I had always imagined that when a new President was elected, the staff of the previous Administration would pack up and vacate during the weeks before the inauguration. Actually, its not that simple. A great many former staffers do move on before the new President makes himself home in the White House, but invariably some folks are obliged to hang around, in order to ensure a smooth transition with regards to certain sensitive positions. The goal is, with few exceptions, to eventually have an entirely new team in place within the first few months. Managing the various government agencies is a completely separate matter. Although the new Administration is expected to appoint its own folks to run the Central Intelligence Agency, the Justice Department (Attorney General), Homeland Security, and other vital government agencies, its assumed that most management level positions belong to career employees who have been promoted on merit. Basically, this allows the various agencies to continue functioning as before, but with a new Director who is more in-line with the intentions of the incoming President. In both instances, outgoing personnel have traditionally been on their best behavior with regards to supporting the new Administration, so as to keep the Executive Branch functioning without too much confusion. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has been forced to deal with illegal behavior on he part of personnel who did not move on prior to the Inauguration, and serious opposition from within the Intelligence Community and Federal Law Enforcement. This development has no precedent, with the last such behavior in my memory being the removal of all the "W's" from the computer keyboards by Bill Clinton staffers, as a welcome to incoming President George "W" Bush. What President Trump is facing is much more serious, and hopefully will be investigated by the FBI.
Since President Trump took office, he has been subject to one leak after another. Confidential information that has come from within the White House has somehow found its way onto the pages of the Washington Post and the New York Times. I think its safe to assume that the leaks are being generated by a few "leftovers" from the Obama Administration, unless we are expected to believe that Trump's own folks are already attempting a coup of some sort. Any confidential information that originates in the White House is on its face classified, therefore whoever has been sharing that information with journalists has broken the law. I wish I could say that the FBI has jumped at the opportunity to protect the incoming Administration, but I'm not really sure at present what to make of the Department of Justice. You see, the Trump Administration is dealing with leaks coming from the Justice Department as well, not to mention the Intelligence Community. Since last November, the press has had very disturbing access to details of ongoing investigations into alleged Russian attempts to impact the 2016 campaign. Forgive me for being "old school", but shouldn't the FBI and the Intelligence Community wait until its investigations are complete before commenting? What is most troublesome is the politicization of the process. Up to now, according to James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, not one shred of evidence has been uncovered that indicates Trump personnel were aware of or involved with Russian activities regarding the 2016 campaign. So why has the media been able to headline this "fake" story for months on end? Because of leaks from within the investigative authorities. All that was needed was notification from the Bureau that certain investigations were underway, and confirmation from the Intelligence Community that Russia was trying to fiddle with the campaign, to put the Trump Administration on a "media-trial" for treason within the first month following the inauguration.
The best way for the new Administration to deal with this problem is to remove any and all Obama personnel as the earliest opportunity. Its just as important for the Administration to clean house in the various government agencies as well. During the last eight years, a flood of honest, patriotic officers in both Federal Law Enforcement and the Intel Community chose early retirement because of dissatisfaction with the Obama Administration. Just last year, I recall a number of reports indicating the high-rate of turnover with regards to FBI supervisory personnel. If I'm correct, then the Trump Administration should reach out to these officers, and ask them to return. It shouldn't be difficult to determine who in DC is willingly trying to impede the efforts of the new Administration, and if they are using their job in such a manner, then they should be removed immediately. In eight years, President Obama and the Democrats were successful in seeding every government agency with political appointees who may not have known diddly-squat about their new jobs, but certainly understood their marching orders. No doubt the rank-and-file of Federal Law Enforcement and the CIA continue to do yeomen's work, sacrificing and defending the nation despite all these distractions. The problem is limited to a few individuals who feel justified in doing what they can to disrupt the efforts of the new Administration. Trump needs to root out these folks at IRS, Homeland Security, the Justice Department, and the Intelligence Agencies to promote personnel whose priority is to serve the American people, not obfuscate and meddle for political purposes. Again, there are many former officers who are anxious to return, to further the goals of national security and provide the American people with fair and honest work. I should know, I happen to be one of those officers.
Friday, March 10, 2017
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Without the media, the Democratic Party might just cease to exist.
Donald Trump has been in office less than two months, and efforts to impede his Administration show no signs of abating. Late in the 2016 presidential campaign, the press asked candidate Trump if he would be willing to accept a Hillary Clinton victory. Its becoming more and more apparent every day that the press should have been addressing the question to candidate Clinton and lame duck President Barack Obama, because the left is determined to impede all Trump efforts to establish a working government. Aside from the anticipated nasty, rude, and politically motivated questions asked of Trump appointees, Congressional Democrats have besmirched the reputations of former friends and colleagues. Since it became obvious that Donald Trump would win a substantial electoral victory, the left has resorted to one road block after another. In the beginning, these efforts were little more than sideshows, as recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania actually added to the Trump victory. While Elizabeth Warren and her flock of progressive activists were getting plenty of media exposure, the Democratic establishment, no doubt to include Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, circled the wagons and crafted a strategy to at least cripple the new administration. This plan includes making use of every political opportunity to stall and embarrass President Trump, and also relies heavily on the military arm of the Democratic Party, the media.
Last week, President Trump made the mistake of sending out an angry message on his Twitter account. Trump has seriously difficulty refraining of shooting out Tweets when he seems to be the most frustrated, and I'm not the only American who wishes he would hang up his Twitter account for good. The message to which I refer openly accused former President Obama of wiretapping Trump's office in Trump Tower last year during the 2016 presidential campaign. When I read the Tweet, I immediately understood that Trump was referring to the Obama Justice Department as being responsible for the alleged wiretap, but the media as literally as possible, and CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post and the New York Times published the story as a direct accusation from President Trump to President Obama. We will eventually discover that indeed there was a wiretap in Trump's office, and I'm guessing it will be connected to a Justice Department FISA approval signed by a Judge, and justified by concerns of Russian interference in the campaign. I think we will also discover that Attorney General Jeff Sessions was also the target of a FISA wiretap, hence the leaked information that he had a meeting with the Russian Ambassador when he was still serving as a U.S. Senator. Regardless of the investigations and the leaks, not one shred of evidence has been discovered that points to the Trump Campaign's involvement or knowledge of Russian efforts to impact the campaign. What the media should be most concerned with are the never ending leaks coming out of this new Administration, all of which are obviously intended to damage President Trump. Before all is said and done, someone is going to ask, "where is the evidence of illegal or unethical behavior by the Trump Campaign as it relates to Russia?" The media and the Democrats can't produce the evidence so they focus on Trump's unfortunate Tweet(s). Again, when will the Feds start focusing on the countless illegal leaks that are coming out of both the Administration and the Justice Department?
For eight years, Conservatives such as yours truly, followed established protocol for the political opposition. I didn't hesitate to express my disagreement with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's New Start Treaty, President Obama's precipitous removal of the U.S. military from Iraq in 2010, Obamacare, the appointment of unqualified political activists to the Supreme Court, Federal involvement in the Gay Marriage issue, the Treaty with Iran and subsequent, sneaky one-hundred forty million dollar payoff, and many other actions taken by the Obama Administration. I wrote blog posts and spoke publicly when the opportunity presented itself, and in 2012, I volunteered on behalf of the Romney campaign. I did not assault Pinata-effigies of President Obama, nor I did not refer to him as a Nazi or any other derogatory name (does Socialist count?). Were we idiots for not protesting in the streets and breaking windows? I hope not. What I do know is that we played by the rules, waiting patiently until 2016 and the opportunity to put the nation on a different course. We won the 2016, and had every right to anticipate the opportunity to see our ideas and our leaders put into action. But somewhere in DC, in mid-November and December 2016, the Democrats were putting together a plan to disrupt the will of the American people by making it impossible for Donald Trump to govern.
The issue of Russian interference in the 2016 elect has been carried from one goal-line to the next by an aggressively partisan media, which provides us with a perfect example of what the Democrats intend to do. During Congressional Confirmation Hearings, Attorney General Jeff Sessions was asked by Minnesota Senator Al Franken (a guaranteed embarrassment for Minnesota year after year) if Sessions had any knowledge regarding Trump officials and contact with the Russian government. Sessions replied that he did not. Since that time, it has been determined that Sessions met the Russian Ambassador with a group of other dignitaries at the GOP Convention, and had a one-time personal meeting with the Ambassador at his offices in DC. Sessions claims that the meeting in DC was in the context of his responsibilities as a U.S. Senator, and not as someone affiliated with the Trump campaign. Two other U.S. military officers were present at the meeting, during which, according to Sessions, nothing remotely related to the election was discussed. Thanks to the media, the issue is no longer about Russia trying to impact our election, but about a Trump appointee "committing perjury" (my quotation marks). More than a handful of Democrats have publicly called for Sessions to resign, and even more are requesting an Independent Counsel! How easy it is for these career politicians to waste taxpayer money. The hypocrisy is reaching levels never before seen. Do you remember when Bill Clinton and Attorney General met on the Tarmac at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, when, coincidentally, the Justice Department was knee-deep into Hillary Clinton's server investigation? The Independent Counsel Act was written for just such a circumstance. To the person, the Democrats opposed an Independent Counsel for Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and today, to the person, they are calling for an Independent Counsel for Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The daily barrage of leftist propaganda has found a permanent home on the front pages of the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, and just about every other newspaper that represents a major metropolitan area, not to mention the countless blogs and internet sites. When I was younger, I realized that the press tended to side with liberal causes, but over the past decade, the issue has lost all sense of perspective. The last non-aligned study that I reviewed listed the bias at something near 88% pro-Democrat; and the press wonders why they are no longer trusted. There was a time when unabashed bias would put a newspaper out of business. People can discern when someone is trying to sell them a load of horse crap, and what do you know, subscriptions would crash. Things have changed, folks. Today, newspapers are rarely exclusively dependent upon their own sales to survive. Companies like the Hearst Corporation own a number of papers, and success in one location can offset failure in another. Also, big money has become more involved with the media. To put it bluntly, newspapers are no longer dependent upon the bottom line. The NY Times has been in a downward spiral for years, and the Washington Post isn't breaking subscription records either. The owners of some of the nation's biggest newspapers are much more interested in promoting a particular message than they are in profit margin. The same can be said for CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News, and MSNBC. Since its arrival roughly two decades ago, Fox News has rewritten the instruction manual for televised news. Actually, Fox News is the one News source that attempts to regularly provide a representative for both political perspectives. Its true that Fox News does have a conservative orientation, and thank goodness. The score is still eight or nine to three (Drudge and Rush Limbaugh certainly deserve a mention, but Breitbart is still finding its footing). The fact the Fox News routinely destroys the opposition when it comes to viewership is a clear indication that conservatives watch the news as well.
While waging war with both the media and the Democrats, the Trump Administration appears more determined than ever to follow through with its campaign promises. Thank goodness that I have lived long enough to see a candidate keep his word with such sincerity. I support delaying refugee resettlement for ninety days, until Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Intelligence Community are able to ensure that we aren't welcoming terrorists into our communities. The media and the Democrats continue to characterize this effort as a "ban on Muslims". The Times, the Washington Post, Pelosi, and Schumer need a dictionary so they can look up the meaning of the word "ban". What Trump is attempting to do has been done before, including by President Obama, albeit on a smaller scale. In fact, the country targeted by Obama was also a Muslim nation, not that it matters to the media or a number of liberal, activist Judges. The Trump Administration needs to put a moratorium on Twitter and stay solely focused on following through with the promises made during the 2016 campaign. Those promises put President Trump in the White House, and the American people expect results.
Last week, President Trump made the mistake of sending out an angry message on his Twitter account. Trump has seriously difficulty refraining of shooting out Tweets when he seems to be the most frustrated, and I'm not the only American who wishes he would hang up his Twitter account for good. The message to which I refer openly accused former President Obama of wiretapping Trump's office in Trump Tower last year during the 2016 presidential campaign. When I read the Tweet, I immediately understood that Trump was referring to the Obama Justice Department as being responsible for the alleged wiretap, but the media as literally as possible, and CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post and the New York Times published the story as a direct accusation from President Trump to President Obama. We will eventually discover that indeed there was a wiretap in Trump's office, and I'm guessing it will be connected to a Justice Department FISA approval signed by a Judge, and justified by concerns of Russian interference in the campaign. I think we will also discover that Attorney General Jeff Sessions was also the target of a FISA wiretap, hence the leaked information that he had a meeting with the Russian Ambassador when he was still serving as a U.S. Senator. Regardless of the investigations and the leaks, not one shred of evidence has been discovered that points to the Trump Campaign's involvement or knowledge of Russian efforts to impact the campaign. What the media should be most concerned with are the never ending leaks coming out of this new Administration, all of which are obviously intended to damage President Trump. Before all is said and done, someone is going to ask, "where is the evidence of illegal or unethical behavior by the Trump Campaign as it relates to Russia?" The media and the Democrats can't produce the evidence so they focus on Trump's unfortunate Tweet(s). Again, when will the Feds start focusing on the countless illegal leaks that are coming out of both the Administration and the Justice Department?
For eight years, Conservatives such as yours truly, followed established protocol for the political opposition. I didn't hesitate to express my disagreement with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's New Start Treaty, President Obama's precipitous removal of the U.S. military from Iraq in 2010, Obamacare, the appointment of unqualified political activists to the Supreme Court, Federal involvement in the Gay Marriage issue, the Treaty with Iran and subsequent, sneaky one-hundred forty million dollar payoff, and many other actions taken by the Obama Administration. I wrote blog posts and spoke publicly when the opportunity presented itself, and in 2012, I volunteered on behalf of the Romney campaign. I did not assault Pinata-effigies of President Obama, nor I did not refer to him as a Nazi or any other derogatory name (does Socialist count?). Were we idiots for not protesting in the streets and breaking windows? I hope not. What I do know is that we played by the rules, waiting patiently until 2016 and the opportunity to put the nation on a different course. We won the 2016, and had every right to anticipate the opportunity to see our ideas and our leaders put into action. But somewhere in DC, in mid-November and December 2016, the Democrats were putting together a plan to disrupt the will of the American people by making it impossible for Donald Trump to govern.
The issue of Russian interference in the 2016 elect has been carried from one goal-line to the next by an aggressively partisan media, which provides us with a perfect example of what the Democrats intend to do. During Congressional Confirmation Hearings, Attorney General Jeff Sessions was asked by Minnesota Senator Al Franken (a guaranteed embarrassment for Minnesota year after year) if Sessions had any knowledge regarding Trump officials and contact with the Russian government. Sessions replied that he did not. Since that time, it has been determined that Sessions met the Russian Ambassador with a group of other dignitaries at the GOP Convention, and had a one-time personal meeting with the Ambassador at his offices in DC. Sessions claims that the meeting in DC was in the context of his responsibilities as a U.S. Senator, and not as someone affiliated with the Trump campaign. Two other U.S. military officers were present at the meeting, during which, according to Sessions, nothing remotely related to the election was discussed. Thanks to the media, the issue is no longer about Russia trying to impact our election, but about a Trump appointee "committing perjury" (my quotation marks). More than a handful of Democrats have publicly called for Sessions to resign, and even more are requesting an Independent Counsel! How easy it is for these career politicians to waste taxpayer money. The hypocrisy is reaching levels never before seen. Do you remember when Bill Clinton and Attorney General met on the Tarmac at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, when, coincidentally, the Justice Department was knee-deep into Hillary Clinton's server investigation? The Independent Counsel Act was written for just such a circumstance. To the person, the Democrats opposed an Independent Counsel for Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and today, to the person, they are calling for an Independent Counsel for Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The daily barrage of leftist propaganda has found a permanent home on the front pages of the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, and just about every other newspaper that represents a major metropolitan area, not to mention the countless blogs and internet sites. When I was younger, I realized that the press tended to side with liberal causes, but over the past decade, the issue has lost all sense of perspective. The last non-aligned study that I reviewed listed the bias at something near 88% pro-Democrat; and the press wonders why they are no longer trusted. There was a time when unabashed bias would put a newspaper out of business. People can discern when someone is trying to sell them a load of horse crap, and what do you know, subscriptions would crash. Things have changed, folks. Today, newspapers are rarely exclusively dependent upon their own sales to survive. Companies like the Hearst Corporation own a number of papers, and success in one location can offset failure in another. Also, big money has become more involved with the media. To put it bluntly, newspapers are no longer dependent upon the bottom line. The NY Times has been in a downward spiral for years, and the Washington Post isn't breaking subscription records either. The owners of some of the nation's biggest newspapers are much more interested in promoting a particular message than they are in profit margin. The same can be said for CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News, and MSNBC. Since its arrival roughly two decades ago, Fox News has rewritten the instruction manual for televised news. Actually, Fox News is the one News source that attempts to regularly provide a representative for both political perspectives. Its true that Fox News does have a conservative orientation, and thank goodness. The score is still eight or nine to three (Drudge and Rush Limbaugh certainly deserve a mention, but Breitbart is still finding its footing). The fact the Fox News routinely destroys the opposition when it comes to viewership is a clear indication that conservatives watch the news as well.
While waging war with both the media and the Democrats, the Trump Administration appears more determined than ever to follow through with its campaign promises. Thank goodness that I have lived long enough to see a candidate keep his word with such sincerity. I support delaying refugee resettlement for ninety days, until Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Intelligence Community are able to ensure that we aren't welcoming terrorists into our communities. The media and the Democrats continue to characterize this effort as a "ban on Muslims". The Times, the Washington Post, Pelosi, and Schumer need a dictionary so they can look up the meaning of the word "ban". What Trump is attempting to do has been done before, including by President Obama, albeit on a smaller scale. In fact, the country targeted by Obama was also a Muslim nation, not that it matters to the media or a number of liberal, activist Judges. The Trump Administration needs to put a moratorium on Twitter and stay solely focused on following through with the promises made during the 2016 campaign. Those promises put President Trump in the White House, and the American people expect results.
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