Apr 1, 2024
The Easter 2024 edition 2.0 of the Status Quo: An Electronic Newsletter is dedicated to the memory of a childhood friend who took his own life four decades ago. Raised in a home where a drunk pretended to be a father and schooled in a place where men of the cloth pretended to be a servants of Christ, he never had a chance in life. How does a boy have a chance in life when he is beaten at home and raped in the basement of St. Jude? The answer is he never had a chance because those who knew what was happening did not care enough about him to give him a chance. If they had, maybe his short life would not have been so painful that his only option was suicide.
What Would Jesus Do?
The American people appear to hate child sex abusers but appearing to hate them does nothing to stop them. The American people also appear to hate serial rapists especially those whose mother, daughter, sister or wife was raped by one of them but appearing to hate them will not stop someone else’s mother, daughter, sister or wife from being raped by them. To those who disagree with the above assertions, this son, husband and father poses a single question. If Americans really wanted to stop these monsters, why do they trust their hapless governments to stop them when they know they won’t?
This article poses and answers another question and one that just might help the American people understand what it is they must do to save their nation. What would Jesus do if confronted by a man who raped an 11-year-old boy? Would He advise the boy to turn the other cheek? To this Christian, the answer is obvious. Jesus would not advise us to turn the other cheek when the issue is the rape of His little ones. Jesus would demand that we, as a society, ensure serial rapists do not rape again and pedophiles are never given a second chance to practice their perverted desires.
An equally compelling question to contemplate is how Jesus would react if confronted with the cruel and vile men who walk our streets and troll the internet today. The pervasive nature of evil or at least the level of cruelty we are witnessing today in society is unlike any in human history. The money available for perverted pleasures is incalculable as is the money to be made from providing these pleasures. Likewise, the ability of those with money to silence victims and allow evil to continue its wicked ways continues to grow exponentially. When combined with an impotent criminal justice system and a political process indifferent to the suffering of its citizens, the end result is a society where victims are left with no recourse but suffer alone while the criminal element continues to tear our society apart at the seams.
As for those Christian ministers who preach that we must be like Jesus and “turn the other cheek” in the face of every assault upon the person, this Christian rejects this as disinformation. Teaching that Jesus would promote inaction in the face of evil is nothing more than centuries of Church dogma intended to keep the masses passive before Church authority and silent under Church abuses. Catholic or Protestant, it does not matter. Anyone who preaches that Christ’s message is to turn away from violence against His little ones is spreading disinformation intended to keep us passive and subservient before the injustices that permeate our society.
It is time we end this “new dark age made more sinister and perhaps more protracted by the lights of perverted science” and replace it with an age of responsibility where men and women are held to account for their crimes, their cruelty and their lies. It is time we understood that the truth matters, and wealth is measured by the good it can do for the least of our brothers and not for what it can buy for the wealthiest of our brothers. It is also time we take responsibility for keeping our children safe even of that means addressing the problem one pedophile and one career politician at a time because it is what Jesus would do.
The Light of the World
According to scripture, Jesus proclaimed that no greater love exists than that which finds a friend sacrificing his life for a friend. Sacrifice was the essence of His teachings. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus said “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me.” These two lessons not only summarize His life but also make it clear, at least to this Christian, that people who take advantage of the weak and defenseless, steal from the poor and downtrodden, defraud government and the people it serves, and embrace cruelty as a form of free speech are not just rejecting His teachings but are in fact the enemies of Jesus Christ.
Another equally important message and one that for years caused this Christian some confusion relates to Jesus urging us to love God above all else. How could one love anything more than they love their children? Only after years of reflection did it become clear that Jesus’ message was not intended to keep us on our knees in worship placing adoration over responsibility. Jesus wanted us to understand that if we place love of money, power, or influence over God and each other, we are destined to live a life void of the two emotions forever intertwined: love and empathy. In short, placing God first in our lives acts as a reminder of our mortality as well as our place in the world.
Jesus’ teachings are not only intended to improve the lives of those who hear and embrace His message but society overall. His teachings represent a code of conduct that enriches society and promotes civility among citizens. In short, Jesus’ message is a blueprint for how men and women can live together in peace and harmony. His teachings are also a guide that enables societies to prosper. One need look no further to find the answer to why America has descended into mediocrity. America has placed the accumulation of wealth as the measure of success and a profound indifference to the sufferings of others as a way of life and our society is suffering for it.
We are witnessing how the rejection of Jesus’ message impacts a life. The life in question is that of the former fake President of the United States. His life of greed, bullying, lying and stealing has been taking its toll for years. His rejection of compassion, honesty and goodwill towards others has left him spiritually broken and morally bankrupt. His ability to retain ideas and grasp even basic concepts has left him. He wallows in the misery of his own creation and soon he will pay for it.
Yet despite his countless lies, manipulation of others, and his endless appetite for cruelty, evangelicals still cling to him like groupies to an aging rock star. They too wonder in the darkness that comes from betraying the Light of the World. Unfortunately, evangelicals will not have to pay the price for their betrayal. Countless aborted fetuses will pay the price for them.
Many evangelicals believe the former fake President of the United States made possible the reversal of Roe v Wade by his appointments to the once respected but now disgraced United States Supreme Court. Yes, his appointees gutted a half-century of established precedent that protected a woman’s right to privacy. Yet what is left in the wake of that reversal is not the utopia many sought, but a nightmare evangelicals will have to live with the rest of their lives. Evangelicals with their money, influence and misplaced ideas of His message provided the spark that made possible OnDemand abortions. No matter how they spin their motives, the fact is there are more abortions occurring today than ever in American society.
As Christians, evangelicals included, seek to find their way in an ever more complicated world, they can take comfort in the fact that the Light of the World was not like Confucius, Muhammad or any Hindu God. Jesus Christ’s message does not require men to explain His message. Nor did Jesus teach in riddles or place women in servitude to men. Jesus’ message was clear and unambiguous, and it was meant for all humanity. Embrace love and empathy or else you will live a life without love and empathy. A life just like the one the former fake President of the United States has lived.
Nov 25, 2023
The Thanksgiving Day 2023 edition of The Status Quo: An Electronic Newsletter is dedicated to the Veterans who understand that it is time to abandon the two-party system and embrace a movement of independent candidates. Since we swore an oath that does not expire when we take off the uniform, we are duty bound to defend the U.S. Constitution. As such, it is time every Veteran acknowledges there exists a clear and present danger to the U.S. Constitution. This threat to the U.S. Constitution is the U.S. Congress.
Americans For Independents
The Legislative branch of the federal government has brought America to its knees. Where Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and Al Qaeda failed, the U.S. Congress has succeeded. We are a divided nation and there is no plan to unite us thanks to Congress. $33 trillion in debt and there is no plan to address the mounting debt thanks to Congress. Illegal immigrants pouring across our border and there is no plan to address this national security crisis thanks to Congress. Failing schools and a national infrastructure on the brink of collapse and there is no idea how to fix either of these national crises thanks to Congress. No wonder Congress cannot even agree to a budget to fund the federal government as required by the law it enacted.
Like great empires before it, the demise of the great American experiment was not caused by an external enemy but from an enemy within. The corrupting influence of money on the political process coupled with the sole political objective of securing re-election by both political parties has created the joke that is the U.S. Congress. The circus that is the U.S. Congress would be laughable if it were not for two undeniable facts. First, Congress has bankrupted our nation in the name of political expediency leaving the next generation a debt they cannot pay. Second, Congress has made national security a partisan political issue where denying or blocking the other party’s programs or policies passes as governance. One example should convince every Veteran that this Veteran speaks the truth. The Republican Party supports our country’s mortal enemy, the vile Russian dictator, because Democrats support Ukraine. Congress does not serve the American people. It serves itself.
It is time we acknowledge that the two-party system and the corrupting influence of money in all phases of campaign finance presents a clear and present danger to the American experiment in republican government. With that said, this Veteran is offering a solution to arrest the demise of this republic. The solution involves creating a true grassroots movement of supporters dedicated to electing independent candidates to replace the career politicians who rule Washington like overlords crushing any independent voice who seeks to change the status quo. The core constituency of this “Americans for Independents” movement must be America’s Veterans. We know the value of sacrifice just as we know the mission is what unites us and today that mission is to save the republic. We number in the millions, and we can reach out to millions more and once we build a base from which to expand beyond Military City, USA, we can begin to recruit America’s first responders, health care professionals, teachers and every other sensible American who understands that the time has come to change the status quo in Washington D.C.
As each of us watches the spectacle that is the U.S. Congress, we must understand that the most corrupt government in the world is not one in sub-Saharan Africa or Central America. These nations are too poor and lack any history of democratic government to make a difference in the world. The most corrupt government in the world is the one that could be making a real difference at home and in the world but instead embraces the status quo as the motivating force behind its decision-making process. Therefore, let us give thanks on this day that we are the second from last line of defense for the U.S. Constitution. The first line of defense is of course the U.S. Armed forces but based upon what we know about its leaders, Veterans may be the last line of defense.
When I Look at the World
The final frontier of the struggle for human and civil rights is not the LGBTQ+ community. Not by a longshot. Neither is the most discriminated segment of society found in black or brown communities. Again, not even close. In fact, not even women can claim to be the most abused and discriminated against segment of society. However, they are a close second. The honor of being the most abused and neglected segment of society belongs to children. The children found in the freezers of adults being paid to care for other people’s children hold this honor. The hundreds of thousands of children raped by Catholic priests and told to live with it hold this honor. And of course, the millions of children who have vanished into the basements of depraved pedophiles and sadists hold this honor.
This last honor is why the Missing Angels Legal Fund Inc. (Fund) was created in 2001. The Fund presented America’s Adults with the chance to use the civil courts and the new World Wide Web to do what the criminal courts are incapable of doing: exposing and holding accountable pedophiles if only economically. Instead, America’s adults decided paying lip service to protecting children was how they preferred to demonstrate their commitment to keeping children safe. For what it is worth, the first Defendant of the Fund’s operations plead guilty to sexually assaulting two very young girls (5 and 6 years old) and the American criminal justice system made him pay a heavy price: a small fine and probation. The second Defendant of the Fund’s operations presented the American people and the Macomb County Prosecutor (2002) with a sexual predator who raped countless young girls. Yet the people of Michigan and their elected officials could not have cared less. Years later the Sheriff and others in Macomb County law enforcement would learn just how depraved Donnie Ray Reams was and how the Fund delivered him on a platter only to be ignored. This explains why the Fund’s third and fourth “cases” were processed outside the courthouse and to some outside the law.
Rather than focus on the indifference of the people of Michigan to the safety of their children, let us instead examine how societies around the world pay lip service to protecting children. We know how the media reports the statistics relating to the number of dead in any mass shooting, war crime or natural disaster. The number of dead is always announced as a total number and then the number of children dead is reported. This distinction between adults and children can only be understood as an effort to single out children as being different from adults. This distinction can lead one to believe that children are somehow more important than adults. Of course, this is nonsense. The number of children killed in contrast to the total number killed whether in Gaza, Kyiv, Yemen, or the latest mass shooting in the United States is just another example of the lip service adults pay to preserving and protecting children. It is simply meaningless to make such a differentiation when none is made when children are beaten, raped, and murdered. Those who victimize children are treated in the same fashion as the Wall Street swindler or the common thief.
What this Newsletter has been advocating since July 4, 2000, is the need to treat those who harm children differently from other criminals. This Newsletter has asserted for decades that there are more studies than can be cited here that document the problem of measuring as well as holding accountable those who commit crimes against children. That problem being the victims are either extremely hesitant to report the crime or are simply incapable of reporting the crime. In the case of 5 and 6-year-old girls, they are NOT capable of reporting they were raped by their stepfather, uncle, brother, or anyone else. Yet our impotent system of justice regards children as the reason law enforcement cannot accurately measure the number of crimes against children and/or why prosecutors have such difficulties obtaining convictions.
We know there are a myriad of organizations, governmental and non-governmental, who work to prevent child abuse in all their ugly forms. Many of the government’s better funded law enforcement agencies are staffed with the most professional law enforcement agents in the land yet they all acknowledge that the horror of child abuse is impossible to stop since the reporting of these crimes falls completely on children. This very acknowledgment evinces a cowardice that confounds this child sex abuse survivor. If Americans treated child abusers like we treat Americans who tweet or otherwise communicate alleged antisemitic, anti-homosexual, or anti-transgender messages by judging them guilty without the chance to be heard, we would at least demonstrate a determination to hold child abusers accountable. It is no exaggeration to write in 2023 a perceived antisemitic tweet is punished more severely than first time child abusers. We do not give malicious tweeters a second chance, but we allow child abusers many bites at the apple.
Today we know that no member of the Democratic Party will advocate for the execution of serial rapists, pedophiles, and violent child abusers because they know liberal elites especially in the media and academia will label them extremists while proclaiming the death penalty does not work. We know that law-and-order conservatives will also never advocate for the execution of serial rapists, pedophiles, and violent child abusers because they too will be labeled as extremists. Knowing that our governments are incapable of protecting America’s women and children is nothing new. From the eastside of Detroit in the 1970s to San Antonio today, the evidence of the abject failure of our elected officials to protect the most vulnerable is all around us. Coincidently, so is the solution to preventing so many children from disappearing and so many women from being raped. The solution is not to blame women and children for not providing the evidence to convict these monsters. The solution is whenever we catch them, we make sure they never get the chance to do it again.
May 30, 2023
The Memorial Day 2023 edition of The Status Quo: An Electronic Newsletter is dedicated to those who refuse to allow the sacrifices of those who paid the ultimate price to be forgotten for the sake of political expediency. America’s enemies abroad are legion, but it is the enemy at home who must be defeated or the sacrifices of our brothers and sisters will be meaningless. As for the oath each Veteran took to defend the U.S. Constitution, it seems that promise has been relegated to the same place we threw yesterday’s paper. Only in America 2023 can Memorial Day be more about selling trucks than honoring our brothers and sisters who sacrificed so much for a nation that cares so little.
An American Oligarchy
An oligarchy is defined as Government by a few, especially by a small faction or group who exercise political power for the benefit of the few. The word is Greek in origin and was often used to describe Greek city states like Corinth and Sparta. Yet oligarchies can exist within states run by a monarch (Middle East), a dictator (Russia), a theocracy (Iran) and in failing republics (U.S.). In fact, a uniquely American Oligarchy was first identified in this Newsletter as the political-financial complex in honor of President Eisenhower’s famous warning of the dangers posed by the military-industrial complex.
Unlike the military-industrial complex, which was born out of a World War and a nuclear arms race with Josef Stalin, the political-financial complex was born out of the symbiotic relationship between the career politician (Washington D.C.) and the financial industry (New York). This relationship did not develop overnight. The military-industrial complex took the Second World War and the spread of communism to develop while the American Oligarchy took decades to develop. As for how the American Oligarchy developed, it can easily be explained when one understands how the relationship works.
Like all relationships, there is a give and take between the parties. In the case of the career politician, he or she needs a constant flow of campaign funds, inside information, and cash in order to secure re-election while Wall Street needs a guarantee that if their risky investments should result in catastrophic losses, the career politician will ensure that the taxpayer covers their losses. When a bank fails, for example, Wall Street knows the bank will either be bailed out with taxpayer dollars. Another example is playing out before our eyes. When another financial institution buys a failing bank the career politician’s role is to guarantee to backstop that bank’s losses. This is a very mature relationship, and these bailouts are not just evidence of this symbiotic relationship. They are proof of just how developed this relationship has become and if anyone doubts this assertion, they need only examine the net worth of the career politicians. These servants of the people did not make their money serving the people. They made it serving the few.
Yet before any examination of how this American Oligarchy has operated, it is imperative the reader understands 1) what had to occur before this American Oligarchy could exercise such sway over our elected officials and 2) how difficult it will be to remove this malignant tumor. Since we know a republic is a form of government based upon the rule of law, it only follows that when a republic abandons the rule of law, it is only a matter of time before another more repressive form of government takes control. As the reader reflects upon the degree to which the rule of law has been abandoned in America, it is easy to understand how the American Oligarchy has taken root in our lawless society. As for removing this American Oligarchy, the reader must also understand what makes this oligarchy so dangerous. The members of this oligarchy number in the millions. It is not some banana republic where 25 families control the country. There are 5 million American millionaires and 700 plus American billionaires who represent the power behind this political-financial complex. These 5 million or so Americans possess a net worth of about $65 trillion and as such there is no end to their ability to buy and sell career politicians especially when they come so cheap.
As for evidence that an oligarchy has been operating in Washington D.C., this article highlights four areas of our national existence. By examining these areas, the reader can understand how an oligarchy begins to exercise control behind the scenes. An oligarchy does not announce its presence but instead extends its reach into areas where the rule of law no longer exists, such as in Congress or many of the executive branch agencies including the Department of Defense. In fact, we first see the oligarchy at work in the debacle that was the War in Vietnam.
The policy decisions made in 1964 were not the result of the people’s will but were made by the few for the benefit of the few. In this case the few being a handful of men in the White House (aided by the CIA), a few senior military officers and more relevant to our discussion, a number of corporate leaders who knew billions of dollars could be made in saving Vietnam in the name of capitalism. The effect this decision has had on an emerging American Oligarchy was plain for all to see in March of 2003 when the now developed American Oligarchy (also aided by the CIA) were at work in Washington D.C. to guide America into the worst foreign policy disaster since Vietnam. The illegal invasion of Iraq is a perfect example of how the American Oligarchy works. Men never elected to office manipulate those who were and the end result is an incredibly profitable venture for the few while the many pay the ultimate sacrifice.
The second area of our national existence where the interests of the few trumped the interests of the many can be found in the catastrophic domestic policies following President Johnson’s decision to “wage” war at home. Three equally disastrous domestic “wars’ ‘ would follow the decisions regarding Vietnam and these wars would not only cause untold pain and suffering for the American people but waste trillions of taxpayer dollars as well. These social experiments were labeled as wars and were touted as Washington D.C.’s promise to reduce poverty, crime, and the nation’s growing drug problem. One coming after the other and each failing miserably, these experiments were undertaken so the career politician could argue he was making a difference in Congress. One need only observe the desperate poverty that permeates America’s rural communities and her inner cities to this day, listen to the reports of an Opioid crisis that is killing tens of thousands of young Americans every year and read about a rising crime rate that might never recede to know these experiments failed miserably. And like the invasion of Iraq in 2003, not a single person has been held to account for these failures. In fact, many career politicians have been re-elected time and time again despite their failed policies.
The third area of our national existence where we see this oligarchy at work is in the growing hatred by Americans for Americans. This fundamental change in how Americans view one another did not occur overnight. It began when left-wing members of the Democratic Party were convinced President Nixon was evil as opposed to paranoid for thinking correctly that the 1960 General Election was stolen from him. Not to be outdone, the moderate and once civil Republican Party redefined political hatred when President Clinton was elected. The hatred that Neo-Christians like Newt Gingrich spewed forth took hatred of one’s political opponent to a new level. Then, as if to remind Republicans who first transformed politics into warfare, Democrats surpassed Newt’s level of hatred when President Bush was elected. To hear moderate liberals refer to President Bush as being like Hitler made this Veteran wonder what was happening to Americans. Not to be outdone, it took only a few years for Republicans to perfect the craft. Today we are witnessing Republicans embracing hatred of their political opponents to such a degree that they would support a vile dictator and sworn enemy of America just to spite President Biden. It is hard to imagine more convincing evidence that the American Oligarchy operates to divide us. They will embrace a war criminal if doing so will secure one more seat in Congress for their side.
The fourth area of our national existence where we see the oligarchy at work involves the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few in order to dominate the many. The widening gap between the rich and the poor is a sure tale sign that the rule of law no longer protects the people. The fortunes being amassed by the 5,000 plus Americans cited above did not come from their hard work alone. Their fortunes are increasing because our government has embraced an unbridled form of capitalism that only a few decades ago would have been considered criminal. Laws are enacted to aid the wealthy in their accumulation of even greater wealth. From the tax code to the limitations of corporate and personal liability, the career politician has created an environment where all types of fraud, tax avoidance, insider trading, corporate give-a-ways, and the illegal manipulation of the financial industry are regarded as a cost of doing business in the new economy. In short, the game is rigged and no one in Washington D.C. cares.
When President Gerald R. Ford was sworn into office almost 50 years ago, he stated that our long national nightmare was over. The nation desperately needed to hear those words and to have that man as President of the United States. President Ford also spoke about our U.S. Constitution that day, and those are words all Veterans need to hear today.
“Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy.”
There is no higher power in Washington D.C. unless you consider the love of money as that higher power. There is no justice in Washington D.C. unless you consider what happens when a society values wealth above sacrifice as justice. There is no mercy in Washington D.C. unless you consider what happens when career politicians end subsidies that allow children to receive the only guaranteed meal of their day to be merciful. With that said, this Veteran issues a call to action in the name of those who gave the last full measure of devotion. It is up to us to return our society to the path of equality where the rule of law means something even if that means we must do what is necessary to uproot this American Oligarchy and restore our government to the people it was created to serve.
Our Favorite Uncle
The May 2022 edition of this Newsletter contained an article titled My Best Friend. The article was about a man who continues to disgrace the United States Supreme Court. Since then, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas has received a great deal of attention from some of the nation’s best investigative reporters and what the American people have learned is nothing short of amazing. The most recent peek into his “pay to play with Clarence” life includes direct payments for his grandnephew’s school tuition. At least one young man calls Uncle Clarence his favorite uncle.
The May 2022 article addressed the issue of who was responsible for the leak of the unpublished opinion that overruled Roe v Wade. Despite Associate Justice Alito’s assurances that it was not a conservative member of the Court, the issue of who leaked the draft opinion is now moot. The only issue that matters today is ascertaining if Uncle Clarence and his best friend are guilty of Sedition. To this end, the Department of Justice (DoJ) must initiate an investigation into what exactly transpired in the days leading up to January 6, 2021, with a focus on what Associate Justice Thomas’s wife was telling the former fake President of the United States concerning the legality of Vice President Pence refusing to certify the election results. This investigation must ascertain if Uncle Clarence was using his best friend and former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to convince the dimwitted former fake President of the United States that it was legal to order the former Vice President of the United States to refuse to certify the election results. If so, our favorite uncle must answer for his crimes.
The most recent revelations surrounding his wife, a.k.a. my best friend, and the former Chief of Staff, raised the question as to whether these two Americans were acting as conduits between an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and the President of the United States in an effort to prevent Vice President Pence from certifying the 2020 election results. Associate Justice Thomas may claim through a spokesperson that he was unaware of his wife’s communications with the former Chief of Staff but like so much that emanates from his filthy mouth that too might be a lie.
What is even more disconcerting than an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme court advising the sitting president that he has the power to overturn an election is that this same Associate Justice believes no one can or will hold him accountable. The Chief Justice and the other Associate Justices have shirked their responsibilities to the American people and to the U.S. Constitution by failing to condemn his actions. Overnight, they have destroyed the image of an impartial and upright institution and for the American people to have lost faith in the Judicial branch of our federal government means that they have lost faith in the entire federal government. How pathetic to watch as one ultra-conservative Associate Justice, cloaked in her Catholicism, sits in silence reminding us of how good Catholics keep their mouths shut in the face of injustice. As for two other conservative Associate Justices, Alito, and Gorsuch, they have already made it clear that their chosen path is not the rule of law, but political expediency.
The removal of a U.S. Supreme Court Justice can only occur in accordance with the U.S. Constitution. Article II, section 4 of the U.S. Constitution defines both the grounds for impeachment and which part of the federal government can impeach/remove a member of the U.S. Supreme Court. As such, it really does not matter what the grounds for removal are or what evidence is needed to prove those grounds. Treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors are the crimes for which removal is possible, but the Neo-Christians of the Republican Party will never allow that to occur. They cannot even gather the courage to remove Representative George Santos despite his blatant violations of the law. Yet if our republic is to survive, which is very much in doubt, Associate Justice Thomas and his best friend must be investigated in the same fashion the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers have been investigated. The fact that Uncle Clarence is black must not give him a free pass when it comes to sedition. Likewise, the fact that he is conservative must also not give him a pass. If probable cause exists that he and his best friend committed Sedition, they must take their seats in the dock so a jury of their peers can decide if they are in fact guilty of Sedition.
