Today In Texas History - President John F Kennedy Assassinated in Dallas

I was thinking about a topic for the blog today and I realized that today marks fifty-three years since President John F. Kennedy was gunned down in Dallas.  I have heard surprisingly little in the media about this most tragic day in Texas History, at least as far as the rest of the nation is concerned.  I wonder if we are in danger of forgetting the great sacrifice John F. Kennedy made for this nation.

Just like those of us who witnessed the events of 9/11/01, Americans who were alive in 1963 can to this very day remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when the news of the President's death was flashed around the world.  I, of course, do not really remember where I was, because on that day I was just over two years old.  But as I grew older, my parents and other adults in my life remembered each year what they were doing and how they felt when they heard the news that day.  I could not experience the feelings and emotions they felt, but I could at least to some degree understand their sadness at the loss of the young President and the loss of the things John F. Kennedy hoped to accomplish.

As the years went by, I learned to read and to think for myself.  I was able to review the information available concerning the events of that day in November back in 1963.  I have to admit that for the first few years that I studied the accounts of the assassination, I accepted without any doubt the "main stream" version, the "Lone Gunman" theory.  As a young student I had no concept that our "Government" could or would lie about anything, particularly about something so serious as the murder of our President.  I particularly remember an editorial cartoon that someone showed me.  This cartoon showed President Lincoln's statue weeping as it sat in the Lincoln Memorial.  Later, I read summaries of the Warren Commission investigation on Kennedy's assassination, and like many at the time, I swallowed the story, as incredible and unlikely as it was.

Today, after years of searching all sorts of sources, including "alternative" sources, I have come to believe, as have many Americans, that the Warren Commission report was merely an attempt to "give closure" (I can't stand that phrase) to the American people and assure them that an "insane" ex-military "gun nut" defeated the all the security measures the United States government could muster.  In other words, the government set out to convince the nation, and the world, that there was no conspiracy to murder President Kennedy.

But more than this, I read and learned about President John F. Kennedy, the World War II hero who became President.  I learned that the longer President Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khruschchev of the Soviet Union "faced off" during the Cold War, both of them realized they had something in common.  A couple things, as a matter of fact.  First, both of them wanted their children and grandchildren to live in a peaceful world, at least as much as peace could be possible on this planet.  Second, both of these men realized that neither one of them wanted to "push the button" that would start nuclear war, and would inevitably destroy the world, for all practical purposes.

In the few months between the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis and President Kennedy's death, Kennedy and Khrushchev had reached an understanding with each other that there was a better way.  An interesting side item was the fact that Kennedy secretly agreed to move OUR missiles out of Turkey, directly on the Russian border, in return for the removal of missiles from Cuba, and the return to the USSR of both the missiles on the Soviet ships and the FULLY FUNCTIONAL missiles in Cuba that were ALREADY AIMED at the United States.  In reality, Khrushchev and/or Fidel Castro could have destroyed the United States at any time during 1962/63 but Khrushchev himself had refused to do so.  A sad truth that I discovered for myself was that had Kennedy been able to complete his term, he and Khrushchev would have actually begun the first steps of bi-lateral disarmament. A second sad truth I learned was that the Military/Industrial complex HAD NO INTENTION of allowing the Cold War to end anytime soon. 

Like many of you, I came to realize that in some ways, Kennedy's presidency paralleled that of Lincoln, one hundred years earlier.  You see, President Lincoln realized that the steps he took toward a peaceful reconciliation of the States would cost him his life. I believe Abraham Lincoln knew he would not leave the White House alive, but he pursued a peaceful, relatively non-punitive reconstruction of the nation anyway.  In the same way, I believe President Kennedy knew he would not leave the White House alive.  He knew that pursuing peace and the eventual reduction and destruction of nuclear arms along with Premier Khrushchev, a plan literally to save the world, would cost him his life.  Kennedy knew that the Military/Industrial Complex had, in only two decades, become such a strong force that the legitimate and elected government of the United States could not rein this monster in.  In the same manner Khrushchev knew that his cooperation with President Kennedy would cost him, at the very least, his role as Premier, and very likely his life as well.

Putting all these fears behind him, President Kennedy pressed on toward peace with the Soviet Union.  And here is where all my investigating led me to depart from the "main stream" theory of the "Lone Gunman."  President Kennedy's cabinet, advisors, military chiefs, and Wall Street banker friends, all knew that Kennedy had made a breakthrough with Khrushchev.  The details had yet to be worked out, but the basic framework was in place.  Kennedy and Khrushchev wanted more than "détente."  What both men wanted was a world free of the threat of global destruction.  With these two men in power, that goal was reachable - an agreement was only months away.  President Kennedy knew the Military/Industrial Complex was dead-set against any strategy that not only would reduce or eliminate nuclear weapons already deployed around the world, but would also destroy the demand for more and "better" nuclear weapons. Further, I believe President Kennedy knew that, though his dream might one day be a reality, he would not live to see that day come.

Documented history shows that Kennedy was warned by several people to post-pone his trip to Dallas that November.  Kennedy himself shared his own misgivings.  But he made the trip just the same.  He would not be deterred, not even by the very Face of Death.  President Kennedy went to Dallas, where he was received by one of the warmest crowds ever.  The President was loved by so many, and even in Texas, where he had not carried the state in the election, the people were happy to see him, happy to just be near this man who truly rolled into the White House on the biggest wave of popularity since, well probably, since the victorious colonists begged General Washington to declare himself "King" of the fledgling nation.

I believe that events had taken shape and that an image was faintly visible to President Kennedy.  I believe that President Kennedy felt he would more than likely not leave Dallas alive.  But John F. Kennedy, unlike some of our more recent presidents, and notwithstanding his family's checkered past, was a true hero.  He was the kind of hero who knew that "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (St. John 15:13)

Today in Texas History, President John F. Kennedy gave his life for his fellow men, and in fact for all people throughout the world.

I, for one, will never forget this man's sacrifice, made when I was so young.  I pray that this nation will never forget President Kennedy, never forget his desire for peace, and especially never forget that he was willing to lay down his life for yours and mine.  Were any presidents since then willing to do the same?

May God Bless America.

End of Watch: Detective Benjamin Marconi, San Antonio Police Department

Earlier this morning Detective Benjamin Marconi was shot and killed in the line of duty as he was conducting a traffic stop right outside the police department.  The detective is the first Texas peace officer to die in an ambush shooting since the five officers were shot by a sniper in Dallas on July 7th.  Several Texas officers have died since then, and I honor them here before I write about Detective Marconi.

July 12 - Officer Marco Zarate of the Bellaire Police Department crashed during a pursuit and died of his injuries.

August 4 - Officer Justin Scherlen, Amarillo Police Department, lost his life in a traffic accident that occurred while he was on duty.

September 4 - Officer Amir Abdul - Khalig, Austin Police Department, was killed when a vehicle struck his motorcycle.

September 7 - Deputy Hubert Maltby, Eastland County Sheriff's Office, died of injuries suffered in a traffic accident while he was on duty.

September 30 - Deputy Eugene Ransom suffered a fatal heart attack while providing first aid to a jail inmate who had also suffered a heart attack.

All of these officers deserve our gratitude for their willingness to serve the people.  My sympathy and prayers to their families and their fellow officers.

Detective Marconi's death was not an accident or a medical event, as with the officers above.  The detective was targeted and the shooter had only one intent, to kill a police officer.

Detective Marconi had made contact with a driver for a traffic violation, and then had returned to his vehicle to write a citation.  So much has changed in the decades since I have been a peace officer.  Among those changes are computers and ticket printers located in the officers' vehicles.  I do not know if the detective had such equipment in his car, but in any case, he had sat down in the driver's seat to complete the citation.

While the officer was occupied with this, and presumably keeping an eye on the driver and/or passengers in the vehicle he had pulled over, a car parked behind the police vehicle.  I cannot second guess what the officer was doing or why he did not see the person approach him, but I have been in this situation many times myself. 

The fact is the officer does not know why another vehicle has stopped, but there are several possibilities.  The vehicle could be following the car the officer stopped, and simply pulled over so as not to lose the other car.  Another possibility, believe it or not, is that a person seeking information or directions saw the officer and decided to stop behind the police car and wait until the officer has finished so that the person can ask questions.  Or the person the person has more sinister motives, as in this case.

San Antonio police at this point are saying they have no information to link the shooter to the person who was stopped by Detective Marconi.  The officer was White and the shooter was Black.  The shooting occurred directly in front of the San Antonio Police Department building, which to me hints at the idea that the shooter was watching from somewhere nearby waiting for a police officer to appear outside the building.  Since today is Sunday, there was likely much less police traffic than usual.  When the shooter was sure that Detective Marconi was occupied he made his move to ambush the officer.  The shooter simply decided to kill the first officer he saw.

No one knows why Detective Marconi did not notice that the person approaching him had a weapon at the ready.  Possibly the officer was distracted by his computer.  In my day, officers simply wrote out a citation while radioing to the dispatcher all information so that the dispatcher ran wanted checks and provided other information to the officer.  The officer had only two tasks, write the citation and keep a sharp eye on the person or persons occupying the vehicle.  And on his surroundings.

Now that we are in the computer age, officers are many times expected to check for criminal information on the person and vehicle themselves, by entering information into their computer console.  Some departments have added computerized printers, so that the officer must also split his attention even further.  Many departments now expect that officers will do very little communication "over the radio," instead, the officers must now do data entry while driving or while trying to watch violators.  I am personally of the opinion that police administrators have inadvertently traded high-tech convenience and efficiency for officer safety.

But whatever happened today, a police officer was murdered, possibly in a racially-motivated scenario.  My prayers go out to the officer's family and to his fellow officers at SAPD.  I also pray that this cowardly shooter is caught soon, and receives the appropriate reward for his deed.

Today Detective Benjamin Marconi was taken from his family and friends, and is now in that Thin Blue Line in Heaven.

May God Bless America

Hillary and Trump - No Real Choice - Election 2016

It was the night before THE Election, and 'cross this great land...

I would have finished this poem except that my feelings about this coming election are most definitely NOT poetic.

For instance, I am disappointed and disgusted that the American political system produced this "any way you look at it you lose" Presidential ballot.  I mean, if we try to ignore all the news about Hillary and all the rumors and naughty photographs of Trump, and just vote based on both of their past "records," then pretty much "any way you look at it, you lose."  Thank you Simon and Garfunkle for that classic line from "Mrs. Robinson."  To further quote the Duo, "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?"

The Democratic candidate, based ONLY on her record as a career politician, is a proven liar.  The Republican candidate is a proven "get to the top BAM" kind of guy.  You know, BAM means "by any means."  Plus, there are decades of news stories and photographs to show that Trump has been an associate of the Clintons for many years.  Is he really so opposed to Hillary?  It is my belief that we will see, as usual, "business as usual" no matter whether Hillary or Donald goes to the White House.

When I think of politics and especially about "Presidential" politics, I can't help but be reminded of President Richard Nixon from way back in the '70s.  Good grief, I was just in junior high way back then.  If you, my dear reader, are too young to remember, or if you skipped out of history class in college to do your laundry, let me refresh your memory.

Richard Nixon won a hotly contested Presidential Election in 1968, overcoming Senator Hubert Humphrey in a close race, electorally speaking.  Flashing forward to 1972, President Nixon was a shoe-in for re-election, and pretty much everyone knew it.  In fact Nixon did win the popular election by one of the largest "landslide" victories in election history.  And he went on to serve his second term, happily ever after...well, almost. 

It turns out that the only person who was not sure of Nixon's inevitable victory was Richard "Tricky Dick" Nixon himself.  So, Nixon had his "CREEPs" (the Committee to RE-Elect the President) break into Democratic headquarters in Washington D.C. so that he could learn all about the Democrats' election strategies.  The Democrats had rented a suite at a nice little hotel in D.C. called the Watergate Hotel.  Long story short, the CREEPs were caught by an alert security officer, and...well, the cat was out of the bag, so to speak.  Tricky Dick was busted!

Now pay attention, class, to this part of my post.  President Nixon was NEVER CHARGED with a crime.  The police and the FBI had all the evidence needed, and of course, the news was FULL of this evidence.  What was President Nixon's crime?  Burglary.  More precisely, CONSPIRACY to commit burglary.  That's it. No illegal use of emails (or teletypes back then), no deliberate inaction when Americans were about to get murdered in an American embassy overseas.  No trail of corpses linked to other scandals.  No leaked emails of sex with children or flying to the Bahamas with a registered sex-offender.  No foundation accepting illegal contributions from foreign governments.  Just a rather simple felony, conspiracy to commit burglary.

When Nixon's actions were exposed, the public, and Congress, were outraged, and rightly so.  Nixon tried to ride out the remainder of his second term, but after a blistering Congressional hearing into the Watergate affair, the Senate made up its mind to impeach Nixon.  And it was the right thing to do.  The President was more than likely a felon, and evidence of his actions, if sent to a court, would have resulted in his conviction.  President Nixon, the most popular American President since John F. Kennedy, was now disgraced and dishonored in the public's eye.  But this disgraced man did something that should be an example to all politicians.  With the last sliver of honor left him, President Nixon became the first (and ONLY, so far) President to resign from office, sparing the nation the expense and trauma of impeaching and removing the President from office, something Bill Clinton did not have the guts to do two decades later.

Now, nearly two decades after Bill Clinton left office, Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, former senator and former Secretary of State, has run up a list of scandals that makes Tricky Dick eligible for the clergy.  The FBI Director, Mr. Comey, ADMITTED on television and in other media that his agency had enough evidence of wrongdoing to INDICT Hillary Clinton, and this for just the email scandal.  Granted, he said he would not allow his agency to CHARGE Hillary (A WHOLE OTHER SCANDAL ITSELF) but he candidly pointed out that "other persons" (you or me, for instance) most definitely WOULD HAVE BEEN CHARGED if the same evidence were used against such other persons.

So now it is the eve of the most disgusting Presidential Election of this and last century.  Will Hillary do the right thing with the last vestige of honor she could muster, and drop out of the election?  Of course not.  Two reasons for this: One, she does NOT HAVE a last vestige of honor to muster.  Hillary Clinton is the most dishonorable person, bar none, to have ever held a political office in the United States.  Two: If she is EVER charged with a crime, President Obama will no doubt pardon her prior to leaving office.  If she is indicted after taking office, there is no reason to believe she would step down until the trial was over.  But seriously folks, we know that neither the Director of the FBI, nor his boss, the Attorney General, will EVER indict Hillary.

Not only will Hillary Clinton never be forced from, or voluntarily leave, the Presidency, but also nearly fifty percent of registered voters will support her no matter what she does as President, or what she HAS DONE, on the road to the White House.  My gut feeling and my prediction is that she will win this election and, not only that, but she will serve two terms, just as Bill did.  Wouldn't it be great if I were wrong?  The only thing that could cut Hillary's two terms short would be if she keeps poking President Putin and starts World War III.  Don't laugh...we may have been distracted by all the news about Hillary and may have missed the threats she has directed toward Russia, but Mr. Putin has not missed them, I can assure you.

Before I go, I will indulge you quickly with my fantasy, and that is pretty much all it is at this point.  My fantasy is that the FBI Director has simply thrown a smoke screen to Hillary, and at some point between now and January, 2017 Hillary Clinton et al WILL BE INDICTED.  Ahh....we can all dream.

May God Bless and SAVE America