patrick.net

“Covid” became the Great Event of Our Times between January and March 2020, meaning that the world’s best and brightest have now had almost five years to prove their academic or scientific importance.

If a faculty meeting like this occurred at any college, the colleges’ public relations staffers didn’t send out a press release. (Note: The names are made up.)

Dean of College School X (Let’s call him John): “Esteemed colleagues, as you all know, a killer respiratory virus is said to be spreading throughout the world and the public is counting on us to tell them the truth about this virus and how society should respond to it.”

Science Professor Albert: “John, first, thank you for calling this very important faculty meeting. The first question that occurs to me is what if the virus isn’t deadly? What if Fauci and Birx are inflating the alleged risks?”

John: “Well, that’s what we need to find out.”

A professor named Tom asks a question: “Can’t we perform some inquiries - use all our collective expertise - and find out if the risk is perhaps wildly inflated?”

President of University: “Well, Tom, that’s why we’re here. The truth is the truth and all of us are committed to finding it and reporting it to the people. That’s why we became professors in the first place.”

In this imaginary scenario, the room might explode with exclamations of “Hear! Hear!” Without question, a “search for truth” is what motivated these professors to become professors.

Alas, In the Real Academic World, here’s what would have been said:
“… What the hell?”

“… Are you crazy, man?”

“… Do you know who pays our salaries and provides us all these great benefits?’

“… Aren’t we in these positions to support the policies of the Establishment and our benefactors?”

Chorus from those in the room:
“…. Right!”

“…. Guys, we’ve got a good deal going here. Why risk it?”

“… How are we going to keep getting grants and getting our papers published if we challenge views we’re not supposed to challenge?”

“… John, I must ask why you even called this meeting. Please tell me nobody is taking minutes.”

Globalists—whether in multinational corporations, elite think tanks, or non-governmental organisations—have largely operated behind closed doors, making decisions with profound global implications but without public transparency or accountability. By promoting policies perceived to benefit the few at the expense of the many, globalist influence has fostered mistrust among those who feel alienated or negatively impacted by these decisions. Economic policies that outsource labor and concentrate wealth, trade agreements that prioritise corporate gains over worker protections, and health policies that benefit the pharmaceutical industry over individual health and autonomy, all contribute to a new reality that these entities serve a narrow set of interests.

Globalisation, while bringing certain economic benefits, has had detrimental impacts on local economies and job security, contributing to the rise of populism and anti-globalist sentiment worldwide. The frustration and disillusionment with globalisation, especially among the middle and working classes, reflects a deep-seated belief that the global elite is not only detached from the everyday struggles of ordinary people but also complicit in creating these struggles.

The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed and intensified this growing divide. The response to the pandemic was marked by an unprecedented consolidation of power among global organizations, governments, and Big Tech. Policies that restricted personal freedoms, pushed experimental medical interventions, and limited discourse by labelling dissent as “misinformation” created an atmosphere of pathological distrust. Many people now realise that the narrative around COVID-19 was tightly controlled and that legitimate questions about the origins of the virus, the efficacy of certain treatments, and the transparency of pharmaceutical interests were ignored or shut down. The paranoia has even extended to conspiracy theories that the globalists want global control. Its that’s the case, as before, James Bond must step up.

The sidelining of dissenting voices (censorship) —including scientists and medical experts who questioned the prevailing narrative—was a critical blow to public trust. Rather than allowing a balanced scientific discourse, authorities acted to marginalise and discredit anyone challenging the status quo, leaving people feeling misled or manipulated. The situation was worsened by Big Tech, which engaged in aggressive censorship practices. Social media platforms quickly began flagging or removing content that questioned official COVID-19 policies, reinforcing public perception that a powerful few were controlling information to their own advantage.

https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1854615830358614487

As folks sort the stack of Biden’s 1,500 pardons, some real stinkers have surfaced. Local WGAL Pennsylvania ran a story yesterday headlined, “Kids-for-cash judge's sentence commuted by Biden.” Get ready to get angry.




Michael Conahan, 72, a former Luzerne County judge, was sentenced to prison 10 years ago for running a “kids-for-cash” racket with former judge Mark Ciavarella. While receiving $2.8 million in bribes and kickbacks from developers, the two judges funneled kids as young as 8 into a harsh private correctional facility that was paying them under the table. Under cover of a “zero tolerance” policy, the two men unlawfully jailed thousands of children with shockingly strict sentences.

For instance, Judge Conahan sentenced one teenager with no prior legal problems to three months in juvenile detention for creating a MySpace page that mocked an assistant principal at her school.

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ultimately vacated over 4,000 juvenile convictions involving more than 2,300 kids after Conahan and Ciavarella’s schemes were finally put to a stop. Conahan got 17 years and Ciavarella got 28; the two judges were ordered to pay back $200 million in restitution to the victims. I found no evidence that any payments were ever made and I doubt it happened.

The story was a pretty big deal, although you can be forgiven not having heard of it before. Here is a link to one of the documentaries. Here is a link to one of the “Kids for Cash” books, this one published this year, titled “Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town that Looked Away.” The scandal was widely covered by local media at the time (2010-11) and for years afterward, as the civil case worked its way through the system. For example, here’s a headline from the Morning Call, 2021:

'He screwed up my life': More than 300 survivors of 'Kids for
Cash' scandal tell horror stories in civil case against judges in
Luzerne County

Unsurprisingly, useless corporate media has shown little interest in the salacious story, which should be perfect media material. Why do you suppose that is?

Anyway, the notorious, disgraced judge Conahan —while he sat on the bench, “The Boss”— was fortunate enough to be jailed in blue Miami and have high blood pressure. Ciavarella was not so lucky. He was not in a covid “high risk” category and so remains in prison in North Carolina. (Judge Ciavarella’s application for compassionate covid release was denied.)

But Judge Conahan was “compassionately” released to home confinement in 2020 as part of Pennsylvania’s pandemic mitigation strategy.

Biden’s blanket pardon broadly swept up non-violent prisoners who were on covid home release, which included Judge Conahan. Conahan is now a free man, liberated even from home confinement. Judge Conahan received the leniency he never showed to the children who appeared before the “no-nonsense” judge in his “zero tolerance” courtroom.

Looking at the cast of criminals moronically swept into Biden’s pardon, my working hypothesis is there was one particular crook who Biden wanted to pardon, but the case was so ugly that Joe pardoned 1,500 of them, to hide the one he really wanted. You know, strategic ambiguity.

I don’t want to hear any complaints from Democrats over who Trump pardons or how many.

Ban private prisons because they bribe judges to feed them more prisoners.