by John Walters
Pete’s Draggin’ (Fox News)
With his signature student body sergeant-at-arms visage and choirboy face, Mayor Pete Buttigieg calmly trolled Fox News and MAGA not once but twice this week. Will they ever invite him back?
“Now Let’s Introduce Michigan’s Starting Offensive Line. At Right Tackle”
The FBI arrested 13 men, all from Michigan, who were allegedly plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. You can read more of the details here. Things to note:
- All were men
- All were white
- I’m guessing most were hirsute
The six original plotters reached out to a group of white supremacist militia who refer to themselves as “Wolverine Watchmen.” This is what happens when the Big Ten football season is delayed and hunting season has yet to begin.
By the way, what if they had succeeded? Who in the federal government (outside of the FBI) would have stepped in to stop this revolt? Would Trump have called in the National Guard?
The Big Fat Metaphor Staring Us All In The Face
Two news items that happened earlier this week that it took us a day or two to connect. Last weekend President Trump was administered steroids and as he has said a few times publicly since, he feels great. “Better than I did 20 years ago.”
Of course, every Sanjay Gupta you know has cautioned that steroid act as an anti-inflammatory. That is, they do nothing to cure the illness but only to mask its symptoms. At some point Donald Trump is going to need to be weaned off his steroid treatments (or, knowing him, not be weaned off and then he’ll develop other steroid-related symptoms that’ll be worse) and that fall will be precipitous.
Meanwhile, as the stock market continued to roar northward it was announced this week that the federal budget deficit reached an all-time high of $3 trillion. But hey, we’re preparing a second stimulus package so the economy must be good, right?
Masking the symptoms of the illness without actually treating the illness. The Trump presidency has been an administration on steroids: doing things that help or mask the fundamental problem in the short-term but really only putting off the inevitable. Chickens always come home to roost (which is yet another metaphor).
Which is why these Trump/steroids and boom economy/federal deficit threads are so perfect. It’s the same exact thing happening.
May The Fours Be With You
Even Tom Brady is not perfect. If you had Brady with the ball and down a point to the Chicago Bears and losing, you’re wiser than we are.
Of course, this sideline public chastising of teammates minutes before his gaffe does not look so good in retrospect:
Star, 80
Today would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday (and if you saw Yesterday you remember that very poignant scene near the end in which Lennon would have lived out his days by the sea, happy but in obscurity. Imagine…).
Often referred to as the true lyrical genius behind the Beatles’ music, Lennon is, and probably so, but I’d say that post-Beatles Paul and even George recorded better songs (at least for these ears). But here’s one we always liked, up above.
Has there ever been a male terrorist WITHOUT scraggly facial hair?
Do you still think the markets are due to crash again, this time because the ‘roid economy is, er, cruisin’ for a bruisin’? It’s what I’ve been thinking too these past 6 months but then a guy gets on CNBC this morning at 5:45 AM (I was getting dressed to go on one of my bimonthly 6AM grocery runs) & says “this bull market has ANOTHER 5-7 years to run!”. I can’t remember the name he gave to this type of super lengthy bull market (it was pitch black outside & I was sleepy!) but he was emphatic that they have existed. He referenced 1982-2000 as the “last one”. Man, I hope he’s right! One of my biggest fears (besides another 4 years of the SOCIOPATH & the GOP-NAZIs ) is to retire into or have some of my early retirement years in a recession. That “sequence of return risk” is real! It can mean the difference between having fairly comfy golden years or eating dog food to survive.
The 2ND thing I hope I’ve been wrong about (this in itself is as rare as that superbull market 😉 ) is whether Sweet Pea (& his team) wins the NBA championship either tonight or by next week at the latest. Due to all the tragedies & distractions the past few months & that LBJ voted to leave the Bubble (well, he did change his vote the next morning), I thought LeBron’s head & heart wasn’t in it, but after watching the 4 Finals games so far, I believe that is INCORRECT. I still can’t fathom why anyone would want to be just another Laker in a loooong list of “champions” when you could be THE ONE GUY in the history of a team, but I will be thrilled for him when (ok, “if”, don’t want to jinx him!) he wins ring#4 in this ‘year of all years’.
you should update this thread with Pete on with Chris Wallace and touching late-term abortion.