President Obama and America’s Erectile Dysfunction

cross-posted from W.E.E. See You with zizi's permission

President Obama and America’s Erectile Dysfunction
Posted by Zizi2 on May 08th, 2011

Who knew that to be considered a “full blooded American” all President Obama had to do was pump a hefty dose of Viagra into America’s collective manhood, and unleash our inner Rambos? Truly sad and fascinating all at once! In a split second PBO went from being the target of Trump’s “Negro, show your papers” to Bill Maher’s “Black Ninja gangsta” and now to Glenn Greenwald’s accusation that PBO is a perpetrator of extra-judicial killings. Jon Stewart gave it visual punch with his map of America with a 45 degree erect Florida beefed up with weighty gonads.

As a cultural critic, tracking the racial narrative geography of the birth certificate brouhaha, and soaking up the language that poured out of the public domain on this past week’s news of Osama bin Laden’s demise, has been a veritable journey through America’s existential fears—the perceived loss of virility. Hollywoood has nothing on the breathless media circus that gushed over the details of the operation carried out by Navy SEALS Team 6. In short, President Obama seemed to have suddenly “redeemed himself” in the eyes of many skeptics overnight. Or has he? What changed about this man? What is it with Bill Maher and his obsession with the President Obama’s manhood?

To those labeled “Obamabots” (and I am unequivocally one), Bill Maher’s and Maureen Dowd’s sudden realization that President Obama is one “Black Ninja gangsta” or “cool hand Luke” is downright juvenile. Not that we cannot all enjoy this moment of national catharsis and tempered joy. After the birth certificate and “how did he get into Harvard and Columbia” nonsense dragged many of us PBO supporters to a new psychological low; a painful low which Baratunde Thurston captured poignantly in his Youtube video last week, certainly the surprising news of the successful Osama bin Laden mission was more than cathartic. The strategic, tactical and stealth brilliance of the whole mission, a culmination of one of President Obama’s earliest campaign promises was nothing short of an adrenaline booster. No one could be faulted from screaming giddily or saying a sober prayer for a painful American chapter closed. No question about it.


Video: Bill Maher calls Pres. Obama “black Ninja Gangsta”




But what is galling is the professional skeptics’ and ankle-biters’ 180 degree whiplash turn from calling this President a “wimp”, “sissy” “Obambi” now to calling him “Don Corleone”, “Black ninja gangsta” or “badass.” And this reveals the fundamental racial psychosis in this country. To wit, Black males cannot ever be considered as three dimensional complex rational human beings. They can only be pigeon-holed into two categories – dumb or dangerous.

Read more »

Breaking News; OSAMA BIN LADEN IS DEAD

it feels odd to even type that, but that's what the reports are saying.

The President's Statement:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Obama Caving to the Right On Miranda?

Once again I get the sense that Obama is caving to the Right on important, core issues. He did it on the issue of prosecuting terrorists in civilian Federal courts (something this nation has always done), and now Eric Holder has signaled that the Administration is willing to tinker with Miranda to give law enforcement more flexibility when dealing with terror suspects. There have been several other examples of this caving to Conservatives. I have honestly lost count.

Now the Congress is even flirting with the idea of stripping citizenship from people involved in terrorism, sometimes even before the disposition of a trial; and Speaker Pelosi thought that it might be a good idea. What in the World is going on? One question that immediately comes to mind for me is.... will this law be applied to the Right wing terrorists and their organizations? I'm talking about the McVeigh's, the Eric Rudolph's, the Jim Adkisson's, the Matthew Hale's, the James Von Brunn's, the Benjamin Nathaniel Smith's, and the James Kopp's. Certainly they are terrorists. Will they be banished from the Country? Will they be stripped of their rights as citizens?

Of course the Obama administration is flirting with the idea of changing Miranda (which he can't change in any significant way because it is protected by Supreme Court precedent), all to sort of pacify Conservatives who are complaining about the way he is handling terror suspects...some suggesting that Miranda should be banished altogether, even for terror suspects who are citizens.

The fact is, Miranda doesn't need any significant changes. The investigative process has been working fine, for the most part, under the current law. In fact, a public safety exemption already exists, when it comes to Miranda. The exemption has been around for 25 years and was established in the case of New York v. Quarles. In it, the Supreme Court concluded:

"concern for public safety must be paramount to adherence to the literal language of the prophylactic rules enunciated in Miranda."

Law enforcement authorities already have flexibility in how they use Miranda. Obama, a Constitutional law scholar, has to know this. I think (and hope) these moves are designed to try to blunt Republican talking points....which have been driving the debate on just about everything. I hope this is not a signal that Obama is willing to change basic civil liberties. As much as some may disagree, even terrorists have rights in this Country.

The irony in all of this is the fact that since 9/11, the Country has proclaimed that it would not allow terrorists to change the American way of life. But by tinkering with core principles of due process, miranda, etc, the Country is signaling that it is willing to change its most fundamental values. The terrorists win every time a nutty Republican tries to divide the Country on issues of fundamental rights.

Republican Crazies Are Complaining About The Handling of Times Square Terrorist

I expected that the crazies would start complaining about the Times Square event. It didn't take them long at all. The idiots claim that providing miranda to a citizen is somehow out of step with Federal law and our legal norms. Of course this has been done since Miranda V. Arizona almost half a century ago. But who cares about the facts? Who cares about facts when you are a Republican and you live in a fantasyland where you can make up your own reality - a reality that you can get gullible American voters to buy into?

John McCain, one of the main complainers, is a U.S. Senator and should know the laws in this Country. This man scares the Hell out of me. I always thought he was somewhat of a whackjob. It's amazing that he almost became President. In fact, McCain would probably be President right now if not for Bush's economic crisis. Even with the unpopularity of Bush and the Republican Party, McCain was headed for victory (according to polling) against Obama prior to the economic collapse in the Fall of 2008. We definitely dodged a bullet.

Joe Lieberman took the crazy a step further by suggesting that Shahzad should have his citizenship taken away in order to eliminate the need for miranda or a trial in the Federal Courts.

From Huffpost:

Lieberman argued that if an act of terrorism was coordinated with a group designated as a terrorist organization, then an American involved with such a group would lose citizenship and the constitutional protections that come with it.

Ummm, excuse me Mr. Lieberman, but does that also include the Right wing Christian Conservatives, the Tea Party radicals, and White Supremacist terror groups that have been embraced by the Republican Party, either tacitly or out in the open? What about the members of Congress who are associated with radical extremists on the right and who stoke fear? I wonder how that would work out.

Faisal Shahzad Arrested for Attempted Times Square Attack

Possible Co-conspirator(s) Arrested Overseas

Lessons Learned? Unfortunately There Probably Won't Be. It May Even Send The Country Into A Deeper State of Complacency.

Faisal Shahzad, a 30 year old originally from Pakistan was arrested in the nick of time at JFK airport overnight. He was apparently taken off an aircraft, just before departure. More here.

I knew it would be just a matter of time before we started to see this kind of activity here in the U.S. (Car bomb attempts, IED's, etc). More of these events are probably inevitable. Unfortunately, the level of security in the U.S. is woefully inadequate for dealing with these types of threats. It was luck that prevented a disaster in Times Square.

The U.S. still has gaping holes in its security. At the moment, there is no effective comprehensive or cohesive security strategy. The U.S. system relies too heavily on the intelligence community on one extreme, and too heavily on conventional military power on the other extreme. In the middle lies a big hole (domestic security). I have always been baffled by this notion that the intelligence community should be able to stop every event. Traditionally, this has never been the role of intelligence. It was never meant to be 100%, 90% or even 80% effective in thwarting terrorist attacks. Intelligence - which began as a military concept - is just a tool in a much larger toolbox. It was traditionally meant to be used in conjunction with other resources, not as the end all be all. But due to sensational media coverage since 9/11, Americans have come to believe and expect that intelligence could magically stop everything. Events that go undetected are often mistakenly labeled as "intelligence failures"....regardless of whether they are really failures or not. In an open society like the one we have in the U.S., the best intelligence system will only stop about 50% of incidents like the Times Square event (and that's pretty good).

That "middle" that I mentioned includes an immigration system that should be more effective at screening who enters the country, should have a more effective vetting system for entrants from certain parts of the globe, should have a more selective system for determining who receives residency status, citizenship, etc. The "middle" also refers to a better ability to track suspects, the need for a system to limit or prevent the purchase of ingredients that could be used for IED's (ammonium nitrate for example), and soft targets, including high value targets, that are wide open. Our passenger rail systems, metro train systems, bus systems, and passenger ships are all inadequately protected. Commercial rail, which transports tons of hazardous materials through heavily populated areas, also lacks adequate security measures.

The U.S. also needs to utilize biometric ID technology. State ID's and drivers licenses should be tamper proof. Federal law should require ID and information to be recorded whenever there is a private transaction involving the sale of automobiles,
hazardous store-bought ingredients that could have dual uses, etc. Certain items shouldn't be available for sale at all, unless the customer can demonstrate a legitimate use for the materials. Americans would be surprised at what kinds of materials are available over the counter.

The biggest part of the gaping hole in the "middle" is the private security sector. We have a private security industry in the U.S. that is a complete joke. While other countries such as India, Israel, and much of Europe have nationalized most aspects of their security (like the nationalization of Health Care for example), the U.S. maintains a weak private, for-profit, security system. In the years to come, Americans will unfortunately begin to see how bad this really is. It's one of those gaping holes that has always been there, but won't be fully understood until there is a catastrophe. I recall flying from Germany one year (way back in the 80's) to come home for some kind of family visit, and I remember how strong the security was. The screening agents, even back then, worked for the State (West Germany at the time). It took a tragedy like 9/11 to get the U.S. to nationalize its screening operations (although the private screeners were not directly responsible for 9/11... they were used as a convenient scapegoat). But there have been other cases where private screeners, which worked directly for the airlines, proved inadequate. It was nonsensical to put airlines in charge of their own security screening operations. The whole concept was flawed from the beginning.

Hopefully the U.S. will wake up and strengthen its security posture before these sorts of events become the new normal.

President Obama talks about Aviation Security

I Told You That This President Would Be Treated Differently

The microscope for a Black (biracial) man is almost always bigger. The comments from Republicans regarding Obama not being forceful enough about the incident on Northwest flight 253 have been ridiculous. I knew he wouldn't be able to relax during his family trip.

It's ironic that during his speech yesterday, he mentioned that Americans were united and that the nations resolve was greater than that of the extremists. My immediate response to the idea of Americans being united was.... No they aren't! It's ironic that he would make the comment at the very moment when we have so much Right wing commentary designed to weaken him and challenge his legitimacy as President. They are constantly hoping for his demise. Some of these jackasses would celebrate if something terrible happened to him. I don't recall Reagan or George H. W. Bush dealing with this kind of division and hatred. Clinton had a rough Presidency...and even I hated many of his policies....but even then the level of poison was not as bad as it is today.

And they are all blowing their dog whistles this week. Listening to these news reporters and pundits today gave me an upset stomach. I eventually had to switch to the History Channel. On MSNBC and CNN you had plain old stupidity on display... with idiot reporters asking where suspect Umar Abdulmutallab would be held - confusing this issue with Gitmo (when they are two completely different situations). They didn't seem satisfied when they were told that this terror suspect would be dealt with in the same way that all terrorists are dealt with who commit their crimes in the U.S. or on U.S. aircraft - he will be held on U.S. soil and prosecuted in a Federal District court. They didn't want to accept that answer....and continued to conflate and confuse the two issues of Gitmo and terrorist acts committed in the U.S. They didn't seem to have a clue that the issue of Gitmo involves non-State actors who were picked up overseas...and whose confessions may or may not have been coerced through torture or by some other less than constitutional means....making their cases difficult to adjudicate properly. But when that issue was addressed, they wanted to find something else wrong. I had to turn off CNN's Erica Hill. Great looking woman (Hot!). But she's as dumb as a potted plant. The same seems to be the case for most of the other "news" anchors.

And of course Faux News is doing what it always does.

What do I mean by the dog whistles? I mean blaming Obama.... which I knew they were going to do. Yes his administration allowed lapses. I have written for years about the gaping hole in Homeland non-Security...mainly the visa system.. which Al Qaeda apparently exploited once again. The visa problem was never fixed after 9/11 and it won't be fixed after this incident. There should be greater restrictions on Visa applications coming from certain Countries...and certain regions. Student visas and tourist visas should receive greater scrutiny. Applicants for student visas from certain regions should get tougher background checks...and there should be more limits on tourist visas... and they should be tied to watch lists in the U.S. and in other Countries (if such a program had been in place, this suspect would have never been able to gain access to the plane).

Obama should pay the price for that joke Janet Napolitano. If you recall... I slammed Obama for picking Napolitano for DHS Secretary. Now perhaps some people are able to understand why. The idea of someone with no background or real experience in Security...heading up the largest security conglomeration in the history of the World just rubs me the wrong way. It was purely a political appointment... in a post where such appointments should be avoided. An experienced person should be in that post... and Obama passed up a whole slew of well qualified people. Obama has himself to blame for the mistakes she made over the past week. But that's another story.

You can also hear the dog whistles saying something else.... They are attempting to blame Obama in other ways. They are suggesting a link between Ft. Hood and Abdulmutallab when there is really no such link...at least there is no information that has been made public about such a link. Which begs the question... why in the Hell are these anchors and pundits working so hard to tie these two things together? They want to suggest that Obama is asleep at the switch and is weak on terror. Some even want to suggest that Obama can't be trusted because he too is African (his father being from Kenya and all)....and they want to suggest that this incident only proves that there is actually something to their lunacy. Yes... xenophobia and the Republican media propaganda machine are at work this week. In fact, it never takes a break.

That's what Obama will have to get used to for the rest of his time in office. Just because he wants to take a break...doesn't mean that the noise machine will give him one. The Right wing propaganda machine is always going full blast. It never takes a day off. More troubling... the so-called friendly or fair-er media like MSNBC and CNN often take their talking points from the Right...and will run with all sorts of strange narratives that don't make much sense...and are really aimed at weakening the Presidency. You have legitimate news organizations giving credence to the dog whistle nonsense from Faux and the rest of the Right wing media....by simply mentioning these narratives (when they should know better.... and would know better if they had real investigative journalists).

Another year of this idiocy?

You couldn't pay me enough to be the President of these Divided States....or to be a politician in any setting in this Country. The reason = a stupid clueless, uninformed, gullible, fickle and unengaged citizenry.

Attempted Terrorist Attack Aboard Plane Coming Into Detroit-Nigerian National Charged

I've been following this story since it broke. Here are some of the highlights.

From the NYTimes:

Officials Point to Suspect’s Claim of Qaeda Ties in Yemen
By ERIC SCHMITT and ERIC LIPTON
Published: December 26, 2009

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities on Saturday charged a 23-year-old Nigerian man with trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day, and officials said the suspect told them he had obtained explosive chemicals and a syringe that were sewn into his underwear from a bomb expert in Yemen associated with Al Qaeda.

The authorities have not independently corroborated the Yemen connection claimed by the man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was burned in his failed attempt to bring down the airliner and is in a hospital in Michigan. But a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation said on Saturday that the suspect’s account was “plausible,” and that he saw “no reason to discount it.”

Let's leave Al Qaeda out of it for right now. Let's deal with what we do know. We do know that this man got on a plane, coming to Detroit, and sometime before its descent for landing, attempted to ignite some sort of explosive. This guy is the second coming of Richard Reid - the shoe bomber. But, something happened, and this young man's attempt didn't quite work out, but there were flames coming his way, and passengers on the plane grabbed him, stomped out the fire and subdued the suspect.

Read more »

Obama and the Torture Trap - Score A Round For the Republicans

President Obama suffered his first big defeat last week with the Senate voting 90-6 to block funding to close the Guantanamo detention facility, which was a major campaign promise. The House of Representatives also rejected the closure. The vote was mostly symbolic, since it does not really stop Obama from shutting down operations at Gitmo. But the Senate vote sent a strong message to the Obama Administration - with the main concern being that allowing these detainees into the U.S. as prisoners is not the best idea right now, and Americans may not be ready for that move. Some have expressed concern that these prisoners could eventually become folk heroes in Federal prisons and could influence & recruit other inmates. There is some precedent to that…but I think this concern is being overblown for political purposes. Essentially what the Senate was telling Obama is that they (and the American People) want to see the plan.

In addition to the Gitmo defeat in the Senate, Obama also allowed Republicans to set a trap for him not only on torture, but on the wider issues of Terrorism and National Security. Cheney has effectively changed the narrative by taking the focus off of the crimes that he himself took part in while pushing an illegitimate war to focus instead on labeling Obama as weak on terrorism. Now the narrative is - another terrorist attack will be Obama’s fault because of his soft on terror approach and his efforts to change interrogation policy. Of course any new attacks won’t likely be due to a difference in interrogation techniques… but that’s the perception that Republicans are trying to create in the minds of the American public….and with their media advantage, they may succeed in creating that perception. This is why I have always stated that the Republican media machine/Spin machine is so powerful that they will be able to control narratives and get their message out, even while in the minority and while they are politically unpopular. Democrats and progressives don’t yet have a media infrastructure that can match what the Republicans have.

One thing in particular is strange about Cheney’s argument. He is laying the groundwork for Obama to fail on National Security by setting him up to be blamed for any new attacks… but wasn’t it Bush/Cheney & Co. that emphasized in 2001 and the years immediately after that the U.S. would probably be hit again? They focused on that point every chance they got - when they were in office. Of course, they did that to cover their behinds… because it was their negligence that, in part, allowed 9/11 to take place. They knew Americans wouldn’t tolerate 2 big attacks in a row under the "leadership" the same cast of clowns…. They would surely be voted out in 2004 if they allowed that to happen. So they sent the message that any new attacks against the Country would not be because they weren’t working hard to stop it…besides, they had the 'War on Terror' that was going strong at the time (although in reality it actually radicalized more people to harm us than it discouraged)…but any new attacks would be because the enemy hates the U.S. and “freedom” so much and they are plotting day and night against us. They admitted that they may not be able to stop all attacks. Do you recall how they emphasized that so incessantly? But now that they are out of office…. A new terrorist attack (which the Republican Party is praying for) will be the fault of Obama and the Democrats....not because the enemy is so determined to kill Americans. The Republicans are so good at changing the narrative to fit their political aims...and they are often able to get people to believe in the script.

The Republicans see an opening to possibly revitalize their dying Party by putting national security front & center. They are hoping that another terrorist attack will lead to a comeback, but they have to prep. Obama as the Fall guy to make it work. So far so good for the Republicans…with Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh and others on the far Right showing their leadership over the Party.

The Republicans have hit Obama with a one-two punch combination… stunning him… almost knocking him down. How did Obama allow this opening? How did he get so distracted that he let his guard down? Because he allowed far Left elements of the Democratic Party to hijack his agenda & replace the nations top priorities with their own (torture, gay marriage, etc). It’s the same thing that has happened to the Republicans from time to time (and now on a more permanent basis) when they allow far Right single issue groups like the anti-abortion folks, the religious right, the racists, the anti-government crowd and the pro-gun community to hijack the wider Republican agenda. Ohh… wait a second. Hell… that is the Republican agenda. But you get my point. Obama got to this point by taking his eye off the ball… by taking his focus off of the economy, healthcare, and other bread & butter issues… to focus instead on matters that are not among the top concerns of most Americans. Although I blog about torture, it is not even a top 10 issue for me personally...never was. It's an important issue... I have stated as much before.. but i'm not as fired up about it as extreme Left ultra-Liberals are.

Obama has been unable (so far) to regain control of his Presidency since opening this can of worms. His hijacked agenda is now at risk of being driven over a cliff by some of the more fringe elements of his Party. Even Nancy Pelosi, who was dragged into this mess over the last few weeks, is now screaming uncle…and begging for the Obama train to be put back on the tracks to focus on Kitchen table issues. This is why I stated all along that pushing this issue too hard & taking the focus off of the economy was a bad idea. And attempting to close Gitmo without a well thought out detailed plan was boneheaded on the part of the President and his advisers.

Obama has also backtracked in the past few weeks on the issue of military style tribunals for terror suspects, a move that has irritated Progressives. So in the past few weeks, Obama has angered folks on the Right & the Left. But he did it to himself. Who in the World is advising him to make these boneheaded decisions?

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised considering this is an Administration with staff that didn’t understand that flying planes low over Manhattan was probably not a good idea. It’s amazing that these folks are able to have jobs in the White House. I was amazed at how clueless these people were on that issue…and how they didn’t think it was a big deal. Now some of these same folks are showing how clueless they are on other matters.

The issue regarding the detainees is not that hard to fix. Possible solution: Segregate the international terror detainees from other inmates. The issue regarding trials is complex but not something that can’t be dealt with. The Obama Administration could start by trying as many cases as possible in the Federal civilian court system. Those suspects who can’t be tried in the Federal Courts should be retried in a rebuilt and fair tribunal system…and they could be taken through a new interrogation process if necessary (for those who faced harsh or unfair treatment under the old system). Those suspects who can’t be tried under either system should be sent back to their home Countries or held for a defined period for further investigation or charged under more broad anti-terror legislation. Holding suspects indefinitely without attorney’s & without trial is crazy talk which should be out of the question.

Obama has to get back to focusing on the bread & butter issues that matter most to Americans. He does better on the pocket book issues that people are most concerned with…although the stimulus effort from Democrats was not aggressive enough in funneling money towards job creation and creating new industries. I call this the 3rd round of a 12 round fight. Obama scored a knockdown in round 1 (by winning the election)…and won on points for round 2 (his first 100 days). But round 3 goes to the Republicans. By pushing the Torture & Gitmo issues so aggressively… lured by Leftists in his own Party, Obama fell right into a Republican trap. It allowed them an opening to take the media’s focus off of the economy which they destroyed and allowed them to put National Security and fear back on the front page.

With North Korea engaging in irrational behavior, and with Iran testing missiles, you will see Republicans pressuring Obama and even dictating the nations foreign policy, even though they are in the minority. By painting Obama as weak… they will attempt to goat Obama into leaning towards some sort of military solution (when there is no military solution) with North Korea and Iran. Israel has already launched an effort to influence U.S. media and U.S. politics, by attempting to frighten the American public with their leaked intelligence reports on Iran. Israels goal is to push Obama to go to war with Iran (a war that would likely draw in other nations...and a war that wouldn't be in the best interests of the United States...or any other Country). And as I stated, there isn't even a military solution regarding Iran to begin with. The only military solution is a sensible containment policy and defense. The solution in both cases is political, strategic and economic….with some creative out of the box thinking required. But the Republicans would like a war with both Iran and North Korea. The torture issue has now weakened Obama’s hand …in terms of possible solutions and diplomatic approaches. Notice how he has already been forced to engage in tough talk…. Pushing more sanctions for North Korea…among other possible punishments… steps that aren’t likely to work. Obama should instead push harder for direct State to State talks…and getting rid of the Six Party framework… that hasn’t worked…and probably can’t work. The idea of the Six Party framework was flawed from the beginning. A wider, more comprehensive regional Peace Treaty or non-aggression pact is needed… starting with an official end to the Korean War. But Republicans are already working to paint Obama into a corner… (because he opened the door to be attacked on National Security). The Republican media is already calling the North Korea issue "a moment of truth for Obama". As if Bush & Co. didn’t have any moments of truth with North Korea that they completely bungled. For 8 years, the Neo-Conservatives refused to negotiate one on one with North Korea…even when they were willing to give up their program (back when the U.S. had leverage). The U.S. no longer has much leverage with North Korea. That window of optimal leverage closed some time ago… in the years under Clinton and Bush. Now they want Obama to fix it…

I’m hoping that Obama won’t allow Republicans to dictate policy…and will work on a diplomatic, political and economic solution. Americans tolerated 16 consecutive years of pro-war policy under Clinton and Bush…. But Republicans are ready to give up on more sensible alternative approaches after only a few months. It’s amazing. Iran and North Korea aren’t responding to Obama’s overtures after a few weeks (which have not been that friendly) and now all of a sudden it’s time to send in the Carriers and attack.

Why Some of Us Fear HOMEGROWN Terrorists MORE to the Foreign Kind

Two different posters have brought this story to my attention today:

Report: Slain US Nazi hated Obama, had parts for 'dirty bomb'
Stephen C. Webster
Published: Monday March 9, 2009

Claim: Depleted uranium purchased over the Internet from an American company

Trust fund millionaire James G. Cummings, an American Nazi sympathizer from Maine who was slain by his wife Amber in December, allegedly had the radioactive components necessary to construct a "dirty bomb," a newly released threat analysis report states.

The man, allegedly furious over the election of President Obama, purchased depleted uranium over the Internet from an American company.

"According to an FBI field intelligence report from the Washington Regional Threat and Analysis Center posted online by WikiLeaks, an organization that posts leaked documents, an investigation into the case revealed that radioactive materials were removed from Cummings’ home after his shooting death on Dec. 9," reported the Bangor Daily News.

"Amber (Cummings) indicated James was very upset with Barack Obama being elected President," reported the Washington Regional Threat and Analysis Center (PDF link). "She indicated James had been in contact with 'white supremacist group(s).' Amber also indicated James mixed chemicals in the kitchen sink at their residence and had mentioned 'dirty bombs.'"

"Also found was literature on how to build 'dirty bombs' and information about cesium-137, strontium-90 and cobalt-60, radioactive materials," said the Bangor Daily. "The FBI report also stated there was evidence linking James Cummings to white supremacist groups. This would seem to confirm observations by local tradesmen who worked at the Cummings home that he was an ardent admirer of Adolf Hitler and had a collection of Nazi memorabilia around the house, including a prominently displayed flag with swastika. Cummings claimed to have pieces of Hitler’s personal silverware and place settings, painter Mike Robbins said a few days after the shooting."

**************

RonnieB asks:

How long will media and law enforcement ignore this pink elephant in the room? I've been saying for years that anti-terrorism measures need to start first with the White supremacists right here in the U.S.

AMEN

Has America Gone Too Far Down Slippery Slope?

Amy Goodman speaks with Naomi Wolf about the threat to civil liberties. In her new book "The End of America: Letter of Warning To A Young Patriot", Wolf talks about the "Fascist Blueprint" (10 steps leading to Fascism) and how America is well on its way to that end. Watch/Listen To Interview.
I happen to believe that some of her conclusions are a little exaggerated... However, she does bring up some interesting points.

I think the job of the next figure-head President will be to restore some sort of balance to the Country, in terms of civil liberties and the responsibility of the government to protect the citizenry. That is going to be one of the toughest jobs in the world. Where is this balance? I am not completely sure. However, I do believe that Americans will have to be willing to allow for some security measures, if they want to have a more secure Country.

The current situation seems out of balance...and will have to be righted. The Federal Courts have been trying to keep the government from going completely out of control, by limiting the other two branches in their phony War on Terror. But I think Congress will have to be much more responsive to the concerns of the people and will have to pass reasonable legislation. However, I won't hold my breath waiting for sensible and reasonable legislation from Congress...considering how they rushed to pass the Patriot Act without much scrutiny... doing all they could to satisfy the Executive branch instead of providing proper oversight.

New Documentary - Cheney's Law

New PBS Documentary goes inside of the Bush Administration and provides a look at the issue warrantless eavesdropping, and efforts to increase the power of the Presidency. There was (and still is) an effort to bypass the system of checks and balances and to provide the Executive branch with an almost unchecked and unchallenged authority. One of the driving forces behind this effort has been Dick Cheney.

Watch Documentary "Cheney's Law" from PBS (In 7 segments)

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Related Posts

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Cheney Ordered Visitor Logs Destroyed

Judge Strikes Down Parts of Patriot Act

Vice President Says He's Not Part of Executive Branch and Therefore Doesn't Have to Abide By Federal Law Covering Presidential Administrations

Cheney Implicated in Valerie Plame Leak

Giuliani Advisor Norman Podhoretz Too Scared To Debate

Hear a whacky discussion with pro-war neoconservative Norman Podhoretz. During the program, Podhoretz argues that we are in World War IV. He is under the false assumption that we can fight a war against an ideology using Conventional military power. But this will not work, cannot work and has already proven to be a failure.... yet he repeats the mantra over and over.

He is calling for war with Iran, thinking that Air Strikes will do just fine. He seems oblivious to the fact that the U.S. would need 500,000 troops on stand by just in case the aerial bombing doesn't quite work out as planned, or in case Iran launches a major Counter attack. Where would the U.S. get these 500,000 extra troops? We definitely would not have any significant help from an international coalition. No nation, besides Israel, is foaming at the mouth, eager to go into Iran.

I have said it a million times, you cannot defeat an ideology with tanks, bomber planes, and Aircraft Carriers. In fact, you may only make the problem worse. The U.S. has strengthened its enemies, via this John Wayne, Cowboy foreign policy. The war in Iraq and the U.S. over-reliance on military power to solve its problems, has been a gift to Al Qaeda and other Jihadi movements around the World. Yet, Podhoretz and his fellow pro-war neocons, either fail to see this fact, or choose to ignore it.
He seems to be oblivious to the fact that terrorism has skyrocketed since 9/11 and since the start of the war in Iraq in 2003.

During the program Podhoretz also runs from any serious debate with the other panelists. In fact, one of the pre-conditions for his appearance on the program was that he would not debate other panelists...and that he would not even appear with the other guests. He had to be brought on separately.

He makes a ton of whacky claims during the discussion.... I could not count all of them. But a few that stand out are- He tries to compare the current "War on Terror" with the Cold War. Of course there is no real comparison. He also goes on to predict that George W. Bush will one day be considered one of the nations greatest Presidents. He also claims that the War on Terror is going pretty good. WHAT?????? lol

Why should you be concerned about this man? Because this is a top foreign policy advisor to the Republican Presidential front-runner Rudy Giuliani.... who has a good chance of becoming the next President. A Giuliani Presidency would be worse than what we currently have. I never thought we would be on the brink of something worse than the Bush Administration. But here we are.

The other guests come on later and begin clearing up some of Podhoretz's nonsense.

The other guests were:

--Christopher Dickey, Middle East Regional Editor and Paris Bureau Chief for Newsweek Magazine

--Gen. William Odom, a retired Army Lt-General, Director of the National Security Agency from 1985 to 1988 and Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence for the US Army from 1981 to 1985. He is currently a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a professor (political science) at Yale University.

This is a must hear interview.

LISTEN

Is A London Style Surveillance Network A Good Idea For American Cities?

Is a London style surveillance network the answer for U.S. cities? Many in law enforcement circles in this country envy the British system, which has a network of thousands of cameras which are always recording. Many officials here in the U.S. want the capabilities that British police recently demonstrated after the foiled car bomb attacks in London.

Most of the cameras are on public streets, highways, subways, buses, tunnels, and in large public facilities. Police in Britain are able to go back and track vehicles within London and can even track vehicles from city to city, long after an incident has occurred.

Officials In the U.S. are now slowly beginning to adopt a British style surveillance program, even though such systems would not be as effective in this country, due to the high number of police jurisdictions and the various State, County, and City laws. Much of the British system is national and operated by a few agencies, allowing the network to operate efficiently. Here in the U.S., there will inevitably be disputes about who will operate the system, the rules for operation, who would be responsible for maintenance, who would be responsible for responding to reports, and who would pay for it.

There is also the notion (somewhat misguided) that such systems would prevent terrorism. This is not the case. International terrorists are not deterred by the presence of surveillance cameras. Cameras did not stop the July 2006 bombings in London, did not stop the latest bombing attempts, nor did they stop the terrorist attacks in Madrid Spain. Why? Because Muslim extremists are not deterred by conventional security measures. These individuals have accepted martyrdom as their fate and want to fulfill what they see as a mission for their God. This is not like a domestic criminal who robs a bank and doesn’t want to be recognized. On the contrary, Muslim extremists don’t mind, and often want to be caught on surveillance video so that they can get credit for their deed. This only inflates their legacy as a Martyr. Therefore, in the context of international terrorism, surveillance cameras in most cases would only assist law enforcement with piecing together what happened after the fact.

I have over a decade of experience operating surveillance systems. I also covered the issue of surveillance cameras while in college. I was once on the fence about surveillance (many years ago). I used to be more skeptical about the need for such systems every single place that we go. In fact, I am still somewhat against the idea of “big brother” hanging over us constantly, particularly in our workplaces and schools. However, when it comes to surveillance systems in public areas, such as the network in Britain, my position has softened quite a bit, although I still have some misgivings. Such surveillance systems are typically in areas where there is no expectation of privacy. And they are very useful in curbing the kinds of domestic crimes where normal criminals are concerned about being caught in the act.

I feel that under the right conditions (appropriate rules and regulations) such cameras could be useful. Furthermore, surveillance video is typically seen as more reliable than human witnesses. You could role play the same 2 minute event to 100 people in the same room, then separately interview each person afterwards and you would get 100 different variations of the same event. Everyone has a different perception of what they see…and they sometimes omit, embellish or simply forget some parts of what they see. Or they simply may not be good at expressing what happened. Cameras are useful at eliminating that problem- a problem that has been a nuisance since the early days of modern policing, which ironically started in London.

Of course the other concern is are we giving up our privacy with these cameras? My take is that we have not crossed that line just yet, but we may be on a slippery slope. A London type surveillance program is not too intrusive, but such a system could open the door to more intrusive surveillance measures 20, 30, or 40 years down the road.

But as of right now, if you are not breaking the law… I would say you have nothing to worry about. Camera operators typically don’t want to waste their time following law abiding citizens. They typically monitor people who are exhibiting behaviors that provide some sort of probable cause or reasonable suspicion to warrant the monitoring.

Hear a great audio discussion about this issue from the On Point Radio program from a few days ago. LISTEN HERE (Use Realplayer Option).

Our we giving up too much privacy with these surveillance systems? Is a London style camera network a good idea for U.S. cities?

Car Bomb Defused In Central London

Police have defused a large car bomb in the heart of London. Report Here.

From what I can tell... it appears that this may have been a situation where the device failed to explode for whatever reason or the driver was enroute to another destination and was unable to continue. This could have also been a suicide bombing where the device failed to detonate. However, unlike in Iraq & Israel, bomb attackers in the UK (even the jihadists) have, so far, not been of the suicide variety. Instead, they have preferred to plant their bombs and walk away. So the driver could have intended to place or stage the vehicle in Central London to be detonated later by cellular phone.

In any case, this incident shows that we are still under the gun. The war in Iraq and the failure of U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East and other parts of the world are continuing to fuel jihadism. This is unfortunately the new way of life for us, largely because of the foreign policy that the U.S. and the UK have pursued.

In the next few hours and days, U.S., British, and EU officials will be in an increased state of vigilance, looking for other possible explosives or suspicious behaviors. The good news is that this device was discovered before it was detonated. The bad news is- if this was the work of Al Qaeda or an Al Qaeda affiliated group, then there is a good chance that other devices exist that have not been detonated (or located) yet. Al Qaeda and other jihadi inspired terrorists typically engage in a swarm of attacks...not just a single event. So we could be in the midst of a terrorist attack still in progress. London has tons of surveillance cameras, and officials will surely be going over video footage.

In my opinion...Americans will also have to be extra vigilant over the July 4th Holiday as well.