Holder v. Holder

Attorney General Eric Holder defends the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed decision against Lindsay Graham, Andy McCarthy, and his own DoJ protocols.

FAUX DEATH PENALTY HAWKS:  Obama and Holder claim to want the death penalty for KSM but they sure picked an odd venue to get it.  Jim Geraghty points us to the Daily News:

WASHINGTON - Prosecutors who will try the 9/11 plotters in New York face a "Mission Impossible" task of winning death sentences for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his henchmen.

Many veteran federal prosecutors - including those working in counterterrorism - were shocked by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's decision on a civilian trial in Manhattan for the jihadists.

That's because in the feds' few past tries at the death penalty for foreign terrorists, they lost. And New York juries are seen as among the least likely to agree - unanimously, as the law requires - on execution.

...

Frances Townsend, an ex-New York federal prosecutor who was former President George W. Bush's top counterterror adviser, said death verdicts this time aren't out of the question, but the odds are against it.

She also maintained life without parole at "Supermax" could better service justice.

We don't martyr them, which may be a reasonable goal, but Obama ought to have the courage to say so (as if.)  Instead we will have a full airing of the Bush torture era and no death penalty for KSM, all to Obama and Holder's great surprise.

Comments

[Barry Dauphin]

So when "life in prison" is the sentence, the administration will say, "oh well." They'll say anything now because they expect people to "get over it" later.

[clarice]

First you have to find an unbiased jury of their peers. Good luck with that one.
(What am I saying? I mean we saw such a jury in the Libby case where 99% of the city residents were Dems .Good folks like Tim Russert's neighbor and barbecue buddy.)

[bela1]

Exactly. That's basically the tactic used to win the 2008 election. With the exclusion of flipping the middle finger at American citizens, as if enough can't fully grasp what's been happening.

[Gregory Koster]

"Watch what we do, not what we say," sang John Mitchell, Nixon's Atty Genl in the gaudy days before he was hauled off to the jug. So too with Holder. Also shows the sorts of prejudices "career Justice" has. The career prosecutors have been set up to fail, by the normal bloodthirsty standards (e.g. Ted Stevens or Scooter Libby) of prosecutors. So where are the floods of leaks that is career Justice's usual counterattack this time? The crickets chirp peacefully. "Anything to get Geo. W.," is the new motto, a motto that serves to disguise the gallons of castor oil crammed down their throats when the Black Panther vote fraudsters get their default judgment tossed out.

It's a show to dismay the citizenry. Yet there's nothing to be done for three years and two months. So enjoy the spectacle. Any time anyone sez "I work for the Justice Department," laugh heartily. You may be thrown in jail for lese majeste, but you'll be in swell company. Better than the sordid camorra at 950 Pennsylvania Avenue.

[Buford Gooch]

Well, yeah, but Obama and Holder are super duper magna luper smart, and we're just all yokels, so they will always make better decisions than us bumpkins.

[BR]

Hold her v. hold her - since Newsweak is quoting the Sound of Music, I guess we'll trump with Camelot's How to Handle a Woman.

[daddy]

Why not just ship the 5 "suspects", 12 Jurors, couple Lawyers and a Judge to Gitmo.

Save about a trillion dollars, everybody gets a sun tan, and Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan don't get a brand new partner?

Holder can still pretend it's a civil-case, Local Gitmo civilians can watch during lunch break, and simply put up whoever else thinks they need to be down there in the Enlisted Barracks or on cots like the other bad guys, so everybody'll know how awful Gitmo is.

Problem solved.

[BR]

Yeah, that's a great idea! That's what Pres. Bush and the military tribunal was already doing.

[peter]

What do you expect from a Stuyvesant HS grad?

[daddy]

" Stuyvesant"

Peter,

Am reading a history of Manhattan under the Dutch. Haven't got to Stuyvesant yet, but have discovered Peter Minuet, the guy who bought the joint for 60 Guilders (24 Dollars 100 years ago) was actually French, then via Germany to The Netherlands to Manhattan.

But better yet, is that after he gets relieved of command, they put in some other guy as head honcho, named Kieft.

Needing money, Kieft decides it'll be a good idea to TAX the Indians, since they are supposedly, in his mind, benefiting from his protection and Dutch trading opportunities. Naturally this angers the Indians so they start retaliating against unaware Dutch settlers by killing them. Now the Dutch, their houses and farms being burned to the ground by the Indian's, flee to south Manhattan and hold up in Kieft's fort.

Naturally as leader of Manhattan, Kieft now decides he needs more money, so what does he do? He decides to TAX the people who have had all their stuff burnt who are desperately hanging out in his fort, plus he thinks it a great idea to also now TAX Beer. This P.O's everybody, Indians, Dutch, you name it. When they don't pay, he arrests the owner of the only Saloon in 1641 Manhattan and jails him.

I am just at the point where Kieft is about to be tossed out of the joint on a rail. Man, what is it with these New York politicians and their love of Taxation? Even in 1641 I love the BeerPartiers and TeaPartiers, hate the Politicians.

[BR]

OT - Daddy, re IPs. Great that you're going to look up who's posting from out of state there where you are. I recently learned that IP numbers can change every few days for the same computer, or can be set to remain the same. So, there's that factor also: one person can look like many.

[peter new yorker through and through]

Daddy, it's the land of taxes, which is why it is the Empire state in name only, with our relative population and influence declining every year.

[Thomas Collins]

Kieft sounds like a 17th century nanny stater. I wonder whether he tried to ban smoking in the saloon.

[sbw]

Daddy, after you read it, tell us what happens next.

[Neo]

The now, thankfully, lame duck Governor, John Corzine signed into law the new measure limiting New Jersey resident to the purchase of just one handgun per month.
...
But in the fevered liberal frenzied rush to limit handgun purchases, the Legislature also banned legitimate gun dealers from buying more than one handgun a month too.

[Neo]

SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R-S.C): Can you give me a case in United States history where a enemy combatant caught on a battlefield was tried in civilian court?

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I don't know. I'd have to look at that. I think that, you know, the determination I've made --

GRAHAM: We're making history here, Mr. Attorney General. I'll answer it for you. The answer is no.

HOLDER: Well, I think --

GRAHAM: The Ghailani case -- he was indicted for the Cole bombing before 9/11. And I didn't object to it going into federal court. But I'm telling you right now. We're making history and we're making bad history. And let me tell you why.

[J]

Holder, as the head of the DOJ, has just announced to the world our justice system is corrupt (assured guilty verdict?).
Next, he has told our enemy we do not have the fortitude to KILL our enemy....especially one responsible for killing at least 3,000 of our CIVILIAN population. In bin laden's words "WEAK HORSE"....and we all know what follows that assessment.

[Porchlight]

Go, Lindsey!

Can't believe I just typed that. But it's true.

[anduril]

Ralph Peters has a decent piece in the NYP today: What the generals won't tell the prez. The whole thing is worth a read. Here's the first part:

As our powerless secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, dutifully covers her head to attend the inauguration of an Afghan president so unpopular his ceremony has to be held behind closed doors, our AfPak (Afghanistan/Pakistan) policy isn't merely adrift. It's sinking.

President Obama inherited a mess, and promptly made it worse. But let's be fair: There's plenty of blame to go around in the ongoing Afghan nondecision debacle, as well as regarding our follies in Pakistan.

If the devalued buck stops at the president's desk, it's also true that the generals involved with AfPak have failed to fulfill their duties to the commander-in-chief.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal's August report, which called for more troops, was one thing -- the commander on the ground's legitimate assessment as to what he believed he needed to execute his mission.

The insubordination came later -- when President Obama asked for strategic options.

The Pentagon was obligated to respond with a full range of alternatives that re-examined the premises of the mission and offered genuine choices. It didn't.

Instead of serious alternatives, the president got slightly different versions of the single option the top generals liked. The issue was reduced to "How many more troops will you send, Mr. President?"

The brass have tried to bully the president on this one. No matter who the president is, that's wrong. When any president asks for options, he should get genuine alternatives, not variations on a theme.

Now what? We'll send more troops to Afghanistan. But we still won't have a strategy, just a new spin on old gimmicks. Far from thinking outside of the box, the generals are struggling to make the box even narrower.

This isn't a defense of Obama, whose vacillation and posturing are appalling. This is a defense of the office of the president: It's dereliction of duty for generals to stack the deck to get their way. They owe the Oval Office serious analysis, not Christmas lists.

[Free Radical]

Does Obama the Unready have ANY competent advisors?

UNREADY: from the O.E. ungeræd- "ill-advised","ill-counseled", "ill-prepared", "indecisive." Pejorative usually associated with Æthelred II of Wessex.

[Porchlight]

Rasmussen holding steady at -14, 46/52 overall. Slight change from yesterday in that strongly approve is +1 from yesterday to 27, and strongly disapprove is +1 to 41.

Wonder what loveliness awaits us tomorrow for the weekly Friday news dump.

[peter]

Lindsey Goober (h/t Mark Levin) Graham grows a set as a result of looking at his polling numbers. Like many other Repubicans (h/t Mark Levin) the set will recede.

[Janet]

Off topic - This article LUN at Am. Thinker about Google manipulation is interesting.
A few days ago a poster here linked to an image from google that was from the site stormfront - an evil white supremacy group, not knowing who stormfront was. It was just the first image that came up. I had the same thing happen when I was looking for some tea party pictures through google. I knew who sf was from Sweetness&Light.
Anyway, the media monitors sf and periodically writes articles that say traffic to white supremacy groups is up...racism is spreading.
Guess this is my latest conspiracy theory!, but I don't trust google or the left.

[matt]

This whole case is a mess from the day it lands on the docket in New York. LUN.

[narciso]

Am I out of the TypePad secret prison, yet,

[Porchlight]

Phhhbbbbbbtttt. (that's supposed to be a raspberry)

Obama arrived on the base 3:19 p.m. local time (1 a.m. Eastern Standard Time), and received a rousing welcome from 1,500 troops in camouflage uniforms, many holding cameras or pointing cell phones to snap pictures.

"You guys make a pretty good photo op," the president said.

Standing on a riser wearing a blue suit and red tie, with a cluster of troops and a large American flag behind him, Obama expressed "the gratitude of the American public" and said his meetings in four countries over eight days in Asia will help deliver a "safer more prosperous world for all of us."

He got a huge cheer when he told them he was increasing military pay. "That's what you call an applause line," he said, before boarding his jet and taking off at 4:11 p.m.

I like the way he tells them what nice props they make. Twice.

Glad he got his 52 minutes worth.

[Jane]

What bothers me, is that the Graham testimony is not the headline in every newspaper in the country.

[sbw]

Porch: Phhhbbbbbbtttt!

Isn't that a patented line from Bill the cat?

[narciso]

You know this a 'travesty, of two mockeries of a sham' Lindsay finally got the nerve, a little too late, as with McCain, what did he think was going to happen, when they painted Gitmo as the modern Devil's Island.
Of course if one ignores the law ashappened with Hamdi, Hamdan & Boumedienne, this result was inevitable. And the little
'constitutional professor man' as another poster on another blog put it,really fouled it out up, SNAFUBAR.

It's a strange out of body experience, when
one can see, but can't really comment on any
of this, except through an I-phone, and that really 'toads the wet sprocket' to use a Futuramaism. I guess it's the way that Sarah felt during the campaign. I finished
the book, it was all what I expected it. She has the same common sense, somewhat sarcastic attitude, that we see here, I certainly though from the Barbara Walters
interview, which was the best of the lot, because it was unprompted, that she was as
candid as she could be. Less so, with the other ones.

These idiots couldn't have screwed things up any further, and McCain puts the topping on it by apologizing to these nitwits. The
idea of cutting yourself entirely from the outside world, which was like diving in a bathysphere in the Marianas, and it was compounded by that email breach, which was something she hid very well. I suspected that she would never have been the one who
would bring Levi to the forefront, and yet they blamed her for it. What was that punishment that Chaco suggested for bad Typepad performance, apply it to Schmidt and Wallace.

[clarice]

Why the I Phone? Is your computer still messed up, narciso? Gosh, I'm sorry. I miss you.

[Porchlight]

Isn't that a patented line from Bill the cat?

Heh, I thought I saw it somewhere before...

[narciso]

BTW, daddy, Fagan is an unmitigated jerk,
i sent him a very polite note, and he practically ignored it, except for one inadvertent typo. Oddly KTUU, the NBC station has all the relevant stories you outlined, well now that Sarah's out of the state, I guess 'now it can be told' Then again they are spreading rumors of the
resignation of another of Sarah's team, Harry Noah, so who knows if it is true.

[NK]

Hey Peter--

watch it with the Stuyvesant stuff. I know Holder '69 is a blight on the record (not to mention Timothy Robbins '76), but many fine patriots and worthy American came out of Stuy High. my favorite is Jimmy Cagney '17.
Watched Holder on c-span; oi vey what debacle. he's either as stupid as he seems, or he's an amoral liar who'll say anything as part of his personal anti-Bush Jihad. I can't decide which is worse.

[narciso]

Yes the antivirus, attracts other antivirus which prevents me from logging on. anduril has become TCO level troll, despite the linux updates. Meaning a world class pain.
He can't tell the difference between a genuine foe, like Saudi Arabia or Russia, and an ally fighting for it's survival. Needless to say, he doesn't understands Sarah's appeal,

so you were involved in the Belarus and Arturovic cases,

[Pofarmer]

Anybody got any numbers on the Palin Book sighning? I've seen one report linked by Gateway pundit of 10K, but nothing else.

Thanks.

[Sue]

Janet,

Thinker about Google manipulation is interesting.

I didn't read the entire thing on AT but Moran has deleted his original post (inadvertently, he claims) and made apologies for the original story being wrong.

[narciso]

Yeah we can't hold PS for the fault of one or two alumni. Otherwise, Fidel Castro '45, and Bernard Barker '35, would be the book ends to my alma mater. and I don't think that would be fair.

I've run out of metaphors, the Princess Bride, Python, Futurama, doesn't convey the full on disaster this administration is. The
reports that the supervisors thought shipping Hassan to the largest military base in the country, even though they thought he might go jihadi, really there are no words

[clarice]

The Belarus cases were really nothing though someone made a career out of them. Artukovic was not my case but I was there when the FBI tried its last cover uo stunt for him,
************

Eric Posner at Volokh has a defense of Holder's decision--(via Insty)

Insty also cites to an article about how Holder has refused to name those new DoJ attys who had while in private practice like Holder) represented jihadis. Senate seems to think there are potential conflicts of interest.
I do, too.

[Jane]

Me too. And his response to Grassley was nothing short of jihadist, altho he apparently tempered it later saying he wanted to check on attorney confidentiality issues. We should keep track of this one.

[Jane]

Awwww

John Kerry’s daughter arrested for DUI

One of Sen. John Kerry’s daughters was arrested early this morning for driving under the influence, Los Angeles police confirmed.

Alexandra Forbes Kerry was pulled over in Hollywood for a traffic violation and was arrested for DUI at 12:40 a.m., Officer Sara Faden said.

Kerry posted $5,000 bail at 5:20 a.m.

Faden would not confirm Kerry’s blood alcohol level or what substance the senator’s daughter was under the influence of.

[peter]

NK, did not know Jimmy Cagney was a Stuyvesant grad.

[anduril]

anduril has become TCO level troll, despite the linux updates.

Thank you, narciso. I hope everyone took note of that "despite."

Meaning a world class pain.

How many can claim to be world class anything? But stick with me, narciso, and you may revise the estimate--not re "world class," but re "troll."

He can't tell the difference between a genuine foe, like Saudi Arabia or Russia, and an ally fighting for it's survival. Needless to say, he doesn't understands Sarah's appeal,

1. I haven't called Israel a foe, narciso. I've only maintained that the US is fully justified in applying all CI measures to Israel that it does to other nations. Further, that exceptions made in the case of Israel can have a negative impact re other nations that are serious foes--like China, for example.

2. I think I understand Sarah's appeal quite well. I've said there are many things about her to admire, but her knowledge and understanding of international affairs is not one of them and that happens to be hugely important for a president.

3. narciso, where you appear to fall down is in failing to take my words seriously. I choose my words very carefully, by and large, even if Charlie finds my choices depressing at times. :-)

[BumperStickerist]

. I think I understand Sarah's appeal quite well. I've said there are many things about her to admire, but her knowledge and understanding of international affairs is not one of them and that happens to be hugely important for a president.

Given the events of the past ten months, we can agree that knowledge and understanding of international affairs is hugely important.

I also think we can agree that Republican Presidential candidate John McCain had a better understanding of these issues than Barack Obama.

Last I checked, Senator McCain draws breath on this Earth.

In the absence of "awareness and understanding" though I'd take the person with the better natural executive instincts - that'd be Sarah Palin.

for starters, do you think Sarah'd have done a more bang-up job with basic protocols for gift-giving and/or introductions?

You betcha.

.

[Janet]

Thank you Sue. (my other post disappeared, so if it shows up later sorry)
Just wanted to say I still think it is sketchy that google images on page 1 for the kill the bill rally were from sf.

and LUN is the link for the Justice Dept lawyers who defended jihadis article. Really interesting.

[bgates]

there are many things about her to admire, but her knowledge and understanding of international affairs is not one of them

You're right, they're two of them.

that happens to be hugely important for a president

Could you list the aspects of international affairs about which Palin knows and/or understands less than the current President? At what point in time did Palin reach her current - and according to you, terminal - level of knowledge?

[Jane]

I've missed all the evidence that Sarah doesn't understand foreign policy. Anyone have any links - from her of course, not her detractors. I think she certainly understands the need for strength which of course is the direct opposite of what the current occupant believes.

[bunky]

Anybody see the Nora O'Donnell interview?

[Jane]

The one with the young woman at the Sarah Palin book signing bunky? I saw it.

[Sue]

It would be nice if Palin was as smart as our current AG Holder. He got hammered by Lindsey Graham for gawd's sake.

[Pofarmer]

bgates, it's obvious that Palin can't listen to advisors or learn about the world. I mean really, she's just an Alaska hick with a public college education. I mean, even if she was given all the information, how could someone with that background be expected to interpret it and make the correct decisions with it? I mean, fer cripes sake, she's a journalism student that doesn't even read any newspapers, or something.

[Sue]

The O'Donnell interview is already on youtube with the following title..
MSNBC Interviews Clueless Sarah Palin Supporters At Book Signing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXKuDYvM6Wk>youtube link

[bunky]

Sue and Jane, thanks. Pretty sad.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Spectator in the UK

[Dave (in MA)]

If only they'd question Democrat politicians with half the zeal that they employ against Junior High students standing in shopping malls.

[Sue]

What I wouldn't give to have Nora O'Donnell stick a microphone in my face.

[Jane]

LUN is where you go to the petition that would force congressmen and senators to take the same healthcare plan they force on us (under proposed legislation they are curiously exempt).

Pretty please go sign it.

[anduril]

for starters, do you think Sarah'd have done a more bang-up job with basic protocols for gift-giving and/or introductions?

Could you list the aspects of international affairs about which Palin knows and/or understands less than the current President?

I think she certainly understands the need for strength which of course is the direct opposite of what the current occupant believes.

It would be nice if Palin was as smart as our current AG Holder.

Two problems with all these comments:

1. They seem to set a very low bar for someone who wants to be president, and

2. they seem to presume that being different than the current officeholder is sufficient. It is not. That sort of either/or presupposition is what landed us with Obama--but worse, with an ironclad Democratic majority.

Rest assured, if Sarah shows evidence of intellectual growth I'll be among the first to acknowledge it and cheer it.

[hit and run]

Sarah Palin would pay for my mortgage and fill my car with gas.

[Pofarmer]

Rest assured, if Sarah shows evidence of intellectual growth I'll be among the first to acknowledge it and cheer it.

You just keep reading David Brooks and see how that works out.

[Pofarmer]

"Intellectual Growth" equals what, exactly?

[bunky]

Davis Brooks is a man Baby!

[Jane]

"Intellectual Growth" equals what, exactly?

That's the brilliance Po, it's an ever changing malleable standard. I saw it used a lot in the campaign with regard to Sarah.

I for one am going to employ that standard around here. It will certainly cut down on those pesky time demands.

[Rob Crawford]

"Intellectual Growth" equals what, exactly?

He has no idea. It's just something he's heard others say.

[Ranger]

You have to understand that Sarah Palin represents and existential threat to the Credentialed Moronotocracy.

If it is firmly established that people who have undergrad degrees from state schools are as effective, or even more effective as graduates of the "proper schools" then they entire house of cards they have created to enusre they are the only ones with access to large scale wealth and power collapses.

[anduril]

I never read David Brooks. Can't figure what TM sees in him.

[Pagar]

Ranger, I believe you have found the answer.

[Extraneus]

Which of the past presidents had extensive "knowledge and understanding of international affairs"? Surely not Obama. Bush Jr? Clinton? Reagan? Carter? Ford?

Maybe Nixon, Bush Sr and Eisenhower. Not Truman. FDR? I don't know, was he very savvy in foreign policy prior to being elected president?

This bar isn't real. We've had many effective presidents who had little or no "knowledge and understanding of international affairs".

Personally, I'd prefer "average intelligence and love of country" as a criterion.

[Extraneus]

Hey Janet, that google manipulation thing is an interesting thought. I'm the one who posted the stormfront link. Never even checked the site I was looking at, just the content (that the guy's name wasn't Huey Newton), but it came up first in a google search of "michelle obama's prom date," or something close, believe it or not.

I wouldn't be surprised if google put a white supremacy site at the top of their search so they could later show stats of how such sites are getting more hits.

[Pagar]

Jane, in your 12:54 PM, IMO, curiously should be changed to deliberately.

[Sue]

Two problems with all these comments:

I was being sarcastic. But you knew that.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Rest assured, if Sarah shows evidence of intellectual growth I'll be among the first to acknowledge it and cheer it.

My suggestion is to read her book.

Do you really think someone so stupid as you seem to have decided she is could have negotiated the gasline deal, something no one else was able to accomplish after 30 years of trying. Do you think someone dumb could turn a sleepy Alaska town without even paved roads into the fastest growing and thriving towns in the state during her time as Mayor?

Do you really think a dunce could be muzzled like the McCain campaign did, never take any of her advice on what she knows works, and then be trashed daily by the MSM and still come back and be the MAJOR influence she is now?

I am trying to figure out why we think people from Harvard are so smart. Yes, high SAT scores to get in unless you are a minority or legacy student, but who, in today's world, graduates from there and has even an 8th grade education? I haven't seen it.

[sbw]

NY State Education Department proposed to raise the credentials for teachers. We editorialized lowering them: "Yep, credentials have gotten the rest of the schools where they are, so it stands to reason that if we want under-performing schools to become more like mediocre schools in the rest of the state, SED is the bureaucracy to make that happen.

"Credentials don't make excellent teachers. Excellent teachers can improve when they master knowledge and skills linked to classroom effectiveness. However, SED's mistaken premise overlooks that some out-of-certification teachers are highly effective. It overlooks that some credentialed teachers, leaders, and SED bureaucrats are excellent, but that others are only credentialed. Results matter much more than the credentials.

"Content knowledge proficiency assumes that mastering a subject masters the tools that will produce mature, self-regulated young adults, and that all that is required is to teach those subjects harder. That's not convincing. More rigorous content specialty tests assure that the pedantic survive. What the pedantic know may be true, but not necessarily useful. An expert can master thematic development, language styles, plot techniques, characterization, and still not be able to extract from a book the simplest lessons about living life.

"We'd rather see fewer formal credentials, opening the door to more who feel compelled to teach as their calling. Give them a subset of knowledge and skills linked to classroom effectiveness, provide excellent on-the-job mentor teachers to support them as they grow, and make them prove their worth.

"It does not take an advanced degree or SED research to appreciate that certification does not correlate with commitment to the success of each individual student."

[sbw]

Whoa! Black diamond question marks appear out of the blue... er... black!

[anduril]

Sara, I never said Sarah is stupid. I said she's woefully uninformed on certain matters, which leads her to say stupid things about those matters. Those books are typically--and Sarah's is not different in this respect--put together by ghost writers. That's one reason why I don't read them. It also makes it difficult to judge the "author's" true intelligence.

[narciso]

No, I understand you, fine, when we have a problem with Israel like the Pollard and this NASA scientist, we deal with it. But that doesn't compare with Wu Tai Chi, Ana Belen Montes, and Walter Myers, not to say Hansen
& Ames.

She understands most clearly thatabandoning Afghanistan is a bad idea, sending Zoroastrian telegrams to the Iranian guard's handpicked candidate also not good. That the Saudis are bad business, and our
involvement in the region, has progressed
at an inverse rate to our abandonment of our domestic development. She understands also because of her state's unique history
that the czar without a crown needs to be watched.

[Pagar]

Trying to access Jane's LUN, I got:

"The page cannot be displayed
There are too many people accessing the Web site at this time."

[bgates]

I said she's woefully uninformed on certain matters, which leads her to say stupid things about those matters.

When you make a claim on the internet about what another person has said, it's considered good form to link to it.

Two problems with all these comments:

1. They seem to set a very low bar for someone who wants to be president, and

2. they seem to presume that being different than the current officeholder is sufficient. It is not.

anduril, you're a moron. Those comments didn't talk about Palin being merely "different". Mine in particular invited you to describe how Palin was inferior. You can't do it, because she while she is "different" from Obama, she is not inferior. Do you know what the other alternative is? For when A is different from but not inferior to B? Hint: think "Lake Superio_". Did you figure it out?

[Jane]

"The page cannot be displayed
There are too many people accessing the Web site at this time."

That's great! Keep trying!

[narciso]

The problem is not uniquely Obama, although he is the 'tip of the spear' forincompetence, that's why his choice of Biden, Panetta, Jones
(who is undercut by Rhodes and McDonough,) Holbrooke, along with hangers on like Charles
Freeman,a Saudi and PLA vassal,

[Pagar]

"I mean, even if she was given all the information, how could someone with that background be expected to interpret it and make the correct decisions with it?"

A ways back on one of the threads, there was a discussion of actions in Israel that America should take: Here is what the current American actions are doing to help destroy the only ally we have in the region-----

" U.S. ‘totally supporting’ Palestinian land grab. "

The entire region is committed to the destruction of Israel and it is being done using American taxpayer money with the total Support of the Obama regime.

I believe Sarah Palin has indicated she would support our ally, not those working against our ally.

[geezer]

Lynne Stewart turned herself in to authorities yesterday to begin her measly sentence.
Pray for the gals you asked her to bend over and spread them.
I miss PUK at a time like this.

[narciso]

Right, one can't forget the Israel flag, and the fact, that one of the most accurate accounts of her record, was a film by a former
Israeli fighter pilot, Elon Frank,
unfortunately the film has been cannibalized by the Trig truthers

[clarice]

sbw, that's a fine editorial. You did yourself proud.
Palin showed a greater understanding of foreign affairs than her opponent. IMO she creamed both Biden and Obama in her responses to debate questions on foreign affairs and defense.

And it's clear she doesn't believe that international popularity contests equal power .

[clarice]

And I believe tht as governor of Alaska she had to deal regularly with Canada on a wide range of issues from energy to native rights and more which means she has more foreign afairs experience than ANY of the four candidates in the last election.

[Jane]

I just don't see any evidence that she doesn't understand foreign affairs or anything else.

[Sue]

My deal with Palin is she was not her own person in last year's race. I want to see what she says as Sarah Palin, the head honcho of her own campaign. She is smart, regardless of what Tina Fey wants you to think. If she doesn't know about something, she can learn it, and learn it quickly. The thing is no president can do it by themselves. I do not believe Palin would surround herself with people like Axelrod, Emanuel, Jarrett, Dunn and Jones. She is going to have to study the issues, read some more books and bring in people that will give her good counsel. I would start, if I were her, with Mark Levin. I know his radio personality is over the top, but the man is a genius. Being schooled by Levin would be a major plus.

[Sue]

And, I would like to add, she needs to start the national debate with energy. Her wheelhouse.

[Sue]

One thing I think she needs to start hammering on when asked about quitting as governor is the stupid law in Alaska that allowed anyone to bring ethics charges against her with no consequences if they were frivolous charges.

[Dave (in MA)]

The leading contender to replace Kennedy in the Senate claimed that her grasp of foreign policy derives from the fact that her sister can see the Middle East from her house.

[narciso]

So it turns out, that Awlaki is the son of a former Yemeni agriculture minister

[clarice]

narciso, you are like a walking encyclopedia.Maybe for everyone else yoju might explain who Awlaki is.

[Jane]

Dave,

The same contender makes $135k a year and forgot that she had $200k in a bank account.

We are so screwed.

[narciso]

The pen pal for Major Hassan, and imam to the 9/11 hijackers in two states. You don't believe very good luck with investments, Jane
Over in my neck of the woods, Crist's factotum, Lemieux is doing some good things, stalling one of the officials involved in the
Honduras move

[Jane]

huh?

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Anduril: First of all much of her book is a compilation of her own journals that she started keeping as a child. Her words. Compiled isn't doing the actual writing. Second, after you read the book, you see that many of the more stupid things came from the asshole Steve Schmidt who did everything he could to undermine Sarah and try to make her look stupid. He barely spent any time with her, but was leaking all kinds of negative stories about her. Other campaign staff were both livid and appalled at what Schmidt did. Palin's most dumb thing was in believing in the professionals and their expertise was somehow better than own common sense of what she thought she should be doing and that had always made her a winner in the past. She is a master of grassroots.

And it was Schmidt and HQ who kept her muzzled on policy and did everything they could to keep the meme that she was too dumb or too rogue or too much a diva alive. None of which was/is true.

I don't think Schmidt ever wanted McCain to win and Sarah suddenly was the biggest threat to that as she was by far the more popular candidate with the most important message to give and after she joined the campaign they surged ahead of Obama in the polls. Schmidt had to do whatever he could to bring her down. And he did. Anyone who ever hires this guy again is an idiot and better wear a flak jacket as he is a backstabber of the first order.

She may be one of the foremost experts on gas and oil in the country, yet you'd never know it from the media coverage or the campaign taking advantage of her expertise.

[sbw]

I'm putting my money in Hillary cattle futures.

[Frau Nebenan]

Jane, it's done. I can never remember, though, if I signed already, but I went ahead!

daddy - my husband was born in Peter Minuit's birthplace: Wesel ("Vesalia hospitalis"). It's on the lower Rhine, not far from the Dutch border. Throughout its history, it took in religious refugees from other countries. The first Walloons arrived around 1545. Many of the settlers in New Amsterdam were from Wesel and surrounding areas. It had been a member of the Hanseatic League, and it was a lovely garrison town where prince Frederick (the Great) was held after being caught while attempting to run away from his father. It's where the British crossed the Rhine in March 1945 after the town had been 97% destroyed. Today, it's somewhat like Dog River "where there's not a whole lot going on."

[Pofarmer]

And I believe tht as governor of Alaska she had to deal regularly with Canada on a wide range of issues from energy to native rights and more which means she has more foreign afairs experience than ANY of the four candidates in the last election.

Pretty sure she also negotiated some trade deals where Russia was involved.

[Rob Crawford]

I don't think Schmidt ever wanted McCain to win...

Didn't he explicitly state he'd leave the campaign if McCain ever actually "attacked" The Won?

[Ranger]

BTW, the WaPo is shocked, shocked to discover that Obama doesn't like actually answering questions from the press:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/18/AR2009111802924.html>In China, Obama leaves more questions than he takes

Members of the White House press corps traveling with Obama were baffled: Even Bush, the great unilateralist, had been more willing to mix it up with journalists, foreign and domestic, while abroad. After reporters complained to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs about a lack of communication, he issued a 61-word written statement worthy of the Politburo Standing Committee: "President Obama's visit to China has demonstrated the depth and breadth of the global and other challenges where US-China cooperation is critical," it began.

...

Instead of subjecting himself to public inquisition, Obama has opted for the calm and cordiality of the tête-à-tête. He had done an impressive 134 sit-down interviews as president before leaving for China, according to CBS News's Mark Knoller, and his four in China brought the tally to 138.

It's easy to see why Obama prefers this format. Consider some of the questions that have arisen during these sessions:

"You picked the Tar Heels to win the national championship, didn't you?

"You are very, very famous as a very cool man, but what don't you like about yourself?"

"Golf. What does it do for you?"

"How do you relax?"

"Have the girls had kids over after school?"

"Do you get to read them a story at night, tuck them in bed?"

With questions like these, even President Hu might start talking to the press.

Maybe this wouldn't be such a surprise if they had paid attention during the campaign. "Hey guys, I already answered like eight questions."