Hanging in the Balance

Lawfare and Obama's Transnationalist
By Frank Gaffney

What is wrong with this picture? We learned this weekend that a Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzon, is preparing to prosecute six Americans who worked as senior legal and policy advisors to President George W. Bush - including Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Under Secretary of Defense Douglas Feith. The alleged crime? The opinions they provided Mr. Bush supported the use of torture against enemy combatants.

Most Americans would find this assertion of what has come to be called "transnational law" to be troubling on several grounds. Its application is an affront to due process and the rule of law in this country. It would criminalize internal U.S. policy-making deliberations, with profound implications for U.S. sovereignty. If allowed to run its course, this prosecution would have a profoundly chilling effect on the willingness of subordinates to provide a president with advice, or perhaps even to serve in government.

One would hope that President Obama would recognize that this use of legal mechanisms as a form of warfare against the United States - increasingly known as "lawfare" - holds serious dangers not just for the country and those who ran it for the past eight years, but for his administration, as well. That would appear not to be the case, however, in light of his choice of Harold Koh to be the State Department's top lawyer.
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Source: Townhall.com

Note: Scarier still is the notion that our laws would no longer be made or interpreted in the context of our Constitution, but in the context of the world stage. Such a transition would also threaten our ability to enter (or not enter) into treaties, to wage war, etc., as a sovereign nation.

Fishy Politics in Alexandria

To many in Old Town Alexandria, the sex shop that opened recently on King Street is nothing short of scandalous, a historical desecration just blocks from the boyhood home of Robert E. Lee.

But to Michael Zarlenga, it's justice.

Zarlenga spent $350,000 on plans to expand his hunting and fishing store, the Trophy Room. He worked with city officials for almost two years and thought he had their support -- until the architectural review board told him he couldn't alter the historic property.

Furious and out of money, Zarlenga rented the space to its newest occupant, Le Tache.
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Source: The Washington Post

Note: I'm all in favor of historic preservation. But life does go on...if it was okay for this "historic" building to house a hunting and fishing store in the first place, why not let its owner renovate and continue contributing to the 21st century economy? But nooooo....

I don't particularly like sex shops, but the irony here tickles me.

This Dishwashing Dilemma

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The quest for squeaky-clean dishes has turned some law-abiding people in Spokane into dishwater-detergent smugglers.

They are bringing Cascade or Electrasol in from out of state because the eco-friendly varieties required under Washington state law don't work as well.

Spokane County became the launch pad last July for the nation's strictest ban on dishwasher detergent made with phosphates, a measure aimed at reducing water pollution. The ban will be expanded statewide in July 2010, the same time similar laws take effect in several other states. But it's not easy to get sparkling dishes when you go green.
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Source: Sierra Vista Herald

Note: I'm conflicted on this. On the one hand, I am outraged at the governmental intrusion. Do we really need legislation to control how we clean our dishes? On the other hand, what ever happened to plain old elbow-grease and a steel wool pad? Are we such a weak society that we can't even scrape dried spaghetti sauce off our plates anymore, without the help of a machine and chemicals? Maybe we deserve government intervention.

The Senior Perspective

My grandmother is very comfortable with the new administration and the current state of affairs in the United States.

She is not concerned about the increasing national debt, or the recession, or the bailouts. She lived through the depression, the New Deal, and lost a son in World War II. So she's no stranger to sacrifice or hard work.

That is what is on the horizon for America today...sacrifice and hard work. I can't say I am impressed with our president being the "Salesman-in-Chief." I think what he is doing is stuffing two of every species of fruit and vegetable on God's green earth into the congressional blender - strawberries, onions, peaches, spinach, broccoli, apples, asparagus, onions, kiwi, oranges, potatoes, grapes, beets, apricots, cranberries, peas, beans, onions, and celery. This economic concoction is reputed to be just the tonic America needs. The cost of all these fruits and vegetables is very high, but one has to keep one's priorities straight.

Of course the tonic will taste bad, and it won't really look very appetizing. But it's the prescription, the medicine, we must take. And if you saw President Obama recently on the Tonight Show, you know that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Our Salesman-in-Chief is an excellent entertainer. He's a hit at townhall meetings, cleverly populated with outspoken victims. Now that he's done Leno, can The View be far behind?

Well the "recovery cocktail" is oozing its way into every paycheck and wallet across America. But that doesn't bother my grandmother.

She passed away in 1983.

My grandchildren, on the other hand....

UPDATE: Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Obama Signs Law Banning Federal Embryo Research

On Wednesday, only two days after he lifted President Bush’s executive order banning federal funding of stem cell research that requires the destruction of human embryos, President Barack Obama signed a law that explicilty bans federal funding of any "research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death."

The provision was buried in the 465-page omnibus appropriations bill that Obama signed Wednesday. Known as the Dickey-Wicker amendment, it has been included in the annual appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services every fiscal year since 1996.
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Source: CNSNews.com

Note: This is an interesting turn of events. Did President Obama actually read the bill? Did he know about the Dickey-Wicker amendment? If he did, then was all the fanfare surrounding the signing of his Executive Order just a ruse to placate the far left? Watch for news of legislative efforts to repeal the Dickey-Wicker amendment. In the meantime, however, cooler heads have prevailed.

Glenn Beck's 'We Surround Them' Party

Sarasota Meet-Up

More than 70 people gathered last night at the Comfort Inn & Suites on Gantt Rd. to watch Glenn Beck's 5:00 pm daily television show on Fox Business network. It wasn't a rally, it was a 'viewing party'. Does that sound odd? More than 70 people gathering at a hotel, paying an entrance fee ($2.75 to cover the cost of the room), just to watch a TV show they could have watched at home for free?

It is odd, but it happened all over the country - in hotels, in bars, in homes - people of like values meeting up in grassroots support of their country. The gathering in Sarasota was amazing in its diversity and enthusiasm. All ages were represented, from the very young, to the very old; there were bikers and professionals; there were former and retired military; men and women; some well-off, some struggling financially; some outspoken (and well-spoken to boot!) - others more quiet, but listening attentively.

The television program was engaging. The theme of 'We Surround Them' is an initiative Glenn Beck created to showcase 9 principles and 12 values that comprise the fabric of our country's founding. It is important to remember that when it comes to government, elected officials, and politicians in general - we are not outnumbered. We surround them! The same is true across the broader society, where so often one individual feels smothered by the lack of integrity, the blurring of lines between right and wrong, and overall acceptance of moral relativity.

After the television broadcast, the discussion continued for another hour in the format of a town meeting. Topics included contacting legislators, the need to address local issues, local media response, in addition to national issues such as the fair tax.

The group will meet again soon, probably at the community center of a local fire station. The purpose of that meeting will be to set priorities and decide on an agenda of action items.

I've attended other "community action" events, but have never seen anything like this. Too soon, I believe voices like Glenn Beck's will be silenced. We have got to build the relationships within our own communities to learn and live the principles and values incorporated into our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. If this event had happened only in little Sarasota, it wouldn't be much to comment on. But the same event was happening simultaneously all over the country. That gives me hope for change I can believe in.

Hat Tip to Hollywood - Our Founding Feathers

Obama Gives Brown a Set of DVDs

As he headed back home from Washington, Gordon Brown must have rummaged through his party bag with disappointment.

Because all he got was a set of DVDs. Barack Obama, the leader of the world's richest country, gave the Prime Minister a box set of 25 classic American films - a gift about as exciting as a pair of socks.

Mr Brown is not thought to be a film buff, and his reaction to the box set is unknown. But it didn't really compare to the thoughtful presents he had brought along with him.

The Prime Minister gave Mr Obama an ornamental pen holder made from the timbers of the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannet.
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Source: Daily Mail (UK)

Note: How embarrassing. A basket of DVDs, a symbol of American fiction, fantasy, and fame. At least President Obama had the good taste not to make the presentation at the entrance of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

Destroying Human Life - for the Good of Mankind

Why Embryonic Stem Cells Are Obsolete
March 04, 2009 11:52 AM ET
By Bernadine Healy, M.D.

Scientists may be growing impatient, but President Obama has been rightly taking his time in addressing a campaign promise to lift the ban on federal funding for research using new lines of stem cells to be taken from human embryos. Even for strong backers of embryonic stem cell research, the decision is no longer as self-evident as it was, because there is markedly diminished need for expanding these cell lines for either patient therapy or basic research. In fact, during the first six weeks of Obama's term, several events reinforced the notion that embryonic stem cells, once thought to hold the cure for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and diabetes, are obsolete. The most sobering: a report from Israel published in PLoS Medicine in late February that shows embryonic stem cells injected into patients can cause disabling if not deadly tumors.

The report describes a young boy with a fatal neuromuscular disease called ataxia telangiectasia, who was treated with embryonic stem cells. Within four years, he developed headaches and was found to have multiple tumors in his brain and spinal cord that genetically matched the female embryos used in his therapy.

His experience is neither an anomaly nor a surprise, but one feared by many scientists.
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Source: US News and World Report

Note: I suspect that if you asked 5 of your self-described "well-informed" friends what George Bush's stand was on embryonic stem cell research, I would venture to guess that 4 of them would say that President Bush banned the research. The truth is, he did not ban the research. He did not even ban the government research. He only banned further federal funding to continue creating/destroying human embryos in pursuit of the research.

The media is hailing President Obama for lifting the "ban" on embryonic stem cell research. Who benefits from the lifting of the ban on FEDERAL FUNDING to create and destroy human embryos? Planned Parenthood? Pharmaceutical companies? Research universities?

Not that I'm "following the money"...but I smell a rat in the laboratory.

If I Tap Your Back, Will You Tap Mine?

Obama to Tap Tech Advisor as FCC Chief

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama intends to nominate his technology adviser, Julius Genachowski, to head the Federal Communications Commission, a Democratic source close to the Obama transition team said.

Mr. Genachowski, 46 years old, is a former Harvard Law School classmate of Mr. Obama. He previously worked at the FCC during the Clinton administration. More recently, he co-founded LaunchBox Digital, a Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm. He worked at Barry Diller's IAC/InterActive Corp. in various executive positions for eight years after leaving the FCC.
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Source: Wall Street Journal

Note: Surprise! Another Clinton staffer. Change we can believe in. Of course, he couldn't be reached for comment, and Obama's spokeswoman declined to comment. They're way too busy with things more important than communication. However, Genachowski did raise more than $500,000 for the Obama campaign...which is totally, thoroughly, irrelevant to this appointment. As is his revered Obama-classmate status. This man is just the man we need to head up the FCC. He's entitled to the post, even if he did study law, rather than communications or technology.

IOUSA

The Taxman Cometh

Early tax filers scramble for refunds; most will pay down debt

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Cynthia Jeanguenat, a professional tax preparer in Virginia Beach, Va., said she was inundated with clients' tax forms in the second week of February. What jumped out, however, was the large number of the usual clients who had filed earlier than in years past.

"People are creatures of habit and tend to come in at the same time every year," said Jeanguenat, who is an enrolled agent at Horizons Unlimited. "But some of the folks who already are in I don't normally see until the middle or third week of March."
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Source: MarketWatch

Note: I don't know about you, but I don't want to risk getting an IOU from the government, any more than the next guy. In fact, I don't even want a check...I want it direct-deposited, right into my account.

On the other hand, if they can "direct-deposit", what's to stop them from "direct-withdrawal"?

Dateline: Oz in the 21st Century

Obama releases secret Bush anti-terror memos

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration threw open the curtain on years of Bush-era secrets Monday, revealing anti-terror memos that claimed exceptional search-and-seizure powers and divulging that the CIA destroyed nearly 100 videotapes of interrogations and other treatment of terror suspects.

The Justice Department released nine legal opinions showing that, following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Bush administration determined that certain constitutional rights would not apply during the coming fight. Within two weeks, government lawyers were already discussing ways to wiretap U.S. conversations without warrants.

The Bush administration eventually abandoned many of the legal conclusions, but the documents themselves had been closely held. By releasing them, President Barack Obama continued a house-cleaning of the previous administration's most contentious policies.
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Source: Associated Press

Note: Maybe it's me, but the headline implies that Bush wrote some nefarious memos. If you read beyond the headline, you see that what were released were legal opinions, which (reading further) Bush abandoned. The story then moves on to the Nixonesque destruction of video tapes documenting interrogation proceedings...admitting that "It is not clear what exactly was on the recordings."

Hmmmm, I wonder when the AP started hiring out-of-work soap opera writers, handing them "I'm a Reporter" badges...