News that I missed, courtesy of The Babylon Bee:
WASHINGTON, D.C.—By all accounts, President Donald Trump has now gone completely mad with power. In a press briefing, he laid out his insidious plan.
“When I’m done with this country, everyone will be able to leave their houses whenever they want and do whatever they want,” Trump told the press with an evil grin. “They’ll be able to peaceably assemble in whatever size groups they desire! Muhahaha!”
“You’re a mad man!” a CNN reporter cried. “You don’t have the power to let people have freedom! You’re a tyrant!”
“My power is absolute!” Trump screamed. “No one can stop me! Soon everyone will be able to go back to work and buy whatever they feel like from the store even if bureaucrats don’t like it!”
“Noooo!” cried an MSNBC reporter. “You have to arrest people who don’t do what the government tells them! Who do you think you are? Someone stop him!”
But no one came to stop him, and Trump just laughed an evil laugh.
Go here to read the rest. I have always appreciated the privilege of living in a free nation. I am not living in one right now. Freedoms that Americans traditionally have held most dear have been routinely trampled upon by governments during this nonsense. Powers given by the people to be used by the States in health emergencies have been applied throughout the entire country. This is unprecedented. Routinely in the past such powers have been used for brief limited times in relatively small locations, usually individual cities. Even in the Civil War, neither the entire Union nor the Confederacy, ever had nationwide martial law, which in many ways this is. Getting our economy restarted is very, very important. Regaining our civil liberties is even more important.
The government I don’t nearly fear as much as my fellow citizens supporting this “for their own good.”
An aspect Lewis forgot in his point about tyranny for our own good – many will go along with it believing in it.
Here in South Dakota, our governor refuses to issue any executive orders, and there are people angry about this. My response to one person didn’t go over well: “Oh no! Governor Noem refuses to violate our civil liberties! How dare she not go for a power grab at the expense of South Dakota citizens’ rights!!!”
@Steven: Great response! In return I’m sure you heard “But it’s for saving LIVES!”
This has indeed become the Big Lie of the 2020 police state mentality. The “experts” who sold us on the social distancing regime never once claimed it would stop people from getting sick, only that the timing of cases would be extended. It’s amazing how easily we were fooled. (Collectively, that is.)
Kind of funny especially when this blog post appears within a couple postings of a typical Lincoln worship who really did complete remake the United States and set many of the presidential precedents conservatives pretend to dislike, not to mention the radical Republicans in Congress during Reconstruction. (I would wryly argue they are getting what they deserve from the Democrats now importing their own voters but that just seems cruel.) Perhaps some day people will get the real story of how our country was crushed. Long live Conservative Inc.
Kind of funny especially when this blog post appears within a couple postings of a typical Lincoln worship who really did complete remake the United States and set many of the presidential precedents conservatives pretend to dislike
Thank you Tim. I was afraid that the Lincoln bashers among my readers had quarantined themselves from comments during the duration of the virus. Lincoln hatred is a hardy perennial. It of course diminishes Lincoln not in the slightest or alters what he accomplished: the Union preserved and slavery destroyed.
At the cost of 650,000 lives (2%) of the entire population. The equivalent of Trillions on property damage, incredible enmity now placed between blacks and whites. And the utter destruction of Federalism. Sweep it all away, of no import. I’ll give you this, Lincoln got what he wanted. I dont hate him btw, but I call for realism about his legacy, without much hope that the worshippers will listen.
At the cost of 650,000 lives (2%) of the entire population.
Probably closer to 750k and absolutely worth it to preserve the Union and end slavery.
incredible enmity now placed between blacks and whites.
As opposed to the good relations that prevailed when blacks were in chains?
And the utter destruction of Federalism.
Nope. The Federal government largely went back to its prior position after the War. The permanent expansion of the Federal government started with the Progressive Era.
The permanent expansion of the Federal government started with the Progressive Era.
Disagree. Started in 1933 and preceded incrementally until about 1974. After 1974, what you see is not the expansion of the public sector in relation to the private economy, but the increasing officiousness of the judiciary and administrative agencies.
The central government of the Progressive Era did see an expansion in the dimensions and reach of the regulatory apparatus. The thing is, regulatory agencies seldom command big budgets or employ that many people. Also, the interest in establishing these agencies was driven by circumstances which were novel in scale if not also in scope. There was more cross jurisdictional trade, more trade in goods and services whose precise contents were opaque to the consumer, and more production by enterprises which were to be found in multiple jurisdictions.
Here in South Dakota, our governor refuses to issue any executive orders, and there are people angry about this.
The angriest person being the mayor of Sioux Falls, not without a tiny bit of justification, I’ll grant. But he wants two whole counties locked down under a shelter in place order, and if he can’t get that (which he hasn’t and which he won’t) He’s going to lock the city down. I guess he doesn’t think the public health emergency that’s in effect in the two counties he wants locked down gives him the powers he needs to keep the situation with the Smithfield employees under control. Or maybe he just has trouble playing nice with the County Commissions he needs to coordinate with.
And the utter destruction of Federalism.
Just out of curiosity, is that what you read in Chronicles or in some missive sent out by the president of the League of the South, or in some white paper drafted at the v Mises Institute?
The most frustrating about this is still that governments have deemed the mass a “non-essential service” and most bishops have agreed with that assessment.