I'm trying to recall who was the president just before Joe Biden. That man was very clever. He thought it would be a good idea if, given all the unpredictable strife and turmoil in the world these days, this country had energy independence.
So, he encouraged, permitted, and created incentives for business to produce all the fossil-fuel energy that the United States needed. And then some. A significant chunk of it stored safely in the ground in case a genuine energy emergency came along.
In fact, that policy of independence was so successful that this country could sell vast volumes of surplus liquified natural gas (LNG) overseas, reducing allies' energy reliance on unfriendly countries that tend to invade neighbors and producing large incomes to help balance Americans' large purchases from other countries.
Neither Americans nor their government needed to please or plead with hostile regimes in distant dunes.
Because all that was so beneficial for Americans, as soon as Joe Biden entered office, he began destroying that policy. He killed the Keystone XL pipeline. He canceled oil drilling leases. He prohibited sales of new drilling permits. He designated new areas off-limits to exploration. He restored regulations that complicate fossil fuel production and use.
That made him very popular among rich elites who fly around in private jets warning others to curb their carbon emissions and progressive political supporters who like government to be more involved in controlling civilian life.
And anyway, Biden said Americans wouldn't need the oil and gas when everyone was driving electric cars, which he put on the mandate schedule for 2035 or so. He'll be 93 then.
Today's power grid can't handle the energy demands of existing everyday life, let alone charge the existing lot of electric vehicles. But that's OK because Biden only thinks about the next election, and there are several more before 2035.
One state asked customers to refrain from charging cars during peak summer times when air conditioners were overloading the system. And a grand government promotion campaign for electric vehicles backfired hilariously when Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and her caravan couldn't find adequate charging stations.
But then, as often seems to happen in this life, uncertainty and turmoil struck. One of those major oil producers invaded its neighbor. So, the world price of fossil fuels, which most vehicles still need, soared. And soared.
And that pushed the price of gasoline through the roof for U.S. drivers, who can't afford an electric vehicle right now. Many of those drivers are also voters who've seen their incomes dwindle under Bidenomics.
And because elections loom so large in what's left of Joe Biden's mind, he started to sell millions of barrels of oil that previous presidents had purchased and stored like a savings account in underground caverns in case a real energy emergency ever struck the country they had sworn to protect.
The only emergency that prompted Joe Biden to squander those savings was to the careers of politicians in the same Democrat Party as Joe Biden. Most of the oil he sold went to overseas markets and didn't really lower domestic prices significantly.
What it did do, however, was drain off nearly half of those 714 million barrels of oil that previous presidents had wisely stockpiled underground. Each barrel of oil produces about 44 gallons of petroleum products. You do the math on that.
Don't worry, Joe Biden vowed. I'll refill those caverns immediately.
Then, as some of us who've paid attention to Joe Biden's career have come to expect, Joe Biden went back on his word. He's not refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
He says it's too expensive right now.
NEWS FLASH -- Today's oil price will look bargain-basement cheap when we do have a real energy emergency. And half of our oil savings are gone.
I have thoughts about this.
Polls show that an overwhelming majority of Americans do not like the current front-runners vying for both party's presidential nominations next year. It hasn't happened since the election of most likely our greatest president. But this week's column examines the possibility of Americans opting for a third-party candidate.
The most recent audio commentary bemoaned the lack of real leadership in our nation's capitol.
The previous one examined Bidenomics as Joe Biden's Homebrewed Snake Oil.
We've seen such a volume of coverage on the intra-party scuffling to see which GOP clique of lunch-hour buddies will head the U.S. House of Representatives. Here's my take.
For a change of pace, here's one of the latest chapters on the war in Gaza and Joe Biden's symbolic trip to a war zone. Good thing Israel doesn't sell oil, or we'd be screwed right now.
And here's the daily Biden embarrassment where Mr. Empathy suggests Hamas has to learn to shoot better.
