Chad’s Morning Brief: Eric Holder Says Drone Strikes on US Soil Are Legal, TSA to Allow Knives on Planes, & More
Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of March 6, 2013. Give Chad your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11am.
1. Drone Strikes on American Soil? (link)
It seems as though many people have no problem with the Obama administration's policy on drones and drone strikes on U.S. citizens overseas. If someone joins a terror organization, most American's are okay with a drone strike taking that person out. What about on U.S. soil though? Don't think it can happen? Think again.
Attorney General Eric Holder can imagine a scenario in which it would be constitutional to carry out a drone strike against an American on American soil, he wrote in a letter to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
“It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States,” Holder replied in a letter yesterday to Paul’s question about whether Obama “has the power to authorize lethal force, such as a drone strike, against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, and without trial.”
Paul condemned the idea. “The U.S. Attorney General’s refusal to rule out the possibility of drone strikes on American citizens and on American soil is more than frightening – it is an affront the Constitutional due process rights of all Americans,” he said in a statement.
Holder noted that Paul’s question was “entirely hypothetical [and] unlikely to occur,” but cited the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as the type of incidents that might provoke such a response.
“Were such an emergency to arise, I would examine the particular facts and circumstances before advising the President on the scope of his authority,” he concluded.
Does this change your mind on Obama's drone policy?
2. TSA to Allow Knives (link)
The TSA will allow people to carry knives on planes now. The decision, which wasn't due to the sequester, has enraged flight attendant unions. According to FOX News, pocket knives will be allowed inside carry-on bags.
The Transportation Security Administration announced Tuesday that U.S. airline passengers will soon be allowed to carry small knives in their carry-on bags, a move that prompted swift condemnation from a flight attendants union.
The union for Southwest Airlines flight attendants called the decision "dangerous" and "designed to make the lives of TSA staff easier, but not make flights safer."
The changes were made public by TSA Administrator John Pistole during an aviation conference in New York.
Starting April 25, passengers going through U.S. airports can bring on board Swiss Army-type knives -- specifically, ones with blades no longer than 2.36 inches.
This marks the first time such knives have been allowed on board since security was heavily increased in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The decision to allow knives came about because TSA agents were spending a lot of time dealing with small knives. I have no problem with the decision and I don't think anything bad will happen because of it. Let's remember that the TSA hasn't prevented any attacks. In fact, passengers have had to subdue would-be threats in the skies. Stay alert.
3. Piers Morgan (link)
Anti-gun nut Piers Morgan just can't believe that the NRA is sponsoring the NASCAR race at the Texas Motor Speedway.
Piers Morgan railed against the NRA's announcement that it would sponsor a NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Texas, challenging a Texas State Senator on his show Monday as to why it was appropriate in light of the December elementary-school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
The NRA said Monday that it had reached a deal to sponsor a race that will now be known as the NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in April.
The partnership comes at a time when the NRA has been thrust into the political spotlight after the Newtown massacre — and less than a month after NASCAR partnered with Swan Racing to paint a Sandy Hook School Support Fund decal a car driven by Michael Waltrip.
Morgan couldn't understand why tobacco companies are barred from sponsoring NASCAR races but not organizations like the NRA.
"I'm slightly baffled why you can't have a tobacco company sponsoring this race because, presumably, it's bad for Americans' health — but you can have the NRA, which is basically funded by gun manufacturers," Morgan told Texas State Sen. Dan Patrick.
"I don't understand the fuss," Patrick said in response. "Tell me what your problem is. I don't get it. ... The NRA is not trying to sell guns. This is really a statement about who we are."
Personally, I think the ban on tobacco from sponsoring the race is stupid, but that isn't the issue right now. The NRA isn't bad for anyone's health. The NRA believes in RESPONSIBLE gun ownership. Why is Morgan against that? Oh that's right, he hates guns and gun owners.
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