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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: unclewest who wrote (291139)	2/5/2009 8:51:29 PM
From: greenspirit	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793809

Yup! It's absolutely hysterical! He thinks he is still campaigning. LOL Now, watch how the propaganda media explains what a brilliant job he did.... It's like we're living in a made for T.V. movie with Hollywood producing the phony story, phony images and phony President.

To: unclewest who wrote (291139)	2/5/2009 8:53:15 PM
From: Bearcatbob	1 Recommendation Respond to of 793809

Uncle - I watched it too. It was very frightening. Let him pass it with no Repub votes. The spending is going to soar out of control.

To: unclewest who wrote (291139)	2/5/2009 9:00:09 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793809

I will be worried only if I see Americans buying the hysteria. So far, it's not going over very well - and that astonishes me. I would have thought the media would do anything to support Obama. Update: this is from Michael Hirsch of Newsweek, a reliably in-the-tank reporter during the campaign. Yet, listen to this: Proof that that Team Obama and his party are losing the debate can be found in a new poll out Wednesday. The Rasmussen Reports survey found that, even though Obama still has a very high approval rating, only 37 percent of Americans now favor the stimulus legislation, compared to 45 percent two weeks ago. The results were similar to a recent Gallup survey that found just 38 percent of voters now support the recovery plan. Mitch McConnell, the GOP Senate minority leader, hinted Wednesday that Obama has lost control of his own Congress. "The president has tried to set some priorities. Unfortunately, Democrats just keep throwing more money on top of an already bloated bill," McConnell said on the floor. The decisive issue here is leadership. The lack of it is what is plaguing the Obama administration. Every war needs a successful general, and this administration doesn't have one yet. Geithner is still wounded by his soul-scourging confirmation vote (he was the first tax controversy of course, barely escaping on a 60-34 vote; had his vote come after the Daschle news, it's likely that Geithner would be the one leaving town today). On Wednesday the taciturn new Treasury secretary delivered all-too-brief remarks at a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying he was working to "help lay the foundation for long-term recovery, [develop] a comprehensive plan to help get credit flowing again and address the housing crisis." Sounds great, but Geithner is apparently going to wait until next week to announce a lot of this, and that seems a long way off. (Monday is President's Day, which became Obama's informal deadline for passage of the stimulus package after he backed off his original hopes of having something to sign inauguration week.) In the interim, no one else has dominated the newscasts. National Economic Council chief Larry Summers, by every account a brilliant economist and policymaker, has mainly worked behind the scenes. Paul Volcker finally spoke out Wednesday, but mainly to provide a postmortem on last fall's crash. And it's still not clear what the new body he heads, the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, even does. And White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel appears shell-shocked by Taxgate and other defeats. An administration that two weeks ago set out to change the world, having claimed the first Democratic majority victory in a presidential race since Jimmy Carter, now looks like it's engaged in a Pickett's Charge—without the benefit of being led by Pickett. Meanwhile, the Senate Dems took off part of Wednesday for a "retreat." newsweek.com

To: unclewest who wrote (291139)	2/5/2009 9:58:50 PM
From: Joe Btfsplk	1 Recommendation Respond to of 793809

He is ranting like Mussolini Hope I'm not repeating, but.... Years ago I was acquainted with an Italian who had a little truck farm and vegetable stand outside Seattle. He'd first come as a POW, was repatriated after the war, then returned for citizenship. Once he mentioned that he'd left Italy to escape fascism and was disgusted to see it coming here. Been building for a long while and the last election cemented its status. Few can make the connection. It's presented in the same pretty wrappings; free this, free that, squish the rich, empower the unions........ How many graduates have exposure to the consequences of interfering with the processes of rational economic calculation? How many could recognize Benito's name, let alone know what he stood for?

To: unclewest who wrote (291139)	2/6/2009 10:36:38 AM
From: FJB	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793809

Charges dropped against USS Cole bombing suspect The move, which brings the tribunal into compliance with Obama's Guantánamo stay order, allows charges to be reinstated later. By Arthur Bright from the February 7, 2009 edition csmonitor.com The Pentagon has dismissed charges against a suspect being held in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in connection with the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Saudi Arabia. Reuters reports that the dismissal brings the Pentagon fully into compliance with President Barack Obama's request for a 120-day stay of all military tribunals of terrorism suspects. The move avoided a showdown between the U.S. military and President Barack Obama. It cancelled a hearing that had been set for Monday in the Guantánamo war crimes court, despite the fact Obama had ordered a freeze in proceedings there. Susan Crawford, the retired judge who oversees the commissions, issued a ruling dismissing without prejudice all charges against Saudi national Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, said Pentagon spokesman Navy Commander J.D. Gordon. Nashiri is accused of plotting the attack on the Cole that killed 17 U.S. sailors in the Yemeni port of Aden in 2000. The BBC writes that the attack in 2000 occurred when two militants blew up a small boat loaded with explosives next to the anchored Cole. The attack killed 17 US sailors. Mr. Nashiri was arrested in the United Arab Emirates in 2002 on charges of conspiring with the militants, and was later transferred to Guantánamo. The Washington Post writes that the Judge Crawford's decision to dismiss charges without prejudice means that the Obama administration could reinstate charges against Nashiri at a later date. Had the trial continued in defiance of Mr. Obama's request, reinstatement of charges may not have been possible. The tactic was also used by the Bush administration when it wanted to stop various proceedings at Guantánamo. The Pentagon under Bush dismissed without prejudice charges in six cases and reinstated them later in three of those cases. If the case had proceeded against Nashiri, a Saudi facing capital charges, a guilty plea could have boxed in the administration. The legal principle of double jeopardy would apply, and it would have been very difficult to move his case to another court, according to defense attorneys. McClatchy reports that Nashiri's case "presents especially difficult problems for the Obama administration because he is one of three detainees held at Guantánamo that the CIA has admitted were subjected to waterboarding while in secret detention." Agence France-Presse adds that former CIA Director Michael Hayden admitted last February that Nashiri and two other terrorism suspects had been waterboarded while in CIA custody. The Guardian writes that the dismissal of charges against Nashiri comes as Obama is set to meet with family members of the victims of the USS Cole bombing and the 9/11 attacks. Ahead of today's meeting, a White House statement said Obama wanted to "talk with these families about resolving the issues involved with closing Guantánamo Bay – while keeping the safety and security of the American people as his top priority." Among those due to meet the president is the former commander of the Cole, retired navy commander Kirk Lippold, who has been critical of the decision to close Guantánamo. "I'm going to listen," he said. "The families have already been through enough. Don't put the families through even more of this agony." The retired New York fire chief Jim Riches, whose son was killed at the World Trade Centre, is another of those invited. "My concern is these guys killed my son and I'd like to see justice served on them," he said yesterday. "I'd like to see Guantánamo stay open but my main concern is that we get the justice we deserve." The Miami Herald adds that Mr. Riches said the families meeting with Obama are not a single political bloc. [Riches] described the 15 families meeting Obama as spanning the political spectrum, including "the very liberal that are against torture and everything else." The chief said the issue was inclusion, and that victim families wanted a say in what kind of prosecutions the government would pursue. "It shows that he's reaching out to the people," he said. "At least we'll get to voice our opinion."