7/4/24

 Thursday, July 4, 2024

1776 US Congress proclaims the Declaration of Independence and from Great Britain

1845 Henry David Thoreau moves into his shack on Walden Pond

1855 The first edition of Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" is published

I fell asleep on LZB while Geri watched season 3 of The Bear and woke up at 11:30 to move to the TV room where I slept until 3:30.  Watching The Bear is not a pleasant experience because the protagonist is so emotionally driven and damaged - too much tension, stress, anger, especially between Carmy and Richie caused mainly by Carmy's monomaniac OCD for a Michelin star and perfectionism, an illness.       

Prednisone, day 53, 15 mg., day 17.  I've been having intestinal problems lately probably from the diet I've been following in an attempt to lower my glucose readings, heavy on fish including herring and sardines, salads, and and now cabbage borscht.  I hope injecting 1.5 mg. of Trulicity tomorrow will help the glucose counts.  I took my 15 mg. of prednisone at 5:12 a.m. and breakfast of Grape Nuts and berries at 5:30 after which I fell asleep and woke up at about 8:30 with a high CGM reading of 329 from the Grape Nuts and berries 3 hours before.  It became an ALARM a few minutes later at 354.  Plus, intestinal problems even after the fibrous breakfast.   BP at 2 p.m. - 118/77.

Biden has been hiding and is being hidden.  There can't be much doubt that Joe Biden has been in hiding throughout most of his presidency but especially in the last year and most especially since last week's catastrophic debate performance.  From the WSJ:

Concerns about Biden’s age and efforts by the White House to limit his media appearances aren’t new. Biden has been media-shy over the course of his presidency, prompting criticism and frustration from some reporters and media outlets.  In February, Biden’s decision to forgo a high-profile interview ahead of the Super Bowl drew scrutiny because it came on the heels of two separate events during which he confused current and past world leaders, and a report from a special counsel that said Biden’s memory had been “significantly limited.” His team instead posted its first TikTok video during the Super Bowl.  As of the end of April, Biden has given fewer interviews and news conferences than any of his recent predecessors, according to data collected by Martha Joynt Kumar, an emeritus professor at Towson University. Biden’s last wide-ranging town hall-style meeting with an independent news outlet was in October 2021.

White House daily briefings by Karine Jean-Pierre have been brutal, not in tone or style, but substantively, with most reporters asking why the president has not been more visible since his epic fail last Thursday, why he has done no interviews, why he has not come down to the briefing room with Jean-Pierre to deal with the WH correspondents, why he is only seen reading from teleprompters.  Tomorrow's interview with George Stephanopolous has taken on huge significance,  Will he be energetic?  Will he stumble over words, as he almost always does?  Will he lose his train of thought, and do one of his frequent "well, anyway, . . ." moves away from a thought half-expressed?  Will he commit a gaffe, for which he is a past master?    Will there be a 'We finally beat Medicare" moment?  Will he fall prey to his tendency to just make things up when it suits his momentary purpose?  Any slip-up could be fatal to his viability  Will his phony-baloney, just plain Joe, style work for him in the setting, or against him?   In a sense, all of this should be too little, too late in the sense that the damage done at the debate is irremediable.  If Biden could be that out of touch at the debate, knowing what the stakes were, how can his competency be trusted on any day?  If suffering from a head cold can lead to that much dysfunction on so important an occasion, how can his competency be trusted on any day?  If he was still so affected by jet lag 11 or 12 days after his trips to Europe and after nearly a full week at Camp David resting and preparing for the debate, how can his compos mentis ever be trusted?  Finally, I first paid attention to Biden's faltering footsteps when the debate was completed and he approached the steps leading from his podium to the lower level where Jake Tapper and Dana Bash were seated.  Jill is holding his hand and he is unsteady and uncertain on his feet as I am on "a bad day."  It's an image not easily forgotten.

There is also an op-ed by Philip Swaim in this morning's WSJ about what I have long wondered about: Biden's intelligence and judgment.  The writer mentions his choice of Kamala Harris, whose popularity was long below that of Biden himself, his decision to leave Afghanistan the way he did (over the advice of his generals and with disastrous consequences), the way he keeps supplying Netanyahu with weapons while wringing his hands over civilian casualties in Gaza, the way he keeps supplying Ukraine with some weapons, but not the needed ones, and restricts its ability to use them,  "Perhaps his greatest political blunder of a career replete with them: Mr. Biden didn’t have to challenge Mr. Trump to a debate. But he did. “Well, make my day, pal,” he said. “I’ll even do it twice.”"  How is it that after a long lifetime of public speaking, ,,,,, Biden hasn't learned to modulate his delivery, to slow down his enunciation to reduce his tumble-tonguedness?  How was it that he ended his law student career 76th out of his class of 85?  How was it that he was almost expelled for plagiarism?  How was it that he crashed his 1988 run for president because of easily discovered plagiarism of British Labor Leader Neil Kinnock's autobiography?  How is it that he has so little self-control about telling lies about himself and his achievements, lies easily uncovered yet frequently repeated by him?  How is it he can't even keep his excuses straight, with his aides all blaming "a cold" and him blaming "a sore throat," two different maladies, and him claiming that he 'almost fell asleep during the debate' because of foreign travel almost 2 weeks earlier?  How is it that after Karine Jean-Pierre denies that he has seen a doctor since his annual physical in February, Biden himself says he consulted a doctor a few days after the debate?  Are these the kinds of behaviors we ever saw in JFK, LBJ, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, or Barack Obama, or are are they unique to Joe Biden?

Biden is 81; I am 82.  Since my 82nd birthday, I have experienced very serious health declines, most notably polymyalgia rheumatica and reliance on prednisone, but also debilitating spinal arthritis, difficulty walking, climbing stairs, loss of leg strength, difficulty with vision and reading from dry eyes, and difficulty swallowing solid food from dry mouth.  There are times when every step seems a prelude to a fall, when moving the recycling and the garbage to their carts in the garage is risky behavior, and now bowel and bladder challenges add to the indignities of old age.  What will Biden's health be like after his 82nd birthday?  his 83rd?  his 84th?  Who is he fooling?

Anniversary thoughts: First, "All men are created equal", except women, slaves, Indians, propertyless people, etc.

Second, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. 

Third,  "Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes."