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Sen. Bill Nelson, Hero; Jon Ausman, Tiresome Democrat N'er-Do-Well and Zero
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You don’t treat a genuine American hero like a loser. Or so I thought.
Then along comes Jose Melendez-Perez -- as heroes go, about as big as they get.
Melendez-Perez, now 64, is the immigration officer at Orlando International Airport whose experience and instinct and eye for the bad guy stopped the 20th hijacker from entering the United States.
If this officer hadn’t intercepted Mohamed al-Qahtani in August 2001, United Airlines Flight 93 would have had a fifth hijacker, probably enough to overcome the passengers and reach the target – presumed to be either the White House or the U.S. Capitol.
Jose Melendez-PerezBut this spring the immigration officer with 44 years of service slipped up. Against policy, he took a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol vehicle home with his agency computer and gun inside. The vehicle was broken into, the items stolen, and now Melendez-Perez – whose record is otherwise clean as a whistle – is persona non grata in the Department of Homeland Security.
He was removed from the Orlando Joint Terrorism Task Force months ago.
He faces a two-week suspension and a demotion, which he has appealed. The appeal is set to be heard Tuesday.
Sen. Bill NelsonHere’s where my hero, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, comes in – and in fairness, other friends of Melendez-Perez are going to bat for him, too. They just don’t have the clout a Democratic United States senator has under a Democratic president and administration.
In a Sept. 20 letter pleading his case to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Nelson proclaimed, “Mr. Melendez-Perez is a true American hero.” And last week Nelson was still following the case, working behind the scenes to get the officer a break.
One of Nelson’s Washington staffers, who asked not to be identified, told me Friday, “The senator considers the treatment of this man petty bureaucratic badgering.
“Mr. Melendez-Perez is guilty of a moment’s bad judgment, but not of any heinous crime. Here's a man who's proven himself on the front line in his job. Is there a single American in this country, who remembers the horror of 9/11, who wouldn’t want Mr. Melendez-Perez on his Terrorism Task Force? Why would you take him off it? Him, a genuine hero of one of the worst days on American soil.
“Oh, yes, of course Sen. Nelson is still very much motivated to be involved.”
These are cynical times. People are more apt today to blow off heroics and national pride than they were a decade ago. Not Bill Nelson.
Whatever you think of Nelson’s politics, you can’t fault his resolve in the matter of Jose Melendez-Perez. At least for this single, warm moment in time, the senator is one worthy hero protecting another.
This Week’s Zero: Jon Ausman
Comments (2)
I support Kendrick Meek for the United States Senate and I also plan to vote the straight Democratic ticket. For the area I live in Leon County I plan to vote for:
• Kendrick Meek for the United States Senate;
• Allen Boyd for the United States House, District 2;
• Alex Sink for Governor;
• Dan Gelber for Attorney General;
• Loranne Ausley for Chief Financial Officer;
• Scott Maddox for Agriculture Commissioner;
• Bill Montford for State Senate, District 6; and,
• Michelle Rehwinkel Vaslinda for State House, District 9.
Last week I noted 55% of Florida’s voters did not want Marco Rubio to be elected as one of Florida’s United States Senators. I further observed with the anti-Rubio vote divided between two opposing candidates Rubio could win while not receiving a majority vote.
I then proposed Governor Charlie Crist end his United States Senate campaign so Member of Congress Kendrick Meek could face off against Rubio one-on-one. If this happened I believe Meek would be elected to the United States Senate.
Last week I suggested the two candidates meet with former US Senator Bob Graham (who also served two terms as Governor) and have him mediate a solution to the split opposition against Rubio.
Now, a reporter who was not at the press availability I gave is suggesting I want Meek to dropout. This assertion is exactly the opposite of my position. I support Meek and wish it was just Meek versus Rubio.
This is the second time words have been attributed to me which were never spoken. Earlier in the US Senate campaign I sold access to a list of 35,000 email addresses for $4,000 to then US Senate candidate Jeff Greene. Afterwards, I decided to endorse him and worked for him in north Florida.
Despite losing heavily in the statewide primary Greene did carry 25 of 34 counties in north Florida.
The innuendo made by one reporter was that I had sold my endorsement. This has been repeated endlessly by other reporters without anyone verifying that the innuendo was true or not. It was not true.
I enjoyed working with Greene when I sold him the list and felt he had a shot at winning. I still like him. I was wrong about his chance of winning statewide and now I support our Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek.
If you have any questions or comments please call me at 850-321-7799.