Harry Houdini may be most well known as an escapologist, but he was also a consummate close-up artist who mastered card tricks and sleight of hand to befuddle audiences all over the world. But he had nothing on the federal government when it came to dazzling the American taxpayer.
Now You See It
The Global Engagement Center (GEC) officially closed on December 23. Its mission – according to the State Department – was to “direct, lead, synchronize, integrate, and coordinate U.S. Federal Government efforts to recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining or influencing the policies, security, or stability of the United States, its allies, and partner nations.” Quite the statement of purpose. However, House Republicans accused it of efforts far more nefarious.
GOP committees said that it had targeted Americans on social media for expressing their own opinions when those beliefs go against the official government narrative. As Liberty Nation News reported:
“[The GEC] has been accused of working to silence conservative voices and, most notably, has flagged Americans’ social media accounts as ‘Russian personas’ for questioning whether the Wuhan bioresearch lab was the source of the COVID-19 outbreak.”
Funding was withdrawn, and that should have been the end of the story for the GEC. But the magicians of DC had other ideas.
Now You Don’t!
A Washington Examiner exclusive revealed in a “non-public letter to members of Congress” that the State Department intends to “realign” staff and funding from the GEC into other “hubs.”
The Examiner reports:
“The plans, which have not been reported on until now, will likely lead to investigations from Republicans into the State Department’s handling of the GEC’s closure. That’s because, according to senior GOP staffers who reviewed them, they appear to indicate that the Biden administration is merely rebranding the GEC under a different name — forming a new body that could be poised to engage in work akin to that which landed the office in hot water over the last two years.”
According to the report, “the department plans to realign 51 employees and associated funding from the GEC to a proposed Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI) Hub reporting to the Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy.” So, a new agency with a different name but the same people and the same funds. Nothing to see here – watch the left hand, and whatever you do – don’t look at the right hand.
Abracadabra, indeed.
The Government Sorcerors
When a government initiative is shuttered due to alleged “unAmerican” activities that breach the First Amendment compact with the citizenry, one would assume that the Earth be salted and the malefactors quietly retired. But this is the federal government, which appears to think it is beyond and above such accountability.
President Ronald Reagan famously said in his 1964 “A Time of Choosing” speech to support GOP nominee Barry Goldwater:
“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. So governments’ programs, once launched, never disappear.
“Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.”
The GEC switcheroo is far from a singular event; it is standard operating procedure. Author and editor Graeme Wood wrote, “The most important rule of magic — other than remembering to check for rabbit-droppings before putting your hat back on — is never to perform the same illusion twice on the same occasion.”
Houdini claimed that he could figure out any illusion if he saw it three times – a boast he maintained until he saw the “Ambitious Ace” trick performed by Dai Vernon in 1922. With President-elect Trump vowing to finally “Drain the Swamp,” part of that promise should include ending the immortality of agencies and departments that have either run their course or been found wanting.
And that might be a feat of magic that would astound even the firmest of skeptics.
Dig Deeper Into the Speeches Mentioned in This Article
Liberty Vault: Ronald Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing” Speech – 1964
