Darrell Castle talks about the State of the Union Speech delivered by President Joe Biden on February 7, 2023.

SOTU-2023 A LONG POINTLESS SPEECH

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 10th day of February in the year of our Lord 2023. I will be talking about the State of the Union Speech delivered Tuesday night, February 7th by President Joe Biden. I call the speech pointless because it has become just another campaign speech filled with lies and boondoggle promises of things that can’t and should not be afforded. There are always a lot of promises of a glorious new future, but it is hard to see how this old politician can lead us into such a future.

Yes, it was filled with lies or if you wish to be kind just a lot of political puffery. This entire Castle Report could be filled with nothing but a list of lies in the speech but what would be the point. I always dread the speech even if given by a president that I personally voted for let alone this one. This would have been a good year to return to the Jeffersonian practice of writing a letter and having it read to congress assembled by a clerk. Egos are just too strong, the allure of the TV cameras and the world press too much for today’s politician to resist.

The speech to a joint session is supposed to be a time for the United States to put the majesty and glory of its political system, its achievements, and its power before the world for all to see. So, the 80-year-old politician walks up to the podium and delivers a speech written by others but supposedly with his advice and approval. He brags about the economy and tells us that 12 million new jobs have been created on his watch, but he knows it is more like two million or not quite enough for each migrant he has invited. He doesn’t mention that millions of families struggle every week to buy groceries which are up in price more than 20% on his watch. Those same families struggle to buy gas to get to work since it is now over $4.00 per gallon for many.

 The whole world sees this octogenarian president shouting, whispering, and lying his way through the speech. I wonder if they know it is mostly lying as the Republicans in the room seem to know. The atmosphere is raucous more like a British Parliament speech and reminds me of the way they shouted at Trump. I wonder if they know as American families know that even for those with a decent salary, inflation outstrips wage growth causing them to lose ground each month. He tells us that America is a unique nation, one that always bounces back from adversity stronger than before. For evidence he cited Covid which shut down our businesses, closed our schools, and robbed us of so much today, but thanks to his efforts Covid no longer controls our lives.

Well, no, Mr. President, Covid did not do all those horrible things, but the health authorities backed by government force did. I’m saying it was not Covid but your reaction to Covid that caused the problems. I point to Sweden as evidence because Sweden did not lock down and close businesses and that country suffered far less than we here in the U.S. did. I would suggest an apology to the millions of people whose lives were torn apart, their jobs taken away, their children barred from school rather than portraying yourself as some kind of conquering hero. Apology and accountability are in order, and we demand it from you and the government you lead.

Perhaps the president’s most cringeworthy moment was when he claimed that two years ago our democracy faced its greatest threat since the Civil War. That statement at least made me cringe and wonder how many people accept his claptrap as the truth. The truth is that two years ago we had an election in which people voted. The results of that election were contested but those who contested it didn’t claim we should have no more elections. They didn’t demand that we should stop being a democracy and go back to being a republic...