tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72988309679412132482024-03-05T14:27:39.826-08:00gmancasefileSteve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-41720029352400323062013-01-25T16:52:00.001-08:002013-01-25T16:59:57.552-08:00GUN CONTROL AND THE FOOLS OF CHELM: A Treatise by David Mamet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Rarely have I read a more brilliant treatise on the second amendment. Pulitzer prize winning playwright David Mamet on governments which claim the right to tell people what they "need" and what they do not "need."</b><br />
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Sadly, I am afraid that Mr. Mamet must not prepare himself to have his intellect and his compassion questioned and denigrated by those on the <i>extreme</i> left of the debate. I've already seen the first headlines.<br />
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Please follow the link to GmanCaseFile.com for the article.<br />
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<a href="http://gmancasefile.com/1/post/2013/01/gun-laws-and-the-fools-of-chelm-by-david-mamet.html">http://gmancasefile.com/1/post/2013/01/gun-laws-and-the-fools-of-chelm-by-david-mamet.html</a><br />
<br />Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-59014292662335824472013-01-25T16:33:00.001-08:002013-01-25T16:59:03.824-08:00"Chief's Special;" The Mother of All Gun Control and the .357 Magnum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> FEINSTEIN GETS A GUN.</span></b><br />
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Follow link below to GmanCaseFile.com<br />
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<a href="http://gmancasefile.com/1/post/2013/01/chiefs-special.html">http://gmancasefile.com/1/post/2013/01/chiefs-special.html</a><br />
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<br />Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-22417263953760344372013-01-04T14:48:00.000-08:002013-01-04T14:48:04.405-08:00THE YELLOW-BRICK ROAD OF GUN CONTROL<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
THE YELLOW-BRICK ROAD TO OBLIVION</h2>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<i> The panacea of "Gun Control" as a stand-alone option to school violence</i></h3>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The Wizard of Oz is a classic piece of literature and cinema in which an innocent girl and her lovable dog find themselves in a world they don’t recognize and where there is danger at every turn. Oz is a place where even an innocent young girl could meet sudden death at the hands of unimaginable evil. It is also the story of a quest to return to the familiar, warm and safe world she once knew.</span><br />
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America is on its own, similar, post-Newtown quest. We have all been thrust into a new world where innocent children meet sudden death at the hands of unimaginable evil, and we are all desperately longing for the world we knew before, where loving friends embraced us, where we were safe, and where the world still made sense.<br />
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Like Dorothy, we’re not in Kansas anymore. Unlike Dorothy, we can’t go back.<br />
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Yet still, we’re being told to follow a ‘Yellow-brick road’ which promises to guide us back to safety and security. But this road is both monolithic and naive. It is a route which depends upon equal parts wishful thinking and emotion. But the hard truth is that the genie is out of the bottle; guns will never be erased from the world, nor this society in particular. Depending solely on a solution which has at its core a requirement for the complete unavailability of guns is simply a dizzy panacea Neville Chamberlain might have championed. Prohibition taught us that, the 'war on drugs' tells us that, and the increasing size of the 'nuclear fraternity' tells us that.<br />
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People from all sides of the political spectrum have suggested road maps out of our current crisis. It seems, however, that many want to disregard answers which do not support their pre-determined position or advance their political view of firearms (good or bad), the second amendment or civil liberties. One example is the suggestion of putting armed protection for the children in schools, which is inexplicably drawing criticism.<br />
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Likely, most of the criticism is due to the source of the suggestion; Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association (NRA), rather than due to the merits of the suggestion. The reluctance of some Americans to be willing to protect the lives of their own children in school is mind-boggling and frankly, troubling.<br />
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Sadly, the road of gold we’ve been told to follow leads not to the promised land, but to the land of false hope. Along the way we, like Dorothy, are meeting a cast of strangely familiar characters.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Sometimes, it's not the brain people lack,<br /> it's the common sense</i></b></td></tr>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
THE STRAW MAN</h3>
Oz’s straw man, “Scarecrow,” had a specific need; he lacked a….well, he lacked knowledge. <br />
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John Crisp, a teacher at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, is in all likelihood a principled, intelligent man. However, he recently commented on a topic on which he appears to have little experience or knowledge. Mr. Crisp opined on the topic of armed guards in elementary schools (as postulated by the NRA) on January 2, 2013 in a syndicated newspaper editorial. In that editorial, Mr. Crisp alleges;<br />
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“The NRA imagines that no deranged killer would dare enter a school protected by a retired police officer with a .38 revolver.”<br />
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No, they actually don’t, Mr. Crisp. You and you alone have postulated that our children be protected by “a retired police officer with a .38 revolver.” What was actually said, according to the transcript, was a call for "qualified" armed security, and your glib statement about a .38 revolver is not helpful; especially at the time when anti-gun movements are labeling anything more capable than a revolver a 'semi-automatic' weapon. Your answer intentionally infers lack of qualification or ability. Putting untrained, armed persons (even ex-police officers) in schools is not a safe option, and not one that anybody is seriously advocating.<br />
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I have no idea of what Mr. Crisp teaches at Del Mar College, but he apparently has not made himself familiar with the behavior, actions, history, strategy or statistics involving active shooters and active-shooter attacks. I have. I spent years studying and instructing on active shooter prevention and interdiction. I am a certified firearms instructor, and have spent hundreds of hours instructing law enforcement officers and private executive protection teams how to respond effectively to an active shooter. I spent more than two straight years training active-shooter response teams at a major university how to effectively end an active-shooter attack on their campus.<br />
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Mr. Crisp's first misconception is with the attacker himself.<br />
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Almost always, the active shooter’s end-game is to die in the attack. Their homicidal ideation requires control of the world around them to the point that they cannot allow themselves to be killed by law enforcement. Part of the satisfaction they get is denying that ‘privilege’ to anybody but themselves. Therefore, in almost every single recorded case, the active shooter has ended their attack, fled or (usually) killed themselves at the moment they were engaged by any armed resistance, police or civilian. This is a statistical fact, not some imagined theory about what such an attack would look like. This fact is proven by the Newtown shooting itself. Lanza, though he was wearing a ballistic vest, killed himself when confronted by the first police officers. He had no intention of “shooting it out.” It mattered not their training or even their weaponry. He killed himself at the sight of them!<br />
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I have been an FBI first-responder to a school shooting where five-year olds were machine-gunned coming back into the school after playing soccer. I have seen the blood, I have spoken with terrified parents. I have been on site while the SWAT teams searched for the shooter. I spent years on those SWAT teams. I have interviewed a school-shooter hours after he shot children. He told me face to face that he had chosen the school he attacked over all others he cased because the others had security. He didn’t even remember whether the guards which intimidated him were armed or not.<br />
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The shooter also told me that he stopped shooting and fled the school when he heard sirens. He had intended to kill himself, but didn’t have it in him. It’s one thing to shoot a defenseless child, it’s another thing to kill one’s self or fight it out with cops. If school shooters were brave fighters, they wouldn’t be shooting children.<br />
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(As a point of fact, the following was true in the shooting to which I responded:<br />
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1. The gun used was a Chinese-made "knock-off" of an Uzi, which was shipped to the U.S. from China. Yes, a "knock-off" like a Gucci purse or fake Ray Bans. Knock off guns are made in dozens of countries around the world by unregulated, unregistered entities; much like cocaine.<br />
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2. The gun was illegal in all fifty states.<br />
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3. The gun was unregistered, and not purchased through a gun store; the purchase was illegal even if the gun was legal.<br />
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4. The gun had been heavily modified--it had been shortened and converted to a sub-machine gun--by the shooter using tools he purchased at Lowes--not purchased or regulated gun parts.<br />
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5. The shooter was a convicted felon who was not legally allowed to possess a firearm of any kind.<br />
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6. The shooter was two months out of a mental hospital where he had checked himself in for "an overpowering urge to kill people." He warned the doctors not to release him--that he would kill. They did, and he did.<br />
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7. It was illegal to possess that gun on school grounds in California.<br />
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8. In possessing the gun and committing the crime, the shooter violated over a dozen existing gun laws. Laws against what he possessed and used were useless.<br />
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9. The U.S. Justice Department, specifically the United States Attorney in Seattle, Washington, refused to prosecute the individual who illegally procured the weapon for the known-felon shooter, even after a personal letter to Janet Reno from the United States Attorney in Los Angeles.<br />
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10. It can hardly be said that gun laws allowed the crime. The shooter just ignored them. This was much more an abject failure of the mental health system.)<br />
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Mr. Crisp simply doesn’t understand the subject about which he is offering an opinion. This illustrates the importance of experts making decisions; not uninvolved, unfamiliar pundits. Crisp’s reasoning, by the way, would also invalidate the need for anybody to know first aid or CPR. Though nobody is suggesting “a retired cop with a .38,” just such a person at Newtown would have saved lives, regardless of Crisp’s opinion. Not because the retired cop would win a gun battle with Lanza, but because Lanza would have killed himself had he been confronted.<br />
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If I sound upset, it is because uninformed people are making fallacious arguments which have the potential of allowing the deaths of children.<br />
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There is another type of “straw man.” As those who have passed high-school level logic courses know, a ‘straw man’ is an argument which is invalid because it misrepresents the opponent’s position. "Retired cop with a .38" is a straw man.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdPO70R9HD2BQ39Ln5FT3YOqOpwurQisnIVVZEV3HXZCEK4gRwojPxxskJqDmMct-0s-DEahFNOWEVOAt83i8Yxb2zUPfV5Vjao4SSGUDBuAZQhakxY4kdtsSq7uN3E7xQGrPQKvXgrOw/s1600/school22n-1-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdPO70R9HD2BQ39Ln5FT3YOqOpwurQisnIVVZEV3HXZCEK4gRwojPxxskJqDmMct-0s-DEahFNOWEVOAt83i8Yxb2zUPfV5Vjao4SSGUDBuAZQhakxY4kdtsSq7uN3E7xQGrPQKvXgrOw/s320/school22n-1-web.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>The NY Daily News' fantasy pick for school security</i></b></td></tr>
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The straw man status of Crisp’s argument is well-demonstrated by an opposite straw man example in another opinion piece which nonetheless agrees with Crisp’s overall position on armed protection for children. This time, it’s (not surprisingly) the tabloid New York Daily News, which published the following breathless headline on December 21, 2012:<br />
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“NRA's 'ludicrous' proposal to have armed guards at every school would cost $3.3 billion”<br />
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They followed the headline with an inflammatory photo of an FBI SWAT agent and a caption which might one day be known as "the mother of all straw man arguments."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFrfAHUKy0tuwinOGI5sIQILdZ7Vmvk9Gx1YhOnAZgywxeu5lRAOM1Ggy6uPUvQy9t988Js5N2JUh7vlmVzE0SNWVq0tfqBYj9UKfoT3OyNa6woJNIF1fX_qsjErllXUZt-CrKB-yMlU/s1600/med_01-a-jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFrfAHUKy0tuwinOGI5sIQILdZ7Vmvk9Gx1YhOnAZgywxeu5lRAOM1Ggy6uPUvQy9t988Js5N2JUh7vlmVzE0SNWVq0tfqBYj9UKfoT3OyNa6woJNIF1fX_qsjErllXUZt-CrKB-yMlU/s200/med_01-a-jpg.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Intentional Stereotype.</i></b></td></tr>
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“If NRA chief Wayne LaPierre had his way, all school kids would see something like this heavily armed FBI agent as they walked into their schools.”<br />
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Really? I couldn't find that in LaPierre's transcript. Well, which is it? A heavily-armed FBI SWAT agent, which will, according to one of the quotes in the article, “Ruin the learning environment," causing students to believe "...their schools are prisons," or an old, retired cop with a .38?<br />
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If you’re going to misrepresent the words of a man, you might at least both want to get on the same page.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
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<b><i>THE COWARDLY LION</i></b></h4>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<b>THE COWARDLY LION</b></h3>
On her journey in Oz, of course, Dorothy met a blustery but cowardly creature. To hide his fear, he tried to frighten others. He might have reminded one of the Daily News.<br />
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The Daily News headline screamed that protecting our own otherwise defenseless children in their schools would cost “$3.3 billion dollars” annually.<br />
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Is that all?<br />
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Following the attacks of September 11, the United States moved forward to protect airliners and their passengers, as well as those to whom they posed a danger to on the ground.<br />
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Sky Marshals were recruited and highly trained, and are on a large number of the tens of thousands of airline flights which launch throughout the United States every day. Does anybody doubt that Sky Marshals are highly skilled and well-armed? Does having them on our planes make anybody feel less safe? Does their presence make anybody feel as if they are in not an airliner, but a prison?<br />
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Have you ever even seen a Sky Marshal on a flight of yours? Have you ever even known one was there?<br />
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If the Untied States could, within just a few months, create the TSA and institute the training and deployment of highly-skilled, highly-trained, plain-clothes professional security personnel on board flights, why are we unable to conceive of that for our children? If we are willing to protect 150 businessmen and vacationers on an airline flight, are we not willing to protect 500 unarmed, helpless, innocent elementary school children in their school? Do they deserve less? We have armed security in our banks. Is our money more important than our children?<br />
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No, we're not in Kansas anymore, and we're not going back. Yes, it’s a harsh reality that we have to contemplate our children being shot in their own schools. But does anybody doubt anymore that there is a danger?<br />
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Or are we simply lacking the courage to deal with the danger in a way which does not advance our personal political and social philosophies?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>THE TIN MAN</i></b></td></tr>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<i>THE TIN MAN</i></h3>
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Finally, Dorothy met the Tin Man, a man who lacked a heart. He didn’t know how to love, he didn’t know how to care. He likely wouldn’t spend the money it took to protect somebody other than himself.<br />
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If the Daily News’ hysterical headline was true, it would cost $3.3 billion dollars annually to protect our children in their schools. To put that in perspective, TSA’s budget (including Sky Marshals) is $8.1 billion per year. Apparently, to some people, businessmen and women are more important than our children. Two-and-a-half times more important, to put a number on it.<br />
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For further perspective on the relative importance of $3.3 billion and our children (which the tabloid implied was "ludicrous"), the Daily News Headline for 1/2/13 screamed:<br />
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“'They told us to basically drop dead!' Angry New York residents and pols fuming over latest Sandy snub”<br />
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The snub, of course, was the failure of congress to vote on a $60 billion bill for relief for victims of hurricane Sandy. But $3 billion to keep our children from being shot to death in kindergarten? That's too much?<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<i>Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!</i></h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5lcM9Wuyc_IZQ6haJSe6gWJ-hR3M16LXOn0ygAq4hLox0N85coSUt4i50NQ6PKXUaxKgkTZH1HXy9EnUn0B-TCSlr05WksRX9qKaAr4uHrvZf_VPu2bWxQbcwfmZp89xf0ftg6JKTJc/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5lcM9Wuyc_IZQ6haJSe6gWJ-hR3M16LXOn0ygAq4hLox0N85coSUt4i50NQ6PKXUaxKgkTZH1HXy9EnUn0B-TCSlr05WksRX9qKaAr4uHrvZf_VPu2bWxQbcwfmZp89xf0ftg6JKTJc/s1600/download.jpg" /></a>After 9/11, America’s number one national priority was the war on terrorism. I know, I was in charge of the FBI’s Al Qaeda investigations squad in Los Angeles. But concurrently with combating terrorism, (which only the most naïve person would believe will ever be completely stopped), we began protecting our facilities, our airliners and our people, with security, with guards and with weapons. But after Newtown, armed guards to protect <i>children </i>are 'ludicrous?'<br />
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A cynical person might be tempted to believe that anti-gun activists don’t want security in schools because that might undermine the perceived need for gun control. Guns as a solution? Horrified silence.<br />
<br />
Do we need to learn better how to keep guns out of the hands of psychotic people? Yes.<br />
<br />
Do we need to keep unnecessarily dangerous weapons out of civilian hands? Yes.<br />
<br />
Do we need to rigorously enforce existing gun laws? Yes.<br />
<br />
Should we be working on those things immediately? Yes.<br />
<br />
Will 'gun control' be sufficient in the short term? No.<br />
<br />
Will 'gun control' solve the problem in the long term? No.<br />
<br />
We need to deal with the situation as it is today, not what we want it to be in a year. And we need to deal with a world where guns--even if drastically reduced, even if controlled and criminalized--and regardless of the fondest hopes and desires of many people, will never disappear from the face of the earth.<br />
<br />
Unlike Oz, when unimaginable evil arrives at our door, we cannot depend on a house to drop on the wicked witch. Unlike Oz, we cannot find comfort in beautiful scenery, bumbling but kind friends and comic villains. Our world is non-fiction, and our villains are terribly real and possess unspeakable evil we would have thought almost unspeakable just thirty years ago.<br />
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By not taking rational steps to safeguard our own flesh and blood while other steps (such as gun control) are underway, we are skipping down the yellow-brick road to oblivion.<br />
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Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-8011137302434368232012-11-05T12:17:00.001-08:002012-11-05T12:17:16.360-08:00A Veteran's Day Thank You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKdk-QhkCazOz1JfNCbdtu4nsr3tf01JFMXCeOml26H537AD-8KO2P9MiarqKNerdO20PGMEMoA7iBoiDJ11J_R_yIoPwbYQfRGOLlRnKBjLdqfsS-By33cJZFCZtLn3yLGIvSwN0Gfk/s1600/ROUNTRIP.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKdk-QhkCazOz1JfNCbdtu4nsr3tf01JFMXCeOml26H537AD-8KO2P9MiarqKNerdO20PGMEMoA7iBoiDJ11J_R_yIoPwbYQfRGOLlRnKBjLdqfsS-By33cJZFCZtLn3yLGIvSwN0Gfk/s320/ROUNTRIP.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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A VETERAN'S DAY THANK YOU.</div>
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Michelle's grandpa Richard “Dick” Ketchum, was the pilot of
a B-24D in World War II. He was a larger than life (though not tall) gruff
Texan rancher and one of my heroes. Knowing him was one of the great
experiences of my life. Steve, Jr. found a post on-line from his late co-pilot which
included a photo of Dick and his crew just prior to deploying to their
temporary base at Benghazi, Libya. Richard is standing, second from the left. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Three months after this photo was taken, (12/1/43, nearly 22
years to the day from the birth of his granddaughter Michelle) over Cologne,
Germany, they lost an engine en-route to the target and attempted to continue
on their bomb run instead of abort, drop their bombs and return home at
high-speed. They were sitting ducks. They and one other aircraft became
separated from the protection of the bomb group and were set on by fighters.
The other aircraft was shot down with no survivors. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Richard's plane caught fire, but he stayed at the controls
until all the survivors got out. The wing then blew off, nearly trapping him in
the tumbling aircraft. Crawling out of his seat, he was able to find his
parachute (pilots and co-pilots didn’t wear theirs in the air). Amazingly, he succeeded
in donning his parachute and bail out through the still-full bomb-bay, escaping
less than a minute before the aircraft exploded. He eluded capture until the
next day, and spent the balance of the European war in Stalag Luft I on the Baltic.
After repatriation, he began training on the B-29 for the upcoming invasion of
Japan. The war ended before he completed the training. He remained in the
service after the war and commanded a DEW line station in northern Alaska in the
1960’s, flying until the end of his career.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Today; his children and his grandchildren (Michelle, Jeff,
Eric, Chad, Heather, Terice, Carrie and Evan) know that 'the right thing'
frequently requires sacrifice. I am grateful (most of the time) for the iron
will and wisdom he taught my wife and his children and grandchildren—and now
his great-grandchildren. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In this photo, Richard is standing, second from the right.
His crew flew harrowing missions out of Benghazi and survived only a few
missions after returning to England. The link I have to Benghazi and the
sacrifice of Americans there is still fresh.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dick’s late co-pilot, Clint Gruber, annotated the snapshot:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>"This photo
(taken with my camera) shows our crew at Hardwick in England in early August,
1943, just prior to flying to Benghazi to rejoin our Group after the low level
Ploesti mission. We had just acquired a new Navigator and a new airplane which
we named ROUNTRIP. Upon arrival at Benghazi, the powers that be, took away our
ROUNTRIP and assigned IRON ASS (42-40769) to us." [It was in “Iron Ass”
that they were shot down.]<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Standing (L-R)</div>
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Navigator - Dave Stamper (KILLED)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bombardier - Fred Grenwis (POW)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Co-Pilot - Clint Gruber (POW)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pilot - Dick Ketchum (POW)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Eng/Top Turret Gunner - Leon Sellers </div>
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Kneeling (L-R) (KILLED)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Waist Gunner - PJ Tramontin (POW)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Waist Gunner - Floyd Dawson (UNK)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Asst. Eng/Tunnel Gunner - John Sykes (POW)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Radio Operator - Nelson Crawford (POW)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tail Gunner - Harry Byerman (KILLED)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyxu4dq5DiuYucWj-R-k1cwwyuejfR_qsWF-jwjUOtNd5tgkgRr_DpLRRuxPeS-Hs3Z5STrz7H3IslQibJVH0x1qw3XZsDfO_mt5T0msIuFLPGuHxV1yNQItmxTANW5wKT3ulLI4QqDI/s1600/Iron+Ass+Crash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyxu4dq5DiuYucWj-R-k1cwwyuejfR_qsWF-jwjUOtNd5tgkgRr_DpLRRuxPeS-Hs3Z5STrz7H3IslQibJVH0x1qw3XZsDfO_mt5T0msIuFLPGuHxV1yNQItmxTANW5wKT3ulLI4QqDI/s320/Iron+Ass+Crash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard's pilot seat (note unfastened belt) in the wreckage of the cockpit of "Iron Ass" in a Cologne suburb. Richard was 20 years old at the time of the shoot-down.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-83123426320057634532012-10-23T21:49:00.000-07:002012-10-23T22:03:13.141-07:00Italian Geologists Convicted of Manslaughter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeXFkrXhTTlEmxJCpWuJ17OE7kh1i9RIYru9HY2z5xE6PuFjsNp3bchsFvoMYuv_DgVbK47KPWie-3I-ChBjHSCedHYefH7uTNY9SMnP8-WQ62ly19CsOP6Dj9bh7RR0uGnfH6Cbw87I/s1600/flat_earth_society_membership_certificate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeXFkrXhTTlEmxJCpWuJ17OE7kh1i9RIYru9HY2z5xE6PuFjsNp3bchsFvoMYuv_DgVbK47KPWie-3I-ChBjHSCedHYefH7uTNY9SMnP8-WQ62ly19CsOP6Dj9bh7RR0uGnfH6Cbw87I/s320/flat_earth_society_membership_certificate.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“LADIES
AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE LANDED IN ROME. LOCAL TIME IS OCTOBER 22, 1487”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Sometimes something is so sublimely idiotic that it needs no
comment. No introduction is necessary, no closing remarks called for. While the
actions reported on in the following article are an exquisite example of that
type of event, yet I can’t help but comment just a little. L’Aquila, Italy is
107 miles (as the tumbrel rolls) from Perugia where Amanda Knox was branded a
witch in the year 2011 (A.D.) So, under the heading of, “You can’t make this
stuff up, folks,” I submit the following:<o:p></o:p></div>
<h1>
<i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">7
experts convicted of manslaughter in Italy for failing to adequately warn about
deadly quake<o:p></o:p></span></i></h1>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Published October 22, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Associated Press<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">L'AQUILA, Italy – In a verdict that sent shock waves through
the scientific community, an Italian court convicted seven experts of
manslaughter on Monday for failing to adequately warn residents of the risk
before an earthquake struck central Italy in 2009, killing more than 300
people.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The defendants, all prominent scientists or geological and
disaster experts, were sentenced to six years in prison.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Earthquake experts worldwide decried the trial as ridiculous,
contending there was no way of knowing that a flurry of tremors would lead to a
deadly quake.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">"It's a sad day for science," said seismologist Susan
Hough, of the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena, Calif. "It's
unsettling."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">That fellow seismic experts in Italy were singled out in the case
"hits you in the gut," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">In Italy, convictions aren't definitive until after at least one
appeal, so it was unlikely any of the defendants would face jail immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Italian officials and experts have been prosecuted for
quake-triggered damage in the past, including a 2002 school collapse in
southern Italy that killed 27 children and a teacher. But that case centered on
allegations of shoddy construction in quake-prone areas.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Among those convicted Monday were some of Italy's best known and
most internationally respected seismologists and geological experts, including
Enzo Boschi, former head of the National Institute of Geophysics and
Volcanology.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">"I am dejected, desperate," Boschi said. "I thought
I would have been acquitted. I still don't understand what I was convicted
of."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The trial began in September 2011 in this Apennine town, whose
devastated historic center is still largely deserted.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The defendants were accused of giving "inexact, incomplete
and contradictory information" about whether small tremors felt by
L'Aquila residents in the weeks and months before the April 6, 2009, quake
should have been grounds for a warning.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The 6.3-magnitude temblor killed 308 people in and around the
medieval town and forced survivors to live in tent camps for months.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Many much smaller tremors had rattled the area in the previous
months, causing frightened people to wonder if they should evacuate.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">"I consider myself innocent before God and men," said
another convicted defendant, Bernardo De Bernardinis, a former official of the
national Civil Protection Agency.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Prosecutors had sought convictions and four-year sentences during
the trial. They argued that the L'Aquila disaster was tantamount to
"monumental negligence," and cited the devastation wrought in 2005
when levees failed to protect New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Relatives of some who perished in the 2009 quake said justice had
been done. Ilaria Carosi, sister of one of the victims, told Italian state TV
that public officials must be held responsible "for taking their job
lightly."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The world's largest multidisciplinary science society, the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, condemned the charges,
verdict and sentencing as a complete misunderstanding about the science behind
earthquake probabilities.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are swarms of seismic activity regularly in Italy and most
do not end up causing dangerous earthquakes, said geologist Brooks Hanson,
deputy editor of the organization's Science magazine. He said that if
seismologists had to warn of a quake with every series of tremors, there would
be too many false alarms and panic.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">"With earthquakes we just don't know," Hanson said
Monday. "We just don't know how a swarm will proceed."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Quake scientist Maria Beatrice Magnani, who followed the trial
closely and knows the defendants professionally, called the outcome
"pretty shocking."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">She disagreed with putting scientists on trial, and contended that
the death toll would have been lower had buildings in the quake-prone area been
better reinforced.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The verdict left Magnani and others in the field wondering about
the way they articulate their work.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">"We need to be extremely careful about what we say, and the
information we provide has to be precise. We cannot allow ourselves to
slip," said Magnani, an associate research professor at the University of
Memphis.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Comments on Twitter about the verdict abounded, with references to
Galileo, the Italian scientist who was tried as a heretic in 1633 for his
contention that the Earth revolved around the sun and not vice versa as Roman
Catholic Church teaching then held. In 1992, Pope John Paul II declared that the
church had erred in its ruling against the astronomer.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Still, some experts argued that the trial was about communicating
risk and not about whether scientists can or cannot predict earthquakes.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">"This was about how they communicated" with a frightened
public, said David Ropeik, a risk communications consultant who teaches at
Harvard and offered advice to one defendant scientist. It was "not Galileo
redux," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Defense lawyer Filippo Dinacci predicted that
the L'Aquila court's verdict would have a chilling effect on officials tasked
with protecting Italians in natural disasters. Public officials would be afraid
to "do anything," Dinacci told reporters.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Frances D'Emilio reported from Rome. AP science writers Alicia
Chang in Los Angeles and Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this
report<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
<b>IN OTHER NEWS:<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">In a daring pre-dawn raid, SWAT teams from Rome and Turin arrested
the entire staff of the “Servizio Meteorologico” (Italian Meteorological
Institute) for a 1908 snowstorm in northern Italy which killed 4 mountain
climbers. While no one at the Servizion Meteorologico was actually alive in
1908, Italian authorities charged the 123 defendants as accomplices to murderer
under the Italian judiciary doctrine of “six-degrees of separation”</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">A court in Milan has handed down an indictment against the
builders of a 30-story building which was hit by a light aircraft in 2001,
killing three. The builders and architects were charged with “placing the
building in air, which is where airplanes fly.” Milanese prosecutors are quoted
as saying, “What’s so difficult about this? Air? Airplane? Is it not obvious?”</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-indent: -0.25in;"> The 250 year search for “The Boogie Man” continues in Sicily. Searchers have now begun to spread out on foot. Local citizens have been warned to obey their parents</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-indent: -0.25in;">A request for extradition has been forwarded to the Irish Republic, demanding that they turn over “The Leprechaun.” He is accused of currency rigging, in that he has been proven to hoard gold near the end of the rainbow.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-indent: -0.25in;">Napoli, Italy: A warrant has been issued for a Neopolitan youth by the name of Pinocchio. He is wanted for perjury.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02khUsmkTUgjARCMc-_q9oBfu03Ms349i3donChjj2divLaVb3V8JB_viH88vcxT4ZKx8YomA3QDhELzpeXSD5Ud_EUNNjdG-Bwf7N0zcPVvHHz48MvpagMNr-bRnD4HTXGfxLsk8DWI/s1600/pinokio-02.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02khUsmkTUgjARCMc-_q9oBfu03Ms349i3donChjj2divLaVb3V8JB_viH88vcxT4ZKx8YomA3QDhELzpeXSD5Ud_EUNNjdG-Bwf7N0zcPVvHHz48MvpagMNr-bRnD4HTXGfxLsk8DWI/s200/pinokio-02.gif" width="148" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Police Composite Sketch of Suspect<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<ul>
<li><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Louis Pasteur (1822 – 1895) was convicted in absentia this week in
Avezzano for failing to prevent the “Black Death” plague which took millions of
lives in the years 1348-1350. The families of the victims have been awarded
several billion euros apiece from the Pasteur family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The origin of cancer has allegedly been traced to the CIA by an
Italian prosecutor in Firenza. The entire CIA is being sought for the crime,
which is believed to have occurred on or before 6,000 BC.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ethiopia was fined €600 billion by a court in Orbetello, Italy for
armed resistance to Mussolini’s invasion in 1936. Demand is made for return of
lost property.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A San Salvo court today indicted Pope Benedict XVI and
(posthumously) Pope John Paul II for not being Italian.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In a landmark move, the Vatican today gave absolution to God for “innumerable
acts of God” (including lightning, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and
avalanches) which are believed to have killed untold people. They hope that
this move will remove any obstacles God feels in dealing with humankind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A reward of €1 million was announced today for the return of Italy’s
second boot. It was allegedly lost in a card game in 1912.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A poll conducted just now shows that all reasonable Americans feel
a burden in their hearts for our wonderful Italian friends (and others) who
live at the mercy of Italian courts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<br /></div>
</li>
</ul>
<!--[endif]--><br />Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-85546325598220660212012-10-18T20:09:00.004-07:002012-10-18T22:09:15.787-07:00REMEMBER BENGHAZI<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4pj7q8JTVF98kn_ak7rQYDRtHlQ503TPfsxg0VS45ow3ddcPfEGVLNJ-GR0pXryvfU5Ay9unKMBb6PO_RIybpNqT5PU4ddI6nXl89bQCBjRxbe_FgrkEwTkUp73p5OeAP5sVfWEpGQ0/s1600/burned+out+vehicle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4pj7q8JTVF98kn_ak7rQYDRtHlQ503TPfsxg0VS45ow3ddcPfEGVLNJ-GR0pXryvfU5Ay9unKMBb6PO_RIybpNqT5PU4ddI6nXl89bQCBjRxbe_FgrkEwTkUp73p5OeAP5sVfWEpGQ0/s320/burned+out+vehicle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The attack was expected by many, not the least of which was the small group of Americans inside the building. Still, the ferocity and organization of the assault was startling and confirmed their worst fears. For weeks, requests for reinforcements had come to naught. Situated deep inside a hostile foreign country as they were, their vulnerability should have been obvious to all. But inexplicably, no help was sent.<br />
<br />
The assault continued in waves throughout the day. Within a few hours of the firing of the first shots, the facility was aflame and the walls were breached. The remaining defenders were driven from the first building to a smaller one where they made their final stand, dying at the hands of pitiless intruders. The leader of the Americans was a young, charismatic, handsome lawyer who was liked by all who met him. In the weeks before the attack, he had personally requested more personnel to defend the facility. In the confusion of the final assault he had dreaded and tried to prepare for, he was separated from the group and died alone, a short distance away from the rest.<br />
<br />
So died William Barret Travis, the commander of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. His last letter requesting reinforcements contained this poignant plea:<br />
<br />
“I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and will no doubt increase….”<br />
<br />
Sadly, this situation should sound tragically familiar to Americans this month. The facts are eerily similar. Like the Alamo, a group of Americans, including Ambassador J. Chris Stevens, found themselves in an extremely vulnerable position deep inside a foreign country. Recognizing the risk, Ambassador Stevens, according to the Daily Mail, added his voice to the chorus of security personnel who had requested reinforcements over the past few months in an urgent cable sent on the morning of September 11, 2012. He was dead by the end of the day. On the morning of September 11, approximately 125 heavily-armed attackers moved on the consulate, and in the ensuing battle, Ambassador Stevens and three other men died.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLigRKKHoTuH6hTbbTU4e_b5udJs615KnfoD1dci09r5QEJAxK69r9QqkEpRN2GLVBE6uYmVxHR89woSCr4FhJkn5ASEIVrHmEIl0rpfxgBzTfPLpDAxJbqVH1_DGVLRZk6jHL16nAcY/s1600/2012-10-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLigRKKHoTuH6hTbbTU4e_b5udJs615KnfoD1dci09r5QEJAxK69r9QqkEpRN2GLVBE6uYmVxHR89woSCr4FhJkn5ASEIVrHmEIl0rpfxgBzTfPLpDAxJbqVH1_DGVLRZk6jHL16nAcY/s320/2012-10-18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
In 1836, the phrase “Remember the Alamo!” became an American war cry--as well as a tacit promise that no Americans will ever be abandoned to their fate while defending the United States. It appears, however, that some in the State Department have forgotten the Alamo.<br />
<br />
I have worked as the chief FBI investigator on a consulate attack (Karachi, Pakistan, June 14, 2002), and I know well the security threats of a consulate situated deep inside a country of hostile citizens, if not a hostile government. My team was threatened with a terrorist attack while in Karachi, and I know what precautions were necessary and I know what precautions were taken. I know that reinforcements were sent.<br />
<br />
Make no mistake, the tragic death of Ambassador Stevens was unnecessary and avoidable. In 1836 Texas/Mexico, efforts were at least made to reinforce the beleaguered garrison. But the technology of the time, the weather and logistics conspired to defeat attempts to arrive at the Alamo in time. Benghazi’s requests simply fell on deaf ears.<br />
<br />
The events before, during and after the assault must be investigated and lessons learned. The actions of the State Department have raised many legitimate questions. And those questions must be answered.<br />
<br />
1. Was security for the Ambassador adequate?<br />
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Adequacy of security is easily evaluated empirically by its success or by its failure. It’s not a gray area. There is no other way to adequately quantify security. Security at the consulate is to protect the facility and the personnel, most importantly the Ambassador. In this case, the facility was sacked and burned; the Ambassador and his security team were murdered. The result could not have been worse.<br />
<br />
There can be no other conclusion but that security at the consulate was tragically, cruelly and negligently inadequate. To assert anything else is self-delusion. Due to State Department decisions, the odds against the Ambassador and his team were insurmountable. They were, for all intents and purposes, abandoned to their fate. The multiple decisions to deny security to Benghazi’s American personnel were made NOT by State Department security people with boots on the ground in Benghazi; they were denied by State Department Executives sitting in air conditioned offices in Washington, D.C.<br />
<br />
Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy defended the denial of multiple requests for additional security at Benghazi, using the bewildering explanation that the assault on the Benghazi compound was, "an unprecedented attack by dozens of heavily armed men." That answer begs the question; “What did you think you were defending against?”<br />
<br />
An apt metaphor would be watching the prototype of a new airliner take-off on its first flight, lose its wings a minute later and crash into the ground killing all aboard--then having the manufacturer claim, “It flew well, until we encountered the unprecedented engineering problem of having to lift the weight of the entire airplane with the wings.”<br />
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Sadly, in a kind of “Flat Earth Society” intentional denial of the obvious, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Programs Charlene Lamb told the Congressional House Oversight Committee that State "...had the correct number of assets in Benghazi.”<br />
<br />
Really Ms. Lamb?? Do you think you'd get an Amen from the late Ambassador Stevens?<br />
<br />
Oversight Committee chairman, Lebanese-American Representative Darrell Issa of California responded with the obvious: “To start off by saying you had the correct number, and our ambassador and three other individuals are dead ... doesn’t seem to ring true to the American people.”<br />
<br />
2. Who is responsible for the inadequate security at the consulate?<br />
<br />
Easy. The State Department. This is one of the few facts State's executives are not denying. Now, it is left only to determine who ignored the frantic pleas for more security and to ensure that such a dereliction of duty never recurs.<br />
<br />
3. Why was added security not given?<br />
<br />
This is an open question. It is almost incomprehensible that no further security was provided. This must not be skipped over, sideswiped, or swept under the rug. A decision made at State killed four brave men just as certainly as the fire in the safe-house did.<br />
<br />
As an FBI counter-terrorism supervisory agent, I remember vividly the frustration of working with the State Department not only in Karachi, but in Indonesia and other unstable countries. The problem was not usually with the State Department Regional Security Officers (RSO’s), who by and large were brave men and women who were fighting the same bureaucratic battle as the FBI, but it lay with the ambassadors and the Washington “suits” who were making decisions for us on the exact opposite side of the world.<br />
<br />
The former State Department RSO for Benghazi , Eric Nordstrom, was apparently feeling the same sense of what I like to call ‘betrayal by inertia.’ In a conversation about security at Benghazi with his boss, Nordstrom complained;<br />
<br />
"You know what makes it most frustrating about this assignment? It's not the hardships. It's not the gunfire. It's not the threats. It's dealing and fighting against the people, programs, and personnel who are supposed to be supporting me.”<br />
<br />
I know that frustration well.<br />
<br />
4. Why were the initial reports to the press and to congress by the State Department untrue?<br />
<br />
The reports made by high State Department officials were not simply mistaken, they were demonstrably false at the time they were made. They reported situations that were plainly fabrications, and held on to those stories for days after they were disproved in almost every way. Even today, Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense, states that far from unorganized mob action as sworn to by State, the attack instead was "clearly" planned and conducted by terrorists.<br />
<br />
While Panetta concedes that it “took a while” for information to be gathered which resulted in that conclusion, it does not explain why the State Department was reporting almost immediately facts that had no basis in reality. If it “took a while” to learn that the assault was a planned terrorist attack, why did State allegedly know “immediately” that riots and demonstrations (which did not occur) were going on at the consulate prior to the attacks?<br />
<br />
As horrible as the deaths in Benghazi were, I am just as horrified by the apparent attempt by the State Department to protect themselves rather than allow others to learn from their mistakes, and thereby protect their own people.<br />
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<div>
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Finally, possibly the most important question:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
5. Why was the FBI investigative team held in Tripoli for three weeks, and who made that decision?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When the FBI responds to an attack against American interests overseas, it deploys an “Extra-Territorial” investigative squad. These are sometimes known as “Fly Teams.” There are only a handful of these squads in the United States, the most notable being based in the New York, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles offices. I created the Los Angeles Extra-Territorial Squad and was their first supervisor. In that capacity, my squad and I responded to attacks against many US assets around the world, including the 2002 car-bombing of the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Each ET squad is backed up by an FBI Rapid Deployment Team (RDT), consisting of crime scene and evidence collection experts, intelligence analysts, bomb technicians, weapons of mass destruction experts, SWAT team members for security, and various other specialty agents who would be needed at the site of a terrorist attack. The ET squad runs the investigation. In my time as the ET squad supervisor, one of my biggest jobs was simply to ensure that the FBI could gain access to countries and terrorist crime scenes. I found that among all of the many impediments to access to crime scenes and successful investigation in foreign countries, the biggest impediment was almost always the US Department of State. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
On June 14, 2002, a car bomb was detonated outside of the consulate in Karachi, Pakistan. 12 people were killed, and 51 injured. My team was deployed immediately, but we were stunned to find that we were limited by the State Department to four investigators. Total.</div>
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<br /></div>
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When operating overseas, the FBI must obtain “Country Clearance” for its agents from the State Department, and the number and location of the agents are strictly governed by State. Four investigators were in no way adequate to investigate a case on which the bomb scene itself was almost a half-mile in diameter. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In that situation, the State Department cited the “political sensitivities” of the Pakistani government for its devastating investigative limitation. The FBI team was protected at Karachi by approximately 10 members of a deployed U.S. Marine Corps “Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).” However, at one point during the FBI team’s investigation in Karachi, a real, actionable threat against the FBI team and the Marines was discovered. At the time, there was little thought of evacuating, and the decision was made to remain on site and conduct the investigation. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The restrictions on the FBI investigation of the Benghazi consulate attack in Libya have raised troubling and broadly unresolved (yet easily answered) questions.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A three week delay in reaching the crime scene compromises any serious chance of finding certain types of evidence. A three week delay in reaching an unsecured site compromises the probative value of any evidence recovered. In short, a three week delay in reaching an unsecured crime scene devastates any chance of an effective forensic investigation.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A. Was the decision to detain the FBI team made by the Libyans?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Unlikely. The Libyans are in no political situation to dictate U.S. government actions in the country at this time, especially when an ambassador has been killed by Libyans.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
B. Was the decision to hold the FBI team in Tripoli made by the FBI?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
No. This would not be in character for the FBI; especially the current FBI. Director Robert Mueller is a former Marine who has shown no tendencies to be overprotective of his agents overseas. His management style with the agents has been characterized as “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.” Mueller is not one to let the risk to agents keep the FBI from conducting important investigations, especially the murder of a U.S. Ambassador. It is not in his makeup. It is also not in the makeup of ET teams to do anything but chomp at the bit to get working on scene. And a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) of adequate size to protect the investigative team could be quickly deployed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
C. Did the CIA make the decision to keep the FBI away from the Benghazi consulate?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
No. That assertion is almost silly. Never once has the CIA posed any objection to a full and complete investigation of these attacks. The FBI would never divulge CIA operations of which they became aware during an investigation. I know because I personally have conducted investigations at facilities overseas where the CIA operates. That the CIA is present at a location is not germane to the investigation or the subject of attacks against U.S. facilities. The CIA is not responsible for security at embassies or consulates; the State Department is. And State would scream bloody murder (pun intended) if CIA tried to keep the FBI out of an investigation of the killing of one of their own. Sadly, dozens of times over the last few decades, State Department personnel have been murdered, many in facilities where CIA operations “may” be occurring. In fact, in every situation in which I have been involved, the CIA has been an invaluable partner in the investigation. The assertion that the CIA kept the FBI out of Benghazi is simply the latest in an epic series of misstatements about the truth of this attack and its investigation. </div>
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D. Did the State Department make the decision to keep the FBI away from the Benghazi consulate?</div>
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In my years of overseas experience, this is the only plausible explanation. During my investigative work overseas; travel, lodging, logistics and governmental contacts were all controlled by the U.S. State Department. In fact, frequently they attempted to control FBI investigations. They seemed at times to resent the presence of others in “their” turf.</div>
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The questions about inexplicable actions in Benghazi before and after the attacks of September 11 MUST be answered and the State Department held accountable for their actions and their inactions. The House Foreign Affairs committee has held hearings twice in the last three months on State Department inaction in the case of Americans held illegally overseas. I testified at both hearings, yet the State Department declined to appear and answer questions or even defend themselves from criticism on both occasions. </div>
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CIRCLING THE WAGONS<br />
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has now taken responsibility for the failures of security in Benghazi. Fine. And what will be the action taken against the person responsible? In any high government position, if a mistake is made that costs millions of dollars, the person is routinely sacked or resigns. If an entire facility is destroyed because of mistakes, the sacking and resignation usually occur more quickly, and congressional investigations occur. But now we have a situation where an entire facility is destroyed, millions of dollars is lost, the State Department is humiliated, lies are told, and four good men, including an Ambassador, have died violently. So I ask, what action is the government going to take against the person who has admitted responsibility?</div>
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Saying, “I take responsibility,” isn’t the end. It’s the beginning. If action isn’t taken, it says to the American public that the men who died weren’t worth the job of the Secretary of State. You don’t leave a person in office who makes those kind of mistakes. Taking no further action in this matter will be tantamount to a cover-up.</div>
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The kind of people we send to out of the way places like Benghazi, or who flocked to defend the Alamo are the type of people whose bravery we sometimes don’t understand. These are the kind of people for whom personal responsibility is paramount. These are the kind of people who put their put their lives on the line (let alone their career) for what they believe in. This is not a common mindset in Washington. Sadly, a more common Washington mindset is the frequent State Department “circle the wagons and protect the guilty” mentality that not even armed Libyans can pierce. Group cowardice is a formidable wall. </div>
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The State Department executives in Washington who are responsible for the safety of their own people in Benghazi may not know how to keep an Ambassador alive, but they never neglect adequate protection for themselves.</div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">"I'm here for you Chris. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">And by 'here,' of course I mean here in Washington, DC.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Just let me know if you need anything....."</span></i></div>
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Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-45669101506376796902012-06-12T22:42:00.002-07:002012-06-12T22:42:50.608-07:00STATE-SPONSORED KIDNAPPING<h1 align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 22pt; line-height: 115%;">“STATE-SPONSORED KIDNAPPING”<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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THE ILLEGAL CAPTIVITY
OF JACOB OSTREICHER</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Last week, I was called to testify before the
congressional House Foreign Affairs Committee, Human Rights Subcommittee. My
appearance was at the request of the subcommittee chairman, Congressman Chris
Smith of New Jersey. The hearing was called to investigate the illegal arrest
and imprisonment of American Jacob
Ostreicher, and the inaction of the United States government (read “State
Department”) on the case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in 7.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">As I said in my testimony on Wednesday, June 6,
(appended to this article, below), Jacob is essentially a political prisoner
accused of a crime which never happened. Not only can the government of Bolivia
not provide a single iota of proof that Jacob Ostreicher committed a crime,
they cannot provide a single iota of proof <i>that
a crime was even committed.</i> Yet Jacob remains in a squalid, dangerous
prison; one run by the inmates themselves. (See my blog, “Three Days in Hell,”
4/17/2012). He must pay to have a cell, he must pay to eat, and he must pay
protection money to stay alive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The judges and prosecutors in the country are
puppets of Evo Morales and must toe the line or risk prison themselves. The
defense lawyers, in turn, are many times puppets of the prosecutors. In fact,
in the very prison in which Jacob is being held hostage, there is <b><i>a
special wing just for prosecutors, lawyers and judges. </i></b>The inference is
inescapable: “Play ball” or join the person whose innocence you are
championing. Either way, the innocent arrestee has no chance of release.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in 7.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">During the Foreign Affairs hearing on the 6<sup>th</sup>,
Congressman Smith voiced his interest in attending a scheduled legal hearing
for Jacob in Bolivia, yesterday, June 11, 2012. I cautioned him, though, that I
felt that there was exactly “zero” chance of the hearing taking place. Only
once has a hearing for Jacob gone forward, and in that hearing months ago,
Jacob was ordered released on bail. Before he could even muster out of the
prison, the judge reversed himself sheepishly, in wording that sounded oddly
like a person speaking with a gun to their head. In fact, the judge criticized
himself for putting “..too much emphasis on evidence presented to him.” That’s
a nearly verbatim translation. Since that date, no hearing has taken place,
though many have been scheduled. Yet Rep.
Chris Smith of New Jersey was on a plane in less than 48 hours. It was an act
that provided the only ray of hope in a dark tragedy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in 7.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The reason no hearings will ever take place is
that there is no evidence to support the charges against Jacob, and like a
student who has no homework to turn in, the Bolivians are doing whatever they
can to avoid the inevitable moment of truth. Yesterday, with Congressman Smith
in attendance, the hearing began this morning in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Almost
immediately, the judge ordered the hearing postponed. No surprise. But what
happened next would have put tears of pride in the eyes of Joseph Stalin. (And
trust me, Evo won’t take that as a criticism.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in 7.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Jacob’s defense attorneys strenuously objected
to the postponement, and the judge, between a rock and a hard place, finally
agreed to hold the hearing at 3:30 pm, which incensed the prosecutor. At 3:30,
when the hearing reconvened, the <i>Minister
of Government, (MOG)</i> (not the Minister of Justice), <i>ordered</i> the judge to recuse himself from the case, apparently
because his ruling that the hearing should take place showed favoritism to
Jacob. The judge refused. The MOG then threatened the judge with <b><i>prosecution</i></b>
if he did not recuse himself from the case. Even in a judicial world with
little pretense of propriety, this threat was blatant. The judge, instead of
recusing himself, sent the matter up to the Supreme Court to decide—in effect
cancelling the hearing. This appeal will result in yet another delay of months
before the next hearing. If this judge
recuses himself or is forced out, he will be at least the third judge removed
from the case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in 7.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Tragically, this whole charade is simply a
shell-game to keep Jacob in a prison they are betting he will not survive. One
must seriously consider whether the aim of the Bolivian government is to ensure
that there is no Jacob for whom a congressman would fight. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span>
<br />
<h1 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“STATE (DEPARTMENT) ‘ALLOWED’ KIDNAPPING”</span></h1>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I must preface this section of the article by
saying that I believe that the State Department is one of the most essential
organizations in the United States government, and it is staffed by and large,
by honorable, brave and caring people. I hope that the situation with Jacob
Ostreicher is an anomaly caused by nonsensical State Department policies, but I
fear that it is much more than that.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">By using the hearing sham, the Bolivians have
checked the right boxes with a risk-averse U.S. State Department (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">see my testimony below</i>), allowing them
the cover of allowing the Bolivian “judicial process” to run its course.
Amazingly, the State Department’s written evaluation of the Bolivian “justice”
system is a scathing indictment of political retribution and corruption.
Specifically, according to the 2011 State Department “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Country Report on Human Rights
Practices</i></b>,” Bolivia’s “justice” system engaged in </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">“arbitrary
or unlawful deprivation of life (murder),”</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">“arbitrary arrest or detention,”</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> and </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">“denial of a fair and public trial.” </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">These are not my words, these are the words of
the U.S. State Department. But now that an American is being victimized by
these exact human rights issues, the Bolivian judicial system is legitimate.
The State Department finds it a compelling argument that the Bolivian justice
system should be allowed to continue in Jacob’s case without intervention.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Frankly, an innocent American in a foreign
prison is an impediment to close relations with the host country, which is the
State Department’s main goal. Jacob is a rock in the State Department’s shoe,
and the life of one Jewish businessman is apparently is not worth the State
Department’s best efforts. In support of that statement, I provide the
following information which was entered into the congressional record on June 6,
2012:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Not once has the Charges d’Affaires John
Creamer, chief U.S. diplomat in Bolivia, visited Jacob in prison. Not once.
This is a strong message of ambivalence to the Bolivians. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Not once has a meeting with the Bolivian
government been called to discuss the plight of Jacob. He has allegedly been
mentioned, but only during meetings previously scheduled for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">other</i> topics. Kind of a diplomatic, “Oh,
by the way….” Again, a strong message, but the wrong one.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Not once has any staffer at the U.S. Embassy in Bolivia
uttered the name Jacob Ostreicher in a public forum. In fact, if one had only
the State Department to provide information on justice for Americans overseas,
no one would ever have heard of Jacob Ostreicher.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Not once has the embassy contacted Jacob’s
family unless they are replying to a call <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">from</i>
the family or providing information promised during that call. Not once has the
U.S. State Department unilaterally reached out to Jacob’s family. Not once.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Maybe they’re too busy. </span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">On May 30, 2012, the House Foreign
Affairs Committee posted notice of the hearing on Jacob Ostreicher’s case with
the hearing’s subject and purpose listed as,</span></div>
<div class="Default">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">“</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">The U.S. State Department’s Inadequate Response to
Human Rights Concerns in Bolivia: The Case of American Jacob Ostreicher”</span></i></b></div>
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<div class="Default" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> One would think that the State Department
would consider Jacob’s plight a serious matter. If not Jacob’s plight, one
would think that they would like to set the record straight and avoid criticism
they might consider baseless. However, the State Department immediately
declined to appear. Yet, four days later, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">exactly four days before the hearing,</i> Charges d’Affaires John
Creamer made time to dance in Bolivian native costume in a Bolivian festival. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">El
Deber</i></b>, the main newspaper in Bolivia, explained that in order to learn
the dance, Creamer had to take lessons four times each week for over a month. A
total of 16 dance lessons before he donned the costume of the country illegally
holding an American citizen fighting for his life in a squalid prison. A very
busy man indeed.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">All
this while Jacob continued a hunger strike. As Jacob told me recently, the
hunger strike is as much in protest of how the U.S. State Department is
ignoring him as it is of his illegal detention by the Bolivians.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 9pt;">Charges d’Affaires John Creamer and wife, June 2, 2012,
the 48<sup>th</sup> day of Jacob Ostreicher’s prison hunger strike.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The
above photograph of Mr. Creamer and his lovely wife Liza dancing in Bolivian
costume was proudly posted on the embassy website two days before the Foreign
Affairs hearing which they refused to attend. A thorough search of the U.S.
Embassy Bolivia revealed no mention of
“Jacob Ostreicher.” A website search engine query answered “no results” for
Jacob’s name.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The U.S. State Department is completely aware of
the corruption and use of the “judicial” system in Bolivia for political
purposes. (Yet, they apparently believe it is good enough for an accused
American.) The State Department knows for many reasons, not the least of which
are the events of May 30, 2012, 8 days prior to the hearing. On that day, Roger
Pinto Molina, a prominent Bolivian Senator took refuge in the Brazilian Embassy
in La Paz, requesting political asylum and protection from Evo Morales and his
government.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Molina has accused the Morales government of
human rights abuses, drug trafficking, the incarceration of political prisoners
and corruption. In response, the Morales “Justice” Ministry has charged Molina
with a series of crimes, including political corruption. Molina told the
Brazilian Embassy diplomats that he feared for his life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia linera
said on June 6, the day of the U.S. congressional hearing, that Molina was not
being persecuted, and that there were no political prisoners in Bolivia.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The vice president also said, “If he believes
that….he didn’t commit these crimes, well, he should be happy to defend
himself” in court. Molina is apparently aware of an accused person’s prospects
of a fair trial (or any trial) in Bolivia. Apparently, Brazil, which shares a
border with Bolivia agrees. Yesterday, June 11, the Brazilian government
granted Senator Molina political asylum. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Senator Molina knew better than to stay in
Bolivia, and it appears that he knew better than to seek sanctuary at the U.S.
Embassy. Jacob, unfortunately did not have the same information Molina had. Jacob
was too trusting. Of both the Bolivians and the Americans.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-21417305181321599712012-06-12T22:09:00.005-07:002012-12-06T23:21:09.164-08:00<br />
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Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-26270962821345514472012-05-05T00:06:00.000-07:002012-05-05T00:06:18.519-07:00Jacob Ostreicher; "Nightline" Tuesday May 8, 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In April, I spent 10 days in Bolivia, three of which were with Jacob ("Yanky" in Yiddish) Ostreicher in Palmasola prison. Jacob is an American businessman who is essentially being held hostage by the Evo Morales regime. He has been charged with "Illicit Enrichment," another way of saying, "you have too much money and we want some of it." </div>
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No trial has been scheduled, even though Jacob has now been in a Bolivian hell-hole prison for a year. The "good news" is that the Bolivian "justice" ministry has somewhat brazenly floated the prospect of giving Jacob a trial if he pays a six-figure bribe. The reality is that Jacob's case is no longer about money. It is about politics, hatred of Jews and Americans as well as the insecurities of a second-rate dictator of a third-world banana republic.</div>
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I met with ABC News in Bolivia,, and on Tuesday, May 8, "Nightline" will air their story on Jacob and his plight. With any luck, my interview with ABC might not have landed completely on the cutting-room floor. </div>
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I have included an article about Jacob which recently appeared in AMI Magazine. Jacob is a conservative Jew, and AMI is a magazine for that community, published in New York and Israel.</div>
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<br />Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-76389815716351997922012-04-17T19:26:00.001-07:002012-04-17T19:28:01.951-07:00NOT SO SECRET SERVICES<h2 style="text-align: center;">NOT SO SECRET SERVICES</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7PmZ7wzJsG2tBVMYwYxUW5utOk2YCbR49gnZBlnaRYW04TF68kZIDtHrhx-hGtk5z8DqoqYvixpPqF60ammcttoPPIvuqU0aabZR9wIA_oIbZ3HvAQ8p2oynD9xiYwGbg2TFGBKb6wI/s1600/GMAN+COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7PmZ7wzJsG2tBVMYwYxUW5utOk2YCbR49gnZBlnaRYW04TF68kZIDtHrhx-hGtk5z8DqoqYvixpPqF60ammcttoPPIvuqU0aabZR9wIA_oIbZ3HvAQ8p2oynD9xiYwGbg2TFGBKb6wI/s320/GMAN+COLLAGE.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>“What goes on in Cartagena stays in Cartagena.”</i> At least that was the ops plan.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This week the Secret Service revoked the security clearances of the eleven agents involved in the Colombian prostitution scandal. Employment (and significantly, <i>continued employment</i>) as a Secret Service agent requires several things, and arguably the most important is a Top Secret clearance. When agents’ conduct falls short of expectations, even if their behavior is legal, clearances can and are revoked. Without a clearance, an agent is no longer employable. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Special Agents, whether FBI, Secret Service or any of the myriad of other federal law enforcement agencies, know going in that they will be held to higher standards than the average citizen. For example, they are prohibited from engaging in many legal activities, such as campaigning for a political candidate, taking a second job or writing books without authorization. They are on call 24/7/365, and know that certain behaviors which would be no more than personal speed-bumps in other people’s lives and careers would be career-enders in the Bureau. A DUI, a bankruptcy, marrying the “wrong” person or even a bad credit rating could jeopardize their clearances and therefore their jobs. I’ve seen an FBI agent fired for arguing loudly with his wife in public.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The truth of these special expectations is obvious when you realize that approximately 21 U.S. government personnel have been sent home from Colombia under investigation. 11 were Secret Service, and the rest were U.S. military. Have you seen many headlines on the military involvement? America has certain expectations of Secret Service agents.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Though the agents in Colombia were apparently not breaking any Colombian or American law, they embarrassed the United States. If you wonder if that’s true, check out what Al Jazeera is doing with the story. Every agent is aware that sex (and/or blackmail following sex) can and is used by foreign governments to elicit information from their targets. Whether it is legal prostitution or a girl (or guy) targeting an agent at a bar, blackmail is always a possibility, especially when the agent is married. Additionally, a common form of robbery in some parts of the world is picking up and drugging a “John” in order to rob him. Some men who pick up hookers wake up in the morning finding nothing left in their room but the underwear they never got a chance to take off. Agents overseas who do not believe that they are being watched and evaluated for exploitation by intelligence agencies of even some “friendly” governments, are naïve.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Secret Service agents know as much or more than other agents about the potential implications of “risky” behavior because they’re in the business of personnel protection. These agents had no excuse. Likely, however, if only one agent had been involved, this would never have made the news. If the problem was discovered by the Secret Service, it never would have made the news. Instead, the State Department was involved when Colombian police complained to the Embassy. The size and scope of this particular incident was epic and the lack of discretion Biblical. A drunken party <i>at the official hotel</i> with a dozen hookers, loud enough to cause noise complaints? Then you argue with a hooker about price? I think clearances might be in jeopardy just for lack of judgment while displaying lack of judgment.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">The Secret Service, like the FBI, has within its structure an organization known as the Office of Professional Responsibility, or OPR. OPR, as the name might suggest, does not simply investigate agents engaging in illegal activities, but legal activities prohibited by their special employment. The Justice Department (parent organization of the FBI) and Homeland Security (parent organization of the Secret Service) have their own Offices of Professional Responsibility. Secret Service and the FBI have fought for years to maintain the autonomy of conducting their own internal investigations. They have done that by having tough, unforgiving OPR investigations and punishments. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">However, in this case, it is clear that the public will not accept an internal investigation as legitimate. Homeland Security will indeed swoop in and conduct the investigation. Likely congress will also conduct hearings. It is crucial that the investigation be open and comprehensive. This behavior did not begin in Colombia. A complete investigation of the activities of Secret Service agents on foreign travel for years in the past will likely follow. Regardless of the outcome, the Secret Service will be less autonomous now than it was before the Colombia scandal.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The U.S. government has some soul-searching to do in this case, however. Throughout the history of the U.S. military, it has been a given that a significant number of soldiers, sailors and airmen, when on leave soon find two things very quickly; alcohol and prostitutes. This has never been a secret from the American public. Towns like Olongopo, just outside the sprawling U.S. Navy base at Subic Bay in the Philippines were at one time little more than support communities for the brothels on Magsaysay street. Navy Shore Patrol (police) patrolled Olongopo not to curtail prostitution, but simply to keep order. Anywhere in the world where a U.S. military base sprang up, so did brothels. The military will have a hard time defining the location of the line crossed, given the tolerance it has displayed in the past. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It is a mistake to believe that non-military Americans are altogether different than military Americans. Agents involved in U.S. government business, whether State Department, Justice Department or Homeland Security are not taking advantage of lax local laws and women when overseas. It is also a mistake to believe that the U.S. government has until now done anything to discourage this behavior beyond hanging posters about sexually transmitted diseases. When I was first deployed on an overseas assignment with a group of agents, we were not warned to avoid prostitutes, but of the AIDS percentage among prostitutes in the area into which we were deploying. We were then briefed on precautions against STD’s. Don’t think that anybody in the U.S. government didn’t know that this type of behavior was going on.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The only time that this type of activity becomes an issue for the U.S. government is when the discretion is absent among the participants. As a supervisor of overseas personnel, I have had to travel thousands of miles to deal with an agent who transgressed FBI regulations without breaking a single local or U.S. law, but whose behavior created an incident. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Alcohol is cheap and prostitution legal in many South American cities, including the now infamous Cartagena, Colombia. I overflew Cartagena last week on my way back from a case in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Prostitution is also legal and plentiful in Santa Cruz, also. Brothels on the main streets combine with strip clubs where customers can bring girls home for a fee. Like Las Vegas, many Americans for one reason or another are tempted to engage in activities when away from home that they would never consider when near home. Perhaps a psychologist would be a better person to speculate on why that is. But the seeming lack of accountability, pennies-on-the-dollar prices, and incredible availability are factors. To many men, it’s like an outlet mall for sex. The type of person drawn to military and law enforcement special teams are frequently the types of people drawn to adventure of other types. Some of the participants in the party which got out of hand in the president’s hotel were allegedly members of the Secret Service’s Counter Assault Team (CAT). When on SWAT, I worked with CAT teams during the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles in 2000. They are no different than many other special teams “operators;” seeking action on and off duty, and easily bored.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I know people party and release tension when traveling on business. It is true that overseas deployments are some of the more stressful assignments. Like Hillary Clinton last week, I too have blown off some steam in overseas establishments which serve alcohol (but not women). There are limits, however to the license one may take. In the FBI you are never officially off-duty. One would have to assume that when the president is in-country, Secret Service agents must be ready to be on duty at any second. Judging from the cases they carried, they were armed. Could they have responded to a presidential threat? Would they have been functional or even sober? These are questions that must be answered.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Most troubling to me though is that this behavior was tolerated, enabled, condoned and/or facilitated by the supervisor(s) of the agents. Misbehavior on such a scale could not have occurred without supervisor knowledge. Or in this case, participation. When the boss is at the party, there’s reason to believe it’s sanctioned, or at least that the higher-ups are looking the other way. Or they were until the police and the Embassy got involved. I’m reminded of the scene in Casablanca when Vichy French Captain Louis Renault is told by the Gestapo to close down Rick’s Café Americain. As he is being handed his roulette winnings for the night he exclaims, <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>“I’m shocked! Shocked to find out that gambling is going on in here!”</i><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal">No, this was officially condoned behavior at least at some level and likely not an isolated incident. This activity received de facto authorization by at least the supervisor and likely <i>his </i>superior. The trick will be finding where the buck should truly stop.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<i>(Feel free comment on this or any of my blogs at <a href="http://gmancasefile.com/blog.html">http://gmancasefile.com/blog.html</a>)</i></div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-13809692534497870502012-04-16T19:18:00.002-07:002012-04-16T19:20:53.163-07:00THREE DAYS IN HELL<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBOVQ45OQs84z2dtJk6m1IOuucmUFHs0_HNGl-rFlYm21ggPxt0WYem_F4KkyWZYcjt3CT22Y2CoeNGYI4DJd1TMGjNV7R9Ov9BUGjnwDyWDpaqT8lWLgtzD5j08V5se8a2wApTsopMiE/s1600/Palmasola+Front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBOVQ45OQs84z2dtJk6m1IOuucmUFHs0_HNGl-rFlYm21ggPxt0WYem_F4KkyWZYcjt3CT22Y2CoeNGYI4DJd1TMGjNV7R9Ov9BUGjnwDyWDpaqT8lWLgtzD5j08V5se8a2wApTsopMiE/s320/Palmasola+Front.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Santa Cruz, Bolivia, April 7, 2012:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Palmasola Prison, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, is a modern-day Dante's Inferno. But instead of the Roman poet Virgil guiding visitors through this modern-day underworld, my passage is shepherded by a good man named Jacob. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When one thinks "Bolivian Prison," one might think 'barbarian.' But really, that word is so inadequate in this case. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Palmasola itself is a series of concentric rings of walls and barbed wire. In the center ring is a squalid slum where the prisoners--and their children--live, and into which guards venture only a few times a day when all of the prisoners stand for roll call. (Unless, of course, you are one of the hundreds who have enough money to bribe your way out of appearing for roll call.) In actual fact, the prison is completely run by a mafia of powerful prisoners. They charge the others for their cells, taxes on "imported" items and privileges, and extortion money. Those who cannot afford to pay for a cell sleep in the gutter. Food is a gulag-style gruel served once a day for those who lack the dinero to have their food brought in.</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">This is my third day with Jacob, an American incarcerated in the hell that is Palmasola, for a crime he did not commit. I would call it purgatory, but the ....</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Balance of the article can be found at </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><a href="http://gmancasefile.com/1/post/2012/04/three-days-in-hell.html">http://gmancasefile.com/1/post/2012/04/three-days-in-hell.html</a></b></span></div></div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-55516372374482958532012-03-03T18:22:00.000-08:002012-03-03T18:22:00.808-08:00THE BLOG LIVES!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZkfm1AV3T0xNNP0NZOnqqGUP8MpSZ0ibs6eprTm3f_eX2C7vVDRtysx9x5Kov4IQjLkmF0d69xEamegC-EpDvVWhCdLj-1IzRY5LbsbTOBYp1R8jm1hcR-lcqaKlHNkICdnuvRnj7Wtc/s1600/hemorrhoid-surgery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZkfm1AV3T0xNNP0NZOnqqGUP8MpSZ0ibs6eprTm3f_eX2C7vVDRtysx9x5Kov4IQjLkmF0d69xEamegC-EpDvVWhCdLj-1IzRY5LbsbTOBYp1R8jm1hcR-lcqaKlHNkICdnuvRnj7Wtc/s320/hemorrhoid-surgery.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Friends...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am happy to announce that gmancasefile.blogspot.com has undergone "URL-reduction (URLRS)" surgery. I had been putting this off for a long time, but I finally decided it needed to be done. Happily, it appears the surgery was a complete success. The URLRS is also known as a "blogspot-ectomy." Before I agreed to the surgery, I was told by the doctors that<u style="font-weight: bold;"> I will retain full blog function.</u> Right now, I am resting comfortably and recovering with cold Hefeweizen beer and a Dominican cigar. This is, of course, the radical recovery treatment recently postulated in the New England Journal of Medicine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The symptoms of blogspot dysfunction (BD) were very manageable until the site began to get more than about 20,000 hits, which, though immensely gratifying, began to cause issues with functionality--at all the wrong times if you catch my drift. Of course, it was embarrassing, but I keep telling myself this happens to a lot of normal people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My new URL is now simply "gmancasefile.com" and it is more than just a blog; it is my website. In the last year, I have been blogging, working cases, appearing on CNN, HLN, NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, etc., writing a book, and speaking to groups around the country. People needed to have a way to communicate with me, and to learn a little more about me. This is what the new site will do. One page is the blog. The blogs will not change, and the catalog of past blogs was transplanted during the surgery. Only one or two were rejected by the body, I suspect because they were not my best work, or were simply unnecessary.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Please understand that I am still adjusting to the loss of the blogspot, and a certain clumsiness with regard to a website, which I have never had before the surgery. Please join me there. You can even send me messages and comment on the blogs for a change. I figure that if everybody who regularly reads my blogs tells just one other person, I could have four readers very soon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All my best and see you at gmancasefile.com</div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-42318587630181657812012-01-27T10:30:00.000-08:002012-01-27T10:30:01.363-08:00THE CONTRACT OF COMMAND<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 28.0pt;">“The Contract of Command”</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 28.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The last voyage of the Costa Concordia and “The Wrong Stuff”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ahIMp4BqA4qccQyJDRktZFYAkD43bYgTCKg6DnW3OWR5ajG5BJRu_BPQM-DXvos5xCGCpU0ksHR3YT4gD_Dn0I4lBTczTyFS8gG2eeUXpr-JzZdOU3G3VvF0vG_Hcy8i22ktWGZVfuo/s1600/Costa+Concordia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ahIMp4BqA4qccQyJDRktZFYAkD43bYgTCKg6DnW3OWR5ajG5BJRu_BPQM-DXvos5xCGCpU0ksHR3YT4gD_Dn0I4lBTczTyFS8gG2eeUXpr-JzZdOU3G3VvF0vG_Hcy8i22ktWGZVfuo/s320/Costa+Concordia.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1028" style="height: 321.75pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 468pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="" src="file:///C:\Users\Biff\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg"> </v:imagedata></v:shape></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">No man or woman ever knows how they will react when their life is in danger. I hope, and I’m sure we all hope we would react in a such a way as to earn self-respect, if not honor—but we just don’t know. However, a decision to accept a position as a ship captain, airline pilot, fireman, policeman, Coast Guardsman; any position where danger is possible and the job gives you responsibility for the lives of others, is in effect a contract. A contract in which the implicit agreement is that the lives of others come before your own. It is a guarantee that you will do as promised. You are, as the old saying goes, acknowledging that “You knew the job was dangerous when you took it.” So if it appears that anybody is being criticized in this piece for cowardice, it is not criticism of character or a human failing common to many, the criticism is aimed at a person who apparently defaulted on a contract; the contract of command.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
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<tr> <td align="left" style="padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;" valign="top"> <div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 40.25pt; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-linespan: 3; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: dropcap-dropped; mso-height-rule: exactly; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; page-break-after: avoid; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Old English Text MT"; font-size: 51.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-text-raise: -5.0pt;">A<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"> fence is never needed until something pushes against it. Similarly, courage can never be measured until fear is present. One can test a fence by simply pushing on it, but gauging a man’s courage is difficult absent imminent danger.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Fight or flight. At one time or another, nearly everyone wonders how they would react if their life was on the line and they had a choice of acting or running. Those who rise to the occasion are said to have “the right stuff.” There is no polite phrase for those who fail in those situations. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Captain “Sully” Sullenberger answered all his own questions on January 15, 2009. His decisiveness, skill, and calmness are now legend. Sully’s friends describe him as “shy and reticent,” but beneath that shyness lay the makings of a hero. Finding himself in an engineless, 75 ton flying fuel tank over Manhattan with the lives of 148 people on his shoulders, Sullenberger knew that he had just one or two chances in a thousand to survive. Over the shouting of the electronic voice of the plane, “pull up pull up pull up pull up…..” the questions from air traffic control, and the attempts to restart the engines, he thought quickly, decided on the only realistic option, and flawlessly ditched the airliner in the Hudson River next to Manhattan. Listening to his confident, decisive communications on the radio is nothing if not inspiring, if only for knowing what “the right stuff” sounds like.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Two days short of three years later, on January 13, 2012, Francesco Schettino, captain of the luxury Costa (Carnival subsidiary) Cruise liner “Costa Concordia” also answered his own questions and provided the world an example of what “the wrong stuff” sounds like, via his radio communications with the Livorno Port Authority. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Somehow, a cruise liner in good weather ran aground. It apparently did so during a “Salute” to the island of Giglio. A ship’s ‘salute’ is a close sail-by of land to generate excitement and is the nautical equivalent of the aviation “buzz-job,” itself one of the leading causes of fatal aircraft crashes. This ‘salute’ was allegedly intended to raise the visibility of the cruise line. It worked. Costa Cruise line rules allegedly prohibit the ship from coming within a half mile of land while underway. Schettino claimed to be no nearer to land than .29 miles. The charted rocks he hit, however, were 450 feet off shore. It is said that he might have been distracted by a beautiful 25 year old blonde who was somehow a guest on the bridge after witnesses say she and Captain Schettino split a carafe of wine. But the even more troubling issue than how it happened, is what occurred after the ship ran aground. The commander of the Livorno Port Authority is Gregorio De Falco, and De Falco had by Italian law, control of the scene. He contacted Schettino by radio after being told that the captain of the Costa Concordia had abandoned ship with passengers aboard.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimU42mUg308l9XW3xIVKnSToCgDE4pykCLSVlFeuy2sqyRU2RCCvIBcxWiVCNqNaD_yzunpk8H-8755snjq9ji3q2ms0m4jOgpMbkBjVIsC7O3OtGwRi_Fvd8GGUQV6MjLb6dFuw1Le_U/s1600/ss-120114-ship-15.ss_full-646x402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimU42mUg308l9XW3xIVKnSToCgDE4pykCLSVlFeuy2sqyRU2RCCvIBcxWiVCNqNaD_yzunpk8H-8755snjq9ji3q2ms0m4jOgpMbkBjVIsC7O3OtGwRi_Fvd8GGUQV6MjLb6dFuw1Le_U/s320/ss-120114-ship-15.ss_full-646x402.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gregorio De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Hello. Hello."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Francesco Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Good evening, captain."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Hello, I'm de Falco, from Livorno. I am speaking with the commander?"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "I'm Commander Schettino."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Listen Schettino, there are people trapped aboard, you go with your lifeboat under the prow of the ship on the port side and you go aboard the ship using the rope ladder. You go aboard and you tell me how many people there are. Is it clear? I'm recording this conversation, Commander Schettino."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’m recording this conversation, Commander Schettino.” De Falco knew the gravity of the situation and he knew what he was saying. He was obviously stunned that the captain of a foundering ship had fled, leaving his crew and passengers behind. I must admit that I too am stunned, as is the world, likely. De Falco felt that it was necessary to threaten the captain with exposure of his cowardice if he would not return to the ship.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One cannot help but compare this to Sullenberger’s demeanor as his plane plummeted at over 200 miles per hour toward downtown Manhattan. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sullenberger’s words in the cockpit and on the radio were strong, decisive and inspiring. In contrast, Captain Schettino was speaking with such diffidence that De Falco had difficulty understanding him.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "So, I'll tell you something..."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Speak louder."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Now, I'm in front of..."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Commander, speak louder, take the microphone and speak loud. Is that clear?"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Commander, right now the ship is skewed. [listing to starboard]"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVkZqRwZQBYXDMCpxbphWl_vWM7XBs1uQTCH9LXlwJExll4fxA2Z1_vJlj7KzbzC4PYEUBzdtAuqZVtQSAy-h3-e_QT3cwlpsDsnBwv9Qfa8_Bsru_wy_OXzTzudULobMhj5rNz6cf7U/s1600/c7_2116307bb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVkZqRwZQBYXDMCpxbphWl_vWM7XBs1uQTCH9LXlwJExll4fxA2Z1_vJlj7KzbzC4PYEUBzdtAuqZVtQSAy-h3-e_QT3cwlpsDsnBwv9Qfa8_Bsru_wy_OXzTzudULobMhj5rNz6cf7U/s320/c7_2116307bb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Understood. Listen,…….. <b>you go aboard</b> and you tell me the number of people and what they have on board. Is that clear? You tell me whether there are children, women or people needing assistance. And you tell me the number of each of these categories. <b>Is that clear? Schettino, maybe you saved yourself from the sea, but I'll make you pay for sure. Go aboard, (expletive)!"</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But even then, Schettino argued that his presence was not needed aboard.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Commander, please?"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Please, now you go aboard!"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "I am on the life boat, under the ship, I haven't gone anywhere, I'm here."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "What are you doing, commander?"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "I'm here to coordinate rescues."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "What are you coordinating there? Go on board and co-ordinate rescues from on board! Do you refuse?"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "I'm not going because there is another lifeboat stopped there."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Go aboard: it's an order*. You have no evaluation to make, you declared abandon ship, now I give orders: go aboard. Is it clear?"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(* Once a captain has abandoned his ship, he no longer commands it, it is under the control of nautical search and rescue command.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Commander I'm going aboard."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Call me from aboard, my rescuer is there at the prow of the ship. There are already dead bodies, Schettino."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "How many dead bodies?"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "I do not know. One for sure. <b>You </b>have to tell me how many!"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Do you realize that it's dark here and we can't see a thing?"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: <b>"And what, do you want to go home, Schettino?</b> It's dark, so you want to go home...? Go on the prow of the ship, using the rope ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what are their needs. Do it now."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Here there is also the vice commander. I'm together with him."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Then go aboard together. Together. What's his name?"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Dimitri."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Dimitri what? You and your vice go aboard. Now, is it clear?"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Commander, I want to go aboard, but here there is the other lifeboat, there are other rescuers who stopped. Now I called other rescuers."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "You've been telling me this for one hour. Go aboard. Go aboard. And you tell me right away how many people there are."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Ok commander."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">De Falco</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: "Go, quickly."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_5" o:spid="_x0000_i1026" style="height: 265.5pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 415.5pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="" src="file:///C:\Users\Biff\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"> </v:imagedata></v:shape></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkcbxGN_EmOHCs1j8_1VfdphBj-T3Y06PkpdOBc7VYEJuHzjcvcvERc8XtfLaq6H3OrrUj66mfoLRSGP6BkqbvuJu9Rynu5LyNRqeYP4h1ePWmOq6q3rwbd3lRgl-GExStNGIRE7_p-s/s1600/pb-120124-costa-concordia-01.photoblog900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkcbxGN_EmOHCs1j8_1VfdphBj-T3Y06PkpdOBc7VYEJuHzjcvcvERc8XtfLaq6H3OrrUj66mfoLRSGP6BkqbvuJu9Rynu5LyNRqeYP4h1ePWmOq6q3rwbd3lRgl-GExStNGIRE7_p-s/s320/pb-120124-costa-concordia-01.photoblog900.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
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</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Just because a man has the coordination and the skill to handle a ship doesn’t mean he has what it takes to be a captain, especially when lives are at stake. Skill at navigating a ship can no more guarantee suitability as a captain any more than the fact that a male can produce sperm guarantees that he would be an adequate father. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Not only did Schettino fail, but it appears that his flight led some of the crew to abandon the passengers with him. Undoubtedly, there were brave crew who stayed and may have even paid with their lives, but they did this in spite of their captain. But make no mistake, Schettino’s acts were not the first in the tragic string of events. Nor was hitting the rocks. It was that he had been given command in the first place.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In the cases I worked in the FBI, particularly those perpetrated by the most violent, evil men, there had been a trail of acts, behaviors and episodes where the person’s personality was tipped-off. And in each of the cases, innocent people lay dead because the responsible people had shirked their duties. Schettino was responsible for the safety of thousands of people. With apparent failure of courage this blatant, could it be possible that there were no indications of Schettino’s inability to handle fear prior to this crisis? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Carnival has a responsibility to determine the suitability of a man or woman to command. There is no excuse anymore in today’s world. There are ways to weed out those who cannot ‘cut it.’ Even more traditional methods could have determined his fitness for duty. Marine Boot Camp, as horrible and stressful as it has been described, is not that way as some kind of sick initiation, it is to weed out those who cannot function under extreme duress or fear. Drill Instructors and the fear they instill are two of the main reasons that cowardice under fire is not something that people think of when they hear the words “United States Marines.” In a perfect world, Schettino would not have been given command, and he would have been spared what must be the worst experience of his life. He is not evil, he was just incapable of what was asked of him. And somebody in authority likely knew that. They were simply betting on the odds that his courage would never have to be tested.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_3" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" style="height: 222.75pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 261.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="" src="file:///C:\Users\Biff\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image004.jpg"> </v:imagedata></v:shape></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Fortunately, Costa Cruise lines has now realized the magnitude of the tragedy and has made quick, astute moves to prove to the passengers and the world that they understand the gravity of the situation: They have offered the surviving passengers (and I’m not making this up) a 30% discount on a future Costa cruise. If that doesn’t restore your faith, I don’t know what will.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">De Falco’s soon to be famous statement to the fleeing captain; “</span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Schettino, maybe you saved yourself from the sea, but I'll make you pay for sure,” ended with the Italian phrase, “Vada a bordo, cazzo!” “Go on board, ‘cazzo’!” </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cazzo is Italian profane slang for male genitalia. De Falco had lost all respect for a Schettino and was goading him to “man up.” Interestingly, there are already T-shirts with the phrase, “Vada a bordo, cazzo!” being made. Possibly it will enter the lexicon as a phrase intended to shame cowards into meeting their duties. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Finally and pitifully, Schettino later explained his departure from the ship by saying that he had “tripped into a lifeboat,” a statement which only exposes the depth of his deficiency as a captain. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But to be fair, Sullenberger is not perfect either. After he skillfully ditched his A320 in the Hudson river, he deviated from the aircraft checklist and did not comply with what a captain should do. The checklist told him to don a life preserver, open the cockpit window and evacuate the aircraft. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdOe7s2E177dYYQ-EIKFxImuKOd9geeAJ-ze1chJZ_dVq61efNq9p-N4Riw6AVydQ81mzc3jcTrWuNyZ1jaj0onC8Cl3lvYnULIaZxe-oIepCw7khjVUoQx68NdZPZMZxWz_rD9uW3L4/s1600/1549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdOe7s2E177dYYQ-EIKFxImuKOd9geeAJ-ze1chJZ_dVq61efNq9p-N4Riw6AVydQ81mzc3jcTrWuNyZ1jaj0onC8Cl3lvYnULIaZxe-oIepCw7khjVUoQx68NdZPZMZxWz_rD9uW3L4/s320/1549.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Instead, Sullenberger left the cockpit but not the aircraft. He left the cockpit through the interior door, going into the sinking rear cabin of the plane to ensure that everyone was out. Twice. When the last crewmember besides the captain boarded a raft, the airplane was halfway under water. Sullenberger, however, had one more thing to do. He went forward one last time to retrieve the aircraft’s logbooks to aid in the investigation of the crash before he departed—the last to leave the ship. The right stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-67243147844402805652012-01-24T18:21:00.000-08:002012-01-24T18:21:16.462-08:00TSA: Fail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGtJunl6cp2k23Ufg3Vbr5hHMdULjFCQrfs6A1uExqyZZlxLEWe5inrwphcMc3PgKF05_QY7CMVDxLCwhHqq39OzFN-lJXHxcpZSxe4UXgeoED9Oom3jID3pNYXTGj3X3UIsL4hyphenhyphenn7xw/s1600/TSA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGtJunl6cp2k23Ufg3Vbr5hHMdULjFCQrfs6A1uExqyZZlxLEWe5inrwphcMc3PgKF05_QY7CMVDxLCwhHqq39OzFN-lJXHxcpZSxe4UXgeoED9Oom3jID3pNYXTGj3X3UIsL4hyphenhyphenn7xw/s1600/TSA.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was formed to ensure America’s freedom to travel. Instead, they have made air travel the most difficult means of mass transit in the United States, at the same time failing to make air travel any more secure.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">TSA has never, (and I invite them to <i>prove</i> me wrong), foiled a terrorist plot or stopped an attack on an airliner. Ever. They crow about weapons found and insinuate that this means they stopped terrorism. They claim that they can’t comment due to “national security” implications. In fact, if they had foiled a plot, criminal charges would have to be filed. Ever hear of terrorism charges being filed because of something found during a TSA screening? No, because it’s never happened. Trust me, if TSA had ever foiled a terrorist plot, they would buy full-page ads in every newspaper in the United States to prove their importance and increase their budget. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">I have a unique position from which to make these statements. For 25 years, as many of readers know, I was an FBI Special Agent, and for many of those years, I was a counter-terrorism specialist. I ran the Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) Al Qaeda squad. I ran the JTTF’s Extra-territorial squad, which responded to terrorism against the United States or its interests throughout the world. I have investigated Al Qaeda cell operations in the United States, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, just to name a few. The FBI and the CIA provides the lion’s share of actionable intelligence on threats to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (the mother organization of TSA), so that they can tailor security screening to the actual threat. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">I am, as I have said before, a political conservative, a law and order kind of guy and I get misty when the national anthem is played at a football game and jets fly over in salute. If anything, I am pre-disposed to support the United States government.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">I have been a pilot for more than 35 years. In the early years of my career, I flew aircraft for the FBI and I amassed 6,500 hours of flight time. I worked my way through college with United Airlines and was cockpit qualified to move the airliners around the ramp, fuel them and service them. I know aircraft. My father, a former FBI Agent, worked for United from the time I was 12. We used our flight benefits to travel more than anybody I know, taking round-the-world vacations nearly every year and jumping airliners like hobos jump freight trains. During my FBI counter-terrorism years, I traveled 100,000 to 200,000 miles per year. I am intimately familiar with airline travel.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">My father's position at United Airlines was Manager of Security. He had this job in the 70’s when airline security was in its infancy and he helped pioneered security procedures including the first magnetometers. He has written two textbooks on airport, aircraft, and airline security, and sat on FAA sponsored committees on airline security. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">As a SWAT Agent, I was fully trained to interdict hijackings. I have trained countless hours on actual airliners, learned to shoot surgically inside the airliner “tube,” silently approach the aircraft and breach exterior doors quickly. I was also trained to shoot from airline seats in case I was aboard a hijacked flight, and for 25 years I traveled armed on airliners, meeting with Air Marshals prior to each flight.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">I have dealt with TSA since its inception and FAA security prior to that. I have witnessed TSA operate since they became a separate organization in 2002 and seen their reaction to intelligence provided them. I have now watched them operate for a decade, and I have respect for their hard-working employees who are doing a thankless job. But I have come to the conclusion that TSA is one of the worst-run, ineffective and most unnecessarily intrusive agencies in the United States government.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><b>TILTING AT WINDMILLS</b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">The entire TSA paradigm is flawed. It requires an impossibility for it to succeed. For the TSA model to work, every single possible means of causing danger to an aircraft or its passengers must be eliminated. This is an impossibility. While passengers are being frisked and digitally strip-searched a few dozen yards away, cooks and dish washers at the local concourse <i>“Chili’s” </i>are using and cleaning butcher knives.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">While bomb-sniffing dogs are run past luggage, the beach at the departure end of LAX is largely unpatrolled, and anybody with a shoulder launched missile (you know the ones they regularly shoot down U.S. helicopters with in Afghanistan) could take out any plane of their choice. I am reticent to discuss anything further that would give anybody ideas. However, these two have had wide dissemination in the media but are by NO means the biggest threats. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">I sometimes ruminate while standing in line waiting to take off my shoes, remove my belt, laptop, iPad, etc., etc., about the improvised weapons I saw in prisons and how hard they were to find. It’s fascinating what weapons prisoners can make out of plastic forks, newspapers and toothbrushes. Ask any prison guard if an inmate can make a weapon out of an everyday item, and how long it would take them. Approximately 99% of what the average traveler carries on a plane would be considered contraband in a maximum security prison, due to the fact that it can easily be converted into a weapon. Toothbrushes, Popsicle sticks, pens, pencils, anything with wire (iPod headset), any metal object which can be sharpened, etc., etc. is a potential weapon. Carried to its logical end, TSA policy would have to require passengers to travel naked or handcuffed. (Handcuffing is the required procedure for U.S. Marshalls transporting prisoners in government aircraft.)<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">TSA’s de facto policy to this point has been to react to the latest thing tried by a terrorist, which is invariably something that Al Qaeda identified as a technique not addressed by current screening. While this narrows Al Qaeda’s options, their list of attack ideas remains long and they are imaginative. Therefore, if TSA continues to <i>react</i> to each and every <i>new </i>thing tried, three things are certain:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>Nothing Al Qaeda tries will be caught the first time because it was<i> designed</i> around gaps in TSA security.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span><!--[endif]-->It is impossible to eliminate all gaps in airline security.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>Airline security screening based on eliminating <i>every</i> vulnerability will therefore fail because it is impossible. But it will by necessity become increasingly onerous and invasive on the travelers. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><b>SCREENING IS STILL IMPORTANT—DONE RIGHT<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">TSA’s “major malfunction” as R. Lee Ermey would say, is that they do not understand the threat. At least their reactions to the threat indicates an extreme naiveté regarding terrorists, their tactics and their operational philosophies. One of the major reasons that Al Qaeda has not successfully mounted a major attack in the United States since 9/11 is that Al Qaeda is analogous to a political action committee (PAC) or a political candidate. They live off donations from “legitimate” radical Muslims throughout the world. These donations are crucial, and there are many causes which compete for them. In order to keep getting those donations, Al Qaeda can’t appear to be losing, weak or incapable of an attack. Therefore, they actually put themselves in a little bit of a bind after 9/11: Their success was so spectacular that it has become almost impossible to duplicate it, much less create an even more spectacular act. Any attack that seems smaller in scope than those already achieved would make it appear as though Al Qaeda was “slipping” and terrorism dollars might go elsewhere, say to the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">Failure is not an option for Al Qaeda; they are as risk averse as the public relations department at Disneyland. Al Qaeda is a brand to protect, and failure is bad for the brand. If there is a one in ten chance that an attack will fail, the powers-that-be will not likely green-light it.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"> TSA screening, as it is now, is so predictable and known that Al Qaeda can know with absolute certainty what they can and cannot get through screening. That is valuable intelligence for them. In a word, TSA is predictable. This increases Al Qaeda’s chances of success. It reminds me of counter-espionage surveillances against our cold-war adversaries the Soviets. They were followed nearly all the time and they knew it. A good Soviet intelligence officer would identify the surveillance and the agents and vehicles involved in the surveillance. Then, he would be able to fulfill his “drops” and communications knowing where the surveillance was at any time. When you can see the surveillance, you know exactly what you can and cannot get away with. Only when they could not see the surveillance were they truly intimidated.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">TSA would have significantly greater affect with a random-selection type of process. The benefits of random selection are: Approximately 80% fewer screeners needed, complete unpredictability of the likelihood of a search, and extremely effective searches of those, say 10%, selected. It would not reduce by 1% Al Qaeda’s belief that they could get through screening with a weapon. A 1-in-10 chance of a full search is too much of a risk for Al Qaeda. They do not plan their attacks on the “Well, it’s got a decent chance” method. They require a sure thing. Putting explosives in a shoe and depending on a 10% chance of failure are odds they will not accept. So rather than ineffective (yet incredibly intrusive) screening of 100% of the passengers, there should be highly effective screening of an unpredictable 10% with a reduced screening requirement for the other 90%, say a magnetometer and bag X-ray, allowing people to wear their shoes, belts and pacemakers through screening.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><b>THE VIRTUAL STRIP SEARCH</b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">Is this really okay with you?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvadmdq2wFVYwtDuYG9mVuoWUTokafnfqLbdVV9MjcehaYY1fjYBGnhdx9gWGh1mqsaNFbTC4n4DEG0cd2gHJNx3iv7uqqV5cHUXClsaEwNmXqwRXs7di4N4CAuHfsu6wS_9P6QBH3Zrc/s1600/tsa-screening-x-ray-scan-121009-xlg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvadmdq2wFVYwtDuYG9mVuoWUTokafnfqLbdVV9MjcehaYY1fjYBGnhdx9gWGh1mqsaNFbTC4n4DEG0cd2gHJNx3iv7uqqV5cHUXClsaEwNmXqwRXs7di4N4CAuHfsu6wS_9P6QBH3Zrc/s640/tsa-screening-x-ray-scan-121009-xlg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p>These are images created by the TSA’s “Backscatter/Body Imaging X-Ray” scanner. The images are not, they say, detailed enough to cause anybody any embarrassment. Frankly, they are intimately detailed. I am stunned, quite frankly, that the same people who fought against the Patriot Act because it was invasive and violated privacy rights have not howled about this invasion of personal privacy rights.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p>I recently asked a TSA officer whether a man or a woman was conducting the screening at my “device.” I was told that it varied and they didn't know right at that moment. I declined being screened by the machine to see what the procedure was. I was then frisked—and told that by rule, I could be frisked only by a man. Good. I get that, but then, why aren't there male and female devices where like-sex screeners view the virtual strip searches. I have to be blunt here, I have a serious issue with any man I don’t know and who is not our doctor, seeing under my wife’s clothing. Maybe I’m old fashioned.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">An immediate demand should be that these devices be operated with male/female devices with same-sex screeners. If that can’t be accomplished, then TSA needs to explain why. By the way, “money” will not be accepted as a justifiable reason. They’re spending enough to cover it on other things. Don’t take my word for it; listen to a report by congressional investigators released just two months ago:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>“Today, TSA's screening policies are based in theatrics. They are typical, bureaucratic responses to failed security policies meant to assuage the concerns of the traveling public.”</i></b> Translation? TSA doesn’t know what it’s doing, but is trying to put on a good show to keep the traveling public from catching on. The report, entitled, “<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">"</span><a href="http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/267126/house-gop-report-a-call-for-tsa-reform.pdf" target="_blank"><b><i>A Decade Later: A Call for TSA Reform</i></b></a><b><i>"</i></b> sharply criticized the agency, accusing it of incompetent management. Former DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner dropped this bomb, <b><i>“The ability of TSA screeners to stop prohibited items from being carried through the sterile areas of the airports fared no better than the performance of screeners prior to September 11, 2001.”</i></b><i><o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">Frankly, the professional experience I have had with TSA has frightened me. Once, when approaching screening for a flight on official FBI business, I showed my badge as I had done for decades in order to bypass screening. (You can be envious, but remember, I was one less person in line.) I was asked for my form which showed that I was armed. I was unarmed on this flight because my ultimate destination was a foreign country. I was told, "Then you have to be screened." This logic startled me, so I asked, "If I tell you I have a high-powered weapon, you will let me bypass screening, but if I tell you I'm <i>unarmed</i>, then I have to be screened?" The answer? "Yes. Exactly." Another time, I was bypassing screening (again on official FBI business) with my .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a TSA officer noticed the clip of my pocket knife. "You can't bring a knife on board," he said. I looked at him incredulously and asked, "The semi-automatic pistol is okay, but you don't trust me with a knife?" His response was equal parts predictable and frightening, "But knives are not allowed on the planes."</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><b>OUT OF CONTROL<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">Civil libertarians on both sides of the aisle should be appalled at an unauthorized use to which TSA is putting their screening: Identifying petty criminals--using one search method to achieve a secret goal. This is strictly forbidden in other government branches. In the FBI, if I had a warrant to wiretap an individual on a terrorism matter and picked-up evidence of a non-terrorism-related crime, I could not, without FBI Headquarters and a judge’s approval, use that as evidence in a criminal case. But TSA is using its screening devices to carve out a niche business. According to congress, TSA began to seek out petty criminals without congressional approval. TSA have arrested more than 1,000 people on drug charges and other non-airline security-related offenses to date. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">The report goes on to state that the virtual strip search screening machines are a failure in that they cannot detect the type of explosives used by the “underwear bomber” or even a pistol used as a TSA’s own real-world test of the machines. Yet TSA has spent approximately $60 billion since 2002 and now has over 65,000 employees, more than the Department of State, more than the Department of Energy, more than the Department of Labor, more than the Department of Education, more than the Department of Housing and Urban Development---<b><i><u>combined. </u></i></b>TSA has become, according to the report<i>, “an enormous, inflexible and distracted bureaucracy more concerned with……consolidating power.”<b><u><o:p></o:p></u></b></i></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><u><br />
</u></i></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">Each time the TSA is publically called to account for their actions, they fight back with fear-based press releases which usually begin with “At a time like this….” Or “Al Qaeda is planning—at this moment …..” The tactic, of course, is to throw the spotlight off the fact that their policies are doing nothing to make America safer “at a time like this.” Sometimes doing the wrong thing is just as bad as doing nothing. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">The TSA unions are now fighting against any reduction in staff, such as by implementation of more efficient protocols, hiring of contractors, or less draconian screening. It is simply not in their best interest for screening to get quicker or easier because that would require fewer screeners. The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, John Mica (R-FL) scolded; “It is time for TSA to refocus its mission based on risk and develop common sense security protocols.”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><b>THE QUEEN HAS NO CLOTHES</b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">Just when I was getting to think that the backscatter x-ray images were humiliating, degrading or invasive, Susan Hallowell, Director of the TSA research lab eased my fear by consenting to have her backscatter image made public.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JhBi67_wfQ-EL57ZpUCCNeeNhUZ15vUO77Gn8BghjmNO3lBn3VZp8RUp2Zmd3iyQd292pIVVtNCpFGfgqYacUfuC11aeUKEp0o5rRzjkQtpKCFp8PNRoGDAr9zz65SmQe0jOIPQpjt0/s1600/091228-tech-airport-scanner.grid-6x2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JhBi67_wfQ-EL57ZpUCCNeeNhUZ15vUO77Gn8BghjmNO3lBn3VZp8RUp2Zmd3iyQd292pIVVtNCpFGfgqYacUfuC11aeUKEp0o5rRzjkQtpKCFp8PNRoGDAr9zz65SmQe0jOIPQpjt0/s1600/091228-tech-airport-scanner.grid-6x2a.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuP_geyDV81qxuxMfzpQ49oR1QUSrSmSOrlzLXnSgmCqDvb5z3YWt5ZEwUdOio780I4dznfIJArZ0kcqDbQnSPiZrFH6RaNNjpMcV-Cf9eZFwyQJpM30U3LUoy91GqZjJaoOtzZMAY7vI/s1600/Hallowell_scan2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuP_geyDV81qxuxMfzpQ49oR1QUSrSmSOrlzLXnSgmCqDvb5z3YWt5ZEwUdOio780I4dznfIJArZ0kcqDbQnSPiZrFH6RaNNjpMcV-Cf9eZFwyQJpM30U3LUoy91GqZjJaoOtzZMAY7vI/s320/Hallowell_scan2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_i1026" style="height: 204pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 246.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="" src="file:///C:\Users\Biff\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg"> </v:imagedata></v:shape><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_4" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" style="height: 201.75pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 131.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="" src="file:///C:\Users\Biff\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"> </v:imagedata></v:shape><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">That’s Ms. Hallowell in the upper photo. And the two below--same day, same time. See? What’s invasive or embarrassing about those photos? Obviously, I’m overreacting. Several things about these photos struck me; first, I of course noticed that the backscatter x-ray has cleverly detected the gun on her hip (it’s the black object just above her thong in the far left picture). That the gun would have been found by magnetometers in service since the 1970’s is likely not something they would like us to dwell on. Secondarily, I am struck by the similarity of this demonstration to the fable, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” In that tale, a king is swindled by tailors who create for him a suit of clothes that are invisible to incompetent people. Of course, nobody would admit that they didn’t see the clothes for fear of being branded unfit for their jobs, and certainly the king wasn’t going to say anything. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">Looking at these photos, I wonder if something similar isn’t going on here. It is as if patriotic, loyal citizens who care about security and the United States of America and the lives of their fellow citizens will not see this as an abuse of power. Anybody who views these images as dehumanizing, humiliating, unnecessary or abusive are obviously not against terrorism and care little if airplanes filled with families fall to the ground. But in this situation, it is essential that we shout “the king (or in this case the queen) has no clothes!” Going along with the status quo is the exact opposite of protecting Americans, it is the opposite of saving lives, it is the opposite of preventing terrorism, and it is the opposite of freedom and personal rights.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">With the congressional spotlight on the organization, TSA is finally feeling what it's like to be screened. It has walked through the detector of bureaucratic failure and the red light has gone off. It’s time that we ask congress to have TSA “step over to this area” for a more thorough search. For once, "TSA screening" will be productive. I predict that dangerous amounts of inefficiency, derivative thinking, and reactive policy will be located, if not in their shoes, in their DNA.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-88142663442144632962011-12-09T13:31:00.000-08:002011-12-09T13:31:03.613-08:00RULES ARE WRITTEN IN BLOOD: THE HIT ON COLT McCOY BY JAMES "HEADHUNTER" HARRISON<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievpTDUUyWf6siU5odadeeLZa-XD4R6dTEbylgWVVRn4IuBUgG_rK_rJVKlAUhi6-zDeuMimI__vRbJ4qIDG0ImQQf8BoERWgalQC-OX-Cen4AFT3BMKj1hpycktsbrzAlPN97qxkNbe8/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievpTDUUyWf6siU5odadeeLZa-XD4R6dTEbylgWVVRn4IuBUgG_rK_rJVKlAUhi6-zDeuMimI__vRbJ4qIDG0ImQQf8BoERWgalQC-OX-Cen4AFT3BMKj1hpycktsbrzAlPN97qxkNbe8/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've spent in the neighborhood of 6,500 hours in the cockpit of airplanes and helicopters. There is a saying in flying, "Rules are written in blood." This refers to the fact that the FAA, NTSB, and various aviation organizations are loathe to change regulations (especially those that cost money) until somebody (or a lot of somebodies) die(s).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An example, it has always been known that an empty aircraft fuel tank can be quite simply a bomb in search of a detonator. The flying public may not realize that if a fuel tank is not necessary for a particular flight, the airline will leave it empty. It costs money to carry weight, and jet fuel weighs 7 pounds per gallon. Airliners have tanks for long flights; therefore, most flights leave with at least one empty. Aircraft fuel vapor is incredibly explosive, and once a tank is empty (leaving from 2 to 20 gallons of unusable fuel in the tank, typically), it is filled only with fuel vapor. 999 out of 1,000 times, it won't find an ignition source. Which begs the question "Am I on flight #327 or 1,000?" This potentially dangerous situation was repeatedly brought up to the airlines and the FAA by pilots. The solution to this issue was never leaving a tank empty (unacceptable), or filling empty tanks with inert gas such as nitrogen (expensive). So it was ignored.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Predictably, on July 17, 1996, TWA flight 800, bound for Paris, took off with an empty fuel tank. Moments after takeoff, the fuel quantity indication system in that tank shorted and caused a spark, which caused a massive explosion with blew the plane into two pieces. We have all seen the gruesome simulations of the front of the aircraft, with probably fifty passengers and the pilots, breaking off and falling like a stone into the ocean as the rest of the passengers in the pilot-less aircraft streaked almost straight up before plunging for an eternity into the ocean. Soon after the cause was determined, the FAA required that all empty fuel tanks be filled with inert gas. That rule was written in the blood of 230 innocent people.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On a much smaller scale, the NFL has several rules which are designed to keep players from suffering crippling, fatal, or unnecessarily serious injuries. It is a simple rule, and I paraphrase: A player cannot use his helmet as a weapon, especially as a weapon aimed at the helmet (head) of another player. Football helmets do not, cannot, prevent concussions. Their use only reduces the number of them. A helmet-to-helmet hit on a player will frequently leave the recipient (if not the perpetrator) unconscious on the field. Players know that at the end of a professional career they may have lingering injuries; but drooling and not remembering their names isn't a result they have put into their calculations. The NFL correctly determined that if helmet-to-helmet hits were not stopped, somebody would eventually die, so they legislated against it. But legislation means nothing if not enforced.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night, I watched on live TV as Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker James "Headhunter" Harrison put the most vicious, intentional, helmet-to-helmet hit I have ever seen on Cleveland Brown's quarterback Colt McCoy. McCoy appeared to be out for several seconds, arms splayed out at his side like a dead man. He was revived, sat out of the game for two plays, then returned. But this morning, the headlines make it clear that McCoy has no recollection of the hit or most of the game last night. He reportedly told his father that he knew that his team lost, but has no recollection of the game itself. (The fact that the Cleveland Browns would put McCoy back in the game when rumor has it that he could not remember his name at the time is another fertile topic.) I should point out that I am not a Cleveland Browns fan, I have never lived in Cleveland and don't really follow the team. I also am not a Steelers fan, I don't dislike them, either.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you might glean from his nickname, this was not the first time that "Headhunter" Harrison attacked another player with a method intended to cause injury. And a potentially life-threatening injury at that. On October 10, last year, he did the same vicious thing to (again) Cleveland Brown receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, intentionally spearing him head-to-head with his helmet, knocking him out. Then, in the very same game, he did the same thing to Cleveland player Josh Cribs, who was a former teammate of Harrison. There is a name for this type of play: "Dirty." Harrison plays dirty, an indication that he does not believe his skill level alone is adequate to keep him in his position.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two weeks after the Cleveland debacle, Harrison speared Saints Quarterback Drew Brees with an obvious attempt to knock him out--from behind. As he ran toward Brees, who was unaware of his approach, you could clearly see Harrison lowering his helmet, not to hit Brees in the back, or the hips or the legs to tackle him, but so that he could hit him squarely in the helmet, raising his own as he hit him. Watching the videos of each of these attacks, you can see Harrison's technique, and its the same each time; hit the other player in the widest part of the helmet with the "hairline" of your own helmet as you drive into him in an upward motion. It should be called "the Harrison move." Or "the Headhunter." Or "the Loser." Finally, late that month, in classic Harrison "style," he leveled quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Buffalo Bills. Check out the sequence of the photographs of last night's hit which are posted below. Note how Harrison ducks his head before the hit, and where his head is after the hit, in relation to McCoy's.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harrison was fined a total of $125,000 by the NFL for the hits he made last year. what will happen to him for this hit has not been announced. After last night's game, Harrison belittled, and in a way challenged NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to do something about the hit. Obviously, fines have not impressed Mr. Harrison. Harrison's current contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers is $51.75 million dollars over six years, which is $8.625 million per year. That $125,000 must have really stung. If you make $86,000 a year, consider each of the individual fines about $250. I get bigger fines than that for speeding, and I still speed. No, hand-slap fines don't get into Mr. Harrison's head (which is apparently hard enough that it can be used repeatedly as a weapon.) The only thing that might get through to him is being benched. Suspended. For a long time. Maybe that will get through to him. Maybe it will get through to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Maybe it will get through to his teammates. If nothing else, maybe it will save a life.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2UipU2Z8hZ0rkdKqRygoRnyn7SUUe2-RbtVbktqFw1QHZkeVQC16jnbYuU7BlOiHoe6ZcsIPpN83qeJ7nfOESXmjAeYTlij_vB369kqKUqhhOkvCRW86gAnnkiNLznie7gEXdmFT9lU4/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2UipU2Z8hZ0rkdKqRygoRnyn7SUUe2-RbtVbktqFw1QHZkeVQC16jnbYuU7BlOiHoe6ZcsIPpN83qeJ7nfOESXmjAeYTlij_vB369kqKUqhhOkvCRW86gAnnkiNLznie7gEXdmFT9lU4/s1600/a.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Note the position of Harrison's helmet as he approaches McCoy; he is looking up at him.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHE6GcvQagoqE6sFMd8Iw8ZaJ0UcjUZ65cdCwxOAUAvzTdEGjVlUS8bWxwt7w9j-5bhlK7Pij2msyXsFNyi41ntwUb_Qxl0FOCm8cbYfD_AIu2U5otU2AcZoRDVpd2LWw_hx4IY8udJE/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHE6GcvQagoqE6sFMd8Iw8ZaJ0UcjUZ65cdCwxOAUAvzTdEGjVlUS8bWxwt7w9j-5bhlK7Pij2msyXsFNyi41ntwUb_Qxl0FOCm8cbYfD_AIu2U5otU2AcZoRDVpd2LWw_hx4IY8udJE/s1600/1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Note the absence of any intent to hit below the helmet, the chest-high tackle, the hips- or legs-high tackle. And note how Harrison has lowered his helmet. As he struck, his helmet was in an upward trajectory, striking McCoy in the face.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPLWalySz80GiG1aB3QEZn5vsOFD30R-cWhotExbQoXF4O4vbM8Nrm6d33zcIu6WwhyphenhyphenKFFRDaY7lP49US8fH3iQbsgHXae3s8oly50sez5pYze3WtkA0tShy_Uo2Q2lwAuyVQ5b9-RAR0/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPLWalySz80GiG1aB3QEZn5vsOFD30R-cWhotExbQoXF4O4vbM8Nrm6d33zcIu6WwhyphenhyphenKFFRDaY7lP49US8fH3iQbsgHXae3s8oly50sez5pYze3WtkA0tShy_Uo2Q2lwAuyVQ5b9-RAR0/s1600/2.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Now note how Harrison's head is once again up, a result of the intentional upward trajectory of his dirty hits.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-40112743611944448862011-11-21T21:41:00.000-08:002011-11-21T21:41:53.921-08:00CAN PENN STATE HANDLE THE TRUTH?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHK3g_KXauLSvZOZwR6h7JCgGST1HxX_pozhlKdY78CQozC_PKLOxzL03-RNrrozS35E1Y1xDdiae88lwBDmEURE3ij4QCKrBQPzuo2LZmRpA97j7stcgQsrwhVupX0H7GIj5rNCrmRiE/s1600/Jessup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXaEm1oi5ZOp7KGpS9AZ1rjHU8pMadF74fjz8c56CnCKr1Mu0Shs0Tc6YNAPhb2tYJrVXLjPRjeVOXRnbP-Mctcooy1zHpYz-wyIULSyTLK4S7eJUOEkmybG2vQYeugaKun-kvVdbUHE/s1600/2011-11-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXaEm1oi5ZOp7KGpS9AZ1rjHU8pMadF74fjz8c56CnCKr1Mu0Shs0Tc6YNAPhb2tYJrVXLjPRjeVOXRnbP-Mctcooy1zHpYz-wyIULSyTLK4S7eJUOEkmybG2vQYeugaKun-kvVdbUHE/s640/2011-11-21.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHK3g_KXauLSvZOZwR6h7JCgGST1HxX_pozhlKdY78CQozC_PKLOxzL03-RNrrozS35E1Y1xDdiae88lwBDmEURE3ij4QCKrBQPzuo2LZmRpA97j7stcgQsrwhVupX0H7GIj5rNCrmRiE/s1600/Jessup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can Penn State really handle the truth? If not, they’ve just made a terrible mistake. They’ve engaged former FBI Director Louis J. Freeh to conduct an in depth investigation into the actions and the failures to act which resulted in the magnitude of the current Sandusky melt-down at Penn State.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s a suggestion from somebody who’s worked for Director Freeh, to anybody who has failed to report a crime, concealed or abetted Sandusky’s horrible acts, fallen short of complete candor, fallen short of the responsibilities of an honorable man or woman, or just turned a blind eye at an opportune moment: Run. Run like the wind. No, forget that; he’ll find you. Come clean now. Fall on your sword. Beg for mercy. Save what little you have left.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember vividly in 1994 when Director Freeh sent a letter to every agent in the FBI, a letter which became famous as the “Bright Line” letter. In it, the director made reference to the fact that there seemed to be some “gray areas” in the FBI where unethical (but legal) behavior by agents was tolerated or even concealed. In his letter, Director Freeh advised the corps of agents that in order to ensure that there were no “gray areas,” he was by that document drawing a “bright line” over which we could not cross without termination and, if appropriate, prosecution. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Specifically, many of the offenses for which agents would be summarily terminated were not necessarily against the law, but were ethically below the standards the public would expect from the FBI. As an example, a lie in any administrative investigation, (say you stopped at the store in your FBI car on the way home from the office and denied it), would result in immediate termination. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"All of us in the F.B.I. must be held accountable for our actions,”</i> he said, <i>“and I have spent a great deal of time developing new policies standards, and guidelines for Bureau personnel….these policies apply to all F.B.I. employees equally -- including the Bureau's top officials."</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"Everyone should understand that there is no room in the F.B.I. for inattention to duty, lethargy, laziness or other derelictions,"</i> he wrote. <i>"There are no snug harbors for those in the F.B.I. whose job it is to fight crime and protect the people. F.B.I. executives who fail to carry out their high levels of responsibility will by their conduct forfeit their positions."</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In case you think that this memo was just so much talk, consider that Louis Freeh reported himself to the Deputy Attorney General for losing his FBI-issued cell phone, and when the loss was swept under the rug as a courtesy by DOJ, Freeh made an official recommendation that he be given a letter of censure (which he received), the standard punishment for street agents for this infraction. The message, “No one is above the law.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">In short, this is a man of colossal personal integrity who expects it from others. From my few times interacting with him, I also believe him to be a man of immense empathy for victims of crime. Woe to the person who shrinks from responsibility or callously hurts others.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the man who has been chosen by Penn State to get to the bottom of what has caused a moral China Syndrome in State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State administrators should also know that Louis (“Louie”) raised four boys of whom he was very protective. He is also on the Board of Directors of the <i>National Center for Missing & Exploited Children</i>, and a former federal judge.</div><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Initially Penn State had decided that the scandal would be investigated by a committee of PSU trustees headed by Kenneth Frazier, the CEO of Merck pharmaceuticals. The decision for a university to self-investigate and tell the truth about a 13 year period when they failed to self-investigate and tell the truth did not sit well with the public. I personally believe that Mr. Frazier would likely have conducted a fair and impartial investigation, based on what I have learned of him. However, establishment of an in-house investigative committee was just the latest in a series of bonehead moves by PSU. Regardless of Mr. Frazier’s integrity, the message sent by an in-house investigation undermined the rhetoric of vigilance voiced by the university. Such an investigation would never possess an air of legitimacy. The choice of Freeh, however, is a convincing step. Somebody at Penn State really wants to get to the bottom of this. Bad.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 17.25pt; margin-bottom: 16.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Freeh’s team will consist of former FBI agents, former U.S. attorneys and prosecutors and investigators with experience in pedophilia and sexual predators. The team will interview all individuals involved in the scandal as well as go through university records and documents going back to 1975.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 17.25pt; margin-bottom: 16.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"I'm tasked with investigating the matter fully, fairly, and completely, without fear or favoritism, including the board of trustees,"</i> Freeh said. <i>"The special committee ensured us total independence."</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 17.25pt; margin-bottom: 16.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Freeh will also look into the Penn State University police, their role, practices, and investigative procedures. Obviously, where there is smoke, there is fire, and frankly, there’s a mushroom cloud over PSUPD right now. I ran the uniform and the investigative division of a major university’s public safety department for over two years. I know the pressures that can be put to bear on a department. If the police department fails the university, it fails it in ways that create immense damage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 17.25pt; margin-bottom: 16.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the Freeh investigative team has completed their work, the public can be sure that every single detail will have been pulled out into the light of public scrutiny. Beginning, as he said he would in 1975, could signal the extent of the detail of this investigation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 17.25pt; margin-bottom: 16.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You know when you’re looking for your watch, you tend to find a few other things you’ve been looking for? Penn State should also know that it is likely that if anything was not completely right at Penn State from 1975 until the present (36 years), it will be found by this committee. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 17.25pt; margin-bottom: 16.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When a cancer surgeon removes a malignancy, he must make sure he has good “margins,” meaning that even questionable tissue is removed so that there is no chance that any malignancy remains. If he or she is not diligent, the cancer returns just as vigorously as the first time, this time spreading to other organs, and the patient will usually not survive. Louis Freeh’s investigative report will ensure that the cancer is identified right out to safe margins. Whether or not Penn State decides to do a complete surgery will decide the university’s future. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 17.25pt; margin-bottom: 16.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only one question remains to be answered, “Can Penn State handle the truth?”</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-21088284383600650302011-11-14T13:13:00.000-08:002011-11-14T13:32:50.825-08:00SINGLE-MALT FRIENDS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0PSfnlQeT3KSnjaiQtnOlvaWrAiaBEdIQrzKGTmdK4XcLkbaVVUB-g_y8mcZ0VKe33efHEtwlwwX2XYaoTYOEoYNTZofFyNpBwvtaChzL34RhJxWyTzZR2bPUShB5Bh5lL-iyVMbl0w/s1600/309873_2589238531288_1264328018_32995892_1946147667_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0PSfnlQeT3KSnjaiQtnOlvaWrAiaBEdIQrzKGTmdK4XcLkbaVVUB-g_y8mcZ0VKe33efHEtwlwwX2XYaoTYOEoYNTZofFyNpBwvtaChzL34RhJxWyTzZR2bPUShB5Bh5lL-iyVMbl0w/s320/309873_2589238531288_1264328018_32995892_1946147667_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Glenglassaugh (glen GLASS’ uch) is a single-malt Scotch that I suspect few if any of us have ever tasted. I say this not because I believe we are Philistines (I certainly don’t), but because Glenglassaugh is so expensive and rare. This fine Scotch comes from the Speyside region of the Scottish Highlands where the barley and the water are so unique and superb that they are de rigueur for the finest Scotch distilleries. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those less versed in Scotch, “single-malt” is the variation of Scotch that derives from a single aged oak barrel, rather than a mixture of the contents of several barrels, which is how other Scotches are blended. Blending multiple barrels is a technique used to bring up the overall quality of a year’s production by mixing good barrels with poorer barrels. Single-malt barrels, in contrast, are chosen specifically for their superior quality and are kept ‘virgin’ in order not to dilute their excellence. They are identified early in the aging process and regularly moved into different aging locations to change temperature and humidity to perfect the cask as the years go on. After a minimum of three years, the Scotch may legally be called Scotch (as long as it’s made in Scotland, of course) and it may be bottled. However, three years is hardly enough for single-malt. Many of Glenglassaugh’s single-malts are aged for decades and cost over $150 per bottle. You can even buy a full barrel (un-aged at purchase) for a mere $7,500 and within ten to twenty years, you’ll have a great cask of Glenglassaugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oddly enough, I was musing over this recently as I was leaving my high school class reunion. This was the first time I had ever really gone to a full-fledged high school reunion. You see, I’m a pessimist. Not by nature, but by decision. I very much dislike disappointments and letdowns, yet I always seemed to be the guy who “believed” in long-shots and doomed-causes long after everyone else had seen the light. I was the kind of guy who strolled into a Chevrolet dealership in 1974 determined to buy a Vega because I was sure that the one<b><i><u> I</u></i></b> got <i>wouldn't</i> be a piece of crap. Years after Sony had given up on the Betamax, I still refused to convert to VHS, counting on a "Beta" comeback. Following my call for a recount the morning after Ronald Reagan beat my candidate Jimmy Carter, my family conducted an intervention (and an exorcism). I finally sought help. Under doctor’s orders I underwent radical therapy; I adopted the Chicago Cubs as my favorite baseball team and for the last 30 years have had every last bit of optimism ruthlessly beaten out of my soul, (and I'm now a Republican). It is because of my hard-won pessimism that I knew that I would never go to a high-school reunion.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have heard every reunion horror story, and I knew what to expect. Poseurs, losers and braggers. And I knew that I would, inevitably, become one of the three before the night was over. It’s almost inescapable when at a reunion; the ego stakes are simply too high. Because in a way, the reunion is a report card on your life. No matter what you have accomplished in intangibles like raising good children, giving to charity, helping old ladies across the street, your entire life will be graded within five minutes by everyone you speak to. And even if nothing is said, you will see it in their eyes. I would, I was certain, be judged by my weight, hair (or lack of same), grace in aging, financial wellbeing and career. So I feared that I would be graded a loser or would try to be something I wasn’t. It’s a survival instinct. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sadly, as my 35<sup>th</sup> high-school reunion neared, I fell off the wagon of pessimism and I had a severe relapse of optimism. This was caused by a series of freak events: My favorite football team, the San Francisco 49’ers went on an unexpected winning streak. Then, against all odds, I got a contract for my first book, and I suddenly realized that I had gone almost 20,000 miles in my Chrysler minivan without a transmission failure. Obviously, none of these things can be explained in purely human terms, so you can understand my confusion. In a fit of optimism about which I still feel shame, I caught a plane to Chicago for the reunion of the Buffalo Grove High School Class of 1976. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I found at the reunion rocked me to my socks and set back my optimism aversion therapy probably for a lifetime. Inexplicably, it seemed, I had a fabulous time. I loved those people. In preparation for the event, I had memorized the “You can’t go home” adage (took me days), and had planned that each time I experienced an awkward silence because I had nothing in common with one of my old friends, I would simply repeat it silently to myself and the world would make sense. But as my old friends and I met up again after 35 years, something weird happened: We got along fabulously. There were no awkward silences. In fact, at times, I had the distinct feeling that we were continuing a conversation that got cut off last weekend, not in 1976. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even people I barely knew in high school became new friends at the reunion. In 1976, Mary the winsome redhead and Cindy the cheerleader were both “out of my league” and I knew it. Now, Mary and her husband live on a spread in South Dakota big enough that people can hunt on it and she’s working on a book. Cindy manages a radio station and basks in the success of a son who recently passed the bar. Both were larger than life at the reunion and two of the highlights of my night. Friend after friend blew away my preconceived notions; Laura, Mark(s), Catherine(s) , Lance, Alysia, Tims(s), “Chaddy,” Steves(s), Anne, Nancy, Keith, Michelle, Tom……I was amazed at the quality of the people I had the privilege to go to high school with. I had no idea back then. Today, my old party-pals and fellow classroom clowns are musicians, cops, school teachers, stock brokers, authors, airline pilots, senate staffers, screenwriters, coaches, fire fighters, engineers, geologists, even a rabbi and a minister. It was quite a cast of characters. In more somber moments, we recounted the members of our class who would not be attending any more reunions because they had left us. By this reunion, the number that we knew of had reached double-digits, and it was a sobering and sad thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rather than fizzle like some reunions, ours continued even after the banquet hall closed. Then after the bars closed. Then, after they threw about thirty of us out of the lobby of the hotel. And then it continued in the empty restaurant the hotel graciously opened for us. At 3:30 a.m., twenty or so were still sitting around a huge makeshift table as our classmate Tim strummed his guitar and alternately serenaded us and played songs from our years in high school so that we could all sing along. How did I never know he was that talented back in 1976? For just a moment, I felt like we had gone home. But for only a moment, and it seemed like nobody really wanted it to end.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But by 4:15, the realization was hitting most of us that we could only hold on to the moment so long, and like Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, we had to grow up and get on with life. We reluctantly hugged, kissed, shook hands and promised to keep in touch and went off in different directions to our rooms. The next day, we continued in different directions at 500 miles per hour. I felt true sadness that the moment ended, not sadness at what time had done to all of us. Because frankly, time had been a friend. No, we hadn’t recaptured our youth, we hadn’t “gone home,” nor were we reliving our high school 'glory days.' Maybe we realized that we would never <i>want</i> to recapture our youth.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the way back to my hotel, my thoughts went to the conversations we had traded that night and I realized that no one hid behind the mask of “the perfect life.” Everyone at one time or another spoke of hidden pain, hardships and loss. Not one person wallowed in them, but neither were they afraid to admit them, to share their challenges and the ways they got through them, not because they wanted sympathy, but so they could encourage others. It was if they instinctively knew that everybody our age had been through hell at least once, and if you were on top one moment, you might be in a valley the next. It wasn’t a major topic, but it was there, and it was refreshing, and it was encouraging to see how people had overcome.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>IT'S THE FIRE THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE</i></span></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rsCk1Ubs0t_pVbbRW9GraAdyXKsl5wD_M83nJKMv_XZd1kNho35VrQlxCXoCRCnuAbp_rZR6WtAfMhFTnx_cURr0dqAFGfAGaX9XiQtl_ARF3l0Gcx3pq_pAxMfGkKZVvMsAigSJDz4/s1600/Bourbon-cask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rsCk1Ubs0t_pVbbRW9GraAdyXKsl5wD_M83nJKMv_XZd1kNho35VrQlxCXoCRCnuAbp_rZR6WtAfMhFTnx_cURr0dqAFGfAGaX9XiQtl_ARF3l0Gcx3pq_pAxMfGkKZVvMsAigSJDz4/s1600/Bourbon-cask.jpg" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And as I drove, my mind went to Glenglassaugh. Not because I needed another drink. I was reminded of two little-known requirements for the making of fine Scotch. Fire and Bourbon. The best Scotch brands are aged in American Bourbon barrels that have had the interiors charred by firing. It is that charred barrel, steeped and aged in Bourbon that makes Scotch spectacular. When the Scotch alcohol first comes out of the pot still it is called, appropriately, “new spirit.” It is perfectly clear, colorless, and has a strong, undisciplined character much closer to “moonshine” than fine liquor. In high school, everyone at that reunion had been “new spirits." We had a sharp, in-your-face character, un-mellowed by any hard lessons or aging, because we hadn’t had any. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But if aging alone would have mellowed us, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">everyone</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> would be fine with age. But we know that is not the case. And it is not the case with Scotch. If aging alone could do it, there would not be rules about the cask, and the way the liquor is aged. The finest liquor experiences the harshest aging. The hotter the summers and the colder the winters the better the liquor. Temperate conditions create tepid flavor. Stagnation will create a poor Scotch, also. Sitting without any kind of activity takes the character out of the barrel, so the barrel has to be rotated frequently. Sitting and stagnating also create poor human beings. Finally, in Scotch, approximately 10% of the barrel evaporates during aging, and this is known as “The Angel’s Share.” It’s a simple equation; you can’t get a truly exceptional Scotch without experiencing loss. Every single person at that reunion had experienced loss, some more recently than others; every single person had given up “The Angel’s Share” in their life. And it seemed that the ones who had experienced the most loss were themselves the most “refined.” But ultimately, it is fire that makes a tepid, store-brand Scotch into a work of art and makes the “new spirits” into amazing creations.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the sun came up, it hit me that I had spent the evening with a group of <i>single-malt friends</i>. Not one of us had lived our lives without experiencing pain, loss or grief. Cancer, divorce, the death of friends and family, loss of jobs, financial ruin….nobody I spoke to had gotten through the last 35 years unscathed. We had all experienced the fire. And I realized that it was that fire; the pain, the loss and the recovery that had made these people extraordinary. It turned out that pain and what we learned from it might have been the common bond that we now had. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In June, 1976 in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, several hundred high school seniors graduated and moved out into the world with high hopes for the “good life” and few problems. That same month, in Speyside, Scotland, Glenglassaugh Distillery put up several barrels of “new spirit” into used, distressed, charred oak Bourbon barrels from Tennessee. This month, 35 years later, a remnant of that high school class met a few miles from the school which helped form them. They had experienced the fire of life, yes, but were stronger and better in most cases. They had mellowed, were more interesting, and their essential “bouquet” was more unique and pleasing than ever. Also this month, in the Scotland Highlands, the casks put up in 1976 were finally unsealed and poured into cut-crystal decanters, aged and distressed perfectly. The rare 35 year old Scotch went on the market for more than $500 per bottle. If these bottles are as mellow and full of character as the Buffalo Grove class of the same year, Glenglassaugh will be proud. In Scotland, as in Buffalo Grove, the exquisite result of aging and fire is recognized as having unusual value.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the very near future, I plan to have a single shot of the finest single-malt Scotch my wallet will allow. And I will sip it straight, slowly enjoying its myriad of flavors, and contemplate the things that created those flavors. And I will think of my classmates who have aged so wonderfully, and contemplate the lives and the fires that created their wonderful character. Finally, I will drink to our classes’ ‘Angel’s Share;’ the ones we’ve lost in the process. With any luck, I will be remembering my classmates with that 1976 Glenglassaugh masterpiece, which they have appropriately named;<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"The Chosen Few."</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-31892673460420730062011-11-12T15:33:00.000-08:002011-11-13T13:53:03.808-08:00WHERE ARE YOU WHEN WE NEED YOU, HARRY?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aR9Y3OPoqpMgzjQyd_fISm7Unhqq2rtKoKuT_sxkfeP7uTT0UTbf46577WnphpbqdLMy1SBHrhnvZ8_ekh2rMqpv1eNprcbvOm9SXVJYuKHRuCKfVksMl5wGAVBCfK9uZqPVSxuhnAk/s1600/Truman_pass-the-buck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aR9Y3OPoqpMgzjQyd_fISm7Unhqq2rtKoKuT_sxkfeP7uTT0UTbf46577WnphpbqdLMy1SBHrhnvZ8_ekh2rMqpv1eNprcbvOm9SXVJYuKHRuCKfVksMl5wGAVBCfK9uZqPVSxuhnAk/s1600/Truman_pass-the-buck.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="body"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="body"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: x-small;">(Note: In this country, every person is innocent until </span></i></span><span class="body"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">proven</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> guilty. From a legal standpoint, Jerry Sandusky is an innocent man at this moment. Even as I write this, I am conscious that Sandusky has not been proven to be guilty, regardless of what appears to be strong, even devastating eye-witness testimony, anecdotal indications, and three previous allegations that all seem to tie together logically. But the evidence was enough to convince a grand jury to indict Sandusky, and Penn State University to fire the most beloved coach in their history. It therefore seems that the evidence is strong enough to use as a springboard for discussion, as changes must be made immediately if the allegations are true.)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It isn't over in State College, PA. And it shouldn’t be. Unless I am grossly in error, it's just starting.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It may be that anybody who was coaching or in upper management for Penn State in 2002 will soon be gone; fired, resigned or indicted. It's a lesson that should ring in the ears of every university administrator who has ever even thought of hiding a difficult truth for the sake of the school's reputation. Nothing hidden will reliably remain hidden. The best thing for any university is and always has been "Do the right thing, even if it hurts."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. best expressed this concept when he said, <b><i>“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.</i></b></span><b><i>”</i></b></span></div><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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</span></div><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I truly feel for every Penn State alum, every football player and coach who knew nothing of this travesty, every faculty and staff member who put their sweat equity and their love into the university, every fan of the Nittany Lions, and every student who <b><i>didn't</i></b> take part in the riots the other night. It's not enough that the university officials shamed the school, but then a group of idiot students went out and threw gasoline on the flames--quite literally in some cases. I do know that the vast majority of Penn State students weren't responsible for the sickos rioting to protest the firing of a man who allegedly abetted child rape.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, while what we have seen so far might seem to be more than just the tip of the iceberg, much still floats just below the surface. In an article on April 3, 2011, Mark Madden of “The Beaver County Times,” wrote in an article cleverly entitled, “SANDUSKY A STATE SECRET,” that, <b><i>"<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Allegations of improper conduct with an underage male first surfaced in 1998, while Sandusky was still employed by Penn State. That incident allegedly occurred in a shower at Penn State's on-campus football facility. No charges were filed.</span></span></i></b><b><i>"</i></b> That article was written six months ago! The circulation of “The Beaver County Times” is nearly 50,000 copies. This could not escape the notice of Penn State officials or trustees. Obviously, while most of the U.S. was oblivious, the sexual assault allegations against former Penn State Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky were known to tens of thousands, at least in the last year to two years. But before even that, it was known to the university and others.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">WHERE WAS THE BOARD?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The inescapable question is this; if the story about the grand jury investigation of Sandusky broke <i>6 months ago</i>, why didn't Penn State trustees do anything about it then?! Why wait until a press conference was called by the district attorney? Sandusky had an office on campus when he, by all indications, used almost daily from the day the story broke in April until his recent indictment. Wouldn't you want him off campus just IN CASE the allegations might be true? Why did they not start their own internal investigation? Are they saying that given the situation, if no indictment had been handed down that Athletic Director Tim Curley, Senior Vice President of Finance Gary Schultz, President Graham Spanier and Joe Paterno would still have their jobs?! Is child rape not a problem to them if the grand jury doesn’t decide to indict? If it’s not illegal, it’s not immoral? If it is the case that absent an indictment, Paterno, Schultz, Spanier and Curry would still have their jobs, then it is obvious that they were removed not to protect children, but to protect the university. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frankly, while I think the trustees did nothing illegal, their inaction from the time the story broke until now (at least six months) is highly suspicious. Why would they not act? Here’s some food for thought: The current Chairman of the Board of Trustees is Stephen Garban, who was on the board of trustees in 1998. He happened to be <i>Gary Schultz’s predecessor</i> as the Senior Vice President of Financial Operations for Penn State. He was also <i>captain of the Penn State football team at one time.</i> Conflict of interest? Perhaps. In fact, of the approximately 27 current acting members of the Penn State Board of Trustees, 21 are Penn State alumni and five have been on the football team, two playing for coach Paterno.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I understand the necessity of having regents and/or trustees familiar with and enthusiastic for the school for which they have such great responsibility, but at what point do the loyalties to the university and its football team begin to create a conflict?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another possible conflict is that the University's General Counsel to whom the 1998 report against Sandusky was provided for a decision on actions to be taken was then, and remains, the Legal Counsel for "The Second Mile," Sandusky's organization. Conflict of Interest? Ya think?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The board of trustees (to a person, impressive pillars of the community) need to explain exactly why they failed to act for six months after the story became public. They have a competent police department, and even if they suspected complicity or conflict of interest among the department, a private firm could have investigated this situation very effectively. I understand that a concurrent investigation can sometimes interfere with the grand jury process. But how about a simple public statement to that effect? How about something that acknowledges the situation and promises decisive action? When your senior executives are under a grand jury investigation, you might want to consider at least a paid leave. Without a satisfactory explanation, it would seem that chairman Stephen Garban’s failure to act, combined with his apparent sympathies, might impact on his past and future abilities to do the right thing in a difficult situation. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Analyst Mike May of ESPN spoke passionately and eloquently about this issue this week on College Football Live. <i>“For McQueary to </i><i>still be on the sidelines for another game, much less another minute I think that strikes a signal that this board of trustees and this coaching staff still doesn’t get the point. This is much bigger than football. This is much bigger than sport. This is much bigger than Joe Paterno. This is about the integrity of our youngsters and your university….get rid of the entire coaching staff.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, the board of trustees announced the creation of a Special Investigative Committee to determine the facts surrounding the case, the causes and the perpetrators. It is a good thing. It is needed. It is 6 months late.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“WHERE THE PUBLIC WANTS TO UNDERSTAND BUT DOES NOT RECEIVE ANY OFFICIAL ANSWERS, THERE ARE RUMORS. RUMORS ARE THE BLACK MARKET OF INFORMATION.” MARK SCHINDLER<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anybody who has ever been on a team of any kind, especially one where you and your teammates are bonded as strongly as a top-flight college football team, know that the team becomes your life. It is routinely considered to be your family. The Nittany Lions (nearby Mt. Nittany is the home of mountain lions, hence the name) football team has repeatedly referred to themselves as a family in the wake of the recent scandal. If you've been on one of these types of teams, you know that any rumor, story, speculative tidbit, especially one which involves actions detrimental to the entire team spreads like a windblown brush-fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To anyone who knows this reality, the thought that Defensive Assistant Mike McQueary's horrible discovery in the showers in 1998 was kept a complete secret is an absurdity. There is no question in any knowing person's mind that a great many people knew about Sandusky's crime. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Again, Madden writes very astutely for the “Beaver County Times” that the timeline of the discovery and Sandusky's "retirement" from Penn State gives rise to credible speculation as to the reason for his departure. He was by all accounts an ambitious man whose <i>biggest </i>ambition was to be the head coach at Penn State. At the time of his retirement only 55 years old, he was second in command at Penn State football and the obvious successor to Paterno, who was 70. Rumors were that Paterno was considering retirement. There could be no more inexplicable time for Sandusky to quit.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandusky had been voted the top assistant coach in 1986 and 1999, which would make him a lock-tight cinch to be offered a head-coaching job at a major college football powerhouse. And indications are that before 1998 he was courted several times by big-name schools. But then, at the peak of his career, with his goal in sight, he retired without a convincing explanation. Even then, maybe especially then, football schools should be wearing out the front door of (a newly available) Sandusky's house carrying wads of cash. But nobody did. Hmmmmmm. Assistant Coach of the year, heir apparent to the legendary Joe Paterno, and at 55, a relatively young age for a head coach, a pillar of the community with his own charitable organization, but nobody was interested in his services. Maybe they didn't like white hair?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Could it be that the rumors went well beyond State College? You're intelligent people, what do you think? If it was possible to track the spider-web of this rumor, how far would it go? Something (or someone) was warning off other schools. There can be no doubt of that. I doubt that many (if any) were told bluntly of his crimes, but they were certainly warned of <i>something</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The people that bear the responsibility for this moral and ethical failure are those that knew the whole story and did nothing. Every single one. The buck can’t be allowed to stop prematurely. Anybody who could have stopped the serial rape of children at that point is responsible for not doing so. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I personally believe that the school believed McQueary's 1998 allegation to be true, especially in light of the Sandusky "showering" allegations of several years prior. I also believe that news of McQueary's discovery likely spread through the team as the years went on. When their assistant coach abruptly retires the next year, you're telling me that nobody on the football team had any idea of why? Paterno didn't seem to protest. Forcing Sandusky to retire at the pinnacle of his career could not have been done without Joe Paterno's approval. And Joe would not have given it without knowing why.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ENTER THE FBI….<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In December, 1999, Sandusky brought victim #4 to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. This is verified by photos in Sports Illustrated. According to testimony from #4, when he at first refused further sexual advances from Sandusky, he was threatened with being flown home.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the above is true, Sandusky has violated U.S. Code, Title 18, Chapter 117, § 2421, informally known as the “Mann Act” which is the federal crime of transporting any person across state lines to engage in sexual activity for which a person can be charged with a criminal offense (such as sex with a minor). This is a 10 year felony investigated by the FBI. And the sex doesn’t even need to occur. If the attempt is made, the crime has occurred. It’s like a bank robbery. If you point a gun and ask for money and don’t get anything, the crime has still occurred.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Concealing any federal crime (such as violation of the Mann Act) is in itself the crime of “Misprision of a Felony” which is a 3 year federal felony. Additionally Penn State receives federal money. It must be determined whether any of that money was utilized in the concealment of the crime.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the head coach and the university president conspired to conceal a felony to protect a member of the team, what does the NCAA do? Teams get huge penalties for simply paying their players under the table. What if a one coach is raping children in the shower and another is conspiring to hide the crime?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a former FBI agent, I worked large cases and conspiracy cases. Two things I know from this: First, the prosecutor will not give up all of his charges and evidence in the Grand Jury. Why? Because that's just the first round. I would give the defense lawyers more time to review it, and it spells out the prosecution game plan. Sandusky and Paterno know what that's about. No, the prosecutor gives the Grand Jury the minimum they believe is required to obtain an indictment and an arrest. Certainly, because of the notoriety of the case and the persons involved, more had to be given to this Grand Jury to obtain indictments, but much was held back. This could not be a close call, because close calls always go to the Nittany Lions in State College, Pennsylvania. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, attempting to get Joe Paterno indicted on the first run past the Grand Jury would be extremely difficult. But what is the difference between what Curley and Schultz did and what Paterno did (or didn't do?) There are 9 victims (so far) and 40 counts against Sandusky. We know of just two. I'm afraid of what the other 38 counts will contain. No, this case has just started, and likely the indictments have just started.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-left: -108.75pt; text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The final point comes in the form of a question from May at ESPN, asking why McQueary didn’t <i>physically </i>stop Sandusky. I wonder also. McQueary was 28, a former Penn State player, and a big guy. Would he have stopped him if the crime happened in the bushes and the victim was a screaming female? Did he think it was consensual? <i>There is no legal consensual sex between a 10 year old boy and a 55 year old man.</i> It does not exist. Sadly, this was a shortfall of honor. This was a shortfall of decency. This was a shortfall of manhood all around.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-50703752932592299002011-11-09T16:48:00.000-08:002011-11-09T16:59:01.306-08:00THE NITTANY LIARS<div style="text-align: center;"><i>Penn State Flagged for Illegal Procedure</i></div><i><br />
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">I<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">n what I can only describe as one of the most egregious, disgusting acts (and non-acts) I have seen a university commit; overt, unambiguous child sex abuse was condoned and hidden by executives of The Pennsylvania State University (“Penn State”) nearly 10 years ago. A credible eyewitness reported an act of sodomy between Jerry Sandusky and an approximately 11 year old boy in the Penn State showers and the university apparently did nothing except to warn the alleged abuser that he had been seen, which allowed an unknown number of unsuspecting boys to be molested and raped by Jerry Sandusky. Boys who would never have suffered this crime had the university acted appropriately. Make no mistake, this not passive behavior on the part of Penn State executives, they acted. This was a</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> decision</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> to allow a serial rapist/pedophile to continue operating.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One hardly knows where to begin. What is football worth? What is a university worth if its own wellbeing is more important than the wellbeing of the very people it exists to protect and value? <i>What happens when a university trades the lives of young boys for its reputation?</i> Make no mistake, that is the transaction that occurred. The very lives of the victims are in play. For the rest of their lives, they will deal with the acts perpetrated on them by Jerry Sandusky in the locker rooms of Penn State. The future lives, intimate relations with their spouses, and the self-worth of the victims have all been horribly assaulted and damaged. How much nobody knows.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During Coach Joe Paterno’s reign, the honorable and decent football players that made Penn State proud celebrated 37 bowl game appearances and 3 national championships in and around that locker room and shower. And Jerry Sandusky allegedly performed oral sex on 8 - 11 year old boys in that same shower, bringing equal <i>shame</i> on the university. But it’s not <i>that</i> shame that motivates this article, it is the greater shame: That Penn State intentionally hid these acts in order to protect itself. One can understand (at some level, at least) that a man can have a sickness that could cause this type of repulsive, destructive and sociopathic behavior. But from what sickness(es) did the university executives suffer? Common ones: Greed and self-interest. These are harder to excuse.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SAY IT AIN’T SO, JOE<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As sad as it makes me to say this, even Coach Paterno gets no pass on this. Sure, he told his superiors. Good start. But every day as a top-flight coach, Paterno does something that ensures his continued success: He follows up. He doesn’t just <i>assume</i> that his coaches have a great game plan for Saturday, he checks as the week goes by, he prepares, and he takes nothing for granted. That’s what’s made him one of the winningest coaches in college history. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fact that nothing happened to Sandusky didn’t “escape his notice.” Sandusky was one of his best friends. He himself had been told by an eye witness that Sandusky was sodomizing a 10 year old boy in the shower. Not, “in a compromising situation,” not “sitting too close,” not “acting inappropriately,” not even “showering with,” but<i> sodomizing</i> him. Yes, Paterno told his supervisors. But Paterno had culpable knowledge, and if none of his higher-ups did the right thing, it was his responsibility to do it. Of course that’s going to be difficult, even agonizing. It would take strength, it would take character, it would require overcoming pain, and it would take courage. These are the very things Coach Paterno <i>required</i> of his players for the last 46 years, and they have the right to expect the same thing from him. In the end, he was asking from his players what he himself was not prepared to give. It’s one thing to be brave on a football field, it’s another thing to be brave in the real world. Coach Paterno apparently didn’t have the right stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So far, the list of unnamed minors who were allegedly assaulted by Sandusky has reached 9. “#7” is the first known victim, allegedly meeting Sandusky through “Second Mile,” an organization that Sandusky founded to help disadvantaged children “…who need additional support and who would benefit from positive human contact.” The wording, one hopes, is unintentionally ironic. And at this point I want to point out that almost certainly the majority of people involved in Second Mile are caring, giving people who knew nothing about Sandusky’s alleged activities prior to this incident. But some did. I also want to point out that this is not an indictment against the vast majority of the fine people who work at Penn State. Obviously, two men at “the top” wagered the university’s good name against a scandal and couldn’t cover the bet.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s alleged that the first known victim to be “taken to the showers” by Sandusky was an 8 year old boy in 1994. According to ESPN; in the fall of 2000, <i>“<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">A janitor named James Calhoun observes Sandusky in the showers of the Lasch Football Building with a young boy, known as Victim 8, pinned up against the wall, performing oral sex on the boy. He tells other janitorial staff immediately.</span>”</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The janitor reports the incident to his supervisor who tells no one.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ESPN continues; <i>“</i><b><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; color: #333333; font-size: 9pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">March 1, 2002</span></i></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 9pt;"> </span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">A Penn State graduate assistant enters the locker room at the Lasch Football Building. In the showers, he sees a naked boy, known as Victim 2, whose age he estimates to be 10 years old, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky. The graduate assistant tells his father immediately.</span>”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This time, the graduate assistant reports the sighting to Paterno personally—at Paterno’s house the next morning. Paterno reports the incident to Athletic Director Tim Curley. Later in the month, the graduate assistant is called before Curley and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business (note the job title) Gary Schultz, where he tells them in detail what he had seen. They now know everything—and they knew they were responsible for what they did with that information.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The University took swift, decisive action: <i>They took away Sandusky’s locker room keys</i>. The implicit but unavoidable implication of that action was that the concern was <i>not</i> that little boys were being raped by Sandusky, but that the rapes were happening on the Penn State campus. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, and for good measure, they reported the incident to Second Chance, Sandusky’s own organization.<i> <b>In a manner of speaking, they simply warned an alleged pedophile that he had been reported. </b></i>Unconscionable. No police organization followed up with the graduate assistant. One might argue that they thought he was innocent or wrongly accused. <i>If so, why did they take away his locker room key?</i> No, their actions indicate that they believed the report.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it gets worse. Way back in 1998, a mother of one of the victims reported Sandusky to the university police for alleged improprieties in the shower with her pre-teen boy. The campus police “investigated.” Along with local police, they questioned Sandusky and he apologized for showering with the boy, and stated, “I understand. I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness.…I wish I were dead.” Quite a reaction for simply showering with a boy. If the information on this incident was not passed on to university executives by campus police, yet another investigation must be started. But regardless of whether or not it was passed up the chain, the university did nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the allegations against Sandusky and the reports of the graduate assistant are true; the university executives share responsibility for whatever happened to every single defenseless boy at the hands of Sandusky after the graduate assistant reported the incident. They share it as much as if they had been in the shower with Sandusky holding the boys down, for <i>they </i>are the ones that made those rapes possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s been reported that universities are insular places and appear to “circle the wagons” in self-protection with greater gusto than any police “blue code of silence.” Universities depend upon donors for money, reputation for students and sports to attract both. The circular reasoning of some is obviously that if the university is healthy, well-funded and well-populated, then more young people will benefit. In a way, it’s a little like idol worship; “The university above all.” It’s just that success might require sacrificing a few virgins in the showers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where have we come to when universities all over the country are putting expedience before honor, wrong before right, and self-interest above altruism? Don’t universities believe that they have some type of corner on that market? Campus security professionals have told me of their great frustration with universities that minimize and hide bad behavior and criminality among its students, staff and faculty to avoid trouble and keep the donations and the applications coming in. Scandals are expensive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The problem is exacerbated by the “yes men” (and women) that universities sometimes appoint as their regents. Think about it—they choose their own watchdogs. The regents get benefits, and almost to a person, they are boosters of the school. Also, it is not unheard of (and incredibly easy) for regents to be kept in the dark by university administrators. I would be surprised if any Penn State regent had any idea of the Sandusky allegations before they heard them on ESPN.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Michael Jackson is dead today because he surrounded himself with people who would say yes to his every whim, never challenge him or disagree with him, and never tell him “no.” Universities can fall victim to the same pitfall. Many corporate executives consider a backbone to be a birth defect. This is almost certainly true in academia, too, as evidenced by Penn State. Sadly, the home to the brave Nittany Lions football team has become the academic equivalent of Michael Jackson, and while Penn may not die, it’s going to be very sick for a long, long time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Universities must have more accountability. They’re not going to get it from parental groups, because the members (once again) are chosen by the university executives, frequently on their ability to provide financial resources and contacts, not on the hopes that they will “change things.” (The fox watching the hen house, in other words.) And there is much to lose for a parent “advisor” if they openly criticize a university their child is attending.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What strikes me most now is the blood-bath which is occurring at Penn State. Sandusky, of course is long gone. But now Paterno is gone. Curley and Schultz are gone. It appears that the President of the University will be ousted before the week is out. Who knows how many will follow? In a way, this is the greatest indictment yet of Penn State. Within days, the university ended the careers of some of its most senior executives and its most famous and beloved coach to protect its <i><b>reputation. </b></i><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>How many careers was Penn State willing to end to protect the lives of 10 year old boys?</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
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</div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-88762866536412089972011-11-03T15:44:00.000-07:002011-11-04T11:04:46.257-07:00JONAS SALK (and other insensitive bastards)<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYTjRISsXiuNv31HFNB3sSRRitrCpw2YVXl2XjydosCqfBBgVGSIIQX2EWIYfb7UBeZqDaPcAYwz6UfXeZJbmmVmfQHGN8MSJ4dWlTtLB5a_HIkCvygL9GJ3s-n5E808JDGB9xFZ6umsE/s1600/jonas-salk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYTjRISsXiuNv31HFNB3sSRRitrCpw2YVXl2XjydosCqfBBgVGSIIQX2EWIYfb7UBeZqDaPcAYwz6UfXeZJbmmVmfQHGN8MSJ4dWlTtLB5a_HIkCvygL9GJ3s-n5E808JDGB9xFZ6umsE/s1600/jonas-salk.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the four year fight for justice for Amanda Knox, a question was repeatedly put to me and others (by people who mistakenly thought Amanda guilty): “Why are you defending Amanda Knox? Why not somebody else?” “Why defend (as it was recently put to me specifically) <i>a middle-class white girl?”</i> The unavoidable, undeniable insinuation being, of course, that there are more “worthy” people to defend than the middle class, whites, and women. It’s frankly a question which belies a certain bias, a certain hatred and a certain ugliness.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the logic of that question, Emergency Operators should always answer the line with, “9-1-1, what is your emergency…..race, and social status?” In actual fact, many of these questioners put even more of a fine-point on the question, noting that Amanda was “American” and “attractive.” Certainly, I’m not arguing that Americans are worthy of justice, that’s simply absurd. But “attractive” has me stumped. Again, should calls for help be accompanied by headshots? (“My GOD that girl is ugly, roll the fire trucks!” Or, “I don’t know, the green eyes work just too well with the auburn hair, there’s really nothing we can do.”)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The question as to why anybody would come to the defense of a young white woman whom society considers attractive, is itself is so biased, so race-based, so economically prejudiced, so ignorant that one despairs for society. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The question says more than it asks. It says that the worth of a person is <u>still</u> judged by their race, color, social status and nationality.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aren’t we yet as a people so far beyond this (at least philosophically) that such hate speech can be recognized for what it is? Do intelligent people really believe that people not “of color” or poor are less deserving of care, love, rescue, freedom? The concept is simply the 1960’s Selma, Alabama sickness – reversed. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I understand, maybe as much as anybody who has not experienced it directly, that there has been—and continues to be--terrible injustices based simply on the fact that a person is black, or brown or poor. As a young FBI Agent, I surveilled and attempted to infiltrate the Aryan Nations white supremacist organization in Idaho in the mid 1980’s when they were at their peak strength. As a white man, I saw an opportunity—and a responsibility—to do what I could to stamp out this type of hatred. I witnessed cross-burnings, I investigated race- and religiously-based murders, and I heard the seething, irrational hatred of bigots. After my identity as an FBI Agent was discovered, I was very nearly killed. But I helped put dozens of white men away (most for life without parole) for hideous crimes against people simply because they were Jews or non-whites. I spent two years investigating and prosecuting a man who machine-gunned day-care children because they were Jewish, and who shot a dark-skinned Filipino postal worker twice in the head because he was "non-white." </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(He got 600 years, but is eligible for parole in 540 years.) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve been there; I’ve seen it. I've examined the lifeless, bloody corpses of the victims and watched their relatives weep.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But even in the midst of my disgust and anger at the acts, I can tell you one thing; reverse bias is not the answer. The question as to whether a white woman is equally worthy of rescue from injustice is almost as obscene as the question as to whether black woman should be allowed to sit in the front of the bus.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, the response of the questioners might simply be that they were not questioning Amanda’s worthiness, but the motives and bias of those working in her favor. (This question is easily refuted by the fact that they never questioned why we would help Amanda’s Italian male co-defendant.) But even the inference of bias among her supporters is grossly naïve and in itself bigoted. One might just as well ask why Amanda’s parents came to her aid. One might also ask why Dr. Martin Luther King chose to help blacks in America instead of blacks in South Africa. Was it self-serving? Did he care less about African blacks? Was he simply provincial? I don’t think so. I think he saw a need close to him and was called to something he saw with his own eyes. John F. Kennedy popularized a phrase that applies: “A rising tide lifts all boats.” One may argue convincingly that Dr. King’s efforts sped the end of apartheid. The nearness and familiarity with the victim(s) is also the reason that most initially came to Amanda’s aid. The movement consisted of friends, relatives, parents of school friends, family friends, and other Seattleites who viewed Amanda as “one of their own.” Others had either experienced similar injustices, or had careers, experience or interests which intersected with the case. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would point out that many of those involved in Amanda’s defense were also involved in other cases, many of which involved people of color. As an example, I am currently involved in the case of the wrongful imprisonment of a man of Indian descent, and others were involved in the unsuccessful attempt to prevent the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dr. King, a man I deeply admire, wrote in 1963 <i>from a jail</i> in Birmingham, Alabama, <i>“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”</i> King would not wonder if Amanda was equally worthy of rescue. Nor would he question the motives of people who were seeking justice in <i>any</i> arena.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bias against a victim because they aren’t poor or “of color” is not a correction of a problem, it is not “balancing the scales,” it is simply revenge. If Martin Luther King’s vision of a society of complete equality was a great “dream” for which to strive, then revenge is simply the nightmare of a society far from that goal. It undoes everything the man stood for and stands in stark opposition to his dream. It amounts to no more than reversing the polarity of the bigotry. Sound waves are one of the few entities, philosophies or bits of matter in this world that can be eliminated by simple reversal. <i>Bose</i> has made a successful business selling “noise-cancelling” headphones. These devices sense a sound wave, reverse it, broadcast it, and thereby cancel it out. The only people who have ever made a living by continuous reversals of prejudice are coroners on the West Bank and arms dealers. Those who would deny justice to a person because they weren’t “of color” or "poor" are just as depraved as those who would deny justice to someone because they <i>were.</i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #454545; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To say the least, it is ironic that almost to a person, the people who ask this question are always the very same people who decry the fact that in the Kercher murder, a “black man” was being “blamed.” It really isn’t the Amanda Knox supporters who are “blaming” a black man, it is science. The DNA of African Rudy Guede was <i>inside</i> the sexually assaulted victim. The appeals court confirmed scientific findings that his bloody footprint was found on a bathmat, and his bloody handprints were on the victim's purse, which obviously have deluded some people into thinking that a person of color is capable of murder. Remember, nobody knew that the fingerprints and the DNA belonged to a black man when they were collected or tested.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The question; “Why a <i>middle-class</i> white girl?” might simply imply that persons should be helped in order of need; that no person should be helped until all who are “less fortunate” than they are first helped. If a car flipped in front of you and caught fire, would you first check to make sure no more serious accidents were happening nearby, or that the people in a similar accident were less socially disadvantaged than “your” victims? Another vexing question would be whether someone could be helped with her 26 year sentence until everyone with 27 year or longer sentences had already been helped. To do otherwise would be gross insensitivity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the greatest examples of this type of self-serving, short-sighted insensitivity was, of course, that selfish bastard Jonas Salk. A polio vaccine?! Are you kidding me? A vaccine for (rich) people who don’t even HAVE the disease? He could have used his genius, his time, and the money he spent on polio to find a cure for cancer! <i>Cancer!</i> People already <i>had</i> cancer and were dying by the thousands. Even if you got polio, there were ‘Iron Lungs’ so you didn’t have to die. But if you got pancreatic cancer, it was over. You could not find, and still cannot find, an ‘Iron Pancreas.’ So while Salk selfishly worked on his vaccine, tens of thousands of people died of a disease more deadly than polio. What a waste. Why, Jonas? Why did you work on polio and not on something more important?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And what about that ‘Iron Pancreas?’ In 1959, at a time when the world desperately needed (and still needs) an ‘Iron Pancreas,’ a device was created which did nothing except regulate the beats of a working heart; and it was called the “pacemaker.” What’s ironic is that pacemakers already existed, but they were bulky machines. This one was simply an internal, portable pacemaker so that the wearer could enjoy a better quality of life, and it was invented by one Dr. Wilson Greatbatch, who apparently didn’t care about people with cancer either. No one knows how much money was spent on this device which couldn't cure cancer or serve as an artificial pancreas. Cancer vs. better quality of life for people who eat too much cholesterol so they can go golfing? Really?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don’t get me started on Dr. Greatbatch.</span><o:p></o:p></div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-63894662933944100662011-10-08T12:30:00.000-07:002011-10-08T12:31:50.902-07:00AMANDA KNOX: AN INNOCENT GIRL FINALLY GOES HOME<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_dOSs7-1eIMiW2rCYiRwvvci32OUzaYEblKnaoz8WY4p3QoaG3s-3sthMOp4RLC2V2yH7fczATIObISygPzpDElx54nVtn9FCYm4lx6SqlXD6f-ce2qx5ZssBG01YuZNdHCcI7DTtsk/s1600/amanda-knox-pic-reuters-111061998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_dOSs7-1eIMiW2rCYiRwvvci32OUzaYEblKnaoz8WY4p3QoaG3s-3sthMOp4RLC2V2yH7fczATIObISygPzpDElx54nVtn9FCYm4lx6SqlXD6f-ce2qx5ZssBG01YuZNdHCcI7DTtsk/s320/amanda-knox-pic-reuters-111061998.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I met Amanda Knox for the first time a few days ago, following her release from an Italian prison after serving four years for a crime she did not commit. I am grateful that I had not met Amanda before I got involved in the case. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Not meeting Amanda prior to my involvement in the case probably saved me from prison time myself. Had I known her personally, I do not know if I could have waited for the agonizingly slow wheels of Italian justice to free her. Amanda, you see, turns out to be a truly spectacular person; even more intelligent than I had expected, even more empathetic than she had been described, and even more gentle than I had anticipated. More and more, the fact that she of all people was targeted by a malicious, psychologically-challenged rogue prosecutor raises the level of irony to almost absurd levels. So at a time when I should have been feeling only relief and gratitude, I had to fight a seething vicarious anger at four years taken from a good person. Amanda herself seems to bear no malice, and wonders only how anybody could believe she did what prosecutor Giuliano Mignini charged her with.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The events of the last week have washed over me like a tidal wave, and I have not caught up with the emotion, the reality or the impact of what took place. I do not feel that I am ready to write at length about the events in Perugia last week, but I wanted to communicate a few thoughts in the meantime.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The most beautiful part of the “Not Guilty” verdict for Amanda and Raffaele came in the way Italian law demands that a verdict be couched. In Italy, a person can be found not guilty for two reasons (and I paraphrase the language):<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 1.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Not guilty due to insufficient evidence. (Not guilty)<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 2.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Not guilty due to the fact that the person did not commit the crime. (Innocent)<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The first option is a passive statement, but the second is a positive declaration of <i>innocence</i>, not simply lack of guilt. It says not that the prosecutors failed to meet their burden, but that the evidence proves that person charged <i><u>did</u></i><u> <i>not</i></u> commit the crime. It is not simply release, it is full exoneration. <i>That is the verdict Amanda and Raffaele received: Not guilty because the evidence proved that they <u>did not</u> commit the crime.<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In a piece in Wednesday’s <i>International Herald Tribune</i>, <i>New York Times</i> Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Timothy Egan wrote,<i> “There was no way, based on forensic evidence that was a joke by international standards and a nonexistent motive that played into medieval superstitions, to find Knox and Sollecito guilty….” </i>The claim of the prosecutors that there was a trace of the victim’s DNA on the blade of a knife used by Amanda to cut bread was,<i> “….nearly laughed out of court by an independent panel of [DNA] experts.” </i>The independent experts did find something on the blade, though: Bread Starch. (Rye). Out of nowhere.<i><o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It must be pointed out that Amanda’s exoneration did not come from an American court. The U.S. State Department (God knows) didn’t do anything to help her. The U.S. government abandoned her in a despicable, cowardly way, frankly. No, the exoneration of Amanda and Raffaele occurred in an Italian court. A court in the same Italian city in which they were first convicted by a judge who, if he is not corrupt, has not even a basic understanding of evidence and the rule of law. The kids were exonerated in the same courtroom in which the first trial was held. By a jury of Italians, not Americans. Jurors who wore sashes in the colors of the Italian flag. They were once again prosecuted by the same prosecutor (who is still appealing his own prison sentence for corruption). Only the judge was different. And this judge demanded evidence. And this judge demanded justice. Judge Pratillo Hellmann made Italy justifiably proud. I have been in more Federal Courtrooms in the United States than I can count. The controlled, careful and fair manner in which Judge Hellmann conducted this trial was, if anything, superior to what I have come to expect even in a U.S. federal court.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In Italian law, after a not guilty verdict, a defendant already incarcerated in prison obtains their release several hours later at the prison. Only very rarely will a judge order that a defendant be “released immediately.” On those rare occasions that this occurs, according to Italian attorneys I spoke to, it is considered a ‘slap’ at the prosecutor(s). Judge Hellmann ordered that Amanda and Raffaele be “released immediately.” The immediate release was an obvious signal of the judge’s extreme dissatisfaction the prosecution.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Following the verdict, a crowd of over 1,000 Italians formed around the courthouse, and a cheer went up when Amanda’s sister Deanna spoke of her release. Many times in Perugia, I experienced an indication of the overwhelming Italian sentiment of Amanda’s innocence. Italians would learn that I was involved in the case, and I would find that my drinks had been paid for, unrequested desserts came to the table, and strangers came to encourage or to hug me. People who spoke no English would walk past and cross their fingers in the “good luck” sign, smiling. The Italian public had figured this one out. At the end, the Italian (legitimate) press was vociferously in Amanda’s corner. Immediately following the verdict, I looked over at two of my newfound friends in the Italian television media, and tears were rolling down their smiling cheeks. The prosecutor Mignini tried to couch this trial as racism (the actual murderer was black), and then as nationalism (big, bad America trying to step on poor little Italy). But in doing so, he only managed to prove the truth of Dr. Samuel Johnson’s immortal 1775 quote: “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” Insightfully, the judge, the jury and the Italian public chose to disregard his attempts at jury nullification and decided this case on fact rather than jingoism and prejudice. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Sadly, the vindictiveness of a corrupt local system is not easily escaped. About half an hour after the initially popular verdict, a “spontaneous” anti-Knox demonstration began outside the court. In a striking bit of serendipity, the “spontaneous demonstrators” just happened to have megaphone with them that night, and all knew what they would chant. Though in jeans and polo shirts, the demonstrators (all men between their middle-20’s and late 40’s) bore startling, almost eerie individual resemblances to the dozens of policemen who had originally signed the warrants against Amanda and Raffaele, and who had been in court that night in a “show of solidarity.” Many of those officers are the same ones suing Amanda for claiming that she had been slapped in her interrogation. (The required tape of the interrogation of prisoners in Italy is inexplicably absent. Go figure.) <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After the ‘impromptu’ demonstration, the men began individual fist-fights with Italian Amanda supporters, (I counted at least five such fights) and generally shamed the town of Perugia at a moment when the city deserved to be basking in the glory of the world spotlight. I want to point out here that the people of Perugia are good, honorable people, by and large. The Carabinieri (military) police in the town are honorable and professional. But the<i> local</i> police and the local prosecutor ruthlessly run the town. As an example, while we were in Perugia, five people were arrested---<i><u>in the courtroom</u></i>---by the local police. All for criticizing the prosecutor in some way or another. My wife was one of those arrested, and awaits a decision as to whether she will be charged with “contempt” which carries with it a possible three-year prison sentence.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The relief I feel at Amanda and Raffaele’s release is indescribable. I also feel additional relief that on-line Amanda-haters are by and large a thing of my past. We had dealt with them until now only to counter their hateful propaganda in front of an uninformed public. Now, it’s not even important to answer them because truly, nobody cares about what they say anymore.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">They and others who refuse to accept this Italian court verdict (while arbitrarily accepting the <i>first </i>court’s verdict) are already receding into insignificance, and even the echoes of their hateful diatribes and death threats are fading into the ether. I do not think that they will ever be convinced of Amanda’s obvious innocence, nor do I think they are done spewing propaganda. Frustration produces anger, and like an infant who throws a tantrum when put down for a nap, I assume they will make a lot of indiscriminate noise that does nothing but irritate those around them. But they can now be grouped by society with those who claim to have been kidnapped by UFO’s, doubters in the moon landings and 9/11 conspiracy theorists. As one of my favorite philosophers, Stan Marsh of <i>“South Park,”</i> once said to Eric Cartman about such conspiracy mongers: <i>“25% of society is crazy.”</i> This is truth, and it is truth that the anti-Amanda crazies will continue to validate. But now they have been refuted by the same justice system they touted for years, and eventually, like the child put down for a nap, will become distracted and move on to other things. They will soon be looking for new things and people to hate. (Though those of them who crossed the lines of civil and criminal behavior will soon find that they have not been forgotten and that legal redress waited only for Amanda’s repatriation.)<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What remains is to ensure that this does not happen again. As Egan said, “Perhaps the tide from Perugia will lift other boats.” For this to happen, though, pompous prosecutor Giuliano Mignini, forensic perjurer Patrizia Stefanoni, and mind-reading detective Edgardo Giobbi (and others), must be prosecuted for their corruption. The judge who rubber-stamped the lies in the first trial, Massei, must also be called to the bar of justice—or back to law school. That is what will occupy some of my time for the next few years, I’m sure. But for right now, I am in the mood to bathe in the warmth of the freedom of Amanda Knox. The sunshine of the justice she obtained should warm the entire world.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At this moment, I find that the word “elation” is woefully inadequate to describe my emotions. Euphoria might be a closer word, but euphoria eventually fades. As long as I live, I will remember that late night in the courtroom when two innocents were rescued from a cabal of evil men.<o:p></o:p></div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-65209854503241851372011-09-28T04:07:00.000-07:002011-09-28T04:11:52.307-07:00SALEM, ITALY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVexksx-ef3_XeknsjE9sX82lzqcrs398pNrrW-FJQ2HMlMvudc46aN8eT6pqEJeikuoliMlT7TOH3la6N87Zzijp8g3pkSCN08iom1OLvIO0pq4NlCk6auMwqyD9d6WGS0sivq0ay4b8/s1600/1415837446_674650d2b4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVexksx-ef3_XeknsjE9sX82lzqcrs398pNrrW-FJQ2HMlMvudc46aN8eT6pqEJeikuoliMlT7TOH3la6N87Zzijp8g3pkSCN08iom1OLvIO0pq4NlCk6auMwqyD9d6WGS0sivq0ay4b8/s320/1415837446_674650d2b4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Posted from Florence, Italy, September 28, 2011</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">The Perugia Witch Trial continues…..<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Well, the façade is down. No more trying to hide it. This is a witch trial. These are not my words, but the words of Carlo Pacelli, an attorney fighting to obtain monetary damages from Amanda Knox. Pacelli finally said (in court, on record) what everybody already knew the prosecution thought: <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Amanda Knox is a witch!” <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Like the Salem inquisitions and other publicly sanctioned murders, the initial trial was based on rumors, lies, accusations, and a “confession” obtained from (psychological) torture techniques that the prosecutors in Salem would have killed for. Finally, any and all evidence clearing an innocent person was intentionally disregarded. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Patrick Lumumba is suing Amanda Knox for €80,000 for implicating him in the murder, a statement the detectives forced and beat from her after an overnight foodless, sleepless interrogation, using techniques developed by the North Koreans to brainwash U.S. pilots during the Korean War. (See injusticeinperugia.com for details.) Being sued for something you were forced to do is kind of like being rammed by a drunk policeman, then being ticketed for littering because the body of your passenger is on the freeway.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal">So, at least it’s finally out in the open and we can go on, confident that, at least we understand each other.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>In other news:</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">On September 28th, 2010, Pepperdine University and I parted company, at their request. I am no longer at liberty to discuss why. (But it was not a mutual decision. Pepperdine and I settled "out of court" the lawsuit I subsequently filed. I can't speak for Pepperdine, but I am very satisfied with the resolution of the suit.)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">At Pepperdine, I shared responsibility for security of their worldwide campuses and the students that studied there (including those in Florence, Italy). In a magnificent display of God's sense of irony, today I find myself in Florence, Italy. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When something you initially perceive as bad (or <i>really</i> bad) occurs, remember that it could be God intervening to change your course for the better. I believe this is the case with my change of direction one year ago today. I have not felt so fulfilled, at peace, and certain I was on the right side of an issue in my life. It might be the best bad thing to ever happen to me, and that's saying a lot. Pepperdine is a fine, even spectacular university and I hope and pray that they flourish all over the world. Their students are among some of the finest people I have ever met.<br />
<br />
So, today, in Florence, Michelle and I will celebrate God's provision for us, not mark a somber occasion. </div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-46534679786317189192011-09-26T16:13:00.000-07:002011-09-27T00:03:09.079-07:00IS THIS REALLY STILL ABOUT MEREDITH?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 3;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4UVZ3bafepPPdmqGmGCBbSookpp0Fd7CWWN7HPdOgXs84Tsl-u3vUvsAWLZB1ck8OujBiDEMjHp7dXsHzmjzV5ZPmYkx81jCwRgaj4MOs-SQUXyc8tjXiudI30YClAoz6B4cK1nJfnM/s1600/0723_lawyer-money-gavel_400x280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4UVZ3bafepPPdmqGmGCBbSookpp0Fd7CWWN7HPdOgXs84Tsl-u3vUvsAWLZB1ck8OujBiDEMjHp7dXsHzmjzV5ZPmYkx81jCwRgaj4MOs-SQUXyc8tjXiudI30YClAoz6B4cK1nJfnM/s320/0723_lawyer-money-gavel_400x280.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><b><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">gra·tu·i·tous </span></i></b><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Adjective</span></i><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222; font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">/grəˈt(y)o</span></i><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">͞</span></i><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222; font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">oitəs/<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 3;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 1.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></i><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Uncalled for; lacking good reason; unwarranted.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For the past several weeks as the appeal by Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito have wound through the courts, the family of the Meredith Kercher, the victim in this highly controversial case, has begged all who would listen to remember Meredith. They have spoken lovingly of their lost daughter and decried the fact that Meredith <i>“has been forgotten.”</i><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal">Just two weeks ago, Meredith’s sister Stephanie wrote a letter to the family’s Italian lawyer Francisco Maresca which was immediately turned over to the press. Stephanie is quoted in the letter; <i>“All those who are reading and writing about this case, please remember our beautiful Meredith.”</i> I empathize with her; Meredith was truly beautiful and should be remembered. <i>“We have not forgotten her,” </i>she said in the anguished missive,<i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: black;"> “And we will continue our fight with the support of our lawyer Francesco Maresca.” </span></i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: black;">(Why she said that in a letter addressed to Maresca causes one pause.)</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">Later in the correspondence to her Maresca, Stephanie continues;<i> “In the midst of all this….Meredith has been forgotten…and so everything should be for her….”</i><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal">Today, someone had little heed for those anguished words. There were more important things than the memory of Meredith Kercher to one person this afternoon.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Today, in the courtroom in Perugia, at 2:40 p.m., without warning, without dignity, without any apparent concern for Meredith or her grieving family, without decency, an attorney began to display eight foot square, gruesome, lurid and obscene naked full-frontal photographs of Meredith Kercher’s blood-smeared body, lying on the floor next to her bed where she had been murdered and sexually assaulted. She lay in the very position that Rudy Guede left her after putting a pillow under her hips to assist in the sexual assault. The photos were, to say the least, explicit, and press cameras immediately began clicking, as the courtroom spectators stood and moved toward the huge screen where the large photos were being displayed. Meredith was shown from the tips of her toes all the way to her eyes, fixed in a glassy, gruesome stare above a gaping throat slash. The audience gasped. More grisly photos followed; close-ups of the deep slash to Meredith’s throat, showing the severed muscles and larynx. But still the photos continued; photos which showed graphically the sputum foam which was the result of her labored breathing as the blood from her neck drained into her lungs. The photos showed her empty eyes and her blood-caked hair. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Who would do such an abominable thing?</i> Who would have such complete disregard for a young woman and her grieving family? Who would so obscenely desecrate Meredith and her memory with appalling, offensive, horrid images? Was it the defense attorneys? No. Was it one of the three prosecutors who have been doing everything they can to create a case out of contrived evidence? No.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Astoundingly, it was the Kerchers' own attorney, Francesco Maresca. The same Francesco Maresca of whom Stephanie Kercher said, <i>“We will continue our fight with the support of our lawyer, Francesco Maresca.”</i> If Meredith was my daughter and my attorney did what he did, I would pull the plug on the projector, and end his presentation. I might end more than his presentation. If another attorney did that, I would do my best to ensure that they never again practiced law.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Don’t think for a moment that this is an Italian legal peccadillo. This was scandalous especially in Italy. A well-known writer for one of Italy’s largest daily papers disgustedly called Maresca, <i>“A barbarian,” </i>after the pictures were shown. A British journalist, reporting on the case for a major television network, called the presentation, <i>“...a disgrace.”</i> In 25 years in the FBI, I had never seen such an abominable, disgraceful display; and for it to be at the hands of the very attorney protecting the feelings, interests and emotions of the family, as well as the “memory of Meredith,” it was inconceivable. Yes, difficult things must be shown in courts, but never without the simple decency of privacy and respect. It’s the least one can do. But apparently Maresca couldn’t come up with even the least.<i><o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Why would Maresca do this? Sadly, it’s a simple equation. For Maresca, at least, money is more important than Meredith.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Maresca is not the prosecutor. Maresca is not there to prove guilt. That is not his position in court. He is a <i>CIVIL</i> attorney. He is there for one reason and one reason only: Money. He is there to represent and protect the multi-million Euro judgment against Sollecito and Knox and awarded to the Kerchers. You see, if Knox and Sollecito are exonerated (as they likely will be), the only defendant left (convicted and appeals exhausted, in fact) is indigent. Maresca has been working on this case for approximately four years, and appears to stand to lose an immense commission if the right people are not convicted. The man most of the press and public at the trial believed committed the murder; Rudy Guede is indeed indigent. Knox and her family’s finances have been decimated by a four year trial and appeal in Italy. Sollecito’s father, however, is a wealthy physician. If Knox isn’t convicted, then Sollecito isn’t convicted. And if Sollecito isn’t convicted, there is no money to award to the Kerchers. And no fees for Maresca to collect. Meredith’s dignity was simply another card to play, apparently.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In case the reader might think that this display was anything but gratuitous, realize that Maresca has no obligation, no function, no reason, <i>no excuse</i> for attempting to prove guilt. He is there simply to help collect Euros from “whoever” is convicted. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The graphic, obscene, desecrating photographs shown today had no evidentiary value. No legitimate purpose was served by the photographs. Nothing about the murder scene was in dispute in this session. Nothing about Meredith’s death, her condition at the time of death, or her body was in play. In short, there was no reason in the entire legal world to show detailed photographs of the violated body of his clients’ child and sister. No reason except money. The display was gratuitous, designed to horrify and shock a jury. And it horrified. And it shocked. But maybe only the conscience of decent people. Several people left the courtroom, and many were left traumatized.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In any decent courtroom in the world, (and the practice in this courtroom in the past) when photographs such as these are required for evidentiary value, the courtroom (except for the jurors and the officers of the court) is cleared--out of respect for the victim and the victim’s family. But today, these photographs weren’t required, and today, the room wasn’t cleared. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There are many reasons that courts generally do not allow such gratuitous displays. But one of the major reasons is that unless the photos of the bodies are being used to prove a point, there is no reason to show them. It prejudices a jury for the simple fact that the lifeless body is horrifying no matter who killed the person. The tactic is simply designed to raise a rage and a desire for retribution in the minds of the jurors, and to focus their rage and need for revenge on the closest people to them: the defendants. Let alone the fact that the photo has nothing to do with whether the particular defendants are guilty or not.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I understand that the Kerchers want people to remember Meredith. I applaud this. But is this how they want people to remember her? I had a gut-wrenching experience as a young FBI Agent many years ago. Several people had been killed in the course of an incident which the FBI was investigating as murder. It was my unfortunate task to witness the autopsies of the victims and to assist the coroner in the identification of the bodies. This was complicated by their advanced state of decomposition. Truly, it was a gruesome sight. The bodies were blackish green, bloated, and reeked of the peculiar smell of decomposing human flesh. The fingers, however, were almost impossible to print because of clenched fists (due to the peculiar manner of death). Ultimately, we had to remove each finger at the second knuckle with a pair of clippers and roll it individually in black ink, which produced a fairly good fingerprint.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the midst of this horrible task, we heard a commotion outside of the autopsy room. It was the wife of the person we were currently autopsying and she was hysterical. She had been told by her funeral director that her husband’s body was horribly disfigured and that the FBI was “cutting his fingers off.” The shock created in her a rage that needed an outlet, and she burst into the outer area of the autopsy examination room. I took a quick glance at the body, and it was truly one of the most macabre sights I had ever witnessed. I knew that if the woman made it into the room, she would never forget what she saw and it would haunt her to her grave. I ran from the autopsy room to try and intercept her, covered with gore, blood and ink. But before she got as far as me, a funeral director who was at the morgue to make a “pickup” saw the drama unfold and ran to her, catching her before I had to. She collapsed to the floor sobbing in unrelenting grief for her lost love. The funeral director comforted her as best he could and repeated several times, “This is not the way you want to remember him.”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">To the Kerchers, I ask; did you approve your attorney’s actions today? If not, something must be said. Maresca went too far. You have begged that Meredith not be forgotten. <i>Is this the way you want Meredith remembered? </i>Unless Maresca’s actions today are addressed publicly, the questions about motivation will haunt not Maresca, but the family; the most immediate being;<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Is this really still about Meredith?”<o:p></o:p></div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-21625672841075380892011-09-21T09:04:00.000-07:002011-09-21T09:18:00.769-07:00LETTER TO THE EDITOR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuiWwGVeI52HNLsTsmbDEZpfz55jExQ6huIx6FmOuBkDMn7T0IBk4rpcOmZejC3J1fnGT1SzeH48qe3hRb3rHxfLENtrNUyHl-UHusIHgKpA-wOPIBDpKAuyOBYlXwegWomlu2cTgzEUE/s1600/santa-girl2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuiWwGVeI52HNLsTsmbDEZpfz55jExQ6huIx6FmOuBkDMn7T0IBk4rpcOmZejC3J1fnGT1SzeH48qe3hRb3rHxfLENtrNUyHl-UHusIHgKpA-wOPIBDpKAuyOBYlXwegWomlu2cTgzEUE/s320/santa-girl2.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">EDITOR; DAILY MAIL<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">LONDON<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">DEAR EDITOR: I am around 8 years old (give or take 60 years). Some of my little friends say that there is no evidence against Amanda Knox. Barbie and Andrea say, “If you see it in the Daily Mirror, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth; is there really evidence against Amanda Knox?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">PEGGY GONG<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">Seattle, Washington<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">PEGGY, your little friends are wrong. There is evidence against Amanda Knox. And she is guilty. Your little friends have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they know to be factual. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds, or proven through science and reliable testimony. All minds, Peggy, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.</span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
<br />
<span class="apple-style-span">Yes, PEGGY, there is evidence against Amanda Knox. It exists as certainly as hate and greed and avarice exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its greatest illicit thrill. Alas! How dreary would be the world if Amanda was proved innocent. Can you imagine if decisions had to be based on reality and truth? Shudder. There would be no blind, irrational faith then, no injustice, no quick, expeditious solutions to complex problems to make profitable this short existence. No wild, inaccurate headlines, no paychecks for byline articles, no book sales, no huge legal fees, no big ratings, no air time, no ego inflation and no promotions. No lynchings, no torch-bearing mobs. We should have no satisfaction, except in alcohol and laughter at the misfortunes of others. The eternal equation in which denigrating others makes you feel good about yourself would be null and void.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="apple-style-span">Not believe in Amanda’s guilt! You might as well not believe that you are superior to others! You might get a “negotiable” prosecutor to hire men to say any and all manner of falsehood against her, to stage false evidence, and to destroy exculpatory evidence, but if that was all uncovered and exposed, what would that prove? Nobody has ever seen any real evidence against Amanda Knox, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t guilty. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the evidence there is unseen and unseeable in the world.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="apple-style-span">You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the best <i>real</i> science that ever existed, could tear apart. Only fantasies of sexual games gone wrong, imagination, internet threats, hate, slander, can push aside that curtain and view and picture all the sick hatred, avarice and jealousy that put Amanda in prison. Is it all real? Ah, PEGGY, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="apple-style-span">Amanda Knox innocent? No! She’s guilty in your little mind and ours; and you and your little friends can believe it as long as you like, regardless of the truth.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298830967941213248.post-86259225910307077732011-09-18T13:06:00.000-07:002011-09-18T15:47:40.969-07:00<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVXZzzpfX39rgglLyJxDqCPb8OGxb6BKZhILPc96ic0gOQfd-xu6A8aNaKOGLJru7HkBJHFhwMffeLX_3XwtWcmZQ1BFYMMAWCReq8bGgE_Yv5t3Agvcx-XrvhTBfBdkpzmOR-y5kXhZQ/s1600/the-angry-mob.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVXZzzpfX39rgglLyJxDqCPb8OGxb6BKZhILPc96ic0gOQfd-xu6A8aNaKOGLJru7HkBJHFhwMffeLX_3XwtWcmZQ1BFYMMAWCReq8bGgE_Yv5t3Agvcx-XrvhTBfBdkpzmOR-y5kXhZQ/s320/the-angry-mob.png" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">ci·vil·i·ty</span></b><o:p></o:p></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" class="MsoNormalTable"><tbody>
<tr> <td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 60.0%;" valign="top" width="60%"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">noun</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> /səˈvilətē/ <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">1.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Courtesy in behavior or speech”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Last week, I posted my response to the Ann Coulter 'drive-by op-ed' on this blog, and later that week, on groundreport.com. Since then, it has received more than 3,500 views. I am gratified at the response, but suspect it had much more to do with the name Coulter than it did with the name Moore. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Less gratifying, unfortunately, were many of the comments I received about the article. If you read the article, you may remember that my hypothesis was that people should be judged one at a time, and not by any group with which they are affiliated. Affiliation with a group is not tacit endorsement of everything done by everything in that group. I am a Christian, but I don't endorse abortion clinic bombings; or for that matter violence of any nature in the name of God. Nobody wants (or deserves) to be judged by the actions of everyone in a group they belong to, or worst of all, a family into which they were born. That's prejudice, bias and sometimes hatred.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While I did not tally up the 'for' and 'against,' in the comments, it appeared to be about two-thirds in favor of the article, and the remaining one-third.....well, they hated my guts. With the exception of one or two actual attempts to debate the subject matter, the rest (50 or so) were simply personal attacks. And not just on me, but on my wife, too! Where did that come from? The bottom line, however, is that the dissenters on this article either didn't read the article, or are heroically trying to prove me right. They also illustrate why I have elected not to receive comments on my articles on this blog. <br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I present some of the more entertaining (and less threatening or vulgar) comments, solely to strengthen the hypothesis of my article. Enjoy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Favorites:</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">“Moore can go on over to Red China and enjoy retirement with his Commie peers” </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Is California an acceptable substitute?)</span><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i>“Not only do you not speak Italian, but you have never even been to Italy.”</i></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"> </i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(True. I do not speak Italian. How I ever thought I could investigate a crime is beyond me. Good thing the FBI never asked. As far as never being in Italy, several airlines owe me a refund.)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i>“</i></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">We know you are not very well educated, Mr Moore”</i><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(This is not my fault, private universities are not what they used to be.)</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"You and your eccentric wife….. are useless, publicity-obsessed clowns." </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(We are not useless.)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><i>Shut up, Moore - you fat clown.</i></b></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 24px;"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">(I thought you had to be tall and intelligent to get into the FBI.) </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(You do. I got a waiver.)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> "....</span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">moronic, delinquent three-year-old...." </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(You forgot about the part in the article where you disagreed with me. You know, what I'm wrong about?)</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> <i><b> "</b></i></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">Shut up Michelle - you Moron." </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Apparently, one reader felt that a pro-Steve poster was actually Michelle. It wasn’t)</span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>"Don't forget that as well as Mr Moore's extensive career and military credentials, Jesus would also like him for a sunbeam."</i> </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(That hurts, as it obviously came from a Baptist. Or a Nirvana fan.)</span><b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">"You are raving…... Calm down and find a job." </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I was excited until I found out the word wasn't 'ravishing.')</span><b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>"Wasn't smart enough to go to EITHER med school or law school."</i> </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Again, an obvious requirement for investigations or opinions. Not sure if I was or was not smart enough. Never applied to either. I did get a congressional nomination to the Air Force Academy. Again, education failed me.)</span><b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">"...Pilot that became a campus security guard..." </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I just always wanted to ride in golf carts)</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"I feel sorry for your shallow intellect." </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Mom? Is that you?)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"What, are you a Communist now that you're out of the FBI, which you infiltrated." </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Confused. Did I infiltrate the communists or the FBI?)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"><i>"You are a self-destructive nut without a cause.....</i></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">mercurial madness...." </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(The "mercurial madness" allegation made me really mad. Then, it didn't. Then it did again.)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">"Are you trying to kill your own mother?, what an opening to your crappy opinion piece." </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(How is that tin-foil hat working out for you?)</span><b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">"You gonna plop on your fat behind. Roll down the hill, baby…." </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Stop looking at my butt.)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"You've always hated women. Now it's Ann Coulter alias your Mom. Maybe Mom and Ann both have gunsafe fuller than yours, that the problem?" </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Mom's gun safe can't hold a candle to mine.)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="apple-style-span"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">"When are you going to turn on Michelle and Megan(sic)?" </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I already turn-on Michelle. Meg will always see me as just "dad." But thanks for the gross question.)</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">"Steve was reassigned as a pilot and is awfully young to have "retired" from the FBI." </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Awwwwww.....shucks. Thank you.) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"I feel genuine pity for the man and hope that he can find effective treatment." </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Doctors have determined that the most effective treatment for me involves hand-rolled cigars and single-malt scotch. I accept donations care of injusticeinperugia.com. I KNOW some of you are from the UK. Give 'till it hurts.)</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-style: italic;">"You are clearly beyond educating, Moore. Find yourself an easy job and leave the serious stuff to clever people." </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I'm looking into politics.)</span><b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">"Mr Moore and his wife lost every single shred of credibility outside of the US bible belt when they said they were doing God's work….[they] should be ignored immediately due to their over reliance on myths and 2000 year old fairy stories. If you want to get any respect back Steve, start listening to reason as opposed to God or your wife." </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Remember, ignore Steve because he believes in God, not because of facts. Obviously, nobody who believes in God can be competent. I sincerely hope your next airline pilot doesn't believe in God.)</span><b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-style: italic;">"Go read some Richard Dawkins, Phillip Pullman and Douglas Adams then laugh at your bible and start living your life without fear of someone who doesn't actually exist." </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Let's bet on the whole 'existence of God' thing. No money, we've already got more than that riding on it.)</span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
<br />
<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"To begin with you say you are a career FBI agent. OK so why is it, given your age, you are no longer employed by the FBI?"</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;"> </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(How old do you think I am?)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="apple-style-span"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">"You state that you have all these qualifications. (Helicopter pilot etc;) So how come you are not gainfully employed ferrying workers out to oil rigs in the gulf?" </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Have you ever been to Morgan City, Louisiana?)</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><br />
</b></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">"An undercover agent! How exciting, and how long did you sit in the car wearing a suit as a disguise while eating donuts?" </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Not sure if Apple Fritters are officially donuts.)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="apple-style-span"><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-weight: bold;">"A certified sniper. Congratulations upon being able to hit a barn from the inside..." </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I think you are unclear on the concept....You don't happen to live in a barn, do you? Would you mind terribly standing next to one?)</span><b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9.0pt; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9pt; margin-top: 0in;"><div style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"Thank God your wife is working, probably at MacDonalds (sic)." </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(So that's where you've been Michelle?)</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><span style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll finish with something that will (regrettably) enrage some of my new "fans:" A closing analogy which mentions both guns and God. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was on SWAT, my son once asked me what I would do if a gang-banger tried to shoot me with a machine gun. <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(That's the gun part)</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i>"I would thank God,"</i> I said.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> <i>(That's the God part)</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i> "Why??"</i> He asked, incredulous. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The answer was very simple. Once the trigger is pulled, a machine gun is about as controllable as a fire hose (which is frequently manned by two fire fighters.) Unless a person is highly trained, machine guns cannot be aimed once it starts firing. And firing at 800 rounds a minute, they will empty themselves in about two seconds. So all the bullets go over your head, and the shooter is unarmed almost immediately. The shooters who concerned us were those who were careful, deliberate, held a gun properly and seemed to know what they were doing. The individuals who responded to my article are like those machine-gun-toting gang-bangers. Their 'weapons' apparently made them feel powerful, yet ultimately, their responses were un-reasoned, out of control, and completely ineffectual. I'm almost disappointed, because the facts are on my side. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Michelle, please bring home a Big Mac. Combo. And Super-Size it.</span></span><br />
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</tbody></table>Steve Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13676101961585480429noreply@blogger.com