Doug Ford Sending Money Through The Mail Like It’s 1992 Is Not A Mystery And Ohmygod I’m So Irritated By All Of This


If there’s anything that isn’t super annoying about Doug Ford lately, I can’t find it. Even when I was starting to kinda get on board with his patriotic fight for Canada against Trump gimmick, he had to go and ruin it by admitting, to what should be no one’s surprise, that he was happy Trump won last November. That’s bad enough on its own, but then he made it even worse by saying he expected that things would somehow be different this time. This in spite of the fact that Trump literally campaigned on doing exactly what he’s doing right now with the tariffs and that, come on man, he’s Donald fucking Trump! If there’s a shitty thing to do to another person, he’s going to do it even if that person is supposed to be a friend. That’s all the guy does. He has no loyalty to anybody but himself, and the fact that Ford can straight face act like he had no idea says a lot about him and his fitness for the job he’s been given, I think.

And then there are these stupid cheques. A costly waste of money that will do absolutely nothing to address any real cost of living issues. They’re designed 100 percent to bribe us all into voting for him in the pointless election, which I should also remind you is going to be a costly waste of money.

All that is bad enough, but this being a Doug Ford initiative, you can bet your ass it gets worse.

Yes, this first gripe of mine probably would have happened regardless, but I’m going to go ahead and blame Ford for the extra scam because this was all his idea.

The Province of Ontario is warning residents to be on the lookout for scams to do with the $200 rebate cheques issued by Doug Ford’s government.

The $200 payment is available exclusively via cheque, which will arrive through the mail. 
However, residents should be wary of texts, emails and phone calls from anyone claiming to be from the provincial government.

In a “scam alert” on Ontario’s website, officials said the province will not contact someone proactively unless they initiated a question or query about the rebate.
Residents who are contacted unprompted by someone claiming to be a government staffer or representative should never give out their personal information, including social insurance number, banking or health information. 
The province said it will never use text, email or a phone call to offer money or a reward, or ask to sign you up for a rebate program.

Great. We have old people in our lives who are already freaked out about scams as it is, so this should make things better.

And don’t even get me started on how he’s chosen to send these damn things out. Instead of remembering that it’s 2025 and using direct deposit like a normal person, the frigging guy is spending lord knows how much to mail them! Through the post office! The post office which, in case you’ve forgotten, is still working its way through the backlog caused by last year’s strike!

The video I stuck at the top of the post asks a question that it then proceeds not to answer, but the reason for this paper mail garbage is pretty simple. It’s all marketing and branding. It would be easy for Ford to just send you money, but he wants you to see that he’s doing it and to hold it in your hand. That way, the reasoning goes, you’ll remember who gave it to you and have fond feelings about that person when you’re at the ballot box later. It’ll likely work, too.

Me though? I just see the fucking asshat who’s making me make an unnecessary trip to the bank in the goddamn snow, and then a similarly unnecessary one to wherever the hell my polling station is after that. Thanks, dingus. You underestimate my distaste for both you and winter. I look forward to voting NDP. Great work. Go pound rocks.

Pour Some Knowledge On Me

Hey there, youngsters.

It’s your old pal Steve here with a public service announcement.

You know that song “Pour Some Sugar on Me”? It still plays everywhere, so you probably do. It’s this one, just in case.

Anyway, based on a realization I had today, I feel like this is a good time to point out that to the best of my knowledge, none of the members of Def Leppard could see the future, nor did they possess a time machine. So no matter how much it sounds like that line near the start is saying “livin’ like a lover with a red iPhone”, (it most definitely sounds like that), that’s not what it’s saying. The song was released in 1988, nearly 20 years before the first iPhones were unveiled. So what you’re actually hearing is “Livin’ like a lover with a radar phone”, which makes a lot less sense than the red iPhone thing, honestly.

You’re welcome.

Definitely Going To Fool Them

“Ok now. Before we leave, I have to ask. Did you remember to properly label the drugs bag?”

“You mean the definitely not drugs bag? Of course!”

“That’s right! We can’t be driving around looking as dumb as those bag full of drugs guys.”

“Nope. We’re way smarter than that! No way in hell we’re getting caught.”

They got caught. the problem? Somebody forgot to write “definitely not a stolen car” on their ride.

Reynolds, cops say, was carrying a loaded .357 handgun in his pocket, a bag of methamphetamine, and $1360 in cash. Baggenstos had “three white pills she said were oxy…as well as a meth pipe.”
A 1:15 AM vehicle search yielded more meth, two scales, drug paraphernalia, and “baggies commonly used for selling.” And, investigators noted, “a brown bag that said on it, ‘Definitely not a bag full of drugs.’”
Inside the “Definitely” bag cops found “multiple packages” of what an officer “recognized to be methamphetamine” (and which later tested positive for the drug). In total, police seized about half-a-pound of meth.

Costly Government I Don’t Want Calls Costly Election None Of Us Needs

Premier Doug Ford confirms he will call snap Ontario election next week

Ontario Premier Doug Ford plans to call a snap election Wednesday, using the threat of 25 per cent tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump to justify his early call.
That election call would send Ontarians to the polls on Feb. 27, more than a year before the June 2026 fixed election date.
“With a strong mandate, we will be able to fight with Donald Trump to make sure we stop the tariffs,” he said Friday at a press conference.

Ford, who already has a large majority government, suggested he is not satisfied with the 79 out of 124 seats his Progressive Conservatives currently hold.
“We need the largest mandate in Ontario’s history,” he said.
“When you have a strong mandate in politics, and you have a strong mandate from the people for the next four years to last over the four years of the Trump administration, I can tell you, the opposition treats you with a little more respect, as opposed to being vulnerable. Always people think, ‘OK, they’re going into an election.’”

This is, of course, absolute nonsense. Mandates don’t get any stronger than a majority government, and if your own party hasn’t turned against your awful policies and borderline criminal behaviour in great enough numbers to bring it down by now, chances are they’re not going to do it when everyone including the opposition actually agrees that Trump is one of the province’s biggest issues and that all parties need to unite to face it down. Trump will still be president next year when we’re supposed to go to the polls, and if you’re doing a good enough job in the eyes of enough people then, you’ll get your new mandate.

This is yet more selfishness from Ford. A blatantly transparent power grab that sadly I’m pretty sure he’s going to get away with. Every poll I’ve seen has him ahead, and though I never have and never will understand the reasons for that, there’s nothing that’s making me doubt them.

But boy oh boy, would I ever love to see him have to eat shit over this. It would be great if he lost and I’ll certainly do what little I can to make that happen, but I think it would almost be more hilarious if his nice, comfortable majority became a slim, precarious minority. If he loses outright he could just leave in disgrace. A minority, that he would have to wear every day and you know it would drive him nuts. Watching him suffer through every public moment would be kind of fantastic, I think. Especially for everyone his government has made suffer through its mismanagement, cruelty and neglect.

Water Pump Blues


Watching this video of Bottleneck John playing the blues to the rhythm of an old water pump made me think of the White Trash Washing Machine, the only difference being that this one doesn’t seem to be done quite as much for laughs.

The waterpump blues duo – Live by the lakeside!!
Water splashing and rhythm swinging – I dig it, folks. This pump is simply awesome, so I HAD to go back and jam some more with it! Here’s another clip featuring my National Duolian and this old, very old invention called a hydraulic ram pump!! It’s just freakin’ cool how steady and laidback it can provide this groovy beat!!!!! The lyrics are from Son House’s song: Preaching the blues.

Filmed at Arvemuséet, Sweden by Christer Ljungeaus.

Why I Don’t Miss Social Media

DID YOU EVEN CONSIDER EVERY POSSIBLE LIVED EXPERIENCE BEFORE RECKLESSLY POSTING YOUR CHILI RECIPE ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

Look, I get it. You thought what you posted was innocuous. Still, did you stop to think about everyone who has ever lived and how it could make them feel?
I know, I know—all you did was share your chili recipe, but did you consider the people who don’t like chili? The people who are vegetarians? The people without tastebuds? The people who don’t know how to turn on stoves? What about all those folks?

Not only did you share a thoughtless, cruel recipe, but you also had the audacity to call it the “best chili recipe in the world.” Really? Have you tried every chili recipe? How do you think this makes the creators of other recipes feel? How would you feel if someone said your chili wasn’t the best they’d ever had?
Oh, you’d be fine with that? People are entitled to their opinions? Well, that makes me feel pretty disregarded.

We Couldn’t Disqualify. The Criminal Didn’t Agree To That

You would think, considering how many other countries they’ve helped to destabilize over the years, that America would be aware that rather than allow the leader of a violent coup back into power as though nothing had happened, that the option to prosecute it to the fullest extent of the law is one that is available to them. And yet…THIS THREAT TO DEMOCRACY MUST BE CERTIFIED

If I didn’t know this was a satirical item from McSweeney’s, you could probably convince me it came straight from Democrat HQ. It would be so great if just once these people took literally any action to prevent the threats they talk on and on about and not just roll over when things get serious because someone on the other side of the aisle who will go out of his way to stonewall them at every turn might get a sad. Of course there’s room for morality and civility in politics, but there’s a time for that and a time for acting as though you possess even the slightest hint of a spine. Making tough decisions in the interest of your country is hard, but it’s also literally your fucking job.

For years, we Democrats have been reminding you that Donald Trump is a danger to democracy and a scourge on our nation. His election back into our highest office is a terrifying, perhaps fatal turning point in American history. He will bring about a backslide from which we may never recover. But what is most important right now is civility. Propriety. Politeness. Today, we’re taking the high road—the one that leads directly off a cliff. This dire threat to democracy must be certified.
Four years ago, this man incited an insurrection. He attempted to thwart the democratic process, to overturn an election. We must never forget what happened that day, no matter how many ways he bends its truth. We must tell of its violence in our history books and teach of its blight to our children so it may never be repeated. Except today, when we need to come together and agree on one thing: That guy should be in charge.