Lemon Aids The Cause

CNN’s evening lineup was doing so poorly when new ownership took over that they decided to revamp it in its entirety.  It’s been BBR’s belief for a good while now that a move to the center will pay dividends.

MSNBC reads directly from the DNC and WH playbooks like a dutiful second-grade child desperate for an A on their report card and a pat on the head.

FOX is anything but fair and balanced.  They would carry more water for the elephants to drink if only the lead RINOs had sense enough to tell them where it is.

The middle should have plenty of viewers and plenty of willing advertisers.  But, first, they have to get there.  And, the rebuild is on.

CNN”S carnage is everywhere.  John Harwood, Jeffery “Zoomin” Tobin, Brian Steltzer, and the lovely Chis Cuomo are a few of the more high-profile, on-camera ones to exit stage far left of the daily Democratic theater since new management entered the building.

But, there is one interesting survivor.  And he’s headed to a morning 6-9 AM EST co-host job and soon.  That’s Don Lemon.

And, until he turns from night to daytime you can count on him to continue to turn left-hanging lemons into lemonade. Last night was the latest example.  With Ian bearing down on southeastern Florida, it was time to take a climate change “Lemon aided” stand.

Not once, not twice, but three times did the Don turn the tide back to climate change as a scientist was attempting to inform the viewers of the particulars of this one. Finally, he lectured the expert himself saying “he grew up down there and the storms are intensifying.”

It was six months ago that the forecasts called for a dozen storms to hit mainland America. Ian makes it one.  One.

Intensifying?  Do you think Ian is the first cat four storm to hit Florida?  Since we have been able to measure, six of the seven most intense occurred between 1919 and 1960.

Most intense landfalling tropical cyclones in the U.S. state of Florida
Intensity is measured solely by central pressure
Rank System Season Landfall pressure
1 “Labor Day” 1935 892 mbar (hPa)
2 Michael 2018 919 mbar (hPa)
3 Andrew 1992 922 mbar (hPa)
4 “Florida Keys” 1919 927 mbar (hPa)
5 “Okeechobee” 1928 929 mbar (hPa)
6 “Great Miami” 1926 930 mbar (hPa)
Donna 1960
8 Irma 2017 931 mbar (hPa)
9 “Florida” 1948 940 mbar (hPa)
10 Charley 2004 941 mbar (hPa)
Source: HURDAT, Hurricane
Research Division

Such unfounded speculation by a rank amateur that happens to have a microphone should be squashed by any and all networks.  But, unfortunately, it often isn’t.

It was just a week ago after the Queen of England had passed that Don was asking a British royalty expert on air if her family’s wealth and colonialism should make her realize that reparations were in order.  Lemon was taken behind the school and spanked by her.

Agendas long ago replaced straight facts.  Lemon says what he wants when he wants and how he wants to say it.  Good for him.

And, speaking of straight, the openly gay black Lemon isn’t.  Of course, neither his skin color nor his sexual orientation should have anything to do with his perceived value as an anchor going forward for CNN.

Or, should it?  Ratings talk and all of this blabber about diversity, inclusion, and equality walks when you get down to it.

Harwood, Tobin, Steltzer, and others can attest to that.  Can’t they?

No, they can’t, especially if they aspire to another job inside the cesspool once known as journalism.

So as CNN moves to the center, Lemon’s anchor chair will remain on the far left.

It’s good work if you can get it.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

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

  1.  By now you know that the CPI annualized for March roared in at 8.5%, the highest since 1981. By now you’ve heard the White House and its occupants refer to the runaway inflation as the “Putin Price Hike.”  We’d love to see the polling that the administration did on the catchy phrase.  In other words, how many Americans believe that this mess is Putin’s doing?  And/or how many thought it to be a good phrase to hide the obvious?
  2. Calling severe inflation the “Putin price hike” is a lie.  It’s also a distraction.  What they’re really saying is they plan to do little to attempt to stop it.
  3. After all, and we borrowed this one from one of our favorite readers, tapping our oil reserves instead of drilling is as stupid as tapping your 401k instead of going to work.
  4.  How can Frank James, “a person of interest,” in the NY subway shootings yesterday escape from the horrific scene and remain on the loose today?  The subway cameras weren’t working much like the jail cameras all around Jeffery Epstein’s cell.  That’s not a surprise.  The surprise is that the thousands of other cameras around the station didn’t pick up his exit path and allow authorities to trail him to some point.  Surely they know way more than what has been released to the public?
  5. Early reports state that James was known to the FBI but cleared in 2019.  Cleared?  What does that mean?  It means investigated, but not pursued beyond that, we presume.  Does anyone ever do any follow-up?  We’ve heard that excuse far too many times including 9/11.  The FBI was once a revered granite block of what was right with our country.  Now it’s Inspector Clouseau in a Pink Panther movie.
  6. You remember former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace.  The liberal that emerged from behind the Fox logo has reportedly been breaking down in front of his crew over the “miserable failure” of the new streaming platform CNN+.  The launch of CNN+ has been anything but stellar with the platform drawing close to 10,000 daily viewers and even fewer subscribers.  No one watches CNN.  Why would you pay to watch CNN+?  And, you already have another left streamer gaining steam named Disney+, but we digress.  Trump once told Chris that his father Mike was much better than him.  Harsh.  Accurate?

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

You’ve been served.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

There’s some good news and bad news in our world as we know it on 1/19/22.    And today you’ll need to take the good with the bad.  And in a marked departure from our inflationary times, you’ll get 12 for the price of 10.   Yum.

  1.  Good news-  Pfizer said its Covid-19 pill approved by the FDA, Paxlovid, was effective against the Omicron virus in three early but promising tests.
  2.  Bad news-  The treatment will not be available till June when the next variant, if there is one, will be prevalent and Omicron will be long gone.
  3.  Good news-   At least the pill will be free.  Your US Government has already cornered the market, as it purchased 20 million courses of treatment.
  4.  Bad news-  The pill will be free to you, but not our government.  That really means that the pill won’t be free to you any more than all of these other handouts that aren’t free.
  5.  Good news-  Bill de Blasio announced that he would put every fiber of his being into fighting inequality in the state of New York, but would not be running for governor.
  6.  Bad news-  Real estate prices in Florida just took a 5% haircut.
  7.  Good news-  CNN is going to create a “team dedicated to covering misinformation.”  Will episode one cover the Chris Cuomo coverup?
  8.  Bad news-  No new hiring or flights are needed to cover it and bolster our economy as all of the misinformation is already in-house.
  9.  Good news-  In 2021 the stock market fared quite well in spite of supply chain, inflation, Afghanistan, Covid-19, and southern border problems.
  10.  Bad news-  It’s 2022, and the stock market taketh what the stock market giveth.
  11.  Good news-  President Biden will hold a rare press conference today surely giving us hope for tomorrow, one day short of the first anniversary of him taking office.
  12.  Bad news-   Three years to go.  Does he know?

We hope you enjoyed the nuggets-  short and sweet.

 

 

Nine Piece Nuggets-Random

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

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

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

 

 

 

Lefty, Shorty, Alec, and Colonel Jussie

Last evening Lefty and Shorty were all but ready to close the Gulf Station.   Rain was falling from the heavens at an accelerating pace, the fog was rolling in and cars were not.  Shorty- Why do we stay open until midnight?  Lefty- So that you and I can discuss the life and times of Jussie Smollett.

Lefty sat to the left of Shorty.  Imagine that.  Shorty sat on the shorter of the two “halves” of the 55-gallon drum. Imagine that.  Each was cut down to size and retrofitted with a soft cushion top.

Lefty-  Can you believe what a bad actor he turned out to be? Shorty-  I canceled Netflix months ago, what did I miss?   Lefty- Umm.  Are you not aware of his arrest?  Shorty- I must have missed the scroll at the bottom of ESPN.    Lefty- Are you from Colorado, cause it seems like you live under a big rock?  Shorty- The Boulder State?  No.  Too cold.

Lefty- Speaking of cold, let me bring you up to speed.  Jussie wrote, produced, directed, and acted in his own attack in Chicago at 4 AM on a freezing, snowy night.   Shorty- Sounds like a believable plot.  Lefty- He paid two black guys $3500 to put on white face and hoods, put a noose around his neck, scream MAGA and the n-word, and attempt to kill him. Shorty- Did they?  Lefty– No.  Shorty- If you want the job done right maybe you hire Alec Baldwin?  Lefty– Too soon.  Way.

Shorty– Why was he out there to begin with?  Lefty- He said he was going to Subway.  Shorty-  That’s dumb. The L train is elevated.   Lefty-  Jeez, not that kind of subway.  Subway Deli, like Eat Fresh!  Shorty- It can’t be too fresh at four AM, can it?  Lefty- Not only not fresh, he and his five-dollar foot long were probably frozen too.  Shorty– Frozen 2!  No way Disney puts him in that movie now.  Lefty- Dear Lord!

Fifteen seconds of utter silence feels like 15 minutes.

Lefty- Well did you at least hear about the trial? Shorty- The Rittenhouse one? Innocent.  Lefty- NO!  The Smollett one. Guilty on five of six charges.  Shorty-  For his final act did he at least take the stand in his own defense? Lefty- Yes.  And, he tried to weave quite the coverup tail.   Shorty- Call him Colonel Nathan R. Jussie? Lefty- I guess we could.  Shorty- What did the prosecution say?  Lefty- You can’t handle the truth.  Shorty-  CNN is not a good movie critic.  They said he was only guilty of “some” charges.  Five of six sounds like “almost all.”

Lefty- His acting career is over.   Shorty- Nah.  Hollywood will need someone to play an SUV in a soon-to-be-made movie.  Lefty- A what?  Shorty- CNN keeps reporting that an SUV ran over parade-goers in Waukesha.  Lefty- How can you “act” like an SUV?    Shorty- I’d start by studying the “mostly peaceful” protesters in a city near you.  Then, I’d consult with Don Lemon daily during the project.

Lefty- I’m OUT!  Lock up.  Shorty-  That’s what they’re going to do to Colonel Jussie.

 

This….Is…..CNN

CNN is at it again.  Haven’t you noticed?  That’s understandable if you haven’t yet returned to the gym or been through an airport post-Covid.

Yesterday, treadmill humming along, one of our staff members noticed the dreaded Covid new cases reported box firmly entrenched on the right side of their broadcast all over again.  In font normally reserved for DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN, the readout showed 17,149 new cases of Covid last week in total and its fast-growing sidekick the Delta variant as the root cause.

The weekly total (17,149) represents a whopping 49% increase week over last week per the second CNN graphic.

“They” say that numbers don’t lie.  And, if you take “they” at their word it breaks down as follows.  Forty-nine percent sounds explosive.  Dog bites man isn’t a story.  Man bites dog is.

However, here is another way of looking at 17,149 new cases.  If you divide the cases into the population in America that we can count (approx 330 mil) your abacas will soon show that it’s about 1 new case for every 20,000 people living on American soil.  Numbers, even small ones, don’t lie.

Then the story took a turn.  Instead of blaming Trump for his poor leadership during the pandemic (he’s no longer in office in case you’ve been away for a bit), the announcers took turns slamming Republicans and Independents for being far less vaccinated than Democrats.   It’s not Biden’s fault now, but it was Trump’s fault then.

But, the funny/sad/confusing/outrageous thing is that the World Health Organization is recommending that all vaccinated adults continue to wear a face mask to minimize the spread.  Hmm.

This all may be news to you as CNN’s ratings, low v. MSNBC and FOX for years, have fallen even further post-election.

For example, 8 pm EST host Chis Cuomo garners only 15% of the three cable news networks’ total viewership.  You remember Cuomo.  He is the self-aggrandizing guy who emerged from his own basement to hug his family on live TV when he had heroically fought off the virus last year.  Fifteen percent viewership is an even deeper basement to climb out of.

But never let facts get in the way of a good narrative.  Enter Dr. Fauci, everyone’s favorite disease specialist.  Yesterday, the good doctor went on national tv and highly recommended that all children unvaccinated, but over the age of two, should wear a mask.  Two.   Good luck.

Fauci is 80 years old.  He may not remember how active two-year-olds were 78 years ago.  Or, today.

With no vaccine approval for ages 2-12 yet, doesn’t this set up well (if you like the narrative) or poorly(if you don’t) for a back-to-school fiasco?

If a teacher’s union or three refused to reenter the classrooms this fall Biden and Co. could fully support them and blame those lousy unvaccinated Republicans.

CNN likely is prepping the story now.

If you’re working out or flying you might even see it.

 

 

Robin Hood Rides Again

Politicians make strange bedfellows.  What’s old is new.

Do you know what you get when you cross-breed two old-school famous sayings?  You get Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez(AOC).

Old Bernie turns 80 this coming September.  He’s been doing all of the Vermont people’s business since 1991 in one or the other Halls of Congress.  That’s a smooth 30 years.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 19: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) endorses Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at a campaign rally.

Young AOC turns 32 this coming October.    She’s been doing some of the New York people’s business since 2019 in the House of Representatives.  That’s two years and counting.

President Joe Biden revealed his $2 trillion-plus infrastructure plan late last week shortly after the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill two weeks prior.  Never mind that the relief bill only had 9% of the money earmarked for direct money to the citizens nor that that infrastructure plan (dubbed the American Jobs Plan) has only about 25% for traditional (roads, bridges, airports) infrastructure repair or improvements.

A BBR staffer bumped into a U.S. Rep Saturday who will remain nameless.  That Congressperson summed the giveaways up perfectly,  “you can sell anything you want when you use the words ‘Covid relief.’  And who can possibly be against ‘jobs’?”  Indeed.  Sounds like a chicken in every pot and pork for all.

But wait, there’s more!  Or at least AOC and Bernie wish it to be so.

AOC applauded Biden’s “vision” on the infrastructure plan but exclaimed that it is not sufficient and “needs to be way bigger.”  She went on, “we’re the richest country in the world, it should be $10 trillion.”

Senator Sanders said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he was working to include “human infrastructure” into President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package.  “One of the areas that I am working on right now is the need to expand Medicare in order to provide dental care and hearing aids and eyeglasses for the elderly. Is that infrastructure? I think it is. Look, Jake, the truth is, in so many ways, we are behind many other countries throughout the world in providing for working families and the elderly and the children. And I think now is the time to begin addressing our physical infrastructure and our human infrastructure.”

Who knew infrastructure had so many definitions?  And, if you can’t hear people blowing horns at you nor see the red light in front of you how can you take advantage of all that new infrastructure?  We digress.

Is it any wonder that AOC backed Sanders’s latest failed bid to reach the Democratic nomination for President?

AOC called us rich and therefore we snap our fingers and can afford it. Oh, to be young and naive all over again.

Sanders makes it overtly simple.  He is a Socialist.

Biden said no one making under $400k will have to pay for any of it.  Well, the corporate tax of currently 21% recommended returning to the previous 28% might cost the consumer a titch we suppose.

“No president has ever raised business taxes to recover from an economic crisis,” Rep. Kevin Brady, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said. “This couldn’t come at a worse time.”  Details, details.

In 13th Century England, Robin Hood robbed from the rich and gave to the poor.  Supposedly.

Robinhood.com, the investor website, got in trouble playing games with GameStop stock a few weeks back.

And now this young (AOC) and old(Sanders) Robin Hood duo are playing a different game that needs to stop.

Margaret Thatcher knew as much many, many moons ago.  She said, “the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”