Tag: Impeachment

Reflecting Further

For me, the line in the sand of the Arabian deserts is drawn with two sticks. One stick is the expansion… of Iran’s nuclear capability…The second stick is… in the hands of a young American soldier in the desert with a wife and child back home in the States.

Recently I posted a blog about a Bully… In it I wrote:

 If there are any U.S. veterans or current military personnel out there not completely livid with the actions of this Congress to limit our military’s right to defend itself and our Commander in Chief’s right to exercise that military to protect others and America’s interests,  I have got to hear from you… I look across the Middle East and I have to ask myself, who has allowed this 3rd world upstart of a country to gain such bully status? Although it is the second largest country in the Middle East, it is barely larger in square miles than our single state of Alaska!…

Iran has permitted the likes of the Taliban, ISIS, and al Qaeda while building a nuclear capability allied with North Korea, Russia and China.  

Here is where we find ourselves on 10 January 2020… Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that ballistic missile attacks targeting U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq Wednesday morning were “a slap in the face” to the United States.

IRAN – the BULLY in the neighborhood… Why? Because we are allowing it. The ruling Ayatollah and those loyal to him are killing their own people, jailing those who object and it is morally wrong for those in Congress to hamper the legitimate efforts of our military and its Commander in Chief to do everything it can to protect the lives of American soldiers who are in harm’s way, American citizens and private individuals in Iraq and those in Iran who choose to stand against the ruling regime. The Ayatollah has vowed to pursue nuclear weapons with the only goal of striking against America and Israel. At what point will our Congress wake up rather than be ‘woke’?

And I put in this plea:  Remember the name of each and every Representative and Senator who has voted to keep our military from being able to defend themselves when you go next to the ballot box.

I’ve been giving a great bit of thought to things even as the circus of impeachment continues and members of Congress are so far out of touch with America and its people, it is scary. There is another side of the Iran issue I think needs to be considered. Here are my ruminations on that subject.

So far I have considered the American side of the coin. We, (the royal we including most Western nations), own a good piece of the blame for allowing Iran to be the bully, to have the military, to threaten with nuclear weaponry… Certainly, other western countries can point their finger at America and say it is our fault, and they are partially correct. We have had the most capability to put a stop to it during past administrations and we haven’t. Still, there is enough blame to go around.

HOWEVER, a very large part of the blame (for lack of a better term) lies with the Iranian people. How long are they going to put up with these bullies in black robes? There is a point that lies vaguely out in the cosmos somewhere. It is the place where people either fix what is wrong or they refuse to right the wrongs of the government over them choosing to ignore the abuses of that government. Their non-action, or ineffective action, becomes collusion. No longer can they maintain innocent bystander status, if there even is such a thing in today’s world.

The Christian who is also a patriot to his country walks a fine line. His first allegiance is to Christ, everything else is second. Some Christians take the words of Jesus, “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s” to mark the dichotomy between the two and it is an appropriate line. Others turn to Paul’s remarks in Romans, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same…” They then declare that any action taken against even an evil or oppressive government is wrong and we are to bide our time and let God deal with it.

How do we follow that thinking when faced with demonic rulers such as Adolph Hitler and the bullies we see currently in Iran? To be very open, I don’t know. Remember, when Paul wrote, Romans were killing Christians for sport. The Roman lions were the unbeatable opponent. Allow me to take a line from the United States’ Declaration of Independence.

“…all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security.”

The point is made here that people are more likely to continue to permit suffering rather than get rid of the familiar as long as the suffering is tolerable, (more likely that it is on someone else’s front porch and not my own). How much stronger is the desire to not go against the authorities when the authorities claim divine position and to go against them is to assure oneself of hell? This is particularly true when the religion being so used has been inculcated into their very DNA since they were born.

I must choose how to correctly interpret what Paul’s words meant to the people of his day and how that applies to people today. After much soul-searching and prayerful consideration, I determined that if I must err, if it is an error, I choose to stand on the side of protecting those who are unable to protect themselves. When any person, organization, political body, government or military does evil against any person, particularly those most vulnerable, the weak, infirm, the widows and orphans, the children, then I must stand between them and that evil. I believe the weight of the biblical evidence supports such action. I pray and thank God that He continues to have mercy upon me when such decisions must be rendered. I encourage anyone who might read this to determine for yourself where you stand. There will be no time to contemplate it when the time comes. The following poem by Martin Niemoller says it best. It’s titled, First They Came for the Jews.

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
Martin Niemöller

The Nazis imposed identification of the Jews

Will there be a time when the people of Iran have heard enough lies and seen enough abuse, felt the crush of unbridled power to that undefinable point and take a stand to demand there be revolution? In a bold move recently, rather than face a possible showdown with the IRGC, (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), Ayatollah Khamenei played a slick card trick. He has moved to declare those who were killed by Iranian forces in the street riots over the past few weeks as martyrs. What does that mean? It means the families of those killed are set financially for life. They have an honored status now in Iran. What better way to quell a rebellion than buying off those responsible for it.

Israel apparently has decided to allow the U.S. to take the lead in actions against Iran. Strategists suggest that as long as the U.S. is pushing back against Iran, Israel will be able to allow the U.S. to take the lead and perhaps ease the threat against itself for a short time. Still others believe it is only a matter of time until Tehran acts against Israel again.

Courtesy STRATFOR

SUMMARY

“So, now what?” In the movie, Big Jake, (you knew it was coming, right?), John Wayne is an absentee father now reconnected with two of his sons to retrieve a kidnapped grandson. Events make the sons believe their father stole the $1M meant as ransom and when they challenge him, he towers over them, hands on his hips and defiantly says, “So, now what?” The sons had a choice to make. Do they challenge or cower?

Does the United States wait for Israel to act? Do we wait and encourage the Iranian people to act? To think that U.S. resources are not currently in place creating incentives for insurrection is to be going about with one’s head in the sand. Will government changes at the top in Moscow make a difference?

Iran has threatened just this week that if the Western countries open the Iranian nuclear file before the U.N. Security Council, they will leave the non-proliferation agreement… Whoopi! As if anyone believed they were following it anyway!

For me, the line in the sand of the Arabian deserts is drawn with two sticks. One stick is the expansion and development of Iran’s nuclear capability. If they approach weaponization, all deals are off and the Iranian people need to know they are in a time crunch for acting in their own best interests. When that line is crossed, there is no doubt there will be collateral damage. Notice, I did not say of innocent bystanders because, at some point, inaction becomes collusion. If nothing else, they should remove themselves from harm’s way for their children’s sake if not their own. The children, sadly, will be at risk because of their parents’ choices.

The second stick is best visualized in the hands of a young American soldier in the desert with a wife and child back home in the States. When he and his brothers are fired upon, the green flag is down, the gate is up and America responds for as many furlongs as it takes.

In every smallest detail, we pray. We pray for peace in the region. We pray for the safety of our troops. We pray for the salvation of every individual in Iran and beyond and we pray for divine guidance for our leaders, particularly for wisdom for our Commander in Chief.

I thank God that He has allowed me to be a citizen of this great nation which I have sworn to defend. I thank Him all the more that He sought me out to be a citizen of His heavenly kingdom and may I never do, say or write anything to tarnish His Name.

“I solemnly swear… I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States… against all enemies foreign and domestic…that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same…so help me God.“

Impeachment – The Enemy Within

“America will never be destroyed from the outside.  If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” Abraham Lincoln

1838 speech – Springfield, Illinois

I am driven to write this, not out of a desire to share something of good that has come to my soul and it would near strike me down if I did not share it; rather, this is something heart-rending which tears at my soul and longs to be set down in print for others to consider.

I was not far from a local school recently and as I got closer to it, just about at the ‘School Zone’ signs, I saw a yard sign. Written upon it was a celebratory exclamation because the House had moved forward on impeachment proceedings against President Trump. Gladness and celebration at the prospect of taking the leader of our nation, the most powerful position in the world and attempt to show he has committed high crimes and/or misdemeanors worthy of being driven from office? How many children see that sign every day and what do they think about what they hear concerning America?

How many children see that sign every day and what do they think about what they hear concerning America?

No American should revel in the fact that our nation is at a horrendous crossroads requiring us to consider such a trial. We should, rather, be broken and saddened by the state of our nation. This is not a political ‘we win – you lose’ game. This is all about the vibrant life of the greatest nation the world has ever known, so blessed by God; yet, so ardently denying Him.

Yes, it is a good thing we have a system which allows us to hold the President of our nation accountable to the people. But it is a sad and unnerving thing to think we have come to this point. The move toward impeachment should be a very last resort and one which is undertaken with deep sadness and regret, desiring any other option than this one to be possible, regardless of which side of the political fence – because we are Americans first over political party.

It matters not whether you like President Trump or despise him. If the Democrats are doing this solely out of malice and a whimsical belief that to bring President Trump down is to elevate their party, how very wrong it is! Neither American party will be enhanced by an impeachment. Both will lie, wounded and bleeding in the morass of the swamp they are creating. America’s enemies will win the day when we are so divided as to spend our elected representatives’ time dealing with a witch hunt, at its worst and the lawful taking down of a president over what may prove to be another red herring. They all have so much more pressing work to accomplish.

There may never have been a time in our history when the two principal parties in America’s system are so opposite one-another in their beliefs. To bring it to its simplest, the Democratic Party is widely endorsing the socialist economic methods which seek to evenly distribute the wealth of the people, no matter who worked harder or who achieved more. Those who have will give to those who have not, so everyone has a similar station in life. Healthcare is no cost to the individual because everyone is paying for it. That is translated, those who have worked hard and earned the most are paying for it for everyone else. Margaret Thatcher, once Prime Minister of England is reported to have said, “The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of someone else’s money.” If Communism is so wonderful, if socialized medicine so great… why do the citizens of countries where such can be had are clamoring at our borders trying to get in?

Sadly, such rhetoric as free healthcare, free college education, a monthly income guaranteed by the government for everyone whether you work or not, whether you are a citizen, or not still comes with a cost. Someone must pay for all these things. The richest will have loopholes to avoid being the ones to pay and, yes, that includes the Democrat politicians who are advocating it. All these bright juicy apples of temptation hang just within reach of those who advocate for this system, but more Democrats are needed. The answer, for them, is open borders. Let those who want to come, come regardless of any previous immigration limits and, yes, they all can have all the benefits – the freebies and they can have the right to vote, too! Problem solved, more Democrats. If one can get past the allure of all the free stuff, common sense tells you such a system cannot work. Why model ourselves after a system which failed so badly across Eastern Europe and the former U.S.S.R.

The Republican Party claims allegiance to ‘conservative’ governance with capitalism or free enterprise being the standard applied for economic planning. You earn it, you keep it minus a fair share to the government for services such as the military protection we value so greatly. Immigration is strictly limited to those who, coming in will be income producing and a positive benefit to the nation. Healthcare, insurance and as much of everything else as possible is privatized getting the government out of running every portion of our lives. The failure of Social Security should prove to anyone the government has no business trying to manage your money!

 The federal government has a very limited role, constitutionally. However, those roles have morphed over time by more stretching than any elastic has ever done – except for some Walmart shoppers’ wardrobes. Limited government, greater home (local) rule and the private lives of people being private; such is where the Republican Party has historically stood. They need to return to their roots.

Many who read this will say I have incorrectly stated this position or that and want to argue the fine points of each party’s platforms. Remember two things. First, I gave the caveat that I was stating the sides at their simplest. Second, this is not about which party is saying or doing whatever. This is focusing only on the issue of factionalism which is tearing our country apart. Every single one of us is to blame. If we have voted, we are to blame. If we have not voted, we are to blame. It is time we, the American people, held our representatives accountable to do the job we have sent them to do and to stop trying to destroy one another in hopes of improving their own station. If self advancement or even party advancement is what this entire impeachment is about then those behind it should be seen as traitors to the people they are supposed to represent.

Impeachment without true cause is horrific abuse of a political answer to the most grievous of situations with a President – using impeachments as a party tool to create division, confusion, and prevent progress to an administration simply because you disagree with him and long for something you think is better, but haven’t been able to win at the ballot box, is itself a misuse of authority and should be prosecuted.

 Any elected official who uses their Congressional power to advocate and vote for impeachment with the only motive being obstruction of the administration in office should be held accountable for their own misuse of power. Voting for impeachment should be a very heavy, last resort kind of move; when there truly are high crimes and misdemeanors being committed and every other remedy has been attempted and come up short then is the time to wrestle over the need to impeach. Not before every other possible solution has been exhausted. When people begin to clamor for impeachment before a person has even taken office is more than ridiculous, it is criminal.

Abraham Lincoln was right about many things. His quote, written at the beginning of this is so sadly correct. May God help us.

Art provided courtesy of Nathan Greene Studios.

The ‘Father of our Country’ our first president, General George Washington was elected to office before there was such a thing as political parties. As he prepared to retire after 8 years, when he was encouraged by many to seek a third term; he wrote an impassioned letter on his retirement from public office. He believed the Constitution needed to be ratified and he sought that through his pleas. To promote the strength of the Union, he urges the people to place their identity as Americans above their identities as members of a state, city, or region, and to focus their efforts and affection on the country above all other local interests. He reminds the people that they do not have more than slight differences in religion, manners, habits, and political principles, and their triumph and possession of independence and liberty is a result of working together.

Copy of lithograph courtesy of http://www.thefederalistpapers.org

President Washington was very wary of political parties and the sectionalism and greed for power and wealth may have on those in government service. Washington warns the people that political factions may seek to obstruct the execution of the laws created by the government, or to prevent the branches of government from enacting the powers provided them by the constitution. Such factions may claim to be trying to answer popular demands or solve pressing problems, but their true intentions are to take the power from the people and place it in the hands of unjust men. His wisdom echoes down through the centuries and should shake us from our slumber and urge us to watch with prayerful resolve the outworking of today’s political power-hungry despots. These political swankpots may actually have convinced themselves they are the answer to America’s concerns. Some who push for impeachment may truly believe our government will be so much better off with them at the helm. More likely, they have no altruistic motives but desire only the self-aggrandizement which pulls at their already grossly inflated egos.

Allow me to close on a more up-beat note. I have had the pleasure of knowing some very bright, dedicated and patriotic political persons. These truly seek office in order to serve their local communities, their state and our nation. Some of these are veterans who put their life on the line in countless ways and remain excited about coming to work in the people’s house daily. They too are bothered by what I have described here because they see it up-close and personally. These men and women long for a better day in America and they fear the demise we have outlined here. They deserve our prayerful support. Their’s is not an easy task and it is one which can be overwhelming to the point of despair. If you know of such a one also, please let them know you are in their corner. They need to hear from you.

From 13 to 50 maybe someday 52, Old Glory, she still waves for me and for you. Don’t let her down.

Union of the State

There is a place for debate and even open criticism under the First Amendment. However, unruly crowds that destroy property and create a public menace does more to aide and abet our nation’s enemies than it does to strengthen the power of the republic to represent all the people.

While traveling through the Southern USA, in an area a comedian once dubbed as  (imitating a televangelist voice) The Gold Buckle of the Bible Belt, I stopped for lunch at a small specialty shop. The town was the site of the meeting of the First Provincial Congress  August 25-27, 1774 (1) for discussion of what steps to take next afirst-provincial-congressgainst the oppression by the English. It is also a place that was important to the efforts of George Washington’s Continental Army and vital to General Burnside’s Union advance. Today it is  a unique tourist destination.(1)

The proprietor of this small establishment was, to my pleasant surprise, a Bosnian; a fact which opened the door to continuing our conversation because of this director’s long relationship with many dear young men and some others in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It was the day after President Trump’s interview with Bill O’Reilly when the President affirmed that he would work with Russian President Putin to defeat ISIS. The gentleman asked me if I felt President Trump’s statement was appropriate. When oreilly-trump-interviewconfronted with O’Reilly’s retort that Putin is a killer, the President said “There are a lot of killers. We’ve got a lot of killers … You think our country’s so innocent?”(1)  This business owner, a naturalized citizen, felt it was absolutely inappropriate for the President of the United States to say such a thing.

A short time later, a person with years of counter-terrorism experience asked me the exact same question. The attitude, it seems, on both sides of the aisle, is incredulity at the President’s remarks. Once again, I think that we will find that the President is crazy like a fox.  Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War, is often attributed to the following statement which is more accurately  credited to Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo (2) that expresses well what the President’s strategy may entail:  Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.  Make no mistake, he has a strategy. michael-corleoneIf he pushes back against Putin, then the term Cold War will be newly named after the Disney movie featuring Anna, Elsa and Olaf… Frozen.  Information on what Russia is planning would become much more difficult to get than it will be as pseudo-allies. President Trump knows that what information he gets will be filtered and sanitized… even manipulated; but, it won’t be locked down completely. Not so dissimilar to President Roosevelt’s take on Josef Stalin.

It is true that, in many respects, such a strategy carries an ends justifies the means qualifier. It is not unlike the U.S. working closely with Saudi Arabia whose regime is a lessor degree of diabolical than Putin. Is it an issue of ethics versus political reality? When does a national leader have the option to compromise national ethics (if such a thing exists)? If national ethics do exist and if it is possible; then, is the use of that option a matter of presidential authority or is it his right to do so? The difference being that, the first can be reviewed and over-ridden by Congress. The latter is sacrosanct. Of course, then, if such a national code of ethics does exist, the question becomes “Who defines it?”. For now, we’ll leave those questions for another discussion. The question now before us is: “To what degree do we, the people, have a duty to support our president?”

As Director and President of Security Consulting Investigations, LLC,  I am stating unequivocally that, even though we certainly will disagree with our President on tactics for terrorist interdiction and strategies for developing and maintaining necessary intelligence information, SCI will support and defend the Office of the President of the United States of America and we will do everything within our capabilities to support our President. We do believe that any Secret Service agent who openly proclaims that he or she will defy the requirements of their job and refuse to protect the president with their life should be immediately dismissed and lose all opportunities for work within the federal government. Also, any other agency, state, local or private shall have the right to, and be encouraged to, refuse to consider that person for employment for their flagrant disregard of their job responsibilities.

Security Consulting Investigations, LLC is proud to be a private  business registered in Ohio. We are licensed through the Ohio Department of Public Safety/Homeland Security with offices also in Los Angeles, California and Washington, D.C. We are thankful for the international work we have had to build security protocols and to learn from others who have survived decades of combating terrorism on their home front. From those diverse sources, Dr. Riggs wrote his most recent work, ‘Stretching the Thin Blue Line: Policing America in a Time of Heightened Threat, due out form Motivational Press soon!

We are thankful for being in a country where we can explain to prospective clients that we are a faith-based business and everything we do is bathed in prayer. Our country is an exceptional place to live, work and raise a family. SCI has many international resources but even so, we are Americans and proud of it. Even as Security Consulting Investigations, LLC supports the Office of President of the United States of America and the person who occupies that office, we do not blindly follow; but we do respect and give deference to both the office and the person.  If a change of the person who sits in the Oval Office is necessary, the place to do so is at the ballot box every four years, unless Congress takes action to impeach.  It is true that, as President Thomas Jefferson declared, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”(4)tree-of-liberty Jefferson was correct; but, he was not declaring the right to remove a president by assassination or violent overthrow when there are peaceful and effective means available. There is a place for debate and even open criticism under the First Amendment. However, unruly crowds that destroy property and create a public menace does more to aide and abet our nation’s enemies than it does to strengthen the power of the republic to represent all the people.

Those who want to chant that Mr. Trump is not their president are as free to leave this country as are all the Hollywood loud-mouths that declared that, if he won they would renounce their citizenship and leave the United States. As far as SCI is aware, not one single U-Haul has been backed up to any of the multi-million dollar homes in Beverly Hills and elsewhere to help those fulfill their promise to relocate. We encourage those who have no true plan or methodology to improve the conditions for which they demand a response, other than to scream vile slogans and disrupt the public peace, to grow-up, accept the legal transition of power, and get involved with your congressman to work to improve conditions for which you have a heart. Then, if you remain dissatisfied, help to seek a qualified candidate for the 2020 election. Until then, respect the Office of the President and pray for President Trump. He has one of the most difficult jobs in the world and he needs our prayerful support.

May God bless America and may America bless God.

*********

Endnotes

(1)         http://www.carolana.com/NC/Revolution/nc_revolution_government_1775.html(2) https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2017/02/07/bill-oreilly-seems-fine-with-trumps-excusing-putin/?utm_term=.1801a0930799                            (3)         Character Michael Corleone, The Godfather Part II (1974)                                          (4)          http://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/100

%d bloggers like this: