A wake up call??

[goesh]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/20/obama-tries-order-democrats-gitmo/

" Senate Votes to Block Funding for Guantanamo Closure

Sen. Dan Inouye, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the vote to strip the $80 million Obama had wanted should not be seen as a rebuke to the administration but a "wake up call."

[marct]

I just had to laugh when I read this!

GOP senators held a press conference immediately after the vote to warn that U.S. prisons are not equipped to hold the dangerous detainees now in Cuba. Plus they said the Guantanamo facility is best for the detainees themselves, arguing that it provides superior health care and special accommodations to practice Islam.
So, the US prison system cannot handle violent inmates? And just what are these "special accommodations to practice Islam" that are not in the main prison system? Does this mean that they are saying that the current system needs to be revamped to meet the "standards" of Gitmo? On the issue of "superior health care" I will remain silent except to wonder if it might not be needed to meet some of Gitmo's other operationally generated needs.

[Brandon Friedman]

It's nice to see those GOP senators have so much faith in the U.S. prison system. If I worked in law enforcement, I'd be insulted. The palpable fear projected by most GOP--and some Democratic--members of Congress with regard to these "dangerous, beastly, terror-killers" is reminiscent of fears I once harbored. When I was six.

[Stan]

Indeed a laugh considering places like Estonia and Lithuania have already agreed (http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1235054825.83/) to put up these hardened criminals when we don't have room for our own :rolleyes:






So, the US prison system cannot handle violent inmates?

[Ken White]

and insults. My. Who ever heard of such a thing. What's this world coming to? :rolleyes:

To top that off we have the oft decried food fight between the two ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, battling over executive versus legislative power. It wasn't supposed to be this way. They promised change... ;)

Where's my popcorn...:D :cool:

[Rank amateur]

I thought places closed when they ran out of money.

[goesh]

The boys in the big house would shank them all, day one if they showed up at US joints.

[ODB]

Might just have to get myself 1-3 years to do the shanking myself........but then again my luck I'd end up in the wrong place, so I think I'll have to pass, for now.

[tequila]

The remarkably open, NIMBY-ist cowardice displayed by the politicians fighting against this is pretty amazing. The pussification of America continues.

[goesh]

~Obama wishes he could ship them all off to Afghanistan to be housed in metal storeage containers in remote provences, and, convince his Liberal base they have been fully rehabbed - what politician doesn't want the best of both worlds?

[Schmedlap]

It's nice to see those GOP senators have so much faith in the U.S. prison system. If I worked in law enforcement, I'd be insulted. The palpable fear projected by most GOP--and some Democratic--members of Congress with regard to these "dangerous, beastly, terror-killers" is reminiscent of fears I once harbored. When I was six.
I think the "reasoning" is that whatever location the Gitmo guests are moved to will become a target for a coordinated attack to free them. But, I agree that this fear is both foolish and invented, with invention being 1% inspiration and 99% BS.

[Brandon Friedman]

Schmedlap,

Whatever their public reasoning, at bottom, it's not really about fear of terrorists. It's about fear of voters and their own job security. They're looking at this through the lens of: How can my primary or general election opponent use this against me in the media?

Congressman Schmedlap is envisioning a TV ad where his opponent says, "I opposed bringing dangerous terrorists to our neighborhoods. But Congressman Schmedlap was so concerned about protecting the rights of those who attacked us on 9/11 that he helped bring them here to our peaceful district." It's a stupid argument, but no politician wants to deal with that--that is, when they have an apprehensive, easily manipulated electorate. But in the process of avoiding that situation, these reps are humiliating themselves with all the "we're scared of terrorists" talk.

[jmm99]

a real live proposal was made to the inhabitants of Bohemia Township (http://www.city-data.com/township/Bohemia-Ontonagon-MI.html), Ontonagon County, MI - all 77 of them - to take 250 Gitmo detainees + $X mil (+ cost overruns) for a new facility, which would be nicely placed southwest of Misery Bay.

Have to admit that from Gitmo to Misery wouldn't float well on the PR circuit; but that is no dumber than what I am seeing on cable news.