WikiLeakage

There’s a lot to be disturbed about–from national-security scenarios and compromised individuals to media responsibility and hypocrisy–over that cache of confidential diplomatic cables publicly exposed by WikiLeaks.

Ironically, in the name of “exposing” big government, WikiLeaks also exposed itself. It’s not about whistle-blowing and keeping government honest. It’s a narcissistic, conscience-challenged, pseudo-revolutionary hacker outfit that cares much more about its disingenuous, headline-hunting agenda than concern over imperiling lives–directly and indirectly–and compromising sovereign relationships. 

Actually, WikiLeaks might have impressed more than just budding anarchists–and possibly done something of merit–had they had the zeal, guts, commitment and contacts to not limit themselves to the accommodating West. America, like all countries, necessarily traffics in confidential diplomatic cables. It’s fundamental to information collection. It would be betraying American interests were it not to.

But America is easily targeted; it’s the most open society in the world. Imagine if WikiLeaks had outted some nefarious agendas emanating out of Tehran, Pyongyang or Beijing. But that would require a level playing field and a purpose beyond intimidating sensationalism. That’s not the purview of terrorists.

It’s hardly surprising, alas, that major media, which gave purloined and exposed embassy cables their gravitas legs and extended exposure, have not accepted responsibility. This, after all, was an act of sabotage. But not to, among others, the self-serving New York Times. “Just doing our job,” it has, in effect, reminded those who question, “but we’re doing it very, very carefully. Sure, it’s classified information, and sure some of its revelations could blow some covers, endanger some people and unravel critically sensitive international relations, but we’ll be the judge of that, thank you.”

Perhaps the Times is still in over-reaction mode to what Judith Miller did for the Bush Administration in 2003. Miller was the one who helped make the case, as only an ambitious reporter with the high-profile, high-credibility NYT can, that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and needed a good invasion and regime change.

One other point. It’s mystifying–and scary–how easily accessible this sensitive, government material has been to low-level functionaries. There are national security “loopholes”?

The Greco Factor

Sunday’s Tampa Tribune included a major piece on Dick Greco and his impact on Tampa’s mayoral race. A comment by Todd Pressman, a veteran political consultant and lobbyist who thinks Greco is the one to beat, was sobering.

“This is going to be the biggest political blood-letting in years,” he predicted.

Maybe Pressman was trafficking in quotable, political hyperbole. It’s been known to happen. But if Pressman is on the money, this could be depressing. Especially after what we just went through in the last cycle. Especially for an election that is non-partisan, although everybody knows who’s a Republican, who’s a Democrat and who’s a “Democrat.”

If this gets truly sanguinary, it would mean an all-call for “new blood.” It won’t be nuanced, and it won’t be nice. Ad hominem broadsides never are. Especially those lobbed in by surrogates.

Tampa doesn’t need that. Any more than the ostensible front runner does.

Some Still Don’t Get The Drill

At one point, not that long ago, there was a hotly contested debate reflecting a basic difference of opinion about drilling off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida. Yes, it was politically and ideologically driven, but there were partisans with points. Drilling ever closer to Florida was either an obvious energy option given volatile foreign-oil scenarios and domestic jobs implications or it was an unnecessary and unacceptable environmental risk. Reasonable people–not just the usual strident suspects–could disagree.

In fact, back in March President Barack Obama, hardly a “drill, baby, drill” true believer, proposed opening up another 25 million acres in the gulf and shrinking the buffer around the Tampa Bay area to 125 miles.

And then, courtesy of BP and the Deepwater Horizon spill, came 172 million gallons of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and on to the Louisiana coast and Panhandle beaches. The impact on sea grasses and fisheries won’t be known for some time. The impact on fisherman and the hospitality industry is substantial. The impact on Florida’s brand name has been obvious — from beach-resort cancellations to diminished Gulf shrimp and oyster sales.

So it should come as no surprise that post-Deepwater Horizon, the president has reversed himself and the current ban on drilling along the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf moratorium off Florida will be maintained. This keeps drilling 234 miles from Tampa Bay and 125 miles south of the Panhandle for another dozen years. This is no time for pragmatic politics or coastal compromise we can believe in. This is about common sense and protecting Florida.

It’s about economic reality and environmental stewardship. They are complementary.

Keith Overton, chief operating officer of the TradeWinds Island Resorts on St. Pete Beach addressed the former. “Why risk a $65-billion industry for $700 million a year in new revenue?” asked Overton. “It doesn’t make sense.”

Tampa lawyer Steve Yerrid, Florida’s special counsel on oil matters, spoke to the latter. “For us, it would be a death blow if we had an environmental disaster on the west coast of Florida. We got a glimpse into the nightmare. I don’t think we have to live the whole thing.”

But try making that argument–that drilling is inherently too risky for a state synonymous with beaches and tourists and reliant on an uncompromised ecosystem–to Florida’s Gov.-elect, Rick Scott, or incoming Sen. Marc Rubio. Unconscionably, but not uncharacteristically, they still miss the merit in Obama’s ban, most notably in the east Gulf. They would rather reference their knee-jerk, GOPster talking points. They both oppose Obama’s off-shore-drilling reversal–primarily in the name of job creation and de-regulation.  It’s as if Deepwater Horizon had never happened.

Would that the last election had never happened.

Speaking of, re-elected Rep. Kathy Castor is wasting no time making the case for a trend-busting Democrat incumbent. She has introduced legislation that would help insure that the lion’s share of money paid out by BP in fines and penalties would go where it belongs–to Gulf Coast states to address the still incalculable oil-related damage to the environment and economy. And, yes, she could use a Senate sponsor.

Dressed To Kill

Hard to believe that a First Amendment issue has spun off of that brutal double-murder in Ruskin on Thanksgiving Day. The one where the alleged murderer opened fire after ordering several card-playing men to lie down on a porch. According to authorities, the arrested suspect was wearing a black T-shirt or vest with “SHERIFF” emblazoned in big letters across the front.

Perfectly legal. Wearing law enforcement gear is not against the law. The wearer has to be actually identifying himself as a law enforcement officer to be against the law. Can’t, presumably, be responsible for what others might infer.     

Such fake garb is readily available–from military surplus stores to EBay. Legally, it’s just another form of faux uniform. Not unlike a Bucs or Rays or Lightning jersey. A way of showing support or allegiance. It’s been called a free-speech issue.

That’s not how it’s being referenced in Ruskin.

Wear an old Warren Sapp jersey. We get that. Sort of. But a “SHERIFF” shirt that looks authentic because it probably is?

Free speech, of necessity, travels a circuitous route. Let the Luke Lirots, for example, make their self-serving case for strippers. That’s First Amendment distortion enough and nobody gets hurt, although such an application was likely not what the Confounding Fathers had in mind.

But walking around wearing law-enforcement gear? That’s not a shout-out for the sheriff. That’s crossing the line between freedom of expression and officer impersonation. Ban it–instead of banishing common sense.

Sports Shorts

* Much has been made of the Rays’ attendance, which is 22nd out of 30 Major League Baseball teams, as well as the myriad reasons–ranging from few corporate headquarters to a dated facility in a logistically-challenging part of a relatively small market.

But for those looking for signs of above average interest in the Rays, they need only consult television ratings. The Rays were 5th out of 30 MLB teams, with a 5.9 local TV rating, according to Sports Business Daily. They’re watching–just not from inside the Trop.

* Hard to believe, but in a time of war we still hear athletes referred to as “warriors” and “heroes.” But check this one out for outrageousness. Former University of Miami and current New York Giant defensive back Antrel Rolle criticized fans who booed the Giants recent effort against Jacksonville. But he did so by directly analogizing the playing of a game with the fighting of a war. Said Rolle: “We risk ourselves out there on the field each and every day also. When soldiers come home from Iraq, you don’t boo them.”

Quoteworthy

* “We all know that it was the arms race that led to the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Russia is not ready financially for a new arms race.”–Irina Kobrinskaya, political analyst with the Institute of World Economy and International Relations at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

* “In American revolutions, power generally flows to moderate revolutionaries. Sam Adams may get things started, but it is John who gets things done.”–Michael Gerson, Washington Post.

* “I’ve written this book because I recognize there’s no such thing as accurate, short-term history. I want to give future historians a perspective: mine.”–Former President George W. Bush on the publication of his book “Decision Points.”

* “We need to finish our work in Iraq, which still has the potential to be a long-term game-changer in the Arab-Muslim world, but we need to get out of Afghanistan–even if it entails risks–because we can’t afford to spend $190 million a day to bring its corrupt warlords from the 15th to the 19th century.”–Thomas Friedman, New York Times.

* “It’s like you cease to belong.”–Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., who lost his bid for the Senate, on the status of lame duck House members.

* “Arizona is now the model when it comes to knives.”–Todd Rathner, lobbyist for Knife Rights Inc., on Arizona’s recent blade-friendly legislation.

* “If you drink a 24-ounce can of (alcoholic energy drink) Four Loko in one hour, that’s almost like drinking a full six-pack of beer in an hour. You have that caffeine making you more alert, so you keep drinking. It’s like the worst of the worst things you can do.”–Glenn Whalen, assistant professor at the University of South Florida College of Pharmacy.

* “For us, it would be a death blow if we had an environmental disaster on the west coast of Florida. We got a glimpse into the nightmare. I don’t think we have to live the whole thing.”–Steve Yerrid, special council on oil-related matters for Florida.

*”They keep saying he’s not a very good candidate, and he keeps winning.”–University of Central Florida political scientist Aubrey Jewett on Florida’s Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.

* “Voters in the eastern part of our own county said, ‘wait a minute’ because the anti-rail folks were very effective at making this ‘a tax for rail in Tampa.’ And they are the ones that really drilled down ‘It’s us versus them,’ which I’ve never bought into.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe.

* “He’s a consensus builder. We really need that.” Recent State House District 47 GOP candidate Irene Guy on the formal entrance of Dick Greco into Tampa’s mayoral race.

* “He (Greco) could win. I have no doubt about it.”–Jan Platt, who lost to Greco in 1995.

* “When I am mayor of Tampa, I fully hope to tap into Dick Greco’s great charisma to be an ambassador for our city. But I really don’t want him running it.”–Tampa mayoral candidate Ed Turanchik.

* “Nostalgia only goes so far.”–Tampa mayoral candidate Bob Buckhorn.

* “I’m not sure that he (Greco) understands the ramifications of not having any money to do anything. He enjoyed the big projects.”–Tampa mayoral candidate Tom Scott.

* “To me, he’s a pro coach. College is a lot of babysitting, making sure guys go to class, all that stuff. It’s not all about football. And Jon is all football.” Bucs’ linebacker Barrett Ruud on Jon Gruden.

Security Breaches Did In JFK

Last week’s column took a retrospective look at President John F. Kennedy, the converted Cold Warrior who never got to realize his evolving peace agenda and plans for a Vietnam troop withdrawal.

This week: a look back at how his history-changing assassination could have been avoided by better security. It’s prompted by more than the recent anniversary of that horrific event. It’s also a reaction to yet another Kennedy assassination book: Kennedy Detail by former Secret Service agents Clint Hill and Jerry Blaine. Hill was the agent who climbed aboard the presidential limousine after JFK had been shot and crawled along the trunk till he reached the back seat. He had been riding in the follow-up car.

In various interviews, including one on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Mathews, the agents, still visibly shattered nearly a half century later, acknowledge regrettably that nothing else could have been done that fateful day in Dallas. Even, as Hill maintained, had he actually been stationed on the back of the limousine, the line of fire would still have been unimpeded.

By the way, it was Kennedy’s preference that agents not always station themselves on his motorcade limo. And it was Kennedy’s call not to use the “bubble” top, which wasn’t bullet-proof. Technically, however, the Secret Service can countermand a president’s preference on security if it literally involves his safety. Harry Truman, in fact, once remarked: “The Secret Service was the only boss that the president of United States really had.”

But there remains something critically relevant unstated–and unasked. And you don’t have to be a conspiracy buff, a hard-core revisionist or even Chris Mathews to ask it. Why wasn’t more done BEFORE Kennedy came to Dallas, by then notoriously dubbed the “Hate Capital of Dixie”?

Keep in mind that at literally the last minute, Kennedy had to call off his planned trip to Chicago on Nov. 2. The reason: The Secret Service had arrested two members of a four-man sniper team suspected of plans to kill the president. The other two had escaped.

That was the dodged bullet.

Then just days before Dallas–Nov. 18–rumors were rife about an assassination attempt on Kennedy in Tampa. Unprecedented security, culled from the region and various bureaucracies to complement TPD, was implemented to protect the president, whose motorcade would pass by, among other buildings, the relatively high-rise Floridan Hotel. The likely M.O. of a potential assassin–or assassins–was known.

But JFK still went to Texas–to help mediate a Democratic Party feud between Gov. John Connolly and Sen. Ralph Yarborough and to help retain its 25 tenuous electoral votes in 1964. And despite a number of well-documented premonitions and dire warnings about Dallas, including one from United Nations Ambassador Adlai Stevenson, who had been manhandled and spat upon in Dallas a few weeks prior.

It was a pragmatic, political given that the Texas trip had to happen. But given the Chicago and Tampa foreshadowings, how do you permit understaffed security, unmonitored buildings, an unobstructed target and a motorcade route that needed to slow to a virtual stop to make its Dealey Plaza dogleg turn? That’s why the competence of the Secret Service was criticized in the 1979 report of the House Select Committee on Assassinations.

And while we’re asking, how is it that the only “Secret Service” presence near the grassy knoll was an imposter with Secret Service credentials sufficient to fool police?

Indeed, the die had been tragically cast by the time Agent Hill raced bravely to Kennedy’s limo. But the time for something to have been done had fatefully–and negligently–passed.

Schmooze-Control Icon

It was vintage Dick Greco. Even his formal, mayor-candidacy announcement had one-of-a kind trappings. He was introduced by a Monsignor (Higgins), which not so subtly implied celestial endorsement, and a poet laureate (James Tokley), which underscored that this was hardly a prosaic moment. And, yes, Tokley crafted a little something for the occasion: “The Quest.”

The InterContinental Hotel ballroom was packed with media as well as Greco supporters and family members who got the love-in they came for. Movers, shakers and cronies abounded. Here a John Sykes, there a Fernando Noriega.

Greco typically spoke without notes and delivered a message replete with City Hall reminiscences and references to the sorry state of contemporary politics. The twin themes: uber resume experience and hope from politics as usual.

Greco, the four-term mayor who is now 77, wrapped it up with a three-word phrase we’ll be hearing again as a campaign slogan: “Give me five.”

His opponents likely divine a different three-word take: “The Last Hurrah.”

Palin Plotlines

As Sarah Palin continues getting richer and more influential, speculation keeps ratcheting up about what her ultimate plans are. Politicians, even those with another ghost-written book out, don’t visit Iowa in late November without a serious agenda. Those weighing in on Palin’s political prospects, from cable talking heads to serious political insiders, routinely opine about her presidential-candidate potential.

Those who suggest otherwise typically reason that she is just too good at being a headline-grabbing, money-magnet celebrity to have to relegate herself to serious-politician status.

To date, none of the usual pundits and partisan pols have been willing to give the bottom-line rationale for Palin to pass on presidential aspirations. That is, she’s an under-educated, woefully uninformed, phony, pandering, divisive diva who shouldn’t be Peter Principled into the most important job in the world. We’re talking America’s-epitaph material here.

Thanks again, John McCain.

Grass Roots Response

Imagine, the new conservative Dutch government is on record for wanting to force the country’s marijuana (“coffee houses”) cafes to become members-only clubs. In effect, it would preclude foreigners–aka tourists–from sampling some weed. Cafe owners and the Union of Cannabis Retailers are not pleased.

Not to wax too nostalgic over Amsterdam’s cannabisness, but I can still remember–well, call it a cultural rush–stammering out a menu order for: “Two lattes, a space cake and a jumbo joint.”