The Young Lead The Foolish

Last Saturday's “March for Our Lives” rally had a wealth of protesting voices, but little common sense. How topsy turvy is our political landscape when hundreds of thousands gathered in Washington, DC to protest the Bill of Rights: specifically the Second Amendment? Benjamin Franklin would counsel the outspoken masses thusly: “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” For the illusion of some greater sense of security, individuals would willingly submit to further government restriction and control? Yet, in large part, wasn't it the failure of law enforcement that facilitated the Parkland, Florida school shooting rather than preventing it?

Deluded marchers, as embattled Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, completely miss the lesson of the Valentine's Day massacre of 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. It's not about blaming the gun or even the homicidal shooter. It's about the complete failure of the State to protect the local population from a clear and unmistakable danger. It's about profound incompetence masked as self-congratulation. What else explains Sheriff Israel's disinterest in immediately viewing the video of his four errant deputies: who neglected to enter the school while the shooting took place? What else explains his laughable statement to CNN's Jake Tapper, “I've given amazing leadership to this agency” the following Sunday? He's ignored calls for his resignation, and refused to release the video of his officers' dereliction of duty. What does that say about this public servant's responsiveness and accountability?

In essence, “March for Our Lives” malcontents advocate giving Sheriff Israel's ilk more power. Is that wise given their colossal bungling—that cost lives rather than saving them? Specifically, an armed deputy wearing a bullet proof vest (a resource officer sharing the already infamous name Scot Peterson) arrived 90 seconds into the attack, but remained outdoors while the perpetrator shot innocents inside for nearly five minutes. Sheriff Israel's other responsibility-phobic officers milled around outside too. In retrospect, can anything good be said about these cowards? Per Naples Daily News, authorities received at least 18 warning calls from 2008 to 2017 regarding Nikolas Cruz, 19. NDN reports, “In February 2016, neighbors told police that they were worried he 'planned to shoot up the school' after seeing alarming pictures on Instagram showing Cruz brandishing guns.” So neighbors (a group that historically never sees or hears anything about a given suspect) saw something and said something. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School also did something. Per Fox News’s Sean Hannity, Mr. Cruz was such an apparent threat, he was prohibited from wearing a backpack for security concerns. Ultimately, he was expelled from the school for misbehavior. Shockingly, law enforcement visited Cruz's home 39 times over seven years. Even the FBI was alerted twice: one instance was just weeks before the shooting occurred. Despite all these blurry blue lines of bureaucracy, this highly preventable tragedy was not. The fact that Officer Peterson resigned, and suspect Cruz was arrested, is cold comfort to the families who lost loved ones in such a violent and horrific manner.

Despite numerous red flags authorities dropped the ball on every level. In that regard, nothing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School has appeared to change. As reported by local10.com's Tim Swift last Tuesday, a Broward County sheriff's deputy, Moises Carotti, has been suspended—with pay—after he was caught sleeping in a patrol car outside that very site! If “March for Our Lives” anti-gun protesters are looking for a legitimate reason to object, a golden opportunity exists: police not serving the communities they're sworn to protect. Hence, the real issue here is not guns. As with all objects that can be weaponized (read: cars, bats, knives, rocks etc.) doesn't the wielder vitally determine whether something is good or bad? In a free society that answer is always yes.

What all of this hubbub boils down is who to trust: faceless government bureaucracy or the individual to make responsible choices. Unfortunately, the reality here is that law enforcement has fallen inexcusably short, contributing to 17 deaths. Therefore, legally armed white hat elements in our society should fill in the gap. Naturally, most teenagers understand none of this. How can they when they're biologically impulsive and notoriously shortsighted as to life's consequences? Their wish to be cocooned in metaphorical bubble wrap is certainly understandable: it's the naive thinking of the unrealistic dreamer. Yet, what of the mature bubbleheads supporting these misdirected young marchers? It's pure folly for adults to believe these kids will save us from ourselves. From playwright Herb Gardner's aptly named “A Thousand Clowns” comes the common sense adage: “Out of the mouths of babes comes drooling”. For good reason since time immemorial adults have guided children, not vice versa. Only the aged and the addled follow anywhere teenagers lead.

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Illegals: Don't Mess With Texas

Obviously, green card holders aren't American citizens. Why then did Rosa Ortega of Grand Prairie, TX, 37, assume she was entitled to vote? Further, why did she foolishly sign government forms attesting to U.S. citizenship? Unfortunately for this Mexican-born, Texas-raised mother of four, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Perhaps taking a page from D.C.'s “new sheriff” President Trump, the Lone Star State's penalty—imposed by Ms. Ortega's jury—shows startling backbone: eight years in the pokey and a $5000 fine for voter fraud. Beyond her stiff sentence, she also defies the expectations of a political stereotype: reportedly she voted for pro-law enforcement Republicans. There's some delicious irony in that.

Given this nightmarish scenario, Ms. Ortega's understandable reaction is very human one:

“Why me, God? Eight years for signing a piece of paper wrong. I didn’t know what I was doing. I don’t have any criminal record. Why am I the example?”

Notice how her words denote false victimization. An almost lawyerly evasiveness to diminish her illegal acts, perpetrated since 2004. Specifically, Ortega had voted in five elections in Dallas County before her voter registration was nixed in April of 2015. Per Fox 4 News, her identity was scrutinized after she tried to register to vote twice in Tarrant County. Those applications were both denied.

Doesn't this pattern of wrongdoing indicate willful ignorance? Hers is a total denial of personal responsibility for her choices—and their unexpected consequences. Indeed, Ortega is swiftly discovering a new paradigm like so many others in the shadows. Unlike Obama's lackadaisical regime, in Trump's America laws and legal status matter—again.

Despite Ms. Ortega's sympathetic protestations, voting by non-citizens is not a meaningless crime. Its stealthy practice is actually an insidious assault upon our country's soul. After all, what's more fundamental than diluting the all-important voice of We the People?

In most cases (not Ortega's: she's a permanent resident), this “thievery” is perpetrated by an unknown segment of an invisible, squatting underclass of foreign invaders with no legal standing. Perhaps assisting matters, per Pew Center statistics, voter inaccuracies are rampant. They include: dead people still registered and/or voting, the same person registered in two or more locations, and largely faulty or completely invalid registrations. How many of those permit illegals to vote?

Moreover, do they yet exert enough influence to tilt an election? What of a 2015 survey that indicates that 13% of illegals confess to fraudulent voting in California with its treasure trove of 55 electoral votes? Election results there show that since 1992, to the present, the nation's most populist state has voted solidly Democrat. Is it just coincidence that the outspokenly pro-illegal Democratic Party dominates there? These are the pressing, unanswered political questions of our age.

Elections aside, it's beyond naive to believe that the bushels of bad apples among the undocumented don't have a harmful impact upon our society. What of the tragic murders of Kate Steinle and Jamiel “Jas” Shaw II at the violent hands of illegals? Their premature deaths would not have occurred otherwise. More recently, neither would the bathroom gang rape of a 14-year old ninth-grader by two older illegal teens in Maryland's Rockville High School in March of 2017. Based on 2014 government data, the Pew Research Center estimates approximately 3.9 million kindergarten through 12th-grade students in U.S. schools—or 7.3% of the total—are children of illegal aliens. At minimum, how is that not a cultural disruption and a logistical nightmare? Likewise, how is a suspected 11 (or is it 30?) million strangers freely adrift within our borders—with no incentive to assimilate—never anything to be concerned about?

Insulated from danger, the powerful and moneyed families of Washington's elected officials are safe. As the establishment of both parties remains unaffected, their nonchalance on these related issues is easy to understand. For decades, why not act like metaphorical ostriches with heads buried in sand while an abetting MSM happily plays along? Yet, ignoring these glaring problems doesn't change their reality. For context, contrast that high school child's brutal sexual assault—or the killing of innocents—to Rosa Ortega temporary loss of freedom (and potential deportation). To borrow the catchphrase from the 1970's TV show “Baretta”: “Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.” Her unlucky fate broadcasts an important social and political message: lawbreakers, big and small, beware.

Twitter: @DavidHunterblog

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