 You may have noticed this week that your gas prices have gone up. I want to talk to you a little bit about why. A lot of it has to do with Vladimir Putin. The White House is trying to blame record high gas prices on Russian President Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine. Defending freedoms is going to cost, is going to cost us as well in the United States. Facing collapsing approval ratings, Democratic lawmakers are echoing the same argument. New York Congressman Gregory Meeks announced that Americans should be happy to make that kind of sacrifice because in the long run, democracy is at stake. Even simpatico comedians are pushing the idea that gas prices are setting new highs because of world events. Since the invasion, oil prices have skyrocketed. Today, the average gas price in America hit an all-time record high of over $4 per gallon. Okay, that stings, but a clean conscience is worth a buck or two. I'm willing to pay. It's important. It's important. It's important. I'm willing to pay $4 a gallon. Hell, I'll pay $15 a gallon because I drive a Tesla. The sanctions that the U.S. and most of Europe have levied against Russia, one of the world's largest oil producers, were of course going to spook energy markets. But the so-called Putin price hike actually started over a year ago. Biden can't pin our 8% across the board inflation rate, the likes of which was last seen early in Ronald Reagan's first turn entirely on Putin. The main culprit is the massive infusion of money into the economy by the federal government and the Federal Reserve. Spending in Washington alone increased 50% between 2019 and 2021 on both Biden's and Donald Trump's watch. It's a surefire way to boost the cost of everything, as more dollars chase basically the same amount of goods. And when it comes to energy specifically, the Biden administration has pursued a number of policies designed to make it more expensive to produce fossil fuel energy in an effort to reach a goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. In fact, environmentalists cheered Biden's bold moves a week into his presidency as the most remarkable day in the history of America's official response to the climate crisis. They said it marked the official beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era. Biden's measures have included halting new permits for drilling and leases on federal lands, shutting down the planned Keystone XL pipeline and proposing the end of tax credits for new drilling and exploration projects. He's been joined by congressional Democrats who have been working to tighten regulations loosened during the Trump years and otherwise clamped down on oil producers. At the state level, they banned fracking in New York in 2014 and California has effectively stopped the practice in anticipation of a 2024 ban. Even when such moves have been overturned by courts or only affect future operations, Biden and the Democrats have sent a loud and clear signal that the future will be green, even if renewable sources aren't up to the task of supplying our energy needs. Currently, less than 13% of our energy comes from renewable sources, then even as wind, solar, hydroelectric and other sustainable sources do get cheaper and more reliable, we're a long way from independence on fossil fuels. If patriotism is the last refuge of a scandal, Biden is blaming Putin for the predictable results of his and Trump's irresponsible policies. If we can't expect lower fuel prices, we can at least demand an honest accounting of this most insidious form of taxation, printing money to pay for federal arches, with the bill coming due at the gas pump, the grocery store, and just about everywhere else.