Biden's illegal gamble, the nationwide Federal contractor vaccine mandate, has like his previous Medicare mandate and OSHA if-you-have-100-workers-mandatory-vax mandate been ripped to shreds early on in the courts.

Biden's mandates have always been a bullying gamble, an admission that they knew they were engaging in illegal acts but that they would continue to use the not-insignificant weapons of the executive branch to blast as much harm as possible until the courts stepped in and noted the obvious: "You can't do this!"

Cynics - and I sympathize - will say that the courts could have ruled either way so don't get too excited.

That's the lesson of the past two years: There is nothing below us as we look down. It takes our breath away. We now understand that our civilization has been built on a pile of sand and any determined entity could tunnel under us as we are distracted by the human necessities of providing for our families and living our finite lives as best as possible.

This horrible reality cannot be unseen.

Previously we viewed our rulers - from dog catcher to president - as malevolent but for the most part at a distance. We never thought they would reach out with their gradually but steadily-acquired iron fist and squeeze the oxygen from our lungs: "Take a shot or starve!"