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Herein you will find our InsiderNJ 2021 Retrospective edition, which dives into the main currents of the years politics against the backdrop of an ongoing national drama.

State government does so much damage that as a coping mechanism one can at least hope for good theater. The trouble is that in addition to bad government, courtesy of the Democrats, we get badtheater, courtesy of the Republicans.

Take that little early December display by Assemblyman Erik Peterson outside the Assembly chamber, when he tried to turn his angst over having to display proof of vaccination into a West Side Story showstopper. This is America, Peterson railed in a stentorian voice, suggesting that he and Assemblyman Brian Bergen would burst into a George Chakaris-Rita Moreno rendition ofAmerica while transforming the statehouse into a New York City rooftop.

It never happened.

Peterson at best presented all the inspiration of Officer Krupke without a soundtrack, left to choreograph a YouTube temper tantrum, undistinguished by rhetoric, let alone singing and dancing.

At least Democrats abandoned most of the board list that same day, sparing the state another avalanche of things it neither wants nor needs.

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InsiderNJ 2021 Retrospective: Happy New Year! - InsiderNJ

The somber photos and videos that came out of Afghanistan this year led many to wonder whether the 20-year conflict was worth the cost.

According to the Associated Press, through April, more than 172,000 people (American and otherwise) have died in the course of the War in Afghanistan. The estimated amount of direct Afghanistan and Iraq war costs that the United States has debt-financed: is estimated at more than $2 trillion.

The estimated principal and interest owed by 2050: up to $6.5 trillion.

This war, as with much of government spending, isnt paid by money the government has. The money is borrowed into existence.

The financial costs of debt-financed spending by todays decision makers will burden future generations. The pain of printing trillions of unbacked bills isnt felt immediately, so the gravity of the action is subtle, but the end result is unavoidable.

When Congress granted then-President George W. Bush the authority to use all necessary and appropriate force against those involved with the 9/11 a week after the attacks, the federal government went down a course set for monetary ruin.

One dollar in 2001 had the purchasing power of $1.54 today. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 2.19 percent per year between 2001 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 54.15 percent.

That means that todays prices are 1.54 times higher than average prices in 2001, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, a measure that notoriously understates real-world inflation as a result of deploying clever hedonic adjustments, geometric weighting, and substitutions that tend to paint a rosier picture.

Said another way, a dollar today buys no more than 65 percent of what it could buy in 2001. And by other measures besides the flawed Consumer Price Index (CPI), it buys even less.

The governments borrowing has accelerated rapidly to the upside since the COVID lockdowns and emergency stimulus efforts. That portends potentially much higher rates of inflation ahead.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that world food prices [climbed] in November, [staying] at 10-year peak.

Substituting chicken breast for Angus beef or the less expensive chicken thigh for chicken breast might be an innocuous sacrifice, but what if you are now having trouble affording chicken at all?

Inflation harms the poorest among us. Individuals with means can invest in assets that protect against dollar devaluation. Gold and silver, real estate, even the stock market.

But what about wage earners? Senior citizens on fixed income? Those trying to save a little extra for the future?

Those most harmed by the increased costs are those already struggling to afford these things. Dollar menus at fast food restaurants have vanished while the costs of homes, food, cars, college tuition, and medicine have soared.

One of sound moneys most central features is that it restricts government spending to only what can be extracted from the populace through taxation. A print-and-spend approach to monetary policy enables wasteful and fruitless government expenditures, such as, for example, unpopular decades-long wars.

For 20 years, Americans fought a war that cost thousands of lives and trillions of dollars. Many are left questioning whether the cost of this war was worth it.

There are many costs that are apparent, but the sapping away of the dollars purchasing powerand the theft of wealth from all of those who hold it is one of the greatest costs of all.

Originally published by Sound Money Defense League

Read this article:
The (Hidden) Costs of the Afghanistan War - Foundation for Economic Education

The Wisconsin Badgers football team (9-4 overall) finished off their 2021 season with a 20-13 win over Arizona State on Thursday night in the Las Vegas Bowl. Despite playing without multiple traditional starters, the Badgers managed to take care of business and leave Vegas with some new hardware.

Lets dive into three storylines that emerged from the win.

As mentioned in the lede, the Badgers were without some key pieces against ASU. On defense, without Faion Hicks and Collin Wilder in the Wisconsin secondary, Alexander Smith, John Torchio, and Hunter Wohler all saw more opportunities. Linebacker Jordan Turner acquitted himself well in meaningful snaps to spell Jack Sanborn and Leo Chenal. Freshman outside linebacker Darryl Peterson earned reps throughout the game as well and bull-rushed the tackle across from him on Torchios early interception.

On offense, wide receivers Markus Allen and Skyler Bell each had critical grabs with Danny Davis unable to go and Kendric Pryor injured for most of the second half. 17-year-old Braelon Allen was his usual studly self with 29 carries and 159 rushing yards. Reserve tight end Jaylan Franklin and converted fullback Riley Nowakowski saw playing time as well in blocking situations. Lastly, along the offensive line, Tanor Bortolini and Cormac Sampson played well in place of Logan Bruss and Joe Tippmann.

Overall, the Badgers leaned on some of their younger players to help pick up the bowl win. At one point the weapons around Mertz consisted of three true freshmen (Braelon Allen, Markus Allen, Skyler Bell). While the results on offense were not always perfect, the extra reps from bowl prep and in the game could pay major dividends heading into a crucial off-season for the team.

Its hard to read too much into a singular game, but there were some positives to glean from the performance at some notable positions where these young players will be called into larger roles next season. Beyond the two receivers, Jordan Turner was a player that specifically caught my eye, and I also enjoyed seeing freshman safety Hunter Wohler bounce back quickly from a misplayed deep ball with a critical tackle for loss.

Jim Leonhards defense was once again active on Thursday. The Badgers managed to sack Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels five times and also forced an intentional grounding/sack as well on a trick play.

Sophomore Nick Herbig was particularly good in pass-rushing situations as he personally got home for two sacks, but I thought that the defense, in general, put together a strong performance. The Badgers held Arizona State to only 13 points and 219 total yards, while also adding a pivotal takeaway early to help give the offense plus field position.

Wisconsins defense came into the bowl game as one of the top units in the entire country, and despite missing some key pieces they did not disappoint. Even when the Badgers offense was sputtering in the third quarterback, the defense was able to notch a couple of big stops to keep the lead in their favor.

The Wisconsin defense is built on creating pressure and Daniels was running for his life throughout the contest. Given the number of young players that saw playing time on Thursday night, I would imagine that the group should be great once again next season.

Wisconsin held a 20-6 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, the offense laid an egg, however, and Arizona State was able to make things interesting by the fourth quarter.

Pinned near their own goal line, Graham Mertz and the Wisconsin offense put together one of their best drives of the season to salt the game away. In total, the drive took nearly 10 minutes off the clock on 19 plays, including multiple impressive third-down conversions. Braelon Allen toted the rock 10 times in that period, including a 14-yard pile driver that absolutely appeared to break Arizona States will. Equally crucial, Graham Mertz stood tall in the pocket and delivered a huge 30-yard toss to Chimere Dike while getting blasted by an oncoming blitzer.

Mertz and the offense were far from perfect, especially in the third quarter, but the group weathered injuries to secure the win on one of the top drives of 2021. Mertzs third-down throws were on the money most of the night and it was fun to see them come to the young guns in the wide receiver room. The interception early in the game on a poorly run route by Kendric Pryor, and off-the-mark toss by Mertz, was obviously not ideal, but it was nice to see No. 5 bounce back late in the game when the team needed it most.

That final drive was Wisconsin football, and that was a great way to cap off the season.

See more here:
Wisconsin Badgers football: three things that stood out from the Las Vegas Bowl win - Bucky's 5th Quarter

And so when asked if he is worried about the rise of authoritarian China and Russia, Peterson responds with: Im also worried about the West! If we got our act together, we could be a light to those countries.

China and Russia are capitalising on our corruption at the moment. Its bolstering the Russian regime in particular, and the Chinese regime to some degree.

Western corruption, in this context, is our foolish demolition of our own traditions. There are many people in Russia, Hungary, Poland who are looking at whats happening in the more liberal West and saying no, were not doing that here, and they might be erring too much in the opposite direction. These things are always subject to debate, which is the whole purpose of freedom of speech, by the way. But again, we look to ourselves first.

Looking to oneself, whether as a nation or as individuals, forms a significant part of Petersons philosophy: If we are better at being what we could be, then the alternative would look less attractive. Thats a good doctrine for life, isnt it?

This self-reflection and self-criticism also plays a crucial role towards building bridges and crossing divides. That, and judicious praise of ones opponent where its due, as he likes to make a point of doing, whether lauding US Presidents Joe Bidens Bipartisan Infrastructure Law on Twitter and braving vitriol, or travelling to Washington DC to bring together politicians across the aisle, as he is scheduled to do in January.

The proper idea, he says, drawing again on his background as a psychologist, is to look at the benevolence and the capacity for atrocity that characterises you. Because if you dont see that within you, as the responsibility you have in relation to ethical struggle and in relation to conducting an ethical life, then you will absolutely see it in someone else, because it absolutely exists and has to find its place.

Can this self-awareness, or even guilt which the Left has been extremely good at weaponising be channelled to achieve something positive? It must, says Peterson: Anyone with any sense who has any privilege has guilt about it. We know perfectly well that we are the undeserving beneficiaries in some sense of what our culture and our parents have arbitrarily bestowed upon us, where arbitrary means not through our own efforts.

One must then try to live a life that justifies those advantages. You take the burden of the catastrophe of history on to yourself and you take that seriously. And so then you try to act like a noble and outstanding person, moving forward. If you dont do that youll suffer for it. Because we have a conscience and it will take us to task.

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Jordan Peterson: 'If you can't say what you think, soon you won't be able to think' - Telegraph.co.uk

Saturday Night Live blasted Dr. Anthony Fauci and Chris and Andrew Cuomo this weekend in a skit showing how the holidays will have to be different this year amid the omicron variant.

Fauci , played by Kate McKinnon, explains to the audience that members of the CDC will act out scenarios to demonstrate how to behave during holiday travel and events. The first scenario is a man who wishes to eat Christmas dinner at a restaurant but has lost his vaccination card.

JORDAN PETERSON SAYS HE WAS LIED TO: 'I'LL GET THE VACCINE IF YOU F***ING LEAVE ME ALONE. AND DID THAT WORK? NO'

"You mean you lost the little 1-inch piece of cardboard they gave you?" a waitress questions the man. "Then you are banished from society. Have fun living in the woods."

Another scenario is of a little girl who wants to sit on Santa's lap and ask him for Christmas presents, but Santa has had some strange side effects from the vaccine.

"Sorry, you can't sit on my lap anymore," Santa says to the girl. "Thanks to the vaccine, my testicles have ballooned in size ... they're as big as grapes now."

Fauci quickly cuts the scene, saying "that's just a conspiracy theory, and I am concerned about that particular man."

The next scenario features the Cuomo brothers, who say they are both unemployed due to COVID-19.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

"Hello, I am disgraced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo," one of the comedians says.

"And I am disgraced former CNN host Chris Cuomo," the other says. "And we both lost our jobs, because of COVID."

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WATCH: SNL mocks Fauci, Cuomo brothers, and COVID 'conspiracy theories' - Washington Examiner