There's a terrorist behind every tree -- and we're all going to die.

Fear is the key to obedience.

Don't be too surprised when you learn that the Christmas bomb plot was being run out of Langley.

Did Bush really send the Christmas bomber?

"The administration could implement this requirement today. The president could acknowledge that mistakes were made on Dec. 26 and work with Congress to make the nation safer"........

.

Yes, Susan, the president could ;if indeed the president and his administration's objective was to make the nation safer.....

.

Haven't we been warned about a Feb 11th surprise from our good friends the "terrorists"?

Quick, call Casella, the garbage is getting deep. Here we have a United States Senator calling for war measures against an undeclared and unknown enemy. And why? Because the United States Congress, our legislative branch, has abdicated its Constitutionally legal authority and responsibility to the Executive branch with nary a whimper or mention of this act. This Senator is asking its citizens and the law of the land to condone the actions of a government outside of its Constitutional boundaries. Now we have police actions abroad above world and U.S. law that is 'declared' a war on terror. There is no war on terror, there is no war. What we have is a government acting with impunity against its own laws and now its become de rigeur that this is how we do things. It has been decided by those in authority that they can do whatever they want, whenever they want. Would Senator Collins be correct in her assumptions if there were a legally legislated war? That's another debate and there is certainly room for argument for it, but as it stands now, no. The puzzling thing to me is that there is nothing but silence from the Tea Party crowd. Is it because there is not a very visible dollar sign attached? Is it because there is not an opposing ideological point to be made? Or is it just because the one thing that they claim to hold dear to their hearts, the U.S. Constitution, is mere widow dressing to them, and used to further a partisan agenda? I'm going with the latter. Senator Collins, thank you for your input and please return when you have something more relevant to tell us.

Ralph, If it is not a war on terror, then what is it? Multiple isolated incidents in the name of ALLAH against infadels?

On 2/9/10 at 11:22 AM, Ladyslipper wrote: Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Ralph, If it is not a war on terror, then what is it? Multiple isolated incidents in the name of ALLAH against infadels

Sharon, did you read the post? Did you understand it? Do you know what constitutes a war in these United States? Please go back, reread, and try again.

Sharon, we aren't suppose to call them terrorists, or refer to the war as "a war on terror". It might hurt their feelings!

Susan, I'm afraid you're dealing with an Administration that is either too inexperienced, unconcerned, or both. Lord help us.

I expected better of Sen. Collins than this lame exercise in misrepresentation...

(see commentary below)

Brennan: Political 'fear-mongering' serves 'the goals of al-Qaeda'

By Scott Wilson The Washington Post 2/9/10

President Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser asserted Tuesday that "too many in Washington are now misrepresenting the facts to score political points" regarding the administration's handling of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the alleged Christmas Day bomber.

In a brief opinion piece published in USA Today, John O. Brennan described the arrest and interrogation of Abdulmutallab, defending the administration against Republican charges that it missed an opportunity to gain intelligence on al-Qaeda operations in Yemen by reading the Nigerian his Miranda rights.

Brennan, echoing comments he made Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," wrote that "the most important breakthrough occurred after Abdulmutallab was read his rights."

Last week, administration officials said Republican lawmakers, after receiving briefings to that effect, misrepresented the interrogations publicly to portray Obama as being more concerned with legal niceties than keeping the country safe.

"Politically motivated criticism and unfounded fear-mongering only serve the goals of al-Qaeda," wrote Brennan, a senior CIA official during the Bush administration. "Terrorists are not 100-feet tall. Nor do they deserve the abject fear they seek to instill."

The Christmas Day bombing case has emerged as a key political issue at the start of a midterm election year shaping up as a difficult one for Obama and his party. Brennan did not name names in his eight-paragraph op-ed. Nor did he cite Republicans as the party chiefly to blame for politicizing the case.

But his nonpartisan credentials give his words weight at a time when Republicans are seeking to use the Abdulmutallab case as evidence that Obama and the Democrats are soft on national security. Brennan, a 25-year CIA veteran, has become the administration's most public face on the issue.

(...) for the rest of the piece, see http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/02/brennan-political-fear-mongeri.html?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics

Senator Collins, I really like the people in your hometown of Caribou, but should America give up its belief in "justice for all" because it is frightened? The fact that 43,788 people died in U.S. motor vehicle accidents in 2001 (1) didn't keep Americans from texting about how afraid they were of terrorism while doing 75 on the interstate.

(1) The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2009, page 216.

This comment by Collins is completely dishonest. Susan Collins is the same Senator who refused to investigate the deaths of US soldiers in Iraq at the hands of Halliburton.

The Christmas bomber was handled exactly as hundreds of terrorists who have been arrested within the US. He has fully cooperated with US intelligence officials and given a wealth of actionable intelligence.

This article is purely partisan unfounded misrepresentation of the facts by a despicable politician.

Thank you Sen. Collins for staying on top of this Terrorist threat. I hope you can get your bill passed. Obama doesn't have a clue and we voters are sick and tired of his faking his way through. It is our way of life that he and Pelosia and Reed and the rest of the arrogant Dems are flirting with. We know that you are fighting for us. Thanks again scoobeee

Sen. Collins & I grew up in Central Aroostook, and I have always considered her to be smaaat enough and hard-working. But she is misleading and inappropriately politicking on this issue...

See for yourself at - Feb 3, 2010 ... ANDREA MITCHELL, HOST: Republican Senator Susan Collins is the ranking member of Homeland Security. She's also serving both on ... www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35220858

Where was Senator Collins' op-ed after President Bush ignored a Presidential Daily Briefing on August 6, 2001 entitled "Bin Ladin Determined To Attack America", complete with warnings of highjacklings and building destruction, followed just 36 days later by the 2975 deaths of 9-11? No one died in this foiled underwear bomber attack, Republican leaders of Congress were informed of the intent to treat Abdulmutallab through the criminal justice system, and he has given us extensive cooperation after being Mirandized. Susan Collins seems intent on politicizing a success in our counter-terrorism efforts while ignoring the most abject failure in those efforts that occurred in August and September of 2001 under Boy George. Do I smell pure politics?

senator collins - with all due respect, i have read in many alternative news sources that this

underwear bomber was assisted onto the plane by a CIA agent. i consider this episode a

"false flag" event, meant to justify the implementing of full-body scanners at all airports.

full-body scanning is dangerous to people's health, and it is more than questionable that the

xray images are deleted from the data base. a real concern exists here relative to the

child pornography industry. i have no trust in the way events are now presented by mainstream media

to the public, as so often the real motivation is something completely opposite of what is being propogandized.

Susan, As you can see here, libs are not interested in facts about national security, global warming, etc etc ..

Maybe now you will convince the Warrens to get some new (objective) editors who don't hold dreams of making it by just regurgitating the NYTimes !

Oh .. and Pokeyboy

Even USA Today disagrees with the Wash Post :

Our view on war on terror: National security team fails to inspire confidence

http://content.usatoday.com/topics/post/USA+TODAY+editorial/620010085.blog/1

BDN, NYTimes, WashPost, etc repeat WH blather. What happened to the 3rd estate? Or is it only valid in criticizing a non progressive?

Well... to each his/her own, Frank.

Certainly any news outlet can be criticised, particularly as they are increasingly being bought from families and rolled into megacorporate investment packages. It does seem this concentration tends to diminish their willingness/effectiveness as the 4th Estate, helping us to keep government honest. We should all be concerned...

I do think that there are papers who have more credibility than others...I personally have not found USA Today to offer much in the way of significant new analysis...sort of "News Lite," suitable for giving away at hotels.

Is it really about being troubled that Obama has not ..what is it.. apologize for DOJ mistake? Was it a mistake, or is this a haymaker? This is politics and not about 300 people who may have died at a terrorist's hand. We must support our president. Didn't all the inteligence heads explain this in detail behind closed doors.. didn't they hint with their eyes and heads to Senator Snowe that MUCH was found out. I hate the idea of watching republicans campaign for the next 3 years.. And I have voted for Collins twice but now... I'm sick of this ongoing assault by republicans on my president. He is not up there alone, but surrounded by some of the brightest men and women in the world... yeah, just like Bush was.. who was also MY president. We'd be wise as a nation to correct this nonsense going on in Congress and in the Senate. That is where progress is being held up.. for decades!!

FrankC, Don't ya just love seeing the Libs on the defense???? .....

Senator Collins using terrorism issues, especially in her homeland security position is an embarrassment. She expects us to abandon law by denyinng a person who is arrested in America the chance to get an attorney and Miranda rights. For crying out loud this is so laughably a political play does she think we are all stupid. Perhaps the waterboard was the answer. It is sad that you can't understand that following the humane and Amerian way procedure resulted in useful and timely information unlike the false information torture and whatever methods you subscribe to yeilded in the past. To be proven wrong on so many points in one statement on live TV by Andrea Mitchell was really an embarrassment to all Mainers. Try to buck the trend and do something productive for America.

scoobee

its ....Pelosi ( vitch ) ....Reid ( ski ) ...and ...Obama ( rov ) ........Communism is well and alive in America ,thanks to these three and others like them ,which is fine , but not in our Government .

Pokey - I agree re:USA Today - that's why I included "even" !! LOL

After you read or listen to the MYTimes.BDN, Post, PBS/MPBN - you also should read the WSJ, reason.com, National Review (print is very good - to me what Time Mag was in the 60's) etal

Lady - just as I was after Clinton was elected , I hoped that the "new" democratic presidents would live up to their promises. I'm still a 60's person at heart !! LOL I recall it took a bit longer for Clinton to show that he was just out for himself, but Obama only a few days with his "I am the president" BS He couldn't run Caribou on his best days! So sad..

But Obama's nominations are abominations (I don't think I've heard that one before LOL ) and the least professional that I've ever seen !

Mailman etal -- What is it going to take for you to wake up?

A dirty bomb? 5 more 9/11's?

Even when al-Qaeda said they sent him and will send more, what else do you need to wake up?

Let's try & keep our economic and political systems straight...

Capitalism <> Communism

Democracy <> Totalitarianism (dictatorships, etc)

...as near as I can tell, communism is not alive or well anywhere.

Senator Collins is being hypocritical here. Eric Holder did consult with the intelligence agencies before charging Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Also the FBI is the chief counter intelligence agency in the country. The shoe bomber (Richard Reid) was tried and convicted in civilian court. 300 other terrorist suspects under the GW Bush administration were also tried in civilian courts.

Mr. Abdumutallab has also provided more information since being "Mirandized" than he did prior. FBI interrogation techniques work much better than the CIA's and any torture that might have occurred with the military. There has been actionable intelligence.

This is not a needed law. If we give up on civil liberties because we are afraid of the terrorists, then they have won. To allow Senator Collins to spread fear is nothing but divisive and misguided. Her speech, here, is nothing but a diversion from the real issue as to why the intelligence agencies who had advanced notice that this suspect was going to attempt this attack, dropped the ball...again.

There are more important issues for Senator Collins to be working on than trying to divide the electorate before the fall elections with fear mongering.

To pokeyboy,

Communism is alive and well and living in China.

cmaurand etal who use Richard Reid as a talking point are only regurgitating the MSM/White press and much worse than ANY statemnets of Collins.

Do you know when Reid was arrested? Was there a Gitmo then? Had al-Qaeda taken credit for him?

Curious folks want to know...

Where did you read this or did you make it up? "Eric Holder did consult with the intelligence agencies before charging Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab."

Collins asked the head of National defense and he said NO-ONE contacted him !

Just like OBAMA lies - NO ONE from the administarion in OVER a year contacted the republicans about the health care fiasco - but you probably believe that the repubs only say no - THEY WERE NOT BROUGHT to the TABLE !!

Instill fear in the populace and you control the populace. Senator Collins you are pandering to the right. If you want to introduce a bill, do so; that is your job as a legislator. In the meantime allow the justice department to tend its house. You have but a short time remaining in the Senate. Use it wisely.

The basis of our communications with our government should NOT be fear. Fear based talk gets us in trouble in a hurry. Remember why we entered the Iraq war? GW Bush and his cronies scared our Congress into voting for it -- on false pretenses and Congress wouldn't vote against it (most of them and our Senators included) for fear of what would happen if it was true. It deserved better of Senator Collins - her vote helped us waste one trillion dollars we don't have to waste and to mess up the Afghan war, too. Fact is, this new terrorist from the Christmas Day attempted bombing IS talking, right now. And we're getting intelligence. The good Senator from up north, doesn't mention this fact. I get the sense that she wants to waterboard the guy, a proven way to lose the intelligence war. She'd do well to sit down and shut up and see how this plays out before crying wolf, wolf.

Instill fear in the populace and you control the populace.

I'm scared.

The humble Farmer

They call anything that is practical communism in China...including capitalism. It is definitely a totalitarian dictatorship...and the tale of how they gained "most favored nation" status for trade purposes a great story of the political power of corporate America. It is distroying the U.S. manufacturing base and economy.

FrankC in answer to your questions,

My source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Reid_%28shoe_bomber%29

Reid was arrested on December 23, 2001. No Guantanamo bay was not being used as an illegal prison then. He was a member of al-qa'eda and was sentenced to life inprisonment.

Eric Holder made his statements in an interview that I listened on Saturday morning on NPR. No one contacted him. He contacted them and they didn't want the guy. The last I knew the FBI was part of the DOJ. The FBI is responsible for counter-intelligence. The underware bomber is nothing but a criminal and part of a criminal gang. People join groups like al-qua'eda for the same reasons that people join criminal gangs. They are dis-affected.

On healthcare there were many contacts in committee with the republicans and the bill that emerged from the senate was filled with republican amendments. Republicans were contacted and their plans were put through the vetting process of the Congressional Budget Office. The republicans would have you believe that they were not listened to, but that's a bald faced lie. This is way off topic here, but the plan put forward is nearly identical to the plan put forth by the republicans in 1994 and nearly identical to a plan put forth by Bob Dole and Howard Baker; both republicans both from the GHW Bush administration.

Senator Collins is sticking to the republican talking points and her arguments are not based in fact. She's trying to divide the electorate before the fall elections. She's working on the republican strategy of divide and conquer and the republicans do that by instilling fear. President Obama is not doing anything differently than the Bush administration before him (he said that in an interview with CBS, yesterday). The republicans would have you believe differently.

We would be a lot safer if we worked on the reasons why people joined gangs and terrorist organizations rather than trying to squash them after they've joined. Its harder work, but the results will last a lot longer.

Pokeyboy:

about China, you are half right. China isn't destroying the US economy. US Corporations spending millions of dollars on Congress to keep tax breaks for moving jobs overseas are killing the economy. The need is to get corporate money out of congress. That's going to take a constitutional amendment, I'm afraid.

FrankC wrote> "Just like OBAMA lies - NO ONE from the administarion in OVER a year contacted the republicans about the health care fiasco - but you probably believe that the repubs only say no - THEY WERE NOT BROUGHT to the TABLE !! "

Frank,

That's not facually true, check out "The six Republican ideas already in the health-care reform bill," By Ezra Klein | February 8, 2010; Washington Post http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/02/five_compronises_in_health_car.html

I have a question. I have looked to see if any current residents of Gitmo were arrested in the United States. All seem to have been "enemy combatants captured on foreign soil. If this is the case, what is the basis for the argument that all potential terrorists in the U.S. need to go to Gitmo. And since the last administration arrested, charged and convicted (and all given Miranda rights) more than 300 people in the U.S. for terrorist acts on U.S. soil, why the indignation over the preppy Xmas bomber?

It might be worth noting that only four combatants have been charged in military courts and one was found not guilty.

Seems to me that the Xmas Bomber perpetrated acts against the U.S. on U.S. soil (okay a U.S. aircraft) and thus should be held accountable in U.S. court. KSM may not have been on U.S. soil, but his actions dictate that he be tried here. Silly me I guess..........

I think the Senator doth protest too much. By "trained intelligence investigators" does she mean the CIA? The same CIA that today we find revealed in The Guardian that tortured terror suspect Binyam Mohamed? In a key paragraph a panel of British judges has decided that this "could readily be contended to be at the very least cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of Binyam Mohamed by the United States authorities". Substitute the name Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and we could arrive at the same conclusion.

I don't support Abdulmutallab's actions... far from it... but neither do I support torture or those who support torturers.

Senator Collins, you are on the wrong tack here. Time for you to change direction rather than to keep protesting your actions.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

The guy carried a bomb onto a plane and had to be wrestled to the floor by a civilian while fumbling for the trigger... What is a court going to prove that we don't already know anyway? Who is going to pay the lawyers and for all the red tape? Did these terrorists read Americans their rights before they brought the bomb on board the plane? What rights do we have in their eyes? What if there had only been little time and a greater threat needed to be averted? Well Obama and these tactics would have been a complete failure. I think they were a failure… Collins is right in this legislation. We don’t need a repeat of this ever again... These people are clearly enemy combatants in a militaristic stance against our nation of the free. The guy gets caught on a plane with a bomb what more evidence to you idiots libs need? Do you think a court is going to find him innocent? Who cares how the truth is obtains from him considering his crime already? His crime is one worthy of the death penalty anyway... What do you think prison is a trip to the holiday inn? No! it is supposed to be punishment for these crimes… The punishment should fit the crime… This a was a clear attempt to commit mass murder... I am usually with Obama on most things but this one he gets a failing grade. After all it is the US military that has to face scum like this on the battle field every day. I say let the military at him, this bomber has no “rights“, enough already.

This issue has nothing to do with the Xmas Bomber's guilt - based on witness accounts (41 witnesses that is) - he will be found guilty. And based on constitutional law, the U.S. government has dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's.

Once he stepped foot onto a U.S. carrier he was covered by U.S. law and all the trappings of it. I truly believe that he will be found guilty. I truly believe that he is providing information and we are getting the information without torturing him. Thus, everything he is telling us will be actionable.

A message for rexhavoc - this "Preppy Xmas Bomber" is not the type of "scum" that the U.S. military would face on the battlefield. This is a kid that was shipped off to private school and college in Western countries; alienated by his father and his wives - basically ignored. No excuse for his actions. But if he were an American, he would have turned up in a clock tower with a M-16 or sitting in a truck full of explosives in front of a federal building.

Oklahoma City, the Shoe Bomber, the Washington DC sniper(s), all charged with terrorism. All found guilty in a U.S. court of law. Case Closed.

FBI agents are capable of interrogating terrorism suspects. That is one of the things that they do. Our Justice Department is also supposed to be involved when criminal threats and activities occur. And, under our system of law, there are certain procedures which must occur in order for trials to be successfully prosecuted. Apparently, as with so many other Republicans and hysterics, Senator Collins sees no use for our system of law when it comes to serious threats. Our criminal justice system has prosecuted many terrorism cases, successfully. There are over 300 convicted international and domestic terrorists of all stripes in our Federal Bureau of Prisons at this moment.

The greatest threat to our democracy is not terrorist, but people like Senator Collins who do not value our system of government or our laws. They make false statements and create an atmosphere of hysteria and fear so that they can gain temporary political advantage. This is not different than the behavior of Republicans under George W. Bush.

These terrorists have no regard for our constitution so why prosecute them under it? Apparently the new face of the enemy has shifted from 4 year old's strapped with explosives to preppy college students... Again, let the military at them... Our soldiers are the ones risking their lives on the battlefield why put a layer between them and the intelligence by inserting Miranda rights and lawyers between the truth and actionable intelligence? Perhaps we need a priests confessional and a few more bureaucracies also the pentagon, law enforcement, homeland security and the kitchen sink then let the people on the ground who are actually first responders in on it? Remember these unnecessary bureaucracies were what allowed 9/11 to happen in the first place... And apparently it is about innocence if Miranda rights are substituted for a cold hard cell and a toilet. They have no "right" to remain silent...