Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

Urgent Agenda has established an all-purpose email address.  Want to subscribe, send a submission to our Forum, suggest a story, tell us we're wonderful, tell us we're evil?  Here is the address:

allmatters@urgentagenda.net

We hope to hear from you.

I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas.  It's here.

SEPTEMBER 18-19,  2023

AMERICANS REJECT OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM.  The system itself is under fire.  But would a third party provide the solution?  From Axios: 

Americans' views of the U.S. political system have reached new lows, according to a survey that reveals near-record distrust of the government, disgust with both political parties and general exhaustion over all the divisiveness.

Why it matters: The survey by Pew Research Center reflects the growing distaste with the nation's politics as congressional infighting threatens a government shutdown and the 2024 presidential race appears headed toward a Biden-Trump matchup most Americans don't want.

Four times as many Americans have unfavorable views of both parties today than they did in 2002 — an all-time high, with Republicans and Democrats equally unpopular, the survey found.

Trust in the government is near a 70-year low, with just 16% of the public saying they trust the federal government at least most of the time.

Two in three Americans say they always or often feel "exhausted" when they think about politics. The top two words they use to describe U.S. politics are "divisive" and "corrupt."

Zoom in: The problem could get worse as younger generations make up greater shares of the population. Younger people are far more likely to be critical of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

37% of 18- to 29-year-olds had unfavorable views of both parties, compared to just 16% of those 65 or older.

A growing number of younger voters are rejecting the two-party system and claiming to be independent, as Axios has reported.

Between the lines: A third-party solution is not so straightforward, however.

68% of Americans overall say they at least somewhat wish there were more parties to choose from, but they're not convinced that having more than two major parties would make it easier to solve the nation's problems.

Only about a quarter think so, while another quarter say more parties would make solutions more difficult.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  This is a very well done survey, although the results are not shocking.  There is a general sense of the nation failing.  The last time we had this was in the late 1970s, when Jimmy Carter was in the White House, and the solution was Ronald Reagan, who was elected president in 1980.

Are there any Reagans today?  I don't think so.  What the nation needs is an individual who has exhibited greatness and is seen to be above politics – which is what the Republican Party had in 1952 when it nominated General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower as its presidential candidate.  "Ike" needed no introduction to the American people, and went on to serve two terms in the White House.  Name the Eisenhower of today.

September 19, 2023       Permalink 

HOW TO SAVE NEW YORK (CHOKE):  The brave New York City Council, which meets only five blocks from Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, has figured out the steps necessary to save New York from its current slide downward.   It is so inspiring to see devoted public servants at work.  From Fox: 

As New York City cripples under monumental budget cuts due to a migrant crisis straining public resources, the city council is planning to consider a series of measures that would, among other things, remove statues of major historical figures like George Washington and create a reparations task force. 

The items are included in New York City’s council agenda for Tuesday, September 19, 2023. The council’s Cultural Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing on a measure to remove works of art on city property that "depict a person who owned enslaved persons or directly benefited economically from slavery, or who participated in systemic crimes against indigenous peoples or other crimes against humanity." 

This criteria would include figures like America’s first president George Washington, Dutch governor and New York settler Peter Stuyvesant, as well as Christopher Columbus – all of whom have statues throughout the city. 

If the Public Design Commission (PDC) determined not to remove the work of art, then it would be required to include a plan to install an "explanatory plaque" next to the work of art. The proposal would also require PDC to consult with the Department of Education to install plaques on sidewalks or other public space adjacent to schools named after a person that fits the criteria. 

Also on Tuesday’s agenda is a proposal to create a task force to "consider the impact of slavery and pas injustices for African Americans in New York City and reparations for such injustices." 

Other proposals call for anti-racism training for human services contractors and city employees as well as requiring the placement of an information sign near the intersection of Wall and Pearl Streets "to mark the site of New York’s first slave market." 

These proposals come as the city has been crippled under extreme budget cuts due to the influx of migrants the city's mayor says are straining public resources. 

NYC Mayor Eric Adams said last week that the influx of tens of thousands of migrants will bring a "financial tsunami" as departments are forced to slash budgets to accommodate the new arrivals. 

The mayor further warned that every city department will likely see budget cuts to address the anticipated $12 billion price tag of the migrant crisis. 

COMMENT:  I have no doubt that, thanks to the visionary actions of the City Council, tourists from all over the world will flock to...Florida.

The New York City Council is to the left of Lenin.  If Joe Stalin came to town, they'd throw him a banquet.

September 19, 2023       Permalink

SEPTEMBER 16-17,  2023

AGAIN, THE REAL WORLD RUINS OUR WEEKEND:  The Iranians, having observed American weakness, are demonstrating exactly how weakness is rewarded.  This will be a growing story, and a dangerous one.  From Times of Israel and news agencies: 

Iran has barred around a third of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s most experienced inspectors from overseeing nuclear sites in the country, the UN watchdog group said Saturday. The IAEA’s chief slammed the move as unprecedented and said it would complicate inspection of Iran’s nuclear program.

Rafael Grossi, director-general of the IAEA, said in a statement that he was informed by Iran of the move earlier Saturday. The lack of cooperation will damage the organization’s ability to “provide credible assurances that nuclear material and activities in Iran are for peaceful purposes,” said Grossi, urging Iran to reconsider the move.

Why should Iran reconsider?  Who'll stop them, Field Marshal Biden or Grand Admiral Harris?

“I strongly condemn this disproportionate and unprecedented unilateral measure which affects the normal planning and conduct of agency verification activities in Iran and openly contradicts the cooperation that should exist between the agency and Iran,” Grossi stated.

“This profoundly regrettable decision by Iran is another step in the wrong direction and constitutes an unnecessary blow to an already strained relationship between the IAEA and Iran in the implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement,” he added.

Grossi said the inspectors in question “have conducted essential verification work at the enrichment facilities in Iran which are under Agency safeguards.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also denounced the Iranian step, issuing a statement a day before he travels to the United States late Sunday for a visit that will include an address to the UN General Assembly. The premier has previously used his speeches to the annual forum to warn against advances in Iran’s nuclear program.

COMMENT:  What Iran is really saying is that it doesn't care what anyone thinks about its nuclear program.  It will do what it pleases.  And we are about to release some six billion dollars to the Iranians in exchange for a small group of American hostages. 

Our nation is run by fools, and the young people in our armed forces will pay the price.

September 17, 2023       Permalink

A TRUE BIDEN SINKER:  This administration's future may well lie with the price of gasoline at the pump.  From Bloomberg: 

Gasoline prices have surged to a record high for this time of year in the US, jeopardizing the fight against inflation that’s dogged President Joe Biden.

Average regular gasoline now costs $3.866 a gallon, a seasonal record on a trailing-12-months basis, according to data from the American Automobile Association. Prices have risen by 7.8% in just eight weeks in a rare late-summer rally.

The gains have been driven by increases in the price of oil, which jumped about 20% in the past two months. Top analysts from International Energy Agency and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have warned of a crude-market deficit through end-2023, underpinned by the extension of production curbs by Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Gasoline costs already accounted for over half of the increase in the August consumer price index. The continued escalation will likely stoke inflation further while eroding consumer confidence.

Biden last year released a record amount of emergency oil supply in order to tame gasoline’s record summertime surge. This time, the administration is trying to refill the reserves as the vast caverns sit empty, while Biden’s political rivals have seized on high pump prices as a means of criticizing his climate policies.

It’s also unusual to see gasoline climbing at this time of year, after the end of the summer-driving season that boosts US demand.

COMMENT:  Under Biden, the U.S. is once again dependent on foreign oil.  Under Trump, the U.S. became energy independent.   It is hard to see anything beneficial in Biden's oil policy.  It simply snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

It is not surprising to see Biden's energy policy hurting the American people.  It was designed by global-warming fanatics and left-wing Democrats who always put ideology ahead of actual human needs. 

September 16, 2023       Permalink