Category Archives: political solutions

by Barry Kelly | August 1, 2015 · 7:31 am

INSIGHTS 220 The Advisor and the President discuss the civil service

The President was back just two days after he had to leave in the middle of The Advisor’s question about the politicization of the Civil Service. The President lit his secret cigarette and said, “This is the only place in the White House I can smoke without getting hard looks or worse. And this is so far underground I’m not sure I’m still in the White House. Okay, you were asking me about my use of the Civil Service. Right?”

“Yes. I was wondering if you see how much you have politicized the Civil Service?”

“Of course. It is my Civil Service. Why should they not do what I want them to do? Notice I said want them to do, not what I tell them to do. That is the difference.”

“You make it sound as if by some magic all members of the service know what you would like them to do and they do it.”

“No magic involved. All Civil Service members take direction from appointed officials. I appoint them and I only appoint those who I know will follow my progressive ideology. Most Civil Service employees like their jobs and want to keep them. They also work hard to get good evaluations, earn promotions and bonuses, and to justify the size and scope of their unit. Their loyalty is to their units and to the Civil Service Union. No one has to tell them to follow the president’s lead. They have always acted the same way. I just have been more careful to make sure the leaders I appointed are doing their jobs.”

“You sound as if you have studied organizational structure and the behavior of workers in large organizations.”

“What’s to study? That’s the way I think. For example, I don’t have to tell civil employees to grow their organizations or to expand. The government doesn’t grow because some president wants it to. It grows unless some president works hard to control or stop the growth. In my case, I want the government to continue to grow. I need it to really transform the country.”

“Why then are you cutting the size of our military forces?”

“Even as the commander-in-chief, I don’t have the same power over the military as I do over the civilian workforce. I cannot put my people all through the uniformed military. Also their command structure is very tight. I have strategic influence but people loyal to me and my transformation goals are not in the day-to-day operational decision making. The military forces are not supporting my progressive goals. I am growing the power of the Civil Service for they are a willing ally in transforming America. I am cutting the size and power of the military because they are and have been an evil force used to project American power into less fortunate and smaller nations. To bring the military under control, I must reduce their size.”

“Then you say you are not breaking any laws by the way the IRS, the EPA, Justice, HHS, Veterans Affairs or Homeland Security have conducted their activities?”

“Right. There is no evidence of any wrongdoing; therefore, no crime.”

“What about the failure or unwillingness of the FBI to investigate the wrongdoing of the IRS and the failure of the Immigration Service to enforce the law?”

“You don’t seem to understand. The FBI has no charter or legal standing to investigate when there is no evidence a crime has been committed. Under my Justice Department, the FBI is not going out looking for things to investigate. They do work for the attorney general, and she works for the president.”

“What about the precedent of the Watergate affair and the erased tapes in the Nixon administration that led to his resignation?”

“Wouldn’t have happened under me. Nixon failed to understand how to use the law without being directly involved and the media did the investigating, not the FBI. Nixon and most Republicans have never understood how to use the media.”

Mr. President, I’m afraid I have exceeded my time.”

“No problem. I’m enjoying these sessions and I really think you are trying to understand me. Also, I want my record in your journal to be clear. See you next week but I don’t know when.”

With that, the President left with Chris who was patiently waiting in the dim passageway, and they retraced his steps to the above ground White House.

The Advisor opened his journal and began to record the last session. As he was writing in his journal, he thought, this man is delusional but very clever and dangerous.

The above is a fictional account of a meeting that never took place, but it could have.

The author’s latest Jack Brandon novel, ISIS Quiet Justice, is available at your local book store and in ebook format from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Follow the author on Twitter at @factsfictions80.

INSIGHTS 218 THE ADVISOR’S TURN

The Advisor thought back to the last time the ancient vault door had opened to the president’s touch. I was very hard on the president, he thought. I’m supposed to be his confidant and even his helper. I’ve failed in those regards. Perhaps more than any of my esteemed predecessors. They all had problems. Presidents are not easy to work with. But how can I help him if he listens but never takes my advice? I swear at times I think he comes here as if he was a Catholic going to confessional. It’s not something he likes but he believes he must do it. I feel for his above-ground advisors. He is not a happy president. I’ll step back today if I get the right opening.

The Advisor glanced up at one of his many screens and saw the President was approaching his door. He checked to make sure the coffee was ready and the ashtray was on the table, then walked over to the door as Chris, the President’s constant Secret Service companion, swung open the door for his commander-in-chief.

“Mr. President, come in please,” the Advisor said, smiling. “I look forward to your visits. I seldom get a chance to talk about important issues. When you’re here, that’s my only chance.” The two men sat down in their usual seats and the President lit a cigarette. “If you don’t mind, Mr. President, I’d like to ask you why you come to see me.”

The President smiled and took a drag. “Sometimes I ask myself the same question.” He blew out a puff of smoke before answering. “I come down here because among all the people I meet with, you’re the only one who tells me exactly what you believe. You have no political or personal agenda and frankly you are much smarter than the others and you never leak information that either helps or hurts me. So the time I spend with you is like playing political chess. You give me a safe opportunity to sharpen my messaging skills. Now please, continue with your stream of criticism. I’m ready.” The President sat back in his chair, a sly grin on his face, and took another drag from his cigarette.

“Well, you must be feeling good. You’ve had a number of victories recently. So let me begin with you successful negotiations with Iran. Your citizens are nearly all bewildered. Some of the political lemmings take the sound bites and pass them on. I found it interesting that the conservative wing of America is comfortable debating substance while the further left you go, the less willing people are to debate issues. Instead, they attack the messengers and not the message they carry. So your Congressional power base, with a few exceptions, will not argue with the tenets of the Iranian agreement. They will focus on attacking the debaters. You have brilliantly given them the ideal message: ‘There was no other option. Either this agreement or war.’ As simplistic as that defense is, it is working and will continue to work. You know, as the intellectual you can be, that there were and are scores of different approaches. By going to the United Nations with the lifting of sanctions on nuclear activity as well as lifting embargoes on conventional weapons, you have made Congress irrelevant. Your progressive message in the election period can now paint the Republicans as being anxious to go to war with Iran rather than giving diplomacy a chance.

“Here again the left will be attacking the anti-Iran agreement people and not debating the agreement issues. Therefore you have already used the issue and now have a winning strategy.”

The President smiled, ground out his cigarette and said, ” You are too smart. I’m thankful you’re buried in this underground chamber with your unique political insights. I don’t mind this. I’ll give you more time. It’s like being in a safe time warp.”

The above is a fictional account of a meeting that never took place, but it could have.

The author’s latest Jack Brandon novel, ISIS Quiet Justice, is available at your local book store and in ebook format from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Follow the author on Twitter at @factsfictions80.

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Filed under Barry Kelly, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, foreign policy, Intelligence & Politics, Iran, Obama, political solutions, Progressives

by Barry Kelly | June 30, 2015 · 7:30 am

INSIGHTS 215 — THE ADVISOR’S TURN

As soon as the president came in, the Advisor could tell he had a surprise planned. Seated at the table with his customary cigarette, the president said, “The last time I was here, I told you my behind-the-scenes plan for America. I could tell it bothered you. Today, I’m going to give you the floor. I want to hear what you think the next president should do.”

The Advisor smiled a knowing smile. He had suspected that eventually the president would give him the floor. The president is a man who likes to talk, and to hear himself talk, but politics over time had taught him the importance of listening, too. The Advisor folded his hands together and placed them on the table in front of him and took a breath before speaking.

“If the next president is from the progressive wing of the Democratic party, he or she will basically follow in your footsteps no matter what counsel I — or anyone else — provide. So let me talk about what I expect from a conservative president, should he win the next election.

“Firstly, I would not advise him or her to abandon health care. The nation’s citizens need affordable and excellent medical care and that means restoring the doctor/patient relationship without government control or constant regulation. Let the states be the government that intrudes, if necessary, into the doctor/patient relationship. If the motive for health care regulation is to improve care and reduce costs instead of bringing one-seventh of the economy under government control, popular bi-partisan pieces of legislation are possible. Nothing comprehensive. One piece at a time. When that piece starts working, add another piece. Allow insurance companies to compete across state lines. Limit tort proceedings. Patients and physicians are more important to national health than trial lawyers.

“Then onto energy. A broad energy policy can come from the government. But not management or the selection of what kind of energy is developed. This is a clear case for letting the free market decide. Large parts of the EPA and the Department of Energy need to be abolished. They are the enemies of energy self-sufficiency. We now have the energy resources and reserves to be the world’s primary producer of oil, natural gas, and gasoline. The development of these resources is clearly in our national interest and will allow America to use its resources to ensure world peace. With the support of both parties, America can have economic growth and prosperity for its citizens without endangering the environment.

“Immigration policy emanating from the federal government should be broad and general in nature. A couple of decades of presidential promises to secure our southern border have only been rhetoric. It is time the border is secured. After that we can have incremental legislation to establish a fair process for everyone who desires to come here. I feel strongly that they must learn English and American history. Let the legislature debate the process for dealing with illegal residents who are here now and have been for some years. Whatever the outcome it must be the result of bipartisan legislation. Not the court which is acting like a non-elected legislature of nine people or a presidential directive using executive powers not granted to the executive by the Constitution.

“I see you are looking at your watch. It might be better to break now and continue later with the rest of my recommendations to your successor.”

“Yes, I agree. There is also a limit to how much of this traditional version of America’s role I can handle in one sitting.” The president huffed a puff of smoke from his last drag and smashed out his cigarette, not letting the door hit him on the way out.

The above is a fictional account of the writing of a legendary but fictional Advisor.

“ISIS: Quiet Justice,” a new Jack Brandon novel by Barry Kelly dealing with ISIS in America, is now available nationwide from your local book store, This is the fifth novel in the “Justice”series. Follow the author on Twitter @factsfictions80.

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Filed under Barry Kelly, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, Intelligence & Politics, Obama, oil, political solutions

by Barry Kelly | June 16, 2015 · 7:01 am

INSIGHTS 212 — THE ADVISOR AND THE PRESIDENT’S “HIDDEN’ LEGACY

Advisor's vault door

The Advisor wasn’t pleased with the way The Council controlled and published his essays. They took far too much time to publish them and many had been censored or slightly rewritten. At times, they said, his essays were so unique that people would wonder about the sources of the essays. The title under which The Council published his essays had grown upon him. EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS wasn’t bad and the web page was very well done. It came right up when he Googled it. The pages of the website made it sound as if a group of elderly scholars sitting around a gentleman’s club had pooled their collective wisdom and published it for the benefit of the American people. The images used called up the deep roots of American history and their fierce rallying around the banner of freedom. Actually, it was better than he could have done. If only they weren’t so fearful and bureaucratic.

He busied himself with tidying up and getting ready for the president’s sudden notice that he would come down after ten o’clock tonight. At ten he heard the coffee finish brewing and a few minutes later his screen showed the president and Chris, his Secret Service escort, coming down the subterranean passageway. Like most people, the president was a creature of habit. He always sat in the same chair, pulled the ashtray a bit closer, and lit his cigarette with the same series of steps, the tapping of the pack to get a single cigarette to pop out of the pack, a few quick taps of the cigarette’s tobacco end, a strike of the wooden matches he liked to use, and the deep satisfied inhale of the blessed nicotine-filled smoke. Only then was he prepared to talk.

“Tonight, I want to go over my accomplishments going into my last phase of the presidency. I know nothing I say will leak out of here, unlike my above-ground world where everyone is thinking ‘spin and leak.’ My first goal was to seize as much of the economy as I could from the private sector and bring it under the control of the central government. The first big move was the Affordable Care Act where I brought nearly 7 or 8 percent of the economy under government control. I chose Cabinet officers who would follow my lead without question and begin to craft and disseminated a deluge of regulations to destroy capitalism and the free market. Nothing as big as my health care move but perhaps more effective due to the incremental steps of agencies like the EPA, Treasury, the IRS, and Energy.

“Most of my moves went unnoticed by most but they have been very effective in inhibiting national energy production. The constant delay of the Keystone Pipeline, even against the wishes of organized labor, has sent a clear message. Now we have to kill the recent surge of natural gas and oil, through fracking and drilling in privately owned land. I don’t want the United States to become energy self-sufficient. Nor do I want to use America’s potential to be a major exporter of natural gas, gasoline or crude oil be used to further American nationalistic foreign policy objectives. I want to end Western domination and change the existing world order. Iran and Russia are pleased and the Sunni old world order is very unhappy. Good!

“My efforts to further spread America’s wealth through international agreements on climate change and international trade agreements needs more pushing but they are progressing. Both of these measures will enhance the strength of the United Nations and world law. I will continue in the next year to support Iran, China, Russia, and Cuba in ways that level the world playing field and re-distribute wealth.

“The last, large, and most important step in diminishing America’s power to project selfish nationalistic goals is still incomplete. Even though I have severely weakened the American military, it is still far too strong. In what’s left of my tenure, I will continue to weaken America’s military so that they cannot do anymore evil in the world.

“You have been very quiet. Any comments?”

“No, Mr. President. I believe you are aware that your goals are unique for an American president in our history.”

“Yes, I am and am proud to be doing what so many have neglected. I’ll be happy to discuss this with you next week. Now I have to go.”

“Goodnight, Mr. President.”

The above is a fictional account of the writing of a legendary but fictional Advisor.

INSIGHTS 211 — THE ADVISOR’S LETTER TO AMERICANS

The Advisor turned away from his multi-screen display of world events in disgust. It was hard to watch the fall of American prestige and respect in all quarters of the world.

Like it for not, Mr. President, he thought, the American people expect you to be a leader. Leading from behind is only a fiction that obscures the fact nothing is being done, even from behind. What world power, in history, has ever so willingly given up a leadership role? The world may not have always liked the way we used our power, but the vast majority of nations recognized the world was safer when America was willing to be the the policeman when the need was dire.

There is also no leadership in domestic America. Look at the disgrace of the riots in Ferguson and Baltimore. The White House and the Justice Department led the racist riots by both their actions and rhetoric. The only sane thing for individual policemen to do is to avoid aggressive enforcement of the law. To stay out of questionable areas. To not take risks. It is not a matter of teaching people a lesson, it is a matter of the survival of every policeman and his or her job. Who would be willing to take real risks under national, state, and city admininstrations that pander to the mobs and professional race mongers?

Still disgusted, the Advisor turned off his screens that displayed the news and got up from his chair, pacing around his room.

On the foreign scene, what soldier is willing to go to war for a commander-in-chief who not only doesn’t have a bit of military experience but who actually despises the American military and is doing his best to destroy its former effectiveness while he tells lies about his successes? Iran, Russia, the Middle East, China, North Korea, Cuba, Iraq, and Syria have all profited by a feckless exercise of appeasement diplomacy conducted by emissaries who were and are ideally suited to enthusiastically play their assigned feckless appeasement diplomacy role on the world scene. How dumb can they be? A beginner’s understanding of history just before World War II clearly shows appeasement diplomacy leads to war not peace. To make matters worse, most of our once-respected media ignores the truth and supports the slide of American power and respect in the world. Where are the cries for things like justice, peace, truth, and honest leadership instead of a series of big lies told over and over?

Even from my traditional position of being an unbiased advisor to the president, I can not tell him these truths for he already knows them. Our president counts what I call failures as successes. In historical perspective, he is a destroyer not a builder. And from this strange ideology he is leading the charge to transform America. The real problem is not the president. He told us what he was going to do. The problem is the people who voted for him not once, but twice, and still think he and his former Secretary of State are and will be the best for the nation. As a nation and a civilization we are at a tipping point. If we tip much further it will be impossible to stop the decline. When the takers outnumber the givers, the odds are not good.

With nothing else to do, the Advisor decided to make a fresh pot of coffee. He wasn’t sleeping much these days, anyway.

The above is a fictional account of the writing of a legendary but fictional Advisor.