Author: thependulumswings staff

Lemon Aids The Cause

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

CNN’s evening lineup was doing so poorly when new ownership took over that they decided to revamp it in its entirety.  It’s been BBR’s belief for a good while now that a move to the center will pay dividends.

MSNBC reads directly from the DNC and WH playbooks like a dutiful second-grade child desperate for an A on their report card and a pat on the head.

FOX is anything but fair and balanced.  They would carry more water for the elephants to drink if only the lead RINOs had sense enough to tell them where it is.

The middle should have plenty of viewers and plenty of willing advertisers.  But, first, they have to get there.  And, the rebuild is on.

CNN”S carnage is everywhere.  John Harwood, Jeffery “Zoomin” Tobin, Brian Steltzer, and the lovely Chis Cuomo are a few of the more high-profile, on-camera ones to exit stage far left of the daily Democratic theater since new management entered the building.

But, there is one interesting survivor.  And he’s headed to a morning 6-9 AM EST co-host job and soon.  That’s Don Lemon.

And, until he turns from night to daytime you can count on him to continue to turn left-hanging lemons into lemonade. Last night was the latest example.  With Ian bearing down on southeastern Florida, it was time to take a climate change “Lemon aided” stand.

Not once, not twice, but three times did the Don turn the tide back to climate change as a scientist was attempting to inform the viewers of the particulars of this one. Finally, he lectured the expert himself saying “he grew up down there and the storms are intensifying.”

It was six months ago that the forecasts called for a dozen storms to hit mainland America. Ian makes it one.  One.

Intensifying?  Do you think Ian is the first cat four storm to hit Florida?  Since we have been able to measure, six of the seven most intense occurred between 1919 and 1960.

Most intense landfalling tropical cyclones in the U.S. state of Florida
Intensity is measured solely by central pressure
Rank System Season Landfall pressure
1 “Labor Day” 1935 892 mbar (hPa)
2 Michael 2018 919 mbar (hPa)
3 Andrew 1992 922 mbar (hPa)
4 “Florida Keys” 1919 927 mbar (hPa)
5 “Okeechobee” 1928 929 mbar (hPa)
6 “Great Miami” 1926 930 mbar (hPa)
Donna 1960
8 Irma 2017 931 mbar (hPa)
9 “Florida” 1948 940 mbar (hPa)
10 Charley 2004 941 mbar (hPa)
Source: HURDAT, Hurricane
Research Division

Such unfounded speculation by a rank amateur that happens to have a microphone should be squashed by any and all networks.  But, unfortunately, it often isn’t.

It was just a week ago after the Queen of England had passed that Don was asking a British royalty expert on air if her family’s wealth and colonialism should make her realize that reparations were in order.  Lemon was taken behind the school and spanked by her.

Agendas long ago replaced straight facts.  Lemon says what he wants when he wants and how he wants to say it.  Good for him.

And, speaking of straight, the openly gay black Lemon isn’t.  Of course, neither his skin color nor his sexual orientation should have anything to do with his perceived value as an anchor going forward for CNN.

Or, should it?  Ratings talk and all of this blabber about diversity, inclusion, and equality walks when you get down to it.

Harwood, Tobin, Steltzer, and others can attest to that.  Can’t they?

No, they can’t, especially if they aspire to another job inside the cesspool once known as journalism.

So as CNN moves to the center, Lemon’s anchor chair will remain on the far left.

It’s good work if you can get it.

Abby Picks, Year Five, Week Four

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

So much to say and no time to do so.  Abby is the guest ceremonial starter in a Florida golf tourney early this AM.  She got out strong last week winning seven bones, and now goes for more.

1. Baylor +3 at Iowa St- The Bears are built to travel well.  Expect a close one, but Baylor wins straight up.  One bone.

2.  Notre Dame +2 at North Carolina-  Abby likes the fight left in the Irish more than most.  One bone.

3.  Clemson at Wake Forest +7–  Abby thinks that Clemson is looking for a place to lie down.  She found it for them.  One bone.

4.  Florida at Tennessee – 10 1/2–  This line seems out of line.  Florida plus looks like easy money.  Abby will zig when others zag.  One bone.

5.  Texas A&M v Arkansas over 48–  A&M can’t score and Arkansas has a good D.  Zig #2.  Two bones.

On a hunch take the Ducks -6 and 1/2 at Wash St.

Time to yell fore!!!

Woof!

It Doesn’t Feel Like the First Time

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The seventies hit rock band Foreigner had many hits back in the day.  One was Hot Blooded, another was As Cold as Ice.

Fast forward to 2022 and the parties keep rocking.

One band of many, The Jack Asses, are hot blooded on the campaign trail.  They’re peddling a lot of T and A.  That’s right, Trump and Abortion.

The other band of many, The Elephants, are as cold as ice.  They’re singing I.C.E.  That’s right, immigration, crime, and the economy.

Who will ascend to the top of the popular charts?  Well, we’ll need to listen to the tunes over and over again until early November to find out.

The Democrats are on their third rendition of Trump just this year.  First, it was the January 6th hearing, which was really more like a staged theatrical musical.  Then, they broke out or broke into a Mar a Lago diddy.  And, yesterday, one of the band members went solo with a head-banging $250 million civil suit against Trump, his family, his dogs, and his goldfish.

Letitia James, NY Attorney General, fulfilled a campaign promise of two years ago by filing suit for the State of NY v. Trump.  She called her melody The Art of the Steal.  How crafty?  For Trump, the hits keep coming.

For the Dems, the more Trump hate the more the base turns out to vote.  Trump was so 2020, but never let an oldie but goodie die.

Joe Biden promised in the early summer that the SCOTUS ruling that put abortion back in the state’s hands would put Roe v. Wade on the ballot in November.  He was right.

I Am Woman hear me roar.  Will the numbers be too big to ignore?

The Republicans sing at a lower key, but the tour stop at Martha’s Vineyard for the illegals was a smash hit.  What it did in one weekend was more than what 2,000,000 Tejano border bands of brothers could belt out in two years.

It is said that people vote based on how safe they feel and how their pocketbook feels.

Crime statistics and defunding the police in key cities across America are on the main stage.  That Starbucks is closing about two dozen “high incident” stores all urban, and all in Democratic-run cities isn’t lost on coffee lovers from seas to shining sea.  For the many that are done with word salad, “high incident” isn’t lost on them either.

And, then there is the economy that Joe calls the best recovery ever.  He’s singing the wrong tune and everyone knows it.  Inflation is eating a hole in wallets.  Inventory on basic items across many industries is wanting.  The prices at the pump and the grocery store remind us of that every week.

Real wages are down as the cost of living increases aren’t keeping up with the cost of living.

The astute economic advisor knows that this spiral up is not caused by ABBA singing Money, Money, Money.  It’s caused by the government printing money, money, money and giving it to one and all, Ukraine and art appreciation students included.

If you haven’t checked your 401k recently, don’t.  You’ll be singing the blues.

So, which is it for America?

Hot Blooded, check it and see.

Or are you As Cold as Ice, willing to sacrifice?

Either way, Americans are no foreigners to mess we are in as it doesn’t feel like the very first time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Germans Bombed Pearl Harbor

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

President Joe Biden and CBS’ 60 Minutes got together for an interview (we use that term loosely these days) that aired Sunday night.  We believe his performance landed somewhere in between two other great theatrical performances.

On the high side, it landed just below John Belushi playing Bluto in the 1980 hit Animal House.

Bluto: “What? Over? Did you say ‘over’? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!”

Biden:  “The pandemic is over.”  We still have a problem with Covid.   But people aren’t wearing masks anymore.  People are in pretty good shape.”

On Monday the White House was power walking that utterance back.  CNN, “the most trusted name in news,” reported yesterday that the White House says that its Covid-19 policy is unchanged despite Biden’s comments that the pandemic is over.

In interviews, six administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment said the president’s statement would probably make it harder to persuade people to get shots or secure new money from Congress, noting those efforts have already lagged behind their goals.

Maybe those in the military who didn’t get the jab or four can get back to defending the country?  Maybe we can stop suspending loan payments? Another round of noninflationary covid-19 stimulus checks anyone?  Etc.

In other words, it’s hard to keep giving away money and telling the same lie if the leader doesn’t go along with it. Maybe the White House can’t handle the truth?

So, on the low side, it landed just above Jack Nicholson playing Colonel Jessup in the 1992 drama A Few Good Men.

Colonel Jessup: “You can’t handle the truth.”

Interviewer: “The stock market dove 1300 points.  People are shocked by their grocery bills.  What can you do better and faster?”  Biden: “Let’s put this in perspective.  The inflation rate month to month is up hardly at all.  It was 8.2. or 8.2 before.  You’re making it sound like it went to 8.2 all of a sudden.  It hasn’t spiked in the last several months.  It’s been just barely, um, it’s been basically even.”

It’s scary to even ask this, but “how many people in America think that if inflation hovers around 8.2% annualized month to month that it’s barely going up?”

Does Biden and the White House actually believe the math salad that they are serving the country?  Or, do they believe America is too dumb to understand, so they buy this BS line just like they’ll stand in line to pay more for groceries?

Your physical health is way better, they just don’t want you to think so.  Your financial health is way worse, they just don’t want you to think so.  The 2022 midterms loom.

When Bluto ran out of the frat house no one followed him.  Today, far too many would.

Do the history books today teach us that it was indeed the Germans who bombed Pearl Harbor?  Today, we can’t handle the truth.

 

 

 

Abby Picks, Year 5, Week 3

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Like a smart thoroughbred, Abby saved ground around the first two turns, and let the amateurs battle it out with Vegas.  Now, she is an entry in week three and sees an opening in the field.  She starts off her season with a few winners below.

  1. FSU -1 1/2 @ Louisville-To have a little Friday action, she thinks that FSU might have turned the proverbial corner.  Tonight’s game in Louisville will be a tell.  FSU for one bone.
  2.  Georgia @ South Carolina + 25 1/2- Georgia is suddenly getting Alabama-like respect from Vegas.  USCe is getting no respect at all.  Call it the Rodney Dangerfield pick of the week.  USCe for one bone.
  3. Penn St @ Auburn +3 1/2 and Vanderbilt + 2 1/2 @ Northern Illinois-  Getting SEC schools and points is like throwing bones at Abby.  She’ll take them both and pair them in an SEC parlay.  Auburn and Vandy for one bone to win three bones.
  4.  Oregon -3 v. BYU- Oregon lost by 46 to Georgia and beat Eastern Washington by 56.  Does that mean Georgia would beat Eastern Wash by 102?  Maybe.  The Ducks need to win tomorrow night by only 4.  Oregon for one bone.
  5. Marshall @ Bowling Green +16 1/2–  This is a pure letdown and an on-the-road bet against Marshall.  Do you know what South Bend, IN, and Bowling Green, OH have in common?  Nothing.  No respect at all.  Go Bowling for two bones.
  6. Miami @ Texas A&M -6 1/2-  This is a pure “given up for dead” bet for A&M.  App St took A&M’s lunch money last week in College Station.  If only they would have taken their yell leaders as well.  Aggies for three bones.

Hop on these bets now and you’ll win at least enough to hop on a free flight to Martha’s Vineyard next week.

Woof!

Does Lindsey Play For the Other Team?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The old adage that a tie is like kissing your sister rings true in politics this AM.

Heretofore, this site has long held the belief that the best thing going for the Democrats in DC is the lead Senate Republican in DC, one Mitch McConnell.

He looks old, he sounds old, he is old(80), and he sells out always willing to send two bucks the Democrats’ way if he can send one home to Kentucky.  He inspires few.

But, yesterday, another RINO pulled into a first-place tie with old Mitch.  That senator’s name is Lindsey Graham.

In basketball, you feed the shooter.  In other words, you pass the ball to the man, or woman, who has the hot hand and can score.

Old Lindsey(67) fed the hot hand yesterday.  Except he threw the ball to the other team.

Graham announced yesterday a bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks as debate rages over the issue after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this year.  President Biden jumped all over that ruling in the early summer saying Roe v. Wade was on the ballot come this November.

And, it is.

And fan-boy Graham just fanned the flames.

Titled the “Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act,” (word salad that would make VP Kamala proud) the legislation comes as Democrats hammer the GOP on the campaign trail over state laws restricting abortions.  Apparently, allowing the states to make their own laws wasn’t enough for him.

Graham said Tuesday morning that his bill is similar to laws in other developed countries and could actually help Republicans running in the midterms.  Seven weeks out from election day and he pokes the bear.

You cannot be this stupid naive, can you?

“I don’t know what Democratic candidates in these contested states will say about a bill such as mine,” Graham said.  Our guess is plenty, loud, and often.

Polls show that the Democrats have made up solid ground in house races since the ruling that effectively overturned Roe v. Wade this summer.  In fact, over 60% of all Americans favor abortion.  That number reaches 73% when it’s women only polled.

The Republican’s playbook is paper thin compared to Democratic strategists.

Lindsey just added a page to it.  The play is called “throw the ball right to them.”

And, make no mistake, they know how to shoot it.

We can’t help but ask, “does Lindsey like kissing his sister?”

 

The War on Democracy

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If you think that the Capitol Building on 1/6/2021 was half full of citizens trying to overthrow the government, you point to one phrase in particular as you argue that Trump incited those present to march down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol.

“We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” he said.

If you think that the Capitol Building was half empty of citizens not trying to overthrow the government, you point to a different passage, in which Trump said, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

So, what is the simplest definition of insurrection?  It’s a violent uprising against an authority or government.

Was the 1/6 in the Capitol Building event violent, then?  Or, was it mostly peaceful and patriotic?  That it was dumb is not in question.

It comes down to how you see it, doesn’t it?

Think back to all of the riots in the streets the world over when George Floyd’s arresting police officer was accused of and convicted of killing him.  Many in the media labeled the looting, burning, and killings in the streets as mostly peaceful and necessary.  The local governments even told us that masks and social distancing could be and would be suspended so that America could have its say.

To shop owners and business owners, it didn’t seem peaceful.  To policemen and citizens killed in them, it didn’t seem too patriotic.  To all of them, it seemed more like a violent uprising against authority.

 

And, now one impeachment trial later, after President Trump left office, we sit 18 months removed from 1/6/21.  How far forward have we moved?

Well, according to some the war on our very democracy is very alive, not well, and on the ballot in the fast-approaching midterms this November.

An issue isn’t an issue until it’s an issue we presume.

Isn’t the very right to vote, count votes, protest illegal ballot harvesting, support voter ID laws, and demand a recount when our elections laws deem it reasonable at the very heart of democracy?

Did, as Trump claimed after he offered, Nancy Pelosi ignore his offer to station the National Guard around the Capitol Building?  If so, did she aid in a violent (or mostly peaceful) uprising?

Did the FBI infiltrate the MAGA men and women to further the chaos?  They redact every memo ever written under the guise of the nation’s security, so we may never know.

Did city officials from Portland to Oakland to Minnesota, to DC ensure that police stood down as the city burned down?  You know they did.  They told you so.

So, where does this leave us in this “war on our democracy?”

It leaves us at the ballot box to determine the winners and losers in this war.

Isn’t that where it all started?

It’s the same place in 2000 where Al Gore took time off from inventing the internet to insist that we count hanging chads, where Hillary had trouble accepting defeat in 2016, where Stacey Abrams did the same in 2018, and where Trump threw a temper tantrum in 2020.

It is where it all started, and it’s about to start all over again.

Now if we could just get the media slants and big techs to stay away.

Let’s hope this war on democracy, or just plain old democracy never ends.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s been a while and you’ve likely got a hankering.  Ten Piece Nuggets are served below for the same low low pre-Putin Biden inflation prices.  As a bonus, we’re going to take it easy (somewhat) on Cali today.

  1.  One of our favorite government workers, Rep Eric Swalwell tweeted prior to a possible Texas rolling brownout on July 10th, “Texas.  Where Republicans provide plenty of energy to control your body, but no energy to control your thermostat.”  Yesterday he tweeted, “It’s time to rally, Cali.  We all need to do our part to help avoid power outages this week.  Before 4 pm pre-cool your home, after avoid using major appliances and turn your thermostat to 78 degrees or higher.”  Perhaps his own energy is misguided.
  2.  Two weeks after Liz Cheney took a victory tour on several networks after getting slaughtered by a 2-1 margin in the Wyoming primary she has vaporized into the background.  What do she and Swalwell have in common?  Too much.
  3.  After getting panned coast to coast for two weeks for the student loan forgiveness trillion dollar bailout, Biden went on offense. And, as Carrie Bradshaw would say, “just like that,” the narrative was changed.  “All Republicans are a serious threat to our democracy.”  “MAGA Republicans are a threat to our democracy.”  Some Republicans are a threat to our democracy.”  Well, at least all of them or either fascists or semi-fascists.
  4. Do Americans even know what fascism means?  It means “a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.”
  5. Did America get that vibe from Biden himself, all clench-fisted, podium pounding, and draped in red and Marines last week?  If we weren’t so dumb we might be insulted.  Maybe a poll can enlighten us.
  6. Meanwhile, a Rasmussen Poll released yesterday shows us that 60% of Americans feel like Joe Biden and his family have peddled influence and greatly profited by his positions over time in government.  Maybe it finally dawned on us after Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook restricting a story about Joe Biden’s son during the 2020 election was based on FBI misinformation warnings.
  7. How strong is it when 60% of America agrees on something?  In the most lopsided election victory since 1936, Ronald Reagan was re-elected to the presidency with 59% of the popular vote versus Walter Mondale in 1984. Reagan carried every state except Mondale’s home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia.  That’s how strong it is.
  8. Nine illegal immigrants drowned in separate incidents over the Labor Day weekend in south Texas.  Chicago was worse.  Fifty-five people were shot and 11 killed in the three-day span.  Thankfully, none were shot with one of those terrible assault rifles in the city in the state of Illinois that has strict gun control laws.
  9. As Covid seems to be fading into the backdrop like Liz Cheney, the White House senses that America is vaccine weary.  So the Biden Administration put forth a new selling point Tuesday.  “View it as a first annual shot, akin to the annual flu shot,” they said.  It just took us two years to admit it.
  10. That record warmth in the Gulf of Mexico might yet get climate change advocates in their La-Z-Boy’s to remotely change channels to Jim Cacciatore and the Weather Channel before the season tuckers out.  Earl became just the second named hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic season late Tuesday.  It won’t swim in the gulf though.  A gradual turn to the northeast is predicted for Thursday sending the weak system to a tragic overwater death in the northern Atlantic.  Tic toc goes the no American landfall 2022 hurricane clock.

It’s already Hump Day.  Back to the salt mines.

Y’all Come Back Now

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

A lot has changed since 1962, and nowhere more so than in California.

Back then the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family from the hills of the Ozarks, moved to posh Beverly Hills, California, after striking oil on their land.  They struck it rich when ole Jed, who could barely keep his family fed, was shooting at some food.

And, wouldn’t you know it, up from the ground came a bubbling crude.  Black gold, Texas tea they called it.

His kinfolks told patriarch Jed that California was the place to be.  So he packed up his 1921 Oldsmobile Model 46 truck, powered by a four-cylinder, V8, 43 hp motor, and headed to Beverly.

Non-U.S. migrants are still very welcome there, but migration within the United States has reversed course.  Many more American citizens are headed out of California than in.  They may not like Texas tea, but they like Texas.

Would Jed, Granny, Elly May, and Jethro still be welcomed there?  Possibly so, but they’d need to make a few changes to be accepted.

For starters, Jed would need to leave his gun behind in Missouri.  Gun-free zones are all the rage now, plus assault rifles are greatly frowned upon.

Also, shooting at a critter to eat would greatly upset the PETA folks.  And, nowadays there is such a thing as a free lunch, especially if you look as ragtag as they did.

But most importantly that 1921 combustion engine, fossil fuel burning truck must go.  Acting progressively California lawmakers last week moved to require all new vehicles in the state to run on electricity by 2035.

But, it will come in handy for a while prior, especially for the next week.  Likely due to climate change, most of Cali is enduring a heat wave that will greatly tax the electrical power grid.

The good Gov. Gavin Newsom took time away from planning for his 2024 Democratic Presidental nominee run on Wednesday to sign an executive order that will allow the state to try to ramp up electricity supply.

The California Independent System Operator(CISO) has warned that stress on the energy grid could lead to blackouts and called for consumer conservation for the next several days.  CISO is asking consumers to avoid using major appliances and charging electric vehicles between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.

To summarize (see what we did there?) Cali doesn’t have enough electricity during the heat wave to service electric-powered needs that will be legally required to reverse global warming by forcing electricity upon its faithful.

The Clampetts need not worry about running the washing machine for clean clothes though.  Granny uses a good old washboard.

And, they have that old cement pond out back to keep cool in.

The last one leaving California, please turn out the lights.  Of course, if it’s between 4-9 PM they might not be on.

Y’all come back now, ya hear?

 

 

Special Teams

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

You’ve heard the old adage many times before, “defense wins championships!”   Maybe it does.

Try telling that to Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, or Matthew Stafford.  Heck, try telling that to the Old Gipper, Ronald Reagan, or even the want-to-be Gipper, Donald Trump.  They think the best defense is a good offense.

And, even before the leaves change, two different seasons are starting.  One is the battle for supremacy in the NFL, and the other is the battle for control of the two chambers of the Capitol Building.

You might say there is defense, offense, and offensive.  Sometimes the lines between the three blur.

Donald Trump won the Oval Office with an offense in 2016 that changed the old guard’s game.  On his way to victory, Democrats threw every name at the book at him.  He was a bigot, a misogynist, a homophobe, a womanizer, a Russian colluder, and a Putin lover amongst other atrocities they asserted.

They tried to make him play defense by labeling him offensive.  When it failed they impeached him a time or two while in office to force him to play defense.

They reached deep into their playbook.  And, Nancy even tore up Trump’s playbook on live TV once.

Enter Joe Biden.  After a decent start, Joe got picked off by Afghanistan. The constant Covid handouts and his stubbornness against drilling led to inflation.  And, quickly team Dem was defending.

Ah, but the Dems, too, think the best defense is a good offense.  And, they are quite accomplished on that side of the ball.

They started throwing money around like a well-oiled (or battery-charged) machine.

More covid relief, free shots, more covid relief, free testing, an infrastructure bill (meaning green for green new deals), another green new deal called the Inflation Reduction Act (it should be called the Manchin double reverse), and now some college debt relief has the base offense back in place.

Uvalde put gun control squarely back on the ticket.

They caught a Hail Mary when the Supreme Court ruled in one case that set aside Roe v. Wade after 50 years of women’s reproductive rights/wellness.  Make no mistake, they hate the ruling but love what it does for their November midterm playoff/run-off hopes.

And, now Biden, who ran on becoming the great unifier is taking a lap to drive the messages home. He’ll soon be tripping down the stairs of Air Force One in a blue suit in a blue state near you to hold pep rallies.  And, while gas is still expensive, the flight is a buck cheaper a gallon now than it was eight weeks ago.

The Great Unifier even called MAGA Republicans semi-fascists this past weekend.  And the Republicans deemed that offensive and want an apology.  They will need to wait for that as long as they have waited for the border mess to be addressed.

It’s time to rally the troops and get them to vote.  Maybe you’ll vote because you feel oppressed like multi-millionaire, MTV VMA winner, acclaimed singer, and eclair lover Lizzo does. She pleaded with fans to vote and “make changes to laws that are oppressing us.” “It means everything to make a change in this country,” she said.

Out of bounds is not out of bounds anymore.  You can be on offense, defense, offended, defended, offensive, and defensive simultaneously these days.  That is unless you are oppressed.

The (de)fenced-in Capitol Building awaits the winner.