Hey MAGAts? I thought your boy, Diaper Donnie, was supposed lower the price of eggs
I’ve got a question for the MAGAts:
The other day I filled up the gas tank on my car. The price seemed kind of high so I checked – gas was 23 cents a gallon higher on Wednesday than it was on Jan. 20, 2025, when Joe Biden left office.
Why is that?
I thought your boy, Diaper Donnie, was going to fix all that! Isn’t that what he said? Prices will come down? On day one?
He can’t use the pandemic as an excuse. The United States is the world’s number one producer of oil, so he can’t use that as an excuse. America leads the world in exploring for new oil resources, so he can’t even use that for an excuse.
It’s like the price of eggs. Didn’t he say he was going to lower to the price of eggs? Because I checked this week – eggs are A DOLLAR higher now than they were when Sleepy Joe left office. A DOLLAR!
I don’t get it. Gas prices are higher. Egg prices are higher. Unemployment is higher. Inflation is higher. The only things lower are the stock market and consumer confidence.
Trump said he would lower the price of eggs. Then he said we might have to go through some temporary pain before prices come down. Now he’s saying he wishes people would stop bitching about the price of eggs.
Wow, what an accomplishment. I’m so glad you, ahem, “intellectually impaired individuals” elected Donald Trump president.
He really is making America “great” again.
Or is that “grate”?
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
A French government official believes the United States should return the Statue of Liberty to France.
The statue was a gift from France in 1886 to celebrate the centennial of America’s independence from England, and it was a symbol of the enduring friendship between France and the United States. Over the years it has become a symbol of freedom for people all over the world.
But with America’s drift toward authoritarianism and its rampant xenophobia, it no longer embodies those ideals.
I think America should return the Statue of Liberty to France. It is no longer worthy of such a statue.
In its place, America should construct a statue of a gigantic golden calf. The MAGAts will understand the significance of that, seeing as how they’re such Biblical scholars.
If not a calf, then a giant golden pig. Pink Floyd fans will know what I mean.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
This is a screen capture from a video I took while marching in a protest in downtown Fort Walton Beach, Florida, on March 8, 2025. Image by Del Stone Jr.
Lately I’ve been crossposting some of my TikTok videos to Instagram. The reception they’ve gotten there has been less than friendly. In fact, I never knew there were so many assholes on Instagram, but boy, there sure are.
For instance, my video about marching in a protest. A number of commenters said things like, “You idiot, what a waste of time. What did you accomplish?”
Indeed, what did I accomplish?
As a matter of fact I feel like I accomplished three things:
1. By marching, we showed the community that not everyone here is a blood-drinking MAGAt extremist.
2. We emboldened others to join us next time.
3. By marching I felt like I had accomplished something. Maybe not much, maybe nothing at all, but at least something. I was determined not to sit on the sidelines bitching about things while doing nothing.
Don’t let anyone tell you protests don’t work. Next time they do, ask them if they remember the Boston Tea Party. Or the Vietnam War protests, which compelled this nation to extract itself from that goddamn quagmire. Or the Olympic athletes who held their fists aloft during the medal-awarding ceremony. Or Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem. You may not agree with what they were protesting, but you damn sure remember the protest.
Besides, if protests don’t do any good then why bitch about them? Let the protesters march around, making fools of themselves. It’s no skin off your nose.
If you don’t want to march in support of what you believe in, fine. But at least have the decency to keep your mouth shut.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
People listen to speakers at a rally held at Fort Walton Landing on March 8, 2025, prior to embarking on a protest march through the downtown area of Fort Walton Beach. Image by Del Stone Jr.
On Saturday, in my small, conservative Northwest Florida town, we marched in protest.
It wasn’t a big protest. Between 50 and 75 people gathered at Fort Walton Landing to hear speakers. About 25 people marched from The Landing, across Main Street and along the sidewalk to Perry Avenue, then back to The Landing.
Miraculously, we crossed all roads without getting mowed down. There were few if any hecklers – one knucklehead yelled “Trump!” from his car window.
But there were a great many horn honks for support. A number of people clapped and cheered, or shouted “Good job, guys!”
That surprised me. Some folks were concerned about harassment and confrontation before the march. It didn’t happen.
If you were thinking of taking part in a protest, I’m not going to tell you it’s OK or not. But in my short stroll for democracy, everything worked out just fine.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Protesters who commit crimes are criminals and should be arrested.
Protesters who are merely protesting aren’t doing anything wrong, and I make this distinction because Donald J. Trump did not when he recently called for the arrest and incarceration of protesters. He also threatened to withhold federal dollars from colleges that allow protesting. That’s rich, coming from a guy who, if there was any justice in the world, should be cooling his heels on Cellblock D, trading cigarettes for blowjobs.
Protesting is a Constitutionally-sanctioned form of speech in this country. It is allowed. And there is a long tradition of Americans protesting. In fact, I seem to remember one historically significant protest occurring in Boston a few hundred years ago that kicked off the American Revolution.
So you protesters, you go ahead and you protest. You march with your signs, you shout and you call for the action that you think is necessary to turn this country around. You’re not doing anything wrong. Just make sure you don’t break any laws.
And as for the Ayatollah Trump, I would remind him that we still have a Constitution in this country – at least we did last time I checked.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Our new Secretary of Defense, that drunkard, Comrade Hegseth, has decided that Russia no longer poses a threat to the United States and has ordered a cessation of both offensive and defensive cyber security activities aimed at Moscow.
We’re such good friends with Russia now, despite the fact that our favorite Russian oligarch, Polonium Putin, ordered his cyber forces to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election on a seismic scale, and then again in 2020, and yet again in 2024. And they’re still doing it. Just recently, when the Republicans passed that sorry excuse for a budget, thousands of new accounts showed up on social media, accounts with millions of followers, claiming the Republicans had passed a new budget that contained tax breaks on tips, overtime and Social Security, and the horrible Democrats voted against it.
Those social media accounts were fake. Those millions of followers, bought and paid for. There were no provisions for tax breaks on tips, overtime and Social Security in the GOP budget.
It was all a lie.
We’re such good friends with Russia now, despite the fact that Polonium Putin’s political adversaries have an odd way of falling off balconies or out of windows in high-rises, or drinking radioactive tea and unaliving themselves.
And we’re such good friends with Russia now despite Polonium Putin hurling his army, navy and air forces against Ukraine in an illegal invasion, unaliving tens of thousands of innocent people; targeting schools, churches and hospitals with his missiles and bombs; kidnapping tens of thousands of Ukrainian children to diminish his depleted ranks; and raping thousands of Ukrainian women, children, even men.
Tell me something.
Why haven’t these people been arrested for treason? Because that’s clearly what’s happening here. They’re rendering our nation defenseless against its primary enemy – not the Russian people, but the corrupt and criminal Russian leadership.
Russia said the other day that America’s worldview now aligns with Russia’s worldview. If that ain’t treason, I don’t know what is.
And we owe it all to Donald Trump and his alcoholic lapdog Comrade Hegseth.
SMH.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Tesla stock prices have fallen dramatically, Tesla sales are plunging, protesters are gathered outside Tesla dealerships and Elon Musk is the second most-hated man in the world right now, the crown belonging to Donald J. Corleone.
And now The Lardfather wants us all to go out and buy Teslas to support the guy who just fired 200,000 to 300,000 civil servants. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
Here’s an idea, President Corleone: How about not slashing my Social fucking Security.
And before any of you MAGA meatheads tell me, “Trump has said over and over again he won’t touch Social Security,” I’d remind you he also said he’d lower the price of eggs, end the war in Ukraine, build a wall between the United States and Mexico and have Mexico pay for it, replace Obamacare with something better, and sign an infrastructure bill that would rebuild America.
You can’t believe anything the man says.
By the way. Trump urging Americans to buy Teslas is a flagrant violation of federal ethics laws which forbid any member of the executive to endorse a product, ESPECIALLY the product of a subordinate acting in the capacity of a government employee. Will Trump be prosecuted for violating these laws? Will he even be investigated?
Hell no! The Supreme Court, that collective of three justices and six spineless, toe-sucking cephalapods, recently ruled the president enjoys immunity from prosecution for virtually any crime. What a sweet deal – for Trump. Not so sweet for us.
Meanwhile, he continued his anti-social antics this week, posting an image of a pink triangle with a prohibition bar over the top to his Truth Social account. The pink triangle was a symbol N-A-Z-I death camp commanders used to distinguish homosexual prisoners from other prisoners at their camps.
The MAGAts couldn’t believe their president would do such a thing and raced to Truth Social to find the post. They couldn’t, and from that they concluded it had never happened, despite the fact it was widely reported by media outlets and bloggers – with screen grabs for receipts. I don’t spend a lot of time on Truth Social but doesn’t that thing have a delete button?
Nor do I know the purpose of that post but as a person who could potentially be on the receiving end of such a hateful sentiment, I don’t feel reassured.
Also, Rachel Maddow is reporting that Congress had the ability to stop all this tariffs-on, tariffs-off bullshit, which is causing chaos in the economy and the stock market, and costing people their jobs. What did Congress do? Get this: The Republicans set aside that authority for the year, giving Trump a blank check to do whatever he wants.
They voted for Trump over your interests, and my interests.
Wow. If you needed even more proof the Republicans are scumbags, there you go.
Pathetic.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Well, that was disappointing.
I tuned into the Oscars last night expecting fire and brimstone. What I got was tea and crumpets.
There was a little bit of Gaza, a little bit of immigration, a little bit of the Holocaust and racism, one mention of Russia, and that was about it. You would have thought those people had been counseled beforehand to avoid the subject of politics.
Man, in the past actors like Meryl Streep, Sean Penn, Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine would have been all over that shit. But last night? It was like watching a bunch of people who had been huffing helium-filled balloons laugh at their Donald Duck voices.
I guess this means we’re on our own. We’ve been abandoned by the media, the government has sold its soul to the devil, the courts are starting to knuckle under and now Hollywood has abandoned us too.
Well, that’s OK. We can do it. We’ve done it before; we can do it again.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Here I am (left) enjoying a pleasant summer day of frolicking along THE GULF OF MEXICO in 1965. Image by Del Stone Sr.
I just realized I never got to bitch about this “Gulf of America” bullshit. I’m a little late to that parade but fuck it. Onward.
The Gulf of Mexico is bordered by three nations: the Divided States of America, Mexico, and Cuba. If two of those countries and one loose affiliation of sane people being held hostage by morons got together and agreed to change the name to “Gulf of America,” a case might be made for the name change. But that’s not what happened.
No, the idea for “Gulf of America” came from a morbidly corpulent sack of spray-tanned protoplasm with a freak show comb-over and has no more legitimacy than me being named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive.
Some people are saying, “Countries change their names all the time. Get over it.” Some people are childish dumbasses.
Changing the name of your country is one thing. We could change the name of the United States to “Fred” and the world would have to use that name because it’s our goddamned country and we can call it whatever the hell we want.
But you CAN’T just capriciously, arbitrarily and unilaterally change the name of an internationally recognized geographical feature and expect the world to follow along. And if you can’t understand that simple distinction, stop sniffing glue.
Other yokels are saying, “The United States is a continent so we get first dibs on what to call it.”
Wrong, Jethro. The United States is NOT a continent. The United States belongs to the North American continent along with 22 other countries, NONE of whom support calling the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”
You wanna call it the “Gulf of America?” Go right ahead. I’m not gonna stop you from looking like a taint-licking, smegma-lapping, scrotum-sucking sycophant of that giant human tick in the Oval Office.
I’m still calling it the Gulf of Mexico. The Associated Press still calls it the Gulf of Mexico. The National Weather Service still calls it the Gulf of Mexico. The ENTIRE WORLD still calls it the Gulf of Mexico. Only you mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging, braided-your-nose-hairs lobotomites call it the “Gulf of America.”
Oh, and one last thing:
Fuck you.
#Resist
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
I was talking to a friend the other morning. He and I are in agreement that this country will likely enter a recession later this year.
Nothing Trump, Musk and the Republicans are doing will keep it from happening. In fact, their actions are raising the probability of a recession.
Trump’s tariffs are re-igniting inflation, and his tax cut for billionaires is adding more stress to already-stressed low- and middle-income wage earners.
Musk’s firings are destabilizing the employment sector. People aren’t spending money because they’re afraid they’ll lose their jobs. When people don’t spend money, manufacturing declines. Companies stop investing in their future and lay off employees, further exacerbating the unemployment problem.
Instead of addressing the debt, the Republican-led Congress is raising the debt limit and borrowing another $4 trillion, adding to the mountain of red ink.
Trump’s strategy for energizing the economy – tariffs and “drill, baby, drill” – are based on misconceptions. Foreign countries don’t pay our tariffs. American businesses that import foreign goods pay tariffs. They in turn pass the cost of those tariffs off on the American consumer. So a tariff is operationally equivalent to a tax increase.
As for “drill, baby, drill,” thousands of oil drilling leases on federal lands are lying fallow already. Why? Because the price of oil is so low the oil companies would lose money by “drill, baby, drill.” So what’s the point in encouraging even more drilling?
Inflation is up 3 percent. Consumer confidence plunged 7 points in February. The expectations index dropped below the magic number of 80, which signals the approach of a recession.
I don’t know how long it will last, and how severe it will be, but I’m convinced it’s coming. My advice to you is to buckle up.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .