Book Review of Heart of a Soldier by James B. Steward -- Plus An Editorial -- Jeremiah Davis's Commentary on Trump's Autocratic Takeover - Francis Hamit - New Contributor!

Francis Hamit

Author, Playwright and

Award-Winning Screenwriter

                              A 9/11 Hero Remembered

Rick Rescorla has always been a particular hero of

mine. We shared a past as Vietnam veterans and in the Security Industry, protecting property and people.
When the 9/11 attacks occurred he was the Security Director for Morgan Stanley at the World Trade Center. Despite a prior rather lame attack with a truck bomb in 1993, most of the people who worked in those towers did not take security seriously.

Rick did. So much so that he was willing to be a pain-in-the-ass about it and insist that Morgan Stanley hold regular drills to evacuate their offices, drills that
required all of their employees to walk down several flights of fire stairs to the ground level. Rick knew that the timing of another attack was uncertain, but that it was not a matter of “if” but “when.”

When the fateful day came he evacuated all 800
Morgan Stanley employees from their offices safely
and in good order without panic. He went back up to
make sure he had everyone out and was still there
when the building collapsed. His remains have never
been recovered.

James B. Steward is a journalist better known for
financial coverage but here he tells Rick’s story in a sensitive and compelling narrative. Rick not just had
the heart of a soldier, he was a soldier, part of Hal
Moore’s 7th Cavalry in Vietnam.

In a time when we need heroes, it is proper to
remember this one.

The book is still in print in several editions.

~~~

Editorial

Jeremiah Davis's Commentary

 on Trump's Autocratic Takeover

Former Intelligence Analyst Hits the Mark.

With a few recent exceptions, I have tried to refrain from posting political comments for a dozen or more years.  I sincerely regret that I feel compelled to depart from that practice now and for the foreseeable future. I fear that we have reached critical mass in the struggle between our beloved constitutional democracy and the immoral authoritarian movement which I believe threatens it. Please try to understand that my motivation is my sincere belief in the lifetime oath I took to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies both foreign and domestic. 

The POTUS and his team are sending federalized National Guard troops into cities governed by Democratic mayors under the ridiculous pretext that these cities are out of control and that federal buildings and ICE officers need NG protection. 

The governors and mayors insist that these federalized forces are not only not needed but that they are unwelcome and more likely to provoke violence than to prevent it. Federal district court judges predominantly agree that the federalization and deployment of these troops are unwarranted and most probably illegal. Nevertheless, the Administration apparently proceeds with the deployment in defiance of the courts’ orders.

Meanwhile, in recent weeks, a significant number of very senior flag officers (generals and admirals) have been fired, resigned, or retired under pressure from the Trump Administration. They include the most senior legal (JAG) officers who are responsible for ruling on the legality of orders directed to ranking military officers. (All members of the military take an oath to follow all “legal orders” issued by those above them.) They will undoubtedly be replaced by officers who are more willing to adhere to the desires of their political masters, regardless of the constitutionality of those desires.

It is absolutely essential that those of us who oppose the authoritarian goals of this administration NOT play into the hands of the architects of Project 2025. We must not engage in any violent confrontations with ICE and others who are quickly becoming the US equivalent of the Gestapo and Heinrich Himmler’s brutal SS. 

Instead, we must adopt the tactics of Gandhi, MLK, Nelson Mandela, and other champions of civil rights who peacefully but forcefully demonstrated their opposition to those who sought to repress them. They endured brutality in Selma, Birmingham, and elsewhere. They showed who the actual thugs were and that peaceful demonstrators represented more noble ideals, such as those articulated in our Declaration of Independence and in the Constitution itself. We must be resolute in our determination to replace the would-be dictators through constitutional means as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Lady Liberty weeps...

Jeremiah Davis served in the US Army Security Agency during the Cold War and had Top Secret/ Crypto access. His remarks above are reprinted by permission.