Politics

[Lithium]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-to-congressional-black-caucus-march-with-me/2011/09/25/gIQAer5XwK_gallery.html

I feel like if I hosted a, "Congressional White Caucus Foundation Annual Phoenix Awards at the Washington Convention Center" I'd be labelled some sort of racist, neo-nazis, white supremacist, extremest. But as long as a 'minority' is substituted for the word 'White' it's absolutely okay.

[Ash]

Lith,

If you hosted a Tupperware party I'd think you were a racist.

And for you young'ns who don't know what Tupperware is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupperware

[Lithium]

Dear Chris Christie,

Please run for president and bring back legitimacy to the Republican line.

Sincerely,

[Lithium]

To all you Ron Paul fan boys out there, another reason not to waist a vote for Mr. hear no evil see no evil.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20113962-503544.html

[likwidtek]

You're looking down on him for demanding due process?  

"No I don't think that's a good way to deal with our problems," Paul said in a videotape of the questioning by reporters. Awlaki "was never tried or charged for any crimes. No one knows if he killed anybody. We know he might have been associated with the 'underwear bomber.' But if the American people accept this blindly and casually that we now have an accepted practice of the president assassinating people who he thinks are bad guys. I think it's sad."

"I think what would people have said about Timothy McVeigh? We didn't assassinate him, who certainly had done it," Paul said. McVeigh "was put through the courts then executed. ... To start assassinating American citizens without charges, we should think very seriously about this."

Who needs freedom right?  Just assassinate the guys that are believed to be bad guys.  No need for courts or evidence or sticking to that whole stupid constitution thing.  Who cares right?  Killing an American citizen without due process set a dangerous precedent despite the need for the United States to remain vigilant against terrorism.

[likwidtek]

"As we've seen today, this is a program under which American citizens far from any battlefield can be executed by their own government without judicial process, and on the basis of standards and evidence that are kept secret not just from the public but from the courts," said Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director for the ACLU. "The government's authority to use lethal force against its own citizens should be limited to circumstances in which the threat to life is concrete, specific and imminent. It is a mistake to invest the president - any president - with the unreviewable power to kill any American whom he deems to present a threat to the country."

Added ACLU National Security Project Litigation Director Ben Wizner: "If the Constitution means anything, it surely means that the president does not have unreviewable authority to summarily execute any American whom he concludes is an enemy of the state."

I just can't comprehend in what way this situation has been spun and presented to you that you want to agree that the US government should have the right to assassinate US citizens without due process.  This is a very very dark path and no one wants to go where we're headed.

[Tbone]

This is somewhat of a grey area, I think. War has a different set of rules - it always has. If an American citizen had defected during WWII and joined the Nazis, experimenting on the Jews or advising soldiers, even if that person has not specifically killed others in the process, they could become a military target. If you join the other side of the war and wear the bad guy uniform, you're going to get shot at.

If you don't consider the "War on Terror" to be an actual war, or think that a soldier must have a gun and kill in order to be considered a military threat, then you could get into an argument about it.

My opinion though is war is war. If you're gonna get involved, then you accept that risk. You're no longer a civilian. You're military and, therefore, fair game.

[Broin]

The ACLU is a bunch of communist liberal pukes and I couldn't give two shits what they care to vomit out.

I always love how left leaning folks use the mights or suppousedly or allegedly in their sentences to make it seem like we don't know for sure what the guy was doing.  Like we MIGHT not know that he was a killer.  Like we MAYBE don't know that he planned things.  Like we can only say that he ALLEGEDLY was part of a plot to kill people.   Like we can only say that he SUPPOUSEDLY fled his own country and set up a terrorist base and organization in a foreign country to plot to kill Americans wherever and whenever he can.

I just love how left leaning people want to make things a criminal action...

What did you want us to do?  He was the number two in al qaeda... I mean you do know that right?  Or are you gonna dispute that?  You know the group that killed over 2K citizens just a few years back?  

What were suppoused to do go out and arrest his ass... Oh excuse me other foreign countries that are harboring his ass may we come into your terrirotry and arrest him and take him home?  

You have no concept of what it takes to do that shit here in the States let alone outside the country.  And if we had run in and grabbed him and hauled him away you'd be crying and bitchin and moanin with the ACLU how we just violated the sovereignty of some other counrty and that's why everyone hates us and we can't do that and how bad we are and blah blah blah blah blah... Makes me want to puke up shit.

The guy got killed because he declared WAR on his own country and orchestrated acts of terrosim against us.  

You know what he decided that he wanted to play that game.  And when you step up to that level then you end up dealing with dangerous cold people.  AND ULTIMATLEY WE FIND YOU AND THEN WE KILL YOU... He's dead... he deserves to be dead.  My only regret is I didn't push the button.  

I don't care who you are or where you are from you do that kind of shit and you are a dead man.  

And I mean I don't care who you are... If my own momma started that kind of shit then I'd expect her to be put down.

[ZephixLeer (Zephic)]

Well, I can see both sides of the discussion, but feel this hasn't really be nailed down by either.

Look at the history first. The House Un-American Activities Committee would be an excellent example of power given to the wrong people for the wrong things, for the right reasons.

Defending against home-born threats is necessary, but there really isn't a good way to do it without crossing the line and ruining some freedoms along the way.

Someone ends up with the trigger to a loaded gun eventually, either metophorically or literally, in the more recent case.

I do believe that the war in terror is different than any past wars. Intel is reallt one of the few sources the gov has to determin targets in most cases. However, in this case you have a guy who came out as the number 2 to a known terrorist irganization and has video evidence to show this.

Dude had to die. Itd be like taking out one of hitlers military strategists. Noone would say a thing. The only reason we hear anything from folks like Ron Paul is because the see the possibility of government hits/lack of due process on US citizens as a very distant possability and jump at the chance to use it politically.

[Da6onet]

I've been impressed by the situation. Finding and successfully attacking a high profile target in Yemen sends a damn strong message to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. This is actually really good follow through of our country's policy on fighting terrorism. The very fact that he was in Yemen is actually what allows us to ignore many of the "rights" of a US citizen. Ironically he would have been safer in the US by that measure.

Playing devil's advocate, what if we had gotten a trial by jury for Al-Awlaki- If he had been convicted, should he be put to death? If he had been acquitted, would you feel safe knowing Al-Awlaki is free to do as he pleases? How do you define evil people? How do you think we should deal with evil people?

Here are my answers.
Yes
No
People who intentionally harm the innocent. (of course this depends on the definition of innocent)
Vanquish.

We're entitled to have different moral values, so as a society, should we be democratic about it? What if we put decisions like this to a vote? Do you think we would have voted for this hit?

My answer, yes.

[Lithium]

The saga continues, 'Entitlements Gone too Far'.

http://online.wsj.com/article/APfead719d3acf41ea98baff46a1cabbfc.html

"I don't think we're asking for much, just to wake up every morning not worrying whether we can pay the rent, or whether our next meal will be rice and beans again."

Erin Larkins, a Columbia University graduate student at who says she and her boyfriend have significant student loan debt, was among the thousands of protesters on the bridge. She said a friend persuaded her to join the march and she's glad she did.

My advise is to get a job you fucking bums and quit blaming 'Corporate America'* for your own foolish choices. There are so many ignoranus quotes from 'intellectual' young people in this article it sickens me... and then they get violent and break the law over their 'cause'.

* Corporate America - The 'thing' that allows you to live a life a luxury driving your fucking hybrid ricer, drinking your Starbucks coffee, watching The Colbert Report on your 70" plasma, playing Angry Birds on your iPhone w/ extra data and texting for the BFFs, and wearing your $100 pair of pre-ripped jeans with a colorful scarf to pull it all together.

Edit: Perfect example I found after posting, a spitting image of what I'm talking about above: http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/smiling-580x382.png

[Ash]

Wait just a second.....



I can get jeans pre-ripped?

[Tbone]

Edit: Perfect example I found after posting, a spitting image of what I'm talking about above: http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/smiling-580x382.png

I'd hit it

[Fuse]

What wouldn't you?

[Tbone]

What wouldn't you?

I like how you said "what" instead of "who"? Haha. Don't be hatin just cuz you never got any from me!

Sorry, no more off topic!