Peter King: Bush 'Should Get a Medal" for Waterboarding KSM: A Reminder of What We Know

Congressman Peter King (R-NY) said Wednesday former President George W. Bush "should get a medal" for waterboarding Khalid Sheik Mohammed (KSM). Comforting words for conservatives coming from the man who may be the next Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee. Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) is calling for further investigations into treatment of terrorists during the GWB administration. Consider this: if we did not have KSM in custody, and did not know what we know today about his part in the September 11, 2001 attacks, where would we be today? What would Americans feel about knowing practically nothing about the day that changed this country forever? I can't imagine being completely in the dark about our attackers. Bring out the medal for George W. Bush.

Peter King

Bush said in his new book, Decision Points, that he ordered the waterboarding of terrorists, including that of KSM. While the news is old now, remember this:

KSM, as intelligence agencies call him, directed the September 11 attacks, which killed 2,978 people and injured at least 7,356. “I am the head of the al-Qaeda military committee,” he told Al Jazeera in April 2002. “And yes, we did it.” KSM wired money to his nephew, Ramzi Yousef, who masterminded the February 1993 World Trade Center blast that killed six and wounded 1,040. KSM and Yousef planned Operation Bojinka, a foiled 1995 scheme to explode 12 American jetliners above the Pacific. While some doubt his claim, KSM reportedly said, “I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew Daniel Pearl in the City of Karachi, Pakistan.”

U.S. and Pakistani authorities captured KSM on March 1, 2003 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. KSM stayed mum for months, often answering questions with Koranic chants. Interrogators eventually waterboarded him — for just 90 seconds.

KSM “didn’t resist,” one CIA veteran said in the August 13 issue of The New Yorker. “He sang right away. He cracked real quick.” Another CIA official told ABC News: “KSM lasted the longest under water-boarding, about a minute and a half, but once he broke, it never had to be used again.”

KSM’s revelations helped authorities identify and incarcerate at least six major terrorists: Read more.

A total of 90 seconds of terror for KSM. Years and years of grief that never goes away for the families and loved ones of those who died when the Towers fell. The site of the World Trade Towers 9/11 attack is in Congressman Nadler's congressional district, but he is not appreciative of the methods used to bring the attackers to justice. King, however, said Bush's actions "saved many, many lives," and he should receive "a medal," for doing what was necessary. If Nadler's loved ones had been in the Towers, would he still be pushing for an investigation of George Bush? There is one thing here that is true: waterboarding is scary - no doubt terrible for the one being waterboarded, but...let's face it, no one dies from waterboarding. Thanks to Weazel Zippers.

Bush Tax Cuts to Save Democrats in November?

Well, well, well! Democrats may keep George W. Bush's tax cuts in a desperate move to keep their seats in November.  How will the Marxist Propaganda Squad (once known as the mainstream media) spin this? Whether Democrats dare to do it or not, it's on the table. We have the quotes. We won't forget.

Tax Cuts - The Rich Pay More

The irony of trying to use President Bush's tax cuts by Democrats who have maligned them as a way to make the rich richer, is sweet. Three months before the elections, we have some Democrats on record saying the Bush Tax Cuts, which expire at the end of this year, worked and will continue to work.

Some Democrats want to postpone the sunset - obviously until after November 2010 and maybe until after November 2012.  Sen Byron Dorgon (D-ND) believes the spending of the rich doesn't amount to much...they need to be taxed more, and taxed now. In the graphic above, you can see that the rich in either category are taxed at a rate almost double the proportion of the income received.

To set the scene, a chief economist with Moody's said a drop in spending by the rich has slowed the economy. The highest income earners in the U.S. are credited with 30 percent of spending. They stopped spending, and the "recovery" they're trying to sell was affected negatively.

Allowing income tax rates to reset to pre-Bush levels for individuals earning more than $200,000 and families earning more than $250,000 could generate close to $700 billion over the next 10 years.

From The Hill:

Obama promised that families earning less than $250,000 would not see their taxes increase.

But vulnerable Democrats in Congress are worried about talk of raising taxes, even on the wealthiest families, when the national economic recovery has slowed.

[Rep. Gerry Connolly D-VA]  said Democrats should not allow the 2001 Bush tax cuts to expire for anybody. “People in the upper tax brackets have a huge impact, a disproportionate impact on consumer spending,” he said.  Gerry Connolly is defending the Virginia District 11 House seat in 2010.

Connolly is up for reelection in November. His Republican opponent is Keith Fimian.

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), a senior Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said he could support a short-term extension of the Bush tax cuts for the highest income earners. “My reaction would be don’t cut spending, don’t raise taxes and that would mean on anyone,” he said.

Rep. Bobby Bright, a Democrat facing a tough reelection race in Alabama, said tax increases, even if limited to the wealthiest families, could imperil the recovery. “I don’t care if it’s the wealthiest of the wealthy, you don’t raise their taxes,” he said. “In a recession, you don’t tax, burden and restrict. The economy is like a ship, and if you sink the ship, all the good you might do goes down with it.”

Bright is up for reelection in November. His Republican opponent is Martha Roby. 

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) would like to see the Bush tax cuts expire for families earning $200,000 a year, or even less.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) (paraphrased) wants some tax adjustments to reflect the regional cost of living. Nadler represents Manhattan. 

From Tax Cuts Increase Revenue "the way to soak the rich is with low tax rates...":

If Mr. Obama does succeed in raising tax rates on the rich, we'd also wager that the rich share of tax payments would fall. The last time tax rates were as high as the Senator wants them -- the Carter years -- the rich paid only 19% of all income taxes, half of the 40% share they pay today. Why? Because they either worked less, earned less, or they found ways to shelter income from taxes so it was never reported to the IRS as income.

It's not pleasant being a Democrat in 2010, and its downright terrifying to be a Democrat up for reelection in 2010.