KSM in NYC? (part two)

Regarding the decision of Eric Holder to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York, last week I wrote, “…the platform we will be giving KSM to spew his delusional vitriol will be almost incomparable.  A Madison Avenue ad agency couldn’t do what our Attorney General now wants undertaken.”

Today, via the Associated Press, we read, “NEW YORK (AP) – The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday.”  This same lawyer also revealed that when it comes to his client’s review of American practice overseas, “Their assessment is negative.”

Now THIS is the kind of intelligence you simply can’t extract through water-boarding!

Indeed, the wisdom of our Attorney General to bring KSM to NYC is already manifesting itself magnificently.

KSM in NYC?

In principle, trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Manhattan may seem noble and just.  In practice, I think it’s a great mistake.

When it comes to the American criminal justice system, our rules of discovery are different from, and much more open than, what some European nations expect and allow.  KSM’s attorneys will be able to extract all sorts of intelligence, making public, information we have about AlQaeda that can only compromise our national security.

The trial of the 1993 WTC bombers gave UBL a ton of valuable information he could never have accessed apart from our court system. 

Plus, the platform we will be giving KSM to spew his delusional vitriol will be almost incomparable.  A Madison Avenue ad agency couldn’t do what our Attorney General now wants undertaken. 

Added to this is the fact that a trial in lower Manhattan, just blocks from the new Freedom Tower, will be like a rare-earth magnet for every sympathetic nut-case who wants to make a supportive statement on behalf of Islamic terrorism.  Bear in mind these protests are not usually accomplished with pen and ink, but with bullets and bombs.

Good luck to the NYPD if this monster takes the stand in their city.  And may God bless the victims who will have to listen to the defenders of an admitted mass-murder, as the souls of those who perished on 9/11 are again subject to crushing and incendiary disrespect.

Principles are fine.  People are more important.

Fort Hood Winked

With 13 people slain and barely laid to rest at Fort Hood, Texas, the alacrity of some apologists is incredible.

Already headlines abound trying to imply that the murders committed by Nidal Malik Hasan are really the fault of the FBI or the NSA or the Army or heaven knows who else.  The US government has to be at fault.

Islam is not to blame.

Yes, we’ve all heard that Islam is a religion of peace, and that radical elements are present in all faiths.  Fine.

But the number of instances when a devout, or crazy Christian sings praise to Jesus Christ while sawing off someone’s head just aren’t that common.  Jews can be superbly devout, but when was the last time a Jew self-detonated themselves on a bus or train, while clutching a copy of the Torah or Talmud?

Fine, Islam is a religion of peace. 

Personally, I don’t care.

But please inform the plethora of adherents who seem to think that, “Allahu Akbar!” should be the preamble for unleashing a salvo of bullets, bombs and sharp knives.

I feel very badly for kindhearted Islamic adherents who have to hear about these horrific incidents so often.  I also feel for the victims and families, presumably deemed infidels, and thus unworthy of life.

As Americans, we rightly need to continue to cherish the inherent goodness and rights of all members in our society, regardless of their faith or position in life.  We need to assume that everyone will do this, and hope that the much vaunted religion of peace will step up, not only with widespread public denouncement of wanton carnage, but also greatly heightened efforts to educate those who appear to have missed the message of peace by a substantial margin.

Fox News

In the last 2 years, I haven’t watched Fox News Channel for more than a pop-in visit.  During the same period I haven’t seen O’Reilly or Hannity in excess of 10 minutes.

Why?  Because I’ve been involved in other pursuits.

Still, I think the Obama administration’s blatant attempt to marginalize Fox News is, at best, very, very stupid.  Their ratings regularly crush those of CNN, and, of course MSNBC, and let’s get real, if the President can speak eloquently about open and unconditional dialogue with the likes of Ahmadinejad, surely he can sit down with Mike Wallace’s son, Chris.

The fact is, Fox News, daily, has people like Mara Liasson, Juan Williams and a host of others well left of center to go along with Bill Kristol and Charles Krauthammer (both of whom BTW are political commentary heavyweights).

If the President doesn’t like Glenn Beck, that’s too bad.  George Bush had Keith Olbermann saying all sorts of nasty things on MSNBC night after night, and his administration didn’t whine.

Frankly, I must wonder, again, who is advising our current President.  His attempts to isolate and squelch Fox News are instantly unconstitutional, and certainly bad enough as such.  More importantly, they betray a lack of engagement that must strain the credulity of the millions and millions that regularly watch that network.

Mr. Obama is the President of all of us.  His advisors might wish to reconsider, and even embrace that reality.

Game called, on account of… snow?

Yes the Rockies-Phillies playoff game was postponed on account of early October snow!

Among other places, Austrian cities are getting up to 40 centimeters of the white powder before any other time in recorded history.

That’s why we need to use the phrase “Climate Change” as opposed to “Global Warming”.  It’s hard to drink frozen Kool-Aid, but since change and climate will always be synonymous, there is still hope for those who want to use the environment to enact a political agenda.

Nobel not all that noble

Apparently President Obama was nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize about 11 days into his presidency…  And apparently, “Yes we can!” is no empty slogan. 

This honor is now obviously of dubious distinction because, in point of fact, especially in comparison to most other recipients, Obama hasn’t done anything substantive for the cause of peace.  Compare his credentials to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Nelson Mandela or Archbishop Desmond Tutu.  They don’t even begin to take on even a scintilla of resemblance. 

Most recently, the President was unable to secure an Olympic venue for Chicago, but more importantly, he has seemingly done nothing to curb the gang violence there. 

Perhaps increasing troop strength in Afghanistan or stopping Iran from blatantly moving toward the possession of nuclear missiles will eventually establish his credentials, but until then, it’s hard to know what President Obama actually stands for, or may yet accomplish.

Obviously the original nomination was a political “Hail Mary” pass, that somehow, beyond all reason, was caught.

Prizes recently awarded in the sciences required actual achievement.

Peace, however, is a far more subjective category.

Letterman & CBS

Why it’s just a laugh a minute as David Letterman spews out the sordid details of intra-office dalliances as the TV audience treats these nightly confessions like a comedy sketch.

Here’s a guy who campaigned for Elliot Spitzer’s removal with glee, but with entertainers, the basic standards most people have to live within are, well, somehow not relevant.  With all the talent streaming across the stage, night after night, interns in his employ were still fair game.

Yes, let’s give the man a standing ovation.  He has handled this, pardon the expression, “affair”, with real class and courage. 

CBS has thus reached a new high.

9.8% Unemployment

So the US Labor Department’s latest figures indicate that we’ve risen to 9.8% unemployment here in America.

During the Depression we reached over 20%.

When Ronald Reagan took office the Oval Office away from Jimmy Carter it continued to climb to around 11% before dramatically starting back down.

Economies don’t shift for the good very quickly.  Like steering a huge ship or sending corrective signals to a satellite millions of miles away, you make adjustments, and you wait, and you wait some more for the anticipated results.

George Bush had unemployment running at 4.5% and some were bemoaning a lack of “good” jobs.  Amazing how quiet those same people are now.  The silence is deafening.

In any event, we have to ride the current situation out and not lose our heads.  The President is not God, or even a magician.  Eventually things will turn around.  They may even get a little worse before they get better.

But honestly, we need to learn from our experience and never again forget to appreciate the good times when we’re swimming in the midst of them.  What we had from 2000 to 2008 was unspeakably better than some allowed us to believe.  How tragically hollow their rhetoric sounds now.

Recessions are bad enough.  Willfully distorting public perception may be worse.

Chicago Out

Chicago was eliminated in the 1st round, and therefore will not be hosting the 2016 Olympic Games.

Is it unusual to ask why the President and First Lady were personally involved and physically on-scene campaigning for this selection?  I don’t think it’s all that mysterious why this bid failed, but why was it attempted at all?  Barring the heavy-handed diplomacy of Air Force One barreling into Copenhagen, even if it had been successful, there’s still something not right at the heart of it all that, to me, calls the whole approach, turned debacle, into question.

The President needs to be seen in Afghanistan.

He needs to be photographed speaking to the Commanders on the ground in Kabul and Baghdad.

Who is advising our Chief Executive? 

Our young men and women in uniform aren’t just competing for medals on a track or in a pool.  They’re putting their lives directly on the line for freedom.  They need timely leadership to prevail, and they deserve all the active attention the Oval Office can afford them.

Oh, and by the way, there’s a health care debate going on as well.  

And unemployment has hit 9.8%.

Polanski

Imagine the unmitigated gaul of expecting an admitted rapist to face and finish the course of justice he ran from 32 years ago!  Plead guilty, then get on a plane…  That’s how you do it!

For many in Hollywood, and France, the message seems to be that you can be 43, use Methaqualone and wine (French?) to ply and push a 13 year old into bed, and then have your way.  However, if you take off and go on to make nice films, everything’s OK!

It matters not that the victim has forgiven Polanski and wants to move on.  This is most admirable for her, and obviously she doesn’t want to hear any more about this tragic episode than would be absolutely necessary.  Doubtless, if she was any less magnanimous about the episode, some in the entertainment world would try to cast her as the perpetrator!  They could make yet another movie that attempts to recast history.

Polanski’s thespian defenders ought to be ashamed.  Aiding and abetting rape, especially one deliberately involving a minor, is stupefyingly detestable. 

Saying nothing of substance about the actual case, it reveals a great deal about those who would attempt this curious maneuver and should absolve them permanently from ever being taken seriously again.