Longing for Better Days? May We Suggest Nixon and Manson?

Ranting Out Loud

Friday, 4 September 2026 - 28 minutes

What happens when you look back at COVID and think, "Honestly, not that bad?" Remember when a president wearing a tan suit was considered a scandal? Yeah. We'd like those problems back, please.

Meanwhile, Dallas is preparing for a presidential visit with enough security to guarantee it won't be reimbursed by the RNC for the cost. There's also a giant monument-sized ego project looming over the landscape in D.C., surveillance cameras watching more than anybody asked them to, and a growing concern that some of the progress we thought was permanent really isn't.

So, basically: everything is fine. Except it really, really isn't.