George Carlin on rights vs privileges

George Carlin got it right -- and many years ago.  Seen on Bookworm Room:

# # #

 

Losing our First Amendment rights

 

Dr Robert Malone is in a very good position to share with his readers the risks we all face as our First Amendment rights are attacked.  He’s been vilified, censored, and ostracized, but fortunately, the propaganda aimed at destroying him has failed to shut him up.  His Substack column the other day discusses the protections and freedoms we are losing:

. . . Thanks to the Matt Taibbi’s Twitter Files and the Louisiana/Missouri lawsuits, we know much more about the censorship and propaganda during COVID-19. Then we have the Congressional investigation of the “The Great Barrington Declaration” as well as Congressional investigations of other censorship/propaganda operations run by the US government during the last three years of the COVID crisis. There have also been various Epoch Times exposes and other FOIA documents (in particular thanks to Project Veritas and Judicial Watch), documenting that the Federal government has been involved in these types of propaganda campaigns for many years. The extent of these operations has been vast, with billions of dollars funneled into astro-turf organizations and NGOs. The military, HHS, the White House, big pharma companies, and big tech have been partnering together to conduct these operations. These include money, meetings, strategic sessions, technical help, “hit” lists of people to take down, etc.  . . .

. . .

After the leak of Justice’s Alito draft opinion on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, there was and is an organized campaign to physically intimidate and harass conservative justices by activists. Individual supreme court justices have been doxed, with agitators protesting outside their homes. These violent protests have been allowed to continue unabated, despite there being a Federal law on the books prohibiting the targeting of Federal judges. The Department of Justice refuses to take action against the protestors. There was an attempt on Justice Kavanaugh’s life. For which President Biden and the media were mostly silent. The Supreme justices must now travel in armoured cars and have full time security.

Living with this kind of fear is one of the most insidiously damaging psychological campaigns one can imagine. I know. I have at least seven cyberstalkers that repeat malicious defamation against myself and my wife on a daily basis. This is different from having some corporate media doing a hit piece. This is repeated defamation which is repeated daily.

The systemic attacks of both Supreme Court justices and conservative judges continues unabated. It is not just those seeking to return federal abortion rights to the USA. Justice Thomas has been the victim of co-ordinated attacks by the press for years, including coordinated racist and downright libelous articles written about him and his family. Yet, despite all these media hit pieces, no charges have been brought forth. More evidence that this is a coordinated propaganda campaign.

Other conservative judges have been harassed by trans rights protestors, gay rights protestors, and have even been harassed for the sin of for being appointed by President Trump to a judicial position. These are not peaceful assembles, as is our right under the First Amendment, but are concerted efforts to harass and physically intimidate officers of the court. The tools being used include cyber stalking, gang stalking, violence, physical intimidation and harassment.

Who is leading these systemic efforts? What agencies? How deep does the propaganda and censorship go? Is this even a real concern or just another conspiracy theory? These are legitimate questions and the public deserves answers.

The American people can no longer trust that the US government to be neutral. Our rights to a free press and free speech are being stripped away daily. The US government, big tech, media, pharma, the military are acting in a coordinated fashion to censor and create propaganda. We know that media and big tech are getting paid by the government to do this. That the HHS also paid out a billion dollars to both advertise the jab campaign and to censor critics of the “vaccine” program.

I am pro-America and a patriot. I am a Constitutionalist. I believe in free speech. A strong nation. A free press. Our republic. Our democratic institutions. This is not an anti-government tirade. I am not anti-government, I am a conservative constitutionalist, but I am shocked and saddened by how quickly our great nation is falling into corruption rationalized by the thesis that censorship is necessary to “preserve democracy”.

I truly believe that if the American people, Congress, and the courts do not act fast, that very fabric of this great nation will be torn in ways that cannot be repaired. Our rights of free speech and free press will soon be consumed by the US Governments’ need to control. Is this a national government we want to live under? . . .

Read the full column here.

# # #

A bloodless coup d’etat

 

At American Thinker, J.A. Frascino outlines the coup d’etat that’s unfolding before our very eyes:

Any system, no matter how well devised, upon encountering the realities of terrestrial existence, will fail to function as conceived.  Failings of the system can be approached in two ways:  troubleshoot and strengthen the system to repair its flaws, or change the system.

Not long ago, the left sought to uphold the system and ameliorate its flaws.  It assisted in countering worker abuse, upheld women’s rights, and brought focus on environmental pollution.  Democrat administrations developed Social Security and Medicare programs.  The Democrat party was the voice of the middle class, the minorities, the marginalized, helping them realize the promise of the system.

That is no longer the position of the left.  Driven by its innate tendency to dissidence and immediate gratification, it has grown increasingly intolerant of and impatient with the system.  The system must now change.  . . .

And the article goes on to explain exactly how it’s changing.  We are seeing it now.  Click here for the full scenario.

# # #

Dr Malone: Lies my GOV’T told me

 

Dr. Robert W. Malone is the scientist & physician credited with inventing the mRNA technology. Dr Malone has just published his book Lies My GOV’T Told Me and the Better Future Coming on Kindle.  He loaded up his first chapter at his Substack website here.  It begins:

Purpose

In one sense this book documents a personal journey, a long effort to get to the bottom of the fundamental questions that have dominated every waking moment of my life ever since the COVID crisis began. It includes a series of essays composed during late 2021 through 2022, each of which addresses some aspect of the enormity of what we have all experienced. Who is responsible for all the globally coordinated propaganda, information management, mind control efforts, lies, and mismanagement we have experienced? How has it been globally coordinated, and what can we do to stop this sort of thing from ever happening again? What are the root causes of this incredibly dysfunctional “public health” response that frequently seems to have nothing to do with public health? Has there been a truly nefarious agenda, or is this dysfunction merely the unintended consequence of interactions between separate, random events amplified by incompetence and exacerbated by hubris?

During this journey, I have seen, experienced and learned so many new things, met so many people, made many new friends, and listened to so many stories. What follows in this volume is an attempt to process and comprehend the incomprehensible human tragedy and horror of what has occurred during this “pandemic,” and to find some path forward that could lead to a better future for all of us. A future that will require people who still believe in the core principles that form the bedrock upon which Jill [Dr Malone's wife] and I have built our lives: Acting with integrity, respecting the fundamental dignity of other human beings, and making a commitment to community. The principals that formed the foundation of the American Enlightenment, resulting in the US Constitution and Bill of Rights.

I am firmly committed to a belief that the American experiment in self-governance, forged in another crucible (the tyranny of a mad king), remains relevant today. I reject the twisted logic of those who assert that these principles are obsolete, antiquated, and must be replaced with a system built upon a collectivist and globalist totalitarian vision, a system of government, and command and control economic activity that has consistently failed every time it has been tried throughout history.

Jill and I have lived our lives as free and honest people. It has not been an easy path to walk, but as we begin to approach the end of our journey, we would have it no other way. This commitment and belief system forms the subtext that is woven throughout the following chapters. A commitment to integrity, dignity, and community, tempered with empathy, offered without apology. Please walk alongside of us for a while.

Read the rest of the chapter here.  

# # #

Political Censorship: it's everywhere

 

Here's Kyle Becker at Trending Politics reporting on unconstitutional censorship:

This is Not America:
Political Censorship Campaign Unconstitutionally
Targeted Millions of Americans

The United States government is unconstitutionally targeting millions of Americans for their political speech by directly contracting with private ‘third parties’ that flag their viewpoints for alleged ‘misinformation.’

The federal government has contracted with at least five private companies or public non-profits to ‘flag’ Americans’ views on everything from Covid-19 to the 2020 election.

In an editorial at Just the News, John Solomon and Greg Piper reported on four of these groups, but the report suggests that the radical left’s operation to chill free speech is just the tip of the iceberg.

. . .

“The consortium is comprised of four member organizations: Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO), the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, and social media analytics firm Graphika,” the article adds. “It set up a concierge-like service in 2020 that allowed federal agencies like Homeland’s Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and State’s Global Engagement Center to file ‘tickets’ requesting that online story links and social media posts be censored or flagged by Big Tech.”

“Three liberal groups — the Democratic National Committee, Common Cause and the NAACP — were also empowered like the federal agencies to file tickets seeking censorship of content,” the article goes on. “A Homeland-funded collaboration, the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, also had access.”

. . .

It should be noted that the U.S. Constitution not only guarantees Americans’ right to free speech, but the right to consume information freely in the marketplace of ideas.

To conclude:

The U.S. government is violating the Constitutional charter that brought it into existence by violating the rights of Americans in states across the country. 

So where are the lawsuits?  Read Mr. Becker’s full report here.

# # #

Sundance on The UniParty: your weekend read

 

Some years ago, Sundance at The Conservative Treehouse introduced me to the term “UniParty.”  I have since come across the term “Fusion Party,” but “Uniparty” is being picked up more and more at conservative websites.  Sundance’s recent column presents an update with additional insights.  Here are a few extracts (lightly edited):

. . .

The UniParty issue does not start in Washington DC, it surfaces in Washington DC.

The UniParty agenda, the origin of the c*** that we see surface in a toxically corrupt federal government, starts IN YOUR STATE.

The UniParty is an outcome of the private organizations that run the political parties known as the RNC and DNC.  This is where almost all voters and political followers get lost.  The Republican and Democrat parties are not affiliated with any construct of the United States government.  They are private entities, private clubs, that can establish any set of rules and regulations for the people within the club/party.   That’s where the origin of the s*** begins.

The club can accept or deny membership for any person who wants to run for political office.  The RNC and DNC clubs essentially select the politicians.  There is nothing within this process that is even remotely democratic, representative or even visible in the framework of the U.S. constitution.

. . .

Two clubs, both funded by Wall Street power brokers, globalists and ultra-rich mega-donors, select the members who will represent their interests in Washington DC.   That’s the root of the issue.

The Republican National Committee (RNC), and the Democrat National Committee (DNC), are private clubs.

The RNC and DNC are corporations, private businesses; and just like all private businesses, they have the ability to make rules, bylaws, terms and conditions of membership and association that are completely arbitrary according to their charter.

The RNC and DNC are not entities of government.  The RNC and DNC are not affiliates of government.  The RNC and DNC have absolutely no connection to government, other than their arbitrary business model for helping politicians enter and remain within government.

In fact, the RNC and DNC are simply private corporations who engage in the business of politics.  Whenever we start to forget the DNC and RNC are private corporations, we can slip into the mistaken belief that they operate on any form of baseline altruism.

Quite a bit more at the link here.  Actually, it’s a great refresher course.  And as George Carlin famously said, “It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it.”

# # #

IRS: Internal Radical Service

 

The great David Horowitz and his colleague John Perazzo have a new pamphlet just out and you can access it for free online.  Here’s Mr Horowitz’s introduction:

How the IRS abuses taxpayer dollars to advance leftwing causes
illegally and unconstitutionally

On August 7, the Democrats passed a bill that authorizes a ten-year, $80 billion hike in federal funding for the Internal Revenue Service, which will make it possible for the IRS to hire 87,000 new agents and will make it larger than the Pentagon, the State Department, FBI, and Border Patrol combined.

The IRS has already been weaponized as a national federal police force to harass, punish and obstruct conservative and religious organizations. Under President Obama, the IRS blocked the efforts of hundreds of Tea Party and other conservative groups to apply for tax-exempt status. The objective was to prevent those groups – and the millions of voters whom they might potentially have influenced – from having a voice in our democracy.

But this persecution of conservatives is only half the story. Over the years, the IRS has allowed hundreds of billions of tax-payer dollars to fund left-wing tax-exempt foundations violating its own rules, while denying conservative foundations the same access. This has had the effect of creating a lobby within the Democrat Party that has transformed it into a radical force bent on “fundamentally transforming the United States of America."

The IRS violations include providing taxpayer subsidies to Democrat election campaigns; to underwriting Black Lives Matter riots which caused billions of dollars in property damage and led to the deaths of scores of individuals; the Internal Revenue Code's explicit requirement that all charitable activities should “promote the public good”; and the funding of racist policies which violate the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution.

This booklet -- Internal Radical Service -- documents these violations and their destructive consequences. We publish it now as an appeal to Congress to investigate the abuses, and restore the integrity of an organization which has become a major threat to our democracy.

Click on the link here for access to the pamphlet. 

# # #

They Can’t Let Him Back In

 

Michael Anton at CompactMag zeroes in on why we have to endure the January 6 Committee show trials and Liz Cheney’s Trump Derangement Syndrome. For me, Anton points out the obvious when he writes:

Love him or hate him, during Trump’s presidency, the economy was strong, markets were up, inflation was under control, gas prices were low, illegal border crossings were down, crime was lower, trade deals were renegotiated, ISIS was defeated, NATO allies were stepping up, and China was stepping back (a little). Deny all that if you want to. The point here is that something like 100 million Americans believe it, strongly, and are bewildered and angered by elite hatred for the man they think delivered it.

Nor was Trump’s record all that radical—much less so than that of Joe Biden, who is using school-lunch funding to push gender ideology on poor kids, to cite but one example. Trump’s core agenda—border protection, trade balance, foreign restraint—was quite moderate, both intrinsically and in comparison to past Republican and Democratic precedent. And that’s before we even get to the fact that Trump neglected much of his own agenda in favor of the old Chamber of Commerce, fusionist, Reaganite, Conservatism, Inc., agenda. Corporate tax cuts, deregulation, and bombing Syria: These are all things Trump’s base doesn’t want, but the oligarchs desperately do, which Trump gave them. And still they try to destroy him.

. . .

Anti-Trump hysteria is in the final analysis not about Trump. The regime can’t allow Trump to be president not because of who he is (although that grates), but because of who his followers are. That class—Angelo Codevilla’s “country class”—must not be allowed representation by candidates who might implement their preferences, which also, and above all, must not be allowed. The rubes have no legitimate standing to affect the outcome of any political process, because of who they are, but mostly because of what they want.

. . .

People I have known for 30 years, many of whom still claim the label “conservative,” will no longer speak to me—because I supported Trump, yes, but also because I disagree on trade, war, and the border. They call not just my positions, but me personally, unadulterated evil. I am not an isolated case. There are, as they say, “many such cases.” How are we supposed to have “democracy” when the policies and candidates my side wants and votes for are anathema and can’t be allowed? How are we supposed to live together with the constant demonization from one side against the other blaring 24/7 from the ruling class’s every propaganda organ? Why would we want to?

. . .

The full article is here.  On a personal note, liberal colleagues of mine bemoan the “divisiveness” in today’s society.  How could it be otherwise?  When liberals want to convert our country to some brand of socialism, how is that compatible with our Founders’ constitutional republic?

# # #

American citizenship: what does it mean

 

American citizenship is Steve McCann’s concern at American Thinker:

From 1860 to 2000, in the largest legal migration in human history, over 61 million immigrants arrived in the United States.  They were not only escaping poverty and oppression, but they were eager to assimilate and attain the most sought-after national status in the world: American citizenship. Today in the 21st century, American citizenship and its one-of-a-kind written contract with the central government, the Constitution with its Bill of Rights, is under relentless assault by the nation’s governing establishment and teetering on the edge of meaninglessness. 

Mr. McCann concludes:

The most meaningful day in my life occurred in 1956 when as a boy of eleven or twelve I became a citizen of the United States.  Little did I know that in my lifetime I would see the descent of American citizenship into near meaninglessness.  A collapse that came about internally and was not directly precipitated by the nation’s foreign adversaries. 

Unfortunately, the bulk of Americans obliviously believe that American citizenship remains what it has always been; in reality, it is rapidly disappearing.

The column is here.   

# # #

Discrediting our Founding Fathers: cont’d

 

The headline at the New York Post:  “Founding father James Madison sidelined by woke history in his own home”.  This blog recently linked to a similar reportabout Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia home Monticello.  And reader Ribicon at the Lucianne site – an aggregator – posted this comment and link:

Selection from 45 goals for the takeover of the USA by the communist party, as stated in 1963 [and as entered into the Congressional Record].

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the 'common man.'"

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the 'big picture.'"

The link: https://rense.com/politics6/com.htm [https://rense.com/politics6/com.htm]

Exit question: How many of these goals have been met?  (Spoiler Alert: most of them.)

# # #

The dystopian state of our nation

 

Patricia McCarthy sums up the “Dystopian State of Our Nation” at American Thinker:

"If you want to know who controls you, look at whom you are not allowed to criticize."

—Voltaire

The signs of decline are everywhere: violent crimes, corruption, riots, all with little or no consequences for the perpetrators, election fraud, and medical mandates for vaccines that do not work.

. . .

All of this is part of the left's grand plan to "transform" American society from the free nation of our founding into something resembling communist China.  The one thing they did not plan on was the presidency of Donald Trump.  His four-year term in the White House was unexpected because the Democrats were certain that they had that election in the bag.  Hillary was on board with their globalist/Marxist plan, and they just knew that all their plans were a go.  But they underestimated the America First movement and were gobsmacked by Trump's thoroughly unpredictable victory.  That is how blinkered they are. 

. . .

The leftists "know" that if they are doing it, it is the right thing to do.  Convince people that there are multiple genders, that men can get pregnant, that it is fair for men to compete against women as women, and that small children can be "trans."  Anyone who publicly notes their destructive bent will be called a racist or homophobic or transphobic.  That is how they roll, our left.

And whom do they blame for all the chaos they incite?  The deplorables of course: Trump supporters, patriots, constitutionalists, conservatives of every stripe.

. . .

This is their overall strategy.  It is right out of Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals: "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it."

So, we now are confronted with the result of at least fifty years of the left's official campaign against all things traditionally American: family, biology, freedom of religion, reverence for the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, equality under the law, and respect for civil society.  They have succeeded wildly. . . .

Much more at the link here.  Reader comments below the article are thoughtful, if distressing.

# # #

 

We Will Delete You

 

  Image credit: Babylon Bee

Michael Young is a visiting fellow at the Center for Renewing America. His article in Tablet Mag explores the hazards and risks to our freedoms in the age of Big Tech and consolidated banking systems.  It’s not pretty, and he concludes:

What happens when a government is no longer required to do the very difficult, friction-filled work of finding people, writing tickets, arresting them, charging them, granting them due process, obtaining convictions, and jailing the guilty? When the government can bring a person’s practical participation in society to a standstill with the push of a button, it becomes silly to even talk about individual rights or due process. In the face of this new kind of push-button power, exercised at the whim of the governing party with zero legal oversight, individuals can simply be deleted from the system—even if, technically speaking, they are never charged with or convicted of a crime.

. . .

A deeper concern is what happens when private institutions like corporations, universities, and media exercise the same power without even the pretense of accountability. If the large financial institutions want to, they can act as gatekeepers to society and would be held accountable only by the market, to which they also hold the keys. Given that institutions are heavily dependent on each other, if the institutions that hold important positions in the global financial web decide to freeze someone out, they can do so with the push of a button. Worse yet, we can imagine a scenario in which a system of freeze-outs could be automated based on people’s credit scores, purchasing histories, political donation patterns, key words in social media postings, carbon footprints, or political activism. It’s not hard to imagine a situation in which a citizen of a democracy wakes up one day to find themselves unable to participate in the digital economy, where almost all financial transactions take place, due to an automated system which flags them as being undesirable in some way.

Corporations and government have always exercised tremendous power, of course. Government has a monopoly on the use of force, using the policing powers to enforce laws. Corporations have always exercised enormous power via market share, advertising, lobbying, and other financial instruments. But never before have they been able to lock ordinary citizens out of social participation with the flip of a switch.

This push-button tyranny is real, and it represents a greater abuse of power than any that has been exercised before within the boundaries of liberal democratic government. It is new, it is breathtaking, and it is very dangerous.

Read the entire article here.

# # #

Brandon Straka, conservative values, and red pills

 

Mr. Straka

The Jeff Dornik Show at FreedomFirstNetwork hosted an interview with “Walk Away” founder Brandon Straka.  Mr. Straka has been hounded for over a year by the FBI for being present at the January 6 protest in DC. 

Why Did Conservative Inc Turn Their Back
on Brandon Straka and Walk Away?

Brandon Straka has created a lot of enemies for all the right reasons. Despite standing on the east side of the Capitol Building on January 6th for only eight minutes, the FBI targeted him and has attempted to self-admittedly make an example of him by punishing him to nth degree.

He’s been an effective force to be reckoned with in leading the charge to red-pill Democrats to leave their party after launching Walk Away, which makes him a primary target of the establishment. This has turned into a massive movement that has seen results in Democrats realizing their party does not represent their values.

Mr. Straka pulls back the curtain on the GOP elite -- the Republicans who do not stand for conservative values.  The RINOs.  Jeff Dornik continues:

Most conservative influencers and politicians talk a big game. They create viral videos ranting and raving about how they’ll never compromise and they are willing to take on the system to defend the truth, our country and the Constitution. But, when push comes to shove and the going gets tough, they are nowhere to be seen.

Some of it is simply just a lack of spine. These influencers care more about their social media following and their paychecks than actually doing what’s right.

But there’s another angle to this, and that’s the fact that the Republican Party is actively working against the true conservative and MAGA Movement. There’s a huge group of supposed conservatives that are entrenched and owned by The Swamp.

These are the swamp dwellers that Sundance at Conservative Treehouse labels as the “R” wing of the Uniparty vulture.  Sundance recently posted one of his Uniparty updates, this one on the upcoming annual RINO / DeceptiCon conference at Sea Island this weekend;  click here for more. 

# # #

Hanson: The Decline of American Citizenship

 

In yesterday’s blog, I linked to historian Victor Davis Hanson’s essay on Cracked Icons of the Left.  Today I am posting on his message from Hillsdale College on his new course on The Decline of American Citizenship:

I wish to invite you to enroll in a seven-lecture course that I prepared with the help and under the auspices of Hillsdale College. It is called “American Citizenship and Its Decline,” and the online course is based on my latest book, the recently released The Dying Citizen.

Like the book, the course describes the current crises in America as symptoms of a far larger problem: the steady decline of the autonomy and political influence of the citizen.

The class describes the origins and history of citizenship in the West, reminding us that it is a rare phenomenon both in the past and the present—given the enormous responsibility placed on citizens to create and control their own government.

Citizenship then requires a large and self-reliant middle class—currently shrinking under enormous economic strains. Clearly defined and enforced borders are also essential to ensure a civic space in which citizens can nurture common customs, sustain traditions, and honor their own shared past.

Yet borders are now increasingly fluid as mere residence and citizenship seem often indistinguishable. Pre-civilizational tribalism—identifying by superficial appearance rather than through shared culture and values—is returning to America as so often the salad bowl replaces the melting pot.

These organic, bottom-up challenges are often matched by top-down stresses such as the growth of a huge permanent, but unelected, government of bureaucrats and administrators who combine judicial, executive, and legislative powers that overwhelm the citizen.

In addition, revisionists in law, the media, and politics seek to change the Constitution, long-held customs of governance, and political traditions for short-term partisan agendas, on the theory that a new changing and fluid Constitution must match an always evolving human nature.

Globalism is an ancient challenge to the sovereignty of the nation-state. But in the age of instant communications and unprecedented concentrations of globalized wealth, so often elites seek to supplant American laws and independence with international organizations and often without the consent of the legislative branch or the assent of the governed.

The course ends, however, on an optimistic note that citizens still have it within their power to restore our traditions of empowered citizenship and return government to the control of citizens.

“American Citizenship and Its Decline” is free to enroll in, and you can begin the course today by clicking on the secure link below.

https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/american-citizenship-and-its-decline

Like most of Dr. Hanson’s messages, his summary is helpful on its own.

# # #

 

Mark Steyn: "not a serious country"

 

Mark Steyn is my favorite author and columnist.  I used to enjoy his appearances on Fox News, but since I crossed Fox off my list many months ago, I have to be satisfied with his written commentary.  Yesterday, his commentary was decidedly pessimistic, but I could not see where he was getting it wrong.  Here are some excerpts:

. . .

The biggest-selling book with American conservatives right now argues that the answer to all of the above [litany of government-caused problems] is "constitutionalism". On the other hand, the radio host Jesse Kelly says:

We're not a serious country and we're not a country that will be around much longer.

I incline to the latter view myself.  At this point, conservative complaceniks tend to trot out Adam Smith: "There is a great deal of ruin in a nation." But not this much - not Covid lockdowns and open borders, Afghan "translators" and Haitian "refugees", Big Tech and Big Trans, BLM and CRT, ID for the IHOP but not for the voting booth, China as America's manufacturer and America's loan shark...

. . .

To go back to that Jesse Kelly line, "we're not a serious country": A nation where a pasty privileged pajama boy can demand the ruination of his professor because he traumatized the class by making them watch a Laurence Olivier performance is too unserious to survive, and doesn't deserve to.

If the Constitution is the bulwark against madness, then it has already failed; if "capitalism" is the bulwark against express-elevator descent into full-blown madness, the only thing holding that up is the chimera of the US dollar's status as global currency.

. . .

"Land of the free and the home of the brave"? Both are conspicuous by their absence.

The full column is here.  Grim, but highly recommended.

# # #

Is there a vast right-wing conspiracy?

Here’s a thumbnail history of vast right-wing conspiracies by Janet Levy at American Thinker.  The historian, Gary Allen, thought he was researching history in order to “prove conservative anti-communists wrong.”  He came to the opposite conclusion.  Here’s the opening:

Fifty years ago, journalist Gary Allen set out to write a book to prove conservative anti-communists wrong.  But while researching, he realized he had not seen the "hidden picture."  There indeed was a conspiracy, shielded by a narrative advanced by liberal academia and the mainstream media, both actually in the service of an elite cabal that included Rockefeller, Ford, Morgan, Rothschild, Loeb, Kennedy, and Carnegie.  No longer willing to dismiss "right-wing conspiracy theorists," he titled his book, published in 1971, None Dare Call It Conspiracy.  It was a surprising bestseller: more than four million copies were sold during the 1972 presidential elections.  Many received it as gifts through an informal grassroots distribution system.

What Allen claimed to have discovered was that a plutocracy of 3% of the population covertly controlled the lives of the rest.  They had wrested control of the constitutional republic, with its separation of powers, limited government, and competitive free enterprise, and turned it into a system of centralized control by a few.  How was this achieved?  According to Allen, the conspiratorial clique was hidden and protected by a complicit media establishment they own and control.  Also, they are accomplished liars and farseeing planners.  Their subversive tour de force has been to advance the lies that a) communism is inevitable and b) communism is a movement of the downtrodden.  The first lie aims to destroy the will to fight, the second to gain the support of the poor masses and justify the destruction of a vigorous, innovative middle class.

Allen offers an alternative, realistic definition of communism: an international conspiratorial drive for power on part of men in high places, who are willing to use any means for global conquest.  In The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels said a proletarian revolution would necessitate a temporary socialist dictatorship, which would give way to full-on communism if three things were achieved: a) the elimination of private property rights, b) the dissolution of the family, and c) the replacement of religion with Marxist ideology.  These, in fact, are exactly what academia and left-wing groups in America are pushing for, today and when Allen wrote the book.

But all that, as Allen claims, is an elaborate ruse.  Behind it are the super-rich. 

Recommended reading. Full article is here.

# # #

This Is 1938: First, They Came for the Unvaccinated

 

Wayne Allyn Root at FrontPage compares America in 2021 to Germany in 1938 (“This Is 1938: First, They Came for the Unvaccinated”).  Alarm bells?  He does not exaggerate.  Here are some extracts:

It's time for alarm bells. It's time for me to play the part of Paul Revere: "The communist tyrants and dictators are coming! The communist tyrants and dictators are coming!" They're coming first for unvaccinated Americans.

This is 1938. . . . It was the pre-Holocaust. It was the time before the nightmare, when the foundation was being laid to destroy the freedom, free speech, businesses and lives of millions of Jews.

Everything happening today to the American people ... to the U.S. Constitution ... to freedom ... and particularly to unvaccinated Americans reminds me of 1938. This is only the beginning. It gets much worse from here.

First, "the papers." Vaccine mandates and vaccine passports are just like 1938, when the Gestapo demanded papers from every German.

. . .

Now Democrats want American citizens, not illegal aliens, not criminals, but patriots born in this country, to produce papers 24/7. We'll need papers to enter restaurants, bars, nightclubs, concerts, casinos, conventions and hotels and to board a train, plane or bus. We'll need papers to enter a supermarket, or we'll starve to death. All for the crime of being unvaccinated against ... wait for it ...

The flu.

All for the crime of being unwilling to inject an untested, rushed to production, experimental, "for emergency use only" shot into our bodies.

. . .

By the way, this isn't about vaccines. If you want the vaccine, take it. I'd never stop you. I'd never limit your freedom, your choice. This is about vaccine mandates — forcibly injecting Americans who don't want it. That's 1938.

But there's much more in common with 1938. Mask mandates. If you're scared, wear them. I'm not scared. I don't want to wear them. Mandates are about forcing individuals to lose their freedom, choice, individuality and human rights. That's 1938.

Lockdowns are a match with the Warsaw Ghetto. Jews were locked down. Jews couldn't work. Jews couldn't travel. Jewish businesses were labeled "nonessential."

If government can force us to close our businesses, to kill our jobs, to decide who is nonessential, then this is 1938.

. . .

Media and social media as the public-relations wing of the government. That's called propaganda. Remind you of 1938? Back then, the Jews' books were burned. Today, it's those of conservatives, patriots and specifically the unvaccinated. We are silenced. Our facts are labeled "misleading." Only the facts that agree with big government's agenda count. That's 1938.

. . .

Unless we stop it now. Unless we take a stand now. Unless we draw a line in the sand now.

First, they came for the unvaccinated. Trust me: Next, they're coming for you.

Mr. Root’s full article is here.  And it’s why I’ve been linking to Sen. RandPaul’s video/transcripts to Just. Say. No. to more mandates and lockdowns. 

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Mike Pence is not Presidential material

 

Drew Allen at American Greatness explained why, in his view, Mike Pence is not Presidential material.  Mr. Allen compared the contested election of 1876 to November 2020:

A stalemate ensued for three months in 1876 as both Democrats and Republicans refused to give in. The contested states sent competing electors to Washington, D.C. In 1876 this was unprecedented. But the Republicans of 1876 didn’t cave as Mike Pence did. When it came time to certify the electoral votes in 2021, Pence remarked, “When the Joint Session of Congress convenes today, I will do my duty to see to it that we open the certificates of the Electors of the several states, we hear objections raised by Senators and Representatives, and we count the votes of the Electoral College for President and Vice President in a manner consistent with our Constitution, laws, and history. So Help Me God.”

. . .

Over 120 members of Congress voiced their objections to electoral certification.  Here is what Pence then said:

“It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not,” Pence declared. But Pence didn’t support and defend the Constitution. He revealed that he wasn’t willing to fight for the Constitution. 

The full article by Mr. Allen is here.  Constitutional conservatives have crossed Mike Pence off their list. 

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When is a vaccine not a vaccine?

 

JD Rucker at NOQ Report has several words of warning:

Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney:
The Covid vaccines are a national security threat

. . .

Vaccine passports are coming. They’re the loophole around the Constitution through which government can “encourage” people to get the Covid vaccines if they want to be able to operate in the world. While most seem to believe this is just an effort to promote the vaccines and stop Covid-19 from spreading, there are clear scientific indications that things are not necessarily what they seem.

To Lt. General Tom McInerney, this presents a true national security threat. This is a new revelation for the General based on meetings he has had in the past couple of weeks. Unfortunately, he did not receive this information until after he had already taken the first jab.

“I’ve already had one shot, and last week I was going to get my second shot,” he told me on the latest episode of NOQ Report. “I had a call from a doctor who advised me not to get that.”

Like the General, many of us have taken a personal approach to the vaccines. I’m not an “anti-vaxxer” per se, but I do believe wholeheartedly in two aspects of vaccinations. First, I believe in transparency and thorough testing, neither of which have been associated with the rushed vaccines that are now in circulation despite none of them receiving FDA approval. The second thing I believe about vaccines is that they need to be personal choices. Nobody should be compelled in any way, whether through government or private company mandates, to take any particular vaccine.

. . .

One important piece of information that needs to get out there is that these vaccines are not technically vaccines. They are experimental pseudo-vaccines that do not operate with dead or dormant components of the target coronavirus.

. . .

The doctors that he has been conferring with gave him four points they asked him to make through the course of the various interviews that he does:

1. Make Covid-19 vaccines purely voluntary and a personal, private medical decision
2. Allow Covid-19 Prophylactic treatments to be more readily available
3. Provide early multi-drug treatments for acute Covid-19 in high-risk patients and those who present severe symptoms
4. Track among the military Covid-19 cases that recovered and consider antibody and t-cell direct testing, then operate with Covid-recovered patients

. . .

This is why it’s so important for cognizant Americans to speak out now about the vaccine passports as well as the other radical control mechanisms being put into place. We are at a precipice. It wouldn’t take a whole lot to push this nation over the edge and into a police state where government takes the reins over every aspect of our lives.

Read the full story here.

RELATED headline via Breitbart:   Ohio Lawmakers to Introduce Legislation Prohibiting Mandated ‘Vaccine Passports’.

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Are Your Papers In Order?

 

Insanity Wrap, a/k/a Stephen Green, a/k/a Vodkapundit, sounds the alarm:

“Do you have your papers?” was what the Nazi or Communist Russian official would ask normal citizens as they attempted to travel from one region to another within their own country.

If your papers — your internal passport — weren’t in order, you could be prevented from traveling, detained, or worse.

Insanity Wrap probably wouldn’t shock you with a reminder that sometimes, even when your papers were in order, some kommissar might “find” something out of order if he didn’t like the look of you.

Imagine having all your travel, for business or just your own pleasure, being subject to the whim of the anointed.

Internal passports are anathema to liberty and commerce.

With that in mind:

The Biden administration is working on a vaccine passport program that would allow people to prove they have received a coronavirus vaccination, in order to enter venues which have been closed due to social distancing requirements, such as offices or movie theatres. The Washington Post and CNN reported.

Five officials, who spoke anonymously, told the Post that the White House is pushing efforts by federal agencies and private companies to develop the scheme.

One official suggested to CNN that vaccine passports could be required for people returning to work.

. . .

But even more so, we are pro-liberty.

The liberty to travel between states has long been recognized by the courts, and the liberty to travel within your own state has never, to Insanity Wrap’s recollection, been questioned.

Until now. Until the Democrats won slender congressional majorities and the White House in a questionable election — and then decided to push harder against liberty and basic sense than any previous administration had ever dared.

“Do you have your papers?” to engage in ordinary travel, commerce, or pleasure is something straight out of Soviet Russia or Nazi Germany.

Or Joe Biden’s America, if the Democrats get their way.

You Are Free to Conform

. . .

As authoritarian as an internal passport would be, Insanity Wrap is certain that what’s already being done to our rights by Big Tech is worse.

. . .

The Left was always against privatizing anything that Insanity Wrap can remember — until they figured out how to privatize authoritarian conformity.

It’s inarguable that liberty is denied when millions of Americans are forced to hop from one service or site to another, all while megarich tech companies play Whack-a-Mole with the options available to us.

Drawing the line at internal passports is too little and far too late.

We need a Great Reset, if Insanity Wrap may borrow a phrase, against liberty-crushing wokeness, period.

Insanity Wrap’s full column is here.

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