Thug Life<\/p>\n
I was the Dean of Students, the discipline guy, for a 1200 kid high school for several years.\u00a0 Our public school had a vast majority of great kids, but we also had our share of bullies, wannabe tough kids, and, a few hardcore thugs.\u00a0 Over the years I got to know the thugs, as the Dean they were \u201cmy job,\u201d and I learned a few of their rules.<\/p>\n
I learned that while we were on opposite sides, there could still be respect.\u00a0 Respect was based on a kind of trust:\u00a0 they trusted that I would do whatever I could do to end their \u201cthugdom,\u201d but I wouldn\u2019t \u201ccheat.\u201d\u00a0 If they made a mistake and broke the student conduct code, I came down on them, but I couldn\u2019t just make up violations to get them.\u00a0 It had to be \u201cfair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their rules also said that they wouldn\u2019t make a threat they couldn\u2019t carry out, and I couldn\u2019t either.\u00a0There was nothing more empty or weak, than threatening to do something you wouldn\u2019t, or couldn\u2019t do.\u00a0 If you\u2019re going to be a thug, then you better know the rules, and you better be willing to do what you say.\u00a0 You better be able to actually do it, too.\u00a0 If not, you were a \u201cwannabe,\u201d not deserving of respect.\u00a0And, as the Dean of Students, not having respect meant not having control.<\/p>\n
There is a new \u201cplay\u201d going on in Washington today.\u00a0 It started out with Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who is colluding with the White House to try to act like \u201cthugs.\u201d\u00a0 Paul started by calling for the removal of former CIA Director John Brennan\u2019s security clearance, because he criticized the President.\u00a0 It\u2019s disappointing that Paul, who has earned some respect for his independence, has fallen into this little conspiracy.\u00a0 Like his losing golf game with the President, he must be trying to get something.<\/em><\/p>\n Press Secretary Sarah Sanders conveniently was all set for questions about Paul\u2019s suggestion in the Monday press conference.\u00a0 She expanded on his plan, adding a full six former intelligence leaders to the list.\u00a0Brennan, former National Security Director Susan Rice, former DNI James Clapper, former NSA Director Mike Hayden, former FBI Director James Comey, and former FBI Assistant Director Andrew McCabe all are targets. All of them have been critical of the President\u2019s actions, with Brennan being outspoken in his description of Trump\u2019s actions in Helsinki as \u201ctreasonous.\u201d<\/p>\n So by \u201cthug rules\u201d you need to threaten something you can do, and you need to carry it out.\u00a0 The President, Sanders and Paul are trying to silence and punish critics, and at the same time they are again attacking the reputation of the intelligence community.\u00a0 If these leaders no longer \u201cdeserve\u201d a security clearance their story goes, then clearly they made bad decisions about Russian involvement in the 2016 election and the possible conspiracy of the Trump Campaign with Russian intelligence to alter the outcome.<\/p>\n Thug Rules \u2013 you better be able to do what you threaten.\u00a0 Well, McCabe and Comey already had their security clearances ended, that\u2019s standard procedure when you leave the FBI.\u00a0 They were fired, as if the Trump White House didn\u2019t know it, and removing the security clearance is part of the process.\u00a0 So here\u2019s a good look for a \u201cthug,\u201d doing something that\u2019s already done.\u00a0 Looking foolish is not a good \u201cthug\u201d look.<\/p>\n Rice, Clapper, Hayden and Brennan all still have clearances.\u00a0 This is not just a courtesy; they represent the institutional history of their agencies.\u00a0 With clearances, they can be \u201cread into\u201d current situations to gain their knowledge and experience.\u00a0 None of them receives current classified briefings, they only remain as resources for current decision makers.\u00a0 Removing their clearances, other than being an insult, doesn\u2019t hurt them.\u00a0 It hurts our current leaders.<\/p>\n Thug rule \u2013 don\u2019t do something that makes you look foolish, and don\u2019t do something that hurts you more than hurts them.<\/p>\n And finally, Sanders presented as one of the reason for the clearance removal was that some of the targets were \u201cmonetizing\u201d their clearances.\u00a0 That means, they are making money from their security status.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s certainly true that they are \u201cexperts\u201d for the media, and they are making money doing it.\u00a0Their current security clearance has nothing to do with that, they are experts because of their experiences as government leaders.\u00a0 They will stay on CNN and MSNBC and other critical media outlets with or without a clearance.<\/p>\n My mother had an expression, \u201cthe pot calling the kettle black.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 It meant, don\u2019t complain about what someone else is doing, when you\u2019re doing it yourself.\u00a0 Jared Kushner, the President\u2019s son-in-law and senior advisor, made millions of dollars while on a \u201ctemporary\u201d security clearance, while the President himself continues to make millions from the government by staying at his owned properties (over $70000 alone for his weekend at the Scottish golf course.)\u00a0 Aren\u2019t they \u201cmonetizing\u201d their security clearances?<\/p>\n The President, his press secretary and Senator Paul are trying to be \u201cthugs,\u201d to scare critics and further attack the intelligence agencies.\u00a0 But their \u201cplay\u201d looks foolish:\u00a0 at best they are \u201cwannabes.\u201d\u00a0 If they want to learn how to be thugs, they need to look to their friend Putin.\u00a0 He\u2019s got it down \u2013 go find some Novichok if that\u2019s the goal.\u00a0 Then they can be real thugs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"