Fourteen Years Later...

...Rock on, USA ~

Secrets and Lies

Oh what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive. 
~ Sir Walter Scott (Marmion, 1808)

Is there a single voter left who has been paying attention to Hillary Clinton's past six months who does not think she is full of baloney?

I mean, really. For months on end, she insisted she did nothing wrong. We heard words like "aboveboard" and "transparent." She was adamant that she had been oh-so-careful with the information. A few days ago, when it became apparent that his ugly mess just won't go away, she was sorry that the voters were too stupid to understand the situation. When that disingenuous insult was received like the proverbial lead balloon it is, finally, at last, she's sorry she make "a mistake." Maybe we're finally getting somewhere?

Look, I've held jobs with defense contractors. Even minor worker bees like myself were conditioned to understand the sensitivity of the data we were handling. I had to get a security clearance to work on government proposals. The documents were printed, copied, and handled in a secure room called a SCIF (pronounced "skiff"'), a government acronym for "Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility." No employee without a security clearance could enter the SCIF. When we used the SCIF photocopier, we were trained to run ten blank pages after each print job to erase any images that might remain in the inner workings of the machinery. This awareness of confidentiality was drilled into all employees and became second nature, a way of protecting the documents and the information we worked and were entrusted with.

But somehow, this vital and basic message eluded the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. She has put on a good show that she simply doesn't understand that, by reason of her being the nation's highest ranking diplomat, every single piece of communication in her world is, by definition, classified. If it's on the Secretary of State's computer, it's a secret. Anyone who's worked in a SCIF knows that.

Big surprise to Hillary? I don't think so. I think Mrs. Clinton is a lot of things, but stupid is not one of them. She knew she was violating procedure, possibly even endangering the country's national security--but she did it anyway for her own selfish political reasons. In addition to the hundreds of questions I have seen written about her "personal" email and her "private" server, I have never seen a commentator ask--why was the Secretary of State using her government computer in a "personal" and "private" manner? That's a very quick and easy way for a defense contractor worker bee to get fired.

So if the top diplomat in the country has no trouble playing fast and loose with our country's secret and sensitive information, should she become president? That's what the government seems to be asking, at last. But don't wait for the investigation to drag itself out. Ask any defense contractor worker bee with a security clearance that question, and you'll most likely hear a discouraging word for Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Clinton screwed up badly, continues to lie about it, and will eventually have to pay an uncomfortable price--possibly including a forfeit of her obsession to be president. I'm sorry if that's confusing to her.

The Price of Public Service

Another cop murdered just because he is a law enforcement officer. "Because he wore a uniform."

America had better think this one through very carefully. If police officers are in danger just because of who they are, we risk losing their willingness to step into the breach to protect us. That is a frightening thought, one of which I have very recently been reminded.

Cops at work, near my home, after I called 911.

Just this past Friday evening, I was prompted to call 911. I was walking my dog in the sunny late afternoon, around 6:00 PM, as I have thousands of times before without incident. But this time, a strange man started following me. He wasn't merely following me; he was repeatedly bellowing "Satan!" at the top of his lungs.

He crossed to my side of the street and, although I had picked up my pace, he started gaining on me. Although I don't usually carry it, I had my phone with me because I was listening to a podcast. I shut the audio down but kept my earbuds in; I kept moving, and I dialed 911.

As the operator answered, I took a quick look over my shoulder so that I could give a physical description and answer her questions. "We'll send an officer in the area," she finally said. Thankfully, the nut job following me took a left turn down a different street, but I could still hear his blood-curdling shouts of "Satan!"

I stood in place at the location I had given the 911 operator and waited for the patrol car. It arrived within five minutes. I waved to the police officer, and when he pulled next to me I pointed to the street where Satan-man had turned. "Be careful," I said. "Thank you for your service." He smiled as he answered "No problem," and drove off in the direction I had indicated.

I quickly finished my walk via another street in the opposite direction, but when I got to my corner I couldn't resist going the extra half block to peek down the street and see if there was any activity. Sure enough, Satan-man was lying across the hood of the patrol car being handcuffed. I counted a total of three police officers standing around him. Satisfied that "my cop" was okay and had backup, I turned homeward, feeling much safer.

There are a couple of lessons here. The first is to always carry my cell phone when I'm out walking. The larger, more important lesson is that cops don't have the luxury of picking and choosing which calls to take or when to take them; they must respond, immediately, when a member of their community summons them. Any one of those answered calls could mean danger, injury, disability, or death to an officer. Still, despite the heavy potential price, they come for us when we call them.

We hear a lot of talk nowadays about skin color in police incidents. In my opinion, it's a stupid sidebar that avoids the perilous reality of the vital public service our police officers provide. Danger comes in all colors; so does protection from it. Sure, I'm a white woman. Guess what? The nut job following me on Friday was a white man. "My cop," as I call the police officer who initially responded to my call, was a black man. When I saw the handcuffs on screaming Satan-man, I thanked God my cop was safe.
 

Human is as Human Does

In this article, Victor Davis Hanson has nailed the fatal flaw in President Obama's atrocious foreign policy decisions--human nature.

Does the president really think that people will change time-tested behaviors that have been recorded throughout history, just because he thinks they should? The danger inherent in such arrogant thinking is staggering to consider. From the Book of Genesis to Putin's most recent transgressions against nations, we see how evil human behavior can be--especially when the bad actions are not challenged.

Times change. Human nature doesn't.

One Joyful Day

Without a Soul

By now most of us have heard about the blood-chilling Planned Parenthood videos. They have had a wide audience, although you'll never hear it from mainstream media coverage.

Some of us can't bring ourselves to view the carnage. The article linked here is a rebuke to those who have chosen not to watch the horror of the Planned Parenthood videos. I'll freely admit that I'm one of those cowardly people. I just can't watch defenseless unborn babies being carved into carefully-crafted pieces, their tiny organs sold off to profit their nonchalant butchers. "Line items," I've heard that the Planned Parenthood butchers in the videos call the body parts. And now in a fifth video, the butchers tout "intact" fetuses for sale.

This is beyond sickening. It's evil. I've heard and read enough gruesome descriptions of the "baby death care" videos to know that they tell us truths we don't want to hear. Is this what we have become? Are we really now a nation not at all subject to, or even concerned about, "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God," but a depraved and disintegrating society that kills, dissects, and sells its young, then casually celebrates the deal over a glass of Chardonnay?

If so, we are in far worse condition than I had feared. I thought we had merely lost our way, that perhaps with hard work and discipline we could find our way back to a righteous path. But if we continue to tolerate such wanton slaughter of innocents as these videos depict, then we as a country will have lost far more than our direction. We will have lost our soul. I'm afraid there's no coming back from that.

More on What Matters

One Marine's View has plenty more to say on the subject of our murdered military servicemen, and he's certainly qualified and entitled to speak out on the matter.

Of special note is his "30 Shades of Disrespect" to the U.S.  military by the Obama Administration, listed towards the end. The entire piece is highly recommended reading.

Facing What Matters

Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith

The media does it every time. Photos of the murderous Islamist terrorist are plastered everywhere, in every news story--on television, over the Internet, in newspapers. Information about and/or pictures of the innocent, heroic victims are scarce. It's a national disgrace.

I don't want to see the face of the slaughtering coward every place I look. I don't want to read his name. You'll never see either the face or the name here. What I want to know is, who are the American heroes who were butchered by him while they were bravely serving our country? What are we going to do to prevent this atrocity from happening again? To me and to countless other Americans, these heroes are what is important. They are what matters. Not the constant, grinning visage of a maniacal butcher.

This country had better wake up soon. We are sacrificing our best and bravest on the altar of rules and regulations that no longer fit the dangerous time of war we live in; we are committing deliberate suicide through rampant political correctness.  It is questionable whether a nation that persists in such willful stupidity is worthy of survival.

Ten Thoughts on Current Events

Just wondering....

1. I notice that President Obama doesn't have much to say when a white person is murdered by a person of a different color.
2. I think that if a Republican presidential candidate had wiped her email server clean, the media would be all over the story, 24/7.
3. Greece is behaving like a spoiled brat whose allowance is being cut.
4. Pope Francis should stick to the Gospel message and let the politicians address climate change/global warming/whatever.
5. Donald Trump is ticking off a lot of people, but he seems to be saying what a lot of people are secretly thinking--and are afraid to say.
6. "The free exercise" of religion is the real target of the LGBT movement.
7. Even if it makes you feel better, taking down a flag won't stop psychotic murderers.
8. The world has much bigger problems than which name to call a transgender celebrity.
9. Call it "ISIS" or call it "ISIL"--the important thing to know is that they want us dead.
10. ABC World News Tonight has a long segment on bad weather in the USA almost every night. Not enough going on in the world?

Happy Birthday, USA