shocka!: Obama walks back closing Gitmo

Obama was on This Week With George Stephanopoulos and told him the following:

President-elect Barack Obama said this weekend that he does not expect to close Guantanamo Bay in his first 100 days in office.

“I think it’s going to take some time and our legal teams are working in consultation with our national security apparatus as we speak to help design exactly what we need to do,” Obama said in an exclusive “This Week” interview with George Stephanopoulos, his first since arriving in Washington.

“It is more difficult than I think a lot of people realize,” the president-elect explained. “Part of the challenge that you have is that you have a bunch of folks that have been detained, many of whom may be very dangerous who have not been put on trial or have not gone through some adjudication. And some of the evidence against them may be tainted even though it’s true. And so how to balance creating a process that adheres to rule of law, habeas corpus, basic principles of Anglo-American legal system, by doing it in a way that doesn’t result in releasing people who are intent on blowing us up.”

But Obama said unequivocally that it will close. “I don’t want to be ambiguous about this. We are going to close Guantanamo and we are going to make sure that the procedures we set up are ones that abide by our Constitution. That is not only the right thing to do but it actually has to be part of our broader national security strategy because we will send a message to the world that we are serious about our values.”

Talk about walking a campaign promise back. WOW! 😮

Of course, because he’s the Obamassiah, it’s just fine.

Liberal Heads exploding and calling for his impeachment in 5…..4……3…..2…..

Update:  Wait a second here! “Anglo-American Legal system’? What the hell is this asshole trying to say? Because America was founded by White people, and because we happen to have laws against murder, that this makes us a racist Nation? Man, for someone who did not run a Campaign based upon race, Obama sure does like to remind people that American is a “Anglo Saxon”. Race Baiting tool. 🙄

Others: Washington Monthly, PoliGazette, theheretik.us, TIME.com and JammieWearingFool

(Via Memeornadum)

The Obligatory Google is ruining the Universe Posting

Why must I blog about such stupidity? Rolling Eyes

Via The Times of London:

While millions of people tap into Google without considering the environment, a typical search generates about 7g of CO2 Boiling a kettle generates about 15g. “Google operates huge data centres around the world that consume a great deal of power,” said Alex Wissner-Gross, a Harvard University physicist whose research on the environmental impact of computing is due out soon. “A Google search has a definite environmental impact.”

Calling Al Gore!

Fausta Weighs in here:

I won’t dare calculate how much methane the hyphenated physicist emitted while doing his study but considering that my yard has over a dozen trees, I’m willing to bet my carbon offset is bigger than his.

Now excuse me while I Google, watch a few YouTubes, have some kippers for breakfast and start the tea kettle.

I’m right behind you Fausta. (well, not really! SurpriseTongueWinking) This is about as silly as the Sea Kittens stupidity that I REFUSED to Blog about, for it’s utter stupidity.

Yeah, I’m off to do a couple good Google searches, just to piss off the Liberals. Devil

Others: Liberal Values, Jules Crittenden, Fausta’s Blog, JammieWearingFool, Patterico’s Pontifications and TigerHawk

Local News: Michigan's Government continues to grow

This is what happens when you allow Liberals to run your state.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm - Communist Liberal Michigan Governor
Gov. Jennifer Granholm - Communist Liberal Michigan Governor

Via WDIV-TV:

Gov. Jennifer Granholm is continuing to sign a slew of bills passed in December by the Michigan Legislature.A new law signed Friday requires certain drunken drivers to use an ignition interlock device aimed at stopping repeat offenses. Another law prohibits stores from sending wine directly to customers. The wine law comes after a federal court ruling saying Michigan’s old law was unfair to out-of-state stores. Also Friday, Granholm signed a law aimed at punishing store owners caught with tobacco smuggled from around the country. Another new law removes sales taxes and fees from the gross receipts portion of Michigan’s new business tax that took effect in 2008. Critics had pushed to eliminate the so-called “tax on a tax.”

This is nothing more than a witches brew of unreasonable laws on morality and a direct attack on capitalism. Of course, this is what happens when you elect anti-capitalist communist-minded Liberals in your state to rule it. They always overstep their authority. Should not stores be allow to get tobacco where they wish? Should wine sellers be able to ship their wine directly to their customers, if they so choose to? As for the dunk driving laws, while I am sympathetic to those killed in drinking related crashes; the truth is that this law totally voliates one’s consitutional rights as an American citizen.

Anti-Israel Propaganda in the Wall Street Journal

I knew there was a reason for me to wake up earlier than normal today.

Via the Wall Street Journal, or shall I call it that Arab Journal?  …and this is Rubert Murdoch’s Paper? WTF? WOW! 😮

Israel’s current assault on the Gaza Strip cannot be justified by self-defense. Rather, it involves serious violations of international law, including war crimes. Senior Israeli political and military leaders may bear personal liability for their offenses, and they could be prosecuted by an international tribunal, or by nations practicing universal jurisdiction over grave international crimes. Hamas fighters have also violated the laws of warfare, but their misdeeds do not justify Israel’s acts.

Right out the gate, the Palestine and Terrorist apologist begins to justify the actions of Hamas. He calls them misdeeds. I suppose he considers the attacks on the World Trade Center, our Pentegon and the crash of Flight 93 “Misdeeds” as well? I suppose he considers the 2,998 Dead and the 6,291+ Injured on September 11’th 2001, misdeeds? Which were carried out by those of the islamic faith?

Of course, if we look at the bottom of this article of Anti-Israeli screed, we can see where this Arab apologist is from:

Mr. Bisharat is a professor at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco

But of course! He is a liberal moonbat! I guess Rupert Murdoch was asleep when they snuck that op-ed piece through the building and to the printer.

Others: War in Context, Washington Post, Reuters, Guardian and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Baltimore Mayor in hot water

Seems like Detroit has some competition!

Via the WaPo:

Mayor Sheila Dixon was indicted Friday on charges that she accepted illegal gifts during her time as mayor and City Council president, including travel, fur coats and gift cards intended for the poor that she allegedly used instead for a holiday shopping spree.

A grand jury indicted Dixon on 12 counts, including four counts of perjury and two counts of theft over $500. She was also charged with theft under $500, fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and misconduct in office.

The State Prosecutor’s Office, which has been investigating corruption at City Hall for nearly three years, said Dixon received holiday gift cards for four years from several people. Prosecutors said the gift cards were to be distributed to needy families, but were instead used by Dixon to buy electronics _ including an Xbox, a PlayStation 2 and a camcorder _ clothes and other merchandise and also handed out to members of her staff.

“I am being unfairly accused,” Dixon said in a statement. “Time will prove that I have done nothing wrong, and I am confident that I will be found innocent of these charges.”

Now where have I heard that before?

Oh, I remember!

Kilpatrick is now in jail. As is his former lover, who lied under oath.

Kilpatrick and Dixon are both, you guessed it, Democrats!

Others: Political Machine, NewsBusters.org, Towleroad, The Sundries Shack, Stop The ACLU, Hotline On Call, Macsmind, Hot Air, Democracy in America and RedState

Bambi's Mother-In-Law to live in the White House

I bet ol’ Bambi is just tickled pink over this one here.

Via the New York Times Blog, the Caucus:

It’s official: Marian Robinson, the 71-year-old mother-in-law of President-elect Barack Obama, will be moving into the White House, transition officials said on Friday.

In fact, Mrs. Robinson is already in town, helping to smooth the family’s personal transition as Mr. Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters prepare for new lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

“She is here to help them get up and running,’’ said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Obama. “She will determine in the coming months whether or not she wants to stay in D.C. permanently.”

In some ways, Mrs. Robinson’s decision to move – at least temporarily — is no real surprise. During the presidential campaign, Mrs. Robinson was a family mainstay, caring for the Obama girls, Sasha and Malia, while their parents were on the road.

She took them to school, to piano lesson and dance lessons, cooked their meals, ran their baths and got them to bed on time. She was a critical part of the family’s effort to keep the girls’ lives as normal as possible in the midst of extraordinary times.

But Mrs. Robinson is also deeply rooted in Chicago. She still lives in the house where Michelle Obama grew up. And she has often expressed ambivalence about the notion of moving to Washington.

“I’ve never lived outside of Chicago, so I don’t know,’’ said Mrs. Robinson, hesitating a bit as she considered last year whether she was willing to move into the White House. “In the end, in the end, I’ll do whatever. I might fuss a little, but I’ll be there.”

I do believe some music here would be most helpful…

Now Me and Jack Moss are think along the same lines. Who is paying for all of this? Most likely, you and me. 🙄

I also wonder about his half brother and aunt? (you know the one who’s here illegally?) I mean seeing liberals want amnesty illegal immigrants anyhow, what’s the difference?  🙄

It’s going to be a long four to six years.

Update: AllahPundit over at HotAir also has a humorus take on it as well. 😀 😛

Others: The Moderate Voice, TBogg, Papamoka Straight Talk, CBS News, Political Machine, Macsmind, Hot Air, TIME.com and Riehl World View

BlagoGate Continues

Sorry gang for the lack of posting. Just another one of those days where I just didn’t really feel like repeating myself over and over and over…. Hopefully, After the weekend, I might feel a bit more in the mood to blog about politics.

—-

Picking up on the scandal of the year, today the Chicago House of Representives voted today to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The Story via Chi-Town Tribune:

In a historic vote, the Illinois House has impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, directing the Senate to put the state’s 40th chief executive on trial with the goal of removing him from office.

The vote by the House was 114-1 and marks the first time in the state’s 190-year history that a governor has been impeached, despite Illinois’ longstanding reputation for political corruption.

Rep. Milt Patterson (D-Chicago) was the lone vote against impeaching the governor. Patterson, from Chicago’s Southwest Side, said after the roll call that he didn’t feel it was his job to vote to impeach the governor. He declined comment on whether he approved of the job Blagojevich is doing.

A Blagojevich spokesman said the governor will not resign. A 2 p.m. news conference with the governor is scheduled for the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago.

The actions of the House–approving an article of impeachment maintaining Blagojevich had committed abuses of power–represents the equivalent of an indictment.

The impeachment resolution covering Blagojevich’s actions “show a public servant who has betrayed his oath of office, who has betrayed the public trust, who is not fit to govern the state of Illinois,” said Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, the Chicago Democrat who headed a special panel that recommended Blagojevich’s impeachment a day earlier.

This now paves the way for the for the Senate of Chicago to start the process of starting an impeachment trial. I would tend to believe that the President-Elects camp just wants this little problem to simply go away. But it looks like the Governor is not going to resign and this process will be dragged out. Which makes me wonder, what would Al Capone do in a situation like this? 😉

Related to this story comes this little nugget of information via Chi-Town Sun-Times:

A potentially troublesome new detail emerged about Roland Burris’ controversial U.S. Senate appointment Thursday after a state House panel voted unanimously to recommend Gov. Blagojevich be impeached.

For the first time, Burris indicated that he asked Blagojevich’s former chief of staff and college classmate, Lon Monk, to relay his interest in the Senate seat to the governor last July or September.

“If you’re close to the governor, you know, let him know I’m certainly interested in the seat,” Burris said he told Monk.

That testimony appears to differ from an affidavit Burris submitted to the impeachment panel this week in which he stated he spoke to no “representatives” of the governor about the Senate post prior to Dec. 26.

Federal prosecutors, who identified Monk as “Lobbyist 1” in their criminal complaint against Blagojevich, indicated they tapped Monk’s phone in November as Blagojevich moved to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat.

Um, I believe when Barack Obama said, Hope and….Um, Change, this is NOT what he had in mind. 😮

I think it is safe to assume that this little soap opera is NOT going away anytime soon. Should be interesting to say the least. 😀

Others: Chicago Breaking News, BBC, The Gun Toting Liberal, Fox News, WBBM-TV, Sister Toldjah, TIME.com, Democracy in America, KFVS-TV, Scared Monkeys, Balloon Juice, Fausta’s Blog, Michelle Malkin, RBO, D-Day, The Huffington Post, Real Clear Politics, Progress IllinoisThe Reaction, Chicago Breaking News, Progress Illinois, ArchPundit, Michelle Malkin, Washington Wire, Taylor Marsh, Crooks and Liars, The Capitol Fax Blog, Hot Air and FiveThirtyEight.com (Via Memeorandum)


Zo breaks it down about Hollywood and Liberals!

…and takes a shoe to the side of the face, twice, in the process! 😆

Zo’s Homepage

Rep. John Conyers says "No go" to Dr. Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General

Here we go, with the blatant Identity Politics!

Via HuffPo:

I join in opposition with respected Noble Peace Prize award wining economist Paul Krugman, who has very serious concerns with having Dr. Gupta be the nation’s Surgeon General. […]

Also, there are highly experienced medical professionals who question whether Dr. Gupta has the necessary experience or even the medical background to be in charge of some 6,000 physicians or more who work in the United States Public Health Service. Gerard M. Farrel, Executive Director of the Commissioned Officers Association, stated in the January 7, 2008 Washington Post that Dr. Gupta will certainly face a “credibility gap” because he never served in the National Health Service Corp, and furthermore, does not have the “experience or qualifications to be the leader of the nation’s public health service.” Clearly, it is not in the best interests of the nation to have someone like this who lacks the requisite experience needed to oversee the federal agency that provides crucial health care assistance to some of the poorest and most underserved communities in America.

Translation? He is not a black man. So, he won’t serve our interests. Plus, he had the gall to question Michael Moore. So, no go on this man.

The Democrats make it so easy anymore. You all see why I left that bunch of psychopaths?

Others: NO QUARTER

Israeli/Gaza Conflict: Monday Morning Quarterbacking

I must say this crap is most pathetic. 🙄

First off, we have terrorist supporter and America’s worst former President and Commie Liberal traitor, Jimmy Carter in the WaPo:

I know from personal involvement that the devastating invasion of Gaza by Israel could easily have been avoided.

After visiting Sderot last April and seeing the serious psychological damage caused by the rockets that had fallen in that area, my wife, Rosalynn, and I declared their launching from Gaza to be inexcusable and an act of terrorism. Although casualties were rare (three deaths in seven years), the town was traumatized by the unpredictable explosions. About 3,000 residents had moved to other communities, and the streets, playgrounds and shopping centers were almost empty. Mayor Eli Moyal assembled a group of citizens in his office to meet us and complained that the government of Israel was not stopping the rockets, either through diplomacy or military action.

Knowing that we would soon be seeing Hamas leaders from Gaza and also in Damascus, we promised to assess prospects for a cease-fire. From Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who was negotiating between the Israelis and Hamas, we learned that there was a fundamental difference between the two sides. Hamas wanted a comprehensive cease-fire in both the West Bank and Gaza, and the Israelis refused to discuss anything other than Gaza.

We knew that the 1.5 million inhabitants of Gaza were being starved, as the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food had found that acute malnutrition in Gaza was on the same scale as in the poorest nations in the southern Sahara, with more than half of all Palestinian families eating only one meal a day.

Palestinian leaders from Gaza were noncommittal on all issues, claiming that rockets were the only way to respond to their imprisonment and to dramatize their humanitarian plight. The top Hamas leaders in Damascus, however, agreed to consider a cease-fire in Gaza only, provided Israel would not attack Gaza and would permit normal humanitarian supplies to be delivered to Palestinian citizens.

After extended discussions with those from Gaza, these Hamas leaders also agreed to accept any peace agreement that might be negotiated between the Israelis and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who also heads the PLO, provided it was approved by a majority vote of Palestinians in a referendum or by an elected unity government.

Since we were only observers, and not negotiators, we relayed this information to the Egyptians, and they pursued the cease-fire proposal. After about a month, the Egyptians and Hamas informed us that all military action by both sides and all rocket firing would stop on June 19, for a period of six months, and that humanitarian supplies would be restored to the normal level that had existed before Israel’s withdrawal in 2005 (about 700 trucks daily).

We were unable to confirm this in Jerusalem because of Israel’s unwillingness to admit to any negotiations with Hamas, but rocket firing was soon stopped and there was an increase in supplies of food, water, medicine and fuel. Yet the increase was to an average of about 20 percent of normal levels. And this fragile truce was partially broken on Nov. 4, when Israel launched an attack in Gaza to destroy a defensive tunnel being dug by Hamas inside the wall that encloses Gaza.

On another visit to Syria in mid-December, I made an effort for the impending six-month deadline to be extended. It was clear that the preeminent issue was opening the crossings into Gaza. Representatives from the Carter Center visited Jerusalem, met with Israeli officials and asked if this was possible in exchange for a cessation of rocket fire. The Israeli government informally proposed that 15 percent of normal supplies might be possible if Hamas first stopped all rocket fire for 48 hours. This was unacceptable to Hamas, and hostilities erupted.

After 12 days of “combat,” the Israeli Defense Forces reported that more than 1,000 targets were shelled or bombed. During that time, Israel rejected international efforts to obtain a cease-fire, with full support from Washington. Seventeen mosques, the American International School, many private homes and much of the basic infrastructure of the small but heavily populated area have been destroyed. This includes the systems that provide water, electricity and sanitation. Heavy civilian casualties are being reported by courageous medical volunteers from many nations, as the fortunate ones operate on the wounded by light from diesel-powered generators.

The hope is that when further hostilities are no longer productive, Israel, Hamas and the United States will accept another cease-fire, at which time the rockets will again stop and an adequate level of humanitarian supplies will be permitted to the surviving Palestinians, with the publicized agreement monitored by the international community. The next possible step: a permanent and comprehensive peace.

Disgraceful. The old bastard ought to be charged for Treason and sent to a reeducation camp, along with the rest of Liberal America. 😡

I mean, just who the hell does that old duffer think he is?  This is the same damned President who economic policies were a complete disaster. If it had not been for Ronald Reagan this country would have went into a full scale depression back in the 1970’s. Luckily Reagan made some very much needed changes and rid the country of some of the waste, which in turned staved off a depression and thankfully, we only experienced a slight recession. Again that recession was due to the disastrous polices of Carter. Hell, even Bill Clinton could not stand the old man, Clinton refused to meet with Carter at all. Which caused a major problem during his administration.

On the other hand, Marvin Hier makes some very valid points in a Wall Street Journal in an opinion piece:

At the U.N., no surprise, this double-standard is in full force. In response to Israel’s attack on Hamas, the Security Council immediately pulled an all-night emergency meeting to consider yet another resolution condemning Israel. Have there been any all-night Security Council sessions held during the seven months when Hamas fired 3,000 rockets at half a million innocent civilians in southern Israel? You can be certain that during those seven months, no midnight oil was burning at the U.N. headquarters over resolutions condemning terrorist organizations like Hamas. But put condemnation of Israel on the agenda and, rain or shine, it’s sure to be a full house.

Red Cross officials are all over the Gaza crisis, describing it as a full-blown humanitarian nightmare. Where were they during the seven months when tens of thousands of Israeli families could not sleep for fear of a rocket attack? Where were their trauma experts to decry that humanitarian crisis?

There have been hundreds of articles and reports written from the Erez border crossing falsely accusing Israel of blocking humanitarian supplies from reaching beleaguered Palestinians in Gaza. (In fact, over 520 truck loads of humanitarian aid have been delivered through Israeli crossings since the beginning of the Israeli counterattack.) But how many news articles, NGO reports and special U.N. commissions have investigated Hamas’s policy of deliberately placing rocket launchers near schools, mosques and homes in order to use innocent Palestinians as human shields?

Many people ask why there are so few Israeli casualties in comparison with the Palestinian death toll. It’s because Israel’s first priority is the safety of its citizens, which is why there are shelters and warning systems in Israeli towns. If Hamas can dig tunnels, it can certainly build shelters. Instead, it prefers to use women and children as human shields while its leaders rush into hiding. Read the Rest

I suggest you go read that entire piece. It is filled with truth. I mean, people sure have short memories when it comes to Israel, Gaza and Palestine. Some people must have forgotten that Israel totally pulled out of the Gaza Strip, gave the Palestinians that land, that was rightfully Israel’s and let them live there. So, what does Gaza do? Elects a terrorist organization to govern and then they whine and cry when Israel invades that land!   Fata was at least honorable enough to uphold a peace agreement, more than I can say for Hamas. The people in Gaza had better be glad I am not running that war campaign for Israel. They think the human toll is bad now? Ha! I’d bomb gaza into the damn stone age. Which is what Israel should rightly do, and take back their damn land from those arab scumbags.

Others on the right side of this conflict: QandO, , A Blog For All,protein wisdom, Don Surber, Little Green Footballs, Pirate’s Cove Macsmind, Gateway Pundit, Riehl World View, Yourish.com,Jules Crittenden, neo-neocon and Jihad Watch

(Via Memeorandum)