Will Eric Holder Fulfill His Promise?

From the Washington Times:

Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, a Republican from Missouri and the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said in an interview with The Washington Times that he will support Eric H. Holder Jr.'s nomination for Attorney General because Mr. Holder assured him privately that Mr. Obama's Justice Department will not prosecute former Bush officials involved in the interrogations program.

Mr. Holder's promise apparently was key to moving his nomination forward. Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 17-2 to favorably recommend Holder for the post. He is likely to be confirmed by the Senate soon.

Sen. Bond also said that Mr. Holder told him in a private meeting Tuesday that he will not strip the telecommunications companies that cooperated with the National Security Agency after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks of retroactive legal immunity from civil lawsuits--removing another potential sticking point among GOP senators. ...

The legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union, Caroline Fredrickson, said Wednesday that she was alarmed by Mr. Bond's statements.. and added, we are hoping there will be a clarification. It would be extraordinary if our top prosecutor, before taking office, would have predetermined whether or not to pursue certain cases because of political pressure.

Excuse me Ms. Fredrickson, but it is also alarming that a potential Attorney General of the United States once played a key role in commuting the sentences of FALN terrorists and that he chose to enrich himself by accepting fees from Chiquita CEO's, admitted paymasters for terrorist death squads.

Ultimately, Mr. Holder will now have an opportunity to redeem himself and atone for his support of terrorism by agreeing not to prosecute those who tried to protect this country from the terrorists he once backed.

And yes, while it's true that this may have been one of those crooked backroom deals, nevertheless, it's officially on record now: Mr. Holder has promised not to prosecute former Bush officials, and we will hold him to the fire on this one - all crookedness aside.

Brian Williams: "Line of Evil Presidents has finally Come to an End!"

"To see people... that excited about our new chief executive, after a line of what the ordinary voter would maybe describe as bad choices or choices of evils,... it is unbelievable to me..!"
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams Monday on the Late Show with David Letterman

Obama & Gates Split, over "Tiny" Matter

During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama offered up a pretty cheerful assessment on Iran:

"Iran, Cuba, Venezuela -- these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union," he said, "they don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us."

However, Defense Secretary, Robert Gates on Tuesday seemed to disagree with the president on this issue:

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he is troubled by Iranian activities in Latin America that he sees as meddling. But he told a Senate panel Tuesday that Russian military outreach there doesn't bother him at all.

Iran has used the United States as a foil as it tries to establish ties with left-leaning Latin American leaders.

Gates didn't say just what he thinks Iran is up to militarily. But he called Iran a threat that Russia, despite high-profile maneuvers, is not.

Gates shrugged off Russian naval tours in places like Venezuela. He said that if Russia hadn't raised alarms by invading Georgia last year, he would have invited Russian ships to dock in Miami as well.

He said the Russian sailors would have had more fun there than in Caracas.

To be fair, Obama, at the time, was referring to the former Soviet Union and not Russia as it stands today. Nevertheless, with regards to Iran, Obama and Mr. Gates seem somewhat divided.

Thus, the question still remains: Is Iran a "serious" threat? Or is it a "medium" threat? Or perhaps it is merely a "tiny", "laughable" and "humorous" threat?

Apparently, no one really knows!... At least no one in the Obama administration seems to know, anyway.........

And as far as Russia is concerned, it seems as if Mr. Gates casually glossed over the following bit of information:

During a June trip to Russia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed a deal with the Kremlin for the purchase of five diesel-fueled submarines. The deal came one year after the purchase by Caracas of more than US$3 billion worth of military equipment from Russia.

Is Obama Planning to Reinstate "The Fairness Doctrine"? It Sure Seems Like It!

Part of Barack Obama's Technology Agenda, according to the White House website, will be to "promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints - and to clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation's spectrum." h/t - WND

The Free Dictionary.com defines the "Fairness Doctrine" as follows:

"The doctrine that imposes affirmative responsibilities on a broadcaster to provide coverage... that fairly reflects differing viewpoints. In fulfilling its fairness doctrine obligations, a broadcaster must provide free time for the presentation of opposing views..."

"Public interest obligations" / "Fairenss doctrine obligations"

Yep, it sure seems like it.......

Rule Limiting Arrest Of Illegal Immigrants Was Lifted After Obama Won the Election

Just days before the Presidential election, the White House issued a directive requiring high level approval before federal agents could arrest fugitive immigrants. But now that Barack Obama is safely ensconced in the White House, the directive is no longer necessary, and the rule has been lifted.

The Bush administration had imposed the unusual directive days before the election of Barack Obama, whose aunt was living in the United States illegally.

The unusual directive from Immigration and Customs Enforcement made clear that U.S. officials worried about possible election implications of arresting Zeituni Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father, who at the time was living in public housing in Boston. ..

The directive was lifted at the end of November, after Obama's win, ICE spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said Monday.

Who else, other than the Messiah, could affect the laws of this country in such fashion! It's truly a miracle, a wonder of wonders!

Bob Woodward: More Obama Scandals on the Horizon

Appearing on the Chris Matthews Show Sunday, Bob Woodward hinted that a new scandal was about to rock the Obama White House:

Woodward: This may be tantalizing, but I don't think the nanny and household tax problems, and so forth are over for the Obama administration.

Matthews: Well, it's already hit Geithner and Caroline, anybody else?

Woodward: I say, it's not over..........

The 'Obama-Limbaugh Bipartisan Stimulus Plan of 2009'

Excerpted from a transcript of the Rush Limbaugh program:

Limbaugh: Eric Cantor from Virginia in the House proposed a moderate tax cut plan. Obama said, Well, you know, "I won." I'm going to trump you on that... Well, where's the bipartisanship, President Obama?

There is no bipartisanship in President Obama's plan. President Obama's definition of bipartisanship is when Republicans cave and agree with his plan so he can then claim it's bipartisan. But he's not compromising on anything here.

Mine is a genuine compromise. So let's look at how the vote came out, shall we? Fifty-three percent of voters in this country -- we'll say, for the sake of this proposal, 53% of Americans -- voted for Obama. Forty-six percent voted for Senator McCain, and 1% voted for wackos. Let's give the remaining 1% to President Obama, so let's say that 54% voted for President Obama and 46% voted for Senator McCain. As a way to bring the country together and at the same time determine the most effective way to deal with recessions, under the Obama-Limbaugh Stimulus Plan of 2009, $540 billion of the one trillion will be spent on infrastructure as defined by President Obama and the Democrats. The remaining $460 billion, or 46% that voted for Senator McCain, will be directed towards tax cuts, as determined by me.

These tax cuts will consist primarily of capital gains tax cuts and corporate tax rate cuts. So Obama gets $540 billion to spend his way. The other people of this country who did not vote for his way get $460 billion spent the way they would like it spent. This is bipartisanship! This is how bipartisanship really works. ...

The economic crisis is an opportunity to unify all of the people in this country if we just set aside the politics. The leader of the Democrats and the leader of the Republicans (me, according to Obama) can get this done. This will have the overwhelming support of the American people, because it will bring both sides together. The Obama-Limbaugh... Let him call it his. The Obama Stimulus Plan of 2009. Let's stop the acrimony. Let's start solving our problems, together. Why wait one more day? - Read the full transcript here.

William Kristol Fired From the New York Times - The Era of Bipartisanship Under Obama has Officially Begun

The much heralded era of bipartisanship under Barack Obama has officially commenced, and it's turning out to be just as rosy as many of us had anticipated.

On Monday, the New York Times announced it was terminating its relationship with conservative columnist, William Kristol.

William Kristol, the conservative columnist, and The New York Times have quietly ended their relationship after little more than a year, the newspaper said on Monday....

The editor of The Weekly Standard magazine and a regular contributor to Fox News, Mr. Kristol is known for sharply partisan commentary, and at times he has disparaged The Times. The newspaper’s decision to sign him to a one-year contract as a columnist drew intense criticism, particularly from the left, as did many of the columns he wrote.

In The New Yorker, George Packer wrote that Mr. Kristol “didn’t take his column seriously,” and that he frequently made predictions and statements that were proved wrong.

Now that Barack Obama is president, the era of bipartisanship, censorship and silencing all forms of dissent has officially begun. So far so good. But real bipartisanship can only begin when the "Fairness Doctrine" is reinstated. And I am confident that Barack Obama and the New York Times will do everything in their power to bring it back.

It is truly amazing! The Messiah has only been in office a little over a week, and already the political divide in this country is beginning to heal!

Mr. President, thank you!

Bill Ayers vs. Larry Grathwol - This Ought to be fun!

In an interview with the Detroit Free Press on Friday, Bill Ayers - the notorious Weather Underground terrorist - discussed at length the nature of terrorism and spoke about his relationship with Barack Obama. He also denied that the Weather Underground had been involved in a plot to blow up Detroit police facilities in February of 1970.

In a new afterword to his 2001 book ["Fugitive Days"], Bill Ayers describes his relationship with Barack Obama as follows: “We had served together on the board of a foundation, knew one another as neighbors and family friends, held an initial fund-raiser at my house, where I’d made a small donation to his earliest political campaign."

But in an interview with the Detroit Press on Friday, Ayers had a slightly different recollection of his relationship with Obama:

"I would say he was a guy in the neighborhood, as he said about me. That is, we knew each other. I knew lots of people in Hyde Park (in Chicago). It’s a small community. I knew him probably as well as thousands of other people and like millions of other people today I wish I knew him much much better."

When asked whether he considered Mr. Obama to be a friend, Ayers replied:

"No. But…the fact is. Oh, I would. I call a lot of people friends. But I don’t think he knew me better than he knew thousands of other people..."

If you'll recall, at the Saddleback forum back in August, Rick Warren asked Barack Obama the following questions:

"Does evil exist? And if it does, do we ignore it? Do we negotiate with it? Do we contain it? Do we defeat it?"

Responding to Mr. Warren's query about the existence of evil, Obama deliberately glossed over the gruesome 9/11 attacks - which is the kind of evil Mr. Warren had clearly been alluding to - and parried as follows:

"Evil does exist. I mean, I think we see evil all the time. We see evil in Darfur. We see, uh, evil, some -- sadly, on -- on the streets of, uh, our cities. Now, the -- the one thing that I think is very important is for us to have some humility in how we approach the issue of confronting evil, because, uh, you know, a lot of evil has been perpetrated, uhhh, based on the claim that we were trying to confront evil. Just because we think our intentions are good, doesn't always mean that we're going to be doing good."

Apparently, Bill Ayers has learned a thing or two from Barack Obama over the years. Thus, when asked if "there are some things that are right and wrong", Ayers, taking his cue from Obama, disingenuously glossed over his own heinous past, and replied as follows:

"Sure, killing people is wrong. We agree that the Vietnam War was wrong and that killing 2,000 innocent people a month for 10 years was wrong."

Later on, when asked about his own acts of terror, Ayers claimed that the Weather Underground had never intended to kill anybody, but rather had merely attempted to destroy government property. [This fallacious claim, of course, has already been refuted on this blog and elsewhere in the blogosphere]

Ayers then went on to proclaim that Sen. John McCain had committed worse atrocities than him:

"He [McCain] killed people actually from the air, innocent people [while serving in the airforce in Vietnam]... Would you be challenging him on that?"

The interview concludes with this final tidbit:

Freep.com: I have to ask you about the specific allegation from, (Larry) Grathwol, the FBI informant, that there was a specific plot to blow up the Detroit Police HQ.

Ayers: None that I know. Then, I don’t know everything.

Freep.com: You’re familiar with his allegations?

Ayers: No. You’re telling me this.

Freep.com: You’ve never heard of this guy?

Ayers: I’ve heard of Grathwol. I remember him. But no, I’ve never read his book. I don’t know what he said. You’re the first person telling me. [A blatant lie]

Freep.com: He said that in February 1970 the Weatherman built two bombs targeting the Detroit Police Officers Association building and the 13th precinct.

Ayers: Not true.

Freep.com: (Reading from Grathwol) “The instructions I received from Billy Ayers was that the bombs to be used in Detroit must have shrapnel and fire potential.”

Ayers: Not true. Not true.

Freep.com: And you’ve never heard those allegations before?

Ayers: No. Not those. I’ve heard a lot. But I try not to watch Fox News too much because I think it’s poisonous. - Read the full interview here.

Mr. Grathwol will be speaking at a demonstration at St. Mary's College in Moraga Ca., on Jan. 28, to protest Bill Ayers' scheduled appearance at the university's Soda Center that same day. Grathwol will undoubtedly get a chance to confront Mr. Ayers face to face.

According to Pipeline News, Grathwol said he is "itching" to get at Ayers. And now that Mr. Ayers has denied any knowledge of the Detroit bombing plot, Mr. Grathwol's itch, undoubtedly, must have taken a drastic turn for the worse.

This demonstration ought to be a doozy. It's just a shame I won't be there to see it. Then again, considering Mr. Ayers' penchant for setting off bombs, I'm probably better off right here at home.......

9/11 Mastermind Opposes Obama's Request to Delay Guantanamo Trials

Families of firefighters killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are seeking a meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss the trials of detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

Civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel says he hopes the new president will listen to the families, who are seeking open and fair, but speedy trials for the prisoners who are being held there. - Source - AM-New York

Meanwhile, families of the Sept. 11 victims - who recently arrived at Guantanamo Bay to observe military commission hearings - reacted with fury and frustration Wednesday to President Barack Obama's instruction to freeze the war court.

''Get this trial going,'' said retired New York City Deputy Fire Chief Jim Riches, who lost his firefighter son, Jimmy, in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001...

This week was the second time the Pentagon brought five family members chosen by lottery to observe the proceedings in a process open to parents, children, spouses or siblings of the 2,973 people killed on 9/11.

And, like those who visited before them, they cradled photos of their lost loved ones and urged the new president not to close the controversial prison camps...

''People should know that the safest place to hold these trials is at Guantanamo . . . not the homeland,'' Lorraine Arias Believeau tearfully told a knot of reporters. Her stockbroker brother, Adam, perished inside the World Trade Center.

The five 9/11 accused allegedly trained, advised and financed the 19 hijackers who commandeered the aircraft that crashed into the World Trade Center...

''They've already taken 3,000 lives,'' Arias said, urging the new president to continue with the congressionally approved commissions. "This was an act of war, not a traffic ticket. It should be in military court.''

For two days now, the five observers have sat in a special glass booth behind the 9/11 proceedings while Judge Stephen Henley, an Army colonel, questioned the lead defendant, Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his fellow accused on procedural matters in the case.

Monday, two of the accused boasted of their pride in assisting in the mass murder. Wednesday, Mohammed said he opposed Obama's request for a delay and offered ''to confess,'' language he has used in the past that has been interpreted to mean he wants to plead guilty.

The family members said they felt as though the men were taunting them. - Source - Centre Daily

Will Khalid Sheik Mohammed prevail and receive a speedy trial as requested? Not if Barack Obama has anything to say about it - and apparently, he does.

Sorry, Mr. Mohammed, you'll have to wait until the President receives clear assurances that you and your buddies will receive a fair and untainted trial.

Obama is doing this for your own good, Khalid! So keep your yap shut and stop being such an ingrate!

Freed Gitmo Detainee Leads Al Qaida

Excerpted from the New York Times and Newsmax:

The deputy leader of al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen - Said Ali al-Shihri - is a former Guantanamo detainee, who was released from Guantanamo and sent to Saudi Arabia in 2007... There he passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists before resurfacing with al-Qaida in Yemen...

The development comes as the Obama administration has moved toward closing down the Guantanamo facility and moving it’s most hard-core inmates to U.S. prisons, where they’d have the same rights as American criminals. Critics fear that putting them on U.S. soil will also increase the risk of attacks and hostage taking designed to release them.

American officials say they suspect that Mr. Shihri may have been involved in the car bombings outside the American Embassy in Sana [Yemen] last September that killed 16 people, including six attackers.

From WND:

President Obama, what have you done?... The families of the 9/11 victims are praying that they live long enough to see the monsters being incarcerated at Gitmo receive justice, but that hope is fading...

These families don't want to see O.J. Simpson trials for terrorists where terrorists are able to win their freedom with the help of the ACLU and other terrorist-advocacy groups...

The even more disturbing proposal by Obama's aides would involve the transfer of some of the terrorists to foreign soil where some would no doubt wind up being set free. And when Gitmo detainees are set free, let's just say that they don't sign up for night courses on napkin folding or training to become a registered nurse or paralegal.

The Pentagon says the number of Guantanamo Bay detainees who rejoined terrorist missions after being released is on the rise... 61 detainees are believed as of last month to have returned to the fight against the United States since being released...

Related post: Majority of Americans Oppose Guantanamo Closure

Thinking outside the Box

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley recently offered some words of advice to Barack Obama:

Start thinking outside of the box, then you will be able to heal the nation's economic woes.

"But that's a lot easier said than done," I said to myself. How does one go about 'thinking outside the box'?

The question was gnawing at me for quite some time and I knew that unless I discovered the solution to this quandary, I would never have piece of mind.

So I surfed and surfed around the Internet all day today, from morning till dusk, until I finally found the answer to my question on YouTube.

Would you like me to share it with you?

Okay...

Here it is:




You see, one only needs to get out of the box, and then he'll automatically start thinking outside the box!

The words and counsel of Mayor Richard Daley are so deep and profound. His wellspring of wisdom is truly beyond human comprehension!

How Low Can They Get?

From the newly revamped White House website - h/t - WND:

"President Obama will keep the broken promises made by President Bush to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. He and Vice President Biden will take steps to ensure that the federal government will never again allow such catastrophic failures in emergency planning and response to occur...

"President Obama swiftly responded to Hurricane Katrina. Citing the Bush Administration's 'unconscionable ineptitude' in responding to Hurricane Katrina, then-Senator Obama introduced legislation requiring disaster planners to take into account the specific needs of low-income hurricane victims...."

How low can these people get?! President Bush has gone out of his way to show the utmost respect for Barack Obama and to facilitate a smooth transition for his new administration, and Barack Obama has never hesitated for a moment to trash him!

Obama even uses the official White House website to spew his virulent and vulgar attacks against Mr. Bush!

If you'll recall, during the recent Presidential campaign, Barack Obama lambasted Sen. McCain and accused him of waging negative attacks against him. The Obama campaign even created a website called the "Low Road Express" highlighting McCain's alleged invectives.

They posted a video of McCain in 2000 promising that he would never "take the low road to highest office of the land."

"Hypocricy", they called it.



But truth be told, Sen. McCain couldn't possibly stoop to the level of these miscreants, even if he tried!

What's more: Did Barack Obama really show that much empathy for the people of New Orleans?!

Let's take a stroll down 'memory lane' and find out:

Joe Biden and Barack Obama voted twice for the infamous Alaskan "Bridge To Nowhere" and they specifically voted against giving that money to Katrina victims!:



Empathy?

These people are nothing but a bunch of despicable and disingenuous lowlives!

Fidel Castro Believes in Obama!

Excerpted from the USA Today:

Fidel Castro said Wednesday that Barack Obama seems "like a man who is absolutely sincere," Argentina's president, Christine Fernandez said after meeting with the ailing Cuban icon.

"Fidel believes in Obama!" she said..."He told me he had followed the inauguration of Barack Obama very closely, that he had watched the inauguration on television all day. He had a very good perception of President Obama."

Fernandez said Castro called Obama "a man who seems absolutely sincere," who believes strongly in his ideas "and who hopefully can carry them out."

Majority of Americans Oppose Guantanamo Closure

Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order Thursday to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center within a year, a senior administration official said.

However, a new Gallup poll released on Wednesday found that 45 percent of Americans think the U.S. government should not close Guantanamo, while 35 percent think it should.

This would seem to indicate that a majority of Americans are reluctant to embrace the president's soft and fuzzy approach toward terrorism. And while the 'Obama doctrine of appeasement' may be selling well outside of the US, here in America it doesn't seem to be faring as well.

Ultimately, the American people have enjoyed seven years of peace and tranquility under George W. Bush [since the 9/11 attacks] and they're not about to forfeit their tranquility to Barack Obama and his 'New World Order' anytime soon.

The Purple Tunnel of Doom!

Thousands upon thousands of people arrived at Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony on Tuesday and stood in line for hours on end, crushed in a sea of humanity, only to discover that their coveted tickets were totally worthless:

From TPM readers:

JB: "I had a purple ticket to view the swearing in ceremony. I got in the ticket line at 6:30 this morning and was shut out of the event - over 4.5 hours in line and no dice. In fact, there were no police, barricades, signs, or directions. Think of it - 30,000 plus (and i'd venture over 50,000) standing in a tunnel for 4 hours with no public safety personnel. And then they don't get in. We are lucky that we aren't hearing reports of injuries. Truly negligent."

AJ: "It was frightening. 30,000 to 50,000 people may sound like an exaggeration, but it isn't. I know some reports so far have said hundreds of people were shut out, but it is definitely in the thousands. It seemed like we were caught in a bad science fiction movie--as if this was the moment when the gates would shut and we'd be trapped inside while the aliens began their invasion. The number of people in that tunnel, combined with the lack of any sense of order, was eerie...

"Everyone pushes forward until we reach a gate, and then it's mass chaos. There's nowhere to go; we're trapped. They're not letting us in, but the crowd is so large and confused that there's no way out. Eventually people started to leave (thank God) but others started chanting, "Let us in! Let us in!" It would have taken just a little push to turn that crowd into an angry mob.

"By this point, it's 11:20 and we're about to miss the whole thing! We don't have time to get to the Mall, either... I'm trying to be happy about what is truly a great day in American history, but I also can't help but be completely disturbed by my experience. I want to know what happened there today--I want to know why I was left in a TUNNEL with thousands of people with no supervision whatsoever. I want to know why I had to miss one of the most important and historic days I will ever witness. But thankfully I'm just disappointed and not injured."

From Firedoglake:

"People chanted, 'Let us in.' People chanted, 'We have tickets.' People chanted 'we are purple', waving their precious 4x6 inch tickets in the air. And then they just started begging and shouting. 'Let us in. We have tickets. We've been here for hours. Let us in'... I don't think I can even begin to capture the chaos and lack of organization--and, of course, the frustration and anger that this caused in all of us out there..."

My fellow Obamalytes, I offer you my heartfelt condolences. It's really sad. Where were all those 'Community Organizers' when you needed them?! Hmmm?

Investors Unload Their Stocks After Hearing Obama's Inaugural Address

Bank stocks Tumbled on Tuesday and the Dow Jones down industrial average fell 332 points, its lowest close since Nov 20. After hearing Obama's inaugural address, investors began unloading their stocks.

"Some traders were hoping to have heard something in the inaugural address that would have indicated more of a specific action toward stabilizing the economy..., which they did not hear, and I think as a result, helped to cascade [share] prices lower."
Sam Stovall - Standard & Poors



Meanwhile, in the Kenyan village of Kogelo - the birthplace of Barack Obama's father - revelers celebrated the historic inauguration with plenty of song and dance.

Obama fails to appease Somali terrorists

I just finished reading a news item that has me truly baffled:

U.S. counter-terrorism officials are aggressively investigating a potential threat of "uncertain credibility" to today's inauguration events posed by an East African Islamic extremist group...

In a bulletin issued Monday night to state and local law enforcement, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and intelligence officials said they are analyzing information received in the last few days that people affiliated with al-Shabaab, a radical group fighting an insurgency in Somalia, may try to stage an attack at some point Tuesday, U.S. officials said.

Now, here's what I can't comprehend:

Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, Barack Obama stated that "such a failure of empathy [on the part of the terrorists]... is not... unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. Most often..., it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair...."

Barack Obama then went on to assert that America would have to devote far more attention to raising the hope and prospects of destitute people all across the globe.

Clearly, Mr. Obama has indicated that he would charter a new course in dealing with terrorists and that he would work tirelessly to address their "helplessness and despair". Then why would these Somali terrorists attempt to disrupt Obama's inauguration ceremony?! Obama is on their side! He has pledged to cure all of their ills, and this is how they repay him?! By waging a terrorist attack against the US on the most glorious day of his life?!

But even more troubling than that: Instead of seeking common ground with the Somali terrorists and negotiating with them, Barack Obama has allowed the FBI to issue bulletins to law enforcement officials that threaten to mire the festive spirit of this most joyous and monumental occasion. Clearly, a few of rounds of negotiations [with the terrorists], a little bit of diplomacy on Obama's part, and peace and serenity could have been restored upon the inaugural festivities.

But because of Obama's incompetence and his failure to live up to his promise that he would engage in direct diplomacy with the enemy, both the Somali terrorists and the inauguration attendees are now living in a state of hopelessness and despair.

Barack Obama, you promised to chart a brighter future for both the American people and the terrorists who seek to destroy us - but you lied to us - shame on you!

Obama & McCain, Bipartisanship? Or Political Chicanery?

Over the last three months, President-elect Obama has consulted with Sen. John McCain on various issues, including the administration’s potential nominees and top national security jobs, according to the New York Times.

Naturally, the Times extolled this recent courtship of McCain as unprecedented bipartisanship on the part of Obama, saying "it is just one step in a post-election courtship that historians say has few modern parallels".

Senator Lindsey Graham, a close friend of McCain, who attended one of these consultations, said "he and Mr. McCain were convinced that Mr. Obama was genuinely interested in working together with them on both domestic priorities and foreign policy."

"Not only is it good politics,' Mr. Graham said, "it gives you an insight into who we are dealing with."

But of course, Obama's courtship of McCain has nothing to do with bipartisanship. Quite the contrary, Obama - mindful of McCain's history of dissension with republican lawmakers and keenly aware of the significant sway that the Arizona senator holds over Republicans in the senate - is simply using McCain as a convenient tool to further his own leftist agenda.

But lest you fall for the New York Times propaganda and its extolment of Obama as the ultimate bipartisan pol, let me remind you what Sen. McCain had to say about Obama's so called bipartisanship back in February of 2006. The following excerpt - from the Hotline blog - was written well before Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency. [I linked to this piece back in September]:

An outraged Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) today called Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) insincere and partisan, suggesting the Illinois freshman as much as lied in private discussions the two had about ethics reform last week.

"I would like to apologize to you for assuming that your private assurances to me regarding your desire to cooperate in our efforts to negotiate bipartisan lobbying reform were sincere," McCain wrote to Obama.

Obama attended a meeting with McCain and senators committed to a bipartisan task force on ethics reform. McCain left the meeting convinced that Obama was open to working closely together, according to an aide.

But the next day, Obama wrote McCain that he preferred his own party's legislation to a task force and suggested McCain take another look at the Democratic caucus's Honest Leadership Act, which does not have a Republican cosponsor.

McCain wrote: "When you approached me and insisted that despite your leadership's preference to use the issue to gain a political advantage in the 2006 elections, you were personally committed to achieving a result that would reflect credit on the entire Senate and offer the country a better example of political leadership, I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine and admirable."

"Thank you for disabusing me of such notions with your letter. ... I'm embarrassed to admit that after all these years in politics I failed to interpret your previous assurances as typical rhetorical gloss routinely used in political... to make self-interested partisan posturing appear more noble. Again, sorry for the confusion, but please be assured I won't make the same mistake again."

"I understand how important the opportunity to lead your party's effort to exploit this issue must seem to a freshman Senator, and I hold no hard feelings over your earlier disingenuousness. Again, I have been around long enough to appreciate that in politics the public interest isn't always a priority for every one of us. Good luck to you, Senator."

Apparently, things have changed since 2006 and Sen. McCain is now acknowledging the error of his ways. Over time, Sen. McCain has come to realize that the president-elect is indeed a noble and bipartisan pol. Obama is the Messiah, after all, and sen. McCain is now one of Obama's most fervent and devoted acolytes.

Good luck with that one, Sen. McCain.........

Update: Obama hosted a dinner for Sen. McCain at the Washington Hilton on Monday. The New York Times comments: "The dinner and Mr. Obama’s strong praise for his former rival seem like a down payment on the cooperation that Mr. Obama is hoping for on his legislative agenda. Having Mr. McCain on his side could go a long way toward greasing the skids."

That seems like a pretty cheap down payment and a real bargain for Obama! But apparently, Sen. McCain is in the market for a little bit of the limelight, and he'll take any form of downpayment he can get, as long as he receives his share of the glory and everlasting fame.

Sigh........

Why does Eric Holder support Terrorists?

"There is no clearly defined rule of international law prohibiting material support of terrorism. Indeed, there is not even consensus on the definition of terrorism."
Attorney General-nominee, Eric Holder [see the following video]



It should also be noted that back in 1999, when former president Clinton pardoned 16 members of the FALN terrorist organization, Eric Holder [then-deputy attorney general] not only supported the pardon, he actually pushed for it - as far back as 1997.

During Holder's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee [in 1999], Sen. Orrin Hatch - then-chairman of the judiciary committee - asked him among other things, why he never pressed the terrorists to provide information about other FALN terrorists who were still at large. Holder shillyshallied a bit, but was unable to answer the question:



Surprisingly, Sen. Hatch is now supporting Mr. Holder's nomination for attorney general.

Oh well, it's reassuring to know that we'll soon have an attorney general who'll stand side-by-side with the terrorists of the world......

Good grief!

For a more thorough and detailed report on the entire FALN/Holder debacle, click here.

And to read what Joseph F. Connor - whose father was murdered by FALN terrorists - has to say about the Eric Holder/FALN debacle, click here.

Obama Tries to Charm Conservative Pundits into Submission

From the Chicago Sun Times:

President-elect Barack Obama held an unannounced dinner Tuesday night at the $19 million home of conservative columnist George Will...

Two other conservative columnists -- William Kristol and the New York Times' David Brooks -- also were spotted there, the report said.

Some Bloggers wondered if right-wing radio guru Rush Limbaugh was among the guests.

That rumor was based on the following tidbit posted on Mr. Limbaugh's website:

"Obama asked for ideas to save the economy, Rush had some good ones on Monday, and Tuesday he's [Rush] mysteriously in Washington… coincidence?"

But the rumor was patently false.

Limbaugh traveled to Washington to attend a Medal of Freedom awards dinner at the White House.

He also had lunch with President Bush in the afternoon.

Apparently, the Maha Rushie had better things to do with his time than to let himself be charmed by the Messiah. For as the New Republic points out, the dinner meeting was nothing but a shrewd maneuver on Obama's part:

Obama's... certainly not going to make any new promises to appease the right. And a little personal charm is sure to buy him a few pulled punches among the columns and punditry of these men...

The Daily Kos agrees:

"Let him try to work his charm with that crowd!"

However, Obama never did get a chance to work his charm with Mr. Limbaugh. And that's a good thing. I shudder to think what kind of sparks would be flying if the Maha Rushie was caught breaking bread with the Messiah!

What did Leon Panetta know about 'extraordinary renditions' under Clinton?

The Bush administration has been heavily criticized for signing off on the CIA's controversial "rendition" program, which allows terror suspects to be captured and questioned on foreign soil. But the rendition program was actually launched under President Bill Clinton, according to Michael Scheuer, a 22-year veteran of the CIA who resigned from the agency in 2004.

From Breitbart:

Scheuer, who headed the CIA unit that tracked Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden from 1996 to 1999, said that he developed and led the "renditions" program, which he said included moving prisoners without due legal process to countries without strict human rights protections.

"In Cairo, people are not treated like they are in Milwaukee," Scheurer said in 2005. "The Clinton administration asked us if we believed that the prisoners were being treated in accordance with local law. And we answered, yes, we're fairly sure."

Thus, the question arises: What did Leon Panetta - former White House chief of staff to Bill Clinton and the man chosen by Barack Obama to lead the CIA - know about the renditions program ? And will the Bush bashers assail Mr. Panetta the same way they inveighed against President Bush? Hmmm?..... - h/t Telegraph UK

Update - From the AP:

Obama promised that his intelligence team - led by Panetta and retired Adm. Dennis Blair, the nominee for national intelligence director — will break with Bush administration practices that he said tarnished U.S. intelligence agencies and American foreign policy...

"I have the utmost respect for Leon Panetta," Obama said Tuesday. "I think that he is one of the finest public servants that we've had... As chief of staff to the president, he is somebody who obviously was fully versed in international affairs crisis management, and had to evaluate intelligence consistently on a day-to-day basis."

Obama said Americans will see "a team that is committed to breaking with some of the past practices and concerns that have, I think, tarnished the image of the agencies, the intelligence agencies, as well as U.S. foreign policy.""

Ahem......

The comment appears to be Obama's signal that he is drawing a line between controversial Bush policies, such as harsh interrogations, extraordinary rendition, secret prisons, and warrantless wiretapping, and the agencies he directed to carry them out...

Ahem.....

Sigh.............

Jimmy Carter's 'Habitat for Cockroaches, Rats and Ants'

From the Strata-sphere:

The best example of how the liberal bleeding heart creates ideas that are all hype with no substance... is how the ‘free’ housing built by Jimmy Carter by cheap labor (volunteers with little to no building skills) are now falling apart:

RESIDENTS of a model housing estate bankrolled by Hollywood celebrities and hand-built by Jimmy Carter, the former US president, are complaining that it is falling apart.

Fairway Oaks was built on northern Florida wasteland by 10,000 volunteers, including Carter, in a record 17-day “blitz” organised by the charity Habitat for Humanity.

Eight years later it is better known for cockroaches, mildew and mysterious skin rashes.…

One man pulled up his floorboards to find rubbish 5ft deep under his kitchen. Other complaints include cracking walls and rotting door frames that let in rats and ants. Many residents have complained of mildew and mysterious skin rashes...

A forthcoming legal battle over Fairway Oaks threatens the reputation of a charity envied for the calibre of its celebrity supporters, who range from Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt to Colin Firth, Christian Bale and Helena Bonham Carter...

Is there any better representation of the disasters of liberal policies and how they stand the test of time?

Read in full.

Pro Publica Got it Right This Time Around

On Wednesday, I linked to an article in Pro Publica which describes how Roland Burris - a former attorney general in Illinois - once sought to impose the death penalty on an innocent man.

In light of this revelation, I questioned Barack Obama's rationale in endorsing Roland Burris for governor of Illinois in 2002.

Why am I mentioning this again? Because Glenn Reynolds - after linking to the Pro Publica article, via the Politico blog [which published the piece on Thursday] - cites a recent article in the Rocky Mountain News which depicts Pro Publica as an unreliable, slanted and shabby news source. Hence, I feel it is important to note that with regards to the Roland Burris death penalty debacle, Pro Publica relies on two news sources - the Chicago Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune - to corroborate its story.

Thus, while there may be some legitimate gripes about Pro Publica and its journalistic integrity, as far as the Roland Burris story is concerned, it seems they got it right: Mr. Burris - for the sake of political expediency - sent an innocent man to death row!

And despite all of this, Barack Obama endorsed Roland Burris for governor of Illinois in 2002.

Apparently, Barack Obama's rationale is as follows:

You can impose the death penalty on an innocent man, be tainted by acts of sheer ruthlessness and still be qualified for public office - as long as the person who appoints you to public office isn't Rod Blagojevich.........