Bipartisanship

Joe Lieberman wants some, particularly regarding any nuclear weapons agreement with Iran.

The only way to assure that [bipartisan unity] is for President Biden to submit an agreement with Iran to the Senate as a treaty, needing 67 votes to be ratified. That would require support from members of both political parties. It would bring Washington, for a moment, back to bipartisanship in foreign policy.

And

Achieving an agreement with Iran that could get 67 votes in the Senate wouldn’t be easy, but it is worth the effort. It would restore the longtime bipartisan consensus in Washington about Iran….

What is it that Lieberman wants here–bipartisanship, which is a worthy step to a lasting worthy agreement?

Or a permissive path for Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, which it then will use to destroy Israel, to sell to terrorists for attacks on Europe and the US, and to use itself around the world?b

An agreement that facilitates Iran getting nuclear weapons is not a worthy one.

A Risk and a Solution

Japan’s Softbank Group has reported a significant loss driven by the technology company crackdown the People’s Republic of China government has inflicted on PRC tech-oriented companies and Softbank’s heavy investments in those companies.

Masayoshi Son, Softbank’s CEO, now is saying

Our China risk is not so huge. It is within our control[.]

And

It is a time of severe trials for China’s high-tech stocks. We are right in the middle of a storm.

And, as paraphrased by The Wall Street Journal,

[T]here is only so much more damage turmoil in China can do.

Here’s a thought: Softbank could eliminate the risk altogether and prevent any further damage by divesting itself of all PRC-oriented holdings and no longer investing at all in PRC companies, whether tech or ditch digging or anything in between.

A Taliban Threat

The Taliban gang ruling over Afghanistan’s territory is saying, “Give us the money, or….”

Taliban officials are warning—or threatening—that unless Western governments and financial institutions release frozen foreign reserves and aid funds, the West could be flooded with a tide of Afghan migrants.

The vast majority of the frozen funds, some $9.5 billion, is held by the Biden-Harris administration’s Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund also is withholding direct aid and drawing rights.

Did I say “threat?” Continuing the freeze sounds like a better evacuation plan than the one Biden-Harris used a couple months ago.

Some Results of Illegal Immigration

Here are some of those, just crossing our unprotected southern border.

  • 17,300 migrants illegally crossing our southern border, with prior convictions of other crimes, arrested. Up from 9,447 in fiscal 2020.
    • assault
    • battery
    • domestic violence
    • burglary
    • robbery
    • larceny
    • theft
    • fraud
    • DUI
    • homicide
    • manslaughter
    • illegal drug possession and trafficking
    • illegal reentry
    • illegal weapons possession and transport
    • sex offenses
  • additional 8,979 migrants arrested with outstanding arrest warrants against them from other law enforcement agencies
  • 27% of arrestees were repeat offenders previously caught in the same fiscal year

Sheriff Joe Martinez, of Val Verde County, Texas:

What’s scary…we don’t know where they [the got-aways] are going. How many were from terrorist groups from special interest countries?
That’s the unknown.

Indeed. But the Biden-Harris administration cares not a fig about any of this.

Nor is it just this flood of illegal aliens who also are seriously violent criminals.

Outgoing DEA El Paso Division Chief Kyle Williamson:

It’s the worst it’s ever been. There’s no good news here. And the amount of methamphetamine and fentanyl coming in right now is unprecedented.

From the DEA’s March National Drug Threat Assessment:

The violence, intimidation, theft, and financial crimes carried out by [Mexican] TCOs [Transnational Cartel Organizations], criminal groups, and violent gangs pose a significant threat to our nation. The criminal activities of these organizations operating in the United States extend well beyond drug trafficking and have a profoundly negative impact on the safety and security of US citizens. Their involvement in alien smuggling, firearms trafficking, and public corruption, coupled with the high levels of violence that result from these criminal endeavors, poses serious homeland security threats and public safety concerns.

The Biden-Harris administration cares not a fig about any of this, either.

Aside: Just the News refers to these as “migrants.” They are not. They are illegal aliens. Full stop. It’s sad that JtN has allowed itself to get so infected with political correctness.

Punish Success

Punish, especially, those who are successful.

[T]he $1.75 trillion [reconciliation] package restores limits on so-called “mega IRAs,” preventing more money from being added to a Roth or traditional individual retirement account if its value exceeded $10 million. The restriction…would apply to individuals who make over $400,000 and married joint filers with more than $450,000 in annual income.

There’s that marriage penalty back, too.

And (and contradictorily to the income limit posited above)

[W]ealthy Americans with account balances above $10 million would have to draw down their accounts by a certain threshold each year, thereby triggering taxes on the money.
…. The general rule is that anyone with more than $10 million in an account must withdraw at least 50%. Those with more than $20 million would be required to withdraw 100% of anything over that $20 million threshold in their Roth accounts.

Regardless of their income. And to hell with their heirs. Or their intended charities.

Here’s another aspect of their game, from Steven Rosenthal of the Tax Policy Center:

A big first step to strip retirement tax benefits from those who don’t need the help[.]

Because Leftists know the needs of Americans better than those who’ve earned the wealth with which to satisfy their own needs.

Really, though, it’s not even that much. It’s much pettier.

Jealousy… is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on
.