by Bob Barr | Jun 2, 2021 | Townhall Article |
TownhallWhy in the world was the U.S. funding virus research in China? This is the $10 trillion question about which more members of Congress other than Sen. Rand Paul should be grilling Dr. Anthony Fauci, who thus far has failed to give Americans the straight answers we deserve. The issue is far bigger than Fauci and what Republicans should be demanding is a clear answer to why America funds any research of any sort with our primary world adversary, especially research that is at best “dual use” research, and at worst a precursor for devastating biological warfare. One reason is that the Left has never appeared to understand the real world, in which there are friends and enemies; including enemies with smiling faces and offering candy, but whose aim is to kill you. In the case of China, smiling faces are empty promises of domestic liberalization, and its proffered candy is lucrative Chinese markets for U.S. companies. The truth behind the mask is all too easy to spot – if one is willing to look.Human rights abuses against the Uyghur people, Orwellian surveillance networks and “social credit” systems, a tyrannical crackdown in Hong Kong, and state-sponsored cyber-hacking of U.S. companies are but a few examples of China’s recent reprehensible conduct. Still, the Left continues to mollycoddle this global power as if it were nothing more than a puppy wetting the carpet. This behavior is embarrassing when it comes from the private sector, as when the NBA, an avowed “social justice” advocate, shushed its players from criticizing China for fear of jeopardizing the league’s $5 billion investment in that country, or when a spineless Hollywood actor apologizes to Beijing for...
by Bob Barr | May 31, 2021 | Daily Caller Article |
Daily CallerAs America celebrates another Memorial Day, remembering and honoring those who gave their lives in defense of our country and our freedoms, it is appropriate that we reflect also on the state of our armed forces, not so much in terms of where and how our forces are deployed (itself a timely and critical exercise for the Congress to deal with), but from the perspective of freedom within the military. In other words, are the men and women who serve, and who have served in our armed services, in both military and civilian capacities, having their individual liberty constrained simply by being associated with the military?This might seem an odd question to be asked of our military, but considering the strange priorities reflected in actions taken by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during his first four months in office, it is a very relevant inquiry; the answer to which is deeply troubling.In his 2003 book on the history of secret police – The Unsleeping Eye – Robert Stove quotes a passage written by Napoleon Bonaparte’s notorious Minister of Police, Joseph Fouché, to describe the situation by which new governments solidify their hold on power:“Every government at its dawn usually takes advantage of a danger it has created, either to make it more firm, or to extend its power; all it needs is to escape a conspiracy to acquire more strength and influence.”Joe Biden was sworn into office just two weeks after the Jan. 6 violence that took place on Capitol Hill following a speech earlier that day by then-President Donald Trump. This “insurrection,” as liberals and the mainstream media have come to call it, became the...
by Bob Barr | May 26, 2021 | Townhall Article |
TownhallIn a recent piece at The Bulwark, Sonny Bunch puts into words a sentiment sensed by many for years, namely, that what once made social media so great has now made it unbearable. According to Bunch, social media’s original design as platforms for “debate culture” has descended into a toxic landscape of information silos where arguments are “dismissed in favor of agreement.” Rather than a boundless world of information and opinions, social media now serves to blind users from reality. This sorry situation, however, is precisely what Emory University professor Mark Bauerlein predicted in his 2008 book, The Dumbest Generation, How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future. How tragically right he was.Today, social media is used far less for reasoned debate than as the vehicle for outraged mobs to launch vicious fusillades against their perceived enemies. Some targets of this vehemence are large organizations and companies able to withstand such attacks. Often, however, victims of social media lynch mobs are individuals who knowingly or by chance have traversed the social media crosshairs of the Left and expressed views at odds with the prevailing social media orthodoxy. In spite of the potentially life-changing consequences of becoming the latest “Central Park Karen,” or merely someone wrongly accused of being a “Nazi,” such nuances are lost on these online mobs, as their aim is not to change minds or debunk misinformation, but to destroy their targets personally, emotionally, and financially – all while taking glee in the ruin they cause. This internet misbehavior is fueled by hashtags that facilitate coordination and aided by secret algorithms designed to keep users hooked by feeding them aggregated content catering to...
