RICHARD FERNANDEZ: The Last Party in Davos 2019. “Who could have predicted that, three years later, the president of Afghanistan would have been driven out of the country by the Taliban, the global Covid pandemic would have displaced concerns over antimicrobial resistance, President Joe Biden would be begging Saudi Arabia and Venezuela for oil, Europe would be reviving nuclear power and coal, there would be worries over famine in the Middle East, and NATO would be on the brink of war with Russia invading Ukraine. The in-person 2021 Davos meeting itself would be canceled due to the Covid pandemic.”

JOE BIDEN DID THAT: Catastrophic Inflation: ‘I’ve Never Seen Prices Jump This High, This Fast.’ “This is what the early chapters of an inflationary meltdown look like. Last week, we were informed that ‘consumer prices were 7.9% higher in February than a year ago,’ and that was being touted as the highest figure ‘in 40 years.’ Of course, those that follow my website regularly already know that the reality is much worse than that. If the inflation rate was still calculated the way that it was back in 1980, it would be over 15 percent right now.”

At this point in 1980, the federal funds interest rate was nearly 20% as the Fed at least tried to tame inflation.

“The current federal funds rate as of March 11, 2022 is 0.08%.“

VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR WEEKLY INSANITY WRAP: We Need to Talk About Groomers.
Plus:

• Math is hard (for Pete Buttigieg)
• Teachers don’t know grammar but they do know microaggressions
• Nuance explained without nuance

So much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.

FOG OF WAR: The Problem With That ‘Russia Sought Military Aid From China’ Story.

“Officials familiar with the matter.”

Remember that phrase?

Remember that phrase (and similar ones) a lot from those endless “sources say” hit pieces on President Trump that turned out to be complete garbage made up out of whole cloth?

Read the whole thing.

DON’T GET COCKY: This Year’s Red Wave Puts New York Governorship in Play… for Real. “According to an internal poll from Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), the presumptive Republican gubernatorial nominee, Zeldin could beat Gov. Kathy Hochul.”

PRIVACY: Encryption Protects Ukrainians, Dissident Russians, and You. “No class of governments can be trusted with access to people’s private communications.”

OK, GROOMER: Chasten Buttigieg Leads Kids in Pledge to the Gay Flag.

POSTMODERN WARFARE: How hackers in Belarus are complicating Putin’s Ukraine invasion. “The railway attacks, which reportedly ruined digital reservations and scheduling and possibly hobbled Russian troops’ ability to move through the country, was the work of the Cyber Partisans, a group of tech industry veterans from Belarus trying to tear down the country’s regime from their keyboards. As Russian troops prepared to enter Ukraine from Belarus, the hackers decided to target one of Putin’s key networks.”

PJ MEDIA VIP ROUNDUP: Don’t forget that VODKAPUNDIT promo code if you’ve been thinking of joining us.

Kevin Downey Jr: When Demand for Racism Exceeds Supply, Fake It! Guess Who Scribbled an ‘N’ Bomb on a High School Wall This Time. “There has been yet another Jussie Smollett copycat caper of racial hatred that doesn’t exist, this time at Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women in Rochester, N.Y.”

Matt Margolis: The Case Against the National Popular Vote Compact. ““The NPV plan was developed by Democrats, the NPV campaign is controlled and funded by Democrats, and only blue states have joined the NPV compact.”

Yours Truly: Drink More Margaritas: Yellen Says Inflation Will Remain ‘Uncomfortable’ All Year. “With food prices up 20% over the last year, gas prices doubled, new car prices up 13%, used car prices up 40%, near-zero interest rates making borrowing all-too-easy, and Washington adding another $1.5 trillion in funny money to the bonfire of Joe Biden’s vanities…”

DON’T BE EVIL: Google ‘hijacked millions of customers and orders’ from restaurants, lawsuit says. “Google never bothered to obtain permission from the restaurants to sell their products online. Google purposefully designed its websites to appear to the user to be offered, sponsored, and approved by the restaurant, when they are not — a tactic, no doubt, employed by Google to increase orders and clicks.”

KRUISER’S BRIEFING: Can the Democrats Avoid Disaster In November? “The Democrats would much rather keep floating false narratives than engage in any real introspection. Naturally, the mainstream media is on board with the prevarication as well. It’s gotten to the point where it appears that most Democrats believe their own lies now.”

HMM: Former National Security Adviser McMaster: Russia ‘Getting Desperate’ in Ukraine.

Former White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told CBS News on Monday that Russia’s attacks on supply lines in Ukraine — and its claims about chemical weapons — are a “sign of weakness” that shows the country is “desperate.”

McMaster, who recently joined CBS News as a contributor on foreign policy and national security, noted, “What you’re seeing is that Russia is really getting desperate — not only with this action to try to interdict the supply routes but also with trying to lay the groundwork for, maybe, the use of chemical weapons, which is concerning.”

He also said Russia will make any attempt to interfere with humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, including attempting to intercept supplies and military equipment en route to the country.

That’s when things could get seriously tricky.

Then again, the Russian Air Force hasn’t exactly done a great job of intercepting Ukrainian movements much closer to the Russian border.

CUT A LOT HARDER AND DEEPER THAN THAT: Fauci’s Job Would Get Axed Under New Legislation Proposed by Sen. Rand Paul.

THAT’S NOT FUNNY! Monty Python Star John Cleese Silenced for Joking About Reparations.

DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: Amazon temporarily relocating workers from office at 3rd and Pine due to crime concerns.

Senate Republicans Threaten To Block New Iran Nuclear Deal. “Any new agreement that ‘does not have strong bipartisan support in Congress will not survive,’ the senators said in a statement issued Monday and provided to the White House. The lawmakers warned the administration that if it bypasses Congress and agrees to a deal without first allowing a vote in the Senate—as is required under a 2015 law—they will do ‘everything in our power to reverse it.'”

In a 50-50 Senate, I wonder what that might be.

PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE OVERSAMPLING BEHIND THE CURTAIN: Poll Claims Americans WANT Elementary Schoolers Taught About ‘Sexual Orientation’ and ‘Gender Identity.’

NOT FOR LACK OF TRYING: Democrats Aren’t Getting a Mulligan on Defunding the Police.

BIDENOMICS IS RACISM, STRAIGHT UP: Inflation Is Taking Biggest Toll on Nonwhite Voters, WSJ Poll Shows.

Eight months before the midterm election, 35% of Black, Hispanic, Asian-American and other voters who said they were something other than white expressed that level of inflationary pain, compared with 28% for white voters. Black women and Hispanic men, both at 44%, reported the highest proportions of major strain among various demographic and gender combinations.

People with the lowest incomes also were most likely to report major financial challenges from inflation. Almost half with incomes of less than $60,000 reported major financial strain, while just 13% of those making $150,000 or more did so.

Some poll participants said they blame President Biden for inflation because he has taken actions to limit oil-and-gas drilling and pipelines in the U.S.

Roger Stephens, a 62-year-old mostly retired airplane mechanic who is Black and lives in the Harbor City neighborhood of Los Angeles, said gas is running close to $6 a gallon in his area. He is troubled by prices at the pump and those at grocery stores and restaurants.

“Uncle Joe has put us on a diet,” he said in a reference to Mr. Biden. “I like to have a steak once or twice a month. I can’t do it now.”

Previously: Don’t pretend that high prices and American suffering are a ‘bug’ for the establishment — it’s a historic feature.

SHANGHAI LOCKDOWN: Once Again, Xi Is Exporting China’s Problems to the Rest of the World.

A VERY PUBLIC EDUCATION: Dad seeks teacher data, becomes ‘Enemy # 1.’

KEVIN DOWNEY JR: The Top Three Reasons the Democrat Party Needs to Die a Quick and Brutal Death.

BIDENOMICS: Laid-off Keystone XL pipeline workers BLAST Joe Biden for LYING about American oil production.

“We should be able to sustain ourselves and not depend on other nations raising their price and then affect us. That shouldn’t even be in the question,” one worker told Fox News.

The Fox News reporter then asked: “If we want to get the price of gas down right now, we want to drop the price of gas, what do we need to do right now?”

“Put us to work right now. And you will see not only the fuel prices go down, but you will see the price of everything else go down with it,” the worker replied.

Workers then turned attention to Biden. “He’s pushing for solar and wind power, but it’s been proven over and over, that’s just not as efficient as burning natural gas, refining crude.” Another worked continued, saying: “We are sick of hearing, ‘This is Putin’s price hike.'”

We’re all paying for the trillion-dollar graft called “green energy,” some with their jobs.

CHRIS QUEEN: The Left’s Reactions to Conservatism Prove How Intellectually Bankrupt They Are.

HMM: US officials say Russia has asked China for military aid in Ukraine invasion. “Russia has asked China for military aid to support its invasion of Ukraine, according to US officials. US officials told the Financial Times that it is suspected Russia may be running out of weaponry as the war enters its third week.”

Is it true? Who knows.