Only the government would outsource itself

Published 05-20-21

While everyone is busy arguing about the new CDC directive on mask policies and vaccinations or riffing on UFO’s there have been some worrying developments regarding privacy and government spying not being talked about as much as they probably should be.

The more I read, the more my internal sirens started ringing, reaching DEFCON 1 in short order. Thankfully I saved links to re-read when my brain had quieted just a little and I could have a little more balanced take on what I was actually seeing.

It didn’t really help.

Because the first time through… well “hair on fire” might be too mild of a description.

Thankfully no small children were around, but I’m guessing the dogs learned some new words and phrases…. none of which can be printed here. And thankfully the canines can’t repeat them, otherwise I would have to try to have a tad more self control.

Each storyline got worse… and could make for a heck of a political thriller destined to top the best seller list.

Government contracting a private firm to spy on military members online in an effort to purge private dissent and obtain ideological purity within their ranks.

A secret military group, numbering in the thousands, deep undercover in everyday life infiltrating online forums and chat groups, reporting back to leaders in the Capitol and using psychological operations in furtherance of stated goals and missions.

Using government actors to illegally spy on oppositional political forces, including privileged legal communications, to usurp power and control from said opposition, culminating in backdoor warrants to cover tracks and motives.

It could be I’m spending too much time perusing conspiracy blogs… I guess if you count Newsweek and The Hill as tinfoil wearers. It might depend on the byline.

And since I haven’t seen any news consumption guidelines or government approved websites from the National Institute of Health or the FCC, I’m probably safe for now.

I could yammer on for awhile, at least half this column, about privacy protections enshrined in the constitution. About legal implications of the crackdown on freedom of speech, at the behest of the federal government, outsourced to private firms that are accountable to no one. About military operations occurring on domestic soil, and the implications of what those operations entail, especially in a society as divided as our own. About what a purging of military means in the near term and as part of the bigger picture.

These are big problems… whose solutions tend towards history altering inflection points.

The one thing I kept asking myself… who is going to stop any of it?

The current administration has zero checks on it’s power.

The media, quick to ask for sympathy and back pats in the “never ending news cycle of the Trump Administration” has largely checked out, only getting loud when the official government position isn’t left wing enough.

The opposition… who you think would have some problems regarding that whole spying on your political party thing… is too busy trying to get brownie points and appearances on networks who were just lobbying for their destruction as a political force during the A block.

The Constitution, for all the wisdom embedded in the painstakingly hand written lines, holds no power of enforcement. It is, after all, just words on paper hung up on a wall if a populace gives it no value.

Those who should be defending our enshrined rights… the advocacy groups, the politicians, and the last line of our defense against all of it… the military, are fully co-opted into the leftist orthodoxy.

Think I’m exaggerating?

All U.S. Army threat assessments will now include “climate change considerations” as a priority in line with policy of “The President and Secretary of Defense.” Quite the change from the bureaucratic red tape that met directives and orders from the previous administration.

No word on the environmental impact of a 20 year operation in the Middle East, curiously. Maybe one of the Department of Defense partner organizations can release a statement in support of the inclusive nature of our military and how much our soldiers like to experience nature at home and abroad.

That whole woke thing covers for a multitude of sins in current elite culture… where words are violence and riots are mostly peaceful.

You know what else I wondered in the midst of the hair on fire episode… if these are the lengths that government is willing to admit to taking – seemingly with the consent of a majority of Americans, what the heck else are they doing… that they aren’t?

•••

This is it… the last week of middle school. My little boy is now a young man… on his way to high school.

And selfishly, I wish I could go back to the beginning to experience it all one more time.

Thankfully there are grandsons running around here periodically, so I still get my quota of ferociously strong little boy hugs… even if Sam now gives me that teenager look when I tell him I love him… and to clean his room… for the fourth time in two hours.

It struck me how much Sam, and grandson Vincie had grown up when Vince and I watched them both on stage for the middle school’s drama club production of The Pirate Show last week.

Samuel played Captain Alberto Roughnight, the Spanish pirate leader… complete with dread locks and a mustache (that didn’t need enhancing). Sam left me to be surprised by his quite passable Spanish pirate accent, telling me he didn’t want any help running his lines when I’d ask.

Grandson Vincie pulled double duty as Constable Henry and later Prince Calvin… leader of the island the pirates wash up on, His comedic timing and slapstick portrayal of beat cop and long suffering boyfriend to the play’s antagonist was hilarious… while his favorite part of his costume changes was the Prince’s flashy leopard jacket he was hoping he might be able to take home after the theatre run.

Nope, they definitely aren’t toddlers asking for Oreo’s and launching Hot Wheels off the upstairs landing anymore.

Although Oreo’s are always appreciated if they find their way into the snack cabinet, and Hot Wheels seem to always make it into someone’s Christmas stocking from Santa.

Sometimes it’s easy to still see the little boys… even if they both think I’m “cringe” for being sentimental and reminding them of those little moments.

Though I did get teen points for even knowing what cringe was. After they wiped the shocked look off their faces.

It helps to keep them on their toes about what you know… or may know.

I think it might come in handy over the next few years.

Blinding Justice

Published 05-14-2020

My little corner of Twitter erupted over the past few days with news of Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell’s declassifying of who exactly in the Obama Administration unmasked American citizens from raw intelligence gathered before the 2016 election. And while the names have yet to be released, the delivery of that information to Attorney General Bill Barr added another piece to the puzzle of ObamaGate.

More than just an eruption, news of the declassification added to the volumes of information already publicly released, and paint a further picture of the depths to with partisan politics have failed the American people. In service to those partisan politics, to harnessing the power our government wields, the Obama Administration used every facet of the government structure and apparatus against those they perceived as enemies to secure that power consolidation.

When added to the Inspector General reports covering internal operation at institutions like the Department of Justice, the FISA Courts, the FBI, the IRS… I could go on, politicization and corruption of these apparatus are the most despicable, if only because of the power they hold over American’s lives.

Taking away someone’s freedom, the ability to jail someone or to take their life as punishment, while ensuring the public trust those making the claims of wrongdoing. These cornerstones of trust, of our very social contract, have been shattered by the actions of those we asked to lead. These cornerstones have been eroded throughout decades, not just by those greedy for power but also by blindness to injustice, apathy and evil. And it started long before anyone reading this was born.

It was done by administrations chipping away, from both the left and right, in service to their ends and not our own. But it was sharpened and honed all the same, and used unmercilessly against all who challenged it. Good people were caught up, like General Michael Flynn. Also some not good people, like Paul Manafort.

And it doesn’t make any of it right.

It does no service to justice, that it can be wielded capriciously, or for one’s personal ends. A system is only as good as what you put it into it, and, well, we didn’t choose well. Not that we had great choices, and some were necessary choices, but by and large we do not look for Washington and Adams, Jefferson and Madison. Men and women who make the hard choices, speak the hard truths and follow with the hard actions. Those who serve something bigger than themselves.

We elect personalities beholden to donors who serve the interests of those interested. We elect public relations creations, and pay no attention to the men behind the curtain. We allow cheap marketing and bumper sticker slogans to create division within our friends and family, outrage over problems created by the very government pledged to fight it and then outrage again over the solutions.

I know we still create those men and women. They lead our families, our churches, our communities. They serve when asked, or not, however they can. The quiet strength of Americans always survives. We value justice, and fairness. Bigger cornerstones that government corruption can not touch as long as there is an American public.

A government so vast, to have the ability to spy on it’s political domestic enemies undeterred, can be turned on any one of us, at any time. Beyond what that meant for President Trump, Senator Cruz, Senator Sanders, Senator Rubio and Secretary Carson, among others, who all were spied on in the course of the 2016 election season. Beyond the politics of it, as a citizen it is horrifying.

Unwinding all of it won’t be an easy task, nor will it earn a lot of accolades.

In fact, in certain circles it will be downright unpopular.

Doesn’t mean it all doesn’t need to happen.

We can not have a functioning country, at least one that isn’t completely dysfunctional, with a justice system that flourishes in injustice. And sadly, at this point, I don’t even know that everyone could begin to agree on what justice even is. But I do know that recent actions are just a start. Just as I know that it will never be enough to right all the wrongs.

That’s a sad commentary on the state of things, one I hope we can improve.

••••••••

Tuesday brought the release of Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats next attempt at Corona related relief. Weighing in at $3 trillion and 1,800 pages, only the staffers know what kind of garbage we are going to find wrapped up in relief dollars if the HEROES Act makes it to President Trump’s desk.

Unlike the usual order, which if I’m completely honest went out the window around the time the Dodo went extinct, no committee hearings or town halls were necessary for the formation of this legislation. In fact, I’d bet the number of Congressmen and women to read the whole bill before they vote on it could be numbered on one hand.

It’s not that I expect more from House Democrats, no, they are being pretty true to form. Or from Senate Republicans, as they too have been pretty true to form, most responsive to corporate and big business interests, Main Street be damned. At the end of the day, the American middle class can’t expect either side to actively work for their interests or well being. And we get shown that time and again. One of these times we might actually learn.

Maybe, just maybe, we could elect a Congress that has ideas to improve America instead of throwing money we don’t have to people who have access to plenty of it already. Maybe we can elect more people like Congressmen like Tom Massie (Kentucky) who introduced the PRIME Act to streamline burdensome regulations that constrict meat producers and processors, giving US farmers and ranchers more freedom to sell their product locally. Not that the legislation has any chance of passing in the current House, but more legislation like this is necessary for the America we will be after the crisis of COVID-19 has become part of the everyday experience.

We have to look ahead, to help be part of the solutions that will make our communities better, in spite of what our leaders do and say. We have to create the climate for self sufficiency and actual prosperity, not the corrupted version of reality that we have been sold.

Continuing delusions on Capitol Hill

Tuesday morning brought Attorney General William Barr to Capitol Hill to testify before the Appropriations Committee in the House of Representatives. Of course, appropriations were the furthest thing from the minds of a good portion of congressional members, with the prominent lines of questioning centering on the recently concluded Mueller Special Council Investigation.

Many of those congressmen wanted to know, and were demanding the full report Robert Mueller issued, without any redactions for grand jury testimony, or other information necessary for use in prosecutions, as proscribed by federal law.

They wanted to harangue the Attorney General, trying to insinuate that his allegiance was to President Trump, and not the rule of law.

Of course, Democrats want the full report because they think there will be information embarrassing to the President and his supporters. And I am sure there is plenty there that is unsavory. My bet is nothing so unsavory that it would make me feel better about the over $35 million dollars spent on this ridiculous fishing expedition.

I hope that eventually Americans will be able to see all the information that Special Counsel Mueller found. We, as American citizens, deserve a full and honest accounting of all facets of what came from the FBI’s Operation Crossfire Hurricane, when it is legally responsible to do so. According to the law.

By the way, that full and honest accounting also includes how all this insanity began.

The unholy network of reporters and their favored sources, including those sources in federal law enforcement who felt the need to investigate the President because they did not like his stances on foreign policy, need to be aired for all of the public to see.

The cloud of the Mueller investigation has hampered President Trump at every step since taking office, and on every policy.  Now the goalposts have moved into a larger governmental conspiracy to hide and muddy the waters against Trump on the question of obstruction, designed to hamper the next two years into election season.

The Attorney General is no fool, nor is he new to the machinations of D.C.’s professional political class, commonly referred to as the Swamp. He’s been there, done that before. And it seems his patience regarding political shenanigans is more limited this time around.

Beyond the seemingly never-ending Mueller conversation, which will magically conclude the day Trump leaves office, Barr was able to cover a number of interesting topics during his testimony, as mush as the Democrats allowed him to talk about fiscal and appropriation issues regarding his testimony on Tuesday.

Human and sex trafficking, illegal immigration, and federal law enforcement funding were on the table during discussions on a $30 Billion budget for department operations.

AG Barr was not the only show on the Hill Tuesday. Nor is the Mueller report the only delusion  wildly festering in the swamp.

New immigration numbers for March were released Tuesday morning from Customs and Border Patrol. In March there were 92,000 apprehensions of 58,000 family units 30,000 single adults and almost 9,000 unaccompanied children. Over 103,000 apprehensions in one month. And it shows no signs of slowing down, but actually increasing more.

Beyond being unsustainable by just the numbers, the continuation of immigration policies that have failed repeatedly can not continue.

Congress has no need to though, nor do Republicans in the pocket of Big Business. Both for reasons that do not benefit Americans, but themselves.

Crony capitalism and electoral power outweigh American interests, and have been for longer than I have been alive.

I am encouraged by President Trump’s current shake up of the Department of Homeland Security. I liked Kirstjen Nielsen, but was not impressed with her tenure. President Trump likes staff who take charge and move forward. Nielsen was not that person at DHS. She was flatfooted in defending agency positions, or clearly stating how and why policies were started and formed.

She’s a bureaucrat, not a fighter.

On immigration, Trump has always wanted a fighter. Someone who knew how to handle the issues and Congress in an effective manner. She was not it.

There was no leadership on how things should be fixed, beyond platitudes. There is no true belief in the President’s policies or preferred actions on the border. And it showed.

The seriousness of the problem we have on our Southern Border is not going away, either as a humanitarian issue or as a campaign platform. In the mean time, everyone will suffer under policies that are not fit to today’s needs, but trying to solve problems we had 50 years ago.

My money is still on Trump. Especially now that the Russia question has been answered for what seems like the 500th time.

Published April 11, 2019

The optics of an invasion, er…caravan

Scenes from the United States southern border near Tijuana, Mexico, were hard to miss over the weekend, as protests inside Mexico heated up. Some in the migrant caravan decided that their asylum accommodations were lacking so they decided to try entering the United States in a less formal, and less secure area.

Sunday a group of migrants, a majority of them male, stormed the border. This was after President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security closed a large portion of the border entry into California at San Ysidro after hearing rumors of migrants rushing the border crossing to get through, and major media personalities telling us that the migrants just want to claim asylum and would never try to overwhelm or bypass legal methods of immigration.

As in the not so distant past, these migrants were met by border patrol officers who defended the American border with non-lethal methods. Usually tear gas or pepper spray. Don’t get me wrong, both can be nasty, but neither are deadly or have long-lasting effects. In fact, for the agents to be authorized to use the spray, they must undergo training that includes being subjected to the spray and gas themselves.

By the way, the agents only used pepper spray after being hit with projectiles, namely rocks and bottles, from the purportedly peaceful migrants who broke off from protests against the asylum process.

Much hay was made by both media and politicians about Border Patrol agents, and President Trump “gassing migrants, including women and children.” Even worse, it occurred on Thanksgiving weekend, which I guess only adds insult to injury for a populace that doesn’t actually celebrate Thanksgiving. Congresswoman Barbara Lee called for UN inspectors to come to watch the situation on the border for “human right violations”… yes, you read that correctly.

For those of us actually living in the real world, Mexican authorities have detained many of the protesters who tried to storm the border, reportedly already deporting over 100 of the migrants. They have vowed to deport all migrants who attempt to illegally enter the United States.

I honestly wonder what those complaining would suggest agents do when faced with hundreds of people trying to enter our country in an illegal and unauthorized fashion while brandishing rocks. Maybe just roll out the red carpet and pass out champagne? It would make just as much sense as those that argue for open borders and free migration throughout the Americas.

Of interest to me was whether or not agents were using methods to deter migrants that were out of the norm from past practices. Because the amount of news coverage, and it’s tenor, seemed to convey that this was way outside the boundaries of usual practices.

Conveniently, The Washington Times did the research for me, and they reported that in fiscal year 2013 pepper spray was used 151 times (a decade high number of occasions) as compared to 43 times in fiscal year 2018. In fact, tear gas was used approximately once a month at the border during the Obama administration.

In the midst of all of the protests the American and Mexican governments came to an agreement on how to process the asylum claims of not just the migrants who arrived in this first caravan, but also the others who are on their way. This agreement allows for migrants to stay in Mexico while claims are processed.

Many Mexican citizens have lost patience with the migrants after repeated clashes between the caravan members and Mexican police. What is also more than a little galling, Mexico has offered asylum and jobs to the migrants, and while some have taken the offer many refused, hedging their bets on gaining asylum in the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security released a report Monday night detailing what we are getting with the caravan, or at least this first phase. Over 600 migrants have been identified as convicted criminals. And no these aren’t little process crimes, but assault, battery, burglary, rape, child abuse and more. It includes people who are trafficking children not their own. It is predominantly male, and women with children are used as human shields for both the media and law enforcement.

Could there be better optics for the open borders crowd than everyone plastering pictures of border patrol agents firing rubber bullets and tear gas canisters at women and children?

I would imagine that DHS has people embedded inside the caravan. It would be the responsible thing to do, especially since it is known that Middle Eastern terrorists have been caught trying to enter the U.S. through the southern border. In fact, there have been over 15 known terrorists caught trying to enter or actually entering the US this way since Sept. 11. Most have been affiliated with al-Shebaab and Hezbollah.

This isn’t meant to cause fear. But is is unrealistic to think that every single person trying to enter our country has our nation’s best interests at heart. We must have a conversation about what level of legal immigration we can accept and assimilate. The constant push of immigration activists to overwhelm an already overburdened system can not continue without major repercussions to our society and the little cohesion we have left.

I am going to just assume, that like with the child separation policy hysteria, this is a new moral crisis for many of our fellow citizens on the left.

As with with most issues during the Trump presidency, the media and the left (I know, I am repeating myself) cry wolf loudly and repeatedly at every turn that this is the policy or scandal that will “literally kill millions” and bring Trump down.

At some point they could even turn out right, but will anyone even be paying attention?

Published November 29, 2018

Dealing on DACA, a Shutdown Showdown

Much hay has been made over the last week regarding the President’s supposed comments during negotiations with Congressmen and Senators discussing a DACA deal.

The comments – referencing the conditions of countries such as Haiti and parts of Africa were, well, not polite in any sense, but closer to the truth than many politicians would care to admit.

DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) was enacted in 2012 by President Obama via executive action after Republicans won the majority in the 2012 elections. It allowed illegal immigrants who were brought into the United States by their parents to apply for protection from deportation. To qualify these “children” had to be under the age of 16 when they entered the country and had to pass a background check. The permits were renewable every two years, and allowed the individual to study or work in the US.

These “children” had to be living in the US since 2007 and could not be older than 30 when the action was enacted in 2012. Since DACA went into effect, approximately 800,000 received the permits, and approximately 700,000 were covered when President Trump announced that he would be ending the program effective March 5, 2018. Of note, individual permits will remain in force until they expire, and DHS (the Department of Homeland Security) is allowing a one-month window for people who have expiring permits before March 5 to re-apply for a renewal.

If I remember correctly, DACA (and the companion DAPA – Deferred Action for Parent Arrivals – which was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court) was announced by Obama with a flourish – and a nod to his pen and phone. This was right after the Constitutional Law professor said he couldn’t undertake these types of actions unilaterally, so naturally he did just that.

At the time, Republican and conservative pundits broadcast – loudly – that what is given by the pen can be rescinded by the pen of the next president. Of course, the prevailing wisdom in D.C. since DACA was signed (and even before that to be honest) was that Hillary would be our next president, so DACA was never in danger, and wouldn’t need a legislative fix.

Well, look how that turned out.

President Trump made immigration, of all kinds – legal or illegal, his central campaign issue. From the moment he stepped on the gold escalator and talked about bad hombres it was perfectly clear where the president stood regarding a long argued policy. For those in doubt, the “big beautiful wall” was first and foremost on Trump’s to-do list.

Well, we all remember how accepting the political class was to these totally new ideas – I mean budget approval for a wall, or double layered fencing, was first approved in 2006. It was also a nail-biter of a vote – only 80 out of 100 senators voted for it. Those senators voting yes included notable racists Joe Biden, Barbara Boxer, Chris Dodd, Chuck Shumer, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

My how times change! I mean, seriously, life comes at you fast!

Fast forward to today. Every step President Trump has taken on immigration – whether the travel ban or wall has been met with calls of “RACIST” and running to the courts for an end around of the president’s executive duty.Well, that hasn’t really worked out either, as each successive round of courts has ended up ruling in favor of the president, excluding the completely delusional ninth circuit which is 99% guaranteed to rule against the president because… Trump.

I’m not even going to get into the whole sanctuary city/state shenanigans. But note that DHS is watching, and planning on having some “conversations” with leaders who make it harder for ICE to keep our country safer – as well as major sweeps, of which California will be included – whether state leaders want it or not.

Now the democrats in the Senate are threatening to shut down the government if they do not get a clean DACA fix. No negotiations, no conditions or compromises. Trump, for his part will not budge on wall funding, ending the diversity lottery and reforming our broken immigration system to a merit based one in exchange for signing a DACA law. So, the showdown begins.

But at the end of the day, President Trump knows why he was elected… and he plans to deliver.

Elected democrats are not used to a Republican president that has a spine. In all fairness, most citizens aren’t either, since it’s been so long since we’ve seen one.

 

Published January 18, 2018

A Historic Week, with More than a Few Hiccups

After 11 days in office, President Trump has been off to a roaring start, using Executive Branch orders to make good on campaign promises and reverse policies from the last eight years while Congress gets to work on a long list of legislation aimed at improving our economy and jobs.

The content of much of the seven Executive Orders and 11 Presidential Memorandums has hardly been surprising to anyone who listened to any of Trump’s campaign speeches. Hiring freezes, deportation of illegal immigrants that have committed crimes, repealing onerous business and consumer regulations, and lobbying limits for political appointees are just a few of the topics broached by Trump.

In addition, he has held meetings with corporations and small business owners, car companies, union leaders, Congressional leadership and more. Oh, and the first foreign head of state dropped by too. It has been a sight to behold.

But, lost in the sometimes dizzying releases by the White House was the organization and discipline that is necessary when overseeing the Executive Branch and the myriad of appointees and agencies that must follow through on said orders.

Friday afternoon saw the signing of Trump’s Immigration Order in regards to refugee and green card entry to the United States. Within a few minutes the confusion began to bloom as to what exactly the order did, and no one in the media had the actual text of the order. This wasn’t helped by the timing of the release, coming when Washington, D.C. usually dumps the info that it doesn’t want seen.

The White House did not want to telegraph their position to the rest of the world, or to allow time for travel by those with nefarious purposes. Totally understandable in the leak happy world of DC.

What is not okay is to not have the agencies responsible for implementing the policy be ready to direct personnel, clarify the new directive and answer questions for those doing the work on the ground.

What would have been the normal and expected political grumbling about Republicans hating immigrants turned into protests at major airports around the country and back and forth answers from the Administration about who the policy affected.

Once the text of the order came out, and explanations were given to Border Control and DHS employees, things went a little more smoothly. The order was well short of a Muslim Ban as it was portrayed. All travelers that were affected had been processed through the weekend, and the Administration announced Monday that another 872 refugees were processed for entry this week.

All this order did was put a temporary pause on migration from specific countries that have previously been designated so administration and cabinet officials have a chance to review current policy and try to improve and strengthen the process.

Maybe most of these procedures are already good, maybe better technology and a different outlook could improve some outdated policies. Isn’t it prudent to find out?

Once some of the dust settled Monday, the administration blamed Congress, and more specifically, Senate Democrats for using procedural maneuvers to slow down the confirmation process for most of Trump’s picks.

No, this isn’t only Congress’s fault, and the battle wound was self inflicted.

I personally expect better from President Trump and advisors Conway, Kushner, Preibus and Bannon. Yes, not having the complete staff because appointments are being held up is not optimum. Welcome to the dysfunction that is our nation’s capitol. Deal with it.

What did Team Trump expect? On January 20th Trump doubled down on his proverbial war on the establishment in front of an international audience during his inauguration speech. No step on this path will be easy, but they can’t make it harder for themselves. But for Trump voters, that’s why he’s there.

Now, instead of things calming down just a little so cooler heads could prevail, the Acting Attorney General (and an Obama appointee holdover) issued a directive saying that Department of Justice lawyers to not enforce the immigration order. Not because it was unlawful or unconstitutional (which AG’s can refuse to support by law), but because it “wasn’t right” and she didn’t agree with it.

Guessing no one betted the constitutional crisis that we were told was sure to come from a Trump presidency would be because the AAG was subverting her job and the duly elected President because she didn’t like the election results.

Of course she was fired. There was no other choice for the administration.

And now Team Trump gets to talk about getting nominees approved, again. Sometimes it’s convenient how quick the narrative changes!

 

Published February 2, 2017