The Art of Censorship

Pop Quiz

What famous philosopher said: “It’s dé·jà vu all over again.”

What famous member of the law enforcement community said: “Show me the man and I will show you the crime.”

Answers at the end of the post.

Does the name Patrick Fitzgerald ring a bell? He was the Special Counsel who led the investigation into the Valerie Plame incident. It was alleged that Plame, wife of Congressman Joseph Wilson, was a CIA employee whose identify was revealed by Robert Novak during the Saddam Hussein WMD investigation. It is apparently some sort of crime to out a CIA undercover agent. So the hunt began to find the scoundrel with the big mouth in the Bush White House who tipped off Novak. Historic note: Among the dramatis personae in this unsavory abuse of justice were two familiar names: Robert Mueller and James Comey, the Alphonse and Gaston of the intelligence community.

As it turns out Plame was not an undercover agent and for all we know she might have been a charwoman at the McLean facility. It was later determined that Fitzgerald knew from the very beginning of the process that the real leaker was Richard Armitage, a State Department employee. So can we assume that having identified the culprit Fitzgerald immediately wrapped up the investigation? Not so fast…the investigation continued for two more years disrupting the activities of the Bush administration. But of course the unwarranted continuation of the snipe hunt was roundly condemned. That would be true if you like the sound of crickets. Net result: one process criminal charge against Scooter Libby, innocent bystander.

A sorry episode but we can be sure that it was a one off and measures were put in place to ensure that it would never, ever happen again.

Fast forward to the Trump administration. On May 17, 2017, Rod Rosenstein, who had volunteered to wear a wire to entrap President Trump, named the aforementioned Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate alleged Russian collusion with the Trump campaign. His appointment was the result of the machinations of the aforementioned James Comey. The predicate for the investigation was the discredited Steele dossier. They used the template from the Fitzgerald investigation. We now know that Mueller and his team were fully aware from the beginning that the dossier was unverified and basically a work of fiction. Undaunted Mueller’s Democrat posse rounded up the usual suspects and conducted a two year exercise in political disruption. The conclusion was that no evidence was found to support the original allegation. There were several process crimes pursued the most egregious being the prosecution of Michael Flynn. The tragic denouement was Robert Mueller testifying before the Senate and doing an imitation worthy of Rich Little…an imitation of Joe Biden.

And what makes this sad story even worse is the participation of the left wing media in the opera bouffe. It continues to amaze that the lemming division of the American public, having been deprived of impartial coverage of events, still believes, without reservation, that Trump and Putin still sleep together. Happily the ongoing declassification of documents is an ecdysiastical performance that is slowly gaining national attention. It was revealed that John Brennan (aptly compared to LBJ in that they both only lied when their lips are moving) kept written notes showing that Obama was the Leonard Bernstein of the whole Russian collusion symphony. In addition, Brennan suggested that the source of the plan was none other than the justifiably maligned Hilliary Clinton. Richard Grenell is my nominee for the Nobel Political (Sur)prize.

These are but two examples of how the integrity of our political system is being seriously undermined. It is becoming clear that the dissemination of information and opinion has been seriously compromised. The new Ministry of Truth (hat tip to Eric Blair) is comprised of Google, Facebook and Twitter. The self-appointed censors within those organizations are doctrinaire leftists who oppose free thinking and feel justified in forcing their authoritarian instincts on society. Their internet ego trip is abetted by the fact that the younger generation is notoriously ignorant (hat tip to public education) and easily led or mislead because they have been robbed of their ability to think independently. The arrogant nabobs of those organizations are drowning in their own self-righteousness and seem impervious to criticism.

Breitbart and Politico have lost most of their internet traffic because of Google censorship. Lara Kontakos, Facebook content moderator, has stated that “(i)f someone is wearing a MAGA hat, I’m going to delete them for terrorism…”. Bad case of cocklaphobia or maybe just insane. Another Facebook content moderator admitted to deleting “every Republican item.” There have been threats to block the President of the United States from these platforms and they are now adding warnings and fact checks to anything that comes from Trump. We need fact checks and warnings about these fact checks and warnings. If ever you were wondering if stupidity is contagious I give you the collective stupidity of the employees of Google, Facebook and Twitter. Many are, no doubt, products of big name liberal schools.

So can this nationwide censorship of the free marketplace of ideas be dangerous? I give you, as a response, the treatment of information regarding the Wuhan Red Death, aka COVID 19. The thinking on the left and on the internet is monolithic. They are impervious to new or conflicting ideas. The big three are bastions of group think and they are clearly threatened by independent thought.

The COVID issue is very complex and the country needs to engage in serious critical thinking which requires exploring every option. Take the case of hydroxychloroquine (hydroxy). Inexplicably any discussion of hydroxy strikes fear in the hearts of leftists everywhere. The human weather vane, Anthony Fauci, has landed squarely on all four sides of this issue. It seems that the minute Trump mentioned hydroxy favorably it became disfavored based solely on Trump Derangement Syndrome. An article appeared as if by magic alleging that use of hydroxy was fraught with risk. That article has since been pulled because it was not peer reviewed.

Twitter suspended Donald Trump Jr. because he posted a video of medical doctors discussing hydroxy. No reason given. A number of medical experts have had their accounts suspended or shut down because they failed to drink the Koolaid. Here is a list of doctors who have provided opinions that are contrary to the dictates of the Ministry of Truth: Harvey Risch, Romin Oskoui, Scott Atlas, Don Erickson and Artin Massihi. Alex Berenson a former reporter for the NY Times has been tireless in providing the truth about COVID and the treatment of the disease. All of these people have been censored on the internet. Irresponsible? Yes indeed. It is time to dismantle the big three and get some balance on the internet!

Things to ponder

Lin Wood is defending Kyle Rittenhouse. His team prepared a videotape of the entire incident which makes it clear that Rittenhouse was under attack and he was merely defending himself. It was aired on Tucker Carlson but YouTube decided to censor that portion of Carlson’s show. Last thing you want is the truth getting out. In any case compute the odds that Rittenhouse facing a mob of some 500 people manages to shoot three armed peaceful protestors and they all turn out to be felons.

Very few on the left can even define capitalism even though Socialism would be DOA but for the wealth that capitalism generates. Two good examples of capitalism: Amazon (which destroys small businesses from coast to coast) is much beloved on the left and inner city drug distribution which is much protected on the left. These examples show that the left has no understanding of collateral damage.

Apparently the preposterous 1619 Project has run into some heavy historical weather. Seems that the facts threaten to sink the entire project. The truth sometimes has that effect. Will probably have the same effect on critical race theory.

Barack and Michelle Obama are the poster children for black privilege.

A Chinese immunologist has written a paper arguing that the Wuhan Red Death was developed in a Chinese laboratory and purposefully dispatched to the West. Serious stuff but you won’t hear it discussed on CNN or MSDNC. The Chinese government has supported her effort by throwing her parents in the calaboose. They will shortly be making Nike sneakers for LeBron.

The left is horrified by Trump’s “morals” but remains silent on the pants dropping escapades of former President Bill Clinton. His visits to Lolita Island with Jeffrey Epstein are dutifully ignored. Perhaps if Billy Bush made some tapes… Sorry lost my mind there for a second!

Listening to Constitutional scholar Nanny Pelosi opine on the 25th Amendment reminds us all that the Speaker has the mental capacity of a salamander. Yet she is only one miracle away from sainthood. The first miracle is that her brain generates enough mental energy to move her feet.

Pop quiz answers: Yogi Berra and Lavrentiy Beria.