Democratic Senator Blasts Gitmo Plan
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A quick trip around Hannity's America...
Democrats Revolt
The president is moving full speed ahead to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, but some prominent members of his party are refusing to go along for the ride.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Democratic Senator Jim Webb served as President Reagan's secretary of the Navy, but he is best known as a highly decorated Vietnam veteran and an outspoken critic of the Iraq War. Now Senator Webb is voicing his opposition to the president's plan to close Gitmo by January 2010, and to bring Gitmo detainees to the United States thereafter.
This what the senator told George Stephanopoulos Sunday:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SENATOR JIM WEBB, D-VA.: They have taken part in terrorism. I don't believe they should come to the United States.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: Not to the United States, and not Virginia.
WEBB: No, I don't believe it. We've spent hundreds of millions of dollars building an appropriate facility with all security precautions in Guantanamo to try these cases. There are cases against international law. These aren't people who were in the United States committing a crime in the United States. These are people who were brought to Guantanamo for international terrorism. I do not believe they should be tried in the United States.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(END VIDEO CLIP)
After House Democratic leaders last week proposed a plan to block the release of any Gitmo detainees to the U.S., I think it's safe to say that the president is facing an uphill battle on the Gitmo issue.
It's good to see Democrats talking sensibly. It doesn't happen often, so let's enjoy it while it lasts.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Notre Dame or Bust
In spite of the thousands of protesters, President Obama made the trip to South Bend Sunday to address Notre Dame's graduates. In his remarks, he spoke about his favorite topic: himself.
He is the subject of our "Fighting Irish" edition of Liberal Translation:
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PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: As I consider the controversy surrounding my visit here.
LIBERAL TRANSLATION: I'm here against all odds. Rudy, Rudy, Rudy!
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}OBAMA: I was reminded of an encounter I had during my Senate campaign.
LIBERAL TRANSLATION: No, not an encounter with Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers. That's another story altogether.
OBAMA: One that I described in a book I wrote called "The Audacity of Hope."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LIBERAL TRANSLATION: I have no shame.
OBAMA: And a few days after the Democratic nomination I received an e-mail from a doctor who told me that while he voted for me in the Illinois primary, he had a serious concern that might prevent him for voting for me in the general election.
LIBERAL TRANSLATION: I found myself asking, "Who is this man that is immune to Obama-mania?"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(END VIDEO CLIP)
Great job, Mr. President, you flew all that way to plug your own book. I'm sure that's exactly what all of the graduates wanted to hear from you.
Icy Conditions
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Meltdown is brought to you by one unlucky team of global warming scientists. The group — led by the well-known British explorer Pen Hadow — was traveling to the North Pole in order to research how global warming has affected the region.
But according to London's Daily Telegraph, the global warming advocates were met by some not-so-warm conditions. With temperatures dropping to negative 40 degrees, the explorers were only able to make it halfway to the North Pole before being rescued.
In fact, the weather was so severe, the Telegraph says Hadow was "unable to measure the ice using state-of-the art equipment because of the freezing conditions."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Better luck next time, Mr. Hadow. Sounds like the North Pole could use a little bit of warming.
Down Goes Dowd
New York Times columnist and left-wing liberal darling Maureen Dowd is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The columnist has admitted to lifting a passage directly from Talking Points Memo blogger Josh Marshall and using it in her column Sunday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ms. Dowd attempted to explain this unfortunate incident, saying a friend read her the passage but conveniently failed to mention that he was quoting directly from the Talking Points blogger, saying, "My friend must have read Josh Marshall without mentioning that to me."
Politico.com's Michael Calderon asked Ms. Dowd if she regularly weaves passages from friends into her columns, but shockingly, he's still waiting for a response.
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