A great place to play politics!
The case of the alleged Christmas bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, is being called a massive intelligence failure. And the evidence thus far does suggest a possible lapse in the government’s management of terrorist watch lists.
But if so, the blame doesn’t lie wholly with government agencies charged with maintaining the lists. Some share of responsibility lies with civil libertarian extremists who have ceaselessly lambasted the entire no-fly system…
The inevitable complexity of the watch list process guarantees significant errors. On one side lies the problem of innocent people finding themselves on the list: There have been more than a few notorious cases of error, including instances in which federal air marshals were themselves barred from flying. On the other side lies the problem of alleged terrorists like Abdulmutallab being allowed to fly…
And here is where the political context becomes critical. The Bush administration was subjected to withering criticism for the way it managed the no-fly list. The American Civil Liberties Union put the system on its own list of the “Top Ten Abuses of Power Since 9/11,” asserting that “the uncontroversial contention that Osama bin Laden and a handful of other known terrorists should not be allowed on an aircraft” has been exploited “to create a monster.” In one of several lawsuits the group has filed involving terrorist lists, the ACLU alleged that they “violate airline passengers’ constitutional right to freedom from unreasonable search and seizure and to due process of law.”
Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been one among a chorus of voices that accused the former administration of being far too sweeping, placing “infants, nuns and even members of Congress” on terrorist watch lists. The writer Naomi Wolf has called travel restrictions such as the no-fly list, “a classic part of the fascist playbook” akin to the depredations of Nazi Germany, where “families fleeing internment were traumatized by the uncertainties that they knew they faced at the borders.”
Yes, keeping terrorists and their known associates from flying into this country is exactly like the depredations of Nazi Germany.
I tell you shipmates, this PC BS is going to get a lot of people killed, but at least those of us who survive can feel good about ourselves. Especially those of us in the position to divert federal funds earmarked for new chemical detection systems to our favored political allies:
Back in July, Senator Chris Dodd, D-Conn., proposed an amendment reducing aviation security appropriations by $4.5 million in favor of firefighter grants — a notoriously inneffective (sic) program. In fact, the money was specifically “for screening operations and the amount for explosives detection systems.” The amendment was also sponsored by Sen. Lieberman, D-Conn., and Sen. Carper, D-Del., but Dodd deserves to be singled out here because the firefighters union is a pet constituency of his.
Finally, we attended with anxious ears the president’s speech, as he interrupted his Hawaiian vacation to talk about the attempted Christmas Day terror attack:
Here’s what we know so far. On Christmas Day, Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was en route from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Detroit. As the plane made its final approach to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, a passenger allegedly tried to ignite an explosive device on his body, setting off a fire.
Thanks to the quick and heroic actions of passengers and crew, the suspect was immediately subdued, the fire was put out, and the plane landed safely. The suspect is now in custody and had been charged with attempting to destroy an aircraft. And a full investigation has been launched into this attempted act of terrorism and we will not rest until we find all who were involved and hold them accountable.
Wait, the dude was on fire in an airplane, from an infernal device strapped to his wedding tackle, admits to having attempted the attack at the behest of al Qaeda and an al Qaeda website has claimed the attack as their own and he is a “suspect” in an “alleged” crime?
That’s what we know so far?
The president was trained as a lawyer – as are most politicians – and since this is now a criminal matter rather I suppose it makes sense that the CINC use careful legal language to prevent undue command influence in any eventual trial by military commission. Which won’t happen anyway, since the trial will inevitably be conducted in civil courts, where the president has no command influence.
In 18-24 months – long after the now Mirandized and lawyered-up Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s trail has gone cold, and after whatever tactically useful intelligence that could have been garnered has evaporated into inutility – we’ll have us a good, old fashioned 9/10 trial with lawyers arguing rules of evidence and appeals all the way to the Supreme Court. Who knows, maybe we’ll have assault charges on certain Dutch film makers.
Civil defendants ought to get those rights ensured by our Constitution, and now Farouk the Genderless will be treated just like any other shoplifter or gang banger. Back when there was a War on Terror, he could have been treated as an enemy combatant and exploited just like any other detainee.
The political message here is clear as well: The GWOT is over; we didn’t win, we didn’t lose.
We just walked away.
Wrong, Lex! We didn’t just “walk” away–we have retreated at a full gallop–max grunt!
Well, I’ll amend. Obama et al have TRIED very hard to make it APPEAR that we are only walking–but not away, just nonchalantly to a new, oh so “mo’ better,” more nuanced, “thoughtful,” destination.
A corollary to the (in)famous “‘Mo Debinately” tale Lex told here comes to mind….but the US National security is the one who’s taking it in the shorts in this case.
Almost as if we’re bending over and holding up an “Insert here” neon sign to any and all who want to do us harm…you know…like the Nazis did.
So much for removing the so called root cause of terrorism.
The media paints this terrorist as some kind of lonely heart, maybe if some nice girl would have submitted to him, we wouldn’t have had this big “misunderstanding”.
Indeed the P.C. crap is on full display – allegedly, suspect, etc.. All those warm-n-fuzzy words that the ACLU and their ilk love so damn much.
It is to laugh that UFA has been charged with attempting to destroy an aircraft – since charging him with 300 counts of attempted murder would be so – ugly.
On the plus side, I understand that the administration is appointing an “Underwear Czar”.
Had to admire Mark Steyn’s wit when he referred to this clown as the Knickerbomber.
And Pournelle’s (his wife actually) as the “Johnson Bomber”.
BHO still chillin’ in the Islands of course. Snorkeling, as someone said, looking for enemy American submarines.
Which will give rise to the new pickup attempt line: “Are you happy to see me or is that an incendiary device in your pants?”
(pun intended)
Bush didn’t even bother interrupting his vacation for the Richard Reid thing, who was tried in civilian court and none of you seemed to have a problem then. You assholes are the ones playing politics with 9/11.
You were fine there until the end, Alos.
Now you’re done. Enjoy the rest of the world.
I’m guessing that, according to White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs, the underwear bomb was a problem we inherited from the Bush administration.
– Max
It seems more is done to appease Jihadists than to detect radical Muslims intent on killing Americans.
The TSA introduced a training program earlier this year but it was not to identify terrorists. It was “Muslim Sensitivity Training.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, said it welcomed the “special training about Islamic traditions” by the TSA. CAIR advised in “Your Rights and Responsibilities as an American Muslim” pocket guide:
“As an airline passenger, you are entitled to courteous, respectful and non-stigmatizing treatment by airline and security personnel. You have the right to complain about treatment that you believe is discriminatory.”
Of course it’s politically correct.
How does El Al handle security? They require all passengers to be interviewed individually and yes, sometimes it involves profiling.
We didn’t “walk away”. The appropriate verb is “slunk” or “crawled”.
And on second thought, I should change the noun as well.
“We” didn’t do diddly squat; substitute the noun “The Obama Adminstration”.
Be careful what you wish for.
How sure are you that there is no one who dislikes you enough to report that they “suspect” that you have “ties” to extremists and might be dangerous?
If you advocate for making the list easier to abuse just don’t complain when someone abuses it to screw you over.
Spot the strawman: Who exactly is advocating to make the no-fly list easier to abuse?
The political message here is clear as well: The GWOT is over; we didn’t win, we didn’t lose.
We just walked away.
Problem is, walking away soon becomes indistinguishable from losing.
Does anyone else flash on the old “Relieving CO – 3 envelope” joke after listening to the Obama administration reacting to resistance to their handling of the tanking economy and now the inadequacies of “the system” at the TSA?
A just-relieved commanding officer spoke to his relief immediately after the change of command ceremony. “I’ll leave you the same advice that was given to me – when, not if,” he said, “things go bad on you, open the three numbered envelopes left in the safe in your stateroom.”
As events will, one day the new CO had occasion to open the first envelope. It simply read: “Blame Me.” The new CO escaped censure in the resolution of the affair. Later, a new problem occurred, prompting the CO to open envelope number 2. “Blame my system.” it read. Once more, the new CO was not damaged by the situation.
A third event necessitated opening the last envelope. Confidently, the CO slit the seal and opened the paper to read: “Get three envelopes from the ship’s office.”
It’s too bad Obama isn’t even a bad joke. Nightmare is a more accurate description.
Ah, P.C. Perhaps the acronym needs to be commandeered by the Pissed Citizen crowd. I know I’m pissed. I’m so sick of the truth being a bad thing. I had an on-air discussion with the local chief of police awhile back on our lowly local AM radio outlet. Conversation in regards to illegal aliens and those who hire them resulting in an unfair competitive advantage in the bidding process. His point: We can’t profile. My point: HOW MANY CLUES DO YOU NEED? I WANT my cops profiling. They work for me and I WANT profiling. The hounds need to be loosed, whether they be local, state, or federal canines. Those teeth are there for a reason. To crush bone. Speaking of bones Lex, I threw one your way today on my champagne still running down the bow entry into the great bloggity beyond. Thanks for the inspiration. respectfully steve
I understand the experts are focusing on the last hour of flight for safety measures — denying movement, laptops, whatever — during that period. Great! Force them to ignite over the ocean where an emergency landing is almost impossible, and forensic evidence almost impossible to recover.
If the Lockerbie flight had occurred over the ocean we never would have given the Scots the opportunity to liberate the terrorist.
After American Revolution II and we draft Constitution II, how about we bar lawyers from serving in Congress? The states will be on their own as far as their legislatures.
Oh, and limit voting to taxpayers, property owners, and veterans?
Lex
Bypass all the crap and get yer own dadgummed set of wings. then you can manage your own “no fly” list. Lessee, democrat weenies, muslim weenies, ACLU weenies – oh wait already categorized them under a heading above, and obviously elected members of congress from both sides of the aisle. Give the pax pillows and blankies AND a snack. Wasn’t the first Boeing an open cockpit with enclosed seating for 2 up front? Bring back romantic air travel, yep.
This is gonna give biz av a big boost. we have already cancelled 3 domestic carrier reservations and taking a fractional fleet ticket to nashville. No waiting in line! No TSA follies. How many more billions will be spent to appease and molly-coddle the looney left? Who wants to submit to a butt crack check or have a full body x-ray?
Whoa buddy, them fingers is COLD!
Is that fella really “the genderless”? And if so, is it because of the really hot fire of the failed-to-detonate PETN, or the enthusiastic efforts by the bysitters to, uh, beat the fire out?
Ps. I can imagine one of them saying, “Damn! His crotch is still smoldering! I better kick it a couple or four times, just to may sure we’ve put the fire out.”
Umm, “make” sure…
This got this in an e-mail:
http://tinyurl.com/yddu872
Driving and Riding seem like better ways to get around.
…placing “infants, nuns and even members of Congress” on terrorist watch lists.
Okay, so the infants and nuns were a bad call…
Everybody just calm down! This isn’t anything that can’t be solved with a good solid dose of art therapy: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/12/maybe_trying_to_cure_terrorist.html
But Bill, which is the more effective, crayons or water-color pastels? Are there govt studies on the effectiveness of the various schools of technique? Inquiring minds want desperately to know… Maybe I can con my local ACORN affiliate into applying for some govt funds to set up a school–with ME as “coordinator.”
JUST AMEND THE 1986 SIMPSON/MAZZOLI IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT BILL
Now they are going to urge another travesty of COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM OR “AMNESTY.” on the overtaxed American people. It almost defies any rational logic for these morons introducing immigration reform, when 15 million Americans are out scouting for a job. Due to neglect of decades of pandering politicians to non-enforcement of our undermanned, poorly constructed border fence or the 1986 immigration law. It is my decision to pas it along to all readers, otherwise it may not get the necessary publicity to show the disintegration of a society, culture and even our language. Its almost incomprehensible that University professors would abet and condone illegal immigration with designing GPS systems, making it easier for illegal immigrants to steal American jobs. But then the majority that are teaching the Students are Liberal-Marxist, left wingers.
These people must live in a bubble that think illegal immigrants do not have an impact on American citizens.
You have watched an economy tank, with outlandish reasoning, but no one is talking about the facts:
The main serious issue is irreversible Overpopulation:
It is imperative that we realize that if we keep on allowing the importation of foreign nationals on the scale that is happening today. The consequences as stated by the [United States Population Projections: 2000 to 2050 by Jennifer M. Ortman and Christine E. Guarneri of the Census Bureau]“… a greater number of migrants arriving in the United States will correspond to a larger increase in the size of the total population. Under the assumption of a high level of net international migration, the population is expected to grow to 458 million by 2050. … “ The the late U.S. Senator Teddy Kennedy, the United States added 100 million to its population via immigration. Before that time, we enjoyed 194 million in 1963. Today, we slog forward with 309 million on our way to 438 million in four decades, said Frosty Wooldridge, an acknowledged columnist. Poverty and hunger is rampant now in America, with shortages of drinking water and electricity outages are our dismal future, if we don’t halt illegal immigration. For the record thousands of Vietnam warriors are homeless, veterans of other wars , fatherless Mothers with children and Senior citizens on low income, worrying about sharing their pitiful pensions with Bush’s Social Security funds, that are on-hold for totalization with the corrupt government South of the border.
1. Emergency room closures
a) There was once a superb safety net for emergency healthcare to indigent Americans, that has dried up in many communities, because the hospitals could not afford to service them any longer, some would have us believe that illegal immigration had nothing to do with it, when hundreds and thousands of undocumented residents flooded the doors, and in many cases as a source of primary care.
b) American born women under the age of 50 are no longer offered mammograms because of the cost, even though it is factual that more women under the age of 50 are being detected with suspicious findings, but rather then taking illegal residents off the rolls of CDP and other grants to detection, they cut off Americans.
2. Welfare
The vast majority of illegal parents to citizen children, flock to another safety net dedicated to protecting Americans from physical and financial detriment, where billions of dollars flow in, and do not circulate in the US because many of the dollars are shipped to their native countries to support the poor people there. Huge numbers of illegal immigrants file tax returns using phony Social Security numbers to cash in on the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, thanks to lax government management said Ed Rubenstein, a financial analyst and economist. “As a result, illegal aliens actually receive the EITC at even greater rates than legal immigrants,. The IRS makes little or no effort to verify the authenticity of Social Security numbers, or existence of Dependant children. This makes it possible for illegal immigrants to claim children still living in Mexico as dependents and for parents living illegally in the U.S. to file separate returns claiming the same children as dependents under the EITC. The EITC was created to boost work incentives for poor families with children. Childless households received a maximum $438 payment in 2008, while the maximum available to families with two or more children was $4,824. From a distance, the EITC looks like a winner,” he said. “The devil is in the details. For starters, the program is dominated by fraud. Illegal immigrant households are more than three times as likely to receive EITC than native-born American households.” Rubenstein said. E-Verify, the Immigration enforcement innovation, is vastly becoming publicly recognized as the most advanced tool to determine who has a right to work in these United States. This state of the art computer program E-Verify is no longer Sen.Harry Reid of Nevada, Speaker Pelosi’s punching bag as its succeeding with expeditious modification in all areas of business. Arrogant Democratic politicians are far to late in squeezing it from being used in opening jobs for American Workers and denying work to illegal individuals who broke our sovereign laws. Already these so-called Americans are using their influence on behalf of pariah businesses to fade-out (287g) a composite part of the SAVE ACT. Anything to undermine immigration enforcement for their wealthy business benefactors and the open border entities.
3. Education
American children that should be preparing for the global competitive market, are being held back educationally because primary education is now catering to bring children that are further behind up to speed. Class room overcrowding, results in the hiring of under staffed, under qualified teachers to manage a baby sitting sector rather than educating.
4. Housing
The media did not cover the facts that thousands of illegal immigrants owned homes that went into the red, and they were allowed to simply walk away, while Americans in the same situation had to undergo financial ruin, bankruptcy, and other unfortunate situation. Non profits and other organizations like NACA helped these people get in the door, and tax payers are footing the bill. ACORN had major influence in the housing bubble crash, by using their overwhelming power in dictating to sympathetic politicians, financially institution and even Freddie Mac and its associated to relax regulatory laws on low income mortgagees.
5. Infrastructure
With any degree of logic, any individual will understand, if you design a freeway, bridge, building, house, etc. designed to support a certain number of people, will accelerates structure corrosion, if you add more abundantly. Place your attention on the History International TV cable channel. Starting this week , they are showing “THE CRUMBLING OF AMERICA” .Our country is 12 trillion dollars in debt, because we support the rest of the world. Our nation is progressively turning into a third world ghetto and no longer a creditor nation.
6. Traffic
What used to take Americans a few minutes to get to and from work, has been doubled if not tripled which takes quality time from families, drives up cost of oil, and gasoline, because of the buy and demand nature of business, adds more pollution to the air, and reduces spending in local shops because of the time lost.
7. Crime
The cost of housing convicted non citizens would have paid for the border fence twice, added more border personnel on the northern and southern borders to boot. which would be an added protection considering America is a marked nation.
ID theft, is the number one violation, because it defrauds the federal government when non existent socials are in play, and drastically affects the quality of life for Americans that are victimized, because there is no legislation to protect American citizens from the consequences of the governments failure to protect them from collection agencies, dept collectors, credit card companies that did not have secure networks, and the social security administration that did not flag socials used twice or more times for employment, which pays more on the back end. Even I was–NOT –Immune to ID theft, as somebody in Dallas Texas was using my Social at a some kind of private investigative office. I contacted the SSA passing on these details, so they could clear up this mess.
8. Assimilation
Many illegal immigrants have no desire to assimilate with American culture, I mean look at Mr. Gutierrez, who fights harder for the rights non citizens then he does for his native constituents. Many fly non American flags, which is a basic slap in the face to Americans that would support reform otherwise.
9. English
Our elected officials have turned a deaf ear to Americans that are blatantly being discriminated against when companies policy hiring bilingual only employees, there are only too populations of citizens in America that are allowed this unfortunate bias, ex-cons, and non dual language speaking Americans.
10. Wages
How many reports do you need, before you realize many unscrupulous employers are using the illegal alien situation to drive down wages and benefits? How many small contractors have been undercut in bids for jobs, only to find that their competitor is using foreign labor?
To every elected officials that puts a greater onus on protecting the non legal rights of non citizens above the legal rights of Americans are in the wrong business, and should consider in the ethical reasoning of national security, populous representation, simply because it was the populous that sent you to office to represent their best interest, to step down, seek office in your hearts respective country, and allow individuals with the same passion you have for your people, to represent Americans with the same tenacity.
Thank you Mario for this fact sheet, along with my contributions. Tell everybody you know who condemns any possibility of forcing on the American people another AMNESTY, to call their ignorant lawmaker. The Capitol Switchboard’s telephone number is 202-224-3121. REMEMBER TO SEND IN YOUR 28Cent POSTCARDS NOW! WE MUST DEFEAT THIS IMMIGRATION REFORM PACKAGE. Those who believe in America’s survival, without OVERPOPULATION as stated by the US Census bureau better read facts at NUMBERSUSA not the lies spawned by open border entities. Those who want details of corruption in WASHINGTON and state government go to JUDICIAL WATCH. Overpopulation, traffic chaos, infrastructure erosion should go to CAPSWEB.
What do you think? Racial profiling? Or terrorist profiling?
http://theundergroundconservative.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/a-multiple-choice-test/
On airport screening, Michael Totten has a nice post: http://bit.ly/6gq7nd
TSA is another reason to abolish the DHS, and is not a small reason that our company is trying to minimze air travel in the coming year.
Course, what are the chances of reducing the size of government and its influence.