Deep Thought
Maybe someone ought to remind the Republican Governors Association that Guy Fawkes’ idea of political change involved terrorism and mass murder.
Archive for posts ‘terrorism’
Deep Thought
Can you imagine the right-wing outrage if liberal activists got up at a national conference and cracked jokes about an act of domestic terrorism?
If We Can’t Trust Our Judicial System, the Terorrists Win
I honestly have not understood the collective right-wing freak-out over the decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his cohorts in New York City, other than that it is yet another opportunity for conservatives to stick it to Obama. Nobody is suggesting that terrorists should be allowed to run around free in Central Park. On the contrary, they’ll be brought back to the scene of their crime and held accountable there by their victims. Doesn’t that sound like a more just than facing a panel of military officers in an entirely different country?
More importantly, the trial of the September 11 terrorists will demonstrate the integrity of our judicial system to the world; isn’t that something we should strive for? If we can no longer believe in our public institutions or, as a number of conservative pundits have suggested, are willing to throw out the Constitution and our principles to try these men, then haven’t the terrorists achieved their goal?
It seems like Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) understands this:
“It’s un-American to hold anyone indefinitely without trial,” Moran added. “It’s against our principles as a nation.”
…
“Right now, they’re sitting in Guantanamo gaining sympathy,” he said. “The sooner that we prosecute this guy, the sooner we can reduce the anti-American propaganda that surrounds his detention and inflames our enemies.”“Until we do that, it only strengthens the hand of people who recruit new terrorists with the clame claim we aren’t true to our principles,” he added.
We have to give Khalid Sheikh Mohammed a fair trial in an impartial American court, with all of the rights a privileges that our justice system accords him. Otherwise, quite frankly, the terrorists have won.
GOP Presidential Primary Will Actually Be a Contest of Who Republicans Most Want to Sleep With
- Please, Republicans, do not vote for Tim Pawlenty in your 2012 primary, or we will have to listen to him talk about banging his hot wife for the entire campaign. (Des Moines Register)
- On a related note, Mike Huckabee’s strongest base of support comes from older white women, who are much more interested in sleeping with him than, say, Sarah Palin. (GOP 12)
- Oh, and Sarah Palin would like us all to talk about “death panels” again, probably because Rep. Michele Bachmann is close to stealing the title of “Chief Republican Crazy Lady” from her. (CNN Political Ticker)
- The fate of American healthcare reform now depends entirely on Harry Reid being a strong leader. So, um, there goes that, then. (TPMDC)
- Joe Lieberman thinks we don’t have enough facts to call Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan a terrorist, but we do have enough to call what he did a “terrorist attack.” (The Hill)
Mark Sanford Returns from Mysterious South American “Hike”
- So it turns out that bonafide crazy person Gov. Mark Sanford was in fact not in Appalachia as his staff told the press but was, in fact, in Argentina! Appalachia, Argentina, they both start and end with “a” so you can forgive a guy for not knowing which one’s which, right? Anyway, Sanford is doing a presser soon to discuss his “exotic” and totally unannounced adventures. (The State)
- Just like on every other issue that could possibly be relevant to the American public, Americans trust Barack Obama more than Republicans on “handling the threat of terrorism.” And by a pretty sizable margin too! That’s probably because the terrorists are all his buddies from Muslin school, amirite? (The Plum Line)
- The city of Mansfield, TX, was going to give that uppity Negro a piece of their minds by sending back his socialism money! But then they changed their minds because, um, it turns out they actually need the money. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
- Your ABC television network has the audacity to put Barack Obama, the President of the United States of America, on television. Just like that! Without even seeing his birth certificate, or anything. This has made Republicans sad and whiny all over the YouTubes. In response, ABC News President David Westin says Republicans can suck it, the end. (ABC News)
- Pretty soon, it looks like Oregonians (Oregonos?) will be able to register to vote online. Hooray for increased participation in democracy! Shockingly, Republicans do not like this, because then all the Mexicans will get fake driver’s licenses and vote for Swine Flu, or something. (The Oregonian)
Tiller Clinic Closes
The Wichita abortion clinic run by a doctor who was shot and killed will remain closed permanently, his family said on Tuesday.
Dr. George R. Tiller’s clinic was one of the few in the country to provide abortions to women late in their pregnancies, and for decades, women had traveled there from all over the nation and from overseas. It was also the only remaining abortion clinic, even for first trimester abortions, in the Wichita region.
“The family of Dr. George Tiller announces that effective immediately, Women’s Health Care Services, Inc., will be permanently closed,” according to a statement issued on Tuesday morning by the family’s lawyers. “Notice is being given today to all concerned that the Tiller family is ceasing operation of the clinic and any involvement by family members in any other similar clinic.”
And to nobody’s surprise, successful terrorism breeds more terrorism:
Last week, Troy Newman, the leader of Operation Rescue, had said that closing the clinic now would send a worrisome message. “Good God, do not close this abortion clinic for this reason,” he said in an interview with The New York Times. “Every kook in the world will get some notion.”
And I wonder where those “notions” came from?
We Were Warned
A couple months ago the Department of Homeland Security released a report warning of the potential danger [PDF] of right-wing extremism, but conservatives denounced it as yet another example of the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy:
Watch out! The pro-life right wing nuts are on the loose! Be very careful….They could be lurking around any corner!
Oy-vey.
Hey, that’s basically the message coming from the Department of Homeland Security. In a new report, here’s how DHS defines right wing extremism in America:
Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups, and those that are mainly anti-government, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.
Read the DHS report here.
The American Center for Law and Justice is outraged to say the least. Read a statement below from the group:
This is an outrageous characterization that raises serious questions about the leadership and direction of the agency charged with protecting Americans in the ongoing battle against terrorism,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. “Why would the Department of Homeland Security single out groups like pro-life supporters when they should be focusing on identifying and apprehending the real terrorists – like al-Qaeda – groups that have vowed to destroy America? This characterization is not only offensive to millions of Americans who hold constitutionally-protected views opposing abortion – but also raises serious concerns about the political agenda of an agency with a mandate to protect America.”
A sad reminder as the nation mourns George Tiller.
Secret Service Investigating McCain/Palin Crowd
We’re starting to see the consequences of the GOP’s hate campaign against Barack Obama. The Secret Service is now investigating possible threats against Obama as a result of a crowdmember’s reaction to something Sarah Palin said:
The Secret Service is following up on media reports today that someone in the crowd at a McCain/Palin event suggested killing Barack Obama, according to Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley. The shout of “kill him” followed a Sarah Palin rant on Obama’s relationship with radical Chicagoan Bill Ayers.
This is what happens when you incite your supporters to call someone a terrorist, or you imply that your opponent is treasonous, or you hint that the other guy isn’t “one of us.”
How to Get Off the No-Fly List
Anyone who’s ever been pulled aside at airport security because their name is one of the million names on the no-fly list–like, for example, Jose Lopez, the father-in-law of a former co-worker of mine who was detained at Miami International Airport along with dozens of other Jose Lopez’s–knows that it’s damned near impossible to get off the list.
Well, one of Canada’s finest has discovered the workaround that apparently didn’t ever occur to a single person at the Department of Homeland Security:
A Quebec businessman whose name is one of the many that have erroneously landed on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s flight passenger watch list has decided to change his name to avoid lengthy security hassles at the airport.
Mario Labbé, an executive with a Montreal-based record company, says his Canadian passport triggers a red alert on the computers of U.S. customs agents every time he tries to board a flight to the U.S. — which is about once a month for the past seven years.
“I was pulled aside in a room … and you have to wait your turn to finally be released,” Labbé said. “An hour, an hour and a half, two hours, whatever it is after. Once I was caught in Miami like that for six hours.
“It’s always the same questions, about if I’ve lost my passport, if I’ve been to Japan — I don’t know why Japan, but in their file it was something to do with Japan.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wrote a letter to Labbé in 2004, saying he had been placed on their watch list after falling victim to identity theft. At the time, the department said there was no way for his name to be removed.
Although Labbé wrote letters to the U.S. department, his efforts were in vain, prompting him to legally change his name.
“So now, my official name is François Mario Labbé,” he said.
“Then you have to change everything: driver’s license, social insurance, medicare, credit card — everything.”
Although it’s not a big change from Mario Labbé, he said it’s been enough to foil the U.S. customs computers.
Don’t worry, folks, we’re safe as long as the terrorists keep using their original legal names to get into the country. And don’t forget to take off your shoes as you go through the metal detector.
(h/t)
They Have No Shame
The Republican Party has absolutely no shame about exploiting tragedy for political gain:
One of the most enduring taboos in American politics, the airing of graphic images from the September 11 attacks in a partisan context, died today. It was nearly seven years old.
The informal prohibition, which had been occasionally threatened by political ads in recent years, was pronounced dead at approximately 7:40 CST, when a video aired before delegates at the Republican National Convention included slow-motion footage of a plane striking the World Trade Center, the towers’ subsequent collapse, and smoke emerging from the Pentagon.
The September 11 precedent was one of the few surviving campaign-season taboos. It is survived by direct comparisons of one’s opponents to Hitler.
Be afraid, be very afraid. Because then they can keep taking advantage of you.
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