Begging the Saudis — Biden’s “dog and pony show”

  

                       

 

In July 2022, President Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia. While there, he asked the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salam (“MBS”) to increase oil production to help reduce the price of oil and gasoline in the United States. This week, the Saudis and their OPEC allies announced that they would, instead, cut oil production by two million barrels per day!

Compare this seeming kick in Biden’s face with Saudi/U.S. relations during the Trump Presidency.

On May 18, 2018, Reuters reported

“Saudi Arabia welcomed President Donald Trump’s decision … to withdraw the United States            from [President Obama’s 2015] … nuclear agreement with Iran and to reimpose economic sanctions on its arch-foe Tehran.

 

 “[Saudi Arabia] said it would work with the United States and the international community to address (a) Iran’s nuclear program, (b) its ballistic missile program and (c) its support of militant groups in the region. 

 

“[The Saudis claim that] Iran used economic gains from the lifting of sanctions to continue its activities to destabilize the region, particularly by developing ballistic missiles and supporting terrorist groups in the region.” 

  

“Trump has frequently criticized the Iran accord because it does not address Iran’s ballistic missile program and its role in conflicts in Yemen and Syria, its nuclear activities beyond 2025, and the terms under which international inspectors can visit suspect Iranian nuclear sites.

So why are the Saudis cutting production rather than raising production?

Could it have anything to do with:

1.     The fact that the Saudis detested President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran? His removal of the economic sanctions the U.S. had imposed upon Iran? The U.S. giving to Iran, as part of the deal, billions of dollars which have been used to fund Iran’s proxy wars against the Saudis?

2.     The fact that then-candidate Biden, in a Democratic Presidential debate, following the assassination of opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi said,

“I would make it very clear we were not going to in fact sell more weapons to them. … We were going to in fact make them pay the price, and make them in fact the pariah that they are … there is “very little social redeeming value in the present government in Saudi Arabia, and, … would end the sale of material to the Saudis where they’re going in and murdering [Yemeni] children.”

3.     Would it be in the interest of the Saudis to see oil prices decline? Is it better of the Saudis to sell oil at $130 per barrel or $40 per barrel?

4.     Might it have something to do with Biden’s attempts to revive Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran? Is it in the interest of the Saudis to see Iran with nuclear weapons? Ballistic missiles? Funding proxies? Shooting missiles into Saudi Arabia?

5.     Does “MBS” know that if the U.S. wants more oil all the U.S. has to do is turn on its own spigots? Become oil again“self-sufficient,” as it was in the Trump years? 

                                                       Or,

6.     Do the Saudis know Biden really wants insanely high gasoline prices to force the American people to buy electric cars? Regardless of cost?

Is this whole kerfuffle is “dog and pony show” created to allow Biden escape blame for his own “bughouse” oil polices? To gull an all-too-gullible American public into finding a new villain to blame for high prices. First, Biden blamed the oil companies. Then Putin. Now, “MSB” and the Saudi. And now, rather than pumping cleaner American oil, he wants of buy dirtier Iran and Venezuela oil — from our enemies! It appears that when Biden pledged “I would transition away for the oil industry,” he meant only away from the U.S. oil industry.

To become King of France, Henry of Navarre converted to Catholicism: “Paris, is worth a Mass!” To become President, Biden belatedly “converted” to “The Green New Deal Religion.” He has said his goal is to force Americans to drive electric cars. Driving the price of gasoline up to $10 a gallon is the means to his end. 

One related thought: Three foolish Democrat Congressmen have now proposed legislation to punish the Saudis. “We see no reason why American troops … should continue to provide [weapons and protection] to countries that are actively working against us. If Saudi … want to help Putin, they should look to him for their defense.” 

This proposal is abject stupidity, comparable to Biden’s stupidity in forcing high gas prices. How is it to our benefit to have the Saudi, along with Iran, ally with Putin? 

The Saudis are clearly imperfect friends. But as between them and Iran, I choose the Saudis. Iran hates us. They were responsible for most of the IEDs that killed Americans in Iraq. They fund proxy wars throughout the middle east. The last thing we need to do, is force the Saudis into the arms of Russia or China. We allied with Stalin in WWII. The Saudis pale by comparison to Stalin’s regime. Obama proved we could shower the Iranians with $50B, and that they’d still hate our guts.

First Published in the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus on October 16, 2022 

Copyright 2022, John Donald O'Shea

 

 

 

 

Are you one of President Biden’s extremists?

Are you an extremist? A threat to our democracy? If you voted for President Trump and supported his policy of “Making America Great Again,” according to President Biden, it seems you are.

On September 1, 2022, at Independence Hall, President Biden charged,

"Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic." "MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of the law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election."

The following Thursday, Biden added in a tweet, "Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are a threat to the very soul of this country."

On Thursday, prior to Mr. Biden’s speech, his spokesperson, Karine Jean-Pierre, explained the President’s view of Trump voters:

“The way that he sees it, is the MAGA Republicans are the most energized part of the Republican Party. This is an extreme threat to our democracy, to our freedom, to our rights.”

Who exactly are the Make America Great Again Republicans? In both the 2016 and 2020 elections, Mr. Trump’s platform was: “Make America Great Again!” In 2020, 74,223,369 Americans voted for Mr. Trump. Weren’t his voters, at the same time, voting for and endorsing Trump’s MAGA platform?

So, who exactly is Mr. Biden labeling as “extremists” when he charges MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution? They do not believe in the rule of the law?

Is he referring to the 74 million voters who voted for Mr. Trump? Or is he referring to the relative handful of January 6th fools who broke into the Capitol?

Note Jean-Pierre’s “explanation” of the president’s remarks “the MAGA Republicans are the most energized part of the Republican Party.” Was she talking about the Capitol rioters? If so, aren’t almost all of them at the present either in jail awaiting trial or in prison? If Mr. Biden is indeed referring only to the January 6th fools, why not explicitly say so? Why label 76 million people who voted to “Make America Great Again” as “extremists?” “Semi-fascists?”

But then, criticism of Trump’s supporters has a long history. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton used the phrase "basket of deplorables" to describe “half” of Trump’s supporters.

But Donald Trump and his supporters are not the only extremists. Mr. Biden would include the six Supreme Court Justices who voted to overrule Roe v. Wade. Following the Dobbs decision, Mr. Biden condemned the six-judge majority and their ruling, labeling it as “a realization of an extreme ideology and a tragic error. … This is an extreme and dangerous path the court is now taking us on.”

And, of course, if the six justices who returned the abortion question to the states are “extremists,” it must follow that Americans who oppose all or some abortions” are also “extremists.” Jean-Pierre faithfully jumped in, and broadened the attack to include pro-lifers:

“When you are not with what majority of Americans are, then you know, that is extreme. That is an extreme way of thinking."

But if a May Gallup poll, and recent PEW poll are accurate, under Jean-Pierre's definition, it would seem the pro-abortion side is the minority, and therefore, the “extremists.”

Nor are parents who oppose school board policies spared being labeled “extremists.” Indeed, their fate is worse. The Heritage Foundation, in a commentary by John Malcolm, details how even parents of school children have been labeled “extremists” and “domestic terrorists” for opposing mask mandates and the teaching of “critical race theory.”

“In a Sept. 29 letter to President Biden, the president and the interim executive director and chief executive officer of the National School Boards Association claimed that “America’s public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat.”

Citing a spate of disturbances at school board meetings, "by individuals who were upset about mask mandates and critical race theory curricula, … and stating that such incidents were impacting the delivery of educational services to students and families,” the letter requested Biden to deploy the Justice Department, the FBI (including its national Security Branch and Counterterrorism Division), the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Secret Service (including its National Threat Assessment Center) to combat the supposed threats.

The letter stated, without providing support, that “extremist hate organizations” were showing up at school board meetings, and that these protests should be characterized as “equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes."

The letter demanded that “federal law enforcement authorities should employ the full array of tools at their disposal, including the Patriot Act, against these perpetrators of ‘domestic terrorism.’”

President Biden’s platform was that, if elected, he could heal the nation; bring Americans together again. He was a man who would work “across the aisle.” Were those just “campaign promises?” With all his name-calling, it’s as if he has forgotten that he won the 2020 election, and as if he is still running against Donald Trump? If indeed he has had a stellar two years as president, why isn’t he ballyhooing his triumphs?

First Published in the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus on October 9, 2022 

Copyright 2022, John Donald O'Shea

                               “Fentanyl killed 22-month-old.” 

That’s today’s lead headline in the Dispatch-Argus and Quad-City Times.

The article sets out the police affidavit, which alleges that the child’s mother and father

 “did knowingly use and sell controlled substances at/from their residence, which would create substantial risk to the well-being and physical safety of the victim, who was their 22-month-old son. … As a result of this risk, the victim was pronounced deceased, which the cause of death was later discovered as an acute drug (fentanyl) intoxication."

But was the fentanyl involved supplied by the Mexican drug cartels? What’s the likelihood? Perhaps we will find out if one of the cases actually goes to trial.

On at least two prior occasions in my op-eds, I have tried to raise the “hue and cry” as to the deadly dangers of fentanyl. On August 7, 2022, I wrote,

“Provisional data from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics indicate: … fentanyl … accounted for 71,238 deaths in 2021 ….

“The US Customs and Border Patrol website tells us that the eight South Texas ports of entry, during the year beginning Oct. 1, 2020 and ending Sept. 30, 2021, saw a 1,066% increase in fentanyl seized, and a 98% increase in cocaine seized.

“[N]early 4 times as many Americans are being killed by fentanyl as are being murdered by guns.”

Earlier, on March 17, 2022, I cited a proclamation made by President Biden showing his total awareness of the problem.

"I find that international drug trafficking — including the ... global sale and widespread distribution ... of extremely potent drugs such as fentanyl ... constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States."

So, what exactly is President Biden doing to stop the “international drug trafficking” (by the Mexican drug cartels) from creating this “extraordinary threat to the national security” by their “widespread distribution” of fentanyl?

What exactly is Mr. Biden doing to prevent 71,238 Americans from dying of fentanyl poisoning?

Specify any serious efforts Mr. Biden has made to close the border?

Instead, President Joe Biden blithely trips about the country, ranting that "Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are a threat to the very soul of this country," and raving that “"Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic." Not to mention, labeling a vague segment of Trump voters as “semi-nazis.”

And as he gallivants from town to town, thousands of American men, women and children are dying from fentanyl poisoning.

And while he reads from his teleprompter, the Mexican drug cartels are becoming ungodly wealthy and overwhelmingly powerful, as they daily seize control of more and more towns and regions in Mexico.

And why? Mr. Biden has made a crass political decision to keep the border open to illegal immigration, betting that those who cross illegally, and who are showered with taxpayer dollars, will be an ever-grateful and reliable Democrat voting block to assure the Democratic Party a permanent hold on political power.

President Biden turns a blind eye to the fact that in 2021 Mexican cartel drugs have accounted for 71,238 fentanyl, 32,856 meth, and 24,538 cocaine deaths. He turns a blind eye to the fact that through the first nine months of 2022, 750 migrants have died trying to cross the border illegally. And he turns a blind eye to the danger of the drug cartels that daily grow richer and more powerful, and to the fact that they are daily destroying the Mexican state.

We have a President, who rather than protecting the American people from the “widespread distribution ... of extremely potent drugs, such as fentanyl,” acts as “enabler-in-chief” for the poisoning of the American people and their children.

Joe Biden’s “approval rating” wallows in the 30s with likely American voters. His Democrat pollsters are polling the wrong people. They should poll the drug cartels. Mr. Biden’s “approval rating” might well exceed 100%!

Copyright 2022, John Donald O'Shea

First Published in the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus on October 2, 2022