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Five Sept. 11 Suspects to Face Trial in New York

The Obama administration has announced it will try 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9-11 Gitmo detainees in a civilian federal court in New York, allowing them the protections of the U.S. Constitution even though they are not U.S. citizens.

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Four Radical Chinese Muslims Transferred to Bermuda

Four Chinese Uighers (radical Chinese Muslims) were recently transferred to Bermuda. Do you think it's a good idea to release Gitmo detainees to idyllic vacation retreats?

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June 16, 2008

Exclusive: Monday, June 16

Presidential Watch

Obama campaign rep STUMPED on legislative accomplishments - CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO.

Another One Under The Bus

Political Derby.com

It's getting really crowded under the Obama For America Campaign Bus. Let's review for a minute those campaign staffers, life-long associates, and mentors who have been summarily tossed out the front door and under the wheels of Team Obama.

First we have Granny. She was tossed under the bus during Obama's not quite swoon inducing race speech. Nothing personal, Granny. Just politics.

Also wrapped around the axel of the Obamamobile you'll find Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. So much for Obama not being able to disown someone so close to him. Someplace in the airbrake assembly you'll also find the congregation of Trinity United Church of Christ. Father Michael Pfleger's location is as yet undetermined, but is alleged to be someplace near the drive shaft.

Yesterday that crowd was joined by yet another Obama associate - the man Obama (not-quite) hired to vet his list of Veep choices - James Johnson. You see, Obama realized (a bit too late) he couldn't rail against greedy CEOs whilst (not really) employing a minion of a greedy CEO.

I'm sure in all the confusion I've missed one or two people or groups, which might have been hurled from the Team Obama bus. As of this writing, another member of Obama's VP vetting team is dangerously close to the front door. Read article.

Ex-Friends of Barack

Review & Outlook, Online WSJ.com

It turns out that Jim Johnson was not the man Barack Obama thought he knew. The presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee threw the former Fannie Mae CEO over the side as his Vice Presidential vetter yesterday, only a day after he'd said that Mr. Johnson was only "tangentially related" to his campaign and that criticism was a "game that can be played."

Mr. Johnson was cast off after the Journal disclosed that he had received sweetheart loans from Countrywide Financial - the very firm that Mr. Obama has specifically excoriated for its role in the mortgage meltdown.

Mr. Johnson now joins an intriguing and growing list of Mr. Obama's ex-associates that includes the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Father Michael Pfleger, and former terrorist bomber William Ayers. We might call this list eclectic, except that there is a consistent pattern of bad judgment followed by an initial defense, then followed by rapid disassociation and regret that none of them were the men Mr. Obama "knew." Read article.

McCain: Guantanamo Ruling One of the ‘Worst Decisions' in History

FOXNews.com

John McCain said Friday that the Supreme Court ruling on Guantanamo Bay detainees is "one of the worst decisions in the history of this country."

The presumptive GOP nominee said the decision, a 5-4 ruling Thursday that determined Guantanamo detainees have the right to seek release in civilian courts, would lead to a wave of frivolous challenges.

"We are now going to have the courts flooded with so-called ... habeas corpus suits against the government, whether it be about the diet, whether it be about the reading material. And we are going to be bollixed up in a way that is terribly unfortunate because we need to go ahead and adjudicate these cases," he said at a town hall meeting in New Jersey. Read article.

Obama Is Right, Words Matter

Karl Rove, Online WSJ.com

"Don't tell me words don't matter!" Sen. Barack Obama thundered at a Wisconsin Democratic Party dinner in February. He should have remembered that at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference last week.

There, Mr. Obama defended the outrageous promise he made last July to meet, during his first year as president and without precondition, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea. Mr. Obama's eagerness to undertake a "World Tyrants Tour" is both naive and foolhardy, and how he dealt with those concerns at AIPAC raises the question of whether he's done his homework.

Mr. Obama knew the audience was wondering what could come from such meetings, except propaganda victories for thugs and a loss of prestige for America. He tried to mitigate the damage of his promised meetings. But the man who criticizes George W. Bush for unilateralism ended up denouncing a multilateral approach to Iran, saying it would "outsource the sustained work to our European allies."

Mr. Obama also said he would practice "tough and principled diplomacy." There would be "careful preparation." He would "open up lines of communication, build an agenda, coordinate closely with our allies." And then he brought up Ronald Reagan. He said he'd be "tough" like Reagan, who "understood that diplomacy backed by real leverage was a fundamental tool of statecraft."

But what do Mr. Obama's words mean? Read article.

Brave New World?

Peggy Noonan, Online WSJ.com

And so it begins, the campaign proper. You probably guessed that there would be no letup in this relentless year, no break between the primaries and the general election, that both candidates would stay on the screen. You were right. They will not leave, and go, and rest. They feel they can't, it's inch by inch, slow and steady wins the race. This robs them of the power of disappearance. You disappear and then come back and people say, "Hey, look at that guy." They listen anew after a break in the drone.

Not this time. And maybe never again.

For Barack Obama this week, a Beltway setback. He chose for a key position a D.C. insider who got fat working the system. This was a poor decision by the candidate of change. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." But Jim Johnson was removed with dispatch, and the country didn't notice. Beltway bottom line: Mr. Obama the cool customer had a problem, removed the problem, has no problem.

John McCain had a worse time, with the famously awkward speech in front of the background whose color was variously compared to snot, puke and lime Jell-O. He was scored for not being adept with a teleprompter. The press knocked him, essentially, for not being smooth and manipulative enough. But if he were good at the teleprompter, they'd complain that he's too smooth and scripted.

The press will be nice to him again. When he's 17 points down. Read article.

Beware of He who Speaks with a Forked Tongue

Ruth Matar, Women In Green.org

I think that I should start with the definition of "speaking with a forked tongue," according to Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms, Cambridge University Press 1998: "to make false promises or to speak in a way which is not honest."

This definition fits Barack Obama to a "T".

On Wednesday, June 4, Obama pledged to a meeting of the powerful Washington lobby American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) his "unshakeable commitment to Israel's security" if he is elected president. "Israel's security is sacrosanct. It is non-negotiable... any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized, and defensible borders. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided," Obama declared to enthusiastic applause from the 7000-plus attendees at the AIPAC policy conference.

Already on the very next day, Thursday, June 5, Obama completely changed his tune because of Arab opposition to his declaration of support for a united Jerusalem.

Without shame, Obama then hides behind his so-called "campaign advisors" to "clarify" his real thoughts:

"Jerusalem might also serve as the capital of a Palestinian state, or there might be Palestinian sovereignty over Arab neighborhoods... Read article.

Leaving Obama

John Fund, Online WSJ.com

It's only a trickle, but still remarkable to see several Democratic House members shying away from their party's presumptive presidential nominee because of his liberalism. Barack Obama should hope it doesn't turn into a widening seepage of support.

David Boren, the only Democratic congressman from Oklahoma, told reporters yesterday he's not ready to endorse Mr. Obama. "Unfortunately, his record does not reflect working in a bipartisan fashion," he told reporters. Mr. Obama's designation by the nonpartisan National Journal magazine as the Senate's most liberal member may be catching up with him.

Then there is Rep. Tim Mahoney of Florida, who says he will remain an uncommitted superdelegate and may not even attend the party's convention. Asked how he felt about running with Mr. Obama as his party's nominee, he told the Palm Beach Post: "I'm a Democrat, but am I going to have a pep rally or something like that? No I'm not going to do that."

Another potential dissident is Rep. Jim Marshall of Georgia. He has refused to tell reporters if he thinks Barack Obama would make a better president than John McCain. Finally, Rep. Lincoln Davis of Tennessee has been outed by his state's governor, Phil Bredesen, who told the Philadelphia Inquirer that a Democratic congressman from this state, who could only be Rep. Davis, had told him both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were "poison" politically to him. Read article.

The faith healer for our time

Wesley Pruden, Washington Times.com

Barack Obama, without a church since he abandoned the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's congregation of addled bigots, racists and conspiracy nuts, ought to consider starting his own. Having never been inside a church, many of his disciples regard him as the messiah.

He's ready to rock. "A light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany," he told a raucous rally of the rapt in Lebanon, N.H., back in January. "You will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Obama."

Another rally the other night outside Washington reflected the fervor of a 19th-century brush-arbor revival. A shopkeeper in Virginia was typical: He closed his store early, inspired by the senator's "values and integrity," to get there early because he's been busy "intending" victory for the senator. He has been "intending" since Iowa, explaining to the Weekly Standard that "intending" is the spiritual practice of "intending" something to happen. "But we don't pray or do any weird Kool-Aid drinking stuff like that."

Some of the Obama faithful think it's necessary to amend the Bible. "I cried all night," Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois told Politico, the Capitol Hill newspaper. "I'm going to be crying for the next four years. What Barack Obama has accomplished is the single most extraordinary event that has occurred in the 232 years of the nation's history ... The event is so extraordinary that ... another chapter could be added to the Bible to chronicle its significance."

Relics of the new religion are highly venerated (though some Obamanuts are looking to venerate on the cheap). When he left a half-eaten waffle and a scrap of pork sausage (no Muslim here) on his plate at a diner in Pennsylvania, a waitress carefully wrapped the plate - "with his DNA on the silverware" - and put it up for auction on eBay with instructions to start the bidding at $10,000. It actually sold for 99 cents, and the winning bidder had to pay $6 postage (but got the DNA at no extra charge). Read article.

Frustrated, disenfranchised Hillary supporters: "We Will Not Vote For Obama Period"

Eye-on-the-World blogspot.com

Operation Nobama. This is going to be fun to watch.

Growing exponentially individually but infinitely together in one unifying mission, they are Obama's worst nightmare.

The Just Say No Deal is made up of over 20 grassroots organizations and over 1 million subscribers thus far with one unifying mission: Operation Nobama

Literally millions of frustrated, disenfranchised and gritty activists, to include Democrats, Independents as well as naughty Republicans have already come together for one common thing... "We Will Not Vote For Obama Period."

When asked, "Should Hillary become the nominee for VP, would you then cast your votes for Obama?"

Answer: One goal, one mission...NOBAMA Period.

Obama's campaign got this one right...he has managed to bring people of all colors, genders, cultures and religions together for one unifying coalition.

Just Say No Deal

By 5 PM tomorrow you can log onto the Just Say No Deal site and literally choose from a buffet of grass roots organizations such as the Clintons4mccain.com or the hireheels.com whose common goal will be to keep Obama out of the oval office.

The clintons4mccain.com group has also started making pledges of donations to send to John McCain after the DNC Convention when they are certain Hillary is OUT. Read article.

Is Obama's candidacy even constitutional?

Secrecy over birth certificate, demand for 'natural-born' citizenship cited

WND.com

Bloggers are raising questions about Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's qualifications to be U.S. president, because of the secrecy over his birth certificate and the requirement presidents be "natural-born" U.S. citizens.

Jim Geraghty, reporting on the Campaign Spot, cited the "unlikely" but still circulating rumor that Obama was born not within the United States, but elsewhere, possibly Kenya.

Geraghty defined the concerns most clearly, stating: "If Obama were born outside the United States, one could argue that he would not meet the legal definition of natural-born citizen ... because U.S. law at the time of his birth required his natural-born parent (his mother) to have resided in the United States for '10 years, at least [f]ive of which had to be after the age of 16.'"

He then points out Ann Dunham, Obama's mother, was 18 when Obama was born "so she wouldn't have met the requirement of five years after the age of 16."

Geraghty continues: " (Interestingly, apparently there isn't much paperwork on Obama's parents' marriage. 'Obama: From Promise to Power,' page. 27: 'Obama later confessed that he never searched for the government documents on the marriage, although Madelyn (Obama's maternal grandmother) insisted they were legally married.' Also note that Obama's father apparently was not legally divorced from his first wife back in Kenya at the time, a point of contention that ultimately led to their separation.)" Read article.

McCain's Oil Wrong

Editors, NY Post.com

Who's writing John McCain's campaign speeches - Michael Moore?

You'd think so, from the over-the-top rhetoric McCain used on Thursday night at Federal Hall, ripping into the nation's oil companies.

"I am very angry, frankly, at the oil companies," said the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. "Not only because of the obscene profits they've made, but their failure to invest in alternative energy to help us eliminate our dependence on foreign oil."

McCain also wants a "thorough and complete investigation of [oil] speculators."

Geez, where to begin?

OK, why should oil companies be investing in "alternative energy?" They're in the oil business, not the windmill business, for Pete's sake.

"Obscene profits"? To be sure, they're eye-popping in absolute dollars. But ExxonMobil's $40 billion in profit last year was based on $404 billion in sales - a fairly pedestrian 10 percent margin. Read article.

McCain's Potentially Fatal 'Exit, Stage Right'

David Limbaugh, David Limbaugh.com

Sen. McCain could be making a fatal strategic blunder in thinking he can cobble together a winning coalition in November via the unorthodox route (for a Republican) of courting moderates and jilting the conservative base, including Christian conservatives.

It's possible that McCain will win in November, but if that happens, it will more likely be a result of Obama beating himself -- assuming Obama's campaign doesn't disintegrate before he formally secures the nomination.

McCain must begin with the bad news that his historic appeal to centrist voters is in jeopardy in two major ways. The first concerns Obama's natural fit with these voters. His mythical narrative that he can unify Americans and usher in an era of "hope" will be irresistible to many who are hungrier for kumbaya than any particular policy agenda.

Second, McCain's favorable image among centrists could disappear as quickly as the mainstream media withdraws its opportunistic love for him -- a process that has already begun. Their affinity for McCain was purely a function of his being a thorn in the side to President Bush, Republicans and conservative causes. But now that he is the GOP presidential candidate, he represents the evil Republican Party, which must be destroyed at all costs. Read article.

Five Mile Road

James Taranto, Online WSJ.com

Back in April, columnist Robert Novak noted that Barack Obama was performing a "dance" on the topic of gun rights:

Obama, disagreeing with the D.C. government and gun control advocates, declares that the Second Amendment's "right of the people to keep and bear arms" applies to individuals, not just the "well regulated militia" in the amendment. In the next breath, he asserts that this constitutional guarantee does not preclude local "common sense" restrictions on firearms.

The government of the District of Columbia is defending a gun ban before the Supreme Court, with a decision expected this month. The National Rifle Association Web site has a list of those "common sense" restrictions Obama has favored. One of them caught the eye of blogger David Hardy:

Barack Obama supported a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park, which would eliminate almost every gun store in America.

The Defender article also reported that Obama proposed "to make it a felony for a gun owner whose firearm was stolen from his residence which causes harm to another person if that weapon was not securely stored in that home." This sentence is clumsily worded, but it seems to be saying that if someone breaks into your house, steals your gun, and uses it to rob a liquor store, Obama would send you to prison for failing to store it "securely." Read article.

Make the Election About Iraq

Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post.com

The disconnect between what Democrats are saying about Iraq and what is actually happening there has reached grotesque proportions. Democrats won an exhilarating electoral victory in 2006 pledging withdrawal at a time when conditions in Iraq were dire and we were indeed losing the war. Two years later, when everything is changed, they continue to reflexively repeat their "narrative of defeat and retreat" (as Joe Lieberman so memorably called it) as if nothing has changed.

In his St. Paul victory speech, Barack Obama pledged again to pull out of Iraq. Rather than "continue a policy in Iraq that asks everything of our brave men and women in uniform and nothing of Iraqi politicians, . . . [i]t's time for Iraqis to take responsibility for their future."

We know Obama hasn't been to Iraq in more than two years, but does he not read the papers? Does he not know anything about developments on the ground? Here is the "nothing" that Iraqis have been doing in the past few months: Read article.

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