lorilightfoot.

Wouldn’t You Like To Be?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Believe it or not, Barry Manilow was the original singer of the very popular Dr. Pepper commercial jingle that had the refrain “I’m a pepper he’s a pepper she’s a pepper we’re a pepper wouldn’t you like to be a pepper too?” back in the late 1970s.

Fast forward to the early 2020s and your US government is singing the very popular jingle “I’m a victim he’s a victim she’s a victim we’re a victim wouldn’t you like to be a victim too?”   

Don’t believe it?  Consider a few examples.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was asked yesterday if her gender and race had anything to do with her getting trounced in her mayoral bid for a second term.  She explained away her Tuesday election loss as a result of her being a “Black woman in America.”  She’s a victim.

If there were any credible journalists left in America the follow-up should have been, “then how did you get elected the first time with over 50% of the vote if everyone is so prejudiced?   Tuesday she garnered a miserable 17%.  Was crime on the ballot?

Chicago’s crime rates on serious offenses (murder up 59% for example) and overall crime (up 33%) skyrocketed under her watch.

She talked negatively of the police.  She recommended that vendors have no cash.  She told retailers to hire private security.  They aren’t the victims of the crimes perpetrated.  She made the perpetrators the victims.

When caught only 1900 of the last 20,000 felonies charged in Chicago have been prosecuted.  The other 18,100 dismissed must be victims of the system.

You’re a victim of a worldwide pandemic.   As a victim, Congress and President Trump enacted temporary SNAP enhanced allocations in March 2020 as part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to “address temporary food needs” during the pandemic.

Temporary has lasted three full years.  Never mind that unemployment has been at a multi-decade low for the last 18 months.  Don’t forget your “free” shots and boosters aplenty to avoid another such disaster.

Can’t pay your federal student loan debt?  No worries, you were a victim of signing up for the money to begin with.  Uncle Joe wants to forgive you to the tune of 10k a person immediately costing taxpayers over 400 billion in the process.  Who reads the fine print saying that you have to pay it back anyways?

You would be a better reader but were neglected by not having access to preschool.  We could get “free” preschool if big corporations would just pay their fair share.  Can anyone define what “fair share” means?  Government can.  It means more.

Is climate change disproportionately affecting you and yours?  Relax.  The Inflation Reduction Act is here to help.  Huh? What’s in a name anyway?

And, you’re a victim of slavery even today.  Never mind that no one alive, nor their parents, owned slaves or were slaves.  Let’s get those reparations rolling. Don’t worry about who qualifies and how.  Just identify as being wronged and big brother will make it right.  Elizabeth Warren is rechecking her 23andMe results.

The government is here to help, always.  Unfortunately, that dependency creates a culture that perpetuates itself.

Actually, the government feeds off of feeding you.

How about a chicken in every pot?

Surely our trusted government can get those hens cranking out eggs again and soon.

You can depend on it.  Or, choose to not.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s been a minute.  Time to satisfy your cravings.

  1. Yesterday FBI Director Christopher Wray told  FOX Anchor Bret Baier, “The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.”  Potential?  It’s already past tense, isn’t it?  Incident?  Did someone accidentally leave the front door open too long?
  2. The Energy Department said as much last week.  What does the Energy Department have to do with viruses?  We have no idea. Before you know it the big lie will complete its big reveal.   The Big Guy, aka Joe Biden, will take center stage and say, “Folks, no joke, I’m serious.  The ca ca ccoronabile virus m m emanated from Iraq, excuse me, I meant you know, Whoo Hans.”
  3. Is Fauci hiding under a rock?  He needs to be.  His day is coming.  Rand Paul lies in wait.
  4. Joe’s getting a lot of air time recently.  Monday he celebrated Black History Month in a WH speech to about 400 assembled.  Pandering to the crowd as always, he said, “I’m a white boy, but I ain’t stupid.”   Some might say that he’s approximately half right.
  5. The Supreme Court heard two cases against President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan on Tuesday.  The conservative-leaning court’s questions centered around “why isn’t Congress involved in this?”  Seems like they should be.  We have a three-branch government, not a king.  Of course, Ukraine disagrees with the prior sentence.  PS.  If your loan is a private one you get no relief.  If your loan is paid off you get no refund.  Do the right thing and get a stick in the eye.
  6. Speaking of kings, Volodymyr Zelensky admonished those in the US who oppose giving him and his country more money.  He said in effect, that either you continue to give or your sons and daughters will be shedding blood in the cause.
  7. Hopefully, the first ones to volunteer will be those that are proudly flying the Ukraine flag here daily.  We wouldn’t hold our breath on that.  We’d guess a fair number of them were also moving to Canada if Trump got elected.
  8. Speaking of queens, Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago has one foot out of the door as her bid for reelection went up in flames last evening.  The burn was as bright as when Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over the lantern.  Finishing third with no one achieving 50% eliminates her from the runoff.
  9. Lightfoot garnered a paltry 16% of the vote.  Stated differently, a whopping 84% of Chicagoans voted against her.  It takes great indifference and incompetence to be that bad.  She excelled at both.
  10. The torch for the worst mayor in the US now passes to Latoya Cantrell in NOLA.  A petition to recall her has sufficient signatures.  She was just reelected, but may not get to finish her second term.  One can hope.
  11. Extra, Extra!  What do Lightfoot and Cantrell’s tenures have in common? People are moving out due to runaway overall crime, record murder numbers, and a steep decline in the number of police on the force.   Crime pays.  It cost one and soon maybe the other their jobs.  Sometimes the pendulum swings take time.

Ten Piece Nuggets

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

There is no shortage of turmoil and tumult in this tempestuous nation/world that we live in.  Hence there is no shortage of “you’re kidding me” moments, actions or misdeeds to box up a Ten Piece Nuggets weekly.  Supply chain issues we have none here.

  1. Ever played Wordle?  It’s a progressive use of only five-letter words chasing the word of the day.   Ever since The New York Times bought it 90 or so days ago, BBR’s been waiting for them to either screw it up, charge for it, or put their worldly slant on it.  This morning the NYT announced that it was removing the word “fetus” in a move to keep the game “distinct from the news.”
  2. This move put the game right into the news, which is of course exactly what they wanted.  Maybe if the word fetus is removed from our minds there will be no more fetuses?
  3. Try typing in the word “slave” next time you play.  It’s not there either.  If it helped get rid of slavery that’s a plus.  Of course, it didn’t.  But we can always change, alter, rewrite, or ignore history if need be.  And, most of all the word “slave” is offensive.
  4. Honorable Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has a hunch (like renowned seer Eric Swalwell) that this Roe V Wade overturn is just the start.  “To my friends in the LGBTQ+ community—the Supreme Court is coming for us next. This moment has to be a call to arms,” she tweeted.  And, she had more goodwill in her next.  “We will not surrender our rights without a fight—a fight to victory!”  Just rhetoric you say?  Perhaps.  Chicago has the highest murder rate in this country.  Mostly peaceful protests are sure to follow.
  5. Two quick years ago, Chuck Schumer had it with two justices specifically.   Speaking to the pro-abortion (meaning women’s wellness) activists in front of the Supreme Court building, Schumer called out Gorsuch and Kavanaugh by name, saying: “You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”  Just rhetoric you say?  Perhaps. New York, where Schumer hails from has marginally less gun violence than Chicago.
  6.  Was it rhetoric that got President Trump into trouble that lead to the January 6th insurrection?  Nope, it was a dereliction of duty some say.  Actually, it was stupidity just like the two outbursts above.  Of course, with each passing week, we are learning that the “storming” of the capitol might have had deeper planted roots.  Now that would be more than rhetoric and stupidity combined.
  7. All of the above is a win for the left.  Galvanize the base on the possible decision to return the abortion debate back to the states, but make it sound like SO much more than that.  Forget that gas prices climbed to an all-time high yesterday.  What border?  Do yourself a favor and skip peeking at your 401k.
  8. Bette Midler is encouraging women and girls to take a knee the next time “The Star-Spangled Banner” is played, in apparent protest of the U.S. Supreme Court’s forthcoming decision on Roe v. Wade.  While they’re kneeling could they say a prayer to ease the baby formula shortage?  Or, is that too much to ask?
  9. Meanwhile, did you know that a majority of pro-life advocates are women?  Did you know that the US is only one of seven countries on earth that allow elective abortion through all nine months of pregnancy?
  10.  The DOJ is launching a new office.  It’s the Office of Environmental Justice.  AG Merrick Garland released a statement, “Although violations of environmental laws can happen anywhere, communities of color, indigenous communities, and low-income communities often bear the brunt of the harm caused by environmental crime, pollution, and climate change.”  Shakedowns are in style all over again.  Better Call Saul.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                You’ve been served.

Crime Solved

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Yesterday BBR posted content questioning what some cities and their leadership were doing about the ramp-up in flash mob theft.  We specifically cited Lori Lightfoot’s ignorant response(s) which put the responsibility back on the retailers.  Lightfoot is no gumshoe, but we digress.

We also observed that about twenty national retailers penned a letter asking the federal government for help.  Well, what do you know?  Yesterday, Jen Psaki, WH Press Secretary was asked what the reasons for this spike were and what help the Biden Administration would provide back to the local level.

“I would say, we have seen, I’m not going to attribute the reasoning from here,” Psaki said. “What I will tell you is we have seen an increase in crime over the course of the pandemic. There is a range of reasons for that.”

Psaki didn’t go into any of the range of reasons.  But she did cite the pandemic.  We are aware of several side effects of Covid-19 and its variants like the loss of taste and smell, but not the loss of merchandise in stores.   Who knew that planned robberies were a viral symptom?

What is even stranger is that this side effect seems to be acutely affecting San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, New York, and Minneapolis.   All of these cities lead the way in mask mandates and social distancing.  We wonder if asking their police to stand down prior to the pandemic during the “mostly peaceful” protests could be a root cause as well.

Maybe.  “The president has proposed additional funding in the budget to make sure local police departments and cops have the funding they need,” Psaki said. “We also have worked directly with police departments in areas where they are seeing the highest impact of the crime, the retail theft—which we have great concern about.”

So, it seems that defunding the police and causing mayhem was the ticket to getting elected while refunding the police might be needed to get reelected.

Also.  “One of the root reasons of crime in communities is guns and gun violence, and we’ve seen that statistically around the country,” Psaki said last week.  Chicago might even agree.

No one asked her if any guns have been brandished during the smash and grab crimes.  They haven’t been.  But, it’s always a good day to take a shot at gun control that way when a store owner shoots a “victim or two” we can take to the streets again protesting these senseless shootings.

And finally.  She added: “Our focus is currently on doing what we can to make sure the funding is out there to the communities that need it the most.”

Which communities need it the most?  The ones cited above that elected them in the first place.  It’s always a good day to throw federal money at your local political bases.

So there you have it.  Just one day after asking, ye shall receive.

This is governance at its finest.

Problem day one, fixed day two.

Now, these cities can go back to enforcing the reinstated mask mandates to save even more lives.

 

 

Crime Time

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Long before Kamala Harris was named Border in Chief she ran quite poorly for Commander in Chief.   Prior to that she was a Senator, and prior to that she was the Attorney General for the State of California.

As AG her number one job was to prosecute individuals that the state felt were guilty of a crime.  You would think she knows a criminal when she sees a criminal.  You would also think that she would know well enough to refrain from jumping to conclusions until facts around such cases are researched.

Back in 2019 when the Jussie Smollett circus came to a town known as Chicago, Kamala tweeted, “@JussieSmollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery. This was an attempted modern-day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate.”

Well, that didn’t age well.  Madame VP has yet to tweet or publicly speak to the Smollett guilty verdicts nor her rush to judgment.  Remember BBR lecture no. 23- never let facts get in the way of a good narrative.

There are/were so many lessons to be learned right there in the Windy City.

But, the Mayor of the Windy City, Lori Lightfoot disagrees.  You would think she would know better as well.

Her thoughts?   She essentially told the retail community to fix the crime issue themselves.

She specifically mentioned security guards at the door, entrance cameras, merchandise “either chained and roped or put behind glass” and customers being “buzzed into” stores.

On Thursday, Illinois Retail Merchants Association President Rob Karr flatly rejected all of the mayor’s ideas.

He branded the suggestions “extraordinarily disheartening,” “misinformed” and “false”—yet another example of how Lightfoot “continues to point fingers and play the blame game.”

And he continued, “We’d be getting screamed at for [racial profiling].  And furthermore, it would push more people to simply go online. Why would you go to a store if you can’t touch, feel and try on the merchandise?”

And online is where the stolen merchandise is going for resale. Looks like these mobs “fence” the goods on Al Gore’s internet.

As if brick-and-mortar didn’t have enough problems dealing with online, now they are paying for the products, displaying them, losing the cost dollars when stolen, and watching online third-party “retailers” gain 100% profit from them.

If the local government won’t help, how about the federal government?

Twenty CEOs at major retailers sent a letter addressed to congressional leadership on Thursday asking lawmakers to pass legislation to help curb illegal business activity by anonymous vendors online.

What to do?  What to do?

With her border now under control, maybe Biden can assign the former AG, now VP, to tackle this difficult situation.

Her judicial eyesight is so good she can spot a crook on a snowy night at 4 AM from hundreds of miles away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the Winner Is?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

We have interesting developments to share as the “peaceful” protesters continue defacing buildings, looting, committing bodily assaults, and toppling statues.  President Trump has sent in the “federal police.”  Except that isn’t the development of interest.

The Democrat mayors of 15 cities across the United States have signed a letter asking Attorney General William Barr and Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf to remove or not send federal law enforcement officers to their municipalities, calling the deployments an “abuse of power.”  Except that isn’t the interesting development either.  For now, the deployment is limited to the most unruly of all-Portland.

In the countdown of most interesting, the action of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot finishes a strong third.  “I’m calling on all Chicagoans that if you see something that doesn’t look right, please, don’t hesitate to report it,” Lightfoot said during a press conference. “We are going to remain diligent.”

Finally, she is urging residents to take action to take back their beloved city from its year’s long violent crime wave.  Isn’t she?  Nope.  She continued,  “if we see any steps out of line, particularly with DHS or Border Patrol, we are not going to hesitate to take the president to court and stop any unconstitutional actions.”  Let the crime wave roll all the way to Waveland Ave.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler joined a violent demonstration in his city Wednesday night at which “protesters” threw flaming bags of garbage at a federal courthouse.  He also was jeered by the crowd before being tear-gassed by federal officers.  How woke is Wheeler?  In one day’s time he marched with the offenders and got mocked by them.  Then he got gassed by the federal officers he had signed a letter against earlier in the day.  His wokeness finished a close second.

But the hands-down winner is Hiden Joe Biden’s hot take.  Wednesday during a remote union town hall meeting, the Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President called President Trump the country’s “first” racist president.  This should save the few statues that still stand that have George Washington or Thomas Jefferson atop the pedestal.  It seems like just days ago we were told they were racist.

All of the peaceful protesters are now free to go back home to mama’s basement, but we digress.

Long live Mt. Rushmore too?