OIG Hotline and Concerned Others,
The transcript at the conclusion of this email represents extemporaneous remarks captured via video. They are best received by watching the original video, without question. This transcript was prepared when my Jumpshare video link was compromised and, simultaneously, I received threat of the preparation of an AI-generated video replacement of my original video, perpetrated by the FBI and/or its affiliates. Clearly, it would be best if people were hearing my actual words and impressions, as opposed to disinformation.
I will attempt to reload the video in the hope that a working link might be provided.
But, unfortunately, it does appear as though my Jumpshare account has been disabled in some important respects by the FBI and its affiliates at this time. Because of this experience, it seems necessary to ask whether audio files have been replaced with disinformation as well. It seems that it would be fair to assess that any incriminating or defamatory information provided via audio or video file is almost certainly faked by the FBI and/or its affiliates.
This content has been expanded within an email sent to the attention of the OIG Hotline and Concerned Others within lanemacwilliams@gmail.com, in a communication sent on June 29, 2024 at 7:43 PM, with the subject heading ATTN: OIG HOTLINE and Concerned Others Re: Transcript of Video Re: Debate Response.
I would respectfully request that the OIG Hotline access this email at the earliest possible convenience.
Most sincerely,
Lane MacWilliams
Transcript of Video Response to First Presidential Debate: My name is Lane MacWilliams, and I am just going to give a very brief commentary on the Presidential debate on Thursday, which I was fortunate to see. And I would like to just comment on the fact that there's been a lot of punditry since Thursday night commenting on the performance of the candidates and their platforms and agendas for the nation.
And I guess for me, it's really important to emphasize that I view the President and the Vice President as a team. And I think that this is true for both candidates -- that that team, that the way in which that team works, and the strengths and the views of the Vice President will be phenomenally important. So, I would say that -- and this is true, as I said, for both candidates -- I think that we, of course, have been able -- we've been very fortunate to see the way in which President Biden and Vice President Harris respect one another and work together on issues that are of critical importance to the country, and in fact, to the world. And then with regard to former President Trump, he has a very big decision to make with regard to his Vice Presidential candidate, and whether it will be Marco Rubio or J.D. Vance or someone else remains to be seen. But these are critical decisions for their candidacies in my opinion -- for former President Trump's candidacy. And with regard to the Biden/Harris ticket, I feel that Americans will be looking to President Biden and Vice President Harris together to consider the ways in which the nation will be governed. And I think that, as I said, the nature of that partnership, the manner in which emergencies are faced or crises are faced or critical decisions are faced, the closeness of the relationship, the frankness of the relationship, the respect in the relationship are critical. Very, very critical. And so I think that I myself have been fortunate enough to hear President Biden speak about Vice President Harris as a true partner, and she, of course, has spoken publicly many times about the fact that she is the first person in the Oval Office together with the President before a meeting and then the last person to leave, and that her judgment is so trusted and respected. And of course, we can understand why. And I believe that many people felt that Vice President Pence was a person of great individual integrity. And I know that mattered to many Americans, too. And so I think that this critical period of evaluation of President's and Vice President's tickets is just commencing. I think it's just beginning. And I think that as these two sets of candidates, these two tickets, come into definition and focus, the American people will have a much better opportunity to ask those questions about teamwork.
I think that for our nation, some of the elements of balance of power have been invisible or inscrutable to the American people -- the manner in which the Congress and other branches of government work together with the White House is often out of view. We often don't see how those exchanges transpire and how important they are. But these are important questions for us, they're critical questions for us as we face some challenges going forward, and the manner in which some of our biggest inflection points are addressed -- inflection points such as the place of artificial intelligence within the governing of a nation, the role of various agencies in governing a nation according to the Presidential and Vice Presidential vision for the nation -- these are very important questions.
And then, I think, too, one of the issues we have in our family -- in our nation right now -- I'm saying this, this was a Freudian slip -- "family." "One of the issues we have in our 'family' right now" -- and what I really meant to say was "nation." But the nation really is our family. And so I'm glad I made that slip, because I was commenting yesterday about how many American families have both Democrats and Republicans somewhere in the extended family mix. And so, the question is of course, how do we relate to one another? How do we respect one another? How do we speak to one another? How do we hear one another? And of course, this is a challenge for our nation, and it's a challenge for our families as well when we look at more extended American families. Because Americans want to know that they're being heard, basically. I think there are many Americans who feel as though they are not being heard as much as they would like to be by maybe their local representatives or their local government or their state government or elsewhere. And so it's very important for us to understand how this has come about. How have people begun to feel that their voices have been, through no intention on anyone's part, marginalized. And how can we listen to them to understand them? How can we listen to one another to understand one another? And this is true within our families, and this is true within our country as well. Democracy requires a multiplicity of voices. It really does. It really requires that we're not all in perfect agreement. We actually want some disagreement. We want people to feel free to say that they have a different opinion. Because that's what renders our governance so exceptional. The fact that we can listen to one another, that we can say, "I'll stop what I'm saying for a moment, because I really want to hear your story, I really value you, I really want to hear your story and what happened to you and what you drew from it and whether I might help." And all of these aspects of our humanity really are the foundation of our democracy. And so I think that this simple question of listening to one another is very, very central.
Debates, of course, are not meant to illuminate these finer aspects of governance that transpire behind the scenes. But I think that the Presidential/Vice Presidential partnership will be critical for Americans to understand as we go forward through this election cycle. And I know that President Biden and Vice President Harris have shared a philosophy, a set of policies, a set of values and an approach, and just a very, very close and respectful relationship. And hopefully we will be able to see the partnership that former President Trump elects to create with his chosen Vice Presidential candidate. So, I think that these questions of balance of power, really -- because we're talking about what's happening in the Oval Office behind the scenes -- we want a balance there. We want to know that our most powerful leaders are listening to elected officials who stand right beside them and share their concerns and may have different perspectives -- and that those voices are being valued very, very highly, because the American people have expressed their confidence in the points of view that they represent. So, I think that these are important questions, and I don't think that they're illuminated by a single debate, at all. So, I think it's early for people to be drawing definitive conclusions or making up their minds. I think that it's very, very important for people to think about partnerships, think about balance of power and think about the most critical questions that define our democracy and our freedoms going forward.
So, I think it would be very important to ask the American people how they want their President and Vice President to protect their own individual freedoms and sovereignty going forward. How do they envision that that protection and advocacy and support and sustenance will transpire? In an ideal world, how will they ask their President and Vice President to support them and support the whole nation going forward in terms of that sovereignty? And I think that these issues will be raised, and I think that they will be addressed in future debates and future speeches and so, it's going to be very important for all of us to be paying close, close attention. But this is my initial response. I would encourage people not to overreact in one direction or another and to try to be very judicious and thoughtful about these issues of partnership and balance of power within the government. And then I think that this will be a really critical point of discussion for us going forward.
Why is that? We really become I think arguably imperiled if there's only one person -- I wouldn't apply this to circumstances in the United States -- but in other nations around the world, we can see that in more autocratic systems, there's often only one person who is making critical decisions for the freedoms of millions or tens of millions or hundreds of millions. And so, in these autocratic systems, there is no balance of power. There's only a seat of power. And in these autocratic systems, if it is judged that there's a threat to the seat of power, then we can start to have these purges, and this is what is done, of course, historically. So, I think that in a democracy, by contrast, we're looking for that balance of power. We don't want all that power to be held by one person. We want our elected officials to share power. And the reason for that is that we really want to ensure that there's advocacy for everyone and that no one feels left out or shut down or unheard or disrespected or diminished or forgotten. And so I think that's why it's so important to our democracy as a foundational requirement. I think that the Presidency is so important, there's no questions about that. It's such a powerful position. The Presidency of the United States is arguably the most powerful individual elected position in the world -- very, very powerful position. So, we can't argue with that. There's no question about it. And we have to feel very confident about our leadership in that role, certainly.
I'm just also saying that I think circumstances can arise in which the partnership between and among elected leaders becomes more important than at other times. And I think there's enough rapid change happening technologically in our society with artificial intelligence, as I mentioned, and other dynamics worldwide with regard to countries facing challenges with climate or supply shortages or health challenges as we've just gone through with the Covid pandemic -- so there are enough crises that emerge worldwide, that I think this is a time in our history when these questions surrounding the balance of power among elected representatives are probably more important than at other times. And that would be my commentary on it. I think that everybody recognizes that those running for President are deeply concerned with the future of our nation and care deeply about the future of our nation and our future democracy and our freedoms. So we're at the beginning of this election cycle and we'll be learning a great deal more, but that's my initial response to anyone who might be curious about it. Thank you.
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