Forgive me -- I know that there is a civil war of sorts brewing between "moderate" and "progressive" [sic] Democrats, but I can't take it seriously. They are going to reach a deal, because they are not going to lose the opportunity to spend trillions of dollars on their political donors and patrons. They are incompetent, which is why they failed to meet their own deadlines; and they are dishonest, which is why Joe Biden promised Republicans that the $1.2 trillion "infrastructure" bill excluded everything that he later included in the $3.5 trillion "reconciliation" bill. They are also radical, which is why Biden has now tacked his campaign slogan -- "build back better" -- onto the $3.5 trillion agenda, as if he had run as a socialist, which is what he actually turns out to be.
But none of this matters. We don't have $3.5 trillion, or even $1.2 trillion, to spend. Democrats are claiming that the bill will cost net "zero," which is absurd, and shows just how little they care about "truth over lies," another Biden slogan. The idea seems to be that taxing billionaires and "trillionaires" (we have none of the latter) can cover the cost, somehow. But even if raising taxes on the rich could, theoretically bring in something like several hundred billion dollars -- at best, if you assume economic growth (which is slowing down) and minimal tax avoidance by high earners (ha ha ha -- just ask Biden about filing as an S-corp to avoid paying his "fair share." ) -- we still won't cover $3.5 trillion. We won't even manage to do it if we raise taxes on the middle class (inevitable).
This is just a debate about how much debt to leave to future generations -- or how quickly to push us toward default. For Democrats, it's worth it: the goal is to hook the population on entitlements that will be too politically difficult to remove, so that when default does come, its own constituencies are protected and it's the private sector that has to pay the price. Of course, once the private sector can't produce, there's less revenue... see also, almost the entire Third World, and the history of socialism everywhere that it has been tried.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
