politics

Whither Guantanamo Bay?

As I noted earlier today via Twitter, it’s hard to imagine a President-Elect McCain doing something like this:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Obama’s advisers are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of imprisoned terrorism suspects to the United States to face criminal trials, a plan that would make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but could require creation of a controversial new system of justice.

During his campaign, Obama described Guantanamo as a “sad chapter in American history” and has said generally that the U.S. legal system is equipped to handle the detainees. But he has offered few details on what he planned to do once the facility is closed.

But it’s at least part of the reason I voted for his opponent.

Link via Cynical-C.

Politics as (un)usual

  • How can Barack Obama say he’ll work to protect our planet when he’s spending money to let our nation’s children look at other planets? Such foolishness… what? Not true? Somebody should tell John McCain.

    Well, shock of shocks — it turns out McCain’s characterization of this was all wrong. In fact, I would call it a lie. He knows it wasn’t for an overhead projector, a piece of classroom equipment that costs a couple of hundred dollars. That money was for Adler’s Zeiss Mark VI star projector: a venerable piece of precision fabricated equipment that projects the stars, constellations, and other objects inside the planetarium dome. Adler’s Zeiss is 40 years old, and desperately needs replacing. These machines are pricey, and replacing them difficult.

    Adler needed money to do this. They asked local politicians, and eventually were able to get a request in a budget submitted by Obama. However, Obama never even voted on that budget, and Adler never got that money — thus making, again, McCain a liar.

    Via Gerry Canavan and Cynical-C, respectively.

  • On the whole ridiculous Bill Ayers thing — namely the idea that Obama has some kind of dangerous relationship with the man and will, I dunno, destroy America or something — or that he’s lied to America about that relationship, despite his being completely candid about the whole thing on many occasions — John Hodgman rightly points out that “McCain/Palin are essentially attacking Obama with BLOG COMMENTS.”

  • We could look at any domestic terrorists who were active when John McCain was eight, but I think the dinosaurs ate them all. Just ask Sarah Palin if you don’t think that’s possible!

  • You know, at the end of the day, if that’s even what John McCain still is, do we really want a maverick in the White House?

  • Huh. Ralph Nader is still running for President? Fool me once, Ralph… Yeah, I voted for Nader in 2000. Um, sorry ’bout that.

  • Small Beer Press is having a sale! And 20% of the proceeds of this sale will be donated to Barack Obama’s campaign! Great books, a good cause — what more do you want?