Lots of stuff on my mind these days, as usual.

THE NATIONAL DEBT

Back in 2018 I posted a satirical piece entitled “I Need a New Truck" analyzing the federal debt. At that time the debt was about $20.5 trillion and I was concerned (as should be we all). In 2018 the projection was that the national debt would hit $30 trillion in 2030, but as of 9:30am on 1/19/2023 the national debt is already $31,498,640,560,483. Yes, that is more than $31 trillion. Yes, that’s seven years ahead of projections.

And as you probably know, the government started to run up against that debt limit YESTERDAY and will be unable to pay the bills if the debt ceiling is not increased within six months. This continued borrowing is unsustainable, to say the least.

Now that the Republicans control the House they are demanding spending decreases equivalent to any increase in the debt limit. Congress has six months to work this out, but they won’t. They have six months to negotiate with President Biden to find a way to cut expenditures or increase taxes (the only two options if we want to stop increasing the debt), but it will not happen because of political posturing on both sides.

I agree with the demands for budget cuts. My question is why the Republican Party has suddenly found a conscience? During the Trump presidency when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress the debt increased by about $8 trillion (25% of 200 years of total debt accumulated in four years). Why is Republican debt acceptable but Democratic debt not? Again, it is all political gamesmanship, and the public interest matters not at all.

HUNTER BIDEN

Go to the House Oversight Committee’s website and you will see this headline in big letters covering the entire screen: “Biden Family Investigation”. The first sentence under the banner states that “Chairman James Comer and Oversight Committee Republicans are investigating the Biden family’s domestic and international business dealings to determine whether these activities compromise U.S. national security and President Biden’s ability to lead with impartiality.” So, what is the issue?

At the heart of the matter is whether Hunter Biden, and possibly his dad President Joe Biden, had questionable and/or illegal dealings with Ukraine and Russia and, if so, whether those dealings impacted national security. The Committee says that it is “committed to following the Biden family and associates' money trail—consisting of many complex, international transactions worth millions of dollars—and providing answers to the American people.”

As I’ve stated previously, if they find illegal activity then prosecutions should ensue. If they don’t, the investigations will hurt Republicans in the 2024 election.

I obviously have no idea whether the accusations are accurate, but Hunter Biden admits to rather sketchy behavior prior to 2019 in his 2021 tell-all book entitled “Beautiful Things". You might also be interested in this overview of a child he fathered out of wedlock in 2018 and tried to deny.

FENTANYL

Last year the Drug Enforcement Agency seized enough fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid, to kill every American. Arizona border patrol agents alone seized 1.5 million fentanyl pills in one week. This drug is now the number one cause of death among Americans between the ages of 18 and 45 ahead of auto accidents and suicide. The CDC says fentanyl is responsible for 70% of all American drug-related deaths and is also causing increased rates of homelessness and other personal crises. The number of opioid-related overdose deaths among those ages 14-18 increased 94% between 2019 and 2020 alone.

I support life sentences with no chance for parole for anyone convicted of distributing this deadly drug.

SHORT TAKES

• According to U.S. Reports, Missouri ranks 42nd in healthcare, 45th in crime and corrections, 30th in education, the state economy is 23rd in the nation, and the state’s infrastructure ranks 27th in the country. Further, Missouri ranks next to last in public school funding. But what pressing issue was addressed by the state’s lower chamber during its first week in session? Women’s attire. Female House legislators (43 of 159 seats) must now wear a jacket or sweater on the floor.

• Former President Trump, without evidence, continues to claim that the 2020 election was “stollen” [sic] from him.

• To convict someone of a crime “mens rea”, a “guilty mind”, is almost always required. In other words, someone must KNOW he/she was committing a crime. Mens rea could be the legal difference between the Trump and Biden cases if it is determined that one knew he was taking documents and the other did not.

HAPPY STUFF

• Since 1991 cancer rates in the United Stated have declined about 33% and the five-year survival rate for detected cancers has increased by 68%. That means that approximately 3.8 million Americans lived who previously would have died.

• In 1989 there were more than a million cases of Guinea Worm disease, a very unpleasant affliction going back thousands of years. In 2022 there were only fifteen cases worldwide, a drop of almost 100%.

• In Buffalo, NY a man broke into a school and saved more than twenty lives during the blizzard. He has been rewarded with Super Bowl tickets.

There is always more good than bad news, but the bad news certainly gets more media attention.

Have a great weekend.

David