Seeking Truth in a World of Tainted Confusion
In his autobiographical book, “A Life Well Played,” published in October 2016, golfer-extraordinaire Arnold Palmer wrote about signing autographs, stating, “Keep it legible. It’s a personal experience, a memento on which you can't put a price".
When my father signed his name, which was not often, except on a few bank documents, his signature was etched very slowly and meticulously. Afterwards, he looked at it admiringly, saying “Kyllä on mahtava”, Finnish for “Yes, that is impressive.”
He was quite pleased with his signature, never learning how to read or write until quite late in life.
Many children of all ages nowadays have never learned to write cursive. I have often wondered how they plan to sign their name, or if software like “DocuSign” will be the prevailing and accepted method of creating electronic signatures on each and every document.
Whether it was company checks or orders, my career included inscribing my signature many times daily, and it was only semi-legible. In these more contemporary times, companies have check signing machines.
Then there are “Autopens” that use genuine ink that can sign any number of documents or photographs. These are used by politicians, celebrities, universities, and others who have to sign a multitude of documents of various designs, sizes, and purposes. While an autopen mimics and very closely matches a person’s signature, unlike in real life, the autopen signature is always the same. In this case, the autopen signature allows for plausible deniability, whether an autograph, especially of a famous person, is real or reproduced.
If a reader has been tuned into the news lately, it has been learned that many of President Joe Biden’s executive orders and other documents were signed by an autopen. Considering the release of news about his cognitive ability, there are questions regarding the autopen and whether President Biden was aware or knowledgeable of its use and the content disclosed in the orders or documents.
President Biden’s mental state is not a right or left, liberal or conservative issue. Both have now acknowledged his declining cognitive health in his presidency. The exception is that conservatives and Republicans have been saying it for quite some time now.
CNN’s Jake Tapper, no friend of the right, wrote a book entitled “Original Sin” exposing President Biden’s deteriorated mental condition, and the prominent people and bureaucrats who were running the affairs of the Whitehouse and the presidency. What is to come of all of this? I am not a lawyer, although many of them have varying opinions.
In this “autopenning” case, citing many activist climate change executive orders, Power the Future, an advocacy energy group, has asked US Attorney General Pam Bondi and Congress to look into this matter. The group’s concerns center around executive orders that:
Banned Arctic drilling;
Commitment to Net Zero by 2050;
Mandated clean energy sources for AI centers; and,
Banned offshore drilling.
These orders devastated much of the energy industry during the Biden Administration’s term in office. A story in this matter is covered in a Fox News article entitled “Watchdog finds 'no evidence' Biden knew of crucial climate EOs, demands answers on who signed autopen.”
This again illustrates the purely political, rather than scientific, nature of climate change. And further, while the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution provides for a clear succession plan for a president if he or she died, became “disabled”, resigned, or was removed from office, it is obviously ineffective or deficient in its initiatory enactment.
A very good friend and avid reader of this column Colin Williams, once said, "Nothing grows faster than the seed of doubt." This entire issue of President Biden’s deteriorating mental capacity and expiring acuity, with all its twists and turns, has generated many doubts about many things.
