Parkinson’s is not really the issue – cognitive ability is the issue

The New Neo Posted on by

It’s possible the public has been lied to about whether Biden has Parkinson’s, and is still being lied to about it. That would be serious, but not new. We’re used to being lied to quite regularly in order to protect Democrats and harm Republicans.

On the other hand, Parkinson’s is often not an easy diagnosis to make even for experts, and if Biden has it (and I happen to think he does, or some related illness) he has an atypical case without the characteristic tremor. That happens sometimes.

But why would a Parkinson’s diagnosis matter, except in terms of truth-telling versus lies? The motor problems characteristic of Parkinson’s wouldn’t necessarily be a bar to being a competent president. But two problems that often go with Parkinson’s would be. The first is fatigue, one of the most common and debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s. And the second is, of course, dementia.

Biden either has those symptoms – irrespective of a Parkinson’s diagnosis – or he doesn’t. He certainly seems to have both. That’s the issue, of course.

We have zero reason to trust the Biden camp on this, or the Democrats, or the press, or even his doctors.

One thing that has become quite clear is that the 25th Amendment is unworkable unless an administration can be trusted to have the integrity to apply it when necessary, and to have the good of the country at heart. This is obviously not the case right now, and I wonder whether it will ever be the case again. Maybe it’s been a long long time since it was ever the case. Power corrupts, and people in power ordinarily wish to cling to it.

Is there a lever long enough to move Joe Biden?

The New Neo Posted on by

Archimedes is purported to have said: “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”

I’m glad I’m not a Democrat right now. They’re engaged in looking for a lever long enough to dislodge Joe Biden’s stubborn grip on the 2024 nomination, and so far it eludes them. Will they find it in time?

Of course, they may not need it if they can commit enough fraud to win the election even with Biden at the helm. There is zero pretense that they care about the effect his continuing to occupy the office has had, and will have, on the fate of the country and the world. It’s about one thing only: winning. That’s why Joe was chosen in the first place in 2020 – not because he’d be a good president, but because he could be presented to the public in such a way that he would be the victor. And whether this occurred through rigging, fraud, or fair and square, it hardly matters to them, as long as it could be accomplished.

The same is true today. The problems with finding an alternative candidate remain. Is Kamala better – and by “better” they mean “more likely to beat Trump”? The pressure on Biden to withdraw is already relentless, but it will get irresistible if people such as Obama become convinced someone else will be a better candidate.

There are people who think that candidate will be Michelle Obama. There are some who believe it will be Obama himself as Kamala’s VP. I suppose either thing is possible, but my gut feeling is that neither will happen. I think the signals we’d be picking up right now would be different if this was the plan. I believe there is actual confusion and division at the moment concerning the way forward for the party.

And meanwhile, Joe’s a stubborn old cuss, isn’t he?

Matt Yglesias offers a primer on confirmation bias – his own

The New Neo Posted on by

Democrat pundit Matt Yglesias admits to having been wrong about Biden’s mental acuity, and he seems to beat himself up for it so sincerely that I tend to believe he really didn’t see what was in front of his face all the time. Confirmation bias is very real, it can affect anyone and everyone, and it’s important to be on the watch for it in oneself.

However, although he admits to his own confirmation bias (not using the term, however), Yglesias fails to take the opportunity to question his judgment about more than Joe’s fading synapses. Everything else in Yglesias’ belief system seems to remain intact. For example, he makes it clear that – despite everything – if Biden stays in the race, Yglesias will vote for Biden over Trump. And Trump? According to Yglesias, he’s a criminal and an insurrectionist. It’s just so obvious to him.

Yglesias also thinks that Biden has accomplished a lot of good during his administration. Afghanistan, and the colossal error of judgment that represented? Doesn’t seem to have registered with Yglesias – and that occurred towards the beginning of the Biden administration, years ago. Confirmation bias also involves ignoring what doesn’t fit your favored perspective. Yglesias seems to not have noticed that Biden has shown poor judgment during his entire political career. And Biden’s corruption as shown on the Hunter laptop? Not mentioned. Not an issue for Yglesias.

What lulled Yglesias into such a false sense of security about Biden? Something utterly ridiculous – Biden’s ability to read a speech off a teleprompter.

And why do I care what Yglesias says on this? I think he’s typical of a certain sort of earnest liberal Democrat who works in media and sees only what he wants to see. By no means are all Democrats in media like this; many are far more cynical and ruthless.

The French election results shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone

The New Neo Posted on by

And yet I see some headlines indicating the results from Sunday are some sort of surprise. I can’t imagine why, since Macron and the far left had telegraphed in advance quite clearly that they would unite forces, remove weaker candidates, and thus consolidate the opposition to Le Pen’s “far right” party. That’s what happened, and it worked – depending on what the word “worked” means. It seems to me that both in the US and in so many other Western countries the focus is on preventing the demonized populist parties from getting power, and any method will do – including empowering the far left.

In France, the method just might end up paralyzing the government. But hey, they stopped that nationalist, anti-immigrant party, right? So it’s all good:

Lies and coverups

The New Neo Posted on by

Don’t you find it interesting that the very same people willing and eager to lie about Joe Biden’s health – to cover up the incapacity of a Democrat president – ask us to trust them to not commit fraud in a national election that they consider of vital importance?

Their principles are such that they would certainly commit fraud if they found it possible and necessary to do so in order to win. That is crystal clear.

France faces runoff election tomorrow

The New Neo Posted on by

And there’s a great of catastrophizing about how well the so-called “far right” has been doing. Sound familiar?:

National Rally’s opponents and critics warn France is on the brink of a political catastrophe if an overtly anti-immigration, nationalist and euroskeptic party wins a majority in the parliamentary election this weekend.

Isn’t it the other way around – that the reason Le Pen’s party is doing well is because France is already on the brink of a national catastrophe if nothing is done about the immigration problem – that is, in particular, the Muslim immigration problem?

More:

“We are very anxious and we are trying to get everyone to vote, trying to tell people who don’t vote to go and vote, and to try to convince people who vote for the extreme right that they are not a good answer [to France’s problems].”

I would say that, if you wish to do that, it’s necessary to come up with your own solution that seems better. But the left seems to use fear of the right as its main motivator.

More:

Since the results of the first ballot, parties on the center-right and left have gone all-out to prevent RN’s advance in the second ballot, aiming to prevent a parliamentary majority for the party at all costs. Joining forces in a so-called “Republican Front,” centrists and leftwing parties have withdrawn candidates in many constituencies where one of their candidates was better placed to beat the RN.

By offering voters a starker choice and fewer options, the anti far-right front hopes that the electorate will vote for the non-RN candidate. Whether it will work remains to be seen and analysts point out that French voters might not take kindly to being directed how to vote, or who to vote for.

Should be interesting. Much of the article focuses on divisions in French society – it seems France is experiencing political polarization similar to ours.

Political experts agree that the current febrile atmosphere of French politics, and antagonism between the main bodies of voters, are the ingredients for further civil unrest.

“You’ve got here all the recipe for a super-polarized political scene and that, of course, translates into civil society as a whole,” Philippe Marlière, professor of French and European politics at University College London, told CNBC.

“If you’ve got only 33-34% of people voting for the far-right it means the rest is wary of that, or completely opposed to it, so that will translate on every level of politics — institutional politics, party politics, the National Assembly, but also in society. You will have a very polarized society in which younger people, ethnic minorities, women, and in particular feminists, would be very worried,” he said.

In other words, they’re afraid that Muslims and the left will riot.

Joe’s disastrous interview

The New Neo Posted on by

Apparently George Stephanopoulos was selected to administer the coup de grace to Biden by interviewing him:

Driving the news: In the 22-minute interview, Biden insisted he has the stamina to take on Trump and refused to take a cognitive test.

The president rejected polls indicating he’s trailing his Republican rival and minimized the extent to which his Democratic allies have pressured him to withdraw from the race.

And Biden made clear he’s not dropping out: “If the Lord Almighty came down and said ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race. The Lord Almighty’s not coming down.”…

Another House Democrat said their colleagues feel Biden’s interview was “not impressive” and that “he’s toast” in November.
Said a third: “The interview hardly inspires confidence. It changes nothing.”

A fourth House Democrat said they were “shocked” by Biden’s “refusal to recognize reality” in terms of polling and his “failure to make an argument about why he wants a second term.”

But that’s not new. If they say it is, they’re either lying or have been in flagrant denial equal to that of Joe Biden. What’s going on is that they’re perceiving the Biden ship as sinking, and some of the rats are leaving. Others are staying and praising Biden.

Those quotes were from an Axios article, but here’s a description from RedState, with the following quote:

Biden has exhibited that sort of bluster and denial for his whole career. In fact, he’s been far more out of touch with reality and full of exaggerations and BS than Trump, although the left usually concentrates on the latter and ignores the former.

And then there’s the “now it can be told” Parkinson’s question:

A top Washington D.C. neurologist had a meeting with President Biden’s personal doctor at the White House earlier this year, visitor logs reviewed by The Post show.

Dr. Kevin Cannard, a Parkinson’s disease expert at Walter Reed Medical Center, met with Dr. Kevin O’Connor, and two others at the White House residence clinic on Jan. 17, according to the records, which emerge as questions continue to swirl about the 81-year-old president’s mental health in the wake of his debate debacle last week with former President Trump.

This may or may not have any significance. But I’ve long thought that Biden has Parkinson’s. The slow and jerky gait, the fogginess, the masklike expression, the balance problems. These are all symptoms of Parkinson’s (I know, because I am very close to two people with it and have read a great deal about it). It doesn’t necessarily mean he has it, however. But it certainly is a good possibility. One of things things about Parkinson’s is that there’s no definitive test for it. Doctors who are experienced in the field go by the symptoms. And if you think Biden can’t have it because he lacks a tremor, Parkinson’s doesn’t always involve that classic symptom.

Other hallmarks of Parkinson’s that are less well-known but very common are extreme fatigue. Biden certainly has that. And cognitive decline is, unfortunately, part of the Parkinson’s spectrum for many sufferers.

Trump wants another debate

The New Neo Posted on by

Trump says he wants another debate, this time with no moderators or rules. I say be careful what you wish for. I think he’s banking on the idea that the proposal won’t be accepted:

This won’t happen, of course. Whoever is pulling Joe Biden’s strings, and that is very likely (let’s say this quietly) Jill Biden, would never let befuddled old Joe anywhere near such an event. But watch for Trump to keep needling him over it, and to use the refusal as another data point for Biden’s manifestly obvious unfitness to serve.

But Joe has nowhere to go but up after the first debate. Maybe Trump should just leave it the way it is, with Biden’s revealing and embarrassing performance in that encounter.

Then again, Trump is a risk-taker.

But many people have observed that the rules and moderators in the first debate actually favored Trump in that they made him look more restrained and presidential. He didn’t need to torment Biden or browbeat him; just letting Biden talk was enough.

No, Biden’s mental decline was not hidden

The New Neo Posted on by

That’s the way it’s being framed, though. It was actually denied, and those who mentioned it were shunned and excoriated in an act of attempted gaslighting.

But the reality was that his decline was noticeable and was evident even in 2020. The left believes it can deny reality, however:

A new bombshell report from New York Magazine exposes with incredibly shocking detail how Biden’s health struggles have been kept secret by many who have gotten close to him. The report, headlined “The Conspiracy of Silence to Protect Joe Biden,” includes longtime Biden family friends and associates who have decided to speak out after months of denial.

Why are they speaking out now? Because reality became undeniable.

More from the New York Magazine report:

Uniformly, these people were of a similar social strata. They lived and socialized in Washington, New York, and Los Angeles. They did not wish to come forward with their stories. They did not want to blow a whistle. They wished that they could whistle past what they knew and emerge in November victorious and relieved, having helped avoid another four years of Trump. What would happen after that? They couldn’t think that far ahead. Their worries were more immediate.

When they discussed what they knew, what they had seen, what they had heard, they literally whispered. They were scared and horrified.

They thought they could fool the rubes and protect their own positions. It all came crashing down one week ago. They obviously also believed that anything – even an addled, confused, cognitive mess in the White House – was better than Trump. Talk about Trump derangement!

More:

“Those who encountered the president in social settings sometimes left their interactions disturbed. Longtime friends of the Biden family, who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity, were shocked to find that the president did not remember their names,” the report continued. “At a White House event last year, a guest recalled, with horror, realizing that the president would not be able to stay for the reception because, it was clear, he would not be able to make it through the reception.”

But none of this was a secret. It was evident that Biden was suffering from cognitive problems and even physical problems. The right has been discussing it since 2020 and the only disagreement on the right was whether he was utterly out of it or only halfway out of it. I’ve been in the latter camp – he’s halfway out of it – but he’s obviously obviously declined further in the last few months. And of course halfway out of it isn’t good enough.

The guest suddenly was in a position where he or she was no longer sure they could vote for Biden, and was now “open to an idea that they had previously dismissed as right-wing propaganda: The president may not really be the acting president after all.”

We supposedly have the 25th Amendment to deal with these situations. But in practice, it’s apparently difficult to invoke when people’s jobs depend on not upsetting the apple cart – and when there’s no politically viable replacement.