“Writers do tend to lose their sense of skepticism, which you should particularly have dealing with CIA operational people — because their one real skill in terms of tradecraft is manipulating opinion.”

The government’s “technotyranny” surveillance apparatus has become so entrenched and entangled with its police state apparatus that it’s hard to know anymore where law enforcement ends and surveillance begins.

White House officials are also in on the act. “Get vaxed. Wear masks. Open windows & turn on fans”. The US have stockpiled 750 million N95 masks which will be sent to Americans for free.

It’s abundantly clear that plexiglass served no purpose during the COVID-19 pandemic. In most cases it was merely useless. In some cases, it created stagnant pockets of air and may have accelerated transmission. It’s a highly visible marker of how irrational we were.

As the country masks up yet again for a new variant, and is gradually being groomed for another round of disease panic, Deborah Birx can collect whatever royalties come from sales of her book while working at her new gig, a consultant to a company that makes air purifiers (ActivePure).

The mandate won’t apply to gyms or yoga studios. They say they won’t ticket or punish you, if you don’t comply. But all of this is fine for adults. Kids will return to school and there will be no mercy for them. They will be obliged to mask up. Another year of stupidity.

If you lack the courage to oppose something you know is wrong, as history repeatedly shows, that same evil will eventually show up at your doorstep where you will no longer have the ability to oppose it.

With censorship soaring and real reporting all but taboo, the major dailies have just one important function left: being a political signaling system