“Oh, When Will They Ever Learn?”*

Which aspect of the terms, “enemy combatant” and “military tribunals” do the President and Attorney General Eric Holder not comprehend?

After virtually every high-level elected official in New York City and the State of New York rejected the Obama Administration’s plan to hold the trials of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his 9/11 co-conspirators in Lower Manhattan, the White House is now looking to entice some other U.S. jurisdiction into providing a venue.

The Beltway Boys just keep trying to shovel money into the hands of anybody willing to stick out their hands. You’d think that Obama’s advisors would know better, especially after the broken healthcare bill went south, despite massive multi-million dollar legislative bribes to Louisiana and Nebraska, arranged through deals with Senators Mary Landrieu and Ben Nelson.

But, no. Now the mayor of upstate Newburg, New York is being tempted to accept the $200 million offer of the Obama Administration: That money will go to any U.S. city that agrees to take the KSM trial. (Newburg, with a population of approximately 29,000, is only 60 miles north of New York City.)

It must be the human condition: Dirty money looks very clean when washed by the political machine.

So, the men and women of the Obama Administration are now walking the streets of the U.S. with a $200 million bag of silver: They are prepared to hand it over to any city that wants it – conditionally, of course.

Is there really a U.S. community willing to risk the safety of its residents by taking that bag? I hope not.


*Post title from the lyrics of Pete Seeger, “Where have all the flowers gone?”

A Snow Job from the Nation’s Capitol

Have you ever listened to Ben Nelson, the Senator from Nebraska? He was the lone Democratic holdout for the healthcare bill currently working its way through the sausage factory of the upper house in the U.S. Congress.

This weekend, I viewed Nelson deliver a live press conference explaining the decision by which he committed his vote in favor of the healthcare legislation being shoved through Congress in the dead of night. The 60 votes needed to pass the bill in the Senate are now sealed.

Nelson is very impressive when speaking. “Gee,” I thought, “This guy should be in charge of the senate instead of Harold Reid from Nevada.” Nelson is much more suave, knows his stuff, appears resolute, and is persuasively calm in his delivery. I was very impressed.

But hold on! That was before I heard of the Cornhusker Kickback to Senator Nelson on Sunday. His deal with Senator Reid contains a singular provision which gives Nebraska – and only Nebraska – tens of millions in undisclosed funding for Medicaid and for insurer tax breaks. (As of this writing, the cost of these special perks has not been revealed.)

According to MSNBC and The New York Times, “Mr. Nelson committed his vote after winning tighter restrictions on insurance coverage for abortions, as well as increased federal health care aid for his state — special treatment denounced by Republicans.”

Except for Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) who opposed the bill, yet also sold her vote for $300,000,000  in extra federal health care dollars for her state, Ben Nelson is thought to be the only other senator who, although he strongly opposed the overall healthcare measure, traded his vote for the same reason.

There is a commonly used noun to describe women and men who sell their bodies for cash. What is the noun used to describe senators who sell their integrity for an analogous reward?