The American Spectator

Marcus Crassus| 12.27.10 @ 6:27AM

I love the smell of fried Mumia in the morning.

Clyde Torres| 12.27.10 @ 7:33AM

You may never smell it,sorry to say. If Mrs.Daniel Faulkner goes to her reward before Mumia gets his just desserts,you may even see the @(#*$&? walk free.

Jedi Clampett| 12.27.10 @ 10:19PM

Nothing will happen to this twerp, certainly not the fryer. He's now a commie hero and the liberal press won't stand for it. Look for this to be resolved before the end of Obama's term to be sure he's protected.... The only way the press would turn on him is if: A) He were a christian, and B) He gave the information only to Isreal. The parlor pinks would suddenly love the death penalty again.

MoeBlotz| 12.27.10 @ 7:35AM

The poor little poofter looks so innocent and sweet.How could he have any malice in his heart?

beebop| 12.27.10 @ 7:40AM

There is some "justice" in the fact that this occurs on the watch of the most liberal administration in recent memory. I heartily enjoy watching the left feed on itself. "Herding cats" hardly begins to cover the lack of discipline they display as they work to pull down the only person who will ever occupy the WH who shares their extremist views. Amazing. Simply amazing!

Intelligent Design| 12.27.10 @ 7:46AM

It isn't believable that this private, acting alone, gained access to hundreds of thousands of classified documents. If he did, he is either a genius and/or our "national security" is a joke. How many others in the federal government are guilty?

Ret. Marine| 12.27.10 @ 8:36AM

Although I will not go into great details, there are many procedures this young private had to have in order to get to this information. He is neither of maturity, and or at the level to access this information let alone just copy it to a disk.
There is something smelly in this regimes handling of this entire episode. There is no way he did this on his own. My guess is it was an attempt of this regime to smear the hildabeast chances of a repeat for the demonrat party nomination for you guessed it, who's the best marxist soldier of the two, obamas Bin Ly'n or the hildabeast of the east, klinton? Care to wager?

John Navratil| 12.27.10 @ 9:40AM

Ret. Marine,

My understanding is that virtually all of the information Manning was able to retrieve was "Classified" and "Classified - No foreigner"; very little with "Secret" and none was "Top Secret". This is why we see a torrent of embarrassing data, but no weapons designs or war plans. Not that this makes Manning any less culpable.

What boggles my mind is the apparent lack of any monitoring or throttling of access. It's not Manning's fault that he had access to the data, but to access it at a rate that was humanly impossible to assimilate should have set off alarm bells. It seems no one with any knowledge of security procedures was in charge of setting up this system.

I'm not springing to Manning's defence. He, apparently, did what he did of his own free will and will have to answer for his actions. However, there needs to be a serious investigation into who was responsible for setting up such a weak set of controls for accessing classified data.

Stuart Koehl| 12.27.10 @ 1:33PM

There is no such classification as "classified". The three main levels of document security classification are:

Confidential
Secret
Top Secret

There are additional discriminators that can be added to each, the most common being:

NOFORN--cannot be released to foreign nationals
WINTEL--Involves intelligence sources and methods
USG--only releasable to U.S. Government personnel
USGC--only releasable to U.S. Government personnel and government contractors

Information at the Top Secret level can also be "compartmentalized"--releasable only to a small number of authorized individuals, and is usually labeled "SCI"--"Secret Compartmentalized Information. SCI data is usually further identified by a code word (which itself is classified). In order to gain access to SCI Codeword information, one must (a) have a need to know; and (b) be "read in" to the program, which usually also requires one to sign a non-disclosure form that outlines draconian punishment for violations thereof.

MJN1957| 12.27.10 @ 2:00PM

Holy cow...introducing facts into an emotional argument? How dare you!

John Navratil| 12.27.10 @ 2:17PM

MJN1957,

Was my posting anything but factual (misstatement notwithstanding)? Did emotion cloud my message?

John Navratil| 12.27.10 @ 2:16PM

Mr. Koehl,

Thanks for the clarification of the terms. I am aware of the classifications, but mispoke - the alliteration of C's.

carnot| 12.27.10 @ 8:13PM

even if UNCLAS...another classification level btw.....information has to be declared "publicly releasable" by the PAO folks to do what PFC did.

Warrior| 12.27.10 @ 11:00AM

Sandy Berger for one.

carnot| 12.27.10 @ 7:50AM

PFC....execute him. that is the penalty for treason.

the Left had better be careful....PFC agreed to certain controls and acknowledged the penalties for violating these controls in order to secure his clearances. if "higher calling" now determines whether such agreements have to be observed...all bets are off. including the "rights" the Left cherishes most.

Moe| 12.27.10 @ 11:08AM

carnot is absolutely correct. If Manning, or other military personnel, can pick and choose which moral obligations they will obey or consider valid, after they willingly take an oath or sign a letter of intent, then not only will practical anarchy reign, but so will moral anarchy. If history has shown anything in the last decade, if the military, of which I am a member, ingnores or jettisons its moral obligations, taken under oath, then the long term moral injuries: to the individual, the group and society as a whole, create devastating moral wounds from which it is nearly impossible to heal or recover.

big bob| 12.27.10 @ 11:30AM

AMEN. Where WILL we draw the line?? We have multiple examples of treason going on all around us, but this comes closest to meeting the legal standard. What WILL we do to protect ourselves? If not here, where? If not now, when? I say shoot him and ask forgiveness later....on second thought, forget about the forgiveness.

Nunya| 12.27.10 @ 1:34PM

As far as I'm concerned, this is treason pure and simple. I don't care if they were "Classified", "Secret" or "Top Secret", they were not to be disseminated to the world, regardless. Traitors should be hung in the public square, or shot by firing squad. Period.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 12.27.10 @ 7:50AM

On a practical basis he should be lined up against a wall and shot.

On a reality basis he will be given 7 years with liberals portraying him as a victim until a liberal president pardons him.

L.E. Powers| 12.27.10 @ 8:30AM

Don't be so sure he'll get off after 7 years. Pollard is still in the clink for passing secrets to our allies. Mumia is still in jail in spite of the liberal calls to free him. Facts established at trial in front of a jury are a stubborn thing in criminal proceedings. Remember, "beyond a reasonable doubt."

Patrick| 12.27.10 @ 10:54AM

There you go with guns. In this new, environmentally friendly administration, we should be looking for renewable resources...like rope.

Ray| 12.27.10 @ 12:58PM

Would that be a rope made from a natural fiber, like hemp, or a oil-based synthetic?

irish19| 12.27.10 @ 1:13PM

Oh, let's be green. Hemp it is!

Patrick| 12.27.10 @ 3:39PM

OT, but too beautiful not to share:

You know, come to think of it, all the stoners were convinced that Obama would legalize pot. They hate being reminded that too...

Occam's Tool| 12.27.10 @ 5:37PM

You know, there are just so MANY people who need the Casino Royale chair treatment, and so little time...if he's guilty of this (I always respect the innocent until proven) don't shoot him, draw and quarter the bastard.

Patrick| 12.27.10 @ 7:26PM

No, that's far too _caring_ of an act. Liberals need to feel important and persecuted. Drawing and quartering, while it certainly hurts more, will only make him a martyr for generations.

Hanging at an undisclosed time. Cremate and dump the ashes in an undisclosed location with no paper trail as to where his remains were dumped. All personal items also destroyed in like manner.

The more efficiently done, with the least emotion shown, and wiped clean off this earth, the more existentially troubling it is to liberals.

HALOMan| 12.28.10 @ 10:24AM

I would recommend the alternating joint crushing technique. Start with the L wrist, then R elbow, L shoulder, R hip, L knee, then R ankle. He won't be able to use crutches, and unless he has a powered wheel-chair, he'll only be able to go in circles.
Then cut off his eye-lids, nose, lips, and ears. He'll never look in a mirror again, and even the Libs won't want to be seen with him.
Then call an ambulance, and only when you hear the sirens, cut off his "junk", so that the EMTs can save him, but the traitor won't be able to reproduce.

Then pardon him. Remeber, the dead don't suffer.

Slobyskya Rotchikokov| 12.27.10 @ 10:42PM

but... but... think of the stress on the tree limb! And besides, a .45 casing can be reloaded several times... so the rapid lead injection would also be eco-friendly. And yes, I am serious, for too long we have been namby-pambies about enforcing our laws for execution of traitors. Gotta start somewhere.
Oh, and a side benefit - after his execution, his soiled panties could be auctioned off to Code Stink crones to treasure as tokens of their martyr! Win-win!

Melvin| 12.27.10 @ 7:51AM

I don't know guys, call me cynical. But being in the military I still have a hard time accepting that this little weasel had access to so much information.
This kid is just a PFC and the Army gives him the keys to the vault?
I have a sneaking suspicion that this kid is just a useful idiot that became the vehicle to transfer the information. There is someone or someones very much higher than Manning that covertly authorized the release of so much damaging information.
Manning is just the gay soppy fall guy here to publicly have a face for the public to pillory.
PFC's are just gophers in the Intel business. They go for coffee, the go for copying paper, they do exactly what they are told and are responsible for no one but themselves.
No way is Manning this political prisoner mastermind that the media is trying to protray.
I bet a nice shiny dime, that the authorization came from very high sources that drink coffee every morning with a cup with a Presidential Seal on it.

Butterfly| 12.27.10 @ 9:17AM

All of the military and former military folks here, I'm not saying you are wrong about this little weazel, but my husband was a PFC with a top secret clearance while in the US Army and had access to many files, codes to launch missles while being stationed in northern Italy several years ago. Is it absolutely impossible for a PFC to have the ability to get his hands on these docs without someone higher giving them to him?

Ray| 12.27.10 @ 1:34PM

"Is it absolutely impossible for a PFC to have the ability to get his hands on these docs without someone higher giving them to him?"

No, as security clearance, and access to information, isn't based on rank but is, instead, based on need.

I had a secret security clearance even as an "buck private," an E1. I had to have that clearance due to my MOS, my job as a attack helicopter mechanic. No one had to "give" me access to the information I needed to perform my duties, that access was automatically granted with my clearance. I could have, if i wish and without the assistance of an Officer or NonCom, accessed information that was not related to my MOS but what I was authorized to receive simply because of my clearance. This included not only the repair manuals for the attack helicopter, but also manuals for things like NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical) maintenance, operation, and repair weapons manuals, weapon maintenance and repair manuals, and the like, all of which included the specifications for those weapons and systems. All I needed was a need for that information. My own voluntary postings on several "teams", like the NBC detection team, automatically gave me that access. Trust me, the "enemy" (usually the now-defunct Soviet Union back in the 80's when I served) actively sought access to this kind of classified material and they would pay you well for that information

Of course, I wasn't stupid enough, or belligerent enough, to access and distribute classified material in violation of the UCMJ and my own security clearance as I respected both the Military and my own position within that military.

KyMouse| 12.27.10 @ 3:05PM

When I was a lowly Spec 4 in the Army Reserve, I had a Top Secret clearance; I wrote for an Army newspaper through the Public Affairs office. I never came across anything that seemed particularly Top Secret, but somebody thought I needed that level of clearance anyway.

MOS was 71331| 12.27.10 @ 11:43AM

As a 1LT engineer officer in 1967, I had a TS clearance while I was in the 2d infantry division in Korea. The only TS docs to which I ever had access were one time pads enabling me to decrypt messages of certain types, and my engineer battalion never received any of those messages.

Shortly after I returned from Korea, I visited my college campus. Two of my friends at the computer center told me an FBI agent had questioned them to determine whether I could be trusted to safeguard classified info.

If Manning is anything to go by, the military and the FBI must be more casual today about vetting people for security clearances.

Ray| 12.27.10 @ 1:11PM

Melvin, he was posted in a position that gave him access to all that information. He violated the UCMJ, and his own security clearance which he had to sign and was briefed about prior to its issue (He KNEW he was in violation of both the UCMJ and hes security clearance), not by accessing that information, but by distributing it to those who weren't authorized to receive it.

It's no different than being the company "postman." While stationed in Germany, I, a mere PFC (just like this man), had access to all private mail delivered to my company. This means that I picked up, sorted, and delivered all the private mail to each and every troop in our company, officers included. My security clearance allowed me to do this (I couldn't have been assigned the position if I didn't have the proper clearance), and I was subject to the same UCMJ regulations that government the handling any classified material. Has I provided that mail to anyone other than the person for whom it was addressed, I would have be in violation of both the UCMJ and my security clearance and I would have been facing the same situation as the man in question. I would have been detained and faced a Court Marshal.

Bruce| 12.27.10 @ 8:08AM

Melvin;
Since you are in the military, do you have access to SIPRNET (military classified version of internet)? As with other classified material, it is supposed to be on a need-to-know basis. Unfortunately, SIPRNET is "self-regulating" (they trust you to look only at areas that pertain to your job. There are no boundaries or "off-limits" areas. It is effectively like going onto the internet and accessing any site you want.

Melvin| 12.27.10 @ 9:03AM

No, I do not. I have been retired say, ten years now. At the time we didn't have anything that I was aware of, of what you have described.
Back, then if a person had so much as a crooked eyebrow the didn't get a clearance.

Stuart Koehl| 12.27.10 @ 1:38PM

Individual sites on the SIPRNET are supposed to be password protected, with passwords authorized on a need-to-know basis. Given the breadth of Manning's browsing, it seems clear that many agencies are extremely lax about issuing passwords.

Trebuchet| 12.27.10 @ 8:34AM

With the repel of DADT the military will now become like the one episode of "Twilight Zone" where the little kid; I believe his name was Tommy played by Billy Mumy, had complete control over the small town because of his "special powers". If Tommy turned some one into a Jack in the Box all the people could do was say "It's a good thing ya done, a real good thing" or risk being sent to the corn field to whatever horrific ends that might be imagined. With Gays now having special treatment in the military and the weight of the ACLU behind them, the only thing we will be allowed to say to Mr. Manning and his kind is "It's a good thing ya done, a real good thing".

C. S. P. Schofield| 12.27.10 @ 8:46AM

Manning and Mumia are both SOL as regards pardons. They are far more useful to the Intellectual Left in jail the they could possibly be out of it.

Richard Baker| 12.27.10 @ 8:58AM

What is amazing, as others have noted, is that this low level weasel had this much unfettered access. I'd just be curious, for a start, as to the actions of his Platoon Sergeant and Platoon Leader, or their equivalents, in this matter. Was everyone asleep at the wheel? The reason this action smells, as Ret. Marine noted, is because NO ONE was watching their subordinate. Has a security clearance now come to mean exactly nothing? Methinks this one will reverberate up the chain of command a looong way before it's over. As to PFC Manning, give me the pistol. Make it a .45, please.

Patrick| 12.27.10 @ 11:03AM

Also remember where he was stationed. This wasn't in Afghanistan.

The nice comfy posts tend to be more lax, just like any other organization involving humans.

JP| 12.27.10 @ 9:09AM

And just think, in a few years time there could be thousands of PFC Mannings running around our military.

Richard Baker| 12.27.10 @ 9:12AM

P.S.
Get RID of those damned berets, except for SF, Rangers, and the 82nd. Otherwise, they make one and all look like Santa's elves instead of Soldiers. Shinseki's effeminization of the US Army. My opinion, of course.

Warrior| 12.27.10 @ 11:10AM

Great off topic comment. Berets used to have special meaning and now are just another clothing issue item.

A.M. Mallett| 12.27.10 @ 11:29AM

I agree. The US Army has become a collection of pussycats.

MOS was 71331| 12.27.10 @ 11:47AM

Replace "ycat" in the last word with "ie".

DebbyW| 12.27.10 @ 9:38PM

Oh, I see what you did there!!!

Stuart Koehl| 12.27.10 @ 1:47PM

Actually, it makes everyone look like Monica Lewinsky.

hardcard| 12.27.10 @ 9:12AM

The chair that the rosenbergs last took a seat in, should be polished and made ready for this little traitor and the animal that executed the Police Officer in Philly. I'd like to flip the switch.

L.E. Powers| 12.27.10 @ 9:32AM

In the '80's I was a Marine captain out at Camp Pendleton and had the unusual situation where one of my Marines (we'll call him LCPL J.S. Ragman) was accused of a crime and sent to the brig for pre-trail confinement (how/why he got there was an amazing story in itself, but for another day...). Ragman chose Veteran's Day as the day he committed his felony; you know, the federal holiday the government grants to give the Marines the day after our Birthday to recover from the festivities.

And "festive" (too festive) is what a number of Marines had been. So festive that the pretrial unit of the brig was full to capacity. Since the law is clear that accused cannot be mixed with convicts, the only place to put a confinee is in solitary confinement. So Ragman ended up in solitary.

As an officer, I had to check on the health and comfort of my Marines when they were in the brig, and Ragman was no exception. I showed up at the visit area (the place with the traditional glass barrier and phone handsets on each side) to see Ragman. After waiting about 10 minutes, I was met by the Corporal of the Guard (CoG). He explained that Ragman was in the solitary cell block because of the overflow crowd. I said, "No problem, bring him out," to which the CoG rejoined, "Sir, people in solitary cannot be mingled with others. You have to go in and see him."

With that, the CoG whisked me into the brig through double locking doors. We marched through the brig and I was amazed. All was deadly serious. The prisoners (who lose the right to be referred to as Marines while in the place) were closely monitored by the chasers as they moved through the passageways. One prisoner started to salute me and was sharply informed he had lost the privilege of saluting officers when he became a prisoner. The air was heavy and no nonsense was brooked.

After 3 or 4 minutes and a couple more double gates we made it to the core of the brig and the solitary block. I entered Ragman's cell. It did look like something you might see in one of those documentaries about the SuperMax or other solitary confinement places. It wasn't much bigger than an office cube, square foot-wise. There was a built-in bunk and the entire water wall was stainless steel with the fixtures (sink, toilet) molded into the stainless sheath. (I honestly do not recall whether there was a shower in the room.)

I found that even though Ragman was a confinee and not a prisoner, he had to conform to the block's rules. This meant that he was in his cell 23 hours a day and permitted in the exercise yard for the other hour. There was plenty of light when he was allowed to be up. I believe he was allowed to sit, but not lay down. We had a pleasant enough exchange, under the circumstances. He wasn't happy to be there, but he wasn't happy about a lot of things at that moment.

I was a free man and a commissioned officer, but I was still quite happy to be out of there. My experience was that the brig was a hard place, with clear cut rules of behavior for both sides. Nobody is tortured or abused there.

Should guys like Manning be in solitary prior to trial? If segregation rules require it, I would say yes. Frankly, I was glad Ragman was in solitary; as much for his protection as those of others. A determined military magistrate eventually ruled that Ragman was not a flight threat or a threat to others, so he ordered Ragman's release. (While the crime was humorous and somewhat heinous, our CO didn't want our General to handle it, so he didn't throw the book @Ragman--which made it harder to justify pre-trial restraint in the brig.) Outside the brig, Ragman did get his butt kicked prior to being discharged, even though he was bunked in his company commander's office and "protected" by the company's CoG (who lost a stripe over the failure to protect).

Manning has full access to legal counsel and anything else he really requires. He is protected as well as we are protected from his actions. He probably would be a target to his fellow soldiers who do not appreciate people putting their lives or the lives of other servicemembers needlessly at risk for political or personal gain.

Melvin| 12.27.10 @ 10:27AM

Ahh yes, the Friday command visits to the brig to see the children. I was king of the 72 hour hearings, never lost a pre-trial confinement hearing once.
Even received a compliment from a civilian attorney, who suggested that I go into law. He was a Haavard law grad and I was just a Staff Sergeant with nineteen years.
After it was all said and done with, it was a waste of human energy. Many of these kids would have turned out alright and did their four years without incident if someone just and collared them before their problems got serious.
Many of us here who have been in the military know full well as a Staff NCO, ya got to keep an eye on each and every one of your angels under your charge, thats what we got good NCO's for.

Redstateboy| 12.27.10 @ 9:50AM

I think it was Newt who asked the question... how could one lone poof (poof is mine) have access to so much information? He used the analogy of someone using your Credit Card fraudulently.. if all of a sudden your Credit Card company begins seeing multiple purchases on your card from say... Costa Rica! they're going to atleast contact you and ask about it!! This Bananahead was downloading tons of sensitive info. and no one was watching the store? I AND Newt find this very hard to believe.
Furthermore... Hussein did say he'd have the most transparent Administration in history.. Ann Coulter pointed out the specific US Laws that Asange has broken, yet our AG isn't doing Jack! Somethin' just smells wrong here... as if this Admin. wanted this info to be dissemenated

Robert Pinkerton| 12.27.10 @ 10:05AM

Solitary confinement ipso facto "torture?" Perhaps to someone who is so completely sociocentric as to be morbidly dependent upon a peer-group. (Yes, there are social forces which aim at inculcating that state of mind.)

However, solitary confinement with a few good books -- or the ability to meditate -- is another proposition entirely.

If Pfc Manning is too intellectually poor to take advantage of solitude, then he is really SOL.

Patrick| 12.27.10 @ 11:14AM

Well, I've that there is much deprivation in not being able to listen to Lady Gaga, but I have yet to understand how this could possibly be.

MikeD| 12.27.10 @ 10:10AM

This whole thing smells strange. My initial reaction is that it is just another in a long series of actions perpetrated by barry the muslim and his 'henchpeople' who have initiated so many threads of treason that we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

There have been multiple pleas for the Military to get in there and clean up the mess that barry, reid, peloshit and the other vermin have made, but that opens a Pandora's box too monstrously dangerous to contemplate, especially since the senior echelons of our Military are now infiltrated by 'fellow travelers' that share barry the muslim's treasonous views.

Get used to this sort of thing because barry the muslim and his buddies have so badly managed everything they have touched; and, at the same time turned us into an international laughingstock that the damage may NEVER be repaired.

Now today the New York Times, of all people, are reporting that barry and his thugs have snuck through their oft denied plan to start killing off us 'oldsters' with their death panels; as inserted personally by donald berwick, the kevorkian 'wanna-be' that barry the muslim snuck in on an interim appointment because he knew that when any American with an IQ above single digits heard what was on this monster's mind they'd actually storm the White House and drag the thugs out and string 'em up!

Wait! Can't be concerned because, as usual, barry is in Hawaii on his bi-weekly vacation. George Bush looks better every week!

Dark days are here, and will just get worse unless the republicans grow a set of gonadal spheroids and actually do something. Don't bet the ranch; they have failed before when the chips were down. Are you listening GOP? This is the time and the place.

bertyy| 12.27.10 @ 10:17AM

No way is Manning this political prisoner mastermind that the media is trying to protray.

jim| 12.27.10 @ 10:32AM

When is the book, movie, telethon, mini-series, National Geographic special, NPR special, Comedy Central special, going to be offered to this guy? By the time he gets out of jail he will be a millionaire. Maybe he should consider a run at the House or Senate? He should be given a show on MSNBC, Parker, Spitzer, Manning!

olivia| 12.27.10 @ 10:46AM

How do some people read this and take it seriously? Its so opionated and close mindee from a conservative, nationalist view point.
Second, how do some people not see Mumia Abu-Jamal's innocence. Mumia's gun (which he had a right to have because he was a taxi driver) didnt match the bullet in the dead cop. Also, how come when white feds and cops get killed someone has to pay? How come the person blamed usually isnt white? Its not a coincidence.
Mumia was trying to see what was happening to his brother and was shot by a cop. Then when the smoke cleared the cop was dead and Mumia was bleeding to death with a near fatal wound. Some how he survived the wound and the cop beatings after arriving to the hospital much later. This is the man people blame for the murder? After witness coercion and false testimonies. AND many many different descriptions on what the murderer looked like.
I dont know much about Manning's situation, but ill look into it and do my research before making idiotic statements, let alone writing a whole opionated article reflecting one's nationalism and love for an unjust, corrupted system.

Aindyin| 12.27.10 @ 11:20AM

Olivia its obvious you dont know much about Manning's situation or Mumia's either so why dont you look into it and do your research then you can come back here and make even more idiotic statements that are opionated and reflecting of your stupidity and idealogical beliefs.

W| 12.27.10 @ 11:33AM

Olivia, the jury did not believe your nonsense.The appellate courts in Pa did not buy this nonsense. Besides people like you, and the government of Paris that made Mumia a "citizen of Paris," nobody believes this nonsense that Mumia did not kill Officer Faulkner.

MikeD| 12.27.10 @ 4:27PM

Olivia; Mental midgets like you are responsible for the sorry state of our Country. Having worked in 78 countries, I have good friends in every one; and not one of them can figure out how somebody as obviously deficient as barry the muslim ever got elected. Their conclusion is that either he was the beneficiary of a fraudulent campaign bankrolled by george soros and his 'ilk' trying to destroy America; or; HE WAS ELECTED BY THE GENERALLY MOST INTELLECTUALLY CHALLENGED ELECTORATE IN THE HISTORY OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT.

You can pat yourself on the back for proudly sitting at the table of the mental deficients who voted for the clown criminal. Thanks lots. Try educating yourself the next time an important event pops up; you might actually be able to make an intelligent decision; but we're not holding our breath. Mumia is a vicious murderer and anybody who still believes otherwise is stupid beyond belief. If the rhetoric in our Country is getting more heated and divisive, it's because of people like you and your incredible ignorance.

olivia| 12.27.10 @ 6:48PM

keep digging yourself deeper, its hysterical and at the same time disturbing how you call Mumia a "viscious murderer." keep calling me ignorant if it makes you feel better XD
keep saying stuff like "barry the muslim" because it makes you sound soooo intelligent.
People keep spitting out the same dumb comments and labeling me as liberal or having leftist views, wake up people, theres much more than just "left" and "right" views. Theres thousands and thousands of more views than democrat and republican or liberal and conservative.
im against capitalism and this corrupt system, i dislike the whole presidential system, just because i dont support crazies like john mccain or sarah palin (to name two of MANY) doesnt mean i love obama or whatever. Im done with this bullsht, arguing with people online, how stupid. Learn how to accept peoples opinions

blackwatch| 12.27.10 @ 8:33PM

"I'm against capitalism and this corrupt system"

...skillfully typed and posted to the internet on equipment made by and for capitalists.

Not a socialist or communist owned & developed computer or internet.

Olivia you are an EPIC hypocrite!

village idiot| 12.27.10 @ 10:35PM

i wish OLIVIA would come back, her hyprocracies are based on your values..imagine that..she says shes not a liberal, you guys tell her she is.. sounds like you guys should travel the world on your own,, without the military tit as your mamas apron,, there are thousands of views outside your control center of libtards, indytards repubtards teatards,, hypocrites all shop at wal mart, or send their servents there..

MikeD| 12.28.10 @ 8:41PM

It might be just a little easier to give you some credibility if you didn't write like a 10 year old who discovered a web site where adults use big words correctly. Also, we generally capitalize the first word of sentences so it is apparent that the previous sentence ended. It is also customary to insert funny little marks called 'commas', 'periods', and 'apostrophes' when using contractions. (Look it up.)

My advice to you, which you will not accept, is to learn to write and spell; then learn some facts and present them clearly. Only then, maybe, will anybody even read your drivel. Frankly, if you actually ARE old enough to vote, it is precisely because of you, and people like you, that we are in the disastrous situation we're in today. Please spare us all the wasted time and go back to your box of pretty colored crayons. Maybe you'll find a successful outlet for your energy in 'art'.

Michael Adams| 12.29.10 @ 6:16PM

If this is the Olivia whose mother is Julia and father is Konrad and grandfather is Paul, I am sure that they are all proud of her concern for the poor and downtrodden, as are the rest of us who have known her since she was knee high. However, she is rather a distance off the beam. Here's a clue to decoding the Left's propaganda. (Please understand, the writings of Leftists are full of advocacy for telling lies that can be useful in propaganda. They are not ashamed of doing it, consider it noble. This is not my opinion, but a reading of their own writings.) Lefty lawyers say things on the courthouse steps, for which they introduce no sworn testimony in court. There are still penalties for perjury, unless you are the President of the United States and a Democrat. So, for example, the privately funded lawyers for the Abu Ghreib guards alleged, outside of court, that their clients acted on orders, part of a general plan, etc. They never introduced such testimony. We only learned, much later, that the prisoners on the East win g of Abu Ghreib were not accused terrorists but criminal defendants. They had a right, recognized in American law, to humane treatment and a presumption innocence, but they were not POW's. Likewise, Tookie had lawyers who said a great deal, out of court. The evidence actually presented to the jury, including ballistics evidence, convinced a twelve-member jury, a multi-racial one at that, that he had killed a policeman.

This comparison of sworn testimony with out-of-court allegations is a useful tool for those seeking to know the truth in a matter.

As for everyone else: Don't pick on poor Olivia. Her heart's in the right place, but she has had a very poor education in public schools, and we'll do more to educate her by gentle remonstrance than by harsh expressions of disdain.

I am a veteran father and grandfather, whose kids have turned out very well, so I feel bold to make a claim to some expertise in these matters.

Steve A| 12.27.10 @ 10:56AM

olivia, Get a grip. Eyewitness testimony, ballistics matches the gun & bullets (not as you suggest), testimony from hospital witnesses who claim they heard him admit the shooting & wish death on the victim.

Oh yeah, also 12 jurors heard the evidence & put him away. Sounds like a grand conspiracy to me..... What are you, one of those marry an inmate chicks??

olivia| 12.27.10 @ 3:00PM

Ok, its a fact that Mumia had a .38 caliber and the bullet that killed Faulkner was from a .44 caliber. Its not that hard to look up facts from the case, theres many websites and articles about this.
The fact that you would bring up that a whole jury of twleve people found him guilty is hilarious. Its quite easy to round up twelve biased people, as well as torture and coerce them and witnesses as well.

Take a minute to read this if you care about getting your facts straight and not making a fool of yourself ;)
Thanks for the comments, too, they're pretty funny. Its interesting because it seems like everyone here shares similar views. Not trying to start arguments, just throwing another opinion out there.
http://www.freemumia.com/who.html

Steve A| 12.27.10 @ 3:41PM

Olivia, I have a question for you (I did read your link). OJ, innocent or guilty??

MikeD| 12.27.10 @ 4:30PM

Olivia; Get a grip. This is not 'move-on.morons! What do you expect when you write something like you did on this site? If you want a sense of the really bizarre, go to 'move-on.morons and read what THEY have to say! You'd fit right in.

Warrior| 12.27.10 @ 4:56PM

OK Olivia, y0u are so smart with facts. All the bullets removed from Officer Faulkners body were .38 caliber. The .44 caliber you speak of was an unofficial comment from the ME who is not an expert on bullets and he was only referring to the bullet removed from the dead officers brain. You can always win any argument on a jury being unpredictable. However, you would need something specific to offer on this case and you haven't provided that. Your facts are like liberal taking points, if enough shit is thrown against the wall, you are hoping some of it will stick. If you have any more "facts" pointing towards a different shooter than the piece of shit currently and rightfully in prison for this murder, please, let's discuss.

Warrior| 12.27.10 @ 5:16PM

Just to clarify, the bullet removed from Officer Faulkner's brain was ballistically proven to be a .38 caliber bullet fired from Mumia's gun.

Richard Baker| 12.27.10 @ 10:57AM

Olivia:
As yes. The chirp of the liberal bird. If this country is SO awful, I'll pay for a one-way 1st Class airfare to anywhere in the world so that you can go and be HAPPY. Let me know.

Patrick| 12.27.10 @ 11:18AM

I hear that Cuba is lovely this time of year.

JWill| 12.27.10 @ 11:25AM

I was in cryptography and communications in the Navy, all of my time spent at sea aboard submarines(during the cold war).

On one boat( or more accurately, in the submarine's office on base), there was a guy who was allowed far more access to classified materials then he should have been by a lazy, incompetent Radio Chief, than his clearances and position allowed. One Friday, before a long weekend, the Chief went out and got drunk at lunch. He showed back up at the office and told this E-3 that he was going home early, and that since the office was sparsely populated(read:No officers present because of holiday weekend), that he should just hang out until 4PM, and lock up before he took off.

That would be lock up the classified materials safe(s), not the office door on the way out. The Chief, being concerned that if an officer showed up and needed access to the materials, and they were unavailable, would become aware of his leaving early. IF the Chief would have locked the safes before he left, none of the following would have happened.

The e-3 (who was resentful for the way he was treated on a previous patrol), spent several hours making copies of top secret documents. As time for the office to close grew near, he quit making copies and just grabbed hand fulls of very sensitive material, stuffed them in a bag and walked out the door (locking up on the way out).

He flew to New York, and traveled to NYC, his home town. He had a less than savory past, before entering the Navy(but managed to avoid getting caught for anything too serious. He was one of the personnel that should have been weeded out before ever getting to a submarine, but fell through the cracks. It happened occasionally). He went to some of his old contacts, to find out where he could sell this classified material.

He met with someone who had connections to the (then) Soviet Union, at a bar. While waiting for the guy to show up, he began drinking heavily. So when the contact does show up, this kid is pretty drunk, and inappropriately loud(he was an obnoxious drunk, which is what endeared him to the Radio chief, another drunk. This is also how I knew the kid was trouble, a fact in which I reported, to no avail).

So he's sitting in a booth, in this bar, with the guy who he believed was going to buy these materials from him. He starts to ramble on about how the Navy had done him wrong, and how valuable these documents were. And this went on for a while.

As fate would have it, a retired Navy Chief was sitting at the bar, 6-8' away from the booth. He was listening to what was going on(from his report, you couldn't help but overhear...and the supposed buyer getting clearly uncomfortable with the sheer volume coming from this kid). The Chief went to the phone, and called the FBI, who were there in less than a half hour. They grabbed the kid, who had the materials with him, and hauled him off.

Come the following Tuesday, 2 minuets after the office opened up, two civilians in suits(FBI), accompanied by an NCIS agent, showed up at the office. Within moments, the Captain storming over to order an inventory of the classified material safes to be done.

Only the materials removed(and not copied) could be accounted for. No way of knowing what had been reproduced. Much was compromised(in reality, everything had been that was in those safes).

The kid was arrested, and ended up in prison. Never to be heard from again. He HAD to be kept isolated from other prisoners, because just the act of letting him talk to anyone would cause further damage to security.

I spent the final two years of my enlistment doing a lot of cleanup from the debacle. Mountains of information had to be re-written. Cryptographic codes had to be changed(those are created years in advance), schedules altered. And this was the stuff you could fix.

To the best of my knowledge, nothing was sold. But just those materials getting out into the open was a disaster.

This guy was no more a hero than this Manning fellow.

Ray| 12.27.10 @ 2:12PM

What happened to the Radio Chief? He also violated UCMJ by allowing unauthorized assess to confidential material. I hope he spent just as much time behind bars as the man who took the information.

JWill| 12.27.10 @ 3:36PM

Not a thing. I checked with a Master Chief who was in the know, and he told me the Chief's only punishment would be to never advance again (which he didn't), and not be offered reenlistment when his 20 years were up, just retirement(which is what happened). I was so disgusted over the whole thing I actually hurt my own career(got branded a trouble maker). I did not reenlist.

ironhorzmn| 12.27.10 @ 11:59AM

I hope they shoot that sonovab*tch Manning for treason and espionage.

I hope Obama sends a SEAL Team to terminate Assange 'with extreme prejudice'.

What's wrong with this country when scum like these can endanger national security and vital international relations through theft of the most sensitive and highly classified material and find allies IN THIS COUNTRY to condone their acts?

MikeD| 12.27.10 @ 4:42PM

Two words: "MULTICULTURALISM" and "DIVERSITY". Gifts given us by the moronic academics that have been turned into "POLITICAL CORRECTNESS"! The only way to get our Country back on track is to collective grow a pair of 'gonadal spheroids" AND KICK SOME SERIOUS A$$. We are apparently hated by everybody in the world, at least as far as barry the muslim thinks; so the question is: "Do we want to be hated and feared? or do we want to be hated and laughed at? If barry and his thugs are right, along with Olivia, that's our only choice. What is it gang? Young manning needs to be treated just the way the muslims would: since he stole, OFF WITH HIS HAND!!! Or, how about his head?

Gretchen| 12.28.10 @ 3:31PM

How about turning Manning into a promising lyric soprano?! (By un-Manning him!)

MikeD| 12.28.10 @ 8:47PM

Gretchen; I like the way you think! Wanna run off to Pago Pago for a few hundred years? By the way, I'm a baritone.

Emma| 12.27.10 @ 5:48PM

what you said. I hope he's shot for treason.

If he's not, maybe they'll explain why treason is no longer against the law.

RCV| 12.27.10 @ 12:12PM

I don't know who this "Glenn Greenwald" guy is that the author refers to, but I don't know anyone -- Democrat or Republican -- who considers this little weasel of a soldier anything but what he is: a traitor who sought to damage his country in a time of war, and who ought to prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

It's going to be a lot harder to make a legal case against Assange, though. He's a loathsome fellow personally, but the First Amendment freedom of press defense will be hard to overcome, UNLESS Assange acted himself to do something illegal other than publishing the informations someone else gave him to publish. The Free Press guarantees were not designed to protect saints: they recognized that those who publish often do so from motives that are not virtuous. Indeed, those who attacked authority even in the days of the early Republic were often scoundrels of the worst sort, but the Founders recognized (at least until they were in office) the absolute necessity of a free and unfettered press.

Steve A| 12.27.10 @ 12:43PM

The Espionage Act of 1917 fits this guy to a T. There are no freedom of speech issues in play here. Sure, you are free to publish classified secrets to damage our military in a time of war, & we are free to execute or imprison you. You are an enemy combatant.

In other words, you can rail against the injustice of an immoral or "illegal" war all you want, no problem, you just can't publish material that gets our guys killed.

PS: Not much of a Woodrow Wilso0n fan but I think this law is legit.

John Navratil| 12.27.10 @ 2:38PM

RCV,

There seems to be some confusion as to what free speech does and does not mean. Much speech is not free. Commercial speech has little protection. Libel and slander are restricted. No incitement to riot or yelling fire in a crowded theater. If I have copyrighted material, you are not free to republish it without my permission.

You may be confusing "prior restraint" with free speech. The idea is that if you publish something illegally, you are made to suffer the consequences, but cannot be constrained from doing so before the fact. The Pentagon Papers case is perhaps the most famous.

The First Amendment speaks to a free press, principally free to criticize the government, not to the ability to print anything it likes.

RCV| 12.27.10 @ 3:47PM

You're right, of course, about "prior restraints" being the prime bar of the First Amendment. But NY Times v. Sullivan held that the First Amendment does more than bar prior restraints, it prohibits (with exceptions) governmental punishment for speech. And the Pentagon Papers is indeed a good example. Yes, it prevented a prior restraint against publication. But while Ellsberg, the leaker, was rightly subject to punishment for leaking, the NY Times suffered no penalty whatever for publication.

John Navratil| 12.27.10 @ 4:17PM

RCV,

see: http://www.law.cornell.edu/usc.....-000-.html

Reading from the U.S.C. title 18, part 1, chapter 17, section 798 (The Espionage Act): "Whoever knowingly and wilfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or uses in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the United States any classified information - "

It goes on to define what kind of classified information comes under the act, which may or may not apply to Assange (that's what courts are for). However, it does appear that Assange's activites are specifically covered by the act.

Why the NYT got a pass is unknown to me. I was still in High School at the time and much more interested in the other half than in politics.

RCV| 12.27.10 @ 5:09PM

As well you should have, at that age. I practiced law for 35 years, specializing in Frist Amendment litigation. The Espionage Act of 1917 was used to ssuppress all kinds of legitimate free speech, as one might surmise from its broad language -- i.e., the punishment of any publication that is "prejudicial ...to the interests of the United States of America" -- which was taken from the infamous Alien & Sedition Acts used by the Federalists to jail Jeffersonians during Adams' term. The Supreme Court reinvigorated the protections of the First Amendment in a series of opinions by Brandeis and Holmes after WWI, and it is highly doubtful that any prosecution could be brought succesfully for the publication by the media of truthful information that they did not obtain through unlawful means. (I'll leave aside the classic issue of the publication of troop train information during wartime, which the courts will always preserve the right of government to protect.) The Assange case has the added problem of him not being an American citizen, who arguably has no duty not to publish material averse to our country's interests.

Don't get me wrong - I thing Assange is a self-serving personal a***hole, for whom I hold no brief. But prosecution will be difficult. Not so for the weasel soldier who leaked the classified docs.

W| 12.27.10 @ 6:38PM

RCV, most of the First Amendment litigation seems to be the ACLU suing municipalities for Christmas decorations on city property and prayers at HS graduations, and porn magazines defending obscenity suits, and lately high school students suing to protect their right to meet on school property for bible study groups. Which did you do?

RCV| 12.28.10 @ 12:27PM

None of the above. Most of my practice was representing newspapers, reporters, broadcasters and authors in libel and privacy defense, reporters privilege and access cases, and also representing various churches in religious freedom cases.

John Navratil| 12.27.10 @ 7:08PM

RCV,

There seems to be a different color to the flags of the NYT which publishes the Pentagon Papers and of Assange who actively solicits secrets for the purpose of publication. With no intention to defend the Times, there is a degree of complicity which appears absent in their case.

RCV| 12.28.10 @ 12:25PM

I agree, and if they can prove that complicity, they may well have grounds to go after Assange - not for publication, but for conspiracy to commit espionage or something similar.

Occam's Tool| 12.27.10 @ 5:44PM

Gentlemen:

I wish to point out this message from RCV. Personally, I thought we had assassins for guys like Assange, but look at the slamming on Manning. One can be a Liberal and a patriot.

Unfortunately, the Casino Royale chair is out for Manning if found guilty. Pity.

John Navratil| 12.27.10 @ 7:19PM

Perhaps not. Prosecutions for treason seem to be rare, don't always end in conviction and with few exceptions result in prison time. With luck, Mr. Manning will be needing Viagra upon his release.

PattyMor| 12.27.10 @ 12:16PM

The Manning affair has all the finerprints of the organized Left. Well orchestrated and well executed. Then they get their nattering nabobs in the leftist media to echo the "persecution" of the poor slob and run to the corruptotcrats in the U.N. to do their bidding. All by design, all perfectly executed.

Kevin Provost| 12.27.10 @ 12:20PM

After WWII we said "just following orders" is no excuse; it's your responsibility to disobey illegal orders. So here's a guy who steps up to report illegal activity, a classic whistle-blower. He didn't sell the information, he put it where he thought it was most likely the fourth estate, the media, would receive it, review it, report on it, and help make it right. What a shame comfortably employed bootlickers are what pass now for journalists.

Ray| 12.27.10 @ 1:45PM

This man didn't "disobey an unlawful order," as you claim. He disobeyed a perfectly lawful order concerning the distribution of classified material! Stop trying to turn a traitor into a martyr.

It's obvious that you've never served in the Military. If you had, you would understand the difference between an unlawful order, like the order for indiscriminate killings of civilians, and a lawful order, like the handling of classified material.

Yes, as a member of the military, you have an obligation to disobey an unlawful order like shooting a non-combatant, but you WILL be facing UCMJ charges and confinement in doing so until a Court Marshal determines your actual innocence, juts as this man is facing today.

Kevin Provost| 12.27.10 @ 4:07PM

You certainly have a loose understanding of the purpose of quotation marks. You misquote me. I said he *reported* illegal activity.

What's your opinion of the ratio of ink spilled on vilifying Manning vs examining the information Wikileaks is providing? My actual point has more to do with that: the media should be a check against government and business corruption. Instead, I believe, this article shoots the messenger and ignores the message -- it's a smear piece, and it isn't journalism.

ironhorzmn| 12.29.10 @ 2:46AM

It's not up to Manning, or any other individual servicemember, to decide what is 'illegal' or what should be 'classified'.

Try him, convict him and shoot him.

As far as Assange goes, he is a clear and present danger to US national security. I see no reason why we can't order him terminated 'with extreme prejudice'.

C.K. Amos| 12.27.10 @ 12:59PM

He is a traitor and needs to be dealt with as such.

JP| 12.27.10 @ 1:05PM

It isn't a matter of interpreting the Espionage Act or other statutes, as PFC Manning actions are governed by the UCMJ. I am sure there was a plethora of paperwork he signed (mainly to underscore the fact that if any espionage occurs, Uncle Sam will send him away for life), briefings he was forced to attend, etc... Unless things have changed radically since I got out of the service 18 years ago, Manning is toast.

As I stated earlier, Manning is evidence number 1 why we do not want people who are openly gay serving (ditto for people who filed for bankruptcy, been to prison, been charged with felonies, have mental disorders, etc...).

Steve A| 12.27.10 @ 1:11PM

JP, Agree on Manning. What about Assange??

Ray| 12.27.10 @ 1:49PM

Unfortunately for us, Assange isn't an American citizen and didn't post that material while on US sovereign territory, so he isn't subject to the Espionage act.

Steve A| 12.27.10 @ 2:42PM

Ray, Ah, this is why I am not an attorney, I simply married one. Thx

JP| 12.27.10 @ 2:50PM

I agree with Ray. The constitution stops at our borders (that is, unless you are in the military). Assange cannot be prosecuted for crimes he didn't technically commit. He isn't a US citizen, and he wasn't inside the US when he committed the crimes; ergo, he cannot possibly be prosecuted. It makes me nervous to hear politicians demand we write ex post facto laws which prosecute foreigners who live in foreign lands.

John Navratil| 12.27.10 @ 3:12PM

JP,

Nothing ex post facto about the 1917 Espionage Act. Just a question of whether it is applies to Assange. Lawyers??

John Navratil| 12.27.10 @ 3:07PM

Ray,

I'm not a lawyer, but I believe you are mistaken. This article...

http://www.nationalreview.com/.....c-mccarthy

... by Andrew McCarthy (former Assistant U.S. Attorney and the Blink Sheik prosecutor) discusses the reasons to prosecute Assange without any mention of any legal difficulty in doing so.

Just because a non-citizen, overseas may not be under the direct jurisdiction of the U.S., does not mean a crime cannot be committed against the U.S. Ask Manuel Noriega.

Any lawyers out there?

JP| 12.28.10 @ 8:32AM

Noriega controlled a major druge cartel. He conspired to circumvent US drug enforcement laws. His henchmen killed DEA agents both in the Canal Zone and along our borders.

Assange recieved classified information from an American serviceman. He didn't control any cartel or organization whose intent was to conspire to harm US citizens (ie murder, drug traffiking). If Assange is guilty as some here think, so is the NYTs, NRO, and AmerSpec. If this goes through. then the federal government can deem all "leaks" felonies; they can search for and capture foriegners in the same way the UN wishes to indict Bush/Cheney for "war crimes".

I don't think you want to go there. The US has had ample oppurtunity to shutdown Assanges operations both legally and semi-legally. Instead, Obama and the DOJ are not allowing a crisis to go to waste. They are currently expanding the DOJ jurisdiction to include foreigners who have committed no crime. The real criminal is Manning and the DOD, which allowed Manning access despite the obvious risks he posed. The NYT's published 2 major leaks during the Bush Era. The Times was never prosecuted.

ABNCP| 12.27.10 @ 1:51PM

In another life I once held a Cat 5 SCI security clearence. That is several levels above Top Secret. Even with that clearence, the information I had access to was restricted to information I required to do my job on a Need To Know basis. Folks, there is no way that little twit PFC had access to everything that went out without someone in a higher position providing that information to him. There is going to be much more to this story down the road. Maybe when the new Congress has Committee Chairmen who really want to find out who the bad guys are.

Ray| 12.27.10 @ 2:21PM

Here's what bothers me most about this situation: So many peoples are willing to support him and even refer to him as a "whistle blower" as if he was just being honorable, was doing this out of an altruistic sense of loyalty to the American people. But nothing is farther from the truth than that false image.

This man is definitely NOT altruistic as he committed these crimes for the most selfish reason of all: SPITE! He did this because he didn't like the DATA policy. He did this for selfishness reasons! He did this for SPITE!

Contrary to the image he and his lawyers are trying to portray, and that his supporters are so willing to accept, he's no hero. He's a self-centered, spoiled little brat, a classic narcissist who deserves being punished for the crimes he's committed for personal reasons.

JP| 12.27.10 @ 2:55PM

There are no whistle blowers in the military. But there is a chain of command. A PFC's status is just inches above scum. A PFC has no rights (and yes, I once was a lowly E-2 many moons ago).

From what I read this past weekend, Congress asked the IT managers of the DOD if they've gotten thier act together as far as security is concerned. The plain answer is NO.

Bill| 12.27.10 @ 6:24PM

This incident most certainly, under no reasonable definition of the term, does NOT constitute "whistle-blowing." Revealing legitimate secrets to the public or the news media is only morally justifiable when there is no in-house alternative to obtain a remedy for whatever wrong exists. Here, there was no wrong, and there are plenty of oversight structures in place to review any wrongdoing.

What was revealed were potentially embarrassing secret takes on major world figures, and other information that might (but haven't yet) be proven to be sensitive. If that material constitutes a form of wrongdoing, the exact type of wrongdoing escapes me. It was undoubtedly kept secret because we don't want our political friends and enemies to know exactly what we think of them. Nothing illegitimate about that, and plenty damaging (at least potentially) if the material is spread on the four winds.

Gretchen| 12.28.10 @ 3:41PM

Not just SPITE, but for money -- if I remember correctly it was something like 3,500 pieces of silver.

Jack London| 12.27.10 @ 2:31PM

Interesting that all you conservative die hards are like attack dogs when it comes to the power of government, but when it comes to lifting the lid on that power you switch faster than a jack rabbit with an electric prod up its butt.

Steve A| 12.27.10 @ 3:17PM

Jack, The difference is this: "We Conservastives" understand that the primary role of the Fed. Govt. is to protect & defend the USA, not fund cradle to grave social welfare programs.

Kevin Provost| 12.27.10 @ 4:26PM

My copy of the Preamble lists six primary roles:

To Form a More Perfect Union
To Establish Justice
To Provide for the Common Defense
To Secure the Blessings of Liberty
To Promote the General Welfare
To Insure Domestic Tranquility

Jack London| 12.27.10 @ 5:13PM

Clearly Steve and most of you don't agree with numbers 5 and 6 and probably not much of 1 and 2 either.

C.K. Amos| 12.27.10 @ 8:26PM

Hey, Jack, where's your statistical evidence that "most of you" don't agree with what you allege?

Oh, that's right: Facts not required, right?

BTW: ". . . you switch faster than a jack rabbit with an electric prod up its butt"? Just wondering: Under what circumstances do you have that experience?

Richard Baker| 12.27.10 @ 2:33PM

Ray:
I suggest you read Ann Coulter's analysis of this subject.

Kevin Provost| 12.27.10 @ 4:52PM

I'd like to. Could you provide link(s) to the article(s) you mean?

Richard Baker| 12.27.10 @ 2:43PM

Jack:
This is not an academic enterprise here. Real people are affected by this punk's actions. I also think that we classify way too much information. Regardless, a security clearance means having certain restrictions. What if you or a member of your family were put in jeopardy by the careless release of this sort of data? Remember, there are many within SW Asia who have helped us and whose identities and locations were released. Are you foolish enough to think that the Taliban and al-Queda won't take action on this info? In the future, who then in their right minds would assist us in anything?

Jack London| 12.27.10 @ 6:43PM

I agree of course that there are operational details that must be confidential. But the big picture is that if we can expect leaks in the future to tell us about no 'weapons of mass destruction' and the desperate crusade that Afghanistan has become, so saving many thousands of lives, I'll take that from now on as I want to know what people are thinking of doing in my name and with my money.

Michael Adams| 12.29.10 @ 6:25PM

Actually, if rather ironically, some of the leaked information, over several months, shows that there were, indeed, such weapons. Certainly, every government intelligence service in the world believed so. The only trouble was that the Russians, Chinese, and the French were playing a double game.

Dennis| 12.27.10 @ 3:02PM

This punk is no hero- he's a traitor and deserves to die for his actions (which have put our men/women's lives in danger)...

Anthony| 12.27.10 @ 3:15PM

To even raise the idea that this POS is being "abused" at the hands of the military, gives a certain amount of credence to these cretins that should never happen.
Not only should this traitor be waterboarded on an hourly basis,but so should his supporters, starting with Assange.
Just as with AGW, the left will never give up nor stop at any boundaries of decency, they will swear by their secular gods of warming that Manning is being abused. It's the nature of the left.
I say it's long past time to give them what they want.
By the way, Ellsberg is correct, there is not an iota of difference between Manning, himself, and the NYT. All three are traitors,all should be convicted felons,and all have and will have escaped justice because of the power of the left.
Rember how the Public Editor of the NYT recently gloated over recent secrets revealed by the NYT. There is no reasoning with these people. It's time we stopped trying.

Richard Baker| 12.27.10 @ 3:27PM

Anthony:
Savage is correct. Liberalism is a mental disorder.

Chairman NO Bomba| 12.27.10 @ 4:38PM

This Manning clown looks like Alfred E. Neumann. However leftists are not funy but rather scary. They can get us killed.

MikeD| 12.27.10 @ 4:53PM

The Constitution is not a suicide pact; and the Founding Fathers realized that there are those who would hide behind it at every turn. Anybody who believes that there are not agents of foreign governments causing problems here in our own Country; after being educated on how to use our laws against us; believes in fairies and elves. We'd better be doing the same thing elsewhere; and, if we're not, the current administration is committing treason.

NATIONS DO NOT HAVE BELIEFS, THEY HAVE INTERESTS, and must defend themselves at all costs. After the noise dies down do not be surprised if that scum assange has some kind of an accidentfar away from the media attention.

Kevin Provost| 12.27.10 @ 5:16PM

One cannot hide behind the Constitution. The Constitution is transparent.

What Kissinger actually said (if that's your reference) is "America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests." (He didn't say beliefs.)

The United States is a great experiment in democracy; clearly it's founded on beliefs over interests. I think the idea underlying the principles in the founding documents is that the beliefs on which they're founded are what make us stronger than nations who only pursue their interests, with no guiding principles. Our interests are served by operating within our principles, but only if ordinary citizens are willing to defend them. It's not a job for the weak.

MikeD| 12.28.10 @ 8:51PM

Kevin; Thanks for the correction. I knew I remembered it, just not correctly. It's what happens when the brain turns to oatmeal from reading pure drivel from some of the warped minds that have some kind of a platform in the exponentially expanding world of our media!

Julian Assange| 12.27.10 @ 5:39PM

I knew I had seen that face before...

http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/2535/manning.jpg
http://sanslignebleue.files.wo.....neuman.jpg

wangyi| 12.27.10 @ 8:09PM

I think you could label him a Reagan "peace through strength" conservative when it comes to foreign policy. I've seen him speak on several occasions--including an hour-and-a-half he spent speaking to my AP Government students and fielding questions about his policy stances-LED Tube-and he has shown himself to be very conservative.LED Display I've been impressed.

amnesiac| 12.28.10 @ 12:39AM

The Left is turning him into America's Leading what? For how long?

At the moment, I cannot remember the full name of the potato face who lost her son in Iraq, and camped out by the side of the road in Crawford, TX. I remember she had a face like a russet potato. I remember her whiny voice. I recall a rumor that she was financed by George Soros, hizzownself!

Adopted by the media and abandoned by the side of the road in Crawford, Texas.

How lasting was her mark on history? Who cleaned up all those little white crosses on the country road in Crawford and the litter left behind by the Squatters for Stopping the War?

And what, in the name of round-the-clock media saturation was her name? And where is she now?
Oh, and who cares - -we have a new martyr.

Jeremiah| 12.28.10 @ 10:51AM

That lady?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Sheehan
No wonder you don't hear from her anymore, she doesn't like the Obamessiah either.

Alan Brooks| 12.28.10 @ 10:57AM

...and speaking of Soros, the guy has no shame:
http://sweetness-light.com/arc.....-holocaust

Maintainer| 12.28.10 @ 11:02AM

As an ex-mop-swinger I can report that we groundlings in large organizations have ubelievable access. "The safe is locked" but the combination is taped to the desk etc....So a PFC could have the access he want,especially if there are a lot of careless people around. Remember Anna Lee Moss.

Charles Martel| 12.29.10 @ 1:39PM

Lethal injection for Wesley "Mumia" Cook is long overdue. Hanging is appropriate for Manning. Get on with it.

+++

Robster| 12.30.10 @ 2:18PM

Before Manning is hung, the investigation into how he accessed the information must be completed. Being familiar with protocols that accompany access to compartmentalized or classified information, there is no way that Manning's superiors are not culpable too. It's one thing to have access to SIPRnet's and electronic devices that store calssified information and it is quite another too even have in one's possesion any device that is capable for copying and/or transporting said material out of the area in which it is stored. It's called redundancy and makes it nearly impossible for lower enlisted soldiers to even get access to the device where the classified information is secured, if you want to call it "secured". Secondly, Manning's supervisor and chain of command is going to roast along with him for allowing those alleged "Lady Gaga" labeled CD's into his workspace. Only clearly recognizable and labeled commerical CD's are allowed in an area where classified information is kept, and in most cases, the drives of those devices are disabled in order to prohibit the copying of protected information. I'm with those who suspect that this case stinks of something more than sole perpretrator action. Look beyond the preliminaries and think bigger. What is the overall larger picture? Explore history and discover that the first thing a Communist Revolution/ takeover confiscates is media stations, news outlets, radio and tv stations, and in our present information age, the Internet. Didn't the Obama administration just allow the FCC to initiate action that will lead to regualting the Internet? Couldn't they use Manning and Assange as pawns, supporting thier case? Find out first, then prosecute and punish to the proverbial fullest extent of the law. Justice is no longer swift here in America, but it is final!

Lou Gots| 1.1.11 @ 6:47PM

We need Congressional hearings into how this pitiful wreck of a flouncing queen was able to obtain and maintain a security clearance. It should be the 21st Century equivalent of "Who promoted Peress?"

Robert| 1.5.11 @ 1:45PM

"Even if the Inspector General does investigate an issue, it has no power of enforcement. Instead, the results of the investigation are turned over to the agency or command with the authority to act. Thus, in the case of a pretrial confinement issue, this would mean the commander of the confinement facility or the Staff Judge Advocate. In fact, the Navy IG recommends complaints regarding treatment of prisoners should be addressed directly to the Staff Judge Advocate’s Office. See U.S. Navy Inspector General Agency, Treatment of Prisoners, at here (last visited Dec. 30 2010). "

Copied from: http://www.armycourtmartialdef.....eview.html

bruce| 3.25.11 @ 3:22PM

let the water boarding begin until the little pickle smoker tell all, followed by a public hanging.