Little-Acorn
05-21-2009, 04:40 PM
A compendium of reports from the mainstream media, observations from MSNBC and CNN, and a small dash of fact for added spice.
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http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB124291386373843293.html
from "Best of the Web Today"
by James Taranto
90-6
GOP obstructionism stands between innocent terrorists and freedom.
During the dark days of the Bush administration, the United States of America held hundreds of innocent terrorists without charge in a maximum-security detention facility in a communist country. Barack Obama was elected on a promise to end this injustice, and just days after taking office, he issued an executive order promising to keep that promise. It was a victory for American values, but it is now being snatched away by Republican obstructionists.
"The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to keep the prison at Guantanamo Bay open for the foreseeable future and forbid the transfer of any detainees to facilities in the United States," the Associated Press reports from Washington.
The vote was 90-6, but the lopsided headcount obscures how close it really was.
For one thing, because Norm Coleman refuses to do the graceful thing and crawl back under whatever rock he came from, the Senate seat that rightfully belongs to Al Franken remains vacant.
Another three senators--Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia--were not present for the vote. Kennedy in particular would surely have voted to close Guantanamo, given that waterboarding was practiced at a nearby facility thousands of miles away. As a young man, Kennedy lost someone dear to him in a water-related tragedy, so his sensitivity on this question is particularly acute.
If Franken, Kennedy, Byrd and Rockefeller had all voted against the measure to keep Guantanamo open, that would have brought the total vote to 90-10. Now it becomes clear how crucial Republican obstructionism was to carrying out this atrocity.
... Much more at site, with links.
--------------------------------
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB124291386373843293.html
from "Best of the Web Today"
by James Taranto
90-6
GOP obstructionism stands between innocent terrorists and freedom.
During the dark days of the Bush administration, the United States of America held hundreds of innocent terrorists without charge in a maximum-security detention facility in a communist country. Barack Obama was elected on a promise to end this injustice, and just days after taking office, he issued an executive order promising to keep that promise. It was a victory for American values, but it is now being snatched away by Republican obstructionists.
"The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to keep the prison at Guantanamo Bay open for the foreseeable future and forbid the transfer of any detainees to facilities in the United States," the Associated Press reports from Washington.
The vote was 90-6, but the lopsided headcount obscures how close it really was.
For one thing, because Norm Coleman refuses to do the graceful thing and crawl back under whatever rock he came from, the Senate seat that rightfully belongs to Al Franken remains vacant.
Another three senators--Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia--were not present for the vote. Kennedy in particular would surely have voted to close Guantanamo, given that waterboarding was practiced at a nearby facility thousands of miles away. As a young man, Kennedy lost someone dear to him in a water-related tragedy, so his sensitivity on this question is particularly acute.
If Franken, Kennedy, Byrd and Rockefeller had all voted against the measure to keep Guantanamo open, that would have brought the total vote to 90-10. Now it becomes clear how crucial Republican obstructionism was to carrying out this atrocity.
... Much more at site, with links.