Just when you thought that all of the fervor had died down in regards to Janet Napolitano’s “radical right wingers” report up pops one of the biggest gun control groups to seize on the report as an excuse to advocate more gun control laws on top of the 14,000 already in place.
An executive at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence has said that now that there is proof of a possible uprising by right wing extremists it is time to ban assault weapons.
I think it certainly helps to make that case because what that report suggests is that there is a rise in the kind of paramilitary activity that we saw actually in years before the Oklahoma City bombing,” Dennis Henigan, the vice president for law and policy at the Brady Center
He claims that there is “very credible evidence” that an attack like Oklahoma City could be in the works.
Now, unfortunately there is very credible evidence that that is beginning to happen again,” Henigan added later. “So, there is no place on our streets for these kinds of military weapons
He is using Janet Napolitano’s report as a means to bring back the assault weapons ban. The “credible evidence” he is referring to is the report itself. As NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam points out the assault weapons ban was allowed to expire after ten years because it was useless and ineffective. But here we have a group that is willing to exploit all of those groups that were singled out in Janet Napolitano’s report, to once again call those groups “threats” and use it as a tool to begin the implementation of stricter gun control.
The president has reversed his decision to release the photos that show alleged abuse of terrorist detainees by American troops. He now vows to fight the release of these photos, claiming that the release of these photos would further harm America’s reputation around the world.
This is the right call and while I applaud the president for finally coming around and doing the right thing on this issue I do question his motive. I don’t think he gives a damn if the release of these photos hurts America’s image around the world. I site his decision to release the harsh interrogation memos as my evidence.
If he cared about further hurting the United States’ image around the world he never would have agreed to release the harsh interrogation memos in the first place. He knew that releasing these memos could have a damaging effect on the United States and he did it anyway. He did it because he thought it would show the world what we did in the past and to let the world know that he is better than that and that the United States would not engage in these types of procedures any longer. So what has caused him to change his mind? What changed?
As I wrote above, he foresaw the damaging effect that the release of the harsh interrogation memos could have on the image of the United States abroad but he thought that image would be tied to the Bush administration. What he did not see in his rashness and shortsightedness was the negative effect releasing these memos would have on his own party.
The person that has been damaged the most by the release of the torture memos has been none other than Nancy Pelosi — a leader of the Democrat party. That is what has changed. That is why he has changed his mind
I don’t think that the president has decided to fight the release of these photos because of the possible damage that it could do to the country. I thinkthat he is fighting the release of these photos because he doesn’t want any more attention paid to the roll that Nancy Pelosi played in the policies of the Bush administration.
He isn’t concerned with the reputation of America, he is concerned with the reputation of Nancy Pelosi.
Lindsey Graham Threatens to Investigate Nancy Pelosi
According to this article Senator Lindsey Graham has threatened to put Nancy Pelosi on the stand if the Democrats go ahead with their plans to investigate the Bush administration.
I don’t want to retry Nancy Pelosi — that’s not my goal — but if you’re going to accuse these people in the Bush administration of being evil and committing a crime, then if she was told about [interrogation tactics], I want to know what she was told
Let the investigations begin. I want everybody who is now pretending to be so disgusted by the Bush administration’s policies to be put on the stand. I want them to testify as to what they knew and when they knew it. I want to know how many of these hypocrites knew and approved of the Bush administration’s tactics and did nothing to stop them thereby giving the administration their approval.
I thought that one of the reasons that the president signed the executive order to close GITMO was because the detainees there were being held indefinitely and without trial. I must have been wrong because the president is considering holding the GITMO detainees indefinitely and without trial; just not in GITMO. He is considering bringing them to the United State where he will then continue the Bush administration’s policies.
If the president is going to continue the Bush administration’s policies of holding prisoners indefinitely and suspending habeas corpus, what does it matter where these people are being held? Why remove them from GITMO if you are only going to continue to treat them the same way? Keep them in GITMO and off of United States soil.
another indication of President Barack Obama’s struggles to establish his counter-terrorism policies, balancing security concerns against attempts to alter Bush-administration practices he has harshly criticized
“Balancing security concerns against attempts to alter Bush-administration practices.”
Isn’t that statement a confession that the Bush administration’s policies were effective and kept Americans safe? If there is a balance to be struck between “balancing security concerns” and “altering Bush administration policies” than I would say that yes, this is an admission that Bush’s policies were effective. Which is why the current president is planning to continue Bush’s policies, even if it is in a different location.
Just yesterday I wrote about how the senate was going to debate taxing soda and other sugary drinks in order to pay for this president’s health care plan. I also mentioned that there is no way in hell that it would stop there and guess what, it isn’t. They are looking at many more taxes as well.
These taxes include another $2 a pack tax on cigarettes, and taxes on alcohol. As well as capping the amount of tax deductible charitable donations that a person can be claim. I wish that I could say I am surprised but I am not.
But there is another idea being floated around that I find quite interesting. The idea of removing the tax exemption for people who are paying for health care through their employer is being explored.
Now, unless I misremember last year’s disaster of an election cycle (and I am trying to forget it, John McCain included), John McCain had proposed taxing people’s health care benefits and was run through the ringer by the soon to be president. The rallying cry was that John McCain was going to tax people’s health care benefits for the first time in history, an idea that we were told the current president opposed. Here is what the soon to be president said during the campaign about taxing people’s health care benefits:
He taxes health care benefits for the first time in history; millions lose the health care they have; millions pay more for the health care they get; drug and insurance companies continue to profit; and middle class families watch the system they rely on begin to unravel before their eyes
He also called the plan radical, but now his party is looking at the same idea that the president lambasted during the campaign. I would be willing to bet that the president will sign this new tax into law even though he said that he opposed it if it means getting his beloved health care reform passed.
The theory behind this idea, or more accurately the spin being used to defend this reversal, is that because people don’t have to pay taxes on their health care payments that it promotes the abuse of the health care benefit. It encourages “excess consumption” of health care benefits. Therefor it should be taxed to stop people from abusing the health care THAT THEY PAY FOR!
Suddenly that free health care doesn’t look so free does it? Suddenly it is more than obvious that 95% of Americans are not only not going to get that tax cut, but rather that same 95% of Americans are going to get a tax increase.
This is something that we all should have seen coming, many of us did, the more far left a person is the more that they endorse tax increases and this is the most left leaning person to ever occupy the White House. The further to the left that a person is, the more they endorse big government bureaucracies and bloated social programs, those programs cost money and that money has to come from somewhere.
And we all know where that money ends up coming from. Ordinary, average, working class Americans. You know, the same people that this president claimed were going to get a tax cut.
Steny Hoyer: House May Investigate Nancy Pelosi
Steny Hoyer has admitted that the house may have to investigate Nancy Pelosi about what and when she knew about watetboarding. Of course he is saying that this is nothing but a vast right wing conspiracy to divert the public attention away from the fact that the Bush administration used waterboarding. I guess he either just doesn’t understand or doesn’t want to admit that if Nancy Pelosi knew about waterboarding and had a chance to stop it, than she is an accessory to the crimes that the far left want to levy on the Bush administration. It is as simple as that.
Here is what he had to say about the issue:
I think the Republicans are simply trying to distract the American public with who knew what when. My response to that is, look, the issue is not what was said or what was known; the question and focus ought to be on what was done
But then he grudgingly said the following:
what was said and when it was said, who said it … is probably what ought to be on the record as well.”
If you are going to investigate the Bush administration for the use of waterboarding you have to investigate who knew what and when did they know it. It is not a diversion, it is all part of the same issue. If I concede for the sake of the argument that waterboarding is torture and that the administration is going to be investigated than the investigation can’t be limited in its scope to just one aspect of the issue.
The whole issue must also be investigated and that includes the people like Nancy Pelosi who were briefed before and after it was known that waterboarding was approved and used on three different terrorists. She has been on her high horse, preaching from her soapbox about this issue for years and she knew about it all along.
Anybody who knew about waterboarding and didn’t try to stop it, approved of it with their silence and they are guilty as well. Nancy Pelosi has been lying about this issue for years now and as more heat gets applied to her we see her story changing before our eyes. She is covering up her roll in this issue and someone who goes before the television cameras and lies about an issue that may come under investigation is hiding something. We deserve to know what it is. We deserve the truth.
The administration issued a warning today to firms that improperly dominate markets. Big Brother is watching you and if your company makes more money that the government believes that you should you will be investigated by the justice department.
This president has shown us a fondness for getting overly involved in the private sector and he used the bailout bill to justify it at first. But now the justice department has fired a shot over the bow at companies whose only crime is being successful. If the justice department deems that your company dominates the market that you are involved in they are going to come after you.
A little spreading the wealth around I would say. We all saw this coming from the anti-capitalist in the White House and now it is here. There was a time when working hard and achieving the American dream meant something, it was to be admired and respected, but not any more. Now if you achieve the American dream you are evil and greedy, you are a villain. This president has managed to make being successful a crime in the eyes of too many people. We saw it with the protests and death threats that the AIG employees received. This administration has been successful at playing the class envy card at an unprecedented level and he is emboldened by the success he has had so far with his rich vs poor, divide and conquer tactics.
It is just sad to me that this is what we have come to in this country. Too many people are not willing to work hard to achieve their goals. They look around and see people that have more than they do and they get jealous and claim that this country is not fair. There is no more personal accountability. They look to the government to right the wrong that they perceive has been done to them. Instead of using their wants as a means of motivation they use it as a fuel for discontent and this administration is willing to feed that discontent because the solution is more over-reaching and intrusive government.
I just wrote the title of this post and I still can’t believe it. $2.6 million United States taxpayer dollars are being sent to China so that they can train prostitutes how to drink on the job responsibly. I could write that sentence again and I still wouldn’t believe it.
I understand that when the president is racking up trillions of dollars in debt that $2.6 million is nothing. Hell, Manny Ramirez is losing more money than that for taking steroids. But really, when you start looking at places to cut spending doesn’t this seem like a good place to start? Why the hell is it up to us to help hookers drink responsibly, especially hookers who live halfway around the world?
There is nothing more to be said about this, it is just too stupid. Please leave your jokes about paying taxes and getting screwed in the comments section. We might as well laugh about this one.
Senate Considers Taxing Soda to Pay For Health Care
While he was a candidate the president promised over and over again that he would give 95% of Americans a tax break. Skeptics warned that there was no way that the president could fund all of his policies and still cut taxes on 95% of Americans. It is true that many Americans have received a small break in the amount of income tax that they pay, but it is also true that on April 1st of this year he officially broke his no taxes on people making under $250,000 pledge and wiped out that income tax break for many people when he raised the cigarette tax by 61 cents a pack to pay for his SCHIP expansion plan.
And now the senate may be ready to help the president break that promise again, and on possibly an even larger percentage of the people than were screwed over by the cigarette tax increase. (Of course most of those who are paying the higher cigarette tax are about to get screwed for the second time.) The senate is getting ready to debate the possibility of creating a federal tax on soda and other sugary drinks. It looks like the skeptics were right, two of the president’s major agenda items and new taxes have to be raised to fund them.
This is what happens when we let the government begin to tax us for behaviors that they do not approve of. Just look at the following argument that is being used to justify a new sugar tax:
Soda is clearly one of the most harmful products in the food supply, and it’s something government should discourage the consumption of
How is that for an admission that they feel the government should control what they deem as harmful or bad behavior? This all started with cigarettes. Once it became acceptable in the minds of the people that tobacco should be taxed because it is bad for us the ball was set in motion. Now that there is a new program that needs funding and the smokers were already hit with a tax increase of 126% last April they have to look at other sin taxes and suddenly drinking soda is a sin that needs to be taxed and eventually regulated. This is what happens when we let the government regulate behaviors.
Don’t think for one second that if this tax passes that it will stop there. There will be candy bar taxes and salt taxes, taxes on alcohol and trans fats as well as taxes on whatever else the government decides is bad for us and what they consider bad behavior. And don’t forget about a gas tax increase, gas usage is bad for the planet according to the government and we should pay more for that according to these same politicians.
The president can claim that he cut taxes on 95% of Americans all he wants to but he is ignoring the fact that he has raised, and the senate is proposing to raise, other taxes that those same Americans have to pay. Eventually the new taxes will be more than the temporary income tax decrease and these taxes will NOT be temporary.
You just can’t have massive spending increases and still cut taxes on most Americans. It sounded great and many people wanted to believe it but it never was realistic. The numbers do not add up and many of us knew that from the beginning. Hopefully all Americans will realize this before it is too late. If it isn’t already.
Nancy Pelosi has been lying for years about what she knew about waterboarding and when she knew about it. But as more and more CIA documents were released she finally had to come clean and admit that she did in fact know that the CIA was using waterboarding all along but did nothing to prevent it.
Her first lame claim was that the CIA told her that they could use waterboarding but that they did use waterboarding. This was how she tried to say that she didn’t know that the CIA was waterboarding. But that story fell apart with the release of a briefing that she attended in 2003 when she was told that the CIA did waterboard a detainee.
Now she is cover your ass mode and has finally told at least a little bit of the truth. Nancy Pelosi is backtracking from her original claim. She is now claiming that it would have been improper to protest waterboarding in 2003 and that she had to respect legislative channels. Jane Harman was also briefed on waterboarding and drafted a letter opposing the method, a letter that Nancy Pelosi refused to sign. Why if she was opposed to waterboarding back then did she not at least sign this letter opposing the method? Democrats are blaming President Bush for the fact that they didn’t oppose President Bush.
You have to remember, in the 2002 period, the whole atmospherics, it was all about scaring people every day,” said Elmendorf. “People were legitimately concerned that we were going to be attacked again, and there was a constant drumbeat coming from the Bush administration of, ‘Bad things could happen, bad things could happen.’ Nobody wants it to happen on their watch
Typical. The fact is that Nancy Pelosi knew what was going on all along and didn’t oppose it until the Democrats managed to turn the American people against the war effort by claiming that our troops were equivalent to Pol Pot, Nazi’s, and Soviet gulags. Once it became politically expedient to oppose waterboarding that is when she decided to oppose it. When she thought the American people supported it, so did she.
This woman has been exposed as a liar and a hypocrite and there is no reason to believe she is telling the whole truth now. I say bring on the investigations into the Bush administration. If the left finally realizes their wet dream of seeing President Bush and Dick Cheney in handcuffs then right behind them in handcuffs and ankle bracelets will be Nancy Pelosi.
