X + Y = Z?

Remember way back when? Maybe it was the fourth grade?  What were you ten, then?

It was your first party with members of the opposite gender.  Spin the bottle someone said.  Suddenly you felt faint in the head.

You didn’t know why but you knew when.  And, when was right now.

You were terrified that the bottle might stop spinning while pointing in your direction.  You were mesmerized that it might though.  In short, you had no clue.

Ten.  That’s twice the age of what the latest name and blame game storm is all about.

Should public school teachers teach gender identity(or identity choices?) to pre-K and kindergarteners?  If you had no physical clue why you felt how you did at ten, what do you think the cranium power is to digest the complexity of the topic at five?

Kids get out of high school and are still confused by x+y=z.  How well do you think x and y chromosomes (give or take a few in these days and times apparently) will be understood by someone who cannot yet tie his or her (there’s that two gender thing again) shoes at five years of age.

And, do chromosomes even matter anymore?

Doesn’t the fact that this is even a debate enrage you?  If it doesn’t maybe you were “that guy” at the party that reached out to the Coke bottle and stopped it purposely and pointed it at you.  Or, maybe you should reconsider the debate.

We want to keep three-year-olds in masks but we want to unmask the bevy of sexual orientation/ gender identification choices supposedly available to them.  But, to cut to the chase, are there really choices?

We won’t solve the nurture vs. nature debate here today, nor are we qualified to do so.   But, we do know that it’s springtime in the south and there is a hell of a lot of birds making nests together, just like every springtime.

The debate isn’t nurtured v nature anyway.  The debate is when and who should have this discussion.

And, 76% of polled US parents think that this discussion is way too soon.  Over 50% think it should be left up to them at home as well.

Meanwhile, the left zealots in support cannot stand that they’ve been labeled “groomers.”  Did you ever see the guy sitting at the table in the middle of campus with a sign that says, “Groomers attempt to brainwash my kids?” Change my mind!”

Seems like the name game and the blame game is coming to a head again.

One answer seems clear, the “when” isn’t so soon after the babies leave the nest.  We repeat-doesn’t the fact that this is even a debate enrage you?  And, as far as the “who,” shouldn’t parents have the final say about what is taught in schools?  And when, as well?

The government should work for you, not against you.  The school system is part of the government.

You paid for it.  You elected the leaders of it.  It’s yours.

And, it’s time to take back what is yours.

 

 

Reimagine Tomorrow

Just Tuesday we highlighted the war on women, the war on Ukraine, and the war on the wealthy.  But, what’re three wars without four?  Now the war on words has flared up yet again.

This time the attack and counterattack broke out in the woke Magic Kingdom.   In a leaked video from the company’s “Reimagine Tomorrow” summit top-level employees openly discussed Disney’s push to add more LGBTQIA2S+ content to its ever-growing library.

If you’re counting at home that’s six consonants, two vowels, one number, and a plus sign for 10 “outcasts” in all to be cast more frequently in Disney content.

Disney corporate president Karey Burke spoke, “I’m here as a mother of two queer children — one transgender child, and one pansexual child — and also as a leader.”  She wants a minimum of 50% of all characters going forward to be LGBTQIA2S+ and/or racial minorities.

This brings us to three questions.  One, why 50%?  Two, with all of the slang words that are now inappropriate, when did calling people queers gain traction all over again?  Three, if a character is both “queer” and a racial minority, does that count twice towards the 50 percent?

The leaked videos come amid Disney declaring open war (there’s that word again) on the state of Florida over its Parental Rights Law — which LGBTQ activists have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

At the bill signing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis explained that the measure simply bans sexual instruction for young schoolchildren, such as kindergarteners.  But, never let facts get in the way of a progressive narrative.

Disney is a huge company with huge brands that have enormous revenue streams.  They are the content, streaming, and amusement park kings.  But, when you start peddling your agenda directly at the hand that feeds you- parents of innocent children who directly object to the messaging aimed at such a young age, you’re playing with fire.  How big of a fire?  Time will tell.

Can you still say “kings?”  We ask because last summer Disney removed all of the gendered greetings and then some in live spiels. Prince and princesses are out. They no longer say ladies and gentlemen, nor boys and girls.   The Disney Diversion and Inclusion Manager said that they now welcome “dreamers of all ages” and noted that aligning language with “gender identity” dogma can make Disney “inclusive” and “magical and memorable for everyone.”

Who knew that it wasn’t memorable before?  Have you ever waited in line for the Space Mountain roller coaster?  And the lines are so inclusive they created fast passes to alleviate some of the wait times.

What’s funny about all of this is Disney’s presence in Communist China.  Well, it’s not funny at all.  It’s pure “turn your back” capitalism.  How many shirts, mouse ears, and souvenirs are produced there?  How many people visit their two theme parks there?

Is China’s government on board with all of the gender equity, inclusive, queer, pans, and so on there?  Of course, they aren’t.

Ironic that Disney owns ESPN which telecasts the NBA and WNBA and many other leagues worldwide.   The NBA loves China as well.

Can we meld the two leagues into one to be more inclusive, drop the “W” from WNBA to help with gender identity, and just call it the Dreamers of All Ages League?

No?  How about we “reimagine tomorrow” and rename it the LGBTQIA2S+WNBAonESPN sponsored by M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E then?

Does that include everyone?

 

 

 

Fair Share

If it’s not one war, it’s another.

Last week there was the war on women as Republicans unmercifully (the Washington Post called it the most grueling questioning/testimony ever) grilled Ketanji Brown Jackson for SCOTUS.

Every week for the last five the war on Ukraine marches on.  Joe Biden had a plan to stop it though.   He said Putin should be removed from power.  But then the White House said he didn’t mean it.  And, yesterday he said that he didn’t say it at all.

Someone once said, “even the best-laid plans go to hell when exposed to reality.”

This brings us to the newest war, and to reality.  Yesterday, President Biden made a renewed push to galvanize congressional Democrats to overhaul the nation’s tax code and dramatically raise rates on corporations and ultra-wealthy Americans.

The president laid out the tax hikes as part of his $5.8 trillion budget blueprint for federal spending in fiscal 2023.   Under his proposal, taxes would rise by $2.5 trillion, marking the largest increase in history in dollar terms. What can we give away for “free” that we haven’t already?  The deficit would be $1.15 trillion with a “t.”

Remember, it was but two weeks ago when both Biden and Madame Speaker Pelosi told us, idiots, that government spending wasn’t adding to our inflation problems, rather it actually helped curb inflation.

In fact, the mere notion made the President sick.  “I’m sick of this stuff,” Biden said at a Democratic retreat in Philadelphia, gesturing with his hands to suggest he’d had it up to his neck. “The American people think the reason for inflation is the government spending more money. Simply not true.”

We are reducing the Trump deficits and returning our fiscal house to order,” Biden said at the White House on Monday. He said the budget “makes prudent investment and economic growth, a more equitable economy while making sure corporations and the very wealthy pay their fair share.”

There you go.  It’s all in one sentence.  It’s straight from the left playbook.  Blame Trump, toss in “equitable,” and close with “fair share.”

Everybody supports “fair share.”  It’s fair after all, how could you be against it?  It might matter who decides what is fair, that’s how.  What it really means is that someone’s coming for someone else’s wallet.

The taxes outlined on Monday include a minimum 20% tax on the incomes of U.S. households worth $100 million or more even if the government made you dip into unrealized capital gains.  That’s current worth, not earned in the fiscal year.  You could call that Robin Hood.

That would raise taxes (aka government revenue-a terrible phrase if ever there was one) by about $360 billion over the next ten years. When you stack that up against increased spending it reminds us of the proverbial shooting a bb at a destroyer.

Biden also proposed raising the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% as part of his budget request.  He’s banking on you not understanding a simple truism. If you raise corporate tax rates, corporations raise their prices to you.   And, that leads to higher inflation no matter how high Nancy Pelosi raises her painted-on eyebrows when spewing her revised version of Economics 101.

Under his envisioned budget, the nation’s deficit would shrink by more than $1 trillion over the next decade.  Or, stated differently the nation’s debt would increase from over $30 trillion to over $40 trillion.  Ouch.

And, no one in their right mind would think that anyone’s vision, and especially his, for the next decade could be clairvoyant.

Hopefully, the war on stupidity starts soon.

 

The King of Queens

BREAKING NEWS–

While you were likely sleeping overnight BBR has confirmed that LeBron James is leaving the NBA to join the WNBA!  Lebron tweeted, “my life and the WNBA ratings are forever changed for the better.  Going forward I want to be known as LeBronny’a James or Queen James.”

The King Says He’s Out!

In reality, this shouldn’t be a big deal, but it will be. Hell if you believe in equality, you should wonder why we even have two leagues.  Shouldn’t all genders just play together in one league?

As you know, Lia Thomas made history last Thursday as the first known transgender athlete to win a US college swimming championship when she took the title in the 500-meter freestyle in Atlanta.  Again, you have to wonder if equality really exists as we are striving for.  Why didn’t Lia simply swim in the men’s competition?

You know why.  It’s political theater at its finest.  And its finest was on display yesterday in the Senate confirmation hearings for Kentanji Brown Jackson as well.

The CNBC headline captures it well.  “Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson wraps tense two days of Senate questioning as confirmation path clears.”  The path was always clear as 50 Democrats were always going to vote for her and our esteemed VP Kamala Harris would make 51 assuming she knows how to push the correct button, but we digress.

But, first Judge Jackson faced that aforementioned tense moment.  Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) asked the DC Circuit Court of Appeals judge point-blank: “Can you provide a definition for the word ’woman’?

After a short back-and-forth, Jackson ultimately said: “No, I can’t.”  “You can’t?” Blackburn asked.  “Not in this context. I’m not a biologist,” Jackson said.

So it turns out that two X chromosomes have been deceiving us all along.

This is quite weird as Biden quite loudly promised a black woman as his first Supreme Court nominee if the opportunity presented itself.  How does he know?

Would the world have gone bonkers if Sen Blackburn followed up with “Can you provide a definition for the word ‘black’?

It makes you wonder why the left has been so vociferous in defending abortion, now known as women’s wellness, formerly known as a woman’s right to choose if they cannot define what makes a woman a woman.   Why call it women’s wellness?  How about just wellness?

And, all of this comes as we are celebrating Women’s History Month in March.  The first paragraph of Joe Biden’s Proclamation says so.  It reads, “Every March, Women’s History Month provides an opportunity to honor the generations of trailblazing women and girls who have built our Nation, shaped our progress, and strengthened our character as a people.”

So who are we celebrating if we cannot define who a woman is?  Did we mention political theater?

Fashion Is Strictly a Matter of Opinion.

That theater reached one of a few peaks back in 2017. The Women’s March was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president. It was prompted by several of Trump’s statements being considered by many as anti-women or otherwise offensive to women.

It’s pretty simple, almost cro magnon simple.  Trump bad, Biden good!  Gin up the base, let’s tear this place down.

It was originally billed as the Million Women’s March, but it drew 470,000.  Do you wonder if 530,000 bowed out when they learned of the suggested headdress?

Per the website, the goal of the annual march is to advocate legislation and policies regarding human rights and other issues, including women’s rights, immigration reform, healthcare reform, disability justice, reproductive rights, the environment, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion, workers’ rights and tolerance.

That sounds like a lot more than just women’s rights to us.

And that’s why we mention political theater for a final time, we promise.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

One of our short order cooks(staffers) decided to take an unannounced 7 day trip to Florida last week.  Regrettably, this left us short-handed, and BBR went dark for the week.

However, our chef is back.  And in short order we’ve got some ready-to-consume nuggets below.  They’re filled with facts, opinions, and some spicy satire sauce as you like them.

  1.  Having not flown in a quick three years, we learned quickly when we did that some things don’t change.  Does the TSA work for the government, or do they work for us?  The correct answer is us.  We are the government.  We pay them to work for us.  Rude, indifferent, commanding, demanding, disorganized, and sloppy are words that come to mind to describe the power-tripping men and women in the blue unis.  It’s a thankless job and because of how they perform it no one will say thanks.
  2. It’s a special treat to hear one of them barking to the minions waiting in line the commands about what to do and not do.  They are hard to understand to begin with, but the monotone delivery is even less effective from behind one of those temporary light blue masks. There are so many ways to more effectively communicate than this rabbit hole that we’ve jumped down for the last 20 years.
  3. Did you know that the legislative branch of our federal government is the only branch that creates federal law?  It is.  And, it hasn’t made wearing a mask in airports nor on airplanes a law.  Good sheep we are as we are herded on and off the aluminum tubes.  “Be sure to put your mask back in place between bites and sips” might be the dumbest utterance on a plane ever.  And, that’s saying something.  The “mandate” is extended and in place till 4/18, and no one knows why.
  4. By 4/18 we likely will have scared ourselves back into the covid corner again.  The subvariant omicron BA.2 has been classified as a “variant of concern” according to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  It’s either more or less transmissible than the last one, going to get you more or less ill as the booster does or does not help.  The CDC will let you know what it thinks after the wave has passed and they’ve followed the science.
  5. That’s the same CDC that says now that it accidentally inflated children’s COVID death numbers in “coding logic error.”  Terrible!  Maybe it wasn’t a coding logic error, but an error in logic to make you want to jab your child?  The UK will be ready for BA.2.  Around 5 million people are eligible for an additional COVID jab in England, with fifth jabs hinted at as Britain rolls out its ‘Spring Booster’ campaign.
  6. UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid is not the first government official to hint at the possibility of a fourth and a fifth vaccination(that’s not a vaccination), however.  The good doctor Anthony Fauci said this past weekend, “We may need to boost again. That’s entirely conceivable. But before we make that decision about another boost, we want to determine clearly what the durability of protection is of that regular boost, that third shot that we’re talking about.”  Third, fourth, fifth.  Who’s counting?  The WHO is counting.  So is Pfizer’s CFO.
  7. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) said Monday on MSNBC that at the Senate hearing today for Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, he “felt the emotion flowing through me from ancestors and generations that made this day possible.”  And, that sounds good.  He then went on to say, “Biden said it’s about time we reach deep into the well of quality and genius and talent and create credentials for black women and show she’s like Jackie Robinson, except probably overqualified.”  Did Cory Booker ever crack a history book?  Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas are curious.
  8. When 81 million of us voted for student loan forgiveness did we realize that we also were voting for $6/gallon of gas and WWIII?
  9. What are we doing foreign policy-wise with Ukraine anyway?  The country was and is corrupt.  They’re non-NATO.  Why do we have to stick our nose in every global dust-up?  Russia is wrong to attack a sovereign nation.  We told them as much.  We’ve sanctioned them.  We’ve frozen assets.  Enough.  We don’t need to send money or planes and certainly not troops.  Send us some of the Ukrainian refugees and we’ll look after them with free food, blankets, medicine, and masks, plenty of masks.  And, as a reminder that’s free to them, money to you.
  10. Like airplanes, time flies when you’re having this much fun.  If you don’t take our word for it at least take VP Kamala Harris’ word for it.  She spoke to the passage of time four times in 30 seconds yesterday.  Click on the link, open the video, and lose thirty seconds of your life that you’ll never get back. Say what? Harris has had a difficult time retaining employees in her communications department. At the beginning of 2022, her communications team was undergoing a second political reset before she had served even one year in office, the Washington Post reported.   Say what?

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random.

You want them, we have them.  Ten delivered to your virtual door this AM.

  1.  Paging Dr. Anthony Fauci.  Dr. Fauci, please call your exchange.  Wouldn’t right now be a great time for a thorough review of the data (comorbidities, race, age, gender, vaxxed v not, etc.) that led to the science?  With covid either paused or past, it sure would.  Questions we have a few.  We’d like to know more about that science we followed.
  2. Paging NY Mayor Eric Adams.  Mr. Adams, please call your exchange.  How does Kyrie Irving get to sit in the stands maskless but can’t play in his NBA game for the hometown Nets yesterday?  It must be that elusive data that led to the science.  Kevin Durant differs.  “It’s ridiculous,” Durant said of Irving’s situation. “I don’t get it. It just feels like at this point now somebody’s trying to make a statement or a point to flex their authority.”  Durant is quite accurate shooting from three-point land and calling out fantasy land.
  3. And how about flying?  The federal mask mandate that was supposed to end on 3/18 has been pushed back to 4/18.  Why? Maybe the WH press secretary knows? When asked why airports and airlines should maintain mask mandates even if the cities in which they’re located have abandoned them, White House press secretary Jen Psaki answered that air travelers aren’t “static,” meaning lacking in movement.  Ah.  Sounds like a bunch of static, meaning crackling or hissing noises on a telecommunications system, if you ask us.  The only one lacking in movement is the CDC, behind the curve like it’s been for two years.
  4. Speaking of the CDC, this year’s flu shot hit your arm but missed the mark in prevention.  When you guess strains nine months out, you win some and you lose some.  A CDC spokesperson over the weekend opined that the shot might have lessened the severity of this year’s flu if you got it, but wasn’t sure if it did.  Does any of this sound familiar?
  5.  Saturday, March 12 was Detransition Awareness Day.  People who quit the trans ideology recognize that they cannot “transition” to the opposite sex, and so they “detransition” from the ideology.  This comes smack in the middle of Women’s History Month which might confuse just about everybody involved we suppose.
  6.  Doesn’t it seem like every time you hear that Ukraine and Russia are entering talks another city is bombed?  Putin isn’t at peace when he hears the words “ceasefire.”  And about these biological labs?   
  7. Jen Psaki proudly announced from her pulpit Friday that we are wrecking the Russian economy.  One wise guy on Twitter stated the opinion, ” That’s two economies wrecked in 12 months.”   Short.  True.  Brilliant.  Sad.
  8. Republicans from sea to shining sea are ripe with optimism that a red wave is coming to both houses of Congress this fall.  Then Mitch Mcconnell threw water on the party.  He stated last week that if the GOP regains control of the Senate that he would be the majority leader all over again.  Two things.  One, McConnell isn’t a leader.  Two, a wise man wrote us and said that every Republican running for Senate this fall should have to go on record if they would vote for McConnell if they gained office.
  9. What’s to celebrate if it’s more of the same?  The number one problem facing Republicans is that they fail to realize that their party isn’t any happier with most of them and their actions as they are with the Dems.  Sad state of affairs.
  10. And finally, Jussie Smollett’s sister, actress Jurnee Smollett, is calling for Cook County to “#FreeJussie” following her brother’s sentencing of 150 days of incarceration on Thursday, telling her followers they should advocate for his release because of disparate incarceration between black and white Americans even if they believe he is guilty.  Jurnee is quite a trip, almost like a journey.

  11. Lagniappe.  Isn’t it odd that the inflation we once called transitory is now blamed on Putin?  Point the finger at Russia, Russia, Russia.  People always buy it.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 If you’re on Spring Break enjoy.  If you’re not, get to work.  And remember today, 3/14, is pi day.  That’s roughly 3.14159265359 if you’re counting.

     

     

The Sky Is Falling

Know why Chicken Little crossed the road?

We’ll give you a hint.  It’s the same reason why John Kerry flew to Houston this week and spewed out all of those carbon emissions behind his plane.

It was to tell the uninformed that “the sky is falling, the sky is falling!”

President Biden’s climate czar, John Kerry, said that while the Ukraine refugee crisis is a “problem” amid Russia’s invasion, it pales in comparison to the wave of migration that will come if climate change is not addressed.

“We’re already seeing climate refugees around the world,” he said. “If you think migration has been a problem in Europe in the Syrian War or even from what we see now, wait until you see 100 million people for whom the entire food production capacity has collapsed.”  Climate refugees, who knew?  See the sky really is falling.

And as fictional character Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City would say, “and just like that” the great reset has revved up its political engines.

President Biden told reporters Tuesday that he “can’t do much” about rising gas prices and blamed the situation on Russia’s war against Ukraine.  But, what we can do is send out the machine that the Democratic Party is and preach climate change.

Wise politicians always say, “you never want to let a crisis go to waste.”  And, unlike the Republicans, the Democrats all come to roost behind a common cause like the wise owls that they are.

Never mind Afghanistan, worthless boosters, late covid tests, the stock market, Ukraine, China, and rampant overall inflation.   Change the national narrative.

Specifically, do you want to fix the gas price problem?  Go green.  Now.

With Kerry running point for Biden, Jen Psaki said yesterday about drilling permits, “what additional permits do they need?  I don’t think that they need an embroidered invitation to drill.”    Does that sound smug or dismissive?  There are 4600 permits to drill pending approval on Biden’s desk as of this AM.  Tick tock.

We could ask Saudi to help, but they won’t answer Biden’s calls.  How about Venezuela?  They’re as bad as they come to humankind but never mind that.  Why would we help increase domestic production a day after cutting off Russia?

Maybe if we all just don’t drive for two weeks straight we could flatten the gas demand curve.  Follow the science.  Like wearing worthless masks what a fracking mess this is.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was ripped by critics Monday after he argued that more Americans should purchase electric vehicles so that they “never have to worry about gas prices again.”

The former South Bend, IN mayor claimed on MSNBC’s “Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart” that families who own electric vehicles would see a “$12,500 discount” in transportation costs.

Conversely, AAA has estimated that owning a new, compact electric vehicle costs about $600 more per year than a gas-powered compact vehicle despite lower fuel and maintenance costs.  Never let facts get in the way of a good narrative.  And, this estimate is given with the full knowledge that electricity prices would likely climb significantly as demand soars.  Never let, well, never mind.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed giving state residents some relief in the form of a tax rebate, as rising energy costs have led to the Golden State having the highest gas prices in the nation.  How nice an idea is that?  At an average of $5.75 per gallon in Cali the good governor might give you back some of which you shouldn’t need to pay in the first place.

But, he too is against increasing that nasty domestic production.  “At a time when we’ve been heating and burning up, one thing we cannot do is repeat the mistakes of the past by embracing polluters, drilling even more oil, which only leads to even more extreme weather, more extreme drought, and more wildfire,” Newsom said.  Drilling leads to extreme weather.  Again, follow the science.

But the coup de grace was delivered by US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm yesterday in Houston with Czar Kerry at CERAweek (the global energy conference) yesterday.  She said, “we are on the cusp of the most important transition that human society has ever seen.  And, I hope that we’ll look back on 2022 as the year that the world took giant steps to improve energy security and tackle climate change.”

Fourteen months ago America was producing more gas than it consumed.  MORE!

We had all of the security we needed.  It was called energy independence.

But, that was so 2020.  And, now the script is flipped.  And the party in power can follow a script like no other.

 

 

 

 

Tourniquets No, Transfusions Yes.

To us, 100 years seems like a long, long time ago.  To historians, it is just the wink of an eyelash.  So, the proper perspective is always key.  And we need plenty of the proper perspective right now.

Our decade of the 20s in the 21st century is off to quite the rocky start.  A century ago, it was quite the opposite.

Our 29th President, Warren G. Harding

The Roaring Twenties refers to the decade of the 1920s in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the United States and Europe, particularly in major cities. In France they were having so much fun they called it the crazy years.   Jazz blossomed, the flapper redefined the modern look for British and American women, and art deco peaked. In the wake of the military mobilization of World War I and the Spanish flu, President Warren G. Harding “brought back normalcy” to the United States.

This period saw the large-scale development and use of automobiles, planes, telephones, films, radio, and electrical appliances in the lives of millions in the Western world.

Nations saw rapid industrial and economic growth, accelerated consumer demand, and introduced significant new trends in lifestyle and culture.  Cities rooted for their home teams and filled the new palatial cinemas and gigantic sports stadiums.

And, in many major democratic states, women won the right to vote.  Democratic states then v now were very different, but a win is a win.  We’re still arguing about the right to vote, but we digress.

Well, where are we now?  Where we are is in some stage of the process to bring back normalcy.  “What stage,” you ask?  “We have no clue,” we answer.

It sure doesn’t feel like we are in some stage of getting back to normal though, does it?  It does feel like we are in limbo.  Limbo as in, “how low can you go?”

We’re about to find out.

Spanish flu then, covid-19 now.

Economic prosperity returned back then.  We were on our way up prior to covid, but now we face supply chain issues and runaway inflation.

Our government in the last 14 months turned quickly, insistent upon meddling in capitalism.  What do you need?  Whatever it is, it’s free!  Except nothing is free, it just creates dependency (isn’t that the end game for some?) and debt.

And, there is the most important one.  There was WWI then, and hopefully not WWIII now.

Maybe this Warren G. Harding gentleman doesn’t get enough credit in our history books?  And, if Joe Biden wants any he better start looking out for America, not his fringe left.

Do you want solutions?  Yesterday our esteemed Transportation Secretary Peter Buttigieg had one.  He suggested that if America wanted a quick fix to higher gas prices they should go out and buy an electric vehicle.  Oh, yes he did say that.

Meanwhile, we are buying about 500k barrels of Russian oil per day while sending billions of dollars to Ukraine to fight the Russians.  It sounds like we haven’t yet hit the bottom of the barrel yet after all.

Real solutions are on the horizon, or even closer.  Start drilling.

This brings us to one word-leadership.  America needs leadership right now in the worst way before we get to the worst way.  But we don’t have it.

Biden, Harris, Pelosi, Buttigieg, Schumer, Rubio, Graham, McConnell(times 2), Swalwell, Romney, Cheney, Bernie, and The Squad all need to go.  There are others, plenty of others.

And, one named Donald Trump needs to not come back.  Make that two.  Her name is Hillary.

We need that new blood now, and we need a lot of it.

Midterms are exactly eight months away today.  That makes the 2024 election(s) 32 months out.  In some ways that seems like forever.

History teaches us that it’s way less than a wink.  It just doesn’t feel that way.

The pendulum always swings. Sometimes it just has to reach the bottom to get to the other side.

 

 

 

 

 

Q & A Today?

We confess.  We’ve vacillated quite a bit on whether or not to post today.  The verbal reports and exploding bomb images rolling in from a foreign land that deserves better can wear one out mentally.

If you’d prefer to take the day off, we understand.  But, if you’d like a few questions and answers put forth, soldier on.  Below, we begin with facts, opinions, and even guesses.  We throw in a dose of befuddlement and bewilderment before we close.

Who is responsible for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?  This is an easy one.  It’s 100% Putin.  Inevitably the leader of Russia gave the final nod to execute the plan that’s clearly been in place for some time.

Who was the most obvious one to halt or at least alter Putin’s power play?  This too is an easy one.  It’s not 100% Biden, but it’s close.  A more unified NATO would have helped.  But, Biden and the left could have helped themselves as well.

How?  Reagan said, “Peace through Strength.”  Biden’s actions since taking office as well as his global missteps of decades and decades gone by offer “War through Weakness.”

Why?  Perhaps it’s this simple.  Biden is a weak, frail physical figure.  People, like it or not, still make assumptions of who you are based on how you look.  Perhaps, it’s more complex.  Biden listened to too many left-wing zealots when rounding out his approach to energy.

What’s energy got to do with it? Putin’s ego aside, it’s got everything to do with it.  Russia has plenty of it coming out of the ground, and America did until Biden and the climate change shrills significantly slowed the spigot.

Is timing everything?  It is with energy.  The price of a barrel was so cheap (read free) for the first few months of 2020, the year of our Covid, that Trump restocked our national reserves for pennies on the dollar.  Biden used his executive pen on inauguration day to suspend drilling/leases on federal lands, increased regulations, and turned the key off on the Keystone Pipeline.  In other words, Trump bought low, and Biden sold out to his bidders.

Then what?  As demand returned to pre Covid levels, prices rose. Supply was short.  Russia got rich supplying its oil and natural gas to Europe.  America got shafted at the pump, but we digress.  Putin got the funding for the invasion and then some.

Now what?  Now, Europe (as Trump warned) is even more dependent on Russian oil and gas.  It’s now too dependent as America has less to sell.  European NATO nations cannot afford to cut off Russia to the extent that is warranted in sanctions because they would be cutting off the needs of their citizens.

So will the sanctions imposed yesterday work? No, and yes apparently.  In the span of 96 hours, Biden said, “No-one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening. This is going to take time, it’s not going to occur…he’s gonna say ‘oh my God, these sanctions are coming, I’m gonna stand down.”  But r just Sunday, his VP said, “And within the context then of the fact that that window is still opening, altho- — open, although it is absolutely narrowing — but within the context of a diplomatic path still being open, the deterrence effect, we believe, has merit.”

Are the sanctions strong enough to slow their roll or at least give them a reason to pause after taking Ukraine down?  They likely aren’t.  The real money sits in Putin’s personal accounts, the Russian oligarchs’ accounts, and most of all the interactive banking that must remain open for countries like Germany to pay Russia for their oil and gas.

How sad is that?  We’re asked to help defend NATO countries that are lining Russian pockets.  Sad.

So why is Putin in Ukraine anyway?  Only Putin knows for absolute certainty.  But a guess would be in order, ego, power, money, and a desire to return Russia to the former Soviet Union.

Is it true that former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned in an interview this week about “massive emissions consequences” from a Russian war against Ukraine, which he also said would be a distraction from work on climate change?  Unbelievably, yes.

Did he also say, “I hope President Putin will help us to stay on track with respect to what we need to do for the climate?”  Unbelievably, yes again.

Did anyone mention that the Russian troops weren’t wearing masks?  Unbelievably, but thankfully, in the world today, no.

Will whoever said they stand with Ukraine yesterday please stand down?  Not likely.  It’s one of the dumbest statements incessantly regurgitated on a daily basis about whatever gets people’s attention.  It must make the weak feel good, but not good enough to stand in front of a Russian tank.

Will we next hear from some congressperson that we need to “come together as a nation?”  For sure.

What’s next from the US side?  Likely little.  Putin has the next move.  He must think he’s playing chess while Biden’s playing checkers at this point.  If Biden were smart he would have turned the spigot back on American oil months ago in anticipation of this.  Or, better yet, he would have never turned it off to begin with.

Are cyber attacks next?  And just like that $7.50/gallon of gas is the least of our worries.

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Our style is to have no style in this random nugget format.  We think it, we write it.

  1. Yesterday was President’s Day, but today is President Biden’s day.  Putin finally punched his dance ticket at the Ukrainian border.  What will Joe have to say after saber-rattling about severe actions?  Some European countries have acted already this AM with sanctions.
  2. Biden puffed his chest out and said during his campaign for President that Putin wanted nothing to do with old angry Joe.  In fact, he said in 2019, “Putin knows that when I am President his days of tyranny and trying to intimidate the US and Eastern Europe are over.”  Well, that didn’t age well as the kids say.
  3. Funny thing is, the last time Putin’s troops visited west of the Ukrainian border was when Biden was VP under Obama.  Now he gets to huff and puff again.  Hopefully, it’ll have some teeth in it and not some troops in it.  Could you even find Ukraine on a map without an assist from Google?  Be honest.
  4. Whatever he says let’s hope it’s better than what our multitasking VP and US and Ukraine border czar said on the weekend while in Europe.  Responding during a Euro press gaggle to whether or not the sanctions implied could deter Putin or if it was too late, Madame VP offered, “And within the context then of the fact that that window is still opening, altho-open, although it is absolutely narrowing-but within the context of a diplomatic path still being open, the deterrence effect, we believe, has merit.”  We wish we were misquoting her, even if by a little bit.  Maybe that worthless mask masked the message a smidgen?
  5. MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell said last evening on-air that Biden has a lot of confidence and ego in his foreign policy and feels up to the task of the Putin test and gets defensive about his performance.  Maybe that’s partially due to Robert Gates, the former defense secretary under Obama?  He said a few years back that Biden has “been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”
  6. Let’s hope he gets it right this time.  Remember, when Obama pulled the trigger on Osama Bin Laden, Biden voted thumbs down in the Situation Room on the decision.  You wouldn’t want him making the heads/tails call in an NFL overtime game.  He’s defensive about his defense policy, and you’d be playing defense right after the coin flip.
  7. Former WH Press Secretary and now CNN commenter, Joe Lockhart has confidence in Biden’s confidence. “Whatever happens in Ukraine we shouldn’t underestimate the fact the United States has retaken the adult chair in the world,” Lockhart tweeted. “Biden has restored American leadership so damaged by Trump. The world needs us and we have a President who can and does lead.”   Why doesn’t it feel like that to nearly 75% of polled US adults last week?
  8. Speaking of coin flips, is Tulsi Gabbard, who ran for the 2019 Democratic Presidential Nominee, a Democrat?  Or, is she an Independent?  Or, is she, thankfully someone that blazes her own path? The four-term former US Rep from Hawaii is confirmed as a speaker this week at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).  Principals and actions speak louder than affiliations.  Where is this all going?  Only 2024 knows.  Fox News is interested.  She’s on the network a time or two each weeknight these days.
  9. And then there was one. Hawaii stands as the final state with a mask mandate, over two years after the start of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. Every other state in the country has ended (some long ago) or announced plans to end their respective mask mandates in the very near future.  What a waste of the fresh air that surrounds the islands.  They’ll get wind of what’s right though, and soon.  The trade winds are blowing and so are the 2022 midterm political winds.
  10.  Soon, but not soon enough, we’ll forget words and phrases that dominated our lives for two years.  Here are just a few, but also way too many.  Social distancing.  N95.  Two weeks to flatten the curve.  Spikes.  Horse pills. Hydroxychloroquine.  NIH.  FDA.  CDC.  The new normal.  Antivaxxer.  Provaxx.  Ivermectin.  And the most absurd, we’re all in this, together.  Correction, the most absurd, follow the science.  Nugget 10 would not be possible without a shoutout to Dr. Anthony Fauci.  Thanks, Tony.

As a reminder, today is 2/22/22.  We cannot wait for 2:22 PM.