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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

Weekly Political Forecast



Key American allies will not allow prisoners from Guantanamo Bay in their countries.

It is not a surprise to anyone, who follows American politics, that the Democrats are planning to close Guantanamo Bay, because they feel as though it destroys America's reputation abroad. In more shocking news this week, American allies Australia and Great Britain stated they will not hold these enemy combatants in their countries. This was a major setback for the United States, because now the question arises of what will be done to these men who are clearly a threat to the security of the entire world? One possibility that liberals would suggest is to try them in criminal courts and lock them up in civilian prisons. This is the same crowd who argue that our prisons are already overcrowded and that we should let more people run free. The other possibility is exactly that, to let these terrorists and terrorist sympathizers run free.

Much ado has been made recently about Guantanamo Bay, and the practices the United States use at the prison. First, being that Congress never officially declared war, the people being held at this prison are not prisoners of war; they are enemy combatants. The rules of war have not dictated any special treatment for those classified as enemy combatants; thus, the Bush administration was able to determine any statutes it wants for dealing with these folks. Second, not one them are American citizens which means that the Due Process Clause of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Free Exercise Clauses can all be thrown out the window. Liberal and libertarian legal scholars argue that due process rights, and civil liberties apply to everyone regardless of the country in which they reside. That, however, was not the intention of the American founding fathers. If you are an American citizen, these rights apply to you; if you are not a citizen, they do not apply to you. The whole issue for liberals is about rights, feelings, and the like. For conservatives, it is about following the words written in the United States Constitution. As Justice Antonin Scalia stated in a 2006 interview on 60 minutes, "torture is not cruel and unusual punishment done to those who have committed heinous crimes against the United States or other nations." Thus, torture is an accepted practice for those who have committed heinous crimes. Those being held in Guantanamo Bay have vital national security information that the United States can use in its fight against Islamofascism. Therefore, the United States should use torture at all costs to ensure this valuable information is retrieved.

Al Qaeda and the Taliban have made a mockery of American soldiers in many instances during the global war on terrorism. When these terrorists commit these acts, it is certainly a travesty, and the liberals make it out to be just that. But, when American soldiers torture members of these brutal terrorist regimes, the liberals see it as both a travesty and an illegal action. Most Americans are familiar with Daniel Pearl, the American journalist, who was beheaded in Iraq. If you are a member of the Pearl family, and something of this nature happened to your son, wouldn't you want the United States to follow the old adage an eye for an eye; meaning that the United States would carry out the same crime on the terrorists? When America is engaged in the epic struggle of our time against extremists who want to destroy our very way of life, the last thing we should be talking about is closing Guantanamo Bay. Liberals would rather have operatives such as Khalid Sheik Mohammed roaming the streets in America's largest cities, or occupying space in maximum security prisons, than in a facility designed solely for enemy combatants. That idea is absurd and must not be accepted. As American citizens concerned about our nation's security, you should get a hold of your member of Congress and alert them about this travesty. If Guantanamo Bay closes, which it is likely to do with Pelosi, Reid, and Obama in charge, the security the Bush administration has worked so hard to make a reality is likely to depreciate. Quoting the only Democratic President I have ever respected, Harry Truman, "the buck stops here". The buck stops at the American people; we cannot allow these liberals jeopardize our global security for the sake of feelings and civil liberties.

To make matters worse, American allies Australia and Great Britain have seemed to denounce American practices at Guantanamo Bay, and have stated repeatedly that they will not hold these terrorists captive in their own countries. As aforementioned, that means these terrorists will likely be held in maximum security prisons, and/or run free.



Minnesota Senate Seat is still a long way from being finalized.

Americans became leery of American elections after the elongated Presidential election of 2000, in which President Bush won fair and square. The Founding Fathers, primarily John Adams and James Madison, argued the Electoral College is the superior force in determining who the President of the United States will be, not the will of the easily corrupted majority. Thus, in 2000, like in 1876, the process was blown out of proportion and should not have been made as big of a deal as it was. However, the Minnesota United States Senate race has reached new levels of corruption and made the 2000 Presidential election a cake walk. The election was over two months ago, and still they are further from making a final decision than the media makes it out to be. The liberal media claims that it is likely that Al Franken will become the new United States Senator from the state of Minnesota, within the next several days, but state officials say the final outcome is weeks away. The ballots cast on Election Day, November 4, 2008, have been recounted several times already. Now, the Minnesota elections board is recounting the provisional ballots, absentee ballots, and ballots that have been challenged by both Senator Norm Coleman and Al Franken. At one point in December, Coleman held a 125 vote lead. Now, it is said that Franken holds a 50 vote lead. The state of Minnesota wants to end this election as soon as possible, but they do not want to do so until they have a known winner. Each side continues to challenge ballots and call for recounts. Regardless of the outcome, this will be the closest United States Senate race in history, and it will damage the credibility of American political elections.

This election has produced a now infamous story of a Franken supporter, in a Democratic County taking a box of ballots out of the trunk of her car, and bringing them a polling place to be counted. The election officials did not even question her actions. Election fraud exists on both ends, but it appears that the liberals in Minnesota are making it their trademark. They are conniving, maniacal, and power hungry, to the point that they will do anything to win. This race will not be settled for a few weeks yet, despite what the liberal pundits may write. The Minnesota Senate election has caused Americans to become even more leery about the American election cycle than they are currently. The games being played by both sides in this election have hit an all time low.

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