Some friends of mine brought my attention to the new book Honor Bound: Inside the Guantanamo Trials, which explains military law and the inside story of these military commissions. The author, Kyndra Rotunda, is a former JAG lawyer who served on the prosecution team in Guantanamo Bay and as a legal advisor to an elite team of war crimes investigators. Through a series of entertaining first-hand accounts, Rotunda discusses and analyzes the laws governing the War on Terror, the Geneva Conventions, and the laws related to detainees held in Cuba.

Now I am fortunate enough to have books sent to me all the time, and while almost all are worth reading, there’s only so much time in the day.  So I’m perusing it right now, but here are some highlights.  Remember, this is coming from a first hand source involved in the legal affairs of these detainees.  Now, why isn’t this reported?  I encourage you all to join me in reading Honor Bound – after all, it’s books like these that help arm us with information as we argue with the liberals who care more about terrorist’s rights than those of Americans.  And that includes our own Supreme Court.

Highlights after the jump…

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Call me “politically incorrect” – it’s not the worst thing I’ve been called – but this is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.  How long until the same concerns are made on our soil?  

Sniffer dogs to wear ‘Muslim’ bootees



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This is the text of a speech I have delivered on many occasions to many groups, usually around Independence Day.  I know this is a bit long for a blog post, but I hope you will enjoy it and pass the message along.
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“For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword through the world…

We shall shame the faces of many… and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going.”

The words of the Pilgrim John Winthrop.

The image of the “city on a hill,” of course, comes from the Gospel of Matthew — the words of Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount.

The “work [the Pilgrims] had undertaken” was a new life in a new world, free from persecution.

And the “present help” he referred to was the chance to reach the destination toward which his people were sailing when he delivered that sermon aboard the ship Arbella in the Spring of 1630, somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean en route to the New World.

This is not Christian revisionism — this is American history. 

From the earliest days of American civilization, the inhabitants of this continent have understood that the abundant wealth of resources and opportunity found in the New World is not man-made nor an accident of nature — but the generosity of our Heavenly Father.

In other words, not only was America a shining city on a hill, but Americans knew from the first that they were not the ones who screwed in the light bulb.

America is not an accident.


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Finally – a strict constructionist ruling from the Supreme Court.  Today is a good day and conservatives across the country, especially the legal scholars, need to praise the Court and encourage more rulings on these grounds.

Now, naturally, my first reaction was to hear what the liberals had to say….that’s the political energy that fuels me.  So I listened to Dianne Feinstein’s comments, and Chicago mayor Richard Daley’s comments and others and realized that they have no logical argument…just the propagation of fear.  They fear random gunfights and Wild West shoot outs, meanwhile they have their security teams carrying firearms, and they don’t live in the neighborhoods where you really have to worry about such things.  But the beauty of living in a society where gun ownership is a fundamental right is just that – you should be afraid that everyone has the ability to harm you, and you should feel protected by arming yourself. 

And like all of Barack Obama’s statements, this one appeals to your emotion, but makes no political sense and in no way identifies his position on major public policy.  So does he agree with the Supreme Court?  It’s either a fundamental right to self defense or it’s one the government can snatch away whenever a new sheriff comes to town.  What do you believe, Senator?

A great book is John Lott’s More Guns Less Crime.  He digs into the real statistics and the psychological profiles of criminals who prey on those who are the least likely to defend themselves.  It’s disgusting, but what’s even worse is a government that forces you to rely on their public services – meaning the cops who take 30 minutes to show up, if at all – as your first line of defense.   

Yes, this is frightening – for criminals who should fear breaking into a little old lady’s house who just may have a loaded gun in her nightstand.  This is a major victory but it’s not the end…there are many more fights and we can’t trust liberal politicians who are in charge of turning this ruling into sound law to do an about face just because the Supreme Court says so.  Now I’m going to start working on garnering support for concealed carry in D.C…

Sweetheart Mortgage Loan Deals: Senators Only?

House Republicans, led by Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, sent this letter to Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) requesting a hearing on Countrywide Financial’s VIP treatment on mortgage loans to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (read this letter!) and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad.  And as the Politico has reported, all of the 100 members of the Senate were contacted about the terms of their mortgages, and it looks like they’re not talking.  Now I’ve had to fill out these financial disclosure forms before, and trust me, they leave no stone uncovered.  If you’re looking for financial privacy, public office is the last place you’ll find it.  So it looks like these Senators have figured out the loophole to keep their mortgage rates under wraps, but Senators Cornyn and Boxer have offered an amendment to the (stalled) housing bill that will require these details to be shared.   

Now the Action Points...

Contact (meaning call, don’t email) Chairman Barney Frank and tell him you’ve read this letter and you’d like to see an immediate hearing on the sweetheart loan deals that Senators are receiving while their constituents are supposedly drowning in mortgage debt. 

Also make sure to check in with your Senator and make sure they are providing that information.  If not, you may have reason to be suspicious. 

Rep. Hensarling’s letter after the jump...

 
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DeLay warns GOP faces long rebuilding process Aims to get conservative groups to collaborate
Stephen Dinan
Monday, June 9, 2008

Two years after he resigned from the House, former Republican leader Tom DeLay says conservatives haven't bottomed out from their 2006 election losses, Democrats are "cleaning their clock," and it will take years before the Republican Party can compete with the operation Democrats have built.

The conservatives refuse to accept that the left is cleaning their clock, and until you hit some bottom, wherever that is, to where it says, 'Well, maybe we ought to do something different,' little or nothing's going to change," Mr. DeLay told editors and reporters at The Washington Times last week.

"I think it's going to take years to rebuild the party," he said. "It is a party that will try to find itself as to what kind of party it is, and it will depend on what kind of leadership emerges from this rebuilding, as to what it ultimately is."

The Texas Republican resigned from the House effective two years ago Monday, months after he gave up his position as House majority leader - a move he was forced to make after he was indicted in Texas on various campaign-finance and money-laundering charges. Some of those charges were thrown out in pre-trial appeals, and Mr. DeLay still has not gone to trial on the remaining ones.

He has spent the time since his resignation studying the way the liberal movement operates, and says it is far more adept under the new campaign-finance rules enacted in 2002, and championed by Sen. John McCain, the Republican's presumptive presidential candidate.

For the rest of the story and the video, click here.   

            If Congressional Republicans allow Nancy Pelosi and her Democrats to skirt responsibility for rising gas prices, they will once again earn the time-honored mantle of “The Stupid Party.”  Two years ago this week, Nancy Pelosi – as part of a concerted campaign of opportunistic mendacity – said she and her party had a “commonsense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices.”   Their "plan" conveniently came to fruition after Democrats voted against a comprehensive energy plan that would increase fuel production and open up untapped oil reserves.

            Democrats won control of Congress partly because of such promises.  The day she took over as speaker, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.33.  Today, it’s $3.60.  This $1.27 “Pelosi Premium” is the single most pernicious factor behind the struggling economy in general and middle class anxiety.  Recent polls demonstrate rising gas prices are the most important economic issue facing Americans today.  And here’s the thing: it’s all their fault.

            The spiraling cost of energy in the United States today is not one of those things that is nobody’s fault, nor is it a matter of shared responsibility.  The fault is absolutely, completely at the doorstep of the Democrat Party.  Their Kool-Aid-cult attachment to environmental extremism, their ideological hostility to free markets and free trade, their barking threats of tax hikes on American energy production, their weak and indecisive foreign policy toward the Middle East, and their limousine-liberal NIMBY hypocrisy are not present on both sides of the aisle. 

            To date, the only thing Nancy Pelosi’s Democrats have tried to do on energy is raise taxes.  The tax hike they passed in the House not only targets American energy companies, it specifically exempts foreign oil companies.  So, foreign energy companies, many of them subsidized by regimes hostile to the United States, would enjoy a reverse subsidy benefit from the Democrat Congress.  Is that really their “commonsense plan”? 

            Nobody knows.  All we know, for sure, is what the plan is not.  The Democrats’ plan to lower gas prices cannot include opening up the billions of gallons of oil underneath the Gulf of Mexico or Alaska because… well, because the Democrats apparently care more about caribou, fish, and even the views from their vacation homes than energy independence.  There is enough accessible oil in the United States to fuel 60 million cars for 60 years, and the Democrats will not allow it to be drilled. 

            This week, truckers rallied in Washington, D.C. to protest the failure of Congress to do anything about gas prices.  They were mad; they should be.  They should be furious at the arrogant refusal of Nancy Pelosi’s Democrats to lift a finger to lower gas prices.  They won’t allow increased production, they won’t allow the creation of new nuclear power plants, they refuse to reform our ethanol subsidy programs, which are not only driving up the cost and driving down the efficiency of our gasoline, but are now helping to starve the third world.

            If we wanted to, we could lower the price of fuel in a month – by opening up our oil reserves to exploration, by encouraging the development of next-generation nuclear power plants, and by removing government mandated manipulation of the energy market.  But Democrats oppose all of these measures for reasons ranging from partisan cynicism to ideological fanaticism.  But they maintain they have a “commonsense plan.”  Well, what is it?

            Voters have a right to know what exactly Mrs. Pelosi’s “commonsense plan” entails.  Her number is 202-225-0100.  Call your Congressman and Senator, ask the Democrats what their plan is to reduce the price of gasoline.  If they don’t give you a straight answer, if they don’t renounce tax hikes, if they don’t support increased domestic production, and if they feed you some nonsense about “biofuels,” you’ll know all you’ll need to.

            Energy prices are bankrupting the middle class, and the Democrats in Congress are doing nothing about it.  The real question now is: will conservatives do something about that?

Today is the second anniversary of my resignation announcement, and I want to put something to rest.  In nearly every newspaper article I read mentioning my decision to leave Congress, never once do they get it right.  More often than not, the article states that I was either forced or driven out of office under a cloud of scandal.  Let me make one thing clear – there was no force in it, and no real pressure to leave other than the pressure I personally felt dragging my family and the 22^nd District through a very divisive and costly race.   The decision was all my own and on my terms, and I do not regret it.   I would also like to point you to my interview with Mike Allen, who at the time was reporting for Time magazine, and my video resignation announcement, which I completed in the first take, in the dead of the night, with a lump in my throat.

Since leaving office, my life has changed drastically.  First, I lost weight, which was a nice way to transition.  I wrote a book, which I think only those who really love me or really hate me read, and I started organizing conservative activists in an effort to revitalize the movement I have been working with for 20 plus years.  I’ve been raising money to help conservatives combat the growing number of liberal groups and union-backed political activities.  I quickly started to blog at www.tomdelay.com, and then after taking a break to get CCM up and running, I transitioned over to Townhall where I feel very at home with my thoughts and opinions.  It's been a very busy and interesting time , and I hope you all will join me as we continue to fight in this new arena.

Keep the Faith,

Tom DeLay

Consider me old-fashioned, but why is it that Democrats always feel the need to outsource the work of elected officials to these so called "working groups"?  It's the duty of Congress to suggest, and in fact pass, legislation that would address the problems that arise, within the proper role of the federal government.  I think this tactic is far more popular on their side of the aisle due to their complete lack of confidence in their political philosophy.  If they can't sell their bogus "buy outs" to other Democrats, they put together a group of their buddies - mostly political has-beens who will do anything to make headlines again - and allow them to do the dirty work of selling it to the public.  It then gives them political cushion if the proposed solutions are enacted and fail, or if they never see the light of day.  "I followed the recommendation of experts" they say, when it's their job, and constitutional responsibility, to filter what the experts say and put it into sound public policy.  And let's not forget, it's also a way for them to do what they do best - throw money at a special interest group/traditional Democrat voting bloc.

Congress was designed as a far superior system than these informal "working groups", and if members of Congress or the Administration would like to include outside input, they should sign their own name to it.