Chad’s Morning Brief for 02.07.13
Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of February 7, 2013. Give Chad your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11 am.
1. Drones (link)
Members of Congress will be briefed on the administration's policy of the use of drones to kill. A classified memo was leaked this week that detailed the administration's policy for the use of drones including the justification for drone strikes on U.S. citizens. According to the Hill:
President Obama on Wednesday decided to reverse course and allow members of Congress to be briefed on a classified memo that details the justification for drone strikes against U.S. citizens, an administration official said Wednesday night.
"Today, as part of the president's ongoing commitment to consult with Congress on national security matters, the president directed the Department of Justice to provide the congressional Intelligence committees access to classified Office of Legal Counsel advice related to the subject of the Department of Justice White Paper," the unidentified official said.
An administration official said Wednesday night that Obama has been committed to consulting Congress in an effort to pursue transparency. The official said that effort is reflected in recent speeches by Attorney General Eric Holder and Brennan and by the disclosure that the military has taken direct action against Yemen and Somalia.
The official said Obama made the decision Wednesday because he wants Congress to be involved in building a framework for counterterrorism efforts and called it an extraordinary action because of the unique circumstances involved.
The White House on Tuesday defended the guidelines for targeting Americans in drone strikes as "fully consistent” with the Constitution.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said strikes against Americans overseas are sometimes "necessary to mitigate ongoing attacks." The operations are "fully consistent with our Constitution," he said.
"[The strikes] are legal, they are ethical and they are wise."
Carney’s statements came a day after the leak of a white paper from the Department of Justice that outlines the legal basis for killing Americans overseas who are believed to be a threat. In the memo, Justice outlines a three-part test to determine whether a “lethal operation” can be carried out against an American who is a senior operational leader of a terrorist group.
The drone strikes against U.S. citizens have drawn fierce opposition from civil-liberties groups, who argue due process is being trampled in the name of national security.
What do you think about the policy? If an American joins a terror group and takes up arms against the U.S. in Afghanistan, should rights still be given to them?
2. Straus and Vouchers (link)
Speaker Joe Straus is warning lawmakers in Austin that vouchers may never see a vote in the House. According the Dallas Morning News, Straus doesn't want a divisive bill.
House Speaker Joe Straus warned the Senate on Wednesday that if it passes a divisive school voucher bill, the measure might not reach a vote in the House.
Straus, R-San Antonio, didn’t say a school choice bill definitely wouldn’t pass. But he urged Senate GOP leaders “not to go full bore on something that’s an exercise in futility.”
Straus, appearing at a forum sponsored by the Texas Tribune, stressed the state’s diverse educational map. Many rural Republicans are leery of voucher programs for their potential to draw away state funding from school districts.
Straus did not indicate, though, whether proposals such as open enrollment within a school district or across district lines might fly in the House.
“We’ve seen this before,” he said, recalling the House’s defeat of a voucher pilot bill in 2007, during his first full session as a lawmaker.
Resistance from rural Republicans and the perception of hypocrisy by proponents, who declined to nominate their own school districts for pilots, killed the measure.
“It just exploded in front of our very eyes,” Straus said.
The speaker said any 2013 revival has to have broader support.
“If there’s a school choice option that members, representing their districts, can support, then we’d certainly be open to it,” he said.
Are you kidding me? Any school choice bill will be divisive. Why? Because the Education Lobby doesn't believe in school choice. This goes along with the attitude of others such as Rep. Charles Perry who doesn't want to upset the education community. In an earlier appearance on The Chad Hasty Show, Rep. Perry said that on the South Plains the education system isn't broken. That vouchers wouldn't do much for Lubbock and the surrounding areas, and that if districts could opt-out of vouchers then he might support them.
Pathetic. Give parents a choice.
3. New Police Station (link)
Does Lubbock need a new Police Station? According to Councilman Floyd Price, the answer is yes.
Councilman Floyd Price said the current LPD building is simply too old and the department has outgrown it, mean now the City of Lubbock is looking for something new.
Councilman Price said the building has too many issues to deal with.
He says it's not a matter of pushing for a new building, but it's a city necessity.
Price himself worked in the building for more than 30 years and said back then it was an ideal building, but now it's not even worth it.
He said the city is looking at getting property to build a new state of the art building for the police department.
I am pretty sure you will see a new Police Station as part of a bond election next year. Most likely, the people of Lubbock would approve it. This time though, can we actually take care of the building with good maintenance?
Other Top Stories:
These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.
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