Germany’s Catholic bishops are officially launching their first commission for “queer” pastoral care. Auxiliary Bishop Ludger Schepers of the troubled Essen diocese‚ the commission’s inaugural chief‚ is already urging a change in the Church’s teachings on homosexuality. “In the coming months‚ there will certainly be a lot of things that can be openly discussed‚” Schepers said in a radio interview last week. The bishop claimed that the Church has long “suppressed” discussion of homosexuality‚ but that he sees Pope Francis’ recent promulgation of Fiducia Supplicans‚ which allows an ambiguous form of “blessing” for same-sex couples‚ as “an opening” for broader discussion of the Church’s age-old position on homosexuality. RELATED: Vatican Offers Blessings to Same-Sex Couples. It’s Not What You Think. Last month‚ the German Bishops’ Conference named Schepers its representative for “queer” pastoral care‚ a position that had previously only existed at the diocesan level but now carries the full force and endorsement of the Bishops’ Conference. Schepers himself noted in an interview last year that LGBTQ pastoral groups have sprung up among the German Church with surprising speed over the past five years. “There are [now] commissions for queer pastoral care in more than 20 dioceses‚” he bragged. “So a lot has happened that we can be proud of.” Like many LGBTQ advocates within the ranks of the Catholic clergy‚ Schepers has had to contend with the Church’s perennial moral teachings on sex and marriage‚ often reinterpreting clearly promulgated moral standards and even outright rejecting them. For example‚ Schepers has argued that the Church must consider (or‚ rather‚ reconsider) its guidelines for sexual activity outside the context of sacramental marriage. “It can’t just be about sexuality in marriage[;] it has to be about sexuality in the relationship‚” the bishop quipped. “What matters in a relationship is honesty‚ authenticity and mutual respect.” Unfortunately for Schepers‚ the Catholic Church and its greatest thinkers and defenders have already considered and addressed such arguments. The Church holds that human beings are created with a purpose — chiefly‚ to know‚ love‚ and serve God and to be united with Him in Heaven for all eternity — and that the actions we take throughout the course of our lives either help or hinder that purpose. (READ MORE from S.A. McCarthy: Revisiting a Catastrophe: A Cardinal’s Blueprint for the Next Pope) Sexuality‚ too‚ was designed with a purpose — chiefly‚ procreation‚ which homosexual sexual activity biologically and incontrovertibly precludes; other goods‚ such as intimacy and pleasure‚ are secondary in the eyes of the Church and are‚ in fact‚ only good when serving that chief and primary purpose of procreation. This is why the Church condemns such acts as masturbation‚ which also precludes procreation‚ as disordered acts‚ because they attempt to rearrange the order instituted by God‚ valuing sexual pleasure above the generation of new life. The Church also clarifies that sex is only permitted within the context of marriage. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: “By its very nature conjugal love requires the inviolable fidelity of the spouses. This is the consequence of the gift of themselves which they make to each other” (CCC 1646). Sexual activity outside of marriage is spiritual and even physical robbery: It presumes to take for oneself the gift of the other without first pledging oneself to the other in the indissoluble‚ covenantal sacrament of marriage. Again‚ the Catechism explains‚ “Love seeks to be definitive; it cannot be an arrangement ‘until further notice’” (CCC 1646). Same-sex couples cannot enter into the sacrament of marriage‚ since the very nature of such a relationship contradicts God’s design for marriage‚ the family‚ and sex itself. “Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person in the unity of his body and soul‚” the Catechism explains. “It especially concerns affectivity‚ the capacity to love and to procreate‚ and in a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others.… Physical‚ moral‚ and spiritual difference and complementarity are oriented toward the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life” (CCC 2332–2333). God created both man and woman “in His own image” (Genesis 1:27)‚ which one might say makes sex a mode of “completing” the imago Dei‚ uniting both the masculine and the feminine in a mirror image of God‚ who is‚ as C.S. Lewis so simply and wisely put it‚ “Love Himself.” Two men cannot “complete” the imago Dei in such a way‚ nor can two women. The Catechism declares homosexuality to be “intrinsically disordered” and “contrary to the natural law” (CCC 2357). As the reference to the natural law indicates‚ homosexuality is disordered because it “close[s] the sexual act to the gift of life‚” but also because it does “not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity” (CCC 2357). That is to say‚ God made man to be given‚ body and soul‚ to woman‚ and woman to be given‚ body and soul‚ to man; He did not make man to be given‚ body and soul‚ to man‚ nor woman to be given‚ body and soul‚ to woman. Sexuality‚ the Catechism further explains‚ “is not something simply biological‚ but concerns the innermost being of the human person as such” (CCC 2361). This line is crucial to understanding the errors of redefining or reshaping the Church’s teachings on sexuality. In his commentary on Corinthians‚ St. Thomas Aquinas added a further degree of clarity when he wrote‚ “Anima mea non est ego” — “My soul is not me.” In his Summa Theologiae‚ the great philosopher built on this fundamental truth when he explained that humans are neither bodies that have souls nor souls that have bodies; we are‚ instead‚ essentially body-soul composites. That is‚ the body is just as essential to being human as the soul is; the unity of the two is our essence. Lewis echoes and simplifies this truth in The Screwtape Letters‚ when the senior demon writes to his inept nephew‚ “[F]or [humans] constantly forget‚ what you must always remember‚ that they are animals and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls.” Perhaps nowhere is this immutable maxim more gravely and solemnly felt than in the realm of sexuality. To engage in homosexual acts — or‚ on an even more hubristic plane‚ in transgenderism‚ with its horrific drug regimens and brutal surgeries-cum-mutilations — is in truth to deny the essential relationship between body and soul‚ to declare either that what the body does doesn’t affect the soul or that the soul has no relation whatsoever to the body or is‚ perhaps‚ only part of the body. The Catechism declares that those who do have homosexual inclinations “must be accepted with respect‚ compassion‚ and sensitivity.… These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and‚ if they are Christians‚ to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition” (CCC 2358). To that end‚ an initiative to offer pastoral care and counsel to those who identify as LGBTQ sounds like a good idea. Such an effort may encourage and equip those struggling with disordered desires to live chastely‚ to seek Christ’s presence in their pain‚ to master their own passions‚ and to offer them as a sacrifice to Christ crucified. Especially in an age steeped in degeneracy and sexual sin‚ such a ministry indeed seems necessary. Sadly‚ it looks as though Germany’s bishops have chosen to ignore the wise words of Aquinas and even the declarations of the Catechism. The soul is to be ignored and left to wallow in confusion‚ misery‚ hunger‚ and unsatisfactory self-worship. The body is to be encouraged to run rampant — and if it happens to trample 2‚000 years of Catholic wisdom and divine instruction‚ so be it. Through their heterodox devotion to “queer” and LGBTQ initiatives‚ the German bishops have demonstrated once again that they worship at the altar of the zeitgeist: No Communion is chalice is offered‚ but souls are sacrificed. The post At the Altar of the Zeitgeist: German Bishops Launch ‘Queer’ Commission appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

When Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition conducted its election campaign last year‚ it promoted the slogan of “Smiling Poland‚” with corresponding brand accents of smiles and hearts. It implied that Poland had receded into darkness under the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party‚ which governed the country from 2015 to 2023. Tusk and his coalition partners promised progress and a healthy dose of “rule of law.” Instead‚ they have returned the country to an earlier era‚ as seemingly not a week passes without a thuggish confrontation.  READ MORE on Poland: Polish Prime Minister Pushes Unconstitutional Abortion Bill Last Wednesday marked the most recent round of farmer protests‚ which have occurred across the continent and become particularly visible in Poland‚ where the combination of unregulated Ukrainian agricultural imports and EU Green Deal provisions are particularly onerous. Foresters‚ truckers‚ miners‚ and hunters joined Wednesday’s protests‚ which had the official support of the country’s largest labor union. In a flashback to the Solidarity protests of the 1980s‚ riot police met the protesters with truncheons‚ tear gas‚ and water cannons. Police Brutality in Poland “ZOMO” is a word on Polish lips again. The Motorized Reserves of the Citizens’ Militia (abbreviated ZOMO) gained notoriety for violently subduing protests during the communist era‚ forming the backdrop of key events from the Solidarity era. Prosecuting its most criminal elements has been an aspect of post-communist Poland confronting its past.  The name on police uniforms changed — Milicja gave way to Policja (the connotation passes effectively into English)‚ but the willingness to employ police brutality demonstrably still exists in Poland.  One widely circulated video shows riot police tackling and arresting a man carrying a Polish flag. EU parliamentarian Dominik TarczyÅ„ski flatly noted the symbolism: “The flag is on the ground‚” he posted on X. In other videos‚ police charge a crowd while discharging tear gas. One shows an officer throwing what appears to be a stone into a crowd of protesters. Parliamentarian SÅ‚awomir Mentzen has claimed that police gassed and attacked a crowd assembled in front of the parliament building‚ and that he sustained injuries that required medical attention. Flaga na ziemi… pic.twitter.com/oUEB8gHen7 — Dominik TarczyÅ„ski MEP (@D_Tarczynski) March 6‚ 2024 Dr. MichaÅ‚ SopiÅ„ski‚ rector and assistant professor at the Institute of Justice in Warsaw‚ wrote an appeal to government officials in which he highlighted the “gross excess of authority by police officers” and “possible abuses in the use of direct coercive measures.”  Government and opposition figures have traded barbs over who provoked whom‚ both claiming the other side employed provocateurs. Numbers of protesters and injuries are unclear (though the previous week’s smaller protest drew an estimated 10‚000 demonstrators). This much‚ however‚ is certain: Tusk’s government has minted its latest public outrage.  Tusk’s Leftist Regime and the Conversative Problem In December‚ one week after taking power‚ the new government raided the public television headquarters. In January‚ it took political prisoners in the Presidential Palace. Western journalists frequently describe the ruling coalition as moderate and politically diverse‚ but it has forced a leftist wish list onto the political agenda and assumed a comparably hardnosed stance on social issues. Abortion‚ “hate-speech” laws‚ and so-called transgender soldiers are reportedly in the works. Illegal migrants and migration activists have been invited to parliament. Education reform will restrict Polish history‚ literature‚ and religion. Tusk’s term has‚ so far‚ been a concoction of flagrant rule-of-law abuses and leftist social engineering. Ironically‚ Tusk started his political career as a Solidarity activist. He now shares a government with descendants of the communist-era Polish United Workers’ Party and oversees police tactics he once would have reviled. He should resign. Yet‚ that alone won’t restore sanity.  Last October’s elections can’t really be interpreted as a mandate for anything‚ but they certainly were a mandate against something: PiS. Recent polls suggest that this unpopularity has not improved‚ despite the new government’s excesses‚ and might even have worsened. JarosÅ‚aw KaczyÅ„ski‚ the unpopular PiS leader and former prime minister‚ announced he would continue his leadership‚ a decision that figures to handicap his party’s short-term (if not long-term) chances. Confederation‚ the only other meaningful force on the right‚ failed to gain enough votes to be eligible for coalition talks.  Nor can the recent farmer protests be neatly tied to the right. Journalist Piotr Semka notes that “PiS politicians are not always welcomed with open arms” at the protests. This stems from the perception that PiS meekly accepted the EU’s Green Deal provisions and failed to address the Ukrainian imports until close to the elections. Furthermore‚ adds Semka‚ “any government‚ not just Tusk’s crew‚ would struggle to meet some of the [farmers’] demands.”  Among the components of the ruling government is the Third Way coalition‚ which includes an agrarian party. In key conservative constituencies of Poland’s rural East‚ 10 percent or more of 2019 PiS voters abandoned the party‚ with many opting for the Third Way. Although marketed as a legitimate option for conservative voters‚ the Third Way has offered little resistance to the leftist blitz. Recently‚ most of its MPs agreed to toe the line on abortion legislation.  Polish conservatives find themselves in an unenviable position. Upcoming local and EU elections‚ as well as next year’s critical presidential election‚ present some constructive political aims‚ but they offer limited chances to curb the parliamentary onslaught. KaczyÅ„ski and other PiS leaders speak frequently of a government collapse‚ an event that would trigger new elections. If recent polls are accurate‚ this doesn’t figure to improve the parliamentary deficit.  Poles unsatisfied with the current government might need to endure some lean years and express themselves through extra-legislative demonstrations like the recent protests. Smiling Poland — if such an idea has any substance — clearly isn’t forthcoming. Michael O’Shea is a visiting fellow at the Danube Institute. He is an alumnus of the Budapest Fellowship Program‚ sponsored by the Hungary Foundation and the Mathias Corvinus Collegium. READ MORE from Michael O’Shea: Poland’s Liberal-Democracy Has Adopted Martial Law Poland’s Opposition Readies Kangaroo Courts The post Why Isn’t Poland Smiling? Just Ask the Protesting Farmers Attacked by Police Last Week. appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Fresno County‚ California‚ “will receive a $125‚000 settlement from the owner of the building where an illegal biological lab with links to China” was recently uncovered in the city of Reedley. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed a cleanup of “hazardous chemicals” on the property‚ a dangerous site not detected by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). READ MORE from Lloyd Billingsley: Biden Labor Secretary Left California a Mess In late 2022‚ Reedley code inspector Jesalyn Harper spotted a hose leading into a warehouse that had been vacant for more than a decade. Inside‚ Harper found three women who identified themselves as People’s Republic of China (PRC) nationals wearing masks‚ glasses and latex gloves. Local officials also found nearly 1‚000 bio-engineered mice‚ vials of blood‚ and samples of infectious diseases including malaria‚ E. coli‚ chlamydia‚ and COVID. The covert lab operated multiple freezers and refrigerators and housed highly flammable chemicals. California Gov. Gavin Newsom‚ who locked down the state during the COVID pandemic‚ made no official statement at the time‚ and‚ according to local reporters‚ the governor’s office and state Department of Public Health were evasive. The biolab came to the attention of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party‚ and one of California’s representatives‚ Jim Costa‚ wrote the foreword to the committee’s report‚ which was released last November. The illegal biolab‚ the committee found‚ “was run by a PRC citizen who is a wanted fugitive from Canada with a $330 million Canadian dollar judgment against him for stealing American intellectual property.” That citizen “was a top official at a PRC-state-controlled company and had links to military-civil fusion entities.” The illegal biolab also “received millions of dollars in unexplained payments from PRC banks while running.” It “contained thousands of samples of labeled‚ unlabeled‚ and encoded potential pathogens‚ including HIV‚ malaria‚ tuberculosis‚ and Covid‚” and “a freezer labeled ‘Ebola.’” After contact by local officials‚ “the CDC refused to test any of the samples.” The CDC disputed the “false implication that CDC had the authority to unilaterally investigate or seize samples” from the illegal biolab in Reedley‚ claiming that it “continues to be … actively engaged‚ within its regulatory authorities‚ in the intergovernmental efforts to address issues surrounding the facility.” Prestige Biotech‚ operator of the lab‚ was the successor of Universal Meditech‚ which in 2019 received a tax credit of $360‚000 from Newsom’s Office of Business and Economic Development. That revelation brought no official statement from the governor‚ but last August‚ California Attorney General Rob Bonta did break silence on the Reedley lab. “I think it’s still emerging at this point‚” Bonta told reporters. “So as we learn more‚ we’ll be able to get our arms around the fact to determine if there’s any criminal violation.” So far Bonta hasn’t found any‚ but last month he announced a $5 million settlement with Quest Diagnostics‚ which “unlawfully disposed of hazardous waste‚ medical waste‚ and protected health information at its facilities statewide.” The illegal Chinese biolab in Reedley was much more hazardous‚ and last year Bonta said there were “likely more that exist or existed.” He could be on to something. The illegal facility was uncovered by the California’s Department of Public Health‚ the CDC‚ and the CDC’s vaunted Epidemic Intelligence Service‚ tasked to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. So far there’s been no word from the EIS‚ which also failed to prevent the COVID virus from arriving stateside from China. Maybe the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party could look into it. If Jesalyn Harper had not spotted that hose‚ the Reedley lab could still be harboring dangerous pathogens and a freezer marked “Ebola‚” which is‚ as the Select Committee on the CCP warned‚ a “Select Agent with a lethality rate between 25-90%.” California failed the lab test‚ and the rest of the nation should be on full alert. As the committee’s report concluded: At a minimum‚ the Reedley lab shows the profound threat that unlicensed and unknown biolabs pose to our country. At worst‚ this investigation revealed significant gaps in our nation’s defenses and significant pathogen-related regulations that present a grave national security risk that could be exploited in the future. It is therefore incumbent upon Congress and the Executive Branch to address these vulnerabilities before it is too late. Lloyd Billingsley is a policy fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland‚ California. The post California Failed the Lab Test — And More Illegal Chinese Biolabs May Exist Across the Country appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

C’mon‚ man – was it Adderall‚ meth‚ or old-fashioned bennies? There was a chemical buzz in Congress Thursday night‚ and while it lacked class‚ self-control‚ judiciousness‚ respect‚ and honesty‚ those were never in abundance even in Joe Biden’s salad days‚ when he forever turned Supreme Court confirmation hearings into partisan blood sport. Whether by some miracle or by better living through chemistry‚ both the lethargy and the maturity that old age are reputed to bring were absent. READ MORE: Grumpy Old Man Mumbles State of the Union Drug-like was the sense of an alternate reality‚ in which 95-plus executive orders opening up the border and initiating the chaos they even felt for a day or two in Martha’s Vineyard never existed; in which the National Guard was not just deployed on New York subways because there is now less violence than ever; in which he never seriously entertained the idea that Russia could be invaded successfully and that tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers’ lives have not been wasted in a grinding stalemate; and in which it is perfectly consistent to admit that Hamas slaughtered and raped its way to the worst anti-Semitic atrocities since Hitler but that now the time is right for forcing Israel to leave Hamas still standing and to reward its ardent supporters and admirers‚ the pay-for-slay Palestinian Authority‚ with an internationally recognized state because Hamas has deliberately and criminally made its citizens its human shields and that‚ too‚ must be reward. Biden‚ who was touted as a reasonable man‚ who rode into office as the kindly‚ unifying figure who knows how to compromise‚ was trolling half his audience. He was clearly expecting and largely receiving the respectful deference due his office‚ but‚ as with almost all he does‚ he writes checks on the funds deposited by others‚ funds of trust and respect that he does not bother replenishing. Like the school bully‚ like the despots he claims to oppose but whom he emulates‚ he knows how to manipulate the norms‚ to provoke and harass while the teacher isn’t looking and then pretend to be the wronged one at just the right moment. Thus‚ he oh-so-bravely launched into the Supreme Court‚ which he could pretend to debate meaningfully only because he knew its justices would choose to sit in silence‚ honoring the office and the Constitution. Respect is what he requires of others‚ but it is asymmetrical warfare — he does not offer it back‚ and he takes the temporary wins of his trickery and manipulation as evidence of a fairly-won triumph of his only occasionally coherent ideas. In the end‚ outside Capital City‚ I don’t think it was the triumph that he felt it was. It smacked of unreality‚ of something unsustainable without chemicals‚ and lots of money and real power at your disposal. That high-volume‚ breakneck-paced heckling on display has a different effect on those not addicted to the pursuit of money and power at nearly any cost. It is not a pleasant effect.  Most people‚ in the end‚ evaluate things holistically. We see a personality‚ a character‚ who affects us far more than any individual point or rhetorical tactic. The whole combines into a feeling that is more‚ not less‚ than the thoughts that helped to piece the whole picture together. In the end‚ we do not survive by being duped by powerful and manipulative people. We find our ways; we bide our time; we prudently preserve what we can on however small a scale we are forced into. We know that reality always catches up‚ and we stake our lives on it‚ not for ourselves alone but for our children‚ for our country‚ and for our world. I think there were many who went to sleep deeply troubled over Biden’s performance. The day is coming‚ though‚ when these many will have their say. They will find their power‚ all the stronger for their faith in the deep and abiding principles at which the powerful have sneered. It is the power that liberated colonists from an overweening king‚ that liberated Europe from the Nazis‚ and that tore down the wall.  It will overcome the mean artifice and phony reality on display last night in the heart of our democracy.  The post Biden’s State of the Union: A Druggie Living in an Alternate Reality appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

It’s difficult to choose the single worst portion of Thursday night’s State of the Union address — for sheer unmitigated awfulness‚ it was a target-rich environment. Personally‚ however‚ the lowest point came when Capitol Police arrested Steve Nikoui‚ the father of Marine Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui‚ one of 13 U.S. Marines‚ soldiers‚ and sailors killed by an ISIS-K bomb as they put their lives on their line to protect those being evacuated from the Kabul International Airport. The charge was obstructing an official congressional function — one wonders if similar charges might be levelled at the pro-Hamas demonstrators who delayed the State of the Union by almost 30 minutes by forcing President Joe Biden’s motorcade to the Capitol to take a detour. I suspect not. READ MORE: Grumpy Old Man Mumbles State of the Union Neither Biden nor his high-level national security team has ever been properly held accountable for the sheer incompetence of the final withdrawal from Afghanistan. One can agree or disagree with the need to finally draw a line under our involvement. One can question what withdrawing every last U.S. soldier and contractor meant when we’d already drawn things down to the barest minimum necessary to enable the Afghan army to continue to fight‚ before abruptly pulling the logistical rug out from under it.  One can insist that‚ one way or the other‚ 20 years had been enough. What one cannot do‚ except by indulging in the worst kind of intellectual dishonesty‚ is argue that Joe Biden didn’t preside directly‚ in the personal contravention of the best military advice‚ over a heartrending and unnecessarily catastrophic final chapter in our decades-long Afghanistan involvement. The Abbey Gate parents‚ for three years‚ have asked that Biden finally take ownership of his responsibility for the deaths of their children. This morning‚ they are still waiting. As we’ve seen throughout this administration‚ the buck never stops at Biden’s desk. The Afghanistan withdrawal may well be the poster child for incompetence cloaked in dishonesty‚ but there exist many other examples mostly obfuscated in last night’s speech. The day after the Oct. 7 massacres‚ I expressed my concern about the weakness of the Biden administration and the pernicious influence of “the Squad.” Several weeks later‚ I went further‚ noting that Biden was starting to waffle in his support for Israel. Now the waffling has given way to unproductively nagging criticism of Israel’s efforts to finally render Hamas militarily harmless‚ an essential prerequisite to Middle East peace. (READ THE PIECE: The Lie Behind the ‘Hearts and Minds’ Plea) Last night‚ appallingly‚ Biden actually parroted Hamas’ absurdly inflated civilian casualty claims while failing to make the obvious point that the surest route to minimizing civilian casualties in Gaza would be for Hamas to stop using women and children as human shields. But this would require confronting the Jew-hating‚ pro-Hamas wing of his own party‚ something he clearly lacks the courage to do. Now he’s proposing that the U.S. military create a port for bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza. He insists that this will not involve U.S. “boots on the ground” but offers no convincing explanation of how that might work. It’s hard to even make a list of all the ways this could end very badly‚ nor does it address the obvious fact that the chief barrier to humanitarian assistance isn’t the absence of a port but rather grand larceny on the part of Hamas. The entire concept reeks of Biden’s delusional wishful thinking‚ the kind that relied upon trusting the Taliban to protect our withdrawal from Kabul. One might also note a more precise parallel‚ namely‚ our attempt in Somalia to provide security for food shipments‚ an attempt that culminated in the “Black Hawk Down” disaster. “Mission creep” is almost assuredly baked into this proposal‚ as is Biden’s increasingly strident insistence on a six-week ceasefire on terms dictated by Hamas‚ one the Democrats hope will be extended indefinitely — or‚ at least‚ until Biden is safely reelected. But Biden’s combination of incompetence and dishonesty also encompasses the two other major Iranian proxies in the war for control of the Middle East. Despite our carefully “calibrated” pin-prick responses‚ the Houthis grow ever bolder in their attacks on Red Sea shipping. Hezbollah continues to pound northern Israel with rocket attacks‚ even in the midst of a Biden administration diplomatic effort. Iran lurks in the background‚ demonstrating its contempt for Biden — and for the U.S. — with every attack by one of these groups. And Biden emboldens Iran by his increasingly fruitless insistence on reviving President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal. The contrast with the effective policies of‚ as Biden kept saying‚ his “predecessor” could not be more stark. (RELATED: Biden Is George III. Who Does That Make Trump?) Much the same mixture of incompetence and intellectual dishonesty characterizes the Biden approach to China and Ukraine. Cinese President Xi Jinping continues to increase political pressure on Taiwan and its potential allies. Furthermore‚ at a time when China is relentlessly expanding both its nuclear arsenal and its conventional forces‚ the U.S. response remains sluggish‚ mired by the years-long neglect of our defense industrial base that Biden still fails to address. Our Asian allies‚ mindful of the increasing threat‚ keep looking to us for leadership and failing to find it. The government of Taiwan‚ which certainly has skin in this particular game‚ has been consistently forthright in its support for Ukraine. Maybe it knows something about deterring dictators that many of our politicians have failed to grasp. Despite his loud words last night‚ Biden’s support for Ukraine has been less than stellar. Behind the “minor excursion” statement that predated Putin’s invasion lay the expectation that‚ first‚ Russia would never launch a full-throated conventional assault (to echo Obama‚ that kind of thing was “so 1980s”)‚ and‚ second‚ because‚ in the off chance that Putin did launch such an invasion‚ it would be over in a matter of days. Biden got it wrong then‚ and he and his advisers have consistently gotten it wrong ever since‚ slow-walking critical aid‚ delivering it‚ if at all‚ only well after it might have made a decisive difference. Ukraine’s chance for the kind of battlefield successes that could have led to a fair and reasonable negotiated settlement has been steadily undermined‚ largely because Joe Biden has allowed himself to be repeatedly buffaloed by Putin’s threat‚ nuclear and otherwise. That Biden chose to open his speech with a reference to Franklin Delano Roosevelt is an insult to history. That Biden chose to link the threat to democracy in Ukraine to his party’s fantasies of a threat to democracy here at home is insulting to the American people. The Ukrainians are fighting for their existence as a nation‚ not for some abstract ideal beloved by Biden’s posse of tame presidential historians. And democracy in the United States is under far greater assault from Biden’s own party‚ its loudly proclaimed pretenses to the contrary notwithstanding. We face multiple threats around the globe — that much‚ at least‚ Biden’s speech got right. But while Biden talked the talk last night‚ his entire presidency has shown his unwillingness to walk the walk. I’ve tried to draw attention to this in my American Spectator essays this past year. I strongly believe that Iran’s mullahs have‚ in effect‚ already declared war on us. I believe that Chairman Xi wants more than simply seizing Taiwan and instead wishes China to supplant the U.S. as the most influential nation on earth and‚ not incidentally‚ to force us to kowtow to the designs of the CCP. And I believe that Vladimir Putin’s appetite for reconstituting the old Soviet Union in all its glory (albeit with a neo-Nazi rather than communist flavor) will scarcely be satiated if he gets all he wishes in Ukraine. He wants more and has made that clear‚ as witness his increasingly obvious designs on the Baltics. (READ MORE from James H. McGee: Putting America First Means Standing Up to Bullies) Moreover‚ anyone who believes that we can simply ignore all this‚ that we can allow the world to go its merry way‚ that these are all merely regional threats incapable of reaching us in our splendid isolation — well‚ anyone who believes this is a fantasist‚ pure and simple. The threat now pours across our southern border‚ promoted and encouraged by our overseas enemies‚ forcing us to defend against militarized drug cartels‚ state-sponsored terrorists‚ and professional assassins seeking to murder our political leaders. Pretending that Russia‚ Iran‚ and China have no hand in this‚ either directly or by proxy — think Venezuela‚ for example — is yet another form of wishful thinking.  Build a wall‚ by all means‚ but don’t kid yourself that this gets the job done. The U.K. has a better physical barrier than we could ever create‚ a 12-mile-wide moat called the English Channel‚ and yet it can’t stop wave after wave of illegal immigrants‚ including some who’ve turned out to be terrorists. The U.K.’s failure is one of political will‚ not lack of barriers‚ and Biden’s failure is much the same. The most damning mistake of Biden’s entire presidency has been his abrogation of virtually every one of his predecessor’s border policies. But simply reinstating these policies is not enough‚ not anymore. It’s not just the U.S. that is being inundated by illegal immigration. For years now a global tsunami of people in motion has been building‚ and because it is global it can’t be brought under control without global cooperation. And if we abdicate our position in the world‚ we’ll never succeed in gaining that cooperation‚ since no one who matters will value our friendship or respect us as potential enemies. Joe Biden doesn’t get this‚ has never gotten this‚ and likely never will get this‚ if last night’s speech is any indication. Empty bluster neither reassures our allies nor deters our enemies. We need a president who understands all these things and one who has the strength of character to embody them. Instead‚ we have Joe Biden‚ and‚ as he reminded us yet again last night‚ he is none of the things we need. James H. McGee’s 2022 novel‚ Letter of Reprisal‚ tells the tale of a desperate mission to destroy a Chinese bioweapon facility hidden in the heart of the central African conflict region. You can find it on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback editions‚ and on Kindle Unlimited.  The post Hold Him Accountable: ‘Abbey Gate’ Arrest at State of the Union Exposes Biden’s Disastrous Foreign Policy appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

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