You Gotta Be Kidding!  by Tom Reynolds

When did Albany and Washington get transported to some alternate universe?

Over the past two years, the U.S. has seen a rise in gun ownership and also a rise in crime.  The Left claims that gun ownership causes the rise in crime.  Since we are the ones buying the guns, we know that more crime creates more gun ownership; we buy guns to protect ourselves, not to commit crimes.

 The left ignores riots, looting, arson and murder as punishable crimes.  They also ignore other causes such as soft-on-crime D.A.’s and bail reform.  The latter, is a revolving door through the criminal justice system for criminals, as the Left puts criminal rights before victim rights.  There are unending reports of freed criminals committing even more crimes once they walk through the revolving door…again and again.

Why stop with just bail reform to free criminals?  In a particularly tone deaf, in-your-face act, New York State is closing prisons.  With crime rising, wouldn’t it be logical to predict that more people will be jailed? Not so to Governor Hochul. In the future, watch for the excuse that we can’t jail criminals because prison overcrowding is inhumane.

On another issue, most economists would agree that when any government prints money, inflation pressures mount.  The only real point of contention is whether or not the government has to do their printing over a short period in order to trigger inflation.  

You may have noticed that we are in an inflationary spiral that even Joe Biden no longer calls “transitory”.  You may also have noticed that the government is spending money like a drunken sailor (with apologies to drunken sailors).  All fueling more and more inflation.

In the midst of all this, Congress is about to pass another $1.5 trillion bill. It’s 2,741 pages long!  Anyone read all of it?  It’s reported there is $100 billion for Green New Deal initiatives.  Washington doesn’t see a down side to the endless printing of money or trillion-dollar deficits.  It’s as if both parties in Washington have just given up on fiscal self-control and are saying, “Let’s party” as the Titanic nears the iceberg.  For some, that iceberg is going to hit this November - if we can still afford the gas to drive to the polls. 

Joe Biden believes the world’s biggest threat is Global Climate Change, so he is trying to shut down American oil production and oil pipelines.  But he is also asking foreign countries to pump more oil in the current crisis over oil and gas prices.

The U.S.A. is definitely part of the “globe”.  But the last time I looked at a world map, so were Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela, Iran and Canada.  Apparently, Biden has different world maps than the rest of us.

Since “Global whatever” is our biggest threat, China is somewhere down the list.  We can do sanctions against Russia because of the Ukrainian invasion and there’s not much Putin can do about it in economic retaliation against the USA. 

But what about China if it invades Taiwan? Chinese interests bought Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer and processor in the world.  Another Chinese company bought AMC Entertainment, one of the largest movie theatre chains in the USA.  A Chinese company, Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group, Inc. is building a $100 million plant in Thomasville, Alabama.  Guizhou Gouchuang Energy Holdings Group spent 616 million dollars to acquire Triple H Coal Co. in Jacksboro, Tennessee. (Yeah, China is mining coal in the USA.  How’s that helping global whatever?)  After being bailed out by U.S. taxpayers, GM is involved in 11 joint ventures with Chinese companies.  A lack of Chinese made computer chips is affecting car production in the USA.

Biden and our NATO allies ignored the implications of becoming dependent upon Russian oil and Natural Gas and that certainly had to embolden Putin’s war plans for the Ukraine.  Anyone in Washington concerned about Chinese sanctions against the USA if we take action against China in a Taiwan crisis?  Nah!  Let’s spend some more money on the Green New Deal and party!   

After World War 2, Britain raised its income tax levels so high that many millionaires left Britain, often giving up their British citizenship.  ”Ozzy” Osbourne just announced that, because of high taxes, he is leaving California and moving back to England.

The lack of Bipartisanship is often decried.  For example, Democrats want “Drop Boxes” for voting and Republicans believe that will lead to voter fraud.  How about a bipartisan compromise?  Andrew Wilkow suggests putting the Drop Boxes in gas stations.