[Andy]

James, for a high clearance, within many organizations you can answer no but with an explanation. Sometimes the explanation is on paper and attached (sometimes gets lost), sometimes it?s oral. Also, to get certain clearances a lie-detector operator might ask, ?Have you ever used illegal drugs?? The person may then say that he/she doesn?t want to answer the question as it is posed because it could come back to haunt them, especially if they are involved in or have aspirations of being involved in political endeavors. Thus the question might be rephrased, ?Have you used illegal drugs in the past 10 years.? The concepts of ?current? and ?intent? are what the questions are all about.

A personal note: To renew my pistol permit after being a cop for 15 years the state came out with a new application that asked if I?d ever been ?charged? with a crime for which I could have been jailed. I checked off no. Boston rejected my permit because in 1967 I?d been charged with operating a vehicle so as to endanger. The charge was dismissed. But it did take me an extra 45 days to get the permit.

The reason for asking the questions Reagan was asked was to determine if he was pro-communist or whatever. James, you can?t be making the point Reagan was a closet commie. A union buster, I?ll give you that, but anti-American (within the bounds of world politics) no.

As far as being a leak, a cooperating individual - giving info to law enforcement, what?s wrong with that? 95% of all criminal cases are solved by people coming forward and saying, ?You know my neighbor does have a lot of traffic at his house late at night? or ?That guy is collecting welfare but he drives a brand new car, what?s up with that?? Some of my best informants were people you would not expect, people involved in questionable activities, sometimes upstanding people who had information you really wouldn't expect them to have.

If your looking for dirt check out the election of 1800. Jefferson was accused of being an atheist (a really bad thing back then) who would dismantle the federal government. Jefferson got a friend to write newspaper articles that Adams wanted to establish a King and use the White House as a brothel. Some of us might still remember that in 1960 JFK was elected by the graveyards of Chicago and his dad made some "arrangements" with the mob. FDR had his people (in 1936) told everyone that Al Smith was a Catholic so his first allegiance was not to America but to the Pope. And the list goes on.

Reagan had things to hide, no doubt. But then again, everyone has something to hide, except for me and my monkey.

Stay healthy,
Andy