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We pledge allegiance?

There was a venerable Cold War joke that went like this:

Two men, one American, one Russian, are standing near the Kremlin.  The American is bragging about liberty, saying: “I can stand on any street corner in my country and yell about how terrible America is.”  The Russian snorted: “That’s nothing.  I can stand on any street corner in Russia and do the same thing.”

It would seem our current Biden/Harris/Whatever Administration—Joe Biden, Temporary President—learned the wrong lesson from that joke.

Yesterday, gentle readers, was the first anniversary of the death of George Floyd.  According to John Hinderaker at Powerline, that anniversary has not gone uncelebrated in our Nation’s fenced in and militarily patrolled capital:

On Saturday, the State Department sent a memo to all diplomatic and consular posts regarding the celebration of the first anniversary of the death of George Floyd. The memo is embedded below; you pretty much have to read it to believe it. This is the Department’s summary:

‘May 25 marks one year since the brutal murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Last year, the horrific video of Mr. Floyd’s final 9 minutes and 29 seconds went viral and spurred Black Lives Matter protests worldwide, in response to his senseless killing and to demand an end to systemic racism and police brutality. One year later, many in the international community will honor Mr. Floyd and acknowledge the long journey nations face to advance racial justice. Leading up to May 25, the Department has issued guidance on the use of Black Lives Matter language, banners, and flags.’

So the State Department has bought the CRT, BLM narrative hook, line and sinker, and will propagate that narrative overseas through our embassies and consular offices. Why, exactly, will this be good for the United States? This is the Department’s explanation:

‘This effort is a top priority for the Administration’s domestic and foreign policy; the United States cannot credibly message on human rights abroad if it does not address these same issues at home.

The Biden administration’s line on human rights in the USA is identical to the Chinese Communist Party’s line on that subject.

If anything, The Biden Administration is more vicious toward America than the Chinese Communists.

The U.S. State Department specifically endorses the divisive, racist and often violent precepts and actions of the Black Lives Matter movement:

‘The Department supports the use of the term ‘Black Lives Matter’ in messaging content, speeches, and other diplomatic engagements with foreign audiences to advance racial equity and access to justice on May 25 and beyond. We encourage posts to focus on the need to eliminate systemic racism and its continued impact.

The State Department also encourages its employees to engage in Black Lives Matter-related activities while on duty or in the workplace. It further contemplates that as part of our national effort to honor George Floyd, US embassies and consulates may want to hang BLM flags and banners. The memo does remind recipients who fly Black Lives Matter flags that they should fly the U.S. flag on top:

The Black Lives Matter flag, and/or any other types of affinity flags, should be treated as pennants of societies in accordance with this provision, and accordingly, when displayed alongside the U.S. flag either indoors or outdoors, should always be placed in a subordinate position.’

Glad they cleared that up, otherwise God knows what State Department personnel overseas might have done.’

Take the link to the Powerline article and view the entire leaked State Department Memo.

credit: usatoday

So the official policy of the United States of America in foreign countries is to deify a violent, convicted felon and drug addict who, in trying to pass counterfeit money, violently resisted arrest and committed suicide by means of illegal drug overdose?  George Floyd is to be the model to which all Americans, hence, all human beings, are to aspire?  George Floyd is a light unto the nations?  This, circa May of 2021, is for what the government of the United States stands.  As for those in foreign nations who “honor Mr. Floyd,” what’s wrong with them?  Why would we want to have anything to do with them?

The United States also wants its diplomatic outposts in foreign lands to fly the Black Lives Matter flag, the better to equate a Marxist, racist, hateful, pseudo-political party of criminals with the United States, the better to say to all the world BLM is the best of America, while Normal Americans are systemically racist, white supremacist terrorists.  That such flags are to be flown a millimeter or two lower than the American flag is a surprising concession.

I always thought the purpose of our Department of State was to represent the best interests of America abroad.  Obviously, I was mistaken.  I was thinking of an America of my distant past.

If our embassies do that, if they hoist the black flag and deify one no sane person would ever dream of emulating–many, if not all, surely will–are they American embassies anymore?  Are the people working in them Americans?  Would actual Americans want them to be?  Would they want foreigners to think this is America, this is what Americans believe, this is what Americans hold dear? For this, the best, bravest and brightest Americans are willing to die?  This is what assimilation means?  Did Samuel Adams speak for us when he spoke to those who would trade despotism for liberty:

…may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.

Dear Lord.  I was going to ask what must the leaders of other nations, particularly our enemies, think of America now, but of course, we know.  China is lecturing us on human rights and threatening us and our allies, Iranian gunboats are once again harassing American ships, Hamas—Iran’s terror proxy—is attacking Israel, and Russian hackers are extorting our companies with impunity, while Biden encourages Putin to build pipelines.  Our enemies see opportunity, and they’re just starting to take advantage of it.  After all, Biden/Haris/Whoever has only been president about four months.

Our nation is run by people that hate America and Americans, and embrace her enemies.

On the Derek Chauvin front, Scott Johnson at Powerline reports on a potentially interesting development:

Judge [Patrick] Schiltz is in the news because he has taken note of the unlawful leaks to the New York Times and Star Tribune in the Chauvin and related cases. Although I have focused especially on the leak underlying the April 29 Star Tribune story by Andy Mannix, I have discussed these leaks several times.

According to a source whose affiliation was not even hinted, Mannix jauntily reported that the Department of Justice would seek federal indictments of Derek Chauvin and his three former colleagues in the death of George Floyd. The unidentified source leaked this and related news to Mannix.

As I’ve previously written—the SMM Floyd case archive is here—this information was leaked to deny all of the defendants their right to a fair trial and due process.

I have assumed, perhaps mistakenly, that Mannix’s source is affiliated with the Department of Justice, either the Office of the United States Attorney for Minnesota or the local office of the FBI. Mannix himself did not note that the problematic nature of the leak on which he based his story. The problematic nature of the leak must be the reason the identity of Mannix’s source was entirely shielded from view in his story.[skip]

The Star Tribune reports:

U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz ordered the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Minnesota attorney general to provide a list of every person to whom they disclosed grand jury activity.

He also ordered the U.S. Attorney’s Office to explain why he shouldn’t appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate and file criminal contempt of court charges for the disclosures. Schiltz wants the responses filed under seal no later than June 4.

At issue are stories published by the Star Tribune and the New York Times detailing the possibility of federal charges against the former police officers in Floyd’s murder.

On April 29, the Star Tribune published a story with the headline, “Feds plan to indict Chauvin, three other ex-officers on civil rights charges.” On Feb. 23, the New York Times published a story about the grand jury with the headline, “With New Grand Jury, Justice Department Revives Investigation Into Death of George Floyd.”

The New York Times story came out days before the beginning of jury selection in the state trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck and was convicted in April of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. [skip]

In his five-page order signed May 5, Schiltz cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s reasons for protecting the secrecy of grand jury proceedings: preventing the escape of those indicted, influence on deliberations, perjury or jury tampering.

‘In order to safeguard the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, federal prosecutors are generally prohibited from disclosing matters occurring before a grand jury,’ Schiltz wrote.

In this case, federal prosecutors were given permission to provide information to Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office, which is handling the prosecution of the four former officers. Ellison’s office then was prohibited from disclosing the information for anything other than investigative or prosecutorial reasons, Schiltz noted.

It should be remembered news organizations do not have a First Amendment right to break the law.  It will be interesting to see if Judge Schlitz is truly serious about this.  If so, and if those leaking to the media are officers of the court—the most likely probability–this could, eventually, have a damaging effect on the prosecutions of the officers.  I say “eventually,” because no Minnesota court is going to follow the law and uphold the officer’s rights if it means anything other than conviction.  A long, hot summer is nigh.  One would think the powers that be would have learned by now appeasing barbarians never works.

The Judge’s order may be found here.  More as developments warrant, if there is a country to which to write…

UPDATE, 05-26-21, 1100 MT:  How best to celebrate the rich legacy of George Floyd in Minneapolis on the first holy anniversary of his martyrdom?  Why, celebrate it as he lived: violently and senselessly.

As reporters did stand ups at the “autonomous zone”–George Floyd Square–some thirty gunshots rang out, sending at least one man to the hospital with critical injuries and reporters running for cover.  A light unto the nations indeed.

The legacy continues…