If you don't think DC politics affects us in Rochester, look at the gas pump

A reader asked me the other day why would The Rochester Voice sometimes write editorials or columns that touch on the national news of the day including politics that don't directly affect the citizens of Rochester.

I answered that the politics and policies that play out in Washington often do affect the citizens of the Lilac City, more than they realize.

For instance, since the Biden administration took over, gasoline and home heating oil have already gone up about 40 cents a gallon, which is about 40 percent more than they were under President Trump last fall.

With the slow demise of fracking and the quick death of the Keystone Pipeline (Executive Order 13990) of January 20, 2021, the United States has gone from energy independence back to energy dependence, when anything from a refinery fire in Oklahoma to military posturing in the Middle East can spike gasoline and oil heat prices in an instant. They'll likely be $3 a gallon by the summer.

Rochester residents are not stupid. They see the steady increase at the pumps. They know what's causing it. It's the Biden administration's policies.

I also think Rochester parents of young girls might be concerned that the Biden administration has signed an executive order that allows boys who identify as girls be allowed to participate on girls' sports teams (Executive Order 13988 of January 20, 2021).

If I were a parent of a school-age daughter, I would be livid. How can a girl compete against a biological male? They can't. That's why boys and girls sports like basketball and football have been separated for the health and safety of our children. Now you could have a male who identifies as a female playing field hockey or softball, or throwing a shot put on the girls track team.

And if a boy thinks he can play a girls sport and get an athletic scholarship, you can't blame him. He's just gaming the system, at the expense of our girls. The Biden administration is paving the way for those types of high jinx.

And if a school board tries to stop him, hello lawsuits.

There's also five executive orders on immigration, one that puts catch and release back into play. That means illegal aliens crossing into the U.S. are released pending their asylum protection court date, in most cases never to be seen from again.

They also put on hold deportation of anyone in the country illegally unless they are wanted on aggravated felonies, normally violent thefts or assaults.

The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute estimated that 87 percent of noncitizens in the country without authorization would not be priorities for enforcement if Biden used the national security and public safety criteria as was done under Obama as he is expected to.

That means someone caught at a state DMV trying to get a license with a fraudulent ID would not be a candidate for deportation even though identity theft in New Hampshire is - get this - a Class A felony punishable by 7½- 15 years.

That's because identity theft is not considered an aggravated felony in the Biden executive order.

Isn't that a joke! An illegal alien gets caught and they get a hand slap. A citizen gets caught and they're facing 15 years in state prison.

By the way do any of Biden's more than 30 executive orders have Granite Staters feeling giddy about the state's prospects for the future? Bringing back the supply chain? Reasonably priced energy? Safer streets? More money in our paychecks?