Ten years later, I stand by what I said.
I have have had the privilege of seeing courage, grit, moral fiber, certitude, and what what the Irish call "The Magics" only a few times in my life.
The Magics, for the Irish, are a God-given, extraordinary, almost superhuman ability, a special gift (poetry, politics, music, warfare, business) to understand and create for the greater good.
My brother-in-law, in addition to raising fruit for 48 years (no small task given the vicissitudes of rain, drought, too much sun, too little sun, pestilence, flood, rot, too much rain, deer who eat every seedling, and the 10,000 elements that prevent any orchard man or farmer from delivering God's good food and fruit every year to the millions) has The Magics.The Magics, for the Irish, are a God-given, extraordinary, almost superhuman ability, a special gift (poetry, politics, music, warfare, business) to understand and create for the greater good.
I've seen it.
The first time I asked for my wife's hand in marriage, he came out of his 1972 Ford 150 and trained his sky-blue eyes on me and measured my mettle as a man...eyes that went right through me...and offered his hand in trust...knowing I would defend my wife, his sister, and his family and his neighbors and his nation...and I would. He knew it when he looked at me and I knew it.
And we've been brother's ever since.
As a member of Delta Force, I respected his ability to defend us and to protect us from Central America to Vanuatu to Afghanistan.
As a member of Delta Force, I respected his ability to defend us and to protect us from Central America to Vanuatu to Afghanistan.
I honored him in a book loosely based on his character that I hope outlasts us both.
Here is a link.
http://www.amazon.com/The-President-Hostage-Paybacks-ebook/dp/B00CG6NBX4
Kenny has courage, proven courage.
http://www.amazon.com/The-President-Hostage-Paybacks-ebook/dp/B00CG6NBX4
Kenny has courage, proven courage.
So, too, does James O'Keefe.
I recently attended a book signing by James O'Keefe. He just wrote "Breakthrough: Our Guerrilla War to Expose Fraud and Save Democracy."
Imagine a book that opens with this paragraph in the opening chapter: Through the Plexiglas.
"On the evening of January 25, 2010, I woke curled up in a fetal position, on a green mattress stained with seminal fluid, to the sound of my fellow prisoners chanting the Qu'ran."
Wow.
How the Feds can bring superior power down on your head if they believe you are not in line with their group think.
He won me over immediately.
He is real.
I recently attended a book signing by James O'Keefe. He just wrote "Breakthrough: Our Guerrilla War to Expose Fraud and Save Democracy."
Imagine a book that opens with this paragraph in the opening chapter: Through the Plexiglas.
"On the evening of January 25, 2010, I woke curled up in a fetal position, on a green mattress stained with seminal fluid, to the sound of my fellow prisoners chanting the Qu'ran."
Wow.
How the Feds can bring superior power down on your head if they believe you are not in line with their group think.
He won me over immediately.
He is real.
His stories are real.
He is a Mic who has been tested in fire (the Feds have come down heavily on him with all their weapons) and he has come out stronger for the bows, arrows, false accusations, the false arrests, government tyranny, and blind-sided by the horrors of a rogue government.
He is, as my working-class roots say, "real people."
Read his book.
It is a tale of courage.
Real courage.
Not manufactured media courage.
He lists a number of Veritas (truth) rules in the tome. Here are a few:
Veritas Rule #1: Content is king.
Veritas Rule #2: You must do what you can with what you have.
Veritas Rule #3: Use their own flawed construct to put them into a position where either way they can't win.
Vertias Rule #4: Find someone who can act and take action.
Veritas Rule #5: The law will always surround you. Learn it.
Veritas Rule #6: Always use props.
Vertias Rule #7: Resist the temptation to work or live in the Beltway. Restrict visits to twenty-four hours.
Veritas Rule #8: Expect the media to invest Gandhi: First they fight you, then they laugh at you, then they ignore your, then you win.
Vertias Rule #9: Think of the worst thing they can say and prepare your response.
Veritas Rule #10: Your manner matters more than your costume.
Vertias Rule #11: If you do your job right, expect to break new legal ground.
Veritas Rule #12: If you're creative, you can always make the news.
Veritas Rule #13: Safely extract the ta;e. If you don't, they'll say anything and be believed.
Veritas Rule #14: No journalist can speak truth to power unless they are willing to be slandered and arrested.
Veritas Rule #15: Stick to the facts.
Veritas Rule #16: Know who your friends are and stay loyal to them.
Veritas Rule #17: Never let your guard down. You are always behind enemy lines.
Veritas Rule #18: Obsess over getting your subject in frame.
Veritas Rule #19: When the content is strong enough, the publicity will take care of itself.
Veritas Rule #20: If you're doing your job, the government will be paying attention.
Veritas Rule #21: Stay on script.
Veritas Rule #22: Expect to be held to a higher standard than Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists.
Veritas Rule #23: Watch out for moles!
Veritas Rule #24: Walk a mile in your enemy's head.
Veritas Rule #25: If it feels wrong, abort and get out safely.
Veritas Rule #26: Guerrilla tactics are inherently antibureaucratic. It is sometimes necessary to operate at your own risk.
Veritas Rule #27: The truth is manifestly damning.
Veritas Rule #28: They may never understand your ideas, but they will be forced to understand your results.
Veritas Rule #29: Rock beats scissors. Journalism beats anti-journalism.
Veritas Rule #30: Don't blow your cover while inside the place.
Veritas Rule #31: Keep your mind open to people who know more than you do.
Veritas Rule #32: Brand your action, a nd it will have legs.
Veritas Rule #33: You will get a wave of creative adrenaline from to time. Go with it.
Veritas Rule #34: Double-check your facts before going public.
Veritas Rule #35: Be prepared to release your unedited tape. Ask your adversaries to do the same.
Veritas Rule #36: Mau-mau the flak catchers.
Veritas Rule #37: Ask forgiveness, not permission.
Veritas Rule #38: Remember, some journalists are more equal than others.
Veritas Rule #39: Big things have small beginnings.
(The photos you see in this post are from my son and his football teammates. I admire his courage on the football field. It is time for me to show the same courage on the life field.)
James O'Keefe spent time in the Federal Pen.
He is a Mic who has been tested in fire (the Feds have come down heavily on him with all their weapons) and he has come out stronger for the bows, arrows, false accusations, the false arrests, government tyranny, and blind-sided by the horrors of a rogue government.
He is, as my working-class roots say, "real people."
Read his book.
It is a tale of courage.
Real courage.
Not manufactured media courage.
Veritas Rule #1: Content is king.
Veritas Rule #2: You must do what you can with what you have.
Veritas Rule #3: Use their own flawed construct to put them into a position where either way they can't win.
Vertias Rule #4: Find someone who can act and take action.
Veritas Rule #5: The law will always surround you. Learn it.
Veritas Rule #6: Always use props.
Vertias Rule #7: Resist the temptation to work or live in the Beltway. Restrict visits to twenty-four hours.
Veritas Rule #8: Expect the media to invest Gandhi: First they fight you, then they laugh at you, then they ignore your, then you win.
Vertias Rule #9: Think of the worst thing they can say and prepare your response.
Veritas Rule #10: Your manner matters more than your costume.
Vertias Rule #11: If you do your job right, expect to break new legal ground.
Veritas Rule #12: If you're creative, you can always make the news.
Veritas Rule #13: Safely extract the ta;e. If you don't, they'll say anything and be believed.
Veritas Rule #14: No journalist can speak truth to power unless they are willing to be slandered and arrested.
Veritas Rule #15: Stick to the facts.
Veritas Rule #16: Know who your friends are and stay loyal to them.
Veritas Rule #17: Never let your guard down. You are always behind enemy lines.
Veritas Rule #18: Obsess over getting your subject in frame.
Veritas Rule #19: When the content is strong enough, the publicity will take care of itself.
Veritas Rule #20: If you're doing your job, the government will be paying attention.
Veritas Rule #21: Stay on script.
Veritas Rule #22: Expect to be held to a higher standard than Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists.
Veritas Rule #23: Watch out for moles!
Veritas Rule #24: Walk a mile in your enemy's head.
Veritas Rule #25: If it feels wrong, abort and get out safely.
Veritas Rule #26: Guerrilla tactics are inherently antibureaucratic. It is sometimes necessary to operate at your own risk.
Veritas Rule #27: The truth is manifestly damning.
Veritas Rule #28: They may never understand your ideas, but they will be forced to understand your results.
Veritas Rule #29: Rock beats scissors. Journalism beats anti-journalism.
Veritas Rule #30: Don't blow your cover while inside the place.
Veritas Rule #31: Keep your mind open to people who know more than you do.
Veritas Rule #32: Brand your action, a nd it will have legs.
Veritas Rule #33: You will get a wave of creative adrenaline from to time. Go with it.
Veritas Rule #34: Double-check your facts before going public.
Veritas Rule #35: Be prepared to release your unedited tape. Ask your adversaries to do the same.
Veritas Rule #36: Mau-mau the flak catchers.
Veritas Rule #37: Ask forgiveness, not permission.
Veritas Rule #38: Remember, some journalists are more equal than others.
Veritas Rule #39: Big things have small beginnings.
(The photos you see in this post are from my son and his football teammates. I admire his courage on the football field. It is time for me to show the same courage on the life field.)
James O'Keefe spent time in the Federal Pen.
He did the time.
He kept his sense of humor, courage, class, humor, wit, intelligence, grace.
I have only met a few great men in my life. James O'Keefe is a great man. He is young, but he is creative, bright, courageous, true, independent, and funny.
He is a Fenian warrior, although he may not know it.
I have only met a few great men in my life. James O'Keefe is a great man. He is young, but he is creative, bright, courageous, true, independent, and funny.
He is a Fenian warrior, although he may not know it.
I am at the other end of life so I can pronounce him and celebrate him for that.
This bizarre cabal of pretenders and sophists that have captured the power have no idea what they are up against.
Good.
Those who persecute him have control of all the levers of power...but it does not matter.
They are amateurs and in the end, the CITIZEN journalists like him will win.
And their time will pass as quickly as Nero, Stalin, Mao and all dictators do.
Celebrate James O'Keefe...his vision, courage, intelligence, wit, wisdom, and wonder.
And read his book Breakthrough.
It's a great manual.
I will defend him, American life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, freedom, my family, and Christianity to the end of my days.
This bizarre cabal of pretenders and sophists that have captured the power have no idea what they are up against.
Good.
Those who persecute him have control of all the levers of power...but it does not matter.
They are amateurs and in the end, the CITIZEN journalists like him will win.
And their time will pass as quickly as Nero, Stalin, Mao and all dictators do.
Celebrate James O'Keefe...his vision, courage, intelligence, wit, wisdom, and wonder.
And read his book Breakthrough.
It's a great manual.
I will defend him, American life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, freedom, my family, and Christianity to the end of my days.