The (Daily) Vent 2

( Baking Bread. . .) Under certain circumstances, the phrase is "breaking" bread to indicate an accommodation of some sort. That is what Speaker McCarthy and President Biden secured with the recent debt ceiling talks. The real test, however, was going to be whether the Legislation would pass Congress. And, as one thought they would, the more "conservative" members of the GOP Conference, Freedom Caucus and so on, Republican members of the Rules' Committee, have stated opposition to the Bill's passage out of the House. There is the saying how half a loaf of bread is better than no bread at all. That would depend on the bread. The question that Republicans need to ask themselves is what they are willing to assent in order to secure the only debt negotiation in play, Does the deal attain the entire ambition of the Conference ? Obviously not but some would say it can be a positive step. Or, it could be a disaster. It is easy to back something if it at least gives...

( But To God. . .) Could the "real" Memorial Day please stand ? A few weeks ago, there was some confusion on the dates and such was indicated at the time. In any event, today is recognized as Memorial Day and while it is appropriate to get beer and BBQ, the occasional swim. But it is no accident that the day is called "Memorial." How easy it is for some to just see this as a three day weekend ? The beer, the BBQ, the swim and that is the extent of their participation. How easy it is to forget the sacrifice. That that beer, BBQ, and swim has actually been bought and paid for by the blood of others, the real reason for Memorial Day. Which begs the question, why would there be a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ? The Tomb lies as a part of Arlington National Cemetary across the Potomac in Virginia. The internment contains the remains of Fallen "Known But to God." Normally a Headstone is available but the "unknown" cannot receive that acclaim, the individ...

('72 Pinto For Sale) The Ford Pinto was an economy car that had been designed in wake of the 1973 OPEC embargo. The Pinto was compact and did not have a very big fuel tank so the shock at the pump was not as severe. That being said, the Pinto tank as placed to the real of the vehicle so it was possible and did actually happen on certain occasions where any rear impact to the car could set off the fuel tank. Contrary  to what had been predicted yesterday, House Republicans and the White House, namely Speaker McCarthy and President Biden. The actual increase in the ceiling will not occur till 2025, after the next election. In the meantime there will be no tax increases, non-defense discretionary will be held to 1% annually while Defense itself would get a 3% bump. Now either what has been proposed this is an accord that can restore fiscal sanity, or, has he just hit the rear of a '72 Pinto ? Acclaim of the "deal" is far from universal and the conservative Freedom Ca...

( Expecting The Expected) Coming as no surprise. One can have all the optimism there is but when two sides are in-tractable, only the illusion of progress can be attained. A Jewish-Palestinian problem can be seen as a minor territorial dispute compared to the open warfare now being waged by Democrats and Republicans over the debt ceiling. Republicans want a work requirement added and did want permitting reform. That stipulation has been withdrawn but Democrats seem staunchly opposed to adding so-called "work fare" as a condition for government aid. Opposing work fare, however, is only the excuse. Democrats cannot accept stricter employment rules any more than Republicans could accept tax hikes but that is the fundamental dis-parity and why any such accommodation between the two sides. That being said, both sides, Democrat and Republican, have to be willing to accept default, at least on paper. The question is who will get blamed ? The House GOP passed the ...

(Global Box Office) The "Fast & Furious" franchise latest release, Fast X is about to be released, if it is not in theaters already. After its run, domestic and international, and what will be coming from streaming services, the end total could be in excess of several hundred million dollars. That is unless the movie bombs. People have been watching Vin Diesel take a 10 second car a quarter mile at a time since 2001. Is there still enough gas in this tank for another blockbuster ? Time will tell. The other "attraction" is how the newly emerged Trump-DeSantis dynamic. Like Fast X, there will be a domestic haul. But what will be the global tally ? How will Beijing. Moscow, or Tehran view what are in essence the two top Republican contenders to be the GOP Nominee, and then, perhaps, President. Now, the possibility exists that President Biden will prove less viable as time goes on, these foreign competitors, will need to decide who will be their preference to man ...

(Sticking The Kick-Off ?) When one makes an announcement that he or she is running for President, it is preferred the event be without controversy, That being said, in retrospect it was probably a bad idea for Governor DeSantis to attempt his debut  on Twitter. The Governor would invariably be a draw and the traffic would be extensive. Too extensive in fact that the Network crashed. It is understandable because all forum participants tried to see the Musk-DeSantis exchange off of small screen smart phones. Fortunately, there was an appearance on Fox News with Trey Gowdy, where the Governor was able to do on basic cable what he could not really do on Twitter. The DeSantis formal declaration of his candidacy removes months of speculation as to whether he would take the plunge. Almost immediately, the Governor has acquired support from formerly Trump allies. While Trump is still maintaining a commanding lead, in the back-ground a realization is materializing that current numbers notwi...

( Back In The Day,. . .) It has previously been the argument all world events in the 20th Century can be traced to the two bullets that Serb radical, Gavrilo Princip discharged into Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Heir of the Austro-Hungarian Throne, the event that precipitated the onset of the First World War. That sentiment has since been amended to look at an earlier event that had as much an effect in fostering the initiation of hostilities in 1914 as Princip's bullets. The reason that an assassination in Sarajevo expanded into the "war to end all wars" was the mobilization of Russia, to come to Serbia's age and then the dominos fell. What was Moscow's motivation to intervene in such a manner ?  In the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, Russia was embarrassed by the Japanese. They lost the outpost of Port Arthur and Russian armies were progressively driven north till they were expelled from the Lao-dong Peninsula. The War was ended when both sides were exhausted...