Buck Banks, Author at Pensito

Majority Say U.S. Is Past Its Prime

May 18, 2026 Buck Banks

59%

A new Pew Research survey finds 59% of Americans say the country’s best years are behind us, while 40% say its best years are ahead.

Trump Is Reaching New Heights (Depths?) of Corruption

May 16, 2026 Buck Banks

“This administration is dripping with corruption from top to bottom, but rushing a settlement to steal $1.7 billion taxpayer dollars for a slush fund before a judge can toss your junk lawsuit would be among the most corrupt acts in American political history. This lawsuit has never been anything more than a shakedown of the American people by a crook president and his crook lawyers.”

— Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), quoted by CNBC, on the reported settlement proposal the Justice Department has with President Trump for his lawsuit against the IRS.

Dave’s Last Word on ‘The Late Show’

May 16, 2026 Buck Banks

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for the country. To the folks at CBS, in the words of the great Ed Murrow: Good night, and good luck, motherf**kers.”

— David Letterman, quoted by CNN, speaking to Stephen Colbert as “The Late Show” ends its 33-year run on CBS.

Dearly Departed DNC

May 16, 2026 Buck Banks

If the DNC won’t release its 2024 election autopsy, it can’t be read,
Anyway, it’s probably just a lot of finger pointing he said/she said.
Still, enquiring minds want to know
What happened in the 2024 shit show,
Not that it much matters because the subject of the autopsy’s still dead.

In April Inflation Soared to 3.8%

May 13, 2026 Buck Banks

3.8%

Wall Street Journal: “Consumer prices rose 3.8% in April from a year earlier, a clear impact of higher gas prices since the start of the war with Iran. … The figures, reported Tuesday by the Labor Department, surpassed the previous month’s reported increase of 3.3%. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected inflation of 3.7%.”

The Persian Paradox

May 12, 2026May 30, 2026 Buck Banks

Trump’s attack on Iran was a war of his own choosing,
Though his reasons for it ran from dumb to confusing.
He said we’ve now won the war twelve times,
Though there are no “Mission Accomplished” signs.
So, if we’re winning this much, why does it feel like we’re losing?

Cute, Cuddly Coal

May 11, 2026May 28, 2026 Buck Banks

Some have characterized Trump’s environmental record as unholy,
As he guts wind and solar and focuses on fossil fuels solely.
But when trying to promote the nastiest fuel,
You need help from a traditional marketing tool —
An animated, anthropomorphized lump of anthracite named “Coalie.”

Lots of Americans Think the Latest Trump Assassination Attempt was Staged

May 11, 2026 Buck Banks

56%

A survey of 1,000 Americans conducted by YouGov on behalf of NewsGuard found that 24 percent believe the foiled attack by a gunman on April 25 was not a real attempt to kill Trump, the Daily Beast Reports. When expanded to include those who believe the assassination attempt was staged or are “unsure,” the figure rises significantly to 56 percent. Nearly one-third of Americans (30 percent) also believe that at least one of the assassination attempts against the president—the WHCD dinner incident, the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, or the foiled attack at one of Trump’s Florida golf courses in September 2024—was staged.

Russia Has Lost Over 350,000 Soldiers in War on Ukraine

May 10, 2026 Buck Banks

352,000

“About 352,000 Russian soldiers had died in the war against Ukraine through the end of 2025, according to a new estimate, underscoring the high cost that President Vladimir V. Putin is willing to bear to pursue his battlefield aims,” the New York Times reports.

AOC Has Bigger Ambitions

May 10, 2026 Buck Banks

“They assume my ambition is a title or a seat. My ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country. Presidents come and go, elected officials come and go, single payer healthcare is forever.”

Author: Buck Banks

Majority Say U.S. Is Past Its Prime

59%

A new Pew Research survey finds 59% of Americans say the country’s best years are behind us, while 40% say its best years are ahead.

Trump Is Reaching New Heights (Depths?) of Corruption

— Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), quoted by CNBC, on the reported settlement proposal the Justice Department has with President Trump for his lawsuit against the IRS.

Dave’s Last Word on ‘The Late Show’

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for the country. To the folks at CBS, in the words of the great Ed Murrow: Good night, and good luck, motherf**kers.”

— David Letterman, quoted by CNN, speaking to Stephen Colbert as “The Late Show” ends its 33-year run on CBS.

Dearly Departed DNC

In April Inflation Soared to 3.8%

3.8%

The Persian Paradox

Cute, Cuddly Coal

Lots of Americans Think the Latest Trump Assassination Attempt was Staged

56%

Russia Has Lost Over 350,000 Soldiers in War on Ukraine

352,000

“About 352,000 Russian soldiers had died in the war against Ukraine through the end of 2025, according to a new estimate, underscoring the high cost that President Vladimir V. Putin is willing to bear to pursue his battlefield aims,” the New York Times reports.

AOC Has Bigger Ambitions

“They assume my ambition is a title or a seat. My ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country. Presidents come and go, elected officials come and go, single payer healthcare is forever.”

— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), speaking at the University of Chicago.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“If any politician wants to get mothers on their side, they should adopt this issue. It’s such an obvious electoral winner. And what I’ve learned is there is no force in the universe stronger than mothers trying to protect their kids.”

— Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, quoted by Politico, on the threats posed by social media and artificial intelligence.

“I’m very good at flagpoles!”

— President Trump bragged during an “impromptu tour of his various White House construction projects,” Mediaite reports.

“There are a lot of Ukrainian drones in the air. It would be dangerous.”

— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, quoted by the Associated Press, when President Trump asked him if he would accept Moscow as a venue for peace talks.

Numerati

+150

+750

“The number of U.S. service members wounded since the start of the Iran war has passed 750, according to the Defense Department’s war casualty database,” CNN reports.

+175,000

“The U.S. State Department announced on Monday that it has revoked more than 175,000 visas during President Donald Trump’s administration so far,” Fox News reports.

$4,600

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