Sitting on the back patio this Sunday afternoon.
The covered deck overhead is providing just enough shade to make it bearable, the box fan to my right doing all it can to keep the heavy air moving.
A quick glance toward the thermometer and I see the needle resting on 91. Tis the season.
MotoAmerica is at Laguna Seca this weekend, one of my favorite tracks. The sounds of 1000cc two-wheeled machines shrieking by at 100+ mph fills my ear buds. There is really no substitute. If I close my eyes I can smell the race fuel.
I digress!
My thoughts have been drifting back and forth between the Teflon markets offset by the increasingly sad state of our political landscape.
“Things could change on a dime” seemed to ring over and over in my head as I poured my first cup of coffee Saturday morning.
I had no idea.
Like you fellow reader, I am trying to wrap my mind around the fact we just had our first assassination attempt since 1981.
I was only seven at the time, but I still remember the video from that day, The Gipper being shoved into the limo in what seemed like two seconds. He would later wave to supporters from the upstairs window of a hospital in a red robe if I recall.
“Honey I forgot to duck” was his first response to Nancy. Easy to joke when you are still alive but you can also clearly picture him saying it, smiling while doing so.
Fast forward 43 years and we have another (former) president being shoved into an SUV after a bullet narrowly missed its mark. It’s not every day you come 6 inches from death…
The image that would soon follow will go down in history…
I don’t need to dedicate this forum to a news recap, we all know what happened. I just want to pen my thoughts on the incident for the record.
To state the obvious before this weekend’s rally turned assassination attempt, Biden was on the ropes. I am not worried about his ability to serve “four more years”, I am worried about his ability to serve four more months.
He may be OK now, but his mind is clearly going. Debate debacle aside, he followed that up by two even more questionable gaffes (Zelensky introduced as Putin, VP Harris mistaken with Trump) both subtle signs that emerge as the mind begins its unquestionable, unreversable retreat.
Having cared for grandparents and parents alike, I am 100% qualified to make that assessment.
Bottom line anyone who feels he has four more years on tap is either deaf, dumb, blind or in full blown denial. No more needs to be said.
On the other side of the ticket we have Trump who (now at this point) is just lucky to be alive. The PR genius that he is, he will no doubt use this “hero/martyr” moment to his advantage with quickness, as in this upcoming week’s RNC.
Some questions I have…
How did the Secret Service allow a civilian to climb onto a roof less than 200 yards from where the former president was speaking?
Never mind the fact he was armed, he could’ve had a f****ing ice cream cone in his hand and still should have never been allowed to be there.
I hear now he was a 20 year old male loner, formerly bullied in high school, able to get access to his Dad’s assault rifle and just figured he would end his personal agony in a blaze of glory.
Sound familiar? It should because we read about similar incidents every other week.
As for the Secret Service? Whoever was in charge of “planning” and security “detail” for that “event” should never work another day for the Federal Government.
I say that not because I am pro-Trump (I’m not) but because I am pro-Accountability. This was an Epic Fail on so many levels it pains me to even write about it.
Last time I checked this was 2024… not 1963 or 1968.
Although I will admit, we do seem to be getting closer by the day.
The Finance Stance 