Engage. Enrage. Enjoy.

Business as Usual

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It seems like business as usual for the great folks that run Washington DC.  In just the last 72 hours a lot of news (perhaps some fake) has emanated from a district some call “The Swamp.”

Donald J Trump was on the stump in Milwaukee, WI on Tuesday night trumpeting his latest accomplishments.  He even spoke to rescinding some of those silly energy efficient laws that his predecessor put into law.  One in particular would provide a greater volume of water pouring out of the shower head to help him wash his hair.  “But how about the shower? I have this beautiful head of hair. I need a lot of work. You go into the shower…drip, drip, drip. I call the guy and ask ‘is there something wrong with this?’ He says ‘no sir, it’s just a restrictor.'”

On another stage just one state over, the Iowa Democratic Presidential Debate droned on for two hours on Tuesday night.  When it was over the group that encourages inclusiveness, acceptance, and tolerance had a little tiff.  CNN mics captured the following exchange.   “What?” Sanders replied.  “I think you called me a liar on national TV,” she said again.  “You know, let’s not do it right now.  If you want to have that discussion, we’ll have that discussion,” Sanders responded.  Warren replied: “Anytime.”  That appeared to have irked Sanders who then said: “You called me a liar.  “He added: “You told me — all right, let’s not do it now.”  This all started after Sanders denied during the debate that he ever told Warren that he didn’t think that a woman could win in 2020.  Could Warren be misremembering the event like her heritage, her firing during pregnancy, or her father’s non janitorial occupation?  Nah.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch Nancy Pelosi and her seven or so of her impeachment managers signed the articles of impeachment last evening.  Before the first witness in the process ever testified she said that she was very prayerful and that this is a very somber time for our country. She also spoke to the urgency due to the threat that our president posed to our country. Last evening, after a four week delay in delivering the articles, she was all smiles and handing out commemorate pens to the signers prior to their orchestrated walk down the halls of Congress for the delayed handoff.

And finally, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) called for the recusal of four Democrat presidential candidates from the impeachment process on Wednesday after Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the articles.  She stated in part, “these four Democrats, Senators Bennet, Klobuchar, Sanders, and Warren, cannot sit in judgment of the very President they seek to replace. To participate in this trial would be a failure of the oath they took to be an ‘impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.’

Her words “failure of the oath they took” ring so loudly and often in Washington DC these days that it’s not surprising that you hear them even while under the thick, dirty, boggy water that fills what is known as “The Swamp.”  At least the president has given us more fresh water out of the shower heads to rinse off.

Carry on.

 

Peace Through Strength

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The year was 1980.  The month was November.  The day was the 4th.  That evening Ronald Wilson Reagan defeated sitting president James “Jimmy” Earl Carter to become the 40th President of the United States.  Reagan actually won in an electoral and popular vote landslide.

Some things have changed quite a bit in the last 40 years.  Other things have stayed the same.

Reagan was a Hollywood actor and former union leader turned Republican.  He served the great state of California as a Republican Governor for two terms that ended in 1975.  Carter was a peanut farmer, Georgia Governor, then as the Democratic nominee was elected as the 39th President in 1976.

Can you imagine a Californian Republican Governor today?  Arnold “the Govenator” Schwarzenegger aside there hasn’t been one in 24 years.  Can you imagine a Georgia Democratic Governor today?  There hasn’t been one in 20 years.

Carter was viewed as incompetent and weak in the year leading up to the election.  Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981, after a group of Iranian college students who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.  During a daring helicopter rescue effort one of the helicopters crashed into another leaving eight Americans dead.  The attempt failed from the go.

Reagan took office on that same January 20th day of 1981 that the hostages were freed.  Coincidence?  Sam Donaldson, ABC White House reporter, famously stuck his microphone between Marines holding their swords high to create the “roof” along the red carpet as the new President and First Lady strode back to the Capitol Building.  “Mr. President, Mr. President, there is a report that the hostages have been freed.   Do you care to comment?”  Reagan cocked his head as he was often want to do and uttered, “Well, God Bless America.”

Perhaps the Iranians knew there was a new sheriff in town.  He often acted in Hollywood movies as the sheriff who corralled the bad guys.  Maybe they wanted no part in a real life documentary with the same script.   Reagan later coined the phrase “Peace Through Strength.”

And, 40 years later Donald Trump the 45th President, and another actor, warned Iran that any loss of American lives would result in appropriate retaliation.  They decided to cross over The Apprentice’s line drawn in the desert sand.  And Trump didn’t say “you’re fired,” rather, he fired.  Soleimani was dead.  Iran was incensed, or so they said.  Just a few days later they retaliated sending several missiles at American bases in Iraq.  Word is they gave advance warning of the missile strikes and the strikes all but missed their targets.  No lives were lost, but inside of Iran face was saved.

Trump addressed America yesterday and all but said that now was a time to strongly consider peace rather than escalation.  He all but said that as if he read the diplomatic tea leaves that Iran wants no more.  He crowed about the 2.5 trillion spent to bolster the U.S. Military.  Peace Through Strength all over again?

Cali won’t vote for Trump in 2020 like they did for Reagan in 1980.  Georgia won’t vote for the Democratic nominee in 2020 like they did for Carter in 1980.  But Iran, 40 years later, understands that when lines drawn in the sand are in ink, not pencil, that it’s time to stand down.

 

Moore or Less.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

So, what is far left documentary filmmaker Michael Moore up to these days you ask?  Well, you’ll be glad you asked.  Turns out that he made what he called an “emergency podcast” late last week.  That sounds very important.

What was it all about?  Well, you’ll be glad you asked.  It turns out that he was trying to save America from violent retaliation from Iran for the American drone strike killing of their chief of terror Major General Qasem Soleimani.  During his podcast he said  “I am asking you to try what Martin Luther King and Gandhi said requires the most amount of courage which is to respond with non-violence,” he continued. “I am asking you to leave this up to me, give me all of 10 months and I and millions of Americans will remove Trump from the White House.”

He actually said “leave this up to me” before he included millions of Americans in the cause.  Do the words “pompous” or “egotistical” come to mind?  Does the phrase “a deranged, bloated sense of self worth” come to mind?

He followed up on Twitter with “I have just sent the Ayatollah of Iran a personal appeal.”   And he concluded ““I recorded and DM’d him a message on my podcast, ‘RUMBLE.’ You can hear it on any podcast platform like Apple or Spotify for free. We need to prevent war, any war. Now. When the Ayatollah responds, I’ll post his reply.”   We wonder when “when” will be.  We wonder if this “need to prevent war, any war. Now” is more of a need for Moore to get more followers on Twitter and increase the listenership on his podcasts.  The need to stay relevant might be the biggest need of all for him.

What’s confusing about the appeal is that just last month, he predicted that Trump would win reelection for similar reasons that he famously foresaw his victory in 2016.  So, a month ago he wanted to remind you that he called the 2016 victory and that he was calling it again for Trump.  Now he wants the Ayatollah to hold off and “leave th is up to me” and a few million of his friends.

Moore is an avid, even rabid, supporter of “Crazy” Bernie Sanders.  Isn’t that crazy?  It is Moore or less.

 

 

Meathead Slays a Whopper

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

President Trump traveled back from Battle Creek, MI last evening after another one of his pep rallies and newly impeached.  The two Articles of Impeachment were voted on and were slated to travel over to the other side of our distinguished House of Representatives.  Madame House Speaker Nancy Pelosi contemplated holding them back for a few days to “insure a fair trial” over in the Senate.  And, the entire BBR staff is traveling this AM.  With all of this holiday travel going on, we’ll keep it very brief today.   

Nancy Pelosi and friends went from prayerful and solemn during the process to asking members of the House to not celebrate or gloat afterwards.  Apparently with both coasts very much in favor of Impeachment, the wise owl Majority Leader’s words of wisdom from the east didn’t resonate all the way over to the west, and times two in Hollywood.

Take a look and read the attached to see for yourself.  Noted academicians, scholars, constitutionalists, and deep thinkers ranging from Michael Moore to Alyssa Milano weighed in. Even “Meathead” himself Rob Reiner got even with the old, prejudiced Archie Bunker.  They all did a Twitter dance or two filled with glee.  One even called the President a MF.

The First Amendment guarantees them their right to do so.  Apparently from some of the tweets, though, that right doesn’t extend to “angry, old, white men” who “were the only ones” expressing the opposite side.

Like ordering a Whooper, it’s a great country we live in.  Especially if You Can Have It Your Way!

Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce, special impeachments don’t upset us.

It’s a Marathon, or Two.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Have you ever run a marathon?  It’s quite a feat to cross off of your bucket list we assume.  Accomplished runners will tell you that the only thing worse than the physical grind is the mental grind.  Surely you’ve heard of hitting the wall around mile 20 or so and having to really dig deep to will yourself to the finish line.

Did you feel like the impeachment marathon had at least reached the proverbial wall earlier this week when Nancy Pelosi (CA) stepped up to the podium to provide the encouragement needed for Adam Schiff (CA) and Jerry Nadler (NY) to get the articles drafted?  It worked.  Amazingly, just a day or so later, flanked by more two more New Yorkers and two more Californians, Schiff and Nadler announced that President Donald J. Trump’s high crimes and misdemeanors would be headed to a congressional vote.

If the Democratic Party controlled House vote has a majority in the “yea” column, the marathon concludes in the Senate in a full trial.  It seems like it’s taken forever to run this race.  It’s started on The Hill and has slowly wound it’s way to just six point two miles now from the very bottom.  The race is unique as each mile either shares a name with another or has a unique one all to itself.

Let’s refresh your three year, first 20 mile by mile memory.  1.  Tax returns.  2. The Steele Dossier.  3.  Session’s Recusal.  4.  Russian Collusion,  5.  Putin’s Turn,  6.  Obstruction (the toughest mile).  7.  More Russian Collusion.  8.  Obstruction of Justice.  9.   Schiff’s Got Proof.  10.  Comey, My Comey.  11.  Peter Strzok.  12.  Lisa(Lover’s Lane) Page.  13.  The Mueller Report (the slowest mile).  14.  The Whistleblower(you can not see the fans cheering you on, but you can hear them).  15. Ukraine.  16.  Quid Pro Quo.  17.  Bribery.  18.  Solemn and Prayerful (candles line each side of the road).  19. Abuse of Presidential Power.  And, whew, 20.  Obstruction of Congress.

With just six point two miles left the Senate joins the race.  Has America hit it’s own wall yet?

But just yesterday we learned that we might need to start training for yet a second marathon.  A second one wasn’t anywhere on the bucket list.

Rep Karen Bass (CA) said if Trump is reelected in 2020 there might be a second impeachment.  Here’s what she said.  “Because even though we’re impeaching him now, there’s still a number of court cases, there’s a ton of information that can come forward. For example, we can get his bank records and find out he’s owned 100 percent by the Russians.  The only thing I’d say slightly different is that it might not be the same articles of impeachment because the odds are we’ll have a ton more information.”

Californians and New Yorkers want to do away with Donald Trump and the Electoral College.  The middle of America wants to reelect Donald Trump and do away with Californians and New Yorkers.

At least all fifty states don’t want another impeachment marathon, do they?  It’s crossed off of their bucket list, isn’t it?

 

We the People

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The original, unedited, wonderfully written Constitution begins  “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Now, nearly 250 years in, it has stood the test of time.  It’s what the nation’s forefathers hoped it would do.

It’s strongest part might be it’s first three words, “We the People.”  It’s very beginning suggests that a group met and collectively decided on a course.  That course took a brand new nation, now independent, from it’s birth to opportunities, freedom, safety, wealth, and health the likes of which have never been seen before on this earth.

Today, “We the People” are a very divided group.  Are we the most divided in our nation’s history?  Probably not.  And, despite the histrionics advanced, it’s probably not even close.  “We the People” were more divided before, during, and after the 1861-1865 Civil War.  And, the civil rights movement of the 1960’s was worse to significantly much worse than today.

Today’s “we” are three “we’s” and counting.  We love the disruption that Trump has brought to the status quo in Washington and when, where, and how the U.S. acts on the world stage.  Or, we are disrupters known as “never Trumpers” and we hate (yes hate) Trump.  A third, but growing we, embraces socialism, or even communism. Talk about disruption personified.

Don’t believe the socialism or communism part?  A published poll last evening on one of the major networks showed 27% of American millennials favored communism over capitalism.  These kids borrowed for college.  They owe a lot of money.  They believe that an entry level job isn’t a just reward for doing so.  They want a refund.  And they want it now.  The 1% crowd might be their ATM so they think.

We cannot even rejoice in the elimination of the top leader of ISIS, Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi.  Minutes went by and either the Democrats were offended for not being told prior, or Trump was acting like a bully about it on the bully pulpit, or the Washington Post was eulogizing the savage who ordered the killing of thousands as a austere religious scholar.

The never Trumpers, regardless of party affiliation, have embarked on a three year old campaign to unseat the man who ran the most unconventional campaign the country has ever seen to win the highest seat in all of the land.  That campaign won’t stop all the while Trump’s campaign for reelection is full steam ahead.   Hide in a basement, interview a self created whistleblower, scream “quid quo pro” enough times, and eventually impeach.  That’ll get some of the “We the People” on your team.

Meanwhile, surely it’s time to gas up Air Force One and rile up the base in a red state near you soon.  Stand in line, wear a red MAGA hat, and yell at the other side for 90 minutes.  That’ll make you feel better.  And, that’ll get some of the “We the People” on your team.

Meanwhile, Bernie and Elizabeth are promising those millennials the farm.  The farm might not have much left if Trump doesn’t solve the China trade wars, but we digress.  The farm might not have much left if Trump doesn’t fix that ole existential crisis of climate change, but we further digress.  The farm includes free healthcare, free tuition, tuition debt forgiveness, free flow of immigration, free healthcare for immigrants legal or otherwise.  Free, free, free.  That’ll get some of the “We the People” on your team.

The only problem is that makes for three teams.  It takes four teams for a good playoff.  How about Team Biden?  He’s the head coach of what’s left of the old Democratic Party.  He’s the head coach of what’s now right of the new Democratic Party.  He’s promising to, well, we’re not sure.  Ah yes, he’s promising to beat Trump, platform TBD.  Surely that’ll get some of the “We the People” on your team.

“In order to form a more perfect union” follows right after “We the People” in the Constitutions’ first sentence.  The problem is we don’t know who to follow right now in order to form a more perfect union.

Oh, and one more thing.  Nothing is free, not even freedom.  Nothing.

 

 

 

 

The Nationals Won. The Senators Lost.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If you didn’t get a chance to tune into the Democratic Presidential Debate broadcasted live last evening, worry not.   It’s roughly only the fourth of 12 scheduled debates.  You can catch the next one or the next one.   Maybe the same tired answers to the same tired questions will grab your interest then.  We doubt very seriously that last night’s did.  And, worry not because we have the winners and losers all sorted out for you below.  Schmeer the bagel while we schmeer the debate.

Winner — Elizabeth Warren.  She spoke for a total of 23 minutes which was a strong 7 minutes longer than the presumptive, but maybe no longer, favorite Joe Biden.

Loser —  Everyone.  Everyone who listened to Elizabeth Warren for 23 minutes must feel like they need to go to their happy place this morning.  There is no way that every second of every minute of 23 spoken can be so terribly important about things that are so terribly bad that she must use the octave of shrill that she incessantly does.  Take a breath every now and then.

Winner —  Joe Biden.  Biden spoke for 16 minutes and didn’t really have a memorable “gaffe.”  He said “expidentially” instead of “exponentially.”  He mistook Iraq for Afghanistan.  But, that’s a good night for him these days.   Win one for the old gaffer is still in play, barely.

Loser  —  Joe Biden.  If Uncle Joe thinks that his topline response to his son’s foreign dealings is the end of it he’s sadly mistaken. “My son’s statement speaks for itself.”  “My son made a judgment. I’m proud of the judgment he made.” His party will take Trump to the mat from now till 2020 for his foreign affairs and Trump will tweet about Papa Joe and Son Hunter along the way as necessary.

WInner — Tulsi Gabbard.  Every time Gabbard speaks she sounds well thought out and mostly logical.  It’s a breath of fresh air on a very stale stage.  She isn’t afraid to call out her party or the other one when she feels the need, but does so in a respectful manner.

Loser — Tulsi Gabbard.  Gabbard was afforded only eight minutes of oxygen to breathe new life in the old party.  She lashed out at CNN last evening after the debate for the lack of time.  This may be a reach, but if Trump reached out to her after her campaign gets snuffed out by the DNC, he could make major hay if she accepted a role in his administration.  She seems like the type that if she felt like she could make a difference regardless of their differences she would give it her all.

Winner —  Bernie Sanders.  Two weeks after having what is now being called a heart attack, Bernie was back on the attack.  With his hair out of place, his hands and arms flailing about, and with his far, far left ideas being bombastically presented, all seemed well again.

Loser — Bernie Sanders.  His campaign is boxed in.  His radical left perch has many birds of the same feather.  They all look stuck together.   His stint as the left ideas leader was further slowed by the need for a stent in the arteries.

Winner — Kamala Harris.  Harris used a good bit of her 12 minutes telling America, once gain, that she was plenty experienced as the AG for the State of California.  She reminded us that aside from the US Department of Justice, that department is the second largest in the US.  She also told us, once again, that she went to more funerals of slain innocent children and gunned down cops than she wanted to tell us about.   It was a great refresher course on who she is we guess.

Loser — Kamala Harris.  Harris used a good bit of her 12 minutes telling America, once gain, that she was plenty experienced as the AG for the State of California.  She reminded us that aside from the US Department of Justice, that department is the second largest in the US.  She also told us, once again, that she went to more funerals of slain innocent children and gunned down cops than she wanted to tell us about.  It was a great refresher course on who she is we guess.  Or, it wasn’t.

Winner — Tom Steyer. The retired billionaire who bought his way onto the debate stage had the bright lights shining on him for a full seven minutes.  It must have felt like he was running out of a tunnel onto a playing field for the first time with his favorite JV team.  Cost per minute was rather steep, however.

Loser — Tom Steyer.  Now the retired billionaire can go back to sending money to the candidates he stood next to.

Winner — The Washington Nationals.  The Nationals probably gained TV eyeballs by the minute as America switched the debate off, and their sweep in the NLCS of the St. Louis Cardinals on.

Winner — The Washington Nationals.   Once upon a time there was a team in Washington.  Their nickname was the Senators.  They moved to Texas in 1971 and became the Rangers.  When the DC area regained a team (the Montreal Expos) in the 2005 season they didn’t rename them the Senators.  After last night’s debate snoozer, who can blame them?

Winner — Donald J. Trump.  Regardless of your party affiliation, hopes, and dreams, you had to be disappointed in the debate.  It was a rerun of a rerun and it lacked any suspense, drama, plot twists, or excitement.

Winner — Adam Schiff.  If you are the DNC your best hope for now of beating Trump is impeaching Trump.

 

Rub the Lamp

Posted on by thependulumswings staff
Canadian leader Justin Trudeau’s campaign for national elections was hit Wednesday by the publication of a photo showing him in “brownface” makeup at a costume party in 2001.

We have questions.  One, was Aladdin a racist movie?  Two, when then teacher Justin Trudeau dressed as an Aladdin character in 2001 for the annual school dinner that was themed “Arabian Nights” was he furthering sterotypes and committing a racist act?  Was Trudeau’s apology for doing so, politics aside, really necessary?  When he dressed that night, and likely many others at the British Columbia school party did similarly, did he or others think what they were doing was wrong?  If he did, should he have apologized any time in the last 18 years?  If he should have apologized, why didn’t he?

We have answers.  No.  No.  No.  No.  Yes.   And, hmm, good question.

Aladdin debuted in 1992 produced by Walt Disney.  It was remade in 2019 and grossed one billion dollars worldwide.  Will Smith was the lead in the 2019 remake.  It seems like Walt Disney, a ton of movie goers, and Will Smith seem to think it wasn’t racist.

The dressed for the party Trudeau in 2001 was doing nothing different than the movie writers, producers, casting, cast, directors, and producers did in 1992.  Did he give getting “brownfaced” a second thought then?  It’s highly unlikely, and it was highly unnecessary as well that he do so.  Intent matters.

Trudeau, who launched his reelection campaign a week ago, said he should have known better.  “I’m pissed off at myself, I’m disappointed in myself,” Trudeau told reporters traveling with him on his campaign plane.  Perhaps he could get a make believe role in the next remake.  He is “sooooo” redfaced about being caught redhanded being brownfaced. This sounds “sooooo” 2019 politically correct that we wish we could rub a genie’s lamp and make it all stop.

We wonder how long he has been beating himself up for this heinous act.  Our guess is that the faux self flogging only began right after Time magazine posted the photo, which it says was published in the yearbook from the West Point Grey Academy where Trudeau worked as a teacher before entering politics. The photo depicts Trudeau wearing a turban and robe, with dark makeup on his hands, face and neck.

Trudeau has been admired by liberals around the world for his progressive policies.  Canada has accepted more refugees than the United States in the last three years.  His Liberal Party government has also strongly advocated free trade.  He faces a very stiff challenge from Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.  But, being politically correct knows no political boundaries.

One of the three wishes Aladdin had for the Genie was to get out of the “cave of wonders.”  We don’t live in a cave.  Therefore, we don’t wonder why he apologized after the photo surfaced and not before.

Bad acting comes and goes.  But, we hope that the curtain never falls on authenticity.  Somebody rub the lamp and wish it all away.

Crazy. Crazy. Chomp. Chomp.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Are you ready for some football?  Tomorrow afternoon the Florida Gators kick off the NCAA football season with the Miami Hurricanes.  We can’t wait for 3pm.  And, thankfully we won’t have to wait longer than that.

We won’t have to wait longer to watch the Hurricanes because we won’t need to worry about watching The Weather Channel worrying about a hurricane.  Those pesky storms can get in the way of our fun this time of the year.  But, so far this year so good.  Tropical storm Chantal churns weakly over 500 miles off of the east coast.  It’s only the third named storm this year from the east- a weak start to the season.

Another plus is that, while the game is in Florida, we assume Orlando is far enough inland that Andrew Yang considers it high enough ground in his Democratic debate plea to “move everyone to higher ground now” since it was too late in his opinion to reverse the effects of climate change.

All of which brings us to two events this week that has us puzzled.  Governor Jay Inslee from the great state of Washington ended his campaign for president.  Inslee’s platform started and ended with his six prong, detailed approach to a climate change solution.  His fire burned out on it’s own.   Meanwhile, yesterday Bernie Sanders unveiled his $16.3 trillion plan to combat climate change.

Others have put forth their plans, Elizabeth Warren among them.  But her plan was a meager 2 trillion.  Bernie was considered a bit crazy four years ago running against Hillary Clinton.  But, in the race to crazy it seems Bernie has been left out recently in the torrential rain.  No more.  This plan calls for the most massive government outlay of all.  Crazy indeed.  Bernie chose California of all of our 50 states to chose from to announce his plan.  Hmm.

Aside from all of the announced future benefits of the plan, the greatest part is that Bernie says that the plan will “pay for itself.”  If you ever concern yourself with the small matter of the 22 trillion and counting debt that this country is in, this must be relief welcomed by you much like getting electricity restored after a storm knocks yours out.

Two point three trillion dollars of the cost would come from income taxes from new jobs generated under the plan.  The plan doesn’t estimate the income taxes lost by current jobs in fossil fuel industries that would be leveled like a tornado that would also be eliminated, we assume, with this plan.  Another $1.2 trillion would come from reduced military expenses related to oil shipping routes.  We assume(you know what happens when you assume) the military would not be redeployed in any other way.

The plan is to lower the two largest causes of U.S. harmful emissions by 71% by 2030, and “help” developing countries to lower theirs by 36% in that same time with a $200 billion appropriation. At press time no developing countries had yet commented on whether they would accept the government handout, though we assume (damn it, again) that they graciously would.

Sanders also boldly claims that his new Green New Deal will “end unemployment” based on the sheer number, estimated at 20 million, of jobs it would create. With only 6 million American workers(who want to or are capable to work) currently unemployed we will need 14 million more people here, and soon.  One current problem with the clean energy economy is that a 2019 Brookings Institute study found that the workforce is “older, dominated by male workers, and lacks racial diversity.”  Where could we ever find them?  Our guess is to look south to the border towns that are so global warming dry this time of the year.  Sounds like a win win to us.  Open the borders like floodgates on a climate change caused swollen Mississippi River.

And, in an effort to be even more inclusive, the plan includes $40 billion for a “climate justice resiliency fund” for under-resourced groups like Native Americans, people with disabilities, and the elderly to “prepare for climate change.”  Presto, Elizabeth Warren qualifies in two of the three ways.

Sports are a great escape from all of the day to day craziness.  We’re counting on the Gators.  Hurricanes must be stopped by 2030.  Why wait?  Let’s get started Saturday.

Welcome to Fantasy Island!

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

We have two questions for you.  One, do you believe that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman in the assassination of John F. Kennedy?  Two, do you believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the plot carried in the assassination of John F. Kennedy?  Those are two questions that sound alike but are actually very different.

We have two more questions.  One, do you believe that Jeffery Epstein lived his life as the luckiest pedophile and sex trafficker alone?  Two, or do you believe that Jeffery Epstein had significant help along the way to being one of the biggest scumbags to ever walk on two legs on planet earth?

How do you have a personally owned fantasy island for pedophilia? How do you have a staff and a “girlfriend” complicit in procuring underaged girls?  How do you have many, many “guests,” some high profile, that all are able to whistle past the long arm of the law?

How do you strike a deal with the long arm for non-prosecution that not only shielded Epstein from further prosecution, but protected his alleged co-conspirators back in 2007?  I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine and ten of my closest soon to be indicted friends who I might have video of and might be blackmailing.

But it goes on.  Rearrested on 7/9/19 for more charges of the same, but outside of his plea deal details, Epstein was locked up in the NY Metropolitan Correctional Center.  After what either was or not an attempted suicide on his own life three weeks ago, Epstein was placed on suicide watch.  Then he was taken off of same.  Why would he be judged safe from himself days after he attempted to hurt himself?  So, did someone attempt to hurt him, or did he decide to hurt himself?

But it goes on.  Now off of suicide watch, Epstein was locked down in an area where inmates are supposed to be checked on every 30 minutes.  But, on Saturday morning in a three hour window of no checks made, he allegedly committed suicide by hanging.  You can kill yourself by hanging in between 30 minute checks, but why the three hour window of supposed incompetence by his not one, but two guards?  The NY Times reports that the two guards fell asleep at the same time.  If one was going to sleep on the job, would they want the other to cover for them, and then vice versa?  Why both simultaneously?  Security tapes prove the lack of checks, but the range of the video does not span wide enough to include the actual event.  Why would Epstein have access to materials that could be used to hang himself?  Or did he?

But it goes on.   Epstein was arrested over a month ago.  Why was his St. Thomas area private island just served a warrant and searched on Monday?  Wouldn’t or shouldn’t have his arrest back in July opened the doors to all of his properties for search and seizure?

But it goes on.   The names tossed out by credible sources of who was on his private jet and his private island, or was his friends with possible massage benefits spans Silicon Valley, Wall St., The Capital, and a former White House resident-William Jefferson Clinton.  Would any of them, along the way, have had any influence on any of the above?

Some secrets, believed to be suppressed in 2007, are best if taken to the grave.  Some secrets cannot see the light of day from the grave.  It is believed that Epstein had extensive video recording abilities on the island and in his NY and Florida homes.

Our answers to the above four questions?  Lone gunman?  Yes.  Carry out the plot alone?  No.  Epstein acted alone?  Hell no.   Did said scumbag have help from other powerful scumbags in life?   Hell yes.

And, did he in his death?  Let’s find out.  The Justice Department has been sleeping on this rancid mess for a lot longer than those two guards.  May the truth be told.