Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Two issues involving our current president seem to be taking all the air out of the room at this time.
One of these is the long-running charge of collusion with the Russian government and President Trump during last year’s campaign. In spite of the best efforts of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan and FBI Director James Comey to oust Curley, Moe and Larry from their position in Hollywood folklore, no collusion has been found.
What has been discovered is that an American citizen (Gen. Michael Flynn) was unmasked by the Obama administration as having had meetings with Russian diplomats. What has also been discovered is that an unsubstantiated dossier paid for by the Clinton campaign and presented to the intelligence community as the gospel according to Saint Christopher Steele, former crack British spy. What remains to be answered is whether or not this unverified dossier was presented to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA or FISC) as evidence for the intelligence community to surveil American citizens.
A major problem with the FISA Court is the secrecy surrounding the issuing of warrants. Advocates in defense of the court’s secrecy have always explained those seeking the warrants are highly trained professionals who would not stoop to spying on Americans for political purposes. Alas, this defense seems to have been shredded in this case.
The court itself is in danger of losing its credibility with the public. It could and should answer the question as to the Steele dossier being used to obtain warrants. Citizens need to know and understand that the need for secrecy is justified. The FISA Court should issue a statement immediately.
The other issue being debated is whether or not the president of the United States is a racist. Those who have known him for years say he is not. Those who have a political ax to grind against him proclaim loudly that he is.
Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, in his urge to tattle broke a confidence or was guilty of an ethics violation when he left a closed door meeting and galloped to a microphone. Durbin knows that the major metropolitan area in his state has been described by the same expletive that the president allegedly used to describe other countries. Data indicates that combat deaths for Americans in the Middle East last year totaled less than 50 while deaths by armed gunmen in Chicago totaled more than 600.
Note to readers: This will be my last column for the Quay County Sun. I am extremely proud of the fact that I have always left an organization better off than it was when I arrived.
When I left the U.S. Marines, they got better; when I left Lockheed Martin, they got better and I’m sure now that I’ve left the editorial staff they’ll get better.
Rube Render is the Curry County Republican chairman. Contact him at: