|
WWW Kensington Review |
Links |
Contact Us |
| This Week's Commentary: | Volume VIII, Number 9 |
|
“Enemy Combatant” to Get US Trial -- Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri holds dual US/Qatari citizenship. In December 2001, he was arrested for credit card fraud and making false statements to the FBI in the course of their investigation of the September 11 murders. Then in 2003, President Bush declared him an “enemy combatant” and moved him to the South Carolina Navy brig. He has had no trial, no legal protection of his rights as an American citizen. The Obama administration has announced that it will charge him, that he will finally get a trial. This journal has been almost rabid in demanding this, but a danger to American freedoms remains because of the timing of this change.
Obama Sets Date for Iraq-Nam Exit -- At a speech in front of a ton of US Marines as their base at Camp Lejeune, President Barrack Obama announced he was ending the US involvement in Iraq-Nam 1034 days from now. He promised that all combat troops will be out by August 31, 2010, and that all US forces will be gone by December 31, 2011. This represents a small concession to the Pentagon, but it is largely consistent with his campaign pledges. Still, the left wing of the Democratic Party is upset while the GOP is more or less content. Washington Gears up for Budget Battle -- President Obama announced his proposed federal budget for the next fiscal year which begins on October 1. It calls for $3.55 trillion in expenditure and anticipates revenue of $2.38 trillion. That leaves a deficit of $1.17 trillion. Naturally, the Republicans are casting this as a total betrayal of America's future, while the Democrats will probably load the budget up with their pet projects. Mr. Obama was the master of understatement when he said, “I realize that passing this budget won't be easy.” Rocky Mountain News Folds -- The newspaper business is in deep trouble these days. Fewer people read a newspaper every day; more and more getting their news from the Internet (where readers expect information free of charge). Compound that with the worst economy in a generation, and the drop in advertisement spending that happens in every downturn, and one has a recipe for consolidation. The latest victim is Denver's Rocky Mountain News. The loss of any daily is a sad thing, but this was a childhood friend. © Copyright 2009 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.
|
|
