Elected mayors and governors across the country have simultaneously demanded obeisance to their burdensome orders constraining American rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness while showcasing their belief that they are above the obligation to live by their own rules.
I’m grateful for this disgusting phenomenon. It vividly exposes a political class that thinks Americans are marks and fools, or perhaps some kind of human-sheep hybrid. These elected dictators’ not-so-secret desire is to dominate and rule. They have but a faint concept of what a representative democracy means, and have contempt for it and us. Members of the public who can’t see the unethical double standards these nascent totalitarians would inflict on the nation, or worse, those who accept and tolerate the double standards, are the intended victims. Fortunately, there are still a critical number of citizens who recall this nation’s origins as a rebellion against tyrants.
The open contempt these leaders have for us is staggering. Perhaps they expected their allied propagandists among news media to hide the hypocrisy, which so far it has been unwilling to do. Actually, considering the embargo on stories that might reflect positively on President Trump during the run-up to this months election, it is surprising our aspiring dictators haven’t been provided with more cover. This is something else to be thankful for.
From the Thanksgiving section of the Dead Ethics Alarms files:
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo spent the days before Thanksgiving week predicting that the holiday would lead to an uptick in Wuhan virus cases in New York and the nation as people travel to visit with family and friends.
On a conference call with reporters a week ago, Cuomo warned that our homes were not “safe zones” during the pandemic, particularly if someone visits from states where the virus is surging. “Your safe zone is dangerous this year,” Cuomo said. “Please — love is sometimes doing what’s hard. This year, if you love someone, it is smarter and better to stay away. As hard as that is to say and hear, because if I had to predict, you’re going to see a significant spike post-Thanksgiving.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—you know: Experts! Science!—was declaring hat the “safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to celebrate at home with the people you live with.”
Then, as if there was nothing inconsistent with what he had been saying, in a radio interview this Monday, Cuomo blithely announced his “current plan” for the holiday was to have his 89-year-old mother and two of his three daughters to join him in Albany for festivities.
What an insult to the intelligence, character and ethics alarms of the state’s residents, although, to be fair, they did vote overwhelmingly for the governor’s political party, the source of most (though not all) of the recent abuses of power.
It took approximately an hour and 45 minutes for some alert advisors to metaphorically slap Cuomo across the face (maybe twice!) …
…force him to to do a full Emily Litella…
…and to retract what he had just said, with senior adviser Rich Azzopardi announcing,
“(G)iven the current circumstances with COVID, he will have to work through Thanksgiving and will not be seeing them. Don’t tell his mom — she doesn’t know yet.”
Wasn’t that last part cute? Help us deceive an 89-year-old mother! Ha ha!
Scum.
It wouldn’t matter if Cuomo had taken just 5 minutes to reverse what he had said. That the governor would say it or think it is signature significance. No elected official would openly defy his own directives who doesn’t instinctively believe laws, rules and standards are for the riff-raff, not entitled rulers like him.
Nonetheless, Cuomo is a piker compared to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. (Guess his party. Come on, guess. Don’t be afraid, you have a 50-50 chance of being right. Just for fun. Guess.) He tweeted out this unequivocal advice…
…and no more than thirty minutes later, Hancock boarded a flight to Houston on the way to visit his daughter in Mississippi. The mayor’s spokeswoman confirmed this, noting that Hancock’s wife was already there.
There are still enough Americans who resent this kind of open contempt from our elected leaders to guarantee that the upcoming attempts to use the pandemic as a means of training the public to submit to incursions on their liberty “for the greater good” will fail. So thank-you, Governor Cuomo, Mayor Hancock, Mayor Lightfoot, Mayor DiBlasio, Governor Newsom, Speaker Pelosi and the rest of you.
Your arrogance, incompetence, dishonesty and stupidity are, in their own way, keeping the United States of America strong.
Oh..and bite me, you assholes.
Ethics Alarms 
“…if I had to predict, you’re going to see a significant spike post-Thanksgiving.”
If I had to predict, I’d say that the insiders have jumped the line and are already vaccinated.
I guess that there are different standards for the little people and the ruling elite. The worst example that I have read about about is the governor of Oregon who is urging neighbors to call the cops on those who violate the lockdown orders. Shades of totalitarian Nazi Germany!
But… but… Kate Brown is America’s First Bisexual Governor; so she MUST know best.
First openly bi-sexual governor.
I am thankful that I have EA as a refuge.
I have noticed within myself that I am bottling up a great deal of anger and rage at these petty tyrants and those who have jumped onto their fascist train. To date, I have been polite to those who find it necessary to tell me the I must do X for them so they feel protected. Yesterday, as I biked the rail trail alone, I approached another biker who was travelling in the opposite direction. He stopped and flagged me down. Thinking the person needed help I stopped only to be told that my blinking marker light was unnecessary and could trigger his migraines. I was caught off guard. Astounded by the demand I simply apologized instead of telling him to BITE ME. The rage I felt for not defending my right to use an identifying marker which is a safety device made specifically for the bike to help people see me coming is not something I want to see in myself. Even nice dogs will become vicious if you beat them enough. I am just about there.
Thanks to him I will no longer stop for any person who flags me down.
OH, BTW Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
I totally get your rage. I am less hopeful about the nation’s survival. CoronaVirus was a test to see how quickli and completely the society would surrender liberty. Fear, it turns out, is a huge tool for patriotic capitulation.
This morning, while walking his Highness Lord Remington Winchester Burger, Esq., Dog of Letters, down the street, a 3 year old boy approached him. Remington, spectacular pooch that he is, greeted him with wiggly, waggly tail and a bit of a snuggle. Benjamin’s mom, ever caring and protective of her charge, cheerily and at the same time menacingly said (and I am not kidding), “Careful, Benjamin, you’re not wearing a mask”. Apparently, the irony was lost on her as she and her beta male husband weren’t wearing masks, either. Neither was I, for that matter but I was our side on a private street.
I responded, “don’t worry, Remington. Three year olds are not superspreaders so you are not likely to get the CoronaVirus from him” while looking directly at the budding tyrant with Starbucks coffee in hand.
How do you deal with tbat? The indirect insult that you, Walker of the Hound while Unmasked, have no concern for other’s well-being because you have not borne your obligatory citizen protection shield? We have everything to fear from fear itself.
jvb
One word:
This may be used in my prayer before the meal today.
What you said, Jack.
Happy Thanksgiving to all. I hope you get to enjoy it in spite of our fearful leaders.
“Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent; selected from the rest of mankind their minds are early poisoned by importance; and the world they act in differs so materially from the world at large, that they have but little opportunity of knowing its true interests, and when they succeed to the government are frequently the most ignorant and unfit of any throughout the dominions.” -Thomas Paine, “Common Sense,” 1776
Of course, Paine was speaking of royalty, but today the same could be said of America’s political elites.
Happy Thanksgiving.
jvb
HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all at EA, but particularly to Jack and Grace.
Indeed! Happy Thanksgiving.
jvb
First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to you, Jack! And to the readers.
Next, I’m having a very low key stay-at-home celebration today… but I’ve done my part by acquiring tickets to visit my family for Christmas. It helps that my parents came for a month recently to stave off the depression of being isolated, and the kids loved it. (I myself love my parents, but a month of 24/7 with them is something I haven’t done since college 😛 )
I won’t be doing the crazy march to stores tomorrow, but we have planned local eateries for the reminder of the long weekend. And we’ll try to see if we can get the kids palates accustomed to the traditional turkey… or I’ll be having turkey sandwiches for a month.
Anyway, here’s to a good start of the holiday season for a very crazy year. Cheers!
Jack, my wife wanted me to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving.
We’re “playing by the rules” and only spending the holiday with one other family household, but not because Kate Brown-shirt said so, it just worked out that way.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow EA commentators. I love practicing ethics with you all. 🦃
We had my mother-in-law over. She lives alone. She’s been coming over to do her laundry through this whole thing (her alternative is a public laundromat which is hardly a safer choice).
We’re following the rules, too. But it’s sure tough. Especially when higher-ups make one question whether it’s really necessary.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Happy Thanksgiving, all y’all!
I’ll proudly admit that we did NOT follow the rules, we all had a grand old time, the pie turned out excellent (my contribution was a banana creme pie on a shortbread crust, all made from scratch. My stepdaughter swears she has been converted, and will no longer make puddings or custards from boxes!) Thanks were given, fun was had, politics was almost completely ignored, and I’ve got roughly 90% of the dishes done. A better holiday than I deserved, for sure. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Jack, and a Merry Christmas, as well!
Happy Thanksgiving Jack.
This year I’m most thankful for 80 million voters.
Or at least ballots…
I’m one of those 80 million. You’ve questioned the legitimacy of my vote and given insult.
The legitimacy of YOUR vote? That’ of course, makes no sense, assuming you voted. Your choice was de-legitimized by the stupid/corrupt choice to allow mail-in ballots, which automatically reduce the trustworthiness of any election in which they are used.
Good. Gotta thin the herd. Let’s burn out the underbrush, gain herd immunity and go on with out lives. Sorry if that means that Grandma doesn’t get another 9 months of S’ing herself in a nursing home. Que sera sera