Month: February 2019

Immigration, Legislative Branch, National Security February 27, 2019March 3, 2019

Sexual Assault of Children on Our Border

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report | Perspective | February 27, 2019) – The House Family Separation Hearings this week were suffocating in the realization of how massive the family separation crisis is, how many thousands of innocent children have been emotionally, and many sexually, assaulted by staff, and the horrible prognosis this creates for their future.

How can these staggering statistics be the harsh reality that so many young children have to endure? “Follow your dreams.” … “America, the beacon of hope.” The reality is that much more perilous to cope with when idealistic youth are fleeing traumatic events, are on the run far from home, away from their families, with the only thing enabling them to persevere through the treacherous journey is the bright beacon on their horizon, endlessly pushing them forward through each and every stumbling block. But when they arrive, there’s no Lady Liberty greeting them along the Southern Border. No open arms. Just abuse .

“I’m deeply concerned with the high number of sexual assaults on unaccompanied children in the custody of the office of Refugees and Resettlement.” … “One sexual assault per week.” ~Rep Ted Deutch

“The Forced Child Separation Policy will forever be a dark time in our nation’s history. It undermines our moral standing in the world, that generations of Americans have worked so hard, and in some cases given their lives, to build.” ~Rep Ted Deutch

The facts that won’t won’t change unless we demand accountability and consequences:

systemic sexual assaults by staff on unaccompanied children
154 allegations of sexual assault reported to DOJ
1 sexual assault per week
there’s a huge problem with adults abusing children
Rep Ted Deutch is pointing out that DHS was fully aware that this was an alarming issue, that there was documented history, yet DHS still placed thousands of unaccompanied children in this dangerous environment
“the details of these sexual abuse allegations are shocking”

Tell Congress… we must move forward in demanding this threat to children be eliminated.

Guns, Legislative Branch, National Security, Public Safety February 25, 2019April 24, 2019

HR8 |Background Check House Vote Feb 27, 2019

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report | Perspective | February 25, 2019) – Following HR8’s approval by the Judiciary Committee on February 13, 2019, the Committee has moved one step further in bringing HR8 to the House floor for a full vote this week, barring any unforeseen political conflicts. However, Capitol Hill promises to be a turbulent landscape in the upcoming days, with Representatives being pulled in many important directions. Thus, timing the HR8 vote is critical. We need all the sponsors and supporters to be present for the vote, which will hopefully take place on Thursday, February 28, 2019, the 25 year anniversary of The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (the original background check bill) which went into effect on February 28, 1994. Interestingly, the initial background check legislation was first introduced in Congress by NY Representative Chuck Schumer in 1991.

The next few days on the Hill appear extremely busy:

TUESDAY Feb 26 – House vote to nullify Trump’s national emergency
- House Rules Committee Hearing on Migrant Family Separation Policy
- House Financial Services Committee Hearing with Credit Bureau CEO’s testifying
WEDNESDAY Feb 27 – Oversight Committee public hearing with Michael Cohen on Wednesday February 27, which may be the most significant event of the year if the Mueller report isn’t shared with the public
- Full House Vote on HR8 Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019

HR8 now has 232 bipartisan co-sponsors. The significant bipartisan support for the bill stems from 97% of the American public believing strongly that background checks should be required for every single gun sale. Background checks protect the public from those who seek gun ownership with ill intent. HR8 advocates simultaneously believe in the Second Amendment, and do support the right to bear arms, yet understand that common sense gun legislation makes sense. The success of our democracy stems from the fact that it’s stabilized by the rule of law. Borders and boundaries are essential. Evil exists in the world. The first three words of the Second Amendment clearly state: “A well regulated…”

HR8 | Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 Explained: On January 8, 2019 Representative Mike Thompson of California’s 5th District introduced HR8. This simple, common sense gun bill is very basic : To require a background check for every firearm sale. The current background check bill has several significant loopholes that have proven deadly. Guns sold at gun shows, and guns sold among family and friends, currently do not require background checks.

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act requires that before a firearm is purchased through a federally licensed dealer, manufacturer or importer, a background check must be performed. There are a list of nine prohibitions that would prevent approval. The operative words in the Brady Bill are “federally licensed.” Since the majority of sellers at gun shows, and on the streets, as well as family and friends, aren’t federally licensed, a loophole was soon exploited by those falling under the following nine prohibitions:

fugitive from justice
convicted in any court for a crime punishable by more than one year in prison
dishonorably discharged from military
illegal alien
user or addicted to a controlled substance
renounced citizenship
has a restraining order against them
domestic violence, convicted in any court of misdemeanor crime
in a mental institution or adjudicated as mentally defective

HR8 eliminates these existing loopholes, making it far more difficult for those who plot to harm the American public to succeed. The Second Amendment was intended for self-protection, not public annihilation.

CALL to ACTION: Contact your Congressional Representative TODAY to let them know: Yes to HR8.

https://www.house.gov/representatives | Search by name or state, must click the correct box. If not sure of Representative’s name, use the search box on top right of page
Text CHECKS to 644-33

Mueller, National Security, Russia, Trump February 24, 2019September 3, 2019

Mueller, Trump, Russia | The Enterprise Theory of Investigation (ETI)

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report | Perspective | February 24, 2019) – With the Mueller investigation wrapping up, and Mueller’s final report soon to be submitted to the Attorney General William Barr, Democrats and the American public have become worried that the report may not be released to the public, and we’ll instead have to settle for Barr’s summary, which has the potential to be very brief. In light of this possible reality, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) recently introduced S236 Special Counsel Transparency Act, a bill that would require Barr to release Mueller’s full report to the public within two weeks of its completion. Blumenthal’s S236 has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senator Lindsey Graham, for review, where it will likely die and never be heard from again.

Out of great concern that the full final report will most likely never be made public, we have to find an alternate path to uncovering as much information as possible about Trump Russia collusion, although aspects of the investigation will most surely remain classified, as should be the case considering Russia is a lethal enemy who plans to bring on our demise, and is still currently interfering in our democracy. But with so much information already in the public domain, which has resulted in a mountain of dots that we’ve been able to accumulate through:

countless news articles
best selling books
interviews
podcasts
Town Hall meetings
live video streams
youtube videos
public conversations

…we the public have the ability on our own to fit together these puzzle pieces and finally comprehend the expansive breadth and depth of Russia’s interference in our election, and the Trump campaign’s collusion with Russia. With this many details though, and the landscape being as massive as it is, it’s been tricky connecting the many thousands of intricate pieces.

Right in time, fired FBI Director Andrew G. McCabe’s best selling book, The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump, was released Friday February 22, 2018, and this has changed everything. We now have the framework we need to connect all the puzzle pieces. We can finally see the whole giant picture that previously had just been a jumbled mess of dots.

McCabe shares with the public detailed information about the FBI’s Enterprise Theory of Investigation (ETI) which appears to be the map Mueller has been using to investigate and prosecute Trump Russia collusion in the 2016 presidential election. The Enterprise Theory of Investigation is what the FBI uses to investigate and prosecute organized criminal enterprises such as the Mafia and Drug Cartels. ETI came to be following the U.S. Congress passing the 1970 Organized Crime Control Act which included the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations provision (RICO). Once this unique investigative process was established, the FBI was able to succeed at bringing down organized crime syndicates.

Again, it appears that the map Mueller has been following with his investigation was the organized criminal enterprise road map, the ETI.

“The ETI encourages a proactive attack on the structure of the criminal enterprise. Rather than viewing criminal acts as isolated crimes, the ETI attempts to show that individuals commit crimes in furtherance of the criminal enterprise itself.” ~Richard A. McFeely, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin

“Enterprise Theory is to investigation as grammar is to language. Without grammar, language would be a sprawling mush of verbiage.” ~ Andrew G. McCabe, The Threat

There are specific requisites for an organization to be deemed criminal by the FBI:

collection of individuals
with a hierarchy
participating in extensive criminal activity

Interestingly, the head of the crime organization doesn’t have to actually commit any of the crimes to be prosecuted for them. In fact, each member of the organization is guilty of all the crimes whether or not a specific individual was the one who actually carried them out.

Once it’s been established that the group is a criminal organization, the FBI determines the scope using historic and current evaluations. Association evidence is critical. From there, investigators:

follow the money
attack the flow of money
asset forfeiture
make use of money laundering statutes

The scope of the Trump Russian collusion to interfere in the U.S. presidential election and undermine our democracy is vast. The following is a list of those who have either been convicted, plead guilty or charged in the Mueller investigation:

CONVICTED: Paul Manafort
PLEAD GUILTY: Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, Rick Gates, Alex van der Zwaan, George Papadopulous, Richard Pinedo
CHARGED/INDICTED: 13 Russian nationals & 3 entities, 12 Russian military intel officers, Konstantin Kilimnik, Roger Stone

To connect all these named criminals so that the jumbled collusion mess makes sense, the following short list of best-selling books contain thousands of dots of information that when read and plotted along the ETI framework seems to be the equivalent of what the Mueller report might have looked like.

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership | James Comey
Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump | David Corn, Michael Isikoff
Proof of Collusion: How Trump Betrayed America | Seth Abramson
Fear: Trump in the Whitehouse | Bob Woodward
Facts and Fears: Hard Truths From a Life In Intelligence | James R. Clapper
The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security In An Age Of Lies | Michael V. Hayden
The Threat: How the FBI Protects America In The Age Of Terror and Trump | Andrew G. McCabe

If it turns out that Mueller’s final report isn’t released to the public after all, we’ll be okay thanks to the extensive reporting across more than two years, combined with the structure necessary to connect all the dots. Thus, it appears that Mueller’s report is already hiding in plain sight.

Health, Legislative Branch February 22, 2019September 3, 2019

Pain Management | Begins With Strong Immune System

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report | Perspective | February 21, 2019) – The opioid crisis in America, has reached a fevered pitch following 70,000 drug overdose deaths in 2017. There’s now strong bipartisan zeal to dissect the components and qualities of pain, so that our congressional leaders will have a better understanding of how to find alternatives to opioids in fighting pain.

“I think we need public education about pain, and the fact that pain is a disease itself.” ~ Ms. Cindy Steinberg, AHIP statement for Senate Hearing on “Managing Pain During the Opioid Crisis”

“Pain is the leading reason for patients seeking medical care and is one of the most disabling, burdensome, and costly conditions.” ~National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI), U.S. National Library of Medicine

First, there are different pain levels. The Numeric Rating Scale was created for people 10 years old and older:

0 | No Pain
1–3 | Level 1 – Mild Pain, annoying but doesn’t interfere with daily activities
4–6 | Level 2 – Moderate Pain, increases substantially with daily activities
7–10 | Level 3 – Severe Pain, incapable of performing daily activities

Second, there are different pain components.

Sensory discriminative component. How our brain analyzes the pain we feel… it’s location, intensity, continuance, and features.
Emotional component. Our pain level is often associated more or less by emotions such as fear, anger, loss of control over the situation, helplessness and dread.
Autonomic component. Pain results in reactions inside our bodies to various systems such as the autonomic nervous system, which in turn results is feelings of nauseousness, increased blood pressure as well as heart rate.
Motor component. Our reflexes when we experience pain: protective reflexes such as pulling our hand away from something very hot like an iron, changing postures, relieving muscle strain.
Cognitive component. Pain is characterized based on past experiences, observations or research.

Third, there are different qualities of pain.

Superficial. Pain that is on the exterior of our bodies, on the skin. There’s both acute superficial pain and deep superficial pain. Deep superficial pain often prompts defensive reflexes.
Deep. Joints, skeletal muscle, bones, and connective tissue. Challenging to find the source.
Intestinal. Strong and dull rather than sharp. Symptoms include sweating, nausea and a strong sensation of feeling sick.

Fourth, there is a psychological aspect to pain that impacts the pain level. The psychology of pain is so complex, that there are literally millions of books written on the subject in the hopes we could master it. Yet, the opioid crisis underscores how little we understand pain despite all the information available to us. For example, how are some able to acquire a “high tolerance of pain,” and is this ability linked to positive thinking and or compartmentalization? Mind over matter? Some can walk on coals. Mind power seems to matter in managing pain.

Below is a brief analysis provided by a test subject, a middle aged woman who’s very active, and a runner, a woman who should be suffering from arthritis based on family history, yet she has none, in fact she experiences very little pain (somewhere between 0 and Level 1, she says she has a slight bump in pain level when she walks several miles in the city in her dress boots). Anecdotal examples such as these are only that… a seeming clue based on one test subject that indicates there are indeed healthy daily habits that we can incorporate into our lives that can dramatically alleviate the presence of pain in our lives.

Building a strong immune system. The front line offense for healthy living and minimal pain is a strong personal immune system. Why do most animals seem so healthy despite the many toxins in the environment? It appears animals have supersonic immune systems. They don’t go to doctors. They don’t take medication. It’s rare to see animals limping or howling in pain. So how do they do it?

The key elements in building a strong immune system, recommended by our female test subject, are below. Interestingly, these are the same ideal personal daily habits we’ve all learned in school, and grew up hearing from our parents, basics that our doctors recommended at every visit. Imagine.

Deep sleep – many people can sleep for eight hours but never reach deep sleep. This is also the challenge with sleeping aids, the inability to reach REM sleep. Eye shields seem like magic, they make deep sleep achievable every single night. Also, no sugar after 3:00 PM. Thirty minutes of exercise every single day.
Daily exercise – a minimum of 30 minutes of brisk walking is ideal. Weight management is important when trying to minimize pain. Weight in itself can be a contributing factor in pain intensity.
Daily vitamin – the basic 100% level for all the essential vitamins; since so many vitamins these days carry an excessive amount of extra dosage, stunning percents such as 1500% RDA, our test source recommends children’s vitamins which have a max of 100%.
Healthy eating – Organic fruits, vegetables, grains, very little dairy, white meat as a condiment, purified water, very little sugar, no trans fats.
Sunflower Seeds – 1/4 cup a day, serotonin boost that will help with positive thinking.
Garlic – one clove of fresh garlic pressed into 1/4 cup of purified water, heated in microwave for 43 seconds, add a dash of cold water so it can be chugged quickly (it tastes terrible), chase with something delicious. Garlic has been an ancient cure for 4,000 years. It strengthens the immune system, cures, diseases, can be used topically on any type of would as well as bug bites and poison ivy. Used during World War I & II to fight gangrene. Amazingly, one whole bulb of fresh garlic is only, which typically has 5 – 10 cloves, only costs .59 cents
Positive thinking – Mind over matter has worked for millenniums. Compartmentalization. It’s impossible to think two thoughts at the same time. So, if thinking positive happy thoughts, you can’t think of pain at the same time. You’re tricking yourself. Music often helps.

In short, deep sleep, healthy eating, garlic, and walking everyday, seem very manageable, inexpensive and honestly… downright simple when it comes to managing pain. Try for yourself and after a few months, please let us know how it’s working for you.

Legislative Branch, National Security, Russia, Trump February 21, 2019March 3, 2019

2012 GOP Emails | Have these been investigated? The prababilties

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report | Perspective | February 21, 2019) – With the Mueller Investigation ending as soon as next week, and with the recent understanding that the GOP emails hacked by Russia but never released, were likely used to blackmail GOP leaders, particularly Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and should be investigated. It seems that the most likely GOP emails hacked by Russia, emails that would make ideal blackmail material, are the ones from 2012, in addition to the time leading up to 2012 and year following.

On January 10, 2017 – FBI Director James Comey informed Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that in the spring of 2016, at the same time the DNC email servers were penetrated by Russian hackers, the RNC was also hacked, along with state level GOP organizations. Apparently, the RNC intrusion was an older server that was no longer in use, thus the emails mined were dated earlier than those confiscated from the DNC. No dates were shared with the public during Comey’s Intelligence hearing, other than Comey using phrases such as “not current” and “old stuff,” implying that the email dates were prior to January 2015. Coming using the words “state level GOP organizations” seems to imply GOP organizations connected with the presidential election, since these emails might be particularly inviting to Russian hackers, something we can identify with following the GOP stunts we learned of during the 2018 midterm elections.

Since the public is now fully aware of Russia’s laser-focus on U.S. presidential elections, it seems logical to hypothesize that Russia would hit pay dirt mining GOP servers from 2012 during Obama’s re-election campaign. In fact, Mitch McConnell appeared to be on a one-man mission to make “Obama a one-term president.” Further, 2012 was a very turbulent year, filled with numerous heart-wrenching tragedies that kept the American public riveted on the presidential candidate’s reactions to these emotional headlines as well as other big-named congressional leader’s responses.

If Russia wanted to blackmail GOP leaders, would they target Mitch McConnell? Yes, of course. Would they begin their search by Googling every major news headline of 2012, along with the search words “Mitch McConnell” and see what comes up? And then hunt for emails that add new meaning to the headlines? Most likely.

So what were the biggest news stories of 2012? Can Representative Adam Schiff of the House Intelligence Committee meet with the FBI behind closed doors to sift through these emails. Apparently, the FBI knows the dates of the stolen emails.

The following are several of the top 2012 new headlines that help paint a picture of what types of GOP emails Russian hackers may have uncovered during their deep dive into the RNC servers and several state GOP Orginizations servers:

Aurora theater massacre, July 20, 2012 |New York Magazine July 20, 2012, Twelve Killed, Dozens Injured in Midnight Massacre at Dark Knight Rises Premier in Colorado [Updated] – “…’We were maybe 20 or 30 minutes into the movie and all you hear, first you smell smoke, everybody thought it was fireworks or something like that, and then you just see people dropping and the gunshots are constant,’ said witness Christ Jones, speaking to Denver ABC affiliate KMGH. ‘I heard at least 20 to 30 rounds within that minute or two.’ Eyewitnesses described Holmes as wearing a bulletproof vest…” Were the any emails between the NRA and the GOP following this horrific massacre.
Benghazi, September 11, 2012 |The Washington Times, July 19, 2016 Mitch McConnell brushes aside boos – “CLEVELAND — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell launched an all-out assault on presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton late Tuesday and said the only way to repeal Obamacare, realign the Supreme Court and defund Planned Parenthood is to elect Donald Trump, even as members of his own caucus steer clear of the nominating festivities.Mr. McConnell brushed aside a cascade of boos from the convention hall and doled out a bit of payback for years of political jockeying with Mrs. Clinton and her famous husband, starting with their attempts to unseat him in Kentucky…” There are likely more than a million GOP emails on this subject alone.
Hurricane Sandy, October 29, 2012 |Huffington Post October 28, 2013, GOP Senators Who Opposed Sandy Relief Aid Fundraise Around One-Year Anniversary Of Storm – “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen Tom Coburn (R-OK) may have opposed Hurricane Sandy recovery funding, but that reportedly did not stop them from visiting the northeast to raise money on the eve of the disastrous storm’s anniversary…”
Obama re-elected, November 6, 2012| Time August 23, 2012 “…It reveals some of my reporting on the Republican plot to obstruct President Obama before he even took office, including secret meetings led by House GOP whip Eric Cantor (in December 2008) and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (in early January 2009) in which they laid out their daring (though cynical and political) no-honeymoon strategy of all-out resistance to a popular President-elect during an economic emergency. ‘If he was for it,’ former Ohio Senator George Voinovich explained, ‘we had to be against it.’ The excerpt includes a special bonus nugget of Mitt Romney dissing the Tea Party…” Millions of emails from McConnell regrading Obama. McConnell was the arch-obstructionist, Obama’s greatest nemesis.
Sandy Hook massacre, December 14, 2012 |Boston Globe, April 10, 2013, Conley hits McConnell over gun control filibuster – “Conley singled out the Republican senator from Kentucky on Tuesday and urged him to ‘stop playing games’ and allow a vote on the bill. McConnell has said that he would join a group of 13 other Republican senators to filibuster a gun control bill that Democrats plan to bring to the Senate floor Thursday.” Did Russian hackers uncover emails between the NRA, the RNC and McConnell expressing that if McConnell wanted any NRA money for his 2014 re-election campaign, he better filibuster the gun control bill, endorsed by traumatized Sandy Hook parents, that was proceeding through Congress. The majority of Americans can visualize these types of emails existing.

With the Mueller investigation concluding, Adam Schiff will now be taking the reins of investigating Russia’s meddling in our American elections, we must call congress and request that Schiff investigate the potential Russian blackmailing of GOP leaders in an effort to influence the American Legislative agenda.

Ethics, Legislative Branch, Supreme Court February 19, 2019March 3, 2019

The Impeachment of Supreme Court Associate Justice

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report) – Since history does seem to repeat itself, the past becomes quite useful in providing valuable precedents that can be used to guide America two hundred years later.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Chase from Maryland – aka Old Bacon Face – a two term member of the Continental Congress and signer of the Declaration of Independence, was appointed to the Supreme Court by George Washington on January 26, 1796. Those were stressful years back at the very beginning of the great American experiment. Two political parties had emerged in less than ten years of the 1st Congress, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. John Adams, second American president and an ardent Federalist, was a strong supporter of hardline Federalist Samuel Chase. Old Bacon Face was an insufferable partisan though, one who boomed his extreme political opinions from the bench. The refined Democratic-Republican gentlemen of the South were aghast at Chase’s abrasive temperament and overt partisanship and accused him of promoting a political agenda through his rulings rather than applying wise impartiality based on Constitutional law.

The bitter conflict reached a crescendo when third President Thomas Jefferson arrived at the “President’s House” on March 4, 1801. Jefferson was so outraged at former president John Adams’ last minute attempt to diminish the power of the Executive Branch by granting increased power to the Judicial Branch through the Judiciary Act of 1801, which went into effect on March 3, 1801, Adams last day in office, that Jefferson was on an immediate mission to repeal the Act. Within 19 days, Jefferson successfully removed the “midnight judges” despite the fact that they’d been appointed for life by the Adams Administration. It was a vicious first chapter of our three branches of government, very similar to several hellacious extremes during the 2018 midterms.

Jefferson was leery of any Federalist partisan hardliner pushing the party’s political agenda from the Supreme Court bench, especially a Justice as loud and turbulent as Samuel Chase. On March 12, 1804, led by Representative John Randolph of Roanoke, Virginia, a close ally of Jefferson, the House voted to impeach Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Chase for political bias. The examples cited:

declining to dismiss biased jurors
excluding or limiting defense witnesses in two political cases
“behaving in an arbitrary, oppressive and unjust way by announcing his legal interpretation on the law of treason before defense counsel had been heard”

In January 1805, when the Senate tried Federalist Justice Chase, he defended himself by claiming he was being punished for his political convictions rather than any real crime or misdemeanor. The Senate acquitted Samuel Chase on all eight counts, despite the majority voting in favor of impeaching on three of the eight, however they needed a 2/3 majority to prevail. Old Bacon Face remained in office until his death in 1811.

The Samuel Chase impeachment proceedings in Congress were the third impeachment proceedings in the fifteen short years since the start of the 1st Congress. Back at the beginning it seems, our Representatives were extremely tenacious, and apparently relished the opportunity to protect our nation’s principles no matter how tedious the process… after all, American democracy was just an experiment that so few expected to succeed, thus it seemed that everyone was determined to exert the maximum effort required to triumph.

Executive Branch, Legislative Branch, National Security, Trump February 17, 2019March 3, 2019

National Emergency | Continuity of Government Protocols

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report) – The safety and well-being of Americans from coast to coast, and living around the world, is of paramount importance. The annual federal dollars budgeted for protecting Americans and our borders is staggering:

DHS | $47.5 billion
FBI | $8.77 billion
US Intelligence | $57.7 billion
DOD | $639.1 billion
SD| $90.3 billion
FEMA | $18 billion
TOTAL | $861.37 billion

States also have significant budgets allocations for protecting citizens. Safety and security is clearly a priority.

The standard continuity of government protocols for national emergencies involves our nation’s top ten leaders shifting into “emergency” response. There are strict guidelines to follow. For example, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack:

President Bush was stuck on a plane in the air with all airports closed
Vice President Cheney made a decision to stay in communication with key decision makers and thus did not fall back to his secure site
House Speaker Denny Hastert was immediately take to underground bunker in the mountains
Attorney General John Ashcroft was on a government plane, he requested that it be turned around and return to Washington, but the FAA would not authorize
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield refused to obey the response protocols and instead rushed to the Pentagon’s crash sight and tried to rescue the injured
Several of the 10 in line to the president were out of the country and could not follow the proper procedure
Several others were never contacted

On Friday February 15, 2019 President Trump held an erratic press conference in the Rose Garden to announce his “national emergency.” Most described it as a wild fifty minutes of Trump switching from one topic to the next, without rhyme or reason, ending with a final comment, “I didn’t need to do this .” Then, instead of following the standard continuity of government protocols, Trump hopped on Air Force One and beelined it to Mar-a- Lago for a luxurious weekend of golf.

Texts from the twin towers on September 11, 2001, a real national emergency, were heart wrenching. The last thoughts from thousands who were about to die. The following is an example of what a real national emergency sounds and feels like from those caught in the crosshairs:

Several National Emergency hashtags have been lighting up Twitter all day, #FAKENationalEmergency and #NotesFromNationalEmergency:

In memory of the thousands killed in past, real national emergencies, and the agonizing internal wounds of family members that will never heal, it’s disgraceful that an American president would pull a stunt like this and label it a national emergency when doing so traumatizes those who’ve suffered through the tormenting real deal. This is shameful.

Guns, Legislative Branch, National Security, Public Safety February 13, 2019September 3, 2019

HR8 Passes Judiciary Committee | 1st Time Gun Legislation Passes in Two Decades

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report) – It took all day, and well into the evening, but patience did not disappoint. HR8 was approved by the House Judiciary Committee and will now move forward to the House floor for a full vote. This typically takes place within 100 days of being approved by the Committee. We should know the outcome by early May. From there it proceeds to the Senate floor for another full vote. The Senate will be a much tougher battle of course, however, HR8 has 231 bipartisan cosponsors so there is much hope it will pass the Senate as well.

HR8 Explained: On January 8, 2019 Representative Mike Thompson of California’s 5th District introduced HR8: Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019. This simple, common sense gun bill is very basic : To require a background check for every firearm sale.

Many more calls to Congress are necessary these next 100 days. Let’s mark our calendars now. One call per week for next 14 weeks.

CALL to ACTION: Contact your Congressional Representative TODAY to let them know: Yes to HR8.

https://www.house.gov/representatives | Search by name or state, must click the correct box. If not sure of Representative’s name, use the search box on top right of page
Text CHECKS to 644-33

Budget, History, Legislative Branch February 12, 2019March 3, 2019

It Took Congress 76 Years to Approve Washington Monument

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report) – It takes an excruciating long time for Congress to hammer out deals. Period. It’s been this way since the first Congress was sworn in on March 4, 1789. There’s no better example of this painstaking political process in a democracy, than the Washington Monument. In fact, the Washington Monument’s regal position smack in the center of National Mall facing the United States Capitol, seems to be a valiant tribute, a constant reminder, of Congress’s eternal battle to collect the many different points of view, persevere with noble determination, slow and steady to the bitter end, when a resilient compromise can finally be reached and delivered to the American people.

It’s much like alchemy. Lots of passionate fire, hammering and molding until the original material is completely transformed into valuable treasure.

George Washington, victorious general who overcame impossible odds in defeating the most powerful army on earth, with his ragtag team of militia, along with support from French allies, to liberate the colonies from British tyranny and become the United States of America. Our two term first president. Farmer. Statesman. Freemason. George Washington died on December 14, 1799, just two weeks shy of a new century. The country was in shock. We were so young. No one was sure if the “American experiment” would make it. But the one thing that every single solitary American was 100% certain of, was that we would build a magnificent statue or monument to honor and pay homage to this incredibly honorable, patriotic Founding Father.

Congress immediately set forth to pass a bill for just such a purpose. Our nation’s new capitol would be opening in Washington DC in 1800. The buildings were far behind schedule, the roads were a muddy mess, this dream looked impossible, yet the monument to George Washington was resolute. With every single member of congress for the bill, backed by every single citizen of America (save for a few hidden loyalists), how could it possibly take 76 years (July 5, 1876) for this bill to pass in Congress?

The devil is in the details. No one could agree on the design.

The Washington Monument should memorialize for Congress that they are indeed alchemists. That there will always be fire, and grit, scrupulous effort, give and take, to eventually arrive at a workable compromise. There are just so many different perspectives in a nation as massive as ours. Thus, we can never shutdown our government out of frustration over this eternal process. Battles to pass bills are the best examples of what democracy looks and feels like. Huzzah!

Climate Change, Environment, Legislative Branch February 9, 2019March 3, 2019

Weekend Climate Change Fight Plan

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report) – Every Friday, from this day forward, we need to take a moment while chilling after work, and figure out what efforts we can exert over the weekend to aggressively fight the effects of climate change. This should become our new normal, the same way we tackle our other house chores, yard work, and exercise routines. Climate change isn’t going away, it’s only going to get worse.

Typically we feel a great sense of pride when we finish that weekend project. Painting the den. Working in the garden or mowing the lawn. Completing an oil painting. Expanding the family tree on Ancestry.com. Carving out family time for tackling climate change every single weekend will make so much sense once we start. It’ll feel very similar to buying a pet. One day there’s no pet, and the next day there is. The family has to launch immediately. All hands on deck.

Wednesday February 6, 2019, was a significant day on Capitol Hill. The House Natural Resource Committee held it’s first hearing on climate change in more than a decade. Witnesses pleaded their case in support of immediate and aggressive action by Congress to stem the violent and deadly force of climate change. Even the Republicans were convinced in the mandate that Congress has to take action.

Way out in front leading the conversation, was the Governor of North Carolina. North Carolina knows all to well the importance of taking climate change seriously. In September 2018, it was pummeled by Hurricane Florence so massive, it walloped 6 trillion gallons of rain across major sections of the congested coastline turning miles of I-40 into a river, causing $17 Billion in damage. Thirty-six people were killed. The forceful winds and drenching rains reeked havoc more then 100 miles inland, pounding two of the nations largest military bases located in Fayetteville, NC. There’s nothing like the voice of experience to drive home the point about the importance of taking aggressive action in battling the effect of climate change. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is a man on a mission, noting that the state just suffered two “once every 500 years” storms.

“I urge congress… to match the level determination brought to recovery efforts in our fight to reduce the effects of climate change.” ~Gov Roy Cooper (D-NC)

Cimate change is the great equalizer. It effects every single one of us, and it will take every single one of us to curb the brutal impact of an angry Mother Nature.

This weekend’s Climate Change efforts to choose from. These are very simple. It’s okay to choose all: