Posts Tagged ‘DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY’
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In Bureaucracy, Business, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on July 24, 2026 at 12:10 am
In 2005—four years after 9/11—Congress passed the Real ID Act as a counter-terrorism measure. Its goal was to set security standards for government-issued IDs.
The Act was introduced in late 2013. But it wasn’t until September 10, 2020, that the Department of Homeland Security announced that all 50 states were in compliance in issuing identification complying with the standards of the Act.
Only those holding such ID may pass through airport security—for domestic flights as well as international ones—and enter certain federal facilities.
So what is the easiest way to get a REAL ID?
According to the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA):
“Visit your state’s driver’s licensing agency website to find out exactly what documentation is required to obtain a REAL ID. At a minimum, you must provide documentation showing:
- 1) Full Legal Name
- 2) Date of Birth
- 3) Social Security Number
- 4) Two Proofs of Address of Principal Residence, and
- 5) Lawful Status (if you’re an immigrant)”
So much of what passes for security is actually security theater. It doesn’t actually make us safer, but it makes us feel safer.
And it makes us feel the government is keeping us safe, even when it isn’t.
Consider:
After 9/11, thousands of National Guard troops were deployed to airports nationwide as a highly visible show of force to deter further attacks and reassure a panicked public. The public would not have felt so reassured had it known the Guards were carrying unloaded M-16 rifles.
In addition, these “weekend warriors” were not trained detectives. So they didn’t know how to spot a potential terrorist—although they were a likely deterrent against purse-snatchers.
Other examples of security theater include:
- Mandatory shoe removals and random bag searches at TSA checkpoints: Have repeatedly failed to detect test weapons and contraband in internal red-team audits.
- Installing highly visible, non-functional security cameras to deter shoplifters or vandals: If the feed isn’t monitored or recording, it offers zero protective value.
- Stationing uniformed—but untrained—“security guards” in such places as stores and banks: Usually they lack even rudimentary training in firearms, unarmed combat and/or first aid.
Sample state ID card that’s acceptable under the Real ID Act
Consider this: A friend of mine—whom I’ll call Jack—recently applied for a Real ID card as issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. He brought a certified copy of his birth certificate, bills from AT&T and Pacific Gas and Electric.
The birth certificate easily passed muster. But for a moment there was a problem with the bills from the utility companies: Jack had been getting his mail through a P.O. box, rather than at the apartment building where he lived.
And the “examiner” wanted to see a document with his home address on it.
Fortunately, Jack was able to fish out another bill with that on it. The “examiner” was satisfied, and Jack left the DMV assured that he would soon receive his TSA-approved Real ID card.
So: How does showing a utility bill document prove your integrity?
No doubt Mohammed Atta—the ringleader of the September 11, 2001 attacks—faithfully paid his utility bills—right up to the day when he highjacked American Airlines Flight 11 and crashed the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
And, yes, a birth certificate proves you were born in the United States—but so was Timothy McVeigh, who, in 1995, blew up the Oklahoma City Federal Building, killing 168 people.
Nor does a “school document”—which can get you a Real ID card—reveal anything about the character of the person.
Theodore Bundy attended the University of Puget Sound and the University of Washington—before embarking on his career as a burglar, kidnapper, rapist and serial killer.
Another form of security theater includes checking photo IDs to enter State and Federal office buildings.
Knowing a person’s identity is useful—if you have a reliable database system to match it against, such as the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
But if you lack this, forcing people to “show me your ID” is pointless. And that’s assuming the ID isn’t fraudulent.
But people watching the guard performing this security theater ritual assume: “The guard must know what he’s looking for. So we have to be safer for his checking those IDs.”
In fact, most security guards have little training and even less experience. Many of them don’t carry firearms and lack self-defense skills.
According to Salary.com: The median annual salary for an unarmed security guard is $38,697.
Not exactly a salary geared to attract “the best and the brightest,” is it?
Making all of this even more infuriating: In August, 2021, at least 76,000 unvetted Afghans were admitted into the United States.
The reason: They were too cowardly to fight the Taliban.
Americans had spent 20 years training them to do just that. And as soon as the Taliban launched a major offensive, they fled to Kabul Airport—leaving their wives, girlfriends, mothers and sisters behind to face slavery and brutality.
So while cowardly Afghans—many of whom no doubt had terrorist backgrounds—didn’t have to prove themselves trustworthy, lifelong and law-abiding Americans must.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on July 16, 2026 at 12:10 am
On July 27, 2019, Olga Misik—a 17-year-old activist in the Russia of Vladimir Putin—joined thousands of people attending an unauthorized protest in Moscow against the bar on opposition activists competing for seats in the Duma (parliament) election against Putin’s lackeys.
Olga was sentenced on May 11, 2021, for vandalism. She received two years and two months of “restricted liberty.”
Prior to her sentencing, Misik read a prepared statement to the court. Among its passages:
“Someone said, “It’s impossible to be afraid if you know you’re right.” But Russia teaches us to always be afraid. A country that attempts to kill us every day, and if you’re not part of the system, you might as well be dead already.
“Of course I was at that protest. I don’t regret it and more so am proud of my actions. In reality, I had no choice. I had to do everything in my power, thus I have no right to regret it. And if I had the option to go back in time, I would do it again….
“I guess hope is insanity. But not doing something you believe in, just because everyone around you thinks it’s pointless, that is learned hopelessness. And better to be insane in your eyes than hopeless in my own….”
Olga Misik
On July 1, 2026, Air Force Major Jason Watson, dressed in full military uniform and holding a sign reading
stood on the steps of the United States Capitol Building. Speaking in a moderate, controlled voice, Watson laid out a damning indictment of the Trump administration:
“There are innumerable more impeachable offenses that I could cover:
—Denying congressional oversight of immigrant detention centers that look increasingly like CECOT.
—Suing media organizations, colleges, and law firms for billions of dollars while abusing executive branch agencies to extort settlements.
—Allowing a mega-donor to advertise products on the White House lawn.
Jason Watson
—Trading pardons for donations.
—Levying illegal tariffs.
—Weaponizing the Department of Justice against political adversaries while ignoring crimes committed by supporters and enablers.
—Attempting to reverse birthright citizenship through executive order.
“For all of these high crimes and misdemeanors, the President and Vice President must be impeached, convicted, and removed.”
Olga Misik compared her trial to that of Sophie Scholl, an anti-Nazi political activist executed by Nazi Germany.
“A fascist government never seems fascist from the inside. It seems like just some minuscule, inconsequential censorship and some targeted repression that will never reach you. I’m not the one on trial today. Today, you are deciding not my fate but yours, and you still have a chance to do the right thing….
“I am not promising victory tomorrow, the day after, in a year, or 10. But someday we will win, because love and youth always win. I can’t promise to make it there alive, but I really hope you live to see it.
“You know what I’m actually being tried for. For reading the constitution. For my political positions. For being named person of the year. For my principles. For my actions.
“The Nazi regime eventually crumbled, as will the fascist regime in Russia. I don’t know when it will happen, be it a week, a year, or decade, but I know that someday we will be victorious, because love and youth always prevail….
“Sophie Scholl’s last words before her execution were, ‘The sun still shines.’ Indeed, the sun still shines. I couldn’t see it out the window of the detention center, but I always knew it was there. And if now, in such dark times, we can turn to the light, then maybe victory isn’t so far after all.”
Continuing his speech on the Congressional steps, Jason Watson said:
“The constitutional impeachment process is our best pathway to restore fidelity to our Constitution….
“But Congress remains unconvinced of the urgency and necessity of honoring its oath. So we must persuade them with our unrelenting, uncompromising civil resistance. I am calling on average Americans everywhere to peacefully exercise your First Amendment rights every day until this administration is removed and our democratic republic is restored.
I believe in America. I believe in us.
Initially, Watson had been accompanied by the Texas Democratic Congressman Al Green, but when he left the area, police said he needed to stop his protest or be arrested. Protests are prohibited at the U.S. Capitol unless participants are accompanied by a member of Congress.
Watson refused, so Capitol Police arrested him for “Crowding, Obstructing and Incommoding.”
According to an Air Force spokesperson, Watson has received at least 19 awards and seven decorations during his 17-year career.
He could be court-martialed or face disciplinary measures under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
In his 1960 poem, “Conversation With an American Writer,” the Russian poet, Yevgeney Yevtushenko spoke for those Russians who had maintained their integrity in the face of Stalinist terror:
“You have courage,” they tell me.
It’s not true. I was never courageous.
I simply felt it unbecoming
to stoop to the cowardice of my colleagues.
In Russia—under Vladimir Putin—acting on moral courage is no small thing.
In the United States—under Donald Trump—acting on moral courage no small thing either.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on July 15, 2026 at 12:40 am
On July 27, 2019, Olga Misik—a 17-year-old activist in the Russia of Vladimir Putin—joined thousands of people attending an unauthorized protest in Moscow against the bar on opposition activists competing for seats in the Duma (parliament) election against Putin’s lackeys.
Misik was released after the protest in 2019, but she later found herself facing charges related to a protest in 2020.
Olga was sentenced on May 11, 2021, for vandalism. She received two years and two months of “restricted liberty,” which amounted to home confinement, including a curfew that required her to be inside her house from 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Prior to her sentencing, Misik read a prepared statement to the court. Among its passages:
“Every night I wake from the smallest of sounds. I keep imagining footsteps in the hallway. Panic washes over me from the sound of the gravel crunching under the wheels of cars outside my window.
“I feel like all of the fear accumulated over the past nine months is most concentrated in this exact moment, in my final statement, because public speaking scares me more than the sentencing. My heart is racing at 151 beats per minute, and it feels as though it could explode any second now….”
On July 1, 2026, Air Force Major Jason Watson, dressed in full military uniform and holding a sign reading IMPEACH CONVICT REMOVE stood on the steps of the United States Capitol.
Speaking in a moderate, controlled voice, Watson laid out a damning indictment of the crimes thus far committed by the Trump administration:
“For the past 18 months, we the people have allowed the highest levels of the executive branch of the federal government to violate our Constitution and their oaths to it with impunity.
“When the president of the United States orders military action against foreign countries absent an emergency scenario, where American interests are under imminent dire threat as was done with Venezuela, Cuba and Iran, that’s an unconstitutional usurpation of Congress’s authority and a violation of the War Powers Clause.
Donald Trump
“These violations resulted in the deaths of 13 service members and injuries of hundreds more. For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted and removed.
“When the President of the United States grants an unelected mega-donor sweeping authority to shut down large swaths of our federal government, along with unrestricted access to our government databases, that is an unconstitutional circumvention of Congress’s advice-and-consent authority under the Appointments Clause and Congress’s power of the purse under the Appropriations Clause.
“These violations exposed every American’s sensitive personal data to leaks and exploitation, illegally terminated tens of thousands of federal civil servants, crippled support for Americans needing medical care and disaster preparedness, and—most tragically—resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of the world’s most impoverished people through the inhumane, abrupt cessation of U.S. aid.
“For this, the President and Vice President must be impeached, convicted, and removed.
Continuing her courtroom statement, Olga Misik said:
“I wasn’t scared when they put me in the detention center….My own fate was the last thing on my mind. It is very strange, maybe some sort of coping mechanism, but in those days I wasn’t afraid once….
“I was worried and stressed about how things would play out, but unafraid. The night was beautiful. I was aware that it could be my last one in freedom, and yet that did not scare me.
“However, after the search, for the past nine months, I have been scared constantly. Ever since the night in the detention center, I haven’t been able to get a good night’s sleep once.”
Continuing his speech on the Congressional steps, Jason Watson said:
“When the President of the United States directs the Department of Homeland Security to deny hundreds of people due process before illegally detaining them and sending them to a foreign prison notorious for human rights abuses, that is a violation of our Fifth and Eighth Amendment rights….
“For this, the President and Vice President must be impeached, convicted, and removed.
“When the President of the United States sponsors violence against the American people engaged in their constitutional right to peacefully assemble and protest, that is a violation of our First Amendment rights.
ICE victim Renee Good
CBP victim Alex Pretti
“Pastors praying for DHS agents were violently attacked without provocation. A legal observer lost an eye after being struck by a so-called non-lethal round fired by an ICE agent.
“A woman [Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother and poet] attempting to follow chaotic and contradictory DHS instructions was fatally shot.
“A subdued man [Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs] who posed no threat was fatally shot after having his firearm removed.
“There are innumerable more impeachable offenses that I could cover: denying congressional oversight of immigrant detention centers that look increasingly like CECOT; suing media organizations, colleges, and law firms for billions of dollars while abusing executive branch agencies to extort settlements; allowing a mega-donor to advertise products on the White House lawn; trading pardons for donations; levying illegal tariffs; weaponizing the Department of Justice against political adversaries while ignoring crimes committed by supporters and enablers; and attempting to reverse birthright citizenship through executive order.”
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In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on July 14, 2026 at 12:10 am
“I just read her final speech. And you know what? I felt ashamed,” Andrei Chvanov, from Tatarstan, wrote on Facebook.
He was referring to Olga MisIk, a 17-year-old activist in the Russia of President Vladimir Putin.
“Because my threshold of fear is much lower….She holds strong, jokes, writes, and is 100 percent sure that she is right. And she is right. She sees the truth. And she is not afraid. Not many people in our country have such a gift.”
On July 27, 2019, Misik was among thousands of people attending an unauthorized protest in Moscow against the bar on opposition activists competing for seats in the Duma (parliament) election against Putin’s lackeys.
Heavily-armed riot police—wielding shields, batons and helmets—stood behind her. As if oblivious to their presence, Olga sat cross-legged in the middle of the street.
She pulled out her copy of Russia’s 1993 constitution and began reading from it.
Olga Misik
“I read four sections,” she said in a later interview with the BBC. “An article talking about the right to peacefully protest, an article saying that everyone can take part in elections, has the right to freedom of speech and that the people’s will and power are the most important thing for the country.
“The situation in Russia is currently extremely unstable. The authorities are clearly getting very scared if they are consolidating armed forces from different parts of the country to chase peaceful protesters. And people’s mentality has changed, as I can see.”
Olga left the scene after the reading, but was later arrested on her way to a metro station. She was among more than 1,000 protesters arrested as a result of the rally. She had been detained four times in the past three months. She said she was peacefully protesting each time.
Misik was released after the protest in 2019, but she later faced charges related to a protest in 2020.
Although she is in no way biologically related to United States Air Force Major Jason Watson, in spirit they could easily be sister and brother.
Jason Watson
On July 1, 2026, Watson, dressed in full military uniform and holding a sign reading
IMPEACH
CONVICT
REMOVE
stood on the steps of the United States Capitol, where protests are prohibited unless participants are accompanied by a member of Congress. Speaking in a moderate, controlled voice, Watson laid out a damning indictment of the crimes thus far committed by the Trump administration:
“My name is Jason Watson. I’m an active-duty major in the United States Air Force. However, who I am is immaterial. In the grand scheme of things, I’m just a nobody. What matters far more than who I am is what I have to say and the price I’m willing to pay to say it.
“I, Jason Paul Watson, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
“That I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I’m about to enter. So help me God.
“I first swore this oath over 20 years ago upon entering basic cadet training at the United States Air Force Academy in late June of 2005. I’ve repeated it many times over since then. The oath of office means everything to me. It is foundational to our system of governance in the United States.
“The oath ensures that officials of our government owe allegiance not to any individual or political party, but to our Constitution and the democratic republic it represents.”
According to the Moscow Times, Olga and two friends were accused of vandalism after police said they hung a banner supporting Putin arch-foe Alexi Navalny and other political prisoners on a government building.
In addition, said the indictment, they “splashed red paint on a security booth outside the Prosecutor General’s Office building in August 2020.”
Vladimir Putin
Misik wrote on social media that she was dragged out of her home by police after the 2020 protest.
Olga was sentenced on May 11, 2021, for vandalism. She received two years and two months of “restricted liberty,” which amounted to home confinement, including a curfew that required her to be inside her house from 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Her two friends received similar sentences.
Prior to her sentencing, Misik read a prepared statement to the court. Among its most moving passages:
“People often asked, ‘Aren’t I scared?’ More commonly outside the country than in Russia, because they don’t get the reality of life in Russia. They don’t understand the knock on the door in the middle of the night, the arrests and imprisonment without reason or cause.
“They don’t realize that the feeling of despair is passed on to us through our mothers’ milk. And that that feeling of despair causes any semblance of fear to atrophy, infecting us with learned hopelessness. What use is fear if you have no say in your future?
“However, after the search, for the past nine months, I have been scared constantly. Ever since the night in the detention center, I haven’t been able to get a good night’s sleep once.”
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In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on June 25, 2026 at 12:05 am
On June 11, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom addressed not only President Donald Trump’s response to civil disorders in Los Angeles, but the threat he posed to California, every other state—and democracy itself.
* * * * *
Donald Trump, without consulting with California’s law enforcement leaders, commandeered 2,000 of our state’s National Guard members to deploy on our streets. Illegally, and for no reason.
Donald Trump
This brazen abuse of power by a sitting President inflamed a combustible situation … putting our people, our officers, and the National Guard at risk.
That’s when the downward spiral began.
He doubled down on his dangerous National Guard deployment by fanning the flames even harder. And the President did it on purpose.
As the news spread throughout LA, anxiety for family and friends ramped up.
Protests started again. By night, several dozen lawbreakers became violent and destructive. They vandalized property. They tried to assault police officers.
Many of you have seen video clips of cars burning on cable news. If you incite violence or destroy our communities, you are going to be held accountable. That kind of criminal behavior will not be tolerated.
Full stop. Already, more than 370 people have been arrested. And we’re reviewing tapes to build additional cases, and people will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Again, thanks to our law enforcement officers and the majority of Angelenos who protested peacefully, this situation was winding down and was concentrated in just a few square blocks downtown.
But that’s not what Donald Trump wanted. He again chose escalation; he chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety – he federalized another 2,000 Guard members. He deployed more than 700 active U.S. Marines.
These are men and women trained in foreign combat, not domestic law enforcement.
Trump is pulling a military dragnet across LA, well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals. His agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers and seamstresses.
That’s just weakness. Weakness, masquerading as strength.
Donald Trump’s government isn’t protecting our communities – they are traumatizing our communities. And that seems to be the point.
California will keep fighting on behalf of our people – all of our people – including in the courts. Yesterday, we filed a legal challenge to President Trump’s reckless deployment of American troops to a major American city.
Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves. But they do not stop there. Trump and his loyalists thrive on division because it allows them to take more power and exert even more control.
By the way, Trump – he’s not opposed to lawlessness and violence, as long as it serves HIM. What more evidence do we need than January 6th?
I ask everyone to take the time to reflect on this perilous moment. A president who wants to be bound by no law or constitution. Perpetrating a unified assault on American traditions.
Gavin Newsom
This is a President who, in just over 140 days, has fired government watchdogs that could hold him accountable for corruption and fraud. He’s declared a war on culture, on history, on science – on knowledge itself. Databases, quite literally vanishing.
He’s delegitimizing news organizations and assaulting the First Amendment. At the threat of defunding them, he’s dictating what universities can teach. Targeting law firms and the judicial branch that are the foundation of an orderly, civil society.
Calling for a sitting Governor [Newsom himself] to be arrested for no other reason than – to use his words – “for getting elected.”
Look, this isn’t just about protests in LA. When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation. This is about all of us. This is about you.
California may be first – but it clearly won’t end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next.
Democracy is under assault right before our eyes – the moment we’ve feared has arrived. He’s taking a wrecking ball to our founding fathers’ historic project: Three independent, coequal branches of government.
There are no longer any checks and balances. Congress is nowhere to be found. [House] Speaker [Mike] Johnson has completely abdicated that responsibility.
The rule of law has increasingly given way to the rule of Don.
The founding fathers did not live and die to see this moment. It’s time for all of us to stand up. [Supreme Court Justice Louis] Brandeis said it best: In a democracy, the most important office is not president, it’s certainly not governor. The most important office is office of citizen.
At this moment, we must all stand up and be held to a higher level of accountability. If you exercise your First Amendment rights, please do so peacefully.
I know many of you are feeling deep anxiety, stress, and fear. But I want you to know that YOU are the antidote to that fear and anxiety.
What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty. Your silence. To be complicit in this moment. Do NOT give in to him.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on June 24, 2026 at 12:10 am
History is filled with examples of men—and women—who in moments of crisis rose to challenge a deadly enemy. One of these is California Governor Gavin C. Newsom.
On June 6, 2025, protests erupted in Los Angeles against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The demonstrations were triggered by ICE raids at multiple locations in the city to arrest suspected illegal aliens.
On the evening of June 7, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum deploying 2,000 members of the California National Guard to the protests for either 60 days or for a length of time “at the discretion of the secretary of defense.”
He did so without the request—or consent—of Governor Newsom.
If a Democratic President did so in a Republican state, Congressional Republicans would scream “STATES’ RIGHTS!” and accuse the President of being a dictator. But since Trump is a Republican, Congressional Republicans enthusiastically supported his action.
National Guard troops in L.A.
In a tweet, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that active duty Marines were on “high alert” at Camp Pendleton.
And Trump later threatened to “have troops everywhere” if the protests spread to other cities. “If we see danger to our country and our citizens,” the Marines would be deployed to Los Angeles.
Newsom retorted that the National Guard—and especially the Marines—weren’t needed. The LAPD and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were fully capable of protecting Federal property and dispersing the protesters.
He called on Trump to return control of the Guard to California—and withdraw the Marines, who are trained for combat, not handling civil unrest.
Thomas Homan, White House Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, told NBC News that Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass could potentially face federal charges over their response to the ICE raids.
Homan had previously threatened arrest for anyone who obstructed immigration enforcement. When asked whether that would include Newsom or Bass, Homan did not rule it out.
“I’ll say it about anybody,” Homan said. “You cross that line, it’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It’s a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job.”
Tom Homan
Newsom quickly responded to Homan: “Trump’s border czar is threatening to arrest me for speaking out. Come and get me, tough guy.
“What the hell are they doing? These guys need to grow up, they need to stop and we need to push back and I’m sorry to be so clear but that kind of bloviating is exhausting. So Tom, arrest me. Let’s go.”
Homan just as quickly backed down: “There’s no intention to arrest the governor right now. I don’t know if he crossed that line.” Homan said he would “leave that up” to the Justice Department.
When asked about the idea of arresting Newsom, Trump said, “I’d do it if I were Tom. Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing.”
On June 11, Newsom addressed not only Trump’s response to civil disorders in Los Angeles, but the threat he posed to California, every other state—and democracy itself.
GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM’S ADDRESS TO CALIFORNIA: DEMOCRACY AT A CROSSROADS ON JUNE 11, 2025
I want to say a few words about the events of the last few days. This past weekend, federal agents conducted large-scale workplace raids in and around Los Angeles. Those raids continue as I speak.
California is no stranger to immigration enforcement. But instead of focusing on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records and people with final deportation orders – a strategy both parties have long supported – this administration is pushing mass deportations.
Indiscriminately targeting hardworking immigrant families, regardless of their roots or risk.
What’s happening right now is very different than anything we’ve seen before. On Saturday morning, when federal agents jumped out of an unmarked van near a Home Depot parking lot, they began grabbing people.
A deliberate targeting of a heavily Latino suburb.
A similar scene also played out when a clothing company was raided downtown.
In other actions: a US citizen, 9 months pregnant – arrested.
A four-year-old girl – taken.
Families separated. Friends disappearing.
In response, everyday Angelinos came out to exercise their Constitutional right to free speech and assembly. To protest their government’s actions.
In turn, the State of California and the City and County of Los Angeles sent our police officers to help keep the peace, and with some exceptions, they were successful.
Like many states, California is no stranger to this sort of civil unrest. We manage it regularly … and with our own law enforcement.
But this, again, was different.
What then ensued was the use of tear gas. Flash-bang grenades. Rubber bullets. Federal agents, detaining people and undermining their due process rights.
Donald Trump, without consulting with California’s law enforcement leaders, commandeered 2,000 of our state’s National Guard members to deploy on our streets. Illegally, and for no reason.
This brazen abuse of power by a sitting President inflamed a combustible situation … putting our people, our officers, and the National Guard at risk.
That’s when the downward spiral began.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on June 23, 2026 at 12:10 am
History is filled with examples of men—and women—who in moments of crisis rose to challenge a deadly enemy.
Among these have been:
- Joan of Arc
- William Barret Travis
- Volodmyr Zelensky
Volofmyr Zelensky (January 25, 1978 – ) is a former attorney, actor and comedian who, as the sixth president of Ukraine, now leads his country in a life-or-death struggle against the aggressive Russia of Vladimir Putin.
In 2021, his administration came under mounting pressure from Russia. On February 24, 2022, Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
During the assault by Russian troops on the capital of Kiev, the Biden administration urged Zelensky to evacuate to a safer location and offered to help him do so. Zelensky refused, saying: “The fight is here [in Kiev]; I need ammunition, not a ride.”
As CBS correspondent Scott Pelley put it: “The moment Zelensky told his people he refused to flee, they refused to fall.”
Russia expected Kiev to fall in three days. But more than four years after the invasion, Kiev still remains defiant—and in the hands of Ukrainians.
When Zelensky wasn’t broadcasting defiance at Russia and rousing Ukrainians to heroism, he was often visiting the battlefront. Zelensky sees Ukraine’s struggle as the opening round of Russia’s war against the West:
“Some are….saying, ‘We can’t defend Ukraine because there could be a nuclear war.’ I think that today, no one in this world can predict what Russia will do.
“If they invade further into our territory, then they will definitely move closer and closer to Europe. They will only become stronger and less predictable.”
Millions of Americans—such as those who took part in nationwide “No Kings” protests on June 14, 2025—feel the same way about Donald Trump and his own dictatorial regime.
Which leads to:
Gavin Christopher Newsom (October 10, 1967) has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he imposed strict lockdown measures, thus saving countless lives by preventing a far greater spread of the virus.
Gavin Newsom
In doing so, he aroused the wrath of then-President Donald J. Trump, who promoted false “cures” such as drinking bleach and shining UV light up people’s rectums. Trump’s goal: “Keep America open” so he could take credit for a robust economy—and win re-election—no matter how many people died.
And Newsom has continued to challenge a re-elected Trump’s lies and illegal actions:
- Trump has targeted the governor on social media, often referring to him as “Newscum.”
- And Newsom has proven he can give as good as he gets: He has highlighted U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data demonstrating that California created more jobs than any other state between the first quarters of 2025 and 2026.
- He has openly criticized Trump for policies that cut good-paying clean energy jobs and weaken environmental safeguards.
- The two routinely trade personal barbs on X over state issues like wildfire management, homelessness and California’s high-speed rail project.
- In January 2026, Trump gave a speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Afterward, Newsom publicly mocked it as “boring” and “boorish.”
- Newsom’s team accused the White House of blocking him from accessing the “USA House” headquarters at the summit.
On June 15, 2026, Newsom accused Trump of launching a politically motivated investigation into him and his wife: “They have not found a crime—they are simply trying to find one.
“He’s coming after me because I’m considering running for president, because he hates that I’ve consistently called him out over and over again for his lies and deceit.”
He added that federal agents had in recent days knocked on the doors of his friends and former employees, asking for records.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
On June 6, 2025, protests erupted in Los Angeles against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The demonstrations were triggered by ICE raids at multiple locations in the city to arrest suspected illegal aliens.
The first raid occurred within the Los Angeles Fashion District; two other raids occurred at a clothing wholesaler and a Home Depot in upscale Westlake.
Word of these arrests quickly spread, and so did demonstrations, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stating that 44 people were arrested for suspected immigration violations and one person was arrested for obstruction.
David Huerta, the California president of the Service Employees International Union, was arrested for blocking a vehicle and charged with felony conspiracy to impede an officer.
The epicenter of the protests became the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center at 535 N Alameda Street. About 200 protesters remained at the facility by 7 p.m., when the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) declared the protest to be an unlawful assembly and ordered protesters to disperse
Some protesters hurled chunks of broken concrete toward officers; the LAPD responded with tear gas, pepper spray and flash-bang grenades to disperse the crowd. At 8:24 p.m. a citywide tactical alert was announced.
On June 7, the protests continued. About 1,000 people surrounded a local branch building used by Homeland Security.
Newsom deployed California Highway Patrol units to protect Los Angeles freeways.
By June 7, 118 illegal aliens had been arrested in Los Angeles, according to the DHS.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on June 22, 2026 at 12:10 am
On November 30, 1954—the 80th birthday of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill—he gave an uncharacteristically modest assessment of his World War II legacy:
“It was the nation and the race dwelling all around the globe that had the lion’s heart. I had the luck to be called upon to give the roar.”
But author William Manchester was having nothing of it. In his monumental trilogy, The Last Lion, he wrote:
“It wasn’t that simple. The spirit, if indeed within them, lay dormant until he became prime minister and they, kindled by his soaring prose, came to see themselves as he saw them and emerged a people transformed, the admiration of free men everywhere.”
Winston Churchill
History is filled with examples of men—and women—who in moments of crisis rose to challenge a deadly enemy.
Among these have been:
- Joan of Arc
- William Barret Travis
- Volodmyr Zelensky
Joan of Arc (c. 1412 – 30 May 1431) was an illiterate peasant girl who, in France’s darkest hour, became its greatest hero. After she arranged an interview with King Charles V11, he sent her with a relief army to lift the siege of Orléans.
Joan of Arc
She had never wielded a lance or sword, or even ridden a war horse. She had never studied military strategy nor even seen a battlefield. Yet nine days after arriving with an army at Orléans, she lifted the English siege of the city on May 8, 1429.
On May 4, her army attacked the outlying fortress of Saint Loup. She arrived just as the French soldiers were retreating after a failed attempt. Her sudden appearance roused the soldiers to cheer and launch another assault—which overwhelmed the fortress.
In June, Joan decisively defeated the English at the Battle of Patay. She then advanced on Reims, entering the city on July 16. The next day, Charles, the rightful heir to the French throne, was consecrated as the King of France in Reims Cathedral with Joan at his side.
These victories paved the way for the final French victory in the Hundred Years’ War at Castillon in 1453.
On May 23, 1430, while relieving the siege of Compiegne, she was captured by Burgundians troops and exchanged to the English. Tried for heresy, she was declared guilty and burned at the stake on May 30,1431.
Only 19 when she died, she had, through her inspired leadership, restored the kingdom of France.
William Barret Travis (August 1, 1809 – March 6, 1836) was a South Carolina lawyer whose courage and eloquence inspired 200 Texans at the Alamo to hold back an army of 2,000 Mexican soldiers.
William Barret Travis
Few of the defenders had known each other before finding themselves besieged. None of them had had professional military training. Some had served in local militias or as irregulars fighting Indians under the command of frontier officers such as Andrew Jackson. Since the vast majority of the garrison were volunteers, they could have deserted the fortress at any time.
Holding them in place was Travis. Gifted with an eloquence beyond his 26 years, he gave purpose to their stand. As historian T.R. Fehrenbach writes in his monumental book, Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans:
“From the Alamo, from his first message before the arrival of the Mexicans to his last, his words had the ring of prophecy. The Texas historian who stated publicly that few people would want to have a son serve under William Barret Travis had forgotten, in the comforts of long security, the reasons why men make war.”
When the final assault came before dawn on March 6, 1836, the roughly 200 defenders killed and wounded about 600 of their enemies—inflicting a casualty rate of 33% on the Mexican army.
Travis’ body was found near his cannon on the north wall. He had been shot through the forehead.
The garrison’s sacrifice inspired Sam Houston’s ragtag army to fall on the Mexican army at San Jacinto on April 21. Slaughtering about 800 soldiers, the Texans captured Mexican dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna—and forced him to surrender control of Texas in return for his life.
Volofmyr Zelensky (January 25, 1978 – ) is a former attorney, actor and comedian who, as the sixth president of Ukraine, now leads his country in a life-or-death struggle against the aggressive Russia of Vladimir Putin.
After earning a law degree from Kiev National Economic University, he pursued a career in comedy. He created his own production company, Kvartal 95, which produced films, cartoons, and TV shows. His comedy, Servant of the People, starred Zelensky as the president of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky
In 2019, he announced his candidacy for president of Ukraine. He opposed the corruption that had been rife under the country’s luxury-loving president, Victor Yanukovych.
(In 2014, Ukrainians had rioted in Kiev and evicted Yanukovych. And that didn’t sit well with his “sponsor”—Russian President Vladimir Putin.)
A second feature of Zelensky’s presidential campaign: He promised to resolve the Russia-sponsored separatist movement in Donbas and end Ukraine’s protracted conflict there with Russia.
Zelensky won election by a landslide, with 72% of the vote.
In 2021, his administration came under mounting pressure from Russia. On February 24, 2022, Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on May 15, 2026 at 12:08 am
The appointment of Robert S. Mueller as Special Counsel on May 17, 2017, aroused President Donald Trump’s greatest fears.
But in the end, Mueller did not dare force Trump to testify under oath. Nor did he issue a subpoena to compel Trump’s in-person testimony. The reason: To avoid a “protracted legal fight” that would have delayed the conclusion of the 22-month investigation.
Trump’s supporters claimed that he had been exonerated. In fact, the report did not exonerate him.
Yet even before the release of the long-awaited Mueller report, several deeply-researched and well-written books outlined Russia’s efforts to subvert the 2016 Presidential race. And they cast devastating light on Trump’s loyalty to the United States.
Among these:
- The Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of Democracy, by Greg Miller
- House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia, by Craig Unger
- Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, by Michael Isikoff
- The Plot to Destroy Democracy: How Putin and His Spies Are Undermining America and Dismantling the West, by Malcom W. Nance
According to its blurb on Amazon.com, The Apprentice is “based on interviews with hundreds of people in Trump’s inner circle, current and former government officials, individuals with close ties to the White House, members of the law enforcement and intelligence communities, foreign officials, and confidential documents.”
Among the subjects it covers:
- The Trump Tower meeting, where the Trump campaign sought “dirt” on Hillary Clinton from Russian Intelligence agents;
- The penetration by Russian Intelligence of computer systems used by Democrats;
- How Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, tried to set up a secret back channel to Moscow via Russian diplomatic facilities;
- Trump’s giving Russian officials highly classified secrets supplied by Israeli Intelligence;
- Trump’s clashes with the FBI and CIA.
Miller is a veteran investigative journalist and twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Among his stories: National security adviser Michael Flynn’s discussing ending U.S. sanctions on Russia with Russian officials prior to Trump’s inauguration. The story contributed to Flynn’s ouster.
House of Trump, House of Putin, whose jacket blurb describes Trump’s inauguration as “the culmination of Vladimir Putin’s long mission to undermine Western democracy, a mission that he and his hand-selected group of oligarchs and Mafia kingpins had ensnared Trump in, starting more than twenty years ago with the massive bailout of a string of sensational Trump hotel and casino failures in Atlantic City.
“…Craig Unger methodically traces the deep-rooted alliance between the highest echelons of American political operatives and the biggest players in the frightening underworld of the Russian Mafia. He traces Donald Trump’s sordid ascent from foundering real estate tycoon to leader of the free world….
“Without Trump, Russia would have lacked a key component in its attempts to return to imperial greatness. Without Russia, Trump would not be president.”
As an appendix to the book, Unger writes: “Donald Trump has repeatedly said he has nothing to do with Russia. Below are fifty-nine Trump connections to Russia.”
Russian Roulette, according to its dust jacket, “is a story of political skullduggery unprecedented in American history. It weaves together tales of international intrigue, cyber espionage, and superpower rivalry.
“After U.S.-Russia relations soured, as Vladimir Putin moved to reassert Russian strength on the global stage, Moscow trained its best hackers and trolls on U.S. political targets and exploited WikiLeaks to disseminate information that could affect the 2016 election.
“The Russians were wildly successful and the great break-in of 2016 was no ‘third-rate burglary.’ It was far more sophisticated and sinister—a brazen act of political espionage designed to interfere with American democracy. At the end of the day, Trump, the candidate who pursued business deals in Russia, won….
“This story of high-tech spying and multiple political feuds is told against the backdrop of Trump’s strange relationship with Putin and the curious ties between members of his inner circle—including Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn—and Russia.”
Malcom Nance, the author of The Plot to Destroy Democracy, is an Intelligence and foreign policy analyst and media commentator on terrorism, Intelligence, insurgency and torture.
In his book, he outlines how “Donald Trump was made President of the United States with the assistance of a foreign power.
“[It is] the dramatic story of how blackmail, espionage, assassination, and psychological warfare were used by Vladimir Putin and his spy agencies to steal the 2016 U.S. election—and attempted to bring about the fall of NATO, the European Union, and western democracy….
“Nance has utilized top secret Russian-sourced political and hybrid warfare strategy documents to demonstrate the master plan to undermine American institutions that has been in effect from the Cold War to the present day.
“Based on original research and countless interviews with espionage experts, Nance examines how Putin’s recent hacking accomplished a crucial first step for destabilizing the West for Russia, and why Putin is just the man to do it.”
These books—combined with the findings of the Mueller report—clearly establish the damning conclusion: The man who sat in the Oval Office from 2017 to 2021 and who sits in it now—was an illegitimate usurper, installed by an unholy alliance of American Fascists and Russian Communists.
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In Bureaucracy, Business, History, Military, Politics, Social commentary on April 20, 2026 at 12:05 am
The “negotiating” methods of German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler serve as a useful guide to what domestic and world leaders can expect from trying to reach an agreement with President Donald Trump.
In September, 1938, seven months after seizing Austria, Hitler gave another exhibition of his “negotiating” methods.
This time, the target of his aggression was Czechoslovakia. Once again, he opened “negotiations” with a lie: The Czechoslovak government was trying to exterminate 3.5 million Germans living in the “Sudetenland.”
Then he threatened war: Germany would protect its citizens and halt such “oppression.”
For British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, the thought of another European war erupting less than 20 years after the end of World War I was simply unthinkable.
He quickly sent Hitler a telegram, offering to help resolve the crisis: “I could come to you by air and am ready to leave tomorrow. Please inform me of earliest time you can receive me, and tell me the place of the meeting. I should be grateful for a very early reply.”
[Mistake #1: Showing his willingness to placate a brutal dictator. Such men see any concessions as weakness—leading to only greater demands. Trump, like Hitler, relishes attacking those weaker than himself.]
The two European leaders met in Berchtesgaden, Germany, on September 15, 1938.
Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler
Hitler denied that he had threatened war: “Force? Who speaks of force?“
Then, suddenly, he accused the Czechs of having mobilized their army in May. They had mobilized—in response to the mobilization of the German army.
“I shall not put up with this any longer,” shouted Hitler. “I shall settle this question in one way or another. I shall take matters in my own hands!”
Suddenly, Chamberlain seemed alarmed: “If I understood you right, you are determined to proceed against Czechoslovakia in any case. In the circumstances, it is best for me to return at once. Anything else now seems pointless.”
Hitler, taken aback, softened his tone and said they should consider the Sudetenland according to the principle of self-determination.
Chamberlain agreed to the cession of the Sudetenland. Three days later, French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier did the same. No Czechoslovak representative was invited to these discussions.
[Mistake #2: Instead of conceding to Hitler, which emboldened the dictator, Chamberlain should have pressed his advantage. When Hitler faced an opponent he couldn’t bribe or cow—such as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill or Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin—he raged and sulked.
[When Trump faces an opponent he can’t buy or intimidate—such as Special Counsels Robert Mueller and Jack Smith—he does the same.]
Chamberlain met Hitler again in Godesberg, Germany, on September 22 to confirm the agreements. But Hitler aimed to use the crisis as a pretext for war.
He now demanded not only the annexation of the Sudetenland but the immediate military occupation of the territories. This would give the Czechoslovak army no time to adapt their defense measures to the new borders.
To achieve a solution, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini suggested a conference of the major powers in Munich.
On September 29, Hitler, Daladier and Chamberlain met and agreed to Mussolini’s proposal. They signed the Munich Agreement, which accepted the immediate occupation of the Sudetenland.
The Czechoslovak government had not been a party to the talks. Nevertheless, it promised to abide by the agreement on September 30.
It actually had no choice. It faced the threat of an immediate German invasion after being deserted by its pledged allies: Britain, France and the Soviet Union.
[Mistake #3: Selling out an ally and making a concession to an insatiable dictator—and believing that Hitler could be trusted to keep his word.
[Just as Chamberlain sold out Czechoslovakia, Trump plans on selling out Ukraine to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. He’s blamed Ukraine for starting the 2022 war—even though Russia invaded Ukraine.
[He’s also attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky—and repeatedly praised Putin. And he’s unilaterally announced that he will begin directing “peace talks” with Putin to end his war on Ukraine.]
Chamberlain returned to England a hero. Holding aloft a copy of the worthless agreement he had signed with Hitler, he told cheering crowds in London: “I believe it is peace for our time.”
Neville Chamberlain
Hitler—still planning more conquests—knew better. In March, 1939, the German army occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia.
Chamberlain would soon be seen as a naive weakling—even before bombs started falling on London.
Believing himself invincible, Hitler turned his attention—and demands—to Poland.
Adolf Hitler and his generals
Believing himself invincible, Trump threatened violence against Canada, Greenland and Cuba.
Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. To his surprise, France and England honored their pledges to support Poland—triggering World War II.
On February 28, 2026, Trump—in concert with Israel–attacked Iran without warning. To his surprise, the Iranians closed the Straight of Hormuz, through which 20-30% of the world’s oil total daily oil supply passes.
Hitler couldn’t “turn off” the war he had started. He could only lash out as his enemies multiplied.
The same has proven true for Trump.
Bureaucracybuster's Blog 
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SECURITY THEATER IS ONLY THEATER–NOT SECURITY
In Bureaucracy, Business, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on July 24, 2026 at 12:10 amIn 2005—four years after 9/11—Congress passed the Real ID Act as a counter-terrorism measure. Its goal was to set security standards for government-issued IDs.
The Act was introduced in late 2013. But it wasn’t until September 10, 2020, that the Department of Homeland Security announced that all 50 states were in compliance in issuing identification complying with the standards of the Act.
Only those holding such ID may pass through airport security—for domestic flights as well as international ones—and enter certain federal facilities.
So what is the easiest way to get a REAL ID?
According to the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA):
“Visit your state’s driver’s licensing agency website to find out exactly what documentation is required to obtain a REAL ID. At a minimum, you must provide documentation showing:
So much of what passes for security is actually security theater. It doesn’t actually make us safer, but it makes us feel safer.
And it makes us feel the government is keeping us safe, even when it isn’t.
Consider:
After 9/11, thousands of National Guard troops were deployed to airports nationwide as a highly visible show of force to deter further attacks and reassure a panicked public. The public would not have felt so reassured had it known the Guards were carrying unloaded M-16 rifles.
In addition, these “weekend warriors” were not trained detectives. So they didn’t know how to spot a potential terrorist—although they were a likely deterrent against purse-snatchers.
Other examples of security theater include:
Sample state ID card that’s acceptable under the Real ID Act
Consider this: A friend of mine—whom I’ll call Jack—recently applied for a Real ID card as issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. He brought a certified copy of his birth certificate, bills from AT&T and Pacific Gas and Electric.
The birth certificate easily passed muster. But for a moment there was a problem with the bills from the utility companies: Jack had been getting his mail through a P.O. box, rather than at the apartment building where he lived.
And the “examiner” wanted to see a document with his home address on it.
Fortunately, Jack was able to fish out another bill with that on it. The “examiner” was satisfied, and Jack left the DMV assured that he would soon receive his TSA-approved Real ID card.
So: How does showing a utility bill document prove your integrity?
No doubt Mohammed Atta—the ringleader of the September 11, 2001 attacks—faithfully paid his utility bills—right up to the day when he highjacked American Airlines Flight 11 and crashed the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
And, yes, a birth certificate proves you were born in the United States—but so was Timothy McVeigh, who, in 1995, blew up the Oklahoma City Federal Building, killing 168 people.
Nor does a “school document”—which can get you a Real ID card—reveal anything about the character of the person.
Theodore Bundy attended the University of Puget Sound and the University of Washington—before embarking on his career as a burglar, kidnapper, rapist and serial killer.
Another form of security theater includes checking photo IDs to enter State and Federal office buildings.
Knowing a person’s identity is useful—if you have a reliable database system to match it against, such as the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
But if you lack this, forcing people to “show me your ID” is pointless. And that’s assuming the ID isn’t fraudulent.
But people watching the guard performing this security theater ritual assume: “The guard must know what he’s looking for. So we have to be safer for his checking those IDs.”
In fact, most security guards have little training and even less experience. Many of them don’t carry firearms and lack self-defense skills.
According to Salary.com: The median annual salary for an unarmed security guard is $38,697.
Not exactly a salary geared to attract “the best and the brightest,” is it?
Making all of this even more infuriating: In August, 2021, at least 76,000 unvetted Afghans were admitted into the United States.
The reason: They were too cowardly to fight the Taliban.
Americans had spent 20 years training them to do just that. And as soon as the Taliban launched a major offensive, they fled to Kabul Airport—leaving their wives, girlfriends, mothers and sisters behind to face slavery and brutality.
So while cowardly Afghans—many of whom no doubt had terrorist backgrounds—didn’t have to prove themselves trustworthy, lifelong and law-abiding Americans must.
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