ObamaOdrama

The Washington Post reports that congressional Republicans and Democrats both agree to disagree with Obama on closing Guantanamo Bay if detainees end up on U.S. soil.

The Democratic-led House Appropriations Committee yesterday passed a bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while stripping the more than $50 million that administration officials had requested for closing the prison and starting the relocation of its 240 prisoners.
Lawmakers criticized the administration for not yet offering a detailed plan on prisoner relocation.
Republicans, who have said the issue is an example of Obama’s weakness on national security, accused the president of endangering Americans. They proposed legislation dubbed the “Keep Terrorists Out of America Act,” which would bar moving Guantanamo prisoners to a U.S. facility unless the receiving state’s governor and legislature approved.
“Our constituents don’t want these terrorists in their neighborhoods,” said House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio.).
But several Democrats have joined Republicans in saying they do not want Guantanamo prisoners in their states or districts. When officials in Hardin, Mont., a city that has a prison with no inmates, said they would accept detainees from Guantanamo Bay, the state’s Democratic senators shot down the idea.
“You cannot close Guantanamo unless you have a plan,” said Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.).
“I wouldn’t want them, and I wouldn’t take them,” said Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.). “I don’t see a solution.”

When an administration has scratched the word terrorist from it vocabulary, it doesn’t take much to appreciate Attorney General Eric Holder’s statement that United States will not release anyone considered a terrorists into the country.

The Washington Post reports that the Central Intelligence Agency released documents showing that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was brief in September 2002 about the use of “enhanced” interrogation techniques contradicting her repeated denial.

In a 10-page memo outlining an almost seven-year history of classified briefings, intelligence officials said that Pelosi and then-Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.) were the first two members of Congress ever briefed on the interrogation tactics. Then the ranking member and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, respectively, Pelosi and Goss were briefed Sept. 4, 2002, one week before the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The memo, issued by the Director of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency to Capitol Hill, notes the Pelosi-Goss briefing covered “EITs including the use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah.” EIT is an acronym for enhanced interrogation technique. Zubaydah was one of the earliest valuable al-Qaeda members captured and the first to have the controversial tactic known as water boarding used against him.

The issue of what Pelosi knew and when she knew it has become a matter of heated debate on Capitol Hill. Republicans have accused her of knowing for many years precisely the techniques CIA agents were using in interrogations, and only protesting the tactics when they became public and liberal antiwar activists protested.

I think it’s time to interrogate Nancy Peolsi… she’s the poster child for some enhanced techniques if there ever was one right now.

According to QuincyNews.org, the Quincy City Council denied a written request to speak on a recently approved $31.2 million budget and water and sewer rate increases by a resident taxpayer.

When it came time to vote to open the floor to allow the speaker, a mixed voice vote took place. A roll call vote ensued and the seven Democrats denied McQueen’s opportunity to speak while six Republicans voted to allow him to speak.

Alderman Mike Rein (R-5th Ward) was absent.

Alderman Mike Farha (R-4th Ward) said he had never seen anyone denied the right to speak in his 10 years on the council and called the vote “outrageous.”

Farha spoke up after the vote, saying “We have never not allowed a member of the public to address this body.”

Alderman Steve Duesterhaus (D-2nd Ward) countered by saying “A point of order here. This is an incidental motion and is not subject to debate.” Mayor John Spring agreed and Farha finished with “I just want my objection noted for the record.”

Duesterhaus (D-2nd Ward) said there had been ample opportunity to comment on the budget and the water and sewer increases before last week’s votes had taken place.

Clearly the elected officials have more pressing matters than observing the Constitutional rights of its taxpaying citizens who follow all the necessary steps required to address the council in a public forum.

Tuesday night, the Senate passed a resolution making recent party hopper Arlen Specter the most junior Democrat on four of the five committeees on which he serves and serves him right.

In a statement Wednesday, Senator Specter said he wasn’t surprised that the issue of subcommittee chairmanships would not be decided until the 2010 election.

“Senator Reid assured me that I would keep my committee assignments and that I would have the same seniority as if I had been elected as a Democrat in 1980,” he said. But he added, confirming grumblings from within the Democratic caucus: “Some members of the caucus have raised concerns about my seniority, so the caucus will vote on my seniority at the same time subcommittee chairmanships are confirmed after the 2010 election.”

He also said, “I am confident my seniority will be maintained under the arrangement I worked out with Senator Reid.”

Enjoy your new party Arlen.

The AP reports that before a House Armed Services subcommittee, Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, the director of the National Security Agency, and other military leaders delivered prepared testimonies that described the U.S. military’s cyber capabilities as inadequate and unable to keep pace with external threats.

As you might recall last month, the Pentagon “released” a flood of reports citing cyber-attacks on the U.S. designed to bring cybersecurity to the forefront of national attention.  On April 7th, the Pentagon claimed it spent more than $100 million in the last six months responding to cyber attacks.  The next day, a story about the U.S. electrical grid being infiltrated by cyberspies was “leaked” to the press.  On April 21st, the Pentagon claimed cyberspies hacked into its $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project.

it’s no surprise these testimonies come shortly before the Obama administration will release its review of our nation’s cybersecurity.  And, it doesn’t take much imagination to figure out what the review will conclude.  Move over right-wing extremists.  There’s a new threat on the block and I’m sure it will require all Americans to make sacrifices for the common good.  I’m sure Obama will command his Democratic army to move swiftly in passing legislation granting him real ultimate power of the internet at the same time he assures the sleepy American people he really doesn’t want anything to do with the internets.

Yeah we’ve heard this “sacrifice” spiel before… ironic since Obama wasn’t willing to sacrifice his blackberry despite security concerns. 

P.S.  The legislation has been in the works since the April fools long before the administration began ginning up this crisis.