The Taxman

On rare occasions, karma enters into our lives in such a way as to be jolting.  Just this week, I enjoyed streaming the Hulu presentation of “McCartney 3-2-1”.  For anyone who grew up with the Beatles, it is an informative and entertaining production.  Even though I had trouble tolerating the shameless and toady approach of the guy doing the interviewing, I watched all six (short) episodes of the docuseries and discovered new details about one of the most impactful bands in music history.  It took me back to my younger days and I heartily endorse it for your viewing pleasure.

Here’s where karma enters.  I finished watching the series last night.  This morning, while reading the news, I ran across the following article.  Taken by itself, an article like this is certainly nothing unusual. 

https://www.dailywire.com/news/democratic-rep-proposes-space-tourism-tax-days-after-first-private-flights

But after watching the McCartney piece, it was impossible to ignore the prescient nature of the following Beatles song….released in 1966.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAcp83s1KN8

Democrats gonna be Democrats.

 

 

 

The State We Find Ourselves In

The observations cited and the opinions professed through this blog are as much cathartic as they are (attempted to be, anyway...) informative.  However, I must confess to all my recurring surprise at the everyday occurrences of new and bolder Biden Administration clusterfluks.  If we stop for a moment and think about it, we should all be very concerned with the advanced degree of numbness and insensitivity to outrage that this glut of Democratic lunacy is spreading among our populace.  

A basic tenet of radicalism has always been the effort to somehow make its outrageous agenda seem somehow normal.  I fear that the constant barrage of bizarre, irresponsible, and simply inexplicable actions and policies promoted by Biden and the Democrats is somehow succeeding in its quest to wear down the resistance of Americans to a point where we are willing to concede far too much in an effort to “just make it stop”.

The illogical cacophony of the mainstream media continues unabashed; a bizarre world where right is wrong, up is down, black is white, truth is lie, and fantasy is reality.  The absurd and historically-inaccurate dogma of Critical Race Theory is seeping into our culture at all levels.  Our President is propped up before us like some type of strange marionette; spouting one untruth after another in a convoluted stream of consciousness that is implausibly passed off as brilliance.  We continue to hear the fantastical redeeming qualities of green energy be promoted; when all of the facts clearly demonstrate that it is an inefficient, corrupted, and political industry built mainly on government subsidies and myths.  Our foreign policy is in shambles; an area where our friends and allies are treated shamefully and our clearly-recognized adversaries are treated like royalty.  We have reached a point where American businesses are starving for employees, supply chains are starving for product, and yet people sit at home rather than work because it is “more profitable”.  We are given to believe that even though most everything we need in our daily lives is becoming increasingly more costly by the day, profligate federal spending has no relation whatsoever to inflationary pressures and these bothersome price increases are only temporary.  Yeah…try telling that to Jimmy Carter.

One can only hope that at some point, the excesses of the Liberal Left that controls the Democratic Party (which, in turn, controls our government) will become so over-the-top that a pushback will develop sufficient momentum to mitigate the damage that is being done by it to the very fabric of our nation.  Perhaps then we as a people will take a moment or two to reflect on what brought us to this point and how we might make some adjustments in an effort to return to sanity.  As a means to hasten the arrival of that moment, let us consider the state of current affairs in our country and the world.

While shamefully kicking our long-time friend and ally Israel to the curb, the Biden Administration continues to make policy decisions that not only appease our enemies, but actually strengthens their hand.  Nowhere is this phenomenon more obvious than in their actions relating to the Nord Stream 2 (NS2) pipeline.  Russian global ambitions have always exceeded their reach.  So how does the Biden Administration respond to this fact?  They give Russia a longer arm.  They enable the NS2 pipeline; supplying Russian natural gas to the European Union, enriching the Russian treasury, isolating the fledgling democracies that rose from the disintegration of the Soviet Union, weakening the export prospects of our American energy industry, and enthusiastically jumping in bed with the German corporate corruption that begat the NS2 project to begin with.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/joe-biden-just-gave-vladimir-putin-a-multibillion-dollar-gift

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/ukraine-and-poland-stick-together-as-biden-defers-to-merkel-on-putins-pipeline/

https://www.cnsnews.com/article/international/patrick-goodenough/ukrainian-lawmakers-urge-congress-stop-russia-pipeline

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/does-ukraine-matter-america-188741

https://news.usni.org/2021/07/01/more-nato-ships-enter-black-sea-while-tensions-with-russia-simmer

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-navy-defends-essential-black-sea-drills-as-russia-threatens-violent-response/ar-AALS5f7?ocid=mailsignout&li=BBnb7Kz

I don’t know about you, but every time I hear the term “Green Energy”, I get nauseous.  Out of all the ridiculous stuff that we find in America these days, no segment of our population seems to have more effectively severed their connective cord to reality than the “Green” advocates.  We see hideous wind turbines that desecrate beautiful landscapes and destroy wildlife; machines that actually use more electricity than they generate.  There are acres and acres of solar panel farms that have been abandoned because of their inefficiency.  These people take virtue-signaling to a whole ‘nuther level.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/07/more-evidence-of-the-uselessness-of-green-energy.php

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/07/electric-vehicles-on-collision-course-with-reality-2.php

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/07/california-nightmare-2.php

Speaking of California, the state that most nearly represents the Liberal nirvana so often foisted upon us by the Left…how’s that left-wing stuff working out for you folks lately?  There was obviously some doubt and confusion last November about the real differences between Democrat policies and Republican policies.  But if you have been paying attention since then, that doubt has been pretty effectively removed.  Look at the one-party states ruled by the Democrats.  Is that the future you want for your children and grandchildren?  Rampant crime, endemic homelessness, soaring taxes, social agendas run amuck…this is the Democrat Party of 2021.

https://justthenews.com/nation/states/cities-red-states-show-best-economic-recovery-pandemic

https://nypost.com/2021/07/08/california-and-florida-battle-for-the-soul-of-a-nation/

https://www.hudson.org/research/17052-the-colorado-experiment-legalized-marijuana-s-impact-in-colorado

https://issuesinsights.com/2021/07/08/dems-deny-their-agenda-three-times-to-avoid-public-crucifixion/

https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/12/the-democrats-topsy-turvy-spin-machine/

This brings us to the Democrat Party’s No. 1 cheerleader, the mainstream media; that shallow, craven, unethical, biased, partisan, corrupted, self-aggrandizing clown show that was once held in such high esteem by most Americans.  The only real question remaining is this: How low can they sink?

https://jonathanturley.org/2021/07/15/gallup-poll-only-21-percent-of-americans-trust-newspapers/

https://jonathanturley.org/2021/07/10/former-new-york-times-editor-im-a-biased-journalist-and-im-okay-with-that/#more-175457

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/avenatti-apparently-tears-he-sentenced-two-and-half-years-prison-over-nike

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/07/a-reminder-of-how-stupid-our-media-is.php

We are entering into a strange new time when a Presidential Administration is openly conspiring with the planet’s largest social media platform to censor content.  In what universe can this be acceptable?  Has history taught us nothing?  The pandemic has opened the door wide for those in government hungry for authoritarian rule.  It is going to be extremely difficult for those people to turn loose of the episode that has so effectively enabled their cause.  They are clinging to the pandemic in the same fashion that a child clings to the video game controller.

https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/cnsnewscom-staff/reporter-covid-misinformation-whats-your-message-platforms-facebook-biden

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/coronavirus/how-democrats-flipped-script-questioning-vaccines-2020-today

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/07/joe-biden-and-kamala-harris-anti-vaxxers.php

And the incomparable Babylon Bee: https://babylonbee.com/news/biden-psaki-to-go-door-to-door-on-bikes-asking-if-you-have-a-moment-to-talk-about-getting-vaccinated

You think you know what your kids and grandkids are learning in school?  Better think again.  Our nation’s education system has gone off the rails.  ABCs, simple math, historical facts, practical civics, grammatical clarity and composition….these are not the priorities these days.  Education has become a battlefield for social change and political agenda.  Wake up and reclaim your local schools!

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/07/how-radical-are-the-teachers-unions-2.php

https://jonathanturley.org/2021/07/16/let-them-die-fairfax-pta-and-naacp-officer-calls-for-the-death-of-who-oppose-crt-to-die/

https://jonathanturley.org/2021/07/15/baltimore-public-school-data-shows-41-of-students-have-a-1-0-gpa-or-less/

And then there is that delicious moment when sanctimonious virtue-signaling bites you on the arse: https://jonathanturley.org/2021/07/06/nikole-hannah-jones-turns-down-tenure-at-unc-and-accepts-chair-at-howard-university/#more-175328

While drug addiction issues rip and tear at the very soul of our nation, while global terrorists who despise America and want to destroy our homes and families seek illicit entry into our country…the Biden Administration throws our southern border wide-open.  What could possibly go wrong with this policy?

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/06/29/an_unflinching_guide_to_bidens_immigration_fiasco_146000.html

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/border-patrol-seize-record-amount-of-fentanyl-in-june/

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/forecast-1-8m-illegal-migrants-under-biden-worst-ever-year

Lo and behold, the subject of immigration even comes up in the spendapalooza infrastructure bill that is being put together by Biden and the Democratic Congress.  But then…what isn’t being stuffed into that particular legislative package?

https://justthenews.com/government/congress/hold-dc-democrats-attempt-fit-immigration-reform-35-trillion-plan

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/99-2-percent-of-bidens-infrastructure-proposals-isnt-about-bridges/

And where could this type of fiscal policy take us?  History may offer a clue: https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/inflation-us-federal-reserve-ignoring-history-by-john-taylor-5-2021-06

President Trump and his Administration were no paragons of goodness.  But THEY didn’t claim to be.  On the other hand, President Biden and his Administration wear this constant veil of infallibility, superiority, and self righteousness.  I find it rather psickening.  Of course, lest anyone be concerned that Biden and the Democrats would try to slip anything improper through the legislative process…we should all be assured that they, Biden and the Democrats, are shining examples of virtue and in full possession of spotless integrity.  Or are they?

https://www.dailywire.com/news/obama-ethics-chief-smacks-biden-admin-for-claim-they-have-highest-ethical-standards-of-any-admin-ever

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/07/more-evidence-that-joe-biden-is-corrupt.php

https://greenwald.substack.com/p/nancy-and-paul-pelosi-making-millions

https://www.newsmax.com/politics/psaki-biden-art-treasury/2021/07/09/id/1028114/

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/byron-yorks-daily-memo-the-future-of-hunter-bidens-laptop

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/07/07/biden_inc_hunter_joe_and_the_mexican_oligarchs_146043.html

https://freebeacon.com/satire/half-assed-diversity-scandal/

Election integrity, crime out of control, a Congressional panel to review the January 6 “insurrection”…. It is a “ball of confusion” in WDC these days.  ALL of these subjects need to be discussed, reviewed, and improved upon.  What they DO NOT need to be is politicized, sensationalized, and paraded out in show trials for public consumption.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/thudemocrats-dug-themselves-election-integrity-hole-courts-may-bury-them

https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/ken-blackwell/brnovich-turned-tide-election-integrity-war

https://justthenews.com/government/state-houses/whats-texas-voting-reform-bill-made-democrats-flee-washington

https://www.newsmax.com/us/chicago-gunviolence-newyork-shootings/2021/07/05/id/1027527/

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2021/07/07/naming_the_capitol_cop_who_killed_jan_6_rioter_ashli_babbitt_779601.html

Pass the Word!! ….  Just Google centerlineright

In January of this year, Joe Biden and the Democrats came into WDC with effective control of our government and a determination to reshape our nation in a liberal image.  The success or failure of that effort remains in the balance. 

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/07/05/bidens_administration_is_the_wrecking_crew_146034.html

What brought us to this point? 

https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/04/the-genesis-of-our-american-collective-meltdown/

What have been the consequences of America abandoning its fundamental principles and losing its way?

https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/18/the-american-descent-into-madness/

Most importantly, how do we begin the process of crawling out of this hole we find ourselves in?

https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/a-new-day-at-the-supreme-court/?utm_source=blog-landing&utm_medium=desktop&utm_campaign=continue-reading

https://nypost.com/2021/06/27/can-more-local-self-rule-save-a-late-roman-america/

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/time-for-republicans-to-begin-disconnecting-from-trump

In closing, I wish to take a moment to reflect on my writing.  I started this blog not with the hope of gaining a significant following or causing real change; I simply wanted to create some discussion through comments about life and politics in America.  I have largely failed in that effort; the comments have been quite sparse and my hits are unimpressive. 

And even though I have honestly tried to be an Independent, objective, and fair observer of current events, I am sure that my personal beliefs and biases have clearly shown through in my work.  I am a social conservative and a social moderate and I will not apologize for that; but I will continue my best to improve on impartiality.

In that spirit, I am going to post a link.  I received an email from an individual who claims to be associated with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) organization.  Her email was in response to a piece I posted some weeks ago.  I have serious reservations about the BLM movement and the positions they espouse.  I have written a good deal about those concerns.  But the email I received from this lady was civil and measured; I appreciate her willingness to engage in meaningful discussion.  In return, I will post the article that she encouraged me to read.  I present it for your consideration.

https://www.dnaweekly.com/blog/support-black-lives-matter-reasons/

 

 

 

 

 

America is Being Tested

Like never before in my lifetime (DOB 1953), the citizens of our great country are being tested.  There are three pending events that will reflect and impact the consequences of those tests.  The first is the upcoming debate and conclusion of the gyormous and fiscally irresponsible infrastructure plan being peddled by the Biden Administration.  The second will be the upcoming mid-term elections in November of 2022.  The third will be the upcoming decision of the Supreme Court in the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

The first item will test the upper limits of our democracy’s ability to inflict damage upon itself through the passage of over-reaching, profligate, and authoritarian legislation that makes a mockery of our Constitution.  The second event will gauge how truly gullible we are as an electorate and the extent of malleability we offer the mainstream media to guide and direct our political opinions.  The third will test our conscience…yea, perhaps even our morality…in its examination of abortion.  And as if those premises were not sufficient, it will also test the federalist nature of our very structure as a nation.

It goes without saying that these three events are not the sole arbiters of what our nation is and where it is heading.  But if you want to distill the chaotic times we are enduring as a people in today’s world, these three questions and how they are answered will render a great insight into our future as a free people and help to clarify precisely which principles we hold most dear as a democracy and as a people.

What has brought us to this infrastructure precipice upon which we stand; staring down as we are into an abyss of insurmountable federal debt and extremities of an authoritarian and intrusive government?  I believe that there are two things that have led us to this moment and this particular piece of legislation (which, by the way, has not yet been fully drawn).  When this nation elected Joe Biden as President, they did so by a historical narrow margin.  And even though, in that same election, the Democrats maintained control of the House; they did so by the skin of their teeth.  They kept their majority status with essentially a four-vote advantage.  America accurately reflected itself by splitting the Senate right down the middle between Democrats and Republicans 50/50.  We are truly a divided nation politically.

Normally, this Senate outcome could be discounted as a chance happenstance that no one could have manipulated or foreseen.  After all, it was the final result of numerous Senate elections spread out all across the country.  Who could have accurately predicted the final outcome of so many unpredictable and separate political contests?  Ah, but this case is different.  The special elections in Georgia occurred after the national elections in November.  Any person paying any attention whatsoever to this event understood that effective control of the Senate was up in the air.  They (the voters of Georgia) chose to put the Democrats in control of our government.

So even though the Democrats gained legislative control by a miniscule margin, the undeniable fact is that the voters of America put them there; albeit by a paper-thin spread.  And be it thin or be it thick, a win is a win.  Joe Biden and the Democrats made no bones about what their agenda was and America bought in.  Ignoring the fact that essentially half of the nation disagreed with their espoused ideals, the Democrats came to WDC in January of 2021 with the attitude that they had a national mandate to implement their plans for this country.  They calculated that this narrow victory was a limited opportunity to change this nation to better suit their vision.

Secondly, the Democrats were gifted with something that nobody anticipated.  The pandemic crisis had gripped America and it presented the opportunity for government at all levels to exercise authoritarian controls that had never before been witnessed.  Caught in a quandary of preserving the very lives of themselves and their families against the sacrifice of personal freedoms, we all surrendered our basic rights for what we perceived to be the greater good.  This yielding attitude by the citizenry presented an opening for the new President and Congress to spend money without reservation.

The Democrats enthusiastically embraced this opportunity to shovel out federal benefits in an irresponsible fashion under the guise of covid-relief legislation.  It was a grab bag full of goodies for all sorts of entities and purposes having little or nothing to do with pandemic relief.  Fearing the consequences of opposing legislation that the public supported (even though no one really knew what was in it), the Republicans did not oppose this bill.   Flush with this calamitous victory, the Democrats and Biden now have their sights set on continuing that “fiscal insanity” momentum with their overall infrastructure legislation.  In the Democratic world of logic, American votes can be purchased through the process of handing out federal checks.  Are they correct?

Make no mistake about it; the outcome of this infrastructure bill will largely determine the path forward for this Administration in the foreseeable future.  If the effort to pass this Trojan horse through reconciliation succeeds, our nation will be fundamentally changed in ways that will take decades to unwind.  There will be social program initiatives included in this bill that once instituted, will be nigh on impossible to discard; they will be rapidly institutionalized.  On the other hand, if this reconciliation effort fails, it will fail due the defection of a handful of Democrats.  If that is the case, the maddening rush to transform our country through congressional action will have hit a wall and the tide may very well turn back towards a moderate and more bi-partisan operation in our legislative bodies.  The Democrats’ rush to ruin will be largely put on hold pending the next decision on Congressional control.

Two years can be a lifetime in a governmental sense.  With one party controlling all three branches of the legislative tree, they can push reforms through Congress in an efficient fashion and institute changes that dramatically impact our lives and quickly become part and parcel of our cultural fabric.  If the Democrats succeed in their nation-altering legislative effort deviously labeled as infrastructure, the 2022 mid-term elections will arrive too late to prevent the  fundamental damage to our constitutional government. 

However…if the infrastructure effort fails… this rush to change the nature of our country will have been severely hampered, the Democrat’s legislative momentum will be stymied, and the mid-term elections will offer an opportunity to give Republicans control of the House and Senate and provide a firewall to the Biden Administration efforts at reshaping our nation in their liberal vision.  Please understand me; I am not advocating for Republican legislative control because I feel they are somehow a superior Party.  Both national parties have corruptive elements, bad characters, and have lost all sense of fiscal responsibility.  However, it is quite simply the case in today’s environment that the Republicans hew far closer to the constitutional premises upon which our nation was founded and they offer a far better option for preserving the essential nature of our country. 

Finally, there is the long-anticipated Supreme Court case that will truly test the judicial wisdom of Roe v. Wade; that case will be Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.  Contrary to what we will all be led to believe, the Supreme Court in this case will not decide the legality of abortion.  Instead, they will decide whether or not individual states have the right to regulate the practice of abortion within their boundaries and, in a much larger sense, whether or not abortion itself is a fundamental right under our Constitution.  It holds the potential to wrest away from our federal government the authoritarian exercise of forcing each and every state to accept abortion without reservation or, on the other hand, to permit each state to reflect the conscience of their own citizens in how they approach this emotional issue. 

Regardless of your personal stance on abortion, there can be little doubt that if federal control of abortion regulation (Roe v. Wade) is upheld and Mississippi loses its case, we as a nation will essentially be embracing abortion with little or no limitations.  However, if the Supreme Court decides that Mississippi has the right, as a state, to regulate the practice of abortions within its boundaries; then there is an opportunity for each of us to have a far greater influence on how abortion is administered in our state of residence. 

Perhaps an even larger question that will be addressed by this case is this: If we can create a fundamental constitutional right to abortion out of whole cloth; what will be the limits and choices for future judicial efforts in that area?  An affirmation of Roe v. Wade in this case may very well open the door to future efforts at rewriting and evolving our Constitution in a fashion that better conforms to a liberal agenda.  Roe v. Wade set a precedent.  Many believe it was a bad precedent.  If that precedent is confirmed through this case, it will literally change the fundamental reach, influence, and perception of the Supreme Court.

Watch closely how the pending infrastructure issue unfolds.  The outcome will largely determine to what extent the Democrats and the Biden Administration will pursue their liberal and authoritarian agenda. 

Educate yourself, inform yourself, and think very long and hard about your vote in the upcoming mid-term elections.  Never forget: WE GET THE GOVERNMENT WE DESERVE.  There is little doubt about what each party stands for these days; vote your conscience. 

Do not be distracted by the shiny objects the mainstream media will dance before your eyes leading up to and during this Supreme Court case about abortion.  If our Supreme Court is going to fill the role that our founders provided for it, it must stand as an objective and disciplined defender of our Constitution.  It must defend the document as it is written and not bend to public, political, or “personal belief” pressures that will push it to expand the meaning of simple words and clear language.  The essential purpose of our national government must be protected; but the fundamental freedom of our individual states to run their own affairs must be preserved.

Pass the Word!! ….  Just Google centerlineright

 

 

In Celebration of Our Nation

 

This is what the Fourth of July is all about.  Country, freedom, individual rights, reflecting on all the blessings bestowed upon us by our Creator.  I want to repost a previous piece and urge the few who frequent this site to take the time to read the two essential documents addressed below.  It helps to bring clarity to a maddening world...and...it should give you pause when considering how fortunate we are to live in America.

http://centerlineright.blogspot.com/2021/02/socialism-vs-capitalism.html

I also recommend this excellent piece that quotes memorable words from a man, a patriot, a leader for the ages, one who must credibly be recognized as...if not the, certainly among...the conscience of our nation.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/07/the-eternal-meaning-of-independence-day-14.php

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!

The Buffet is Always Open

If we take small portions, we can sample a bit of just about everything set out on the buffet.  Hope you have a long lunch break.  Where to begin…….

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all live in a world where there was no recollection whatsoever of the words that had previously crossed our lips about certain subjects and we were only held accountable for what we said today?  We could say anything to anybody at anytime and not worry about previous remarks or positions.  It must be nice to have an army of Lilliputian journalists at the ready with their airbrushes to cover your rear end.  Apparently that is the arrangement between the mainstream media and the Biden Administration.  Oh well, at least we will always be well-informed about our President’s ice cream habits.

Defund the police…who came up with that idea?

https://justthenews.com/nation/states/biden-hire-more-police-officers-stop-violent-crime

https://www.dailywire.com/news/ocasio-cortez-doubles-down-on-defunding-the-police-claims-concerns-over-crime-wave-are-hysteria

https://www.cnsnews.com/article/national/susan-jones/sen-john-kennedy-crime-because-democrats-believe-defunding-police

https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-blasted-as-thousands-of-cops-resign-amid-crime-wave-taking-a-toll-on-our-communities

What is with all these election audits taking place in New Mexico, Michigan, and Georgia?  You mean there might actually have been some election abnormalities last November?  Wasn’t it just yesterday that Democrats were proclaiming required voter ID laws to be “Jim Crow” and yet today, given the realization of broad public support for such laws, voter ID “within reason” is entirely acceptable?

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/georgias-largest-county-army-temps-oversaw-election-rife-security-issues

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/biden-lawsuit-against-georgia-election-law-illustrates-radicalism-of-doj-and-its-civil-rights-chief/

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/06/17/easy_to_vote_hard_to_cheat_145941.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/21/democrats-voter-id/

Federal debt…what federal debt?  According to Congress and Presidents of both parties, there is no concern for federal debt; unless you are in the minority.  The Biden Administration, squeezing the authoritarian benefits of the pandemic as hard as possible, has thrown any semblance of fiscal restraint and inflation fears to the wind and are running the money printing presses to the max.  According to President Biden and his mouthpiece Circle Back Psaki, any worries about federal spending fall into the category of “minimal”.

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/biden-spending-plan-large-deficits-inflation-risk-by-michael-boskin-2021-06

https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-reserve-delivers-bad-news-about-expectations-for-inflation-raising-interest-rates-report

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/jen-psaki-contends-the-remaining-1-6-trillion-in-unspent-pandemic-relief-funds-are-minimal/

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/entitlement-cornucopia/?utm_source=blog-landing&utm_medium=desktop&utm_campaign=continue-reading

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/06/trillion-dollar-joe-at-the-puppet-regime.php

Racism, gender concerns, wokeness in general…everything is coming up in these terms.  Is there nothing that can be viewed by Democrats that is not absolutely ruled by some form of political correctness?

https://www.dailywire.com/news/immigrant-congressman-shreds-biden-for-using-latinx-keep-your-wokeness-out-of-our-language

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/06/kristen-clarke-attacks-law-barring-boys-from-participating-in-girls-sports.php

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/06/the-problems-with-laurel-hubbards-qualifying-for-the-olympics-as-a-woman/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=river&utm_content=featured-content-trending&utm_term=first

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/fewer-ships-more-equity-critics-ask-navy-growing-weak-while-going-woke

https://jonathanturley.org/2021/06/27/reimagining-history-archives-racism-task-force-finds-the-archives-themselves-triggering/

It seems the most popular term these days in WDC is “infrastructure”.  There is clearly some debate going on about exactly what the term means.  Apparently there is hard infrastructure like roads, bridges, pipelines, etc. and then there is soft infrastructure like daycare, climate issues, and pretty much anything else Democrats put into the category of social concerns.  President Biden wants to spend several trillion dollars on both kinds of infrastructure; the Republicans and a handful of Senate Democrats are only sold on the hard infrastructure part. 

Realizing that he could not get the entire package (both kinds) through Congress in one bill, President Biden engaged in bipartisan talks with some Senate Republicans.  Whether they were double-crossed or simply duped, the President used them as useful idiots to reach a much-ballyhooed compromise and then, literally hours later, gave a very public signal to his left-wing party contingent that the compromise was essentially meaningless unless the WHOLE THING (both types of infrastructure) was passed and sent to his desk.

And then, literally hours later…once again…he announces (rather ambiguously) that maybe the hard stuff is okay without the soft stuff; and we could all play buddy-buddy and pass the hard stuff; and then, because we are in the majority and make all the rules, we will go ahead and pass the soft stuff anyway.  Besides, if it is all rolled into one bill, there might not be enough Democratic votes in the Senate to pass it anyway.  Let’s just say that Biden’s credibility as an honest broker has taken a serious hit.

What is in the compromise agreement?  In general terms, this: https://www.npr.org/2021/06/24/1009923468/heres-whats-included-in-the-infrastructure-deal-that-biden-struck-with-senators

By my reading, this has very little to do ($$) with hard infrastructure and a whole lot to do ($$) with soft infrastructure.  You do the math.  It also strikes me that the overwhelming percentage of the money is to be spent in urban America as opposed to rural America; yet everyone will share the cost equally.  It is also interesting how many of the beneficiaries from this agreement happen to be Democrat Party donors. 

About half of the cost is to be raised with monetary gimmicks that will ultimately result in added expenses for American citizens.  Contrary to Democratic rhetoric, THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH.  The other half is to come from “unused Covid relief funds”.  Think about that.  When that Covid relief legisilation was passed, it was deemed CRITICAL, ESSENTIAL, and NEEDED IMMEDIATELY TO SAVE OUR NATION.  That is why it was alright for the bill to be rushed, bloated, and largely undisclosed.  And now, incredibly, about $500-600 billion of it is lying around and can be used for this infrastructure bill.  If it was so necessary, why is such a large chunk of it still lying around?  I guess it was not such an emergency after all.

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/special-interest-politics-is-a-lot-of-what-infrastructure-is-about/

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/biden-infrastructure-plan-reignites-tensions-progressives

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/biden-my-threat-not-to-sign-bipartisan-infrastructure-deal-was-not-intended-as-a-veto-threat/?utm_source=blog-landing&utm_medium=desktop&utm_campaign=continue-reading

Pass the Word!! ….  Just Google centerlineright

There are moments lately when it almost seems like Joe Biden and Donald Trump are in a contest to see who can make the biggest fool of themselves on the public stage.  Here are a couple of articles about Trump firing up the old rally machine once again and doing all he can to keep the spotlight on himself.  The Republican Party has a Trump problem.   Most of his policies were effective and most of what he says is the truth.  But he does it in such a way as to make himself, in spite of the content, nearly intolerable. 

If he chooses to run again for president, who can be certain he will not get the Republican nomination and then…who can be certain he will not win the presidency?  If you thought the last five years have been bitterly-partisan, just stay tuned for that sequel.

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/trump-at-first-rally-since-leaving-office-we-won/

https://www.newsmax.com/politics/ohio-max-miller-anthony-gonzalez-campaign/2021/06/26/id/1026549/

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/republican-voters-not-sure-if-they-want-trump-to-run-again

And then there is our current President.  Not content with Trump being judged under the harsh microscope of history nor willing to remain behind the scenes in some type of quiet-control mode; Biden seems determined to clearly demonstrate for all precisely how incompetent he is.

https://nypost.com/2021/06/23/is-no-one-going-to-mention-how-confusing-and-out-of-it-joe-biden-was/

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/06/our-bizarre-president.php

https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-kamala-harris-appears-to-have-to-remind-joe-biden-to-talk-about-florida-building-collapse

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17488/biden-china-engagement

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/biden-cant-please-anyone-moves-pipelines

I don’t care what you are, who you are, how you vote, or how you are registered; if you cannot see our bumbling President for the fool that he is, you are sorely deluded.  And if you cannot see the raging damage being done to the constitutional fabric of our nation by the Democratic liberal contingent, you are painfully oblivious.  We now have people literally in charge of our government who openly despise the premise upon which this country was established.  They are encouraging similar behavior from all citizens and many are complying with their wishes.

Is it any wonder that our nation is bitterly divided and uncertain about the affairs of this country?  Consider the following articles on misperceptions about racism and crime, our national trust in those that we rely upon to report the news, and some of the recent general topic polling on what Americans are thinking about America.

http://jewishworldreview.com/michael/barone062521.php3

Report: United States Ranks Last In Media Trust – JONATHAN TURLEY

https://www.dailywire.com/news/wapo-reporter-hannah-dreier-blasted-for-lying-about-desantis-tragedy-response-you-have-a-sickness

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/06/americans-are-confused-but-the-democrats-are-in-trouble.php

Yes, America may be somewhat confused.  But in times like this and with the leaders that we have, is it not reasonable to expect confusion?  As if to answer that question directly, I will close with an article about the unholy and emotional combination of politics, religion, and abortion.  I follow that piece with one that questions whether or not we are the freedom-loving people we thought we were.  Finally, there are three on the previously-discussed topic of amateur athletics in America and how it is evolving…for better or worse.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-democrat-suggests-stripping-catholic-church-of-tax-exempt-status-if-biden-denied-communion

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/dealing-with-the-pandemic-an-authoritarian-precedent/?utm_source=blog-landing&utm_medium=desktop&utm_campaign=continue-reading

https://www.athleticdirectoru.com/articles/how-much-is-nil-really-worth-to-student-athletes/

https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2021/6/23/22545287/college-athletes-name-image-likeness-bills-ncaa

https://www.aseaofblue.com/2021/6/30/22558127/sports-news-ncaa-nil-policy-50-states-college-football-basketball-recruit

Dessert is required after the dishes previously served.  What if….what if YOU ruled the world?  Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ldOuVuas1c&list=RDMM&index=3