Category Archives: Eight Decades of Insights

by Barry Kelly | June 25, 2013 · 8:36 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 59

INDIA

India presents many views. Some see a nation of diverse people born out of the crucible of colonialism. To others, India is the largest democracy in the world and the greatest friend America has, a natural barrier to the dominance of Islam in South Asia. Scholars and poets see a civilization rich in history, culture and architecture. A true melding of East and West with an educated and skilled populace. Waves of invaders have clashed across its northern borders. The most recent one was China seeking to expand southward in the 1960s. I was in New Delhi when the Indian Army fought the invasion to a border stalemate in the mountain passes.

I had just finished my master’s degree in South Asian Studies at Duke University and was fortunate to win a grant to study in India. Although I attended The Indian School of International Studies at Sapru House on Barakumba Road in New Delhi. I did not enroll in any program of studies. My program was to see India, the people and the land. My master’s thesis was entitled, The Congress Party, Linguistic Policies, and Indian Unity. (Through the decades it has gathered the dust of neglect.)

We, my wife and two-year-old son, spent a few weeks in the Jan Path Hotel before renting a small bungalow in Defence Colony in New Delhi. The next two years were happily spent traveling around Northern India from Jaipur to Lucknow, to the Taj Mahal, Dharmsala, and Srinagar. With the exception of Srinagar, the trips were all made in our Hindustani, the car that wouldn’t give up. Though I didn’t know it at the time I was picking up the knowledge and experience to write novels. Fifty years later, my first novel, Justice Beyond Law, was published. Much of this book features action in New Delhi and Kathmandu. I think some of the best scenes were describing a boat trip up the Narayani River to the Trisuli River and the overland trek up the Trisuli to Kathmandu. During a long drive down the Grand Trunk Road on the trip from Raxaul Bazaar to New Delhi, the musing of my female heroine about her feelings as the night and aura of previous travelers of the Grand Trunk wafted around the car … (Oops almost too much. I don’t want to spoil the story.) There is an allure and beauty to India that you will never find in China.

by the author of the Jack Brandon novels http://www.factsandfictions.com

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Tagged as Grand Trunk Road, India, Jack Brandon, Justice Beyond Law, Kathmandu, New Delhi

by Barry Kelly | June 17, 2013 · 8:19 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 57

OVERSIGHT?

Our Constitution, most state constitutions, judicial procedures and corporation bylaws, all contain checks and balances. All aspects of our republic purposely contain a system of checks and balances. The premise behind the need for such restraints is that people can be corrupt and power breeds corruption. Corruption in government and unchecked power can and will destroy individual liberty. It doesn’t matter which political party is in power, the motivation to use the full and unchecked power of government for ideological supremacy is always there. Our system of checks and balances relies on another principle for its effectiveness. The protector of viability of checks and balances is Congressional and Judicial oversight and an aggressive questioning press, which is the third, very important leg of oversight.

079 Capitol Hill United States Congress 1993 (Photo credit: David Holt London)

In our federal government structure, the Congress and the Courts provide the arms of oversight of the Executive. It is the Executive branch of our government whose management of the nation’s business contains the power to encroach on individual freedom in the name of security or in misguided attempts to destroy opposition to changing or transforming the American nation. Up until the last ten years the check and balance process has worked well with effective oversight.

In the 1980s and ’90s, the Executive often struggled to maintain its position of prominence in running the affairs of government. At times it seemed to those of us working in the Executive branch that Congress believed oversight meant management. Congressional staff members and reporters made their bones by ferreting out real and imagined overreaches and inefficiencies of the Executive. There was a constant stream of officers from various agencies marching up to testify in front of various committees. One Director of the CIA often commented, “That while CIA is an executive agency under the command of the President, CIA works equally for the Congress.” (This is not an exact quote but it is very close and was accurate at the time.)

The power and effectiveness of the oversight process has been steadily degraded. Four things are primarily responsible for the weakening of the oversight process.

First: The Executive Branch of Government has grown much larger, starting with President George W. Bush and continued by President Obama. The Congressional and Judicial Branches have not kept up.

Secondly: The media has become politically one-sided and ignores covering events that might be critical of President Obama. In doing so they have abrogated their historical position as a key element of the oversight process.

Thirdly: Only the Executive Branch has keep up with the technology necessary to improve the management and control of their branch of government.

Lastly: No one in the Legislative or Judicial Branches anticipated that a political party would so openly and ruthlessly use the power of the executive to destroy political opposition groups. There is scarcely a piece of the executive that has not stepped over traditional lines to seize and expand political power. A few examples of the most egregious are the IRS, EPA, the State Department, the Justice Department, ranking military officers, DEA, Immigrations, HHS, Department of Labor and others that will emerge if oversight regains its footing. How can we expect Congress to oversee the collection and use of information on U.S. Citizens if it cannot even provide oversight of the the IRS, one of the most bureaucratic and pervasive of all agencies? This is not over. Watch the Congressional hearing.

By the author of the Jack Brandon novels. http://www.factsandfictions.com

Checks, balances, and the National Security Agency (tv.msnbc.com)
Constitutional Standoff: Obama Syndicate vs. the People… “It’s no secret to anyone who watches any newscast – even once a week – that the Obama syndicate (aka Executive Branch of the US government) has been flexing its muscles, in order to take over all gov (gunnygblog.wordpress.com)
James Clapper Hails Checks and Balances, Evades Oversight (crooksandliars.com)

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Filed under centralization, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, information technology, Intelligence & Politics, Obama, Politics

Tagged as Barack Obama, CIA, Congress, Executive (government), George W. Bush, Obama, United States, United States Congress

by Barry Kelly | June 13, 2013 · 7:30 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 56

English: The western front of the United States Capitol. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WHAT’S TO BE DONE?

I’ve been asked to write a blog recommending action to stop the Progressive program of the Obama Administration from further eroding our freedoms. We are closer to a one-party political system than most Americans realize. Obama is using the weight and power of the Federal Government to destroy his opposition — meaning anyone who disagrees with him. The main opposition, the Republican Party, is presently ill-equipped to stop the President’s progressive program. The Republican leadership is entrenched in practicing politics as usual. Most of them have been in office too long. The Republicans need new blood to think outside of the box.

We must push hard to support Libertarians, Tea Party candidates, and others who campaign on the promise to reduce the size of government and to defend the Constitution. Support from the former followers of Obama are welcome. We are all Americans and it is in the strength of our faith and belief in the sacrifices of those who went before us that we will find the will and the power to make the sacrifices necessary to turn back the onslaught of elitist progressive ideology that today threatens the very life of our nation.

Step 1: Support Libertarians, Tea Party candidates, and others who think like we do. Give generously of your time and money to these candidates. Write to them. Tell them you are supporting them because you believe in limited government and the Constitution. Tell your friends about your beliefs and seek support for your candidates. Be willing to put a sign in your yard and a bumper sticker on your car. Become a candidate yourself or at least a party worker.

Step 2: You cannot advise your friends and support the “right” candidate if you don’t educate yourself. Watch a couple of different news channels, read the local and national papers. Go online to investigate issues. Hold discussions in your home with like-minded friends and associates.

Step 3: Treat those who have different beliefs with respect. They, too, are Americans who may have made more sacrifices than you have.

Step 4: Separate the facts from political hype and debate the facts, not your opponents’ opinions or beliefs.

Step 5: Strive to find common ground with your fellow citizens. Even a small one is starting point. Example don’t argue over Obamacare. Instead agree that our health care system needs improvement. But there is a better response to fixing the current system than Obamacare. Talk about what needs improvement from your perspective.

Step 6: Most importantly of all, don’t sit around and whine. Get involved. Whiners were not at Bunker Hill, the Alamo, Gettysburg, the Yalu River, Guadalcanal, Omaha Beach and the Battle of the Bulge, the I Drang Valley, Khandar, Ramadi and scores of other places, and certainly not in your house. Keep the House and take the Senate in 2014. Support the Congress in all the scandal investigations.

Step 7: Never give up.

By the author of the Jack Brandon thriller series. www.factsandfictions.com

Eight Decades of Insights 52 (factsandfictions.com)
Almost Half of Americans Say Obama Untruthful About IRS – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
Poll: Most say IRS’ targeting was politics-driven (cbsnews.com)
The stunning decline of Barack Obama: 2013. Ten key reasons why the Obama presidency is in meltdown (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)
10 Reasons Obama Won’t See the End of His Term (secretsofthefed.com)
56% View Feds As Threat to Individual Rights (grumpyelder.com)

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Tagged as Barack Obama, Libertarians, Omaha Beach, Ramadi, Republican, Tea Party, United States, Yalu River

by Barry Kelly | June 3, 2013 · 7:30 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 54

HOW THINGS WORK

President Obama presents a picture of White House operations that is very hard to believe, especially for those of us who have had the privilege of working in the White House. The mission of the President’s inner circle is to protect him by keeping the president fully informed. There must be no surprises that blind side the president and make him look inept. If he has to get information about the working of his administration from the media, something is seriously wrong. The President’s chief of staff, the deputy assistant for National Security Affairs, Cabinet and agency heads, the President’s legal counsel, and a few others all are duty bound to keep the president informed. I didn’t mention the Vice President because he is often kept out of the serious stuff. (If you’re new to my blog and am wondering how I know this, it is because I worked in the White House for two years as a special adviser to President Reagan.)

Take the current IRS scandal. We’ve learned the President’s chief of staff, high level Treasury officials, most likely including the Secretary of the Treasury, the IRS commissioner, the President’s legal counselor, the IRS’s Inspector General and I believe the Attorney General, had to also know. It is inconceivable that not one of these loyal-to-the-President officials did not give the President a heads up. He deserved to know.

Let’s look at the leak scandal next. We know the President was aware of the leaks of national security information from his administration. From a pure national security perspective, the massive leak regarding cyber attacks against Iran’s nuclear weapons program was the most extensive and threatening to our security. No reported immediate investigation here and no culprit named. Certainly the New York Times wasn’t to blame. Leakers of this magnitude are not hard to find unless you do not want them found. Leaks of sensitive elements of the Bin Laden killing had a similar result. No investigation and no leakers named. Don’t ask the question if you do not want the answer. These leaks made the President look good. Therefore, no investigation.

The scandal of the phone records of AP reporters and Rosen of Fox News are different. These do not appear to be calculated White House leaks for political advantage. Again, no real effort to find the leakers. The investigation targeted reporters who were doing their job. Now we are to believe that our top cop, the Attorney General, didn’t know anything about the attack on reporters even though his signature was on the document authorizing the seizure of Rosen’s phone records? Besides the obvious close official connection of the AG to the President, Obama and Holder are reported to be close friends. Now why would a conscientious AG and friend of the President not help the President to get out in front of this scandal? The AG is far too wise to believe the attack on journalists by the FBI could be kept away from media coverage. The right answer is that the President was informed but like the IRS scandal, the investigation of reporters had to be held until after the election.

The last in this trilogy of scandals is the debacle in Ben Ghazi. There is a lot we don’t know but will find out. We do know that the President and his inner circle knew the truth would hurt his chances for re-election. Al Qaeda was a thing of the past. The President’s Middle East policy was a success. Libya was “saved” by the President. All was under control. The administration, meaning Secretary Clinton, President Obama, certain national security officials, a number of officers in the military command structure, counter-terrorist officers, and security officials in the State Department, all knew our Ambassador to Libya had asked for additional security and warned of impending attacks. These requests were turned down. Remember, if you will, that ambassadors serve as the representative of the President in whichever nation they serve. So the refusal of an ambassador’s pleas for security help is a big deal. On these kind of subjects the White House communications system gets it all and it is distributed to named officials in the National Security Staff and the White House.

There is absolutely no way the President, the National Security Advisor, and the Chief of Staff are not going to be informed. They would have to hide to prevent being told. As soon as the attack started emergency high precedent cables would have begun flowing out of Ben Ghazi. This cable traffic would have alerted the State Department, The White House, the CIA, NSA — all relevent military commands. Contingency plans would be pulled up and action plans formulated. At the White House, the staff of the Situation Room would be on full alert and probably augmented, where possible collection systems would focus on Ben Ghazi. A high level meeting of the appropriate players of the National Security Council would be called. The relevant officers of the National Security Staff would be called in, including the Senior Director of the Middle East and the Senior Director of Counter-Terrorism (whatever his current title), would assume the National Security Staff’s point position. Reports and recommendations would soon be on their way to the National Security Adviser. Inter-agency representatives would be on a secure TV conference exchanging information and analysis. In all of this the President would be expected to be front and center and in close touch with key players of the National Security Council who would be offering reaction plans and options. When Usama bin Laden was killed in a special operation President Obama was seen in the Situation Room. When Americans were killed, he was absent. Normally with Americans in harm’s way, doing nothing would not be an option. President Obama made doing nothing the option. As a result the Ambassador and three other Americans were abandoned and left to die. This will forever be a low point for the Obama Administration and the entire Defense Department. One short meeting with his Defense Officials and then off to a fundraiser the next morning in Las Vegas doesn’t seem to fit the role of a competent Commander-in-Chief.

The big truth in all these scandals is that they would have made President Obama’s re-election much harder and maybe even doubtful. So maybe the best defense is the oldest,”I don’t know. I wasn’t informed. I learned about it from the news reporting.” Successful. I guess. Who is sitting in the White House? The man who believes the issue is never the issue. President Obama cannot fix these problems. He is the problem.

BY THE AUTHOR OF THE JACK BRANDON THRILLER SERIES

http://www.amazon.com/Justice-Beyond-Law-ebook/dp/B005BCOFN0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370183202&sr=8-1&keywords=justice+beyond+law

Transparency isn’t coming easily to Obama White House (latimes.com)
DOJ probed and grilled NYT government sources (rinf.com)
Next Against the Wall: White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler? (nationalreview.com

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Filed under Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, foreign policy, Intelligence & Politics, Obama, Politics

by Barry Kelly | May 23, 2013 · 7:30 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 52

American flag (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

IT MATTERS

The Benghazi cover up matters. The lying regarding the “Talking Points” matters. The failure to provide adequate security to the Americans serving in Benghazi matters. The decision not to attempt a rescue matters. The president’s role during and after the attack matters. The triumph of re-election politics over protecting Americans serving in dangerous locations matters. The IRS‘s broad discrimination against conservative groups matters. The lack of leadership and accountability in the Obama Administration matters. The Justice Department‘s, including the FBI‘s, monitoring of phone calls made to AP reporters matters.

These wide-ranging activities matter because they all diminish our freedom.

Freedom is not a constant state of being. It needs to be protected and nourished. All of us who have served our nation took an oath to protect the nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Perhaps the biggest concern is that if these things don’t matter, what is to prevent the same progressive group from building on this foundation of deceit and political spin? Once the system of “checks and balances” is ignored and government corruption is accepted as just partisan politics and the critical press is silenced, freedom of the individual will be a vanishing concept instead of the very anchor of our democracy. For without individual freedom there is no freedom at all.

The stakes are very high. Already we have re-elected a president who probably would not have won if his inner circle hadn’t been successful in delaying the disclosure of Benghazi, the IRS, or the Justice’s abuse of the privacy of AP reporters. These abuses of power do not stem from a vacuum. They are part of the teachings of Saul Alinsky, i.e., “the issue is never the issue.” The translation is to use all issues to destroy all opposition and seize political power. The issues themselves are not important. Do you think President Obama would be in the Oval Office if the Benghazi murders, the IRS’s attack on conservative groups and the AP phone tap debacle had come out a few months before the election?

I don’t think so. There are wise people in our history, who believed that when more people want government assistance and value security over freedom, American democracy is in its last stages. I hope they are wrong. We shall soon see.

By the author of the Jack Brandon Thriller Series. www.factsandfictions.com