Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on February 16, 2022February 16, 2022 by thependulumswings staff

If you’re waiting anxiously at your door for a block of ice delivery from Canada it might be a while. But, if you’re waiting for your delivery of some tasty nuggets, we’ve got ten on your virtual doorstep below.

The contrast between the summer of 2020 discontent in America and the Canadian Freedom Convoy protest approaches polar opposites. Up north it’s mostly peaceful while south of the frozen Canadian tundra it was said to be mostly peaceful. Americans lit cities on fire. Canadians are lighting wood in barrels on fire to stay warm. America allowed the destruction and took little to no action against the instigators. PM Trudeau has invoked the Emergency Act in an attempt to freeze banks accounts, take gas away, and tow trucks from the streets.
Trudeau’s temper tantrum seems a bit harsh. But, it is two separate countries on one continent. To each their own. Still, no one remembers Antifa nor BLM having funds frozen in 2020. But, you might remember certain politicians (Kamala Harris), corporations, and actors donating money to the causes or the rare need for bail money. And, now a lot of that money has gone missing, but we digress.
As Special Council Durham
Durham Means Business It Seems

continues his journey into purported spying, lying, and trumped-up Russian ties/allegations against Trump, the so-called mainstream media remains eerily quiet. How the world of journalism has changed from by the book factual investigative reporting to cheerleading for one side or the other in the last 40 years is fascinating and terribly disappointing. Deep Throat, if we knew who he or she was, would have a sore throat trying to get someone to listen to them.
If there was even a hint that Trump spied on the Biden White House can you imagine the fervor? Maybe this is a big nothing burger. But indictments are coming in the dozens and soon. Better to cover what turns out to be a non-story than to not cover a story you would think.
On 10/31/16, just seven days prior to the general election Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton tweeted out, “Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank. This secret hotline may be the key to unlocking the mystery to Trump’s ties to Russia.” Did she omit the part about her operation trumping up the charges and paying for the head fake? We will see.
You can vote early (today) in Texas for their 3/1 primaries setting up the November elections. The gubernatorial primary comes down to incumbent Greg Abbott getting 50% plus one vote to advance to meet Beto O’Rourke from the left in the general. O’ Rourke has already announced that he wants no part of Biden in Texas to “help” him.
Lost to Cruz and Biden. It’s Abbott for the Hat Trick.

Yesterday he walked as far away from his 2019 attack on gun owners (we’re going to take away their AR15s and AK47s) when he said “I’m not interested in taking anything from anyone.” Why the sudden change of heart deep in the Heart of Texas? Polls. He trails Abbott by about 58-42% in most polls.
Get ready to roll up your sleeve every year from now till death. A high-ranking US FDA Officer on a hidden camera revealed the government’s future Covid policy. “Joe Biden wants to innoculate as many as possible.” “You’ll have to get an annual shot.” The FDA is not going to not approve it.”
Dr. Fauci couldn’t agree more. He was on MSNBC last evening with Chris Hayes and said, “You may be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with the US, nor is it done with the world.” He went on, “the protection with boosting is profound.” This contradicts a Pfizer news release last Friday that showed their booster’s efficacy diminishes greatly after four months. Maybe it’s three shots a year every year till death do us part.
NBC is strutting its peacock feathers as viewership of its conventional broadcast and streaming of Super Bowl LVI totaled 112.3 million viewers. That was up 13% from last year and nearly an all-time high. If you thought Kapernick and his knee would break the NFL think again. It’s a marketing and brand machine the world over.
Well, it is except in Los Angeles who hosted the party/game and had the hometown Rams playing and winning it. LA didn’t make the top ten markets in viewership per Nielsen. Cincinnati lost the game but won the Nielsen’s as it had the highest audience share in the country. It was 80 plus degrees in LA and sunny. Isn’t it always? There were better things to do.

You’ve been served.

A Rock Fight

Posted on February 14, 2022February 14, 2022 by thependulumswings staff

In politics, 2024 is just around the corner. But for aspiring, thought to be front-running politicians it’s light-years away.

After all, who thought an ACORN employee turned Illinois Congressman would walk in the room and crack the glass ceiling when Hillary Clinton was attempting to hammer it herself in 2008?

And, who thought a gritty NY businessman turned reality show star would walk in the room and crack eggs over the head of Jeb Bush in 2016?

And, finally, who thought a 77-year-old man four years removed from the lifelong political game could hide in his basement and garner the most votes ever cast in a presidential election?

If you type “politicians make” in the Google search bar in no time you get “make me sick,” “make strange bedfellows,” “make false promises,” and “make too much money” in short order.

So, while we agree on what they do, who in 2024 will turn our collective stomachs? As of today, would you say it’s former President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton?

Several corners on Las Vegas Boulevard do. So is the race to the bottom on?

Time will tell. But what good poker players know as a tell is the not too distant rumblings of the respective parties.

If people judged Donald Trump by what he accomplishes, not what he says or, most of all, how he says it, he would be a worthy candidate all over again. But, too many people have had it with him and his ego, and that was prior to that January 6, 2021 dustup at the Capital Building now labeled as “Insurrection Day” by the left and their media shrills.

If he polls at 30% and the balance of the Republican field scatters the other 70% does that make him the front runner? Yes. But it also makes 70% of the likely Republican voters prefer someone else.

Hillary cannot help herself. Every time she opens her yapper she proves it to the general public. Also, she’s physically not up to the task. She wasn’t well at the wire in 2016, how could she be in 2024? She’s got more than just carry-on baggage. Her email server has been on the fritz for years.

And, now she may have far bigger problems. Special Counsel John Durham looked into Russia’s supposed ties to Trump. And, in quite the plot twist he has tied Hillary’s campaign team to instigating, paying, and then spying on team Trump per his blockbuster report released Friday.

How bad is it? The bombastic former President weighed in yesterday. “This is a scandal far greater in scope and magnitude than Watergate and those who were involved in and knew about this spying operation should be subject to criminal prosecution,” said Trump. “In a stronger period of time in our country, this crime would have been punishable by death,” he said.

Death? Maybe. But, it is a good transitional word. Maybe both of these candidates are dead to us as Tony Soprano might say. Or, maybe they should be.

The only way the Democrats can get back in this race (and we know it is early) is if the Republicans let them back in. And, if they nominate Trump it will be game on. They’ve taken getting their base riled up to a higher art form when they bellow about that Trump fellow.

For the Dems, Biden is 79 and doesn’t know if he’s President of the US or El Salvador. There is no way he’s running again unless it’s to the nearest men’s room. Hillary is 74 and has been shown the door one too many times.

Both parties can do better, can’t they?

Will they? 2024 in one sense is near, but perhaps there is still plenty of time for two fresh faces to appear.

America deserves better than a rock fight.

An Empty Suit?

Posted on December 27, 2021December 27, 2021 by thependulumswings staff

Pre Zoom and pre casual Friday there were offices, typewriters, secretaries, liquid paper, ties, and suits. The suits may have been two-piece or three-piece, wide lapel or not, with a matching pocket square or not, but everyone wore them in the workplace.

Surely you’ve heard that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. But, ultimately it was what’s inside of that suit that counted.

One of our senior staff members had a dyed in the wool suit wearer of a father, complete with a fedora most days. When he thought less of a person’s abilities than necessary to competently carry out the duties of their job, he called them an “empty suit.”

An empty suit might have looked the part or tried to talk the talk, but they couldn’t walk the walk as we twist Jimmy Johnson’s battle cry.

Today, we have a Vice President of the United States who regardless of her choice of clothing might have reached “empty suit” status. Her name is Kamala Harris, and her accomplishments after one year are, well, we aren’t so sure.

But, she seems so sure of her abilities. “Anything that I handle is because it’s a tough issue, and it couldn’t be handled at some other level. And it has actually been part of my lifelong career to deal with tough issues and this is no different.”

Sounds like she’s talking down to the minions at levels below the VP to us. We also note that there is no “I” in “team” as you may have heard.

And, actually, there may be no team in DC named team Kamala soon as well. Her key staff departures are growing by the week. Rumors of lack of strategy, lack of preparedness, and outright finger-pointing by the VP abound.

So what does a VP really do? And what should/or does this VP really do? POTUS named VPOTUS as the lead on the border crisis for one. She’s resisted going there and says that she’s working on the “root causes” of unprecedented illegal crossings.

Don’t we all know what the root cause is? It’s an open border policy driven by this administration of course. Close the border, fix the problem. Boom! “What’s next?” she could ask.

She did fly to France and back. The reasons for which are still unknown. She does laugh a lot. The reasons for which are called nerves.

Could she tackle this tricky virus thing?

She’s not the first VP and won’t be the last to be a punching bag. The list and the list of failures/shortcomings are long. VP nominee Spiro T Agnew, for example, never made it to the office for all of the right reasons. Dan Quayle ran headlong into a tough word in a spelling bee.

But, Kamala might have made it to the office for all of the wrong reasons. Joe Biden moved left and further left in each passing week on the road to the nomination. During Democratic debate #2 he announced that if nominated he would have a woman as his running mate. During debate #3 he announced that she would be black as well.

There’s nothing wrong with being black or being a woman. But, those aren’t qualifications. They’re vote-getters.

There is plenty wrong with being over-jobbed.

What to do? What to do? Ah, yes. Play the race card.

The Daily Mail reports that Ms. Harris has told her confidants that she would get better press coverage if she was a white man. Joe Biden isn’t feeling too good about his press coverage right about now. Donald Trump took a daily beating in years prior. And, George Bush doesn’t send Dan Rather any Christmas cards.

So, is it down to whether Joe chose wrong, or a serious operation is forthcoming?

As a reminder, Harris was polling at less than 1% before dropping out prior to the first primary in Iowa when gunning for the highest job in the land back in 2019. Basically, her own party doesn’t like her.

Now, with her all-time low VP poll numbers in 2021, she’s turning to none other than Hillary Clinton for advice to reverse the dire poll numbers.

Maybe the “vast right-wing conspiracy” theory will get dusted off? There’s a great Bleachbit joke possible there too.

This will get interesting. You now have an “empty suit” asking an “empty pantsuit” for advice.

What could go wrong?