is Biden senile? – USA Gov Policy

Pinny Bugaeff, who submitted this article exclusively to the New York Analysis of Policy and Government, served as a psychiatric Social Worker. She was employed by a large corporation as the primary therapist in a geriatric day treatment program. Part of the job involved screening new patients for dementia, and other cognitive impairments. One test which was used then and is still used today was the Folstein Mini Mental Status Exam.

I recently read an article in The Atlantic—Jan/Feb. -2020, an interview where the writer, a self – identified stutterer-who interviewed Biden. Biden offered that the reason he falters when speaking is that he was a stutterer. Interesting. I have known a few folks who stutter. Stuttering may be a neurologically influenced communication disorder-with a genetic and behavioral component but stuttering does not explain either inappropriate behavior nor memory loss of basic facts and figures such as I have been seeing and which seems to be to be getting progressively worse. The Stutterer Gambit seems to be only one of the most recent attempts to explain away his apparent growing senility.

Biden is 77, the same age as I and I know that my cognition is not as sharp or speedy as it once was –what I see in Biden isn’t the run of the mill kind of thing we have as a result of normal aging. I spent two full years working 8 hours a day with gentlemen who were in their 70’s,80’s and a few in their 90’s. Some of them were still pretty sharp and other than speed of recall and forgetting people’s names, they fell well within the range of appropriate behaviors for their age. Those with various types of early dementia were in a different category altogether, very like Biden in their behaviors.

Biden has had surgery for two brain aneurysms in 1988 but according to his neurosurgeon:

“The two brain aneurysms Biden suffered in 1988 were fully treated and he showed no signs of mental trouble as a result, said Dr. Neal Kassell, who performed the surgery on Biden three decades ago.” Nor did Biden suffer any brain damage that could come back to haunt him in old age, Kassell said.”

Really? Two brain aneurysms, two surgical repairs and his surgeon says he has nothing that will haunt him in old age. That may not be the whole picture.

A review of a small website has a good collection of Biden gaffs and a good summation on the subject of what appears to be the candidate’s increasing senility.

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One could forgive anyone enduring the rigors of a hectic primary campaign to occasionally misstate the state he is visiting, or an occasional name or two. But a careful examination of the former Vice President’s debate performances clearly reveals considerable cause for concern. He seems to struggle to stay on topic, other than touting or exaggerating his past role in various issues.

Voters should be increasingly concerned about this. There is, of course, a long-standing social taboo against suggesting a diagnosis of someone without seeing them or having a proper degree. Nevertheless, when an individual seeks to become President of the United States, clearly the most challenging position in the world, the most intense scrutiny by all voters is totally appropriate.

If there is reasonable cause for concern, and there truly is, why does the Democratic Party leadership seem so eager to support his candidacy?

Partially, it is because the clear surviving alternative, socialist Bernie Sanders, with his hard-left beliefs, enthusiasm for unworkable solutions, and, above all, his bizarre but sincere admiration for Communist leaders, would be a disaster in the general election. For traditional Democrats, a Sanders Administration would be beyond their control as he established a wholly new paradigm.

But there are other reasons as well. It is evident that Biden can and would be manipulated. What President Trump calls the “Deep State” would have a feast within his potential administration. It would be a presidency-by-committee of unaccountable, unpublicized advisers, interest groups, party leaders and top bureaucrats.

A few examples of Biden gaffes can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH-y_w0O5Bw, https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-bites-wifes-finger-in-bizarre-campaign-stop-moment-2019-11, and https://nypost.com/2019/08/05/biden-completely-flubs-where-mass-shootings-occurred/

Photo: Official White House picture

Quick Analysis

Russia Expanding Aggression

President Putin is using more than one pathway to enter Europe and undermine the West. While most of the world watches the conflict he initiated in Ukraine, the Russian government is actively pursuing a second front in a little noticed campaign in Cyprus. Although the corrupt Cypriot government ended its issuance of “golden passports” in 2020, Russian intelligence is functioning quietly there to transform this EU country into a Russian beachhead of illicit economic activity aimed at penetrating the capitalist West, according to Paul Goble of the Jamestown Foundation. Cyprus is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nor does it receive as much attention as those countries who are member states. That adds to its allure as a prime location for Russia to attempt to gain a European foothold. Last week a NATO report, cited in the European Daily Monitor, noted that Russian intelligence agents have been plotting to destroy European infrastructure across the continent to disrupt states supporting Ukraine. It further suggests that Putin’s immediate goal is to lay the framework for a future move against the security organization’s members. Hungary, in particular, is another country garnering Moscow’s attention as it opposes the Western response to Russian aggression. Russia is focusing its intelligence efforts on other European, non-NATO member countries in addition to Cyprus, including Austria, Malta, and Ireland. The NATO report suggests that Moscow has had success in disseminating the Russian political narrative in these states to advance its campaign against the West. The island of Cyprus is proving to be a good target for Moscow as it is an ethnically divided island that is part of the EU since 2004. Northern Cyprus, officially called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that is only recognized by Turkey. The division precludes it from joining NATO. As Goble suggests, “it offers Russia troubled waters in which to fish.” Over the last 20 years, he points out, Cyprus’ challenges have opened it to a massive influx of Russian citizens, who now comprise approximately 10 percent of the island state’s population. Over 2,900 residents are Russians who entered until the “golden passport” program that allowed wealthy or well-connected Russians to move to Cyprus. It also provided them with documentation to travel freely throughout Europe! Although less visible on the world’s radar than the war in Ukraine, Moscow is also being helped by Cyprus’ banks opposition to seizing Russian assets and its support in evading Western sanctions. Russia has placed tens of billions of US Dollars there for money laundering. It has been more than two years since a single Russian “diplomat” has been deported and, in fact, the Embassy has grown to over 300 staffers on this tiny island state of only 1.2 million people. The Russian embassy in Nicosia has advanced communications antennae on its roof and opened a consulate on the northern end of the island. Moscow’s Ambassador, Mura Zyazikov, is a lieutenant general in the FSB with no diplomatic experience. The FSB, SVR (Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service), and GRU are actively using the island as a base of operations against NATO Member states, Israel, and other Western allies. Moscow backs pro-Russian political parties who in turn influence Cypriot decisions on education, language, and other issues. “Dmitry Khmelnitsky of the Dossier Center says that its findings should be of concern not only to Cyprus but to the West as a whole. Those who ignore what Moscow is doing because Cyprus does not follow the EU sanctions regime are missing something critical,” says Goble. “Cyprus does not seek to get rid of Russian agents and does not interfere with their work,” Khmelnitsky concludes, “despite the fact that what the Kremlin is doing is so clearly visible.” This has an impact not only on the small island but on the EU, NATO, and the West in general. Earlier this year the Moscow Times reported that when the FBI became more interested in Russian business and oligarchs in Cyprus, at least 10 of the major Russian businesses operating there left. Despite the government of Cyprus’ vow to implement plans for new sanctions against Russia, it continues to ignore Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine and to shield the wealth of the 50,000 wealthy Russian citizens and oligarchs residing there. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept. Illustration: Pixabay