Its not Half Time, It is Game Over

Yes, loyal Elite Members, it is actually morning in America, indeed its Sunday morning for another two and one-half hours yet. Still no time for preaching a Sermon, or homily even.

Just a few quick sliders, straight shots down the middle if you will, as painting and moving furniture awaits this one mortgage and one rent payment guy a month. (Remember we still accept PayPal). WildCats lost big time yesterday to the Shockers of Wichita State University; nonetheless, want to express my appreciation to everyone for watching the game on ESPN, as I am sure u all did so.

Also buried yesterday was Ms. Houston, with all NJ state flags flown at half-mast in her honor. Strange decision by "the Insultinator". Not intending to break my pledge of never bad mouthing the dead, I will make only the general observation, that i believe the Rule of Law is undermined when entertainers always get rehab, while common folk in Texas get 20 to life for almost identical drug law crimes.

Along those same lines of condemning wrong headed disparate treatment, right now, NYC is paying criminals big bucks to hand over illegal guns at "Immunity Stores". Simultaneously, the City has indicted a former US marine who traveled to New York in furtherance of his jewelry business, carrying $15,000.00 in jewels along with his legal, registered hand gun. When he asked security at the Empire State building if he could check his pistol before visiting the roof viewing site, he was promptly arrested, and is now facing a 3 year prison term. A man willing to give his life to his country is paid back by government in this outrageous affront to the Rule of Law, while actual criminals return home to their own beds hundreds of dollars richer. Hey, i better stop before this does turn into a Sermon on the evils of government power over individuals doing everything the right way. Cheers

It's not Half Time in America, It's Game Over

With this Dictator, say good-bye to both Morning and Freedom in America. Here's what he said last week about his values, principles and core conviction that he needs to wield absolute power -

"Under this Rule [unassailable, immutable and permanent federal mandate] women will still have access to free preventive care ... no matter where they work. So that core principle remains - the insurance company will be required to reach out and offer women contraceptive care free of charge" President Obama, 2/10/12; Announcement of his "accommodation" with the First, Fifth and Tenth Amendments of United States Constitution.

Actually, it is time to start the mourning, to grieve for the once great Republic in which all persons were secure in the certain knowledge that no government official could seize personal property, in this case the assets of the owners of Insurance companies, and by the stroke of a pen, give those same assets to another person, in this case to working women to pay for their "free" medical care. This arrogation of power would make Eva Peron proud. Yet, while this debacle has caused a "fire storm" of outrage in the Catholic Church's hierarchy, nary a word spoken in defiance of this nullification of the Constitution's guarantee of no deprivation of private property without due process of law and full compensation. I grew up in a time, when every American was told - by church, by schools, by parents, by government officials - that "there is no such thing as a free lunch", teaching us all that to receive something of value, a person must get it the old fashion way - "earn it".

Yet today, the President of the United States declares to little or no uproar, that free medical care is every women's innate, god-given right, at birth, or at least at the time of the government's authorized abortion. Of course, he didn't state in last week's address to the nation that every women's right to free medical care is a Constitutional Right, because even he knows that socialized medicine is not enshrined in our Nation's fundamental guarantor of person rights. So instead, the President for Now simply declared that taking Insurance companies money and giving it to working women is legal because doing so is consistent with his own core principles.

That breathtaking stance is fully consistent with my definition of a Dictator for Life. In response, I declare that my faith in the Constitution is unassailable, immutable and permanent; thus, in my Constitutional Republic when a government official take anyone's assets, because that official believes that others are more deserving of getting those assets for free, I say that it is right time to send that official off into the sunset of permanent retirement. Just saying ...

Joe 'Pa' Paterno R.I.P.

Coach Paterno's fall from grace was so sudden, so complete, so far, and apparently so self-inflicted that the pain at times was almost unbearable. After the debacle at Ohio State, I had commented to friends and family alike that my loyalties in college football were reduced to Columbia University and Penn State University, as the last two programs I could support as having the requisite integrity to truly run "clean" programs. So disillusioned was I that I watched nary a single college football game this Fall. My thoughts today are both sadness and relief, because the pain I felt vicariously for the Paterno family and for the probably dozens of abuse children had to be nothing compared to the hurt, regret, shame and destroyed childhoods that all directly involved felt and will suffer the rest of their lives.

In my view, Joe Paterno was a good man, and in some respects a great man. Even were those not to be my opinions, I would not tell you otherwise now, pursuant to my strong belief that to speak ill of the departed is in poor taste at best and cowardly at worst. What I will share with you is my conclusion that Coach Paterno was not just corrupted by power, indeed, he was fatally corrupted by having absolute power in Happy Valley. When any employee holds a press conference to tell the entire world that he, and he alone, will decide when to retire - as only he knows what's best for his employer - that person has become unaccountable to everyone and everything but his own conscience. As Lord Acton proclaimed so astutely more than 200 years ago: "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

When excessive power ruins the life of a once great and moral man, I fear and distrust all others, certainly of lesser stature, holding high political office, as they are not nearly as worthy as Joe Paterno. Yet despite his many virtues, Joe Paterno's vainglorious administration of the Penn State football program ruined too many innocent lives, and I am convinced shortened his own. What a needless shame, as well as a life lesson on bestowing ever more power to the Office of the President - be it Barry Obama or god forbid Newt Gingrich.

Occupy Wall Street - Not a Big Deal

As a Champion of the First Amendment, U Elite Members know full well that I will never support silencing any voices raised up in the public square. On free speech rights, I'm squarely with former US Supreme Court Justice Black - an Absolutetist. That said, however, I do not believe every demand to be heard demands an answer from those opposed to the shouted message. Clearly, some trees falling in the forrest are not worthy of vibrating an inner ear drum, or eliciting lips moving in a sharp retort to such sounds of silence.

As the Bible tells us - "Jesus loves us all", ... every boy and girl, even. "And the Poor will always be with us, too". As will the disaffected, the disgruntled and those just plain clueless.

For several decades now, these anarchists have turned out by the thousands to seek to disrupt meeting of the G-18, World Bank or some such international, high finance concave, while shouting about the evils of capitalism. Recently, I recall that an inadequate police presence allowed these hoodlums to take control of the central business district of Seattle, Washington, and thereby burn cars, smash business front windows and generally trash all of downtown.

So what. After the meeting ended, their message of rebellion was forgotten before the many dignitaries airplanes returned them to their homes. This new tactic of hanging out for weeks, saying nothing of import, other than - the rich are evil, so give me their money - will have even less lasting influence on the American citizenry once the first frost hits lower Manhattan, and these non-local yokems will then be gone with the wind and cold. Correct - FreezePruf plant frost protectant can not be sprayed on protesters. Well, on reflection, it can, but to no good insulating effect of which I currently know.

Accordingly, the only lasting impact of these Occupy protests will be the further loss of credibility of the non-sensical Pols who clamor to the microphone to endorse them as some new grassroots uprising of hard working middle class Americans outraged by the unprosecuted crimes of the high rollers on Wall Street. Sorry Nancy, but most of these disaffected "voters" were bused in from your SF District where they have been sucking on the public teet ever since you first gained elective office and started giving away real working folks earnings.

Why Answar al-Awlaki still Matters, finally

Yes, he's now dead, and the world is a better place for his unnatural passing. Nonetheless, Mr. al-Awlaki was an American citizen, who the Executive Branch had declared to be an "Enemy Combatant" - an enemy of the state, if U will. Accordingly, Mr. al-Awlaki was targeted for termination with extreme prejudice. He was then killed in the wilds of ungoverned Yemen by the CIA operated drone hit team, working with the super secret Navy Seals to locate him and put the radar cross-hairs on his head, literally. This execution (thru war making powers) of a person making war on America is legally, ethically or morally justified in my judgment.

In a war, the Executive uses appropriately all the assets available to "kill the enemy and seize enemy held territory" as my drill instructor yelled at me at Ft. Bragg in 1970. It's the process of targeting Awlaki that gives me pause. The Justice Department has reportedly given the President a legal opinion that concludes that this homicide is legal under the law of war. Fine, but on what basis in our Constitutional Republic is such critical "life and death" document stamped "top secret" and hidden from the public. Secret law is anathema to a free society, so I want to know what are the limiting principles of a President's legal authority to kill without charges, trial or any due process protections those persons that the executive branch deems to be enemies of the state. We definitely got it right on this first American citizen's homicide by Presidential Fiat. I want to make sure that the next dozen or tens of dozen of such kills are legal, ethical and morally justified as well.

Remember, every federal government activity starts with all good intentions, decades later, however, many of these programs have no boundaries or limits on their reach or scope of application. When it comes to summary executions, that exercise of absolute power has got to be perfect every time - something government has never done well.

The First Sunday after Easter

Growing up Presbyterian, your Humble Blogger knew that God did not view missing Sunday services as a Sin, mortal or otherwise. We did attend, religiously you might conclude, because our Pastor, Dr. Lawrence, gave one Hell of a Sermon weekly. Additionally, the Youth Group had more pretty girls attending than good looking guys, so I liked those odds. I still remember returning home the last weekend of November 1963, and hearing late in the day that Lee Harvey Oswald's fatal shooting had been seen live on TV that very morning. My reaction then was that indeed God did protect the faithful, as I imagined that seeing someone murdered on TV would be an emotionally disturbing trauma.

Little did I anticipate the trauma of watching thousands of Americans murdered on live TV September 11, 2001, a psychological scar for which last weekend's observances did little to sooth, and in some senses, made fresh yet again. Now, don't mistake me, experiencing again those searing emotions of loss, anger and jeopardy for family and nation, while deeply painful, was necessary in my judgment. We as a nation in 2011 again have become too self centered, possibly too complacent, as well. George Bush can look back with some satisfaction that America proper did not get hit again during his tenure, but he was totally wrong in calling upon us to "start shopping again", as the most patriotic contribution to the war effort everyday Americans could take after 911.

My clarion call, then as now, is for all Americans to become actively involved in supporting the troops, their families and in opposing the efforts of the radical jihadists to subvert our western civilization's freedoms. On the forefront of this war this week will be the Palestinian's demand for statehood recognition by the United Nations. This assault on Israel's existence is just another murderous turn in the "Arab Spring" triumph of fundamentalism over co-existence with the west. As Dr. Lawrence showed me in the early 1960's, always leave your congregation wanting more, so I'll have to return to the existential threat posed by a Palestinian State to a future blog. Cheers.

Why Richard Rescorla Still Matters

Richard, "Rick", Rescorla; born 5/27/39; died 9/11/01 on the 77th floor WTC Tower One.

In the last week of August, 2001, I met my son, Neil, at his Wall Street office (he was then a Middlebury College undergrad, working for the summer in lower NYC). We walked the three blocks from his building to the World Trade Center pedestrian plaza for an outdoor lunch, admiring the stark beauty of the twin towers. That summer, Neil commuted to his NYC job from his home in Summit, New Jersey by train to the Path Station at WTC.

Richard Rescorla also commuted to his NYC job from his home in Summit, N.J. by train to that same Path Station at the WTC. It is possible, even probable, that on occasion, Neil and Rick rode together, possibly having nodded a fellow traveller sleepy morning greeting. I know that they didn't do any of that on the morning of September 11th, however, as Neil had returned already to safe, bucolic Vermont; a circumstance for which I thank God every time I remember that awful Tuesday morning.

Rick Rescorla also was due to be absent from his employment on September 11th, yet he was there, having volunteered to cover for a subordinate, thereby made free to vacation. Mr. Rescorla had an important job - Director of Security for Investment Brokerage, Morgan Stanley, charged with ensuring the safety of two thousand, seven hundred Company employees, then working at WTC Towers One and Five. Rick did his job very well that day - he got 2698 Morgan Stanley employees to safety right after the first plane hit Tower Two.

Then, Richard Rescorla volunteered one final time - he ran back into Tower One just before it collapsed, seeking to find the last two employees placed in his charge. Rick never made it back on September 11th to his family in Summit, New Jersey. Gratefully, Rick's 911 heroism will forever live on, in our collective memory. And, of course Rick's entire life was characterized by him volunteering for life threatening service to others - he was a highly decorated army veteran of the Vietnam war, volunteering to fight after having already served a number of years as a British Army paratrooper. This prior military service reflects Mr. Rescorla's then foreign citizenship, having been born in Hayle, Cornwall in 1939.

Despite his entire adult life having been spent in following the "chain of command", Colonel Rescorla knew when to follow his own conscience - after the first plane hit WTC Tower Two, he ignored the PA orders to all occupants of Tower One to stay put for their own safety. Defying that very bad judgment call saved 2697 lives. Indeed, Mr Richard Rescorla embodied American Exceptionalism - A Life well lived; So, Britian, the United States, New Jersey and Summit are all poorer for Rick's volunteering its premature end. He, Neil, Addison, Audrey, Lyn, elite members, Michele, Mark, Kate, Kim and Donelle are why I try daily to live up to his memory. God Bless America.