Sometimes we're forced to look around and find a problem plaguing the country that wasn't caused by Joe Biden and his policies. It's a serious challenge considering just how much has gone wrong lately, but this story just might qualify. There's no evidence (yet, anyway) that this is Biden's fault, and when I say "plaguing" the country, I mean it literally. A patient in New Mexico has died of the bubonic plague, known to our ancestors as the black death. This took place in Lincoln County, to the south of Santa Fe. Despite having received medical attention in a hospital, the man passed away. It is unknown where or how he contracted the disease, but he is the second person in the state to die of it since 2020 and several other non-fatal cases have been recorded. (NY Post)

A New Mexico man has died of complications from the bubonic plague as state health officials scramble to assess the ongoing risk in the region.

The unidentified Lincoln Country resident had been hospitalized recently with the bacterial affliction, although the details surrounding how he contracted it and how his health deteriorated remain unclear, the state Department of Health (NMDOH) announced Friday.

Despite medics’ best efforts, the patient succumbed to his symptoms, marking New Mexico’s first recorded case of bubonic plague since 2021.

This was also the state’s first BP-related fatality since 2020; the state recorded four cases of the disease that year alone.

The plague is typically transmitted by fleas that are found on rats, ground squirrels, and other rodents, primarily in the Southwest. It's been in North America since at least 1900, most likely arriving with rats stowing away on steamships arriving from Asia. (Thanks again, China!) It has fortunately remained fairly rare, with an average of 10 to 15 cases being recorded annually, but those numbers appear to be gradually increasing.

The question yet again is why. We're seeing more diseases that we thought we had beaten or at least minimized in recent years. It may not be the case with the black death, but you have to wonder if some of these problems are being amplified by millions of unvaccinated people suddenly showing up in the country and milling about.

As for the plague, as already noted, it's commonly associated with rats. Where do you find an abundance of rats besides the subways of New York? You find them anywhere there are excess amounts of trash lying around, particularly if there are deposits of feces and bodily waste. Sound familiar to anyone? The massive homeless encampments filled with drug addicts and migrants where the shelters have been overwhelmed might be a good place to start looking.

I decided to check and see which places in the United States have the worst rat populations. Surprisingly, New York City only ranked third. It was beaten by Chicago and Los Angeles. Rounding out the top five are Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Stop me if you're detecting a pattern here. What else do those cities have in common? Liberal, Democratic municipal governments, massive homeless and drug problems, high crime rates... you know the drill. Now add rats into the formula at a time when more cases of bubonic plague are showing up. What could possibly go wrong?