Ruby Ridge, Waco, and the swamp
As one alternate juror put it, "I felt like a little kid that finds out there is no Santa Claus." This was the remark of one citizen who observed testimony and other evidence arising from the 1992 Ruby Ridge incident, in which an innocent woman and her 14-year-old son were ambushed and gunned down by federal agents over what was, at worst, a minor infraction that could easily have been remedied without violence.
Then, in the following year, the Waco incident proved, once again, that there is no government Santa Claus. Seventy-six men, women, and children were killed in a fire started by the improper use of tear gas by federal agents after four of the agents were killed trying to gain forced entry to the building housing the targeted cult members. Yet the cult leader could easily have been arrested in prior days, when he had voluntarily visited the federal office to which he had been summoned.
Years later, I am finding the same childlike reaction expressed by the juror in myself with regard to the massive and pervasive corruption in Washington, D.C. that is slowly being revealed in the Uranium One scandal, and in the Mueller probe aimed at destroying the presidency of Donald Trump. There is no Santa Claus, no honesty in government.
What was demonstrated by the Ruby Ridge and Waco events is that government is like fire: necessary in its place and dangerous when it breaches its containment.
Until recently, I had always been convinced that however corrupt the government is, at least there are honesty and integrity in the upper reaches of law enforcement. My faith had been tested, but not shattered, when what I considered to be a few rogue officers went berserk and slaughtered the aforementioned innocent Americans in an abuse of power.
Now I understand that the problem is vastly worse than my worst fears had ever led me to believe. We are faced not with a few renegade cops, but with ensconced corruption almost beyond imagining.
Pardon the reference to the NFL team owner who said that we "can't have the inmates running the prison," but in fact, we now have criminals running the government.
The Obama administration was, as far as I can see, a criminal enterprise. It was as if the Mafia had taken control of the nation. It took the good fortune of an unexpected election of a rogue candidate to the office of the presidency to expose just how deep is that cesspool of depravity in Washington.
That unexpectedness was key. Had Trump been far head in the polls for an entire year, had his election been widely predicted by the media, there would have been time enough for the inmates to destroy more of the evidence, to (so to speak) wipe their servers with a cloth, and to fabricate better lies. They confidently assumed that Clinton would win and that her presidency would continue to shield them, to continue filling the trough from which they slurped.
As it was, the light switch was thrown unexpectedly, and the cockroaches could not scurry fast enough to avoid being discovered. Thank you to those who ridiculed Trump's chances of winning.
The sad part is that even when caught red-handed, many of the guilty parties get away with their crimes. They know how the system works. They have connections. Their accomplices in the news media cover for them. And they have bribed a generation of indolents and illegals with your tax dollars to remain their dependents for life. Their fraudulent votes will continue to elect criminals to many seats in Congress and elsewhere. Holdovers and leftovers from the Obama years will continue to contaminate the innards of government.
The swamp-dwellers have spent their entire lives perfecting their skills. They spend 24/7 and 365 doing nothing but scheming and plotting, and doing it all with your money. They are experts at deceit and subversion.
In other words, it will take more than torches and pitchforks to unseat them from their thrones. It will take something that not even the most skilled of them can understand – principled and courageous citizens. We will win, but it will be painful and difficult, with many a setback along the way. We will be called upon to sacrifice. The Tree of Liberty demands it.
Then, in the following year, the Waco incident proved, once again, that there is no government Santa Claus. Seventy-six men, women, and children were killed in a fire started by the improper use of tear gas by federal agents after four of the agents were killed trying to gain forced entry to the building housing the targeted cult members. Yet the cult leader could easily have been arrested in prior days, when he had voluntarily visited the federal office to which he had been summoned.
Years later, I am finding the same childlike reaction expressed by the juror in myself with regard to the massive and pervasive corruption in Washington, D.C. that is slowly being revealed in the Uranium One scandal, and in the Mueller probe aimed at destroying the presidency of Donald Trump. There is no Santa Claus, no honesty in government.
What was demonstrated by the Ruby Ridge and Waco events is that government is like fire: necessary in its place and dangerous when it breaches its containment.
Until recently, I had always been convinced that however corrupt the government is, at least there are honesty and integrity in the upper reaches of law enforcement. My faith had been tested, but not shattered, when what I considered to be a few rogue officers went berserk and slaughtered the aforementioned innocent Americans in an abuse of power.
Now I understand that the problem is vastly worse than my worst fears had ever led me to believe. We are faced not with a few renegade cops, but with ensconced corruption almost beyond imagining.
Pardon the reference to the NFL team owner who said that we "can't have the inmates running the prison," but in fact, we now have criminals running the government.
The Obama administration was, as far as I can see, a criminal enterprise. It was as if the Mafia had taken control of the nation. It took the good fortune of an unexpected election of a rogue candidate to the office of the presidency to expose just how deep is that cesspool of depravity in Washington.
That unexpectedness was key. Had Trump been far head in the polls for an entire year, had his election been widely predicted by the media, there would have been time enough for the inmates to destroy more of the evidence, to (so to speak) wipe their servers with a cloth, and to fabricate better lies. They confidently assumed that Clinton would win and that her presidency would continue to shield them, to continue filling the trough from which they slurped.
As it was, the light switch was thrown unexpectedly, and the cockroaches could not scurry fast enough to avoid being discovered. Thank you to those who ridiculed Trump's chances of winning.
The sad part is that even when caught red-handed, many of the guilty parties get away with their crimes. They know how the system works. They have connections. Their accomplices in the news media cover for them. And they have bribed a generation of indolents and illegals with your tax dollars to remain their dependents for life. Their fraudulent votes will continue to elect criminals to many seats in Congress and elsewhere. Holdovers and leftovers from the Obama years will continue to contaminate the innards of government.
The swamp-dwellers have spent their entire lives perfecting their skills. They spend 24/7 and 365 doing nothing but scheming and plotting, and doing it all with your money. They are experts at deceit and subversion.
In other words, it will take more than torches and pitchforks to unseat them from their thrones. It will take something that not even the most skilled of them can understand – principled and courageous citizens. We will win, but it will be painful and difficult, with many a setback along the way. We will be called upon to sacrifice. The Tree of Liberty demands it.
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