#5. a. Red

Mike Norton Oct 22

Regarding platform #9, Trump is correct and there are many examples that previous administrations have used the power of their office against people they do not agree with. Here are some examples. In 2013, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that the IRS used inappropriate criteria to flag conservative organizations. This led to widespread criticism, congressional investigations, and the eventual resignation of key IRS officials. The IRS later issued an apology and reached settlements with some of the affected groups. Again during the Obama administration (notice a trend?), the Department of Justice and other federal agencies initiated Operation Choke Point aimed to cut off financial services to businesses considered high-risk for fraud, such as payday lenders, firearm dealers, and other industries. Critics argued that the operation unfairly targeted certain industries, particularly gun sellers, based on political motives. Operation Choke Point was officially ended in 2017 after facing significant pushback from the banking and financial sectors, as well as civil liberty advocates, who claimed it was a form of government overreach and political targeting. In 2013, it was revealed that the Department of Justice had secretly obtained phone records from the Associated Press (AP) in connection with a leak investigation. Along with the surveillance of the AP, the DOJ under President Obama faced criticism for investigating Fox News reporter James Rosen as a possible “co-conspirator” in a leak case. The DOJ monitored his phone calls and personal emails. This action was widely seen as an attempt to intimidate journalists and discourage whistleblowing. During and after the 2016 presidential election, the FBI investigated members of Donald Trump’s campaign for possible ties to Russian interference in the election. In 2019, the DOJ’s Inspector General found mistakes in how the FBI obtained FISA warrants to surveil Trump campaign aide Carter Page, leading to claims of political bias. In addition, the Steele Dossier was discredited and found to have been funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign. In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked classified information revealing that the National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting bulk phone records and metadata from millions of American citizens. This was done under the guise of national security but was seen as a significant overreach of government power and a violation of privacy. Under President Obama, the administration prosecuted more whistleblowers under the Espionage Act than all previous administrations combined. Critics argued this was an attempt to suppress government transparency and prevent the exposure of information unfavorable to the government. In 2021, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter to the Biden administration comparing parents protesting at school board meetings to “domestic terrorists.” The FBI, under direction from the DOJ, began investigating threats against school board members. Critics, especially on the political right, argued that this was an attempt to intimidate and suppress parents who disagreed with school policies, including issues around COVID-19 and critical race theory. These are just a sample of the type of misuse of authority that Trum p vows to eliminate. David talks about the potential abuse of power by Trump but you can see that his predecessor, Obama fostered a culture of abuse of power against those whom he had a bone to pick. Amazing the hypocrisy.

Point 16: Schools should concentrate on fundamental STEM and liberal arts skills. They should not be a platform for social engineering on agendas that do not have very broad acceptance in society. It is ok in schools to talk about the evils of sex trafficking, child labor laws, 9/11, Pearl Harbor, the wrongs of slavery where society has well accepted values, yes! But when that consensus does not exist, be it right or left, like sexual assignment surgery, pro-life or pro-abortion positions and so on, stated positions do not belong in the classroom. At higher levels, discussions on the pro and cons of positions as long as taught without agenda, preference or bias is fine, but even that is risky because it is difficult to teachers own bias out of the discussion. As for withholding of federal funds, that is a frequently used tool by the executive and legislative branch to influence or enforce federal policy.

The final point almost makes me throw up. After the horrible murder of over a thousand Israeli and foreign victims including sexual assault and sexual mutilation and the kidnapping of hundreds more by the terroristic ruling authorities in Gaza, Israel retaliated as would any nation invaded in such a violent, manner. As the US did in Iraq after the 9/11 attack at the cost of hundreds of thousand Iraqis. And as has happened many times over recent and not so recent history. But here in America, Hamas sympathizers, some of whom are non citizen guests of our nation, celebrated the murders and protested the legitimate response of our ally, Israel, a sanctuary nation created to protect a vulnerable minority who has been harassed and murdered again and again over the last 2000 years including the holocaust with over 6 million men, women and children murdered. Their retaliation against Gaza in a small territory with a huge beehive of tunnels and weapons caches and soldiers hidden under hospitals, schools and residential neighborhoods, unfortunately exposes many potentially innocents to collateral damage. No different than WWII, Vietnam, Iraq, Korea. Such is the cost or war. The protests on college campus was neither peaceful, nor without harm to US Jewish citizens. Foreigners are guests. When they harass our citizens or promote dangerous, threatening ideas and ideologies of hate and violence, like Hamas sympathizers, like a bad guest in your home, they are subject to expulsion. Why anyone would think that unreasonable or inappropriate is beyond me.