Category Archives: Public Service

President Roosevelt Leads the Nation in Prayer as Troops Land on D-Day 75 Years Ago

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On June 6, 2019 the entire world will remember the 75th anniversary of the largest military operation in history. It was an epic conflict of good vs evil.

Thousands of young Americans who just months before were securely living in homes on farms and in cities across our nation crowded into landing craft.

The vast armada chugged toward the beaches of Normandy like a cloud of gnats on a South Georgia farm. As these brave young men stormed the beaches, they were charging into the gates of hell itself.

While the invasion was underway, President Franklin Roosevelt, in a nationwide radio address, led the nation in prayer for this undertaking. Take 5 minutes to listen. Share this with your friends and especially young students who are learning about our nation’s history.

Text of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Address and Prayer on D-Day – June 6, 1944

My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home — fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas — whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them–help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

Give us strength, too — strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt – June 6, 1944

Wall at Normandy Cemetery - American Battle Monuments Commission
Wall at Normandy Cemetery – American Battle Monuments Commission
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Sonny Hits 50 States

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Sonny Perdue in Soybean Field
US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue

While news coverage focuses on investigations, hearings, subpoenas, and other madness in Washington, DC, one member of the President’s cabinet has been steadily and persistently doing the job to which he has been called.

This week, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visited his 50th state. In two years and a few weeks, he traveled to all 50 states plus Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and multiple foreign countries.

He made several RV tours, appropriately named, “Back to Our Roots.” Rolling down the back roads of rural America across multiple states he went to do something spectacular for which Washington, DC is not known. He went to listen.

His travels covered over 100,000 miles. He visited over 100 farms and held nearly 200 townhall meetings.

The people came to meet him. They gathered in barns, school gymnasiums, college campuses, churches, fields, town squares, cafeterias, processing plants, and the list goes on. Governors, members of Congress, State Legislators, County Commissioners, Mayors, farmers, ranchers, teachers, students, pastors, small business owners, homemakers, and small children came to meet Secretary Sonny.

Immediately after Sonny Perdue took the oath of office, President Trump directed him to head up a Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity. Ninety days later he completed the report with specific recommendations and action plans.

The top recommendation was to make broadband accessible to rural America. He compared it to the national investments in the 1930’s to provide electricity and telephone service to rural areas through the Rural Electrification Act and the Telecommunications Act.

Less than a week after he was sworn in, Sonny went to an elementary school in Virginia and announced that he was rolling back the onerous school lunch regulations of the Obama administration. School nutritionists, also known as the “lunchroom ladies” as he fondly recalled from his childhood, were spending more time trying to comply with rules than feed their students.

Even worse, they were helplessly watching as kids dumped their Obama Approved lunches in the trash. It didn’t take him long to trash the regulations and make school lunches great again.

He restructured the mission areas of USDA to focus on the customer. He slashed regulations. His top priority was opening markets for U.S. agricultural products. He told farmers, “if you grow it, we’ll help you sell it.”

Knowing that agriculture would be the prime target for retaliation by other nations against the President’s trade policy, he diligently worked with President Trump to provide some mitigation. No one likes what the Chinese and other nations are doing to U.S. agriculture but he stands with the President in addressing issues that have been swept under the rug for decades. Farmers, although hurt, are standing with the President.

Sonny took another step that is unheard of in Washington, D.C. He reached out to other agencies to coordinate efforts in overlapping responsibilities.

He was perhaps the most outspoken cabinet member calling on the EPA to get rid of the burdensome and intrusive Waters of the US (WOTUS) Rules. He worked closely with the Department of Labor to help farmers navigate the cumbersome H2A Visa process.

Where the Food and Drug Administration had legal responsibility for some areas of food safety, he worked with them to align USDA regulations. When it came to the farmers, he was like a protective mother bear. He bluntly made it clear that he did not want to have FDA inspectors, who knew nothing about farming, to be treating farms like a pharmacy inspection.

He made sure that USDA had a seat at the table to help shape rules in other agencies so agriculture’s voice was heard. HUD, Department of Energy, Homeland Security, Department of Interior, and more have the fingerprints of Sonny Perdue.

Sonny Perdue’s vision for USDA is that it is the most effective, most efficient, most customer focused agency in the federal government. Just as he did when he was Georgia’s Governor, that vision will come about.

He adopted a motto for USDA, “Do Right and Feed Everyone.” When these trade disputes are resolved and America’s farm products can start flowing in free and open markets, America will be sending food to all corners of the globe to help make that motto a reality.

Fifty states visited in two years. That is doing right.

Congratulations on that Mount Everest of a milestone. America is blessed to have you serve and Georgians are proud of you.

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Happy 94th Bob Bright

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Bob Bright celebrates his 94th birthday today. He is not only a veteran of WWII but also has a Purple Heart and a POW. 

Picture of Bob Bright
Bob Bright of Cordele, GA

Bob graduated from Crisp County High school and shortly after that received his draft notice. He went through basic training in Fort Bliss, Texas and one day saw a notice on the bulletin board to apply for Army Air Corp. Bob said that he wasn’t particularly crazy about being in the infantry so he took the test and was accepted. 

Teenage Turret Gunner

Bob Bright outside his turret gun position
Bob Bright Turret Gunner

He trained to be a gunner on the B-17 Flying Fortress. After his training he was assigned to the European theater.

By this time in the war, the Americans had landed at Normandy and were moving across Germany.

Flight crew in front of B-17 named Starduster
Bob Center Top Row Pilot and Navigator Circled in Red

Bob was in the Mighty 8th Bomber Command and part of a proud nine-man crew on the Starduster. The Americans were bombing every day.

In an effort to describe the intensity of the bombing, Bob said that if they were making bomb runs over Berlin, when the first plane got over the target and started to drop its payload, there were still planes in line on the runway back in England waiting to take off.

On his 23rd bombing mission, Bob was going to the plane and decided that he would go back and get another parachute because he didn’t like the way the pin looked. That may have been a providential decision. 

Miracle at 30,000 Feet

The B-17 was hit while flying at 30,000 feet. Bob recalled that one of the engines was on fire. He put on his oxygen mask and looked for one of the crew members but could not find him. Two of the crew members did not put on their oxygen masks and they collapsed.  Bob was in the process of dragging them to the door to jettison the door and get them out of the plane.

It was at that point that the plane exploded. M.F. Carter from Cordele, was on another plane and saw the B-17 explode in a ball of fire. Carter felt the pain of the loss of a friend, knowing that all on board perished.

Miraculously, Bob did not perish. The blast blew him out of the plane and blew off his boots and his jacket. He said that at that height the temperature was probably about 30 degrees below zero. Free falling through the air and nearly frozen, he was able to pull the rip cord and felt the parachute open.

He had escaped death from the lack of oxygen, the explosion, and the freezing temperatures at high altitudes. Now as he floated down through the sky, he was an easy target for anyone on the ground. 

When Bob hit the ground, he found himself surrounded and being beaten up by German youth armed with machine guns. “They were little kids, maybe 8 to 12 years old and they were mean as they could be,” he said. Ironically it was the German SS and Gestapo that rescued the dazed and weakened survivor from the vicious youth. 

They took him to the basement of a nearby church and he was reunited with the pilot and navigator who also miraculously escaped. The other men on the plane were never found. Their bodies likely disintegrated in the high altitude fiery explosion.

The navigator spoke some German and the Gestapo took him outside. Bob and the pilot sat in the basement for hours beginning to think that they lost another fellow crew member. The next morning, they were surprised to see the navigator return. 

Because he could speak German, the navigator was taken to the local Mayor’s home where he was treated with a home cooked meal. Bob laughed that they were sitting there starving, thinking he had been taken out and shot, while he was eating high on the hog.  

They left and walked for about 4 days to a POW camp. On the journey the worst thing he experienced was being led through the little towns where the Germans lined up the bodies of those killed in the bombings. The people in town saw the three US soldiers and wanted to take vengeance. 

The two SS troopers escorting the three Americans were given orders to shoot the first one who laid a hand on the men. Bob said that they did their job and protected their prisoners.

Prisoner of War

When they arrived at the camp, Bob was in solitary confinement for about ten days. He said that it was the worst thing he had ever been through. 

German Prisoner of War Record
Bob Bright’s POW Record

Some of the men in the camp tried to escape. Bob’s observation was that the Germans knew what they were doing and let them try to “give them something to do.” One man got beyond three barriers before being shot by the guards. The Germans lined the men in the yard and dragged the body of the escapee by so that all could see the consequences. 

Bob also remembered the German Shepherds. “They hated Americans. If you just looked at them, they would snarl and show their teeth.” 

Bob said that he never took a shower there. He had heard stories of the Germans putting cyanide in the water and he wasn’t taking any chances. 

After six months in the camp, General Patton and the Americans arrived to liberate the men. The POW’s had to take off all their clothes and burn them. 

Bob finally got his shower and for the first few days they were on a strict liquid diet of eggnog. There were 50 gallon tanks all around the camp and the men could drink all they wanted. After their bodies stabilized, they could eat solid food and were fed royally. 

He got home, went to the University of Georgia, then to graduate school at Purdue University. When the Korean war broke out, Bob was recalled and he served in Tokyo making maps. 

Bob has lived a blessed life and is still blessing others every day. He still drives and is actively involved at Christ Episcopal Church in Cordele. Happy 94th Birthday, Bob Bright. Thank you for your service to our nation.  


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Tribute to Chuck Wade, the Old Man in the Woods

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On November 27, this world lost a prophetic patriot. Chuck Wade of Taylor County, Georgia stepped into eternity.

Every Thursday, like clockwork, the e-mail showed up from Chuck Wade. The subject line always began with three letters, “LTE”

It was Chuck’s weekly letter to the editor in the Taylor County News. It was not just any old letter to the editor. It was was rarely sweet and syruppy.

It was a passionate, pointed, view of our state of affairs in the greatest nation in the world. I told Chuck that he was the Jeremiah of political affairs.

Chuck introduced to me to a couple of words. I do not know if he coined them himself or if he picked them up from someone else.

They both described the same thing. He used the term, “uni-party” to describe the power establishment in Washington. The members of the Uni-Party were the “Washingtonians.”

From Chuck’s perspective, there was really no difference in the Republicans and the Democrats. He believed that the debates and campaigns between the parties are more like the choreographed professional wrestling matches.

The candidates do not fully realize it at first, but after election, they are introduced to the way things really work. He saw how easily elected officials got hooked on the opioid of power and prestige.

Ever so gradually, elected officials began to see themselves as the saviors of the people, not the servants of the people. Chuck saw the foundation of individual rights, personal responsibility, and trust in God being undermined.

I told Chuck that I called him Jeremiah because he wrote like a prophet. He did not try to pump up his readers with bright optimism for the future.

He journaled the slippery slope on which the Constitutional foundation of the American Republic was sliding. He became cynical about the motives of nearly all elected officials.

I once told him that I felt that even if I were in office, he would soon turn on me because things did not change as fast as he wanted. He reminded me that our nation is in a crisis and most politicians refuse to clearly and loudly shout it out like Paul Revere.

He did find a glimmer of hope in the election of Donald Trump. At the same time he wondered if it was too little, too late.

Chuck did not simply sit and complain. He communicated regularly with his elected officials.

Although he sometimes felt his efforts were futile, he did it anyway. I believe that he carried more influence than he realized.

He also invested his money and time into his church, First Baptist of Butler, the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association and the Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Home, and the Kiwanis Club.

Chuck served our nation with honor, retiring as a Lt. Col. in the National Guard. He continued to serve our nation by steadfastly proclaiming the truth week after week, often referring to himself as just the “Old Man in the Woods.”

His LTE in the Taylor County News and Butler Herald that I received on November 8 presents a good synopsis of his analysis and candid outlook for the future. I am reprinting it below.
*****************************************
Dear Editor,

Who is to blame for the current madness that defines American Politics? There are two candidates for this shameful honor. Politicians are blameworthy, but ultimately, it is voters who bear the responsibility for the upside down world in which we find ourselves.

Politicians have forgotten that they are representatives of the constituents who bother to vote in the electoral process. America is a Constitutional Republic wherein citizens grant to certain men and women the awesome responsibility to support and defend that which makes the United States the most unique nation that has ever existed in all of human history.

Clearly, the politicians have failed and continue to fail to do their duty. Why the pols reject their duty is the question of the ages.

Politicians seldom question their voters as to how votes should be cast on important issues. The ‘business approach’ and the ‘I will bring your values’ to Washington evaporate after the election like a morning dew in July.

This is because upon elevation to office, the reps assume that what they think is what matters and voters can be ignored. This is conscious, wrongful behavior among those who are supposed to vote in accordance with the will of the people who elected them.

The will of the people, carried out by the electeds, must be done in accordance within the limits placed on government and the reps by the Constitution.

The reps cannot be totally blamed for our problems because the great majority of voters consider that by voting they have fulfilled their civic duty. Too many voters avoid involvement in politics until the next election.

They voted, they assume their guy will do the right thing and they ignore the day to day shenanigans of the politicians. Ignoring what they do is a serious mistake. This avoidance allows the politicians to do whatever they please.

Upon election, the pols assume a very low profile, avoid involvement in serious issues and bring home the free stuff to their unwitting constituents. Failure of voters to question their elected officials and hold them accountable is the real reason for the sorry state of politics in America.

Fewer and fewer voters have any idea of the limitations placed on government by our Constitution. How can anyone be expected to defend something he or she does not understand?

This writer believes that the only change possible is that politicians will make things worse for all of us. Without accountability to the voters, the politicians will continue to do whatever pleases them, enhance their financial status and continue the façade that they are working hard to maintain our way of life.

Unless and until politicians fear their voters more than they fear their party leaders, nothing will change. Informed voters can control the politicians. Maybe someday they will.

There is little evidence to indicate as much for the foreseeable future. Some citizens vote, consider their civic duty done and hope that the political insanity ends. This does not bode well.

Chuck Wade
Butler
**********************
Funeral services for Chuck Wade will be on Saturday, December 1, 2018 at First Baptist Church of Butler, GA. Visitation is at 10:00 AM and the service is at 11:00 AM.

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They Were Supposed to Quit

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They were supposed to quit. It didn’t happen. A few hours from now, the Senate will be voting on the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. According to the Democrat playbook, this vote was never supposed to take place.

It worked for them in the past. This time something happened to the Republicans in the Senate and the Democrats do not know what to do.

The strategy was simple. Even before the nomination, Democrats announced opposition because the nominee was out of the main stream. It did not matter who the nominee was. It did not matter what the nominee’s record was. Whoever the nominee was, would be too far to the right.

Added to that the Democrats pointed to the upcoming mid-term elections and invoked the Merrick Garland case from 2016. The fact that President Trump asked for conservative think tanks to help him identify candidates gave Democrats even more ammunition.

By the time the confirmation hearings began, the mainstream media was already saturated with stories of how Kavanaugh did not fit with mainstream America. This was followed by calls from Democrat leadership for the President to withdraw his nomination and submit another nominee who could be confirmed by both sides of the aisle in a bi-partisan manner that would make America proud.

In the past, Democrats were successful with this strategy. Democrats could always find a few Republicans who appeared to be most concerned about what the mainstream media talking heads said about them. They would wring their hands in anguish at the division and contention. These Republicans were quick to chastise both sides in general terms but generally only pointed the finger at fellow Republicans in specific terms.

This time it was not working. President Trump supported his nominee and Kavanaugh indicated that he intended to stay.

The hearings ended and Democrats saw that confirmation was likely unless something drastic happened to derail the vote. Senator Dianne Feinstein had been holding a letter from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford alleging that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted and attempted to rape her when they were in high school.

While only a few Democrats and no Republicans knew about the letter, somehow it was mysteriously leaked to the press. Kavanaugh immediately asked to testify again to clear his name and meanwhile more reports started flowing in.

Democrats cried that the seriousness of the allegations made him unfit. They demanded investigations to get to the truth. Of course, the investigations could take months or years. They called on the President to clear the cloud, withdraw Kavanaugh, and submit another nominee.

The Judiciary Committee scheduled a hearing for Ford and Kavanaugh to testify. Judge Kavanaugh gave a powerful statement of his innocence. Democrats pressed for a thorough FBI investigation.

When it was time to vote, Republican Jeff Flake said that he would vote yes to send it to the floor of the Senate but stipulated that he wanted the FBI to do another background investigation related to this allegation. He said that it should be done in a week.

The additional week gave the Democrats more time to oppose the confirmation. When it became increasingly clear that there was zero evidence to corroborate any of the allegations, the argument turned to judicial temperament.

Democrats provided talking points and paid protesters flooded the capitol shouting profanities and creating chaos. The obvious solution to end the chaos and bring peace was for Kavanaugh to withdraw.

To the relief, (and quite frankly, amazement,) of conservatives across the nation, Senate Republicans stood together. Lindsey Graham gave a scathing speech during Judge Kavanaugh’s testimony. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley pointedly called out Feinstein for holding the letter from Dr. Ford for weeks and not allowing it to be confidentially investigated. Majority leader Mitch McConnell steadily and methodically kept the process moving forward. Even Senator Susan Collins, in a measured and reasonable presentation, chastised the Democrats for vowing to fight the nominee before even knowing who was nominated.

The Democrats believed that Kavanaugh would throw up his hands in disgust at the vile ugliness of the negative publicity. They believed that some Republicans would acquiesce and join them to lift the cloud of uncertainly by rejecting Judge Kavanaugh. They believed that perhaps the President would withdraw his nomination. Not one of those things happened.

The bright light of truth revealed the nauseating Democrat strategy in its stark nakedness. There will be a vote today. There will be another vote on November 6 and the American people will pass judgment at the ballot box. Democrats and talking heads in main stream media will still be muttering to themselves, “They were supposed to quit.”

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Execution by Paper Cut

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Democrats are trying to execute Brett Kavanaugh by paper cut. They have been very clear about their goal to stop his confirmation. They intentionally hid an allegation of sexual assault for weeks. The sole reason was to throw it out as a last minute Hail Mary pass to delay the Senate Judiciary Committee vote.

Witnesses named by the accuser have denied knowing anything about the alleged event. Judge Kavanaugh immediately issued a strong denial and asked to testify before the Judiciary Committee.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Grassley made extraordinary accommodations for the accuser to offer testimony to the committee. The first hint came on September 13, after the committee had completed hearings. A vote was scheduled for the following week, September 20.

It was then that Senator Fienstein revealed that she had turned over a letter to investigators from an anonymous source about an anonymous matter. Unnamed sources stated that it was an allegation of sexual misconduct by Judge Kavanaugh.

Over the weekend, the accuser was identified as Christine Blasey Ford. She said that she wanted to testify. The scheduled vote for Thursday the 20th was cancelled and a hearing was set for Monday the 24th.

With each new day, new excuses and demands arose from Ford’s attorney. Then another accusation came out from Deborah Ramirez. Democrats immediately called for more delays and more conditions. The hearing was rescheduled to Thursday the 27th for Ford and Kavanaugh both to testify.

Meanwhile, not wanting to be left out, Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti, popped out of the clown car and announced that he also has someone ready to come forward in the next 48 hours.

Fortunately, Senator Grassley has put his foot down. Thursday, September 27 is the date for the hearing. I still doubt that Ford will show up for the hearing.

Grassley has scheduled a vote for Friday. Senate Republicans are poised to start the full Senate confirmation vote debate on Saturday. Until the Senate finally has a confirmation vote, we may as well get accustomed to hearing outrageous claims from all corners.

Democrats hoped that Kavanaugh would give up and quit. Thankfully, he is not quitting. He is standing firm while Democrats are trying to execute by paper cut.

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Democrat Houses of Cards Are About to Collapse

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Monday, September 17, 2018 will be recorded as a bad day for Democrats. They have built houses of cards that are about to collapse.

First, the accusation of Brett Kavanaugh. It began to break before the weekend from Senator Dianne Feinstein of a serious report of an anonymous incident by a person who wished to remain anonymous.

Senator Feinstein had the information since July but never said anything about it until the hearings were over. That alone proves her disingenuous intent.
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I Voted – Here’s How

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I am often asked for my opinion on various races. When those I respect and trust tell me that they support a particular candidate, it helps me make my decision as well.

Party primaries and run-off elections can get so competitive that in the final days, the strategy appears to be mutual assured destruction. The heated rhetoric can get so strong that friendships are strained.

The Republican Governor’s primary is at the boiling point. I do not intend to turn up the heat. People for whom I have the greatest respect have endorsed both Republicans. The fact is that in a couple of weeks, one of the two in each race will be our nominee. I fully intend to support all our nominees.

Right now we have a responsibility to select which candidates will be our nominees. I voted on the first day of early voting. Here is how I voted.

For Secretary of State, I voted for Brad Raffensperger in the run-off. My original choice was Josh McKoon but Josh did not make it to the runoff. Brad was my second choice. He owns a small business so he knows about government regulations and how they impact small business. He is endorsed by Georgia Right to Life, has an A rating from the NRA, and from the National Federation of Independent Business. Brad got my vote.

For Lt. Governor, I voted for David Schafer. I have known David a long time. He was a conservative workhorse in the Georgia Senate. He has literally hundreds of endorsements from conservative leaders and organizations including Georgia Right to Life, NRA, Citizens for Trump, and many others.

In my experience, David has always done what he said that he would do. He is not a show horse and willing to work behind the scenes to get the job done. David got my vote.

For Governor, I voted for Brian Kemp. I know both Brian and Lt. Governor Cagle. I consider them both to be friends. In a few weeks, one will be our Republican nominee for Governor.

Brian Kemp is also a small business owner who has not let his public service role as Secretary of State go to his head. He is just as level headed and approachable as he was when he first ran for office. What drove him to run for office was the frustration of government.

He brought some common sense solutions to the office of Secretary of State and cut the budget while taking on additional services. It was Brian Kemp about two years ago who caught someone trying to hack into the Secretary of State database, and that “someone” turned out to be our own US Homeland Security. Kemp correctly ordered them to back off.

Kemp took on the Obama administration and won. Instead of giving Georgians lame excuses of why he could not take them on, he fought back.

There have been some very ugly attack ads that do not focus on Brian’s successes. Anyone who steps out to start a small business is taking a risk. It should not be a surprise that every business does not do as well as others.

All of us have challenges in life and those challenges tend to make us wiser and more humble. I personally know the pain of a project that went sour on me and had a terribly negative impact on my business, family, and personal credit rating.

I know many people who faced the same thing. It is not a bad reflection on their personal character. In many ways it is an asset because they, myself included, can empathize with those in the midst of struggles.

I believe that Brian connects with the average Georgian. He has not forgotten where he came from and why he got into government in the first place. Brian got my vote.

So there you have it. Brian Kemp for Governor, David Shafer for Lt. Governor, Brad Raffensperger for Secretary of State. That’s how I voted and I endorse each one.

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OIG Report – Part 2 – The Unnamed Hero

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The story you are about to read is true. No names were changed because few were innocent. There are some heros though. The main hero is an unnamed FBI Agent in the New York field office.

On September 26, 2016, the New York field office of the FBI executed a search warrant and obtained the i-Phone, i-Pad, and laptop computer from former Congressman Anthony Wiener. The FBI was investigating Wiener for child sex-related crimes.

The case agent assigned to the investigation was also certified as a Digital Extraction Technician and was conducting a search of the contents of the laptop for evidence in the Anthony Wiener investigation. Sometime during the evening of September 26 or morning of September 27 the agent noticed that there were over 300,000 e-mails on the laptop. Continue reading →FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather

The OIG Report – Part 1

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This commentary is a little longer than my average comments. I read the entire OIG report, all 500 plus pages, on the Clinton E-Mail investigation. My commentary on this just won’t fit in 500 words or less.

In his conclusion the OIG used a phrase of six critical words: “The damage caused by these employees’…”

A few powerful players at the top level polluted the entire investigation. The OIG was ultra cautious in concluding that he did not find “documentary or testimonial evidence” that there was political bias.

My conclusion after reading the full report is that political bias saturated this investigation like gravy on biscuits. This is not to cast a wide net over all of the FBI and DOJ personnel.

I want to share my observations of a few aspects of the report.

Director James Comey

With regard to political bias, I am willing to give Director Comey the benefit of the doubt. In his testimony and the testimony of others, it appears that Director Comey’s ultimate concern was the reputation of the FBI.

His problem was not political bias per se. His problem was (and still appears to be) a hyper-inflated sense that he is the only one in the universe who can determine what is “right.”

In July of 2016 when I watched Comey’s press conference, my first thought was, “Why is he making this announcement and not a US Attorney?” Comey’s decision to go on his own was pure and simple insubordination.

On page 245, the OIG report made a key point. “In our criminal justice system, the investigative and prosecutive functions are intentionally kept separate as a check on the government’s power to bring criminal charges.”

Comey willfully, knowingly, intentionally, tossed the checks and balances out the window. He made himself the chief arbiter of a decision that was never his to make.

In October, days before the election, Comey again made a decision to publicly re-open the Clinton e-mail investigation. In this case, DOJ was aware of his intention to notify Congress and requested that he not at that time. Again, Comey acted as if he alone had the integrity to make the “right” decision.

After President Trump fired Comey, he once again displayed his insubordination. He retained an official FBI work product after his termination of employment, and gave it to a college professor who had no business even knowing the document existed. The professor then leaked the document to the news media as a conduit for Comey.

Comey felt that his action was justified. It was not justified. It violated FBI policy, if not the law.

The FBI Director is part of the Executive Branch and as such is accountable to and subordinate to the Attorney General and the President. While Comey proclaimed his independence from outside meddling, in reality he was acting as a benevolent dictator. He should have been fired in July of 2016.

Peter Strzok and Lisa Page

The two lovebirds got a lot of attention over their text messages. Both held high positions of influence in the investigation. Incredulously, one of them, Peter Strzok is still employed by the FBI.

On July 31, 2016 Strzok sent a text to Page about the opening of the Russia investigation. He expressed his excitement to be on the investigation.

“And ____ this feels momentous. Because this matters. The other one did, too, but that was to ensure we didn’t ___ something up. This matters because this MATTERS. So super glad to be on this voyage with you.”

The most publicized exchange was on August 8, 2016:

Page: “[Trump’s] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!”
Strzok: “No. No he’s not. We’ll stop it.”

Strzok was not talking about organizing political activities to get out the vote for Hillary and assure her victory. He held a powerful role in an investigation of the Trump campaign. Based on his July 31 e-mail he appeared to believe at that time that the investigation would somehow stop Trump.

His belief is evident in a text one week later, on August 15, when Strzok wrote to Page:

“I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office—that there’s no way he gets elected—but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40….”

On May 17, 2017, Robert Mueller was appointed as Special Counsel. On May 18, Strzok wrote to Page,

“For me, and this case, I personally have a sense of unfinished business. I unleashed it with MYE [the Clinton E-Mail Investigation]. Now I need to fix it and finish it.”

Strzok also wrote about his career path. “Who gives a ___, one more A[ssistant] D[irector]…[versus] [a]n investigation leading to impeachment?”

On May 22, Strzok wrote another message to Page about her career path as part of the Special Counsel’s team: “This is yours. Plus, leaving a S[pecial] C[ounsel] (having been an SC) resulting in an impeachment as an attorney is VERY different than leaving as an investigator….”

These text messages reveal more than just a bias. In his role, Strzok had at his disposal assets from the intelligence community, the law enforcement community, and the Department of Justice.

Peter Strzok was texting about stopping a candidate in the American electoral process. Then he was texting about removing the duly elected President of the United States.

Every FBI agent takes an oath of office that begins with these words, “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” Peter Strzok, in particular, needs to look into the mirror because his text messages reveal him to a domestic enemy of the United States Constitution. It is a travesty that Strzok is still employed by the FBI. The new Director needs to clean house, or he needs to go the way of James Comey.

I have a lot more to write on this report. Watch for my next Note from Don Cole with more on the OIG report.

Signature-Donald E. Cole

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