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David McElroy

making sense of a dysfunctional culture

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We already know what’s right, but we choose our lusts instead

By David McElroy · April 1, 2026

When I saw a friend tonight, she called me over with a conspiratorial look on her face. She looked around to make sure nobody else was listening. She wanted my opinion.

She told me she’s met a new man. She was excited about it. Almost giddy. I asked the typical questions about the man and where they met. She eagerly told me how much happier she is to have him to talk with as they’re getting to know each other.

She sounded like a 16-year-old who had just discovered love.

There’s only one problem. My friend is married. It’s a terrible marriage. They still live in the same house — with children — and there’s been a lot of talk about divorce. But she’s definitely — legally and firmly — still married.

It’s not my place to lecture someone about doing what’s right. She asked for my opinion, but I don’t think she really wanted it. I think she just wanted tacit permission to do what she wanted to do.

I outlined the issues as I saw them. I told her that if she wanted to pursue someone else, she owed it to everyone involved to finish dealing with her current situation. Otherwise, she was just going to be multiplying the drama and the stress in her life.

“You already know what to do,” I told her. “You don’t need me to tell you what’s right.”

“But this is what I want,” she said. “It makes me happy.”

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VIDEO: What if this is Trump’s 2026 remake of Groundhog Day?

By David McElroy · March 30, 2026

Since I’m recovering from hernia surgery, I haven’t been getting much work done in the last few days, but I couldn’t help but make a quick-and-dirty ad for a movie that I just realized we’re all living right now.

I avoid talking about politics for the most part now — simply because I don’t see any good that can come of it — but a bit of political satire can still be fun. It’s just a very basic 30-second ad for Groundhog Day 2026, starring Donald Trump.

Click here to see it on YouTube or watch it below.

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Is it just coincidence that my surgeries come when I’m alone?

By David McElroy · March 26, 2026

Twelve hours ago, I was lying on a hospital bed with an IV in my arm, waiting to be wheeled into surgery.

I wasn’t worried about dying. But I felt completely alone.

I was just having a hernia repaired, so I wasn’t in serious danger. Until I had a sudden abdominal obstruction late last December, I had no idea the problem was even there. Doctors told me at the time that I was fortunate that the intestine which poked through the hernia hadn’t been damaged, which would have caused serious surgery.

Even though it wasn’t considered serious, I was nervous. I’m not fond of being knocked out and cut on. An old friend who I’ve known since high school was kind enough to pick me up early Thursday morning and take me to the hospital. She sat there with me and talked as I was being prepped.

But as much as I appreciated her concern and help, I couldn’t help feeling very alone. I’ve had surgery only three times in my life — all in the last 15 years — and each time I’ve had one of these emergencies, it’s been a time when I’ve been alone in life.

As I laid there this morning having an IV inserted and having various equipment attached, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something symbolic about that. Was it just a coincidence that each of my medical emergencies have happened when I’ve been alone?

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When I take lightning pictures, I’m always hoping When I take lightning pictures, I’m always hoping to get just one usable photo, but I got two dramatic images tonight. You might recognize the water tower and communication tower that you’ve seen in many of my sunset photos. This is about a mile from my house in Leeds, which is just east of Birmingham.
For those who are in places where it’s miserably h For those who are in places where it’s miserably hot today, here is a minute of light rain and gentle thunder from my back yard late Saturday afternoon. It’s very relaxing to stand at my back door and watch this, especially since the heat is pretty mild today — 80 degrees (about 26 celsius) — for July in the American South.
Alex was willing to cooperate with me for a new po Alex was willing to cooperate with me for a new portrait late Wednesday night. It’s been roughly three and a half years now since the cold night when I was able to lure him out from behind a garbage dumpster into a trap — but I don’t think he’s sorry at this point that he fell for the trick. 😺
This is the face of a man who’s thrilled that the This is the face of a man who’s thrilled that the weekend is finally here. It was a very long (and productive) week, but the time has finally come that I have time to write and read and think. Late Friday night, I’m at the McDonald’s near my house with a Diet Dr Pepper and a MacBook. For me, it’s like Cheers without the booze.
Donald Trump has figured out who to blame for the Donald Trump has figured out who to blame for the the D.C. Reflecting Pool turning green. The dastardly deed was carried out by a specially trained squad of Antifa cats trained by the Far Left. It’s not his fault. Arrest all the cats! #satire #parody
This was the sunset that faced me as I left Walmar This was the sunset that faced me as I left Walmart near my house just a few minutes ago. It was a beautiful light show for just a few minutes.
Here’s proof that reality and satire are indisting Here’s proof that reality and satire are indistinguishable these days.
This was the sunset I saw from the parking lot out This was the sunset I saw from the parking lot outside of the Walmart near my house just after the sun went down Friday evening.
This little parody was inspired by my trip to buy This little parody was inspired by my trip to buy gas a little while ago. Even at a no-name brand, the price was $4.09. If I remember correctly, it was $2.29 a gallon at the same station on the day the war started. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of winning. 🤣
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Critter Instagram

I found a photo of Lucy and me late last night tha I found a photo of Lucy and me late last night that I had never actually seen. About five years ago, I took a tripod out to an area near where we live and tried some pictures with a timer. When I looked at them on the computer afterward, they were too dark, so I just ignored them and figured I’d try again. I never got around to doing it again, so I finally pulled those old files last night to see if I could make any of them usable. It’s not perfect, but this one is priceless now — since I’ll never be able to try it again.
From the CritterCam: At 4:30 a.m., Alex is just ca From the CritterCam: At 4:30 a.m., Alex is just casually checking out the world around him in the pitch-black office. He’s a cool cat. 😺
From the CritterCam: Oliver seems to be getting so From the CritterCam: Oliver seems to be getting some sleep while I’m away from the house Tuesday night. When I’ve checked the camera, I’ve seen Alex skulking around the bed, too, as though he’s waiting for his chance to steal the spot.
Oliver is back in my lap Tuesday night, kneading h Oliver is back in my lap Tuesday night, kneading his paws in and out in the motion we typically call “making biscuits.” He seems sleepy, so I might be trapped here for a bit.
From the CritterCam: Alex was still in this bed wh From the CritterCam: Alex was still in this bed when I left the house an hour ago, but Oliver just took over late in the afternoon.
I told Alex that I could use his help showing a ho I told Alex that I could use his help showing a house that I’m leaving to show right now, but he didn’t seem interested in getting out of bed to help. I guess I’m on my own.
Alex and Oliver have very different approaches to Alex and Oliver have very different approaches to getting ready for a big face-off with one another. Here’s about a minute of the boys acting like sumo wrestlers circling each other looking for an opening to attack. Nobody won tonight.
I just found this lovely photo of Lucy from almost I just found this lovely photo of Lucy from almost 10 years ago. In October 2016, she hadn’t even been with me for a full year yet and she was experiencing her first autumn in my back yard. Every sound fascinated her and every moment turned her into a wannabe bloodhound. It was nine months ago today when I lost her — and I still miss her every day. She was really special.
Since Alex has been asleep on my desk as I’ve work Since Alex has been asleep on my desk as I’ve worked for most of the day, I just told him he had to wake up and help with the work. He just gave me a gigantic yawn — which looked a bit mocking to me — and then went back to sleep instead.
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It turns out that the radical far left has been training “Antifa cats” to sabotage anything important to Donald Trump. Everything he did was perfect. Honest. It was all the cats’ fault. Arrest all the cats! This is the latest of my ridiculous satirical shorts. Please go watch it. Then “like” it and subscribe. Please. I’m begging you. (Too much?) Although a couple of the previous videos have had views in the hundreds, most have still been seen by fewer than 20 people. So I seem to be having trouble letting people know that page exists.

Here’s the latest of my ridiculous parody shorts. It crossed my mind Tuesday to wonder what a slick and fast-talking car dealer might do right now to try to turn the high price of gasoline to his advantage. So I conceived of a fat and lovable character who tried to sell cars that don’t use any fuel — and then I started wondering if it would be funnier if all the characters were felines. Designing the King Cashpaw character took about four hours, but the rest took only another four hours, so this was a relatively quick piece that virtually wrote itself. I know it’s almost impossible for these parody videos to find a larger audience, but at least they amuse me — and there are 19 of them on my YouTube page now. The first few were very limited, but they’re getting more complex.

The Republican Party is dead. It still exists in name, of course, but it’s nothing but a shell. All that’s left are idiots and stooges and con men of the MAGA party. When Donald Trump is gone — which won’t be long — those populist idiots and pragmatic fools will have no one to follow. Democrats will thrive. They will take more power than ever and they will push the federal government further to the radical far left than ever. When that happens, don’t just blame Trump if you’re a conservative. Blame every person who has claimed to be a conservative and has given up on principles, character and everything else that Republicans once claimed to stand for. As someone who worked as a GOP political consultant for many years, this is disgusting and disturbing to me. Those who have enabled Trump to have almost unchecked power are going to be shocked when they see what they will unleash in the long run. It’s been plain all along what this narcissistic con man is. It’s your fault that you chose to pretend not to see what he really is.

We are ruled by the dumbest and most incompetent people among us — and we have a system which allows stupid and irresponsible people to force the costs of their idiocy onto smarter and wiser people. Can we get away with that? Yes, for quite some time. But we eventually reach a point at which the dumbest of the dumb — who are habitual liars and mentally ill fools — lead us to the disasters and destruction that some of us have seen coming for years. We are approaching that point. And yet most of the idiots around us still wave their rhetorical banners of support for the evil people who are leading us to ruin — and all of them point their fingers at someone else, never noticing that their own enthusiastic support of evil is to blame. When things finally fall apart, blame yourself for your blindness to the evil, not whoever happens to be in power when it happens.

I’ve been making some changes to the site lately and there are more changes coming in the days ahead, so don’t be surprised if you some small differences. This is not a wholesale redesign, but rather the addition of some features. Since they’re smarter than I am, I’ve put Oliver and Alex in charge of the technical work, which you can see in this action photo from the control room of our media complex. I recently added a series of landing pages for readers who randomly discover the site from an Internet search. I’ve also changed the YouTube link at the top of the page to go to the new YouTube channel for video essays that reflect things I’ve already published here. (Here’s a little bit about both of the YouTube channels I’m working on.) In addition, I’m trying to move away from using Instagram, so I’m experimenting with photo plug-ins that will eventually allow me to host the pictures — cats, dogs, sunsets, whatever — that I often take. So don’t be surprised to see more changes. Thanks for your patience. Let’s hope Alex and Oliver know what they’re doing.

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