Saturday, October 03, 2026

Double Bubble

Wait a minute... Double what up? 

Trump has absolutely no idea what he’s doing.
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Buying Votes With Pennies

Trump: "I am pleased to announce that my Administration will, immediately, begin sending 'Checks' of nearly $100 to over 20 MILLION wonderful Seniors to help pay for their Medicare Part B premiums, which we have already reduced by significant amounts. This money will come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, a pointless 'Slush Fund' that has only been used by Dumocrats in Congress to pay for the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse for their Special Interest friends, and drive up Healthcare costs. We are finally using this Fund, along with my Most Favored Nations Deals, to substantially LOWER costs for our Seniors. I pledged to protect and preserve Medicare and Social Security, which were on the verge of RUIN by Joe Biden, who foolishly and maliciously let tens of millions of Illegal Aliens into our Country, and we are doing just that for America’s Seniors. This is separate from the equally substantial Refund 'Checks' we are sending to One Million Americans who were overcharged for their Unaffordable Care Act plans by Joe Biden.

Because I delivered on this very important issue for the American People, they can also rest assured the highly popular $5,000 Trump Dividend will be distributed to every U.S. Citizen if, and when, the Republicans win the Midterm Elections! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP"
A) Next to nobody is going to read all that, let’s face it.

B) Medicare Part B premiums have gone up this year, not down.

C) The “checks” are going to be a one time payment of $90. 

D) It represents about 45% of the monthly premium. Once.

Try not to blink, or you’ll miss it. And don’t get too excited; there are 68 million people on Medicare. So 2/3rds of us, get bupkis.

As the Lovely Wife said: “Throw me a roll of paper towels, dude.”
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🤷‍♂️

Can he give us at least three names?
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Friday, October 02, 2026

Visual Metaphors

Thousands were standing outside and couldn’t get in.

Right?
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Don’t Mess With Tex-Mex

I have been eating Tex-Mex for as long as I can remember (and had the pleasure of introducing the Lovely Wife to it in high school. I remember a long time back these days.). I can comfortably tell Trump that nobody in Texas cares if Talarico is vegan or eats BBQ three times a day and as a midnight snack. But all Texans care about complimentary chips and salsa:
The Trump administration imposed a 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes in July 2025, ostensibly with the aim of protecting U.S. farmers from foreign competition and boosting domestic production. Mexico accounts for roughly 90% of the tomatoes the U.S. has imported since 2015, worth more than $3 billion, according to a study by Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension Service.

Grocery stores and restaurants were initially able to absorb the higher costs rather than passing them on to consumers. But then, bad weather in Mexico and Florida reduced supplies, and tomato prices jumped to their highest level in two decades.

"As a result, we saw the fresh tomato market jumped to about $80 a box," said Dante Galeazzi, president of the Texas International Produce Association. "We saw, as American consumers, that there was a point in late April and almost the entire month of May, where grocery stores were not carrying tomatoes. So that’s a clear reflection of price elasticity where the buyers just say, ‘You know what? We’re not going to participate.'" Restaurants have held out a few months longer, in large part because customers have become accustomed to free chips and salsa. But food costs overall have spiked roughly 35% over the past two years, in part due to the tariffs.

Kelsey Erickson Streufert, chief public affairs officer for the Texas Restaurant Association, said her members are now dealing with a raft of other escalating expenses.

"The challenge is for our Texas restaurants, they operate on very narrow profit margins in what I would call good economic times," Streufert said, "and right now we’re living in a time of very high costs on food — which is most restaurants’ biggest line item — but also labor, utilities, credit card swipe fees, insurance. Almost everything that it takes to run a restaurant these days is significantly more expensive than it was a year or two ago."
I remember when some “Mexican” restaurant chain (NOT based in Texas) tried to charge for chips and salsa before the meal. It went over like a fart at a funeral. I don’t think they’re even in operation anymore.

There are as many different kinds of Tex-Nex as there are regions in Texas: north Texas; Panhandle; west Texas: East Texas: coastal bend; South Texas; Trans-Pecos. You get the idea. When I lived in Austin there was a local chain of three restaurants (no, not Chuy’s) in South, central, and north Austin; which was a far smaller footprint than it is now. And I swear (still) that you could put me blindfolded in any one of those restaurants, and I could have told which it was. San Antonio is south of Austin, Dallas north, and each restaurant reflected that regional influence. And what all those restaurants throughout the state absolutely have in common is free chips and salsa on the table before you even have a chance to order drinks.

We take our Tex-Mex very seriously.

I’ve gotta be honest; gas, and even diesel, are a bit below national averages down here. Not so low it’s cheap, but we’re a bit better off than we deserve. We aren’t crowing about it, but we know we’re better off. We also feel superior in our access to Tex-Mex; especially when we look at that stuff California thinks is “Mexican food.” So threaten our access to free chips and salsa when we sit down to order a plate of cheese ranch with beef sauce and a side of Mexican rice and refried beans? Well, I’ll just say the person responsible would be wise to stay out of Texas, with or without bodyguards.

We take our Tex-Mex very seriously, and consider free chips and salsa our birthright as Texans.
The San Antonio Business Journal has reported that some restaurants in that city spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on salsa ingredients. That may no longer be sustainable.

"You have restaurants that are simply saying, ‘Look, I can’t afford to put salsa on the tables anymore,'” Galeazzi said. "What are consumers going to do? Where are consumers going to find this relief?"
This could seriously effect the midterms.

Don’t mess with Tex-Mex.
(Be careful what you wish for.)
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I Actually Agree With Mullin

Although I don’t recall Talarico spouting Scripture recently; well, outside a church, anyway.
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We Get Comments On Proof Texting

From:
I’m guessing Hegseth hasn’t gotten to verses 16 ff. of Psalm 33?
Psalm 33

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

2 Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

4 For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.

5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

11 The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

13 The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.

14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.

16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.

17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

22 Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

“The Devil can cite scripture for his own purposes.” Usually by proof texting.
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Reform Is Coming

"What is becoming increasingly clear is that the administration does not see itself as a litigant before the court and does not see its attorneys as bound by court orders. It sees DOJ attorneys as somehow coequal with SCOTUS, the only attorneys in the federal system not bound by ethical rules."
Like SCOTUS, which does not consider itself bound by ethical rules. It only pays lip service to them.

Meanwhile, in the OMB:
Russell Vought is neither co-equal to, nor superior to, Congress. Art. I gives Congress the authority to allocate federal funds; not the executive branch, and certainly not OMB.

Congress can straighten that out. It can also straighten out the DOJ, and even impose enforceable ethical standards on the Supremes.

Maybe people aren’t voting for the Democratic Party. But they are voting for reform.
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Random Associations

Theo Von to Mayor Mamdani: I know that you were offering a night out for parents and childcare. Tickets for the opera, which is just a chance for somebody to have a new experience. And the stabilization of rent control. It sounds like you're just trying to give people a chance to take a breath.
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Thursday, October 01, 2026

“It’s The Dumocrats’ Fault…”

...that prices are coming down? But Republicans will fix it?

Is this the new Republican strategy?
Well, if they’re not interested, is it really a rally?
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Youth Is Wasted On The Young

And the moon landing was faked because the earth is flat and the moon is made of green cheese.

He was born in 1980. He doesn’t even realize it was GOP Congressmen who convinced Nixon to resign, because he would have been the first President forcibly removed from office.

But all the witness testimony was ginned up by the “deep state.”

Oh, to be young and stupid again, and imagine this will lower the price of gas.⛽️ 
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“America! Love It Or Leave It!”

In his defense, he’s too young to remember that wholly unAmerican sentiment.  OTOH, he’s really, really stupid. And racist. I suppose his excuse is, he’s listening to his master’s voice.
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I Remember The 1970’s

And then came the next 46 years.
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“You’re Paying A Lot Less…” 😵‍💫

"… for gas and diesel and food than you think you are. And you’re getting sleepy…your eyelids are very heavy…”😵‍💫 Self-hypnosis is a helluva drug.
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“Make Me Richer…”

“…I’ll give you a McDonalds cheeseburger.” 🍔 *

*Fries extra. BYOD.


VOTE LIKE TRUMP IS ON THE BALLOT!


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Talafreakout

No idea what he’s talking about. But I remember Texas Republicans in the Lege warning that Talarico was “dangerous” back when he was still running for the nomination. They meant politically dangerous. They were right. Talarico is part of the reason for that. But Trump is the bigger danger in Texas. Not that Talarico is riding on that wave alone.
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So Thirsty

I recommend people read Time's interview with Trump to get a sense of the president's grave cognitive impairment. Trump is either unwilling or unable (or maybe both) to answer the questions he's actually asked, so he just rants and raves while the interviewers do their best to provide structure to his random brain firings.
Like this: War is peace, and genocide is a good thing.
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[Unintelligible]

Whaddya bet none of these parts of the transcript ever make it off Twitter?
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The Amount Of Grift…

... and sheer hucksterism and confidence gaming in the high reaches of American business makes you wonder why we admire “captains of industry” in the first place. Sure reckoning is at hand. But I’m not optimistic.
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Wednesday, September 30, 2026

For Want Of A….

... and all for the costs of an egg.

Can Congress impeach him yet?
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