drfauci

A Whole Lotta Love

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Love was in the air yesterday on St. Valentine’s Day.  With so much domestic political rancor and global strife it was quite pleasant to see all of the public displays of affection move to the fore even if it was only one day.  It felt like a Hallmark Movie collided with a Harlequin Romance Novel.

If you missed some, or want to relive them, we recap below.

Mitch McConnell told his wife  “I only have four eyes for you!”

President Biden at first misread the teleprompt card that he wrote for Dr. Jill uttering “IfebbohgeottenJillianstasahar.”  He rebounded nicely though throughout and closed strongly with “Happy Cinco de Mayo my love!”

Dr. Jill swooned and asked if next year Joe’s Valentine’s Day present to her could be inviting Fabio to sit in the balcony at the State of the Union address replacing the first second gentleman Doug Emhoff.

Octogenarian Paul Pelosi reaffirmed his love for Nancy.  He penned to her that “he would suit up in a hammerhead shark costume and swim across shark-infested waters just to be with her on the island of their dreams.”

Nancy thanked him via FaceTime from Dr. Terry Dubrow’s office on the set of Botched.

That island of dreams was not Epstein’s.  Though Bill Gates took to Facebook to openly yearn for one more dinner with Jeffery.

Dr. Fauci’s wife weighed in.  She publically boosted her affection for him shouting “after all these years you still make my heart stop.”

Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, tweeted her hubby ” Will you be my o cardi I tis?”   His heart fluttered at the thought.

China continues to court the US sending, in their words, “waun valrentin barroon erry day.”

Karine Jean Claude Van Damn Pierre abruptly ended her presser and jetted off to France to propose to the Eiffel Tower.  Weird?  Yes.  Pronouns to follow.

Alec Baldwin tried to knock the Rust off of his stale relationship with his wife of ten years Hilaria, and took his best shot proclaiming “I’d marry you all over again!”

He’s denying that he’s been cast in the lead role of Married Behind Bars next season.  Guns and Roses is under contract to do the theme song.

Unfortunately, not everything was roses and candy yesterday.  Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg revealed that his relationship with a derailed train in Ohio turned toxic.  He felt the need to clear the air, so he blew it up.

Love and Spring are indeed in the air!

 

 

 

 

 

In This Corner…..

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The fight for control of the narrative is on.  And it’s a heavyweight bout.

Standing in one corner is Elon Musk.  His diminutive size should not be dismissed as he packs a hell of a right cross.  Or, as the left suddenly realizes it’s a hell of a cross from the right.

Maybe he’s not right, or from the right all of the time, but he is right in the middle of this Twitterverse turnabout and bobbing and weaving like a 20-year-old flyweight.

Standing in the other corner is everyone who had a free run when free speech was on the run at Twitter.  When you can throw unabated haymakers you can pretty much control the narrative.

Censoring, shadow banning, or limiting the exposure of anyone who agreed with Trump, was related to Trump, wanted to expose the Hunter Biden laptop contents, or opposed the great Dr. Fauci and his vax needles were the plans from the corner.  It’s a walkover when your opponent can’t get into the ring.

But, the counter-punching has started.  Already, the weakest from the left have left the ring.  Some of the dumbest, aka Alyssa Milano, stayed and need a standing eight count to even continue.

Many of these same folks were “moving to Canada if Trump wins.”  They didn’t of course.  If they had they would have been able to participate in the draconian approach of PM Trudeau to freedom of expression (arresting protesting truckers) and combating the pandemic (shutdowns, masks, no work, and vax and vax and boost and boost).

“My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci,” Musk wrote on his Twitter account on Sunday.  That was a quick one-two combo at Fauci’s follies and the pronoun crowd.

On Monday the WH condemned Musk after he ridiculed President Joe Biden’s close coronavirus advisor and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci on social media.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized Musk’s social media remarks as “dangerous” yesterday.

“Truth resonates,” Musk added.

“These attacks, these personal attacks that we have been seeing are dangerous on Dr. Fauci and other public health officials as well, they are disgusting and they are divorced of reality,” she said during the daily briefing.

Dangerous?  Disgusting?  Really?  Tell us how.  Tell us more.

Wait, we know.  It’s dangerous and disgusting because it goes against the worn-out, beat-up, torn-down narrative.  You know it.  “Get boosted.”  “Winter of death.”  “Wear two masks.”  “Just one vax a year.”  “Just two.”  “It’s a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

It’s borderline the dreaded “misinformation.”

When will anyone or everyone realize that we are all unvaxxed?  That’s right, follow the science.  It’s the one telling you that the vax’s efficacy lasts about two months in your body.

When will the WH, Fauci, and their cronies realize that America stopped getting jabbed about six months ago?  They said the fight is over.  They threw in the towel and the worthless masks as well.

She reminded reporters that Fauci had served under seven presidents and that Americans were “fortunate” to benefit from the “life and exceptional talent.”  “That’s what should be discussed right now, that’s what we should be thankful to him about,” she said.

Ah, yes.  Let’s give thanks for a long public service career.  Joe Biden has had a similar one.   Longevity may have nothing to do with excellence and vice versa.

Some pugilists have gotten high on the lifestyle and the money.  They’ve been hit once too many times about the cranium.  They retired too late.

Some public servants have stayed in the ring too long as well.

Meanwhile, Musk is going for the TKO.

And, it might be only round one for him.

Let’s get ready to rumble.

 

 

 

 

Lefty and Shorty Talk Fauci

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Last evening Lefty and Shorty were all but ready to close the Gulf Station.   Rain was falling from the heavens at an accelerating pace, mosquitoes were rolling in and cars were not.  Shorty- Why do we stay open until midnight?  Lefty- So that you and I can discuss one of the most influential people of the 21st century, Dr. Anthony “Tony” Fauci, who announced that he was retiring before the November midterms.

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

Lefty-  Can you believe what world influence he wielded? Shorty-  Meh. He was a not-so-great actor on a big stage with a constantly changing script. Lefty- Umm.  An actor?  Shorty-  Yes, actor.  But, he was not close to the best “Tony” actor of the last 22 years.   Lefty- I can’t believe you think…  Shorty- The best “Tony” actor had the last name of Soprano, Tony Soprano.

Lefty- What in the world does Tony Soprano have to do with Fauci.?  Shorty- They were similar.  Lefty- Wow! Go on.  Shorty- Well, one was tall and fat, the other short and thin, but.. Lefty- But what?  Shorty- Tony hired men to take a shot at hundreds.  Fauci hired Pfizer to give a shot to millions.

Lefty- Please.  Shorty- Tony was a habtual liar.  Fauci was too.  Lefty- Come on.  Fauci was following the science.  Shorty-  No, Fauci was following the money, same as Tony.  Both had huge egos.  Fauci wanted you to follow the scientist, not the science.  His act is now all played out.

Lefty- I can’t believe…Shorty- There’s more.  Lefty- God forbid!  Shorty- They both had women costars that acted subserviently.  Tony had Carmela, and Fauci had Dr. Birx.  Lefty- This should be interesting.  Shorty- Camela lied for Tony.  Birx lied for Fauci.  Lefty- I see.  Shorty- And, they both liked scarves.  Birx wore one every day.  Lefty- I’ll bite, what about Carmela?  Shorty- Once Tony had to buy back her loyalty after another dalliance and got her a Hermes scarf. She showed it off to all of her friends mispronouncing it as “her me’s. Lefty- So?  Shorty-  Unknowingly, pronoun identity may have begun right then and there.

Lefty- One of us could use a mafia necktie right about now.  Shorty- Fauci said that he wasn’t retiring, he was just going to the next chapter of his life. Lefty- Here’s a softball.  What do you think that might be?  Shorty- The N95 Masked Singer, what else?  But, he might also get to work with Rand Paul soon.

Lefty- What else?  Fifteen minutes of my life, I’ll never get back.  Lock the place up, I’m out.  Shorty-  Well, at least we socially distanced tonight.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Give a three-year-old a blank piece of paper and a box of crayons and off he/she (pronouns undecided) goes wild.  Give a staff writer the green light on the word “random” and they/us (pronouns known) go wild.

  1.  If you had Tampa Bay (v Saints and Football Team) and the LA Rams (v Titans and the 49ers) both losing two in a row, Peyton and Eli might invite you on the show next Monday night.
  2. The Bucs’ Bruce Arians pulls no punches.  He put a good bit of the blame right at Tom Brady’s feet.  The Rams added OBJ for a good reason.  They’ve only scored 26 points total in those last two losing efforts.  In the NFL you’re only as good as your next game.
  3. Kenosha is bracing for the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict.  Could widespread rioting occur?  The National Guard is at the ready.  Where were they the first time?
  4. How did the Kenosha DA’s office do in the eyes of America?  “The performance of Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger was especially pathetic,” wrote the NY Post.  The final low might have been the lowest.  He pointed an AR15 at the jury box with his finger on the trigger during closing arguments.  His case was shot well before that, however.  Yesterday the judge threw the weapons charges out.  In poker terms, it was a tell of how the bigger charges might play out.
  5. How is it in America that some think 18 is too young to possess a gun but 16 is old enough to vote?  And, a 14-year-old can get an abortion without parental consent, and a four-year-old is mature enough to decide their gender?  Regardless of party preference some critical thinking is strongly advised.
  6. While Elon Musk is dumping 10s of billions of dollars of Telsa stock, the American investor is buying 10s of billions of EV truck maker Rivian.  Rivian went public under the ticker “RIVN” on Nov. 10, 2021 at an initial offering price of $78.  It closed yesterday at $149 and is premarket trading this AM at $166.  Its market value yesterday was greater than General Motors.  Is it the next Tesla?  Maybe Elon is buying a share or three?
  7. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Dr. Anthony Faucisaid on “CBS Sunday Morning” that former President Donald Trump’s “misplaced perception” about people’s individual rights hurt public safety during the coronavirus pandemic.  Ted Koppel was the host.  Ole Ted missed a great opportunity.  He could have asked what Fauci would he would do differently from day one as well.  But, Ted stayed dutifully on the CBS script.
  8. Covid levels are spiking in countries abroad as well as in two handfuls of states here all over again.  Why did the US Government remove international to US travel restrictions two weeks ago?  And, does Fauci have an answer for this spike, or should he blame Trump?
  9. And, here comes Trump.  A very recent poll (the name escapes us, but its credibility does not) showed that of likely Republican voters in the first primary state of Iowa former President Donald J Trump leads all other Republican possible challengers by nearly 20 percentage points.  It says here that the only way the GOP loses the White House in 2024 is to nominate Trump.  There’s a very long road to 2024 of course, but the first fork is a wrong turn.
  10.  Trump used to love to say, “you’re fired” in a previous life.  In football head coaches are hired to be fired.  Justin Fuente, who had a 43-31 record in six seasons at Virginia Tech, is out as the Hokies’ football coach, athletic director Whit Babcock announced Tuesday.  Virginia Tech joins USC, Washington, Washington State, and LSU as Power 5 job openings. Who’s next?  The University of Miami, FL fired AD, Blake James yesterday.  That paves the way for a new AD to let Manny Diaz go.  A 6-4 record in year four isn’t good enough, and a loss to Florida St isn’t acceptable.  Steve Sarkesian anyone?  The Texas Longhorn faithful are an impatient group, a very impatient group.  Stranger things have happened.

Underoos and Boosters

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

To mask or not to mask?  That is but one of the many questions that the CDC must ask, and answer.

Main St. (we have plenty of toilet paper and Clorox Wipes on the shelves) and Wall St. (new highs on major averages nearly weekly) are behaving much differently than last April 2020.  Meanwhile, the CDC, WHO, Fauci, and your ever-loving government seem like they can’t get out of the middle of a busy intersection.

They have a few questions to answer.  Again, we might add.

In no particular order, we pose more than two handfuls below.

  1.  Do masks really help? No, really help?
  2.  If they do why aren’t we all wearing them again right now?  Why only the hot spots CDC?  Why not the other spots before they turn into hot spots as well?
  3. Should we call the vaccines, well, vaccines?  Or should we call them therapeutics?  When you hear about needing a booster (3rd shot) after a scant few months you have to wonder.  When you hear Pfizer’s initial two doses may only have a 40% retention of the antibodies after only four months you have to wonder even more.
  4. How can pro golfer Jon Rahm test positive six weeks ago, go into quarantine, get fully vaccinated, and test positive yet again this past week? If you trust the tests, which is a whole other box of swabs, then Rahm’s results make you wonder why we test and why we get vaccinated.
  5. Where is the “science” or “data” (the two most overused words on the planet in the last 15 months) that compares positive tested adults’ resiliency to reoccurrence v. vaccinated adults?
  6. Why did Biden campaign against the “reckless way” Trump rushed the vaccines to the market and now blame those unvaccinated for the latest wave?  Seems like a mixed message.  Also, how can the border be wide open during a pandemic?
  7. Why do those that scream that it is a women’s right to choose also scream at the unvaccinated as if they have no right to choose? If your answer is that they are two totally different circumstances, you may be right and you may be wrong at the same time.
  8. Is anyone working on a better vaccine?  We assume that private enterprise and capitalism are always doing what the market rewards, but the noise is quite silent around this.   Why aren’t people demanding this and holding the Administration’s feet to the fire?
  9. Is big brother actively encouraging pharma to do so?  Are they incentivizing it? We give away billions every day.  Maybe we could call it infrastructure to speed it along?  Maybe we could call it climate change remediation to speed it along?
  10.  Where did the flu go?  How did we drop from millions of cases in a year to next to none?  Ah, was it because of masks, washing hands, and social distancing that it went away?  If so, why hasn’t that worked on Covid-19?  More contagious you say?  Then why are we doing it in the first place then?
  11.  Does wearing a mask on your chin help?  Does wearing a mask only to cover your mouth help?
  12. Now that we have a Delta variant and a Lambda variant can a third be far off?  Should we publicize the future names now as we do for the hurricane season?  In today’s world of equality, half need to be male and half female names.   And, don’t forget the acceptable pronouns.
  13. Can anyone make Joy (was there ever a worst first name given relative to the person’s disposition?) Behar close that worthless yapper of hers?  Yesterday she said that we should begin to “threaten” those who remain unvaccinated.  It wasn’t that long ago that individual freedoms were the ever-present battle cry from the left.  It still is depending upon the subject.  See question seven above.
  14.  If you have a child ages 2-12 will you get them vaccinated when the CDC and the FDA say that the shot or shots are safe?  Why?
  15.  If you have a 3-5-year-old have you bought the mask that Fauci wants your child to wear to preschool?  Crayons, Underoos, lunch boxes, and masks.

Questions, we had a few.

 

 

Problem Solved

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

People the world over ask BBR daily what is the real purpose of its burgeoning business.  The answer is, and always has been simple.  BBR is in the “solutions” business.

Add in a touch of Rasmussen, who is in the polling business, and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) who owns a football factory or fourteen and, voila!  We’ve done it again.

Problem solved.  Which one, you ask?  Eliminating Covid-19 is which one.

Over 105 million, or 31.8% of the US population have been fully vaccinated according to the CDC as of May 3rd.

On Tuesday Rasmussen released poll results surveyed April 29 -May 2 which asked the simple question “Should people who have been vaccinated fully against Covid-19 continue wearing masks in public places?”  Forty-nine percent said yes, while 42 percent said no.  It seems like there is some division along party lines as 67% of Republicans said no, while 75% of Democrats said yes.

So, get fully vaccinated and wear a mask.  That should do it.

But, for how long to ensure that we end the pandemic do we need to vac and mask?  That was question number two.  Thirty-three percent said “six months to a year.”  Thirty percent said “less than six months.”  Risk-takers they are.  Ten percent said “at least eighteen months” while nine percent said “the next couple of years.”

And, finally, six percent want to be uber safe.  They recommended “indefinitely.”  You have to think that at least 60 of every 1000 adults polled don’t know what the word “indefinitely” means, don’t you?  Hopefully.

So, get fully vaccinated and wear a mask for a long time.  That should do it.

But, there is this pesky problem.  Vaccination rates have stalled.  Heck, in the deep south they started slower and seem to have tapered off.  Egads.

The University of Alabama finishes first in football every year.  But, in adult population vaccinations the State of Alabama finishes last.  The CDC says Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Georgia are close behind in 49th through 45th.

Enter Dan Wolken, USA Today Columnist, with a take that should light up the scoreboard.  He recommends that for entry into an SEC stadium near you this fall that you would have to show proof of vaccine.  After all, he writes, what better way to motivate people than to tell them they must show proof to get into an SEC venue like Bryant Denny Stadium this fall?

Is there a better name to write this than Dan (drop the “L”) Woken.  What’s better than “woke?”  Woken.  Or, Wolken.  We digress.

Hopefully, there is no backlash from Title IX supporters that Wolken only speaks to full capacity stadiums for men’s football games.  Shouldn’t this requirement extend to, say, full capacity arenas for women’s basketball?  Nevermind.

And, why only the SEC?  What about, for instance, the PAC 12?  They still play football, don’t they?  Don’t they?  Do they?

What Wolken calls an incentive, others call suppression of their freedom.

So, get fully vaccinated, wear a mask(or two) forever, and we’ll let you sit in a full (at least in the south) stadium to watch a football game.  Deal?

Problem solved we think.

But just in case, should we dock the Navy hospital ships USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort off of the Gulf Coast this fall?

Only Dr. Fauci knows.