The three stages of grief: The Banana Republic of America continues apace

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

I will start this analysis by declaring that I honestly make an effort to not allow myself to fall into depression or despair over pretty much anything in life if it’s at all possible. It’s not healthy and can create more problems than it solves. But when I read John’s coverage of the latest IRS whistleblowers’ testimony last night and the accompanying coverage in the New York Post, I mentally ran into a brick wall. There has long been an accepted theory regarding the five stages of grief. They are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. But watching what’s currently happening to our government, we should probably adjust that scale. Anyone paying attention may be experiencing a sequence of three emotions running through shock, outrage, and despair. I passed the “outrage” stage a few weeks ago.

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The testimony offered by IRS agent Gary Shapley and others isn’t simply revealing a problem that requires action. It defines the literal unraveling of our system of government. I’ve been hanging around on this planet since Eisenhower was the president and I can’t recall seeing anything remotely close to what’s going on in Washington right now. We might be tempted to compare current events to Watergate, but in reality, Richard Nixon’s initial involvement in that debacle was minor, with his greatest sins taking place in the subsequent coverup. The corruption we’re observing in the early days of the summer of 2023 obviously involves the entire executive branch of the government with a particular emphasis on both the White House and the Department of (in)Justice. For only one of many examples, take this revelation from Shapley. (Emphasis added)

Smith, 43, said IRS investigators were tipped off to evidence located “in the guest house of former Vice President Biden,” and even displayed a blown-up text message revealing Hunter had demanded money from a Chinese entity while claiming his father was present in the same room.

“IRS investigators were told by [Assistant] US Attorney Lesley Wolf that because the evidence would be found in the guest house of former Vice President Biden, ‘there is no way’ a search warrant for evidence would ever get approved.”

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Demonstrating that there are still at least some people inside the government with a desire to do the right thing, one person after another has come forward and testified before the House that the Biden family has been involved in decades of corruption. Networks of LLCs established to launder money from adversarial foreign nations into the pockets of various Biden family members have been revealed. There are credible allegations that literal audio recordings exist of both the sitting President and his son discussing massive bribery arrangements with foreign entities.

And what has the response been? On the rare occasions when anyone demonstrates the temerity to ask Joe Biden about all of this, he smirks and quips, “Where’s the money?” And why would he worry? Nobody will ever lay a glove on him, at least under the current Democratic leadership and the entrenched deep-state actors running the Justice and Treasury departments. We already witnessed his son’s Broadway “arraignment” where he was sent merrily skipping off down the primrose path for crimes that have landed other, less politically favored individuals in prison for years. He never had anything to worry about either.

But none of that is really even the most depressing part of all of this. You can understand the base motivations of people like Hunter and Joe Biden and their associates. Greed is a powerful motivator and it can drive people to do many things they might not otherwise consider. But they wouldn’t be able to get away with this if it weren’t for the clear cooperation of the majority of the media. I was somewhat shocked this morning to see a panel on CNN talking about the IRS whistleblowers, but they brought on an “expert” analyst who said that such “irregularities” in Hunter Biden’s tax returns are “not all that uncommon.” No mention was made of the payments from foreign entities to gain access to “the Big Guy.”

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Much of the country remains blissfully unaware of the stench coming from Biden Inc. and the absolute politicization and weaponization of some of the most powerful elements in the federal government. And many of those who have heard any mention of it have received a vastly watered-down version, as if these “irregularities” are simply “another day in Washington.”

I’m going to try to pull myself together and prepare for the week to come. But at the moment, I’m being overwhelmed by a sense of darkness. We’re watching an unfolding coverup of what is potentially the worst set of scandals to ever consume the federal government of the United States of America. And large portions of the country seem to be simply accepting it. Back in the 1970s, people were still capable of outrage and willing to demand changes. And the media was capable of leading the charge. But that was then and this is now. And “now” isn’t looking promising at all.

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Ed Morrissey 12:40 PM | November 21, 2024
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