Security and Clearances

The White House wants to revoke the security clearances of 8 critics. All of them are former national security officials. The funny thing is that 2 of them already don't have security clearances, thanks to Rand Paul.

But the reason as to why is truly laughable. They are accused of "monetizing their public service and security clearances." What does this mean? The President and hanger-on’s don't like the fact that these people went for jobs that were based on past experience. They also wrote books about their experiences and analysis of current situations. Finally, they are getting paid for making speeches.

It seems that they don't like others making money. They only want it for themselves. But making monies off your past experiences is how you get new jobs.

But why did they still have them? Basically, it was for continuity of control and information. The new people need to know what was going on before them and sometimes that information is not in reports. They also need to know about the personalities of the people being dealt with. You can only get this by talking to your predecessors.

Why remove these clearances, now? These people have been critical of the administration pretty much since it began. Two reason jump right out. First is the political disaster that the last 2 weeks were. The NATO meeting and "summit" with Putin even scared the Republicans. Look at how much was spent on Trump spent on the trip to Scotland. Monetizing public service is something this administration does very well.

The other reason is the Mueller investigation. Every time something new happens or is about to happen, this administration creates some disaster or stupid policy change. Manafort's trail starts next week, Cohen is announcing he has tapes, and the Russian spy trail starts tomorrow. All things that Trump does not want the American people and media talking or thinking about.

What this group of cutthroats and misfits seem to have forgotten is that many know how to multitask. And with this thing called the Internet, nothing ever disappears from modern history.

But the real question here is about free speech and the right to make a living. College kids are encouraged to go get a government internship, just to get a security clearance. This now practically a requirement for upper level jobs in corporate America. Now the Administration wants to eliminate this from its critics. Does this mean that everyone that says something that is not in lockstep with the President and his cronies will lose their clearance?

It is starting to look like that. What is next? Shutting down media outlets, webpages, or midnight raids? We know where that leads. History has shown it. And where will history place us?