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I've always been a believer of angels. As hokey as some people may think, I believe deep in my heart that there are people on Earth who - in another time - lived a life on the grounds of our planet.
Long before Michael Landon's Highway To Heaven...and Touched By An Angel with Roma Downey and Della Reese...my faith in God inspired me to feel comforted for a belief in heaven...and that this everlasting kingdom of immortality is a paradise which is blessed with angels. Inside my soul, I trust there are celestial guardians who not only help humans by performing deeds on their own, but through God's miracles, a particular angel - who the Lord has assigned to a person or persons - can motivate such individuals to act in ways that would benefit themselves and others too.
On Friday, September 28th, 2018, Americans witnessed the ethereal efforts of one of those angels.
Two women...outside an elevator at the United States Capitol in Washington, DC...and Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona who was detained inside that open elevator by the two women...were the chosen recipients of the anonymous angel. The divine messenger was performing God's work and was imbued by the Almighty to arrange for Senator Flake to be stopped by 39-year old Ana Maria Archila and 23-year old Maria Gallagher, both of New York. Flake had indicated earlier that he planned to vote in favor of Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. But Archila and Gallagher - who had been demonstrating on Capitol Hill - confronted Flake as he boarded an elevator en route to the Senate Judiciary Committee chamber. The pair of protesters blocked the elevator door so it would not close...and in a compelling and captivating exchange of words, these two women made certain that Flake knew that he - and he alone - could likely be the deciding vote in allowing a nominee to move forward to the highest court in the land while he is being accused of sexual assault. Archila and Gallagher opened up to Flake on national television that they are both victims of sexual assault.
So who is this angel? And why would he...or she...take on a matter of national importance between liberals and conservatives? After all...God...nor His angels...are Democrats or Republicans. Our Father who art in heaven does not enter in to the political arena. But I'm convinced that He has not been pleased with what He has observed recently in the United States. So to perhaps mend our country...if only for a moment...God took it upon Himself to level the playing field...and to at least allow an independent entity to assist in seeking the truth. Remember...when Moses received The Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai, it is the Ninth Commandment that teaches us..."Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."
The identity of the angel, in reality, will remain a mystery. But in the core of my being, I believe that the angel is John McCain. The late Republican senior senator from Arizona was a close personal friend and mentor to Senator Flake. Regular readers of The Controversy are well aware that my political views - as liberal and as progressive as they are - found me to generally disagree with Senator McCain. But John McCain was a decent and honorable gentleman...and a true American hero. He would never want to deliberately hurt anyone, especially those who were being wronged by others.
When Donald Trump and nearly all Republicans in Congress attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act with a vote on July 28th, 2017, it was Senator McCain's iconic thumbs-down gesture that stopped the death of "Obamacare." McCain knew that it would be catastrophic to take away healthcare that rightfully belonged to millions of Americans who - previous to President Barack Obama's signature piece of legislation - were unable to obtain it...either because it was too expensive, or because the subscriber suffered from pre-existing conditions.
Inside the Capitol elevator on September 28th, the spirit of John McCain flowed throughout Jeff Flake's body...and as if an angel was a magic wand...Senator McCain presented Ana Maria Archila and Maria Gallagher with the courage to compassionately communicate to Senator Flake...for the benefit of themselves...and on behalf of others.
Flake later voted to send Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Senate floor, but with one condition...that his GOP colleagues hold off on the final confirmation vote for one week so that the F.B.I. has time to investigate the sexual assault allegations. Flake's basic message to other Republicans was that he would not support Kavanaugh again unless the F.B.I. was permitted to pursue additional information from witnesses. "I think it would be proper to delay the floor vote for up to but not more than one week in order to let the F.B.I. do an investigation, limited in time and scope, to the current allegations that are there." Flake continued..."That is my position. I think that we ought to do what we can to make sure that we do all due diligence with a nomination this important." And Flake finished by stating..."I can't make that commitment for the leadership. I can only say I will only be comfortable moving on the floor until the F.B.I. has done more investigation than they have already. It may not take a week. I understand that some of these witnesses may not want to discuss anything further, but I think we owe them due diligence."
Throughout the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, September 27th, Judge Kavanaugh "categorically and unequivocally" denied any of the sexual assault and sexual misconduct allegations against him.
It's so sad that a fight over the nomination of a Supreme Court justice will come down to sexual assault allegations from more than three decades ago and whether Kavanaugh is believed to have acted so violently or if Dr. Christine Blasey Ford - and other women who allege they are victims - are mistaken, confused or lying.
For the record, I oppose Brett Kavanaugh's nomination, but I did before the sexual assault allegations were ever made. I believe Dr. Ford's testimony when she also appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 27th. I do not trust Kavanaugh as there is doubt...and for a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court - even I agreed with him politically, which I don't - when there is doubt of any kind, I cannot support him to be sitting on any seat...in any court. Tragically, lives have been affected on both sides. The ball is now in the F.B.I.'s court..and such an investigation is what I - and other Democrats - have been wanting for nearly two weeks since learning of the first accusation on September 16th.
Because later on September 28th, Donald Trump issued the following statement through his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. "I've ordered the F.B.I. to conduct a supplemental investigation to update Judge Kavanaugh's file. As the Senate has requested, this update must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week."
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.
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Photo credits: CBS News (Senator Jeff Flake), Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images (Former Senator John McCain) and Make The Road Act and New York Post (Ana Maria Archila and Maria Gallagher)
Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
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