Month: September 2022

Election Day is fast approaching. How do I know that? Not by looking at the calendar. Anyone can do that. No, I know ED is approaching because the Dems have been changing their positions on the issues in order to get elected or re-elected. They know they are on the wrong side of the key issues such as inflation, the economy, immigration, the border and crime They do this every election cycle, betting that the public has a “short” memory and will forget what they have done and said for the past 20 months or so. Unfortunately, this tactic seems to work to a large extent.

For example:

1. Recession? What recession? We must no longer define a recession by two consecutive quarters of negative growth as we all learned in school. Instead, the Dems are using some gobbledygook definition that no one understands to “prove” that the economy is doing just fine.

2. Inflation? They harp on the fact that the rate is coming down from 8.6% to 8.3% to “prove” that inflation is under control. (Remember how they all insisted inflation was “transient? That was a “good one.”) They maintain, we’ve turned the corner. Ignore the higher prices for everything from groceries to clothes to rent to gas at the pump. Don’t worry about being able to afford to heat your home this winter. Ignore the fact that the rate of inflation is the highest it’s been in over 40 years. Also, don’t be fooled by the recent decrease in the price of gas at the pump. That just pre-election misdirection. I predict that the price will go right back up after ED.

3. The financial markets cratering, setting new lows for 2022 and wreaking havoc with your retirement plans? Nah, don’t be concerned. It’s just a temporary setback. Biden and the Dems have it all figured out. It will all be okay. We all have to sacrifice for the general good. And, yes, we are all definitively sacrificing. On January 20, 2020 when Biden was inaugurated the Dow was 32,977. Wednesday, it closed at 29,226. That is a decrease of 11.4%. That means that if your 401k was worth $10,000 on 1/20/20 it is now worth only $8,860. Furthermore, thanks to inflation that $8,860 will buy you considerably less goods and services. More on this later.

4. Open borders? Nah. Pay no attention to what you see on tv or read in the news. The border is “secure.” VP Kamala Harris, the border czar, tells us so, and she “knows” even though she has never been to the “real” border, and probably can’t even find it on a map.

5. Crime? What crime? The riots in various cities last year? Just peaceful demonstrations. The real destruction took place on January 6 in DC. Ignore the crimes you see on tv news daily. Never mind the poor woman who was severely beaten on tv by a homeless man who should have been in jail for prior crimes. Everybody “knows” the cities are safe. Are you going to believe what the Dems tell you or what you see with your own eyes or, God forbid, what you may have experienced firsthand as a victim.

6. Defund the police? That was not me, they now say. That was the GOP.

7. Joe and Hunter Biden’s nefarious deals with China and Russia? Fake news. Nothing to see here.

8. Where is the “squad,” aka “The Four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse?” Keeping a very low profile, that’s where. I haven’t heard one of their inane comments in quite a while. But, don’t worry. They’re just “laying low” for now. Everyone knows their comments and opinions are ultra-radical and damaging to mainstream Dems. After the election they will be back.

There are several close, pivotal Senate races that will determine control of the Senate. At the moment it is split evenly – 50 GOP, 48 Dem and two independents who caucus with the Dems. With VP Harris casting any tiebreaking vote that means that the Dems have control. I will highlight three races where I believe a biased media has suppressed or downplayed certain facts to deceive the voting public. This is not unprecedented. Prior to the 2020 election the media successfully suppressed the stories regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop and the Biden family’s nefarious dealings with China. The facts only began leaking out after ED.

1. Georgia Senate Race – Ralph Warnock vs. Herschel Walker. The latest polls show Warnock ahead by four-six points. In my view, Warnock is quite possibly the most radical senator. According to the Washington Examiner, Fox News, and other media outlets he is an unabashed supporter of both radical anti-Semite, Louis Farrakhan and his “Nation of Islam” and Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Additionally, on several occasions he has expressed “warm feelings” for Fidel Castro . Moreover, he is anti-Israel, and he has repeatedly blamed the Jews for the “transatlantic slave trade, plantation slavery, and Jim Crow [laws],” among other things. I don’t know how he got elected in the first place, (actually, I do know. The media suppressed all of the above, and his opponent ran a poor race.) In any event, he is an embarrassment to the Senate and does not deserve the vote of any decent, fair-minded American. I think if voters were aware of all the foregoing Walker would win easily.

2. Pennsylvania Senate Race – Mehmet Oz vs. John Fetterman. The latest Fox poll shows Fetterman ahead by four points. You can vote for Fetterman if you want, but you should be aware that he has severe health issues (stroke) and is on the “wrong side” of the issues Americans care most about. For instance, according to The Hill he is “soft” on crime; he opposes capital punishment and life imprisonment for second degree murder; he has long opposed fracking, a key industry for PA [but now with the election looming, he claims he is for it, (just the kind of flip-flop I was talking about)]; he favors a “wealth tax;” and universal Medicare; and he is an avid supporter of BLM. The media has kept most of these unpopular positions quiet, and JF has resisted debating Oz. Once again, I think if the voting public were aware of the foregoing Oz would win a close race.

3. Arizona Senate Race – Mark Kelley vs. Blake Masters. The latest polls show Kelley ahead by double digits. At this point, Masters is a long shot. But, once again, many if not most voters are unaware of Kelley’s record. For example, he has consistently supported Joe Biden, whose current approval rating according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos Poll, is only 41%. This includes his destructive policies on immigration and open borders. This is in opposition to most Arizonans who, like all residents of border states, are bearing the brunt of Biden’s upside down immigration policy, strongly disapprove of it, and want it changed. If voters were aware of this I believe many of them would vote for Masters, and he might pull an upset.

CONCLUSION

Economists know that inflation is the most insidious and destructive economic and financial force there is. Once it grabs hold of a country’s economy it is very tenacious. Defeating it can be very painful. If left unchecked, money can literally become worthless. Runaway inflation can and has destroyed countries. Historians will recall post-WWI Germany where runaway inflation did just that. Most historians believe it led directly to the rise of Hitler and WWII. More recently, we have the dire economic situation in Venezuela. I believe Biden’s policies have directly caused the inflation we are now enduring. I’m afraid that our economy is presently at a tipping point, and the 2022 and 2024 elections will be critical to our economic and financial survival.

As I said, don’t be fooled by the Dems’ tactics. Look at what they have accomplished (or not accomplished) in the past two years. I can’t think of one positive accomplishment. Can you?

The Dems have nothing positive to run on. Consequently, Biden, Harris and many of their supporters have been labeling anyone who opposes their policies as “anti-American,” a “Nazi” or a “racist.” According to this rhetoric roughly half of Americans, including yours truly, (some 70 million people in all) are racists. Of course, that is absurd on its face. How many racists have you encountered in your life? Probably, none. One can argue that racism was not uncommon in the past, but in this day and age there are very, very few racists. I, for one, am not a racist and, furthermore, I have never even met any as far as I know.

By contrast President Biden has, by his own admission, not only met many but has counted them among his mentors and friends (e. g. late senators, Robert Byrd, James Eastland and John Stennis and late governors George Wallace and Lester Maddox, among many others). I am not saying Biden is a racist, at least not presently. You can draw your own conclusions. I’m just saying one should not cast aspersions recklessly that are not supported by the facts, especially if one is in a position of power and influence.

A final point. It’s really very simple. The Dems have been in control of the presidency and both houses of Congress for the past two years. When deciding for whom to vote ask yourself the following timeworn question: “Are you better off today than you were two years ago?” If the answer is “yes,” then vote for the Dems. (If the answer is “yes,” perhaps, you should reassess your situation.) However, if the answer is “no,” then vote for the GOP.

The hypocrisy of woke, ivory tower, liberal Dems (“WITLDs”) knows no bounds. I have discussed several examples of this hypocrisy in my blogs over the last few years, and I see no need to waste your time and mine by regurgitating the myriad examples at this time. However, the latest example involving illegal aliens, or if you prefer, undocumented migrants, ranks right up there with the best (or worst) of them.

In the last several days the WITLDs have shown their true colors regarding this issue. Their hypocrisy has been laid bare for all to see. Witness the excessive and extreme objections of the politicians and citizens of NYC, LA, Chicago, Washington, D. C. and the topper, the icing on the cake, Martha’s Vineyard as overwhelmed states such as FL, TX and AZ have begun to bus small numbers of migrants to the foregoing locales. More on this below.

The WITLDs of these liberal bastions have long been loud and unrelenting advocates for the migrants. In my view, they care about them than about everyday American citizens. They have been preaching to the rest of us that massive, unfettered immigration was a key element of social justice, and anyone who raised any objection was a “racist.” Many of the cities they control have declared themselves to be “sanctuary cities.” They have continually bragged about their largesse, their generosity, their willingness to welcome anyone who wants to emigrate to the US, and their moral superiority over the rest of us. But, now, they have been “hoisted on their own petard.” Now, when faced with the reality of migrants seeking to live in their city they have changed their tune. Their new mantra is “not in my neighborhood.” They still support unrestricted immigration, but “not in my neighborhood.” They lecture the rest of us that to deny acceptance of migrants is racist, but don’t put them in “my neighborhood.” They support free housing, medical care, and a host of other services, but “not in my neighborhood.” Their attitude is “okay for thee, but not for me.” I absolutely love the irony!

From the beginning the Biden Administration has maintained an open border policy. No one knows how many migrants have entered the country since Biden took office. We don’t know where they came from, where they settled, and what their motives are. Was it political asylum as many have claimed or some nefarious activity such as terrorism, drug smuggling, or human trafficking? In many cases, we don’t even know their identities. The NY Post has estimated the number to be upwards of four million, but that is only a guess. Furthermore, it only counts the ones we know about, not the ones who have snuck in. This open border policy has directly caused the deaths of many migrants through accidental drowning in the Rio Grande and violence by the “coyotes.” Even worse, according to the CDC, since 1999 drugs, a goodly amount of which have been smuggled over the non-existent southern border, have been directly responsible for the deaths of nearly one million Americans, many of them mere children. Biden’s immigration policy is literally killing us!

Not only has the Biden Administration encouraged and permitted everyone to emigrate, it has ignored the financial, economic, social and security crises that such a policy has caused and perpetuated. Indeed, to this very day, it has denied even the existence of a crisis much less implemented a policy to resolve it. Additionally, for months, it has authorized the surreptitious shipment of tens of thousands of migrants all over the country in the dead of night without notice. (At first, they denied this, but video evidence has surfaced.) There has been no notice to or coordination with local officials. The migrants have just shown up. Of course, most of these destinations are small cities, such as White Plains, NY, that lack the infrastructure to care for them. In my opinion, this policy constitutes “human trafficking.”

Various Dem politicians, mayors and city officials of NYC, LA, Chicago and Washington D.C., among others, and WITLDs in the media, who have long championed unfettered immigration as long as the migrants were settled somewhere else, are complaining strenuously about a few busloads of migrants. For example, as reported in the NY Post, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot promptly dispatched a busload from Chicago to the suburbs. DC mayor Muriel Bowser grossly overreacted. She complained that DC was not a “border town,” declared a state of emergency, and called out the National Guard. (If only she had acted this decisively on January 6.) Hillary Clinton, who can always be relied upon for a partisan and inane quote, characterized the bus shipments as “human trafficking” and accused Governor DeSantis of the same. Hillary, how about the aforementioned Biden Administration’s surreptitious night flights over the last several several months? They’re not human trafficking? Please!

Then, there’s the WITLD bastion of Martha’s Vineyard whose officials and residents went ballistic over a mere 50 migrants. Well boo-hoo! How about the tiny border town of Del Rio, TX, population of 36,000, which according to Google has been inundated by approximately 1,100 migrants every day, day after day, for several months?

CONCLUSION

Critics have derisively labeled these small shipments as a “stunt” and a “political ploy.” Of course, it was. It was the only way to get Dems engaged and to get the national media to cover the crisis after nearly two years, and it is working.

I say, kudos to Governors Abbott and DeSantis for bringing this issue out in the open. Biden may not want to take any action to reverse the disastrous open border policy, but at least it is now out of the shadows. Finally, predictably, some Dem politicians, mostly those who are running for re-election in 2022 spurred by their own self-interest, have begun to speak out. (Remember my mantra: politicians are only good at two things – getting elected and getting re-elected.)

I expect this will be a major issue in November. The Dems will absolutely “own” it. Perhaps, it will be instrumental in throwing out some of the “do-nothing Dems.”

As the midterm elections approach politicians have commenced to do what they do best. I often say that for all their faults, and there are many, politicians are very good at two things – getting elected and getting re-elected. In order to succeed at those two things all good politicians learn how to tell the voters what they want to hear, or at least what they think voters want to hear. At the very least, they shade the truth. Of course, we, the voters, are cognizant of this, yet since candidates of both political parties do it, we accept it and just vote for whom we like the best or dislike the least. Once elected, more often than not, candidates ignore or shade their campaign promises. Honestly, can you recall the last time a candidate fulfilled all his campaign promises? I think not.

In the current election cycle, however, the Dems have raised this to a new level, not all of them but certainly President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and a few others that are running for office. Their lies, exaggerations and obfuscations are so obvious that it is insulting to voters that they think we would “fall” for them. Do they really think that voters are that dumb, forgetful and oblivious? Apparently so.

Below please find a few of the most egregious examples.

1. The southern border is secure. This shameless and unabashed falsehood has been repeated continuously mostly by President Biden, VP Harris, and DHS chief Alejandro Mayorkis. Anyone who has a tv or can read is aware of the flood of illegals crossing our border on a daily basis. Plus, in addition to the ones we see how about the ones we don’t see, don’t catch? Anyone can ascertain that our country is being flooded, at will, with criminals, drugs and terrorists. Several Dems facing tough re-elections, such as Henry Cuellar (Tex) and Catherine Castro Mastro (Nev), have suddenly awakened to the crisis and have begun to speak out. Where have they been? Moreover, many who have supported open borders for three years have suddenly gone silent. Basically, we have no viable border. Many migrants, including young children, have drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande. Yet, the Administration refuses to even acknowledge that we have a crisis. This reminds me of the famous quote by Chico Marx: “Who ya gonna believe, me or your own eyes?” When Marx said it, it was so ludicrous that it was funny. No one’s laughing now.
2. Declining gas prices is an accomplishment. This is a classic. Yes, gas prices have been declining recently. But, a gallon of gas at the pump averaged $2.39 when Biden took office. It rose to over $5.00 in some areas thanks, in large part, to his shutting down the Keystone Pipeline. Now it has fallen to around $3.40 in my area, but that is still a significant increase during Biden’s tenure. Furthermore, Biden has had to dip into our strategic reserves to get the prices that low. In addition, if we have a cold winter gas prices will increase considerably further causing more hardship.
3. The inflation rate is declining. This is a classic way one can finagle statistics. Yes, according to the CPI the inflation rate in August declined to 8.3% from a high of 8.5%, but it remains at an unacceptably high rate. Anyone who has filled their gas tank or gone to the market recently knows that. The economy simply cannot sustain an inflation rate this high.
4. Student loan forgiveness. There is no world in which this is equitable or beneficial. How is it fair to those who paid off their loans? How is it fair to those who attended a community college in lieu of an expensive four-year university? How is it fair to those who worked their way through college? How is it fair to those who skipped or cut short college for economic reasons? In essence, they will be paying the bill for the profligacy of others whose loans will be forgiven. After all, the money has to come from somewhere. Plus, it is a boondoggle for universities, who will continue to raise their tuition prices, and it is inflationary.

The foregoing are just a few examples. There are many more. Crime, defunding the police, leaving Afghanistan. The list goes on and on. Virtually every decision President Biden has made has hurt the very people Candidate Biden pledged to help – the middle class, working class and seniors. Rather than being the “great unifier,” he has become the “great divider.” In speech after speech he has denigrated “MAGA-Republicans” and any others who oppose his policies as “terrorists,” “anti-American” or “racists.” Basically, that is half the country.

CONCLUSION

In reality, the Dems do not have any legitimate issues to run on. They cannot point to any successes, and there are many failures as outlined above. They are trying to “trump up” the January 6 protest, abortion and Donald Trump, himself, as issues. I’m not sure if they will be successful. The “witch hunt” January 6 “investigation” did not disclose any “smoking gun.” Also, how can they explain the inconsistency of why they considered the January 6 protest to be such a critical issue, but not the dozens of riots and acts of lawlessness in many of our cities last year? Hopefully, the voting public will come to realize that the Supreme Court has NOT outlawed abortion as Dems have been claiming but rather left it to the individual states to decide. Those who oppose that decision should stop “wringing their hands” and lobby Congress to pass a national abortion law. Surely, Biden would sign it. That is how our constitution was meant to work. Furthermore, Donald Trump is not on any ballot in 2022, and it is not even certain he will run in 2024.

The Dems are hoping voters will forget their unpopular positions on issues during the last three years or vote for their candidates despite them. Also, they are banking on the support of a largely biased media. Unfortunately, sometimes, that strategy works. It looks like it might be working this year. Based upon performance, the GOP should have a decisive edge and should gain majorities in both Houses. However, currently, most polls are showing that despite the historically poor performance of the Biden Administration over the past three years the midterms elections will be extremely close.

That said, a lot can happen between now and November 8.

She wasn’t supposed to become queen. At birth, she was not the heir-apparent. There were others ahead of her in the line of succession. According to many historians, she was, at best, indifferent to the idea. She didn’t seek it; she didn’t especially want it; she didn’t have the personality for it. She was a private person. She didn’t want to be constantly in the spotlight as the position required; as she later confided to her riding instructor, she would have preferred to live the life of a “lady living in the country with lots of horses and dogs.”

Many believe her younger sister, Margaret, was better suited for it, at least personality-wise. Indeed Margaret relished the spotlight and probably wanted the position. But, as you will see, fate had its own plan. To paraphrase a famous expression, “man proposes and God disposes.” Thanks to a series of unforeseen events the position was thrust upon her. It is a supreme irony of history that one of the most popular, most effective and most beloved monarchs was, in reality, an “accidental” monarch, a “reluctant” monarch.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on April 21, 1926 in London. At the time, her parents were known as the Duke and Duchess of York. As a child her nickname within the family was “Lilibet.” As the daughter of King George V’s second son, she was third in the line of succession, and she was not expected to ever become queen. Accordingly, as a child, she led a relatively “normal” life. She was “trained” to live the life of a lady of the Royal Family, not that of a Queen.

However, as most of us know, fate intervened. First of all, Elizabeth’s uncle, who had succeeded George V, was forced to abdicate the throne in order to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee. He was then succeeded by his brother, Prince Albert, who was Elizabeth’s father. Elizabeth was now the “heir presumptive,” next in line for the throne.

Secondly, on February 6, 1952 Albert died suddenly in his sleep, making Elizabeth the Queen at the young age of 25. As a side-note, Elizabeth was in Kenya in the midst of a tour of various Commonwealth countries, and in that time of less sophisticated communications (no cell phones, no internet, spotty telephone service in Kenya) it took a while before she could be located and returned to England. Her coronation occurred on June 2, 1953 at Westminster Abbey.

Queen Elizabeth reigned for 70 years, which was the longest tenure of any British Monarch and the second longest of any monarch in history. Can you name the longest? See answer below. As Queen, she dealt with 15 prime ministers from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss with whom she met just before her death, and in excess of one dozen US presidents.

Meanwhile, in 1947 Elizabeth had married a distant cousin, Philip Mountbatten. Philip was a member of both the Greek and Danish royal families (As we know, virtually all of the royal families in Europe were interrelated in some manner.) Immediately, the newlyweds embarked on an exhausting marathon world tour encompassing 13 countries and 40,000 miles over a seven-month period. I can’t imagine doing that, even with today’s modern conveniences, but Elizabeth felt it was important to “show the flag” to all the countries in the Commonwealth. Many of those countries were newly independent former colonies, and Elizabeth was determined that they retain ties to the mother country.

The two were very much in love, but their marriage was to be rife with controversies and embarrassments. Firstly, Philip was partly German, and some of his German relatives were Nazi sympathizers. WWII had ended only two years’ prior and animosities were still very fresh, so this became a major issue. Secondly, at times Philip chaffed at his status within the hierarchy of the royal family. For example, he was outranked by his own children, an oddity which could be awkward, at times. Elizabeth tried to placate him by delegating responsibility to him with mixed results. Thirdly, Philip had a “wandering eye,” which became a major source of embarrassment.

Also, the children were a further source of various scandals, which severely embarrassed the Queen who, as I said, greatly valued privacy, propriety and decorum. For example:

1. Prince Charles had a very active “social life” before he settled down and married Princess Diana. They were not a happy couple, and throughout the marriage both engaged in extramarital affairs. They divorced in 1996 after 15 rocky years of marriage. The public was in love with the beautiful and glamorous Diana and generally sided with her over Charles. Elizabeth was unhappy with Diana’s free-spirited lifestyle and all the attention of the media and paparazzi.
2. Sarah Ferguson, Prince Andrew’s wife caused embarrassment when she was photographed topless by a tabloid with her “financial advisor.”
3. Prince Andrew was ensnared in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal. Elizabeth was forced to strip him of his military and royal titles as well as his patronages.
4. And, best (or worst) of all, we have the current controversies with Prince Harry and the former American actress, Meghan Markle. That matter is ongoing, and I could write an entire blog on it, but I won’t. Suffice to say, I liked Markle as an actress but not as a royal.

The foregoing are merely the highlights or, rather, the lowlights. Royal family watchers (those who follow the royal family assiduously) will likely be cognizant of many more.

CONCLUSION

As I said, Elizabeth was generally one of the most popular and respected monarchs. At the beginning of her reign she was viewed by the public and portrayed in the media as a “glamorous, fairytale Queen.” Later, as the aforementioned problems mounted, the public’s perception of the monarchy waned somewhat. The nadir came in the 1990s. By 2006, however, the monarchy’s popularity had returned in full force. For instance, at Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 polls reported her approval rating to be at 90%..

She adhered to the philosophy espoused by her mother:

1. “Never complain.”
2. “Never explain.”
3. “Avoid the spotlight,” if possible.

She ruled through tumultuous times – wars, natural disasters, the “Troubles,” terrorism, and personal tragedies – with great grace and dignity. Through it all, she remained a symbol of strength, dignity and inspiration. For example, at the height of the COVID Pandemic she inspired the nation by reassuring the people that “if we remain united and resolute we will overcome it.” When people all around her were panicking, she remained calm and reassuring.

One of her most ardent fans is the renowned journalist Piers Morgan. Writing in the NY Post he characterized her as the GOAT, i. e. “greatest of all time,” and “a monumental towering royal colossus, who is not only the most famous person on Planet Earth, but the most respected.” Wow! Talk about hyperbole! I wouldn’t go that far, but I believe history will regard her as one of Britain’s best monarchs.

Rest in peace “Lilibet.” Your passing has created a great spiritual, inspirational, and emotional void. The British people need the new monarch to be able to fill that void. Let’s hope that King Charles III will be up to the task. “The Queen is dead; long live the King.”

Quiz answer: King Louis XIV of France who reigned 73 years from 1642 to 1715.