Why Florida SHOULD Ban the So-Called "African-American History" Course

February 4, 2023 9:56am

As usual, the Fake News has once again lied about Governor DeSantis and the Florida law that caused the state Department of Education to reject a College Board AP course on African-American History. If all you've heard is what the propaganda press spoon-fed you - which is pretty much all the fake news told you (well, that and that Ron DeSantis is a racist) - you probably think the curriculum should not have been rejected. But it absolutely should have been. What Florida has done is ban anti-America propaganda not "courses."

There is a very valid reason the state of Florida will not be participating in the new so-called "history" course. The syllabus for that AP class is heavy on Leftist propaganda and short on actual historical facts. It includes several destructive elements of Critical Race Theory. Somehow, the authors found it important to include Queer Theory in their program (Queer Theory is the indoctrination of pro-LGBTQAI+ and whatever other non-traditional sexual deviancy of the day is being promoted).

Florida is one of several states that have properly banned public schools from teaching Critical Race Theory. Most people have no clue what Critical Race Theory actually is. The Democrats and their allies in the propaganda press want you to believe CRT is nothing more than teaching about the race-based slavery that once existed in America; and that all CRT does is educate people about America's racist past. But what Critical Race Theory ACTUALLY is is the teaching that America was founded by racists who hated black people; that the laws of America are still racist against black people; and that the only solution to the problem of a racist America that discriminates against black people is to mandate that we now discriminate against white people.

Critical Race Theory separates Americans into two groups based solely upon skin color. If you're white, you're an evil oppressor, and if you're any other color, you're oppressed by the evil white people. And that applies to every white person in America - because even if a white person judges people not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character, the society we live in is so inherently racist, that ALL white people benefit from 400 years of oppressing black people to the extent that all whites are racists themselves - even if they don't want to be, and even if they exhibit no racism themselves. CRT is the teaching that the American society itself is so racist and so based upon white supremacy that no white people can avoid being racists themselves.

It is a system intended to cause people, especially black people, to hate America; and for people, especially black people, to blame any and every problem in their lives on the fact that a black man was brought to America as a slave in 1619; and as a result, every cultural norm, every rule, every regulation, every law, every everything is designed to further oppress the black man. And the black woman.

The NAACP, which supports brainwashing our kids with their destructive Leftist propaganda describes Critical Race Theory as an academic framework to teach that "racism is more than the result of individual bias and prejudice. It is embedded in laws, policies and institutions that uphold and reproduce racial inequalities."

But contrary to what the Leftist activists want you to believe, they don't just want to teach our youth that slavery was once legal in America. That is a fact. And it is a fact that SHOULD be taught. And not just “should” be taught. The history of slavery MUST be taught. But the black & white version (if you'll pardon the pun) that is currently taught gives the false impression that slavery existed only in the American South. It did not. Slavery existed across the planet for millennia.

Slavery in the Caribbean and South America existed almost a century before any English colonies were established in what is now the United States. And the last slaves in the U.S. to be freed were freed in the Union states of New Jersey, Kentucky, and Delaware. Those are provable historical facts. But 99% of people would say they're untrue solely because they've never learned it.

There is no nice way to teach about slavery because slavery isn't nice. But to teach a false version is to deny truthful knowledge. It is a disservice to both free people today and to the millions of enslaved people who preceded us.

Moreover, Critical Race Theory is NOT just the teaching of America's racist past. It is the false propaganda that everything about America is still racist, and that the only remedy is to abolish capitalism and impose new race-based discriminatory policies that punish people who never owned slaves, so people who never were slaves can be unjustly compensated for past atrocities. It is a political movement whose purpose is to destroy the United States as a free, capitalist Republic. And it's disgraceful.

We should NOT teach that the remedy for past atrocities is to commit present atrocities. But that is exactly what Critical Race Theory indoctrination does. The ultimate goal of CRT is to punish people today for the sins of their ancestors in the distant past; and not just ancestors who lived in America back when slavery was legal. Proponents of CRT want to punish ALL white people no matter when they or their families came to America.

Critical Race Theory began as college level propaganda. But its tenets have permeated the K-12 public schools in a deliberate effort to raise a generation of misinformed Americans who hate their country. Division of society by race is the essential foundation of CRT. And the proposed so-called "remedy" is a socialist Utopia that favors the so-called "oppressed" over the so-called "oppressors." It demands "corrective" racism against white people in modern society. It labels all white people as evil oppressors and all black people as oppressed victims of a currently racist society.

Don't believe me? You think I'm making this up? I assure you I'm not. I have studied this issue extensively. Do you know who Ibram X. Kendi is? Ibram X. Kendi is a professor at Boston University who serves as the director of its Center for Antiracist Research. He is one of the leading proponents of CRT. Despite being a racist himself, he wrote a book titled “How to Be an Antiracist.” In that book he wrote, "the only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination." Kendi advocates racial discrimination TODAY - as long as that discrimination is only against white people.

Whatever happened to people should be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character? Well, those wise words of Martin Luther King are no longer the goal of today's so-called "civil rights leaders." Today's so-called "civil rights leaders" base EVERYTHING on skin color and nothing on content of character. And they're pushing that racial hate into the schools. And THAT is why Florida has banned the teaching of Critical Race Theory in Florida classrooms.

The lying Leftists - and that includes a frighteningly large percentage of public school teachers - will tell you the schools are NOT teaching Critical Race Theory. And if you look at the titles of their lesson plans, you won't find the words "Critical Race Theory." They're not so stupid as to make their subterfuge obvious. But the tenets of CRT are absolutely being taught to America's youth. It's just being called something else, so they can deny it's being taught. But a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. And CRT by any other name would still be just as false and just as destructive.

This is America. Activists have a First Amendment Right to lie. But no public money should ever be used to help promulgate their lies. And that is why the public schools must NOT be allowed to teach students a false history that instructs them to hate America's past and to hate America's present. Florida is right in outlawing it. And shame on those states that allow taxpayer money to teach our youth - youth of all colors - to hate "whitey." Because while "whitey" was certainly responsible for racism back in the day. Whitey isn't responsible for it now. To the extent that racism exists today, there is a group of people who ARE responsible. They're called Democrats. And they're disgusting. And dangerous.

Alec Baldwin Should Go to Prison

February 1, 2023 1:24pm

Yesterday, prosecutors in New Mexico formally charged Alec Baldwin with crimes related to the October 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the "Rust" movie set. Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, and Assistant Director David Halls was charged with negligent use of a deadly weapon. Halls has already agreed to a plea of no contest.

In addition to starring in the film, Baldwin was a producer. That means he was ultimately responsible for everything that happened on set. And according to the statement of probable cause, he was grossly negligent in those duties. He allegedly skipped the required pre-filming firearms training session and was on his cell phone throughout the secondary on-set training session. Prosecutors say Baldwin created a "climate of recklessness as evidenced by the conduct of the cast and crew documented through statements and evidence.”

And while all that is bad enough, it was Alec Baldwin himself who pulled the trigger (Note: Baldwin says he never pulled the trigger) on the Colt .45 that fired the bullet that killed Hutchins. So in that capacity, he was responsible regardless of what his other responsibilities may have been. But wait! It gets worse. Based upon reviews of the script and interviews with witnesses, investigators concluded the scene didn't require the weapon to be fired. Yet Baldwin fired the pistol anyway... while it was aimed at Hutchins... and he killed her. Director Joel Souza was wounded as well.

But Baldwin has refused to take any responsibility for his actions whatsoever. He even told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that he didn’t even fire the fatal round. He said, "I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is. But I know it’s not me.” No, Alec. It is you. You are absolutely responsible. You are not absolved from responsibility just because someone else handed you the loaded gun.

The irony here is that if Alec Baldwin had taken an NRA gun safety class instead of attacking the organization and the Second Amendment Rights it works to protect, he would have learned to ALWAYS check to see if a firearm is loaded no matter who handed it to him. When I am shopping at a gun store, I watch the clerk check to be certain the gun is unloaded before it is handed to me. AND THEN I POINT IT IN A SAFE DIRECTION AND CHECK IT MYSELF. Even though I just observed the professional verify the gun is not loaded, it is MY responsibility to know with absolute certainty the status of any gun in my possession. That is not a responsibility that can be pawned off onto someone else. My kids knew that when they were five years old. Why didn't Alec?

Alec Baldwin has spent decades attacking the NRA and the Constitution of the United States. If he wasn't such an anti-American hater, he might have been educated enough to not kill someone with a handgun. It is also pathetic that Alec Baldwin and his sycophantic supporters say he cannot be held responsible because a professional armorer handed him the gun on a movie set. That is complete nonsense. Laws do not magically disappear because someone is "on a movie set." It is ALWAYS the responsibility of the person holding a gun to check and know its status. And had Alec done so, he wouldn't have negligently killed someone.

That is why he is facing charges. Hopefully, the jury will see beyond his celebrity status and hold him accountable as any "commoner" would be. He is absolutely responsible for the death of Halyna Hutchins and needs to be sent to prison. And he should join the NRA.

SHOT Show 2023

January 21, 2023 10:33am

Yesterday was the final day of the 2023 SHOT Show in Las Vegas. SHOT, which is an acronym for Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade is the largest gathering of the firearms industry and Second Amendment advocates.

At the SHOT Show, I recorded several interviews which aired on my radio program today. Interviews were with Dana Loesch (host of The Dana Show), Sebastian Gorka (host of America First with Dr. Sebastian Gorka), Mark Walters (host of Armed American Radio), Kevin Stitt (Governor of Oklahoma), and Chris Smith (owner of Gulf Coast Gun & Outdoors). All those interviews aired on my radio program today.

The interview with Governor Stitt was not planned in advance. I attended the SHOT Show's Governors Forum during which governors from Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Idaho, Mississippi, and Wyoming discussed firearms issues among other topics. It is not a coincidence that those governors were all Republicans. Very few Democrats support the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Well, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt told a great story about the time PETA launched an anti-meat campaign against him. So at the end of the forum, I asked him to re-tell it for you on my radio show.

Beyond those interviews, the SHOT Show consisted of walking the exhibit floors and talking to the exhibitors about their products which ranged from sunglasses to machine guns; from bullets to armored vehicles; and from law enforcement training to hunting safaris. The SHOT Show also hosted many educational seminars put on by the FBI, BATFE, and other government entities. I attended the town hall discussion with ATF Director Steven Dettelbach and about a half dozen others in ATF leadership. Although they took questions, the questions could not be asked directly. They had to be submitted in writing on index cards. Needless to say, mine was somehow never selected to be asked. Surprise, surprise, huh?

Indy Autonomous Challenge at CES 2023

January 14, 2023 10:35am

Last Saturday, I spent the afternoon at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Indy Autonomous Challenge at CES 2023. I had intended to discuss it on today's broadcast, but there wasn't enough time to fit it in. But the topic is interesting enough that I want to share it with you in some manner. So this blog post will have to suffice.

The Indy Autonomous Challenge is a global competition among nine fully autonomous Indy race cars (but lacking driver seats because there are no drivers). These vehicles are fully autonomous. No commands or data are sent to the cars during the races. Telemetry data is sent back to the team, but it can only be used for performance analysis and cannot be acted upon during the races.

The single elimination tournament raced two cars at a time doing 30 laps around the 1.5 mile oval track. The rules limited the speeds the cars could go in each lap, but each lap got progressively faster with the final lap reaching 170mph. The cars are capable of doing 192mph. All the cars were physically identical, so the competition was in the software.

The PoliMOVE team, a joint project of Politecnico di Milano (Italy) and the University of Alabama took home the trophy. During the final lap of the championship race, the car in second place spun out on the curve, hit the wall, and did not finish. But the PoliMove car already had a decent lead, so it is unlikely the results would have been different had the crash not occurred. Although I saw the spin out, I did not have my camera out for it. And I haven't seen any photos or videos of it on the internet yet.

After it crossed the finish line to win, the PoliMOVE car did not take a victory lap. Presumably, that is because the computer driving it has no emotions, so basking in the thrill of victory during a victory lap never crossed its "mind." Following the race, I did NOT interview the winning driver. But that was only because there was no driver! But I did, however, interview Professor Sergio Savaresi of Politecnico di Milano. He oversaw the development and implementation of the team's car. Unfortunately, our interview did not make it to air today. And next week's program will be about the SHOT Show, so it doesn't look like that interview will air at all.

Autonomous racing is unlikely to become a spectator sport, but the technologies it develops will certainly be used in other autonomous applications. Autonomous transportation is a huge part of this year's CES.

CES 2023

January 14, 2023 10:10am

Today's radio program was about CES 2023. This technology trade show in Las Vegas, which was formerly known as the "Consumer Electronics Show," changed to just "CES" in 2016. With more than 100,000 attendees and technology innovations displayed by nearly 3000 companies from around the globe, CES is the largest technology trade show in the world.

I was quite busy at CES covering various new technologies and product releases. Sony announced their new "Afeelo" electric car (a joint venture with Honda). The vehicle will feature more than three dozen sensors, including cameras, radar, ultrasonic, and lidar to permit autonomous operation. It will be manufactured in the United States and will be available for sale in 2026.

BMW hosted a massive party where they revealed "Dee," their big foray into an AI immersive electric transportation experience. "DEE" stands for Digital Emotional Experience." But Dee did something truly amazing; she changed colors! And I don't mean the paint reflected light differently at each angle. That's been around for a while. Dee actually changed colors via her "E-Ink" technology that literally changes the colors and patterns of the car itself. It was amazing. Dee was touted as one of the three most human cars ever (the other two were "Herbie the Love Bug" and "KITT" from David Hasselhoff's Knight Rider TV show). Arnold Schwarzenegger participated in the BMW reveal.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced and demonstrated their new Ryzen 9 7950X3D microprocessor. It boasts 16-Core, 32-Thread, 5.7GHz Boost, 144 MB Cache with 120W TOP. I don't really know what that means, but at least half of the 3000 techies at the reveal had orgasms over it, so it must be something spectacular.

I interviewed Paula Abdul about her new line of fashion audio glasses that pretty much do what Apple AirPods do. But hers are functioning eyeglasses instead of weird devices dangling from the ears. You can see her "Idol Eyes" glasses at www.PaulaAbdul.com/products/straight-ups-glasses.

Since Paula Abdul was a judge on American Idol from 2002 - 2009, when she and I finished discussing her glasses, I asked her to judge my singing. Yes, I know I can't sing. And although I did try the best I could, I was awful. In her critique, she said I was "awesome and bad at the same time." Oh, well. No Golden Ticket to Hollywood for me! Our interview, including my so-called "singing," aired on The Mike Bates Show today (segment 4).

At events like CES, it is not unusual to run into celebrities who are endorsing products. So as I was walking past the KULR booth, I saw motorsports legend Mario Andretti (champion of races in Formula 1, Indy, and NASCAR) signing autographs. So I stopped and asked if I could get a quick interview. He obliged. That brief interview aired today also (segment 4).

CES 2023 exhibited very interesting products such as healthcare wearables, gaming devices (and I don't mean slot machines), high tech agricultural tools, and more applications for Artificial Intelligence, among other technologies.

We don't yet know all the capabilities of AI. But it is clear that AI will change the world. It will be as transformative to our lives as the semiconductor was. AI and its applications in robotics will change literally everything. Transportation, healthcare, agriculture, entertainment, dining, manufacturing, marketing, exploration, politics, and military actions; AI will change it all.

Several countries had pavilions at CES with their entrepreneurs showing their products. I visited the pavilions for Italy, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, The Netherlands, and France. After the media luncheon with the French delegation, I interviewed two of their entrepreneurs. One had a high tech mosquito-killing device, and the other had an airbag belt intended for use by people at risk of hip fractures from falls. For most elderly people, a hip fracture will lead to death within a year. This belt detects a fall and deploys an airbag to protect the hip (or both hips depending on whether one or both are about to hit the ground).

Caterpillar (the company that makes industrial machinery like dozers, graders, and excavators) had a large exhibit featuring a 100 ton hauling truck that runs autonomously. I had the opportunity to sit at the controls of one of their excavators being displayed inside the convention center. I fired her up and manipulated her controls. And my action dug a giant hole. But I didn't damage the floor of the convention center because the hole I dug was 1678 miles from Las Vegas. Yep! From my seat in Las Vegas, I dug a hole in Peoria, Illinois. Quite amazing, huh? Details about that technology are included in my interview with the Caterpillar representative that aired today (segment 3).

Vinfast is an automotive company in Vietnam that is moving into the U.S. market with their line of electric vehicles. After attending the press conference by Vinfast's CEO, I went out to their test track and drove one of their cars. It seemed like a high quality automobile. And because it is priced below Teslas and the EVs of most domestic brands, it will likely become quite popular in the States.

Throughout the day, a robot served up coffee. And it wasn't just pouring a black cup of Joe. It was doing all kinds of mixing and pouring. If the employees at Starbucks keep going on strike, that robot may soon be serving at a cafe near you. And frankly, even without striking employees, the day is coming that robots will prepare our food. I should add that the coffee prepared by the robot was then delivered to the customer by another robot.

Another robotic exhibit featured an electric lawn service robot that mows the lawn, blows away leaves, and clears snow. I spent some time at the toilet too. But this toilet was on the exhibit floor. It is a smart toilet that takes a plethora of health readings based solely on contactless analysis of a person's urine stream. Also on exhibit at CES was a prototype of the 66,000 electric vehicles the U.S. Postal Service will soon be purchasing.

There wasn't time on today's show to air all the product interviews I did at CES. But those that did air can be heard on the podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/230114

Buttigieg Should Be Booted Out

January 11, 2023 8:40pm

While Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg did not write the software running the FAA's antiquated NOTAM system, he is clearly incapable of getting it fixed.

Buttigieg is an incompetent Leftist fool who was hired by the equally incompetent fool in The White House for one reason and one reason only. He is a member of a celebrated protected class that Democrats value more than they value actual skills. Buttigieg's biggest "accomplishment" vis a vis air travel was that he proposed to his husband at the Chicago airport. Seriously. That's not a joke. He explains it at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7u0_S7ZHqI

Where is Southwest Going?

January 2, 2023, 1:35pm

I just took this photo from inside the terminal at Pensacola International Airport. I think it captures the last couple of weeks at Southwest Airlines. With their system meltdown, they didn't seem to know if they were coming or going!

As for me today, I'm flying the friendly skies of United.

Florida's Nature Coast

December 29, 2022 9:55pm

I spent the day at the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Florida.

This is the time of year hundreds of manatees return to Homosassa Springs, Crystal River, and King's Bay in search of warm water. Because these bodies of water are all fed from springs pouring millions of gallons of fresh water per hour out of the Floridan Aquifer, the water is a constant 72 degrees year-round. And while 72 degrees may not seem "warm," it's a lot warmer than the Gulf of Mexico this time of year (the Gulf is currently below 62 degrees). Manatees can't survive long in waters below 68 degrees, so they migrate back to these spring-fed waters every winter seeking warmth.

This state park has an underwater viewing platform from which manatees can be observed. This park in Citrus County is "Old Florida," meaning "pre-Disney." On the Gulf side south of Big Bend but north of Tampa, it is an incredibly beautiful part of the state. The marketers appropriately call this area Florida's "Nature Coast."

Although I have snorkeled with the manatees before, I did not go in the water today.

Samuel Adams: The Father of American Independence

December 17, 2022 1:41pm

On today's radio program, I interviewed Stacy Schiff about her new book "The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams."

It is a detailed biography of the true Father of the American Revolution. When most people think of our Founders, the people who come to mind are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. And while all those men were certainly instrumental in the creation of the United States, if it wasn't for Samuel Adams, they may all have lived their entire lives as subjects of the British Crown with no need for history to remember them. Because it was Samuel Adams, through speeches, published writings, the Sons of Liberty, and protests such as the Boston Tea Party who inspired the colonists to unite against tyranny.

Pulitzer Prize winning author Stacy Schiff does an outstanding job telling the untold story of the Father of American Independence. Since Adams' work was so secretive, and he didn't write a memoir, his incredible story has been largely omitted from history. Today, he's most famous for the Boston Lager brewed by a company he has no connection with. But if you read "The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams," you'll know the man. And you'll know what a great American hero he is really is.

Today's program is now archived online as a podcast at at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/221217

The Brittney Griner Prisoner Swap Is Disgusting

December 8, 2022 11:18am

Brittney Griner's arrest, charges, and imprisonment in Russia were not dubious. She committed an actual crime and pleaded guilty to the charges. She never said she didn't do what she was charged with doing. She was not arrested on trumped up charges or planted evidence. She made the foolish but deliberate decision to possess illegal drugs in a country with harsh penalties for such crimes. Yeah, it sucks that she was incarcerated in Russia, but it was her own damn fault.

So why did Joe Biden work so hard to release Brittney Griner while doing nothing to get the release of Paul Whelan (a former U.S. Marine who was likely falsely accused of espionage)? We all know the answer. It is because Griner is a member of at least four protected classes preferred by Democrats, and Whelan is not.

That is why Joe Biden exchanged a worthless, America-hating basketball player for a convicted Russian arms smuggler. That arms smuggler, Viktor Bout, was such a bad guy that he was known as the "Merchant of Death." Bout was serving a 25-year sentence in a U.S. prison after being convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans, conspiracy to deliver anti-aircraft missiles, and aiding a terrorist organization. But Biden let him out of prison. Apparently, aiding and abetting the killing of Americans is equivalent to possession of cannabis.

This prisoner exchange, along with nearly everything Biden has done, is disgusting. And destructive.

No, Trump Did NOT Say We Should Terminate the Constitution

December 4, 2022 5:11pm

Once again, the Democrats and their allies in the propaganda press have grossly misrepresented what Donald Trump has said. Democrats clutched their pearls as the fake news amplified the lie that Donald Trump posted in his Truth Social account a call for "the termination of the Constitution to overturn the 2020 election and reinstate him to power."

Following the release of internal Twitter e-mails that proved the FBI colluded with Big Tech to hide the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, what Trump actually said was “So, with the revelation of MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, & the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution. Our great "Founders" did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!” A screen shot of his post is above.

Donald Trump's poor use of the word "allows" does allow for misinterpretation of what he meant. But in the context of the entire post, it is very clear that "allows" meant "get away with" - as in "if we allow the 2020 election to be stolen via false and fraudulent elections, we are allowing the Constitution's authority to be terminated." Trump quite clearly said the exact opposite of what the fake news said he said.

Trump wasn't calling for the Constitution to be terminated! He was complaining that it had already been terminated by those who accepted the results of a fake and fraudulent election. As I have spoken and written about many times, the illegality and illegitimacy of the 2020 election was due to how it was unconstitutionally conducted; fraud need not be proven. Even without fraud, the results were invalid because the processes and procedures in at least seven states were improper. Is that just my opinion? No. Courts in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania have all found their 2020 elections were unconstitutionally conducted. Had Donald Trump won those three states, he would have been reelected. He would have also won without winning those states had the results in those states been invalidated, as they should have been. Our Republic was stolen from us in 2020.

The fake news has been lying about Donald Trump ever since he descended the elevator at Trump Tower on June 16, 2015. This is just the latest example. You can read my list of the top 45 lies the Fake News has told about Donald Trump at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/blog/201031-1010.

The deliberate deception of the American people by the fake news is disgusting. And dangerous.

Is Donald Trump Even Eligible to Be President Again?

November 18, 2022 3:13am

Is Donald Trump even eligible to be President again? Don't be so quick to answer that because the answer isn't automatically "yes."

The 22nd Amendment doesn't allow one person to serve more than ten years as President. That ten years would be two full four year terms plus half of the predecessor's term if he ascended to the presidency from the vice presidency. But that doesn't apply here. Trump has only served four years, so the 22nd Amendment has no bearing. But the 14th Amendment might. Legally, the 14th Amendment has no bearing here either. But that doesn't mean it won't come into play.

Clause 3 of the 14th Amendment states, "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid and comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability."

While that verbiage was included in the 14th Amendment to prevent Confederates of the Civil War from holding seats in government, Democrats will twist its meaning to include any Republican who did or said anything in support of the January 6th so-called "insurrectionists" that can be called "aid and comfort."

That epithet wouldn't be factually correct. But since when do facts matter to Democrats? If Democrats are good at anything, they're good at bitter partisanship, lying, cheating, and weaponizing language to get their way. And it will score them a lot of political points among their dangerously destructive base.

The reason the Democrats can get away with calling the January 6th riot an "insurrection" is because the activists posing as journalists in the propaganda press have amplified and will continue to amplify that lie via their onslaught of fake news. But the truth is the January 6th riot was NOT a "coup attempt" or an "insurrection."

Although the January 6th rioters at The Capitol had no chance of getting what they wanted, what they were seeking was one hundred percent constitutional. They were NOT seeking to "overturn an election" or "overthrow the government." They were simply demanding that Congress do what it is constitutionally allowed to do. Their means were criminal, but their intent was not.

I'm not defending the riot. The riot was the most idiotic thing supporters of the Republican Party have ever done. I'm not defending the criminals who broke into The Capitol on January 6th. I'm just pointing out that what they wanted Congress to do was perfectly constitutional. It was just pointless because there was no chance they were going to convince Congress to do the right thing. But all those protesters wanted was for Congress to refuse to certify the electors from the states that conducted unconstitutional elections.

I'm not talking about fraud. Whether fraud happened or not is irrelevant. It need not be brought up. I'm talking about the unconstitutional election processes that at least seven states used in their 2020 elections. Is that my opinion? Yes. But it is also the opinion of judges in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin who ruled the loosey-goosey election processes in those states were in fact unconstitutional.

The remedy for those unconstitutional elections is outlined in the Constitution of the united states. There's a Plan B and a Plan C. And they should have been used. But the Supreme Court refused to do its duty and rule on the merits of the disputed election results. And those state courts all ruled long after Biden was inaugurated and it was too late to remedy the election theft.

Congressional certification of the Electoral College vote is NOT merely a formality. The Constitution very specifically empowers Congress to be the final check that an election was lawfully conducted. And it very specifically allows ANY member of Congress to object to ANY electors for ANY reason.

Regarding Congress refusing to certify the Electoral College count, let me remind you that in 2017 during the congressional certification of the 2016 election, Democrat Congressmen Jim McGovern, Jamie Raskin, Pramila Jayapal, Raul Grijalva, Sheila Jackson Lee, Barbara Lee, and Maxine Waters all objected to some of Trump's Electoral College votes. Had any Senators also objected, a vote would have been taken as to whether to accept or reject those contested Electoral College votes. And if both houses voted to reject them, the votes would not have been counted. THAT IS A FACT. AND IT WAS PERFECTLY CONSTITUTIONAL.

What's pathetic is that most Americans are completely unaware that even happened. Why? Because the fake news won't report that historical fact, and the Republicans are incompetent with their messaging.

To be clear, Vice President Mike Pence did NOT have the authority to reject Electoral College votes. Only Senators and Representatives did. And that's all they were asked to do by the protesters. It was a fool's errand, but it was not an unconstitutional request. And it wasn't an "insurrection." The reason the Democrats have so dishonestly used that word is to weaponize it against Republicans. And they are certain to weaponize it against Donald Trump as he runs his third presidential campaign.

But the theory that Donald Trump can be denied elected office because of the 14th Amendment is not merely an academic discussion. There is precedent for it; not for the presidency but for a county commission seat in New Mexico.

Couy Griffin was a county commissioner in Otero County, New Mexico. He was found guilty of entering The Capitol on January 6th. And a Leftist activist judge in New Mexico named Francis Mathew ordered Griffin to be kicked off the commission because he was an "insurrectionist." And, yes, his order used the word "insurrection." The judge wrote that Griffin "took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States ... [and then] engaged in that insurrection after taking his oath."

That judicial order was blatantly political. And is was blatantly unconstitutional because the January 6th riot was neither an insurrection nor a coup nor any attempt to overthrow the duly elected government of the United States, despite the Democrats and the fake news repeatedly saying it was.

Of course, there's big difference between an appointed low-level district judge in New Mexico and the nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. And if such dishonest partisan action was taken against Trump, it would eventually be reversed by the Supreme Court. But do we want to go through all that? Do we want the January 6th riot being the centerpiece of the 2024 election?

If the state legislatures - or even just state election officials - were to state that Trump was ineligible to be President under the 14th Amendment, so they refused to put his name on the ballot, that would be a huge problem. I can certainly see election officials in California, New York, Illinois, and perhaps a dozen more dark blue states doing that - or at least trying to do it. Sure, Trump wouldn't win Electoral College votes from any of those states anyway. But if they refuse to put him on the ballot, the negative publicity of the judicial process as it wound its way to the Supreme Court would be harmful not just to Trump but to ALL Republicans.

And then when the Supreme Court properly ruled that the January 6th riot was not an insurrection and that Trump was not disqualified from holding office, that would motivate the partisan haters on the Left to show up in huge numbers to vote against the so-called "insurrectionist" the "stacked" Supreme Court put on the ballot. Republicans would be in a lose-lose position no matter what.

And that's just one reason why Donald Trump should not seek reelection. For the good of the country, Donald Trump should stay out of politics. But he doesn't have that in him. Donald Trump has always been about Donald Trump. I'm not saying he didn't do anything good for America when he was in office. He did a lot of good. But Trump is for Trump. And if he harms Republican chances to retake The White House from the unconstitutionally-elected usurper currently occupying it, so be it. He doesn't care. Because in Trump's world, if he doesn't win, he doesn't care who else loses in the process.

The sooner Republicans reject Donald Trump's third presidential bid the better.

Will Donald Trump Announce a Third Presidential Campaign Tonight?

November 15, 2022 6:12pm

Before Donald Trump speaks tonight, let me go on the record with this: Donald Trump should be thanked for all the good he accomplished as President. But he should never run for office again.

He could probably win the 2024 Republican primary. But he has no chance whatsoever of winning the general election. If he is the nominee, that will guarantee four more years of a Democrat in The White House.

Will America Run Out of Diesel Fuel in 25 Days?

November 5, 2022 4:16pm

The United States currently has only a 25 days supply of diesel fuel. But claims that we will run out by Thanksgiving are false. Yes, there is only a 25 day supply sitting in tanks, but we refine more every day. So we are always adding to the stockpile. But a 25 day supply is quite low.

Is the shortage of diesel fuel Joe Biden's fault? Not entirely, no. But he does bear some of the blame because his anti-fossil fuel policies have restricted domestic production as demand has gone up. There are a few reasons demand has gone up. U.S. refinery capacity has fallen in the past few years. The low water level in the Mississippi River has forced a lot of barge freight onto trucks, and trucks burn diesel. That increased usage is magnified by the seasonal demand for home heating oil in the northeast. Home heating oil is basically the same distillate as diesel. So people filling their home heating oil tanks in anticipation of winter are competing with transportation for what are at the refinery level essentially the same fuels. And that's all driving up consumption while Biden continues to restrict drilling.

Biden and the Democrats, along with their dishonest supporters in the propaganda press are telling us the shortage is due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But that is a lie. Sure, the invasion of Ukraine and the embargo against the importation of fuel from Russia has reduced what is available in the U.S. But the amount we used to import from Russia is LESS than the reduction of domestic production Biden's policies have caused.

America is extracting 1.2 million barrels per day less than our peak pre-Biden production. We used to import 360 thousand barrels per day from Russia. Do the math. We are NOT producing more than three times what we used to get from Russia. We should be MORE than making up for the shortfall of Russian oil. But we're not. Why? Because Biden and his fellow DemonRats think oil is the enemy.

During President Trump's four years in office, we averaged a 35.9 day supply of diesel. Even under Biden, our average supply has been 31.5 days, although it has been trending downward from the 44 day supply we had the day he was inaugurated. The current 25 day supply of diesel is about 25% lower than what we typically have on hand. And it is 43% lower than what Biden inherited.

But we will not "run out of diesel in 25 days" as some have claimed.

DATA SOURCE: https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/weekly/download.php

Should We Retain Florida's Judges?

November 5, 2022 3:44pm

As happens at every general election, there are many judges on the Florida ballot in what are known as "merit retention votes." Those votes give the electorate the choice of whether or not judges on the Florida Supreme Court and in Florida's five District Courts of Appeal get to keep their jobs. All ballots statewide have the Supreme Court judges on them. The ballots in each of the five judicial districts have only that district's appeals court judges on them.

The way judges are chosen to serve on the Florida Supreme Court has changed many times in the state's history. When Florida became a state in 1845, the legislature voted to determine which circuit judges would be elevated to serve on the Supreme Court. Then in 1853, that changed to Supreme Court justices being elected by popular vote. Less than a decade later, in 1861, the constitution was amended to allow the governor to appoint justices with the advice and consent of the Florida Senate. That method mirrored the way justices are selected to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

A little over a century later, in 1976, the constitution was amended to implement the system we use today, in which the Governor appoints judges to the Florida Supreme Court and to Florida's appellate courts. He is required to make those appointments from a list of candidates chosen by the Judicial Nominating Commission. No confirmation by the Florida Senate or anyone else is required. Those judges serve six year terms. New justices face their first merit retention vote in the next general election that occurs more than one year after their appointments. When when their six year terms expire, they can get additional terms, not by a reappointment, but by the electorate voting to retain them. They can also be forced off the bench by age. Florida has a mandatory retirement age of 75 for all Supreme Court, Appellate Court, Circuit Court, and County Court judges.

Circuit court judges and county court judges in Florida are still elected by popular vote. Statewide, there are exactly twelve circuit judge and county judge races on Tuesday's ballot.

Regarding appointments by the Governor to the Supreme Court and appellate courts, those appointments can be undone if the citizens vote to NOT retain the appointed judges. The judges serve upon appointment and Investiture. But if they lose a retention vote, they'll be out of a job.

In my opinion, all but one justice on the Supreme Court should be retained. The one that should be booted is Jorge Labarga. I don't know enough about all the appellate court judges to make an informed opinion of them. And I'm not going to waste my time learning about them. I just leave all those judicial retention questions on the ballot blank. Why? Because never since 1976 when the system was implemented in Florida has a judge ever been removed from office by losing a retention vote. And there have been a few judges that had multi-million dollar campaigns run against them trying to get them removed from office via retention vote. But they all have been retained anyway. Consequently, I don't bother to even vote on those.

The most famous campaign to remove a judge via a merit retention vote was in 1992 when there was a massive statewide campaign to remove Rosemary Barkett from the Supreme Court. She was a far-Left activist judge who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1985. She hated guns and loved murderers. She voted to overturn almost every death penalty sentence that came before her. So there was an aggressive advertising campaign to inform the voters of how horrible she was and to encourage a "no" vote on her retention. Despite that campaign, she was retained with 60.9% of the vote. Then two years later, in 1994, President Clinton named her to the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. That got her out of the Florida court system, which was nice. But it put her in a position to do further damage to our country from the federal bench where judges serve for life - although in her case she resigned in 2013 to go serve on the Iran–United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague.

So if a massive statewide campaign trying to remove a soft-on-crime justice could not remove a judge through a retention vote, nothing will. The closest any judge in Florida ever came to losing a merit retention vote was in 2010 when Judge Charles Kahn, Jr. of the First District (which extends from Pensacola to Jacksonville) only got 53.1% of the vote to retain him. But it was enough to keep him on the bench. So I see these merit retention votes as a constitutionally mandated process that is not worth my time to research. Because no matter how bad a judge is, they'll be retained. There's never been a judge removed from the bench by losing a merit retention vote. Never.

Do do what you want on those. But no matter how you vote, every judge on the ballot will be retained.

Florida's Constitutional Amendments on the 2022 Ballot

November 5, 2022 3:00pm

As happens at every general election, Florida voters have constitutional amendments on the ballot to approve or reject. And while most such amendments should be rejected, two of this year's three should be approved. All three were placed on the ballot by the Florida Legislature.

This is how I will be voting on the three amendments:

#1 - YES

#2 - YES

#3 - NO

Here's why:

Amendment 1: Limitation on the Assessment of Real Property Used for Residential Purposes

Ballot Summary: “Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution, effective January 1, 2023, to authorize the Legislature, by general law, to prohibit the consideration of any change or improvement made to real property used for residential purposes to improve the property’s resistance to flood damage in determining the assessed value of such property for ad valorem taxation purposes.”

If this amendment passes, it would mean the state legislature could (and almost certainly would because it placed the amendment authorizing it to do so on the ballot) pass laws that would exempt from property tax assessment the increased value of a home if that increased value resulted from improvements designed to prevent flood damage; things such as elevating structures, filling basements, waterproofing, and improvements that would allow for stormwater runoff, waterproofing basements, installing check valves capable of preventing water backup, and elevating furnaces, heaters, and electrical panels.

While I recognize that such improvements would increase the value of a home, I'm perfectly OK with that increased value not being subject to taxation. Exempting such improvements would be an incentive for homeowners to make their homes more resistant to flood damage in a way that doesn't require an appropriation of taxpayer money - something I have opposed in the past when it's been done with outright grants (which is another way of saying "paid for with someone else's money who had no choice but to pay."). If it passes, it would take effect January 1, 2023. But it would not automatically mean the value of flood mitigation improvements wouldn't be included in ad valorum taxes. That would require an act of the state legislature. But the legislature does not have such authority to do that right now. Approval of Amendment 1 would give it that authority.

And I see that as a good idea. So I'm voting "yes" on 1.

Amendment 2: Abolishing the Constitution Revision Commission

Ballot Summary: “Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to abolish the Constitution Revision Commission, which meets at 20-year intervals and is scheduled to next convene in 2037, as a method of submitting proposed amendments or revisions to the State Constitution to electors of the state for approval. This amendment does not affect the ability to revise or amend the State Constitution through citizen initiative, constitutional convention, the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, or legislative joint resolution.”

If this amendment passes, it would abolish the Constitution Revision Commission. I wish it also made it more difficult for citizen petitions to propose changes to the state constitution, but it doesn't. The people, via petition, and the legislature via majority vote, would still be able to propose amendments in the future. And so could the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission. A constitutional convention could also still amend it. Approval of Amendment 2 would only prevent the Constitution Revision Commission from do so because it wouldn't exist anymore. And I see its elimination as a good thing. If our state constitution is in need of being amended, the legislature can propose it. And so can the people - either directly through petition or indirectly through their representatives and senators. But the Constitution Revision Commission is an unnecessary make-work body that feels like it has to monkey with our constitution whether there is a legitimate need to amend it or not. It's long past time to do away with that pointless bureaucracy that didn't even exist until 1968. It'll save Floridians the time and money of what the commission does, and it should reduce the number of unnecessary amendments we get in the future. And that would be a good thing.

So I'm voting "yes" on 2. Let's do away with the Constitution Revision Commission

Amendment 3: Additional Homestead Property Tax Exemption for Specified Critical Public Service Workforce

Ballot summary: “Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to authorize the Legislature, by general law, to grant an additional homestead tax exemption for non-school levies of up to $50,000 of the assessed value of homestead property owned by classroom teachers, law enforcement officers, correctional officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, child welfare services professionals, active duty members of the United States Armed Forces, and Florida National Guard members. This amendment shall take effect January 1, 2023.”

If this amendment passes, it would reduce property tax assessments by $50,000 on homes owned and occupied by the professions listed above. While that may sound on the surface to be a nice thing to do for people doing necessary jobs we appreciate, if you think it through, it is absolutely horrible policy. Taxes should be low and broadly spread. When special exemptions are given to certain classes of people, it just increases the tax burden of those not in those certain classes.

Keep in mind that all homesteaded Floridians already have a $50,000 exemption on their assessed values. This amendment would double it for those preferred classes. Something else that is worth pointing out with regard to this amendment is that property taxes in Florida fund local governments and local school systems. But this amendment was proposed by the state legislature. In other words, STATE lawmakers voted to reduce taxes at the LOCAL level, while leaving state funding unaffected. But if this bad amendment passes, those state lawmakers will brag to the voters about how they implemented a massive tax cut. And those voters will be so uninformed that they won't realize that the tax cuts would affect LOCAL tax revenue not state tax revenue.

To be clear, the proposed tax exemption would not reduce the school board portion of one's tax bill. Why is that? Because the state budget helps fund education all across Florida, so if school board taxes to fund local schools were cut, the state would need to make up the shortfall. But when other county and city services revenues are cut, the state legislature is under no obligation to help make up the shortfall at all.

If you want to make the argument that property taxes are too high, that's something I won't counter. But if property taxes are too high, the solution is to cut property taxes for everyone not just for a select few. And if you want to make the argument that teachers, police, firefighters, military, etc. are underpaid, I won't take the time here to convince you otherwise - even though most are not underpaid. But even if they were underpaid, and that was the justification to give them a special tax break, the remedy for low pay is not special tax exemptions. The remedy is higher pay!

Lastly, if Amendment 3 passes, those people's local property tax cuts would be automatic because the state legislature has already passed a law that would go into effect on January 1, 2023 if the constitutional amendment is passed on November 8th.

But it would be a horrible tax break for the reasons I just stated. And it would cost local governments an estimated $85.9 million in lost revenue for fiscal year 2023-24. And that figure would go up every year thereafter. The state legislature knows that that would be financially devastating to some small counties, which is why they would mitigate those losses of local tax revenue with an appropriation from the state coffers. How stupid is that? The state legislature wants to cut local tax revenues while at the same time promising to make up for the loss of local taxpayer money with state taxpayer money. It truly makes no sense whatsoever.

That's why I'm voting "no" on 3.

SUMMARY:

#1 - YES

#2 - YES

#3 - NO

Hey, Floridians! Fill Your Gas Tanks TODAY

October 31, 2022 6:19am

Gasoline prices are going to skyrocket nationwide after the election. But they're going up 25 cents in Florida tomorrow. So be sure to top off your tank today.

Did you notice the price of gasoline went down a 25 cents per gallon in Florida on October 1st? Well, it did. And it goes back up 25 cents tomorrow. Back in March, the Florida legislature passed HB 7071 which was a sweeping tax cut bill that included a one month fuel tax holiday for gasoline purchased in the state. Governor DeSantis signed that bill into law in May.

If you drive a vehicle that takes diesel, well, the Florida legislature didn't include diesel in its fuel tax holiday. But for those of you who've bought gasoline in Florida this month, you've saved 25 cents per gallon off what it would have been without the tax holiday. You may have noticed that the price has creeped back up about a quarter since October 1st, but it's still a quarter lower than what it would be otherwise. That upward creep in prices was not the retailers pocketing the fuel tax savings; that was specifically prohibited in the legislation. The rise in gas prices since the beginning of the month is due to a market driven price increase that would exist whether Florida suspended its 25.3 cent per gallon fuel tax or not.

Although I have saved that tax money at the pump this month, and I will top off my tank today, I did not - and still don't - support the fuel tax holiday. This month's gasoline fuel tax holiday collectively saved drivers in Florida $200 million. And while that's nice I suppose, it also deprived the state of $200 million in revenue it could have used to improve Florida's transportation infrastructure. I would have preferred to continue paying that quarter per gallon and seen our roads fixed.

But I'm not a fool. If you offer me easy and automatic savings, I'll take it. I just think it's bad policy. And no, that does not make me a hypocrite.

I recommend you fill your tank before the gas tax holiday ends tonight at midnight. If you buy 20 gallons, you'll save $5.00. You're welcome.

Biden's Use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Fund Democrat Political Campaigns

October 29, 2022 11:22pm

With Election Day just ten days from now, Joe Biden continues to use America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as his own personal campaign account.

When he took office on January 20, 2021, the SPR contained 638 million barrels of oil. Today, it has 390 million. Where did those 248 million barrels go? That 39% depletion went to fund Democrat political campaigns across the country.

To be clear, the money from selling oil from the SPR does not get deposited in Democrat campaign bank accounts. The reason the sale is funding Democrat political campaigns is because his sole reason for tapping the SPR is to aid Democrats in the midterm elections.

The American people properly blame Joe Biden for the high price of gasoline. The day Biden went into The White House, a barrel of oil cost $52, and the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. was $2.37 But on that same day, Biden issued an executive order that severely restricted the production of oil in the United States, and by June 2022, roughly 18 months into his term, the price of oil reached $120 a barrel and the average price of gas more than doubled to $4.96/gallon. Today, the price of a barrel of oil is $87, and the average price per gallon is $3.79.

Joe Biden is bragging about how that's $1.17 less than its peak. But he fails to mention that his anti-oil policies are still in effect; that prices are still $1.42 per gallon higher than when he took office (which is an increase of 60%); and that after the election when he stops tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, oil and gas prices are going to skyrocket again. Yeah, he leaves that part out. He leaves that part out because it would hurt the Democrats politically if you knew the truth. That's why he isn't telling you the truth. It's the same reason the so-called "news" media is also not telling you the truth. Because the so-called "news" media is nothing but the propaganda arm of the Democrat Party.

I know the President of the United States does not set gasoline prices. But his policies certainly influence it. And Biden's anti-fossil fuel policies caused prices to spike to a record high. Initially, Biden and the Democrats were fine with that because they thought it would force America to switch to wind and solar sooner than if prices remained low. But when polling indicated that those high gas prices would hurt Democrats on election day, Biden took steps to lower the price of oil, and with it, to lower the price at the pump too.

But did he do what would have made the most sense? No, of course he didn't. What would have made the most sense was to rescind his executive orders that restricted domestic oil production. Instead, he begged Venezuela to increase its oil production. And when Venezuela didn't, he begged Saudi Arabia to increase theirs. And the Saudis told him to pound sand. So he irresponsibly tapped our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

In 1973 and 1974, Arab nations refused to sell oil to the United States to punish us for supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War. We had long lines at gas stations, high prices at the pumps, and rationing of both the amount of gasoline people could buy and the days they could buy it. It showed how vulnerable we were to the whims of foreign suppliers of oil. We responded to that crisis by establishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 1975. It's an emergency stockpile of petroleum maintained by the Department of Energy that consists of sixty underground salt caverns at four storage facilities; two in Texas and two in Louisiana. It has the capacity to store up to 714 million barrels.

The idea behind the SPR was to insulate the United States against oil supply disruptions from things such as embargoes and natural disasters. And with 714 million barrels in it, it also acts as a deterrent to anyone even imposing an embargo. And that's because we'd have the ability to release oil from the SPR to buffer the impact of an embargo; for a while anyway.

But because foreign suppliers of oil know that, they know that an embargo would have to be long-term to have any significant effect. Keep in mind that embargoes hurt the sellers too, not just the buyers. So there is an incentive on the side of the sellers for embargoes to be brief. But if our Strategic Petroleum Reserve can eliminate or at least limit damage in the short-term, and sellers don't want to embargo over the long term, that is a huge disincentive for the sellers to impose an embargo in the first place.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created to protect America from economic harm imposed upon us by foreigners. And it also allows the U.S. to release oil to address short-term, emergency supply disruptions to a refiner's normal operations. It was NOT created to allow the President of the United States to manipulate market prices by releasing oil from the SPR when it benefits his political party. But that is exactly what Joe Biden did.

In doing so, Biden has put the SPR's oil reserves at its lowest level since 1984. And I should point out that it wasn't this low in 1984 because we were using it; it was this low in 1984 because we were still filling it from its construction in 1977.

As would be expected, Democrats and their allies in the propaganda press keep reminding us that Joe Biden is not the first president to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And that's true. He isn't. But he is the first to tap it for the sole purpose of artificially and temporarily bringing down gasoline prices right before an election.

When Donald Trump tapped the SPR, it was because Hurricane Harvey reduced supplies.

When Barack Obama tapped the SPR, it was because Libya cut production during its civil war. And he tapped it again when Hurricane Isaac curtailed production.

When George W. Bush tapped the SPR, it was because hurricanes Lili, Iva, Katrina, Gustav, and Ike seriously reduced the availability of oil.

When Bill Clinton tapped the SPR, it was because a ship channel closure temporarily blocked incoming shipments of crude oil.

When George H. W. Bush tapped the SPR, it was when the Operation Desert Shield military buildup became the Operation Desert Storm war.

There have been other releases from the SPR. I won't list them all here. But NONE of them were for the purely political reason of artificially and temporarily lowering gasoline prices before an election as Joe Biden has done.

His release of our strategic petroleum reserves has been irresponsible. And it puts this country at great risk should a natural disaster or some geopolitical event like an act of war or terrorism cause real supply disruptions. What Joe Biden did here was the equivalent of emptying 39% of the firefighting water tank, so he could fill the pool for a party. And if there's a fire, there won't be enough water in the tank to extinguish it.

Further, because we're now in a vulnerable position, that increases the likelihood that an enemy actor will take deliberate steps to disrupt our oil supplies because they know we can't survive as long with such limited reserves.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve should have 108 days worth of imported oil in it. But we're down to just 59 days of imported oil replacement - all because Uncle Joe is a disgusting and dangerous partisan. Don't reward his behavior on Election Day.

MY DATA SOURCES FROM THE U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION:

Strategic Petroleum Reserve Stock Data - https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=WCSSTUS1&f=W

Historical Oil Prices - https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=RWTC&f=W

Historical Gasoline Prices - https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EMM_EPM0_PTE_NUS_DPG&f=W

Domestic Oil Production & Oil Imports - https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_sum_snd_d_nus_mbblpd_m_cur.htm

Homeless in Seattle

October 5, 2022 10:10am

I experienced a couple days of being homeless in Seattle. It's not that I didn't have a bed to sleep in and a roof over my head. At night, I had both. But by day, I panhandled for money to help feed and shelter the homeless.

While most people simply ignored me, about five dozen gave me money. Cash handouts ranged from twelve cents to twenty dollars. The most common verbalized reason not to give was "I don't have any cash on me." But I am certain the majority who said that just figured it was a kind way of saying "no" in a manner that could not be overcome.

So I set up a Venmo account with a QR Code, so people without cash could quickly and easily donate. The next day, when people would tell me they had no cash on them, I'd reply, "I can take Venmo. Just click on this QR Code" while flipping one edge of my sign to reveal the QR Code. And while that didn't get everyone to donate, it did encourage some allegedly cashless people to donate. When I responded with my Venmo payment information to one guy who said he had no cash on him, he laughed, said, "Oh my god, that's hilarious," scanned the QR code and sent me $20, which dinged my cell phone in less than two minutes.

In about six hours over two days, I collected $153.56 in handouts. That works out to be an hourly income of $25.59. Pretty good, huh? But I kept none of it. I donated the full $153.56 to the Waterfront Rescue Mission in Pensacola. It is a Christian mission that feeds and shelters the homeless while providing drug & alcohol recovery treatment to those who need it. Most of the homeless who graduate from the mission’s vocational training program get jobs and go on to be productive members of society. The mission's work is highly effective. And they are very good stewards of the money people donate to help support the cause.

Over the years, the Waterfront Rescue Mission has improved countless lives. For more than two decades, I have supported their mission with donations, free radio commercials, and through radio interviews with its management team and some of the people whose lives were saved because people cared enough to care.

If you would like to donate money to support the very good work of the Waterfront Rescue Mission, online donations can be made at www.WaterfrontMission.org

The above photos are a collection of some photographs taken during my two days being "Homeless in Seattle."

Why Student Loans Should Not Be Dischargeable in Bankruptcy

September 26, 2022 9:26am

There was a time when student loan debt could be discharged in bankruptcy. But that changed in 2005 when Congress overhauled America's bankruptcy laws via the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act.

It was a bipartisan bill that President George W. Bush signed into law. Do you know which Democrat Senator supported it most? I'll give you a hint. He was a senator from Delaware. Yep! That's right. Senator Joe Biden was one of the most vocal supporters of no longer allowing student loan debt to be discharged in bankruptcy. Why was that? Was it because he genuinely thought people should pay back their student loans? Doubtful. It was probably because Delaware is the corporate home for some of America's largest banks, and the banking industry gave him millions in campaign donations.

In the preceding ten years, from 1995 to 2005, the amount of outstanding student loan debt borrowed from private financial institutions nearly tripled from $56 billion to $150 billion. It made student loan debt rank second only to home mortgages in terms of total money owed. And passage of that Act triggered an explosion in the amount of student loans made private lenders. Why? Because those lenders, with student loans no longer being dischargeable in bankruptcy, were far more likely to get repaid. So they started loaning money to pretty much any student who would sign on the dotted line. And that easy money then triggered a massive surge in tuition, room, and board at America's colleges and universities. And why wouldn’t it? Just as easy money for sub-prime mortgages triggered a massive spike in real estate prices that ultimately crashed and caused the housing crisis and great recession of 2008, easy money for college triggered a massive spike is college costs. But widespread college loan defaults didn't materialize because student loans could no longer be discharged by declaring bankruptcy.

Student loan debt should absolutely NOT be dischargeable in bankruptcy. If student debt could be discharged via bankruptcy, most students would take out as much debt as possible, live in luxury while in college, and then declare bankruptcy upon graduation. Sure, their credit scores would be lousy for seven years. But it would likely be far more financially rewarding than paying off the debts they incurred.

Colleges would also massively increase tuition, room, board, etc. And with no way to "repossess" an education, the taxpayers would be screwed even more than they're currently getting screwed.

Despite bi-partisan attempts to make student loan debt dischargeable in bankruptcy, it would be disastrous policy.