An emerging threat to America comes in the form of Somali jihadists
Published: June 30, 2009
Updated: June 30, 2009
The headline in The New York Times said, “Al-Qaeda moves to Somalia”. 1 Unfortunately, Americans are a part of that move.
In July of 2007, Daniel Maldonado, (a.k.a. “Daniel al-Jughaifi” 2), a father of three from Houston, was sentenced for his participation in a training camp run by the Somali jihad group Shabaab al Mujahideen, which taught him homicide bombing, building IEDs and hand-to-hand combat.
The Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation warns, “We are now seeing a disturbing pattern of lone-wolf style individuals — such as Maldonado — who have been inspired to join Shabaab in order to do their part in confronting the newest ‘crusader battlefront.’” 3
As of June 14th, 2009, 14 ships and more than 200 sailors were being held for ransom by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. 4 According to James Madison University professor, Dr. J. Peter Pham, “In return for allowing pirates to operate out of ports south of the city of Mogadishu, which are all controlled by Shabaab, it is receiving [a portion] from the ransom the pirates demand for hijacked ships.” 5
Some young men in America are being hijacked, too.
Seventeen year-old Burhan Hassan, a Somali boy who had immigrated to the U.S. with his mother when he was four years old, attended the youth group at the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center in Minneapolis, the largest mosque in Minnesota.6 He is one of many Somali immigrant teens who are alleged to have become part of jihadist groups in Somalia after abruptly leaving their U.S. homes with no word to anyone. 7
When Hassan’s body was found in an open area of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, with a single gunshot wound to the head, his uncle Abdirizak Bihi said, “We believe he was killed because he would have been a key person in the investigation into the recruitment (of young Somali men) here in Minneapolis.” 8
Andrew Liepman of the National Counterterrorism Center says: “In the last few years, a number of Somali-American young men have traveled to Somalia, possibly to train and fight with al-Shabaab. … However, we are concerned that if Somali-American youth can be motivated to engage in such activities overseas, [their] fellow travelers could return to the US and engage in terrorist activities here.” 9
Tennessee native Carlos Bledsoe, a.k.a. Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, studied jihad and traveled to Yemen in 2007 10 where he was arrested and jailed for using a Somali passport. 11
The FBI interviewed him in his Yemeni jail but did not get an answer as to why he was using an illegal Somali passport when he had his own valid United States passport in his possession. 12
After he was deported back to the U.S., Bledsoe/Muhammad attracted no further law enforcement attention until he shot two Army recruiters, killing William A. Long and wounding Quinton Ezeagwula as the two soldiers were standing outside the Army-Navy Career Center, in Little Rock, Arkansas. 13
The 23 year-old Bledsoe/Muhammad told investigators he had converted to Islam as a teenager, and when he saw the two young soldiers enjoying their smoke break, he fired upon them with the assault rifle he had in his vehicle “because of what they had done to Muslims in the past.” He told detectives “he would have killed more soldiers had they been in the parking lot.” 14
From his Pulaski County jail cell, Bledsoe/Muhammad called an AP reporter, collect, and told the reporter, “I do feel I’m not guilty. I don’t think it was murder, because murder is when a person kills another person without justified reason.” 15
Bledsoe/Muhammad told the AP reporter that, “I feel that other attacks, not by me or people I know, but definitely Muslims in this country and others, are going to [attack].” 16
1 http://news.iafrica.com/worldnews/1729591.htm
2 p.31, http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/nefashabaabreport0509.pdf
3 McGevna, Allison A. “Somalian Terror Organization Shabaab al Mujahideen Looks to ‘Throw the West Into Hell’” November 25, 2008 FOXNews.com, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,457226,00.html
4 “Pirates strike off Oman coast” The National (Abu Dhabi), June 14, 2009 http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090614/FOREIGN/706139974/1041/rss
5 McGevna, Allison A. “Somalian Terror Organization Shabaab al Mujahideen Looks to ‘Throw the West Into Hell’” November 25, 2008 FOXNews.com, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,457226,00.html
6 “Minn. Teen Found Murdered In Somali”, CBS News, June 9, 2009, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/09/national/main5074732.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_5074732
7 Death of Somali Teen a Mystery to Minnesota family, By JEFF BAENEN and STEVE KARNOWSKI – June 9, 2009, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ghoabVp0OzgdNAhrdglTlyAdcHQwD98NCMF83
8 Death of Somali Teen a Mystery to Minnesota family, By JEFF BAENEN and STEVE KARNOWSKI – June 9, 2009, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ghoabVp0OzgdNAhrdglTlyAdcHQwD98NCMF83
9 p. 43, http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/nefashabaabreport0509.pdf
10 AP “Arkansas recruiter shootings spark fears of homegrown American jihadists”, The World Link (So. Oregon coast) June 15, 2009 http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2009/06/15/news/doc4a368c40e74b0674150023.txt
11 Recruiting Center Shooting Suspect Pleads Not Guilty, Held Without Bail” Fox News, June 02, 2009, http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,524405,00.html
12 Temple-Raston, Dina, “FBI Encountered Accused Ark. Shooter In Yemen”, NPR, All Things Considered, June 8, 2009 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105128523&ft=1&f=1001
13 “Recruiting Center Shooting Suspect Pleads Not Guilty, Held Without Bail” Fox News, June 02, 2009, http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,524405,00.html
14 Jonsson, Patrick, “Shooting of two soldiers in Little Rock puts focus on ‘lone wolf’ Islamic extremists” Christian Science Monitor, June 10, 2009, http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0611/p02s01-usju.html
15 Kissel, Kelly “Suspect in soldier shooting says he was justified”, Juen 9, 2009, http://www.daily-jeff.com/news/article/4604761
16 Jonsson, Patrick, “Shooting of two soldiers in Little Rock puts focus on ‘lone wolf’ Islamic extremists” Christian Science Monitor, June 10, 2009, http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0611/p02s01-usju.html
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Reader Reactions
I have been in the wings for
Tipp, you’ve obviously been planning this writing of many chapters for a long time, to the “peanut gallery”. Too bad you’ve wasted so much time from your life writing it and space here, and thereby actually contributing to your reasonings why we should not do such long postings.. Especially, when most of what you had to say was not in accordance to your own advice that we should not do. Like making so many assumptions, such as:
-You’ve never proved “half truths, falsehoods, unnuendo’s, etc.” That’s all you’ve done regarding Sharman!
-You assume that people who agree with Sharman “may actually be under the control of Sharman.” I can effectively say for myself, that there is not a person on earth that controls me.
-That he does not have a respected reputation??? You are soo wrong!! Good thing you have the Supreme Court to hide your cowardly remarks behind. Especially since you don’t have a shred of evidence, just opinion derived from your own hate. Something Sharman would defend your right to have. He’s respected far and wide, and if more so outside his workplace hometown of Culpeper, that would make his respect much like Jesus said His disciples would be respected. So, it is Biblical, and you just assured it from your side.
It’s a good thing you are an old man in that we can respect you so much for the life you’ve lived, and just for that reason. But not for your insane thinking. You need to get some help for your thinking that people like Sharman and now Mitch Sneed are preaching hate so their assassins can be dispatched on Obama, and when they’ve finished their deed, ‘potshot’, that the media will descend upon Culpeper??? You need to let another more up-to-date thinker read your writings before you post them. Are you jockeying for a writers job in the CSE? Can you not hear what you just said?
Your teachers must’ve taught you the same thing Sharman’s did him, as you just said: “My teachers taught me many years ago; “Show me your friends, and I will tell you what you are!” So, I appreciate you exonerating why Sharman wrote about all of Obama’s friends before he became our President. But, now… I’m sure… you’ll have to apply another theory to that analysis so you won’t be justifying Sharman’s writing of Obama’s friends.. Can you do that without showing your insane, double-minded thinking, and inability to apply correct principles?
Suggest you continue to take your own advice, and not talk to us, but to Sharman, since most of your pages on this posting were spent talking to us commentors and giving us advice. The remainder of your writing (one section), indicates, if all is correct, that politics is dirty. Well, DUHHHH. But shame on you for trying to set up a ‘unknown’ future scenario of a handshake between Canter and Sharman that would presumably take Canter down. If Canter loses the election, then it’s Canter who did not please the majority of his constituents. You should stick to history, and not analysis.
Since you don’t understand that people have ways of getting to the truth now, much more so then back in WWI and WWII time periods as communication was limited to the few who controlled the airways, please understand—NOT SO anymore. In the last 10 years, the Internet has opened up a whole new avenue of reaching people and in getting the truth outside mainstream media; and recent news proves that, like Iran, it was totally controlled by the social networking sites, as the mainstream media was the one under the full control of the Iranian officials.
Now, to address the article of Mr. Sharman’s: Good facts for thought and facts to keep track of, as we can never let our guard down with these types of people. NEVER.
RJMA, good thoughts too that may help TIPP with some of his thinking! But your questions are interesting in that you want or think that maybe Sharman should tell us what to do? Yes, we all want to do something, but right now we are limited to careful watching unless a law is broken in our own country that we can prove. Careful watching of these people may help us prevent future deaths. But there’s not much we can do for the crazy ones that don’t get help before they take their gun to a museum.
Wow. I’ve never seen anything like that. How long did that take? Do you really think anyone read it all?
One thing I do have to comment on is the notion that a few extra pages of comments from Mr. Sharman’s columns generates more ad revenues for the Star-Exponent. That is utter nonsense. If they made anything extra at all it was a few pennies, if people clicked on the ads. No publishers are getting rich. Have you checked the MG stock price lately?
But wait a minute, I haven’t even said anything about Mr. Sharman’s column today. What are we supposed to do Mike? Not allow anyone to go back to Somali? Not allow any immigration from Somalia? Any other Islamic country? Close down US mosques?
THIS IS A POSTING TO MY FELLOW POSTERS:
The 2 columns written by J Michael Sharman and published in the Culpeper Star-Exponent (June 2, 2009 and June 9, 2009), resulted in 7 pages of postings and 9 pages of postings respectively. These multi page responses makes the Culpeper Star-Exponent and Mitch Sneed, the Publisher, ecstatic With regard to the Culpeper Star-Exponent editors and staff, it is evidence that the people are paying attention to a newspaper which is a newspaper for a small rural town and increases their proud feeling that they are associated with the newspaper. With regard to Mitch Sneed, he is enjoying the business success that these multi page postings are providing: facilitating the marketing and increasing the advertising value in both the Culpeper Star-Exponent website and newspaper. The increases in links (hits) to the web site and in the number of postings are use to sell advertising and increase the price of this advertising. Mitch Sneed will proudly boast of the posting service that the Culpeper Star-Exponent provides the Culpeper community in advancing the time honored Constitutional Right of Free Speech as Mitch stuffs his wallet full of the extra cash. (Mitch’s bride will soon be asking for that extra cash.)
[In the first half of the 20th Century, newspapers were the prime venue for the people to get the news. This was the era before TV. My father was a most avid reader of newspapers and magazines. Dad was fortunately able to get the newspapers and magazines at work and bring them home. My family didn’t get a TV until the Spring of 1953. After we got a TV, Dad continued reading newspapers. He taught me how to read a newspaper. Read the first 3 or 4 paragraphs of an article and then move on. When the review was completed, go back to read selected articles. He read the editorials and columnists thoroughly, also the sports’ pages. He identified the newspaper as being: Republican, Democrat, Conservative, Liberal, Business, Labor, etc. In those days, newspapers had no problem in identifying their sympathies, and that was great because all had valid viewpoints. They reported the news from their announced viewpoint. Dad would be impressed with a newspaper when the editorial supported a view contrary to its sympathies (e.g. a Business paper supporting a Labor view). A few weeks ago, the Culpeper Star-Exponent published an editorial criticizing the Culpeper Town Police in viewing private photos on a cell phone, ‘Shame on the Culpeper Police if the allegations are true’. This editorial was contrary to the community opinion and postings which blamed the victims. The Culpeper Star-Exponent could have remained silent for business reasons, but showed courage and decided to provide leadership to the Culpeper community.]
PAGE 2 OF 7 - ADVISEMENT: THESE MULTIPAGE POSTINGS NOT ONLY ARE PROVDING LEGITIMACY TO SHARMAN’S WRITINGS AND OPINIONS BUT ALSO ARE THE SMOKE SCREEN TO HIDE THE INTELIGENT AND LOGICAL REBUTTALS TO SHARMAN’S POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS BIGOTED, HATE SPEECH.
Sharman writes his column using half truths, falsehoods, innuendo, etc. to attack and denigrate individuals, groups and organizations he has selected based on political and religious reasons and ethnic/racial origins. He takes statements and data from articles which are taken out of context of these articles to ‘show research’ and ‘provide proof’ that his bigoted and hateful points are true. The multi page postings divert attention away from Sharman’s columns and defocus the examination of his statements. Those who post negative rebuttals of Sharman’s columns are quickly attacked by Sharman’s ‘peanut gallery’ and have their postings and personage subjected to the same smear tactics that Sharman uses in his columns. The ‘peanut gallery’ purpose is not to further an intelligent discussion but to take the emphasis off the content of the rebuttals. The ‘peanut gallery’ effectively drives and leads the posters of negative rebuttals around in circles by their endless postings. The ‘peanut gallery’ always manages to get the last word. The ‘peanut gallery’s’ goal is to exhaust the intellectual and physical time of the posters who submit informed, intellectual, negative rebuttals. Also, readers of Sharman’s column have read his statements and then look at the multi pages of postings and read some of the inane postings. These readers lose interest and sign off the website because they don’t have any more time to read these postings, but they return the following week to read Sharman’s column. A reader has already told me he ignores the postings because he does not have time due to their large number. A suggestion how to read the postings is to start at the last page; move forward scanning the posting; if the posting is intellectual nonsense, move on; if the posting is intellectually reasonable, then read it. The ‘peanut gallery’ is a clone of Sharman and may actually be under the control of Sharman. That certainly could be the situation based on J Michael Sharman’s professional reputation in Culpeper.
PAGE 3 OF 7 – I SUGGEST THE FOLLOWING TECHNIQUE TO COUNTERACT AND FOIL THE ORGANIZED INTERFERENCE TO YOUR POSTINGS BY THE ‘PEANUT GALLERY’.
Except for one occasion, my postings have been directed, solely directed at J Michael Sharman and his statements in his columns. I do not submit posting regarding other submitted postings including postings concerning my postings and postings attacking my views. The objective of my postings is J Michael Sharman: first, last and always. My efforts have been to keep my eye on my objective – J Michael Sharman – ignoring the flak (the ‘peanut gallery’ postings) being fired at me in an attempt to divert me from my objective.
I suggest you employ the same policy. Take your time, and create and submit your posting based on your schedule needs. Devote your postings to Sharman’s statements and tactics only. Ignore other postings. Don’t be sucked into responding to other postings attacking you and your postings. Don’t permit the ‘peanut gallery’ to divert your efforts.
Remember 7 and 9 pages of postings bury your evaluations of Sharman’s column, the true purpose of your postings. Sharman is then free of criticism of his statements and tactics. Preserve your time and energy for responding to Sharman’s column. Let the ‘peanut gallery’ run itself ragged with multiple postings; let the ‘peanut gallery’s’ words expose and indict itself. Ignore the ‘school yard bullying’ that if you don’t respond, you have agreed and conceded defeat to the ‘peanut gallery’ or you are too scared to respond. There is no legal, moral or intellectual requirement or responsibility to respond. The Lord talked to Caiaphas and Pilate because they had legitimacy: one had religious legitimacy, the other secular legitimacy. The Lord did not talked to Herod who had no legitimacy. The Lord knew what was in Herod’s heart. The Lord knew the purpose of the Pharisees was to trick Him; The Lord knew they were vipers. While The Lord did at times respond to these vipers, He also ignored them and walked through them and disappeared. The Lord did not waste His time. You do not have to swing at every pitch. Remember some of those pitches are ‘dust offs’; pitches which are thrown at your head.
WHILE MITCH SNEED BENEFITS FROM 7, 9, ETC. PAGES OF POSTINGS; THE BIG WINNER OF MULTIPLE PAGES OF POSTINGS IS J MICHAEL SHARMAN.
Those posters who engage in posting for the communications between posters should ignore the preceding.
PAGE 4 OF 7 – REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON SHARMAN
In reading the postings, I found references to Sharman’s professional life outside his columns. I am interested in learning more about that side of Sharman. I am requesting more details.
I have been told that J Michael Sharman does not have a good reputation in the Culpeper legal community. He is not respected. Reportedly, he does not practice legal courtesy; he can’t be trusted. He practices law the way he writes his column. In his biography, he boasts he won the largest money award in 2005 more than any other case in the Commonwealth that year. The case was for sexual abuse of a 14 year girl; this case award is also the largest monetary award ever awarded for a child sex abuse case in the Commonwealth’s history. In 3/2009 Sharman filed a civil suit requesting $570k against a defendant for 2 improper sexual touches of a teenage male, as reported in the 3/12/2009 issue of the Culpeper Star-Exponent. A reader posted a comment to the article and wrote “I should be the alleged victim. $570k for 2 touches? Why can’t these lawyer diploma mills be shut down?” I believe that child sex abusers should be subjected to criminal prosecution and imprisoned. Sharman lobbies and supports civil complaints instead in order to obtain financial judgments against child sex abusers. Criminal prosecutions and imprisonments diminish the odds that financial penalties against the child sex abuser will ever be paid. How will the abuser pay the award when the abuser is in prison? Or get a job after the abuser is released to pay the award? It is not in Sharman’s financial interests that the child sex abuser be criminally prosecuted and sent to prison!
As regards libel, we are protected by the Supreme Court since Sharman is a public person. The Supreme Court has ruled that public persons have to prove not only the statements are false but also the statements are made for malicious motives with a total and negligent disregard for the truth. The Supreme Court’s position is that libel suits could be used to limit political speech and counteract the Constitutional Right of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press. The Culpeper Star-Exponent has been taking advantage of this ruling to protect and isolate the newspaper from libel suits. But the most prolific user of the Supreme Court protection against libel is unquestionably J Michael Sharman. That is why he can make the false statements against public persons in his columns which he has been doing for years not only in the Culpeper Star-Exponent but in other venues. However if Sharman makes a false statement against the woman across the street who is a private person, she can sue Sharman for libel and win by only proving the statement is false.
If Sharman sues you for libel, he would lose due to the columns he has written over the years which would convict him. There will be attorneys providing legal defense pro bono to defend your Right to Free Speech. Sharman knows he would lose and fully understands that the lost would be advertised as the Court declaring your statements against Sharman to be true. Sharman wouldn’t like that.
In addition, you can couch your statements in words like ‘alleged’ and such. I am not asking for you to lie but only to state that which you know or have truly heard.
THIS INFORMATION IS NEEDED TO IMPEACH J MICHAEL SHARMAN AND HIS COLUMNS!
PAGE 5 OF 7 – THE CULPEPER COMMUNITY
During the week of the Holocaust Museum shooting, the Washington and Baltimore TV Channels and Newspapers had ‘stringers’ covering the State Capitol at Annapolis because the Legislature had long ago adjourned for the year. The shooting at the Holocaust Museum gave the ‘stringers’ the best reporting opportunity of their lives. While the assassin owned a house on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, he was living in an apartment in Annapolis. The stringers were advised of the apartment’s address which was close to the State Capitol. The stringers raced to the apartment house and got there before the County Police and FBI could arrive. The ‘stringers’ knocked on doors and interviewed the residents about the assassin. After the police arrived and realized what the ‘stringers’ were doing, the police forced the ‘stringers’ out of the apartment house and away from the nearby area. These ‘stringers’ will never have such a great opportunity again in their careers.
The Culpeper Community has more than its fair share of the ‘Timothy McVey’ types, the ‘Scott P. Roeder’ types, the ‘James von Brunn’ types, the ‘Richard Poplawski’ types, the ‘Jiverly Wong’ types, etc. If one of the Culpeper nuts takes a potshot at President Obama, the national and international media will descend upon and inundate Culpeper and the editors and staff of the Culpeper Star-Exponent. Mitch Sneed will receive national and international notice as the Publisher.
Maybe the Culpeper Star-Exponent should maintain a list of the Culpepe nuts and their addresses so that the Culpeper Star-Exponent will be prepared to scoop the national and international media.
You may think I am not serious, or I am being cynical. You would be wrong!
JUST REVIEW ALL THE ASSASSINATIONS OF CIVILIANS AND POLICE SINCE JANUARY 1, 2009 BY HATERS MOTIVATED AND INCITED BY HATE SPEECH.
I consider J Michael Sharman and Mitch Sneed to be one entity, joined at their hips, at their wallets. Mitch Sneed is responsible for directing his editors to create the provocative and incendiary titles for Sharman’s columns. Mitch Sneed is also a well known and respected member of the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce and is a registered Republican in Culpeper County. J Michael Sharman is a registered Republican and a leader in the Madison County Republican Party. You don’t have to tell me. I know I am subjecting Mitch Sneed to condemnation by his association with Sharman. My teachers taught me many years ago; “Show me your friends, and I will tell you what you are!”
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES GUARANTEES A PUBLISHER THE RIGHT TO PRINT WHAT HE WANTS TO PRINT. THE SAME CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT ALSO GUARANTEES A PUBLISHER THE RIGHT NOT TO PRINT WHAT HE DOES NOT WANT TO PRINT.
PART 6 OF 7 - J MICHAEL SHARMAN”S RISK TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
U.S. Representative Eric Canter represents the 7th District of Virginia in the House of Representative. The 7th District is an oblong shape district which runs in a NNW direction from Richmond to Culpeper including each. Rep. Canter is the Republican Whip in the House and, as such, he is the second most powerful Republican in the House. If the Republicans were to win back control of the House in 2010 or 2012, Rep. Canter would be an extremely powerful candidate to become Speaker of the House: a most powerful position and second in line to become President. Rep. Canter is young, charismatic, good looking and articulate politician who should be destined for State wide elected position and possibly a National elected position. Rep. Canter represents the future of the Republican Party; the Rebirth of the Republican Party. The Culpeper area of the 7th District is more extreme while Richmond area is more moderate.
Based upon the act of a Culpeper nut, together with J Michael Sharman (a columnist and Republican Party leader) incendiary speech and leadership, the future of Rep. Canter and the Republican Party in both Virginia and nationally would be seriously damaged. Let’s review American history.
In 1940, the Republican U.S. Representative from solidly Republican Westchester County, NY was up for reelection. He was a senior leader of the Republicans in the House and a major foe and thorn in President FDR’s side and was a political leader against the U.S. entry into WWII. The Republicans scheduled a meeting for all of the Congressman’s supporters in the Westchester Community Center in White Plains. The supporters were invited to attend and have their picture taken shaking hands with the Congressman. The British MI6, Britain’s CIA, had set up a clandestine office in Rockefeller Center in NYC in 1939 to conduct espionage to facilitate U.S. entry into WWII on Britain’s side. The British spies sent a forged invitation to the Head of the German-American Bund, a group of German Americans who supported Nazi Germany, to attend and have his picture taken shaking hands with the Congressman. The German-American Bund Leader did attend the rally and had his picture taken shaking hands with the Congressman. British spies were also in attendance and took pictures of Congressman smilingly shaking hands with the Bund leader. The British spies had copies of the picture showing the Congressman shaking hands with the Bund Leader distributed that night to the wire services: AP, UP and INS. The next morning, these pictures were splashed on the front page of newspapers across the U.S. The Congressman lost his bid for reelection in a solidly Republican District.
In 2/1942 J Edgar Hoover told FDR about the British spies in NYC. It is reported the FDR became angry, ordered the Spies out of the U.S. and had words with Winston Churchill. FDR was concerned because if the media had learned of the existence of these spies, it would have negatively impacted the reelection of FDR and the Democrats.
[During WWI, FDR was an Undersecretary of the U.S. Navy. Reports have surfaced that in that position FDR facilitated the smuggling of illegal arms in American ships, including passenger ships, to Britain which would violate not only he U.S. Neutrality Act but also International Neutrality Law. President Wilson knew nothing of this smuggling. The German government did not know of this smuggling but had suspicions. Recently, Dr. Ballard, the noted Oceanographer who discovered the wreck of the Titanic, inspected the wreck of the Lusitania in the Irish Sea in order to discover if the Lusitania went down so fast due to the explosion of smuggled artillery shells in its hull. Ballard discovered no evidence of artillery shells, but he did discover a cache of small arms in the hull which were not listed on the ship’s manifest.]
In 1952, a Democrat Senator from Maryland was seeking reelection. The pundits predicted victory for him. On the morning of Election Day, the Baltimore Sun published on the front page of the paper a picture of the Democrat Senator standing next to a known American Communist. The picture was a forgery, but it was too late. The damaged had been done; the Democrat Senator lost the election.
PAGE 7 OF 7 – J MICHAEL SHARMAN’S RISK TO REPUBLICAN PARTY (Continued)
In Louisiana, David Dukes, a KKK leader, won the Republican nomination for an elected office. The Louisiana and National Republican Party denounced Dukes and publicly asked voters not to vote for Dukes. Dukes was not elected. Since then, Democrats have compared some Republican candidates to David Dukes.
In 1988, Democrat Dukakis and Republican G. H. W. Bush were nominated for the Presidency. Pundits predicted Dukakis to win. Then the Republicans hung a photograph of Willie Horton around Dukakis’ neck. Willie Horton was a big, black, mean looking man who was a convicted murderer, who had walked away from a Massachusetts’s prison during a weekend furlough and traveled to Baltimore where he raped a woman and killed her and her husband. The country was horrified, and Dukakis lost his bid for the Presidential election.
[The history of the weekend prison furlough program is interesting. The Massachusetts’ legislature passed the prison furlough program, and the Republican Governor signed the law. Democrat Dukakis succeeded the Republican Governor and administered the furlough program. Then Republican Edward King succeeded Dukakis as Governor. King was President Reagan favorite U.S. Governor. The State Republicans wanted King to work for repeal of the furlough program, but King instead worked for reinstatement of the death penalty. King lost the battle to reinstate the death penalty. Dukakis succeeded King as Governor. It was during Dukakis’ second term as Governor that the Willie Horton tragedy occurred. The furlough program was a disaster waiting to happen, and it occurred on Dukakis’ watch. Timing is everything in politics.]
In 2006, Sen. George Allen was running for reelection as U.S. Senator from Virginia. He was running against Democratic candidate Jim Webb, a former Republican. Pundits gave Webb no chance of winning. Conservative Allen was being touted as a front leader for the Republican nomination for President in 2008. Then the infamous video tape occurred, recording Sen. Allen using a racial slur referring to an Indian American attending a rally in Southwestern Virginia. I suppose Sen. Allen felt safe there. The rest is history. Sen. Allen lost his political career.
Next year Rep. Canter will be campaigning in Madison County for reelection. Rep. Canter will be required to shake the hand of J Michael Sharman, a Republican Leader in Madison County. The Democrats may use a photograph of Rep. Canter shaking Sharman’s hand to hang around Rep. Canter’s neck.
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