This Week has to be Better Than Last Week

Mike Barnicle, regular contributor to MSNBC’s " Morning Joe” made me want to stand up and applaud when he said the words to the effect of “the senators should just shut up and get out of the way and let the Justice department do what it has to do.” He was responding to Senator Chuck Grassley, who thought we should put off the immigration bill for a while and the three amigos, senators Gramm, McCain, and Ayotte calling for the administration to make Boston's bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaeu an enemy combatant. Then there was Representative Peter King saying that the FBI dropped the ball on the older brother thus allowing the bombing incident to happen.

I don’t know what connection Senator Grassley is trying to make between the bombers, who were here for 10 years, and the current immigration bills that are being worked on. One of the bombers was a legal resident, and the other was a naturalized American citizen. I can understand where one who is opposed to an immigration bill in the first place looking for straws to make their case. This immigration bill has been in the works for a long time and border security and vetting those who are allowed to enter our country has always been at the forefront.

The questioning of Dzhokhar is already taking place even though he is unable to talk. A first-year law student could win a death penalty for the prosecution because there’s a mountain of evidence against him such as an eyewitness, admission to the fact and video. Peter King wants him to be labeled an enemy combatant for 30 days, so they can squeeze all the intelligence out of him. In 2009, a special group of interrogators, known as the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, was created especially for terrorism cases. The group is comprised of FBI, CIA, State Department and other agencies, to extract the needed information as quickly as possible. Even when Dzhokhar is convicted, he will be housed for a time in maximum security where more information might be obtained. I have a problem with Representative Peter King labeling America, a battleground because that makes it easier for government to label American citizens enemy combatants. Dzhokhar Tsarnaeu will be tried in a civilian court because it’s unconstitutional to subject American citizens to a military commission.

The Sunday talk shows were mostly about pointing fingers and questioning the lock down of a large American city. Peggy Noonan took it a step further by blaming President Obama for not being able to push through the background check which had a 90% approval. What rock has she been hiding under? The American people backed background checks; 90%% of Democrats voted for it, but 90% of Republicans voted against it. Only in our dysfunctional government does a 54 in favor and 46 against count as a loss. This morning Joe Scarborough said a source in the Boston police force (unanimous of course) told him that the lock down was questioned. It is my opinion that Joe Scarborough (libertarian) saw the move as government takeover. On another show, one Republican consultant said that if the subject were hiding in a boat in Louisiana, he would have gotten his head blown off. I believe that and that’s why I’m against vigilante justice. We needed this subject to taken alive because of the information he might have might help us prevent another bombing.

It’s funny how jealousy takes over a professional journalist. I’ve always thought Howard Kurtz was as good a journalist as there is. Sunday on his program “CNN’s Reliable Sources," it was obvious that he didn’t like the idea that during the coverage of the bombing, NBC’s Pete Williams was quoted as being the most reliable newsman. He said Williams made a mistake by telling everyone the police had found a body in a boat. Kurtz thought that the word “body''” meant “dead body.” CNN is still reeling from being wrong on the Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare, and now they are being mocked along with the Boston Globe, AP, and Fox News for jumping the gun. CNN used to be the one cable network that you could rely on to give up- to- date and accurate news, but they are being caught up in the numbers' game. CNN made a major mistake but nothing compares to putting the picture of two innocent teenagers on the front page (implicating them to be the bombers) just to sale newspapers. like the New York Post did.