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   Dan Savage, the brilliant and foul-mouthed sex columnist, has become one of the most important ethicists in America. Are we screwed?
 The federal government is supposed to issue new rules about debt levels for students in for-profit colleges. In the meantime, the states are working on their own regulations.
 Washingtons budget hawks want to decimate the federal workforce to shrink the deficit. It will have the opposite effect.
 There arent nearly enough counterterrorism experts to instruct all of Americas police. So we got these guys instead.
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June 9, 2009
GHAILANI REACHES NY, SKY DOESN'T FALL.... This morning's developments have, so far, gone exactly the way they're supposed to go.
Ghailani, a Tanzanian believed to have been a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden, will face 286 separate criminal counts, after having spent three years at Gitmo. It's a shame, in a way, that we've reached the point at which it's necessarily for the nation's Attorney General to remind lawmakers, reporters, and the public that federal corrections officials have a "long history of securely detaining ... terror suspects." Up until fairly recently, such reassurances would have been seen as odd -- of course the feds know how to keep suspects locked up. But in this exceedingly strange political environment, Holder understandably finds this worth mentioning. Marc Ambinder added a key observation: "Notice the date that Ghailani arrived at Guantanamo: 2006 -- that's after the reign of enhanced interrogation techniques had ended ... after the torture that extracted (lots of bogus information and some accurate information) from his fellow detainees was put to an end. There was plenty of collateral information about Ghailani's involvement in the embassy bombings, and so the decision to grant him an Article III trial was probably one of the easier calls the administration had to make." As for Republicans (and some Democrats) who've been hyperventilating about the prospect of bringing a Gitmo terrorist suspect to U.S. soil, I haven't seen any demagogic statements on this from the RNC, Fox News, or Republican leaders on the Hill. Then again, the day is young. —Steve Benen 10:35 AM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (17)
Comments
Anyone else unconsciously read "Giuliani" and wonder what he was doing in the news? Posted by: low-tech cyclist on June 9, 2009 at 10:34 AM | PERMALINKAnyone else unconsciously read "Giuliani" and wonder what he was doing in the news? Yes, and now I'm wondering whether I read yesterday that Palin went to a Yankees game with a terrorist. http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0609/Boehner_First_step_in_the_Democrats_plan_to_import_terrorists_into_America.html?showall Boehner: 'First step in the Democrats’ plan to import terrorists into America' It didn't take long at all, did it? Posted by: RLA on June 9, 2009 at 10:46 AM | PERMALINKBoehner: 'First step in the Democrats’ plan to import terrorists into America'****************** No wait, Boner, you are already here! I know, let's start a 'War on Terra', then ship the guys we have imprisoned, and illegally tortured, and probably made REALLY mad (b/c, among other egregious acts, we didn't even bother to find them guilty or produce solid evidence for most of them that they had actually done anything wrong) to other countries! Yes, let's release these guys into OTHER countries who did not start this war of choice, or just lock them up forever! Great plan repigs. To quote that Oscar winning rabbit : "What a bunch of maroons!" Can the adults take over now? Posted by: In what respect, Charlie? on June 9, 2009 at 10:59 AM | PERMALINKGHAILANI REACHES NY, SKY DOESN'T FALL well .... it is overcast here ... ;-) Posted by: linda on June 9, 2009 at 11:02 AM | PERMALINKI'm concerned for Mr. Ghailani -- isn't New York supposed to be The City That Doesn't Sleep? Posted by: pj in jesusland on June 9, 2009 at 11:04 AM | PERMALINKWell I don't know about the rest of you, but until Ghailani leaves NY I'm planning to spend my time hiding under my bed whimpering in fear. It's the American thing to do. Posted by: Stefan on June 9, 2009 at 11:28 AM | PERMALINKI don't know. It's dangerous to underestimate these guys. I understand they've duplicated Cobra Commanders Weather Dominator. And they recruited an assualt team from THRUSH to stage a breakout. And Spectre has already infiltrated the Marshall service. Posted by: Thorin-1 on June 9, 2009 at 11:36 AM | PERMALINKI smell the plot line for next season's 24 Posted by: ckelly on June 9, 2009 at 11:41 AM | PERMALINKThoron-1, you forgot to mention that Kaos has the doctor from the Love Boat waiting to do his dirtywork. Posted by: Jim H on June 9, 2009 at 11:45 AM | PERMALINKI'm fairly sure I heard on Fox radio news this morning that this was the "first of the Guantanamo detainees to be released onto US soil" or words to that alarmist effect. Only several sentences later do they say "transferred authority" and stuff like that. Panic much? Posted by: zadig on June 9, 2009 at 11:51 AM | PERMALINKStefan: Well I don't know about the rest of you, but until Ghailani leaves NY I'm planning to spend my time hiding under my bed whimpering in fear. For just a little context, underneath Stefan's bed there is a wet bar, a humidor, and a Sony Playstation with a flat screen tv. Sure, he'll be cowering, but he'll be cowering in style. Posted by: trex on June 9, 2009 at 12:01 PM | PERMALINKthe metropolitan correctional center?!?!?!? For just a little context, underneath Stefan's bed there is a wet bar, a humidor, and a Sony Playstation with a flat screen tv. Sure, he'll be cowering, but he'll be cowering in style. Hey, that's just how I roll. Posted by: Stefan on June 9, 2009 at 12:21 PM | PERMALINKwell .... it is overcast here ... ;-) ...yeah that was some storm last night in Manhattan. Maybe Repubs will state this a warning sign from higher powers??? Posted by: Mick on June 9, 2009 at 12:36 PM | PERMALINKGhailani, a former Islamic cleric, was captured in July 2004 after a 10-hour shootout in the Pakistani city of Gujrat. He was taken to a CIA secret prison before he and 13 other "high value" detainees, including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, were transferred to Guantanamo in September 2006. That's from the Washington Post article. You quote Ambinder: "Notice the date that Ghailani arrived at Guantanamo: 2006 -- that's after the reign of enhanced interrogation techniques had ended ... after the torture that extracted (lots of bogus information and some accurate information) from his fellow detainees was put to an end. There was plenty of collateral information about Ghailani's involvement in the embassy bombings, and so the decision to grant him an Article III trial was probably one of the easier calls the administration had to make." Had those practices ended by the time of his capture in 2004? Anyone notice any similarities to the arrest and trial of the 2 reporters in N. Korea? I believe they were tried in a court without observors. But it was a quick trial. They were not held without charges for years, and we don't know if they were tortured or only waterboarded, prior to trial. How does one protest the actions of NK when we have violated our own values so blatently? Liz Cheney? Dick? Rumsfeld? How do you answer? I am committed to Onenss through Justice and Transformation 
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