Tag Archives: politics

Two Congressmen Went on a Trip

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Congressmen Seth Moulton (D, MA) and Peter Meijer (R, MI) went to Kabul, Afghanistan to see for themselves the situation there. They didn’t want to rely solely on President Joe Biden’s (D) word, or those of SecDef Lloyd Austin or JCS Chairman General Mark Milley. Even worse, they didn’t say, “Mother, may I” before heading off.

What’s really bad, though, is that Biden, et al., weren’t interested in what Moulton and Meijer learned on their trip—it was the fact of the trip itself and that the travelers bypassed the Wonders of the Potomac in the going. In fact, the Biden/Harris administration quite angry about the Congressmen’s impudence.

Biden administration officials were furious about the trip, claiming that the arrival of the men caused a distraction for the personnel on the ground attempting to do a job amid chaos. One senior official told the Washington Post, “They’re taking seats away from Americans and at-risk Afghans—while putting our diplomats and service members at greater risk—so they can have a moment in front of the cameras.”

This isn’t just disingenuous, it’s utterly dishonest. No seats were taken away from at-risk Afghans, not when Biden has abandoned them completely in his panic to get our military out of Afghanistan by the end of the month, on Taliban orders.

Even worse is that lack of interest in what the two observed:

leaving on a passenger flight [but only if that ride had three empty seats] and being taken to an area where evacuees are being temporarily relocated will provide them with on-the-ground knowledge of what the rescue process looks like, and aid their ability to deliver oversight.

Biden, et al., already know all the answers; they have no interest in facts.

A Tossup?

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New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu (R) is being pushed to run for the Senate in 2022 (New Hampshire governors serve two-year terms). Republicans need a net gain of one seat in order to regain a Senate majority and take control away from the Progressive-Democrats. Sununu looks like he would have a good chance of winning that race, although it’s not at all a slam dunk.

On the Pro side:

A Republican majority would go a long way to block the Progressive-Democratic Party’s destructive economic, social, defense, and foreign policies. Those latter two, though, being controlled from the White House, would be hindrances and mitigations, rather than blocks, of President Joe Biden’s (D) dangerous failures.

More important than that, though, a Republican majority would protect the Supreme Court, whose Conservative, textualist—which is to say application of our Constitution and the statute(s) before them as they are written, not as a Justice might prefer they were written—majority stands at only 5-3-1, with Chief Justice John Roberts as the swing vote.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito on the Conservative side, and Justice Stephen Breyer on the activist side are aging; although none of them have any interest in, nor any health imperative for, retiring. But neither did Justice Antonin Scalia have any interest in retiring. A Biden replacement for either Thomas or Alito would severely damage the Court, and Biden replacements for both would ruin the Court for generations.

On the Anti side:

The long-term health of our nation requires Republican control of a strong majority of State houses and of State legislatures (IMNSHO). That’s where the future of our central government is built. Sununu is doing a bang-up job as New Hampshire governor, and a “replacement” governor candidate would not be a shoo-in for election in 2022. A Sununu decision to run for the Senate could well result in the retention of a Progressive-Democrat as a New Hampshire Senator and the loss of the Governor’s seat.

Additionally, a Sununu pickup in the Senate would not guarantee a net gain of that one seat. There are lots of vulnerable Progressive-Democrat Senators (and of Republican Senators); Sununu not being one of those pickups, whether by losing or by staying in the State house, would not substantially deprecate the chance of that gain, while his loss would have no impact beyond leaving New Hampshire’s Senate seating unchanged (and that risk to the governorship).

The Value of a College Degree

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According to Credible:

High school graduates make about $39,000 per year, while those with a Bachelor’s degree earn $73,000.

Average student loan debt on graduation, though, runs a bit over $37,000, with a typical annual payment on that debt is more than $4,700.

Here are the annual incomes from some of the skilled trades, according to my arithmetic and data from Indeed. Based on 50-week years (because some vacation matters, even if it’s not paid):

  • Journeyman Electrician (an entry level): $48,500
  • Journeyman Plumber: $45,040
  • Welder: $44,020
  • Carpenter: $42,720
  • Pipefitter: $51,270
  • Ironworker: $48,640

Tradesmen, also, have none of that $37,000 of student debt coming out of their training.

Keep in mind, too, that doctors, lawyers, philosophers, teachers, and on and on, have no place to apply their skills (and no place to live or play in their off hours) without the trades to build those facilities, or without the trades to build the communications, power distribution, and transportation infrastructures to connect them and to provide the means by which to get to and from them.

The financial value of a degree might seem greater than the value of a certification in a trade, but its greater value depends on the prior existence of those trades.

Some Words from our Vice President

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Vice President Kamala Harris (D) said these things on her gallivant through Southeast Asia.

We know that Beijing continues to coerce, to intimidate and to make claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea. Beijing’s actions continue to undermine the rules-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations.

And

It is in our vital interest to stand united with our allies and our partners in Southeast Asia in defense of a free and open Indo-Pacific[.]

It would be nice if we could take her seriously. It would be better if People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping could take her seriously. Sadly, Harris didn’t even indicate that the PRC needed to stop its moves to coerce, to intimidate or to withdraw its claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea. All she had was her empty description of the PRC’s attitude.

It would be useful if the Biden/Harris administration backed up its pretty words with hard action. Do what, exactly, in our stand[ing] united with our allies and our partners?

We’re So Special

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That’s the attitude of Progressive-Democrats, as illustrated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, CA).

She held an expensive fundraiser last weekend while her constituents [were] still bound to COVID-19 regulations, which require, among other things, masks to be worn when people are in close proximity with each other.

The principals, from Pelosi to her bank book-opening attendees were maskless. Every single one of them.

On the other hand, the wait staff—every single one of them—had to wear the masks. Because they’re just hir’d he’p; they don’t matter so much.

Congressman Byron Donalds’ (R, FL) description is spot on and broadly inclusive:

They make all their rules for the American people but they don’t follow them. They tell the poor of America what needs to be done but they don’t actually do it themselves. So, they love having crystal on a table and getting jumbo lump crab and all that good stuff without masks, but when it comes to the American people, like let’s say in the city of New York, they are not allowed to go in a restaurant if they don’t present their vaccine card[.]

Because our Betters are Special.