The Political Fish

…Making light of 9/11.

DEARBORN, Mich. — About 15 Arab-American students at Edsel Ford High School are in trouble over a class sweatshirt they had made over the holiday break.The class of 2011 sweatshirt has the number 11 made to look like the World Trade Center Towers.

The school’s mascot, a Thunderbird, is seen flying toward the number.

Under the graphic, a tagline reads, “You can’t bring us down.”

The students wore the hooded sweatshirts to school Monday. They were immediately sent to the principal’s office.

The kids will not be punished, a decision the ACLU applauds.  After all, it’s not like they were wearing a pro-life shirt. Because then, there would be Hell to pay.

Giving credit where credit is due — Props to President Obama for accurately calling the Detroit Briefs Bomber Incident exactly what it was: an unmitigated “screw-up“.  America got lucky on December 25th, and that’s all there is to it.

Here’s the issue:  We will not be so lucky next time around.  We’ve just concluded the most active year for jihadists since 2001.  As a matter of fact, a whopping one-third of the terrorist plots against Americans since 2001, occurred in 2009.  The terrorists, evidently, have not been swayed by the new American climate under our new American President.

One of those terrorist plots, the Fort Hood Massacre, succeeded.  The Briefs Bomber (yes, I just thought of that), almost did.  The reason?  Our government missed the warning signs.  We had files on these jihadists, yet, we did not act.  Maybe that’s because our government was waiting for the “smoking gun“.  But therein lies the problem: the Feds can wait for the “smoking gun” when you’re dealing with the criminals like Bernie Madoff, of some drug runner.  With terrorists, all-too-often, the “smoking gun” comes in the form of a smoldering city.

But by then, it’d be too late.

Let us pray it doesn’t come to that.

Scott Fenstermaker.

This guy showed himself to be a real treat in his interview with Bill O’reilly. Now, I am by no means O’Reilly’s biggest fan, but I appreciate this interview because as Mr. Fenstermaker continuously refused to give actual answers to any questions, O’Reilly challenged him on every one of them, and called it what it was.

I realize someone has to represent the 9/11 terrorists, since our less than brilliant AG Eric Holder has decided to try them in civilian court with full Constitutional rights, that he will undoubtedly violate, but this guy is a special type of trial lawyer.  It almost appears that he has no soul whatsoever…but I cannot make that statement definitively.

As a little bit of a sidebar note…this man is a trial lawyer. Our government is made up by a vast majority of trial lawyers. Sadly, it seems that these days they are both cut from the same mold.

He wants a show trial. The terrorists want a show trial. It’s pretty clear that the administration and Department of Justice want a show trial. They are going to get just that, and America will be worse because of it.

I guess according to Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) this would make Mr. Obama Un-American.

This video is from 2006, long before President Obama was able to play politics with our national security from the big chair in the Oval office. I guess now that he is in charge, we can go ahead and put politics and political theatre ahead of the security of our nation.

Anyone ever consider KSM walking free on a technicality? Washington Times editorialized this scenario here…but if you prefer my own words, here is my rant on my facebook page earlier today.

Obama has chosen the Southern District of NY to put the Bush admin, the CIA, the use of waterboarding, and the entire idea of terrorism on trial. At the same time, he will bestow upon terrorists the rights of American citizens, and just for good measure, a forum for Muslim terrorists to explain to the world why America must be destroyed. After they are convicted, the Obama trial should begin in the same courtroom.

Our national security will be compromised, as undoubtedly the methods of capture and intelligence will also be put on trial. Lower Manhatten will be given a huge flashing neon target for any and every terrorist around the world to take aim at. This is quite possibly one of the worst decisions I have ever seen made by a President, who by showing a lack of judgement, discernment and wisdom should be promptly removed from office. He has shown himself unfit for leadership, and cannot seem to grasp the idea that we are a nation at war.

Case in point…Afghanistan. Nuff said.

 

This at least according to Congressional dirtbag Jim Moran, the esteemed Representative from Virginia.

Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) has strong words for the Republicans opposing Attorney General Eric Holder’s plan to bring five 9/11 suspects to New York City to face trial.

“They see this as an opportunity to demagogue,” he said. “They will seize on any opportunity to do that, and that means they’ll even take a stand that’s un-American.”

Shortly after the Department of Justice decided to bestow Constitutional rights of American citizens on terrorists, CNN took a poll that asked the question of whether everyday Americans agreed with the decision to hold the trial of Khalid Sheik Muhammed in NYC. Not surprisingly, 64% of Americans believed that this trial should never take place in civilian court, in fact it belonged in a military court.

Two-thirds of Americans disagree with the Obama administration’s decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed in a civilian court rather than a military court, according to a new national poll. …

The poll indicates that 64 percent believe Mohammed should be tried in military court, with 34 percent suggesting that he face trial in civilian court. Six in 10 people questioned say Mohammed should be tried stateside, with 37 percent calling for the trial to take place at a U.S. facility in another country.

“The decision to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in front of a civilian court is universally unpopular – even a majority of Democrats and liberals say that he should be tried by military authorities,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “Despite that, most Americans say that he will get a fair trial in the U.S.”

Congratulations Jim Moran. Apparently 2/3 of your country are un-American by your borderline retarded logic.

Everyone remembers where they were the morning of 9/11.

I remember where I was the night of 9/10.

It was late, around 11 o’clock-ish.  My college roommate, Jeremy, and I were watching Monday Night Football.  It’s not something we normally do, but honestly, it was the only station our rabbit-ear antennae could pick up.

The Giants were playing the Broncos.  Some time late in the game, probably the third quarter, Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey jumped up to make a catch.  A Giants defender hit him at the same time.  McCaffrey some how held onto the ball as he went down, but he wasn’t getting back up.

Replays showed what happened — as the defender hit McCaffrey, his leg bowed.  Later, it was diagnosed was a compound fracture.

As my roommate and I watched the aftermath, one of us (I can’t remember who) remarked something to this effect:

“The sad thing is, when he was in the huddle right before that play was called, he had no idea how much his world was about to change.”

I went to bed some time later, not knowing how much my world was about to change.

Tonight I was scouring YouTube to find an appropriate tribute video for the victims of 9/11. I couldn’t decide on one, so I chose two.  These were  made a few years ago, but they are  a powerful reminder of the devastation our nation suffered at the hands of Islamic terrorists.  Never forget.

And….

September 11, 2001 is a day that will live in infamy. Our nation was brutally attacked, and many if not all of us can remember exactly where we were and what we were doing that day.

I myself was a 22 year old college student, not very keen on waking up early in the morning. As I went to class, I was awakened to what was happening to our nation on that fateful morning. As a student in Virginia, I walked into a classroom of frightened students, many of whom were concerned for their parents who worked at the Pentagon. Classes were canceled for the day, and I went back to my apartment shortly after. As the images that are forever seared in my conscience were replayed over and over, it began to strike me that on that day our nation changed. And it will never be the same.

Eight years later, we have largely as a society forgotten that day. Its a shame really, as we bicker about what to build in its place, we bicker about policies that will keep us safe from future attacks, we bicker about partisanship. But the change that took place on that day is still the same. We are still a nation that is loathed by radical terrorists around the world. Our very freedom is still the catalyst for growing extremist hatred. Eight years later we have reached a point where our government, which was the target on that fateful day, is now in a mode to appease instead of fight those who would do us harm. That same government wants to turn 9/11 into a national day of service, instead of a national day of rememberance and mourning. Those families who lost loved ones will never be the same, and we as a nation are not the same. Settling back into the 9/10 mindset will not keep us safe. It will virtually guarantee a repeat of that day.

I was fundamentally changed in my thinking on that day. I was awoken to evil in the world. My whole life was brought up under the protection of loving parents who warned me of it, but kept me from it. As I was about to enter the “adult world”, it was a horrific lesson taught that day. A lesson that we as a nation should not forget. Vigilance in the face of evil. The resolve of a great nation in the face of attack.  The American spirit remaining strong, and not backing down. We delivered a strong response in the weeks and years following. The fight is not yet over. Say what you want about the Iraq war, the war in Iraq has served its purpose in that it has kept the fight from our own shores.

The bravery that was exemplified on that day should never be forgotten. The innocent business men and women who perished at the hands of evil should never be forgotten. The mothers, fathers, children, friends, and co-workers who lost their lives in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon should never be forgotten. The heroes of flight 93 who saved our nation from even more carnage should never be forgotten. Our President George Bush who bravely led us through a national tragedy should never be forgotten. The unity of our legislators as they stood on the steps of the Capitol and sang God Bless America should never be forgotten. The bravery of our soldiers who went off to war in Afghanistan shortly after should not be forgotten.  Our collective cry out to God that day should never be forgotten.

America is not the same as it was on 9/10. Lets not go back to that day so we can relive the next.

The birther conspiracy continues to heat up and become more a mainstream talking point, despite everyone in the mainstream media and liberals in general dismissing the notion as a lunatic right-wing conspiracy. CBS News’ blog The Political Hotsheet ran a piece today, which clearly showed that the MSM is simply not willing to do any journalistic investigating on an issue which, like it or not, has hit the mainstream and is causing a ruckus in the political landscape. Sadly, the blog states in the opening paragraph that conspiracy theories flourish in the wake of traumatic, or game changing events…and weakly compares the election of Barack Obama to history-altering events like 9/11, the Kennedy assassination, and landing on the moon. While the election of a black President is definetely historical, it pales in comparison to any of the above mentioned events…CBS continues to show itself to be in the tank for the administration, by its outright refusal to even begrudgingly do their job and investigate these claims.

Listen, I am not a birther. I think the Manchurian candidate that is being pushed around out there is highly unlikely. However, this Certification of Live Birth is not evidence. This would not silence anybody at all. With a little web savvy and a professional graphic designer, I could also post this up on the web for all to see. Robert Gibbs continues to reference the above jpg. as the sole evidence needed to validate the Presidents credentials and requirements for eligibility. The media continues to decry these “nuts” as never letting this one go…but that’s actually not true at all. These right-wing nut jobs, or birthers (you gotta love the creativity of the media when it comes to perjorative terms) can and will be silenced…it will only take one move.

The President can silence the birthers once and for all.

But, he won’t. The President ran a campaign based on transparency in government, but refuses to even acknowledge the sound of millions of Americans screaming for the truth. For this conspiracy really to be true, it would have taken decades of planning for the installation of the Manchurian candidate, or Kenyan candidate as the case may be. Its a pretty unlikely scenario, however anything at all is possible. The President who preached to us about unity, closing the bipartisan divide and open government refuses to be open about who he really is. All records of Barack Obama prior to his public service have been considered off limits. This of course includes the original long-form birth certificate. I agree with Andrew Sullivan on this matter wholeheartedly…check out the Daily Dish from 7/29.

The whole birth certificate issue gets weirder still:

“I, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawaii State Department of Health, have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen. I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago….”

But why are we supposed to rely on the testimony of Dr Fukino, whom I believe entirely. It is not my job as a journalist or yours as a citizen to take public officials on trust. They are not to be trusted, whoever they are. It is our job to demand all the evidence we want or need. I know the electronic record is legit. I have no doubt that Obama has every constitutional right to be president. I think the Birthers are nuts. But there is no reason on earth that the original cannot be retrieved and shown. Jon Klein and CNN were wrong, and I retract my apology of yesterday.

Obama promised total transparency. Where is it? Or will it arrive at the moment when he tackles the deficit, and withdraws from Iraq?

When will we get this transparency? The entire issue is annoying, not because of right wingers continually demanding answers. It’s annoying because it could have, and should have been silenced by now. Frankly, if the President continues to refuse to show the records of his birth, his schooling, and his life prior to his public service in Illinois, it makes him look like there is something to hide. That is why the “birthers” won’t go away. It is unprecedented for the President of the United States to stonewall against all information about himself…Bush never did it, Clinton, Reagan, Carter…its never happened before. I mean, George W. Bush even released his college records, informing the world that he was a fairly poor student.

So, all that to say this. What is there to hide? If there is nothing to hide…be transparent. This is exactly what you promised the nation that you currently lead.

For a moment, I wanted to deviate away from the historic events in Iran and bring it back home to the US for a moment.  We have reached a new low in American politics in my opinion as this past weekend Leon Panetta, the recently appointed head of the Central Intelligence Agency, came out in an interview with some insanity not often seen in American politics. He was quoted in his interview with Jane Meyer of the New Yorker:

“I think he smells some blood in the water on the national-security issue,” he told me. “It’s almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it’s almost as if he’s wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that’s dangerous politics.”

Panetta was referring to the speech that Cheney gave in the aftermath of the torture debate, and the policy positions that he took in that speech. To add insult to injury, the Obama administration decided to not even attempt to distance themselves from this sort of vicious, unwarranted attack at a former VP, in this unbelievably generic and vague statement from Robert Gibbs, when asked if he agreed with Panetta’s assessment:

“Well, look, I’m not going to get into motivations. That’s not what our business is. The President’s concern is keeping the American people safe. We’ve had policy disagreements, but I think what is true for anybody is doing what’s — doing what we need to to keep the American people safe and secure. That’s what the President is working on every day.”

Panetta came under intense criticism when nominated for the position to head the CIA for his lack of any experience in the intelligence services.  He is showing the problem of having a career politician heading an agency as important as the CIA. Mr. Panetta please don’t marginalize the agency with ad-hominem political attacks. You were able to stay above the fray in the Pelosi-CIA flap…keep the decency within the CIA.

Cheney responded with dignity and class (I’m sure all the Cheney haters will hate this) when he said:

“I hope my old friend Leon was misquoted. The important thing is whether the Obama administration will continue the policies that have kept us safe for the last eight years.”

Say what you want about Dick Cheney, he is a hawk on national security. You may not like his methods or his ideology, but to reach into his mind and assume you know his motivation is dangerous and irresponsible. Panetta put himself in line with the 9/11 truther crowd who still believe that Bush and Cheney orchestrated 9/11. Pure insanity and not worth the breath it would take to argue.

The pre-9/11 mindset was one that denied the evil of terrorism. They were not acts of terrorism, they were criminal acts. Normal law enforcement would be tasked to deal with these type of things. The wall of separation between these law enforcement agencies as well as the national security agencies in part led to the massive intelligence failure, resulting in September 11, 2001.

As I have written in this blog before, we have returned to that mindset, to the detriment of our national security interests abroad, and the safety of our citizens at home.

Without much fanfare or any MSM coverage, President Obama has ordered the FBI to issue Miranda warnings to captured fighters on the battlefields of Aghanistan. The Weekly Standard is reporting that this edict has taken place, according to a senior Republican on the House Intelligence commitee. What’s that phrase again, if you don’t learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it? For those who are not familiar with Miranda, my first question is where have you been? Have you never seen Law and Order? Secondly, Miranda Rights are the offshoot of a SCOTUS decision in 1966 which required law enforcement to remind American citizens suspected of a crime of their rights within the law. It is as follows: ” You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you at government expense” Yes, the FBI will be telling these prisoners that their first right is to remain silent. Are we no longer interested in gathering intelligence that could prevent another attack, be it on the battlefield or terrorist attack at home? And then, yes we will be informing them of their right (and need) to have an attorney present. Not only that, when Mr. Extremist reaches into his pockets and finds out he is broke, we will retain that attorney for him, at the expense of the men and women he was just trying to kill. This is easily one of the most flawed policies I have ever come across in my lifetime.

Play out that scenario if/when Osama Bin Laden gets captured. Take the time in your own mind to let that one simmer. That is the order given to the FBI from our President. When will this man start to show a concern for the safety and security of this nation, and not the safety and security of those men who try to kill our soldiers? I don’t care if they are Muslim extremists, the German SS, or the British redcoats, this is an insane policy. Miranda is a right granted to U.S. citizens. These Muslim extremists are NOT common criminals and are not US citizens. Do we as a country need to sell out our security in an attempt to reach out to moderate Muslims?? The bottom line is that radical extremism will not go away if you reach out to moderates. Granting Muslim extremists the rights and priveledges of the U.S. judicial system to appease the moderate Muslim majority is flawed to say the least.

Other than the obvious issues stated above, where was Congress when all of this was going on? Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a check on power in Washington, and the Department of Justice and the FBI fall under the supervision of the Congress, and not ONLY the President.  The ranking member of the House Intelligence Commitee, Peter Hoekstra (R)-MI said today “When they mirandize a suspect, the first thing they do is warn them that they have the ‘right to remain silent, It would seem the last thing we want is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or any other al-Qaeda terrorist to remain silent. Our focus should be on preventing the next attack, not giving radical jihadists a new tactic to resist interrogation–lawyering up.”

Mr. Hoekstra, I am ashamed to inform you that common sense and good logic are apparently no longer used on the Hill and in the White House. It’s appeasement at all cost. It seems the American citizens are the only ones eating these costs here recently.

2012 is coming soon. 2010…even sooner.

On September 10th 2001, America was quiet. The economy was in a little bit of trouble, but nothing catastrophic. There were few foreign policy challenges at the time, although there was the incident with China on Hainan Island a few weeks before. Basically, the country was dealing with the normal challenges, with a fresh new face in the White House who had achieved a favorable approval rating with the American people. We went to bed on September 10th without many worries. We were fat dumb and happy as a nation. Our guard was down, we were relaxed and were living the American dream. Then came September 11th, and the world as we knew it had changed.

Seven and a half years later, we were strongly reminded of just what is at stake, as the leader of the free world, and the former number two gave dueling speeches on the issue of national security. This is the debate and the topic that America needed, as both men brought back this horrific day to the forefront of our imaginations.

In the days following 9/11, President Bush courageously led us through our grief, galvanized our resolve, and pushed us toward the future. Our eyes had been opened to the problem of radical extremism. The question was, what are we going to do about it. Intelligence led us into Afghanistan, where the Taliban was in control, and which was the training grounds for the terrorists who attacked us. We learned that the terrorists had used our own system to legally get into the country and to set up shop. Heck, we even had the guys on security cameras in Logan Airport as they boarded their doomed flights. These men had snuck in below the radar, with their only intent being the murder of Americans. 

As the years have passed, we have slowly forgotten that day. The White House sends AirForce 1 buzzing lower Manhatten, and now the debate has turned as to whether or not we have been fair enough to the terrorists and masterminds behind this attack. Whether or not you agree with the Bush administration in the last seven years, the bottom line is they have stopped the attacks here at home and abroad. American targets have been spared by the vigilant work of professional agents, and a clear set of policies that flow back to Article II of the Constitution. The government has the responsibility to protect its citizens, and to their credit they have done just that.

The current administration has seemed to take the opposite approach.  Laying blame at the feet of the previous administration for adding to the threats from radical extremism. This is the logical conclusion when you have kept these types on the run. They are at war, they will be able to recruit more terrorists. It makes sense. It also highlights why we must remain vigilant.

This threat will not just disappear. Radical Muslim extremists carry fundamental differences and hatred for our entire way of life. They hate our governmental policy, they hate our religious freedom, they hate our capitalist society. Should we give up all that we are to appease? Of course not. We should also not be so concerned as to not upset our enemy that we change our way of doing business. It is a dangerous proposition to close down Guantanamo Bay and bring these detainees into our prison systems, and on to our soil.  Congress shot down funding today to close Gitmo without a coherent and logical plan of what exactly will happen with these detainees. It is also a dangerous proposition to just release these men, as it has been shown with past detainees who have either been outright released or sent back to their home country, that they quickly become involved in the extremist movement. Its just not logical.

Do these men really enjoy the same Constitutional protections as normal American citizens? The President would argue that to an extent they do. These are not American citizens, they were captured on the battlefield waging war against our country. At what point do we owe them the priveledge of legal counsel?? At what point have they earned the right to argue their cases in front of our Supreme Court?? This is not your normal war, like we have seen throughout history. There will be no formal peace accord. There will be no signing of treaties aboard battleships. This is a stealth enemy without a home, so we must keep them on the run. It is the only way to protect our homeland. At all cost Mr. President, your job is to protect us, not appease them. We were the victims of 9/11…let us not forget that.

“Well over seven years into the effort, one thing we know is that the enemy has spent most of his time on the defensive, and every attempt to strike inside the United States has failed.” – Dick Cheney.

Full text of the speeches here

Cheney: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gFVMxiIst-Rrdjrj6yZCMV1H1QJgD98AVLAG0

Obama: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22825_Page2.html

He was brought in for his experience. He was brought in for his savvy in foreign affairs and national security. His resume is an absolute gem when it comes to these issues. Joe Biden has proven himself to be anything but an asset to this administration, and more importantly to the nation as a whole.

Vice President Joe Biden

On the campaign trail, it was almost a cute little joke. Joe Biden just doesn’t seem to know when to keep his mouth shut. Obama constantly was running damage control for something that “say it aint so” Joe had said or done. It isn’t quite so funny now that he is second in command of this nation, although some may argue that while he holds the office he is definetely not in any sort of control. His verbal gaffes have been dangerous and show that all the credentials in the world don’t mean a thing if you can’t control your mouth.

Biden was the fill in for President Obama at the Gridiron Dinner over the weekend (which I might add that Obama was the first President since Grover Cleveland to skip this gathering) and proceeded to tell a room full of journalists about the secret bunker where Dick Cheney was taken to for safety in the aftermath of 9/11. If you haven’t already read the story, I am sorry to say that I will not disclose this location, but it should be pretty easy to find on the internet now that Joe has officially opened his mouth again.

The only silver lining to this story, is that God forbid something like 9/11 would ever happen again, the only persons safety that he has jeopordized is his own, since now we all know where he will be!!

Joe, for the good of our nation…please stop talking. If you must talk (which I will assume you must) please learn to show a little control over your mouth. You are an adult, you should be able to handle this by now. Thank you kindly from the Political Fish.

Read the full story here

I’m sorry (not really) but we have officially reached the point in our country where the highest office in the land has been lowered to nothing more than just another job. There is no decorum, there is no class and no decency within the Obama administration. He truly does not understand the immense power and priveledge that comes with the office. First was the story posted here on the ‘fish a few weeks back about the meeting with the British PM, and then the Queen of England. Both instances were total embarrasments and a slap at our closest ally. Then you have the mighty Obama prancing around the globe on the apologize for America tour where he was photographed bowing to the Saudi King. Shortly thereafter, he decides to meet and rub shoulders with the despicable socialist dictator Hugo Chavez, and meekly accepted an Anti-American book as a gift. He followed that up by sitting through a 50 minute diatribe by the dictatorial Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega, without showing the courage or respect for his country to stand up and walk out.

As if these two instances were not clear enough in showing his lack of respect for the office of President, you have had innumberable instances of the President shoving his foot in his mouth, such as the bowling joke, where he joked that he bowled as if he was in the Special Olympics, and other assorted off the cuff remarks that are clearly below his office.

Last but not least, you have the White House Correspondents Dinner the other evening, where apparently our President thought he was the second coming of Chris Rock. It was only topped by the one and only Wanda Sykes, who went over the top in her criticism of Republicans, most pointedly at Rush Limbaugh. She went so far as to characterise him as the 20th hijacker on 9/11, who missed his flight due to being high on Oxycontin.  While this may have been seen as hilarious to some, I still have not gotten to the point where I feel that 9/11 can be a comedy shtick. However, our President showed his lack of class by just howling in laughter at the criticism and over the top diatribe against his self-proclaimed mortal enemy Rush Limbaugh.

This morning, White House Press secretary, and resident village idiot I might add, tried to distance the White House from these vile, vitriolic rants from Ms. Sykes. All well and good, and typical spin from the spinmeisters and damage control experts. Although as the picture shows, President Obama was enjoying himself immensely, and even joined in on the fun with some inappropriate jokes of his own.

I say all that to say this. Mr. President, as a citizen of this great land, I expect more from my President than what you have shown us. Show some respect for the office. Your predecessors are men that have been revered in the history of this country. Do not disgrace their memory by lowering the bar on Presidential conduct. Start acting presidential sir.