In a recent whistle stop in Manchester, New Hampshire, Rudy Giuliani tried to defend his recommendation for Bernard Kerik become chief of Homeland Security. At one time, Rudy and I were friends. (Rudy attended my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah) However, under current statute of limitations laws of the United States, I can no longer be charged with the “crime” of being his friend, since our relationship ended a decade ago. Stated differently, Rudy proves the adage that “Statistics Do No Lie, but Liars Use Statistics.”
Rudy categorically commented that Bernie Kerik on balance was a positive influence in helping the security of New York City and the nation. I think Rudy should donate the “scale of justice’ that he employed in measuring Bernie should be donated to Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum. While Rudy provided few details in his defense of Kerik, the criminal justice system has provided specific evidence that Kerik used public funds to refurbish his New York City tryst. Stated differently,
Rudy pointed out that he should have “vetted” the investigatory process involving Bernie Kerik, before recommending him to the high-level position of being chief of Homeland Security. Since a majority of Rudy’s advisors had warned Rudy about Kerik’s errant ways, and many rumors were rampant of Kerik’s ties with organized crime, I am somewhat confused what Rudy would have learned during the “vetting” process. Moreover, since Rudy and Bernie have profited handsomely from their ties with organizations seeking contracts to provide national security, Rudy might not have heard the anti Kerik rumblings because the “green bucks” that were flowing into his coffers were speaking so loudly.
Rudy went on to comment that under Kerik’s tenure as New York City Commissioner, “shootings went down by 70%, homicides declined, and prison crime dropped precipitously.” In helping Rudy defend Bernie Kerik, I also want to point out that during Kerik’s tenure as police commissioner, real estate prices in New York City increased, the stock market rose, communism fell in Eastern Europe, the Yankees won several World Series, and Bernie Kerik enjoyed the sexual favors of many women rather than being stuck in a monogamous relationship with his wife. Bernie sought religious consolation for his breaking of the Ten Commandments from Bill Clinton and Jesse Jackson. The three of them prayed together at the White House to ask God forgiveness for their transgressions.
In all seriousness, I would like to get some specific examples of the multi-faceted efforts on the part of Kerik to bringing down shootings and homicides in a community involving 10 million people. Did Kerik “clone” himself on the street corners of our five boroughs during his tenure as police commissioner?
Several years ago, I visited Operation Market Garden, the disastrous campaign in the Netherlands during World War II. This venture was the Brain Child of Bernard Montgomery, the egocentric British commander, who never admitted to any martial failure. In fact, despite the enormous casualty figures suffered by British, Polish, and American troops, and the brutal reprisals against citizens of the Netherlands by the Gestapo, Montgomery claimed that Operation Market Garden was 95% successful. The husband of the Queen of the Netherlands wryly commented that the Netherlands could not afford any more of “these types of successes.”
