The Patriot Post® · Our Silly President

President Biden was asked about the state of U.S.-China relations at a press conference Sunday at the G-7 Summit in Japan. Biden said that he and the leader of communist China, President Xi Jinping, had agreed to meet in person to discuss relations.

But, “Then this silly balloon that was carrying two freight cars worth of spying equipment was flying over the United States, and it got shot down, and everything changed,” Biden explained.

Did you notice his choice of words? Biden said a “silly spy balloon got shot down.”

The balloon wasn’t “silly.” It was a hostile act. It was a violation of America’s territorial sovereignty!

And it’s curious that Biden said the balloon “got shot down.” I thought he ordered it to be shot down — along with several other useless objects in a pitiful attempt to look tough. That’s what we were told.

But who knows — maybe he didn’t issue the order to shoot it down. Perhaps whoever is the real president shot it down. Maybe we’re just now learning the truth about the spy balloon, along with FBI corruption (see below) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s health.

Sadly, we have a silly president who is doing immeasurable damage to our Republic.

Debt Ceiling Showdown

President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy met late yesterday afternoon to continue negotiations on raising the debt limit. The fact that these negotiations are occurring is a win for McCarthy. Biden spent months flatly refusing to negotiate at all.

And the fact remains that House Republicans have passed the only legislation that avoids a debt default. It also includes modest restrictions on future spending. And that’s exactly what the public wants.

According to a new Associated Press poll, only 19% of the public supports Joe Biden’s extreme position of raising the debt limit with no conditions, while 63% of the public supports McCarthy’s position of only raising the debt limit if spending reductions are included. Sixteen percent of the public doesn’t believe we should raise the debt limit at all.

It’s no coincidence that McCarthy’s approval ratings are up significantly, while Biden’s ratings are down, probably because McCarthy is proving himself to be the “responsible adult” in these negotiations.

Biden also made headlines at his G-7 press conference for suggesting that he might invoke the 14th Amendment as a means of dealing with the debt limit.

When asked about a possible 14th Amendment solution to the crisis, Biden said, “I’m looking at the 14th Amendment… I think we have the authority. The question is could it be done and invoked in time.”

Once again, Biden is a silly president who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Janet Yellen, his own Treasury secretary, said Sunday that the 14th Amendment isn’t “something that could be appropriately used in these circumstances.” She’s right.

Most Americans equate the 14th Amendment with the constitutional guarantee of “equal protection of the laws.” But Section 4 includes an obscure clause that is getting a lot of attention these days. It states, “The validity of the public debt of the United States … shall not be questioned.”

The Amendment’s only relevance in this debate is that Yellen “must prioritize debt repayment.” In other words, she must ensure that the interest payments on the national debt are made first based on tax receipts. Then the federal government can begin to fund other programs based on what is left over.

As the Wall Street Journal explains, “What the 14th Amendment doesn’t allow is the claim by many progressives that the president can issue new debt without the consent of Congress.”

Speaker Kevin McCarthy blasted Biden’s “crazy talk” about invoking some mythical executive power to evade the debt limit. He said:

“President Biden doesn’t think there is a single dollar of savings to be found in the federal government’s budget. He’d rather be the first president in history to default on the debt than to risk upsetting the radical socialists calling the shots for Democrats right now.”

More FBI Corruption

More FBI corruption was revealed in yet another Friday afternoon news dump. We’ve just learned from an unsealed 2022 FISA Court opinion that the FBI abused its authority to illegally monitor more than 278,000 Americans in 2021.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The FBI utilized its Section 702 authority more than 3.4 million times in 2021!

The Bureau used the powers we gave it to protect us from foreign enemies to instead illegally spy on Americans connected to the events of January 6th, those who participated in social justice demonstrations in 2020 and to spy on 19,000 donors to a failed congressional campaign. Since the candidate isn’t named, it’s likely the candidate was a Republican.

In order to use this Section 702 authority, FBI agents must reasonably believe there is some indication of foreign influence threatening the United States, like Russia meddling in an election.

Well, we now know that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election was nothing compared to the FBI’s meddling! And we know that the FBI did it again in 2020!

Clearly, this is not the work of “just a few bad apples.” There is “systemic corruption” at the FBI. That’s the main thrust of the Durham report.

That’s why the special counsel warned that “additional rules and regulations … would likely prove to be a fruitless exercise if … ‘Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity’ are not engrained in the hearts and minds of those sworn to” protect the American people and uphold the Constitution.

Once again, FBI Director Christopher Wray insisted that his agency has taken appropriate steps to address this latest problem. The FBI blamed this outrageous abuse on agents not knowing how to properly use the FISA system.

Well, who’s fault is that? And why are we only now learning about this massive breach of our privacy rights?

The FBI is facing serious criticism from Congress and the FISA Courts. But Wray continues to insist that there are no major problems at the FBI, and he’s got it all under control. He’s either clueless or he’s lying. And neither option is acceptable.

Leftist Travel Advisories

Plenty of Americans take travel advice from AAA. But what about the NAACP?

The left-wing organization just issued a travel advisory urging black Americans to not travel to Florida because of laws against woke indoctrination in the schools.

This follows similar advisories from a homosexual rights group, mad about Florida’s popular Parental Rights In Education law, and a Latino organization that is boycotting the state over its new anti-illegal immigration measures.

So, because Florida is not allowing teachers to indoctrinate children with anti-American history or transgender nonsense and because it doesn’t want illegal aliens taking jobs from American citizens or otherwise becoming a burden on taxpayers, three left-wing organizations are declaring the state to be full of hate and “hostile” to minorities.

Of course, they also believe that all of America is “systemically racist.”

I vehemently disagree with their analysis of Florida’s new laws as “hateful” and with their hatred for America. But I have a request: If they insist on boycotting the Sunshine State and if they really believe America is a racist country, could they issue their “no travel” advisories at the southern border?

These organizations have tremendous financial resources. It would be very easy for them to warn border crossers not to come to “racist America.”