Canaries
19/06/22 07:03
This inflation thing is getting out of control. The gas prices are around $5.75 per gallon for premium gas and that's up from the $2 plus when Trump left office in 2020. Food is getting wicked expensive too and you have to wonder if this isn't what Bumbles Joey and his leftist minions are trying to foist upon our citizenry. Why would he do that? What political playbook calls for bringing your constituents to their knees financially? What sacrifices will they expect from us next? When will they be satisfied that we're sufficiently impoverished?
They say that it's all about dampening consumer demand as one of many tools they have in their toolbox to bring inflation under control. I'm just not sure how much demand there is if people have little to no money left with which to make purchases. The only question now seems to be how soon before we see a real bust. That means assets classes of all types come down in value some 80-90%. If you bought a home for $500k, you'll soon be sitting in a house worth maybe $200k and seriously underwater on your mortgage. That's probably not a call you'll want to take if the bank decides to right-size your debt obligation to them. Lots of banks will be sitting on portfolios heavily weighted with underwater mortgages and that's a recipe for disaster when unemployment rates are likely to rise to some 15 to 20% as the bust deepens.
I'm waking up his morning to financial markets across the globe that have fallen seriously overnight by 3% or more. Here in the United States, all of the major indices are down roughly 2% or more and that's before the market even opens. This cascade of stock values has been in something of a free fall since last November. You know what they say when we get a bust in the market. Right? Eventually, they come for them all. Don't even get me started on crypto. I've never understood crypto and I've never made an attempt to understand crypto. I think I recall seeing Bitcoin with a market value of maybe $66k last year sometime. I'm waking up this morning to Bitcoin at $23k. It's been crushed along with every other coin out there. Not that I care, but it's maybe the canary in the coal mine? Like I said, no asset class will be spared when they come for them all.
I'm listening to my talk show guy out of Boston this morning and he's talking about the misery that Joe Biden and his policies have caused the average Joe at the gas pumps and everywhere else. This guy calls is talking about the fact that he commutes some 160 miles a day and he's spending close to $200 a week in gas. He and his wife just bought a house and he thought they were doing just fine until Joey Biden and his band of idiots took control of our government. Now, he just doesn't know how much longer he's going to be able to hang on. He started weeping on the phone and had to take a breath or two before he could resume his comments. It was just very sad. Very sad indeed.
The missus and I drove over to one of our favorite little shops in Southern Maine yesterday afternoon. We wanted to pick up a little something for dinner and, God willing, maybe a little dessert. We ordered a few things from the deli area and we grabbed a couple of pre-cooked salmon and chicken parmesan dishes as entrees to have that evening. The missus commented on the fact that prices for their products were nowhere in sight. We didn't much care since we were going to buy them regardless. I mean, how expensive could they be? I looked more closely at the packaging once we arrived back home and found the price tags on the bottom of the packaging. So, we're supposed to turn a pre-made meal upside down to see the price tag? That's one way to lessen sticker shock, I suppose.
We took Mrs G out to a little farm called Wellington Farms just up the road from her place yesterday afternoon. She and the missus pursued the aisles of the greenhouses on the property and we filled a cardboard flat with various annuals that were intended to go in pots and flower boxes back home. Mrs G is always game for anything that gets her out and about and away from her facility for however long. She is especially tickled when it comes to making sure that her neighbors see her leaving her facility with her daughter or other. Those old wives tales about family's dropping of their elderly parents at these facilities to wither away and die by their lonesome is just poppycock and she's living proof that it doesn't have to be that way. Others should take from that lesson what they will but seeing is believing. Where are we going today, little darlings?
We'll collect Mrs G this coming week for a trip to a furniture store across town. She's badly in need of a new couch and, God willing, a new bed stand. Both purchases are long overdue so I think this is step or two in the right direction. I know Mrs G is in with both feet or, at least, that's what I took from her reaction. I think it's something that has been on her mind for a good while so we're going to git er done as they say. We'll need to measure carefully to make sure that the couch she purchases is higher than her existing couch since getting on and off the couch has been something of an issue since her surgery. It will be good to see them hauling away that old couch that goes back a lot of years.
Yesterday was one of those warm and muggy days here at the house but cooler and more comfortable once I got down to the coast on my bike. It's just a few minutes away but the temperatures are completely different and more often than not there is a refreshing coolness that comes off the ocean that can actually be a little chilly if you're not dressed properly. I'm well into the first leg of my bike ride by the time I hit the coast so I'm warm to the core and largely welcoming of the cooler temperatures. The beach areas seem less crowded these days and I'm guessing that has something to do with the average price of a gallon of gas which is now over five dollars. Less crowded is always a good thing when I'm going balls-to-the-walls down Ocean Boulevard on my bike. Well, moving along at a pretty good clip is probably a more apt description.
I watched the televised debate of republican gubernatorial candidates in New York last night. I was specifically interested in listening to both Zeldin and Guliani on the issues and I was wanting to get a sense of the men and whether or not they seemed to have the appropriate gravitas as it were to be governor of that great state. I know it's a blue state but that is not to say that a republican governor can't be voted in especially in light of the economic and cultural havoc that one Joey Bumbles Biden and his party have wreaked on the state of New York and our nation more broadly. I thought Guliani seemed a little too hard nosed and intractable in his arguments while Zeldin came across as a school boy looking to oust his superiors. I don't think either of them even mentioned the current governor's name. Were they not wanting to alienate the female vote? What the heck? Zeldin holds a decent lead in the polls so we'll see how long that lasts.
I'll be happy when this January 6th bullshit show trial is over and done with. I suppose it won't really be over until the DOJ decides and maybe announces that no charges will be brought against Trump for his role in the proceedings. Until then, that is all the leftist loons are wanting to talk about. They live and breathe in the hopes that Trump will be hogtied and frog marched before a judge who will hold him over to trial without bail for inciting a riot or some such bullshit. They think it's their only hope to hold on to the White House in 2024 and maybe one or both houses of Congress later this year. I'd like to get back to listening to them clutching their pearls while spewing their usual nonsense on the progressive radio stations that I have access to. I stopped listening to them when the hearings started since it's all just so ridiculous. I think I'm not alone in shutting them down and out. Let's wrap it up, folks. It's time to move on.
All in all, last night was a good night for republicans in the primaries in various States. The narrative that republicans are likely to rout the democrats in a tsunami in the Fall was strengthened even more with the wins put on the board by Republicans last night. The Maya Flores (Republican) win in the deep blue section of Texas tells you all you need to know about how the Latina vote has moved lock, stock, and barrel to the Republican Party. In South Carolina House races, any number of House seats held by liberal leaning republicans were lost to their more conservative brethren and with room to spare. I was hoping that Katie Arrington, Trump's pick, would beat her fellow republican, Mace, but it was not to be. Tom Rice, a republican from South Carolina, who voted for Trump's second impeachment, got beaten like a rented mule so that makes five of the ten who voted for Trump's impeachment who will not be returning to Washington in January of 2023. As for the remaining five, we're coming for you.
Elon Musk apparently cast his vote for Ms Flores last night and went on Twitter to say that it was the first Republican that he'd ever voted for. Having Elon's support can't hurt. She'll be facing serious headwinds in the November election since she is battling it out in a strongly democratic district. That said, times are a changing given what Biden has done to our country so, with Elon's support, that could make the difference between wining and losing. If the Republicans are to have a true tsunami of a win in November, they'll need her win and wins like hers straight across each and every district across the southern border of Texas. Elon also said something about being partial to DeSantis in 2024. I guess it can't hurt to get it out there. We'll see what it means for Trump in the days and months ahead. We've got a long way to go before we get to the 2024 race.
The missus never believes me when I tell her that everything that Biden is doing to destroy our country is intentional. I don't know if that's some kind of naiveté on her part or just an unwillingness to believe that a President of the United States could be that evil (or stupid). To call it evil suggests that he is actively engaged in whatever it is that he's doing to bring our country to its knees. I probably ought to find another word since I don't think Biden has a clue as to where he is half the time much less a clue about what it is that he's doing or not doing. He reads the words put in front of him by his handlers and not particularly well by all accounts. One minute he's whispering into the microphone and in the next breath he's gritting his teeth in anger with that stupid Joker-like smile of his. Tucker Carlson want on television last night talking about this "intentional" thing and he agrees with me. I think the missus, believe it or not, is still on the fence.
My plan this morning was to go food shopping with the Ev man. I'd rather not since I want to listen to my radio shows as they dissect last night's election results. I want to hear the progressives and the middle-of-the-roaders clutching their pearls about what this means for the Fall and I want to hear my stalwart republican friends taking a well deserved victory lap. I think I can do both. That is, I can catch most of my shows and I can go shopping with the Ev man. I can have my cake and eat it too. My priority is the Ev man truth be told so let's put that out there. These visits to the store are typically pretty quick and we'll get him what he needs or enough, at least, to hold him over for a good week or two. I wish we had a more well defined list of things to go shopping for but we don't. It's catch as catch can for the most part. Up and down the aisles we'll go from one end of the store to the other. I think we can get it all done in a good thirty minutes if the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise. That will leave me plenty of time for my shows.
The Supreme Court could report out on a couple of cases they have on their roster today so that could make for an interesting day. They have both a gun case and an abortion case outstanding. If they decide the cases in favor of the conservatives, which I expect they will, the leftists will be out with their pussy hats and pom pom's ranting and raving like the lunatics that they are. You never see the conservatives pissing and moaning when they get rulings or decisions that are seemingly against their better interests. But, that's what the leftists do when they don't get their way. I don't know who the fuck they think they are half the time or why they think they're so damn entitled. Both sides enjoy seeing the other side lose regardless of the issue and the more spectacular the loss the louder the applause. This is how civil wars start. So much entrenchment.
I was watching the returns come in the other night in several primary states. I tuned into CNN which usually has pretty good coverage. John King works the board like the pro that he is and he knows his stuff inside and out. I was gobsmacked to hear every other word coming out his mouth about the big lie and a thousand different variations on same. Couldn't he just talk about who was winning and who was losing without throwing in the usual democrat talking points? It was stunning, really. And, just so you know, saying that it was a big lie doesn't make it a big lie. In fact, a huge percentage of Republicans and maybe even a smattering of democrats believe that the 2020 election was stolen by the democrats. I suppose that this is who the democrats are. They think that the more they say it the more people will believe it. I suppose to some extent, it may be true.
Word has it that the head of the company that runs CNN put the word out that the talking heads on the network are not to use the expression, "The Big Lie." They believe, and rightly so, that it is nothing more than a talking point put out by the democrat party and CNN, under their new leadership, is trying to get back to straight reporting. I tuned in to Anderson Cooper on CNN briefly last night when he was talking about the ramifications of certain races and he was doing his level best to avoid using the expression (The Big Lie) but was not completely successful.
The element of partisanship is so baked in at the network that trying to rein it all in might well prove futile. It may be necessary to fire them all and just start over again. CNN is denying a report that certain contracts will not be renewed when they expire. Maybe the mere reporting of this will send the appropriate message. Oh, and to nobody's surprise, not a word was mentioned of Maya Flores's win. You know, the first time since the Civil War that a republican won that district in Southern Texas. And, let's not forget the icing on the cake, she is a woman to boot! And still, crickets!
The thought of nationalizing one or more of our industries by our Federal Government never crossed my mind until I heard some talk show guy talking about it. There's been lots of talk coming out of the Biden White House about using the Defense Production Act (DPA) to help with the production of baby formula and other things. These are the same ass clowns that ridiculed Trump for not using the defense production act to make face masks and other things back in the day when Covid was raging.
Trump always viewed using the DPA as a last resort and preferred to work closely with the manufacturers instead of having the government step in when it wasn't completely necessary. Biden and his minions are apparently now using the DPA as an instrument of governmental overreach in order to take over the means of production. Don't think for a moment that their more recent tirades about oil companies and their exorbitant profits "at the expense of the American public" are just the rantings of a lunatic left wing Administration. It's a precursor to nationalizing the oil industries and having the Federal Government run the oil companies. They're just getting started. Think Venezuela.
I'm not sure why Biden's people would want control over the oil companies since Biden has promised since day one that he wants to eliminate our use of and our reliance on all fossil fuels in our country. Might the plan be to first nationalize them and then shut them down? They've made it more and more difficult if not impossible for US oil companies to conduct their business here in the United States while fattening the coffers of leftists regimes in places like Venezuela and Russia by buying their oil and passing along the increased expense of same to the consumer at the pumps.
One oil industry executive was quoted as saying that the refining of crude oil here in the US will come to a complete halt, or words to that effect, in the near term thanks to Biden's policies on domestic energy production. Did people not believe Biden when he said what he said about fossil fuels during his run for the Presidency? I guess not since they voted for the fool anyway. I guess Trump's mean tweets were just a bridge too far.
When you hear the word "inflation" you think about prices going up. That isn't always the case. Companies far and wide have gotten smarter about concealing the obvious when it comes to inflation. I've heard and seen examples of where company's are now putting less and less in their packages but charging not a nickel more. This is happening across the board on everything from bags of potato ships to candy bars. Everything is smaller. I suppose it even appeals to the good folks looking to lose a couple of pounds since smaller is better.
It means less guilt for the consumer and more room on the store shelves for a wider variety of products. I'm old enough to remember when a box of Corn Flakes used to last a good few days if you sat down to a reasonably sized bowl every morning. Now, it's gone in three sittings. The same is true for a loaf of bread. You could make quite a few sandwiches before you got to the heel of the loaf at the far end of the packaging. Now, you pull a couple of slices out of the middle of the loaf and the two heels of bread that you've always avoided are just about all you have left. We're on to you, mother fuckers.
I think today is one of those days when I ought to get out on my bike early because rain is in the forecast for the afternoon. It always works better when I decide early on that that's what I'm wanting to do. It's almost as though I'm making a commitment to myself and maybe even holding myself accountable if I fail to follow through on my own plans. Guilt can be a powerful motivator. Yes, I'd likely regret not getting my bike ride in when I had no excuses whatever for not doing it. It would be a lost opportunity so to speak. Lost opportunities don't go over well with me. I'm old school about these kinds of things.
What else you got this morning, Johnny Boy? The missus is trying to drag me along with her on a little shopping trip to Walmart. I want nothing to do with it. Sorry, Honey. You are on your own. And what's this I'm hearing about Walmart canceling their contract with Mike Lindell, the MyPillow guy? I thought all the big box stores cancelled his ass a long time ago. I like Mike, don't get me wrong. He's a first rate patriot for the cause. He stood, and still stands, with Donald J Trump on the now infamous stolen election in 2020. But I have to tell you, I don't want any of his employees to lose their jobs, or for Mike to lose his business, because the woke mother fuckers at Walmart are doing the bidding of the Bidenistas and cancelling their contract with MyPillow for purely political reasons. Maybe I vote with my feet this morning and give the missus a "Hell No!" when she asks if I want to go to Walmart with her to do a little shopping.
Sometimes, I think that the longer I sit here the more ideas I'll come up with and that will be good for the blog on any given week. The groove I'm getting into seems to see me putting down just enough on "paper" such that I can press the page down arrow on my keyboard eight or nine times and I'll be right as rain. Who knows if that is the right answer or not. Maybe it's too much for the average browser to take in in any one sitting. Maybe people stopping by to read the blog will pick and choose what they wish to read. Maybe they're getting tired of all the politics I kick around on any given week. Maybe they stopped looking at this here blog long ago because they are Biden fan boys or girls and they can only stand so much negative press when it comes to their hero in the White House. I get it. Maybe they want more of Joe and less of Mrs G and the Ev man.
Word has it that Elon Musk sat down with the employees of Twitter yesterday for the first time since he purchased the company a few months back. There are still some issues outstanding (Bot counts?) that need to be cleared up before the sale is finalized but it looks like a done deal for all intents and purposes. You know those skinny little mother fuckers with multiple pronouns working behind the scenes at Twitter never wanted Musk anywhere near their company. In fact, word has it that they took exception to a comment Musk made about "All lives mattering." I'm quite certain that Elon took note of those little pussies in the front row who twisted and turned on their multi-colored prayer rugs as he outed them like the little turds in the fishbowl that they are. I'm hoping that he told them to take their "wokeness" elsewhere if they aren't happy with the new sheriff in town.
The missus and I did a little shopping at McKinnon's in Portsmouth last night where we picked up a little something for dinner. I spied with my little eye a nice blueberry loaf that I thought Mrs might like so I tossed it into the basket. We'll give it to her when we see her later today. I sometimes wonder if she likes the things that we bring her or maybe she just says that she does when she really doesn't. Maybe she's starting to take us and our little gifts for granted. There's that too. Maybe I'll hold off on bringing gifts until she says something or other about the dearth of gifts that she's been receiving from us. Or, maybe she''ll attempt to shame us into resuming our gift bringing by telling us about this gift or that gift that she received from this or that person. I have a good mind to take a peek in her freezer one day to see just how many of our gifts have been put aside for a rainy day. Maybe our gifts are just not that memorable or even remarkable. I suppose that's possible. Anything is possible.
Did I mention the company, Revlon, declared bankruptcy? I noticed that toward the end of last week their stock dropped some 52% in one day. I'm talking about the cosmetic company here. And, not just any cosmetic company. This is a company known globally for their products. I had to look it up because I had no sense as to the value of the stock. In 2019 the stock was trading at $27 a share. It closed recently at $3.98 a share. Talk about a fall from grace. Anyway, the question I have is, who the hell was selling all their shares of stock ahead of their declaring bankruptcy? Are Revlon's principles allowed to cash out at the expense of the common and preferred stockholders? If not, isn't there a law against insider trading? Somebody got tipped off and they sold their stock before the filing. Someone needs to go to jail. Do I need to drop a dime with the Securities and Exchange Commission? Tell me there is a God. Speaking of the baby Jesus, Revlon closed 91% higher today (June 17th). And you thought they were dead in the water after declaring bankruptcy. Think again. FYI, S&P ends week down a crushing 5.8%. Brutal.
Temperatures are in the mid eighties today here along the coast. I waited a little too long to go for my bike ride and it had heated up just enough to make me want to cut my ride short. No sense in getting myself a heat stroke in the process. That's not going to help anybody. The humidity also isn't helping. I can usually catch a nice cool breeze along the ocean when I go for my bike ride but I usually don't know how that's gong to work out until I get down there. I don't usually cut my ride short but I made an exception today. If I thought I was going to cut my ride short so that I'd have enough energy later on to do something else, I was wrong. The only reason that I'm sitting here writing in this here journal is because I got tired of laying in bed trying to ride out this heat. If I sound sluggish, it's because I am.
They say that it's all about dampening consumer demand as one of many tools they have in their toolbox to bring inflation under control. I'm just not sure how much demand there is if people have little to no money left with which to make purchases. The only question now seems to be how soon before we see a real bust. That means assets classes of all types come down in value some 80-90%. If you bought a home for $500k, you'll soon be sitting in a house worth maybe $200k and seriously underwater on your mortgage. That's probably not a call you'll want to take if the bank decides to right-size your debt obligation to them. Lots of banks will be sitting on portfolios heavily weighted with underwater mortgages and that's a recipe for disaster when unemployment rates are likely to rise to some 15 to 20% as the bust deepens.
I'm waking up his morning to financial markets across the globe that have fallen seriously overnight by 3% or more. Here in the United States, all of the major indices are down roughly 2% or more and that's before the market even opens. This cascade of stock values has been in something of a free fall since last November. You know what they say when we get a bust in the market. Right? Eventually, they come for them all. Don't even get me started on crypto. I've never understood crypto and I've never made an attempt to understand crypto. I think I recall seeing Bitcoin with a market value of maybe $66k last year sometime. I'm waking up this morning to Bitcoin at $23k. It's been crushed along with every other coin out there. Not that I care, but it's maybe the canary in the coal mine? Like I said, no asset class will be spared when they come for them all.
I'm listening to my talk show guy out of Boston this morning and he's talking about the misery that Joe Biden and his policies have caused the average Joe at the gas pumps and everywhere else. This guy calls is talking about the fact that he commutes some 160 miles a day and he's spending close to $200 a week in gas. He and his wife just bought a house and he thought they were doing just fine until Joey Biden and his band of idiots took control of our government. Now, he just doesn't know how much longer he's going to be able to hang on. He started weeping on the phone and had to take a breath or two before he could resume his comments. It was just very sad. Very sad indeed.
The missus and I drove over to one of our favorite little shops in Southern Maine yesterday afternoon. We wanted to pick up a little something for dinner and, God willing, maybe a little dessert. We ordered a few things from the deli area and we grabbed a couple of pre-cooked salmon and chicken parmesan dishes as entrees to have that evening. The missus commented on the fact that prices for their products were nowhere in sight. We didn't much care since we were going to buy them regardless. I mean, how expensive could they be? I looked more closely at the packaging once we arrived back home and found the price tags on the bottom of the packaging. So, we're supposed to turn a pre-made meal upside down to see the price tag? That's one way to lessen sticker shock, I suppose.
We took Mrs G out to a little farm called Wellington Farms just up the road from her place yesterday afternoon. She and the missus pursued the aisles of the greenhouses on the property and we filled a cardboard flat with various annuals that were intended to go in pots and flower boxes back home. Mrs G is always game for anything that gets her out and about and away from her facility for however long. She is especially tickled when it comes to making sure that her neighbors see her leaving her facility with her daughter or other. Those old wives tales about family's dropping of their elderly parents at these facilities to wither away and die by their lonesome is just poppycock and she's living proof that it doesn't have to be that way. Others should take from that lesson what they will but seeing is believing. Where are we going today, little darlings?
We'll collect Mrs G this coming week for a trip to a furniture store across town. She's badly in need of a new couch and, God willing, a new bed stand. Both purchases are long overdue so I think this is step or two in the right direction. I know Mrs G is in with both feet or, at least, that's what I took from her reaction. I think it's something that has been on her mind for a good while so we're going to git er done as they say. We'll need to measure carefully to make sure that the couch she purchases is higher than her existing couch since getting on and off the couch has been something of an issue since her surgery. It will be good to see them hauling away that old couch that goes back a lot of years.
Yesterday was one of those warm and muggy days here at the house but cooler and more comfortable once I got down to the coast on my bike. It's just a few minutes away but the temperatures are completely different and more often than not there is a refreshing coolness that comes off the ocean that can actually be a little chilly if you're not dressed properly. I'm well into the first leg of my bike ride by the time I hit the coast so I'm warm to the core and largely welcoming of the cooler temperatures. The beach areas seem less crowded these days and I'm guessing that has something to do with the average price of a gallon of gas which is now over five dollars. Less crowded is always a good thing when I'm going balls-to-the-walls down Ocean Boulevard on my bike. Well, moving along at a pretty good clip is probably a more apt description.
I watched the televised debate of republican gubernatorial candidates in New York last night. I was specifically interested in listening to both Zeldin and Guliani on the issues and I was wanting to get a sense of the men and whether or not they seemed to have the appropriate gravitas as it were to be governor of that great state. I know it's a blue state but that is not to say that a republican governor can't be voted in especially in light of the economic and cultural havoc that one Joey Bumbles Biden and his party have wreaked on the state of New York and our nation more broadly. I thought Guliani seemed a little too hard nosed and intractable in his arguments while Zeldin came across as a school boy looking to oust his superiors. I don't think either of them even mentioned the current governor's name. Were they not wanting to alienate the female vote? What the heck? Zeldin holds a decent lead in the polls so we'll see how long that lasts.
I'll be happy when this January 6th bullshit show trial is over and done with. I suppose it won't really be over until the DOJ decides and maybe announces that no charges will be brought against Trump for his role in the proceedings. Until then, that is all the leftist loons are wanting to talk about. They live and breathe in the hopes that Trump will be hogtied and frog marched before a judge who will hold him over to trial without bail for inciting a riot or some such bullshit. They think it's their only hope to hold on to the White House in 2024 and maybe one or both houses of Congress later this year. I'd like to get back to listening to them clutching their pearls while spewing their usual nonsense on the progressive radio stations that I have access to. I stopped listening to them when the hearings started since it's all just so ridiculous. I think I'm not alone in shutting them down and out. Let's wrap it up, folks. It's time to move on.
All in all, last night was a good night for republicans in the primaries in various States. The narrative that republicans are likely to rout the democrats in a tsunami in the Fall was strengthened even more with the wins put on the board by Republicans last night. The Maya Flores (Republican) win in the deep blue section of Texas tells you all you need to know about how the Latina vote has moved lock, stock, and barrel to the Republican Party. In South Carolina House races, any number of House seats held by liberal leaning republicans were lost to their more conservative brethren and with room to spare. I was hoping that Katie Arrington, Trump's pick, would beat her fellow republican, Mace, but it was not to be. Tom Rice, a republican from South Carolina, who voted for Trump's second impeachment, got beaten like a rented mule so that makes five of the ten who voted for Trump's impeachment who will not be returning to Washington in January of 2023. As for the remaining five, we're coming for you.
Elon Musk apparently cast his vote for Ms Flores last night and went on Twitter to say that it was the first Republican that he'd ever voted for. Having Elon's support can't hurt. She'll be facing serious headwinds in the November election since she is battling it out in a strongly democratic district. That said, times are a changing given what Biden has done to our country so, with Elon's support, that could make the difference between wining and losing. If the Republicans are to have a true tsunami of a win in November, they'll need her win and wins like hers straight across each and every district across the southern border of Texas. Elon also said something about being partial to DeSantis in 2024. I guess it can't hurt to get it out there. We'll see what it means for Trump in the days and months ahead. We've got a long way to go before we get to the 2024 race.
The missus never believes me when I tell her that everything that Biden is doing to destroy our country is intentional. I don't know if that's some kind of naiveté on her part or just an unwillingness to believe that a President of the United States could be that evil (or stupid). To call it evil suggests that he is actively engaged in whatever it is that he's doing to bring our country to its knees. I probably ought to find another word since I don't think Biden has a clue as to where he is half the time much less a clue about what it is that he's doing or not doing. He reads the words put in front of him by his handlers and not particularly well by all accounts. One minute he's whispering into the microphone and in the next breath he's gritting his teeth in anger with that stupid Joker-like smile of his. Tucker Carlson want on television last night talking about this "intentional" thing and he agrees with me. I think the missus, believe it or not, is still on the fence.
My plan this morning was to go food shopping with the Ev man. I'd rather not since I want to listen to my radio shows as they dissect last night's election results. I want to hear the progressives and the middle-of-the-roaders clutching their pearls about what this means for the Fall and I want to hear my stalwart republican friends taking a well deserved victory lap. I think I can do both. That is, I can catch most of my shows and I can go shopping with the Ev man. I can have my cake and eat it too. My priority is the Ev man truth be told so let's put that out there. These visits to the store are typically pretty quick and we'll get him what he needs or enough, at least, to hold him over for a good week or two. I wish we had a more well defined list of things to go shopping for but we don't. It's catch as catch can for the most part. Up and down the aisles we'll go from one end of the store to the other. I think we can get it all done in a good thirty minutes if the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise. That will leave me plenty of time for my shows.
The Supreme Court could report out on a couple of cases they have on their roster today so that could make for an interesting day. They have both a gun case and an abortion case outstanding. If they decide the cases in favor of the conservatives, which I expect they will, the leftists will be out with their pussy hats and pom pom's ranting and raving like the lunatics that they are. You never see the conservatives pissing and moaning when they get rulings or decisions that are seemingly against their better interests. But, that's what the leftists do when they don't get their way. I don't know who the fuck they think they are half the time or why they think they're so damn entitled. Both sides enjoy seeing the other side lose regardless of the issue and the more spectacular the loss the louder the applause. This is how civil wars start. So much entrenchment.
I was watching the returns come in the other night in several primary states. I tuned into CNN which usually has pretty good coverage. John King works the board like the pro that he is and he knows his stuff inside and out. I was gobsmacked to hear every other word coming out his mouth about the big lie and a thousand different variations on same. Couldn't he just talk about who was winning and who was losing without throwing in the usual democrat talking points? It was stunning, really. And, just so you know, saying that it was a big lie doesn't make it a big lie. In fact, a huge percentage of Republicans and maybe even a smattering of democrats believe that the 2020 election was stolen by the democrats. I suppose that this is who the democrats are. They think that the more they say it the more people will believe it. I suppose to some extent, it may be true.
Word has it that the head of the company that runs CNN put the word out that the talking heads on the network are not to use the expression, "The Big Lie." They believe, and rightly so, that it is nothing more than a talking point put out by the democrat party and CNN, under their new leadership, is trying to get back to straight reporting. I tuned in to Anderson Cooper on CNN briefly last night when he was talking about the ramifications of certain races and he was doing his level best to avoid using the expression (The Big Lie) but was not completely successful.
The element of partisanship is so baked in at the network that trying to rein it all in might well prove futile. It may be necessary to fire them all and just start over again. CNN is denying a report that certain contracts will not be renewed when they expire. Maybe the mere reporting of this will send the appropriate message. Oh, and to nobody's surprise, not a word was mentioned of Maya Flores's win. You know, the first time since the Civil War that a republican won that district in Southern Texas. And, let's not forget the icing on the cake, she is a woman to boot! And still, crickets!
The thought of nationalizing one or more of our industries by our Federal Government never crossed my mind until I heard some talk show guy talking about it. There's been lots of talk coming out of the Biden White House about using the Defense Production Act (DPA) to help with the production of baby formula and other things. These are the same ass clowns that ridiculed Trump for not using the defense production act to make face masks and other things back in the day when Covid was raging.
Trump always viewed using the DPA as a last resort and preferred to work closely with the manufacturers instead of having the government step in when it wasn't completely necessary. Biden and his minions are apparently now using the DPA as an instrument of governmental overreach in order to take over the means of production. Don't think for a moment that their more recent tirades about oil companies and their exorbitant profits "at the expense of the American public" are just the rantings of a lunatic left wing Administration. It's a precursor to nationalizing the oil industries and having the Federal Government run the oil companies. They're just getting started. Think Venezuela.
I'm not sure why Biden's people would want control over the oil companies since Biden has promised since day one that he wants to eliminate our use of and our reliance on all fossil fuels in our country. Might the plan be to first nationalize them and then shut them down? They've made it more and more difficult if not impossible for US oil companies to conduct their business here in the United States while fattening the coffers of leftists regimes in places like Venezuela and Russia by buying their oil and passing along the increased expense of same to the consumer at the pumps.
One oil industry executive was quoted as saying that the refining of crude oil here in the US will come to a complete halt, or words to that effect, in the near term thanks to Biden's policies on domestic energy production. Did people not believe Biden when he said what he said about fossil fuels during his run for the Presidency? I guess not since they voted for the fool anyway. I guess Trump's mean tweets were just a bridge too far.
When you hear the word "inflation" you think about prices going up. That isn't always the case. Companies far and wide have gotten smarter about concealing the obvious when it comes to inflation. I've heard and seen examples of where company's are now putting less and less in their packages but charging not a nickel more. This is happening across the board on everything from bags of potato ships to candy bars. Everything is smaller. I suppose it even appeals to the good folks looking to lose a couple of pounds since smaller is better.
It means less guilt for the consumer and more room on the store shelves for a wider variety of products. I'm old enough to remember when a box of Corn Flakes used to last a good few days if you sat down to a reasonably sized bowl every morning. Now, it's gone in three sittings. The same is true for a loaf of bread. You could make quite a few sandwiches before you got to the heel of the loaf at the far end of the packaging. Now, you pull a couple of slices out of the middle of the loaf and the two heels of bread that you've always avoided are just about all you have left. We're on to you, mother fuckers.
I think today is one of those days when I ought to get out on my bike early because rain is in the forecast for the afternoon. It always works better when I decide early on that that's what I'm wanting to do. It's almost as though I'm making a commitment to myself and maybe even holding myself accountable if I fail to follow through on my own plans. Guilt can be a powerful motivator. Yes, I'd likely regret not getting my bike ride in when I had no excuses whatever for not doing it. It would be a lost opportunity so to speak. Lost opportunities don't go over well with me. I'm old school about these kinds of things.
What else you got this morning, Johnny Boy? The missus is trying to drag me along with her on a little shopping trip to Walmart. I want nothing to do with it. Sorry, Honey. You are on your own. And what's this I'm hearing about Walmart canceling their contract with Mike Lindell, the MyPillow guy? I thought all the big box stores cancelled his ass a long time ago. I like Mike, don't get me wrong. He's a first rate patriot for the cause. He stood, and still stands, with Donald J Trump on the now infamous stolen election in 2020. But I have to tell you, I don't want any of his employees to lose their jobs, or for Mike to lose his business, because the woke mother fuckers at Walmart are doing the bidding of the Bidenistas and cancelling their contract with MyPillow for purely political reasons. Maybe I vote with my feet this morning and give the missus a "Hell No!" when she asks if I want to go to Walmart with her to do a little shopping.
Sometimes, I think that the longer I sit here the more ideas I'll come up with and that will be good for the blog on any given week. The groove I'm getting into seems to see me putting down just enough on "paper" such that I can press the page down arrow on my keyboard eight or nine times and I'll be right as rain. Who knows if that is the right answer or not. Maybe it's too much for the average browser to take in in any one sitting. Maybe people stopping by to read the blog will pick and choose what they wish to read. Maybe they're getting tired of all the politics I kick around on any given week. Maybe they stopped looking at this here blog long ago because they are Biden fan boys or girls and they can only stand so much negative press when it comes to their hero in the White House. I get it. Maybe they want more of Joe and less of Mrs G and the Ev man.
Word has it that Elon Musk sat down with the employees of Twitter yesterday for the first time since he purchased the company a few months back. There are still some issues outstanding (Bot counts?) that need to be cleared up before the sale is finalized but it looks like a done deal for all intents and purposes. You know those skinny little mother fuckers with multiple pronouns working behind the scenes at Twitter never wanted Musk anywhere near their company. In fact, word has it that they took exception to a comment Musk made about "All lives mattering." I'm quite certain that Elon took note of those little pussies in the front row who twisted and turned on their multi-colored prayer rugs as he outed them like the little turds in the fishbowl that they are. I'm hoping that he told them to take their "wokeness" elsewhere if they aren't happy with the new sheriff in town.
The missus and I did a little shopping at McKinnon's in Portsmouth last night where we picked up a little something for dinner. I spied with my little eye a nice blueberry loaf that I thought Mrs might like so I tossed it into the basket. We'll give it to her when we see her later today. I sometimes wonder if she likes the things that we bring her or maybe she just says that she does when she really doesn't. Maybe she's starting to take us and our little gifts for granted. There's that too. Maybe I'll hold off on bringing gifts until she says something or other about the dearth of gifts that she's been receiving from us. Or, maybe she''ll attempt to shame us into resuming our gift bringing by telling us about this gift or that gift that she received from this or that person. I have a good mind to take a peek in her freezer one day to see just how many of our gifts have been put aside for a rainy day. Maybe our gifts are just not that memorable or even remarkable. I suppose that's possible. Anything is possible.
Did I mention the company, Revlon, declared bankruptcy? I noticed that toward the end of last week their stock dropped some 52% in one day. I'm talking about the cosmetic company here. And, not just any cosmetic company. This is a company known globally for their products. I had to look it up because I had no sense as to the value of the stock. In 2019 the stock was trading at $27 a share. It closed recently at $3.98 a share. Talk about a fall from grace. Anyway, the question I have is, who the hell was selling all their shares of stock ahead of their declaring bankruptcy? Are Revlon's principles allowed to cash out at the expense of the common and preferred stockholders? If not, isn't there a law against insider trading? Somebody got tipped off and they sold their stock before the filing. Someone needs to go to jail. Do I need to drop a dime with the Securities and Exchange Commission? Tell me there is a God. Speaking of the baby Jesus, Revlon closed 91% higher today (June 17th). And you thought they were dead in the water after declaring bankruptcy. Think again. FYI, S&P ends week down a crushing 5.8%. Brutal.
Temperatures are in the mid eighties today here along the coast. I waited a little too long to go for my bike ride and it had heated up just enough to make me want to cut my ride short. No sense in getting myself a heat stroke in the process. That's not going to help anybody. The humidity also isn't helping. I can usually catch a nice cool breeze along the ocean when I go for my bike ride but I usually don't know how that's gong to work out until I get down there. I don't usually cut my ride short but I made an exception today. If I thought I was going to cut my ride short so that I'd have enough energy later on to do something else, I was wrong. The only reason that I'm sitting here writing in this here journal is because I got tired of laying in bed trying to ride out this heat. If I sound sluggish, it's because I am.