The Barbell of Exemptions from Accountability

 

I think most would agree that something is out of kilter in our society right now.  It feels raw, unstable and unsettled.   Many of us don’t quite know what to make of it.   Our political system is being stretched in ways we never imagined.  COVID19 rules seem totalitarian and arbitrary.  Crime is ascendant in major cities and shows no signs of abating.  Race relations are worse than they have been in more than a half century.   The U.S. is abandoning some allies, ignoring others and coddling totalitarian regimes.

At the top of the list is General Mark Milley.  Leading a catastrophic and abrupt withdrawal from Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of 13 marines and untold other Afghani allies, while leaving U.S. citizens behind, Milley still has a job.

Under Milley, a family was droned, which included 7 children, and Milley had days before considered it a “righteous strike.”  And if the reports by Bob Woodward are true, Milley subverted the chain of command and had unauthorized conversations with our principal geopolitical adversary.   In an earlier era, Milley would have faced a firing squad. 

Anthony Fauci is still employed and spouting off recommendations even though Rand Paul caught him in a flat out lie about his role in funding “gain of function” research at the Wuhan Lab.  Despite inconsistent and flawed projections and recommendations, Fauci still graces the covers of magazines and is lauded as an “expert” by the mainstream media.  In any other venue, someone with Fauci’s track record would have gotten the heave-ho long ago.

Then, there are the real sewer rats-  people like Eric Slawell and Ilhan Omar.   Slawell slept with Chinese spy Fang Fang.  Omar purportedly married her brother to flout immigration rules, funneled campaign money to her lover’s consulting firm, and made breathtaking antisemitic pronouncement.  In neither case were they held accountable in any way.

The entire F.B.I. deserves its own essay on accountability, beginning with the fabrication of the Steele dossier used to “trump up” the collusion charge with the FISA court (as an aside, there were no consequences or reforms proposed by Chief Justice John Roberts for this, either).  But worse was the F.B.I.’s handling of the sexual abuse of the Olympic gymnasts.   McKayla Maroney’s testimony last week was particularly heartbreaking as she made clear that the F.B.I. not only failed to protect these girls, but actively enabled Nasser to continue to abuse them.  To my knowledge, not a single person has suffered a consequence as a result.

At the bottom of our society, criminals are no longer accountable.   SF can’t be prosecuted for shoplifting for under $950.   In cities like Chicago, murderers are not prosecuted or are released on no cash bail.   Disturbing the peace and public nuisances aren’t dealt with at all.  Violent criminals in Chicago go free on cashless bail.  The Antifa and BLM melees last summer resulted in few arrests and even few perpetrators that spent time in prison, even though deaths, injuries and billions in property damage resulted.

The rest of us are always accountable—abiding by the law, paying our taxes, performing at work, living up to our familial obligations.    We are accountable to our employers, to all the government rules and regulations, and to our families.

But what is completely out of kilter is that the elites exempt themselves and the bottom of our society from accountability.  We cannot have a society in which the very top and very bottom escape accountability while the rest of us are held accountable.

This cannot go on much longer.   It is the stuff that populism is made of…and if things do not change, rebellions.

The Hallmarks of a Communist or Fascist Regime

 

There are demonstrable, legitimate reasons to be deeply concerned about our society at the present time.    As I discussed in my post on May 31, the radical movement that seems to have gripped the nation doesn’t look exactly like other socialist/communist movements (https://commonsense-mark.blogspot.com/2021/05/who-are-fascists.html).  I argued that it is more of a hybrid between a communist movement and national socialism and has borrowed features from each. 

But in any event, I believe that the radical Left that has gained control of our federal government and many states and municipalities is as dangerous as anything we’ve witnessed since the end of the Cold War.  Because the New Left doesn’t look exactly like Bolshevism or National Socialism, many are confused about it.   Here’s why you should be concerned.

Its Callous Disregard for Human Life

Like its Communist and National Socialist antecedents, the New Left has a callous disregard for human life.   James Lindsay, in his New Discourses podcast of April 23, 2021, Communism Doesn’t Know How   (https://newdiscourses.com/2021/04/communism-doesnt-know-how/) argues that the Neo Marxists are in a hurry to dismantle the current system but are vague on what is to replace it.  I would add to that an assertion that Communism Doesn’t Care (and neither does fascism). 

And it doesn’t.  Mao starved out millions, as did Stalin.  And we know about Hitler.  And Pol Pot.

Are today’s Neo-Marxists any better?  Not much.  They are evidencing a lack of inhibition about breaking a few eggs to advance their agenda.

Whatever your views on abortion, the cheering and glee that we witnessed in New York and Illinois over passing laws permitting unrestricted abortion until birth was grotesque.   Ending the life of an almost-to-be-born fetus would be a somber and serious thing, no matter what.  But what we saw were all cheers, smiles and backslapping. 

Likewise, in cities like Chicago, the violent crime rate continues to escalate.  In Chicago, 280 children have been shot so far this year.  A 24 year old bank employee was stabbed to death in the middle of the day a few weeks ago, and earlier this summer, a 31 year old woman was stabbed to death just blocks from Sears Tower.  A University of Chicago student was shot to death on his way home from his internship this summer.  A 70 year old former special ed teacher was slain on her way home from a White Sox game.  Dozens of black children have been murdered, and I have repeatedly asked the question of why I seem to care about the senseless slaughter of black children more than the black city management does.  There has been no effort, no urgency, no mandate, no personnel changes.  The Neo-Marxists in charge are apparently ok with the status quo.  The death toll is an acceptable level to advance their agenda…or they would do something different.

Similarly, the abrupt withdrawal from Afghanistan cost us 13 young marines, and an untold number of Afghan allies and people that assisted the U.S.  Even more egregious, we left Americans behind.   The images of Afghans falling from airplanes that they were clinging to will be seared in our memories for a long time.  There are reports that U.S. intelligence knew of the suicide bomber and actually had him locked on with a drone but did not disrupt it because we were negotiating with the Taliban.  The photos of Biden checking his watch as he met the parents showed just how much he cared.

Marxists and Nazis simply do not care.  The loss of human life is incidental to their drive to power. 

 

Lies and Deceits

The second marker of a Communist or Nazi is the willingness to propagate  falsehoods.  And where to even start with this bunch?   From the Christmas bombing of Nashville in which the entire investigation was wrapped up in 48 hours to Anthony Fauci’s lies about funding “gain of function” research at the Wuhan Lab to the Pentagon’s claim that they had killed ISIS-K leaders when in fact, they had mistakenly droned a family, the government has gotten bigger, bolder and more brazen putting out falsehoods.

Then there are the “do you think we’re that stupid” lies like Hunter Biden selling his “artwork” for upwards of $500,000 when he had no previous history of artistic inclinations.  

Then there is the 1/6 “deadly invasion of the capitol” except that the only death was at the hands of the Capitol Police and the “insurrection” looked suspiciously more like the Reichstag Fire than and actual insurrection. 

And just today, the government announced that it was sending $64 million in “humanitarian aid” to Afghanistan, but assures us that none of it is going to the Taliban, but rather will be administered by NGO’s and not-for-profits.

Right.

The lies and deceits that are painfully obvious to anyone with a functioning central nervous system are a hallmark of communism/national socialism.

These are the things that concern me most.  I do not recall a time in my lifetime when a government evidenced such a callous disregard for human life and was so willing to look us in the eye and lie.