Monday, February 14, 2011

Irony Is Alive And Well In Berkeley

Remember those signs? The City Council of the People's Republic of Berkeley passed a series of ordinances designed to drive Marine Corps recruiters out of the hallowed haunts of radical wretchedness. While America is at war with a vile mass-murdering terrorist enemy disguised as a religion, Berkeley decided that it was no place for the Marine Corps that had put its first overseas action into its hymn: "To the shores of Tripoli." Same enemy, different century, different location.

OK, that's typical of Berkeley, but not ironic. The irony comes a couple years after the height of the Marine Corps brouhaha. Berkeley has a dandy little leftist governmental entity called, believe it or not, the Peace and Justice Commission. The Marine Corps is in charge of the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay on the island of Cuba. An American city chooses to insult, demean and ban a branch of the US military during a time of war. In order to complete its disloyal slap at America, the Berkeley City Council, acting on the recommendation of the Peace and Justice Commission, has decided to be the premier welcomer of "one or two Guantanamo Bay detainees and use city funds to assist them in resettling in Berkeley." Terrorists, yes. Marines, no.

Now settle down. As Al Jolson famously said, "you ain't seen nothin' yet." To make sure that nobody could mistake the intentions of the Commission and the Council, Commissioner Rita Maran says: "The idea is to invite to Berkeley the kind of people you'd like to have living next door to you, or dating your cousin." Maybe, if you like neighbors such as Jeffrey Dahmer or potential relatives like the Hillside Strangler. The Islamic terrorists likely to become the new mayor and chief of police of Berkeley are one Russian and one Algerian. The weasel-word of the feds is "cleared" and the weasel-words of the Commission are "they pose no threat to the United States." True enough, if they had been kept at Guantanamo.

"Cleared" means that the terrorists might not be convicted by a jury if they had been charged with civilian murders, committed on American soil, in a court using the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. It's another example of the left, and particularly the Obama administration, not understanding the rules of war, the Geneva Conventions, and the difference between civilian criminal charges and enemy combatants captured in a theater of war. And then there's that small detail of a Supreme Court gone mad allowing the right of habeas corpus for wartime detainees captured outside the United States who are not American citizens. A number of warriors for Allah have been "cleared" using habeas corpus, a procedure never even seriously considered by any previous Supreme Court.

What did the weak-spined Commander-in-Chief's own task force have to say about the 240 detainees at Guantanamo? Couched in words more elegant than mine, they determined that while some detainees may be deserving of transfer or conditional release outside the United States, none of them are innocent wandering clerics or schoolmarms. A prime example of a "cleared" detainee is Ahmed Ghailani, charged with being an active conspirator and agent of Al Qaeda in the 1998 US Embassy bombing. By the time the clever leftist legal eagles got done, he had been demoted from co-conspirator to "Osama bin Laden's cook."

That one worked so well that one of the future Berkeley residents went from being an enemy combatant to being a bookworm and a chef, who learned his high culinary art in Kabul, Afghanistan. The other has gone from being a terrorist trained at the Al Farouq terrorist training camp to being a Russian ballet dancer who experienced anti-Muslim sentiment, moved to a Muslim country, and just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only people crazier than these guys are the fools in Berkeley who want to welcome them with open arms.

The Director of National Intelligence reported last December that 25% of released ("cleared") detainees have been subsequently confirmed to be back in the terrorism business (whether as chefs or ballet dancers is unclear). The Berkeley City Council may be gamblers, but I'm not. I am not going to be in charge of the welcome wagon for neighbors who have a 25% chance of slitting my throat as I'm heading out for church on Sunday.

And so I close with a quote from my favorite UC Berkeley law professor and former adviser to President Bush, John Yoo: "It's the perfect combination of futility and stupidity. It is futile because what happens to Gitmo detainees is up to the federal government. It is stupid because only Berkeley would want to be a magnet for resettlement of Gitmo detainees." I agree with Professor Yoo in principle, but I do want to point out that there is such a place as Ann Arbor, Michigan.

22 comments:

Tennessee Jed said...

No patience for weak kneed Commanders in Chief and no tolerance for terrorists or anyone who makes their lives easier. Good post, Hawk (the very best Bekley grad)

AndrewPrice said...

Lawhawk, There is a truly simple resolution to this that will satisfy everyone.

1. Build a wall around Berkley.

2. Release the poor innocent terrorists into Berkley.

3. Don't let anyone out of Berkley again.

Everyone wins! :-)

Tehachapi Tom said...

Hawk
I read this post in utter disbelief. I thought the bo regimes ridiculous trial scenario as preposterous but this is beyond preposterous.

I can usually get my mind around most of the abhorrent behavior that humans do but this defies all attempts at understanding.

Obviously the Berkley loonies do not have even a smidgin of self preservation in their genetic make up.

Could this be natures way of cleaning the gene pool?

BevfromNYC said...

I'm with Andrew. Why stop at just Gitmo detainees. They can set up an "Old Dictators' Home" so Fidel, Hugo, Muaymar, Mahmoud et al. can spend their waining days reliving their glory days with their admirers.

Hey, there can be a stipulation to death sentences and life in prison that as long as you are willing to live in Berkeley, you can go free. Charlie Manson would love the chance! This could solve prison overcrowding.

I would love to see the day when Berkeley-ites needed the Marines and they refused to come?

Anonymous said...

Tennessee: At least when I was at Berkeley we didn't have to import terrorists. We did our own dirty work. LOL

Anonymous said...

Andrew: I knew you'd come up with the solution. I'm getting all my friends from the Caliente Militia together to carry out the plan.

Anonymous said...

Tehachapi Tom: There is some kind of sick group-think that goes on in that town that I'm unable to fathom.

Obama and his idiot Attorney General just don't get that we're at war. Or worse, they don't care. But it took the Supreme Court to cut off even the possibility of permanent detention during hostilities, or a trial, by granting habeas corpus to prisoners of war. Otherwise, Berkeley wouldn't have the opportunity to welcome the terrorists into their midst. As the Chinese maxim goes: "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."

Anonymous said...

Bev: All good stuff. But one small quibble. Unlike the mentally-deranged citizens of Berkeley, the Marines would come to their assistance because honor demands it. Honor is a word unknown to leftists.

BevfromNYC said...

Well, LawHawk, maybe the Marines could just ask "Why should we?" before they come, maybe? That would work for me too.

Writer X said...

This is like a bad reality show: Housewives and Gitmo Terrorists of Berkeley? Why not have each terrorist live with someone on the Peace & Justice (cute name) & Happy Face Commission. Now that would be good tv!

BevfromNYC said...

Ooh, WriterX, I love the reality tv angle...we could call it
"Burqua-ley Heights"

Writer X said...

Bev, that is perfect! So many possibilities, so little time... At the very least, they could do a Survivor season at Berkeley. Where is Hollywood when you need them?!

T_Rav said...

Bev, just wait until the Marines come in to save their sorry you-know-whats and the Berkeley profs immediately ask them if they could go grab another glass of wine. That'll just be great.

Anonymous said...

Bev: And make them post signs all over town that say "pretty please, with sugar on top." A little old-fashioned humiliation before salvation is a good thing. LOL

Anonymous said...

WriterX: I suppose there's an upside. It's hard to maintain a Happy Face Commission when all the members have been decapitated as infidels.

Anonymous said...

Bev: What can one do with a town whose largest conservative organization is Code Pink?

Anonymous said...

WriterX and Bev: Cool. A Survivor series focusing on an exotic location with the most vicious and primitive natives known to man. It's rumored that among their chiefs (known as professors), once-a-year bathing takes place, much to the shock and horror of the general populace which doesn't bathe at all. Their motto is "cleanliness is next to nothing."

Anonymous said...

T-Rav: They don't drink wine. They drink "smug," imported from San Francisco. (Apologies to South Park).

T_Rav said...

LawHawk: And I'm still waiting for San Francisco to disappear up its own #%*$@^&.

Anonymous said...

T_Rav: Well, at least now I'll be out of the way when it happens.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Good grief! These idiots are insane! They definitely need more irony in their diet.

Lawhawk: LOL! Aye, they live on smug there and I'm sure their farts must smell good. To them.
Isn't smug carbon based? :^)
At any rate Berkeley does have a good smug recycling program.

Anonymous said...

USSBen: I had to borrow my son's car a couple of years back. It was bad enough that he lives in the Berkeley Hills, but I discovered to my horror that he had traded in his BMW for a Prius. I tried to sneak past my office, but one of the employees spotted me, and I was in for two days of razzing and South Park jokes.

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