There are many things Joe Biden will never be confused with, and atmospheric physicist might top the list. And yet here was Biden yesterday lecturing us on the idea that only stupid people deny the impact of climate change.
“Nobody can deny the impact of climate crises — at least nobody intelligent can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore. Just look around, around the nation and the world for that matter,” Biden said while in Live Oak, Fla. “Historic floods, intense droughts, extreme heat, deadly wildfires that have caused serious damage that we’ve never seen before.”
“Intelligent people” question things that aren’t empirically proven. And since it’s impossible to “prove” that heat waves, floods, droughts, and wildfires are all the result of human-caused climate change, we should ask just who are the intelligent people?
No reputable scientist would categorically connect an increase in severe weather events to anthropogenic climate change — especially based on data from one year or even a decade. That’s incredibly stupid.
Biden — like Donald Trump — is terrified of being viewed as less than smart. Trump is constantly telling us how brilliant he is and how stupid his opponents are. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or false. It matters that he’s so insecure about his intellect that he feels it necessary to brag about it.
Author Franklin Foer, who wrote “The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future,” wrote about Biden’s massive insecurities about being perceived as stupid. This manifests itself in the frequency with which he calls people stupid — like Fox News’ Peter Doocy.
“These crises are affecting more and more Americans. And every American rightly expects [Federal Emergency Management Agency] to show up when they’re needed and to help in a disaster,” Biden said. “So I’m calling on the United States Congress, Democrats and Republicans, to ensure the funding is there to deal with the immediate crises, as well as our long-term commitments to the safety and security of the American people.”
Biden on Friday announced he is seeking an additional $4 billion to replenish the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund, bringing the total the administration is asking Congress to approve to $16 billion.
The additional funding is in response to the Maui wildfires, for which Biden signed a major disaster declaration to support recovery efforts, and to Hurricane Idalia — quickly downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved inland from Florida toward Georgia and the Carolinas — which also required a major disaster declaration.
Perhaps it’s not a lack of funding for FEMA but a question of giving the agency too much to do. Someone with intelligence would recognize that problem immediately.
