|
A headline today at Revolver News warns that conservatives will get "wrecked" by a new law under consideration in Florida. The piece linked cites former Trump Administration official Stephen Miller, warning that the bill, which aims to modify and expands libel laws, will not have the effect it pursues, because "There is no Florida equivalent on the right of a NYC jury on the left.". Miller further notes, appropriately, that "A jury of conservatives will bend over backwards to reach a “fair” conclusion."
Though unsurprising, it is of some amusement to note that I recall no outcry from Miller at Florida's laws aimed at curbing anti-Semitism. His concern for freedom of speech seems limited to allowing the dishonest to run rampant, and he is altogether less concerned with laws punishing people who tell the truth.
Setting that aside for now, Miller is obviously correct so far as the asymmetric lawfare component. Conservatives, and the Right more broadly, whether lawyers, jurors, or litigants, tend to have a greater respect for the legal system. They do not file frivolous lawsuits. They do not bring flimsy indictments. They do not commit perjury. They do not reach verdicts for reasons other than the facts of the case. They recuse themselves over the slightest appearance of a conflict of interests.
The Left, does all of these things. They brag about it, on television. They act shocked when anyone suggests they should be doing anything else.
The recent upheavals in the life of one Robert Rundo provide a fine example. Nary a word has been uttered by the self styled Respectable Right about his persecution or that of his cohorts. Rundo has twice had his federal charges of conspiracy to violate the Riot Act dismissed by a District Court Judge in California, in well articulated decisions that explain in great detail the circumstances surrounding the case. He was just arrested, for the third time, on those same charges, yesterday, though the allegations are from more than six years ago.
Growing up in Flushing, Queens, Rundo was given harsh lessons in his early adolescence on the dangers of illegal immigration. His neighborhood was plagued by MS-13 gang members who terrorized his friends and neighbors. To those gang members, Rundo became known as "El Diablo Blanco" - Spanish for "The White Devil" because he was not the type to be bullied.
In the year 2009, Rundo was caught on surveillance camera stabbing one of those gang members. Other footage from the incident showed this gang member racing toward Rundo and his associates welding a club. That MS-13 gang member was a twice deported illegal immigrant, and one of those deportations stemmed from his being in possession of an illegal firearm.
Rather than give Robert Rundo the keys to the city, as a sane society would have done, he was prosecuted for gang assault. It was his first arrest. Rather than face a jury, he pleaded guilty, and was sent to a New York State prison for two years.
There, Mr. Rundo was further educated on the realities of racial conflict in America. Those lessons, combined with more textual study over the course of his life, helped to form his world view.
That view was at the heart of something that came to be known as the Rise Above Movement, or RAM, which Rundo founded with some associates in California in the year 2017. Though branded as a sort of Nazi Fight Club, the group's charges pertain to acts not alleged to be racially motivated. Rather, they stand accused of going to places where they expected violent Antifa criminals to show up intent on attacking folks who could not defend themselves, and beating those diseased little shits into the ground, where they belong.
To the best of my knowledge, and I have done some research on the subject, there exists not a single instance in which an innocent person claims to have been assaulted without provocation by Robert Rundo. All of the people he stands accused of harming or conspiring to harm, are violent criminals.
Without the slightest bit of shame, federal prosecutors indicted Rundo et al for conspiring to violently oppose mere speech. It is the embodiment of what has become a catch phrase on this program, wherein the Left says "Our violence is speech, your speech is violence". They go around attacking people for saying things they disagree with, and when those people defend themselves, they cry victimhood, and say that their first amendment rights are being violated. All the while calling for the abolition of that very amendment.
The hypocrisy of this was not lost on Federal District Court Judge Carmac J. Carney, who in 2018 dismissed the charges against all the RAM defendants on the grounds that the government's application of the Riot Act was in this instance unconstitutionally vague and overbroad.
To Miller's point, a conservative prosecutor would have shrugged his shoulders and said "Hey, you win some, you lose some. We'll get em next time hopefully" and allowed that decision to stand.
But not the Leftist pit bulls who pursued Robert Rundo and his associates. They went to the far Left 9th Circuit to appeal the Judge's dismissal, and succeeded in that appeal. Some of Rundo's associates, notably Ben Daley, Tom Gillen, and Michael Miselis, were taken into custody, and ended up pleading guilty to those charges. They were handed sentences ranging from 27-37 months in federal prison.
Rundo had fled the country before he could be apprehended again, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. For years, Rundo traveled Europe, and he managed to do this although he was later discovered to be on the secretive "No Fly List" maintained by the US Government. During his tour of the motherland, Rundo planted the seeds for what would become known as Active Clubs.
These clubs promoted what he called a 3.0 Lifestyle, which was articulated in a 2021 essay he had written titled "Bad Boys, Good Habits".
Quoting from that essay, Rundo explains the attraction to the "Bad Buy" archetype character;
Why this attraction? This can be answered in two parts. First, in our modern domesticated world where man is trapped in a cage made up of rules, laws, and bureaucracy, we all wish to break free from the chains of society and be the bad boy that blazes his own trail, not caring what anyone else thinks. That is why there is such an appeal to this character type. It also should be pointed that this is not a new phenomenon. Just look to the wild west days and the huge fascination and admiration for the rebels, outlaws, and bad boy types. Always the defiant anti-hero has attracted people, especially amongst rebellious youth.
This leads to the second part of the “bad boy” and is a phenomenon as old as time itself. That is the younger generation rebelling against the previous. Today this is mainly seen as something negative since all recent generations have been ushered further towards cultural marxism and disregarded for traditionalism. But one would be mistaken to think this is the only way it’s ever been. It was not that far ago in 1920 Rome when “bad boys” dressed in blackshirts were marching in the streets handing out fascist pamphlets and getting into barroom brawls with opposition. The older generation scorned them as troublemakers and daydreamers. In turn, this rebellious young generation spurned the previous one as weak thinking and stuck in its aristocratic ways. These young radicals full of optimism and passion wanted a new way that drew in other risk-takers, idealists, artists, and outlaws that also shared this rebellious sentiment against what was in place. The same can be said about the SA in 1930 Germany or even further back to the original bad boy Julius Caesar , who his older peers hated for his lack of respect for the senate hierarchy and troublemaking.
So although the last few generations have all been coerced to head further left, now it’s our time to rebel against the older status quo.
Thus defined, Rundo is not speaking of a criminal archetype. He may find himself on the side of a jail cell lacking a keyhole, due to the nature of political warfare, but his aim is ultimately to hold the keys. He aims to become the State, and impose order on society.
This is clarified further as he explains the "Good Habits" component of the phrase;
The second part of the slogan, ” good habits,” makes the slogan complete because just being “bad boys” is not enough for people to revere.
For example, take the antagonist Bill the Butcher from Gangs of New York. Although he chops people up with a meat cleaver from time to time, he possesses “good habits” that make him likable and relatable. Consider his loyalty to race and country or the bravery he shows when faced with opposition. All noble habits which earn respect from the outsider.
I call these “habits ” instead of traits because they are not natural gifts, but need to be practiced and internalized. For example, courage comes from constantly testing yourself in a position that you will have to display it. That is what makes it a rare quality, and why people revere these types of characters.
Another thing to point out as to why Bill The Butcher is admirable, is that his actions are not because he engages in senseless violence aimed blindly at the world around him. Instead, Bill the butcher has goals and ambitions. Style, and grandeur.
Now, take another movie antagonist, “Leather Face,” from the Texas chain saw massacre; unlike the Charismatic Bill, Leather face has no “good habits” or redeemable qualities, and instead represents the nihilistic elements of society and the selfishness. He serves no greater aim, but just fills his sadistic pleasure while raging blindly at the world around him for his suffered perceived injustices. This is not someone people would support or want to associate with. Only the most nihilistic and depraved could relate in any way to this archetype. Although Leather face is widely known, it’s only for shock value, while Bill the butcher is the anti-hero and admired because he emulates the “bad boy” with ” good habits.”
Whatever your thoughts on Bill the Butcher, the comparison here with Leather Face is an apt one. Most Americans are taught that the Bible says Thou Shall Not Kill. A more reasonable translation states Thou Shall Not Murder. Killing is not a crime, anywhere in the world. Killing is perfectly legal everywhere. When killing becomes murder varies from place to place, and somewhere in between, we often have varying levels of manslaughter.
All of mankind reveres killers of one sort or another. Soldiers and police most notably are, in sane societies, given an honored status for their bravery in the face of danger, and their willingness to use violence to stop bad actors from destroying the things we value.
It is the murderer we despise, and for good reason. Leather Face, being the quintessential senseless murderer, destroys life for reasons few can attempt to comprehend. He has no attractive qualities. He is just the embodiment of a fictional "bad guy" - being here distinct from the "bad boy" - archetype.
The Style and Grandeur component is important to understand when speaking of Robert Rundo. Though he has done a number of interviews, written several essays, and published a number of his own podcast episodes, his means of communicating have less to do with words than aesthetics. Take a look at anything from the Active Clubs, Will2Rise, or associated clothing line and brandings, and you will notice a consistent quality in the imagery and videos, as well as a lack of verbiage uncommon to Right wing movements and groups, which are frequently quite heavy on language.
This focus on aesthetics, I surmise, is largely responsible for the success of Rundo's European adventures. Following the Active Club and Will2Rise associated Telegram Channels, one sees throughout the United States, and Europe, sharp images of physically fit men training, celebrating, and holding up branded banners which note their diverse locations, including, since Rundo's March of 2023 arrest, images calling for Mr. Rundo's release. These images, noting little but the group's affiliation and geography, nonetheless communicate very clearly what they are about. As a writer and speaker, I struggle to articulate how this is done, myself. It is a skill I plainly lack, and admire tremendously with what I struggle against becoming envy.
And of course, the United States Federal Government could not allow such a thing to exist. As noted, Mr. Rundo was captured by authorities in Romania just under a year ago, and extradited to the United States to face the same charges which were dismissed in 2018.
While Mr. Rundo was held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, I briefly had the pleasure of corresponding with him via postal mail and the Bureau of Prisons' CorrLinks electronic messaging service. I had initially approached Mr. Rundo and Meda2Rise about trying to conduct an interview with him, and offered to publish on these pages and read on this podcast, whatever messages he sought to have delivered to the public. Mr. Rundo asked for no publicity from your humble correspondent, but he and I spent a couple of months getting to know one another through this correspondence.
Myself being a figure well known to the Bureau of Prisons, and Mr. Rundo's international intrigue being of certain interest to not only law enforcement but intelligence agencies of all sorts, we both rightly expected these communications to be analyzed closely. I, being still on federal Supervised Release stemming from my own arrest in 2020, am not typically supposed to be associating with convicted felons, which Mr. Rundo happens to be consequent of the 2009 stabbing.
Fortunately, I had obtained permission from my probation officer to seek out interviews with newsworthy people in the course of my professional duties, but this permission was not conveyed to my new PO when responsibility for my case changed hands shortly before the beginning of this correspondence. After the US government realized no valuable intelligence would be gained from monitoring our communications, my PO invited me into his office, and confronted me with the question "Who is Robert Rundo?" - to which I offered a much briefer summary than has been made here today.
I was presented with a printout of my probation conditions, with the association with known felons prohibition highlighted. I calmly explained to the officer that this plainly states I'm not to do so without the permission of the probation officer, and that this had been granted by his predecessor.
Despite that, I was prohibited from further corresponding with Mr. Rundo.
I asked permission to send one more letter, explaining why I would have to sever our correspondence, and this permission was granted.
I dispatched just such a letter, and two weeks later received it back with a rejection letter from the BOP, stating that the prisoner would not be informed of it ever having arrived, and claiming it threatened the secure operation of the facility, despite it clearly having no such quality.
I appealed this decision to the Warden of that facility, following instructions on the BOP website. Today, months later, I have gotten no reply.
I have not published, nor will I publish, Mr. Rundo's letters to me. They are, however, preserved for history, of which I believe Mr. Rundo will prove to be an important part.
It was about to become a moot point in any case, since Mr. Rundo's charges were dismissed yet again, this last Wednesday, this time on the grounds of selective prosecution.
Judge Carney's decision explained at length his reasoning. At the time the Rise Above Movement was established, Leftist criminals had been terrorizing the country for years and to great effect. The government chose not to prosecute almost any of their crimes, and this license to destroy was put to good use by those so licensed. The emergence of resistance groups was an inevitable consequence of that lawlessness, and it was only those resistance groups that the government saw fit to prosecute. This disparity in interest, motivated as it clearly was by the protected content of the speech of the respective groups, was unconstitutional. Even accepting at face value the government's unfounded assertions that Rundo et al were motivated by a desire to suppress the speech of others, to let one group do that while prosecuting another, based on the speech being expressed or suppressed, was a violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The government, confident as they were that the far Left 9th Circuit Court of Appeals would not have much use for this argument, asked Judge Carney to stay Rundo's release order, pending their appeal. Judge Carney denied that request, stating that Rundo ought spend not another minute in custody.
So Rundo was yet again released. The government, yet again, appealed. The government, yet again, prevailed, and the 9th Circuit ordered that the decision to release Rundo would be stayed, at which point Mr. Rundo became a wanted man, less than 24 hours after he had been freed.
Through circumstances not clear to me at time of this writing, Rundo was taken into custody the same day, and is by now presumably back at MDC Los Angeles.
You can send Mr. Rundo a letter, and since I cannot, I'd appreciate it if you would, at the following address.
Robert Paul Rundo
#77104-112
MDC LOS ANGELES
METROPOLITAN DETENTION CENTER
P.O. BOX 531500
LOS ANGELES, CA 90053
I'd take a deep satisfaction if I came to know Mr. Rundo was inundated with supportive letters, noting that they had been prompted to send them by this tribute to him.
The appellate decision has not overturned the decision to dismiss the charges. The government's motion to do that is still pending. Rundo is currently held against his will, though he is not charged with a crime.
To proceed against Rundo, the government must argue that it has every right to selectively prosecute some crimes while letting others go unpunished. The 9th Circuit, will have to grant them that right.
A decision by an appellate court constitutes a binding precedent, and should the government prevail, the right to selective prosecution will have near the force of a constitutional amendment.
So, to Mr. Miller's point, it is, indeed, quite a quandary the Right finds themselves in today.
There is no equivalent to that in the prevailing legal philosophy of the Right. They vigorously pursue criminal and civil penalties against those who are broadly on their side, to precisely demonstrate their devotion to the law.
When going after their political opponents, by some contrast, they are quite cautious not to allow their political views to influence, or even to be seen as potentially influencing, those decisions.
Through such a mechanism, they mimic the behavior of their enemies, allowing Leftist thugs to run amok, while swiftly and reliably visiting the harshest of penalties upon anyone who would dare to try and stop them.
If they had the slightest bit of sense, every attorney Right of Letitia James would be on their way to California to stop this precedent from being set. There would be a mass mobilization to prepare for the biggest Supreme Court battle since Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health.
But, to Mr. Miller's point, there is no equivalent on the Right.
That is a state of affairs that cannot permanently persist.
As I have been working on my next book about my 2010 campaign to be elected to the United States House of Representatives in New York's First Congressional District, I came across my first televised interview and transcribed portions of it for the book.
I tend to think of near everything I've done prior to 2017 as silly libertarian nonsense, but as I've gone through my old emails and YouTube videos and blog posts, I've come to appreciate my younger self more than I recently did.
During that interview, I was discussing the subject of monetary policy, and specifically the abolition of the Federal Reserve. Joseph Dobrian, the host of the show, asked me if this was terribly likely to happen, and I stated that it was going to happen, one way or another. Either the Congress could do so in an orderly fashion, or the consequences of the Fed's behavior would eventually lead to a collapse of the monetary system and the end of the US Dollar, which would, in effect, be the end of the Federal Reserve system.
While that prediction has yet to manifest itself in reality, a series of crises have emerged, each of which presented precisely that threat. We have been warned over and over again that the government must do this or that outrageous thing or else it would be the end of money as we know it and the world would slide into darkness and chaos.
As we so slide, despite those actions, prices rise faster than wages, Americans and people throughout the world are met with unceasing misery and anxiety, and crime and violence skyrocket in reverse correlation with birthrates of civilized races.
I did not say the Federal Reserve System would collapse very soon. Only that it would do so inevitably, if it was not responsibly handled by well intentioned and competent people. Our criminal justice system, faces precisely that same problem, and this is well evidenced by the plight of Robert Rundo, the men who face preposterous allegations in Charlottesville, and it ought go without saying, the outrageous abuses suffered by yours truly.
Lacking a Right wing equivalent, the Left celebrates this cascading deluge of darkness. The worse off we are, the better they do, and weaponizing the courts, the military, the law enforcement and intelligence apparatus, the financial system, the medical industry, the media - is all part of the same despicable anti-human agenda.
Robert Rundo sits today as their captive, though he is not at this time charged with any crime. The accusation against him does not allege he has harmed a single innocent soul.
For the crime of telling men to quit doing drugs and find healthier ways of getting their heart rate up, the United States government has spent the better part of a decade chasing him across the planet.
As they have repeatedly tried, and failed, to make their case, he has been now apprehended for the third time.
Should the government prevail in making the argument that the constitution permits and demands their selective prosecution, the Right had sure as hell better find the equivalent of which Mr. Miller notes a lack, as well as a set of balls, to wield it.
The Radical Agenda airs live every Friday at 9:30pm US Eastern on Odysee, and on the GetMeRadio app for smartphone, Roku, and FireTV. Give us a call at 217-688-1433.
If you would like to help finance my quality productions, I try to make this easy enough to do....
Follow me elsewhere, listen, watch, and keep in touch...
Be sure and get subscribed to my newsletter if you haven't already, and whitelist [email protected] and [email protected] so I don't end up in your spam trap! |
