Liberty & Prosperity Blog

Joe Biden isn't aware that he's a failure, especially economically. As this article cites, this was the year voters lost faith in Biden. When Mr. Biden took office, inflation was 1.3%. Today, it's 6.8% and rising. In his tweets , Biden claims credit for President Trump's economic policies. Instead of insisting on giving credit where it's due, Biden takes credit for what's happened: The economy I inherited nearly a year ago wasn’t just in crisis — it wasn’t working for working people. We passed the American Rescue Plan and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help change that. We’re rebuilding our economy from the bottom up and middle out — not the top down. — President Biden (@POTUS) December 29, 2021 That's an outright lie. Inflation was 1.3%, wages for blue collar workers were increasing twice as fast as white collar wages, unemployment for minority communities were the lowest in our nation's history and millions of people were lifted out of poverty....

The good news for Adam Schiff is that today is Devin Nunes' last day as ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, aka HPSCI. The bad news for Mr. Schiff is that Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy picked Mike Turner to replace Mr. Nunes as ranking member. When the GOP retakes the majority in January, 2023, Turner will then become chairman of HPSCI. The first time I noticed Mike Turner was during his cross-examination of Gordon Sondland, then the US Ambassador to the EU, during the first faux Trump impeachment. This is that cross-examination: At a time when Foggy Bottom is being its corrupt worst, we need someone who isn't afraid of taking on the Swamp. This is proof that Rep. Turner is smart enough, tough enough and willing to keep digging until he gets the truth. Turner said in a statement, "The House Intelligence Committee's work is critical to our national security and as the Ranking Member I am committed to supporting the men and women in ...

On Wednesday, I wrote this post to talk about the Strategic National Stockpile, aka SNS. The SNS "is part of the federal medical response infrastructure and can supplement medical countermeasures needed by states, tribal nations, territories and the largest metropolitan areas during public health emergencies." I learned that the SNS "team works every day to prepare and respond to emergencies, support state and local preparedness activities, and ensure availability of critical medical assets to protect the health of Americans." In short, the Biden administration didn't replenish the SNS in a timely fashion. That means that they failed miserably. They didn't "prepare and respond to emergencies, support state and local preparedness activities, and ensure availability of critical medical assets to protect the health of Americans." That's their mission. If they did nothing else in life, they had an affirmative responsibility to stockpile "medi...

Earlier this week, Joe Biden said that there wasn't a federal solution to COVID. Apparently, that's a CYA line that Mr. Biden doesn't really believe. It's apparent because the federal government is playing a role in COVID response with sending out much-needed supplies: The Biden administration has boosted federal support to more than 30 states over the last two weeks by providing ventilators, ambulances and protective equipment in the fight against the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus. The Strategic National Stockpile is something I didn't know about before this week. It's something worth knowing, especially during a pandemic. According to this website , "The Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) is part of the federal medical response infrastructure and can supplement medical countermeasures needed by states, tribal nations, territories and the largest metropolitan areas during public health emergencies. The supplies, medicines, and devic...

Yesterday, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid died at the age of 82 . He'd battled pancreatic cancer since 2018. Reid was best known for the lies he told against GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. In those lies from 2012, Reid said that Mitt Romney hadn't paid taxes in 10 years : "So the word is out that he has not paid any taxes for ten years," Reid said on the Senate floor in August 2012. "Let him prove that he has paid taxes, because he hasn’t." After he retired from the Senate, Reid was interviewed by Dana Bash. Ms. Bash asked if he regretted telling those whoppers. He replied "Well, they can call it whatever they wantd. Romney didn’t win, did he?" Here's that interview: Harry Reid was one of the most dishonest, hyperpartisan Democrats in Senate history. The world is a better place without him in it. The Senate is a better institution without him in it. That being said, I'm thankful for Sen. Reid deploying the nuclear option to...

It's impossible to read this bill without getting mightily upset. In Subtitle E--Testing, SEC. 2401, it says "In General.--In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this subtitle referred to as the "Secretary") for fiscal year 2021, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $47,800,000,000, to remain available until expended, to carry out activities to detect, diagnose, trace, and monitor SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 infections and related strategies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19." In short, Sec. 2401 instructs the administration to put together a plan "to detect, diagnose, trace, and monitor SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 infections and related strategies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19." To execute the creation of that plan, Congress appropriated "$47,800,000,000." (That's $47.8B.) In light of this information, the first question that must be asked...

Nikole Hannah-Jones is the personification of hubris. That's the first thing I thought when I heard about her interview with Chuck Todd on Meet the Press yesterday. During the interview, Ms. Hannah-Jones said that she isn't a professional educator. That's odd considering the fact that she's part of the faculty at Howard University . During the interview, Ms. Hannah-Jones did her best Terry McAuliffe impression. I'd prefer it if she'd find Dr. Fauci and take him with her and disappear. But I digress. During the interview, Hannah-Jones said "We send our children to school because we want them to be taught by people who have an expertise in the subject area. And that is not my job. When the governor or the candidate said that he didn't think parents should be deciding what's being taught in school, he was panned for that. But that's just the fact. This is why we send our children to school and don't homeschool, because these are the profession...

Joe Biden had the opportunity to stockpile hundreds of thousands of COVID tests. Unfortunately, Mr. Biden dithered and lost that opportunity. According to Vanity Fair's reporting, "With omicron cases spreading like wildfire, the White House is finally taking steps to make free antigen tests available to all. But this fall, Vanity Fair has learned, it dismissed a bold plan to ramp up rapid testing ahead of the holidays." It continues: The plan, in effect, was a blueprint for how to avoid what is happening at this very moment—endless lines of desperate Americans clamoring for tests in order to safeguard holiday gatherings, just as COVID-19 is exploding again. Yesterday, President Biden told David Muir of ABC News, "I wish I had thought about ordering" 500 million at-home tests "two months ago." But the proposal shared at the meeting in October, disclosed here for the first time, included a “Bold Plan for Impact” and a provision for "Every American...

It's taken me some time to figure out why parts of the US economy are doing great while other parts are hurting people. The truth is that Joe Biden's spending bills that are little more than payoffs to Democrat special interest groups have driven inflation in ways we haven't seen since Jimmy Carter was president. The bad part is that inflation is about to get worse. CPI is already at 6.8%. That isn't the worst news. The worst news is that PPI is at 9.6%. This headline is frightening serious economists. The fact is that "wholesale prices increased at their quickest pace on record in November in the latest sign that the inflation pressures bedeviling the economy are still present." The producer price index for final demand increased 9.6% over the previous 12 months after rising another 0.8% in November. Economists had been looking for an annual gain of 9.2%, according to FactSet. Let's be clear about this. Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi have pas...

Over 2,000 years ago, Immanuel was born. Translated into today's language, Immanuel means God with us. The Baby Jesus could have stayed in Heaven. That is His natural home. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the city of David. That night, Royalty (Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of lords) and humility momentarily became one. The second chapter of Luke's Gospel is often cited as the best history of Christ's birth. Starting in verse 7, it says "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in...

It's time to demolish the Biden administration's faux Omicron Variant crisis. In fact, it's time to demolish all future COVID crises before they appear. Tammy Bruce's column highlights the Democrats' next attempt at utilizing the COVID pandemic. In 2020, Democrats utilized the pandemic to push the 'need' for mail-in ballots. Republicans and independents should immediately reject that in 2022. I'd recommend that Republicans would use Joe Biden's words against him. During his speech to the nation, Biden said that 2021 was different from 2020. For once, Biden was right. In 2021, we have anti-virals, monoclonal antibodies, 3 vaccines (J&J, Moderna and Pfizer) and a nice variety of therapeutics. In her column, Bruce wrote: During the past month, it has become even more clear the Democrats will continue not to let the crisis of the pandemic go to waste. My past experience on the left tells me it will work to extend the COVID-19 emergency as the pretex...

Thursday afternoon, a jury convicted Kim Potter of 2 manslaughter charges. Predictably, politicians rushed to the microphones to express their opinions. DFL Attorney Gen. Keith Ellison held a brief news conference , saying "I'm mindful today that there will be an empty chair at the Wright family holidays, and I once again extend my deepest condolences to you. Accountability is not justice. Justice is restoration. Justice would be restoring Daunte to life and making his family whole again. Justice is beyond the reach that we have in this life for Daunte. But accountability is an important step. And a critical and necessary step on the road to justice for us all." At a 3:00 pm news conference, Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliot "began a press conference with several community activists, saying that today's verdict is an 'important moment,' but everyone must now 'fully commit' to creating a community where everyone is 'safe from police violence....

This past Tuesday, Joe Biden told the USA that he'd quickly flood the market with 500,000,000 COVID tests. According to this NYTimes article , that statement isn't the truth. They reported "President Biden promised Americans he is making 500 million coronavirus tests available free of charge, but help is at least weeks away, if not longer, for anxious Americans facing a surge of new virus cases." Before getting into this reporting, it's worth noting that the Biden administration isn't famous for getting things done expeditiously. This article quotes Adm. Brett Giroir as saying "I’d give [Biden] a C-minus on this address. He certainly had some important messages. I do want to emphasize that whether you’ve been infected before or had two vaccines, with omicron, it’s important to be vaccinated." Then he dropped the hammer: Everything else is really I think a drop in the bucket. 500 million tests over how many months -- is that going to be done? There’s...

It's certain that Democrats aren't finished attempting to drag Joe Biden's Build Back Better Bill across the finish line. Democrats have invested too much to quit at this point. Russ Vought's op-ed , though, makes it difficult for Democrats to get away with stuffing $5,000,000,000,000 of spending into a bill with a price tag of $1,750,000,000,000. It's difficult because hardline progressive Democrats, aka Democrat Socialists, don't want to eliminate any of their wish list items from this bill. Appearing on America Reports this afternoon, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke to that point . This is what Sen. McConnell said: "[Leader Schumer] can bring it up any time he wants to and he’s signaling they will try to convince the American people we ought to have the federal government take over all of our elections as well. I don't think they are giving up. They are what they are. They’re the party of Bernie Sanders these days. They’re going to keep...

Tuesday afternoon, Joe Biden had the opportunity to reclaim some credibility on fighting COVID. After reading this transcript of Biden's speech, it's obvious that Mr. Biden missed a perfect opportunity to boost his sagging approval ratings on COVID. Early in his speech, he asked "First, how concerned should you be about Omicron, which is now the dominant variant in this country and it happened so quickly?" Then he replied The answer is straightforward: If you are not fully vaccinated, you have good reason to be concerned. You’re at a high risk of getting sick. And if you get sick, you’re likely to spread it to others, including friends and family. And the unvaccinated have a significantly higher risk of ending up in a hospital or even dying. ... But if you’re among the majority of Americans who are fully vaccinated, and especially if you’ve gotten the booster shot — that third shot — you’re much — you have much, much less reason to worry. You have a high degree o...

It's pretty apparent that it doesn't take much to get under Elizabeth Warren's skin. When Elon Musk was named Time's Man of the Year, Elizabeth Warren jumped into action. Sen. Warren shouldn't have done that. Since then, Musk, the world's richest man and greatest innovator, has gotten the better of her on the battlefield of ideas. Years ago, G. Gordon Liddy of Watergate fame said that he wouldn't get into a battle of wits with an unarmed man. Elon Musk doesn't share that apprehension with the late Mr. Liddy. Since that opening volley of tweets, Sen. Warren has bought a bunch of Facebook ads criticizing Musk. The common themes of the ads are that a) Musk is a freeloader living off the taxpayer, b) we need a wealth tax so 'the rich' pay their fair share and that c) Musk "whines like a baby." For instance, one of Sen. Warren's ads says "Thin-skinned freeloader Elon Musk is whining like a baby because I want him to pay his fair sh...

Jen Psaki did everything in her statement except call Sen. Manchin a liar. Specifically, Psaki said "Senator Manchin’s comments this morning on FOX are at odds with his discussions this week with the President, with White House staff, and with his own public utterances. Weeks ago, Senator Manchin committed to the President, at his home in Wilmington, to support the Build Back Better framework that the President then subsequently announced. Senator Manchin pledged repeatedly to negotiate on finalizing that framework 'in good faith.'" Psaki continued, saying "On Tuesday of this week, Senator Manchin came to the White House and submitted—to the President, in person, directly—a written outline for a Build Back Better bill that was the same size and scope as the President’s framework, and covered many of the same priorities. While that framework was missing key priorities, we believed it could lead to a compromise acceptable to all. Senator Manchin promised to contin...

Joe Manchin just killed Joe Biden's Build Back Better Bill this morning. Perhaps the drama had dragged on too long for Sen. Manchin. Perhaps, he just got tired of reporters hounding him wherever he went. Whatever it was that pushed him to this point, that point has been reached. For all intents and purposes, Joe Biden is now a lame duck president. Though it's likely that Democrats will pass a stripped-down version of BBB, that's a far cry of the transformative, historic accomplishments that Biden was pushing for. Here's the video of Sen. Manchin's exclusive interview with Bret Baier: Here's the transcript of the news-making portion of the interview: BAIER: Senator, you are at the center of this negotiation with the president over his social spending and tax bill, a bill, the Build Back Better bill, that is not coming up in the Senate before the New Year in part largely because of your reservations. Without you, the leadership doesn't have the votes it nee...

Texas is building a border wall in the Rio Grande Valley, aka RGV. Henry Cuellar is considered a moderate Democrat in the US House of Representatives. That might not be enough to prevent him from becoming a former member in the US House of Representatives. According to this article , Rep. Cuellar is opposed to building a border wall, calling it a 14th Century solution. Cuellar told Borderreport "Border walls are ineffective, cause harm to the environment, induce severe flooding, and encroach on private property. “While Gov. Abbott wants to address the humanitarian crisis at the southern border, he must look to alternative solutions. I remain staunchly opposed to border walls, which are cost-prohibitive and ineffective. Instead, let’s focus on technology, equipment and personnel." The Trump wall system focused on the wall but also included technology, diplomacy (MPP, safe harbor agreements with each of the Northern Triangle countries), enforcement of US immigration laws and te...

Based on multiple articles, including this one  and this one , it's looking like Joe Manchin is living rent-free in the Democrats' heads. The water cooler talk in DC centers around whether Sen. Manchin will switch from being a Democrat to being a Republican. One thing that's certain is that CNN's Kirsten Powers is tired of Manchin being a Democrat. Appearing on Don Lemon's show, Powers replied to Lemon, who asked "So he is for the child tax credit, but he has been saying all along that he had a problem with the price tag and the scope, so why are Democrats surprised that this isn't going anywhere?" Powers replied, saying "Because the price tag has come down substantially, and at this point there is no reason for Joe Manchin to believe that this entire bill should be written to his specifications as if the only opinion that matters is his." Then she dropped this bombshell: Honestly, at this point I think it would be better off if he just becam...

While Joe Biden insists that "Americans unvaccinated against the coronavirus are facing a winter of 'severe illness and death'", actual experts like Dr. Marty Makary are spreading the truth about the Omicron Variant, saying "I would tell people to feel good about your immune level of protection. People need the booster unless they had Covid in the past already. That functions as a vaccine dose. If you’ve had the J&J dose, one was probably not the right number and you would need a second dose if you want good immune protection." Makary continued, adding "For everybody else, I would say there’s no need to do anything different. We’re getting new data now on Omicron, and it appears to be more mild. It will be the dominant virus Covid strain in the United States probably by February. I'm not sure that is something to worry about, since it will displace probably a more dangerous virus that is Delta." This is noteworthy: Makary said he refers t...

Mark this week down as the week from hell for Democrats. Joe Manchin saved America by killing the BBB Bill , at least until next year. When that bill died in the Senate, Democrats tried to pivot to passing their voting rights bill, which would've federalized elections. That pivot failed when Arizona Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema refused to eliminate or modify the legislative filibuster. That's after it was reported that Sen. Richard Blumenthal told "the Connecticut People’s World Committee, a group affiliated with the Communist Party USA (CPUSA)" that he was "really excited and honored to be with you today and share in this remarkable occasion." Guy Benson had the best line of the day yesterday when he said that he'd always hoped that Blumenthal's seat would "one day go red, just not this way": To highlight how far left Democrats have shifted, check out Elizabeth Warren's op-ed : This month, a majority of justices on the United States ...

It isn't easy to become a lame duck president in your first year as president. Still, that's a status that Joe Biden has 'achieved' with relative ease. This 'accomplishment' became semi-official when CNN reported that "Senate Democrats are expected to punt consideration of the cornerstone element of President Joe Biden's agenda into next year after private conversations between Biden and the key Democratic holdout made clear the bill would not have the votes to pass this month." That means that Biden's Build Back Better Bill won't be debated in the Senate this year. Sen. Schumer hoped that Democrats could start work on the Democrats' federalization of elections this month. That won't happen because Kyrsten Sinema won't vote for any changes "to the 60-vote threshold in order to pass elections reform." Politico is reporting that "Kyrsten Sinema supports the elections reform bill that Democrats are considering a ye...

If people doubted that Democrats have embraced full-blown communism, this article will end that illusion. The subject of the article is a celebration of the Communist Party of the United States, aka CPUSA. Participating in that celebration was Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. In handing out some awards, Sen. Blumenthal said " I am really excited and honored to be with you today and share in this remarkable occasion. There’s a lot to be working for in economic justice, in racial equity, in establishing a $15 minimum wage and holding corporations accountable for the basic treatment of the American people. We need to look at our entire tax system, beginning with Build Back Better." Excited and honored to be with communists for an award celebration? Seriously? Ronald Reagan relegated communism to the ash-heap of history by constantly preaching the gospel of liberty. This is the end result of Reagan's gospel: This was the catalyst that started the demise: ...

Larry Kudlow's opening riff contains some inteesting new information on Joe Biden's Build Back Better Bill. This new information isn't likely to push Joe Manchin into voting for the Bill. Contained in Kudlow's riff is a quote from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. First, let's look at the opening paragraph of Kudlow's riff. He opens with his old reliable of "Save America. Kill the Bill. That prospect is looking better and better. You recall Friday two game-changing numbers that may well have dealt the Biden plan for big government socialism a one, two death punch." Then he transitions into saying "First, the 6.9% consumer price index showed inflation is not 'transitory' and we sure don't need any more government spending. Second, the CBO gave a realistic scoring of the Biden monstrosity by making new entitlement permanent over 10 years or more, rather than the phony gimmick of 'sunsetting' after one year to hide the humongous c...