In Weekly Address, Passover and Easter Reflection Prompt Presidential Discussion of European Trip

Mr. President what is your stand on the piracy? is that a criminal act as Hillary said yesterday (and laughed about it) or its terrorist since this group do have ties to Al-Qaeda??
Are you voting president on this?

Spring holiday season? I have never heard it called that.

Mr. Biden took after his boss, lying serially. They even lie about liars.

“Mr. Biden took after his boss, lying serially.”
After all those “aneurysms”, Biden — who looks and sounds like he drinks a LOT — is best at manly sports chat.

The President is wise to keep his own council until the Captain can be freed. He, at least, is not a grandstanding cowboy. I think the pirates will ultimately regret having taken him on. As to the Vice President, Mr. Pants on Fire, I think he looks pretty good for 66, and I firmly believe his heart is always in the right place even if his words are not wisely chosen, You, on the other hand, I would not care to meet in a dark alley.

Well done Mr President I only wish your country men would give you the same chances that they gave GB but i guess some things never change and there are rather a lot of small towns in the USA who honestly do not see the light of day

By the way your Jake Tapper is rather the bees knees, I think hes lovely happy Easter and all other holidays

President Obowma says it all.

I look forward to the day when our Presidents leave religion OUT of their speeches. As someone who follows a Pagan path, all this talk of Easter & Passover does not apply to many Americans…..nor should it be said by our President. I have been trying to give Pres. Obama the benifit of the doubt, but am running short of patience. He needs to set the standard for what needs to be done with situations like the hostage one…..as soon as that capt. was out of the pirates life-boat…..the thing should have been blown to bits! IMO

Obama cannot be distracted by man-made sea disasters.
He has important things to do like play with Hillary on the swingset, order $800 pizza and prepare for the arrival of the dog.

EVERYDAY the news gets more and more absurd. All I can say about the media right now is that I feel like Jake Tapper is going to tell us the facts and let us decide. I can not think of another reporter I could say that about. So, thank you Tapper for at least giving the impression you respect your fellow Americans and I think if you refuse to sell your soul, you might be one of the greats in our time. Best of luck to you and Happy Resurrection Day to all.

Oh by the way, you have an image on this page with Charlie Gibson saying “your trusted source” or something like that-take it down. ABC is in denial. Journalists bias attitudes are MORE than apparent now and EVERYONE I know has had enough.

I think that to have a president that is a competent speaker, a person that actually cares for the Americans of a race and creed without any prejudices, and a man that would like to address the nation in hope and spirit is a good thing. But some people that watch the news only want to hear doom and gloom and only want to find the bad when there isnt any present. I stick by my President and say happy easter and pray for those in trouble.

The President is keepng wise counsel to keep his distance from a US hostage situation…he is probably trying to have a 3rd country (Saudi Arabia) to pay ransom for the American captain.
Obama’s reluctance to use force will only embolden the pirates.
Hell, even the French fought back.

“Obama’s reluctance to use force will only embolden the pirates.
Hell, even the French fought back.”
The French fought back after six days of failed hostage negotiations. They offered to pay a ransom, but the pirates refused. The pirates refused everything they offered so they were left with no choice, but to storm the yacht. As a result, one of the hostages was killed, the yacht owner and father of three.

Omentum – No need for name calling. You lose all credibility when you do so. I’m sure you wouldn’t say that to someone’s face with whom you disagree.
Even though a hostage got killed, I bet pirates think twice before messing with the French again. (And I don’t listen to Hannity).

Posted by: ellsbells930 | Apr 11, 2009 3:44:09 PM
Point taken. I should have not been so rude. But do you not realize that an innocent life is in the balance.
What if that was one of your relatives?
How hawkish would you be in that situation?
Well did they think twice????? They are still up to it huh. Did the going in with guns a-blazing fix the problem. The bush doctrine does not work here either.
Instead of being reactionary and blowing up every pirate ship out there with hostages included. How about working on a strategy to thwart their plan before a hostage situation occurs.
And yes I would confront someone that is not utilizing common sense.

Omentum – You don’t know what I do or don’t realize. I do realize that an innocent life is in the balance. But he knew his life was at risk when he offered himself to save his crew. No one can guarantee a good outcome even if we negotiate for months. These are ruthless criminals. And sometimes you just have to take a stand against such people to show that you aren’t going to take what they are dishing out.

ellsbells
nice of you to ignore my question.
That is the oath of a captain and quite commendable that he upheld his oath.
Now it is up to the president to try and get this captain back home to his family ALIVE.
When will you hawks ever learn. Guns a blazing does not work in every situation.
We had eight years and over 4000 deaths to prove that.
Wow that iraqi thing just makes the world cower to us right. we are such a mighty show of force right?

But families are off-limits, right? Like Sarah Palin’s daughter, the Bush twins, and etc.?
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | Apr 11, 2009 4:09:21 PM
=====================================
So, what is your point??

Omentum -what question did I ignore? I thought I answered everything.

Those pirates should be destroyed for BEING PIRATES. This isn’t about partisan rhetoric. Since when has piracy become acceptable during ANY administration? Um…remember when we hung ANY pirates back in the 1800′s? Yeah, that needs to be reinforced. Point Blank: Piracy is illegal and is considered a form of terrorism. The United States does NOT negotiate with Terrorists. They should be taken out with extreme prejudice. End of story. Thank you. Buh Bye lol.

Omentum -I guess I needed to be clearer in my answer – I thought that my response indicated my views…..
How about four questions?
1. What if that was one of your relatives? I would be worried, but I would also realize that is the life that relative chose & understand the consequences. It’s not like this captain’s family didn’t know this area was dangerous.
2. How hawkish would you be in that situation? I would think the exact same things I do now.
3. Well did they think twice????? In the future they may, if people start standing up to them.
4. Did the going in with guns a-blazing fix the problem? Who said anything about ‘guns a-blazing’? How about navy seals or black ops who quietly can go take out the opposition under the cover of night? The pirates have to sleep sometime. (And yes, I realize that they won’t all be sleeping at the same time).

EmiDaShogun: Haven’t you heard, since obaba, there is no such thing as
terrorist……shame on you.

Monet – oh shoot I forgot lol

ellsbells
as for question 4 do you think that if special forces go in, these thug will not kill this guy. please tell me you are not that naive. They are on a very small craft and no one, not even special ops is fast enough to intervene and save his life with these thugs (not pirates) are at wait with finger on trigger.

Omentum – I believe there is a chance that the captain wouldn’t be killed. I know there is no guarantee he wouldn’t be. But then again, there are no guarantees that any of us will be alive in the next 5 minutes.

How do you know that they don’t feel the same way?
Posted by: ellsbells930 | Apr 11, 2009 4:43:47 PM
*******************************
Are you serious?
(From the AP)
Phillips, an avid skier and father of two college-age children, was described by his sister-in-law and neighbors as a man who spent months at sea but was deeply involved in his family’s life when he was home in this rural community (pop. 3,080), located about 18 miles east of Burlington, at the foot of Mount Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak.
Coggio described Phillips as an outgoing man known for his storytelling.
Asked if the family had a message for his captors, Coggio said: “Let him go. Let him come home. Let him go. We want Richard back.”
_______________
It doesn’t sound to me like they want their family member as Collateral Damage..

Smart in Ohio – Yes I am serious. In their place, I would want my loved one home, but I would also realize that this situation is larger than my loved one & our family.

Omentum..yeah I know, it is very troubling. But you know what is even MORE troubling? The fact that these guys are getting away with murder and robbery in the high seas and nothing is being done about it. I say nuke em all.

Smart in Ohio – Yes I am serious. In their place, I would want my loved one home, but I would also realize that this situation is larger than my loved one & our family.
Posted by: ellsbells930 | Apr 11, 2009 5:01:55 PM
==========================
four thugs on a boat.
THIS IS SERIOUS. WW3 is definitely on the horizon. Somalia is the new superpower imposing their will as they conquer the high seas.
CALL TO ARMS FOLKS!!!

Omentum – ellbells started by invoking the French and their attack on the yacht as if we should be attacking the lifeboat now vs. continuing negotiations. What you all fail to mention is:
The French fought back ONLY after six days of failed hostage negotiations. The French offered to pay a ransom, but the pirates refused.
The pirates refused everything they offered so they were left with no choice, but to storm the yacht. As a result, one of the hostages was killed, the yacht owner and father of three.

I’m sure Obama will have a harsh response for the pirates like he did with North Korea.
In other words–absolutely nothing.
Perhaps someone told the pirates about Obama’s bow to the Muslim king.

bailey..
nice of you to finally awaken from your eight year sleep when n. korea was doing the same thing under the bush admin.
obama did respond THE SMART WAY … call the international community to recognize this as an international problem….
no more go it alone …. no more iraqi strategerie.

It’s a sad day in America when France is more reasonable about debt/spending than we are.
And when their government has more courage militarily to stop a bunch of kidnapping thugs.
Obama has to think and lecture and worry about the rights of the pirates.
It’s the equivalent of voting “present” on all of the tough decisions.

Omentum, you’re right. Let’s give in this time. It’s only 4 Thugs on a boat, right? While we’re at it, we should also do everything diplomatically possible to end the situation in Cuba. Yes, that is right. But, let me ask you this. When will it end? When will it be time for us to ACT and not TALK? Do you remember WWII? We didn’t act until the Japs attacked Pearl Harbor and killed thousands of innocent Americans. What about when we ignored the World Trade Center bombing…didn’t take out Bin Laden…what happened? I don’t think I need to tell you, you know what happened. The point is that if we allow these little bitty thugs to get away now, they will come back as a swarm. I agree getting the dude home is important (you can choose not to believe my feelings on that if you want to), however, when will we prevent instead of acting spontaneously? I hope you don’t misunderstand. Both Democrats and Republicans alike have done this. Bush just went in guns a blazing as you say without thinking. I know, this sounds contrary to what I have been saying. Let me explain. I am not saying, don’t look into the situation and kill them all. I agree, kill them all, but only after exhausting EVERY SINGLE OTHER OPTION AVAILABLE TO US. Hope this helps clear up my previous posts.

Posted by: ellsbells930 | Apr 11, 2009 5:26:10 PM
This is not some big organized piracy operations where all the thugs out there are in cahoots with one another.
This is a situation where crime at sea has gotten out of hand.
crime on land – crime at sea – IS THERE A DIFFERENCE.
Does the death penalty discourage folks from killing one another. NO
The unique thing about this is the fact that it is happening on water. Just as it gives the pirates an advantage, smarter minds must make it a disadvantage. like i said before. life ends as it these thugs once knew. there is no good end for these guys. but I know that unless something is done to takes the thugs out before they launch out to sea this will not stop. blasting them out of the water with hostages in tow is not going to deter THUGS.

Did he bow for Easter or did he look at the King’s fine clothing for a closer look? That’s an Easter message to ponder. Flash 2 news—Pirates–Let’s not hurt the terrorists ..oh sorry I mean people who are under terrible low economic stability. They have international rights, you know. I sure hope they don’t get fired upon like Hillary did when she was in Iraq. Not. The Navy looks foolish due to the guy who plays in the WH back side lawn–what a joke his administration has become. Unreal, this is happening. No mention of this crisis. The Navy cannot do anything until the Dear Leader phones Nancy and Nancy phones her friends of what to do. Are we all on the same page-call Harry-Call Katie-Call Wolfie and call Charlie. Next, we will see stories of a dog–aww, he’s so caring to take in a new doggie..no pirate stories, again. Where are the true patriots to stop this Marxists for overreaching his power. How can he fire a CEO of a company? How can he control banks? He should be impeached. It’s no doubt about it. He is certainly not presidential material. I don’t feel sorry for him after the damage that he has imposed on our nation. This is the Democrats doings. This is their country now. Change? I dispise the repubs (sell outs) but I truely don’t trust the DNC and it’s elected radicals. Vote the radicals and all followers out and really make a better change.

Quote Omentum: “i think where we part is WISDOM to know the difference between the two examples (bin laden ww2 wtc vs. 4 thugs on a boat)”
Yep I agree with this statement. I don’t see the difference cause I am not looking at who they are NOW…I am looking at what they could become LATER if we don’t handle this correctly. Again, I do, however, respect your opinion.

Last I heard, the FBI is in control of the boat, and isolated it as a crime scene. They’ve sequestered the crew. The FBI certainly is aggressively taking over this incident, and keeping others out of it.
The U.S. Navy stood back, apparently to give the FBI negotiating team time to get there. Hmmm.
Domestic law enforcement out on the high seas to adjudicate terrorist situations. Interesting. Perhaps some of these FBI teams would like to run up the Hindu Kush mountains the next time one of our isolated combat posts is overrun, to reason with the Taliban.
I assume this is the same FBI that routinely opens it’s doors to the Islamic advocacy group CAIR, hired what some call extremists to consult on cases, and has bathed it’s agents and employees in Muslim sensitivity training conducted by outside groups like CAIR.
Was the Navy told to stand down until the FBI negotiating team got there? Is that why they didn’t move in when (or if) they saw the Capt. try to escape?
The way this incident is going down, and based on Hillary’s dismissive, “They’re just a bunch of criminals”, it looks like a concerted effort to send the message that terrorism is not a military problem, but a law enforcement problem. This is pure conjecture, of course.
I’m just wondering why the U.S. Navy is hanging back so passively. As a Pentagon vet, I know those guys must be chomping at the bit.
But you do have to balance the Capt.’s life with the imperative to deter future attacks against Americans.
One question: CNN said the terrorists have called in pirate reinforcements from Somalia. Al Queda has made inroads into Somalia, and some of the warlords there do have AQ contacts.
Hopefully, these “reinforcements” aren’t AQ taking the hostage Capt. Phillips off the pirates’ hands. If so, the Navy has got to prevent them from coming together some how.

jordan:”I’m just wondering why the U.S. Navy is hanging back so passively. ”
I didn’t realize the military was trained extensively on recovering hostages – seems like it would be a waste of time and well outside of their actual mission. The French sent in the military and ended up with only one dead hostage (out of five). If we send in our guys and end up with only one dead hostage, should we take that as a success?

I want my strong America back. We are not a leader in this world anymore under a president who is not a leader.

The other problem, Omentum, is that in this part of the world, even an attack by four rag-tag thugs has to be assessed in the context of national policy. It’s much larger than four thugs and a lifeboat.
No, small incidents by themselves don’t threaten national security. But how they’re handled can snowball into a security problem that, in the long run, does affect overall national security, and the safety of Americans around the world.
One IED going off on the road to Baghdad airport doesn’t amount to a critical national security threat, when viewed singly. But place it in the context of larger American operations, how they’re viewed and how much people support or oppose them, and suddenly, that little incident does have a major national security aspect to it. Hopefully, that’s how the president is looking at this. Keep praying. Free the Captain.
Posted by: jordan | Apr 11, 2009 6:33:35 PM
Oh Jordan where do I start…. ok lets take it from the top.
“national policy”
how about international policy
“this part of the world”
so are you saying that if these thugs were off the coast of norway or the us or any other country for that matter it would be less of an event? logic please?
“four thugs in a boat”
as far as the us is concerned it is four thugs in a boat. the french issue dealt with the french. did we interfere. that why now this should escalate to an international issue.
“snowball into a national security problem”
please elaborate. aside from their ransom money being funneled to terrorist organization, this is nothing more than thieves on the water.
these thugs are not targeting americans. they are targeting vulnerable vessels.
what I have heard most say is that america should strike and chalk the captain up as collateral damage because the captain knew the dangers he faced. My question is if the captain is out there playing russian roulette in dangerous waters why are we even out there trying to get him. the heck with him right. kinda thwart the thugs plot too. but numskull are posting that we are handling this in a passive weak manner. May I remind you that these thugs are out there dead in the water staring down the barrels of two navy destroyers. the are backpeddaling on ransom and just want to get away. well that is not going to happen either. we know were these guys live. we will get them. not with a hatchet but with a scapel. That is how you fight asymmetric warfare.
And yes an IED going off anywhere that harms an American is a serious issue. we should ensure their safety by giving them the best equipment and the best leadership possible. in iraq we provided neither.
new day
new age
you just cant go around blowing up everything to prove your prowess. how far did that shock and awe in iraq go. eight years later …. not far.
get a clue.

“…we will be fillibuster-proof, and yes, you will still be here bashing Obama with mindless rhetoric…”
Sure you will. First-term presidents’ parties always do great in the off-year elections, don’t they?
But yes, I’ll still be here–and I’ll still be quite rich, since nothing Obama or the congress can do will affect my wealth in any way. How ’bout yourself? Gonna strike it rich while Obama’s in there?

striking it rich is not a goal i wish to seek. your words are quite telling.
i just want average folks given a REAL chance to make it in this world.

“well tell me how does he formulate national policy on a international scene.”
He is charged under Article II, Section 2 of the constitution with various responsibilities relating to the foreign policy of the United States. The constitution is silent on the subject of an “international scene,” and I believe they would laugh at such a formulation, as do I.

Facist
with a straight face do you mean to tell me that Obama is responisble for 2 million people losing their jobs when this economy has been in a tailspin for the past 18 months.
come on …. give me a break.

well first of all hyena you shoot your own argument that obama has lost 2 million jobs down by saying the president really doesnt have much control over the economy
then you go into this mind numming diatribe about ancient history. but nevermind.
as you lecture me please tell me you are not using industrial age logic in an information age …. a world that has no borders because of the technological advancements of the past 100 years which is where you begin your arguments (around when the edsal was rolling off the assembly line)
please tell me you are not using a time in history when a handshake meant something to now where the stench of corruption and greed permeates the air.
please tell me o wealth of logic that you are not comparing times where the us once was a beacon, for the immigrants of the world to a place where our president have to duck shoes.
talk me down please wise one.

Look, Mr. Obama, it’s like this: Your primary responsbility is keeping us safe. If you don’t do your job, we will remove you. Do you understand?

It’s the economy, stupid. Obama is sounding a Bush-era tone with this focus on security, etc. He can’t afford to take a break on the economy or those numbers will fall…

Good call by the president.
May Captain Phillips and his family celebrate Easter together for many years to come.

“Gee. Who should be eating crow? Personally, I feel vindicated.”
Why? You wanted a quicker show of force with no regard to the Captain possibly being collateral damage.

“The second, smaller hint is that every businessman, large and small, has known since election day that his taxes are going to increase, and increase substantially, two years from now.”
So we can blame right wing hysteria on Obama’s tax policies for the hiring freeze?