Acts of Sedition

by Dennis Stephan

  To prove that he had a sense of humor, Kyle set up a distinct channel 69. The symbolism was lost on the general, who seemed all business at this point. Even after Kyle explained something about getting a lot of pleasure by turning things completely upside down, Josh still didn’t crack a smile.

  Each of the Assembly’s phones was programmed to hear everything that was going on within the group via channel 69 and everything transmitted between Defense Secretary Bahar, the president, and those loyal to him via their secured channel. Those left off of channel 69 were Bahar, General Elway Bishop Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Sadeem Ali, the Director of the Secret Service. Their phones were set up so that every conversation they had was heard by the Assembly of Nine. However, their phones did not have access to channel 69.

  When finished, Kyle called Josh to let him know what he had done and that all systems were a go.

  “Thanks Kyle, welcome to the club.” He and Kyle were officially co-conspirators.

  Chapter 25

  Josh Redmond showed up just in time for the taping of a news show hosted by his longtime friend, Bob McCrimmon.

  “Hey Josh, how have you been?”

  “I’m well Bob, and you?”

  “I’m great. I’m glad to have you on, Josh, but are you sure you want to do this? I’m afraid that this will throw you into the limelight and from what you’ve told me, you might be better off hiding in the shadows for a while. “

  “I’ve heard similar concerns, but I figure what better place to hide from your enemy than right under his nose.”

  And, 5-4-3-2-1 On Air

  “Good evening. Tonight’s guest on ‘The Face of the Nation’ is retired Army General Joshua Redmond. Welcome to the show General Redmond.”

  “Thanks for having me on, Bob.”

  “Let’s get right to the heart of this, General. While you have not officially announced your candidacy for president, there has been a lot of talk and speculation that you may run. Is there any truth to this?”

  Laughing, “I’m flattered that there are people who think I would make a good president. The fact is Bob that when I retired from the military, I expected to relax and take it easy. But I didn’t come on your TV show to dodge questions so I’ll be honest. I am considering it.”

  “Do you have a set date to announce or is that a little premature?”

  “Well, Bob, I’m testing the waters, so to speak. A big factor in my decision will be whether the president runs for a second term or not. I have some people working on some polling numbers to see how I would fare should I run against him.”

  “So I take it that you’re not a supporter of the president.”

  “Hardly Bob. You know, I’ve spent my entire adult life in the military defending the freedoms that we share and protecting our country from people like him. The president has made a mockery of those very rights and freedoms.”

  “Many of us are upset but is there anything in particular that President Abbas has done that is making you consider this giant step?”

  “To me, the most drastic changes to laws were influenced by the president’s key religious advisor, namely The Ayatollah. These are the changes that have reversed some of the hard earned civil rights laws regarding women and gays and that impact our daily lives. Things like the ‘Women’s Modesty and Dignity Act’ which has its basis in religion. Under this law, women must dress modestly in public. They are restricted from working outside the home without their husband’s permission, and of course their wages are comparatively low.”

  “So you’re considering a run based on the president’s restrictions on women?”

  “Not just that. There is so much wrong with this administration.”

  General Redmond went on to discuss how the liberals, especially the Democrats in Congress, wanted swift enactment of federal laws that legalized marijuana use, euthanasia, and gay marriage. To accomplish that, he argued, they streamlined the way laws were passed such that a process that once took years, was completed in a matter of months. This new process enabled the president, using that same process, to push through his agenda.

  He highlighted the new law that defines homosexuality and other gender preferences as being a disease subject to mandatory treatment through the Sexual Identity Care (SIC) treatment programs until such time that the person was cured.

  “Most people can see what is happening to women because it’s very visible,” said the General,” but regarding homosexuals, most people are oblivious to what they are going through.”

  “Now you mentioned the changes to the criminal justice system earlier. What can you tell us about that?”

  “The Patriot Act of 2038 certainly tightened security in our country, even more than the 2001 version. But the ‘Capital Offense Sentencing Law’ has had an even more profound impact on our criminal justice system. Under this law, offenders convicted of first-degree murder or any other capital offense that once carried the possibility of a death sentence, now automatically receive a mandatory death sentence upon conviction. The capital offenses include espionage, treason, and death resulting from aircraft hijacking, but mostly consist of various forms of murder such as murder. The sentence is to be carried out within one month of their conviction and comes with a restriction on appeals. The only appeal heard is one in which the defense provides new and irrefutable evidence as to the convicted person’s innocence in a written summary to the judge. This law eliminated the sentencing phase in all capital offense cases. The only decision is how the sentence will be carried out, and that decision now rests with the convicted person. The one positive that has come out of this law is that it has dramatically decreased both legal costs and the costs involved with providing food and clothing, for those convicted. As you might suspect, the American Bar Association and the Trial Lawyers Associations fought hard to stop this but to no avail.

  A second, closely related law is the ‘Treason Sentencing Law’. Under this law, any person convicted of treason will receive the same sentence, with the same processes and restrictions, as someone convicted of first-degree murder; except there is absolutely no appealing a treason sentence. That in itself is bad but what constitutes treason is very ambiguous and open to interpretation under the new law. Someone who is protesting against the government is no longer protected by the first amendment if their activities are in any way deemed to be of a subversive nature or putting the general public at risk. So anyone taking part in a peaceful protest might be charged with treason.”

  “And that brings us to the last topic, namely election reform,” said the host.

  “Thanks, Bob. Okay, nothing has been finalized yet, but two key pieces of legislation have been proposed by Congress, no doubt by the supporters of President Abbas.”

  “The first of course is the joint resolution to repeal the 22nd Amendment that was recently passed by both houses and sent on to the Archivist of the United States. I don’t want to get into too much detail on this, but this person heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). NARA has the responsibility for administering the ratification process under the provisions of Title 1 of the United States Code, Sec 106b for Amendments to the Constitution. That repeal resolution will be packaged and sent on to each State for ratification. Ratification would remove the term limit placed on the presidency and open the door for President Abbas, if re-elected, to seek a third term after his next term is up.”

  “The second is a proposed law that would put restrictions on how candidates can conduct their campaigns. This proposal is complicated, and we’re running short on time, but briefly, the purpose of this law is to stop campaign advertising as a means of disseminating any negative information. Under this law, paid advertisements would be limited to three infomercials during a campaign. The purpose of these would be to disseminate positive information about the candidate running for office. There could be no negative content regarding the opposition. Other than some buttons and signs, this is the only area where candidates could spend mo
ney on campaign communication. The only other ways to communicate a candidate’s position would be through a series of three debates in which each party would be able to make claims and counterclaims about the records of their opponents and through information provided to the press that is deemed newsworthy.” As you can see both of these pieces of legislation substantially help the president and all of the incumbents who are well known and have a record on which to stand.”

  Bob McCrimmon interrupted. “Thank you, General Redmond. We’re running out of time, so I need to wrap this up in a hurry. Do you have any final words for our audience?”

  “Thanks for having me on Bob. I love America, and I’m ready to lead. I hope that everyone watching tonight understands exactly where our president has led us and what his administration has done to the freedoms they once enjoyed. This is a fight for the survival of America and it’s not one that can wait. I can no longer sit on the sidelines while Americans are forced to give up the freedoms that I spent my entire career protecting. It’s time for new leadership in the White House. Please, join me in my fight to end this president’s reign.”

  Chapter 26

  Angela and Tony had made plans to meet alone the following day, but Tony was anxious to get more people involved in what they were doing so he called a neighborhood guy he’d met in a bar named Nicky Gervasi. He thought he could help with their community outreach efforts. Nicky was a small time gangster; a bit player in the Gangemi Crime Family. There was a Gangemi funeral home nearby. The two were not connected except that Nicky liked to say “we pump em, they dump em” when asked. Nicky had a reputation as someone who took no shit from anyone and who was as likely to shoot your ass as to look at you twice. He had a nickname that suggested as much but, not wanting to scare Angela, Tony kept that to himself. Nicky was the kind of guy who could help, though. The key was not only that Nicky had street smarts but that he was well known and well liked.

  A robust Nicky showed up at Angela’s door with some coffee and donuts, raring to get started. The one thing that became apparent at the last meeting was that the people who were attending just weren’t the action people that were needed to bring about change. After two cups of coffee and three cream donuts, Nicky was hyped and ready to go.

  “C’mon let’s get started.”

  He picked up a fourth cream donut as he stood to leave. One for the road, Angela guessed. She wasn’t sure if he was on drugs or if sugar and caffeine had that effect on Nicky but he was very hyper this morning.

  They strolled through the neighborhood, and Angela saw these streets and her neighbors in a whole new light. If you had asked her yesterday what it was like living in South Philly, she’d have said: “Oh you know, it’s nice and fairly quiet. People are a little boring, but everyone gets along.” After talking to 4 of her neighbors, Angela realized that there was more to this place than she had realized.

  First they stopped to talk to Giani, the local numbers guy. Angela thought running numbers ended when the state-sponsored lottery came into vogue decades earlier. Apparently not though since many people trusted the local bookmakers more than The State of Pennsylvania.

  Then they met Vito and Johnny Fingers outside of Buddy’s Bar & Grill, on the corner of Tony’s street. Johnny had been a driver for one of the biggest Italian crime figures in Philadelphia history. He got his nickname when the head of a rival gang kidnapped him and cut off his two index fingers to send a message to his boss. It worked. The boss realized that war was brewing and had the guy killed. Vito was the local pipe fitters union boss. His life hadn’t changed much under Abbas. He was a roll up your sleeves, blue collar guy and most of the trade guys still had their jobs, still made good money, but hated Abbas nonetheless because he was a Muslim. When asked about why he hated Abbas, Vito said “What, ya gotta have a reason? Isn’t being a raghead good enough reason?”

  Inside the bar, they met Buddy Riley, the owner. His bar was one of the few cash businesses that weren't owned by the Greeks or Turks. Buddy was a blue collar Irishman with a temper. There was a time when he would have lived in a mostly Irish neighborhood. Back then people segregated themselves based on race and ethnicity. Now all Americans lived as one with common enemies; the many Asians and Middle Easterners who were taking over the city.

  Buddy had a rep as a headbanger; a moniker earned because he kept a baseball bat behind the bar. When guys were getting rowdy, he’d bring it out and slam it on the bar or a table. Oddly enough, he never hit anyone with it, but no one doubted that, if pushed far enough, he’d split a few heads. They talked to Buddy in general terms, like they had with the others on the street and Buddy agreed to attend the meeting.

  So walking across the street to the opposite corner, they all felt pretty good about what they had accomplished so far. They were four for four in the recruiting department.

  “This is Connie Sapienza’s house, yous guys know her?” asked Nicky.

  Tony said he didn’t.

  “I know her to see, say hello to, but that’s about it,” said Angela.

  “Yeah well she likes to keep a low profile, ya know.” They didn’t.

  Nicky banged on her door. “Yo Con. It’s me, Nicky. Open up.”

  Connie was a very pretty but plain looking 50-year-old woman who just a few weeks ago started worked at Nunzio’s bakery a few blocks away. She opened the door with an expression of surprise on her face. Apparently she didn’t get much company.

  “Hey Con, how they hangin?”

  “Hey Nick, you know gravity but what’s the use of complain’?”

  “How’s it feel bein’ back in the real world?”

  “Good ya know, but ya didn’t stop here just to see how I’m doin’. What’s up?”

  “I wanna introduce ya to a couple of my friends, Tony, and Angela.”

  “Hi, what can I do for you.”

  Nicky got right to the point as he did with each person to whom they had stopped to talk.

  Without any emotion, he asked, “Whaddya think of the president?”

  “I hate him.”

  So far that was the consensus although up ‘til now the responses had been much more colorful. If she collated the answers in her head and then spit them out, the neighbors thought Abbas was a jerk off, asshole, shithead, scumbag whom everyone hated and who was ruining the country.

  “Angela here voted for him.”

  Oh great, thanks, Nicky thought Angela.

  “Are you shittin’ me? How could you vote for that faggot?”

  “Well in my defense,” Angela started.

  “You’d have to be a damn moron.”

  Angela’s impression of Connie as a quiet, reserved woman was obviously off the mark.

  “Well I”

  “He’s a rat bastard.”

  Ah, a new adjective to add to her collection of Abbas descriptions.

  “Well back then…”

  “I’ve gotta hear this one; I’ll bet it’s a beaut. Go on. Whatsa matter, the cat gotch yer tongue?”

  “I was stunod ok. I’m sorry. Can’t a person make a mistake?” Angela blurted out.

  Angela braced herself for a barrage of more condescension.

  “There, doesn’t it feel good to finally get that off yer chest.”

  The two women stood looking at one another without moving and then they both broke out in laughter.

  Nicky went on to tell Connie about the next meeting at Angela’s house and what they were trying to accomplish.

  “Well I’ll think about comin’ to the next meetin’ but ya know I gotta be careful right Nick?”

  “Yeah I know, but this is pretty important Con.”

  “Ok,” she sighed.” I guess I’m in.”

  As they walked away, Angela couldn’t help but wonder what her story was. Why was she so hesitant?

  “Well, she appeared less than enthused for someone who claimed to hate the President so much. And what was that about ‘being back in the real world?”

  “She’s gotta be carefu
l not to violate her parole and end up back in the joint,” said Nicky

  “She’s an ex-con?”

  “Yep. Served ten and a half of a fifteen year for assault with a deadly weapon. The original charge included with intent to kill, but they couldn’t make it stick because there was an element of self-defense.”

  “What did she do?” asked the unusually quiet Tony.

  “Some guy in Buddy’s bar came on strong. At first, she was being nice because he bought her a few beers. And she liked the attention. But the more he drank, the more he, well let’s just say he started taking liberties with her, trying to feel her up. Stuff like that. I guess he figured since he bought her a few brews he had a right. I don’t know. In any event, Buddy testified that he was about to whip out the bat and whack the guy upside his head when Connie broke a beer bottle across the guy’s face and used the shaft to slash open his arm. He had a concussion, black eye, and took five stitches in his face and another twenty down his arm. He damn near died. He lost so much blood. She said it was self-defense as the guy was trying to rape her but he said that she had come on to him and had welcomed his advances and that all she had to do was stop taking the beers he bought her and to tell him she wasn’t interested. The jury seemed sympathetic to Connie, but the pictures of this guy all bruised and bloodied, really hit home. He looked like he’d been run over by a truck.”

  They walked silently for a while then resumed their recruiting. By the end of the day they had eight new members who promised to be more fun to be around and more committed to their goals, than the current crew. And each had agreed to bring a friend or two to the next meeting.

  Chapter 27

  As Secretary of Defense, Hakim was used to being called into national security briefings or into the situation room. That was his job. But to get a call from the president on a Sunday morning was troubling. He had no idea what the president would want with him, unless he was being fired.