Commentary

There’s a quote again circulating the Internet said to be a translation into English from a newspaper in the Czech Republic that I have been unable to authenticate, but I thought I would share excerpts with you because, whoever wrote it, abroad or here at home, it’s on the mark.

I thought the anonymous quote was an appropriate follow-up to my last post, “Views of the Man Whom We Entrusted the Presidency,” as the writer blames Americans for entrusting “a man like him with the presidency.”

I have often written about those ill-advised voters, who weren’t enthralled with Joe Biden, but were just tired of President Trump’s mean-spirited Tweets and what they referred to as his unpresidential behavior, despite his accomplishments.

Here’s the anonymous quote:

“The danger to America is not Joe Biden, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the presidency.  It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of a Biden presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgement to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president.

“The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Biden, who is a mere symptom of what ails America.  Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made hm their prince.  The Republic can survive a Biden, who is, after all, merely a fool.  It is less likely a multitude of fools, such as those who made him their president.”

I wonder how many of those fools listened to him as revealed his plans for the Fiscal Year 2023 budget on Monday.  Again, we have to wonder if he believes what he says or reads what his handlers put before him.  I think the latter.

“The budget I’m releasing today sends a clear message to the American people that we … what we value … is first, fiscal responsibility,“ he said while outlining a $5.79 trillion budget proposal that includes $2.5 trillion in tax increases over the next 10 years, including more taxes on the gas and oil industry.

After reading the Wall Street Journal editorial board’s assessment of the proposal, in which they noted a bit of news that Washington “would prefer that Americans not know; that money has been rolling in as revenues climbed a remarkable 26 percent from the previous year, one wonders why the administration is asking for 31 percent more than in 2019? 

Out of curiosity, I perused the 158-page budget outline, in search of his plan to return to energy independence and stifling increased prices.  After shuffling through the summary, with those fawning phrases – “As the president has restored the nation’s strength at home … Under the president’s leadership … Restoring American leadership on the world stage … and the president took decisive action,” I searched for the “investments” in climate change.

The budget “invests” $44.9 billion to tackle the climate crisis; a $16.7 billion increase over 2021 enacted.  It’s more of the same agenda items with the goal of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 50-52 percent by 2030.

Under the heading, “Restoring America’s Global Climate Leadership,” the budget requests $11 billion in international climate finance, meeting the president’s pledge to quadruple international climate finance a year early to accelerate the global energy transition to net-zero emission by 2050.  How many Americans are aware of that line item, and is this how they want their money spent?

Stopping at the proposal for the Department of Energy, I noted a request for $48.2 billion, a 15.1 percent increase over the 2021 enacted level, to strengthen the clean energy effort.  No word on fracking or pipelines.

The president asks for a 29 percent increase for the EPA to $11.9 billion, much of it to deliver environmental justice.  With it, they plan to add 1,900 full-time employees, raising it to a total of 16,200.  More big government bureaucracy.

While some in Washington made noted, however, the findings in Ann Selzer’s highly accurate Iowa Poll, revealing that nearly 6 in 10 Americans – some of whom who entrusted Biden with the presidency – believe the economy will get worse in the next 12 months.  They ranked his overall approval rating at 34 percent.  Just last month, the Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that 64 percent of respondents thought the country was on the wrong track.

FINALLY, ponder this: With all of our problems, President Biden signed a law today making lynching a federal hate crime. Duh!

Now, more than ever … may God continue to bless the United States of America.