Tag Archives: law

21

Aug. ’22

Classified Material

I have handled classified material all through my military and civil service career, but I have never imagined anything like what is in the news today. I had both respect and fear of the material I was handling. Respect because I knew what it was, what it could do if the wrong eyes saw it and honored to be able to handle such sensitive material. I feared it because I knew if I mishandled it, lost it, or allowed the wrong eyes to see it I was in very big trouble and the trouble would come very quickly. I used to say, ‘they would dump me in a very deep hole, fill it in, and build a prison over me’. Evidently not so today.

               When the boxes of material were taken from the White House, when the ex-President was reluctantly leaving, I asked then how he was allowed to take the material or is it the law had changed. Eighteen months ago, the removal of classified material was known. Yet, people are acting like it is new news. A year after the material was taken Trump was asked for the return of the material. See-sawing back and forth through delay after delay got the government nowhere with just asking for the return of the material. In June a subpoena was issued for its return. Again, delay after delay resulted in just some of the material being returned, although his lawyers said that was all of it. Now the raid produced boxes of highly classified material. Surprise-surprise-surprise!

               In my civil servant job, when I handled classified correspondence, I had to be very careful. I signed for the material, took it where it had to go, stood there while the individual read it, they signed for it, I took it to a secure storage place, signed in and stored it. When it was time to destroy it, there was a strict procedure that had to be followed to the letter. I could not just flush it down the toilet. If I did not follow the rules to the letter, there would not be a warning nor a chance to delay nor a subpoena nor more than a year going past before I was in handcuffs. Oh, I get it. I am not an ex-President.

               I have said from day one, if I did anything remotely close to what Trump have done, I would have been in prison years ago serving a very long sentence. My leading question is, what was he going to do with that trove of classified material? I know Putin blackmailed people with material like that (he is ex-KGB). Was he trying to do something like that? Was he going to sell it for the money he needs? I guess we will never know. We can only speculate.

               The handling of classified material takes obvious precautions with harsh penalties if you miss the mark, regardless of who you are. There are people for Trump calling for the disbandment of the law enforcement agencies involved or just leaving him alone. I guess they are saying you and me must follow the law and/or rules but Trump does not. He is above the law. He was given time to return the material where-by anyone else would immediately be in jail for the slightest misstep.  Who said this world is fair?

Posted by . Categories: AAH-RETIREMENT, politics, RETIREMENT. Tags: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

26

Dec. ’21

CRT

Within the past five years CRT (Critical Race Theory) have heated up to a high boil. The reason being is the people that want a change, not going back to covering the past but do what the past did, are coming out of the woodwork in droves. I am not an expert on CRT, but I will attempt to explain as best I can, in a short version and without the large words that is in the official explanation.

               CRT started when the Civil Rights Bill and the Voting Rights Bill passed. Before that time people of color (Black, Brown, Red, Yellow, etc.) were hindered in everything that they did. They did not have the right to live the life that the White person was living. When the bills passed, they did not want people of color reminded about what they used to do to them.

               When the last President took office, they felt emboldened to come out of the woodwork since they had their own man in the highest office, a Congressional majority, a judicial majority, and a governmental majority in the states. They felt they could do and say whatever without consequences and those few consequences that happened would bring minor punishment, if at all.

               By spreading false statements about CRT and that CRT is taught in schools they hope to stop anyone from remembering the past therefore insuring keeping a majority for themselves because the people would believe it is taught in schools, it is bad, and vote the other side out. With the help of print news, radio, television, and whatever is on the internet locks their agenda in place for them to use at will. Never mind the fact that CRT is NOT taught in schools K to 12. Never mind the fact that CRT is only taught in universities for law students. They know when statements are said enough times, over and over again, most people will believe them and unwittingly be on their side to help them. They know people will not research CRT for themselves but will rely on them doing the research and telling them what is found.

               When the people wake-up and see what is happening, it may be too late. It may be too late now; I do not know. Turning the clock back to yonder days will be a bad thing. Look at Afghanistan, they were beginning to move into the modern era until we left. The regime that took over went back to the, I would say, dark ages and their economy is falling like a rock. People will starve this winter and be like nomads in a baren land. We were once the greatest country, but we are also falling fast and I do not see the end of the tunnel.

               The USA is not the only country that is going through this CRT dilemma. I can name about ten, maybe more, that are following the USA’s footsteps and their economy is shaky also. CRT is not the problem because when you do not remember the past (Not selected parts of the past), you are doomed to repeat the same mistakes. We will then be in the same boat as Afghanistan.  

Posted by . Categories: AAH-RETIREMENT, politics, RETIREMENT. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

04

Jul. ’20

We Endured

THIS AN EXTRA TEGA227…THIS IS AN EXTRA TEGA227…THIS IS AN EXTRA TEGA227

Last week a fellow chapter member of the Tuskegee Airmen Association, Inc. Sent me an article from the New York Times (NYT Opinion by Caroline Randall Williams, You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/opinion/confederate-monument-racism.HTML). After reading the well written article, all sorts of additions went through my mind and I decided to share a few thoughts with you.
Most White people claim to know history and especially the struggles of the Black person. They say they can feel our pain and sorrow. I don’t think they realize how deep it goes because most White people can trace their ancestry, most Black people cannot. They do not really understand why we can only trace our DNA to a country or area. They do not understand how painstakingly our history and culture was removed as if it never existed. We were told we were nothing, never would be anything and never had anything until they came along to save us. History does not bear that out although they tried to erase and/or distort history.
Against our will we were bought to this country in chains with untold many dying along the way. We were forbidden our language, it was forbidden to teach us to read and write, it was forbidden to gather in groups except to slave in the hot sun and, not least, to speak unless spoken to and it was always with a bowed head. If any law, written or unwritten, spoken or unspoken, we were whipped, beaten, shot, butchered, or hung. The women were constantly raped, and the offspring were either kept for the fields or sold. We were taught the Bible and christen ways although the White people did not uphold those values. After learning the christen way, we could only go to our church unless a White person was there to observe. The offspring, although some were indistinguishable from their White owners, were told that one drop of Negros blood made a person Black no matter the color of their skin. Humm…there are not many White people that do not have a drop of Black blood in their veins. I know some that went to school with me and later passed for White.
This country was built on the backs of Black people. There would not be a United States of America without the labor or ingenuity of Black people. Why did I use the word ingenuity? Let us think back to the days of the Pharoses and beyond. These people were not as Elisabeth Talyor, who portrayed Cleopatra, they were Black people, living in Egypt on the continent of Africa. The oldest operating library in the world is in Alexandria, Egypt. Plato, Socrates and many others studied and received advanced education there. The world still does not understand how the pyramids were built nor why they are still standing, just to name a few things.
As I said in recent blogs and a few before those, we Black people have endured a lot and is still enduring. We have endured inferior education and had to learn more than the White person to obtain a job. While obtaining a job, we received lower pay for the same or more work than the White person and a promotion is out of consideration. I could go on and on but, in a nutshell, the Black person gets shafted in everything that goes on simply because they are Black. We have endured a lot and, still, all that is said is for us to stop complaining because they are working on it and to suck it up. It is the same thing that have been said for years and years and, maybe, more years to come. However, we will endure.

 

Posted by . Categories: AAH-RETIREMENT, politics, RETIREMENT. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

15

Feb. ’20

Two Scenarios

I thought about the debacle that happened in the Senate impeachment trial and a couple (among a few others) of scenarios came to me. I had to agree that there isn’t a trial without physical evidence or witnesses or a jury that have not already said guilty or not guilty before the trial have begun. Also, there is a law against taking revenge against witnesses.

I was in the military (K-9) for many years and we had a protocol for the event of a loose dog. By that I mean when an animal escapes his quarters and was running loose through the area, people had to be warned to the hazard. The person that discovers the problem immediately yells ‘loose dog, loose dog’. What should be yelled in the case of the President now that he is free to do whatever he wants to do to anyone he chooses? Mad President?

The other scenario I thought of is when there is a nuclear incident. I have been a witness to a few and with one I put out the warning. Your heart really pumps when it happens. The person that discover an incident immediately yells (and radio HQ) ‘broken arrow, broken arrow, broken arrow’. Now there is a warning about the President and what he may do. Everyone must be aware that he may feel emboldened and with that he may do anything, legal or illegal. And he has.

It’s terrible to think of our President in the way I think about him. Frequently I say to myself that he could not get to be any worst and I am often proven wrong more times than I want. I cannot believe a liar especially when I know the truth. I have my eyes wide open and my heart is broken. It’s crying because our government have slipped so low. I am also amazed that so many people buy anything he does or say. I must take another look at humanity and rethink the actions of our government.

For years I did not closely look at our government because I was in the military and swore an oath to obey and do my job for whomever was in command. Since I retired, I have been watching them and I am amazed that so many people in the government get away with so much. What amazes me more are the people that let them get away with it. So many government officials say one thing to get what they want but do another when they get where they want to go.

So, I know I am not the first person to see this, but I want to yell anyway ‘mad President, mad President’. Maybe people that condone this will finally hear and take action to corral the situation. I have my doubts, but I want to try. Maybe I’ll get lucky and sway a few and get the ball rolling.

SPECIAL NOTE: There will not be a blog ( www.faithingodministries.net ) next weekend because I am moving again, back to the Richmond area. Also, don’t forget, I write in a monthly magazine (the online glitches have been corrected). Look for Robert Threatt in www.albemarletradewinds.blogspot.com, normally near the rear of the magazine. It is published (hard copy and internet) around the fourth of each month. See ya in two weeks!!!

 

Posted by . Categories: politics, RETIREMENT. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

29

Apr. ’17

My Chain Is Being Rattled

Imperial Plaza is a wonderful place but it seem to always start a controversy of some kind, all of the time. I don’t know why the place want to step in it because of one or two complaints, sooth the ruffled feathers and go on with life. Take care of the one small situation and go on with life without antagonizing the larger group. But no, the powers that be want to try to satisfy the one or two and rile the multitude. There are more important things to do than cause an uprising.

What am I talking about…at last month’s town hall meeting the director said smoking areas and regulations were to be changed. Nothing was said at this month’s town hall meeting but the grapevine is humming loudly and I have been approached by people wanting to know what I thought about it. I could not satisfactorily answer them because I don’t exactly know what is planned. But, I will give some of my thoughts here in this blog.

I am a smoker, I smoke cigars along with two others (that I am aware of), the rest smoke cigarettes. Us cigar smokers normally smoke in areas away from most people. I normally sit on a bench, out in the open, minding my own business. Occasionally someone will pass and comment but I say nothing. I’m outside on a bench, under a tree. What is the problem? Who am I hurting?

I see one area for cigarette smokers by one of the buildings that is next to someone’s window (this used to be an administrative office). That should change and I understand that but why mess with everyone else? Let me say it another way. Federal, state and local law say I can’t smoke inside. I can’t fight that. Us smokers have been moved outside, into the weather. Okay, at first there was a little fight and grumbling but over the years, people have settled into the groove left for us.

But, we have rights also. As long as it’s legal and as long as it’s sold by a legal operation, then it is not only legal but my right to participate in the activity if I so choose. I do not demand that someone chewing gum I don’t want to smell go out in the cold or rain or heat, etc. and chew their gum. Why should I? Am I being told that my rights are stripped from me because I smoke? Are the gum chewer’s rights stripped because they chew gum?

I can hardly wait to see what the new rule will be because I want to see where this smoking area will be or will I have to be off the property in order to smoke. That was never said before I signed a contract and it is not in my contract. I have five friends who are lawyers and I wonder what they have to say. I must ask them about my chances of winning if I brought litigation. I’ll just wait and see.

I remember, when I first moved to Imperial Plaza, pets were not allowed. Now they are and, although I was professionally a dog handler/trainer, I do not like having pets here. I have three reasons for saying this and it applies to about seventy five percent of the dog and cat owners. First, the dogs do not get enough exercise (jumping, running, playing, stretching those muscles, etc.). Second, some people don’t pickup after their animals, especially if the weather is bad outside. Third, quite a few people can hardly walk and they try to walk the animal out into the grass without falling, etc. Then, add to the slowness, the lack of exercise because the animal is on a leash and can only move as fast as the person at the other end of the leash.

I’ve stepped in dog feces and have seen it along the sides of building, in the stairwell and smelled it in the hallways and laundry rooms. Yet, concentration is on smokers. Maybe I have to move again. I’ve heard rumors of that also but never considered it until now. I like this place and I don’t mind paying for the convenience and comfort this place bring. However, a war is brewing and, unfortunately, I may be either right in front of it or in the middle. All I ever wanted was to live in peace but that seem to be a false hope. Oh well, if I must I must.

Posted by . Categories: AAH-RETIREMENT, Imperial Plaza, RETIREMENT. Tags: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment