destruction of the world ,the world trade center ,mankind ,humans ,united states ,the bible ,shipping ,reviews,humanity ,episode ,country ,controlled demolition ,collapse
The US budget financed by counterfeit money can never be repaid. Payback through forced taxation of generation after generation with a military/war economy for maximum profit of a few has always been part of the plan but the plan is flawed and it will not work.
When 'reporting' the Obama administration proposed new fiscal year budget, much of the media focuses on the latest and greatest spending and freezes and cuts. The AP ... Washington Post ... Bloomberg ...NY Times fail to go into the cost of war and the maintenance of the American empire.
The Obama administration plans to unveil a defense budget on Monday that pours billions into drones, helicopters and special forces, reflecting a focus on fighting Islamist extremists rather than conventional armies.
The proposed 2011 defense budget comes to more than 700 billion dollars, a modest two percent increase, and unlike last year avoids sweeping cuts to major weapons programs, according to Pentagon officials and draft documents.
Despite alarm over the US government's ballooning deficit, Obama has spared the military from belt-tightening efforts and will ask for 33 billion dollars for the current fiscal year to pay for a surge of 30,000 reinforcements in Afghanistan, said officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have already cost one trillion dollars since 2001, and the new budget calls for roughly 159 billion dollars to cover the costs of the US missions there -- including about 11.6 billion to expand the Afghan security forces, officials said.
The budget asks for 9.6 billion for a range of helicopters -- a lifeline for troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan's rugged landscape -- and 2.7 billion for unmanned drones and sensors used to hunt down insurgents.
The Pentagon sets a goal of nearly doubling the fleet of MQ-9 Reapers, unmanned planes that can carry precision-guided bombs, a coveted weapon that has transformed US tactics. {more}
Our future is being spent on fraud ... and death ...
The US budget financed by counterfeit money can never be repaid. Payback through forced taxation of generation after generation with a military/war economy for maximum profit of a few has always been part of the plan but the plan is flawed and it will not work.
When 'reporting' the Obama administration proposed new fiscal year budget, much of the media focuses on the latest and greatest spending and freezes and cuts. The AP ... Washington Post ... Bloomberg ...NY Times fail to go into the cost of war and the maintenance of the American empire.
The Obama administration plans to unveil a defense budget on Monday that pours billions into drones, helicopters and special forces, reflecting a focus on fighting Islamist extremists rather than conventional armies.
The proposed 2011 defense budget comes to more than 700 billion dollars, a modest two percent increase, and unlike last year avoids sweeping cuts to major weapons programs, according to Pentagon officials and draft documents.
Despite alarm over the US government's ballooning deficit, Obama has spared the military from belt-tightening efforts and will ask for 33 billion dollars for the current fiscal year to pay for a surge of 30,000 reinforcements in Afghanistan, said officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have already cost one trillion dollars since 2001, and the new budget calls for roughly 159 billion dollars to cover the costs of the US missions there -- including about 11.6 billion to expand the Afghan security forces, officials said.
The budget asks for 9.6 billion for a range of helicopters -- a lifeline for troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan's rugged landscape -- and 2.7 billion for unmanned drones and sensors used to hunt down insurgents.
The Pentagon sets a goal of nearly doubling the fleet of MQ-9 Reapers, unmanned planes that can carry precision-guided bombs, a coveted weapon that has transformed US tactics. {more}
Our future is being spent on fraud ... and death ...
The concept of secession may be in its infancy but it is a message to be added to the mix. Coming from an unlikely source, Time covers the Vermont anti-empire movement. Although it's a fair article, don't underestimate the MSM to not have an agenda behind the news. After all, it was Time that named the criminal Ben Bernanke as 'Person of the Year.'
On Jan. 15, in the state capital of Montpelier, nine candidates for statewide office gathered in a tiny room at the Capitol Plaza Hotel, to announce they wanted a divorce from the United States of America. "For the first time in over 150 years, secession and political independence from the U.S. will be front and center in a statewide New England political campaign," said Thomas Naylor, 73, one of the leaders of the campaign.A former Duke University economics professor, Naylor heads up the Second Vermont Republic, which he describes as "left-libertarian, anti-big government, anti-empire, antiwar, with small is beautiful as our guiding philosophy." The group advocates the peaceful secession of Vermont.
According to a 2007 poll, they have support from at least 13% of state voters. The campaign slogan, Naylor told me, is "Imagine Free Vermont." In his fondest imaginings, Naylor said, Vermonters would not be "forced to participate in killing women and children in the Middle East."
Second Vermont Republic's gubernatorial candidate is Dennis Steele, 42, who says that, if elected, his first act in office would be to bring home Vermont's National Guard from overseas deployments. "I see my kids going off to fight in wars for empire 10, 15, 20 years from now."
"People in Vermont in general are very antiwar, and all their faith was in Obama to end the wars. I ask people, 'Did you get the change you wanted?' They can't even look you in the eyes. We live in a nation that is asleep at the wheel and where the hearts are growing cold like ice."Steele and the secessionists have nothing but contempt for Vermont Senators Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy, who are otherwise considered among the most liberal members of Congress. "They've done nothing to stop the wars," says Steele flatly. Thomas Naylor was more pointed: "Every time a Vermonter serving in the National Guard gets deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, likely to be hurt or killed, Bernie and Patrick are there to commemorate the departure and have pictures taken."
The U.S. government, they said, was an immoral enterprise — engaged in imperial wars, propping up corrupt bankers and supersized corporations, crushing small businessmen, plundering the tax-base for corporate welfare, snooping on the private lives of citizens — and they wanted no more part of it. "The gods of the empire," Steele told the room, "are not the gods of Vermont."
An independent Vermont, the group believes, would expolit its already highly developed local small-scale agriculture, its "locavore" farm exchanges, with a tax structure reformed to incentivize small business and industry (and to make life difficult for large out-of-state corporations). By 2020, they foresee Vermont producing at least 75% of its own electricity and heat, using wind-, solar-, biomass- and hydro-power. They want to establish a Bank of Vermont owned by the people of Vermont — freed from the arbitrary controls of central bankers — as well as a local alternative currency, with Vermont pension and operating funds invested not in Wall Street but in locally owned financial institutions. "We favor devolution of political power from the state back to local communities, making the governing structure for towns, schools, hospitals and social services much like that of small, decentralized states like Switzerland," declares the group's "21st Century Statement of Principles." {more}
This is what happens when our nation continually engages in these ridiculous and unnecessary wars overseas without taking into account the wishes of her citizens.
This is what happens when Amerika places money and potential power grabs overseas ahead of the wishes of the people and instead caters to the whims of the military industrial complex, the emerging market manipulators, the war industry captains, the energy cartels and any other group that the Supreme Court has now given the powers of citizenship.
It is no accident that this is now public knowledge throughout the nation after the Supreme Court decided that money rules our political system.
No it does not.
We now face serious attempts at secession from citizens who have no intention of being ignored by the central government and its manipulting, puppet-master elites who constantly have access to the levers of power, regardless of the will of the citizens at large.
Fascism in our country is now facing a viable and growing citizens’ anti-war and secessionist movement willing to finance candidates who support state secession and an anti-war platform.
We are talking about civil war ultimately if this carries through to its logical end.
Does Washington D.C. understand this?
This is the ultimate result of generation upon generation of rule by the elites, rule by the Robber Barons, rule of money and its supposed power over the will of the people. One man, one vote cannot be ignored forever.
Money and its power is meaningless in this situation if civil war ensues because aware citizens realize that they have been preempted by money, power, position and ignorance of what it means to carry the burdens of working class America.
Don’t anybody ever say that I did not say for years, “I told you so!”
"We ain't right wing, we ain't left wing. We're trying to get the folks to see the problem ain't left versus right, it's up versus down." He uses a tool analogy. "A Republican is a standard screw," said Chute. "A Democrat is a Philips screws. So whichever way you vote you get the screw."
The Second Vermont Republic is a nonviolent citizens' network and think tank opposed to the tyranny of Corporate America and the U.S. government, and committed to the peaceful return of Vermont to its status as an independent republic and more broadly the dissolution of the Union. {more}
At this point in time most Americans will scoff at the idea of secession. Give it a little more time. The ideas are being planted.
The concept of secession may be in its infancy but it is a message to be added to the mix. Coming from an unlikely source, Time covers the Vermont anti-empire movement. Although it's a fair article, don't underestimate the MSM to not have an agenda behind the news. After all, it was Time that named the criminal Ben Bernanke as 'Person of the Year.'
On Jan. 15, in the state capital of Montpelier, nine candidates for statewide office gathered in a tiny room at the Capitol Plaza Hotel, to announce they wanted a divorce from the United States of America. "For the first time in over 150 years, secession and political independence from the U.S. will be front and center in a statewide New England political campaign," said Thomas Naylor, 73, one of the leaders of the campaign.A former Duke University economics professor, Naylor heads up the Second Vermont Republic, which he describes as "left-libertarian, anti-big government, anti-empire, antiwar, with small is beautiful as our guiding philosophy." The group advocates the peaceful secession of Vermont.
According to a 2007 poll, they have support from at least 13% of state voters. The campaign slogan, Naylor told me, is "Imagine Free Vermont." In his fondest imaginings, Naylor said, Vermonters would not be "forced to participate in killing women and children in the Middle East."
Second Vermont Republic's gubernatorial candidate is Dennis Steele, 42, who says that, if elected, his first act in office would be to bring home Vermont's National Guard from overseas deployments. "I see my kids going off to fight in wars for empire 10, 15, 20 years from now."
"People in Vermont in general are very antiwar, and all their faith was in Obama to end the wars. I ask people, 'Did you get the change you wanted?' They can't even look you in the eyes. We live in a nation that is asleep at the wheel and where the hearts are growing cold like ice."Steele and the secessionists have nothing but contempt for Vermont Senators Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy, who are otherwise considered among the most liberal members of Congress. "They've done nothing to stop the wars," says Steele flatly. Thomas Naylor was more pointed: "Every time a Vermonter serving in the National Guard gets deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, likely to be hurt or killed, Bernie and Patrick are there to commemorate the departure and have pictures taken."
The U.S. government, they said, was an immoral enterprise — engaged in imperial wars, propping up corrupt bankers and supersized corporations, crushing small businessmen, plundering the tax-base for corporate welfare, snooping on the private lives of citizens — and they wanted no more part of it. "The gods of the empire," Steele told the room, "are not the gods of Vermont."
An independent Vermont, the group believes, would expolit its already highly developed local small-scale agriculture, its "locavore" farm exchanges, with a tax structure reformed to incentivize small business and industry (and to make life difficult for large out-of-state corporations). By 2020, they foresee Vermont producing at least 75% of its own electricity and heat, using wind-, solar-, biomass- and hydro-power. They want to establish a Bank of Vermont owned by the people of Vermont — freed from the arbitrary controls of central bankers — as well as a local alternative currency, with Vermont pension and operating funds invested not in Wall Street but in locally owned financial institutions. "We favor devolution of political power from the state back to local communities, making the governing structure for towns, schools, hospitals and social services much like that of small, decentralized states like Switzerland," declares the group's "21st Century Statement of Principles." {more}
This is what happens when our nation continually engages in these ridiculous and unnecessary wars overseas without taking into account the wishes of her citizens.
This is what happens when Amerika places money and potential power grabs overseas ahead of the wishes of the people and instead caters to the whims of the military industrial complex, the emerging market manipulators, the war industry captains, the energy cartels and any other group that the Supreme Court has now given the powers of citizenship.
It is no accident that this is now public knowledge throughout the nation after the Supreme Court decided that money rules our political system.
No it does not.
We now face serious attempts at secession from citizens who have no intention of being ignored by the central government and its manipulting, puppet-master elites who constantly have access to the levers of power, regardless of the will of the citizens at large.
Fascism in our country is now facing a viable and growing citizens’ anti-war and secessionist movement willing to finance candidates who support state secession and an anti-war platform.
We are talking about civil war ultimately if this carries through to its logical end.
Does Washington D.C. understand this?
This is the ultimate result of generation upon generation of rule by the elites, rule by the Robber Barons, rule of money and its supposed power over the will of the people. One man, one vote cannot be ignored forever.
Money and its power is meaningless in this situation if civil war ensues because aware citizens realize that they have been preempted by money, power, position and ignorance of what it means to carry the burdens of working class America.
Don’t anybody ever say that I did not say for years, “I told you so!”
"We ain't right wing, we ain't left wing. We're trying to get the folks to see the problem ain't left versus right, it's up versus down." He uses a tool analogy. "A Republican is a standard screw," said Chute. "A Democrat is a Philips screws. So whichever way you vote you get the screw."
The Second Vermont Republic is a nonviolent citizens' network and think tank opposed to the tyranny of Corporate America and the U.S. government, and committed to the peaceful return of Vermont to its status as an independent republic and more broadly the dissolution of the Union. {more}
At this point in time most Americans will scoff at the idea of secession. Give it a little more time. The ideas are being planted.
"A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude. To make them love it is the task assigned, in present-day totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda, newspaper editors and schoolteachers.... The greatest triumphs of propaganda have been accomplished, not by doing something, but by refraining from doing. Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about truth." - - Aldous Huxley
"A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude. To make them love it is the task assigned, in present-day totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda, newspaper editors and schoolteachers.... The greatest triumphs of propaganda have been accomplished, not by doing something, but by refraining from doing. Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about truth." - - Aldous Huxley
Renungan malam ini diambil dari kitab 2Sam 11:1-4a.5-10a.13-17, Mazmur 51:3-4.5-6a.6bc-7.10-11, Markus 4:26-34...
Kitab samuel bercerita tentang Raja Daud yang melakukan dosa dengan tidur bersama Batsyeba dan menaruh Uria –suami batsyeba- di barisan terdepan pertempuran agar mati. Raja Daud yang luar biasa pun melakukan dosa. Kemudian Mazmur Daud menulis tentang hati Raja Daud yang menyesal dan bertobat, mohon pengampunan dari Tuhan. Dan Injil Markus pun berbicara tentang benih yang tumbuh dan biji sesawi.
Teman-teman, apapun kondisi anda saat ini... Saya yakin kita pernah, sedang, atau akan jatuh kedalam perbuatan dosa... Seperti Raja Daud yang jatuh kedalam dosa... Akan tetapi, berapa kali pun kita jatuh kedalam dosa... Pastikan bahwa kita akan terus bangkit dan menghindari untuk tidak jatuh pada lubang yang sama... Bangkit, menyesal, dan bertobat... Seperti Raja Daud yang bertobat dalam mazmurnya... Takutlah akan Tuhan karena Ia yang berkuasa atas hidup kita...
Pernahkah anda menonton video dari nick vujivic? Nonton deh bagus... Mengutip dari kata-katanya... 1000x saya terjatuh maka 1000x saya akan bangkit...
Dalam injil perumpamaan tentang benih yang tumbuh dituliskan, “A man scatters seed on the gound. Night and day, wheter he sleeps or get up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.”
"Baik dia tidur maupun bangun, benih itu bertumbuh..." Saya percaya bahwa benih ini adalah iman kita... Jatuh ke dalam dosa, dan bangkit lagi, adalah proses dari pertumbuhan iman kita... saya yakin itu...
"Walaupun ia tidak tau bagaimana itu bisa terjadi..." Imani perumpamaan ini temanku... Percayalah bahwa Karya Tuhan sedang bekerja atas diri kita setiap harinya... walaupun kita sedang tertidur maupun bangun, Tuhan berkarya atas hidup kita... Ia menjaga kita, merawat kita, memberi kita makan, dan mendidik kita...
Imani... Have Faith, That God is always work on us... He never leave us... Why? Not because we go to church, or pray, or do kindness. It’s because He loves us... And we do all that because we want to loves Him back...
Bagaimana pun kondisi kita saat ini... ingat lah bahwa, “memang biji sesawi itu yang paling kecil dari segala jenis benih yang ada di bumi. Tetapi apabila ia ditaburkan, ia tumbuh dan menjadi lebih besar dari pada segala sayuran yang lain dan mengeluarkan cabang yang besar, sehingga burung-burung di udara dapat bersarang dalam naungannya.”
Bukan saja ia menjadi lebih besar dari yang lainnya, tetapi ia juga menjadi berkat bagi burung-burung... Bukan kah itu sesuatu yang luar biasa? Sesuatu yang begitu kecil, paling kecil dari yang lainnya, dapat menjadi begitu luar biasa...
Ingat lah betapa Tuhan mencintai anda, renungkan ini siang dan malam, hingga anda merasakan cinta-Nya... berdoalah, bernyanyilah, dan perhatikan apa yang terjadi...
A legend tells of a French monastery known throughout Europe for the extraordinary leadership of a man known only as Brother Leo. Several monks began a pilgrimage to visit Brother Leo to learn from him. Almost immediately, they began to bicker about who should do various chores.
On the third day they met another monk going to the monastery, and he joined them. This monk never complained or shirked a duty, and whenever the others would fight over a chore, he would gracefully volunteer and do it himself. By the last day, the others were following his example, and from then on they worked together smoothly.
When they reached the monastery and asked to see Brother Leo, the man who greeted them laughed. "But our brother is among you!" And he pointed to the fellow who had joined them.
Today, many people seek leadership positions, not so much for what they can do for others but for what the position can do for them: status, connections, perks, advantages. They do service as an investment, a way to build an impressive resume.
The parable about Brother Leo teaches another model of leadership, where leaders are preoccupied with serving rather than being followed, with giving rather than getting, with doing rather than demanding. Leadership based on example, not command. This is called servant leadership.
Can you imagine how much better things would be if more politicians, educators, and business executives saw themselves as servant leaders?
The latest message from the beyond blasts the US and the Western World for global warming.
With the collapse of the Copenhagen summit and the falling value of carbon credits, Gore has decided to take on a well known partner to rally his cause.
Reports are that Bin Laden and Gore will embark upon a world wide tour tentatively called "An Inconvenient Jihad."
Noam Chomsky, upon hearing that Bin Laden was so kind to reference him in the taped release humbly said, "Sometimes our enemies become our friends for the greater good." Chomsky also said he would consider joining Bin Laden and Gore on tour.
Al Jazeera, the CIA and Mossad's favorite middle east news organization, released the taped message from the dead man to counter the disrespectful laughter heard in Obama's SOTU address when he mentioned the urgency of fighting climate change. Who's laughing now?
Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, has condemned the US and other industrial economies, holding them responsible for the phenomenon of climate change.
In an audio tape obtained by Al Jazeera, bin Laden criticised George Bush, the former US president, for rejecting the Kyoto pact and condemned global corporations.
"This is a message to the whole world about those responsible for climate change and its repercussions - whether intentionally or unintentionally - and about the action we must take," bin Laden said.
"Speaking about climate change is not a matter of intellectual luxury - the phenomenon is an actual fact."
'Grave repercussions'
In the new recording, bin Laden says "all the industrial states" are to blame for climate change, "yet the majority of those states have signed the Kyoto Protocol and agreed to curb the emission of harmful gases".
He continued: "However, George Bush junior, preceded by [the US] congress, dismissed the agreement to placate giant corporations. And they are themselves standing behind speculation, monopoly and soaring living costs.
"They are also behind 'globalization and its tragic implications'. And whenever the perpetrators are found guilty, the heads of state rush to rescue them using public money."
The Kyoto Protocol, a UN treaty aimed at combating global warming, was adopted in December 1997 and has since been ratified by 187 states, but not by the US congress.
Although a signatory to the agreement, the US under Bush refused to ratify the treaty, saying that it should contain binding goals for developing countries to reduce emissions as well as those for industrialized nations.
Targeting US dollar
In the new recording, bin Laden said: "Noam Chomsky [the US academic and political commentator] was correct when he compared the US policies to those of the Mafia. They are the true terrorists and therefore we should refrain from dealing in the US dollar and should try to get rid of this currency as early as possible. {more}
The latest message from the beyond blasts the US and the Western World for global warming.
With the collapse of the Copenhagen summit and the falling value of carbon credits, Gore has decided to take on a well known partner to rally his cause.
Reports are that Bin Laden and Gore will embark upon a world wide tour tentatively called "An Inconvenient Jihad."
Noam Chomsky, upon hearing that Bin Laden was so kind to reference him in the taped release humbly said, "Sometimes our enemies become our friends for the greater good." Chomsky also said he would consider joining Bin Laden and Gore on tour.
Al Jazeera, the CIA and Mossad's favorite middle east news organization, released the taped message from the dead man to counter the disrespectful laughter heard in Obama's SOTU address when he mentioned the urgency of fighting climate change. Who's laughing now?
Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, has condemned the US and other industrial economies, holding them responsible for the phenomenon of climate change.
In an audio tape obtained by Al Jazeera, bin Laden criticised George Bush, the former US president, for rejecting the Kyoto pact and condemned global corporations.
"This is a message to the whole world about those responsible for climate change and its repercussions - whether intentionally or unintentionally - and about the action we must take," bin Laden said.
"Speaking about climate change is not a matter of intellectual luxury - the phenomenon is an actual fact."
'Grave repercussions'
In the new recording, bin Laden says "all the industrial states" are to blame for climate change, "yet the majority of those states have signed the Kyoto Protocol and agreed to curb the emission of harmful gases".
He continued: "However, George Bush junior, preceded by [the US] congress, dismissed the agreement to placate giant corporations. And they are themselves standing behind speculation, monopoly and soaring living costs.
"They are also behind 'globalization and its tragic implications'. And whenever the perpetrators are found guilty, the heads of state rush to rescue them using public money."
The Kyoto Protocol, a UN treaty aimed at combating global warming, was adopted in December 1997 and has since been ratified by 187 states, but not by the US congress.
Although a signatory to the agreement, the US under Bush refused to ratify the treaty, saying that it should contain binding goals for developing countries to reduce emissions as well as those for industrialized nations.
Targeting US dollar
In the new recording, bin Laden said: "Noam Chomsky [the US academic and political commentator] was correct when he compared the US policies to those of the Mafia. They are the true terrorists and therefore we should refrain from dealing in the US dollar and should try to get rid of this currency as early as possible. {more}
Barack Obama greets Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner before the SOTU address and whispers "Let me show you how to lie to Congress and the American public. Watch closely and learn."
I still have a headache from the speech and didn't drink a drop.
One point I caught was where Obama deviated from the prepared speech and added his message to Israel.
"Now, these diplomatic efforts have also strengthened our hand in dealing with those nations that insist on violating international agreements in pursuit of nuclear weapons. That's why North Korea now faces increased isolation, and stronger sanctions -- sanctions that are being vigorously enforced. That's why the international community is more united, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is more isolated. And as Iran's leaders continue to ignore their obligations, there should be no doubt: They, too, will face growing consequences. That is a promise."
Barack Obama greets Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner before the SOTU address and whispers "Let me show you how to lie to Congress and the American public. Watch closely and learn."
I still have a headache from the speech and didn't drink a drop.
One point I caught was where Obama deviated from the prepared speech and added his message to Israel.
"Now, these diplomatic efforts have also strengthened our hand in dealing with those nations that insist on violating international agreements in pursuit of nuclear weapons. That's why North Korea now faces increased isolation, and stronger sanctions -- sanctions that are being vigorously enforced. That's why the international community is more united, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is more isolated. And as Iran's leaders continue to ignore their obligations, there should be no doubt: They, too, will face growing consequences. That is a promise."
After an outstanding career in law enforcement, Abraham Bolden was appointed by JFK to be the first African American presidential Secret Service agent, where he served with distinction. They met by chance when JFK used the men's room to which he had been assigned as security. Bolden was a crucial part of a the Secret Service effort that prevented an attempt to assassinate JFK in Chicago, three weeks before Dallas.
But the dream quickly turned sour when Bolden found himself regularly subjected to open hostility and blatant racism. More of a concern was the White House team’s irresponsible approach to security. While on his tour of presidential duty, Bolden witnessed firsthand the White House agents’ long-rumored lax approach to their job. Drinking on duty, abandoning key posts—this was not a team that appeared to take their responsibility to protect the life of the president particularly seriously.
Soon after the assassination, he received orders that hint at "an effort to withhold, or at least to the color, the truth." He discovered that evidence was being kept from the Warren Commission and when he took action, found himself charged with "conspiracy to sell a secret government file" and imprisoned for more than five years, mostly in the psychiatric ward of the Springfield Medical Center for Federal Prisoners. In September 1969, after a short stint at a prisoncamp in Alabama, Bolden was finally granted parole.
Nearly 45 years later, Abraham Bolden has come forward to tell his story. A gripping memoir substantiated by recently declassified government documents, The Echo from Dealey Plaza is the story of the terrible price paid by one man for his commitment to truth and justice, as well as a shocking new perspective on the circumstances surrounding the death of JFK. It was an honor for me to feature him as a guest on "The Real Deal" and to have this opportunity to present aspects of his personal experiences to the public.
Abraham Bolden has received The 2008 Baker Street Tankard Award for "Pursuance of Truth and Justice", The 2008 Black Excellence Award for "Outstanding achievement in non fiction literature", The 2009 Alpha Phi Alpha Presidential Inaugural Award for "Exemplary leadership, service, and commitment and courage", The 2009 Carter G. Woodson "Living Black History Award", The 2009 St. Louis Gateway Classics "Walk of Fame" inductee, The Sodexo Lifetime Achievement Award for " Excellence and outstanding service", and the 2009 Citation from The Honorable United States Senator Roland W. Burris for courage in challenging injustice.
JFK & the Secret Service - Abraham Bolden interviewed on "The Real Deal" with Jim Fetzer (28 December 2009)
The Echo From Dealey Plaza - Abraham Bolden interviewed on "The Night Fright Show" (25 November 2009)
Short interview with Abraham Bolden
Abraham Bolden, the author of "The Echo From Dealey Plaza" (2009)
(1) How did your dream turn into a nightmare when you tried to inform the Warren Commission of previous attempts to assassinate JFK?
After completing my assignment to the White House Detail in July of 1961, the laxity and the cavalier attitude toward their duty in regards to the protection of President Kennedy. I observed that some of the agents surrounding the president were highly racist, overconfident, and disrespectful in their comments regarding Kennedy. Moreover, the agents' disagreement with the president over his handling of the civil rights issues that were prevalent during the early 1960s infected their ability to carry out the protective duties assigned. Comments were made to the effect that if attempts were made to assassinate the president, there would be no immediate response by some members of the detail.
After the president was in fact assassinated, it was evident to me that the Secret Service supervisor, Maurice G. Martineau, was engaged in a cover up of serious conspiracies to assassinate Kennedy that had surfaced in Chicago. This cover up gained momentum after visits were made to the Chicago office of the Secret Service by Inspector Kelly and SAIC Burke, who had been involved in the interrogation of Oswald after his arrest.
Investigations that occurred prior to the assassination of the President were redated to a date in December which would make the investigation unrelated to the assassination of the president on November 22, 1963. Documents, notes and materials pertaining to several threats against the president that occurred in October and November 1963 were ordered to be turned in to SAIC Martineau for disposition.
In the 1st week of January 1964 Secret Service commission books were ordered to be turned in by SAIC Martineau with the understanding that new and updated commission books were to be issued at a later date. I viewed this as a cover up of an incident that occurred immediately after the president was assissinated in that a Dallas Police Officer was shown what he stated was a secret service commission book by a man whom he encountered behind a fence in Dealey Plaza.
Feeling that the Warren Commission was being deprived of the above important information, it was my determination to get this information before them so that the commission could evaluate the conduct of those responsible for the protection of the president.
I was unaware that the Acting Attorney General Katzenbach had indicated to the FBI and Secret Service officials that it would be in the best interest of the country if it were decided that Lee Oswald was the lone gunman.
The high officials of the Secret Service knew that I was disgruntled over the lack of sufficient protection that the president was getting as I had discussed my dissatisfaction to Chief U. E. Baughman, Inspector Kelly, Harry Geighlein, Maurice G. Martineau and a host of other low level agents. I was very verbose in my critism of the lack of a standard procedure to be followed in case of an attack against the President of These United States.
It was due to my attempts to contact the Warren Commission when I arrived in Washington, D. C. on May 17, 1964 that I was escorted out of Washington by Inspector McCann and returned to Chicago where I was charged with committing a federal crime.
When I went to trial in July 1964 (64-CR 324), the trial judge J. Sam Perry instructed the jury that in his opinion, the evidence sustained a verdict of guilty and that the jury should continue to deliberate based upon the instruction that he had given. The trial ended in a hung jury. The Assistant Attorney General Richard Sikes went before the press and lamented that the government would have obtained a conviction were it not for a Negro woman who was the lone holdout.
Denying defense motions for a change of venue or a substitution of trial judge, Judge J. Sam Perry heard a second trial before an all white jury.
The second trial ended on August 12, 1964. During the deliberation of the second jury, the trial judge ordered the courtroom cleared under the pretense of closing the court for the day. All spectators, me, my attorney, and other non governmental personnel were removed from the court room whereupon we were locked out of the building under the direction of Assistant U.S. Attorney Arthur Dunne. Later on the evening of the 12th after I and my legal representative had been removed, the jury reached a verdict.
After having been found guilty, on January 20, 1965, government witness Joseph Spagnoli, while testifying in his own trial, admitted under oath, that he had committed perjury in both of my trials. Spagnoli further stated that his perjury was suborned by government prosecutor Sikes. Spagnoli offered documentary proof of his allegations in the form of a handwritten paper that he "took/stold" stole from the U. S. Attorney's office. Spagnoli subsequently telephoned my trial attorney, George Howard, and stated that he (Spagnoli) and Frank William Jones concocted the case against me with the help of the office of the U. S. Attorney and the Secret Service. Spagnoli stated that he would name the nemes of those persons who were involved in framing me.
During oral arguments before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Attorney Sikes was questioned in open court concerning the allegations of Spagnoli at which time attorney Sikes stated that he would not answer the question on the basis that his answer might tend to incriminate him. In spite of Sikes' refusal to deny the allegations of Spagnoli and the trial judge's refusal to grant a hearing into Spagnoli's allegations, the conviction was confirmed by the Court of Appeals and in June, 1966, the Supreme Court of the United States refused a grant of certiorie.
Knowing full well that some high official in the government was seeking to have me discredited, I braced for what I knew was sure to come. I was not dealing with a government of the people, for the people and of the people as the framers of our constitution had set out ......it was all too apparent that there was working within the government those who were possessed of a facist attitude. I knew from history that one of the prevelant methods of governments outside of the U.S. in dealing with "whistle blowers" was to place their sanity in question.
And so it happened. On July 6 1967 while I was incarcerated in the prison camp in The Federal Medical Center, at Springfield, Missouri, I was aroused from sleep in the middle of the night and escorted to the 2-1 East psychiatric section of the Center. While locked tightly in a unit there, I was forced to ingest psychotropic drugs. Knowing full well that a federal inmate who is classified as being under psychiatric treatment could be held an indeterminate of amount of time pending his return to sanity, I knew that I had to find a means and method of keeping the institutional drugs out of my system. The method that I chose proved successful and I was able to remain free of any effects from the drug. After a 30 day stay in prison psychiatric units, I was returned to the prison camp in August, 1967.
I was paroled from custody on September 25, 1969 and returned to Chicago, IL and to my wife and three children.
(2) What kind of response should have occurred during the shooting in Dealey Plaza, had the agents responded appropriately?
The Secret Service detail riding in the followup car behind the president should have immediately jumped from the running boards of that vehicle and onto the built-in running board of the presidential limosine. There is no excuse for looking in the other direction as the bullets were fired toward the presidential vehicle. Saying that there was information that President Kennedy did not want agents on the back of his limosine does not square with any order that I heard or read during my tenure as an agent. The conduct of the agents bordered upon criminal in that they failed to even attempt to do the job that was demanded of them. It was the lack of training, which I brought to the attention of supervisors, that played a great part in the successful murder of our president.
(3) What are your thoughts about the reasons for the assassination, say, in relation to James Douglass' JFK AND THE UNSPEAKABLE?
I am in complete agreement with author Jim Douglass as to the reasons that may have led to the assassination of President Kennedy. However, I believe that the foremost reason was Kennedy's relationship with Cuba and the Bay of Pigs fiasco. The motive for the assassination, in my opinion, was to create a more favorable situation that would enhance the dissident's efforts to make war against Castro and overturn the government of Cuba.
(4) Why have presidents since LBJ ignored your case, which appears to be perfect for a complete and unconditional pardon? Do they simply lack the power? Should not Barack Obama be considering your case?
My treatment by the government can be classified as egregoiusly wrong and outside the restraints and guarantees of our US Constitution. In order to grant a pardon or other action, the government would have to first decide what type of action to take. All evidence points to a government conspiracy against an agent of the U.S. Government as well as a citizen of America. That fact is difficult to admit by the president or attorney general.
All of the circumstances of my unlawful arrest, trial and incarceration have been on the record since 1964. It is clear that my Constitutional Rights were disregarded. The question is, how can this have happened in America? The government has to ask itself whether a pardon would solve the issue or ignite further embarrassing publicity. Would it be better if no official attention be given to my case in hopes that all references to it will subside after my death? These are questions that must be decided before anyone with the authority to recommend relief will act.
Mr. Bolden has provided extracts from his book for publication here.
Introduction, page 1
I knew John Kennedy. I shook his hand and looked into his eyes, and served, for a brief but critical time, at his side. I sensed in my heart, as many people did, that he understood the troubles of the common man, and shared the pain of all downtrodden and oppressed people. He labored to make the promises of a better country a reality for all Americans. Born into great wealth and privilege, he did this not for any personal gain, but simply because he knew it was the right thing to do. He wanted to do his best to foster equality of opportunity for all the citizens under his charge, and even those beyond our borders. John F. Kennedy entrusted me with his life, making me the first African-American to serve on the Secret Service White House Detail. No one can ever take that honor away from me.
Chapter 1, page 3
I came into the Secret Service in 1960, after a number of years in law enforcement, first for the Pinkerton Detective Agency, and then as an officer in the Illinois State Police. It was in that capacity that I first encountered Special Agent in Charge (of the Springfield, IL, office) Fred Backstrom of the United States Secret Service. John Kennedy was on his way to Peoria for a campaign stop, and I had been assigned to escort SAIC Backstrom around Peoria, to help make security preparations.
As we rode along one of the intended motorcade routes, I turned to Agent Backstrom. "Are there any Negroes in the Secret Service now?" I asked.
Backstrom and I had worked together before, and were on friendly terms. "I don't think so, Abraham, but I'm not sure. I heard that there may be one in New York or New Jersey, but I've never met him," he replied. "I can tell you this: We are looking for new agents and if you're interested, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't apply. I can send you an application in the mail, and the civil service administration will guide you along he way." He volunteered to send me an application.
We went back to our duties, but a few weeks later, I received the application in the mail, just as Agent Backstrom had promised. In the early fall of 1960, I drove down to Springfield, where I was escorted from the Secret Service headquarters to take the civil service test. I learned several weeks later that I had just missed passing the test, but the next time SAIC Backstrom came through Peoria, in early September 1960, about a month before Kennedy was to visit, he stopped by my house. Backstrom suggested that I could enter the Secret Service under a Schedule A appointment, meaning that my previous experience would qualify me to become a probationary agent.
Chapter 1, pages 4, 5
I first saw John Kennedy when he came through Peoria on a campaign swing in October, 1960. I was assigned to traffic control, and caught a glimpse of the young Senator sitting perched atop the back seat of a big white Lincoln convertible as his motorcade came in from the airport. I watched Kennedy hop down from the car about fifty feet away from me to shake hands with locals crowded along the side of the road. As his car stopped, agents from the convertible directly behind and fanned out to protect him as he waded into the excited crowd.
The following spring, John Kennedy was now President, and I myself had been through training at the Department of the Treasury, under which the Secret Service resides. The President was scheduled to visit Chicago on April 28th, for a thank-you dinner with Mayor Daley at McCormick Place. Daley's political machine had helped deliver a victory to Kennedy, through means not everyone considered legitimate. An advance detail of Secret Service agents worked with the local office to plan security, and assigned the Chicago field agents to protective various duties and protective positions. While some agents got the coveted spots inside the McCormick Place banquet room near the President, my assignment was to guard a basement restroom that had been set aside for Kennedy's exclusive use while he was there. I searched the bathroom and the surrounding area, and when I was satisfied that it secure, I quietly took up my post.
At about 8:30, a half-hour after the event was scheduled to begin, I heard a sudden commotion at the top of the stairs near the restroom.
Before I knew it, John F. Kennedy was striding toward the restroom, surrounded by an impressive entourage, including Mayor Daley, Governor Otto Kerner, Senator Paul Douglas, Congressman William Dawson, and a handful of prominent local politicians. As he got to the door, the President surprised me by stopping directly in front of me and looking me in the eye with a slight smile creasing his lips.
"Are you a Secret Service agent or one of Mayor Daley's finest?" he asked, causing the Mayor to chuckle lightly.
Collecting myself, I replied, "I'm a Secret Service Agent, Mr. President."
"He's assigned to the Chicago office," a more senior agent offered. "His name is Abraham Bolden."
Kennedy nodded slightly in acknowledgment and continued on in his crisp Boston accent. "Has there ever been a Negro agent on the Secret Service White House Detail, Mr. Bolden?"
"Not to my knowledge, Mr. President."
"Would you like to be the first?" Kennedy asked, his lights twinkling under the bright hotel lights.
I didn't try to hide my enthusiasm. Smiling broadly and nodding my head, I answered, "Yes, sir, Mr. President." Moments later, the band struck up "Hail to the Chief." The air in McCormick place was charged with flashing cameras and the halls echoed with thunderous applause as the proud young President entered the hall.
Chapter 5, pages 37, 38
Agents were breaking out the drinks. Henderson sat on the living-room couch, opened a beer and leveled a cold, hard stare at me, which I did my best to ignore. He kept it up through two or three quick beers, until he suddenly spoke.
"Bolden."
"Yeah, Harvey?"
"I'm going to tell you something, and I don't want you ever to forget it." The sound of the South was heavy in his voice.
"You're a nigger. You were born a nigger, and when you die, you'll still be a nigger. You will always be nothing but a nigger. So act like one!" Henderson spaced the words out slowly for emphasis, but his voice was rising.
The words hung in the room, as every agent stared silently at Harvey Henderson. He had moved his body to the edge of couch. His feet were flat on the floor and he was clutching his beer bottle. You could hear him breathing hard through his nostrils. He was like an animal, poised to spring forward if I made any move toward him.
If I had ever doubted that Henderson had planted that memo and cartoon back in the White House, I knew it for certain now, as surely as I knew that he was baiting me, trying to lure me into a fight. Thoughts of Jackie Robinson raced through my mind. I do not mean to equate myself with a hero of Robinson's stature, but in that moment, I thought about the years of locker-room taunts that he had endured, and the many times his white teammates had tried to pick fights with him, just so that they could humiliate him. I'd dealt with racism my entire professional life, once even having to pull my gun on a motorist who refused to be ticketed by a "nigger." But here I was faced with a representative of my own nation's government, the acting head of our President's personal guard.. my supervisor. And I'm sure he wanted nothing more than to beat me bloody, but he also wanted me to disgrace myself by losing control. I eyed Harvey Henderson-a big, powerful man, drunk and full of hatred-and knew that if we were to go at it, there could be no mercy. I would have to send him to his God before he sent me to mine.
I looked him squarely in the eyes. "I love you, too, Harvey," I said, and walked out to the porch.
"You shouldn't have said that, Harvey," said agent Tucker,, who then followed me outside.
"Don't pay any attention to him, Abe," Tucker told me. "He gets like that when he's drinking." Tucker went back into the cottage. I kept on walking for a long while. When I got back to the cottage, I sat a while longer on the porch steps, weary in body and soul, and realized that I was ready to go back to Chicago. My mother had taught me not to remain where I was clearly not wanted.
11/22/2007 ABC I-Team: Kennedy Assassination Thwarted Weeks Before His Death - interview by Chuck Goudie
Chapter 12, page 161
Now, suddenly, Judge Perry rose from his seat. He stood behind his bench and raised his arms as if to make some kind of benediction.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” he said, scowling. “I will now exercise a prerogative that I have as a Judge that I seldom exercise. I will express to you and comment upon the evidence. In my opinion, the evidence sustains a verdict of Guilty on counts one, two and three of the indictment.”[i] His face grew red, and his breath came hard and fast, as if he were exerting himself.
The Judge told the jury that they could disagree with him if they chose to do so.
“Now, with that in mind, ladies and gentlemen, you may now retire and reconsider the evidence in light of this Court’s instructions,” the Judge ended.[ii]
I turned quickly to George Howard to ask what was going on, but Judge Perry glowered at us, his face contorted with rage. It was clear to every soul in that courtroom that this Federal District Judge wanted me convicted. He sent the jury back into their room, from which we could hear shouting, and even some crying, for the next hour, until they returned and the foreman once again announced that they were still deadlocked, eleven-to-one for conviction. The lone juror, Mrs. Anna B. Hightower, sat still and quiet, her jaw clenched and her arms folded across her chest. [i] U.S. v Bolden, 1st trial, Jury Deliberation, (Tr page 6) July 11, 1964, [ii] U.S. v Bolden, 1st trial, Jury Deliberation, (Tr page 6) July 11, 1964,
Chapter 14, pages 198, 199
On re-direct, Oliver asked Spagnoli if had ever committed perjury in a Federal Criminal trial in the past and Spagnoli acknowledged that he had. They then produced a piece of paper that had been torn out of a legal pad and had it marked as an exhibit. Spagnoli testified that he had been in Sikes’ office when Sikes drew up the document.
“What was the purpose that he gave you for writing up such a document?” Oliver asked.
“So I would remember what to say in the Bolden trial,” Spagnoli answered.[iii]
The record showed that Sikes leaped to his feet and objected, but got nowhere. Judge Perry allowed Oliver to rebut the accusations about Spagnoli’s credibility.
Oliver continued, “After he wrote it up, did he give it to you?”
“No.”[iv]
At this point, Judge Perry interrupted and asked Spagnoli directly, “How did you come into possession of it, if he did not give it to you?”
“I took it.”[v]
“What was the purpose of your studying the document?” Oliver now asked.
“To remember the lies in there,”[vi] Spagnoli answered bluntly.
Standing in front of the stunned onlookers in the courtroom, Oliver pointed at the document in his hand and kept probing. “Mr. Spagnoli, I call your attention to certain dates enumerated on this exhibit. I call your particular attention to the fourth line down, a date, Wednesday, 5/13. Do you see the notation that follows that Wednesday, 5.13, ‘Call from Martineau?’” Did that call occur on that day?”
“No.” [vii]
Just reading it made me shout out loud, “Dammit!” Finally, the facts that I knew to be true were coming to the surface.
When Oliver moved on, and began asking if Spagnoli had ever given testimony contrary to testimony he gave in this case that he gambled for a living, Richard Sikes strenuously objected, on the grounds that Oliver was “impeaching his own witness.” [iii] U.S. v D’Antonio, 64 CR 300, (Tr page 6269), dated January 20, 1965 [iv] Ibid, page 6272 [v] Ibid, page 6272 [vi] Ibid, page 6272 [vii] Ibid, page 6274
Chapter 15, page 215
“Well, it has been brought to this court’s attention, during the oral arguments of the case, that one of the witnesses against the defendant has accused you of soliciting perjured testimony that was given in the trial. I called you here so that you may personally answer the accusation. The counsel for this defendant has stated in his brief, and during oral argument, that you have failed to answer this serious question that reflects negatively on the United States Government.” Hastings dramatically emphasized this last piece. “Now I ask you, did you solicit perjured testimony by one witness, Joseph Spagnoli, in any of the Bolden trials in the court below?”
Sikes shifted his weight from one foot to another nervously. “Your Honor, I want to say—“
“That question can be answered yes or no,” Hastings interrupted. “Either you did or you did not. This question needs to be answered now so that this court can make a fair ruling concerning this issue on appeal. I ask the question again: Did you solicit perjured testimony by Joseph Spagnoli in any of the Bolden trials before the court of District Judge J. Sam Judge Perry?”[viii] Sikes swallowed hard. He glanced over his shoulder at his colleagues Crowley and Hanrahan.
“Your Honor,” he finally answered, “I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that my answer might tend to incriminate me.”[ix]
“You are refusing to answer on the grounds of self-incrimination?” the Chief Judge asked in a loud voice.
“Yes, sir, Your Honor,” said Sikes, lowering his eyes.
“Very well, then. We will look into this matter and depending on what this court finds, someone might go to prison. We are going to get to the bottom of this,” Hastings declared to the shocked spectators in the courtroom. He turned to Attorney Smith and asked, “Based upon the allegations of Joseph Spagnoli, do you think that the assistant government attorney should be prosecuted and incarcerated?” [ix] No Transcript of the proceedings before the U.S. Court of Appeals (14907) could be located; However on June 29, 1966, U. S. v Bolden, 64 CR 324, Motion to Reconsider the Sentence under Rule 35 page 8, Attorney Smith told the Court, “ We also have in this case, Your Honor, the fact. And I point out once again that it is Spagnoli that made this statement..that he accused the Government of subornation in this case, and the fact remains that to this day, two appeals to the Supreme Court, there is a question by the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals that..that charge by Spagnoli has never been denied, and we have this as another cloud over the case.”
Chapter 15, pages 227, 228
Judge Perry was done, and brought the hearing to a close. I saw Barbara quietly confer with Ray Smith, who then turned to talk to one of the Deputy Marshals. The Deputy led me down the corridor to the elevator, which we took to a small, clean holding cell, oddly situated behind a row of offices on one of the upper floors. The cell stood in a larger holding area, into which the guard brought Barbara. He left the two of us alone, separated only by the cold steel bars.
I reached through the bars to take her hand, in that instant felt finally overwhelmed by the terrible sadness of my fate. My whole body shook with rage and tears.
Barbara looked me in the eye. “If we’re going to make it through this, you’re going to have to be strong. You don’t have to worry about me and the children. I’m not going to let this break up our family. I saw what happened in court and how they treated you. I’ll be here when you come home. You don’t have to worry about that.” Barbara’s words were both consoling and reassuring. “You have to be strong because we are all counting on you to come back home to us. Nothing is going to happen out here, and I’m going to work and keep things together.”
Barbara came close and we kissed through the bars. “No matter what happens, be strong,” she said again. “I love you and the children love you. We will be waiting for you to return home to us. Be strong.”
When the guard finally led Barbara away, I washed my face and resolved to do exactly as Barbara said. From earliest childhood I had been told that grown men don’t cry, and I decided then that I was finished with crying, and that I would in fact be as strong as any man could be.
When they brought me back to the county jail, one of guards took me down to a basement cellblock. Four cells sat separated and secluded from the rest.
“This is what they call ‘Death Row,’” the guard told me. “Someone decided to keep you down here until you’re shipped out to a penitentiary.” He handed me over to the kindly looking black guard who stood watch there, saying, “This is Abraham Bolden. He used to be a government FBI man.”
An excerpt from "Conspiracy Files: The JFK Assassination", Discovery Channel, 5/11/06
Excerpt Chapter 17, pages 257, 258, 259
One day, I had just finished washing dishes and pots and was preparing to clean up the floor in my area, by filling a mop bucket with hot water, when I heard a voice behind me.
“What the fuck are you doing with my bucket?”
I turned around to see Kenny glaring at me. There were two mop buckets in our area of the prison that were plainly different from each other, and I was using Kenny’s regular bucket.
“Oh, is this the bucket you use?” I asked, knowing it wasn’t but trying to placate him.
“You know that that’s my goddamned bucket!” Kenny shouted. “Why you keep fucking with me?”
I could see that Kenny was either delusional or trying to start a fight with me, so I kept trying to make peace.
“I’m not fucking with you,” I said. “This is the bucket I’ve been using, but if you want it, I’ll go get the other one—“
“Why you keep fucking with me?”
Kenny stood blocking the door. As he took a step toward me, I saw that he was holding a long knife against his leg. Instantly, I lifted the bucket of hot water and drew it back, as if to throw it.
“What the hell is the matter with you, man?” I shouted back at him. “If you take another step toward me, I’m going to throw this fucking hot water in your face and burn all of the skin off your body.” He stopped, but the commotion had attracted several other inmates, and Mr. Angland, who ran the kitchen.
“What the hell is going on here?” Angland demanded. He looked first at me, saying, “Put that bucket down!”
“Kenny’s got a knife,” I protested. “He came at me with a knife. I’m not going to put this bucket down until you take that knife from Kenny.”
Angland reached his hand out, and said, “Kenny, give me that knife.” Kenny did as he was told. He also obeyed Angland’s order to return to his ward, but not without first shooting me a menacing look.
Angland turned back to me. “I want to see you in my office, Bolden.”
When we sat down in his office, Angland started in on me. “Bolden, you know that you can’t threaten the patients around here. You know better.”
“He came at with me with a knife. What am I supposed to do? Just stand there and not defend myself because he’s a patient?”
“The way I saw it, the two of you were threatening each other,” Angland said. “You had the bucket of water and he had the knife. The two of you threatened each other and that’s what I saw.”
“But you didn’t see the whole thing,” I insisted. “I was in the back room doing my work and suddenly this guy is standing in the doorway talking about a mop bucket. I know that he’s a patient, but I’m going to protect myself. He first came at me with the knife and that’s when I picked up the bucket of hot water to throw on him.”
“Well, you can’t discipline these patients. You should have come to me. You can’t threaten these patients. I’m going to have to write you up for it,” He stated angrily.
“You can write me up all you want to, but I’m not going to stand there and let any of these patients stab or butcher me with a knife. If I could have gotten out of the room, I would have come to you, but Kenny had the door blocked, and he was talking out of his mind about a mop bucket.”
“You go back to the dormitory now. You’ll be off tomorrow. When you come in Wednesday, you, me, and Kenny will get together and straighten out this problem,” Angland concluded.
Chapter 17, pages 265, 266
A guard poked me awake with his flashlight in the early morning, told me to get dressed, and marched me deep into what seemed like the bowels of the prison. We ended up in a corridor lined on both sides with heavy steel doors. The only windows visible were the tiny viewing windows above the tray slots in each of the doors. An awful stench, and the sounds of muffled screams and sobbing, filled the corridor. I knew where I was without anyone ever telling me: the dreaded 2-1 East, the psychiatric ward.
I shot questions at the guards-Why was I there? Had I been re-classified? Did anybody seriously think there was something wrong with me? But nobody would answer my questions, telling me to talk to the doctor when he came by. The guards took my belt and my shoelaces, and put me in a small, dark cell. Amazingly, this cell was actually a physical improvement over the isolation cell; it had a window that I could open to let in fresh air and its own washroom facilities.
The door to my cell slammed shut, leaving me alone with my thoughts. The only thing I knew for certain was that I had to let Barbara and my attorney, John Hosmer, know what had happened to me. There was no way I could sit quietly while the government locked me away interminably in some kind of asylum. The situation seemed ominous.
Before long, the prison added something new to my routine. Four uniformed officers entered my cell. One of them, a particularly burly guard, carried a tray filled with tiny white paper cups.
"Medication time," he said, holding out a little cup in his big, meaty hand.
I felt suddenly weak and dizzy, as if I were caught in some terrible dream. I couldn't move or speak.
"Come on, boy. We ain't got all day," he drawled.
"There's got to be some mistake," I said. "I'm not a patient. There's got to be a mistake."
"We ain't makin' no mistake, boy. The doctor ordered this to calm you down, I guess."
Chapter 17, page 270
In the morning, as I was washing up, I smelled a faint odor of smoke. I could see no sign of fire outside my window, but through the small viewing window in the door, I thought I detected a slight haze in the air of the corridor. Suddenly, a guard rushed down the corridor, shouting “Fire! Fire in the cell block!” I heard another officer shout that one of the rooms at the end of the block was on fire, and then heard another answer that those rooms were unoccupied. Another odd and inexplicable circumstance.
The guards opened our cell doors and evacuated all of us to the dayroom. I felt so happy to be out of my little room—free, if you want to call it that, for the first time in over a week—that I didn’t react to the grotesque sight of so many drugged and possibly deranged men, dragged from their beds in various states of undress, draped over the tables and chairs. The fire was extinguished quickly, but I was allowed to linger in the dayroom for a while. As I looked around the room, I suddenly found myself staring into a familiar face. A man was gazing back at me intently, and purposefully. He didn’t seem to be over-medicated or crazy; he seemed to recognize me. It was the man who had stabbed the other inmate to death in the elevator in the basement by the officers’ kitchen.
He rose and walked to my table. I could see that he had gained some weight, and wore his hair cut much closer to his head, but it was definitely the same man.
“Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?” he asked as he sat down across from me.
“I don’t think so.”
“My name is James. What’s yours?”
Chapter 17, pages 277, 278
On September 25, 1969, with just four months to go before I would have completed my entire sentence and been freed from any further obligation to the government, I was granted parole. Of course, by paroling me, the government could keep me under their jurisdiction for another two years.
It was 3:30 in the morning when my Greyhound bus pulled into the station near Clark and Randolph Streets in Chicago. I could see the figure of a beautiful young woman, her form illuminated by the headlights of the bus, almost glowing in the fresh night air. I climbed down the steps of the bus and fell into Barbara’s arms. That embrace told me, finally, that my ordeal had come to an end.
My wife drove us south on Clark Street, crossing over to Michigan, steering us home. I remember opening the back door of my house, my own house, and being met by the happy squeals of my children, already awake and expecting me, bouncing all over the house, giggling with joy and shouting, “Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home!”
Daddy was home.
Thom Hartmann talks to Abraham Bolden, the first African American presidential Secret Service agent. (Part 2, Part 3)
After an outstanding career in law enforcement, 
After completing my assignment to the White House Detail in July of 1961, the laxity and the cavalier attitude toward their duty in regards to the protection of President Kennedy. I observed that some of the agents surrounding the president were highly racist, overconfident, and disrespectful in their comments regarding Kennedy. Moreover, the agents' disagreement with the president over his handling of the civil rights issues that were prevalent during the early 1960s infected their ability to carry out the protective duties assigned. Comments were made to the effect that if attempts were made to assassinate the president, there would be no immediate response by some members of the detail. 
