Reveling In Another’s Misfortune
No Apologies
I try to be a good person. But sometimes, I’m not. I know that on a human level, reveling in another’s misfortune is wrong. But sometimes, I do. On occasion, I think I should make a greater effort to change my disagreeable ways. But, I know I won’t.
As that great American philosopher, Popeye, once said, “I yam what I yam.”
So anyway, what follows is my revelry in the deserved misfortune of a few people for whom something has gone terribly awry.
Elon Musk
Various news outlets reported that profits at Tesla, Elon Musk’s car company, dropped 71 percent in the first part of the year.
Aw, that’s a shame.
Apparently, people aren’t too happy with Elon’s well-publicized activities with the Department of Government Efficiency. Protesters have gathered at many Tesla dealerships to express their displeasure at Musk’s support of a radical right-wing agenda and his role in putting people out of work in his stated mission of ferreting out fraud, waste and abuse in the federal government.
At one point, the DOGE claimed to have saved $160 billion through its work. However, it was reported that it will cost at least $135 billion to follow through. A net of $25 billion isn’t nothing, but it is a drop in the proverbial bucket in a budget of many trillions. Is saving $25 billion worth all the chaos it has caused? The answer is “yes” if chaos is the real goal.
All of which left Musk looking for a way to gracefully exit his DOGE gig. His car company was hemorrhaging money and his popularity among the general public had tanked, too.
Too bad. So sad.
It must be said, though, Tesla’s troubles notwithstanding, Elon will be just fine financially. What a relief.
I wonder if Musk caught on to his real value to the Criminal-in-Chief. Elon was all set up to be the fall guy for the inevitable backlash after the DOGE cuts start hurting the MAGAs. He did what the Criminal and the conservative cabal wanted done, which was to destroy programs and policies they did not like, under the guise of eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse. Programs and policies that benefit many of their misguided constituents. And when it comes time for blame to be assigned for when the you-know-what hits the fan, we all know the Criminal-in-Chief is not going to step up and say, “I am to blame. The buck stops here.”
It’s going to be Elon’s fault. (And Joe Biden’s, of course.) If this is how it plays out, will I feel sorry for Elon Musk? Nah. He’s finding out, if you kiss someone’s ass enough, you’re bound to end up smelling like shit.
Kristi Noem
Oh no, not Kristi Noem again! Yes, I’m going to spend another few hundred words on the goat and puppy killer. This time, though, she actually was a victim.
Kristi was out to dinner with her family at a popular Washington restaurant, when some nasty thief stole her purse. I assume it contained most of the usual stuff a woman carries in a purse. But it also contained her passport, keys, government ID, medications, and $3000 in cash. (Was she about to go on the lam?) It would be fair to ask, “Why does anyone need to carry that much cash around anymore? Has she never heard of Apple Pay?” Perhaps she is an extremely generous tipper.
Apparently, she had Secret Service protection with her, but the thief was able to snatch the purse right out from under everyone’s noses. The irony of this happening to the Secretary of Homeland Security is quite delicious, don’t you think?
They caught the thief a few days later, but I imagine it was a harrowing, traumatic experience for poor Kristi. I know I would be beside myself if such an incident ever happened to me. I can’t work up even a modicum of sympathy for her, though. My thought was, “Good. Serves her right.” And, I may have had a hearty laugh over her ordeal.
I wonder if this scenario might have happened: The thief goes through the purse, finds out it belongs to Kristi Noem, the famous puppy and goat killer, and decides to donate the cash to the local chapter of the ASPCA.
Okay, it probably did not go down that way. I would have gotten a tremendous kick out of it, though, if it had.
JD Vance
People really do not like the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, or as I like to refer to him: Justa Dick Vance. He comes across as a sycophant of the first degree who is layered with way too much smarm and smugness. His lack of popularity is to be expected, though. People like to be sucked up to, but nobody likes a suck up. And, he’s so goddamn obvious about it. Being an insufferable suck up to such a narcissistic prick is all simply part of the job of being this particular President’s VP, I guess.
Vance’s performance in the Oval Office meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the hero President of Ukraine, was a pathetic case study in sucking up to the boss. Vance played his role as rabid attack dog perfectly for his audience of one. The way Vance and the Criminal-in-Chief sandbagged Zelenskyy was reprehensible, but the fake tough guy performance was lauded by the brain-dead cultists in the MAGA movement. I’m sure Vladimir Putin was quite pleased, too.
Anyway, when polls come out showing that Vance is the among the most disliked Vice Presidents in history, I can’t help but laugh. He’s less popular than Kamala Harris or Mike Pence ever were. And despite all of Vance’s sucking up, when the Criminal-in-Chief was asked if he viewed the VP as his heir apparent, he said no.
Oooo, that must have hurt. Hahaha!
You Know Who
Which leads me to the current occupant of the White House.
We’ve never had a more loathsome scumbag as President of the United States, and that’s really saying something. Ukraine’s President is a hero, America’s is a zero. What makes it even harder to take is that, although he is the worst President we’ve ever had, he has one gigantic superpower that works in his favor.
He is unnaturally and frustratingly able to evade the consequences of his stupidity. His criminality. His ignorance. His narcissism. His racism. His . . . well you get the idea.
And, thanks to the dumbasses who voted for him, and the dumbasses who didn’t bother to vote at all, it is crystal clear that my dream of seeing the Orange Prick being led off in handcuffs on his way to the nearest federal penitentiary is never going to happen. Sadly, at some point he’s going to pardon himself and all of his criminal enablers and they’ll all get off scot free.
Damn.
I’m afraid he’s never going to suffer the consequences of being who he has been his entire miserable life. There’s not a darn thing I can do about it, though, except to vent about it here on The Storm. By Norm. I want to thank all of my regular readers for hanging in there with me as I work through it.
All of this is to say, whenever something does not go the Lying Liar’s way, I find it reason to celebrate. I cannot be the only one.
Norm
I include myself here, not to revel in my own misfortunes, but to admit my distinct lack of perfection. Hard to believe, I know, but sometimes I screw up. And, there are those who would enjoy seeing me get what my negative actions have earned.
However, even though I live in the glassiest of houses, it seems quite unlikely that I will ever stop enjoying the tribulations of those who, in my opinion, have earned cosmic justice with their bad behavior. Given that I have acknowledged how badly I have behaved now and then, will I recognize a perverse sense of justice being served when something bad happens to me?
No.
I don’t believe in karma, although due to the randomness of the universe, sometimes folks do get what they deserve. It just doesn’t happen often enough. As for myself, I do not want to behave badly, but I do want to be one of the many who escape the consequences of doing wrong.
I am not proud of reveling in the misfortune of certain people, although I make no apologies for it. I hope they all get what I believe they deserve.
Except for me, of course.
To my deserving subscribers, thank you for your support.
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Do you have something to say about Reveling In Another’s Misfortune? Well, then . . .
I agree with all your comments and am angry every day...even reach my highest blood pressure levels at the sound of DT speaking, knowing every word is a blatant lie. Vance is horrible. He over-acts to the point of emoting into the facial expressions of DT, his father image. He appears to have used clear Gorilla Glue on his forehead to hold his scowl in place, no matter what the topic. I guess he's struggling trying to find a brain cell up there. Pence is a Choir Boy compared to Vance, and Kamala is Saint Mother Teresa compared to any of them. Mother Teresa once quoted: "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." Magas belong to no one as no one wants any of them. Keep reminding us that we have to belong to each other. Hang tight and we will get thru this Hell on Earth.
Hi Norm,
What you call reveling, I call holding people in power accountable. I think it's important to point out that the people who are supposed to serve the public are instead serving themselves. And since legacy media has bowed down to Trump and are spinning the news in his favor, it looks like the rest of us have to take up the mantel and call it what it is, a load of crap.
Elon Musk is a Bond villain come to life. He has unlimited resources, zero empathy, and gets off on cruelty. He is a "brother from a different mother" with Trump who also shares these traits. I applaud people who set up to tank Tesla's stock and refusal to buy their cars. It shows that even the richest man in the world is vulnerable. He is only rich because of his father handing him a huge inheritance. He's played himself. People see him for what he is- a malignant narcissist man who gets off on power trips and cruelty.
And I think that there is a special place in hell for Kristi Noem. As you said, the puppy and goat killer. Superficial people see an attractive white woman. I see someone without a soul. She fits in perfectly with those on Trump's cabinet. Zero empathy with complete focus for what she can milk out of her current position. Did you hear that she asked for a new plane and has pitched the idea of a reality show where immigrants compete, like the show the big race, in order to win citizenship? It's complete madness.
JD Vance has the charisma of wet toast. He is so unlikable. I think Trump intentionally picked someone who wouldn't overshadow him. He knew that Vance was never going to garner the support needed to run for office after Trump. He is the worst version of someone who came from poverty and forgot what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck. He is a complete sell out.
So no, you are not a bad person. You are calling out the glaring personality flaws that a lot of people are content to overlook. For whatever reason, other than racism and "owning the Libs," I have no idea. In the end all of us are going to be collateral damage when and if this madness ever ends.
Don't beat yourself up Norm. You are providing me a much needed dose of Schadenfreude. It's the only way I can cope with what it going on. Keep up the good work!