Sam Pfeifle
@sampfeifle.bsky.social
Writer and editor in the woods of Maine. Frontman of the World Famous Grassholes.
Co-owner of the Book Shop of Beverly Farms (@bfbookshop.bsky.social) and co-host of the "Four Books a Fortnight" podcast: pod.link/1594686894
Co-owner of the Book Shop of Beverly Farms (@bfbookshop.bsky.social) and co-host of the "Four Books a Fortnight" podcast: pod.link/1594686894
Oof. This is a lot.
And here’s a free link to the NYT piece on the 60 Minutes disaster.
Bari Weiss thinks CBS reporters can’t get Stephen Miller to talk to them because they don’t have his phone number.
And she doesn’t know how to use a dictionary.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/b...
Bari Weiss thinks CBS reporters can’t get Stephen Miller to talk to them because they don’t have his phone number.
And she doesn’t know how to use a dictionary.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/b...
December 22, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Oof. This is a lot.
Oh, good, so any day now!
December 20, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Oh, good, so any day now!
I think it's that the floor you have to attain just seems much higher now. Like, in 2008, you felt like you could hunker down, get your monthly costs low, and make a go of it.
Now it feels like just the amount you need to make to avoid catastrophe is growing insurmountable.
Now it feels like just the amount you need to make to avoid catastrophe is growing insurmountable.
December 19, 2025 at 4:03 PM
I think it's that the floor you have to attain just seems much higher now. Like, in 2008, you felt like you could hunker down, get your monthly costs low, and make a go of it.
Now it feels like just the amount you need to make to avoid catastrophe is growing insurmountable.
Now it feels like just the amount you need to make to avoid catastrophe is growing insurmountable.
Oh, great, you got a nice little starter job in your field for $40,000 a year! Awesome. But, oh, your first $20k a year go to housing. Oh. Hmm. And health care is a $400-a-month bite out of the paycheck? Oh, wait, even a single person's grocery trip is $200-a-week now?
Just doesn't work.
Just doesn't work.
December 19, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Oh, great, you got a nice little starter job in your field for $40,000 a year! Awesome. But, oh, your first $20k a year go to housing. Oh. Hmm. And health care is a $400-a-month bite out of the paycheck? Oh, wait, even a single person's grocery trip is $200-a-week now?
Just doesn't work.
Just doesn't work.
With two young adults in my household, and lots of friends with young adults, there is just a deep despair for their future — they're wildly successful in all the ways we told them was important and they have NO CHANCE of being able to buy a house or even find a decent rental here. ZERO.
December 19, 2025 at 4:00 PM
With two young adults in my household, and lots of friends with young adults, there is just a deep despair for their future — they're wildly successful in all the ways we told them was important and they have NO CHANCE of being able to buy a house or even find a decent rental here. ZERO.
I have not contrasted the two time periods extensively, but the combo package of housing, health care, and food costs all going bonkers at once is just terrifying in a way that feels much different than 2008/9, which really felt like a rich person's problem.
December 19, 2025 at 3:57 PM
I have not contrasted the two time periods extensively, but the combo package of housing, health care, and food costs all going bonkers at once is just terrifying in a way that feels much different than 2008/9, which really felt like a rich person's problem.