By Kelly O'Connell ——Bio and Archives--January 10, 2022
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Stupid is as Stupid Does:
Is Joe Biden stupid? No, this is not a trick question, or an attempt to shame the mentally weak. But, given a summary of Joe's choices, can one claim that he makes good decisions? Instead, Joe has become a cipher for the far-left of his party, and seems utterly indifferent to success or failure. The GOP claims he's suffering dementia. But another possibility is suggested in Economist Carlo M. Cipolla's book , The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity -- that Joe's simply not a good decision maker.
Biden Quote 1: "Buy gas everyday, then it don't hurt so bad!"
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Gates Condemns Joe:
But even before his presidency, Biden was famed for bad decisions. Recall, Bush & Obama US Defense Secretary Robert Gates saying of VP Joe Biden, "I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades." And has he improved since then? Consider Cipolla's observation:
I take exception to this general view. It is my firm conviction, supported by years of observation and experimentation, that men are not equal, that some are stupid and others are not and that the difference is determined by nature and not by cultural forces or factors. One is stupid in the same way one is red-haired; one belongs to the stupid set as one belongs to a blood group. A stupid man is born a stupid man by an act of Providence.
Basic Laws of Human Stupidity:
To help us analyze, let's look at Cipolla's 5 Laws:
Law #1: Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.
Law #2: The probability that a certain person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
Law #3: A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses.
Law #4: Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals. In particular non-stupid people constantly forget that at all times and places and under any circumstances to deal and/or associate with stupid people infallibly turns out to be a costly mistake.
Law #5: A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person. A stupid person is more dangerous than a bandit.
Now, consider rule 3, above. In numerous presidential choices, Biden made bad decisions harming everyone. Evacuating Afghanistan but leaving thousands of Americans behind is a disaster. It helped neither the US, nor our allies, nor the Afghans, regional or global peace. It appears an impulsive decision which only helped the Taliban, et al.
Another choice which backfired was closing petroleum pipelines and new oil leases for "Global Warming. See Biden Halts Oil and Gas Leases, Permits on US Land and Water. The US had been oil independent under Trump. But the new rules backfired,as gasoline's price has doubled. Soon Joe was begging OPEC for more production, without sympathy. See,OPEC Says To Biden: If You Want More Oil, Pump It Yourself. The net effect, America's poorest reduce travel because of skyrocketing gas, while only America's enemies are enriched by higher oil prices. Overall, Biden is blaming America's crazy inflation on big corporations.
Cipolla, much like Talib's Intellectual Yet Idiot class, sees stupid folks harming us all, stating:
Human beings, however, are privileged insofar as they have to bear an extra load—an extra dose of tribulations originated daily by a group of people within the human race itself. This group is much more powerful than the Mafia, or the military industrial complex, or international communism—it is an unorganized, unchartered group which has no chief, no president, no by-laws and yet manages to operate in perfect unison, as if guided by an invisible hand, in such a way that the activity of each member powerfully contributes to strengthen and amplify the effectiveness of the activity of all other members…and represents one of the most powerful dark forces that hinder the growth of human welfare and happiness.
Actually, the stupid now seem to have their own president -- Joe Biden. Sadly, his VP Kamala would appear even worse on the scale.
Conclusion:
It's a sad realization that a set number of humans are stupid. Whether our president is numbered among these, and his VP also, is a decision the reader will have to ponder. But, except by the Grace of God, how will we make it to the next election so we can have some relief?
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Kelly O’Connell is an author and attorney. He was born on the West Coast, raised in Las Vegas, and matriculated from the University of Oregon. After laboring for the Reformed Church in Galway, Ireland, he returned to America and attended law school in Virginia, where he earned a JD and a Master’s degree in Government. He spent a stint working as a researcher and writer of academic articles at a Miami law school, focusing on ancient law and society. He has also been employed as a university Speech & Debate professor. He then returned West and worked as an assistant district attorney. Kelly is now is a private practitioner with a small law practice in New Mexico.