Quotes Over The Years

2018-02-04:  My reaction to a story about an FBI Special Agent leaving prior to retirement due to the political trashing of the FBI, posted to my Twitter feed:

When a nation turns its back on its defenders, its defenders lose motivation to defend.  #Vietnam #NunesMemo

2017-09-15:  Pro Life or ProChoice?  I am both.  I choose to be pro life and I fully support my right to make that choice.

2017-09-11: Part of my discussion related the hack of Equifax: 

My fav question these days: "How will I know if my data has been compromised?" 

My answer to those who ask it of me: 

"Have you ever 

(1) had a credit card, 

(2) borrowed money from a bank, 

(3) rented property, 

(4) had a job, or 

(5) bought a car? 

If yes to any of those questions then, ‘Yes, your data has been compromised’! If you haven't been compromised, then you are either a child or irrelevant to the economy!”

2017-06-07:  Thought that emerged during discussions ahead of former FBI Director James Comey's Senate testimony about his interactions with President Trump:  Personally, the only years I have found to be stress free on the political front were 1975through 1983, a period of time when I was too young to be aware of political stressors. I couldn't include the early 70s because the Watergate Hearings kept preempting Batman and Big Valley! Now, that was stress!!!

2016-01-08: Thought for the Day (nothing scientific, just thoughts based on observations): As I reflect back on my 29+ years of Government service, I have come to realize some things about the dysfunction of our wonderful Country, and the many organizations within it. 

One thought that came to mind is the difference in the strength of a solid team vs. a collection of individuals doing their own thing. Having observed those who rise to the top that shouldn't and those that don't rise to the top that should, something struck me. At the lower levels, where the worker bees are found, people generally get along well and work well together. It seems these are our best team players. As you move higher up the chain of command, however, it seems people can no longer work well together. Why is that, I ask myself? 

Perhaps it is because team players like being part of a team and don't want to move up and out of the team, while non-team players are more than eager to move up, attracted by what they perceive as personal glory and power. They can't work with others because they perceive others as a threat to their power.

These thoughts certainly could explain why people responsible for running our Country, and our organizations within it, can't seem to work together. So, if you are a team player, perhaps you should consider elevating your team play into the upper echelons in the chains of command and see if team players can take a shot at running things for a while???

2015-08-07: Yelling at a self-motivated employee is counterproductive. If they need to be yelled at for something, they will yell at themselves much more effectively than anyone else could! In fact, the employee will likely be too hard on him/her self such that you should be supporting them rather than yelling and compounding the problem.

2014-01-12:  My response to all the controversy surrounding a referee taking it upon himself to change the outcome of an NFC semi-final playoff game, especially with the ability to review the play:  Dez Bryant vs. Calvin Johnson conclusion: the referee should receive a lifetime ban from the NFL!

Un-freaking-believable!!! I was in complete shock when the Dez Bryant catch was ruled incomplete after review, especially after the review showed he obviously caught the ball and was trying to get to the end zone 5 freaking yards away from where he caught it. Then, this morning, I saw all the references to the Calvin Johnson call from 2010, so I looked it up. That call against Johnson was far worse because his hand was merely so close to the ground after he made his incredible catch that it messed up his attempt to spike the ball from the excitement of having caught it. Both calls were tragically wrong and both calls were made by the same incompetent referee. With two such horrendous, game changing rule interpretations on his resume, there is no way he should ever be allowed to referee a football game again!

2014-12-25:  In response to a Rik Sexton speech before Congress that was floating around Facebook: Some people want all guns banned. Some people want no guns banned. Many other people just want certain types of guns banned. 

The Second Amendment does not need to be eliminated because it doesn't even address a person's right to defend oneself against non-Government actors. The Second Amendment is about a population being able to defend itself against the tyranny of Government (a much bigger issue in the United States of 1789 than it is in the United States of 2014). 

When using his arguments to support the ownership of assault weapons, Mr. Sexton fails to report how many of the 300+ deaths from assault weapons were caused by the aggressor rather than the defender. Also, when assault weapons are used by an aggressor, what is the average number of people killed per incident. If that 300+ number could be reduced without decreasing a victim's ability to defend himself/herself, wouldn't those lives saved be worth saving? 

Gun control certainly should not be an all or none proposition, but there is nothing wrong with setting reasonable limits (e.g. felons can't own guns, Second Amendment or no Second Amendment). If assault rifles are used only by aggressors and never used as a necessary alternative by defenders (I don't know what the data says on this and Mr. Sexton doesn't say), then why not ban assault rifles for the simple reason that their negatives far outweigh their positives? 

This issue is kind of like abortion. You will never get a majority to agree with an outright ban and it's unlikely you'll get a majority to agree with unlimited abortion. Why not seek a sensible middle ground that a majority would accept? Isn't that what democracy is about? Why must everything be either Left or Right?

2014-11-27: In response to a hotly debated police shooting in Ferguson Missouri:  The use of deadly force is way more complex than people whoaren't trained in it can fully comprehend. As a result, I am required toreceive refresher training once per year by our Chief Division Counsel, abriefing before every search and arrest operation, and a discussion of it fourtimes a year at firearms qualification. The words are not that complex, but thedecision to implement those words when confronted with a deadly force situationmakes it more complex than one could possibly imagine.

2014-10-28:  Humanity knows less than 1% of what there is to know about Planet Earth. Rounded to the nearest billionth, 0% is known about the Universe! For those who think you're so smart, we collectively know nothing about things that are not within our reach!

2014-10-10:  Putting a small tattoo on your parents' work of art would be like someone adding a toothy smile to the "Mona Lisa".  Putting a large tattoo on your parents' work of art would be like someone painting Mona Lisa's hair blond.  Messing with someone else's work of art is simply not cool.

2014-09-07: Homework teaches bad work/life balance practices. When a person is at work, they should be working. When a person is not at work, they should be leaving work at the workplace, both physically and mentally. People need a chance to recharge their batteries. American workers don't get that and working 20 hours a day does not increase production in proportion to the extra hours put in!Forcing our children to bring their work home simply teaches them how to work inefficiently!

2013-05-09:  A person's response to Erin Burnett OutFront covering the story of three women, thought to have been dead, that were freed from 10 years of captivity in Cleveland: "A tragedy....but start covering real news please."  

My response:  "Yes, Erin. Cover the real news! We are America. We only want to hear about who shot who, who blew up what, or what the Republicans are saying about the Democrats and vice versa. Only negative, down beat stories qualify as news here! Those three girls survived 10 years of captivity. Why would that be news? After all, 'survived' means they weren't shot dead or blown to bits. That's just a happy ending to a horrible tragedy. It's not 'news'. So yes, Erin, please stick to covering the 'real news'!"

2013-01-13: Agree or disagree all you want, but if you refuse to listen to all differing perspectives, it will be impossible to make wise decisions!

2012-12-24: It's not freedom when the exercise of one person's freedom infringes upon the freedom of another!

2012-11-25: Sometimes historic moments can't be discussed in their present.

2012-09-28: Working longer than 8-10 hours in an average day is a sign of incompetence, either incompetence by the person doing the work or incompetence on the part of leadership in providing proper resources to get the job done.

2012-09-27: Apples don't want to work for oranges.

2012-05-15:  If you work to give your family the things they need, then you work for your family. In order to give your family the things they need, most of us need to have a job. This means you have two employers, your family and your job. If your job pays you to work 40 hours but expects you to put in extra hours, how does that resolve itself when your family (your priority employer) expects you to put in extra hours with them? Which is more important and why are you working in the first place?

2011-03-24:  Unwritten rules may be unwritten for a reason, and often allow reason to be exercised by reasonable people.

Years Earlier:  I don't live to work, I work to live.