And now it begins....

[[Syl]]

NIMBY

[Zahir]

Name me one community that would welcome international terrorists into their prison. That would make their community a terror target.

Name one community that would welcome a prison, period.

[Plissken]

That's exactly the problem. Look, I agree that they should receive due process, but you can't put these people in a regular prison. I'm not beating on Obama for the Hell of it; I honestly don't know what he can do with these people.

Call me uninformed, but why can't they be put in a regular prison? If we have secure facilities for the Bundys and the Dahmers of the world, why not them?

Dahmer was killed in prison by (allegedly) prisoners and guards.

Name me one community that would welcome international terrorists into their prison. That would make their community a terror target.

Actually, I haven't noticed any community protests in Colorado, or any of the other states where convicted terrorists are being held - and I haven't noticed any terrorist strikes (or prison breaks or whatever we're expecting terrorists to do here) either.

[Cail]

How many are there? Where exactly are they?

Look, I'm just saying that no one is going to want these people in their communities.

[Plissken]

Well, I'm sure no one wants any of the inhabitants of the Supermax prisons like the one in Colorado in their community, but I'm pretty sure the estimated 8% (What's that? Like 64?) of detainees that are actual terrorists housed at Gitmo could be absorbed into the Supermax populations across the country without too much trouble.

[Cail]

That's not what I asked. How many convicted terrorists are currently in the US prison population?

[Zarathustra]

An influential Senate Democrat said Friday that it's unclear whether President Obama's $819 economic stimulus bill will win enough support to pass in the Senate.

"I don't even know how many Democrats will vote for it, as it stands today," Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., told FOX News.

Nelson, a moderate Democrat, is famous for gathering lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in a so-called "Gang of 14" to avert a shutdown of the Senate over judicial nominations. He is seeking a similar bipartisan effort to improve the stimulus bill.

Lawmakers are unhappy that the bill, passed by the House on Wednesday, contains billions of dollars for programs that arguably won't spark much job growth.

"What I'm hoping to do is bring together a bipartisan group of Republicans and Democrats and offer changes that will attract others and improve the bill," he told FOX News. "People want this to succeed."

Asked how many Republicans he can get to vote for the bill, Nelson said he didn't even know how many Democrats would vote for it.

Sens. Mike Johanns, R-Neb. and Susan Collins, R-ME, met in Nelson's office Friday morning to see if more can be done to create jobs in the stimulus bill -- such as a major boost in funding for infrastructure projects, which appeal to many of his colleagues.

"We need to focus this on getting people back to work quickly," Nelson said.

The "Gang of 14" compromise in 2006 displeased many conservatives. Republicans controlled both houses of Congress at the time, and those involved in the compromise group agreed to take some of the party's power options off the table in exchange for Democratic promises not to filibuster Bush's judicial nominees except under "extreme circumstances."

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a moderate who was a member of the original "Gang" and a close friend of Nelson's from their time on the Senate Armed Services Committee, got an invite, as has Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., Nelson's energy compromise group colleague. On the Democratic side, Nelson has reached out to Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., a strong ally of President Obama, as well as Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and freshman Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

"Warner's a former governor, so he gets it," said Nelson, himself a popular former governor, in Nebraska.

One item that likely will be discussed is an amendment that would add billions of dollars to infrastructure projects. Nelson is crafting that measure with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, both on the Appropriations Committee.

And Nelson doesn't want to stop there. He wants to pluck out what he says are extraneous projects in the stimulus bill to pay for the amendment. Providing hundreds of millions of dollars for prevention of smoking and sexually-transmitted disease -- though they may be worthy causes -- does not create jobs. Nelson even is willing to remove popular Pell Grant increases, saving them for annual spending bills later in the year.

"We need to sit down and see who owns these projects," Nelson said, and see if they can be removed from the bill. "We need to keep (the bill's cost in check) and see if we cant change around what's underneath that to create more jobs."

link

[Vain]

About that whole transparency of government thing.....

Besides that, will someone please tell me that they honestly think Obama has a clue? Who thinks he has actually read any of the detail around the 'stimulus' bill? If he has and he STILL actually thinks it's going to be be a panacea for all the problems, then you guys are in for one helluva ride.

I would have thought that if anybody in Obama's administration and democrat congress had any real desire or clue as to what to do, they'd scrap the thing as it currently stands and get a proper one out. It's another Gitmo: "Look !! We did something. Now shower us with praise even if we don't actually have a real clue as to what to do"

[Plissken]

That's not what I asked. How many convicted terrorists are currently in the US prison population?

In Colorado, five or six. In Carolina, three.

I guess the short answer is: Every single one we've tried and convicted.

[[Syl]]

About that whole transparency of government thing.....

If there's one thing worse than a rabid, right-wing blogger, it's one who doesn't read his own links.

Two executive orders and three presidential memos reversing Bush policy on FOIA requests speak for themselves. Good to see the other side acknowledge that, even if they wait til they think they have some dirt to do so.

[The Laughing Man]

it's amazing how much interest has been taken on this board in our President in the first 8 days compared to the last 8 yrs.....

[Prebe]

I beg to differ. Everything that goes on in here revolves to some extent around rex mundi or his actions and their effects. Regardless of party-color I'd wager.

[Avatar]

I'd probably agree. It's just that nobody is used to somebody other than Bush being in office.

--A

[dlbpharmd]

it's amazing how much interest has been taken on this board in our President in the first 8 days compared to the last 8 yrs.....

We never talked about Bush? How were we so remiss?

[Avatar]

--A

[Zarathustra]

Perhaps we need to separate out these issues. I hope the economy discussion doesn't get lost in the shuffle. Personally, I think it's too important for politics to get in the way, but that's exactly what is happening with all the complaints about Rush, complaints about Republicans voting their conscience (and constituents' wishes). Lost in the shuffle is the question of whether the current stimulus package actually will help anything. There is in fact "bipartisanship" . . . in the objection to Obama's plan.

On one of the news shows recently, I heard that a trillion dollars could buy Microsoft, Walmart, Google, Pepsi, Coke, and Apple. That's a LOT of money. Why are we using it to buy cars for government employees? Birth control? Honey bees?

President Obama is stressing bipartisanship when it comes to the $900 billion economic stimulus plan being considered in the Senate, and he may get it -- in unity of opposition.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he "can't believe that the president isn't embarrassed about" the stimulus packages that have passed the House and the Senate appropriations and finance committees.

The Senate is set to take up debate on the plan Monday afternoon. Republicans insist it won't go through in its current form.

"It'll need to change if it'll do any good. I mean, things like $150 million honey bee insurance and $650 million to buy government employees cars is not what the American public had in mind," McConnell said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Republicans appear to have the support of some Democrats, including North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad, head of the Budget Committee, and Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson.

"As it stands it would be very hard for me to vote for this package, because I don't think it is fully targeted, timely and temporary," Conrad said. "I think there is widespread dissatisfaction with the package that came over from the House."

Senate Republicans are offering an alternative bill as early as Monday. It shifts the balance more toward tax cuts and less on spending, and targets the housing market as key to the economic turnaround.

"I think you have to start from scratch and reconstruct this to start with the problem that created the entire cascade of events that have occurred here, the housing collapse," said Sen. Jon Kyl, the Republican whip.

Conrad agreed.

"Too little is being done about housing, which is central to the crisis," he said.

But Democratic leaders say the time for delay has passed. The nearly trillion dollar plan represents about 6.5 percent of the gross domestic product of America, said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate Democratic whip.

He said that size package is needed to dig the economy out of a deep hole. "We have to put enough water on this fire to put it out. Throwing a tea cup of water at it means it will return tomorrow, to face it again," he said during a discussion with Kyl and moderator Chris Wallace on "FOX News Sunday."

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed that more could be done in the area of housing, but said tapping the remaining $350 billion from the financial bailout fund would be a more likely way to pay for mortgage relief.

Democrats add that tax cuts alone won't keep firefighters, teachers and construction workers on the job. They say their bill gives states the money to fill some budget holes and start building roads and bridges. They also point to tax cuts for individuals and businesses, and insist a package must be passed.

"This is not another bill, this is not another political debate, this isn't something that we can just dismiss at the end of the week and move on and do something else if this doesn't work. We're facing one of the most serious economic crises in our nation's history," Durbin said.

While Obama has stressed bipartisanship in the process, all House Republicans were joined by 11 Democrats in opposing the House package

If it's going to get bipartisan support in the Senate, "you have to change some of the provisions that are in there," said Nelson, who noted he has spoken with colleagues on both sides of the aisle who are concerned with several of the spending provisions. He said many of the spending programs are valuable, "they just don't belong in the stimulus package."

The stimulus package may also run into problems being implemented. A Congressional Budget Office analysis says some agencies may not be equipped to handle that flood of money and will have to put off spending it for a year or two.

That's a problem because the key to a stimulus package is to pump it into the system as quickly as possible.

link

[Avatar]

...things like $150 million honey bee insurance and $650 million to buy government employees cars...

Yeah, I gotta say that doesn't make a lot of sense to me...maybe you could justify the cars by saying it's helping the auto-manufacturers, but didn't they just get a big whack of cash?

--A

[Cybrweez]

Gallup did a poll to gauge reaction from Obama's first 7 major initiatives. The most unpopular decision was the repeal of Mexico City Policy, 58% did not approve, 35% approved.

So an issue that is very controversial, and at a time when money is hard to come by, Obama is willing to repeal a policy and pay for other countries' abortions. I guess I just don't get how that can be one of his highest priorities. It shows it was bad decision, only 35% approve of it.

[Vain]

What's the deal with BO stopping the USS Cole trials?

[[Syl]]

uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKTRE5150DV20090206