Paul starts new drone war

[DonViejo]

Source: The Hill

Sen. Rand Paul has warned Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that he will place a hold on one of President Obama’s appellate court nominees because of his role in crafting the legal basis for Obama’s drone policy.

Paul, the junior Republican senator from Kentucky, has informed Reid he will object to David Barron’s nomination to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, unless the Justice Department makes public the memos he authored justifying the killing of an American citizen in Yemen.

The American Civil Liberties Union supports Paul’s objection, giving some Democratic lawmakers extra incentive to support a delay to Barron’s nomination, which could come to the floor in the next two weeks.

Barron, formerly a lawyer in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, penned at least one secret legal memo approving the September 2011 drone strike that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric whom intelligence officials accused of planning terrorist attacks against the United States.

-snip-

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/205105-paul-starts-new-drone-war

[AgingAmerican]

1. Rand Paul: I don’t care if a drone kills a liquor store robber with $50 in cash

“I have never argued against any technology being used against having an imminent threat, [or] an act of crime going on,” Paul said, referring to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. “If someone comes out of a liquor store with a weapon and 50 dollars in cash I don’t care if a drone kills him or a policeman kills him.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/23/rand-pauls-reversal-i-dont-care-if-a-drone-kills-a-liquor-store-robber-with-50-in-cash/

[Blue_Tires]

2. Paul's just being a dick as usual...

Sad to see the ACLU enable his little God complex...

[SoapBox]

3. Has this little shithead done anything, except put out holds?

Worthless, obstructionist prick.

[Xithras]

4. This could be a "stopped clock" moment.

If Barron helped to justify the use of drones to kill American citizens, and thinks that it's OK to kill people without trial, then I don't want him sitting on any legal benches. Even if Paul is doing this for unrelated political reasons, the reality is that our current model of drone warfare is a crime against humanity, and no person who "justifies" it should ever be allowed to hold power again. He's the moral equivalent of John Yoo, who wrote the Bush arguments to justify waterboarding and torture (and yes, I consider waterboarding and drone strikes to be equally evil morally).

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. I stand with Rand Paul, Ron Widen, Patrick Leahy, Jeff Merkley, and the ACLU on this issue.

From the article:

The ACLU has sided with Paul, who has a handful of Democratic allies.

“No senator should be voting on this nomination until they have an opportunity to read all of the OLC opinions he has written on targeted killing,” said Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel at the ACLU.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) joined Paul’s filibuster of Brennan’s nomination last year.

“The issue of American security and American freedom really doesn’t get enough discussion here in the United States Senate, and it’s my view that the senator from Kentucky has made a number of important points this day,” Wyden said on the floor of Paul’s late-night talk-a-thon.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) last year voted against Brennan, who defended the administration’s drone program during his confirmation hearing.



Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/205105-paul-starts-new-drone-war#ixzz30s3fCHjg
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook

[truebrit71]

6. Oh this should be fun...

[marble falls]

7. The one and only hold I agree with.

[McCamy Taylor]

8. I suspect that Rand has been talking to Ron on this one.

[DonViejo]

9. If he hasn't been speaking with Ron, then...

Rand Paul Schmoozes With Rupert Murdoch At The Kentucky Derby

CATHERINE THOMPSON – MAY 5, 2014, 8:21 AM EDT

While the thoroughbreds raced around the track Saturday at Churchill Downs, Sen. Rand Paul's (R-KY) mind was on an entirely different kind of race.

Paul had invited billionaire media tycoon Rupert Murdoch to tag along for the festivities at the Kentucky Derby, according to the New York Times, possibly in an attempt to court favor for a 2016 presidential run.

“I’ve never been to the Kentucky Derby,” Murdoch told the Times. “I said absolutely. It’s a good thing for me. He’s a very interesting man.”

-snip-

At Saturday's races Murdoch sounded a bit keener on Paul. Although he didn't seem impressed that the senator started his career as an eye doctor in a town with a population of 50,000, he did say that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had benefitted from Paul's endorsement, which he called a "smart move for everybody."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rand-paul-schmoozes-rupert-murdoch-kentucky-derby

[Tarheel_Dem]

10. Not at all surprising to see DU's Naderite contingent salivating over this.

Pass It On: Divide & Conquer -- Ralph Nader for President in ...

http://www.votenader.org/blog/pass-it-on/2008/10/15/pass-it-on-divide-and-conquer/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium