Category Archives: Corruption

Words that Haunt

Published May 29, 2020 / by Lee Kessler / Leave a Comment
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Sir John Dalberg-Acton was a 19th Century English-Catholic historian. He is perhaps best known for the remark, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely…”

That is one of the greatest arguments for limited government, and governmental powers. Throughout time, Dalberg-Acton’s observations have proven true. No matter how well-intentioned men may be when they seek power, and especially political power, when that power has been given to them, it corrupts them in some way.

There must be something so insidiously delicious and seductive about power that men and women will forfeit honor and integrity once power has been vested in them. They will deny all manner of previous viewpoints they held and statements they have made. And, in the last four years, I have watched the DC Swamp jump through hoops to try to justify their apparent forfeiture of the beliefs that got them elected or appointed.

Therein lies the greatest danger to our Republic. The power in this country–by design, and after great sacrifice–was vested in the people of the United States. We are the source of power, and those who serve us are intended to answer to us.

At times we the people have vested greater power in the hands of Washington politicians and civil servants because of some catastrophe globally where we felt we needed to give them more authority, and to do it quickly.

That, in and of itself, is not an issue. Certainly, we would likely agree that after Pearl Harbor, the powers given to Congress and the President etc. were a necessary evil. 9/11 is another case where we empowered our President to wage war. That attack and threat was apparent to all of us.

What we did not really think through, however, was the fact we also gave our government the power to set up secret courts in order to obtain warrants to electronically spy on our countrymen. If each of those warrants had been properly sought, and no one’s rights had been violated, we the people would not be in turmoil over the last four years about what is now emerging factually as an abuse of power by the outgoing administration against the incoming administration.

Cover-ups and abuses abound. People will yell, they will shrilly deny, they will justify in the coming weeks in the Senate Hearings, and in the actions forthcoming related to the Durham criminal investigation. That’s natural. After all, we gave some very brazen and arrogant men and women power over us. They corrupted it, became corrupt–and now refuse to give the power back. The nectar of power and control over their fellow countrymen seems to have addicted them.

Sadly, something far more ominous is hanging over us relevant to Dalberg-Acton’s observation. During this pandemic, we–in order to save ourselves and others–gave almost complete authority to our state and federal governments. We felt we needed them to take control, and order us into actions that would be good for all. Hopefully history will record that our cessation of almost all of our First Amendment rights was warranted–that we did the right thing. We harmed the many to save the few.

What history will not record kindly is if our governments never give that power back. Even when the crisis abates, or disappears altogether, we are discovering that some state leaders and federal leaders are loath to relinquish the control they have over our entire future and security. Frankly, we are going to have to pry that power out of their tightly clenched fists. (Electorally)

You may be in a quandary about how this beneficent leader of your city or your state could turn into a dictatorial tyrant, hell-bent on forcing you to bend to their agenda and will–even if it destroys your life and livelihood. You may agree with them. I am aware of that.

Regrettably though, someone like me is going to eventually have to come to rescue you and our countrymen from the clutches of the new tyrant. You thought Covid-19 was a menace?! You thought it threatened your life?! It did.

But, my friends, we all had better wake up. Because in order to handle that biological menace, we created a new one: politicians with more power than they have EVER had over you. I am by nature an eternal optimist. In this matter though, I know history, and I know men. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Put every single one of those 5 freedoms I wrote about a few weeks ago back in place, before you no longer can. Ask the people of Venezuela if they expected what they got when Chavez died and the new elected fool took office. Ask the people of Hong Kong if they expected what happened to them yesterday.

The power rests with “we the people” and spread out through our whole society no one man or group can gain the monopoly on it. Hard to corrupt 350 million Americans of diverse background, races, ethnicities, education, careers, religions etc.

An unwieldy bunch, we Americans. Perhaps that is key as to why this nation has prospered for so long, and helped so many other nations to prosper.

Pry their little fingers loose–one control at a time, one day at a time, one week at a time until your freedoms are fully restored. You can do it. I may not have faith in bureaucrats, but I have always had faith in the American people.

The Judge who Skipped Civics Class

Published May 20, 2020 / by Lee Kessler / 2 Comments on The Judge who Skipped Civics Class
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If you have been scratching your head–no matter your politics, and assuming that not every decision you make is based upon personal bias–you may still be aghast at Judge Emmett Sullivan’s refusal to grant the prosecution’s motion to drop the case against Gen. Michael Flynn.

The motion was unopposed, since his defense also had a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. That motion too was obviously unopposed since the prosecutors wanted to drop the whole case. You don’t plead to a charge that doesn’t exist.

But, instead, Judge Sullivan appears to have decided to “leap across the bench” and become a prosecutor himself. He intends to see if there are charges he can file against Flynn, and is bringing prosecutors in from a time gone by, and a retired judge to show him how to still prosecute the man for something.

For all Americans, we have a right to a fair and impartial trial, whether criminal or civil. Under the Constitution, there are three branches of government–separate but equal. And there is a separation of powers between the branches. Each is to wear their own “hat” if you will. They are to do what their branch of government has jurisdiction over, and not breach that separation of the branches of government.

Prosecutors (of all titles) are in the Executive Branch, and are part of the Justice Department. (state and federal) Judges are part of the Judicial Branch, and their purview is to mediate, and make rulings that insure a fair and impartial trial. That presupposes there is an actual case at hand, and not one that has been withdrawn.

It is so fundamentally unfair, you almost can’t get your wits around it. A man is sentenced for a crime he is not charged with. That sounds like an old “Gunsmoke” plot, a story from the Wild West. Certainly it does not represent Rule of Law and Due Process.

Not only does Sullivan appear to have skipped his Civics Class when he was young, where he would have learned about the separation of powers and the role of the three branches, but it appears he also skipped his Constitutional Law Class. That, I believe, is the first class in first year law school.

Either way, Due Process is granted to all of us, under the Constitution, as it is written. If any of you even consider right now inserting “politics” into this, and attempt to avert your eyes because you hold opinions about the defendant, the prosecutors, the Justice Department or anyone else, I want you to stop. If our Judicial Branch turns into a prosecutorial arm, God helps us all.

Take a deep breath, and know that I am grateful you would never be sitting on a jury deciding my fate. The issue would be guilt or innocence on the charges, based on the facts at hand. It would not be on whether or not you like me, my husband, my boss, or my voting habits.

The issues are only: Was there a crime? Did I commit it? Beyond a reasonable doubt? If so, what should my penalty be? And if I were charged with something–and later evidence showed that not only did I not do it, but that in fact no crime occurred, but prosecutorial misconduct may have occurred–and the prosecutors drop the case to avoid turning into “persecutors,” I would expect you to grant their request, no matter your fermenting biases.

I was just funnin’ with you a few paragraphs back. I don’t think Judge Emmett Sullivan did skip his Civics Class. I don’t think he skipped his Constitutional Law class. I think he knows exactly what he is doing. And that, my friends, should scare the living daylights out of you.

Every single American should protest this outrageous behavior. And know that the next time you are in trouble, or on trial, and the Judge gets mad at you and says to the Prosecutors, “do you want to also charge this person with Treason?” and no one does anything about it, I won’t be there to defend you.

Not true. Funning with you again. I WOULD BE THERE TO DEFEND YOU, because I believe in civil liberties and I do not believe they extend only to members of one political party, or one race, or one religion.

I owe a dream debt–as I have written about before–to my ancestor who fought with George Washington, to make it possible for this nation to be free, and for our Constitution to be written and followed. I might not believe in you; I might not even like you. But I believe in the Rule of Law. Without it, we sink back into the age of the Spanish Inquisition.

A Warning from the Past–revisited

Published May 3, 2020 / by Lee Kessler / 1 Comment on A Warning from the Past–revisited
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 “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper.  Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle.  The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day. . . .  I will add, that the man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods & errors.” 

Attributed to Thomas Jefferson (June 11, 1807) – Principal author of the Declaration of Independence, 3rd, President of the United States from 1801 to 1809

Food for thought for today’s climate: What is “lying by omission?” And then ask yourself how devastating is it to you if the Press omits key facts that would allow you to properly evaluate?

You are the boss.

Dwarfed by the news of the Pandemic and the national shutdown, the last two weeks however have also seen monumental revelations concerning abuse of power and corruption at the highest levels of the FBI, and Justice Departments from 2016 to the recent past.

Documents long sought under the rule of law–not anonymous sources making up and “leaking” whatever–have surfaced. The picture I and many have described and tried to help you see is now clear. In their own words in emails and texts, and even in their own handwriting, the proof of a plot, and the identities of the malevolent cast of characters are now visible for you to see.

You may writhe, and struggle, and deny and argue, but this data will be evidence–in my opinion–in courts of law in the coming months. Justice is sometimes slow, but eventually truth does out.

A mentor of mine in business was overheard telling one of his young proteges this: “The things that will hurt you most in life are the things you accept as true, but which are actually false.” One takes the lie, and begins to think, evaluate, and decide through the filter of the lie. And terrible consequences can ensue.

So, Director Comey, I watched you last year on national television brazenly and pridefully confess to actions which were part of a coup. You laughed, and thought you would get away with it. Except for that pesky little thing called the Law, you would have.

Now, as of last week, we know the back story. As I wrote in the novel “White King and the Doctor,” if you want to overturn a government, without a hot war and without being spotted as the subversive, you “persuade” the people of that country to do it themselves.

What is that back story then? A counter-intelligence operation which we would normally run against another country to covertly overthrow a government there, was turned against our own government. The goal? The overthrow of the President of the United States.

James Comey, you have a right to remain silent…

For those who need more info, look up “recent developments in the case of Michael Flynn.” If you don’t see it, bail from that news agency. You might try JusttheNews.com

DC Swamp’s Latest Racket–Extortion

Published March 27, 2020 / by Lee Kessler / Leave a Comment
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Extortion: to obtain from a person by force, intimidation, or undue or illegal power. Webster’s Dictionary.

Now, right out the gate, I want all of you–Democrat, Independent, Republican– to understand that I believe the virus threat is real, just like the flu is real. It is deadly, just like the flu is if it progresses to pneumonia. We do, and are, taking drastic actions to curb its spread, and limit its economic impact.

This Blog is not about that. On that, we should all be on the same page. And there is something else I believe we may find ourselves on the same page about. And that is that the Emergency Stimulus Bill (or whatever it is finally called) which passed the Senate–in its present form–was produced by the extortion of you, the American people. It was done to your surrogates, your Senators–most specifically your Republican senators. It was done by the Democrat Senators and the Speaker of the House. But they all represent you, and it is your tax dollars which will pay for the bill, or your grandchildren will pay for it in the future. Your senators could not get the emergency help to you, or the medical people, unless they “paid.”

What do you mean “paid”, you ask? The problem is the big chunks of spending that have nothing to do with the Wuhan Corona Virus and its defeat. A battle raged in the Senate between Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans wanted to create a targeted bill for economic relief, stimulus, and medical assistance. The Democrats threatened to scuttle it unless there was funding to the Arts, to the Kennedy Center, cancelling all student loan debt, same-day voter registration, mail-in ballots, bailing out the US Post Office, and many other more controversial projects. They delayed the bill for days on end, while American were dying.

Rep. Clyburn of S. Carolina said words, if I recall, “This is an opportunity to restructure things to fit our (Democrat)vision.” The issue is not whether their vision should be debated. The issue is whether it is moral for a group of politicians to risk the health and economic well-being of 350 million Americans for “their vision.” By refusing to sign, unless some wasteful and controversial elements were included, they held us all hostage. Those issues are for the electorate to decide and vote on in our election. We the people should decide about immigration and asylum policies, waiver of loan debts etc.–not a handful of extortionists in the halls of Congress.

There are many points in the Bill which are worthy of debate. That’s just it. The debate–per our form of government–should be with you the people. We debate, we vote, and we decide what is happening in Washington, and what we want done. If we don’t like what our elected officials do, we vote them out.

But, if members of Congress see themselves as the senior branch of government, instead of separate but equal branches, and if they see themselves as superior to their bosses–the American people–they can hold a much-needed bill hostage until they get what they demand that they know you will not likely want to pay for otherwise. You will be stuck with the price tag, however, and you had no say.

That is not a republic, or even a democracy. It is an authoritarian government in sheep’s clothing. And that is what just happened. The Congress can undermine and circumvent elections–in the name of the public good. (Keep in mind, again, that we do need to do something. But, in my opinion, it should be targeted at the immediate financial and medical crisis, not other issues we can decide later.)

If there had been a true and honest sense of urgency, Nancy Pelosi (what is she doing dictating to the Senate anyway? She does not understand the Constitution, I am afraid, or doesn’t give a whit about it.) and the Senate Democrats would not have held up financial aid to you, and the companies that employed you, for over a week. They would not have allowed you–ALL Americans–to suffer. They would not have allowed the media to beat you into fear and submission–grateful for any crumb the government gives you. ( Even Thursday, with the bill on her desk, Speaker Pelosi took the day off and did nothing with it.)

If there was a true sense of urgency, they would have allowed a bill that addressed the financial and medical aspects of the crisis, and nothing else. Instead, because they do not trust your voting inclinations in November, they decided to force the Republicans to accept elements of the bill–or there would be no relief for the people.

The Republicans fought back hard and got many of the demands wiped out. But, in the end, they caved on some. You probably would have too. I would have. To live to fight another day. That is the nature of extortion. You cannot be safe, or have what you need to keep your doors open, unless you give to the extortionist what he wants. In this case, certain politicians demanded a very high price for your stimulus bill which everyone is glad to have. The price? Forfeiture of your determination by ballot of the things you want and will pay for. You were rendered insignificant, my friends. In order to “save” you they had to steal from you, and override your sovereign authority. Your voices will never be heard. Or so they think.

If it wasn’t extortion, then it was a hoax. A true sense of urgency, for a true crisis, demands immediate and simple, clean action. The Democrats delayed this bill for over a week! 800-plus pages packed with “pork” is not simple, targeted, and clean. It has circumvented you. And, I suggest you take your authority back. Identify for yourself every heinous section you find in a bill which you otherwise would have approved. Identify which member of Congress demanded that section in order to get his/her support, and fire them in November–NO MATTER THEIR PARTY. They appear to care more about “their vision” than your safety, and prosperity.

We needed help, and we all are willing to pay for it out of our taxes, but the extra stuff was a con, secured by extortion. What a racket!

Is there no one in that party who remembers the story of Solomon and the two women, both of whom claimed to be the mother of a baby. Solomon, in his wisdom, said he would tear the baby in half, so that each could have part of it. Immediately, one woman exhorted him not to do that, and to give the baby to the other woman. Solomon knew then that she was the true mother, because she would rather lose her child altogether, than have it hurt.

It appears the Republicans were the mother who surrendered the baby to save it. Is there no “Solomon” in Washington who will call out the other “mother” for willingness to destroy you, the baby, in order to get their way? I am afraid not.

You will have to step up and take that role yourself in November. Find every piece that was extorted, un-elect who did it, and reverse it, if you don’t like the consequences.

In the meantime, we will use the bill to save ourselves, our companies, and our families and friends. Just remember, though, how it feels that someone “obtained this from you by force and intimidation.”

Schumer’s Done This Before

Published March 7, 2020 / by Lee Kessler / 1 Comment on Schumer’s Done This Before
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Brace yourselves, my fellow countrymen. Whether you are a Democrat, Independent, Republican or whatever, we all need to be sure that Sen. Chuck Schumer never becomes the Majority Leader in the Senate.

Normally he is quite covert in his back-stabbings and undermining activities. Recently however–whether emboldened by the fact his House colleagues pulled off yet another hoax, or whether he is just inadvertently showing his true colors–he has surfaced into open threats and intimidations.

If you actually listen to what he said to Supreme Court Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, and you understand that he is a leader from one branch of government threatening members of another branch of government, you will perhaps understand the assault upon the Constitution, let alone two Justices who have a job to do.

This time he blurted it out arrogantly and defiantly right in front of the Supreme Court while all Justices were hearing arguments on a case. Schumer wanted a particular outcome. What’s wrong with that? Well, he said directly to the two Justices, “You have sown the whirlwind, and you will pay the price….You won’t know what hit you.” The venom was pointed and unmistakable. Of course, he is walking it back now, trying to get you not to believe your own “lying eyes” and “lying ears.”

Was he threatening physical violence? I doubt it. He seems to be spinning this that he was talking about political consequences. What “political” consequences could he be talking about with Justices who are appointed for life? Impeachment. If they did not vote the way he wanted them to vote, he was threatening them with Impeachment.

The problem is, he has done this before. The word “Impeachment” should ring a bell. I am speaking sarcastically here! Sen. Chuck Schumer seems to be the enforcer/ring leader for someone. He’s the one who arrived at the Supreme Court steps to deliver the covert message of extortion and intimidation. The message? Yield, or suffer the consequences.

It was Chuck Schumer who “warned” newly-elected President Trump not to mess with the Intelligence people, because they can get you “six ways from Sunday.” At the time it was presented as if it were a friendly bit of advice to the newcomer. My guess is Trump received the advice as he does much advice–politely. Then he disregarded it. And in doing so, opened the door to the last 3.5 years of national nightmare–investigations, hoaxes, trials, vitriol. Because the Intelligence Community can in fact get anyone of us “six ways from Sunday.”

But suppose this was not a collegial warning to the “new guy.” Suppose it was in fact a threat–delivered behind the Cheshire cat smile that Schumer can make as he peers over his glasses.

Whether Trump recognized it and chose to ignore the threat, or whether he believed it to be a warning given to help him, we will likely have to wait until long after he is out of office to know.

But, here is what we know happened: (If you don’t know this information, you must be Rip Van Winkle, dozing somewhere, because this is now all documented, testified to, and being further investigated criminally.)

After ignoring the threat that–if the President tried to press the Intelligence Community, and discover some truths on his own–he would be attacked, the attack did in fact happen. We have all watched as it seemed to have been coming from a multiplicity of directions, a variety of sources, hidden communication lines, betrayal by insiders and complicity by Media.

1. Schumer warned or threatened. The President disregarded it.

2. Then FBI Director James Comey showed the President a section of the Steele Dossier, ostensibly to educate the greenhorn as to why he needed Intelligence briefings daily. That was a ruse.

3. Right after leaving that meeting, Comey then called Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, stating, “Mission accomplished.” What mission you might ask now? Planting the material they planned to use to bring down a President.

4. Now that the document had been “officially” shown to the President, it was news-worthy. Clapper then leaked information about that meeting to, if memory serves me, two Media outlets who had been standing by.

5. They could now officially run with it. After all, their source was James Clapper–a high-ranking government official. And run with it they did. And we have not had a day of peace since. Nor has the President.

6. Illegal FISA warrants were issued. A Court was lied to, and as a last act of perfidy before leaving office, Comey leaked government information through a friend to the Press, for an admitted purpose of forcing the Justice Department to create a Special Counsel.

7. Then, onto the stage stepped Robert Mueller.

Meanwhile demure Mr. Schumer could hide behind his original “warning,” shake his head in feigned disbelief, and tell us all that he had tried to warn the President. He almost got away with it.

Except for his blunder earlier this week. Watch the video. You will see that the underlying hatred, anger, and disrespect he has for the Judicial Branch of our government surfaced unmistakably. At that moment he was what he truly has been all along–a rabble-rouser with a cause.

The cause? I believe time will show that his goal is the overturning of our form of government, which is a Constitutional Republic. Mr. Schumer is one of those corrupt and delusional people who believes that our form of government has to be replaced. He may want one branch–the Legislative Branch. He may want a Parliamentary form, whereby Presidents can be thrown out, despite the will of the people. He may want a more totalitarian form of government.

Make no mistake. You are the target, my fellow countrymen. Heed his warning. “Don’t mess with the Intelligence people. They can get you six ways from Sunday.”

And brace yourselves. Because, soon, vile rumors and made-up accusations delivered by “anonymous” people will create false narratives. The Hoax will begin again. The goal? The removal, by Impeachment, of Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.

If he becomes Majority Leader in the Senate, that is where and when it will begin. You be the judge. Were his words to Kavanaugh and Gorsuch just a rhetorical warning? Or were they a threat intended to intimidate?

It was just such analyses as this, and others that I have done along the way, that led to the story of “White King and the Doctor.” It was just such a little essay that I would write to myself, with projected attack lines by an enemy, that led to a novel so “true” no one has been able to discern what is fact and what is fiction.

You might want to heed me on this one.