Author: thependulumswings staff

Ten Piece Nuggets

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s been a while, but the recipe never changes and the spice is quite right.

  1.  Paul Pelosi did the right thing.  Six months after going out and getting hammered and stopped for a DUI, he had sense enough this time to stay home and get hammered.  Too soon?
  2. His wife Nancy Pelosi forgot to call the National Guard on January 6th back in 2021 for protection.  Apparently, she forgot to call Paul to set the ADT alarm at home.  Next time, Better Call Paul.  Still, too soon?
  3. Or did a silent alarm go off and she ignored it thinking it was false like her eyelashes, teeth, and mammary glands?  This has to be an eyebrow-raising experience for her, like many of her facelifts.  Definitely, too soon.
  4. You can expect a torrent of narrative that spews that the Republican’s call to arms, aggressive behavior, assault on our democracy, and fill-in-the-blank caused this break-in. There is no way this was just a homeless, deranged individual who descended on San Francisco due to their way too tolerant position towards abhorrent behavior is there?  Tis the midterm season.
  5.  Are the rats jumping ship?  There are less than two weeks till the aforementioned midterm exams elections. Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Rep. Tim Ryan, who is trailing in the polls to Republican rival JD Vance, called for the next generation of leadership to take hold of the party when asked if he thought Biden should run for a second term in 2024.  Ouch.  In Ohio, some of the latest polls show just 37% of voters approving of his job performance as president.    Ryan hasn’t invited Biden to join him on the campaign trail.  Ryan has no coattails to run on as the Emporer has no clothes.
  6. Speaking of no clothes, is there any truth to the rumor that Paul Pelosi and the alleged assailant were both only clad in their underwear when police arrived?? Doubtful?  Salacious?    Blame Trump?
  7. Madonna found inspiration from the Paul and alleged assailant’s scantily clad rumors.  The 64-year-old Material Girl wants so desperately to remain relevant that she decided to post a series of topless pictures on her Instagram account.  We’re not here to judge, but a free consultation from Nancy’s plastic surgeon wouldn’t hurt.  The scalpel recommended might, however.  Her impressive 18.5 million followers can’t unsee it.
  8.  Skin, skin, skin.  The next thing you know taxpayer money will be funding drag queen shows at public middle schools.  Wait.
  9.  If you don’t recognize the name Kari Lake, you soon will.  She’s the hard-charging Republican candidate for Governor of Arizona.  She is at ease in front of cameras, well-spoken, effectively acerbic, and unafraid to spar.  A Liz Chaney-led PAC sent $500k to her Democratic opponent to run ads against Ms. Lake.  Lake sent Chaney a letter.  It begins, “Thank you for your generous in-kind contribution to my campaign. Your recent television ad urging Arizonans not to vote for me is doing just the opposite. Our campaign donations are skyrocketing and our website nearly crashed from traffic after the attack ads.”
  10.  Elon Musk spent $44 billion to return Twitter to a free speech vessel.  He would like to thank everyone who bought an electric car from his Tesla company which received billions and billions “free” from many of the same car-owning taxpayers to get started.  It sounds like a win-win-win for him.    Some Twitter employees don’t feel the same way about themselves.
  11. (Lagniappe) There is no truth to the rumor that Musk offered to buy the FBI from Zuckerberg but was emphatically turned down.

Boo!

Abby Picks, Year Five, Week Nine

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

President Joe Biden said yesterday that the average national price per gallon of gas is $3.39 compared to when he took office when it was over $5.00/gal.  Congrats Joe!

Applying similar creative math, Abby won all of her bets last week and even some that she didn’t make.  Congrats Abby!

However, upon further review, it looks like last week was a tough one.  Only one win vs six losses and eight bones dropped vs only two won tell the tale that’s wagging the dog.  She did cash in on the first hunch bet offered this year thanks to an angry Nick Saban.

Onward.

  1. East Carolina at BYU -3 –  BYU has gotten beat down three weeks in a row.  Provo gets loud tonight and the Cougars win going away.  One bone.
  2.  Illinois at Nebraska + 7 1/2 – How far have the once mighty fallen?  And, how far up have the downtrodden climbed?  The Cornhuskers will find a way to lose.  But they cover.  One bone.
  3. Kentucky + 11 1/2 at Tennessee –  Abby thinks Tennessee is very, very good.  She also thinks that they may be looking ahead to a week off and a tussle with Georgia on 11/5.   Will Levis please be healthy.  One bone.
  4.  TCU at West Virginia + 7 /12 and ML–  TCU is good.  But, they’ve been winning from behind and/or in OT for three weeks now.  Maybe they’re running on fumes a bit.  One bone on the point spread and one bone to win two bones straight up on the money line.
  5. Wake Forest -3 at Louisville –  Number 10 ranked WF is the team that no one talks about.  Their only loss is to Clemson in Clemson in overtime.  The Deamon Deacons’ offense puts up points by the minute.  Which Louisville team shows up?  Two bones.
  6. Northwestern at Iowa -11 and over 37 1/2 – To win the bet Abby needs Iowa to score at least 12 points.  This hasn’t been easy for the Hawkeyes’ inept offense all year.  They find a way at home Saturday.  Parlay two bones to win six bones.
  7.  Oregon at California +17 – The Golden Bears are at home and Oregon goes on the road after a big College Gameday home win over previously undefeated UCLA.  Abby likes dogs named Spot and likes this spot as well.  Two bones.

Jimbo and Texas A&M have been getting roasted in the media all week.   On a hunch, Abby likes the wounded and once proud Aggie underdogs at home ‘mad as hell” angle and getting 2 points versus Mississippi.

Woof!

Boom Booms Life Lessons #10

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Last week’s post about the negotiated old floor mats drew a large and loud response.  We trust it brought a smile to Boom Boom upstairs.

We decided to offer another of our well-worn and well-learned lessons below.  It’s an easy read.  We hope that you do your best today.

One of the many gifts that Boom Boom gave us was the torrent of quips about how one leads one’s life.   He could say so much by saying so little.   A statement at just the right moment resonated in my young, eager eardrums.  How I interpreted or applied it was up to me.  No more words were spoken because no more words were needed.  Today we share a tough one and it’s quickly our 10th.

In the spring semester of eighth grade the PA announcement was music to my ears.   JV and Varsity baseball tryouts would begin that Friday afternoon and continue on that Saturday morning.  His years of hard work with me had reached a pivot point.

The ninth and tenth-grade competition would be tough.  I was confident, however.   I had been running, hitting, fielding, and pitching for weeks prior.  I was pumped.  Perhaps secretly so was he.

After Friday about a dozen were told thanks but no.  After Saturday’s practice, the herd was thinned again, and I was one of 18.  Fifteen would be kept.  So far so good.   Coach had settled me into first base more than anything else.  The competition there wasn’t too strong if you asked me.  As I hopped into the Jetstar 88 for the ride home I wanted to compare myself to others.  He didn’t.   “Did you do your best?”    I said yes.  “That’s all that you can ask of yourself,” he assured me.  “Do your best every day!”  “That’s what you can control.”

Monday, coach approached after practice.  I got the bad news.   As I hopped in for the drive home my face told the story.  Silence filled the car.  After a few minutes, Boom Boom asked, “Did you do your best?” I didn’t want to hear that at that moment.  “But, I was better than David.”  He didn’t want to hear that at that moment.  He asked again.  I finally mumbled a weak “yes.”  “That’s all anyone can ask son.  Do your best!  And let the chips fall where they may.”

Next spring’s tryout was but 362 days away.

 

 

Good Night Everyone

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

John Fetterman stumbled and bumbled through his debate last evening with Dr. Oz for the Pennsylvania Senate seat.  At least he has an excuse.  If his family, friends, and for that matter the DNC had a conscience, they would follow the science.

Speaking of doctors and following the science, Joe Biden, the CDC, and the NIH seem to be stumbling and bumbling with this pesky covid 19 pandemic.

It started about a year ago right now when the President, who stumbles and bumbles a bit himself, said, “For unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm.”  Looking back that seems overstated.

By June of this year, he was promoting a safe vaccine for children ages five and under.

The President then pivoted in a 60 Minutes interview in early September. “We still have a problem with Covid. We’re still doing a lotta work on it. But the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape.”

And, yesterday, in remarks on Covid, before he rolled up his sleeve for yet another booster he said, ” Americans have a choice as to how bad COVID-19 could be this winter.”  He also warned, yet again, that more people are likely to die.    Maybe we aren’t in pretty good shape?

Giving a boost to the booster effort he continued, “It’s incredibly effective, but the truth is, not enough people are getting it,” Biden said.  “Now we need a shot just once a year.

Noticeably absent was CDC Director Rochelle Walensky from the group gathered to support Biden and his remarks.   Last Friday night the good Dr. Walensky tested positive for COVID-19.  She is up to date with her vaccines.  Consistent with CDC guidelines, she is isolated at home.

Remember, it’s incredibly effective.

Dr. Anthony Fauci was behind the President and smiling from ear to ear.  He misses the spotlight ever so much.  With Cuomo and Lemon off of CNN at night and Rachael Maddow seldom seen on MSNBC most evenings now, his path to a live camera to tell us “I am the science” is tougher.

Will Dr. Oz defeat Fetterman in two weeks?  If he does, the Senate is one big step closer to Republican control.

And, if they get that control, another good doctor will find a path to a live camera.  Dr. Rand Paul promises a full Senate investigation by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions into the origin, treatment, payouts, and results of the last three years of the virus and the subsequent billions of jabs to save us all.

Susequently, that will get Dr. Fauci plenty of the live air time he covets whether he wants it then, or not.

“Goodnight everyone,” Fetterman said as the debate began last evening.

Kudos to him for stumbling into correctly reading the exhausted American psyche.

We’re all looking for a few good nights right about now.

 

 

Abby Picks, Week Eight, Year Five

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

What kennel cough?  That was now two weeks ago!  And, Abby is got a little pep in her step and a little bite in her bark after following up week six winners with a fine week seven.

She won five games while losing four.  Importantly, she put the right bones on the right games including hitting a parlay.  She gathered ten bones while only giving away five!

Week Eight looks tricky.  She’s taking a road less traveled.

         UAB +1 1/2 at Western Kentucky– Take the road dog if you need a little Friday Night Lights action.  UAB is the better team.  One bone.

         Texas A&M -3 at South Carolina- Everyone is writing off the Aggies at 3-3.  Maybe so for the national picture, but they still have plenty of talent to handle a pesky Gamecock.  One bone.

         Houston -3 at Navy – This line almost seems like a steal for the Cougars.  Abby will bite, well not in real life.  Two bones.

         UCLA +6 at Oregon -6 –  This is where it all started for Chip Kelly.  And this is where the Bruins’ 7-0 start is left in last-minute ruins by a FG.  But, nonetheless, they cover.  Two bones.

         Ole Miss + 2 1/2 and under 67 1/2 at LSU –  Abby is making this road trip this AM.  LSU has trouble with mobile QBs as well as stopping the run.  Ole Miss does both well.  One bone to win three bones.

         Memphis +7 at Tulane –  Tulane is ranked for the first time since 1998.  Memphis has lost two straight heartbreaking buzzer-beaters.  A straight-up win would not shock Abby.  One bone.

         Purdue +3 at Wisconsin-  Purdue is pretty good this year for Purdue.  Wisconsin is pretty bad this year for Wisconsin.  A straight-up win would not shock Abby.  Two bones.

Abby is feeling frisky enough to drop a hunch bet as well.  Bama is a big 20 1/2 point favorite over Mississippi St.  It won’t be enough.  Saban is rabid after the Vols scored 52 a week ago.

Holy Schmolly seven roadies.  Five dogs, two chalks, one under, and a hunch.

Woof!

 

 

 

How Bout Dem Boys?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

A known serial womanizer/assaulter squared off against a known massage parlor frequenter yesterday and the result was not a happy ending.

The NFL fall meetings took place in New York Tuesday.  And the fireworks were glorious.

The owner of the highest valued franchise, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, exchanged a few heated words with the owner of the most historically successful franchise, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

The catalyst was a motion to permit the owner’s compensation committee to begin negotiations on a new deal with commissioner Roger Goodell.

Jerry Jones was the one dissenter in the 31-1 vote in favor of beginning.  He wants Goodell’s next contract to be more performance incentive-based and less salary guaranteed.

If Jones, as President and GM of the Cowboys, was compensated that way he would be far less wealthy than he is, but we digress.

Jones told Kraft, “don’t f… with me.”  Kraft uttered, “excuse me?”  And Jones countered with “don’t mess with me.”  What started this?  Does it matter?

Boys.  Boys!  BOYS!  How bout dem boys?

Billionaires arguing about a two-three hundred million dollar compensation package is unseemly.

But wait, there’s more.

Colts owner Jim Irsay contended out loud that he believes there’s “merit” to consider the removal of Dan Snyder from the Washington Commanders’ ownership.  In an effort to oust Snyder over a series of serious internal missteps that there is now an investigation into whether Snyder was actually privately investigating the other owners so that the dirty ones would have dirt on the other dirty ones.

What’s Snyder getting the most heat for?  The heat stems from a steamy boy’s club front office that serially harassed female employees when the Commanders were the Redskins.  He should get heat for running a once proud franchise straight into the Fed Ex Field dirt, but we digress again.

It seems that DeShaun Watson’s off-of-the-field dalliances should immediately qualify him for ownership once his playing days end.  Of course, the NFL will allow none of his bad behavior to go unpunished.  It tarnishes the image of the game.

We ask once more, “how bout dem boys?”

 

Boom Boom’s Life Lessons #7.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

By request from not one, but two readers, we share the previously published article again for your perusal.  It must be sales meeting time for some.  We hope you’ll enjoy it.

 

One of the many gifts that Boom Boom gave us was the torrent of quips about how one leads one’s life.   He could say so much by saying so little.   A statement at just the right moment resonated in my young, eager eardrums.  How I interpreted or applied it was up to me.  No more words were spoken because no more words were needed.

Boom Boom bought a new car when, and only when, the need arose.  He bought American.  And, he bought Oldsmobiles.  Mom would get the new car and hand Boom Boom the keys to the old one.   He included me in the conversations with the car salesmen and management from a very young age.

In the mid-sixties an on and off again negotiation with the local dealership involved us walking out twice and resuming the deal-making the next day and then the day after.  Finally, exhaustively, the terms were agreed to on a new Jetstar 88.  “We’ll clean it up for you and you can pick it up tomorrow Mr. Johnston,” said the exasperated car salesman.

After his work and our dinner the next evening we drove in the old trade-in Olds to pick up the new Olds.  After the final paperwork was signed we joyfully opened the doors to get into the new shiny ride.  One problem.  There were no floor mats.  “Where are the floor mats,” Boom Boom inquired.  “Mr. Johnston, there were none in the car as it was offered to you.  Floor mats will be an extra $36, said the soon-to-be more exasperated car salesman.”  “Keep the car,”  Boom Boom evenly retorted.   “Let’s go,” he said to mom and I.   Silence abounded.  And, off we drove in the old Jetstar 88 back home.  The silence was still plentiful well into the evening.

The next evening our phone rang.  Boom Boom answered.  Boom Boom listened.  Then, Boom Boom spoke.   We could only hear his side of the conversation.   “So, now you want to include the floor mats?”  Pause.  “Ok, well, tell your manager that I now need another $150 off of the car for my inconvenience in addition to the floor mats.”  Long pause.  “Tell him thank you.”

“Let’s get the car,” he said.  Mom decided to drop him and me off and head back home.  She may have had a wee bit of buyer’s fatigue.  As dad and I waited for them to bring the car around to the front he looked at me(all of six or seven years old) and said, “Never be afraid to walk away from a negotiation.  Never.”

The new car smell filled my nostrils on the ride home.  The lesson learned fills my mind to this day.

 

Abby Picks, Year Five, Week Seven

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Abby rebounded nicely after a two-week skid likely brought on by kennel cough-19.  She had no vaccines nor boosters, which by the day sounds like the better way to go.

Last week she got five games right and four wrong.  She won six bones and lost five.  Either you pay the man, or the man pays you.  The latter beats the former.

She paws forward to week seven.

Alabama at Tennessee under 66 and 1/2 –  Yes these are two fine offenses, but doggy has a hunch that Nick Saban wants to run the ball and play D.  Two bones.

Alabama at Tennessee ML–  Abby thinks Alabama wins the game, but cannot pass up a 2 to 1 money line when the ole blue tick hound runs across the checkerboard end zone.  One bone to win two bones.

Mississippi St at Kentucky +4 – This looks like two teams going in opposite directions.  Until this Saturday, that is.   Give Abby the home dog v the Bulldogs. One bone.

LSU at Florida -2 and 1/2 –  Abby says, “LSU is not a good football team, convince me otherwise.”  Two bones.

Clemson at FSU + 3 and 1/2–  The ML is tempting, but Abby wants the points if Clemson kicks a late FG to win it.  One bone.

USC at Utah -3– The Utes are make or break here.  Abby still thinks USC is overrated but a win in Utah will convince her otherwise.  One bone.

Kansas at Oklahoma -8 – How can the Sooners be favored over anyone by eight if you watched them the last three weeks.  Abby likes to zig when others zag as you know by now.  One bone.

Iowa St +16 at Texas- The Longhorns have a Qb and are moving in the right direction.  But 16 points is 16 points.  Two bones.

Washington St at Oregon St – 3 1/2 and under 52 1/2– It’s a Beaver parlay.  Build the dam.  One bone to win three bones.

Eight home, one road, one money line, one parlay, and two under.

One baseball note.  Yordon Alvarez is pretty good.

Woof!

 

 

 

 

 

From Demo to Dino

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

There is the old adage, “the only thing constant is change.”  There is the new adage, “change is coming at you faster than ever.”

The old adage is proven correct daily.  The new adage remains debatable.

Tulsi Gabbard changed, at least she changed officially.  She formally announced Monday that given the mad shift to the far left in her party, she would no longer be a part of the Democratic Party.   Her beliefs aren’t contained in a neat box, but her core values seem mostly right of center.

She didn’t declare herself a Republican though. She did not yet, and maybe not ever.  For now, she’s independent.

This has been brewing for some time.  The announcement only formalized it.   The United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021.  She attempted to gain the Democratic nomination for President in 2020.

Why is she still news?  It says here that she would make one fine VP candidate to go along with Ron DeSantis in 2024.  Imagine a conservative Republican picking an Independent as his running mate.  Now that would be a vote for the new adage ringing true.

Hawaii is a vote for the old adage.  It’s been brewing for some time as well.

Approximately 40 to 70 million years ago, the 137 islands of Hawaii began to form. Every island originated from multiple underwater volcanic eruptions. Magma burst from underneath the seafloor until it reached the ocean’s surface.

And, guess what.  It’s still forming as active volcanos still shape and reshape some of the newer islands in the chain.

Around the same time, give or take a mere 10 million years, about 66 million years ago a massive solar system body now known as the Chicxulub asteroid collided with Earth, excavating a massive 110-mile-wide impact crater in what would later become the Yucatan Peninsula.

This collision triggered a chain of cataclysmic events which, when combined with the devastation caused by the initial strike, wiped out 75 percent of all life on Earth.

Research that analyzed geological records from this traumatic period in our planet’s history, has revealed that the devastating impact may have triggered a “mega-earthquake” that lasted for weeks, or even months before subsiding.

That’s what you would call real climate change.  If you don’t believe us ask the next dinosaur you see walking around the face of the earth.

The Republican party actually reminds us of the fossils a bit.  Merriam-Webster’s first synonym explanation of the word is “one that has passed the peak of effectiveness or popularity.”

Take off Mitch McConnell’s glasses and what do you see?  Maybe you see words related to dinosaurs?  Dodo, fogy, old-timer, fuddy-duddy, mossback, stick in the mud, and stodge comes to mind.

Maybe change needs to come to the Republican Party faster than ever.  A return to conservative principles is in order and the presentation needs a makeover.

Gabbard as a running mate would not be a mega earthquake nor a MAGA earthquake, but it would be a fine start.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

You’ve waited far too long.  Nuggets, all ten, are spiced just right for your consumption below.

  1. During a portion of an interview with CBS News aired on Monday’s edition of “Red and Blue,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) warned that while abortion is an important issue, Democrats “have got to do more” on the economy.  How much more?  Haven’t they done enough?  That Inflation Reduction Act should have done the trick by now.
  2. In a quickly-reversed policy move, the web’s leading payments processor, PayPal, announced it would NOT deduct $2,500 from users who violate its acceptable use policy, which includes bans on spreading “misinformation,” “hate,” or anything else the company deemed “unfit for publication.”  Wall St. and Main St. took notice of the nonsense.   Apparently, free speech would have cost $2500 until smarter people got involved.
  3. Electric truck and SUV maker Rivian Automotive said on Friday that it is recalling nearly all of its vehicles because the company had improperly installed fasteners, which could cause the loss of steering control.  It is their third recall since launching in 2020.  Wall St and Main St took notice of the incompetence.  The start-up’s stock is off 67% year to date after soaring in 2021.
  4.  The Chicks who used to be called The Dixie Chicks endorsed Beto O’Rourke Saturday night at a concert north of Houston.  It didn’t go over too well.  O’Rourke. who trails incumbent Greg Abbott by nearly double digits. was audibly booed louder than a smattering of claps.  Isn’t “The Chicks” an offensive name as well?
  5. During an appearance on FNC’s “Fox News Sunday,” Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams said she opposed restrictions on abortion.  She stated that “arbitrary standards of timelines ignore the medical reality that it is a fallacy we know exactly when a pregnancy starts.”  If she fails again at running for office, maybe she can enter the field of medical research as she has a bit to learn.
  6. Sixty-two percent of voters say President Joe Biden’s economy is deteriorating just 29 days from the midterm elections, a Civiqs poll found Monday.  People, we are told over and over, vote with their wallets first and foremost.  Maybe Bernie is right.  But, he’s too far left to do what is right by the government to help the economy.  What is that?  Stay the hell out and stop printing money would be a great start.
  7. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon agrees. He stated that he believes that the U.S. is “likely” to enter a recession “six, nine months from now” in a Monday CNBC interview.  Was the Fed too late getting started and will they be too late slowing down?  BBR has no economists on staff, but we’re guessing that the answers are yes and yes.
  8. Twitter didn’t want to be outdone by PayPal.  It took down a tweet posted by the Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, “Today, we released an analysis on COVID-19 mRNA vaccines the public needs to be aware of. This analysis showed an increased risk of cardiac-related death among men 18-39. FL will not be silent on the truth.”  Twitter wanted the good doc to be silent.  But, then it reversed its course and reposted it later Monday.  Maybe Stacey Adams could go to work for Twitter if her medical research career doesn’t work out.
  9. Across the pond, The Telegraph, the country’s best-selling broadsheet(the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages), published an article by Associate Editor Camilla Tominey suggesting that “Biden’s qualities for the Oval Office are almost non-existent.”  They called old Joe “useless and nasty.”  Ouch.  Deceased Rep. Jackie Walorski would have objected to such harsh words.  Where’s Jackie? Two words.
  10. Five years after women’s stories about him made the #MeToo movement explode, sexy Harvey Weinstein, the bad actor, is going on trial in the city where he once was a fixture at the Oscars.  Already serving a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault in New York, the 70-year-old former movie mogul faces four counts of rape and seven other sexual assault counts involving five women.  What a low-life guy he was, and always will be.