Pages

Sunday, June 7, 2020

Homage To Progressivism

Over the ... years now, amazing! ... I've criticized CTH and sundance roundly when I've believed that criticism has been necessary, even as I've taken advantage of the wealth of information resources the site has provided access to. Today I offer a hat tip. I never thought I'd see this day, although in its own way this example really says more about America as a society than about any one organization:





I recognize that these two photos can't truly be taken as representative of the FBI as a whole, although at the same time it is a valid snapshot (!) of what you can now get away with in the FBI. For the record I'd like to point out that the one person in these two photos who isn't 'taking a knee' is a Black female. [My wife disputes that in part, so make your own minds up.]

Sundance, of course, has plenty to say and you can follow this link to read it: FBI Pledge Allegiance to Black Lives Matter, Antifa, Nation of Islam and New Black Panthers Protesters. Were these girls and boys of the FBI really pledging allegiance? Perhaps not in the strict sense, but it certainly is a shameful display of homage to the Progressivist Zeitgeist.

Here's a small portion of what you can read about this at CTH:

The FBI is now a political agency with police powers within the federal government.  The activity of Lisa Page, Peter Strzok, James Comey, Andrew McCabe and a host of very familiar names has shown just how important politics is within the institution.  Indeed, as we saw in the ridiculous Hillary Clinton investigation, politics was the prism for every decision; and protecting their ideological tribe was the biggest concern within the agency.

I'm sure there are many agents who don't feel that way. We can think back to examples of 'political bias' from the Horowitz dossier, which included texts of agents rejoicing at Trump's electoral victory and looking forward to the disappointment they'd see when they arrived at their office in the morning. But that's the point, right? They'd be keeping their joy to themselves--not out of a sense of civility but lest they be marked for retaliation by the powers running the FBI. The form of the retaliation, in today's America, needn't take the form of outright denial of job entitlements or promotion. Any federal employee--any government employee at any level, really--can tell you that there are any number of ways for the progressives who have the levers of power to enforce discipline and punish Wrongthink.

The situation is much like you find at our institutions of education, K through professional school, that are so top heavy with administrative personnel. Their true function is to ensure that all expressions of point of view (for want of a better word) will conform to the norms of political correctness. That enforcement function has found judicial sanction in the name of 'diversity'--meaning, in our 1984 Speak, conformity to PC speak. The personnel or 'human resources' departments at all levels of society--government (including the FBI), education, corporate--have long since been taken over by the descendants of 60s radicalism in the form of current PC Progressivism. They are the gatekeepers, who weed out all candidates (or, if need be, threaten current employees) who are recalcitrant in the face of Progressivism. Call those recalcitrant few, the Normals. Opposition to normality, to human nature itself, has been inculcated through long years of educational indoctrination and now has been institutionalized. It takes a village, and bureaucratic organizations are the village inhabited by the Left, the sea in which they swim. That the FBI has been so thoroughly transformed, as it seems, has to be a barometer measuring the health not only of the organization but of our society as a whole.


Here's a reminder of all this, written in light of the revelations from the Horowitz dossier--FBI Reaction To Trump's Election. It offers hope, of course, but also serves as a warning. Those photos provide ample reason for great disquiet:

==========================

I've written in the past of the army of lawyers who, in recent decades, have been "parachuted" into top positions at the FBI, including placing former prosecutors into the Director's office. I spoke of this to Lee Smith, about the toxic, politicized, and antinomian culture that was thus imported. Smith was good enough to include my views in Chapter 15 of his book, The Plot Against The President.

As always happens, these changes in leadership also led to changes in the selection not only of agent candidates but, especially, of those who would rise through management ranks. The rise of the Strzoks and McCabes and Priestaps tells a lot about the cultural state of the FBI, in and of itself.

Showalter writes about some of this at Daily Beast reports presence of conservatives in the FBI like it's a bad thing. Note, of course, that the agents who are quoted, while apparently unapologetic, do feel embattled. Here's the quote from The Daily Beast:

The report released Monday by Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz revealed messages between several FBI employees celebrating President Donald Trump’s 2016 victory. 
One supervisory special agent wrote via instant message that he was “so elated with the election” and that watching election coverage was like “watching a Superbowl comeback.” The agent later explained his messages to Horowitz’s office, claiming that they thought Hillary Clinton would win and it was “energizing” to see Trump claim victory. “I didn’t want a criminal to be in the White House,” he said. 

Hey, that sounds perfectly reasonable to me! A lot more reasonable than the views of the Strzoks, Pages, and McCabes of the FBI world--let alone Jim "So Many Questions" Comey.

Two other FBI agents also expressed pleasure with the 2016 election results. “Shit just got real,” one employee wrote in messages uncovered by the IG report. “I saw a lot of scared MFers on... (my way to work) this morning. Start looking for new jobs fellas. Haha.” The other agent replied, “LOL.” In response, the employee remarked: “Come January I’m going to just get a big bowl of popcorn and sit back and watch.” The other agent replied: “That's hilarious!”

I have to say, I LMAOed when I read that. It gave me just a bit of hope. There's a lot of truth in Bill Haydon's observation to George Smiley that the health of the intelligence services reflects the health--or lack thereof--of a society. And that means there's a long road ahead, judging from the Horowitz Dossier.


20 comments:

  1. This may help explain why the Attorney General authorized DEA to conduct surveillance and collect intelligence on the protests.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hadn't seen that, but it may provide additional insight into Barr sending Tim Shea over to DEA.

      Delete
  2. Curious if you have seen this link and have an idea if it's accurate.

    https://threader.app/thread/1268573651672104967

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's mostly all accurate. Here's the accurate part you need to keep firmly in mind:

      "federal agents don't need to "get permission" from state governors & city mayors before they can enforce federal laws against terrorist groups."

      Contrary to what some keep saying, Barr is ALL OVER THIS. Barr is ALL ABOUT protecting the authority of the Executive and ALWAYS has been. Anyone who thinks he didn't get all this in gear within hours, max, of realizing what was going down has no understanding of Barr.

      And I'm also quite sure that Barr has smart lawyers researching federal laws that might apply to public officials whose actions might constitute aiding and abetting terrorism.

      There are some very stupid people out there who could be setting themselves up. I understand that Barr probably isn't gonna spend the months before a national election arresting mayors and governors, but you might very possibly be hearing about this.

      Delete
    2. One detail that is not mentioned is that, if I remember right, the BoP teams specifically train to identify, carve out, and neutralize riot leadership. Don't know about other Fed units but pretty sure local cops learn just overall crowd control. Bad news for Antifa.
      Tom S.

      Delete
    3. Yes, but how many will kneel in penitence.
      Tom S.

      Delete
  3. I agree with your wife. However, what I noticed immediately about the scene was that most of the kneelers are women.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I wasn't going to mention this but the director of my agency, over a Webex conference, really unleashed a social justice tirade. He is a three-star flag officer.

    He mentioned the "murder of George Floyd" and that the rioters and looters wanted to be heard. Then he opined about racism and lauded "Pride Month". Webex allows comments and a row ensued. Commenting was shut off and the comments instantly vanished.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The military was thoroughly transformed by Obama.

      Delete
    2. Sorry to disagree Mark, but the military turned down this road many long before Obama arrived on the scene.
      Tom S.

      Delete
    3. delete many.
      Tom S.

      Delete
    4. Tom S. joins the cancel culture. Sad!

      Delete
  5. In this ritual "bending of the knee", is the right or left knee touching the ground the more humble expression of submission? Or am I reading this all wrong and these LEOs are all just re-enacting the scene in MN that set everything off?

    ReplyDelete
  6. You got a nice mention in Clarice Feldman's June 7 article, "Just Like That, Gun Control Support and COVID-19 Died This Week"

    ReplyDelete
  7. https://www.unz.com/isteve/cmon-joe-make-this-an-official-poster/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hate to be a downer, but the Bu is unfixable. PC is boss and there is no leadership period. Barr cant do it by himself despite his intelligence. Deep state and PC run amok is real.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete