Death Penalty Unlikely for 9/11 Mastermind?

The news that is not White House approved...

No Guarantees

Since Attorney General Holder announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators would receive a civilian trial, both he and the president have gone out of their way to assure Americans that KSM will be convicted and put to death.

Here's President Obama explaining why nobody should find that decision offensive:

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PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, NOV. 18: I don't think it will be offensive at all when he is convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him.

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Well, several federal prosecutors are saying not so fast, and they are citing the case of 9/11's 20th hijacker Zacarias Moussaoui, who was sentenced to life prison because one juror refused to give him the death penalty.

Former New York federal prosecutor Paul Butler told The L.A. Times, "Obviously, the 9/11 crimes are as serious as you can get. But it is difficult to get 12 people in New York to agree on a death penalty."

President Obama and his attorney general may be confident, but history suggest otherwise. The only other modern day terrorist to be sentenced to death was Tim McVeigh.

Health Problems

Time and again, the president has reassured Americans that illegal immigrants will not be eligible for coverage under a government health insurance plan.

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OBAMA, SEPT. 9: There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false.

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But the Washington Times reports that both the House and Senate bills allow illegal immigrants to receive health care coverage. The House bill requires employers to provide coverage to all employees, but provides no mechanism to screen out illegal immigrants.

Pretty unbelievable.

That may be one of the reasons Americans are increasingly turning against these bills. A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows that 49 percent of those polled oppose the bill, only 44 percent are in favor.

It remains to be seen whether the Democratic Congress can continue to push this bill forward against the wishes and interest of the American people.

Moore of the Same

Twenty-four hours from now, President Obama will have laid out his Afghanistan plan to the American people, but before he takes to the airwaves, he's getting an earful from some on the far left.

Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore is leading that charge, issuing an open letter to President Obama Monday. In it, he proclaims to the commander-in-chief that if he does not announce a complete withdrawal Tuesday night, Barack Obama is "the new war president."

He also writes, "We are a civilian-run government. We tell the Joint Chiefs what to do, not the other way around." And that, "We love our kids in the armed services, but we [blank] hate these generals."

Actually, Michael, most Americans appreciate those generals, many of whom have spent their whole lives serving this great nation — not themselves like you.

War on Christmas

The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals is waging a war of its own against the Christmas holiday. The court recently upheld a decision banning any celebratory religious holiday music from being performed at public schools. That means no more "Silent Night" or any other Christmas carol that references a religion.

That's not likely to sit well with an overwhelming majority of Americans. According to a new Rasmussen poll, 72 percent of those surveyed favor using the phrase "Merry Christmas" as opposed to 22 percent who prefer "Happy Holidays."

Once again, a group of activist judges appeared to be on the wrong side of a very important issue in this country.

And by the way, to all of you out there, Merry Christmas.

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