A Crisis of Leadership - You Can't Fix Stupid
By E. P. Unum
There is no way to sugarcoat this essay, so I won’t even try. We have a crisis of leadership in America today. And this crisis, unlike others we have faced in our history, is potentially devastating to our way of life.
Looking back three plus years ago, when Joe Biden was then candidate Biden, if you asked me to develop a list of reasons why I felt strongly that Joe Biden should not be President of the United States, it would not be hard to do. Indeed, I said so in several other articles I have written and published. Among the many concerns I expressed then were these:
- Biden is a man who accomplished virtually nothing in his 50+ years in Washington. Literally nothing. Can you name one bill or piece of legislation that has helped Americans? I can’t.
- He vacillates on major issues.
- Despite his rhetoric and the media propping him up, he has done virtually nothing for African Americans or Hispanics.
- He is not at all intelligent and is prone to plagiarism and outright lies, which he has been forced to admit to.
- His behavior in Ukraine and how he conducted himself remains a horrid display of stupidity. He used American financial guarantees as leverage to get someone in the Ukrainian government fired in order to postpone an investigation into a company where his son Hunter Biden was on the board of directors and receiving significant cash payments. Ditto for his role in having his son accompany him to China, where his son came away with $1.5 billion in “investment funds” which Hunter Biden was to manage even though he has no expertise in this arena.
- Biden is often confused, a poor speaker, has no hands-on practical business experience (he has never had a job in the private sector), and is not well-grounded in economics and negotiations.
- His so-called policies, which include support for the “Green New Deal” with a cost of $93 Trillion, (money we don’t have), if implemented, would rapidly bring our nation dangerously close to a communist state.
- He speaks of being a practicing Roman Catholic but is a steadfast endorser of abortions at any time during pregnancy, regardless of the reason…just abortion on demand.
- He likes to portray a tough guy image when in fact he is no tough guy and never has been one; he just has a big mouth and no way to back it up.
- He is corrupt to the core, as are his son Hunter and his brother James. This corruption compromises his entire Presidency. Just ask Tony Bobulinsky and the FBI. With his addict son and brother selling access to Biden, the President, he has received millions in under-the-table graft. Joe Biden cannot act in the best interests of America because he is compromised. He is bought and paid for by China, Russia, and other nations. This is not hyperbole; it is fact.
But all these issues pale in comparison to the one major reason why this man and his far-left progressive VP candidate Kamala Harris should not have been permitted anywhere near the White House, in my humble opinion.
When he was the Vice President, he did the most unthinkable thing for a man in his position. He revealed the names and the unit that killed Bin Laden
On May 3, 2011, at a national event in Washington, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. did something unimaginable for a man occupying the office of Vice President – He publicly revealed the identity of the special operations unit responsible for bin Laden’s killing, just to show that he “was in the know.”
His reckless action put at risk the lives of every member of Seal Team 6; it literally put a target on their backs The Taliban and other jihadists, eager to avenge bin Laden, now knew with great certainty, which unit to target. Stunned and shocked, Seal Team Six members immediately realized they were going to be hunted by al Qaeda sympathizers.
Soon after Biden’s reckless disclosure, an American CH-47 Chinook was shot down by an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) in the Tangi Valley, Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan, all 38 aboard were killed including many members of Seal Team Six. This incident became known as Extortion 17, and that itself is another story.
That alone is disqualifying for Joe Biden to assume the mantle of leadership as President of the United States. The media of course kept this story under wraps just like they did the Hunter Biden laptop. But the fact remains that Joe Biden is not trustworthy. And he is emotionally unstable and physically challenged. So, you might say How do you know this? Good question. Consider this: A man who suffered two subarachnoid brain bleeds requiring hospitalizations in his life, is likely to be suspect in terms of being able to deal with the stress of the toughest job on earth. Yet, he somehow got elected in November 2020 by campaigning from his basement. He is now our President. However, think for just a moment about the weaknesses of his character, lack of business and economic acumen and how these weaknesses created the environment we now find ourselves in. Let me explain. You see, there are two significant qualities every leader must have to succeed. A leader must, first and foremost, be a person of character and integrity. Secondly, a leader must care about the people he or she is called upon to lead.
Joe Biden fails miserably on both counts. In his inaugural address, he said he would be a President for all the people, not just those who voted for him. He lied.
He said he would defeat Covid. He lied again. Lying has been a way of life for this man. He struggles with truth; consequently, he will do anything to look good even though he lacks the ability to be good. Consider the characteristics of emotionally stable intelligent leaders and compare these to Joe Biden:
Emotionally intelligent leaders possess seven essential qualities that indicate the word LEADERS.
L is for listening. Emotionally intelligent leaders place a higher value on listening, and less value on talking. Biden can’t keep his mouth shut. I am sure military leaders told him he needed to keep Bagram Airbase active and maintain a combat force of troops sufficient to effectuate an orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan. He didn’t listen. As a result, we had the self-inflicted tragedy that our evacuation from Afghanistan became. Yet another stain on American honor to rival Benghazi, which, of course, begs the question: where was Biden, the VP, while Benghazi was going on? Never forget President Barack Hussein Obama’s statement: “Never underestimate the ability of Joe Biden to f#&*ck things up!”
E is for equipping. Emotionally intelligent leaders equip their employees with the tools and resources to fulfill their duties effectively. He ordered the termination of the Keystone XL Pipeline and the extension of unemployment benefits on top of massive American Rescue Plan payments. How’d that work out in terms of inflation and supply chain issues?
A is for appreciation. Emotionally intelligent leaders appreciate the individuals they work with and invest time, effort, and money to expand their abilities.All Biden seems to understand is mandates—more mandates, masks, threats, and how to spend more of other people’s money!
D is for developing. Emotionally intelligent leaders know their most important assets go up and down the elevator every day, their employees. Therefore, they consistently create development opportunities to help their people grow and perform. What constructive development programs has Biden enacted, like “opportunity zones,” during the Trump Administration?
E is for enlisting. Emotionally intelligent leaders engage in support from others (regardless of party affiliation) because they know that their employees and team members are crucial to implementing change effectively and efficiently. Can you name one such example? I don’t think undercutting the deal we had with France for nuclear submarines in favor of one with Australia fits the bill.
R is for relationships. Emotionally intelligent leaders know that their success or failure is based on the quality of their relationships with others. They invest heavily in building and deepening those professional relationships. For a man with over 50 years in government, he sure has not demonstrated much in reaching across the aisle to build consensus and relationships like Newt Gingrich did. Biden’s idea of reaching across the aisle seems to be making threats to those who disagree with him.
S is for service. Emotionally intelligent leaders recognize that they must first give the most to the people they lead to inspire them. They constantly seek ways to serve the people they lead instead of demanding that they adhere to their leadership. Biden’s understanding of service is not service to something bigger than himself but rather service to himself and for himself. When you put on the uniform of the United States of America, whether in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Space Force, you understand that you are serving something greater than yourself. If you lead men and women, you give orders that sometimes may result in their deaths. You can do this because you first learned to take orders from those in command. Biden does not understand or appreciate any of this.
Now, consider President Biden’s record over the past three years he has been in office and measure that against the above objectively:
- The Border Crisis: Over 10.0 million illegal immigrants have been admitted into the United States (those identified by border agents, the number is estimated to be at least one million more, the “gotaways”) since Joe Biden became President. These were flown and bussed to cities around the U.S. in the middle of the night, put up in hotels, fed, clothed, and given medical care and a monthly stipend, all at taxpayer expense. Virtually none have been tested for Covid or any other disease. While our border agents are struggling to control the seemingly endless flow of immigrants into our nation, the drug cartels are having a field day and making $billions by expanding the flow of drugs into our country, including the lethal fentanyl which claimed the life of one of my sons and over 100,000 more of other young men and women. Why do we tolerate this? Why doesn’t Biden deliver an ultimatum to Mexico that smuggling drugs into the United States must stop, or else we will use our military to obliterate the cartels? We are under attack, and when you are under attack, that is how you respond. Biden has not taken a stand on the border because of two reasons: (1.) He is compromised, and (2) he wants this flood of immigrants to reshape the electoral landscape in favor of the Democrats. He could care less about the citizens of our nation; he and his cadre of miscreants making up his Administration want desperately to stay in power. You see, the immigrant crisis is not from countries in South America but from 115 nations around the world, including China, Korea, Yemen, Pakistan, and others. In addition to the havoc this policy has created for our nation, Biden has weaponized the Justice Department to persecute (not prosecute) Donald Trump and somehow prevent him from winning the Presidency in November.
- Afghanistan: Our withdrawal from this war-torn country was a disaster by any yardstick of measurement. We abandoned American citizens and allies alike, all to provide Joe Biden with a photo op. It was and is a stain on American honor. We are told that we “rescued” over 1,600 Americans. Still, there has not been a single video of these citizens reuniting with their families here in the U.S. There was, however, much ballyhoo over the 100,000 Afghans liberated from the grasp of the Taliban. Incidentally, because of Biden’s haste in leaving Afghanistan, we left behind some $85 billion in state-of-the-art weapons, night vision equipment, ammunition, rifles, hand grenades, fixed wing, and helo aircraft, all of which were left to the Taliban. How much of this is now being used by the Taliban, ISIS, Yemen, Hamas, and Hezbollah today? Why?
- The War on Oil & Gas: In one of his very first moves as President, indeed the afternoon of his inauguration, Joe Biden issued an executive order canceling the XL Pipeline, a joint venture between the U.S. and Canada to deliver oil from the far west to refineries in the southern states. He also terminated all oil and gas exploration on federal lands. These actions served to eviscerate America’s decade-long effort to become oil & gas independent and instantly made us dependent on foreign oil once again. In the same vein, Biden gave his approval for the Russian pipeline, which paved the way for Russia to become the prime source of energy for Germany and Europe. As far as Americans are concerned, oil from the Northwest must now be delivered via rail and truck to refineries which costs roughly $36 per barrel vs. $10 per barrel via pipeline, thus driving up the cost of gasoline at the pump by almost 60% and adding substantially to the crippling costs of inflation which are crippling our economy, the highest level of inflation in 39 years! Why?
- Covid: Joe Biden blamed deaths due to Covid on President Donald Trump and said he had “blood on his hands.” He vowed to defeat Covid because “he had a plan and Trump did not.” Today, there were more deaths under Biden’s first year as President than under President Trump, and Trump left him with three (3) vaccines with which to deal with the virus. Think about that one fact, then ask yourself, Why?
- Supply Chain Crisis: A fancy Ivy League word for poor planning. Indeed, when I was in graduate school, we had a phrase to describe business planning, and it was called the Seven P’s of Business: Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor P What, pray tell, was the reason for hundreds of cargo ships laden with products bound for American markets to be sitting for weeks offshore? How about the fact that dock workers were being paid under Biden subsidized extended unemployment benefits? In other words, they were being paid more not to work than to show up for work. Consequently, there were no workers to off-load the ships. We also had a trucker shortage, so there were no trucks or drivers to truck products to market. Are we to believe no one in our government had the ability to contemplate these conditions? Where, for example, was our Secretary of Transportation? Oh, wait one second….I apologize…he was off for three months on paternity leave! You can’t make this stuff up! You have got to be kidding me! Why?
- Increases in Violent Crime, Smash & Grab, and Domestic Violence: All are up significantly. Curiously, the cities where these crimes are occurring are, for the most part, “Blue Cities” or Democratic Controlled Cities, and all are the natural outgrowth of imbecilic demands like defunding the police or bail reform. Guess what: if you let criminals out of jail, you will likely have more crime! If you do not arrest people who smash windows of retail stores to steal products, you will have continued chaos. So, the question is….Why do we put up with it? Does it make sense to continue to say we need to reimagine policing while criminals run rampant in our neighborhoods?
- Our Justice Department Has Forgotten the Meaning of Justice: We have a Justice Department today led by Merrick Garland (thank the Lord he never made it to the Supreme Court) who blames parents and calls them domestic terrorists for their demands that they have a voice in what their children are being taught in schools. Someone needs to mention to Mr. Garland that he is accountable to the people of the United States and is responsible for upholding justice, not the whims of the Department of Education. If you are at all interested in what elementary and high school libraries offer students, you would be shocked and appalled at the filthy pornographic book titles they provide to students. What you won’t find in these libraries anymore are copies of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Kite Runner, A Brave New World, Of Mice and Men, The Color Purple, The Catcher in the Rye, 1984, A Clockwork Orange and about 300 other titles including…wait for it…The Bible. Why?
- A Corrupt FBI: How long has the FBI had the Hunter Biden laptop? Why has its content not been made public? Why have we not heard anything further from the FBI’s interrogation of Tony Bobulinsky? Doesn’t the FBI have other priorities besides ensuring children are taught Critical Race Theory (CRT)? Can you spell corruption? I am not talking about the rank and file of the FBI who are the best our country has. I am talking about the leadership at the top. Why do we tolerate this?
- Critical Race Theory and its Impact at Our Military Schools: For the life of me I cannot understand the rationale behind teaching Critical Race Theory at our nation’s military schools. CRT has no place inside the ranks of our military. Do we think Russia, China, or Iran are requiring this at their military institutions? What benefit does it serve? Will it ensure greater battlefield tactics or strategy in our leaders? Equally, an integral part of CRT content maintains that America was founded by weak, compromised leaders who themselves were devoted to slavery. The Progressive-thinking teachers of CRT seek to rewrite history and denigrate our founding principles. So, I ask…again, Why?
Bottom line: Joe Biden and his Vice President, Kamala Harris, have done absolutely nothing for America and its citizens except make our nation weaker emotionally, economically, and militarily, and they have embarrassed us on the world stage. Their actions have fueled crippling inflation and sacrificed our economy on the altar of political expediency. Their inability to identify with common everyday Americans and even to care about them is palpable. They both tell us that what will cure America’s ills will be the approval of the massive socialist spending spree known as the Biden Build Back Better Plan. So, let me see if I got this right: The people who have never built a single thing are telling us they want to destroy all we have built, that is, America, and replace it with their vision of what we need to build. But in their zeal for implementing this craziest of ideals, they have forgotten the discipline of preparing for the law of unintended consequences…good solid contingency planning! It may be conceptually appealing to pronounce that every car in America will be electric by 2030 but before you legislate this, why not think about what we are to do with the batteries that make the cars run when they wear out; and also where will intend to mine for lithium a key ingredient for batteries.
Forgive me if I take a pass on this as it is a blueprint for disaster.
