I added this as a comment, but perhaps it could be a diary in itself. The good Colonel is a Libertarian, but don't hold that against her, she is a true patriot and a valuable ally. This was our personal correspondence as when she was getting smeared, I wanted to offer her support as a citizen.
below the thread:
ME: "Dear Colonel Kwiatkowski,
Yesterday I took a stroll on the Lawn here at Mr. Jefferson's university and found myself in a small, shaded grove under the shadow of a statue of a regal Thomas Jefferson, sitting and staring out approvingly at his institution of honor and education. My heart saddened at the thought of what he helped to create and those who are now systematically destroying it.
You see, I understand your plight. I, too, was in the military. I was an Army Special Forces combat veteran before I attended the University of Michigan for Russian and Eastern European Studies. Once I had my BA, I joined the Navy as an intelligence officer with dreams of learning Chinese and a Ph.D. From SAIS in Sino-Russo relations. My fault was that when I studied a year in Moscow, I met my ex-wife. Needless to say, my career was ruined due to close and continued association with a foreign national (un-officially, I hear "shacking up with a Russian women", disregarding our marital status). And all of this after I fully disclosed the situation before I entered the Navy. Long story short, I still have problems with my clearance though she is now a US citizen in the VA Guard with a clearance of her own. The sad thing is that I started to believe that maybe the government knew something I didn't and began to perhaps suspect her. Now I know that it was just that no one wanted to take responsibility and sign the damn waiver, it was easier to ruin my 15 year military career.
I didn't write this email to cry about my own problems, but only to say that there are those of us out here that understand the Kafkaesque nature of our government. I respect and appreciate you very much for your actions and following your heart in regard to one's duty to this republic while it is still a republic. I swore an oath, as you did, to uphold and protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, I didn't swear to uphold and protect and administration. Too many people forget that oath, or confuse it.
Now I am working for a Ph.D. In literature, I want nothing to do with national security or foreign policy, I have such a bad taste in my mouth. This field of study has opened my eyes though, especially with reading actually philosophy of the enlightenment and everything that was reified into the experiment of our republic. It was sad to walk away from Mr. Jefferson yesterday evening, thinking of the stain upon his and other's ideals, so much that they worked for. I couldn't help thinking that his writings, as that is how he still speaks to us ... Well, to put it another way, if someone quoted him with attributing his name to some of those people in the Pentagon, they would say that it was "un-American". Perhaps they would even spin Mr. Jefferson into an enemy of the state.
It is a sad day, but the sun is perhaps breaking through the clouds as people like you continue to come forward. Knowing how this machine of smear works personally, I just wanted to send you an email of support. You have great courage and honor.
Very Respectfully,"
KK: "Thanks for your email - you are right - TJ would be an enemy of the state, and in his day he was and enemy of the federal state, never trusted it. He was right. Government is so large and so integrated today with so many parts of our social and economic life, that reducing it is like killing something with chemo - the patient you want to save also suffers, and sometimes dies. In the meantime, a strong skepticism about anything that comes from government bodies, and a willingness to passively and actively resist it is every way are the keys. You have discovered this, and are doing it, and I commend you for it!