[Ed.5] In this edition → → → → →

Trying KSM in a civilian court sets a dangerous precedent
Attorney General Eric announced in a Friday afternoon media dump that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be tried in civilian federal criminal court rather than by military tribunal…
Coming to an electric company near you, environmentalism meets corporate greed
Public polling has been shifting toward increasing skepticism regarding anthropogenic global warming and chances are science actually has less to do with it than green marketing. While…
The sad reality of 2000 comes back yet again
In November of 2000, Vice President Al Gore was given a premature victory via faulty exit polling and a media eager to rid themselves of the Texas misfit cowboy. Hours later, Gore conceded…
Uncovering Recovery.gov
The Obama administration has been talking recovery in the private sector, pointing to signs of anecdotal economic upturns, but last week, ABC News uncovered a shocking slight-of-numbers…
The overseas contingency snags GITMO
For the first time since signing an executive order to close the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, as he promised during the 2008 campaign, President Obama now admits his…
Oprah Winfrey announces the end of her daytime talk show

Oprah announced last week that her ratings dominant daytime television show, the basis of a multibillion-dollar media empire with million of viewers, will end in 2011 after 25 seasons...

Trying KSM in a civilian court sets a dangerous precedent

Attorney General Eric announced in a Friday afternoon media dump that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be tried in civilian federal criminal court rather than by military tribunal, a decision that is wrought with enumerable severe consequences.

Even before KSM and his murderous cohorts are put on trial, both Mr. Holder and his boss, President Obama have declared in advance of any discovery, motions, evidence presentation and jury deliberation, the defendants will be found guilty and executed accordingly. Being a former law professor, the Commander and Chief should understand jury pool poisoning and convicting defendants without having stood trial by a jury of their peers – which raises another interesting question, where in this venue will such a jury be found?

There are an abundance of problems created from such a decision – security is chief among them. KSM and the other defendant’s are prime targets for vigilantism, not to mention the cost to the citizens of New York City and the logistical nightmare of transportation. And, should KSM go pro-se, his self-defense will surely include more threats to the people of New York and Americans at-large.

The decision is not only a nightmare of legal precedents to be set, as Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) so pointed out to Mr. Holder in a recent hearing, there has never been an illegal foreign combatant tried on US soil in a civilian court. Mr. Holder has experience in terrorist cases, though not particularly a bright one: during the Clinton administration, Holder repeatedly pressured Justice Department subordinates not to oppose a highly controversial clemency grant for 16 FALN (Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional) members.

Critics of the decision to try KSM in federal civilian court are pointing to legitimate concerns about the coming aftermath. Indeed, there is genuine concern for what this pronouncement will set-off in domino chaos – there is a precedent, a dangerous one, which is being set. Not to mention the world stage on which jihad extraordinaire will play to the Islamic world, putting the Bush Doctrine and his administration, along with the CIA on trial.

While all of these concerns are indisputable and likely to transpire in one form or another, what seems to be missing from the debate is the reason why this decision has been reached. It may be a bit over simplistic to assign a political meat throwing to the far left, as well as the new life being given to the fringe kook birthers and Muslim in the White House conspiratorialists – neither of which will garner the administration any political good will or capital.

So why has this decision been reached? It might be no more complicated then everything else the administration is pushing, from cap-and-trade to health care reform to the slow bleed strategy in Afghanistan, the administration is trying to remake the country and once done, it will be near impossible to undo.

-- Owen E. Richason IV
Chief Editor, Killswitch Politick


Click here to subscribe

Click here to contact

[Ed.4] In this edition → → → → →

Why Madame Speaker’s health care bill is on life support

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called Joe Lieberman (I-CT) said, “…I’ve spoken out a little more explicitly about this, it’s clear there are a number of moderate Democrats who are not happy with…

Political correctness is the death knell to diversity…why aren’t we calling Ft. Hood for what is was?

We now know a lot more about Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan and it isn’t what the media wants to report, nor is it what the Army wants to admit. For fear of crossing the politically correct divide…

Global cooling, 1970s, Global warming, 1990s, Global climate change, 2000s

June 24^th, 1974, Time Magazine featured a cover story with a family gathered around a busted out console television and a fire burning inside, warming them – the cover exclaiming…

Raising the federal debt limit amidst spending induced economic turmoil

Shadows of 1995’s government shutdown loom, but are likely to be dispersed by year’s end. The Obama administration had asked Congress to approve a debt ceiling increase by at least…

Playing politics with Afghanistan

President Obama said last week that he isn’t waiting on more information on Afghanistan but being certain he has the best strategy before sending more troops and spending…

Triumph and tragedy, the life and death of Michael Jackson

A comment on western pop culture, Michael Jackson’s death has proved just as bizarre as his life. British cable’s Sky 1 broadcasted a live seance with psychic Derek Acorah, who attempted to…

Why Madame Speaker’s health care bill is on life support

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called the House Health Care Bill DOA in the Senate, Joe Lieberman (I-CT) said, “…I’ve spoken out a little more explicitly about this, it’s clear there are a number of moderate Democrats who are not happy with the public option” and has threatened a filibuster. Senate Majority Harry Reid has done his best side-step of actually committing to anything at this point, knowing full well the bill isn’t likely to come out of the senate anytime soon.

Social Security has long been called the “third-rail” of politics because it’s not only an electric issue when broached, it will electrocute even career politicians that attempt to go about any type of reform. Seniors know that social security is unsustainable, but don’t much care as long as they get theirs now, while younger Americans are likewise afraid to address the issue for fear it will only worsen. The public option has been greeted by the American people in much the same way as social security; they don’t want a fix they know will make the situation worse – that’s why Speaker Nancy Pelosi held the vote on a Saturday night.

But the vote passed with the narrowest margin imaginable under the current House membership, though the democrats have a 38 member majority (236 to the republican’s 198 members), the vote passed 220 to 215. That doesn’t scream confidence and the fact the House bill will have to be reconciled with the Senate, means it’ll be come out of reconciliation and up for a vote in 2010 – with off-year elections in the House when all 435 members are up for reelection, those 220 “yeas” are likely to shrink and give a swell to the 215 “nays”; there are also a couple of senate seats up for reelection as well, and Harry Reid is among them, where he has consistently been losing in the polls.

Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) said of the House version, "You have to satisfy a lot of senators. And it's going to make it more of a political moderate approach, whereas the House bill is tilted a little bit to the left" an euphemistic answer that really means, this thing doesn’t have much of a chance. Harry Reid knows that Virginia and New Jersey sent a message loud and clear to Capitol Hill and with his own reelection in jeopardy may have a sober pill to swallow.

The most interesting dynamic here is the rush to get something up to the President’s desk before year’s-end in attempt to avoid fresh minded voters in 2010. But with the current senate make-up, it won’t be easy to get a bill through reconciliation. The fact this “reform” is being rushed through makes clear the intentions of those pushing it – a road to European style socialist democracy.


-- Owen E. Richason IV
Chief Editor, Killswitch Politick

Click here to subscribe

Click here to contact

[Ed.3] In this edition → → → → →

Lessons from Virginia and New Jersey

McDonnell wins in Virginia. Christie wins in New Jersey. Foretellers of 2010? It all depends who you ask and from what vantage point they stand…

More questions than answers, the Army Major who killed in the name of Allah

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist set to deploy to Afghanistan, reportedly shouted, "Allahu Akbar!" — an Arabic phrase for "God is great!" — as he went on the worst mass murder…

The pot calling the kettle black; the hypocrisy of media bias

Last week, John Stossel wrote a piece entitled, “The double standard about journalists’ bias”. It was an autobiographical piece in which he recounts the blatant hypocrisy of his colleagues…

A possible FHA bailout and the stimulus’ effect on the jobless rate

The Federal Housing Administration was expected to make public its objective audit determining the soundness of the organization. Several have doubted its security because…

The battle peace talks just won’t fix

The Islamic Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip can now launch rockets capable of reaching the Israeli metropolitan area of Tel Aviv, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said…

Andre Agassi’s agony

The World Anti-Doping Agency is seeking to probe whether any indictments can be brought against retired U.S. star Andre Agassi following his confession that he lied after failing…

Lessons from Virginia and New Jersey

McDonnell wins in Virginia. Christie wins in New Jersey. Foretellers of 2010? It all depends who you ask and from what vantage point they stand.

Governors elect Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie have their work cut out for them. Not unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger, both will have a tough go of the reforms they campaigned on: both states have big fiscal and unemployment problems.

Policy aside, what do these races say about the national political landscape? They point to change, and a monumental one at that. Pundits on the right clearly marked these races as referendums on President Obama; pundits on the left say it isn’t about Obama or his policies, that all politics are local. Of course that might be true but so is the fact that the President stumped several times for Creigh Deeds and even appeared in a campaign commercial; while in New Jersey, the President’s voice went out election-eve to voters on robo-calls, though Press Secretary Gibbs said of the President on election day, "He's not watching returns."

The question one must ask oneself about these election results is why? Why did the voters of New Jersey and Virginia elect republican governors and cast out-of-the-way establishment democrats? The answer is very simple; independent voters are taking their support away from one camp and putting it into another.

Independents flocked to the GOP and away from tax-and-spend liberals. It’s that simple. Voters don’t want to pay more in taxes when unemployment is at a 10% national average. They don’t want Washington or Trenton or Richmond to be talking about health care reform when there transportation systems are rusting.

Both republican candidates kept their issues to the state’s best interest and contrasted it against the national background. Will this strategy work for congressional and senatorial republicans come 2010? That largely depends on two factors: if the democrats keep on their present tone-deaf agenda of raising taxes and creating new government bureaucracies and if the GOP can actually govern and lead, instead of just criticizing.

Candidate Obama promised a lot of things, campaigning as a slightly left-of-center moderate, but President Obama hasn’t delivered on those promises, governing as a left-of-left politician; and those are the lessons from New Jersey and Virginia – if you talk the talk, once you’re elected you better walk the walk.

-- The Editors, Killswitch Politick

Click here to subscribe

Click here to contact

[Ed.2] In this edition → → → → →

The Obama referendums: Virginia to turn red, New Jersey, purple?

Ten months into the Obama Presidency and almost three years into the democrat congressional majority, the first national races with national implications are trending republican…

Call it what you like, it still costs the same – too much

Hill dems are trying to recast health care reform with semantics and strong-arming: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) re-dubbed the "public option" as the “consumer option” while Rep…

The blame game and its unintended consequences

Iran is nuking up. North Korea is demanding one-on-one talks. China and France are lecturing the US to get our financial house in order. Afghanistan spirals toward chaos…

GDP grows by 3.5%, what it really means

The Q3 2009 GDP grew by 3.5% and Ford Motor Company posted a $1 billion profit. By those indications alone, the economy ought to be showing more signs of positive growth, but it…

While Obama shrugs: turmoil in Honduras, Afghanistan, China

Honduras is on the threshold of closing stages a four-month political calamity after rival camps cut a deal that could return expelled President Manuel Zelaya to power and

Adam Lambert, a study in pop culture

American Idol runner-up, Adam Lambert, released his debut album, For Your Entertainment. For fans of 80’s hair metal/glam rock, the cover is reminiscent of Poison’s Look What the Cat Dragged In…

The Obama referendums: Virginia to turn red, New Jersey, purple?

Ten months into the Obama Presidency and almost three years into the democrat congressional majority, the first national races with national implications are trending republican, even in the bluest of states.

Most astute political analysts see two of four races as referendums on the Obama administration. And with good cause as they are gubernatorial races in two states Mr. Obama easily carried in 2008; it now appears there is at least organized opposition and in the worst case scenario for the administration, voter’s remorse.

In the first circumstance, it means voters in northern Virginia are not motivated to go to the polls – it was they who delivered the state to Barack Obama last November; while in New Jersey it is an unadulterated protest to the incumbent governor. The second circumstance appears to the beginning of the end of Washington’s tone-deafness and the voters of these states are among the first to tell rank-and-file congressional democrats, “You’re next”.

Whichever circumstance you prefer, both have one underlying message – Americans have grown tired of do-nothing politicians who occupy themselves with cost-exploding health care reform and talk of saving the environment while the unemployment rate nears 10%, personal savings shrink, the economy continues to drift downward.

Aside from the national discontent, there are hard numbers that paint an even grimmer picture for next year’s mid-term elections – the leaders in these races are stumping on traditional American values with a hefty side of supply-side policies and traditional American values.

In Virginia, former Attorney General Bob McDonnell maintains a double digit lead over his establishment incumbent, Attorney General Creigh Deeds. Mr. McDonnell’s campaign has focused on Virginia’s economy, infrastructure and education with a careful calculation not to nationalize the race. That strategy paid-off big time, immunizing McDonnell against Obama stumping – something Mr. Deeds’ team now knows has done little to nothing for their candidate.

In New Jersey, incumbent tax-and-spend liberal John Corzine opted out of the state’s campaign finance system, spending a whopping $11 million more than Republican challenger Chris Christie, only to find himself trailing in the latest polls.

New York's ostensibly Republican District 23 saw a huge shake-up this past weekend when Dede Scozzafava, a liberal republican, left the race while trailing conservative Doug Hoffman, an accountant who entered the race as a challenge to the RHINO and establishment liberal Bill Owens. When Scozzafava left the race, she trailed the conservative Hoffman by 15 points and the latest polling shows Hoffman leading democrat Owens by 5 points.

Lastly, in Pennsylvania, Republican-endorsed candidate for the state Supreme Court, Judge Joan Orie Melvin, is running strong opposition to Democrat Jack Panella; this in a state Mr. Obama carried by 10 points.

What New Jersey, New York 23, Virginia, and PA demonstrate is that fiscal conservatism and libertarian get and keep the government out of our lives is taking hold around the country in early elections. Moreover, it sends a clear message to Washington’s tax-and-spend liberals, “You’re next.”

-- The Editors, Killswitch Politick

Click here to subscribe

Click here to contact