Two Grim Milestones

According to Wikipedia, which gets their data from the official sources (i.e., not Johns Hopkins, which is what the media uses), we reached 771,151 deaths from the China virus in the United States last Thursday (December 23). That means 386,792 deaths from this virus have occurred since January 20, 2021, the day that President Joe Biden (D-USA) took office.

That is more than the 384,359 deaths that had occurred prior to President Biden taking office.

It’s his virus now. He owns it. And he was dealt a much better hand than former President Trump (R-USA). He already had the vaccine when he came into office. He already had effective treatments. And the pandemic was already in its second year. Few last more than two. This one appears destined to do so.

But wait, there’s more. 422,691 cases were reported on Monday, December 27th.  That shatters the previous record of 371,409 from August 13th.

And he has no plan to make things better. Only more of the same. Which hasn’t worked.

Great job, Joe.

Prediction: They Won’t Keep Pace

And many companies don’t do COLAs. Mine doesn’t. I’ll be fortunate to get my 3% raise this year, which means I’ll lose ground with respect to inflation.

Major Companies Raise Wages To Keep Up With Inflation | The Daily Wire

As high inflation continues to grip the United States, major corporations intend to raise wages.

Roughly 39% of respondents in a forthcoming Conference Board report said that rising price levels are a motivating factor for the wage hikes. However, higher pay does not necessarily correspond to higher living standards — since President Biden took office, Americans’ inflation-adjusted wages have been declining.

Actually, new employees will get the benefits. The job market will demand it. Existing employees will suffer, which will increase turnover. So, that will be fun.

Speaking of fun:

As high inflation continues to grip the United States, major corporations intend to raise wages.

Roughly 39% of respondents in a forthcoming Conference Board report said that rising price levels are a motivating factor for the wage hikes. However, higher pay does not necessarily correspond to higher living standards — since President Biden took office, Americans’ inflation-adjusted wages have been declining.

Inflationary Death Spiral. Can I have that with extra sprinkles, please?

Wait, Why Are We Evacuating From Ukraine?

After Botched Afghanistan Evacuation, Biden Making Contingency Plans To Evacuate Americans From Ukraine | The Daily Wire

Fresh from the debacle of withdrawing from Afghanistan, where American citizens were left behind in the chaos from the Biden administration’s pullout, a report has emanated that the Biden administration, led by the Pentagon, is making plans to evacuate Americans from Ukraine if needed should the Russians invade their western neighbor. One source told CNN that the Biden administration does not want to be caught “flat-footed” if the Russians invade.

Here’s a thought.

Maybe show some strength and the Russians won’t invade. Then no need to evacuate.

What a pathetically weak administration we have. Clueless Joe is the laughingstock of the world.

You think Putin would be doing this if The Donald were still President? You think China would be openly mocking America?

Pfft.

CNN quoted sources saying that the Pentagon is considering various options, from an evacuation of nonessential US government employees to an evacuation that would also include other American citizens. The decision as to whether to evacuate would be left to the State Department. “Right now some planning is underway by the State Department’s diplomatic security for either an authorized or ordered departure of diplomats from the country should the situation warrant it, a source familiar with the discussions said,” CNN reported.

Gah. What an embarrassment.

And the Other Half Are Lying

Half of U.S. Households Say Inflation is Causing Them Hardship – PJ Media

According to a new Gallup poll published on Thursday, 45% of households in the United States say that inflation is causing them financial hardship. Ten percent have reported experiencing “severe hardship” as a result of the rise in prices.

Those in the lowest income brackets are hit the hardest.

No, that last can’t be true. Team Biden told me that it’s an upper class problem only.

Among those living in households making less than $40,000 a year, 71 percent said the recent price hikes have caused their family financial hardship, compared with just 47 percent of those in middle-income households and 29 percent in upper-income households.

Gallup defined an upper-income household as those bringing in more than $100,000 per year.

Among lower-income households, 28 percent described the hardship they’re experiencing as “severe and affecting their ability to maintain their current standard of living,” Gallup said.

Inflation appears to be a non-partisan plague with little difference in opinion about it across party lines. A YouGov poll found that 8% of Democrats said they’re experiencing “severe hardship” as a result of inflation, compared with 11% among both Republicans and independents.

This doesn’t agree at all with what Team Biden is saying.

Odd, that.

Way to Kill the Tourism Industry

‘Back door lockdown’: Biden admin considering a mandate that all travelers to the U.S. – including American citizens – quarantine for 7 days – twitchy.com

New from WaPo: Biden admin debating a winter COVID strategy proposal to require all travelers entering the U.S., including U.S. citizens, to self quarantine for 7 days even if they tested negative. Fines and penalties possible for those who don’t.
LINK: https://t.co/AJVHNDpzlG pic.twitter.com/yGDROQqlUF

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) December 1, 2021

*sigh*

I’m beginning to think I will never again be able to lead a normal life.

He Doesn’t Know and Doesn’t Want to Know, and He Doesn’t Want Us to Know Either

Biden Hasn’t Released Report To American Public On How Many Illegal Aliens Are In U.S.: Report | The Daily Wire

The Department of Homeland of Security (DHS) has given Congress the report on the number of illegal aliens that are in the U.S. on expired visas but has not disclosed the information to the American public.

The Free Beacon reported:

Under the Immigration and Naturalization Service Data Management Improvement Act of 2000, the federal government is legally required to prepare an annual report on the number of foreign nationals who are suspected of overstaying their visas. That report must also be submitted to the House and Senate as part of a bipartisan effort to better track abuses in the country’s immigration system.

Subsequent appropriations bills for the Department of Homeland Security require the agency to post these reports publicly.

Well, that’s pretty simple. DHS doesn’t get any more money until they produce the report.

“For whatever reason, it appears political appointees are not disclosing a report produced by career subject matter experts. It’s consistent with the Biden administration’s general hostility to transparency,” former Immigration and Customs Enforcement senior adviser Jon Feere told the Free Beacon. “The Biden policies are a slap in the face to all State Department employees—the message is that all foreigners can ignore visa adjudicators and stay as long as they’d like.”

Hostility to transparency. I like it. Very apropos.

As are his other points.

The Biden Administration has laid out the welcome mat for illegal aliens, and they’re not about to change.

Follow the White Rabbit

Top GOP Senator Barrasso Hit’s Biden’s ‘Alice In Wonderland Logic’: ‘He’s The Mad Hatter Out Here’ | The Daily Wire

“No, we have record inflation right now,” [Senator John Barrasso (R-WY)] said. “I view this as a back-breaking bill for the country with the kind of expenses, the spending, the adding to the debt, the inflation, the taxes that are going to hit the American people. And, you know, for Joe Biden to say we have to spend even more money on top of inflation, I mean, to me, this is ‘Alice in Wonderland’ logic. He’s the Mad Hatter out here.”

“He continues to try to mislead the American people, first saying the cost will be zero, zero, zero, when the budget analysts have said it’s going to be hundreds of billions of dollars added to the debt,” he continued. “People’s taxes are going to go up. They — he said, oh, no, only if you make over $400,000 a year. That’s not what the tax experts are telling us. They say one out of three middle class Americans will pay more in taxes. So, on all of these issues and inflation across the board, people saying, we’re looking at persistent inflation. We cannot ignore inflation. That is the thing that’s going to hurt our economy the most.”

The man has a point. One I’ve made repeatedly. Everything Team Biden is doing seems designed to make our situations worse, not better.

For @POTUS to say we should spend more on top of inflation, is Alice in Wonderland logic and he is the Mad Hatter. He's saying the cost will be zero, zero, zero while budget analysts say there will be hundreds of billions of dollars added to the debt and taxes will go up. pic.twitter.com/iwDOQLEA6e

— Sen. John Barrasso (@SenJohnBarrasso) November 28, 2021

At this point, it’s hard to believe that’s an accident.

“Stay” Might Be an Exaggeration, but neither Are Going Away Soon

Economist: Biden’s supply chain crisis, inflation here to stay | One America News Network (oann.com)

Economist Mohamed El-Erian says Biden's inflation will go on well into next year pic.twitter.com/pOFHlfFk0g

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 28, 2021

We used to talk about the “inflationary death spiral”, which demonstrates how hard it is to get inflation under control once it’s taken hold. It goes like this:

1. Costs for many common goods and services go up
2. People can no longer afford these common goods and services
3. They demand higher pay from their employers or seek new jobs with higher pay
4. Whether these people go or stay, the employer has to pay more, because the replacements will demand more pay. Or at best, the same pay for less experience. Which means the productivity vs cost ratio goes down
5. Employers must raise the cost of their own goods and services to compensate.
6. Consumers of those good services are now at Step 2 in this process. And it just gets worse and worse

The supply chain issues are similar. Hold ups on a few common goods cause downstream impacts everywhere, and ends up holding up many more goods and services, and it spirals along the same lines as inflation. Eventually things stabilize and then start to improve, but you have to get to that stable point first. We’re not there on either of these issues.

Welcome to Biden’s America.

#IToldYouSo

I’m Sure Joe Can Get Us to #1

U.S. inflation is one of the highest in the world | Fortune

With a 6.2% annual inflation rate in October, the U.S. is now seeing prices increase at the highest rate in more than 30 years.

According to a study by Pew Research Center, in the third quarter of 2021, the country had the eighth-highest annual inflation rate among 46 countries that were examined. The U.S. also had the third-highest increase in inflation, 3.58 percentage points, between the third quarter of 2019 and the same period this year. It trailed only Brazil and Turkey, both of which have less-developed economies that generally struggle with higher inflation rates more than the U.S.

Americans, especially the poor, have struggled with the effects of inflation as food prices have increased across the board in the run-up to Thanksgiving. Food prices globally are reaching their highest rates in decades, according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Association.

But don’t worry. It’s a problem for the rich. And if you have an electric car, you don’t care about gas prices.

I Appreciated Biden’s Achievements Just Today When I Filled up My Car

Don’t think I don’t recognize his achievements. Every day.

Hillary Clinton Rips Americans As Gullible As She Whines They Don’t ‘Appreciate’ Biden’s Achievements (lifezette.com)

“By any measure those are extraordinary accomplishments,” Clinton said. “But because of the way we are getting our information today, and because of the lack of gatekeepers and people who have a historic perspective who can help us understand what we are seeing, there is a real vulnerability in the electorate to the kind of demagoguery and disinformation that, unfortunately, the other side is really good at exploiting.”

She and I are in complete agreement. Biden’s achievements are extraordinary.

I gave a short list here:

Chris of Rights: I Think I Understand It Better Than You Do

I thought I made a longer list somewhere, but I can’t find it. Anyway, don’t fret, Hillary. We are all quite aware of Biden’s accomplishments and we are forced to face them and deal with them every single day.

I Think I’ll Be Staying Home a Lot

Top investor says prepare for $100+ oil price, $5+ gas this winter | One America News Network (oann.com)

But it’s this kind of childish thinking that will compromise US National Security and harm the poor and underserved. A coordinated SPR release is a quick shot of morphine for a major infection. It fixes nothing and is evidence of a panic in DC. Prepare for $100 now..#GasPrice

— Kyle Bass (@Jkylebass) November 23, 2021

He actually thinks it could go higher than that. Yippee.

Thanks, Joe!

General Mills To Raise Prices On Yogurt, Cereal, Other Foods Due To Inflation | The Daily Wire

General Mills (GIS) notified retail customers that it’s raising prices in mid-January on hundreds of items across dozens of brands. They include Annie’s, Progresso, Yoplait, Fruit Roll-Ups, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charm’s, Wheaties, Reese’s Puffs, Trix and more, according to letters General Mills sent to at least one major regional wholesale supplier last week.

For some items, prices will go up by around 20% beginning next year.

The wholesaler shared General Mills’ letters with CNN Business on the condition of anonymity to protect the company’s relationship with its suppliers. A leader at the company said it plans to push along all of the increases to its grocery and convenience store customers. He expects they will then pass them down to shoppers.

Along with General Mills, Tyson Foods — the second-largest meat and poultry producer in the United States — is raising prices to deal with the “accelerating and unprecedented inflation” threatening all of its business units.

Wonderful. But according to Team Biden, this is only a problem for the rich. I don’t know about you, but I doubt that I’m getting a 20% raise next year.

You voted for this. I warned you, but you voted for it anyway.

We Need to Stop Treating This Like the Plague

Supply Chain Be Damned: Biden Will Require Canadian Truck Drivers Get Vaccinated To Cross Border | The Daily Wire

We are not in a situation where people are just dropping dead in the middle of the street and have to be picked up later by people with carts full of corpses.

Despite the fact that the supply chain across the United States continues to hurt American consumers, starting on January 22, the Biden administration will require nonresident truck drivers, as well as government and emergency response officials, to be fully vaccinated in order to cross the U.S. border.

“A senior administration official said the requirement, which the White House previewed in October, brings the rules for essential travelers in line with those that took effect earlier this month for leisure travelers, when the U.S. reopened its borders to fully vaccinated individuals,” the Star-Tribune reported.

This is insane. We cannot be this scared of this bug. We are teaching our kids to be afraid of their own shadows. This will not end well for anyone.

“We Don’t Have All the Facts Yet”

That didn’t stop you from calling Kyle Rittenhouse a “white supremacist” a year ago, champ.

And I think the facts here are pretty clear. You just don’t want to face them. Because it proves your entire campaign was based on a falsehood. That BLM is a peaceful movement in retaliation to “white supremacy” in America.

Biden On Waukesha Tragedy: ‘We Don’t Have All The Facts And Details Yet’ | The Daily Wire

On Monday, after the horrific act of violence Sunday night in which a man driving an SUV plowed into children and adults in a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, killing at least five people and injuring at least another 40 people. President Biden offered his remarks, in which he stated that “we don’t have all the facts and details yet,” and added, “My administration is monitoring the situation very closely.”

This was domestic terrorism on a grand scale. It was based purely on racist hate. Racist hate that your administration and the previous Democrat administration encouraged because you thought it would help you gain power.

You are sick and harm America with everything you say and do.

More People Than That Believe That Extra-Terrestrials Are Living Among Us

POLL: Just 4% Of Americans Think Country Is Doing ‘Very Well’ | The Daily Wire

The survey, conducted by CBS News/YouGov, shows deep dissatisfaction with how President Joe Biden is currently running the country — as just 4% say things are going “very well.”

Some 70% said things are going “very badly” or “somewhat badly” while 26% said things are going “somewhat well.”

And just 4% said the economy is “very good.” Some 64% said the economy is “very bad” or “fairly bad,” with just 26% saying the economy is “fairly good.”

The poll puts Biden’s job approval rating at 44%, and he gets negative scores for his handling of inflation (67%), immigration (64%), the economy (61%), foreign policy (58%), and race relations (56%).

This is why they gotta get Mayor Pete in ASAP.

That’s Because Many Blue States Have Done Everything Possible to Stifle Economic Recovery

As Fed Contemplates a Move, Democratic States Lag Furthest in Jobs Recovery (freebeacon.com)

Data released on Friday show that through October employment in states with Republican governors was close to 99 percent of what it was in February of 2020, while Democratic-led states lagged, at roughly 96 percent.

While state-level estimates can be volatile, particularly month to month, the apparently larger remaining job shortfall in Democratic-leaning areas echoes the choices—and political divisions—that emerged early in the pandemic. States in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic tended to impose stricter measures against the coronavirus and keep them in place longer, than Republican-led states in the South and West.

Employment fell more sharply in those areas, and the gap has remained even late in the recovery.

Neither 99% nor 96% is that great. Population is growing all the time. A full recovery would have > 100% just about everywhere by now.

Until recently it seemed the Fed was intent on keeping monetary policy loose and borrowing costs easy for as long as it took to claw those jobs back.

That aim may now be in conflict with the Fed‘s other goal of stable prices, challenged by a run of inflation that is prompting central bank policymakers to discuss a faster move to tighter policy—which could slow job growth before areas central to Biden's political chances are able to catch up.

That fed policy is one of the key contributors to the rise in inflation. It was always a danger of this loose policy, but other factors kept it in check. These other factors are now gone, and we have contributing factors to increase inflation, such as the global supply chain issues.

The high inflation rate, which has persisted longer than policymakers had anticipated, is damaging Biden's approval ratings and elevating the importance attached to his choice of central bank chief.

It’s amazing that policymakers anticipated it going down sooner. They have done nothing to help lower the rate, and in fact have done things to help increase it.

How Do You Know When Psaki Is Lying? Her Lips Are Moving.

Psaki’s ‘No Economist’ Assertion Draws Some Inflation Dissenters | The Daily Wire

No, Jen Psaki told Peter Alexander this week. And why not? Well, the White House press secretary explained to the NBC News correspondent, “because no economist out there is projecting that [Build Back Better] will have a negative impact on inflation.”

Which is laughable. Many economists, even lefty ones, have said just that.

The notion that increased government spending doesn’t carry the risk of inflation, said Michael Jay Boskin, an economics professor at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, “is economically illiterate.” Increased government spending adds to the total demand for goods and services, he added, “such that we are risking inflation, and the Biden administration seems to be trying divert attention. There is a risk that inflation may become entrenched. It’s hard to imagine a worse outcome than an inflation spiral.”

Well, that doesn’t sound like “no one” does it?

We are teetering on the edge of an inflation spiral. This scene has been played out many times in history with the same predictable results. The Weimar Republic is the most well known example, but recent events in Venezuela are another. Italy has gone through this. And America may be next. Just wait until it costs you $1,000 to fill up your gas tank.

I don’t think we’ll get there. I think cooler heads will prevail before that happens. But it really could go either way at the moment.

Welcome to Biden’s America. #IToldYouSo

Well, That’s Because We Were

Campus Reform | WATCH: Students stunned by Thanksgiving inflation, say Americans were better off under Trump

Last year, Americans enjoyed the least-expensive Thanksgiving dinner in decades. Just one year later, and on the heels of sky-high inflation, reports warn that this time around could be the most costly Thanksgiving feast in American history.

Campus Reform's Addison Smith talked to students in Washington, D.C. about this alarming shift. Several had no idea inflation was at its current state.

"That's my first time hearing about [inflation] being a problem]", one said.

“I Think We’re Going to Faceplant on It”

Dems stuck in spin cycle as inflation slowly ruins everything – HotAir

Slowly???

Privately, some Democrats have a blunter assessment of the persuasiveness of the new inflation spin. Some worry that, regardless of the White House carefully casting Build Back Better as an anti-inflationary measure, connecting the two during an inflation crisis will necessarily invite questions about the bill’s impact in the short-term.

It’s a “huge risk” to sell Build Back Better as an anti-inflationary measure at all, a source close to the White House told The Daily Beast. After passage, inflation could easily persist, and Democrats facing tough reelections in 2022 could be vulnerable to GOP attacks that they sold a false bill of goods.

“I think we’re going to faceplant on it,” this source said.

I think you can count on the faceplant.

For Whom?

Spin Job: ‘Things Are Better In This Country Than Year Ago’: WH Chief Of Staff | The Daily Wire

If you truly believe that, you are so disconnected from reality that you should seek therapy, immediately. I would suggest having yourself committed, so that you’re no longer a danger to yourself and to others.

“Well, look, I do think, as I said, Jake, things are a lot better in this country than they were a year ago, with regard to COVID, with regard to the economy, but we have a lot of work left to do,” Klain said. “And I think voters are in ‘show-me-don’t-tell-me’ mode, I don’t think they really care as much about what I’m saying on TV, or what you’re saying on TV as much as putting results into their lives.”

Wow.

I bet I could poll 100 random people and not get 10 to agree with that assessment.

Seriously, there’s spin, and then there’s so ridiculous I wonder if you’re even capable of helping America. This is definitely the latter.