America got more bad news on the economy yesterday. Wholesale prices rose last month at a record pace! They jumped 0.8% last month alone, and they’re up 9.6% over the past year. Inflation is running much hotter than economists had expected.

But just like the record surges in crime rates and illegal immigration, this record is not good for America. It’s devastating to small businesses, working-class families and seniors on fixed incomes.

Yesterday’s shocking report on the latest inflation figures should be the nail in the coffin for Biden’s “Build Back Better Act,” which should be called the “Make America Worse Act.”

The bill is a massive socialist spending spree, and the last thing you should be doing in the middle of out-of-control inflation is spending trillions more. But that’s exactly what Biden and congressional Democrats are trying to do.

They want to ram through a huge progressive wish list that the Congressional Budget Office estimates will cost $5 trillion over the next ten years.

Biden said that his plan was paid for and would cost “zero.” Well, the last time I checked, $5 trillion had 12 zeroes — $5,000,000,000,000. That’s an awful lot of extra zeroes for something that supposedly cost just one! And it’s a lot closer to the $6 trillion that socialist Bernie Sanders initially demanded.

This bill is a massive bait and switch! The budget gimmicks Democrats are using to disguise the real costs are beyond ludicrous. But they’re not backing off. Chuck Schumer is plowing ahead, and the pressure on Sen. Joe Manchin is building.

In fact, yesterday’s Washington Post had a front-page story going after Joe Manchin’s ethics. This story is a warning shot across the bow of Manchin’s houseboat!

The Post has been singularly uninterested in Hunter Biden’s ethics. But it’s going to dig deep into the finances of the senator from West Virginia who is standing in the way of the left’s dream to “fundamentally transform America.”

ACTION ITEM: Call your senators today at 202-224-3121. Tell them to oppose the Build Back Better Act. If you prefer, you can click here to find contact information to send a message online.

Exploiting Suffering

The massive recovery effort continues in my home state of Kentucky, where several communities were just devastated by tornadoes. As we deal with our own challenges, let’s all commit to praying for our fellow Americans dealing with tragic losses this Christmas.

When events like this happen, there are always heartwarming stories of heroes and good Samaritans who risk their own lives to help others. There are miracles — maybe a cross left standing amid the rubble. Such stories inspire us.

But something not so great happens too. Some people try to exploit these tragedies. Sadly, there are reports of looting and price gouging. And, believe it or not, some left-wing politicians often try to capitalize on the suffering.

The bodies had not been pulled out of the rubble before President Biden and other progressives blamed the tornadoes on manmade global warming. They then insisted that the solution was to immediately pass their socialist, big government programs attacking our energy industry.

Years ago, Rahm Emanuel infamously said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” Well, the people of Kentucky don’t want big government socialism. Most of them are traditional conservatives. Even more importantly, what Biden is saying is a lie.

Numerous climatologists have said that you cannot make a scientific case that the tornadoes that hit Kentucky were caused by climate change or global warming.

But whether it’s COVID or weather disasters, the left is always eager to exploit suffering in order to justify more big government power grabs.

Appeasing Beijing

Last week, the Biden Administration hosted a two-day virtual “Summit For Democracy.” It wasn’t necessarily a bad idea. I’d like to see a new global effort of free countries committed to resisting tyranny and oppression. But like everything the Biden regime does, even this event is causing embarrassment and concern.

Somehow several nations with terrible human rights records, including Pakistan and the misnamed Democratic Republic of the Congo, got invitations to the Summit For Democracy. Yet, the Biden White House did not invite Hungary, a free European nation that elected a conservative leader Joe Biden does not like.

By the way, Pakistan backed out at the last minute under pressure from communist China. That speaks volumes about Joe Biden’s influence!

But worse than that is what happened during the presentations. As a representative from Taiwan was speaking, a map of the Pacific region appeared behind her featuring mainland communist China and Taiwan in two different colors. All of a sudden, the video feed of her presentation was cut.

The official explanation from the State Department was that “technical difficulties” interrupted her remarks. But leaks suggest that bureaucrats at the White House and the State Department panicked because the map seemed to insinuate that Taiwan was a separate country and not part of communist China, as Beijing insists it is.

According to Reuters:

“One source said the map generated an instant email flurry among U.S. officials and the White House National Security Council angrily contacted the State Department, concerned it appeared to show Taiwan as a distinct country. Washington complained to Taiwan’s government, which in turn was angry that [the] video had been cut.”

Just think about that for a moment. This was a meeting of free nations called to discuss ways to defend democracy and resist tyranny. But the Biden/Harris regime was afraid of offending communist China, which wants to destroy democracy in Taiwan and replace it with communism.

So, they censored Taiwan’s representative in order to appease Beijing. Biden’s appeasement made a total mockery of the whole summit!