The mayor of the greatest city in the world has had a change of heart about the wisdom of trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York City:
The Obama administration on Wednesday lost its most prominent backer of the plan to try the self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks in Lower Manhattan when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said the trial should not be held in New York City.
The mayor’s reversal was a political blow to the White House’s efforts to resolve a landmark terror case a few blocks from where Al Qaeda hijackers rammed planes into the World Trade Center, a trial that the president saw as an important demonstration of American justice.
Mr. Bloomberg said that a more secure location, like a military base, would be less disruptive and less costly. His remarks echoed growing opposition from Wall Street executives, the real estate industry and neighborhood groups, who have questioned the burdens that such a trial would bring to a heavily trafficked area of the city.
“It’s going to cost an awful lot of money and disturb an awful lot of people,” Mr. Bloomberg said at a news conference in Brooklyn. “My hope is that the attorney general and the president decide to change their mind.“
Why the flip-flop?
Mr. Bloomberg had steadfastly supported the location of the trial. When the news broke two months ago, he declared, “It is fitting that 9/11 suspects face justice near the World Trade Center site, where so many New Yorkers were murdered.”But over the past few weeks, he has heard from scores of business and community leaders who urged him to reverse course. Real estate brokers argued that security restrictions would dampen the market for apartments in Chinatown and TriBeCa; small-business owners feared a severe drop-off in customers; and residents worried that they would be unable to use their local streets.
The Police Department has said that in preparation for the trial, the area around the courthouse would be flooded with uniformed police officers, in cars and on horseback, and surrounded by 2,000 interlocking metal barriers.
“I believe it would destroy the economy in Lower Manhattan,” said Steve Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, which represents property owners. He has urged the mayor’s office to speak out against holding the trial in the city.
The city estimated it would spend more than $200 million a year on security for the trial, making it one of the most expensive security operations it would ever take on.
City Hall aides said that the complex trial could drag on for years, eventually costing the city close to $1 billion in the middle of a deep recession, though most of that is expected to be shouldered by the federal government.
I know a billion ain't what it used to be but that is still a lot of money just to help Obama and Holder feel good about themselves.
Others are deserting the sinking ship as well:
On the heels of Mayor Bloomberg’s flip-flop today over trying Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four henchmen in New York City, two prominent Democratic lawmakers from the state are telling Team Obama to hold the trial elsewhere.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Nydia Velázquez have sided with President Obama’s GOP opponents in arguing the trial should not be held in New York City after all.
House Minority Leader John Boehner said Wednesday the Obama administration doesn’t have the votes to change the law to move detainees to U.S. territory for trial or to spend $500 million to refurbish the Thompson prison in Illinois to host the detainees who would be held there while awaiting trial in New York City.
“There is not going to be a trial in New York, I guarantee it. There is no appetite for the trials in Congress,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said.
The leader added that any effort to do so will be used in the midterm election campaign.
“This is a big issue … and a big issue we will campaign on this year,” he added.
Posted by: windansea | January 28, 2010 at 11:33 AM
An utterly stupid and indefensible idea, and the remarkable thing is that no one in or out of the administration has made any coherent effort to defend it at all.
They don't yet seem to sense how strongly this issue reverberates.
Posted by: Danube of Thought | January 28, 2010 at 11:49 AM
I like the idea of turning Gitmo into a rehabilitation facility. Then we could just send enemy combatants there until they are rehabilitated or until the rising seas submerge the place, which ever comes first.
Posted by: MikeS | January 28, 2010 at 11:52 AM
What I can't believe is that someone like Jim Jones either is pro-civil trials and exporting idiotic malfeasance to New York City or he is not being even asked or listened to in this deliberation. I wonder how long he will last before he says "sayanora"??
Posted by: Jack is Back! | January 28, 2010 at 11:56 AM
Simple solution, with all that implies:
1) Pick Judge, Jury.
2) Fly the whole court (bailiffs, court reporters, everybody) down to Gitmo for three months. Try him under New York Law, complete with real New Yorkers.
Security provided by Uncle Sam's Misguided Children. No chance of jury tampering or breaking the sequestering.
I'm SO volunteering.
Posted by: Free Radical | January 28, 2010 at 12:01 PM
I suggest holding the trial in Eric Holder's office, and Holder has to attend every session. Let Eric sweat out the car and underpants bombs that will accompany this "trial"; maybe it will focus his mind.
Posted by: NK | January 28, 2010 at 12:19 PM
OT
A top House committee responded to the mounting voter backlash against backroom deals on health reform by seeking more information Wednesday about White House negotiations with industry groups.
Under the agreement Chairman Henry Waxman brokered with Texas Republican Rep. Michael Burgess, the California Democrat has offered to help Republicans get a comprehensive list of meetings the White House held with industry representatives, as well as records documenting calls and e-mails between outside groups and the Department of Health and Human Services.
at Politico
Obama "I didn't make a bunch of deals."
Posted by: windansea | January 28, 2010 at 12:24 PM
On the other hand, though al Qaeda isn't a state, it is an entity which has declared war on us. I might be willing to consider a formal unconditional surrender. That, to be followed by war crimes trials under article 3.
Posted by: MikeS | January 28, 2010 at 12:30 PM
"It will be interesting to see whether the White House can climb down gracefully."
Tom, may I please have some of whatever you're smoking/drinking that would even lead to such a thought?
I mean, climb down at all?
Posted by: JorgXMcKie | January 28, 2010 at 12:30 PM
2) Fly the whole court (bailiffs, court reporters, everybody) down to Gitmo for three months.
Good start, but why not just empanel five military officers and have a two-week special? We can bring the whole thing in under a million (or sell broadcast rights and make a profit).
Then we can have the executions right there. Or if by some fluke they're found not guilty, we can just put 'em right back in the detention facility.
Posted by: Cecil Turner | January 28, 2010 at 12:37 PM
One of the images I had from last night was that of that smug bastard Holder half smiling his way through the room.
He has stonewalled on the past connections with the defense of these war criminals by members of his Justice Department staff and has been held unaccountable by Congress as well.
He has not outlined the legal theory under which he is trying these terrorists, nor has he even given a half assed explanation of the background for the decision. His arrogance is truly stunning.
Despite the outrage of New Yorkers and a significant part of the population; the legal community, and much of Congress, this worm has managed to get away with it so far with no accountability.
Posted by: matt | January 28, 2010 at 12:48 PM
If only there were a remote, secure military base available for this sort of thing.
Posted by: Fresh Air | January 28, 2010 at 12:53 PM
Good start, but why not just empanel five military officers and have a two-week special? We can bring the whole thing in under a million (or sell broadcast rights and make a profit).
We could always solve the problem for about 40 cents for each Gitmo detainee. Fifty-three cents if we want to be doubly sure and use hollow point .45s.
Posted by: Rob Crawford | January 28, 2010 at 12:54 PM
J. D. Salinger dead at 91.
Posted by: Jack is Back! | January 28, 2010 at 01:27 PM
Ron Radosh reports that historian Martin Sklar believes Holder's conduct in this case constitutes an impeachable offense.
http://pajamasmedia.com/ronradosh/
Let the rumpu begin!
After all this is a wildly unpopular move, unwarranted by any law and obviously distasteful to LE and the intel orgs.
I wish I could forgive and forget the treatment the Dems gave the hapless but honest Gonzales. But I can't. Now it's Holder's turn and from the black Panthers case to this one, he deserves whatever he gets.
Posted by: clarice | January 28, 2010 at 01:50 PM
Guy's, FWIW,
Landed about 4 hours AGO in a foreign country (japan) from the US.
Obviously went barhopping on arrival, but for the last 2 hours as I have been very assiduously observing the 2 English language Channels (BBC and CNN International) I have seen none, nada, zero comments or reporting on Obama's State Of the Union Speech. Everything else, Haiti, Hockey, NFL (you name it), that stuff is trotted out like nothing, but as for the speech by the greatest Speechmaker in human history, describing the current state of the Republic, nothing. Seriously, when you get up, see if you guys can find BBC or CCN International on your cable-boxes, and if so, see if either of those 2 orgs have yet figured out how to make this Socialistic drivel cosmetically appealing to the masses.
My unscientific conclusion is that our 'Second Coming of Abe Lincoln' Prez is now an embarrassment to the intellectuals of the MS, and the new mode will be how to divorce themselves from Obama's ignorance while still touting his policies.
Posted by: daddy | January 28, 2010 at 02:08 PM
Lol, Daddy, he has suffered the fate of Comrade Ogilvy, although I am sure it's an oversight, if they continued to do that, it would create one of those universes in a box
just like Futurama
Posted by: narciso | January 28, 2010 at 02:12 PM
FIRE! Ready? Aim!
He needs to fire Rahm, Valerie and David fast. These three stooges are going to kill his Presidency.
Posted by: Gabriel Sutherland | January 28, 2010 at 02:19 PM
The challengers merely mention 'Pelosi' and faces turn to instant scowls.
The huge gap in oversight of the Executive branch is killing Congressional approval numbers.
Speaker Pelosi is finished. The intel I get in battleground districts makes Speaker Pelosi look like 2006 George W. Bush, 1974 Richard M. Nixon, and 1968 Lyndon B. Johnson all in one.Posted by: Gabriel Sutherland | January 28, 2010 at 02:28 PM
Narciso,
Just about to nod off, but that Futurama episode you mention, "The Farnsworth Paradox" is stinking wonderful.
And again, it has been 2 and a half hours in the hotel room, and so far zero comments at all about the SOTU from the 2 channels that I keep flipping back and forth between, BBC and CNN International.
Yippee!!!
Posted by: daddy | January 28, 2010 at 02:37 PM
--These three stooges are going to kill his Presidency.--
I don't think they're killing it.
They appear to me more as a Greek chorus egging on the suicide of the main actor in this minor and let's hope quickly forgotten tragedy.
Posted by: Ignatz | January 28, 2010 at 02:40 PM
This might sound cruel and heartless but I believe the people of New York deserve the trial and all of headaches it will bring. They voted for Obama and his whole unserious attitude towards terrorism. They are now reaping what they have sown.
If anyone should have seen the folly of treating terrorists like ordinary criminals it is New Yorkers who suffered so much. Hopefully the billion they spend on the trial will finally bankrupt them.
What does it take to get some people to come to their senses?
Posted by: Fritz | January 28, 2010 at 02:46 PM
Little edit:
The Obama administration on Wednesday lost its most prominent backer of their self-described "plan" to try the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks in Lower Manhattan
Posted by: bgates | January 28, 2010 at 02:48 PM
...FA: "If only there were a remote, secure military base available for this sort of thing."
Well if you found one, it would have to be outfitted to hold high value dangerous prisoners in total security and with capability to deliver first class medical care and other amenities. And of course it would need to be available immediately. Gee, good luck finding such a place.
Posted by: Old Lurker | January 28, 2010 at 02:56 PM
J. D. Salinger dead at 91.
Holden Caulfield in the White House.
Posted by: peter | January 28, 2010 at 02:59 PM
The challengers merely mention 'Pelosi' and faces turn to instant scowls.
They're just doing their imitations of her. Natural mistake.
Posted by: Rob Crawford | January 28, 2010 at 03:34 PM
Ignatz--
I don't think the Greek chorus analogy works insofar as it usually served the purpose of warning the protagonist of his hubris. If there is a smidgen of awareness present in any of these dim bulbs, it hasn't been made public.
But the egging on to suicide to part is right. The whole lot of these idiots is over the edge of the cliff, waiting for gravity. If they had cut taxes--even a short-term suspension of the payroll tax--last year, and focused on reducing the burdens on businesses, we would be looking at a possible bottoming of the economic cycle. Now it's too late to do any of this stuff, and most small business owners are going to be distrustful enough of Congress to defer hiring as long as possible to avoid higher fixed labor costs.
What's even worse is Bernanke has burned through half a billion, on his way to a trillion dollars worth of monetization, including the degraded paper of Fannie & Freddie. These actions have not stabilized the banking system, have not led a housing rebound, have not caused the banks to lend, and will have no discernible effect on the economy in the long run save increasing the national debt and creating a moral hazard for poor lending practices.
The unemployment rate is going to still be sitting at 10 percent come August. Even a dramatic rebound in the early fall won't significantly boost Mediacrat fortunes. The country may not be doomed, but most assuredly the Media is.
Posted by: Fresh Air | January 28, 2010 at 03:54 PM
This is a repost from the end of the SOTU thread -
That Community College business is something to keep an eye on. The one here in Northern Virginia is full of promoters of SDS, La Raza, all kinds of Muslim groups,...
I took a motorcycle riding coarse there, and the halls were lined with bulletin boards and pamphlets promoting those groups. ACORN recruiting grounds? It sure had that feel.
I don't trust this administration at all. Their plans are never about helping who they say they want to help. They are all about growing leftist organizations.
Posted by: Janet | January 28, 2010 at 04:07 PM
" ... This might sound cruel and heartless but I believe the people of New York deserve the trial and all of headaches it will bring. They voted for Obama and his whole unserious attitude towards terrorism. They are now reaping what they have sown. ..."
Justice is seeing Obama voters having to live in the world they helped to create with their vote.
The great injustice, of course, is that the rest of us must share this nightmare.
Posted by: fdcol63 | January 28, 2010 at 04:08 PM
Janet
The telling clue would have been how Obama ran the Annenberg Challenge. Funneling Other People's Money to leftist activists' groups.
And working as a lawyer for ACORN in the early 90's.
There are no surprises, just a few meager data points, as most of the 'Story of O' has been hidden.
A small man with a big mouth and a big ego.
The SOTU in 2011 will be much different, with a decidedly different audience.
Posted by: E. Nigma | January 28, 2010 at 04:33 PM
Story of O.
Very apt ... except we're O in this version, and not enjoying it as much.
Posted by: fdcol63 | January 28, 2010 at 04:36 PM
--Ignatz--
I don't think the Greek chorus analogy works insofar as it usually served the purpose of warning the protagonist of his hubris.--
FA,
Figured somebody would catch that, but I was just too busy (lazy) to fix it.
Posted by: Ignatz | January 28, 2010 at 05:04 PM
J. D. Salinger dead at 91.
The Catcher in the Rye is one book that makes me laugh out loud. The fact that so many nut-cases liked the book too (Reagan's and Lennon's shooters) always made me a little self conscious about liking it so much...but I do. Some of his short stories too.
Posted by: Janet | January 28, 2010 at 05:13 PM
... our 'Second Coming of Abe Lincoln'
The first as tragedy and the second as tragic farce.
Posted by: Frau Sowienoch | January 28, 2010 at 05:44 PM
Janet, the civilian national security jackboots, er, corps needs to be cultivated somewhere --the VA community college you visited?
Posted by: Frau Sowienoch | January 28, 2010 at 05:50 PM
Back to the main topic: If I were a New Yorker and the trial of KSM became a reality, I'd organize a Million
ManPerson March to greet KSM and friends when they arrived in NYC. Maybe they'd make it to the courthouse, maybe not. It would be really, really interesting.Posted by: Paul | January 28, 2010 at 05:50 PM
Paul;
Maybe some pitchforks, nooses, and torches at the fore of that march. KSM probably has cable, so it would scare the bejeepers out of him.
can you imagine 100,000 New Yorkers protesting. That would send a message to the dimwits in DC.
Posted by: matt | January 28, 2010 at 06:13 PM
NY pols stunned to learn Obama administration opposes funding for 9/11 health bill
The Obama administration stunned New York's delegation Thursday, dropping the bombshell news that it does not support funding the 9/11 health bill.
The state's two senators and 14 House members met with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius just hours before President Obama implored in his speech to the nation for Congress to come together and deliver a government that delivers on its promises to the American people.
"She made it clear that the administration does not support any kind of funding mechanism that goes into the bill," said Bronx Rep. Eliot Engel. "I think it's fiscal restraint… but you know what? They find money for everything else, they need to find money for this," Engel said
link
this is a major goof
Posted by: windansea | January 28, 2010 at 06:20 PM
Add Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA)to the list:
Posted by: Sara (Pal2Pal) | January 28, 2010 at 06:39 PM
We could always solve the problem for about 40 cents for each Gitmo detainee. Fifty-three cents if we want to be doubly sure and use hollow point .45s.
I'll chip in the $1.06 each; use two rounds.
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | January 28, 2010 at 07:15 PM
Let the rumpu begin!
I don't think I've ever seen that in the singular before.
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | January 28, 2010 at 07:16 PM
Now you have.. A LITTLE TYPOLATIN WITH WHICH TO WASH DOWN THE CHINESE.
Posted by: clarice | January 28, 2010 at 07:20 PM
i have several family members who were first responders that day and afterwards. They have been completely let down by the city and the Feds.
many, many respiratory and immune system problems including lupus in men.
Posted by: matt | January 28, 2010 at 07:51 PM
Gang...Obama knows all this. Emanuel has likely counseled him to make the GOP spend their political capital to shut Holder down.
Posted by: BobS | January 28, 2010 at 08:03 PM
Emanuel has likely counseled him to make the GOP spend their political capital to shut Holder down.
If the public supports that idea, then that's not capital spent, but invested. It will be paid back.
Posted by: Rob Crawford | January 28, 2010 at 08:12 PM
Considering the stats, I don't know why more people aren't clamoring to retire jersey #44.
Posted by: sbw | January 28, 2010 at 08:22 PM
The Wh seems to be moving to shut Holder down or at least reign him in all by itself:
[quoteWhite House officials have told the Justice Department to consider other venues for the 9/11 terror trial that was to be held in lower Manhattan, the Daily News has learned. The decision came after Mayor Bloomberg and other politicians across the state railed against President Obama's plan to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Manhattan Federal Court.[/quote]
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/01/28/2010-01-28_white_house_orders_justice_department_to_look_for_other_places_to_hold_911_terro.html
Posted by: clarice | January 28, 2010 at 08:48 PM
Breaking News per Drudge:
PAPER: OBAMA ORDERS JUSTICE TO MOVE TERROR TRIAL OUT OF NYC
What a clown circus!
Posted by: sam | January 28, 2010 at 08:50 PM
**REIN him in***
Posted by: clarice | January 28, 2010 at 08:52 PM
PAPER: OBAMA ORDERS JUSTICE TO MOVE TERROR TRIAL OUT OF NYC
My gawd this man is incompetent. Where does he intend to move it to - Chicago? He really needs to get a grip.
Posted by: Jane | January 28, 2010 at 08:57 PM
Reign him in might be correct, with this delusional asshat thinking he's royalty. But at any rate, it is good news that the administration is reversing one of its more severe errors. The real question remains, even if the venue is changed, will it still be in a civilian court, or will it go back to a military tribunal, where it belongs.
Posted by: peter | January 28, 2010 at 08:57 PM
Hipster doofus
Posted by: Janet | January 28, 2010 at 09:03 PM
Hugh Hewitt reports he has credible info that the Dems plan to resurrect the zombie healthcare plan and jam it thru using reconciliation.
I think it's impossible to underestimate the degree of fury and blowback such a move would engender.
Posted by: clarice | January 28, 2010 at 09:06 PM
Sarah's takedown of the State of the Union speech is fabulous. LUN
Posted by: PaulL | January 28, 2010 at 09:11 PM
A young Barry Soetoro sits on a curb in Hawaii contemplating his future...
Posted by: Janet | January 28, 2010 at 09:12 PM
Wow.
Posted by: RichatUF | January 28, 2010 at 09:12 PM
Hey, maybe someone wacked Obama with a cluebat this morning, and he is finally starting to listen, instead of lecture?
That, or he was blind stinking drunk and made a mistake on the order to make sure the trial was kept in NYC.
Posted by: William Teach | January 28, 2010 at 09:17 PM
Sarah's takedown of the State of the Union speech is fabulous.
It really was. 100% on the money and the tone was just right - not too aggro, not too nice.
Posted by: Porchlight | January 28, 2010 at 09:19 PM
Hugh Hewitt reports he has credible info that the Dems plan to resurrect the zombie healthcare plan and jam it thru using reconciliation.
HotAir has something about it. Kyl supposedly is getting the info from "credible sources" (Hewitt interviewed Kyl today). I don't know if I buy it. I think it's just being floated to make the left think they're doing their best.
Yet according to a HotAir comment by windansea, the lefties aren't talking about it. Hmmm.
Posted by: Porchlight | January 28, 2010 at 09:21 PM
Hewitt - Kyl interview
The Zombiecare bit is down a page or so.
Go for it, Nan, it'll only cost 100 House seats.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | January 28, 2010 at 09:23 PM
She must have thought 'field dressing a moose, is easier,' than trying to trying to untangle this speech, but it grew from her rather reserved take, in her new pundit slot
Posted by: narciso | January 28, 2010 at 09:27 PM
Yet according to a HotAir comment by windansea, the lefties aren't talking about it. Hmmm
I think it's bs, my global lefty warming system shows a negative anomaly
Posted by: windansea | January 28, 2010 at 09:29 PM
You guys - hello - this is the Anointed One, The Obama - he will probably move it to Washington, DC.
Holder and Zero can always be counted on! Peas in a pod.
Posted by: centralcal | January 28, 2010 at 09:29 PM
I think it's bs, my global lefty warming system shows a negative anomaly
Sure hope you're right...my hunch says you are.
Posted by: Porchlight | January 28, 2010 at 09:31 PM
I think even if she held a gun to their heads, Pelosi couldn't get enough votes for it.
Posted by: clarice | January 28, 2010 at 09:35 PM
LOL! The commenters at Hot Air have a few suggestions:
Detroit
Chicago
Boston
San Francisco
...and so it goes.
Posted by: centralcal | January 28, 2010 at 09:36 PM
It's Kabuki for the MoveOn Morons and Code Pinkos who own the party. If Skeletor and Dingy push on (at BOzo's command) it will shred the party. If they don't push on, it will shred the party.
BOzo has a firm hand on the tiller - the ferry is taking on a lot of water from the collision with Scylla so he's heading for Charybdis at full power.
I think he'll make it.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | January 28, 2010 at 09:37 PM
this is going to be a NIMBY clusterfark
who's going to want it
maybe we can have it in Puerto Vallarta
occupancy rates are a bit down
Posted by: windansea | January 28, 2010 at 09:44 PM
It's a colosaly stupid gesture, we got lucky
with Mutallab, who apparently had a dozen associates nabbed in Malaysia this week, but
we are testing fate. What we have here is a
shinier cafe aut lait version of Dukakis, with
the same almost criminally naive attitude toward criminals and terrorists
Posted by: narciso | January 28, 2010 at 09:51 PM
He won't move the trial here. Congress wouldn't stand for it..and we were already targeted during 9/11 and the anthrax attacks..
I think San Francisco's perfect...
Actually, Congress will never okay the transfers from Gitmo for civilian trial here and they have to under the law. This utterly stupid and futile gesture will die on the vine.
Posted by: clarice | January 28, 2010 at 10:00 PM
The campaign is over, and President Obama now has something that candidate Obama never had: an actual track record in office.. Best line in Sarah's SOTU takedown.
Posted by: peter | January 28, 2010 at 10:05 PM
...'field dressing a moose, is easier'...
She earned a few gravitas point from me for her analysis. I thought she did a great job without being nasty at all. Unless of course you read a little something extra, as I did, into her use of the phrase "smaller, smarter government."
Posted by: MikeS | January 28, 2010 at 10:10 PM
White House hits "B3" on the jukebox, will choose another location for KSM trial where some might be more "receptive" to Federal "stimulus" dollars.
Anybody check whether or not Geithner was under oath?
I'm thinking not so much.
Watching "Road to Zanzibar", cheesy, but entertaining.
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | January 28, 2010 at 10:14 PM
Oh, LUN.
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | January 28, 2010 at 10:24 PM
I think the Mutallab decision along with Ft. Hood, was the fulcrum. the Brown victory was
a manifestation of it. The fact that at least
one of these cleared AQ, like Shehri, was involved punctuated the point, even in NYC,
Posted by: narciso | January 28, 2010 at 10:34 PM
Narciso, is it me, or are we one terrorist hit away from Hillary running in 2012.
And did we notice here absence from last night's borefest?
Posted by: verner | January 28, 2010 at 10:41 PM
...are we one terrorist hit away from Hillary running...?
I doubt that another one is necessary. Obama is so irrationally progressive that I can imagine a Democrat running on Sarah's "smaller smarter government" theme.
Posted by: MikeS | January 28, 2010 at 11:17 PM
Bayh might try it, if he does not suffer the ignominy of being defeated, like his father
was by Quayle. So might Webb, although I find
him less that credible, This of course, one of the many idiocies behind a Huckabee campaign
Posted by: narciso | January 28, 2010 at 11:26 PM
Hyde Park in Chicago is the perfect place to hold he trial.
Posted by: Jim Miller | January 28, 2010 at 11:27 PM
If KSM got loose on the South Side, he would probably be gunned down by a gangbanger about 30 seconds after he crossed 47th street. Though I suppose there's always the option of trying to hide in the coal mine at the Museum of Science & Industry. I for one think it would be a hoot. They could do the whole trial on the Quadrangle at U of C, like an open-air Shakespeare production. Refreshments could be sold and folding chairs set up for the audience. It would be like Inherit the Wind, minus Spencer Tracy.
Posted by: Fresh Air | January 29, 2010 at 01:22 AM
Narciso--
It's difficult to see any Democrat in Congress running for president. Talk about a thankless task! There isn't a scintilla of daylight between them and Zero, and they just couldn't get traction as outsiders. No, it won't happen. I could see an actual outsider running. But you're talking about an incredibly small list of names: Democrat governors (possibly mayors) of non-basketcase states (or cities). Maybe Crist switches parties? Nah. Plus ALL of the blacks stay home next time if Zero gets pushed out.
The only hope for the Mediacrats is some like a chimeric economic turnaround that coincides with 2012. I give that about as much chance as I do of Hillary Clinton going down six sizes in her pantsuit. The USS Ship of State is very slow to turn, and doubling down on stupid is about to cost them another year in which they could have done something positive.
Posted by: Fresh Air | January 29, 2010 at 01:29 AM
Major Garrett is tweeting:
Military charges against 9/11 plotters have been dropped, ruling out military commissions. No timeline yet to resolve talks on alt NYC site.
Posted by: glasater | January 29, 2010 at 03:50 AM
So these 9/11 terrorists have pleaded guilty and now the military drops the charges and they don't know where to try them. Why do they need a trial, since they've said, "I'm guilty?" Fry their a$$es and get it over with.
Posted by: Sara (Pal2Pal) | January 29, 2010 at 05:56 AM
Just goes to show that climate change is the last refuge of the scoundrel Obama has taken
up the IPCC banner,
Posted by: narciso | January 29, 2010 at 07:22 AM
In the LUN
Posted by: narciso | January 29, 2010 at 07:43 AM
narciso, you mean OSAMA.
Posted by: clarice | January 29, 2010 at 08:08 AM
Narciso channels (Osama Obama) Ted Kennedy.
Hey didn't Obama scold Bush for dropping the ball and not getting Osama? I must have missed the part in his STOFU where he listed as one of his accomplishments the capture of Osama.
Posted by: Fritz | January 29, 2010 at 09:14 AM
Saaay, why don't they hold the trial at Fort Hood? It's secure and they could select jurors from the local community to assure a fair trial.
Posted by: sbw | January 29, 2010 at 11:17 AM
NIMBY at work.
Posted by: jorod | January 29, 2010 at 12:54 PM
I suggest we sequester everyone needed for the trial in Prudhoe Bay Alaska. It probably wouldn't save any money but I'll bet the trial would be over before a second winter.
Posted by: Will | January 31, 2010 at 11:31 AM