Lebanon Democratic Blog

On CNN’s Larry King Live Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge said of the would be Christmas bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab:

I take a look at this individual who has been charged criminally, does that mean he’s going to get his Miranda warnings?

Does that mean the only kind of information we want to get from him is if he volunteers it. He’s not a citizen of this country. He’s a terrorist, and I don’t think he deserves the full range of protections of our criminal justice system embodied in the Constitution of the United States. (emphasis added)

So Tom Ridge, our former governor, is the person who determines whether a person is a terrorist. That is great news since the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is in such financial straits due to the Bush recession. We can disband all the courts in the state and save billions of dollars a year paying judges, juries, and other court costs. All we have to do is get Ridge to come back to Pennsylvania and pay him $50 million a year to decide the innocence and guilt of every accused person.

I wonder why Tom Ridge never displayed this super power when he was governor? I worked for the state when Ridge was governor; I never realized I worked for God. I wonder if Governor Ridge can use his divine powers to hold the “criminals” in suspended animation or something until he declares they are reformed or he sends them to hell. That way we can eliminate all prisons and save even more billions.

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The Vice-President has admitted publicly that he was involved in the decision to use torture. For this he should be prosecuted for war crimes. I suspect if he was facing life in prison Cheney would turn on George W Bush in a heart beat.

He claims the CIA came to him for guidance on what tactics could be used. I am convinced the truth is even more sordid. Why would the CIA come to Richard Cheney if they wanted to know what tactics they could legally use? (more…)

December 17, 2008

Dear Volunteer,

Every time our nation faces crisis, our national experience has shown Americans rise to the challenge. While government has an important role to play in helping rekindle our economy and addressing the problems of a distressed nation, President-elect Obama believes each of us, as Americans, have a responsibility to do what we can for our communities and fellow citizens. We are one nation.

The United States is once again at a crossroads and that is why the President-elect hopes to use the occasion of his Inauguration to rally our nation to commit to service in our communities. We are asking for your organization’s participation in meeting this challenge.

In 1994, Congress transformed the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday into a national day of community service to further commemorate a man who lived his life in service to others. As a tribute to that legacy and the very real needs of our nation, the President-elect and Vice President-elect will launch a national organizing effort on the eve of their Inauguration to engage Americans in service. This national day of service will fall on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 19, 2009 and, unlike past calls to service, President-elect Obama will ask Americans to do more than just offer a single day of service to their cities, towns and neighborhoods. He will ask all of us to make an ongoing commitment to our communities. Never has it been more important to come together in shared purpose to tackle the common challenges we face.

The call will go to all Americans to organize service projects and join others at events in their communities. As the Co-chairs of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, we invite you and your organization to join other Americans to organize service projects in your communities. The Presidential Inaugural Committee will offer Americans a new website to help promote your events and for Americans to make their commitments, build communities, find opportunities to serve and share their results. These can be events that orient people to your organization’s work, engage people in direct service, or bring people together to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy and how they can commit to becoming more engaged citizens. To submit a service event that you will help organize, please go to http://www.pic2009.org/page/s/DS1

We have a great opportunity to set the tone for the next four years and I know you will rise to the challenge. Thank you for all your support.

Sincerely,
William M. Daley
Patrick Ryan
Penny Pritzker
Julianna Smoot
John W. Rogers, Jr.

This post originally appeared in Crooks and Liars

By Cernig Tuesday Dec 09, 2008 7:00pm

What Donald Rumsfield failed to mention when he famously said that America had to “go to war with the army it has” in response to criticisms from soldiers about a lack of armor is that the US went to war with the army it couldn’t be bothered upgrading.

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There is one thing I want President Obama to do on Inauguration Day. I want him to outlaw torture. As soon as he returns to the White House I want him to sign an executive order which has been prepared in advance. The order must be complete and absolute. It must apply to all United States personnel (civilian and military) and to all contractors.

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