A Frightening Study In Debasement — And More June 23, 2024 1. Andy Borowitz, famed for his satirical headlines, gets serious about V.P. hopeful Elise Stefanik. A frightening study in debasement. How good people can succumb to pressures that turn them into bad people. It happened in Germany 90 years ago, too. 2. This happened in Philadelphia Mississippi the summer I graduated from high school. As reflected on by today’s residents, black and white. One, Dawn Lea Mars Chalmers, was a freshman at Ole Miss when ‘Mississippi Burning‘ hit theaters. I was just so ashamed that I didn’t know much about [the murders]. I can’t even believe that the sensationalism of Hollywood is what made me understand what a big deal it was. I remember calling my parents and being, like, ‘What the hell?’ My father talked very little about it. [When] I pressed him, he said, ‘Dawn Lea, there are things that I just do not think it is safe for you to know.’ And that’s where he left it. All these years later, she concludes: “My God, can we not move forward while still talking and understanding what happened in the past?” 3. Campaigning on Inflation Leaves Egg on Trump’s Face — Yolk’s on Him. But as with immigration — his other big issue — the yolk’s on him only if enough people know the facts. And right now, most don’t. The fact on immigration, and the very real border crisis, is that Democrats have for decades been trying to work with Republicans to fix immigration. > Obama was all set to sign a bi-partisan bill that passed the Senate 68-32 and that would have passed the House with a bi-partisan majority — had the Republican Speaker allowed it to come to a vote. The Republicans killed it. > Biden was all set to sign a bi-partisan bill that would have passed Congress — and flooded the border with the resources and rule changes needed to solve the crisis — had Trump not killed it. But he did. That’s right: Trump killed it. He insisted the crisis continue so he could ride it to re-election, his only chance to shut down the three serious criminal prosecutions he faces. People need to understand: it’s his crisis now. He owns it. He‘s the only reason it’s been prolonged. He could solve it tomorrow if he told his stooges in Congress — like Elise Stefanik — to pass that bill. The fact on inflation is that COVID disrupted the global supply chain and sent prices soaring. Those high prices caused — and continue to cause — terrible hardship. But Biden didn’t cause the hardship; he averted a depression — while fighting to get inflation back down very close to where it needs to be, even as wages are rising and almost anyone who wants a job can find one. He wants to finish the job. Trump, by contrast, plans to send prices SOARING by imposing tariffs — which American companies and consumers will have to pay — on everything we import. And by tightening the labor market and disrupting supply by moving millions of undocumented workers into “camps.” (Of course, he doesn’t pitch it that way.) “Despite all the noise Trump makes about Biden’s inflationary policies, Trump’s own prescription—much higher tariffs, a politicized Fed, a devalued dollar, and record federal deficits—is sure to make inflation much worse.” If you can find time, read — and share — the whole piece. It even explains the price of eggs.