Friday, August 30, 2013
The Curious Case of PFC Manning
Slowly but surely we learned the real reason PFC Bradley Manning betrayed his country by providing highly sensitive classified information to the Wikileaks website. It started out that Manning was distraught after his female impersonator boyfriend broke up with him. Perfectly understandable! Divulging secrets that damage national security and jeopardize people's lives is the natural response to a failed personal relationship. As time went on, we also learned that there was more to the story. The Army wasn't sensitive to Manning's gender identity issues and didn't help him with his feelings of not belonging. It is shocking that the military didn't jump to transform itself to make a maladjusted soldier more comfortable. After all, the military is well known for being accepting of those who don’t or can’t fit in, right? After being sentenced to 35 years in prison for providing classified information to the Wikileaks website, Manning’s attorney began to discuss the possibility that his client may appeal to President Obama for a pardon. Really? On what grounds? Apparently, Manning and his lawyer quickly realized that, even under this Administration that never ceases to amaze by making decisions contrary to what the average American would consider reasonable, a pardon was unlikely. Suddenly, Manning declared that he is a woman and wants to be called Chelsea. His/”her” lawyer says that “Chelsea” wants to begin hormone therapy paid for by, you guessed it, the military! A military spokesman released a statement almost immediately saying that the US military does not pay for hormone therapy or gender re-assignment surgery to treat sexual identity issues.
If you think that is the end of the story, I predict you will be proven wrong. Expect Manning and his lawyer to take legal action to force the military to pay for his/”her” sex-change operation that will cost the very citizens he/”she” betrayed as much as $100,000. And if you think that the chances that a judge would rule in Manning’s favor are unlikely, consider the following. In 2012, a federal judge in Boston ruled that Massachusetts prison officials must provide a publicly funded sex reassignment surgery to an inmate serving a life sentence for killing his wife.
This is what things have come to in America in the 21st century! Madness I tell you! Madness!!!
Sunday, August 11, 2013
If Obamacare is so good...
If Obamacare is so good, why:
Did the president delay implementing it - oh but only the employer mandate - the average "Joe
Smo" has to buy health insurance which in most cases has gone way up in price;
Is everyone is calling it a "train wreck" even Democrat members of the House and Senate;
Did members of Congress quietly exempted themselves and their staffers before going on August
recess;
Did presidents of 3 of the largest unions - the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; the United
Food and Commercial Workers International Union and UNITE-HERE, a union representing hotel,
airport, food service, gaming, and textile workers - write President Obama a letter urging him to
delay implementing it;
Does the non-partisan CBO (the Congressional Budget Office) continue to estimate the cost of the
program will skyrocket, and
Did they have to change the wording on the official Affordable Healthcare Act website from "if you
like your current doctor, you can keep your current doctor" to "if you like your current doctor, you
may be able to keep your current doctor." and "if you like your current healthcare plan, you can
keep your current healthcare plan" to "if you like your current healthcare plan, you may be able to
keep your current healthcare plan".
If this is only a train wreck, America will be very lucky!
Did the president delay implementing it - oh but only the employer mandate - the average "Joe
Smo" has to buy health insurance which in most cases has gone way up in price;
Is everyone is calling it a "train wreck" even Democrat members of the House and Senate;
Did members of Congress quietly exempted themselves and their staffers before going on August
recess;
Did presidents of 3 of the largest unions - the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; the United
Food and Commercial Workers International Union and UNITE-HERE, a union representing hotel,
airport, food service, gaming, and textile workers - write President Obama a letter urging him to
delay implementing it;
Does the non-partisan CBO (the Congressional Budget Office) continue to estimate the cost of the
program will skyrocket, and
Did they have to change the wording on the official Affordable Healthcare Act website from "if you
like your current doctor, you can keep your current doctor" to "if you like your current doctor, you
may be able to keep your current doctor." and "if you like your current healthcare plan, you can
keep your current healthcare plan" to "if you like your current healthcare plan, you may be able to
keep your current healthcare plan".
If this is only a train wreck, America will be very lucky!
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Too Many Unasked Questions Surround Edward Snowden
The Guardian published a letter by Dr Agnes Callamard (Executive director, Article 19) on August 6th arguing on behalf of more than 150 civil society organizations that the US should leave Edward Snowden, the NSA Whistleblower, alone. While I'm not thrilled by the NSA's intrusion into the private communications of American citizens, I think it is extraordinarily dangerous to just accept at face value that Snowden is some noble whistleblower as Callamard and many others appear to have.
There are so many unanswered questions surrounding Snowden. More importantly, there are a lot of unasked questions. Specifically, I think the following questions that I don't think I have heard asked need to be asked and answers need to be obtained. How did this guy get jobs (either as a government employee or contractor) with the CIA, NSA and defense contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton? Positions with these organizations are extremely competitive. Snowden is a high school dropout! There were rumors he got his GED at Anne Arundel Community College but a college spokesman was quoted in The Capital as saying that the school has no record of him receiving a GED from them. Likewise for the cyber-security coursework he supposedly completed. How did he get a security clearance - especially in positions that usually require passing a polygraph examination? Did no one verify claims on his resume regarding his education? Did those performing his background checks not do their job? Or did they falsify information? These questions allude to a far more sinister situation. Was Snowden's access to all this highly classified information and sensitive programs the result of those charged with checking his background failing to do their job or was it a case of some person or persons who have infiltrated our security community, paving the way for a spy?
We need to know these answers. That is why Snowden doesn't deserve to be "left alone".
There are so many unanswered questions surrounding Snowden. More importantly, there are a lot of unasked questions. Specifically, I think the following questions that I don't think I have heard asked need to be asked and answers need to be obtained. How did this guy get jobs (either as a government employee or contractor) with the CIA, NSA and defense contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton? Positions with these organizations are extremely competitive. Snowden is a high school dropout! There were rumors he got his GED at Anne Arundel Community College but a college spokesman was quoted in The Capital as saying that the school has no record of him receiving a GED from them. Likewise for the cyber-security coursework he supposedly completed. How did he get a security clearance - especially in positions that usually require passing a polygraph examination? Did no one verify claims on his resume regarding his education? Did those performing his background checks not do their job? Or did they falsify information? These questions allude to a far more sinister situation. Was Snowden's access to all this highly classified information and sensitive programs the result of those charged with checking his background failing to do their job or was it a case of some person or persons who have infiltrated our security community, paving the way for a spy?
We need to know these answers. That is why Snowden doesn't deserve to be "left alone".
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Everything Wrong with the Zimmerman Case ...but the Verdict!
I probably followed the George Zimmerman case closer than most people. Not because I was particularly interested in it but because the CNN coverage of the case blared on the TV in the break room across from my office all day. As a result, I think I have a very good understanding of the case.
From the beginning, everything about the George Zimmerman case was wrong but in the end, the jury got the verdict right. I realize that many of you might disagree with me but please hear me out. First of course, Trayvon Martin shouldn't be dead. That goes without saying. However, this case should have never been a national news story. Not because Trayvon isn't important (he is every bit as important as any other young American whose life ended too soon) but because it gained national attention for all the wrong reasons. Before they had their story straight, our corrupt and yes I'll say it, evil media began a campaign to stir up trouble. If there was any racism at all involved in this incident, it was completely the doing of the media. Without checking their facts, they latched on to this story as "White Man Kills Unarmed Black Teen." They saw the name Zimmerman and assumed, "Has to be a white guy with that German name! Maybe even...wait for it...a Jew!" Yes good ole fashioned anti-Semitism is alive and well in the hearts of our mainstream media. When it turned out to be completely wrong, instead of correcting the story, they worked hard to 'adjust the facts' to make the story work. George Zimmerman became a white Hispanic! What? Never heard that term before? Neither had anyone else. To sell advertising and support an unsustainable 24/7 news cycle, the media was willing to create a story, even at the expense of the Martin family, the African American community, public safety, George Zimmerman, race relations in the U.S. and the American justice system. NBC news skillfully edited the 911 tape to remove the operator's question asking Zimmerman is the person is white, black or Hispanic which made it appear as if Zimmerman just volunteered the information that Trayvon was black and that Zimmerman was profiling him because of his race. Then to continue to keep tensions high, the media showed old pictures of Trayvon; ones that made him look like a particularly young, vulnerable and innocent little boy. It wasn't until much later that they showed current pictures of Trayvon as he really was - a much taller, mature young man. None of this was in the best interest of justice for Trayvon or George Zimmerman. Unfortunately, the media weren't they only ones 'poisoning the well.'
Buying into the false picture painted by the media, the usual suspects - the race hustlers, left-wing pundits, the "America is an awful place" crowd, to name a few - jumped on the bandwagon and began demanding Zimmerman be charged with murder even though the initial investigation determined it to be an apparent case of self-defense. The President of the United States weighed in and declared that if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon and the civil rights division of the Justice Department dispatched investigators to Sanford, Florida to look for evidence that Zimmerman or the Sanford Police Department were racists - they found no evidence. Political pressure led to the firing of the Sanford Police Chief for refusing to charge Zimmerman with murder because he believed there was a lack of evidence. A special prosecutor, Angela Corey, was then appointed and made the decision to skip the usual grand jury hearing, immediately arrest Zimmerman and charge him with second degree murder. This would turn out to be an overreach on Corey's part and was the first of a series of mistakes by the prosecution that ultimately led to Zimmerman's acquittal. Had the charges initially included some potential lesser charges, there is a good chance Zimmerman may have been convicted of one of them but that was not to be.
For reasons known only to her, Corey went for the big charge, swung for the fence and struck out. All the witnesses for the prosecution, proved to support the defense's case rather than build the case for second degree murder against Zimmerman. The star witness, Rachel Jeantel, actually struck me as mentally challenged. Her monotone responses to the defense lawyer's cross-examination questions made her sound more like a 1950's era lobotomy patient than a credible witness and her inability to read her "own" written statement because it was written in cursive led to the revelation that she dictated it to a friend. Lastly, her refusal to acknowledge Trayvon's characterization of Zimmerman as a "creepy ass cracker" as racist threw any credibility she had out the window. How the prosecution didn't see how bad a witness she would make is truly unbelievable. The prosecutions other witnesses proved no better.
Under questioning by the defense attorney, the policeman, Officer Serino, who did the initial questioning of Zimmerman admitted that he believed he was telling the truth after initially saying he thought he was lying. The only eyewitness, Jonathan Good, claimed he saw Trayvon on top of Zimmerman giving him an "MMA-style ground and pound". Lastly, Zimmerman's testimony... "Wait you say, Zimmerman never took the stand in his own defense!" Technically, you are correct but for all intents and purposes he did when the prosecution played the police video of Zimmerman's statements and re-enactment of the event. By doing so, the prosecution allowed Zimmerman to "testified" without being able to cross-examine him and pick this "testimony" apart. The jury got to hear Zimmerman's side of the story in his own words and essentially was able to take it at face value - a devastatingly bad decision by the prosecution! As bad as these mistakes were, they weren't the only prosecutorial missteps.
In addition to the prosecution's witnesses ending up being better defense witnesses, there were also instances of misconduct on their part - the most egregious of which was the withholding of evidence from the defense. This was only disclosed when a whistle-blower reported it and I'm sure this left the jury thinking it was being withheld by the prosecution because it proved the defense's case. Even if Zimmerman had been convicted, this would have been immediate grounds for appeal. Shortly after filing the charges, Corey called a press conference and began smiling, preening and "showboating" for the cameras which, along with the many other instances of improper handling of the case, may have resulted in tainting the jury pool. Regardless, six jurors acceptable to both the defense and prosecution were found but even with these 'impartial' jurors, it was apparent that the case for second degree murder was very weak.
Lastly, in the "eleventh hour" the prosecution sensing it had lost the case for second degree murder ask the judge to allow the jury to consider lesser charges. In my opinion, this was a bad move because the prosecution hadn't made a case for the lower charges, the defense hadn't defended against the lesser charges, and I'm sure the jury saw this for the "straw grab" that it was. When the jury returned with their verdict, they found Zimmerman not guilty of all the charges as they should have because the prosecution failed to prove its case.
Everything about the Zimmerman case was wrong except for the verdict. The prosecution made mistake after mistake and the media pushed a weak case against Zimmerman by distorting the facts. Certainly not everyone is going to be happy with the outcome but our justice system did its job. Since the verdict, there have been those that have tried to stir up trouble but fortunately most Americans, even those who were deeply disappointed in the final results of the trial, resisted the temptation to resort to violence. There are also calls to charge Zimmerman with federal charges. Heeding any calls for trying George Zimmerman for federal civil rights or hate crimes now would be a grave mistake and wouldn't be right. It would be giving into lynch mob justice that isn't in the best interest of anyone. History gives us ample evidence of this.
From the beginning, everything about the George Zimmerman case was wrong but in the end, the jury got the verdict right. I realize that many of you might disagree with me but please hear me out. First of course, Trayvon Martin shouldn't be dead. That goes without saying. However, this case should have never been a national news story. Not because Trayvon isn't important (he is every bit as important as any other young American whose life ended too soon) but because it gained national attention for all the wrong reasons. Before they had their story straight, our corrupt and yes I'll say it, evil media began a campaign to stir up trouble. If there was any racism at all involved in this incident, it was completely the doing of the media. Without checking their facts, they latched on to this story as "White Man Kills Unarmed Black Teen." They saw the name Zimmerman and assumed, "Has to be a white guy with that German name! Maybe even...wait for it...a Jew!" Yes good ole fashioned anti-Semitism is alive and well in the hearts of our mainstream media. When it turned out to be completely wrong, instead of correcting the story, they worked hard to 'adjust the facts' to make the story work. George Zimmerman became a white Hispanic! What? Never heard that term before? Neither had anyone else. To sell advertising and support an unsustainable 24/7 news cycle, the media was willing to create a story, even at the expense of the Martin family, the African American community, public safety, George Zimmerman, race relations in the U.S. and the American justice system. NBC news skillfully edited the 911 tape to remove the operator's question asking Zimmerman is the person is white, black or Hispanic which made it appear as if Zimmerman just volunteered the information that Trayvon was black and that Zimmerman was profiling him because of his race. Then to continue to keep tensions high, the media showed old pictures of Trayvon; ones that made him look like a particularly young, vulnerable and innocent little boy. It wasn't until much later that they showed current pictures of Trayvon as he really was - a much taller, mature young man. None of this was in the best interest of justice for Trayvon or George Zimmerman. Unfortunately, the media weren't they only ones 'poisoning the well.'
Buying into the false picture painted by the media, the usual suspects - the race hustlers, left-wing pundits, the "America is an awful place" crowd, to name a few - jumped on the bandwagon and began demanding Zimmerman be charged with murder even though the initial investigation determined it to be an apparent case of self-defense. The President of the United States weighed in and declared that if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon and the civil rights division of the Justice Department dispatched investigators to Sanford, Florida to look for evidence that Zimmerman or the Sanford Police Department were racists - they found no evidence. Political pressure led to the firing of the Sanford Police Chief for refusing to charge Zimmerman with murder because he believed there was a lack of evidence. A special prosecutor, Angela Corey, was then appointed and made the decision to skip the usual grand jury hearing, immediately arrest Zimmerman and charge him with second degree murder. This would turn out to be an overreach on Corey's part and was the first of a series of mistakes by the prosecution that ultimately led to Zimmerman's acquittal. Had the charges initially included some potential lesser charges, there is a good chance Zimmerman may have been convicted of one of them but that was not to be.
For reasons known only to her, Corey went for the big charge, swung for the fence and struck out. All the witnesses for the prosecution, proved to support the defense's case rather than build the case for second degree murder against Zimmerman. The star witness, Rachel Jeantel, actually struck me as mentally challenged. Her monotone responses to the defense lawyer's cross-examination questions made her sound more like a 1950's era lobotomy patient than a credible witness and her inability to read her "own" written statement because it was written in cursive led to the revelation that she dictated it to a friend. Lastly, her refusal to acknowledge Trayvon's characterization of Zimmerman as a "creepy ass cracker" as racist threw any credibility she had out the window. How the prosecution didn't see how bad a witness she would make is truly unbelievable. The prosecutions other witnesses proved no better.
Under questioning by the defense attorney, the policeman, Officer Serino, who did the initial questioning of Zimmerman admitted that he believed he was telling the truth after initially saying he thought he was lying. The only eyewitness, Jonathan Good, claimed he saw Trayvon on top of Zimmerman giving him an "MMA-style ground and pound". Lastly, Zimmerman's testimony... "Wait you say, Zimmerman never took the stand in his own defense!" Technically, you are correct but for all intents and purposes he did when the prosecution played the police video of Zimmerman's statements and re-enactment of the event. By doing so, the prosecution allowed Zimmerman to "testified" without being able to cross-examine him and pick this "testimony" apart. The jury got to hear Zimmerman's side of the story in his own words and essentially was able to take it at face value - a devastatingly bad decision by the prosecution! As bad as these mistakes were, they weren't the only prosecutorial missteps.
In addition to the prosecution's witnesses ending up being better defense witnesses, there were also instances of misconduct on their part - the most egregious of which was the withholding of evidence from the defense. This was only disclosed when a whistle-blower reported it and I'm sure this left the jury thinking it was being withheld by the prosecution because it proved the defense's case. Even if Zimmerman had been convicted, this would have been immediate grounds for appeal. Shortly after filing the charges, Corey called a press conference and began smiling, preening and "showboating" for the cameras which, along with the many other instances of improper handling of the case, may have resulted in tainting the jury pool. Regardless, six jurors acceptable to both the defense and prosecution were found but even with these 'impartial' jurors, it was apparent that the case for second degree murder was very weak.
Lastly, in the "eleventh hour" the prosecution sensing it had lost the case for second degree murder ask the judge to allow the jury to consider lesser charges. In my opinion, this was a bad move because the prosecution hadn't made a case for the lower charges, the defense hadn't defended against the lesser charges, and I'm sure the jury saw this for the "straw grab" that it was. When the jury returned with their verdict, they found Zimmerman not guilty of all the charges as they should have because the prosecution failed to prove its case.
Everything about the Zimmerman case was wrong except for the verdict. The prosecution made mistake after mistake and the media pushed a weak case against Zimmerman by distorting the facts. Certainly not everyone is going to be happy with the outcome but our justice system did its job. Since the verdict, there have been those that have tried to stir up trouble but fortunately most Americans, even those who were deeply disappointed in the final results of the trial, resisted the temptation to resort to violence. There are also calls to charge Zimmerman with federal charges. Heeding any calls for trying George Zimmerman for federal civil rights or hate crimes now would be a grave mistake and wouldn't be right. It would be giving into lynch mob justice that isn't in the best interest of anyone. History gives us ample evidence of this.
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