This week's Realities will be unusual, thanks to Mrs. Mabel "Tobey" Bowers. Mrs. Bowers stopped by the office Monday with an old "Realities" column, and one from Charles Mozley - from July of 1993. She found the columns as she was cleaning out some old things. What struck me, and the reason for running the column again after 26 years, is the fact that the subject was illegal immigration. Some things never change. Congress has done NOTHING to fix the problem for 26 years!
Thanks Tobey for reminding me of just how shameless and untrustworthy the American Congress is.

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I attended part of last night's School Board meeting. There was an overflow crowd of teachers protesting the Board's refusal to amend the most recent agreement with the teacher's union. Though the Board should have reasonably anticipated the large crowd, the auditorium was closed and the attendees filled the Board room and the hallway as well. I think that showed disrespect.

Fillmore Sheriff's Captain Eric Tennessen has been promoted to Commander, and will be serving in the City of Camarillo.
Eric is a 21-year veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office. He is greatly admired in the City of Fillmore and will be missed. Congratulations Eric, and the best at your new assignment!

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At this last City Council meeting, Captain Tennessen explained that the Sheriff's office regularly tows cars that have been parked too long in the city. All vehicles which have been towed have had a notice posted of intent to tow, for at least 72-hours before action is taken.

Some complaints have been registered about vehicles which were towed without receiving a notice. The Sheriff's office will be glad to listen to these complaints during Council Meetings or in person at the Sheriff's Office.

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Only our Civil War divided the country more than the election of 2016. Half of the country voted for Donald Trump, and half for Hillary Clinton. The Democrat Party, the media, Hollywood, the universities, and any other colorful scraps of liberalism which happened to be lying around, voted for Clinton. TRUMP WON!

Republicans, by and large, continue to hold fast to traditional American Judeo-Christian moral values, like life, family, bible, and yes, believe that "...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Democrats, on the other hand, reject these principles which were foundational for our country, and like a political [!@#$], say, as they did in the 1960s,"If it feels good, do it". According to this philosophy, abortion, sexual promiscuity, pornography, political and sexual indoctrination of students from grades 1 through 16, and facilitating the rejection of all Judeo-Christian values, is claimed to be "progressive".

Evaluating the cluster of Democrat presidential wannabes, I have to ask which, if any, could lead the nation against enemies like China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, etc.? If one of them should win the general election, that would touch the hair trigger of massive conflict. That's also when we would understand just how much damage the Obama administration has done to our armed forces. It'll be a twofer - grossly incompetent and inexperienced government, with rank military unpreparedness.

As for President Trump, I don't see him ever escaping the slings and arrows of outrageous Democrat sedition. I'm just fed-up trying to keep up with free-floating Democrat lies. This most recent accusation of impeachable presidential conversations with the President of Ukraine, is just another embarrassing lie. What a waste of time the Democrat Party has inflicted upon the normal American public since 2016!

It's my hope that, come the next general election, the Democrat Party is totally destroyed. It is slowly killing our country.

A response to Cynthia Tuthill's letter to the editor:

Ms. Tuthill, first let me thank you for your letter. I really enjoy controversy. But I regret I must decline your request to retract my column of September 4. If anything, I should double down on its primary conclusion: that women should be excluded from all military combat activities. My comments are neither "ignorant" nor "unfair". They are based upon established fact.

As I see you have earned a PhD, I expect you to read my words carefully, which I don't believe you've done. Let me correct some of your misunderstandings.

Far from being a "polemic against women in the armed services", I praised military women: "Women have always been essential to the American armed forces,...". It may be true, as you say, that "males and females of all species are on a continuum of size and strength..." but this seems irrelevant to the issue of enlisting the strongest sailors which happen to be male. As every truthful study of real-life data on gender differences concludes, women do not belong in combat organizations, for many reasons other than strength.

Professor Kingsley Browne, in his scholarly study on women in combat (Co-Ed Combat; Penguin, 2007) states, "First, something like the "risk rule" should be reinstated, excluding women not only from combat positions but also from positions presenting a substantial risk of combat or capture." He continues, "Women should also be barred from warships. Problems of pregnancy and sexual relations and the impact on cohesion that they can have pose a substantial threat to military effectiveness. In war and peace, but especially in war, all hands must be prepared to pitch in and perform the highly physical task of damage control. Women's lack of upper-body strength puts the entire ship's crew at risk."

Browne's book, CO-ED Combat, is highly praised by experts in the field: "An absolutely first-rate, even-handed, and scientifically sound book that takes a clear-headed look at the evolution of sex differences and how they play out in the modern workplace." (David Buss, professor of psychology, University of Texas at Austin, ..."). In my opinion, Browne's book is the best, most comprehensive study of women in combat available today." His warning against this integration has been ignored due to extraordinary political pressure and weak, promotion-conscious officers. A very instructive statement by Browne in CO-ED Combat explains why this destructive idea of women in combat always seems to advance despite data from numerous studies warning against it : "There is little that will terminate a military career faster than expressing doubts about sexual integration." This is sad proof of controlling political correctness.

A note from the dust cover: "The notion that women can be trained to behave like men in combat is grievously mistaken. Nor can men be socialized to accept them [in combat]."

Browne's book includes 12 pages of notes. It is a scholarly work which includes (Part V) involving "Threats to Cohesion and Effectiveness Arising from Mixing the Sexes." This is a fascinating read by a well informed, unbiased, author. His conclusions are supported by much serious research.

You claim that my description of aspiring female combat members is "biologically incorrect to claim that women have "weak wrists" or are not "physically fit." But those few who apply, for example, to Ranger School, are admittedly very fit, though many tests show them to be unfit for the endurance training. A hero of mine is Capt. Katie Petronio, retired, who wrote the inspiring recollection of her Marine combat experience in Afghanistan and Iraq (Get Over It! We Are Not All Created Equal, January 29, 2913). I highly recommend this piece.

She was as strong a woman as you might find, but opposes women in combat. "As a company grade 1302 combat engineer officer with 5 years of active service and two combat deployments, one to Iraq and the other to Afghanistan, I was able to participate in and lead numerous combat operations." "...my main concern is a question of longevity. Can women endure the physical and physiological rigors of sustained combat operations, and are we willing to accept the attrition and medical issues that go along with integration?" The answer? No. "This issue [women in combat] is being pushed [for years] by several groups, one of which is a small committee of civilians appointed by the Secretary of Defense called the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service (DACOWITS)."

Capt. Petronio concludes, reflecting on 5 months in combat which destroyed her health, "I understand that everyone is affected differently; however, I am confident that should the Marine Corps attempt to fully integrate women into the infantry, we as an institution are going to experience a colossal increase in crippling and career-ending medical conditions for females." "I am here to tell you that we are not all created equal, and attempting to place females in the infantry will not improve the Marine Corps as the Nation’s force-in-readiness or improve our national security."

"...the rate of my deterioration was noticeably faster than that of male Marines and further compounded by gender-specific medical conditions. At the end of the 7-month deployment, and the construction of 18 PBs later, I had lost 17 pounds and was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (which personally resulted in infertility..."

Capt. Petronio continues, "I am here to tell you that we are not all created equal, and attempting to place females in the infantry will not improve the Marine Corps as the Nation’s force-in-readiness or improve our national security."

These are the words of a multi-sport collegiate champion and a valiant, truthful Marine leader. Read the full story.

The first reason to end the deployment of women into combat specialties is moral - Natural law and thousands of years of tradition demand special protection for women. The second is practical, as numerous tests and studies show, women lack the physical strength for sustained combat. The handful that graduated from Ranger School achieved that goal through a scandalous lowering of standards under politically surreptitious means. The women were given special treatment.

I hate to do a "research column" in the short time I have write. And, I have no time left to include a brand new book on this subject, STAND DOWN, by author James Hasson. Just received it a day ago. Subtitled "How Social Justice Warriors Are Sabotaging America's Military". It corroborates all that Kingsley Browne's book, CO-ED COMBAT, does. It describes how Obama instigated a military readiness crisis throughout our military, especially including the feminization of our armed forces. I will review the book soon.

I regret that I have no more time to devote to my answer, Ms. Tuthill. But I'm happy to engage in further discussion with you on this subject. Thanks again for the letter.

"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and the man who leads that gains the victory.

George S. Patton Jr.
Martin Farrell
BA. JD.

This week I bit-off too much from the Navy Times and didn't have time to cut it down. Apologies.

I seem to drift too often into negative territory when I scribble about world events these days. I guess that's to be expected at 80, as I reel-off the remainder of my life. Good things happen also and are maybe too often ignored. But it's not the good stuff that's getting us in trouble.

I think of the Catholic Church for example, because it's the oldest and largest religion in the world. Its precipitous decline should be a point of interest if only for that reason, but even more so if this degeneration is shown to be intentional, which it is.

I wonder if our Navy is any healthier than the Church. The answer is a startling "No".

It seems our Navy was first to cave to incessant feminist demands to be involved in active combat positions equal to men. Feminism is at the heart of American military deficiencies. Women have always been essential to the American armed forces, primarily as nurses and technicians. The extraordinary heroism of female nurses during the Vietnam War especially exemplifies this. But the push to enlist women into combat positions, particularly aboard war ships and submarines, has proven to be a disaster for readiness, discipline, and mechanical operations. This is a fact that, due to instant and severe retribution (loss of rank) these issues are often ignored.

The fact is women are often unable to handle much of the heavy, difficult, dangerous workloads necessitated in handling shipboard equipment. This has nothing to do with intelligence, it has everything to do with physical strength. This is a fact (hotly disputed by feminists) in all combat branches of all services. Many studies prove this.

But the first, universal, historical objection to women in combat is their special, honored status as creators of our future. They bear the children of the next generation. No army has ever fielded women into combat for this reason. Exceptions due to emergency situations prove the rule. So, when the deck is on fire, slick with fuel and falling steel, the call should not be for small hands and weak wrists to save the ship and rescue the men.

After the numerous problems with women in combat (pregnancies, health issues, children, fraternizing with shipmates and physical fitness) there is the eternal problem of men taking orders from women in combat. Say what you want - it's a fact infused in a man's primordial understanding of a duty to protect women. Hard to deal with the opposite situation. Despite what the United Nations (and most social philosophers) may think, there's no such thing as gender equality - except absolute dignity. Men will never bear children and women will never be stronger than men.

On the practical side of the Navy's problems is, a serious shortage of sailors, serious lack of maintenance, serious lack of ships, and a very serious lack of traditional military ethics. Take the case of Fat Leonard, the bribery and corruption scandal.

"Since 2013, 31 people have been criminally charged in connection with the Fat Leonard bribery and corruption scandal. According to investigators, by November 2017, more than 440 people — including 60 admirals — have come under scrutiny under the inquiry." "As of September 2018, 30 people have pleaded guilty; 12 others have been charged (including eight Navy officers who were indicted in March 2017); four admirals were disciplined by the military; two others, four-star admiral Robert Willard and three-star Joe Donnelly, were known to be under investigation." I haven't followed-up on this case, but I believe it's the largest investigation in Navy history.

As for serious lack of training: "Magnifying the 7th Fleet’s troubles, and the Navy’s broader state of decline, were brutal and sudden budget cuts during the Obama administration by a Congress riven by continued partisan enmity."

"The Navy had seen its budget cut by almost 25 percent in real dollars in the 1990s, after the Cold War ended. The 600 ships the Navy boasted in the late 1980s would shrink by half. Then, the administration of George W. Bush committed America to two long and frustrating land wars."

"The efficiencies even included eliminating a requirement for ship captains to post lookouts on both sides of ships, a cut that would later prove crucial when the Fitzgerald’s crew failed to see a fast-closing cargo ship until it was too late."

"Clemons served as XO of the sister Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Fitzgerald from August 2017 to December 2017 — after the ship collided with a commercial vessel off Japan in June of that year, killing seven sailors."

"Promising a “workforce for the 21st century,” Clark’s team tried out new training and staffing ideas, including a decision that officers no longer needed to attend months of classroom training to learn the intricacies of operating billion-dollar warships. Instead, aspiring Surface Warfare Officers, charged with everything from driving ships to launching missiles, could learn mostly at sea with the help of packets of CDs. The program was widely derided by sailors as “SWOS in a Box.” "Four years later, confusion over the [destroyer] McCain’s new steering system caused the ship to turn in front of an oil tanker."

The 7th Fleet is hurt most seriously by lack of maintenance and shortage of experienced staff.

"A legion of poorly trained junior officers aboard the ships were being promoted, Balisle warned, creating a generation of unprepared leaders."

"When the Navy had 600 ships, about 100 were at sea at any given time. With half as many ships, the Navy still keeps about 100 at sea. In other words, as the Navy shrunk its fleet, it increased the workload on its sailors."

"The Navy’s surface forces needed $3.5 billion, he said, just to fix what was wrong with training alone."

The specter of a “hollow” Navy was expressed by senior officers.

"Three years later, the Fitzgerald would set sail with many of its computers and software out of date. For instance, its primary navigation system, known as the Voyage Management System, was running on Windows 2000 — the oldest version among ships based in Japan. Sailors would say that the navigation system would wrongly plot their position or the position of other ships."

"In January 2017, the USS Antietam, a guided missile cruiser on loan from the 3rd Fleet, ran aground on a shoal in the Tokyo Bay, in part because its skipper was in a rush that morning to get underway. No one was injured, but the ship gushed hundreds of gallons of hydraulic oil into the sea."

"They put together a troubling statistical picture: The fleet’s pace of operations was the highest in the Navy. Training was down. Certifications, which crews received after proving they were prepared to handle crucial war-fighting duties, had dropped from 93 percent completed in 2014 to 62 percent in 2016. That year, only two of the fleet’s 11 destroyers and cruisers received all recommended maintenance. One ship only got a quarter of its scheduled upkeep."

"It's hardly the picture the Navy’s top command presented to Congress. Indeed, on Feb. 7, 2017, four-star Adm. William Moran, vice chief of naval operations, testified before the House Committee on Armed Services. The Navy was in top shape, he testified. Overseas fleets, including the 7th, he said, were “operationally ready to respond to any challenge … and they have the training and resources they need to win any fight that might arise.”

That was a lie.

On Aug. 21, 2017, Aucoin got the call that another of his destroyers was involved in an avoidable crash. This one was worse than the last. Ten sailors dead.

First, the Catholic Church going down from criminal prelate activity, and now our Navy going down due to Congressional criminal negligence.

Next week maybe another piece of the problem.

I have to say I'm frantically searching for some solid good news, something stronger and bigger than the enormous piles of bad news confronting us today. Confronting not only the US but challenging the whole free world.

Most of us who enjoy the freedom that democratic society brings seem unaware of our plight. We seem to be sleep walking on the edge of a cliff. The dangers we face today are obvious, but most of us ignore them.

For those who think I'm exaggerating, just an alarmist, let me sound the alarm to show how fragile our free society really is.

Let me count the ways. Culturally, America has slipped into the sewage ditch. We are now a post-Christian nation. We not only ignore our historically Judeo/Christian moral precepts, on the sanctity of life and personal behavior, our major government sectors created "to Secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity" are so weakened that they will possibly cause America to lose a war against our determined enemies like China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea.

At this time of impending peril, half the country is engaged in non-stop attacks on our president. The attacks are intended to take him out, in the midst of true catastrophic threats to national survival. No thought given to the instability this is causing - especially if these Leftists are successful.

Dealing with North Korea has not only been unsuccessful, it has enhanced Mr. Un's status in the world. He now has more nukes than ever, and is building submarines capable of launching nuclear missiles.

Russia continues to brag about its nuclear weapons capabilities. As is usual with Putin, he squeezes every ruble he can from his near-empty national bank to ever expand nuclear weapons.

China is the main problem. They are a communist country with virtually no personal freedom. They are the major threat, militarily and economically. I hope Trump holds the line on tariffs.

Then there is the pending collapse within the Catholic Church due to sexual molestation and financial issues. This problem not only effects the Church itself, it has worldwide implications. The problem begins with the Vatican, which is a nation state, controlling 1.3 billion souls, and a Pope who lies and covers the crimes of many prelates. Financial crimes like embezzlement involving hundreds of millions are rampant and closely related to molestation activity. Ironically, it will take the federal government to resolve many of these issues, with RICO charges. At the center of the problem is homosexual predation by bishops, who control all financial accounts in their dioceses, and are unaccountable to any other church authority. According to retired Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, "The crisis is about the fact that a corrupt [homosexual] 'mafia' has taken control of many institutions of the Church, from the top down, and is exploiting the Church and the faithful for its own immoral purposes.”

We have lost our Judeo-Christian soul.

For these and many other issues, military, social, governmental, etc., this nation will soon be, in my opinion, shaken apart..

I am glad to see both the Harold Foy's 18-unit condominium project near his U-Haul business, and Alex Glasscock's apartment plan approved by city council. Foy's project seems perfect for the space, even though I hate 3-story buildings in Fillmore. It's needed and well planned.

Mr. Glasscock's apartment plan, especially preserving the old church facade, lacks one important thing, parking space.
Concerns about parking and traffic, contrary to council's finding that "traffic and parking...would not mean a substantial increase in cars or people from the building's days as a church and school" remain valid. Apartment traffic would be 24-7, not something the church or school intruded on residents.

The size of the project, 26 apartments, will overwhelm the area's capacity to provide adequate parking space. If the plan fails to increase parking space, traffic will prove to be a nightmare for area residents. The plan should be scaled-down by a few units at least.

The same shortage of parking space in the new housing development south of Central Avenue and River Street is going to cause another nightmare. River Street will become our own autobahn (speed limits 83 mph). That's a deliberate exaggeration to emphasize the reality of speeding on a congested River Street. Check out the traffic now around 3-6 p.m.. River Street will soon become an unmanageable and perpetually dangerous traffic problem. Accidents are already too frequent at the intersection of Highway 23 and River - at least two this month.

The church project will never be the mess that River Street will soon be, but such a large project (for Fillmore's residential area) will diminish the peaceful enjoyment for existing community residents.

I guess state and federal agencies are determined to compress housing in the City of Fillmore. They demand more and more housing units - like trying to dump 20 pounds of mud in a 10-pound bag. Fillmore is quickly losing its peaceful, rural ambiance. Thank you Liberal Sacramento.

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Sorry. Time prevents me from defending President Trump and lambasting corrupt Catholic prelates. Catholics, like me, have a moral responsibility to smoke-out the homo-predator bishops! They are criminals. See: ChurchMilitant.com

Once again I'm running late, so I'll just summarize a few issues.

I'm perplexed as well as offended by the virtual destruction of the Ficus tree mentioned last week. It was a beautiful, 50-foot, 100-year-old aviary for hundreds of birds of different varieties, providing much shade for two sidewalks and our office building, now reduced to a 15-foot, stump display with no remaining limbs, paid for with school district money.

For decades teachers gathered their children under the shade of this tree for special outside classes.

I can't avoid seeing this latest monstrosity every day; it makes me wonder why this was done. Even the tree surgeon told me that cutting that much away from the tree could kill it, and wondered why it was done. The same complaint was raised two years ago or so. I have concluded there are three optional answers to this enigma - gross ignorance, stupidity, or some mysterious malicious intent.

Of course, only a liberal would do such a thing. Maybe that person was seeking to reduce the school district's carbon footprint? Then there's always climatic hysteria, cutting it down would certainly reduce its process of photosynthesis, you know, making it almost impossible to produce oxygen. In this way the miscreant might become a hero among climate-change fanatics.

Now I worry about the health of the great Oak next to the Ficus.

Well, in my opinion the culprit must be some kind of loosely-defined malicious Ficus hater.

Whoever did it - get help - from a knowledgeable horticulturist.

Ficus microcarpa nitida Standard (F. retusa)

Indian Laurel Fig Standard “This tropical looking shade tree is excellent as a street or lawn tree in frost-free areas. The weeping canopy of long, dropping branches are thickly covered with elliptic green leaves."

I'm running too late this week to begin my column. It was going to support President Trump for visiting the two cities devastated by the two separate shooting incidents. Trump haters don't want to give him an opportunity, as president, to express his condolences for the horrendous loss of life. Another example of Democrat radical left mental illness.

I was also going to say something about the recent "pedophilia epidemic" within the Boy Scouts alleged by a group of lawyers who filed a new lawsuit Tuesday. A vast cover-up is claimed by this group. When compared with the vast homo-predator scandal in the Catholic Church, beginning with its prelates (bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and the Pope himself, for continuing to cover-up) homo-predation appears to be the new American Ebola.

Maybe next week.

******

The cost of making things uglier!

I don't know why every two years or so the powers that be order the butchering of the beautiful Ficus tree across the street from the Gazette's office.

The tree must be close to 100 years-old. I have photos taken 20-plus years ago showing that it was once larger than the adjacent Oak tree. It was taller with a larger crown.

This year, as happened only two years ago, the wood butchers cut all of its major limbs to the nubs. It had grown back beautifully. It was a natural aviary for hundreds of birds, and provided ample shade across the street for hours.

Why butcher such a beautiful, beneficial tree into a mass of ugly bloody stubs? It was perfectly conformed! Come look at it now!

Frankly, I'm pissed-off about this stupid double loss - cost of butchering it, loss of a beautiful, useful thing.

I think I may post the Gazette's mascot, Pebbles the Wonder Dog, to watch duty in the future.

Tree butchers BEWARE!

I'm really stumped this week for a topic I can finish in one hour. I had to pick something light and mostly meaningless, so I'll say a few words about Democratic presidential candidates. Just listing them will take-up nearly half the length of this column.

Tom Steyer. If you like more investigations and impeachment, Tom is your guy.

Joe Biden. Old guys are said to be disappearing. Joe is an old guy. Therefore Joe is disappearing.

Elizabeth Warren. Cheek bones worked for her preferred educational status; may work again as POTUS?

Kamala Harris. Wants to forgive student debt. Wish that were possible when I was in college.

Bernie Sanders. Old Communist sympathizer, honeymooned in Moscow. Fits right in.

Pete Buttigieg. Not pronounced buttgig.

Cory Booker. Reminds me a lot of Homer Simpson.

Julián Castro. I know nothing of Mr. Castro.

Amy Klobuchar. Has a temper.

Beto O’Rourke. Fake nickname. Habitually waves arms when addressing crowds.

Jay Inslee. Big climate phobia.

Tulsi Gabbard. Loves marijuana.

Kirsten Gillibrand. Wants Roe v. Wade codified.

Andrew Yang. Likes free government money.

Bill de Blasio. 42 percent of Democrats and independents think he should drop out.

Steve Bullock. Focused on ending influence of unlimited political contributions and dark money.

John Delaney. Been running for president since 2017.

Michael Bennet. I don’t know who Michael is.

John Hickenlooper. Great name!

Tim Ryan. Against packing the Supreme Court.

Seth Moulton. I don't know who Seth is.

Wayne Messam. I don't know who Wayne is.

Joe Sestak. Wants statehood for Puerto Rico.

Whew!

Why should it be necessary for human beings to remind themselves of their unique, sacred status, of being God’s greatest creative work?

You might think that Natural Law would inform us all of this most profound dignity without the need for a reminder. Those of us, nearly 4 billion strong, who acknowledge the blessing of Judeo-Christian community, attest to the fact that every human being is born with an immortal soul. Without a soul we cannot be human; that’s the way our Creator designed us.

Why this preamble? It’s because I find myself today longing for an answer to this question, in the face of such a sinful outrage I have to reaffirm the answer though I have always known it. I have to reassure myself of the fact that life is the first and greatest gift of God for all of His human creatures, that every single life is therefore most precious; “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: “... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth,...” (Genesis, 26-28).

I am haunted by the fact that the glory of human life can be so casually, and ruthlessly snuffed out - especially newborn human life, as it was recently in Oxnard, in a hospital’s maternity ward, by the mother and father of a newborn infant. The parents decided that they didn’t want to keep the infant child, so they agreed to strangle it. The baby had only been permitted to draw its breath for a couple of hours before being murdered by its parents.

As a long-time observer of human history I guess I should not be as surprised as I am over this sacrilege. After all, American Justice has facilitated this sort of human sacrifice at an industrial rate: “... 50 million abortions have been performed in the United States since 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision made the procedure legal. Mar 6, 2015.”

These observations anger millions of Americans who would rather cover up the bloody facts (like the perpetrators of all genocides) but as a blessed member of the Judeo-Christian community my conscience would not let me rest if I were to ignore this slaughter. It is not possible for me to quietly ignore this hellacious practice and continue to claim to be a member of my Judeo-Christian community. John Donne understood this situation well when he wrote, “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

Would it have been better to have referred the murderous parents who strangled their newborn child to the tender mercies of a local Planned Parenthood chop shop? They are, after all, the professionals in the abortion business. That way the killing parents would not have had to get their hands dirty.

I picture, sometimes, the doctor, mother, and father deliberating about whether to kill the newborn or let it live. There must be an atmosphere of great anxiety in timing the termination decision before the baby takes its first breath and, God help us - may cry.

If you claim to be in the Judeo-Christian Club, know that the primary condition of membership is love. I know that sounds very liberal, but it comes straight from the Good Book.

I really grow tired of commenting on national affairs these days. At the national level there is very little good news, though Trump troops on through the incessant barrage of far left Democrat-media attacks.

The Democrat party is imploding before our eyes. Not only from the effects of psychotic Never-Trumpers, but from the deafening squeaks uttered by the now infamous "squad" of hyper-racist, feminist, Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. They all hate America, calling it racist from the beginning.

Omar is of particular interest. She is about to become a national representative for Minneapolis area of Minnesota, seeking to replace Rep. Keith Ellison. The fact that she may be guilty of perjury in what looks to be marriage fraud, has not been thoroughly studied. It appears she married her brother, Ahmed Elmi, in an effort to aid Elmi in obtaining citizenship. "While being legally married to Elmi, Omar has publicly identified Ahmed Hirsi as her cultural husband and father of her children." "When these revelations came to light, Omar dismissed the claims that she married her brother, maintaining the marriage was simply a difficult time in her private life."

Omar may be a liar, but she's truthful in expressing her opinions about Israel, America, Republicans, and our president. She hates them all. Omar has said, "Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel." She refers to Israel as an "apartheid regime" and demands an end to the "occupation" of East Jerusalem. She recently accused President Trump of "...committing human rights abuses at the border, keeping children in cages, and having human beings drinking out of toilets.” All such charges are proven to be false.

Omar, being the first female Somali Legislator in the Minnesota House, is seen as a radical sensation for other radical sensationalists. But she would fit more comfortably back in her mother country of Somalia, where memories of Mogadishu and terrorist leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid, of Blackhawk infamy linger.

I agree wholeheartedly with President Trump when he suggested, "We will never be a Socialist or Communist Country. IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY HERE, YOU CAN LEAVE! It is your choice and your choice alone. This is about love for America. Certain people HATE our Country..."

This is not a "racist" statement. It is a PATRIOTIC statement made by the President of the United States of America, who is also the Chief Executive and Commander in Chief, who finds people like Omar repugnant, un-American, and untrustworthy citizens.

The President has the right, more important the DUTY, under authority of his oath of office, to protect this nation from those who seek to do harm: "Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." And under our Constitution the duty to defend the country is primary.

Omar insults our country and gives aid and comfort to our enemies, like al-Qaeda.

Maybe America should adopt a solution for these kinds of proto-traitors, such as the Athenian democracy used, like ostracism, where we could kick disloyal citizens out of the country for 10 years. Let them fend for themselves in the hell holes they came from until they appreciate America's freedom and generosity.

Yeah, I can already hear the squad squeal. Freedom of speech? These people care about free speech as much as al-Qaeda and Antifa.

Keep it up, Mr. President!

I'm happy to report that the City of Fillmore is experiencing two areas of new, healthy growth. The KB Home construction company is finally pouring concrete at their new site, Central Avenue and River Street.

Rotorcraft, a helicopter repair company, relocated from Van Nuys Airport, and is the newest firm to locate at Fillmore's Business Park. The Guardian, a fire-fighting helicopter company, will be sharing Rotorcraft's 10-acre space. The two companies will employ about 80 employees, 58 for Rotorcraft and 16 for The Guardian. " Phil DiFiore, Rotorcraft’s president, said he expects his company to hire 10 or 15 people from Fillmore." (Ventura Star).

This is great news for our city; now, if Ventura County will finally equip and staff that $9-million firehouse, a stone's throw from Rotorcraft, Fillmore will really shine. The firehouse has been sitting idle for more than two years, about 95 percent complete. This deluxe structure has recently received its landscaping, trees, shrubs, and succulents. It has room for 9 firefighters and four engines, and has the latest equipment. All it needs now is a chief, firefighters, and those four promised engines. We sure could have used the station during the last devastating fire which destroyed so many thousands of homes!

*******

Pray for the Gulf region as "Up to 2 feet of rain [is expected] to deluge Gulf states as [hurricane] Barry brews offshore." Worries have already been expressed about the levees in New Orleans. Boy, did they ever build a city in the wrong place!

******

I'm looking for a good person with a perfect driving record to deliver papers in Fillmore once a week for about an hour and a half. Call 805-524-2481.

Describing a multi-millionaire as a loser seems odd, but it fits my view of Colin Kaepernick. He used to be a relatively famous American football star, but he's switched his persona, becoming an un-American anti-hero intent on denigrating our nation, after sitting on the bench for a couple of years.

Most recently he has become infamous among American patriots for causing the Nike corporation to halt its distribution of its newest sneaker, which featured a replica of the Revolutionary-era "Betsy Ross" American flag on the heel.

Kaepernick told Nike that the flag was a "hate symbol" because "the flag recalls an era when black people were enslaved...."

This action proves two things. First, Colin Kaepernick is an ignorant fool. Second, Nike is a cowardly corporation facilitating Kaepernick's insult to America. I hear, as a result of this caper, Nike's stock has grown substantially. A pox on both of these disloyal ingrates, and upon those who support them.

Racism has become, more than ever, the trump card in discussions of American culture today. What I recognize on this issue is emotional, leftist, political demagoguery. This issue (racism) is designed to smother honest dialogue with a false presumption of guilt in every case. The leftist media is complicit in this conflict between fact and propaganda. Their intent here is to stir-up hate, confusion, and conflict - preferably physical conflict, as with Antifa.

The Betsy Ross flag enshrines the hope of national independence at the beginning of this great nation's foundation. That independence soon brought freedom to enslaved Americans. The determination to end slavery was so fierce that 600,000 Americans fought to the death in our Civil War to achieve it, which included hundreds of thousands of once-enslaved Americans, and about 300,000 white men who took the bullet.

Just to inform losers like Colin Kaepernick and Nike, slavery has been endemic to the human race since shortly after Adam met Eve. It continues to exist in many Muslim countries. It will continue to be a fight worth challenging. Check this out - more non-African men and women have been enslaved than all African slaves counted together. Those who find this too shocking to believe are urged to do a little historical research. For thousands of years the human race has found fellow humans to be the most valuable commodity. Research the Muslim word Kafer. This will only take you back to the year 632, but will trace the slave trade involving hundreds of millions of unfortunates. But for an even richer history of slavery go back to pre-Roman times, anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, man has never existed in time without slavery, and it took guts, blood, and determination to end it in America.

Slavery is pretty nearly a damning of the human soul. It's far too important and threatening to be treated so lightly, as Colin Kaelpernick and his ignorant council of demagogues continue to do.

God bless America and its beautiful American flag - from each era of our national history!

Thank you Betsy Ross for your talent and patriotism.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!

Congratulations to the City of Fillmore for sponsoring last week's public camp-out at Two Rivers Park. There was good attendance for a first-time effort. Thanks are also due to Hazel Rodriguez, Information & Education Specialist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, who showed up with their information booth, especially attractive to children.

Next year I expect the camp-out will be an even larger event when word spreads.

******

(AP) — "The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says he expects special counsel Robert Mueller to have “a profound impact” when he testifies before Congress on July 17, even though Mueller has said he won’t provide any new information."
It's a symptom of the depth of congressional corruption that a showboating lickspittle like Chairman Adam Schiff can command this sideshow at taxpayer's expense. A reasonable person could attribute Schiff's behavior to stupidity but that would miss the point. This sort of action by Democrat Party members is just a deliberate attempt to continue the Mueller investigation, for a fifth time, after nearly 3 years of fraudulent snooping into President Trump's campaign, election, and presidency.

Schiff and his cronies should know by now that even the dumbest members of the American electorate are on to their nefarious antics. But Schiff and his minions will still try to drag the phony issue of alleged Russian collusion from the last election into the next. It's amazing to see.

“When you accept the role of special counsel in one of the most significant investigations in modern history, you’re going to have to expect that you’re going to be asked to come and testify before Congress,” says Adam Schiff. What a load of sour owl crap! "...most significant investigation in modern history..." Really? This is perhaps the most significant fraudulent investigation since ancient history! Authored by the Schiff himself. What a load of Schiff!

"We were guided by principles of fairness': reads Mueller's statement. Another load of stinky stuff.

Enough of this. It's time for true justice. Evidence is clear that a treasonous coup d'état was planned at the highest levels of American government to defeat Donald Trump in his attempt to become our president. The rogues gallery is long, following operation Crossfire Hurricane: Barack Obama Hillary Clinton, James Comey, John Brennan, James Clapper, Peter Strzok, Christopher Steele, Lisa Page, et al. and a cast of hundreds more. Throw in three other countries and this is a truly remarkable, infamous story of deceit and treason, facilitated by nearly all of the heads of our most powerful governmental agencies - FBI, CIA, NSC, DOJ, IRS, and others. This is a crisis of revolutionary proportions.

The American judicial system is on trial in front of the whole world; will these traitors be arrested, tried, convicted, and jailed? Or will the Democrat Party attempt to cover-up? The cultural stability of our nation depends on true justice.

Hang em all, hang em high.

I enjoyed watching President Trump's reelection campaign speech yesterday. The Orlando Amway Center arena was jammed with exuberant supporters to hear Trump say ... “I stand before you to officially launch my campaign for a second term as President of the United States… I promise you I will never, never let you down.”

And for the millions who have watched his actions since his inauguration, he is believed - he is a man of his word. In a little over two years he has restored and secured the fortunes of this nation in the face of its enemies.

God bless President Trump and his family. God speed his victory in the coming election.

******

For about 2 years now the fate of Fillmore's (Ventura County's) new, $9 million Fire Station # 27, has remained a mystery. Work was halted due to the prime contractor's default, and nothing was done to cure the expensive problem. I wonder how much in interest alone taxpayers have paid for this delay? I wonder how much can be recouped from the parties responsible for this financial fiasco?

I have to thank Senior Public Works Inspector, Jim Van Voorhis, for providing a tour of the entire facility last Monday. It revealed a structure beautifully finished to the last detail. No doubt this station will be the envy of all other county stations, and competition for the Chief's position will be strong.

The facility can house 9 firefighters in separate rooms. The front office facade is done with natural rock, nicely planted. The station has plenty of space for everyone and everything, from a 4-engine garage and exercise room, to a central garden and relaxation space. It has a spacious conference and communications area, and a dedicated gravel area to park the bulldozer. The chief's office bathroom is finished with a terrazzo floor.

A cistern for collecting rainwater from the roof is located on the south side facing River Street, and a covered parking space is furnished with solar panels. A special effort was made to conform design to meet climate issues. Motors for the vertical doors will be delivered soon, as well as entry gates.

I have to say I am impressed with the design, fit and finish of the structure - I guess I should be for $9 million - plus. The extreme delay in completion of the firehouse really should be no mystery - it's money. Who's going to pay for this breach of contract? I think we all know the answer to that question. I'm just as interested to know exactly when this place will be up-and-running - FIRE SEASON is upon us, and, tragically, we missed the last one. It's time to equip this station!

Thanks again to Jim Van Voorhis for the tour.

Well, here I am one hour to deadline, trying to make some sense out of something to write about. No shortage of really bad news, but I can say something positive about Fillmore. The new affordable homes - apartments - planned to go up between Highway 126 and Santa Clara St. at Mountain View look very nice. Although I'm no fan of 3-story structures in this town, architects did a good job here.

******

Now for the Armageddonish details of this country's future….

America is in the midst of losing its historic Judeo-Christian soul. I can think of no traditional moral virtue or principle that is not in immediate danger of being extinguished by Liberal relativism and downright evil. I have to ask: where are the voices of traditional American righteousness, morality and ethics?

I've harped long and loudly about the good America of my youth which I watch slipping away daily, being replaced by a sticky dark cloud of immoral crud. Clumsy, I know, but that's the way I feel.

America was made from, better, brighter stuff. How did we fall so quickly from our historical national righteousness? Who, and what have we become? Are there any moral standards today?

Here are a few examples of America today, taken from today's DRUDGE:
U.S. CITIES OVERWHELMED WITH ILLEGALS FROM EBOLA COUNTRIES...
NOT BEING SCREENED, QUARANTINED...
California desert town sees migrant surge as crisis worsens...
Nonstop dumping; 'New phenomenon'...
Oklahoma Army Base to House...
Crawling Out of Manholes in El Paso!
TRUMP: Mexico doing great job at border, really helping us...
Private wall group ordered to keep gate OPEN...
WATCH: 1,000 POUR IN...
Naked Intruder On Immigration Hold After Threatening Dallas Couple...
SENATOR: Drug Trafficking Business from Mexico 'Larger than WALMART'...

This is just the condition of our border. The whole world is pouring in. Half of our Congress has decided to ignore the emergency, they refuse to do their legislative job.

But our religious collapse is even worse, at least in the Catholic Church, with a billion members throughout the world.

DETROIT (ChurchMilitant.com) - Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has sounded the alarm that a "corrupt mafia" has control of many Church institutions. "The crisis is about the fact that a corrupt 'mafia' has taken control of many institutions of the Church, from the top down, and is exploiting the Church and the faithful for its own immoral purposes," ... "The cardinals and archbishops I named do not want to be caught lying, and they apparently think they are so powerful as to be untouchable if only they stay quiet and lie low," he said.

More than half of the bishops and cardinals are being accused of being part of a massive predator-homosexual network which has existed for generations.

The problem is so vast that RICO laws are being introduced to attack these sexual predators, also responsible for the theft and laundering of multiple millions of dollars, worldwide.

Archbishop Carlo Vigano states, "Given the overwhelming evidence, it is mind-boggling that the word 'homosexuality' has not appeared once, in any of the recent official documents of the Holy See, including the two Synods on the Family, the one on Youth, and the recent Summit last February," he said. As horrific as child molestation is, 98 percent of clerical sexual predator attacks concern homosexual clergy - upon seminarians and altar boys.

I don't have time to mention America's fiscal threats, etc. But, I think a reasonable person looking at our borders, religious collapse, fiscal mess, military problems (maybe next week) and general cultural confusion, can see a calamitous end pending.

Well, despite the fact that most high-bred British royal types probably still think of our president as an uncouth colonial, he has friends there as well.

I have to give President Donald Trump 5 stars for his performance in England for D-Day ceremonies. He did "shake hands" with the Queen awkwardly, but I was glad to see him reproach the Mayor of London as a "Stone cold loser." British Labor Leader Corbyn claims Trump's remarks were Islamophobic, though the Mayor is presiding over a huge increase of crime for which his Islamic co-religionists are largely responsible.

I am proud of our president and his entire family. They are distinguishing themselves in the service of our country.
Now, if the Deep State Democrat Party and its partners, 90-percent of the American media, would leave him alone to do his work, we, and the rest of the western world would thrive.

Fifth Column politicians and traitorous Fourth Estate efforts to distract and defeat the presidential agenda have done and are doing great damage to our country. This situation is truly unprecedented in our history. At least half of American citizens seem determined to destroy the Commander in Chief in the middle of his battle to restore border sovereignty, counter 4 deadly nuclear enemies, stabilize our economy, and protect our Constitution and the laws which flow from it.

This nation has never faced so many powerful enemies determined to extinguish the voice of freedom in the world. Military technology and capabilities are truly awesome, each boasting of its ability to annihilate the other.

Most obviously critical at the moment is millions of illegal aliens pouring across our southern border - from all over the world! They bring with them poverty, crime, no knowledge or respect for law, customs, or culture. At a cost to American citizens of $70,000 (per individual) they are a disaster which is unchecked; they can quickly destroy our nation.

Among the diseases they spread to America (some contracted by Border Patrol) are typhus and an untreatable form of tuberculosis.

But just wait - what will stop this circus at the border will probably be a case EBOLA. With newly arriving illegals from Africa, where this disease is going out of control, we are inviting this prospect.

THEN, maybe the Democrats will finally show some interest in helping our president control our border. Otherwise, America is dying from neglect.

A short time ago I was handed a story from the Ventura Star about a recent vote taken by the Ventura County Fairgrounds Board. The issue: whether to continue permitting gun shows at the Fairgrounds.

As might be expected, an emotional anti-gun bias prevailed, with a 5-3 vote permitting 3 more gun shows this year. Thereafter, a new "policy" threatens an unspecified curtailment of the shows.

I don't know what's worse here, the feverish anti-Second Amendment bias, or the reporting of the meeting.

What has happened to basic journalistic standards? After reading this "story" three times I'm still not certain about the facts. I'm torn between commenting upon the confused subject matter of the Board meeting and the confusion which lies in wait within the minds of those who hate guns. Whether it is the chronic hatred of the person, President Donald Trump, or the hatred expressed by the liberal mind concerning a thing, guns, the two subjects clearly manifest a mental disorder deserving professional attention. Liberals seem to have a free-floating hatred for persons and things they cannot abide. Hating a person can at least be reasonable. Hating a thing, an inanimate object, is profoundly unreasonable. People who go around hating things (like guns) suffer from a condition called paranoia - a condition characterized by delusion - an unreasonable fear of (you name it).

To think that life would be safer without baseball bats, golf clubs, rocks, knives (especially sharp ones) is delusional, though each object has from time immemorial been used to harm or kill people - and to save people from harm. An extreme example of this sort of paranoia can be seen in England, where laws have actually been introduced to curve the tips of kitchen knives to make people feel safer.

As an effort in full disclosure, I have been, and continue to be, a life member of the National Rifle Association for most of my life. I had the good fortune to have spent the first 19-years of my life on a ranch, where hunting, plinking, and shooting contests were most important, as was a love of firearms. I was shooting my little Winchester Model 56 at about six years of age. Target clubs and contests were unremarkably accepted even by my high school. Anti-gunners will be surprised to learn that the distinguished late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia shared many of these same boyhood delights (see: Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived").

But times have surely changed, for the worse. Our culture today, thanks to the abandonment of Christian ethics the disintegration of normal family life, parental responsibility, and respect for traditional values and ethics, has all but collapsed.

The American nation has not been so divided morally and philosophically since our Civil War. The issue of Second Amendment rights is at the splitting point of the fight. It's been said in many different ways, if the good guys are deprived of the right to keep and bear arms, the bad guys will destroy this nation.

Inanimate objects remain lifeless and irresponsible. They remain ontologically innocent. So don't blame the gun, the rock, the club or any other lifeless thing for the crimes committed by evil people. The Second Amendment of our federal Constitution expressly and clearly identify the right to keep and bear arms by American citizens. We are the only nation on earth to continue to demand this right. Millions of men and women have fought and died on the field of battle to secure this right. I hope it doesn't take the same effort to maintain that right.

I'm just really tired today and there's not much to talk about on Drudge. So, I'll try to launch a quiz just for fun.

What is nearly 3-years old, has 178 legs, and 1000 shoes?

Well this is getting too complicated so I'll have to give the answer away by adding that this thing includes 2,800 subpoenas, hundreds of warrants and a price tag of over $48 million.

I'm describing the Mueller investigation of alleged Russian collusion in the 2016 election, aimed at unseating the new president by alleging treason.

In other words, it took 19 lawyers plus 30 assistants and 40 FBI agents. 500 witnesses were interviewed, 2,800 subpoenas issued, and hundreds of warrants delivered over a period of nearly 2 years. At the same time, The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, were also moiling away in search of the elusive evidence of Trump collusion with the Russians.

The result? No collusion and no obstruction of justice. But the Dems want more investigation of this fraudulent circus.
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller ("registered Republican") was appointed special counsel to lead the investigation into Russian interference and related matters that could result in criminal prosecutions.

As to revelations of the plan to stop Trump and later to impeach him, and rescue Hillary Clinton, " Former U.S. Attorney Joe DiGenova [has]said the former chiefs of the FBI, CIA, and DNI are going to "pay the Barr bill" for the "conspiracy" that began with then-CIA Director John Brennan and ended with the Democratic National Committee. Top level personnel at these agencies, and others, have already been dealt with by removal from office, but the game has only begun. It is believed that some will go to prison.

All Americans, including disgruntled Democrats, should be alarmed at this scene of true treason.

[A response to this week's letter to the editor from Raymond S. Brown, Sr. (see letter below)]

Hello again Mr. Brown. I will have to respond with "bullet" statements due to the length of your objections to my May 10 editorial.

First, I should have made it clear that in criticizing the agencies (FBI, etc.) I was speaking of top level, not the honest, hard-working agents below them. I admire and appreciate their work, as you do.

It's hard for me to believe you fail to understand the extent and seriousness of the treasonous conspiracy now being revealed following nearly 3-years of federal investigation, unlawfully launched against President Trump. I recommend a short, concise, factual book for your enlightenment, (a #1 NY Times Best Seller): "The Russian Hoax", by author Gregg Jarrett. I would normally not recommend the NY Times to anyone. I make an exception here due to the exceptional accuracy of this book and the undisputed integrity of its author.

After four separate government investigations over a period of 3-years, it is becoming clear that these deceitful entities actually conspired to "weaponize" our most powerful intelligence and law enforcement agencies to deprive Trump of his election victory. Most of our news media were actively complicit in facilitating this treasonous Guy Fawkes-type scheme to blow-up the 2016 election. With the fresh DOJ investigation of the origins of the fraudulent "Russian collusion" accusations against Trump, "Truth will out" very soon, with calamitous results for these guilty parties. Most recently: Giuliani: "Massive Collusion" Between DNC, Obama Admin., Clinton ...".

It's my guess that within a year we will have winnowed-out a rogues gallery of about 20 guilty parties responsible for the fraudulent Russian collusion conspiracy case, and many fresh new faces in the ongoing "origins" of the collusion investigation.

Keys to the entire attempted 2016 Coup d'état begin with Obama and his White House minions, such as Hillary Clinton (Sec. of State) and Valerie Jarrett. The show has just begun.

Mr. Brown, facts from millions of documents, many finished and ongoing investigations, and personal investigations in this matter conclude no collusion or obstruction of justice by Trump. Dems will drag this on until the next election. After following this investigation from the beginning, I can say with absolute confidence America is looking at the greatest case of treason ever in our history. It dwarfs the significance of Benedict Arnold's betrayal.

As usual, I don't have time to go into more detail. But there is absolutely no "nonsense!" about these facts. The facts are numerous, and obvious, about who did the unlawful collusion here. When will liberals face reality? Read the book Mr. Brown. It's all there!

Thank you for your opinion. I wish it were more fact-based.

Martin Farrell

***

To the Editor:
I cannot find a way to put your name in my letter greeting..
Your latest May 10 realities is way out of line and unlike your thinking as we have come to know you.
The forefathers established our political parties and wrote the Constitution to provide for difference of thinking and values.
Liberals, Conservatives, neither by that plan hold a dominant position over the other.. Neither is more right than the other. A better way for Americans is if we unite and recognize we by plan will have differences.
It concerns me to hear you say that the "FBI,CIA,NSA,IRS, and their top employees with the Democratic party have proven themselves criminal"
Absolute nonsense! that complete group of organizations are the elite Men and Women who protect this country . Highly educated and dedicated to America. To have the view that they are all criminals, is about the same as the Patient who visits a psychiatrist and tells him "it is not me who is crazy it is the rest of the world"
With regard to Hillary Clinton although there is this issue of Russian interference in our election that may have cost her the Presidency, that is all. It is quite clear that the investigation was caused by the Russian interference and so many of the Presidents Campaign officials having had contact with the Russians. We need to know, and no it is not concluded. Read the (Republican) Robert Mueller report Volume 2.
Ten listed potential obstruction of Justice by our President. those are not resolved.
They have along with the whole report, been temporarily put under Executive Privilege .
A.G. Barr: the only portion of the whole report that Barr is restricted from giving Congress the un-redacted report, are those areas where there is Grand Jury testimony or would unduly share names of those who are innocent. of any of this..
Barr did lie, did you watch his testimony? where he answered that he had no idea what Muller's view of his four page letter, was . As we now know he did know from a March letter he had received ( and he did not tell us about it) well before the date of his appearance with Congress. He is no saint. He is well educated but tarnished himself
The Brett Kavanaugh hearings were terrible and unforgiveable, Barr deserves no apology,.
I am astounded that so many well educated people have apparently come to the view that the Executive branch is all powerful, no one should question it.
Our forefathers set the Governing Powers at three elements. Executive, Congress, and the Supreme Court. None of them dictates or runs over the others. The Supreme Court is the final arbitrator of decisions as provided by law. They all have specific functions and responsibilities
I have written Chief Justice John Roberts via email. the question is, 'with today's American tenor", where it seems anything is up for change and questioning , "Why is the Supreme Court Waiting to be invited to join the issues shredding American civility and, values". The established process of running up through a series of levels of Court, is a waste of time and money when it is absolutely the Supreme Court who will have to make the calls. Particularly as they are set by the Constitution. False pretenses of understanding better than anyone else is boloney. Establishing policies , for example,, The Justice Department has a policy to not indict a President, contrary to the Constitution "Liberty and Justice for all" What happened to "Liberty and Justice for ALL. "? It does not say when it is convenient!
Do we need to rewrite the lyrics to our Pledge of Allegiance? and remove Justice for all ?
Does the Presidential oath of office need to strike out "I will preserve and defend the Constitution so help me God??" may be it should say, but just has it applies to me the Executive Branch ?
I do not think so. We did/do not want an autocratic system, or a king.
Congress has by Article 1 the power to subpoena whoever they see is needed for hearing information..
I am concerned that the Executive Branch is over stepping it's authority as provided by the Constitution, for Congress. investigations and subpoena power therefore are implied by Article 1, Section1 of the Constitution specifically for Congress. . It does not apply or provide for the Executive Branch to interfere. Oh Well here we go.
This has to come to a conclusion
It is time for the silent third of the United States governing authorities, The Supreme Court , to get involved and not wait to be invited, before there is another civil war.
We need by distinction of the Constitution for Congressional oversight, subpoenas to be honored, we need to let this fall where it may, by thorough review and over sight, we need this for America.
Raymond S. Brown Sr.,
Fillmore