The next Amazing Kreskin?
I was not alone in boycttng last nights’s state of the union. On all major channels the imperial spectacle was reportedly watched by only 25 million For the most important political address of the year that is pitiful I won’t count that as one of my predictions, but I could. Since I was not among the 25 million viewers all the following is second hand from various reports. Everyone has their own beef with the speech depending upon the axe they have to grind, me included. My axe-grinding involves the segregation of the governed into fenced off pogroms for the sake of the governing classes’ security.
Violence -What I did not expect was for Biden to call for increasing police funding, asking for $350,000,000 from “new resources”, of course. Can anyone else see another bribe to federalize all law enforcement in the works? He scored big politicaly there without pissing off much of his base, expect maybe for Cory Bush and Rashida Talib (Democrat Josh Gottheimer described her rebuttal as”like keying your own car”). I’ll have to deduct points for that miss.
Second Amendment - There seems to have been only slight reference to gun control, so slight the most of the reports I follow even caught it and I would have thought at least 1 on the right would be tuned in for it. Only from The Washington Post did I learn that Biden promote tougher gun use liability for manufacturers. Apparently the day Ted Deutch announced he would not be running for reelection was not the opportune moment to mention gun control. Following the shootings at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in his district Deutch became vociferous about gun control. I lost more points for Biden not mentioning this as expected.
COVID - Seeking to placate the unvaccinated after blaming us for the lingering virus after he had claimed victory last summer, Biden urged everyone to leave the divisive bug behind and come together. Sorry, Joe, we remember being blamed for lagging job growth and your predicted “winter of death”. Wasn’t it just yesterday (January 2022) that you admonished us saying no one had an excuse not to get vaccinated? Where has your unity behind Americans’ “fundamental longing for freedom” been hiding over the past year? Taking credit for getting us back to normal, he bragged before a mostly bare-faced chamber on the day the CDC relaxed its masking guidance that for most Americans masks are now optional. Still, 6 members were missing because they could not attend due to positive tests. As Jeff Childers pointed out, Covid deaths are higher this year than when Biden addressed a masked Congress last year. Good thing all those test kits we bought got distributed in time for this speech. Covid may be over, but Biden pledged he isn’t going to just “live with Covid.” He is going to continue to fight it with a “four point plan.” Apparently meaning to say virus instead of vaccine, Joe still believes the vaccines stop infections. He said, “you can’t build a wall high enough to keep out a - a - a vaccine.”.. Hey, it was late and he had been talking almost an hour. In Biden’s world the end of the pandemic comes about by how vaccinating the world — yes, he said that — and giving away a lot of free stuff. Free“high quality” N95 masks for the anxious, free tests for the sniffles, and free Pfizer drugs for when the vaccines don’t work.
Immigration - There was no mention of how he’ll go about doing it, but now Biden sees securing the Southern border and reforming immigration policy as important. At least polling of moderate Democrats is telling him that. Giving hope and amnesty to dreamers could solve all our labor supply issues, of course. When he said he would stop illegal immigration at the border using high-tech sensors and Mexican patrols the Democrats went wild, but “Build the wall," shouted Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH), as several GOP lawmakers chanted that on the floor.
Foreign policy - “Buy American” and “support the troops”. Never mind abandoning them and other American citizens in a hasty Afghanistan withdrawal or using them as human pincushions for experimental drugs. Thanks to Congresswoman Lauren Boebert breeching decorum to shout down President Biden during last night’s speech, Jen Psaki had some ‘splainin to do today. She said Biden just didn’t have time to mention the 13 service members killed trying to evacuate from the hellscape, but he had time to mention the flag-draped coffin of his veteran son. Not one who was in combat arms or died defending his country, just the one who seemed to have served honorably and did not get kicked out of the Navy. What else would one expect from a guy that almost 8 months after the debacle still claims Afghanistan was an “extraordinary success”? Does he think active, former and retired service members won’t notice? How about the generations of girls who are once again being abused and enslaved with impunity? In her rebuttal Iowa’s Republican Governor Kim Reynolds said: “Weakness on the world stage has a cost. and the president’s approach to foreign policy has consistently been too little too late.”
Inflation - Biden praised theAmerican Rescue Plan Act without acknowledging the inflation it fed. He attacked the Trump tax cuts, repeating that the cuts benefitted the top 1%. Even the blue checkmark fact-checkers called him on that lie. He even called attention to how the Rust Belt is leading a manufacturing resurgence. The president promised jobs, infrastructure, investment, and to buy American (including fossil fuel?), and to lower the costs of prescription drugs. He made no mention of how the any of this will be accomplished without pissing off the Russians and the pharmaceutical companies, however. He also promised to end inflation by lowering the deficit. According to the WSJ Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, said he will propose a quarter-percentage point rate increase at the central bank’s meeting in 2 weeks. I wonder how modern monetary theory instructs them to reduce inflation by raising rates and printing more dollars.. Maybe by raising taxes on corporations to 50% minimum, hoping other countries will to do the same thing to stop corporations from moving to favorable tax jurisdictions. Biden says 50% is plenty of profit for corporations. He should know. Look how wealthy he and his family have become by creating nothing and, as even Obama noted, consistently f***ing things up. Price controls coming up next? Biden said controlling prices is a priority for him.
Speaking of deficit spending - According to Jamie Dupree, “Mr. Biden took credit for what could well be a large drop in the federal deficit this year. "By the end of this year, the deficit will be down to less than half what it was before I took office," the President said. And it's true. The yearly deficit could drop dramatically because of a surge in tax revenues.” Talks for an Omnibus spending plan before the latest CCR runs out next week have hit a snag, however. According to Mitch McConnell, Democrats wanted to pay for military aid for Ukraine by taking money out of the U.S. defense budget and not just declaring the Russian invasion of Ukraine an emergency for us and adding to the deficit.
Healthcare - With the reputations of the CDC, FDA and NIH in tatters our presidents proposes to create a new medical agency — ARPA-H, which will be based on DARPA. Isn’t that comforting? A new militarized federal health
agency, as if the FBI wasn’t enough. Besides lower drug prices Joe addressed the declining mental health of our children in the wake of the pandemic, just the virus, not the governmental response to it. He pledged to beat the opiod epidemic, and to cure cancer. Drop those masks in schools and move back to beating the opioid epidemic, who would have thought? He didn’t say how he will accomplish that either, but I suspect it will involve shaming addicts and their families and communities while leaving the drug companies and medical establishment unscathed. Good intentions will see us through. Have faith.
Energy - A “green agenda” and releasing about a day’s worth of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves are Biden’s plans. There will be no disruption in the US importation of, or payments for, Russian oil. More electric car charging stations and tax credits to help weatherize homes were promised. Let’s just keep importing that Russian and Iranian oil, shall we?
Ukraine - Amid claps and cheers and waving Ukrainian flags by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, some dressed in blue and gold, and with the Ukrainian ambassador seated next to the First Lady, those attending seemed to unify against Putin thanks to rousing, meaningless rhetoric early in the speech, proving Biden can strike a populist pose when necessary. “We were ready” if Mr. Putin invaded, Mr. Biden said. If so, how were he, and the west in general, and this administration in particular, caught on the back foot when it happened? Had the U.S. been ready, Mr. Putin wouldn’t have invaded. To quote Inez Stepman, “John Kerry-esque sentimentality around “climate change” and the “rules-based international order” simply doesn’t work. Preening rhetoric laid on thick over Europe’s provocative powerlessness in energy and defense is exactly how we got here.” Apparently all the president offered in this speech was more preening rhetoric and tough talk, but with a guarantee of no new war, thankfully. The president did take the hint from Europe and finally announced that Russian planes are no longer welcome in U.S. airspace.
Supreme Court - President Biden did put in a plug for his Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, making good on the promise he made to Jim Clyburn, that Clyburn squeezed the out of a Biden desperate for his endorsement backstage during a commercial break during a primary debate. However, joining other boycotters, 5 of the 9 sitting judges chose not to attend the event. I suppose their front row seats were just not enough of an inducement.
Education - Somehow the administration will cut child-care costs “in half.” Governor Kim Reynolds aptly portrayed Biden as a 1970s redux and gave voice to parents angry about their children’s’ education.
Social media -Biden pledged to crack down on the social media giants he sicced on government policy desenters recently.
Missing - References to equity, diversity, critical race theory, Black Lives Matter, mandates, police violence, gender reassignment, the retreat from Afghanistan, student loans, unvaccinated people, school board investigations, January 6th insurrectionists, Capitol attackers or even rioters, misinformation, and disinformation. He said 'climate change' one time, and made one mention of solar and wind power. There were no odes to saintly experts like Fauci or Walensky, no overwhelmed hospitals, the CDC, or the FDA, no specific mention of the Build Back Better package, although expensive elements were re-packaged for another run. There was no mention of North Korea and only 2 passing references to China. One would think his party had done no caterwauling about any of these issues over the past year. He said nothing about masks, discriminatory employment policies, or vaccine efficacy. Never used were the phrases “safe and effective” or “follow the science” or boosters mentioned. We will still have to fight to get masks off planes and take tests to travel, to get back in the country or to get into government buildings. Military and healthcare workers will still have to get vaccinated to stayed employed; so mandates have just gone underground. There was, also, no mention of how the invasion of Ukraine could necessitate more defense spending.
Misinformation - The Washington Post even Pinnochioed Biden for these big lies:
“Our economy created over 6.5 million new jobs just last year, more jobs created in one year than ever before in the history of America.” He failed to mention the 9 million jobs lost in 2020.
He claimed to be “the only president ever to cut the deficit by more than 1 trillion dollars in a single year.” As WaPo noted: “In the first four months of fiscal 2022, which began last October, the federal government ran a deficit of $259 billion.”
“America used to have the best roads, bridges, and airports on Earth. And now our infrastructure is ranked 13th in the world.” Again from WaPo: “Of the 12 economies the WEF ranked ahead of the United States, three — Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates — are tiny coastal city-states. That’s not a relevant comparison.”
“Look, repeal the liability shield. It makes gun manufacturers the only industry in America that can’t be sued.” Wapo: “Gun manufacturers can certainly be sued — and some other industries have some liability protections.” Like Pharma?
“Just last year, 55 Fortune 500 corporations earned $40 billion in profits and paid zero dollars in federal tax.” WaPo: “The companies in question pay billions of dollars in federal payroll taxes. … The number comes from a report issued in April by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. .. Company tax returns generally are not made public, so ITEP’s numbers are the product of its own research and analysis of public filings.”
“Seventeen Nobel laureates in economics say my plan will ease long-term inflationary pressures.” WaPo: “Biden’s plan has changed significantly since [the economists’ letter was written]. The bipartisan infrastructure plan became law, but the rest of the spending proposal has been pared back.”
“The single biggest investment in history was a bipartisan effort.” WaPo: “The infrastructure bill passed in 2021 would not qualify as the largest in U.S. history.”
Gaffes - According to one UnHeard writer, Biden tripped over the word “ruble.”, made a baffling reference to a “pound of Ukrainians”, and at times looked very old, while at other times he looked fresh-faced like he had had new work done. He once referred to Ukrainians as Iranians, but apparently he started out seeming alert and not at all sleepy. Those naps at Rehoboth over the weekend must have refreshed him. Biden did occasionally stumble verbally— e.g., the Rust Belt as “the… the… the… home of the… the… significant resurgence of manufacturing”, but come on man, this was Corn Pop’s nemesis and he has struggled with a stutter his entire adult life. More confusing, however, was this quoted from The Economist - “After the perfunctory closing line ‘May God protect our troops’, the president felt compelled to add a mystifying postscript: ‘Go get him!’ (or perhaps, as some transcribed it, ‘Go get ’em!’), he shouted into the microphone.”
In sum, more co-opts and bribes, more tone than substance. Was anyone really surprised? There was a vibe shift, but no reset, no new strategic or even tactical vision, and no olive branches. Overall I don’t think Biden’s address impressed anyone. Even a self-identified Bernie voter posted on Twitter,: “I believe the whole speech, the whole Biden speech, is gaslighting people with (sic - without?) critical thinking skills.” In CNN’s instant polling the speech only got a a 41% favorable response and their commentator noted that this was the lowest positive they had recorded over the past 15 years of instant polling the “imperial spectacle". The Plagarist-in-Chief ended his first SOTU by saying, “The State of the Union is strong. Because our people are strong!” - a line directly taken from one delivered by President Trump at one of his State of the Union addresses. It was Joe Biden, after all. Teaching old dogs new tricks seems to beyond the skills of his handlers.
According to Allison Schuster, a research assistant for Hillsdale College in DC and Federalist contributer, “I had to show proof of my lease to an officer armed with an AK-47 across his chest just to leave my apartment Tuesday as the National Guard protected the capitol for the SOTU address.” Perhaps returning the people’s house to the people is gaining some ground, however. With mandates dropping in DC, "Senate Democrats have finally re-joined reality," said Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), who had pushed the resolution to open the Capitol. "We are one step closer to Americans walking the halls of Congress once again!" Now we must make sure it is never taken away from us again.
Nancy admiring Joe’s mention of “burn pits in the Middle East”. At least Kamels had enough sense to remain seated and detached.