This past Friday, I wrote a piece about how coronavirus hysteria could lead to the end of liberty in America and the creation of the tyrannical government our Founding Fathers warned us would result from a government given too much power.
I received a fair amount of feedback on that piece from a number of my social media followers with some accusing me of engaging in “hyperbolic nonsense” and others labeling me a “tinfoil hat” conspiracy nut. I only wish they were right, because in one headline after another, the concerns I’ve been raising about how government would use the coronavirus to transform America into a socialist state are proving to be valid.
For example, in another article I wrote last week, I documented how Washington would use the pandemic to make Ivanka’s feminist socialist dream of government-mandated paid family leave a reality. This past Friday, the House passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act which includes taxpayer-funded paid family leave along with additional provisions for taxpayer-funded sick leave. Only 40 Republicans opposed it, by the way.
FFCRA still has to clear the Senate, but Trump has already promised to sign it after it does because it follows his directions.
I fully support H.R. 6201: Families First CoronaVirus Response Act, which will be voted on in the House this evening. This Bill will follow my direction for free CoronaVirus tests, and paid sick leave for our impacted American workers. I have directed….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 14, 2020
….the health and well-being of American families FIRST. Look forward to signing the final Bill, ASAP!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 14, 2020
Here’s another example. Last month I wrote an article about how Trump and the GOP were using the cybersecurity issue to push for new government power giving them “backdoor” unrestricted access to the private information held about us by internet and telecommunications companies. Though the issue is still being debated, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has come up with a coronavirus reason to see this kind of legislation become law.
“But we can say what is required. Again, if you look at the way that the virus infects, every one person infected, on average, infects two-and-a-half — say, two to three other people. You have to be able to track. And so, if I’m infected, go back and test everyone who I have exposed, if you will — by the way, I’m not infected as best I know, but imagine that I have been — and then trace them out.
“Ideally, you use that with big data. You — with HIPAA protections you get big data from Google, AT&T, Verizon and you know every place I’ve gone. If you do that — you track my contacts, you clean down places that I have been — but then those people I have exposed myself to can be tested and then keep going until you have everybody corralled.
“We should be pushing CDC to make this happen.”
Unsurprisingly, many of my accusers are Trumpists and GOP loyalists who flat-out refuse to accept the reality that the people they have put their faith in are just as tyrannical as the leftists they demonize. But for the sake of discussion, let’s assume they’re correct about how Trump, McConnell, and the crew are fighting for us for a moment and take a look at local government.
Champaign, IL Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen issued an executive order this past Friday declaring an emergency in the city due to the coronavirus, even though there have been no confirmed cases of the disease. Though officials are denying any ill-intent, the powers given to the mayor under this declaration include the following:
- Violating parts of the Open Meetings Act
- Ban sale of firearms and ammunition
- Ban sale of any alcohol
- Closing of all bars, taverns, liquor stores, etc
- Ban sale or giving away of gasoline or other liquid flammable or combustible products in any container other than a gasoline tank permanently fixed to a motor vehicle
- Direct the shutoff of power, water, gas, etc
- Take possession of private property and obtain full title to same
- Prohibit or restrict ingress and egress to and from the City
Meanwhile, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio appeared on MSNBC’s AM JOY over the weekend where he openly advocated that the federal government take ownership of “crucial factories and industries” to combat the coronavirus.
“This is a case for a nationalization, literally a nationalization, of crucial factories and industries that could produce the medical supplies to prepare this country for what we need.”
One last example (because they’re popping up faster than I can write about them) comes to us from California where Gov.Gavin Newsom (D) issued an executive order on Thursday that allows the state to take over hotels and motels in order to convert them into medical housing for coronavirus patients. In addition to other measures, the executive order means the state’s Health and Human Services Agency and the Office of Emergency Services are preparing to take over private assets in the event they are needed to hold people who are quarantined, in isolation, or in treatment for COVID-19.
For those likely to continue accusing me of over-reacting, you should know that even the progressive left sees the coronavirus as a window of opportunity to push socialism.
Philadelphia Inquirer national opinion columnist Will Bunch recently wrote a piece advocating for a political push to strengthen the safety net by guaranteeing basic social benefits in the midst of the unprecedented public health emergency. He called his suggestion “disaster socialism.”
The assault on liberty at the hands of the people we elect to protect it has been going on for quite some time with limited success. But the coronavirus could be the thing that helps them cross the finish line in the race toward tyranny and the destruction of liberty.
One last thought. Since the news on how government is using the coronavirus hysteria to fundamentally transform America from a Republic into a Marxist/Socialist/Communist state is happening at breakneck speed, I will be featuring a new page on this website called “Disaster Socialism” where I will provide links and information to the stories as they come in.
If you come across anything, please feel free to forward the information (with a link if possible) using the Contact Us link here or above, and I’ll add it to the new page.
David Leach is the owner of the Strident Conservative. He holds members of every political stripe accountable and promotes conservative principles over political parties.
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