Levellers

Faith & Social Justice: In the spirit of Richard Overton and the 17th C. Levellers

Senate Dems Refuse Money to Close Gitmo

It’s hard to tell if this move is, as CBS News asserts, Democrats folding to rightwing pressure, or is an attempt to force Obama to put forth an actual PLAN to close Gitmo before approving any funding.  If the former, this should be greeted with horror and the left should besiege the Senate.  If the latter, we should  praise the Senate and besiege the WH to quit farting around and close the Gitmo gulag already. 

Maybe we should do both.  Obama’s exec order still has Gitmo set to be closed by the end of the year, with some detainees tried, some released who should never have been there, and others moved to other prisons while awaiting trial and/or release.  But he could close the thing tomorrow, if he wanted.  I’m not sure what funds are needed to shutter this gulag.

UPDATE:  Well, now we know. This is NOT Good News.  Spineless Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-NV) has adopted rightwing talking points on terrorism.  This is a huge setback–at a time when polling is showing that the majority of Americans trust Obama and the Democrats on national security (the first time in decades). The Dems could use that new confidence to chart a new course–not behave like Republicans. This is very bad news.  Time to let Reid and the Senate know how we feel!

REID: I’m saying that the United States Senate, Democrats and Republicans, do not want terrorists to be released in the United States. That’s very clear.

QUESTION: No one’s talking about releasing them. We’re talking about putting them in prison somewhere in the United States.

REID: Can’t put them in prison unless you release them.

QUESTION: Sir, are you going to clarify that a little bit? …

REID: I can’t make it any more clear than the statement I have given to you. We will never allow terrorists to be released in the United States.

Later, Reid repeated that he would not support Guantanamo detainees being transferred to U.S prisons:

QUESTION: But Senator, Senator, it’s not that you’re not being clear when you say you don’t want them released. But could you say — would you be all right with them being transferred to an American prison?

REID: Not in the United States.

My comment: Now we’re more cowardly as a nation than in WWII? We held thousands of captured Nazis, Italian soldiers, and Japanese soldiers throughout the nation all through the war.  And why can’t we have CONVICTED terrorists in American prisons?  We held those who did the first World Trade Center bombings in American prisons–no problems.   We have mass murderers, mobsters, serial killers in all of our American prisons. What makes terrorists so unique?  Reid:  You’re now as much of a coward as Boehner, McConnell, Cheney and all the other GOP cowards who believe that fear of terrorism justifies an American gulag.  THIS MUST NOT STAND.

Here is Senator Reid’s email page.  And here is his phone number:  (202) 224-3542  Let Reid know that we, the American people, want this gulag closed, this site of American shame.  Let Reid know that if he can’t be a DEMOCRATIC leader, he should turn over his gavel to another, stronger, Democratic Senator—Schumer of NY or Durbin of IL or Feingold of WI or even Boxer of CA (though I’d rather see her win reelection first).

May 19, 2009 Posted by | Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Senate Passes New Credit Card Regulation

By 90-5, the U.S. Senate has passed a new Credit Card Holder’s Bill of Rights.  It’s tougher than the House version, but still waits too long (9 months!) t0 take effect!  Could we stop seeing credit cards marketed to children through “Hello Kitty” websites?  Could we stop seeing people who pay ON TIME, EVERY MONTH, have their rates raised from 7-20% for no reason other than the banks’ desire to make up investment losses on the banks of consumers (who already kept them solvent through taxpayer bailouts)?

Is this the end of credit card practices that amount to legal loan-sharking, practices that would get a mob boss a long prison sentence?  I certainly hope so.

90-5. Very bi-partisan.  Did Congress put the American people ahead of their corporate contributors for once? Amazing.

May 19, 2009 Posted by | economic justice | 1 Comment

Update: Hersh Walks Back “Cheney Death Squads” Story

I had previously reported veteran investigative reporter’s Seymour Hersh’s claim that high-ranking intelligence officers told him off the record that former VP Dick Cheney ran “assassination rings” out of his office.  The story was that Hersh expected some of these sources to speak on the record, even before Congress or the Dept. of Justice, now that administrations have changed. Now, Hersh is walking this story back, claiming that bloggers and other reporters have distorted what he said.  Thanks to commenters for pointing out this walk-back to me.

Cheney, by his own admission, is guilty of enough crimes (though he refuses to acknowledge that they were crimes) that I feel no need to add ficticious crimes to his record.  My apologies for passing on a story that could not be verified, although I did source it as a claim and not an established fact.  Hersh’s repudiation is in strong contrast to what it seemed he said earlier and I have no way to reconcile the two statements.

May 19, 2009 Posted by | assassination | 5 Comments

   

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started