Earlier today, against my better judgement, I got into a
social media argument.
I know, like I said it was against my better judgement and I
should have just walked away, but I couldn't. Unfortunately it ended with
comments like: "I guess i'm that stupid" and "count me stupid
too."
Why does it seem that people enjoy making a flippant
comment, but when you point out how they are wrong they immediately take things
personally? I'm sorry that you are not plugged in to the issues and that you rely
on a corrupt media for your talking points.
For the record, yes, Hillary Clinton did have classified information, Top Secret & Above, in her unsecured emails. Information that was so sensitive that even members of Congress were kept from seeing / hearing about it. In fact, Congress was given redacted documents and had to issue a subpoena. Don't believe me,
listen to those in charge.
FBI Director James Comey
FBI Assistant Director Jason Herring
Inspector General of the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence (ODNI) Charles McCullough
NSA / NGIA / ODNI Hearing
The problem is that we have become so entrenched in our political party system that we have abdicated our responsibilities as citizens. We have put party over ethics, morality and convictions. It's the reason we are in the place we are today and we have no one to blame but ourselves..... oh, and those pesky little talking points as well !!
Today, two days before the
presidential election, the FBI Director released a follow-up statement that the
latest investigation, into Hillary Clinton’s emails, was being closed and that
they had found nothing. Not sure how exactly it took them months to digest tens
of thousands of emails, but they seemingly went through hundreds of thousands
in a mere eight days, but I will leave that up to you to digest.
If I included this story line in any
of my books, my readers would (rightfully) burn them in disgust, because I
had simply ‘jumped the shark’ and extend the plot line into the land of
outright implausibility. However, in 21st century politics we have
learned that nothing is apparently implausible.
I know a lot of people are having
problems with this whole Hillary Clinton / E-mail investigation. Most of the
loudest cries of ‘Hillary didn’t do
anything wrong’ come from folks who’s closest connection to actual law
enforcement comes from having watched old episodes of Law & Order while staying at a Holiday Inn Express.
Sorry, but your Facebook Police Academy Diploma does not
count in the real world. So, for the sake of aiding you, in this mind-numbing
process, I would be happy to lend my fifteen years of NYC investigatory
experience to the equation.
I thought I would make the facts
of this case abundantly clear to all of you via the new ‘millennial bumper sticker’
format.
In his testimony before Congress on July 7th,
2014, FBI Director James Comey testified that former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton did not turn over (thousands) of work related emails to the
State Department.
18 U.S. Code §
2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally:
Subdivision (a) - Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates,
obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes
and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other
thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United
States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the
United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
three years, or both.
In his testimony
before Congress, FBI Director James Comey testified that former Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton removed work related emails from the system.
18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally:
Subdivision
(b) - Whoever, having the custody of
any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other
thing, willfully and unlawfully
conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the
same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years,
or both; and shall forfeit his office
and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States. As
used in this subsection, the term “office” does not include the office held by
any person as a retired officer of the Armed Forces of the United States.
In
his statement on July 5th, 2016, FBI Director James Comey stated the
following regarding former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her work
related emails from the system: “…there
is evidence that they were extremely
careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified
information. For example, seven e-mail chains concern matters that were
classified at the Top Secret/Special
Access Program level when they were sent and received.”
18 U.S. Code § 793 - Gathering, transmitting or losing defense
information:
Subdivision (f) - Whoever, being
entrusted with or having lawful possession or control of any document, writing,
code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint,
plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, note, or information, relating to the
national defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the
same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in
violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, or (2)
having knowledge that the same has been illegally removed from its proper place
of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of its trust, or lost, or
stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, and fails to make prompt report of such loss,
theft, abstraction, or destruction to his superior officer - Shall be fined
under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
NOTE: For the record, please note
that there is no culpable mental
state of INTENT anywhere in this passage.
Legal Definition
of : Gross Negligence:
n. carelessness which is in reckless disregard for the safety or
lives of others, and is so great it appears to be a conscious violation of
other people's rights to safety. It is more
than simple inadvertence, but it is just
shy of being intentionally evil. If one has borrowed or contracted to
take care of another's property, then gross negligence is the failure to
actively take the care one would of his/her own property. If gross negligence
is found by the trier of fact (judge or jury), it can result in the award of
punitive damages on top of general and special damages.
There you have it, Hillary
Clinton’s extremely careless behavior was the legal textbook definition of
Gross Negligence, with the exception that, after making the case, Director
Comey CHOSE not to use the exact words.
Understand that if you, or I, committed
any of the CRIMES outlined above, we would go to federal prison for a very long
time.
She has been cleared, not of
wrongdoing, but by a completely personal choice on the part of Director Comey not to pursue this matter, even though
it is not his choice to make.
Investigative agencies (in this
case the FBI) investigate and present their findings to prosecutorial agencies
(in this case the DOJ / Attorney General). It is the responsibility of the
prosecutor to determine whether they will proceed. However, in this case the AG, Loretta Lynch, took the unprecedented move of saying she would defer to the FBI, even though the case was still being investigated and she had just participated in a highly questionable meeting, with the subject of the investigation's husband, in a private plane for a social chat.
Hillary Clinton broke the law and
by very nature of the law she broke is disqualified from holding office, but
what the above tells you is that she
is above the law and that should send a chill down your spine.
I think I understand why they selected the day after Halloween as the enrollment day
for Obamacare. After being visited by all the ghouls and goblins at your doorstep,
you probably have a higher tolerance for scary shit. If not, you can always
self-medicate with candy.
I wrote about this topic back in 2010 and again in 2013,
during my angrier days, so my position has always been clear. I was very
critical of it and said why in these two posts: Health
Care Reform & HCR:
Why Do I Have A Problem With This, but I wasn’t alone on this topic. A lot
of folks, including Dr.
Barbara Bellar were also critical. Turns out, we weren’t wrong.
Now, I am one of the lucky ones, as I have coverage through
my former employer, so this really doesn’t impact me. However, I thought I
would share this comparison with you because it is pretty telling. I’m not
going to get into the minutia, because that’s just stupid. Numbers speak for
themselves.
From 2010 – 2015, I had BC / BS EPO. I had moved out of New
York, so I needed a plan that would give me nationwide coverage. With this plan
there were ZERO deductibles, just a co-pay. I went to whatever Dr. I wanted and
any facility / hospital I wanted. The monthly price in the beginning was just
under a $1k ($12,000 annually) a month. This covered EVERYONE in my family. In
2015 that monthly amount had gone up to just over $1,400 ($17,000 annually) and
we were notified to expect an increase. Obviously I don’t have thousands of
dollars to waste every year, so we switched back to our old insurance.
Now I pay only a few hundred, but the problem is that it is
NYC based medical, everything is out of pocket and I have substantial
deductibles. I guess if anything major happens it will be cheaper to fly back
to NY to get it taken care of.
Today, just for a laugh, we decided to check out the awesome
plans available to us through the ACA.
I would suggest that you grab that leftover bowl of candy
and a drink, preferably a (strong) alcoholic one, as you continue to read.
Remember the plan I had back in 2010 – 2015. I assume, based
on coverage, that it would be considered either a Gold or Platinum plan. That
is important to remember.
After we entered ALL the pertinent information we were
happily notified that we had several plans to select from. For the sake of this
post, I’m going to stick with the cheapest plan (Bronze) and not bore you with
the rest.
Long Story Short: For the incredibly low rate of only $1,800
a month ($21,600.00 annually), my family can enjoy the amazing benefits of medical insurance, which will all be
covered, AFTER we meet our annual family deductible of only $14,000.00.
Seriously?
I have to get a job making over $35,000.00 a year just to
pay for my medical insurance?
WTF?
I’m sorry, but you mean I could go back to my old (Gold /
Platinum) plan, see who I want, when I want, with a minimal ($15.00) co-pay and
pay thousands less than the Obamacare (Bronze) plan with a ZERO annual deductible………
???
Are you people in D.C. smoking Crack ???
This is what you get kids, when your elected representatives
don’t read something before they sign it into law. It is the reason that 70% of
Americans want this repealed. You were lied to.
That’s the traditional call of
the paper seller announcing breaking news. Back in the day it was usually a
serious news story, like war or a major criminal incident, today it heralds the
latest salacious bullshit that is being peddled to you by an ever growing partisan
media.
Really, It Sounds As Stupid As It Looks.......
Case in point, the latest ‘safe-space triggering’ comments by Donald
Trump.
Many of you know about my deep-rooted
loathing for coincidence. So it should
come as no shock that that this little nugget fell from the skies almost at the
exact same time that WikiLeaks dumped another treasure trove of documents
pertaining to Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mind you, this release comes on the heels of
the Guccifer 2.0 dump earlier in the week.
Can you guess which the main
stream media sought to capitalize on?
Yes, apparently ‘grabbing pussy’
is much more news worthy than the Democratic nominees admission, behind closed
doors, that her campaign is basically a lie. Well, at least as it pertains to
the little people she is trying to court.
Wake up people.
Is what Trump said crude? Yes.
Was it inappropriate? Probably.
Is it earth-shattering? No.
Is it limited to men? Hell No!
Anyone who is talking about how ‘upset’
they are about what Donald Trump said eleven years ago is either a liar, a social justice warrior or a practicing Puritan.
For them I have nothing, but for the
rest of the adult world: Grow Up.
Here’s a news flash, real people
talk that way. Hell, I talk that way and so do you.
Have we forgotten that this was a
private conversation? Have you never said things in a private conversation that
were, how shall we say: risqué? If someone ever played a highlight reel of all
the crude things I have ever said, stock in popcorn would jump 515% as folks
gathered around the TV screen to watch.
And if you think it’s just men that speak this way, I have
some news for you. Go to a male strip club one night. You’ll hear ‘church women’
say things that would make a Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer blush.
And where was the media’s moral indignation when Hillary
said "Come on Bill, put your dick
up! You can't fuck her here!"
I’m sorry, but this whole ‘I’m offended’ shit is a joke and
is wearing really thin. You know what I
am really offended by? This whole wussification
of America bullshit.
‘Donald Trump said something I don’t like…….’ Really, special snowflake,
did anything offend you in Fifty Shades of Grey? Because that happy little BDSM
romp, written by a woman mind you, sold like over eighty million copies,
prompted a sequel along with a movie, and I’m pretty sure there was a lot more
going on than ‘pussy grabbing.’
SHAMELESSS PLUG: As an author, I’d
like to point out that my
books also contain a bit of ‘adult reading’ as well……. You know, if you’re
not so easily offended.
We also have to come to terms
with an amazing double standard in this country. I have often lamented that the
concepts of hypocrisy and irony are lost on the left. The same folks who slam
Trump for saying mean things to women are the same ones championed Hillary for
standing by her man when he went through the vast Right Wing conspiracy to
undermine his presidency. The fact that he actual did the things he was accused
of and that she mocked and ridiculed the victims is apparently inconsequential.
Damn It, Stop Objectifying Me !!!
Nor is the fact that many of her
biggest supporters, you know, folks Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Kanye
engage in behavior that glorifies what Donald Trump spoke about. I’m sorry, but
I have a problem with being lectured on the issues facing this great Nation by
a guy who started out his life by selling drugs on the streets of Brooklyn. I would also like to point out the hypocrisy
of being lectured on the objectification
of women by a singer who engages in simulated sex acts during her show. Oh
Hannah Montana, how far thou have fallen.
That’s the hypocrisy.
The truth is that the media is
doing everything they can to shift your attention away from all the negative
information surrounding who THEY have decided must win.
When you look at the facts,
Hillary Clinton’s actions speak much
louder than Donald Trump’s words ever could.
We have real issues facing this
country, a lot of which Hillary
Clinton has been involved in, yet no one is focusing on them and I have to
wonder why. At the last debate, questions were raised about Donald Trump’s
taxes and a comment he purportedly made about Miss Universe back in 1996, but not one question
about illegal immigration, terrorism, or about the fire storm that is raging
throughout the Middle East.
Seriously? This is allegedly what
is passing for journalism in the twenty-first century?
Unfortunately, many of those
issues could legitimately be laid at Mrs. Clinton’s door, so I can understand
why no one wanted to go there.
The funny thing is that nothing
Trump did on his taxes was any different then what the majority of tax payers
do every year. The problem was the sum of the loss. HRC even used it to
question how smart Trump was, having lost nearly a billion dollars. What she
didn’t tell you was that the Clinton’s did the same thing on their taxes with a
nearly three-quarters
of a million dollar loss. She also doesn’t want to talk about the fact that
her State
Department still has six billion unaccounted for.
That’s the irony.
The latest release of documents
is being slammed, not for their content, but because those vile Russians are allegedly
behind it all. Think about that for a moment. Not what HRC and her closest
aides have done, but what those bad hackers have done.
This sums it up best: ZERO
accountability / ZERO responsibility – Focus the blame on someone else.
America is still struggling.
We are still facing desperate
financial times and we have illegal immigrants, along with terrorists,
streaming across our southern border. What does HRC have to say about that?
Well, according to a speech she gave to a Brazilian bank in 2013, this is how
she feels:
"My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open
borders, some time in the future with energy that is as green and sustainable
as we can get it, powering growth and opportunity for every person in the
hemisphere…. We have to resist, protectionism, other kinds of barriers to
market access.”
The truth is that HRC does not
care about you. You do not have the kind of money that she wants so you are
only going to get lip service. It’s not about America’s bottom line, but hers.
Here’s the truth about her
campaign slogan: Stronger Together.
She only needs you to elect her so that she can continue the relationships she
has built with Wall Street and the wealthy.
But now, even the Republican sharks
are circling the waters because of Donald Trump’s words……
What they don’t want you to know
is that they, politicians on both sides of the aisle, have been collectively grabbing
America’s pussy for decades and taking what they want. This fact seems to have
become lost to us and I have to believe that is by design.
At the end of the day, Trump
represents a threat to the political status quo and that scares the hell out of
them. Like the democrats, they are part
of the problem; the other side of the same coin if you will. I couldn’t care
less if they pull their support for Donald Trump, but I hope that they
understand I will be pulling my support for them. Just like Hillary Clinton
they have only needed me when they
want something, but they have to be threatened
to do the right thing when it doesn’t benefit them.
November 8th will be
historic. It will be a referendum on our political system. It will either be a
vote to maintain the political status quo, which has brought us to this place
we are in, or a vote to shake things up.
Before my budding career as a mystery / thriller author, I spent twenty-two years in law enforcement, fifteen of those as an investigator with the NYPD, both as a detective and sergeant.
Since my books tend to have an overt political tone to them, I tend to follow the current events of the day pretty closely, so you can imagine that I was glued to my TV set this morning when FBI Director
James Comey appeared before the Congressional Oversight Committee to answer
questions pertaining to the Hillary Clinton investigation, specifically whether
information she provided to them during her voluntary
interview showed that she lied to Congress in her testimony, which was under
oath.
I will admit that I didn’t have
much hope going into this. My prior post about Congress
abdicating its Constitutional role shows just how bad things have gotten in
Washington, but this morning’s testimony highlights the true extent.
Now, let me remind you that this
hearing was about Hillary Clinton’s testimony before Congress and the
subsequent testimony she gave during the investigation by the FBI. The reason
for this was that when she testified before Congress it was under
oath.
So after opening questions by the
Committee Chairman, what does the ranking member, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mi.) ask?
A question about the FBI
interview with Hillary? Nope.
Anything to do with the subject
of the current hearing? Nope.
No, Rep. Conyers thinks this is a
good time to address police shootings
and potential Russian connections for
Donald Trump.
See, this is exactly why people
have lost all faith in the political system. Congress, a co-equal branch of government, has
lost all credibility as it devolves deeper into the quagmire
of political party cheerleading.
Rep. Conyers, the senior member
of Congress, who has served since 1965,
has abandoned his duties as the representative of the people and has put his
party’s interests above the electorate. Let us be completely clear on this - There is certainly evidence that Hillary
Clinton perjured herself before congress.
Consider the following:
I have heard a lot of people, who
have never handled this type of material, make excuse after excuse about things
they know nothing about: Classification markings, retroactive classification,
whether there were markings, and I could go on forever. Understand one thing,
Hillary Clinton, the woman President Obama called the most qualified person ever,
was the Secretary of State. She knew, or should have known, whether the
information she dealt with was classified. Ignorance of the law is not a
defense and, repeat after me, you DO NOT need intent to commit the crime you
only have to do it.
It was not CIA Director, General
David Petraeus’, intent to jeopardize national security, but he was still charged
with providing classified information. He pled guilty to a misdemeanor and accepted
a plea deal of probation along with a $100,000.00 fine. Understand that
Petraeus’ mistress, Paula Broadwell, was a journalist, a Lieutenant Colonel in
the US Army and an Intelligence Officer.
Broadwell had the security clearance to handle classified information,
but was not given authority to remove the information “from authorized storage facilities” or
store the classified information “in
unauthorized locations,” according to the affidavit. Unfortunately for
her, her case wasn’t as cut and dry as the General. She lost her security clearence,
was demoted back to major, and is still in a state of limbo.
I’m sorry, but does anyone think
that what happened with Hillary Clinton and her staff was in any way different?
There were people with access to her emails that had NO security clearance.
Why was Hillary’s attorney and
chief of staff Cheryl Mills, given immunity in order to obtain her laptop, when
the same accommodation was not afforded Paula Broadwell? Hell the FBI gave four other people immunity
and no
one was prosecuted. Obviously Petraeus and Broadwell didn’t know the right
people.
In my twenty-two year law enforcement
career I have never seen an investigation,
by what we are told is the Nation’s preeminent investigatory agency, which was
so flawed on so many levels. To be fair, I don’t blame the rank and file
agents, but I do lay the blame at the foot of the Director and Attorney General
Lynch, who I am sure issued the marching orders. However, that is a topic for another day.
The key issue today is the travesty
that passes itself off as the people’s representatives. I don’t care what party
you belong to; just understand that your elected officials are not doing the job you
elected them to do.
This morning, Rep. John Conyers
highlighted what is fundamentally wrong with our government.
Understand that I draw no distinction to
party, if you can cite an example where a Republican representative did the
same thing I will agree with you 100%. Each of us must look beyond party politics;
we must expect our representatives to seek the truth, not to protect a political
ally. The letter after a name must never come before the truth. The
Rule of Law must prevail, because when it does not then the Rule of Man does and
when that happens this Republic is doomed.
If you’d like to stay up to date on the newest releases,
then please like my Facebook page
and feel free to follow me on Twitter.
Many of you are aware that, in addition to being a retired NYPD sergeant, I am also a political junkie and this plays a big role in some of the books that I have written.
This morning, I watched something
that I found to be profoundly disturbing to me, as it should be to the
overwhelming majority of Americans.
Congressional Oversight Committee
Chairman, Congressman Jason Chaffetz, was questioning FBI Assistant Director
Jason Herring, regarding the production and distribution of materials, relative
to Congress’ investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails. During the course of
his appearance, Agent Herring stated: “Director Comey tried to be as
transparent as he could with this committee.”
Stop for a moment and let that
sink in: “tried to be as transparent as he could..”
Folks, that should send a chill
through you. If it doesn’t, then the problem is greater than you could imagine.
How have we arrived to the point
where an arm of the government, specifically a federally law enforcement agency,
decides to become its own arbiter of what it will and will not provide to
congress?
I cannot begin to warn you of the
seriousness of this and the dire implications for our country going forward.
As many of you know, in the past
I have railed against the ‘party’ system as I believe that this political arrangement
is more of a detriment to us, driving a wedge of dissension between Americans.
I believe that we have a solemn responsibility to elect principled leaders, as
it is the only way our system works. But with each passing day I have come to realize
that the majority of Americans do not have a clue as to exactly how this system
of government works.
First, please understand that we
do not live in a democracy. I keep hearing people say that and I cringe. There
is a significant reason that the United States is not a democracy, best summed
up by founding father and future president, James Madison:
“Hence it is that democracies have ever been
spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with
personal security or the rights of property; and in general have been as short
in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths …” – Federalist
Papers, #10.
The truth is that democracy is
actually the antithesis of our government. In a democracy the majority can
decide to simply vote away things they don’t agree with, including your rights.
Ever hear the argument about common sense? Well, in a democracy, the majority
can take away any right by virtue of common sense….. you know, for the common
good. Sadly, many do not consider the implications of this. You might be part
of the in-crowd today, enjoying your moment in the sun, but remember that
tomorrow the political winds can shift and you may very well find yourself
looking down the barrel of the gun you helped create. We only have to look back
70 or so years at the rise and fall of Nazi Germany.
So the founding fathers took the
extraordinary path of creating the world’s first constitutional republic. It
established a constitution as the guiding principles, recognizing certain unalienable
rights to the citizens of this nation, and created a framework of co-equal
government that would insure these rights were not infringed upon.
The new government was founded
upon three co-equal branches: Executive, a bicameral Legislative (House of
Representatives and Senate) and Judicial. Without getting into the minutia, because
you should already know this, each has its own separate powers and was thought
to be the best system for insuring that one branch didn’t accumulate too much
power and attempt to exceed its granted authority.
Got that? This system was
designed to prevent one branch from gaining too
much power.
Checks and balances is what it is
called and a good example of this is that the legislative (Congress) has the
power to create laws. The executive (President) can veto any legislation, an
act which can be overridden by Congress, with sufficient votes. The
President nominates judges to the nation's highest judicial authority (Supreme
Court), but nominees must be approved by Congress. The judicial then has the
power to invalidate, as ‘unconstitutional,’ any law passed. The Congress also
has the power of the purse, the
ability to tax and spend public money for the national government. So if the
President does attempt an end-run to establish something the Congress does not
approve of, he won’t have the funding to do so.
This works well, at least in theory.
When George Washington was first
elected president in 1789 there were no political parties. This would soon
change with the Federalist Party in 1791 and, in the following year, the
formation of the Anti-Federalist Party or Democratic-Republicans. By his 2nd
term, party lines and loyalty in the Nation’s capital were drawn to the point
of bitterness and destruction. Personal and professional attacks became common
and they represented a serious threat to the new republic. Washington was
greatly concerned that the parties had sought to, and would again; seek more power
for themselves, using it to exact political revenge on their opponents.
Something he called the ‘alternate domination.’ When reading Washington’s Farewell
Address, it does not take much to see just how remarkably prophetic his
words were:
“The disorders and miseries which
result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute
power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some
prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns
this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public
liberty.”
Does any of this sound familiar?
Just as Washington predicted, two
hundred plus years ago, we are seeing the elevation of man, and party, over the
principled and faithful execution of law.
Party in-fighting, within the hallowed
halls of Congress, has diminished that body to nothing more than a cheerleader
for the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. A fact eloquently outlined in the accompanying statement by Rep. Trey Gowdy. And the judicial is not
very far behind, becoming more of an activist
judiciary instead of one that uses the Constitution as their guide.
But in the case of Congress, rather
than perform the role they were elected to do, by you, they are actually doing
the will of the party. This has to resonate with the electorate. If not, then
we are truly doomed.
Whatever your political
affiliation is, the current investigation into, Democratic Party nominee,
Hillary Clinton’s email servers has to be taken seriously. I spent most of my
career conducting criminal investigations. Unlike politicians and pundits who
try and couch their words, I can tell you unequivocally that crimes were
committed. Whether a decision was made to not prosecute for those crimes is not
the issue. Congress has, and should act upon, the authority to investigate this
matter, but as we see in the video above, forces are at play to impede it. An
agent of the executive branch, in this case the FBI, should not be allowed to
decide what they will or will not
share with the legislative branch tasked with oversight. That is chilling.
It is something that is even
occurring within lower federal courts where agencies are refusing to turn over
documents to the court.
How did we get to this place?
What happened to the rule of law and not man? Will the foundation that is being
laid now slowly trickle down to the rest of society? What will happen when
society chooses to fail to comply with a court order? Will the judge wring his
hands and bemoan his impotence to do anything? I don’t think so.
I truly believe that something
has to change in this country.
The government of the United States
represents the citizens or as Abraham Lincoln so eloquently put it: "Government of the people, by the
people, for the people…” We are their bosses and yet somehow we have abdicated
all control to the powers that be.
To be fair, they are not
completely at fault. We, the people, have become co-equal cheerleaders.
Lamenting when someone from the other
side does something wrong, yet turning a blind eye when it is our person. We simply cannot have
different rules for us and them.
If this continues down the path
it is going, we will not survive.
Congress has to stop ‘protecting’
people, because they belong to the same party, and start doing what their
bosses, the people, elected them to do. For our part, we have to be honest with
ourselves and understand that just because someone might have the same party
affiliation as us, doesn’t mean they are the best person for the job.
Unlike the vast majority of folks
reading this, I handled classified information at one time. Folks, this isn’t
an insignificant issue and it certainly isn’t a political one. Understand that
people have lost careers and have even gone to prison for far less than what
Hillary Clinton did, yet we are being told: ‘nothing here, move along.’ If it
were you or I, our lives would be ruined and our freedoms taken away. Don’t you
have a problem with that? Why is it, that by virtue of her place, in some type
of American political lineage, she is getting a free pass on something you or I
would spend a long time in prison for? Doesn’t this bother you at a fundamental
level?
Elections are about the
accumulation of power, not for you or me, but for the party. It is the reason
that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the two major party candidates for president
in 2012, spent close to $1.12 billion, a number which, by all estimates, will probably
be exceeded in this election cycle. All that money for a job that pays a paltry
annual salary of $500,000.00, give or take. Let that sink in for a moment. At
best, the next president, if they are in for two-terms (eight years), will have
earned about 4-5 million dollars. Hillary and Bill Clinton brought in five
times that total amount during one year of speaking engagements.
You still think this isn’t about
power?
It is time that you and I stand
up and demand that our representatives in Washington, D.C. start to do the job
they were elected to do, instead of abdicating it in favor of those with power.
If we don’t, then we have no one else to blame when the government comes
crashing down on top of us.
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I got up, just like I do every
September 11th, and looked outside.
I like rainy days, over cast
days, hot days, cloudy days, hazy days, every day other than the one I
that is forever seared into my brain.
I got up this morning early,
before the sun had come up, and stepped outside. Fifteen years ago I did the
same thing, heading out of the house before the sun had come up to do my tour
of duty as a city-election supervisor for the NYPD. That morning the air was
cool and crisp, a nice respite from the dog days of summer we had just gone
through.
As the sun came up over Brooklyn,
the darkness was chased away by shades of gold, and red and orange. The rising
sun turned the once black sky into a majestic blue, unmarred by any clouds. It
was a rich shade of blue that I will never forget, a color that looked as if it had been pulled directly from God’s pallet.
Had I seen it before? Probably,
but before September 11th it meant nothing. Now, I will take the
image to my grave.
So it was with trepidation that I
stepped outside, feeling the coolness of the air. As I grudgingly watched, sipping
my coffee, the sky once again began its transformation, chasing away the
blackness. As the sun took hold, the dew on the blades of grass were
transformed in to a field of sparking diamonds. Off in the distance the fog
rolled across the tops of the corn fields. It was a scene that, on 364 other
days, would be breathtaking in its scope and beauty. But this was day 365.
As I watched the sun rise, the
sky once again has turned blue and, try as I might, I can’t find a single cloud
in the sky.
As I write this, I watch the
clock, ticking off in my head mentally where I was on that fateful morning. My
travels will take my partner and I through the streets of Brooklyn to the hell
that was Manhattan on the morning of September 11th. Our
conversation will go from typical morning banter, laughs as we search for the
elusive ‘Vote Here – Aqui’ signs, which signaled our latest election poll target, to hearing the
first calls over our portable radio, and, after realizing we had been attacked,
heading in to Ground Zero, unaware of what we would face when we arrived and
saying goodbye to one another, just in case.
In just under a half hour from
now the 1st plane will have struck the North Tower….. and so the
memories will all come flooding back.
My partner and I were lucky that
day. We were spared the fate that so many others faced, due in no small part to
an elusive pack of cigarettes.
Today I mourn for my friends,
co-workers, and all those lost, not just at the World Trade Center, but at the
Pentagon and in the skies above Pennsylvania as well. I remember the bravery
that came through in the days and months after the attack; my heart beaming with
pride just because I was lucky enough that God choose me to be a member of the
greatest police department in the world, the NYPD. And I will forever carry in my heart and mind
the Department motto: Fidelis Ad Mortem (Faithful Unto Death)
But I also mourn for those who
died on the other September 11th Attack. And just as I will not forget the names of
Moira Smith, John Coughlin, Joe Vigiano, Rodney Gillis and all the other
members of the NYPD who died that day, I will also not forget the names: Christopher
Stevens, Sean Smith, Ty Woods and Glen Doherty. Nor will I forget those who,
laying aside everything else, rushed in to save them, accepting that it might
be their last day as well.
Those of us who survive such things
are torch bearers for the real heroes, the men and women who selflessly gave their
lives for their fellow man. We must never forget them and we must never let
their deaths be in vein.
So, today I will mourn, as I do
every September 11th. I will thank God for saving me and my partner that day,
thank him for having given me the opportunity to be a part of something so much
greater than myself and to be able to share my story, so that the true heroes
are never forgotten. On November 8th, 2016, I will honor those lost in Benghazi, making sure that they are Never Forgotten.
Someone recently asked me if I
thought we had learned anything from the attack. Sadly, the answer to that question is a resounding no. Just
like the warnings, the lessons are all there, we have just ignorantly closed the book. Blithely
choosing to bury our heads in the sands of political correctness; believing
that the old Beatles song ‘Love Is All You Need’ is the answer to all our ills.
It isn’t. You don’t have to agree with me, but my opinions are based on cold
hard fact, not fiction or personal desires.
God bless you all and may God
bless America.
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on the newest releases, then please like my Facebook page
and feel free to follow me on Twitter.
