Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Aside from going out to dinner last night, I spent the evening transfixed in front of my TV set switching back and forth between Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and local Los Angeles channels watching the riots across America. How sad. Three people dead in Indianapolis, a shop owner in Dallas possibly beaten to death, a cop in New York hit by a brick and suffering a fractured skull, and a Molotov cocktail thrown into a police vehicle in New York with four cops inside. True, thousands of protesters came out to rightfully protest the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, it was all hijacked by the thugs who took advantage of the tragedy to loot and burn.
And don't blame it all on black people. Many of the rioters were white and brown. Aside from Black Lives Matter, there is also Antifa, a national organization of anarchist thugs, who are overwhelmingly white. Many mayors and police chiefs are saying that many, if not most of the rioters were from out of town or out of state. No doubt there is some degree of national coordination going on here.
In terms of coverage, Fox mostly focused on the outrage of the violence and destruction, as they should have. At the same, they did not minimize the gravity of the Floyd death, and they acknowledged that most people had come to peacefully protest. I had no problem with the CNN coverage until Don Lemon came on and all but became hysterical on the air calling out the names of famous people who (according to him) have been silent. In fact, Lemon at times, made it sound like it was all about him, referring to previous statements he had made calling out celebrities. He went on to ask why these celebrities "were not assisting these young people". After repeating that several times, he finally added that he was not referring to those carrying out the violence. His interview with Kamala Harris was sickening as she laid the blame on America.
But even that paled compared to MSNBC, which focused entirely on bad police, American racism, and, of course, Trump. MSNBC talking head, Ali Velshi, a Canadian, while broadcasting on the street from Minneapolis, spent half the time reporting and half the time editorializing about American racism and racist cops.
Last night was an Oktoberfest of university professors and liberal journalists pontificating on the evils of America. In short, American journalism took another hit last night. Virtually all of the networks made the mistake of referring to those engaged in violence, burning, and looting as "protesters".
That is in no way meant to defend the actions of the four Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of Mr Floyd, especially the one who knelt on Floyd's neck. I expect some sort of charges will be also brought against the other three. Being retired law enforcement myself, I am on several retired law enforcement chat sites, and nobody there is defending the actions of those cops.
In this case, protests are warranted, and I support the legitimate protesters, not just their right to protest, but their anger as well. That support does not extend to the rioters. That support does not extend to those on television who want to indict all police officers. From what I saw, police all over the country were acting with professionalism and restraint. They are paying the price for the actions of four cops in Minneapolis.
Two Names on a Wall (Annual Re=Post)
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
As I have done in recent years on Memorial Day, I re-post an article I wrote in December 2007 after hearing that the Vietnam Memorial had been defaced. The article concerns two of my high school friends who gave their lives in Vietnam.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2007/12/two-names-on-wall.html
Dorian Jan Houser (1946-1967)
Michael G Vinassa (1946-1966)
The recent news that someone had defaced the Viet Nam War Memorial in Washington served to bring back my memories of two of my childhood friends whose names appear on that wall. Mike Vinassa and Dorian Houser were both from west Los Angeles, where I also grew up. We belonged to the same high school social club. All three of us entered military service after high school. I was assigned to Germany; they were sent to Viet Nam. I returned and went on with the rest of my life. They died in Viet Nam. Forty years later, with our country once again at war and American soldiers sacrificing their lives for America, we should also remember those that gave their lives in Viet Nam.
Dorian
I first knew Dorian in the 1950s. He and his brother, Lee, played on my little league team. Their father was our coach. Later, my relationship with Dory continued in school. In high school, we both belonged to a club called the Chancellors of Venice. As was common in west LA, there were many (off-campus) clubs formed for social purposes. We all had our club jackets, with the name of the club and locale (Venice or WLA) embroidered on the back. The colors of the clubs varied (ours was green). As we ended our high school days, these clubs disbanded as we went our separate ways-off to college, work or military service. In Dory's case, he entered the Marines in 1966, and after training, was sent to Viet Nam. On May 10, 1967, one month before his 21st birthday, he was killed in Quang Tin. He was hit in the chest by shrapnel and killed instantly.
I happened to be home on leave from Germany when we got the news that Dory was dead. I was able to attend his funeral before returning back to Germany. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it after all these years, but I chose not to wear my uniform to the funeral, simply because I was afraid his family might react emotionally to it. I have always regretted that decision.
Dory was the kind of guy that no one could dislike. He was friendly and unassuming. Needless to say, his funeral was a sad and emotional event. In the last couple of years, I have visited his grave a couple of times since my mother-in-law is interred in the same cemetery. About a year ago, I came across a posting about Dory by his sister. She described her brother and was looking for anyone who knew Dory and remembered him. I answered her post, but the email is no longer valid. As yet, I have not been able to contact her.
Mike
Mike Vinassa was also a member of the Chancellors. He was a stout, barrel-chested kid with a big tattoo on his shoulder, something unusual at the time for someone so young (still in high school). Needless to say, he was tough and didn't mind a good fight. Most other kids knew not to mess with him, but among his friends, he was well-liked. I remember one night we were at a party and he wanted to (playfully) roughhouse with me. We started slap-fighting and wrestling on the front yard of the house, and (somehow) I was able to throw him to the ground and fall on top of him. As you may know, innocent roughhousing among teenagers can easily turn into a real fight, and I remember thinking that Mike might suddenly get mad, so I rolled over and let him get on top, thus letting him win the match.
After high school, I went on to complete 2 years of college before I entered the Army. I basically lost touch with Mike and Dory at that time.
I had recently arrived at my post of duty in Germany when I came across Mike's name while reading the Viet Nam obituaries in the Army Times. It wasn't until several months ago that I learned the circumstances of Mike's death, which occurred on May 22, 1966.
Mike was a member of C Co, Ist Bn, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cav Division (US Army). Ironically, Mike was a short-timer, soon to return to the US, and, on that day, assigned to non-combat duties. Yet he insisted on accompanying his unit on a final combat mission in the Vinh Thanh Valley. It was on that final mission, that Mike lost his life-under heroic conditions. He personally led a group of his comrades in charging and taking out a machine gun nest that was pinning down his unit, but was fatally shot in the process. For his actions, Mike was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. His sole survivor was his mother.
In subsequent years, I have been able to find both their names on the Viet Nam Memorial. (I was living in the Washington area at the time.) As stated, I have visited Dory's grave, but as yet, have not identified Mike's cemetery. When I look back at my life after the Army, I contemplate how I finished college, began my career, got married, had children, retired, and now find myself in my 60s. But as I looked down on Dory's grave, I realized that he and Mike are frozen in time-forever 20 years old. I wonder what became of their parents, the rest of the families.
In a sense, today's soldiers are more fortunate than those who went to Viet Nam. The overwhelming majority of the American people greatly respect them (with the notable exception of the usual mindless idiots who are not worth further mention in this essay). Soldiers returning from Viet Nam were often subject to despicable treatment from those of their own generation who did everything they could to avoid military service. Once the Viet Nam War ended, the country wanted to forget about it as quickly as possible-after all, it was just a tragic period in our history. We also forgot about our Viet Nam veterans who came back alive-in so many cases, as walking wounded. They deserved so much better from us. They are still among us, and in many cases, still wounded.
All of us who lost friends or family members in Viet Nam should try to keep their memories alive and honor them. God rest their souls.
Michael G Vinassa- Panel 07E, line 104
Dorian Jan Houser- Panel 19E, line 082--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today, I received a Facebook posting from Judy Houser, younger sister of Dorian Houser, in memory of her brother. It is moving, and since she has granted permission to use it, I would like to share it with you this Memorial Day weekend.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I want to share with all of my Mar Vista friends, my memories of my big brother, Dory Houser (Dorian Jan Houser), who was killed in action in Vietnam on May 10, 1967. He was seven weeks shy of his 21st birthday. I was not quite 12 years old. Some of you knew him. We all went to St. Augustine’s and Dory went to St. Bernard’s for one or two years, then to Venice High where he graduated in 1964. He was a great guy, a great brother. He was cute, he was funny, he was honest, he was sweet, and he was a rascal, and smiling most of the time. And he had such cute freckles that the rest of us didn’t have. He had three little sisters that he loved, and we had so much fun, we were always playing. He was so good to us. He used to call me “squirt”.
Dorian Jan Houser (1946-1967)
Michael G Vinassa (1946-1966)
The recent news that someone had defaced the Viet Nam War Memorial in Washington served to bring back my memories of two of my childhood friends whose names appear on that wall. Mike Vinassa and Dorian Houser were both from west Los Angeles, where I also grew up. We belonged to the same high school social club. All three of us entered military service after high school. I was assigned to Germany; they were sent to Viet Nam. I returned and went on with the rest of my life. They died in Viet Nam. Forty years later, with our country once again at war and American soldiers sacrificing their lives for America, we should also remember those that gave their lives in Viet Nam.
Dorian
I first knew Dorian in the 1950s. He and his brother, Lee, played on my little league team. Their father was our coach. Later, my relationship with Dory continued in school. In high school, we both belonged to a club called the Chancellors of Venice. As was common in west LA, there were many (off-campus) clubs formed for social purposes. We all had our club jackets, with the name of the club and locale (Venice or WLA) embroidered on the back. The colors of the clubs varied (ours was green). As we ended our high school days, these clubs disbanded as we went our separate ways-off to college, work or military service. In Dory's case, he entered the Marines in 1966, and after training, was sent to Viet Nam. On May 10, 1967, one month before his 21st birthday, he was killed in Quang Tin. He was hit in the chest by shrapnel and killed instantly.
I happened to be home on leave from Germany when we got the news that Dory was dead. I was able to attend his funeral before returning back to Germany. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it after all these years, but I chose not to wear my uniform to the funeral, simply because I was afraid his family might react emotionally to it. I have always regretted that decision.
Dory was the kind of guy that no one could dislike. He was friendly and unassuming. Needless to say, his funeral was a sad and emotional event. In the last couple of years, I have visited his grave a couple of times since my mother-in-law is interred in the same cemetery. About a year ago, I came across a posting about Dory by his sister. She described her brother and was looking for anyone who knew Dory and remembered him. I answered her post, but the email is no longer valid. As yet, I have not been able to contact her.
Mike
Mike Vinassa was also a member of the Chancellors. He was a stout, barrel-chested kid with a big tattoo on his shoulder, something unusual at the time for someone so young (still in high school). Needless to say, he was tough and didn't mind a good fight. Most other kids knew not to mess with him, but among his friends, he was well-liked. I remember one night we were at a party and he wanted to (playfully) roughhouse with me. We started slap-fighting and wrestling on the front yard of the house, and (somehow) I was able to throw him to the ground and fall on top of him. As you may know, innocent roughhousing among teenagers can easily turn into a real fight, and I remember thinking that Mike might suddenly get mad, so I rolled over and let him get on top, thus letting him win the match.
After high school, I went on to complete 2 years of college before I entered the Army. I basically lost touch with Mike and Dory at that time.
I had recently arrived at my post of duty in Germany when I came across Mike's name while reading the Viet Nam obituaries in the Army Times. It wasn't until several months ago that I learned the circumstances of Mike's death, which occurred on May 22, 1966.
Mike was a member of C Co, Ist Bn, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cav Division (US Army). Ironically, Mike was a short-timer, soon to return to the US, and, on that day, assigned to non-combat duties. Yet he insisted on accompanying his unit on a final combat mission in the Vinh Thanh Valley. It was on that final mission, that Mike lost his life-under heroic conditions. He personally led a group of his comrades in charging and taking out a machine gun nest that was pinning down his unit, but was fatally shot in the process. For his actions, Mike was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. His sole survivor was his mother.
In subsequent years, I have been able to find both their names on the Viet Nam Memorial. (I was living in the Washington area at the time.) As stated, I have visited Dory's grave, but as yet, have not identified Mike's cemetery. When I look back at my life after the Army, I contemplate how I finished college, began my career, got married, had children, retired, and now find myself in my 60s. But as I looked down on Dory's grave, I realized that he and Mike are frozen in time-forever 20 years old. I wonder what became of their parents, the rest of the families.
In a sense, today's soldiers are more fortunate than those who went to Viet Nam. The overwhelming majority of the American people greatly respect them (with the notable exception of the usual mindless idiots who are not worth further mention in this essay). Soldiers returning from Viet Nam were often subject to despicable treatment from those of their own generation who did everything they could to avoid military service. Once the Viet Nam War ended, the country wanted to forget about it as quickly as possible-after all, it was just a tragic period in our history. We also forgot about our Viet Nam veterans who came back alive-in so many cases, as walking wounded. They deserved so much better from us. They are still among us, and in many cases, still wounded.
All of us who lost friends or family members in Viet Nam should try to keep their memories alive and honor them. God rest their souls.
Michael G Vinassa- Panel 07E, line 104
Dorian Jan Houser- Panel 19E, line 082--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today, I received a Facebook posting from Judy Houser, younger sister of Dorian Houser, in memory of her brother. It is moving, and since she has granted permission to use it, I would like to share it with you this Memorial Day weekend.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I want to share with all of my Mar Vista friends, my memories of my big brother, Dory Houser (Dorian Jan Houser), who was killed in action in Vietnam on May 10, 1967. He was seven weeks shy of his 21st birthday. I was not quite 12 years old. Some of you knew him. We all went to St. Augustine’s and Dory went to St. Bernard’s for one or two years, then to Venice High where he graduated in 1964. He was a great guy, a great brother. He was cute, he was funny, he was honest, he was sweet, and he was a rascal, and smiling most of the time. And he had such cute freckles that the rest of us didn’t have. He had three little sisters that he loved, and we had so much fun, we were always playing. He was so good to us. He used to call me “squirt”.
Dory also had a serious side, like most young men who were facing the draft. He had a very high draft number but made the decision to join the Marines rather than go in the Army, maybe because our dad was a Marine in WW II.
Dory was left handed, was a great athlete, and played a lot of baseball. We lived on Westminster Place which is a cul de sac. My brothers (Lee and Dory) and neighbor kids would play ball on our street because hardly any cars drove on it. Dory would always let me use his baseball mit because I’m also left handed. It was so big on my little hand, well worn in, and it was like a huge hug every time I wore it.
Yesterday I opened the box that has all the letters my mom wrote to Dory when he was in boot camp, in Oceanside. And in the box were all the letters he wrote to us. Once he got to Vietnam I think we only received two letters from him. We all lived in fear, waiting to hear something, anything. It was such a horrible feeling, the waiting. Reading some of the letters yesterday was crushing to my heart and soul, all over again. I’ve read these letters so many times over the years but yesterday I just couldn’t finish. It does not get one bit easier after all these years. Losing my big brother was the greatest loss in my life and it altered me as a human being, forever.
I know that everyone here was impacted by the Vietnam war. A lot of you were in the service, men and women, and many of you went to Vietnam, Germany, and maybe other countries, sometimes serving more than one tour. Strange to call it a tour.
I know this is a somber post, and it’s very painful to write. I want this post to be about Dory and all of you. Please feel free to share anything you’d like on this post, on this Memorial Day weekend, as it relates to Memorial Day. I think of Dory often, whatever the day may be. Maybe we can all heal just a little bit more.
This is the best place I can share my memories of my brother, with my Mar Vista peeps. You are the best! Love to all of you.
My mom often used to say “the Mar Vista boys” like she was referring to the Little Rascals, but she was also talking about the men they became, or didn’t get the chance to become. I always knew exactly who she meant, it was endearing and felt safe, like she was talking about all my big brothers.
Peace.
Judy Houser
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you, Judy. May Dory, Mike, and all the others who sacrificed their lives in Vietnam rest in eternal peace.
Joe Biden's Latest Gaffe
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
This article first appeared in New English Review.
Joe Biden-Clarence Thomas
With his obviously failing mental capacities, Joe Biden, a man long known for verbal gaffes, is now committing them on a daily basis. It's not entirely fair to blame him because his mental decline is so obvious, yet his latest gaffe was nothing to laugh about. On Friday, Biden was being interviewed by a black radio host (Charlamagne the God) when he made the comment that blacks considering voting for Trump "ain't black".
Where to begin? First of all, I don't consider Biden a racist, but he seems to have that paternalistic attitude that all blacks should support Democrats and liberal policies. This is the man who, a few years ago, told a black audience that the Republicans were "going to put y'all back in chains." This is the man who presided over the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings that was turned into a three-ring circus. Anita Hill was the Democrats' pawn, but the real objection for them was that Thomas was a conservative black Republican.
The main issue that should be addressed here is the barriers faced by African-American conservatives. I have said for years that they are, in my view, the most intellectually stimulating people in American society. It takes a courageous person to go against the grain and support alternative views and solutions for what ails black America. Justice Thomas is just one who has felt the wrath and been called an Uncle Tom. There are others like Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, Candace Owens, Larry Elder, Senator Tim Scott, and others. The tactics used by the left to demonize these independent thinkers are despicable, and Joe Biden's comments are equally despicable.
The question should also be asked: Who in the Hell does Biden think he is to define who is black and who is not according to how they think? What he is saying is that all black people should think like him. Would he make that same statement about white people-that any white that would vote for Trump isn't white?
The truth of the matter is that Biden, even in his prime, has always been a jerk who thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. He could have easily made that same statement in 1980. He is anything but the smartest guy in the room, not now, not ever.
Biden should issue a public apology to black conservatives and any others who are even considering voting for Trump. This might even be the appropriate time to announce that he is withdrawing from the presidential race.
*Update: Biden has apologized for the remark.
Michael Flynn and the FBI
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
The headline of today is that the Justice Department has moved to formally drop the case against Michael Flynn for lying to FBI agents. This is long overdue.
The judge overseeing the case still has to put the lid on it by dismissing the charges, which should be a formality. That should have been done even before the DOJ dropped the charges. The revelations this week regarding FBI notes discussing how they should interview Flynn and to what objective ended any doubt that the FBI had acted in an unethical manner.
I take no pleasure in writing this as a former federal agent (DEA). But I feel in my heart what those agents did to Flynn was against the very spirit of the law under our democratic system of justice.
During my own career I had several occasions to interview people who were targets of an investigation, usually after arrest, but occasionally prior to actually being charged. In most cases (unless they exercised their right to a lawyer etc.), they told me lies. Sometimes I knew at the time they were lies. I was later able to testify in court that they had lied and present the evidence that contradicted their statements. To me, it was just another element of proof that they were guilty of the underlying drug offense. However, I never charged anyone for lying to a federal agent (18 USC 1001), and I never conducted an interview with that end in mind. I never went into an interview with the aim of getting somebody fired from a job. And similarly, I never went back after I submitted a report favorable to the suspect and in effect, changed that report to the suspect's detriment.
On that latter point, let me explain the proper procedure. We are human and sometimes investigative reports are written and submitted that later turn out to have factual errors in them. In that case, the agent who wrote the original report has an obligation to write a follow up report to the case file pointing out the error and correcting it. You don't make the original report disappear.
Once the agent signs a report, it is reviewed and signed by that agent's immediate supervisor. From there it is distributed to the relevant parties. Who are the relevant parties? Those would be other field offices involved in the investigation as well as the relevant headquarters sections. Naturally, a copy goes into the case file(s). Those reports, in the event of eventual prosecution, are legally available to the defense attorney. It is called the Law of Discovery or the Brady Act. (There are some exceptions if the material is not deemed relevant to the actual prosecution, but in Flynn's case, the original report made after the interview, which reportedly indicated that Flynn was being truthful, should have been turned over to his defense council under Discovery-especially if it was exculpatory. Instead, what they (and the public) got was drips and drops over a three-year period.
The treatment of Flynn is much like the treatment of Carter Page, who was subjected to electronic monitoring based on a fraudulent dossier prepared by a former British intelligence agent hired by entities who ultimately were paid by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the DNC. The FBI knew the dossier was highly suspect, yet included it in affidavits to the FISA court to conduct electronic surveillance on Page, a man who has never been charged with anything. James Comey himself signed off on three of the affidavits himself. And here is Comey crying about today's action and telling DOJ officials to stay and fight back. Fight back against what-bringing corrupt agents to justice?
James Comey, Rod Rosenstein, Bruce Ohr, Peter Strzok, Andrew McCabe, Lisa Page and others violated the civil rights of people in the Trump camp because they wanted to influence the outcome of an election and continued to do so even after the election and after the inauguration to bring down a duly-elected president-all based on a lie. The lie was that Trump and people in his campaign were complicit in Russian efforts to meddle in our election.
I don't condemn the rank and file agents, but the FBI suffered from a rot at the top, a feeling of superiority that led them to think they could white wash the Clinton email case-which they did- and then submarine Trump. This attitude of superiority goes deep back in history-all the way to J Edgar Hoover. He was the man who built the FBI into the law enforcement agency none other could match in turns of resources and sophistication. He also made it into an agency that at times was above the law. Several directors since Hoover's death have tried to reform the agency-with mixed results.
Like your average DEA agent, I was not a fan of the FBI. Yet I ended my career with DEA as a trainer at the FBI Academy, a great experience. In the war on Islamic terror, I have been a solid supporter of the FBI and the terror strikes they have thwarted. As I stated, this present corruption was at the top and should not be considered as something most field agents would do. Indeed, it seems that the operations aimed at Carter Page and Michael Flynn were not carried out by field agents at the Washington Field Office-rather by high level supervisors at Hqs. That itself should have raised red flags.
James Comey, in spite of all his moral posturing, brought disgrace to the FBI. He himself was part of the cabal aimed against both Flynn and Page.
And about the current director, Christopher Wray? True, the scandal took place before his watch, but he has an obligation to help clean up the filth. If he is not, if he is merely trying to withhold information that would damage the agency-then he too should be fired.
Meanwhile, DOJ must continue the investigation into possible criminal wrongdoing by government officials. If indictments are warranted, let them come.
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