Author: thependulumswings staff

Follow the Political Science

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

“Follow the science,” we were told by our political leaders.  “Ok,” we mostly replied.

“It’ll be two weeks to flatten the curve,” we were promised.  “Sounds good,” we begrudgingly replied.

“Two masks are better than one,” the power-hungry cried.  “Go to hell,” all but the most obedient sighed.

“No real change can occur until we can have the masses vaccinated,” came the disappointing announcement.  “Ugh,” we collectively uttered.

And, after a year and counting, last week the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that the science now provided a comfort level for them to make a proclamation.   People fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors, the director of the CDC announced Thursday.

“If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House Covid-19 briefing. “We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.”
Calling it an “exciting and powerful moment,” Walensky said the science supports the updated CDC guidance.
But the science must not apply in Washington DC.  At least not yet.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy introduced a resolution to update the House’s mask policies in light of the CDC’s revised guidelines.  McCarthy introduced H. Res. 414, a privileged resolution that would direct Congress’s Attending Physician to update the House’s mask policies in light of the updated guidelines on masks.

Why is the resolution privileged?  Isn’t everything in DC privileged?  We digress.  Who knew Congress had an attending physician?  Isn’t everyone in Congress privileged?  We digress again.

Democrats blocked the resolution to update the House’s mask policies straight down partisan lines, with 218 votes cast against vs 210 Republicans voting in favor.

Not one Democrat followed the science.  Not one Republican disagreed with the science.  Amazing?  No.  Shameful?  Yes.

Resolution co-authors, along with McCarthy, released the following as part of their full statement after the vote.

After a year of lockdowns and restrictions, Americans are yearning for normalcy, and we should celebrate the progress the vaccines have helped us achieve in just a few months.

Vaccinated Americans should have the confidence to return to their pre-pandemic routines, and the federal government should help reinforce trust in the vaccine. This should start with our leadership in Congress. That is why we are calling on Speaker Pelosi to stop politicizing science as a personal vendetta against her political opponents. Instead, she should adopt the same mask guidance from the CDC, which the White House and Senate are using as the basis for their protocols.

As elected officials, we have a responsibility to send a message to the American people that we believe in the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

In other words, that same science that we followed at the outset of this pandemic should be followed now.
“The Speaker’s reluctance to trust the science will only help to sow distrust in the vaccines,” the Republicans concluded in their statement.
In other words, if you can’t trust the CDC’s recommendation on masks, why should you trust the recommendation to get vaccinated?  Sixty-three percent of Americans haven’t been vaccinated yet.
Last week BBR published the results of the Rasmussen Poll that asked Americans how much longer should we continue to wear masks.  If you recall six percent said indefinitely.   Was Speaker Pelosi one of those in that six percent polled?
No, she and her 217 followers in Congress were not.
They love watching the polls though.  Political polls.  Always.
We’re guessing one shows that a good bit of their vaccinated base isn’t quite ready to shed their baby blanket, er, mask.
Maybe it is about science after all.  Political science that is.

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

We picked 10 crayons out of our box of 64 and sharpened them for good reason.  We want to color outside of the lines this AM.

So, enjoy some opinions mixed with facts and some sports mixed with news and politics.  Why not?  Journalism as you knew it is dead and gone anyway.  Your nuggets are served.

  1.  Inflation is upon us and everyone knows it but the Federal Reserve it seems.  The worst of it all, you ask? No, it’s not soaring lumber prices.  It’s the government.  When you print money and give it to the minions they stay home.  Employers, desperate to reopen after the too-long shutdowns, are having to pay up to get them back to work to climb over the handouts.  Free money, yea!
  2. Governor Greg Abbott joined a few other governors yesterday as he will pull the plug on any “free federal individual relief money starting June 1.”  His message is simple, “go to work.”  If you feed ducks every day they’ll wait in the same spot for you every morning and quack happily when you get out of your car with the loaf of bread.
  3.  Nothing is free.  We repeat. Nothing.  America is only borrowing against itself.  You owe the money, it just doesn’t hit your email inbox once a month looking like a Visa or Discover bill.  It’s called the national debt.  If you’re wondering it crossed over 28 trillion and counting.  But, who is counting?
  4. We’ll recognize this 9/11 that 20 years have passed since many passed during the attack on 9/11/01.  Shortly after the tragedy, a terrorist was arrested with a bomb device in his shoe on a plane bound for the US.  Since then we’ve dutifully taken our shoes off every time we pass through an airport scanner.  The scanners cost about one million dollars a copy.  Twenty years later we’re still buying them like hotcakes and they still can’t detect harmful shoes.
  5. Speaking of planes, if you fly soon, the pilot will remind you that keeping your mask on for the flight duration is mandatory.  That is unless you are drinking the drinks or eating the food that the flight attendants serve you.  So, stay safe unless you’re adding to the biggest problem you can have if you get the dreaded Covid-19.  Obesity.    And, they keep making the seats smaller, but we digress.
  6. Speaking of Governor Abbott, his thinking, when he said Texas “stay home” was no longer a couple of months back, was labeled “Neanderthal thinking” by President Joe Biden.  Biden’s old enough to know we suppose.  Yesterday Texas recorded no deaths from Covid-19.  We aren’t saying Abbott was right, and perhaps he was even too early.  We are saying that many books will be written about the multiple missteps this nation has taken and will continue to take surrounding this pandemic.  At least he allowed individuals to choose.
  7.  As of this past weekend, 122 million Americans are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.  That’s 37% of our country’s population.  Several states are offering incentives to get vaccinated.  Free Lyft rides to and fro, free french fries (how bad is that?), and five chances in Ohio to become a millionaire are but a few of the “come and get its.”  It says here that the total will not pass 60%, ever.
  8. Trainer Bob Baffert was suspended Monday from entering horses at New York racetracks, pending an investigation into Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit’s failed post-race drug test.  Baffert has had five violations involving impermissible levels of medication in his horses over the past 13 months.  It’s a real black eye for a sport when people at the top of it are accused or “convicted” of cheating.  Ask any Houston Astro if you need further proof.
  9. One year ago LeBron James was all for the NBA’s idea of play in playoff games.  A few weeks back he tweeted, and we directly quote, “whoever came up with that s*** needs to be fired.”  The King himself will grace us with his presence as is LA  Lakers will play the Golden State Warriors in the play-in tourney and need one win to secure the seventh seed.   A man has a right to change his mind.  Now about China, LeBron?
  10.  Last year Lake Charles, LA bore the brunt of not one but two hurricanes just weeks apart.  If you drive through the city of about 100k you still see the aftermath.  Then, this late February a once in a one hundred years freeze wreaked havoc on the southern city that isn’t built anticipating deep freezes.  Yesterday, more than eight inches of rain fell in a few hours and flooded many homes and businesses that just reopened.  Maybe there is something to this climate change rhetoric after all.  Or, maybe it’s just bad luck on top of bad luck.  Either way, it’s another serious gut-punch after the fight should have been called.  Plenty of more rain is expected in the next 96 hours.

If you live near the Gulf Coast, stay dry.  If you live elsewhere enjoy the Spring day.

 

Help Is On the Way

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Yesterday’s consumer price index(CPI) bolted across 4%. The stock market didn’t like that one little bit.   It’s due in part to surging gasoline prices.  The national average for a gallon crossed $3.00 this week.

Of course, this isn’t the real news on either coast.

On the east coast, there is a shortage. Colonial Pipeline was the target of a ransomware attack that forced it to shut down operations.  Long lines are the norm and will be for a few more days.

On the west coast, the average price already surpassed $4.00/gallon.  Fuel transportation costs, taxes, and more taxes always hit Cali and other left-leaning left coast states.

On the first day of Biden’s presidency, he issued an executive order canceling the Keystone XL pipeline making good on his promise to the climate activists who helped get him elected.

So, seemingly on our way to energy independence a few months back, America now waits in line (assuming the station has it) and pays the highest prices at the pump since 2014.

So what to do, what to do?  Let’s ask our government leaders for help.

At a Tuesday press conference, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm was asked by a reporter about the “feasibility of using rail cars” to transport fuel across the country as the nation faces a gas shortage from a Russian cyber attack.  Her response was that they were looking into it, “but it’s – the pipe is the best way to go.”

Hmmm.  So why cancel the Keystone XL?  As stated above-politics.

Speaking of politics, remember when ole Mayor Pete Buttigieg suddenly folded in his quest to be the next President of the United States?  His newfound support of Joe Biden, and by extension the support of his supporters helped usher in the Biden presidency.

So what did the Mayor Of South Bend get out of it?  Voila, he’s your Transportation Secretary folks.

And he’s making a difference.  Just a few months back Pete was captured on camera hopping out of a government SUV caravan, putting on a bike helmet, and riding the last mile or so to the White House for a photo-op, oops, we meant an important meeting.  How environmentally friendly of him.

What’s he peddling now?  He’s speaking to the press about the $3 gas.

When asked directly by a reporter about his message to Americans who were facing the high cost of gasoline yesterday, Buttigieg replied, “My message is that we understand these concerns that we’ve seen in a lot of the impacted geographies, that this is a real issue.”

Anyone can tell you that step one of any good 12 step program is recognizing that you have a problem.

He also urged Americans not to hoard gasoline and to wait for future announcements from the federal government.  “I will say that this is a time to be sensible and to be safe,” Buttigieg said.

There you have it,  Be sensible, be safe, and wait for future announcements from your government.

The opposite of independence is, of course, dependence.

This situation is enough to make your hair stand up.

“Only in America,” Don King was known to say.

 

One More Go for Tebow

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Why can’t we have one thing without the other?  It’s because today’s society says we can’t.

Any moment that could be viewed as a good one is torn down by the other side because someone a) unfairly benefited, b) has white privilege, c) it’s the good old boys again, etc, etc.

This time as the Jacksonville Jaguars might/probably/will offer Tim Tebow one more shot at his American Dream, we get a barrage of “if Tebow gets a chance so should Kapernick.”  One has everything to do with the other on the obvious level,  but it has nothing to do with the other when you dig into any of the details surrounding Tebow’s latest and likely last attempt at playing NFL ball.

Tebow’s old college coach Urban Meyer is now the Jaguars headman.  They won a championship or two together a decade ago at the U of Florida.  Maybe Meyer loves what Tebow brings to the locker room.  Work ethic and leadership come to mind.  If you just wondered about Kapernick’s work ethic and leadership you just fell into the same trap described above.  They’re mutually exclusive of one another.  But, that’s ok, we’ll play along as well.

Tebow has been asked to try the TE position before but was adamant about playing QB.  He’s gotten as many offers at QB in the last eight years as Kapernick has in the last four.  That would be zero.  So, a new position on a new position gives air to a 34-year-old’s last attempt.

Maybe he won’t make it, maybe he will.  But his willingness to try earns the short-term modest contract and opportunity in an old coaches’ eye.

Meanwhile, last we saw Kaepernick he was supposed to show his skills (after a couple of years away from the sport) to those NFL scouts, coaches, and GMs that decided to make the effort to see him in the much-ballyhooed, arranged by the NFL, tryout.

How did Kapernick do? Well, he showed up late.  He showed up with his own film crew (unannounced prior)  that he was insisting be allowed to record the event.  Then he refused to go through some of the workout as planned by the NFL.

The word that is opposite of willing is unwilling.  Unwilling usually doesn’t get you as far along in a job search as willing might.

Meanwhile, has anyone looked up the personnel breakdown stats in the NFL?  In 2019 59% of the players identified as African American, and in 2020 that percentage had risen to a tick below 70%.  With that as the backdrop, we ask the question, “if any NFL team thought Colin Kaepernick (baggage included) thought that he could help them win on the field, in the locker room, or in their community, wouldn’t they sign him?”

When Antonio Brown signed on mid-season last year with Tampa Bay, why didn’t anyone scream about Kaepernick then?  Or Tebow for that matter?

Malcontents abound in the league.  Your skillset has to more than offset your drama though.

Tim Tebow brings no drama.  He may also bring no skillset at TE either.

In the world of supply and demand, there is little for Tebow (even with all of that white privilege) and less for Kaepernick.  But, that assertation doesn’t work with the narrative of the day.

 

Problem Solved

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

People the world over ask BBR daily what is the real purpose of its burgeoning business.  The answer is, and always has been simple.  BBR is in the “solutions” business.

Add in a touch of Rasmussen, who is in the polling business, and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) who owns a football factory or fourteen and, voila!  We’ve done it again.

Problem solved.  Which one, you ask?  Eliminating Covid-19 is which one.

Over 105 million, or 31.8% of the US population have been fully vaccinated according to the CDC as of May 3rd.

On Tuesday Rasmussen released poll results surveyed April 29 -May 2 which asked the simple question “Should people who have been vaccinated fully against Covid-19 continue wearing masks in public places?”  Forty-nine percent said yes, while 42 percent said no.  It seems like there is some division along party lines as 67% of Republicans said no, while 75% of Democrats said yes.

So, get fully vaccinated and wear a mask.  That should do it.

But, for how long to ensure that we end the pandemic do we need to vac and mask?  That was question number two.  Thirty-three percent said “six months to a year.”  Thirty percent said “less than six months.”  Risk-takers they are.  Ten percent said “at least eighteen months” while nine percent said “the next couple of years.”

And, finally, six percent want to be uber safe.  They recommended “indefinitely.”  You have to think that at least 60 of every 1000 adults polled don’t know what the word “indefinitely” means, don’t you?  Hopefully.

So, get fully vaccinated and wear a mask for a long time.  That should do it.

But, there is this pesky problem.  Vaccination rates have stalled.  Heck, in the deep south they started slower and seem to have tapered off.  Egads.

The University of Alabama finishes first in football every year.  But, in adult population vaccinations the State of Alabama finishes last.  The CDC says Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Georgia are close behind in 49th through 45th.

Enter Dan Wolken, USA Today Columnist, with a take that should light up the scoreboard.  He recommends that for entry into an SEC stadium near you this fall that you would have to show proof of vaccine.  After all, he writes, what better way to motivate people than to tell them they must show proof to get into an SEC venue like Bryant Denny Stadium this fall?

Is there a better name to write this than Dan (drop the “L”) Woken.  What’s better than “woke?”  Woken.  Or, Wolken.  We digress.

Hopefully, there is no backlash from Title IX supporters that Wolken only speaks to full capacity stadiums for men’s football games.  Shouldn’t this requirement extend to, say, full capacity arenas for women’s basketball?  Nevermind.

And, why only the SEC?  What about, for instance, the PAC 12?  They still play football, don’t they?  Don’t they?  Do they?

What Wolken calls an incentive, others call suppression of their freedom.

So, get fully vaccinated, wear a mask(or two) forever, and we’ll let you sit in a full (at least in the south) stadium to watch a football game.  Deal?

Problem solved we think.

But just in case, should we dock the Navy hospital ships USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort off of the Gulf Coast this fall?

Only Dr. Fauci knows.

 

Back and Forth

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Question.  Is the political pendulum swinging again?  Answer.  The political pendulum is always swinging.  It’s just a matter of its direction.

Overlooked to some degree in the furor surrounding the defeat of Trump and the Senate runoffs was the ground that the Republicans gained as the 117th Congress (January 2021) took their seats in the House of Representatives.

For the two years prior, the Democrats controlled the House with a 233 to 196 margin after a midterm storm.  As it stands today the majority Democrats outnumber the Republicans by a considerably slimmer 218 to 212 count.

It should be noted that the totals seemingly always are in a slight state of flux due to resignations, seats being vacated, and even deaths.  

“They” say all politics is local.  “They” might be right.  Or, at least they might be leaning right as the race for the House will heat up again and sooner than you might imagine.  Four months of 24 have already passed.

The Census results released last Monday show that seven states will lose seats while six will gain. Texas will add two seats and Florida one. The fast-growing states of Montana and Oregon will each add one seat, as will Colorado and North Carolina.

Montana’s second seat comes after 30 years of having just a single at-large district.  Why suddenly are so many people moving there?  You know why.

At the same time, the big states of the Midwest and Northeast that historically have backed Democrats will lose congressional seats and the electoral votes that come with them. Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia will each lose one district. California’s loss of one seat reflects the slowing population growth of the nation’s largest state.

But, staying with the local theme, it may go deeper than the above states plusses or minuses.  It may go all the way down to the much-debated southern border.

South Texas Hispanic females are leading the charge to turn the Democrat stronghold of the Rio Grande Valley red.  How crazy does that sound considering the overheated rhetoric surrounding immigration both legal and otherwise in that region?

In 2016 Hillary Clinton lost elsewhere but captured the region by a whopping 39% points.  In 2020 Joseph Biden won elsewhere but his victory margin in the same district was but 15%.  The local pendulum might be moving against the Democrats in areas they have incessantly appealed (some might say pandered) to.

Chair of the Hidalgo County Republican Party and daughter of a Democratic state legislator Adrienne Pena-Garza is one example. She told the NY Times the Democrat Party has gone too far left on gun control and abortion.

Said Pena-Garza. “If someone’s going to tell you: ‘Oh, you’re brown, you have to be Democrat,’ or ‘Oh, you’re female, you have to be a Democrat’ — well, who are you to tell me who I should vote for and who I shouldn’t?”

Pena-Garza explained to the Times she was a victim of identity politics. “You can’t shame me or bully me into voting for a party just because that’s the way it’s always been,” she said.

The Times also spoke with Jessica Villarreal, a military service member who voted periodically before now pondering a campaign for elected office.

“There are more of us who realize our beliefs are Republican, no matter what we’ve been told in the past,” Villarreal told the Times. “I am a believer in God and the American dream, and I believe the Republican Party represents that.”

The Democratic Party poured big, big bucks into the state in last year’s elections.  The result?  Texas went ten for ten in reelecting sitting Republican Congressmen.  Ouch.  Now add two more seats.

That much bandied about, so-called Texas blue wave might just be a red tide after all.  And, it sounds like the brown community might have its crayons out to help color it that way.

The pendulum never comes to rest.

 

 

 

 

 

Trade Up for a Franchise QB?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The words “franchise” and “quarterback” go together in the NFL like “hammer” and “nail” do in the construction business.

Every team has a quarterback or three.  But, not every team has what anyone will tell you is the most important piece to success- a franchise quarterback.  A deep playoff run, much less a Super Bowl win, is highly improbable without one.

In this century (if you consider the year 2000 as part of this century) 25 times a team has traded up to be able to say “we got our guy.”  When you use the draft book that all teams use to value every slot in the entire draft, you figure that, on average, a team trading up to get the next Patrick Mahomes gives up an additional 1st round pick to do so.

A first-round pick is gold.  NFL teams’ highest hit rate on success is in round one and with the salary cap that successful pick is under contract for arguably less than half of his worth in free agency.  That’s called value and that’s how you win in the NFL-you have more talent under the same salary cap.

So, to give one up is to give up a lot.  So, how have the 25 trade-ups fared?  You’d think quite well considering all that goes into player personnel research.

The answer is good, ok, and downright ugly.

Good

In 2017 The Kansas City Chiefs sent their first, 2018 first, and a third-rounder to move to number 10 overall to take the aforementioned Patrick Mahomes.  One SB win, another appearance, three Pro Bowls, and one MVP later make this move not only good, but bordering on genius.

In that same draft, the Houston Texans traded two firsts for 15 spots up to nab DeShaun Watson.  Twenty lawsuits off of the field aside (and that’s one big aside when he’s the face of the franchise) his on-field development has been worthy.

Honorable mention for this level goes to the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen as well as the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson.

Ok

Joe Flacco only cost the Ravens a swap of ones, a third, and a sixth to move up eight spots to get him 18th overall.  While not elite he was special in their 2012 postseason and SB win with 11 touchdowns and no picks.  Flacco played 11 years with the Ravens and won 96 while losing 67.

The Rams traded multiple picks and got three in return for the first pick of 2016 for Jared Goff.  The price was steep.  The results were ok.  Goff led the Rams to the SB once, made the playoffs in three of the five years he was there, and posted a 42-27 overall mark.  But, Sean McVay fell out of love with Goff and shipped him to the NFL’s version of hell (Detroit) this offseason.

Others considered at this level are Jay Cutler (35k passing yards) and Michael Vick (rushed for over 900 yards in two seasons and went 38-28 as a starter before he got into trouble with the law).

Ugly

Amazingly the list is long at this level and picking the biggest winner (or loser) is tough.  “Lipstick” and “pig” come to mind, not “franchise” and quarterback.”

Johnny “Heisman” Manzel takes first (last) place here.  He appeared in 14 games in two seasons for the Browns.  And, with many off of the field problems he never played another down in the NFL.  Bust is thy name.

Tim Tebow cost Denver a second, third, and fourth-rounder to get into the bottom of round one. in 2010.  Tebow was out of the NFL by 2013.  He started 14 games, though one was a miracle first-round win over Pittsburgh in the 2011 playoffs.

The Browns make the board again with the selection of Brady Quinn in 2007.  He stated and played poorly in 12 games in the NFL.  The price to swap one’s was a high second-rounder.

Others in consideration were Josh Rosen (Cardinals) who could easily be in the above top three, Paxton Lynch (Broncos) with four starts and a league exit in two years, and J.P. Losman (Bills) who defined mediocrity in five mediocre Bills’ seasons from 2004-2008.

 

Five quarterbacks will likely go in the first round on Thursday night.  Teams reach every year to find Mr. Right.

In case you are wondering, Ryan Leaf was drafted in 1998 and therefore wasn’t considered for the above.

Had he been two years younger we would have needed a category below “UGLY.”

One or more of the five Thursday could join him.

Who will that be?  That would require a crystal ball.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random Leftovers

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Does it frighten you to look into the back of your refrigerator from time to time and grimace at a plastic container of leftovers that you had no idea were still north of the disposal?  We understand.  Sometimes one of our staffers has the same problem with some very random nuggets rolling around in the back of his cranium.  Time to clean it out.

  1.  Next Saturday features “the fastest two minutes in sports.”  It will be Kentucky Derby day.  Can you name today just one horse entered for the prestigious Run for the Roses next Saturday?  No?  Understood.
  2. But isn’t it funny how you will wind up yelling at a flat-screen TV for a jockey and a horse that you won’t remember the name of by water cooler Monday?  Heck, you might even place a bet on the said horse.   Why not?  You still have a few bucks left from your stimulus check, don’t you?
  3. King James stepped in it again yesterday.  In a quickly deleted tweet he called out the police for killing the teen who had the knife in hand in Columbus.  He also decided #ACCOUNTABILITY was a good way to give a bad idea some social media air.  We’re still waiting on accountability from China on many fronts, but we digress.
  4. And, while we are picking on the King, shouldn’t he drop the nickname “King?”  First, it’s gender-specific unless we missed the discussion that now recognizes females as kings as well.  Second, it’s someone who takes from his minions to enhance his lifestyle.
  5. His President, Joe Biden, thinks just the opposite way though.  Biden’s proposed a possible 43.4 percent capital gains tax for wealthy Americans yesterday.  What did Wall Street think?  The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 400 points on Thursday afternoon after Bloomberg reported the details of the plan.  “His view, and the view of our economic team, is that won’t have a negative impact,” said his press secretary Jen Psaki.   Hmm.
  6. And much like the King should reconsider “King,” shouldn’t Biden eliminate the word “secretary” from any and all of the government positions that carry that title?  It seems like a layup and then a victory lap (or nap for him) waiting to happen.
  7. The controversial activist group Black Lives Matter criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday after the speaker thanked George Floyd for “sacrificing” his life for justice, calling her remarks “so damn disrespectful.”  The party from the left was in such lockstep with BLM prior to the election.  Pelosi is political Teflon though.  She’ll be back on Capitol Hill doing the people’s business on Monday thank goodness.
  8. The hype for the NFL Draft next week is in full swing.  Will you watch some of the three-day extravaganza?  No sports organization markets itself like the NFL.  No one.  Punch “NFL Draft” into Google. It’s pretty astonishing that a single event generates 243 million results in 0.22 seconds.
  9. Who’s your team taking in the latest mock draft?  If you don’t like the predicted choice, fret not.  “Experts” as ESPN labels them usually get only about 25% of the first round correct.  If you like the choice you might start fretting, however.  NFL teams’ success rate (offering their choice a second contract after the first has run its course) is only about 53%.
  10. Last year the NFC East Division didn’t have a team with a winning record as the season ended.  Awful.  Worst ever.  Is MLB’s East Divison in the NL going to follow up that ineptness with its own?  Three weeks into the season the Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Marlins, and Braves are a combined five games under .500 and none have a winning record.  Surely the Braves have too much talent to stay below .500.  And, how much longer can they keep the name Braves, as we digress for the last time this week. #stoppedthechop

Happy Weekend.

The System Is (Not) Working

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Derek Chauvin got what he deserved.

He got a fair trial by a jury of his peers overseen by what seemed to be a very even-keeled judge all the while represented by a competent defense attorney.

George Floyd’s family and all of America got what it deserved- a guilty verdict on all three counts brought against a police officer who committed a very serious crime.

In other words, to use an old tried but true phrase, justice was served.  And, after forthcoming sentencing, Chauvin will serve plenty of time for this injustice.

So, as we look back, was all of the looting, burning, rioting, violence, and teargas necessary to get us to this verdict yesterday?  No, of course, it wasn’t.

But, the marching and chanting gone bad wasn’t about getting justice in court, was it?  No, rather it was about the outrage that such a crime, and particularly a crime against a black man by someone who is supposed to protect and serve happened in the first place.  As understandable as the outrage is, lighting the town on fire isn’t the answer.

What is the answer?  Well, for the young and naive, know that society has searched for that answer for centuries.  It matters not what the crime is, and who has done it against whom, we haven’t prevented anyone from doing just about whatever they, unfortunately, choose to do against their fellow man.

Call the previous statement defeatist if you wish.  It’s reality.   It’s much like the war on drugs. How is that coming along?

But, when you mix in a white cop killing a black man, you multiply America’s outrage by a factor of X.  It’s deemed social injustice.

Chauvin isn’t the first bad cop.  And, news flash, he won’t be the last.

So defund the police.  The fine line between civility and incivility would run amok in a matter of minutes.  It’s also reality.

If you look up the aforementioned “young” and/or “naive” in the dictionary you’ll likely see a picture of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC) next to it.  Predictably she had a strong point of view.

“It’s not justice. I’ll explain to you why it’s not justice. It’s not justice because justice is George Floyd going home tonight to be with his family.  Justice is when you’re pulled over, there not being a gun that’s part of that interaction because you have a headlight out. Justice is your school system not having or being part of a school-to-prison pipeline.

So, no, this verdict is not justice. Frankly, I don’t even think we call it full accountability, because there are multiple officers that were there. It wasn’t just Derek Chauvin. And I also don’t want this moment to be framed as this system working, because it’s not working.”

When does any murder victim come home to be with his family?  Ever?

George Floyd had his share of run-ins with the legal system.  It in NO WAY justifies his killing, however.  But, remember, amongst nine crimes Floyd committed one was an armed robbery of a couple in their home after he impersonated a police officer to gain entry.  He held a gun to the women’s abdomen while his cohorts in crime took what they wanted.

He was tried, found guilty, and served his time.  What makes that different than the process that Chauvin went through?  Two things make it different.

One, we hold our officers up to a higher standard.  We should.  And, we’ll be disappointed again and again for doing so when one in a hundred goes bad.   Two, it’s different because Chauvin’s crime was white on black while Floyd’s crime was black on white.  If you are an equality purist that shouldn’t matter either.

AOC says that the system is not working.  Did your school have a school-to-prison pipeline by the way?

Depending on your view, it never has.

Or, it always will.

And that goes for the system and the pipeline.

Lemons. Lemonade.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If there was ever a debate about which amendment in the Bill of Rights was most important the point would be made.

Debating is free speech.  And free speech is the most prominent part of the First Amendment.  Case closed.

But, alas, the case against Minnesota policeman Derick Chauvin isn’t yet closed.  It’s gone to the jury which is also a right guaranteed by our founding fathers.

So, while a jury of his peers speaks freely (we hope) about the merits of the charge he is facing inside, the posturing has been exacerbated and accelerated on the outside around further police interaction with the public that it is supposed to protect and serve.

After 26-year veteran, Minnesota Police Officer Kim Potter said she mistook her gun for a Taser when she fatally shot Daunte Wright after a traffic stop last week she faces second-degree murder charges.  Do you want to talk about bad timing for a bad tragedy?

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib weighed in from her 13th District (west side of Detroit, Mi) two states over.  She posted on her Twitter account Monday in response to the shooting death of Daunte Wright.  She tweeted “It wasn’t an accident, policing in our country is inherently and intentionally racist.” She ended the tweet with “No more policing, incarceration, it can’t be reformed.”

So, forget due process she says, just end policing, and then you won’t have this problem any longer. Voila!  That might cause a few more problems, but we digress.

Rep Maxine Waters decided to travel from her home in California to Minnie.  Then she took to the Brooklyn Center, MN streets this past weekend along with other protesters of Wright’s death.   Waters responded to a reporter’s question that if Chauvin is not convicted of murder, protesters must ratchet up pressure and get “confrontational.”

“We’ve got to stay on the street and we’ve got to get more active,” Waters said. “We’ve got to get more confrontational. We’ve got to make sure they know we mean business.”

But, that’s when free speech could get expensive.  You can’t yell “fire” in a crowded theatre.  And, in this political theatre that’s where old Maxine might have crossed the line.

Forget censure in Congress which is a distinct possibility after it is brought to a vote.  She might have given the Chauvin defense attorneys the oxygen to light an appeals fire.

Presiding Judge Peter Cahill in this George Floyd murder case spoke freely as well.

“I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned. I’m aware of the media reports, I’m aware that Congresswoman Waters was talking specifically about this trial, and about the unacceptability of anything less than a murder conviction, talked about being confrontational.   This goes back to what I’ve been saying from the beginning. I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law.”

Whoopsie.

CNN host Don Lemon used his free speech pulpit to lecture to the ignorant and set the record straight.  He said that Rep. Waters  “Absolutely” should not have made the comments she did about reacting to the verdict in the Chauvin trial.  But he added  “everyone knows” she is “not calling for violence” and that “she makes a lot of white men uncomfortable.”

There you have it.  Who knew?  Everyone says Lemon.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

When life gives you Rashida and Maxine you get lots of chances to make a pitcher or two.