Our reward for having the engine of the economy shutdown is promises of more money to bail out those impacted by the shutdown. Money from where when there’s little to no productivity to tax? No worries. The experts are on it. Just nod and smile under your mask. Don’t forget to bleat!
Sure, we’ve been handed a few crumbs—a few fleeting images of life before being made into political prisoners. But the Virus Gulag continues to operate despite growing evidence that we’ve all been punked.
I happen to think that politics, not Public Health, drove us into the hole and is keeping us there. As I noted yesterday, when Gov. Sununu caved to Democrat Demands and pushed us all into this hole (together), he was well aware that it might be politically bottomless. No matter how you come back, there will be a political price.
Adjusting the Boot on Our Necks
I have been minimally affected and have refused to participate in any of this (as much as that is within my control), but many of us are less fortunate and in free-fall. Many of those may never recover thanks to political force.
But we are supposed to appreciate the latest gift of small permissions. Slivers of light. Promises in the darkness. The faint pulse of that fading pinprick in the receding fabric of what used to be normal. A world where adults measured and took risks every day just by stepping out the front door.
The chatter now is about whether we’ll ever get back there, and I’m reminded of an old New England saying. You can’t get there from here. I’d beg to differ, but I’ve been at this long enough to know better. The government never gives back power once you let them have it; it finds ways to make it more “legal.”
The only sign of potential relief in any form – so far – other than the option to move to South Dakota – has been a Memo from AG Barr in late April.
As the Department of Justice explained recently in guidance to states and localities taking steps to battle the pandemic, even in times of emergency, when reasonable and temporary restrictions are placed on rights, the First Amendment and federal statutory law prohibit discrimination against religious institutions and religious believers. The legal restrictions on state and local authority are not limited to discrimination against religious institutions and religious believers. For example, the Constitution also forbids, in certain circumstances, discrimination against disfavored speech and undue interference with the national economy. If a state or local ordinance crosses the line from an appropriate exercise of authority to stop the spread of COVID19 into an overbearing infringement of constitutional and statutory protections, the Department of Justice may have an obligation to address that overreach in federal court.
For what it’s worth.
A majority of people have been scared into giving up their rights without a fight. The result of this is an accurate representation of the problem of mob rule. The individual rights of those who oppose the political response to the virus have been suppressed. The public pressure to conform to the demands of the state is high. And while there is some growing discontent, you need only venture out and look at how few people go outside without a mask.
They are all buying into the scare tactics.
To get the government to stop infringing on your rights, as Ian is fond of reminding us, you have to ask another part of the government. Most people will not feel qualified to do so or of adequate means to pay for legal counsel to bring a suit and follow through.
If, however, you feel you have a case, the Attorney General has instructed US Attorneys to be on the lookout for violations of your civil rights. That’s a beautiful thing to say, but what exactly does that mean?
The beatings will continue until morale improves.
Read More from the ‘Grok on Reopening NH
Note: I rewrote the end of the opening paragraph shortly after publication.