Part I Obama's Watergates: The President is not above the law

Watergate, June 17, 1972-August 8, 1974. Watergate was a simple matter. On June 17, 1972, y five men where were caught during an attempted break-in at the Democratic Party Headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. What brought down President Richard Nixon’s presidency was the attempted cover-up of the events. The purpose of the break-in was to wiretap the Democratic National Headquarters. Eleven advisors and aides to then President Richard Nixon were indicted by a Grand Jury on various charges including burglary, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury.

John Mitchell, a former Attorney General was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury and fined $42,000. He was imprisoned for 19 months.

H.R. Halderman, White House Chief of Staff, was convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice and fined $16,000. He was imprisoned for 18 months.

Charles Colson, former White House counsel, was convicted of obstruction of justice, he was fined $5,000 and was imprisoned for 7 months.

John Erlichman, Assistant to the President for political affairs, was convicted of perjury, and obstruction of justice and fined $40,000. He was imprisoned for 18 months.

Gordon Strachan, White House Aide to H. R. Halderman, had his charges dropped before trial. He had been facing up to 15 years in federal prison and $20,000 in fines.

Robert Mardian, aid to John Mitchell, was exonerated on appeal.

Kenneth Parkinson, counsel to the President’s reelection committee, faced 10 years in prison and $10,00 in fines, but was acquitted at trial.

Jeb Magruder, Deputy Director of the President’s reelection committee, was convicted of conspiracy and was imprisoned for 7 months.

Frederick LaRue, a Presidential Aide, was convicted of obstruction of justice and was imprisoned for four and half months.

Maurice Stans, finance chairman of the President’s reelection committee, was convicted of three counts of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act and two counts of accepting illegal campaign contributions. He was fined $5,000. Two earlier charges of perjury and obstruction of justice were dropped.

Egil Krogh, Jr., White House Advisor and counsel, was indicted for obstruction of justice and imprisoned for 4 months. He was part of the White House Plumbers unit under G. Gordon Liddy. Although he was convicted for a break-in regarding Daniel Ellsberg’s disclosures of the Pentagon Papers, his role was discovered as part of the Watergate investigation.

G. Gordon Liddy, counsel to President Nixon’s reelection campaign, a White House Aide, and a former FBI agent, served 52 months in federal prisons for burglary and refusing to testify before a Senate committee that was investigating Watergate.

Today, in some of America’s big cities, especially in high crime areas, the police would not even bother investigating the break-in. Yet, this non-violent act of breaking of the law destroyed a presidency.

On August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States. His presidency was brought to an end by the mere attempt at cover-up of an attempted break-in of the DNC to place wiretaps in those offices. The President lied, as did others in an attempt to cover-up the break-in. In many jurisdictions what was attempted that night in 1972 would have been a misdemeanor or class C felony at the worst. No Americans died, nor was anyone injured. No acts of illegal aiding and abetting an enemy were accomplished. Yet, a presidency was brought down, because of the attempted cover-up.

What was the lesson of Watergate? Don’t lie to the American people, and no one, including the President of the United States is above the law. No one.

Tomorrow: part II, Barack Hussein Obama’s Watergates.

The personnel at the Benghazi U.S. Mission were abandoned while under attack with military resources available and able to come to their aid in a timely manner, but left to die by this President for political reasons. At least one drone was overhead the entire time sending video to the DOD and State, and undoubtedly, with a feed to the WH Situation Room.

The U.S. Mission in Benghazi was running guns to Islamic jihadists, including Al Qaeda in Libya and Syria. Our President authorized arming our enemies. Americans were abandoned on the battlefield, American soil--that's what the Mission was--was violated by armed hostiles. President Barrack Hussein Obama, then SecState Hillary Clinton, and then SecDef Leon Panetta are all complicit in the failure to act to protect U.S. personnel under attack and complicit in their knowledge of aiding and abetting enemies of the United States, even going so far as to hire members of Ansar al-Sharia, a known Al Qaeda affiliated jihadist militia as . . . security personnel for the mission. A U.S. Ambassador was sodomized and killed in the attack, and another State Dept. employee was killed, along with two CIA ex-Navy Seals trying to defend against the attack.

Then, there is Fast and Furious, in which our government illegally ran guns into Mexico arming the drug cartels in a perverted attempt to undermine the Second Amendment through public backlash over the carnage these illegally smuggled weapons brought to the citizens of Mexico. A DEA agent was killed in Mexico and a Border Patrol officer was killed in the U.S. by these weapons. AG Eric Holder and President Barrack Hussein Obama are culpable for this intentional violation of Mexican national sovereignty and the arming of enemies of the United States and complicit in the deaths of two U.S. law enforcement officers as a result of their illegal acts.

Then, there is the IRS scandal which is incredible in of itself. Prior knowledge of the President, complicit in his allowing the supression of political opponents fund raising ability while fast tracking friendly organizations. This has never happened to this degree. 500 organizations were impacted negatively, with prejudicial delays openly admitted. All concerned at the IRS need to be fired. They all took an oath to serve. President Barrack Hussein Obama is complicit in his knowledge and his silence.

The AP scandal is another harbinger of things to come with the assault on the AP. Even if the press is hostile to the right, it should still be free to exercise its 1st Amendment rights. AG Eric Holder did not act without his President's approval. This was a politically motivated assault on the Fourth Estate.

All of the above serve as notice to we the people that the Constitution and our Constitutional Republic are in peril by a tyrannical, cynical, self-serving President and his appointees.

If we let this continue, we have only ourselves to blame.

Call and write your congressional delegation, call the governor and have that office stand up to the President. Then, in 2014 and 2016, end this liberal tyranny and assault upon our Constitution by voting for conservatives who will honor and obey the Constitution of the United States as the Supreme Law of the Land.

An Alaska legend passes . . . Hickel

One of Alaska’s true political powerhouses and true Alaska spirits has passed. Walter Joseph Hickel died at the age of 90 in Anchorage hospice. He had a very full life. He is survived by his wife Ermalee Hickel, his six sons and 21 grandchildren.

Hickel was born in 1919 in Claflin, KS. His family farmed. He was the Kansas Golden Glovers champion by age 20.

Walter Hickel came to Alaska when Alaska was still a frontier in 1940. He made his fortune here, and established himself as one of Alaska’s political powerhouses. He was a great promoter of Alaska and our resources. His stance on Alaska’s sovereignty was reflected in AS 35.05.500-505.

Hickel married Jannice Cannon, his first wife in 1941. She died in 1943. They had one son.

In 1945, he married his second wife, Ermalee Strutz. They had 5 sons.

Wally Hickel became our Governor twice. His first term in office was in 1966. He defeated Bill Egan, Alaska’s first governor. In 1969 Hickel was appointed as Secretary of the Interior under President Richard Nixon. He was fired in 1970 for writing a letter protesting the President’s handling of war dissension, notably the Kent State shootings.

Hickel was diligent at his job as Interior Secretary. He set high standards for the oil companies after an oil rig accident off the coast of California. He was also an advocate for the Everglades.

Hickel was a strong advocate for export of Alaska resources to Japan and Asia.

Hickel was again elected as governor under the Alaskan Independence Party in 1990. He pursued the injustices of the federal government in their dealings with Alaska resource development and lands issues in the federal courts. Unfortunately, his successor, Tony Knowles dropped the lawsuit with prejudice, leaving future governors no recourse.

Hickel supported Sarah Palin, until she dropped the all-Alaska pipeline project to Valdez in favor of AGIA. He became a vocal opponent of her resource development policies and her distractions.

He publically supported gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker in the 2010 campaign.

An as yet to be scheduled funeral mass will be celebrated in Anchorage.

My father was a State Police officer. In 1959, he was sent to investigate the newly formed company to bring Cook Inlet and Kenai Penninsula gas deposits to market in south central. Walter J. Hickel was the man my father spoke with. My father asked about stock in the company, who could purchase, etc. Hickel smiled at him and told him suscinctly that my father could not afford the stock. You see, a State cop at the time made about $450/mo.

It was Cook Inlet gas supplying Ft. Richardson and Elmendorf in 1965 that shut down Evan Jones Coal Mine in Sutton. The coal mine provided the coal that previously had fueled the power plant and heating system for the bases. Over 60 families in the Mat-Su valley lost their livelihoods. Working at the coal mine was one of the good jobs--year round, non government, good money for the time.

Hickel pushed our timber to the Japanese during his first term in 1966, who bought Alaska timber in the round initially, started a timber industry in southeastern that grew until the feds shut down Tongass.

Hickel had a vision of Alaska that I did not necessarily agree with, but he was right. The "owner state" concept reeked of socialism to me and was distasteful. However, I did agree wholeheartedly with his exceptional and in your face protection of Alaska's sovereignty in opposition to the increasing federal encroachment.

I wish Hickel had lived to see the all-Alaska pipeline built. And, I wish Sarah Palin had been the governor that we and Hickel had hoped that she would be.

Oh, well. Life is a bitch and then you die.