Cause and effect

"Biden came up with a way to send billions of dollars to Iran instead. Cause and effect. What we are seeing right now is the effect."

Wow! It just seems like it was only last month when the Obama/Biden Administration(s) gave Iran more pallets of cash. As much as the normal folk caterwauled about this being stupid, and Iran would only use this cash to fund Hamas, we were all told to shut up and sit down. Controls were put in place to ensure that this cash would be used for humanitarian purposes only. Even though the head Mulla in Iran said his country would do whatever they wanted with that cash (as it is theirs), our very naive Secretary of State still thought the controls on the cash would be adequate. How did that work out? As of this morning, not well at all.

Last night (as you will hear on the news this morning), Hamas (now full of cash thanks to Iran and Tony Blinken) launched an all-out offensive against the State of Israel. Why? Because they can. With thousands of rockets being launched at Israel, Hamas actually overwhelmed the Iron Dome air defense system in Israel. Meanwhile, Hamas fighters were flooding across the border using every means necessary (including motorized hang gliders) to get to Israeli civilian targets. Some civilians were killed, some were wounded, some were taken hostage. It was a very ugly scene.

I remember as a lad, right after the 1967 Middle East war broke out. I asked my dad why this was happening. My dad said these people in the Middle East have been at war for generations and will continue to do so. Now they have Israel as a common enemy. Can Israel ever live in peace in this most troubled neighborhood? No - in the eyes of the radicals over there, Israel is a stain on the land. Israel has no right to exist.

My thinking on these endless skirmishes or wars over there is quite simple and maybe extreme. For major incursions such as this one, Israel needs to roll a couple of F-16s down the main street of Ramallah. It would be bloody and impactful, but that seems to be the only language that Hamas understands these days. Israel has tried the "land for peace" thing and were only played for suckers. Hamas will never stop, until they are stopped for good. It is unfortunate it would have to come to this, but enough is enough!

As for the United States, please stop being so naive all the time. The JCPOA Obama signed with Iran was way beyond stupid. The first thing Trump did was squash it like a bug. Biden wanted to renew it, but the well was way too poisoned by that time. Biden came up with a way to send billions of dollars to Iran instead. Cause and effect. What we are seeing right now is the effect.

Pray for the people of Israel. This could be going on for weeks, maybe months. Meanwhile, some in the Squad and our Congress will blame Israel for being attacked. Why? Because they are that stupid. That is why. And you can't fix stupid.  

  

Understanding Joe Biden

"Who understands Joe Biden these days? The normal folks? Nope. The loyal Democrat base? Not any longer. Dr. Jill? Maybe. Commander the dog? Absolutely not! He wanted out so bad, he started biting Secret Service agents!"   

Okay. That was a tease. I don't understand Joe Biden, nor do I know of one soul who does. He is a good example of how mis-mashed his thinking is, which leads many of us not understanding him at all.

How so? The southern border. When he was campaigning, he thought it was a winner to be the contrarian to Donald Trump. It would be a poke a stick in Trump's eye, and really win over the "open borders" crowd. So, Biden violated his Constitutional oath, opened our borders, and let in everyone and everything which was evil and bad.

Then there was the fence (or the "wall", as Donald Trump put it). "I will stop construction on the fence immediately, and under my Administration, there will not be one more foot of the fence built." And then everything stopped. All that material, bought and paid for by us, sat on the desert floor, slowing starting to rust. The illegals came pouring over the border, fentanyl started showing up (and killing our young people) in just about every state, and human trafficking was at an all-time high. But Biden was good to his word, no matter how foolish it was.

And then the improbably happened. Joe did not give a tinker's dam about the illegal alien problem on the border states. But New York? New York is one of his "motherlode" states for yellow dog Democrats? To have the mayor of NYC and the governor of the state turn against him was unacceptable. Why did New York turn? Because (GASP!), New York started having a settlement problem with the thousands of illegals which have shown all (uninvited and unexpected) over the place. 

All of a sudden, this "ship of fools" (that being Biden, Harris and Mayorkas), needed to do an immediate course correction. "I will show them", Biden thought, "I will build 20 miles of new fencing in Texas." It is rare you can come up with a solution which will piss everyone off. But this solution did it. The normal folks laughed it off, as 20 miles of border fencing would only cover 2% of the Texas/Mexico border. Like, big whoop. The environmentalists screamed bloody murder as Biden had to break over 20 environmental laws to make this happen. And his "peeps" in New York are still bent out of shape because - well, they still have the illegal alien problem. 

Who understands Joe Biden these days? The normal folks? Nope. The loyal Democrat base? Not any longer. Dr. Jill? Maybe. Commander the dog? Absolutely not! He wanted out so bad, he started biting Secret Service agents!   

   

Twenty miles of border fence

"Even with the House Republicans imploding this week, Joe Biden still looks bad - very bad. The only living being in the White House who looks worse than Joe right now is Commander the biting Dog - and Dr. Jill is getting rid of him." 

Excuse me while I pick myself up off the floor. Joe "I ain't Donald Trump", who swore he would never build another mile of border fence, has decided to throw the crowd a bone. I guess he is getting tired of getting beat up by fellow Democrats from the border states. So, Joe and his border puppet (Mayorkas), announced they will take some of the rusting pile of fencing material (left over from the Trump years), and construct a whopping 20 miles of border fence in Texas. 

How effective will this newfound religion in border fencing be? About as effective as 2% of the 1,250-mile Texas border with Mexico. In other words - nada. Zip. But in true Biden fashion, he can say he has done "something". The almost humorous part of this story is to build this paltry 20-mile stretch of border fence, Biden has to step on some existing environmental laws. Many of the "greenies" down in Texas are hopping mad at the President. As Greta would say, "How dare you!"

Whichever planner is pulling Joe's strings right now, needs to find another line of work. This miniscule section of border fencing will do absolutely no good what-so-ever. It is a joke. Everybody with an IQ higher than 20 knows that. Joe has alienated his "greenie" base in Texas for naught. 

When Joe Biden, due to his visceral hatred for Donald Trump, and also being owned by the "open borders crowd", decided to undo everything Trump did right on the border - he really opened up Pandora's Box. We now have a zillion or so illegals, begging on every streetcorner in the nation, no language or job skills, and no future.

Heck, even the Mayor of New York is down in the Darien Gap telling illegals to stay away from America. "You are being lied to! We have nothing for you. It is all a lie!" Did I mention that Mayor Adams is a Democrat? Even Democrat Governor Hochul form New York has changed her tune on illegals. It is that old NIMBY thing.

Even with the House Republicans imploding this week, Joe Biden still looks bad - very bad. The only living being in the White House who looks worse than Joe right now is Commander the biting Dog - and Dr. Jill is getting rid of him. 

An ESPN gal was on Bill Mahar's podcast talking about her interview with Biden. She was not kind at all. She said he is not only a very poor President, but also not a very nice human. When you lose the ESPN crowd Mr. President, it is time to go. It is going to take a normal President a decade or so to undo what evil you have done.    

 

Gaetz gets his scalp, and we get (???)

 

"Many on our side of the aisle are stuck banging our heads on a brick wall right now. As bad and inept as Biden is, we might have just eclipsed him. Let that thought sink in for a minute." 

My wife got home from a girls extended weekend yesterday afternoon. I was downstairs watching the news. She came down and saw the headlines on the TV, that Kevin McCarthy was ousted. But - she wanted to chat about her weekend. I tried to explain this was not only historic, but dynamic. First time since 1910 a Speaker of the House was ousted. 

I watched it in shock and some disbelief. Was I upset that the Republicans caved and used a CR? More than upset. Did I think Kevin, as Speaker, deserved some kind of punishment? Yes. I remember the fifteen-vote event to get Kevin elected. I remember the talks, the promises, the behind the scenes deals which were made. The House was done, over with the very toxic CR method of budgeting. The House was done, over with Omnibus bills, which are never read, and always full of bloat. Every bill was going to be single subject from now on. Everything was going to change. And then came October 1, 2023.

The odd thing is, there is nothing Matt said I disagreed with. Nothing. Matt Gaetz was describing a budgeting process that was not only agreed to, but also defined in our Constitution. It was hard for me to criticize what he was saying, without be hypocritical. But (and this is a big but), Matt was missing a plan "B". Like, what happens one minute after midnight? Who is the next Speaker going to be? Does anyone (other than Kevin), really even want that job? 

I remember when John Boehner resigned from Congress after the Freedom Caucus gave Boehner a vote of non-confidence. Rather than being removed from being Speaker, he resigned. Then what? Paul Ryan was approached, but Ryan did not want it. He saw being Speaker as a huge time commitment for a young father with young kids. Ryan also knew being Speaker in a divided House was a snake pit. He ended up reluctantly accepting the position. That was 2015. Today is 2023. What has changed? Not much.

One of the problems (as discussed on the news yesterday), is Democrats are "team players". It is usually a "one bunch, all bunch" way of doing business. The Republicans on the other hand, seem to forget (on a regular basis) who the opposition is. Way too much infighting. Many disagreements end up in circular firing squads. As Kevin said yesterday, he tried using governance instead of grievance in the way he ran the House. I guess that did not work well.

Where do we go from here? How do we show the American people that we do know how to govern? Or do we know how to govern? Many on our side of the aisle are stuck banging our heads on a brick wall right now. As bad and inept as Biden is, we might have just eclipsed him. Let that thought sink in for a minute. 

 

Will this be taps for Kevin?

"Maybe tomorrow morning I will have a post which will clarify this mess. Or not. This is all very depressing. I love this country, and I hate to see this self-destruction happen."      

This is a position Kevin has wanted just about forever. And his tenure in that position, might end up being less than a year. Why? We seem to have three parties in Washington right now. We have the Democrats, the Constitutional Republicans, and the Establishment Republicans. Kevin McCarthy is in the last group. Matt Gaetz is in the middle group, and Hakeem Jeffries (et al), are in the first group. Rumor has it that Jefferies has told his caucus to vote against McCarthy. If Gaetz holds his group together, Kevin is toast.

Then what? Another 15 rounds of voting? What happens to the CR? What happens to ANYTHING which is going on in the House right now? I have said this many times before. We are inches away from being ungovernable. At the end of this day, those inches might be replaced by millimeters.

The two names I keep hearing to replace Kevin are Steve Scalice and Tom Emmer. Unfortunately, Scalice is fighting some very serious health problems right now. That might leave Tom Emmer as the last man standing. Now Emmer has already made it known he is a Kevin man and has no interest in the Speaker post. But Tom might be overtaken by events. Personally, I can think of anyone who would want that rat's nest position right now.

Meanwhile, what is going to get done in Washington? Not much. Nobody is leaving. Many want to work until the moment of death. Is the power of the drug in Washington that strong? That retirement is a poor second choice compared to working until your death day. That is what happened to RBG and Feinstein.

Maybe tomorrow morning I will have a post which will clarify this mess. Or not. This is all very depressing. I love this country, and I hate to see this self-destruction happen.      

Mission Impossible

"Am I saying that finishing the job is impossible by the middle of November? Yes, it is mission impossible. Only this is not Hollywood, and we don't have Tom Cruise to save the day."     

Even though many already know this, let me paint the picture of this very confusing landscape. The Speaker of the House, a Republican, was elected with "conditions". He violated those some of those "conditions" when he worked with the Democrats to pass a CR. As it is, the Republican majority is only four votes. And that CR only lasts until 15 November 2023.

So what? How can this be so dad blamed hard? For starters, the conservatives in the Republican caucus are appalled by the size of our national debt. To start whittling down this monster debt, the conservatives want the budget levels to be pre-Covid. For just about every Democrat (and maybe some RINOs), this is a non-starter. We have "needs" which are unfunded. We have millions of new illegal immigrants which need care and feeding. We have hundreds of new regulations which need new regulators to manage them. No - in the eyes of the socialist Democrats, we need "X" plus a percent, not "X" minus a percent. 

Plus, and I have to give Biden credit for this one, we have two huge elephants in the room which are basically unmentioned in these debt discussions. First, thanks to our newfound inflation which has caused the Feds to raise interest rates, the cost of servicing a $33T debt is now a MAJOR component of our entire debt structure. Soon, it will eclipse just about everything else in the budget.

Next - the war in Ukraine. We have the overt monies which we are sending to Mr. Zelenskyy, and then we have the hidden costs. The hidden costs should concern us all. Our cupboards are getting very empty, as we have supplied too many 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine. Our ability to replenish is dwarfed by the number of shells expended in Ukraine every month. If China decides to go to war with us (that is, after they take their Panda Bears back), we will be at a distinct disadvantage. What does Slow Joe say about this issue? We will ask him after his nappy poo is over.

I am not a betting man. But I would bet the house this 45-day CR looks about the same on the 15th of November as it does today. In other words, nada will happen. We might as well start preparing the next CR now, so it will be ready to go on the 14th of November.

Am I saying that finishing the job is impossible by the middle of November? Yes, it is mission impossible. Only this is not Hollywood, and we don't have Tom Cruise to save the day.     

 

Kevin on the brink, the GOP starting to sink.

"Do a CR which will take the government out to September 31, 2024. Focus on GFY 25, as GFY 24 is lost. There is an old saying, when you find yourself driving in a ditch and can't get out - stop driving."

Yesterday was a bad day to be a Republican. It was an exhibit once again, how much the red team has forgotten how to govern. All this time which has elapsed since Speaker Kevin took the gavel, has been for naught. Everybody on both sides of the aisle knew that the appropriation bills had not been done as yet. Since they were not done, the choices ended up being two very bad choices: 1) Do yet ANOTHER CR, or 2) Shut down the government (never a winner). 

On a Sunday morning, dare I be the voice of doom and gloom?  The CR which was signed was for only 45 days. That will be nothing more than a heartbeat this time of year. The trap by the blue team, has once again been set. I have seen this movie before, as well as the last one. Come 15 November, the twelve appropriation bills will not yet be sent over to the Senate. And then what? Choice One: Do another CR to take the government into the new year, or Choice Two: Shut the government down. I can already hear the caterwauling. "By shutting down the government, Keven McCarthy is playing scrooge to children who will not get Christmas presents!" 

Get the picture? The Republicans are once again in a box canyon. No way out. With only a four-seat majority, the Democrats are playing them like a fine violin. It is obvious that Kevin cannot control this herd of cats. Then who can? Absolutely nobody. Why? The die has been set. The trap is all but certain. I can see the handwriting on the wall.

Is there any way out? I know - this will be like cats mating with dogs. Kevin and Matt Ganz need to kiss and make up. Why? Palance intrigue never works well for anybody. And then (please, no hate mail), suck it up buttercup. Do a CR which will take the government out to September 31, 2024. Focus on GFY 25, as GFY 24 is lost. There is an old saying, when you find yourself driving in a ditch and can't get out - stop driving. I know this is a bitter pill to swallow, but the red team has earned it.

After all this bad news, maybe a bit of humor. Megan Markle, the oddball who married into the royal family, is rumored to be highly interested in Feinstein senate seat. No - that is not from the Bee. When I told that to my wife this morning, she said, "But she has no experience!" I responded with one word - Fetterman. And that was the end of that discussion.