FILE – In this March 28, 2020, file photo, Los Angeles police officers patrol a sparsely populated Venice Beach boardwalk in Los Angeles. At least three police officers in California have died so far from COVID-19 and officers have been urged to wear masks when they are interacting with the public. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power,” Abraham Lincoln once said.

Is it me or does it seem like public officials, from governors to local officials are becoming drunk on power as our national lock-down continues?

Today, it was reported that a man was pulled off of a city bus in Philadelphia by multiple police officers because he was not wearing a face mask. My colleague, Nick Arama posted on this story here.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was threatened with arrest by local policemen who told him he could not sit on the private beach in front of his home in Florida during the pandemic. He has now filed a federal lawsuit against the county and law enforcement.

WHI10-TV reported earlier that an Ohio public health commissioner announced that parades featuring vehicles only, for birthdays for example, do not fall within the guidelines of the state stay-at-home order and should be discontinued immediately. Apparently, in lieu of birthday parties, people were staging these parades to acknowledge young people spending their birthdays in lockdown.

On Thursday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced she has banned travel between residences in her state. This new order goes into effect one day before Easter.

According to Whitmer’s new order, if you own a vacation home which is located out of state, you are allowed to travel there. If, however, your vacation home is located within the state of Michigan, you may not. She took the opportunity to remind her subjects that all public and private gatherings of any size are prohibited. People are permitted to leave the house for outdoor activities, and recreational activities are still allowed as long as they’re taking place outside of six feet from anyone else. I posted about this story here.

She also ordered Home Depot and Lowes stores in her state to close off unessential sections such as flooring, garden centers and plant nurseries.

A @HomeDepot in #Michigan because statist @GovWhitmer won't let stores sell anything but food and medicine. What happens if my house floods and I need to make repairs? Aside from that, this is not okay anyway. #HelpMichiganNow #recallwhitmer @POTUS pic.twitter.com/ZbN9eMS6NW

— Virginia Stark (@VirginiaStark46) April 10, 2020

Last week, a surfer in Malibu was arrested for surfing on an empty beach. And people were fined $1,000 for sitting inside their cars at a Santa Monica beach.

Conservative radio host Howie Carr recently wrote an op-ed in a Boston newspaper entitled, “Governors drunk on power are out of control.”

His missive came after Rhode Island state police began stopping cars with New York license plates as they entered the state and directing their occupants to self-quarantine for 14 days after recording their personal information.

Carr cited an item he had seen in a Providence, RI newspaper which said, “In a move without precedent in state history, anyone entering Rhode Island from New York state by any means of grounds transportation — passenger vehicle, bus or train — must provide personal information to authorities and self-quarantine for 14 days.”

Carr writes:

Some of these politicians have become way too intoxicated with this sudden power they’re brandishing like a club over the heads of their fellow citizens — I’m talking about you, [Massachusetts Gov.] Charlie Baker, and [Rhode Island Gov.] Gina Raimondo in Rhode Island.

On Friday night, the mayor of Los Angeles admitted to one of his comrades on CNN that they’re tracking cellphone data to keep tabs on the movements of citizens.

This Democrat has also threatened to cut off electricity and water to any businesses that won’t obey. All of this is going on in a jurisdiction where 1,700 prisoners have been cut loose … and the gun stores have been threatened with shut downs (as in Delaware, by yet another Democrat).

In Laguna Beach, where drones are outlawed for private use, law enforcement are using their drones to enforce “social distancing” on public beaches. In Lakewood, N.J., on Thursday, cops broke up a wedding — per orders of the governor, they claimed.

Just a month ago, most of these same hacks were wringing their hands and calling President Trump a “fascist” or a “dictator.” Now the mayor of LA is organizing vigilante groups in the city’s neighborhoods, calling them, in his best Orwellian speak, “the Safer at Home Business Ambassadors Program.”

Are Government officials having a little too much fun with this? What the %$*& happened?