THE ADVENTURES of NANCY

The old Lobsterman will admit it…

The travel plans of Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, troubles me.

Maybe…unnecessarily.

Pelosi was expected to appear in Singapore tomorrow as part of a closely watched tour of Asia that has stoked fears, including at the highest levels of the American government, of heightened tensions with China over the possibility that she would make a stop in Taiwan.

She has NOT confirmed – formally – whether she will visit Taiwan, a self-governing democracy of 23 million people that China claims as its own territory.

But…

Pelosi had proposed a trip to the island earlier this year, which was postponed because she contracted the Coronavirus, and when asked recently about her travels plans, she said that it was “important for us to show support for Taiwan.”

The possibility of a trip to Taiwan by Pelosi would be the highest-ranking American official to go there since 1997.

Security concerns?

There are many!!!

ISOLATION JOE

NOT so fast, Joey…please go back to the resident’s quarters immediately.

Our 46th president first positive for COVID-19 on July 21st; after five days of isolation, he tested negative last Tuesday night, and returned to the Oval Office on Wednesday, declaring that his relatively mild case demonstrated how much progress had been made in fighting the virus that has killed more than one million Americans.

Slow the roll, Joe!!!

Yesterday morning, Biden tested positive for the Coronavirus again, becoming the latest example of a rebound case after taking the Paxlovid treatment that has otherwise been credited with broadly impressive results in fighting the virus and suppressing its worst effects.

The “‘rebound’ positivity,” as Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician, termed it, meant Biden was forced to resume “strict isolation procedures” in keeping with medical advice.

Biden had tested negative on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before receiving a positive antigen result on Saturday morning.

What this does is it re-ignites the national firestorm as regards vaccinations once again.

Paxlovid rebound has become a source of debate within the scientific community and among COVID patients; initial clinical studies of the drug, which is made by Pfizer, suggested that only about 1% to 2% of those treated with Paxlovid experienced symptoms again.

But…

The anecdotal accounts of Paxlovid rebound – including a case involving Dr. Tony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser – have echoed widely, causing many to wonder whether the reported data was still accurate ??! as the new and much more contagious BA.5 subvariant sweeps through communities and reinfects even patients who recently recovered from COVID-19.

Instead of the narrative of beating the virus, however, the Biden’s rebound case reinforces the unpleasant reality that the pandemic refuses to go away.

Although death tolls have fallen dramatically, COVID-19 remains a fact of life for Americans, some of whom have been infected multiple times.

h/t: Johns Hopkins University and Becker’s Hospital Review.

DELAYING THE OBVIOUS?

This week we’ve been hearing, and reading, about some serious concerns throughout parts of Europe.

They center around the fact that as Russia tightens its chokehold on supplies of natural gas, Europe is looking everywhere for energy to keep its economy running.

Fears are growing that a cutoff of Russian gas will force governments to ration fuel and businesses to close factories, moves that could put thousands of jobs at risk.

What amps this situation even more is there’s a ‘shooting war’ going on…with little hope, at the moment, of a resolution.

Coal-fired power plants are being revived. Billions are being spent on terminals to bring in liquefied natural gas, much of it from shale fields in Texas.

European officials and heads of state are flying to Qatar, Azerbaijan, Norway, and Algeria to nail down energy deals.

With winter right around the corner, there is NO apparent end in sight to the conflict in Ukraine.

The conflict could continue well through the 2022-2023 winter; with escalation becoming the alternative to failed negotiations.

Long-term strategies are NOT the answer to near-term challenges/crises presented by war.

The amount of natural gas coming from Russia, once Europe’s largest source of the fuel, is less than a third of what it was a year ago. 

A long-term switch to more renewable sources of energy has been overtaken by a short-term scramble to make it through the coming winter.

The astronomical cost of energy in Europe is putting a wide variety of industries on the defensive…to state the obvious.

Energy security and energy self-sufficiency and climate change represent EXACTLY WHAT and HOW?

HE’S WITHOUT LIMITS!!!

It is against federal law to use the presidential and vice-presidential seals in ways that could convey “a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States.”

Come on, boys and girls, we ALL know laws don’t apply to this triple-wide load!!!

The “former guy” – the one who sprays orange tint ALL over himself – was spotted using the presidential seal on multiple items during the LIV Golf tournament at his Bedminster, N.J., golf course.

The seal was plastered on towels, golf carts and other items as Boy Orange participated at the pro-am of the Saudi-sponsored tournament Thursday.

While violating this law could result in imprisonment of “not more than six months,” a fine, or BOTH, don’t expect any punishments to be doled out against Lucifer.

This week marks the third event of the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series, which Trump has joined forces with in Bedminster in the face of heavy criticism from 9/11 families, and its second in the United States.

When asked whether he had any regrets that the golf club was hosting a LIV Golf event rather than a tournament sanctioned by the US Golf Association or PGA Tour, Donald John Trump responded, as only he can, “No, no regrets. That’s their problem,” he said. “This course blows every other course away.”

TAIWAN, NANCY, and $$$

How many of you are aware that there’s a phone call today between Joey and Xi?

Please raise your hand.

I thank the gentlewoman in the back…the one wearing the Mao cap.

When Biden gets on a call with President Xi Jinping of China sometime today to try to quiet tension(s) over Taiwan, the two will have a multi-page ‘punch list’ of mutual grievances to address.

However, one source of recent friction may be something NOT on either’s list: The slowing economy of China.

The most obvious items on the agenda are: The US and China being at odds lately over the Russian invasion of Ukraine; China‘s aggressive posturing in the in the Pacific; continuing American tariffs; and, a possible trip to Taiwan by Speaker Nancy Pelosi over Beijing’s strenuous objections.

Any of those could provide the spark for a more dangerous confrontation.

But…

What of Xi’s own economic and pandemic problems at home or his need to demonstrate strength internationally??!

Keep in mind, Xi’s “zero Covid” policy has resulted in drastic lockdowns, with cases rising again and China still having NO mRNA vaccine??!

Over the past year, China‘s economy has dramatically slowed, with parts of the country facing mortage and debt crises [the music across Planet Earth is the same when $$$ is on the table!].

We ALL recall Mao’s message: “STAY CLOSE TO THE MASSES!”

KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY

Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, fell 0.2% in the second quarter, the equivalent of an 0.9% annual rate of decline, the Commerce Department announced 20 minutes ago.

The announcement followed a contraction of 0.4% in the first three months of the year – meaning that by one common but unofficial definition, the US economy has entered a recession a mere two years after it emerged from the last one.

That said, most money guys and gals and egghead economists still do NOT think the economy meets the formal definition of a recession, which is based on a broader set of indicators including measures of income, spending and employment.

The GDP data itself will also be revised several times in the months ahead.

The National Bureau of Economic Research is the semiofficial arbiter of when recessions begin and end; its Business Cycle Dating Committe tries to be definitive, which means it typically waits as much as a year to declare that a recession has begun, long after most independent economists have reached that conclusion.

Prepare your household for the ‘fire and brimstone’ experts over the next two weeks!!!

THE HUNTING DOGS

Every act of compulsion by or in the name of a grand jury must be supported by probable cause.

Keep in mind, a subpoena is an act of compulsion and so it can only be issued if there is probable cause that it will produce evidence of a crime.

Grand juries are NOT allowed to act out of speculation or curiosity.

They are like “hunting dogs” in a manner of speaking; they are NOT allowed to go here, there or anywhere.

Allow me to put this way: They must be pursuing a scent.

In April, before the 1/6 House Select Committee convened its series of public hearings, we are now finding out, the Justice Department investigators received phone records !!! of key officials and aides in the Trump White House, according to the latest reporting in the Washington Post and New York Times.

Last week, two top aides to “Pastor” Pence testified to a federal grand jury in the case, and prosecutors have issued subpoenas and search warrants to a growing number of figures tied to the Orange Despot and his circus campaign to forestall his loss.

Trump’s prosecution is necessary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But…

This entire cavalcade will still be insufficient to absolve members of Congress who participated – willingly – in the obstruction of justice and its cover up.

As I’ve repeatedly said in my blog, Boy Orange found the dividing line between political process and sedition and crossed it.

Donald John Trump led dozens of congressmen and senators to cross it with him…although insufficient to reverse the ’20 election.

ALL should suffer more than just the infamy of their brazen behavior!!!

Bark, Skipper…bark!

ANOTHER WEEK of RECKONING

Our Fed is expected to announce its fourth interest rate increase of 2022 today as it races to tamp down rapid inflation. 

In the alternate universe, known as politics, Biden, after a virtual meeting with tech manufacturing executives – on Monday – was asked about his latest economic headache: How worried should Americans be that the country might be in a recession?

“We’re not going to be in a recession,” Joey replied.

Yet again, it’s the latest chapter in an ongoing challenge that Biden has faced since taking office: trying, largely unsuccessfully, to persuade Americans that the economic recovery is stronger than people perceive.

Aides to the president have spent much of the past several days making that case publicly, ahead of critical economic data set for release today and tomorrow that could, at least informally, indicate the start of a recession.

But…

The reality of the moment is time is of the essence when it comes to controlling inflation; if price increases run fast for months or years on end, people begin to adjust their lives accordingly [especially with Americans…where the well is perceived as NEVER running dry!!!].

Workers might ask for higher wages, pushing up labor costs and prompting businesses to charge more; and, companies might begin to believe that consumers will accept price increases, making them less vigilant about avoiding them.

STAY TUNED…

Tick tock, tick tock
Tick tock, tick tock

Hickory dickory dock
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one, the mouse ran down
Hickory dickory dock

YUMMY FOR MY TUMMY

Let the church bells ring…across the fruited, and very dry, Prairie!

Dozens of previously undisclosed emails among people connected to the Trump campaign, outside advisers and close associates, have been reviewed by the New York Times and authenticated by people who had worked with the Trump campaign at the time; some show one lawyer involved in the detailed discussions repeatedly using the word “fake” to refer to the so-called electors, who were intended to provide Mike “Pastor” Pence and Trump’s toadies in Congress a rationale for derailing !!! the congressional process of certifying the ’20 outcome. 

These emails show, according to the early reporting from the Times, a particular focus on assembling lists of people who would claim [please sit down] – with NO basis – to be Electoral College electors on his behalf in battleground states that he had lost.

The emails also provide new details of how a wing of the Orange Despot‘s campaign worked with outside lawyers and advisers to organize the elector plan !!! and pursue a range of other options, often with little thought !!! to their practicality. 

The circus NEVER leaves town!

Importantly, these emails were apparently NOT shared with lawyers in the White House Counsel’s Office, who advised that the “fake electors” plan was NOT legally sound, or other lawyers on the campaign.

Developing…

Stay alert to this space.

ON TO YEAR 9…

I just want to take a moment, and thank many of you, for helping, guiding and advising the old Lobsterman over the past eight years.

When I, initially, came up with the thought of doing this blog, many thought it was a great idea, but had reservations about its longevity within their collective souls…“doesn’t have the patience to stay with it” being the loudest [while under their breath] concern.

But…

Two people pushed me over the abyss: My better half for 57-years, and son #1.

Being a “free fall” kind of individual, the old Lobsterman has loved every single moment writing down my thoughts…whether with joy or whether in complete and total anger.

I’ve mentioned this before but one of my earliest followers was a Catholic nun in a convent in central Italy – how she found my blog and has since proceeded to be my conscience of soul, I’ll NEVER know nor ask.

Others like the band of hockey hooligans at the Golden Dog Tavern in Winnipeg, Manitoba, or the elites [as they prefer to be called] on the south shore of the Hamptons, or the USMC bachelor quarters at Quantico, Virginia…and so many more…have stayed the course with me, and have passed on the ramblings of this aging leprechaun to others.

So…as the great Belichick would say…we’re on to Year Nine!!!!!!!!!!!!!