Politics

“How” and “Why” Matter.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Journalism 101 teaches to insure that the “who”, “what”, “when”, and “where” is included in every lead of a story.  Optional, but also important, is the “how” and the “why.”  Getting the first four “w’s” in is relatively easy.  Figuring out the how and the why is harder as it sometimes requires some interpretation.

Take late last week as an example.   In a span of 48 hours on Thursday and Friday (when) President Trump (who) castigated (what) Fed Chairman Powell (who)
on Twitter (where) of not being aggressive enough with rate cuts and economic commentary.  He barely took a breath, then he ORDERED American companies importing manufactured goods and the like from China (he pronounces it as CHII Nah) to find a way to bring the manufacturing back to the U.S.  By mid Friday morning he announced further tariffs(import taxes) almost across the board on goods coming from across the Pacific from said China.

The result of his actions and words seems, at the outset, that Powell said nothing, American companies did nothing not already planned, and China said “we’ll see your bet, and raise you one or five.”  The other result is again, at least for a day, the American stock market and those still open abroad, tumbled hard.

We think his political base added the to the story by questioning “how” he did this?

How he swung three times seemed almost petulant, petulant like a child that is.  In the Trump Tower when you hold the decisions as to who gets massive building contracts and what your expectations are and when they get paid is one thing.  When you ORDER (we use all caps because he did in the Tweet) American companies around you cross way too far into government attempted control on free enterprise at a minimum.  At the maximum you sound like a second grader who doesn’t get his way on the playground.  Plus, it’s the exact opposite of the many government regulations that he has pulled back to free businesses up.

In the tariff tiff he seems to think that he can bully China like he bullied Mexico.  Maybe.  Maybe not.  It seems to have not worked so far.

The Powell undressing is tired.  Take the repeated rants indoors already.  You hired him Mr. President.

We think even his political base questioned “why” as well.

Why did he do all of the above?  Well, we admit that every time he seems to have face planted off a newly built tower he actually has packed a parachute and landed just fine, and ready to fight for the American people for another cause on another day.

And, just this AM he is tweeting that China is ready to come to the table.  Maybe Powell will cut again and again and sooner.   And, maybe more American companies will build or rebuild factories here.

But, when how Americans feel about their investments (401k, education, house) turns south, they stay home if they voted for you prior, and turn out if they voted against you prior.  The very recession talk (at this point talk) that you are trying to squash becomes self fulfilling.

The tightrope that is being walked is high, higher than most Trump Towers built.  The fall would be unpleasant for all.  How you walk across, and why you walk across matters greatly in the next 15 months.

On Thursday you anointed yourself as “The Chosen One” to combat the decades long China advantage in import and export tariffs.  China seems to have chosen too.  Their choice looks like they want to see if  “The Chosen One” is chosen again in November of 2020.

A small fracture in the Trump base and someone else will need to “Keep America Great.”  Perhaps there will be another “Chosen One?”  Although that seems as cloudy as the smoke created from last week’s outbursts.  The lead candidate against Trump was in New Hampshire, was asked about New Hampshire, and sung the praises of Delaware.

It’s another week.  Can the American political leaders gaffe meter possibly keep up?

 

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.

Win One for the Old Gaffer!

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

What a presidential race we would have if it were a racist v. a racist.   So far we have one contestant and reigning champion signed up for it.  Will we get another?

Donald Trump is a racist.  Numerous TV news shows, late night shows, radio shows, comics, and civic leaders tell us this every day.  He provided even more fodder for their cannons in the last two weeks.  First he called Baltimore rat infested.  It turns out that “infested” is a racist term.  Who knew?  Now we do.

Congressman Elijah Cummings in 1998 called his Baltimore district drug infested.  Maybe it wasn’t a racist term then.  Or, maybe what happened twenty years ago is too far back to really bring up about a person’s past.  Don’t tell now Supreme Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh that though.  You may recall that he all but stood trial in front of the Gentleman from Baltimore who proceeded over his House confirmation hearings.  Kavanaugh’s high school behavior of over 30 years ago was front and center for over a week of hearings.

And yesterday the Trump administration announced that it is implementing a new rule changing green card criteria to more closely examine immigrants’ financial resources. It makes it more difficult for immigrants who came to the country legally to stay as permanent residents if they’ve used or are likely to use public benefits like food stamps, Section 8 housing vouchers, or Medicaid.  “Racist,” said one CNN commentator this AM.  “White nationalist,” said another.  “He only wants people in this country that look like him,” the first commenter added on.  What is strange about those character assassinations though is that Trump didn’t target any race with the new rule proposal.  He targeted any and all that are most likely to “lay on the country’s leg” regardless of skin color.

Which brings us to the need for another racist to join the fray to get to the racist v. racist showdown.   So far Democratic front runner Joe Biden hasn’t been labeled a racist.  He has been the owner of a few, ok several, spoken gaffes.  Gaffes sounds so much nicer than racist doesn’t it?

He said late last week that “we believe in the truth, not facts!”  His audience actually cheered.   Well the truth of the matter is that the next day in another stump speech he also said “that poor kids are just as bright and talented as white kids during a campaign speech to Hispanic and Asian voters in Iowa.”  Is that a fact?  After an awkward pause (dare we call it a senior moment?) he added “we,wa, wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids, but I’m serious.”  His audience actually cheered.  If you watched the link above you can hear the CNN crew agree that it was just another gaffe in a history of gaffes that Biden makes.  Gaffes still sounds so much nicer than racist doesn’t it?

Of course 30 years ago Joe Biden stood with congressmen labeled as segregationists and spoke out opposing federally mandated school bussing.  It was at least another gaffe don’t you think?  Was it racist?  Kamala Harris took him apart on stage about it but said she didn’t think he was a racist.  Whew.  It’s funny how that works.  And, thirty years ago, like with Cummings’ comments, is probably too far back to really bring up a person’s past.  But, she did.  Again, don’t tell that to now Supreme Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh though.

So, for now, if Biden holds on to his Democratic nomination lead we’ll only get to see the “Old Gaffer” v. the racist.  Biden says that his gaffes are just “Joe being Joe.”  But, with each gaffe the Democrats are more and more concerned if they can “just win one for the Old Gaffer.”

Why?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Today we wonder why.

The head of the NRA warned the Trump administration yesterday that suggesting that more stringent and universal background checks for gun owners would not be “welcomed” by a great number of his supporters.  Why not have a thorough check?  If you want future citizens/immigrants thoroughly checked why not a future gun owner?

Donald Trump always says that he never attacks people until provoked.  He states that he only counter punches and does so twice as hard as when he is first attacked.  If that is entirely true, and we doubt it, why not put the jabs aside yesterday on his two city (Dayton and El Paso) tour?  Those that protested his arrival and talked about him after he departed the two cities couldn’t put their attacks aside which is shameful.  But,  President Trump could have and should have risen above the fray on the one day that rising above the polarization was warranted.  Two wrongs don’t make a right.

Meanwhile, about a dozen outspoken Democrats have called for Mitch McConnell to recall the Senate to either approve pending gun legislation or create new gun law.  Why wasn’t this urgent need an urgent need prior to the past two weekend’s shootings?  It’s as reactionary as the TSA making you take off you shoes after they figured out you could actually put explosives in your shoes and walk straight through those reactionary security screening machines designed to detect those explosives.

Why did they go home for six weeks in the first place? Isn’t there infrastructure, prescription costs, healthcare, and a ballooning deficit to attend to?  Why don’t they mandate six week vacations for all?  Think of how many tropical drinks you could suck down through ocean saving paper straws in 42 consecutive days off.

When the Democrats held the House and the Senate in the first two years of the Obama Administration why didn’t they pass stricter gun control measures?  When the Republicans held the House and the Senate in the first two years of the Trump Administration why didn’t they pass stricter gun control measures?

Why couldn’t New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, appearing on The Sean Hannity Show last evening, affirm that he supported gun ownership for citizens who passed background checks, were deemed mentally stable, and who had not been convicted of a felony?   He was asked every which way and declined each time.  Thankfully he is polling at less than one percent in his run for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination.

It’s positions like his from the left that slow or stifle any real meaningful dialogue.  If you are from the right you have every right to worry about giving an inch and having people try to take a yard.  If you are a proponent of the Second Amendment why would you want to give an inch when someone in a big government (De Blasio) position, running for the biggest government position of all, is protected by guns doesn’t feel like you should have that same right?  Didn’t some of his running mates publicly state that they would go door to door confiscating guns?  Good luck with that.

Why does it feel like the national narrative has changed from Russia, Russia, Russia to racist, racist, racist?

Why don’t we impeach Trump? Isn’t being a racist, a white nationalist, a white supremacist, or having white privilege an impeachable offense?  Clearly those heinous beliefs combined with collusion and obstruction can get it done.

Then we can blame someone else the next time a mentally ill person decides to “go off” on a group of innocent people in any town in any moment for any reason.  Then, after a week of lip service we can go back to our daily routines until it happens yet again.  And, then we can look around the halls of Congress and find someone else to blame.  Well, we can if they are in session.

Happy (C)Hump Day!

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Happy Hump Day.  You’ve made it this far into the week, you might as well stick it out now and go the distance.  Joe Scarborough, MSNBC cohost of Mornings With Joe, made it far enough into his transformation to the Democratic Party that this AM he decided to stick it out and go all of the way over the cliff.

BBR, being fair and balanced, monitors all news outlets.  This AM we tuned in to hear Joe, his sidekick and wife Mika Brzezinski, and others interview Nebraska GOP State Senator John McCollister.  McCollister tweeted Sunday night, “The Republican Party is enabling white supremacy in our country. As a lifelong Republican, it pains me to say this, but it’s the truth.”

Ah, that’ll get you instant oxygen on MSNBC.   Through out the 5 minute or so interview MSNBC had the large font, all caps, double high banner on the bottom quarter of the screen stating “REPUBLICAN STATE SENATOR IN NEBRASKA SAYS GOP IS “COMPLICIT” WITH WHITE SUPREMACY.”  But, a funny thing happened in those five minutes.  No one asked him about the “complicit” claim.  No one.

But they did ask him why he was speaking out against his own party.  Mika, “So where do you stand with your party affiliation?  I guess the Republican Party kicked you out?”  McCollister, “No. they can’t. Only I can kick myself out.”  Nice try by Joe’s wife.

McCollister went on to say that “the GOP party under Trump has lost the values it used to stand for being free trade, legal immigration, and fiscal sanity.”  Joe called Trump a “long time Big Government Democrat who only changed parties so that he could run” then asked, looking for leaks in the dam  “if he had heard from or received any support from elected officials in Nebraska or around the country?”  “No, no elected officials have reached out.”  Nice try by Mika’s husband.

Willie Geist asked what his fallout could be for speaking out.  “I term out in three years and we have no caucus, so the political fallout for me is very little.”  BBR would have liked to have asked him, then, why it took all of this time to speak out.  We think we got that answer.  Nice try by Willie.

An unnamed commenter on the desk asked how “Nebraska farmers were holding up given the reckless and incompetent tariff and trade policies.”  McCollister expressed surprise that no backlash had occurred from the farming community.  He said “I guess that they are just hoping something will eventually get better.” Nice try by Mr. Unnamed.

Mika was thanking him for his time and said that she “really appreciated his voice” as the interview concluded, but Mika’s husband couldn’t help himself and jumped in.  “Thank you so much Senator for standing up and being counted, sounding like actually a member of the party of Lincoln,” Joe said.  “Yep!” Mika said.

So, to summarize Joe called they party he joined “big government democrats.” And, Mika and Joe yearn for the old days of the Republican Party when it stood for free trade, legal immigration, and fiscal sanity.   So, isn’t Trump attempting to balance the trade field with China, Mexico, Canada, and others to make it truly free or at least a level one as opposed to one sided tariffs?  So, isn’t Trump railing incessantly about his belief in immigration as long as it’s legal?  Now, on the fiscal sanity, BBR wholeheartedly agrees.  Trillion dollar deficits are no way to run a country.  We wonder if they felt they felt the same from 2009-2016.  However, Trump’s team insists that there is plenty of time to tighten the belt, just not now.  And, they claim that they will when (2020-2024) they want to “Keep America Great.”

Joe’s wife should be so, so proud.  Her transformation of Joe, former Republican Congressman, is complete.  It’s complete in the sense that they both cannot accept that Trump was elected in 2016, and both spend 24/7 speaking out against anything he does.  Russia, Russia, Russia.  Racist, racist, racist. It’s complete in how he identifies his Democratic party affiliation.

But, but ideologically they sound so, so confused.

Happy Chump(s) Day.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Debates

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The Fox Theater, which was certainly a fair and balanced venue, hosted night two of two of the second round of the Democratic Party Presidential 2020 debates.

You’ve likely had your fill of it, so the ten nuggets that follow are light, quick, low calorie, and priced just right.

  1.  Cory Booker wants to start impeachment proceedings now.   Good idea except his speaker likely won’t allow it, a House vote would fail, and the Senate wouldn’t even bring it to a vote.   He’s drinking the Kool Aid and he doesn’t even know which flavor.
  2. Jay Inslee, the climate change candidate, is passionate and then some on this topic, or crisis if you prefer.   He, and everyone else on stage, knows that America only produces 15% of the world’s fossil fuel emissions.   If we change all of our “bad” habits, 85% remain.  One candidate said we only have twelve years left. Inslee calculates it a mere ten.  Surely by the next debate someone can get it down to eight.
  3. Kirsten Gillenbrand dramatically asked white people how they would feel “if their son was walking down the street wearing a hoodie and was stopped by the police.”  We wonder about the hoodie comment which is an obvious attempt at correlating it to black male teenagers.  Do all black teens wear hoodies?   Seems like she might be prejudging herself a bit there.
  4. Candidate Yang wants to give every family $1000 a month every month, but two debates in we still aren’t sure why.   Last night he decided to tell us that we should also pay people before they went to prison and pay them after they got out.  He’s no Mary Williamson, but he’s a bit on the edge.
  5. Mary Williamson was the most Googled searched candidate after Tuesday night’s debate.   She is interesting.  Being the most searched can be good or bad though.  Her idea of creating a Department of Peace sounds so comforting though, doesn’t it?
  6. Most everyone on stage last evening was for decriminalizing border crossings. Public opinion polls overwhelmingly are opposed.  It’s a losing hand.
  7. Many are for single provider healthcare effectively eliminating private plans.  The over 150 million who have it are overwhelmingly opposed.  It’s a losing hand.
  8. Kamala Harris went from the hunter to the hunted.  Tulsi Gabbard took her to task on her Cali Attorneys General decisions on marijuana, the death penalty, and other areas.  It will be interesting to see how the polls shake out after this debate for both.  Gabbard needs a few points to stay and Harris might have made a few available to her.  Harris is borderline condescending and angry.  It was a step backwards for her.
  9. NY Mayor Bill De Blasio’s opening and closing statements featured him telling us that he wanted to “tax the hell out of the wealthy.”  Ok.   Then what Bill?
  10. Sleepy Joe Biden, still the pole sitter, took over seventy percent of the attacks on stage.  He handled some well.  Some, not so much.  At the end of the long evening, he closed by asking folks to visit his site at Joe 30…..3….30.   It should have been an appeal to text Joe to 30330.   Get some rest Joe.
  11. One extra.   So.  Who won the two nights?   BBR thinks it was Donald Trump.  But, November 2020 is a long ways away.  Say it ain’t so, Joe.

 

 

 

To Be or Not To Be a Racist. That is the Question.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

President Donald Trump is a racist.  If you don’t believe us, just ask MSNBC, or CNN, or The Atlantic, or Joe Scarborough, or Mika Brzezinski, or Bernie Sanders, or AOC and the three, or Elijah Cummings, or the Reverend Al Sharpton.

President Donald trump isn’t a racist.  If you don’t believe us just ask fair and balanced Fox News, or Fox Business, or Rush Limbaugh, or Mark Levin, or cheerleader Sean Hannity.

Elijah Cummings took on what he feels is inadequate care for children at our border.   And the House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Cummings put on a show Thursday screaming at acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan about the way illegal immigrant children are treated in detention centers.  “These are human beings!” raved the Maryland Democrat. “Human beings just trying to live a better life!”

Racist Trump took to his favorite avenue to express himself.  He tweeted  “As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cummings District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place.

And so, predictably, yesterday friends and foes lined up on both sides of the attacks and counter attacks.  Haven’t you watched this movie before?  And, haven’t you watched it before that?  And, won’t it be playing soon all over again, and over again, at a theater near you?  You bet it will.  It will be live on stage at the Fox Theater in Detroit tonight and again tomorrow night.

The debate’s debaters will no doubt take turns trying to one up one another talking about just how racist The Donald is.  But, there is no real debate within the party about how to beat Trump in 2020.  Democrats have to win over Trump voters in swing states like Michigan, a crucial plank in the party’s 2020 strategy in luring its own traditional supporters back to the polls.  And, like a made in America in Detroit, Michigan Ford, they’ll start the engine tonight in The Motor City.

Boosting turnout in majority African-American Detroit as well as in some of its Democratic-trending suburbs where the party found success in last year’s midterm election should do the trick, state party leaders say.  State party leaders in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin say much the same.

Nationwide, the black turnout rate fell to roughly 60% in 2016, down from a record high of nearly 67% in 2012.  It marked the first such decline in 20 years among African-Americans in a presidential election.  Democrats, who typically win an overwhelming majority of black voters, now have just over 15 months to try to reverse that slide.

Trump won Michigan by only about 11,000 votes.  Turn out 15,000 more black voters in 2020, and insure that the traditional 94% of them vote for the Democrat, any Democrat, and voila, the 16 electoral votes goes back to where it usually goes.   Take that strategy to the aforementioned three other states and the rust belt flips.  And, with that, the White House has a new rent free renter for the next four years.

Do you wonder why they chose Detroit for the debate site?  Do you wonder why the attack on Trump for his attack on Elijah’s district is labeled racist?

Cummings has been in Congress for 20 years.  Did the temporary living conditions on our southern border somehow just now deteriorate?  Did the living conditions in some areas of his Baltimore district somehow just now deteriorate?

The answers are of course no and no.  But, the Democratic Party is only interested in your answer to one question.   Is Donald Trump a racist?

 

Rumors of His Death……….

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Way back in 1876 Samuel Clemens, under the pen name of Mark Twain, penned the American classic novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  Tom was an irascible one, just ask his Aunt Polly whom he lived with.  One day for his misdeed(s) she punished him making him whitewash(paint) her picket fence.  Tom convinced his friends to do it for him selling it as a privilege to do such work and admire it as an accomplishment.  And paint it they did.  It’s an amazing accomplishment unto itself, even if it is fiction.

If you jump to 2019 in the adventures of Donald Trump, himself a bit irascible, it looks like he too has passed out the paint brushes.   It looks like the President has convinced his “friends” on The Squad ( Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan) to do his work for him as well.  The Squad has repeatedly attempted to paint Trump as a racist among other non flattering accusations.  Meanwhile the media cannot get enough of the four congresswoman giving the feud much air time.   He has portrayed them on the canvas as the new faces of the ever further leaning left Democratic Party.  Green New Deal, free healthcare, free tuition, and a free for all are promised.  He purposely helps them get even more oxygen.  Aunt Polly, aka Nancy Pelosi, is beside herself.  She can’t decide if she wants to punish Trump, or her freshman legislators, or both.

Meanwhile the 2020 cattle call of 23 Democratic hopefuls to gain the nomination has far too little oxygen in the room.  Each candidate is trying to find their way.  In the crowded herd one has tried to go further left than the next.  Free this and free that is promised for all but the wealthy.   For the wealthy pay for this and pay for that is promised.  Heck, Cory Booker piled on over the weekend and told America that Trump was even worse than a racist.  “The reality is, this is a guy who is worse than a racist,” the Democratic presidential contender from New Jersey told Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “He is actually using racist tropes and racial language for political gains, trying to use this as a weapon to divide our nation against itself.   We aren’t sure what that is called.  Is that a racist’s racist?  Booker took a harder left turn than The Squad.

Trump has made the race (at least for now) a binary decision.  Vote for me, or vote for the new Democratic Party, the face of which is The Squad.  He has plenty of paint brushes to go around.  And, he has plenty of Democrats and media folks lining up on the drop cloths.

Is there one person left in America who hasn’t come to their own conclusion as to whether Trump is a racist (whatever definition of racist one may have) or is not?  And, isn’t this the theme every four years?  Reagan, Bush, Dole, Bush, McCain, Romney, and Trump have all been painted with the same whitewash.  Isn’t it time to let the paint dry and move on to another chore?  Infrastructure, medical care reform, drug costs, and immigration come to mind.

Tom Sawyer went missing in another stunt that Aunt Polly didn’t approve.  Eventually town members had a funeral, for he was presumed dead.  Tom got wind of this and decided to show up at his own funeral.  “Rumors of his death,” he said, “were greatly exaggerated.”

Try as the Democrats might, rumors of Trump’s political career being dead are greatly exaggerated as well.

And, he gave out plenty of paint brushes to eager “friends” as proof.

No Consensus on the Census

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

So, in today’s America, we cannot come to a consensus on the census.  Why not?  President Trump and his Attorney General are at odds with Congressional Democrats and a few Obama appointed judges over the right to ask a basic question on the 2020 census.  The question is “are you a US citizen?”

That leads to another very basic question, “why?”  Why would those opposed to the question of citizenship on the census be opposed to it?  And, that leads to yet another question, “why was it taken off of the census questionnaire to begin with?”

The answer to why the opposition to the question itself seems rooted deep in the Democratic Party strategy doctrine.   They would prefer the word “residents” these days over citizens.  It sounds so much more inclusive you know.   Remember  “illegal aliens” morphed to “illegal immigrants.”  Then it softened to “migrants.”  Soon migrants became “undocumented.”  There are even “dreamers.”  Doesn’t “dreamer” sound so much better than “illegal?”  How can you be opposed to dreaming?  Join our party.

Way back in 1974 a lower court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade was upheld by the United States Supreme Court.  The result made a woman’s right to have an abortion legal.  A woman’s right to have an abortion morphed into a woman’s “right to choose.”  Choose what?  You know.  So, it was still too descriptive.  So, it is now referred to by the left as “woman’s healthcare.”  It’s headed to “woman’s wellness.”  Doesn’t “wellness” sound so much better than “abortion?”  How can you be opposed to wellness?  Join our party.

If you count “residents” isn’t the next step to count them in on all things that “citizens” rights provide.   Free healthcare was just approved in California for illegals aged 19-25.  Why stop there?  You can start by redrawing the congressional districts around residents.  And, when you do the party that panders to the illegal immigrants in every which way gains more votes.  More votes means gaining and holding power.  Why do you need an ID to vote anyway?  Come one, come all.  The party that panders dreams about the dreamers putting them in power permanently.  And, make no mistake about it, the Democratic party has a vision and a strategic plan and does a great job marketing itself to achieve it.

So, why and when was it taken off of the census to begin with?  It was taken off by the Obama Administration after the 2010 census.  When you count citizens you also count non citizens don’t you know?  It’s better if your opponents do not know the size of the opportunity (if you are from the left) or the problem (if you are from the right).  The question has been on every census, taken once a decade, for over 160 years.  When it was removed the hope was that it would never be placed back on it.

At a minimum it takes a fight to get it back on.  And who looks bad in the fight in the eyes of the press?  It’s the folks that call illegals illegal.  It isn’t the former president and his agenda.  He was trying to be inclusive.  So the narrative has shifted.  The press writes and talks about “why does the president want this on?”  The press doesn’t or didn’t ever question why the former president took it off.  So the right siders have to play defense.

President Trump comments often about how important it is to finish building the wall that previous administrations started.  It might seem easy now compared to building a consensus around the census.  Of course if you had the wall you would need no census consensus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Border Fireworks Make For Good TV

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Happy Fourth of July!  Happy Independence Day!

Independence?  What exactly is that?  Merriam Webster defines it as “the state of independent.”  Independent is defined as “not requiring or relying on others (as for care or livelihood).” It’s also defined as “showing a desire for freedom.”

Two hundred and forty three years ago tomorrow America declared it’s desire for freedom.  And two hundred and forty three years later we have a crisis at several entry points into our fifty United States on our southern border.  It seems that the desire for freedom from those in other countries has outstripped the supply of well meaning people (border control, government workers,and volunteers) to manage the situation.  Managing it is very tricky of course.  There is the attempt to stop illegal entry, and the attempt to process those caught, and the process of housing them while they are being processed.

Apparently this crisis wasn’t a crisis though when President Trump called it just that as 2018 turned to 2019.  Back then the press and Democrats in positions of congressional leadership said that there is no such thing.  Well, well, well.  A funny thing happened from then until now.  It’s a democratic process unto itself, and a way every four years that we take advantage of our rights that the very freedom provides.  It’s the election process.

And, with that process comes the opportunity to express opinions and outrage over problems and opportunities the nation over.  So, the non crisis is now a crisis.  Ask any Democrat running for office.  Each in the last week or so has expressed disbelief and outrage over the governments failure to adequately house the immigrants and care for the children caught in the fray.   One even shrieked that the compound had run out of toothpaste.  Oh yea, and it’s better to call them “undocumented” than illegal, too.

We’ll start investigations into it as soon as next week.   Congress is very good at that.  They investigate, castigate, and threaten to jail wrong doers.   They remind those drug in to testify that they are under oath.  The truth must be told!

The problem is that the truth was told and it has been told over and over.   Those crossing are doing so illegally.  They have swamped the border and have been for many months now.  But, now, elections are near.  TV time is expensive.

But, but, but.  What if a candidate can get a hungry and gullible press member or 50 of them to follow their every step?  They can walk right up to the fences (cages as the outraged has called them) and lament about how bad a job America is doing. Those “cages” were built several years ago under the Obama administration for all of the right reasons.  It was one part of an attempt to control an out of control border situation.  Then President Obama spoke into TV cameras and said, “don’t come here and don’t send your children here alone.”  He continued,” If you do, you’ll be sent back.”   It made sense then.  It makes sense now.

Record numbers are attempting to get into the country that the party out of the White House tells you how many wrongs exist in it.

You might spend time in a “cage” and you might have forgotten your toothpaste.  But, it must not be such a bad place after all.  People are climbing over walls in record numbers to get here.   Just don’t turn on your TV till after November 2020.  It seems that a few folks have a different opinion.  It’s another freedom.  Freedom of speech.

Enjoy the baseball and the fireworks.  And, please pass the hot dogs and apple pie this way.