Author: thependulumswings staff

This….Is…..CNN

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

CNN is at it again.  Haven’t you noticed?  That’s understandable if you haven’t yet returned to the gym or been through an airport post-Covid.

Yesterday, treadmill humming along, one of our staff members noticed the dreaded Covid new cases reported box firmly entrenched on the right side of their broadcast all over again.  In font normally reserved for DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN, the readout showed 17,149 new cases of Covid last week in total and its fast-growing sidekick the Delta variant as the root cause.

The weekly total (17,149) represents a whopping 49% increase week over last week per the second CNN graphic.

“They” say that numbers don’t lie.  And, if you take “they” at their word it breaks down as follows.  Forty-nine percent sounds explosive.  Dog bites man isn’t a story.  Man bites dog is.

However, here is another way of looking at 17,149 new cases.  If you divide the cases into the population in America that we can count (approx 330 mil) your abacas will soon show that it’s about 1 new case for every 20,000 people living on American soil.  Numbers, even small ones, don’t lie.

Then the story took a turn.  Instead of blaming Trump for his poor leadership during the pandemic (he’s no longer in office in case you’ve been away for a bit), the announcers took turns slamming Republicans and Independents for being far less vaccinated than Democrats.   It’s not Biden’s fault now, but it was Trump’s fault then.

But, the funny/sad/confusing/outrageous thing is that the World Health Organization is recommending that all vaccinated adults continue to wear a face mask to minimize the spread.  Hmm.

This all may be news to you as CNN’s ratings, low v. MSNBC and FOX for years, have fallen even further post-election.

For example, 8 pm EST host Chis Cuomo garners only 15% of the three cable news networks’ total viewership.  You remember Cuomo.  He is the self-aggrandizing guy who emerged from his own basement to hug his family on live TV when he had heroically fought off the virus last year.  Fifteen percent viewership is an even deeper basement to climb out of.

But never let facts get in the way of a good narrative.  Enter Dr. Fauci, everyone’s favorite disease specialist.  Yesterday, the good doctor went on national tv and highly recommended that all children unvaccinated, but over the age of two, should wear a mask.  Two.   Good luck.

Fauci is 80 years old.  He may not remember how active two-year-olds were 78 years ago.  Or, today.

With no vaccine approval for ages 2-12 yet, doesn’t this set up well (if you like the narrative) or poorly(if you don’t) for a back-to-school fiasco?

If a teacher’s union or three refused to reenter the classrooms this fall Biden and Co. could fully support them and blame those lousy unvaccinated Republicans.

CNN likely is prepping the story now.

If you’re working out or flying you might even see it.

 

 

The Spirit of St. Louis

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In 1903 the Wright brothers’ first flight ever went about 300 yards .  Twenty-four years later Charles Lindbergh flew The Spirit of St. Louis 3600 miles nonstop across the Atlantic from New York to Paris.  America applauded and St. Louis roared.

In 1995 the NFL Los Angeles Rams relocated to St. Louis.  Twenty years later the St. Louis Rams completed the round trip relocating to Los Angeles from St. Louis.  America sighed and St. Louis cried.

St. Louis contends that once Stan Groenke fully bought out his previous partners it was all but wheels up for the franchise to head west.  And after a series of legal steps and missteps, a lawsuit hit the NFL yesterday like the Rams’ Fearsome Foursome used to hit Archie Manning.

The massive lawsuit filed by St. Louis against the NFL over the relocation of the Rams will (barring a settlement) culminate with a full-blown trial, which is due to begin just as the Rams prepare to host a Super Bowl in their new stadium.

In short, the Rams felt that they had every right to break their agreements and stadium lease in St Louis in 2015, while St. Louis did and still does not.  The Rams cited serious deficiencies in their then existing stadium, serious revenue shortages in their proposed riverfront new one, population stagnation, and lack of predicted future growth as legal and otherwise reasons to take flight.

The Rams took their case to the NFL heavyweights to ask for permission to log a flight plan.

The NFL publicly granted that permission while knowing that Groenke had purchased a massive amount of land in LA to relocate the team there and surround it with a multi-billion dollar entertainment and housing complex.

This became known in a phone call between the Rams owner, a few other owners, and none other than the Commissioner who presides over wrongdoings and punishment in NFL matters,

Roger Goodell.  During the conversation, Kroenke said, “I’m going to buy two parcels of land and build a stadium in L.A.,” and that he’s trying very hard to stay under the radar screen and keep it hidden. Goodell said, “We will respect your confidentiality.”

The judge, who made the ruling from the bench (which means the evidence pointing to it was clear), concluded that clear and convincing proof exists to support a finding that those individuals operated fraudulently.

At the heart of it, Rams COO Kevin Demoff gave Goodell talking points regarding the land purchase for his pre-Super Bowl press conference in 2014. Here’s part of what he said, “Stan is a very successful developer. He has billions of dollars of projects that are going on around the country in real estate development. So I think instead of overreacting, we should make sure we do what’s necessary to continue to support the team locally as the fans have done in St. Louis.  There are no plans to my knowledge of a stadium development.”

And, soon thereafter St. Louis’ heart was broken.

And, now the plaintiffs in the litigation shall have access to information regarding the financial worth of Commissioner Roger Goodell and five NFL owners: Rams owner Stan Kroenke, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Giants owner John Mara, and former Panthers owner Jerry Richardson.

The financial info is necessary as a barometer to determine the punitive damages if the defendants are ruled guilty and restoration is to be paid.

The old saying is “money talks.”  But, old people with money don’t like others talking about their money.

The city of St. Louis, which feels like their community was harshly and unfairly criticized, won a game yesterday v. the entire NFL.

But, they should remember that the entire USFL once won an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL and got treble the damages caused by the heinous NFL actions.

The damage awarded by a jury was exactly one U.S. dollar.

The lawyers got rich.  The NFL got richer and richer.  And, the USFL got three dollars to fold into their wallet before they folded their league.

So, stay tuned.  If nothing else, one should admire the spirit of St. Louis.

Ten (Five) Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Today we continue with our lighter summer menu.  If you’re a swimmer digesting five nuggets cuts your out-of-water time down as well.  Enjoy.

  1.  The nation’s VP was at it again.  On Thursday’s “CBS This Morning” Harris responded on whether she’d compromise by agreeing to voter ID provisions to pass voting legislation by stating that we shouldn’t downplay the impact voter ID laws could have. Because to some, voter ID means, “you’re going to have to Xerox or photocopy your ID to send it in to prove that you are who you are.” And many people live where “there’s no Kinko’s, there’s no OfficeMax near them.”  We wonder if 1) you could show up at the polling place with your ID, or, 2) take a photo of it with your phone, or, 3) go to any local library, DMV, or post office and get a $0.10 copy made, or 4) use your in-home printer to make one?  Also, she failed to mention Office Depot, but we digress.
  2. Here comes Pfizer to the rescue.  Pfizer is ready to seek U.S. authorization for a third dose of its coronavirus vaccine, outlining Thursday a top-up shot within 12 months could dramatically boost immunity and maybe help ward off any virus mutant.  The Delta variant cometh.  Pfizer’s Dr. Mikael Dolsten told the Associated Press early data from the company’s booster study suggests people’s antibody levels rise five- to 10-fold after a third dose, compared to their second dose months earlier.  This could mean that Biden’s house-to-house calls will need three trips to “get er dun.”   Will Moderna recommend four shots?  The inoculation race is on.
  3.  The husband of our Speaker of the House, Paul Pelosi perfectly timed the market again. Mr. Pelosi bought Amazon call options just six weeks before the Pentagon announced it was canceling a multi-billion dollar contract with Microsoft and starting a new one that opened a door for Amazon’s participation.  On Tuesday, the Biden Pentagon abruptly announced it was canceling its multi-billion JEDI cloud services contract with Microsoft and starting a new one that Amazon could compete for.  Amazon zoomed to an all-time high the day of the announcement.  On May 21, 2021, Pelosi purchased more Amazon call options worth as much as $1,000,000.  It was his second timely market move in the last three years on government contracts and cloud computing.  Nothing to see here.
  4. Moving on.  In Paris for Fashion Week, James Harden was stopped by police on Thursday but not arrested, the city prosecutor’s office said.  French media reports said that the Brooklyn Nets star, who has been seen around Paris with rappers Kanye West and Lil Baby, was on the street when a car was stopped after police smelled cannabis.  To be clear, Harden was not in the car, just a concerned visiting citizen. After accepting an Olympic invite, Harden had to withdraw due to a lingering hamstring injury.  Did the Nets’ team doctor prescribe traipsing around Europe as part of his rehab? Sounds good.  Maybe the weed in the car was nothing but a medicinal delivery.
  5. Halfway through the Major League Baseball season, the Los Angeles Dodgers are the +125 betting favorites to represent the NL in the 2021 World Series?  Who is the favorite in the AL?  It’s the Houston Astros at +175.  The San Diego Padres are the second choice in the NL at +330 while the Chicago White Sox are second in the AL at +250.  Can you imagine a repeat of the 2017 WS pitting the Dodgers vs. the then cheating Astros?  To quote Vin Scully, ” you can almost taste the pressure” if that matchup were to happen.

It rains quite a bit(too much) in the south this time of the year.

Knock, Knock. Who’s There?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Police Chief Martin Brody, played quite well by accomplished actor Roy Scheider, warned us in Jaws way back on July 4th, 1975 that it might not be safe to go back in the water yet.  And, he was right.

Now, as fireworks were lighting up America from coast to coast, the Delta variant swam ashore.  Is it the next great white, or is it just a piece of the Covid wave?

The percentages indicate that it’s rapidly becoming a bigger part of the problem, but the overall problem isn’t becoming bigger.  At least, it isn’t yet.

The Delta strain is even infecting vaccinated individuals at a rate that seems headed to the “troublesome” quadrant.  What to do?

Another accomplished actor Joe Biden, er, Mr. President, and his team are pushing the (take your pick-Moderna, Pfizer, or J and J) vaccine.  It’s the only bullet in the shark gun, isn’t it?

Or, we could wear a mask again.  The World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending that vaccinated individuals do just that because of the Delta noise.  But, is anyone listening?

What about social distancing?  If six feet was good, twelve feet should be better.

Biden meanwhile is doubling down.  He said Tuesday that he would be sending officials out to knock on people’s doors across America to pressure them to take the coronavirus vaccine.  “Now we need to go community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood, and often times door by door – literally knocking on doors to get help to the remaining people,” Biden said during his speech about coronavirus.

“Get help to the remaining people,” sounds so empathetic, doesn’t it?  Or, pathetic?

So, we should get the vaccine that doesn’t work on the Delta variant, and wear a mask that didn’t stop the virus the first time?  Got it.  No wonder, for the most part, that America is ignoring this and swimming in the supposedly infested waters of gyms, planes, hotels, bars, and restaurants.

Before you know it some imbecile like NY Mayor Bill de Blasio will recommend that we wear two masks all over again.

The government is always trying to help, aren’t they?  Or, they are at least trying to control, aren’t they? Or, they are at least wanting to have that power, aren’t they?

You wonder if the US Postal Service could kick in too.  They’re already going door to door daily.

In fact, they even deliver the mail down into the Grand Canyon via pack mule three times a week.  True story.

The government helps the mail carrier business every year or two by giving them tens of billions of dollars (they’ve been insolvent for decades) to continue to go door to door.

It’s an ongoing public service that’s as beneficial as a knock on your door vaccine reminder (or coercion).

Did you know that most shark attacks occur in three feet of water or less?  A government public service announcement said it was so.

 

 

Limit-Five Nuggets per Reader

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Happy Fourth of July soon enough!  BBR starts its midyear conference tomorrow through 7/6.  It will be replete with sand, sun (hopefully), food, adult beverages, and fireworks.

Our intent today, getaway day, was to bring you a serving of Ten Piece Nuggets.  But, with inflation the way it is trending, and labor and commodity shortages what they are, we are forced to limit the product much like toilet paper of a year gone by.

So, as they say-eat slowly.  You’ll get filled up unless you’re looking for gasoline.

Five nuggets follow.

  1. Gas prices across the United States are at their highest level since late 2014 with shortages predicted in the run-up to the Fourth of July holiday weekend.  According to AAA, the national average on Tuesday is about $3.11 per gallon and by this weekend, that figure may rise another nickel. Gas station signs in LA yesterday showed $5.29 a gallon, while prices topped off at $5.95 a gallon in NY to top it off.  The Yankees might be fourth in MLB’s NL East, but they’re first in price per gallon. Tell the last person leaving NY to turn out the lights.

  2. The World Health Organization (W.H.O.), warned Monday that the pandemic is not over and said it is not yet time to return to normal and “encourage a lot of social mixing.”   Good luck with that.  Last week, W.H.O. officials began urging vaccinated individuals to wear masks again over variant concerns.  Good luck with that as well.  According to CNN, the rise of the Delta variant could have Biden administration officials rethinking public health measures.  Didn’t they just pat themselves on the back with the nation’s vaccination milestones?  Enter the Delta variant.

  3. The old and successful tactic of doing one thing and blaming/accusing the other side of doing it was on full display earlier this week.  When the latest city homicide figures splashed across the various mediums, the Dems went on the offensive.  The trigger(pun intended)?  The year-over-year death totals spiked dramatically.  The Democrats then took to the airwaves blaming the Republicans for wanting to defund the police.  What’s scarier than soaring homicide rates?  People believing the Democrat’s line is what is scarier.  Most interesting of all is that nearly all of the cities with runaway percentages are run ship to stern by the party whose mascot is a donkey.
  4.  Turning to sports-the Indianapolis Colts received approval Tuesday to host full capacity crowds at their home games this season, becoming the final NFL team to receive approval from their local government.  We’d have bet money that one of the left coast or NY teams would have been the last.  Maybe that’s why they’re referred to as progressive after all?  We’ll soon see if one or more of the 32 teams craters to the big variant scare.
  5. And, in the dog days of summer, the Mississippi St. Bulldogs have an opportunity tonight to accomplish a first in school history.  Moo St. has never won a major college title in any of the big-time sports.  Never.  After getting walloped by Vanderbilt in the College Baseball World Series game one (8-2), the Bulldogs growled last evening.  They evened the series at one apiece with a 13-2 blowout of the Commodores.  Errors and walks have dominated both lopsided scores.  Tonight, both teams throw their aces on short rest.  We can’t envision a blowout tonight.  But, we could see a third straight rain-delayed start.  Vandy has a chance to go back to back as they won it all in 2019.  The 2020 season, like Democrats’ cries to defund the police, never happened.

Enjoy the fireworks.  And, enjoy not wearing a mask at least for now.

 

 

 

Can Lightning Strike Thrice?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Has any city ever held more than one major championship trophy in the same year?  Yes.  In fact, when you consider the four major sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL) it has happened twelve times.  “It” is owning two titles at the same time.

The city of New York dominates with half(6) of these occurrences.  Los Angeles, Boston, and Detroit share the other six times with two for each city.

The most recent is actually current.  In 2020 the Lakers and the Dodgers each took home the trophy.  Six of the years were prior to 1953, or over 68 years ago when far fewer cities had professional franchises.

But has any city ever held more than two major championships in a year(note year, not concurrently)?  No.

But, could it happen in 2021?  Say hello to the Bay Area.  Nope, don’t wave at San Franciso.  It’s the Tampa Bay area.

With one down, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady beat Kansas City in Super Bowl LV,  the city of Tampa needs two more to get there.

Last evening the Tampa Bay Lightning skated around, through, and faster in a game one rout of the Montreal Canadiens in the Lord Stanley’s NHL Finals. Winning a hockey game by a score of 5-1 is like winning an NFL playoff game by four touchdowns.  It was a beatdown.  Ah, but one game does not fill the old beat-up trophy with champagne, at least not yet.

Enter the Tampa Bay Rays into the conversation, please.  As the MLB 2021 season is very near the halfway mark in the regular season Tampa Bay owns the second-best record in the American League while trailing division leader Boston by one game in the standings.

The Rays do it on a shoestring budget and they do it with a lot of talent and heart.  Fluke?  Hardly.  The Rays lost in the ALDS in 2019 and in the World Series last year.  They have youth, enough experience, enthusiasm, super talent, and a very game manager.

The Bucs did it.  That’s one.

The Lightning look like a really good bet to do it.  They were 3-1 favorites to win the Stanley Cup prior to the game one dismantling of the Canadiens.  They quite likely will be two.

The Rays have a ways to go.  And, the National League is loaded with good to great teams such as the Dodgers, Padres, and Giants.

Alas, the dog days of summer are here.  And, in Tampa lightning is about to strike twice.

Can the Rays light up the sky over the bay a third time come fall?

 

 

Commitment to This Space

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

One of our staff writers is feeling a bit salty today.

Maybe it’s because he (or she-not sure about their pronouns) went saltwater fishing yesterday.  Or, more likely, it’s not.

The sports world giveth, and then sometimes the sports world taketh.

On Monday, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player to come out as gay.  To this, we say, no worries.

His sexual orientation is his own business and that he chose to make it our business was “no biggie.”  It’s very well known that a percentage of NFL players past and present are gay.

But, this is just another important step you say?  After all, he’s the first to announce this while an active player.

What would be an important step is if this wasn’t an important step, rather if it was just another day.   “I’m a pretty private person so I hope you guys know that I’m not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that one day, videos like this and the whole coming out process are not necessary.”

Boom, we think he nailed it.

But, well, the timing has us a bit puzzled.  It’s smack in the middle of Pride Month.  Coincidence?  Not likely.  Still, it takes confidence, so we guess there’s that.

He also announced a $100K donation to the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ youth.  That sounds like a very worthy cause.  The “I’m a pretty private person” comment and this public donation seem to collide a bit.  But, we’ll still give the benefit of the doubt.

Then, there’s the NFL.

The league announced Tuesday it too is donating $100,000 to The Trevor Project, which is the leading national organization centered on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth.

“The NFL is committed to year-long efforts around diversity, equity, and inclusion,” the league said in a statement. “We proudly support the LGBQT+ community and will continue to work alongside the Trevor Project and our other community partners to further enhance our collective work and commitment to this space.”

How many times do you think that the NFL PR Department and Commish Goodell read over that release before its release?  Plenty.  But, not nearly enough.

“Commitment to this space?” Good lord!  It sounds more like an investment a venture capitalist makes to the burgeoning space known as artificial intelligence or cloud computing, etc.

We submit that the NFL just can’t help itself these days.  Sure, its business model is somewhere between great and otherworldly.  But, it’s been behind and further behind the entirety of its own woke movement.  Transparency in the workplace is a desired process.  That’s a good thing for the NFL because you can see right through it.

They will “continue to work alongside the Trevor Project.”  Continue means doing what you’ve been doing before, doesn’t it?  A search of the NFL’s affiliation with the project prior to Monday came up empty.

It came up as empty as the PR release came up empty.

The 28-year-old defensive end was a third-round pick in the 2016 draft, previously played for the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before signing a three-year, $25 million deal with Las Vegas in 2020.

His on-field performance last year fell WAY short of expectations for an $8 million a year player.  Oakland had better get their PR department working now on a release that they may need to drop if/when he becomes a training camp salary cap casualty.

But, if they’re smart they won’t ask the NFL to help with the wording.

 

 

Past Time for Pastime

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Jerry Tarkanian had a full-time job from 1973 through 1992.  He was the head coach of the Las Vegas Runnin’ Rebels college basketball team.

Tark the Shark, as he was widely known, also had a part-time job back then.  He liked to poke the bear, the NCAA bear that is.

Tarkanian actually coached basketball at three universities — Long Beach State, Nevada Las Vegas, and Fresno State.  Each of them suffered penalties for breaking NCAA rules. But the coach never claimed he was a saint, only that he was surrounded by other sinners.

He also was a quote machine.  His most famous may have been, “The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky they’re going to give Cleveland State another year of probation.”

His simple point was that the NCAA wasn’t going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg.  Rather, they were going to actively pretend to be concerned with the various rules violations by investigating wrongdoing, but only to the extent that it needed to care for public perception.   They reacted when the public demanded, but never really acted if they didn’t.

Take Paterno and Penn St., please.

Like his up-tempo Rebels (is there a better nickname for a school that he thrived at in a better city than Vegas to do it in?) the callout of his sport and sports, in general, was early but as accurate as his team’s shooting.   They won 509 times against only 108 losses, had several Final Four runs, and won it all in 1990 in convincing fashion.

That season the team was heavily monitored by the NCAA, which visited their campus 11 times, and suspended 10 players at various times. The “blue bloods” didn’t like the “green” moving to the brash upstarts.

This brings us to Major League Baseball that needs a win in the court of public opinion in a convincing fashion as well.  There are no Cleveland State’s in MLB, but there are the Cleveland Indians and 29 other teams who have over time, and time again, bent every rule in the book possible.

If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin.’

The credit for that old saying generally goes to NASCAR legend Richard Petty, though it just as easily could have come from Gaylord Perry or pretty much any of the tens of thousands who have thrown, pitched, or hit a ball since people started playing sports.

Blurring the line between legal and illegal, then figuring out how to get away with it, is as old as keeping score. You might not like it, but as long as you are spending your money watching it, MLB soldiers on.  And, on.

One hundred and two years ago there was the Chicago Black Sox scandal.

The spitball gave way to the neighborhood play at second base.  The strike zone has been different for different umps and umps have called pitches differently for various pitchers through the course of time.  Don’t believe that?  Ask Greg Maddux.

The steroids era only became so when the public (and congressional “leaders”) demanded it.  Prior, we all loved watching Sammy Sosa chase Mark McGuire and vice versa for the single-season home run record.  Ah, and there was this swellhead named Barry Bonds too.

Enter the electronic sign-stealing era a decade later.  The Astros were dumb enough to get caught, but they weren’t the only ones trying to catch the catcher’s signs. But, they did make for a fine example to other teams.

And, now, as the 2021 season to date MLB cumulative batting average was flatlining at an all-time low of .235, MLB decided to enforce the ban of foreign substances that they have had on the books forever.  The mere thought of it all left Gerrit Cole speechless.

Need more hitting? Voila!   In one week pitcher’s spin rates plummeted across the lower 48 and Canada as MLB decided to check for the substances when you’re watching the commercials that pay for MLB salaries. And, batting averages have gone up.

So the league that has games that many feel move too slowly, and was slow to adopt technology to better the umps’ in-game calls, was slow to enforce yet another rule on its books until less hitting meant lower ratings.

It’s still America’s pastime until it’s past time to act.

And maybe old Tark the Shark was ahead of his time in seeing through all of this.

Ball four is still a walk and money still talks.

 

 

Cringeworthy

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Our readers always write.  And, as always, they are right.  BBR has been a bit light.

Words written in the virtual world are down as government stimulus checks are up.  Did Al Gore envision it this way?  Work at home in your pj’s, or better yet don’t work at home and stay in your pj’s.

As the old normal replaces the new normal that replaced the old normal previously, BBR is short-staffed.  Hence fewer articles recently.  We don’t mask our problems so to speak.

Staff decisions we’ve made a few.

One of those was to dispatch or not to dispatch our lead political writer to Geneva to cover the G-7 Summit.  We pondered this knowing that our staff isn’t on Biden’s staff’s shortlist of media to be called upon when he holds what his team calls “press conferences.”

But, funny thing.  There hasn’t been much to cover outside of the occasional times when Biden walks off of the stage in the wrong direction, or when he is scolded by Dr. Jill for not paying attention, etc.  One way to play offense is by playing defense.  Take the air out of the ball and run out the clock when #46 is exposed.

No one in the press is pressing Biden.  The same media that scolded Trump for not having daily press briefings, yet he was ever-present (too often) arm wrestling with the “fake news” fine folks, is ever so patient as Biden has called on them in a prearranged manner.

Trump never met a tough question that his ego told him that he couldn’t or shouldn’t answer, or put a reporter in his/her place.  Biden never meets a tough question.

Have you ever seen a U.S. President more closely guarded and scripted? He even announces out loud, as if he is ashamed of it. “Well, I better stick to the list of names I am supposed to call on, or I’ll get in trouble with my staff.”  Jeez.  There’s no freedom of speech or to choose available even in the highest office in the land.

Lapdog CNN personality Brian Stelter “interviewed” Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki last week.   The interview was mocked by critics on both sides of the political aisle after the CNN host asked her what the media gets wrong when covering the Biden administration while largely avoiding tough questions.

How rare is it in today’s political climate when both sides of the aisle agree on anything?

If Biden and Putin would have held a joint press conference it would have been one hot ticket.  Our working title for the article to follow was “Cringeworthy.”

For now, Biden’s solo post-summit presser, which he began by saying he had just met with Russian President Trump, will have to do.  The ever-doting press quickly pointed out that Biden quickly corrected himself.  We don’t need to change the title after all, thereby saving a virtual tree.  It’s all cringeworthy.

Of course, we’ll need someone to get out of bed to write it, which is another story altogether.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Thoughts, we have a few.  Nuggets, we have ten for you.

Sports and culture, and for that matter politics, seem joined at the hip these days.  So, we are here to serve.

      1.  College baseball is in full swing, pun intended.  Last Friday through today, the 16 who thrived in the week ago regionals went head to head in the Super Regionals.  With college football setting tv and attendance records and college basketball loyalty to March Madness, we wonder why college baseball doesn’t get more run.
      2.  Do we watch less tv as the weather warms?  Yes.  It’s time to swim, bbq, and go on vacation perhaps.  But, the stories, the drama, and the overall quality of the game seem underappreciated to us.  For example reigning champ, Vanderbilt has an ace and a deuce named Rocker and Leiter.  Or, maybe it’s Leiter and Rocker as co aces?  One leads the NCAA in strikeouts and the other is a close second depending on who threw last.  They’ll both go in the top ten of the upcoming MLB draft.  The Vandy duo and late-inning relievers allowed East Carolina one run in 18 innings.
      3. They’ll be tough to beat with that one-two punch.  But, the unknown is the only known in the college game.  Take the N.C. State v. the national number one seeded Arkansas Razorbacks three-game set as proof.  On Friday  Arkansas pummeled the Wolfpack 21-2.  Yes, 21-2.  Surely Saturday would be a 9 inning coronation for Arkansas culminating in a punched ticket to Omaha.  Cue Lee Corso.  Not so fast my friend.  State beat the Hogs 6-5 on Saturday and punched their Omaha pass with a 3-2 win on Sunday.  N.C. State was a 2 seed in the regionals and a huge underdog to the Hogs.
      4. Joining State and Vandy are Stanford (who took Texas Tech’s lunch money in Lubbock), Tennessee(far better than LSU), Arizona(solid performance), and Texas so far.  Dallas Baptist and Virginia play midday today while Mississippi and Notre Dame do tonight.  Winners move on, losers go home.
      5. Before we leave the college baseball game we have one question.  Why does anyone play on artificial turf south of the Mason Dixon Line?  Come on Vandy and others.  You have PLENTY of athletics department TV money.  Plant some grass and buy some dirt.  The only thing worse than artificial turf is brown artificial turf disguised as mud around the basepaths.  Worst of all?  Glad you asked.  The mounds and home plate areas of some parks are “fake mud” too.   It’s a bad look and we would imagine a bad brush burn, sliding pants or not, as well.
      6. Are you watching the NBA?  Every week a column pops that says fewer and fewer of us are.  Are we tired of the game that’s three-pointers after three-pointers?  Or, are we tired of the social agenda that the league embraced a year ago and remain hungover from it?  Both?  With Lebron and the Lakers already home we guess that the LA market viewership is not what the league wishes for this time of the year, either.  Though the Clippers are alive and on the other coast so is Brooklyn who is locked in what looks like a seven-game set with the Milwaukee Bucks.
      7. In the NFL offseason, Le’Veon Bell punched his ticket too.  Saturday he publicly stated his strong preference to not play for Andy Reid and the KC Chiefs ever again.  This is after a run in Pittsburgh where he wore out his welcome, as well as a brief stay with the NY Jets.  “I said what I said & I don’t regret at all what I said…for those who have a PERSONAL PROBLEM with me because of what I SAID, that’s fine…you have your right! just understand I ALSO have MY RIGHT for how I feel about MY PERSONAL problem with dude because of what HE SAID to me.”  Sounds PERSONAL with a capital P and more to us.
      8. Jon Voight, easily one of the top actors of the last fifty years, has had it with what he calls the hypocrisy of the left and the compliant media.  This time it’s about the “look past” of Hunter Biden’s latest problems.   He expresses that in a two-minute reflective video.  He’s done a few and clearly feels very comfortable in his skin in expressing his mostly conservative viewpoint.  That’s rare in Hollywood, but so is Jon Voight.   If he didn’t earn fifty awards for his portrayal of the Mickey Donovan character in the big hit series Ray Donovan, he should have.
      9. President Joe Biden’s expansive and expensive infrastructure plan/bill is running into roadblocks, pun intended again.  Progressive Dems want more climate change money while moderate Dems want less.  He’d like to get this through with bipartisan support.  But, moderate Republicans want even less cc money, while conservatives want none whatsoever.  It seems like it’s hard to please everyone and their agendas.  Good luck.
      10. Meanwhile, while we know this was last week’s news, we feel the need to comment.  Dr. Anthony Fauci said last week if you take exception to him, you take exception to the way overused narrative “the science.”  Please!  And, he said so while speaking in the third person.  The big ego of that diminutive man always impresses.  Less talk and more legit China investigation and China cooperation about the origin of the China Virus seem like the path we should be headed down.

You’ve been served.