The Imperative of an American Lustration
In the aftermath of the downfall of the Soviet empire, many of its former captive nations (like the Baltics, Poland, and the Czech Republic) implemented a policy of “lustration,” a process of identifying, exposing, and removing officials who were complicit in the oppressions and crimes of the Communist governments that they served. Reading the reviews of Deborah Birx’s book by Michael Senger and Jeffrey Tucker of the Brownstone Institute makes it clear that the post-Communist example is worthy of imitation in post-COVID (speaking optimistically) world.
In her appalling book, this appalling woman chronicles her myriad appalling deeds. In a nutshell, she lied and manipulated and manipulated and lied in order to impose her desired COVID strategy–severe lockdown, of indefinite duration. Moreover, her book makes clear that her beliefs and desires were not grounded in science or fact or a sober appraisal of trade-offs (something that did not enter her “thinking” in the least), but were instead purely the product of her monomania, righteous ignorance, and not a little CCP-philia.
And because largely of this, and her, 330 million Americans had their lives and livelihoods turned upside down.
Of course as egregious as she was, Birx did not work alone. Some of her co-conspirators (and yes, that is the right word) are known: Anthony Fauci, Francis Collins, Robert Redfield, Matthew Pottinger. But there were necessarily many other accessories with much lower public profiles, or indeed no public profilecs at all.
Given the massive harm inflicted on the country, and the lives and liberties of its citizens, the actors and their acts must be known. And not merely through the self-interested memoirs of confessed (indeed boastful) liars. This is necessary not just to punish the guilty (though any punishment will not come anywhere near the harm), but to shed a light on how government “works” in the hope it may not “work” this way in the future.
That’s the purpose of lustration.
The public health establishment should of course be a focus of this effort, to investigate its role in shaping the response to COVID and also its potential role in causing it. But not the only one. The actions of the FDA in approving vaccines and responding (or not, more accurately) to widespread reports of adverse side effects also demand examination. (Look at how the FDA responded to a report about contamination at the Abbot baby formula factory, and compare to how it is responding–or not–to report after report regarding “vaccine” side-effects.)
The military as well. Who is responsible for the vaccine mandates that have devastated morale, led to the separation, resignation, or failure to re-enlist of thousands of dedicated soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, and which are a major cause in the military’s current shocking recruiting shortfalls? Why did they make this decision? Why are they sticking to it so mulishly despite the obvious consequences?
And the need for cleansing extends beyond COVID. For example, did the execrable General Mark Milley usurp the Constitutional powers of the commander and chief?
I could go on.
You will note that my (very incomplete) list of potential subjects is limited to soi disant “civil servants,” i.e., bureaucrats, and is devoid of politicians. That is no accident. The most shocking fact about COVID policy is that it was almost entirely the creation of an American nomenklatura, with the supposed agents of self-government (including Donald Trump) playing at best a tertiary and certainly cowardly part.
Look at Birx. She arrogated to herself the powers to make momentous decisions, because. Because why? Well, because she could and no Constitutionally sanctioned individual stopped her. Indeed, they enabled her.
Restoration of true self-government requires Americans to know what a sham self-government has become.
If you think that lustration is unprecedented, well that’s not true. We have an example before our very eyes–the January Sixth Committee. Its purpose is clearly the lustration of Trump and Trump officials who allegedly attempted to undermine “our democracy.” So if the left shrieks in horror at the thought of Deborah Birx and Tony Fauci et al in the dock, well, sauce for the goose . . .
That said, the greatest service that the January Sixth Committee is performing is to show how NOT to proceed. It is transparently partisan. Worse, it lacks the procedural safeguards–specifically the ability to present evidence and witnesses, and cross-examine–that are necessary to ferret out the truth, uncover the lies, and protect the accused.
But we cannot allow those responsible for inflicting so much harm to escape unexamined and unscathed. If they are as righteous as they claim, they will emerge not merely unbowed, but elevated. If they are not, they deserve public obloquy. Or worse.
But it’s about more than exposing the culpable. It’s about showing how the system operates. How the unelected and unaccountable wield powers–awesome powers–not granted by the Constitution or laws. Until we know how the system operates, we cannot know what needs to be changed.
Bureaucratic usurpation is a fact of American life. COVID policy represents what is hopefully an extreme example of such usurpations, and hence can provide insights to the system that people will care about, and pay attention to. So it is not for the past–because sunk costs are sunk–but for the future the American people need to know what happened, who did it, and why.
So lustration. Sooner rather than later.
Scott Atlas’s book gave me a clear impression of Birx and the Fauscist. It’s stunning that the dim dame has written a book that owns up to it all.
Anyway, the hell with lustration. As a notable Scots judge once opined “ye wad be nane the waur o’a hanging”.
Comment by dearieme — July 19, 2022 @ 5:40 am
Same here, prof. In UK the Public Health bureaucracy took over the government and demanded payment from the Treasury, i.e. the taxpayer.
I’ve been ranting to my friends about this ever since that 1,000 foot floating petri dish with its crappy aircon failed to kill anyone who wasn’t already a coffin dodger.
What is amazing, and disturbing, is that despite the torrent of scientific evidence since accumulated, very very few people have changed their minds.
Comment by philip — July 19, 2022 @ 12:12 pm
Prof. Ehud Qimron of Tel Aviv University wrote an incredible letter to the Israeli Ministry of Health.
In their outrageous and studied mismanagement of the response to Covid in Israel, he accuses them of everything except outright deliberate murder. And murder is an obvious implication. Everyone should read it.
The only change I’d make is in his third sentence: “When the destructive concepts collapse one by one, there is nothing left but to tell the experts who led the management of the pandemic – you’re under arrest.”
Comment by Pat Frank — July 19, 2022 @ 4:57 pm
Many thanks for sharing that @Pat.
A modern re-working of the Pantheon should, I suggest, have James Buchanan sitting on a cloud and hurling lightning-bolts at usurping civil servants.
The heavy-handed, utterly daft and, I strongly believe, thoroughly corrupt official response Covid really shocked me to the core. I don’t recognise my country anymore and can’t understand my countrymen.
Lustration is a great idea Prof. Publication of the paperwork behind every decision, and the names of those senior officials responsible for advising on and recommending the decisions, would also be a good idea – given that the bureaucracy is now regularly usurping the authority of the morons to whom they, nominally anyway, are supposed to answer, we should be allowed to know who they are – and to hold them responsible for their decisions: power should not be given without corresponding responsibility.
Comment by Ex-Global Super-Regulator on Lunch Break — July 19, 2022 @ 9:34 pm
Are vaccine mandates really a major cause of your military’s current recruitment shortfall? Sounds a bit too convenient, nee lazy, an excuse. Chatting to some of your serving personnel at a recent airshow here in the UK, a couple of things did strike me, first that none of them see it is a long-term option (mainly a ticket through college, then serve out your time), second that they didn’t seem particularly enamoured with the ‘scene’, unlike the eastern European and Middle Eastern personnel present. I’m guessing the mystique of serving in the armed forces has been well and truly exposed via the likes of social media. Given the state of the US jobs market, I reckon many kids would rather take their chances in one of Jeff’s warehouses or with one of the zillions of other low-skilled jobs going – way less bullsh*t, and they can leave whenever a better job comes along.
Comment by David Mercer — July 20, 2022 @ 4:06 am
“Are vaccine mandates really a major cause …?”: maybe vaccine mandates merely emphasised the contempt that the Powers That Be entertain for the ordinary serviceman.
Ditto all the sex/gender/trannie stuff: we despise you; now do as you are effing well told.
And, come to think of it, the fathomlessly corrupt buying of dud weapons for the services.
P.S. thanks for the link, Pat.
Comment by dearieme — July 20, 2022 @ 8:34 am
Kind of my point i.e. its more the result of the politicisation of the military – I did get the sense the guys and gals I spoke to were of a particular persuasion. Didn’t want to go there though – it was a family-friendly event.
Doing as they’re told?? We can’t have that in our militaries. Free-thinkers only please.
Also, I wouldn’t knock their kit. If anything recent events have shown is likely over-specified.
Comment by David Mercer — July 20, 2022 @ 10:34 am
I am surprised the c-19 didn’t stop the putrid logorrhea coming out of mercer’s hole yet.
Typically, anyone with a so called booster shot has a 5-times chance of re-infection.
It’s an interesting experiment: how soon?
Comment by T — July 21, 2022 @ 12:37 pm
Sorry to be so slow off the mark, but didn’t Kipling describe your recruitment problem quite well?
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country” when the guns begin to shoot;
An’ it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please;
An’ Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool – you bet that Tommy sees!
Comment by dearieme — July 22, 2022 @ 3:17 pm
This Fall, when the Russian Federation details the bioweapons labs In Ukraine and the perps who organized and funded them, perhaps we will have that cleansing.
Comment by Richard Whitney — July 23, 2022 @ 11:20 am