Sacred Rule of "No Man Left Behind" Put to the Test

Congress should stop treating veterans like they're asking for a hand out when it comes to the benefits they were promised, and they should realize that, were it not for these veterans, there would be nothing to hand out.

-Nick Lampson

War often brings us many dilemmas.  We are often faced with the question of is the cause just and are the sacrifices worth it? The United States has been involved in a seemingly unending “war” on terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan, and neighboring countries for a number of years.  Other than telling us that we are safer from terrorism because of ongoing military action, there appears to be no clear victories or end in sight. The only thing these ongoing battles seem to guarantee is nonstop controversy.

Most recently, the head of the Veterans Administration resigned after reports of widespread ineptitude, waste, and fraud. The congressional hearings and investigations are going full steam ahead in the hope that “heads will roll,” although it seems that the often outraged and upset congressmen responsible for the ultimate decisions never really suffer any consequences or get called to task. Their heads always seem to stay intact.  

If Congress was a board of directors and the United States was a company it runs, the members would all have been fired a long time ago—and rightfully sued by the shareholders (the American people) for gross negligence and breach of their fiduciary duty. Lucky for them, like a fungus, once they become entrenched in Washington, they never go away---no matter how awful and out of step with the wants and needs of the public they truly are.

They seem to linger for years growing older each year, making the same empty promises and no doubt getting special treatment and contributions from all of the special interest groups and corporations they “help” out.  Nothing new there in American politics, or anywhere else for that matter, but sometimes even the bizarre can get downright surreal.

We now have the curious case of Bowe Bergdahl.  Is he a hero? Or, should he be arrested and imprisoned for treason? It isn’t often that you have those same questions arise from a single event, but Bergdahl’s story is still unfolding and we are just going to have to wait for either: A. the hero’s parade; or, B. the military indictment for treason.

On May 31^st, 2014, the news was abuzz with stories that, an American Army Sergeant whom was stationed in Afghanistan, Bergdahl was released from the Taliban after five years of captivity.  The United States Government surprisingly negotiated with the Taliban and met their demands, releasing five detainees from Guantanamo Bay according to CNN.   

           Bergdahl has always been sort of an odd guy, even after joining the military according to NBC News.  The Huffington Post explains how Bergdahl was raised in Idaho, and comes from a conservative Christian family.  He was home-schooled, studied ballet, and went on to spend much of his time studying Buddhism.  During his training and while in Afghanistan, Bergdahl refused to drink alcohol and socialize with his colleagues.  He was known for hanging out at Barnes and Noble and ordering Rosetta Stone while in Afghanistan, apparently learning three new languages. 

Bergdahl’s release has unleashed an enormous amount of controversy.  His hometown in Idaho is ecstatic calling him a hero and planning a parade for him when he arrives home from Germany. But, former soldiers that served alongside him are furious at what happened, calling for an investigation.  According to their accounts from CNN, Bergdahl apparently deserted his station on the night that he went missing leaving all of his gear behind.  He was allegedly fed up with the Army and the ongoing fight in Afghanistan.

ABC News reports that Bergdahl allegedly left a note on his bunk discussing his disappointment with the United States’ military efforts in Afghanistan and often shared his thoughts on how the issues could be better solved.  Actions such as his normally call for a military investigation and prosecution for desertion, which falls under treason according to military code.  There are also reports that Bergdahl was fed up with the war and simply wandered off, but these accounts have yet to be verified.

According to NBC News, the Army is taking the position that Bergdahl is in no condition to be interrogated or charged for that matter at this time.  They have stated that if there needs to be an investigation, an investigation will take place, but their main focus as of right now is to ensure that Bergdahl receives all of the medical treatment he needs.  They also state that if Bergdahl deserves any punishment at all for his actions, he has already served his sentence by being held captive for five years by the Taliban.

CNN reports that six fellow soldiers of died searching for Bergdahl weeks and even months after he vanished.  The six men that died in search of Bergdahl were Staff Sergeant Clayton Patrick Bowen, 2^nd Lt. Darryn Deen Andrews, Staff Sergeant Kurt Robert Curtiss, Pfc. Matthew Michael Martinek, Staff Sergeant Michael Chance Murphrey, and Pfc. Morris Lewis Walker. Fellow members from Bergdahl’s platoon claim that the Army should prosecute him for the desertion of his troop and for causing the deaths of those who searched for him.  Those angry at Bergdahl argue that the deaths of these men were senseless and could have been avoided if he had not deserted his station that night.

 Others say that handing over five Guantanamo Bay mid-to-high level detainees to the Taliban is too high of a price to pay for one soldier, especially considering the circumstances under which Bergdahl allegedly was captured by the Taliban. 

According to NBC News, President Obama is also now under scrutiny for his decision to swap five detainees from Guantanamo Bay in order to recover a U.S. soldier.  www.economist.com explains how Obama violated a law mandating him to give Congress a 30-day warning before releasing any detainees from Guantanamo Bay, something that The President failed to do.  In his defense, he cites the “sacred rule”; that no American soldier should be left behind regardless of how he/she fell into captivity.  

Apparently, there are those who believe if a soldier is left behind due to questionable circumstances, then perhaps he should be left behind period. Again, the moral dilemma rears its ugly head.  Even assuming that Bergdahl had some sort of psychological break down to the extent that he abandoned the war effort (who in their right mind would simply walk away from an Army base and think everything was going to turn out fine), is it the “right” call to leave him in the hands of the Taliban after he was imprisoned by them for five years?

  President Obama states that he was not able to give the mandatory thirty day warning to Congress due to the necessary secretively of the affair demanded by the Taliban.  He claims that his actions were in the best interest of keeping Bergdahl alive. Naysayers say that this is another example of Obama ruling by decree and making unilateral executive decisions that may be in violation of the law and not in accordance with the policy and procedures concerning the exchange of prisoners.

According to Polifact.com, John McCain reportedly states that the five detainees are “the hardest of the hardcore.  These are the highest high-risk people.”  This source also claims to have reviewed documentation concerning the now freed detainees, which apparently supports McCain’s statement.  They were labeled as high-risk and recommended for continued incarceration. 

The five detainees released are Mullah Mohammed Fazl, (possibly the most dangerous), Mullah Norullah Noori, Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa, Abdul Haq Wasiq, and Mohammed Nabi Omari.  This documentation reveals that some of the men, if not all, were in close connection with Osama Bin Laden, were high ranking members of the Taliban, and were involved in various massacres responsible for the deaths of many.  Surprisingly, two of the detainees were apprehended while claiming to provide information to the United States that would be helpful.  The United States decided to apprehend these men due to its skepticism of their claims. 

After Obama’s secretive decision to make the swap, a helicopter flew in and met Bergdahl who was being held by Taliban members.  A few men emerged from the helicopter and carried him away.  According to Business Insider, it has been very crucial and necessary to keep all information surrounding the negotiations private.  The Taliban threatened to harm Bergdahl during the negotiations if any information was released.  Obama and all others involved in the trade off remain reluctant to speak about any specifics as to how the negotiations took place and their only comment is that they had to negotiate in order to save the soldier’s life. 

ABC News states that Bergdahl is currently located in Germany receiving medical treatment for his mental and physical state. It is too early to begin asking questions and even his own family has been cautioned to hold back communication with the rescued soldier. 

Obama has stuck to his position saying that no American soldier should be left behind regardless of the actions that got him there.  NBC News also reports that John Boener, the House Speaker, has demanded congressional hearings surrounding the topic.  Wow, didn’t see that one coming. I’m sure someone’s head is going to roll down the road, but it is never going to be the President or any member of Congress.  Bet on it.

-Leonardo G. Renaud

Dumb and Dumber: The Immigrant Country that Loves Deportation

            

The world is not fair, and often fools, cowards, liars and the selfish hide in high places.

~Bryant H. McGill

I am going to be right up front about this, which usually doesn’t come natural for a lawyer. I hate Justin Bieber. Maybe hate is too strong a word, let me try and be more diplomatic. I recognize that he has musical talent of some form, but I do not like the way he looks, sings, acts, dances, talks, performs or any of his songs at all.

 To me, he is everything that is wrong about music. A pre-packaged tough boy Canadian “urbanized” look and sound that appeals to suburban teenage girls. Five years from now, if he falls in line with the usual path of those of his type,  he will be a has been appearing on Dancing with the Stars or some other pathetic reality show about the often told story of going from rags to riches, and back to rags.  

His mean boy stares and saggy thousand dollar pants basically make me want to puke. And, if one of the paparazzi, who he despises, even though being a musical superstar naturally depends on your fans seeing constant images of you everywhere, were to give him a nice ass whipping which he is long overdue for, I would welcome the sight of it. What a great laugh that would be. He has a huge ego and unrealistic sense of his “tough” self in a 115 pound body surrounded by 315 pound bodyguards and vampire groupies and “friends” who hang out probably to get free drugs and a chance to party with a celebrity. It is sad in a way that none of his “friends” has the guts or concern to give him any advice or ever tell him that he is acting stupid.

I just can’t stand these whiny stars who have everything at their disposal and could feed hundreds of families for generations bitch and moan how hard their life is and how they can’t get any privacy. Hello? If you want privacy go be a file clerk or be a janitor on the midnight shift. Nobody will be “harassing” you then and trying to take your photograph if you are camera shy and just want people to leave you alone.

         That being said, I thought I would be candid and honest about how my personal opinions definitely impact my thought process up front in writing this article. In his defense, albeit I make this concession with a reluctant since of fairness, he is a very young kid (and I don’t sense the sharpest pencil in the box) who has been thrust into a world of money, fame, and adoration that would, to be perfectly honest, probably have a negative affect on just about anybody who comes from a rags to riches sort of background like him. He did not grow up in a family whose background and life experience prepared him in any way for the surreal life he now finds himself in.

            In short, I do not necessarily want him to go away mad, I just want him to go away. 

Why is a 46 year old expressing opinions about a teenage pop star you ask? There is more to this than just being a music and character critic.  I am not “a hater” for the sake of it because Bieber is rich and famous as the more urban, hip, youth will most likely accuse me of. I have some valid reasons and others appear to think the same way I do.  Read on and let’s meet these people.

            Turns out, Bieber is simply a “menace to society” (Ironic, because that is actually a good movie, with good actors and music.) He has gained a tremendous amount of media attention recently with all of his legal scandals, including his arrest for an alleged DUI in Miami, the accusation that he assaulted a limo driver, his alleged involvement in an egging incident near his Los Angeles home, his reported stay in a brothel while in Brazil, and his bodyguards theft charge for allegedly stealing a paparrazzo’s camera.

            After Bieber’s bodyguard was arrested for the alleged theft of photographer Joseph Binion’s camera in June of last year, Binion sued Bieber in Miami’s civil court claiming that Bieber ordered his bodyguard to steal the camera. 

            Although Bieber’s dream team of lawyers fought to prevent him from being deposed, they lost this battle and Bieber was forced to attend a deposition regarding the matter, where he was questioned for hours until becoming extremely upset at the nerve anyone would dare to question him.  During his deposition, which is an internet must see, he objects to questions asked by opposing counsel (instead of his lawyer), winks and fixes his techno colored shirt for the camera, and gallantly states “Don’t ask me about her again,” repeatedly, while shaking his finger when questioned regarding his ex-girlfriend (a real winner picker) Selena Gomez. 

            When asked by opposing counsel if Usher was instrumental to Bieber’s career, he responds saying, “I was found on YouTube, I think that I was detrimental to my own career.”   See reference to sharpest pencil above.

            Apparently, Bieber’s Los Angeles neighbors were not too happy after his alleged egging of a neighbor’s house. Perhaps understanding that his welcome has worn out, he has recently sold his home to Khloe Kardashian according to Zillow.  According to nydailynews.com, neighbors are extremely pleased that they will have a Kardashian (i.e. family known for porn videos, prostituting themselves out to sell anything, failed marriages and relationships, and the bizarre transformation of Bruce Jenner into someone who looks like an old transvestite with bad plastic surgery) as a neighbor instead of the Bieb (one of Justin’s many cool urban nicknames).  Imagine that, the Kardashian’s are more respectful and desired neighbors than Bieber? On the least desired scale, that puts him slightly below a toenail fungus (like, the Bieb, it just won’t go away).

            The public has been so outraged that over 270,000 so called “non-Beliebers” (referring to those who don’t “beliebe” in Justin) signed a petition to have Bieber deported back to Canada.  Although the government is not forced to reply directly to the matter at hand, once a petition reaches 100,000 signatures, it is the government’s responsibility to articulate some form of response.  This petition was submitted to the White House, who initially declined to comment, but then went on to comment anyway. 

            In a rambling statement, The White House commented on immigration in general stating “we need a smart effective immigration system…”  They also reference Bieber’s earnings from concerts and albums in their explanation of how much immigration reform will grow our economy and reduce our deficit.  What a solid, well thought out, direct answer. As my text savvy friends often communicate to me, WTF?

            While it looks like Bieber won’t be leaving the United States anytime soon due to a green card revocation, deportation rates have significantly increased in the time that Barack Obama has been President.  Although many immigrants were especially hopeful for less deportations once Obama was re-elected (due to his promises to give certain youth a temporary solution to gain legal status), there have been more deportations under Obama’s reign than any other U.S. President.  Does this surprise you; it certainly caught me off guard?  I, like a whole bunch of other people, thought we were moving toward a more logical and humanistic approach to immigration in this country.  Well, as a great band once said, “don’t believe the hype.”

            So far, Obama has deported roughly 2 Million people, which is more than any other U.S. President thus far according to an article by www.thenation.com. 

       CNN states that a whopping 71% of Hispanics voted for Barak Obama in 2012 (remember the frenzied “Si Se Puede” chants at the political rallies all across the United States, and especially in those states with high Hispanic populations, used to win the support of Hispanics for Democratic elections).  44% of Latinos voted Republican in 2004 for George W. Bush and 31% voted for Mitt Romney in 2008. 

            Sadly, but not surpisingly,  as things have turned out, Obama gained many votes with his promises to improve immigration proceedings within the first year of being elected, something that was never done.  According to The Huffington Post, Obama has not presented a single immigration bill to Congress since being re-elected.  Apparently “Si se puede” should be changed to “No puedo por que no me conviene en este momento.”

            Many immigrants come to the United States in search of equal opportunities and a better life, but the sad part is that a staggering number, who attempt to arrive, never make it.  According to an article written by Jacob Silverman titled How Stuff Works, around 12 million people die annually pursuing their hopes of the American Dream.

            Other factors have been researched to determine if there is anything else that could be causing the escalation of deportations, including possibilities of increased amounts of undocumented immigrants, and it seems that there are no definitive explanations, according to www.polifact.com. 

          Undocumented parents are often deported, leaving children and other family members stranded and left behind.  According to a story written by Cindy Y. Rodriguez and Adriana Hauser for CNN, the Soza families’ life has been changed forever.  Marisela and Ronald were immigrants from Nicaragua and had two children who were living here in the United States. 

The childrens’ mother Marisela was deported back to Nicaragua and the father was allowed to stay to watch over the kids, but only to be deported as well five years later leaving the children parentless, homeless, and completely at the mercy of those who stepped up to care for them. The children are legal US residents. Situations such as these show the unjust, arbitrary and nonsensical system we have when it comes to immigration and deportation. Does it really make sense to kick someone out of this country who has been here for years, sometimes even decades, leaving children behind who now are left to fend for themselves? Is there any quantifiable and statistical correlation that these types of deportations, such as with Marisela and Ronald, lead to economic or social betterment of a country whose very foundation was the genesis of persons looking for a better life someplace else? I have yet to see any proof in terms of numbers and studies, other than the same old unsubstantiated arguments that immigrants take jobs and cost money. Didn’t Hitler rely on this same exact argument at one point to blame the economic problems of Germany on those who were powerless to defend themselves?  In fact, if one reads some history, almost every time economic times are difficult, the first people to get blamed are the poor and immigrants who make easy targets to spew hatred and racism upon.

            Many claim that those deported are violent offenders convicted of horrendous crimes. Again, there is no proof of this.  Families are broken apart due to deportations and it is reported that in 2012, according to an article written by wwww.thenation.com, less than one percent of those deported are done so for crimes such as murder.  So much for the theory that we are ridding our country of undesirables based on criminal statistics.

             Although many individuals feel outraged and upset claiming that immigrants take jobs away, this is simply untrue.  Many immigrants are forced to work picking strawberries, oranges, or doing grueling and tiring construction jobs below minimum wage and without any insurance if they get hurt doing these often dangerous, and body withering manual labor jobs---things that the average “American” would never do. How many times have you see Waspy-looking  people picking strawberries, oranges, or cotton? 

 It is a not so well hidden and dirty secret that many large companies rely on the cheap labor of immigrants to run smoothly. Do you think these businesses want to bow down to unions and get stuck “complying” with federal labor and wage laws when they have a ready, willing, and able labor pool that is literally dying to try and work in the U.S. ? Do you think these companies really care about Americans and their jobs, as they hire more and more workers from the Philippines and India and other places to outsource for cheap labor?  It has been said that if one were to do a psychological profile of a company, what they would find is the values and lack of any empathy, or care for the pain of others---makes them very similar in personality to sociopaths (whose single focus is the seeking of immediate self-gratification and reward, and in the company’s case, profits above any sense of morality, i.e. Wall Street Crash, Widespread Mortgage Fraud by Banks, etc.). 

Even though they may not pay income taxes when working their low paying and often dangerous jobs (which their employers particularly enjoy because they pay no employment taxes or insurance), they do pay sales tax, something that they will likely see little to no benefit from due to their undocumented status.  It is interesting that one hardly ever sees these numbers quantified or statistics about all of the sales taxes an immigrant pays versus how much they will never see in their lifetime when they are deported. Nor does anyone talk much about how sales tax is a regressive tax, meaning that if an immigrant pays 7 or 8 percent in sales tax for the essentials such as food, clothing and shelter; this is a much higher portion of their income than another person who earns ten times what they do---thus, actually contributing much less of an average per purchase for items that are necessary simply to live.

            What does all of the above basically amount to? Well, one, I still would love to see Justin Bieber deported and/or punched by a paparazzo. Second, if we can’t deport him, why are we so hell bent on kicking out people who have been here for years, have children who are born here, and otherwise contribute to society in a positive way by trying to make a better life for their family? Third, I think that people should not blindly follow one political party or the other based on the same rhetoric we hear every time there is an election. Bottom line, politicians will do and say anything to get elected.  They raise taxes when they say they aren’t, they continue to fight unwinnable wars when they say they aren’t, and they do whatever is going to get them elected----regardless of any “promises” they ever made in the past.

In a sense, by the very nature of being politicians, they have to be liars because in order to have a job they have to trick as many people as possible into voting for them so that they can continue to have a career. There is a similar organism that depends on and uses others, and causes harm, to survive and grow, it is called a virus. 

~Leonardo G. Renaud

           

ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER

   "One"

One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
Two can be as bad as one
It's the loneliest number since the number one

No is the saddest experience you'll ever know
Yes, it's the saddest experience you'll ever know

'Cause one is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
One is the loneliest number, worse than two

It's just no good anymore since you went away
Now I spend my time just making rhymes of yesterday

~Three Dog Night

I originally was going to write a post about the missing Malaysian jet airliner that has been on the news twenty-four hours a day because I am truly amazed that in 2014, with all of the satellite technology we have to spy on each other, or keep track of movement and location via GPS systems, that as of the date of this post, the story of the missing jet airliner is still playing itself out with almost a complete lack of information about this ill fated flight.

The sad souls of the Malaysian airliner may go missing for awhile longer or forever, and for reasons still unknown, but at least the world collectively cares about them and is cooperating to try and solve the mystery of what actually happened to those people.

Along the same line, I have come across some stories about individuals who nobody cared about and who went missing for many years, even decades, before their whereabouts where eventually discovered. The idea for this story all started when I was watching the news and learned of a lady who went missing from 2008 until March of 2014. 

The most bizarre and surreal part of her story is that this “missing” lady was at her house the entire time. She was dead in her garage in the back seat of her car. She was only discovered when her automatic bill pay service from the bank exhausted all of her funds and her home went into foreclosure. An unlucky fellow sent by the bank to inspect the house found her and then the world discovered the sad and lonely story of Pia Farrenkopf. 

How could this have possibly happened? Well, it appears that these types of events are not entirely that uncommon.

In January 2006, the body of an English woman was found in her London flat after almost three years of being dead. Lying on the sofa was the skeleton of 38-year-old Joyce Vincent. Despite the smell of decomposition emanating from her apartment, her remains were undiscovered for almost three years.

Sources indicated that Joyce was known to be a socially active woman, having met figures such as Nelson Mandela, Ben E. King, and even had dinner with Steve Wonder. It is believed that in 2001, she moved into a shelter for domestic violence victims and cut off contact with family and friends due to embarrassment. Her automatic bill payments kept her off the radar for quite a few months until officials from a housing association made the gruesome discovery.

She is believed to have passed away around December 2003.

In August 2013, the decomposed body of Geneva Smith Chambers was found in her Florida home by a landscaper. This woman, unlike the others, preferred to live in solitude. Neighbors believe she had abandoned the house due to a foreclosure in 2010. However, they continued to maintain her lawn outside the home unaware of her death.

Her last known contact was in April 2010.

In July 2011, the skeleton of an elderly Australian woman was found on the floor of her Sydney home, eight years after her death, when her sister-in-law finally reported her missing. The two apparently had an argument back in 2003 and never spoke again. As the years passed, utilities were cut off but the welfare agency continued to pay for her benefits to her account, which remained untouched. Mail was forwarded to her sister-in-law’s home but eventually stopped. Neighbors believed the home was vacant.

No one had a clue that inside the home, laid the body of an elderly woman who would have been 87 years old when she was found.

In the end, as the cliché that is often repeated---although people really do not think about it as much as they should because we are all caught up in the hectic pace of life---when we depart this world all of the material possessions we have accumulated are not going to bring us a sense of peace and joy and the extra hours at the office are not what we are going to wish we had spent more of our life doing.

Instead, we are going to wish we had spent more time with those we love, and who love us.  I have spoken to many very elderly individuals or terminally ill people and they all say that most people are in too much of a rush, obsessed with the pursuit of material things that only bring temporary happiness (if at all), and never spend enough time focusing on the very basic things in life that truly bring joy, i.e. good friends, family, travel, fun, shared experiences, good memories, etc.

Although this lesson is often learned too late in life, the concept of what is “really” important is a universally accepted truth if you have ever had the experience of spending the last days with someone and being a part of their graceful walk towards the end of life.

In that regard, I urge you to take heed of the cautionary tales above of those who let family and friends slip away to such an extent that when they went missing for years, nobody even noticed or cared. Start this very day establishing or reestablishing the relationships in life that are the most important and valuable possessions we all really have in the end. 

~Leonardo G. Renaud

**The author wishes to acknowledge the research and contribution

    of his legal assistant Erika Oviedo for this post.**