that have bedeviled people for millennia.  Trump, though, did expand upon…
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Posted inCarole Smith Downtown Humor

New issue of Salem Cherry Pits takes jabs at city officials

Not surprisingly, we (well, I) here at Salem Political Snark adore snarkishness. That's why I'm eager to share every new issue of Salem Cherry Pits when it hits my email inbox, sent to me by downtown resident and property owner Carole Smith -- the creator, publisher, and distributor of this marvelous mixture of biting satire and solid information about downtown goings-on. Below I've shared screenshots of the first two pages of the Spring 2020 issue, which deal with a novel approach to homelessness and a heretofore unrecognized way the coronavirus can be transmitted: farts. You can read the whole issue…
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Posted inHumor

Angry Owl’s Top 10 Predictions for Salem in 2020

Funny. Sarcastic. Provocative. In short, a hoot. Here's Angry Owl's Top 10 Predictions for Salem in 2020 that came to perch on the top of the Twitter tree today. It's tough for me to pick a favorite, because I like them all, but I suppose my #1 of the Top Ten would be... "Botched construction at the polo grounds and clubhouse delay grand opening of Salem's $73 million police facility," because cost overruns were so extreme on this Police Palace. Be sure to follow Angry Owl on Twitter so you don't miss this famous bird's tweets. And check out Angry…
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Posted inCity of Salem Downtown Humor

Downtown Cherry Pits takes a satirical jab at Salem issues

I like satire. I admire humorous writing. And I appreciate efforts to improve downtown Salem. Downtown Cherry Pits is a funny satirical newsletter that hits on all three cylinders for me. The March 2019 issue has a great cover. There's a lot of good stuff in the other eight pages also. Check out the issue via this PDF file of a scan I made of it.Download Downtown Cherry Pits March 2019 Or if you're lucky, there will be some free copies left in a box hanging on the wall outside 363 Court Street NE in downtown Salem (next to Lullu's). Carole…
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Posted inHumor

Silvertongue Apple-Peal newsletter is a delicious Silverton satire

Humor is deeply subversive. It's maybe the best way to get under the skin of the Powers That Be. The Onion does a great job of this on the national level. Yesterday I was delighted to be sent a copy of a first-rate satirical newsletter created by someone in Silverton. Oops, Silvertongue. Which is close to Mt. Angle. Pleasingly, the masthead says, "A Leisure Service of the Statesman Urinal."(The Silverton newspaper, published by the Statesman Journal, is called the Appeal Tribune.) Not an original putdown of the Statesman Journal, but funny nonetheless. I haven't poured over every detail of the newsletter,…
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Posted inHumor

“Angry Owl” is on Twitter, saying satirical stuff about Salem

Birds are smart. I'm not surprised that "Angry Owl" has established a nest on Twitter, where he/she tweets out funny observations about Salem. I'm the dumb one, because it's taken me this long to explore Angry Owl's Twitter feed (which hatched in February 2015; tagline is "Protecting the nest, helping joggers run a little faster"). This was the tweet that caught my attention recently. My @oregonbrian Twitter handle was included in it, since Angry Owl knows how much I enjoy humor directed at the City of Salem. (Some of my blog posts also provided material for Angry Owl.) That tweet led…
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