Month: May 2013

Due to popular demand by readers, I am posting another quiz. This one is something different. Are you a movie buff? Think you know your stuff? Take my quiz and find out. No peeking at the answers, and no surfing the internet.

1. Which movie won the first Academy Award?

a. The Jazz Singer
b. Wings
c. Grand Hotel
d. All Quiet on the Western Front

2. Which of the below listed movies received the most Academy Award nominations?

a. Ben Hur
b. Gone with the Wind
c. All About Eve
d. The Godfather

3. What was the most Academy Awards nominations received by a movie?

a. 12
b. 13
c. 14
d. 15

4. Which of the below listed moves won the most Academy Awards?

a. Gone with the Wind
b. West Side Story
c. Lord of the Rings
d. Casablanca

5. What was the most Academy Awards received by a movie?

a. 8
b. 9
c. 10
d. 11

6. Who has won the most Best Actor Academy Awards?

a. Daniel Day-Lewis
b. Spencer Tracy
c. Jack Nicholson
d. Tom Hanks

7. Who was the only actor to win the Best Actor Academy Award in consecutive years?

a. Jack Nicholson
b. Dustin Hoffman
c. Tom Hanks
d. Spencer Tracy

8. Which actress has won the most Best Actress Academy Awards?

a. Katherine Hepburn
b. Meryl Streep
c. Bette Davis
d. Hilary Swank

9. Which actress has received the most Best Actress Academy Award nominations?

a. Joanne Woodward
b. Bette Davis
c. Katherine Hepburn
d. Meryl Streep

FAMOUS QUOTES – Select the movie from which the below quotes were taken.

10. “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

a. Top Gun
b. It Happened One Night
c. Gone with the Wind
d. Mrs. Miniver

11. “I coulda been a contender.”

a. On the Waterfront
b. The Godfather
c. War and Peace
d. Woman of the Year

12. “Round up the usual suspects.”

a. The Maltese Falcon
b. Key Largo
c. The African Queen
d. Casablanca

13. “Go ahead, make my day.”

a. Dirty Harry
b. Commando
c. Sudden Impact
d. Rocky IV

14. “You talking to me?”

a. Taxi Driver
b. Rocky
c. West Side Story
d. Sunset Boulevard

15. “They Call Me Mr. Tibbs.”

a. They Call Me Mr. Tibbs
b. Lillies of the Field
c. Driving Miss Daisy
d. In the Heat of the Night

16. “Bond. James Bond.”

a. Dr. No
b. From Russia with Love
c. Thunderball
d. Goldfinger

17. “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”

a. To Have and Have Not
b. Top Gun
c. The Hustler
d. Cool Hand Luke

18. “You can’t handle the truth.”

a. A Few Good Men
b. Risky Business
c. Unforgiven
d. The Good, the Bad and the UglY

19. “Show me the Money”

a. Moneyball
b. Jerry McGuire
c. The Untouchables
d. White Nights

20. “I’ll have what she’s having.”

a. Romancing the Stone
b. Sleepless in Seattle
c. The Way We Were
d. When Harry Met Sally

21. “Plastics”

a. Wall Street
b. Some Like It Hot
c. The Graduate
d. Marathon Man

22. “There’s no crying in Baseball.”

a. Major League
b. 42
c. The Natural
d. A League of Their Own

23. “I’ll be back.”

a. Kindergarten Cop
b. True Grit
c. The Terminator
d. Predator

24. “Here’s Johnny.”

a. The Johnny Carson Story
b. The Shining
c. It
d. The Exorcist

25. “Don’t call me Shirley.”

a. To Catch a Thief
b. Naked Gun
c. The Sunshine Boys
d. Airplane

26. “Say Hello to my little friend.”

a. Goodfellas
b. Scarface
c. Dirty Harry
d. Public Enemy

27. “Hasta la vista, baby.”

a. Terminator
b. Terminator 2
c. Viva Zapata
d. The Alamo

28. “Rosebud”

a. Mildred Pierce
b. The Good Earth
c. The Fugitive
d. Citizen Kane

29. “Nobody puts ‘baby’ in the Corner.”

a. West Side Story
b. Sunset Boulevard
c. The Way We Were
d. Dirty Dancing

30. “Houston, we have a problem.”

a. Mission to Mars
b. Apollo 13
c. The Alamo
d. How the West Was Won

EXTRA CREDIT

Who hosted the most Academy Awards shows?

a. Johnny Carson
b. Jack Benny
c. Billy Crystal
d. Bob Hope

ANSWERS: 1. b; 2. c; 3. c; 4. c; 5. d; 6. a (3); 7. d (1937-38); 8. a(4); 9. d(14); 10. c; 11. a; 12. d; 13. c; 14. a; 15. d; 16. a; 17. d; 18. a; 19. b; 20. d; 21. c; 22. d; 23. c; 24. b; 25. d; 26. b; 27. b; 28. d; 29. d; 30. b; EC. d (18)

Today, we celebrate Memorial Day, a federal holiday that commemorates those who have died in the service of our country. To many people, Memorial Day is viewed as a holiday that marks the unofficial beginning of summer. But it is not that simple. What is the real significance of Memorial Day? When did it begin?

Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday of May. It began after the Civil War to commemorate soldiers of both the Union and the Confederacy who had died during that war. It was first celebrated in 1868 when the commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, General John Logan, issued a proclamation for a national holiday called “Decoration Day” to be celebrated annually on May 30. The name Decoration Day was derived from the ancient custom of decorating soldiers’ graves with flowers. Supposedly, the May date was chosen because (1) it was not the anniversary of any particular Civil War battle, and (2) it was a date when flowers were in bloom. In any event, over time the holiday caught on as state after state designated Decoration Day as an official holiday. Gradually, the holiday became referred to as “Memorial Day,” but the name was not changed officially until 1967. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved the holiday from May 30 to the last Monday in May. (Three other holidays were also moved from their original dates to a Monday in order to make convenient three day weekends. Can you name them? The answer appears below.)

CONCLUSION

Memorial Day is also a good day to reflect on the sacrifices made by members of our armed forces to protect us and preserve our freedom and our way of life. Some wars have been more popular politically than others, and, at times, the military has not been viewed positively in some circles, but politics should not influence how we view veterans. Many of them made the “supreme sacrifice” on our behalf; others did not die but suffered grievous physical or emotional wounds. All of them interrupted their lives and careers in the service of our country.

So, if you know a veteran, the next time you see him or her make it a point to thank them for their service. It will make their day, and yours too.

Oh, the answer to my mini quiz: The other holidays moved to permanent Mondays were Washington’s Birthday (now known as Presidents’ Day), Columbus Day and Veterans Day (which was later returned to its original date of November 11).

Moore, Oklahoma. By all accounts, a nice little suburb of OKC. Residents will tell you that it is a nice place to live, to raise a family. Except for one small problem: It lies in the middle of “tornado alley,” and it may have the dubious distinction of being the “tornado capital” of the US, if not the world. On what basis? According to Wikipedia, Moore has suffered through approximately 20 tornadoes since 1890, five of which were “significant,” and all five have occurred in the last 15 years.

The latest occurred on May 20, 2013. It was designated a Category EF5, which means it had winds in excess of 200 mph. It left an estimated 24 dead, including ten children, injured nearly 100, destroyed thousands of homes and businesses and caused approximately $2 billion in property damage. Many of those deaths resulted from mechanical asphyxia, which means the people (in some cases, kids) were trapped under heavy rubble and suffocated to death – a slow, painful, lonely and frightening way to die. Words cannot adequately describe the torment of a parent who loses a child in that manner. The children were in school. Schools are supposed to be safe. When you send your child to school, you expect him or her to return safely.

Furthermore, it turns out that despite the frequency and severity of tornadoes striking the area, many homes and buildings (even schools) lacked either a shelter or a “safe” room. (A “safe” room is merely a concrete structure, like a bunker, built above ground that is designed to withstand winds of over 250 mph. It costs approximately $5,000 to build.) This omission seems inexplicable and foolish, particularly in the case of schools, but supposedly many people could not afford the cost and decided to take a calculated risk, with tragic results. Unlike the Boston Marathon bombing, which some politicians falsely labeled a “tragedy” instead of a terrorist attack, this was truly a tragedy.

Unlike floods, blizzards and hurricanes, which the public generally is cognizant of in advance and can plan for, tornadoes strike with little or no warning. Tornado “watches” and “warnings” are so common and cover such a wide area as to be largely ignored. People hear about them on the news, file them away in the back of their minds, and continue to go about their daily lives. It is simply not practical to seek shelter in response to every “watch” or “warning.” Consequently, when the real thing occurs, people have just minutes to get to a shelter or “safe” room. This tornado was so large (estimates ranged up to a mile wide) and was moving so fast that many people did not reach shelter in time. In addition, it struck at 5 pm, the height of rush hour. Many parents were at work or on the road; their children were elsewhere. It dropped debris across two interstates. Picture yourself driving along on the LIE and seeing part of a house or an entire car flying at you from the other direction at 200 mph.

Through it all, the people of Moore exhibited a strong spirit and a positive attitude. Most of them have been through this before, and they know the drill. For example, the current mayor, who used to own a jewelry store, related to a reporter how he rode out the 1999 tornado in the company of employees and customers in his store’s vault. They know that the main thing is the safety of loved ones. Damaged property can be replaced; people cannot.

Also, it was heartening to see people who were not affected helping those who were. Acts of heroism by ordinary people abounded. One could see volunteers with shovels, rakes and trash bags helping others clean up damaged property with their bare hands. In addition, military personnel from Tinker Air Force base were on the scene, and “Good Samaritans” poured in from all over the country to lend a hand wherever they could.

CONCLUSION AND PREDICTION

People are resilient. Like people who live in other high-risk natural disaster areas, such as flood plains and coastal areas, the overwhelming percentage of people who live in and around Moore have vowed to rebuild and stay. I predict they will, although the State and Federal governments should require rebuilt property to have a shelter or safe room, and should subsidize older structures that were undamaged to add them.

Do you trust politicians? I think the overwhelming majority of us would answer that question with a resounding “NO.” One could argue quite persuasively that an honest politician would find it very difficult, if not impossible, even to get elected. Of course, the danger is that we have become so jaded that we expect our political leaders to lie, deceive and cheat, so that when instances come to light we discount them. (“What’s the big deal. Everybody does it.”)

Virtually every administration has had its share of lying, deception, broken promises and scandals. Years ago, before the internet, twitter and the 24- hour news cycle, the American people were either not cognizant of these events or found out about them years later. Now, nothing stays hidden; everything comes out, and quickly. So, Kennedy and Clinton were philanderers; Johnson had Viet Nam; Nixon had Watergate, Bush 41 said “read my lips, no new taxes,” and, once elected, raised taxes; Bush 43 deceived us about Iraq having WMD. The list goes on and on.

The problem with the current administration is that there have not been one or two of these, but several. I don’t have the space to name them all, but below is a list of the major ones:

1. Association with Reverend Wright
2. Black Panther intimidation of voters
3. Wasting money on green energy companies, which have gone bankrupt, such as Solyndra
4. Fast and Furious
5. Benghazi terrorist attack
6. IRS targeting the TEA Party and other conservative groups
7. The DOJ’s review of phone records of journalists who work for the Associated Press

Perhaps, one could defend one or two of these, but it is evident that the sheer volume of them indicates an unmistakable pattern of obfuscation, deception and incompetence. An objective person could not reach any other conclusion. In every case, when reporters, Congressmen or ordinary people have tried to ascertain who is responsible, the answer has been “no one is responsible. We don’t have the facts, but we are working diligently to determine them, and as soon as we do, we will tell you.” But, alas, they never report the facts. They never identify the responsible party. Then, eventually we are told, “well it’s old news.” So, the American public never gets the true story.

CONCLUSION AND PREDICTION

The mainstream press had aided and abetted this situation through its ardent desire to protect Mr. Obama. Nothing sticks to him. He is not personally responsible for anything. It’s always someone else, who is never identified. If you criticize him, you are labeled a “racist.” He is undoubtedly the “Teflon President.”

But, at some point, one has to say “enough.” Whatever happened to “the buck stops here?” The cumulative effect of these instances clearly demonstrates that Mr. Obama is either responsible for them or he is such an incompetent executive that he can’t control his subordinates and is incapable of running the country.

I expect that the voters will voice their displeasure in the 2014 mid-term elections. The Dems will lose several Congressional seats. As for, Mr. Obama, he will not be running for office, but he will be judged by history.

Why is the 9/11 terrorist attack on the US consulate at Benghazi significant, beyond the obvious, which is that four American diplomats were murdered? The answer is that the Administration and the State Department deceived the American people in order to cover up that it was a terrorist attack by elements of Al Quaeda and Ansar al-Sharia. Instead, they blamed a spontaneous protest over anti-Islamic video. Until the last few days, the liberal-biased “mainstream” media has aided and abetted this deception by its failure to pursue the story. In my opinion, the overriding purpose was to avoid damaging President Obama’s re-election campaign, which a terrorist attack on the eve of the election would likely do.

The salient points areas follows:

1. The attack on 9/11 should not have surprised any intelligent person, since 9/11 is the anniversary of you know what. Yet, precautions had not been taken. The State Department had ignored the diplomats’ repeated requests for additional security. Note that the British had had the foresight to recall many of its diplomats.

2. Military reinforcements were not deployed, even though evidence now available clearly shows that a prompt deployment would likely have saved two of the slain diplomats. There were two separate attacks hours apart, and the reinforcements could have arrived before the second one. Instead, they were specifically ordered to “stand down.” It is not yet clear who gave that order, but I find it hard to believe that Secretary Clinton was not at least aware of it during or after the fact. That would constitute gross mismanagement of her department. It also strains credulity that President Obama was not apprised of the terrorist connection soon afterwards, as he receives a CIA briefing daily.

3. In the aftermath, the administration and the State Department blamed an anti-Islamic video.

4. Susan Rice, former Ambassador to the UN, was designated to be the spokesperson for this cover-up. She made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows and repeated the above mantra. The talking points memo she used had been heavily modified to cast the alphabet agencies in the best light. Reportedly, it went through 12 revisions. Any references to Al-Quaeda, Ansar al-Sharia and terrorists were expunged. It is not yet clear whether this was at the direction of the White House or State Department, but the likelihood is both had a hand. Jay Carney insists that the White House only made a “stylistic” change (which places the blame squarely on Clinton). If you believe Carney, I have a bridge I can sell you.

5. President Obama repeated this absurd video claim duriing the third Presidential debate. Incredibly, Romney did not challenge him sufficiently. Had he done so, he might have won the election, but that is speculation and water under the bridge.

6. This week three whistle blowers came forward and testified before Congress. It is their testimony, including the existence of several emails back and forth among the various alphabet agencies, that has provided most of the verification of the deception and cover-up. When and if these emails come to light, they may prove as explosive as the oval office tapes did during the Watergate investigation.

7. Pat Smith, Sean Smith’s mother, has disclosed in various interviews that President Obama, Secretary Clinton and others lied to her face, telling her that the attacks were caused by a spontaneous response to the aforementioned video and were not the work of terrorists. This is a grieving mother who simply wants the truth about how and why her son died.

8. At this point, eight months later, the perpetrators have not been caught.

9. The “mainstream” media has now roused itself. Although Fox News has been following the story since September, ironically, it was an ABC reporter whose story on the talking points memo finally roused the media. The White House press corps has been grilling Carney the past few days on the matter. He has been engaging in his usual double-talk and obfuscation, but the information will come out eventually. It always does.

CONCLUSION AND PREDICTION

No one wants to be lied to. Yes, politicians do it all the time, Bush 43 about WMD, Clinton about Monica Lewinsky, John Edwards and Mark Sanford about extramarital affairs, Charles Rangel about taxes. The list is endless. It seems to be a prerequisite for holding public office. But, the Benghazi attack was and is a serious matter. Four Americans died. They were not soldiers; they were diplomats. They were supposed to be protected, and they were not. And then, to exacerbate the situation the Administration and the State Department lied to cover it up. Remember, the cover up is always worse than the crime. Richard Nixon was forced to resign over Watergate, which was a mere break-in. Nobody died, and Nixon would have won re-election handily anyway. In this case, whether you believe President Obama or Secretary Clinton were involved in the incident directly, indirectly or not all is beside the point. It is clear to all but blind, die-hard supporters that they were involved in the cover-up. The motive was clear: do nothing to damage Obama’s record on terrorism before the election. (Remember the slogan “GM is alive, Bin Laden is dead and al Quaeda is on the run?”). No objective, logical person could think otherwise.

Now, a new twist is to what extent, if any, this will affect Clinton’s Presidential campaign in 2016. Hard to say. As Secretary of State, she definitely has some culpability, directly or indirectly. When you’re in charge, the “buck” stops with you. Also, Obama may be forced to throw her under the bus at some point to deflect blame from himself. So far, throughout her career she has been made of teflon. My prediction is that if the media keeps doing its job this issue will influence the 2014 mid-term elections, but by 2016 the public will be focused on other matters, and the “mainstream” press will leap to her support.

Test your knowledge of the individual states with the below quiz.

1. Which state was the first to join the union?

a. Pennsylvania
b. Virginia
c. Delaware
d. Maryland

2. Which of the original 13 colonies was the last state to join the union?

a. New York
b. Rhode Island
c. South Carolina
d. Pennsylvania

3. Which was the first state of the Union that was not one of the original 13 colonies?

a. Maine
b. Florida
c. Ohio
d. Vermont

4. Which was the last of the “Lower 48” to join the union?

a. Arizona
b. Washington
c. Maine
d. New Mexico

5. Which state was admitted along with Missouri as part of the “Missouri Compromise?”

a. Kansas
b. Nebraska
c. Kentucky
d. Maine

6. What is the capital of New Mexico?

a. Santa Fe
b. Albuquerque
c. Tucson
d. Prescott

7. Which is the “Keystone State?”

a. Louisiana
b. Pennsylvania
c. Virginia
d. Maine

8. Which is the “Pelican State?”

a. Louisiana
b. South Carolina
c. North Carolina
d. Alabama

9. Which is the “Palmetto State?”

a. Kentucky
b. Virginia
c. Maine
d. South Carolina

10. Which state in the “Lower 48” has the coldest average temperature year-round?

a. Minnesota
b. Maine
c. North Dakota
d. Wisconsin

11. What location has the highest average temperature year-round?

a. Death Valley, CA
b. Marathon, FL
c. Key West, FL
d. Waikiki Beach, HA

12. George W. Bush was born in what state?

a. Texas
b. Connecticut
c. Massachusetts
d. Oklahoma

13. Which state has the largest area?

a. Montana
b. California
c. Wyoming
d. Alaska

14. Which state has the smallest area?

a. Vermont
b. New Hampshire
c. Rhode Island
d. Iowa

15. Which state is the least populated?

a. Alaska
b. Rhode Island
c. Montana
d. Wyoming

16. Which was the first state to secede from the Union during the Civil War?

a. Florida
b. South Carolina
c. Georgia
d. Alabama

17. Which of the four below choices has the most population?

a. New York
b. Florida
c. New Jersey
d. Texas

18. In which state were the most Presidents born?

a. New York
b. Virginia
c. Ohio
d. Pennsylvania

19. Territory of which state was not included in the Louisiana Purchase?

a. Minnesota
b. Arkansas
c. Illinois
d. Texas

20. Which state was not part of the Confederacy?

a. Maryland
b. Arkansas
c. Virginia
d. Texas

Extra Credit:

1. Each of the following states has one representative in the House of Representatives, except:

a. Rhode Island
b. Vermont
c. North Dakota
d. Montana

2. Each of the following presidents was born in New York, except:

a. Theodore Roosevelt
b. Franklyn Roosevelt
c. Millard Fillmore
d. Martin Van Buren

Answers: (1) c; (2) b; (3) d; (4) a; (5) d; (6) a; (7) b; (8) a; (9) d; (10) c; (11) b; (12) b; (13) d; (14) c; (15) d; (16) b; (17) d; (18) b; (19) c; (20) a; EC (1) a; (2) b

CONCLUSION

I am interested in everyone’s score. Let me know. Over 50% correct is pretty good. Less than five correct and you may not be smarter than a 5th grader. Be honest. No looking up answers.

Quickly now, what do you think is America’s longest and deadliest war? Is it WWI? WWII? The Viet Nam War? The American Revolution? Perhaps, the Civil War? Maybe the Gulf War or the war with Afghanistan? The answer is none of those! America’s longest and deadliest war is ….. THE WAR ON TERROR!

Many people mark 9/11/2001 as the beginning of this war. In my opinion, however, the War on Terror began on December 21, 1988 when terrorists blew up Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 on board as well as 11 people on the ground. That would make it 25 years long and counting, longer than many Americans have even been alive. Since then, numerous bombings and other terrorist acts have been perpetrated on us, including, but not limited to, the bombing of the WTC in 1993, the Murrah Office Building in OKC in 1995, TWA flight 800 over Long Island in 1996, the WTC and UAL flight 93 on 9/11/2001, and the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15. Most of these acts of terrorism were committed by Islamic Jihadists, who freely admit they hate us and want to destroy America and its way of life. Yes, the US is most certainly at war, possibly the most dangerous war in its history. We are fighting for our very existence, and the sooner we realize it, the better.

The only way to win a war, or even survive it, is to be just as tough, ruthless, resolute and resilient as the other guy. That means:

1. We should not coddle terrorists when we catch them. We should treat them as “enemy combatants,” especially those that are non-citizens. We should subject them to enhanced interrogation to extract as much information as possible. (I can understand the desire to handle citizens with more care. After all, they are entitled to the protections of the US constitution, which provides, among other things, the notion that one is innocent until proven guilty, but most terorists have not been citizens.)

2. I see no problem with imprisoning them in “Gitmo” regardless of the conditions there. After all, they are terrrorists. We don’t owe them comfort and conveniences.

3. Don’t be concerned with “why” they did it. Who cares? It’s not relevant. Besides, we already know why. They hate us and want to destroy us and our way of life. Be concerned with the “how,” the identity of their co-conspirators, and what else they might have planned.

4. Tighten up our security procedures. For example, we are far too liberal with student visas. We should limit them from countries that are known terrorist havens, and we should monitor recipients or at least require the universities to report when a student fails to show up or drops out.

5. Tighten our border security. Currently, it leaks like a sieve.

6. Don’t be overly concerned with “political correctness.” It has been well documented that almost all terrorist acts in the last 25 years have been committed by Islamic Jihadists, so our screening and surveillance procedures should reflect that. Remember the famous scene in the movie “Airplane” when the airport security people are strip searching nuns while terrorists go by carrying machine guns? That is a metaphor for the ridiculous heights to which we have taken PC. Tolerance and PC are appropriate in most circumstances, but not when it comes to preventing terrorism.

6. Our politicians and leaders should not be afraid to call these incidents “acts of terror.” They are not “tragedies.” Storm Sandy was a “tragedy.” These are way beyond “tragedies” and labeling them as such is a gross mischaracterization. Such denial of the obvious smacks of playing politics with people’s lives.

7. The various “alphabet agencies” have to put aside their petty jealousies and tighen up their coordination and cooperation with each other. Didn’t we learn anything from 9/11?

PREDICTION AND CONCLUSION

Do you feel safe? Many people don’t feel as safe today as they did before April 15. It reminded us how vulnerable we really are. We are at a huge disadvantage. The reality is we could prevent 100 potential terrorist plots, but the one we miss could be devastating both physically and emotionially. For the most part, acts of terror have been few and far between, but America has an infinite number of “soft” targets, such as schools, shopping malls, cruise ships, movie theatres and sporting events, to name a few. I strongly believe we need to live our lives and not cower in the corner, but at the same time we must be vigilant. See, hear and observe, and report anything suspicious to the authorities.

We have been fighting the war on terror with one hand behind our back. Many Americans are vastly underestimating the seriousness of the situation and need a wake-up call. I say to our leaders and politicians, we elected you to lead; so put on your “big-boy pants” and lead. The American people will take their que from you. Do it before it’s too late.

What do you think is more important – the rights of a terrorist, Dzohokhar Tsarnaev (“DZ”), who exploded two bombs at the Boston Marathon or the necessity to obtain vital information with respect to further possible terrorist attacks on innocent Americans? Is it more important to protect one terrorist or thousands of American lives? Most Americans would think it was a “no-brainer” that we needed to obtain all the information we could. Most legal commentators have opined that we had such a plethora of evidence to convict DZ that we didn’t even need to use any information he gave us in court.

Some of the information we needed to ascertain were:

1. Were the Boston bombings part of a larger terrorist plot?

2. Were there other targets? If so, what are they? We know about NY, but are there others?

3. What are the identities of any accomplices? What was the role of his friends, roommates, wife, mother?

4. What are the sources of funds?

Common sense (which, as we all know, is NOT common) would tell us that (1) There were and still are likely many other targets or potential targets; (2) The Tsarnaevs likely consulted/planned with others in the US and/or in Chechniya; and (3) they must have received funding from somewhere to travel overseas, purchase the explosives, etc.

Just today, Fox News broke a story that Boston police have taken three additional suspects into custody for obstruction of justice in relation to the bombing (attempting to dispose of computers and other equipment from DZ’s apartment). Two of them are DZ’s roommates (from Kazakhstan, no less); the third has not been identified yet. Kudos to the Boston Police!

In view of all of the above, most objective people would agree that it was vital that the FBI be permitted to continue to interrogate DZ unihibited by the constraints of Miranda. But, apparently the Justice Department, led by Eric Holder, did not agree. Apparently, Holder authorized, or at least concurred with, sending a DOJ representative and a judge to interrupt the interrogation and read DZ him his Miranda rights. It is hard to imagine that a decision that significant would have been authorized by anyone else. DZ had been talking (He had identified NY as another target.), but he abruptly stopped. It should be noted that most legal experts have stated that the FBI could have interrogated DZ for 48 hours without Mirandizing him. Therefore, the greater good was not served.

This is very disturbing, but, even more so is the fact that it is a continuation of a pattern of odd/incompetent DOJ actions that have occurred under Holder’s watch. There have been several, but I have listed a few of the more egregious ones below:

1. Ignoring what many people felt was intimidation by Black Panthers at some voting booths on Election Day.

2. The “Fast and Furious” gunrunning sting, which directly resulted in the death of a US Border Patrol agent.

3. Suing the State of Arizona over its immigration law, which gave police the authority to question anyone when they had a “reasonable suspicion” that particular person was an illegal alien. The DOJ claimed it was unconstitutional and gave police authority to “harass” innocent people. AZ was trying to deal with its illegal immigration problem after the Feds had failed to do so, and polls showed that most Americans supported the law.

4. Failure to investigate the Benghazi incident. Not only has he failed to investigate the Benghazi incident, but now there are reports that the DOJ is threatening State Department personnel who want to provide information about it.

Holder’s primary response to criticism has been either to ignore it or claim that he “wasn’t aware” of the matter in question, but I maintain that when you’re in charge, not being aware is no defense. In fact, it a weakness that exacerbates the original problem; you should have been aware, and the fact that you weren’t in and of itself is a problem. (Author’s note: When I was Chief Compliance Officer of securities broker-dealers, if I would have told the SEC or FINRA, or even my boss, that I was “unaware” of a problem, I would have been “strung up.”)

CONCLUSION AND PREDICTION

Holder has been one of the most ineffective Attorneys General in my lifetime. You can argue whether it is because of his blind loyalty to President Obama or that he is just in over his head, or a combination of the two. This stunt regarding DZ is particularly egregious, because it compromises the safety of all Americans.

So far, Holder has been made of teflon. Nothing sticks to him. Therefore, it appears that we are “stuck” with Holder at least until the 2016 Presidential election.