Here We Go...

Our new president has been in office for 120 or so days, so maybe it’s time to take a look at the nation and see what’s happened on Joe Biden’s watch. 

Let's look first at the job situation and the statistics for April. According to the Department of Labor, there were 8.1 million job openings which, by the way, is an all-time record. The companion statistic relates to the number of jobs filled, and was a paltry 266,000, far short of the one million expected by the “experts.” 

I actually expected something like this simply because I have never seen so many small and mid-sized businesses with “Help Wanted” signs taped to their windows and doors. I’ve noticed this here in Florida and we saw the same thing on a recent trip to rural Georgia. Stores, restaurants, bars, contractors, gas stations, supply companies...the signs are everywhere. 

Business owners and managers all attribute the labor shortage to the extraordinary unemployment benefits now being paid to those who are out of work. As one owner told me, “People who make less than 40 or 50 grand would be fools to take a job. They get as much or more with unemployment, and get to stay home.” Thanks to President Biden, those benefits will continue into September, despite a booming economy. Interestingly, the Secretary of Commerce said, “The reason people aren’t getting back to work is fear.” She apparently presumes that Americans are afraid to return to the workplace because of COVID, even though anyone can now get vaccinated easily. 

And then there’s the rest of the economy. If you lived through the Carter years, you’ll remember inflation and how thrilled you were to get a 16% mortgage. Well, today the Consumer Price Index popped up at an equivalent annual rate of about 7%. And the Dow? It  dropped over 1,000 points in two days. If you live in the southeast, you might have noticed the long lines at gas stations because of the hacking of the Colonial Pipeline by a group of Russian criminals. They are indeed criminals but our smart spooks know they’re also supported by the GRU, Russian military intelligence. The President, of course, is taking a hands-off approach since he really doesn’t care much for pipelines. 

Under President Trump we achieved American energy independence, but during this pipeline crisis, we’ve had to buy gasoline from Canada. Guess who the Canadians buy much of their oil from? You got it...Russia. Gas prices today are at the highest level since 2014. 

Almost 50 years ago, when I was in graduate school I took a few courses in macroeconomics and microeconomics and learned all kinds of wonderful things about supply, demand, inflation, and other boring stuff. But based on the little I still remember, I expect inflation to continue and stick around for a while. 

The problem is, when the government gives lots of money to people and then tells them not to work, we end up with a bunch of folks who produce nothing but have real purchasing power. And then, when that same government hammers those who actually produce goods and services by subjecting them to higher taxes, you get even far fewer goods. The result? Lots of money chasing fewer goods, so prices rise and we get inflation.

Interest rates anticipate all this and will likely last for quite some time. The value of assets will drop. Major tax increases will probably, but not surprisingly, lead to less tax revenue. And while all this is going on, the Fed will continue increasing the money supply and buying bonds. Combine all of this with the administration’s wild spending and destructive energy decisions, and the long-term effects can be disastrous. 

Keep your eye on interest rates and the price of gold, then watch out for the crash of the dollar. We just might see a return to the ugly economy of 1979. Fortunately, I'm pretty poor and have nothing to invest, so I really don’t have to worry too much about all this. 

Of course, all of this ignores the chaos on our southern border as well as the administration’s weak foreign policy and the apparent abandonment of our only real ally in the Middle East, Israel. This week Hamas launched over 1,000 rockets from Gaza into Israel. And who supplied them with these weapons? Iran, the same terrorist nation to whom we gave a billion or more in cash thanks to the firm of Obama, Biden, and Kerry.

Iran is testing President Biden in Israel and doing the same with its Revolutionary Guard gunboats. This week 12 Iranian gunboats swarmed 6 U.S. ships and a submarine in the Strait of Hormuz. Our response? Warning shots. So long as we respond in weakness, they will act with increasing aggression.

None of this even considers our two greatest enemies whom Joe Biden considers mere competitors: Russia and Communist China, who by the way are both supplying weapons to Iran. 

How did the old curse go? May you live in interesting times.

Going Poilitical Again...

Since the 2016 presidential campaign, my opinion of our president has undergone more than a little change. I was no Trump supporter, but neither was I a "never-Trumper." Before and immediately after his election I was leery of the man and his intentions. It was hard to believe he really meant what he said, especially when some of what he said, and how he said it, seemed so outrageous at the time. For example, his campaign comments about John McCain's status as a POW during the Vietnam conflict were particularly offensive to me, a veteran of that war and, like McCain, a naval aviator. I was never a fan of John McCain, the man or the politician, and believe the Republicans couldn't have chosen a worse candidate to compete with Barack Obama. But McCain's military service was honorable and not worthy of ridicule by someone who never served in the military. This, plus other Trumpian campaign statements, caused me concern. And yet, despite my misgivings about the man, I predicted Donald Trump's election fairly early (see my post of July 18, 2016), and did so for a number of reasons:

First, I agreed with candidate Trump that the American people had become increasingly fed up with career politicians, especially Washington politicians, who promise everything and anything during their campaigns. Once established in Congress, however, many, perhaps most, vote against the good and the will of their constituents, and do so without embarrassment. I thought that Donald Trump's clearly stated mission -- Drain the Swamp -- appealed to enough voters to make his election probable.

Bill and Hilary

And second, although Hillary Clinton was perhaps the best candidate the Democrat party could have nominated, she was still a horrible candidate. She seemed to exhibit an attitude of entitlement, as if she and only she deserved to be president. This is the kind of elitist attitude despised by many Americans. It's an attitude we'd expect from socialist elites who believe they are so much smarter than the rest of us that they should have the power to plan every aspect of our lives. Despite her husband's Rhodes Scholarship and his two terms as president, I'm pretty sure she's convinced she's the smarter of the two. She might well be right. I also believe a large number of Americans had come to view her as unethical in the extreme and hoped she and her husband would vanish from the public square. Some voters probably feared a Clinton presidency more than they hoped for a Trump presidency. And others simply didn't believe her or like her. I never really thought Hilary Clinton could be elected president. I could not believe our nation had fallen that low.

Donald Trump won the election, and like most of the nation, I sat back and wondered how this most unusual president would carry out the responsibilities of the office. Since then, however, I have come to appreciate his rather unorthodox approach to things political. Don't get me wrong, though; I am still astonished, and often perplexed, by some of his comments (and his tweets). And yet his use of Twitter and other unorthodox means to communicate directly to the American people and the world, thus bypassing a hostile and increasingly irrelevant media, is a stroke of true genius. Although I don't always agree with the man. I suspect we're probably on the same page more often than not. And most surprisingly I usually know exactly where Donald Trump stands on any given issue. If he changes his stance, he doesn't dance around the issue, but lets us know. He is actually willing to admit a change in belief or policy, and to tell us why. This is more than refreshing; it's unheard of in modern American politics. We have become so accustomed to politicians and their constant lawyerly spin (apologies to my few honest lawyer friends) that we have come to accept their behavior as "normal."

The career politician's approach to his responsibilities eludes me. I've known quite a few over the years, and if I were to name one trait that most of them shared it would be their unfamiliarity with the truth. Instead of accepting the Gospel maxim, "The truth will set you free" [Jn 8:32], they seem to believe that the truth will lose elections. A few weeks ago, a friend asked me to name the members of Congress whom I most respect, and I decided it would be best to ignore the question. Whenever I've spoken well of a politician he or she soon says or does something that causes me to regret my words of praise.

President Trump Rally

I'm pretty sure President Trump honestly believes he is speaking the truth. And he delivers it in plain, non-political, unrehearsed language. It's the kind of talk most Americans hear around the dinner table or when they share their views at work or with their friends. Like me, you might not always agree with him, but unless you're a denizen of the far left, consumed by hate, you probably find him refreshing.

As I look back on the past few years, I am truly amazed that Donald Trump, who is so despised by the mainstream media and his political enemies on both sides of the congressional aisle, has accomplished so much. But even more amazing, to me at least, is that I am in agreement with so many of these accomplishments.

Perhaps most encouraging is his pro-life record, one surpassing that of all his predecessors. I never expected this of him, largely because other Republican presidents talked pro-life during their campaigns but did little while in office. I just assumed Donald Trump would be no different. How inspiring to encounter a president who took action and courageously took the heat that predictably followed.

Pro-Life Support for Trump

I also agree with President Trump's decision to move our embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Israel is our only real ally in the Middle East, the only nation in the region with a truly representative form of government. Israel isn't perfect, but then neither are we. And every nation, including Israel, should strive to do what is best to further its citizen's interests and defend itself from aggressors. The rest of the region is a sewer, a collection of despotic regimes that truly despise both Israel and the United States. Worse, far too many of them support, bankroll, or harbor the Islamist terrorists that have plagued the world for so long.

Like Trump, I too am not a big fan of the nation-building goals of our protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, although I'll admit my views have undergone some change in recent years. But I've always believed that any effort to develop democratic systems in Muslim-majority nations is doomed to failure. Islam is far more than a religion; it is a societal totality that strives to permeate and control every aspect of a people's life. Its governing rule of law -- shariah -- is simply incompatible with democratic, representative forms of government. Any attempt to democratize a fervently Muslim nation will eventually fail. Such attempts will also be overwhelmed by the growing number of Muslims willing to use force (I.e., terror) to achieve their Islamist ends. 

Pope Benedict XVI (2006)

Most informed people now realize Pope Benedict was absolutely correct when he addressed violence and Islam during his Regensburg lecture in 2006. It was the ideological intolerance of both Islamists and Western academics that drove the criticism and violence that followed the pope's well-reasoned remarks.

President Trump has shown he understands the need to destroy the Islamist terrorist organizations whenever and wherever they arise and thrive. This may well be his most difficult international challenge because this aim runs counter to the appeasement efforts of so many of our European allies, and of too many in our own government, including both the state and defense departments. Yes, indeed, it's easy to hide in that murky swamp water.

President Obama made a total mess of the Middle East. Examining his policy in the region, one would think his every decision was driven by what would be best for the Shiites of both Syria and Iran. His do-nothing approach to the atrocities the Syrian government inflicted on its people only strengthened Russian presence in the region and increased Iranian influence. Repairing the long-term damage caused by President Obama's agreement with the Iranians is a case in point. I find myself in full agreement with President Trump's decision to dump the agreement, a non-treaty even the current Congress would never have supported. Russia and China are certainly long-term threats, but Iran, the world's foremost exporter of terror, must be dealt with today.

I also support the president's tax cut, a piece of legislation to which only a socialist would object. Whenever we have slashed taxes, especially taxes on businesses, the economy has boomed. It happened when John Kennedy cut taxes, just as it happened when Ronald Reagan did the same. And yet not a single House or Senate Democrat voted for this tax cut. Democrats have certainly changed since Kennedy's time. Indeed, their rejection of the legislation tells us much about the current core beliefs of the Democrat party, a party that has moved increasingly to the far and irrational left.

What the Democrat Party Once Believed

President Kennedy, when promoting his plan to cut taxes, said, "It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low -- and the soundest way to raise revenues in the long run is to cut taxes now." He was right and his tax cuts led to a period of remarkable economic growth. Like Kennedy and Reagan, Trump also ignored the deficit hawks of his own party, believing that the tax cut will, in the long run, lead to a significant increase in revenues. Ironically, many Democrats, and more than a few Republicans, who have never uttered a word against increased deficits were suddenly all aflutter, expressing fears about the legislation's potential impact on the deficit. Go figure.

When it comes to immigration I find myself wondering why we don't focus on the root cause of illegal immigration. Most immigrants flock to our borders because they want to leave the failing economies and corrupt governments of their native lands. How often have individual bishops, much less the USCCB, challenged the corrupt governments of Latin America and elsewhere? They seem far more interested in attacking our nation for trying to control immigration and protect our borders. And how often do our politicians do anything to encourage our corrupt neighbors to change their ways? If these nations actually developed free economies and truly representative governments perhaps they, too, would become lands of opportunity. As for those screaming for "no borders," I think we can safely ignore them for the ideologues (or "useful idiots") they truly are. The only aim of those pulling their strings is to destroy this nation. Every nation has the obligation and the right to control its borders -- how much control is something its citizens must decide. This is a question that Congress has danced around for some time, but time is running out. I suspect the President and the voters will force the issue sooner rather than later.

As for North Korea, President Trump's efforts to overcome the horrendous mistakes of previous administrations should be interesting to watch. For the first time since 1953 this vicious, totalitarian regime seems to realize they are dealing with someone who won't allow them to break agreements. I expect these negotiations will take some time, quite likely several years, before they bear real fruit. We'll see what happens.

Then there's China, the world's most populous, communist, totalitarian state. It is a nation ruled by those who murder and enslave, a pack of liars and thieves who will do anything, absolutely anything, to maintain their power. Like Mafia dons, they dress up in their shiny suits and smile at the cameras while they plan the destruction of all that is good. They cleverly instituted some elements of a free economy because they realized their socialist policies had failed and they needed to bankroll their ever expanding base of power. But make no mistake, every Chinese firm is under the thumb of the ruling Communist Party leadership. 

The Communist Dons

Unlike his predecessors Trump seems to recognize the truth about China and his negotiations with the communist leadership will surely break the mold. When he hammered the Chinese with tariffs and other barriers, the talking heads and Wall Street hand-wringers screamed and assured us the president would drive us into economic ruin. Many said the same thing when Trump was elected in November 2016, but our economy instead experienced continued record-setting growth. 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly in the long term, despite the efforts of the Senate Democrats to block confirmation votes on the president's judicial and executive appointments, most of these appointments, particularly those of federal judges, have been wonderful. Once again a president is appointing men and women who actually read and understand the Constitution and reject ideological activism. If President Trump serves another four years the federal judiciary will likely experience historic change.

Our president, like all men, is far from perfect, but he's certainly far better than the collection of wannabes the Democrat Party offers us. Every single one of them supports the great atrocity of our age, the deliberate, pre-meditated murder of the most innocent among us. I fear God's judgment, not for me, for I'm too near the end of my life. No, I fear for my children and grandchildren, and for all who may well face a faith-testing decision to choose between a culture of life and a culture of death. 

Here's something I trust all the faithful can agree on: Pray for our nation and our president.

Living Among the Breakage

There is no end, but addition: the trailing

consequence of further days and hours,

While emotion takes to itself the emotionless

years of living among the breakage

Of what was believed in as the most reliable--

And therefore the fittest for renunciation.

 -- T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets: The Dry Salvages

We certainly seem to be "living among the breakage" these days as our "most reliable" values, all that we the people have held dear for centuries, are considered by many "fittest for renunciation." 

Is there anything about this country the score of presidential wannabes believes to be worthwhile? Anything that does not merit condemnation? Do they truly despise this nation, its founders, and its Constitution? Do they believe our flag is a symbol of oppression? Listening to them one would think so.

They all openly despised the July Fourth celebration of the birth of our nation as a militaristic, Trump-centered fiasco that would draw no one. Of course they were wrong, completely wrong. Huge crowds joined the celebration despite the weather. The president spoke eloquently not about himself but about the greatness of our nation. And the presence of our military, from tanks to Blue Angels, thrilled the crowd. It was a wonderful day, a fitting birthday party for the USA.

Some among the 20 yearn for a socialist America. They call themselves "democratic socialists," an obvious oxymoronic title. Yes, they all scream, "Power to the people," but really mean, "Power to the state." That's what it's all about. It's all about power. Just count the ways...

Abortion. The 20 hopefuls all support abortion on demand up to, and even after, the moment of birth. They like to call abortion "reproductive health" or "women's health" but it really has little to do with reproduction or women. It has everything to do with a total lack of respect for human life. Despite their public religiosity, politicians and others who support abortion are essentially atheists, for how can anyone who believes in a loving God approve of the premeditated murder of the most innocent of human beings? Once again, it's all about power. So focused on the attainment of worldly power, they overlook the omnipotence of God.

In the Nicene Creed we praise the Holy Spirit as "the Lord and giver of life." Is abortion, then, anything less than a sin against the Holy Spirit? And so many sins...In our country alone we have murdered more than 50 million unborn babies since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. Abortion is surely the work of Satan, but his love of death has blinded him to one beautiful thing. The unborn innocents are now with God interceding for our broken, sinful world and for those who choose and perform abortions. Prayer will always defeat Satan.

Gun Control. Regardless of your feelings about firearms, all Americans should support the 2nd Amendment which has nothing to do with hunting or target shooting, and everything to do with maintaining our sovereignty as a free people. The 20 hopefuls support for radical gun control is movitated less by concern over firearm deaths than by power.

An unarmed people are a controlled people (e.g. Venezuela and Tiananmen Square), and can be handled fairly easily by an armed military and police force. But a people with arms? That's a civil war, and wars can be lost. People control, therefore, demands gun control. And gun control really means gun elimination.

Healthcare. The hopefuls want "single payer" healthcare -- that is, healthcare run completely by the government -- because it gives the state ultimate power, the power over life and death. The selective wielding of that power can go a long way toward limiting any real opposition. Remember the "psychiatric hospitals" of the old Soviet Union? Such convenient places to provide "healthcare" to those pesky dissidents.

Open Borders. The hopefuls want open borders because, ultimately, they dream of a world government led by "smart people" like themselves. This borderless world would be free of all those national, cultural, religious, and racial "artificialities" that separate us. It would be the kind of world dreamed of by the unelected eurocrats in Brussels who by uniting Europe are destroying it. Open borders destroy national sovereignty, alter the culture of a society dramatically and permanently, impoverish the people, and solidify the long-term political power of the elitists.

Taxes. The hopefuls need higher and higher taxes because socialism costs; it costs a lot. Medicare for all requires trillions in new taxes. Providing free healthcare to all illegals will cost additional trillions. Paying for everybody's college education means more trillions. And giving every adult $1,000 per month...yep, trillions. This all demands that the state confiscate the people's earnings, then disburse it in ways that best preserve the state's power. 

There's a subtle gnostic side of socialism. Those in power are convinced they are the elect, the ones who know what the rest of us don't. "We can spend your money far better than you," they tell us. "Trust us." Uh-huh. Margaret Thatcher famously defined socialism's long-term economic failure when she remarked: "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." By then. of course, everyone is already enslaved by the state and it's often too late to change without outside help.

----------------

If our presidential hopefuls are driven by a socialist, far-left ideology, I suppose their hatred for all things American makes sense. We can only assume, then, that this is what motivates them. The only other possible explanations are ignorance, gross stupidity, or political expedience. But whatever the cause, whether they have knowingly wrapped themselves in the mantle of Marxist ideology, are merely burdened by ignorance or stupidity, or are unable to speak the truth, I can't see how one of them can win the presidency in 2020. I can't believe American voters will abdicate their sovereignty and turn it over to these elitists and their bureaucratic toadies. I can't believe they would discard the political system that gives them the opportunity to make such a choice.

I could, of course, be wrong. The ignorance of too many Americans, especially younger Americans, could lead them to reject freedom and unthinkingly blunder into the Marxist slavery that has destroyed so many during the past century. I could be wrong since most of today's recent college graduates have never taken a course in either American or world history. Most have never opened a copy of our Constitution. Most have no understanding of how the government of our republic is constituted and meant to function. Most know little or nothing of the foundation and greatness of Western Civilization. Most consider our nation's Judeo-Christian roots to be the cause of all they believe to be evil. Yes, indeed, most have been brainwashed but not educated.  

I could certainly be wrong, and if so, the American experiment of a constitutional republic, one founded on the principles of limited government and the protection of its citizens' God-given rights, is likely finished.

I believe the 2020 election will determine whether we plunge deeper into the breakage or enter a period of renewal.

Pray for our nation and for those we have elected to represent us. God hears our prayers. He always answers them in ways that accomplish His will for the world. God always has the final say.

Vatican Bank President on Higher Taxes

Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, the president of the Vatican Bank, has been saying interesting things lately. In his latest comments, he offers his thoughts on the tendency of governments to address their indebtedness problems by simply raising taxes:

"During a prolonged crisis, inheritance taxes, new forms of taxation or similar alternatives reduce or wipe out resources for investments, discouraging the trust of investors, penalizing the cost of the public debt and the possibilities of its renewal at its expiration. In this context, imposing taxes on property and on income is equivalent to a suicidal anti-subsidiarity of the state to the citizen...High taxes penalize saving, generate distrust in the ability to stimulate recovery, hit families and prevent the formation of new ones, as well as creating uncertainty and precariousness in employment...In short, they lay the foundations for another phase of unsustainable development."

I really like this guy...

Here's a link to his complete comments: L'Osservatore Romano


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Location:The Villages, Florida, USA