SENATE FOLLOWS HOUSE IN SHOOTING DOWN OBAMA'S BID TO CLOSE GUANTANAMO

In a rare, bipartisan defeat for President Obama, the Senate voted overwhelmingly  Wednesday to keep the prison at Guantanamo Bay open for the foreseeable future and forbid the transfer of any detainees to facilities in the United States.

Democrats lines up with Republicans in the 90-6 vote that came on the heels of a similar move a week ago in the House, underscoring widespread apprehension among Obama's congressional allies over voters' strong feelings about bringing detainees to the U.S. from the prison in Cuba.

The President readied a speech for Thursday on the U.S. fight against terrorism, at a time when LIBERALS have chafed at some of his decisions. Yes, you read that right, even his fellow liberal colleagues think he's extreme. 

Obama has vowed to close the prison by January 2010, and the Senate's vote was not the final word on the matter.It will take congress at least a month to complete work on the legislation, giving the  White House time to pursue a compromise that would allow the president to fulfill his pledge. I'm against both obviously, but closing Gitmo is one thing and bringing terrorists to the U.S. is another. Regardless if a compromise is agreed upon, and Gitmo is eventually closed, i believe this legislation will prevent the terrorist detainees from ever touching U.S. soil.

Obama's maneuvering room was further constrained when FBI Director Robert Mueller told a congressional panel that he had "serious concerns" about bringing Guantanamo Bay detainees to prisons in the Unites States.He said that among the risks is "the potential for individuals undertaking attacks in the U.S." You think? All due respect but you don't need to be the FBI director to have that concern. It seems most Americans do, except the one that most Americans chose to lead us.

Additionally, U.S. District Judge John Bates ruled this week that some prisoners--but not all--can be held indefinitely at Guantanamo without being charged, thus increasing the pressure on the administration to develop a plan for the men held there.

After the Senate vote, the White House released a statement saying that, "The president understands that his most important job is to keep the American people safe and he is not going to make any decisions or any judgement that imperils  the safety of the American people."

Of course he's not, now that Congress somehow has come to their senses.

Republicans, for the first time since the election, are gaining the upper hand against the White House, with demands that none of the remaining 240 detainees should end up on American soil." The American people don't want these men walking the streets of American neighborhoods,"Senator John Thune said."The American people don't want them held at a military base or federal prison in their backyard, either."

Harry Reid,the Senate majority leader, rattled my Republican aggression, said that he wanted a "comprehensive, responsible plan" from the White House for closing Guantanamo.

We know it's a bad idea when Harry Reid is agreeing with us.

AMERICA IS NOW A 'PRO-LIFE' NATION

A new Gallup poll shows a stunning reversal in American perceptions on the question of abortion.

For the first time since Gallup started surveying the country on this subject, more Americans self-identify as being "Pro-Life" than "Pro-Choice." And the turn around has been marked over the course of the past year. 51% of those surveyed now say they are "Pro-Life" whereas a year ago that number was just 44%. Those who declare themselves "Pro-Choice" saw their numbers fall from 50% in 2008 to just 42%.

So, what accounts for this change? Could the election of Barack Obama have something to do with it? A staunch supporter of abortion rights who won in November by a margin of 8 million votes, it would seem unlikely that Obama's rise to power would coincide with a dramatic shift away from "Pro-Choice" identification. Then again, Obama has played the abortion issue differently from many politicians of the past, attempting to find common ground with anti-abortion supporters, and striving to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.

But a deeper look at Gallup's numbers reveals that the real movement in the polling history is coming from Republicans and Independents who lean rightward. The percentage of Republicans(including Independents) calling themselves "Pro-Life" rose by 10 points over the past year, from 60% to 70%, while there has been essentially no change in the views of Democrats and Democratic leaners.

The thing i like the most about that statistic is that it shows that there are certainly enough Republicans left in America to make a statistical difference.

REPUBLICANS MUST STAND FIRM ON PRINCIPLES

Contrary to Gen. Colin Powell's belief that the Republican Party must move to the center, all Republicans  need to stand firm on their conservative principles until this nation again comes around to the GOP's way of thinking. This process will be driven by the consequences of Obama's program.

The challenge brought by Obama is no longer just theoretical:He means to pass the ultimate leftist agenda and has the votes to do so.

As a result, our nation will be unrecognizable well before the 2010 elections. Business will march to a beat drummed in Washington.

The top producers will be hounded by confiscatory taxation. A majority will pay nothing or receive government welfare. Our health care system will be destroyed. Illegal immigrants will be well on their way to citizenship.

Obama's 'Brave New World' will be the subject of the 2010 elections. We are confident that his congress will be swept from power as a result.

Unfortunately, i believe that inflation will join a lingering recession and that high unemployment will continue.

Voters will recognize the damage to their health care as bureaucrats weigh in to prevent them from getting the care they need, and were PROMISED.

Our security and defense failures may well have cost us Pakistan, and the  nightmare of a nuclear-armed state may have already come true, even before Iran.

All America will be watching the Obama fallout, and Republicans must be seen as a clear alternative--- a strong voice for reversal of the harm the president will have inflicted.

If the GOP is seen as a moderate party, as ' TRAITOR' Powell suggests, a party just looking to split the difference, voters will conclude that there is no distinction between the parties.

The liberal Obama Democrats have posed the challenge. It's up to the Republicans to fight along these lines. Compromise is NOT an option, YET.

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO'S LETTER TO REV. AL SHARPTON

Below is a letter written by Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County,Arizona to Rev. Al Sharpton. Sheriff Joe, as i have previously posted, is one of the toughest enforcers of illegal immigration laws in the country. I should say one of the FEW enforcers. Arpaio has drawn much criticism from many liberal immigration activists, but has been elected to five consecutive 4-year terms by the 4 million citizens of Maricopa County. He is a true American hero, and we need more like him.

              Dear Reverend Sharpton,

I have read about you with much interest since learning of the protest you plan to lead against me in Maricopa County in June as a way to force my resignation or removal from office.

Your public proclamation leads me to the conclusion: Not only do you not understand Arizona; you also do not understand democracy.As the elected Sheriff who, so far has been elected to five consecutive four-year terms,i answer to the four million residents of Maricopa county. I do not answer to the whims of the media,or locally or nationally elected officials who want open borders and who have their own agendas.Nor do i answer to a publicity hound outside interloper who has demonstrated no interest in looking for the truth before making loud uninformed noises.

While your public outcries are colorful, there are several instances where you have inserted yourself into other people's affairs without knowing any of the facts.Poor judgement has caused you plenty of trouble in the past and promises to do so again.Most earnest people want to learn by their mistakes.You seem to glory in repeating them.

I would like to help you avoid further embarrassment by assisting in your understanding of the illegal immigration problem here in my country.When and if you do make the trip here, i invite you to call me to talk about these false allegations.

We can discuss how my deputies are extensively trained by the Federal government to properly combat illegal immigration and how the laws of this state allow this sheriff's office to question and investigate the immigration status of those people deputies detain in the course of our everyday law enforcement duties.

Don't make the same mistake made by the four Democratic congressmen calling for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation of this office.They and other politicians relied solely on media reports and anti-law enforcement handouts that are replete with inaccuracies.They have brainwashed a handful of local residents to believe these lies.Rest assured that the men and women of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office do not racially profile anyone.

However,we do enforce the state and federal illegal immigration laws.And we will continue to do so as long as these laws are on the books.You can parachute into town, stomp your feet up and down and hold more press conferences against me--that is a hallmark of democracy too--but you will not stop me, nor slow me down for one second,from doing what is right.

Before you bring your circus to town and take to our streets by marching against this Sheriff, let's get you fully informed for a change.Congressman John Conyers did not have the courtesy to respond to my invitation to visit with me personally. I hope you will consider my invitation.Surely, a man like yourself--a reverend--who famously preaches from the church pulpit understands the infinite wisdom of these words:You shall know the 'truth' and the truth will set you free. Let's talk about the 'truth', Reverend. I await your response.

Sincerely,

Joe Arpaio

Sheriff, Maricopa County

                 

              

  

UNIVERSAL 'OBAMACARE': WILL IT BANKRUPT AMERICA?

A growing chorus of experts is warning  the Obama administration's plan to add 47 million people to the health-insurance rolls may kill hopes for a sustained economic recovery.

Obama's health care plan would follow the $700 billion TARP bailout, the $787 billion stimulus, and a $410 billion,earmark-laden budget appropriation-- at a time when the national debt already exceeds $11 trillion. Such staggering deficits are leading economists to question whether enough investment capital would be left over once the expected economic recovery takes hold.

Any economic recovery could stall or be seriously limited, economists say.Alarms over the cost of the program are sounding just as senators begin a series of discussions on health care.

Democrats hope those discussions will lead to a bipartisan agreement.Republicans contend that any health care reform must be made in a fiscally responsible way.They say that the the Dems' proposals are far from fiscally responsible and will only continue the borrowing and spending trend.

GOP leaders in congress says that spending billions more on health care will hurt job creation during a period of already high unemployment.

In its January report on the budget outlook, the Congressional Budget Office warned that even without Obama's health plan, the double whammy of high deficits and rising health-care costs could throttle the recovery.They concluded that the greatest single threat to budget stability over the long run is the sharp rise in Medicare and Medicaid.

So, you may ask, just how much will health care reform cost?  Until the details are worked out, no one can say precisely. But if the ultimate program resembles at all the one that Obama laid out during the campaign, the price tag will be staggering.Low-end estimates project a cost of $1.17 trillion over the first 10 years of the program-- far more than the $684 billion in Obama's preliminary budget framework.Another estimate, which is figured at a 7% annual inflation rate in medical costs, holds that the plan would cost $6 trillion over the next decade.

The bottom line here, in my opinion and the opinion of many others, is that we can't afford to have the government run anything else in our lives, because it doesn't do it well, and it makes it much more expensive. The economic status of our nation is playing into the hands of a liberal socialist administration who is finding it easy to implement the nationalization it craves.

And to those Obama supporters who voted for the "lollipops & rainbows" promise of universal health care, you're about to get your wish at a steep price, the possible bankruptcy of America. Thanks!!