2022: A Retrospective

Member Group : Jerry Shenk

Sure, inflation continued to cut the heart out of lower and middle class family budgets in 2022, fuel prices sucked, poverty, hunger and homelessness increased, violent crime/criminal behavior spiked, and America’s southern border remained open to illegal aliens, drug cartels, disease and general lawlessness, but the year did bring some humor, political, cultural and social curiosities – even a few positive developments.

Last year, the Biden administration supplied free crack pipes to users, presumably including First Son Hunter.

First Lady(ish) Jill Biden addressed a Texas audience during which she described Hispanic people as “breakfast tacos.”

Judicial nominee, now Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was asked to define “a woman” during her confirmation hearings. She replied, “I’m not a biologist.” (Nor am I, but I’m pretty sure I know the correct answer.)

In the “Revolving Door/Incestuous Relationship” category, White House Press Secretary Jenn Psaki resigned to take a job at MSNBC. Her replacement, Karine Jean-Pierre, formerly worked at – ta-dah! – MSNBC!

In late summer, President(ish) “Middle Class Joe from Scranton” Biden told an audience that he was raised as a Puerto Rican. Mainstream media showed little curiosity about Joe’s…curiosity.

Florida Governor Ron DiSantis caused a media meltdown by sending a planeload of illegal immigrants to liberal upper-class enclave Martha’s Vineyard, then trolled the press with a rumor that another flight would arrive in Delaware. “News hounds” who had long-ignored the border crisis descended on Delaware en masse to cover DiSantis’ “latest outrage.” The flight never appeared.

2022 was a lousy year for corporate media. Public trust in media cratered; subscription outlet CNN+ was rolled out, then canceled three weeks later, sending the company’s $300 million investment up in flames; CBS announced it was “pulling away from Twitter” following Elon Musk’s purchase, but relented after only two days; viewers mostly ignored breathless coverage of the House January 6 hearings; and committeewoman, nominal-Republican media darling Liz Cheney was beaten like a rented mule in Wyoming’s primary election.

An October NY Times survey revealed that 83 percent of likely voters believe corporate media is a “threat to democracy.” Over two-thirds of respondents called the threat “major.”

Twitter employees lost their stranglehold on free speech – and their jobs – after billionaire buyer Elon Musk released “Twitter Files” revealing that the company performed targeted censorship in coordination with the FBI and other federal agencies. The White House appears to be implicated as well.

A year end survey found that 63 percent of likely voters polled agree that the FBI should be investigated for conspiring with social media to violate Americans’ First Amendment rights.

Ironically, South Africa-born Musk has greater respect for and done far more to preserve Americans’ First Amendment rights than congressional Democrats and the Biden administration.

On the plus side of the 2022 ledger, the Supreme Court made some important decisions.

In June, the Court overturned an earlier court’s invention of a “right” to kill unborn babies by returning abortion policy to state legislatures where it belongs. Abortion is now illegal in thirteen states. Five other states, potentially more, have imposed partial bans.

Additionally, justices protected Second Amendment rights by striking down a New York State gun control law, stating that its “proper-cause requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defense.”

And, in an overdue smack down of governmental COVID policy overreach, a federal District Court judge vacated the federal mask mandate for airline, train, and bus passengers.

In 2022, parents, states and courts launched backlashes to the preposterous “trans” agenda. Alabama, Arizona and Florida passed legislation prohibiting doctors from performing transsexual surgery on minors; and Texas began investigating transsexual surgeries as child abuse. Other states are considering similar measures.

Virginia announced policies that direct students to use bathrooms assigned to their biological sex, and require parental approval for school personnel to address minor students by biologically-inaccurate pronouns.

Finally, and arguably most importantly, election integrity became a major issue last year.

States are pushing back on Democrats’ coordinated efforts to federalize elections. Many are tightening mail-in voting requirements and voter roll maintenance, passing new voter ID laws, address requirements and restrictions on Election Day voter registration.

Events in 2023 and 2024 will reveal if 2022 was a watershed year.

So, buckle up…

https://www.pottsmerc.com/2023/01/02/jerry-shenk-2022-a-retrospective/