Engage. Enrage. Enjoy.

Q and A Today

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Thanks to Al Gore and Bluehost, our beloved website is running again after a nine-day buzz-killing journey into the IT NeverAgainLands.

To catch up we offer a much-needed Q and A.

Q.  Why is 97% of all gun violence in the blue counties and 97% of all gun ownership in the red counties?

A.  You know why.  The government knows why.

Q. Why was Ghislane Maxwell sentenced to jail for 20 years for sex trafficking minors to apparently no one?

A.  See the answer just above.

Q.  How did the “harsh” sanctions that the US imposed on Russia right after the Ukraine invasion harm them?

A.  They didn’t.  Biden promised a harsher round today.  Putin must be shaking in his Russian snow boots right about now.

Q. Why is it a crime when Trump takes out a loan and pays it back with interest it’s a crime, but when students don’t it isn’t.

A.  It buys votes.  It is a transfer of obligation from the student to the government.  That means you pay.  No biggie, just add 138 bil to 35 tril.

Q.  Why does Biden and a willing press call the student debt handout a “cancel of a loan?”

A.  See the answer just above.

Q.  Why does Senator Chuck Schumer say “Ted Cruz is the one who wants to do nothing on the border?”

A. It’s the blame game at its finest.  I blame you for what I do.  Many “low information voters,” as Rush used to call them, know no better.

Q.  Why does the IRS have paragraphs on its website that remind people that if they have income from stolen property or illegal activities they must report its FMV?

A. It’s the IRS.

Q.  Why don’t we have term limits for Congress?

Short A.  It takes away their power trip and money train.

Long A.  It must be approved by two-thirds of the members of both the House and Senate, and if ratified by three-fourths of the States, will limit United States Senators to two full, consecutive terms (12 years) and Members of the House of Representatives to six full, consecutive terms (12 years).  Can you see 2/3rds of those fine folks voting to limit themselves?

Q.  Per Biden, “Two million Americans live without running water, and tens of millions lack access to safe water.”  How can a man who has been a Senator since 1972, a VP for eight, and a Prez for three say that with a clear conscience?

A.  Have you seen him try to walk up stairs lately?

Q.  What do you say when you run out of questions?

A.  Have a good weekend.

 

If you like reading BBR, please pass it along to others who may as well today.  Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

Age Is Just a Number

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

“They” say that age is just a number.

But, when you mumble your words, stumble on steps, and fumble policy decisions America takes notice.  And, make no mistake about it, last week was the worst of the Biden Presidency.

He confused a deceased leader of a country for another after another and another.

Then he got the good news that the DOJ investigation wasn’t going any further on the classified documents he had in his garage next to his much loved Corvette.  But the good news came because of bad news.  In the special report, the DOJ called Biden “an elderly man with a poor memory.”  In other words, dragging him further along would serve no useful purpose.

Enough already said proud Biden.  He rose to the podium Thursday evening taking a victory lap about the dismissal, defending his age and mental health.

Regrettably, he decided to take at least one too many questions from an eager press.  His answer “inadvertently” referred to Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi as the “president of Mexico.”

James Carville, Dem political strategist, threw a bomb.  “They don’t accept the Super Bowl interview.  It’s 20-25 minutes of air to the largest audience in the world. And you don’t do it? That’s a kind of sign that the staff or yourself doesn’t have much confidence in you. There’s no other way to read this.”

Meanwhile, an ABC News Poll shows that 86% of adults and 73% of Democrats think old Joe is too old to run for a second term.

What to do?  What to do?

The collective heads of the Democratic Party put together a game plan for Super Bowl weekend.  The plan is tried and true for the party blue.  They play offense when on defense.  And a willing media covers every play.

Campaign Co-Chair Mitch Landrieu offered, “The one thing Joe Biden is never going to do is — count on this — he is never, ever going to quit. Because that’s not what he’s done his entire life.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that President Joe Biden was “very clear and very focused” in their recent conversations.  Of course, he did.  Financial aid is pending.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas offered a similar defense, calling Biden “sharp.”  “The most difficult part about a meeting with President Biden is preparing for it because he is sharp, intensely probing and detail-oriented and focused,” Mayorkas told “Meet the Press.”   He also tells us weekly that the border is secure.

Dr Jill, appealing to moms everywhere, said about using Joe’s inability to remember what year his son died in the report, “I don’t know what this Special Counsel was trying to achieve. We should give everyone grace, and I can’t imagine someone would try to use our son’s death to score political points.”  Suburban Karens agree.

So, it was another witch hunt.  However, when pressed, Biden’s attorney refused to commit to releasing the transcripts and recordings from the special counsel even though he said the report exonerates Biden over the mishandling.

Which one is it?  If he’s not senile then he should have been charged.  If he’s senile then he shouldn’t be president.

Will Joe be the Democratic nominee?  The convention is six months away.

The right-wing conspiracy zealots are watching Michelle Obama’s every move.

Who won the big game?

This weekend it wasn’t the big guy.

 

 

 

 

Borderline Answers

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Yesterday we asked why.  Then, later yesterday we found out what.

That’s how DC works(if you call it that).  Remember Obamacare?  Old Nancy P. taught us that if you want to find out what’s in the bill you can read it after it’s passed.  Transparency be damned.

And the “what” or “whats” in the Senate bipartisan proposed Border Bill revealed throughout the day caused opposition to be loud and swift.

It was so swift that Mitch McConnell (or Benedict Arnold if you prefer), who sent Senator James Lankford(OK) to hammer it out from the Republican side, fed him to the lions by day’s end. Mitch stuck his finger in the DC breeze and felt political carnage was at his fingertip.  By late afternoon he was calling for an out loud “NO” vote in the Senate.

Matt Gaetz piled on tweeting “If Senator Lankford had negotiated the Louisiana Purchase House Speaker Mike Johnson’s home state would be in Mexico right now.”

Donald Trump sledgehammered, “This is a Democrat trap. It’s a trap for Republicans, it’s one of the dumbest bills I’ve ever seen.”

Senator Josh Hawley said, “McConnell is one of the most corrupt politicians to ever walk the face of the earth!!!”  By this AM he is said to be calling for a vote for McConnell’s removal.

Geez.  What’s everyone so up in arms about?  In short-everything.  Simply put, the bill legalizes illegal immigration.

There are provisions in place to stem the tide.  But a deeper dive into the details provides all of those dreaded loopholes (like cutting razor wire) for illegal migrants to continue to enter unabated.

One little detail states that the daily count of what would now be allowable illegal entry would exclude any person(s) from a noncontiguous country.  If they aren’t Mexicans, they don’t count against the 5k daily max that can be imposed.

Another states that the President would have the unilateral power to suspend the bill’s enforcement anytime should he deem to do so as necessary.

They snuck 10 billion in aid to the Palestinians and promised 400 million to Non-Governmental Organizations(NGOs) like the Red Cross to assist in this humanitarian (ahem) effort.  What’s a bill in DC without a full serving of pork?

The posturing from the Democrats was swift.  Chuck Schumer said that history was watching us today.   Biden said that a standalone Israel relief bill of $17.6 in aid will get vetoed if it reaches his desk.   If we get no border bill you’ll get no Ukraine or Israel money.

In 2021 the Dems said the border was under control.  Same with 2022 and 2023.  Now it’s a crisis that coincides with a political election in November.

Mitch McConnell is a Ukraine hawk.  Joe Biden is an open-border hawk.

Stated differently, you have a guy who cannot finish sentences at a podium attempting to scratch the back of a guy who can’t finish sentences at the biggest podium of all.

Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the rest of the play?

 

 

 

Buckle Up

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

While campaigning never really ends, the rhetoric for the general election this November began ramping up last week as 2023 turned to 2024.

President Biden returned from 17 days worth of back-to-back vacations just long enough to remind us that “Donald Trump is a real threat to our Democracy.”  Then he retreated to Delaware for the weekend.

The marketing geniuses that sold the Biden camp on “Bidenomics” thought it better to attack the presumptive opponent than to continue to yell down the well about the current state of the American economy.  Smart.

If you don’t vote for me, America as you know it will end.  More than a few old crotchety folks might welcome that.

The Donald responded by saying effectively, and effectively saying, “What else can he say, he can’t run on his accomplishments.”

You can expect to hear more, and more, and more about how bad Trump is.  Never forget J6.  Remember that he refuses to accept elections.  Remember that he was twice impeached.

Forget for a moment that Nikki Haley polls way better v Biden than Trump does.  Nikki has to win the semifinal to get to the finals.  She’s a big underdog in the semis.

If it is Trump v Biden, Trump would be well served to listen to those who would want him to stay above the bare-knuckle personal attacks and simply compare his four years to Biden’s.

It’s the old “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” spiel.  And, since he’s been there and done that he could ask,” Are you better off now than you were five, six, seven, and eight years ago when I was in office?” as well.

The big picture is very clear and the subject matter is very dear.  The big three of the economy, the border, and foreign policy all tilt heavily Trump’s way in any poll taken.

People vote with their wallets.  Bidenomics gets smashed in polling.  Inflation in the grocery stores and interest rates at the bank are the kill shots.  Under Trump, they were quite tame regardless of why.

People overwhelmingly disagree with the sieve that the southern border has become.  Trump wanted and still wants to build the wall and deport the illegal migrants.

Unrest across the ponds to our east and west was mostly quiet from 2016 to 2020.  Now?  Ukraine, Russia, Iran, Taiwan, China, Palestine, and Israel are shouting at each other.

The contrasts are crystal clear.

So, who’s a bigger threat to our democracy?  Is it election-denier Trump?  Or is it incompetent and incoherent Biden?

It’s there for the taking if Trump stays on message and out of the mud.

Will he?  Will his ego let him?

Can he?  Will the courts let him?

The election is less than 10 months from today.

Buckle up.

 

No Debate

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Remember the good old days when you went back to school and your second-grade teacher had you write about what you learned on your family vacation?   Didn’t you at least once want to write a single word, “Nothing,” and turn it in?

Remember the good old days when presidential debates actually meant something?  If you watched last night’s Republican Debate didn’t you at least once think this was a whole lot about “nothing,” and turn it off?

Of course, they have more substance than the Democrat’s debates, for there aren’t any.  Although there seems to be considerable debate within the party of Joe Biden’s mental and physical health to run the country for four more years.

There’s actually a debate in some circles about whether he’s running the country now.  But, we digress.

Five fine folks took the stage last evening named DeSantis, Haley, Ramaswamy, Christie, and Scott.  They all trail former President Trump in the polls by roughly 40 gazillion percentage points.

There is no debate in the Trump camp about his need to debate.  He was actually campaigning outside of Miami.

Also absent last evening was his former VP, Mike Pence.  He said last week that “now wasn’t his time.”  The polling to get on the stage wholeheartedly agreed with him.  If not now Mike, when?  A strong guess would be never.

As the crowd dwindles, former NJ Governor Chris Christie now occupies the far left podium and position.  Sometimes his detractors wonder if he is “far left” with his incessant attacks on Trump.

He won’t make the next cut down and will soon vanish like Pence.  At least he can fall back on his day job as a NY bus driver.  Wait, we are being told that is actually Ralph Kramden, not Kris Kreme Christie.

Tim Scott will drop like a dead tree in a forest.  If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, is it sound?

Vivek Ramaswamy was interesting for five minutes.  But, that was five weeks ago.  He talks too fast.  He’s like a petulant child that won’t go quietly into the night.

That’ll leave two, DeSantis and Haley.   Can all of the “never-Trumpers” and supporters of the last one standing actually give Trump a run for his money?  Never say never.

Well, we’re assuming Trump has money left after paying for 20 lawyers in the four states that are trying to convict him of what most still aren’t sure.

Vegas must have Haley as the shortest odds to be the next VP.  Would she want to stand next to The Donald?  She’d obliterate Harris in a VP debate.

Eventually, there will be one standing, and there’ll be one or two debates against the Democratic nominee.  That assumes that Fauci’s lab bats don’t escape and COVID-24 keeps us all indoors wearing masks.

If that were to occur we could watch Biden campaign in front of parked cars, horns blowing in unison agreeing with everything the octogenarian mumbles and stumbles through.

That assumes he actually runs.

America is in good hands.  Maybe.

We just don’t know whose hands.  Definitely.

The next 365 days will be interesting, of that there is no debate.  Absolutely.

 

 

 

 

Ten Percent of Ten Percent

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The House took three weeks off to make up their minds about a new Speaker.  BBR took three weeks off to give the staff some much-needed rest as well.

Wednesday the new Speaker Mike Johnson and at least 25 of his House Republican Representatives sat down for a town hall with Republican blowhard cheerleader Sean Hannity.

Sean asked them in a show of hands who would vote for, based on their knowledge to date on the influence peddling of Hunter and the Biden family, impeaching President Biden.  The show of hands looked unanimous in favor of doing so.

Yesterday a copy of a 40k check made out to Joe Biden was shown again and again on fair and balanced Fox.  The 2017 transfer from first brother James Biden and his wife Sara to the future president allegedly involves the same business deal in which Joe Biden was called the “big guy” and penciled in for a 10% cut.  It could be and maybe will be the first proven instance of the commander-in-chief getting a piece of his family’s foreign income.

All of that while more than just Rome is burning around the globe and here at home.  Would impeaching old Joe be a good idea in the political theatre while men and women are dying in theatres of war?

Maybe it would assuage those from the right still seething from one or more of the Trump “witch hunt impeachments.”  But does it move the needle in 2024?

Well, it would if the House actually voted to impeach then sent it to the Senate and the Senate held an Impeachment Trial and found Prez Biden guilty of hiding some fraudulently acquired funds.

The Senate has a slim Democratic majority.  In today’s polarized political climate, there is no way any Dems would break ranks and vote to abandon Joe is there?

That’s likely very accurate.  An in-the-know Republican friend of BBR doubts that any Dems would break.

It’s very accurate unless you are one of those who believe that the Dems don’t really want an 81-year-old Biden to run again.  After all, he seems challenged to walk much less run.

It’s actually the trap door they may be looking for if only one or two decided to make it so.

“Farfetched that is,” you naysayers say.

Pay off Kamala with a 15 million dollar book deal.  She could write about Venn Diagrams.  And voila!

Before your eyes appears a Newsom/Buttigieg ticket.

What are the odds in Vegas right now that we could have a second Second Gentleman in a row?

If you were Biden would you take 10% of the “10% for the big guy” and get some action now?

Or, is this another all-talk and no-action Republican-led House with a new leader making all of the above a nonstarter?

 

 

Real Change Has a Price

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

As former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy packs up his office belongings to move down the hall this AM, there is a lot to unpack about how and why he was sent on his not-so-merry way.

First and foremost, remember that it took the Republicans 17 different votes to give him the gavel to begin with. You can call that a lot of things, but “mandate” isn’t one of them.

McCarthy agreed to a single vote “motion to vacate” to ascend to the Speakership to begin with.  He got the carrot, but the handful of votes that came with it still carried the stick.  Yesterday they used it.

Why?  This is where it gets complicated.  The simple answer is that enough Republicans felt like he was acting like a uniparty swamp RINO even though he swore to be otherwise.

You can call them MAGA Republicans, ultra-conservatives, malcontents, or even ass@#%*$ as one of our more fervent readers did late last evening.

But, can you blame those further to the right if they truly believe what they are doing for the country is the right thing?

The Democrats agreed.   They voted unanimously to oust McCarthy.  Well, of course, they did.  This morning the words disarray, chaotic, and worse are hurled at the Republicans.  It’s always a great day to knock down a rook on the political chessboard.

They always vote unanimously.  But, they have their factions too.  Bernie is a socialist.  The Squad is, well, The Squad.  Sheila Jackson Lee and Maxine Waters are tubas in the wind section of the band Nancy and The Blowhards.

But, is always voting unanimously good for the country?  Or, is it always good for your party?  Or, is it always good for your political career?  Ah, yes.  Now we’re getting somewhere.  If you want that DNC or RNC money and support to help your reelection campaign, vote accordingly.

It wasn’t always this way.  A great example is back in 1991 when the full Senate voted 52–48 to confirm now Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.  In all, Thomas won with the support of 41 Republicans and 11 Democrats, while 46 Democrats and 2 Republicans voted to reject his nomination.

That’s when independent thinking was still in style, allowed, and even preferred.

Do you know that Matt Gaetz, the unflappable smug leader of the malcontents takes zero dollars in PAC money and less from lobbyists?  He sounds like an outsider that insiders would prefer stay outside of the Capitol.

You like sausage, but you want to pass on seeing how it’s made.  Yesterday, the meat grinder setting was on high.

If you want real change in DC you’re really up against it.  Ask Trump.

“We have no Speaker!” Egads!

One could argue that we have no minority leader in the Senate either.  Mitch McConnell, you say?  Please.

And, one could argue that we have no President.  Joe Biden, you say?  Ahem.

The House is in recess for a week.  We’ll get to another speaker.  And, the process might be as cantankerous as this last one was.

Sometimes real change is really hard.

 

 

 

 

The Pretend Fight

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In 2018 Joe Biden announced he was running for president. When asked why, he emphatically said, “It’s a battle for our nation’s soul.” In other words, “embrace our vision.”

Last week, Nancy Pelosi announced that she was running for reelection as the representative from Cali District 11.  She said she has to as “we are in a fight for our democracy.”  She may have been the accelerant for J6, and she’ll use it to her advantage as long as her 83-year-old soul lives.

Always give the Dems credit.  They craft a catchy “cause” phrase, define it in their own self-interests, tell the media to run with it, and sell it way better than their friends from the other side of the aisle.

We assume our nation’s soul and our democracy would include open and fair elections.

Is the Democratic Party open to a fair process this go around? Does their democracy in the “fight for our democracy” include the opportunity for all voices to be heard, or just voices that see the nation’s soul the way they do?

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. wonders as well.  He hinted strongly last Friday that he would run for president on a third-party ticket instead of continuing his long-shot primary challenge to President Biden.  The DNC shut down the “democratic” election process months and months ago.

Free speech sometimes has a hard time finding its way onto an expensive stage.

No debate, no opposition.  It’s Biden 2024. Or, bust.

Or, is it?

Maybe RFK sees the country’s soul and democracy fight differently than the establishment does.  RFK’s move set off alarms among Democrats worried about its potential to cause chaos in November 2024.

The establishment has “established” folks like Biden and Pelosi.  They’ve been “doing the people’s work” in DC since 1972 and 1987 respectively.  If you’re counting, that’s 87 years of combined fine service.

Lieutenants Harris and Buttigieg fell directly in line when asked four years ago.  For that, they got high-profile jobs that they were immensely not qualified for.

What do we do with this RFK guy?   He seems like a rogue one that has little interest in being bought and paid for.  Worse yet, he thinks on his own.

Ah, how about we have Gavin Newsom at the ready, yet only emerging from the shadows enough to show his pearly whites now and again? He’s bought all in.

In the fight for our democracy, we need a promotable lieutenant in case our president were to take a nasty fall ascending a staircase or exiting a stage.

Or worse, he could pull a Dianne Feinstein.  She was well established too and a spry 90.

Too soon?

 

 

 

 

Have a Nice Trip

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Yesterday President Joe Biden took an early fall trip.  Walking down the short stairs of Air Force One to visit the Michigan United Auto Workers Union picket line he almost took a fall himself.

Perhaps Karine Jean Claude Pepe Le Phew Pierre will characterize it as a misstep.

The twenty gas-guzzling SUVs convoyed off of the tarmac.

Jo-Slip Biden didn’t miss a step while joining the rally as he supported the UAW in their new contract asking for a 40% wage increase over four years and a 32-hour work week.  Every Michigan vote will count at least once next fall.

As a scrappy kid from Scranton (not Baltimore as he said late last week), he can relate to hard times.  He works about 32 hours a week himself these days.  And, a 10% pocket liner is right in line for the Big Guy.

Of course, the UAW better be building all-electric cars soon cause otherwise 40% of nothing is nothing.

It’s an assembly line of economics, or Bidenomics if you prefer.  You need big wage increases on the job these days to keep up with inflation at the grocery store and the pump.

But, big wage increases cause inflation.  And inflation causes the Fed to raise interest rates way faster than Biden can ascend a staircase.  And higher interest rates supposedly cause the economy to slow and mortgage rates to go through your new home’s roof.

Most of all higher long-term rates accelerate the nation’s debt.  You know the debt.  It’s a national disgrace that we don’t talk about.

Well, Joe does.  He’s told us that since he took office he’s cut it by 1 million, er, 1 billion, um 100 billion, er, 1.75 trillion dollars depending on the day he misspeaks.

On Monday the debt crossed over 33 trillion dollars.  It’ll balloon to nearly 36 trillion by the end of 2024.

Never mind all that, Joe spent 14 minutes with the hard hats in the key swing state and then headed west like the young man that he is.  Fire up the plane, and spew some fossil fuel emissions over the flyover states.  The next stop was a big Democratic Party fundraiser in California with the movers and shakers out there.

On the way out the Michigan dignitaries told Biden to ” have a good trip.”

He said, ‘I’ll see you next fall.”

Hot Ground, Man

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s the back-to-school time of the year.  Pull up a chair and sit up straight at your desk as class is now starting.

Let’s start with defining tone deaf.

Al Gore’s internet defines tone deaf as having or showing an obtuse insensitivity or lack of perception particularly in matters of public sentiment, opinion, or taste. 

Sometimes examples work best to further one’s understanding.  So, let’s use President Biden’s trip to fire-ravaged Maui as a textbook example.

Mr. Prez went straight from one vacation to the next as another vacation destination, Maui, burned.  Over 100 are confirmed dead, and as of this writing over 850 are still missing.  Missing two weeks after a catastrophic event is never a good sign.

Biden shuffled off of the beach onto Air Force One and descended upon the 50th state yesterday.  Many local officials asked him to wait a bit as traffic snarls are so bad with the responders and citizens all trying to restore some sense of normalcy much less stopping it cold for his visit.  The photo op outweighed the request.

Biden stood before the assembled with charred everything in the background.  He proceeded to empathize with the devastated citizens.

He referred to an incident in 2004, when he was a senator for Delaware.   Biden described how lightning struck a pond by his Delaware home, hitting a wire, and coming up underneath his home into the heating and air conditioning ducts.

“To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my ’67 Corvette, and my cat,” Biden said. “But all kidding aside, I watched the firefighters, the way they responded.”

A small kitchen fire was extinguished in 10 minutes.  And, he nearly lost his Corvette.  The horrors, all kidding aside.

This reminds us when he reminds military families who suffer the loss of a family member that his son Beau “lost his life in Iraq.”   Except he didn’t.  Every great President can relate to the common folk, even the tone-deaf ones.

But Biden continued to step in it.

Prior to his speech, he met and shook hands with a group of officials, stopping in front of a search and rescue dog. While petting the dog, he joked about the boots the canine was wearing.

“You guys catch the boots out here?” Biden appeared to ask the press watching him. He smiled and said, “That’s some hot ground, man.”

“Man.”

Why pray tell might the ground be warm?  Summer maybe.  Summer probably.  But, the memory of the savage fire heating the earth is seared in people’s memory.

But, wait.  He wasn’t done just yet.

He appeared to fall asleep in a later meeting with more victims and officials.  His handlers likely will dismiss this.  Maybe he was being reflective.  Maybe he fell asleep.  Maybe even looking like you fell asleep while being reflective isn’t a good idea coming off of weeks of vacation time.

The reactions to all of this were swift, direct, and harsh.

Fox News Radio host Jimmy Failla joked, “Biden landed in Maui and made a joke about how hot the ground was. Up next he’ll head to Pearl Harbor and order a round of Kamikazes.”

Another tweet, “can’t take him anywhere.”

At least his sleeves were rolled up on his custom dress shirt and he donned the presidential seal ballcap.  The garb gives us a sense of his willingness to go to work for the people.

Of course, that occurs only when his vacation time does not interfere.

So far he’s advanced $700 per family affected.  In Hawaii that buys two pineapples and a large milkshake.

“Aloha” means hello.

But it also means goodbye.