The further to the left or the right you move, the more your lens on life distorts.

Thursday, July 06, 2023

Cocainegate

On the surface, the news that the U.S. Secret Service found cocaine in the White House is actually comical. Despite the faux outrage of the Biden Administration's opponents, it's really no big thing. But the evolving attempt to stonewall the story and refuse to identify the culprit quickly and honestly (a "law enforcement source" has told the trained hamsters in the propaganda media that it will be 'very' difficult to find the culprit) is representative of an evolving trend coming out of the administration and deep state agencies who are sympathetic to Biden (meaning virtually all deep state agencies).

Let's digress. Recall how the deep state (FBI, DoJ, Intel agencies) and Democratic elites pushed the Russian hoax, refusing to acknowledge that the whole accusation was manufactured by the Clinton campaign when they knew it was. Recall how the CDC and the NIH lied blatantly and repeated about the source of COVID-19, the efficacy of vaccines and masks, the effectiveness of lockdowns, the damage caused to children by school closures. Recall how the DHS lied about the border, claiming that it was "closed" and that they were doing everything possible to stop the flow of illegal immigrants. Recall how 51 past Intel agency big wigs signed a letter claiming that Hunter Biden's laptop was likely Russian disinformation when we now know that they knew it was nothing of the sort. And recall how the propaganda media pushed each of these stories, lying to support these mendacious claims. All of that is an example of the new in-your-face exertion of raw power—"You know we're lying, we know you know we're lying, you know we know you know we're lying ... and we don't care, we lie anyway. And ... there's nothing you can do about it."

But back to Cocainegate. It's just another small, near-comical example of the raw exertion of power by the ruling elites. Conservative firebrand Kurt Schlichter writes:

... our garbage ruling class is not composed of impressive people. They didn’t build the institutions they are destroying. They inherited them via their Ivy League credentials – often as legacies, which the left will cry about but not actually change because that is how the ruling class perpetuates itself. These are not accomplished people. These are not smart people. These are not brave people, and these are not tough people. They are cruel and ruthless people, willing to use the existing systems of power to defend their societal sinecure, but their problem and their weaknesses that they rely on the proles to do their dirty work.

These "cruel and ruthless" people think nothing of destroying the reputations and lives of whistleblowers* or nominees to the Supreme Court (think: Bret Kavanaugh). They think nothing of censoring the opinions of eminent scientists who disagree with their preferred narrative (think: Stanford's Jay Bhattacharya). They think nothing of ruining the reputation of the nation's law enforcement and Intel agencies (think: the FBI and CIA), it's medical institutions (think: the CDC and NIH), it's DHS.

But back yet again to Cocaingate. The White House is one of the most secure buildings in the world. There are CCTV cameras in every hallway, in many work spaces—everywhere! And yet, we're told that "finding the suspect" will be close to impossible.  I guess this approach has worked so well in the past it's now the go-to strategy going forward. Schlichter continues:

How is this trend going to turn out? It’s too early to say. But it very likely will get much, much worse. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that Republicans are going to nominate a man for president who the Democrats will throw in jail on trumped up charges – figuratively and literally – before the 2024 election. And then it’s going to occur to even the most unbased people that the rules don’t necessarily apply anymore. Oh, we’re not going to break into some sort of civil war because Trump gets hauled off to Leavenworth. That’s not likely for a number of reasons. But it is going to destroy the illusions of norms for the normals, and the illusion of norms matters. Norms are, in fact, the only real protection those currently engaged in eliminating the norms have.

It hard to know what will happen when the vast population of normals finally comes to recognize that norms and equal justice, truth and transparency, and at least a semblance of honesty from our so-called leaders is nothing but an illusion. But one thing is certain, even if the cruel and ruthless people who currently lead are too ignorant of history to recognize it—this path is unsustainable. What cannot continue indefinitely will not continue indefinitely. Pushback is coming.

FOOTNOTE (added 07-07-2023):

*  As if to prove my point, Hunter Biden's lawyers have initiated a smear campaign against the IRS whistleblowers who threaten not only Hunter, but far more important, the current president. Kim Strassel reports:

Hunter Biden has adopted a legal strategy of threats and character assassination. It was on display in his legal team’s recent letter to House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith. The 10-page screed was a broad condemnation of the committee’s decision to release the interviews of two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers who worked the Hunter investigation and claim irregularities in the process that produced Hunter’s recent plea deal. Hunter lawyer Abbe Lowell complained the release violated the “spirit” of “tax laws” that protect “private” taxpayer information ... 

The press cheered the smear, with Axios gloating: “Hunter Biden’s lawyer roasts IRS whistleblowers.” The New York Times, days earlier, buried its confirmation of one of Mr. Shapley’s key claims: that a Joe Biden-appointed California prosecutor had refused to bring charges against Hunter.

Then there’s the Washington Post, which in its own story on the Lowell letter quoted a line claiming Mr. Shapley engaged in “leaks.” It somehow failed to tell its readers that the one concrete leak Mr. Lowell cites appeared in its own newspaper—which means the Post knows the actual source, and therefore presumably knows that it isn’t Mr. Shapley and that the letter’s accusations are untrue. Especially as the same reporter worked on both stories. Instead, the paper aids the Hunter narrative. As someone once said, democracy dies in darkness.

To repeat, these "cruel and ruthless" people think nothing of destroying the reputations and lives of whistleblowers. 

The big question is -- will there be any punishment for a president who appears to have significantly enriched himself by indirectly selling access to his office and his influence? The answer—not if the deep state elites and their propaganda media hamsters have anything to say about it.

UPDATE (07-08-2023):

Drip, drip drip. The lies, stonewalling and the stench of corruption coming out of the Biden administration have been too much for those of us who have noted their bad decisions and incompetence for some time, but it seems that relatively minor scandals, like Cocainegate, are having a cumulative effect, even for some of Biden's past supporters on the Left. 

In the left-leaning Atlantic, we have progressive writer, Eliot Cohen, telling Joe Biden to "step aside." Sure, Cohen uses "age" as an excuse and never mentions the many scandals that are brewing within the administration. But the mere fact that writers like Cohen are suggesting that Biden step aside is an indication that they're worried about the corruption that they know is there, but refuse to acknowledge.

We also see White House reporters (a.k.a. trained hamsters) from the alphabet networks, past pillars of the propaganda media, beginning to ask press spokesperson, KJP, harder questions. KJP's attempts at obfuscation would be comic if they weren't so infuriating. 

It's looking increasingly likely that the Democrats will move to 'convince' Biden to step aside, but first they have to solve the Kamala problem.