There were several revelations in the year 2023. These were revelations where some people were smacked in the face with an obvious reality despite repeated efforts to pretend that reality did not exist. Here are three of the biggest.
ANTISEMITISM
The most pronounced revelation of 2023 is among the American Jewish community. The terror attack in Israel on October 7th was beyond horrific. The aftermath was also eye-opening. American Jews learned that so many of the groups they supported and identified with actually hate Jews and are hostile to their existence. Antisemitism exists deep in the heart and soul of the political left.
Countless public officials reacted immediately and expressed their support for Israel in the early minutes and hours after the terror attack. Barack Obama waited two days before his first tweet condemning the attack. Bill Clinton, waited too. Hillary Clinton waited just one day. By year’s end, neither Chelsea Clinton nor Michelle Obama posted Twitter acknowledgements of the slaughter despite both tweeting on dozens of other topics, including foreign affairs.
It should not be surprising “the squad,” US Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), Cori Bush (D-Missouri), Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts), and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-New York), are not on the side of any Jews anywhere. The squad demanded no Israeli response just hours after the attack even as the scope of the tragedy was still unfolding.
Man-made global warming doyenne Greta Thunberg was most transparent in her position regarding Jews. She displayed a toy octopus in a social media post while declaring her support of Gaza. The octopus is a well-known Nazi antisemitism symbol.
On some college campus, like Columbia University, an innocent, benign or innocuous statement that triggers certain protected groups may be labeled a microaggression and be subject to discipline. But shouting antisemitic tropes, threatening and harassing Jewish students, and supporting genocide is deemed protected speech.
The group Black Lives Matters actually lobbies for Jewish genocide. They even applauded the massacre with a tweet celebrating the terrorist paragliders. BLM are not the political allies the American Jewish community thought they were.
The Women’s March, whose founder Linda Sarsour promotes the BDS (boycott, divestment, & sanctions) movement against Israel, has a long antisemitic past.
Hollywood and many in the entertainment industry are no friends of the Jews, as actors Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon made abundantly clear. A significant number of musicians have opposed Israel for years.
The best show of support the United Nations could muster was a tweet lamenting the loss of life in the “Palestinian occupied territories.” In other words, feigned support for Jewish victims while claiming Jews were the oppressors.
One might think antisemitism must be a required term employment for anyone working at Al Jazeera, BBC, MSNBC and The Intercept due to their anti-Israel/anti-Jewish leanings. Progressive darling Mehdi Hasan punched his ticket by anchoring at both Al Jazeera and MSNBC with part-time gigs at BBC and Intercept, all known for their animosity toward Jews. In addition to Hasan, MSNBC still employs Al Sharpton who was a key instigator of the antisemitic Crown Heights riot and Freddy’s Fashion Mart fire that left 10 dead and dozens injured.
DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) advocates and programs fuel antisemitism. A detailed study of the Twitter feeds of nearly 750 DEI officials at 65 universities found 96% of the social media postings were critical of Israel. DEI adherents have deemed Jews to be oppressors.
The progressive left, the political home of many American Jews, is deeply antisemitic.
OPEN BORDERS
Big city mayors in the northern half of the country experienced the revelation of the actual cost of illegal immigration. The supporters of wide-open borders learned the hard way the huge social and financial implications of supporting the millions of foreigners who cross our borders illegally.
New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, and Washington, DC, just to name a few, are cities that pride themselves as “sanctuary” cities. Many mayors embrace or even call for open borders.
The first inkling for progressive leaders that even a small number of illegal border crossers can overwhelm a community occurred in September 2022. Activists in Martha’s Vineyard did a 180-degree reversal from welcoming about four dozen immigrants to the haughty community to only two days later bussing them to a detention center at Joint Base Cape Cod more than two hours and a ferry-ride away. Martha’s Vineyard progressives love illegal aliens, but just not in their community.
Mayor Muriel Bowser reaffirmed DC’s status as a sanctuary city in 2016 stating, “We are a sanctuary city because we know that our neighborhoods are safer and stronger when no one is afraid to call on our government for help, and when our police can focus on protecting and serving."
Bowser is now singing a different tune. She said DC should not have to deal with illegal immigrants because, “We’re not a border town.” NIMBY, or not in my backyard syndrome. It’s easy, but grossly irresponsible to welcome illegal immigration when one assumes it is only the southern border states that will assume the total burden.
As of late, New York’s Mayor Eric Adams has been very animated insisting the federal government clamp-down on illegal border crossers. Adams referred to it as “a manmade crisis … [that] must be fixed. This has to be fixed.” No doubt, it is likely a mere coincidence the Justice Department has been scrutinizing the activities of Adams and his associates at the same time he is critical of the Biden Administration.
In November, FBI agents raided the home of an Adams campaign official at the very moment he was in Washington, DC to meet with federal lawmakers over the border crisis, forcing Adams to cancel his meetings and return to the city. The federal law enforcement agency followed-up the raid by seizing Adams’ electronics devices. Of course, the FBI action was just a coincidence and not retaliation.
In the spring 2023, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot sent a letter demanding the Texas governor to stop bussing illegal immigrants to the Windy City. Lightfoot told CNN, "We are completely tapped out. We have no more space, no more resources, and frankly, we are already in a surge. We've been seeing over the last week two to three weeks, 200-plus people coming to Chicago every single day."
The hypocrisy of complaining about “200-plus” arriving each day in Chicago while simultaneously nodding in approval as thousands cross into Texas daily cannot be understated. Revelation.
Current Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson said the arrival of illegal immigrants “is going to crush local economies because there is a financial responsibility we have all taken on.” His comments were a shift from his campaign promise 10 months earlier that “There’s enough for everyone in this city. No one has to lose at the expense of someone else winning. … It’s not about a single pie. It’s about making multiple pies. Whatever it is, there’s gonna be enough for everybody.” Apparently, the city of Chicago has run out of pie.
About a decade ago, the Denver sheriff announced his department would no longer honor immigration detainers issued by federal immigration officials. The city council codified this by declaring Denver a sanctuary city.
Once migrants began arriving, the city began exploring options to move the migrants elsewhere. Sanctuary city Denver didn’t want them. A state of emergency was declared in December 2022. Showing his frustration, Denver mayor Michael Hancock said, “We didn’t really expect them to come to Denver.” Therein lies the issue. Progressive Denver wholeheartedly supports open borders and lawless immigration, because its elected officials did not think the migrants would settle in the Mile High City.
By October, the city requested Governor Jared Polis mobilize the National Guard to help contain the immigration crisis. Polis refused. Under Mike Johnston, who was sworn-in as mayor in July 2023, Denver offered to buy bus tickets for any immigrants who would like to move on to another city.
Adams, Johnson, and Hancock have launched their own little war against chartered buses in order to stop the flow of migrants to their cities. The problem isn’t the illegal border crossers, they reason, it’s the buses.
Declaring their communities to be sanctuary cities while secretly hoping no illegal immigrants actually arrive is the greatest virtue signaling failure. And it’s another revelation.
UNEQUAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
The political left, aided by their supporters in national media, dubbed the disturbing events of January 6th an “insurrection.” Let’s be clear, the rioting should never had happened. Still, the great preponderance of those charged with criminal acts on January 6th were charged with variations of trespassing. The same charge one might receive if they hid in the suburban shopping mall after closing hours.
Make no mistake. President Donald Trump’s remarks during the afternoon of January 6th were indeed regrettable and irresponsible in riling up his most impressionable supporters. In addition, there were criminal acts that occurred that day including assault and destruction of property. But that constituted a small percentage of the actions by protestors. There was very little in that day’s melee that remotely rose to the size and scope of the violence the nation witnessed in 2020, when protestors committed violent acts, assaulted bystanders, looted businesses, and torched buildings.
The Black Lives Matter protests that swept Minneapolis and other cities in 2020 caused about $2 billion in damages, making them the most destructive protests in US history, according to liberal media outlet Axios. More than $500 million in damages occurred just in the city of Minneapolis, where the destruction was widespread. More than 1,000 buildings and residences were damaged, including more than 150 that were set ablaze. Few of the perpetrators were held accountable, as federal, state and local officials showed disinterest in upholding the law. Ninety-five percent of the 520 protestors issued misdemeanor citations had their charges dropped.
It gets worse. Some on the far-left demonstrated support or even praised the BLM riots. Barack Obama called the protests “justified.” Kamala Harris promoted the Minnesota Freedom Fund that was providing bail money to some of the most violent offenders. One of those freed was a serial felon who later committed murder.
Despite cat-calls from the left, the events of January 6th did not rise to the level of the BLM riots, the 2010 Wisconsin capital protests when 10,000 stormed the state capital building to stop legislative action, or the morning-after demonstrations when Donald Trump was elected president.
Some of the Capitol Hill violence may have been instigated when Capitol and Metropolitan Police, without any provocation, fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd in the early minutes of the January 6thprotest, when people were merely milling about in front of the Capitol building.
Conducting a thorough review of the evidence collected by the partisan January 6th select committee may be an insurmountable challenge since the committee did not properly index and archive the evidence, as is standard policy in any investigation. No one obscures or destroys evidence other than to cover-up wrong-doing or hide material that exonerates the innocent.
What about the allegations that an insurrection was attempted? According to 18 U.S. Code § 2383, “Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”
It is without question that the Merrick Garland Justice Department would have charged someone, anyone, with a violation of this criminal code, if there was evidence to support the charges. Yet, despite more than 14,000 hours of surveillance video, body cam recordings, news coverage, and the eyewitness accounts of Capitol police, D.C. Metropolitan police, and undercover agents, not a single one of the approximately 850 people facing prosecution has been charged with a violation of 18 U.S. Code § 2383. Not one.
This begs the question: if not one person has been charged with engaging in an insurrection then how could someone be accused of leading an insurrection? Of course, they cannot. At least, not honestly or credibly. It’s like accusing someone of driving the get-away car of a robbery that never took place.
Yet, the Colorado Supreme Court in a closely divided 4-3 ruling ordered Donald Trump off the state ballot because they alleged he led an insurrection. Understand, there was no trial before the Rocky Mountain state high court to decide this matter. There was no evidence presented, no defense permitted, no cross-examination, and no jury. In fact, the only trial conducted on this matter was Trump’s second impeachment trial alleging he led an insurrection. That impeachment resulted in a not guilty verdict. Even in the Democratic-majority Senate where rules of evidence do not really matter the impeachment charges of leading an insurrection were not proven. Trump was exonerated.
This action by the Colorado Supreme Court to ban Trump was the result of four activists making a decision that will play well among progressives and their supporters in the national media, but portrays the state’s judiciary of running a kangaroo court. Moreover, it’s a blatant act of courtroom shenanigans the US and NGOs would denounce if they occurred in another country. Just as they did in 2020 when Myanmar denied ballot access to opposition parties.
Across the country in Maine, it was the lone Secretary of State, an appointed bureaucrat, who unilaterally decided Trump may not appear on the Maine ballot despite having no legal authority to question a presidential candidate’s qualifications, as based on the 14th Amendment.
The American public have learned the federal legal system is now so politicized that it is virtually indistinguishable from the corrupt judges of developing nations. The criminal prosecution of January 6thprotestors is less about enforcing the law and more about punishing the citizens who supported the “wrong” candidate.
The actions in Colorado and Maine to keep Trump off the ballot are identical to the activities found in a banana republic.
It’s a revelation that the courts are holding show trials.
OTHER REVELATIONS
Of course, there were other revelations in 2023.
It was learned Dr. Anthony Fauci and the National Institute of Health funded gain-of-function research in China’s Wuhan Laboratory despite his false testimony to the contrary. “Gain-of-function research involves giving microbes such as bacteria and viruses enhanced capabilities that they might not normally possess in nature.” Only a fool would doubt China is attempting to weaponize pathogens for military use.
Elon Musk’s opening of Twitter’s records for inspection by a group of investigative journalists revealed various agencies and organs of the federal government were literally suppressing the speech of disfavored individuals and groups. Among the perpetrators were the Biden Administration, FBI and members of Congress.
For some, 2023 was a year of surprises. What will the 2024 reveal?
Mark Hyman is an Emmy award-winning investigative journalist. Follow him on Twitter (X), Threads, Gettr, Post, and Mastodon.world at @markhyman, and on Truth Social at @markhyman81.
His books Washington Babylon: From George Washington to Donald Trump, Scandals That Rocked the Nation and Pardongate: How Bill and Hillary Clinton and their Brothers Profited from Pardons are on sale now (here and here).