My letter of application to the University of Virginia's Miller Center

I learned today from The Washington Post that two professors have quit the University of Virginia's Miller Center in protest against the hiring of former Trump administration official Marc Short to teach about the Presidency.

It seemed this presents an opportunity to call the bluff of self-described "nonpartisan" academics by asking to fill one of the two now-empty slots, in order to add some more political diversity to the faculty and fellows... since I'm pretty sure the number of pro-Trump professors on staff is pretty low right now. After all, even President Bushes 41 & 43 all but endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016, and kept bashing Trump after Election Day.

So, I went to the Miller Center website, and sent them a letter on their contact form:

Dear Miller Center,

I see from the press that 2 faculty members have resigned from your nonpartisan Institute because of the Mark Short appointment. I guess that creates two openings for pro-Trump scholars to further balance your faculty, so I’d like to apply. Here is a link to my 2017 documentary on Pres. Trump: https://thetrumpeffectmovie.blogspot.com.  

I have a Ph.D., M.F.A., taught at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School for 15 years,  was a Fulbright Scholar at UWED in Tashkent, Uzbekistan,  an ACCELS visiting professor at RGGU in Moscow, Russia, a Bradley Scholar at the Heritage Foundation, regional finalist for the White House Fellowship, president of THIS for Diplomats, on the board of the Voltaire Society of America & Arts Club of Washington, producer-director of “Who Shall Live and Who’s Shall Die?”,  author or  editor of a number of books and articles including “PBS: Behind the Screen,” “Masterpiece Theater and the Politics of Quality,” “The National Endowments: A Critical Symposium,”  and currently teach at UMUC. 

My cell phone is xxx-xxx-xxxx if you have any questions. 

I look forward to the opportunity to add more intellectual diversity to the Miller Center, and hope to hear from you soon in this regard. 

Thank you for your consideration. 

Yours sincerely,
Laurence A. Jarvik, Ph.D.

I don't expect to receive a job, or even an answer, just wanted to put on record that any shortage of pro-Trump faculty is most probably not a bug but a feature at the University of Virginia, as well as that any imbalance in the faculty more likely by design than by accident...ironic, since Trump Winery is just down the road from campus, and one might think the UVA might want to add President Trump to Jefferson and Monroe as local heroes for their Center for the Study of the Presidency.

After Helsinki's Trump-Putin Summit, The Russia Card is Still America's Trump Card

The recent Helsinki Summit between Presidents Trump and Putin, and subsequent media controversy, reminds me that it is still the case that the Russia Card is America's Trump Card, as I wrote in a 2017 post for this blog. For Russia has been a constant factor in American electoral politics for the last few decades. 

I thought of this background as I watched the Helsinki press conference.

However, what I saw in the video did not match most media reports in the United States. 

Instead of Putin besting Trump, as pundits declared, I saw a strong and confident President Trump towering head and shoulders over a shorter and suppliant President Putin.

This reality is reflected in the official Kremlin photo to the left. Trump is much taller, and much bigger, than Putin. Indeed, even his tie is bigger than Putin's.

In my opinion, in Helsinki Russia seemed to be asking for a "reset" of its own, a counterpoint to Hillary Clinton's failed initiative in the Obama administration.

Given the correlation of forces, it would be a mistake of historic proportions, in my opinion, to not to "give peace a chance" by attempting one more time to negotiate a "New Deal" between Moscow and Washington. If anyone can negotiate such an agreement, it would be the author of "The Art of the Deal." America has no better negotiator in our bullpen.

Indeed, the election of President Trump provides an opportunity for improved relations which in many ways mirrors the election of President Yeltsin in 1991, for in many ways Trump is America's Yeltsin.

At the time of Yeltsin's accession to power, there was bipartisan support from both Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican Leader Bob Dole for improving relations with Russia to help Yeltsin move the country into the modern world. 

Although the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, and subsequent breakup of the formerly "nonaligned" state, provided a thorn in the side to mutual relations, both the United States and Russia made great progress on many fronts, from nuclear non-proliferation to our joint space launches. 

President Yeltsin toured the USA to great applause, and American firms were welcomed into the former Soviet Space. Yeltsin even visited farms in Kansas with Senator Dole.

That this Golden Age of sorts turned sour, was perhaps inevitable, based on mutual misunderstandings and miscalculations. At the time, the balance of power was so unfavorable to Russia, that resentful accommodation by Moscow replaced negotiated mutually beneficial agreements --which could probably have been worked out, had Washington not labored under ideological delusions of "The End of History" and "The Unipolar Moment." 

If Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" had been the guidebook instead, President Clinton might have worked out a Yalta 2.0 which favored American interests such that NATO might have become unnecessary--for Russia could have served as an American ally to balance the rise of China.

Unfortunately, NATO expansion, pressures from the EU, the Arab world, and domestic American political calculations made that deal un-doable in the 1990s. By 2001, relations were raw once again.

The 9/11 Al Qaeda attacks presented another opportunity for a new deal. President Putin, convinced that Al Qaeda was the same enemy he had fought in Chechnya, assisted President Bush with American anti-terrorism efforts, opened Russian supply routes to Afghanistan, sold Russian helicopters, and invited President Bush to V-E Day ceremonies in Moscow--which he willingly attended no doubt to send a signal of resolve to Osama Bin Laden. 

Yet again, obstacles surfaced, as disputes over former Warsaw Pact states appeared impervious to negotiation, flared into violence in Georgia and Ukraine, as "color revolutions" began to dash renewed hopes of a rapprochement. Russia was stronger than in the 1990s, but had not rebuilt her military or economy. Another opportunity for a deal more favorable to the United States had been missed.

The election of Barack Obama, twice over more anti-Russian candidates McCain and Romney, opened yet another opportunity to make a deal.

By 2008, Russia was stronger than at the turn of the millennium, but still not in full form. Once again, there was a chance for a "reset," symbolized by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's  now infamous button gift to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

As many remember, Obama had mocked Romney's anti-Russian attitude, with a memorably dismissive zinger in a 2012 debate:

Governor Romney, I’m glad that you recognize that al-Qaida is a threat. Because a few months ago, when you were asked what’s the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia. Not al-Qaida. You said Russia. And the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back. Because, y’know, the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.”

However, Obama's "Arab Spring," overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yankuovych, and support for anti-Putin protests by "Pussy Riot" and Alex Navalny in Moscow did little to improve relations, much less reset them. Russian annexation of Crimea and American passage of the Magnitsky Act added fuel to the fire, which erupted into hot proxy wars in Syria and Ukraine, eventually leading to relations so unfriendly they were immortalized in a Putin-Obama "stare down" at the 2016 G20 Summit.

Sadly,  in the aftermath of the Helsinki Summit, opponents of President Trump have made the Russia Card an obstacle once more... by accusing him of everything from "failing to stand up to Putin" to "treason." 

Perhaps, though, this third time may prove a charm for President Trump, for the Russia Card cannot be understood out of context. For the Russia Card is about a great deal more than Russia--it is the flip side of the "Muslim Card" which Trump deployed very successfully against Hillary Clinton and President Obama during the 2016 election. Attacks on Russia are often diversionary tactics designed to steer attention away from Islamic terrorism.

This pattern seems to be repeating itself in media coverage of the Helsinki Summit. Buried in the noise about pledging faith in the intelligence community is news that President Trump and Putin discussed joint efforts to fight Islamic terrorism. President Trump mentioned cooperation in this regard at the July 16th joint press conference:

The President (Putin) and I also discussed the scourge of radical Islamic terrorism.  Both Russia and the United States have suffered horrific terrorist attacks, and we have agreed to maintain open communication between our security agencies to protect our citizens from this global menace.

Last year, we told Russia about a planned attack in St. Petersburg, and they were able to stop it cold.  They found them.  They stopped them.  There was no doubt about it.  I appreciated President Putin’s phone call afterwards to thank me.

I also emphasized the importance of placing pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear ambitions and to stop its campaign of violence throughout the area, throughout the Middle East.

As we discussed at length, the crisis in Syria is a complex one.  Cooperation between our two countries has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives.  I also made clear that the United States will not allow Iran to benefit from our successful campaign against ISIS.  We have just about eradicated ISIS in the area.

We also agreed that representatives from our national security councils will meet to follow up on all of the issues we addressed today and to continue the progress we have started right here in Helsinki.

Today’s meeting is only the beginning of a longer process.  But we have taken the first steps toward a brighter future and one with a strong dialogue and a lot of thought.  Our expectations are grounded in realism but our hopes are grounded in America’s desire for friendship, cooperation, and peace.  And I think I can speak on behalf of Russia when I say that also.

Interestingly, Russophobes who hated the Trump-Putin summit also tend to oppose fighting Islamic terrorism, or even calling it "Islamic terrorism." 

Among them are Trump critics like former CIA Director John Brennan, reportedly a convert to Islam when he served in Saudi Arabia, as well as a declared supporter of Communist  Presidential candidate Gus Hall in 1976.

People like Brennan, or Hillary or Obama, tend also to oppose President Trump's travel ban, "extreme vetting," or efforts to add the Muslim Brotherhood to the list of terrorist organizations. 

Likewise, they expressed little public objection to the foreign connections Huma Abedin, whose parents were active in the Muslim Brotherhood, and had alleged links to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, serving as a top aide to Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, nor to the Clinton Foundations ties to repressive Islamist regimes. Nor did they object when the so-called "Arab Spring" installed Islamist governments in the Middle East.

They take advantage of lingering resentments among Republicans who are still anti-Russian because Russia was once Communist. When these Republicans see Putin, they see him a Communist commissar, a former KGB officer,  a "thug." When they see Russia, they see it as if it were still the Soviet Union--even though Russia voluntarily withdrew from its former Soviet satellites, allowed some of them to join the EU, and dissolved the USSR.

On the other side, leftist Democrats have lingering resentments that Russia rejected Communism. They are as strongly hostile to Putin as Stalin was anti-Trotsky. When they look at Putin, they see a turncoat KGB agent who sold out to capitalism, suppresses LGBT causes on behalf of Russian Orthodoxy, and who encourages the very Russian nationalism that the USSR suppressed with its "Friendship of Peoples" doctrine (Soviet multiculturalism), therefore another kind of "thug" (like Cuba calls its refugees from Communism "gusanos"--worms).

Compounding the problem has been the taboo on public discussion of Islamist terrorism in both Europe and the United States (there is no such taboo in Russia). Since discussion of the actual enemy has been repressed, it is my belief that anti-Russian sentiments have actually been symptoms of psychological displacement--unable to criticize the actual enemies of the United States, the public has been licensed to oppose imaginary enemies, such as Russia, "Global Climate Change," Israeli treatment of Palestinians, and "White Privilege."

Yet good relations with Russia could change the dynamic of international relations in our favor, given the manifest failures of America's pro-Islamist foreign policy. With Russia as a full and equal partner in American foreign policy, the West could make short work of Islamic terror. Russia has a proven track record of success, little discussed in the USA--in Chechnya, of all places, where Putin ground Islamists to dust on the orders of Boris Yeltsin. The same sort of Russian tactics are working in Syria...just as they worked against Hitler during World War II.

It is clear from the failure of American policies since 9/11 that only an alliance with Russia can defeat Islamic terrorism. 

Helsinki presents America with that opportunity—an opportunity which supporters of Islamic Terror are apparently desperate to torpedo by any means necessary. For almost two decades the United States has struggled and failed to respond to 9/11 while simultaneously fighting Russia in Ukraine and Syria. All President Trump is doing is prioritizing the struggle against Islamic Terrorism as the most important fight of our times. It is common sense, which is why Putin and Trump can agree to work together. 

They realize that past policies have failed, and want to try something new that might work—given the record of Russian-American cooperation in the past, which includes Nunn-Lugar de-nuclearization, joint space missions, the peaceful transition of the USSR from Communism, and victory over the Nazis during World War II. 

If one looks clearly at what is happening in Great Britain or the European Union today,  the lesson is clear:

We must accept Russia as an ally in the struggle against Islamic terrorism, or surrender to an Islamic Caliphate.

FIDEL CASTRO & THE LITTLE RED HEN: "Acts of Repudiation" in Cuba and the USA

by Agustin Blazquez  with the collaboration of Jaums Sutton

The parallels are uncanny – and unnerving.  A mob descending on the home of a classical guitarist in Castro’s Cuba – his only crime: wanting to leave the country – and the in-your-face harassment of Trump officials today.

“This street belongs to Fidel!”  A short preview of the documentary Act of Repudiation depicts a horde of people in communist Cuba attacking the home of the guitarist, his wife, and three young daughters over 11 days.

And thus we see that the current wave of vitriolic demonstrations of intolerance in the U.S. today is an old tool of Marxist philosophy used by all left-wing regimes in history.

In Castro's Cuba, the tool was used so frequently it had a name:  “Act of Repudiation”.

Decades of Marxist philosophy served up by academia, media, and Hollywood have set the stage for the spectacles we are witnessing in the U.S. today: the public harassments Congresswoman Maxine Waters is demanding.

Acts of Repudiation are a communist/fascist technique used by the former Soviet Union, its satellites, and Hitler's National Socialist Nazi Party, as well as the Ku Klux Klan.  The Acts are designed to intimidate, terrorize, neutralize, and silence anyone who stands in the way.

For those who still have not connected the dots due to so much misinformation and propaganda from the mainstream media, I want to clarify:  Marxism is the root of Communism, the Nazi National Socialist Party classified as Fascist, Socialism, collectivism and today’s “progressivism”.

All of these ‘ism’s’ are variants of left-wing Marxist philosophy.

The last one – progressivism -  is just a ruse using a benign sounding word to deliver uninformed people to the same thing, a totalitarian society, the ultimate objective of all flavors of left-wing political theory.

This spread of Marxism in the U.S. has distorted "liberalism" into the antithesis of liberty, and diverted the Democrat Party into foreign left-wing ideology which is the opposite of America’s classical liberal founding and the U.S. Constitution.

For decades now, many Democrat members of Congress are members of the Democratic Socialists of America or other proto-communist groups.  They are part of the international communist network.  Communist Russia has been interfering in U.S. affairs for decades through the Communist Party USA.

Although well aware, the rest of the members of the Democrat and the Republican Parties are complicit in their silence as is the mainstream media and even supposedly critical pundits.

But the Democrat Party has descended so far to the left and has become so intolerant, fanatic and prone to violence that for quite a number of years I have been calling them “Demonrats.”  They are no longer an American party and they obviously don't protect and defend the security of the citizens.

The control of our academic world by Marxist professors is invalid in a democratic republic!  They are reprogramming new generations of Americans.  The end result is a new generation so uninformed that they have no idea where Socialism will lead.

All Marxist derivatives lead directly to an all-powerful government where a ruling elite and bureaucracy dictate all aspects of our private and public lives.  Their goal is global government with a mighty ruling elite at the top and the workers at the bottom.

The corrupt and deceptive mainstream U.S. media--with some exceptions--participate in the "resistance” and complicate matters by facilitating hate and glorifying Acts of Repudiations in public and private places.

What that despicable Congresswoman Maxine Waters espouses--‘confront, harass, create a crowd, and push back’--is nothing clever, new, or original.  It is a tired, old, Marxist technique trotted out whenever logic fails and hysterical emotion is substituted for reason.  [Editor’s Note: Maxine Waters has long supported communist causes and has numerous ties to communist and socialist groups.]

If the same intolerant, hysterical, and violent atmosphere continues in the U.S. today, we are all in for a rude awakening.  America as we have known it will be no more.

Down with the worms! Kill the kulaks! Sieg heil!

Originally published on The Spider & The Fly under the title "ACTS OF REPUDIATION - DOWN WITH THE WORMS! - ‘Confront, Harass, Create a Crowd, and Push Back!’ at http://www.spider-and-the-fly.com/acts-of-repudiation.html.
© 2018 ABIP by Agustin Blazquez with the collaboration of Jaums Sutton, reprinted by permission of the author.

Wyman Insitute Report: US Holocaust Museum Exhibition Distorts FDR's Historical Record

A study by eight leading Holocaust historians has found that a new exhibit at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum distorts and minimizes President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s abandonment of Jewish refugees during the Holocaust.

The study, titled “Distorting America’s Response to the Holocaust,” is a comprehensive analysis of the museum’s recently-opened exhibit, “Americans and the Holocaust.” 

To view the study, click here.  To receive a copy in the mail, call the Wyman Institute at 202-434-8994.

The 70-page report, published by the Wyman Institute, features chapters by leading scholars in the field of American responses to the Holocaust:

— Dr. Rafael Medoff (Wyman Institute) describes the variety of excuses that the exhibit uses to rationalize President Roosevelt’s refusal to provide meaningful aid to Jewish refugees.

— Prof. Laurel Leff (Northeastern University) explores the exhibit’s portrayal of the Roosevelt administration as a prisoner of public opinion.

— Prof. Bat-Ami Zucker (Bar-Ilan University) examines the exhibit’s shabby treatment of Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, a vigorous advocate for Jewish refugees.

— Prof. Stephen H. Norwood (University of Oklahoma), who authored two of the chapters in the study, considers the exhibit’s failure to report either the Roosevelt administration’s welcoming of Nazi warships in the 1930s, or American universities’ collaboration with Nazi-controlled universities.

— Prof. Paul R. Bartrop (Florida Gulf Coast University) reviews the exhibit’s inadequate depiction of the 1938 international refugee conference at Evian.

— Prof. Monty N. Penkower (Machon Lander Graduate School) analyzes the exhibit’s portrayal of the 1943 Bermuda Conference on refugees.

—Stuart Erdheim, an expert on the Allies’ failure to bomb Auschwitz, explores the exhibit’s flawed treatment of that issue.

— Shuli Eshel, the director of a film about Holocaust rescue advocate James McDonald, scrutinizes the inexplicable omission of McDonald from the new exhibit.

— Rabbi Prof. David Golinkin (Schechter Institutes) and Noam Sachs Zion (Shalom Hartman Institute) probe the exhibit’s failure to include the interfaith protests organized by American rabbinical students during the Holocaust.

Deborah Bernick on "Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story"

“DISOBEDIENCE”
The Sousa Mendes Story
Defying unjust laws in order to save the lives of refugees.
By Deborah Bernick

On June 21st, I saw a remarkable film – “DISOBEDIENCE: The Sousa Mendes Story” --about the extraordinary Portuguese Consul in France in 1940 named Aristides de Sousa Mendes. The showing was sponsored by the Portuguese Embassy in DC. TRY TO SEE IT! (details below)

Sousa Mendes personally issued thousands of transit visas which allowed an estimated 30,000 refugees, including Jews and others, to escape Nazi-controlled France and enter Spain & Portugal in order to board boats to freedom in North and South America. It was the largest diplomatic rescue mission of World War II. Descendants alive today number in the tens of thousands.

For his acts of conscience, Sousa Mendes was horribly punished by the dictator of Portugal, Antonio Salazar. Why? Because he had disobeyed an authoritarian leader in order to save the lives of foreigners of all social classes & religious backgrounds. !!!

Those he saved included the creators of Curious George (Margaret and H.A. Rey), artist Salvador Dali, actor Robert Montgomery, several Rothschilds, and members of the Habsburg royalty of Austria. Also, the actor Michel Gill (House of Cards) and two actors in the film Casablanca (Marcel Dalio and Madeleine Lebeau). 

Sousa Mendes never regretted his actions, though he was stripped of his diplomatic status and died in poverty. Many of those he rescued never knew the name of their savior until Yad Vashem in Israel recognized him as Righteous Amongst the Nations in 1966. He was an unsung Portuguese Wallenberg or Schindler. 

In the past two decades, the government of Portugal has begun celebrating Aristides de Sousa Mendes as a national hero, and his family home is in the process of being restored. But his story needs to be told much more broadly in the US, Europe, and the Americas. It is especially relevant today -- as we confront governmental restrictions on potential immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented entrants. 

My friend Larry Jarvik accompanied me to the film. His Dutch-Jewish mother Lissy received a Portuguese transit visa as a 16-year old stranded in France with her family in 1940. Larry and his mom (now 94) retraced her 1940 journey from France to Portugal on a “Journey on the Road to Freedom” trip sponsored by the Sousa Mendes Foundation. This 11-day trip from Bordeaux to Lisbon is open to Holocaust educators (broadly defined) and visa recipient families. It will next be held in June-July 2019. http://sousamendesfoundation.org/journey-on-the-road-to-fr…/

CHECK OUT THE 4-MINUTE TRAILER FOR THE FILM. It’s quite gripping! http://sousamendesfoundation.org/disobedience-the-sousa-me…/ You can arrange showings at your synagogue, church, community group, college, ethnic or professional organization. (2009, French, with English subtitles). 

For background, email: info@sousamendesfoundation.org  

Crowdrise campaign:  https://www.crowdrise.com/visastofreedom

And if you know anyone whose parents or grandparents got out of Europe via ships from Portugal to the US, Brazil, Panama or anywhere else during WWII -- the Foundation is doing exciting research to track down Sousa Mendes-visa descendants. Many have been found via ancestry.com and articles in local newspapers. 

**THE FILM IS AVAILABLE TO ALL. WATCH THE TRAILER!!
http://sousamendesfoundation.org/disobedience-the-sousa-me…/

F. H. Buckley: A Political Philosopher for the Age of Trump

 

I recently had an interesting lunch with F. H. Buckley, George Mason University law professor, political philosopher, and author of THE REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE: How We Tried to Ban Corruption, Failed, and What We Can Do About It and THE REPUBLICAN WORKERS PARTY: How the Trump Victory Drove Everyone Crazy, and Why It Was Just What We Needed, among other works...

Which reminded me that I had promised to review his latest books...

So here goes:

THE REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE (Encounter Books, 2017) is an interesting attempt to deal with the problem of corruption in American politics, from a prominent conservative political philosopher, so therefore is well worth reading...My quibble is that it reflects a certain Canadian-centric perspective that takes as given that Canada is less corrupt than the United States. Not every American would agree with that premise, which unfortunately undercuts many good points--especially the critique of campaign finance legislation--made by the author in this serious study.

Yet, if Canadian PM's Justin Trudeau's fake eyebrows aren't enough to convince one that something's rotten in Canada, one might also note that President Clinton's business partner in Clinton Foundation deals, as well as the "Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative," is a Canadian businessman: Frank Giustra. Likewise, President Clinton was reportedly romantically involved with Canadian Member of Parliament and millionaire, Belinda Stronach. 

So I remain unconvinced that Canadians are more virtuous than we are, although I am persuaded they may have a tendency to appear "holier-than-thou."

My other nitckpick concerns the omission of Mark Twain's and Charles Dudley Warner's 1873 novel about American politics, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today which set the bar pretty high for writings on the subject. No study of corruption in the US Capital is complete without a discussion of that classic novel of Washington, which still is a tale of today. 

Other than those minor reservations, the book is well worth reading, serious, scholarly and indeed thought-provoking, with some solid case studies...even if you aren't persuaded that Canada is a better and more honest land than the good old USA.

THE REPUBLICAN WORKERS PARTY (Encounter Books, forthcoming September 2018) is in my view a much better book, perhaps because it is more focused on the nuts and bolts of the last election.

Buckley is able cite persuasive evidence of what went wrong with the Republican (and Democratic) Party, and forecasts what might happen in 2020. Buckley clearly believes that Donald J. Trump is President of the United States of America in large measure because the Democratic Party abandoned the working class -- and Trump was able to bring them into his camp.

Well, that's my take-away from this provocative and insightful book. Every Republican in Washington, indeed every Democrat, should read it for that revelation alone.  

Now, this isn't the first time such a thing has happened. It happened with President Reagan. It happened with President Nixon. There are just not enough members of all the country clubs and Episcopalian congregations in the country to elect a President. But each time the working class was admitted, the GOP Establishment pushed them out soon afterwards. 

Republicans would take their votes, but they didn't want to rub shoulders with their social inferiors--or more importantly, give them their fair share of the spoils. 

Well, in my opinion, that's not exactly a winning formula in electoral politics, and Buckley has figured it out. 

All the GOP needs to do to continue winning is to keep working-class voters in the Republican Big Tent. That means delivering "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs..." as we say in Washington. It means delivering higher wages. It means not demeaning or insulting voters by calling them names. And it means listening to their concerns.

Bottom line: President Trump didn't win because of Russian interference--he won because of the American working class.

Not really very hard to understand the winning formula, so simple that even a Canadian can perceive it, perhaps due to his outsider's eye. 

However, as  the rabid response of "Never-Trumpers," Libertarians, and GOP Establishment types to the victory of Donald J. Trump in 2016 indicates,  the incorporation of the American working class into the Republican Party may be easier said than done.

So, even having been persuaded by F.H. Buckley's masterful political analysis in THE REPUBLICAN WORKERS PARTY, it may still be appropriate to recall Bettye Davis' advice in All About Eve: 

"Fasten your seatbelts..."

MEMO TO SENATOR BILL NELSON: Three Ways to Fix the Public Access Problem at Barrancas National Cemetery

As a follow-up to the last post on public access problems at Barrancas National Cemetery, I sent the following letter to Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL):

June 16th, 2018

The Honorable Bill Nelson

US Senate

716 Senate Hart Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Nelson:

RE: National Defense Authorization Act amendment #2489 (To require a plan from the Navy to allow increased public access to the National Naval Aviation Museum and Barrancas National Cemetery at Naval Air Station Pensacola). 

Thank you for this much-needed amendment. I am very grateful for your action in this regard and am sure American veteran’s families appreciate your support.

However, a veteran Naval Flight Officer friend (who is also a Washington lawyer) told me the there is a very good chance Navy brass could ignore your NDAA amendment #2489 and do nothing, unless there is continuing attention and pressure over time. He believes any "no can-do" response needs to be pre-empted, since there is no deadline or penalty clause in the amendment.

So, at his suggestion I propose three simple and inexpensive solutions to counter possible excuses for inaction or delay. Here they are:

1. Additional checkpoints to separate Barrancas visitors from the rest of the base…there is already one behind the Naval Aviation Museum, so this has been done before;

2. Shuttle bus to remote parking lot, would prevent car bombs and unaccompanied vehicular access…this is already used at Arlington Cemetery;

3. Acceptance of US passport or TSA Global Entry at gate in addition to driver’s license…either of these could make visitor identification certain.

I hope you can use these points to turn your excellent legislation into lasting results. Please feel free to have your staff contact me if there are any questions or concerns in this regard.

Again, thank you for your commitment to facilitate public access to Barrancas National Cemetery!

Sincerely yours,

Laurence Jarvik

Encl. My blog post on Barrancas issue, FYI.

Why is US Navy Keeping "Deplorables" Out of Barrancas National Cemetery?

UPDATE 6/13/2018: Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) today introduced National Defense Authorization Act amendment #2489 (To require a plan from the Navy to allow increased public access to the National Naval Aviation Museum and Barrancas National Cemetery at Naval Air Station Pensacola). Thank you Sen. Nelson!

Read more about this in the Pensacola News Journal...

UPDATE: 6/16/2018: Sen Marco Rubio (D-FL) has joined Sen. Nelson in support of amendment #2489, read more about this in the Pensacola News Journal...

On June 12, 2018, I filed the following complaint in the online "Suggestion Box" for the Commanding officer of Pensacola Naval Air Station, as of this date of publication, I am still awaiting a response:

COMPLAINT RE: June 2, 2018, Visit to the grave of STRICKLAND, DAVID OGLE, SFC, US ARMY, KOREA, DATE OF BIRTH: 07/14/1930, DATE OF DEATH: 03/03/2006, BURIED AT: SECTION 51  SITE 617, BARRANCAS NATIONAL CEMETERY, NAVAL AIR STATION, 1 CEMETERY ROAD PENSACOLA, FL 32508 (850) 453-4108. BRONZE STAR MEDAL, PURPLE HEART RECIPIENT.

To Whom it May Concern:

We have visited this grave every couple of years without a problem, when visiting Pensacola, until now. However, our recent visit very much upset my wife, daughter of the deceased and also granddaughter of CDR John Ogle Strickland, Naval Aviator, graduate of Pensacola NAS flight school, and Flight Commander of the USS Saratoga during World War II (buried in Arlington). 

Here's what she wrote me, FYI:

"Something terribly wrong here.  We were sent to fill out 2 page long "security" forms (which gave no information that running a driver's license wouldn't) in an office -- race, height, weight, employment, etc.  Yet no description of make or license of car.  Clerk in office didn't bother to get off her phone to assist us.  We were given dashboard passes marked "Cemetery" and went through line at gate again.  Told guard were were visiting cemetery.  He told us we have to drive to the other gate to get through.  We expressed surprise, and he reiterated that this rule had been in effect for more than a year.  Drove 6 miles there, waited through another security line at gate, to be told that that information was wrong, we were at wrong gate.  The guard said he "knew the guy" who had steered us wrong, and would call to be sure we could get through -- which seemed odd -- why would someone be allowed to continue misdirecting people? Another 6 mile drive.  Another wait at gate.  Despite our passes marked "Cemetery" we were told we needed to go to office and fill out forms, until we pointed out that we already had passes -- so situational awareness zero there.  All told at least an hour and a half of wasted time.

"And funnily, both Google Maps and Trip Advisor had said that the cemetery was "Closed Today" although it wasn't. 

"I can only think that the official policy of this Navy Base/Cemetery is more to discourage and punish visitors than to tighten 'security.'"

It seems to me that this may be a needlessly offensive way for the Navy to treat families of veterans who want to pay homage to their loved ones. It is bad PR for the Navy in my opinion.

I would suggest that the CO review current visitation policy, in order make it easier to access graves at Barrancas National Cemetery. Modern technology should allow you to place trackers on cars of visitors if you worry about them going into "No-Go" zones. Cameras could read license plates. Or you could put MPs at intersections to channel traffic directly to gravesites only. However, hassling families of veterans with excessive paperwork raises serious concerns.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Laurence Jarvik

Subsequently, I discovered that this problem had been covered in the Pensacola News Journal at least a couple of times--once, in an article by Melissa Nelson Gabriel published in 2017, and before that, in an April 2016 article that said gate changes were a "headache." And WEAR-TV ran a story about a Gold Star family turned away from visiting their loved ones grave on Christmas Day in 2016!

Yet, despite numerous published complaints, as well as angry online posted comments, little had changed over the past two years. Indeed, no one had even bothered to post a sign at the base entrance advising visitors to take the West Gate for the Museum, or what the procedure would be to visit Barrancas National Cemetery. Not to mention the long line of traffic backed up at the base entrance as people had to make multiple passes via building 777 (we had to go through the Main Gate three times, and the West Gate once).

One former Naval Flight Officer of my acquaintance, himself a decorated Vietnam Veteran, recently told me that one year ago he drove to the Main Gate on his way to the Naval Aviation Museum, only to be told that he needed to go instead to the West Gate, because there were no signs and the posted online information was wrong. Once he drove over to the West Gate, he had to fill out the same two-page form as we did one year later...although the museum has an additional checkpoint to prevent unauthorized base access. I remarked to him that somehow Disney manages to process millions of visitors to their attraction--a known terrorist target--yet protect their facility without making visitors fill out forms.

A few clicks on the internet revealed that the Veterans Administration National Cemetery Administration, which actually runs the cemetery, also appeared to be unhappy with base management at Pensacola NAS, essentially saying, "We know there is a problem. We don't like it, but there is nothing we can do about it. So don't blame us for the SNAFU, blame the US Navy." To wit:

IMPORTANT: The cemetery is located exclusively within the boundaries of Naval Air Station Pensacola, which is an active duty military base. While we work hard to address visitation to the cemetery, access to Barrancas National Cemetery is entirely dependent on access to the Naval Air Station. Hence, both the hours of and the requirements for base access might be more restrictive as well as subject to change on short notice due to Department of Defense regulations and may not always be immediately posted to their website. Therefore, it is vital that you pre-plan your visits accordingly by visiting their visitor information website at http://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrse/installations/nas_pensacola/about/installation_guide/visitor_information.html as well as their homepage at http://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrse/installations/nas_pensacola.html for notifications/alerts which might change access. If their website is unavailable or you need further information, please call their Pass and Tag (building 777) telephone number at (850) 452-4153 or, in the event that line does not work, the Headquarters Quarterdeck at (850) 452-4785 or 4786.

Additional Helpful Visitor Information

While we cannot forecast or verify all base access requirements or changes to them, some helpful tips include:

- Having an accepted federally issued identification card if you are a current or retired service member or other eligible individual makes base access simpler. Every visitor over the age of 15 having a state issued identification, state issued driver's license or a passport.

- The vehicle driver should have a current state issued driver's license, paper/hardcopy proof of insurance and vehicle registration.

- As of the time of this webpage update (subject to change), all visitors not in possession of an accepted federally issued identification card must enter through the main gate off of Navy Blvd (see DIRECTIONS FROM NEAREST AIRPORT above for how to get to the main gate).

  o Upon arrival to NAS Pensacola all vehicle occupants will be directed to building 777 (Pass & ID, also known as Pass & Tag or Visitor Center) just inside the main gate for proper vetting.

  o Arrive well in advance of your desired time due to potential traffic, vehicle search, building 777 waits, etc. As noted above, access to Barrancas National Cemetery is entirely dependent on access to the Naval Air Station so in the absence of an accepted federally issued identification card you may not be able to enter the base if building 777 is closed or you arrive too late on a weekend. Hence, the importance of checking their website and/or calling the Pass & Tag telephone number.

Pensacola NAS CO CAPT Christopher T. Martin

Of course, we found the Navy's website impenetrable, which is why we drove to the main gate in the first place. In previous years, we had been treated politely, even warmly, by friendly MPs, who seemed genuinely glad that families and friends were visiting loved ones who had served our country. After all, don't our vets deserve to have their families and friends respected, especially when they are coming to honor their service? 

This June, however, the MPs were definitely not friendly, and the attitude of staff in Building 777 reminded me of the Washington, DC Department of Motor Vehicles--an indifferent and hostile bureaucracy. What had changed? 

Apparently the outgoing CO, Captain Keith Hoskins, changed security procedures on his way out the door in 2016--and his replacement, Captain Christopher Martin, did not fix the problems that resulted from tightening the screws on the American taxpaying public who pay their salaries.

Ironically, Captain Martin's command has posted a "Mission and Vision" statement on the Pensacola NAS website which seems to contradict the obviously inefficient, disorganized, unreliable, inhospitable, and unpleasant current gate situation. The statement declares:

Command Mission:

To efficiently deliver the very best Readiness From The Shore.

Command Vision:

Naval Air Station Pensacola is recognized as:

• The premier naval installation in the Department of the Navy.
• A model total quality organization that clearly recognizes people as its most valued asset.
• Exemplary customers, employers, suppliers, and neighbors.
• Effective and efficient managers of air, land, and sea resources, clearly distinguishing us as the provider of choice for operational and training support.
• Acknowledged leader in preserving its natural beauty, tradition, and rich history, enhancing our reputation as the most aesthetically pleasing installation in the Navy.
• Highly ethical stewards of public trust, maintaining both a future focus and daily drive for continuous improvement.

Guiding Principles:

We:

• lead by example.
• encourage open communication.
• give our people the authority and incentive to produce a quality product or service.
• foster continuous improvement.
• treat people with dignity and respect.
• maintain a highly educated and well trained workforce.
• accomplish our mission through teamwork.
• promote creativity, initiative, and innovation.
• are wise stewards of our natural resources.
• focus on needs of our customer.
• are responsible and accountable resource managers.

  

We are committed to:

• equal opportunity for all.
• a safe, healthy, drug-free environment.
• honesty, integrity, and the highest standards of moral and ethical conduct.
• strong community relations by being a trusted neighbor.
• professional, safe, responsive, action in support of mission.
• fact-based decision making.
• providing the tools and innovative technology to meet future needs.

As the youth of today might say on social media, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ROTFL." 

Clearly, the bad gate experience must be merely a symptom of deeper problems of mismanagement at Pensacola NAS. For example, training flights at the base have been grounded after being found unsafe to fly...and Blue Angels pilot Jeff Kuss died in a plane crash in June 2016.

As Wikipedia says, Barrancas National Cemetery has been in operation as a Navy cemetery since 1838, and a National Cemetery since the Civil War. Visitors have been able to access the site through World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the first Gulf War, after 9/11, the Afghan War, and the second Gulf War, without security being compromised. My in-laws family have been visiting the base since 1918, and I personally had visited without problems until 2018.

So what is going on now in the name of base security is literally unprecedented. As Melissa Nelson Gabriel reported in the Pensacola News Journal, veterans are being driven away from the cemetery, with some deciding not to be buried there because of the hassles involved. 

Navy veteran Richard McFadden wrote on Jan. 9 that he had changed his will to reflect that he no longer wished to be buried at Barrancas.

"I also understand the need for tighter security in light of the terror attacks around the world," he wrote. But, McFadden said, the security has made visiting loved ones buried in Barrancas too difficult for families.

"I did not know Area-51 had moved to NASP," he wrote. "It seems welcome signs have been replaced with locked gates that may or may not be open to the public."

This is shameful.

I certainly hope someone in the Trump Administration, the Navy Department,  Congress, or Veteran's organizations might take a look at the mess at Pensacola NAS and come up with a plan to make visiting it great again, ASAP.  

Our veterans, families, friends, and the American public deserve no less.

BTW:  I've taken the liberty of copying some complaints from TripAdvisor and the Pensacola News Journal below, to give readers an idea of how obvious the problems are, and how long they have been going on. Congress could fill an oversight panel just with those who've posted these sorts of comments, IMHO: 

FROM TRIPADVISOR:

Barrancas National Cemetery Memorial Day 2017

My wife and I tried to go to Barrancas National Cemetery on Memorial Day to visit the graves of her parents and two other relatives. We usually visit the cemetery at least once a year and often on Memorial Day. We tried to go Memorial Day 2017 and couldn't get to the cemetery due to new restrictions. We are life long residents Pensacola and have visited Barrancas National Cemetery dozens of times including for funerals. Memorial Day we were unable to visit due to all the new regulations. We were told at the gate that since we are not military or DOD we had to park our car at the front gate, go in the visitor center, fill out two pages of paperwork, provide your driver's license, car registration, and proof of insurance. We turned around and left and did not visit my wife's parents graves, due to lack of time that we had. We were in total disgust. Barrancas National Cemetery is a beautiful place and very historic, but I will not visit again under the current regulations. I do not recommend Barrancas National Cemetery.—Reviewed June 23, 2017 by Walter L., Milton, FL

So Sad.

I have lived in the Pensacola area all my life and visited Barrancas National Cemetery many times. My parents and other relatives are buried there and it is a beautiful place for remembering. Tried to go to their grave sites on Memorial Day, but found out you now have to fill out a lengthy form and have your driver license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance to get a pass to enter the base and go to the cemetery. We did not have time to do all that and wait for approval. It was very disappointing and hurtful to not be able to go to their graves. We always enjoy taking our grandchildren when they visit as well, but guess now that will not be possible. This is ridiculous and they need to figure out a way to allow people entry to that cemetery without having to go through all that. I have read and heard of several accounts of people coming from out of town and not being able to visit, because the office was closed or same as me didn't have the time to wait. Also, many are now deciding not to have their veteran family members buried out there and some I understand some are going to the expense of having their loved ones remains moved from there. It is all very troubling and should not be this way!—Reviewed June 1, 2017 by Judy L.

Can't go there

Unless you have an active DOD ID or have an escort, you can no longer get to the cemetery. Base security issues.

Ask ResqPAC about Barrancas National Cemetery—Reviewed May 8, 2016 by ResqPAC, NC

FROM THE PENSACOLA NEWS JOURNAL:

Bill Hayden ·

Works at Retired

This is an ongoing problem at NASP since they changed their access procedures a while back. Even those of us with DOD access credentials experienced difficulties during the Wreaths Across America effort in December. The cemetary has been there since 1868. This did not become a problem until the Navy changed their access policy a few years ago. Here's a news flash for the Navy...The VA is not going to relocate those grave sites off of the base and the visiting family members are going to keep on coming to visit their loved ones. A better solution is in order. This is a multi-agency problem. The Navy runs the base while the VA runs the cemetary withing the confines of the base. Might be a good starting project for our junior Congressman from the 1st Congressional District of Florida to become involved with don't ya think?

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Bill Snider ·

Pensacola State College

There is a simpler way. Just fill out the form and be on your way. Base security is more important than a little inconvience once in a while.

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Keith Giddeon

Bill Snider Wrong. Freedom is more important than overblown paranoia. Treating American citizens like criminals is simply intolerable.

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Bill Snider ·

Pensacola State College

Keith Giddeon It's called sorting out the criminals from the citizens. You can do your part by cooperating instead of complaining.

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Keith Giddeon

So, after living over 50 years crime-free, I am obligated to bow down to paranoia due to the actions of a few. No thanks. I'll not join the Sheeple Parade.

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Bill Hayden ·

Works at Retired

Bill Snider Since you are clearly trolling here I'll give you one response. You say “There is a simpler way.” That's the issue here, it's not simple. Particularly for the elderly visitors to the cemetery. I too agree that base security is an important issue. The cemetery has been there since 1868 and is operated by the VA not the Navy. The base was open to the public for so many years so the public could access the cemetery and the museum. But you have to understand; It's not just the Navy's base but it belongs to the public (taxpayers) as well. All I'm saying is that instead of bumping heads, people need to put their heads together and develop a better solution to this problem. At present I only see unilateral decisions being made only by the Navy.

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Tami Lynn Toney

Yet, on the day of an air show, they just motion 50,000+ cars on through without a second thought! I worked at NASP for over 5 years and I could never understand this. What do you have to do if you are attending a funeral at the chapel?

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Karen Swift

The police department escorted our funeral procession inside the base so we didn't have to stop for this process. One month after the funeral when we decided to visit our loved one, we realized just how lucky we had it that day. We spent 3 hours on base for 5 minutes at the gravesite

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Bill Snider ·

Pensacola State College

The air show? LOL...My dear, those were controlled situations. Access from the back gate was limited. Access from the front gate was controlled. 

But keep it up. Perhaps if you yell and stomp your feet loud and long enough you can get the air shows cancelled on base and moved to Pensacola Beach instead.

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Marshall Brinson ·

Pensacola, Florida

Bill Snider - They didn't even check ID at the gates for the November Air Show. Don't know how you figure any of that was controlled. It is a lot more likely that someone would try something at the air show than a simple visit to the cemetery.

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Karen Swift

My husband and I waited 2 hours just to be called up to the desk after a very inconsiderate lady who had the number before mine, gave it to someone who came in after me and several others. My husband who has a disease that prevents him from walking long distances, was waiting in the car, running of course, as not to overheat. By the time I made it back out to the car just from filing the paperwork, our battery was dead. The base security could not jumpstart our car due to liability issues. We spent a total of 3 hours on the base for less than 5 minutes at the gravesite. I felt belittled, violated, and punished just for trying to visit his father who recently passed.

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Bill Snider ·

Pensacola State College

Just about everything you mentioned was your own fault.

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Karen Swift

Bill Snider have you been through this specific process? Do you have loved ones buried at barrancas? Do you even have friends with the hateful and bitter heart you have? Please explain your comment about being my fault. How is the fact they only had one person manning the desk that day my fault? How is it my fault that choosing to get a 6 month pass requires you to wait 30 min to an hour even longer than you already have. And unlike you, I don't just think about myself. I think of the several elderly couples there to visit as well. They also cannot stand for long periods of time, walk long distances, and shouldn't be subjected to this process just to visit a deceased relative, one who served our country, which you also probably have never done as you would have more respect for others.

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Joe Winstead Jr. ·

Pensacola Jr. College

My parents are buried there as well as several of my friends and I think the new rules are BULLSHIT!

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Bill Snider ·

Pensacola State College

You can either fill out the forms, or not visit. Did you not see the part about getting a 6 month pass? Or do you only visit once a year.

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Steve Lind

This is absolutely UNSAT. This sits squarely in the lap of the base commander to resolve. PERIOD.

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Bill Snider ·

Pensacola State College

Sure thing Steve. As if the base commander decided to do this on his own. You ever heard of chain of command?

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Marshall Brinson ·

Pensacola, Florida

Guess old Bill Snider answered the ad looking for a jackass to monitor the PNJ comments.

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Bill Snider ·

Pensacola State College

Marshall Brinson and I'm doing a fine job. Speaking of asses...

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Keith Giddeon

And the 9/11 terrorists just keep on winning. I have quite a few relatives buried on Barrancas. However, I will no longer be able to pay my respects, as I do not wish to be treated like a criminal by paranoid government officials.

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Bill Hayden ·

Works at Retired

Just sent an email to Rep. Matt Gaetz asking his involvement in this issue. Link to send him an email: https://gaetz.house.gov/contact

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Sheryl Martin ·

Merchandiser at American Greetings

This has been very frustrtating for me as well. I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to visit my dad's columnbarium and Barrancus either when I was on my way over to the Pensacola area for my job or to go visit my son and his family lliving just 10 minutes from the gate and who is in the Coast Guard stationed at PNS. It was so wonderful to just show my ID and be able to go visit with him whenever I wanted and had the time. After the new policy, I've only had one chance to go visit with him and it's been very disappointing for me. To sit and wait for a Pass or even wait for the 6 month pass has just not been a possibility on my time. It would be nice maybe if you could get a permament ID issued on line as a relative to a hero of your own buried at Barancus. We live in Niceville and coming back when it "might" be a good time isn't an option.