Category Archives: Politics

by starediting | July 11, 2013 · 7:01 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS – 63

ALL STORIES HAVE A MESSAGE

Putting my three Jack Brandon novels together in one volume gives me another chance to call the reader’s attention to the thought process that created these stories with the embedded social and political messages many of you have noticed. First of all, I wanted to tell good stories.

While most of my experience has been in the operational side of espionage, I’ve gained significant experience in counter-intelligence, police operations, intelligence analysis and counter-terrorism. All of these security fields are subject to the effects of poor management from over centralization and the rise of political correctness from a population conditioned to fear police violence more than crimes of violence.

In the first book of the Trilogy, Justice Beyond Law, I used the backdrop of an illegal KGB network of sleeper agents. Throughout the Cold War this was a constant problem for our security services. As the Cold War eased and the ‘Wall’ came down, these KGB sleeper agents went through a confusing few years, while the Russians sorted out the organization of their agents living double lives in several American neighborhoods. Justice Beyond Law illustrates the problem traditional ‘law and order’ methodology has in dealing with uncovering and apprehending sleeper agents with terrorism missions.

Book two, Justice Without Mercy, poses two very hard areas for law enforcement officials using the traditional law and order case methodology, soft target terrorism and a serial killer. First, they must uncover a crime, identify the culprits, collect enough evidence for an indictment, follow all the rules of collection so the evidence can be used in a court, give the foreign criminals the same rights or nearly the same rights granted to U.S. citizens, including counsel. There are no shortcuts. This system protects the criminals more than the victims.

My third book, Shades of Justice, deals with human trafficking. Where fast action is necessary to save victims. Action that is not permitted by the pace of the law and order method of crime fighting. Our well-trained and dedicated law enforcement personnel would eventually solve these cases but not in time to save many of the victims.

The answer is not vigilantism in any form. I have crafted the Jack Brandon team to be far more moral and ethical than any vigilante group ever has been or will be. The answer is to remove some of the restrictions binding law enforcement in solving specific types of crimes. I’m confident many restrictions can be removed, suspended for a specified time or modified in favor of the victims. For specifics ask any friends who hold law and order positions, other than trial lawyers, to tell you about their problems in identifying criminals, apprehending them, building solid cases with evidence that will hold up in court and protecting the victims from repeat offenders.

The author of the Jack Brandon novels, is a Korean War veteran and served in the Vietnam War as a CIA agent who has 27 years of government service, including two years serving President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s as an advisor.

http://www.factsandfictions.com

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by Barry Kelly | July 1, 2013 · 7:34 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 60

(Photo credit: sigma.)

THE ADVISOR

No matter how hard he worked on giving his speeches, something was not right. His polls were dropping. The former friendly media was beginning to publish unflattering articles. Every day it seemed someone found a new scandal. His close advisors had nothing to say but “go explain yourself to the people.” He tried that. Not even the Germans wanted to listen. His brilliant speech at Georgetown University on climate change and the new war on coal went flat. His ace-in-the-hole, unilateral disarmament, got only disbelief and “who cares” from enemies and friends. He didn’t know where to turn for advice. He needed it. He always had. The word impeachment was whispered not so quietly behind his back, or maybe the voice was just in his head.

One possible source of good advice was left. He had pushed it out of his mind. But now seemed like the right time. He called in the head of his Secret Service detail for a private talk. When Chris Hammond showed up a few minutes later, the President said, “Chris, sit down and have a cup of coffee with me. You remember the last meeting I had with George Bush before I was sworn in?”

“Yes, Mr. President, I do.”

“You were there. Tell me what you heard him say.”

“President Bush said when he had his last talk with President Clinton, President Clinton told him that when he really needed advice from someone whose only agenda was to serve the President and protect the nation there was only one place to go for advice. Presidents starting with Lincoln had gone there for advice.”

“Can you take me there now?”

“Yes, Mr. President. Give me just a few minutes.” Chris searched his phone’s memory, selected an obscure number and said, “Sir, I’m bringing the President down now,” and ended the call.

Chris led the President down into the tunnel running from the White House to the Treasury Department. He stopped at door that said “NO ADMITTANCE” by order of the Secret Service. Chris swiped his card and at the faint click pushed the door open for the President. They were now in a dimly lit passage. Chris stopped at the second door. The President studied the faint copper plate on the door. He could barely make out the words. Chris said, Mr. President, “I’ve been told that copper sign has been in use since President Lincoln’s time.” The words said “Eight Decades of Insights.” Chris said, “Mr. President, put your right palm in the center of the sign.” He did and the door swung open into a small, modestly furnished room. An elderly black man was sitting behind a desk, the wall behind him was covered with full bookshelves. The old man, in a very well tailored suit, got up and extended his hand to the President, saying, “Mr. President, welcome. Please have a seat. I’ve just brewed some fresh Sumatra Roast coffee.”

President Obama said he would love a cup and took a seat at the small table set for two. Chris said, “Mr. President, I’ll wait for you outside the door. I’m not permitted to stay in the room.”

“What if I want you to stay?”

“It doesn’t matter. The protocol here is very strict. There has never been a leak from this room. You, of course, can leave anytime. This man is only here to serve you. Whatever you say will stay here in this room.” Chris closed the door softly behind him. The President asked, “Who are you?”

“You can know my name but it is not important. I’m merely one in a long unbroken line of men and women who have occupied this room waiting to serve the man sitting in the Oval Office.”

“How can I trust your advice if I know nothing about you?”

“Mr. President, it is your decision. I’m only here to respond to your questions. Some Presidents have used us, others not so much.”

“Tell me how you got this mission.”

“Through the history of this small office each incumbent advisor picks his successor. The successor takes over only on the death or incapacity of the incumbent. There is no training. The advisor is picked solely because of their experience and service. Also they must be at least 80 years of age. Now how may I help you?”

“What do you know about me? Living in this subterranean room is not a very impressive setting for a Presidential advisor.”

“I’ve read all your speeches and watched you deliver many of them, actually too many. I have your records as a Senator, both of the United States and Illinois, as well as all your academic records and papers. I know about the development of your progressive ideology and the influential people in your growth, such as Saul Alinsky, Reverend Wright, and others we both know from your early life. I have access to the internet, including many data bases. Some restricted. Mr. President, the person sitting behind this door waiting to help does not approve or disapprove of the President or his agenda. We are only here to help you govern and protect the United States. Now how may I help you?”

“I feel my speeches are not as effective as they used to be and want your advice on the IRS mess and Ben Ghazi.”

“How much time do you have?”

“Unfortunately, I have some things I must attend to. So I’ll have to come back.”

“I’m always here. You may come at anytime. What you have asked me are not hard questions. Please don’t make any more speeches until we have met again. Thank you, Mr. President.” As soon as the President left, the Advisor quietly went to work. He would be ready by nightfall for the next visit.

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

Parts or all of this blog may be passed on.

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Filed under Alinsky, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, Intelligence & Politics, Politics

Tagged as current-events, politics

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