Among a number of things going wrong in America right now, worst of all is our totally unnecessary, self-inflicted end to energy independence.

This one is particularly frustrating because it is so unnecessary and arbitrary.  Based purely on liberal arrogance and adolescent egotism — not on well-considered business factors or with the country's long-term well-being in mind — "President" Biden canceled the Keystone Pipeline as soon as he occupied the Oval Office.  This was simply a ploy to curry favor with the Green voting bloc and do something to counter President Trump.  It was the act of a shallow emotional simpleton and his behind-the-scenes puppet masters trying to look good in the eyes of the Squad and the liberal media.

It's not as if the cancelation of Keystone in and of itself ruined our energy sector.  Biden also stopped any fossil fuel exploration in ANWR, voided existing oil exploration and development leases on federal lands, and sharply curtailed the ability of existing oil and natural gas fracking companies to conduct their operations.  This has markedly reduced our supply, but far more important, it sent a message to the world oil market that any possibility of substantial new American oil was stopped dead in its tracks.  The result?  We've now got hyper-inflation-inducing higher crude oil pricing, even before the Ukraine-Russia fandango fanned those flames even higher.

The energy issue really highlights the "intentional vs. ignorance" fault line within the Democratic Party.  The ignorance part is easy to point out: many Democrats actually believe that if they somehow manage to artificially limit the quantity of American oil delivered to the market, this will translate into lower demand for oil, and American consumers will say to themselves, "Well, OK, I guess I'll just give up my 2011 Ford Fusion that has 117,000 miles and go buy a $52,000 Tesla tomorrow."

This is obviously idiotic on so many levels.  However, there are a few more subtle reasons why their thinking is so off.  One is this: the world, right now, uses almost 100 million barrels of oil per day.  If the U.S. no longer produces the 11 million barrels per day that it was producing just a few years ago, that doesn't mean that world demand had dropped along with our production.  Just the opposite: world demand continues unabated in the short term.  A U.S. production shortfall simply shifts the supply requirement to foreign producers.

Here's the part that the Squad, Jennifer Granholm, the liberal media, et al. don't understand: when the U.S. produces less oil and outside actors produce more (it is a zero-sum game, after all, to reach that 100 million barrel/day level), that foreign supply is likely to be produced by entities that use our purchasing dollars for terrorism (like Iran), for anti-Israel activities (like Saudi Arabia), for anti-American purposes (like Russia) or simply by countries whose environmental and pollution standards fall far short of ours.  Simply put, the more oil America produces, the better it is for this country and for the world's environment.  Does anyone think V.P. Kamala Harris or Joy Reid of MSNBC has the slightest awareness or understanding of these subtleties?

The success and acceptance of "alternative energy" are a market-driven and market-determined issue.  When batteries can power cars for 400 miles and the cost of electric cars is fully competitive with gasoline cars, the market will embrace them.  Government "bribe" subsidies will not be necessary.  Artificially limiting American oil production accomplishes nothing, except pushing costs higher in all sectors of the economy and lowering the standard of living.  Biden, personally flush with millions of ill-gotten foreign payoff dollars, cares nothing about this.

The same thing goes for so-called renewables like wind and solar.  Neither has shown that it can deliver reliable, low-cost energy on a truly large national scale at a cost competitive to fossil fuels.  The Rashida Tlaibs of the world may think that all we have to do is wave our hands, and fossil fuels will disappear, but that is scientific and economic ignorance of the highest, most frightening order.

Unfortunately, in addition to the unintelligent and uninformed wing of the Democrat party (note that those two characteristics are separate, but both are present to an alarming degree), there is the intentional wing of the Democrat party — those insidious individuals who favor globalism over patriotism, who want to see America knocked down a few pegs (as Barack Obama implied while on his infamous "apology tour").  For these people (like the George Soroses, Valerie Jarretts, and Susan Rices of the world), the diminution of America's world standing is their aim.  Perhaps they are motivated by the promise of foreign riches in return for betraying American interests; perhaps they are resentful of America's past success and simply want to counter it.  The reasons why an individual who has flourished under the American system would turn and sabotage that very system are a mystery to any sane, well-adjusted U.S. citizen.

But the aforementioned — along with many others — do indeed harbor extreme hatred for the country in which they live in comfort and security.  These people use the ignorant and unintelligent dupes in their own party as useful idiots, as the saying goes, getting them to take actions that hurt America.

This is a situation unparalleled anywhere else in the world.  These people are a threat to the viability and long-term survivability of this country as a meaningful nation.  America's greatest threat doesn't come from an external military force.  Our greatest danger is from anti-American peril from within — and from the cowards afraid to point them out and take decisive action.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.