I don't know the context of that gesture, but the ADL (Jewish Anti-Defamation League) defended Musk and said that it was not a Nazi salute. Tempest in a teapot kind of thing, unless you are a devotee of the Fake News. What we are seeing right now is the Swamp in full panic mode as Elon and the whiz kids in DOGE are finding unbelievable waste, fraud and abuse in government (what a shocker!) It is the Swamp that is paying goons to trash Tesla's and hold phony protests because they are seeing their lifeblood, corrupt funding, getting exposed and stopped. Can you imagine? These so-called protesters are protesting against cutting waste, fraud and abuse!
The penguins are at least trying. Ever since J.D. Vance critisized Zelensky about coming to the Whitehouse wearing "a track suit", the penguins on Heard Island have all taken to wearing tuxedos. P.S. Pressure from the penguins who were threatening retallitory reciprical tariffs were so frightening, that Trump folded like a cheap lawn chair and placed a 90 day pause on all tariffs. (except for China) Penguins:1 Trump:0
That's why you don't know why they are burning Tesla's dealerships in Europe. He did this during Trump's post inauguration. Watch it here (1:03 min. on.):
Seig heil! seig heil! seig heil! Tesla uber alles! Uber alles in der wult! First zie penguins shall be taught zie lesson, zen vie vill deal vis zie rest!....Yawol!
Having now seen the video, I saw a newbie political activist waving his arms wildly in exuberance and doing all kinds of hand and arm gestures throughout the video. In Italy, some were calling his "salute" a "Roman salute" because it was actually much closer to that than a Nazi salute. As I mentioned previously, the Jewish AntiDefamation League, no shrinking violets when it comes to fighting Neo-Nazi's, said that they were gestures of enthusiasm. Tesla's are being burned around the world because thugs are being paid to burn them (by the Swamp and their global collaborators) and because it is a crime that is looks easy to copycat by dunces. The thugs being paid will not be caught. Most of the dunces will.
So, I have watched the Cracker Barrel Restaurant logo saga the past week or two with some amazement. The restaurant simply decided to up date its long-standing logo. Here are the old and new logo's, with the old logo on top and the new logo below it: I do not believe that the marketing team wanted to do anything but make a logo that might display cleaner on digital ads and make for a more modern appearance. However, a group of longtime customers and fans started complaining and, more importantly, claimed that the company was going "Woke" with this new logo. Woke??? How did this change enhance woke-ism? It really didn't, of course. However, the uproar grew and grew and Cracker Barrel was forced to cancel the new logo and stick with the original. This is a new one for me: a company being punished for perceived politics, as opposed to actual political comments or activities. I suppose that it is another warning about how bad it is for companies to get involved with politics, even innocently.
It's all political. It had more to do with their current CEO than anything else. Also, it wasn't just the logo. The restaurants themselves were supposed to get remodeled, not to mention their menu.
Okay, that makes more sense. Still, it's not like she suggested a new logo with a BLM flag. And going after the CEO for her wokeness is reasonable, mostly from an economic perspective (go Woke, go Broke). But being against a new logo, new restaurant design, and new menu??? Are restaurants never supposed to remodel their locations? Never change the menu? I have been to many Cracker Barrels in my business travels. The food is okay, but nothing to write home about, imo. That said, a long time ago I hired a really good sales rep (great at closing six-figure deals) and he was their biggest fan. As far as he was concerned (note that he was well-travelled in the U.S.), Cracker Barrel was simply the best restaurant ever. We could not be near one (when travelling together on business) without having a meal or two at it. He would rave and rave about them and was ecstatic when we were dining there. Never understood it, but I suppose it was that base that rose up and demanded that things stay the same.
I don't get the hype, either. I used to love their Country Boy Breakfast, but then they replaced the nice steak it came with with salty beef bits. They were so salty I couldn't even eat them. I asked the manager for a different plate, thinking the cook had oversalted it, but no, they were all marinated in some weird brine. I heard they changed it back, but I've lost my appetite. Old farts / staunch Trump supporters, and the anti-woke crowd are the ones who brought all the changes to a halt.
I watched this from afar ... Those who seem to be the most outraged about this like to call others snowflakes .... yet a simple logo change triggered them! Why are they not just as outraged about school shooting and things that really matter.
Panera Bread lost its charm for me a long time ago. Do you care about their food @jrbiz ? I'm not trying to take them down, this is just my subjective opinion. It used to be my go-to spot: free Wi-Fi, relatively inexpensive food, and a relaxing atmosphere. But over time I realized their food wasn't as great as I thought. Basically, it's the same low quality garbage as all the other chains just packaged with a "fresh" label. The sodium content in their dishes is high. How can a place that supposedly makes "fresh" bread and home-style cooking serve food so freaking unhealthy? The final straw for me was their prices. Why do businesses think they can hike costs without alienating loyal customers? For me, Panera crossed the point of no return. The last time I ate there was 4-5 years ago.
I have eaten at a few Panera Breads over the years. Mostly in New England, but other spots, as well. Just about every time I did eat there, it was at the invitation of a client/prospect or friend to meet there for lunch. I have always been disappointed with the food. In particular, I generally ordered a sandwich and the bread was horrible (stale, dry, not tasty, etc.) Considering that "Bread" is in their name, you would expect it to be their flagship offering. There is one close in the next town over, but I avoid it. My wife and daughter both like their soup bread bowls (broccoli and cheese, I believe) and do go there once in a while when I am not involved. I actually cannot remember the last time I was at a Panera, but I would guess about ten years ago or longer.
The whole American Eagle / Sydney Sweeney story is worth a short note. American Eagle makes clothing, including blue jeans. They hire a gorgeous, blonde, blue-eyed woman, Sydney Sweeney, to be their model for a campaign with the headline, "Sydney Sweeney has Great Jeans" over a picture of her modeling those very jeans. Of course, it was a play on words and a twist of a common phrase used to describe someone attractive, smart, etc. ("that beautiful girl sure has great genes...") Well, somehow the lunatic Left tried to claim that it was a racist ad campaign because it was implying that blonde/blue-eyed genes are better than other races' genes, which the campaign actually did not do. It just said that Sydney had great jeans/genes and made no implication about anyone else's genes. Anyway, it seems like the Left pulling the race card yet again did not have the effect they were hoping for. American Eagle did not back down from its campaign, and, at last look, its stock was up and there was a bit of a backlash over the unfairness of the woke claims that caused an uptick in sales. The company had no interest in political messaging. They just came up with a clever campaign. And, thankfully, they were not punished for it.
I don't get the hype surrounding her. It seems like there's an agenda to make her more popular than she should be. That aside, any business that stands its ground on common sense deserves respect in this day and age. Speaking of common sense, was Disney justified in their decision regarding Jimmy Kimmel? The bottom line wasn't his rhetoric, I think, rather his ratings were in the crapper.
I think that was the backlash I mentioned. Some conservatives saw what the lunatic Left was trying to do and started to do the opposite. I think that it was a convenient excuse for Disney to drop a low rated show when some of their broadcast affiliates said they were going to stop airing the show. But I am not sure that this signals that Disney is pulling back from its self-destructive Woke-ism. They keep releasing movies that promote a crazy leftist perspective and, not surprisingly, they continue to lose money on them (go woke, go broke on full display.) No matter how this turns out for them, they have really tarnished their brand with a significant portion of the population here in the U.S.
LOL, the NFL's at it again with another halftime show I'll probably skip. I haven't watched the last three, I think, just not into the music they're pushing. Chiefs aren't looking their best either, so I doubt we'll see them in the Super Bowl. Kinda over the whole thing this year.