As the Basketball and Hockey playoffs continue one quick reminder.
No Boston team has made it to a League final since Tom Brady left the Patriots.
EVERY Tampa Bay teams has.
That is all.
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Foreign follies
Posted: June 15, 2021 by chrisharper in UncategorizedTags: Biden, foreign policy, Harris
By Christopher Harper
If the recent international trips of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are any indication, the next four years will be a disaster.
At the G-7 conference in Great Britain, Biden interrupted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ask for an introduction of the leader of South Africa. He was greeted with snickers from other leaders as he somehow missed that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the only black man in the room, had already been introduced.
Later, at a news conference, Biden continually confused Libya and Syria.
“There’s a lot going on where we can work together with Russia. For example, in Libya, we should be opening up the passes to be able to go through and provide — provide food assistance and economic — I mean, vital assistance to a population that’s in real trouble,” he told reporters.
After confusing the two countries several more times, Biden aides had to inform journalists that the president meant Syria rather than Libya.
What a comfort as Biden headed for Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin!
But the media played along and ignored the gaffes, reveling in the lack of Donald Trump’s presence and puffing up Biden’s “accomplishments.”
“G-7 leaders come Together on Global Minimum Tax, Democratic Ideals.” The New York Times bellowed at the end of the meeting. “The agreement represented a dramatic return of America’s postwar international diplomacy, and Biden said it was evidence of the strength of the world’s democracies in tackling hard problems.”
I am genuinely heartened that the G-7 can agree on democratic ideals. Unfortunately, I still haven’t figured out precisely what the global minimum tax will do other than stifle business and individual enterprise throughout the developed world.
The Washington Post reported, “[P]erhaps the most striking part of the first G-7 summit in the post-Trump era was its sheer normalcy and even the bland scriptedness that undergirded most of the proceedings.”
I think it’s grand that the leaders of the developed world can agree on normalcy and blandness. What a great accomplishment!
Harris, the designed hitter on the border crisis, didn’t perform much better in her brief swing into Latin America to talk with the leaders of Mexico and Guatemala.
The vice president hasn’t even visited the border since being anointed as the border crisis queen, and the administration has failed to articulate what it plans to do about the problems. In May, the U.S. Border Patrol reported that it stopped 180,034 people trying to cross through there, the highest number since Biden took office and nearly eight times the 23,000 stopped in May 2020.
Harris has fumbled several interviews about the border crisis.
The most awkward was an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, when she told him, “We’ve been to the border.”
He corrected her, pointing out that she has not been to the border.
That’s about the only aggressive question anyone from the mainstream media has made about the growing incompetence of Biden and Harris’ foreign policy.
Silly me, why should I be surprised? Everything is just great because Trump is no longer president.
Report from Louisiana: The Circus has Left Town and taken the Legislature with it.
Posted: June 14, 2021 by Pat Austin in UncategorizedTags: datechguy's magnificent seven, frank, John Bel Edwards, louisiana politics, report from louisiana
By: Pat Austin
SHREVEPORT – Louisiana’s legislative session has ended and as The Advocate puts it, “the circus has left Baton Rouge.” There is never a dull moment in Louisiana politics. Here’s a quick look.
While legislators did not legalize recreational marijuana, they did legalize sports betting. The medical marijuana program was expanded, and jail time for small amounts of marijuana has been eliminated. Mandatory kindergarten passed muster, but tougher teacher retirement rules did not. Governor John Bel Edwards agreed to terminate federally enhanced unemployment benefits in exchange for raising the weekly unemployment benefit by $28. An attempt to enact closed party primaries failed.
In other pressing issues, women will no longer pay state sales tax on feminine hygiene products or diapers.
At the last minute, legislators passed “a bill that would prohibit government agencies from refusing to issue licenses, permits, and degrees or barring access to public facilities to someone who hasn’t received a covid-19 vaccine until any of the vaccines have been officially approved by the FDA.” Meanwhile, Louisiana State University plans to have a mask mandate this fall when students return to college classes.
The session was not without tension and drama. Louisiana House member Alan Seabaugh came in conflict with Representative Malinda White over terminology in a domestic violence bill. White became contentious over Seabaugh’s proposed changes and reportedly said either “let me get my gun and finish this or I’m going to get my gun and we can finish this.” Seabaugh took that as a threat and has requested the Louisiana State Police follow up on the matter.
I am frankly shocked that Edwards is agreeing to end the subsidized unemployment benefit, however there is no question that he needs to. Businesses all over town are advertising for help, begging for help, and some are having trouble staying open because they can’t get anyone to work.
It remains to be seen which bills will get the governor’s signature and which will meet the veto. Legislators passed one bill that is certain to receive an Edwards veto: residents would no longer have to have a permit or training to conceal carry.
That’s going to be a big no from Edwards.
Pat Austin blogs at And So it Goes in Shreveport and at Medium; she is the author of Cane River Bohemia: Cammie Henry and her Circle at Melrose Plantation. Follow her on Instagram @patbecker25 and Twitter @paustin110.
If these are the results with the full pressure of media and government and Hollywood and academic can you imagine what people would be saying without all of that.
I wonder how much of their efforts are to convince themselves?
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