Triad Conservative

Showdown in Virginia, Once Again

 

The Commonwealth of Virginia is going down the tubes.

It is not the same state in which I resided during the early 1980's and early 1990's. The socialists and cultural Marxists have taken over the state for the most part; and it is truly sad to see what is unfolding.

When I attended school in Richmond, it was a conservative state-- indeed, a conservatively run state-- even though the Governor was a Democrat. Back then, it was Chuck Robb, the former Marine who was also LBJ's son-in-law. I remember enjoying lunch on the Capitol lawn with classmates many times because it was only a couple of blocks away from school.

Since then, northern Virginia has grown into a behemoth fueled by the malignant growth of the federal government and by unrestrained immigration. Indeed, northern Virginia has literally swallowed up the state. For decades, many of those who have resided in the southern part of the state have justifiably tended to regard, somewhat suspiciously, those north of the James River.

The upcoming event on Monday at the state capital arouses concern. On the one hand, one can only cheer on those gun rights advocates planning to attend who wish to deliver a message to the gun-grabbing politicians that day. But we need to think about the cultural Marxists' strategy at Charlottesville. It is quite clear they desperately wanted a violent confrontation to win over the narrative back then, even though many of the demonstrators had very legitimate concerns. 

One can only hope that is not the left's strategy to have another violent confrontation this time. Governor Northam-- a loathesome creature-- is erecting a chain link fence around the Capitol grounds, declaring a state of emergency and forbidding guns at the rally. He is doing these things even while he puts in place a SWAT team to enforce his new gun policies throughout the state to counteract the greater-than-one-hundred declared sanctuary counties and cities. The socialists are simultaneously attempting to shut down indoor gun ranges and establish more gun-free zones.

Meanwhile, they seek to repeal the state law that protects historical monuments. (Of course, Northam had previously advocated infanticide even though he is a pediatric neurologist by training.)

It is worrisome that a violent confrontation may be brewing, precipitated by the socialists, even though a massive, prolonged demonstration is precisely what is needed.

Recently, a young Marine reservist who also is a law enforcement officer spoke before the Fairfax County council. He spoke in an engaging manner; but toward the end of his comments he drew a parallel that was quite insightful. Check it out:

Unwind the War Powers Resolution

Massive Historical Amnesia: Local Media Whiffs as Brian James Appointed Greensboro Police Chief

The news today was not good in the Politically Virtuous City. Deputy Chief Brian James was named our new police chief.

I have looked at many of the online news reports today. They all cite his credentials and experience. But none comment on the elephant in the room.

Some readers will recall the GPD Fiasco fifteen years ago when former Chief David Wray was forced out of the department because he was investigating police officers suspected of being involved with wrong-doing-- many of whom were black. Nearly his entire command staff was forced out of the department also.

The city attempted to have certain white officers prosecuted who were involved with these investigations. The matter was turned over to Roy Cooper who was then Attorney General. We now know that Cooper is a committed leftist. His department prosecuted two officers-- Tom Fox and Scott Sanders-- and both were acquitted.

In the wake of the acquittal of Fox and Sanders, the Greensboro City Manager-- Mitchell Johnson-- was forced out of his position because of his gross mishandling of the entire matter.

What does this have to do with Brian James?

First, he was perhaps the only member of Wray's command staff who was not purged at that time. He was then in his mid-thirties.

Second, he was one of 39 black officers who filed an EEOC complaint with the federal government against the city of Greensboro in connection with this entire situation.

Third, he was one of the stars of the old Rhinoceros Times series, Cops in Black and White, penned by Jerry Bledsoe. In fact, he sued the newspaper and Mr. Bledsoe because of the contents. I don't recall the outcome of that lawsuit.

Readers must understand that former chief Wray was involved with a serious interagency effort with the U.S. Attorney's office and the FBI, among other agencies, going after certain drug kingpins and dealers in Greensboro. The investigations against certain officers arose in part from that effort. The concern was that some officers were assisting these drug kingpins in various ways.

What are the specifics about Brian James? My recollection was a bit murky, so I had to go back to my old Guarino blog to refresh it. Bledsoe's series included literally dozens of installments, and I summarized them each week they appeared. I found two key posts that I will heavily excerpt here, from February of 2007:

A tip had come to one of the News and Record reporters that sought to validate Lt. Hinson's concerns about Special Intelligence.  Bledsoe said it came from Lt. Brian James, who was "Wray's executive assistant and the spokesperson for the department."  He was a friend of Hinson.

The federal drug task force OCDETF was going after two local individuals involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.    An associate of these two men met with a group of investigators from various agencies regarding corruption in the GPD.  Bledsoe calls this associate "the informant".

This informant had paid more than $5,000 to Nicole Pettiford so she would get him information from the GPD regarding his investigation.    Her contacts from whom she sought assistance, allegedly in exchange for significant sums, included Brian James and L.A. Alexander.  Another was Lee Walker, an older officer who had earlier accompanied the Pulpit Forum's Mazie Ferguson to the meeting with Wray on recruiting (out of which she had stormed).   In any event, it was alleged that  contacts  were made, information gotten, and money exchanged, on at least several occasions-- brokered between Pettiford and these officers.

Pettiford at one point produced documents for the informant that turned out to be fakes.

Update: I am told further by a reliable source about the lieutenant discussed in this article.   According to the source,  this individual is currently in the leadership of the Criminal Investigation Division-- the same division that has been investigating Special Intelligence.  This represents a potential conflict if true.

Update II:  I have reviewed my copies of the RMA report and the City Attorney's report.   The City Attorney's report has  ample information about the cases involving these two officers.  In fact, both the cases of Alexander and James are cited several times in the report as evidence of discrimination against African-American officers.

It was claimed that the handling of their cases reflected disparate treatment compared with similar cases involving white officers.    It alleges that they were criminally interrogated by Special Intelligence without probable cause.   It suggests Alexander may have been disciplined excessively.   In addition, the report claimed Special Intelligence should not have been involved because it should have been handled as an administrative investigation, not as intelligence gathering. 

It is very important to note, however, that the City Attorney's report does not provide some critical contextual information that is found in Bledsoe's current installment.  As I have pointed out previously, the City Attorney's report makes a unilateral case that the city discriminated against its black officers...

Last week, we learned in the Rhino Times that three Greensboro police officers, including Lt. Brian James, had been identified by Nicole Pettiford as individuals who had helped her obtain inside police information in exchange for renumeration, on behalf of individuals involved with drug trafficking and money laundering.  We also learned that Lt. James ironically was to be placed in charge of the later police department investigations into David Wray and his subordinates.

In any event, Jerry Bledsoe continues this week, and the following represents a summary.

David Wray appointed James to be a lieutenant, and also to be his executive assistant.   Only a few weeks later, Wray was to be advised by Deputy Chief Brady that Nicole Pettiford, who was under investigation, had been calling James.   One day, Wray had planned with James to go running together, but James canceled.  It was reported that his black Durango, a police vehicle, was found that day by investigators in the Sam's Club parking lot.   Nicole Pettiford had been observed entering the vehicle, remaining ten minutes and then exiting.  They exchanged calls at least several more times over the next couple of days.

The  informant working with police had been issued a fictitious warrant.  Pettiford had been attempting to get information for him, and he had paid her.  But she was not always producing the best results. 

Investigators became concerned that "word had gotten out in the department and that a setup was suspected."  They made a decision to interrogate her-- in a room at the Residence Inn.  An Assistant U.S. Attorney was involved.

The report from the interrogation indicated the following: "During the interview she showed a pattern to deny any actions that she was asked about.  That is until she was shown physical proof or photographs."  She admitted obtaining information from one officer; and said she had spoken with James at the Sam's Club, but only by accident.  She had indicated that she had burned certain documents she had alleged to have obtained, but they were later found in her home when it was searched-- and they were fakes.

Bledsoe then demonstrated how news coverage had created a false impression regarding the investigation and interrogation of Ms. Pettiford.

This particular investigation did not result in any charges, but certain issues could not be resolved about how she had gotten inside police information.  Black officers would later use her investigation and interrogation as  evidence of  discrimination against them-- even though multiple agencies were involved.  Their point of view would later be adopted by city attorneys and RMA, and submitted to the State Bureau of Investigation.

And Pettiford would later sue the city with yet another version of events.

The News and Record has a story today announcing James' selection as chief. They discussed what his approach would be to deal with the city's abominable homicide rate. Greensboro tied its own record for homicides last year. What would be James' approach?

James said many of the city's homicide victims are young people who are killed by other young people. He added that the city has resources, from social services to crime-prevention programs, that need to do a better job of identifying at-risk youth and finding ways to prevent them from resorting to violence.

"We certainly have to take a look at how we have those resources allocated," he explained.

That does not mean, James said, flooding high-crime areas of the city with more patrol officers. That's not necessarily the most effective way to prevent violent crime, he said.

 

In any event, it is clear that James feels that maximally using police officers, within the confines of the law, to save young black lives is not warranted. He prefers to fight crime using social programs.

Those lives simply don't matter, according to postmodern progressive orthodoxy. And serving as police chief in a place like Greensboro is a thoroughly political responsibility. You must bow before the local pieties to survive.

I am of the opinion that a black police chief could potentially be a good thing, because they would ordinarily be granted wider latitude to fight crime. They would, of course, be less susceptible to charges of racism. But Brian James is a practitioner of identity politics now; and he certainly was fifteen years ago when the GPD Fiasco came to light.

The fact that the city would select him, after a much publicized and vaunted process, is very troubling. But one must admit that he is a strong match for the local political culture.

How About Sanctuary Cities/Counties for Unborn Babies?

Let's remember that it was the socialists who began this particular trend.

They thought it was the height of enlightenment to declare jurisdictions that would be safe havens for illegal aliens. And they moved to assure the states they controlled would begin to flout federal law by legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana.

It was supposedly acceptable for them to stake their own outposts to advance their own issues, regardless of however lawless it might have been.

Now, we are seeing the right adopt this strategy. Numerous localities in Virginia have declared themselves sanctuary jurisdictions against the gun-grabbing socialists in Richmond. And now counties in North Carolina are beginning to do the same thing.

So, the question arises-- what about human life?

World Magazine reported within the past week that there is a movement afoot in Texas for towns and cities to declare themselves sanctuary cities for unborn babies. The jurisdictions would begin to penalize those who perform or facilitate abortions within their boundaries.

Oh, yes, there would be a pained outcry from the media/left complex. But how is protecting illegal aliens or legalizing marijuana more ethical or justifiable than protecting babies from getting killed?

We could do this right here in Guilford County. Certainly more red counties in North Carolina could do so also. They would, however, undoubtedly arouse the ire of our esteemed Governor and state Attorney General, whose respective religious worldviews likely include such components as cultural relativism, radical feminism, secularism and sexual liberationism. Such corrupt worldviews regard abortion as a veritable sacrament. 

I hope the movement for sanctuary cities/counties for unborn babies in Texas catches on like wildfire; and that leaders within the state and federal governments respectively let it happen. It is time to push back on behalf of truly virtuous causes.

Veterans', GI's Medical Records Will Be Available to NC Medical Facilities. Will Your Family's Records Be Available to the Deep State?

I learned today of an interesting announcement from our state government in Raleigh.

The North Carolina Health Information Exchange is a state entity that receives electronic medical records from hospital systems, doctor's office and other health care facilities throughout the state and enables them to be transferred to other parties. They explain:

The NC HIEA is housed within the NC Department of Information Technology’s (DIT) Government Data Analytics Center (GDAC).

What was the big announcement?

The exchange had established a linkage with the federal Veterans Administration's systems and also the systems maintained by the Department of Defense so that veterans' medical records-- and also the records of military personnel--  can be accessed by various parties within North Carolina. Check it out:

The DMIX system facilitates the rapid exchange of patient and beneficiary information, especially in emergency situations, yielding consolidated, coherent and consistent access to electronic heath records. This will enable integrated health data sharing among the Military Health System (MHS) GENESIS system, legacy DoD systems, VA systems, other federal agencies and private sector health providers. 

In fact, it had been reported five years ago in the Washington Examiner that a plan was afoot to enable sharing of medical records among as many as 35 federal agencies. This is the critical section:

This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)  announced the  release of the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020, which details the efforts of some 35 departments and agencies of the federal government and  their roles in the plan to "advance the collection, sharing, and use of electronic health information to improve health care, individual and community health, and research." 

So here is the crux of the matter. It might seem helpful for the electronic medical records within the federal system for treating veterans and military folks to be accessible to North Carolina providers.

But is the electronic linkage always unidirectional? Is it merely from the federal government to the state, and then to providers?

Somehow, I doubt it. My concern is that the private medical records of North Carolina residents-- i.e. you, your kids and grandkids-- will be accessible to various federal agencies. In fact, that seems almost inevitable given the agendas being pursued.

It is bad enough that the state has these records. Now the risk is that the feds will be able to access them also.

Let's remember that this grand system in the state of North Carolina was enacted by your friendly, limited-government Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly. It was a purely donor-inspired program.

Have a nice day.

AG Josh Stein Watch: It Isn't Just Voter ID

North Carolina State Attorney General Josh Stein has received much attention over the last week because of his responsibility to defend the state in the wake of the outrageous activist Judge Loretta Biggs' decision to overturn Voter ID.

The wheels of justice turn very slowly-- especially if the involved attorneys feel no sense of urgency. It is unclear whether Stein's actions will save Voter ID in time for the November election. He claims he will defend it, but appears to be in no hurry.

Voter ID, of course, only scratches the surface of Stein's wrongheaded, mischievous representation of the state. Let's recall a bit of history: 

• He sued the US government to halt a census question regarding citizenship;
• He sued the US government to halt a "Protect Life Rule" that would steer federal monies away from Planned Parenthood;
• He was accused of unethical conduct because he refused to discharge his responsibilities defending Voter ID previously, and in fact opposed an appeal of a 4th Circuit ruling; and also had years before been a fact witness in court against Voter ID;
• He joined an action asking the Supreme Court to save Obamacare from ongoing adverse litigation in the 5th Circuit;
• He expressed a willingness to sue the Trump Administration over its ban on immigration from terrorism-prone countries;
• He joined a suit against the US government when Trump had reversed Obama's ill-conceived environmental regulations regarding climate change;
• He appeared at a Dark Money summit and spoke about how "progressive" attorneys general are "changing policy, politics and party"; and
• He was featured in the News and Observer regarding how extensively he had been fighting the Trump Administration on many issues in court and otherwise.

This is only a partial listing.

Stein is truly a contemptible public official; yet we have to rely on him to defend Voter ID-- in spite of his history of undermining it.

He runs for re-election this year. It is hoped that the Republicans will choose a strong candidate who will not hesitate to run against Stein's record. The Daily Haymaker has expressed his concerns that this will not happen. 

Stein needs to be beaten at the polls, or his political trajectory will point further upward.

Constitutionality of Political Assassinations

A Need to Exercise Care

Worthless Tillis' Greatest Hits, Volume 2

It is occasionally edifying to review all the wonderful things Senator Thom Tillis has done for North Carolina residents and for his own party's conservative base.

Let's take a look.

• He proposed a bill that would enable the federal government to develop a registry of potentially violent citizens through "'behavioral threat assessment";
• He tried to pass a bill saving one of the key elements of Obamacare that drives insurance premiums upward;
• He twice tried to push amnesty for large numbers of illegals;
• He inserted a provision into a spending bill allowing additional temporary, seasonal foreign workers; 
• He tried to get Homeland Security to allow more foreign workers to replace American blue collar workers; 
• He made an effort to allow more workers from India to compete with and take jobs from American college graduates;
• He actively discouraged wading "way too far into some of the more controversial social issues", and advocated the jailbreak bill that passed Congress to keep criminals out of federal prison.

That is quite a list.

Fortunately, Tillis is not running unopposed in the upcoming Republican primary. Trump's endorsement of Tillis, however, combined with GOP establishment support has disadvantaged any potential GOP opponent's candidacy. Recall that Garland Tucker was previously driven out of the race.

Nonetheless, we have Paul Wright, Larry Holmquist and Sharon Hudson running to replace Tillis on the Republican line. Each of these likely is to the right of Thom Tillis. Splitting the anti-Tillis vote among three opponents makes the task of replacing him on the GOP line more difficult.

I really like Judge Paul Wright, who would be an outstanding Senator. Larry Holmquist also is a strong conservative, and would represent a big improvement over Tillis. My understanding is that Ms. Hudson is also well-regarded within GOP conservative circles.

The GOP primary electorate is very limited. It tends to go with the establishment choice with higher name recognition, and often fails to do its homework. I hope Tillis can be beaten in the primary.

The democratic socialists' primary will feature, among other candidates, Erica Smith and Cal Cunningham. Erica Smith is a black state legislator, and will have an inside track for the heavily African-American component of the socialists' primary electorate. 

Cal Cunningham is the typical Establishment choice for a southern state like North Carolina. The socialists often pick a candidate who has a military pedigree, or who otherwise can be framed as seeming to be moderate-- and Cunningham fits the bill. Of course, these prototypical candidates never turn out to be moderate. 

Both Smith and Cunningham could spell trouble for Tillis.

The Libertarians and the Greens will have candidates also.

Kevin Hayes will run for the Constitution Party in the November election. He would represent a major improvement over Tillis.

But neither Hayes nor any of the three GOP primary challengers could ever hope to match Tillis' Greatest Hits described above.

Update 1/7: Here is Volume I of Worthless Tillis' Greatest Hits.

When "Protecting Democracy" is Important, and When It Isn't

Several weeks ago, Jordan Green wrote a column at Triad City Beat that argued impeachment was necessary to "protect democracy". 

When the left issues disingenuous cries about how Trump's presidency jeopardizes "our democracy", they ignore the fact that he does not even remotely have dictatorial or authoritarian powers. He has wanted to accomplish certain things; but he is continuously "hemmed in" by Congress; by the courts; and by current law. His powers are not even remotely totalitarian. It is true that the modern presidency plays a role beyond what the founders envisioned, but that has been true dating back many decades; and Obama is a great example of that.

But here is the ironic aspect of the statements made by Green at Triad City Beat about President Trump and democracy.

Only a few weeks later, the newspaper was editorializing against Voter ID in the wake of activist Judge Loretta Biggs' notorious decision. They exhibited absolutely no concern over the fact that Voter ID-- a legitimate requirement common in many other states-- was invalidated by a single judicial oligarch.

There was no concern over the fact that Voter ID was passed through democratic processes in North Carolina several times, by wide majorities. They claim to be concerned about democracy, but in fact they are not.

But this is not the only circumstance in which the left has undermined democracy. 

They do it whenever they use the courts to seek activist decisions to overturn legitimate law, or achieve a political outcome they could not obtain via democratic means. They do it when they celebrate judicial oligarchs like Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

They do it when they promote centralization-- i.e., a strong federal role-- even though the Constitution demands otherwise. That undermines the democratic prerogatives of the residents of individual states to determine their own destiny.

They do it when they promote globalism, because it undermines the democratic prerogatives of the citizens of sovereign nations to rule themselves.

They do it when they try to tie the hands of police officers, because cops become less able to enforce laws that have been democratically enacted.

And they do it when they systematically try to undermine the integrity of democratic elections, because that dilutes the value of votes that are legitimately cast by citizens.

Green's article and the Voter ID editorial that followed in Triad City Beat blatantly contradicted each other. One falsely cries out for democracy, while the other deliberately undermines it. These pieces were profoundly stupid, deserving of every derisive adjective that can be thrown at them-- banal, formulaic, pabulum. The usual stuff from the left.