Tulsi Gabbard

A watchdog firm called Empower Oversight is reporting that Tulsi Gabbard, former Democrat Representative from Hawaii and former Democrat presidential candidate, has been placed on the TSA’s Quiet Skies program, which is a program meant to monitor who the U. S. government regards as a possible terrorist. Tulsi Gabbard is a potential terrorist? What this means, according to news reporting on information from whistleblowers, is that at least three to five air marshals are delegated to monitor Gabbard whenever she flies (there’s a great use of taxpayer dollars!), and she is subjected to additional screening prior to every flight she takes.

The journalist Matt Taibbi sent an inquiry to the TSA asking “Was it true Gabbard was placed under surveillance via its ‘Quiet Skies’ program? If so, why? If not, why did she receive ‘Quad-S’ security designations? Was the firm Empower Oversight wrong to claim that the TSA commenced a retaliatory investigation into identities of whistleblowers?”

Here is how the TSA replied to Taibbi’s inquiry:

“TSA uses multi-layered security processes to protect the nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce. TSA’s Quiet Skies program uses a risk-based approach to identify passengers and apply enhanced security measures on some domestic and outbound international flights. To safeguard sensitive national measures, TSA does not confirm or deny whether any individual has matched to a risk-based rule. These rules are applied to a limited number of travelers for a limited period of time. Simply matching to a risk-based rule does not constitute derogatory information about an individual. Quiet Skies is further described here in the Secure Flight Privacy Impact Assessment.”

Now, there’s a government answer if ever I heard one.

What is interesting is that Gabbard was placed on the terrorist watchlist the day after she went on Fox’s Laura Ingraham’s show “The Ingraham Angle” in July, where she criticized the Biden administration and said that Kamala Harris wasn’t strong enough to go up against the military industrial complex. Here’s what Gabbard said:

“Their [the Biden administration’s] foreign policy decisions are being made by unelected people in the military industrial complex who are profiting from us being in a constant state of war, and the national security state that has more power to undermine our freedoms and liberties when we are in a state of war. Kamala Harris does not have the strength to stand up to the military industrial complex.”

This is quite disconcerting. A private citizen goes on TV and criticizes the current administration and the current Democrat nominee for president, who is a part of that administration, and the next day gets placed on a terrorist watchlist. I know that correlation doesn’t mean causation, but it’s awfully smelly – and scary.

I’m old enough to remember Nixon, and I’ve read enough to know how he used the power of the presidency and the institutions of government against his political rivals and those in the press whom he regarded as his enemies. This is reminiscent of that. This is Soviet-style intimidation tactics. The point seems to be that, if someone as well known and respected as Tulsi Gabbard can be placed on a terrorist watchlist for criticizing the government, then what about you and me? Better to keep quiet.

Now, maybe Gabbard was added to the terrorist watchlist for reasons that have nothing to do with her criticism of Biden and Harris the day before she was added to the list. But then someone needs to explain why she was added to the list. I’m hoping people aren’t added to a terrorist watchlist, and substantial amounts of money spent to monitor their flights, randomly. One would think the reason for being added to a terrorist watchlist is because one is a genuine terror threat to the people of the United States. Is that Tulsi Gabbard? If it is, she’s done a bang-up job of getting everyone to think she’s a pretty normal person.

But that pretty normal person has openly criticized an administration that is infamous for having a pretty thin skin when it comes to criticism. I mean, Biden was been handled with kid gloves by the press, but any bad press got him fired up at his staff and at the press itself. And we all know the reputation Harris has for being a bully toward her staff, many of whom couldn’t get out from under her employ fast enough. I suspect it’s pretty tempting for those in power to use that power to shut down criticism. But that’s not what the power is supposed to be used for. Making life difficult for and destroying the reputations of private citizens, or anybody, for that matter, because you don’t appreciate their criticism (which, incidentally, is a basic right of citizens protected by the Constitution) is a qualifying issue for anyone running for president. In other words, if that’s how you’re going to use the power of your office, you don’t deserve my vote for president. Now, Harris wasn’t going to get my vote anyway, but this ought to be a concern for everyone who actually is thinking about voting for her.

What’s just as disconcerting is that, when I type in “Tulsi Gabbard added to tsa quiet skies program,” I get headlines from news sources such as The American Conservative, the Colorado Springs Gazette, The Daily Signal, the Dallas Express, The Federalist, as well as individual journalists websites, such as that of Matt Taibbi above. What I’m not finding are stories by ABC, NBC, CBS, the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, nor AP, PBS or NPR. A former Congresswoman, a former presidential candidate, and a regular on television talk shows providing political commentary gets put on a terrorist watchlist and the mainstream media is crickets. It goes without saying that, if Chris Christi, former governor, former presidential candidate, and regular on television talk shows providing political commentary, had been put on a terrorist watchlist during the Trump administration the day after he criticized Trump on national TV (which he did quite often), it would have made headlines in every major news outlet in the country.

It doesn’t matter if you support Harris or Trump, or neither. This is a serious problem. First, our government institutions seem to be being used by those in power to shut down their critics (not to mention their political opponents). Second, the press is all-in on keeping it under cover, because the mainstream media has taken sides in our political system and they intend to use their own power to secure a victory for their favored candidate. Those in power in government seem not to hesitate to abuse that power, and partly because they know that those in the media will not let you know about it. Again, this is Soviet-style stuff here. Two popular newspapers in the former Soviet Union, both of which were tools of the Soviet regime, were Pravda and Izvestia. Pravda meant “the truth,” and Investia meant “the news.” A popular saying in the Soviet Union at the time was “there’s no news in Pravda and no truth in Investia.” Has it come to that in the U. S.? Are were there yet?

If the people of this country don’t get on top of this, we’ll have no reason to trust anyone in government or in the press again. In fact, we’ll have every reason to fear them, because the next victim could be you. You could lose your reputation, your job, your connections, your friends, even some family members. Who will stand with you?

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.