By Sherman Frederick/Properly Subversive
“Go, Scott Pelley, go!”
I wonder if California Gov. Gavin Newsom yelled something like that at the TV as CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley – asking easy and respectful questions – exposed the discombobulated mind of President Joe Biden in his 60 Minutes interview last week.
I jest about the governor rooting against the president, of course. But anyone who saw the president’s interview witnessed a troubling display of confusion, an old man who appeared unable to hold a serious and coherent conversation on the issues of the day.
Here’s two exchanges that ought to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
Pelley asked about the president’s “focus,” which is a nice way of asking about his mental acuity. Biden said:
“Oh, it’s focused. I’d say it’s– I think it’s– I– I haven’t– look, I have trouble even mentioning, even saying to myself, my own head, the number of years. I no more think of myself as being as old as I am than fly. I mean, it’s just not– I haven’t– observed anything in terms of– there’s not things I don’t do now that I did before, whether it’s physical, or mental, or anything else.”
Anybody have any idea what the heck that means?
Then on Taiwan Pelley asked the commander in chief if U.S. forces would defend the island in the event of a China attack. He said without qualification: “Yes.”
After the interview, CBS said on its website, “a White House official told us U.S. policy has not changed. Officially, the U.S. will not say whether American forces would defend Taiwan. But the commander-in-chief had a view of his own.”
He had a “view of his own”? Who the hell is running American foreign policy, anyway? And shouldn’t that person get Joe Biden in the loop?
FOG (Friends of Gavin) last week told the national news media that if Joe Biden doesn’t run for re-election in 2024, Gavin will “absolutely” be a candidate “no ifs, ands or buts.”
Suit up, governor. You’re on deck.
MAPs?
There is a serious effort to get people to stop using the word “pedophile.” Instead they want to use “Minor Attracted Person” – MAP for short.
According to a website on the topic, MAP is not an attempt to “rebrand” or “polish” pedophiles. MAP is an umbrella term that includes:
– Pedophile, an individual attracted to a prepubescent child.
– Hebephile, an individual attracted to a pubescent child (11-14).
– Ephebophile, an individual attracted to a post-pubescent child (i.e., a teen, 15-19).
The website says: “These terms define an ‘attraction’ not a ‘behavior.’ By using these terms we under no circumstances are condoning or accepting the sexual abuse of children.”
With all due respect to the MAP community, count me out for the next pedo power parade. If you want to have sex with children, then you have a serious problem that 100% should be worrisome, not glossed over. And, if you actually have sex with children, well, you should be culled from the herd.
I’m not wrong on this.
LYING EYES
The old editor of the Review-Journal, Tom Mitchell, liked to parrot political-speak with the saying: “Who you gonna believe, me, or your lying eyes?”
That’s pretty much what’s going on with the White House and the issues at the southern border these days.
The Biden Administration keeps saying that the Mexican border is “secure.” But then Fox News and others show drone footage of thousands of migrants each day crossing the border illegally.
Note to the Biden Administration: Voters take those lying eyes into the voting booth in less than two months. A little honesty – just a little – is in order.
ONE MORE THING
– She likes her whiskey like she likes her men – twice her age and from Scotland.
– I am here if you need moron support. It’s like moral support, but stupid.
– As you age it is ridiculous how fast bird-watching creeps up on you. You spend your whole life being 100% indifferent to birds, and then one day you’re like “damn, is that a yellow-rumped warbler?”
Until next week, happily count the yellow-rumped warblers in your life. Also, avoid soreheads, laugh a little and always question authority.
“Properly Subversive” is commentary written by Sherman R. Frederick, a Nevada Hall of Fame journalist and co-founder of Battle Born Media, a news organization dedicated to the preservation of community newspapers. Mr. Frederick loves feedback. You can reach him by email at shermfrederick@ gmail. com.