The Republican candidate for President, Ron Paul, just confirmed what we already knew – that he is against the 1964 Civil Rights law that outlawed different forms of discrimination against blacks and women.
The Republican/Libertarian appeared on the show Hardball with Chris Mathews and made his feelings against The Act known. His son Rand Paul, stated the same sentiments against the Civil Rights Act when he successfully ran for Senate in 2010.
Below is the video, compliments of TPM
By the Associated Press
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has signed a bill that cracks down on illegal immigration by increasing some enforcement powers and requiring many employers to check the immigration status of new hires.
Deal on Friday signed the bill that has some similarities to a controversial bill enacted last year in Arizona.
Most parts of the Georgia law are set to enter into effect July 1. But opponents have said they plan to file lawsuits seeking to block it.
A requirement for private employers to use a federal database to check the immigration status of new hires is set to be phased in.
The new law also authorizes law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of certain suspects and to detain those who are in the country illegally.
Little cameras on the helmets of Seal members captured every moment of the operation to catch Osama Bin Laden. And based on this information, CBS has created this video, to give a more accurate idea on what happened the night the most wanted man in the world was killed.
Below is the video.
John McCain is often called many things for many reasons (we will not get into them now). But one thing you must respect Mr. McCain for is the many years he spent in captivity while flying bombing missions in the Vietnam war. John McCain was a prisoner of war and faced bouts of torture from his captors.
So when McCain talks about torture, it would be a wise idea to listen to someone with first hand knowledge. In a Washington Post op-ed written on Thursday, McCain responded to the claims of many in his own Republican party that intelligence gathered under torture led to Osama Bin Laden’s capture. Mr. McCain spoke about some of the acts employed by United States personnel, namely water-boarding;
Much of this debate is a definitional one: whether any or all of these methods constitute torture. I believe some of them do, especially waterboarding, which is a mock execution and thus an exquisite form of torture. As such, they are prohibited by American laws and values, and I oppose them.
After stating his personal feelings on water-boarding, Mr. McCain – the Republican 2008 Presidential nominee and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee – dove into the debate head-on, saying that any claims by former Bush officials that torture led to Bin Laden’s capture were “false.”
But this must be an informed debate. Former attorney general Michael Mukaseyrecently claimed that “the intelligence that led to bin Laden . . . began with a disclosure from Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who broke like a dam under the pressure of harsh interrogation techniques that included waterboarding. He loosed a torrent of information — including eventually the nickname of a trusted courier of bin Laden.” That is false.
I asked CIA Director Leon Panetta for the facts, and he told me the following: The trail to bin Laden did not begin with a disclosure from Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who was waterboarded 183 times. The first mention of Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti — the nickname of the al-Qaeda courier who ultimately led us to bin Laden — as well as a description of him as an important member of al-Qaeda, came from a detainee held in another country, who we believe was not tortured. None of the three detainees who were waterboarded provided Abu Ahmed’s real name, his whereabouts or an accurate description of his role in al-Qaeda.
This must be shocking news for those on Fox News and most of the Republican leaders, who, on the Sunday talk shows had a field day promoting the lie that torturing Khalid Sheik Mohammed revealed the name of the courier to Osama Bin Laden. Instead of accepting the fact that Bin Laden was captured on President’s Obama’s watch, these partisan Republican leaders got their talking points from Fox News, and ran with it.
Mr. McCain continued;
In fact, the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” on Khalid Sheik Mohammed produced false and misleading information. He specifically told his interrogators that Abu Ahmed had moved to Peshawar, got married and ceased his role as an al-Qaeda facilitator — none of which was true. According to the staff of the Senate intelligence committee, the best intelligence gained from a CIA detainee — information describing Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti’s real role in al-Qaeda and his true relationship to bin Laden — was obtained through standard, noncoercive means.
One of the claims John McCain made in the 2008 presidential election was that he was still a maverick. Well you can’t get more mavericky than this.
At a time when Republicans are looking for any kind of victory, even trying to take one away from a Democratic President, one Republican is standing up and speaking the truth – a rare act. And for that, John McCain has regained his maverick status.
Hopefully, it’ll stick around for a while.
So Newt decided to throw his hat in the ring. Mr. Gingrich has decided that what America needs now is a Republican President who’s on the ball. One who is able to see through the fraud and trickery of the Democrats. The only problem is, fraud and trickery is Newt’s middle name. Try as you may, you won’t find a politician more trickier than Newt Gingrich.
Mother Jones has a piece out that goes through some of the more inflammatory remarks and doings of Newt, since he first joined congress in 1978, spanning some of his most infamous remarks to date. These include, but not limited to;
The article, written by David Corn and Tim Murphy, details the last 33 years of Newt Gingrich. But if you don’t have the time to read through the garbage that sums up Newt’s political and personal life, the New York Times published a piece summarizing some of the more outrageous and divisive statements;
The Democrats who won in 2008, including President Obama, are “left-wing radicals” who lead a “secular socialist machine,” he wrote in his 2010 book, “To Save America.” He accused them of producing “the greatest political corruption ever seen in modern America.” And then the inevitable historical coup de grâce: “The secular-socialist machine represents as great a threat to America as Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union once did.”
The slurs don’t stop there. He compared the Muslims who wanted to open an Islamic center in Lower Manhattan to the German Reich, saying it “would be like putting a Nazi sign next to the Holocaust Museum.” He is promoting the fringe idea that “jihadis” are intent on imposing Islamic law on every American village and farm.
Last year, he called for a federal law to stop the (nonexistent) onslaught of Sharia on American jurisprudence and accused the left of refusing to acknowledge its “mortal threat to the survival of freedom in the United States and in the world as we know it.” This nuanced grasp of world affairs was reinforced when he said that Mr. Obama displayed “Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior.”
In his world, advocates for gay rights are imposing a “gay and secular fascism” using violence and harassment, blacks have little entrepreneurial tradition, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the Supreme Court is a “Latina woman racist.” (He kind of took back that last slur.)
And even Newt’s own mother unintentionally threw him under the bus back in the 1990’s, when she quoted something he said about Hillery Clinton, then first Lady of the United States.
Yes, the fraud and trickery of Newt Gingrich is abundant. Just what we need in the White House!
According to a new poll by the Associated Press-GFK, Americans are beginning to appreciate the efforts of President Obama. The poll was taken after the President ordered the capture/killing of Osama Bin Laden, and shows his biggest rating in over 2 years.
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s approval rating has hit its highest point in two years — 60 percent — and more than half of Americans now say he deserves to be re-elected, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll taken after U.S. forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
In worrisome signs for Republicans, the president’s standing improved not just on foreign policy but also on the economy, and independent Americans — a key voting bloc in the November 2012 presidential election — caused the overall uptick in support by sliding back to Obama after fleeing for much of the past two years.
Fox News and conservative radio have their work cut out for them over the next few months. Watch for the lies and mis-information from these media outlets to increase. Maybe somehow, they will resurrect Bin Laden before the 2012 elections!
We have all heard their claims, that former President George Bush is equally responsible for bringing down Osama Bin Laden as our current President, Barack Obama. And these Bush lovers credit the torturing and water-boarding of prisoners as the only pathway that led to Bin Laden.
Are they right? Is the Obama administration wrong for ending torture and abiding by the rules in the Geneva Convention – a treaty that America is a signatory to? A treaty that clearly states in Article 27;
Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and practices, and their manners and customs. They shall, at all times, be humanely treated, and shall be protected, especially against all acts of violence or threats thereof and against insults and public curiosity.
If we listen to the likes of Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice, we would be led to think that torture is the best thing since slice bread. But branch out a little and listen to others in the business of getting intelligence, and you’ll understand why torture or “enhanced interrogation,” loses its effect after a while.
Forbes today released an interview with a top United States interrogator in Afghanistan, who claimed that “torture played no role in locating Osama bin Laden.” According to the report, this interrogator refers to the support for torture made by former Bush administration officials as “propaganda [that] degrades our intelligence operations more than any other factor I can think of.”
He continues;
“Listen, water-boarding and/or other coercive techniques did nothing to contribute to our attempts to track down UBL (Usama bin Laden). What did succeed was weeks, months and years of diligent, laborious, and dedicated work – all within the bounds of legal and ethical boundaries…No torture, no waterboarding, no coercion – nothing inhumane – is considered a useful tool in our work.
I cannot even count the amount of times that I personally have come face to face with detainees, who told me they were primarily motivated to do what they did, because of hearing that we committed torture. Even the rumor of torture is enough to convince an army of uneducated and illiterate, yet religiously motivated young boys to strap bombs to their chests and blow themselves up while killing whoever happens to be around – police, soldiers, civilians, women, or children. Torture committed by Americans in the past continues to kill Americans today.”
But why would Cheney and Rice listen to anything an interrogator says? Torture was their policy. It had nothing to do with American exceptionalism, finding terrorists or saving the lives of American troops deployed abroad. It was their interrogation practice of choice.
Torture violates the very moral fabric of who we are as Americans and admitting it was wrong means their policies were wrong as well. And that is what it all boils down to… politics 101.
Donald Trump keeps sinking deeper and deeper into his self-indulging sea of ignorance. This time, it was on his weekly Monday morning appearance on Fox And Friends. Trying to defend himself against the racist elements of his almost presidential campaign, Trump claimed that he is the “least racist person there is.” His reasoning? He cites a black person winning his “Apprentice” show, some six years ago!
Hush! Trump is talking again;
Well, you know, when it comes to racism and racists, I am the least racist person there is. And I think most people who know me would tell you that. I am the least racist, I’ve had great relationships. In fact, Randal Pinkett won, as you know, on The Apprentice a little while ago, a couple of years ago. And Randall’s been outstanding in every way. So I am the least racist person.
If it wasn’t so sad, his statement would be hilarious. Here we are in the year 2011, and a potential presidential candidate’s only justification for why he isn’t a racist? – a black person won on his show. Is this a qualifying attribute our nation needs in the next leader? Are we scrapping so far down in the barrel that a serious consideration for the highest office in the nation, is being given to someone who references a minority winner on a reality television show as their only claim to acceptance or even tolerance to other racial groups?
Well if this is where we find ourselves, God help us, and thank you Randal Pinkett!
The “Republican possible presidential candidate” plot thickens… well, sort of. This time, it’s the former mayor of New York and 2008 first round presidential drop out, Rudy Giuliani. On Meet The Press last Sunday, Giuliani opened wide the door to running, then closed it ever so slightly. Now, the door is just a little ajar.
GIULIANI: This was a risky decision to make. The president made it, he made it correctly, including the decision, I think, to dispose of bin Laden’s body so that wouldn’t become a cause célèbre. So I think these men, these firefighters and police officers that he met with, are men who exercise bravery every day in their lives, I think they admire that in the president.
GREGORY: Does it impact at all, Mayor Giuliani, your thinking about running for president next year?
GIULIANI: No. Not in the slightest. I separate the two things. This was an American achievement. Two presidents get great credit for it. I also thanked President Bush this week because, no matter what, what about the debate, no matter what you come out on the debate of–about waterboarding, no doubt, all of the work he did and the changes he made in intelligence brought this about. And President Obama’s improving that, and his decision-making brought it about. It’s a great achievement for both presidents, both political parties, all Americans.
GREGORY: And you’re still considering a run for the presidency?
GIULIANI: Not, not right this minute, but, yes, I am.
You got to hand it to this group of misfits. They take a licking and somehow, keep on ticking.
In two days the wait will be over, for on Wednesday Newt Gingrich will make his official announcement concerning his run for the Presidency, and he plans to use the social media to state his plans.
The former House speaker will announce his presidential candidacy Wednesday on Facebook and Twitter, according to his spokesman. Rick Tyler posted Monday on Twitter that Gingrich will make it official, give his first interview as a White House candidate on Fox News and then speak to Georgia Republicans at their annual convention on Friday.
Minutes later, Gingrich himself took to Twitter. “Be sure to watch Hannity this Wednesday at 9pm ET/8pm CT,” he posted. “I will be on to talk about my run for President of the United States.”
If Newt announce that he will in fact, run for President in 2012, he will join a growing list of non-contenders thus far. Among the other Republican candidates are, little Timmy Pawlenty, the pizza-man Herman Cain, the professional presidential candidate Ron Paul and the 2006 Senate loser Rick Santorum. There is another guy who appeared in the Fox News Republican debate recently, but he left absolutely no impression on the audience and quite frankly, my mind has better things to do than to remember his name.
Of course, others are expected to join Newt and his ilk. We can hardly wait.
A new poll from Public Policy Polling confirmed what we already knew – that no one likes Donald Trump or Sarah Palin. But have you ever wondered who were the worst senators in Washington? Well according to this same poll, Senator John McCain comes in second to last, giving up that dubious distinction to… Senator Joe Leibermann of Connecticut.
Arizona Senator John McCain — who had a 40 percent approval rating in the firm’s January polling — now has a 34 percent approval rating, the second-lowest among U.S. senators in the nation.
“[McCain] has improved considerably with the GOP after a bruising primary battle last summer and his White House loss, but he is in the basement with everyone else,” the pollsters say in a statement.
The only U.S. Senator disliked more than John McCain is Independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman — with just 29 percent of Connecticut respondents approving of his job performance.
To be fair to McCain, Republican Nevada Senator John Ensign had a lower approval rating than The Maverick — but it doesn’t really count, since Ensign quit his post earlier in the week amid an ethics investigation.
The Maverick just can’t get a break. On both ends of the spectrum, he’s failing… He came in second in the 2008 Presidential election, then comes in second to last as the worst senator. Sometimes life can be so unfair!
Apparently all a Republican presidential candidate has to do to win crucial polling points is — just show up! Pennsylvania’s Rick Santorum, being the the only potential GOP candidate at a dinner held by south Carolina’s Republican party last Friday night, won 150 out of 408 votes cast by the attendees for a straw poll taken during the dinner. A no-show, Republican darling Mitt Romney, got whipped with just 61 votes.
Guess Romney’s invite must’ve “… got lost in the mail”…
Read how the other “candidates” fared, as reported by Huffpost Politics.
