The baseball season has ended.  The San Francisco Giants are the world champions for the first time since 1954 when they were the New York Giants.  The stadiums are empty and the spring training fields have not yet gotten busy.  But, fear not, the free agent season is heating up.

I’ve got a hot prospect for you.  His batting average is 0.004, but he does have a home run to his credit.  Interested?  Fantasy league or real, any attempt to sell this turkey, even during Thanksgiving would be a bust.  But when it comes to the trial of Islamic terrorist Ahmed Ghailani those are the stats turned in by Eric Holder. 

Ghailani was charged with 285 counts and the jury convicted him on one of them.  So for a batting average that is 1 for 285 or 0.004.  Holder and his backers are bragging that Ghailani is going to be sentenced to 20 years to life; the home run.  So how do you feel about having this player on your team?  Yes, his is capable of hitting a home run once every 285 times at bat, but how close was he to striking out?  Was the home run skill or dumb luck?  If you were a baseball team’s general manager, would to take a chance on him?

Such are the problems of trying terrorists in civilian court with the full rights of American citizens.  When asked if the information that could have resulted in more convictions was a result of interrogation techniques that may be considered coerced, the Holder team told the judge to assume so.  Out the door went all that evidence.

In a civilian court any number of national security issues are at risk.  A prosecutor has a choice to make, go for the conviction and reveal information that could be priceless to Osama bin Laden and his cohorts, or keep it under wraps and let the perp walk.

In a military tribunal, there is more leeway on the evidence and greater concern over protecting national security secrets.  It is well past time to stop the nonsense of trying these people in civilian court and try them in military tribunals instead.

There is one more thorny issue.  If the mighty Eric had struck out, after telling the American people that failure to gain convictions was not an option, they administration is saying they would have put Ghailani back in Guantanamo or some similar facility and held him as a prisoner of war until the end of hostilities.  If that face saving device is on the table, what is the whole point of even considering civilian trials?  Another head scratching moment brought to you by the most inexperienced administration in the history of the Republic.

Over the past few days we have learned of a new tack by Al Qaeda on how to strike at America.  It is not by commandeering planes and crashing them into buildings, it is not by putting homicide bombers into passenger seats, it is now by sending packages with bombs inside from overseas to targets in the U.S.   It is very disturbing to know that Al Qaeda is not giving up, despite the piles of olive branches Barack Obama has laid at the feet of these despots.

Equally disturbing, for those of us in the First Congressional District in New York, is the scorecard just issued by national security organization Keep America Safe, which just gave Congressman Tim Bishop its lowest possible score, an “F”.  It explained:

Bishop’s grade of F is based on a comprehensive study undertaken by the group, which analyzed every significant national security vote cast by Rep. Bishop since he assumed office in 2003. Bishop’s failing grade is rooted in his multiple votes to transfer terrorist detainees, currently housed at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to U.S. soil, thereby granting them additional Constitutional rights and hindering intelligence gathering.

Bishop further cast a vote against allowing the U.S. military to develop a contingency plan to deal with the growing threat posed by Iran.

The ranking was based on House member’s votes on twenty-seven national security rated bills.

As our enemies continue to try to kill us, can we afford weakness in our resolve to defeat them?

Other scorecards

How has Tim Bishop measured up on other scorecards?  Here is a sampling:

• ACLU – Tim Bishop has an 83% lifetime favorable rating from the organization
• The Club for Growth is an organization that supports policies that will help grow the economy through limited government and economic freedom.  A growing economy, naturally, creates jobs.  Mr. Bishop’s rating is 0% from the Club for Growth
• Another security organization, the Center for Security Policy, gives Mr. Bishop a score of 25%
• The American Conservative Union gives Mr. Bishop a lifetime score of 2.86% favorable, with a rating for 2009 of 0%.  While I understand Mr. Bishop is not a conservative, neither is he middle of the road. You cannot get much further left than a 2.86% lifetime rating from the ACU coupled with voting lockstep with Nancy Pelosi 97% of the time.  Some of Mr. Bishop’s positions that earned him this low rating include:
  • He voted against a bill to end TARP and return the unspent TARP money to the Treasury
  • He voted for the stimulus
  • He voted against a Republican proposal to balance the budget within ten years and extend the Bush tax cuts and $482 billion in spending cuts over five years.  In his debate with Randy Altschuler he scoffed at Republicans seriously having a plan to cut spending. Well there it is, and he voted against it.
  • He voted against deleting an earmark for an airport in Rep. John Murtha’s district in Pennsylvania.  Murtha, one of the kings of pork before passing away, channeled $150 million to this airport that handles six flights a week. A Wall Street Journal reporter visited this airport and said that they walked around for fifteen minutes before seeing another person.  Just what the taxpayers in New York need Tim Bishop to vote for, wasteful spending in Pennsylvania.
  • He voted against additional funding for missile defense, a function of Congress that is actually in the Constitution.
  • He voted for Cap and Trade, that will cause energy prices like home heating oil and gasoline to skyrocket.  Most of Long Island’s electricity comes from fossil fuels so this should also drive up electricity prices, already among the most expensive in the country.
  • He defeated an amendment to impose spending caps through 2014, limiting spending and deficits to a percentage of GDP.
  • He opposed spending cuts to the budgets of the Housing and Transportation departments by 5%.
  • He voted for ObamaCare over the strong objection of his constituents
  • He voted against extending the ban on the death tax, which could impact many small businesses and family farms in his district.
• The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council gave Tim Bishop a rating of 0%.

It is clear that Mr. Bishop is not a moderate, middle of the road, Democrat.  He often votes against the concerns of his constituents and in lockstep with the leadership of his party.  That would be an indication that he has his focus on moving up the ladder of his party and getting more power rather than serving his district.  At a time when jobs and the economy are critical to get our country moving again, Tim Bishop’s record is among the most anti-business in the entire Congress.  It is business that creates jobs, not government.  How can Mr. Bishop possibly hold the solution to the problem?

Mr. Bishop’s Support

So where does Mr. Bishop’s support come from?  In reading news stories, comments on newspaper articles, blogs and the like, the constant theme that I hear is that Mr. Bishop is responsive to the individual needs of his constituents and helps them with their problems.  Okay, that may be true and I have also heard the arguments from the other side that if you disagree with him, he is deaf to your requests for support.

Let’s talk about what is commonly known as constituent service, that is, helping people in the district with their individual problems.  This is a noble thing to do, but let’s also look at why they need the help?  How did the problem come about?  It is probably because government has gotten so big, and so complex, and is increasingly embedded in our lives, that we sometimes need to reach out to those more powerful (Mr. Bishop) to cut through the red tape.  But here is a thought experiment for you.  What if the government wasn’t so big?  What if Washington didn’t try to tell you what kind of light bulb to buy, what kind of toilet to install, how many thousands upon thousands of tax regulations you have to follow?  What if the government in Washington focused on those powers given to it under the Constitution and left the rest to state and local government and to ourselves?

What the people who support Mr. Bishop speak most passionately about is little more than a Tammany Hall fixer.  He wants his constituents to depend on him.  The more he can help out, the more they will vote for him and get their friends to vote for him.  So he is motivated to make the government bigger and more complex and then rather than deal with it yourself, you go to him to deal with it for you.  It’s time to break the cycle of dependency.

An Historic Moment

This election day presents an historic moment to turn the tide against big government.  Government that doesn’t listen to the people because it thinks the people are incapable of taking care of themselves.  Tim Bishop thinks he is smarter than all of us and he has proven that he thinks the fundamental purpose of the Constitution is to provide for the common good.  The Constitution says no such thing.  The purpose of the Constitution is to limit government to the few things that are best done for all of us, such as, national defense, a common currency, a court system, delivery of the mail, and manage or relationships with foreign nations.  It is not about light bulbs or toilets or government run health care.  It is for those things that affect all Americans, equally.  The reason we have legislation that is two and three thousand pages long is because this leviathan government has its tentacles into the far corners of our lives.  It is time to vote for a change.  It is time to start putting the monster back in its cage, where we are the masters, not the slaves.  Where we have the freedom to live our lives without interference from government intrusion.

Do you want your freedom for yourselves and your children, or do you want to continue to grow a massive government that will condemn your children, grandchildren and generations onward to a debtor’s prison, forever paying for the choice we make tomorrow?  Think carefully, my friends, your family is depending on it.

Over the past eleven months, have you ever gotten a feeling that you are watching a magician, rather than a president run our country?  As any practitioner of the art of the illusionist will tell you, one of the key things is to keep the audience distracted.  Have them watch the left hand, while the right is slipping the coin into the pocket.  The Obama Administration is about to unleash their greatest trick yet, trying Khalid Sheik Mohammed in civil court in New York for the 9/11 attack on America.  Why?

The Greatest Show On Earth

The trial will become an absolute three ring circus, with all the world watching closely.  The liberal pundits say, “this is our chance to show the world our justice system.  We can demonstrate how civilized we are, and show the Muslim world how fair we are.”  Really?

Remember to the footage in the Muslim world immediately following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.  They were dancing in the street, laughing and singing, shouting praise to Allah.  What do you think the reaction will be if Khalid Sheik Mohammed, jumps up in court and screams out, “Kill the infidels! This is a fraud meant to disguise these devil’s tricks!”  Do we let him ramble with a global audience?  Do we have the bailiffs wrestle him to the ground?  Do we put him in restraints for the rest of the trial?  Who exactly is going to show the world what?

We Have No Secrets

In a civilian trial there is a process called discovery, where the defense is told everything the prosecution plans on bringing to court, including witnesses, so that the defense has a chance to prepare their rebuttal case.  How much of the CIA’s methods and contacts are we prepared to reveal to the world and to Khalid Sheik Mohammed’s allies?  Or, how much are we not going to use in order to protect that information and at the same time increase the chances that he will be acquitted?

Can Anybody Say O.J.?

Do you remember the O.J. Simpson trial?  A slam-dunk if ever there was one.  There was blood evidence, DNA evidence, means, motive, opportunity, it couldn’t get any easier.  But what happened?  Judge Lance Ito, lost control of his court room in the klieg lights of national television.  One of O.J.’s attorneys or advisors told O.J. to stop taking his arthritis medication  so his hands would swell and then the famous glove trick, abra cadabra, “If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”  What happened after that trial?  Dancing in the streets of the black community.

The Jury Pool

Are Muslims going to be excluded from the jury pool?  If so, on what grounds and would a judge allow it?  In the O.J. case we had what was called jury nullification, where a jury handed up a verdict not based on the evidence presented, but based on a social determination.  O.J. was a symbol for all black men put on trial and all past injustices.  He was a sports hero to millions and he wasn’t going down, no matter what.  What if a someone with strong beliefs sees disrupting the outcome of the trial as the new jihad?  Don’t use suicide bombers in New York, that’s so Middle East, let’s kill them softly by getting Khalid Sheik Mohammed acquitted or a give them a hung jury.  What better way to humiliate the Great Satan.  It will be like David and Goliath all over again.

The Real Trial

Or is it really the Bush Administration that Obama wants to put on trial?  The Obama administration’s popularity is sinking link a stone.  The stimulus package was a bust.  Cap and Trade is a disaster.  Health care a debacle.  Tea Party’s are breaking out all over.  The Democrats got trounced in Virginia and New Jersey, and even New York’s 23rd is still alive as recounts have dramatically closed the gap. A show trial of the Bush Administration is just what the Obama Administration needs to keep the focus off what they are really doing.

This is a tragedy and a travesty and there should be no end to the shame heaped upon this administration if they follow through on this.

With the closing of Guantanamo and the need to restore America’s image in the world, President Obama has condemned the use of torture in the war on terror.  This has brought about a collective sigh of relief from our troops who feel they will now be treated more humanely if they are captured now that the enemy knows we have abolished, after three uses,   waterboarding to interrogate prisoners.  Osama bin Laden has released a directive to his followers that in a show of good faith that all swords used for the purpose of beheading infidels shall from this day forward be clean and sharp.

The new interrogation methods are introduced here. You Tube — Interrogation Methods Demonstrated

We can all sleep more soundly tonight