The Hand of Rod

The Hand of Rod

@sparedarod.bsky.social

Married father of three. Grandfather of three. Writer. Taxpayer. International traveler. Retired journalist. Recovering Navy brat. Rugby fan. Romantic. Lifelong beneficiary of white privilege.

399 followers283 following484 posts

Prefabricated housing is the No. 1 option for lowering costs, bar none. But trade unions are against it, for obvious reasons.

Professa Murray@kalimurray.bsky.social

When people ask me how to get more affordable housing, I always start with: stop defunding public housing. It is basically the same principle: the government can provide in the marketplace a baseline that can lower price for entry-level access.

Served a well-earned bitter butter biscuit.

MeidasTouch@meidastouch.com

NEW: A Black MAGA influencer who spent years promoting Trump and Republicans says she was KICKED OUT of a Ken Paxton rally at the request of his campaign manager. The visibly upset creator, who has over 200,000 TikTok followers, says she drove two hours to attend and has no idea why she was removed

I can only agree. The religious snark is epic, and so is the action.

Peter Sagal@petersagal.bsky.social

Friends, I have been absolutely devouring this 1950s novel (recommended by @fulmerford.com) about Vikings, and now all I want to do is watch Viking-related content. i know there's a lot out there... what's good? (I have seen: The Northman)

I am past retirement age. Doctors charged $5 a visit when I was 21. Never in my life have medical prices gone down in any meaningful way, and medical insurance only hides the hikes. Once the inflation toothpaste gets out of the tube, it never goes back. Lying POS Trump is old enough to know that too

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump at a women's health event: "The prices are coming waaaay down. I'm seeing down down down. Big improvement from the previous administration."

Anchor baby says what? Li'l Marco has always carried himself with the effeminate air of a Porfirio Diaz-era cientifico. If you listen closely, he even affects a Castillian lisp.

Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social

Funny how Marco Rubio tries to differentiate himself from all the other children of recent immigrants who are now getting removed from the country by the master he now serves. Rubio, you see, is a descendent of *the West*

Donald Trump knows that all across American heavily armed racists lay in bed each night stroking their assault rifles while fantasizing about race war.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump tries to start a race war: "The once Great State of Minnesota is being taken over by Somali Immigrants ... The Somalians should not be allowed to get away with what they are doing. They view you as weak and stupid people. Fight back Minnesota, fight back!"

San Diego County is home to seven major military installations, 200,000 active-duty military personnel, the largest military housing tract in the U.S., and 50,000 military families. The commander-in-chief isn't just a moron. He is detrimental to military readiness and morale.

Covie@covie93.bsky.social

The President of the United States inviting Iran to "take out" two major American cities should receive as much coverage as a President of the United States having a bad debate.

The Hand of Rod reposted

The best part is when Rateliff takes the mic at 0:55. Watch Bruce watching him.

Ryan O’Connell@ryanoconnell79.bsky.social

File this one under: Pretty Bad Ass. Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Nathaniel Rateliff, Tom Morello & company at Power on the People last night, ripping “Fortunate Son.”

Given that most White House "reporters" are merely stenographers with all the courage of a mollusk, it's easy to see why the president formerly known as John Barron thinks that way.

Forward Blue@forwardblue.bsky.social

The message from Trump’s White House is pretty clear: Report what we like, and you’re welcome inside. Report what we don’t like, and your credentials disappear. Trump doesn't want a free press; he wants an obedient one. We must fight back.

The Hand of Rod reposted

The message from Trump’s White House is pretty clear: Report what we like, and you’re welcome inside. Report what we don’t like, and your credentials disappear. Trump doesn't want a free press; he wants an obedient one. We must fight back.

The Hand of Rod reposted

I've had life insurance for years. Haven't used it once.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Dr Oz: "There are 5 times more people in parts of Obamacare in Florida than live in the state. It's impossible More than a third of people on Obamacare have never used the insurance policy once. If you were gonna pay your hard-earned money to buy insurance, would you ever use it? The answer is yes"

Boycotting -- er, declining to buy -- Tillamook cheese because it is unnecessarily expensive is A-OK, however.

Cathy 🎃🥃🎃@66betty.bsky.social

People can be stupid. People who boycott delicious, high quality Tillamook cheese because it is certified halal are stupid. I won't invite you to change my mind because you can't.

A gentle reminder that only 1 percent of high school athletes receive scholarships to play sports in college, and only 1 percent of college athletes receive contracts to play professional sports. Children are better served when their parents put the travel-ball money in a college account.

Skeletired@skeletired.bsky.social

Despite concerns from other parents that our talented son should be in the traveling league rather than the "rec league" I am happy to report he's loving it, he plays every game, they goof on the sidelines, the parents aren't insane, nobody takes it too seriously, he scored a goal, we love it.

"What have you got to lose?"

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social

⛽️ MAGA TRUCKERS: “There’s no reason for this… My truck’s gonna sit there and rot until this idiot is out of office… I never thought I’d say this but I miss Biden… we’re dying out here and they don’t give a shit…” cc: @MarshaBlackburn

I got a Dear John letter yesterday from the Canadian pharmacy I used to fill 2 super-costly prescriptions my supplemental Medicare insurance company refuses to cover. They are available in generic form in Canada but not in the U.S. Thanks to our porn-star-pumping president, my drug bill will triple.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Dr Oz is struggling on Fox News

Duh! Adults 30-49 are in their prime earning years. I used to ask my friends who smoked cigarettes if that stuff got them high. When the said no, I asked, "Then what's the point?"

NORML@norml.org

🌿 Adults 30-49 report smoking #marijuana at higher rates than younger adults, according to Gallup. Gallup's latest polling also finds that marijuana smoking is now more common among US adults than cigarette smoking. 🔗 Read more: norml.org/news/2026/08... #NORML #cannabis #genx #millennials

Team GDP sucks. I got my first paying job at age 16 and worked year in and year out until age 65. After 49 years of making money for the motherfucking Epstein Class, all I want for what little health and vitality that remains is enjoy the pursuit of happiness guaranteed by the Constitution.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Dr Oz: "If we could just get the average American to feel so healthy, so with it, so vibrant that they want to work just one extra year, that's worth $1 trillion to our GDP every year"

Of course, the Epstein class spread the news that crooked Kushner met with Speaker Jeffries like it was some sort of a secret. Only Dumb-O-Crats fall for MAGA dirty tricks.

Parkrose Permaculture@parkroseperma.bsky.social

I don't wanna hear establishment Dems say what a great strategist Jeffries is. And how we are supposed to think that this mtg w/ Genocide Jared was so brilliant. Not only did he not anticipate how badly the public would receive the secret mtg, his baseball cap vid just compounds the PR nightmare.

Of course, the Epstein Class spread the rumor that Speaker Jeffries met with Crooked Kushner. Only a Dumb-O-Crat falls for MAGA tricks.

Texas Paul@realtexaspaul.com

Hakeem Jeffries & Jared Kushner, ok I'll bite on this bait and piss a lot of people off.

When you consider the Commander-in-Thief and his DUI hire Pete Hegseth are denying promotions to women and people of color in our armed forces, about 30% of the overall force, you must assume that morale is plummeting.

Triploi★@triploi.bsky.social

When you hear the US has a trillion dollar military budget it sounds terrifying and invincible But then you realise all that money is just being embezzled by defence contractors and corrupt politicians And the truth is, the US military is incredibly brittle and its morale is collapsing in realtime

Wow! Excellent statue of horse with two horses' asses.

Steven Beschloss@stevenbeschloss.bsky.social

Yeah, because let’s honor this sadistic dog killer who prides herself on torturing immigrants and makes excuses for masked federal agents murdering American citizens.

If your targets suckers believe Noah gathered all the animals two by two, it is a simple task to con them into believing there will be pie in the sky and DOGE checks in the mail.

Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social

He promised to cut them in half in 6 months. 19 months later and we are paying higher prices but they are giving out more promises. Can we pay the bills with these promises? Can we give the power company an IOU and put Vivek down as a reference?

There's a no-shitter. I had a crummy childhood. Among other things, I was 5 and home alone with my mom when I found her dead of suicide. I've coped with nightmares by smoking pot before bedtime for decades. My shrink said that was a bad idea but offered to prescribe me a sleep aid instead.

Forbes@forbes.com

More than a third of PTSD patients who took a cannabis-derived drug stopped having nightmares altogether, a new study from researchers in Germany found.

Went to Goodwill today with an expensive stroller that was used maybe a dozen times when my grandchildren visited from Canada. Got turned away.

ElieNYC@elienyc.bsky.social

I have so much good condition, child-based *stuff* my kids have outgrown (clothes, toys, entire bedrom set) and this fucking society makes it SO FUCKING HARD for me to give these items away and basically encourages me to place it in a landfill and I fucking hate everything.