Let’s go Joe!
Between January 20, 2001 and July 14, 2008 prices at the gas pump rose from $1.47 per gallon to $4.11 per gallon. During that extended price rise, two Texas oil men sat in the Oval Office and made decisions. Dramatically, gas prices fell to $1.61 by December 2008.
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney created an environment favorable to the Big Oil companies, and they drove prices up. Unfortunately, Bush and Cheney also removed restriction on Wall Street and created the worst recession since the Great Depression. That recession drove down prices.
When President Barack Obama took office, he stabilized and grew the economy. Obama cut middle class taxes, expanded healthcare access, saved the US auto industry and sparked the creation of 8.9 million jobs.
It should not have been a surprise that gas prices rebounded to the level Big Oil set. The market, however, couldn’t sustain prices at $4 per gallon. Consumers started saving fuel by driving fewer miles and driving more fuel efficient cars.
By the end of President Obama’s second term in office retail gas prices stayed consistently around $2.50 per gallon. In the four years Donald Trump occupied the Oval Office, prices at the pump fluctuated dramatically.
Prices started off at $2.56 and then rose to $2.96 in fewer 5 months. Prices then plunged in October from $2.90 to the January 2019 low of $2.23. By May they had swung back up to $2.89 per gallon.
Everything changed, however, in spring of 2020. Covid 19 began killing Americans and Donald choose to lie about it. Throughout the month of February he compared it to the seasonal flu.
On February 26, Donald said “This is a flu. This is like a flu. It’s a little like a regular flu that we have flu shots for. And we’ll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner.”
Covid was not like the flu. As it killed millions globally, demand for gasoline plummeted and so did prices. In April of 2020 they stood at $1.77 per gallon and only gradually rose back to $2 per gallon on Election Day 2020.
Since that time the unemployment rate in April 2020 high of 14% to 3.6%. In the first fifteen months of Joe Biden’s Presidency, the United States economy added 8.3 million jobs. It was no surprise then that gas prices rose back to $3 per gallon—right where Big Oil thought they could sustain them.
What was a surprise was Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine. It sent oil markets into a panic. That panic drove prices up to $5 per gallon.
Joe Biden, however, didn’t panic. He had a sure and steady hand on the rudder. America is sailing into strong head winds and making progress. The sure steady hand has helped bring prices at the pump down to earth. Let’s Go Joe!
Let’s Go Joe!
Between January 20, 2001 and July 14, 2008 prices at the gas pump rose from $1.47 per gallon to $4.11 per gallon. During that extended price rise, two Texas oil men sat in the Oval Office and made decisions. Dramatically, gas prices fell to $1.61 by December 2008.
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney created an environment favorable to the Big Oil companies, and they drove prices up. Unfortunately, Bush and Cheney also removed restriction on Wall Street and created the worst recession since the Great Depression. That recession drove down prices.
When President Barack Obama took office, he stabilized and grew the economy. Obama cut middle class taxes, expanded healthcare access, saved the US auto industry and sparked the creation of 8.9 million jobs.
It should not have been a surprise that gas prices rebounded to the level Big Oil set. The market, however, couldn’t sustain prices at $4 per gallon. Consumers started saving fuel by driving fewer miles and driving more fuel efficient cars.
By the end of President Obama’s second term in office retail gas prices stayed consistently around $2.50 per gallon. In the four years Donald Trump occupied the Oval Office, prices at the pump fluctuated dramatically.
Prices started off at $2.56 and then rose to $2.96 in fewer 5 months. Prices then plunged in October from $2.90 to the January 2019 low of $2.23. By May they had swung back up to $2.89 per gallon.
Everything changed, however, in spring of 2020. Covid 19 began killing Americans and Donald choose to lie about it. Throughout the month of February he compared it to the seasonal flu.
On February 26, Donald said “This is a flu. This is like a flu. It’s a little like a regular flu that we have flu shots for. And we’ll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner.”
Covid was not like the flu. As it killed millions globally, demand for gasoline plummeted and so did prices. In April of 2020 they stood at $1.77 per gallon and only gradually rose back to $2 per gallon on Election Day 2020.
Since that time the unemployment rate in April 2020 high of 14% to 3.6%. In the first fifteen months of Joe Biden’s Presidency, the United States economy added 8.3 million jobs. It was no surprise then that gas prices rose back to $3 per gallon—right where Big Oil thought they could sustain them.
What was a surprise was Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine. It sent oil markets into a panic. That panic drove prices up to $5 per gallon.
Joe Biden, however, didn’t panic. He had a sure and steady hand on the rudder. America is sailing into strong head winds and making progress. The sure steady hand has helped bring prices at the pump down to earth. Let’s Go Joe!
Did You Get the Memo?
Every August I remember our history. For professional historians, history is based on documents. Documents give us a look into real time events rather than looking backwards. Documents help us separate reality from storytelling.
On August 6, 2001 a Central Intelligence Agent handed George W. Bush a Presidential Daily Brief. Its title could not have been clearer: “Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US.” It laid out the history of “al-Qa’ida” attacks against the United States.
“FBI information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijacking or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal building in New York.”
Not only did Bush ignore this memorandum, his administration shifted the focus from al-Qa’ida to Iraq. They did not believe non-state actors like Osama Bin Laden could carry out an attack. Instead, President Bush allowed Vice President Dick Cheney to plan for an invasion of Iraq.
Domestically, Attorney General John Ashcroft moved resources away from preventing an al-Qa’ida in the US. In the summer of 2001 he developed Justice Department goals and priorities that omitted the threat from al-Qa’ida. In fact, his September 10 budget request cut counter terrorism funding.
This willful ignorance was a fateful mistake. On September 11, 2001, fourteen men from Saudi Arabia, three from United Arab Emirates, one from Lebanon and one from Egypt attacked the United States of America. Not one man was from Iraq. Not one had any connections to Iraq.
Just as the CIA and the FBI predicted, al-Qa’ida murdered thousands of Americans on our soil. They conducted the attack right under the noises of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
Bush and Cheney then launched a massive disinformation campaign to rewrite history and cover up their failures. By and large they were successful. Their ability to lie convinced the Congress and the public to attack Iraq.
The attack not only cost millions of Iraqi lives, the war cost the lives of American service men and women. It diverted much needed resources from the hunt for al-Qa’ida. Osama Bin Laden escaped justice until President Barak Obama redirected troops from Iraq to Afghanistan.
Today law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, are warning of more terrorists attacks. We have already seen many small scale attempts. These terrorists are inspired by Donald Trump.
We have the memo. We have the daily brief. Are you going to be like George W. Bush and ignore the memo? Are you going to take action to stop Trump’s Terrorists?
Team USA
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it gets better. Since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the global recovery from Covid 19 stalled. Global traders panic, driving up prices and clogging supply chains.
Market fears of a new, and wider, disruption never materialized, however. Energy supply remained strong, as Europeans carefully rebalanced their energy mix. The global economy slowed but did not collapse.
The temporary panic in the energy market hit American consumers hard. The gasoline panic drove prices at the pump up for several months, but they have now been falling for over two months.
Just as the price increase had a ripple effect on other goods and service, the decline has had the opposite effect. Prices are returning to normal and inflation is under control.
That is not the only good news. After years of searching, United States intelligence agencies tracked down and killed Osama Bin Laden’s right hand crony. Ayman al-Zawahiri’s death brought justice and demonstrated American determination.
American service men and women from wars past also found justice. Over Republican objections, Congress passed, and President Joe Biden signed, the PACT Act. The act reverses years of neglecting our troops.
Veterans from Vietnam and Global War on Terror had suffered from exposure to toxic chemicals. Know substances like Agent Orange and unknown substances from burn pits slowly rotted veterans from the inside out. The PACT gives them access to treatments for the first time in decades.
Relief is also on the way for Seniors. The Inflation Reduction Act allows Medicare to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs over the next ten years. It also caps the out of pocket prescription expenses at $2000 per year.
Democrats had tried to do more, but Republicans block them. For example, Democrats wanted to cap insulin prices at $35 per month. Republicans objected and forced this cost saving plan out of the bill.
All of this action is against a back drop of a strong jobs report in August. Shattering expectations, American employers added 528,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%. American really is back to work after the Covid recession.
We all have lots of good news to cheer. Our team is on the field competing against the world. Our team is winning. Will you join the celebration? USA! USA! USA!
Can You Tell the Difference?
Misdirection is a common technique used by con men. Con men create a distraction that looks threatening, and then they use it to steal from you. They could bump into you. They could even have accomplishes who start a fake argument.
Con men appear often in the Gospels. They did not like Jesus’ interpretation of the law. Jesus used the law to lift people up: feed the hungry, care for sick, welcome the stranger and safeguard the prisoner. The con men preferred a law that hurt vulnerable people.
One of the best examples of this Gospel meme appears in John Chapter 8.
“At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.”
John 8:2-11
Here we have the classic con men. Jesus was teaching about love, and the Pharisees wanted to discredit him by turning the people’s attention to crime and punishment. They wanted to incite the anger of the crowd to punish the woman and reject the Gospel.
Jesus, however, was not distracted. He simply paused and started writing on the ground with his finger as the con men badgered him with questions. Finally, he made a very simple statement.
“‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.”
“Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’”
John 8:2-11
Who is the role model here? Jesus or the con men? The one teaching love or the many teaching condemnation and punishment?
Both Jesus and con men heard the same scripture. Both could cite it back and forth to each other. They differed on how to live the words.
These approaches to the law make a very practical difference. Jesus’ way breaks the cycle of violence and abuse. The con man’s way encourages violence and abuse. Can you tell the difference when you hear a preacher or politician talking about the law?
Bad Apple(s)
Benjamin Franklin updated a Medieval saying: “the rotten apple spoils his companion.” This proverb has been handed down to us as “One bad apple spoils the bunch.” If you eat fruits and vegetables regularly, you know this to be true.
We also know it’s true for people. We want our kids to hang out with other good kids. We worry when we see one or two bad apples in the bunch. Learning to tell the difference between a good apple and a bad apple is essential to adult life.
Why is Donald Trump surrounded by so many bad apples? Does Donald hire criminals? Or does he turn them into criminals?
Just look at the number of Trump’s associates convicted of crimes or submitted guilty pleas:
- Steve Bannon, Contempt of Congress
- Michael Cohen, Criminal Tax Evasion, Campaign Finance Violations
- Michael Flynn, Lying to FBI
- Rick Gates, Conspiracy against the United States, Lying to investigators
- Paul Manfort, Tax Fraud, Bank Fraud, Money Laundering, Witness Tampering, Lying to Congress
- George Nader, Possessing Child Pornography, Pedophilia
- George Papadopoulos, Lying to FBI
- Roger Stone, Lying under Oath, Obstruction of Justice, Tampering with a Witness
This shouldn’t come as surprise to anyone. Donald bragged about raping married women. He paid hush money to a porn star in order to keep his affair secret. Donald bankrupted several casinos. He tried to extort Ukraine by withholding military assistance.
On one of his last day to occupy the Oval Office he sat joyfully, watching his mob storm the United States Capital on January 6. We know his supporters carried out this assault on American democracy. Prosecutors have secured 329 Guilty Pleas. Courts have sentenced 185 of these criminals.
These criminals were his supporters. No court has found otherwise. These criminals were in Washington at his request. Donald sat and watched as they hunted for Vice President Pence. These criminals wanted to obstruct the Constitution of the United States of America.
Donald’s aides pleaded with him to call off the assault. They wrote a script for him to read: “I want to be very clear: you do not represent me. You do not represent our movement.”
Donald refused. Donald struck through those words. Why? Because these bad apples DID represent him. He called them there. Donald liked the assault. Will the conservative movement keep these bad apples in their bunch?
Remember Your Constantine
The year 312 of the Common Era marked a decisive turning point in world history. A Roman general named Constantine wanted total control of the empire. Constantine waged war against his enemies to establish dominance.
Since the time of Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE), Roman generals ruled by force instead of election. The 300 intervening years had taught the generals that they needed more than brute force. They still needed popular support to avoid mob violence.
According to Constantine, he experienced a vision right before the decisive battle of Milvian Bridge. In that vision he saw a Roman military standard with two Greek letter, Chi (X) and Ro (P). The P was situated directly in the middle of the X.
Underneath the Chi Ro was a banner. It had a Latin phrase, “In hoc signo vinces.” It translates as “In this sign you shall conquer.” Constantine interpreted the dream to mean his army should adopt the Chi Ro as their battle standard.
Constantine won the battle of Milvian Bridge and went on to conquer the entire Roman Empire.
What did this mysterious sign mean? What power did it possess? The Chi Ro were the first two letters of the word “Christ.” Constantine rewarded the followers of Christ by issuing an edict of toleration, the Edict of Milan (313).
“your Worship should know that it has pleased us to remove all conditions whatsoever, which were in the rescripts formerly given to you officially, concerning the Christians and now any one of these who wishes to observe Christian religion may do so freely and openly, without molestation. We thought it fit to commend these things most fully to your care that you may know that we have given to those Christians free and unrestricted opportunity of religious worship. When you see that this has been granted to them by us, your Worship will know that we have also conceded to other religions the right of open and free observance of their worship for the sake of the peace of our times, that each one may have the free opportunity to worship as he pleases ; this regulation is made we that we may not seem to detract from any dignity or any religion.”
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/edict-milan.asp
Read the words of the Edict again. Notice Constantine not only allowed Christians to worship freely, he also asked them to recognize that “other religions the right of open and free observance of their worship for the sake of the peace of our times.”
This advice paralleled the words of Christ. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
For the next 1500 years, Christians emperors, kings, popes and preachers all ignored the advice of Constantine and the Law of God. They learned the hard way that “all who draw the sword will die by the sword. “ Do you want to make the same mistake?
I’m Staying
I love to travel. I inherited this love from my parents. Dad’s service in the United States’ Army opened a world to me. Our three years living in Germany had the most impact.
Weekends and holidays in Germany were an adventure. The Churches and the castles overflowed with history. The natural history museums literally had insect specimens held in place by pins.
Only when we returned to Louisiana did I learn that my experiences on Army bases were unique in other ways. Most importantly, life on base was fully integrated.
Of course Louisiana was legally integrated by 1977. Legally integrated and socially integrated are two different situations. Most people still lived in segregated neighborhoods and had close relationships with people of the same race.
Since those days America has continued to make progress. I say progress because this racial and social awakening has been good for America. We are coming closer to the American Dream.
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson proclaimed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.
Through most of American history this idea was not “self evident.” Laws and society discriminated. America placed obstacles in the way of individuals pursing their happiness.
Gradually, we have removed these obstacles. More and more Americans enjoy freedom. This is a good thing. I am proud to live in Modern America.
Are you?
Texas Republicans aren’t. At their convention, they directed Republican officials to prepare for secession. They want a referendum “for the people of Texas to determine whether or not the State of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation.”
How would you vote? Are you proud to be an American? Are you proud of expanding liberty and equality to all Americans? Or, do you want to go backwards?
Texas Republicans aren’t only concerned with social issues. They also want to give your Social Security money to Wall Street. Imagine if your Social Security money was in private hands and fluctuated with Wall Street’s ups and downs.
How many of our seniors could pursue their happiness without the guarantees of Social Security and Medicare? How much shorter would their lives be?
For me, my vote is always cast in favor of Modern America. My travels have taught me to appreciate who we are. I am a proud American. I am proud of who we are.
We are brave. We are welcoming. We are generous. We strive to be a better, more perfect Union.
I will never understand why Texas Republicans hate America so much they want to leave. If Texas Republicans divide America again, I’ll leave Texas before I leave America.
Only You Can Make it Better
Please read the names of the American children and teachers sacrificed to Second Amendment extremism. We need responsible gun ownership. We need a well-regulated militia.
Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, 10
Alithia Ramirez, 10
Amerie Jo Garza, 10
Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10
Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10
Eliana “Ellie” Garcia, 9
Jackie Cazares, 10
Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10
Jayce Luevanos, 10
Jose Flores, 10
Layla Salazar, 10
Makenna Lee Elrod, 10
Maite Rodriguez
Miranda Mathis, 11
Nevaeh Bravo
Rojelio Torres, 10
Tess Marie Mata
Uziyah Garcia, 10
Xavier Lopez, 10
Eva Mireles, Teacher
Irma Garcia, Teacher
We must do better.
America–Home of the Brave
On April 19, 1995 Timothy McVeigh attacked the United States of America. He murdered 168 Americans. Ten children were among the dead.
At the time of his arrest, McVeigh had excerpts from the Turner Diaries in his car. This 1978 novel by William Luther Pierce depicts a coming race war. White supremacists attacked the United States of American, hoping to cleanse the country of African Americans.
McViegh’s murderous bombing shocked the nation. Americans everywhere joined together to stamp out the militia movement. For several years leading up to 1995, militias spread anti-government hatred and promoted an armed resistance to federal law enforcement agencies.
Unfortunately, this period of calm did not last long. The 9-11 terrorist attacks and hurricane Katrina reinvigorated the National Rifle Association. It became the mouth piece for the gun corporations and spread fear and paranoia in order to sell more guns.
The NRA began promoting gun violence as the solution to social problems. Scared of a terrorist? Buy a gun. Scared of a natural disaster? Buy a gun. Scared of crime? Buy a gun. Scared of an immigrant? Buy a gun.
The NRA’s message of fear and paranoia fit in nicely with Australian billionaire, Rupert Murdoch’s agenda shouted on his new cable channel—Fox News. Murdoch favors vast concentrations of wealth and power. He knew that most Americans don’t have either, and he sold fear and paranoia as a distraction.
At first Fox’s message was relatively mild with men like Lou Dobbs and Bill O’Reilly peddling nostalgia for the 1950s. In the 1950s everyone knew their place. Women stayed at home. Blacks and Hispanics lived on their own side of town. Gays and lesbians lived in the closet.
Since the transition of Donald Trump from charlatan businessman to demagogic politician, the conservative rhetoric has become more vulgar. Trump constantly, and falsely, claimed immigrants were invading the southern border. He smeared them with false accusations of crime and violence.
On October 3, 2019, Donald inspired a 21 year old man from Allen Texas to travel across the state to El Paso and murder our neighbors. Patrick Crusius walked into an El Paso Walmart, and, using a semi-automatic rifle, killed 23 humans and injured 23 others. He wanted to stop “cultural and ethnic replacement” of White Americans by a “Hispanic invasion”.
Unlike Oklahoma City, this terrorist attack didn’t stop Republicans and Fox News. On May 16, 2022, Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney tweeted, “The House GOP leadership has enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism.”
Cheney was responding to the terrorist attack the day before. Another White Supremacist murdered Americans in Buffalo, New York. Will Fox News and Republicans stop inciting violence this time?