Some Exclusions Apply

Got this in my email this morning:

 

Every “eligible” title was at least $9.99

To quote Dilbert: “Gaaaah“

Half Time?

I recently watched the State of the Union address. I am not going to review it here, but it made me think about how far we have come as a nation in the past two years.

• The economy is doing markedly better by every metric that matters.
• Unemployment is at historic all-time lows, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• We have not become embroiled in any new foreign wars.
• ISIS has been reduced to a fraction of its former size and influence.
• We have new trade agreements with Canada, Mexico, China and other nations.
• We no longer negotiate with terrorists, which is as is should be.
• We have withdrawn from the idiotic Paris Climate Accords, which would have placed us at a grave disadvantage on us and  would have handed a competitive advantage to developing nations like India and China.
• The tax cut bill has left us all slightly better off. For some obscure reason, the Democrats are incensed at this.
• Thousands of jobs that were fleeing the country have returned, and foreign business are moving here.
• Businesses are hiring, as is evidenced by the “Now Hiring” signs that are popping up everywhere.
• He fulfilled the twenty-year-old promise to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Almost three years ago, I forecasted that Donald Trump would win the election. After two years in office, I can think of only two election promises that he hasn’t kept:

1. The repeal of Obamacare. This is partly thanks to John McCain, and partly due to the fact that that Congress could not come up with a  better substitute. This is understandable, as Prang’s Law of freebies™ states “Once someone becomes accustomed to getting something for free, it is human nature to fight tooth and nail to keep that freebie.“
2. Securing the Border (“Building the Wall”). The same Democrats who repeatedly voted for a secure border fence in the past are stubbornly refusing to fund this effort. Because Trump.

To be fair, he tried as best he could to keep both of those promise, but both of those promises require the agreement of Congress to be kept. I cannot hold that against the President.

While I may not necessarily agree with everything that the President says or tweets, the insane behavior of the left has provided us all with a level of political entertainment that we have never seen. “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is a real and pernicious problem.

After watching the State of the Union address, I am sure of one thing:

This is not Half-Time; it is the end of the First Quarter

Why Jussie Smollett is a liar

I have been following this narrative for a while. Here are my initial thoughts when the story broke.

Initial Behavioral Inconsistencies

• He claims to have fought off two attackers but does not have injuries consistent with a vicious attack. What happened?
• He claims that the assailants said “This is MAGA country”. He subsequently denied saying this. In which universe is Chicago “MAGA Country”?
• He claims to have fought off two attackers with tuna sandwich in one hand and a phone in the other. How did he do this?
• He had his phone with him, but did not call the police until forty minutes later, after he got home. Why did he wait for so long to report a crime?
• He finally called the police about twenty minutes later, after he got home. Why so long? Why didn’t he call the cops on the spot?
• He claims that the attackers placed a “noose” around his neck, but was still “wearing” it when the police arrived. Why would he keep it on?

Meeting the police

• Smollett claimed that he was on the phone with his manager when the attack occurred… at 2AM?
• …but when asked for his phone, he didn’t turn it over immediately. When he finally did, some of the phone numbers had been “redacted”, ostensibly in order to protect the privacy of contacts and people who are not relevant to the attack. Why do you think that you get to decide what evidence is and is not “relevant”?

*Sigh*, first Cavanaugh, now this. Given the total lack of evidence and questionable behavior of the alleged victim, I am convinced that Jussie Smollet is a liar.

Time will tell.