Major Problems And An Absent President...What Could Go Wrong?
"He who wishes to serve his country must have not only the power to think, but the will to act"
In case you haven’t noticed, there are a few problems the President needs to address, and he’s, well:
Like it or not, he’s what we have. So I would suggest Biden forego his weekends at the beach, bike rides around town, Camp David getaways, and ice cream runs. Instead, he needs to sashay his ass back to DC, stay up past 4 p.m. and, you know work on the problems he created:
Inflation. For the 12 months ending in August, inflation (excluding food and energy) hit 5.25%. For gas 42.7% - the highest since 2008. Before 08 you have to go back to 1982 to find higher inflation.
If this keeps going, soon you’ll be able to drive to the grocery store or buy food, but not both.
Southern Boarder. A crisis, the handling of which is a disaster. So far this year over 1.3 million people have been apprehended illegally crossing our southern border - about 9,700 have criminal convictions; Human traffickers are making $14 million a day; 10,500 pounds of fentanyl has been seized this year (more than the last three years combined); an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 illegal Haitian immigrants are living under a bridge in Del Rio Texas; and towns, counties, and ranchers are being overwhelmed.
But hey, life is good in Delaware.
COVID. Biden has yet to enact a semi-coherent COVID strategy. We’ve gone from masks are needed to protect the unvaccinated from the vaccinated, to masks are need to protect the vaccinated from the unvaccinated because the vaccines work. Vaccinated foreigners can’t legally enter the US by land…but they can illegally enter vaccine free. Biden’s proposed vaccine mandate is proving to be effective…at promoting litigation, causing social unrest, and aggravating the labor shortage, but will be ineffective in stopping COVID - it is applicable to only a third of the population. Finally, some states have imposed draconian restrictions for everyone…except those who attend the Emmy awards, can afford to go to the Met Gala, or hang with San Francisco Mayor Breed and other ‘privileged elites.’
Like a Biden speech, none of this makes sense
Afghanistan. Biden’s fiasco of a pull-out is still causing problems. Our allies have lost trust in us and our enemies are emboldened; the Taliban is now armed with $85 billion of modern weapons; Afghanistan is back to being a 7th century theocracy run by terrorist who can’t spell “human rights;” ISIS-K is leading a terrorist reemergence; there is civil war in Afghanistan that is spreading to Pakistan; and an estimated 100,000 unvetted Afghanis were evacuated to the U.S. - while we left hundreds of Americans and tens of thousands of our Afghani allies behind.
If this is a success as Biden claims, then our enemies must be hoping he has many more.
Kabul Drone Strike. The assurances we were given that the drone attack was a “righteous strike” that killed an ISIS-K operative and prevented an “imminent attack” were pretty much lies. Instead the “righteous strike” killed an aide worker and nine members of his extended family - including seven children. General McKenzie said he accepts full responsibility, yet there has been no accountability.
Biden has not felt the need to address the issue.
France. The French recalled their ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia over the U.S. agreement to supply nuclear powered submarines to Australia. Just like the pullout in Afghanistan, the problem with this policy is the methods Biden used, not the goal. In any event it is a major rift and needs Biden’s attention, which he is not providing.
The story the media pushed that Biden is an expert in foreign affairs is an untruth.
General Milley. The allegations that he had unauthorized telephone calls with his Chinese counterpart and that he inserted himself into the chain-of-command are serious. As the Chairman, Joint Chiefs if Staff he is the military advisor to the President and Secretary of Defense. He has no operational control or command over any military force nor does he make policy.1 An investigation is required to ensure the military remains subordinate to our elected officials. If the allegations are true, then Milley must be relieved and court martialed. The President must be involved.
Maybe I’m overreacting, what could go wrong when general rank officers usurp the authority of the President?
Given the last 48 years in general and the last 8 months in particular, I am pretty sure Albert Einstein had Biden in mind when he observed: “Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I am not yet completely sure about the universe.” Stupidity may be an excuse for not doing the job of being President well. It is not an excuse for ignoring the job all together. Biden wanted to be President so he needs to do the work of one. I would suggest that now is a good time to start.
*Subtitle is a quotes attributed to Plato.