The Company You Keep

Late Saturday night, on September 5th, a man by the name of Anthony "Van" Jones handed in his resignation to the White House. Even though he only served six months as the White House's Special Advisor for Green Jobs, he left quite an impression. Never heard of the guy or his resignation? Let's just take it one step at a time......

Jones had a seemly normal childhood. He graduated High School and went on the receive a BA from the University of Tennessee at Martin. Things started to change upon entering law school at Yale. Reflecting back at that time, Jones admits that he considered dropping out of Yale but decided to stay because an ivy league education would gain him legitimacy. He has been quoted as saying "...if I'd been in another country, I probably would have joined some underground guerrilla sect but as it was, I went to an ivy league school.". While still at Yale, Jones was arrested during a protest of the Rodney King case in San Francisco. Although the charges against Jones were later dropped, it was at this time he met other young radicals immersed in the beliefs of communism and anarchy. He says he felt like he had found something he needed to be a part of.

After graduating for Yale in 1993, He founded the group STORM (Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement). This group was devoted to the teachings of Marx and Lennon. Each member was to develop a basic understanding and commitment to revolutionary Marxist policies, Third World Communism, revolutionary feminism, revolutionary internationalism, the central role of the working class, and revolutionary democracy. By this time, Jones was a self-proclaimed rowdy nationalist and communist.

In 1999, Jones led a group that tried to get arrested while rallying to free convicted Philadelphia cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal. In 2005, The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, of which Jones is the founder and long time director, produced an anti-Iraqi war album entitled: Wartimes: Reports from the Opposition. This album was a compilation of tracks hosted by none other than Mumia Abu-Jamal himself.

In January of 2002, Jones' Ella Baker Center organized a march in San Fransisco, CA in order to raise their concerns over the "War on Terrorism" and demand an investigation into the events of 9/11. In 2004, Jones signed a petition from the group 911Truth.org that questioned whether officials in President's George W. Bush's administration "may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war.".

In 2007, Jones founded the group Green for All which is dedicated to "building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty". He released his first book, The Green Collar Economy. In March of 2009, he was appointed by President Obama to the newly-created position on the White House Council on Environmental Quality...which brings us back to the beginning.

In July of 2009, Jones became so weighted in controversy over his past political activities, he was forced to resign his post by early September due to "..a vicious smear campaign against me.". Smeared....maybe....but with his own deeds and words. Here we are at the heart of the matter concerning Jones.....How did he ever get a job in the White House in the first place? If you or I apply for any position requiring special clearance, we would be subject to a background check. And, had we the same political ties in our backgrounds, we would have been denied. Considering the embarrassment the administration has already suffered due to lacking procedures in the vetting process, how was he able to pass through without being properly investigated? I'm just an average citizen. I do not have the powers of the FBI and CIA to gather information. Yet, I was able to obtain loads of background information concerning Mr. Jones. How did this administration not?

Yes, Van Jones is entitled, under the protection of our Country's constitution, to say and believe anything he wants. If wants to join the communist party...so be it. If he wants to lend his support to a death-row cop-killer....so be it. If he believes the past administration was a part of a conspiracy on 9/11....he can. As a kid, my parents used to tell me to be careful of who my friends were because I may be judged by their actions. Isn't that the truth! Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, ACORN...fool me once, shame on you....fool me twice, shame one me. How long will the American public be made fools?

"You have to be creative how you engage the enemy, because if you do it on his terms, the outcome is already known." - Van Jones