RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://issuesinsights.com/2022/09/22/the-medias-desantis-is-worse-than-trump-campaign-begins/

When New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie wrote a love letter of sorts to Donald Trump and his “soft edges and eccentricity,” it didn’t take long for people to see this for what it is: an opening salvo by the press to start demonizing the next Republican.

In his column, Bouie coos about how Trump is “funny, he has stage presence, and he has a kind of natural charisma. He can be a bully in part because he can temper his cruelty and egoism with the performance of a clown or a showman. He can persuade an audience that he’s just kidding — that he doesn’t actually mean it.”

Anyone not blinded by Trump hatred would probably agree with this description. But it is Bouie who doesn’t actually mean what he’s saying.

Bouie is a guy who, when Trump first ran for president, declared definitively that “Trump is a fascist,” and that this was “the political label that best describes what the GOP front-runner has become.” Then he spent four years recoiling at the horror of the Trump presidency.

Bouie’s new-found love of Trump has nothing to do with a change of heart and everything to do with portraying the other leading presidential contender — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — as far worse than Trump.

And the only reason to do so now is because of the fact that DeSantis’ recent actions have raised his profile nationally and increasingly endeared him to conservatives.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/3-ways-biden-makes-inflation-worse

The recent rail worker settlement reminds us that Joe Biden, far from fighting inflation, is actually enabling price increases, in three important ways. 

First, he will not stop spending. After crowing about the dubious deficit cuts contained in his Inflation Reduction Act, the president decided to cancel student debt to the tune of as much as another trillion dollars.  

According to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, in less than two years Biden has added $4.8 trillion to our long-term debt. That tsunami of government (taxpayer) spending is spurring the highest inflation in 40 years, crushing the well-being of average Americans.

Second, all the benefits being provided by an unpopular president hoping to buy higher approval ratings, like a 21% increase in food stamp outlays and canceling of student debts, are combining to keep people from having to go back to work. 

The single worst impact of the federal gusher of spending has been sidelining workers, driving up the cost of labor. The Atlanta Fed reported that wages rose 6.7% in August, a multi-decade high. The wage-price spiral is now a reality; the rail agreement, which sets a new bar for labor negotiations, just made it worse. 

https://thefederalist.com/2022/09/20/the-day-democrats-felt-personally-attacked-by-having-to-care-for-illegal-immigrants/

Probably the most fascinating part of the “illegal immigrants visit Martha’s Vineyard” saga from last week is how readily white Democrats revealed themselves as viscerally averse to coming in contact with poor brown people. They are in fact deeply put out by the very idea.

A video clip of documentary-maker Ken Burns went semi-viral Thursday showing Burns on CNN expressing that exact sentiment.

“This is coming straight out of the authoritarian playbook,” he said, referring to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis having sent about 50 illegal border-crossers to the pristine town of Martha’s Vineyard. “This is what’s so disturbing about DeSantis … to weaponize human beings for a political purpose. It’s like when somebody disagrees with him in Florida … he punishes them.”

Burns reemphasized that point, saying, “This is about punishing political enemies.”

It’s a shocking admission considering that up until then, leftists had proudly worn their bleeding hearts on their sleeves, typically accompanied by those obnoxious “In this house, we believe…” yard signs.

What changed? Nothing in terms of the actual problem. There are still hundreds of thousands of migrants dumping themselves into the care of American taxpayers every month. Over the past year, there have been upwards of 2 million aliens arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Other than July, every month of 2022 has seen tens of thousands more migrants than last year.

This is the case even though Kamala Harris — yes, the Kamala Harris — told migrants venturing to the U.S., “Don’t come.”

Well, they came. And despite pleas from Democrats in southern border districts pleading for the Biden administration to do something to stop or even just slow the chaos, leftists everywhere else told them to shut up and show some compassion. After all, Latin America’s destitute were only coming here for a better life. Is it too much to ask that the taxpayers of Texas, Arizona, and Florida provide that for them?

Of course not! But remember: We’re all in this together!

There’s no reason places like Martha’s Vineyard — described by CNN as “a summer playground for former US presidents, celebrities and billionaires” — can’t share the burden. It was only 50 migrants.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/the-moral-case-for-ron-desantis-migrant-transports/

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Wednesday, September 14, facilitated two flights of approximately 50 Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. This is part of DeSantis’ push to draw attention to the border policies of President Biden.

The commentariat from several sides of the political spectrum have questioned the governor’s motives. Many described it as inhumane and cruel – a form of human trafficking, even.

The moral opprobrium visited upon the governor is fatuous. There is a moral upshot to his actions that few, in their sentimental reaction to the plight of displaced peoples, will bear witness to.

And it is this: the plight in Venezuela is not accidental. It was deliberate, planned and orchestrated by the people of Venezuela. As several economists and political theorists including James Piereson have pointed out, for the majority of the twentieth century Venezuela was one of the most prosperous South American countries. It had a very diversified economy replete with plenty oil reserves that permitted the country to acquire export surpluses. As a result, people there enjoyed a higher standard of living. However, the people of Venezuela elected an authoritarian socialist thug, Hugo Chavez, who ran on a socialist platform. When he won the presidency in 1998, he—like all socialist leaders who rush to nationalize industry—nationalized the oil industry. He levied huge taxes on corporations, and he redistributed land and income across the population. Venezuelans allowed him to revise their Constitution which granted him a longer term as president, and which also gave him more power and gifted what they believed were more positive and social rights to the people.