Squibs

     I’m hurting somewhat – yesterday was a day of much exertion – so have a few brief comments on assorted matters, that I might leave my computer and assume a more comfortable position. Assuming I can find one, that is.

The Dynamic of Power Strikes Again.

     Don’t take that “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity” stuff too seriously:

     Today’s FBI is a nightmare. They have turned the FBI into a political force akin to the East German Stasi and the Nazi’s Gestapo. Instead of protecting American citizens they are spying on patriots and launching groundless cases, such as the bullshit charges brought against DEA Agent Mark Ibrahim….

     You can read those charges for yourself. I have no love for the DEA, but I have even less for a government agency doing what the FBI appears poised to do to Ibrahim.

     Not only did Ibrahim not enter the Capitol, he was there with his brother, who is an FBI Agent. But he also was there with a “friend” who, it turns out, was an FBI informant. That FBI informant was encouraging Ibrahim to go inside. Ibrahim did not. But the fact that he did not incite violence or engage in any act of violence is ignored by the ironically named U.S. Department of Justice. They want to make an example of him.

     Any and every law-enforcement agency is a power center. Power centers are all subject to the dynamic of power. That dynamic, over time, will corrupt the institution regardless of any and all efforts to keep it honest. The FBI has not proved to be an exception.

And While We’re On The Subject Of The FBI…

     Apparently, now that the Left controls the federal government, they intend to get revenge on those who previously failed to cooperate:

     A group of US Democratic senators on Thursday said that newly released materials show the FBI failed to fully investigate sexual misconduct allegations against the US supreme court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was nominated to the court in 2018.

     The senators, including Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Chris Coons of Delaware, said a letter they received from the FBI director, Chris Wray, last month shows the FBI gathered more than 4,500 tips relating to Kavanaugh without any apparent further action by investigators.

     “The admissions in your letter corroborate and explain numerous credible accounts by individuals and firms that they had contacted the FBI with information ‘highly relevant to … allegations’ of sexual misconduct by Justice Kavanaugh, only to be ignored.”

     Note the use of the word credible. “Credible” is a personal judgment in the absence of evidence – a matter of opinion, if you will. Its presence in the above is a rhetorical device, a way of suggesting that the reader should take the writers’ opinions of the “tips” as authoritative. Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations received no corroboration whatsoever from any witness that came before the Senate. Why, then, should these “tips” be granted any credence whatsoever?

     The Left is vindictive in the extreme. If they can “get” those who failed to deliver Kavanaugh’s scalp, they will, and never mind how many years and changes of administration it takes.

Authoritarians Gonna Authoritate.

     Leana Wen doubles down:

     CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen on Thursday demanded a nationwide mask mandate regardless of vaccination status.

     Leana Wen was born in China and served as the president of Planned Parenthood until July 2019.

     “Without a reliable system to determine proof of vaccination, it’s not possible to tell who is vaccinated and who is not,” Wen said. “The honor system does not work.”

     Wen said ultimately the Biden Administration should mandate Covid passports in order for people to be able move about. [Emphasis added by FWP.]

     Doctors have always displayed a dictatorial tendency, but Miss Wen has decided to take it as far as her imagination will allow. Place millions of people under house arrest for not complying with her arrogant demands? No problem!

     I’d advise this woman to be very careful going through doors and crossing parking garages.

Anyone Still Not Convinced?

     Apparently we palefaces are the reason the Negroes won’t go outdoors:

     A report published by Outside Interactive alleged that America’s historically racist policies have contributed to “the nature gap,” resulting in black Americans having less enjoyment of the so-called “great outdoors.”

     Erin Key, the report’s author, is pushing for minorities to use their free time outdoors in nature through the use of grants and advocacy work. She does not, however, mention that there are no modern laws prohibiting non-whites from visiting public nature sites.

     “Though many don’t like to speak about it, so many of our living relatives experienced racism when it was legal — directly affecting how they interacted with society and how society interacted with them — all based on the color of their skin,” Key wrote, explaining that her family lived through an era “when many Black Americans were taught not to do things outside of their community areas, in an effort to keep them ‘safe.’”

     I’m unconvinced. Negroes don’t go outdoors because they feel “unsafe” out there? I’ve been mugged five times. Each time the mugger was black. Each time it happened “outdoors.” What am I missing here?

     Is the problem that our parks and nature sites make our darker-skinned brethren feel “unsafe,” or is it the distinct lack of asphalt and basketball hoops?

Desecrations.

     In light of recent developments, I fear the worst:

     Comes now Amazon, with its own Middle Earth series, drawing upon “The Silmarillion” and “Unfinished Tales.” (Confession time: I admit to lacking the intellectual firepower to work through the former, although I did enjoy the latter.) There has been a great deal of speculation among fans as to the nature of the series. And it looks like the first leaks are out. Among other things, the new series will include “sexless nudity,” as opposed to the absence of nudity in the books.

     Maybe Amazon will hit it out of the park. The Tolkien estate seems to think so. But it is worth noting that the release is coming after the latest meeting of the Tolkien Society, during which papers were presented and discussions were held about ways to make the legends of Middle Earth more woke. These of course are the same kind of people who will highlight in bright yellow the “environmental messages” in LOTR, while conveniently ignoring the chapter entitled “The Scouring of the Shire” in The Return of the King, which provides a very accurate description of the effects of socialism.

     The trend among Leftists in the arts has been to desecrate great older works such as The Lord of the Rings in any possible fashion, and to condemn outright that which it cannot somehow spoil. Tolkien himself described his magnum opus as an overwhelmingly Catholic novel. It perfectly expresses his own Catholic-pastoral morality and ethics. (Tolkien was no fan of industrial society.) To turn it into some sort of “woke” tract would be a kind of blasphemy, on the order of a Passion Play performed entirely in the nude, with lots of gratuitous swearing and sex acts.

     If Amazon permits the befouling of The Lord of the Rings, those who’ve loved the trilogy should vow never again to patronize Amazon.

     That’s all for today, Gentle Reader. Time to soak in a hot tub for a week or two. See you tomorrow, perhaps.