I went down to the local Fred Meyer grocery store the other day to do a little shopping for the night’s dinner. I was finding everything I needed, until — the garlic bread. Oh my God, I couldn’t believe it. Not one box of frozen garlic bread was anywhere in sight. Damn you, President Biden, I knew I shouldn’t have voted for you!
Thus, I experienced what the media told me I was supposed to be experiencing for the past several months. My heart was set on my New York Garlic Toast, but I was forced to go without — because of Joe Biden’s policies. Luckily I survived the mental and physical letdown and still was able to have a nice pasta dinner.
To listen to our media, when it’s not telling us how awful the COVID-19 pandemic is getting again, they continue to pound the inflation and supply-chain issue that, to be fair, is occurring. But it’s not as bad as they make it out to be.
As we speak, America is currently experiencing the Biden Boom, an economic performance not seen in close to 50 years. But America isn’t buying it. The electorate is pissed, fueled by consistently negative media narratives eager to exploit our fears and skepticism.
Of course, the pandemic is part of that anger, and it should be. We are nearly two years in, and we have not solved this virus, nor has the rest of the world. The surge now is unprecedented since it all began. According to retiring NIH Director Francis Collins, we could soon be up to 1 million cases a day.
That number, to be clear, is most unsettling, and we should all be concerned. But we’re certainly much better off now than where we were one year ago. Nearly 62% of Americans are fully vaccinated, various treatments have become available, and as of now, we do not see a massive spike in hospitalizations.
And let’s remember, while the current omicron variant is astoundingly transmissible, the millions who have done the right thing by getting the shots are not ending up in hospitals or dying. Again, it’s the ones who have not received the jab who are allowing this virus to fester, continually mutating and wreaking havoc across the globe.
Thanks, unvaccinated Americans — for nothing!
Amid all of the doom and gloom, however, there’s a lot of good news on the economic front, and the numbers do not lie. Unfortunately, many Americans are refusing to acknowledge these facts. It might be because the media, and not just the usual right-wing suspects like Fox News, had been telling us that the Christmas season this year would be a disaster. Maybe little Johnnie wasn’t going to get his toys — all because of that Biden guy.
But that’s not what happened. According to Mastercard Investor News, holiday retail sales excluding automotive increased 8.5% year over year this holiday season. In addition, online sales grew 11.0% compared to the same period last year. Apparel, department stores, electronics, and jewelry all saw substantial gains.
But surely Americans didn’t receive these gifts in time for Christmas, right? Wrong. According to ShipMatrix, FedEx, UPS, and USPS, all achieved delivery performances on par or even better than previous years. They all planned accordingly and did what they usually do at this time of year — despite the doom and gloom predicted from Republican politicians and their pals in the mainstream media.
Who can forget the ridiculous question to Jen Psaki from CBS reporter Ed O’Keefe at one of her daily press briefings several weeks back:
“Based on everything announced today, can the administration guarantee that packages arrive on time?” We have our answer: People got their stuff. Strangely, though, I do not see any mass capitulation by anyone so far, but that shouldn’t surprise us. The bad news is good news for the media. Good news equals fewer clicks and lower ratings.
By the way, the economy under Biden is receiving high praise from a few publications at least. According to a piece in Bloomberg Opinion, Matthew Winkler wrote the following:
U.S. financial markets are outperforming the world by the most significant margin in the 21st century, and with good reason: America’s economy improved more in Joe Biden’s first 12 months than any president during the past 50 years, notwithstanding the contrary media narrative contributing to dour public opinion.
You don’t say. Maybe if more outlets begin telling the story a little more on their front pages, the American people might start to change their tune. However, and we can be sure about this, most Republicans in America wouldn’t believe any of it. Polls overwhelmingly show they judge Biden’s economy as being fair/poor. In April 2020, when Trump was president, they were nearly evenly split on whether the economy was in excellent or good condition or fair or poor.
I suppose when the number one slogan for Republicans these days is the derogatory “Let’s go, Brandon,” the current president could cure cancer and still be hated by most of them. So, we can judge their opinions on how the economy is going with a high dose of skepticism.
We have a lot of challenges ahead. The pandemic in the coming weeks could derail much of the good economic news or at least put a damper on it. We still don’t know how fast it will blow through the country. Hopefully, it will do as it has in South Africa and other countries who’ve already experienced omicron: sweep through quickly without a massive surge in hospitalizations or death. If that happens, hopefully, the economic damage will be minimal.
But as we speak, America’s economy is surging, unemployment is dropping, and people are spending money. Some in the media will report it as such; others will not. It always seemed that the previous president got the benefit of the doubt when it came to the economy. Or maybe it was because he knew how to use the mega-bullhorn a lot better than our current president — regardless of whether it was true or not.
The no-drama-Biden administration doesn’t garner the same attention from our media that the previous guy did. Perhaps they don’t like him because he doesn’t give many interviews. Whatever the reason, they simply aren’t getting the positive news out there the way it should. Again, the negative always gets the most attention. With America already reeling from COVID-19 fatigue, it’s going to be a tough road ahead as long as the virus continues to ravage the country.
But things are not as bad as they were a year ago. You may not want to believe it, but the numbers are the numbers, no matter how you try to spin them. I’m simply asking our media to tell us the whole story. Since they won’t, I will.
Some final thoughts on New Year’s Eve
I’d like to thank all of you who stop by here and read our posts. I realize how precious time is these days and there are only so many blogs, publications, and other media sources you can read in one day. So here’s to all of you who read and comment. I appreciate all of you so much.
As you all know, these last two years have been challenging to say the least. I promise you that I will still keep at it in the new year. I’ve not been as productive as I would have liked, unfortunately. I hope to be a bit better going forward. America, once again, is at a crossroads. Will we do what’s necessary to keep our democracy? Stay tuned!
Finally, and this is the saddest part. We lost our beloved dog Bentley on November 20th. My wife and I have been in a funk ever since. I never realized how tough it would be when the day finally came even though I tried to prepare myself for that very thing. He gave us nearly 14 years of joy and love. He was simply the best dog I could have ever imagined. Here’s to you Ben. Maybe I’ll see you again some day.
On The Fence Voters 
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