Life

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Greetings from the middle of the country.  It’s 20 degrees cooler here than at the world headquarters of BBR.com.  Regardless, we have some hot takes below.  Ten Piece Nuggets, as random as they come, are served.

  1.  Biden’s reluctance to denounce violence after his party has all but encouraged it is a losing hand.  Polls told him so.  That’s why he reluctantly, finally said as much, ever so meekly earlier this week.  The public opinion for who is to blame for the “peaceful” violence shows up strongly in the latest JP Morgan Chase poll.  It shows an 8 point swing to Trump from Biden and advises investors that they see the race as 50/50% with a 5-6% unknown of respondents perhaps duping them by stating that they were Biden supporters but in fact are Trump supporters.  Hmm.
  2. Remember when Hillary famously said, “if you get him, you get me?”  She was referring to William Jefferson Clinton when he was running for President.  Well, if you get Joe Biden you get Kamala Harris.  And you get all that’s behind curtain number three says Monty as Joe is doing his best Weekend at Bernie’s impersonation of Bernie.  No, not Sanders.
  3. So who is Kamala (comma la)?  Is she the aggressive States’ Attorney General of Cali who drew significant criticism for throwing the book at criminals and refusing to hear appellate claims?  Or, is she the person who asked for donations through a fund set up to provide bail money for arrested “peaceful” rioters in Minnesota? Or is she a political chameleon?
  4. Nearly four years ago America rejected, first in the Republican primaries, then in the general election, all career politicians.  Like him or not Trump disposed of Graham, Rubio, and Bush first.  Then after Bernie (this time Sanders) stayed too long and wore Hillary Clinton down, Trump took her out.  Four years later you have a government career of 40 plus years in Biden and a career of approaching 30 years in government in Harris.  Will the pendulum swing back that far that fast?  The general election is nine short weeks from today.
  5. The President has momentum from the GOP convention and the above-mentioned polls on national violence.  Will Biden emerge from the basement and actually campaign or debate in person?  Incumbent Governor of Washington Jay Inslee (D) won’t.  Rush Limbaugh speculated yesterday that Inslee would be the first of many Democrats on the undercard to duck a face to face debate in an attempt to give cover to Biden to stay hiding.  Muhammed Ali emerged from a few rounds of “rope a dope.”  Will Biden?  He actually campaigned in person yesterday in Pennsylvania, home of Punxsutawney Phil ironically.
  6.  Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is in so far over his head that he doesn’t even know which side of the narrative to take, so he takes both.  Take a look at his succession of tweets here.
  7. Madame Speaker Pelosi had her head in a washbasin yesterday.  She must have needed a wash prior to a dye of those pesky 80-year-old grey roots popping up again.  She also forgot her mask.  San Francisco, home of the speaker and the beauty salon, is a county that has not yet allowed salons to reopen.  Oops.  “It was a slap in the face that she went in, you know, that she feels that she can just go and get her stuff done while no one else can go in, and I can’t work,” salon owner Erica Kious told Fox News.  Will she blame it all on Trump today?  Surely some of the greys are his doing.
  8.  Would the Saints trade Alvin Kamara (should it be pronounced “comma ra” like Kamala?)?  You bet.  They likey won’t, but savvy GM Mickey Loomis and long time head coach Sean Peyton are wheeler-dealers and have a good deal of house money stored up with ownership.  They’ve never viewed Kamara as an every-down back and they aren’t going to break the bank accordingly.  His year-long nagging injury last year was a great equalizer to his vaunted elusiveness and furthered their view.  His three-day holdout ends today after they floated his name around the league.
  9. The NFL will follow the NBA and MLB’s lead allowing/encouraging social justice slogans and victim’s names on unis, and the playing field itself.  In fact, Commish Roger Goodell weighed in yesterday.  Citing a police officer shooting Jacob Blake in the back on Aug. 23 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Goodell said the incident has “brought forth more feelings of anger, frustration, anguish, fear for many of us in the NFL family.”   NFL “family” member Colin Kapernick refused to comment when contacted by BBR.  Family.  Roger Roger.
  10. Rumor has it that the BIG 10 is strongly considering reconsidering their hasty decision to forgo fall football as well as all fall sports.  In fact, it is more than a rumor.  It leaked late last evening that Kevin Warren, Bug 10 Commish might now try for an early October start.  What’s the difference between Spring(as planned), October (as might be planned), late September (as the SEC. ACC, Big 12, and others have planned), and early September ( as the NFL is doing)?  Nothing.  Politics.  Power.  It’s all based on following the science we are told.  It’s never been based on science.

Time to for a walk in the cool breeze.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports, Random, and News.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s Friday.  And it’s time to get your happy hour started a bit early.  We’ve got ten hor deurves.  You need to make a beer run.  And, do not forget your mask.  To the Ten Piece Nuggets we go.

  1. Joe Maddon, manager of the 8-18 and last place LA Angels, is mad.  He’s tired of seeing SF reliever Shaun Anderson throw at Mike Trout’s head.  “Enough is enough,” Maddon said after Thursday’s 10-5 road loss dropped the Angels’ record to 8-18. “This is the major leagues. There’s a level of accountability here also.”  Just wondering, who should be held accountable for the 8-18 record?
  2. Do you remember when we all used to sing happy birthday to a family member or friend and then have them blow out all of the candles?   Then you would all have a slice of that cake.  Turns out that singing and a strong exhale or two (blow them all out!) might not be what the doctor advises in 2020.  Maybe in 2021?
  3.  The Washington Football Team continues to be in the news.  A few days after hiring the first-ever black President, this time the news isn’t so good.  Washington coach Ron Rivera has been diagnosed with cancer but plans to continue coaching.  Rivera was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma located in a lymph node, the team said in a statement. Rivera said the cancer is in the early stages and is considered “very treatable and curable.”   That part is good news.
  4. It’s way too early to deem the NFL protocols a success in holding  COVID-19 at bay.  But, a few days into 32 training camps a total of only four players have tested positive.  It’s a start.  And, there is a long way to go.  The NFL is pretty adamant about starting the season on time.
  5. No so fast NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.  His league is likely to delay its planned Dec. 1 start for the 2020-21 season.  The hope is to get paying fans back into arenas.  The league’s gross revenue is roughly 8 billion with a “b.”  The fans in the areas account for 40% of that, or 3.2 billion still with a “b.
  6. MLB has postponed 34 games this season because of positive tests and counting.  Two Mets’ games this weekend are postponed after two members of the traveling team tested positive yesterday.  MLB soldiers on though.  And, that is a good thing.
  7. The NFL Kansas City Chiefs are putting in place new policies during games at Arrowhead Stadium with regard to Native American imagery.  Fans are now prohibited from wearing headdresses into the stadium. Face painting that is styled in a way as to imitate Native American cultures is also prohibited.  The Arrowhead Chop and the pregame beating of a drum, often by a former player or coach or other local celebrity is also on the chopping block.  Maybe they can announce if the “chop” stays or goes by beginning with, “after further review, the ruling on the field….”  So, let’s see, keep the stadium name of Arrowhead, and keep the arrowhead logo, and keep the name Chiefs is fine.  But the fans, those dreaded creatures, they can’t be allowed to do anything to offend anyone.  After further review, this makes no sense.
  8. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended the Chicago Police Department’s ban on protesters being able to demonstrate on the block where she lives.  She told reporters yesterday that she and her family require heightened security because of threats she receives daily.  If it’s a peaceful protest, as we’ve been told repeatedly by the good mayor,  why worry about safety?  It only takes 51% of the voting population to put someone into office.  Does anyone have a tent big enough to put over the Chicago circus?
  9. Meanwhile, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms suggested that the GOP is using the Chinese coronavirus pandemic to “spread misinformation and interfere with voting,” forcing many to “risk their lives” to exercise their right to vote. Risk their lives?  Really?   It only takes 51% of the voting population to kick someone out of office as well.
  10. Joe Biden’s acceptance speech last night was only 24 minutes long.  But, most analysts and reporters thought it to be quite effective.  Hillary’s was twice as long four years prior.  Fans of the nominee turned out to watch the speech.  The DNC built security walls to barricade supporters and voters into a specific outside area to watch Biden’s speech.  The walls were set up to keep both progressive and conservative protesters at arm’s length.  Again, there was no word on why this was needed for the “mostly peaceful” protests that have been popping up across the country.

Have a peaceful weekend.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports and Life Intertwined

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Sports and the real world are joined at the hip these days.  And that is unfortunate.  The escape has escaped us for now.   Hopefully, it will return.  Ten Piece Nuggets return below and reflect on just that.

  1.  The wokest (auto correct wants to turn wokest into weakest, hmmm) of the Power 5 college football conferences, the Pac 12, has a problem/opportunity on its hands.  Football players believed to be numbered in excess of 100 across the conference authored what they call The Players Tribune, and presto #WeAreUnited is born.  It’s a rapidly evolving set of demands.  That’s how The Movement works.   For now, know that they want a lot more than just a stinking full-ride scholarship to a great university.
  2. Their leverage, at least in their minds is to opt-out of playing this fall if their demands are not heard.  The Movement gives them the microphone to try to advance these causes at this time.  COVID-19 provides further cover.  It always sounds logical to demand “player safety” needs to be met if not exceeded.
  3.  Why should they risk exposure if schools aren’t assembling in their traditional manner this fall?  Actually, it’s a lot safer for the players if the regular students aren’t on campus.  They’re getting tests and test results a lot quicker than the general population too.
  4. They’ve asked for 50/50 percent revenue sharing.  Best of luck there.  The football teams underwrite the other sports programs and acutely the female sports teams.   Some colleges even siphon off the excess to subsidize the out of control costs of the college itself.
  5. “They see all of this clearly through the lens of racial justice,” said Ramogi Huma, the founder of a college athlete advocacy group called the National Collegiate Players Association.   Apparently free room, free books, free education, free health care, free tutors, free food, positional coaches, strength coaches, nutrition coaches, and head coaches aren’t enough.  It’s exploitation they say.  Why did they sign the scholarship papers to begin with?  It must have sounded like a good deal until it didn’t.  Justice dammit!  It’s never enough.
  6. The NBA tipped off.  Did you watch it?  The ratings will be interesting to watch to see how many decided to watch.  MLB entered week two.  At least 30 teams did.  Miami is still in time out.  Philly was.  St. Louis might be headed that way.  Shortened and late start seasons, no fans, opt-outs, virus concerns, and social justice concerns make for a less than desirable product we think.
  7.  Hey Joe.  Hey Joe!  Wake up.  It’s time.  Who is your VP nominee? You promised us an answer in the first week of August.  Will it be a minority candidate like Kamala Harris?  Or, will it be a minority candidate like Native American Elizabeth Warren? The suspense is killing us.  No, it’s not.  Have you seen one, just one, yard sign in your town that promotes Biden for President?  The election isn’t about electing him.  It’s about ousting Trump.  It’s the only way the Democrats can sell this lipstick on a pig candidate.
  8. In a Facebook post on Sunday morning, political commentator Dan Bongino wrote:  Not a joke and not hyperbole – I’m hearing from people close to the situation that Biden’s cognitive decline is rapidly worsening and is becoming increasingly difficult to mask. The Democrats are going to have to make a decision soon.  The excuses (Trump lies, so don’t waste your time) to get him out of debating The Donald are flowing.  Like him or not Trump is a young 73 in many ways.  Like him or not, Biden is an old 77 in many ways.
  9.  Biden’s been hiding for months.  Looks like Bill Clinton has gone underground as well.  Or did he go to a remote island?  Well actually according to some flight logs released in court documents emanating from the pending Ghislaine Maxwell case Willie did head to Epstein’s island 11 times.  What’s weird is that he opted out (not like the Pac 12 kids) of Secret Service coverage for seven of the trips.  Slick he is.
  10. And finally, Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters issued “social justice” and “black liberation” demands regarding “diversity” to a restaurant owner in Louisville, KY, including a directive for “donations” to organizations run by non-whites.  Sounds like a shakedown.

We’re opting out to a remote island now.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Life as We Know It

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Our summer of discontent rolls along as the year 2020 continues to disappoint.  We’ve got some nuggets to get you through the start of the workweek.

  1.  Redskins owner Daniel Snyder is a little red in the face.  A few days after announcing that the Redskins nickname and logo were gone, he announced that three of his close inner circle coworkers were as well.  A third party investigation confirmed 15 claims of sexual harassment within.  Snyder wasn’t directly implicated, but his leadership, or lack thereof, was.
  2.  In his statement, Snyder condemned that behavior, and said he wants to set “a new culture and standard for our team.”  Snyder has owned the team for 21 years.  All claims occurred under his reign.  Sometimes it just takes time.  Would he have relented on the Skins name if he didn’t know ahead of time that he was going to get taken to task for this mess as well?  Better to keep the team and say mea culpa than to stand on heretofore principle, eh?
  3.  Speaking of people who had heretofore principle,  Drew Brees thought it wise to tweet out his concerns for the NFL’s lack of concern for the players this coming season.  He’s worried that the league isn’t doing enough to combat/minimize/eliminate that pesky virus that you can’t see that hits you like a blindside linebacker.  Sounds like more Brownie points with his teammates to us.  Perhaps tomorrow he’ll tweet out how unjust the virus is to those facing systemic racism.  Oh, say can you see (see what we did there?) Brees kneeling for the first game’s national anthem?  His two WWII grandfather vets would be so proud of his leadership recently.
  4. A local Arizona TV station scored a rare TV interview with Joe Biden.  News anchor Mark Curtis said, “Arizona is very much in play in 2020, so we appreciate you taking some time and talk to the people of our state.”  “Oh, you’re an important city.  You guys are going through hell right now, are ya?” Biden responded.  Like Phoenix, Biden has risen from the ashes.  Well, sorta.
  5. Speaking of TV, CNN reported “breaking news” yesterday.  Eighty-five infants under the age of 12 months have tested positive in one Texas county they tweeted.  The Nueces County health examiner took to the podium after hysteria broke out and clarified that these have been recorded cumulatively since mid-March.  One is too many, but is 85 too many?  No context was given relative to any other county or age group.  No infants died directly due to the virus, though one died of as of yet undetermined causes.
  6.  Down in Florida, an incredible story is developing.  Nearly 150,000 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported.  The change in the number of hospitalizations or ICU beds needed is negligible.  Are the elderly staying inside?  Is the medicine used in combinations improving outcomes?  Is it a somehow weaker strain?  Maybe CNN can enlighten us on what should be a real story of great interest.
  7.  The peaceful protesters in Seattle decided to spray paint and break the front windows of a downtown Amazon Go storefront yesterday.  Amazon put the “Black Lives Matter” statement front and center on its web page and contributed over $10 million to the cause weeks back.  For the Antifa militants and the other rioters that apparently wasn’t enough.  Is it ever?
  8. Police in Seattle were nowhere to be found as this went down.  Are they ever when it comes to this?  Wait until they get defunded.  Would three out of ten rioters even be able to tell you why they targeted Amazon?  Could it be that over 1,000 police departments across the U.S. have partnerships with Ring, the smart doorbell security owned by Amazon? Additionally, human rights groups have called for the ban of Amazon’s facial recognition technology, Rekogntion, which they argue poses a threat to immigrants and religious minorities.   Why identify criminals in this woke world?
  9. Kamala Harris is the likely VP candidate and running mate for Joe Biden, don’t you think?  Biden has delayed the announcement twice.  He didn’t delay while she recovered from plastic surgery, did he?  Botox?  She got her money’s worth on the high and tight part.  We aren’t judging.
  10. Or did he delay due to warring factions within the party?  A group of “progressives” representing a large proportion of delegates won by Sen. Bernie Sanders in California has signed a letter to Biden urging that he pick a running mate from a shortlist of candidates that does not include local Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA).  She has long had trouble consolidating support from the left because of her record as a prosecutor in San Francisco and California.  Like Amazon, she should not identify nor punish criminals in this woke world.

If the NCAA announces a postponement or cancellation of the upcoming fall season this week, you should pray for one BBR staff member.

 

 

 

Boycotts Don’t Amount to a Hill of Beans.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Tomatoe, Tomato.  Potatoe, Potata.  Boycott, Buycott.

Saturday Raul Reyes, a member of the USA Today board of contributors (whatever that means), wrote an op-ed piece for CNN Business.  It began with “Adios Goya!”  Why?  Surely you have heard by now.  Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue praised President Trump at a White House ceremony on Thursday afternoon. Speaking at a Rose Garden event, Unanue said, “We’re all truly blessed, at the same time, to have a leader like President Trump who is a builder.”

And the left roared.  Social media’s daily outrage turned its short attention span to a can of refried beans.  Hashtags like #Goyaway and #BoycottGoya started trending faster than Speedy Gonzalez can say “undelay!”

And the right went to the store and bought enough cans of Goya garbanzo beans to spread hummus from sea to shining sea.  Buycott.

In the emotion of the moment, a boycott and a buycott are such an “I’ll show you!”  But, even in the era of the new normal, we go back to the old normal.  If you bought Goya products before you likely will buy plenty more.  If you never heard of them you’ll likely stare at your emotional purchase of canned black beans sitting in your panty till the expiration date nears.  Hopefully, the local food drive knocks on the front door before then.

Don’t believe us?  Do you remember 2012?  Way back then Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy made comments expressing his opposition to gay marriage.

And the left roared. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino wrote a letter to Cathy urging him to back out of plans to open a restaurant in the city.  Then, according to the Boston Herald, he warned, “if they need licenses in the city, it will be very difficult — unless they open up their policies.”

Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said that he would work to stop any attempt by Chick-fil-A to expand in the city.

“Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values. They’re not respectful of our residents, our neighbors, and our family members. And if you’re gonna be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago values.”  He could barely be heard above the constant staccato of gunfire emanating from the respectful south side neighbors, but we digress.

And the right lined up around the building to eat overpriced chicken and waffled fries.

How is Chick-fil-A doing today?  In spite of stepping in the political chicken, um, waste, again and again, it’s doing quite well.  In fact, its location count is 2363 and counting.  If you still don’t believe us, go wait in an ever-present double drive-thru line for some.

How will Goya do?  The largest Spanish owned company in the U.S. will likely continue to do quite well.

Right now it’s in some hot sauce.

But, by tomorrow The Movement will have moved on.  In cancel culture you are always looking for the next outrageous moment.

Salsa Verde anyone?

Ten Piece Nuggets-Life

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

With hot dogs, apple pie, prohibited fireworks, and tearing down statues, America celebrated it’s 245th Fourth of July.   It’s life in the year 2020.  Oh, and there is this coronavirus problem, too.  So below, it’s life served up one nugget at a time, and ten in all.  Pass the BBQ sauce and dig in.

  1.  Portland, as American as it gets it the weirdest of ways, had a big monument, and a bronzed elk perched beautifully on top.  Yes, an elk.  Had.  Some “peaceful” protesters lit it on fire Saturday and kicked the elk to the curb.  ANTIFA took credit (if you want to call it that).  Either the elk was racist or Portlandian vegans’ disdain for meat reached its zenith.
  2. Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffery Epstein’s lover and procurer of underage girls was arrested in New Hampshire Sunday.   The noise you heard from across the pond was Prince Andrew’s exasperation.  The noise you heard on this side of the pond was Bill Clinton’s exasperation.  The FBI has recommended she be held in Bubba Wallace’s garage during her mandatory forty eight hour suicide watch.  They know for a fact that there are no nooses there.
  3. She has a story or twenty to tell.  Might she know where Carol Baskin’s husband is as well?  Tiger King was the most-watched Netflix documentary ever.  If Maxwell is smart (see what we did there?) she’ll spill it all and collect the coins like a king from the streaming network of her choice.  All she has to do is survive long enough to tell it.
  4.  CNN reported, and we quote, “a young protester has died from injuries she suffered when a luxury car plowed into her and another woman during a Black Lives Matter protest Saturday on a Seattle Freeway that has been shut down for days due to the civil unrest, police said.”  It’s getting harder and harder for CNN to lower the bar.  But, try, try, try they have.   You can’t stop looking at the word “luxury” can you?
  5. It turns out that the white protester, dressed in all black, was struck down by a black driver in the middle of the night.  If those facts were reversed, do you think the story’s biased slant would have gone down a dramatically different slope?  Stack another dead body on top of the pile.  The freeway was not located in the town formerly known as CHAZ.  Everything else in CHAZ was free, but it had no freeways running through it.
  6.  Head Coach Mike Gundy of the Oklahoma St. Cowboys survived a two-week investigation into his leadership of the football program.  The internal inquiry spanned two weeks and the AD and his minions interviewed over 20 players.  This came to a boil when Gundy went fishing in an OAN tee shirt.   The investigation found no indications nor incidents of racism.  It did find that relationships between Gundy and several players were strained.  With several teams changing nicknames, maybe “Cowboys” should hit the bricks as well.   “Soyboys” anyone?
  7. Gundy voluntarily agreed to a million-dollar salary reduction and a lesser buyout in dollars and fewer years on his contract.  Good for him we guess.  Way back in the day bosses and employees or coaches and teammates had a person to person conversation, shook hands, and came out of the other side in a better spot.  Gundy also agreed to never shout “I’m a man” again.  No, he didn’t.
  8. The Washington Redskins organization has decided to take a deep dive (again) about removing the “Redskins” moniker.  It’s faced this fourth down and long a few times.  This time they’ll likely punt.  Once the offensive nickname goes, will “Washington” have to follow?  The team’s ownership is the league’s worst as well.  It should go too.  The minority owners have 40% of the franchise.  They’ve had it with majority owner Daniel Snyder.  They’ve formed a search team looking for buyers as they’d like to sell out as well.  In summary, the whole organization is a sellout and offensive to boot.
  9. Rapper Snoop Dogg has smeared several prominent black conservatives, again.  He labeled them the “Coon Bunch.”  His Sunday Instagram post arranged the 11 just as the Brady Bunch appeared on TV.  Herman Cain, Candace Owens, and Terrance Williams amongst others were depicted.  Noticeably absent was Kanye West who is a big Trump supporter.  It turns out that Dogg and West are collaborating on some production work.  “Coon” and “Uncle Tom” are common slurs used by black Americans against black conservatives.  Sounds divisive.
  10.  When America is done burning down cities, changing street and team names, and knocking down statues will it actually have a frank conversation about what the root cause of all of this is?  Real change comes from within.  Brutal honesty will be needed.  Are the accused and the accusers up for it?

Oh.  One last nugget.  If FedEx wants out of their naming rights relationship with the Redskins, BBR is poised to step in.  We want to make football in the DC area great again.

Stay out of the pool for thirty minutes after consuming these tasty morsels.

 

 

We Missed Nothing.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

We’re back, but only for a brief few words.  Last week and into this week the BBR staff had its annual off-campus mid-year reviews and celebrity golf tournament. Orlando was the destination.  We shut the outside world down and are glad we did.

It looks like we missed nothing.  Sports are still on ice and no one in the political sandbox is playing nice.

At least Joe Biden emerged for a press conference for the first time in 89 days yesterday.  Well, it was sort of a press conference.  He admitted that his staff only wanted him to call on the reporters that would indeed play nice.  The problem was that he forgot the name of his own hometown newspaper and couldn’t find it on his notes right in front of him.

Speaking of journalists, if you missed Chris Cuomo interviewing the St. Louis homeowner who came outside to protect his property you missed a new low in journalism.  And, he’s had a few lows recently.  Isn’t that a big statement given the hacks that parade around these days?

If you don’t have a gun to protect yourselves against hoodlums, you could try to stay as still as a statue and hope they pass you by.  But, they’ll likely rip you down even if they don’t know what you stand for, so that might not work.

Speaking of journalists, Tucker Carlson achieved an all-time high rating for a quarter of the year’s time for a cable news broadcast.  He averaged over 4.33 million viewers a night.   And, he’s ripping the Republican Party a new one. Who would have ever thought that is talent, hard work, and honesty would enable his nightly viewership to surpass Bill O’Reilly?  It has.  Isn’t that a big statement well?

Enjoy the long Fourth of July Weekend unless patriotic participation is banned in your town.  First churches and parks, now fireworks.

We’ll be back to light up Al Gore’s internet like a Roman candle on Monday.

Can you still say “Roman?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAZ, BHAZ, AHAZ

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

A funny thing happened yesterday just two days after the official start of summer.  The barely two weeks old Summer of Love, as proclaimed by Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkin, suffered a setback.

The city of CHOP, formerly known as CHAZ, had one too many gunshot casualties resulting in either death or hospitalization.   And, as a result, Durkan indicates the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) will be shut down following those shootings that occurred on Saturday and Sunday of Father’s Day Weekend.  Apparently, she only recognized the unsettled settlement as CHAZ.

But almost simultaneously, on the other coast in Washington DC, up popped the new city of BHAZ last evening.  BHAZ is the shortened name for the Black House Autonomous Zone.  The Movement moves quickly.

CHAZ built a wall, had security if you want to call it that, and had a food supply-the guerilla garden.  But, it didn’t have a hospital built yet to care for it’s wounded.  It used neighboring Seattle for that.   And, it was far too soon for them to get a chance to erect statues to honor the CHAZ city founders, though there was space created.

BHAZ was building a wall well into last evening, occupied a church, and was diligently working on the food supply chain.  Demonstrators in BHAZ have apparently set up their own restaurant called, “Earl’s First Amendment Grill,” offering “free food for freedom fighters,” according to signs in the area.  If they get more time to develop their new city than their brother CHAZ from another mother did, then maybe they can construct a hospital and even a college to educate its young.

Could it be free health care, free tuition, and free food? That would be the Triple Crown of accommodations and the envy of cities nationwide.

One individual could be heard saying, “Welcome to the AZ. You are now leaving the U.S.”  Black House AZ might have one big problem.  Its stake in the ground might be too close to the White House where an angry man with orange hair lives.  Orange isn’t going to back the new black house where there are no men in blue as Durkin did briefly with CHAZ.  Isn’t that exactly what they want?

“Numerous people arrested in D.C. for the disgraceful vandalism,” the president wrote.  “10 years in prison under the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act,” he added. “Beware.”

Another Sin City, aka Las Vegas, is not opening but is reopening.  They likely are offering long odds that BHAZ lasts very long.

So what comes after CHAZ and BHAZ?

Logically it would be AHAZ, which is exactly what the malcontents are making out of this country.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Summer

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The weekend has come and gone.  But the Summer of Love rolls on.  Ten Nuggets that range from this to that await.

  1.  The Summer of Love rolls on, but the occupied zone CHOP had some rough weather roll in.  Tent city had yet another shooting overnight.  One person was dead and one injured on Saturday.  All of the wounded from last night were transported to the hospital via private cars.  The front gate guards and others prohibited the police to come in.  And, the police stood down.  And apparently the city leadership either ordered it so, or complied.   Astonishing really.  We wrote a week ago that you could watch it implode soon.  And, here we are.
  2. Donald Trump’s Tulsa rally fizzled badly Saturday when so many before it sizzled.  What went wrong?  Waining interest?  Doubtful, but not out of the question.  Covid-19 fears?  Maybe.  The racially charged threat of violence?  Maybe.  The arena looked empty and more often than not sounded subdued.  Trump sounded tired.  So did his act.
  3. The differences between him and hiding Joe Biden are so great it says here that he should pivot a bit and take the country through why he thinks his approach is better.  His base is as secure as the anti-Trump base is.  Both are fighting for the very few who claim to be undecided.  Maybe he was rusty like his hair color.  With no rallies in months and months was Tulsa like a warm-up band?  If so, he was singing out of key.
  4. With Mrs. Butterworth still on life support, Eskimo Pie got a terminal pie in the eye.  That’s right, no more Eskimo Pies.   Eskimo was a term that was mostly used for a handful of Native American tribes that lives in Alaska and other Arctic areas including Canda and Greenland.  In 1977 the reference was replaced by “Inuit” people or “Native Alaskans” depending.  A quick 43 years later Dreyer’s Ice Cream Company realized it was offensive.  Eskimo meant “eaters of raw meat.”  Raw meat has vitamin D in it to help with the long winter months.
  5. At least they can still enjoy their igloo’s for now.  But, should the Igloo Corporation change its namesake product as well?  If so, then the Inuit’s might then be homeless vegans.  Well, at least CHOP city isn’t too far away.
  6. Yesterday before the NASCAR Cup Race at Talledega Speedway in Alabama a plane carrying a Confederate Flag and the slogan “defund NASCAR” flew overhead.  While everyone was looking up someone slipped into Bubba Wallace’s garage and left a noose.  The  Washington Post’s Liz Clarke, who has extensively covered NASCAR, noted how closely the organization restricts access even when there isn’t a pandemic. It “controls entry into its garages,” she wrote. “Not just anyone can get into a garage stall.” The Speedway, as of Monday morning, has not commented on the incident, but there are cameras in the garages.  Something doesn’t add all of the ways up here.  Roll the tape.
  7.  The North Face is threatening to pull ads from Facebook and Instagram if Zuckerberg doesn’t agree to their demands to censor “hate speech” and whatever other types of posts it doesn’t agree with.   Other brands are expected to follow.  Facebook is a private company.   It can do as it pleases.  The North Face is a private company.  It can do as it pleases.  We heard that The Tucker Carlson Show has a few ad slots open up recently if The North Face wants to spend its advertising dollars elsewhere.  Every mountain has four sides.  Recognizing only the north face doesn’t seem inclusive.
  8. With so much attention being placed on the COVID-19 crisis and ending “systemic racism” do you worry that the biggest existential threat to our globe is being forgotten?  Experts Cory Booker, Liz Warren ( she didn’t check the “Eskimo” box on her Harvard app, she checked Native American), Bernie Sanders, and Jay Inslee told you all about it a few months, that seem like years, back.  It’s climate change, of course.  Suddenly talking about it seems so 2019.  Fear not, it’ll be important again before November 3rd.  It’s only a matter if it gets oxygen before or after another “war on women” crisis.  Miami is taking on water dammit.  At least CHOP was founded on high ground.
  9.  Will the NBA or MLB play again in 2020?  Meanwhile, the NFL seems like it’s full steam ahead.  Something doesn’t add all of the ways up here either.  MLB  has millionaires arguing with billionaires as an added eyesore to COVID-19 problem.  If the NFL mandates social distancing in the stands will it also mandate it on the field?  Spread offenses will have never looked so spread.  Huddles will be anything but.  Should the referees wear a mask?  Or, would you prefer that they wear a muzzle?  CHOP might field a team.  They want no referees at all!
  10.  Golfer Nick Whatley tested positive before round two of the RBC Heritage PGA event on Hilton Head Island Friday.  But the tournament played on as it should.  Even if you aren’t a golf fan you have to love the way the island and the course looked on HD TV.  It was a peaceful escape.  It’s a beauty, and it’s unique.   It’s so Pete Dye.  And it has stood the test of time quite nicely.   So will we.

Keep your head down.  It’s but two weeks from the Fourth of July.  That’s only 25 Zoom calls from now.

You remember it.  It’s when we celebrate our freedom and independence from oppression.

Pray for Mrs. Butterworth

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

BBR was dark yesterday.  Did you miss us?  We missed you.

We took the day off with our colleagues to reflect on the passing of two family members.  It’s tough to lose one that you are close to, much less two.

Gone is an aunt, and shockingly just hours afterward, an uncle.  Sometimes the will to live goes shortly after one loses a loved one.

RIP Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben.  Jemima lived a very long and profitable life.  Born in 1889 she passed at an unbelievable 131 years of age.  Ben wasn’t as healthy nor as wealthy but still lived a productive life.  He was born in the early ’40s, lived into his late ’70s, though an exact birth date is unknown.

And, there’s never two without three you know?  Mrs. Butterworth is on life support.  “We understand that our actions help play an important role in eliminating racial bias and as a result, we have begun a complete brand and packaging review on Mrs. Butterworth’s,” Conagra Brands Communications Manager Dan Skinner told Forbes.

You begin to wonder if it’s more than just being syrup that might be detrimental to one’s health.

Aunt Jemima met her demise for looking (and in early media sounding like) far too much like a stereotypical black woman working in a white family’s kitchen.

Uncle Ben met his maker as critics have pointed out the problematic use of a black man to be the face of a white company, noting that black men were often referred to as “boy” or “uncle” to avoid calling them “Mr.” during the country’s Jim Crow era.  The name “Uncle Ben’s” came from founder Gordon Harwell and his business partner who discussed a famed Texas farmer referred to as Uncle Ben, known for his rice.

Uncle Ben underwent plastic surgery in 2007 to extend his life.   The cosmetic procedure allowed Ben to be portrayed as a businessman, according to The New York Times.  It wasn’t enough in the end.

You have to wonder if these two icons of the food industry would be worthy of being honored with a statue.  Though, these days and times, that might not be the best idea either.

Soon maybe someone who is as “white as rice,” and is more woke than any other bloke, will suggest that black-eyed peas could meet the grim reaper next.  “Black-eyed,” you ask, is different as it isn’t a brand name?  There is no need to draw the line there to end this systemic racism.  You only eat them every New Year’s Day anyway.

Names are toppling almost as fast as statues in our cancel culture.  It’s got to be time to get after a few more statues, too.

How long before the cry begins to dynamite down the faces on Mt. Rushmore?  It could use a little cosmetic surgery as well.  Washington and Jefferson were slave owners.  Lincoln statues, which puzzles us, are being torn down too.  And Teddy Roosevelt didn’t belong up there anyway.   His presence is like Trent Dilfer winning a Super Bowl.

At least we won’t have to change the mountain’s name.  Or, will we?