Biden Knows What He Is Doing, And He Is Doing It with Glee

Yes, Biden’s behavior clearly exhibits major signs of senility, but until he is removed from office via the 25^th Amendment or otherwise, he is responsible for what he is doing.  And what he is doing is upending the core principles that make America what it is.

Gleefully dismantling the Constitution

Biden and his administration admit that their attempted use of OSHA to enforce a vaccine mandate is a workaround the Constitution, essentially admitting that they know they do not have the Constitutional authority to create such a mandate.  Yet they do it anyway.

But this is not the first or only attempt on Biden’s part to circumvent the Constitution.  Biden admitted that it would be unconstitutional for him to have the CDC mandate an eviction moratorium, yet he did so anyway.  He has claimed total federal authority over states in regard to abortion by having his Attorney General file suit against the state of Texas.  Perhaps most egregious is his support for packing the Supreme Court – turning it into a political body and thus destroying the checks and balances between the three branches of government.  Those checks and balances are a critical piece of our Constitution and its protections of our rights.

Biden attempts to justify his failure to follow and uphold the Constitution by blaming things like the pandemic or Trump or the people who oppose his various policies, but these are all just smoke that cover his unprecedented and unpresidential power grab.

First, let’s remember that our country is based on the idea of limited federal government.  The Tenth Amendment provides that “powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”  The Constitution explicitly grants each branch of the federal government a limited set of carefully defined enumerated powers, while reserving most other powers to the states.  Some clauses such as the Commerce Clause have been interpreted in a way that gives the federal government broader control over some issues, but the basic principle of a limited federal government has not changed.   

The federal government cannot exercise unlimited control over the states.  Not even in an alleged attempt to stop a pandemic. 

As an aside, it is hard to argue that the Biden OSHA mandate is realistically about protecting our health when all non-citizen border crossers (legal and illegal) are exempted, all employees of businesses with less than 100 workers are exempted, all retirees are exempted, all members of Congress and their staffs are exempted, and other exemptions continue to be revealed.  Moreover, Biden asserts that the intent is to protect the already vaccinated from the unvaccinated; one wonders: If such protection is necessary, then what is the purpose of a vaccination anyway?  The pandemic is nothing more than a cover for an unconstitutional power grab.

Biden took an oath to uphold the Constitution, yet he completely ignores and violates it.  He proudly acknowledges that he is doing so.  And while he destroys the very core of our democracy, he angrily attacks those who object as he sows and cultivates dissension and hatred.

Gleefully creating a country whose people are dependent on authoritative government

Along with seizing unconstitutional power, Biden’s authoritative regime seeks to create rules and programs that will establish a dependency of all of us on the federal government.  The problem with these socialist style programs, however, is that they are paid for by the people’s tax dollars which, in large part due to the dependence on the programs they are funding, often run out.

Marc Short, Mike Pence’s former chief of staff, stated, “I think if you look at the number of the amount of spending over the last year between the COVID tax relief, the infrastructure package and now this [3.5 trillion spending bill], you'll be talking about $12 trillion dollars, which in essence would be one hundred thousand dollars given to every family in America if you were to send direct payments.”

Think of that.  Think of the taxes, the debt, the money printing that will need to happen.  These bills and others in the works by the Left would govern your life from pre-birth to death and beyond.  The Left would have guaranteed incomes, guaranteed health, guaranteed childcare, guaranteed transportation, guaranteed housing, guaranteed meals, pretty much everything you might need or want guaranteed by the government. 

Of course, the quality or amount of each thing guaranteed is not guaranteed and will of necessity diminish with greater demand and/or fewer tax dollars.  And when you have given all your money to the government you will be forced to take whatever it is they choose to give you.

Beyond dependence on the government via a variety of “assistance” programs, the government creates more and more rules to govern every aspect of your life.  These rules will make all the decisions for you so that you do not have to.  The rules decide what you can and cannot do/say/eat/believe, etc.  They remove the difficult anxiety of some decision making and cause more than a few to think that they are just one regulation away from total bliss which only a big government, authoritarian “nanny state” can provide.

They will do this in the name of concern for your welfare, but what these “nanny state” rules really do is take away your key freedom of choice. 

In this country we have individual freedoms protected by our Constitution.  The concepts of individual liberty and personal responsibility are key to America’s greatness and her survival and are also the antithesis of big government.  Authoritarian regimes tell their citizens how and what they can think, do, believe.  In America we have the freedom to make those decisions for ourselves.

The pandemic (like any good crisis) has not gone to waste for the Left and the Biden administration.  This administration would have you confuse freedom with safety and happiness and keep you in a state of anxious fear.  Using uncertainty and fear they have been able to create a climate in which many are more willing to relinquish personal freedom for safety and certainty.  Those who do not are characterized and criticized as selfish.

With such fear and then personal shaming the Left believes you will more willingly turn your freedom over to the government for their false promise of happiness in return.  But it doesn’t work that way.  When we relinquish our personal liberty, we relinquish who we are and instead leave it to an authoritarian government to define us.

While of course we need some government rules and regulations, we also need to retain our freedom and our responsibility so that we can continue to have a government of/for/by the people rather than a government of authoritarian control.

Biden clearly does not see it that way.  He gleefully would cow everyone into submission to his vision of whom you should be and how you should behave.  If you do not comply, he calls you selfish and pits the more compliant citizens against you (for example telling the vaccinated that those who have chosen not to be vaccinated, perhaps because of serious health reasons, are threatening the vaccinated even with murder).  Biden often equates his dissenters with terrorists.

Don’t fall for it.  Freedom may not be safe or easy or certain; it by necessity includes uncertainty and the anxiety that comes with being responsible for one’s own life choices, especially when those choices are not clear or easy.  But freedom allows you to be who you are rather than simply an animal confined within the cage of government control.

Gleefully putting American values last

Honor and exceptionalism are words that have often been used in conjunction with America.  “American exceptionalism is the idea that the United States is inherently different from other nations. Its proponents argue that the values, political system, and historical development of the U.S. are unique in human history, often with the implication that the country is both destined and entitled to play a distinct and positive role on the world stage" (Seymour Martin Lipset).

While not perfect, America has generally been seen as the “good guys”, the country that stands for such things as human rights, individual liberties, honesty, and honor.  Biden seems to think all that is a joke. 

Within our country Biden is dismantling not only our Constitution but is also demeaning and destroying concepts such as personal liberty, personal responsibility, individual achievement, and equality (the fact that “equity” is the antithesis of “equality” has been the subject of previous posts).  He has destroyed jobs and is destroying the economy while inflation is out of control.  Despite his claims for unity, he puts divisive identity politics on steroids as he pits every group he can define against one another. 

But he is also destroying this country on the international stage.  He presents an administration of apology, weakness, and concession rather than one of pride and power.  And honor he gleefully trashed as he completely botched the Afghanistan withdrawal, then repeatedly lied about what he had done, and then ignored and left as essentially prisoners of war an undetermined number of civilian American citizens.  Honor be damned, Joe seems proud of what he has done.

Save America from Biden

It sure seems like Biden hates America; he is certainly doing everything he can to destroy it.   His power grabs are clearly authoritarian.  His diminishment of us puts us in danger internationally.  And he seems to immensely enjoy what he is doing.

As a leader he is a terrible example.  He cannot uphold his oath of office.  He lies about everything.  He laughs at America and its people and calls them names.  Yes, he seems to enjoy what he is doing.

It is hard for me to write this, because to cover all Biden’s un or anti-American behavior would take far too many pages for a blog post, and yet I know and fear that most Americans are in large part unaware of his actions and his lies due to the media’s protection and lack of negative coverage of him.  So we just let him go on with his dishonest and destructive behavior while those who are looking see America falling.

The blood of a dying America is on Biden’s hands, but also on all those who fail to see what is happening, who gladly turn over their rights and freedoms to a man who does not respect them but will simply use them for his own delight and power.

Biden knows exactly what he is doing, and he is doing it gleefully.  But do you know what he is doing, and do you care?

The Blame Game

Biden dismantled Trump’s Afghanistan withdrawal plan yet according to the White House, the dangerous failure in Afghanistan is Trump’s fault. 

This blame game shouldn’t surprise us.  After all:

·        Biden dismantled Trump’s border controls yet according to the White House, the border crisis is Trump’s fault.

·        Biden canceled Trump’s policies that led to energy independence, yet according to the White House, the huge rise in the cost of energy is Trump’s fault.

·        Biden’s economic policies that are a reversal of Trump’s have resulted in the highest inflation in years, yet according to the White House, the rise in inflation and consumer prices are Trump’s fault.

·        Biden denigrated Trump’s operation Warp Speed that gave us the Covid vaccine, then blames Trump for not enough vaccinated individuals.

·        Biden supports defunding the police, then blames Trump for rising crime in cities where police where defunded.

Indeed, as Biden creates crisis after crisis, asks the Taliban to be nice, and then leaves on vacation with undisclosed visitors, the White House continues to blame Trump for any and all problems that the country faces. 

And worse, the media goes along with it.  Remember the unforgiving and unending questions that the press would throw at Trump and his press secretary.  The press covering Biden can’t seem to ask a follow-up question – not even about his love for ice cream cones that is not that far from the typical topic of questions presented.

Does the American citizen get any in-depth coverage of the activity of this administration?  No.  Do we get any in-depth coverage of foreign affairs?  No.  Do we get full or in-depth coverage and statistics about Covid, the delta variation, and the effectiveness of mask mandates, vaccines, etc.? No. 

We are fed pablum.  Like babies (or senile presidents perhaps). 

And how many people really stop to ask the "why?" for the many conclusions that they are fed daily?  Or is it just easier to blame Trump and then sit back while the world falls apart around you?

Vaccine, Masks, Science, and Freedom

 Covid.  It’s political.

Let’s begin with the honest statement that no one knows everything about Covid-19.  Our knowledge, whether the typical “man on the street” or a medical professional specializing in virology, is ever evolving as more and more data is compiled about this virus, its origins and its mutations.

Actually, this evolutional knowledge is not atypical for any science-based inquiry.  Imagine if knowledge about diseases remained static – we would still be bloodletting, treating toothaches with cocaine, recommending smoking as a cure for asthma, drinking energy drinks containing radium, and considering bathing or handwashing as a bad medical practice. 

And so, just as our medical knowledge generally as well as about specific diseases has and continues to evolve, so does our knowledge about this very new virus, Covid-19.  Anyone who claims to have the absolute answer to anything about Covid is either ignorant, overly impressed with themselves, or lying.

I, like many, try to be well-informed about this virus, but it is incredibly difficult to obtain a full body of what is known about Covid to date.  Many questions that one might ask do not have answers or relevant data readily available.  And yes, it seems like the information that is generally provided to the public is carefully selected to support the narrative that is being pushed.

               VACCINES AND VACCINATIONS

For example, we know that both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals are being infected, especially with the Delta variant.  We also hear that the new spike is to be blamed on the unvaccinated.  But there are several additional questions that leave one without answers, for example:

·        What percentage of this new spike in cases is serious (e.g., place the infected individual in the hospital) and what percentage of those infected die?

·        What is the death percentage due to Delta Covid for the vaccinated who have been infected and what is the death percentage for those unvaccinated who have been infected?

·        Since the vaccinated apparently are asymptomatic when infected, do we really have an accurate number of the percentage of vaccinated who become infected and how does that affect the claim that most of the new infections are in the unvaccinated?

·        If vaccinated people get an asymptomatic form of Covid, then aren’t they actually the most likely spreaders?  And if that is the case, why are the unvaccinated being labeled the evil pariahs of this pandemic?

·        And are the answers to the above, along with much other information, important to one’s ability to make decisions about receiving the vaccine or supporting mandatory vaccination?

                MASKS

Masks are another issue about which everyone seems to believe that they hold the one and only correct view.  Those opinions include: that masks are totally ineffective; that they protect the wearer from getting sick; that they only protect an infected wearer from spreading the disease; and many other points of view.  Again, there are questions and uncertainties.

We do know that Covid spreads via air particulate.  So if an infected person breathes out, they are likely breathing out spreadable Covid viruses.  My understanding of masks is, that like any other barrier, they may stop some of what might otherwise pass through the plane where the mask is.  A steel barrier probably stops everything.  No barrier stops nothing.  Masks, from N95 to a single piece of cloth may stop some particulate to a greater or lesser extent.  To me it seems reasonable that a particular barrier’s effectiveness would be the same regardless of the direction (in or out) of the particulate.

But this is the same as for any airborne disease.  It’s like a rainstorm.  If I go out without an umbrella, I am going to get wet.  If I use an umbrella, I will likely get less wet, but depending on the size of the umbrella and how it is made as well as the extent and severity of the rain, I am going to get at least a little wet and maybe even soaked.

If one accepts that analogy and also puts one’s political affiliation aside, I think that we could all agree that some wearing of masks might be reasonable.  But it does not necessarily follow that mask mandates are required or even that they are wise. 

A person, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, can assess their risk factors, both to themselves and others.  If they believe that masks do provide at least some protection from becoming seriously infected with Covid and if they are concerned about being infected, then they can choose to wear a mask in situations where they feel they may be at risk.   If they believe that they may be infected and able to spread the disease, then they may choose to wear a mask, or they might simply choose to self-quarantine or take other measures to protect others.

The seasonal flu is an airborne virus and can be quite serious or even deadly to some people.  Many people get an annual flu vaccine, many others do not.  During flu season some people do not change their behavior at all, others do more handwashing or social distancing, some decline handshaking or avoid places where they think they might be especially at risk, some even choose to wear a mask during flu season.  There is no “one size fits all” mandate about the flu, just as there is no mandate for any other contagious or possibly deadly disease. 

                WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON

So why the mask mandates and mask resistance?  Why the call for every citizen to receive a currently experimental vaccine along with a call for vaccine passports and second-class citizenship status for those who are unvaccinated?  Why the daily news stories of the horrors of being sick with Covid without stories of the many who experience little if any discomfort from the virus?  Why the daily fearmongering about Covid?  And why, if all of this is so important for citizens, are border crossers exempted from any testing or vaccination requirements while somewhere between 20 and 30 percent of those crossing and being bussed throughout the country turn out to be Covid positive? 

The answer is that this is a political game that is being played, and while it uses Covid as its game piece, in the end it has little to do with Covid.  

So who are the players in this game?  We have Dr. Fauci and other “scientists” who assert their current theories (anyone who has followed this knows those theories can and have changed and reversed) as if they are absolute fact that must be believed (if you don’t believe them, you are name called as some sort of neanderthal or – oh horror – one of those deplorable conservatives).  

Social media is in the game as it wields its power as censor so that the masses will be delivered only the one “correct” view (that being the view that the social media gods, who are not scientists or doctors, decide is correct). 

The political leaders are of course in the game.  The Democrats, being the party of big government, along with the Socialist Left who believe that government should make all your decisions for you, are of course playing for the mandate and ultimate control over you, your family, your schools, and your body.

The Republicans respond by asserting that government mandates are an overreach and a violation of your freedom, that under our Constitutional government you have control over yourself, your body, your family, your schools.  

The party minions go to battle:  The Left asserting that anyone who does not comply with their demands (vaccine, mask, closures, etc.) is evil and un-American.  The far-Right goes beyond opposing mandates to opposing even the idea of an individual choosing to wear a mask or mask their child. 

This is just crazy.  For the record, I oppose the mandates.  Note that I was for the initial 3 week or so absolute shutdown to slow the spread (not to rid us of the virus).  But after that I believe that we, as free Americans, can make our own decisions about how to live in a world with Covid just as we are free to make our own decisions about the many other ways that we live our lives.  Our decisions have consequences, and we have to live with them, but they are our decisions, not the government’s to make.

Personally, I wear a mask to protect myself in those situations that for me seem to be overly risky.  I make those decisions based on what I know about myself, my health, and the particular situation in which I will be participating.  I believe that every other adult can make those decisions for him or herself and that parents can make those decisions for their children. 

I don’t consider those who see the situation differently to be wrong or crazy or anything else.  I might note that I would make a different decision, but that would be mine and their decision is theirs, and we will both live with the consequences.  I do know that I am sick of being considered as some sort of outcast or pariah by both sides – when I do less than what the Left would mandate or when I do more than what the Right does in its resistance.

                SO WHO WINS THIS POLITICAL COVID GAME?  

In the end I think it is a test of how far we Americans are willing to relinquish our individuality and freedom, of how far we are willing to place those sacred freedoms in the hands of another – of those in power with their own agendas which may or may not be reconcilable with ours. 

Relinquishing one’s freedom to another, even (especially) when one is in fear, whether scientifically justified or not, is a slippery slope because once you give it up you are unlikely to get it back.  And once you have given up one piece of your freedom it becomes easier for those in power to take the next and the next and the next until you have no freedom left.

So, think carefully about where you stand on mandates and masks and vaccines.  When you are given “facts” ask questions, ask for the rest of the facts and the data underlying those facts and alleged conclusions.  Science is not static, but using it to create confusion and fear and to support universal mandates can result in a very static loss of freedom.

 

Presiding over the Annihilation of Democracy

Apparently, Joe Biden doesn’t just want to annihilate America as we know it, but the Middle East as well.  Perhaps it’s all part of his new world order. 

  Destroying America

By now it must be obvious to anyone who is paying attention that President Biden’s domestic agenda is incredibly destructive to every core American principle and value.  He is not merely enlarging but is totally bloating the powers of the federal government, far beyond what even the broadest reading of our Constitution would allow.  The effect of that agenda is the loss of personal freedoms and of what were until now Constitutionally protected rights.  And, if HR-1, which Biden fully supports, is passed, the voice of the people via free, fair, and integrous elections will be seriously impaired if not lost.

Beyond the seemingly dictatorial government power grab, Biden’s agenda is destroying the American spirit.  He pays people to not work.  His policies destroy any reward or incentive for hard work, whether it is removal of AP classes to satisfy “equity” (while at the same time destroying any motivation for a student to excel), or the fact that one can now earn more on unemployment than being employed (encouraging dependence on the State for one’s survival while removing any suggestion of personal responsibility), or that companies that spent time and effort during the previous administration’s Warp Speed to develop Covid vaccines can now not patent those vaccines and thus earn the financial reward to which they, until now, would be entitled for their efforts (and let’s hope we don’t have another pandemic because the drive to innovate has essentially been quashed when the innovators must share the rewards of their efforts with those who sat back and did nothing). 

A core premise of our nation, at least prior to this administration, is equality.   We don’t always manage to get it right, but we have always strived for equal treatment of all.   As has been explained by myself and many others, equality is not equity.  Equality does not guarantee equal results, but it does give (or at least strives to give) all individuals the ability to go after that which they themselves want their life to be.  And, in an America that values tolerance, we respect goals that differ from our own.

There is a fairness to equality that is not present in equity.  Equity simply strives to have the same result for everyone.  There is no guarantee that result is arrived at fairly or that it is what the individual is seeking.  Equity actually requires significant inequality and discrimination as it provides extra benefits and rewards to some while denying benefits and rewards to others so that all will have the same result; a result determined not by the individual but by those in power.

What equity does is give us mediocrity and no incentive for an individual to strive to be the best that he or she can be.

Biden’s policies are also creating a suffocating weight around the neck of our country far greater than the weight of the Albatross on the Ancient Mariner.  The country’s debt was not good, but Biden makes it far worse with his stimulus and other giveaways, all of which he and the Left seek to make permanent and all of which must be paid for by taxpayers.  His policies are causing inflation.  His energy policies not only cause gas prices to rise, but also create rising costs for any product that is transported, whether by truck, train, or plane.  While Biden says he won’t raise taxes on the middle class, the burden of all his programs will be a far more serious strain on the middle class. 

President Biden also seems to have no respect for the rule of law.  Not only did he speak out in favor of one result prior to the jurors’ decision in the Chauvin case, he regularly inserts his opinion into legal issues without actual knowledge of the facts (for instance his erroneous statements about the Georgia voting law which continued even after Washington Post fact checkers had given him “4 Pinocchios”.)   

The Biden Administration is also breaking immigration law in any number of ways.  These include not enforcing border controls, keeping children locked up for days or even weeks in horrific and crowded conditions, releasing migrants into the interior of our country without a return court date, encouraging sanctuary cities (whose very purpose is to violate and disregard federal immigration law).

The upshot of the above, and actually of just about every action that the President takes, is to tear America apart and down.  If he is allowed to keep this up for 4 years (or even 2) he will have, in effect, annihilated the America that we know, the America that was a shining star to the world.

   Destroying Middle East Peace and/or Israel

Biden’s acts of destruction go beyond our borders.  Look at the Middle East, the place where the previous administration was able to do the impossible and negotiate 4 peace accords that were a major step in achieving a new understanding between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Since his inauguration, President Biden has essentially ignored Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu while pandering to Israel’s enemies.  He provided money as well as tacit support to Iran which emboldened Iran to provide missiles and other weapons of war to Hamas. 

Hamas is an admitted terrorist organization whose goal, stated in its own charter, is to “obliterate” Israel.  Styling themselves as some sort of victim class, Hamas has begun firing rockets against Israel.

We all know that our current administration loves any victim class and will bend over backwards to support the alleged victims against their perceived oppressors.  So, rather than condemn the terrorist aggression, Biden calls upon Israel to stop defending itself and cease fire.  There is absolutely no condemnation of Hamas, no acknowledgement of its mission to destroy Israel along with all Jews, not even a nod to Israel’s right to protect its own people.  

Israel’s army is superior to Hamas, and that seems to be a reason to condemn Israel.  Perhaps Biden would like to see equity between the armies of Israel and Hamas, but such equity would probably destroy Israel.  Israel is the most humane of any armed force:  it always provides a warning of upcoming strikes when planning to strike an area where civilians may be present.  Hamas on the other hand uses civilians and especially children to shield their rocket launchers and other weapons. 

But the Left is anti-Israel, and as with everything else, Biden is either strongly Leftist or caves to the Left.  So, today, he demanded a "significant de-escalation" by Israel.  No call for Hamas to disarm.  No acknowledgement that Hamas is the aggressor.  No recognition of Israel’s need to protect its own people.  No grief over the suffering or death of the Jews.

Thankfully, Prime Minister Netanyahu is a leader who cares about his country and its citizens whom he is bound to protect rather than one or another cause du jour.  He stated that “Israel will push ahead to return the calm and security to the citizens of Israel."  That is his job, and President Biden should acknowledge the right of our longtime ally and only democracy in that region to protect itself from terrorist attack.

But Biden does not.  In the interest of pleasing the Left he seems willing to see Israel destroyed along with America.  He seems to care nothing for the people of America or our longtime ally Israel.  He seems to care nothing for democracy or freedom. 

What’s next, the world? If Biden and his far-Left policies continue, democracy will be destroyed not only in America, but in the entire world.  And then, where will those seeking freedom and the right to exercise their inherent, inalienable, and God-given rights go?

Read the Fine Print Before You Buy

President Biden’s speech to Congress last night was long on platitudes as he lulled many to sleep with the Lullaby of the Left.  (See "Lullaby of the Left" here)   What it was short on was specifics.  It was also a bit short on honesty.  And it left out important facts and issues. 

First, what was left out.

The speech didn’t deal with the border crisis or Biden’s problem of migrant hoarding (See essay here )  Yes, he gave some nod to the divisive issue of amnesty and to the Vice President’s alleged leadership on the crisis (even though she has yet to visit our southern border or hold a press conference or answer questions about what she is doing).

Biden did not mention the radical Left plan to pack the Supreme court or to make Washington D.C. a state.  Both these plans are blatant political acts designed to ensure permanent power for the Democrats.

He also said little about H.R. 1 which is the Democrats’ bill that is intended to remove state control of elections, placing full control in the hands of the federal government.  He did not discuss that bill’s provisions that essentially destroy any election integrity: simply another Democrat power grab.

The speech failed to give credit to the work that went before him to get a vaccine ready and distribution started or that the return to normal (due in large part to efforts that began with the previous administration) will hopefully return to the booming economy achieved by the prior administration. 

Beyond the obvious omissions, the speech was short on honesty.

Ian Haworth examines this problem in detail HERE.   Let me just mention a few of the more glaring dishonest moments. 

The President repeatedly misstated figures, including: the amount of our GDP that we invest in research and development; the amount of time/travel/discussions he has had with China’s President XI; the gun violence and mass shooting numbers per year;

Biden often fudged to imply something that he did not say.   For example, he bragged that everyone is now eligible to get vaccinated right away.  What he left out was that just being eligible to be vaccinated does not mean one will be able to do so or that vaccine will actually be available for that person.    

Similarly, Biden seemed to take credit for a current booming economy while not mentioning that all he has done is remove some of the economic blocks enforced by Democrats or that the job increases under his administration pale in comparison to the 12.6 million jobs that were added by the Trump administration after the initial pandemic caused collapse.  He lamented the number of women who have left the workforce but ignored that a driving factor behind that statistic is the closure of schools due to Covid.

There were many more moments of intentionally misleading statements.  But that is just part of the lullaby – it all sounds good, and so people don’t notice.

The big stuff and the small print.

What is really disturbing are the grand Leftist plans that the President put forth without any specifics or any honesty about what they will cost this nation.  Again, the platitudes are lovely, but the reality may very well be quite different; it is that reality that the President and the Left do not want you to notice and which they try to cover with their soothing bromide.

I am not an economist, and you can yourself find a number of articles online that explain the devastating details of Biden’s latest money giveaway plan.  But just a few things of note.

The $1.8 trillion (that’s $1,800,000,000,000.00) American Families Plan comes on top of the $1.9 trillion ($1,900,000,000,000.00) Covid relief law and the $2.25 trillion ($2,250,000,000,000.00) “infrastructure” plan.  That is a total of $5.95 trillion in new spending in just the first 100 days. 

This money comes from taxpayers.  Yes, Biden says that it will not affect the middle class, but the reality is that it must, and it will.  He promised that he will only tax corporations and the wealthy, wealthy apparently being any family that makes more than $400,000 per year.  He ignores the fact that large corporations have ways of moving their tax base out of this country.  Then where does that money come from?  If not the middle class, then from the small and family-owned businesses that do not have the options that large corporations do.  And what will that do to employment opportunity and for the economy? 

Our national debt is currently around $28 trillion ($28,000,000,000,000.00).  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or an economist) to see that we are likely headed for economic collapse if Biden’s Leftist wish lists are passed.  It doesn’t take a genius to see what effect this debt will likely have on our children and grandchildren.

The President’s comments on his climate change and “infrastructure” agenda focused on how they will build jobs.  Yet he failed to even consider the research as well as real-world examples of how what he is proposing destroys rather than creates jobs.

Perhaps the worst is the continuing lie of “unity”.

By the end of the speech, those who were still awake heard a lot of platitudes about unity and America and how great we are.  Except that the entire speech that was given to that point was full of divisiveness and clear partisanship.  To that point the agenda that the President put forward would not maintain American greatness but would drastically remake this country and likely not for the better.

Read the fine print.

I look at this speech as something of a sales pitch by a deceitful salesman.  I want to see the fine print and read it carefully.  Every American should do the same.  Platitudes and pretty words might make us feel good but the Devil is in the details. 

And then there is the rebuttal.

I think that Senator Tim Scott said more in his 15 minutes than the President said in over an hour.  Sen. Scott seemed to be truly speaking from his heart, not just reciting a list of campaign promises that would lull the audience into ignorance.  If you missed his rebuttal, you can watch it HERE. 

What does Sen. Tim Scott get for his honest rebuttal that disagreed with the Biden agenda?  An attack from the Left calling him “Uncle Tim”, an obvious reference to Uncle Tom, a derogatory reference for a subservient Black person.  But that shouldn’t surprise us:  you will recall that candidate Biden said to Blacks that “If you don’t vote for me then you ain’t really Black.” 

The Biden-Left agenda has no room for dissenters.  It is about power and not really about America or her people.  Read the fine print before you sign on. 

Not Really Much Pressing Going On At Today’s Presser

 

Today I watched President Biden’s “press conference” if you could call it that.  This was frightening on so many levels.  Let me touch on a few.

First, it was clear that Biden was not really present, not in the moment and not in the bigger picture of the issues about which he was supposedly talking.  He lost his train of thought too frequently and too often read an answer to a different question than that which was asked.  And yet this man is our president, the leader of the free world.  That should alarm us all.

A commentator before the press conference noted that Biden had been practicing for this event for several days.  Wow.  If he had been practicing the names of those reporters who were listed in his notes to call on, he did not do very well.  If he were practicing the canned answers that he clearly had available in his notes, he did not do very well.  If he were practicing receiving signals from some aide in the room or otherwise connected to him, he did not do very well.  And, on another note, how can one practice answers to what are supposedly spontaneous questions?

The syrupy answers he gave were full of nothing more than campaign talk and promises.  He said he would address and fix any number of things but gave specifics to none – no details about the problem or the nature of the promised fix.  Just promises:  I will get to that, I plan on making progress on that, I will get to all those problems, don’t worry.

He said his focus was on Covid and seemed to tell us that he could only address one issue at a time.  Yet it was not clear what he is actually doing for Covid.  He had no problem taking credit for the number of vaccines given, something that is possible primarily due to the previous administration’s Operation Warp Speed.  The number of vaccines promised by the end of his first hundred days just continues that which Trump began; we should note that administration of the vaccine began prior to when Biden took office.  Yet Biden did not have the common decency to give any credit to his predecessor, even though he kept telling us that he himself is a “nice guy.”

Any actual seemingly factual information that Biden presented was for the most part erroneous.  For example, the surge at the border is not the same as it has been in years prior to his taking office.  Unaccompanied minors have come to the border in far greater numbers than those stated by Biden. According to statistics published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, authorities encountered 9,457 children without a parent in February, a 61% increase from January, not 28% as Biden stated.  Moreover, while some seasonal trends in migration do exist, migrants interviewed by The Associated Press have expressed their understanding that the country would be more permissive to migrants under Biden than under Trump, and thus they come.

Biden kept telling us that he is such a humanitarian, a good guy.  He seemed to deny that there is any problem at the border.  Yet the cages are overflowing.  Unaccompanied minors are being sent by the thousands to large spaces like convention centers to live in crowded and unhealthy conditions.  Covid positive migrants are being bussed throughout our country.  Illegal immigration is off the charts.  Migrants are being bussed and dumped around the country in cities and towns that do not have the resources to care for them or the issues associated by this sudden influx.  This is not nice, and it is not humanitarian.

In campaign, not presidential, mode Biden made sure to trash the previous administration as well as current Republicans.  His figures about the Trump tax cuts were inaccurate and then he used those misleading figures to make a case against Republicans and their concern for the working class, a class that was in many ways lifted by the Trump administration and a variety of Republican policies.

Similarly, he claimed lack of bipartisanship of the Republicans while admitting that he, by his own choice, is not meeting with them.  He completely distorted the substance of the Voting Bill and what it is that each side is really fighting for.  (The reality is that Democrats would remove all state control and nearly all methods of ensuring only legitimate voters vote, while Republicans would maintain and strengthen a variety of procedures that ensure election integrity.)

Beyond the many misstatements (some would say lies), some of which are noted above, Biden seemed to take credit for what is already going on as if it were some great accomplishment of his own.  I mentioned the vaccines above.  Another example is his promise that he would now require that calls regarding minors at the border would occur within 48 hours.  According to Border officials, that requirement is already in place and was followed throughout the entirety of the prior administration’s control.

Biden wanted to show us he is a nice guy.  In fact, he told he is a nice guy – over and over and over.  That he is not like his predecessor because he is so calm and nice.  Well, great.  But that does not mean that he can lead the country or that he has any clue about what is really going on.

But the press conference is not solely about the president.  It is also about the reporters.  Anyone who watched a Trump presser is aware that the press core would not let him finish a sentence without attacking him with one or another allegation.  There was little if any respect shown for the man or the office.  Despite the press hatred for him, Trump called on reporters from both the Left and the Right, as well as the foreign press.   He answered their questions directly along with their antagonistic follow-ups and was clearly on top of what was going on, whether you liked his answers or not.

Here, we had very few reporters called on, and apparently someone (Biden or his handlers) had listed the names of whom would be called.  They were on one of the papers on Biden’s podium.  Whether these reporters’ questions had been vetted beforehand we will likely never know. 

What we do know is that the reporters were not the same attack dogs that attended Trump pressers.  Where was the Jim Acosta style reporter to harass and interrupt before the president could get a word out?  Indeed, where were any interruptions or meaningful follow ups?  Today’s “reporters” allowed the President to ramble for as long as he wanted, even if what he was rambling about had absolutely nothing to do with the question asked.  And those questions – could they have been any more friendly and soft?  Perhaps the press lost its ability be assertive in its questioning when faced with this clearly fragile and perhaps senile old man. 

In the end, this presser was about what I expected it would be – a big lot of nothing.  Biden knew nothing.  Biden said nothing – nothing that was true or specific or more than a fluffy promise.  The reporters asked nothing.  It was to some extent (how much we will never know) rehearsed.  Just a big lot of political show.

Which brings me to perhaps the most frightening thing of all:  why don’t the people see what is going on?  Why don’t they see this presidency for what it is?  Do they really fall for Biden’s syrupy smooth talk and his promises that he will make us all happy?  C’mon Man!  Wake up.  Biden is cluelessly destroying America but we the people are allowing him to do it.  And no one seems to notice or to care. That is terrifying.

 

Is anyone there? A Rant.

 

I am watching my country and all that it stands for disintegrate around me.  I do not understand why so few others seem to notice or to care. 

I recall not that long ago when everyone was strident about nearly everything that was going on.  The media was of course then encouraging the discontent and the hatred.  Then the media told us that all would be fine once Biden was elected.  I guess people listen and accept what they are told.  But look around – one glance should assure you that the media is not always right (or honest).

Of course, unlike the daily crises created by media commentators when Trump was elected, today much of what is going on is not reported or, if it is, even crises are so downplayed as to become just a big nothing.  But eventually they begin to leak out.

But people, look around you.  Hate and intolerance are on the rise.  Immigration is a mess and a crisis (even though the White House does not want us calling it that).  Cancel Culture is rampant.  Victimhood is idealized.  Radicalism is applauded.  And those who believe in traditional American values, the U.S. Constitution, and our basic freedoms have graduated from being “deplorables” to being “Neanderthals.”

Biden and his people insist there is no crisis at the border.  But even the mainstream media now at least have to mention that there might be a problem.  Ya think?!  We have the Obama/Trump “cages” now called “facilities” at full capacity.  We have unaccompanied minors being shipped across the country without any real inquiry about to whom they are being delivered, a definite gift to child traffickers.  We have mobs arriving at the borders wearing Biden tee shirts and demanding immediate fulfillment of his promise to open the borders.  DHS is anticipating a 20-year surge of illegal immigration. 

The Biden administration is looking to transform the southern border into a rapid-processing site where foreign nationals can arrive and expect to be quickly released into the U.S. interior.  In contrast to Trump’s historic lows in illegal border crossings we currently are arresting daily historic highs of illegal immigrants; rather than return them to their country or to the other side of the border to await legal entry, we simply release them to go where they please.  These new immigrants, both legal and illegal, will likely receive benefits that were once restricted to citizens and paid for by tax dollars.  In some instances, the Biden administration provides incentives to favor hiring of new immigrants (legal or illegal) over Americans. 

What this crisis gives us is de facto open borders.  An open border, in contrast to a closed or a controlled border, is one that allows free movement of people across with little or no restrictions.  Borders between the states are examples of open borders.  Most countries, however, at a minimum control the borders which delineate the boundaries of the land that encompasses the country.

I understand that there are some on the Left who desire open borders.  But at present the United States has immigration laws that, in a variety of ways, control both the number and characteristics of those who enter this country.  Yet, these immigration laws and the policy and reasoning behind them are for the most part currently being ignored or overridden by executive order along with executive inaction.  

Whether out of altruistic or sinister motive, or simply due to lack of logic and understanding, the Biden administration has effectively opened our borders to any and all who would enter.  At the same time Biden has closed our capitol, filling it with military to protect the administration and lawmakers from imagined threats. The irony is that we desperately need that military protection at our country's borders, but no one is noticing.

Beyond the border crisis there is the current belief, being fostered by the Left, progressive politicians, as well as big tech, that is is perfectly OK to silence, cancel, censor those people and beliefs whom the “woke” find offensive.    Does no one understand that this goes against the very core of American culture: the ability to hold and speak diverse views? 

We applaud people who share their “traumas”, but only if those who do so are sharing in a way that fits with the woke.  Thus, the White House applauded Meghan Markle’s self-centered tale of victimhood but seemed unable to comment on the ever-growing number of women accusing Gov. Cuomo of sexual harassment. 

And speaking of those accusations, when required to speak about Cuomo, the Left and its media prefer to focus on the growing number of “MeToos” rather than the hundreds (or is it thousands?) of elderly who died as the result of Cuomo’s early Covid orders, orders that he then covered up along with the death numbers.  The Left would prefer not to begin a discussion about those deaths because it is likely that it will then lead to revelations about at least 4 additional Democrat Governors who acted similarly.

Speaking of Covid, it has become abundantly clear that the handling of the pandemic by governors and others was driven by politics and not science, no matter how much they claim otherwise.  Similarly is the handling of the vaccinations, and the processes of re-opening, returning to schools, etc.

Athletics are also reopening, but with new rules that essentially destroy women’s sports.  In addition to Biden’s effective discrimination there, we see nearly every action that he takes in the name of “equity” having a discriminatory effect, usually against those groups that are out of favor with the Left. 

Moreover, the actions of this administration seem to be taken so as to check off some box on the “woke checklist” without any real thought or understanding of the effects of those actions.  In addition to the above I point you to the “Equality Act” and its other sections beyond the evisceration of women’s sports (the Act also exempts itself from the Religious Freedom Act when it comes to forcing its agenda), or the latest Covid relief bill (a 1.9 trillion fulfillment of Leftist dreams that have nothing to do with Covid and which are paid for by our tax dollars) or the Voting Rights Bill (that essentially destroys the likelihood of election integrity). 

I point you to the proposed mandatory curriculums such as training in the biased and discriminatory Critical Race Theory and promotion of the Left view of sexual orientation and gender identity, along with training and promotion of guilt simply for being White and conservative.  Reparations are definitely on the table.  And I encourage taking a look at the radical agendas of most of Biden’s appointees and hires.  Their pronouncements of hate speak volumes about Biden’s promised “unity.”

Now I do understand that there are those who favor the radical agenda of this White House.  But I find it hard to believe that the majority of Americans are as radical as this agenda or care so little about America as one who supports it must. 

I know that there are many who voted for President Biden solely because they did not like President Trump (or at least the President Trump that was portrayed by the media; I suspect that many have no idea of what Trump actually did while president or the many positive effects that his actions had on this country, especially minorities, as well as on the world).  But do these people have any idea what is going on, and if they do, are they really OK with it?

I want to knock on every American’s head and ask “Hello – anyone home?  Do you know what is going on?”  Because the silence is deafening.  And it is not only a silence of any disagreement; it is also silence of any in agreement (except of course from the vocal woke Left).  Just silence.  Is no one looking, listening, paying attention, thinking?  

With Covid vaccinations we hear more and more talk of “herd immunity.”  Actually, I think we are already a herd – of lemmings headed to the sea.  And yes, another phrase comes to mind here:  “Ignorance is bliss.”  I hope that those who are not paying attention are enjoying that bliss now, because the radical changes taking place unchecked under this administration will ultimately leave us and our country with nothing but despair.  

CoVid Mission Shift

Doctors and scientists are not and should not act as if they are politicians.  Politicians are not and should not act as if they are doctors.  But that is exactly what is going on with CoVid, and it is a disaster.

Let me begin by saying that I believe CoVid is very real and very dangerous.  It is not the flu.  It may or may not have a death rate similar to the flu.  But its transmission is far different from the flu and it can and does kill, it can and does spread more easily than the flu, and its long term effects are unknown.  Even with a vaccine it will likely be with us forever.

That being said, the shut down hysteria is ridiculous and is based in politics far more than it is in science.

Let’s briefly review.  When the virus first arrived from China we knew nothing about it except that it seemed to spread easily and that it killed people.  People who were severely infected with the virus needed ICU care and ventilators.  We were concerned that there might not be enough beds or ventilators, so, the scientists suggested that we do something to “slow the spread.”

“Slow the spread” never meant eradicate the virus.  It meant try to keep the rate of spread slower than it was so that the hospitals would not be overloaded and we would not run out of ventilators.  A variety of measures were taken to slow the spread in the early spring.  There were major shutdowns. We even provided unemployment bonuses to encourage people not to come to work.  We watched the daily numbers on our TV screens.  We slowed the spread and the threat of overtaxing our resources was eliminated, in part because of the slower spread and in part because of the President’s efforts to join with industry and manufacture ventilators and other needed supplies.

Up to this point, things seemed to make sense given what we knew about the virus.  There were the expected attacks on the President – he acted too fast/too slow in shutting things down, closing entry from infected countries, etc, but for the most part we accomplished the goal.  We slowed the spread and the medical effects of the virus became manageable.

But then something happened.  We had a mission shift.  As people began to venture out, some still got the virus.  The Democrats said Trump was killing people.  The media became hysterical.  The virus was still here.  Somehow, we seemed to think that the “slow the spread” guidelines should have completely rid us of the virus. 

Democrats loved this – they could blame Trump that the virus is still here while at the same time attacking everything he has done.  Their candidate, Hidin’ Biden, could sit in his basement and read prepared critiques while pointing to numbers saying people are still dying.  This of course easily combines with the media’s love for, and talent in, creating hysteria.  As the disease continues to spread the idea of uncertainty is pushed; and, with uncertainty comes not only hysteria, but also a need to blame someone – the media and the Democrats point us to the perfect target – Trump. 

And, what a wonderful campaign tool to be used by a Party that needs to hide its candidate from public scrutiny.  Make Trump and other Republicans out to be unconcerned about the citizenry if they go outside to campaign.  Trump should not have rallies; he should not travel or make presidential appearances.  People should not be allowed to gather at places like conservative churches.  Presidential debates are being rescheduled (and I for one expect that Biden will find a CoVid reason to ultimately cancel).  We must have full mail in voting (which, unlike absentee mailed votes is fraught with the potential for abuse and fraud) because going outside to vote is too risky.  This at the same time as the Democrats have no problems with protestors and rioters gathering in large numbers to assert Progressive demands and attack traditional values as well as public property and private businesses. (New Mexico’s Governor said that door-to-door campaigning “is just a terrible idea in a CoVid world,” while asserting there is “no data linking political protests to outbreaks of the disease.”)  How convenient – Trump and conservative activities bad, Progressive activities good. 

And so we see a variety of ridiculous prohibitions put into place against the backdrop of fear and hysteria over the simple and always expected fact that CoVid is still with us.

How can a governor (NM) order breweries open but bars closed?  Either getting together in a room for a drink heightens the risk of CoVId or it does not.  But, it is a younger, more left leaning crowd that generally frequents breweries.  Why does Ohio require bars to close at 11 – does CoVid suddenly become more aggressive later in the evening?  Why can a professional soccer team in New Mexico continue to play while high school and college soccer are banned?  Why are crowded planes OK but theaters must stay closed?  Why is it OK for Dr. Fauci to remove his mask when sitting next to two other individuals in the baseball stands, but not OK for someone to not wear a mask when they are walking alone on an outside trail?  Why is it OK to gather with or without masks to assault federal property, but not ok to sing a song in church? 

These and many other similar questions suggest that the current shut downs along with the current distancing and mask wearing requirements are more about furthering one or another agenda than serving some medical or scientific purpose.  If masks are necessary to protect us, then orders to wear masks should be without exception.  If bars are a breeding ground for CoVid, then all bars should be fully closed.  The fact that rules that are allegedly to protect the public health are fraught with exceptions belies their stated purpose and strongly suggests a different and likely political purpose instead.

There is no way to fully prevent CoVid, to guarantee that no one will become infected.  That is the fact, and that is the problem.  The media has ginned people up to become hysterical over that fact.  The scientists, some of whom seem to enjoy the limelight, like to make predictions or tell us what they think we should do.  The politicians use data and recommendations selectively to make demands that have nothing to do with CoVid.  And, if the Democrats can, they will keep this going until the election. 

Dr. Fauci yesterday suggested goggles and face shields in addition to masks.  Really?  Are we all going to let them put us in hazmat suits before this is over?  A doctor suggests all sorts of things to prevent risks.  Our doctors tell us what to eat for our heart, our weight, etc.  Sometimes we follow their advice, sometimes we don’t.  Sometimes Leftist politicians try to make those decisions for us (for example, banning large soft drinks).  But we have never let our doctors, in conjunction with our politicians, put us in a bubble. 

A bubble is where we likely need to stay for the rest of our lives if we are to be protected with certainty from CoVid.  But that is also where we need to be if we are to be protected from life’s many dangers – auto accidents, flu, broken bones, being attacked, infecting a loved one with any number of diseases we might contract, etc. 

Until CoVid, we seemed capable of entering life’s ebb and flow based on our own assessments of our own individual circumstances and risks.  Yet, suddenly, our politicians seem to think they must pick and choose when and where we can go, with whom, and what we should wear.  And we let them.  And we fail to see that what they are really doing is putting into place rules and behaviors and laws that in the end have nothing to do with CoVid but with their own policies.  Things like guaranteed minimum wage, guaranteed income, general health care criteria, gun laws, tax bases, school programs, and many other items on political wish lists should not be attached in any way to CoVid.  Nor should efforts to modify or direct individual human behavior and individual choices and decisions about what activities are better or worse.  Efforts to usurp power to control individual behavior should not be allowed without appropriate Constitutional or legislative authority.

Here is what I think.  We need to understand that doctors give ADVICE which they think is in our best interests.  When the doctor is not our personal doctor we must add to that advice and weigh with it our knowledge of our own personal circumstances.  And, added to that and weighed with it is that no doctor or scientist is yet fully knowledgeable about CoVid or its possible effects. 

Doctors along with us need to remember that while they are likely more informed than us about medical issues and about CoVid, that does not make them actually better than us or give them a right to order or control our behavior.

We must also understand that the politicians are not our doctors.  They have their own agendas and the CoVid is simply something that they are using to further those agendas and their own quest for power. 

CoVid is a part of our world and we must learn to live with it, not hide from it.  We must take the precautions that fit our personal circumstances and which we all, as members of a society, can reasonably take as part of our concern for our fellows.  This generally includes a choice to social distance and wear a mask, wash our hands, and avoid others when we are not feeling well.  We can decide for ourselves what venues and gatherings are appropriate to attend or not attend.  We do not need a Big Brother to order our choices for us and we should not suggest that we cede our personal liberties to the State.

Uncertainty is a part of life, and CoVid is now a part of that uncertainty.  We must not let the doctors, the scientists, the politicians, or the media use that uncertainty to divert us from our own ability to act reasonably and make our own decisions.  There is no reason to be hysterical.  CoVid, its risks, and its unknowns are just another part of life’s many uncertainties, uncertainties that our freedoms allow and demand us to navigate on our own.  Seeking relief from those uncertainties by turning our freedom of choice over to others provides only the certainty that we will lose our freedom to be who we are.