Hearing? We don't need no stinkin hearing.
Recruitment? What bleepin recruitment?
Illinois, Armpit of the Nation. Land of collateral damage.
This morning's story. Tribune. Sun Times. CBS2Chicago. Formal announcement at the White House this afternoon. They still say we'll have the hearing but they'll do what they want anyway.
More. According to WLS some Illinois Republican legislators are asking Dem AG Lisa Madigan for a legal opinion on whether the governor can make this decision without the approval of the legislature. Sigh. It's in the Tribune as well:
The Quinn administration has said that lawmakers do not need to pass legislation for the sale to take place. After the recommendation from the panel, the Quinn administration can sell the prison under the state's surplus property act.More. Al Jazeera reports:
But Republicans have questioned whether the prison can be declared surplus or sold without further action, and they have asked Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan for an opinion on the matter. A Madigan spokeswoman said the office has yet to respond.
"Terrorism" suspects. You know, they're talking about prisoners who bite people to death and worse. WaPo:Durbin and Quinn said the facility would be turned into a federal maximum security prison, and a portion of it would be leased to the defence department to house Guantanamo detainees.
The Guantanamo Bay detention centre was opened in 2002 to house "terrorism" suspects after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US.
Before prisoners can be moved, Congress must vote to allow detainees to be housed on U.S. soil for reasons other than trial.The administration envisions the prison grounds in rural Thomson, close to the Mississippi River, as a place for prolonged detention and a site of future military commission trials.
OK Congress, you're on the spot. A scenic spot. Close to transportation. Very convenient. Anything to say Sec. of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano? Man-caused disasters come to mind?
More. FoxNews:
In a notice sent to senior lawmakers in Congress, the White House also defended the long-anticipated Thomson move also "address the urgent over-crowding problem at our nation's federal prisons."Let's see--is Gitmo overcrowded? I don't think so. But how about Illinois state prisons--yes they are. But yes we can says the Obama administration. Yes we can say Gov. Quinn and Sen. Durbin--because we're in charge and you're not. We the people is so passe.
More:
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, the ranking member of House Judiciary Committee, denounced the transfer plan. "The administration has yet to explain how bringing Gitmo detainees closer to home makes the American people safer. This decision changes nothing but geography. The Obama administration is simply naive if they really think that simply changing the location of Gitmo will improve our relations with terrorists.""Bringing Gitmo detainees to the U.S. gives terrorists access to additional constitutional rights," Smith said. "These new rights may help terrorists avoid conviction and even file civil suits against American officials." Fox has also learned the House Intelligence Committee will meet early Tuesday to discuss whether to allow members of the Illinois delegation access to security reports on the potential threats posed by transferring Gitmo detainees to Thomson.
Who will stick their neck out now?
More. NRO Gitmo by the Lake. Read it all, but this is key:
Once the terrorists are already in the country, though, that hesitancy will vanish. Anyone who doubts that has not been watching the courts’ pro-terrorist decisions over the last eight years, to say nothing of such rulings as the 9th Circuit’s recent directive that California release over 40,000 convicted inmates in order to relieve the supposed overcrowding in the state’s prisons. Indeed, the Obama administration has already floated the idea of releasing Gitmo detainees in the U.S. — and providing public welfare payments to support them — as an example for other countries to follow. And Jennifer Daskal, now advising Holder on detainee issues, spent years as a Human Rights Watch activist campaigning for Gitmo to be shuttered, and detainees released in the United States, if other countries are unwilling to take them. Human Rights Watch also maintains that U.S. “supermax” prisons, where terrorists convicted in civilian courts are incarcerated, are inhumane.
More. Dark humor:
More. WLS caller. Illinois Dems plans for our bankrupt state they've run into the ground:And in fairness, Obama tried to deliver the Olympics to Chicago, but that didn't work out. So instead he's shipping off a bunch of Jihadi terrorists. It's kind of funny, in a sad way. An enterprising soul might start selling "Rio Got the Olympics and All I Got Were These Lousy Terrorists" T-Shirts.
1. Raise taxes
2. Release prisoners due to overcrowding.
3. Bring Al Qaeda terrorists to Illinois.
More. Other WLS callers: One figures since Obama and Castro are so cozy, our President Barack Obama is going to gift Castro with Gitmo. Hell, yeah, let the Russians or China take it over, how bout Iran? Another caller figures they'll bring more terrorists to Thomson, not just the 100. There are still more terrorists out there, aren't there. They seem to be cropping up every day. Here and overseas--aren't we going to capture any more? How bout OBL, hmm, mmm, mmm. Lovely.
No more Tom Sawyer on the Mississippi, we've got OBL and company.
More. Effing AP:
Thomson is a symbolic step, however, a clear sign that the United States is working to find a new place to hold detainees from Guantanamo.As I wrote last night, I feel like Saddam Hussein just invaded Kuwait.
More. Washington Independent. Chicago Daily Observer.
More.
jimgeraghty There could be one Gitmo detainee for every 5.5 Thomson, Illinois residents.More. State Sen. Dan Rutherford, candidate for Treasurer, is conducting a survey on Thomson.
1 comment:
Memo to ourselves, the voters of Illinois: The next time we draft a state constitution, let's put in a recall provision so that if a governor commits such an act of malfeasance as Quinn has done, we can get rid of him or her without waiting for the next election.
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