FBI: Terror Comes To U.S. Soil - The Terrorist Bomb ‘Outrages’ of 1919

The FBI offers the below information and the above photo:

Late one evening, a series of mysterious figures placed powerful bombs outside nine deliberately chosen residences stretching from Boston to Cleveland.

A carefully coordinated campaign of terror had begun.

The targets included three judges, a state representative, a silk manufacturer, an immigration official, a mayor, Catholic priests, and the U.S. attorney general.

The first two bombs exploded at around 11:15 p.m. on June 2, 1919—a century ago this month. By 1:00 a.m. the next morning, all of the devices had detonated.

The force of the explosions, each fueled by around 20 pounds of dynamite, was massive. Entire neighborhoods were shaken by the blasts. Homes were destroyed or badly damaged. Many windows were completely blown out. Flying glass and debris wounded several people, including a young girl. One night watchman was killed.

In the nation’s capital, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer and his wife Roberta were lucky to escape. They were upstairs when a huge explosion rocked their home. The bomber was not so fortunate. His device went off too early as he approached the front door, killing him instantly.

The June 2 bombings were hardly the first of their kind.

In late April, bombs had been mailed to around three dozen government and business leaders nationwide, including a Bureau agent. Alert postal workers intercepted many of the packages, but a housekeeper in Georgia had her hands blown off after opening one of the parcels. Similar bombings had also taken place across the country in previous months; one killed 10 police detectives. Although it was thought the various attacks might be related, a widespread conspiracy could not be proven.

Who was behind this wave of attacks? All signs pointed to anarchists, a group of radicals who wanted to get rid of capitalism, organized religion, and government itself. Violence and bloodshed were their main weapons. Over they years, anarchists had gone so far as to kill several world leaders, including U.S. President William McKinley in 1901.

At the time of the 1919 attacks, the Bureau of Investigation, the forerunner of today’s FBI, was just over a decade old. It had limited resources and was filled largely with inexperienced investigators; most of the tools and technologies that we associate with modern-day policing—many pioneered by the FBI—had yet to be invented.

After the June bombings, Attorney General Palmer sprung into action, putting significant resources into finding those responsible for what he and others called the “outrages.” He named William Flynn, former head of the U.S. Secret Service, to lead the Bureau.

Flynn began work immediately, convening a conference of federal and local law enforcement officials to coordinate efforts. He also traveled to Philadelphia and New York to parcel out leads based incoming evidence.

Much of that evidence came from the D.C. explosion. Investigators painstakingly traced what was left of the bomber and his effects—train ticket stubs, bits of clothing, and more.

Two clues proved most useful. Scraps of a pink flyer titled “Plain Words”—an anarchist call to action linguistically linked to the Italians—were found scattered nearby and at every bomb site. Also located was a piece of the bomber’s scalp. The thick, dark hair helped investigators figure out that the D.C. bomber almost certainly was Carlo Valdinoci, a young Italian anarchist.

Agents and police also conducted many interviews, worked with informants, and drew links to the intended targets, all of whom had angered anarchists in some respect.

No other bombers were directly identified. The anarchist movement in the U.S. lost steam, and the threat faded as the nation turned its eyes toward the “normalcy” President Harding had promised in his campaign for president.

In both the short and long run, the attacks had a profound impact on the Bureau. The organization gained new resources and valuable experience in addressing national security threats. At the same time, Flynn brought in a 24-year-old Justice Department lawyer named J. Edgar Hoover to run a new division of intelligence. Within five years, Hoover would take the helm of the Bureau, ushering in a series of reforms that created the modern-day FBI.

A Little Humor: Baby Planes

A mother and her young son were flying Southwest Airlines from Kansas City to Chicago. 

The little boy had been looking out of the window. 

He turned to his mother and asked, “If big dogs have baby dogs, and big cats have baby cats, why don’t big planes have baby planes?”

The mother couldn’t think of an answer. She told her son to ask the flight attendant.

The boy went down the aisle and asked the flight attendant, “If big dogs have baby dogs, and big cats have baby cats, why don’t big planes have baby planes?”

The busy flight attendant smiled and asked the boy, “Did your mother tell you to ask me?” 

The boy replied, “Yes, she did.”

“Well,” said the flight attendant, “you go and tell your mother that there are no baby planes because Southwest always pulls out on time. “Have your mother explain that to you.”

Note: The above photo is of actress Lorna Patterson, the stewardess in the clever comedy film Airplane!    

Huawei's Secret Back Doors

Veteran national security reporter Bill Gertz offers a piece in the Washington Times on China’s Huawei company and Chinese intelligence.

An investigation of the telecommunications equipment produced by China’s Huawei Technologies Ltd. has uncovered numerous cases of secret access points that could allow Chinese intelligence to conduct cyberoperations through the equipment.

Finite State, a cybersecurity research firm, conducted a survey of Huawei equipment and discovered that 55% of Huawei hardware devices it tested contained at least one backdoor access point.

The vulnerabilities in Huawei products pose serious security threats of cyberattack and data exfiltration if the equipment is used, according to Finite’s report on Huawei published Wednesday.

“The Chinese National Intelligence Law of 2016 requires all companies ‘to support, provide assistance, and cooperate in national intelligence work,’” the report stated. “Even if Huawei may be technically correct in saying that Chinese law doesn’t explicitly ‘compel’ the installation of backdoors, China’s intelligence and counterespionage activities tend to be so expansive that these provisions could be used to justify activities extending well beyond China’s borders.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jun/26/chinas-back-doors-in-huawei-devices/ 

New York Police Union Blasts De Blasio's Comments On Cops In Debate

Zack Budryk at thehill.com offers a piece on NYC Mayor De Blasio being blasted by a police union over comments he made at the Democratic debate last night.

The largest union representing New York City police officers blasted Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), a frequent target, for his comments during Wednesday night’s Democratic debate about discussing how to avoid police run-ins with his African American son.

"Mayor de Blasio has apparently learned nothing over the past six years about the extremely damaging impact of anti-police rhetoric on both cops and the communities we serve,” Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of New York President Patrick Lynch said in a statement. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/450644-new-york-police-union-blasts-de-blasios-comments-on-cops-in-debate 

A Little Humor: A Rabbi's Tax Audit

A young IRS auditor was excited to track down high-powered tax evaders. 

Anxious for his first high-powered audit, he was a bit dismayed when his assignment was to audit a Rabbi.

Looking over the books and taxes were pretty straight forward, and the Rabbi was clearly very frugal, so he thought he’d make his day interesting by having a little fun with the Rabbi.

“Rabbi,” he said, “I noticed that you buy a lot of candles.”

“Yes,” answered the Rabbi.

“Well, Rabbi, what do you do with the candle drippings?” he asked.

“A good question,” noted the Rabbi. “We actually save them up and when we have enough, we send them back to the candle maker. And every now and then, they send us a free box of candles.”

“Oh,” replied the auditor somewhat disappointed that his unusual question actually had a practical answer, so he thought he’d go on, in his obnoxious way.

“Rabbi, what about all these matzo purchases? What do you do with the crumbs from the matzo?”

“Ah, yes,” replied the Rabbi calmly, “we actually collect up all the crumbs from the matzo and when we have enough, we send them in a box back to the manufacturer and every now and then, they send a box of matzo balls.”

“Oh,” replied the auditor, thinking hard now how to fluster the Rabbi. “Well, Rabbi,” he went on, “what do you do with all the foreskins from the circumcisions?”

“Yes, here too, we do not waste,” answered the Rabbi. “What we do is save up all the foreskins, and when we have enough we actually send them to the IRS.”

“The IRS? What would the IRS do with them?” questioned the auditor in disbelief.

“I don’t know the details, but about once a year, they send us a little prick like you,” replied the Rabbi.”

Note: The above photo is of comedian and director Mel Brooks from his film, Robin Hood: Men in Tights.  

FBI Fighting For The Dogs: Civil Forfeiture Speeds Recovery For Dogs Rescued From Fighting Rings

The FBI offers information on dogs rescued from a dogfighting network.

A New Mexico man’s long journey through the legal process for his extensive role in a dogfighting network—from his arrest in 2016 to his guilty plea last year to his sentencing last month—raises a logical question: What happens to the rescued dogs as the case is wending its way through the courts?

Robert Arellano, of Albuquerque, was sentenced April 4 in federal court in New Jersey to four years in prison for his involvement in a multi-state dogfighting network. When he and others were arrested in a coordinated operation spanning five states and the District of Columbia, investigating agencies, including the FBI, rescued 85 dogs.

What happened next was a tightly orchestrated process involving the U.S. Marshals Service, animal rescue organizations, federal agents, and a small cadre of Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors and federal forfeiture attorneys. Their collective goal, refined over years, is to get recovered dogs screened, treated, rehabilitated when feasible, and, if appropriate, adopted out to new families as soon as possible.

You can read the rest of the piece and view photos and video via the below link:

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/forfeiture-process-aids-dogs-rescued-from-fighting-rings-062519?utm_campaign=email-Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=fbi-top-stories&utm_content=%5B737754%5D-%2Fnews%2Fstories%2Fforfeiture-process-aids-dogs-rescued-from-fighting-rings-062519

My Washington Times Review Of 'Smokin' Joe: The Life Of Joe Frazier'

The Washington Times published my review of Smokin’ Joe: The Life of Joe Frazier.

Thousands of tourists flock to Philadelphia for the historic sites and other attractions, and many of them venture to the Philadelphia Art Museum’s steps, where actor Sylvester Stone ran up them famously as the fictional boxer in the 1976 film “Rocky.”

The tourists have their photo taken along side the statute of Rocky, a prop from one of the “Rocky” sequels, which stands near the bottom of the museum steps. But there is another statute of a true fighter, the late Joe Frazier, in South Philadelphia near the sports arenas.

I met Joe Frazier briefly in the late 1970s at his Cloverlay boxing gym in North Philadelphia. There were more far more fans than fighters in the gym that day, but Joe Frazier was affable and approachable. As an amateur boxer and fight fan, I was impressed with Joe Frazier. His career was admirable, and his three fights with Muhammad Ali were the stuff of boxing legend.

Unfortunately, Muhammad Ali’s showboat antics and flamboyant boxing style overshadowed Joe Frazier. Sadly, Muhammad Ali belittled Joe Frazier in public for years, calling him a gorilla, an Uncle Tom and other insults. The public barrage angered and saddened Joe Frazer deeply.

It would not be until after his death in November 2011 that a 12-foot, 1,800-pound bronze statue of him was erected at the sports arenas. The statute shows Joe Frazier delivering the left hook that floored Muhammad Ali in the 1971 bout that many call the “Fight of the Century.”

And now Joe Frazier appears to be getting his further due with a full biography. “Smokin Joe: The Life of Joe Frazier” by Mark Kram Jr. covers the great boxer’s life from his poor beginnings in South Carolina to his ascension to the championship of the world.

… Mr. Kram describes Joe Frazier as unimposing for a heavyweight, at just under six feet tall, but his aggressive style of coming out “smokin’,” and his willingness to step in and be pounded by an opponent in order to get close and throw his powerful left hook, made him a champion. 

You can read the rest of the review via the below link:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jun/24/book-review-smokin-joe-the-life-of-joe-frazier-by-/ 

Reclaiming John Wayne: The Duke's 10 Best Films

John Wayne is one of my favorite actors. 

I love his westerns with director John Ford, such as The Searchers, Fort Apache and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. And I also love John Wayne's war films with John Ford, such as They Were Expendable and The Wings of Eagles.

I also love The Alamo, which John Wayne directed as well as starred in. And I love The Green Berets. Only the Duke had the courage to make a pro-Vietnam War and pro-military film in 1968 when most of the media was against the war. The media hated the film, but the public loved it. 

I also love The Shootist, John Wayne's last film. 

I met the great man briefly at Knots Berry Farm Theme Park in 1971. John Wayne noticed my short hair (for the time) and asked me if I was in the service. 

I replied that I was in the Navy and the Duke punched me in the arm and said, “Well, good for you.” 

The punch hurt.   

Like many of his fans, I can watch John Wayne films over and over. He was a great actor and a great American.   

Timothy Mangan at the Orange County Register looks back at what he believes are John Wayne’s 10 greatest films.

John Wayne was a great actor. There, I said it.

It may get me thrown out of certain intellectual circles, it may cause some to wonder about my politics, but that’s my premise and I’m sticking with it.

Sooner or later (usually sooner), anyone who writes about Wayne has to face the topic.

“For years,” writes Scott Eyman in his new biography “John Wayne: The Life and Legend,” “the debate about Wayne centered around the ridiculous question of whether or not he could act, with liberals generally taking the negative position.” That’s a big part of the problem in assessing Wayne’s acting skills. His personal politics (conservative) got in the way of seeing the acting clearly, much in the same way that Mel Gibson’s loopiness or Woody Allen’s family troubles get in the way of seeing them.

…Here, then, are 10 of his best films, most of them Westerns that, when taken together, nevertheless show a surprising range within a limited scope.

… “Fort Apache” (1948): Ford’s fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Little Big Horn, with Henry Fonda as a martinet commander (in the Custer role) who will not listen to the reason of his second in command, Wayne. The actor pulls off a fine balance of toughness, truth-telling and ineffectuality. The film is the first of Ford’s celebrated cavalry trilogy, which also included “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” and “Rio Grande,” both with good Wayne performances.

… “The Searchers” (1956): Is “The Searchers,” John Ford’s epic widescreen Western, a mess or a masterpiece? I think it’s both, a truly magnificent film with plenty of flaws to go around. What everyone seems to agree on though is that Wayne’s performance as Ethan Edwards is his greatest. He plays a racist veteran of the Confederacy who embarks on a yearslong search for his niece, kidnapped by Comanche who also massacred her parents. Ethan has an uneasy and edgy relationship with everyone in the crowded film, and intends to kill his niece (played by Natalie Wood) when he finds her. It’s a searing, scowling acting job – “What do you want me to do? Draw you a picture?” – held in check by powerful undercurrents of doubt.

… “The Shootist” (1976): In this, Wayne’s last film, he plays an aging gunfighter dying of cancer, trying to go out with dignity. Don Siegel (“Dirty Harry”) directs it with an autumnal feeling (also nicely captured by Elmer Bernstein’s score) that seems to know its star is dying, too. He takes a room in a boarding house run by Lauren Bacall, whose son, played by Ron Howard, idolizes him. Wayne fills the role with tenderness, wisdom and resignation, looking truth in the face without sentimentality. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link: 

https://www.ocregister.com/2014/08/19/reclaiming-john-wayne-the-dukes-10-best-films/

You can also read an earlier post on John Wayne via the below link:

www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2014/10/john-wayne-biographer-scott-eyman-talks.html

U.S. Customs And Border Protection Seizes Over 17.5 Tons Of Cocaine In Philadelphia

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released the above photo and below information on the historic drug bust on the Philadelphia seaport on July 21, 2019: 

PHILADELPHIA – A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)-led multi-agency examination of shipping containers at the Philadelphia seaport netted a historic load of cocaine, the largest cocaine seizure in the 230-year history of U.S. Customs and CBP, with an estimated weight of over 17.5 tons and a street value of about $1.1 billion.

During a midstream joint boarding Sunday night, CBP, HSI, and U.S. Coast Guard authorities detected anomalies while examining seven shipping containers aboard the MSC Gayane, a 1,030-foot Liberian-flagged container ship. The boarding team escorted the ship to its berth in South Philadelphia and continued its inspection.

The containers were unloaded from the vessel Monday afternoon and CBP confirmed the presence of anomalies. CBP escorted the containers to CBP’s Centralized Examination Station, where CBP officers offloaded truckloads of packages from the containers. 

A combined 15,582 bricks, totaling more than 35,000 pounds of a white, powdery substance, which tested positive for cocaine.  CBP seized the cocaine as well as $56,330 found on the vessel believed to be proceeds from illegal activity.  A multi-agency team continues to inspect containers aboard the vessel.

HSI agents made six arrests and investigation continues. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is prosecuting.  In addition to CBP and HSI, the multi-agency team consisted of U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Philadelphia Police Department, Delaware State Police, and Pennsylvania State Police.  All contributed to the seizure.

“This is momentous work by the CBP team at the Port of Philadelphia,” said Casey Durst, CBP’s Director of Field Operations in Baltimore. “Their vigilance and inspectional scrutiny resulted in the interception of the largest seizure of cocaine in the 230 history of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.  Because of our officers’ efforts, over 1 billion dollars of dangerous narcotics was taken off the streets.  I have no doubt that our officers saved lives and significantly impacted transnational criminal organizations with this interception.”

 “This week’s cocaine seizure is a tremendous accomplishment that demonstrates the combined power of HSI’s collaboration with CBP, the Coast Guard and our state and local law enforcement partners,” said Marlon Miller, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia. “Narcotics smuggling continues to pose a real and tangible threat to our communities, particularly when such activities are perpetuated by the crewmembers of a commercial vessel, as alleged in this investigation.  HSI will continue to vigorously pursue investigations that target drug trafficking organizations engaged in the worldwide smuggling of dangerous narcotics.”

“The combined expertise, readiness, and responsiveness of this joint law enforcement team shows how training and cooperation prevents contraband from entering our ports and harming our communities,” said Capt. Scott Anderson, commander of Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay and Captain of the Port. “The seamless coordination between Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay, Coast Guard Investigative Services, Maritime Safety and Security Team New York, Coast Guard Stations Cape May and Philadelphia, and Joint Task Force-East, working alongside our federal, state, and local partners, amplifies our ability to interdict contraband on both the open seas and in our ports.”

The contents of the shipping containers included wine, coated paperboard, vegetable extracts, and dried nuts from Chile, carbon black from Colombia, and scrap metal batteries from United Arab Emirates. They were destined to Ireland, Nigeria, South Africa, Lebanon, India, and Haiti.

The MSC Gayane made port calls to Chile, Peru, Panama and the Bahamas before arriving in Philadelphia.

In March, a multi-agency team intercepted more than one-half ton of cocaine, which at the time was CBP’s fourth largest recorded cocaine seizure in the Port of Philadelphia. CBP’s previous record cocaine seizure in Philadelphia weighed 1,945 pounds and occurred on May 23, 1998.

CBP officers screen international travelers and cargo and search for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.  

A Little Humor: Hitchhiker On A Dark And Stormy Night

A man stood on the side of a road hitchhiking on a very dark and stormy night. 

The man didn’t see any cars on the road, although the storm was so strong that he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him. 

Suddenly he saw a car come towards him and stopped.

The man jumped in the car and closed the door. He looked over and saw that no one was behind the wheel. 

Then the car started moving slowly. 

The man looked at the road and saw a curve was coming up.

He was so scared that he started praying for his life. 

He was even more frightened when just before the car hit the curve, a hand appeared through the driver’s window and moved the wheel. 

The man, now paralyzed in fear, watched how the hand appeared every time the car neared a curve.

At one point, the man jumped out of the car and ran to the nearest town. 

Wet and in shock, he ran into a bar and asked for two shots of tequila and began telling everybody at the bar about the horrible experience he just went through.

About half an hour later, two guys walked into the same bar, and one said to the other: “Look, that’s the guy who climbed into our car while we were pushing it!”

Two Charged In 16-Ton, $1B Philly Port Cocaine Bust, ‘One Of Largest Seizures In U.S. History’

Jeremy Roebuck at the Philadelphia Inquirer offers a piece on the 1-billion-dollar cocaine bust at the Port of Philadelphia.

Federal authorities on Tuesday seized more than 16 tons of cocaine from a cargo ship docked at the Port of Philadelphia — a massive haul whose estimated worth of more than $1 billion made it one of the largest cocaine busts in the nation’s history.

Two members of the ship’s crew, including its second mate, were charged with violations of federal maritime drug trafficking laws. According to court filings, both men confessed to helping haul dozens of bales of cocaine aboard from at least 14 smaller boats that approached the vessel while plying waters to and from Peru.

The investigation appeared to be far from over. Investigators from at least six city, state, and federal agencies — including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations — continued to scour the ship Tuesday night, while authorities said others could be charged in the coming days.  

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.inquirer.com/news/cocaine-seized-philly-port-drug-bust-cargo-ship-customs-and-border-protection-20190618.html 

A Little Humor: Lost At The Mall

A couple was shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve. The mall was packed with shoppers.

Walking through the mall the surprised wife suddenly noticed her husband was nowhere around. Very upset because they had a lot of shopping left to do, she used her cell phone to call her husband to ask him where he was.

The husband picked up and in a calm voice said, “Honey do you remember the jewelry store we went into 5 years ago where you fell in love with a diamond necklace ? I told you then we couldn’t afford it, but one day I was going to buy you that necklace.”

With a pounding heart, the wife started to cry. “Yes, yes, sweetheart, I remember exactly where that jewelry store is located.”

The husband said, “Well I’m in the bar right next to it.”

Ben Macintyre: The Toxic Cloud Of Lies Over Chernobyl

I’m watching the HBO series Chernobyl, a well-made dramatization of the horrific Soviet nuclear disaster at Chernobyl.   

The Australian published Ben Macintyre’s London Times column on the Soviet lies and cover-up of the Chernobyl disaster.

A few days after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, The Washington Post received a sensational leak from an unknown source: a letter from the US Information Agency to a Republican senator, advising him to exaggerate the number of casualties from the explosion at the nuclear plant in Ukraine.

The Information Agency had been established by Eisenhower to influence public opinion abroad. The senator, David Durenberger, was chairman of the select committee on intelligence. The leaked letter proved that the US was attempting, in the words of its author, to “make the Chernobyl disaster into an effective propaganda campaign” by falsely asserting the accident had already claimed up to 3,000 victims. It was a shocking attempt to embarrass the Soviet Union, mislead the public and make political mileage out of terrible human tragedy.

Except the letter was a KGB forgery. This was a calculated attempt by Moscow to plant fake news and make western anxiety over the nuclear disaster appear artificially inflated as part of a cynical Cold War ploy on the part of America. “Service A” of the KGB, the Soviet intelligence unit specializing in the deception technique known as desinformatsiya (disinformation), had obtained the letterhead of the USIA and then written a fake text underneath with a bogus signature. The Post spotted the ruse and killed the story before it could run.

The forged letter was just one element in the vast toxic cloud of falsehood, half-truths and censorship that spread from the Soviet Union in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster. The gripping HBO-Sky series Chernobyl follows the aftermath of the nuclear catastrophe, reflecting the best and worst of human nature, but its central theme is the official degradation of truth and what happens when the state deliberately and systematically deceives its citizens. Soviet Russia responded to the horror of Chernobyl by trying to contain the story inside a concrete casing of lies.

Chernobyl helped to destroy the Soviet Union but the techniques of desinformatsiya have been inherited and refined by the modern Russian state, while fake news, and false allegations of fake news, have poisoned modern politics.

You can read the rest of the column via the below link:

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/the-toxic-cloud-of-lies-over-chernobyl/news-story/849470db363b8053badfa144fefd7082 

Combatting Elder Abuse: It’s About Dignity

Lance Robinson (seen in the above photo), the Assistant Secretary for Aging and Administrator, Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), offered the below information last week.

This Saturday is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD), when people all over the world voice support for the rights and dignity of elders and opposition to the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults.

WEAAD is part of a global movement for “elder justice” that asserts the fundamental dignity and equality of older adults. Elder justice requires us to develop systems, approaches, and programs that prevent abuse, protect people from abusive situations, and support those members of our community who have experienced abuse to help them recover.

Abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation are not the inevitable consequences of growing old. We all have a role to play in changing how we talk about elder abuse in this country and around the world. Respecting the dignity and rights of people of all ages is a core American value, and a principle built into many American laws. For example:

§  The Elder Justice Act established programs and initiatives to strengthen the federal response to elder abuse, promote elder justice research, and support state Adult Protective Services (APS) systems. If you suspect elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation, contact your local APS office.

§  The Older Americans Act (OAA) created programs and services that help older adults stay healthy and engaged in our communities. You can connect to nutrition, caregiver support, legal assistance, and other OAA programs through Eldercare Locator or by calling 800-677-1116.

§  The Nursing Home Reform Act established a “Resident’s Bill of Rights” for people in most long-term care facilities. It includes the right to privacy, to participate in all aspects of care, to complain without retribution, and to visits from friends and medical providers. If you believe your rights, or the rights of a loved one in a long-term care facility, are being violated, contact your local Long-Term Care Ombudsman.

§  The Americans with Disabilities Act protects the civil rights of people with disabilities of all ages and helps make our communities more accessible and age-friendly. State Protection and Advocacy agencies inform and empower people with disabilities by investigating suspected abuse and neglect, and providing free legal representation and support for clients.   

Our society is like a building.  Just as buildings need strong supports and secure beams to remain strong, our society needs solid “social” beams so that we can all participate fully in our communities, living free from abuse as we age. 

As we commemorate World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, I hope you will join me in lifting up the voices of survivors, and taking action, such as engaging with the older people in your life, empowering members of your community with information, involving students and young people, or by speaking out.