Author: thependulumswings staff

At What Price Free Speech?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s all over but the shouting.  Paperwork pending, Elon Musk has bought Twitter.

And, the shouting is all over the place but far from over.

It’s shaping up as a bad couple of weeks for the left side of ideology.  First, it was masks off.  Now, it’s Musk on.

Elon Musk used the platform he is buying to provide insight into what likely will be his guiding principle.  He tweeted, ” I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech means.”

But a lot (and we mean a lot) of “open-minded” citizens see it differently and came to Twitter and TV to tell us as much.  Even the ones that announced that they were packing their Tesla and moving to Canada if Donald Trump won had something to say.

Let’s start with the esteemed senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren.  “This deal is dangerous for our democracy.  Billionaires like Musk play by a different set of rules than everyone else, accumulating power for their own gain.  We need a wealth tax and strong rules to hold big tech accountable.”

There is so much to unpack in that statement.  Was she speaking about herself?  If Elizabeth Warren identified as a man her pro(per) nouns would be Bernie and Sanders, but we digress.

News flash, free speech isn’t dangerous to our democracy.  See the very First Amendment for confirmation.

What some try to define as hate speech is indeed free speech.  You might hate what they say, but it’s their right to say it.  It’s just like burning an American flag.  You might hate seeing someone do so, but it’s been judicially ruled and subsequently upheld as freedom of expression.

Former Presidential Democratic “want to be” nominee Howard Dean tweeted that he was out.   Thousands commented back that they were as well.   The irony of using the platform to boldly announce that you’re leaving the platform is palpable.

None other than former VP Dan Quayle jumped in and tweeted, “at least seven people will miss you!”  Hateful.  True.  Quayle even spelled seven correctly!

Well, maybe the next stop for Dean is CNN+.  Come to think of it, it’s been a really bad run for those that lean left.

Press Secretary Jen Psaki, “The president has long been concerned about the power of large social media platforms, and has long argued that they must be held accountable for the harms that they cause.”  Likely he’s just been too busy to tackle this cause just yet.  After he fixes the harm caused by Russia and inflation though, lookout.

A study by The Center for Responsive Politics of political donations for the midterms by corporate employees, and published by Vox shows that 98.7% of the money donated went to the Democratic party from Twitter employees.

Want more?  Netflix 99.6%.  Apple 97.5%.  Google 96.0%.  Facebook 94.5%.  You can see why Biden is concerned, can’t you?

People who have preached that men can get pregnant are now concerned with misinformation on Twitter.  How timely?  How noble?

An African American who nearly single-handedly brought electric cars to the market to save the planet is now the bad guy for wanting free speech to truly be free.

Only in America could all of this happen concurrently.

After all, it’s the land of the “free” and the home of the “brave,” depending on whom you ask of course.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Easy question.  What’s better than getting your week started with a healthy serving of Ten Piece Nuggets?

Easy Answer.  Nothing, just like the content of Kamala Harris’ responses to questions asked of her.

  1.  Today is the last day to file your 2021 tax return.  It’s 4/18 this year, not 4/15, because Friday was Emancipation Day (a legal holiday in the District of Columbia) and the IRS observed it.  If you haven’t yet be sure you do file today as every country in the world other than the United States is relying on the money.
  2.  Speaking of money, why is everyone more worried about how Elon Musk is spending his money than how the US government spends our money?
  3.  We forgot.   Nandy Pelosi lectured to us that government overspending isn’t inflationary.  So, no worries.  Joe Biden did as well, but may not remember doing so.  Thankfully, Build Back Better is on the very backburner now.  Hopefully, he forgets about that, too!
  4. Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos purchased the Washington Post in 2016 for $250 million. Some of the paper’s columnists have vocally opposed Musk’s efforts. The left-leaning media outlet published a column from former CEO of Reddit Ellen K. Pao headlined, “Elon Musk’s vision of ‘free speech’ will be bad for Twitter.”  You can’t make this stuff up and sound this ignorant.  We now have visions of free speech.
  5. Do you know what Title 42 is?  On March 20, 2020, at the outset of the COVID-19 public health emergency, President Trump previewed a measure to curb “mass uncontrolled cross-border movement.”  That day, then CDC Director Robert Redfield invoked a World War II-era public health law to authorize U.S. border officials to promptly deport migrants. The law, found in Title 42 of the U.S. code, grants the government the “power to prohibit, in whole or in part, the introduction of persons and property” to stop a contagious disease from spreading in the U.S.  Now you do.
  6. To stop the contagious disease in Canada you must have had two Covid 19 vaccine doses at least 14 days prior to entering the country.  The Boston Red Sox have a series there starting next week and Manager Alex Cora said that they will be without multiple unvaccinated players.
  7. On April 1, now CDC Director Rochelle Walensky announced her agency would stop authorizing Title 42 on May 23, saying the expulsions of migrants are no longer necessary to protect public health.  Here comes the next huge illegal wave.  Even a Democratic candidate for the Texas Governorship opposes the move.  “It does not make sense to end this until there is a real plan and the capacity in place to handle those and address those that come over,” Beto O’Rourke said.
  8. Beto is fence-sitting a bit, but still, he at least wants a plan.  This administration has a plan.  The plan is to flood America with immigrants legal or not.  Texas has had it.  Bus no. 4 loaded last week and hit DC yesterday.  Oh, and Beto has no shot(pun intended) in Texas.  His opposition to guns is the deal-breaker.
  9. You can finally rest easy if you’re a pregnant man. Put your feet up like your female counterparts have done for centuries. Apple’s iOS 15.4 update, rolling out to all models of the iPhone since late March, recognizes you with an emoji of a pregnant man.  There is also a gender-neutral “person with crown” to go alongside the king and queen ones.  All are available in five skin colors, too.  So, to recap you can now be a pregnant male or a gender-neutral crowned person regardless of your skin tone. Inclusive indeed.
  10. Special Counsel John Durham is a deal maker.  He’s now giving immunity to up to five key witnesses in the Clinton campaign investigation of false Russian collusion in the 2016 election and prosecution of its lawyer Michael Sussmann.  Sussmann will wind up as roadkill for the Clintons.  There is a trail of it from Arkansas to DC and back and the stench covers decades.  Will the investigation result in more carnage?

You’ve been served.

 

The (Not) Great Reset

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

We believe for a fact that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in 1963 when he shot and killed President John F. Kennedy.  We believe this based on a mountain of evidence piled up over the years vs very little to the contrary.  Follow the forensic and ballistic science.

President Obama said in 2014,  “The shift to a cleaner energy economy won’t happen overnight, and it will require tough choices along the way.  But the debate is settled.  Climate change is a fact.”  Clearly, he believes it. Or, at the least, he’s a great pitchman for solar and electric companies.

We believe it too as the climate has always been changing.  It’s how the sun is constantly cooling for example. It’s how the lower half of Florida broke off from Louisiana and floated to its current Everglades location. Follow the science.

And clearly, the CDC, labeled yesterday on Twitter as the Center for Disinformation and Control, believes that yet another covid variant is amongst us and potentially so disruptive that they extended the airplane mask mandate another 15 days. It was supposed to fly away for good on Monday 4/18.  Science.

Dr. Fauci must feel like a kid in a candy store this morning, but we digress.

That the CDC extended this mandate is beyond laughable.   And, that’s the problem.  It’s beyond laughable because there has to be a method to their madness.  Is it another means to a bigger end?

If you believe in the “Great Reset” theory, it’s all a bit scary.  We’re not sure if we do.  But, clearly, something is afoot.  There are too many zealots, not experts, pulling from the same side of the rope.

Masks don’t work.  Doctors near and far will tell you this.  You can take them off while eating.  What a joke.

But don’t say that out loud.  Twitter might suspend or even ban you.

The FBI might investigate you.  Of course, that’s not something that you need to worry about apparently.

You don’t need a mask anywhere in the US worth talking about.  Philly government buildings and NY preschools aren’t worth it.

Neither is the White House where an “emotional” Kamala forgot hers after the Judge Jackson confirmation.  That’s excusable and understandable, isn’t it?

But, step on a plane and mask up or else.  Control.  Power.

The CEOs of the major airlines should refuse to enforce the mandate starting today.  Today.  It’s not legal.  It’s not a law passed by Congress.

At least racism is getting fixed.  Well, it’s not if you boarded a subway in Brooklyn Tuesday.

And, yesterday Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury spoke out again against climate change and in support of a carbon tax.   “Climate change is a very critical problem that we need to address. The central problem is the damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions.”  Yellen, the bean counter, is now yelling as a climate change expert.

Meanwhile down at the border, no masks are needed.  Neither is a negative covid test.  Fences?  Nah.  Border patrol? But, why?

Do you want cheaper gas and oil?  Tough.  Buy a Tesla.

Ah, Tesla.  That brings us to Elon Musk.  This morning he announced plans to buy Twitter.  And, with the offer comes the promise that free speech on one big left-leaning social media tech platform might actually be freed.

And, with that and the upcoming midterms comes something else that we believe in.  The pendulum.  And, the pendulum is moving even when you think it is not.

Maybe there is light at the end of that tunnel after all.

Let us hope it’s not a NY subway train light.

Was that offensive?  One can hope.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The fryer wouldn’t kick on right away this AM, so the Ten Piece Nuggets are in short order today.

  1.  By now you know that the CPI annualized for March roared in at 8.5%, the highest since 1981. By now you’ve heard the White House and its occupants refer to the runaway inflation as the “Putin Price Hike.”  We’d love to see the polling that the administration did on the catchy phrase.  In other words, how many Americans believe that this mess is Putin’s doing?  And/or how many thought it to be a good phrase to hide the obvious?
  2. Calling severe inflation the “Putin price hike” is a lie.  It’s also a distraction.  What they’re really saying is they plan to do little to attempt to stop it.
  3. After all, and we borrowed this one from one of our favorite readers, tapping our oil reserves instead of drilling is as stupid as tapping your 401k instead of going to work.
  4.  How can Frank James, “a person of interest,” in the NY subway shootings yesterday escape from the horrific scene and remain on the loose today?  The subway cameras weren’t working much like the jail cameras all around Jeffery Epstein’s cell.  That’s not a surprise.  The surprise is that the thousands of other cameras around the station didn’t pick up his exit path and allow authorities to trail him to some point.  Surely they know way more than what has been released to the public?
  5. Early reports state that James was known to the FBI but cleared in 2019.  Cleared?  What does that mean?  It means investigated, but not pursued beyond that, we presume.  Does anyone ever do any follow-up?  We’ve heard that excuse far too many times including 9/11.  The FBI was once a revered granite block of what was right with our country.  Now it’s Inspector Clouseau in a Pink Panther movie.

  6. You remember former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace.  The liberal that emerged from behind the Fox logo has reportedly been breaking down in front of his crew over the “miserable failure” of the new streaming platform CNN+.  The launch of CNN+ has been anything but stellar with the platform drawing close to 10,000 daily viewers and even fewer subscribers.  No one watches CNN.  Why would you pay to watch CNN+?  And, you already have another left streamer gaining steam named Disney+, but we digress.  Trump once told Chris that his father Mike was much better than him.  Harsh.  Accurate?

  7. CNN is now owned by WarnerMedia just as it is merging with Discovery, and some of the execs of these entities are a bit confused as to why CNN rushed through its launch of the now failing service before the merger was complete.  So far it’s a $300 million investment to attract 10k lost souls.  Does it sound like somebody owed somebody a favor?  Adding Jemele Hill to cover sports surely will help.  Won’t it?
  8. Warner Bros. has bowed to Chinese authorities by removing gay dialogue from its blockbuster sequel Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore, with the studio justifying its act of artistic censorship by describing it as “nuanced cuts” and “minor edits.”  This is taking “Don’t Say Gay” to a whole new level.  LA County will not allow its government employees to travel to Florida because of the bill.  Surely China is next?  Not if you follow the money.
  9. Texas has had it with the illegal immigration at the border.  Governor Abbott has begun to bus the migrants to Washington DC.  The first bus arrived this AM.  This should get interesting, very interesting, as Artie Johnson used to say.  The gamesmanship(read as political polarization of uneducated masses) has just begun as we go under the six-month mark till the midterms.
  10. Rep Darrel Issa tweeted yesterday, “Black Lives Matter sent some angry tweets, but still hasn’t come close to explaining its purchase of a $6 million mansion in LA-using donations to its charity.  We need an investigation more than ever.”

You’ve been served.

Basic Common Sense

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

A make-believe President Andrew Sheppard (actor Michael Douglas) interrupted a press conference in the movie An American President filmed in 1995 and said, “You cannot address crime prevention without getting rid of assault weapons and handguns. I consider them a threat to national security, and I will go door to door if I have to, but I’m gonna convince Americans that I’m right, and I’m gonna get the guns.”

“Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,” shrieked Beto O’Rourke to roaring applause from a crowd at Texas Southern University during a Democratic Debate for a want-to-be President in 2015. “We’re not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore.”

Yesterday, our real president, though some would argue in title only, Joe Biden told us that he wants to rein in the use of untraceable firearms known as ghost guns that turn up frequently at crime scenes.  This attempt targets privately made firearms that can be assembled from purchased do-it-yourself kits.  The weapons lack serial numbers, which makes it difficult to trace the owner.

Commercial manufacturers of the kits will have to be licensed and must add serial numbers on the kits’ frame or receiver.  Commercial sellers of the kits will have to become licensed and will be required to run background checks on potential buyers.  It makes some sense as conventional retailers must do the same.  It just won’t stop anyone who wants a gun to find a way to get one.

“These guns are weapons of choice for many criminals,” Biden said in a Rose Garden ceremony attended by victims and families of gun violence. “We are going to do everything we can to deprive them of that choice and, when we find them, put them in jail for a long, long time.”  Sounds like we’re not as interested in defunding the police as we were pre election.

Biden called the not call to arms “basic common sense.”  Except, it’s not.  Or, at least it’s not enough.

Well, it makes as much sense as Twitter employees who worry that Elon Musk, now Twitter’s largest shareholder, may turn their free speech platform into a platform that actually allows free speech, but we digress.

All together now- guns don’t kill people.  People kill people.

Adding serial numbers to parts will make illegal gun owners take a bit longer to file down the additional numbers to make them untraceable.  Also, stolen guns are stolen guns regardless of who cleared a background check originally.

There are over 330 million guns in this country that we can count. It’s the second amendment right.  If you don’t make another one, or file down another serial number, that’s enough for every man, woman, and child, regardless of their choice of pronouns, to pack heat.

Illinois and New York have the strictest gun control laws in the nation.  Ask the residents of Chicago’s south side or the Bronx how much that helps.

Criminal behavior starts way before someone puts a gun in their hand.  Once Veep Kamala figures out the root cause of illegal immigration maybe she can turn her attention to the root cause of criminal behavior.

Until then we can continue paying lip service to the problem as we do with China, Russia, inflation, debt, and the border.

 

X + Y = Z?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Remember way back when? Maybe it was the fourth grade?  What were you ten, then?

It was your first party with members of the opposite gender.  Spin the bottle someone said.  Suddenly you felt faint in the head.

You didn’t know why but you knew when.  And, when was right now.

You were terrified that the bottle might stop spinning while pointing in your direction.  You were mesmerized that it might though.  In short, you had no clue.

Ten.  That’s twice the age of what the latest name and blame game storm is all about.

Should public school teachers teach gender identity(or identity choices?) to pre-K and kindergarteners?  If you had no physical clue why you felt how you did at ten, what do you think the cranium power is to digest the complexity of the topic at five?

Kids get out of high school and are still confused by x+y=z.  How well do you think x and y chromosomes (give or take a few in these days and times apparently) will be understood by someone who cannot yet tie his or her (there’s that two gender thing again) shoes at five years of age.

And, do chromosomes even matter anymore?

Doesn’t the fact that this is even a debate enrage you?  If it doesn’t maybe you were “that guy” at the party that reached out to the Coke bottle and stopped it purposely and pointed it at you.  Or, maybe you should reconsider the debate.

We want to keep three-year-olds in masks but we want to unmask the bevy of sexual orientation/ gender identification choices supposedly available to them.  But, to cut to the chase, are there really choices?

We won’t solve the nurture vs. nature debate here today, nor are we qualified to do so.   But, we do know that it’s springtime in the south and there is a hell of a lot of birds making nests together, just like every springtime.

The debate isn’t nurtured v nature anyway.  The debate is when and who should have this discussion.

And, 76% of polled US parents think that this discussion is way too soon.  Over 50% think it should be left up to them at home as well.

Meanwhile, the left zealots in support cannot stand that they’ve been labeled “groomers.”  Did you ever see the guy sitting at the table in the middle of campus with a sign that says, “Groomers attempt to brainwash my kids?” Change my mind!”

Seems like the name game and the blame game is coming to a head again.

One answer seems clear, the “when” isn’t so soon after the babies leave the nest.  We repeat-doesn’t the fact that this is even a debate enrage you?  And, as far as the “who,” shouldn’t parents have the final say about what is taught in schools?  And when, as well?

The government should work for you, not against you.  The school system is part of the government.

You paid for it.  You elected the leaders of it.  It’s yours.

And, it’s time to take back what is yours.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Fresh and hot to hit the spot is a serving of Ten Piece Nuggets below.

  1.  Two old-school NCAA bluebloods duked (sorry Coach K) it out last night for the NCAA Basketball Championship.  Kansas overcame a 15 point halftime deficit to beat North Carolina and completed the biggest comeback in title-game history.  It was the fourth title for the storied Kansas team which is one less than the five Level I NCAA infraction allegations it is facing.
  2. Kansas isn’t too worried about them though as they gave Head Coach Bill Self a lifetime contract last April that pays him over $5 million per year.  LSU fired its head coach Will Wade last month for exactly the same- 5 Level I infraction allegations.
  3. The contract states Self cannot be fired with cause for violations that occurred before this new deal, meaning he can only be terminated without cause for whatever penalties are handed down to the program by the NCAA.  This makes us wonder.  If Kansas fires Self will the team then be considered selfless? Clearly, we’re asking for a friend.
  4. All of this brings us to a great quote about what the NCAA is and isn’t.  It was delivered many years ago but remains true to this day.  “The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky they’re going to give Cleveland State another year of probation,” said Jerry Tarkanian, then head coach of the Las Vegas Running Rebels.  Tark fought the law, and Tark won.  And it seems like Kansas, unlike LSU, is ready to do the same.
  5. This is the best time of the year for sports nuts and second isn’t close.  Last night was the NCAA basketball final.   Hockey and basketball are in the stretch run right before their playoffs begin.  MLB throws out its first pitch this week.  The Kentucky Derby is just around the far turn. The NFL Draft hype builds by the day.  This weekend in golf is the revered Masters.
  6. Will he or won’t he?  Fred Couples thinks he will.  Barring a setback over the next couple of days, Couples, one of Tiger Woods’ closest friends, believes Woods will play when the 86th Masters begins on Thursday.  “He’s kind of a tough guy,” Couples said.  They played a practice round together yesterday.  “He looked phenomenal,” Couples said. “What impressed me the most is he was bombing it.”  If Tiger tees it up The Masters will set a new viewership record for itself and second place won’t be close.
  7.  By now you’ve heard that Elon Musk owns 9.2% of Twitter.   The surge in its price since the announcement earned him a cool $386 million and counting.  That’s pocket change for Musk whose net worth is nearing $300 billion.  What’s the next shot in the billiard match?  Musk could a) ask for a seat or three on the Twitter Board of Directors, b) ask for policy changes (read as free speech), c) takeover the company altogether, or d) sell his shares and bank a tidy profit.
  8. Musk has 80 million-plus followers on Twitter.  Tesla spends nothing on advertising.  The Twitter platform would give the sly and wicked smart Musk a tremendous opportunity to tout whatever he chooses if he controlled its content, followers, and censorship.  Social media is maddening and fascinating at the same time.
  9.  U.S. Senator Mitt Romney should officially change parties.  Utah should vote to impeach him or vote him out of office this fall.  Why?  Because he’s a sheep in wolves’ clothing is why.
  10.  Real estate is expensive in Southern California. How expensive?  Black Lives Matter leadership allegedly purchased a $6 million luxury 6500 sq ft mansion with cash in SoCal using donation money, according to New York Magazine.  Why?  An April 1 internal BLM email states it is to “serve as housing and studio space for recipients of the Black Joy Creators Fellowship,” which “provides recording resources and dedicated space for Black creatives to launch content online and in real life focused on abolition, healing justice, urban agriculture and food justice, pop culture, activism, and politics.”  This makes the $30k per month that our government (you) is paying to rent a Malibu House to watch over Hunter Biden sound like a steal.  Could he find somewhere else to paint?  Could he find his laptop?

Remember to always keep your napkin in your lap!

Reimagine Tomorrow

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Just Tuesday we highlighted the war on women, the war on Ukraine, and the war on the wealthy.  But, what’re three wars without four?  Now the war on words has flared up yet again.

This time the attack and counterattack broke out in the woke Magic Kingdom.   In a leaked video from the company’s “Reimagine Tomorrow” summit top-level employees openly discussed Disney’s push to add more LGBTQIA2S+ content to its ever-growing library.

If you’re counting at home that’s six consonants, two vowels, one number, and a plus sign for 10 “outcasts” in all to be cast more frequently in Disney content.

Disney corporate president Karey Burke spoke, “I’m here as a mother of two queer children — one transgender child, and one pansexual child — and also as a leader.”  She wants a minimum of 50% of all characters going forward to be LGBTQIA2S+ and/or racial minorities.

This brings us to three questions.  One, why 50%?  Two, with all of the slang words that are now inappropriate, when did calling people queers gain traction all over again?  Three, if a character is both “queer” and a racial minority, does that count twice towards the 50 percent?

The leaked videos come amid Disney declaring open war (there’s that word again) on the state of Florida over its Parental Rights Law — which LGBTQ activists have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

At the bill signing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis explained that the measure simply bans sexual instruction for young schoolchildren, such as kindergarteners.  But, never let facts get in the way of a progressive narrative.

Disney is a huge company with huge brands that have enormous revenue streams.  They are the content, streaming, and amusement park kings.  But, when you start peddling your agenda directly at the hand that feeds you- parents of innocent children who directly object to the messaging aimed at such a young age, you’re playing with fire.  How big of a fire?  Time will tell.

Can you still say “kings?”  We ask because last summer Disney removed all of the gendered greetings and then some in live spiels. Prince and princesses are out. They no longer say ladies and gentlemen, nor boys and girls.   The Disney Diversion and Inclusion Manager said that they now welcome “dreamers of all ages” and noted that aligning language with “gender identity” dogma can make Disney “inclusive” and “magical and memorable for everyone.”

Who knew that it wasn’t memorable before?  Have you ever waited in line for the Space Mountain roller coaster?  And the lines are so inclusive they created fast passes to alleviate some of the wait times.

What’s funny about all of this is Disney’s presence in Communist China.  Well, it’s not funny at all.  It’s pure “turn your back” capitalism.  How many shirts, mouse ears, and souvenirs are produced there?  How many people visit their two theme parks there?

Is China’s government on board with all of the gender equity, inclusive, queer, pans, and so on there?  Of course, they aren’t.

Ironic that Disney owns ESPN which telecasts the NBA and WNBA and many other leagues worldwide.   The NBA loves China as well.

Can we meld the two leagues into one to be more inclusive, drop the “W” from WNBA to help with gender identity, and just call it the Dreamers of All Ages League?

No?  How about we “reimagine tomorrow” and rename it the LGBTQIA2S+WNBAonESPN sponsored by M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E then?

Does that include everyone?

 

 

 

Fair Share

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If it’s not one war, it’s another.

Last week there was the war on women as Republicans unmercifully (the Washington Post called it the most grueling questioning/testimony ever) grilled Ketanji Brown Jackson for SCOTUS.

Every week for the last five the war on Ukraine marches on.  Joe Biden had a plan to stop it though.   He said Putin should be removed from power.  But then the White House said he didn’t mean it.  And, yesterday he said that he didn’t say it at all.

Someone once said, “even the best-laid plans go to hell when exposed to reality.”

This brings us to the newest war, and to reality.  Yesterday, President Biden made a renewed push to galvanize congressional Democrats to overhaul the nation’s tax code and dramatically raise rates on corporations and ultra-wealthy Americans.

The president laid out the tax hikes as part of his $5.8 trillion budget blueprint for federal spending in fiscal 2023.   Under his proposal, taxes would rise by $2.5 trillion, marking the largest increase in history in dollar terms. What can we give away for “free” that we haven’t already?  The deficit would be $1.15 trillion with a “t.”

Remember, it was but two weeks ago when both Biden and Madame Speaker Pelosi told us, idiots, that government spending wasn’t adding to our inflation problems, rather it actually helped curb inflation.

In fact, the mere notion made the President sick.  “I’m sick of this stuff,” Biden said at a Democratic retreat in Philadelphia, gesturing with his hands to suggest he’d had it up to his neck. “The American people think the reason for inflation is the government spending more money. Simply not true.”

We are reducing the Trump deficits and returning our fiscal house to order,” Biden said at the White House on Monday. He said the budget “makes prudent investment and economic growth, a more equitable economy while making sure corporations and the very wealthy pay their fair share.”

There you go.  It’s all in one sentence.  It’s straight from the left playbook.  Blame Trump, toss in “equitable,” and close with “fair share.”

Everybody supports “fair share.”  It’s fair after all, how could you be against it?  It might matter who decides what is fair, that’s how.  What it really means is that someone’s coming for someone else’s wallet.

The taxes outlined on Monday include a minimum 20% tax on the incomes of U.S. households worth $100 million or more even if the government made you dip into unrealized capital gains.  That’s current worth, not earned in the fiscal year.  You could call that Robin Hood.

That would raise taxes (aka government revenue-a terrible phrase if ever there was one) by about $360 billion over the next ten years. When you stack that up against increased spending it reminds us of the proverbial shooting a bb at a destroyer.

Biden also proposed raising the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% as part of his budget request.  He’s banking on you not understanding a simple truism. If you raise corporate tax rates, corporations raise their prices to you.   And, that leads to higher inflation no matter how high Nancy Pelosi raises her painted-on eyebrows when spewing her revised version of Economics 101.

Under his envisioned budget, the nation’s deficit would shrink by more than $1 trillion over the next decade.  Or, stated differently the nation’s debt would increase from over $30 trillion to over $40 trillion.  Ouch.

And, no one in their right mind would think that anyone’s vision, and especially his, for the next decade could be clairvoyant.

Hopefully, the war on stupidity starts soon.

 

The King of Queens

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

BREAKING NEWS–

While you were likely sleeping overnight BBR has confirmed that LeBron James is leaving the NBA to join the WNBA!  Lebron tweeted, “my life and the WNBA ratings are forever changed for the better.  Going forward I want to be known as LeBronny’a James or Queen James.”

The King Says He’s Out!

In reality, this shouldn’t be a big deal, but it will be. Hell if you believe in equality, you should wonder why we even have two leagues.  Shouldn’t all genders just play together in one league?

As you know, Lia Thomas made history last Thursday as the first known transgender athlete to win a US college swimming championship when she took the title in the 500-meter freestyle in Atlanta.  Again, you have to wonder if equality really exists as we are striving for.  Why didn’t Lia simply swim in the men’s competition?

You know why.  It’s political theater at its finest.  And its finest was on display yesterday in the Senate confirmation hearings for Kentanji Brown Jackson as well.

The CNBC headline captures it well.  “Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson wraps tense two days of Senate questioning as confirmation path clears.”  The path was always clear as 50 Democrats were always going to vote for her and our esteemed VP Kamala Harris would make 51 assuming she knows how to push the correct button, but we digress.

But, first Judge Jackson faced that aforementioned tense moment.  Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) asked the DC Circuit Court of Appeals judge point-blank: “Can you provide a definition for the word ’woman’?

After a short back-and-forth, Jackson ultimately said: “No, I can’t.”  “You can’t?” Blackburn asked.  “Not in this context. I’m not a biologist,” Jackson said.

So it turns out that two X chromosomes have been deceiving us all along.

This is quite weird as Biden quite loudly promised a black woman as his first Supreme Court nominee if the opportunity presented itself.  How does he know?

Would the world have gone bonkers if Sen Blackburn followed up with “Can you provide a definition for the word ‘black’?

It makes you wonder why the left has been so vociferous in defending abortion, now known as women’s wellness, formerly known as a woman’s right to choose if they cannot define what makes a woman a woman.   Why call it women’s wellness?  How about just wellness?

And, all of this comes as we are celebrating Women’s History Month in March.  The first paragraph of Joe Biden’s Proclamation says so.  It reads, “Every March, Women’s History Month provides an opportunity to honor the generations of trailblazing women and girls who have built our Nation, shaped our progress, and strengthened our character as a people.”

So who are we celebrating if we cannot define who a woman is?  Did we mention political theater?

Fashion Is Strictly a Matter of Opinion.

That theater reached one of a few peaks back in 2017. The Women’s March was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president. It was prompted by several of Trump’s statements being considered by many as anti-women or otherwise offensive to women.

It’s pretty simple, almost cro magnon simple.  Trump bad, Biden good!  Gin up the base, let’s tear this place down.

It was originally billed as the Million Women’s March, but it drew 470,000.  Do you wonder if 530,000 bowed out when they learned of the suggested headdress?

Per the website, the goal of the annual march is to advocate legislation and policies regarding human rights and other issues, including women’s rights, immigration reform, healthcare reform, disability justice, reproductive rights, the environment, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion, workers’ rights and tolerance.

That sounds like a lot more than just women’s rights to us.

And that’s why we mention political theater for a final time, we promise.