Today’s blacklisted American: Democrats working to fire civil servant
They’re coming for you next: Congressional Democrats and the Biden administration have been on a campaign to fire a recently hired civil servant because he had previously been a Republican political appointee.
Michael Ellis, who last served as the former senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council during the Trump administration, was put on administrative leave from his new position as the general counsel at the National Security Agency, just hours after President Joe Biden was inaugurated.
Ellis — a Navy Reserve intelligence officer, Yale Law School graduate, and Jeopardy! winner — had first applied for the position in January 2020, and went through an extensive months-long vetting process conducted by a panel of non-partisan civil servants, according to the two former officials. Ellis was ultimately selected for the position in mid-November by Paul Ney, the Pentagon’s general counsel whose first job at the department came during the George W. Bush administration as the Navy’s principal deputy general counsel. He started his position on Tuesday, January 19.
However, recent news reports revealed that a day later, on Inauguration Day, NSA Director Army Gen. Paul Nakasone placed Ellis on administrative leave, pending the outcome of an inquiry by the Department of Defense inspector general into the circumstances of his hiring.
It is no secret that Democrat lawmakers for months opposed Ellis going from an appointed position in the Trump administration to a non-partisan civil service position in the government — a practice commonly referred to as “burrowing in.”
The Democrats might have a complaint about Ellis’ civil servant hiring if this “burrowing in” strategy was a new one, but in fact, far more Democratic Party political appointees have used it over the years to become civil servants — who are difficult to remove — than Republicans, and as far as I know, the Republican Party has almost never moved to get them fired when it took power.
No, what the Democrats are doing here is part of their on-going purge from government of any Republicans, as I have already shown by previous posts in this daily stream of blacklisted Americans. The bureaucracy in Washington is almost completely controlled by their supporters. Can’t have anyone there who might dissent from the Democratic Party’s agenda. They must all be removed, now!
Moreover, if this effort at a purge was unique, applied only to this one Republican, it might be more understandable in the dog-eat-dog world of politics. The Democrats might have justifiable reasons for opposing strongly this one person.
In this new age of Democratic Party blacklists and censorship, however, this kind of blacklisting effort is instead par for the course. The Democrats are trying to destroy all Republicans wherever they can, not because of any policy differences but merely because they are Republicans. This story is just one of many.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
They’re coming for you next: Congressional Democrats and the Biden administration have been on a campaign to fire a recently hired civil servant because he had previously been a Republican political appointee.
Michael Ellis, who last served as the former senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council during the Trump administration, was put on administrative leave from his new position as the general counsel at the National Security Agency, just hours after President Joe Biden was inaugurated.
Ellis — a Navy Reserve intelligence officer, Yale Law School graduate, and Jeopardy! winner — had first applied for the position in January 2020, and went through an extensive months-long vetting process conducted by a panel of non-partisan civil servants, according to the two former officials. Ellis was ultimately selected for the position in mid-November by Paul Ney, the Pentagon’s general counsel whose first job at the department came during the George W. Bush administration as the Navy’s principal deputy general counsel. He started his position on Tuesday, January 19.
However, recent news reports revealed that a day later, on Inauguration Day, NSA Director Army Gen. Paul Nakasone placed Ellis on administrative leave, pending the outcome of an inquiry by the Department of Defense inspector general into the circumstances of his hiring.
It is no secret that Democrat lawmakers for months opposed Ellis going from an appointed position in the Trump administration to a non-partisan civil service position in the government — a practice commonly referred to as “burrowing in.”
The Democrats might have a complaint about Ellis’ civil servant hiring if this “burrowing in” strategy was a new one, but in fact, far more Democratic Party political appointees have used it over the years to become civil servants — who are difficult to remove — than Republicans, and as far as I know, the Republican Party has almost never moved to get them fired when it took power.
No, what the Democrats are doing here is part of their on-going purge from government of any Republicans, as I have already shown by previous posts in this daily stream of blacklisted Americans. The bureaucracy in Washington is almost completely controlled by their supporters. Can’t have anyone there who might dissent from the Democratic Party’s agenda. They must all be removed, now!
Moreover, if this effort at a purge was unique, applied only to this one Republican, it might be more understandable in the dog-eat-dog world of politics. The Democrats might have justifiable reasons for opposing strongly this one person.
In this new age of Democratic Party blacklists and censorship, however, this kind of blacklisting effort is instead par for the course. The Democrats are trying to destroy all Republicans wherever they can, not because of any policy differences but merely because they are Republicans. This story is just one of many.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Bob:
As a modest – though long-time contributor, I would like to ask that you maintain a list of those who have earned the distinction of becoming a part of it. A brief synopsis of their blasphemous heresies, and an even “briefer” synopsis of the politically-driven existential results.
Should you indicate that you will do so, and that you will periodically update and publish it – or better yet have a link to which it can be accessed by anyone at anytime, I shall commit to doubling my admittedly-modest monthly support.
Thoroughly enjoy the “Space” to which you expose us, as mankind continues its relentless journey from the mud to the stars – however interrupted the journey may become by those who wish to return us to the mud!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-AmnasDev0
11 minute segment of Tucker Carlson about Bank of America giving the Feds private records of customers who had committed no crime and had nothing to do with what happened at the Capitol on January 6.
Bank of America gave the Feds:
1. Customers confirmed as transacting, either through bank account debit card or credit card purchases in Washington, D.C. between 1/5 and 1/6
2. Purchases made for Hotel/AirBnB RSVPs in DC, VA and MD after 1/6
3. Any purchase of weapons or at a weapons-related merchant between 1/7 and their upcoming suspected stay in D.C. area around Inauguration Day
4. Airline related purchases since 1/6
Another point Tucker Carlson makes is the government is intentionally not telling us what their definition of a “domestic terrorist” is while stating that domestic terrorism is the biggest threat we face.
I believe that Obama, in his first term, purged many Bush appointees. This has been in the Democratic playbook for a long time. Trump and most Republicans are much less aggressive in this regard. Trump paid a big price for this oversight.
CONFESSION, REDEMPTION, FORGIVENESS, ENRICHMENT
The PR “rehabilitation” of Hunter Biden begins.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/02/hunter-biden-writing-memoir-based-drug-abuse-gets-cool-2-million-advance/
Hunter will cop to his drug use, cop to his indiscretions, cop to having bad judgement, he is sorry for all the pain he has caused to his family, his loved ones and the nation. And his art work is his expression of the pain that he carries every day in the darkest places in his sole.
And then he will be paid $2 million dollars for his redemption and forgiveness.
His father needs this to be seen as being a put upon tortured father (And he may well be) who loves his son. And typically an abuser upon their revelations and confessions will become confused when few believe him. As a rule, people who invest 20 and 30 years into lies, drug and alcohol abuse theft and debauchery upon their revelations unrealistically expect instant acceptance and belief. That takes time and evidence. But the deed is done and it solves many problems for his father and validates both men and it gives them sympathy in the eyes of the public.
And that is the more important aspect of these kinds of moves, sympathy. And I do not wish ill on either Hunter or his father, people who have addictive personalities and abuse drugs, booze, wine, pills or any combination there of and the many other things that comprise how human beings abuse both themselves and others need help and guidance. It is a dark ride for both the “Victim” and the family.
BUT, things like this book deal at this high stakes and complex level are designed to serve many purposes and are not necessarily what they on the surface appear to be.
Hunter is being portrayed as a victim, and he is. But do not be fooled this is as much about his father as the president as it is about Hunters abuses of drugs and “other” things and there are pictures taken by Hunter to prove it. AND this will serve to lessen how Hunter is legally dealt with if or when anything is revealed about his many “Business” deals in China, Ukraine and the many other places he and his uncles leveraged their very “special” talents.
This is all PR and a crafted manipulation for the publics consumption and designed to convey forgiveness to two people and not just one. IMO of course.
Dave Walden: A list of my “blacklisted American” posts is easy to get. Just search BtB using the terms “today” and “blacklist”. This will give you all these posts, plus some earlier essays on the same subject.
Doing more is too time consuming at this point. I barely have time to do what I am doing.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a freshman congressman from my home state of Georgia, has been removed from her committee assignments.
Well, THAT ought prove that “conspiracy theories” of authoritarian government is false. These punishments will continue until unity is achieved.
James Street, the government or maybe just the media’s use of the term “terrorist” has bothered me for years, to the point where when I hear/read the term I try to mentally replace it with “person using force or talking about using force for an agenda not approved by the speaker/writer” (which, of course, is sometimes what I understand as actual terrorism and sometimes not). Unfortunately, I don’t have a solution for the opposite — where terrorism for an agenda approved of by the speaker/writer is talked about using some other terminology.
I find myself being somewhat inconsistent with myself. I generally take the view that language is naturally ever evolving and one shouldn’t be bothered that definitions of words change over time. I guess I just find the dissonance disconcerting where two different usages of a term are both in use at the same time and this hampers effective communication. I think it bothers me because it is something that happens regularly in language and there are those that knowingly exploit it to get their way dishonestly.
This continuing silencing of dissident voices over there makes we want to weep for several reasons. The silencing of free speech is abhorrent in all but a very, very, limited set of circumstances, and a difference of political viewpoint is certainly not one of them. For me, one of the worst effects of this “blacklisting” as you call it, is that it dashes any hope of convincing those of a right wing political persuasion (IE. most of the regulars here ) that there is a case for a more socialist system of government. The so-called “left” over there are truly poisoning the well for any free and fair discussion on subjects I honestly believe could make the US a better place. Please believe me that the actions currently being taken to stifle free speech are not indicative of the left world wide. I am left wing politically, and they do not represent me. On a side note….. @Cotour, for once, I agree with every word of your comment regarding the Bidens, some spin doctor somewhere deserves an award for turning a messed up situation into an asset!
Lee Stevenson,
You wrote: “For me, one of the worst effects of this “blacklisting” as you call it, is that it dashes any hope of convincing those of a right wing political persuasion (IE. most of the regulars here ) that there is a case for a more socialist system of government.”
Apparently, you will be surprised and disappointed to learn that suppression of free speech is a feature, not a bug, of socialist governance. It started as far to the center as the Nationalist Socialist German Worker’s Party, the fascist party in Germany.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/fascism
Leftists believe in stronger government, and like most people, governments do not like to be criticized. A strong government has the ability and the will to suppress opposition, such as the Republican Party, and criticism, such as people who write critical editorials.
Even as I write this, our Dictator BiteMe* is signing edict after edict, using his pen and his phone rather than Congress in order to get his way. He has ordered that his minions generate new regulations, whether or not they are needed. His political party is the party of racists and always has been, as it was founded for the sole purpose of defending from the abolitionists the institution of slavery. It is the party of segregation (even today), Jim Crow laws, the Trail of Tears, and of internment of Americans of Japanese decent during WWII.
There is a case for a more socialist system of government, but that system is not what you really want to have, as evidenced by your opposition to silencing critics.
“Please believe me that the actions currently being taken to stifle free speech are not indicative of the left world wide.”
Am I going to believe you or news reports seen by my lying eyes? We will have to take your word for it, because the evidence shows otherwise:
https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/essays-and-commentaries/what-ever-you-do-dont-shut-up/
As an exercise for the student, how many of Klavan’s examples come from Europe?
“The so-called ‘left’ over there are truly poisoning the well for any free and fair discussion on subjects I honestly believe could make the US a better place.”
The US was a better place, until socialists started imposing socialist ideas on us. They may have looked good at the time, but they fixed problems that are fixed better by We the People, not by imposition from government. Social (In)Security may look like a good idea, but it is a huge, government-run Ponzi scheme — which used to be called a bubble scheme, because the bubble would inevitably pop, leaving the current investors with nothing. As with any Ponzi scheme, the early participants have done very well, but taxes from the current generation of workers is already being used to prop up the scheme, as it already is passing out more benefits than it takes in.
Other socialist ideas are ruining the US, too. There is a woman who was fired because she refused to call a man a woman. However, this man is a convicted rapist, who declared himself to be a woman, so he is incarcerated in a women’s prison, where he continues his raping spree. Is he really a woman or is he gaming the system?
It turns out that socialist systems are easy to game, because the bureaucracy is not well set up to stop such activities. “From each according to his ability” results in gamesters becoming less able. “To each according to his need” results in gamesters becoming more needy — especially those running the socialist system. This happens everywhere and everywhen that socialism is tried, even in America’s Plymouth Colony, which came as a surprise to its leader, William Bradford, who also thought that socialist principles were a good idea. Under socialism, people had little incentive to work hard and half the colony perished, but the next year, when they tried free market capitalism, everyone worked hard, because they got to keep their earnings, and the colony thrived so well that they invited their Indian neighbors for a three day feast that we now call Thanksgiving (giving thanks to God for the fruitfulness of free market capitalism).
Even today, under the heavy hand of government control over our businesses and our lives, the US economy and people are suffering terribly. More government control means more suffering.
But Lee, thank you for caring. It is just that you are wrong about socialism.
@Edward, I am truly sorry you both misread, and more importantly misunderstood anything in my post. Your system of government is obviously broken, otherwise we would not be having this discussion. I was all in for trump over Hillary, Trump genuinely shook things up…. Just not in a good way! From where I am sitting in a “right wing’ controlled country right now ( you guys think our right is WAY too left of center for comfort!) The spiraling of accusations, denials, the censoring of free speech, and all the other bullcrap that you are experiencing now proves something….. I’m not sure what, but it certainly doesn’t prove you have the best system in the world…. Indeed, it proves that your electorial system is broken. Get a few more political parties, get a system where a coalition is possible, grow a pair and accept that other views than your own may have merit! Then, and only then will the massive wounds inflicted on the US in the last decade or 2 have any chance of healing….
( and just to add…. The whole of Europe has had what you would call a socialist regime for the last 70odd years… I can afford my insulin here in Sweden, my father could afford his operation on his perforated bowl in the UK 3 months ago…. We might both be dead if we lived in the land of the free…. Your refusal to admit that any form of government other than the one in your head has merit speaks much more about your closed mindedness than it does about the real world.)
Lee–
nobody is dying in the streets in the USA because they can’t afford insulin. We have more people with diabetes than the entire population of your country.
Lee Stevenson,
I’m glad that our subsidies for your insulin are working out for you. You’re welcome. Of course, you do not seem to understand our medical system. It does not turn away people. Indeed, we even have a whole industry, the insurance industry, to assist with the high cost healthcare items. The leftists made it much worse, ten years ago, thank you for that, but if you can afford the doubled premiums and the quadrupled deductibles that the leftists required, then you should come out OK. Healthcare was so much better under the free market capitalist system. Your doctor even got to help you choose treatment options rather than the bureaucrat a thousand miles away who does it under our socialist system.
“Your system of government is obviously broken,”
Yes. That is what happens when a government goes further left, toward and beyond socialism.
“The spiraling of accusations, denials, the censoring of free speech, and all the other bullcrap that you are experiencing now proves something….. I’m not sure what, but it certainly doesn’t prove you have the best system in the world.”
That is correct, now that it is a socialist system, run by socialists, for socialist, and silencing opposition.
“Get a few more political parties, get a system where a coalition is possible, grow a pair and accept that other views than your own may have merit! Then, and only then will the massive wounds inflicted on the US in the last decade or 2 have any chance of healing.”
It worked just fine, back in the days when we had two distinct parties, but these days both parties are leftist. There is no one to control the socialism that has taken root in our country. It is out of control, and is what you should expect to see when there is no right side to moderate the evil.
We used to think that it couldn’t happen here, because we have freedom and liberty, but we were wrong. All it took was for both sides to agree to eliminate freedom and silence liberty.
I noticed that you did not complete your homework assignment and tell us how many of Klavan’s examples come from Europe.