As I See It... by Jim Jorgensen NATA Dep. Exec. Dir. JANET'S TRIP TIK Originally published in “The Agent,” the quarterly magazine of the National Association of Treasury Agents, an independent organization for law enforcement employees of Treasury agencies. http://members.aol.com/ustresagt/index.html Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno’s brother-in-law, Jim Hurchalla, recently bought her a used red Ford Ranger pickup truck to make the cross-country tour she’s long promised to take upon leaving office. Rather than have Ms. Reno waste time and money at AAA, we’ve prepared the following Trip Tik for her: Stop 1 - On your way out of Washington, D.C., stop by the Secret Service HQ. Thank various bureaucrats for their assistance in helping your valiant, but unsuccessful attempt at contriving a new executive privilege for then-President Bill Clinton, who at the time was scurrying to obstruct justice in a civil rights suit in which he was the defendant (Jones v. Clinton). Stop 2 - After crossing the Potomac River into Virginia, visit Fort Marcey National Park where you authorized that crack investigative organization, the U.S. Park Police, to investigate the “suicide” of Presidential counselor Vincent Foster. Stop 3 - Continuing westbound, visit Clinton, Mississippi, corporate HQ for Worldcom, Inc., which, until your DOJ trustbusters got into the act, was a high tech company providing a real product and service. Before your involvement Worldcom traded at +$80. Today, it’s at $13. Stop 4 - Now, it’s on to Arkansas. The sites here are just too numerous to mention. Don’t miss the village of Hope where draft-dodger Bill Clinton scammed both his Selective Service Board and the Arkansas National Guard. Another highlight is the undeveloped rural tract known as “Whitewater.” The exact location may be hard to find, but you can ask directions of the 14 convicted “Whitewater” felons you so desperately tried to protect. Stop 5 - Leaving the great state of Arkansas, It’s on to Los Alamos, New Mexico. Remember how your minions hamstrung the FBI’s stolen nuclear secrets investigation? You probably won’t want to linger here too long! Stop 6 - Next, check out the site of the former Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Do you ever wonder whether the Waco decisions you made two years prior to the bombing were the right ones? Think about all the innocent children and Federal workers who died here. Stop 7 - This stop will probably be the highlight of your trip. Visit Waco, Texas. Please pause at least a few moments to reflect on what you did (or didn’t do) and all the innocent kids who perished here. Stop 8 - Continuing to the West Coast, stop in Los Angeles for a tour of the ATF offices. Ask them to show you the spot where distraught ATF special agent Nathaniel Medrano committed suicide. You probably don’t even remember him. He was the fifth ATF Waco fatality. Stop 9 - Traveling up the beautiful coast, spend a couple days in San Francisco. Try to find the Buddhist temple where defeated Presidential candidate Al Gore didn’t know he was having a fund-raiser. See the exact spot where convicted felon fund-raiser Maria Hsia greeted Al when he arrived for the fund-raiser. Stop 10 - Then, it’s on to Seattle for a peek at Microsoft, Inc. HQ. Remember when the NASDQ was above 3000? Many attribute its current low level to your trustbusters who dragged Microsoft through the mud. . . and the courts. Nice going! Notice what’s happening on appeal? Stop 11 - It’s time to start heading back. Go just a bit eastbound and visit Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Visit the Randy Weaver family which got more than $3 million from your DOJ. Not admitting any government wrong-doing was a real nice touch. Don’t forget to stop by Vicki Weaver’s grave site. How old is that daughter she was holding when the FBI sniper killed her? Stop 12 - Still heading eastbound, don’t miss the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota. See the spot where Leonard Peltier executed two wounded FBI agents. Consider how your boss’s proposed pardon of this stone-cold killer affected all of the living Federal agents you used to command. Stop 13 - Well, it’s back home to Florida. Two stops here are important. First, visit Little Havana to see the modest home where you authorized SWAT team tactics so a little kid could be returned to a life of slavery. You were afraid you were going to lose in court. Weren’t you? Then, re-visit the offices of the Dade County Prosecutor where you did some of your “finest” work. Oh. . . .did we tell you? Those knee-jerk, politically-correct child molester convictions from which you got so much good press. . . .well . . . . they’ve been overturned. Hope you had a nice trip. We didn’t! ------------------------ Asked how non-agents could support NATA's work, Jim Jorgensen replied: The best thing non-agents can do is to "adopt" a Federal agent. By that I mean seeking out and really getting to know and befriend an active duty Federal officer. One of the greatest perils to our continuing democracy is the increasing parochialism and marginalization of law enforcement officers. They are under relentless attack and are prone to "circle the wagons" at the least provocation. This insular posture can lead to real mischief and tragedy. Law enforcement officers live all around us, but rarely have friends outside law enforcement circles. "Adopting" an officer can correct this. If approached sincerely and tactfully, both the "adopted" officer and the "adoptee" will come away with a new found respect and understanding for each other’s concerns and problems. That would be healthy for our continued freedoms!