Where were you? along with a photo of a peaceful/standing twin towers.
My response:
With my GF in Kingston. Had already done some time in uniform. Took me several years to become skeptical and see that the federal government and the press had lost credibility.
Today:
My feeling is that a man on the moon in 1969 was a proud American moment. That was maybe the best of America in my lifetime.
“What I remember most about 9/11 is the way America was unified the day after. During uncontrollable times we controlled our response. Race, Gender and Political Party were equally irrelevant.”
“We focused on loving each other, how did we get so segregated? We never would have made it this far if we embraced division on September the 12th. We are where we are because we got here TOGETHER let’s embrace love yet again.”
“God Bless The USA.”
My response:
Good Stuff
Let’s keep that and add a free and independent press that will ask questions/rock the boat, no matter who is in office.
The mainstream press provides news coverage that favors government agencies, departments and policies.
We got our ass kicked on 911.The federal government has been squandering credibility ever since. If the US Armed Forces were keeping us safe– first responders would have had a routine day at work on 911. The giant government and “Dept of Defense” were nowhere to be found on 911. For federal government convenience, take the day, follow along, pledge your allegiance and behave as that government sees fit. Do as you are told. Fly your flag as you are told. Think and behave as that government tells you. Divert your attention away from federal government failure and stay busy with federal suggestions for the day.
Here at Oak Bay Starfish, we will observe the day by avoiding network TV. At the bottom of this page, we will offer up some readings featuring voices of dissent and alternative media.
Aftermath
Let’s say the federal government did everything right before and on the day of Sept. 11th, 2001. The uniparty press avoids questions on how things have come together since.
Big Homeland Security spending
The US Dept of Homeland Security was established on November 25, 2002. Plenty of time for lessons learned, and more cartel drugs entering Hometown, USA than ever before?
Lessons Learned?
Anytime there is a plane crash, a loss at sea, or an industrial accident, a thorough investigation takes place. Lessons learned are used to prevent future accidents. A major aircraft manufacturer grounds certain airplanes after mishaps. Time is required to investigate and find out what went wrong.
Any similar effort after a big cartel drug bust inside the US?
The folks who show up and investigate the plane crash don’t spend time congratulating each other. Their work is designed to try and prevent similar future incidents, not promote themselves.
Preventing drugs from entering local communities would kill the chance for various agencies to get publicity for the occasional big drug bust happening in those communities.
Wonder what was happening at border crossing/port of entry inspections during the 12 months Operation P-22 (to take down just one branch of the cartel activity) took place. Do the good guys who made the local bust notify the good guys at the border about the weak links in their process?
Were federal authorities at the border notified of this ongoing investigation?
Did the cartel traffickers get fast track screening at the border so as not to disrupt this ongoing investigation?
If the drug traffickers were given a pass at the border- would that have tipped them off as to the investigation- or would that have been seen as standard protocol?
Imagine that LE authorities observe a shoplifter or bank robber in action. Instead of going in to make an arrest they back off and conduct an investigation that goes on for months. What if they applied the same tactic Re: crimes involving arson, terrorism, child abuse, DUI, etc.
This time next year- will there be any shortage of cartel product in the Puget Sound area? Has any city, county or state jurisdiction been able to cleanup their drug problem using these methods?
Snohomish 2015
Local law enforcement agencies may benefit when the US Dept. of Homeland Security fails to keep heroin out of the US:
Newspeople are good about posting a drug bust press release. Newspeople remain silent when it comes to asking questions about Homeland Security funding and performance.
Big DOD spending on undeclared/unwon wars for our freedoms.
School children are taught about a free enterprise system. They grow up to find out that the federal government will tell them what kind of shower head they must install in the bathroom, and what type of gas can they must buy for their lawn mower.
Did hostile forces in distant lands attempt to replace US consumer demand with government demand and end the free enterprise system?
Several news sources published this quote. View them here.
The idea that sending hometown troops to Africa would be linked in any way with keeping the people of Salisbury Maryland safe and free calls for more discussion.
Mayor Day,
While the troops were deployed, federal law was signed prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to adults age 18-20.
Can you help us to understand the militarized version of freedom here?
Freedoms come and go. None of the above are linked in any way with The Joint Chiefs of Staff, The Troops, The Dept. of Defense or the outcome of military operations overseas.
Maybe a few more decades of undeclared/unwon wars and the freedoms will get better.
Why do we speak of the US Armed Forces as if they function as some sort of giant civil rights organization?
Both major parties are OK with treating 18-20 year old adults as second-class citizens.
Both major parties are good with a land of the free holding pattern where alcohol, marijuana, tobacco and firearms restrictions are in place for 18-20 year old adults. Is there any state where recreational marijuana laws remove prohibition for adults at age 18? Are The Joint Chiefs of Staff working to change any of this?
Doesn’t seem to fit with a society that can’t stop bragging about freedom, thanking the troops for freedoms, fighting wars for freedoms, staging military jet flyovers at sporting events for freedom, etc.
Has it become harder to find blogs, videos and alternative media that ask questions or point to the failures of 911 and its aftermath? How about COVID? How about a giant US Dept. of Homeland Security?
“Nearly 1,800 victims’ relatives, first responders and survivors are calling on Biden to refrain from attending any memorials over his refusal to release Sept. 11 documents.”
“The administrations of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump also declined to declassify supporting documents, citing national security concerns.”
22 Years Later
Part of the reaction was to send The Troops into undeclared wars.
If DOD was an NFL team, sports talk radio would feature comments like:
The Dept. of Defense was nowhere to be found on 911. We haven’t won a war since.
Any college or pro football coach would have been fired a dozen times over for what DOD has done with the US Armed Forces during the fake GWOT era.
Fake GWOT?
The US Dept. of Homeland Security was invented after the catastrophic military failure of 911. The idea was to keep bad people from coming to the US to do bad things/attempt another 911, etc.
Wouldn’t the giant War on Terror be a cartel drug trafficker’s worst nightmare?
If REAL ID is critical to the safety of America, have travelers out at the airport been less safe since 911?
The new REAL ID requirement for domestic air travel has now been extended out more than 20 years past 911 – May 7, 2025
If sending US troops to Afghanistan and creating a $51.6 billion (every 12 months) US Dept. of Homeland Security was meant to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things, why are drug cartels able to move product into all 50 states?
If the CIA (est 1947) serves as an advantage to the US, why does the Department of Defense have such a poor record of winning undeclared wars going back to 1949, the year DOD was established?
Show up early to wait in line and squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube at the airport?
What keeps the terrorists of the GWOT from creating a disruption at the back end of the screening line?
Has anyone ever seen any member of the press ask questions on this?
“What goes on at airports is not security. It is Security Theater. When the government’s own agents try to smuggle “weapons” aboard airliners to test the system, they succeed ninety-five percent of the time.”
“Further, a terrorist doesn’t need to get aboard an airliner to blow up spectacularly. At many airports, hundreds of people line up at ticket counters during peak hours. A carry-on bag of explosive would easily create enough slaughter to shut down air travel and to make international headlines for weeks.”
Will sending the National Guard, active, reserve and IRR forces to support NATO/Ukraine stimulate new enlistments over at the recruiting office?
National Guard
The people of Minnesota need more applicants to maintain a place to live and a regular job in their hometown area when they are not doing time in foreign lands helping DOD with undeclared/unwon wars and missions completely unrelated to their home state.
A few decades back, people might think of the National Guard as one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer plus a way to support your home state by being ready to get called out for floods, fires, natural disasters, civil unrest, etc. Maybe a way to help the next state over if they needed it.
Any members of the press available to show up and ask why the people of Home State, USA needed services in distant lands, absent any military emergency, national emergency, draft, or declaration of war?
Recruiting crisis for Uncle Sam? Elected officials, top Pentagon Generals and the press earned it.
Thousands of men and women who signed up for the National Guard in the past 25 years did tours in places like Syria, Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo.
These families have stories to tell and they’re not all positive. Will their stories support a draft?
The big drug bust is always reported as a real success.
Newspeople show up to ask zero questions about why cartels are somehow able to move product past US Troops at the border, strict post 911 security protocols, REAL ID verifications and a $51.6 billion (every 12 months) US Dept. of Homeland Security after cartel product arrives again in the Puget Sound area.
Lessons Learned?
Anytime there is a plane crash, a loss at sea, or an industrial accident, a thorough investigation takes place. Lessons learned are used to prevent future accidents.
Any similar effort after a big drug bust?
The folks who show up and investigate the plane crash don’t spend time congratulating each other. Their work is designed to try and prevent similar future incidents, not promote themselves.
Preventing drugs from entering local communities would kill the chance for various agencies to get publicity for the occasional big drug bust happening in those communities.
Wonder what was happening at border crossing/port of entry inspections during the 12 months Operation P-22 (to take down just one branch of the cartel activity) took place. Do the good guys who made the local bust notify the good guys at the border about the weak links in their process?
Were federal authorities at the border notified of this ongoing investigation?
Did the cartel traffickers get fast track screening at the border so as not to disrupt this ongoing investigation?
If the drug traffickers were given a pass at the border- would that have tipped them off as to the investigation- or would that have been seen as standard protocol?
Imagine that LE authorities observe a shoplifter or bank robber in action. Instead of going in to make an arrest they back off and conduct an investigation that goes on for months. What if they applied the same tactic Re: crimes involving arson, terrorism, child abuse, DUI, etc.
This time next year- will there be any shortage of cartel product in the Puget Sound area? Has any city, county or state jurisdiction been able to cleanup their drug problem using these methods?
“Over a year’s worth of hard work and investigation concluded on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2022, when detectives in Precinct 4/Burien Police Special Emphasis Team made one final seizure in ‘Operation P-22,’ one of the region’s biggest drug busts.”
Newspeople are good about posting a drug bust press release. Newspeople remain silent when it comes to asking questions about Homeland Security funding and performance.
“We can take steps to prevent this from happening again, including understanding why this event occurred and building the observation, warning, and action infrastructure as California.”
“Western Maui is typically wet in the winter and quite dry (and warm) during summer (see plot for a station near and north of Lahaina). Grass grows during the winter and then dies/cures during the summer, leaving brown desiccated grass. This is not climate change…this is the normal situation.”
“During the past weeks, profoundly flawed and error-filled stories on climate change have been headlined in the Seattle Times. Stories that can easily be demonstrated to have serious factual and interpretative errors.”
The crisis was earned by the politicians, generals, and high ranking civilians who have been running the Pentagon over the past 30 years or so. The crisis is also upon us due to newspeople not asking questions going back to the time the Cold War ended.
National Guard
Jun 30, 2022 WCCO – CBS Minnesota
1:41 Reporters interviewing reporters from within their TV studios.
Back in the 1960s, TV newspeople had a different style of reporting and working to keep the public informed.
At 3:49 an interview with Maj. Sgt. Kor. Rank insignia on uniform does not match rank description in WCCO TV news video. Weeks later, title remains uncorrected.
The people of Minnesota need more applicants to maintain a place to live and a regular job in their hometown area when they are not doing time in foreign lands helping DOD with undeclared/unwon wars and missions completely unrelated to their home state.
A few decades back, people might think of the National Guard as one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer plus a way to support your home state by being ready to get called out for floods, fires, natural disasters, civil unrest, etc. Maybe a way to help the next state over if they needed it.
Any members of the press available to show up and ask why the people of Home State, USA needed services in distant lands, absent any military emergency, national emergency, draft, or declaration of war?
Recruiting crisis for Uncle Sam? Elected officials and top Pentagon Generals earned it.
Regular Active Duty
Jul 26, 2022 CBS Evening News
If DOD was an NFL team, sports talk radio would feature comments like:
The Dept. of Defense was nowhere to be found on 911. We haven’t won a war since.
It feels like the people who run the Pentagon specialize in undeclared/unwon wars.
Recruiting crisis for Uncle Sam? Elected officials and top Pentagon Generals earned it.
The press heads out to ask top generals and recruiters what is going on. No interviews with National Guard people who have done multiple tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, etc. No interviews with Moms and Dads who have raised physically fit children but will not recommend the US Armed Forces to them.
Zero questions from newspeople on why the Moms and Dads of America wouldn’t recommend the US Armed Forces to their kids.
Love to see TV newspeople interview some of the veterans commenting here:
The parents and grandparents of today may have a tricky time recommending an enlistment to a younger generation. This would be true even in families who are proud of having a history of military service.
Some of these folks are commenting on the video below. Look for TV newspeople to seek out and do zero interviews with the veterans commenting here:
TV newspeople perform like paid actors reading a script.
Newspeople play the role of federal public affairs staff as authorities prepare for the Super Bowl.
Sorry, no time for newspeople to ask:
Did the advantage of US air power allow the undeclared wars in Iraq or Afghanistan to be prevented, won or shut down?
Freedoms come and go. None of the above are linked in any way with The Joint Chiefs of Staff, The Troops, The Dept. of Defense or the outcome of military operations overseas.
Several news sources published this quote. View them here.
The idea that sending hometown troops to Africa would be linked in any way with keeping the people of Salisbury Maryland safe and free calls for more discussion. Don’t look for any of this discussion to be prompted by newspeople showing initiative or curiosity in asking questions.
Mayor Day,
While the troops were deployed, federal law was signed prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to adults age 18-20.
Can you help us to understand the militarized version of freedom here?
The Dept. of Defense has a truly poor track record with undeclared wars. This record goes back to 1949, the year DOD was established. Has this record damaged the brand?
If DOD was an NFL team, sports talk radio would feature comments like:
The Dept. of Defense was nowhere to be found on 911. We haven’t won a war since. Whatever they touch turns to crap.
Senator Tillis,
Is there any talk of going back to a draft in order to deal with your recruiting crisis?
Before making any plans to start up a draft, let us know how sending US Troops to Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, etc., is somehow defending the constitution.
Senator Tillis,
Whatever happened to the formal congressional declaration of war?
This would be the time to hear from elected leaders and top generals Re: lessons learned on all the issues that have doomed the Department of Defense track record for winning wars since DOD was established in 1949.
Every few years, no matter what political party or personality is in power, there are moves to modify what people thought they were earning in exchange for 20 years of unrestricted worldwide service.
This is the same country where both major parties invite veterans to be momentarily honored at State of the Union events when they control the White House.
Not asking about the oath of enlistment. Asking about what happens after the oath has been taken.
When the US Armed Forces are sent to Lebanon, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Vietnam, etc.-how is that defending the US Constitution-or our rights and freedoms, or our physical security?
Look for newspeople and school teachers to ask zero questions in these areas.
Every few years, no matter what political party or personality is in power, there are moves to modify what people thought they were earning in exchange for 20 years of unrestricted worldwide service.
Try for less blaming of a new generation and the Moms and Dads of today for any hesitation related to doing time in uniform. Time to take a hard look at what elected officials and the US Dept. of Defense did with the brand after the first Cold War ended in the early 90s and after the lessons of Vietnam were on the table.
Enough time now to look back and ask a few public policy questions. The fact that the press has never been in the habit of questioning the GWOT, by itself, seems a little odd.
KOMO and some of the commenters make it more about personalities and less about what people think of ongoing information suppression.
Not too many years ago, American society was much less about information suppression.
Social media is big on it now.
Today, newspeople show a lack of initiative and curiosity in asking questions.
JFK speaks about the role of the press and voices of dissent in a free society:
Today, TV newspeople tend to report only one side of the story.
Much of what we get today is sort of a press release style of news reporting where a statement is prepared by whatever agency was involved in the latest policy update, drug bust/federal grant money award, etc.
Newspeople post this statement as is.
A 5th grade book report would require more in the way of asking questions.
When is the last time all of Penn Cove was safe for recreational shellfish harvest?
Living on an Island near Puget Sound, there seems to be great concern for salmon, orca, eagles, recreational shellfish and clean water.
Has anyone ever seen the Puget Sound area press ask questions about Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls?
Has anyone ever seen any government agency, elected official or volunteer organization seeking answers related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into the waters near Whidbey Island?
Coupeville
“Clams, mussels and oysters CLOSED year-round.”
“This beach is within the closure area for a sewage treatment plant outfall and is unsafe for recreational shellfish harvesting.”
$49.8 billion is spent every 12 months on the US Dept. of Homeland Security.
The Dept. of Homeland Security fails to keep cartel sourced meth, heroin and fentanyl from showing up all over the US.
Newspeople ask zero questions in this area.
The press release style of news reporting means that a statement is prepared by whatever agency was involved in the latest drug bust/federal grant money award, etc. Newspeople post this statement as is.
“Funding for the boat was issued through the Homeland Security Grant Program under Operation Stonegarden.”
Took a quick look on the web to see if there is a post 911 history of maritime “cross-border activity” on Whidbey & could not find anything. If anyone has info, please post in comments.
Has the Island County Homeland Security-funded patrol boat been able to intercept any inbound meth, heroin or fentanyl?
Has the Island County Homeland Security-funded patrol boat been involved in any arrest or seizure related in any way to the US/Canada border?
Newspeople remain silent.
Has General Milley’s Operation Macho Swagger reduced access to cartel product anywhere in the US?
Has there been enough time for newspeople to ask questions?
Newspeople remain silent.
April 1, 2020 C-SPAN
WWII costume reminds us of a time before decades of undeclared/unwon wars stacked up.
The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.
Love to see newspeople schedule an interview with the US Dept. of Homeland Security & ask:
Are passports/enhanced/Real IDs effective in keeping cartel-sourced heroin and meth out of the US?
Standard driver’s licenses have not been accepted at the border since 2009.
Why have Joe Sixpack and the family line up for REAL ID, when cartels opt out on all that?
If there was a school district in Hometown USA, that had a poor record for educating students, or a fire dept. that struggled to get the job done, people and the press would ask questions.
The US Dept. of Homeland Security seems to get a pass from newspeople everywhere.
If we have a party and order 3 large pizzas, the pizza place will tell us if they are unable to make a delivery or unable to have product ready for pickup. When orders for 1,200 doses of vaccine are placed with the state, is the state indicating the delivery will be made? What is changing between the time the order is made and the delivery date?
“In what would be a first in the U.S., possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine, LSD and other hard drugs could be decriminalized in Oregon under a ballot measure that voters are deciding on in Tuesday’s election.”
A $51.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security that fails to keep cartel product from showing up all over the US.
Billions of dollars spent every 12 months to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things.
Newspeople ask zero questions in this area.
The Drug Enforcement Administration
Another couple billion dollars spent every 12 months on an a federal agency that takes credit for big drug busts after cartels move product past federal agents staffing border crossings, ports of entry and the area between ports of entry.
Would the DEA be out of work if General Milley was going to act on his bold pledge to clobber the cartels?
Federal agents swing into action after 2,224 pounds of meth tied to the Sinaloa cartel moves past federal agents manning a $51.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security-then on into Riverside County.
The US Armed Forces were irrelevant in defending American rights and freedoms, our physical security, & The Constitution on 911.
Ditto for all other federal agencies and departments.
The Dept. of Defense was nowhere to be found on 911.
We haven’t won a war since.
Considering the aftermath of 911
Since 911, have people been at risk out at the airport because there has not been any requirement for REAL ID in order to fly within the United States?
Several news sources published this quote. View them here.
The idea that sending hometown troops to Africa would be linked in any way with keeping the people of Salisbury Maryland safe and free calls for more discussion.
Mayor Day,
While the troops were deployed, federal law was signed prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to adults age 18-20.
Can you help us to understand the militarized version of freedom here?
If a right to vote has always been protected by the brave men and women who serve in our Armed Forces, how come women were not allowed full voting rights at the end of WWI?
Why the need for a 1965 Voting Rights Act if overseas military operations somehow secured voting rights?
If a right to vote is protected by the US Armed Forces, what becomes of that right when the US leaves Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc., without a victory?
None of these are linked in any way with The Joint Chiefs of Staff, The Troops, The Dept. of Defense or the outcome of military operations overseas.
As the decades of undeclared/unwon wars stack up (The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.) the greater the cultural urge to glorify people who do, or did time in uniform.
If there is an honest reason to send people away into decades of undeclared/unwon wars overseas let’s hear all about it.
People need to carry a special ID to go have lunch in Canada, then return home. Have these ID requirements helped to keep cartel product from entering the US?
Don’t look for the press to go and interview the US Dept. of Homeland Security and ask any questions on this.
Standard driver’s licenses have not been accepted at the border since 2009.
I was thinking that 911 should have been a drug trafficker’s worst nightmare. The US Dept. of Homeland Security- a whole new federal department-was created to stop terrorists and prevent another 911.
Part of the article describes cartel product seized at the border. Part of the article talks about product that gets past federal agents at the border.
Federal agents swing into action after meth from Mexico moves past federal agents manning a $51.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security-then, on into New Mexico:
“Historically, crystal meth in its purest and most potent form came to the islands from markets in Asia and the Pacific as documented by the Hawaii’s Ice Age reporting series that Civil Beat and Hawaii Public Radio published five years ago.”
Newspeople avoid asking questions by going with a press release style of news reporting.
A statement is prepared by whatever agency was involved in the latest bust/federal grant money award, etc. Newspeople post this statement. No questions asked:
Does Port Angeles CBP play any role in keeping meth and heroin from entering the Olympic Peninsula?
If you run a government operation-these are the reporters you want to see on interview day:
If a $51.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security was preventing cartel product from arriving in American communities, why would General Milley need to launch Operation Macho Swagger?
Has General Milley’s Operation Macho Swagger prevented cartel product from entering WA?
Newspeople play the role of federal public affairs personnel during Operation Macho Swagger–a ride-along to let us know what is being done to keep the southern edge of the Strait of Juan de Fuca safe from B.C. incursions: Operation Macho Swagger & Port Angeles Heroin
Don’t miss our companion blog-found here: Old Man Blog
A man on the moon in 1969. Church, Boy Scouts, patriotism, pledge of allegiance, the WWII generation in charge. Signing up for the Marines.
Families with married parents and maybe a stay at home Mom. It was common for your friends to have 3 or 4 brothers and sisters.
It started out with a positive sense of American culture.
Much has changed.
Over the past 40 years or so, both major parties have taken turns in power and have squandered credibility that would help in the current situation. A wide variety of political personalities have occupied the White House.
“But as other schools deliberate shutting their doors to slow the spread of the coronavirus, some parents may be left to wonder: If schools close, how will my child eat?”
Several news sources published this quote. View them here.
The idea that sending hometown troops to Africa would be linked in any way with keeping the people of Salisbury Maryland safe and free calls for more discussion.
Mayor Day,
While the troops were deployed, federal law was signed prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to adults age 18-20.
Can you help us to understand the militarized version of freedom here?
In the 60s & 70s I never attended a Veterans Day assembly at school.
There were none.
Probably enough veterans around to remove most of the mystique, or maybe those veterans thought it was all just an average thing and did not want to be seen as a separate part of American society, or get head of the line parking spots over at the grocery store.
Each November, school teachers across America host Veterans Day assemblies– and promote the idea to children that The Troops are in distant lands-fighting for American rights and freedoms-as if the US Armed Forces function as some sort of giant civil rights organization.
In Washington State, these assemblies are mandatory.
Love to see a student ask: If The Troops fight for your right to sit, stand, kneel, etc.-why were black people still riding at the back of the bus after the big WWII victory?
Love to see a student ask: If the wars aren’t won-how can they protect our freedom?
Love to see a student ask: Whatever happened to lessons about Armistice Day?
Thank you WHSV, for acknowledging that we are talking about a federal free and reduced school breakfast and lunch program. The press often calls it a free lunch program. The average person, who has no kids in school may not realize that breakfast is also part of the program.
“But as other schools deliberate shutting their doors to slow the spread of the coronavirus, some parents may be left to wonder: If schools close, how will my child eat?”
I do not object to public assistance programs. The press should make an effort to keep the public informed on how these programs are working.
Again, I am not against public assistance programs, but did the WWII generation rely heavily on public school districts to feed their kids?
100 years ago, did families rely on school districts to feed their children to such an extent that, if school was shut down, school districts would scramble to fill busses with food and send it out into the neighborhoods?
If a family’s household income level qualifies for free & reduced breakfast and lunch at school, wouldn’t they also qualify for various other publicly funded food assistance programs?
Do free and reduced breakfast and lunch meals consumed at school reduce what a family receives or qualifies for each month in publicly funded food assistance?
If school shuts down, does the family still qualify for publicly funded food assistance? If food assistance programs remain in place outside of school-why would children be at risk of going hungry?
If the programs aren’t working-let’s hear all about it.
Tax money-which some people intend to be used to help others via public assistance programs-also goes for bombing Iraq and Afghanistan.
Helping others by donating to churches or private charities, food banks, etc. can avoid these conflicts.
Donors are free to opt out if a charity misbehaves.
People could keep more of their own money to donate to causes of their choosing if the federal government was not taking it to pay for wasteful programs.
“Agents have arrested 71 people at the Spokane bus depot this year, more than twice as many as they averaged in prior years. None were “alien” smugglers or drug traffickers, as the Spokane Sector’s press office admitted in an interview.”
Is the immigration enforcement crackdown, hassling people at bus stations and requiring REAL ID at the airport at all relevant in keeping cartels from moving product into hometown, USA?
Love to see newspeople schedule an interview with the US Dept. of Homeland Security & ask:
Are passports/enhanced/Real IDs effective in keeping cartel-sourced heroin and meth out of the US?
Standard driver’s licenses have not been accepted at the border since 2009.
In 2008, the US Border Patrol came to Jefferson County, WA and set up suspicionless checkpoints and bus boardings- away from border crossings and ports of entry.
At a local Border Patrol forum a lady asked:
“What is the penalty for not identifying oneself to federal agents at an internal, suspicionless checkpoint?”
US Border Patrol said they would call in the Sheriff when a person refused to identify themselves.
Sheriff says they will not respond to a non-emergency situation involving a person peaceably refusing to interact with federal agents.
Question about providing ID is at 0:35
Checkpoints ended here in 2008- possibly due to well-informed citizens and local protests. Looks like they weren’t vital to national security after all.
State and local law enforcement agencies do not conduct suspicionless checkpoints in Washington State.
Newspeople play the role of federal public affairs personnel during Operation Macho Swagger–a ride-along to let us know what is being done to keep the southern edge of the Strait of Juan de Fuca safe from B.C. incursions: Operation Macho Swagger & Port Angeles Heroin
If you run a government operation-these are the reporters you want to see on interview day:
Why are Border Patrol arrest statistics secret at Port Angeles?
Go and ask the FBI for Chicago bank robbery statistics. You’ll get the numbers. They won’t tell you that statistics/public records must be withheld because stats would assist bank robbers if they were shared with the public.
What other law enforcement agencies, anywhere in the US maintain secret arrest statistics?
Washington State Patrol shares DUI arrest statistics on social media here:
Has Port Angeles CBP been able to intercept any inbound meth or heroin?
Even one time?
Is local CBP staffing and infrastructure at all relevant in keeping heroin and meth from entering Port Angeles, Clallam County, the Olympic Peninsula, or the Puget Sound area?
Newspeople,
Why did the Blaine Sector Weekly US Border Patrol blotter go extinct?
When is the last time the Port Angeles Border Patrol made an arrest of any kind?
Any arrests connected to cross-border maritime traffic?
When local USBP staffing went from four to 42 agents, what increase in arrests and apprehensions was achieved?
Suspicionless checkpoints and bus boardings- away from border crossings and ports of entry:
Did the use of these checkpoints in Jefferson and Clallam Counties result in the seizure of any inbound heroin or meth?
What role do 1,200-horsepower Border Patrol Interceptor boats play in keeping meth and heroin away from the Puget Sound area?
US Troops at the border, El Chapo takedown, opioid lawsuits, REAL ID, Homeland Security grant money, CBP social media posts, strict post 911 security protocols and a $40.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security fail to keep meth from entering the Puget Sound area:
Every 12 months, the US Department of Homeland Security gets another $40 billion in taxpayer funds.
If the drug war excuse now, is that migrant surges are diverting attention away from cartel traffic-remember that heroin was a problem in US communities prior to the recent migrant surges. Heroin is still here and now meth has taken hold.
Whatever happened to the formal congressional declaration of war?
This would be the time to hear from elected leaders and top generals on all the issues that have doomed the Department of Defense track record for winning wars since DOD was established in 1949.
The Homeland Security Meth/Heroin Racket
Voting is highly emphasized in American culture. Asking questions related to public policy takes a lower priority.
Are newspeople forbidden to ask questions related to Homeland Security funding and performance?
With such an impressive handle on US Dept. of Homeland Security performance- why do heroin/meth trafficking cartels continue to move product into various parts of the US?
As the decades of undeclared/unwon wars stack up (The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.) the greater the cultural urge to glorify people who do, or did time in uniform.
If there is an honest reason to send people away into decades of undeclared/unwon wars overseas let’s hear all about it.
Why do we pretend that the US Armed Forces function as some sort of giant civil rights organization?
Why does the US Dept. of Homeland Security tell us that thousands of terrorists were stopped last year at the border if the wars are keeping bad people from coming here to do bad things?
The Claim:
Jan 4th, 2019 McClatchy Washington Bureau/The Bellingham Herald
With such an impressive handle on US Dept. of Homeland Security performance- why do heroin-trafficking cartels continue to move product into various parts of the US?
Each year, at the Super Bowl, the US Dept. of Homeland Security promotes their own image Re: preventing criminal activity. Why do these impressive capabilities fail to keep meth and heroin trafficking cartels from moving product into the US?
Why does the US Dept. of Homeland Security tell us that thousands of terrorists were stopped last year at the border if the wars are keeping bad people from coming here to do bad things?
The Claim:
Jan 4th, 2019 McClatchy Washington Bureau/The Bellingham Herald
With such an impressive handle on US Dept. of Homeland Security performance- why do heroin-trafficking cartels continue to move product into various parts of the US?
Looks like life wasn’t meant to change after the big Saddam Hussein & Osama bin Laden takedowns.
Each year, at the Super Bowl, the US Dept. of Homeland Security promotes their own image Re: preventing criminal activity. Why do these impressive capabilities fail to keep meth and heroin trafficking cartels from moving product into the US?
Whidbey Homeland Security Grant Money
2014-
Island county to purchase new patrol boat to help with Puget Sound security:
“Funding for the boat was issued through the Homeland Security Grant Program under Operation Stonegarden.”
Took a quick look on the web to see if there is a post 911 history of maritime “cross-border activity” on Whidbey & could not find anything.
If public meetings were held on Whidbey Island & people were asked to state their top law enforcement priorities- would a Homeland Security-funded patrol boat show up anywhere on the list?
Has the Island County Homeland Security-funded patrol boat been able to intercept any inbound heroin?
Even one time?
Has the Island County Homeland Security-funded patrol boat been involved in any arrest or seizure related in any way to the US/Canada border?
Has Port Angeles CBP been able to intercept any inbound heroin?
Even one time?
Newspeople remain silent.
Possibly of interest-
Newspeople play the role of federal public affairs personnel during Operation Macho Swagger– a ride-along to let us know what is being done to keep the southern edge of the Strait of Juan de Fuca safe from B.C. incursions: Operation Macho Swagger & Port Angeles Heroin
Suspicionless checkpoints
In 2008, the US Border Patrol came to Jefferson County, WA and set up suspicionless checkpoints and bus boardings- away from border crossings and ports of entry.
At a local Border Patrol forum a lady asked:
“What is the penalty for not identifying oneself to federal agents at an internal, suspicionless checkpoint?”
US Border Patrol said they would call in the Sheriff when a person refused to identify themselves.
Sheriff says they will not respond to a non-emergency situation involving a person peaceably refusing to interact with federal agents.
Question about providing ID is at 0:35
State and local law enforcement agencies do not conduct suspicionless checkpoints in Washington State.
“Inexpensive meth from Mexico is pouring into our state in record amounts and high purity, killing our citizens, destroying our families, and clogging our justice system.”
Welcome Home Troops
Thanks for risking your ass in Iraq & Afghanistan- working to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things.
Federal cash for Montana after meth flows past federal agents staffing a $40.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security, then on into local communities:
Special IDs, US troops in distant lands, US troops at the southern border, a $40.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security, suspicionless checkpoints, big drug busts, Homeland Security grant money, massing US Border Patrol agents at the southern edge of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and 1,200-horsepower Border Patrol Interceptor boats fail to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things.
Credibility in need of repair.
Newspeople need to chuck the hometown pride and get out and ask more questions.
Defending against the world’s most dangerous terrorist and criminal organizations results in no shortage of heroin, cocaine or meth anywhere in the US.
Michigan meth supply not yet cut off by National Guard troops, strict post 911 security protocols and a $40.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security:
Crystal meth, marijuana seizures rising in Ottawa County
Thanks for your many years of service in Iraq & Afghanistan- working to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things.
Tried to have your back with strict post-911 security protocols, a $40.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security, federal agents at border crossings & ports of entry & passports/enhanced & Real IDs to keep us all safe.
We’ll try harder next time.
Women hassled 30 miles from US/Canada border as heroin-trafficking cartels continue to move product over the real border- no questions asked.
Vast enforcement powers- applied nowhere near any border crossing or port of entry- are still no match for the heroin-trafficking cartels that continue to move product into US communities.
Wonder what was happening at border crossing inspections during the 3 years these folks were under investigation. Do the good guys who made the local bust notify the good guys at the border about the weak links in their process?
Were federal authorities at the border notified of this ongoing investigation?
Don’t miss our companion blog- found here: Old Man Blog
Thanks for your many years of service in Iraq & Afghanistan- working to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things.
Tried to have your back with strict post-911 security protocols, a $40.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security, federal agents at border crossings & ports of entry & passports/enhanced & Real IDs to keep us all safe.
We’ll try harder next time.
Heroin-trafficking cartel moves product into North Carolina:
Wonder what was happening at border crossing inspections during the 3 years these folks were under investigation. Do the good guys who made the local bust notify the good guys at the border about the weak links in their process?
Were federal authorities at the border notified of this ongoing investigation?
A $41.2 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security fails to keep cargo trucks from moving large amounts of heroin and fentanyl from Central America into the Bronx:
If the good guys can tell what the bad guys will do before they do it- surely, these powerful crime fighting tools will be used to shut down gang and cartel activity, heroin trafficking, bank robberies, airport & mall shootings, child abduction, etc.
JFK speaks about the role of the press in a free society-
2012-
If you run a government operation- these are the reporters you want to see on interview day:
US Border Patrol, Port Angeles, WA-
A new, $11.9 million, 50 agent facility, secret arrest statistics, denied FOIA requests, heroin in the community & a Border Patrol whistleblower investigation Re: fraudulent overtime that resulted in further suppression of information- keep the focus on asking questions in these areas.
No cross-border USBP arrest has happened here in more than 6 years.
If the State Patrol was awarded many additional millions of dollars each year to go after drunk drivers- & the problem got worse- would newspeople ask questions?
If planes started crashing or boats stated sinking at an abnormal rate- would newspeople ask questions?
If a serial murderer was on the loose-would newspeople ask questions?
Wonder what was happening at border crossing inspections during the almost 3 years these folks were under investigation. Do the good guys who made the local bust notify the good guys at the border about the weak links in their process?
“Starting in February 2014, a DEA agent began investigating a drug ring that was sending large shipments of methamphetamine from Mexico via Arizona and California to Western Washington.”
Love to see newspeople ask:
If 44 pounds of meth was seized in South Sound this week- how much meth did these folks move into the Puget Sound area since February 2014?
Were federal authorities at the border notified of this ongoing investigation?
Did the meth traffickers get fast track screening at the border so as not to disrupt this ongoing investigation?
If the meth traffickers were given a pass at the border- would that have tipped them off as to the investigation- or would that have been seen as standard protocol?
Imagine that LE authorities observe a shoplifter or bank robber in action. Instead of going in to make an arrest they back off and conduct an investigation that goes on for almost 3 years. What if they applied the same tactic Re: crimes involving arson, terrorism, child abuse, DUI, etc.
I know, I know- It takes time to build a case against the really big drug traffickers.
This time next year- will there be any shortage of meth from Mexico? Has any city, county or state jurisdiction been able to cleanup their drug problem using these methods?
Heroin traffickers moved product past the US Dept. of Homeland Security and into Delaware during this “years-long” investigation:
The US spends about $41.2 billion each year on the US Dept. of Homeland Security.
If the State Patrol was awarded many additional millions of dollars each year to go after drunk drivers- & the problem got worse- would newspeople ask questions?
Would any investigation take place?
Recovery, rehab, treatment, & addiction are important parts of this story.
What part of the story is missing?
Has anyone ever seen the press question the US Dept. of Homeland Security/CBP on their role in keeping heroin away from the Puget Sound area?
911 was the big turning point- in the aftermath, troops were sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, the US Dept. of Homeland Security was created and the requirement for passports/enhanced & Real IDs was put in place. Standard driver’s licenses have not been accepted at the border since 2009.
All this to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things, or to attempt another 911.
Why require special IDs to go have lunch in Canada- then return home- while heroin-trafficking cartels are able to move product into the Seattle area?
Americans are constantly praising & thanking The Troops for keeping us safe.
Still trying to figure out how sending US troops to Iraq & Afghanistan was meant to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things.
No word on how heroin trafficking cartels continue to move product past strict post-911 security protocols & the US Dept. of Homeland Security at border crossings and ports of entry.
A new, $11.9 million, 50 agent facility, secret arrest statistics, denied FOIA requests, heroin in the community & a Border Patrol whistleblower investigation Re: fraudulent overtime that resulted in further suppression of information- keep the focus on asking questions in these areas.
No cross-border USBP arrest has happened here in more than 6 years.
Yesterday, somebody posted:
