top of page

Election Integrity News Blog

Search

Lawyers, the most fundamental defense. Dr. John Eastman explains Shakespeare's: 'The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.'

Updated: May 15

Photo by J.D. Small of J.D. Small Photography, https://www.jdsmallphotographer.com


by Patrice Johnson | May 15, 2024


Last Thursday, Michigan Fair Elections and Stand Up Michigan co-sponsored an event in Lansing, featuring the renowned Attorney John Eastman. The Juris Doctor and Ph.D. has been pilloried for representing a president of the United States. Thank you to the 250-plus patriots who attended. Thank you also to those who would like to view the video of the event here and here.


During his talk Eastman made reference to this quote by a villain, Dick the Butcher, in a Shakespearian play:


The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.

--William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part II Act IV, Scene II written between 1596 and 1599.


Shakespeare crafted that line about 425 years ago for Dick the Butcher, and the pithy sentence is often used today to disparage the legal profession. But Dick is a bad guy, a junk-yard-dog-vicious murderer. His comment is less joke and more grisly strategy.

 

Dick and his accomplice, Jack Cade, are planning a coup. In their brutal, aggressive, and anti-intellectual minds, they understand that in order for their coup to succeed, they must eliminate their opponents. To clear the way for their takeover, Dick and Cade kill anyone who can read. They burn every book and document they encounter. They realize they must knee-cap the defenders of justice.


Why? Dick, aptly named the Butcher, understands that the rule of law and its staunch guardians are a weight-bearing pillar to a fair and peaceful society. An ignorant population is easier to control than an educated one where people know their rights.


Shakespeare was representing lawyers as the most fundamental defense against the grossest manifestations of power-hungry overreach wrought by the scum of humanity,” writes the Literary Hub.

Dick and Cade are fictional characters. But Sun Tzu, circa 481 to 221 BC, was real. Not only did the Chinese warrior predate Shakespeare by up to 2,000 years, he documented the deadly reality of the strategy in war. Rule #2 in the Art of War reads,


“Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”

Mao Zedong turned the Bard’s and Sun Tzu’s words into reality when he ushered in the Chinese communist revolution over a four-year timespan. Between 1945 and 1949, Mao killed, “re-educated,” or sent all the educated intellectuals to labor in the fields. Then for 27 years, Mao continued his crushing reign, creating the new People’s Republic of China and solidifying the Chinese Communist Party’s control of every aspect of society.



During the two-year period between 1960 and 1962, 30 million Chinese starved to death in the largest single famine in recorded human history. The equivalent of all the people in Michigan, multiplied times 3, starved to death, not from droughts or floods or acts of God, but from poor, preventable political decisions.

 

Today, General Secretary Xi Jinping of the Chinese Communist Party models his Communist regime after Mao.

 

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens shared this reading of the Shakespearian line in a 1985 decision:

 

“As a careful reading of that text will reveal, Shakespeare insightfully realized that disposing of lawyers is a step in the direction of a totalitarian form of government.”

 

  





Click here for Gateway Pundit article and transcript of Eastman's speech.






 

Patrice Johnson, chairs Michigan Fair Elections (MFE) and Pure Integrity Michigan Elections (PIME). A former teacher, Patrice has founded five successful companies and served as senior executive with a Fortune 100 technology company. In 2017, she authored the book, the Fall and Rise of Tyler Johnson, the basis of a PBS documentary film, Finding Tyler. Questions or comments? Contact patrice@mifairelections.org.


 

Recommended reading: 




 





Learn how We The People can win back and secure OUR Future.



Join us Thursday, May 16 at 12 PM for

MFE's Coalition Task Force Meeting


To attend this meeting, use the Registration link below . It changes weekly.


After registering, you will receive an email with details on how to join the meeting.



Note: Representatives of the media are allowed in our meetings with prior permission.

 

Important Notes and Disclaimers for Election Integrity Network National Working Groups and coalition calls


  • We operate under strict 501 (c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan guidelines. Please do not make any comments during the call or in the chat that are directly related to any campaign or candidate running for office or could be considered an endorsement or opposition of that candidate.


  • All calls are “off the record.” This means that no members of the media are allowed on our calls without permission and this rule also applies to participants. No comment or presentation can be shared outside of the call without the express permission of the speaker. This includes the call "Notes" available to our participants. 


  • We always welcome new participants but ask that all newcomers register with their own registration link. Please do not forward your personal link to another participant.


  • For the security of the call, if you join by phone, you may be asked to unmute and provide your name. 


  • This meeting is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice or instruction to lobby on behalf of any issue or organization.


 

Please donate to Michigan Fair Elections 


MFE is a fiercely independent, tax-exempt 501(c)3 charity. We rely on voluntary contributions to fund our important, and sometimes costly, work. Legal claims are sometimes essential to improve the government and protect citizen rights, and they can be expensive. MFE accepts no government funding.



Please support MFE's investigative research, honest journalism, and litigative actions to defend We the People's inalienable rights as protected in the U.S. Constitution. Donate today to assist our educational efforts to protect the principles of individual liberty in America.


 

Mark your calendars to attend Election Integrity Network's outstanding national working groups. Consider also serving as liaison to report to MFE's Task Force Coalition on our Thursday meetings.

 

  • Citizen Research Project | Ned Jones, EIN

  • Every Tuesday at 6 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Election Technology | Jim Womack, NCEIT

  • Every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 4 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Introduction to Election Integrity Infrastructure | Kerri Toloczko and Ned Jones, EIN

  • Every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Vote By Mail / USPS | Ned Jones, EIN

  • Every 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 4 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Legislative Development | Kathleen Harms, TN

  • Every Wednesday at 2 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Voter Roll Maintenance | Willard Helander, EIN

  • Every Wednesday at 4 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Vulnerable Voters | Kerri Toloczko, EIN

  • Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday at 4 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Every 1st Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Election Audits | Mike Raisch

  • Every 1st and 3rd Thursday at 4 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Building Local Task Forces | Joshua Taylor

  • Every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Media Training | Kerri Toloczko

  • Every 1st Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE


 

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the Michigan Fair Elections. Every article written by an MFE author is generated by the author or editor alone. Links embedded within the article, however, may have been generated by artificial intelligence.




3,605 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page