Biden Targets Trump, Part I

C'mon man, what do you mean Biden targeted Trump?  The Attorney General, Merrick Garland, said he signed off on the warrant.  And the FBI conducted the search/raid.  What has Biden got to do with it?  What I mean is, Biden had previously said that Trump was a threat to democracy.  Biden had previously said that Trump ought to be prosecuted over January 6.  Biden had previously said that "he wanted Mr. Garland to act less like a ponderous judge and more like a prosecutor."  (Per the New York Times)  Does anyone really believe that Garland did not get the message from the Commander in Chief?  Of course he did.

So let's talk about this unprecedented raid on the home of a former president of the United States of America.  Is anyone really surprised by this unprecedented act?  If so, permit me to remind you of Nancy Pelosi rushing a second impeachment vote against Trump after January 6 - without first having any House Judiciary Committee hearings.  Unprecedented.  Although they managed to get around to having the hearings 18 months later.  Allow me to also remind you of the unprecedented action taken by Speaker Pelosi in denying the minority leader, Rep. McCarthy, the right to appoint the Republican members of that January 6 committee.  Weren't we just told that the Supreme Court did not respect precedent?  It appears that the Democrats do not care for it much either. 

But why did it require dozens of FBI agents to raid Mar-a-Lago?  Well, it was urgent, as there was a risk of highly classified documents being destroyed.  So, "urgent" now means that the government could wait for 18 months after Trump left office to collect those documents?  Urgent now means that, a warrant signed on Friday need not be carried out until Monday because...what?  The agents had beach days planned?  (To be clear, I have always supported law enforcement.  But, to also be clear, the top echelon of the FBI has already shown themselves to be corrupt.  Think James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.)

I must say, I do appreciate the coordination of talking points within the Democratic Party, and within the mainstream media.  Talking point no. 1:  "No one is above the law."  Everyone agrees with this.  Everyone.  And, theoretically, it is correct.  But in practice, plenty of people are above the law (see Part II.  Maybe Part III.)  Talking point no. 2:  "This was not a raid."  I know this to be true because one MSM talking head after the next told me.  If they say it was a "search" and not a "raid," it must be so.  Right?  Talking point no. 3:  "How dare those dastardly Republicans and conservatives criticize the DOJ and FBI over carrying out a lawful search warrant?"  What about criticism of local police departments around the country for the last two years?  Perfectly permissible.  Harsh criticisms of, and even threats against, the Supreme Court must be perfectly permissible.  Or, did I miss the prosecution of Senator Schumer, following his threats against Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh? 

Question:  Does anyone really believe this raid was about classified documents?  Yes, the Federal Code does have section 2071, which provides for certain punishments of those found guilty of concealing, removing, mutilating etc. any public documents.  That section provides for fines and imprisonment, but the key is the provision that states the guilty party "shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States."  Disqualified.  Some on the left were drooling over that provision.  However, a number of commentators have already made the point that, even if Trump were to be found guilty under that section, he would not be disqualified from running for, and becoming president again.  

The reason is simple.  The Constitution states the 3 requirements for being eligible for the office of president - being a natural born citizen, being 35 years of age, and being a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.  No statute can change the constitutional requirements.  The Supreme Court has already ruled on similar issues, such as when a state tried to impose term limits on members of Congress.  Again, the Constitution does not place any limit on the number of terms for members of Congress.   

Then, if section 2071 is not the issue, what is?  First, we have the 14th Amendment.  That Amendment does bar someone from office if, having previously taken an oath to support the Constitution, they engaged in insurrection or rebellion.  That is what Biden and the DOJ and the FBI are looking for.  A smoking gun that ties Trump to the events of January 6.  This raid was not just about classified documents.  Now we learn from the warrant that there is also a claim of possible violations of the Espionage Act.  And. just to make sure that Trump is either found guilty of something, or becomes so repugnant to the voting public that he cannot possibly win reelection, someone has leaked to the Washington Post a claim that the government is concerned about nuclear secrets having been taken to Mar-a-Lago.  Nuclear secrets are of great import, which, again, explains why the government waited 18 months to retrieve those documents.  

Former Florida Attorney General, Pam Bondi, asked why, if Trump was not complying with a previously issued subpoena, the DOJ did not just seek an order compelling Trump to comply.  After all, we have already shown that time was not of the essence.  

Perhaps the Wall Street Journal said it best, in their 8/10/22 editorial:  "The Justice Department is unleashing political furies it can't control and may not understand, and the risks for the department and the country are as great as they are for Mr. Trump."  Yet, not a single person of the left with whom I have communicated, has expressed any concern about the risks to the country.  Instead, I get the main talking point of the left - only Trump is a threat to the country.    

Growing Up In 1981

 (Note.  The series continues.)

This was a big year.  I had already moved from New Jersey to California 6 1/2 years earlier.  I had already graduated from law school, and was about to start my fourth year as an attorney.  On the personal side, I was already dating my future bride.  And, in 1981, I would be turning the big 3-0.  

1981 was also the year that I purchased my first home.  After working for the same firm for three years in downtown Los Angeles, I was transferred to a suburb about 30 miles away.  It was in that area that I bought a townhouse, for the grand sum of...$105,000.  It was a two story home, with the kitchen, a small family room, dining area and living room on the first floor.  There was also, thankfully, a half bath on the first floor.  The second floor had two baths, the master (a now politically incorrect term, which I have learned from watching House Hunters) bedroom, and a second bedroom/den/study that was open to the downstairs.  

In 1981, the average price of a gallon of gasoline was a buck and quarter.  A loaf of bread cost 59 cents, and a dozen eggs went for 95 cents.  If you wanted to send a first class letter?  18 cents.  1981 saw the beginning of seven seasons of "Hill Street Blues," with an ensemble cast of some rather eccentric characters.  As with many police dramas, Hill Street Blues became one of my favorite shows.  Regardless of my political leanings, I have always loved the shows where the good guys prevail.  I have always possessed a strong sense of right and wrong, even though my political beliefs, at times, might have resulted in my reaching incorrect conclusions. 

1981 was the year that Ronald Reagan, having defeated Jimmy Carter in 1980, became the 40th President of the United States.  However, as I was still a man of the left, I recall predicting before the election, that Reagan might be "too extreme" for the American electorate.  So much for that.  It was the day before Reagan took office, that Iran agreed to release 52 American hostages that they had kept in captivity for 444 days.  When Reagan took the oath of office, the hostages headed home.  One could not help but notice.

Then, on March 30, 1981, we had yet another assassination attempt on an American President, when John Hinckley shot, and nearly killed, the new President.  I remember being moved by Reagan joking with the doctor at the hospital when he said:  "I hope you're a Republican."  And I remember the doctor replying:  "Mr. President, today we are all Republicans."  I felt the same way.  I did not vote for Reagan either time he ran.  But I have always considered myself "old school" with regards to certain things.  When a bad guy attempts to assassinate a sitting president, and thereby change the course of history, I will always be opposed.  Plus, I hate bad guys.

One year later, my girlfriend/fiance and I got married.  In just a few weeks it will be 40 years that we have been married.  As the joke goes, some say I should get a medal; but many more say she should get the medal.  Forty years later we have three wonderful children, and finally one grandchild, a beautiful granddaughter who is now 13 months old. 

Two years later, in 1983, I would suffer another serious medical setback.  After being sick for two weeks with a low grade fever and vomiting and diarrhea (sorry), I lost 20 pounds.  Given the fact that I only weighed 140 pounds at the time, that was a substantial weight loss.  At the end of those two weeks I finally started to feel better.  But the following morning I could not get myself out of bed.  My legs simply would not move.  My now wife called the ambulance and I was taken to the hospital.  Nobody was sure as to exactly what happened to me.  However, in the hospital, they did a stool culture which showed that I was exposed to a food born bacteria called campylobacter.  

As it turns out, my family had been visiting my mother-in-law two weeks earlier, and she served what was likely some undercooked chicken.  (Was she trying to tell me something?)  No one else got sick.  But, I have an autoimmune disease called ankylosing spondylitis.  As I was later told (after this happened again in 1986) by the head immunologist at UCLA, my immune system often has a delayed reaction.  If the chicken we all ate was undercooked, other family members with a normal immune response, had their antibodies successfully fight any bacteria.  But with my delayed immune response, I was sick for two weeks.  

And the not being able to get out of bed?  That's when my antibodies finally kicked in.  And the autoimmune nature of the illness is that my antibodies attack me.  So, my muscle enzymes were elevated to such an extent that I could not move my legs.  My liver enzymes were also elevated, as was my alkaline phosphatase and my sed rate.  In medical terms, my entire body was out of whack.  My antibodies went on to attack my hips, resulting in my use of a cane, and the beginning of the destruction of my hips.  But it was my bride (before any doctor told me the cause) who went to the medical library at UCLA (what internet?) and found articles discussing the relationship between ankylosing spondylitis and campylobacter.  And, while there were more difficult times to come, my bride was there to take care of me each step along the way.       

A Postscript to "Growing Up In 1971."

 (Note.  Sometimes I forget things, such as the two academic related paragraphs I should have included in "Growing Up In 1971."  Neither story is flattering to me.  Nevertheless, here they are.)

In high school, I loved math and science.  I also loved history and current events.  What can I say.  When I enrolled at Rutgers I was confident that I would be able to do well in calculus.  I was wrong.  It turns out, that a good understanding of trigonometry would have been quite beneficial.  However, having missed over half of my senior year in high school because of my back surgery, I also missed over half of the year of trigonometry.  

Thankfully, that year at Rutgers we were able to take classes the first semester on a pass/fail basis.  Also, thankfully, a math whiz (Ramon) who lived across the hall in the language section of the dorm, volunteered to help me.  A lot.  So I was able to pass.  But I also realized that would be the end of my math and science curriculum.  Thereafter, liberal arts it was.

Another first semester class was English composition.  I have no recollection if we were assigned a topic or permitted to discuss whatever we might choose for our first composition.  The assignment was given the first week of classes.  And I have no recollection of the topic I chose.  I wrote the essay in a blue book and turned it in.  I do recall that the grading was done by a teaching assistant, who corrected it in red ink.  If I had to estimate, I'd say that the amount of red ink at least equaled the amount of the blue ink that I used.  Then, the T.A. ended with this classic line:  "This is crap!"

On the bright side, I learned to improve my writing during my years at Rutgers.  However, at that moment, I remember saying to myself:  "Well, Mike, you're off to a great start at Rutgers."