10 Piece Nuggets

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

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

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

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

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

You’ve been served.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

One of our short order cooks(staffers) decided to take an unannounced 7 day trip to Florida last week.  Regrettably, this left us short-handed, and BBR went dark for the week.

However, our chef is back.  And in short order we’ve got some ready-to-consume nuggets below.  They’re filled with facts, opinions, and some spicy satire sauce as you like them.

  1.  Having not flown in a quick three years, we learned quickly when we did that some things don’t change.  Does the TSA work for the government, or do they work for us?  The correct answer is us.  We are the government.  We pay them to work for us.  Rude, indifferent, commanding, demanding, disorganized, and sloppy are words that come to mind to describe the power-tripping men and women in the blue unis.  It’s a thankless job and because of how they perform it no one will say thanks.
  2. It’s a special treat to hear one of them barking to the minions waiting in line the commands about what to do and not do.  They are hard to understand to begin with, but the monotone delivery is even less effective from behind one of those temporary light blue masks. There are so many ways to more effectively communicate than this rabbit hole that we’ve jumped down for the last 20 years.
  3. Did you know that the legislative branch of our federal government is the only branch that creates federal law?  It is.  And, it hasn’t made wearing a mask in airports nor on airplanes a law.  Good sheep we are as we are herded on and off the aluminum tubes.  “Be sure to put your mask back in place between bites and sips” might be the dumbest utterance on a plane ever.  And, that’s saying something.  The “mandate” is extended and in place till 4/18, and no one knows why.
  4. By 4/18 we likely will have scared ourselves back into the covid corner again.  The subvariant omicron BA.2 has been classified as a “variant of concern” according to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  It’s either more or less transmissible than the last one, going to get you more or less ill as the booster does or does not help.  The CDC will let you know what it thinks after the wave has passed and they’ve followed the science.
  5. That’s the same CDC that says now that it accidentally inflated children’s COVID death numbers in “coding logic error.”  Terrible!  Maybe it wasn’t a coding logic error, but an error in logic to make you want to jab your child?  The UK will be ready for BA.2.  Around 5 million people are eligible for an additional COVID jab in England, with fifth jabs hinted at as Britain rolls out its ‘Spring Booster’ campaign.
  6. UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid is not the first government official to hint at the possibility of a fourth and a fifth vaccination(that’s not a vaccination), however.  The good doctor Anthony Fauci said this past weekend, “We may need to boost again. That’s entirely conceivable. But before we make that decision about another boost, we want to determine clearly what the durability of protection is of that regular boost, that third shot that we’re talking about.”  Third, fourth, fifth.  Who’s counting?  The WHO is counting.  So is Pfizer’s CFO.
  7. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) said Monday on MSNBC that at the Senate hearing today for Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, he “felt the emotion flowing through me from ancestors and generations that made this day possible.”  And, that sounds good.  He then went on to say, “Biden said it’s about time we reach deep into the well of quality and genius and talent and create credentials for black women and show she’s like Jackie Robinson, except probably overqualified.”  Did Cory Booker ever crack a history book?  Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas are curious.
  8. When 81 million of us voted for student loan forgiveness did we realize that we also were voting for $6/gallon of gas and WWIII?
  9. What are we doing foreign policy-wise with Ukraine anyway?  The country was and is corrupt.  They’re non-NATO.  Why do we have to stick our nose in every global dust-up?  Russia is wrong to attack a sovereign nation.  We told them as much.  We’ve sanctioned them.  We’ve frozen assets.  Enough.  We don’t need to send money or planes and certainly not troops.  Send us some of the Ukrainian refugees and we’ll look after them with free food, blankets, medicine, and masks, plenty of masks.  And, as a reminder that’s free to them, money to you.
  10. Like airplanes, time flies when you’re having this much fun.  If you don’t take our word for it at least take VP Kamala Harris’ word for it.  She spoke to the passage of time four times in 30 seconds yesterday.  Click on the link, open the video, and lose thirty seconds of your life that you’ll never get back. Say what? Harris has had a difficult time retaining employees in her communications department. At the beginning of 2022, her communications team was undergoing a second political reset before she had served even one year in office, the Washington Post reported.   Say what?

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

You want them, we have them.  Ten delivered to your virtual door this AM.

  1.  Paging Dr. Anthony Fauci.  Dr. Fauci, please call your exchange.  Wouldn’t right now be a great time for a thorough review of the data (comorbidities, race, age, gender, vaxxed v not, etc.) that led to the science?  With covid either paused or past, it sure would.  Questions we have a few.  We’d like to know more about that science we followed.
  2. Paging NY Mayor Eric Adams.  Mr. Adams, please call your exchange.  How does Kyrie Irving get to sit in the stands maskless but can’t play in his NBA game for the hometown Nets yesterday?  It must be that elusive data that led to the science.  Kevin Durant differs.  “It’s ridiculous,” Durant said of Irving’s situation. “I don’t get it. It just feels like at this point now somebody’s trying to make a statement or a point to flex their authority.”  Durant is quite accurate shooting from three-point land and calling out fantasy land.
  3. And how about flying?  The federal mask mandate that was supposed to end on 3/18 has been pushed back to 4/18.  Why? Maybe the WH press secretary knows? When asked why airports and airlines should maintain mask mandates even if the cities in which they’re located have abandoned them, White House press secretary Jen Psaki answered that air travelers aren’t “static,” meaning lacking in movement.  Ah.  Sounds like a bunch of static, meaning crackling or hissing noises on a telecommunications system, if you ask us.  The only one lacking in movement is the CDC, behind the curve like it’s been for two years.
  4. Speaking of the CDC, this year’s flu shot hit your arm but missed the mark in prevention.  When you guess strains nine months out, you win some and you lose some.  A CDC spokesperson over the weekend opined that the shot might have lessened the severity of this year’s flu if you got it, but wasn’t sure if it did.  Does any of this sound familiar?
  5.  Saturday, March 12 was Detransition Awareness Day.  People who quit the trans ideology recognize that they cannot “transition” to the opposite sex, and so they “detransition” from the ideology.  This comes smack in the middle of Women’s History Month which might confuse just about everybody involved we suppose.
  6.  Doesn’t it seem like every time you hear that Ukraine and Russia are entering talks another city is bombed?  Putin isn’t at peace when he hears the words “ceasefire.”  And about these biological labs?   
  7. Jen Psaki proudly announced from her pulpit Friday that we are wrecking the Russian economy.  One wise guy on Twitter stated the opinion, ” That’s two economies wrecked in 12 months.”   Short.  True.  Brilliant.  Sad.
  8. Republicans from sea to shining sea are ripe with optimism that a red wave is coming to both houses of Congress this fall.  Then Mitch Mcconnell threw water on the party.  He stated last week that if the GOP regains control of the Senate that he would be the majority leader all over again.  Two things.  One, McConnell isn’t a leader.  Two, a wise man wrote us and said that every Republican running for Senate this fall should have to go on record if they would vote for McConnell if they gained office.
  9. What’s to celebrate if it’s more of the same?  The number one problem facing Republicans is that they fail to realize that their party isn’t any happier with most of them and their actions as they are with the Dems.  Sad state of affairs.

  10. And finally, Jussie Smollett’s sister, actress Jurnee Smollett, is calling for Cook County to “#FreeJussie” following her brother’s sentencing of 150 days of incarceration on Thursday, telling her followers they should advocate for his release because of disparate incarceration between black and white Americans even if they believe he is guilty.  Jurnee is quite a trip, almost like a journey.

  11. Lagniappe.  Isn’t it odd that the inflation we once called transitory is now blamed on Putin?  Point the finger at Russia, Russia, Russia.  People always buy it.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 If you’re on Spring Break enjoy.  If you’re not, get to work.  And remember today, 3/14, is pi day.  That’s roughly 3.14159265359 if you’re counting.

     

     

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Our style is to have no style in this random nugget format.  We think it, we write it.

  1. Yesterday was President’s Day, but today is President Biden’s day.  Putin finally punched his dance ticket at the Ukrainian border.  What will Joe have to say after saber-rattling about severe actions?  Some European countries have acted already this AM with sanctions.
  2. Biden puffed his chest out and said during his campaign for President that Putin wanted nothing to do with old angry Joe.  In fact, he said in 2019, “Putin knows that when I am President his days of tyranny and trying to intimidate the US and Eastern Europe are over.”  Well, that didn’t age well as the kids say.
  3. Funny thing is, the last time Putin’s troops visited west of the Ukrainian border was when Biden was VP under Obama.  Now he gets to huff and puff again.  Hopefully, it’ll have some teeth in it and not some troops in it.  Could you even find Ukraine on a map without an assist from Google?  Be honest.
  4. Whatever he says let’s hope it’s better than what our multitasking VP and US and Ukraine border czar said on the weekend while in Europe.  Responding during a Euro press gaggle to whether or not the sanctions implied could deter Putin or if it was too late, Madame VP offered, “And within the context then of the fact that that window is still opening, altho-open, although it is absolutely narrowing-but within the context of a diplomatic path still being open, the deterrence effect, we believe, has merit.”  We wish we were misquoting her, even if by a little bit.  Maybe that worthless mask masked the message a smidgen?
  5. MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell said last evening on-air that Biden has a lot of confidence and ego in his foreign policy and feels up to the task of the Putin test and gets defensive about his performance.  Maybe that’s partially due to Robert Gates, the former defense secretary under Obama?  He said a few years back that Biden has “been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”
  6. Let’s hope he gets it right this time.  Remember, when Obama pulled the trigger on Osama Bin Laden, Biden voted thumbs down in the Situation Room on the decision.  You wouldn’t want him making the heads/tails call in an NFL overtime game.  He’s defensive about his defense policy, and you’d be playing defense right after the coin flip.
  7. Former WH Press Secretary and now CNN commenter, Joe Lockhart has confidence in Biden’s confidence. “Whatever happens in Ukraine we shouldn’t underestimate the fact the United States has retaken the adult chair in the world,” Lockhart tweeted. “Biden has restored American leadership so damaged by Trump. The world needs us and we have a President who can and does lead.”   Why doesn’t it feel like that to nearly 75% of polled US adults last week?
  8. Speaking of coin flips, is Tulsi Gabbard, who ran for the 2019 Democratic Presidential Nominee, a Democrat?  Or, is she an Independent?  Or, is she, thankfully someone that blazes her own path? The four-term former US Rep from Hawaii is confirmed as a speaker this week at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).  Principals and actions speak louder than affiliations.  Where is this all going?  Only 2024 knows.  Fox News is interested.  She’s on the network a time or two each weeknight these days.
  9. And then there was one. Hawaii stands as the final state with a mask mandate, over two years after the start of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. Every other state in the country has ended (some long ago) or announced plans to end their respective mask mandates in the very near future.  What a waste of the fresh air that surrounds the islands.  They’ll get wind of what’s right though, and soon.  The trade winds are blowing and so are the 2022 midterm political winds.
  10.  Soon, but not soon enough, we’ll forget words and phrases that dominated our lives for two years.  Here are just a few, but also way too many.  Social distancing.  N95.  Two weeks to flatten the curve.  Spikes.  Horse pills. Hydroxychloroquine.  NIH.  FDA.  CDC.  The new normal.  Antivaxxer.  Provaxx.  Ivermectin.  And the most absurd, we’re all in this, together.  Correction, the most absurd, follow the science.  Nugget 10 would not be possible without a shoutout to Dr. Anthony Fauci.  Thanks, Tony.

As a reminder, today is 2/22/22.  We cannot wait for 2:22 PM.

Nine Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Inflation has hit BBR as well.  We contemplated a price increase but decided instead to cut the product back and maintain the price.

The quality is still here, but the quantity is one less.  Your beltline wins too!

  1.  Things aren’t all bad on the inflation front though.  The average price for a gallon of gas fell almost three cents in the last week.  That leaves it only 49% higher than a year ago, down from 50%.  The Biden team took a victory lap around the White House over the news.  Transitory we were once told.
  2.  A week before Jolly Old Saint Nick fires up the sleigh curmudgeon old Joe Biden had a sobering message for the unvaccinated: “We are looking at a winter of severe illness and death if you’re unvaccinated,” Biden said.  For themselves, their family, and the hospital they’ll soon overwhelm.”
  3. President James “Jimmy” Carter asked us to turn up our thermostats in the winter of the gas shortage of 1977.  Depressing.  That was a few years before his botched Iranian hostage rescue attempt went down in flames. Depressing.  The sky wasn’t falling then and it isn’t now in spite of Joe’s dire message.
  4. Speaking of speaking, botched, and Biden, yesterday’s presentation to Medal of Honor recipient Alwyn Cashe went wrong during a White House ceremony on Thursday.  For starters, Biden was 37 minutes late to the ceremony.  He then mispronounced Cashe’s name twice despite having a teleprompter in front of him.   Other than that Mrs. Cashe (who accepted the honor for her late husband) how was the rest of the play/ceremony?
  5. Biden’s verbal flub was not the only mistake in the ceremony.  As the narrator read Biden’s citation, he announced the Medal of Honor was being awarded to Master Sgt. Earl Plumlee as well, but “posthumously,” even though he was standing right next to the president.  Mark Twain chimed in and said, “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
  6. The Twitter war between Elon Musk and Senator Elizabeth Warren was a doozie.  Elon landed several written jabs, but the haymaker was calling her Senator Karen.  You know it was great when MSNBC’s (no) Joy Reid had to throw in the towel.  She said that the “Karen” jab at Warren was “misappropriating black vernacular,” whatever the hell that means.  Reid is on the way out at MSNBC.  You can feel it.  We wonder how Karen would translate into Cherokee.
  7. Cops investigating the shooting death on the set of Rust got a search warrant for Alec Baldwin’s cell phone.  Baldwin appeared on ABC News George Stephanopoulos a couple of weeks back to explain that he didn’t shoot the gun that he was holding killing Halyna Hutchins.  Does that sound like the media coverage of the driver of the SUV  that didn’t run down and kill the Waukesha parade-goers, the SUV did.  One was very likely an accident, the other on purpose.  But still, let’s not kid ourselves.  Someone pulled a trigger.
  8. Dr. Peter McCullough, whose video we highly recommended last week, appeared on a Joe Rogan podcast this week.  It’s gone internet viral faster than the Omicron variant spread after Biden tightened the tests before international flights could come into America.  The good doctor said to Rogan,” There is no bigger public health crisis than the censorship in Covid -19.”
  9. Dr. Fauci says that we should require our holiday guests to show proof of vaccination before entering our homes.  Meanwhile, college and pro football stadiums are packed to capacity weekly since September.  Fauci reminds us of the Chevy Chase character in Vegas Vacation.  Ole Clark Griswold couldn’t win a bet in the casino guessing which hand, odd or even, nor heads or tails.
  10. Ok, ok, ok, we couldn’t help ourselves.   You’ll get ten after all.  Fired former Chris Cuomo producer John Griffin had all of his electronic devices seized by law enforcement 17 months ago.  This is CNN.  The FBI didn’t arrest him in the child trafficking heinous mess until 6 days ago.  They stormed Jeffery Epstein’s island quicker than that.  Barely.  This is the FBI.

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports and Politics

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

“Two Ten Piece Nuggets in one week?” you ask.   “Yes,” we affirm.

And why not?  BBR wants to do its part to end world hunger.  And, in 2020 the sports and political world gives us far too many nuggets to not share.  Enjoy them randomly below.

  1.  Thomas Sowell tweeted yesterday, “If not a single policeman killed a single black individual anywhere in the United States for this entire year, that would not reduce the number of black homicide victims by one percent.”  Police reform, not defunding, sounds good.  But, since the Movement wants change isn’t it time we add to the dialogue to address the 99% as well.  Sowell did, and good for him.
  2. Clay Travis tweeted yesterday, “So in the state of Iowa it is safe to play football for the Iowa State Cyclones this fall, but not safe for the Iowa Hawkeyes to play football.  Big Ten should be ashamed & Iowa football fans should be irate.”  If the Big 12 folds late as the Big 10 did early, then the point is moot.  But, for now, it’s logic is, well, illogical.
  3. Speaking of the Big 10 and the Big 12, way back when there was the Big 8.  Nebraska was perenially competing for its championship as well as the then mythical National Championship.  The Big 8 went poof and so did Nebraska’s vaunted wishbone attack.  Nebraska joined the Big 10 (which has 14 teams so its name makes no sense) and hoped for greener pastures.  They’ve been average on the field at best.  Now, they’ve been told that there will be no chance this fall to be average.   Off of the field, strong rumors are floating around the NCAA world that Nebraska’s AD is shopping his team to other conferences.
  4. You knew it would only take a bit of time for Trump and his team to mockingly nickname Kamala Harris, Biden’s VP pick.  Well, that didn’t take long.  “Phoney Kamala” it is.  And, as an added bonus, he’s added to his arsenal for Joe Biden.  “Slow Joe” has joined “Creepy Joe” and “Sleepy Joe.”  Frank Sinatra sang, “I Did It My Way.”   Trump must love the song.
  5. But why stop with the name-calling there?  Trump tweeted this AM “very poor TV ratings for MSDNC’s Morning Joe, headed by a complete Psycho named Joe Scarborough and his ditzy airhead wife, Mika, and also @CNN, headed by complete unknowns.”  It must be election time.  The gloves have come off, way off.
  6. But what’s in a name anyway?   For Kamala Harris, it’s the mispronunciation of it.  We were reminded, and some were scorned, by the press repeatedly yesterday that it’s pronounced “comma la.” Then yesterday afternoon Slow Joe (what’s in a name anyway?)  took the podium to formally announce his running mate.  He pronounced it “Ka mal ah.”  Somebody put up a tent over this circus, please.
  7. And then there is the raging controversy over whether “Comma La” is African American or not.  It’s always important to know your roots and times five these days if it helps with the narrative.   Her father is of Jamaican descent.  Her mother is Southern Asian, or Indian if you prefer.  So, there is no African origin it seems.   Is she black?  Yes, 50% black.  But, if we aren’t supposed to see color anymore, why do we argue over our color?
  8. Never let a national or international crisis peter out without political gain.  That’s what savvy and greasy politicians say and do.  And, some get funded by George Soros.  He agrees.  In an interview with La Repubblica, an Italian daily newspaper, the Hungarian-born Soros denounced Trump as a “transitory phenomenon” and expressed hope that the COVID-19 crisis has opened up politics in a radical direction.  He’s nothing if not consistent.
  9. Yesterday was three years to the day since the Unite the Right rally brought thousands of white nationalists to historic Charlottesville, Virginia. James Alex Fields, Jr. purposely drove his car into a group of counter-protesters, killing one and injuring many.   Joe Biden went on the attack yesterday telling whoever was listening that Trump talked about how there were good people there too.  Does Biden remember that he attended former US Senator, friend, and close colleague of his Robert Byrd’s funeral ten years ago when Biden was VP of the land?  Byrd was an active and known KKK member for many, many years.  There are no more glasshouses, only stones.
  10.  Guess who is leading the MLB NL East Division?  It’s the Miami Covids.  Er, it’s the Miami Marlins who had an outbreak of COVID-19 just a week into the season.  Upwards of 15 players and five staff members were quarantined and their season was put on hold.  They stand atop the East with an 8-4 record.  But, they’ll need to make up quite a few games as most teams have played 18-20 games by now.  Can their arms on the hill hold up having to play so many in so few days?  It’s unlikely.  But it is 2020.

Deep breaths.

Friday is near.

 

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Drive Thru Only

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s time for a serving.  But, in an effort to help slow the spread of the Coronavirus,  BBR’s executive team met well into the evening.  We decided that in order to best serve you and the broader community’s need to slow the virus that you cannot call “Wuhan,”  all nuggets going forward will be available at the drive-thru window only.  Shortly thereafter McDonald’s followed BBR’s lead and announced the same.  It’s a tough time.  Have some not so tender nuggets.

  1.  President Trump took to Twitter yesterday and called COVID-19 the “Chinese Virus.”  This was an obvious retort to the noise emanating out of China over the weekend that attempted to pin the origin of the virus on the U.S.  The sensitive side of the press came out and condemned the name game blame.
  2. Meanwhile, Joe Biden referred to Ebola as “what happened in Africa” in his debate on Sunday.  The difference between the insensitivity of Trump and the Biden geography lesson is obvious.  Trump was doing it on purpose while Biden had one of those pesky gaffes.  It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.  Or, it’s not what you say, it’s who says it.  Or, it’s both.
  3.  Then there was Hollywood director and “Meathead” character Rob Reiner’s tweet.  “We will get through this. But unfortunately not with the help of this President.”  Reiner is one of the president’s most outspoken Hollywood critics. “First he must be removed from the public square to let competent experts take over, then he must be removed from office to allow US to heal.”  He capitalized “us.”  Sounds inclusive (for all of those who agree with him) to US.

  4. The NBA announced that if it doesn’t play again this year, it will cost the league nearly $500 million in revenues.  That’s in addition to the substantial revenue loss the league already experienced earlier this year after the controversy surrounding Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey’s pro-Hong Kong tweet.  This global relationship, er partnership, is getting trickier and more expensive by the day for them.

  5. On Sunday, Nashville Mayor John Cooper led an emergency meeting of the Metro Nashville Board of Health. After the meeting, Cooper called for restaurants and similar businesses to serve only at 50 percent capacity or to allow no more than 100 customers through the doors.  On Monday owner Kid Rock thumbed his nose at the mayor.  The GM of his joint called the mayor’s edict unconstitutional.
  6. Speaking of mayors and speaking of unconstitutional, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell signed a coronavirus emergency order last week allowing her to ban the sale of firearms.  She signed a follow-up proclamation yesterday, further emphasizing her emergency powers to “suspend or limit the sale, dispensing, or transportation, of alcoholic beverages.”  No guns and no drinking will make NOLA hardly recognizable.
  7. The order stands “zero” chance in court and will be challenged.  After Katrina, Mayor Ray Nagin tried the exact same and had the edict struck down in court. He later lost an unrelated personal criminal case and wound up in jail for about 8 years.  Mayor Cantrell and her hubby haven’t paid their federal income taxes to the IRS in the last six years.  But, they were/are just trying to do the right thing for the people.
  8.  And yet another mayor called for some action.  New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called for the nationalization of certain parts of the supply chain, and stated that “we’re getting close to a reality where the government has to ensure that the food supply, that it is not only available but that it’s equitably distributed.”  Crank up the printers.  Food stamps are on the way.
  9. So to recap, Nashville’s Mayor wants the bars closed.  New Orleans’ Mayor wants the sale of guns and booze shut down.  And, the NY Mayor wants us to stand in a bread line.
  10. Oh, and Trump said yesterday that we might be falling into a recession.  Ya think?

BBR’s drive-thru is open 24/7.  The nuggets aren’t in short supply.   But, if you want a happy meal or a Happy Meal, they are getting hard to find.

 

A Different Disappointment From Coast to Coast

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Yesterday we began our NCAA football series examining disappointments from coast to coast.  Overnight our Washington Bureau won over our editor.  Because of that, today we put our series on hold to bring you a different disappointment from coast to coast.  It’s time to check in on the US House Intelligence (misnomer) Committee Impeachment Inquiry hearings that’s put our nation on hold.

We know.  We know.  It’s hard to digest.  That’s why we’ll feed our observations to you in our Ten Piece Nuggets format.  It’s easier to swallow this way.

  1. If you haven’t watched any or much of this charade, good for you.  In a word it’s been incredibly “boring.”
  2. How boring is it?  We are glad you asked.  It’s so boring that CBS yesterday made the programming decision to cut from the live broadcast of witness testimony to bring you their regularly scheduled soap opera programming.  It’s all about ratings in TV land you know.  CBS must have figured that you have had enough of the soap opera on Capital Hill.
  3. CBS might also have been short staffed to execute the programming any way.  When last we checked in on the network they were doing a fast and furious job of finding the “no Epstein video leaker” and firing her even though she wasn’t the most wanted “no Epstein video leaker.”  They fired the wrong person as you likely heard.
  4. Probably approaching 50% of America despises Chairman Adam Schiff.  The Republicans are doing their own fast and furious search for the Washington whistle blower. But, we give Schiff a lot of credit.  Staring in his own soap called #SchiffShow, ole Adam has stared straight into the cameras and proclaimed that he has no idea who that person is.  Funny thing is yesterday when Devin Nunez, playing bad cop, wandered into questioning that got a little to close to one particular Intelligence Department ole Adam stopped the questioning for fear of the whistle blower’s identity being revealed.
  5. The witness before the committee at that moment was one Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, who played, at least in his mind, a key role in all matters Ukrainian.  Vindman quickly corrected Nunez when addressed as Mr. Vindman.  When asked later why the sensitivity to wanting to be addressed as Lt. Colonel not Mr. Vindman stated that while dressed in a freshly pressed, full military uniform that it was proper.  Vindman said he didn’t know who the whistle blower was either.  However, he essentially took the fifth around this line of questioning. Therefore, this linked Vindman as the source to the whistle blowers second hand reproted concerns.  The casting department was concerned with this sensitivity on stage, but wardrobe was “oh so proud.”
  6. Does every single congressman or congresswoman have to thank every single government worker for their service every single time they begin their five minutes of time allotted to them?  Of course they do, it’s a show you know.  And this show yesterday stretched all of the way into east coast prime time.  Get ready for more as seven witnesses have come before the committee and there are expected to be seven to ten more before the final curtain is closed.  Thank you for your service.
  7. The pursuit of Donald J. Trump began with Russian collusion three years ago.  Until this week it centered on quid pro quo in his dealings with Ukraine and specifically in the now infamous “perfect phone call” and transcripts of the same.  But the Democrats stopped with the “quid pro quo” and renamed the episode “bribery” just this week.  It’s smart on their part as the word bribery is more easily understood by the masses that watch too many soaps to begin with.  The thinking goes like this “Russian Collusion” sounds like “abortion,” while “quid pro quo” sounds like “a woman’s right to choose” while “bribery” sounds like “woman’s wellness.”  Feel better?  Maybe not, but it’s something that focus groups said is an easier sell.
  8.  So did Trump cross the line on the line when he asked for a corrupt company and one of it’s board members (some dude named Hunter Biden) to be investigated by the new regime in Ukraine?  Add to that the withholding of foreign aid, though no one has testified that the two were “give to get,” at least not yet.  Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, might do just that this AM.  Will anyone be watching?  America has to go to work this morning.  Congress should take note.
  9. We ask again, will anyone be watching?  And if they do, will anyone watching not have already made up their mind on whether they think Trump is guilty?  Or, asked differently, will anyone who is watching hasn’t made up their minds on his fate?  Will any member of the House vote differently for or against impeachment than when they voted for or against initiating the impeachment inquiry?  Maybe a few of the Democrats who won a seat in congress from a Trump carried district will.  It’s cover for the next time they run.  Otherwise, it’s a rerun shown from a slightly different camera angle.  Isn’t it?
  10.  It’s hard for America to find a new star when all they see are reruns.  America elected the star of the hit show “The Apprentice” to be it’s President three years ago.  At the end of each show, the now President fired someone.  The House would like the Senate to fire the now President. They want a new star for the 2020 season. The plot is easy to follow.  It’s just the acting that is so bad.

But on with the show we must go.  And, tomorrow on with the NCAA football disappointments we go.  We must have picked the University of Washington for a reason.  Because from Washington the state to Washington the District of Columbia this has been a disappointment from coast to coast.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Debating the Debate

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Round two of two of the first Democratic Presidential Debates went round and around last evening.  Below are ten nuggets for you consumption that cover thoughts on both days with an emphasis on last evening.  Some nuggets are heavy.  Some are light.  All are spiced just right.

  1.  For better or worse, the Democratic Party’s center is now further left than ever.  When the ten hopefuls were asked last evening to raise their hands if their healthcare plans included free medical care for “undocumented” immigrants, ten of ten hands were raised.  Joe Biden looked to his left and right and then figured it was a good idea to follow the crowd.
  2. Sleepy Joe took shots across the bow from Sanders, Stalwell, and Harris.  Three times he was given thirty seconds by one of the five MSNBC moderators to retort.  In none of the three did old Joe seem prepared.  Twice he stopped in mid sentence and said, ” I see that my time is up.”  One wonders, after last evening, if indeed Joe’s time is up.
  3. Right after the debates when the candidates and their “spin handlers” look for microphones to continue driving home what they stand for, Biden spent time talking to a few supporters from the crowd.  When he finally did answer two questions from an unidentified reporter he was somewhat awkwardly pulled away by his wife.  He said something half audible as he left the mic that sounded like, “that’s my wife and I need to go.”  Agreed.
  4. This morning’s New York Post front page has a picture of the ten hands being raised by the candidates answering the medical question above.  The bolded font headline rephrased the question as “Who Wants to Lose the Election?”  Did we mention that the party’s center has shifted left?
  5. Kamala Harris’ shot at Biden stemmed from his resistance decades ago to support school busing to eliminate segregation.  She dramatically used her upbringing in the moment explaining that as a second grader she was in the first generation of that very heated time in America, and what it meant to her.  Clearly she had prepped very well for the moment and delivered her consternation at him flawlessly.  She was kind enough to say that she didn’t believe he was a racist all the while pummeling his legislative past.  Biden looked like he needed smelling salts and a standing eight count from the moderators.
  6.  Winning in debates can mean a lot of things to a lot of candidates.  For example, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, an evening prior, went from “who?” to “that one impressed me, let me hear more.”  On to round two he goes.  Ditto for Tulsi Gabbard.  On to round two she goes.  For entrepreneur Andrew Yang, it meant advancing his thought of offering $1,000 to each family each month for a cool cost of $3.2 trillion dollars.  He did this while wearing no tie to the proceedings, and speaking for a grand total of three minutes of the 120 minute debate.  A man of few words, afterwards he had no comment on where Yin was.  In to the round file he goes.
  7. But, the clear winner in BBR’s eyes and ears over the last two nights was Senator Kamala Harris.  She commanded the stage with two men to her right (Bernie and Joe) that had way more experience on a stage as big as this.  Her command of the spoken word is darn good, with pauses and inflection interspersed at the right time and in proper doses.  In short, she looks capable of being in it for the long run.
  8.  Mayor Pete Buttigieg certainly held his own.  When he speaks he brings logic and sincerity along for the taking. His answer to the police shooting mess (regardless of how you see the matter) his South Bend town is in was well crafted given the low ceiling.   It’s a really crowded field.  And, at 37, he is short on experience in public service and private employment.   But, given where Obama and Trump came from and where they landed, the White House, the mayor’s campaign will be interesting to watch.  Maybe he’s a 2024 or 2028 guy.
  9. BBR looks forward to the next round when hopefully the money has dried up on half of the field so that real debating can begin.  MSNBC tossed plenty of softballs at plenty of beer league players.  It’s time to go to the next level.  After all, someone needs to ask the field how these candidates intend to pay for all of these promises.  Free healthcare, free college, free community college, college debt forgiveness, unlimited immigration, and a free chicken in every pot sounds quite expensive.  Bernie might already be shaking a tin cup as commuters arrive on Wall St. this AM.
  10. It’s awfully early to predict.  However, an avid reader of BBR put $100 on Donald Trump to win the GOP nomination three years ago at 17-1 when The Donald was still nicknaming Jeb Bush as Low Energy and Marco Rubio as Lil’.  It’s great money if you have that kind of vision.  We don’t know what Kamala Harris’ odds on gaining the nomination are at this moment.  But, we suspect Vegas lowered them a good bit after last night.   They should.  Polls aside, she looks like the one galloping to the front to us.

Get some rest Joe.