Both of my sons know a lot about the law and The Constitution. One son is very good at foreign languages and understands intricacies of foreign policy, while the other is a science (especially quantum physics) and math geek. I am just a homemaker. This isn’t going to be a whinefest, just statements of what I believe to be the reality, so bear with me. In America, unless you have fancy titles or can lay claim to being some sort of an “expert”, your opinions and comments are considered not worth listening to. Even my sons are like that. So, when it comes to who they will believe, even if it’s me vs. “important” people with titles or military rank, I suspect they would believe the people with fancy titles or military rank.
When I joined the US Army in 1979, I had already gone to college one year and my parents struggled to pay my tuition and expenses that year. I took out a student loan to help pay for my second semester. My year at college was disastrous, both academically and romantically. Broken-hearted on both counts, I decided I didn’t want to go back the next year, so despite my parents pleading, I refused.
During the summer of 1979, one day, and after weeks of trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I called an Army recruiter. So, I went ahead and signed my enlistment paperwork without discussing it with anyone. When I told my parents, they were overwrought and horrified, because I was a girl. My mother was sobbing, but my father asked me if I had already signed the paperwork. When I told him I had, he seemed resigned and he said, “You gave your word, so you’ll have to keep it.”
The Army was the best thing ever to happen to me, in many ways. Like many females, I did not complete my first enlistment, due to marriage and having a baby. The decision to get out of the Army took me months to make. I may have joined the Army capriciously, but I left the Army, after months of agonizing and feeling torn by two duties – my duty as a soldier vs my duty as a mother, knowing that that little bit of Army training taught me important life lessons, like the importance of putting mission above self, like the importance of duty, like the importance of accountability, like the importance of living by the US Military Code of Conduct and Army Values.
My husband had just been promoted to E-6, he was a very dedicated solider, NCO of the year for our brigade, inductee into the Sgt. Morales Club, 82nd paratrooper. He wanted me to get out and he kept telling me that he could provide for us. Since we were stationed in Germany, his big concern was that if something happened and we deployed, what would happen to our baby. He knew lots more about the Army than I did, so he explained that if something happened, family members could be evacuated back to the States, under a NEO evacuation. He told me that if that happened, we would have to hand our baby over to someone else to take back to the States, because we were both deploying. He told me he didn’t want to hand our baby over to other people and he told me that he would rather go fight and have me safe in the States. He told me he would work hard to provide for us.
I did sign my chapter paperwork with just two weeks left before the deadline date, because by Army rules, you had to decide before you were 7 months pregnant. So, I signed my paperwork, then had to fly to the States to out process, but I got a passport and turned right around and flew back to my husband in Germany. So, while I got out of the Army, by waiting so long to decide, I had put myself into another bad situation – I was now not a command-sponsored family member and thus, technically the Army had no responsibility to evacuate me in case of a NEO evacuation. My husband and I talked about that several times and I spent time looking at maps of Europe and trying to figure out what I would do, if that happened. My husband was sure the Army would still look after me, because I was an American and an Army wife. Nothing did happen, but that experience of making one decision without knowing all the ramifications made me into a person who prefers contingency planning.
So, that is how I came to decide to be a homemaker. I loved the Army and I missed it, but I have no regrets about choosing to put taking care of my children first, while my husband continued his Army career – he was a better asset to the Army than I was. He was a very good infantryman. The Army needs very good warfighters more than it needs Army journalists.
All this personal bio plays into the larger issue I want to get to:
What is the Law?
“Comey said” that Hillary did not commit any crimes, so her actions were “legal“. My one son, with the same conviction as someone like Congressman Cummings, repeated this “Comey said” argument during a discussion Sunday. The discussion became more like an argument and I suspect my son believes Hillary has bad judgment, but because she has held important positions and is a lawyer, she knows a lot. He believes that because Comey said “not criminal” that means the FACTS are now irrelevant and don’t matter.
In our discussion, this “expert” belief came into it when my son mentioned General Petraeus, whom I do NOT respect and whom I believe got away easy for the crimes he knowingly committed. I don’t really care about his military record or his chestful of medals. I don’t care if he’s a military strategic genius or one of the “greatest” generals of his generation.
To me he grossly mishandled highly sensitive information, that could have jeopardized American lives in the field – end of conversation. He lied to try and cover up. For me, when people do this, I no longer trust them and I believe they are a security risk to the United States of America.
I don’t really care that he had Clinton lawyer, David Kendall, work out a plea agreement, so he got off on way lesser charges. The actual FACTS, which aren’t disputed, are he handed over his black books and other classified information to his mistress/biographer, to aid her in writing his biography. Petraeus supporters hype that his mistress, a US Army trained intelligence officer, had a security clearance, as a point to exonerate General Petraeus.
Here are the FACTS on her having a security clearance. A security clearance is a privilege given to people, entrusting them to handle our nation’s sensitive national security information. The clearance allows access to sensitive information to carry our your official duties. The clearance is not for personal, partisan-political, random curiosity or any other purposes. It is NOT for writing a book. She was a trained intelligence officer, who had classified information, that was not secured in her home, but she also had hundreds of classified documents on her home computer unsecured. So, her having a security clearance and being a trained intelligence officer actually makes her actions worse, in my opinion, for the same reason General Petraues’ actions make me have no interest in listening to anything he has to say, they should have known better. General Petraeus and his mistress put personal interest above the safety of soldiers in the field, by such “extremely careless” handling of highly sensitive information. Here are some of the FACTS reported from the FBI affidavit:
“FBI agents found hundreds of classified documents on Paula Broadwell’s home computers in Charlotte during their investigation into her relationship with then-CIA Director David Petraeus, according to newly unsealed FBI documents obtained by the Observer.
More than 300 of those documents were classified as secret, according to a 2013 FBI affidavit accompanying the agency’s request to search Petraeus’ Arlington, Va., home.”
And this: “The affidavit is signed by a Charlotte-based FBI agent. Its allegations include:
“The documents show that when confronted by the FBI, both Broadwell and Petraeus appeared to mislead investigators about their extensive exchange of classified material, most of it involving military and diplomatic operations during Petraeus’ years as commander of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan”
And this: “The FBI gathered recordings Petraeus made as military commander in the Middle East in which he discussed information classified as “Top Secret” with reporters.
In an audio file taken from Broadwell’s home in November 2012, Petraeus can be heard discussing “sensitive military campaigns and operations” with reporters from the Washington Post. His only demand was to be referred to in the subsequent stories “as a senior military officer,” the affidavit says.”
And this: “Petraeus tried to stop the FBI investigation as soon as he heard about it. According to the affidavit, the FBI began its probe in Tampa, Fla., after a person identified as “Witness 1,” who is clearly Tampa socialite and Petraeus confidante Jill Kelly, complained of receiving threatening emails from someone who had access to the CIA director’s schedule – a potential breach of security.”
And this: Broadwell, a married mother of two, and Petraeus, also married, took steps to hide their correspondences. The affidavit says the two used pre-paid cellphones and email accounts “using non-attributable names.”
Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article82469027.html#storylink=cpy
So, back to my discussion with my son. He was so adamant about The Law, that he told me the national security information is the President’s information and he can do anything he wants with it – that’s The Law. He told me all the things the President can do and when I pointed out the information is not the president’s personally, but that the President is entrusted, as part of the President’s DUTIES, to handle our nation’s secrets , my son kept telling me, “It’s his information, he owns it and can do anything he wants with it.”
My son said that “legally” the President could turn over every bit of classified information to our country’s enemies and there’s nothing anyone can do about it – it’s “legal”.
I tried to explain that The Law loses all meaning if it loses all connection to our foundational principles. I tried to explain natural law and that The Law must be girded by principles or it loses all meaning. My son cut me off and said, “It’s legal and don’t go there.”
He told me the Declaration of Independence isn’t The Law.
I tried to explain it to him again, that it is the foundation of principles upon which The Law stands. Without those principles, The Law is just a piece of meaningless paper – it becomes edicts imposed by RULERS. Again, he dismissed that and repeated, “The President can do anything he wants with national security information, he owns it, it’s HIS!”
My son also made a little tin foil hat and put it on my head, when I told him, that I believe, we are headed toward a constitutional crisis, because despite what “Comey said”. Hillary’s emails weren’t just “a mistake”, she and the Obama administration, being part of these email (((CHAINS))) the FBI Notes discuss, deliberately jeopardized national security.
Top secret SAP information discussed via personal email and all the actions to obstruct justice, cover-up and lie, lie, lie can’t be ignored.
Too many American lives in the field serving America, demands accountability for this deliberately negligent handling of national security information. According to the FBI Notes, there’s an email from a CHAIN between President Obama (using his gmail account) and Hillary Clinton too. The President signed
Hillary distributed those guidelines and reminders to State Department staff on proper handling of national security information. They both put their names to the proper way to protect national security information, then grossly violated their own guidelines. That goes to “intent”. Intent doesn’t have to be nefarious, in the sense of doing it to harm America. Intent can mean you ignored the law for your personal interests (like Petraeus and his mistress for his biography) or convenience (as in private email was easier to use or it was easier than carrying two devices).
I tried to tell my son that the President swears an oath:
“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.”
If the The Law allows the President to engage in actions that totally violate his oath and the national security of the United States, what on earth does “it’s legal” mean? The President, Dems and media keep hyping, “Comey said, nothing criminal”, which they spin as she’s innocent. Well, here we come to the question of “justice”. The FBI notes indicate serious crimes were committed by Hillary Clinton, many of her cronies and people in those CHAINS. The Constitution allows the President power to pardon all of them.
So, we are at a point where one political party can do anything, or as my son said, “It’s his information! He could give all of it to our enemies and there’s nothing anyone could do! It’s LEGAL!”
The American people, most of whom don’t follow the news and are easily swayed by mainstream media news (Clinton colluders), pundits, celebrities and SPIN, are voting today. I don’t think it matters either way which one of these two UNFIT candidates gets elected. I feel certain, Trump would get impeached quickly. I feel certain that Hillary would be blackmailed by America’s enemies relentlessly and exposed by leaks of highly sensitive information our enemies have, which SHE jeopardized by her “extremely careless” handling of highly classified information.
I think my son would believe Hillary Clinton or General Petraeus over me if it ever came to who to believe. They are important people with titles and I am just a homemaker, who was locked up for 18 days in a mental facility during impeachment & labeled bipolar – after being attacked for a few months in my home in the FALL of 1998.
Even though I told the truth, I have no credibility within my own family, because it was deliberately destroyed in 1998.
They have credibility and clout, no matter how much they lie.
I love my son, no matter what, and I’m working hard in my life on learning to forgive people and turn the other cheek.
I think about “Justice” a lot. I told my son that I am keeping that tin foil hat. Unlike Hillary Clinton or President Obama, I do believe in following the law and The Constitution. I would never support overthrowing the government, violence or any other subversive actions. However, I fully support working hard to expose the truth. And unto that end I will continue to peacefully work – Obeying the law every step of the way.
TRUTH is the most powerful weapon in the world.
#NotWithLibertyAndJusticeForAll
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