America’s Drift Toward ‘a Country I Do Not Recognize’
9/21/23
by Star Parker,
from Daily Signal,
9/20/23:
If there is one overriding theme of the Biden years, it is the systematic degradation of American freedom, pushing the lives and freedom of private citizens aside as government expands and takes over.
This is done under the rubric of the Left that “government knows best.”
Day by day, we are becoming what the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia described as “a country I do not recognize.”
In a new paper published by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, Casey Mulligan, professor of economics at the University of Chicago and former chief economist of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, estimates the current and future costs of regulations imposed so far by the Biden administration as close to $10,000 per household.
In a paper published last year, Mulligan and economist Stephen Moore estimated that Biden administration policies, driven by climate change dogma to shut down the oil and gas industry, have resulted in 2 million to 3 million barrels per day less oil production and 20 billion to 25 billion cubic feet less natural gas production had these policies not been in place.
Mulligan and Moore estimate the cost of this foregone energy production to the U.S. economy is on the order of $100 billion per year.
Now we have the latest move by the Biden administration to remove millions of acres of land in Alaska from oil and gas drilling and development.
These moves may leave President Joe Biden‘s climate change dogmatists happy, but less so Americans who care what they pay for energy.
This means even more government. More government controlling our economy, more government controlling our lives.
It is all a kind of backdoor socialism. But rather than increasing government control coming from some abstract ideology, we get the same result from belief that “government knows best.” The result is armies of government bureaucrat micromanagers controlling our lives.
Let’s recall our own Declaration of Independence, which states our founding based on individual rights— life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Declaration says “that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men” and “that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it.”
It is time for Americans to act to restore our free nation while we have a few breaths of freedom left.
Media & Democrats Do Not Understand Oil & Gas Pricing. Plus, They Want Them Higher Anyway.
3/12/22
from The Gray Area:
3/12/22:
WaPo & The New York Times, among others, have come out this week in force to defend President Biden on gas prices. They have done the same thing on inflation. Of course, there is nothing unusual about the left wing media supporting and defending a Democrat President, even in the face of data and reality.
Here are the major points they are making. As always, there is a small fact hyped, which is then exploded into an erroneous and biased interpretation, while other facts & data are ignored. That's the idea behind left wing media 'fact checking'.
1. Its been a steady rise in gas prices and other goods in 'recent weeks'. That is true, but notice the emphasis on 'recent weeks'. This is done to focus on the Russian invasion and ignore anything prior. Ignored is the fact that gas prices have risen steadily since Biden's inauguration. Democrat policies destroyed energy independence, even MSNBC recognizes that.CNN tried to play down gas prices issues a few months ago. They try to say we have not been energy independent because we still buy oil from other countries. That is a purposeful fake out. We do still buy oil from other countries as a convenience and reaction to contracts. We simultaneously had the ability to survive without depending on other countries if we had to. Biden and the Democrats eliminated that ability with their policies. Therefore, we must beg our enemies and tyrannical regimes for oil support. (See #6 below).
2. Prices increased because of fluctuations in supply & demand. Demand dropped during pandemic, then rose again faster than production increased. That is true, but conveniently eliminates other Biden actions during the pandemic. Lockdowns in cities, mask and vaccine mandates which killed availability of labor,killing potential production and distribution via keystone pipeline and leases on government lands. The market responds to what the future looks like for supply & demand to set oil and therefore gas prices.
3. Additional factors affecting price are price of crude oil, fuel standards, price of ethanol and labor shortages in trucking. As stated above, COVID lockdowns and mandates killed labor in trucking industry. Price of crude oil increases based on demand and supply line disruptions, caused by Biden policies. Other factors ignored by the media is the fact that Democrats and the Biden Administration want oil prices (and thus gas prices) higher. That way electric vehicles and renewable energy sources don't look so bad in comparison. Without oil prices high, alternative energy and EVs have very little chance to compete even with the substantial government subsidies they receive. Democrat policies are purposely designed for this result.
4. A global energy crunch. Other types of fuels, including natural gas and coal, are also growing more expensive. Natural gas prices have shot up more than 150 percent in recent months, threatening to raise prices of food, chemicals, plastic goods and heat this winter. Why have those prices gone up so much? The media says it is a global energy crunch. Broad statement designed only for cover. #1, 2 & 3 above answer this question. Plus, on Natural Gas, the Administration can't even get its lies & narrative straight.
Your chart ends at 2020. I see a huge increase from 2016 until 2020. Who was president? https://t.co/7faAVBI6qC
5. The U.S. response. To combat soaring prices and their effects on inflation, President Biden ordered the release of oil from the nation’s emergency stockpile. He also asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate possible “illegal conduct” by oil and gas companies. Classic. Biden did order strategic reserves released, enough for 3 days. Wow! The fact that he had to do that reveals that lack of leadership, see #1 above. Then, the political narrative enters, investigate the oil & gas companies. Lets see if we can blame increased pricing on greedy businessmen, a standard Democrat political narrative. No reasonable cause for such a claim, but none is needed, the media will not call them on blaming the oil companies.
6. In the short term, President Biden has little choice but to turn to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela for more heavy crude oil. This statement means that he has done nothing to protect against supply shortages and now ids at the mercy of dictators and tyrants. That is poor leadership.
Net, net, the Democrats and the media want you to believe that Russia, a global energy crunch, COVID and inflation have caused the rise in gas prices. Biden is doing all he can to help. The opposite is true.
Plus, Democrats & the media don't understand ( or purposely ignore) how oil and gas pricing works with in supply & demand. Cavuto explains the facts of oil on Tuesday in this clip.
Always check the 'fact checkers' in the media. They give only half truths at best and call lies anything that does not match their political narratives. WaPo admits the technique in this article about 'biolab research facilities', while blaming it on the opposition media. Russian disinformation often begins with a speck of fact, which is then twisted into a full-blown conspiracy theory. The technique makes it easier to spread and take root among the country’s supporters.
