Author: thependulumswings staff

The Music Never Stops

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In the game of musical chairs when the music stops there is always one chair too few.  In the college football coaching version where the music never stops there is always one chair too many.

When a school’s AD tosses a contestant out (coach) he opens his chair.

This year it started as it always does, with the first open chair.  That was USC.

Others followed.  Washington State.  LSU.  TCU.  Washington St.  Virginia Tech.  Washington.  Florida. Temple.  Connecticut.  Louisiana Tech.

A few filled quickly in season.  Many others remain open.

But a few things stand out to this year’s game within the game.  One, the team names on the chairs seem bigger and more plentiful than usual.  Two, the cost to throw a chair into the game got more expensive.  Three, some bigger coaching names suddenly have moved on from big-time, coveted programs to other big-time, coveted programs.

What’s driving all of this?  Remember the tried and true answer to most any question?  Money.

Conference realignment is here again, and the rich are getting richer.  It’s called capitalism even though some purists resist the conference changes that bring more pocket change.

Lincoln Riley got the keys to a Lincoln and then some so to speak.  USC is reported to be buying both his homes in Norman for $500,000 over asking, adding up to a $1 million bonus; buying a $6 million home for their new head coach in Los Angeles; and allowing unlimited use of the private jet 24/7 for him and his family.

Those are just the perks.  Toss in a roughly $10 million/year salary and it’s good work if you can get it.

We’ll soon know what LSU is going to pay Brian Kelly to leave the sacred grounds where Touchdown Jesus keeps his eyes on things.  Our guess is it more salary than Riley with fewer perks.

And the bands play on.  Now the Oklahoma and Notre Dame jobs are open.

Riley was sitting on the doorstep of the playoffs till Saturday came and went.  Kelly got closer because of the Saturday outcomes and might have gotten in depending on this Saturday’s outcomes.

Never mind that, mine gold.  You can’t spell team without me.

The purists also don’t like the recent NIL deal.  Your name, image, and likeness can pay you money while playing college sports these days if you “earn” it.  Coaches mentor kids don’t they?  What’s good for the goose……….

There seems to be no supply chain shortage of coaches.  The NCAA, like the Feds, is printing money.  And, wage inflation is rampant.  Do you think ticket prices might go up some?

In college coaching musical chairs, the music never stops.  And there seems to always be an open chair.

Who gets the last laugh all of the way to the bank? Nick Saban.  His Alabama contract calls for him to be perpetually the highest-paid coach in all the land.  He doesn’t have to leave to chase the gold, it chases him.

Besides, he’d never leave, would he?

“Coach, you’ve got the Notre Dame AD holding on line one.”

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The last thing you need after four days of overindulgence is more.  We’re air frying the nuggets again today to keep them light.

  1.  Black Friday really was.  The world learned of yet another unwelcomed foe.  Omicron.  It’s been said that it’s anywhere from 2x to 10x times more contagious. Maybe it has different symptoms.  And, supposedly it’s milder in its attack on the body.  The stock market didn’t react too mildly.
  2.  Joe Biden shut down travel to/from eight African nations due to this new variant.  This measure is 100% opposite of the position Biden had as a candidate when then President Trump did the exact same.  Biden said then, “this new ‘African Ban’ is designed to make it harder for black and brown people to immigrate to the US.  It’s a disgrace, and we cannot let him succeed.”
  3. Maybe we should just follow the science? The trouble with that is we can’t figure out exactly what the science is.  Dr. Anthony Fauci seems to know more than any skeptics.  He said Sunday, “But if they get up and really aim their bullets at Tony Fauci they’re really criticizing science because I represent science.”  When people talk about themselves in the third person they usually have a high opinion of themselves.  Tony “Science” Fauci.
  4.  Well, will the “vaccines” which maybe aren’t vaccines work against this latest round of virus mutation?  National Institute of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins said Sunday that current coronavirus vaccines will “most likely” be effective against the newly-discovered omicron variant, but that it is too soon to tell for sure.  Sounds like a yes, a no, and a maybe if you follow the science.
  5. Down under in Australia where no one without a vaccine is allowed to enter nor leave the country, Omicron has been detected in multiple cases.  Either their border is leakier than they would like or the vaccine may not be all that they think it is.  If you follow the science it sounds like science fiction.
  6. Speaking of leaky borders, we assume that the Biden Administration feels like the variant can travel by air, hence the ban, but not by land, hence the continued policy of allowing illegal aliens (we’re pretty sure that you can’t use that term anymore, but we didn’t feel like looking it up in the new rulebook) into the US without a jab or two.   It’s hard to follow some of the science.
  7. Did you know that the White House and Congress have no vaccination mandates in place?  Working for the government must create some form of natural immunity.  At least all employees in companies of 100 or more have to get the poke. That includes the USPS, though the employee union is fighting it.
  8. Levi Strauss has well over 100 employees.  And, some might have concerns in addition to ole Omicron.  They are offering employees the opportunity to engage in a “fireside chat and Q&A” with a “racial trauma specialist” following the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on November 19.  The email stated, “pain and trauma of race, identity, and belief-based tragedies is a reality that many of us are struggling with on an ongoing basis. It can feel physically, mentally, and emotionally draining to continue to relive these moments and I want you to know, it’s okay not to be okay.”
  9. Making matters worse, the jean maker is headquartered in San Francisco, home of the homeless, the addicted, and flash mobs that steal lots of Levi Strauss jeans.  Maybe a corporate name change to reset is needed?  How about Levi Stress?
  10. On an only slightly lighter note, did Lincoln Riley run from the SEC competition, or does he see a golden opportunity to do at USC what three coaches since Pete Carroll have failed to do?  Ole Petey got out of the City of Angels just ahead of the probation police crackdown on giveaways to parents.  In a dozen years since, coaches Kiffin, Sarkesian, and Helton led the once very proud program to three Holiday, one Cotton, and one Rose Bowl, and little else.

Post-holiday Mondays are always stressful.  We hope that our fireside chat helped.

Abby Picks, Year 4, Week 13

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

NCAA football, we hardly knew you.  Time flys.

This Saturday wraps up another college football regular season.  Abby might weigh in on a bowl or playoff game or two, but she makes her money in the regular season.

A breakeven week last week (one more won than lost, but Vegas collected the juice) puts her season longs at 47 wins and 34 losses and 67 bones won with 48 bones lost.  The hunch took its 3rd punch (Michigan St scored a whopping 7 so the total of 63 was under by 5) and stands at 8-3.

It’s always better to be a wary bettor during rivalry week.  The pickings look slim.

  1. Iowa at Nebraska + 1 1/2 — Frost’s team hasn’t quit.  They counterpunched Wisconsin to the wire last week.  This week they win at the wire.  Two bones.
  2. Cincinnati at East Carolina +14 1/2 —  Cincy and head coach Luke Fickell control their own playoff entry destiny. Can E Carolina ruin that?  No, but they can cover two touchdowns at home.  One bone.
  3. Kentucky at Louisville -3 — Like Nebraska, Louisville has played a handful of tough opponents close.  Saturday they get it done against a solid bunch of Wildcats.  One bone.
  4. Wisconsin at Minnesota +7 1/2 —  A straight-up win by the Golden Gophers would not shock Abby.  Wisconsin usually has a late-season “huh?” game.  If Whisky goes flat out for 60, this bet won’t hold up.  One bone.
  5. Oklahoma at Oklahoma St – 4 1/2  — Okie St has beaten their last five opponents by a 165-44 combined total and is peaking late.  Oklahoma has sputtered of late.  Vegas is begging John Q. Public to take Oklahoma.  Abby will take the zig on the zag.  One bone.

Vegas is fading Lincoln Riley as the next LSU coach.  He’s now +1000 in Vegas.  On a hunch, Abby will take Lincoln Riley announced Sunday as the next LSU head coach.    One bone to win ten bones.

Six bones, five home teams, three dogs, two chalks, and one longshot Lincoln.

Woof!

 

Editor’s note:  BBR is taking a four-day holiday starting roughly right now.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Start your shortened work week off with a Ten Piece Nuggets serving.    We air-fried them to save calories for Thursday.

Unfortunately, be forewarned, nuggets one and two don’t taste too well.

  1.  Waukesha, WI is a nice, easy-going, do for others, slice of America.  It’s a 75k citizen suburb due west of Milwaukee.  But unfortunately, this AM it’s a major crime scene and an international story.  We’ll spare the details as everyone with a TV is aware of “what” happened.  It seems like the “who” part of the event is already in custody.  The “why” part is unknown.  BBR hopes that all of the 40 or so injured make a full recovery.  Wisconsin is one of only 12 states that does not have the death penalty if you were wondering or hoping.
  2. Waukesha is about a 50-mile drive from Kenosha.  Does last night’s rage have anything at all to do with the Rittenhouse trial outcome/unrest?  Our guess at this moment is that they are unrelated based on the “person of interest’s” recent individual scrapes with the law.  But, for Wisconsin, a go-along to get along state, it’s far too much bad press in far too short of a time window.  One minute you’re watching a fun festive holiday parade, the next…………    Sometimes words fall far short in their ability to describe true feelings.
  3. Reece Witherspoon following the lead of other Hollywood folks expressed her outrage about the Rittenhouse verdict.  She tweeted yesterday, “No one should be able to purchase a semi-automatic weapon, cross state lines and kill 2 people, wound another, and go free. In what world is this safe … for any of us?”  He didn’t purchase it.  He didn’t cross state lines with it.  Kenosha is about 5 miles from Illinois, but we digress.  In this world a jury of his peers voted on it.  Facts matter, but never ever let that get in the way of a good narrative.
  4. You can like Tucker Carlson on Fox or not.  You can like the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict or not.  And, you can hear Kyle’s story in his own words this evening at 7 pm CST on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox.  The show regularly gets very high Nielsen Ratings.  Tonight, they’ll soar higher.  What a scoop!
  5.  Some fine folks in San Francisco decided to loot (pick clean) the Louis Vuitton store in Union Square in SF Saturday night.  Nordstroms and two other high-end stores were targeted as well.  What a fine city SF once was.  What a cesspool it now is.  We’d cite the very left, liberal thinking officials that run the place as the main reason for its downfall, but that would be too easy and too accurate.  The only job in America harder than selling neckties these days would be the head of tourism for SF.
  6. Turning to sports, Dan Mullen, the Florida Gators head football coach was sacked yesterday.  The Gators lost to Missouri 24-23 in OT a week after Samford (that’s Samford, not Stanford) scored 52 on his D.  He could have and should have been let go last week, but the loss made it all the more unbearable.  If you look up the word quirky in the dictionary Mullen’s picture will be next to the definition.
  7. Suddenly there are several big-time NCAA football coaching jobs open.  With new TV contracts and teams jumping to form super conferences, money is flush.  How else can you explain Mel Tucker getting 10 years and $95 million to coach Michigan State?  He hasn’t won his division within the conference, and won’t this year, much less won the conference.  Ohio St worked the Spartans over Saturday.  It was 49-0 at the half.  It finished 56-7.  It’s great work if you can get it.  Tucker got it.  Texas A&M was the first college to jump the shark with three loss Jimbo.  Others will follow shortly.
  8. With a week of the season left to play, Texas, LSU, Florida St., Florida, USC, Virginia Tech, TCU, and Nebraska all have losing records.  It’s been a while for all eight of those to have down seasons at the same time.  All have (or had-TCU) job openings in 2021 except Texas and Nebraska.  Texas wouldn’t pull the plug on Sarkesian in his first year, would they?  Frost is a coin flip to stay at Nebraska after the season ends Saturday.
  9. The very successful Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll might be burning out after nearly 12 years with his team.  “I’m just not any good at this,” Carroll said of handling this level of losing. “I’m not prepared for this. I’m struggling to do a good job of coaching when you’re getting your butt kicked week in and week out.”  Minutes later he walked out of the news conference in mid-question.  He’s a young-looking 70 years old.  Time will tell.   It always does.
  10.  So, who is the best team in the NFL?  Wait a week and the answer will change.  It’s exactly what the brand wants-most everyone thinks they can get hot and get to the playoffs, and then to the biggest stage of all.  Don’t look now but the New England Patriots have won five in a row.

Baked, smoked, or deep-fried?

Abby Picks, Year 4, Week 12

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s that time of the year.  Some great NCAA head coaching opportunities have opened making the coaching carousel go around faster and faster.

Website prognostication opportunities are much the same.  If you’re the top dog, you get paid the top dollar.

Accordingly, Abby released the following statement.

“Woof.  Woof.  It’s been a good year.  There is much work to do in the final two regular-season weeks as well as conference championships, bowls, and playoffs.  My focus is solely on the bones at hand.  BBR is not my doghouse, it’s my dog home.  We have games to analyze and pick.  I’m very happy here at BBR and intend on being here for a long time.  Thank you.  Bow wow!!”

Another winning week last week puts her squarely on top of the dogpile.  The won/loss is 42-30, and the bones are 61-42.  The hunch bombed, but the record is salty at 8-2.

  1.  Memphis at Houston -8 —  Houston is hammering the competition after a slower than expected start.  Memphis will keep it interesting for three quarters.  Lookout Cincy in the American Athletic Conference Championship game in two weeks.  One bone.
  2.  Florida -9 at Missouri —  The sky is falling.  Throw Mullen out like the bum that he is.  This looks like a good zig on a zag.  Two bones.
  3.  Texas +3 at West Virginia — The sky is falling part 2.  Throw Sarkesian out like the bum that he is.  This looks like a good zig on a zag part 2.  Two bones.
  4.  ULL +4 1/2 at Liberty —  Abby likes the Cajuns straight up but will take the points.  Will Billy Napier move 50 miles east soon?  One bone.
  5.  Nebraska + 9 1/2 at Wisconsin  — Whisky has been rolling for seven weeks after a slow start.    They are double tough at Camp Randall.  The under looks tempting as well.  Whisky wins, but it’s only by a shot glass or two.  Two bones.
  6.  UCLA -3 at USC —  UCLA has covered in four road games.  USC has not but in one home game.  The best team and the one that has anything to play for is the Bruins.  One bone.
  7. UAB +5 at UTSA — Name the only three undefeated teams left in college football.  Georgia, Cincinnatti, and UTSA.  Fear the Roadrunners.  It’s been a great run.  But.  One bone.
  8. Wyoming at Utah St – 5 1/2 —  Utah St has the Mountain West Championship Game in its sights.  Two speed bumps remain.  Wyoming is one of them.  One bone.
  9.  Baylor at Kansas St. -1 —  Wildcats are playing well.  Baylor is playing very well.  Are the Bears a bit hungover from the big win over Oklahoma?  It’s a classic letdown spot.  Abby points out that K St hasn’t beaten a ranked team all year.  Till now.  One bone.

In Columbus, THE Ohio St hosts Michigan St.  The total is 68 points.  That sounds very high.  Vegas is telling us something.  The hunch bet tries to bounce back and will take the over.

Six road teams, five chalks, four road dogs.

Woof!

 

See What You Want

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Justice is Blind!

You might say, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

And, therein lies the crux of the problem.  We only can see what we choose to see.  And what some people are seeing these days they would choose not to if they could.

What they see is a well-oiled, well-funded, far-left-leaning operation that has permeated all walks of society with a media backing that is relentless.

Let’s take the People of Wisconsin v. Kyle Rittenhouse as an example.  Actually, let’s review what got us to this moment.

First, 911 gets a domestic situation call that devolves into a black convicted felon male wielding a knife.  He repeatedly refused to obey police commands, gets a knife from a car, and is shot and paralyzed.  It’s all on video if you look.

The media screams social injustice.  Many see it the same way.  Predictably bad characters riot, loot, wield weapons of their own, and burn down Kenosha, WI.  The police stood down and the mayor refused an offer from the feds to call out the national guard.

A 17 year old named Kyle Rittenhouse, who should have been nowhere near the nonsense, decided to “protect” private property (including his grandfathers) and brought a long gun to do so.  Rittenhouse killed two and wounded another.

Some see this as “racist.”  How?  Well, no matter the color of the deceased, they were having a “mostly peaceful” protest of yet another injustice by white cops on a black man.  Others see it as self-defense.

Then-candidate Joe Biden saw a white supremacist he said.  Others see it as his 2nd Amendment right to bear arms just like some of the armed protesters.

If we fast forward to the trial concluded last Friday, we saw witnesses after witness admit that Rittenhouse acted only after provocation.  It was so bad for the defense that the assistant prosecutor buried his face in his hands for several seconds, plenty long enough for the jury to see.

You could even see the confrontations unfold on a grainy video shot at the scenes.  Why grainy?  The prosecution had another much higher resolution video that they didn’t share with the defense attorneys.  Why let the world see clearly what happened?

The prosecution sees a mistrial for withheld evidence.  The judge saw red.  The ruling is pending.  And, so is the verdict.

While we wait, what do we see?  Outside of the courtroom growing crowds that only see it one way or the opposite have gathered.

BLM is there as well.  White kid shoots three white dudes, is prosecuted and defended by white attorneys, and the whole mess is presided over by a white judge.

Can you see the connection yet?  Maybe it’s right there and you can’t?  Maybe it’s not there at all?

Twelve jurors might be able to see out of the window from above. And, what they see is that their lives might be in danger or changed forever if the verdict is met with the same response that the initial police shooting had.

That original shooting, by the way, was investigated by the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the local police.  All of them called it a necessary use of force.  But, today’s media never ever let the facts get in the way of a good narrative.

And, speaking of necessary force, hundreds of national guard troops are at the ready for any post-verdict violence.  If they were there, as offered at the first hint of possible unrest, they would not need to be there now.

Even the Kenosha Mayor can see that now.  Can’t he?

Did you just say, “I’ll believe that when I see it?”

 

 

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Give a three-year-old a blank piece of paper and a box of crayons and off he/she (pronouns undecided) goes wild.  Give a staff writer the green light on the word “random” and they/us (pronouns known) go wild.

  1.  If you had Tampa Bay (v Saints and Football Team) and the LA Rams (v Titans and the 49ers) both losing two in a row, Peyton and Eli might invite you on the show next Monday night.
  2. The Bucs’ Bruce Arians pulls no punches.  He put a good bit of the blame right at Tom Brady’s feet.  The Rams added OBJ for a good reason.  They’ve only scored 26 points total in those last two losing efforts.  In the NFL you’re only as good as your next game.
  3. Kenosha is bracing for the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict.  Could widespread rioting occur?  The National Guard is at the ready.  Where were they the first time?
  4. How did the Kenosha DA’s office do in the eyes of America?  “The performance of Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger was especially pathetic,” wrote the NY Post.  The final low might have been the lowest.  He pointed an AR15 at the jury box with his finger on the trigger during closing arguments.  His case was shot well before that, however.  Yesterday the judge threw the weapons charges out.  In poker terms, it was a tell of how the bigger charges might play out.
  5. How is it in America that some think 18 is too young to possess a gun but 16 is old enough to vote?  And, a 14-year-old can get an abortion without parental consent, and a four-year-old is mature enough to decide their gender?  Regardless of party preference some critical thinking is strongly advised.
  6. While Elon Musk is dumping 10s of billions of dollars of Telsa stock, the American investor is buying 10s of billions of EV truck maker Rivian.  Rivian went public under the ticker “RIVN” on Nov. 10, 2021 at an initial offering price of $78.  It closed yesterday at $149 and is premarket trading this AM at $166.  Its market value yesterday was greater than General Motors.  Is it the next Tesla?  Maybe Elon is buying a share or three?
  7. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Dr. Anthony Faucisaid on “CBS Sunday Morning” that former President Donald Trump’s “misplaced perception” about people’s individual rights hurt public safety during the coronavirus pandemic.  Ted Koppel was the host.  Ole Ted missed a great opportunity.  He could have asked what Fauci would he would do differently from day one as well.  But, Ted stayed dutifully on the CBS script.
  8. Covid levels are spiking in countries abroad as well as in two handfuls of states here all over again.  Why did the US Government remove international to US travel restrictions two weeks ago?  And, does Fauci have an answer for this spike, or should he blame Trump?
  9. And, here comes Trump.  A very recent poll (the name escapes us, but its credibility does not) showed that of likely Republican voters in the first primary state of Iowa former President Donald J Trump leads all other Republican possible challengers by nearly 20 percentage points.  It says here that the only way the GOP loses the White House in 2024 is to nominate Trump.  There’s a very long road to 2024 of course, but the first fork is a wrong turn.
  10.  Trump used to love to say, “you’re fired” in a previous life.  In football head coaches are hired to be fired.  Justin Fuente, who had a 43-31 record in six seasons at Virginia Tech, is out as the Hokies’ football coach, athletic director Whit Babcock announced Tuesday.  Virginia Tech joins USC, Washington, Washington State, and LSU as Power 5 job openings. Who’s next?  The University of Miami, FL fired AD, Blake James yesterday.  That paves the way for a new AD to let Manny Diaz go.  A 6-4 record in year four isn’t good enough, and a loss to Florida St isn’t acceptable.  Steve Sarkesian anyone?  The Texas Longhorn faithful are an impatient group, a very impatient group.  Stranger things have happened.

Abby Picks, Year 4, Week 11

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

For the third time in ten weeks Abby had to pay the man.  When you lose 6 bones ($66) and win 4 ($40) you slowly run out of money unless you are the US government.

Luckily for Abby the year-to-date totals still look good, so she doesn’t need a paw out (aka handout).   Ten weeks deep her won-loss record is 37-27, the bones won are 55 v 38 surrendered.

We must give a special shoutout on her hunch bet.  She took  Army v Air Force under the thirty-seven points total.  The game went to overtime and the under still won the day.  The hunch stands tall like the soldiers that competed at 8-1 for the season.

  1. West Virginia at Kansas St -6 –K St at home is a significantly better team than on the road.  WV on the road is a significantly worse team than at home.  One bone.
  2.  Michigan at Penn St under 49 — This feels like a game that a late field goal wins it somewhere in the 20-17 range.  Woody Hayes didn’t like either of these teams but would like the three yards and a pile of dirt scrum.  One bone.
  3.  Notre Dame -5 1/2 at Virginia —  ND has had some closes finishes.  This one covers late, however.  Two bones.
  4. Oklahoma at Baylor under 62 — Abby’ll bite. This one almost seems too good.   Aranda will have them ready to defend the Okla O.   One bone.
  5.  NC State at Wake Forest -1 — Will Wake be hungover from the sting of the Tarheel come from behind victory? Maybe for a series or two.  That O can go.  One bone.
  6. Stanford + 12 at Oregon St —  Abby’ll bite again.  This line seems so out of whack that normally she would take the zig.  But 12 points and the Cardinal seems too juicy.  One bone.
  7. Mississippi St at Auburn -5 — Auburn went to College Station and got stuffed.  We smell an angry rebound and a close cover.  One bone.
  8. Texas A&M -2 at Ole Miss — A road favorite after a big home win in the SEC is dangerous.  A&M is a better team in the trenches than Ole Miss and the Black Bears (formerly Rebels) are banged up.  Two bones.

Arkansas travels to Death Valley to face LSU.  We’re sending one of our staff members to cover the game.  LSU is going to play two QB’s.  Arkansas likes to run the ball.  The total at 59 looks way too high.  The under seems like a sure bet.  Abby will take the over on another crazy hunch.

Woof!

Big Stage, Bright Lights

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Be careful what you wish for.  Sometimes the big stage and the bright lights are too big and too bright.

Ask the Kenosha prosecuting attorney if he agrees with the above.  He’s either smart reaching for a mistrial or real dumb at his job.  We’re picking plum dumb.

The Rittenhouse case is going so poorly that you would think the witnesses he called were defense witnesses.  The judge has all but tossed him from the courtroom.

If you got behind a microphone and asked “why was Kyle Rittenhouse even there?” should you also ask yourself why were the protesters there?  Ah yes, they were protesting (rioting and burning down the town) because of perceived social injustice.

However, the video proved otherwise, and it’s not even debatable.  The DOJ investigated and declined to press any charges against the officer.  It was deemed a necessary shooting.

But, never, ever let facts get in the way of a good narrative, especially in an election year.

Well, if you can’t make a case against the officer, try the “white supremacist” AK-toting teenager. Somebody has to pay.

We would ask LeBron James, but we already know that he isn’t afraid of the bright lights.  He tweeted after Rittenhouse took the stand and broke down, “what tears?????”  There are plenty King, you just aren’t looking in the right place.

Blake is paralyzed.  Two protesters are dead.  Shop owners lost their place of business.  Employees lost their jobs.  All for nothing.  Nothing.   Maybe King James should devote more time to furthering his expertise on human relations in the People’s Republic of China.

There is blood on the hands of more than Rittenhouse in this one.

Ask Kamala Harris if she agrees with the above.

The VP, her nervous laugh, and “cringe-worthy” moments travel together.  This time she descended on France for whatever reasons that pale compared to the mess that this side of the pond is in.  Undeterred, Harris broke into some drivel about “The Plan” in front of worldwide cameras and decided now was a good time to throw in a bad attempt at a French accent.

You can run, but you can’t hide.  And, she can’t run for any office again and be taken seriously.  And, the race is on.  She’s trying to run from the Biden Administration and the Biden Administration is trying to run from her.  Ten months into the second-highest job in the land and her approval rating sits at 28%.

As a reminder, she was so popular in the party that she withdrew from the presidential nominee process before the first primary with a less than a 1% poll number.

Ask Joe Biden, when he wakes up if he agrees with the above.  His approval rating stands at 38%.

Why? Afghanistan, border chaos, vaccine mandates, out-of-control social program spending, decades high inflation, a November 2nd ballot box wake-up call, and Senator Joe Manchin comes to mind.

Sunday his Department of Energy Secretary took to the talk shows.  Jennifer Granholm said oil is a global market “controlled by a cartel, the cartel is called OPEC.”  To think that just a dozen months ago America was darn near energy independence.  Asked if she would ask the US producers to ramp up production, she laughed loudly and said, “that is hilarious.”

Folks paying $4-6 a gallon don’t get the joke.  Inflation is the biggest tax on the low to middle-income families you can assess.  They spend all that they make to provide for their families.  The more things cost, the less they can buy.

Be careful what you wish for.

 

 

Yin and Yang

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If America had a nickel for every time a politician said “we need to come together as a nation and move forward,” America wouldn’t be in debt.  Well, it still would be actually based on the “free” for all mentality we have in place now.  But, go with it anyway.

The truth is we never come together in the absolute sense of the phrase.  We aren’t even built that way as the checks and balances that our founding fathers (can you still say that?) put in place some 245 years ago create what used to be a purposeful debate.  And, we should thank them for that.

But, way back when we did a much better job of putting the country first and the agendas of factions thereof second.

Remember when House Majority Leader Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan would top off Tip’s glass of Scotch and hammer out a deal while Tip got hammered?

Bill Clinton’s tenure at the top produced nearly balanced budgets and a budget surplus once or twice.  He signed into law the three strikes and you’re out legislation.  The border was ours and we protected it well.   As a friendly reminder, Clinton was a Democrat.  But most all Americans saw these policies as effective, not just the more moderate left back then.

No more, and close isn’t close.

So, what to do?  Well solving it on just one quick dip of the pen in the ink well is far too ambitious.  But, with an early eye on 2024, we have an idea to try on.

Biden has no shot unless you count his three and counting “vaccine” shots.  Kamala will be off creating a new gameboard phenomenon called “Where’s Kamala?”  She’s practicing and perfecting it now.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the President and Vice President of the United States, Ron DeSantis(R) and Tulsi Gabbard(D).

Did you see the R and D inside of those parentheses?  Of course, you did.

Forget if you like DeSantis or not. The pendulum always swings and it’s swinging right now.  The Republicans will return to the highest office in the land, mail-in ballots or not. It’s him or someone else from the right.

The point is, what if he used his Floridian stones to go where only Abe Lincoln and Andrew Johnson have gone before?  Nominate the opposite party as your running mate.  He’s not afraid to make bold moves and take chances.

At a minimum, for the Republicans, it would(should) neuter the every four-years “war on women” nonsense that the Dems drag out.  The cries of misogyny would be dampened.  And it reaches across the aisle like never before.  It might even make Morning Joe happy, or infuriated, or both.

She seems very even-keeled, intelligent, and moderate in her views. She could be the yin and Ron the yang.  Her actions (military service) and her words always seem to try to put America, not her party, first.

And, most of all “we could come together as a nation and move forward.”

Couldn’t we?

Sure, probably, maybe, doubtfully, no chance.